William Windsor

Another take on HRH William Windsor

William Wales, Duke of Cambridge. Hereditary jobs are guaranteed, it's
just that pops has to die before you can take over. And then there's the
matter of grandma and those pesky Corgis, the only dogs that get in and
out of England without undergoing quarantine. The only flag to fly atop
Buckingham Palace is the Royal Flag and it never flies at half mast as
the King is never dead, his successor automatically assumes the
position. On that day he can tear up his driver's license, he doesn't
require one. On the other hand he has a legion of chauffeurs to drive
him and estates so large some would require a day's drive to leave. And
he could always take that helicopter. He needs glasses to operate either
and once he gets the job they may frown on his Ducati. For now his job
is sea rescue helicopters. Grandma drove ambulance during WW#2 and was a
fair mechanic in her day. The birth of his wife Kate's first child will
occasion a 61-gun salute marking the birth of an heir to the throne. In
the meantime it's a waiting game, is she or isn't she?

Rant for a Fall Day

Two weeks ago I was forced to turn on my furnace to reduce the chill in my apartment. In the Peterborough Area the first frosts entered the forecast and in the Rockies snow reached the Kananaskis Country. Although Southern Ontario has not seen frost it has been a cold, windy, overcast period so far.

Although hurricane activity on the East Coast peaked early it has entered a period of quiescence. Hurricane Isaac reached all the way to Newfoundland causing more damage to areas still attempting to recover from the aftermath of Leslie two years ago. Rain from that same system caused major flooding in Truro Nova Scotia. When a storm surge hits at high tide rivers back up and major damage occurs.

Once more the spectre of labour unrest threatens to cancel the NHL Season. These days star players get multi-year contracts totalling 8 figures such as the one recently given Sidney Crosby. These wages are predicated on season ticket sales and the advertising revenue generated by TV Coverage of games. Unfortunately in the attempt to build an empire Gary Bettman the league commissioner has expanded into markets where teams are not likely to attain profitability no matter what salary caps, profit sharing, and wage concessions are implemented. Not surprisingly the players are unwilling to make more concessions to save these failing franchises.

As a result of the gold extraction process there is sufficient Arsenic stored underground at the Giant Mine in Yellowknife NWT to kill every human on earth. Not only are there no assets available to deal with this situation but no entity extent to assume responsibility for remediating the problem. Across the North thousands of ancient tailings ponds leach toxic chemicals the result of operations carried out by corporations that have long since taken their profits and ceased to exist. The mercury in the Wobogon River system is just one example of a situation that is actively affecting the health of Native Peoples.

Which  toy  was  the  first  advertised  on  television? The first    toy  product  ever  advertised  on  television was Mr.  Potato  Head.  Introduced  in  1952,  Mr. Potato  Head took  advantage of TV's explosive  growth to  gain  access to tens of millions of newly "plugged-in" households.

Frozen store-bought fish up to 85% water.

First  Aid  kits  used to contain dimes for pay phone calls. If  you  can  find one a pay phone now costs 50¢ and if Bell Canada has it's way will soon be $1.00.

After a seventeen million dollar refit that saw the Bluenose II replica rebuilt from the keel on up it was slowly lowered in its dry-dock into the water at high tide at 8:15 AM on September 29th in Lunenburg by hydraulic winch. To the 30,000 on hand to witness the event in the rain this launching was probably not extremely exciting. On hand was an 82-year-old crew member of the original Bluenose. To see a picture of the Bluenose get out a Canadian Dime which bears the imprint of a picture taken by Wallace MacAskill.

Keeping the doctor away with an apple a day just got way more expensive. The Honey Crisps I bought the other day were of good quality but cost me over $2 each. Price increases due to this summer's drought are only beginning.

Air Traffic ground to a halt in Halifax last weekend due to a pothole in the main runway. Even NAV Canada has trouble finding a paver on a weekend.

Can't keep track of it. Peter Jackson's Hobbit is now up to three installments. The better to skim your wallet my dears.