A Tribute to an old friend.

"Hey, What's That Smell"

looks like the feud may be over and those two guys might have a reunion after all. The Associated Press & Comedy Central Insider are both reporting it. Strange how comedy about drugs became so laughable to many. I suspect no matter what a lot of opinions are on that subject,most of us enjoyed the laugh.Hopefully if it doesn't reach the big screen it may be available on DVD.

VOCM News today.
NL Party Loses Leader
July 28, 2008

The leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador First Party is stepping down. Tom Hickey says his resignation takes effect August 13th, which also happens to be the fourth anniversary of the founding of the Party. A committee has been put in place to find a successor. Hickey says the party plans to run candidates in the next federal election.

I have not heard much about the party except a young MUN student, Jordan Lester speaking on open line programs. I doubt if 5% of the people in NL have heard about it and even less for naming the leader. I suspect a list of names will be placed in a Pea Pudding bag somewhere near the Avalon Mall and a new leader picked. Surely someone can come up with a conspiracy theory about Tom leaving and the cancellation of The Independant.

Rubus chamaemorus
AKA Bakeapple or Cloudberry.

The Bakeapples are gradually ripening on the bogs surrounding the community. In another few days it'll become a soft gold delicacy for the locals. According to info from Wikipedia, the Bakeapple can be found only in the Northern Hemisphere from 78°N, south to about 55°N, and very scattered south to 44°N mainly in mountainous areas. It even shows up in a few of the lower 48 states of the USA.
We made a short hike to the Lighthouse area in the community today to check them out and shot a few pics while there.

A Little Good News.

George Murphy of the Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices is predicting quite the drop in Fuel prices ! George has not posted so far today about it, but hopefully he'll be right on the button with it this time.

Fuel Prices may be Going Down
July 21, 2008

This week could bring the first significant relief in fuel prices in months. George Murphy of the Consumer Group for Fair Gas Prices predicts a substantial drop in the price of gas and home heating oil.

He says gas should go down by about nine cents a litre and heating fuel by about six cents.

The normal price settings come every Thursday but Murphy expects the pricing commission to use the interruption formula and knock prices back even sooner.

Rocket man

Newfoundlander developing personal flying device

By IVAN MORGAN
Thursday, July 17, 2008

A company led by a Newfoundlander is poised to market a water-powered personal recreational jet-pack that allows people to fly. Wired.com says the device will be “the jet ski of 2020.”

Raymond Li, who moved to Newfoundland in 1978, says the technology he helped create works, and his company is completing development of a model that will soon be offered for sale worldwide.

With a demonstration model being planned to be ready for market in two to three months, Li wouldn’t give a formal interview, citing a marketing strategy that involves keeping the project “under wraps” until it is publicly launched.

Li, who lives in St. John’s, is working in Florida (he says mainly for climactic reasons) on the jet-pack which he believes could have huge potential as a recreational device. The technology, which Li has named JetLev (an abbreviation of jet levitation), involves a personal, strap-on backpack that can levitate a person above water using a simple, water-based jet propulsion technology. ,,,,More Here.

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans recently considered licensing our recreational cod fishery in NL Apparently officials discovered the amount of fish caught using Rocket Packs could be much more then by the old methods. This came about when DFO Officials recently intercepted an email between Jim Morgan to members of the Rural Rights and Boat Owners Association. The email claimed that rules of just 15 Cod per boat would not apply to the Recreation Fishery if they went over the water using the new Rocket Packs.

The Joys of a Newfoundland Summer

Granddaughter and i have been doing quite a few little hikes lately and sometimes they stretch for kilometers. We have several easy to moderate hiking trails here that offer great views of the Table Mountains and the seashore near the Community. She recently turned six and each little hike brings more questions. Most of them have to do with the wildflowers that grow in the area. I was surprised at how many i did not actually know the names of so i asked for a bit of advice on a book. The one recommended was "Wildflowers of Newfoundland & Labrador" by Peter Scott with illustrations by Dorothy Black. I even managed to pick the field guide version up of it locally and we have taken it out on a few hikes so far. So today i'll post some pics of a few recent hikes we have taken.

Cuss-O-Meter

Ran across this little Gem on the Presurfer today. It shows the percentage of pages on a Blog that contains so called Cuss words. I was surprised that mine showed 3 % and it was quite high compared to other blogs on the NL Bloglist but at least it was still considered low by some standards. It claims the average percentage of pages that contain cussing for all the websites that have taken the Cuss-O-Meter is 10 %.

After a few quick checks i was surprised to find "Missing the Rock" to be one of the highest and the one i suspected to be higher ( Sex and the Island ) was not. John's scored one of the lowest at 0.1%. So drop by the Cuss-O-Meter and check it out.

There you have it! It's official.

Doctors Careless with Word
July 14, 2008

The minister of health is accusing the association which represents doctors of being opportunistic and creating a false impression of a crisis. Ross Wiseman wants the Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association to quit using the word "crisis" when focusing on a particular community, region or medical field. On VOCM Open Line with Randy Simms this morning, Wiseman said the association is laying the groundwork for the next round of bargaining in nine months' time. The medical association declined immediate comment on the minister's accusations. Meanwhile, in reacting to a recommendation from the Canadian Association of Pathologists for improved testing for diseases such as breast cancer, Wiseman says the province has already done so. The minister says all medical labs in the province now have to follow an accreditation process.

Goodbye Olive

'World's oldest blogger' dies at 108

(CNN) -- An Australian woman often described as the world's oldest blogger has died at the age of 108 after posting a final message about her ailing health but how she sang "a happy song, as I do every day."

Olive Riley posted more than 70 entries on her blog -- or "blob" as she jokingly called it -- since February 2007

Olive Riley died Saturday at a nursing home in New South Wales.

Riley posted more than 70 entries on her blog -- or "blob" as she jokingly called it -- since February 2007.

On the site, The Life of Riley, and in a series of videos post on YouTube, Riley mused on her day-to-day life. She also recounted living through two world wars and raising three children on her own while working as a cook and a bar maid.

"She had a wonderful memory, and an amazing zest for life," said her friend Eric Shackle, who met Riley at a nursing home while visiting his wife, who has since passed. "Just two weeks ago, she recalled the words of a song that was popular before World War II, and sang the chorus with me." <>

This would solve quite a few problems that never seem to go away.

The union that represents home-care workers in Newfoundland and Labrador has asked the province to take full control of the troubled industry and negotiate one collective agreement for all home-care workers.

The Newfoundland Association of Public Employees (NAPE), which represents 1,700 home-care workers, issued 10 recommendations to the province Thursday to improve wages and working conditions.

A quote from Nape President Carol Furlong seems to sum it all up pretty well.

"If government continues to ineffectively deal with this problem it is not because of economics, it is because of a lack of desire and a failure to recognize the needs of people who built this province."

Hurricane Bertha

I been following the Newfoundland and Labrador Weather Blog lately. It's updated quite often by Ryan Snoddon,the new weather man on CBC's Here & Now. (maybe the blog might get a link on the NL Blog roll soon? )

Seems like bets are still on for Hurricane Bertha to make landfall here on the island. I'm sure if it comes close, i will get a few great shots of the sea here near the community and the mandatory tractor trailer accident at the Wreckhouse.

Table Mountain ATV Ride

A Friend and i recently made a six hour ATV excursion on the Table Mountains near Cape Ray. Here are a few shots to give you an idea of what the Table Mountain actually looks like up there. Most view it from the Trans-Canada Highway as they drive by and must wonder what it's like. Quite a few Glacier carved valleys stretch a kilometer or so into the massive wall that stretches up the west coast of the island. Near Cape Ray the flat surface allows the wind to pick up speeds and funnel down through those valleys. It can reach speeds up to 200 kph by the time it drops the 1700 + feet.

I recently blogged about a soldier who served there during WWII and his story of that era was printed in our local newspaper today. Click here to view it.

It's the start of summer here and each little cove has its own uniqueness with a variety of wildflowers. It's a wonder with the constant winds here that anything actually survives that close to the shoreline. Not only does it survive but it seems to thrive against all odds. My granddaughter is not satisfied when i simply call them wildflowers but insist everything has a name. When we came home yesterday i had to search the web for a few answers and finally put a few names to some we had looked at. I think i might have to purchase a book on the wildflowers of our province and take it on our walks. Anyone have any suggestions on where to buy and what would be the best?

The best info i seemed to find on the net. (thanks Bitspot)

Sea Lungwort

few shots from yesterday.

Excerpts from a soldiers Letters

Recently received some first hand information from a soldier who served on the Table Mountains here during WWII. Here are some excerpts from his letters he sent home to his mother.

November 27/43 Given special winter clothes in Halifax. Parka, ski pants, hat, high top
leather boots, another pair with rubber bottoms and leather tops, 10
pair woolen socks, woolen helmet, woolen gloves, leather mitts and
other articles. Traveled by sea, not air this time so was seasick not air
sick.
Place is on a table mtn. We are in quonset huts held down by rocks as
ballast. Sleeping bags on bunks. Oil heaters. We had a good cook. He
had been chef at one of the big hotels. We had canned or concentrated
foods at first. Butter came in cans and it was good. We were working on
new equipment. Different than working with the squadron at Gander
earlier. Hear that we will be here more than 6 mths.

December 1/43 Snow travels horizontal not vertical!!!

December 2/43 Two panes of glass blew out at night at bottom of my bunk.It took
several guys to hold boards in place against the wind while we nailed it
in place. We crawl on our hands and knees from one bldg. to another but
luckily, bldgs are not far apart.

December 5/43 A radio really makes a difference in a place like this. The food is pretty
good right now. We get things that you can't get at home like sugar.

December 7/43 Going for mail takes all day- 9am to 5:30 pm - 6 miles each way and we
walk. Gord says " We will probably have a differential like a bus when I'm
through here. All I'll need, he said to his mom is a couple of lights". He
liked to help the cook in his spare time, like baking bread ( 7 loaves at a
time baked in milk can lids)! "Expect that I'll be able to do anything when
I leave here", he told his mother. He was 22 at that time.


December 8/43 Mom, we are on a mountain top 2000 feet straight up. The clouds around
us are like fog.

December 14/43 Drifts of snow up to 2/3 of window panes. Letters coming in and out now
censorred.

December 28/43 Our new meat supply was dropped from the air on the 26th. It was 100lb.
baskets fastened to chutes. A sample of everything that can happen does
happen here. Dog teams here to help move 300 lb. loads. They are
Siberian huskies and we had 2 teams hooked together (eighteen dogs)
and eight men. It took all we could do to move the loads.

January 19/44 We had to carry heavy loads down for the mail. There was 30lb. down and
50lb. back up. We usually work in pairs. We used shoulder racks to do it

January27/44 We started shift work.

January 31/44 About the trains. They are different, short and narrow . You never need to
be in a rush to catch one. They are always "due". The station had no doors
and a couple of windows. A few days ago there was a big snow and the
road had 30 to 40 feet over it in some places. Dog teams are gone.

February 4/44 We have frozen pipes in the barracks and we are trying to thaw them out.
We are digging through 3 feet of frost and rock. Then we throw fuel oil in
and burn it till it is full of steam. Frost level is 1 foot below the pipes. The
guys will have had all the pick swinging they want. Now it is midnight and
the wind is howling but it is comfy inside.

February 24/44 My winter clothes finally caught up with me and it cost $3. to get it!

March 9 44 Skiing without tops in some sun.Got sunburned. Made pancakes as cook
sleeps in on Sunday.

March 14/44 The inside water system was frozen all Feb. Since everyone pitches in to
help on these types of occasions, our regular shift work is really a rest. We
hauled water with big diesel tractor. Then it got stuck in the snow. It took
5 guys 2 days to dig it out.

April 9/44 More meat was chuted in. Great as we have had a lot of bully beef and
pilcher fish. It looked good seeing quarters of beef being dropped to us.
One came down without a chute but the others were attached and we had
to run after them so they would not go over the edge in the wind.
Fresh steak tastes good.

May 8/44 I helped the cook to cut up the meat when the new was dropped. Inside
drain pipes still frozen so I hooked up an outside shower!!!!!

May 28/44 We have been eating dried apples all winter . Went fishing. No luck yet.

June 4/44 Finally our inside water system is workiing.

June 10/44 Ate at someone's home at the lighthouse . Had fresh salmon .Tasted swell.
They gave us 2 salmon 30' long to carry back the 6 miles. Got a promotion
to Corporal so now I make $2.45 a day. Went fishing and this time I caught
a trout.

June 21/44 Rain and the drops are as large as cups.

July18/44 Here I am writing to you,Mother and it is late at night with the wind howling
around outside but warm inside with Skipper at my feet.

Aug 10/44 Needed fire in barracks to keep warm.

Sept.8/44 Camp getting rebuilt for next winter. Fresh supplies of food tastes good.

Sept 20/44 They are now painting over the tentest.

Oct4/44 Removed the ballast as the new improvements were made. To be placed
back after.


With the new information a lot of old myths were dispelled about some of the activity the forces had participated in during the war years. The parachute drops of fresh meat maybe explains why a lot of people actually thought the planes landed there. Hopefully our community can someday see a storyboard erected to honor the soldiers who served there during the war years.

Few shots from last evenings ATV Ride to the old Radar Site. Some of the old structure remains in place and a few poles that supplied the power to the Radar are still standing. The rock Ballast that helped anchor the buildings down can also be seen around the site. The only thing that never changes is the beauty of this place. Today i can leave my home in Cape Ray and be at the Radar site in less then half a hour. It took the soldiers of that era many hours to do the trip.