Andy Visiting Taiwan
March 18, 2007

St. John's Mayor Andy Wells arrives in Taiwan today as part of a delegation of big city Canadian mayors. They've been invited for a series of meetings with municipal and government officials to discuss urban issues. Wells says he's planning to promote the capital city and the province whenever he gets the opportunity. Wells says he's also prepared to talking about urban planning, ocean technology and environmental issues, which are a big concern in that country.

Big city Canadian mayors? Population wise or physical size of the mayors? Just kidding today. I remember Premier Zhu from China a few years back inviting Andy to China at the time because he protested China's occupation of Tibet since the 1950's. Andy tried to fly the Tibetan flag over city hall at the time. Premier Tobin at the time accused him of showboating but quite a few of us here in NL actually respected him for the act. Maybe the government of Taiwan might actually thank him for that during his visit.

On March 13/2007 we'll find out just what out migration and a declining birthrate have done to NL population. Population and dwelling counts statistics will be released from the 2006 census.
Will the information released show we have gone below the 500,000 mark? In the small community i live we'll stay just above the 300 plus mark. I'm sure since the 2006 count we have fallen below it. A few days ago on our community forum someone congratulated an expectant birth mother and it was something to be proud of community wise.We rarely see many and by the time they're of school age the family usually leaves. Our first Come Home Year event is scheduled for July and crowds are expected. Somehow i suspect this will be the first and last of its kind here. Declining population in the community causes removal of street lights because no one wants to pay higher fees for services. Services such as fire protection here may someday stop when the volunteers reach retirement age.Today if you want a position on the local council you just show up and tell them your interested. No need to get elected.We just can't see to find enough to have an election. Thankfully we still have a few volunteers here.

I noticed a new seal hunt forum has started. Some person comes in claiming to be a sealer from Bonavista and wants newfoundlanders to talk about the annual hunt. one visitor claiming to be a member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Defense League has already endorsed it. The whole setup looks fishy to me. Anyone else run across this forum or see any links to it?

Posted March 6th, 2007 01:58 PM IP -New post- Hi all, I''m glad to see you have started a forum for this discussion. Hopefully it won't get bombarded by the anti-sealing crowd. I am with the Newfoundland and Labrador Defense League, (nldl.org) a member organization fighting for the future of our province. The seal hunt is a major concern for us and we congradulate you on your efforts in getting the truth out. I thought I'd make you aware that there is currently an online poll being conducted that asks the question, "Should the seal hunt be banned?" The Newfoundland and Labrador Defense League has been asking its members to go to the web site and vote NO on the issue. So far it's been working and the poll is swinging in our favour. I thought you and your members might also like to vote on the issue. Here is the link to the site:

oh drat ! Townies upset

Lunar Eclipse Difficult to See for Many
March 5, 2007

The lunar eclipse on the weekend was a mixed occasion for the island. In the St.John's area, skies were overcast Saturday night until just after the opportunity for viewing expired. Chris Stevenson of the Astronomical Society says it was frustrating, not being able to watch the eclipse and then see the skies clear up just after it was over. However, on other parts of the island residents were able to watch the first total eclipse in two-and-a-half years. Stevenson says the next lunar eclipse friendly for viewing in Newfoundland takes place February 21st next year.

Relax townies, you still have your very own moon man.

It's Sunday,the start of another week. First of all i would like to thank Mr. Lono for the nice award he gave me yesterday. Thank you! To the Nazi who put the filth in the blog, thank you, great post, really shows the true side of you. If you visit the province be sure to visit your friend in St. Johns.

TO THE LOW FORM OF LIFE THAT MADE THOSE THREATS. I HAVE IP #'S FROM MY SITE METER. YOU MAY BE BIG SHOT LAWYERS BUT THAT DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHTS TO SAY WHAT YOU SAID. YOUR SLIME AND I WILL REMEMBER IT!

Just ranting today.......

Surfing through the news today i saw that well-known theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking will take a weightless flight on April 26 aboard a modified Boeing 727. They call it the Vomit comet and i hope the man does not get sick. Hawkings April flight will be in preparation for a berth on Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourist service when it launches in 2009. I have always admired the man and his work and here's one of my favorite Hawking's quote. Actually it's my only one. "I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. We've created life in our own image." The more you think about it,the more you agree.

Back on earth here in NL our government is taking a look at the banning of incandescent light bulbs. Our government will be reviewing all the info before they proceed. which brings me to the question, how many politicians does it take to change a light bulb? Please submit your answers in the comment section. I actually don't know the answer but figure a few of them would double bill the electrical bill to us.

Roger Grimes has been served for comments he made to Transportation minister John Hickey. Roger has requested Judge Larry Seidlin to officiate the trial and strangely enough, so has John Hickey! May they both decompose during the trail !

Sue Kelland Dyer's blog seems to be off limits lately to local yokels like myself. If your reading Sue,"how do i get to peep in again?" Of course i still have Ed hollett and his sauciness but i do need a balance in my life.

Still waiting for a reply from Carol Furlong and Chris Henley from NAPE to respond to my previous blog. Might even offer a prize to the first one with the most guts to do so! How about a 8 by 10 portrait of former NAPE president Fraser March taking a pee along the side of the TCH after driving over 1,000 kilometres in a day?

Looks like Carol's job could be up for grabs.

NAPE Presidential Battle Heating Up
February 22, 2007

The battle for the top job at NAPE will soon be heating up. Carol Furlong currently holds the president's seat at the province's largest union. Furlong is being challenged by Chris Henley, who told VOCM Back Talk with Bill Rowe the nomination process will begin next week. Hhenley says Monday is the call for nominations, mail-in ballots will be delivered March 26th, and returned by April 26th, and the winner will be announced April 30th.

What will it mean to the hundreds if not thousands of Home Support workers in NL who are still not represented by NAPE? I remember getting a call during the last few days of the last great NAPE presidential battle asking me to vote for LEO ! Leo's the guy to vote for. The caller went on telling me if Carol Furlong got in we would never see the Home Support workers unionized. Carol Furlong did not want us unionized. In my case, the caller was right. So far we have not been unionized, nor have we been informed of any progress. Maybe Carol and Chris can comment here on my blog informing home support workers such as myself their intentions. You both are getting emails with my blog link today. Looking forward to hearing from you both.

Safety First, Service Always

Safety First, Service Always says the motto of our Canadian Coast Guard. I don't know the level of service all the employees put out but apparently the top executives perform very well. The Coast Guard gave 43 of its 44 top executives performance bonuses worth a total of $296,232. I wonder who the unlucky one was? It must be great in a line of work to know your being evaluated and based upon your performance, rewarded. I certainly wish we all had that option in our line of work. I wonder how much a home support worker in NL would receive in bonuses if that was the case? how would you place a monetary value on the performance of some of us? How much would we receive for a slap in the face from a client who has a mental disability? How much for a head butt that knocks you to the floor? How much for the worker who is accused of stealing by a senior with Alzheimer’s disease. How much for waiting year after year hoping each new provincial budget will give you a bit of hope in the form of a pay raise or a benefit such as a sick day? In March the provincial budget will once again be released and the home support workers will see how they are evaluated. Hopefully it won't be another slap in the face,we have received enough to last us a lifetime. This coming October we'll get to evaluate our employees and we might not be handing out bonuses.

Wood smoke gently rises gently from the wood stoves in my community this morning. From our lighthouse you can view the ice flowing through the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Peaceful little scene, great place to live! In about a month or so we'll get our Stars on Ice show when the seals appear. I wonder who will come this year? Lady Heather and Sir Paul will not be attending and send their regrets. We can always count on Capt. Paul and and a few of his ALF friends. Maybe Sneaky Crosland and her kids might appear for a fun and dance musical. Hopefully we won't be disappointed and let down.

The Premier has given us all a Valentines gift today. Looks like we won't get the shaft and foot the bill for for John Hickey's lawsuit against Roger Grimes. This may be even a bigger gift then what we expected. The way things have been going in NL the pass few years we might of gotten double shafted during the whole experience.


On another note it looks like a few Bloggers could really get screwed today or crucified by Easter.

Hickey Goes It Alone
February 14, 2007

Premier Danny Williams says taxpayers will not be footing the bill for John Hickey's lawsuit against Roger Grimes. Williams told VOCM Open Line with Randy Simms even though the Internal Economies Commission is willing to pay Hickey's legal bills, the Transportation Minister has decided to go it alone. The Premier says a line has to be drawn where public comments defame a person's character. Meantime, Roger Grimes remains adamant, saying there will be no apology. He says in fact, the Premier owes him an apology for using words on VOCM Open Line that color the situation.

Opposition Leader Gerry Reid, meantime, says it's unacceptable that the premier is threatening lawsuits, trying to intimidate the general public. Reid is also looking at trying to get the policy changed, that allows MHA's to hire lawyers for such matters. He's willing to go to the IEC to say enough is enough.

The report by Chief Justice Derek Green on MHA Constituency Allowances and other matters is in the final stages, but there's still no date given for its release. Last month, Green said he notified the premier that there would be delay and that he expected to have the report finished around mid-February, but his office says it won't be submitted this week. The chief justice has been examining MHA compensation, allowances, and pensions as well as financial management and controls in the House of Assembly.

R I P
Anna Nicole Smith
1967 - 2007

That's all i have to say about her.

James P. Banfield,Ocularist specializes in the fabricating and fitting of custom-made ocular prosthetics commonly known as artificial eyes. The one he's holding in the photo was custom made for me over a two day period in St. Johns,NL. I'll be wearing the prosthetic for at least six years if i care for it properly.
Artificial eyes have been made for thousands of years with some made of glass or gold. later they were replaced by plastic or silicone spheres. Lack of movement was a major obstacle to restoring a natural appearance, which made the adjustment to wearing an artificial eye much more difficult. Today with a skilled surgeon and an Ocularist such as James Banfield things have changed. Most people will not actually know the eye is artificial because it moves and the color matches perfectly. Todays artificial eyes can be left in the eye socket for many months and only has to be removed when the person visits the Ocularist for regular cleaning. The Ocularist gave me great advice over the two day fabricating and dispelled myths that i heard on the topic over the years. Thank you James Banfield!!!

Reading through some of the NL Blogs today and a thought crossed my mind. I have been told sometimes that i see the world in Black & White. After reading NL blogs i notice that a lot see the world in colors. Some see it as Red,Blue,Orange and a small percentage in Green.

"The Ambassador."
Another great movie release recently. A new action movie called the ambassador is about to hit the screen. Loyola Sullivan plays the Ambassador, an ordinary bayman who drinks a magic elixir called Screech which turns him into a crusading mariner. I don't want to spoil the plot for you all but here's a little spoiler for you. A sexy sea Siren who accompanies the super hero is played by Kathy Goudie who seduces sea pirates with her cries.The movie was just released in Ottawa and it'll be a while before it reaches NL.

I have not blogged much lately but have been spending sometime checking out other bloggers. The pass two months since my enucleation surgery i have been wearing a small plastic conformer in my eye. The only time i realize it's there is when i apply eye drops or go outside for a walk on a cold day. Monday im off to St. Johns to receive a custom fitted artificial eye. That will probably make my eye saga come full circle. I remember as a kid back in the 60's boarding the old passenger train bound to St. Johns and looking at it all as an adventure. My parents did not share my enthusiasm and worried far to much for me at times. The trips to the Janeway Hospital seemed to be in vain for them because the results of the eye operations did not turn out as they hoped. Over the years i made many trips, mostly for check-ups knowing that it was only a minor disability and it never really bothered me living with the loss of an eye. About a year ago things changed,headaches, nose bleeds but i still hoped it would change, go away. One morning on an ATV ride with my four year old granddaughter accompanying me i became a bit disoriented to a point that she asked me was i ok. I knew at that moment my past had caught up with me. A few days later the Opthamologist was telling me what i already knew.The eye should be removed and he scheduled the surgery. Tuesday i'll see the Ocularist and have the custom prosthetic eye made. Hopefully he'll let me take a few pics of the occasion.

Suggestion to Honour Troops
January 16, 2007
VOCM NEWS
A suggestion to honour our troops serving overseas. Flo called VOCM Back Talk with Bill Rowe to suggest the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador medal be given to military personnel from this province. The deadline to nominate someone for the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador is Jan.31st.

Below info taken from the ONL website.

The Order of Newfoundland and Labrador is the highest honour of the province. The object of the Order is to recognize individuals who have demonstrated excellence and achievement in any field of endeavour benefiting in an outstanding manner Newfoundland and Labrador and its residents. The first investiture took place in 2004.

Any Canadian citizen who is a present or former long-term resident of Newfoundland and Labrador is eligible for nomination to the Order. The only exceptions are public officials (members of the Senate, House of Commons, House of Assembly or legislative assembly of a province, or judges) , who may not be nominated while they are in office. Posthumous nominations are not accepted. Organizations, groups, or couples may not be nominated; the Order is for individuals only. Additionally, an individual who is not a Canadian citizen or current or former long-term resident of the province, but who has demonstrated excellence in their field of endeavour, and who has benefited the province and its residents in an outstanding manner, may be nominated as an honourary member.

Why not honor them?

What greater way to honor those who serve overseas than to give them the highest order of our province? Not only give it to them but those who died serving should be given the order posthumously. We saw fit to give it to the Brad Gushue Curling team after they won Gold for Canada at the 2006 Olympic games. We made one member of that team an honourary Newfoundland and Labradorian just for the fact he was with the provincial team representing our nation. I wonder what are the thoughts of NL bloggers on this today.

From the VOCM Website:

Deadline for Politicians Implicated by AG
January 15, 2007

Today is the deadline for politicians implicated by the Auditor General to make arrangements to repay money that is allegedly owing to the government. Finance Minister Tom Marshall says regardless of whether the individuals involved are ever Buddy Wassiname and the other fellows.charged or convicted, government is still requesting the constituency allowance overpayments be returned, and if arrangements are not made by today, there will be legal action. The total figure is some 1.6 million dollars. Those named by the Auditor General include MHA's and former MHA's Ed Byrne, Percy Barrett, Jim Walsh, Wally Andersen, and Randy Collins.

I wonder if someone got caught poaching a moose would the government consider letting them not apply for a licence in the next hunt as payback? I doubt it very much! The poacher would be charged,fined and hunting privileges revoked.( all after a fair trial of course) no deal would be given to the poacher,after all anyone who takes meat to eat without a licence is nothing but a criminal. Those that take money from those who can't afford meat? What about them? will just look at the VOCM news i posted at the beginning of my post. Those people receive a request to pay back that which did not belong to them.They receive a request in the mail and a repayment schedule. I say forget the whole thing. Lets do something different.Lets have a telethon,Newfie style!!! We'll have it at Mile one. We invite Great Big Sea,Snooks, Buddy Wassiname & The Other Fellows. We ask our CBC Here and Now crew to team up with The NTV evening news crew to man the phone lines with volunteers from political party card carrying groupies. After all if your getting screwed you should enjoy it. An orgy of 500,000 !!!! call "The Guinness Book Of Records."

They say an upside down flag means distress. Maybe it's time they flew our Provincial flag upside down outside the Conferation building in St. Johns. After watching Kathy Goudie's performance on the supper hour news yesterday i say do just that with our flag! Quite the performance for a member who can actually get taxpayers to pay for a meal she consumed months before being elected. That lady is faster then Fraser March's car that could be in two places at the same time. At least Fraser paid for his own auto insurance( maybe noseworthy can check on that one later to see if he did!)Poor Kathy,ranting on about her surgery and trying to pass the buck that was already passed twice before. *QUOTE from a news article* "However, I also feel very strongly that some responsibility lies with the house of assembly staff . . . I counted upon that guidance of the house staff as a new member, but unfortunately the system did not work as it should have." Sorry Kathy,the system does work or is just starting to work. That's the reason why you ended up on CBC News crying yesterday.

The tree is down and the furniture back to its original positions.The weather is puzzling and it's amazing what a few degrees in temperature can do. Winter here seems to be postponed but im ok with that one. Yesterday,my granddaughter and i drove to the lighthouse here just to observe the waves crashing on the landwash. I had plenty of company because quite a few more residents from the community also came to view natures show.Words from "The Ode" came to mind.

When blinding storm gusts fret thy shore,
And wild waves lash thy strand,
Thro' sprindrift swirl and tempest roar,
We love thee, wind-swept land,
We love thee, we love thee,
We love thee, wind-swept land.

Of course i didn't attempt to sing it but hummed it a little.My granddaughter started humming also but had no idea what it was. She's four,she'll learn soon.I know,because im going to be teaching her! Wind swepted land indeed and only a resident can sit in a car on a cold January day watching waves crash against the landwash and truly appreciate it. For some reason when the Southwest winds churn the water here in Cape Ray we witness a red seaweed pile high in our coves. One in particular seems to get the bulk of it.We refer to it as "Willy Walls Cove." William Wall use to be one of our local lighthouse keepers and for some reason unknown to me the gentleman got a cove named after him. Few landmarks here in the community also carry the names of residents who have passed on. Some are obvious while others are not. Maybe someday i'll have a rock or patch of blueberry ground called after me.OK,my minds wandering again,back to the real world if such a thing exists? My question i wanted to ask.Anyone know the name of this red seaweed that washes up on our beach here?

Will it looks like another year is over and this New Years Eve we will be working once again. My wife and i work with adults who are developmentally delayed and tonight like many other nights they will be staying with us. Were workers in the Home Care Sector of NL and like many other home care workers we hope in 2007 to become part of NAPE. It might sound a bit cynical but this year like others in our field we won't be holding our breath waiting for it to happen. We have felt disappointed every year hoping it would happen. Like our clients we can only dream that next day will be better.
Of course things could be worst! Some will never see the New Year and its new wonders. Some fell from grace and swung from a rope in Iraq like Saddam. Others closer to home like poor ol Ed got axed from the executioner. I know,I know, im being cynical again! Will, the next big holiday after New Years is Easter and who knows by then some of the dead might be resurected. Small fry like myself will just try to survive and hope to survive another year without being part of the out-migration. So many of our family and friends have already headed west and at times we actualy feel a bit guilty about it all. Hell, rumor has it that this guy might be heading up to Ottawa in Canada to try and better himself sometime in 2007.
I know,I know! Will,Happy New Year from some small fry in Cape Ray NL and thank you all who viewed my blog and responded in 2006.

While reading the VOCM News today and i saw an article on the British passengers stranded after making an emergency landing in St. John's over Christmas. Some of the passengers reported to the Daily Mail that their Christmas dinner at the Fairmont Hotel consisted of leftovers and the hotel was sub-standard! That made me chuckle and i decided to check out the Daily Mail story to blog about it. Scanning quickly through the Daily Mail i came upon this little story {Three-year-old blogger's inspiring chemotherapy diary} and that made me reconsider the whole thing. Samantha the three year old child has a blog and i hope all who view my blog the next few days can also use the link to view hers.
The story really touched me because just a few short weeks ago our community lost a four year old child to cancer. The family kept our community informed of the little boys progress and his setbacks. In a community of just 300 people we pretty well know much about everybody. That family half a world away is no different then the family in my community,Cape Ray. Derby, England has a quarter of million living there and i doubt if a fraction knows of the little girls condition. I dare say those that do, care. For the folks on the stranded flight during Christmas,cheer up. Life could be worst. Be thankful your not in the situation like the young family in Derby or endure several years of hardship like the young couple in my community. Today i'll even practice what I preach. Im thankful also. Best wishes little Samantha Hughes from a place called Cape Ray,NL.

Movie Plot: A star appears on the Eastern Avalon during Christmas 2006. Yadda.....yadda.....yadda, the liberal prophecy foretold this event back in Yadda.....Yadda...Yadda. No wisemen are available at the time because they're on Christmas break shining up their gold rings,Yadda.....Yadda....Yadda. The people of the southern shore of Newfoundland seek out frankincense and myrrh knowing the re-born already has gold,Yadda...Yadda....Yadda. ...............................

Movie Review: Fellow from Cape Ray: Looked more like a sequel! found it boring and a waste of time. I kept cheering for King Herod and hoped he would slay him during the first 5 minutes of the movie. Rather give the movie a finger then a thumbs up.



FROM VOCM:
John Efford says he'd like to get back at being involved in provincial poltics in some capacity. Efford says he's taken the last year off due to his diabetes and now that it's back under control his political juices are flowing again. He says how he'll be involved will depend on his health.

Efford says he has talked with two individuals about his possible return to politics.

Efford says he's spoken with Liberal Party President danny Dumaresques and more recently with Leader Gerry Reid.

I don't know who will be named newsmaker of the year for Newfoundland & Labrador in 2006. If i had to pick someone newsworthy or in this case noseworthy. It would have to be our Auditor General,John Noseworthy. The mission statement of his office states.

The Office of the Auditor General serves the House of Assembly by providing independent examinations of government and its entities.

As legislative auditors, we audit financial statements and other accountability documents, evaluate management practices and control systems, and determine compliance with legislative and other authorities.

Our purpose is to promote accountability and encourage positive change in the stewardship, management and use of public resources.

Mr. Noseworthy is doing just as he was appointed to do so. So far Noseworthy's audits have found that an unauthorized $1,586,573 was paid to five politicians Liberal Percy Barrett, Tory Ed Byrne, Liberal Wally Andersen, New Democrat Randy Collins and former Liberal MHA Jim Walsh between 1998 and 2006.

His reports have also found that about $2.8 million was paid to four companies for trivial things such as fridge magnets, pins, gold rings and so called keepsakes.

One of the companies was controlled by Bill Murray, who was suspended this summer as director of financial operations at the house of assembly. I myself make trivial things such as fridge magnets and so called keepsakes to sell every summer in local craftshops around my area. I do it to help supplement my income. The wages of a home support worker in this province is not that great and anytime i can earn a few more dollars it helps us pay the bills.We do not receive Gold Rings in our line of work and if we have travel expenses we have to submit the proper paper work before any money is given out.Home Support workers in my area receive 22.5 cents per kilometer when taking a client to work,hospitals,appointments,etc. In 2006 this barely covers the fuel expenses. We have tried to be unionized under NAPE for over a decade but our government refuses to recognize us. Maybe if the Auditor General continues to dig deeper and complete his mission statement and promote the so called accountability he seeks then the positive change in the stewardship, management and use of public resources might go to help groups like the Home Support Workers.The buying of Gold rings and trinkets is at least on hold for now. Yes Mr. Auditor General,you are indeed newsmaker of the year for a lot of us who have no say in the matters of NL.

It's not looking like a white Christmas in my nick of the woods with the latest 5 day forecast.I might seem a bit like Scrooge but i say that's darn great! My wife and i spend quite a bit of time driving on the Trans Canada Highway and poor weather conditions cause each of us to worry about the other when were out there. It's 20 kilometers to the work place and less than 15 minutes driving in ideal conditions. In less than ideal we just might have to spend a night stranded somewhere in between the work place and home,in the car. We have been more then lucky with just one winter accident in hundreds of thousands of kilometers driving over the years. That accident spoiled our driving record and caused our insurance premiums to stay high for six years. The damage to the car was less than $2,500.oo and im sure in those six years we more than payed for it. That's my little rant for today.

Our provincial Auditor General John Noseworthy has released another financial report this morning. One more of our MHA's name has made it to the list.
This makes five on the list,four current and one former member of the house. Ed Byrne's total has been increased to $467 thousand, Randy Collins to $358 thousand, Wally Anderson $344 thousand and former cabinet minister Jim Walsh $298 thousand. In Percy Barrett's case the amount is $117 thousand. The sum total so far is $1,586,000.oo and im sure if Noseworthy keeps digging it'll climb much higher. With a provincial election less then a year away and for the first time since i became eligible to vote in an election im wondering why i should even take the time to do so. My wife and i are home support workers and the pass few months have been seriously thinking of leaving to find a better living in Alberta. We looked forward to each provincial budget day wondering if we would actually gain a small raise to help us survive another year on this island. Most years were disappointed and try to cut back on our expenses. The price of fuel,insurances and electrical power increases all to soon while our wages stay the same. We see our tax dollars wasted by those we elect and just shake our head in disbelief! For the pass 17 years i have worked in the home support system of NL.My work week is usually 72 hours at several different jobs and my wife picks up extra work when she can. We find the time outside that work to volunteer in our small community while watching it fade into oblivion much like our tax dollars. I just can't see us walking into a polling booth in NL next fall and casting a vote. In the pass we voted (for different candidates at times) for those we thought would represent our interests the best. When the day comes for us to vote for the one we less suspect to steal our hard earned tax dollars we contribute to our province then i'll just drive pass the polling station. Maybe the next MHA to represent our interests will be in another Canadian Province.

Had my surgery back on the 23rd and today seems like the first day i can actually say i have little or no pain. I got out of the operating room around 5:pm on the 23rd and several hours later i was home in Cape Ray. They call it a day surgery here and practically kick you out the minute you wake from the surgery. The next morning my wife drove me 200 kilometers back to the hospital to see the doctor. I then found out i was not nearly as tough as i thought i was . The doctor had some sort of object embedded in my eye socket and removed it. He had to grip it and tug real hard and the minute it came out, i passed out for a few seconds. I also blacked out later in the hospital lobby but luckily my son was there to catch me from hitting the floor. Few days ago i returned to see the doctor and he inserted a conformer in my eye and it'll remain there until i get fitted for the artificial eye. I'll be seeing the doctor again next week for a check-up and have a surgical bandage removed from my hip. They grafted some fat from my hip in the eye socket The hip incision lies beneath the underwear or bathing suit area. The fat is trimmed and implanted into the sunken appearing upper lid (sulcus) making a 1-inch long eyelid skin crease incision. A pocket is made for the fat graft, which is then implanted followed by skin closure. If everything goes well,i should have an artificial eye in place by late January.

I have not blogged much lately and i doubt if i'll be doing much more of it during November. Next week im going for surgery to have an eye removed. Lost vision in it at an early age and the pass few years it has really been bothering me to the point that i have to get it removed because of the daily pain. I have not been blogging but i have recently read a few good books and would like to recomend this one to everyone out there in the province of NL.

If we did it
By O. J. & Byrne

The title of this complex yet completely absorbing novel co authored by two people accused of crimes really griped my attention. The minute i began until the minute i finished, i was intrigued by every page and turn in the stories. Both authors so far apart in walks of life but so close and with the same goals in mind, to catch the real culprits and get their life back. Both so revered by the people who put them on pedestals and deserted them when they fell. If you read one book this year! Read "If we did it!"

Lest we forget.

Ekklesia ,a group i only heard of recently says that the white poppy has a universalism which the red one lacks for some people – it is not used in Germany, and it is not understood by many Muslims, for example. The problem of war, the think tank says, is now a global issue and needs to be symbolised in that way - recognising also the suffering of civilians and the work of nonviolent peacemakers.
Looks like the beginning of the end for a 85 year old tradition of wearing the Red Poppy to honour those that fought to preserve our freedom. White poppies have existed as a secular, pacifist alternative symbol since 1933 some say. I never heard of that until i googled a few results today. That's just fine i say,let those who want to wear one do so! I'll wear the red one that symbolizes Flanders Fields. Going to elementary school in Port Aux Basques,NL in the early sixties we came to know that the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month was a special time set aside to remember those that died so we could be educated there. Our teachers taught us the way their teachers taught them. We came to know of a Canadian, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)who probably wrote the most memorable war poem ever written. We recited the words and came to know the meaning well. At our school assembly we saw the veterans of several world wars and back at class i remember my teacher Ann Gillam tell us why the old veterans hands shook when he sat there with his old uniform on and red poppy in his lapel. As i progressed through school the old men from the great war who sat in chairs trembling at our rememberance day assemblies gradually grew smaller in numbers. I'll remember them through the Red Poppy and the Ekklesia think tank can go about their business promoting the white ones. They can do that because those old men with trembling hands gave them the freedom and right to do so.

First Snow


The first snowfall of the season has arrived here. It was just a few centimeters but it made the Table Mountains look great. On the way to work i shot a few pics of the beauty and also witnessed the negative side. Several vehicles had gone off the road but luckily,no injuries. The day before the snowfall i took a few hours off work to take my oldest granddaughter for one last walk this season. We have made many since early May and i explained this would be our last one of the season. She's just four and wants her own camera for next years little excursions. I have shown her how to take a few shots with mine and the results are pretty good so far. It's great to live in rural NL at times. On our little walks and ATV rides this year we hardly saw another person out and around. We did meet one couple from the mainland who have purchased a summer home here and seem to enjoy the outdoors as much as we do. I wonder at times why more from my community don't take advantage of the miles of beaches and trails here.Yet when they move away from home they always claim to miss it.

Borat


Sacha Baron Cohen seems to be taking the comedy world by storm. For those who don't know him by that name, try "Borat." I have not seen him appear outside of the character he portrays and somehow he seems to remind me of the late Andy Kaufman. So far just 800 theaters are planning to show his film but will eventually expand to 2,200 theaters by next weekend. I have a feeling he's going to be around for quite sometime and not just for his 15 minutes of fame.

Danny has the bomb







Glorious leader Danny Williams has the bomb and rumors are he will be testing it somewhere along the new Trans Labrador Highway. A special edition of Land & Sea will carry the detonation along with the timeline it took to build the bomb and where the funds came from to develop such a weapon. Interviews with Chris Montague will also be shown where Montague asks why was there no enviromental assessment and consultation with the Metis before ground zero was decided on. The program will be carried on CBC ,Tuesday,7pm on the island and 7:30 in Labrador if it's still there.

Blame Canada,Blame Loyola !




Finally a chance to make a difference! A Newfoundlander born in the tiny fishing village of Renews,NL gets the job as Federal Fisheries Minister and can finally make a difference! Hearn is asked to support a moratorium on high-seas bottom trawling. No more bulldozing the ocean bottom! We all wait and Loyola speaks out,will not exactly but he mutters,"Real solutions must be practical, enforceable and fair."
What would be more practical then putting a stop to raping the ocean floor and a by-catch of other species. For years we blamed others for the failure of our fishery but if were not part of this moratorium then we have no one else to blame but Canada and a jellyfish with no backbone called loyola Hearn.
an online petition here for anyone who wants to sign.

Mom can't afford treatment to save her kids

This one hits close to home. To have a child with a disease is terrible but to have two children with a rare disease must be unbearable. Lori Keeping & Sheldon Huelin originally from small communitys (Burnt Islands,NL)(Isle Aux Mort,NL) near my hometown has two children with Batten disease. Their 5-year-old daughter, Jamie, and their 2 -year-old son, Carson, both may have a short time to live.Their only hope may lie in series of stem cell procedures in China which the parents cannot afford.More on the story here........

Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body. Serving as a sort of repair system for the body, they can theoretically divide without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential to either remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell.

The controversy mostly surrounding stem cell research are obtained from embryos, the concerns are similar to those surrounding abortion. Most opponents of legal abortions also oppose this research. In addition, the possibility that cell lines could be developed from cloned embryos raises ethical concerns associated with propriety of human cloning.

Some politicians support funding of this new technology for medical research purposes and recently 45 year old Michael J. Fox who suffers from Parkinson's Disease, is lending his support to US Congressional candidates who advocate stem cell research.
see below video.


Right now Lori & Sheldon do not care about the politics behind it all.They want a cure for the children and hopefully they'll get it! This little child did,Click here.

It all makes perfect sense now !

I didn't think such a small thing would have any affect on me but the lost of internet service through the night has set be back a bit today. Starting to think im to dependant on technology.

Services Restored After Electrical Fire
October 21, 2006

We found out last night what it was like living without modern telecommunications. A fire at the Aliant substation on Allandale Road in St.John's knocked out just about every communication device we have. Over 100,000 customers in the greater St.John's area were affected...that includes cell phones, land lines, bank machines, interac, long distance. The breakdown had varying effects on services across the island. Internet was down across the province.

All 9-1-1 emergency services rang busy during the outage. The St.John's Regional Fire Department maintained communications and the Coast Guard set up satellite phones in addition to backup from Halifax.

Things went berserk just after 10:00 last night and didn't return to normal until six hours later. Aliant's Brenda Reid says the fire damaged their DC Power Supply system.

St. John's resident Nick Eisnor says it's ``kind of scary'' that a single cable fire could do so much damage to the island's communication system. Aliant is investigating the incident.

Halloween



Driving through the community this morning i see that a lot of the residents have their Halloween decorations up. I remember when my son use to go out on Halloween night and we would expect about 75 kids show up on our doorstep. The pass few years with our decline in population we see about 25.

New Health Line launched.
This week residents of Newfoundland & Labrador will receive a fridge magnet in the mail compliments of our government. A new Health Line has been launched and a toll-free line is suppose to give the province residents access to health information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, no matter where you live.Looking at the site and the info there my opinion is that it's a great service! Now if only the government could give us another good service allowing NL residents the option to call 911 wherever they live!

PETA WORLD,ALF,SEA SHEEPHERDER SOCIETY and others exposed.
see where your donations go and how kids learn to make molotov cocktails.

Sinikka Crosland is president of The Responsible Animal Care Society,AKA (TRACS), an animal-protection group based in British Columbia. Crosland is part of a group that would be the envy of Al-Qaeda and could probably even show them a thing or two in deceit. Crosland acknowledged this week that her e-mail address was used as a contact point for technical inquiries with a controversial Internet portal which portrays all the people of my province as barbarians and tries to have viewers send e-mails to tourism-related businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador. Crosland says she was approached by the group and asked to be the Technical liaison.The group she says,don't want to be revealed because they have families and jobs. "They just don’t want to be out there in the limelight” she said. Im sure all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians on that fake site never asked to be in the limelight either but they had no choice in the matter.I for one suspect that Sinikka Crosland is part of ALF,considered by The Department of Homeland Security,U.S.A. a domestic terrorist threat.Anyone that would lie like this and not worry who they hurt would have to be. It would be great to have some recent photos of Crosland and her family posted on a few sites so we would know who were dealing with.We have learned from Al-Qaeda tactics what people are capable of doing for a cause.

Just one for today.

Looks like this one's over before the fat lady sings! Free speech is once again loosing ground in the the Western world or in my opinion the civilized world.

A leading German opera house has canceled performances of a Mozart opera because of security fears stirred by a scene that depicts the severed head of the Prophet
Muhammad, prompting a storm of protest here about what many see as the surrender of artistic freedom. The Deutsche Oper Berlin said Tuesday that it had pulled “Idomeneo” from its fall schedule after the police warned of an “incalculable risk” to the performers and the audience. The company’s director, Kirsten Harms, said she regretted the decision but felt she had no choice. She said she was told in August that the police had received an anonymous threat,but she acted only after extensive deliberations.
The Religion of Peace is slowly telling us what art is permissible,what we are able to write,draw and perform. I'll visit several Muslim blogs again today and i dare say i won't find one thought from one of them on this matter.I'll find the same as always about the love and peace of the phrophet and how tight to wear your hijab when the infidel walks by.

Unlikely!

Reading the online news today and two stories caught my attention. First one was that Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones has finally given up drugs. Richards claims they are too weak to give him a high.The 62-year-old former heroin addict told The Sun that modern drugs such as ecstasy "mess with the brain". No shit Keith!! Maybe it's just called tolerance and after a while even the ecstasy won't mess up your brain half as much. My suggestion Keith is to try something new like Anthrax. That fall out of the tree recently really screwed your brain up and you can't get no satisfaction.

Second story was that Mr.Osama Bin Laden has passed away. He was reported to of died last month in Pakistan of typhoid.I guess that means no more great video's but just in case it's true maybe Osama might be a great spokesman for that disease. Maybe the Islamic world can have a telethon to raise money to irradicate that disease from their part of the world. Hell we done it here a century ago! If Cat Stevens don't do the telethon,maybe Keith Richards would!... but i think that's unlikely.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad smiled and talked of his peaceful intentions at the UN about how his great country Iran would not be a nuclear threat. Back home in his great nation a young woman (Malak Ghorbany) accused of adultery under Shariah law waits to be stoned to death. Adultery in the Muslim world means (intimate relationship between a girl/woman and a man to whom she is not permanently or temporarily married. Such a relationship does not necessarily mean a sexual relationship.Charges of adultery are routinely issued to women/girls who have been raped,That's considered a crime in the Muslim World.(Maybe the pope should of recently bought that up instead of quoting a 14th century emperor.) Stoning is a great Muslim tradition in which the whole community gets to take part.Her hands will be tied behind her back as she becomes covered from head to toe in winding sheets and is placed seated in a pit. The pit is then filled up to her chest with dirt and the dirt is tamped down. At that point, members of the community are invited to murder her by hurling rocks at her. To ensure that the person condemned to stoning receives the absolute maximum amount of pain and torture, the Iranian government has even mandated the size of the stones that are to be used in this barbaric act of public execution. By law, no stone should be thrown that would kill Ms. Ghorbany with the first or second blow, or so small as a pebble to do no injury to her body. The religion of peace set no specific scheduled dates for such killings and i guess that's to stop the civilized world from trying to spoil their fun. So i ask any civilized person who reads my blog to go sign this petition and see if we can stop this barbaric act.

Below is a documentary of how they murdered a 16 year old child in a public square in Neka,Iran.Her death sentence was for crimes against chastity.Hopefully all those who are converting to Islam so they can get to wear cute headgear can take time to watch.

A few days ago we took our granddaughter to a place called Windsor Point near our community Cape Ray. Windsor Point also know as Osmond's Point was the birthplace of my father and my wifes mother plus many other family relatives. No one lives there anymore but our families still have summer cabins there. That September evening my granddaughter played along the shoreline and collected a few seashells. As i watched my thoughts went back to a few years ago when a group called (WERAC)..Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Advisory Council came to our area to try and make the point and rest of the area a preserve. This group of people with no ties to the area came several times and each time the locals told them they wanted no part of it. In the end they slacked off and so far have not made the attempt to interfere with the lives of the local people. If the WERAC council suceeded at that time with their wishes a child would not of been allowed to carry a seashell from that area. The locals would of not been able to pick a berry,dig a clam or catch a trout there. Someone with no ties to the area,who knew no local history or never even walked through the old family cemetery there would of made decisions on a place they knew absolutely nothing about. Sometimes it's great to live in NL,especially when you can exercise your rights to stop those who know nothing other then what they think is best for someone else.

To run a marathon requires determination and the athlete knows it'll be over in a few hours.The athlete has prepared for months and know that at some time during those few hours of running he will have to manage pain.They say the first marathon took place over 2,500 years ago when Philippides of Greece ran 22 miles from the battlefield by the town of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon.Philippides was to of said the word "victory" before he died.
In St. John’s, Newfoundland,Canada on April 12, 1980 a young man who had lost his right leg to cancer started his marathon.His was called "The Marathon of Hope." His name was Terry Fox and he ran a marathon every day and his goal was to run across our nation raising money for cancer research. The marathon came to a halt on September 1st,1980. After 143 days and 5,373 kilometres or(3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had returned to his lungs.He hoped to once again recover and finish that marathon but on June 28th,1981,one month before his 23rd birthday,Terry Fox died.On that day his legacy was just beginning.The people of Canada continued the Marathon of Hope and now 26 years later,Terry Fox's dream is still alive and has become a worldwide Marathon of Hope.Over 50 countries now participate in the annual run and it grows in numbers each year.

been using some new software lately, photovista panorama 3.0 and i find it very user friendly. I use it mainly to stitch a series of photos together to make pan shots for my websites. Before i had this program i would do it in Adobe photoshop. That was always time consuming but now i can add up to ten photos at a time and the program stitches them. Few examples of panshots here that i done using the Photovista software.

OH NO! Another day of blogging against the religion of peace!

It's a slur on Islam says cleric Sheik Mohammed Omran, Melbourne, Australia. Apparently Ayten Ahmet a 16 year old girl wants to win the Miss Teen Australia Beauty pageant and be normal like most other young girls her age.The young lady who plans to combine modelling with an accounting degree, said the criticism was disappointing and unnecessary.(look,she even has a mind of her own,this must really infuriate the cult!)Victorian Islamic leader Yasser Soliman said the contest did not conform with the teachings of the Koran.(no shit!)
"I thought it would be good experience and an opportunity to have a bit of fun," Ms. Ahmet said. "The cameras are something I love." (fun and Islam,an oxymoron for sure!)
Mean while half a world away the first Muslim Miss England,Hammasa Kohistani,19,has accused Prime Minister Tony Blair of stereotyping the Islamic community in Britain after the terrorist attacks there.This young womans family came to England when they fled the Taleban in Afghanistan.The family should of stayed there and fought the Taliban, maybe then they could exercise that same fredom of speech in Afghanistan. Maybe then a family in my province,the family of Richard Francis Nolan who died in Afghanistan yesterday would not be in so much sorrow today.


The youths of the Western world will die to preserve the freedom of all who want to live in democracy in our part of the world. Some will respect that but certain others will not.

Looks like another job opening in Iraq.Hamed Juma Faris al-Suaidi also known as abdul and abu was just captured.Ol Hamed,or what ever you want to call him,was the second most important al-Qaida in Iraq leader after Abu Ayyub al masri.If i remember correctly Al Masri only recently got his job as number one when Abu Musab al Zarqaw showed up for work one morning without a hard hat. That abu got smacked on the head by two American bombs. Terrorism supervisors must have very stressful days and no wonder there are always job openings!I don't know the going rate of pay for the jobs but i heard the retirement package has 72 virgins and little else. From what else i gather i hear they're non unionized and work for some guy called allah. No union rules just a book called a koran. No coffee breaks but four prayer breaks daily.No wonder so many job openings so often! Rumor is that they'll soon run out of males and they're converting females from other world religions to fill the void. Some are probably in it just for the virgins and others because they get to wear a neat little head gear called a hijab.Some are not old enough yet to take up the cause and you can see them training here while the rest are waiting for job openings.

Here's what the war on terror is all about.

Driving home this morning i was listening to Willie Nelson on the radio singing "mammas don't Let your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys." The song was still stuck in my head as i surfed through CNN news on the web. I ran across an article on Jill Carroll who was abducted and held hostage by the religion of peace. That article told of a 5 year old kid already being indoctrinated by terrorists and how he was to become one of them calling himself a "Mujahid," a holy warrior. So i started to wonder what mothers hoped their babies would grow up to be over in the Middle East? From what i can read on internet blogs and see on the news it looks like a lot of mothers don't want their kids to grow up but receive their 42 virgins as early as possible. Mothers are content on letting kids become human shields and suicide bombers.
Those mothers are the same ones that recently let Hizbollah terrorists launch rockets into Israel among civilians using them as human shields. When Israel returned fire they screamed and cried that Israel was murdering them. Here's a terrorist group dedicated to the destruction of another country operating freely in Lebanon expecting them not to retaliate but sit back and receive casualties. Strange mothers ! I wonder if Willie could write them a song? I doubt it! I doubt if Cat Stevens could even do it.

News Article from the VOCM website:
Portnoy Lawyers Meet Today August 14, 2006 Angela Portnoy has a new baby. The nine pound baby boy was born Saturday afternoon, according to spokesperson Joanne Mallay-Jones. Mallay-Jones says both Angela and the baby are doing fine. Meantime, the deadline to leave the country is fast approaching. Officials had lifted the arrest warrant until August 18th. Mallay-Jones says the lawyers involved are scheduled to meet today and they are expecting to know more about the status of the Humanitarian and Compassionate Plea after the meeting. Angela is begging the Canadian government to favorably review the Humanitarian & Compassionate Application that is presently in the hands of the Canadian Immigration Department. She says they have suffered so much and again asks they be allowed to remain in Canada and resume living together as a family. Angela's husband, Alexi, is in Mexico hoping Canadian authorities will ultimately grant him permission to come to Canada, and for his family to remain here. Sam Synard, co-chair of the Portnoy Committee, says given the current situation in Israel, it would be hard to accept that the Canadian Government would deport a family that has lived here for over ten years , especially when there are now three Canadian children involved.

Portnoy family website: click here

San Synard makes a good point after what we just saw there. Our government has sent ships to evacuate Canadian citizens in that region and yet they want to deport Canadian citizens along with the rest of their family there. Some will argue once again that the Portnoys should of never been here i the first place. Maybe that's a good point but who let them in Canada in the first place? Our government! Who can let them stay and finally give them a place to call home? Our government! I've made a rant about this case before and hopefully the next time it'll be one much more favourable to many of us who believe in compassion.

Another ATV Rant.

Another news article on ATV use in NL .

A longtime advocate for all-terrain vehicle drivers in Newfoundland and Labrador says the province needs to better educate people about the laws governing ATV use instead of just enforcing them.

Oswald Fudge, of the ATV Federation recently made this statement and did end it with saying that not all the provinces 40,000 ATV users are breaking the laws. Thank you for that part Mr. Fudge! My suggestion would be to go to the so called cabin country and make one big sunday crack down. Any given Sunday in my area you can stop and seize at least a dozen ATV's with kids as young as ten years old operating them with two or more passengers hanging on them and not one of them wearing a helmet or any protective gear. Most wear shorts and the so called flip flops on their feet and know that he who drives the fastest gets the right of way. I dare say the only law not broken on most of the machines is the vehicle registration one. Im sure the majority of those ATV 's are registered and the kids i say are driving the best machines mom and pop can buy.
Mr. Fudge quote""""There's no education whatsoever being done by the province." Will my opinion on that is for the RCMP to start an education program some fine sunday evening. Seize a few of those machines all across the province and videotape the kids travelling at mach1 for mom and dad to view at home on the evening news. Im sure the majority of ATV users know the law but some simply don't care because it's not enforced.