Thunder Bay Update

It's been another quiet week here on Lake Superior. Erica has been away most of the week doing a school board review up in Dryden. The remainder of us have carried on with our business here. Wendy and I continue with our gym work, and some benefits are accruing (I'm sure my accountant daughter knows what that means!). Erin and Kristian are doing well. Kristian is now making syllables, so this grandparents are trying to imagine that he's actually saying something. I think if he ever gets to spend any quality time on the floor he will start crawling soon!

The weather continues to amaze me. The water has been running in the streets. In Yellowknife, they used to block off the street drains with heavy plastic for the winter to keep them from freezing. Here they keep running through the winter. The high this week was plus ten, and my skating rink in the back yard became a swimming pool.

On Saturday we got startling news from Saskatchewan. We lost two old friends (Eddie & Helen Elford) in a car accident. Our sympathies to the Elford families.

Winter in T'Bay

So this is winter in Thunder Bay!?

Here it is, the latter part of January, and the water is running in the streets once again. It's true there is plenty of snow—I expected that—but the temperatures are much higher than I was anticipating. I now understand the comments I hear from acquaintances here... "I wish it would just stay below minus ten!" They use so much salt here that the streets seem always to be slushy—I've never used my windshield washer so much! I shudder to think of what is happening to the exposed metal on my vehicles!

We've actually had a couple of occasions when it dropped below minus twenty (about -4 for you Fahrenheit aficionados!), but that is only the start of cold for many Canadians! Usually it's in the zero to minus five for daytime highs, and that is always enough to produce melting in our salt-inoculated streets.

Today, it's plus seven, and the water is running! What a way to run a winter!

Back to Africa

Some of the most extraordinary experiences of my life took place during the four years I spent in Zambia. The work was fulfilling and extraordinarily educational. I can only wish that the Zambians had learned as much as I learned during my time there! I guess they were better teachers than I!

However, we're planning to go back! We hope to go there for about a month this summer. We are filled with anticipation. We are looking forward to seeing many friends who will make the trip with us, and we're really looking forward to seeing all our Zambia friends once again. We are planning to help the community schools in the area around Kalomo. There are also plans for HIV/AIDS education of the community health workers. In general, we hope to be of encouragement to our friends there. In the final analysis, I'm guessing that the greatest encouragement will occur for the group that is travelling back to Africa! But we'll do our best for the Zambians, too.

And so we picked...

On January 23rd, 2006, we picked a new government. This includes 308 members of parliament. This time we chose to change our prime minister, and also a new political party. We didn't find it easy to make a choice, so our choice is not a clear-cut one. We picked 124 members of the Conservative party, 103 from the formerly governing Liberal party, 51 from the Bloc Quebecois, 29 from the New Democratic party, and one independent member. The new prime minister is Stephen Harper, but he has fallen far short of the 155 members needed for a majority government.

In consideration of recent events it is somewhat difficult to decipher the message of the electorate. The governing Liberal party has been fraught with corruption and misuse of public funds in recent years. As this became known there was a lot of anger in the country, so voters were looking for alternatives. It is surprising that the electorate has not been more forthright about choosing someone else! Obviously, there was no one else who really caught their fancy. A generation ago, the Conservative party got in trouble with the electorate over corruption, bad fiscal management and incompetence. The electorate reacted by reducing them from a majority to just two elected members! Why do the Liberals get 103?!

What the current situation shows is that the voters of Canada are somewhat left of centre politically. There was only one perceived alternative to the corrupt Liberal regime, but that alternative was right of centre. Thus, despite the anger and protest vote against the previous government, the voters could not accept electing a right of centre government. They wouldn't even punish the Liberals as they had punished the Conservatives a generation ago.

News update

We're experiencing our first cold weather of the winter, with a few days of minus twenty or so. However, we're back in the single digits again now.

My big event of the week is a three-day conference in Toronto on Thursday through Saturday. It goes very well, and I'm encouraged with the possibilities for education in the province as a result. The plan is to develop and manage the research community within education to a much greater extent. The symposium included the universities, the schools and the ministry. The universities were very excited at the prospect of getting access to all our data. The ministry is hoping to change education to being subject to improvement via the research route, like medicine is. In education we've usually reacted to whims or advocacy as far as deciding on changes. This has not been a productive source of improvement! This new partnership will not serve our little schools directly, since our data is too limited, but the results will be applicable at least.

Wendy and I have continued our gym activities, although my trip to TO interrupted my program. I've now lost two pounds!

Erin went in for her laser surgery on Thursday. All seemed to go well.

And that's how it's been this week at Lake Superior.

Time for a Haircut

I'm off to the big city on Thursday through Saturday, so I decide I better spruce up for the occasion! I catch a ride with Erica when she goes to work, but when I check out my new favourite barber, Cosimo—he's not open. There's a note on his door, informing me that he is ill.

Now, I'm not unduly fussy about my haircut (after all I once got it cut at the Dallas Beauty Shop in Kalomo, Zambia!), but I do like to stick with a cutter once I find one! I like my 'up top' hair (of which there is little!) to be all the same length, so I can make my part wherever I like. And I may as well admit, I only have to part my hair for a couple of inches before it reaches my permanent part! Well, I don't know if you can call it permanent—it is not remaining static; it's still expanding! Anyway, Cosimo has figured out how I like it, and he's about half-price compared to the 'hair salons', so I'm a dedicated customer. I'm a little concerned about Cosimo. He looks like he's about seventy-five; I hope he doesn't retire before my hair does!

But, today, he's not in, so I walk home. We've had fresh snow overnight, and the walkways have not been cleared so it takes me about an hour. Perhaps I can get a haircut tomorrow!

The Gnus from Lake Superior

The weather has continued mild through this week, with most days getting above freezing. As a result, our well-salted streets are usually slushy. We've received some fresh snow, but not a great deal, so shovelling action has been reduced. Then on Saturday, it turned cold, as we are suffering with minus fifteen this morning.

I've been able to achieve some success in my efforts to gain the attention of the ministry of education. I have also had some success with various software companies, so greater information is at my disposal... some of it too technical for me!! Are we ready for XML uploads to OnSIS—I told you they like acronyms! I've also been successful in finding a potential vendor for a student management system (SMS) that might be suitable for our small schools. I hope to complete this investigation and come to a decision by June.

Wendy and I have continued our gym activities, and we both feel some progress is being made. In fact, I've lost twenty-three pounds this week—roughly three every night that I've regained the next day! So, in total, I've gained/lost nothing!

Erin and Kristian are progressing fine. Erin goes in for her laser surgery next Thursday (19th), but is not expected to need hospitalization. Haaken & Liam are enjoying their new beds and refurbished room.

Eric & Erica are carrying on with their work, and their family. Eric plays hockey each Friday evening. The game is usually continued at a local donut shop until the early/late hours of the night!

Trav continues with his university classes and work. His car broke down this week, but it was easily fixed.

We are always glad to hear news from others living in one of the variety of communities that are in our past. Who knows, they could be in our future as well.

And that's how it's been this week at Lake Superior, where the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.

Golf Television Coverage

Michelle Wie is playing the Sony Open this week. Now this is a PGA golf event, a men's event, and she's female! She has played several PGA events before even though she's only sixteen years old. However, she has never made the two-round cut, so she hasn't succeeded in playing the final two rounds on the weekend. Hopes are high (or low, depending on your perspective) for Michelle this week, but alas, she starts with a first round 79, and even though she has a second round 68, she fails to qualify.

Well, the sports commentators once again afford her way too much coverage and print space, and much of it is negative. "She shouldn't be allowed to play with the men." "She shouldn't play with the men." "She should learn to win on the LPGA tour first." ad nauseum

Now, I am curious that there are no suggestions that the twenty-seven male pros who couldn't manage to beat her should be disqualified from the tour!! However, I am also disappointed to watch the coverage, and see how much (much too much) is dedicated to her every move. Meanwhile, her playing partner is shooting the round of the day (64), but doesn't appear on camera.

This problem is not confined to the way they deal with Michelle Wie. When Tiger is in a tournament, we get way too much coverage of him, too, whether he's doing good, bad or indifferent. C'mon guys, let's have golf coverage regardless of the personalities involved.

DON'T ARGUE WITH CHILDREN

Your humour supplement for the week... (thanks to Marti)

A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales. The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small. The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible.
The little girl said, "When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah."
The teacher asked, "What if Jonah went to hell?"
The little girl replied, "Then you ask him."

A Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of children while they drew. She would occasionally walk around to see each child's art work. As she got to one little girl who was working diligently, she asked what the drawing was. The girl replied, "I'm drawing God."
The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what God looks like."
Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing, the girl replied, "They will in a minute."

A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds. After explaining the commandment to "honour thy Father and thy mother," she asked, "is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?"
Without missing a beat one little boy (the oldest of a family) answered, "Thou shall not kill."

An honest seven-year-old admitted calmly to her parents that Billy Brown had kissed her after class. "How did that happen?" gasped her mother.
"It wasn't easy," admitted the young lady, "but three girls helped me catch him."

One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast on her brunette head. She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, "Why are some of your hairs white, Mom?"
Her mother replied, "Well, every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white."
The little girl thought about this revelation for while and then said, "Momma, how come ALL of grandma's hairs are white?"

A three-year-old went with his dad to see a litter of kittens. On returning home, he breathlessly informed his mother that there were two boy kittens and two girl kittens. "How did you know?" his mother asked.
"Daddy picked them up and looked underneath," he replied. "I think it's printed on the bottom."

The children had all been photographed, and the teacher was trying to persuade them each to buy a copy of the group picture. "Just think how nice it will be to look at it when you are all grown up and say, 'There's Jennifer; she's a lawyer,' or 'That's Michael, he's a doctor. "
A small voice at the back of the room rang out, "And there's the teacher. She's dead."

A teacher was giving a lesson on the circulation of the blood. Trying to make the matter clearer, she said, "Now, class, if I stood on my head, the blood, as you know, would run into it, and I would turn red in the face."
"Yes", the class said.
"Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the ordinary position, the blood doesn't run into my feet?"
A little fellow shouted, "Cause your feet ain't empty!"

Vehicle Problems

Trav called, late, the other night. He informed me that his car had broken down. So, I went to check out the situation. He was parked at a light! And, as he said, the car was broken down. It wouldn't start; it wouldn't even fire. I pushed it off the street into a nearby parking area. I got the booster cables out; we tried again and again to start the car. No luck! I wondered if there might be frost blocking the flow of fuel, so we got some alcohol, and dumped a couple of containers into the fuel tank. Then we left it for the night.

We returned the next afternoon to try again. Still nothing. I called a tow truck and we delivered it to my Thunder Bay mechanic. After a few checks, he announced his best guess—a broken timing belt. He says he will fix it the next day, if I wish. I decide it's worth it, and also ask him to put in new spark plugs—it's been running a bit rough lately.

True to his word, he has the timing belt replaced and new spark plugs installed when I pick up the car this afternoon. I give him $500; he gives me the car! I return it to Trav. We hope it will provide more years of service. All problems should be so easy to solve!

Privacy

How you say that word may reflect how you feel about it, but these days it's becoming a hotter topic in Canada also. This was brought sharply to my attention last year while I was teaching in Manitoba. I was cautioned that I could not put up a bulletin board display in my classroom with the students' Spelling test results, nor could I pass out or announce the summary of results on chapter tests in Mathematics. These offended the privacy rights of my students! Again, during my move to Ontario, I was reminded that Manitoba could not forward information about my criminal or driving record unless I wrote them specific permission which would be valid on a one-time-only basis. I had thought that this level of personal concern only afflicted our American neighbours. I stand corrected!

I'm guessing that any blog writer is slightly less concerned about privacy than average joe citizen, or perhaps blog writers are average joe citizens! At any rate, I have long felt that this heightened concern over privacy was the domain of those with something to hide! However, my sensitivity is gradually being raised. If you have a few minutes, you may be interested to check out this website: (US residents, make sure you work your way right through the article. Canadian residents were not targeted in the final touche!)

http://www.applefritter.com/bannedbooks
If the article titled 'Data Mining 101' does not show up, let me know, and I'll try to figure out where it is.

I was informed, about twenty years ago (by someone who had the ability to know), that spy satellite photos allowed one to read a headline on a newspaper in Red Square. I wonder what they are capable of now. I do have a relative in the security business, perhaps he will enlighten me further!

I still don't quite know how to feel about all this, but I was a little surprised by the website description of data mining, and, it does shed greater light on the domestic spying controversy that is gripping our American friends.

MISA Leader

Governments seem to promote the development of acronyms. In my current three-year project here in northern Ontario, I am in charge of Managing Information for Student Achievement, so I am known as the MISA Leader! Now when you say that quickly, it comes out rather disgusting! I assure you that I do not consume measles!

What I do involves a lot of coordination with various levels of the educational bureaucracy which is certainly a challenge. The small school boards I deal with display a great deal of disparity (and not a little dispair). Some have schools that would be in the upper echelons of any educational jurisdiction. Others have one-room country schools that remind me of my youth in rural Saskatchewan—Bar Hill #4567! I try to bridge this great variety to develop and install better strategies for managing student data. I am working with the school administrators and the board administrators to develop solutions for student data management. I expect to take most of this year to develop a consensus, and I hope the solution will allow for ongoing flexibility to meet our changing needs.

So far I have spent most of my time learning—getting acquainted with my schools, the personnel who operate them, and the particulars of each community. This has involved a lot of information gathering, including visits to all the communities. I am enjoying my work, including all its challenges. I look forward to the remainder of this assignment!

And now for the Gnus

Once each week I propose to give a brief update of happenings in our family, so, this is it!

After returning from our week in Minnesota, we have begun working our way back into our various routines. Kristian has his own routine, of sorts, that allows him to eat, play, sleep... like a five hundred pound gorilla—whenever he wants! Erin, of course, never left her routine, that calls her to do whatever Kristian wants done! Erica, Haaken and Liam still have this week off work/school, so they are able to relax until renovations kick in! Eric is basically back at work, and I ease into my work as the week progresses. I have an interim report due this coming Monday, so I spend some hours on that. And I begin planning my next tour of the schools that will run for five or six weeks in February and March. Travis is back at both work and school as university classes reconvene on Wednesday.

The boys' room is scheduled for renovation this week as two new beds have arrived for them. We start by tearing out the carpet, and scraping off the foam underlay. Erica completes a mural that covers all four walls in a castle motif—great! Eric and I, with enthusiastic support from the boys lay down a thick, interlocking tile floor. It's grey rubber in 60cm squares, about 1cm thick. It goes down fast, but requires some tricky cutting around closet door frames, etc. Then Eric & Erica, again with enthusiastic assistance, begin assembling the beds. The beds are large, steel structures with bunks above and a study/play area beneath. There is still a lot of organizational work to be done as decisions are made about storage locations for various toys, books and clothing.

Wendy and I begin personal renovation. She received a gym membership for Christmas, and I buy one at the University. This initiates discussions of our variety of aches and pains, as well as optimal uses of the many pieces of equipment we have never seen before! We hope to improve our fitness level during the remaining winter season. She plans to continue with the gym work all year, but I'm looking forward to migrating to the golf course as soon as possible!

The weather continues mild, with some new snow, and most days getting above freezing. And that's the kind of week it's been here on Lake Superior, where the women are strong, the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average!

Is there an 'I' in team!?

Our national junior hockey team recently won the world championship for their age level. Go Canada, Go! They were not highly touted as many of our young stars had moved up to the reawakened NHL. And the assessment seemed valid as no Canadians were among the scoring leaders at the end of the tournament. But they won! Oh, there was chatter regarding dissension among the favoured US squad, and mention that the 'stars' on the equally-favoured Russian team were not willing to work hard at both ends of the ice. So, in the end, the team concept proved victorious. A bunch of 'no-names' worked hard for each other and their coach, and defeated the stars! This was considered only mildly surprising.

The University of Texas recently won the Rose Bowl and the acknowledged college football championship in the USA. Hook 'em, Horns! They were highly touted, having been ranked #1 or #2 all season long. And their star quarterback, Vince Young, did shine brightly, virtually carrying the team on his back to the championship. If he opts to turn pro next season, prognosticators wonder whether the Longhorns will make the top ten. But, they speculate, if he stays, the Longhorns will be favoured to repeat as national champions.

Hockey, where you need to rotate three or even four complete lineups onto the ice throughout the game has long-term proof that the team concept is supreme. Football with its two complete squads, and assorted special-purpose players has usually worked out the same way. What Vince Young displayed the other night, however, was the most complete domination by one player of a football game that I have ever witnessed. Michael Jordan is the prime example of what is commonplace in basketball—one player can, and often does, carry a basketball team. But football! Yikes!

Another day, another dollar

The past year has seen the gaining of plenty of dollars by your friendly neighbourhood banks and oil companies. Not so much for those who invest in them, however. The benchmark Dow-Jones average struggled and failed to break-even for the year. Meanwhile, the US dollar fell against the Euro, the Yen, the Canadian dollar and even the kwacha! On the Canadian side, the TSX average rose by about 25%, but, since the Canadian dollar strengthened ominously against our major trading partner, it looks like more difficult times lie ahead. And now, the American central bankers are suggesting that their program of increasing interest rates is about to end, so the US dollar is falling again.

And what do we do in the face of such realities? If I knew that, I'd write my book and retire!

On the basic level, it means our goods and services will be more expensive, so we'll have a harder time selling them to our American customers. Efforts will have to be increased to open other markets if Canadian businesses are going to thrive. Productivity of our workers will need to increase. The energy windfall will continue as oil prices continue above $50; world-wide demand for metals both base and precious should remain high. Both of these mean cash influx for a resource-based economy like ours. And banking remains a consistent way to make money! The Euro economies may strengthen, and should attract our attention and our business. The American economy should also benefit from their weakened dollar just as ours has in recent years. And our dollar should struggle a bit in line with our falling economic expectations which will ease some of our trading costs. Maybe it'll even drop back to around eighty-three cents US; that is apparently where our productivity level indicates it should be.

Well, that's what I'm thinking anyway!

A FISHING STORY

Yes, I'm blogging, but should I eschew humour!?

A couple went on vacation to a fishing resort in northern Alberta. The husband liked to fish at the crack of dawn. The wife liked to read. One morning the husband returned after several hours of fishing and decided to take a nap. Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decided to take the boat out. She motored out a short distance, anchored, and continued to read her book. Along came Conservation Officer Al in his boat. He pulled up alongside the woman and said, " Good morning Ma'am. What are you doing?"
"Reading a book," she replied, (thinking "isn't that obvious?")
"You're in a restricted fishing area," he informed her.
"I'm sorry officer, but I'm not fishing, I'm reading."
"Yes, but you have all the equipment. I'll have to take you in and write you up."
"If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault," said the woman.
"But I haven't even touched you," said the C.O.
"That's true, but you have all the equipment."

MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads. It's likely she can also think.

Election 2006

Christmas (seasonal?!) leftovers finally consumed or otherwise dispatched, our attention is now demanded by the politicians of Canada. An all-too-brief respite ends in the clash of recently devised, and now released, advertising. So, what do we think of this? Whose values are aligned most clearly with ours? What sins can we not forgive? Will strategic voting (there's a strategy to voting?) deflect our true intentions?

Wendy and I have confounded them all by voting today! Their advertisements will fall on enfranchisement already exercised! And a pox on all their houses!

But seriously, what of you? How will you be influenced? How will you (Will you at all?) exercise your civic privilege?

I encourage you to vote. Vote for the party (the candidate matters little) of your choice. You punish no one but yourself if you neglect your democratic legacy. So bear in mind, but do not be 'put off' by the failures of the past; you're voting for the future of our country. And your vote does count; the complete tally—right down to the few percent of ballots won by the least favoured is the subject of intense examination by the politicians and their advisers. All results will have a measured effect on their choices. So express yourself on January 23rd (or even earlier), while you actually have their attention!

Happy New Day!

I do wish good health and well-being to all readers. And I wish this blessing, not just today, but everyday. I am struck by our attention to this completely artificial designation of the passage of time. The dominant culture of our continent has wrestled with (and determined to disregard) the significance of Christ's birth—which actually did happen, if not December 25th, at least some time. Meanwhile, we spend time, energy and a lot of cash to mark January 1st. There is nothing New Year about January 1st, witness other cultures that have differing 'New Years'. Shouldn't we be worried about how we might be offending them?

There are significant dates that do warrant our attention such as March, June, September or December 22nd, when reality on this planet does register a transition. However, I encourage you to consider a shorter view of beginnings. Begin today! Live today! And if tomorrow comes, begin again then! Make some "today's resolutions", and regardless of your success with them, make resolutions again tomorrow, or even later today. I wish you a happy day!