News Update

We have enjoyed Christmas week here on the shore of Lake Superior. It has been mostly quiet, and spent around home. The weather has been nice with a little fresh snow, and temperatures remaining below zero. Unfortunately, with the amount of salt they apply to the streets and highways down here, that leaves us driving in continuous slush as we watch our metallic vehicles melt away before our eyes!

Wendy roasted a couple of turkeys on Christmas Eve (collectively the congregation cooked up about a dozen of them!), and on Christmas day we prepared a full turkey dinner for about 180 people at the Shelter House. I was not feeling well on Christmas and even poorer on Boxing Day when we had our special meal with Trav & Sylvia and her mother. Anyway, the meal was nice and the occasion even nicer—to share time with loved ones. Gifts were exchanged and we all turned out rather well blessed.

It has been delightful to share this Christmas with Kristian as he's really into this present-opening business. On Thursday, Wendy and I took him across the line to pick up a spring horse courtesy of on-line shopping—gotta take advantage of the loonie being stronger than the greenback! Now Eric, Erica and the boys have arrived from Kenora so we look forward to a good week with them.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another week has rolled through here on the sloppy shore of Lake Superior. The weather has turned mild with rain, and the snow is sinking. I shovelled the remaining slush off the deck so we have access to the barbecue and the hot tub.

Work is over until the New Year, as we had a closing luncheon at work on Friday. Unfortunately, I still have a bit of work to complete as one school still is not signed off for OnSIS, and that is due by December 31st. I will have to spend a bit of time on that next week. Erin is also on holidays until next Thursday. Eric, Erica and the boys plan to have Christmas in Kenora and then come down here for New Year's.

I went out on Friday for a bit of curling—just practice, as they have open ice each day at lunch time. It's been about six years since I curled, and with my rebuilt leg, I didn't know how it would go. It wasn't fully comfortable, but it was all right and I'm encouraged to try it some more. Wendy has us scheduled to try skating over the break as well. We'll see how that goes.

Wendy has continued with Christmas baking and shopping. Being a holder of both X and Y chromosomes, I feel no great need to go shopping until Monday!! Meanwhile, I surely am enjoying the baking.

And that's about it for this week.

Global Warming

It's nearly Christmas here in northern Ontario, but it's above freezing, rain is falling and there are puddles in my driveway. What is wrong with this picture? It must be global warming! Hey, everybody's having their say, and even winning Nobel prizes for their trouble! So, here's what I think—kinda matches with the title of the blog!

That global warming is happening seems to me irrefutable. I find the remarks of the naysayers about as absurd as the promoters. I think that the open questions are concerning the role that people are playing in causing global warming, and conversely, what benefit could be obtained by changing our behaviours. Most of us have been immersed in plenty of evidence that our little green planet is warming up. Videos of stranded polar bears, crumbling ice shelves, and wild fires are juxtaposed against graphs of climbing temperatures. In our own experiences (always a bad source of data) we note wild or at least unusual weather and are given to understand that global warming is the culprit.

At the crux of the matter, it seems to me, is the complexity of our planetary systems against our ability to know and understand them. When I experience a downpour while out golfing (despite the promises of the weather forecaster), I must admit that I am fairly skeptical that we understand the forces at play on our planet very well at all. If they cannot read and interpret the forces at play this morning well enough to protect my round of golf this afternoon, what would make me think they can understand the forces at play over the millennia well enough to predict the next fifty years!? Never mind the even greater knowledge and understanding needed to determine the relative importance of various causes and the expected benefit of particular changes in human behaviour.

I emphasize the benefit and value of considering more comprehensively the costs of my activity and endeavouring to tread more lightly on the earth. I have not been convinced that human activity is the sole source of the global warming we're experiencing; nor am I convinced of the efficacy of human activity in stopping it! I do not worry that there is an economic cost to making environmentally sensitive changes. We have long (always) been able to find economic incentives to get the jobs done that we determine need to be done. This won't change just because it's greener work! There's money to be made here as well!

News Update

Wowsers! Another week is gone already here on the shore of Lake Superior. That was fast!

Work this week has been from the home office, but a fair bit has been accomplished with one notable exception up in Red Lake! That part of the job has actually grown over recent days as the Ministry has served up another complication. However, we made good progress in Nakina and Mine Centre, so Red Lake and a new situation in Collins have become my biggest outstanding challenges for this month. And that's the deadline; all this batch of reporting is due at the end of December. On Friday, we had the office Christmas party.

Things have continued well here at home. Butter tarts are plentiful in the freezer—just the way I like them! The weather has been cooperative with comfortable temperatures and little in the way of precipitation. Kristian has added another dimension to his night-time game. Now, after putting his mother to bed, and playing upstairs for a while, he has decided he needs to come to bed with grandma and grandpa! So, we're trying to nip that in the bud!

Otherwise, that's about it for this week.

News Update

And a wintry week comes to an end on the shore of Lake Superior. This week was spent around TBay, with most of the work week being comprised of our annual conference.

We began the week digging out from a major snowstorm. It began on Saturday night, and by Sunday morning we were snowed in. After church we had a meeting at our place, so Erin went out to begin clearing a path to get her car out for a Monday morning trip to work. Well, wouldn't you know—the neighbour soon came over with his snowblower to clear our driveway. Now, why didn't he ever offer that when I was out shovelling!? Anyway, he cleared part of the drive so she could get out, and I began shovelling on the remainder! On Monday, I began shopping for a snowblower, and was able to buy a second-hand one for $395. It seems to work fine.

The conference was Wednesday through Friday. I had a project update on Wednesday and a full day of workshops on Thursday. The conference turned out quite well.

Kristian has developed a new trick. After he puts his mother to sleep, he wanders back up stairs to play with his toys! One night this week, Wendy and I had already gone to bed as well, and we could hear him out there playing in the dark. What a kid! Grandma puts him to sleep in the toy room, and Mom seems quite surprised to find him missing in the morning!

Erin has transferred to Ontario residency so she has registered her car down here. Her work continues to progress well.

Wendy continues with Christmas baking so I'm enjoying that.

And that's about it for this week.

News Update

Another Saturday night finds us on the shore of Lake Superior. It's been quite a week. We started off in Kenora at Eric & Erica's. We enjoyed watching the Grey Cup game there as our Saskatchewan Roughriders overcame the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to win our national football championship! Yea Riders!

Eric & Erica headed out for a two day retreat near Winnipeg, so we stayed to take care of the boys. Kristian was with us, and he really enjoyed spending the time with his cousins. On Wednesday, we drove back to TBay to find that winter had arrived. We had left a green city, but got home to a big snowfall. So, I had to dig out the shovels and clear the driveway even before parking the car. Of course, Kristian needed to stay out to play in the snow as well! He certainly enjoys it more than I do! It has also turned colder with the temperature hitting minus twenty on some nights.

I got a bit of work done while we were in Kenora (With a phone and a computer, you hardly miss the office!) and carried on with office work and preparation for our annual administrators conference that is scheduled for next week.

Wendy got things caught up around the house, and set up for a big candle sale this weekend. Erin continued with work, and phoned regularly to ensure we were transporting her son home safely.

Trav got a new hard drive for his laptop, and is trying to install it on his own. Good luck! You're a braver man than I! He and Sylvia set up their Christmas lights—I let them borrow the ladder as my contribution to the cause!

And that's about it for this week.