Shooting At Parliament Hill

http://www.cbc.ca/news

One soldier killed outside at War Memorial. Automatic gunfire in Centre Block of Parliament Buildings. MP's locked down.

Another shooting in nearby shopping mall (It now appears this shooting never happened). All bridges leading into Ottawa closed.

One gunman reported dead, soldier dead (not now confirmed), one other person wounded. This person appears to be one of the Parliamentary Security staff.

This video from Global TV shows the actual killing of the suspect. He was evidently shot by Parliament Buildings Sergeant At Arms, Kevin Vickers who is responsible for the safety of staff and visitors.




Sergeant At Arms Kevin Vickers:

Wind Warning!

We are currently under a wind warning as well as being threatened with power outages.

The areas in pink are the high wind areas. We are between the words "Skytracker" and "Comox".

Parts of the Island are already without power but we are OK so far. I went out a while ago to check the motorhome and gigantic raindrops are falling! We are getting almost no wind so far but that could change quickly.

We usually have the added security of being able to move into the motorhome if things get too bad but we have to wait till Friday for propane so we are not much better off out there right now. It was a dumb mistake to run out of propane! Anyway, the fireplace insert is loaded with paper and wood and is ready to keep us toasty warm. We have lots of firewood.

Weather!

We all have weather but ours is mostly rain. I have a few things I want to do with the motorhome before we leave, like add another TV cable between the front TV and the electrical bin but it does not look like I will get the chance.

"Someone" left the furnace on and the propane tank is now bone dry. I cannot check the water heater, stove or fridge (propane setting) until I fill the tank and that means waiting until I buy insurance so I can move the rig. I don't want to do this too soon as I will only buy 6 months insurance and we are not leaving until November 3 - 5.

Yes, we are leaving on the third or so. Norma has an appointment on the first and then we get ready! We will then head down to Palm Springs area and see how the weather goes. We will move wherever we have to to find or avoid weather but the plans are to stay put more this year to save on gas and to take advantage of monthly RV park rates. We went a little nuts last year expense wise!

Best Used Car Deal

From my recent research I have come to the conclusion that the best used car deal, for me anyway, right now is a used Saab. Since GM drove the Swedish automaker into bankruptcy the price of used Saabs have dropped remarkably. There are some great deals to be had on Craigslist and such as people fear that spare parts might not be available. Not to worry, someone will be producing spare parts, it is a lucrative market. Saab was once sold by GM as a Cadillac BLS.

Here is one example in my price range. A 2001 9-5 Turbo Sedan for $3,500 (asking price) in Palm Springs:

http://palmsprings.craigslist.org/cto/4679215305.html

No Bimmer But Some Work Done

I did not buy the Bimmer (1988 BMW 325i). We went down to Brooks and LindaLee's for the weekend in hopes of at least seeing the car but the owner had been called away on business again and had taken the car. I did find out a little more though. There has been some (maybe considerable) rust repairs and there is more rust showing. The problem last week requiring the tow home was a broken fuel line so when the mechanic repaired that, he inspected both fuel pumps and both were good. He now thinks the long cranking might be injector related. He put some injector cleaner in the gas and the owner says the starting is "better" but not cured.

The bottom line is I would be no better off (probably worse off) with the BMW than I am with the Honda which is running great. It is a year newer and has lower mileage. There is no rust. She has been good to me and I will keep her a bit longer. Thanks for the useful comments here and also to the people on the Bimmerfest Forum in helping me reach my decision.

I also realized that because the BMW is rear wheel drive and automatic, I would not be able to tow it behind the motorhome without a lot of trouble so I could not be that "Cool Old Dude With The BMW" in the RV park.

My granddaughter now wants the BMW. Well, more accurately, she wants a car she can afford to buy and all she has is $1,000. The car will not be leaving Victoria so it might be a candidate for a "first car" for her. Brooks says as long as it lasts her six months to a year, she will have gotten her money out of it. He likes it because of it's safety features and construction which should survive a crash better than an older American car. Her ultimate goal is a six to eight year old Honda but she will have to save some money. She is a hard worker just like her dad but also, just like her dad, has a hard time saving her money. The goal of a good car may help her focus.

New Roof

Brooks has been promising LindaLee a roof over their deck for a long time and he finally got a chance to do it. He had a couple of the guys he works with in Alberta and who live near him, come by to help on Sunday. This "West Coast" roof is really well built with 8X8 rough cut timbers and full dimension fir lumber and would survive an earthquake! I was there to help with the lifting and the basic framing was up in no time. Just in time actually as the rain started pouring down and put an end to his plans of putting the roof on. It is just too dangerous up there in the wet so that part will probably wait until next time he is back in town.

"Make sure it's square!"

"A little to the left!"

Brooks cutting the next piece and Norma going through the burn pile for useful pieces for her garden.

Moon Rise

Two nights ago from our front porch:

But Guys...

These E30 Bimmers look like so much fun to drive!

Nothing Yet

I found out a few things about the Beemer. It is:

1988 325i E30
Rear wheel drive
Gold colour
300,000 KM or 186,000 miles

The owner is back from her trip but the car isn't. It quit on her about 100 miles from home and she had it towed for repairs. This may be a good thing depending on what broke and who fixed it

My DIL asked her if the air conditioning worked well and she said she did not know because she had never used it... ??

This Beemer buying is a work in progress.

Pending Deal

I don't want to say too much in case I spook this but my son and I are working on a deal. One of LindaLee's customers wants to get rid of an older "3" Series BMW. It has been meticulously dealer maintained and is in perfect shape inside and out. She is asking very little for it. It has one problem, slow starting. Brooks' mechanic thinks one of the two fuel pumps has gone bad allowing the fuel to drain back into the tank when it is not running, causing it to crank for a few seconds every time it starts. He will be checking this out further.

This deal came to light when they were looking for a car for my granddaughter, Jayde. She does not like it however and is currently taking advantage of an even better deal, unlimited use of her other grandmother's brand new SUV for which "Nanna" buys gas and insurance. We should all have this deal.

Anyway the BMW seems too good to let go. I have only seen this car once and know nothing about it, not even the specific model number. But... you never know. I always wanted a BMW!

Shaw Direct II

Yesterday's post started quite the discussion in the comments section.

It appears that as long as you use the same dish and receiver you used last year there will be no problem. If you had your system upgraded to the three LNB dish then there were software or firmware changes made to the receivers attached to that dish that prevents them from working with one of the old dishes. Al had success with the three LNB setup down south last year as long as he did not attempt to receive signals from the new satellite. Another person on the IRV2 forum had the opposite experience, his did not work down south.

Jean and Skip from Nanaimo asked for some reassurance their old system would work on the RV even though they had the dish and receivers in their house updated. I told them the only way to know for sure was to try it. They did today and found they only received Ch 299. They called Shaw Direct and were talked through a factory reset on the receiver.

I really encourage everyone to do this. Try it before you leave. It will be awkward and expensive to have to do it from down south without letting it slip that you are away from home. If you call from a USA phone, they will see the area code and will know where you are.