I Hate Going Downtown!

It always costs me money! Yesterday was particularly bad! We have known the house needed new floors for some time. Years actually. The carpeting was old when we bought the house in 1989 but my brother, a floor layer by trade, told us it was very good quality and in excellent shape so that was our excuse. We have been putting it off for a long time and yesterday we were in Home Depot for some little thing and there was a big sale on bamboo flooring. I had roughly estimated that it would cost $6000 to put in flooring and with the sale it will be $3500 for all material except new baseboard. We are planning to put it in the kitchen as well. Bamboo is a very tough product and should stand it. We will just have to watch spills and wipe them up quickly.

It is being delivered on Thursday. Brooks.... Linda...... HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Week

Despite lukewarm gains in the overall market last week, my funds did spectacularly well! I kept a lot of it in precious metals and it paid off last week when my fund rose about 7%. Huge gains usually scare me a little because it is my experience that for every big gain there is a big drop but this one just may be a little different because it was not a general market rise, just a specific sector. i am crossing my fingers and hoping for a repeat this week. A few more weeks of this and I will not have to spend as many nights in Walmarts this winter! Just kidding - I love WalMarts...

Still Battling The Deer

Norma is still battling the deer over her flowers. She is now getting up at 6:00 so she can stand guard at the kitchen window. She was up even earlier today and chased them away twice before I got up at 8:30.

We have ordered a product from the States called a Wireless Deer Fence. It consists of posts that you put in the ground and load with scent capsules and batteries. When a deer is attracted by the scent and takes a sniff he is jolted by a capacitor discharge shock. This is supposed to make him avoid the area where he was shocked. The scent and batteries are supposed to last a whole year.

Six posts and two years worth of scent cost $130. I think our deer are smarter than Indiana deer and will simply avoid smelling the posts after they get their first shock. I am not very optimistic!

More photos

Here are some more photos of the little house on the prairies. It was such a tiny house but I never noticed.

Mom's Birthday Today

Happy Birthday Mom! You would have been 101 today.

This is mom, dad and me in Edmonton in about 1949. Dad built that house 9 or 10 years earlier all by himself without borrowing a nickel. He bought material as he went and slowly it went up, all 600 (24X25) square feet of it. They moved in with plywood floors and tar-paper and batten board exterior. Siding, hardwood and carpet were luxuries that could wait for a year or so and be paid for with saved rent money.

We drove by the house last year and it is obviously a rental and in terrible repair but still standing. They sold it in 1955 for about $5000.

And yes, not necessary to comment. I WAS a cute kid!


To us, this was a palace! My sister's room was in the attic, my brother's in the basement and mine on the main floor where they could keep an eye on me. My sister had to climb a ladder in my closet to get to her room. She is 18 years older than me and didn't stick around very long.





The colorized photo is the finished product in about 1950. I cannot remember anything about the antenna on the roof! We had no TV (even after it came out in Edmonton) so it must have been radio. I am drawing a blank.

Dad eventually built a two story garage out back that was larger than the house.

The Bugs Are Winning

The back of our house faces a steep slope. There is a lot of natural water and trees on this half acre or so, a perfect habitat for deer, eagles and mosquitoes. It is also warm and humid and impossible to sleep with the windows closed. The windows have no screens so this leads to a problem.

Yesterday I admitted defeat and called the local glass company to come and measure for new screens. We are getting six custom made screens for $230. I don't know if that is a good price or not but I did not argue. A few nights rest without the buzzing in my ear will make it money well spent. They will be installing them in a week. It's only money!

A Little Afterthought

Why did the Mormon Church and other proponents of Prop Hate fail? They failed because they had no credible argument. The arguments they used in the media during the campaign would not stand in a court of law because they had no merit. Away from Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbough, the arguments were empty. The majority of the electorate may have believed that allowing same sex marriage would lead to eight year old kids being given homework assignments that included gay sex but even their own lawyers and "experts" were too embarrassed to argue it before a judge. Their arguments that the concept of "traditional" marriage would be destroyed or that straight people would be "forced" into same sex marriages were equally as empty.

They ended up with two "experts" who under blistering cross examination actually agreed with the plaintiffs on many key points. The right has nothing left but pleas for prayer, cash and more attempts at mass hysteria but that will have no effect before the US Supreme Court. The fact that Prop 8 was based solely on hate will come out once again. Times are changing!

There can be no compromise. "Almost good enough" will not do. "Separate, but equal" civil unions are not acceptable. Nothing short of full equality can be accepted. The difference may be slight when times are good but the deficits come to light when a partner is blocked at the elevator door when trying to visit in a hospital as "family". Inheritance could be an issue if there is no will. The worst happens when one partner is not allowed to make end of life decisions for the other partner. That thought is terrifying! No, nothing but FULL equality. That is why they are called "rights". There is no room for negotiation!

And, in a nice show of oneupmanship and hopefully a sign of what the USA can expect from it's own Supreme Court,

Mexican court upholds capital's gay marriage law

(AP) –

MEXICO CITY — The Mexican Supreme Court has voted to uphold the constitutionality of Mexico City's 6-month-old law allowing same-sex marriages.

The justices have voted 8-2 to uphold the law against challenges filed by federal prosecutors, who argued it violates the constitutional principle of protection of the family.

Hundreds of couples have been married so far under the law, the first of its kind to be enacted in Latin America.

The court ruled Thursday that the law did not violate the constitution. Justices on the majority side argued that nowhere does the constitution define what a family is.

Prop Hate

We are on the edge of our seats here! The California ruling on Proposition 8 that will define marriage in the USA forever is due any minute. The Proposition, financed by the Mormon Church and other right wing hate groups, passed in November 08 by a narrow margin and banned same sex marriage in California. This expected decision on whether to declare this vote to be unconstitutional is as important as Roe v. Wade. To say that I am hoping it will be overturned goes without saying. I am waiting.......

It will end up before the US Supreme Court no matter what the decision but it will be a lot easier going before the Court with a win!

BREAKING NEWS!!!!! IT HAS BEEN OVERTURNED!!!!!!!!!!! Prop Hate is unconstitutional and the enforcement of it is enjoined!!!!

Sorry haters, there is equal protection. You will not be able to vote to return slavery either. Tough. Suck it up and live with it! Civil and human rights are guaranteed and are not up for a vote! Opposite sex couples ARE NOT superior to same sex couples!

The Important Part:

REMEDIES

Plaintiffs have demonstrated by overwhelming evidence that Proposition 8 violates their due process and equal protection rights and that they will continue to suffer these constitutional violations until state officials cease enforcement of Proposition 8. California is able to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, as it has already issued 18,000 marriage licenses to same-sex couples and has not suffered any demonstrated harm as a result,see FF 64-66; moreover, California officials have chosen not to defend Proposition 8 in these proceedings.

Because Proposition 8 is unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses, the court orders entry of judgment permanently enjoining its enforcement; prohibiting the official defendants from applying or enforcing Proposition 8 and directing the official defendants that all persons under their control or supervision shall not apply or enforce Proposition 8. The clerk is DIRECTED to enter judgment without bond in favor of plaintiffs and plaintiff-intervenors and against defendants and defendant-intervenors pursuant to FRCP 58.

IT IS SO ORDERED."

* I have the full 138 page decision in .pdf format. If anyone wants it, let me know.

Cindi Lauper Quote:

"I want to commend and thank Chad Griffin and the American Foundation for Equal Rights, the legal team headed by Ted Olson and David Boies, and the plaintiffs in the case, Kris Perry & Sandy Stier and Paul Katami & Jeff Zarrillo, for their leadership and courage in standing up for equality and fairness." - Cyndi Lauper.

Predictably, the right have their noses out of joint and are starting the off the wall comments like "This decision will force gay marriage on all Americans". Now THAT would be interesting!

If you want to show your support for equal rights, these shirts are available from Karel.

What a way to welcome the 100,000'th visitor to this Blog (check the Sitemeter at the right side)!

Number 100,000 just hit and they are from Richmond, BC and connected through Shaw Cable! If you are still on here, say "Hi" in the comments or Shoutbox!

Sometimes I Embarrass Myself

A "few" years ago I bought a hammer drill from Canadian Tire. It got a fair amount of use (and abuse) and a while ago I used the hammer feature to drill some drain holes through a concrete planter. It gave it a good workout.

Yesterday I tried to use the drill to drill some tiny holes in metal and the first bit broke instantly. I put another bit in and watched it as I squeezed the trigger. The bit wiggled from side to side as it spun. Something was out of alignment, probably from drilling the holes in the concrete wall. After trying a new bit to be sure I threw the drill into the garbage can and looked in the local sales fliers for a new drill. Canadian Tire had a huge tool sale on which got me thinking... The old drill is a C.T. brand so why not take it down to see if there is a guarantee on it? I pulled it out of the garbage can and drove downtown. The young woman looked up the model number and told me it was discontinued several years ago. No problem, I said, just toss it out for me. No, just a minute, she said and typed something into her computer. She told me they would give me a discount of $60 on any new drill! As luck would have it they had a 1/2" hammer drill kit marked down from $110 to $55! I got the new drill (which came with a case and about a hundred bits and screwdriver tips) plus $5 cash back for the broken drill!

These tools are not the best quality but if they honor their guarantees like that, who cares? Like I say, sometimes I embarrass myself but I love Canadian Tire.

GPS Woes

The new GPS came with [ALL] North American maps installed. I assume this included Mexico. When I registered the unit on line they told me there was a free map update waiting for me. I connected the unit to the computer and away it went, downloading maps for over an hour. When it finished I rebooted the unit and checked the map data only to find I now had the updated 2011 maps but only Canada and USA! No Mexico.

I fired off an email to Garmin and then went whining away on the Garmin Users Forum. On the forum I was told that the memory in my unit was not large enough to hold the new maps file so they eliminated Mexico to make it fit. Another person told me that if I hooked the unit up to the computer I could eliminate all the languages and voices I will never use and that will leave enough room for the Mexico maps. I will do this and then phone Support to plead with them to send me another download. If this does not work, I have two weeks to return the unit to London Drugs with no questions asked. I really want the Mexico maps.

Life is complicated.