I've been on training for the last few weeks, missed posting. I've been offered a new position with the company, more money, double the workload (I get to do my own calling/cold calling, but I also get to do the outside sales.) We will see how it goes.
My blog is worth $38,388.72.
How much is your blog worth?
As I drove north to the cottage on the 400, I thought of grabbing the digital camera, taking pictures and creating a post from it. After two days of driving myself nuts trying to figure what to write about and how to post the pictures, I've decided that I am just not a good enough writer to make a drive north seem interesting. So, when you look at the pictures of the car ride north, I want to let you know I was seeing some of the most beautiful (in my eyes) land in Canada and listening to Rancid's "And Out Came the Wolves"
Around Waubaushene I got the camera out
Where Hwy 400 crosses the Musquash River, 
the highway goes from 4 lane to 2 and we now enter Wahta, Mohawk Territory. Everything is under construction through Wahta,
until you reach 
the bridge over
the Moon River. This is the last section of the 400 that needs to be finished until just past Parry Sound.
I was doing pretty good on time and speed 
When this passed me
it's only October and some guy is moving his old sleds around. You will not see something like this in southern Ontario. I followed the truck for a while
wanting to see where he might turn off. 
I decided to watch my speed
as the OPP usually hides behing a rockcut to catch speeders. I was right, didn't get a photo of him but I also didn't get a ticket.
The time
and surroundings speed by and you know your
close to Parry Sound when you see these signs. When my sisters and I were kids going to the cottage on old hwy 69, we would all wait and see who could shout "Parry Sound sign" first. You didn't get anything but braging rights and maybe a sore shoulder from being punched, but for some reason it was fun.
With the new highway you now have to turn off
at the Bowes Street exit and the first thing you see when you hit Parry Sound is
McDonald's. Welcome to the new north .. they cater the the whims of the cottagers.
Once you go through town you have to head up the Great North Road
and go under the CNR tracks
you head out along Emely St. towards the marina.
Met my sister, brother in-law and Dad a the marina, we loaded the boat up and took off for the cottage.
The swing bridge linking Parry Island (home of the Wasauksing First Nation) to the mainland, over 100 years old
Two Mile Narrows, the gov't dredges this every few decades to keep it clear for boating.
Photos of Five Mile Bay.
Heading south after a great weekend, no photos taken of the weekend
This article caught my attention. You should see the different view points that are expressed around the world. From Zimbabwe, China, Bahrain, to the U.S. itself. Now I'm not an idiot and I know you aren't, the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe was up to something, but Mugabe is a tin pot dictator.
This lead me to start thinking about dictators and their effect on man kinds history. People should know of the twentieth centuries great dictators like Hitler, Stalin, and maybe Pol Pot.
A lot of people don't like the war in Iraq, I don't support it myself but Saddam Hussein was a dictator who came to power and took over completely. Do you remember dictators like President for life of Uganda Idi Amin leading to Entebbe Rescue Operation, or Papa Doc Duvalier, he and his family ruled Haiti for almost thirty years. These men only cover a few of the Twentieth centuries dictators/self proclaimed Kings or Leader for Life.
The name dictator in the classical Greek or Roman time meant something totally different - they elected a person to protect them in a time of emergency. Roman Dictators like Gaius Marius or Sulla changed the direction of not only Roman history but western civilization also. Without Gaius we would never of had Julius Ceaser. Without Ceaser would never of had Romanized Britain, without Great Britain we would never of had Anglo North American culture that for better or for worse is dominating the world at this time. I'm not trying to say that these despots are good for man or history/future history, but that their affects will and do reverberate through time. Who's to say that in during the dark ages the ancestors of the House of Windsor weren't just the equivalent of a outlaw motorcycle gang
We as Capitalistic Democracies have to be so careful of who we elect lead our countries, the cult of personality can influence how people vote so easily. Just a few steps either left or right can lead a nation/culture to some type of dictatorship.
I guess this is my way of saying its better to be non partisan or a fence sitter.
Have a great weekend.. going north to close the cottage.
Ok, here is a question for you. The officers of the Toronto Police Force have gone on a "job action". They are considered a essential service, so they are not allowed to strike.
This quote is taken from the same article.
Toronto Police Association president Dave Wilson said after a meeting attended by close to half of his union members that public safety would not be jeopardized, and that the most obvious sign of their protest would be officers wearing baseball caps.
Asked if their first phase of job action, which started at midnight, would also include officers ignoring traffic violations, Mr. Wilson said that it was left to the individual officer. "We have, as officers, the right to exercise discretion," he told reporters.
Have a happy Happy "Canadian" Thanksgiving this weekend.
Weekly news round up time.
I wish Bush or his handlers could make up their minds, Did "God" tell him to go to war or not, and if "God" did tell him to go to war, does this mean that the U.S. is the only country in the world with a direct phone line to "God". By the way, whose "God" told him to go to war.
The Tyee has a article, written by Peter MacLeod from the Planning Desk, on how Canada should be looking to the EU as a trading partner for the future. Since the US keeps on playing games with the softwood issue.
Neal News has a link to a really good article at Maisonneuve on the power or lack of power by Canadian bloggers to effect news coverage. Read it, somewhat humbling.
To be 9 years old and make the book of Guinness World Records
The Leafs have lost Mats for who knows how long. Lindros and O'Neill should be able to replace him on the ice, but what about leading the team .. Maybe we should trust in Tie, hey I'm serious here. Tie can step up, I believe in him. At least I'm in first place at Canada Blog Hockey League.
As you might have figured out, I used to work at the Corpse .. Oh! I did it again, the Corps .. I'm glad for all my friends who get to go back to work. Be grateful for Hockey Night In Canada .. But can you tell me why CTV is reporting this story. Oh to rub it in, that's right.
So our favorite martial arts actor Jackie Chan, can never die or kiss in a movie. No problem for me, I just want to see the 51 year old keep it up a while longer.
By the way Small Dead Animals is running Small Dead Blog Awards - Nomination Roundup. Interesting cross section of Bloggers. Take a look.
It's my fathers 73rd birthday .. happy birthday Dad .... and it the first night for hockey in over a year.
I grew up in Bracebridge Ontario in the late 60's and early 70's. Life in winter time was centered on hockey. There was only three teams that mattered. Toronto, Montreal and Boston. In 1972 we had two players from the local Junior B Bracebridge Bears living with us. One was the brother of Steve Shutt. One of my classmates was the younger brother of Roger Crozier My claim to fame was a distant cousin who made the NHL and my white turtleneck sweater that was bought at Bobby Orr's store in Parry Sound.
Weekends were hockey practice in the morning, my coach was Bucko McDonald. I wore white plastic and felt knee pads on the outside of my corduroy pants, hockey gloves with the Toronto Maple Leafs logo them, hand me down skates (they belonged to my cousin), a helmet that only covered the back and front of my head, the crown was wide open. No shoulder or elbow pads (just a turtle neck and a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey sweater), and no jock. I played between 1969 and 1973. Dad would walk me to practice, I think that was the reason I quit playing .. I hated that cold walk first thing in the morning. I loved to play, or at least I think I did. I remember Bucko teaching me to stop on one foot, I remember scoring my first goal, I remember after practice running around the rink and through the stands with my friends, I remember my sisters taking me for the afternoon skate at the rink, all the boys would play ice tag and get the older kids pissed off at us. I remember going back to the rink and watching the Bears play towns like Huntsville and North Bay. I remember listening to the Habs on the radio as we drove home, then watching the Leafs on TV once we got home. This is what hockey means to me .. chasing your friends around the rink, watching incredible skaters playing a great game .. I want this for my kids .. memories that will last a life time.
I want to say thanks to the player and the owners for coming to their senses and bringing the game back .. Have a great season and may the best team win. (I really hope that its finally time for the Leafs)
