V-sign(s)

A post on the v-sign. It means victory, right? And wrong too. There are two meanings to this sign. Firstly there is the Churchill one on victory with the palm of the hand towards the receiver(s) of the v-sign. The second meaning is the same as the globally recognized middle-finger-sign, the palm of the hand is directed towards the issuer. I never knew this, always had it mistaken for someone not knowing how to give the middel-finger. So today I gave Andy the v-sign, immediately explaining why; he had a big smile on his face and explained it stems from an ancient war between Britain and France where the archers fired their arrows, the enemy responded with the v-sign grabbing the two fingers as to say "when I get you I will chop of your 2 fingers" hence no more arrows. Somehow through time this has evolved to an obscene gesture used only by the British. Of course it also means the cypher 2, but keep you fingers on a 45 degree angle to be sure not to walk into a British fist.

Een Laatste Poot

Vandaag heeft onze Mac mij een laatste poot gegeven. Afgelopen zaterdag ben ik met haar naar de dierenarts in Leduc geweest, wat ik juist niet wilde horen hoorde ik toch. Een groot gezwel in haar onderbuik en een milt die ook veel te groot was, waarschijnlijk haar lever ook. Exploratory surgery behoorde nog tot de mogelijkheden, maar voor wie? Zou zomaar kunnen dat ze op de tafel zou worden opgegeven. Wat was het vooruitzicht daarna? 3 weken, 3 maanden, 3 jaar? Geen idee, ook de dierenarts niet. Voor Mac was de enige acceptabele oplossing "De laatste Poot". Je kon zien dat ze pijn had, lag alleen nog maar in haar mandje, kon geen voedsel meer binnenhouden. We moesten dus afscheid van haar nemen. En dat is een moelijke beslissing, op zijn zachts gezegd, want het welzijn van Mac MOET voorop komen. Want het ging snel sinds zaterdag, uitstel kon echt niet meer. Vanmiddag om 4:33PM MST hebben wij haar uit haar lijden laten verlossen. Nogmaals de X-rays bekeken met een andere dierenarts; die ons gelijk gaf met de beslissing die we hadden genomen, Joka had ze ook nog niet gezien. Het was een moeilijke rit naar Leduc, viel mij echt zwaar.

Nooit meer zullen we die trouwe oogjes zien, niet meer achter ons aan keutelen, niet meer gewoon aanwezig zijn en effe dollen, iets wat de laatste maanden al niet meer kon. Maar je blijft hopen, eigenlijk tegen beter weten in. Ik zal haar missen, ernstig missen. Maar ze heeft ons 10.5 jaren heel erg prettig gezelschap gegeven en ik weet dat ze bij ons een goed leven heeft gehad. Ik heb menig traantje weggepinkt sinds zaterdag, want het was echt een maatje.

Dually

No not a RAM3500, F350 or HD3500 but a genuine Neway dual clockwork watch, courtesy of Klaas from Nieuwer ter Aa. So now I see in one go the time in Holland, on the left side, and here in Edmonton, on the right side. There is one peculiar thing about theft left dial. Obviously it's Roman digits but look at the 4, usually it is IV but here it is IIII, I expected the IX to be VIIII. Too long I suppose. Maybe its done on purpose, it looks odd nut nice. On the other hand it makes this watch even more unique. Anyways it's a very cool watch and comes in very handy to keep track of both continents, time-wise.

For The Chainsaw, By The Chainsaw

Snow gone, it's a clear blue sky today and 22 degrees, no weeds growing yet I was cutting wood in our poplar forest when I came across some wooden planks, 1.5"x5.5"x15'. Cutting all those logs, 10-15 feet long, needs a saw horse to cut them into stubs suitable for splitting. So today I fabricated a saw horse out of the wooden planks. Instead of burning them, my initial plan (not possible because of a fire ban almost for all of southern Alberta), I encountered in my first DIY project. And it was completed successfully on a Sunday afternoon. And all cuts were made with my, bought last week, new Stihl MS270 chainsaw. Fortunately Johan knows about chainsaws and all the add ons, oil-fuel-sharpeners, to have a complete package.
In case you're wondering about the chains: they are my log locking devices; so I can cut both ends of the log, if loaded symmetrical, without the log tipping over. The trestle is wide enough to ensure stability, although the work-points and work-planes are not as they should be, but hey it's only a wood-log-cutting-saw horse. See how environmentally friendly I am!!! Re-use of materials and an afternoon fun earns me a beer, preferably Rickard's Red. Very good tasting.

Emma 21

Today our Emma turned 21. A bit of a bummer is we could not throw a big party as all her friends are back in NL, luckily Johan is here so that makes up for some of the losses. We had a pleasant supper and a couple of beers, Emma a Mojito, at Original Joe's a restaurant on Ellerslie Road in south Edmonton. I remember her coming into this world with a bang and with a beautiful little nose pointing somewhat to the left, impatient to explore the new world and now here in Canada she is also building a career as she likes to work with animals. She even leases a horse for those oh so pleasant horse rides a couple of times a week. What the future will bring is what the future brings, just take it one step at the time. Happy birthday, girl.

Return for refund if applicable

Here in Canada you have to pay a refundable charge on almost every plastic bottle you buy, the small ones and beer cans included, large ones go for half a buck small ones only for 10 cents. Not to worry, it's a nice savings account when you return all those to the bottle depot. And money is literally on the streets here, as is probably also is in NL. Back in 2007, on our RV trip, I saw trucks filled with bottles go by, wtf?. They picked them up from the streets and garbage cans, a now I know a truck load is worth a couple of 100 dollars, and that's easy money, right? British Columbia and the Parks are clean, because of the bears. Here in Alberta it sometimes looks like a bloody junkyard. People throw everything, sofas and garbage-bags included, just beside the roads, just guess what is happening to the bags with all the coyotes we have here and take another guess of what happens to those coyotes when they come too close to or even into the city, Correct, boom-boom, you're dead. I am no environmental geek but this is a step to far, just take the effort to take it to the landfill and dispose of it. In some ways Canada is almost a third world country; you can let an old car rust until it disappears into the ground, nobody cares; with the refundable plastic bottles on the other hand they are ahead of the game; so there is a balance.

Our "new" Ford F250 Lariat Ranger RV

Model year 1981. We were looking for a new truck-camper (also known as a slide on) for 1/2 ton F150, kind of a trailer for a pickup-truck. Problem being the weight of this truck-camper, and there are not that many lightweight models available. So I started to search the Internet on a used one when I came across the one on the picture, found on www.kijiji.ca. For sale as a package for not that much money, this morning we closed the deal with Lori (A handshake is all I need she said, we are on the same page indeed). Now we are the proud owners of an RV, ready to go when we want it to be. The truck needs new tires, a new battery and an oil-change. After that we will see where it takes us. I'm sure we will have fun with it. We will test-run it a couple of times and if approved by us you can rent it for not that much money. Two adults and two kids will be fine, 3 adults also but four will be a bit inconvenient. You just have to rotate every hour or so. But it's doable. The truck has the sound I'm looking for, maybe a bit too loud but we will find out. The RV part needs cleaning a bit of maintenance, it pleasantly surprised me when we looked at it. It is an 1979 Osprey truck-camper in pretty good condition. If it falls apart on our first trip, like in the Louis de Funes movies, its a bad deal. But that will not happen. And look a it this way: it's an F250, one step closer to the F350, right! I will keep you posted on our endeavours. One other big advantage is the fact  Mac and Fox can accompany us on our trips, that makes it even more fun.

Rush 2010 Time Machine Tour

Below is the latest on the 2010 Rush Time Machine tour, life gets better by the day over here. There is only one thing that bugs me: they skip Western Canada. Me not likka that. Now I have to travel all the way to Toronto, but it's worth the trip. They will play "Moving Pictures" completely, as well as new songs from their, yet to be released, 20th (!!!!!!!) studio-album.

(Toronto – Thursday, April 8th 2010) - Rush – Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart – is without question one of the most inventive and compelling groups in rock history, equally famed for both its virtuoso musicianship and provocative songwriting.

Announced today, The Time Machine Tour is an evening with Rush, where they will perform their classics, give a taste of the future – and for the first time ever – feature the Moving Pictures album live in its entirety.

The band is currently working on their 20th studio album with producer Nick Raskulinecz (co-producer from 2007’s Snakes & Arrows) and in addition to their classics plan to showcase a few new tunes live this summer.

“We were off for a year and a half, and now it's just pouring. Everything is totally crazy and there's not a minute left in the day. We've got these half-dozen songs, and we'll probably go in the studio and work on a couple of them and see how it goes, perhaps release something – and I say perhaps – and then we plan on being on the road,” says guitarist, Alex Lifeson.

This summer’s Live Nation promoted tour will visit approximately 40 cities throughout North America beginning June 29th in Albuquerque, NM and finishing October 2nd in West Palm Beach, FL with stops along the way in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Holmdel, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington, and more along the way (complete tour itinerary follows).

Rush has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and garnered untold legions of devoted and admiring fans. According to the RIAA, Rush's sales statistics place RUSH third after The Beatles and The Rolling Stones for the most consecutive gold or platinum studio albums by a rock band.

Released in 1981, Moving Pictures was their most successful album, certified 4x Platinum and features some of Rush’s most well known songs and perennial radio favourites Tom Sawyer, Limelight and the Grammy-nominated instrumental YYZ.

“Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage” a documentary created by filmmakers Scot McFadyen & Sam Dunn (whose filmography also includes: “Iron Maiden; Flight 666,’ “Metal, A Headbangers Journey” and “Global Metal”) will premiere at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival on April 24th followed by the Canadian premiere at Toronto’s Hot Docs festival on April 29th. The band was also recently showcased in the comedy “I Love You Man” where they play themselves in a concert scene featuring actors Paul Rudd and Jason Segal as ubra-fans, a performance which has exposed the band to a whole new generation.

Inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame this past March alongside Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Gordon Lightfoot, Rush has also been nominated for multiple Grammy awards and won a number of Juno Awards. They were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994 and bestowed the Order of Canada in 1997. Consistently celebrated and respected worldwide, Rush is the most successful Canadian rock band of all time and they remain one of the biggest grossing arena rock bands ever.

Currently, 04-08-10@6:10PM, it's snowing

The white stuff is falling again, according to the Weather Network we will end up with 10-15 cm of accumulated snow. Cool. It's not the dump, as they the call 1 foot overnight snow over here, but it's a start. I will be gone in a day or so and brings some moisture into the ground, which we need badly. There is no fire-ban in place, yet, won't be long though as it is extremely dry in Alberta in general. Vancouver on the other hand has moisture enough, a couple of weeks ago they had 70 mm in 2 days. No thanks, looks like NL. A trip to the beach will not work for us, its about 1100 km in a straight line, but we got salmon instead of sole (lenguado). Both are extremely tasty and very enjoyable with a glass of white wine, preferably Gascogne.

How much can a rural bridge hold?

I have trouble going to sleep, so I'm boozing and post something stupid. The below listed pictures are a fine example of how not to do it.

Firstly: How much does the, to be transported, house weigh either in lbs or kgs?

 Secondly: How much can a rural bridge hold?

Thirdly: How is going to pay for this stupidity?

HOUSE INSURANCE,
CAR INSURANCE OR,
DOES IT COME UNDER ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE???

Rolly View Logging

It was another clear-blue sky and sunshiny day today and I decided to make a start with clearing out our poplar forest. There are a lot of dead and already downed trees to get busy with. The first few I did by hand and had soon enough of that. So I fired up the lawn tractor, it went in one go, found a chain and began hauling the tree-stems towards the fire pit. Even with a soar and un-cooperative lower back I managed to get a lot out of there. As expected I took it one step to far and broke the chain, never-mind I had enough of it anyways. I still have to get a power saw, preferably the Stihl MS290, to cut all that wood up. But then we can light the campfire again and have a beer and a smoke. It would be ideal to have a log-splitter too, but that's in the future. We will have a couple of wood-cutting weekends with Victor, which are great fun. He has always an odd story or two up his sleeve and usually I laugh my butt of. Couple of beers, good food and the inevitable men talk make a great day and a large pile of split logs. Life is pretty good out here.

The Ford 2011 6.7 ltr V8 Diesel

This is the one: 6.7 litre pure diesel power and joy. Build from scratch. Do I need it? By no means at all. It has improved fuel economy too and lots of power. Mike, Dirty Jobs, Rowe likes it too, and features in a nice video. When you are from Europe, like me, it's hard to grasp these engines are quite common here. And, hey, I adapt quickly, have to. Even now this engine is completely redesigned, they say anyways, whilst hybrid and electrical engines are really on the agenda. Here in Alberta we will see these Diesel engines and big gas engines for a long time to come. Chevrolet already has a truck engine that shuts down 4 cylinders when cruising at a constant speed, so even with the truck manufacturers it is an issue. And these engines do have a very nice roar, and when you are a petrol-head you will like it. Period. Oh and by the way why buy a Porsche 911 or a Audi R8 when you do not have a circuit in your backyard. So why buy a F350 with an engine like the above? When you fire it up there is that dangerous rumble under the hood, a silent roar from it's Mandrel bent 4 inch exhaust pipes, those diesel fumes stink a little, it has so much power it shakes on all 4 20 inch BF Goodrich All Terrains, the twin-turbo's whistle, when warming up it starts to hiss somewhat. When you start driving and floor it a little all hell breaks loose, awesome. You will have a smile across your face from ear to ear and beyond. When you are truck-crazy, and I am :-) , you just need to own and drive one like that. Got it?

Some Traffic Advice

For those of you who are coming to Canada and going to drive an RV or any other motorized vehicle, here are some rules and regulations and advice regarding Canadian traffic.
-Be very aware Canadians do not have a clue of what is happening around their vehicles traffic wise. When turning left and a car is approaching in Tokyo they keep waiting until it is passed. This does not apply to pick-up truck drivers, they know how to use their right foot. Basically just have patience, you will need it.
-All speed limits are listed in km/h. Canada turned metric some 30 years ago, but they still talk imperial and distances go by time unit.
-An international drivers license is required!
-Remember that your RV is wide, high and long. It takes some time to get used to that, especially for the sleeping compartment above the cabin, back in 2007 I came close to hitting a parked fifth wheel.
-You may turn right when the traffic light are red, but only after you came to full stop and there is no interfering traffic, right.
-Traffic lights are on the far side of the road, you need to get used to that and it way easier on the neck. The traffic-light can be mounted vertically or horizontally. A blinking green arrow to the left means you are free to turn.
-A stop sign is what it says: STOP. And you better do so, they are keen to fine you and that sets you back some 278 dollars. Stop for at least 3 seconds on every stop-sign; also on the campgrounds. I admit to feel real stupid sometimes when there is nobody around.
-4 and 3 way crossings. They are ideal, first come first serve no matter which way you came or are going. And again always stop.
-You always stop for pedestrians, even if they do not use the designated areas.
-When you stop behind another car make sure you can see it's rear-tires, you are at the correct distance.
-When driving on the highway and you are approaching any rescue vehicle (police-fire-ambulance) slow down to 60, go to the opposite lane and drive by carefully. They are very keen on this.
-For you own piece of mind and the contents of your wallet; just obey the speed limits.
-A pick-up truck parked on a 90 degree angle to the road; probably a speed-trap. When you encounter a strangely or lonely parked car, also probably a speed-trap.
-Watch out for school signs and playgrounds; slow down to 30 km/h
-When pulled over by mr policeman, stay in the car and keep your hands visible for them.
-When planning to visit National Parks, a pass could come in handy. Single entry for two about $20, National pass $136. When retuning your RV you could try to sell it to someone departing, needless to say someone may be offering a pass when you are departing, usually the go for $80-100 but check out the backside on the absence of a signature. If signed offer them 20 bucks, chances they check out your pass are slim to nill but you never know. Look here for Parks Canada passes.
-Look here for current Canadian gas prices, your RV uses about 1 litre per 3-4 km. Probably you have a 136 or 148 litre gas tank. Fun part of filling up here in Alberta is the litres are going faster than the dollars.
-If possible bring an extra (light weight) sleeping bag each, just in case.
-Of course you go to a Tim Horton's to get a coffee and a donut (a assorted box of 12 is only $6.50). Be prepared to be very patient, it can take up to half an hour to be served depending on the amount of customers. After a while waiting in line you start to wonder how on earth they make any money and where all that customer patience originates. I you feel experienced enough handling the RV you could use the drive-thru but usually they are a bit tight.
-First thing you do after picking-up your RV is buying groceries, they are not very wide spread; certainly not in the rural areas. Remember that every camp-site comes with a BBQ and probably are allowed to build a campfire which is great fun to do. Check if your RV comes with an axe, if not just buy a cheap one. Also a small gas-bbq could come in handy for your breakfast bacon and sausages. Buy or bring some cheap steak knives.

A bit more advice as intended, use it to your advantage.

Sunshine Hours per year

I was wondering about the hours of sunshine we have here in Leduc/Edmonton. This morning I was driving Joka to work on yet another clearblue and sunshiny day, of which I feel we have a lot over here. Again Google comes to the rescue: Edmonton receives 2,299 hours (6.3 hpd) of sunshine per year as opposed to The Netherlands only having 1600 hours (4.4 hpd) on average. It may be darned cold here during winter but at least we have a lot of sunshine to make up for that and with the sun shining it at least seems less cold.

6000 Tonnes of Steel

This week turned out to be the turning point for M&D and Waiward Steel. Some 6000 tonnes of steel have been awarded for detailing and fabrication. 2600 T Kearl Lake Project, 1000 T Slurry building and 2400 T conveyor belt structures. And there is more to come, fucking finally. We need it, cause the office staff is thinning. But now we are going to build some momentum as it obviously is picking up again. Efficiency and detailing turnaround time needs to improve drastically. The outlook for this year is indeed improving rapidly. There is ever talk of bringing in the 35 Philippine detailers, who were cancelled last March, in the short term. Look here for tonne and here for ton. This switch is some what difficult in the sense that tons of steel in Canada differs from tons of steel in Holland. Mark my words; Imperial Oil is starting, Syncrude, Suncor and the likes will soon follow. Booming again.

Backpain

Turning 52 and receiving your present....... in the morning can turn in a very painful situation after all. Friday afternoon there was just a little sting at my lower back. In the evening it was painful, Saturday and Sunday I spent flat on my back, popped in Tylenol Lower Back Pain (big blue pills :-) ) but that did not help. So of to work Monday morning, it turned out to be a hellish day, could hardly walk, sitting down was even worse and driving home was like someone hammering 10" nails into my back. Getting out of my truck was a very a painful endeavour. Still I was thinking, it will blow over after another days rest flat on my back. How stupidly typical for me. So on Tuesday I stayed home, and here that costs you money (no work no pay, but I like that). "Yes honey, I will go to work today" I said Wednesday morning`. The ride to the office was not very promissing. I stumbled to my desk and decided, at last, at 10:15AM that I had a problem that would not go away by looking the other way, and I phoned the first chiropractor I found with Google. At 11AM I was at the chiropractor, indeed no waiting lists over here, who examined me and had X-rays taken. It turned out movement was poor on 3 locations in my spine, 2 disks are in phase 3 of deterioration and growing towards each other, and my pelvis bone was attached to my right hip bone and caused my right leg to be shorter than the left. So I have a big problem, but guess what; Darren can help me. That same afternoon I had my first crack session and walked out relatively pain free. The next 6 weeks I have to go 3 times a week, then 6 weeks twice a week, 4 times a month for 2 months and finally once every month just for maintenance. And it helps, I feel a lot better lately, not ideal but I'm getting there. Looking back I should have recognized it, could not walk for long periods without having back-pain. But hey, it will blow over, right? Nope, sometimes you just have to admit you have a problem and just deal with it. It's as simple as that. Don't ignore it, just face it and deal with it head on. The next couple of months I'll be off to "Mr Crackman" as I call him.