I like to think that I’ve brought this wonderful weather with me to Saskatchewan, but who knows? All I know is that this poor province hadn’t had more than two nice days in a row all summer, until I showed up just after Labour Day. Since then, it’s been nice here.
That’s worked out well for me, since the cottage I’m staying at is not a year-round place. Calling it a three-season home might be stretching it a bit, although the fireplace does work, and I’ve been using it in the evenings and mornings.
Thankfully, there is a new addition (well, new 20 years ago) and it has some electric heat. Especially in the bathroom. Call me an old fogie, but give me a home with a nice warm bathroom, and I’m happy. I can put up with a lot, so long as my bum is warm when I’m doing what comes naturally…
It looks like I’m going to be here in the wild west until Thanksgiving. Then I’ll be hitting the road on my way back to Hamilton and my patient family. But my time here will have been worth it. I’ve been able to hang out here at the cottage during a beautiful time of year. But best of all, someone is paying me to work while I’m here. The commute into Regina is a really nice, 30-minutes. And there’s almost no traffic…not at all like home.
So, I’ve been having such a good time walking the dog, enjoying the weather and just generally hanging out that I haven’t kept up these postings. But that’s OK, I figure. And if any of you want to know more about what’s going on, just comment on this. I’ll get your comment the next time I log on and I’ll be happy to elaborate.
Author: dave Page 72 of 75
I’ve been enjoying my time here at the lake. The cottage in the fall is a nice place to be, with the leaves turning like crazy. So far, the weather hasn’t been too bad, but having to make a fire in the morning to warm up is different from turning up the thermostat. Sort of puts you back in touch with more basic things. Same with Internet connections (now there’s a tenuous segue for you). Out here, I’ve got a phone line. So when I need to log on, I can’t use the phone. Fair enough, although the connection is a little slow. But it works.
One of the benefits of the Internet is chatting across the miles. Every night, Heather and Kelly (in Hamilton) log on to MSN about 9 their time. Jaime, our daughter is going to school in Victoria, so she logs in from there, and I log in from here at Buena Vista (just outside of Regina). Its a fun way to catch up on the events of the day…and it really does work. It’s a bit slower than talking on the phone, but in some ways, it’s more satisfying. But it does get comical when everyone starts typing at once…and the messages flow thick and fast. Sort of like supper table talk after a particularly busy day.
The real treat of being here at the cottage at this time of year is the colours of the trees. This year, I’ve been lucky that the wind hasn’t blown all the leaves off yet, so the views in the valley are stunning. There’s a riot of colour around and in the morning and evening, the sunrises and sunsets are spectacular. I’m enjoying them a lot. Of course, fall is a chilly time and I could use some more good wood to burn. I’m working through all the scap wood around here, but that doesn’t throw off a lot of heat. But a friend is coming out to visit tomorrow and he’ll be bringing a truckload of firewood. That should help get through the cooler days ahead.
I decided to drive across the U.S. to get here to Saskatchewan. I like the way the Americans treat people driving long distances. The Interstate Highway system is an amazing accomplishment. It connects the entire country with fast, straightforward roads. They’re all limited access and they have plenty of rest stops along the way.
As someone who needs to stop fairly regularly to “inspect the facilities” (my old dog feels the same way) I appreciate the rest stops along the highway. They’re all built along similar lines. You exit the highway and there’s a parking lot with clean bathrooms, some local information brochures, a phone and some vending machines. But there’s no McDonalds, Tim Hortons or any other kind of commercial activity. They’re quiet and friendly and they make for efficient travel.
It’s interesting that all across the US, you see taxpayers’ money used to keep up the highway system and the roadside stops along it. Sure, there are restaurants, hotels and businesses just off the highway. But if you stay on it, there’s always a place to stop and rest without being assaulted by commercial activity.
While the cost to build a similar system in Canada would be prohibitive, I wouldn’t mind seeing Canadians decide to put more tax dollars to work on our road system to make it as efficient. If I want to get somewhere, I like to be able to get there quickly, and not be forced to look at a lot of signs advertising everything in every town. In Saskatchewan, it seems like every small town has erected one or two signs for every citizen, just to tell us about the cobwebby antique place, or the dirt for sale, or the best place to get your septic tank emptied. As a traveler on the road, I don’t really see why I would ever be interested in who has the best septic tank truck…it’s just not a service I need to know about while I’m driving.
For Whom the Tolls Bill
Another item of note is the Yank’s attitude towards tolls, whether for bridges, or for special high-speed highways. In America, you roll up to a toll both, toss in your quarter, or whatever, and away you go. At each of the booths, there are people sitting there, ready to make change and help you out. The system puts a lot of people to work. Sure they may not be the most glamorous jobs, but they’re steady and dependable and they help a lot of families put bread on the table. And some of them are automated, with special lanes for people who travel through regularly. But there’s still lots of people working.
In Ontario, we’ve got a different system. The 407 ETR is an electronic toll collection system. You drive on and a camera records your license number and sends you a bill. It doesn’t matter where you’re from either. Out of province people get the bill as well. It’s a slick, automated system that uses the latest in technology to collect the money. And they collect a lot of money. It’s the most expensive toll road in the world. And the money goes to a private company that doesn’t even have to ask anyone to raise the tolls. They just do it.
My problem with this system is that there are no people involved. Sure, the technology is neat, but it’s put a lot of people out of work. And it must cost a lot, because they charge a lot more money than other roads. In New York and Illinois, and Michigan, and other states I’ve visited, the tolls are collected by a public authority which hires the people and puts the money back into the highway system. You know what your tolls are going to pay for and you know that a lot of people are making a living from the tolls you pay. It seems like a good system. Sure, it could be automated, but why bother?
Technology is a great thing, and I like it as much as the next guy…maybe even more. But sometimes, I think we get carried away trying to use new technology just because we can. We need to consider a different measure of when it’s a good idea. Taking away a lot of reasonable jobs just because it will improve the bottom line for shareholders isn’t always in the best interests of our community. At least, that’s how I feel about tolls. So there.
It’s been quite awhile since I updated anythng here…Oh, the joys of summer (such as it has been!)
While it doesn’t look as though much has been happening, that’s not quite true. There’s been a lot of travelling and my oldest daughter is off to school in Victoria. And today, I’m off to Regina, driving across the country with one of our dogs. I’m going to be spending a month or so at the cottage at Buena Vista, just outside of Regina. I’m going to be helping a friend with some writing work he has there, as well as visiting old friends.
And if I have some time (and I expect to) and an Internet connection, I’ll get around to updating this log and improving my website as well.
More to come as I hit the road…
…and that means I’ll be spending the rest of the week at the Henley Regatta in St. Catherines. It’s going to be fun. My two daughters, Jaime and Kelly, are both entered in three events…the single, double and quad races. They’re racing for Leander Boat Club — just one of 122 rowing clubs from across North America (and as far away as New Zealand) entered in one of the largest rowing events in the world.
And they’re racing together in the quad! Putting them both in that boat (which has four people, each with two oars, or sculls, as they’re called by us rowing geeks!) was a last second change, so you won’t find their name in that race, if you’re looking at the daily schedules. You can find them at the Henley Regatta site.
SATURDAY UPDATE — Well, the Henley is over for the year out house. There’s still one day of racing left, but Jaime and Kelly are finished. Today was a really satisfying day, although that elusive Henley Gold stayed just out of reach. Jaime and Kelly, along with two others, had a great race…probably their strongest effort yet to place third in their final this morning. The girls were very excited about the race. Then, two hours later, Jaime rowed her single final. She blasted out of the blocks and posted her best 500 metres ever…but she wasn’t able to keep up the pace and ended up in fourth against some excellent women, all of whom are a few years older than she is. It was an excellent performance and a fine end to the regatta for this year. For Heather and I, this week has been one of high emotion…my eyes hurt from so many teary moments. But it was sure worth it. And we’re already looking forward to next year…
FRIDAY UPDATE — Today, the Traynor express finally hit a bit of a snag — but only just. This was a big day for Kelly and Jaime. Kelly and her partner, Beth Harris, rowed their first heat in the Junior B Women’s Double in the morning and qualified for the semis, which were in the afternoon. Unfortunately, they came up just short of qualifying for Sunday’s final, although they finished a strong third in their race. Then, about two hours later, Kelly rowed her third race of the day in the final of the Junior B Women’s Singles. It was a great performance, but Kelly’s hope for her first gold medal came up a few strokes short. She finished second to a woman from Saskatoon who rowed the race of her life to win. Talk about excitement. Kelly seemed OK on the course, but her parents were cardiac cases in the grandstand — but very, very proud.
Of course, the day wasn’t over. Jaime and her partner, Jenn Barkins, had their Junior Womens Doubles final late in the day. Like Kelly, they also ran up against a high quality field and today wasn’t their day to take home the gold.
Still, Leander’s day wasn’t over. Spencer Brewer and Jake Thomasen won Henley Gold in the Junior Men’s Double. Their victory, and the strong showing by all the other scullers, is a credit to the great coaching they’ve received from John Tice. Our hats off to him and all the other volunteers at Leander who give our kids such a great experience.
But they’re not quite finished yet. Jaime and Jen will join Kelly and another girl to row their final in the Senior B Womens’ Quad on Saturday morning. And Jaime will finish off the regatta Saturday afternoon when she rows the Senior B Lightweight Womens Single. So we’re not finished with the quest for the gold just yet…more tomorrow.
THURSDAY UPDATE — Well, it didn’t rain, but the wind was a big problem. Jaime, and her partner, Jen, did race early in their double and made it to the final by winning their semi. But not too long after that, Kelly’s semi-final singles race was stopped just after the start because the course was too windy. So we waited for four hours while everything was delayed. But after lunch, the racing began again, and they kept pushing races down the course, finally wrapping up the day’s events at about 8:30 pm. Fortunately, Kelly was still able to qualify for the final in the single event. So we finally made it home late and tired, but looking forward to Friday’s excitement. And according to the weather, it will be on the cool side, but the wind will be blowing from the west, which is better for the rowers.
WEDNESDAY UPDATE — The rain arrived today but with little wind and no thunderstorms, it was a good day for rowing. The only race we were involved in was Jaime’s first heat in her single. The 2003 Gold Medal winner from last year was one of the boats in her race, which meant that realistically, the other five were competing for the remaining qualifying spot. For those of us watching from the grandstands, the race was a real nail-biter. But for Jaime, cool as anything, it was just another day on the water, as she powered to a convincing second-place finish and a trip straight to the final on Saturday. What a race!
TUESDAY UPDATE — A very successful first day. We had three races and three second-places, good enough to qualify for the next stage in each of them. A threatening thunderstorm in the morning passed over without incident and it was a beautiful day for rowing. A great start to the week.
Jaime’s races:
Event 02 — Junior Women’s Double:
Heat — Tuesday @ 8:35
TUESDAY UPDATE — Jaime and Jen placed second and qualified for the semi’s
Semi — Thursday @ 8:21
THURSDAY UPDATE — Jaime and Jen won their semi with a very impressive performance. They out-paced all the other semis by over 10 seconds, and they’ll race on Friday for Henley Gold from the favoured lane 3 position.
Final — Fri @ 6:35 pm
FRIDAY UPDATE — The quest for gold came up just short. The double comes in sixth in the final.
Event 17 — Senior B. Quad (4X) Both Jaime and Kelly are in this boat
Heat — Tues @ 4:31
TUESDAY UPDATE — The quad placed second and qualified for the final on Saturday.
Final — Sat @ 10:10
SATURDAY UPDATE — They placed third in a great final. It was one of their strongest races of the year and couldn’t have come at a better time. They looked great.
Event 30 — Senior B Lightweight Single (1X)
Heat — Wed @ 12:19
WEDNESDAY UPDATE — Jaime’s second-place showing sends her to the finals.
Final — Sat @ 12:20
SATURDAY UPDATE — Jaime finishes fourth in a very strong field. She was second after 500 metres, third at 1000 and put in a great finish to almost sneak back into third.
Kelly’s races
Event 09 — Jr. B Womens Single (1X)
Heat — Wed @ 11:30
TUESDAY UPDATE — Kelly finished second and qualified for the semis.
Semi — Thur @ 9:17
THURSDAY UPDATE — After the long wind delay (see above), Kelly placed third in her semi, and moved into the final, which is set for the end of the day on Friday.
Final — Fri @ 5:25 pm
FRIDAY UPDATE — Kelly rowed a strong race to finish second in her first Henley final. Just wait until next year, she vows.
Event 72 — Jr. B. Womens Double (2X)
Heat — Fri @ 8:56
Semi — Fri @ 2:58
FRIDAY UPDATE — Kelly and Beth qualified for the semis, but they came up just short of making it to the final, finishing a strong third in their race. Time to start working on next year’s race.
Being a rowing dad isn’t all fun and games you know. Sometimes, we parents have to sacrifice ourselves for our children. Take this past weekend, at the Ontario Championships in Welland.
Those of you who follow this blog will know that my daughters, Kelly and Jaime have been having great summer seasons. And at the Ontarios, they continued their winning ways. Kelly won gold in the Under 17 Women’s singles event and picked up a bronze in the double with her partner Beth Harris. Meanwhile, Jaime won a bronze in her double, with her partner, Jenn Barkens, in the Under 19 Womens. But unfortunately for Jaime, her singles final was just 30 minutes after the double, and Jaime just missed a bronze, coming in fourth in the Under 23 Womens Lightweight category.
So what was my sacrifice, I can hear you asking? Well, Welland is unique among the local rowing venues in that a path runs along the entire two-kilometre course. That means that if you’re on a bicycle, you can ride from the start to the finish, watching every stroke. It’s a wonderful way to watch the race and for the first time, I took a bike with me on the weekend. I’ve never been able to watch an entire race like that. It was fascinating to see the determination and effort these kids put into this sport.
Over the course of the day, I rode back and forth from the boathouse area, to the course, down to the start and back to the finish. Over and over again. All on my seldom-used bicycle. As you might expect, by the end of the day, my legs were getting a bit sore, and I was not sitting quite as comfortably as I had been. But the races were exciting, and it sure seemed worth it.
Then I got in the van for the hour-long drive back to Hamilton, where Heather was arriving at the airport and was looking for a ride home. Everything seemed OK until I tried to get out of the van only to discover that my thighs were so sore I could barely walk. Things had stiffened up a lot during the drive home.
By the time we arrived back at the house, things were much worse. That evening I could barely move. I walked the dogs to the part, then worried that I might not be able to make it home. I could barely put one foot in front of the other! Fortunately, a lot of ice packs (and a few scotches) later, I was able to get some sleep. Sunday morning, we were all back at the regatta, but I left my bike at home. I sat in my chair on the side of the course and watched the races through binoculars this time.
This upcoming weekend, the kids have a weekend off, then on Tuesday, the Henley Regatta begins. It’s the ultimate event for the rowers and we’re all very excited. But perhaps the best part for all of us rowing dads is that there’s a bona fide grandstand at the finish, with seats and everything…what luxury!
I plan to post some links to the regatta pages when I know the girls’ final schedules, which should be later this week. And for those of you interested, you’ll be able to follow the results in near-real time on the website.
Any of you who have been following my posts here will already know that I’m the proud papa of a couple of talented young woman rowers. Well, now that the high school season is over, they’ve both moved on to club rowing this summer with Hamilton’s Leander Boat Club. This past weekend, Kelly Anne and Jaime both added to their hardware collections with great performances at the St. Catherine’s Invitational Regatta.
This two-day regatta is a warm-up for the upcoming Henley Regatta (Aug 3 – 9) one of the largest regattas in the world. (By the way, anyone interested can follow the results on the website during the regatta itself. I’ll be posting links to the girls’ events closer to the date they happen.)
Both Kelly and Jaime will be rowing at Henley for Leander. It’s Kelly’s first time. Last year, Jaime won two bronze medals. Needless to say, I’ll be in the grandstands, cheering like crazy. Watching your kids excel at something they love to do is very affirming for a parent. In fact, watching your kids do anything is pretty good…
This summer, Kelly and Jaime have been rowing in the single, double and quad events, although they specialize in the single and the double. On Saturday, Jaime (a lightweight) won a gold medal in her double with her partner, Jenn Barkens (a heavyweight). Guess which one is Jaime… Jaime also picked up a fourth place in her singles event. Kelly won gold in her single race, as well as finishing second with her doubles partner, Beth Harris. All in all, it was a very exciting weekend.
Next week, The RowOntario Championships are in Welland, then it’s time to get ready for the Henley’s. I guess you’ll be able to figure out what I’ll be doing on the weekend…
…just what the heck I’ve been up to lately. Well, the Tour de France is on right now, and has been for almost two weeks. That’s a lot of stuff happening. Then today, the British Open started. Of course, I had to pay attention. Plus, I’ve been building back stairs, driving kids around, burning discs to my new Mac…man, I’ve been busy!! So busy that I haven’t been worrying too much about blogging. After all, it is summer, right?
Hope you’re having a good one, despite the freakish weather that has been showing up across the country. Me, I spent today trying to get all the stuff on the basement floor out of harm’s way. Last night Peterborough was hit by a freak storm and basements and streets flooded like crazy. It could happen here anytime, and if it did, we’d be in trouble. So for once, I thought maybe I should try to get ahead of the game…we’ll see.
Summer’s here, and the blogging is spotty at best. I realize it’s been awhile since the last Daily Upload. Maybe I need to think about changing the name of this blog! But what the heck…it’s warm outside and while I might think about interesting stuff to put up, if I don’t get around to it, I doubt any of you are going to complain too much. You’re probably all too busy doing your own summertime things….
But here’s something interesting. Since the election campaign wrapped up in Canada, our attention (and our media) is going to be increasingly dominated by the Presidential campaign of our southern neighbours. There’s going to be a lot of stuff flowing around and it’s going to be increasingly difficult for readers to separate fact from fiction.
That leads to an interesting question on just what “objective” journalism means and how we might need to redefine that term in today’s information-rich, always-on, 24-hour news cycle world.
Here’s an interesting story from the Columbia Journalism Review that sets up the issue. I relate to this as an old political reporter. But believe me, compared to the pressures that today’s reporters are facing on the campaign trail, I look like I was living in another world, even though is was only 10 years ago!
Discussions about the role of the reporter in today’s political environment is a fascinating area, and it’s something I’m going to be keeping my own log on during the months ahead.
Isn’t this great? For all the talk about how this election was already over, the voters have proven that pollsters do not know everything. I’m sitting here watching the election results tonight and what do you know? The Liberals have slipped to a minority, but it’s a solid minority. And with the results for the NDP, the Liberals have enough votes to govern.
Right up until the results started coming in tonight, the pundits were predicting that things were too close to call. Then the vote totals started coming in. The Liberals did well in Atlantic Canada, but that wasn’t unexpected. Then they did well in Ontario, and you could see the puzzled looks all around. Then the totals kept coming in and it became clear that the Liberal numbers were solid, and the panelists seemed stunned. For awhile, they didn’t seem to want to admit that what was happening was really happening…but it was. And it did.
I think I like this result, but I’m going to have to think about it for awhile. But for now, I’m just delighted that the poll that counted — the one that we all participated in today — turned out to be different from what everyone said was going to be the result. That makes me feel good. And I think it should give ammunition to those like me, who want to reconsider the role that polling should play in the election coverage.
This story certainly isn’t over…