What a lucky boy I am

My wife was busy doing baking today.  Here a couple of the results .  A nice Apple pie and a Lemon Merange pie.  Aren't you jealous your not here to have a piece of pie?

A rainy day

Today was a rainy day and with a few hours to kill we decided to visit Butchart Gardens.  We have a yearly pass so took a lunch with us and then checked out the Spring Prelude and the Historical display in the Butchart's house.
Enjoy the pictures of our visit.

Have you checked this out?  If not drop by its worth the view.

Best sport value

Well tonight we decided to go watch a high school basketball game.  The only one we could find was at Oak Bay High School against visiting Claremont.

It was a very good game.  Oak Bay trailing by 4 points with only 12.5 seconds left ended up tying  the game 51-51.  Then proceeded to win 62-58 in overtime.

A thrilling game to watch for the great price of Free.
Yes free.  Where can you get that kind of excitement and not spend a fortune for a family.  I'm  surprised more people don't attend high school sports.   Always good entertainment at a very good price.    I'm sure at some tournaments there is a price to attend but it would be well worth it . 

Check it out some time

Give me the money

Well  my wife told me she heard on the radio that the CRD wants to do a study on the deer population of Greater Victoria.  And this study is going to cost $150,000 .   Well Let me do the study I can come up with the same answer.  We have too many deer for the area that people are living in.  

We have trouble growing plants of any kind whether you are a farmer or  hobby gardener.  People have either had to put up fences. Or come up with ways to scare the deer away or even spray plants with odors that the deer don't like.  Then it rains and the odors disappear.  Or the deer knock down the fences or find a way over or under.

There is only one way to solve this problem. Its a controlled cull by the CRD.  We cant let anyone take on this their own way as we don't want people shot in the process.

And I know the argument that what right do we have they were here first.  Well I can tell you that when I moved in to our place we saw a few deer maybe once a week.  Now we see 10 or so daily.  I'm not saying get rid of them all together but thin them out so we can enjoy them and also enjoy the fruits of the labour of gardening.   After all aren't we suppose to be going more green and growing our own food closer to home.  Or is that growing food for the deer to eat?   Comments.  Lets hear what you think or tell us about your problem with deer. 

And save the money or cut it in half , my study will only cost the CRD $75,000.


 

Too simple it might work

Well this idea is so simple It might be the answer.  I believe what you see here is the answer to the train, commuter problem of Vancouver Island.

You see the truck and crew working on the track.  The wheels on the truck that can be lowered to use the track and then lifted to drive on the road.
 Well what if they used the same concept on the buses.  You could have buses with these wheels leaving from up island toward Victoria every morning on the track before the train goes by.  Then they reach Victoria and they lift their wheels and drive back up the island return.  Or they could stay in town till the afternoon.
Then in the afternoon the process is reversed.  You could have 10-12 buses doing this so it would carry lots and it would only cost for the buses and wheels and maintenance of the track.  

Why haven't they come up with this.  Well I did see this idea presented before but its probably because its so cheap and not flashy that's why the politicians don't want this one.  They want their name beside some big flashy commuter train . A legacy for them.   

Well you think it would work?   Do you have a good solution?

well leave a comment .  I know you know how now.

great paintings

While downtown today we saw these paintings .  From a distance they look so realistic.   I love to see different murals around town and in other towns too.   Starting in Feb.  I will be joining with a few other blogs and posting a series called Odd Shot Mondays.  I was in this about a year ago but it stopped.  I was just informed today that it will start up again in Feb.  So If you have any photos that are kinda odd send them to me and I could use them if they fit.    And if I like them.  Ok later
 

How to comment

Well someone the other day suggested I give a lesson how to comment. So here goes.  You see the little 0 comments above here well click on the comment on the blog post you want to comment to.

That will bring you to this form to comment in.

Ok you now write your comment in the top portion here.  Then fill in the word verification which on this one is ralsero. then either put in your google username and password or go down just a little further and click the little circle with Annonymous.  and Thats it just click publish your comment.  Ok thats it.  Lets see if you can do it.  Im expecting everyone to try.  Lets see if we can get 20 people to comment just on this post.

Ok waiting to read your comment. 

You can't do that today

 Well today we had only two hours downtown before we had to pick someone up.  So my wife decided to use a Christmas Gift card and buy a pair of shoes at the Bay department store.  Sounded easy right?  Wrong.


First after choosing her shoes we went to the checkout to pay for them.  The shoes get scanned, then the gift card, now the problem.  After 15 mins and a phone call to the Bay
head office, They told us the gift card part of their system was down all across the country.
  So they said come back in 1/2 hr and try again.  So the shoes got put on hold and we went for tea and coffee.  
  Returning about 45 mins later we tried again, only to have the same problem.  So the final result was they held the shoes and we are trying again later in the week. Unfortunately we have to drive back into town again for this.  

Well we took that fine and those things happen, but when they happen again you start to wonder if its you or is this world just going too computerish (new word) for our own good.   Next we went to a bank to activate a debit card on a new account.  And yes you guessed it their system was down.  But you can go home and do it by phone.  Maybe we should just stick to cash now and not do things with cards.  It seemed so much easier back then.

What do you think , do you run into problems with cards too?

Esquimalt Lagoon

  

Down at Esquimalt Lagoon today and looking at the erosion of the coberg peninsula.  Over the last few years we have been reading about the erosion of the area around the bridge.

These few pics show even though the tide is high today that alot of the end part of the peninsula has been washed away.   There use to be a area for about 12 cars to park now you would be lucky to get 2 there now.

It has been said that most of the reason is that the peninsula was there from all the gravel and sand that was deposited over many many years from the gravel pit a few miles away.  Now the gravel pit is no more. So for the last few years no more new material deposited and the old being washed away.  

It sure makes sense to me.  After seeing this today I can see why they are so concerned with the bridge being lost.  It was closed for a while last summer but they did some work for a short term solution. 

I believe they can do some more work but its about who would pay for the work.

A political battle between Colwood and the Feds.  Time will tell if the money gets spent or we lose the bridge. 

One thing that losing the bridge that would be a good thing for some people as commuters would no longer speed along this old road.  Making it unsafe for the people that just want to enjoy the beauty of the place.

Ok.   As for a future blog.  I'm requesting someone to write me a little bit of something they have found locally to write a blog about.  Or something that is just bugging you .  You decide , It will be the first Visitor blog.  Yes I will decide if your write up goes on here or not but please send me something.  With pics too.

 

Advertising

You know whenever there is a catchy phrase the advertising community like to latch on to it.  Well the carbon footprint is the one this time.  This Hyundai commercial really puts out that the commercial was made carbon free.  Well think about it.  How did you get all the equipment there ?  I'm sure they didn't use a horse and wagon or carry it there.  There must have been trucks that delivered the equipment and how did the actor and all the people get there from their homes.  I'm sure they didn't walk.   What do you think?

Martin Luther King jr

Well its Martin Luther King Jr day on Monday  Jan. 17.   Interesting quote I found on another site about science and Technology by him.   Check the site out yourself.

quote of Martin Luther King jr 

Ok later.

 

Basketball

Tonight as we killing time my grandson and me before we picked up my wife stopped by a local high school.  It was not the one that I went to but one that had the trophy case from my old school.
My old school  Mt. View High school was stopped after 1974 and this new school Spectrum Community School started up. 
 

So my grandson was just starting basketball soon and I told him that I played so he wanted to see a picture of me so we dropped by.  Pictured here is the trophy case in the main lobby of Spectrum.  And there in the centre of it is my team picture when we went for the BC highschool Championships in Vancouver  at the Pacific Coliseum  in 1973.   Ok which one am I?   Leave a comment below.

Tree

tree planted from Prince George and the BC Championships

With all this snow coming down I wonder how my tree is doing.  Last labour day weekend we were up in Prince George for the BC Horseshoe pitching Championships.   We were all given a little pine tree to plant somewhere.
   So seeing I won the championship, I decided to plant the tree somewhere meaningful to me.   Lets see who knows where it is.  Don't put the place in the comments here but email me if you know the place.  You can comment here if you want just don't name the place.

till then
 

Clear parking lot

Unbelievable power of nature as the flood in Australia clears a parking lot.  If the cars aren't damaged by crashing think of all the water damage inside.   Poor people there.

Empty

While walking by Fishermans Wharf the other day.  I noticed that the docks where the fishing boast, sailboats, and all the other boats were missing.  There were still all the houseboats and some other boats just off to the side but there were two empty wharfs.  Now these wharfs looked like they were completely redone. No I didn't go any closer and just from looking from the distance it looks like new wood and everything.   So I'm assuming that all the boats will be back. And its not closed down for good.   Does anyone know any info that you can share with us about whats going on?  Leave a comment so everyone can read .    Also I got a nice seaplane getting ready for takeoff in the picture.

Ok till next time

What to take to bed

This was sent by my friend dave, pretty good idea.

What to take to bed with you -  not a joke.
Pretty neat idea. Never thought of it before.
 
Put your car keys beside your bed at night

Tell your spouse, your children, your neighbors, your parents, your Dr's office, the check-out girl at the market, everyone you run across. Put your car keys beside your bed at night.

If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the panic button for your car. The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies. This tip came from a neighborhood watch coordinator. Next time you come home for the night and you start to put your keys away, think of this:  It's a security alarm system that you probably already have and requires no  installation. Test it. It will go off from  most everywhere inside your house and will keep honking until your battery runs down or until you reset it with the button on the key fob chain. It works if you park in your driveway or garage. If your car alarm goes off when someone is trying to break into your house, odds are the burglar/rapist won't stick around. After a few seconds all the neighbors will be looking out their windows to see who is out there and sure enough the criminal won't want that.  And remember to carry your keys while walking to your car in a parking lot. The alarm can work the same way there. This is something that should really be shared with everyone. Maybe it could save a life or a sexual abuse crime. 


Would also be useful for any emergency, such as a heart attack, where you can't reach a phone...activate the car alarm, so hopefully someone will notice you.

Fountain Diner

A new Diner opened up in downtown Langford this week. So we decided to check it out for lunch.  Its Called the Fountain Dinner because its just beside the big roundabout fountain on Goldstream.

Its open from 7am -3pm everyday.  

It has eat in and take out. And a very nice atmosphere. I liked the old pictures on the wall.  I think the ones of the car and the gas station I believe is from near Langford lake on Goldstream.  And the the third I think is from a old building right by where the fountain is now.

 The service was very good, and the food was excellent too. I had the Big box burger with fries, and my wife had the  Ham and spinach quiche.   The price was reasonable  burger was $10.50 and the Quiche was $8.99.  

 I would highly recommend it for lunch.  It was a very pleasant experience.  

So how did my food blog entry do?  I know a food blogger who is reading this so Did I do ok?

Ok till next time

New Donut

Well Tim Horton's has just announced a new donut.  The Toronto Maple Leaf Donut.  I'm serious , Check it out yourself at http://www.thestar.com/  .    And of course there is a joke out there already too.  The donut tasted good at first but after awhile it doesn't taste so good.    LOL

5 for 5

Its that time again when there is a lot of sports on TV. Well all my favorite sports and teams were busy on the last two days.  On Sunday there were three games I had to watch live or record and watch after.  First I watched Canada beat Switzerland 4-1

Then  It was record the seahawk last regular season game and watch the canucks beat Colorado 2-1.  After that I was able to watch the record Seahawk victory 16-6 over the St. Louis Rams.

They make the playoffs and the first team to do that with a losing record. But it doesn't mean anything now, as its a clean slate just keep winning.

And then today Canadian Juniors were victorious over the favored USA 4-1. They now earn a chance to play on Wednesday for the Gold medal.

And finally the Canucks played a great hard fought contest against the San Jose Sharks.   Winning 4-3 and they are alone on the to of the NHL standings with 55pts.

   Its great to have all your teams winning at once.  Don't think Ive seen this happen before.  I sure hope it continues.

Go Canucks, Canada , Seahawks Go !!!

Green

Interesting news especially for people outside of Victoria. On Dec 29 the Times colonist first reported that someone had put some Plumbers dye into the Goldstream river.   Well It cleared up after an hour and there were no reports of any kind of damage to the river.  It was also put into the fountain at Veterans Memorial Park fountain.  Below take a look at the pictures taken on a cold Jan. 1 morning.  Yes that's green water , foam and ice.  I wonder how long it will take Langford to clean this up.  I'm assuming on monday Jan3  the workers will get on it.



Also below is a youtube video taken of the river.