RANDY'S VINYL TAP

    I do like listening to a wide variety of music even though I am not in anyway musical. As I have said before I enjoy radio rather than TV. I quite often find informative programs about music on the CBC and CKUA.

      One show I really like is Randy's Vinyl Tap with host Randy Bachman www.randybachman.com/main.php on CBC at 7:00 Sat evenings . Randy keeps the topic to any rock music produced on vinyl . Well, many times it's expanded to blues , country and classical because he likes to show how the music was influenced by other genres. The rest of it is spin . Randy gives a tremendous amount of information about the music and artist . His shows are based on themes such as girl bands, bass guitar and songs which only made it to No. 2 . Tonight I am listening to his Christmas show. He has music done with his kids at Christmas.You get the drift . Many times he plays tapes of music which was never produced commercially .Things like that make it interesting . Along with all the banter he plays music to illustrate his point . Many times he gives information which is background and you suddenly understand much more about the music and the song.


      Many times Randy will explain in basic terms how certain sounds are produced . He has a tremendous interest in instruments and has two whole shows on the two main types of guitars and how they developed over time .


So I highly recommend that you take a listen to Randy's Vinyls.

Driver's License Renewal Blues

          I thought that I had witten a previous post on problems I had renewing my driver's license. I looked for it but could not find it. So guess what ? It's a post I thought I had written but didn't.
          To make a long story short when I went to renew my license this year, they asked if I had any health problems which would prevent me from driving. I replied, "Yes, as I had a TIA in 2008 which I described in a previous post Stroke of Luck. They put a "C" on my file which means that I would always have to have a medical to renew my license. I thought that this was extremely unfair and appealed the ruling and won. My point on the blog that didn't get written was that the Registries were inconsistant in applying the rules.
          This brings me to today's post.
          A friend of mine broke his hip in June. He had a number of setbacks in his recovery and returned to the hospital. Time passed and his driver's license came up for renewal. He went to another registry and stood in line in his walker. One of the clerks came over and took him out of the line up and to her desk. She asked him what he wanted. He stated he wanted to renew his driver's license She asked the standard question. Have you had any health problems which would prevent you from driving? His response was , "Not really." He was then issued a renewal for his license.
       They then asked where he was  parked . He told them he was in the handicapped parking stall. They then opened a back door so that he could have an easier time to get to his vehicle.
        So the point of my post is that the system is very inconsistant and so some people are unfairly treated.

Logic Hiawatha House Style

       Okay, the logic part will come later.


        First some background. I was raised on an isolated Saskatchewan farm so I was really a free range kid. See "Isolated Farm Life" From a very early age we played all over the farm yard. When I was a little older...seven or eight ...I wandered over the whole farm and much further afield. Getting permission to ramble from my Mom never came to my mind. If I was needed a large bell was rung and that was my signal to get home right now. Being outdoors most of the time exposed me to the elements and made me keenly aware of my natural surroundings. A love and knowledge of natural areas was learned over the years.


      Sunrises , sunsets and seasons became part of me. Beautiful skies will always be a part of me. I loved the fantastic sky colors in the Arctic when the sun didn't rise. I  will also never froget the enerizing feeling of Artic summers when we had 24 hour daylight. Since I live the small city of Red Deer I have discovered the best vantage points to watch sunrises and sunsets.


      At this time of year with decreasing daylight sunrises and sunsets become much more crucial. I don't know when or how I discovered that there is an imblance between morning and evening when it comes to decreasing daylight at this time of year. Now from Dec. 8 , the sun does not set any later. The sun sets at the same time until Dec. 21or so. Then the sun begins to set  later each day. Now you say how come? Isn't  this supposed to be shortest day of the year time? In the morning the sun is coming up later each morning. It does this until about Dec. 31. By Jan. 7 the sun starts to rise earlier each morning. It's one of the ways I have of surviving the dark period of the year when I know that at one end(sunset) the day starts to get longer.


     So that's my logic. I hope you can follow it. If you can't follow it contact me by leaving a comment.

Hiawatha House Cold and Snowy

      You better believe Hiawatha House is cold and snowy! Early Friday morning gusty northwest winds hit and shortly after that snow began to fall. By noon Friday we were walking through 5 cm of snow. This weather stayed with us all Friday and really got going Friday night with lots more snow. The snow drifted which it rarely does here.

     Saturday morning  my papers must be delivered by 9:00 AM. It's still very dark here at 8:00AM. With the limited light it was difficult to see were the snow was shallow or deep. At many residences there was a 1 m drift blocking their front entrance or across the drive way. At some residences I just picked a route through the yard where the snow was shallower.

      I shovelled my driveway and sidewalks twice on Friday. Saturday there were drifts which were packed. Trails through the yard had to be opened so that I could reach various areas of the yard. So you see I have had lots of exercise in the fresh air.

     For followers of Hiawatha House who live in England , Asia or the southern United States this weather is hard to imagine. I get used to it and enjoy being out and active. With all the new snow we will be able to groom cross country ski trails and have some excellent sking.

     My snow bird friends delight in telling me how nice the weather is in the sunny south. That's okay!  Enjoy your balmy weather. When spring arrives hear, I will appreciate it much more.

Racial Discrimination

        A few weeks ago a local weekly paper I get had a historical feature on  Jewish settlers who attempted to homestead here in the early 1890's. Discrimination was one of the many things that challenged them and made their short time here extremely miserable.
       
       These settlers came to the area out of desperation as their opportunities in other areas were limited. They apparently did not have an agricultural background. I say apparently as few, if any people got to know them during their short stay here. They were not used to or prepared for the rigorous climate here. They built partial dugout homes with earth piled up for sides. The roof was made from poles covered with long grass. They were not able to break enough land to grow food or crops to sell. No one knows if they had animals for food or power. Very few written records remain of these people.
 
      Apparently some of these people perished from the harsh conditions and their inability to produce food. Again apparently is the key word. No one really made it their business to communicate with them so they could assist or share work.

      Why weren't these early settlers assisted? Their neighbors simply looked upon them as Jews and did not go to their aid as they thought they would have lots of money some where? Other settlers of different backgrounds helped each other out. They shared work and ideas of how to make shelter from the land and raise and gather food. The Jewish settlers were ostracised.

      It's rather sad and tragic that a group of people suffered so severely just because of being different. Now this incident took place over 100 years ago. You may be tempted to say ,  "Well, we wouldn't do that today."

     I'm not so sure that we would be much better today? There are altogether too many incidents of discrimination taking place today not only in our own area ,but around the world.

     

Christmas Bird Count is a Comin!

       I have participated in the Red Deer Christmas bird counts since 1969 and in Christmas for a lot longer than that. I enjoy both of them .


       The public is interested in the bird count and asks many questions. Christmas bird counts have been around for a very long time . They were at one time known as Boxing Day bird counts and were held rigidly on Boxing Day. The first bird counts originated from hunting. On Boxing Day people would go out and shoot as many birds as possible. The birds were identified and counted and the guy who shot the most was the winner. Gradually the idea of just counting live birds took over and the counts were used to provide a general trend in bird populations. The bird tally was coordinated across North America.


      People sometimes ask how accurate our count is . It isn't accurate. It's a rough estimate but when done over a long period of time is a valuable statistic about the health of bird populations. So you ask how do I know I don't count the same bird twice? I don't know. Chickadees are usually in a flock of roughly 20 birds. If chickadees are flying across a forest opening you count them flying in one direction. If they come from the other direction they are probably birds you have already counted. Many times we do not actually see the bird but identify it by it's song. A 20 m spruce tree is difficult to observe all nooks and crannies. Some birds will keep moving through that tree and do not show themselves.  Weather makes a difference in the count. One count day was very stormy and I did not count.Very few birds would have been active as they stay close to cover to keep warm.


     I have counted the same area near my house for  long time. I know about how many species I will find in that area. The odd time that there is a different species is a bonus. From time to time I will count a brown creeper. Creepers are not very common and very hard to spot. I can also tell if black backed three toed woodpeckers are about by observing spruce trees that have been used as a food source. These woodpeckers are very quiet and hard to spot even if you know they are in the area.


     The Christmas Bird count is taking place Dec. 20 in the Red Deer area. We'd really like people to join us. Birding experience is not necessary. We will put you with an experienced birder. Phone the Nature Center to get information. 346-2010

More Twitter

       My last post indicates that I am an inexperienced rookie when it comes to Twitter. I explained how I got on to Twitter. I had certainly thought about Twitter before I signed up.

      My past with computers is a little odd. I was a teacher and most schools bought computers when they first became available. Our school started with Apple iie's. Looking back they weren't much ,but at the time they were much more than we had before. Our school upgraded slowly and on an irregular basis. By the time I retired we were on the internet.

     When I retired I did not have a computer at home. One of my volunteer positions gave me an opportunity to use computers and it was my first exposure to PCs. I found PCs easier than Apples although no offense meant to Apple. I used computers at the library and my daughter's house. My daughter did anything that was complicated for me. I had computers at home now but was not on the net.

      When my daughter moved I got internet at my house. That has improved my computer skills greatly. I got my daughter to help me set up Hiawatha House before she left. It was a piece of cake to set it up but took much more time to master some of the options.

     I recently started a Facebook page. I had been very cool toward Facebook, but one of my friends spoke very highly about it. I checked Facebook out. As soon as I saw most of my relatives on it , I had to start a page and it has been a delight ever since. I also didn't really see the need for Twitter. Time will tell if I find Twitter useful and interesting.

      So I have been slow to develop my computer skills. I'm no expert, but learning computer skills has really kept me challenged which is so necessary as one ages.