Friday, May 30, 2008

Wash, rinse, repeat

Regularly you'll hear crime stories from the area that go something like this :

Vehicle stopped on the 401 for speeding nets illegal cigarettes (or pot or goods from a break-in,etc ).

I sure didn't expect to see this story repeated any time soon .... less than two months later, it has.

Six people face charges after Ontario Provincial Police discovered a marijuana grow operation containing 1387 plants when they responded to a report of a break-in on Waba Road in Mississippi Mills on Monday.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

This should not be an embarrassment



.... sadly, it is.

The kiddies and I have recently taken up geocaching as another hobby. If you haven't heard of it, basically you use a hand-held GPS unit to find "treasure" hidden just about everywhere. It's a great hobby that gets you out hiking and finding places you never knew existed.

There are over 2000 caches hidden within 100 km's of Smiths Falls. Some of the interesting local ones are an old alloy factory near Port Elmsley, one at the Mill Pond Conservation Area, one at the intersection of the 45 & 76 parallels in Montague and "the Poonamalie Monster" (this one has a riddle to solve to get the final waypoint !).

As you might have guessed there is also one at the old CN bridge in Smiths Falls. From the cache description:

Be careful about feeling around under stuff. The locals have smashed many beer bottles here.


Beautiful. Not local teens or yahoos ... locals.

Me. You.

Ya'd think between the Town Crews or Parks Canada or the Smiths Falls Police this situation could be remedied .... sadly that's not the case. A local geocacher who blogs his finds visited over the weekend .... here is his impression of our fair town:

You have to be really careful though, as the locals think this is a grand place to throw beer bottles.


Sounds like a job for my Cubs ... only the rest of the year is booked up.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

To, two, TOO !!

Here's a hint .... if you are going to mount an 8ft sign in your front yard, you might want to ensure you have the correct grammar on it.

Just so you don't look like a bloomin' idiot !

Monday, May 19, 2008

"This was a murder of morality."


"My daughter's action made us aliens in our own land. But we have managed to redeem our honor. She paid for her ill-gotten action."

Among the Jat caste of the conservative northern state of Haryana, it is taboo for a man and woman of the same village to marry. Although the couple were not related, they were seen in this deeply traditional society as brother and sister.

"From society's point of view, this is
a very good thing," said 62-year-old farmer Balwan Arya, sitting smoking a hookah in the shade of a tree in a square with other elders from the village council or panchayat. "We have removed the blot."

Cave dwellers.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Fame and fortune ...

if you can tell me what the fork this is:


View Larger Map

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Fishy business

A quick post .... reaction to the final report released Tuesday on the assaults on Asian Anglers.

The final OHRC report ... even more lop-sided than the preliminary. It's all whitey's fault ... I dunno, but the report seems to me to be every bit as racist as, well, you know. Racial profiling training for conservation officers ... WOW.

Building Barbara Hall's empire one racist community at a time ... it's a subscriber Globe piece, but you can read it (and all newspapers) for free on the pwsgc website.


Bob Runciman isn't worried ...

"I don't give it much credibility. They draw conclusions without having any sort of point-counterpoint or testimony for the defence," said Runciman.

"They are tarring the community without any documented evidence."

Runciman said residents of Westport and the Rideau system "are overwhelmingly good people" who care about their fellow Ontarians and Canadians.

"Just don't lose any sleep over the conclusions of Barbara Hall," he said.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

We seem to have more than our share

of this kind of story around the Falls ....

Dozens of cats, chickens and ducks in need of immediate medical care were seized from a poorly-ventilated house in the Smiths Falls area after an investigation into an alleged case of "animal hoarding."

Saturday, May 10, 2008

A human rights complaint for the OHRC

I'm wondering ... Since there now appears to be the human right not to be offended ... how long can it be before Barbara Hall and crew -er-

Sniff this one out.

"You're in a dorm with 30 people, no windows open, people are farting, you're breathing in their farts, it's just really, really inhumane,"

He's talking about Ottawa's Innes Road detention facility .... but it's not isolated. I had a chum who did 90 on the weekends at Burritts Rapids a way back for a driving offence. That was his biggest complaint too.

Sounds like a solution is forthcoming though ... cuz, ya know -- jail isn't about punishment anymore.

"Our goal is to treat our inmates in a humane manner," Mr. McGetrick said. "We're not out there to punish them just for being in the institution."

When city people come out to the country

they complicate everything ...


On a farm the .22 calibre solution to varmint problems is simple and effective, but you can’t shoot around a marina. Boaters are by and large peaceable creatures who have no desire to do violence to a warm-blooded animal who shares their tastes in food, drink, and accommodation. So the racoons thrive.

Did I ever tell ya about the citiots that moved in across the road from my buddies century-farm ?

They complained to the Township .... about that awful smell.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Blues legend Colin James

is coming to Smiths Falls with the Olympic Spirit train.

Fox News and the Vancouver Sun ???? (and nobody else) are reporting that on October 16th the train will stop in good ol' SF.

Beginning in September 2008, the Spirit train will stop in communities across Canada for day-long celebrations where families can meet Olympic and Paralympic athletes and will have an opportunity to interact with Olympic and Paralympic partners.

CP also announced Canadian recording artist Colin James and his Band will be the musical headliner for the 2008 Spirit Train.

The Spirit Train will unite Canadian communities under its maple leaf banner to create momentum for the Olympic spirit over the next three years. The 2008 tour includes Metro Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Toronto, Smiths Falls and Montreal.

From the Spirit Train website:

It's a full day of fun when the Spirit Train pulls into your town.
Meet Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
Experience Olympic-themed events the whole family will enjoy.
Travel through time with the Olympic Games History Wall.
Feel the rush of performing an Olympic sport in the Sound Dome.
Try your hand at sledge hockey, test your start skills in a real luge, and pose like an Olympic ski jumper to create memories you can download to share with family and friends.
The fun doesn’t stop there: Spirit Train musical headliner Colin James & The Little Big Band will have you dancing with their unique brand of high energy boogie.
Sharing the Spirit Train stage will be 18 year old world class Métis fiddler Sierra Noble, along with many more various local and First Nations musicians.


And a bit 'o' the man hisself ...

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

It's gonna be a bloodbath

For political junkies this is something akin to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup play-offs - Mark Steyn will be facing off against the sock-puppets on TVO's The Agenda tonight at 2000hrs. If host Steve Paikin allows Steyn some breathing room (and that's a BIG IF) I have a funny feeling Steyn's gonna make the Osgoode Hall graduates sound like the kids who rode the proverbial short bus to class.

UPDATED: Chickenshits. For some reason the Kids in Osgoode Hall need more time to debate a man they have been slamming in the media for four months now. I missed it last night ... the hayfield in front of my house took priority ... I'll be watching the show here tonight.

RELATED: Listen to Steyn's 23 minute interview with Steve Madely on CFRA yesterday.

Also related: Macleans tells Elmo ... screw you, jihad this. With Ted's warchest ... I'm thinking it's not gonna be pretty.

"any settlement at this point would have to be approved by human rights authorities in Ottawa, and would thus involve an implicit acceptance on our part of the jurisdiction of human rights commissions to regulate the content of print media publications in Canada. That is an unacceptable precedent."