I have been listening to The Beatles' Rubber Soul the last couple of days, and it seems that, for the first time, I have really heard "Nowhere Man" and "In My Life ( Read more... )

Yes, I am still here.  In spite of having very little in the way of structured demands on my time, I have been incredibly busy in the last little while ( Read more... )

In a lighter moment today, I was doing some reading about the World Hockey Association, a rival pro hockey league that sprang up in challenge to the NHL in 1972.  To my understanding, the big "thing" was that the leage overturned, or perhaps undermined, the power of the reserve clause in NHL contracts, which allowed a team to renew a player's ( Read more... )

I have been reading Canadian indigenous writer Richard Wagamese's book One Story, One Song for the last little while, and it has been pretty productive. It is described, I suppose, as a "memoir" but I think it is using his reflections on past experiences to think about the world and make a point for those of us who are interested in listening. ( Read more... )

Some time ago, araquan sent me a Norfolk Southern coil gondola kit.  The interesting thing about the kit is that it came with both the coil load and appropriate dunnage as well as the lids that often appear on such cars in order to protect the load from the elements. (Read more... )

I have been trying to look into the history of the ribbed-back freight car wheel, and I have now read (on a forum) that the ribs helped to strengthen the (cast iron) wheel during quenching in order to stop it from distorting during this process.

However, these ribs would add strength to the wheel when it was in operation (since the cast wheels ( Read more... )

So the fire alrm went off yesterday.  After a couple of minutes of wondering if it would shut off on its own, I gathered my coat and wallet and went outside.  A number of my gormless neighbours were alreay assembled and standing about awkwardly. After a short time, it becomes apparent that there are no perceivable manifestations of fire.  I head ( Read more... )

So, Youtube uses its data mining software to give you suggestions about what you should be watching when you go to the main page.  There is a little music section thing that includes ( Read more... )

Well, I am finished for the summer in Stettler, and this stint was largely uneventful.  I was...not looking forward to leaving, really.  Not to put too fine a point on it, it was better than "teaching ( Read more... )

So, for whatever reason I have been watching a lot of My Big Fat Fabulous Life recently.  It is a TLC show starring Whitney Thore, a 380-pound North Carolina woman who is the founder of the "No Body Shaming" movement and a dance instructor.  The show itself, billed as "reality," is obviously a lot of fluff, but its main message, and the message ( Read more... )