tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84512262011-12-14T23:02:36.421-04:00Thoughts about people, events and circumstances in Nova Scotia, Canada.artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.comBlogger151100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451226.post-40279113049901550652008-02-23T21:22:00.004-04:002008-02-23T22:44:16.861-04:00

I don't get much of my news from television anymore. Well, I never did, really. When I was an active sailor, news came by radio, not TV. Now that I'm no longer sleeping in a bunk the size and capacity of the average cheap coffin, I get my news from the internet, by RSS feeds mostly. Part of the trouble between me and TV is that I read at one hell of a clip and if you have to wait for some talking

artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451226.post-1170188655257033582007-01-30T16:08:00.000-04:002007-01-30T16:24:15.303-04:00

In Clare District, Nova Scotia, the people are mostly Acadians and they have a number of dishes that are distinctly theirs. At the heart of their cooking lies their main seasoning; salted onions. Salted onions are very finely cut shallots preserved in pickling salt. The salt they usually use is the same as the fishing industry, but pickling salt works well, and it's available in the

artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451226.post-1156470527591857362006-08-24T22:47:00.000-03:002006-08-24T22:48:47.593-03:00

I used to love going to the movies. When we were kids we'd trade in a dozen beer bottles for a quarter and go to the matinee. Even now the smell of fresh popcorn can stop me dead in my tracks. I like the feel of a movie theatre; that large, dimly lit space, full of expectant people and they're all there to enjoy the same spectacle.It's different now. The theatres are smaller, the audiences are

artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451226.post-1150898354998507192006-06-21T10:36:00.000-03:002006-08-24T20:29:47.320-03:00

I used to be a leader of men. I was a Chief Petty Officer in the Royal Canadian Navy, and through one of those strange quirks which could only happen in the Canadian Forces, I was posted from sea to Newfoundland, to be the Headquarters Sergeant Major, responsible for the training and well-being of army reserves in that province. I was pretty good at it. I travelled about the province in some

artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451226.post-1150077471591244542006-06-11T21:47:00.000-03:002006-06-11T23:07:24.000-03:00

I had this post written about the arrest of the alleged terrorists in Ontario. Oh, it was a doozy I tell ya. I had written it as a script for This Hour Has Twenty Minutes. It was going to be about an FBI agent who comes to Canada and works with a Mountie on telephone taps using the latest technology developed in that land down under, The Excited States.In my skit the Mountie and the Feeb hear a

artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451226.post-1149281000293091072006-06-02T17:15:00.000-03:002006-11-25T19:07:05.063-04:00

Recently I visited the new Windsor Atlantic Superstore for groceries. I had my wife and my mother-in-law in tow and we were at the end of a long trip. We'd decided to pick up a few groceries before going home to Mount Uniacke. It was on our way and we could avoid a trip into Lower Sackville. Convenient. The store had most of the things we wanted to buy and we had just about completed our list,

artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451226.post-1145318347583724702006-04-17T20:00:00.000-03:002006-04-17T20:59:07.663-03:00

There has been a lot of noise about twinning Highway 101 from Halifax to Yarmouth and as we all know, we are well on our way to twinning as far as Windsor. We are spending a great deal of public money to construct new highway. See this news release, and the Cement Association's comment about costs. It is working out to about 1.4 million per kilometer, and whether those are federal or provincial

artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451226.post-1145221138253942232006-04-16T17:36:00.000-03:002006-04-16T18:06:15.346-03:00

Look, I'm a sailor. I know about giving orders and having them obeyed. The navy works because orders are given and obeyed, and if they are not, the offender is subject to Canadian military law. They are charged with Disobedience of a Lawful Command. In the investigation before the charge is brought to court the investigator is charged with discovering the details surrounding the event.was the

artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451226.post-1144252825945404632006-04-05T11:40:00.000-03:002006-04-05T13:00:25.996-03:00

In my previous post, about the indecency of the rich and privileged lecturing on excess, all the while 'grinding the faces of the poor', I discussed a bit of my feeling about killing animals. This is a bit more in that vein; you've been given fair warning.In the earlier part of the last century, 1900 to about 1960, there was opportunity for cruelty to flourish, protected by American and Canadian

artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451226.post-1144200689630150902006-04-04T16:50:00.004-03:002006-04-05T16:48:25.386-03:00

I am an omnivore. My eyes are on the front of my face, giving excellent binocular vision for predatory pursuits and my teeth are suited to meat. Nice sharp incisors, good strong eye teeth for ripping and tearing and strong molars for the occasional bit of bone or gristle. My digestion is suited to meat, fish, insects and plants.Personally, I like the taste of venison and wild duck. Fresh wild

artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451226.post-1142526372204657392006-03-16T11:05:00.000-04:002006-03-16T12:26:12.246-04:00

In The Dragons of Eden (ISBN 0-345-32508-7), Carl Sagan talks about the parts of our brain and what they do. When he describes the limbic system he refers to draqons and our reptilian nature; aggression and ritual.I'm married to a special unit nurse who works in the PACU (post anesthetic care unit). In more sensible times it was called the Recovery Room. It's the room outside the operating suites

artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451226.post-1141734162519269902006-03-07T06:49:00.000-04:002006-12-11T16:41:57.270-04:00

One for sorrowTwo for joyThree's a girlFour's a boyFive for silverSix for goldSeven's a secretNever to be told.It's just past six thirty a.m. here in Nova Scotia and I'm sitting on the second floor overlooking my back yard, where the birds, rabbits and squirrels are making a breakfast of sunflower seeds, cabbage leaves, apples and potato peelings.We've a resident family unit of five crows who are

artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451226.post-1140294754358820502006-02-18T16:24:00.000-04:002006-02-18T16:43:45.946-04:00

The Swiss. The Swiss? Let me try to get this into perspective; sort of in the middle there, between Germany, France, Italy. Like banking, chocolate, skiing, money, yeah okay, but name me one sweaty little Swiss hockey player. The Swiss?In this past year of hockey/no hockey, greedy hockey, brutally stupid hockey, vicious hockey, NHL hockey has pretty well lost me as a fan. In honesty, I was fading

artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451226.post-1111423694280641492005-03-21T11:12:00.000-04:002006-02-09T20:18:32.083-04:00

I watched the thing on CPAC, mostly because the talking heads on CBC Newsworld made it impossible to listen to or understand. CPAC just let the thing unfold. I watched because like a lot of Canadians, I'm pretty desparate for an alternative to voting for the Liberal party. I want another choice. The Alliance party had too much baggage and too many extreme right wing views. Preston Manning was

artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8451226.post-1096587033590677192004-09-30T21:00:00.000-03:002004-09-30T21:30:34.650-03:00

The environmentalist's motto, to think globally and act locally, is good advice. That way lies sanity. Attempts to act globally are vainglorious and dangerous and tend to pop you up on the radar of large government agencies who like to swat flies with a sledgehammer. My advice to university students under recruiting pressure from professors with a social agenda is to view their blandishments with

artsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06304310543402896035noreply@blogger.com0