murraysovereign

<inadvertent double-post deleted by murraysovereign>

Not angry, and don't hate. Just disagree on a couple of things, that's all.

Must be some peculiar regional dialect you're hearing - maybe Cape Breton Island, or the Avalon Peninsula. Everywhere I've ever lived it's pronounced "abowt", unless it's being spoken by an American comedian making fun of how American comedians pronounce it "aboot". Technically speaking, this is correct. But no-one outside of Toronto pays any attention, and there's no consensus on Toronto truly being part of Canada, either. It lies within our borders, but that's about where the relationship ends. The operative words here being "used to be..." and "...since moved to Memphis." Case in point. Why did they move to Memphis? It sure wasn't to get away from the huge mobs of over-zealous fans.

couple of corrections, though: 1) it's "touque", not touk. 2) the only people who says things like "aboot" are Americans who seem to think it makes them sound like Canadians. No-one knows where this delusion originated, but it's well entrenched now so we're probably stuck with it. 3) Basketball was in fact invented by a Canadian - James Naismith - so those archeologists would quite easily recognise what those things were. However, being a discerning bunch, Canadians quickly realized that it's a profoundly stupid game and have never really given it much thought since. 4) The only place "Canadian Bacon" exists is in the United States. There is no such thing in Canada. We just have plain old ordinary "bacon". The "Canadian Bacon" seems to have been some sort of Madison Avenue invention that, like "aboot", has taken on a life of its own. Hope that helps

Smoke Bluffs parking lot will be closed for much of the day, but parking will be allowed on both sides of Loggers Lane from the parking lot entrance all the way back to Hwy 99. It will probably be quicker to walk along Blind Channel and hike up Bansai Pipeline or up past Carjack Crag rather than going around through the lot. That will help race organisers also by minimizing pedestrian traffic on that downhill gravel stretch of TofM course into the parking lot.

I didn't realize that "the rest of the world" had been contemplating an invasion of North America. Who are you suggesting would have wanted to try, and why?

And one more history lesson JayB - the last time our (and your) shipping lanes were threatened was during World War Two, and it was the Canadian Navy that kept those shipping lanes open. The Navy and Merchant Marine suffered by far the highest losses of any of our forces throughout the war in a miserable, hard-fought battle to keep the lights burning in England against pretty formidable odds. It would have been nice to have had some help from "a heavily armed nation to the south" but they were nowhere to be seen for the first three years. Sometimes being an "Ally" of the US can be pretty lonely.

No, no... a "check" is where you drive someone head-first into the boards. Or in the US context, it used to refer to mechanisms and structures in the Constitution that constrained the different branches of government, as in "checks and balances". But then, you seem to have got rid of those in recent years, haven't you?

Maybe time for a quick history lesson here, JayB - in that "200-odd years" you cite, the only country that has ever attacked Canada is... (insert drumroll graemlin here) ... the United States of America. For most of that 200-odd years the USA constituted the single greatest - and arguably the only - threat to Canada's security. So don't hold your breath waiting for that cheque, OK?

They're already busy in Afghanistan, fighting the "War on Terror" - remember that one? Just 'cause your boss decided to start up a bar fight on the side to settle an old grudge, don't expect us to drop what we're doing and dive in with you.

There are problems arising with respect to the Hwy 99 improvements north of Squamish. Specifically, the area now being worked on is directly above some of the more popular climbs (Star Chek, for instance) in Cheakamus Canyon, and there is considerable danger of rockfall from the blasting and earth-moving operations along the roadway above. While there are no plans to officially close the area, common sense would dictate that people avoid the area until the worst of the work is completed (last blasting is scheduled for mid August). CASBC issued the following last night:

Actually, it's been five rainy forecasts in a row. They're not the same thing. With the exception of Memorial Day weekend, we've had pretty good weather in Squamish all the way through. Not hot and sunny, for sure, but not raining much, either.

I remember smoking in theatres years ago. They long since banned smoking in theatres - I didn't notice them all going bust as a result. I remember smoking in department stores years ago. They long since banned smoking in department stores - I didn't notice any of them going bust as a result. I remember smoking on buses and planes not that many years ago (one of my favourites, courtesy of "This Hour Has 22 Minutes", was the obvservation that having a "smoking section" on the plane is like having a "peeing corner" in the pool ). The airlines have had their struggles these last few years, but I don't think any of them seriously attribute their problems to the smoking ban. Hell, I can remember walking around the local supermarket with a cigarette hanging out of my mouth, checking out the produce and baked goods with ashes dropping off and old butts all over the floor. They long since banned that one, too, and I don't think those supermarkets are hurting for business as a result. Nor do I think anyone has successfully argued that any of the above bans violated anyone's constitutional rights. Some day, smoking in bars and restaurants will been seen in much the same way we now look back at smoking in theatres or on planes or in the produce department of the local supermarket. Bars and restaurants in BC are doing just fine post-ban. The pubs in Ireland are doing just fine - some are reporting increases in business since the bans went into effect. No-one's "rights" are being violated - you can still smoke, just go outside so you're not forcing everyone else to smoke against their will. In other words, no-one's saying you can't pee: just get out of the pool before you do it.

My grandfather was a member of the group that worked to have Garibladi Park established, and I'm not sure what he would think of the subsequent development. I know that in the later case of Silver Star Mountain in Vernon he worked first to have it declared a provincial park, and then worked to have it reclassified as a Recreation Area specifically so that development could occur. The idea that parks should be preserved in amber, with no facilities provided at all, was never his intention. That said, the scale of what's been built at Whistler would probably give him pause. I wish I had his old journals and files and such to see what the original intent of the group was. They must be around somewhere, but I don't know where to start looking. And for what it's worth, the people at BC Parks that I've spoken with feel the land swap with Intrawest has been a net gain for the park. The land that Intrawest has had to cede to the park in exchange for the Flute boundary change is ecologically more valuable than the land Intrawest gains access to. And Snoboy's right - this area is already heavily used, so it's not like Whistler is intruding into wilderness. They're really just taking formal control of, and assuming responsibility for, an area that's already de facto part of the ski resort. I agree we don't want to see Garibaldi Park being cut up and given away, but we need to choose our battles and this instance is really just recognition of long-existing reality in that area.

Wasn't "torture" one of the reasons given for deposing Saddam Hussein in the first place? So, when Saddam orders it, he's an evil tyrant who must be removed from power, by force if necessary. But when it's US agents doing the torturing, it's OK because they fiddled the rules to make it look legal?

Good God! Is LaRouche running again?!?

I agree with Dru - this is fake. "Northern Kodiak" bears aren't found anywhere near Victoria, or anywhere else on Vancouver Island. Black bears are common, but not Grizzlies, and definitely not Kodiaks, which are from the Alaskan panhandle. There has been only one confirmed instance of a Grizzly bear on Vancouver Island in living memory - a few summers ago one apparently swam across from the Mainland and was promptly shot dead on arrival. "Rural Homestead" isn't normally used to describe anything in the Victoria area, either. This looks like a deliberate attempt to generate an urban myth in order to discredit animal rights groups.

From what we saw here in Squamish, it wasn't the weather that sucked - just the forecast. Friday night it rained, Saturday was cloudy but stayed pretty dry all day with just a couple of very brief light showers. Saturday night it rained, but Sunday was beautiful - sunny and warm. The forecast just said it was going to rain each day - they didn't bother mentioning that each day the rain would happen after the sun went down. So once again, if people had ignored the forecast and come up to Squamish, they would have had a pretty good weekend, because during May and June the forecast for Squamish is almost always worse than the actual weather. For five weeks now they've forecasted rain for the weekends. They've got it right once in those five weeks.

Here's how it was actually reported by the C.B.C.

Depending on where you live, the local recycling company will possibly accept them, provided they've been punctured. I don't think refilling them is likely to be an option because the integrity of the canister can't be guaranteed once it's been used. But there's no reason they can't melt it down and make something else out of it.

William Hung is to American Idol what "Eddie the Eagle" was to the Calgary Olympics. Only worse. Much, much worse. Eddie at least had some redeeming qualities; William is just annoying. And Eddie eventually went away, but so far William hasn't. We can only wait and hope.

Some of you may be interested to see this report of the Coroner's findings, from the Squamish Chief newspaper, Friday 28 May, 2004:

Fred Beckey had his gear stolen from his vehicle in Brackendale this weekend. 20 or so cams (BD, Friends, Wired Bliss), plus all the usual biners and belay devices and such. Also some of his personal effects - passport etc. His gear is marked with yellow spray paint. Keep an eye out, and if you find any of the persons responsible use your judgement, but maybe start by skinning them alive.

I've learned that in the Spring, they always low-ball the forecast. Even if they think it's going to be OK, they hedge by adding in the chance of showers here or there, just to cover their asses. Given how volatile the systems can be this time of year, I don't blame them. But unless they're forecasting major storm systems, take their predictions with a grain of salt. Also, rain in Vancouver does not necessarily mean rain in Squamish. Many of the weather systems that come off the Pacific get diverted westward up the Fraser Valley, and Howe Sound stays dry. So don't be so quick to assume that the weather where you live is representative of the weather where we live. And for those of you who sat at home the last two weekends, while people were climbing all over Squamish, here's a tip: Go to "www.squamishgear.com", go to the "weather", then click on "Staff Observations". That's where we tell the whole world what kind of day it actually is, and how it's been for the preceding few days. For instance, by 9 AM last Saturday, when many of you were crying in your beer about the lousy weather, we had posted information that things were drying out and looking pretty promising. And by 11 AM we had updated that to say that people were out climbing and things were looking good for the rest of the weekend. Today's entry tells you that it rained last night, but that it looks like it'll be not a bad day. So far, that's holding true, in fact it's sunny out right now, despite the weather forecast calling for showers. We try to get the day's information up first thing in the morning, depending on how busy we are. If there's been no update in a few days, it means there's been no significant change in the weather to report. If you're not able to get on-line, 1-877-892-9092 will put you in touch with someone who can just look out the window and tell you what's happening outside. Bear in mind that not all staff members are climbers, so they may not be able to tell you if your chosen objective for the day is dry, but they'll be able to give you a general idea of how things are looking. Give it a try - you may be surprised to discover how often we beat the forecast.

Ummm, no, it wasn't raining. We had a beautiful weekend. It rained Friday evening, but people were climbing at 9 AM Saturday. Where were you, and what was your weather doing that made you think it was raining in Squamish?