Best In Snow

Winter has been here for awhile now and the white stuff may be getting a bit tedious, so here's a bit of snow humour to help the cause!

Maybe these cartoons will inspire you to get outside and build a snow person of your own!

Hooray For Boxing Day!

I've done a few posts about Christmas, like "Yule Like This Christmas Story" and "Christmas Oddities", but Boxing Day was never discussed and I'm always curious about the origins of special occasions.

There are several stories about how Boxing day began, and they all seem to make sense. Being somewhat cynical about certain annual celebrations, like "Valentine's Day", I had my theory that Boxing Day was related to retail sales.

Perhaps that's just the slant put on the occasion in this day and age, since retailers will use whatever scheme works to promote sales, but the origins of Boxing Day is actually about helping the poor.

The story of Stephen, a Jew who had converted to the Christian faith, regards his appointment by the Apostles as one of seven deacons to administer the sharing of alms amongst the poor. Eventually he was targeted by opposing factions and accused of crimes for which he was stoned to death, thus becoming the first Christian martyr. From then on, the day after Christmas was celebrated as The Feast of St. Stephen and the association to giving alms to the poor was established.

You will recall the lyrics of the Christmas carol "Good King Wencelas" (circa 903-935), whereby he looked out on the Feast Of St. Stephen and saw a poor man gathering winter fuel, whereby he set out with his page to deliver food and wine to the man in his home.

art work by Arthur J Gaskin (16 March 1862 – 4 June 1928)

The final verse of the song gives this advice...

"Therefore, Christian men, be sure, while God’s gifts possessing,
You who now will bless the poor shall yourselves find blessing."

"Giving Alms To The Poor" by Francis Wheatley

Eventually, the Boxing day tradition included the giving of Christmas boxes to those in servitude, who could then celebrate the Christmas season with their own families.

Hallowe'en Meets Christmas

I'm usually not content to just write a typical Christmas cheer type of post, as evident in "Yule Like This Christmas Story", so here's another one that puts a bit of a weird spin on the holiday season.

And hey, who doesn't like a bit of strangeness on an occasion that is usually syrupy and sweet. In this case, here's some old ( and not so old) photos with Santa that might be more apt to scare the little visitors than to charm them with visions of sugar plums!! Sort of like Hallowe'en meets Christmas! haha! 

It's a surprise that this little bairn isn't in tears with evil eyed Santa

The wee one definitely looks a bit unsure

What's that Santa, you need another shot of whisky?

Not sure if this Santa is actually alive?

Yikes!  Speaking of Hallowe'en, here's one that looks like Santa / Pennywise! 

Creepo Santa "A" may want to reconsider his hand placement. Santa "B" might want to quit the cult he joined.

Though he looks like a caricature, at least this Santa appears to be fairly benign. 

This little one is too young to realize that Santa could be an axe murderer!

Large Santa body, small head.

A scowling, decrepit looking fellow for sure.

It's the black rings around the eyes that makes this one creepy

Again, this little fellow may just be too young to be creeped out

Colonel Santa, flogging KFC during Christmas in Japan. More funny than creepy, but so many questions about why  Japan does the KFC thing as a holiday tradition?

The Canadian Candle

Here's a cool camping hack that can be used anytime, but might even be better when you're in the bush in Winter and want a quick easy way to fry up your breakfast.

You can split the log into sections and wire it together, or even use several different pieces of wood, as long as thier the same length.

If you have a chainsaw, you can cut 6 or 8 slices down from the top and into the log from one end, about 3/4 of the way down, giving you a base to hold the pieces together.

Then, stuff the spaces or slits with kindling and dry grasses, light it, let the log get burning, and then cook!

Though the saying is that " a watched pot never boils", you certainly need to keep an eye on your cooking pot when using this set-up, as tipping is a possibility.

Winter Camping, Airstream Style

Here's a repost about winter camping, since it's that time of year, when snow and cold make for a few challenges when visiting our camp.

We usually don't head up to the camp when the temperature drops below - 15°C, mostly because it makes for difficult logistics and the challenges outweigh the fun factor somewhat.  So, if the weather is tolerable, we'll head up and spend a night or two, keeping in mind that we may have to snowshoe in to the property if there's been lots of snow.

Actually, we almost prefer that situation, as the blanket of snow makes the camp all the more serene and that layer of white stuff seems to muffle sounds and provide a hush. Bonus is that you can see who's been visiting in your absence, or overnight, though we prefer to see moose or deer tracks, even coyote, and not so much those of a cougar!!

If it's snowed a lot, we usually have to shovel out the trailer just to get in the door, then we need to dig some paths to the pit toilet and firepit. The cool thing about digging out the firepit is that you can pile the snow up and build a wall around the perimeter. Then, when you're sitting by a big roaring fire the heat reflects back off the snow bank and keeps you that much warmer.

One of our cozy airstreams, all lit up and wearing a snow cap.

One way to beat the cold is to dress warmly, but having a big bonfire is definitely a bonus!!

Yes, we do consider ourselves a bit spoiled by the luxury of having a toasty warm trailer in which to stay, plus an established firepit and huge pile of firewood, though the latter does require some "sweat equity" in the Spring, Summer and Fall of course.

Which Vehicles Are Most Targeted For Auto Theft

The Insurance Bureau Of Canada released its' annual list of the most frequently stolen vehicles in 2017 and there are certain makes and models that tend to be the biggest targets, both nationally and provincially. 

Nationally, the Ford F-350 is the most stolen vehicle across Canada, but along with the F-250, are also the most targeted vehicle in Alberta. In Ontario, thieves tend to go after high end SUVs and trucks, such as the Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban and Silverado. 

The latter is also a huge target in the Atlantic provinces, only surpassed by the Nissan Maxima, while in Quebec it's the Acura MDX that takes top spot. Interestingly, the older models of these vehicles tend to be stolen, mostly because they lack the more sophisticated security devices of the newest lines of automobiles. 

Still, newer vehicles that utilise a fob with push button starts are increasingly targeted, as the latest trend are suffering what is known as a "relay attack". Thieves use special devices to pick up and intercept the radio signal from a fob and then use it to open the doors and start a vehicle.

This type of theft is a new trend but ever increasing and the advice on avoiding being a victim is to use what is known as a Faraday sleeve or cover. This simple device basically blocks the the radio signals and prevents thieves from high jacking your car or truck.

But, thieves often don't even need to go to any great lengths to steal a vehicle. In Winter months, too many people start their vehicles to warm them up and leave them unattended, or leave them running as they pop in to a store, allowing any opportunistic thief to get in and drive away. In Alberta, 25% of all auto thefts happen when the keys are left in the vehicle.

Co-incidentally, Alberta does hold the distinction of having the most vehicle thefts in the entire country at 30%, though many provinces saw increases in their rates. In New Brunswick, the rise in auto thefts was a staggering 28% jump, with Ontario following at 15%.

And think about this the day after your night of celebrations. Most auto thefts occur on January 1st! Not that any time is a good time to have your vehicle ripped off but certainly it's not such a great way to start the New Year!!

Flu Season

One of the many great things about working at BlueCircle is having some benefits with which to keep one's self healthy. Promoting wellness comes in many forms and our benefit provider at Sun Life obviously believes in the BlueCircle slogan"education is the best insurance", as it applies to protecting yourself from the flu this winter.

graphics courtesy of Sun Life Financial

Distracted Driving Facts

An earlier post titled "3 Seconds" previewed a documentary on distracted driving, so here are some sobering facts to supplement the topic of an ever increasing and very preventable phenomena which is killing thousands of Canadians each year.

10 facts that will cause you to think twice before using a device while driving

1.  Distracted driving claims more lives than alcohol related, speed related, or seat belt related accidents


2. Approximately 90% of drivers consider themselves very or fairly aware of distracted driving laws


3. Of surveyed drivers, 10% report being pulled over and/or faced legal consequences for driving distracted


4. About 5% of surveyed respondents report having caused an accident because of their own distracted driving


5. At 100 kmph, taking your eyes off the road for 2 seconds equates to a travelled distance of 52 m, which is approximately the length of a hockey rink


6. Using a device or having similar distractions increase your risk of accidents by a minimum of 5 times and as much as 23 times that of an attentive driver


7. Of surveyed respondents, 69%  think that using a mobile device is the biggest distraction to drivers yet only 24% believe it is the biggest distraction to their own driving.


8. Canadian drivers who use a mobile device while driving do so once a week or more often


9. About 42% of respondents who drive and were passengers in a vehicle have asked that driver to not use a mobile device while driving.


10. Despite the facts stated in #9, 60% of surveyed drivers have admitted to answering or making a phone call or reading or sending a text while driving

Is there any call or text that is so urgent or important that it's worth risking your life or those of another person?

Word Of The Week: December 1st 2018

While vetting my new dentist I saw that she was very well educated and specialized in several aspects of dentistry including gnathology, which was a word I had never heard before. 

Gnathology is the study of the masticatory ( chewing) system, including its physiology, functional disturbances, and treatment.

3 Seconds

Every year, almost 2000 Canadians die in traffic accidents, 94% due to human error, so what's going on behind the wheel that's causing so much grief and sorrow?

Our business partners at Travelers Insurance, along with their affiliates at the Travelers Institute, have worked diligently on reducing the major causes of traffic accidents. Sadly, distracted driving has now taken top spot in this category, surpassing impaired driving as number one.

Of course, any accident with human error as the cause can also be considered a preventable accident. Check out "Deadly Roads" or "Left Hand Turns" to read a bit more about the topic of preventable accidents, but suffice to say, we can do many things to reduce accidents.

Check out the video short above to get a visual on the full length Travelers Institute documentary "3 Seconds Behind The Wheel", produced in an effort to help reduce traffic accidents.

More Old Money

After posting about "New Money",  a previous post titled "Old Money" was revisited and there were some great comments and feedback about the history of some of those old bills, prompting me to do a bit of additional research.

The engraving of the Queen's portrait was done by The British American Bank Note Company artist George Gundersen in 1952. The artwork was based on the official photo portrait taken by one of the Queen's official photographers, Peter Dirk Uys, and was scheduled to be printed on all bank notes produced in 1954.

Shortly after being put into circulation, a complaint was received by the Bank Of Canada regarding a "devil's face" loacted in the Queen's hair, as demonstrated within the circled area in the diagram above and shown on its' own below.

Conspiracy theories abounded and an investigation was launched, but no proof of a conspiracy was ever found and no charges were ever laid, however, a revised portrait was done, new bank notes were produced, and the offending bank notes were pulled from circulation and cancelled.

A basic internet showed there was no set value attached to the old, out of circulation "devil's face" bills but several of them appear for sale on e-Bay, with starting bids at USD $80 for a $20 bank note, so if you have a stash of old bills, it might be worthwhile sifting through them and having a look for this anomoly. 

New Money

I've written about "Old Money", with some old bank notes from the 1900's, but here's a post about the newest money which was just released by The Bank Of Canada.

Some interesting facts about this particular bank note, with a couple of firsts to its' credit.

First bank note to have a vertical orientationn, allowing for larger portraits and better overall design. It is also designed to work better "ergonomically", as most people look through their wallets in such a manner that the vertical orientation will be seen easier.

First bank note to feature a woman, other than a paliamentarian or Royalty. Of course, most Canadian currency featured the Queen, and between the years 2004 -2012 the $50 bank note featured a composite portrait of Senator Therese Casgrain along with the ladies of the Famous 5 (Nellie McClung, Louise Crummy McKinney, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Irene Parlby, and Emily Murphy)

As mentioned, the new note does not include a portrait of the Queen, nor any prime ministers.

The $10 bill is all about human rights, as it features the Canadian Museum Of Human Rights in Winnipeg and includes an excerpt from the Charter Of Rights, as well as an eagle feather to represent the indigenous people of Canada.

As an added security measure, the eagle feather changes colour when the bill is tilted.

The added security feature means the bank note cost $0.27 to manufacture, slightly more than the cost of the previous edition which was $0.23

Say What?

After putting out the thought inducing post titled "Encryption", it seemed logical to follow up with some of my other favourite sayings, also meant to be perplexing. 

Give me ambiguity, or give me something else!

And, on the topic of ambiguity, how about these fine written examples?

• After a number of injections my jaw got number. 
• Entire store 25% off. 
• Please press ANY key to continue.
• Please wait for hostess to be seated.
• I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.  
• I saw her duck. 
• A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
• Slow children at play. 
• Clearly misunderstood.
• Men's wool suits $10. They won't last an hour!
• Found missing. 

Think About These Facts The Next Time You're Flying On An Airplane!

Having just returned from a trip to Africa, whereby I spent about 25 hours in transit, here's some crazy facts about flying that will give you cause for thought. 

Only 5% of the world's population has ever flown, though it has been difficult to confirm this fact with an internet search since few countries actually chart these statistics. However, if you consider that approx 47% of people in the U.S have flown and they account for 4.4% of the world's populatuion, we could surmise this fact to be true.

Food on a plane isn't terribly appetizing because altitude, pressure, and lack of humidity affect your sense of taste. Also, the cabin air affects your smell, which is the predominant factor in taste. Apparently, even jet engine noise has an impact on your tongue and will affect your taste.

That air quality and lack of humidity is quantifiable, being about 20% and similar to that of  the Sahara Desert.

Like being in the desert, you lose about 250 ml of water for every hour of flying, so drinking a lot of water may mean extra trips to the toilet but will ensure you're properly hydrated..

And, speaking of the toilet, it is impossible to be accidentally locked in the washroom of an airplane. For safety reasons, flight attendants have ways of opening those doors!

An empty Boeing 787 "Dreamliner" weighs close to 117,617 kilograms., the equivalent of about 29 elephants! 

The above mentioned passenger plane travels at an average speed of 1045 kmph.

That 747 also burns up about 13,600 litres of fuel per hour during flying, which sound like a lot but considering that the plane holds about 500 people, that works out to approximately 27.2 litres per hour per person, with the plane flying at a speed of 800 kmph. That's about 3 litres per 100 km., somewhat better than the approx. 4 litres per 100 km you'd get in a Toyota Prius!