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Diary of a Mad Snow Shoveler

Diary of a Mad Snow Shoveler

December 8 - 6:00 PM. It started to snow. The first snow of the season and  my wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma Moses print. So romantic we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow!
 
December 9 - We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be a more lovely place in the Whole World? Moving to Nova Scotia was the best idea I've ever had. Shovelled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I did both our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon the snowplow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life.

Solar employs more U.S. workers than Apple, Google, and Facebook combined

"The rapid rise of solar power is one of the most astonishing transformations in the history of global energy use.

A decade ago, solar photovoltaics (PV) was just a tiny sapling, easily dismissed by fossil fuel advocates. Today, after a remarkable 30-fold increase in PV sales in just nine years, it has become a giant redwood forest."

Solar employs more U.S. workers than Apple, Google, and Facebook combined

Meet Rare Sea Wolves Who Live Off The Ocean And Can Swim For Hours

"Along the wild Pacific coast of British Columbia, there lives a population of the sea wolves. “We know from exhaustive DNA studies that these wolves are genetically distinct from their continental kin,” says McAllister. “They are behaviourally distinct, swimming from island to island and preying on sea animals. They are also morphologically distinct — they are smaller in size and physically different from their mainland counterparts,” says Ian McAllister, an award-winning photographer who has been studying these animals for almost two decades."

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A Tale of Two Judges

. . . one acts like a dick, the other does not . . .

Exhibit A: "'I'm the victim and I'm in shackles': Edmonton woman jailed while testifying against her attacker"
'I'm the victim and I'm in shackles': Edmonton woman jailed while testifying against her attacker - Edmonton - CBC News
Exhibit B: "Calgary judge's unusual tactic 'opened doors' for mentally ill teen needing treatment bed"
Calgary judge's unusual tactic 'opened doors' for mentally ill teen needing treatment bed - Calgary - CBC News

3 ticks is 10 too many

tick.png
This little asshat is the third of the season for us. Disgusting  things really but at least they are in no rush to jam their jaws into your flesh so there is a fair amount of time for you to properly dispatch 'em, 30 to 60 minutes as they hunt for a good spot to picnic.

The black legged tick, not pictured here, can carry Lyme disease as well as the Powassan virus, so one must be vigilant if they live near affected areas. If you've been burrowed into by any of the varieties, don't panic, but don't waste any time either.…

The Pencilsword: On a plate - a short story about priviledge

"Toby Morris is an Auckland based illustrator and comic artist. He is the creator of the Pencilsword and also half of the Toby and Toby duo behind the series 'That is the question' at radionz.co.nz"

The Pencilsword: On a plate - a short story about priviledge

World’s first grid-connected wave power station switched on in Australia

The world’s first grid-connected wave power station has been activated off the coast of Western Australia (WA). After more than a decade of testing and demonstrations, Australian company Carnegie Wave Energy has switched on a pilot project that has begun feeding wave-generated electricity into a local WA grid.
World’s first grid-connected wave power station switched on in Australia - ScienceAlert.

Research: Bisphenol A BPA Causes 100x More Harm Than Previously

An alarming new study establishes that the commonly used chemical bisphenol A used in tens of thousands of consumer products, and its lesser known but increasingly prevalent analogs, bisphenol S and F, are several orders of magnitude more disruptive to the endocrine systems of the developing male human fetus than previous toxicological risk assessments were capable of determining.

The new study was published in the journal Fertility and Sterility and titled, "A new chapter in the bisphenol A story: bisphenol S and bisphenol F are not safe alternatives to this compound."

As we have documented extensively in the past, the authors of the new study raise concerns that as awareness of bisphenol A's clearly demonstrated toxicity grows and it loses favor within the marketplace, manufacturers are increasingly substituting it with chemically similar bisphenol compounds whose toxicities are less well characterized. As a result, consumers who conscientiously buy ostensibly 'BPA-free' products are being mislead into thinking they are bisphenol free and therefore safe.

The Next James Bond Movie Is Spectre, and It Has a Cast Full of Villains

"Live from Pinewood Studios, director Sam Mendes revealed the cast and title for the 24th James Bond movie. Coming November 6, 2015 is Spectre. We also got confirmation of some new cast members: Christoph Waltz, Andrew Scott, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci and Léa Seydoux. Spoilers in the form of speculation and rumor below! Well, that certainly sounds like we'll be seeing Daniel Craig's James Bond tangle with the global terrorist group SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion). As an organization, it's MI-6's main nemesis in the Bond universe, and we first saw in on film in Dr. No. All of which means "Spectre" is not a word you just throw around lightly when making a Bond movie. Even though Mendes said he "couldn't comment" on that." The Next James Bond Movie Is Spectre, and It Has a Cast Full of Villains.

Scott Weaver's Rolling through the Bay on Vimeo

"Scott Weaver's amazing piece, made with over 100,000 toothpicks over the course of 35 years, is a depiction of San Francisco, with multiple ball runs that allow you to go on "tours" of different parts of the city."

Scott Weaver's Rolling through the Bay on Vimeo

News - Australian woman swallowed by sinkhole while hanging up laundry - The Weather Ne…

Thursday, November 27, 2014, 4:12 PM -   An Australian woman had to be rescued by firefighters after she was swallowed by a sinkhole while hanging up laundry in her backyard Tuesday.

Christina Beaumont, 52, had to tread water for twenty minutes when the three-metre hole opened up under her feet, submerged her in water.

A neighbour heard her cries for help and contacted firefighters who rescued her with ropes.

Australian woman swallowed by sinkhole while hanging up laundry