There isn’t much going on, but I thought I should update anyway.
The battery in my SVX died, again. This time, I’d disabled the security system on the car, so something else must be causing the drain. The only other things I can think of are the LCD clock and the radio station presets in the stereo. Neither seem like a particularly strong load. I haven’t done anything to the car’s electrical system, and my recent visit to Canadian Tire this winter showed the charging system as functioning with battery at 80%. The battery is small and cheap, so I guess it’s just crappy and dying. I’ll add that to the list. Though now that I’m working again, I can afford it.
Meghan applied for a job in Orangeville today. I’d be okay with that, it seems like a decent place. Rent isn’t too insane there, and on the map of Ontario that we have, it looks nicely isolated from the urban creep of the GTA. The other recent posting she looked at was for Moose Factory. Yeah, way the heck up there on the southern tip of James Bay. Apparently you can only drive there (from Moosonee) in the winter when the river has frozen through. Other than that, you’re looking at ferry, train, or flying in. Not sure how I feel about that…
Of course, even if no teaching jobs are to be had, we have a plan. Meghan will just go back to get her Masters of Education, and I’ll continue slogging away at this job for another year. Seems stable enough, and they’ve basically said that as long as I want it, it’s mine. Though we would probably have to move, since we’ve already given our notice and the ‘for rent’ sign went up this evening. Not that I mind getting a different place, terribly. This apartment is okay, but we can do better.
Posted by Ron as Miscellaneous at 8:42 PM EDT
No Comments »
I got a new job this week, and all I have to say is “ow.” I’ve been using muscles that I didn’t know exsisted.
Incidentally, the job is at a garage that repairs the big rigs, mostly Mack, Volvo, and GMC Medium Duty. I’m no heavy equipment mechanic, but I do what I can. My downstairs neighbour hooked me up with this job, and for that, I am greatful.
In any case, it will pay the bills and whatnot until Meghan lands a job. Plus, that’s one more pile of things to add to my résumé. For a college dropout, I’m becoming quite the renaissance guy.
Also, while boning up on some job skills, I found the most amusing training video ever. Yes, ever. It’s called “Staplerfahrer Klaus” and you can grab a copy here. It’s in German, but understanding the language is not at all important. The film is very, *ahem* visual.
Posted by Ron as Work at 6:25 PM EDT
4 Comments »
While searching for a local online news website, I stumbled across an account of a curious event that happened right here in Windsor, back in 1995.
The event became known as the Windsor Incident, and made quite a stir, apparently. Naturally, in the tradition of the X-files, there are a few conspiracy theories on various UFO websites surrounding the incident, and its subsequent cover-up.
Calling witnesses ‘conspiracy theorists’ and ‘paranoid’ works really well for discrediting stories. Especially after I went poking around some of the websites that host the story. They’re kinda ‘out there’ and I don’t mean that in the “the Truth is Out There” sense either. So that detracts from its credibility also, though, to be fair, that last one looks the least crazy of them all. Check the disclaimer at the bottom to see how it differs from the tone of the others.
My sister pointed out that the big white thing in the sky could have been the moon through the clouds, and that the animation of the newsreel could have been altered in any number of ways. She’s got a point. To me, the fun in this is not in the search for the truth, or what actually happened (though I’d certainly like to know), but rather in asking the questions, “what if it did happen?” and, “was there a cover up?” Speculation can be such great entertainment.
Posted by Ron as Miscellaneous at 7:45 PM EDT
4 Comments »
Last week I finally got around to watching the Incredibles. I’m pretty disconnected from modern media (mostly on purpose) so I hadn’t seen much advertising for it, but a bunch of my friends here were bugging me to see it a while ago at the cinema.
In the end, I declined to go, for several reasons; partly because of hype, partly because I thought it actually looked a little stupid, partly because it was a Disney thing, and partly because the whole ‘comic book super hero’ thing is a lot overdone these days. Sure, I really liked the 1989 version of Batman, for example, but I’m just not a graphic novel fetishist, and as such, mostly don’t give a crap about the latest comic-book-to-movie licensing arrangements between a bunch of assholes that maybe once had artistic vision, but now would rather pimp that vision to the mass media.
I was actually surprised by the level of allegory in this movie though. Unlike a lot of other ‘comic superhero’ genre movies, this one is blatantly aimed at kids. And yet here you have a movie whose antagonist is obviously a terrorist, created by none other than the protagonist. There are messages in it, flat out saying how the villains don’t care if you’re just kids or not, they’ll be happy to kill you all the same. Sounding familiar yet?
I’m not saying what I think of this message, because it’s kind of bi-partisan. On the one hand, it plays nicely into the hands of the Republicans and their army of suburban “security mom” drones, while at the same time addressing the fact that the problem wouldn’t exist if only the good guys had been more careful in how they treated others they viewed as lesser / weaker than themselves (obvious slam against U.S. foreign policy). One could easily argue that this is nothing new, as this last aspect is simliar to the message in the aforementioned 1989 version of Batman, but in that one the situation is reversed, and so it was much less immediately relevant and sinister.
So maybe that’s not news, I don’t know, since as I said, I unplugged from the hype. Look at the latest Star Wars flick though; it may be a merchandising money grab, but it’s not just a merchandising money grab. It is also chock full of political allegory, which is pretty much everywhere these days. Or maybe I’m just getting better at spotting it. The thing that I find hard to believe is how so many can miss or ignore it.
Posted by Ron as Politics at 10:29 PM EDT
2 Comments »
Today I heard a distinct loud rumbling sound. I live somewhat near an airport, so this isn’t entirely unusual, but this was a different kind of sound. Occasionally we hear a military aircraft flying by, but high up in the sky, whereas the sound I heard today was very close to ground level, and there was more than one.
Turns out, as Meghan spotted them on their return pass, that it was the Snowbirds. I was curious as to why I’d never heard them here before, and that, as it turns out, is because they’re flying out of Leamington for an upcoming air show there comemorating the 61st anniversary of the D-day invasion.
That second pass was impressive. I know they aren’t supersonic, but they must have come pretty close because I heard a distinct booming sound that shook the house, and it wasn’t a crash.
I have always been fascinated by the CT-114 Tutor, ever since I was a young lad, dreaming of piloting fantastically fast aircraft, as so many young lads do. I don’t know what it is about that particular aircraft that fascinated me so, because it’s rather ungainly. Could be the distinctive side-by-side cockpit layout; makes it almost like the 2-seat exotic sports car of the sky. Or something. I’ll try and snap a picture if they do another flyby tomorrow.
Update (June 5): They came back, but damn, they’re quick little buggers. I snapped some pictures but I was too slow to get any really good ones. Consolation prize: a crop of the best shot I took of them. The resolution sucks because I didn’t have time to zoom in. Like I said, they’re fast, giving almost no warning of their arrival. Still, it’s neat that the reason you can’t hear them coming until they’re right on top of you is because they’re moving almost as quickly as the sound they make.
Posted by Ron as Fire-in-a-can at 7:03 PM EDT
No Comments »