Birds

I love these colourful pictures of birds and thought I would share them.  I'm not sure what their breed is or where they live, but they are gorgeous!

It's cruise season and my thoughts on the police transition

We are finally having wonderful weather.  I have a friend going to Alaska today for 10 days and my daughter and son-in-law are boarding a ship today in California and sailing to Vancouver via San Francisco, Astoria and Victoria.  I'm on teenager duty and at 18 it's more of a sleep over and make sure the cats get fed.  

I watched the police announcement yesterday and I am 100% behind Brenda Locke, our mayor.  She's right, its politics not safety.  I hope Brenda keeps the RCMP as everyone I know doesn't want the SPS.  It's not a matter of who is better, it's taxes that are being charged to the business and property taxes to fund this change.  

We get $20 million every year from the federal government.  The province offered us $30 million a year for five years and we lose the $20 million.  Who pays the huge cost after five years, the tax payers? 

In the calculation of $30 million of additional costs with the SPS, they left out:

• the 100 officers that are being added in four years
• the IT infrastructure that's needed
• the gun range for the officers training
• SPS union agreement says two officers must ride together.  What does that do to help us?  |Now RCMP officers ride alone and call for help if they need it. 

The province keeps saying we are giving up $150 million BC Tax Dollars if we keep the RCMP.  Yes, we need to pay $72 million in severance and then the extra costs will end.  The difference is $78 million and we will get $20 million every year from the feds.  

If I lived in another city in British Columbia, I would be upset my tax dollars are being used for a city.   If other cities or municipalities want to transition from the RCMP, does the BC Government fund them too?

Minister Farnworth had this transition studied and his staff prepared a 500 page report.  He held up a copy of the report yesterday at his press conference.  One thing we did learn from the minister was the numbers given by keeping the RCMP in Surrey that were audited by Deloitte, were right.  That was good to hear.  The Mayor of Surrey never received a copy of this report.  She asked for one just before the announcement and when she received it, the document was heavily redacted!  How is she suppose to make a decision from this redacted report?

Four years ago Minister Farnsworth didn't ask for a business plan or cost/benefit analysis.  He gave the green light to proceed with the change.  He only requested these documents last November and it's taken five months for this decision.  If he did his due diligence four years ago and asked for those documents, we wouldn't be in this predicament.  

There was never a business plan, Mayor McCallum just pulled the numbers out of the air.  He didn't know he couldn't keep the RCMP IT infrastructure.  He offered every officer who joined the SPS a $50,000 signing bonus, paid the SPS the highest wages in Canada and signed a severance agreement we need to live with.  

I blame Minister Farnsworth for this boondoggle.  They should have done a cost/benefit analysis and the citizens a referendum to vote either way four years ago.  I'm sure the next provincial election will cost the NDP in Surrey their seats.

Organ Donation

I know two people who have received new kidneys and it saved their lives!   I worked with Wendy at Ritchie Bros.  She needed a kidney and was on the list.  Ritchie Bros. allowed her to do dialysis at lunch!  We would sit with her while she did her dialysis and eat our lunch.   I'll never forget her beeper (before cell phones) went off every Friday at 2 PM to make sure it worked.  Then, at our Christmas Party at about 11 PM, it went off.  Her husband took her to the hospital and her life went back to normal.  She looked so good after the transplant!  It was a deceased person who never knew what his/her decision made to Wendy, but we all did and everyone I knew at Ritchie Bros. went on the transplant list!

I have been a registered organ donor for years.  They called me once, I had blood tests, but wasn't a match.  I didn't find out what for but always hoped I got another call.   I thought I was too old to donate an organ but the oldest live donor in BC was 76 years old.  I'm still on the list! 

Here is the website in B. C. that will answer all your questions:

Transplant BC

It takes two minutes to register.  If they think you are compatible it's only a blood test at Life Labs.  At least that's what I had.  If you pass the blood test, there are a few more tests to see if you are a match with the recipient.  

Heart Attack Grill, Las Vegas

One feature of Facebook I enjoy is the pictures we posted years ago show up in our feed.  These pictures were from one of our coach trips to Las Vegas!   We didn't eat here, but took lots of pictures.  When you enter, they give you a hospital gown.  The waitresses have stethoscopes around their necks!

From Wikipedia:

The Heart Attack Grill is an American hamburger restaurant in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, (formerly located in Chandler, Arizona). It makes a point of serving food that is very unhealthy and high in fat, sugar, and cholesterol; in other words, food that, if eaten frequently, may increase the chance of a heart attack, hence the name.

The menu is generally themed around items that are exceptionally high in calories and fat.^[1] It includes "Single", "Double", "Triple", "Quadruple", "Quintuple", "Sextuple", "Septuple", and "Octuple Bypass" hamburgers,^[2] ranging from 8 to 64 ounces (230 to 1,810 g) of beef with the "Octuple Bypass" burger containing approximately 16,000 kilocalories, all-you-can-eat "Flatliner Fries," cooked in pure lard, beer and tequila, "butterfat milkshakes," and soft drinks such as Mexican-bottled Coca-Cola made with cane sugar.^[1] Customers can also order unfiltered cigarettes, or candy cigarettes for children.^[3]

Customers over 350 lb (160 kg) in weight eat for free, if they weigh themselves on a scale before eating. Beverages and to-go orders are excluded and sharing food is also not allowed for the free food deal.^[4] One of the restaurant's promotions is a reward for customers who finish a Triple or Quadruple Bypass Burger, after which they are placed in a wheelchair and wheeled out to their vehicle by their "personal nurse".

A new compter

My desktop computer has been very slow.  I had it cleaned by the Geek Squad but it hasn't helped much.  I looked up the receipt and it's over 10 years old!  Time to get a replacement.  My old one was my first all-in-one and I loved it.  It was is a HP and other than being slow, it's performance has been great!

Cec specialty ordered his HP all-in-one, but it was a high end and expensive computer!  I didn't want to pay as much as he did but I must say his 34" monitor is awesome.  I ordered it from HP and they will send it Canada Post.  It's not available at Best Buy or Costco.

HP 34" Envy All-in-One

Windows 11 HomeIntel® Core™ i716 GB RAM1 TB SSD34" diagonal WUHD displayNVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3060 (6 GB)

The Cat Theory

Known as the cat earth theory (which is only slightly more ridiculous than the flat earth theory), the ball is Australia, the head is China and Japan (and neighbours), and the ear (if Risk has taught us anything) is Kamchatka.

In this version of the world, Africa is the front leg and Europe and much of Asia make up the body.

As you can see, we are headed to the hind of the cat as we head west.  That makes South America the back leg and Alaska the tail.  And so it leaves us.

Vancouver is (and we stress that this is just in a cat earth geographical situation) the cat's butt.  Which makes Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands dingleberries.

A lovely gift

My next door neighbour Kathy's hobby is stained glass.  She spends the winter in Arizona as a snowbird and this year brought her stained glass tools and supplies back to Canada.  It's a lot more expensive and difficult to purchase stained glass in Canada.  She has a lovely stained glass desk set up in her garage.  What a lovely hobby!  Yesterday, she gave me this lovely gift!  It's gorgeous and so thoughtful of her.

Here are more of her creations.  She is very creative.

A lovely day in Vancouver

 Yesterday Environment Canada said it was going to rain, so we had no plans.  In the morning when we got up, it was quite nice.  So, we decided to take the bus and train to downtown Vancouver.  It didn't disappoint:

A lovely lunch at the Cactus Club!

Beautiful tulips!

Beside the Fairmont Waterfront, a Panabode house and bear.

Before we left home, I checked the cruise ship schedule and there were no cruise ships in.  Today the Brilliance of the Seas is in port.

We got lots of steps in and had a wonderful walk along the waterfront with very few people.  That will change in the next few weeks which is great for all the businesses.

Lovely dinner

One thing I enjoy about working is the social events.  I work as an outside travel consultant for Maritime Travel.  We get together once a year for a lovely Christmas dinner.  Sue, the manager, has decided to reduce her work hours and work from home like I do so we all got together to wish her well.  

Last night we went to Oceana Parc where Jeanie lives and had a wonderful evening.  Dinner was delicious!  After dinner we went to another private room with lovely chesterfields and had more wine and laughs.  Oceana Parc is an independent living complex at 152 and 16 Ave in White Rock.  The food is amazing!  Jeanie is so happy there and her two bedroom apartment is lovely.  She gets a sea and mountain view! 

Pina didn't attend.  She leaves tomorrow for a Mediterranean cruise!
Jeanie just got back from a Panama Canal Cruise and Madhu just returned from a week in New York City!

Crab and Avocado Salad 

Crown Roast Lamb with twice baked potato

It's great when you get together with travel agents as everyone travels and it's wonderful to hear about their travels.  They also send customers on great trips and we get wonderful feedback from them.  A lovely evening with good friends

Happy Friday

 

4/20

Today is 4/20 when lovers of cannabis gather.  They started long before it became legal and I was surprised when it was legal in Canada this "celebration" continued.  Every year since 1995 this unsanctioned event has been held in Vancouver.  It was first at the Art Gallery but now it's moved to a city beach.  Lots of people and families live near the beach and the smoke is horrendous. 

People have the right to gather, but organizing an event in a public park requires permits.  However, the City of Vancouver allows this to happen every year.  I'm happy it's peaceful but they leave a huge mess the city needs to clean up.  

“The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation has not permitted this event as organizers have failed to meet the special events permitting terms and conditions,” said a parks spokesperson Wednesday.

Parks board concerns include that organizers don’t have liability insurance, haven’t paid a permit fee, and haven’t come up with plans to protect park grounds or to manage public safety and traffic.

Today the Aquatic Center at Sunset Beach, concessions and washrooms are all closed!  These facilities are for the people of the area.  Dozens of vendors without licenses along with thousands of cannabis lovers are headed for Sunset Beach.

I'm glad I'm not a Vancouver tax payer paying for the police and clean up expenses.  

My brake light is burnt out

Leaving a restaurant, a friend who followed me, met me at the intersection, rolled down his window and told me my brake light was burnt out.

I came home and went on You Tube to see how to fix it.  I love You Tube!  However, the two videos I watched both cautioned you can scratch your car and/or break the light getting it off.  My car is now 10 years old.  Cec tried to take off the light covering and it wasn't coming off easy so he listened to me (for once) and we took our 10 year old Honda Pilot to White Rock Honda.

Bring it in, you don't need an appointment they told me.  I went to the parts guy, gave him my key and they immediately fixed my light.  Of course we were in the show room sitting in new cars and couldn't believe how fast they replaced it.

Price:  $16.05!  Taking it to the dealership, I figured the bill would be huge but what a lovely surprise!

Not time for a new car just yet, the Pilot runs just fine.  It has 156,000 KMs on it.  Our friends just sold their 2012 Pilot with 220,000 KMs, so we are hoping ours will continue to give us little grief.  I've never owned a car for this long!  I love driving it, but hate parking it.

Scammers!

I usually ignore calls from numbers that don't appear in my contact list.  When I'm not busy and like to play with them and I take the call. 

I got a call from 1 888 985-9793.  When I answered it, it was a recording saying my Visa was compromised.  I had two charges, one for gift cards and another foreign purchase.  If they were mine, press #1.  If they are not your charges, press #2.  I pressed #2 and a gentlemen answered.  I immediately hung up, went on my online banking and of course no pending charges on my account.

I heard from a friend two hours later that took the call and gave them some information.  When they asked for more information, they realized it was a scammer and hung up.  They went to the bank and had their card blocked.  The number they got was different.  When you call the number it's not assigned.  They are spoofing the number.

Don't ever give anyone that calls personal information.  Don't call them, if it's banking or credit card problems, go online or to your branch.  

I reported it to the Canadian Anti Fraud Center at 1 888 495 8501.

Interesting signs

 

Lexophiles!

 The New York Times list of the best lexophiles:

◾I changed my iPod's name to Titanic. It's syncing now.

◾England has no kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool.

◾Haunted French pancakes give me the crepes.

◾This girl today said she recognized me from the Vegetarians Club, but I'd swear I've never met herbivore.

◾I know a guy who's addicted to drinking brake fluid, but he says he can stop any time.

◾A thief who stole a calendar got twelve months.

◾When the smog lifts in Los Angeles, U.C.L.A.

◾I got some batteries that were given out free of charge.

◾A dentist and a manicurist married. They fought tooth and nail.

◾A will is a dead giveaway.

◾With her marriage, she got a new name and a dress.

◾Police were summoned to a daycare center where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.

◾A bicycle can't stand alone; it's just two tired.

◾The guy who fell onto an upholstery machine last week is now fully recovered.

◾He had a photographic memory but it was never fully developed.

◾When she saw her first strands of gray hair she thought she'd dye.

◾Acupuncture is a jab well done. That's the point of it.

◾I didn't like my beard at first. Then it grew on me.

◾Did you hear about the crossed-eyed teacher who lost her job because she couldn't control her pupils?

◾When you get a bladder infection, urine trouble

◾When chemists die, they barium.

◾I stayed up all night to see where the sun went, and then it dawned on me.

◾I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I just can't put it down

Funny quips from active minds that refuse to stop thinking

· I have a few jokes about unemployed people, but none of them work.

· How does an attorney sleep? First, he lies on one side, then he lies on the other side.

· How do you make holy water? You take some regular water & boil the hell out of it.

· Will glass coffins be a success? Remains to be seen.

· What’s the difference between a hippo and a zippo? One is really heavy and the other is a little lighter.

· Hear about the new restaurant called Karma? There’s no menu - you get what you deserve.

· I went to buy some camouflage trousers yesterday but couldn't find any.

· What do you call a bee that can’t make up its mind? A maybe.

· I tried to sue the airline for losing my luggage. I lost my case.

· When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

· A cross-eyed teacher couldn’t control his pupils.

· She had a photographic memory but never developed it.

· Is it ignorance or apathy that's destroying the world today? I don't know and don't really care.

· I wasn’t originally going to get a brain transplant, but then I changed my mind.

· My ex-wife still misses me. But her aim is starting to improve.

· The guy who invented the door knocker got a no-bell prize.

· I saw an ad for burial plots, and I thought: “That’s the last thing I need!”

· I used to be indecisive; now I'm not so sure.

· Sleeping comes so naturally to me, I could do it with my eyes closed.

· What did the grape say when it got stepped on? Nothing - but it let out a little whine.

· What do you call a super articulate dinosaur? A Thesaurus.

 

Umbrella

It was raining heavy and very windy at Kings Links last weekend.  I noticed golfers using double canopy/windproof umbrellas.   The Masters golf was on TV and we were watching the golfers outside get blown and wet and the golfers in Atlanta used the same double canopy umbrellas.  

I said "those umbrellas will never last in this wind".  Then we noticed the canopy on the top that was flapping, but the large umbrella was keeping them dry and they weren't about to turn inside out!  

This will be my next umbrella.  

This is also a UV blocker

This is 72"!  Wow!

I haven't bought an umbrella in years!  I got free umbrellas when I worked for Ritchie Bros.  I still have one and it's clear plastic!   I've won about six umbrellas on cruises as prizes for trivia.  They all are easily turned inside out!  It's about time I purchased a double canopy for our Vancouver rainy days.

Where did the time go?

• Bonanza premiered 62 years ago
• The Beatles split 52 years ago
• Laugh-In premiered nearly 54 years ago
• The Wizard of Oz is 82 years old
• Elvis died 44 years ago.  He'd be 84 today
• The Thriller video is 38 years old
• Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin died 51 years ago
• John Lennon died 41 years ago
• Mickey Mantle retired 53 years ago
• Back To The Future is 37 years old
• Saturday Night Fever is 44 years old
• The Ed Sullivan how ended 49 years ago
• The Brady Bunch premiered 52 years ago
• The triplets on My Three Sons are 52
• Tabatha from Bewitched is 57
• The Corvette turned 68 this year
• The Mustang is 57

Volkswagens!

In 1963, Cec purchased his first Volkswagen from his mom.  Volkswagens were excellent for tall people as the headroom was amazing.  I purchased my first Volkswagen in 1973, brand new and I loved it.  However, when Cheryl was in a car seat, it was difficult to get into the back seat and buckled up, so I sold it for a four door sedan.  

In 1969, Cec purchased a Volkswagen Camper.  Most weekends, we would head towards different lakes and rivers.  We would stop and sleep if we got tired.  I remember driving up long hills on the highway, geared low and very slowly making the hill, while others passed us.  We had many good trips to lakes and rivers in BC when we had the Volkswagen camper.

We kept it until 1976 and sold it to Richard and Louise .  They really enjoyed it too!  When they were tired of it, Richard sold it to his dad.  It and it stayed in the Newell family for years!  All the Newell kids used it for family vacations.  When it needed another motor, you just put one in.  Richards brother David and sister Irene have told us many stories about using the van for their BC vacations.  His dad kept it for many years!

There is something about the love of a car!  I saw this article and I get it:

Ron Howard, with his 1970 Volkswagen Bug. Howard purchased the car new in 1970 at age 16---it was his first car. He drove the VW until (around) 1976 when he got rid of it. A few years ago, Howard's brother-in-law found it in Redding, California--where Howard has a lot of relatives. The person that had it was using it to deliver eggs--and it still had Ron Howard's college sticker on it. Howard's brother-in-law repurchased it for him. He replaced the engine and shipped it back to Howard. Today Howard drives it regularly and says it is the only car he has ever loved. He credits his father for giving him the common sense as a teenager with money-- and buying a Volkswagen as opposed to something like a Corvette.

Coronation Swag

 Here's a collectors item:

Easter Dinner

 

Cheryl made a beautiful turkey Easter dinner.  Instead of stuffing, she made Yorkshire pudding.  It was a huge hit and everyone enjoyed them.  

Dessert was a four layer chocolate Easter Egg cake.  The inside was full of Easter eggs and the cake was delicious!.