Grizzly Speaks

Parents gone home

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:47:52 GMT

The folks left to return to Winnipeg this morning. Got lots done on the railroad and I miss them already.

Folks coming to visit

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:49:30 GMT

While wandering around the art show at Convergence this year, I got a phone call from my aunt who was somewhere in Michigan. She said they were enroute to Minneapolis on their way home from an extended vacation and could they say hi and buy us dinner. Naturally I said of course and we would be insulted if they stayed anywhere but with us while they rested up for the final push to Winnipeg this morning. So, I took them through the aquarium before we said bon-voyage and they made tracks for home. It was an unexpected but delightful surprise. This was the prelude to the long awaited visit from my parents who will be arriving tomorrow. I am working late, but the rest of the week will be alright. there is a big stem train coming through town on July 9th and it is fitting my dad should be here for that. We are very much wanting to see that. He is coming bearing gifts like about 60 feet of HO flex track. That may well be enough to finish my mainline.

RE. facebook spamming

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:51:07 GMT

Okay, I have dealt with this problem and it should prevent any further spamming from facebook in my name. I apologize to any and all here who were spammed as a result of my being so gullible as to think FB would be honourable enough to respect my and my friends' privacy. Until their dirty little scheme sees through mine, it shouldn't happen again.
Once again, I am sorry for any grief this has caused.

Facebook spamming

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:24:02 GMT

I have been getting emails from friends who are telling me I am inviting them to join facebook. This is not my doing and I was not aware, until now, that this was happening. How can I prevent this without wiping all my contacts from my email list? I would go as far as cancelling my FB account if they are going to spam my friends through me. I may do that anyway. I think that is a dirty trick and no way to treat your clients.

Here I am at Duckcon

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:55:52 GMT

You've got to love a hotel that provides complimentary Wifi. Just sayin'.

Rainy days

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 18:27:30 GMT

It rained all day yesterday. What a fine opportunity to get some work done on the railroad. Had some friends over for lunch and then did the logical rainy afternoon thing. We all went for ice cream. Upon coming home I disappeared into the basement and finished my new module. Then I wander round it figuring out how I am going to fit all I want to get into a rather limited space. I think I have it now. More wood to cut, more glue to use up and more recycled hardware to put back to work.
Not that I haven't got anything better to do. I really don't. Accept maybe write songs, record stuff... DAMN!!!!

I got more wood!

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 13:52:54 GMT

I slipped down to Menard's the other day and picked up enough wood for a rather large module for the railroad. This particular part will house both my passenger terminal and freight yard. I guess that means I will have to start buying turn-outs. Ouch! They aren't cheap!

Or.....

Tue, 26 May 2009 16:40:33 GMT

I have just set up an account at MyPhoto. Go here to view. http://www.myphoto.com/graylea/1326/5110/, I think.

New RR photos

Tue, 26 May 2009 16:18:38 GMT

I have uploaded some photos of my latest railroad project to my facebook page. It seems you can't see them if you are not on facebook. I would have to upgrade my LJ to one I would actually have to pay for (imagine!) to upload them here. So, here's the link. www.facebook.com/album.php

bedlamhouse will want to look at this, I am sure. :-)

A Job Well Done

Fri, 15 May 2009 15:33:14 GMT

I took a bunch of older preschool kids on a behind the scenes tour at the aquarium, today. This is one of my favorite things to do at my job and I like to think I do it well. It's always good to get confirmation on that. The person who brought all these kids out here said that she has been through a lot of our BTS tours and said that my presentation was "...by far the best she had seen." Nothing could ruin my day now. :-)

Mom and Dad are coming!

Wed, 06 May 2009 01:19:49 GMT

First weekend in June my parents are coming down for a visit. My dad is bringing down about 60' of track. I have been obsessively scratch building a wooden trestle and it is almost finished. I need more wood! Just a couple of tiny lengths of 1/8th inch square bass wood dowel. I have been cutting up all kinds of 1/4 inch plywood to make strips for laminated roadbed. I need more wood. I have about six more modules to build to complete the bench work for my projected track plan. I am fresh out of 1x2's and 1x3's. I need more wood. I have no lumber at all for the completion of my trans-basemental railroad. Did I mention I need more wood? Construction has ground to a halt until pay day. There may be another delay for the construction company building the railroad has been contracted to retro-fit a plastic drum for a compost barrel which, apparently, is taking priority. My basement will never be united unless the railroad is completed and we have an overland trade link between the walls.

New Railroad Photos

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 20:05:22 GMT

Here are some pictures of my railroad under construction. Progress is being made. My dad is coming down with about 75 feet of track, so I have been building roadbed like a demon, lately. http://www.facebook.com/editphoto.php?aid=93656&success=1&failure=0#/photos.php?id=624075758. ; I hope you can get in there. If you are on facebook you won't have any trouble.

RIP

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 02:36:57 GMT

Yesterday morning at our aquarium, Rocky the 18 year old fifteen pound Atlantic lobster died peacefully in his new tank. Rocky had been a fixture there for many years. His little friend and tankmate, a four inch snapper grieves the loss of his buddy. Rocky's remains are in our fume hood awaiting drying out and his mortal coil will be used for educational purposes, most likely in our Discovery room.

Farewell, Rocky. We will miss you.

Rather Good weekend

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:24:18 GMT

I had rather a lot of fun at Minicon last weekend. I had a concert Friday night and I rather surprised myself. I have been remiss in my practice and haven't played out in quite some time. I went through the songs a had selected a fe times before going on and they were acceptably there. I found myself in pretty good voice after the first couple of songs. Some minimal stumbling, but nded on a good note. I got to meet the one and only sdorn in person. I have known him on line for a number of years. Delightful fellow if not a shameless punster.
Played Money-Duck until much too late on Saturday NightThe best drawing prize of the night went to Erin for her rendering of ducks flossing their bills. Dead dog on Sunday turned into a dance and then we went home to real doga very happy to see us. I don't knw what the dog sitter was feeding them, but they have been turning their noses up at dog food ever since.
we also attended the winding dwn party last night and we have decided we have to get together the MNSTF folks more frequently, if they will have us. Great bunch o' people.

One Dead Troll

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:13:55 GMT

I have some rather sorry news to post. It has recently been brought to my attention that an old acquaintance and Fringe Festival colleague of mine, Joe Bird, died rather suddenly of an apparent heart attack on April 2nd. Joe was with the legendary sketch comedy troupe Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie. You can see one of joe's last performances here. www.deadtroll.com If you have heard me do the song "Ontario Sucks" it was written by Wes Borg and performed by the Trolls. Joe was a very talented musician and actor and he was a lot of fun to hang out with. He was friendly and gregarious with an immense capacity for having fun and he was always ready to accept any fellow performer as a colleague and treated us all with due respect and courtesy. My favorite memory of Joe was at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival when he was introduced to the mother of the Leathers Brothers. He put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her gently saying "Mom!" in a playful and affectionate tone which made my aunt green with envy.

I say to Joe, Thanks for ten years of happy memories in Winnipeg and Edmonton Fringe Festivals. I'll never forget you.

So, here I am...

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 01:23:37 GMT

...at the Riverview for the first time in about three weeks. After I banged up my knee, real good I have not been getting out much. Sucks. I have been going to work, going home, icing my knee, going to sleep and going to work again. My best reprieve has been playing D&D with my new RPG playing friends on Sundays. I have been up and about enough to get another module completed and it even has track on it, now and I can run a short train over about fifteen feet. (For those of you who might be interested, I have found that old Con-Cor bud cars are very touchy about going over my turnouts. Those beautiful new Walthers ones have no problem at all. Neither do my very nice Intermountain F units. I will have to try my Empire Builder on the same stretch and see how the Riverossi cars do. I have Proto 2000 F units for that train. All DCC equipped and they run SUPERBLY. Many thanks to my indulgent father for those. Did I ever mention I love my dad? I must tell him one day that he doesn't have to buy my love with model train stuff. But not just yet.
So, there is great improvement to the knee. I can even lift my foot an inch off the ground or two while sitting in a chair. This is progress. Apart from that, there is not much to tell about my humble little life. Being injured does not exactly make for thrilling adventures I would be willing to share, here. Much of my spare time has just been spent in a recliner with an ice pack on my knee, much to Tillie's delight. She rather likes curling up in my lap and sleeping while I sit and twiddle my thumbs. I am sure she will be happier still when I am able to take her for walks again.

Construction temporarily halted due to injury.

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:13:17 GMT

You have probably heard about this already if you've been reading chirosinger's LJ, but here's my version anyway.

I went to Menard's a few days ago and bought some lumber and half completed another module for my railroad. I stopped building, excited about my progress and went to bed. The following morning I got up and went through the usual morning routine and then with a song in my heart I left for work. As I walked I hit a particularly nasty patch of ice and felt my knee buckle as I came down on it much harder than is recommended by the manufacturer. I heard the sound of popping joints, and rending sinew as my knee bent into an unnatural position. As lay on the sidewalk, I found I could not bend my knee or stand up. I got my phone and called chirosinger. She came immediately to my rescue. She picked me up and brought me back home. I am out for the first time in two days after sitting in a recliner with my leg propped up and ice all around my knee. I think we have determined it is not a dislocation or torn tendons or anything really nasty that would require surgery to re-attach something. The muscles still feel like they’d been through a toffee puller but I am recovering well and am able to hobble about with a cane. Yesterday was another day confined to the recliner, although I was able to get up and walk around (it was fun). I was also enjoying the company of themadblonde . She was a bit more mobile than I and she was able to do the more challenging tasks I was as yet unable to do, like feed dogs, go up and down stairs for ice packs and such. She also prevented me from having too much fun by asking where I was going any time I made a move to get up. I am grateful to her. I was downstairs this morning working on some stuff and I shall have my newest module bolted in place by this evening.

Alligator Gar are sceptical of changes in their tanks

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:21:05 GMT

So I was up ridiculously early this morning as I was scheduled to work facilities at the aquarium. It turned ou there wasn't much to do in that area. We have three new exhibits under construction at the moment, so facilities shifts are little more than cleaning up after contractors. But, there was very little of that to do, but it was Tuesday. So what, you ask? Well, tuesday is our heaviest feeding day. Most of the animals fast on Sunday or Monday, so Tuesday is when EVERYBODY gets fed. So, husbandry was short staffed, and behind schedule.
I got to feed the Alligator Gar. They are a large predatory fish native to the Mississippi delta. They are reluctant feeders, but I found a way to get them more interested in the food. Being a fisherman, I put some mackerel in the tongs and essentially started jigging. That brought them in and they investigated the food. Some of them even ate it. Now if I can just figure out a way to keep the turtles away while I am feeding them...

Whoa! Posting 2 days in a row!

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:05:16 GMT

I haven't done that for a while. Here I am, back at the Riverview. I just came straight from work, after depositing my check. I am more caught up, now, than I realized. I understand my beloved chirosinger was claiming we Canadians don't get I-Spy because we actually throw things other than trees and hedges into the mix. Wassup widat?

This makes the world a little more accessible.

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:40:37 GMT

After

chirosinger 's computer drama of the last few weeks, the upshot is I now have some limited access to a Wi-Fi computer and am able to spend a little more time on line these days. It isn't much of an inconvenience to stroll a couple of blocks to the Riverview Cafe to tap into to the wireless network here. I am sitting and watching winter return with a vengeance. Talk about a dish being served cold. I am hoping it won't last too long.
I have mixed feelings about how things are going at work, these days. I have managed to get into the education departmartment and I am traveling a fair amount. I am going out to schools and community groups all over the state to talk about sea life. I certainly am enjoying that aspect of it... ALOT!!! Onsite, they are making some changes to the place. The old tuch pool is gone. The cow-nose rays are ow in Rainbow Reef exhibit. They want to have a different touch pool all with invertebrates. Kind of a tide pool sort of arrangement. The old touch pool is going to be a "splash pool" with little toy boats and things where toddlers just go and play. Both will be staffed so that will mean more hours or us, but It looks like the role of guides is going to become more and more one to bring in revenue and less one of education. That is not what I signed up for, nor is it my strength. In my year end review, they acknowledged and praised me for my excellence as an interpreter, but I am worried they may be valuing that less and less as we go on. There are other things I may just have to grin and bear while I do what I do best. So long as I am not reprimanded for not being as good at the things I wasn't originally hired to do. Or, they may not keep me doing those other things so much and make better use of me in the Ed department. We'll see what happens when all the dust settles and the new owners find their stride here.

A Tycoon is Born!!!

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 19:33:31 GMT

My good buddy chasophonic lent me his router last night so I could bevel my roadbed. Now, it is glued down and the first length of track has been put down. This railroad empire has begun. I dropped feeder wires and put the DCC throttle to it and with a quivering hand, I put my little consolidation on the track. I fed power to it and the little jewel glided away fo three feet. All systems are go!

Coming up for air.

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:04:39 GMT

Just briefly. It has been a fun January, to put it mildly. the railroad has been a bit of a standstill while I amtrying to raise a little extra cash to buy materials. Big thanks to themadblonde for the very generous gift certificate to Choo-Choo Bob's. That will go a long way to getting an ample supply of track for when I get to that point. I just got into the Ed departmant at work so that will see me going on more out reaches and teaching classed about critters. Right up my alley.

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 23:23:48 GMT

Here's a bit of good ol' live life to the fullest philosophy. Let's ride bikes on the railroad bridge!

Your Word is "Fearless"

You see life as your one chance to experience everything, and you just go for it!

You believe the biggest risk is being afraid and missing out on something amazing.

Sometimes your fearlessness means you're daring. You enjoy risky activities.

And sometimes your fearlessness means you're courageous. You're brave enough to do the right thing, even when it's scary.

What's Your Word?

Xmas Greetings

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 05:48:14 GMT

What a wonderful Christmas it has been! This is the first time in three Christmases I have been back to The 'Peg for the annual reunion of our pack of hyenas. Unfortunately, my older sister was unable to make it this year, but we will be returning for Christmas next year and hopefully she will be able to attend then. After that we will get on to our annual mid-winter visit alternating years, Christmas one year and New Year's the next. That way we can get up here annually and still split our holiday time with friends in Minneapolis and my family and friends up here. I feel very fortunate to have the family I do where we all get along, we all look out for each other and we all laugh and celebrate when we all get together. I am looking forward to having my dad com up in April to help me with my railroad, which is progressing by leaps and bounds at the moment. I got some very nice gifts from my father which will speed up the progress smartly.

Happy Holidays, everyone. :-)

Opening NIght.

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:57:11 GMT

"'Tis the holiday season and Chritmas Fever is upon us!"
-- Opening line from Jean Shepard's Stage version of 'A Christams Story'

This is just one of many lines I have memorized for the show which opens tonight at Mounds Theatre in St. Paul. See www.moundstheatre.com for show times and location. The hard work is over. Time to relax and enjoy the ride. Hope you can too. The show runs for the next three weekends and then it's back to Winnipeg for Christms with the family. First one in three years!