Old Ironmaker

There are 3 reasons to read the Toronto Sun, Blue Jays, Leafs and where the strip joints are.

Yea I was thinking of you guys in the Arctic, unless you have a great watch you may never know what time it is.

A discussion concerning this every year and if it's necessary. From what I remember we set the clock back so that little kids won't be walking to school in the dark back when kids were allowed to walk. It costs us money as more hydro across this land is used because of it getting darker earlier on the earth clock. I don't see any real reason to set the clock back in modern society.

If you have to go into work everyday I consider you to be working class. There are the wealthy and those guys write cheques to the Middle Class that includes all professionals that need to work regularly so they can live like they are wealthy. They write the cheques to those of us that must work everyday and watch for sales on groceries which I consider "Working Class" which are the heart and soul of Canada. Then there are the Underprivileged Class that need assistance to live regardless of the reasons. Now throw Royalty into the mix and it just gets ridiculous. Compared to them I'm underprivileged.

There is an RC airport/club on a farm down the road. I've stopped to watch when I see a group of guys "playing" with their toys. They can get serious and I quickly found out they are not "playing". When I found out how much one of their planes or Choppers cost they sure aren't playing. I've paid less for cars that I can drive on the road. We used to have a clay tennis court at the back of the property that I let go to weed. A few years back neighbours asked if they could put in an RC track, be my guest. They brought in a few yards of soil and made rails with weeping tile complete with jumps etc. In the winter they actually had RC Snow machines.They haven't used it for a few years because the kids are all in their 40's now and their kids destroy the big kids off roaders. It is fun. I tied about 20 yards of line on one of those RC boats the neighbours grand kids had and a Rappala but got skunked. They tried for days and finally caught a Smallie, that was neat to hear the kids screaming.

This query comes up once and a while here if I'm not mistaken. From what I remember our Canadian Do Not Call system is not regulated through any Gov. legislation. It is a public service by a business group and has no legal authorization to penalize any group or business that does not adhere to the request to "Do not call'. Is this still the scenario? I love telemarketers. I do realize these people are trying to make a living, earn a wage no matter how meager and hopefully pay taxes into our coffers. It sure isn't a job I would want but if I couldn't do anything else it would be an option. It beats many jobs I have seen people do. When I am really bored I just take a few minutes to drive them nuts. Then they put me on their do not call list. Lately I will answer the phone and when there is a second or 2 delay I know it's an automated call system where calls are put out and until they get a connection then they push a button to complete the call. I will answer in one of my many accents I have developed over the years. My favorite is the old Italian guy, I have had a lot of experience with old Italian guys since I was born. " Who you wanta Mr.?" OK holdem up a minuto...........Johnny coma now,,,,,,,,,,hey Guanno the guy she calla for you,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,wait 2 minutes and tell them Johnny no home, bye, bye or you want to calla him backs give me the numero,,,,,1 800 909 8888, OK I tole you 1 900 888 9090, no sir, etc. etc until they hang up on me. It can be fun. Or the old Scotsman who flips out on the credit card caller because he has never had a credit card and goes into tirade about how credit is bad and cash is King then lectures the young caller about financing and banking, they will politly end the conversation and hardly ever call me back. Now I'm coming into winter and might not have much fun around dinner time.

Lucas I wouldn't put much solace in what a talking head doing baseball would say. Not many listen closely but if you do they all say stupid things to fill air time. Especially in the slower paced games like baseball and golf. If one listens intently, and I don't know why one would, they all actually have cards of quips pre written. I remember one NFL telecast when the great play by play man Pat Summerall well into his 70's by then must have shuffled his cards and said the exact same thing about one player 4 times before his partner John Madden the legend pointed it out. This stuff is scripted, the guys that go off the cuff usually say something to lose there jobs. Former NY Giant running back Tiki Barber lasted one day on NBC's Today Show for saying something off colour. Golf channels Kelly Tillman was suspended for a month for saying they should take Tiger Woods out back and hang him, oops. She should have been fired but has nice legs. As for Americans knowing nothing about Canadian, don't sweat it because they know nothing about Americans either.

Floatinfly. I figured you knew who he was but I was the kid in school that never put his hand up so I'm making up for it. Yea most announcers butcher names. Hell I have relatives that don't pronounce their own name properly, it used to drive me batty. Jays play longball tonight and win. Need to just keep doing exactly how they got there. Actually I see advantage Jays now as Texas is deep in their starting order of hurlers I would think.

Canuck2fan, thank you for your thoughts. A "secret deal", this is 2015, in a democracy, what's so secret that I can not see when it effects my life seriously. COME ON MAN. I told a few people today at our neighbourhood Thanksgiving feast/horseshoe tourney. "If you see OPP or RCMP helicopters flying over my place they are trying to bust me for selling illegal Insulin and Blood pressure meds on the streets to my former crew". Can you imagine? If I don't get insulin I don't go to rehab to kick Diabetes and deal with withdrawals. I don't learn to eat better. I don't get a pancreas transplant paid by OHIP, I die. So if I pay for it from my pension I loose my home to stay alive. What choice do I have? Do what you have to do to stay alive, or just sit back and wait to die? This is absolutely insane. I hear people talk in the check out line and on social media, "No way we should bail out these 22,000 pensioners with taxpayers money, no way". I'm not asking for a hand out, I just don't want to die yet.

I would love to ask a few questions of any of the 4 candidates. How many do you think know what a litre of Milk costs, or a loaf of bread? A pound of ground beef? That would be fun to watch then writhe in pain to answer. Maybe Liz May would know but I have a better chance of cracking the starting line up of the local old timers anything team with my knees than her getting party status in Parliament. What do anyone of them know about what we have to do to earn a living. Do you think Justin ever had to work summers in a Steel Mill? Or anyone of them ever having to go into work at 11PM on a Sunday? Never. They have no idea what we have to do to live but they are all we have to choose from. You are right Big Cliff. "WHO, WHO WHOM???" Tough decision, really tough. But as I said before, be a tough guy and vote no matter what. I don't agree to the protest vote, ie declining a ballot or voting for the Tin Hat party, it won't make a difference, at all. It's a waste of gas to get there. If you think the winners will heed that I have a few acres of land in Florida for ya.

What is the bench mark for success of a country? Anyone? We are OK, not thriving, not leading the world in some categories other than standard of living and I believe we are up there, so what exactly is the biggest "we need a change now" problem? Please enlighten me? And I am not being my sarcastic me, I want to know what the everyday "I can't take this anymore" problem is that makes my day to day living tougher. Political scandals are just that, ir doesn't hamper you day to day life, embarrassing, waste of $$$, pisses me off, all yes but does it affect my ability to provide food and shelter for my family? I know I am pissed over the US Steel fiasco. Apparently tomorrow I am loosing my pension benefits I earned for 30 years working in a shirt hole called Stelco Ironmaking. I earned those benefits and hear nothing coming out of my Prime Ministers mouth. But I do remember him writing off millions of dollars of money owed and a substantial payout of federal dollars to save my pension from the former Stelco. That has given me 12 more years of monthly pensions that I thought were lost. There were no Canadian companies standing in line to buy our plants.

Chris Colabello plays first base for TO. Only 1 or 2 years ago he was playing for Italy's national team. A rah rah team guy that it appears everyone likes to play with. Batting over 300 against lefties as opposed to 250 with his platoon partner Smouts hitting around 250 against southpaws. Not as defensively adept as Smouts says the talking heads. Jays are playing long ball tonight, that's their game, they need to be up by 5 mid game and they are. Problem is playoff baseball is always small ball.

And it doesn't hurt like Football.

I admit I have jumped on the Baseball Bandwagon, just like the thousands since these Jays have sparked the interest in Baseball I have to admit it is fun. I have not watched or followed MLB since that strike and cancellation of the Series. It broke my Baseball heart. So hear I am, cheering for a team that is behind badly, with little hope to advance, but, it's Baseball anything can happen and happen fast. Now I remember why I played for 35 years. It's fun and unpredictable.

Constantly I hear these Politicians spouting off about serving the middle class. Who is the middle class? Not I for certain. If the top 5% own 90% of the wealth I would say these are the upper class. The Bronfmans, the Molson family, the Eatons, the Bassets, the people that write cheques to millionairs for services rendered. So who's next? The CEO's of these individuals that get the cheques in the millions a year, those business people that own the companies that we write cheques to every month for our mortgage, car, internet, phone services? Even these guys need to show up to an office once a week and they get a cheque every month. They aren't upper class so who are they? Middle class? My Lawyer and Doctor, my CPA and Dentist sure have to show up everyday or they can't pay their bills so who are they? Middle Class. Then for certain I am not Middle Class. Because even these guys have to work. I must be working class. because I sure ain't one of those aforementioned classes. I hear nothing about working class citizens in this election, nothing. Which class are you. If your middleclass may I carry your bags Sir?

Lets forget the comical rhetoric, this certainly is one of the toughest elections to vote in for a very long time. Vote with your heart, your head, your choice. But please vote. Only about one fourth of us will vote that effects the other 60 some odd percent that will stay home and watch TV. Regardless of whom we wish or don't wish to lead this country for the next 5 years I beg you to go out and vote. Please, just do it.

Lucas there is no need to put Hitler's name next to Harpers. Call him what you wish but a murderer of millions isn't one of them. No he might not give everyone or anyone in fact a warm and fuzzy feeling but he is no Hitler.

I have been thinking about whom is getting my vote for months. I have received 2 calls here at home both from PC support staff. Not another call from anyone. I always try and get to know our MP, MPP, Mayor or Councilman. If I have needed them during their term and most importantly how they helped me counts a lot. Dianne Finley is our MPP. Her office helped me immensely when it came to straightening out my CPP contributions that were short due to a clerical mistake 40 years ago. However, she has been absent in the Caledonia/First Nations stand off and near riot in Caledonia, her and her parties silence in the US Steel fiasco here in Haldimand and Hamilton is deafening. So for me it's a tie. Back to square one. Am I better off, worse off or about the same when it comes to quality of life after being Governed by what ever government that I have lived with since they have come to power. That way I can filter out all the Bull I hear and read about an election. So with that in mind I will vote. Don't ask me who is running for the Libs or NDP, I haven't seen a sign, a card in the mail, a call or absolutely nothing. It looks like they have both conceded. This farm county has been PC since the United Empire Loyalists settled here in 1776.

You are not an idiot Cliff, you are just like many of us Canadians. What is the lesser of the evils? That's the evil I choose.

Do the Territories not have to abide b the same laws that the Provinces do? In Ontario I can't ask a person during an interview where they live. It's discriminatory because in they have no fixed address so it goes to poverty discrimination. (yes MOL is Provincial not Federal) Doesn't that come under the Federal Charter of Rights and Freedoms? P1 and P2 is crazy to me. On P1 I am being discriminated because of my race and P2 I just don't understand the logic behind it at all. If there is no work for persons living there, move. A job should to the person most qualified to perform the task, not their race or address. I can't see it being legal in todays society, and this is which Gov. policy? .

Very well done Mike. I have to get back into Bass fishing. I've had about enough of long line trolling for Walleye meat here on Erie. Catch, pull, crank, pull crank and pull some more, 4 head shakes at the back of the boat then net. Boooring. Yes when this wind breaks Bass it is, then put away the boat. Thanks for the inspiration Mike.

Home inspectors are not yet licensed or regulated in Ontario unlike building inspectors for the municipalities. I looked at it when I retired and it was an online course from Mohawk College it still is online. You received a certificate by the loose knit association in Ontario. Considering other than testing a few electrical sockets it's all visual non destructive testing. It's a booming business now for all residential sales. I'm told by the person that wanted me to do the course that anyone that nit pics will be looking for work because both agents want a inspection to pass. They call them deal killers. Have the customer sign a waiver for anything not seen and you get paid. Not a bad gig. When we sold Mom and Dad's place I was amazed what the inspector missed and the house was empty. Who knows what tomorrow brings I may still do it. The course was around $1000.00 5 years ago. Anyone with general building knowledge would do it easily. Climbing the roof is the only drawback to check flashings around stacks, that's about it.

Paid by whom NES? A home grown Jihadist maybe? That's always a possibility today.

I know you are alone up there Dave so you have to promise to work smart and above all safely. I don't want to be Chicken Little but the week before the Labour Day weekend we lost a young Father and Husband to a simple fall of less than 10 feet from a residential build here in our small town. Something he has done a few thousand times in his 15 years in construction. Just be careful Dave, please.

Are you going to explain to me Dave how 1 guy got that tarp onto a roof solo? You had better hurry up or the Mothership is leaving without you!! I've always meant to ask is articangler.ca your site?