Radio and Me ... 38

My Fave Radio Apps:
I am an avid radio listener. (Understatement!)
The local Halifax radio dial ... now all FM ... contains the usual Canadian urban stations: 4 CBC / Radio-Canada, 7 rock, 2 country, 1 news / talk, 4 community (including one in French, and a new one in Arabic), 1 Christian, and 1 easy listening.

But, of course, Dear Reader, that's never enough!
After dark, I seek out some of the big 50,000-watt AM stations on the East Coast, such as WCBC-News 88 and 1010 WINS, both in New \York, or Bloomberg, in Boston.
But the sound quality on those is hit-and-miss most of the time.
So, I've collected a number of radio apps.
You can click on their title for the URL, listen if you wish.

Awesome Autumn Colours

The time has sped by, and we're already in mid-October.
Here in Nova Scotia, that means we're experiencing: farm markets displaying great varieties of fruit and vegetables from a bountiful harvest -- despite a very dry summer -- frosty nights, and spectacular multicoloured forest foliage.
Here is a photo from one of our favourite Autumn scenes in the Musquodoboit Valley, about 50 kilometers east of Halifax:

This year, however, we drove west, to observe the Autumn Colours arrayed along the Annapolis Valley, along routes 1 and 101.
To help celebrate our 37th Wedding Anniversary, we enjoyed a huge Thanksgiving Dinner, at Old Orchard Inn, in Greenwich (near Wolfville).
And once again, the Valley and the chef did not disappoint:

'Africa Called Her Name'

Late last year, Elaine Fougere published what might be called the ultimate travel book, "Africa Calls My Name: Remembering, Not Wondering." (available on Kobo)
Warning: This is not your regular ‘travel book,' but rather her first-person account of moving her family to live in Zambia for a year.
Transparency: Elaine is my cousin-in-law; her husband Roy is my first cousin.

Early in the book, she confesses that she had always wanted to travel and live in Africa, and was getting restless.
By mid-1995, the family had just lived through a grueling five-year bout of chemo therapy against Roy's cancer, and were ready to do something new — and different.
Roy, a mining engineer, signed a contract with copper mine in central Zambia to help improve the skills of local miners.
Their two children, daughter Leah, and son Nicholas, both approaching their teens, were both eager to make the move.
Using a straight-ahead, highly readable style (remeniscent of the lady herself!), Elaine describes their adventures of settling and living in Zambia for a year.

Driving ... 'Round and Round'

Until a few years ago, I thought driving was fun.
I was eager to get my driver's license as a typical teenager, and managed to do that ONE WEEK after my 16th birthday!

Driving meant freedom: you could go places (and come back from places!) without having any formal itinerary.
While some of the fun was actually reaching your destination, most of it was 'getting there,' when you were observing what was happening along your route.
I really enjoyed taking a nice, fast drive on a big highway, especially on one of the 'Autoroutes' in Québec (and not getting lost! .. family joke) or on 'The 4-0-1' in Ontario.
Suddenly, perhaps 10 or 15 years ago, I realized I didn't look forward to driving, especially on the highways,

Yarmouth Tourism

I’m in the process of drafting a letter to Mayor Pam Mood of Yarmouth, about the level of tourism infrastructure in her town.

--Your Honour:
About two months ago, my wife and her friend wanted to attend a Class Reunion on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
We had a great idea: The new cruise ferry ‘Nova Star’ had just begun operations; I could drive the girls to Yarmouth and stay there overnight; they could board the ferry to Portland, Maine, where they would be met by their girlfriend, who was also attending the Reunion.
I need to explain here that I use a walker, cannot use steps,

I’ve Got the ‘Bifocals Blues’

For the last couple of months, I have been wearing bifocals.
‘Big deal,’ you might say, and you would probably be right.
Thousands, indeed millions, of people have had to adjust to changes in their vision correction, and that is usually a process that works out well in the long run.

For me, the experience has been 'mixed,' at best.
- Driving is okay. Better than I expected.
- Computer: okay.
- Reading a book, or newspaper, is good, bordering on very good or even, dare I say, excellent.
- Watching Digital TV: I can usually read the bottom line 'news ticker' at CBC News, which is rather tiny. (The font for the news tocker at CTV News Channel is much larger, and never was a problem for me.)

How Cold Was It?*

That question has been on everybody's lips for the last month, as the northern half of the globe has seen a ‘roller coaster’ of temperatures.

First, there was a continent-wide cold snap in December, near the date of the official start of winter. On Monday, the 23rd, a blizzard with lots of snow and freezing rain swept across the American Mid-West, as well as Ontario, Québec and New Brunswick. Many of the folks in these areas — especially 250,000 in Greater Toronto and 40,000 in Montréal — had no power throughout the entire Christmas week.
(Photo: fotosearch.com)
There was deep cold throughout the Prairie provinces, with temperature readings as low as -50, taking into account the wind chill. In the U-S, colder temperatures made it all the way down to Atlanta, and as far west has Dallas, and even San Diego.

2013: A Very Good Year!

Lots of ‘looking-back’ stories at this time of year.
During 2013, two major events happened in our family, and we just happen to have the photos to show:
— On May 29, our grand-niece, Amelie (a.k.a., La niña), was born in Havana, Cuba.

Our nephew was not able to get permission to attend his wife in the delivery room, because of medical regulations there. Everything went well, and his wall-to-wall grin was visible, even in the text of his e-mail! La niña was baptized earlier this month, and all three are doing fine in Havana right now.
However, we have a problem: Madre has been unable to get an emigration visa; they want to live / work

The Holy Land

Dear Reader: Here is a Local Cultural Fact:
When a Cape Bretoner casually tells you: 'I'm going to the Holy Land next week,' he/she is not referring to the land where Jesus walked, but to the island on the other side of the Causeway.
Here are a few reasons:

1. At this time of year, it is even more fitting, because of the Fall colours, which are at their glorious best wherever you travel , and the Celtic Colours International Festival, a two-weeks stretch of concerts, displays, and kitchen parties, currently in full swing, literally, all over the island.
2. Recently, I had a chance to read a book -- that was in short supply this summer on the mainland, The Promised Land: A Novel of Cape Breton, by Bill Conall (Boularderie Island Press).
The stories recount the adventures of many 'characters' living on the island, including:

Traffic, Traffic, Everywhere - 2

I have been fascinated by driving for a long time. When I was a youngster, I used to observe drivers' hands, and longed for the day when I would be able to drive.

Over the last 50 years -- in fact, since I have had a driver's license -- I have enjoyed driving, loved the excitement of the 'open road,' which one summer took me all the way to Victoria, B.C.
I have braved the rigours of driving in bad weather, even foggy nights and winter storms, and have survived driving on narrow roads, dirt roads, and 'no roads!'
Until recently, that is, when driving has lost some of its allure.
It has been said that one of the guiding principles behind 'Defensive Driving' ciourses is that you assume that all the other drivers are idiots, and are going to do the wrong thing!
Wise words.

Traffic, Traffic, Everywhere

Just last week, I was complaining about the traffic congestion and construction around here.
We were driving in Halifax, where the usual post-vacation traffic was in full swing, and where almost every artery is having some kind of work done on it.

Here in Bedford, there is major construction activity: just to the south of us, housing for about 40,000 folks who are being added to our population is under construction, and to our west, a brand-new $40 million high school (for 1300 students) has just opened. The streets and roads can barely keep up with the new traffic demands.
During my driving career, I have experienced many kinds of traffic. As a new driver here in Nova Scotia, I loved nothing better than the 'lure of the open road.' I enjoyed highway driving in almost all conditions: from sunny summer afternoons

The Highway Through Nowhere

Today, class, we will present a Nova Scotia geography lesson.
If you look at a map of our province, you will notice that almost all of our cities and towns are located along the sea.
History will tell you that Nova Scotia was settled by people who arrived from the sea, the basis of our original transportation system, and that includes a series of navigable rivers and even canals.
The provincial roadmaps show that our major land routes follow the sea coasts:

-- Highway 101, from Halifax to Yarmouth, follows the contour of the Annapolis Valley, from Windsor to Digby, and the “French Shore" for the rest of the way.
-- Highway 102, from Halifax to Truro, however, is a completely “non-coastal” route.
-- Highway 103, from Halifax to Yarmouth, follows the South Shore region.

Place Names Guide … for C-F-As

Today, class, we will be providing some help for those who will be visiting Nova Scotia during the Christmas / New Year's holidays.

Place names in this province can present a real minefield for those who are not familiar with local pronunciation.
To save folks from being labeled as C-F-As (“Come From Away's”), we present this handy guide, which, at best, is a good start.

Fall Colours

There are many great rewards from living in Nova Scotia: you were always within “smelling distance” of salty or fresh water, you can choose without penalty to follow a slower pace of life, and you have those beautiful Fall Colours all around you.

The Cabot Trail in Northern Cape Breton is legendary around the world for showing spectacular colours at this time of year; friends have assured us that the vistas along the Trail were just as spectacular this year.
My wife and I have just returned from our “33rd Anniversary Tour” around Western Nova Scotia (Well, rock bands can name their tours, why can't we?),

Injustices

A number of incidents have been reported over the past few weeks which fall into the category of: How-could-this-have-happened, in-this-enlightened-age? Two occurred in the local area, while the other was international in scope.
-- A young man, who is visually impaired, was denied entry to a job-search facility, because he had a dog guide.

Here in Nova Scotia, legislation states that dog guides cannot be barred from any public area. The receptionist/clerk, employed by the "Y," was not convinced when this fact was pointed out to her, and she did not allow the prospective client to enter. In addition, he was not permitted to use the facility's job-search computer software. (Photo: http://www.labretriever.net)
-- Later that same week,

Radio .. and Me - 23

My AM radio in the early 60s delivered few choices -- during the day, that is.

As have written before, the family 'tube' radio, then my new portable 'transistor' radio, captured only two or three stations.
But, after dark -- AM radio signals began to bounce across the ionosphere, and 'the heavens opened up' to a variety of excellent stations along the Eastern Seaboard! (Photo by: http://www.freewebs.com/oldradios/)

These came in reliably about 50 per cent of the time, depending on atmospheric conditions (and NOT, surprisingly, the weather), and appeared to be strongest during clear, cold winter nights. On other nights, though, signals were unreliable, or even not there.

Cape Breton Tour

We’ve just returned from a delightful four-day trip to Cape Breton.
Most folks would visit in the summer, when it’s warm and all the Cape Breton Island tourist places are in full swing, or in the Fall, for 'Celtic Colours,' when the foliage puts on a spectacular show and there are nightly music concerts all over the Island!

‘Le Tour’

‘Le Tour’ 2010 is done.
If you have to ask, ‘Which Tour?’, then you haven’t spent every fore-noon for three weeks each July parked in front of your TV, watching the world’s greatest cycling spectacle: ‘Le Tour de France.’
And what an event it is! Sure, cycling racing is, at the same time both grueling and beautiful, but the pictures are nothing short of spectacular.