Did It Ever Pour Last Night

   It was just about the supper hour when they sky opened up, and the rain came down. By the time it was over, anywhere up to an inch or more had fallen in less than half an hour. It turned streets into rivers, and parking lots into lakes in Yorkton.
    Not far away in Melville, a gusty wind blew down trees and even partially toppled the scoreboard at Pirie Field, which is the home of the Western Major Baseball League's Melville Millionaires. It also scrubbed their season opener against Swift Current, along with several other ball games.
   This is just one of the trees uprooted by the storm in Melville:

   One of the people I work with lives in Duff, and says water was seeping up through his foundation. Not the walls, the actual foundation itself, poor guy.
   If that wasn't enough, just to the east of us in Manitoba, there were people taking to social media with pictures of hail stones the size of eggs. I just hope it didn't wash away too many crops that had just been seeded.
   We got off lucky where we live. We're up on a hill, meaning the majority of all that rain simply flowed away.
   I'll be making a few calls this morning to find out just how much damage was actually done. at least we didn't get a tornado from it all.

TTFN

Supper In The Field

   The 3rd "Supper in the Field" of spring was last night at the farm of Keith Ruf near Ryan. One again, it was a wonderful evening and a great crowd. We had darn close to 30 people, when you factor in sponsors, GX94 staffers, our chauffeur Glen and guests. It was one of the largest turnouts I've seen. Thankfully, there was enough catered food for everyone. With one burger left over.
   The winner of the weekly contest gets the catered meal, prizes and two "Supper in the Field" flags to go along with it.

   And we're hard to miss. We roll in to the winner's yard in this:

   The GX94 motorhome. Next week..who knows where we'll be, but I'm already looking forward to it, having made it to all the suppers since I arrived in Yorkton last August.

TTFN

Do We Really Need The Sequel?

   The SyFy network is indeed coming out with a sequel to "Sharknado", the made for T.V B-grade horror film about sharks being lifted by a waterspouts and dumped on L.A, flooding it with shark infested seawater.
   "Sharknado 2" will, apparently, take the same premise to New York City, wreaking havoc on iconic landmarks. They don't say which ones. And don't think this is going to be a cheesy one-nighter. On, no. SyFy is doing a whole "Sharknado week". It'll include movies like `Sharktopus versus Pteracuda,'' ''Mega Shark versus Mecha Shark`` and ''Sharkmania: The Top 15 Biggest Baddest Bloodiest Bites.`' The week wraps up July 30thwith "Sharknado 2: The Second One".
   I didn't watch the first one, and I'm pretty sure The Second One will also get a miss. And maybe I shouldn't be posting this, but here's an idea for "Sharknado 3: The Wrath Of Kong". A giant killer shark battles King Kong for control of the Empire State Building.

TTFN

Brad Wall Might Have A Great Idea Here

   It's certainly not a new idea, though, first promulgated in 1917. It would see the Caribbean Island nation of Turks and Caicos become Canada's 11th province. And why not? A chance for a sunshine destination within Canada in the winter? Our own version of Hawaii? Who wouldn't like that idea.
   Apparently, the Canadian government. The current Harper government was approached by officials of the island, who pitched the idea of the merger. Only to be told "no thanks". The former Chretien government also thumbs-downed the proposal.
   Enter Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall. He's suggesting (perhaps with tongue in cheek, but then again maybe not) that our province annex Turks and Caicos to form what Mr. Wall calls "Saskatchewarm", adding that would mean the end of the "easy to draw, hard to
hard to pronounce" quip about our province.
   Personally, I think the idea should be taken seriously by the Feds. Yes, there would be a cost involved, but just think of the economic spin-offs. Plus the fact we've just come out of one of the coldest winters in decades. That alone should be reason enough to give it serious thought.
   But I must admit, I do like the idea of Saskatchewarm.

TTFN

Say It Isn't So!

   It's a staple at hockey rinks all over the world. The Zamboni. But now, the future of the machine, along with their drivers, is in some doubt. I read an article on-line this morning saying an American inventor has created a robot machine that'll clean and resurface the ice in less time than the traditional Zamboni.
   Watching the Zamboni drivers is almost as big a part of hockey as the game itself. In fact, there was even a song written called "I Wanna Drive The Zamboni". But if this comes to fruition, kids won't be able to wave to the driver as he makes those circling passes up and down the rink.
   It really is an integral part of the game itself (people seem to love watching them during intermissions), and has been since it was invented by Frank Zamboni in 1949. Prior to that, crews would have to scrape, wash and squeegee the ice.
   And while the new "Ice Jet" robot machine is just in the prototype stage right now, it probably won't be long before we say "farewell" to the Zamboni and their drivers, and "hello" to the GPS guided robot resurfacer.

TTFN

A Great Gag

  And I must thank GX94's Agriculture guru Rod McDonald for passing it my way. I told morning man Danny Ismond that I'd been working out, and proceeded to let him in on my regimen.
   I said it's for people over 50 (which includes me), who firstly must find a comfortable place to stand.
   Then extend your arms while lifting a 5lb potato bag in each and hold as long as you can. Once you get to the 1 minute or longer mark, move up to a 10lb potato bag. It might take a week or so to get there, but keep trying.
   After you've managed the 10lb bag, move on to the 50 (which could take a month, maybe 2), before going to the 100lb bag. Which is where I am.
   I then told him once comfortable lifting the 100lb bag for a few weeks comes the hard part.....adding potato's to the bag!
   We had a good laugh.

TTFN

We Got Off Lucky

   That tornado hit near an oilfield camp in western North Dakota yesterday, injuring 9 people, one critically. The twister damaged trailers used to house oilfield workers. It could be seen from several miles (kilometers) away, and, according to one witness, was on the ground for about a minute.
   I've been lucky. I've never seen one of those "live and in person". Nor do I wish to. Not to say I haven't been close to one. The night my 2nd son was born, a tornado touched down just 4 kilometers from the hospital we were all in. And once when I was in Helena, Montana, there was a hailstorm the like of which I'd never seen. And I've seen some pretty good hailstorms. And, like an idiot, I bolted for my car and drove off. For all I knew back then, that storm could well have preceded a twister. It didn't.
   And North Dakota wasn't the only location getting severe weather. Just west of us in Saskatoon, a supper hour torrential downpour turned roads into lakes and rivers and caused some flooding. In fact, the rain came down so hard and so fast is popped the covers off manholes.
   I've seen it rain that hard before, when we were in Thunder Bay, Ontario. It poured so hard, the windshield wipers couldn't keep up with it. Luckily where we were, there was no flooding.
   Through all of that, we in Yorkton just got a little smattering of rain, and a bit of a gusty wind.
   Just reinforces the power of nature.

TTFN

2014 Has Not Been A Good Year At GM

   In fact, the auto maker that topped the world for years in production and sales has hit another milestone, but one they didn't want. So far this year, GM has issued recall notices worldwide for 13.8 million cars due to various problems. Putting that into perspective, it's 5 times the number of vehicles they've sold in the last 5 years. All the recalls are due to safety issues, and GM says the flurry of recalls may last into this summer.
   In fairness to GM, I've owned several of their vehicles and never had any major problems with any of them. In fact, I believe the most costly repair I had to make was to my '66 Pontiac, which needed a 10 cent rubber gasket for the throttle linkage.
   GM isn't the only automaker with recall issues. Toyota, Honda and even Ferrari have had recall issues.
   And at least people are getting notified about possible problems with their vehicles. 50, 40 and even 30 years ago a lot of problems were either let slide at best, or swept under the carpet at worst. And I also feel a lot safer in one of today's vehicles than just about anything from years gone by.

TTFN

Hearty Congratulations

   The Yorkton Regional High School has taken some top awards at a music competition in Chicago.

   They won 1st place for Marching Band with Superior rating, 1st for Senior and Junior concert band with excellent rating, and the senior band was 1st in overall concert band. The band also got the prestigious "Esprit De Corps" award.

   The competition last week saw 75 groups take part at several locations around the Windy City.

   Hearty congratulations to all the band members, teachers etc!

 

TTFN

New Digs

   That's what the new multi-purpose facility and home for the Saskatchewan Roughriders will look like when construction is completed in 2017. The official plan was unveiled today on the 33 thousand seat, 278 million dollar replacement for Mosaic Stadium.
   Judging from what I've seen, it's going to be a beaut! Seating can be expanded to 40 thousand, and the entire field will be in a sunken bowl design, making the fan's experience better.
   The only problem I see is the fact it's not entirely covered. I'm not usually one to vent his opinion on news events and stories, but this is one exception to my self made (and usually enforced) rule.
   I get the fact that part of the whole experience of seeing a football game is being in the elements. But when you look at last winter and the elements we had, it makes more sense to have a roof, even a retractable one, in place. Another point on that is having the stadium available 12 months of the year for things like concerts, trade shows etc. As it stands now the current Mosaic Stadium, and quite likely the future one, since Mosaic has inked a 20 year naming extension, is a snow dump for 5 or more months out of the year.
   A last point on the roof is this: Cost. Yes, it could have added 100 or more million to the cost to do it now. But 5, 10 or more years from now that will skyrocket, making a cover for it too costly.
   Still, I can't wait to see the finished product in 2017!

TTFN

A Very Nice Touch

   The L.A Kings, embroiled in the Stanley Cup western conference final with the Chicago Blackhawks, took time out yesterday to acknowledge the SJHL, Western Canada Cup and RBC National Champion Yorkton Terriers before last night's game. (The Terriers lost their first 2 games, but won everything after that, including a thrilling overtime win in the championship final.)
   I won't go into details, and if you want to see the article go to the LAkings.com website. But the gist of  what was said is easy..a simple message of congratulations from an NHL team not a few junior "A" players would love to have the chance to play for.
   What makes it even more special (at least to me) is the fact the message was posted 5 hours before last nights game, which the Kings won 6-1 to even the final at 1-all.
   To me, this is a very class act from a team still fighting for hockey's crown of crowns, the Holy Grail itself: Lord Stanley's Cup.

TTFN

Have You Seen The New McDonalds Mascot?

   There it is. And some people say it's scary. A big red box with a gaping mouth that one on-line commenter said should have the logo "the meal that eats you".
   I have to admit, it doesn't exactly look very friendly, but I wouldn't go as far as saying "scary".
   Actually, it kind of reminds me of the old Monty Python cartoon "Conrad Pooh's and his Amazing Dancing Teeth"

   What do you think?

TTFN

Welcome Back To Dog River!

   It's true! There will be a Corner Gas movie coming out in theaters this year, and just in time for Christmas. Shooting on the movie starts next month in Roleau, the setting for the fictional Dog River, and all the cast will be back for it.
   Corner Gas "The Movie" will pick up five years from where the show signed off with the town of Dog River nearly broke because of some questionable decisions by Mayor Fitzy. The show also featured several prominent people in cameo roles, including Prime Minister Harper, Premiers Lorne Calvert and Brad Wall and former Toronto Maple Leaf Darryl Sittler. And while producers say there will be more cameo's in the film, we'll just have to wait until it comes out to see who they are.

TTFN

Happy Victoria Day

   Officially, her birthday isn't until the 24th, but we in Canada are celebrating Queen Victoria's birthday today. Most people have the day off. I'm not one of them. I'm working today, because I need tomorrow off so I can get central air conditioning installed at our house tomorrow. And with the forecast calling for between 1 and 2 inches of rain, it's just as well.
   But for those of you who do have the day off, I hope you enjoy it.
   And for some unknown reason this ditty entered my head:
"The 24th of May
is the Queen's birth day,
and if we don't get a holiday
we'll all run away."

TTFN

One Down

   The first spring "Supper in the Field" was held last night at the Fogg farm neat Invermay, and what a great night it was! Because of the late start to seeding, we actually held it in the yard, but it was still very enjoyable.
   We had good representation from GX94, and quite a few of the sponsors came out as well. The meal was very enjoyable, with roast beef, garlic mashed and 2 veggies. It was burgers last year.
   It was a fairly good turn-out, with I'd guess at least 15 people (up to 20 can attend), and the Fogg family were wonderful hosts.
   Needless to say, I'm looking forward to taking in more over the next 5 weeks.

TTFN

Is This The Last Season For "Idol"?

   A lot of people are asking that question lately. The once unstoppable ratings juggernaut has seen viewership plummet all season, with the most recent Nielsens not even showing Idol in the top 20. Not a few years ago that would have been unthinkable. But with other singing/entertainment competitions springing up, Idol is having trouble.
   I watched one season of it. Season 2 when Ruben Studdard won. But after that (for me at least) it became karaoke night in America, with the performers almost interchangeable and nearly indistinguishable from each other. Which, of course, isn't true.
   Then, there's the judging panel. The departures of Paula Abdul, then Simon Cowell and finally Randy Jackson, followed by new judges like Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj seemed to spell the start of the long descent into T.V obscurity.
   Not that the show isn't popular anymore. It is. It's just no-where near as popular as it was even 5 years ago. And I'm sure it's still popular enough to run at least one more season. But after that...maybe it's time to pull the mic cord on the show.

TTFN

An Artistic Passing

   Swiss born artist H.R Giger has died, a day after having a fall. Although he started out as an industrial designer, he quickly turned to art. He was probably best known for the creature in the sci-fi film "Alien" (for which he won an Oscar in 1979 for special effects), and had a flair for bio-mechanical art, like the example above.
   That, in turn, spawned an enduring fashion for bio-mechanical tattoos.
   Hans Ruedi Giger was 74.

TTFN

Supper In The Field

   It's back, and I can't wait! Once again our radio station is running the very popular "supper in the field" program, where we take a catered meal to a farmers field while they start spring seeding. The program runs for 6 weeks, and producers in our listening area can call in to register, with the draw made the day of the event, which is always Wednesday.
   I had the opportunity of attending all 6 of the fall "suppers in the field", and without exception they, and the people I met, were wonderful. I even got to fulfill an ambition to drive a combine, and take a few swaths of Canola off a field in Manitoba at the last supper of the fall in October:

    It was an off-hand comment made to morning announced Danny Ismond that got "Craig in a Combine" last fall, and I've already put the plea out to any producer wanting to trust me to have me pilot a seeder or other implement during planting.
   I hope to be able to make all 6 of the spring suppers, and I will be back again in the fall, hopefully to drive a combine once again.
   The first spring "supper in the field" is tomorrow.

TTFN

Happy Mom's Day

   To all the Moms out there: I hope you had a very Happy Mothers Day yesterday.

TTFN

What A Night It Was

   Friday night was the Ducks Unlimited spring banquet in Yorkton, and what a night it was! Great food, great prizes and a great group of people to share it with. The only flies in the ointment were the fact that GX94's "smokey sweet hickory heat" bar-be-que sauce didn't win the "sauce off" between us, our sister station The Fox, and CTV (who did win).
   The other fly was our table was shut out of the prize draws. Oh, well. We'll be back next year. I believe I mentioned this in a previous entry, but Tonya Cherry and I had an in-house sauce off to see who's entry would represent our station. A competition Tonya won. (And her sauce really is good!) She'll be posting the recipe on her blog (which you can get to through our website (www.gx94radio.com. Follow the "on air" link to "announcers") and there it is.
   She also asked me to post my sauce on our facebook page, which I did.
   I'm also including it here for anyone who wants to try it out.

Craig's "Garlic Ranch" B-B-Q sauce:

I started with a bottle of Bullseye Bold Original sauce. I then added 4 packed tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 packets of Ranch dipping/dressing mix (the powdered kind). Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder and an ounce of water. Simmer for about 15 minutes to dissolve the sugar and re-bottle. I found this worked great on chicken, pork chops and ribs.

   And to CTV..congratulations on your win this year. But be forewarned: I've already started mulling things over for next year's competition.

TTFN

This Is Un-Possible!

   Il n'est pas possible, mais c'est vrai. Yes, the impossible happened, and it's unfortunately true. France upset Canada 3-2 in a shootout at the men's world hockey championships. Mon Dieu! It's only the 2nd time Canada has lost to France going back to 1995, when they were beaten in regulation.
   Since then, they've gone 8 and 1 against them, and outscored them 16-3 in their previous 2 meetings.
   Fortunately, it's just the 1st game in the round-robin, so there's lots of time to recover. But it's also not the way the team (and their fans) expected to start the tournament in Minsk, Belarus.

TTFN

Say It Ain't So!

   It's unfortunately true. We could be facing a bacon shortage. Thanks to a pig epidemic, producers are having difficulties with their swine operations, which will mean a bacon shortage.
   And we will notice it too. Already, some butchers have started reducing the weight in packaged bacon, in some cases going to 375 from 500 grams. And the best part is the price will not be going down.
   It was bad enough finding out about the shortage of limes (I bought a single lime at a local store and paid $1.49 for it), but bacon? That's almost a staple of life!
   If it keeps getting too expensive, I guess I'll have to give up bacon wrapped limes.

TTFN

What Goals Do You Have?

   Had an interesting chat with Tonya Cherry this morning just before we went on the air for our "live" chat. And for some reason or other, we started talking about goals. Career goals specifically. I really can't remember how it all started, but it did evolve into what I've accomplished in my 35 years in radio. And I hope I didn't bore her too badly.
   Somehow we got to talking about the fact I used to host a call-in show when I was in Regina, and she asked if it was exciting to do that. Of course, it was. But it was also an awful lot of work. Then, it somehow twisted into what major goal I've never accomplished. That was easy to answer. I've never had the opportunity (yet) to interview a sitting Prime Minister of Canada.
   I have talked with 2 men who would become P.M way back in either late 1989 or the early '90's when Paul Martin and Jean Chretien were on the stump for federal Liberal leader. I've also had the chance to speak with former federal finance minister, Ralph Goodale more than once. And on the call-in show.
   That had me casting my mind back on the career goals I set way, way back. And I'm lucky, in that I've attained the majority of them. One was to host a talk show. Done. One was to work in a major market. Done. One was to be a news director. Done. One was to have the opportunity to read morning news. Still doing.
   Looking even further back, I've done feature interviews on the Calgary Olympics, with a researcher who had just returned from a deep sea visit to the Titanic's wreck in the Atlantic (via satellite phone while he was on a research ship), and even with officials in the town of Vulcan, Alberta as they were trying to get established as a "Star Trek" themed location.
   But for me, the highlight was in August 1993 when I had media accreditation to attend a symposium on the JFK assassination 30 years earlier. Because of that, I got to interview people who were in Dealey Plaza that fateful November day and saw the assassination firsthand. I also got the chance to ask 2 questions of Marina Oswald-Porter, the widow of the man who allegedly killed Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald.
   I guess the upshot of this long-winded blog entry is simple: Set Goals. You may not achieve most, or all of them, but set them anyway. It's amazing when you look back just how many you actually do reach.
   And Tonya: Sorry if I got a little boring this morning.

TTFN

Happy Cinco De Mayo. Also Known As Tax Deadline Day

   It is tax deadline day in Canada, and you have until midnight tonight to file your 2013 income taxes. Normally, April 30th is the deadline, but due to the "heartbleed" computer bug last month, we all got a reprieve.
   Canada Revenue Agency computers were among those affected, and they were down for 5 days, meaning no one could file electronically. That's why we got the extension. It also means that if you miss tonight's deadline and owe Ottawa money, you'll face a late penalty.
   If you're getting a refund, you've probably already filed your return as soon as possible. And if you don't owe the feds, or the feds don't owe you, no problem if you're a little late. But it's always a good idea to get them done ASAP.
   I go to a tax preparer. it's a lot easier and simpler than trying to do it myself, even with a tax program for the computer. It also saves an awful lot of cussing and swearing.
   And by the way: Happy 5th!

TTFN

The Debate Continues

   That's the smallpox virus, which killed a third of all the people it infected. How many the virus killed likely will never be know, but it is in the hundreds of millions over the course of history. It was declared eradicated in 1977, even though there were 2 more cases in 1978.
   Even though it has been wiped off the face of the earth, there are still viable strains of the virus in extremely highly secure labs in the U.S and Russia. Strains people are calling to be destroyed. Scientists will be meeting later this month, and hope to delay the destruction of the remaining samples. And I agree. With genetic engineering what it is today, along with DNA cloning, what's to say a rogue state can't get their hands on the building blocks of the virus, clone it and release it into te general public again?
   Even with the remaining strains available to produce vaccines, re-releasing something like smallpox would be devastating. I remember being vaccinated back in the day, but I'm not even sure if I'm still immune.
   Getting rid of the remaining virus's could create a nightmare scenario. Even if the chances are very, very slim, I don't think it's something we can take a chance with.
   At least, that's my opinion.

TTFN.

A Comic Editing Genius Has Died

   You might not know the name Al Feldstein, but you have seen his handiwork. He was for years the editor of MAD Magazine, a publication that lampooned, and continues to do so, political leaders, movies and just about everything under the sun.
   He was the editor starting in 1956, and helped assemble the team of writers and artists who made MAD great.
   I used to wait for the newest issue to come out every month growing up, and one of the first things I did was flip to the back cover to fold that puzzle over and see what I got.
   And, there were the usual standards as well. "Spy vs Spy", and "Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions." among them.
   A lot of people say it shaped the generation of comedy from 1955 to '75, and Feldstein was at the heart of it all.
   He died at his Montana home last night at 88.
   R.I.P, Mr Feldstein. Thanks for the many memories and laughs.

TTFN