Reader Tips

Reader Tips 66 Comments

Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to SDA Late Nite Radio. Tonight, for your delectation, here are Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker, as Cream, performing Rollin’ and Tumblin’, from their Fresh Cream album, in 1966 (4:54). Interestingly, perhaps, I used to listen to this on my Astraltune while skiing the mogul field under the then Great Divide chair on Lookout Mountain (now marked as 64 and 65 on the map), way too fast, back in the early ’70s. The combination of the song, the speed, and the moguls sure put my The Ski skis, Burt bindings, and Humanic boots to good use 😉

Your Reader Tips are, as always, welcome in the comments.

66 Replies to “Reader Tips”

  1. getting into the olympic spirit:
    ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/091210/national/olympic_ecstasy_bust

  2. Ah yes. When I was young.
    I remember the acres of deep powder and no trees. Floating down double diamonds in the fluffy snow… then the long quad burning ski out…
    No music then. Well maybe a Walkman 😉

  5. (This book and review is possibly old news here. If so, sorry)
    http://www.culturewars.org.uk/index.php/site/article/in_praise_of_unsustainability_1/
    The Enemies of Progress: The Dangers of Sustainability
    Environmentalism is a main player in the story of the rise of sustainablism, and climate change provides its biggest narrative arc. But this is not a book about climate change, which is refreshing.
    […]
    The ideas of people like John Gray and James Lovelock, that humanity is a ‘slime-mould’ or a ‘plague’ aren’t disregarded as misanthropic lunacy, but actually influence domestic and international political agendas. Super-miserable Jonathan Porritt isn’t regarded as a fringe weirdo, but his book is placed on the national curriculum so that children can learn their own parents and grandparents are stealing their futures. Forget education: terrifying small children about the future and alienating them from their parents is seen as the way to manufacture an obedient generation in a sustainable society. It’s hard not to wonder whether that’s what this ‘sustainability’ is all about.
    […]
    The overwhelming influence of sustainablism today seems to represent an insurmountable obstacle to genuine progress. At the beginning of the book, Williams quotes Franklin D Roosevelt’s inaugural address, ‘where there is no vision, the people perish’, and the final chapter calls for people, rather than nature to be put at the centre of our political ideas and scientific investigation. Claiming our interests are the same as nature’s is a fundamental misconception that carries terrible consequences. To put nature first is necessarily to put people second. After all, what has the human race ever done to improve its conditions that is ultimately ‘sustainable’? In response to old material problems new technological solutions have been found, generating new problems, of course, but also new material freedoms. Out of this material liberty emerge new political relationships. Sustainablists cannot conceive of a positive life of global abundance, not because their anxieties about the future relate to ‘scientific reality’, but the political possibilities that are opened up by technological development. It is less ecological security they hanker after, and more a certain sort of political order.

  6. The Astraltune predated the Walkman by about five years as I recall, Earl. It was basically the smallest available in-car cassette tape player with a swack of rechargeable batteries attached at one end, encased in a padded pack and worn over the chest with shoulder straps. Sort of like a back-pack in front; the back-pack in the back being reserved for booze, of course. I had an excellent pair of Sennheiser headphones to go with the rig. Now you may ask yourself, that is not the Olympic Spirit. Yeah, but I didn’t say it was.

  7. The most important thing in that Olympic ecstacy pill story? The final line:
    “Two men were arrested and later released, and charges have not yet been laid.”
    Why do the police even bother catching these parasites? They probably didn’t even miss supper.

  9. In honor of Copenhagen and all the Eco-Grifters and climate rent seekers out there, I went to Home Depot and bought a new eco-friendly 2.5gpm shower head . . . one of those ones that has a water volume limiter valves/washers that “can be easily replaced if it wears out”.
    So “easily replaced” to me means “removed” and I just had a fabulous 20 minutes at I figure about 7gpm.
    Bugger off Gore & Suzuki. If I want to pay for hot water, that is my right.
    Gawd it felt good 🙂

  10. Thank you Speedy. I watched those bloopers a long time ago. There was a half hour show, and I almost passed out from laughing. The funniest had to be when he snagged a big hornets nest, while casting. He ended up diving into the water to get away from the hornets.

  11. “Otherwise, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon warned only three months ago, catastrophe is unavoidable. The planet — scientists, opinion makers and political leaders agreed”
    Hmmmm. How did “opinion makers” manage to get thrown into THAT particular list???
    http://thechronicleherald.ca/Opinion/1157035.html

  12. Obama collected his Peace Prize today but he refused to stay for dinner with the King of Norway. He also mentioned that compared with other recipients he hadn’t accomplished much…yet. And in order to have peace in Afghanistan, it’s necessary to step up a little bit first. That though he must hold his nose to do it, it is necsssary to deal with America’s enemies. I’m wondering if the Nobel Committee is having second thoughts.

  13. I was lucky enough to ski the moguls while on vacation there in 1995. The most beautiful place, words do not describe. If you live close feel blessed. I live in the burbs of Chicago. The closest thing to a Mountain is Iron Mountain , Michigan ,8 hours away which is actually a big hill.

  14. Kneissel White Stars , Look bindings torqued right down. A walkman at 10 playing Zep. but over on Teepee Town and thru the trees.
    those skis stay on the wall now. too stiff for these old legs.
    shaped skis and gentle runs, always a pause now at the top of even a single black diamond to pick a route.

  15. A few days ago, Don Martin in the National Post praised Michelle Jean’s tenure as G-G. I’ll certainly say she was an improvement over La Clarkson, and I think millions of Canadians will be indebted to her for not giving in to the Three Stooges, who, if given the chance to form a government, would doubtless have plunged this country into even worse circumstances than we suffered.
    But, after ten years of GG’s who were not born in Canada, worked mostly for the CBC, and were female, in the name of the same damn diversity they are always spouting, would it be too much to ask that we select a native born Canadian, someone not used to swanning around the world on the taxpayer’s dime but actually worked for a living, and visited Canadian towns big and small, and spent real time with real people?
    I’m talking Stompin’ Tom Connors, and I defy anyone remotely familiar with the man to name anyone who has spent more time in more towns with more people, singing songs about this country, shaking hands, and perhaps even sharing a beer, than anyone (with the possible exception of Ron Maclean, but he doesn’t sing very well). He might not be polished or sophisticated, but I believe he reflects the bedrock values of Canada as good as anyone: decency, honesty, politeness, even a bit of deference at times. We could do a lot worse.

  16. Downhill skiing is one of the things I enjoy the most.
    I like the ‘magic-carpet’ ride up – especially up above the tree line. Just like Sir Hillary.
    Getting down? Ya, I can do that.
    It is not pretty, but I can get down too.

  18. I haven’t skied Sunshine since the late 70’s. No Astraltune, just laboured breathing as you hike to the top for the best powder imaginable and a nice 40 foot cliff you could never see until it was too late.
    Also taking the real skiout to the parking lot after taking the clapped out school buses to the lodge.
    Thanks for the memory, Vitruvius!

  21. Temperature at Resolute, Nunavut, Dec. 10-09, 11:00 PM CST.
    -31°C
    Do icebergs melt at that temp.??

  24. Girlfriend finally put down the Blackberry. Do you think I could parlay that into a BJ? ARGH!
    So watching BHO giving his acceptance speech for his Oscar… err, Pulitzer… er, CMO?? Can’t remember, but it was something big and undeserved. But there were some parts of that speech that might have been placed on the teleprompter by GW Bush’s people themselves. He actually said stuff that made sense if he could only for a second stop looking down his nose at the audience.
    Having seen President GWB’s speech in Saskatoon, I was impressed that a man can articulate himself with paper notes and only an occasional glance at their content. His self-depreciating style gave a aura of personal comfort and confidence, yet he was still able to convey his message as intended.
    Obama, in contrast, has never cast an inward joke that I can recall. Never has such an egomaniac held the office that he has so ‘deserved’. Just ask him. The MSM would rip GWB apart if he gave the same speech talking about just wars and such. Don’t get me wrong… I wish that the BHO we saw today was the man that he was. Unfortunately, I think that this was a one day flash, and that we will soon see the same Dear Leader that we have seen the previous 11 months.

  25. BTW, love the selection tonight Vitruvius. And kudos to cal2. Love the blues. Love Muddy. And I love skiing. Sweetness all around.

  27. Thanks for the selection tonight Vitruvius; I really used to be into Cream in the late 1960’s. I really regret not seeing them when they were in Calgary around 1967 or 1968 but I was grounded that week. Probably time to setup my turntable as all of the Cream music I have is on LP’s and I’ve now got the urge to listen to Wheels of Fire.
    Portable music in the 1970’s would have been a real novelty. Back then the music in my head was really loud and I don’t think I got my first portable cassette player until the early 1980’s. It was a major hassle back then deciding what tapes I’d lug along with me for a trip along with a large number of extra batteries. Now I have about 40 hours of music on a few SD cards that I listen to on my Palm which is good for about 6 hours of continuous play. Ain’t technology wonderfull. Taking a break away from climategate tonight as it has been a historical couple of weeks and time to see what I’ve neglected during that time.

  28. National Post, Wednesday.
    The U. S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal that pits anti-discrimination principles against religious freedom.
    The case involves a student group, the Christian Legal Society, which the University of California’s Hastings College of the Law refuses to recognize because of what it regards as discriminatory membership requirements. Voting members of the CLS must sign a statement
    affirming they have traditional Christian beliefs.
    The college withdrew funding for CLS in 2004 because a university policy says no recognized campus organization may discriminate based on religion, among other grounds.
    A senior CLS lawyer said it is silly to claim one wants diversity and then reject an example of it. A lawyer for the College worried that some hate group might invoke the first amendment in order to obtain funding.
    …
    What the story does not say is whether the university is private or not, although it mentions a previous CLS settlement with Boise State U. A private school can make up its own rules. The problem with non-private (i.e., state) organizations is that there is no way to spend tax dollars without favouring one person over another. Which is a good reason not to have state colleges, or public education in general (another is the greatly hindered ability of parents and/or students to respond when ineffective teaching methods are chosen).
    As for freedom of religion, if one cannot engage in the practices of one’s chosen religion that require the use of one’s resources because one is paying too much to the state, then one does not have freedom of religion. This is why Jewish, Muslim and other private schools should be treated the same as Ontario Roman Catholic separate schools. It would be better not to have any state-funded religious schools at all. But as long as “public schools” teach false ideologies and other lessons that parents may object to, it would be better not to have any public schools at all either.
    Similarly with free speech: if one cannot utilize one’s resources in the exercise of one’s freedom of speech, one does not have freedom of speech. The fact that the amount of resources at one’s disposal varies from one person to another is irrelevant to the issue.

  31. Re the ongoing allegations that Canadian troops turned over detainees to Afghan authorities who subjected said unfortunates to torture.
    The critics are generally the same people who:
    (1) argue that Canada should pull out of Afghanistan, whether we can affect the torture or not;
    (2) believe that the west cannot win the war over there, because of the traditional Afghan warlord culture;
    (3) rail against “imperialism” whenever the west engages in conflict, even though part of it is trying to eliminate barbaric practices like torture;
    (4) regard other states that engage in routine torture such as Cuba as shining examples for humanity;
    (5) regard trade with China as essential to us, despite its own dismal human rights record.
    If torture by Afghans is so bad (which it is), then this gives the lie to the preposterous “politically correct” view that all cultures are equal.
    Note also that the west fought alongside the Soviet Union in World War 2, despite the latter’s record of slaughter that far surpassed anything the Afghans may be doing at present. It’s quite possible that that war might have been lost if today’s critics had been around back then, and had been influential.
    The critics also conveniently forget that the fight against Islamic extremists who want to drop nuclear bombs on infidels is as crucial as defeating Hitler was in the 1940s.
    The point of “critical theory” is to criticize, without any hint of constructive suggestion. It is the worldview of a two-year-old.

  33. In anticipation of all the disillusioned folks from Copenhagen I have set up “Climate Alarmist Anon”.
    http://alarmistanon.wordpress.com
    ..- … . .-. -. .- — . —… .- .-.. .- .-. — .. … – .- -. — -. .–. .- … … .– — .-. -.. —… .- .-.. .- .-. — .. … – .- -. — -. ..— .—- —– —–

  34. John Stossel has moved from ABC to the Fox Business Network. Here’s a segment from his new show.
    The guest from the CATO Institute isn’t as forceful as I’d like him to be but several good points do come across.
    You will need to turn up the volume a little because it’s a bit low in the video.

  35. Some people (me included) have been waiting for Stossel’s take on AGW. Yes, the audio volume is low on that video.
    Didn’t Stossel jump ship to go to [the evil] Fox News recently?
    I wonder why he moved – was it for money, due to ostracization from peers, pressure from “above”, or just being fed-up with the non-questionable status quo of mainstream journalism.
    “Inquiring Minds Want To Know” may be a tabloid cliche, but in this case, I want to know!

  36. Andrew Breitbart declares war on Big Old Media
    With a whole bunch of new “BIG” sites, each dealing with different critically important themes.
    http://thecanadiansentinel.blogspot.com/2009/12/relentless-new-newsmedia-leader.html

    Breitbart feels that “if these traditional media outlets can’t be shamed into telling the truth, diverted for doing the wrong story, for simply running defense for one party, and mocked away from creating journalistic rules that only hold those on the right accountable, then it puts us in a position to do more than we’ve done in the past with talk radio and web aggregation. The market is wide open to go on the offensive, to tell truths that aren’t being told. The center-right alternative media has been playing a passable prevent defense, constantly saying ‘that’s not right’ for consistently biased reporting. Now we aim to offer more aggressive journalism and to give the mainstream media a little dose of its own medicine.”

    No more Mr. Nice Guy.
    Time to fight fire with fire. BIG-time.
    After all, we’re talking about the folks who don’t appreciate niceness and only understand and respect superiority of force.

  37. “Palin will speak at a fundraiser for the Juravinski Cancer Centre and St. Peter’s Hospital.”
    -Hamilton Spectator
    Sarah Palin’s coming to Hamilton. There’s something to look forward to in April for folks in Southern Ontario. A great speaker for a great cause. And I’m waiting for the local left to begin slowly going berserk; they’ll want to complain, but those hospitals are highly regarded here.

  38. Rita: “I’m wondering if the Nobel Committee is having second thoughts.”
    You should have seen the look on the faces of the Norwegian audience while Obama was giving his acceptance speech. Every one of them looked like they’d just got a case of indigestion and were about to throw up.
    Sweet! What twits.

  39. Rita: “I’m wondering if the Nobel Committee is having second thoughts.”
    You should have seen the looks on the faces of the Norwegian audience while Obama was giving his acceptance speech. Every one of them looked liked they’d had an attack of indigestion and were about the throw up.
    Sweet! What twits.

  41. Duster, I was planning on attending until I found out it’s $200. a plate-for starters.
    It’s all in aid of a really great cause but I’m afraid us little people will be shut out due to the cost.
    It may be worth just hanging around to watch the hilarious antics of the protesters though.

  42. Mao Stlong’s Indulgences For Sale or Rent.
    Mao Stlong “may not be playing by the rules.”
    “Beijing has collected almost two-thirds of the total carbon revenue flow since 2002.”
    Canadian UNabomber Mao Stlong Strong is Canadian “Liberal leader” Bob Rae’s Uncle Mo.
    …-
    “China CO2 Emissions
    Climate Change or Hot Air?
    China recently surpassed the US as the world’s largest source of greenhouse gases.
    Mainland China earns billions in carbon-offset sales. But by taking credit for projects that would have been built anyway, it may not be playing by the rules.
    On the wooded hills outside the city of Harbin in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, Chinese developers are building towering wind turbines that will spin day and night to generate clean electricity. The project represents the hope that China, which recently surpassed the US as the world’s largest source of greenhouse gases, has truly embraced environmentalism.
    The planned 29 turbines near Harbin represent something else as well: the widely accepted notion that market forces can be harnessed to aid the fight against climate change. Under the international treaty known as the Kyoto Protocol, Chinese wind-power developers are selling “carbon credits” reflecting their reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases.
    Corporate and government buyers from industrialized countries pay for the credits as a way of complying with the Kyoto climate-change rules. The funds generated are supposed to encourage additional green-energy projects without forcing owners of older factories and power plants to close down their facilities or undertake expensive renovations. Credits sold under the Kyoto pact generated nearly $7 billion worldwide last year. Beijing has collected almost two-thirds of the total carbon revenue flow since 2002.
    Unfortunately, wherever they have been used, carbon credits have been subject to manipulation. On Dec. 4 the UN committee that oversees the international credit trade refused to approve 10 Chinese wind farms, including the Harbin complex. The UN’s concern is that the Chinese projects would have been built even without the proceeds from credits.
    If that’s correct, the sale of credits would not stimulate production of any additional clean energy. Credit purchasers would receive empty environmental bragging rights, and the Chinese developers would obtain an undeserved windfall. “This is 21st century climate-policy snake oil,” says Michael Dorsey, a professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College.
    Officials at China’s National Development & Reform Commission, which oversees the country’s ambitious-sounding goals to expand renewable energy use, didn’t return repeated phone calls seeking comment on the UN decision.
    Offsets Without Benefits
    Despite the potential for exploitation of the carbon market, representatives of 192 nations are discussing ways to expand it at the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, which runs through Dec. 18. The US Senate, meanwhile, is poised to consider sweeping environmental legislation early next year that includes provisions allowing corporations to avoid certain pollution-reduction mandates by purchasing carbon credits.”
    http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,666378,00.html

  43. I’m confused.
    if conservatism is all about lowering taxes, howcum did steve-o harpoon’s bunch toe the line with the hst harmonized sales tax? emphasis on ‘harm’.
    3w.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2009/12/09/ont-hst.html
    could it be a clever political move to garner brownie points from the provinces, you know, ‘scratch my back’, and if taxpayers raise objection, they just fingerpoint to the provinces and claim (rightly) it was their idea?
    oh, and ‘they ALL do it’.

  44. pay attention curious george , HST is an increase in provincial taxes by two liberal governments.the federal tax remains the same at its reduced rate.

  45. Well round 2
    Plenty of cancellations roads closed
    Grey/Bruce is getting hit with Snowsqualls again today, parts of Hwy 6, 21 numerous county rds closed.
    And of course SnowDay for the kids.
    Today in Owen Sound it’s shaping up like yesterday south & north getting the brunt of the squalls with Owen Sound being like a trough & not seeing much of the squall activity, comes & goes.

  46. My sympathies to Huntsville/bracebridge area, i just heard on the radio what you got yesterday 50cm! & 80 expected today.

  47. Same time frame, get off at the top of the divide, hike to the top…scamper down the cornice with skis and poles in hand. Feel heart in mouth as you look into the abyss of Delerium Dive. Throw your body into the chute and pound out the turns or die on the pitch, schuss the last third at very high speed or get stuck in the waist deep swamp of powder in Deleriem Meadow…come out at around checkpoint 12 on the old bus road, flag down a bus, back to the village.
    End of the day hit the Goats Eye to hear the “one man band”, back in town to the Cascade to get trays of draft for 10 bucks from Ken (5 glasses for a buck and the tray held 50.)The hat would get passed around the table and everyone got a warm glow.
    ps VR17, Looks and Langes…no tunes until the 80s when the Walkman came out, was your Astraltunes a chest pack? I think I may recall you and your Burts on Standish and probably shared a chair.

  48. A large number of National Film Board of Canada productions can now be viewed on their website. That is cause for revulsion in most cases, but there are exceptions. One such is

    Linda Ohama’s Obachan’s Garden
    Delicately peeling back the layers of her grandmother’s life, filmmaker Linda Ohama discovers a painful, buried past in this feature length documentary. In poignant interviews, Asayo Murakami, now 103 years old, recalls life in Japan, her arrival in Canada as a “picture bride,” her determination to marry a man of her choice, the bombing of Hiroshima and the forced relocation of her family during World War II. Beautifully rendered dramatic sequences are merged with an exquisite collection of memories, feelings, images and voices…

    Highly recommended, especially if, like mine, your weekend weather forecast calls for abundant AGW.

  49. cg:
    I don’t know what kind of training you have, but my wife is an accountant, and CFO for a string of car dealerships. I asked her about the HST, and she said “As always, the transition will be a pain in the butt, but in the long run, we (her company) will save money”.
    Is it a tax increase? Yes, because some items not currently subject to PST will be subject to HST. And it’s the consumer who will pay the ultimate tax. But, that same Steven Harper you so clearly dislike has shown how to overcome that tax increase – you cut the base rate, which he has done TWICE. Think the Liberal governments in BC and Ontario are going to follow that lead? As my dear old dad used to say, “Not bloody likely”.

  50. As a former CRA flunkey, I was involved in the introduction of the GST. Yes, the HST introduction will be a mess in the beginning. More to the point, if CRA is charged with administration and enforcement of the HST, how many Provincial bureaucrats that are now responsible for those functions will lose their jobs??
    My prediction? None!
    This will only increase the size of an already bloated bureaucracy.

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