Fly away

I’m going to Scotland!

Well, I finally bit the bullet. I’ve been planning to go to Europe again for about 8 months and have always wanted to go to Scotland but have never made it north – close, once; Newcastle – but not farther than that.

So I’m to Inverness, home of Loch Ness and the fabled monster, Nessie, and also home to Culloden (photo at left here), where the highland clans were destroyed by Bonnie Prince Charlie, who may or may not have been a pawn of the British, who were quite terrified of the Clans and their power.

Thank you very much to Chris O'Byrne for this gorgeous photo (at right) of Urquhart Castle, as seen from a placid Loch Ness.

I’m excited to see my daughter, Alex, who’s an au pair for a family in Inverness, and to see my adopted family in Hook, (On the map here, it is right north of the number 5).

Hook is in the south east of England, about 20 minutes from Stonehenge, and almost entirely at the other end of the island from where Alex is in Inverness.



I’ll be posting photos here when I am back from Scotland so keep an eye out.

WriterWriter.

Harder Next Time?

Canadian Press
Apr. 21, 2006 10:22 AM

RED DEER, AB

Talk about adding insult to injury, dude.

A 20-year-old man who was hit by a train that he didn't hear coming because he had Norwegian heavy-metal music blaring in his headphones now has to pay a $287 ticket for trespassing on Canadian Pacific Railway tracks.

Jesse Maggrah was knocked into the ditch and suffered several broken ribs and scrapes to his head and hands.

On Wednesday, a CPR officer served Maggrah with the ticket as the young man was recovering in hospital.

"This is a double whammy for me," Maggrah said Thursday. "I'm grateful that I'm living, but I'm not grateful that I've got to pay this ticket. I'm ticked off about it."

The ticket was issued under the Alberta Petty Trespassing Act. Railway police tend to issue warnings about trespassing, but in this case they decided a further deterrent was needed, said CPR spokesman Ed Greenberg.

Officers didn't, however, seek the stiffest penalty. If charged under the federal Railway Act, a trespasser could be fined up to $10,000 or receive six months in jail.

Maggrah said he'll pay the fine.

"I don't want to take it to court and all that crap, so I'll just pay it," he said.

What? This guy's pissed because he was STUPID? Who walks on the train tracks anyway, and who does it with headphones on? I'm thinking a small fine is the least of his worries considering he's alive, not on life support, not maimed, not damaged (ok, maybe from some time before), not missing limbs and has his beautiful face still intact.

Here, for any of you who might try this 'at home,' are the rules.
Don't wear headphones whilst walking on train tracks.
Don't turn the sound up so far you can't hear a train wistle! They're really loud for a reason
Don't turn the sound up becuase Apple says it's bad for you.
Don't be STUPID.

Thanks to Stantec in Calgary for the photo

So there's been this huge issue in my city -- cat licensing. Lots for and lots against and all manner of good, bad and really dumb reasons for licensing.

So, let me get this straight: according the supporters, licensed cats will stick to their own backyards while outside, stop pooping in the neighbours’ peonies, and will no longer be eaten by coyotes, hit by cars, or become lost.

Is there an education program that comes with the licenses? Will the coyotes now see the licenses and realise licensed cats are not edible? Will licensed cats realise they’re too special to leave their own yards? Will they discover that the neighbours’ gardens are no longer suitable places to make deposits? Will speeding vehicles screech to a halt when they spot a licensed cat? Will licensed cats somehow be able to read maps?

I suppose a license is a good idea if one's cat is prone to running away, but mostly, cats know where their food and warm beds are so they normally don't go too far from home.

In the case of a cat eaten by a coyote, which happens a lot here, a license won't help because coyotes can't dial the phone to say "Hey, found your cat and it was delish."

I can see a license helping for cats that are hit by cars, providing someone stops to look at the license and calls it in so the cat's owner can be told their kitty is deceased. In our area, however, the coyotes are faster than the drivers and kitty roadkill is usually dragged off to feed coyote pups.

Mostly what will happen is that disgruntled neighbours will take advantage of the license to report that the next door kitty has left poo in their plants. This city's bylaw officers report that the vast majority of infractions are reported by people who can't stand their neighbours and wish they would move.

Other than that, though, licenses are a great idea!