Babies learn to swim early

The little six-month-old baby is with her parents in the shallow end of the London Aquatic Centre at a learn to swim class for babies Saturday.

Supposedly most babies like water and by six-months are old enough to take to the water. The only proviso is that the water must be warm enough. If it is too cold babies may not like it. Shivering, blue-lipped babies are not cool; They are cold!

The water was a little cold Saturday; Even mom was shivering. It is no wonder baby didn't like it.

Babies are born with the mammalian dive reflex, meaning they naturally hold their breath when submerged.

But many mothers have a protective, maternal reflex, like this mom. "Dunk my crying child under water? No way!" The little teary eyed baby left the water early, headed for a warm, plush car seat and some cotton flannel pj's.

And she wasn't dunked. Yet. There is always next week.

Handsome? Yes! Restored? No!

The whole town, or at least everyone I know, is talking about the "stunning restoration of the Capitol Theatre and the Bowles Building." Could you tell at a glance which building was the theatre? No? If not, I am not surprised. The marquee is gone. And so is the lobby. Oh, and the auditorium has been demolished and rehabilitated into a parking lot.

The Bowles Building was known for years as the Bowles Lunch. It will be the Bowles Building from this point on. No more lunches are being served; The building now houses the City of London planning department.

Today I may be in trouble as my views are appearing in the Saturday paper as either an opinion piece or a letter to the editor. I fear a lot of folk won't like the truth.

Stay tuned...
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Or if you're interested, here are two posts I wrote on the loss of the theatre.

• Theatre Link One
• Theatre Link Two

Coyote Warnings in London, Ontario

It seems weird that trails beside the Thames River near the University of Western Ontario in the northwest of London have had warnings posted alerting those on foot to the sightings of one or more coyotes.

The Minisitry of Natural Resources suggests that it is best to stay off these paths between dusk and dawn.

For more on this story, see my Digital Journal post.

Cheers,
Rockinon

More JLC

The John Labatt Centre (JLC), shown from the outside two days ago, is a fine venue for entertainers. They like it and they come back. The JLC likes to brag "We've had the world at our doorstep." Any guess as to the identities of the world famous rockers being featured today?

The JLC is the largest multi-purpose facility in southwestern Ontario. The facility, when it comes to sports, is mainly used for hockey. In 2005, the Junior A hockey team, The London Knights, which call the JLC home , won the Memorial Cup. But basketball, wrestling,  and more are all held there as well. Concerts, theatre performances or even a monster truck shows also commonly fill the seats.

Opening in downtown London, Ontario, on October 11, 2002, it was hoped it would be a powerful catalyst in the redevelopment of London’s downtown. The facility seats 9,090 for hockey and ice events and holds more than 10,000 for concerts, family shows and other events.

Old folk, like me, and those in wheel chairs appreciate the accessibility --- there is accesible seating on every level. And everyone can appreciate the ample number of washrooms. The JLC exceeds code requirements for washrooms by 55 percent.

Audiologists raise money for scholarships

Tuesday evening the National Centre for Audiology at The University of Western Ontario (UWO) offered drivers a comfortable solution to the painful problem of ill-fitting earbuds on Bluetooth wireless systems, while at the same time raising money for scholarships at the London, Ontario, university.

Audiology students under the direct supervision of a college registered audiologist made accurate impressions of client's ear canals in order to make custom fitted ear pieces.

For the whole story see my piece posted in Digital Journal.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Snow! Finally!

The running pictures will have to wait. It snowed today in London and tonight it's still snowing.

We are expecting possibly 20cm of snow. To keep ahead of the storm, there were numerous men pushing snow blowers around the John Labatt Centre, known as the JLC. The JLC is the home of the London Knights, our OHL Junior A hockey team, but the JLC is a multi-use facility. Many entertainers, many famous, have performed there.

For instance, Cher has been there twice. The first time it was her farewell tour and the second time it was for whatever comes after a farewell tour. Who knows, may be someday we'll see her again. Cher just doesn't seem to be able to stay away.

It's a Runners' Choice_2

I love shooting runners. They give me an excuse to run. And I love running. It was so much fun shooting the Runners' Choice runners that I'm going downtown Monday to see about joining a running group --- something for aging men who, over the past year, have spent too much time blogging and not enough time running.

One runner told me that many in the group were going to cover 18 miles Sunday. I'd be happy to run 5 km.

I understand that there were about 90 runners out enjoying the brisk morning air. As is clear from the picture, by the time the runners were at the southwest edge of the city, they were well dispersed. But even though some were faster than others, over the time that I was shooting pictures I didn't see one runner stop and start walking --- unless you count me.