A great place to visit but . . .

Toronto-born Frank Gehry, has done his first building in Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. The famous architect put a long expanse of slanted, reflective glass above the Dundas St. W. entrance to reflect the townhouses across the street.

Gehry used a lot of warm wood inside the AGO.

Many of us living in Southwestern Ontario have a love/hate relationship with Toronto. We love visiting the big city but we don't want to live there. Toronto has great theatres, athletic events, restaurants. The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) and the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) are wonderful places to spend a day.

Right now King Tut: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs is at the AGO.

King Tut is two hours from London.

The tickets are available online. Buy in advance online and when you walk in the door, you can immediately line-up for entry at the time on your ticket. It's pretty slick.

To go home, one gets on the Gardner Expressway or maybe the 401, and if it is rush hour you just about park your car on the expressway. The going is slow. It gives one a lot of time to consider why, "Toronto is a great place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there."

Art Gallery of Ontario

It's location, location, location --- or is it?

I always thought with real estate it was location, location, location. Well, this is the location of the upscale apartments featured yesterday.

On the right edge of the picture is the Men's Mission and in the foreground is a complex of storage units. I'll bet folk who live in the apartments rent space here as it's handy.

Between the storage buildings and the apartments run the Canadian National Railway tracks. This is the CNR mainline through London and it is heavily travelled.

And behind the Men's Mission at the CNR tracks, both men and women often gather to chum about. The London police seem to think of this more as loitering, or something, and are often there breaking it up and moving it on.

When my wife worked in the area I always had to pick her up after work because she was afraid to walk to her car. She feared the fellows who, when moved on from party-hardy-city, loitered in front of the door to her building.

This is not a criticism but an observation. I personally found the wording of the sign fastened to the side of the apartment building odd, but hey that's probably just me.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Love the sign

Love the sign: "Upscale 1 & 2 Bedroom for Lease." Admittedly, this is a good building and my wife, who worked in an office on the second floor, assures me it is very well maintained. Yet, let's be honest; This building, and the other two in the complex, is as dull as they come. Similar looking buildings in the States have been demolished with dynamite, dropped dramatically to the ground and the rubble carted away.

Come back tomorrow and I'll show you this "upscale" building's neighbourhood.

For now,
Cheers,
Rockinon

Somethings don't change

Somethings are the same the world over --- likes babies. And the lessons that babies can teach us are as valid in London, Ontario, as they are in London, England.

Babies are curious. They constantly investigate the world that surrounds them.

Babies don't hold a grudge. Give them a bath and they may howl but moments after leaving the water all is forgiven. "Don't live in the past." They seem to be telling us. "You gotta have a life. When it's over, move on."

And it is good to laugh if given the opportunity. At least, that is Fiona's strong belief. She jumps at the chance to share a laugh with a friend, and it does help to be her friend as Fiona is no naive fool. She knows you don't just trust anyone on first meeting. Relationships can't be rushed.

Babies everywhere have sparkle. It is too bad that for many of us, life dulls our sparkle, our native curiosity and enthusiasm.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Spring flooding

Behind the Canada goose is Harris Park at the forks of the Thames in downtown London, Ontario. This park is located on flood plain and so it is no surprise that it is under water in mid March. What is a surprise is how little flooding has occurred. Some years the flooding can be quite extensive when a late, heavy snow is followed by a sudden warm spell accompanied by rain.

In the background, on the left, can be seen a high concrete levee. This levee is necessary because the homes on that side of the river are also on flood plain.

I liked this picture so much, I wrote a weather article just so I could post it on Digital Journal.

The clock jumps forward, the snow pulls back

Except for some areas where the drifted snow was exceptionally deep and somewhat sheltered from day long sunshine, like my backyard, most of the snow cover in the London area is gone.

I saw this and thought if grass was blue, this scene would resemble many of the aerial pictures I've seen showing polar glaciers where they meet the sea.

A sign of spring

Tonight the clocks spring forward, one sign of spring. And the irises are showing green sprouts, another sign that spring is coming to London, Ontario.

Sew this mitten to your backpack

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden wears official mittens.

Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

I didn't think I could get another picture out of mittens but I was wrong. Take this mitten and sew it to your backpack and immediately attract smiles. (I had no idea so many mittens are taken off and lost. I could start a blog: Lost Mittens.)

Just learned that the lost mitten in London resembles the official mittens of the Winter Olympics held recently in Vancouver.

I'd say the lost mitten is similar but it is not an official mitten.

Canadian medicare under attack

Dr. Nick Kates

Dr. Debby Copes

Someone has to stand up for the Canadian health care system and Thursday evening at the London Health Sciences Centre four panelists did just that. Canadian medicare may not be the best system but it is quite good --- especially compared to the system in the United States, if you believe these speakers.

I have posted an article from the discussion on Digital Journal.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Bacon for a traditional North American breakfast

Who needs to worry about McDonald's and the fat when the North American breakfast was, and still is for many, bacon and eggs. When I go the monthly retirees' breakfast for local media, I'd say the most popular breakfast was a couple of eggs with either bacon, ham or sausage. Many of those attending are in their 70s and some are in their 80s.

Makes me wonder if my personal theory is correct. Eat lots of fat and lubricate those arteries. Nothing sticks because the artery walls are just too slippery.

Now, pass the bacon, please, and also the jam. Oh, and pass the butter...and a bit of cream for my coffee. Thanks.

Cheers,
Rockinon

Spring Mittens

It's spring warm and winter wet; it's mid-March in London. The children at a local daycare discovered that and more today when they played outside. They returned to school hot, wet and muddy. Their soaking wet mittens and gloves were left balanced on the fence to dry in the warm, bright sunshine.

The Thinker Mummy

Yesterday we saw a metal sculpture of a praying mantis on display in front of the John Zubick operation in east London. One side of the parking lot has old metal goods left for salvage. In the midst of the old fridges, old stoves and other assorted metal stuff, there sits a sculpture that seems to be a cross of Auguste Rodin's Thinker and Hollywood's The Mummy. (For more info see yesterday's post.)

Cheers,
Rockinon

Reclaimed Art

John Zubick Ltd. is a scrap dealer in the east end of London, Ontario. But in today's world Zubick is no longer a simple buyer of junk metal and stuff but a "reclaimer of Canada's resources." Don't laugh --- it's true. You would be absolutely amazed at the tons and tons of metal and other materials that are bought, sorted and sold by the Zubick yard. The amount of iron ore that stays in the ground thanks to Zubick is simply mind boggling.

But some metal has not had to leave the Zubick yard to be recycled. It the front of the business, towering high above the parking lot, some of the scrap has already been reborn --- as art.

Ice is cool!

The spring sun is making everything melt. The thick ice at the side of the infrequently used road in Springbank Park caught the light in a downright magical way Saturday. The setting sun added just a little warmth to the image and brightened the leaf trapped in the ice.

Dam shapes

The Springbank Dam does nothing important, unless of course you're a canoeist. The dam was only used in the late spring, summer and early fall to raise the Thames River water level for recreation. If fish could talk, they'd have voiced their disapproval. It made heading up river difficult.

At the moment, that is all in the past. The dam had new gates installed and the northern most gate failed. Now, the dam sits surrounded with water and controversy. It is still to be decided just who will pay for the repairs. It has been a number of summers since the canoe club was able to launch their canoes and kayaks on the river. The fish? If they had thumbs, they'd give the present situation a thumbs up.

Torture Team: Rumsfeld’s Memo and the Betrayal of American Values

“How did a state conceived in awe of The Rights of Man make psychopaths of its children?” That is the question posed by Philippe Sands QC and a professor of international law at University College London.

The British barrister raised the question as he delivered the fourth lecture in the Pensa Lecture Series in Human Rights at the Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario.

Sands is not only a distinguished English lawyer specializing in international law but he is also an important author writing on international human rights issues. His most recent book is Torture Team: Rumsfeld’s Memo and the Betrayal of American Values.

I went to the talk and wrote about it for Digital Journal.

Enjoy. It will soon be gone.

The southern part of the Byron suburb in London, Ontario, is quite hilly. Many of the homes have steep slopes behind them. Sometimes the slopes are terraced and other times they are simply shrub covered. Both approaches help to anchor the earth, keeping it in place.

This backyard has the shrub covered look.

Tower Ridge

A number of kms west of Byron is Communication Hill, so named because the local television station has its tower there. That height of land is just about the highest bit of property in the area. For that reason the television tower was erected there back in the early '50s. The raised ridge runs for miles south of the city of London. In the Byron subdivision there is what I like to call tower ridge because there are three communication towers erected there.

CFPL, the London television station went on the air November 28, 1953. It was just the second private broadcaster in Canada. Walter Blackburn, who owned the station plus a radio station and the local newspaper, had hoped to be the first but CKSO in Sudbury, Ontario, took to the air a month earlier.

Where the coyotes roam

The other day I did a piece on the area beside the Thames River being posted to warn hikers and joggers of the presence of one or more coyotes. Coyotes are somewhat new to the London area and so folk are not all that knowledgeable about how to act if approached.

As it was the middle of the day, and not between dusk and dawn, I walked down onto the floodplain to have a look at coyote country.

Rather pretty, actually, don't you think.

By the way, this is not the Thames River pictured but a small stream running into London's main river.

White evergreens

It snowed yesterday. But tomorrow it is the first of March. We can still expect more snow, sometimes a lot, but it no longer has much chance of lingering on roads, sidewalks, driveways or even evergreens. The spring sun is here. By late afternoon today, all roads in London were dry and most of my driveway was clear. The March sun is a warm sun in Southwestern Ontario.

Cheers,
Rockinon

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...
_____________________________________________________

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.

It's a Runners' Choice

18 miles --- That's the distance many of the runners out pounding the pavement in the southwest of  London Ontario were running Sunday. About 90 long distance runners from Runners' Choice on Dundas Street in the southwestern Ontario city were out enjoying, I think I can say enjoying, the cool late-winter temperatures accompanied by a warm, spring-like sun.

It was a fruitful photo morning. More pictures from the run tomorrow and the day after.

Cheers,
Rockinon

...and the lion shall lie down with the lamb

It is not exactly a lion; It's a tiger. And the tiger, sculpted out of snow, is lying beside the driveway of Peter Lam, no 'b', a well respected London Ontario artist.

. . . and the tiger shall lie down with the lam. Close enough.

Every year to celebrate the Chinese New Year, Peter Lam sculpts the appropriate work of art from a block of snow placed in front of his west London home. This year, 2010, is the Year of the Tiger.

The tiger had been on display for sometime when I discovered it. The warm February sun can be hard on snow tigers, the ones actually made from snow. To see Lam's creation when it was still fresh, check out his flickr page.

Cheers,
Rockinon

The telephone: invented in Canada

I know, I know, the Yanks brag the telephone was invented in Boston. In fact, there's a marker in Boston commemorating the birthplace of the telephone.

But Canadians also have bragging rights when it comes to the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell himself once stated Brantford, Ontario, was where he invented the telephone. He developed the concept at his family's Southwestern Ontario homestead.

Scotland, not to be outdone, also claims the invention of the telephone with pride; Bell, the inventor, was born in Edinburgh Scotland in 1847.

But one thing unites Boston, Brantford and Edinburgh - they all agree that in 2002 the U.S. Congress made a big error recognizing Antonio Meucci, an Italian immigrant to the States, as the true inventor of the telephone. 113 years after Meucci's death, the American Congress re-wrote history and declared the little-known mechanical genius the father of modern communications.

No one argues about the yellow pages, they were created in 1886 by Reuben Donnelly, a printer in Cheyenne Wyoming, when he ran out of white paper and used yellow instead.

At one time London, Ontario, had a strong connection to the telephone business. A massive Northern Telecom (Nortel) plant employing more than a thousand area workers was located beside highway 401 immediately to the south of the city. Today Nortel, the former stock market high-flyer, is gone, bankrupt, its shares dropped from a high of about $124 to a bit more than a nickle when trading stopped.

In our home we still use a Bell landline telephone. It is electronic but it emulates a dial phone. Our phone does not work on the touch-tone system. Alexander Graham Bell would be comfortable using our phone - not too high-tech.

In London it is only possible to have a dial phone if you've always had one. No new dial numbers are being assigned. A lot of folk have stayed on the dial phone system as it is costs less than the touch-tone one.When Bell tried dropping the service a few years ago, more than a 100 thousand customers complained to the CRTC and Bell dropped the plan.

For finding telephone numbers, we still use a phone book with both white and yellow pages. And it appears the yellow pages also taste quite good, at least if you're five-months-old. A moment after this picture was snapped, mom took notice and removed the tasty morsel from the fingers of our budding telephone book connoisseur. She isn't allowed to have solid foods, yet.

Kids!

How a child can lose a glove when the weather has been below zero for the past week is a puzzle. I can see a kid slipping off a glove while possibly feeding the ducks wintering in the pond at Storybook Gardens, but to walk away and leave it is curious.

Maybe someone chanced by and the kid had to make quick tracks; Feeding the ducks is frowned upon by those in charge of the park.

Merry-go-round in winter

I've noticed that many of the other pictures posted by photographers around the world as part of the daily photo movement are very artistic images. Some of these shooters set a very high standard. Shooting in London, Ontario, and not London, England, I've got to work just a little harder.

There is a merry-go-round in Springbank Park. I ran a picture last year shortly after the carousel horses were reinstalled in the spring. At dusk this evening I noticed that the framework of the ride made an interesting image with the fading blue sky, the clouds and the colours of the coming sunset.

Cheers,
Rockinon

St. George Parish

The present St. George Parish is the second church standing on the corner of Commissioners Road at Lynden Crescent. The original house of worship was a modern, for the time, 1950s A-frame structure.

By 1992 --- less than four decades after opening --- deterioration in the wood beams supporting the space for worship was noted. It was determined that repairing the structure would not be economical when everything involved was taken into account.

The original building was not equipped for the physically challenged, there was a definite lack of meeting space in the aging building and the growing population in the Byron suburb of London meant the church should be larger.

Clearly a new building was demanded. The last service in original church was held in January 1998. By April 1999 the first service was held in the present, much larger and much more traditional looking structure.

Winter in Canada means hot soup

In the middle of a Southwestern Ontario summer, one rarely thinks of steaming, hot soup. But in the middle of winter, in February, often the coldest month of the year, hot, homemade soup is just the ticket. This homemade potato and chedder cheese soup makes a perfect Canadian winter lunch when teamed with slices of avocado. The soup supplies instant warmth and the avocado fuels the body's furnace with its ample supply of heart healthy vegetable fat. After this lunch one's ready to finish digging out the driveway.

Cheers,
Rockinon

How much is five pounds of fat

Dietitian Jennifer-Anne Meneray holds five pounds "fat."

Did you ever wonder what five pounds of fat looks like? No? I'm not surprised.

February is international 'Heart Month'. A public education event was held at London Health Sciences Centre on Wednesday. It offered valuable information to those living with heart failure or seeking information on how to avoid this all-to-common disease.

Dietitian Jennifer-Anne Meneray showed the audience how much fat a person losing five pounds strips from their body. It's a lot, eh? Meneray said losing about fifteen pounds in a year is all a sensible person should lose in 12 months. Just think, fifteen pounds is three times the size of the simulated fat Meneray is holding.

If you drink a lot of soft drinks, cut one out a day. If you don't replace the calories with something else, and you make this a permanent lifestyle change — not just a dieting move — you will not only lose fifteen pounds in a year but you will keep those pounds off.

Cheers,
Rockinon 

Keep on Plowing

City sidewalks can be almost impassable after a Southwestern Ontario snow storm, and to hear a lot of Londoners tell it they are.

I don't recall sidewalk snowplows at all from my youth. I do recall sidewalks, especially those passing parks or vacant lots, being downright impossible to trudge through. For the most part, this doesn't happen today.

I don't expect instant service. I know I may have to contend with the reality of a bit of snow for awhile. Hey, that's winter in Canada. But, I appreciate the sidewalks being cleared, sometimes all in good time, by the city's little snowplows.

Cheers,
Rockinon

London District Energy

The building carries the simple name "London District Energy." But there is a rich story behind the simple name. This is a company with roots going back 130 years to 1880 when Canada's first district heating system was born.

Centralized steam plants with giant boilers providing steam to nearby commercial buildings were very popular in most major North American cities at the beginning of the twentieth century. The steam plants bought fuel, coal, at a discount unavailable to individual building owners. The savings were passed onto the steam plant customers. 

The introduction of inexpensive natural gas, spelled the end of many of the centralized systems as customers installed their own individual gas-fired heating systems.

Today, as the world explores ways to reduce our environmental footprint and improve energy efficiencies, centralized systems like London's still thriving historic gem are leading the way into the 21st century.

Originally a family-owned business, Cities Heating was located right in the city core. Time took its toll and the aging steam supply facility outgrew its usefulness a little more than a decade ago. The business was sold and a company known as Trigen Energy Corp. replaced Cities Heating in 1996. The plant was moved to the corner of Bathurst and Colborne Streets and modernized.

The plant was sold again and is now under the guidance of Fort Chicago. It has benefited from $38-million of improvements, including a 15,000-square-foot expansion. Generating traditional steam and chilled water, electricity has been added to the mix. The plant has a total thermal generating capacity of about 100MW, producing approximately 245,000 lbs/hour of steam and 4,200 tons of chilled water and adding about 18 megawatts of electricity to the Ontario power grid.

Many buildings in London are both heated and cooled by London District Energy thanks to an extensive and still growing distribution system; A new pipeline will add St. Joseph's Health Care to a system already serving The London Free Press, the London Convention Centre, Hilton London, Citi Plaza, City Hall and London Health Sciences Centre among many others.

Now you know why clouds of steam, especially in the cold of winter, are sometimes seen escaping from maintenance covers and road grates in London Ontario. A minor leak in the miles of underground piping can cause quite the cloud of water vapour.

And, if you are wondering what happened to the old Cities Heating Building, well, it sat derelict for years. In 2007 the London Ontario Live Arts Festival incorporated one wall of the building into a work of art. Currently, the building is being converted into apartments.