Speaking of the Trent Severn Waterway (TSW), currently there is a government panel traveling through the region to gather input on the future of the system. This panel was put together to hold consultations in the communities that are influenced by - or upon - the TSW. Designed as a public forum for affected users and business owners, the 'Panel On The Future Of The Trent Severn Waterway' will be holding these meetings until the middle of September and then make recommendations to the federal Minister of the Environment.
The panel's official web site is tswpanel.ca.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
TheWaterway.ca - F5 -
After the first year in the life of TheWaterway.ca, it's time for a re-do and I have a number of new elements that I'm going to be incorporating in the new version. These will include switching over all the photos to a slideshow format + adding many more. As well, I'll be greatly expanding the Maps page to include highly detailed routes, the locks, marinas, etc., which will be based on Google Maps. Believe it or not, this page gets a large amount of hits.
The other pages I'm looking forward to adding are going to focus on fishing, winter activities and - hopefully - something for user input. That last one might not make it right away to the new version, but I hope to add something along those lines fairly soon.
The site will have a whole new, more expansive look and feel. With any luck, I should have it up and running by fall. After all, my 'spare' time is limited until the boat is put to sleep for the off season. Stay tuned for updates.
The other pages I'm looking forward to adding are going to focus on fishing, winter activities and - hopefully - something for user input. That last one might not make it right away to the new version, but I hope to add something along those lines fairly soon.
The site will have a whole new, more expansive look and feel. With any luck, I should have it up and running by fall. After all, my 'spare' time is limited until the boat is put to sleep for the off season. Stay tuned for updates.
Modern Technology
I recently acquired a new laptop computer. The old one I was using was, well, old. It still worked, but didn't have the capabilities I now need.
This new unit is an Acer Aspire. It is equipped with a 1.6 gigahertz Celeron processor, 80 gig hard drive, DVD burner, built in wireless, and flash card reader. The best part was the price. I paid $535 for it at Future Shop in July and I thought that was cheap (in an inexpensive way), but just this week saw them in the Wal-Mart flyer for the super low price of $469.00. Too bad my 30 day price match guarantee is over :-( But I'm not complaining . . .
The thing works great and I am really impressed with he graphics. My office desktop has an LCD monitor and after not using it for the three weeks we were away noticed how much crisper the screen is on the laptop. Not only that, but downloading photos/videos from the SD cards my camera uses is WAY faster than on my desktop. I am thinking that it might have something to do with the fact that it uses the new Windows Vista operating system. Maybe Microsoft finally got something right with improved camera/PC interface?? It would be interesting to see if other users have had a similar experience.
On an average weekend I would take between 200 - 300 photos and maybe 5 video clips with my digital still camera. That's roughly 1 gig of memory. What would normally take 30 - 45 minutes to download onto my desktop (XP) takes only 5 - 10 minutes on the laptop. Very cool. And they look nicer there, too :-)
Monday, August 13, 2007
Time Flies
I don't know how many times I seem to say this lately, but 'I can't believe it was that long ago'! A few anniversaries of note coming up this week.
It was already four years since the big blackout of '03. That was an experience. I remember driving home from work and on the way discovering the two sets of traffic lights being out. Then it was the power garage door opener at that - didn't. When my son called me to say he had heard the power was out right down to New York City, I knew we'd be in for a long night. With that, I drove to my wife's work and told her what was happening and that it was time to close up shop - we were heading down to the boat!
At least there we would have 12 volts of refrigeration and lights. Besides, there wasn't much else to do, given it was the hottest weekend of the year. Mow the lawn? I think not.
In no time, there were a number of other like minded friends showing up and before you knew it, we had a party at the end of the dock. Sure was neat to look around and only see blackness! It was a party atmosphere all around that night. Goes to show how the boating life brings us together for allot of reasons:-)
The other big thing (or is it 'thang'?) from this week is the 30th anniversary of the passing of The King, the Big 'E' - Elvis Presley. Wow, 30 years, man. Yes, I remember that day, arriving home to my sister & (future/former) brother-in-law telling me he was dead. Even though I was only 14 (I thought I was allot older than I was then), it was a great shock.
Over the years I have come to be a big fan. The little 'E' shown here is a cool window Elvis my wife picked up for me at the dollar store. He is hanging from the windshield of our boat, right in front of the two stuffed pigs and 1 set of fuzzy dice (I think I am allot younger than I am).
Thank you, thank you very much . . .
Finally, I lost a good friend three years ago - one of our boating buddies. This picture of Dan & his wife, Janice, aboard their boat is probably one of the best ways to remember the guy.
As for right now, I'd say that he's out there somewhere, next to a stream or lake with a fishing rod in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. Happy fishing there, Chunky. Save a cold one for me. . .
It was already four years since the big blackout of '03. That was an experience. I remember driving home from work and on the way discovering the two sets of traffic lights being out. Then it was the power garage door opener at that - didn't. When my son called me to say he had heard the power was out right down to New York City, I knew we'd be in for a long night. With that, I drove to my wife's work and told her what was happening and that it was time to close up shop - we were heading down to the boat!
At least there we would have 12 volts of refrigeration and lights. Besides, there wasn't much else to do, given it was the hottest weekend of the year. Mow the lawn? I think not.
In no time, there were a number of other like minded friends showing up and before you knew it, we had a party at the end of the dock. Sure was neat to look around and only see blackness! It was a party atmosphere all around that night. Goes to show how the boating life brings us together for allot of reasons:-)
The other big thing (or is it 'thang'?) from this week is the 30th anniversary of the passing of The King, the Big 'E' - Elvis Presley. Wow, 30 years, man. Yes, I remember that day, arriving home to my sister & (future/former) brother-in-law telling me he was dead. Even though I was only 14 (I thought I was allot older than I was then), it was a great shock.Over the years I have come to be a big fan. The little 'E' shown here is a cool window Elvis my wife picked up for me at the dollar store. He is hanging from the windshield of our boat, right in front of the two stuffed pigs and 1 set of fuzzy dice (I think I am allot younger than I am).
Thank you, thank you very much . . .
Finally, I lost a good friend three years ago - one of our boating buddies. This picture of Dan & his wife, Janice, aboard their boat is probably one of the best ways to remember the guy.As for right now, I'd say that he's out there somewhere, next to a stream or lake with a fishing rod in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. Happy fishing there, Chunky. Save a cold one for me. . .
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Birds Of A Feather
Lots of birds to see along the Rent Severn Waterway. These funny looking fellows were part of a flock of seven that we saw approaching the Kirkfield Liftlock. These are Black Vultures who were hanging around, as there were a number of dead carp in the area. The dead carp have been as a result of a yet to be determined cause. Should find out about what has been causing the mass die off of the carp sometime in September, when the government officials have concluded their studies.One bird of prey that can be seen in pretty much all of the system is the Osprey. They are magnificent, majestic birds. Usually flying high aloft, they can be seen gently swooshing around the updrafts, searching for their prey - small fish.
Here's a videop clip I took of one dropping down to the water for a kill. This was taken just below the water control dam in Young's Point - July/07:
Lock & Load
This past Friday was the last night of our big 2007 waterway trip, and we got to experience spending the night at a lock station for the first time. Sounds like fun, eh?Up to this time, we had always 'overnighted' in marinas. The advantage to the marina choice is that we get access to shore power (electrical hook up), drinking water and showers in the washrooms. Also, most are located within walking or biking distance of shopping or attractions.
At the majority of the locks along the Trent Severn Waterway, hydro and water are unavailable and showers are non existent. So, I guess for most people, this would be a short term choice unless it wasn't too sweaty out or if you had a generator and things of that nature. The upside of our stay at Lock #39 ('Portage') was that we were the only ones on the top of the lock and it was a beautiful night. And given the fact that we'd be home the following day (sigh), the lack of a shower for one night wasn't a big deal.
It had been quite windy all day, but calmed right down to nothing just after we ate our supper (BBQ hot dogs - hey, it was simple), as the photos attest. I took a number of shots of the area and it was great to capture the trees reflecting off the water. Check the video clip - it offers a panoramic view of the surroundings. Sorry for the colour being out a bit, but I was using my digital still camera for that clip and the lighting wasn't 100% for it . . .The really big 'WOW' was after dark. About 10:30 I went outside and was blown away by the amount & clarity of the stars in the sky! Given that we are surrounded by so much light pollution in our modern world, it was a huge treat to see the night sky as it's supposed to look. I actually sat back on the concrete break wall to take it all in, and then opened the forward hatch on the boat to stare at the stars from our berth. Truly wonderful - and one more inspiration to take the cruising lifestyle to the next level.
Back Home :-(
It sure is amazing how fast three weeks can pass. Especially when it's holiday time. Well, that time has passed and we are back to the old grind. Not that I am complaining, as I have tons of work to do on TheWaterway.ca site, including a total rebuild. There are a number of new features I am working on incorporating there, including a dedicated Videos page, information on fishing along the system and links to cruising blogs. I've come across some really interesting ones and I think my visitors would enjoy seeing some of them.
Speaking of visitors, TheWaterway.ca has seen a substantial spike in traffic over the past three weeks. I guess heading out on the water for that period of time was a good idea? Good karma, man ;-)
As a result of that spike in traffic, I was moved to sign up for a couple of marine related affiliate programs to include on the site, one of which is BoaterExam.com.
This site allows visitors to take the Boaters Competency test right online and receive their license right away. I felt that was a really good fit and it has already begun to show promising results - with only limited exposure on the site so far.
Speaking of visitors, TheWaterway.ca has seen a substantial spike in traffic over the past three weeks. I guess heading out on the water for that period of time was a good idea? Good karma, man ;-)
As a result of that spike in traffic, I was moved to sign up for a couple of marine related affiliate programs to include on the site, one of which is BoaterExam.com.
This site allows visitors to take the Boaters Competency test right online and receive their license right away. I felt that was a really good fit and it has already begun to show promising results - with only limited exposure on the site so far.
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