Merry Christmas

A local mother told me this morning that the school her child attends informed parents that they were to keep all mention of Christmas out of the holiday season.  Now, I have never been accused of having a soft approach.  I have the subtlety of a belt sander and the tact of a bulldozer but this annoyed the crap out of me.  This admonishment was to keep the immigrant families from feeling offended.
This offends me.  I'll say it again; this deeply offends me.
Canada; while no longer considered a "christian" country celebrates Christmas.  Whether you do that because of your religious beliefs or because you want to celebrate the spirit of this season it is a western world tradition to celebrate the time of Christmas.  Immigrant families are well aware of the customs and celebrations of Canada before they arrive and the fact that they might be offended by this is good enough reason for them not to have come here in the first place.  I have no racial biases.  I have no racism in me.  I have friends who are black, native, Asian, white and everything in between.  I have friends who's race I don't even know because I don't care because it simply does not matter.  But if someone immigrates to this country they should understand and accept the fact that we celebrate a time of the year called Christmas. 
Christmas was originally a pagan holiday that was hijacked by the christian community to signify the generally accepted time of year that Christ was born.  While I would be surprised if even 40% of the general population would identify Christmas as the celebrate birthday of Jesus Christ, we still, as a country, celebrate Christmas on December 25th.  Got a problem with that?  Well, suck it up my friend because that is what we do.  We also celebrate Victoria Day.  What?  She's not your queen?  You still get a day off for it.  We celebrate Labour day and the August long weekend.  Do you know why?  You might not even care but you still take the day off probably with pay. 
As for me and my house we will say Merry Christmas and if you don't like it then stay HOME!!!!
Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am a Winnipeger...

I am a winnipeger.


I will not tolerate mosquitoes but I will protest the spraying of chemicals.

I will drive my car through snow banks and complain that snow clearing is too slow.

I will support development and growth in our city as long as its not where I live.

I will complain about the heat, the cold, the dryness and the humidity.

I will hate cyclists and insist they get off the road but I will refuse to consider public money for a bike path.

I will not let you into my lane and I will not make eye contact when you are trying to merge.

I will insist on my rights at the expense of yours.

I drive everywhere in spite of the price of gas.

I scorn Saskatchewan even though they’re leaving us behind

I won’t vote in the civic elections but I will complain about whoever won.

I don’t know my city councillors name but he’s doing a horrible job.

I don’t know my neighbours, I don’t know my co-workers and I will not let anyone intrude into my cliques.

I love hating this city, I hate loving this city.

It’s too cold, it’s too hot, it’s too humid, it’s too snowy but gosh darn it I will not move.

I am a winnipeger.

I suck.

check it out

More adventures of "talking to americans"

It’s raining and because of good trail stewardship they actually close trails to prevent damage in wet conditions. It’s probably too progressive an idea to ever be considered for Winnipeg.

Because riding is out for the day I’m over at Panera Bread having some coffee and breakfast.

Clerk: Hi, can I help you?

Me: I’d like the breakfast power sandwich, no cheese please and a coffee.

Her: We actually stopped serving breakfast.

Me: Altogether or just for today?

Her: Just for today.

Me: What time do you stop?

Her: 10:30

                         We both look at the time. It is 10:31

Me: So that was like less than a minute ago.

Her: Yes.

Me: Umm, ok, are you sure?

Her: It’s after 10:30.

Me: Can I get the grilled ham?

Her: Not at the moment, our grill is still hot from breakfast. It has to cool a bit first.

Me:

Me:

Her:

Me: So, you can’t make me a breakfast sandwich because it’s after 1030 and you can’t make me a lunch sandwich because your grill is still hot from breakfast.

Her: Yes.

Me: Am I the only one here who thinks this is funny?

Her: Yes.

Manager: We can make you the breakfast sandwich Sir.

Me: Thank you, Now That’s good business.

Manager: (looking extremely pleased with herself)

Me: 2 power sandwiches no cheese please.



                   I grab my coffee, sit down and start typing this story. Here comes my sandwiches.



                  Both of them have cheese.





Sigh.

Often in my travels I come across interesting people. Some of them are memorable because of the way we’ve had to interact with each other and some of them are memorable because either they helped me in some unusual way or I helped them. Yesterday on my way down to Minneapolis I came across someone who will stand out in my memory because clearly she was out of her league just trying to function in an every day world…


This is our conversation:

I pulled into a gas station in Fergus Falls and found that every pump had a plastic bag on it except for the high octane stuff.

Me: I see that you have plastic bags on most of the pumps, are you out of cheaper gas or are they broken?

Her: We put plastic bags on them.

Me: Yes, why?

Her: because there’s plastic bags on them.

Me: I can see that, are you out of gas?

Her: No, but sometimes people borrow our gas can when they run out. It’s $10.

Me: Ok, thank you

Her: your welcome. (she looked quite pleased with herself but perplexed)

I go outside and put in $15 of high octane gas thinking I’ll get more up the road. I go inside to pay.

Me: Pump 2.

Her: that’s $15, did you see the plastic bags on the pumps? They’re broken, don’t use those ones.

Me: Gotcha, thanks. Is there a gas station up the road? I’m heading East.

Her: Are you going to Detroit Lakes? (this is north of our location)

Me: No, I’m heading towards Minneapolis

Her: IS that towards Fargo?

Me: no, it’s the other way

Her: Oh, well if you’re going to Detroit lakes it’s that way…

Me: No, I’m going to Minneapolis

Her: Well is that on the interstate?

Me: Yes, is there a town that I can get gas in within 50 miles?

She pulls out a map and points to Detroit Lakes (remember, we’re in Fergus Falls)

Her: Is that where we are?

Me: No, we’re here in Fergus Falls. Don’t you live here?

Her: I’ve lived here all my life.

Me: Ever been out of town?

Her: I go to Fargo sometimes

Me: Well, if you went the other way, would there be a gas station?

Her: This is a gas station

Me: Oh. Thanks.

I found it really hard not to laugh at this poor girl. I wonder if she ever figured it all out….

Now it’s time to go riding.

Provinces without bicycle helmet laws 'atrocious', researcher says

WINNIPEG - Provincial governments should force anyone riding a bicycle to wear a helmet, says the co-author of a new report that found helmet use varies greatly across Canada.
"I mean, it's atrocious that in 2010, every province does not have some sort of helmet legislation," said Ryan Zarychanski, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Manitoba. "Clearly, helmet legislation works and clearly it reduces serious head injuries and facial lacerations."
Zarychanski and three other researchers at the University of Manitoba and the University of Ottawa compared 2005 helmet use figures involving more than 4,600 respondents in three provinces with very different rules for cyclists.
Helmets were worn by 73.2 per cent of respondents in Nova Scotia, where helmet use is mandatory for everyone. The rate was just 40.6 per cent in Ontario, where helmets are mandatory for young people only, and a mere 26.9 in Saskatchewan, where there is no bicycle helmet law.
The study, published in the August edition of the Injury Prevention Journal, also found that children were less likely to wear helmets if adults did not have to.
Fewer than half of underage respondents in Ontario said they used helmets, even though they were required by law. In Nova Scotia, the rate for children was 77.5 per cent.
"We hypothesize that this is due to the absence of role-modelling from adults," Zarychanski said Tuesday.
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Newfoundland have no helmets laws for cyclists. Ontario and Alberta require helmets for people under 18 years of age, while Nova Scotia, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island require everyone to don a helmet while on a bicycle.
Manitoba's NDP government has long faced calls to make helmets mandatory. The third-party Liberals have tried and failed to pass a private member's bill to that effect.
The province's medical association has also called for a helmet law.
"There is plenty of evidence showing that helmet use goes up when such laws are introduced while head injury hospitalization drops by as much as 45 per cent," reads a post on Doctors Manitoba's health promotion web site.
But the government has instead opted to keep helmet use optional, and has tried to encourage helmet use through promotional campaigns and by offering subsidized helmets that cost as little as $10.
"We're not ruling out helmet legislation ... but we also are looking at and discussing with other provinces to see how their legislation moved forward, how they implemented it, and the pros and cons in each case," Manitoba Healthy Living Minister Jim Rondeau said.
"Right now, we're still working with the carrot approach."
Critics of helmet laws have argued that making helmets mandatory might discourage people from cycling. But the study found bicycle use remained constant in Alberta and Prince Edward Island after those provinces adopted helmet laws in 2002 and 2003 respectively.

Source:By: Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press Winnipeg Free Press August 10, 2010

Newsworthy excerpts

Both excerpts from the Roadbiker.com newsletter:

Work Out Just 20 Minutes for Amazing Results!



No, this isn't a plug for a miracle no-sweat fitness method. Instead, it's a prescription for more power and endurance on your bike, a taste of the kind of advice you'll find in the new eArticle by John Hughes we plugged above -- INTENSITY: How to Plan & Gauge the Most Beneficial Training Efforts.


It's simple. On a normal ride, choose terrain that allows you to pedal hard and steady for 20 minutes. It might be a long, gradual climb or a flat road into the wind.


Be sure you're warmed up, then go for it. Your effort should be around 85-90% of your max heart rate. It should feel hard but not all-out.
On another ride at least 2 days later, do it again.


These twice-weekly 20-minute efforts are like mini time trials. They increase the amount of power you can generate at or near your lactate threshold (the effort level where panting begins).


Few roadies ride this way because it's lots easier to just cruise along. And that's why they don't get closer to their potential.


But if you discipline yourself to bite the bullet for a measly 20 minutes during a couple of rides each week, you'll feel real improvement after just 8-10 of these workouts.


Or double your money back!














---Exercise scientists have stumbled on an amazing discovery, reports the New York Times. Athletes can improve their performance in intense bouts of exercise, lasting an hour or so, if they merely rinse their mouths with a carbohydrate solution (sports drink). That's right, swish and spit. It appears that the brain can sense carbohydrate in the mouth and then respond, spurring on the athlete. Some of the research was done with cyclists. The advantage for relatively short and intense events, such as time trials up to 25 miles (40 km) is avoiding digestive problems from riding hard with food or drink in the stomach. For longer periods of exercise, though, a person is better off swallowing a carbohydrate drink than spitting it out. This way actual fuel is provided in the form of calories.

I am just the messenger here...