Endearments - not endearing to me

Perhaps it’s a petty thing in the realm of all the good and bad things that happen in the world, however I have to voice my objection to this habit of some women.

I object to being called, by women, mainly in the service industry, endearing names, the most common being honey, hun, dear, deary, sweetie.  Grocery and retail store cashiers, waitresses, even the other day at a fast food drive through, the female voice through the ordering system called me deary.   And these women are always dumbfounded when I ask them nicely, not to refer to me in such a intimate manner.  Simply because they are not in a professional job doesn’t mean they shouldn’t conduct themselves professionally.  I’ve never had a doctor, lawyer, teacher and the like speak to me using these intimate words.

Nor have I ever had a man in any service industry do this (at least not to my face), from mechanics, retail clerks, to bus boys they’ve always treated myself and other women I know with professionalism and respect.  Can you imagine the consequences to a male employee?

So when did it become acceptable for women to do so?  Are their employers/managers not aware or simply ignore this distasteful habit.  

Personal endearments such as these I feel are just that “personal”, something shared between loved ones, such as family members or very close friends.  But not the gal at the service counter, please!

Lobster Trap Live Webcam

To view it live or history
 http://www.novascotiawebcams.com/special/lobster-cam.html

The following is from the CBC "offbeat" news. 

An underwater webcam in a lobster trap in Halifax harbour has been streaming live for the past two weeks, and internet users around the world are taking the bait. 

Ralf Pickart wondered what it would be like to be a lobster, so he set up a lobster trap and attached a webcam.

"People see a perspective they never experienced before and they are not able to experience," Pickart said Thursday. "Nobody is diving for a lobster trap and watching it for several hours."

The webcam is one of 43 across Nova Scotia on Pickart's website, and the lobster cam is by far the most popular.

"I expected that people would like it, it was one of our expectations, but I never expected 14,000 hits just on the first day," Pickart said.

He won't disclose the exact location of the lobster trap, just that it's somewhere in Halifax harbour.

The lobsters won't end up on anybody's plate — they are for entertainment purposes only. Pikart only has an educational licence to catch the lobsters, and must release them.

"We are planning to empty the trap once a week, depending on how crowded it gets," he said.

Along with lobsters living in the trap, there are a few other sea creatures like starfish and sea urchins. Sometimes fish make their way in, too.

For lobster lovers who see the crustaceans as a delicacy, the webcam is good way to whet an appetite.

"I'll be thinking about how delicious they are. That's all I'll be thinking about," Rob Davidson said. "The flavour, the texture."

Salvation Army

I'm not one for supporting what I think of as "religious organizations", however the Salvation Army is the exception.  Not because I'm religious but because of the Salvation Army's enduring commitment to the needs of humanity.

My support began long ago when my dad told me that the Salvation Army was the first organization of people on the battleground in support of our Canadian troops.  Before the Red Cross or any other organization.

My father, was a Veteran of World War II, Princess Patricia Light Infantry, who fought and was wounded in Italy.  He rarely spoke of his experiences during the war at least to his family.  The two things I do recall him speaking of was the mud, the rain and the presence of the Salvation Army.

Because of this, the family have always supported the Salvation Army in as many ways as possible as did dad in his Will, when he passed away several years ago. 

Informative and interesting reading on the history of the Salvation Army in Canada and worldwide.

http://www.salvationarmy.ca/history/

Missy - my girl

I "inherited" Missy from my daughter several years ago when she (my daughter) was moving around the province. Missy was about 10 years old then and is now 17 years old (human years). Naturally she became "my cat" and we're growing old together but like myself once in awhile we each show some spunk and playfulness.

Waiting for dinner

Thanks to Bryan for sending these pictures.

Bears backyard playground

Some people build swimming pools in their back yards, but outdoor pools in Fort McMurray just won't work.

Since this particular family lives on the outskirts of Fort McMurray, they decided to build a sturdy, colorful playground for their 3- and 4-year-old sons, with smooth-stone gravel all around it to avoid knee scrapes and other injuries.

They finished building it on Saturday evening, and the following morning, as mom was about to wake the boys and let them go out to play in their new play centre, this is what she saw from the upstairs window

Great Fishing Story

A friend sent me this great story & photos

Last Saturday morning, my buddy Bo Warren and I were
trolling for stripers in Chesapeake Bay.

We were 1½ miles offshore in about 80 feet of water
contemplating why the fish weren't biting. We looked
back to check our gear and saw something odd in the water.
Was it a seal?
Can't be, we don't have seals around here. On closer
inspection it turned out to be a deer that was WAY off
course.
He was desperate and barely staying afloat. I've seen deer
swim a river or bayou before. When you see that, the first
thing you notice is that they are powerful swimmers.
Their head and shoulders are out of the water and they make
surprisingly good headway.
This critter was just barely keeping his nose up and
looked like he'd been swimming all night . In fact, he was
so worn out that he swam toward the boat probably thinking
it looked like a place to land.

When he got closer though, he wasn't sure what to make of
the dudes on board so he backed off. Since the fish weren't
biting anyway we decided to try and give this buck a hand.

Turns out Bo grew up around cows and was really handy with
the bowline.

He lassoed the deer on the first throw!

Bo grabbed his neck, I grabbed the flank, and we barrelled
over backwards into the boat.
Before I knew it, Bo was on top of him and had him tied up
just like a calf.
We hit the gas and ran him to the closest beach - Kent Point

I beached the boat and we carefully unloaded the deer onto
the sand.

The whole time we kept thinking he was going to kick the
hell out of us. He never did though, he was totally spent.
We
untied him and jumped back. Too weak to stand, he just sat
there quivering.
We even picked him up again and put his feet underneath him,
but he still couldn't walk.

Don't know if he made it or not, but I'm sure his chances
were vastly improved.