Canada
Summer Solstice - Edmonton Alberta
I like to take a couple of pictures late in the day on the first day of summer just to show the amount of daylight we have on the longest day of the year. These two pictures were taken hand-held and with no other lighting.
The first picture was taken looking East on Stony Plain Road and [...]
Today is Victoria Day
Today is celebrated at Victoria Day in Canada -Fête de la Reine in Quebec. The holiday was first established to celebrate the birthday of Queen Victoria (see below).
These days people refer to it as the May long weekend. It is now primarily celebrated as the start of the camping season or the weekend to start [...]
NowPublic.com: The News is Now Public
I’ve been attending the 2007 Alberta H.R. Conference for the past couple of days, listening to a clutch of speakers and presenters. This morning’s keynote speaker was Leonard Brody covering the effect…
Snow Snow Go Away
It is snowing again in Edmonton. We have had snow in each of the past seven months. We’ve had snow on the ground for 158 days. That’s about three weeks shy of six months of snow.
For those of you who think Canada is one great Arctic wasteland where everyone lives in igloos, it’s beginning to feel [...]
Top 5 Posts for February 2007
These were the five most visit posts last month at Ian’s Messy Desk:
The Greatest Canadian Invention: from the CBC television special.
Free Canadian Personal Income Tax Software: It’s that time of year and people are looking for free software to help with their income tax returns.
Free Global Television Shows Online: Catch Global programming on-line.
Mind Map Online [...]
The Funny Names of Saskatchewan Towns
I’m sure every region in North America has its share of communities with odd names. The Canadian province of Saskatchewan seems to have more than most. Here’s a local reading a list of a few of them. Having split a dozen years between Prince Albert, Saskatoon and Tisdale, I know where most of these towns [...]
Would-be Quebec thief electrocuted during hydro tower copper heist
The sounds like one for the Darwin awards.
A would-be thief is dead after breaking into a Hydro-Quebec tower to steal valuable copper wire.
The man in his 40s was electrocuted when he cut the electrical wires atop the tower in the north end of Montreal.
Macleans.ca – Would-be Quebec thief electrocuted during hydro tower copper heist
The Greatest Canadian Invention
Did you know that the light bulb is a Canadian invention? Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans patented the first electric light bulb and tested it in Montreal. They then sold the patent to Thomas Edison. Great inventors, not so great businessmen.
Tonight the CBC will be airing a two-hour special on the greatest Canadian invention. The [...]
Boxing Day
Today is Boxing Day, a public holiday celebrated in the U.K. and most Commonwealth countries, including Canada. For tens of thousands of Canadians, Boxing Day will be a shopping frenzy, trying to snap up the post-Christmas bargains on those items they feel they should have received yesterday.
I prefer to spend Boxing Day as a quiet cap [...]
A Message From Commissioner M. Christine MacMillan
December 2006
I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your family all the best during this wonderful Christmas season.
It’s been an exciting year that has been full of change and prosperity. Recent reports show that the Canadian economy is ranked by many as one of the best in the world and the [...]
