Just Another Day

Well, that is not completely right. The weather just seems so strange these days. I remember seeing a story earlier in the year which said that the Weather Group could not this year give accurate weather forecasting in the summer. I thought that was rather peculiar. 

However, given what I have been experiencing, is that ever right!  Take July 16, the day that I am starting to write some stories for you, dear reader. I remember seeing the weather prediction saying that it was going to rain starting early in the morning. It didn't. It then said to expect rain at 1 PM. That didn't happen. Just looking again, starting at 3 PM, the prediction was that it was going to rain from 3 PM to 7 PM. We'll see if that happens.  [Not a drop in my area at all!] 

This weather uncertainty does seem to happen quite a bit this year. It really does not impact me all that much but I can just imagine what it does to people who are trying to decide what they should do on a specific day. I am sure that a lot of people have planned all kinds of outdoor experiences but now have to figure out whether to do them or not. How frustrating it must be to make a decision not to go out but to stay at home and then find out that this was another mistake made this year because of the change in condition of the weather. I am sure that it is even more frustrating for the Weather people who just do not seem to be able to predict properly about what is really going to happen on a specific day. 

In any event, with all of this strange future for our weather, it does make sense for me to remain inside at home and write some stories that I can post on my Website which I hope you will find interesting, dear reader. 

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO DAG HAMMARSKJOLD 

I do not know how much you know about Dag Hammarskjold, the U.N. Secretary General, who died in an airplane crash 56 years ago. Given my age, I happen to remember some things, but not much, about him when he was in his job. I may have known about how he died back then but I have to admit that when I saw a news story the other day that mentioned it I could not remember it. 

The story itself is absolutely shocking. As far as I was concerned, I could hardly see how it could take place in real life. You must read this story in the New York Times: 

"After 56 years and many investigations, there is new hope that secrets lurking in Western intelligence archives could solve the biggest whodunit in United Nations history: the mysterious death of Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold. 

Mr. Hammarskjold, an iconic Swedish diplomat who was the second secretary general of the world body, died with 15 others when their plane, a chartered DC-6, crashed just after midnight on Sept. 18, 1961, minutes from its destination: an airfield in Ndola, in what was then the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia and is now Zambia. 

The three official inquiries that immediately followed suggested pilot error was the cause, but the third of the reports, by the United Nations Commission of Investigation in 1962, said sabotage could not be ruled out. That possibility helped feed suspicions and conspiracy theories that Mr. Hammarskjold, 56 at the time of his death, had been assassinated. 

Since then, independent investigators and academics have spent years collecting and scrutinizing evidence that had been dismissed or suppressed, bolstering the theory of foul play. In her 2011 book “Who Killed Hammarskjold?,” Susan Williams, a University of London scholar of African decolonization, concluded that “whatever the details, his death was almost certainly the result of a sinister intervention.” (Alan Cowell and RickGladstone, New York Times, July 15, 2017)  

You really do need to read the story. It is absolutely fascinating and completely shocking about what may have happened to this man. Seriously, would such negative action ever take place in real life and who would dare authorize it? Will this information be given out so that the public can finally learn what really happened and why: 

"But senior United Nations officials and other associates of Mr. Othman said he had compiled detailed new questions about intercepted radio communications and other aircraft in the area as Mr. Hammarskjold’s plane went down eight miles from Ndola’s airfield — and that the answers may be found in the intelligence archives of the United States, Britain and Belgium. 

"We know from available information that they know much more than what they’re saying,” said one of the senior United Nations officials, referring to the government keepers of those archives." 

The obvious questions are what is being hidden and why. Are Government Officials completely afraid to release anything because it may lead to something completely hideous? 

Who knows what the answer will be or what other questions may arise that need final resolution! It will be interesting to see what comes out in a new report from the person who has been investigating this matter once again recently.  

Just between us, dear reader, I really do not expect a lot to come out that might embarrass some Governments, organizations or even individuals.  It just will not be allowed to happen will it! Does anyone really believe that damaging information has not been destroyed a long time ago. 

WEATHER DESTRUCTION 

Isn't it amazing what is happening in our world! Here is just one fascinating example: 

"Massive Iceberg Breaks Off from Antarctica 

An iceberg about the size of the state of Delaware split off from Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf sometime between July 10 and July 12… 

“The Antarctic Peninsula has been one of the fastest warming places on the planet throughout the latter half of the 20th century. This warming has driven really profound environmental changes, including the collapse of Larsen A and B,” McGrath said. “But with the rift on Larsen C, we haven’t made a direct connection with the warming climate. Still, there are definitely mechanisms by which this rift could be linked to climate change, most notably through warmer ocean waters eating away at the base of the shelf." (NASA.Gov,  July12, 2017)  

While experts cannot attribute the breakage to weather matters so far, it will not surprise me if the experts' opinion changes as more studies are undertaken. 

I have lived through a few strange weather matters in the years I have been around. As an example, I lived in Toronto when Hurricane Hazel hit in October, 1954 but I honestly have to admit that I do not remember any significant damage being done in the area in which I lived.  I also do not remember any really horrific weather that hit me or my family at any time of the year while I lived in Toronto. 

Moving to Windsor, I was reluctant to buy a house on the Riverfront because of what I thought could happen if bad weather hit. However I have to admit that I hardly saw any of it here at any time of the calendar year.  Not until recently to be precise. 

For the first time, last year, rainwater flooded my house. I was now living in Tecumseh. In a huge storm, we had several inches of water flow in that immediately flooded our basement causing thousands of dollars in damages. Fortunately, the damage was not horrific. Because of the insurance that we had, there was enough money available to fix up our house and to pay for new furniture in a very short period of time. 

Could it be that we are entering a new stage in how Planet Earth will be acting for a number of years? Think about this as an example. Take a look at this story about what is happening to Centre Island in Toronto: 

"The problem over on Ward’s, Algonquin and even Centre Island is, it changes by the hour. On Thursday as the rain fell, more and more sidewalks turned into rivers and more and more pools turned into mini lakes. 

“Who knows what it’s going to look like on the weekend, with all the rain coming into the lake from the rivers and creeks,” she said. 

It’s a minute-by-minute situation. Just when they get some water pumped out of areas that are flooding crawl spaces, a wind will come up and move more water in. 

Just when they get a sandbag wall fortified, the water finds a way over it. 

“We are at a tipping point,” Cliffe said." (JoeWarmington, TorontoSun, May 25, 2017)  

It is not that much better in our area. Do you remember how long we were having water problems here because of the lack of water? Well, that is not happening now is it: 

"Holiday Beach disappearing as water levels rise 

Conservation officials warned Thursday that the encroaching lake and disappearing shoreline at Holiday Beach are harbingers of a more devastating problem than losing a place to suntan. 

The Essex Region Conservation Authority said high lake levels — thanks to increased precipitation that also caused flooding on the Toronto Islands and receding shorelines on Lake Huron — have eaten away at Holiday Beach. 

Tim Byrne, ERCA’s director of Watershed Management Services, said it’s one symptom of a widespread issue as lake levels continue to rise. 

The conservation area’s beach has all but disappeared and will never fully return. Private breakwalls on shorelines throughout Essex County are in danger of crumbling and there has been $1.7 million in damage to breakwalls on Pelee Island." (TrevorWilhelm, Windsor Star, July 13, 2017)  

To be honest, I pray that this terrible weather ends soon and we go back to the "normalcy" that I have experienced for so long. 

"ON BUDGET"  

Wow, this is amazing isn't it on the construction price for Windsor's new City Hall costs:  

"Construction of Windsor’s new $43.9-million city hall is on budget and on schedule for occupancy in May 2018, city engineer Mark Winterton said Tuesday. 

“Everything is going very well for an extremely complicated project,” said Winterton, who said the project, which started a year ago, is starting to look like a building." (Brian Cross, Windsor Star, July 11,2017)  

I must admit though that I wonder how this is being accomplished.  Here might be one way that it is being done: 

"There’s not a lot of bells and whistles on this project,” Winterton said. "Things that need to get done get done, but things that are the nice-to-haves we’ve been very diligent deferring." 

Hmmm.  I wonder what some of the "nice-to-haves" are and when will they put in. It also would be interesting to see how the budget amounts are being resolved so that the amount that has to be paid out is not exceeded. 

SNOUT HOUSE 

Here is a Wikipedia definition for this term: 

"A snout house is a house with a protruding garage that takes up most of the street frontage." 

It appears to me to be a very pejorative term that is being used for a type of housing that some government people just do not like. There seems to be a dispute now between builders and Windsor City planning employees: 

"Habib also refuted a claim in the report that snout houses deaden a neighbourhood, pushing all activities to the back. 

“On our streets, our customers are always hanging out in the front,” he said, painting a picture of people moving couches and TVs into their garages.  

City planners cited concerns about the safety of snout houses, with blocked views of their entranceways and reduced visibility of the street from their front windows. They also claimed that, in the worst cases, snout houses create streetscapes resembling walled fortresses. 

They recommended: discouraging snout houses in new developments; banning them in the new Sandwich South area of farmland slated for development south of the airport; and studying the “advisability” of banning them throughout the city or in certain areas." (Brian Cross, Windsor Star,  July 11, 2017)  

I happen to live in a "snout house" as the new home that our family purchased in Tecumseh. All the homes on both sides of the street that I live on are this type of residence as well as a number of other homes nearby.  I have to admit that I disagree with City planners about their concerns. I happen to like it here. I go for walks every day around the neighbourhood and see many of my neighbours who sit around their houses either on the front porch or in the open garage areas. They do not seem to be too concerned considering that the inside of their building in square footage is quite large for an attached townhouse probably because of the way their homes are now built. 

I saw this interesting comment which supports the building of these types of  homes: 

"Ben Klundert is president of home builder BK Cornerstone. He's also a past-president of the Windsor Essex Home Builders Association and has constructed houses for 37 years. 

He concedes that snout houses are not the most aesthetically pleasing configuration, but explained developers build them as a way to balance government and consumer demand for affordable housing with the strong desire for two-car garages. 

"We don't create demand, we act on demand. If people are telling us they want a two-car garage on a small lot, we try to find ways to do it that are affordable," he said. 

"If the appearance isn't the greatest or it if creates a safety hazard — and the homeowner seems to be okay with it — I don't know where the problem is." (CBC News, July 6, 2017)  

It seems to be primarily municipal planners who do not like this kind of structure.  Accordingly, it will be interesting to see what politicians will do if an application is brought to prevent them from being built in the future.