Sunday, November 1, 2015

Salute to November ~ 2015

~ A Mosaic of Musings and Ramblings ~

Cars: Why do we love our cars? They get us from Point A to Point B, but also 'move' us other ways. They give us freedom and independence, but also a sense of responsibility. They can be exciting and frustrating. They encourage us to open the hood, pushing us outside our comfort zones; and they inspire us to sing along as we drive. Fun Fact: Prior to the invention of the steering wheel in the early 20th century, the first automobiles were controlled using a lever-like device known as a 'tiller'.

Celebrity Marriage: Not all celebrities marry other celebrities. Matt Damon, an American actor met Luciana when she was working in a bar in Miami, Florida. He was trying to avoid photographers when she found him hiding in the bar. The rest is history. The couple fell in love...got married...and are raising their three children, along with Luciana's daughter from a previous marriage.

Did You Know? Google's Library: Ever wonder how Google can almost always find what you're looking for on the Internet? It's because the website's index has about 60 trillion individual web pages to choose from. This database is roughly 1,000,000,000 gigabytes and constantly growing.
Hot Shot: Professional table tennis players can get into some very heated matches. Balls that are hit just right, can reach speeds of 160 kilometres per hour.

Family Pets: A cat stuck atop a hydro pole for two days has made it down safely thanks to a rare but cliche rescue by the Six Nations Fire Department. Firefighters were dispatched to Second Line Road in Six Nations. It is not the department's policy to rescue cats, but “on occasion when a significant public danger is present, they will.” They feared a community member might attempt the rescue and potentially get electrocuted by the 8,000 volt hydro line. So up went the aerial ladder and down came the cat. On the ground, the cat made a run for it.

A tiny kitten in Lewisham, London, England found itself in gigantic trouble when it stuck its head through the hole of a picnic table. The hole, not meant for a kitten's head, was for the pole of a sun umbrella. A passerby heard distressed mewing and went to investigate. A vet had to be called to sedate the poor kitty, but soon the rescuers were able to remove the boards from the table to free the house pet.

Fire Alert! More fires occur during the cooler months than at any other time during the year. Why? It's because people overlook many potential fire hazards that exist in their home. Overloading extension cords and electrical outlets are primary causes, therefore, know how much they can withstand.
Check cords before use (especially at Christmas time); if damaged, could spark and cause a fire.
Invest in a high quality power bar, then ensuring it can handle the load.
Don't run cords under carpets and rugs...could damage the cord and spark a fire in the rug.
Use the appropriate exterior cords...be sure they are weatherproofed and suitable for intended use.
Use ULC certified cords...ensuring all extension cords are Underwriters Laboratory Canada certified.

International Trivia: Belize is known for its dense forests and pristine beaches. This tropical nation, located south of Mexico is the 'perfect paradise' and is about the size of the state of New Hampshire.

In India a bride ditches man who failed math test at altar! An Indian bride walked out of her wedding ceremony after her groom-to-be failed a simple math question. When he got it wrong, she walked out. The question was, “How much is 15 plus 6?” His answer 17. The groom's parents tried to persuade the bride to return, but she refused, saying that the groom had mislead her about his education. Both families returned all the gifts and jewellery that had been exchanged.

Sweden is home to many canals that are used to connect the city which is built on 14 islands. As well, there are about 60 bridges throughout Stockholm. In summer the city's waterways are busy, but it's also appealing in the winter when the canals freeze over and are used for winter recreational activities such as ice-skate sailing.

Literary Awards: Hamiltonian Award-winning Lawrence Hill and actress Wendy Crewson, also from Hamilton, are among this year's inductees into Canada's Walk of Fame. They will be joined by pop sensation Michael Buble and “Hockey Night in Canada” commentators Don Cherry and Ron MacLean
and rower and Olympic medallist Silken Laumann. The late actor, Lorne Greene, who starred on “Bonanza” and “Battlestar Galactic,” will receive a posthumous honour. Jason Priestly will host the induction ceremony in Toronto on November 7 which will be televised on December17.

Notable Dates: November 1 (Sunday) ~ Daylight Saving Time ends in Canada (except Sask.).
November 1 (Sunday) ~ All Saints' Day (Christianity)
November 2 (Monday) ~ All Souls Day (Catholicism)
November 11 (Wednesday) ~ Remembrance Day
November 15 (Sunday) ~ Canada's First and Largest all-Santa Race in Burlington
and Hamilton's First and Only all-Santa Race.
November 21(Thursday) ~ World Fisheries Day

Remembrance and Recognition: A Leash-Free Park on Hamilton Mountain has been named for Cpl. Nathan Cirillo who, on October 22nd a year ago, was killed while on guard at Ottawa's National War Memorial. A Canadian flag now flutters against the new sign for him in The Meadowlands. Dozens of retrievers, spaniels, terriers, chihuahuas, bulldogs and all kinds of other Heinz 57's howled at the wind at the official opening of the park. In attendance were Cirillo's rescue dogs...Jagger, Kaya and Maya who attended with the family and reservists from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada.

Wildlife: From Frederick, New Brunswick, a boa constrictor named Venus went missing in a residential neighbourhood. It was found a month later laying on someone's lawn...'alive and well'.

From Chilliwack, British Columbia, 'Pear Bear' gets its fill of fruit. The yearling 'pear-loving-black bear has climbed down from its perch, high in the branches of a huge pear tree. The little bruin, dubbed Pear Bear settled in the tree several weeks ago and was gorging on fruit as it fattened up for hibernation. The bear wandered back into the bush last week.

Moose have extremely poor eyesight, but are excellent swimmers. Within days of birth, calves can already swim! Moose dive for food in lakes, often at depths of more than five metres.

The highly anticipated birth of two 'Giant Panda' cubs at Toronto Zoo, is being hailed as a Canadian first. Their mother, Er Shun...who is on loan from China along with a male panda named Da Mao...is showing excellent 'maternal instincts' and has been given time to bond with each cub as they take turns in an incubator. The cubs will live at the zoo for about two years and will likely return to China once they are weaned from Er Shun. She and Da Mao are slated to move to the Calgary Zoo in 2018.

Compiled by Merle Baird-Kerr...October 24, 2015

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