"H" is for: Hiking This Summer

Last summer I did not get out on a good overnight hiking adventure at all!

To make up for it this year, me and my friend Harold have set aside a full week in August for an epic journey through Willmore Wilderness area on an 80km (we think) odyssey that will begin at Rock Lake Provincial Park and end at Grande Cache, Alberta.

"N" is for: New Ace Doubles!

Put in a random bid on EBay and won a couple more Ace Doubles for my collection. Normally I don't like to buy them off EBay because it just seems too easy. What I do is just put in a low bid and the price with shipping cannot be more than $5.00 per book.

In this case I was caught by the fact that one of these is a Philip K Dick story and quite often they sell at higher prices. Suffice to say this one will not. When I got it a whole bunch of the pages had fallen out and were shoved back in, upside down and out of order. I'll never read this one it is just too fragile. On the bright side, the cover is in pretty good condition and that is what the big attraction is to me anyway.

If you haven't checked out my other pages on the site devoted to my expanding book collection, please look at the tab above. If you have any of these Ace books or know someone who wants to get rid of some, please let me know as I would be interested!

 

 

 

"J" is for: Jasper Trip

Just got back from a two day trip to Jasper, Alberta. We decided to come down here for a couple of days to get away from Grande Prairie and take a little break from things. Unfortunately as we got closer to the park, the clouds rolled in and we were under a fairly steady stream of rain and snow the entire time. We did manage a short trip down the Icefields Parkway to Athabasca Falls but other than that most of the key sights are still closed for the winter.

Athabasca Falls was a nice little trip and seeing it at this time of year with the snow and ice was very beautiful. The trails were a still snow and ice covered so I would recommend ice cleats and hiking poles if you go at this time of year. We didn't have them and though we could see everything it made some of the trail a bit treacherous.

That being said the restaurants and pubs are open so instead of blowing our money on tram rides and so on we were able to enjoy the dining instead!

"G" is for: George Orwell's 1984

"In America you watch television. In Soviet Russia television watches you!" - Yakov Smirnoff

George Orwell's book "1984" is one of those classics that I turn to every couple of years or so. It is too easy to take the book originally written in 1949 and then see how it applies to modern times. People have been doing it since, well, 1984 for sure!

The book introduced the idea of "telescreens" that were located practically everywhere including inside your own home. The screens could not be turned off and would spout off an endless supply of propaganda. In today's society it would seem you cannot go anywhere without some kind of screen being present whether it is a restaurant or even the food court at the mall, there is a television there. The rest of your time is spent looking at small screens on your computer or mobile device. I guess the only difference between us and Winston Smith is that our screens are not watching us (at least I don't think so!).

"I" is for: Images of War

 

It was 20 years ago this month that the war in the Balkans began. I did three tours in the former Yugoslavia between October of 1992 and October 1994. The first two were spent in various parts of Croatia with 3 and 2 battalion PPCLI. My final tour was in Bosnia with 1 PPCLI.

"C" is for: Croatia 1993

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the Balkan War. I was deployed to Daruvar Croatia in September of 1992 on the second rotation to the Former Yugoslavia. The Canadian contingent had moved from Sarajevo, Bosnia and set up a camp in Croatia in the disputed areas. The Van Doos were the outfit we replaced. I spent 6 months there with 3 PPCLI and then when my tour was finished they were looking for volunteers to stay behind with our replacements 2 PPCLI. I decided to stay as at the time I was single, had no commitments in Canada and to tell you the truth, I loved being overseas and doing what I thought was real work as opposed to running around Wainwright and playing war. On top of that I was making an extra $1000 a month!/p pI was in 12 Platoon D Company and part of the platoon headquarters group. I primarily drove an M-113 armoured personnel carrier, but I also had been a resupply driver on my first tour, driving a "deuce and a half" all over the DMZ. I also took part in roadside checks, patrols and a few raids on Serbian or Croatian locations to capture weapons and so on.

"B" Is for Books

I began the year with a commitment to read more and so far I would say I am not doing too bad. I was going to read one fiction or online short story and then one non-fiction book. I am not sure how the non-fiction will progress but we will see. To this point I have read the following:

• The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (fiction)


• Gretzky's Tears - Stephen Brunt (non-fiction)


• A War of Gifts - Orson Scott Card (fiction short story)


• The Hammer of God - Arthur C. Clarke (Lightspeed Magazine) (fiction short story)


• Steve Jobs - Walter Isaccson (non-fiction)

I am halfway through 1984 by George Orwell as my current fiction novel. I have read this one a number of times but I like to come back to it every couple of years.

I do not have a non-fiction lined up yet, though I have Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson on the shelf.

Not too bad for the beginning of April!

"A" is for: A to Z Blogging Challenge 2012

I'm not going to officially enter this contest this year but I am going to try do it on my own. The way I see it there are 26 letters in the alphabet and 30 days in "A"pril, so here is my first post albeit one day late, that leaves me room for three other missed days.

Maybe I can make up a letter or two along the way.

Come "A"long for the ride!