Mark Twain's comments...

Mark Twain, from "An Innocent Abroad". He was much moved by the "statuary" made by pouring plaster into the voids created by the bodies dissolving away in the hot packed ash....

"But perhaps the most poetical thing Pompeii has yielded to modern research, was that grand figure of a Roman soldier, clad in complete armor; who, true to his duty, true to his proud name of a soldier of Rome, and full of the stern courage which had given to that name its glory, stood to his post by the city gate, erect and unflinching, till the hell that raged around him burned out the dauntless spirit it could not conquer. We never read of Pompeii but we think of that soldier; we cannot write of Pompeii without the natural impulse to grant to him the mention he so well deserves. Let us remember that he was a soldier -- not a policeman -- and so, praise him. Being a soldier, he stayed, -- because the warrior instinct forbade him to fly. Had he been a policeman he would have stayed, also --because he would have been asleep."

Auctions and Armours

Took a thousand bucks worth of customers orders across the border Friday morning. The more I do this, the more I think I should just move my operation South of the Border, in around the Thousand Islands. Looks like more than 90% of my product moves to the US. And I see a couple of nice factories lying empty in the Rust Belt along the St. Lawrence. Well, that is just speculation. A couple of lads from the University of Potsdam asked me if I would do demos, and possibly even teach a class like I do here in Ottawa on sword fighting and/or armour and sword making. A few minutes at the border chatting with the immigration officials showed clearly that I have a huge amount of paperwork involved if I was foolish enough to want to work in the US without planning to become a citizen, and even more if I was planning to become a citizen. The guy told me if I want to do a demo at a college in the US, it would be no problem providing that I am invited (show the invite....) and that I don't work for money. Expenses are okay...but salary is right out. So out of curiosity, I just asked what would be the difficulties involved in moving my sales booth from Toronto (where the festival has been shut down) to Stirling (which has an excellent festival). The list of paperwork involved started growing again! He as much as told me that I need a US citizen as the "front man" to "own" the business and that I would have to operate it by remote control. I could be there to look over the investment just like any tourist, but I can't actually work there. Right! We all know that businesses run themselves...grin! And what about running a factory in Ogdensburg? Clearly he was torn between the idea of foreign investment employing his neighbours and the letter of the law, but the up shot was "do the paperwork". If it is a good business, the paperwork will be just a minor "cost of doing business". At least is wasn't shady like so many border businesses!
Ah well...food for thought. I think I shall simply build shops here in Metcalfe until the neighbours start to complain....I bought the adjacent lot, the back lot, and I see that the church property next door has just come up for sale....Hmmmmmmmmm. Brenda says "don't buy it". I say, hmmmmmm. its land...they arn't making it any more.... Besides, it goes UP in value, not like our tech stocks...grin! Hey, maybe they are going to make it into a parking lot. If so, it would be about time.
So, hit the auction on the way home last night. Lots and lots of stuff. I left after 5 hours and 75 dollars. There were several pieces of furniture which I liked the looks of, but could not justify hanging about until after midnight. I notice that cleverly, he has put some of the fine items like Hummel figurines into display cases. Guess he was getting tired of them walking out under their own steam. Well, enough of this...Perhaps I can convince Zanth to pick up the priests' house next door....we need a hard drinking deamon to dispell the odor of sanctity which wafts over the back yard from time to time.

Buying a car!

Forgot how much I detest the average gold bracelet wearing used car dealer. Not personally, you understand, but as a trade....they make me feel like a turkey being measured up by the farmer just before Thanksgiving. Though supposedly in the same business, I am sure I project the same vibes.
The old Aerostar is getting long in the tooth (shiny in the treads?) and Brenda and I have been checking out new and used cars. Now that the Ren Faire has become deceased, we may not need a bigger van. Perhaps a truck to tow a trailer would be better? Perhaps a station wagon with a trailer hitch? Perhaps suck back and look at the actual usage a car will get in the next couple of years? (Like how can you know?)
Anyway, looks like it is keeping Brenda happily buried away in Lemon-aid and other publications. Here is what a vehicle buying site had to say about the role the sound of a horn plays in the buying process....

Ford Mondeo: "Strong and assertive"
Honda S200: "Penetrating and aggressive"
Mercedes CLK: "Tense and rough"
Renault Clio: "Very loud and quite aggressive"
Vauxhall Corsa: "Strong and piercing"
Audi TT Quatro: "Perhaps just a shade too quiet"
Citroën Xsara Picasso: "A fairly thin and weak sound"
Fiat Multipla: "Low loudness and pitch levels"
Renault Scenic: "Assertive without being shrill"
Renault Laguna: "A somewhat thin and weak sound"

Maybe pretty blue rubber tires is next......grin!

Jellyfish, and sea urchins, oh my!

Well, we all got into the water just off the breakwater for the Malta to Gozo ferry boat. Bubbles catching the sunlight, breathing under water...little blue and yellow curious anchovies checking us out! Our wet suits were incredibly hard to get in and out of...but I am told that is the way it is. Once they were on, you didn't know they were there, except of course that they are very warm! Good to get under the water before I roasted! They were comfortable even in the wind and spray of a 15 degree Celsius day! (50 degrees F.) Once I was in the water though, they were very welcome. Every once in a while a trickle of water (same temp as the air!) would find its way in and slide down my back, feeling like an ice cube being drawn down it!
Is it ever salty! Even saltier than the North Atlantic!
All the things you have to think about kept my mind off the weather. Its hard to get that tank to stay on tight! Weights are so heavy until you are under the water, then we are scrouging rocks from the bottom to help you stay down! The suit is made from what looks like mouse pad material, and it crushes as you go down, so you float a lot less when you are at depth. I used a LOT of weight.
Somewhere along the line, I started to have fun! Anton, our Dive Master was very patient. The nice thing about diving in Malta in the winter time is that there are not very many tourists, and we had him all to ourselves! The extra attention made what could have been a miserable experience into a superb experience, worth every penny!
The second dive after lunch was a little rougher....my first breath from the regulator that morning had dislodged a lot of very fine salt dust, which got taken right down to the bottom of my lungs. Yup, you CAN cough under water... The Jelly Fish were really thich though...it looked like a scene from Finding Nemo.... Most of them were just tiny little things maybe an inch across, light yellow. Very pretty. The bigger white ones were much more scary....I got a couple of lines of venom across my hand as I pushed through the crowd. Not so bad...and no worse than hot drill shavings off my drill press in the shop. We went home that evening, went to bed at 7 and slept for 12 hours!
Then the storm blew in, which put paid to our diving. Still two dives to go to get certified. I figure I could get into the water all right, play around under it for as long as I would like, but getting out would be tricky. Maybe bang my head, or possibly damage those nice wet suits. If it was on sand, or off a boat, maybe...but those rocky reefs were a little scary.

Big Guns!

Today I got to fire a 8 inch black powder howitzer. Admittedly, I had to pay for the priviledge, but hey, it was cheap at twice the price. I was up at the Rinella Gun Battery where the 100 ton cannon is, and they have a howitzer all set up. They have to keep pointing it in different directions because the blast scares the horses stabled in the area. Oh well. Shot by shot, the dollars will roll in, and they will be able to afford some more repairs.
A nice day, roughly 50 degrees Farenheight all day. Clear and sunny. I do believe I picked up a sunburn!
My friend Mila and I poked around fort St. Angelo this morning. It is a stunning fort...much in demand by many different groups. You can see pictures of all these places, and the big gun on my web site....www.southtower.on.ca, in the Library.
Had a lovely dinner in Mosta, at the Tal Koppola. The best desserts in Malta, in my opinion. And now I can say that I have found Maltese food I actually like...the rabbit in Spagetti was superb. The pizza (three cheese...mozzarella, blue and goat cheese) was well spiced, and sprinkled with sesame seeds. A pleasant change from the usual North American napalm on a crust. The water at 4 bucks a litre came from Scotland, and was a good choice...normally of course I would have had a "Kinnie" (as soft drink that tastes like a cross between a coke and a jar of marmalade...no, don't think too long about it...the result actually is great) or a cisk beer (good and cold Martyr!) but water was best.
Mila is enjoying herself, and is finally un-jet lagged. We moved to a larger room with a spare bedroom for her, and she seems happy. I think her back is still aching from one of the Layland busses which dropped into a hole whilst we were traveling through the "three cities".
Carnival is still on...kind of cute seeing all the kids in costume. Sort of like Halloween back home, but for the whole weekend.
Regards from Malta.

Sunny and warm

Well, finally the weather broke. Guess I shouldn't complain, they had snow in Rome! Malta got off lucky. Visited the Wigancourt Tower and the Red Tower today....worth blowing off a morning! The view from the Red Tower is priceless! Gozo over there...the bay with its sandy beach down there...pity the water is too cold to swim in. I am such a wimp, when I was a kid I used to swim in Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, and the water was 60 degrees...and I would play in it all day. Thats about 15 C, which of course, is the temp of the water in St Paul's Bay. I do remember my mother mentioning that my fingernails would turn blue though. But then, I was a kid then. I didn't know everything until I was a teen ager, at which time of course I left home. Now that I am a crotchety old phart, again, I know everything, and of course, again, I have left home. There seems to be a pattern here...this hotel is FILLED with crotchety old pharts, all of whom know everything...just ask them.
Tonight is Carnival in Valetta! Sort of a Mardi Gras. Lots of kids in costumes...it was great fun! Music was, well, LOUD and eclectic. Eclectic...a fancy word meaning they didn't know what was coming next. But dancing in the streets is not such a bad thing.
Regards from a slightly drunk Yusef.