What Would Maggie Think?

Barack Obama has been advocating for a woman to appear on the US ten dollar bill.  In last night's Republican candidate debate Jeb Bush suggested Margaret Thatcher.  It makes me wonder what she'd think.  No, not what she'd think of her face being on the bill.  She would have loved that.  No, I wonder what she'd think of the current batch of candidates.  I wouldn't be surprised if she thought they were a bunch of clowns.  Whether she'd say it in public is another question.

Mmmm, Roast Beef Sandwich.

So, did I make you hungry?  I just had one, with the best kind of roast beef, the home made kind.

Breakaway+16+40.

Another year has gone by, and once more it's Breakaway Day.  On this day 16 years ago a massive explosion of Nuclear Disposal Area 2, on the Moon's far side, sent the Moon out of Earth's orbit, flinging it into deep space.  For the survivors on Moonbase Alpha it was the beginning of a journey across the Universe.

In our world this year also marks the fortieth anniversary of Space: 1999 hitting TV screens in the UK and elsewhere.  For those of us who saw the show when it was new it's weird to think we first saw it that long ago.  At the time it was the only new science fiction TV series set in space, its contemporaries such as The Six Million Dollar Man and The Invisible Man being set primarily or entirely on Earth. 

Space: 1999 was created in an era when the possibilities for manned space exploration seemed huge.  Men had landed on the Moon, Skylab was active, and plans were in the works for the joint Soviet-American Apollo-Soyuz mission.  So it's no surprise that the series envisioned manned spaceflights to the outer Solar System in the mid '80s and '90s, and a manned base on the Moon.  Years later Gerry Anderson would admit he was overly optimistic in setting the show in 1999, but everyone else was thinking the same kind of things as well.  Of course we would have a base on the Moon soon.  Unfortunately for everyone space travel in the real world proved a lot more complicated than it did on TV.

As with everything else fandoms for television have changed a lot in that forty years.  It's funny to think of how fandom then was pretty much entirely based around printed material, including whatever licensed material was released in connection with a series, articles in commercial publications and newspapers, and fan publications exchanged between local fans or sent by mail.   By modern standards the amount available was generally quite limited, and it often took weeks or even months for news to reach fans.  Things like fan art and fanfiction existed, but distribution was limited to the small publishing runs of whatever fan publication it was submitted to. 

I watched "Breakaway" tonight on a Sony Walkman.  No, the tiny screen isn't an optimal way to watch a TV episode, but it seemed appropriate to watch it on something that would have seemed amazingly high tech and exciting to the 8 year old version of me who watched the series in 1975 and 1976, a gizmo that could have been lifted right from the set of the show itself.  (Well, perhaps if it was beige plastic, not the lovely wine colour mine is.)  Even being able to watch an episode whenever you want would have seemed exciting in an era before people owned VCRs to record things, and before commercially released TV episodes existed.  That's of course one of the greatest changes from the mid '70s, the instant access to programs and information we have.  And of course it's something that isn't reflected at all in the series. But hey, most other science fiction of the '70s didn't get it right either.

Gas In Saskatoon, September 11, 2015.

Gas prices have dropped below the dollar mark, albeit barely.  Gas in Saskatoon is now 99.4 cents a litre at most locations.

Toronto Isn't Canada.

Look around and you'll see a bunch of "Today is the first day of school in Canada" stuff, such as newspaper articles and a banner for Google's Canadian users.  That may be the case in Toronto, but it isn't everywhere in Canada.  In Saskatoon for example public school classes for grade school and high school kids started September 1.  Remember, Toronto isn't the centre of the Universe, or Canada.

Riders Win.

Finally.  It seemed at times so far this season they might never win.  They played well, better than they'd played in a good while, and the number of penalties Winnipeg received didn't hurt.  And the funny thing is, with 8 games left in the season, the Riders could still make the playoffs.  It seems unlikely, but weirder things have happened.

Byebye Retro, Hello CN Canada.

I've never watched Teletoon Retro, their channel for old cartoons, much.  So I was surprised to see it listed as "Off Air" on my Shaw cable box this morning.  But programming was running when I turned to the channel.  It turns out that Corus, the owner of Teletoon Retro, has folded the channel in favour of Cartoon Network Canada. CN Canada hadn't been previously available from some major Canadian providers, such as Shaw and Rogers, for reasons known only to them.  Teletoon Retro had wider carriage, so replacing it with CN Canada instantly increased the latter's coverage.  So if you've been waiting for CN Canada to appear on your cable package check out your local listings.  It should be noted that some systems have had Teletoon Retro replaced with Corus's new Disney Channel Canada.

First Out.

Condolences to Cincinnati Reds fans.  The Reds unfortunately became the first MLB team eliminated from winning their division.  It's going to be a long month for you guys.  The Brewers will probably be joining the crowd within the next day or two.  Both teams are technically still in contention for the wildcard, but that door too is getting pretty close to closing. 

Drive A Little Slow.

It's September 1, so don't forget that school speed zones are now in effect in Saskatoon Monday to Friday.  So when you see those signs slow to 30 kilometers an hour.  An added incentive to slow down is that some school zones, such as the one along Konihowski Road, have photo radar equipment.  So you can get a ticket even without cops being on the scene.  So those few seconds you think you'll save by ignoring the signs could be quite expensive.

And do you really want to risk hitting a kid?

Gas In Saskatoon, August 29, 2015.

Yep, I'm a day late.  But I wanted to get this in, since this is the last weekend of the month.  This week saw several drops in the price of gas.  The final drop left us with a price of 103.9 cents a litre at most locations.  Definitely an improvement over the 124.9 cents a litre it had reached earlier this month.

Gas In Saskatoon, August 21, 2015.

There was a bit of relief for Saskatoon drivers this week.  Gas in Saskatoon dropped to 118.9 cents a litre at most locations.  It will be interesting to see if the large jump up earlier this month boosts Canada's inflation rate for August.

Get Well, John.

Former Blue Jays and current Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell has announced he has stage one lymphoma.  This is good news for very bad news, as this means his cancer has been caught early and hence is highly treatable.  Here's hoping he gets well soon.  In his absence Torey Lovullo will be interim manager.

Brendan Ryan's Moustache.

With the Jays playing the Yankees twice within the span of a week I've been exposed to the moustache of Yankees player Brendan Ryan.  Does anyone find it makes them think of the moustache Yankee great Don Mattingly used to have?  Ryan looks like he could have stepped out of a '80s baseball card. 

Gas In Saskatoon, August 14, 2015.

Saskatoon drivers got a rather unpleasant surprise this week.  The price of gas jumped from 108.9 cents a litre at most locations to 124.9 cents a litre.  Yep, a jump of 16 cents a litre.  The price increase is being blamed on a partial shutdown of an Indiana refinery, despite the fact none of our gas comes from Indiana. 

Blue Jays In First.

It's really nice to be able to say and write that.

Thank You, Cleveland Indians.

Because of you the Jays are now half a game behind the Yankees for the lead in the American League East.  Do us a favour and beat them again tonight.

While we're talking, you probably should consider changing your name one of these days.

Subpar Sunday Sundae.

Last night I had some food from Burger King for supper.(Cue someone's overwrought gasp of horror.)  I decided to get a caramel sundae to go with it.  I'm afraid I have to give it a thumbs down.  The ice cream(or perhaps to be technically accurate, soft serve) was alright,  but the caramel sauce largely sank to the bottom of the cup, and it tasted bland.  It definitely comes in a very poor second to McDonald's version of the same product, and I won't be ordering one again.

Broom, Broom.

The Blue Jays have just swept the Yankees.  This comes after they swept the Minnesota Twins in a four game series, something they've never done before.  The Yankees managed to score a grand total of one run against the Jays in this series.  The Jays are now a game and a half behind the Yankees for the lead in the American League East.  Pretty wild, pretty wonderful.

It sure makes up for how badly the Saskatchewan Roughriders are playing if you're a fan of both teams.

Power Shortage.

It seems I need to have some 9 volt batteries around.  I accidently drained the one in my guitar tuner, and when I starting pulling them out of my other guitar gear I found most of them were dead or dying.  I managed to find one that isn't dead, but now I need several replacements.  Most of them can be powered by AC power, but a few are battery only, and using batteries is sometimes just convenient.

"Pet Parents."

Who came up with that silly phrase?  No, you're not the parents of a dog or cat.  Unless you're secretly a dog or cat masquerading as a human being.  So don't call yourself a pet parent.