311 Abuse does not Good Neighbours Make

This weeks snowfall has brought out the best and worst in some of us. While some people donned heavy mits and scarves to help their neighbours dig out, others thought it more practical to call 311 and complain about neighbours parking in their spots. Parking Enforcement informed us that this sort of "311 abuse" has been happening with increased frequency and that they are now monitoring all call sources and flagging frequent callers. This week one of our own has called 311 to have his neighbour's vehicle ticketed. Fortunately, the good folks in Traffic and Engineering were alerted and called to get the scoop. They know two things: That Monmouth Road is primarily "street parking" which is aggravated with heavy snow conditions and they know that the 311 caller is a regular. Their suggestion is that we have to be more neighbourly. A novel concept.

The obvious etiquette here is to communicate with your neighbours. If something offends you or if someone is infringing on you in anyway then speak directly to that neighbour in question. Chances are good that he or she will gladly oblige. Calling 311 is just malicious and has no place in such a community where everyone is on a first name basis. It serves no purpose other than to create suspicion and animosity between residents. Thats not what this hood is about. In the mean time, if the given parking conditions on Monmouth Road continue to vex you then try to vent your frustration through a different channel like shoveling the sidewalks in front of your home.

Don't Forget to Shovel Your Sidewalks

We finally have some snow! Don't forget that is is your responsibility to clear the sidewalks in front of your house. You are obligated by law to do so. Please help out so that the mail person and the school children can get through without injury. If you live near a block elder please shovel their walks as well. Just the right thing to do. When your done, you can make all the snow angels you like. Have fun!

Wikipedia Claims Windsor the Mullet Capital of Canada

Yipper...Yeeuw read it right. "The Mullet Capital of Canada". Yup. We dress in all the hand me downs from all Canadian retail chains and we all work at Chrysler's or Ford's. Our women love their pick-up trucks and SUVs and there ain't nuthin like a good Monster truck competition for the whole clan. To see how Wikipedia portrays us to the world follow this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor,_Ontario

How about we edit our Wikipedia description? Please send your comments and ideas to this blog post and we'll construct a new definition here.

Police Department Rubs Massage Parlour the Right Way

OK folks...You now have a green light for getting your massage therapy right here in the hood. According to our councillors the massage parlour was okayed by police and the process was underway for licensing. The funny thing is that the establishment is always closed. Apparently the operation works via call forwarding so you have to call the number on the window sign. Who knows. Maybe it's just what the Old Walkerville BIA needs to spank it into shape. So...Who's first?

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

The good news is that we have put this last frigid week behind us with only a couple of casualties. The bad news is that this weather is going to continue well into next week. Here's some advice on how to make it through without blowing some pipes:

Target areas:

· Pipes and fixtures that have frozen previously
· Exposed pipes in unheated rooms, attics, or crawl spaces
· Pipes running in exterior walls

Reduce the chances of freeze-up:
· Leave cabinet door open to facilitate warmer air's reaching frozen pipes
· Let water trickle from fixtures and make sure the drain remains open and clear if pipes are frozen

If pipes are frozen:
· Open the taps of frozen fixtures to help relieve pressure and reduce the chances of bursting pipes. Be ready to turn them off when the pipes clear.
· Increase temperatures in the home to help warm pipes, especially those in outside walls. The thermostat can be turned up or space heaters can be used to warm individual rooms
· Never apply torch or open flame. Excessive heat in one spot can cause water to boil in the pipe and possibly explode. Leave this practice to a professional.
· Heat may also be applied to pipes by use of rags soaked in hot water or with devices such as hair dryers. Electrical equipment should be used only if you are familiar w/ the needed precautions associated with preventing electrical shock.
Future prevention:
· Insulating pipes provides little protection from freezing. No heat is added to the pipes. The insulation merely slows the rate at which the pipes freeze. It gets messy to work with once its wet and frozen.
· Insulation applied to crawl-space walls; Not the floor! (where a work area makes this possible) will maintain higher temperatures in such places. In addition to providing some protection for pipes here, the floor above will be somewhat warmer & fuel savings will be realized. (Adding insulation to the floor will actually trap condensation and rot your joists and floor)
· If the house is vacant during part of the season, arrange for someone to check it daily for problems.
· Locate the main water supply valve (usually in the basement or utility room). Check the condition of the valve and learn how it operates. Look for rust and corrosion and make sure the valve is functional. If it is not, arrange for necessary repairs.

So keep the hot chocolate in good supply and break out the trivial persuit. A couple more weeks of cold snap is all we have to endure.

It's Colder Than a Witches Patootie

How many ways can you express how cold it is?

It's so cold that even the property taxes are frozen.
"It's so cold my implants are frozen!"
Its so cold that the words came out of our mouth in chunks of ice and we had to fry them to see what we said ...
"It's so cold that when I woke up this morning, I couldn't get my teeth to stop chattering. It was such a struggle, believe me, to put them in my mouth."
"It's so cold that my pipes froze. Not just my windpipe, but also my tailpipe."
It's so cold that I actually feel like listening to Rush Limbaugh. That's how desperate I am for some hot air."
"It's so cold that I found a burglar stuck to my front window. It turns out that my neighbor had spotted the burglar, pulled out a gun, and said, 'Freeze!' And he did!"
It's cold enough to freeze the nuts off a brass monkey.
It's so cold, the snowman came in to warm up.

Got one? Post it here.

FREEZE WARNING!

LET YOUR TAPS DRIP!

A deep freeze is upon us until at least next Saturday. The average temperature is going to be -16 degrees C with a spike on Monday evening of -21 degrees C. A very effective way to keep your water pipes from bursting is to let your faucets drip for the duration of the cold snap. Not so much in the kitchen but certainly in the back washroom and laundry areas. These are the usual areas for frozen pipes and bursts as they are most exposed to the elements. If you have zone valves for your outdoor hose bibs and you haven't closed them off for the winter yet now is the time to do so.

Outside of that...Be sure to have plenty of hot coco and noodle soup on hand. A good book would't hurt either. Have fun!

NEW CO-GENERATION PLANT ON WYANDOTTE

This is the architectural rendering of what the proposed co-generation plant could look like as viewed from Wyandotte. It is going to be built next to the current Ford unit on Wyandotte just east of Droullard Road. The good news is that this concept doesn't look bad. The not so good news is that there is no commitment to this design. In fact, there is serious talk that, if possible, they would prefer to build a plant similar to the Brighton Beach Monster in the west end. Looks like an oil refinery. Ugly, ugly! Certainly does not belong in the City's core. That is why they are holding the above rendering close to the chest. It has not been made public and you won't find it on any web site. The wait to be seen news is how clean and quiet it is going to be. Hopefully silent compared to the existing Ford Casting plant which is slated for shut down some time in 2008. (You can hear the casting plant humming well beyond Parent Avenue). Keep your eyes on the news about this one.
Rendering obtained from the open house.