Get on the GO

Last Thursday I took the Girls to the CNE (Seperate post on that) and we took the GO Train in. It was an amazingly smooth ride. It's a pity that ridership numbers (and the CN) do not justify or allow for all day services. We had to take the GO bus back in to Brampton and was stuck on the 427 for 45 minutes on account of construction. However the sheer luxury of the seats more than made up for the delay.

The LINK - GTAA Terminal Train

This morning Dad & I got to joy-ride (yes. You heard that right) on the LINK, Toronto Pearson Airport's Terminal Train. While waiting for Savio, we decided - what the heck - to go for a ride. The train is not technically a train, but a Cable Car!! It contains no propulsion unit but instead is moved by a cable from station to station. If you look closely you can see the return cable running within the framework. Very interesting!! It is made by the Doppelmayr Cable Car Company from whose site the pictures above have been culled.
A very nice ride!!!!

Shed Build Diary - 5

Finally managed to get some work done today in between entertaining Dagmar, Maya & Gang and collecting Savio from the airport. The front wall has been framed and the window installed just to see how it looks. Me thinks it looks fine. I could've done with more space... but then again... how much land does one man need??????

A Shout Out for my Mother

While most of my posts feature my father helping me build schtuff, It would be thoughtless of me not to mention my mother who by ensuring that there is food on the table for lunch and dinner, has enabled me to complete my projects by due date. Alas I do not have pictures of Mum and A. Ayn at full tilt in the Chutney Factory that was my kitchen last Saturday. Pity.

Here is Mum in the gardens of Casa Loma

Shed Build Diary - 4

This is the door that I picked up from the Brampton Re-Store. I could've got a steel door, but I need to make adjustments to the height of the door and this could be cut easily. Besides I liked the fact that the door is Oak. Dad will sand and varnish the door and it should look great in contrast to the white shed.

Shed Build Diary - 3

The floor in place. We used 5/8" Spruce Exterior Grade Plywood, No Nails adhesive and 97, 1" screws to lay the floor. This is to ensure that the floor will not squeak for many years to come.

Word of Advice. When getting anything cut at the Home Depot, be sure to measure before and after the cut. The kid there screwed up one entire board because he did not know how to accommodate for the Kerf. So I had to get another board and got the cuts for free as well.

Shed Build Diary - 2

We built the base using pressure treated wood on the sides and standard SPF (Spruce/Pine/Fir) studs as the floor joists. I used Simpson 'Strong Tie' Joist Hangers for added strength. We then lifted the entire unit from the Deck where we built it, to it's intended location and then used concrete screws to fasten it to the wall at the rear and the floor at the front.

Shed Build Diary - 1

Finally started work on the Shed. Dad and I moved the old shed off the foundation and to the side. We had initially decided to build up the existing base with more concrete, but on closer inspection found out that we would need multiple bags just to get it on level. We decided to go with a wooden base instead.

Prisoner - Denzil Francis D'Souza

And finally pictures of Dad as P.O.W. going about his daily chores breaking bricks..........


Happy prisoners have a better chance of parole!!!

And are even permitted to have visitors!!!

And for the record we have a video of the prisoner going about his daily duties.....

Garage Sale Loot - Saturday the 9th of August

Wow we really trawled Brampton this morning. Got some great packs of Black & White pictures of Canadian soldiers as well as the Scottish and Welsh countryside. From the same sale I got a Honeywell programmable thermostat, a scouts compass for Layla and a vintage cookie cookbook.

From another sale I got a Yoke (the kind that hitches bullocks to a cart) and from another I got a Bessey Table vice.

Not to shabby for a morning at the sales.

Sounds from the Road - Part Zwei

Saturday morning sees Dad & myself at the bank to withraw cash for the Garage Sales and what do I find lying on the grass in the parking lot of the bank. A retro Telefunken TR 606 receiver. I did not expect it to work but saw me using the case as a computer case for the Media Server that I have planned to build for the longest time. Unfortunately!!!!!! (or fortunately) it works!!! And well. Oh well. Back to driving the roads with eyes peeled.

Here it is hooked up to my Acoustic Energy's and my Creative MP3 player, looking cool and sounding so good.

And it even has a Midrange control that you do not ever see on modern receivers.

The Tuner section is sort of spinning freely and needs looking at. Otherwise!!!!????

LCBO & Beer Store

Dad & I at the Beer Store this evening with Avi documenting the visit.
A Bud (or two) for you.

It's Canadian!!!!!

Kingfisher!!! Albeit, brewed in the U.K.

Bacardi. Made in Brampton!!! Just down the road from us.....

And finally. WildAss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds from the Road

So my neighbors (2 houses down) set this out on the sidewalk a day before collection and I wheeled all 30+ kilos of it home. I thought that I could reuse the unit as a subwoofer enclosure that would sit beneath the basement stairs and fire into the room from between the treads. The dust cap appeared torn, but that was not a concern as I would be replacing the bass driver.


That was the plan until I unscrewed the rear on the enclosure to find that the bass driver is a JBL unit.........And then I connected it to the amp and it plays astonishingly well!!!!! The midrange driver is shot on account of it being connected directly to the connector plate with no crossover to filter out the low frequencies.

Did I mention that I love this country???????

Cooking Al Fresco!!!

Dad and I just completed what, to me, is the perfect complement to the BBQ. An outdoor kitchen table. Made from Pressure Treated 2x4's, Fence Boards as the work surface and trellis for the door inserts, we completed the table in our target time of one week. A SS sink from Ikea's AS-IS and a faucet from ReStore Brampton complete the table. Mum has already been putting it to good use, slicing apples and other fruit that seem to follow her home from her walks. The doors serve to hold and hide the recycle bins and the girls' various outdoor toys.