Red Bird
In a former life, I was a supply clerk at CP Rail. Our department built, installed and maintained signal infrastructure. Level crossing lights, gates and traffic lights for train movement. Senior signalmen always had this old school analogue multimeter. Those things came in a leather case, were fragile and cost the railroad about a week’s pay to replace. It’s a hard life out on the tracks in all weather and Signal Supervisors threatened penalties up to and including disembowelment if their staff broke just one more meter! Got that?
Intermittent red lights have stopped two trains on the mainline. They suspect a bad bonding wire. Hitting the rails with a sledgehammer after attaching the meter checks the track circuit. So, all hands on deck. My buddy is at the scene of the crime with his supervisor. He precariously balances his meter (his third this year) on a single rail at his feet. He is about to swing the sledge and notes his supervisor is standing there, arms folded, with a steely glint in his eye. Uh oh. He stops. Smiles. Nods his head. Carefully, he unhooks the meter, walks it twenty feet down the track, places it on flat ground and hooks it back up. He walks back and picks up the sledgehammer and risks another look. “Good man” is his bosses’ pronouncement. His third swing, the hammer’s head flies off, arcs twenty feet through the air and smashes his meter into a million pieces. “I hope you're happy?" he says. His boss turns and walks away. Not a word.
IBAT
Three things actually if you don't count the front door. There's the new light which I really like. It takes a dimmable LED bulb and runs at 30% until it detects motion, then goes postal. A new mailbox and a number sign which runs on solar. Dad would hate the mailbox price, but it's a huge upgrade over that rusted thing made from pop cans that has hung there for the past 50 years. Roll away Daddy!
My Optimum Week
Guys who work in Moore's wear nice suits. Folks who work at Micheal Hill usually wear a flashy watch. The only glaring exception to this rule is auto mechanics. You often find them driving a smoking, clanking, leaking piece of crap with one fender a different colour than the rest of the car. No one knows why? I worked with a lot of them. The only explanation I have ever received is "I am not getting paid to work on my car". This is a long-winded way of saying that I had promised myself that I would keep my points balance over a million. I purport to be an Optimum expert, I should have an impressive points balance. Then I saw the red flamingo in the pop-up Zehr's garden centre. "Honey ... I was just checking out the plant selection ... honest!" So, pictured is my first haul of 2025
I resisted the urge to spend half a million points over at Shoppers for $800 off. My pantry remains stuffed with free non-perishables I'd bought last fall. We were out of Kleenex and I easily found another hundred to spend on fridge list items, so I used 100K there. That brought me down to a paltry three quarters of a million points.
This Weeks List
It is hard to get excited about groceries this week after that blowout last week. Zehrs and Shoppers don't seem very excited to have you in the stores either, but there were some opportunities if you have time to be strategic this week. There is an Esso offer on a car wash for half price? I do that annually whether it needs it or not.
You just have to spend the $30 at Shoppers for 10K in points, so I gave you enough over there to get that done. I have heard about Donair burgers. I am sure some Bluenose purist is going to have kittens, but I am trying them.
Most of the continuity offers over at Zehr's are the June 11th variety, but I think we use them this week. Lots of points for a small spend on a weak flyer is my thinking. I picked up a couple of those large format red wine glasses under that stamp program. For $5 each, you cannot go wrong. Next nice day, I will take one for a test drive sitting beside my pond. I have a K.H. juice box. You can't be too careful. The things could be defective? Here is what I came up with:
What I'm Reading
Alan Dean Foster
Alan Dean Foster
We Are Watching
The Red King on Britbox - This show is from the same folks who did the Annika series, which we loved. A principled big city DS is sent to a small island where the locals play up their pagan past for the tourists. When the mummified corpse of a missing teenager opens a murder investigation, the townsfolk close ranks to keep their big secret. Their pagan rituals are not just for the tourists. It has its moments, but stretches the bounds of credulity from time to time. The last episode left room for another season, so we will have to think about that if they make one. Two stars.
Mobland on Paramount - Probably the best cast on television right now. Helen Mirren is a standout as the conniving matriarch determined to re-ignite a mob war. I guess my only problem is the script. Turning Tom Hardy loose to wreak havoc seems to be the point. Nobody seems to be after a gain of any kind or territory. The grandson is a psychopath. Granny is a psychopath. A loving family man, their fixer, is also a psychopath and... well ... there's a lot of senseless killing. Beautiful acting. Senseless Killing. That'd be my tagline for the TV commercial.
... and finally
Two things were bound to happen when the province allowed grocery stores to sell beer. The purported crime wave predicted by just about every union rep was NOT one of them. What did happen was the province announced a spate of store closings and that will cost hundreds of union jobs thisyear. Second, you can buy booze on sale! Let me introduce you to the Snakebite (sometimes called a Black Velvet).
Fill a tall pint glass half full with ice cold apple cider. Slowly top up the glass with ice cold Guinness. A visible layer will form between the two and each sip of heavy smooth black beer will have a little "bite" of apple flavour. Rinse and repeat. They are both on sale at Zehr's this week. You are welcome.
Mitch and Maddie