Starland Vocal Band?! They suck! (Follow-up)

Well, as promised in my previous post on the subject, here's a photo of my new tattoo:

I took this pic myself just after we arrived at the hotel in Fort Erie, when it was still fresh (I had just gotten it done the previous night in Niagara Falls). Still looks pretty much the same - it's only faded a little bit since then. Plus, my arm hair is starting to grow back again... :-)

Rapture Threat Level: ORANGE

Below are some great quotes concerning the separation of church and state by Robert H. Jackson, a respected American lawyer and jurist from the 1940s-1950s. His big claim to fame was his role as chief U.S. prosecutor at the Nuremburg Trials at the end of World War II. For movie buffs out there, he was played by Alec Baldwin in the 2000 television film Nuremburg.

I just felt like posting them for your contemplation, given today's political climate in North America, and what I perceive to be the slowly expanding and insidious influence of certain religious groups currently in both Canadian and American political life.

As the old saying goes, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions...

NOTE: Any italics or boldface are my own, and not the author's

"[T]he effect of the religious freedom Amendment to our Constitution was to take every form of propagation of religion out of the realm of things which could directly or indirectly be made public business, and thereby be supported in whole or in part at taxpayers' expense. That is a difference which the Constitution sets up between religion and almost every other subject matter of legislation, a difference which goes to the very root of religious freedom[...] This freedom was first in the Bill of Rights because it was first in the forefathers' minds; it was set forth in absolute terms, and its strength is its rigidity. It was intended not only to keep the states' hands out of religion, but to keep religion's hands off the state, and, above all, to keep bitter religious controversy out of public life by denying to every denomination any advantage from getting control of public policy or the public purse." - dissent in Everson v. Board of Education of Ewing Township, 330 U.S. 1 (1947)

"It is possible to hold a faith with enough confidence to believe that what should be rendered to God does not need to be decided and collected by Caesar." - From the dissent in Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306 (1952)

"The day that this country ceases to be free for irreligion it will cease to be free for religion - except for the sect that can win political power." - From the dissent in Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306 (1952)

Would you like to take a survey? - Part 18

In Pointe-Claire right now, which is in the western part of greater Montreal. Pretty nice here, though the driving habits of the locals leave something to be desired! Needless to say, driving of any sort in Montreal is definitely not for the slow-witted...!

The drive up from Windsor was VERY long and boring! There's just not much to see or look at along the 401... Took us about 9 hours (ugh!); we left Windsor at 9:00 a.m., and we arrived at the hotel in Pointe-Claire at just past 6:00 p.m. Once we got there and settled in a bit, a bunch of us went over to a nearby La Cage aux Sports for supper (and to decompress from the trip, so to speak :-). Quite nice - decent food.

I do have one interesting anecdote from the trip up, though. About halfway there we stopped at a service centre just before Port Hope. I was standing at the entrance, holding the doors for people coming in behind me. Suddenly, someone familiar walks by - it was Mr. Lemaistre, a teacher I knew back in elementary school in Carleton Place (I was in Grades 7 and 8 at the time of his tenure)! Along with his wife. We recognized each other instantly. Had a nice, quick chat. I was simply astonished at the fact of seeing him at a random truck stop along the 401 in the first place! What are the odds?! Pretty cool... We Carleton Placers do seem to get around a lot! Perhaps CP is slowly conquering the world (or at least Canada).... :-)

Our hotel in Pointe-Claire is quite nice. Well kept, good customer service, clean rooms, good location within the city - very convenient. And, thankfully, they have the Weather Network (well, the French-language equivalent - Météo Média) on the television in my room! Hurrah! If nothing else, that made my stay tolerable ;-)

Our survey site is a provincial inspection/weigh station near Les Cèdres, which is about a 15 minute drive due west of Montreal. It's set up along Autoroute (Highway) 20 eastbound heading into Montreal; it's fairly close to the Ontario border. Great setup there - pulling trucks into our survey lanes is a breeze! Our numbers were high all week - very productive. Helped by the fact that my team was awesome. Very motivated - we all get along great and work together quite harmoniously.

Our last day on site was great! Except for the weather, that is...it rained off and on, made exponentially worse by the strong, bitterly cold winds constantly blowing in from the west. Oh well...we coped as best we could. To celebrate, we had a nice barbecue during our supper break. The other guys bought and grilled some nice steaks, while I opted for the simpler option of hamburgers. They were oh so delicious! A welcome and refreshing change from the cold sandwiches I've been on my meal breaks at work for the past 4 months...

Overall, I'm glad the contract's finally over. It's been a long four months. Really starting to miss my family and friends back in Carleton Place. Definitely looking forward to going back home for good! Put my feet up and just relax for a few weeks...:-)

Would you like to take a survey? - Part 17

Back in Windsor. The drive down was okay - about 4 hours. I attempted to sleep most of the way, the operative word being attempted. I can never truly have a restful sleep in a moving vehicle! Oh well... Needless to say, once I got into my hotel room here, I just crashed for a nice, long nap ;-)

We're staying at the same hotel as last time - the Travelodge Windsor Ambassador Bridge. This time, though, most of us have our rooms on the second floor - last time all of us were on the first floor. Meh. Doesn't make much of a difference to me either way! Though it was a bit of a drag (pardon the pun!) to haul my luggage up the stairs, since there's no elevator here... :-(

Once again, our survey site is the Ambassador Bridge. From what I've heard, my team is on the northbound side (heading into the U.S. from Canada) as before. I'm expecting we'll get done more or less the same number of surveys on average that we did here two weeks ago. Traffic levels appear to be the same (i.e. high!) and I believe we'll have the same bridge authority personnel directing trucks in for us. Should be good, then! Nice and consistent, I hope - I like consistency :-)

And, finally, an announcement/general update to make. Transport Canada is extending the contract by another week. They need additional surveys done at two different sites: the border crossing at Prescott here in Ontario, and a weigh/inspection station at Les Cèdres, Quebec. Both are about an hour or so away from Ottawa (heck of a lot closer to home than Windsor!). This time, though, they asked for volunteers instead of forcing everyone to go. Since it's an extra week's pay, of course I said yes! From what I've heard so far, it looks like I'm going to Les Cèdres. Since they're reshuffling the teams at both sites due to availability and productivity factors, I'll be working with different people once there. No problem, since I already know and get along with everybody anyway! Luckily, I'll be working the same shift (4 p.m. to midnight) again - won't have to adjust to a day or a graveyard schedule :-) Should be fun, though! Not to mention productive, since it's a weigh station - we always get more surveys done there than at any other type of facility. J'aurai aussi un autre opportunité à pratiquer mon français...

Peace out!