Went out to the airport today to do some maintenance on a big light we use to measure cloud heights. While I was there, the editor in charge of blogging(wife) suggested I go across the road to the GBO site. The GBO(Ground Based Observatory) is a project I look after for the University Of Calgary and NASA. That's right folks, that NASA. It's a project that is studying the northern lights. I look after one of 20 northern observatories. The money isn't great but having NASA on your resumè looks pretty good. Unfortunately, I didn't get anywhere near the GBO the snow was kinda deep in places. Melinda was amused. I was winded, apparently my quit-smoking-superpowers haven't kicked in yet.

Of course we got the loader in to do the driveway (apparently Gary was busy or I would have asked him) and it's been snowing since about 30 seconds after the loader left, and supposed to snow all night again. Winter...in the territories. A year up here can be described as 8 months of winter followed by 4 months of tough skidooing. Well I'm just getting ready to head out the door, night shift, it's overtime so a little easier to take.

No pic today, but I would like to let everyone know that I have been smoke free for 10 days now. I guess 27 years of anything should be long enough. Smoking just didn't hold any surprises anymore, the relationship soured and I bailed. I'm sure John Player and his ilk can get along fine without my 15 bucks a day. I do have one complaint though, everyone says that when you quit smoking food tastes better. Not so, it tastes different...not necessarily better. Maybe I need to sprinkle tobacco on my fish sticks now to get that familiar highliner flavor. One positive is that the wife says I smell better now too, no word on how I taste...maybe she will need to sprinkle some tobacco on me to get that familiar tim brown flavor!

last week I went to Wrigley, (pop. less than 200 people.) This week it was Fort Liard, (pop. between 6 and 8 hundred people). The views are always nice, and when I'm on duty travel I have the option of bringing the family with me. My boss calls it taking a "busmans holiday".

The old timey pics just keep on comin'! Here's a modern one for comparison. The ultimate "then and now"

Next stop, memory lane. That's me in the blue, my brother mike in the red and my sister margaret standing up. Maybe 1967 or 68?

The longest day of the year is of course, june 21. this pic was one month and two days later between 1:00 and 1:30 am. We get 20 hours of daylight and 4 hours of twilight(no dark at all) at this time of year. Land of the midnight sun baby! Fish all night!