Nicknames in Mining

Mining has used nicknames to identify individuals since it began. They sometimes describe a physical characteristic or trait of a miner or describe an incident or work habit. These are a few of the nicknames I've come across in my career.

1. "Lips" This person had rather large ones, hence the name (honestly)


2. "Large and in Charge" This description was used for a Supervisor, I recently worked with


3. "Big Mac" Used to describe his size and his propensity to devour a hamburger, which was usually supplied by the company.


4. "Bam Bam" Not sure how they arrived at this one. It may have been used to describe the way he operated equipment.


5. "867-5309" This is from the Tommy Tu-Tone song of the same title. I gave this person this name because if you tried to contact him 30 minutes before the end of shift you would need a cell phone.


6. "What you want me to do" This moniker was given to an Electrical Supervisor. This is the response you received from him every time you asked him to do something.


7. "The Bird" At first it was used as a parody of his last name. Later on it was noted he shared some of the same physical characteristics as an ostrich.


8. "Chef" If you're familiar with the character from "South Park" you know this individual.


9. "Smooth as Veneer" It rhymes with Chen...ier which is the Anglicization of the French surname. This person was really smooth or as he would say "All the women's love me".


10. "Blow out" This nickname was given to a young Supervisor early in his career when he attempted to wire up a round using igniter cord and tape fuse. The result prompted the nickname.


11. "Captain Canada" This same individual was given this title that still sticks to this day. It was given to him when he took over the Captains position of the Ontario team at the national mine rescue competition. I don't recall if they won, but even if they didn't, he's still a legend.


12. "Tripod" I believe he got this name after someone witnessed him in the shower.


13. "Chicken Choker" Given to a now retired former Captain. You'll have to use your imagination here. (I'm sure he did)


14. "Twisted Shifter" This name was given to an old "Cousin Jack" shift boss around the time that the Hair Band "Twisted Sister" came to prominence. If you knew the person he was the total opposite.


15. "Doo Lang, Doo Lang, Doo Laing" You know who you are!


16. "Beetle Juice" An accurate description of this former captain's physical appearance.


17. "Peter Alphabet" This person had a last name with every consonant in the alphabet and none of the vowels.


18. "Action Jackson" Probably one of the laziest workers I've come across.


19. "Roger Kaa Kaa" This person was employed as a Sanitary engineer. Not to be confused with........


20. "Ray Poo Poo"


21. "Triple XXX" An adaptation of the first letter of this persons last name. From the movie of the same title.


22. "The Crown Prince" Given to a young, up and comer.
23. "Claire the Bear" This is the person who taught me how to drill/blast when I first started out. I spent 6 months working and learning from this man. He told me from the onset, that you can get away with a lot as long as you can "backup your Bulls__t" ...... They don't make em like Claire any more.

There are more that I could list here, but in keeping with the "G" rating that I'm trying to maintain.....................OK, here's a few more.

• "Farrell Land" This is what we called the underwinds (shaft bottom) at the last place I worked.
• "Standby" This handle was usually given to a rookie who was assigned to work with a senior worker. Often he was told to "standby" until needed.
• "Sparky" The name of the prior Electrical Supervisor to "What you want me to do"
• "Ham Sandwich" The name of a former Superintendent. An older (slightly deaf) supervisor heard this rather than the Super's name when introductions were made.
• "Hollywood" Several Supervisors have shared this name. It's given to an individual who is all "sizzle" and no "steak", or as they say in Texas "All hat, no cattle". Every site I've worked at had a "Hollywood".

How High is the Water Momma?

These shots were taken of the Onaping river at the Morgan Rd. bridge today. The river has gone over it's bank in a few spots. The good news is no one lives near here and the river has crested. Beautiful day today, sunny and +22c (72f for my American friends).

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.
--Carl Sandburg

Crank: High Voltage or High Garbage

Took in the movie Crank "High Voltage" last night. This is the sequel to the 2006 movie Crank. The original while not Oscar material, managed to hold your attention with the action. The sequel should be at least as good.......right? Here's the movie's premise.

A man falls from an airplane and lands on the streets of downtown Los Angeles. Somehow he survives and is shovelled into a mysterious van. He awakens months later to discover that his heart has been replaced by a battery powered transplant, and his frantic scramble to find his real heart places him in the middle of a power struggle between Chinese and Latino crime syndicates.

The movie is all downhill after the opening scene. I don't know what the director was trying to prove, but if it was to "use and abuse" the audience, he suceeded........wildly! It's a cross between "Grindhouse" and the "Blair Witch Project" with Godzilla thrown in for effect. Sometimes a movie can be so bad, it's good.......well, this piece of dog excrement ain't that. You could call it a "B" movie, but it would be an insult to "B" movies to call this dog that!

After the movie ended, I looked around the theatre to check on the audience reaction. Shock, disbelief and blank stares were common with some patrons visibly upset. To make matters worse, just when you think the movie has ended and the house lights come up, it continues for another 5 minutes.............Rather than waste $7.50 to see this movie, if you feel the need to torture yourself, the next time you're in North Bay grab a Burger at Harvey's. Food poisoning would be preferable.

You call that a homeshow?

Our beautiful spring weather was suspended today. It's raining and +4c, gotta love Northern Ont! My wife talked me into going with her to the Home and Cottage show at the Sudbury Convention Centre. Before I go any further let me explain. The convention centre is an old arena that was shut down around the time that Toronto won their last Stanley Cup,...... and the Home Show, what a joke!!!!!!! It should be called Bubba's great adventure.

The Dollar Store had the biggest booth.......I guess Giant Tiger had the good sense to stay away. There was a guy there doing a demo with Ginsu knives (my wife had to hold me back).....what? The ShamWow guy was busy?? Electroulux was there as well (their display sucked) Another big draw was the woman selling magnetic bracelets for Arthritis. These are the same ones that are featured in the National Enquirer......enough said. There was also some idiot jumping around on something called "Fly Jumpers" just to aggravate anyone who was still there.

They had the nerve to charge $5 a head to get in and view this throwback to "Li'l Abner. I think the biggest pisser in all this is that we had been to a previous Home Show at the same location 2 years ago with the same result. They say memory is the first thing to go........

Views from a Walk

I went for a walk today in the area along Morgan Rd. near where I live. Here are some of the views. Snow is only evident in the shaded areas.

The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it. -- Anonymous

Sudbury in the year 2020

The great recession just ended last year. After 10 years of ever falling employment and loss of manufacturing base few regions in Canada remain unscathed. As gold prices soared to $2500/oz. the economy of Timmins boomed. The biggest gainer though was Sudbury. It had the foresight to woo Magna into building a Nickel cadmium battery plant that supplies batteries to the big 3 Auto manufacturers. (Ford,Toyota, and Magna). The Sudbury plant employs 5000 directly with 4 times that number employed in supply jobs.

Magna became a dominant player after the collapse of Chrysler in 2009. It was one of it's largest creditors and as a result took possession of it's assembly plant in Windsor. General Motors failed in 2012 after the introduction of it's halo car, the all new electric Chevy Volt. Who was going to pay $40,000 for a compact car when Ford in partnership with Magna was selling it's all electric Focus for $25,000, introduced that same year. Magna also started to supply Toyota and Hyundai with the electric drives for the Camry and Genesis. Demand for electric cars skyrocketed after Iran announced it had successfully built and tested a nuclear weapon. Oil prices broke the $400 U.S./barrell barrier for the first time.

Magna started to manufacture it's own electric car in 2013 after assuming control of the shuttered G.M. plants in Oshawa. Canada was now the largest Auto manufacturer in North America. For a look at what started Magna's ascendancy, click the link below

http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fordpedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/ford-battery-electric.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fordpedia.org/2009/02/03/ford-2012-electric-car-just-in-time-for-judgment-day/&usg=__d0KjWTuLVnOPq7e473K8bA01Oqg=&h=333&w=550&sz=125&hl=en&start=4&sig2=_G7AdPu-dAoGHsfo5rDp5g&um=1&tbnid=BM1j5k0pji-lLM:&tbnh=81&tbnw=133&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfords%2Belectric%2Bcar%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGLF_enCA303CA303%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=SGbiSc_WAZTznQe98PCZDg

The following story is just my opinion on what may happen with our economy. The part regarding Magna building the electric drives for Ford is true. It's time to wake up Sudbury!!!
Why couldn't we have a manufacturing plant for Nic/Cad Batteries? What is Sudbury known for?......pass me another beer?

Greater Sudbury

This city we call home, simply is not working. Infrastructure is crumbling and the tax base from the resource sector is slowly eroding. There are 160,000 people living in an area the size of Toronto. The solution? "Back to the Future" or partial amalgamation. The city in its current state is not sustainable. There are key services regionally we could share such as

• Fire and Policing


• Ambulance service


• City Land Fills


• Bulk equipment purchases.

What I propose is that the city go back to it former pre-amalgamation state with autonomous councils set up to take care of it's own needs. They would be responsible for

• Road maintenance and snow removal


• Garbage collection


• Establishing mill rates and collection of taxes and user fees.


• Recreation


• Planning and issuing permits.

The current council we have is no better at running the city than the prior one. So whats the problem......? Could it be that the city in it's current form is unmanageable?

What do you think?

Springtime in Sudbury

The days are getting warmer, the snow is melting, Yes, spring has arrived. Just as the Swallows return to Capistrano the Dog droppings will reappear on the streets of our fair city. After a long winter of hibernation they start to poke their heads out of their slowly thawing prison. "Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we are free at last".......OK. that might be a bit much. As the character Kilgore, played by Robert Duval in the movie "Apocalypse Now" said "I love the smell of dog s_ _ t in the morning"......or something like that. Sudbury has other rituals to celebrate the arrival of Spring.

• The sheep have returned to the pastures in Valley East and the "Valley Boys" keep their rubber boots in the back of their trucks. "I'm in love with Ewe" can be heard throughout Val Caron and Hanmer.


• Derelict vehicles are sprouting like dandelions all over the front lawns of residences in Dowling and Levack...."We don't need a trampoline Mabel, Johnny can bounce on the hood of that 83 K-car


• Faster than free tickets to an Elton John Concert, potholes are being filled.


• Freshly washed Imm_ paa_ laas can be seen throughout Lively. (Impala's, for those who don't speak Finn)


• Ducks can be seen swimming in the many swamps and ponds of Chelmsford and Azilda.....which is every front yard.


• The Sudbury tulip (2 lip) festival is in full swing. If you want your street repaired or your building permit approved bring your tulips (2 lips) to a planning meeting......just place them at the rear.

Personalities at Work

It doesn't matter where I've worked, personality traits seem to follow the same pattern. Just a few examples.

Mr. Blarney: This person will tell you what he thinks you want to hear, rather than the truth.

The Dreamer: He would rather be doing anything other than his job.

The PHD: Highly educated and over qualified for the job he is doing.

Peter Principle: This individual has been promoted to at least 1 ranking higher than his qualifications. (usually your boss)

Been There Done That: If you've done something, he's done something better. If you tally up his experience it will come out to 30+ years. He must of started working when he was 3

The Disciplinarian: This person doesn't want to hear the facts, just punish the individual responsible.

Chip on his Shoulder: He feels he is being persecuted and takes it out on those around him.

Team Player: This person will go along with whatever is the flavour of the moment. Will not argue and gets along with all.

Get er Done: Results are all that matters to this person. This is a dying breed, and is usually classified as an undesirable by management.

Look What I've Done: This person steals every ones ideas and implements them as his own.

Larger Than Life: Walks into a room and is the center of attention.

Newbie: Often someone who has been promoted and is unsure of himself. Worries too much about being liked

The Backstabber: Self explanatory.

The Gender Bender: Often a woman who has been placed in a position of authority over a group of Men.

Stroke Me: Always seeking approval. Must be told at all times what a good job he is doing.

I did it my Way: The only agenda that matters is his own. Will not take direction and only does what he wants.

Ready to go Postal: Short fuse. Sometimes an act to get people to leave him alone.

Brown Noser: Flatters those in a position of authority. Treats everyone else like s_ _ t

No Agenda: This is the rarest form of corporate animal. This person shows up for work everyday and just wants to do his job.

Most of you have worked with some of these personality types at some point in your work life. Did I miss any?

You might be a Redneck........

I moved to Sudbury in 2001 from a place that could best be described as unsophisticated. I grew up in South Porcupine, which is a town of 5000, 10k east of Timmins. It was a great place to grow up with a multitude of ethnic diversity. People from around the world had settled there to work in the Gold mines. Ethnic groups consisted of Finn, Croatian, Italian, Ukrainian, English,Welsh, Scots, Irish, French, German, Dutch, Chinese, Native Indian, East Indian, Romanian, etc. A very diverse group. We all got along, played sports together, attended each others social functions and went to the same schools. As in all small Northern Ont. towns there is an element of unsophistication or of "not being wise to the ways of the world". Nothing wrong with that. It makes getting along with each other easier, because we are not aware of the man made reasons that we shouldn't. In other words we were Rednecks, and proud of it. The town that I now call home is very similar.

You might be a redneck if

1. You park your truck on the front lawn (all year long)


2. You cut the grass and discover your car that you thought had been stolen.


3. You own a home that is mobile and 5 cars that aren't


4. You think loading the dishwasher is getting your wife drunk


5. You burn your yard rather than mow it


6. You think a hot tub is a stolen bathroom fixture


7. Your bottle opener is your girlfriend's teeth


8. You consider grade 8 to be your senior year.


9. You think that moving from Levack to Dowling is moving to the big city.


10. You met your wife at a family reunion in Chelsmford.
11. At a party someone asks if "you brought the 1/2 ton". You reply "No. I left her at home"
12. The Bargain Hunter and Auto Trader are your coffee table books
13. Your ATV is worth more than your house.
14. Your garage is twice as large as your house.

I think you get the idea.

Roads? What roads?

What is up with the roads in Sudbury? I drove to Sudbury today via regional 35 (highway to hell) Between dodging potholes and getting airborne on the dips, it was the best amusement ride I've ever been on. The stretch between Chelmsford and the turn off to Azilda is unbelievable. You get more air time than Shaq going for a slam dunk. It's sort of like skydiving and bungee jumping at the same time. All those beautiful cold patches they applied to the potholes earlier in the winter are now coming loose. You get peppered by flying asphalt every time a car goes by in the opposite direction. Now I know what it's like to get stoned..... in the biblical sense. Elm St. is another nightmare. The other day the traffic was backed up for 2 blocks. I thought that there had been an accident. The traffic in the inside lane slowly started to move and after about 15 min. I drove by the accident scene. There was a Kia Rondo stuck in a pothole, hung-up. I kid you not. On the main drag in our fair city the potholes are so deep they swallow Korean cars. (Buzz Hargrove would like that)

That's my Wed. rant. Some mornings I wake up grouchy, some mornings I let her sleep.

Another day in Paradise

Well it's Tues., and I didn't go to Costco. My take on the Tues. crowd at Costco will have to wait. I managed to find time in my busy schedule to take my wife's crossover (Edge) to Speedy Lube for an oil change. I digress here, but in my day a crossover was someone who played on the other team,..... (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). I hope no one actually reads this, (McNamara) and gets offended. To continue, I drove up to the door at the Lube Shop and within 3 minutes the car was being serviced. They washed the windows, checked the tire pressure, greased the door hinges and checked all the turn signals and lights and changed the oil, all in 10 minutes. Faster than a Wall Street bailout. After paying the cashier I noticed that the car was low on fuel, so I stopped at the first gas station on the way home (Esso) and filled up the gas tank. 10 minutes later I walked into the House and my wife asked, How is my car? (never asked me how I was doing....) I said your car is fine. It's had an oil change and it's tank is full, however I had to make a stop at Mac's and get it a pack of cigarettes.

Also watched a bit of TV in the aft. They had one guy on BNN who said that he thought the Dow would drop to 1000.....that's right 1000 points!!! and that the price of gold would hit $4000/oz. Now that's a bit of good news for the gold miners, but not so good for the rest of us. I can't even think of a joke to insert here. He also went on to say that the world will end in 2012 and that Dale McNamara would retire this month.......blew his credibility with that one.

Tomorrow I may go for a car wash.......check this out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpgrTyrBvlA

Where can you go on a cold snowy Mon.?

Costco! As I mentioned yesterday, the weather forecast called for cool temps. with the possibility of snow for the next 3 days. Well, Environment Canada was spot on. Today the temp is -3c with a cold north wind and flurries. Because I'm not quite use to this retirement gig and haven't developed a daily routine, the Better half and I jumped in our crossover (Edge) and headed over to Costco.Before I go any further it should be noted that my wife is still working (someone has to) and was on one of her infrequent days off (I think she has too many).
The thing I love about Costco is that it has tons of stuff that you would never think of purchasing, but do so willingly. We cruised the aisles and noted some of the new arrivals, such as the 500,000 kw diesel generator that one could use to power a small town in the event of a power failure and the 200kg bag of lawn fertilizer that would cover 9 holes on a golf course. After all this fun we decided to take a lunch break, at (you guessed it) the Costco lunch counter. We purchased 2 hot dogs and 2 beverages and took a table. What I like doing best is people watching and Costco is a feast for the eyes. The Mon. crowd is rather sparse compared to the Sat. crowd and a little older. The Mon. crowd obviously purchases their clothes at Costco. I noted one older gentleman of about 75, who was going for the Gangsta look. He had on a N/Y Yankees ball cap, Brown hoodie, Camouflage pants, and a pair of Nike's. It was like looking at 50 cents (fiddy cent) 50 years in the future. I noted another older Lady of around 65 who definitely had the Cougar look working for her. All that was missing was the Pall Mall. At first I thought she was my sister in law from B.C. but after my wife slapped me, I realized I was mistaken. (this happens frequently) The slapping, not the mistaken identity. At another time I will tell you about the Tues. crowd (hold your water)
See "Kimmel goes to Costco" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LR7ZhdGXXg

Will Spring ever arrive??

Living in the great white north (Sudbury) has it's good points, but the month of April is not one of them. We had a dusting of snow 2 days ago and that combined with the -1 temp and wind it might as well of been Jan. Today the sun is out and the temp is +5, great day to hang out outside. Went for a 10K walk (never know when I'll get another chance) and it was great. The next 3 days are calling for cool temps with the chance of more snow (did I mention I hate April)

Covers all the Bases

Why? "Time"

The title comes from a song on Pink Floyd's, "Dark Side of The Moon". The album came out in 1973, but because I lived in South Porcupine (south of Porcupine) I never really heard it until the summer of 1975. The song really sums up the reality of living in a small town, thinking that you have all the time in the world. Click the link below for a listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyL2vAUVOM0

Another great song is by James McMurtry "We can't make it here anymore" The song was written a few years ago when Bush was pres. but it's still (maybe more) relevant today,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTW0y6kazWM