March 20 was the official first day of spring and what a day it was! The worst two day blizzard in years. Roads blocked, people stranded, everything ground to a stand still. Some first day of spring! Some blizzard! Some winter! Somewhere, spring is hiding, I hope.
People who were travelling on the roads had it bad. There was a 100-vehicle pile up on the QE 2 south of Edmonton. Luckily no one was killed. Highway 16 was closed near Edmonton. Police advised against travel for the whole area. Highway 17 north of Lloydminster was closed, cars were stuck on the road. Highway 897 from Highway 16 north to Marwayne was closed with 17 cars stuck on the road. At Paynton, the story goes, a couple pulled off Highway 16 and went into the little coffee shop to try to figure out what they were going to do? Others pulled in and soon the mayor of the small village offered to open the gym. The town people were called upon to bring blankets, pillows and other comforts and cooked for the stranded motorists. They were truly grateful for all that was done for them and they called the people of Paynton "truly amazing people in this world!"
Even a passenger train was stuck at Unity. From pictures, it was buried, just about to the top of cars. I hope the people had food and heat.
In the oil patch, trucks couldn't get into the leases to get the oil out. One company hired people on snowmobiles to drive around and shut wells off so the tanks didn't run over. That would be a big mess. Sometimes when a pump is stopped, they have to get a flushby truck to come and push the sand back into the formation. If the pump isn't turning, sand that is in the oil, settles out and packs in around the pump so it will not turn. It is expensive for companies if they have to call the flushby trucks. If they can't get it going, then they have to call a service rig to pull the pump. Very, very expensive! An oil company never wants to shut off their pumps once they are started.
Now there is the opening up of roads and leases. Many north/south roads are still plugged. The snow is four to five feet deep. That's past what a grader or 4WD tractor can push. The only chance is if a Cat can be hired. Everybody is looking for Cats. Some small snow blowers are around but it is very slow going.
In my own yard, I estimate a snow drift five or six feet deep right up to the middle of the box on my semi. The only way to get it out of there is if I can clean the snowdrift behind it and tow it backwards. There is about a three foot drift behind it. At my diesel fuel tank, there is a drift right up to a couple of feet from the tank shutoff vale. The filling nozzle is in the snow bank somewhere below. I will not be filling up at that tank anytime soon.
I went out twice with my 4WD tractor to a couple of neighbours. I was mighty discouraged and disgusted at how little of this snow I could move. I have only a straight blade and the snow just pushes in front until you can't push any more. I even got stuck once and had to be pulled by a "Ford." Thank you, Paul. My snow plowing turned out to be an exercise in futility. I went home!
In political news, Ottawa, Saskatchewan and Alberta all brought down spring budgets this past week. There was plenty of warning that the budgets would be tight and they were. The best thing to say is no program got completely axed. There are some capital projects that have to be delayed. The initiative to train people for the skilled trades is a good thing and I would hope it is an ongoing program.
In banker news, the bankers on Cyprus are in trouble. I don't know how they got in trouble but apparently, they are. They need to come up with $5.8 billion so they can get a $10-billion loan from the European Central Bank so the banks in Cyprus do not collapse. First the bankers and their politician friends came up with the scheme to nationalize the pension funds. Nationalize is just another word for taking them. The people protested and that didn't happen. You can just see the mindset of the bankers and politicians though. They have no qualms about picking on the old, the weak or the sick.
So now the bankers have asked to take 10 per cent out of everybody's bank account in Cyprus. The banks are closed. You can not get any of your money out of the banks. The only thing you can do is get some money out of the ATMs so you could buy food. Apparently, every ATM had 50 people lined up to withdraw money. There was rioting in the streets and protest picketers in front of parliament and the banks. That proposal was voted down in parliament.
Now the bankers have come up with another scam, they want 20 per cent of all bank accounts over $100,000 and the government is proposing a four per cent tax on all the bank accounts. It is becoming obvious the bankers have no intention of inconveniencing themselves. They have no scruples about stealing other people's money to pay their bills. How is it that when bankers or politicians rob your bank account it is fine. Called "for the good of the country" and all that jazz. It is stealing pure and simple.
In Canada we should not feel too complacent. Things were going along good in Cyprus just like here in Canada at the moment. All of a sudden it was not. It could happen here. If you feel your money is safe in a bank or credit union here I can tell you, you are wrong. Everyone should have some emergency money at home in a safe or sock drawer. You never know when you might need it.
Funny story: The prosecutor for Butler County, Ohio has laid criminal charges for fraud against Pnaxsutawney Phil, the groundhog that falsely predicted an early spring. If convicted, the penalty is death. People on the Internet are having great fun. One picture shows the groundhog standing up with a sign saying, "I lied" and another picture shows him standing with a target drawn on his body. The moral of the story would be to not predict an early spring unless, if you are wrong, you are prepared to suffer the consequences!
