This summer I’ve been running competitions in camp.  The photo on the left is me starting the swim competition.  The kids have been cropped out to protect their identity.  I just thought I looked particularly authoritative in this photograph.  You know, my whistle and radio close by.

Ellie, Lola and Petunia are fine and I managed to find some load bearing carabiners to set up my hammock so things are more comfortable as well.

At any rate…Peter was complaining that I didn’t put up enough pictures, so here’s one.  When I get home I’ll add some galleries for everyone.

Well, I’ve starting developing my curriculum for survival classes today and this past week finished my certification for Low Ropes courses and Climbing walls.  That’s right…I’m a climbing all instructor now (who would have thought!)

Virginia is in-bound from the Soo and so are all the pets.

I caught a 3 pound Northern Pike on my 5th cast of the year and was nice enough to throw it back.

More to come…maybe even pictures.

In so much as one can be truly amazed, I find myself in such a state.  The past five days have really been eye opening.  Mostly, I’m amazed at how much can be accomplished in 10 weeks of camp.  Last summer I missed out on enough change that I could walk around camp and see a different place all together.  When you’re actually amidst the fray, the progress in camp seems slow and arduous, but witnessing first hand the before and after of such a large effort on the part of so many students is sobering.

So far the guys I’ve been working with have been pleasant company.  Staff aside, our “opening crew” students have been well motivated and enthusiastic.  I’m looking forward to an amazing summer and yet it hasn’t really started yet, without Virginia at my side (not withholding Ellie, Lola and Petunia)  I miss my love.

Some new staff have already come, along with some old friends.  It’s been wonderful catching up on old time with Jared and seeing Simone again.  Tom and Donna are back, and of course I spent the weekend with Peter and Darlene Bergs (tetrayoungins in tow).

My dad and I rolled into Missanabie on Friday afternoon for yet another summer at camp for the Stubbes.  The drive overall was fine.  Everything is going well except that it’s below zero and snowing.  The drive to Wawa on Saturday was met with an ice crusted windshield and a blown tire.

It certainly is pleasant to see that Northern Ontraio can be counted on to remain cold despite the warnings about climate change and atmospheric warming.  Despite the way I feel, it certainly makes it difficult to think the globe is warming up when it’s snowing at the end of May, but that is weather from my youth.  Rather than being inconvenienced by it, I feel a sense of overpowering nostalgia…well, either that or a lack of blood flow to the brain and loss of motor function from cold.

I have no pictures for anyone yet but will soon.

I always find site statistics fascinating.  I think it all started back when I was working for Stats Canada for a year while I lived in Toronto.  Anyway, numbers don’t lie, that’s why I love them I suppose.

-LINK-

Virginia and I just got back from Ohio and here are a few of the photos we took.

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For what’s it’s worth.  I’m posting this here because the DMCA suppresses everything the 80s tought us about making mixed tapes for the girls we love.  Well, bite me.

Peter brought to my attention a new service in BETA called joost.  It looks great an you should check it out.  In the meantime I’m hoping for an invite.

Some kind sould will send an invite my way, it’s like “Pay it Forward”

Anyone who’s been around blogs for a while knows about spam.  This plugin is for wordpress and looks like this:

Works like a charm too! No more pesky comment’o'matics.  Get your own Akismet blocker.

Analytics has been around for some time, but I found it yesterday.  By simply cutting and pasting some short cod into the bottom of each of my webpages I can generate marketing stats for thestubbes.com.  Here’s an example of what that looks like:

Once again, don’t forget you can click on the image to get a bigger one.  Most may not find this intereting, but anyone can use the service.  Even if you don’t OWN the site, as longs as you have access to the code you can add this feature.