On some minor events

Old rails

I was walking on the still active railway spur line along the Lachine canal a few weeks ago when I noticed that the plates holding the rails to the ties had dates on them along with the railway's initials. 

Some had the current CN initials in a manner close to the famous CN logo and relatively recent date, 1972 in this case.

Others had the older initials, viz CNR, complete with periods, as well as much older dates! I later observed that it wasn't just the plates but also the rails themselves that had dates on them. This was the oldest I noticed.

Unless I am wildly out to lunch, the dates are those of the manufacture of the hardware, so these bits of the line are nearly a hundred years old! Before any of you start calling Canada's first astronaut or the Minister of Transport demanding an inquiry, I submit the observation that this is and probably always was a low speed spur line serving industry. As such, the rails would have been under relatively little stress and wear. Furthermore, it is likely that some of the rails and plates may have been first used on main or branch lines before being re-used on this spur line.

Old bike frames

Last Wednesday, I set off on Justin with the trailer to deliver two boxes of books to the Library. It was a crisp and clear day. I didn't get very far. My right hand (rear) brake-shifter lever would only go backwards after the application of disconcertingly large amount of force, followed by a disturbing click then slackness which did not produce much braking force. I returned home, then used Communauto to deliver and pick up the books. I then brought Justin into the closest bike shop to see if they could figure out what the issue was. Thankfully, it was a matter of about 10 minutes of adjustment. While I waited, I noticed the bike shop had farmes of expired bikes as part of the decor. For instance, this gate barring access to the workshop area uses the frame of what I assume is a Cervélo.

This lamp is supported by another Cervélo frame.

Work these days

Yesterday, my parents held a virtual "April birthday party in November." If I may digress, an unusually large number of members of my family (including both my parents) have their birthdays in April. Late last century, the tradition emerged of having a collective birthday party slash family reunion for them, usually at my parents' house. For obvious reasons, this did not happen this year. A few weeks ago, my Mother decided to host a virtual "April birthday party" on Zoom. We ended up being about a dozen Zoom screens, spread out over 4 time zones, 3 countries and 2 continents.

One of my cousins asked me if I was still working at the Library. I said: "No, but I still working for the Library!" I then grabbed a book at my left to show the camera saying that I was at the very spot I work these days. I then produced a Cutter-Sanborn three figure author table to further illustrate my point.