Alf vom Garreler Esch – 19 April 2000 to 17 January 2011

| January 18, 2011

I am both saddened and honoured to bear the news to the world that yesterday, in his own bed and in the company of those who loved him with all their hearts, Alf vom Garreler Esch, also known as Alf, went to sleep for the last time. Originally brought to Canada from Germany, and coming […]

Beware the Activist for He Will Piss Down Your Back and Tell You It’s Raining

| December 30, 2010

Under the title New tobacco warnings unveiled, CBC News opened their 30 December 2010 article with, “The federal government has introduced new rules that force tobacco companies to include larger and more graphic anti-smoking warning labels on cigarette packs. The new anti-smoking ads will now cover 75 per cent of the pack, instead of the […]

Musings on a Gift in this Season of Gifting

| December 13, 2010

Everyone has struggled with finding the “right” gift for someone, and my purpose here today isn’t to help you with that. Instead, it’s to define what the “right” gift actually means. On my last birthday, Mrs. LFM gifted me with a Relic ZR77224 automatic wind watch that appeals to my sensibilities on a number of […]

Lest We Forget – A Parting Shot

| November 11, 2010

Quite a while ago I mastered singing the song titled The Green Fields of France. It’s been recorded by many, but my favourite arrangement is this one by The Fureys. Not only do I enjoy the arrangement and the voice of the man singing it, but there’s one line in particular that always held a […]

Lest We Forget – Poland 1939

| November 11, 2010

Peace, n. In international affairs, a period of cheating between two periods of fighting. ~ Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary As a student of military history I have long been aware of the German shenanigans with respect to Poland that finally dragged British Prime Minister Nevil Chamberlain kicking and screaming into a declaration of war […]

Lest We Forget – Family Ties

| November 11, 2010

“I will not stand for trivializing the sacrifices made by those who fought and often died or worse so I can sit hear speaking the truth as I see it, and to my mind the title of “Hero” is thrown around entirely too easily these days. There are times and situations in history that few […]

The Sword and the Snowflake – Chapter the Fourth

| November 7, 2010

In 1983 I started a security consulting company called Whynacht Security & Survival. In 1984 I moved to a house on Lincoln Street in Lunenburg, and the picture on the left shows me thanking the gang that helped me move. That same year, I expanded the company’s services to include alarm monitoring and emergency dispatching […]

The Sword and the Snowflake – Chapter the Third

| November 3, 2010

I was a kid with interests in all areas of science and, by the time I was 8 years old, had a well equipped chemistry lab set up in the basement of the house I grew up in. I had a flair for showmanship and was often asked by my teachers to put on demonstrations […]

The Sword and the Snowflake – Chapter the Second

| November 2, 2010

My grandfather survived “The Great War” and before leaving England married Violet Axtle of Surrey. The two returned to Canada, briefly residing in East Chester before moving to Montreal where they started their family of six, an even mix of girls and boys. The second youngest was my mother, Evelyn. 46 years old when the […]

The Sword and the Snowflake – Chapter the First

| November 1, 2010

No snowflake ever falls in the wrong place.”  ~ Zen saying Much has been written about what people believe in. This article is exclusively about something my life experience has led me not to believe in – coincidence. Too many times I have found myself, through a seemingly random sequence of events and apparently capricious […]