Large Fierce Mammal

The following story has recently been declassified and can now be released to the public.

Back in my second year at Dalhousie University I was living in the men’s residence, Howe Hall. At the beginning of that year we started finding cockroaches everywhere. I had none in my room, but caught a couple in, of all places, the dining hall. Complaints from the residence council to the Dean of Men had little effect because his official position was that the university had measures in place to control vermin and the odd bug was inevitable. Never mind that this was an unprecedented infestation.

Anyway, I hatched a plot and asked everybody I knew to catch every roach they found and bring it to me alive. By the end of frosh week I had a bumper crop that was transferred to a large brown paper envelope I had acquired for the purpose. (more…)

It wouldn’t be The Season without the Queen’s annual Christmas message. I just finished watching her 2009 broadcast on, of all things, YouTube. Who knew Buckingham Palace had a YouTube channel? (more…)

Jim Keating brought a timely website to my attention yesterday, the topic of which is the perennial December blossom called, by its correct scientific name, the “Sketchy Santa“. If you grew up in North America you’ve met at least one, and observed still others from a safe distance.

The site needs no further introduction from me. It speaks for itself and, believe me, pictures speak much louder than words. (more…)

This chapter of the saga (if you haven’t already, see A Host of Furious Fancies as well as Chapters the Second, Third, and Fourth) introduces my next choice of aircraft in the fictional fleet of  Golden Mountain Dog Solutions Air Services – the de Havilland Canada DHC6 Series 400 Twin Otter, now manufactured shiny and  new by Viking Air Limited of Sidney, British Columbia. Viking emblazoned the amphibious floats of the Series 400 prototype with the legend “Versatility that Works”. I don’t believe a more fitting comment on the DHC6 legacy could have been written. (more…)

AUTHOR’S NOTE: As the title implies, this is the fourth in a series of carefully selected freeware aircraft crafted by various talented developers for use in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 – A Century of Flight, and bearing my own fictional paint schemes inspired by the real world dog rescue and rehabilitation organization jointly operated by Mrs. LFM and me, Golden Mountain Dog Solutions. (more…)

My Japanese friend Nobu Aki recently sent me a small collection of his exceptionally well crafted and artistic screen shots taken in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004 while he was flying the Maule M-7-260 wearing my Golden Mountain Dog Solutions paint job. Take a peek. (more…)

Canada is the land of the bush plane. While that term sends the mind to the realm of such venerable de Havilland Canada products as the Beaver and Otter, the truth is that a lot of bush flying gets done by smaller aircraft that are purpose built to get in and out of short, unimproved air strips, tiny lakes, and winding rivers. In amphibious configuration, a compact and manoeuvrable short takeoff and landing (STOL) bush plane can perform most of the missions normally associated with helicopters, with greater safety, efficiency, and often speed, all the while incurring lower operating and maintenance costs.  (more…)

For those of you who are interested in downloading the Bell 412 textures I talked about in my 8 November post A Host of Furious Fancies, or who have already downloaded the file but are awaiting receipt of the password to unzip it, wait no longer! This morning honourable Nobu Aki granted his permission for free distribution of the texture files so, as of now, password protection on zip file hc412_jcg412gmds_2009.zip titled HC412 GMDS Repaint on my downloads page has been removed. If you’ve already downloaded the password protected file, the password to unzip it for installation is  hc4122009gmds1107 (case sensitive). (more…)

Following hard on the heels of my 8 November 2009 post titled A Host of Furious Fancies comes this on the subject of the second aircraft in my series of choices and texture designs for the fictional Golden Mountain Dog Solutions Air Services fleet, inspired by the real world dog rescue and rehabilitation company passionately operated here in rural Nova Scotia by Mrs. LFM and me. (more…)

When “Pure” scientific research results in a body of documented work that lacks any immediate real world application in the form of a problem to be solved, it can enter the realm of knowledge that, for all intents and purposes, does not exist. With the passing of time it gathers dust and, unless later unearthed and rediscovered, may be absent from the ken of men in an hour of need. As such, it represents work that might as well never have been done. A waste of effort no matter how valuable it might have turned out to be if only someone still living even knew about it.

In his Book of Five Rings, 17th century Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi presented his school of strategy in five parts or books, the last of which he called “The Book of No-Thing”. (more…)