Big Spring Hill Provincial Park: What a Waste!

I decided to go and see this park at the north west side of Calgary, outside the city limits, of course and close to the town of Cochrane, this past long weekend. What a mistake! I'm not too far so I got myself on Highway #567 and turned left at a sign, toward the south before reaching that town. I find myself in a quite large parking lot after a few minutes of driving. A few vehicles were parked there despite the weather being cloudy and rainy. I parked and looked around. Not many signs. I took a green path more towards the south side of the park. O-O! I didn't go into the castle as I was not playing chess(!) it was the end of the path. Barbed wire and sign saying it was a protected area. Okay. I understand. That's how it should be or it will be ruined like Banff National Park has been. 

I then went to the other end of the park, the north side and a sign over there says you can go up a short trail to a lookout. I took that. It passes by a nice waterfall and a few small bridges and then in 5 minutes you're there! You not only have reached the lookout but also the end of the damn park! Isn't this brilliant?! A park where you can go from one end to another in less than 15 minutes!! What a waste of money and of course resource: A paved road, parking lot, bathroom facilities, signs, stairs and small foot bridges all for people to be able to walk for 15 freaking minutes! 

I don't know what these guys of the Provincial Government were thinking! I don't think they were thinking at all! My guess is they either had some budget to blow or there was a dispute between the ranchers and lot owners in the area and in order to permanently settle that they said: Hey! This land, this little piece of sh*t land belongs to none of you. We're going to blow thousands of dollars and make it a park that people are only expected to spend 15 minutes of their visiting time in it! 

There are many parks in and outside The City of Calgary, beautiful and lovely parks which I never tired of going to. This, however, is a silly joke and a stupid mistake. I will never burn fuel to get there again. What a stupid waste. 

(Photo: This entire area to those hills are a protected area and separated from the park boundary using barbed wire and signs which is the right thing to do but the government of Alberta did not have to spend thousands of dollars on the facilities of the 15-minute long park!)

Fool Proofing for a Fool

I studied a little and wrote about Fool Proofing many years ago. I posted about it back in 2004. Something happened after 22 years that made me not only to practically implement that but also write about here, not hopping that anyone does anything about these fools! 

This story starts with ABSA, The Alberta Boilers Safety Association, a provincial organization which watches over the manufacturing, assembling and installation of pressure vessels to make sure they are safe by complying to the applicable standards. ABSA deploys Authorized Inspectors to the facilities and sites which deal with pressure vessels to perform inspections and reviews regularly and charges them a good chuck of dough! I had to deal with four Authorized Inspectors since I have started this new position and one is funnier than the other: 

1) Caucasian fella who always was very friendly. Always smiling and chatty. I've written about my encounter with him regarding my trip to Japan. He got axed for lack of work ethics and being sloppy! He later contacted the team leader of ours who was kicked out later(!) and said that he wanted to start an Inspection Company. Never heard of him since.

2) An Indian Punjabi guy. This guy was a bit of nutcase. A narcissist like most of the Indians are and a sort of person who thought he knew everything and never was ashamed of abusing his power. Common within eastern culture, in general and Indian sub-continent culture, in particular! He got into heated argument with two of female employees of the company and got banned! This moron, was sent back to the company months after the incident because ABSA didn't have anyone else and this time he approached me and asked me to fix something on one of the products. When I asked him which one it was he said he did not remember exactly what serial number it was and got busy with one of his own people who works for the company! What a fool! 

3) Another Caucasian fella who seemed to be more mature, understanding and knowledgeable at first. But not completely as it appears later! This guy says things that either forgets or don't care about them, later! If there're issues within the products that he finds, he never officially sends a message. He always hands a small piece of paper, usually a Sticky Note or says it, although I think they note it down as they have a sort of log-book which they update it after every visit.

One of my interactions with this numbnuts was the concept of recycling which I never even bothered to mention it to him, like any other things that he had an issue with and fixed it myself! The company has provided both a trash bin and a recycling bin in every room, including the room the so-called Authorized Inspectors use. I realized that this idiot throws the papers that he does not want into the trash bin while there's a blue bin (recycle bin) just next to it. The concept of recycling is ignored by millions and millions in Canada and all over the world. They just simply don't care but there's a bin, why don't you use it? What I did was just switched the spots that these two bins had been placed and got the recycle bin closer to the desk if the so-called A. I. I didn't work! Then I removed the trash bin and placed it at the other end of the room because I knew this guy was so lazy that he would not walk to the other side to throw something in the bin. I then just placed the blue bin so close to him that he wouldn't even have to move. All he has to do now is to extent his arm and get rid of the piece! That's how you fool proof a task!

(Photo: A very simple and basic example of fool proofing, mistake proofing or its Japanese term, Poke Yoke) 

The Caps on the Fence

I've been to Highway #22 several times and by that I mean the south part of it where it takes you to Crowsnest Pass and the US border and I realized, every time that on one of the ranches on the right side of the highway, the west side, baseball caps are placed on the top of almost every and each fence post. I never knew what that meant and there was never anyone to ask.

I did a little search and I found out what this means, today! I was supposed to go to north, this weekend for some hike but the weather has been cloudy and rainy in almost every part of the Province of Alberta, from south in Coutts to north in Edmonton. So I'm writing this now with the hope that I can get out around noon to get a few things done, not that anyone cares.

The story is about a 90-year-old rancher near Longview who had been to Yukon Territory and had seen caps on the fences and decided to do the same thing in his ranch. He nailed, perhaps, nearly hundred caps to his fence posts. There's a full interview with the gentleman who originally is from Calgary and according to him was born in 1930 in CBC back in 2020. Now 6 years later I hope he is sound and well despite the fact that these caps mean nothing but a way of spare the time and create curiosity within the travelers who drive by! 

(Photo: Property fence on Highway #22 in Alberta, south of Longview)

A Seven-hour Hike in Bob Creek

I've lost the number of times that I've been to Bob Creek to reach Thrift Peak! It must have been 6 or 7, including yesterday's trip. I set my clock for 05:15 because the times that I had set it for 03:30 or even 04:30, it was extremely difficult to get out of the bed and then continue to the trailhead! There were a couple of times that I left the city and then drove back after an hour or more driving! Crazy and stupid!
This time was not easy as well but I got myself out of the bed and left around 05:35 and headed south to Highway #22. The beauty of Alberta is undisputable. I had to make a stop every time I found something interesting to take a picture and of course I stopped for a cup of coffee, this time in Okotoks. I then started the hike at exactly 09:18. It means from the time I left home, to the moment that I geared up and headed up the trail it took almost 03:45 hours, which should not take more than 02:15, normally! 
The weather was nice at the beginning and there was no one in the area, as it's usually is the case but I noticed something different this time: Cows! Lots and lots of them everywhere! There're many ranches nearby but I had never seen the cattle on the trail and scattered everywhere. That caused some problem because they stand and stare at you and sometime jump and run erratically! 

People mostly don't see the beauty of the small things around

The clouds moved in after more than 2 hours that I was on the trail and then, again, I realized that I had gone the wrong! I had gone up a very tall cliff which it appeared that I had to go around it but I think the problem was with this path that I was following, saved in my handheld GPS. I took a few pictures from there and this in fact was as far as I had gone last year! So basically no progress in a year. I thought perhaps if I simply followed the trail, instead of following the GPS track, it might take me to the damn lookout but the rain started and I was, again tired, so I headed down.
More cows were on the trail and generally in the area when I got down. The funny part was when I was trying to sneak pass a calf and its mom(!), it looks like that the calf was interested in me(!) because it started following me. The mom who was protecting the baby started coming toward me! This was no good! At the moment I thought to myself: People are afraid of Bears and Cougars in the mountains, I have to be worried about cattle! I, fortunately, was close to a inclined area with lots of tree. I just ran down. There was no way that the cow could reach me! It would have hit the trees or rolled the hill! There were more cattle on the way which i had to go around them. At one point a whole herd started running! It was quite a scene! 
The rain stopped and the sun helped me to have a drier boots and pants! It had happened from crossing the stream and going to the wet areas to avoid the damn staring cows! I reached the vehicle at almost 16:20, after 7 freaking hours. That how long it should have taken to reach the summit, had I followed the right path! May be another time! 
I stopped at Longview Jerky Shop on my way back and bought a small package despite the fact that I eat meat (any kind) not more than once a week. I will share with Mom and Brother as I want them to try it. I did it just to support a local business and that's what we all have to do when we go to this small towns. Overall it was a very joyful day and despite the fact that I did not reach the summit, I enjoyed it very much. 

(Photo, top: this small herd of cattle was still standing in the middle of the trail and staring at me, making sure I am no harm! I had to go to the threes to avoid them and appear in behind. They still looked very uncomfortable!)

The Multiple Used Car Guy

There's a huge market for used cars here in North America. I had to hear all sorts of nonsense from people, every time I wanted to buy a car and I always ignored it:

1) You save in Insurance.

2) Your car loses its value so fast that it makes your head spin.

3) You can change your car every year, if you buy used.

And many other stupid meaningless nonsense! 

I don't have anything against the people who cannot afford a new car or the used cart dealerships. I bought a used car once in my life and I had it for 6-7 months. I'm doing better now and I haven't purchased a used car since and will never buy one. In fact the last car I bought last year was a brand new 2025 and I paid cash and I will buy another brand new car soon and I will pay cash for it as well! No interest but that fits my life style. I don't have other major costs that many do. 
What these people don't understand is that everyone has a different lifestyle. I give you an example of this nasty disgusting animal who works for the same company as I do: This pile of stinking horse manure was bragging about his cars and his house! How he has, I think, two or three, one worse than the other and how he " fixed" his house that now it's " cooler " in summer! I wasn't listening but I heard he was bragging about that to someone else in the breakroom. By the way these are the people who have no friend, no relative, no sibling, no reliable and no lovable partner and have to find a free ear to chow it off at work, about what they do in their daily pathetic lives!! He got stuck on Q. E. II, near Red Deer last year and had to call a tow truck (!) and then last week had to come to work taking a bus and then on foot, a few days ago! Why? The answer is simple:  All those junk that he drag here and there, broke down!
The other fact about this people is the amount of complaining that they provide to you! They complain about the cost of living and how expensive their kids are and so on! no one put a gun to your heads, you numb nuts! Are you familiar with this product called condom or some might call it prophylactic rubber?! How about Morning After™ ? This disgusting animal, did the same! As soon as conversation started he asked me how many kids I had. I was going to tell him to shove his question up his wife's rectum but you know you cannot do that in workplaces! So I gave him the right answer. I then tried to avoid him and I was quite successful. It was him who would approach me to shoot the shit, as all these losers whom I explained them above, do! That was when I realized he was walking to the bus stop and became very happy! Get your life in line and stop complaining! 

(Photo: A backyard junk yard! This is the Brave's backyard! I used to live here back in 2002 and it was a nice backyard with three and even a picnic bench. This dumb asshole has turned it to a junk yard! The building you see is what that has been replaced the beautiful backyard and now is full of items, mostly tools which are rotting and I think two old cars which have no faith better than the tools! The cars you see are all rusting and dying in sun, rain, wind and snow and mostly have no value. In fact he has to pay someone to come and take them away one day or whoever inherits the house would have to do so. The house itself has been turned to Indian Punjabi asylum house which is the subject of a different post, maybe later!)

The Game

If I didn't know Michael Douglas was born in N. J., I'd probably think he was from San Francisco, considering his obsession with that city! Basic Instinct, Streets of San Francisco (which I haven't watched, of course!) and the last film I've seen: The Game, all take place in that northern California city. The city which used to be glorious once. All I've read about it in the past few years is that it has lost all his glory and filled with poverty, homelessness and gang violence. Nevertheless that's not the subject of this post and regardless of all these negative thing I hear, I'm going there next year, if everything goes as planned. Or anywhere nearby because this time my intention is to approach Boundary Peak from California side.
The Game is an interesting movie and somehow unrealistic! It is a movie so it does not have to be real, someone would day. I believe unless they make science fiction, the story should fit with the audience easily. I don't want to spoil the movies for the ones who haven't watched it (although the likelihood of anyone accessing it and enjoying, isn't very high) but I think the other Fincher's movie, Se7en could be considered more realistic than The Game but The Game is a very entertaining movie and more importantly unpredictable until the end and that is very important for me, as movie goer and a Movie Buff, as well! 
The Game is a sort of movie which takes you along. This had not happened to me for a very long time. So despite the fact that I was dead tired, I glued myself to the seat and watched it to the end. I hope you enjoy this 1997 movie as well. 

(Photo: Douglas in the scene that the " game " actually is about to start!)