Page Thirty-Seven  

18 NOVEMBER 2005

Admit it.  You Canadians wouldn't exist if it weren't for our magnanimous benevolence.

Ah, yes.  American tact and diplomacy hard at work.  Sorta makes one want to burst into patriotic song, doesn't it?

First of all, Rube (and I do mean 'Rube') when compared to the overall tourist dollars pouring into the GTA, the piddling few Rochester bucks added during the SARS crisis wasn't even chump change, so knock off the self-congratulatory B.S.   Even today, if every Rochester area resident boycotted the GTA, about the most noticeable effect would be fewer shocked gawkers in front of the Condom Shack on Queen.

Second, just where do you get off copping your If-It-Weren't-For-Us-Americans-Canada-Would-Be-A-Barren-Wasteland attitude?  Once again, Americans seem to think tossing a few scraps to Canada obligates Canadians to genuflect and kow-tow to every demand.  Screw you, sweetheart.  It's YOU who needs the damn ferry, not us.  Your desperation is showing and I must say, it's not a pretty sight.

Calling Mississauga Centre MP Carolyn Parrish:

Dear, would you kindly dust off your book of Off The Record Phrases for us?

Yes, that's the one.  Its sweet sentiment still lingers hauntingly after two years and will forever be on the minds of Canadians who get a few American greenbacks shoved in their faces and are then expected to roll over like trained puppies and obey as directed.

How about a deal?  Dump this idiotic and paranoid requirement of Canadians needing passports to cross the dotted line and Torontonians might think about floating some charity donations into the Rochester area.  Rochester groupies like Rube think flashing the cash means getting what you want -- so I'm quite sure Canadians will be afforded the same consideration.

It's great up north The US should look to Canada to find out how to balance both its budget and its life....

After all, we all know how much double-standards piss people off.

Just ask Carolyn Parrish. 

20 NOVEMBER 2005

Confessions of a nitwit.

Story time.

So here I was... all wound up, ready to hit the road and rip on up to SkyDome (oh yeah.. ROGER'S CENTRE) for the annual Toronto Aboriginal Festival on Saturday.  Jump in the car, gas up and head west for the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge.  Made good time and the weather was great.  The QEW was a tad busy, but no big deal.

Charging through Oakville, as I passed Ford Drive the Brake Light pops on... strange, but everything seems to be OK and the brakes are working, so I sally forth.  Around Hurontario, things are getting a little more hectic -- nonetheless, around the GTA as long as the traffic's moving faster than 40 mph it's nothing more than typical expressway driving.  Ran into the usual slowdowns at the beginning of the Gardiner and I took the Spadina exit down the off-ramp.  Start to hit the brakes and the pedal feels REAL mushy and begins to sink toward the floorboards.  No brakes.

PUMP-PUMP-PUMP-PUMP-DriveShifterInNeutral-PUMP-PUMP-PUMP-PUMP... and the car comes to a stop behind the line at the stop light at the bottom of the ramp.  Shitshitshit...heart is fluttering wildly and images of an idiot with NY plates tying up the Gardiner-Spadina-Lakeshore area with a broken-down car flash through my mind.  Light changes, drive shift to Drive and gingerly, I manage to turn into the SkyDome Drive and into a very empty parking lot.

"Where is everybody... you moron you, the Aboriginal Festival is NEXT weekend".  No brakes, no brake fluid, Festival is NEXT weekend and the drive to Toronto was pretty much a waste of time and money.  It's 5pm on a Saturday afternoon.  Now what?

Along with the Native, there's a lot of British in me and as much as the Brits are maligned as being too reserved and restrained, the British are great under pressure.  Cool, calm, collected and calculating.  'Other' nationalities are prone to flying off the handle and flipping out if something doesn't go exactly as planned, but the British trait of shrugging off clear and present calamity just seems to make the most sense.  Keeping one's wits about when the chips are down is a remarkable attribute British society is well known for.  The Blitz in London.  The Al-Qaeda Tube attacks. 

The humour of Monty Python illustrates the cavalier attitude of the Brits as a knight is being systematically dismembered ("It's just a scratch").  Maintaining a dignified demeanour while all hell is breaking loose is something I've always admired.

Panic can be deadlier than the unplanned event itself so it's critical to keep a lid on it... even though the safest route out may not always be immediately available.  Calmly and rationally assess the situation, then examine the options minus all the emotional hysterics.  When in a crisis, few things bug me more than people running around like chickens with their heads cut off crying, "What'll I do, what'll I do?".

Sitting in the empty parking lot, I calmly turned off the car and admired the sights around me.   Yup, the Gardiner sure was packed.  Lakeshore was filled to capacity.  Not alot of Canadian Tire stores in downtown Toronto.  Not too many gas stations which might have brake fluid, either.  Every time I applied the brakes, there must be a copious spray of fluid coming out of the hole in the rotted brake line.  Wonder how much those condos on the 50th floor cost?  Hmm.  Let's see, what to do? 

-- Limp toward one of the cheap motels on Kingston Rd in Scarborough and try again in the morning?  What's that solve?  The broken line won't be any better in the morning.

-- Call CAA and be towed back home?  Ye Gods.  What an involved production that would be.  CAA tows to the border, dumps you off and an AAA towing company picks you up and drives the rest of the 100 miles back home.  I know.  It's been done for me before.

-- Pretend that wishes really DO come true and find a Canadian Tire garage who'll do an emergency repair on a Saturday night so that I can limp back home?  Yeah... RIGHT.

-- Play 'Canadian Hoser', find a Kwiki-Mart with hideously expensive brake fluid, get back on the Gardiner and head back home with umpteen stops to replenish the fluid gushing onto the road every time the brake pedal's pushed?  We have a winner!

Yes, Dear Friends, sometimes forsaking sanity, reason and every safety concern on the books is the route of choice.  While I wouldn't recommend driving from Toronto to Rochester without brakes for everyone, it worked for me.  Stress level?  Astronomical.  Safe?  Not exactly.  Do-able?  Evidently.

Sometimes redirecting frustration can be a useful diversion away from the thought of the deer-infested Ontario State Parkway at night.  Questions like: "Why the hell don't American auto manufacturers use stainless steel brake lines which won't rot out" come to mind.  Too expensive?  Bull.  Planned obsolescence makes sure the cheapest damn crap that works and maximizes profit is the way to go.  Built to last?  Baloney.  Built to sell.  It's the American Way and keeps the economy humming with Consume, Repair and Replace.  If cars were built to last at least 500,000 miles, the US economy would collapse.  Unless the auto manufacturers started charging ten times the price... in which case consumers would start patching up 30-year old vehicles à la Cuban taxis.

Anyway.  It was a lovely visit to Toronto.  All ten minutes of it.  And if $42 million fast ferries can breakdown, I guess an Olds Ciera with 73,000 miles can be forgiven for getting on in years.  As for its driver, well, paying more attention to the Outlook Calendar is a valuable lesson learned.  To the Homeland Security guy who must have detected a hint of stress in the driver and was compelled to rummage through empty brake fluid bottles in the trunk, sorry - no Fundamentalist Islamic terrorists today; just some Mohawk dude who had another 100 miles to drive minus a small luxury called 'brakes'.  I know, I know -- I worry about the damnedest things.

I believe a prayer of thanks is in order.  So done.

Back to business.

53º | Hi 55º / Lo 38º |

Does anyone seriously think on-board gambling stands a chance of happening?  For a minute, let's pretend VLTs are allowed by the NYS Legislature:

"Canadian officials also have rejected the idea."

Let's also pretend that 'Canadian officials' are in a good mood and don't flat out say "VLTs onboard?  Don't plan on docking at a Canadian port".  Instead, these 'officials' make a concession and say the VLTs can be onboard but have to be switched off while in Canadian waters.  Out of a 2-½ hour cruise, how much time would be left to gamble?  Would that be enough to compel anyone but truly dedicated gamblers to take the ferry?

"State Sen. Joseph Robach, R-Greece, remains in strong support of getting VLTs on the ferry.... "We need to do everything we can to make (the ferry) viable so it doesn't rely on taxpayer subsidies and so we can continue to draw tourism dollars here," he said."

Hey, Joe?  How about attaching huge parasails to the back of the ship so passengers can have a REAL thrill?  Maybe waterskis?  How about artificial rockclimbing like on cruise ships?  Genealogy workshops?  Vegas showgirl revues?  Cooking classes?  Fireworks?  Rock concerts?  Why Joe, the possibilities are endless!

Clutching at straws.  A bit like offering a free toaster for hopping on board, the desperation is truly palpable.  Sensing that all the Rochester area attractions have been showcased as visitor enticements, ferry supporters now focus on the perceived siren song of the ferry itself... you know, on-board amenities which either enhance or ignore the actual crossing experience.

Cruise ships are fundamentally different than ferries, however, and this difference is the same as transcontinental train travel versus commuter trains.   Not only are the length of times on board dramatically shortened, but the very purpose for choosing that particular method of transportation are different.  When getting from Point A to Point B is the primary objective, passengers aren't all that interested in playing games like Charades or other activities found on other prolonged voyages.

Maybe the most perplexing question about the Toronto-Rochester ferry is: What's its purpose?  That's never been made clear to the paying public who are the Lords and Ladies who'll give it a thumbs up or down.  The owners, operators and supporters of the ferry are insignificant noise which varied from obnoxious to condescending to surreal since the first proposal hit the table.

-- Is the ferry merely the means to provide easier access to the Rochester area with the hopes to boost tourism and the local economy?

-- Is the ferry a really nifty boat ride which is primarily the main attraction for the public to get excited about?

-- Is the ferry supposed to be a self-sustaining, profitable venture - or - is it a publicly-funded project which acts as a tool to stimulate spin-off businesses which more than offset the taxpayer costs?

Nobody seems to know.  Whatever the intent, the public didn't take either the hint or the bait.  VLTs aren't the answer and they certainly aren't a solution.

It's time to get real.

21 NOVEMBER 2005

Speaking of getting real...

First ferry payment made 11/20/2005 11:00 PM (WROC-TV) The City of Rochester sent out its first payment on the fast ferry, according to an article on the Rochester Business Journal's  website. The article says the city sent out a check for $1.14 million last week. The money is an interest payment on the $40 million loan the city obtained from the Australian government to buy the ship and launch operations. The city set aside $8 million of that loan to serve as a start-up and reserve fund. The interest payment was made from the ferry's reserves, meaning there is less than $1 million in the account. At last check, the fund had $1.5 to $2 million. "Clearly, the city is running through money faster than they thought they would. The hope is they can keep it going. That's why making this reserve payment is a necessary evil at this point, but clearly not what everyone wants," said financial analyst George Conboy of Brighton Securities, who has been been tracking the ferry project.

Gee George; really profound and insightful analysis there.   You have a remarkable ability to restate the obvious which has been common knowledge for anyone with the capacity to read English.  People actually fork  over big bucks for this sort of complex financial drivel?

Well, yes they do.  A local investment manager, Brighton Securities has been around for 36 years serving the Rochester area residents and reflecting the conservative zeitgeist of their clients.  Remember, the local community's business initiatives and direction are controlled by local residents -- people who aren't likely to be socially or politically adventurous.  That's just the way this community works -- or doesn't, as the case may be.

Example?

51º | Hi 52º / Lo 33º |

Surburban Irondequoit isn't exactly as hotbed of radical free-thinkers or social liberalism.  Of course, they're not alone as the minivan and white picket fence crowd is a potent force indeed around here.

So when local get their knickers in a knot over an issue which is socially enlightened and personally irrelevant, it comes as no surprise.  'Family values', doncha know.

Get the drift?  It happens over and over again; corporate and political directions, school and educational priorities, community standards and initiatives... they all reflect the mindset and values of the residents of the locality.  Duh.  No huge revelation there.

What's particularly noteworthy is the stripping away of the veneer and revealing the true colours of the community.  Bland, generic and provincial in scope, the Rochester area has never been accused of being avant-garde, progressive or cutting-edge hip.  No problem there as long as your customers aren't avant-garde, progressive or cutting-edge hip either... all adjectives which have been used to describe the Toronto area.

Now, for all those 'family values' types who waste no opportunity to whine about my perceived 'attack' on their way of life, let me state -- once again -- it's not the values I question; it's the definition.  Who gets to determine what 'family values' are?  'Community standards' is a thinly disguised way of saying 'majority rules and minority loses', 'assimilate or shut up' and is patently exclusionary at the expense of inclusion.  It's a slippery slope when the majority gets to dictate to those in the minority... shades of the Deep South of the 1930's come to mind when the majority is allowed to set policy without the input of the minority.

That's not to say the Rochester area is racist or exclusionary -- al least not overtly.  The Rochester brand of Be-Like-Me is far more subtle and shows manifestations in such ways as pricy 'exciting alternative' ways of getting across the lake.  "Why, everybody will embrace this service because it's something I like" is a sample of how local cavalier assumptions ignore the obvious and embrace the lifestyles of 'our' values.  Sez you, I say.

Toronto, by its very nature, is a cosmopolitan amalgamation of vast diverse cultures, values and priorities.  The place would be complete bedlam if it wasn't, as trying to shove any one particular way of life -- such as a narrowly defined 'family values' ethic -- down the throats of the GTA residents would result in justifiably resentful anarchy.  The Rochester area, despite its braggadocio of diversity, makes no secret that a conservative and traditional position is going to get top billing.

Thus, when a local church congregation rears up in defiant protest over something as benign as the ordination of a gay bishop, it's a telling sign of the values which can be found within the community.  Draconian?  Sure.  'Change' is to be fought aggressively on all fronts.  'Different' is to be rejected as a matter of policy.

And so it goes.  Another useless web poll from the folks at 13WHAM-TV.   You'd think by now people would understand even a poll for 'entertainment purposes' is meaningless without the number of respondents stated.

Still, there may be a growing realization that maybe... just maybe... the ferry project wasn't such a great idea after all.  Why it takes blowing tens of millions of dollars to reach that conclusion is a real mystery, but sometimes the truly dense need to get burned to realize sticking their hands in a fire isn't a good idea.

It's also interesting to see the hue and cry of people who sat on their thumbs while the ferry proposal was being bandied about now leaping up saying, "I told you so".

Who can forget that stirring scene of September 2004 when flag-waving and cheering locals excitedly greeted the ferry at the Port of Rochester?  Touching memories.

"Such promise", they thought.  "A real boon to the local economy with pride and prestige galore".

Ignoring the fact that it would be Canadians who would either make or break the service, these myopic supporters focused on their community alone, convinced their local attractions would have sufficient draw to have 'em crowding Charlotte with fistfuls of Canadian dollars.  The city bought into it and so did the residents and business community.

When the ferry didn't even come close to delivering as promised (and how could it?) these supporters are now saying, "Gee, what a crummy idea... let's dump it".  13WHAM-TV was as vocal a supporter as any as their coverage has shown throughout this ordeal by its reluctance to emphasis the negative aspects of the ferry service.  Now that the writing's on the wall, suddenly 13WHAM-TV takes a more sardonic view and shoves an admittedly unscientific 'poll' on its website which -- unquestionably -- it knows is going to show growing public dissatisfaction with the service.  Edgy stuff here.

Yet another Mohawk prognostication:  Watch for the groundswell of former supporters to miraculously see the light and move to end the red ink.  The local media, including City Newspaper, will swing into 'what went wrong' mode... never admitting they should have been against the idea from Day One.  "It would have worked and here's why it didn't" is supposed to exonerate the predictions of supporters who should have said "It won't work and here's why".  I believe it's called the Theories of Armchair Quarterbacks.

Canadians knew before the idea ever saw light it wouldn't work.  Why?  Who the hell is THAT intent on visiting Rochester?  Those that ARE already have access to the area via car, rail, bus or plane.  Do they really need to have a boat as another option? The answer, of course, is "No".

Ferry supporters said "Yes".  They rolled the dice and crapped out.  Doesn't stop them from forging ahead like gamblers trying to beat the house, and like problem gamblers they'll keep on playing until the inevitable conclusion is reached. 

That conclusion is at hand.

"Further straining our relationship with Canada"?  What's THAT supposed to mean?  "Arm-wrestled" certainly implies a contest in which Canadians were the losers to a more powerful force and once again, American hegemony rears its ugly head.

Canadians were being polite and although they had great reservations about the viability of the project, thought they'd toss the U.S. interests a charitable bone to placate them.  That's a far cry from 'arm-wrestling' them into an agreement but then, that perspective makes the Americans appear in a weaker position.  And that's just... just... incomprehensible.

Fortunately for the Rochester interests, the ferry issue is so insignificant to the Canadian public there won't be very many "We-Told-You-So's" once the service is finally discontinued.  The lack of interest proves it.

Ms. Fox blithely ignores the fact the city of Rochester pushed and shoved to win the bid at the auction -- and we're not talking about some used row boat here, either.  The city can't simply slap a For Sale sign on the windshield and expect a swarm of people in the market for a $32 million highly specialized ferry to show up.  Ms. Fox also seems to feel the city has the option to dispose of the ship at its whim.  Getting rid of the ship might not be as difficult as trying to keep the ship from being sold for pennies on the dollar.

Flashback to February 09, 2005:  Istanbul Fast Ferries of Turkey took a look at the ship for possible bidding at the auction.  So did Tower Investments LLC of Woodland California who bought the enormous former Eastman Kodak Elmgrove facility with designs of great development and jobs -- and are now dumping the place with less than half the jobs delivered and fewer than expected leases sold.  They're sure as hell not going to invest any more money in an area which is slipping into an economic malaise as fast as the ferry's demise.

Remember this?

Monday   February 28, 2005

Ahmet Paksoy, Istanbul Fast Ferries Turks: Fast Ferry Here Not Feasible by Seth Voorhees and Judy Mendoza photo by Todd Krupa   Published Feb 28, 2005 Though it wished Rochester well, a Turkish company that operates fast ferries believes the city's newly-purchased ferry business will fail. At one point, Istanbul Fast Ferries appeared poised to bid on the Spirit of Ontario. It chose not to bid on the ferry because moving the ship back to Turkey would have been cost prohibitive. Istanbul Fast Ferry representatives attended the auction Monday. The city of Rochester won the auction for the ferry in federal court for $32 milion. Istanbul Fast Ferries Company General Manager Ahmet Paksoy said that he believes the ferry's Rochester-Toronto route isn't "financially feasible". Still, Paksoy wished the city well in its endeavor. "I would like to say the operation of the vessel is more difficult and challenging than buying ships. This is very important," said Paksoy.

Gee.  Looks like Mr. Paksoy was right.  Think he might still be interested in buying the ship?  Think he might get the ship at a bargain basement price?  Think he might be sitting in Istanbul quietly smiling to himself over the foolishness of some Upstate NY city which thought it was so shrewd at an auction?  "Boy, do THOSE guys ever look dumb now".  It's a safe bet he's not the only one thinking that.

The city has placed itself in a horrible position and will lose its shirt on the sale of the ship.  Prospective buyers already know this is a distress sale and they're in a much better position to cop a great deal.  All they have to do is wait... the city will do nothing except lose more money every day it holds the deed.  Eventually, the city will almost be ready to pay someone to take the thing off their hands... it might even be cheaper than an ongoing cash drain.

Was anybody thinking?  IS anybody thinking?

42º | Hi 51º / Lo 36º |

Viewing the public as some sort of braindead group to be manipulated into parting with their cash is a grave error.   With only 22% of the passenger flow being Canadians heading south, that's less than half the estimate of the self-proclaimed 'experts'.  To expect that this dismal figure will more than double simply by slick marketing and advertising is laughable yet that's what needs to be done in order to meet the original goal of half the passengers originating from the northern shore.

What's particularly annoying is the repeated acknowledgement of not enough passengers... yet the reason for this isn't seen as being little demand; it's not enough marketing.

OK.  Let's see how well marketing works.  Might as well eliminate any doubt of the real reason why the ferry tanked.

23 NOVEMBER 2005

Strolling down Memory Lane...

This 'great victory for the community' seems to indicate CATS was 'off' by one helluva lot more than 'two-thirds'.  Promises, promises.

And while we're passing out blame, looks like the Harris Interactive poll was about as useful as an Ouija board.  If that's the type of product Harris Interactive is churning out and charging big bucks for, I'd say their professional acumen is in serious question.  Oh, and you DID know Harris Interactive is another local hometown Rochester hack job, didn't you?

Who We Are Harris Interactive Inc., based in Rochester, New York, is the 13th largest and the fastest-growing market research firm in the world, most widely known for The Harris Poll® and for its pioneering leadership in the online market research industry. Long recognized by its clients for delivering insights that enable confident business decisions, the Company blends the science of innovative research with the art of strategic consulting to deliver knowledge that leads to measurable and enduring value. http://www.harrisinteractive.com/about/

Let's see.  A Rochester area company pitches a service based on a report from a Rochester area pollster using Rochester area money with Rochester area management overseeing the project.  After the private company bites the dust, the city of Rochester places a bid to win the boat and sets up a Rochester Ferry Corporation which is charged with bringing in tourists to stimulate the Rochester area economy.  When THAT body fails, a Rochester area marketing and advertising firm combined with a Rochester area website consulting company is called into service.

And now, Rochester officials are looking to Canadian assistance to dig itself out of a hole?  Sound a touch ludicrous?  It is.

The hype from the above media blurb of 17 September 2002:

"The Canadian study used a prior Harris Interactive poll that found 1-million Canadians a year would use the fast ferry. That would be just over 2,700 a day."

The reality from the first quarter 'report' of the city's Rochester Ferry Corporation of 25 October 2005:

"Total ridership in July, its first full month of operation, was 26,320. August ridership jumped 74 percent to 45,811. Average passengers per trip went from 239 to 402, the report shows."

Can we say "Gross discrepancy"?  I knew we could.  To anyone capable of reading and counting, doesn't this say the Harris Interactive poll was so far off as to render the 'poll' completely invalid, worthless and recklessly inaccurate?  Score another one for the local kids.  Inept, incompetent and bogus.

And now, Rochester officials are looking to Canadian assistance to dig itself out of a hole?  Absurd.

Let's talk about accountability.  Somebody needs to be held accountable for this travesty of major proportion.   CATS President Dominick Delucia sashays off the stage after his luxury maritime vehicle was clamped by the courts.  Right now there's a state investigation into whether he and his company, CATS, should face legal penalties but there's a good chance he's not moving into a single-wide because he can't pay his attorney.  Accountability?  Well, not yet anyway.

Mayor Bill, who blithely ignored the lack of passengers during the CATS reign, pushed hard and fast to take over a proven failed business.  He said all that needed to be done was lower the CATS projected estimates and voila!  The ferry service would work just fine.  He's got about another eight weeks left on the job and will move over to a professor's office at the Rochester Institute of Technology.  Didn't work out?  "Oh, gee.  Guess I was wrong.  See ya."  No feet held to the fire here either.

The Rochester Ferry Corporation, headed by Ben Douglas with moral support from City Councilwoman Gladys Santiago, releases some hackneyed 'report' which is incapable of hiding the fact that the service doesn't have enough public demand or support to justify keeping it in operation and farms out yet more money to local consultants to tell us all how to make the thing work (even though another local agency's poll was so wrong it raises questions of competency).    When the service is finally canned, what sort of accountability will be placed on the Ferry Corporation management?  They members won't be re-elected to the city council?  They just were.

The ferry supporters, rather than using rational and pragmatic assessment, resorted to emotional and superficial declarations of what they wanted their community TO BE instead of what it actually WAS.  Rallying the troops with false hopes and shallow promises, the local ferry supporters had no problem with sinking tens upon tens of millions of taxpayer dollars into a loser of a deal but are the very people who whine mightily about rising local taxes.  And by virtue of their callous ignorance causing everybody to pay for this public mess, they WILL be held accountable.

Is the Canadian factor culpable as well?  Sort of.  All it would have taken was Toronto saying "Thanks, but no thanks" and the whole thing would never have gotten off the ground... but for a relatively small investment, Toronto stood to benefit.  Considering the one-way flow of passengers from the U.S. side to the Canadian side, Toronto hasn't made out half bad either.  Toronto wouldn't be hurt if the thing succeeded OR failed.  From a Canadian standpoint, slapping up a C$10 million ferry terminal was about all it would lose and even with the paltry number of Rochester passengers arriving at Cherry Street, that's tourist money which is offsetting the terminal cost.

Compare that with the total cost to the Rochester side of the lake.

It's that time of year again here in Southern Ontario and Upstate New York.  The famous Lake Effect snow machine is revving up and we've just experienced the first of many blasts to come over the next few months.  Longtime residents are saying this is going to be one wild ride this winter and with at least a half-century of Upstate winters under my belt, that would be my prediction as well.

I live about three miles south of the south shore of Lake Ontario... prime Lake Effect snowbelt area and to be honest, a rousing winter of snow and cold is something I've always looked forward to.  You have to be a northerner to the core to understand that sentiment.  Some people love climbing sheer rock faces.  Some people get into running 10K races in 90°F heat.  Some people enjoy the challenge of taking on Mother Nature's best shot with grace and ease.

Despite seemingly popular opinion, there are those of us who don't see the weather as anything to get worked up about.  Using a bit of common sense is apparently too much to ask of people who moan about the climate in which they live and it's a really 'in' to chime in with the rest of the crowd and moan incessantly about how much one hates the winters up here.  Around here, Florida is the Chosen Land... even though the odds of getting hit by devastating hurricanes are far greater than getting hit by a blizzard or ice storm.  These people just like to hear themselves complain because it's quite vogue to whine about snow.

Using common sense would dictate that wearing leather Adidas and Nikes in 20°F weather is a pretty dumb thing to do... made even moreso when slogging through this wet precipitation called 'snow'.  Likewise, the mass-marketed plastic called ThinSulate is far inferior to natural materials like wool and goose down, but is also far cheaper to produce and buy.  But rookies rush to the local WalMart and figure Cheap Is Good and wonder why they struggle through winter.

(You do know this is going somewhere, don't you?)

Standing by the shore of Lake Ontario today (winds from the NNW at 15 mph, 27°F, wind chill 19°F) with a Winter Weather Advisory in effect, you can be sure not a lot of folks' thoughts are on lake side activities... much less being out on the lake -- no matter whether toasty warm inside a luxurious cabin or not.

On both sides of the lake, the hardier souls who take the weather in stride are obviously fewer in numbers than the general population.  That means the pool of prospective ferry passengers is smaller as well.  These are the locals who see nothing unusual about firing up the barbeque in the middle of January when grilled beast tastes even better than in the summer.

The point is that while demand for the ferry is seasonal at best, to expect a seasonal activity to be able to support a service to a destination with tepid appeal is unrealistic.  Out of that shrunken pool of passengers, there's even fewer with enough interest to take the ferry.  It's like a double-jinx.

(As for me, I've lived through a fair number of blizzards and ice storms in my time and have to tell you: my house is still standing after they've passed.  Unlike residents of New Orleans and Homestead FL.

Hey, can we Northerners expect to recoup some of OUR our taxes due to the effects of OUR weather?  No?  How about just a few Federal bucks to offset our heating and snow removal costs?  No? 

So lemme get this straight: Snowbirds who abandon the North because of no Federal help in dealing with the cost and hassle of Northern weather move south, then get Federal help with dealing with the cost and hassle of Southern weather?  Yeah, that makes sense.  To a Southerner.

Abraham Lincoln was an idiot.  He should have said "Don't let the door hit you on the butt on the way out" when the South wanted to leave the Union.  It would have saved a Civil War and we 'liberal Northeasterners' wouldn't have had to put up with Southern culture or values, nor they, our's.

Just freeform grousing.)

Winter.  Bring it on baby, and gimme your best shot.  Compared to living in a 90+ degree hellhole, the next few months will be a refreshing walk in the park.