Tips for Selecting a Campsite

The summer is here and for most of us that enjoy being outdoors that means it is time to clean out the tents and go camping! Ontario has some fantastic provincial parks and reserving a site is very easy using Ontario Parks Website.

There are three main things to consider when selecting a campsite, Privacy, Location, and Terrain. Here are some tips for selecting the best campsite available ensuring your weekend stay under the stars is all it should be.

Privacy

Bigger the better

A bigger site means more space between you and your neighbours and in general the more privacy you have the better.

Select a site that isn’t surrounded by other sites

Similarly if you can select a site that is adjacent to two sites as opposed to 4 the more you will enjoy your stay

Avoid the main roads

Camping beside a main road severely detracts from the “getting away from it all” experience of camping. It’s often noisy and distracting. Stay away from main roads as much as you can.

Location

Keep the bathrooms within walking distance, not smelling distance

Distance from bathrooms and site availability is a tricky issue when selecting a camp site. In general you want to be away from bathrooms because it is a high traffic area and the emanating smells aren’t too nice. However if you are with some female friends and they need to go to the little girls room in the middle of the night you will be happy that your site is not too far away.

Try to be close to the beach area

I often camp at the Pinery in Grand Bend, Ontario. It has a fantastic beach on Lake Huron. The Pinery is a large park with sites so far from the beach that you have to pack the car and drive there. That’s not what you want to do on your vacation. If you can be away from the high traffic route, but still close to the water you will be very happy with your selection

Terrain

Avoid sites where the driveway slopes towards the centre of the site

Most times you will not know the slope of the site when you are reserving it, but if you do know the site from experience stay away from driveways that slope towards the main part of the site. If it rains while you are there all the water will flood your site and leave you hiding in your tent trying to stay dry.

Look for treed privacy and shade

After a long day in the sun by the water you will be relieved to know that your site has some shade from the trees. It isn’t much fun when you discover you have sun stroke and the only shade you can find is in your tent.

Grass and sand covered lots are best

Simply from a comfort standpoint on your feet and when sleeping, sand and grass lots are much more accommodating that gravel.

Consider these tips next time you are booking a campsite and you will be sure to enjoy every minute of your stay.

Happy Camping!

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Sony Cybershot DSC-T100 Camera

This past weekend I met up with a friend of mine who just bought a new camera and was showing it off. I happen to be in the market for a camera, since I would like to take some good pictures and possibly video of the cottage as I build it and post them on the blog.

To do this I want to make sure the pictures and video are good quality. My friend tells me this camera produces HD output and only costs $400 US! My interest is peaked immediately.

Sony Cybershot DSC-T100 Camera Picture

He hands me the Sony Cybershot DSC-T100 8.1Megapixel 35mm digital camera. Weighing only 6.1 ounces and less then an inch thick it easily can be carried in a pocket. The front has a slide down “lens cap” that exposes the lens and flash that is common to the Cybershot series of cameras. The back of the camera is almost entirely taken up with the 3 inch LCD screen. There is no manual viewfinder. A strip beside the LCD screen houses the zoom and menu controls.

The menu software is incredibly clear and easy to use. There are 9 scene modes that let the user compose their shot as best they can without having an SLR. There is also 6 different white balance settings to eliminate the odd colours when taking shots indoors and out. The T100 has a 5x optical zoom going from 35mm to 175mm. The focus settings allow for macro shots and magnifying glass shots, which is like a super macro option.

The biggest feature and is apparently the hottest thing for point and shoot cameras is the face recognition feature. The Sony T100 can identify up to 8 faces at once. This feature ensures that the proper lighting and exposure are used on each face to achieve professional looking portraits. I can’t vouch for the feature since I haven’t printed anything off, but it sure is a step in the right direction for point and shoot cameras.

The camera comes with standard definition cables to output to your TV or computer, but HD cables are available at an extra cost. Stored pictures can be played back on a TV with MP3’s to make an enjoyable slideshow for your guests.

Again at only $400 US to have that quality of pictures and video along with all the other features I can’t see any reason to buy a camera and a video camera. This one does it all and I’ll be purchasing one shortly.

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Building a Cottage: Red Tape

Last time I updated the progress of the cottage I hadn’t had much in the way of good news. I found out I would have to fill half of my lot for the septic bed, which would cost far more then I had planned and would knock out most of my trees. I also found out my cottage does not meet the minimum size for a house as per the local by-laws. I had hoped that the building department would consider the deck as building space since it is going to be attached to the cottage and covered by a roof, but that was shot down. My very last hope is to apply for a minor variance which, if approved, will give me an exception to the by-law and let me build as planned.

It has been 6 weeks since I submitted the application, which cost an additional $375, and I have just found out that I now need to go to a committee hearing in June to plead my case. They have approved this type of request before and since I am going below the minimum as opposed to over the maximum size allowed there won’t be any environmental impact concerns. I think the biggest hurdle from the municipality’s perspective is taxes. With a set minimum size of buildings they can guarantee themselves a certain level of tax revenue. Surrounding neighbours have been notified of my application and can attend the hearing to voice any objections if they wish. On the plus side I only have 4 neighbours on my street. It’s a rural area and a dead end street so there aren’t many people to object. On the negative side all the people on the street have year round homes rather then cottages. I’m worried that they will complain about having a “tiny shack” on the same street as their waterfront homes.

Assuming there are no objections in the meeting there are still 21 days after the hearing for people to object. If nobody objects in that time frame then the application is approved and I can build as planned. Then I will need to get the building plans approved and finally my contractors for the foundation, septic, and grading can start to work. If things go as planned I figure I will be able to start building around the end of August or beginning of September.

If things don’t go as planned and I have to build an extra 200sqft, that means I have to somehow come up with the money, I have to have all my plans re-drawn, and then resubmit everything for approval. That would most likely mean I will have to wait until next year to start building, which would be a huge disappointment.

Stay tuned for your next episode of Building a Cottage – What have I got myself into? on June 12th when I’ll have an update with the result of the hearing.

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Poker Sunday: Week 3 – Born Under A Bad Sign

Things have gone from ok to horrible. Last post I explained how I felt playing good cards would be the right move in the long run and I still believe that to be true. I also explained that you will go on tilt every once in a while, which is also true. My tip was to sit out a few hands before playing after going on tilt and that is very good advice because this entire week I have been on tilt. I’m playing good cards, I’m raising when I’m supposed to, I have to say I call a little too much, which is something I need to correct, but I fold my hand pre-flop around 70% – 75% of the time. So I’m not being foolish and trying to win every pot on every hand. Turns out all my hard work, experience, and patience is being wiped out by Bad Luck! I can’t explain it any other way. I’ve looked back at my hand history to see if I should have played things differently and as I mentioned I probably called a few too many times instead of folding. Other then that I’ve raised with good cards and bet out when I felt I had the best hand. I’ll explain some of my bad luck in my Hand of the Week.

Hand of the Week

This week I’m going to tell you about two hands just to show the hex that has been placed upon me. I had my stack up to $570 so I was playing at the $5/$10 tables I was in early position and dealt Big Slick (ace and king). I raised the big blind and was re-raised by the player beside the button. The button called the three bet and so did the big blind. The flop was queen, jack, 10! I flopped a nut straight! The big blind checked I bet, the person beside the button raised, the button, big blind and myself called. I figure at this point the re-raiser has a pair of queens in his hand and thinks his three of a kind is the best hand. The turn is a nothing card. Big blind checks, I bet, the next player re-raises, the button and big blind fold. I’ve really got this guy where I want him so I re-re-raise. He raises again and I call wanting to keep him around for the river. Except that a jack pops up on the river and pairs the board making the other player and full house and he takes down the pot. Complete bad luck to have flopped the top straight and have the other player hit a full house on the river.

The other hand, which doesn’t take much explaining, had me with a pair of kings preflop and one other player in the hand. The flop was 4, 4, king. I flopped a full house, kings over 4’s. Raising went back and forth. I figured this guy has another 4 or pair of aces. Turns out he flopped four of a kind! He had been dealt a pair of 4’s plus the 4’s on the flop….crazy!

Anyhoo I’ve only got $58 bucks left and I’ve got to get out of this funk. Anyone know how to break a jinx? Because right now if it wasn’t for bad luck I wouldn’t have no luck at all.

Previous Balance: $506
Current Balance: $58
Profit/Loss: -$448

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This Weekend in Sports (25-May-2007)

NHL Finals

Well the Stanley Cup Finals are set. The Ottawa Senators will play the Anaheim Mighty Ducks just as I predicted. This is going to be a heck of a series. I have to give the offensive edge to Ottawa with Danny Heatley, Jason Spezza, and Daniel Alfredsson and a bunch of talented players on the other three lines there really isn’t more of an offensive threat then the Senators in the NHL. However they say defense wins championships and the Ducks sure do have the defense. With the top defensive pairing in the NHL of Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger and goaltending duo J.S. Guigere and Ilya Bryzgalov it’s amazing that any goals are scored against them. Both teams are above average in all categories and I think it is going to be a great series going the distance to 7 games.

NBA Conference Finals

In my last post the Utah Jazz were rolling. I mentioned how it would be very tough to stop them from winning a championship this year. Well it looks like the Spurs have the answer. San Antonio always seems to be a contender for winning it all every year so I tend to dismiss them a little. They are such an experienced and talented team with each player knowing their role that it is unlikely Utah will be able to come back from a 2-0 deficit. Similarly in the Eastern Conference the more experienced team, Detroit Pistons, are winning their series 2-0. If the finals come down to the Spurs and Pistons you will see a defensive battle on every possession and I guarantee there will be some fists flying and technical fouls. That series will be an all out brawl.

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Sharing a Cottage

When I first started looking for a cottage I figured there would be no way I could purchase a cottage on my own. I knew some couples that were interested in cottaging and spoke with them a few times about purchasing different cottages together, but in the end they felt it would be too much of a financial burden at this time in their lives.

If you are considering sharing a cottage with other people here are some things to consider:

Maintenance
Make sure you divvy up the chores evenly so that everyone is doing their fair share of the up keep. Lawns have to be cut, docks have to be installed or repaired and trees have to be cut down. A good relationship will not last long if one owner finds themselves doing all the chores because the other isn’t doing their part.

Scheduling
It’s a good idea to plan out a schedule and share holiday weekends evenly. Setting a schedule ensures everyone knows their entitlement and what to expect. When dealing with close friends and family as part owners it is important to stress respect of the others entitlement before signing the deed. Showing up when it is not your week to have the cottage or asking if you can come up during the other owners time might be okay at first, but can quickly lead to an awkward conversation about privacy and respect which can then lead to a heated argument. Make sure the schedule is laid out and everyone agrees to it.

Sharing Toys
It’s important to discuss with the other owner what they want to use the cottage for. Don’t assume that if you buy a ski boat the other owner will pay half the costs. They might want to just sit by the water rather then be on it. Conversely if you do buy the boat and pay full price the other owner has to respect your property and not take it out just because you are not there.

Repair Costs
As the cottage gets older it is going to need some repairs and that will cost money. You must consider what will happen when it comes time to replace the roof and the other owner says they don’t have the money for that repair. A possible solution is a joint account for maintenance that is contributed to regularly.

Sell/ Don’t Sell
Finally what happens when one owner wants to sell and the other doesn’t? Is the owner that wants to sell stuck until the other owner agrees to sell or is there some sort of an out clause? It’s important to understand how each owner interprets this purchase. Is one looking for a family cottage to pass through generations or is this merely a fun property for a few years and then flip it for a profit.

Make sure you discuss all these issues with your potential co-owner before you agree to purchase a cottage together. If you don’t, your good friends and close family could end up as your worst enemies.

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Top 10 Beers

This past weekend was a long weekend for us Canadians celebrating Victoria Day.

Victoria Day is commonly referred to as May two four because of it’s proximity to May 24th and a case of beer has 24 bottles in it. As such I thought it would be appropriate to share with you my favourite 10 beers.

Cheers!

1 Hacker-Pschorr Weisse

Hacker-Pschorr Weisse Beer Bottle and Beer Glass

A fantastic German Weisse (pronounced Vice) beer. Weisse or wheat beers are cloudy because they are unfiltered leaving sediment in the bottle. The less filtered a beer the cloudier, but more flavourful it is. You will find this beer to be well carbonated, spicy, and has some citrus notes to it. This is a refreshing beer and my favourite.

2 Newcastle Brown Ale

Newcastle Brown Ale Beer

An excellent winter beer. Newcastle Brown Ale has a ton of flavour to it and goes down smooth. It is somewhat pricey compared to the other beers but well worth it. Newcastle truly is a beer to savor rather then guzzle.

3 Heineken

Heineken Beer

A classic from Holland. It is similar to Canadian beers in that it is crisp and refreshing, but is far superior in its taste and quality. It is no wonder this is such a popular beer

4 La Maudite

La Maudite Beer

Not nearly as popular as the other beers in the list, but equally as flavourful as any of them. I had to put La Maudite in 4th only because I don’t get to drink it much. I’ve only found it on tap in two bars and I don’t believe the LCBO carries it on it’s shelves anymore. If you come across this and like red beers do not pass this one up. It is one of the smoothest beers I’ve ever had with a hint of spice to it. Really a great beer.

5 Upper Canada Dark Ale

Upper Canada Dark Ale Beer Bottle and Beer Glass

Upper Canada hit it’s peak about 5 years ago. Since then I’ve hardly seen it in any of the bars and as they say out of sight out of mind. But I still can’t forget the first time I had Upper Canada Dark. A fantastic rich dark beer that should be drunk slowly to appreciate all the characteristics of this beer. Upper Canada has a great line of beers including a Wheat beer and a Maple lager. Give it a try sometime.

6 Stella Artois

Stella Artois Beer Bottle and Beer Glass

One of the most popular beers in the world and easily recognizable. When presented properly in it chalice it really makes you feel like you are drinking something special. Stella Artois is a dry beer with a little bit of bitterness that makes it refreshing.

7 Singha

Singha No 1 Thai Beer

This beer is from Thailand. It is a light well carbonated crisp beer. On its own Singha is an average beer, easy to drink, but really doesn’t do anything special. However, combine this beer with spicy food and it is a perfect match! The carbonation and mild flavour is an excellent partner to a Thai spicy chicken dish.

8 Keith’s Red

Keiths Red Amber Ale Beer

Keith’s Red is quietly moving into all the pubs in my area. I’m a big fan of red beers, but there aren’t too many out there and only a handful are actually good. Keith’s Red is a smooth, easy drinking red ale, that provides a little more flavour then pale ales and lagers, but is equally refreshing. Keith’s Red is on par with Carlsberg Red and Riccards Red.

9 Pilsner Urquell

Pilsner Urquell Beer Bottle and Beer Glass

Pilsner Urquell is the king of Czech beers. Czech style pilsners became popular in the mid 1800’s and have only become available in Canada within the last 5-7 years. Pilsner Urquell is entirely different from any other pilsner/lager I’ve tasted. The flavour from the barely and hops fill your mouth as you drink it and leaves a very strong after taste. Keep an open mind and give this a try.

10 Moosehead Lager

Moosehead Lager Beer Bottle

Moosehead Lager rounds out my top 10 as my most drunk beer. Brewed in Nova Scotia Canada Moosehead is Canada’s largest independent brewer. Moosehead Lager competes against other Canadian giants such as Labatt’s Blue and Molson Canadian. In my opinion Moosehead beats Blue and Canadian hands down. It is equally refreshing and has far more flavour. Next time you are going to pick up some beer vote for the little guy by picking up some Moosehead. BTW Moosehead Light is an excellent light beer as well!

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Poker Sunday: Week 2 – Beating a Losing Streak

It’s been a couple of weeks since my last update due to Mother’s Day being last Sunday. Well I’m still alive and kicking, but have taken a serious hit. The past two weeks have gone from me thinking I’m a poker genius to being a poker moron. As of the last update Poker Sundays – Win Money I was up $751 from the initial $200 investment. A couple of days after that post I hit a high of $1770 and then it all fell apart. I think these are the times that really make a difference between being a poker pro and an amateur. I was now playing at the $5/$10 and $10/$20 limit tables and I was still playing good starting hands, but I could not catch any cards on the flop. Players knew that I was only playing with good cards and would intentionally call my raises with inferior cards knowing that if an Ace for King didn’t land on the flop they could bet at me and force me to fold. It seemed as though I was constantly getting good starting cards, but my opponents were hitting cards on the table and I quickly lost $500.

I continued to play my style of Texas Hold’em and continued to lose. My logic was that in the long run good cards are going to beat bad cards and my luck would turn around. It didn’t happen. This past Thursday I found myself with only $230 left in my account. I had had enough. I decided Friday morning that my losing streak would end. So what did I do differently? Nothing! I continued to believe that good starting hands will beat bad starting hands. I moved down to the $2/$4 limit tables because that’s what my bankroll dictated and I played the same way I’ve been playing all along. As of today I find myself winning again, not as much as before, but winning and that is good news.

Hand of the Week
The hand of the week goes back to when I was on my winning streak. I was playing a $5/$10 limit table and found myself with a pair of Jacks as my hole cards. A very good starting hand, but very dangerous. Anyone with a Queen, King, or Ace could easily beat me so it is a tough hand to play in terms of aggression. There were 6 people at the table and I was in an early position so I raised. Everyone folded except for the player second to the button. He re-raised me. I called and saw the flop come 3, 6, J. A tremendous flop for me and I slow played it not wanting to scare him off. I checked and the other player bet… exactly what I wanted. I raised him and he re-raised me. This told me that he probably has an over pair like QQ, KK, or AA or at worst AJ. I called wanting to keep him on the hook. The turn showed another J. I had four of a kind and knew that I couldn’t be beat. I checked, he bet, I called again not wanting him to get scared. The last card was a 9. I bet, thinking he might check if I checked first, and he called to see me sitting with 4 Jacks. A great hand for me, but really had more to do with the other player’s aggression then my card playing. It was a lucky hand.

Tip of the Week – Going on Tilt
You might have heard this term before, but going on tilt means that you have probably just had a bad beat and you are so angry you lost the hand that steam is coming out of your ears. Often when a player goes on tilt they play the next hand very aggressively regardless of their cards and usually end up losing all their money. If you are playing online and someone catches a miracle card on the river, hit the Sit Out button and skip the next couple of hands to regain your composure. You’ll end up saving a boat load of money and the other players will recognize you as a player that can’t be taken advantage of.

Previous Balance: $951
Current Balance: $506
Profit/Loss: – $445

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Make Money With Acquire

One of my favourite board games is called Acquire. It’s not a very flashy game. The board is a simple grid and alphanumeric tile pieces represent hotels that fit in the grid, but there is a lot of strategy, forecasting, and deception involved.

The game is all about making money, investing, and being a hotel tycoon. You get the feeling and excitement of playing in the stock market and being part of high stakes mergers.

On each players turn they must place a tile on the board, select a new tile from the excess pile, and have the option of buying up to 3 shares of any existing hotel chain. Hotel chains are created by placing a tile beside another tile. From there anyone can add more tiles to the chain. The more tiles there are on a chain the higher the share value.

Make Money With Acquire

Players will have to determine if they want to keep the size of the hotel chain low so that they can by a lot of shares at a low price or build up the chain because they have the most shares of any of the other players therefore receiving the most money when they cash out their shares.

Shares can be traded in for cash when a smaller chain is merged with a larger chain or they can be traded 2:1 into the new larger chain.

When no more chains can be made or there are 5 existing chains on the board and a player decides to end the game all players will cash in their shares. Primary and secondary shareholders will receive bonuses on top of the value of their shares. The player with the most money after cashing in all the shares is the winner.

What starts off looking like a very simple game becomes a game of strategy with huge payoffs. It’s a lot of fun give it a try.

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This Weekend in Sports (18-May-2007)

NBA

The Utah Jazz are the first team to make it to the Conference Finals after beating the Golden State Warriors in 5 games. It looks like Golden State used up all their emotion and energy knocking off the number one seed Dallas Mavericks in the first round. With players like Kirilenko, Okur, Boozer, Fisher and Jerry Sloan behind the bench it will be very tough for any team to keep the Jazz from winning the championship this year.

The San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns are going to game 6 with the Spurs leading 3-2. With all the media coverage of this series the Spurs are looking like one of the dirtiest teams in the history of the NBA. Bruce Bowen is up to his old tricks kneeing Steve Nash in the groin then telling him it was an accident. When will David Stern do something about this guy? Speaking of David Stern, he sure did blow it this week by giving Robert Horry only a 2 game suspension for body checking Steve Nash into the scorers table and then give Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw 1 game suspensions just for coming off the bench. Can Stern honestly justify that Horry’s flagrant foul on the two time MVP Nash was worth only 1 game more then two guys walking a bit too far from their bench?! The Spurs know they can win without Nash on the floor and they are doing everything possible to injure him and keep him out of the game. It’s disgusting.

In the Eastern Conference the Pistons looked like they were going to walk over the Chicago Bulls, but the baby Bulls have won the last two games and maybe put a little doubt into the Piston’s minds. That being said the Pistons are too talented and too experienced to panic. I’m sure they will pull this one out. Cleveland and New Jersey are stumbling along with the Cavs holding a 3-2 edge. It’s surprising how boring this series is given all the superstars involved. It just seems to me that neither one of these teams will make it to the finals so it’s almost not worth watching.

NHL

The Ottawa Senators have a 3-2 lead over the number one team in the East Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo had a gutsy effort in game 5 to beat Ottawa 3-2. They will need that kind of effort and goaltending again if they want any chance at extending this series to game 7. Game 6 goes on Saturday and I expect the Sens, with their new defensive gritty play, to put Buffalo away.

Detroit laid a smack down on the Mighty Ducks during the week in 5-0 no contest. The Red Wings lead that series 2-1, but as I write this it looks like the Ducks will tie up the series 2-2. I still expect Anaheim to come out of this series to face the Sens in the finals, but they are in a dog fight and it will be interesting to see if they have anything left in the tank when they face the Sens.

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