If you have ever owned a swimming pool, you know the importance of sanitized water. As appealing and refreshing as a pool of clear, sparkling water is, a cloudy, seashore-smelling pool with a light shade of green is about as appealing as a root canal. That’s why we deal with the mess and inconvenience of chemicals – to kill those little germs and bacteria that cause the problem. But there are options …

Chlorine – a very effective way to achieve and maintain clean pool water and the most common method employed in Canadian pools.

‘Salt Water’ systems are included in this category because they essentially break down naturally occurring salt to produce chlorine to kill the bacteria and other organic materials. When finished, the system returns the remaining chlorine to salt form again. Their advantage is reduced chlorine in the water and much less cost to ‘feed it’.

However, there are drawbacks. In addition to the cost, danger and inconvenience of handling chlorine, it also reduces the life of pool liners and other pool equipment. But more importantly, there have been a lot of reports about the long term health problems of people with high exposure to chlorinated water. Many feel the study results available justify a cause for concern.

Ozone - which uses discharge systems to produce ozone, kill bacteria by oxidizing the organic compounds without altering the water's pH. The drawback of using ozone is that most of it disappears soon after it is formed, and therefore it is unable to sanitize anything other than the water that passes thru the system. Nothing is left in the water to maintain the purity. With high swimmer traffic, this system may not be able to cope and could end up simply reducing the amount of chlorine used.

Ionization – systems which inject low levels of silver and copper ions into the pool water to attack the bacteria. Purifying Ions are relatively unaffected by pH, temperature, aeration or sunlight and do not dissipate or evaporate from heat and sunlight. The bactericidal effect is actually enhanced by sunlight and high temperatures.

Whether retrofitting or installing new, these options are worth looking into. The cost of any system and whether it is suitable to your specific scenario are things a local pool pro can tell you. But if you can afford to look long-term, there may well be both health and cost benefits to be enjoyed.

If your Dad never used these, it’s a safe bet you’ve heard them from an uncle, granddad, friend’s father, etc. It must be a prerequisite of some sort – a necessary knowledge base that fathers feel compelled to pass on to their offspring.

Any of these sound familiar?

• "We're not lost ... I'm just not sure where we are."
• "If I've told you once ... I've told you a thousand times."
• "What part of "NO" don't you understand?"
• "Were you raised in a barn?  Close the door!"
• "You call that a haircut?"
• "Coffee will stunt your growth."
• “Keep your eye on the ball.”
• “Remember, a quitter never wins and a winner never quits.”
• "Do it to make your mother happy."
• "Don't worry ... its only blood."
• "You didn't beat me ... I let you win."
• "Hey" is for horses."

"My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass." "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply. "We're raising boys.""
~ Harmon Killebrew

3 STEPS TO COMPOSTING:

1. ORGANIC STUFF: Always feed your bin equal amounts of GREENS (materials high in nitrogen) and BROWNS (materials high in carbon). When adding new materials to your bin, start with a layer of BROWNS, then add a layer of GREENS. Top GREENS with a one-inch layer of soil or finished compost. Always bury your food scraps in the center of the pile, under the layer of soil.

2. MOISTURE: Keep your pile as damp as a well-wrung sponge. Be sure to check moisture on hot summer or windy days. Sprinkle with water when dry.

3. AIR: Add air to your pile every 2 to 3 weeks. Poke holes through the pile with a broom handle and loosen with a garden fork.

Canada Turns 140 on July1st!

We’ve come a long way from the scant 3 million or so people that occupied the 4 provinces that made up this great land in 1867, the year of our confederation. But perhaps the truest testament to Canada’s success as a nation and to Canadians as a people is the diversity of ethnicity within our country.

These are but the top ten ethnicities in Canada based on percentage of total population:

English (20.17%)
French (15.75%)
Scottish (14.03%)
Irish (12.90%)
German (9.25%)
Italian (4.29%)
Chinese (3.69%)
Ukrainian (3.61%)
First Nations (3.38%)
Dutch (Netherlands) (3.12%)
*based on 2001 stats.

“We can find comfort among those who agree with us, growth among those who don't.”
~ Unknown

It’s that time of year again, when mosquitoes are at their buzzing and biting best. And now with the prevalence of the West Nile virus, there are real health impacts of the little pests. Check all earth’s creatures, they have their place. We just wish it was someone else’s place.

• Mosquitoes don't whine just to be annoying. The high-pitched sound they make, created by their rapid wing beats (of up to 500 beats per second), helps the males hone in on a mate.

• Only female mosquitoes—and only a few of the thousands of mosquito species in the world—feed on humans. Most mosquitoes feed on nectar or other sources of sugar.

• Before the female mosquito actually draws your blood, she might probe your skin as many as 20 times, looking for a small blood vessel to nick.

• Repellents do not protect all users equally. The effectiveness of a repellent depends on the mosquito species that is biting as well as the age, sex, level of activity, and attractiveness of the human using the repellent.

• There are natural products that will effectively repel mosquitoes, but they require more frequent applications and in higher concentrations than DEET.

• Mosquitoes have adapted to almost every climate on earth. Some mosquito eggs can survive decades of drought in the Sahara until a brief rainfall permits a hatch.

• Many mosquitoes use vision to locate hosts from a distance. Dark clothes and foliage are initial attractants.

• A single malarial mosquito—one of the most effective disease transmitters on earth—can infect more than 100 people. Malaria kills one-to-three million people annually.

• Mosquitoes are exquisitely tuned to human motion, heat, and odors. If you're fighting a swarm, waving your arms frantically can actually help more of them find you.

• Electronic bug zappers don't work to kill mosquitoes. Ultrasonic devices that supposedly drive them away with sound don't work well either.

• What will protect you in a mosquito zone: Wear long sleeves and pants when outdoors, particularly after dusk and in the early morning. Use DEET-based repellent (in recommended doses).

Photo opp’s abound in the summer! Try these 3 simple steps you can take to get better prints from your digital photos...

1. Resolution of Image - The DPI (dots per inch) of the image is an important factor to get a quality print. If you are going to print simple text or images, then 300 dpi is best. For higher quality text or images, image resolution should be set to 600 dpi. Professional image quality requires dpi of up to 2400.

2. Paper Quality - Paper quality plays a vital role in print quality. In addition to paying attention to paper size, colour and weight, for optimum reproductions, purchase paper specifically designed for that purpose and for use with the ink and printer you use.

3. Printer Settings - Printer settings are also important factors in image quality. Available via your Control Panel, common printer options include paper size, printing mode, printing quality and colour management. Adjust these settings accordingly.

If unsure what is best - test, test, test!

Cool Websites for Kids

True Canadian Kid Quiz
Mary, age 11, says, “With Canada Day coming up, I went searching for some Canada Day stuff to do. This quiz is really good. I didn’t get them all right, but at least I’m still a True Canadian Kid.”

Parliament Buildings Puzzle
Andre, age 9, says, “I’ve been to the Parliament Buildings, so I know what they look like. That’s why I could do this puzzle. You should try it, too. It’s fun!”

Father’s Day Crafts
Lucy, age 6, says, “My big sister Laura helped me make a ‘pop can hugger’ for Papa for Father’s Day. He likes to drink Coke and this thing will keep it colder. Plus it’s got ‘Best Dad’ on it. There are lots of other ones to try, too.”

Sand Castle Tips
Reiner, age 13, says, “We always make sandcastles when we go to the beach, but nothing like some people do. This site has some great tips on how to make things like walls or towers and get the sand to stay there. I’m looking forward to trying these tips out this summer.”

The beauty and function of a wood deck is well known to many homeowners. Unfortunately this beauty is somewhat short-lived and now may be the time to refinish your deck.

If so, beware the power-washer perils.

Power-washing can make for a nice clean surface to repaint or stain and look good in the short term. But excessive or too high pressure power-washing can also destroy the surface of your deck, opening up the grain of the wood and making the surface less able to stand up to weather and traffic.

Stripping and sanding is often the better way, but if you must use a power-washer, don’t be tempted to simply blast away the surface of your deck with the nozzle set on full force. First test it in an area that won’t be seen readily and adjust the pressure so that you are using the minimal amount to do the job.

“The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it.” ~ Franklin P. Jones

“How come there's only one Monopolies Commission?”  ~ Nigel Rees

"Baseball statistics are like a girl in a bikini. They show a lot, but not everything." ~ Toby Harrah

“Always drink upstream from the herd.” ~ Will Rogers

“I have six locks on my door all in a row.  When I go out, I lock every other one.  I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three.”  ~ Elayne Boosler