Tag Archives: Victoria BC

2022 Heat Wave strikes again

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July 2022. Another heat wave. Recall last year 2021, when hundreds of older residents here on Vancouver Island died, caused by this heat.

How can one get a heat stroke ? That’s a good one. Normally that shouldn’t be happening. If the right precautions are followed.

Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness. It occurs when the body can no longer control its temperature: the body’s temperature rises rapidly, the sweating mechanism fails, and the body is unable to cool down. When heat stroke occurs, the body temperature can rise to 106°F (41C) or higher within 10 to 15 minutes.

[Difference: Stroke – Heat stroke: Heat stroke is when your body overheats and core body temperature rises. Stroke is when a blood vessel to the brain bursts or is blocked by a clot. ]. Of course, both can occur with heart patients who already suffer from cardiovascular disease.

Prevention, prevention, prevention. When it is hot, no wind, temperature above 40C for days, or even weeks, then PREVENTION is the answer for SURVIVAL.

The minimum one can do is to keep the body temperature in check, cool down – not only with drinking water from the inside, but also cool the body down from the outside.

What I do is, always wear a cotton scarf around my neck, soaked in cold water. Repeat every hour on the hour or when needed, more. If the body temperature rises even more, soak a cotton T-shirt in cold water, and wear it. You can’t believe how quickly your body cools down and thanks you for it.

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Victoria BC Johnson Street Bridge Project

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A city bridge building nightmare: Replacing the City of Victoria’s older Blue Bridge across a short span of water by the Inner Harbour with a monstrous newly designed bridge, whose design had started in 2009 and over time resulted in numerous design flaws and serious construction problems. Not to mention the number of design consultants, engineers and other assorted groups contributing to this project and making a killing of income (through the City and its tax paying residents), without to date not having accomplished an acceptable, simple, safe and correctly engineered design.

A warning sign should have gone up when the major structural steel parts of this bridge (the two large rings supposed to lift the bridge deck) had been farmed out to be constructed in China with Chinese steel. In all these years this bridge building project has been going on, I never really noticed anything that questions the reason why these two major steel parts of Victoria’s bridge had to be built in China. To save money ? After already excessive millions had been spent on this project for design, consulting and (doing exactly what?), but not accomplishing much. Here is an interesting article regarding construction quality in China, written by a Chinese.  [ https://business-humanrights.org/en/china-poor-quality-construction-work-low-standards-lead-to-fatal-building-collapses-says-analyst ]. No wonder that the two large steel rings arriving here in Victoria have major design flaws and already needed patch up repair.

Personally, I would avoid using this bridge once it gets finished. Not only because of design flaws that can lead to collapse even with a high wind, but also because I am certain that this bridge like all construction in Victoria, BC, is not built earth quake proof.

We are in quake country in a highly seismic zone in the Pacific North West. A major quake and resulting tsunami will come. Did any of those early design consultants and engineers even consider to take this into consideration ? Of course not. Once the bridge is in place, those responsible for design, consulting, and building (not least the City itself) will have “left the building” – in other words, like the rats leaving the sinking ship.

Victoria CRD – deer and rats

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Victoria, British Columbia, among many positive attributes, is also called the City of Gardens, nestled at the Southern End of Vancouver Island. Mediterranean climate. Who doesn’t like Victoria Capital Regional District with all municipalities attached to this section of southern Vancouver Island. Which is also very popular for a large number of retirees, because of the climate and because – also due to the climate – the vegetation and the gardens. From way uphill Mount Douglas looking down, one can almost not see houses, so much green and trees.
Urban wildlife also enjoy all that greenery. Well, even the rats like this city. There are those critters who are pleasant to look at, such as the deer – apparently not enough wild cats/cougars to come that close to urban areas – and there are those that are universally despised by people – like rats, to be more specific the ‘Norway Rat’, although originally from Northern China, but not really native to Victoria. [ http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=dcc7cc9b-be86-4c61-8f24-c32f3edd1bc4 ]. Hence, a reference to Victoria also includes the name ‘Canada’s Rat Capital’. Nasty stuff ! Rats in backyards. Wouldn’t it be nice if more owners would clean up their back gardens and cut down too high shrubbery ? And sort out and get rid of junk in and around their houses ?
Coming to the deer – many residents don’t mind them, many also like to look at deer, others have a problem with deer: “they eat into their precious gardens, they are a road hazard leading to accidents.”
All of which is understandable and true. Deer culls have been done this year in one of the adjacent areas to downtown Victoria Oak Bay. [ http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/news/deer-cull-oak-bay/ ]. Not much liked especially by the BC SPCA. Was it effective enough ? for whom ? and for what ? Apparently, not. How about a universal ‘rat cull’.

Victoria BC Vancouver Island

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has one of the most beautiful Parks – Beacon Hill Park – just across from the Ocean – Juan de Fuca Strait, the southern end of Vancouver Island, looking across to Washington State, USA. We have many special birds and foul in the park – particularly colorful peacocks. Today was another sunny day, I walked through the Park taking some video’s of our birds and the Ocean.