notes

Ensign Notes

January 24, 2005: The remarkably low productivity on this site for January is a result of the site's present structure and format so efforts continue to upgrade the site and reduce the maintenance.
January 21, 2005: Yesterday marked the end of dependence upon SaskTel for Internet service as this user went to cable.
January 20, 2005: This web site has a maintenance problem and this week I have been working on reorganising its content and presentation using different software to reduce the amount of manual alterations required each day.
January 19, 2005: Would-be plumber strikes out, what a drip.
January 17, 2005: 24 hours is on tonight may interupt production.
January 16, 2005: I think I am suffering from cabin fever, I just seem unable to get myself in gear and get these pages done,
January 12, 2005: There is always lots of material to post on this site but there are not always the pictures to make the site what it is intended to be so I put off posting and my procrastination builds up.
January 7, 2005: Each of Kevin's finds of the day are archived and today the archive pages have been tuned up a bit. Kevin has been contributing these stories for eighteen months now and they make very interesting reading.
January 6, 2005: We were looking good for posting yesterday until we were done in with a problem on the servere that last most of the day, sorry about that.
January 5, 2005: Holidays for us are over as we got home at 1:00 this morning.
December 31, 2004: Its all about best laid plans and how we are not our own masters. Have a happy new year everyone.
December 30, 2004: Had hoped to post early this week but just could not get the time.
December 24, 2004: I was unable to post yesterday but all chores are done and its time to hold Christmas, it is 9:05 here and we are decorating our tree.
December 22, 2004: -28ºC right now at 2:30 in the afternoon this is actually seasonal weather.
December 21, 2004: Shortest day of the year and a cold one but it is nice the wind is not as excited as it was yesterday.
December 20, 2004: Though the plan was to post Sunday something came up and I just could not get the work done.
December 18, 2004: New computer prevented posting Thursday and Friday.
December 17, 2004: New computer caused production shut down for past two days.
December 15, 2004: Remarkable second warm mid December day.
December 14, 2004: Yesterday's production was interrupted and I did not get things posted as planned. With other projects on the go this is bound to occur fairly frequently.
December 13, 2004: Today we hear from noted Washington economist Mark Weisbrot and Canadian nationalist David Orchard.
December 10, 2004: Second day of destruction, we have more pictures of another house going down and today we hear from noted Washington economist Mark Weisbrot and Canadian nationalist David Orchard.
December 9, 2004: PC or Mac the world moves onward, if you haven't updated your QuickTime lately make sure you do so as the newer version plays MPEG-4 movies. The pictures of the day for November were assembled today.
December 8, 2004: If you pay attention to our web cam you will notice a lot of distortion each day from 5:00 onward, some unknown RF signal is disrupting the system.
December 7, 2004: Hardware ugrade time at the Ensign office.
December 3, 2004: No plans to post over the weekend
December 2, 2004: Unable to post yesterday. Pre-Saturday depression

November 30, 2004: Unable to post yesterday due to a minor illness
November 26, 2004: If you check back through the years in Ensign you will discover that most years we are already snow covered and into deep winter by this date in November.
November 25, 2004: Several projects are distracting the normal flow of work on this site so there may be some slowness in posting over the next week or so.
November 24, 2004: We have been without a colour printer all of this month, a new one was ordered from a computer company supplier who also sells point of sale hardware and software, their new system failed and my order lost. Situation normal.
November 23, 2004: Today we are proud to present the work of Ken Jones on the bottom of the page picture of the day and also a remarkable image on the top of Saskatchewan News.
November 22, 2004: A rather ambitious number of stories for today and we will make a good effort to post most but some may not get online until tomorrow.
November 19, 2004: No posting Friday but we should post Saturday or Sunday.
November 18, 2004: thanks for sending in suggestions about the Town of Tisdale web site, more are welcome
November 17, 2004: Last week it was computer trouble, this week stomach. A little bout of the flu put me out of commission for a few days.
November 13, 2004: If you have been trying to reach us with e-mail from the addresses on various stories our e-mail had to be changed to: tws@ftlcomm.com
November 12, 2004: Sorry but it was impossible to post this week as an upgrade to the computer system resulted in failure of the system.
November 7, 2004: Trying to squeeze in Sunday's posting and still make it to part of the Trojan game this afternoon.
November 6, 2004: Highlights of tonight's Trojan game should be posted tomorrow.
November 5, 2004: The Tisdale Web page listing was updated yesterday. Unfortunately this site was not otherwise updated.
November 3, 2004: From now on this web site will not longer be interested in condemning the actions of Georeg W. Bush. It appears that he was legitimately elected and those who placed him office must accept the responsibility for the action of he and his government.
November 2, 2004: The picture of the day archive has been updated for the month of October.

October 29, 2004: Ink jet printers were invented to simulate the idea of a printer. There is little or no evidence of their functionality as they absorb money and produce little but promises.
October 28, 2004: The story about the Poppy coin has been updated.
October 26, 2004: We will not be posting Wednesday with a road trip, should post on Thursday.
October 25, 2004: The sun came out today, almost a forgotten part of the sky.
October 23, 2004: Hockey grabs our attention with the Trojans having home games both today and tomorrow.
October 22, 2004: It warmed up today and a lot of snow turned to water, almost like a spring run off.
October 21, 2004: Far above us, far far away is a sun, we know it's there but it has been a long time since anyone here last saw it.
October 20, 2004: Snowed all day in laRonge today, just looked ugly here, I stayed inside anyway.
October 19, 2004: No longer autumn as I road downtown on my bike today through snow and ice, not nice, it is winter here.
October 18, 2004: Explorations of new media is cutting deeply into the business of this web site, sorry about the low level of posting.
October 15, 2004: Did not post yesterday. We are proud to have a story today by Mike Townsend about one of Canada's true modern heros.
October 13, 2004: Road trip and expedition to Regina with a tad of pumpkin pie prevented us from posting over an extended long weekend.
October 8, 2004: The pictures of the day have been updated for September. This site will not be updated until after the long weekend, it may not be until Wednesday.
October 7, 2004: Need your help! If you have images of Tisdale, its buildings and scenes in years past Ensign would really like to have a scan of them to share with our readers.
October 6, 2004: Summer in October.
October 5, 2004: Once again other work took me away from this site. I was unable to finish the post Sunday and then not on Monday either.
October 3, 2004: When we began the Ensign web site in May of 1998 we never expected to be still doing it inOctober 2004. The original design of the site has been revamped many times to accommodate growth and expansion, today we had break up the weather log into months as it exceeded the HTML side of a web page. We did not post Friday and Saturday as work was devoted to upgrading the Trojan web site.
September 30, 2004: Java was once just an annoying slow programming language but it has now become one of the dominant means of display on the web and in a wide range of applications especially those for hand held products like music players and cell phones. Java was used to create the swaping image on yesterday's Simonette story.
September 29, 2004: The process of updating this web site is a gradual one as each day stories and elements are updated not all at once but as the work is done. If you click on it and it doesn't work it just means that it is a work in progress.
September 28, 2004: The latest java update, 1.4.2 for the Mac is 26.4MB, you would wonder just what the heck is all that!
September 27, 2004: Have to look into reorganising the earth's rotation, the days are just not long enough to get things done.
September 25, 2004: Magnificient day in Tisdale, warm with very light breeze, coloured leaves everywhere.
September 24, 2004: Sun at last yes indeed sun at last
September 23, 2004: There is a constant spiral of technological advancement that can not be ignored. Another hardware upgrade, bigger hard drive added and DVD burner.
September 22, 2004: Would like to know about your experience with AOL instant messenger. We have been using a variant of it and like the ability to talk without the cost of long distance. Tell me what you have learned about it.
September 21, 2004: It will take me a while to get caught up after that week away.
September 20, 2004: That was a long break, a project in Winnipeg and I was unable to post during the week I spent there.
September 15, 2004: Presently on a road trip to Winnipeg and have been unable to post most of this week. Ensign should return to normal next Monday.
September 11, 2004: Much to do today with the Trojan camp on and the TMSS classic in progress.
September 10, 2004: Sure the weather's bad, but my computer has been displaying some bad behaviour and prevented posting yesteday.
September 9, 2004: What a surprise! It is raining.
September 8, 2004: The bad news is that it will likely rain tonight and showers are expected over the next few days, the good news is that we don't live in Florida.
September 7, 2004: We did not post over the long weekend. Today it looks like construction is taking over the awareness around here.
September 3, 2004: Sorry we did not post yesterday but projects interferred with posting.
September 1, 2004: Time for something completely different.

my song of the day. "Loving you has made me bananas" by Guy Marks.
August 31, 2004
Beware, on the road again. This is fair warning Ensign editor is mounted on his bicycle for a while each day and his bike riding is as uncertain as his motor vehicle operation.
August 30, 2004: Rained, then rained some more, showers expected for most of the week.
August 26, 2004: Work is beginning on another tour of Normandy, this time with pictures from our man in France.
August 25, 2004: Olympic watchers discovered yesterday that you can indeed try "to hard" as Canadian sprinter launched from the starting blocks off balance and crashed. She'll be fine and even better in Beijing.
August 24, 2004: Absolutely consuming as the drama of each Olympic event unfolds. A gold and a silver today, pretty good!
August 23, 2004: Now that is a wet day especially for this part of August.
August 19, 2004: I have high hopes each day of getting things posted and each evening get wrapped up in the Olympic games.
August 18, 2004: Side tracked by the Olympic Games and failed to get the stories done, sorry about that.
August 17, 2004: Today we concentrate on building. The image on the web cam is on the house being built across the street.
August 16, 2004: Construction next door, floor being laid here, construction at the post office, seems like a busy day.
August 13, 2004: Projects and house renovations prevented posting yesterday. We will not post Saturday and Sunday of this weekend.
August 11, 2004: Sorry about the absence of updates. House under construction and time to update the computer. Computer nearly finished, house - a few more days.
August 8, 2004: Don't miss the Greenwater report tomorrow, amazing draft horse pictures.
August 7, 2004: Will try to post today but video clip of Premier may push me into tomorrow.
August 6, 2004: Unable to complete work yesterday.
August 4, 2004: Slowly getting up to speed, holidaying is tough on a person it takes time to rest up from it.
August 3, 2004: Unfortunately we were unable to post this past week hope to get back into a regular routine here.
July 26, 2004: due to conditions beyond our control we will not post until August 2. During this interval the web cam will be off line.
July 22, 2004: Now that was a chilly day 10º this morning at breakfast time.
July 21. 2004: House renovation looming so we go from day to day as to being able to post.
July 20, 2004: damp!
July 19, 2004: Had a great weekend, a project interferred with posting on Friday and that same project wrapped up today but has delayed work until tonight.
July 15, 2004: Watch out for agressive dishwashers, ours took a round out of the bedroom beneath it and the clean up continues.
July 14, 2004: Oooo, a hot day in Tisdale. The pictures of the day archives were updated yesterday. Something is eating our strawberries, now you can help catch the culprit as our web cam monitors the berry bushes. (It's a robin, caught in the act at 4:20)
July 13, 2004: Plans are to post each day this week up to and including Friday. Great weather!
July 8, 2004: We will not post until Monday or Tuesday. July 13th.
July 7, 2004: Went up to Nipawin today, green all the way with flowering Canola only a few miles north.
July 6, 2004: A short week for us with a posting today, tomorrow and maybe Thursday before we are off for a wedding in Gravelbourg.
July 1, 2004: Will be celebrating the Canada Day weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We should post on Monday.
June 30, 2004: We may post tomorrow but will be celebrating the Canada Day weekend Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We should post on Monday.
June 29, 2004: Feeling better today after being under the weather yesterday and unable to post.
June 27, 2004: Sorry I was unable to get the Sand Hills story up last night, it includes two QuickTimes, one a VR and the other a large slide show of 38 pictures.
June 26, 2004: We have all had our fill of Canadian politics for a while, today three stories on Saskatchewan.
June 25, 2004: Vacation, a winter vacation this year with no sign of summer, hope to post Saturday and Sunday, but no more camping until it warms up.
June 19, 2004: We were home yesterday but unable to post, back on the road tomorrow and will not likely post until next Friday, June 25.
June 16, 2004: Posting from Winnipeg today. with us on vacation we will post sporatically, no posting tomorrow (Thursday) and uncertrain over the weekend, road trip in progress.
June 15, 2004: Posting from Winnipeg today and tomorrow. I drive to slow or the folks here drive to fast.
June 14, 2004: Posting from Winnipeg today, the place is cold and the air is still filled with mosquitoes.
June 9, 2004: We leave for Winnipeg tomorrow and though we will attempt to update the site we may not be able to do so until Sunday or Monday.
June 8, 2004: Ensign has now exceeded one gigabyte of archived material all available to you since May of 1998.
June 7, 2004: We are proud to post images such as those by Helen Carson and Gerald Crawford but please accompany them with a note about the sighting. We have a great picture from Sandra Lafontaine in Ontario but can not get e-mail back to her to get a little text to go with her great picture. If you don't get a reply from your e-mail to this site please resend as we attempt to answer all e-mail. Spam filters everywhere are mucking up e-mail.
June 6, 2004: We are stuttering along here got sick Friday night and spent all of Saturday recovering but the back log of stories is building up. Hope to go camping this week.
June 4, 2004: We did not post on Wednesday due to a funeral in Southeastern Saskatchewan and production was interupted eysterday.
June 1, 2004: Picture archive has been updated for May.
May 31, 2004: Though plans had been to post over the weekend illness shut us down Friday and recovery on Saturday and Sunday.
May 27, 2004: This web site will be posting Saturday and Sunday of this weekend.
May 26, 2004: It was no surprise today to discover that everyone I talked to is discouraged by the persistence of the low temperatures. We all seem to long for even a bit of spring yet we are now less than a month from the first day of summer.
May 25, 2004: Went on a house painting expedition on Sunday, definitely over did and having trouble getting work done as my eyes keep closing as a result unable to post Monday.
May 21, 2004: Due to the length of the "not forgotten" story I was unable to get it and yesterday's other stories posted but the work continues and I hope to have the "not forgotten" story posted in a few hours it includes links and pictures on fifty people.
May 20, 2004: A land mark of sorts for this web site as we celebrate seven years of operation.
May 19, 2004: Very late tonight getting up my stories. Remember, you can access stories on this site by going back in time using the calendars in this column.
May 18, 2004: Hard to stay inside and work with such a marvellous day, problem solved, go outside.
May 17, 2004: Today we have gone to the birds with great images from Gerald Crawford and Helen Carson.
May 14, 2004: Next week this web site enters its seventh year of posting.
May 13, 2004: There is a chance that we will make it through the night without the temperature falling below the freezing mark. Our garden got worked up today and Saturday has been designated garden planting day.
May 12, 2004: Heah that snow storm we reported on yesterday is still hanging around Winnipeg today but check out the story we did May 12, 2000
May 11, 2004: We did not post over the weekend, nor yesterday.
May 7, 2004: I have updated the "picture of the day" archive so that all of April's images are now accessible.
May 6, 2004: The illness I had on Tuesday night kept me down all of Wednesday so I was unable to post yesterday.
May 4, 2004: Great variety of contributions today from Crooked River, Swift Current and Regina. Minor illness has interferred with production and today's stories will not get posted until tomorrow.
May 3, 2004: With the level of spam currently occuring our spam filters are working overtime so we no acknowledge all e-mail sent to us. If you do not get an acknowledgement, please resend your message as it will have been filtered.
April 30, 2004: Will do my best to get today's stories up but I am a bit short of time. Will not post Saturday or Sunday.
April 29, 2004: It's Thursday which seems to be a good news day. Today's panorama is a bit large at 2.5MB but it certainly shows what it was like here this afternoon but you can't feel the really mean wind.
April 28, 2004: The weather is the story today with the warmest temperature at +4º after yesterday's 22º, but the moisture is a blessing.
April 27, 2004: It is impossible to view things without the context in which they are found. Essentially all things work toward producing that context and to deny that is to deny reality.
April 26, 2004: Spent some time in Regina and did not post Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Trying to get back into the swing of things.
April 21, 2004: It was time for a change, this site was white several times in the past so it isn't really a new look, just a different look. Happy birthday Andrew. We have a road trip and will not post Thursday, Friday or Saturday.
April 20, 2004: I should have realised before I even began the process that doing up 66 houses would take all night and it did, so at 3:30 I went to bed and finished today, sorry about that.
April 19, 2004: Work was carried out on our server this weekend and we did not post Saturday or Sunday.
April 16, 2004: Ensign will not post over this weekend as our server is being serviced and upgraded to a new system.
April 15, 2004: A reader needs to get in touch with Glasair owner Gary Brant, so if you are in touch with him pass this along and ask him to send us e-mail.
April 14, 2004: The quest continues, yesterday Chupas dug a basement, tried to get a picture, couldn't find it, tried again today, still can't find it!
April 13, 2004: If you see something that you don't like or upsets you on this web site let us know.
April; 12, 2004: We had company over the Easter weekend and now its back to work as we did not post Saturday or Sunday.
April 9, 2004: We did not post Thursday and will not post on Saturday. If there is something that shows up on this web site that bothers you be sure to let us know, we can not fix things that we do not know about.
April 6, 2004: An extremely short week as we did not post Saturday, Sunday or Monday and will not post Friday or Saturday of this week.
April 2, 2004: March pictures of the day summary page has been updated.
April 1, 2004: Sorry about being so late each day this week but various project have got in the way.
March 31, 2004: Showing signs of spring fever here today.
March 30, 2004: Did not get yesterday's stories posted as the office clean-up took up time and energy.
March 29, 2004: Today it was time to overhaul the office and I am up to 60% operational level.
March 26, 2004: We will not post Saturday, plans are not complete for Sunday so we will just have to wait and see.
March 25, 2004: A minor upgrade to a piece of software I don't need (iChat) resulted in more than three hours of frustration repairing damage to hard drives and regaining control of input devices.
March 24, 2004,: A freak power failure in Winnipeg knocked this site off line for all of Wednesday afternoon.
March 23, 2004: We did not post over weekend and though plans were to post yesterday the downed telephone line quashed that idea.
March 19, 2004: We will not post over the weekend but new stuff on Monday
March 18, 2004: The research into the Queen story absorbed my time and put me behind, fascinating stuff.
March 17, 2004: Had hoped to get caught up today but spent the afternoon with the van at the shop.
March 16, 2004: Anxiety rising, I feel the need for spring, cabin fever level up.
March 15, 2004: We did not post Saturday or Sunday
March 12, 2004: As with last week end we will not be posting Saturday.
March 11, 2004: There a constant struggle in putting this site together each day, respecting people privacy while at the same time hoping to make the right decision when to pass on to you the information that will enlighten and enrich the readers experience by visiting this site. Sometimes I make mistakes and sometimes those errors are of omission.
March 10, 2004: Miserable wind last night and today as the temperature dived but fortunately the storm blew past us to the south.
March 9, 2004: Second day in a row that there has been enough sunlight and at the right angle to light up my basement office without tne need for ligths. A definite sign of spring.
March 8, 2004: This web site did not post Saturday or Sunday.
March 5, 2004: This web site has taken pains to archive all of its material, the question is, should be archive the "happening" section, would a record of past events be useful. Let me know what you think.
March 4, 2004: New departmet added to Ensign today, the happenings spot (below). Yesterday I included in Kevin's find a song sung by Lionel Richie but it was really a Stevie Wonder song so we have revised that with a real Lionel Richie song. Thanks to Andy Trump for pointing that out.
March 3, 2004: The pictures of the day archive page has been updated for February.
March 2, 2004: After several weeks of dullness there were hints of sunlight today.
March 1, 2004: Very happy to be able to work on today's posting after taking a fall on ice on our driveway, I am considering bringing a suit against the owner.
February 28, 2004: The work yesterday was begun with good intentions but a printing problem on an unrelated project consumed the work time. A massive build up of static electricity welded the 135 page print out into a single block preventing the printing of the back side of those pages.
February 27, 2004: Will try to get today's stories up and at this time (3:10) due to the storm I am not sure about posting tomorrow or Sunday, time alone will tell.
February 26, 2004: Days and days of fog and low ceiling seems to be a bit depressing but the facts seem to add up that there is a distinct hint of spring out there.
February 25, 2004: Sorry I was unable to post last night, something came up and I just ran out of time.
February 24, 2004: Experimentation with "IP" telephony is on going, hope to be able bring you a report on this technological move as it progresses.
February 23, 2004: Ensign did not post Saturday and Sunday.
February 20, 2004: Two opposing views of Grant Devines unacceptance. Edwin from his Saskatchewan point of view and Joe from Ontario.
February 19, 2004: The more time spent on graphics on this site the slower I am getting stories posted. Today's "Snowtime" story is the first done completely using a Canon Optura 10 Camcorder using its still camera feature.
February 18, 2004: Pictures from Winnipeg and Gravelbourg today.
February 17, 2004: Getting the week off to a slow start. Did fog driving until very late last night, seem to still be in a fog.
February 14, 2004: No posting Sunday or Monday as we are on a road trip.
February 13, 2004: Ensign will post tomorrow but will not be posting on Sunday and Monday of the coming week.
February 12, 2004: The premier's second roundtable meeting takes place tomorrow, this one in Tisdale, we will have pictures later tomorrow on his visit.
February 11, 2004: Video of the Culligan Synchronised Skating Championship from this past Saturday are available for $15.00 plus shipping.
February 10, 2004: Lots of weather pictures and a little politics to get us through a Tuesday evening.
February 9, 2004: It took much more time that anticipated sorting out the QuickTime videos for the synchronised skating story so sorry about not getting it and other material posted Sunday.
February 8, 2004: Today's story on sychronised skating includes video that requires QuickTime to view. If you do not have QuickTime installed you will not be able to view this material to install click here.
February 6, 2004: Sunday we will have some pictures of the ice formations left from the fire in Moose Jaw. We will not be posting Saturday.
February 5, 2004: Beautiful day in Tisdale as the morning skies parted and the sun is pouring down on us.
February 4, 2004: Image archives (picture of the day) caught up to date.
February 3, 2004: Temperature in the negative twenties a whole lot easier to deal with than in the thirties and forties.
February 2, 2004: We did not post Sunday.
January 31, 2004: Mild storm today in Tisdale with snow and drifting snow conditions.
January 30, 2004: Thanks to those of you who offered encouragement about the "blue" pictures and music.
January 29, 2004: Today and tomorrow we have some great pictures for you. Both the Blue ones today and Parkland Photography today and tomorrow we see sunlight and fog combined.
January 28, 2004: What do you expect, year after year it gets cold in late January, check the Weather log and you can see what it was like in years past.
January 27, 2004: Not many pictures will be taken until it warms up a little. -38º with a -54º windchill will keep me behind doors and windows.
January 26, 2004: We did not post Saturday or Sunday.
January 23, 2004: If you are thinking about setting up a web site give me a call (306 873 2004) or send me email, I might be able to help.
January 22, 2004: There is a serious chill all across Canada today following the raid by the RCMP on an Ottawa report's home and office(Julliet O'Neill). Telling the truth may no longer be legal in Canada.
January 21, 2004: I have avoided using "Flash" presentations of images during the last while, today is an exception as these pictures seem to lend themselves to this format.
January 20, 2004: This web site is now 924MB all available and archived by date. Google surveys the site several times a day and it is easiest to find something using Google.
January 19, 2004: Upgraded old Blue and White from 350 G3 to 500 G4 today, no crisis encountered.
January 18, 2004: We all develop attachments to our cars at one time or another, Art Simmons writes:

"hi just read the storyof that great car --- just want to say that there was a Cdn. model called Stato Chief -- I would love to own a 63 Pontiac car. again --loved that car when it drove me -I don't know why I let her go -- oh well one can dream thankyou, A.S."

I must admitt that I too owned a Strato Chief, perhaps will do a story on it one day.

January 17, 2003

Did anybody warn us about today's cold snap, gosh I didn't hear anything about it but our high in Tisdale today was at -25ºC. Speaking of warnings, the "boil water" warning for Tisdale ended at 1:00PM Friday.

January 16, 2004

Today it was time to get the infrastructure on Ensign caught up. Pictures of the day, and weekly and monthly index work.

January 15, 2004

It seems I am always slipping further and further behind and getting later and later each day. I am hoping that the major upgrade to my computer will result in a boost of productivity.

January 14, 2004

Winter weather brings out the thoughts of summer and many of us are already into planning the coming summer holidays. "Fisk alert, the Fisks are planning a reunion at Langbank on July 31."

January 13, 2004

Will do my best to catch on a backlog of submissions that I was unable to post when they arrived.

January 12, 2004

Though improving somewhat still well below par will attempt to get several stories up this evening.

January 10, 2004

I regret to inform you that the reason this site has not been updated as is usually the practice, because the editor is sick. Sorry about the webcam being off, holiday visitors disabled it but it is working now (11:30 Saturday morning)

January 7, 2004

I truly hope everyone else is not having the same problem getting things re-organised in the new year after the holiday. I have been involved in service work and unable to get things posted.

January 2, 2004

Still pretty much trying to get in gear, all of the family here so doing what can be done.

January 1, 2004

Happy New Year! I did not finish the predictions last night so here they are today.

December 31, 2003

Happy New Year! We will not post until Friday.

December 30, 2003

What a struggle, have project underway that has interferred with this web site will post when ever possible, thanks for being patient.

December 27, 2003

There was just not enough energy left over to get this site posted yesterday hope to do better today.

December 24, 2003

We will not post on Christmas day but will have some new stories on Boxing Day.

December 23, 2003

Pretty weary but attempting to get tonight's stories up.

December 16, 2003

Tonight we are posting for the last time until we get back from Winnipeg. We will have pictures on next Tuesday.

December 15, 2003

Keep watching but it is going to be hard to keep all the various elements of the site up to date. However, we will keep posting pictures as often as possible. Will not be posting Thursday 18th until Tuesday 23 when we do our best. As of yesterday we began logging our sixth full year of weather.

December 14, 2003

From now until the end of the year we will be having some problems in posting, a wedding this weekend in Winnipeg means we will be away from Thursday until Monday then have to get Christmas together. Keep watching but it is going to be hard to keep all the various elements of the site up to day. However, we will keep posting pictures as often as possible.

December 13, 2003

If you miss a day or two, or even a week or two this site retains all of its stories and you can use the calendar menus to go back and catch up on your reading and picture viewing.

December 12, 2003

Missing three days of work this week, it is hard to get caught up with the day to day infrastructure of this site. However, pushing on.

December 11, 2003

As planned I have been unable to post due to a stay in Regina but will try to get caught up today and tomorrow.

December 7, 2003

I will be in Regina Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and may be unable to post those days but will be back here at work Thursday.

December 6, 2003

It seems like I had a problem with a Compact Flash card because I shot the same images I lost on Thursday and sure enough lost them having to get those same pictures for a third time.

December 4, 2003

A minor glitch with the new Panther operating system and the image card reader resulting in 1/3 of today's shots being erased. $#@*&^%)(

December 3, 2003

Today we side step and look at an old airplane and then a little political concerns.

December 2, 2003

Now's the time to begin thinking about solving your Christmas shopping problems right here in Tisdale. We will take you to some of the shops so you can see them in the next two weeks.

December 1, 2003

We were unable to post yesterday. Today we begin a series of pictures, one a day of homes decorated for Christmas.

November 28

We will not be posting Saturday, November 29.

November 27, 2003

The pictures of the day archive has been brought up to date.

November 26, 2003

We will have pictures of the new "teen" store tomorrow.

November 25, 2003

You would think at some point the massive and spiralling development of computer software, hardware and networks would begin to slow but that simply isn't happening as the pace of development is continuing to move forward exponentially.

November 24, 2003

Mac OS X, Panther 10.3 is quite impressive, so far it has outstanding manners but the improvment in speed is noticable.

November 23, 2003

The plan was to get a posting Saturday but a trip intervened and here it is late Sunday night after a major install of the new Mac OS X, Panther 10.3.

November 21, 2003

Due to other committments I was unable to post yesterday, sorry about that.

In a comment made about the length of the televised edition of the Grey Cup Victor Cote writes: "I very much agree with your thought of the day about the lenght of the game.It has gotten to the point the many half hour programs barely have fifteen minutes of content.When will we rise up and protest all that garbage?"

November 19, 2003

Many people discover this web site when looking something up in a search engine. Should you find a story you want to respond to, do so by all means but be sure to refer to its date so we know what to what you are referring.

November 18, 2003

Since this web site began Philip Lindenback has been an inspiration to the many themes that have been pursued and though he only made one or two contributions but our monthly visits lead to a host of story ideas. His funeral was today.

November 17, 2003

This web site is visited by a significant number of people every day. If you have something you think people should know, or know about send along your story to me. There are several things we need with each submission:

Your real name and location,
Though pictures are preferred to accompany and make a story interesting if you have no images available we will add images and
where ever possible give references to support or validate your story.

November 14, 2003

Ensign will not be posting Saturday or Sunday this Grey Cup weekend. Received this note from an Alberta or BC reader, "Hi Just a short note to let you know that I really enjoyed going through all the pictures of Tisdale. What a great idea for a newspaper.Your web page is terrific. Keep up all the good work."

November 13, 2003

In May of 2002 I posted images of Kevin Lockwood's (Nipawin) outstanding kit Hummer Replica. It looked so good to me I thought it was an original then when I was alerted to the mistake I posted a correction with links. Since then I have received a lot of Email about the story so you might want to check out the updated links on both stories including a link to Kevin's page on his truck.

November 12, 2003

This web site has a maturing archive of material and you will find it illuminating to check out what it was like or what stories were posted during the past few years. Remarkable how things only appear to change.

November 11, 2003

It has been a couple of weeks since we displayed a QuickTime VR on this site since the machine used to create these upgrades itself weekly it has the most recent version of QuickTime installed. If your version of QuickTime does not display the VR just install a newer version of Quicktime.

November 10, 2003

Ensign did not post Saturday or Sunday.

November 7, 2003

The summary pages for pictures of the day have been updated.

November 6, 2003

Did some retail marketing this morning only to discover that in most cases product pricing at the big box stores makes the average VAR unable to compete as most retail prices in the major chains is about the same prices as wholesale when shipping and money handling is included.

November 5, 2003

Glued to the television for election results, after dental surgery this morning but will post today's stories but very late tonight.

November 4, 2003

Efforts will be made to post today's stories but the work envirnoment in my office limits me to just over an hour of work at a time due to the contamination of the environment by the furnace clearner.

November 3, 2003

Office moderately improved but I am late tonight with this page because I am limited to a little more than an hour working here. Air is improving.

October 30, 2003

Due to environmental contamination our office is unsafe and we may not be able to post Friday or Saturday but hope to be able to get some things up on Sunday night.

October 29, 2003

We had pictures Monday and Tuesday, today you will have to settle for politics as we consider two issues, the election and the convergence of the Tories and the Alliance.

October 28, 2003

Sorry we are late getting today's posting up online.

October 27, 2003

Unfortunately, an illness interrupted plans to post Saturday and Sunday, but feeling better today and forging forward.

October 26, 2003

It was a one complete year ago that the topic link pages were added to the front page of this web site yet it was not until last night that an observant reader spotted the misspelling of "agriculture". I welcome any corrections, with the size of this site and the amount of material processed each day things get missed.

October 24, 2003

Today's Mark Pitzel presentation is the second of three video clips of provincial election candidtates. All use QuickTime.

October 23, 2003

Thanks to all who let their names stand for local elections everywhere, without your willingness to participate we would all be poorer.

October 22, 2003

Really late this great day putting Ensign together, sorry about that.

October 21, 2003

The thanksgiving holiday and the long trip we took last weekend have put me a bit behind but every effort will be made to get caught up.

October 20, 2003

Tomorrow watch for a video clip of Saskatchewan Party candidate, Allan Kerpan

October 19, 2003

Did not post Friday and Saturday. This week we will be posting video clips of each of the candidates for the contituency of Carrot River Valley.

October 15, 2003

Ensign will not post Friday or Saturday but should have some things up Sunday night after a planned trip to Swift Current and Tompkins.

October 14, 2003

Though we had intended to get a posting Monday it just turned out to be impossible. As for this week, we will be posting today through to Thursday, but will not post Friday or Saturday but should have some things up Sunday night after a planned trip to Swift Current and Tompkins.

October 10, 2003

Picture of the day summary page updated. Thanksgiving weekend and do not plan to post Saturday or Sunday.

October 9, 2003

Looking forward to the Thanksgiving weekend and do not plan to post Saturday or Sunday.

October 8, 2003

Election November 5, looks like there's a missed prediction.

October 7, 2003

Still working on the breakfast problem.

October 6, 2003

Ensign now consists of 855 MB of accessible material.

October 5, 2003

We are awash in fall, leaves to the knees.

October 3, 2003

This site will not be posting this Saturday.

October 2, 2003

Road trip planned and this site will not be posting Saturday.

October 1, 2003

We have added some contributions to the "letters" page today.

September 30, 2003

The update of this web site has been altered and will occur gradually through the day as material is added. Weather and basic page change at 10:00 stories added there after. Today's last update at 6:00.

September 28, 2003

Ensign plans increased coverage of Trojan hockey this season. Opening game of the season is on Tuesday night. Updates to Education and Aviation topic directories. Addition to "letters".

September 26, 2003

Ensign will post Saturday, September 27.

September 25, 2003

The gradual change of this site is intended to pick up its download speed, as always, comments welcome.

September 24, 2003

Our summer trip to Oshkosh left us with so many stories to tell. Today is the second aircraft we will feature over the next while, this one being the number two on our list.

September 23, 2003

Our summer trip to Oshkosh left us with so many stories to tell. Today is the first aircraft we will feature over the next while, this one being the top of our list.

September 22, 2003

Bit of a problem, today's story on the Doghide trails contains only one of the four QuickTime VR panoramas produced, the problem is which one to show you.

September 21, 2003

The process of making this a better and easier web site to access and use is an ongoing one. If you have some problems or some suggestions send them along.

September 20, 2003

Ensign has not posted on other Saturdays but today we want get these stories to you.

September 19, 2003

Another injury downtown this week as a senior citizen falls and is injured on the uneven walks, in the case it was in front of the Credit Union, that sidewalk was only installed last summer.

September 18, 2003

Saskatchewan News posts the same stories but has fewer links from its front page, however it loads faster than does Ensign.

September 17, 2003

Today we have cleaned up the archive business with calendar dates to access past stories.

September 16, 2003

The same sex marriage story just won't go away so here we go again.

September 15, 2003

September 14, 2003

Turned out two QuickTime VR cubes today and will soon be able to post them for you to see.

September 12, 2003

We will not be posting Saturday but will be back in business Sunday.

September 11, 2003

Sorry, ran out of time with yesterday's two last stories but onward and upward. Today we return Ensign to its standard colours and drop the slow loading background.

September 10, 2003

Technical progress on new virtual reality software progressing, used today in the Oshkosh panorama.

September 9, 2003

Late today sorry about that!

September 8, 2003

Down again, second weekend in a row I grabbed some bug and was out of service Saturday and Sunday, marginal today.

September 5. 2003

Have you got some summer vacation pictures you would like to share with others, send them along with some explanation. We can handle digital images of course but if you photo stills we can share those by scanning and returning them to you.

September 2, 2003

Struck with a nasty but temporary illness that put me out of commission and unable to post yesterday.

February 21, 2003

Today we hear and interesting story from the sea by Vancouver's Jeff Smith. This is his first contribution to this site.

February 20, 2003

Hectic pace here lately. Web sites in the AM and this site in the evening.

February 19, 2003

Road trip to Aylsham today story tomorrow.

February 18, 2003

Web page development in full swing making the updates here later than expected today.

February 17, 2003

The dull days with snow, whites on white are a photographic challenge that can produce some very interesting results.

February 16, 2003

The concentration on the possible conflict in the Middle East is so important right now and hard to put things in perspective.

February 15, 2003

This daily exercise of creating this web site is enormously rewarding when I hear from readers, so tell us what you think and what you would like. Music and multimedia are time consuming to produce but often are ideal for getting messages across.

February 14, 2003

Valentines day, does that mean we write in red ink today?

February 13, 2003

The way this web site is organised visitors often do searches and enter the site thinking that the story they found is a web site in itself which leads to some interesting exchanges. A fellow tried to place an order for a large storage tank two days ago and today we have a guy looking for help in fixing up a car and another seeking his fortune.

February 12, 2003

From world issues, the economy to keeping the wheels turning on your wheel chair. I think we cover the spectrum today.
February 11, 2003
Copy, reformat, reparticiant copy, erase, reformat, repartician, I think I finally got it but nothing is ever perfect.

February 10, 2003

Sunday was a hardware day. The Webcam computer packed it in and it was sorted out so it seemed like a good time to just keep going and clean up the main system. Things went well, this has not always been the case lately.

February 8, 2003

With the web cam working its way into the normal course of things its time to get on with other things.

February 7, 2003

If at first you don't succeed, try, cry, try, cry, try again. It has been a major quest to get the web cam up and running, now fingers are cross to hope that the system continues to function.

February 6, 2003

Low level of input today as I was tied up with web site projects and if all goes well we should have the Ensign webcam up online tomorrow.

February 5, 2003

References: A serious problem, we want most articles to have support and whenever possible include references in our material. The complexity of citing a reference be it APA or MLA is confusing as we want to be able to show all references, no matter the source, newspaper article, book, web site all in the same format. For now that format is: Author, title, date, publisher. If it is archived on this site so it remains current through time it will have (PDF) after the date.

February 4, 2003

Worry continues about the size of monitor and how it is set to view this web site. We have moved to a 10" standard which is similar to CBC, CTV and other news sites all are about the same size. Let us know how things look on your screen.

February 3, 2003

If you have been getting your email through our server here in Tisdale you need to contact me to sort of the minor change to your account name as we have moved to another server. Email addresses affected are: shire.ca, and parklandterminal.com

February 2, 2003

Dangers lurk everywhere, my local email server bit the dust yesterday and in my repair attempts I was able to destroy about a year's work in web site development all not backed-up. That's why no posting yesterday, email and that server still down.

January 30, 2003

An attempt to cut back on "SPAM" through our server on Tuesday resulted in a drastic reduction in flow of the garbage but it also nailed some legitimate email. If you sent us something Tuesday or Monday night and haven't had a response please send again we have removed the filter for now.

January 29, 2003

For the next while Ensign will continue to be updated in the afternoon and evening. This gradual shift in work schedule is being prompted by an increase in web site devellopment.

January 28, 2003

I had hoped to have had Mike Townsend's essay on the Motorcycle show up yesterday but could not fit it into my time but we will have it today.

January 27, 2003

Yesterday we tried the first ten inch wide web pages and would like to know how you feel about the slightly wider size, though monitors have increased in size since we began this site those using dial up will feel the pinch downloading even large images.

January 26, 2003

Spent most of today working on the new thing for Ensign, looking good!

January 25, 2003

Yesterday's work was seriously disrupted as I entered into a conflict with an inanimate object, a hard drive. Our plans are to have a pretty interesting technical advancement to this web site over the weekend.

January 24, 2003

January 23, 2003

Hi Timothy…I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy keeping up with the Tisdale news on your web site. I live on Vancouver Island — in Cobble Hill to be exact but my parents live in Tisdale so the visual news that you provide is appreciated. They were part of the Senior Centre fund raising event today which Mum described to me and with your description and pictures I almost felt like I had been there. Keep up the good work–it is fun for us. Thanks. Louise Ketilson

January 22, 2003

Computer system mended, at least temporarily as we will install some redundant storage on Thursday to make it a little more robust.

January 21, 2003

Damaged computer hard drive and disable for yesterday, still in recovery process but hope to be able to get today's stories up.

January 19, 2003

Savage disappointment as all of yesterday's pictrures were lost.

January 18, 2003

Thanks for exposing "Moses". I agree that this man is the one responsible for the chaos our country is in now, especially with our medical system. How about exposing his off shore money!!Phyllis Moffitt

January 17, 2003

Working on this web site is like beach combing sometimes you make sand castles other times you discover rare treasures, but things are never the same.

January 16, 2003

Thank you for your recent articleon that troubled country. It got my attention and made me do some digging on the coup back Apri l. I suppose from one angle I could say, "yawn, yawn, plus ca change, pluse c'est la meme chose" Been there, done that. I was in Caracas during the troubles of '58-'59 when democracy first saw daylight in that country; my youngest sister was born there. I remember my Dad laughing about how "Of Cabbages and Kings" by O. Henry was not a fantasy of a banana republic, but a tale of Latin America with a thin skin of fiction to protect the guilty. But I think that things have changed:--it's not just the multinationals involved now, it's the whole military - industrial complex that Ike Eisenhauer warned us about.Lila Wagner

January 15, 2003

Ensign is now 715MB of data and it is all online.

January 14, 2003

As a follow up to yesterday's story on the electrical shortage at La Ronge the power came on at 3:20 yesterday afternoon then went off at 5:00 then came back on at 5:50 and has remained on, though everyone has cut back on usage.

January 13, 2003

Today's picture is recycled though we have images of the power line under construction our archives are currently being re-organised and unavailable. We make every effort to have fresh material each day but unfortunately that picture has been seen before.

January 12, 2003

Today was a time for cleaning up some of the infrastructure of this site, a never ending battle.

January 11, 2003

You can see one of FTLComm's videos as we are now streaming it on line.

January 10, 2003

The frontiers must always be challenged and for me its trying to get a handle on Adobe Illustrator, bear with me.

January 9, 2003

Yesterday, Jessica Robinson's poem was the first time we have posted a poem on this web site, would like to see more.

January 8, 2003

It must be something I ate, but yesterday I was incapacitated and still feel pretty lousey but will try to get caught up with the stories that have been contributed.

January 7, 2003

Our server was off line yesterday as we are in the continual process of upgrading and modifying things. We came back on line around 9:00 last night.

January 6, 2003

Today, a valiant attempt will be made to post as many of the stories as possible that have been sent in but first some time for reflection.

January 5, 2003

It will take a while to bring up the level of material on this site as we work our way into the cycle of a new year.

January 4, 2003

Been to Regina, Moose Jaw, Swift Current and Tompkins and back this is the longest time since we bagan Ensign that I have not worked on a daily page, but is good to be back.

January 1, 2003

Ensign will not post for Thursday, January 2 or Friday, January 3 but we will be back in business on Saturday January 4. Happy New Year!

December 31, 2002

"Good morning, its 11:49."
"Is this a recording?"
"Yes it is."
The caller hung up.

December 30, 2002

Work on our main computer yesterday prevented us posting yesterday. It was time to unload 6Gb of pictures.

December 28, 2002

If you see a picture you want to use on this web site contact us, all images are posted at 72 dpi but higher resolution original images of each picture exist.

December 27, 2002

This web site was designed for the text size in your browser to be set at the smallest size (12 points) larger size text will mess up the placement of things and in general reduce the amount of display on your screen.

December 26, 2002

All is quiet all is bright. No breakfast at Hannigan's today they were closed.

December 25, 2002

We will have three important political stories tomorrow but today its Peace on Earth good will to men.

December 24, 2002

More Christmas lights up today tis the season.

December 23, 2002

Every so often it really pays to go back in history and see what happened or at least what was reported as having happened. Notice the daily links to years past in Ensign as we can go back and see what it was like since 1998.

December 22, 2002

Each year of this web site I have posted my predictions for the coming year, if you got any ideas or would like to send in your own I would be glad to get them.

December 21, 2002

We will be squeezing in Christmas over the next few days, will have a story or two a day and pictures but things will be light for a while.

December 20, 2002

If you are using a "Hotmail" e-mail address I would suggest that you consider an alternative. There are several places you can get e-mail addresses all free ones have some sort of hook involved but there are many low cost (Sasktel $4.95/month) ones you can get including SaskTel (1 800 727 5835)or Faster Than Light Communications.

December 19, 2002

The server dropped the ball again last night for almost two hours. Looks like some final adjustments have to be made but system working fine today. Watch out for SaskTel's email server, it has been acting up yesterday with two outages during the day.

December 18, 2002

We were off line last night and this morning, no known reason available. We have updated the picture of the day pages accessed from the bottom of this page.

December 17, 2002

A little more than an editorial, today's story about the Ahenakew issue comes from years of experience on reservations and in Western Canadian multicultural communities.

Decmeber 16, 2002

Nothing in yet but I expect to see some commentary this week about David Ahenikew's loss of conscious thought reported in the Star Pheonix.

December 15, 2002

You may have noticed that we have altered this web site and dropped the frames format. If you have a bookmark for "frontpg.html" it of course will no longer work as that page is no longer active.

Deccember 14, 2002

Gosh I am still struggling to catch up. Have you been getting a build up in spam lately? I am getting about 100 pieces a day this week.

December 13, 2002

Just not enough time yesterday to plow through projects intended but will try to get caught up today.

December 12, 2002

That cursed flu is making a serious comeback, can a person have too much fun?

December 11, 2002

Today we take a look at the process of looking.

December 10, 2002

Either food poisoning or a bug, one way or another this is not a happy editor today, but. . . the worst is over.

December 9, 2002

About two hundred people drop by this web site and Saskatchewan News each and every day. Most visit around 4:00 in the afternoon to Ensign and early in the morning at Saskatchewan News. Stats show visitors from all over the world and many from schools in the United States. If you see something interesting or there is something you would like to see let us know.

December 8, 2002

Where ever possible we try to support the opinions expressed on this site with references. These references are valuable as they often enhance the story and give you the opportunity to have more information with which to evaluate the opinion expressed. No attempt is made to depict coinciding opinions as we want you to have the right to make the final evaluation on validity, so very often articles here do not reflect the opinions of the editor.

December 7, 2002

You are reading an unusual website right now our logs show that most visitors to this site stick around for fifteen minutes a visit. On the Internet this is truly amazing.

December 6, 2002

This web site has established itself as a site that thrives on images. If you have an image you think others would enjoy seeing or you want to share send it along.

December 5

Heah, I thought I was catching up yesterday then I got involved in testing software and a little animation thing, but today no fooling around, onward and upward. Check our letters page today.

December 4, 2002

Unable to get all of yesterday's stories up but will make an effort today to try and get most of the new stories posted. Two contributors have provided us with their views on the auditor generals reports and we welcome your comments on these or any other stories.

December 3, 2002

Once again we are running late today as we have a project in progress. Will be late tonight before today's stories are posted.

December 2, 2002

Received a couple of interesting letters about stories over the last few days so check out the letters.

December 1, 2002

Today we have an opportunity to deal with a theme that touches us all, as we deal with what some might consider a handicap the source of strength that makes life more bearable. A couple of thing stories just for good measure.

November 30, 2002

The blend of local images and stories, political commentary and information continues to be a puzzle that we will just have to keep fighting with. Ensign attempts to do all of these things but the limitation of time has prevented setting up departments and making sure we cover the bases. But most important of all it is your comments and messages that will determine what is done for content.

November 29, 2002

So that was a fair trial for a week I have been linking each page together and doing a side bar. This is done manually and until we move to an automated posting system, it looks like the last you will see of this time consuming page display system.

November 28, 2002

We have talked a lot on this site about medicare its time hold our breath as the Romanow report sinks in.

November 27, 2002

Many are not aware that the content on this web site is shared with a simpler web site "Saskatchewan News" the top of the page picture is unique to that page each day.

November 26, 2002

Sorry about the front page being a mess, this is just one of those things that happens with HTML at times and with tables interacting with your browser. The new story (article) format is evolving and we will soon work out the quirks with it.

November 25, 2002

Off to a late start today as it is time to tune of my Tisdale server though it does not affect this site it does handle my email. Yesterday began the first new look of regular story pages would enjoy hearing your comments.

November 24, 2002

New server is ticking along just fine now to get the content caught up.

November 23, 2002

Ensign on late weekend schedule today, sorry about that.

November 22, 2002

We are now on our new server and appear to be fine, it might be a good idea to throw out the old bookmark and create a new one. Any problems get in touch with me.timothy@ftlcomm.com

November 21, 2002

Over this weekend Ensign will be completing its migration to another server so if it does not come up with the present bookmark you have note my email address contact me so we can help sort things out.timothy@ftlcomm.com

November 20, 2002

Our server has come down with a bad case of hard drive failuritis and we have had some outages and expect more until we are able to slip over to the new server. Hang on!

November 19, 2002

A surprising difficulty arose today in our server limiting some stories from being accessed, hope to see the problem solved by 6:00PM

Novmeber 18, 2002

I seem always to be so pressed for time, perhaps I want to get more than is possible into this site each day but in time our plan is to increase the level of automation. Right now all items and updates on this site are done manually.

November 17, 2002

Time for you to learn about transferring files from your computer or from another to your own without using e-mail attachments.

November 16, 2002

Each day more and more material is poked into this website as it continues to accumulate and retain each story. If you see something that needs correcting let us know, no need saving mistakes.

November 15, 2002

Real audio and Microsoft media player both are promising multimedia network tools but both lack the simplicity and reliability of QuickTime. QuickTime works each and every time so it is worth downloading it and installing it in your computer.

November 14, 2002

Tell us about your Internet problems. If you are having connection or e-mail problems with SaskTel let us know.

November 13, 2002

Carol Miskosky referring to the pictures psted Sunday, says "I think possibly I would use these items to hold my sewing thread cones and poke needles in the sponge." The song for today is Shania's newest.

November 12, 2002

Those of us working in this medium are running as fast as we can and we can't keep up. The advancements in how this process of web development and content presentation are accomplished are greatly outstripping my capability and I suspect a large number of other developers.

November 11, 2002

If you are having problems with your Ensign bookmark do it again minor changes to the page, to the server and who knows what else has been causing problems for people who regularly come to this site. In cases http://www.ftlcomm.com/ensign will connect.

November 10, 2002

Thanks to those of you who have reported problems with Ensign we are working on the problems and need to be kept informed please keep me posted.

November 9, 2002

Please let me know if Ensign disappears or part of it disappears over the next few days. The change in servers should not be rocky but one never really knows about these things. Keepme posted.

November 8, 2002

In the next week we can expect some odd things to appear or not appear as we are moving Ensign from one server to another and in the move some features and operations will bit a bit disrupted at times. Ensign now is around 600MB of material.

November 7, 2002

Sorry that Ensign is so late today, this was one of those clean up days for details and everything is seriously delayed should be back on track tomorrow.

November 6, 2002

We have not been using the "letters" section of Ensign much lately but today there are some new additions, check them out.

November 5, 2002

Nothing I could do about it, Ensign did not post Monday as I reluctantly had to spend the day in bed, ugly sore throat and fever, feeling better today.

November 4, 2002

Ensign did not post this day

November 3, 2002

SaskTel's e-mail server is having a bad day so you may have problems receiving messages.

November 2, 2002

A lady stopped on the street yesterday and asked about more Tisdale content, answer: cold weather and bicycle, but thanks for asking.

4:30 - suppliment - Melville won the provincial semi-final 35 to 7

November 1, 2002: Someone new and someone away for a while in Ensign today. Welcome to the contribution from Christine Whitakers of Edgeley and after a long absence Michael Townsend gives us a review of radio personality Stuart McLean.
October 31, 2002: Gosh it is Halloween again, perhaps some day I will have matured enough to figure out what it is all about until then I will give in to extorsion. Click on the arrow to hear Barbara Streisand sing about perspective.
October 30, 2002: So far we have posted countless stories about the Kyoto accord most more or less informed. I can not recall a topic in my lifetime where the issue was less well understood or where the arguments so far from anything I can grasp as reality. Best example: the vital component of all plant respiration is carbon dioxide and it is now being considered a form of pollution.
October 29, 2002: The desparate action of the Russian authorities this past weekend truly is haunting when I saw the images on television last night, makes my daily complaining seem a bit trivial.
October 28, 2002: We are once again looking at the format of this web site and yesterday dropped the top frame although it may return since it makes it harder to come back to this front page for the next story. Yourinput would be appreciated.
October 27, 2002: We were in Saskatoon yesterday and as planned did not post for Saturday. Today we have some catching up to do with several important political/economic stories for you.
October 26, 2002: Ensign did not post this day as we were away at the Fall convocation of the University of Saskatchewan.
Ocotber 25, 2002: The multimedia link page (left and column) has been added to with fresh material since February 2002, we have also added a new Education link page that goes back only to February.
October 24, 2002: It seems that through the years Ensign has had a lower output during late October. That pattern remains the same as we will not be posting on Saturday and perhaps Sunday due to a family event.
October 23, 2002: Very late Ensign today as I was down at Archerwill for most of the day.
October 22, 2002: Occassionally a link gets messed up and because of the size of the site and number of entries we do not always catch mistakes. If you spot a missing link send email so the error can be fixed.
October 21, 2002: Today is a very photographic edition with amazing night images and Gerald Crawfords wonderful images.
October 20, 2002: Server back in business today as we begin a new round of upgrades to this site adding gradually the multimedia link pages.
October 19, 2002: Our server is presently off line and so far we have been unable to post today's edition. (3:30PM)
October 18, 2002: Sun is shining now (1:45) but the temperature is staying at -5 but that sun lifts the spirits. Today's song is by Katrina and the Waves.
October 17, 2002: So the health workers strike ended as workers went back to work today. The song for today is the Chairman of the Board's version of this classic click here to listen.
October 16, 2002: CN claims I can't take pictures of their equipment, private property they say, I say "Yankee go home."
October 15, 2002: Under the weather yesterday so production definely down, feeling better today.
October 14, 2002: The bottom of the page pictures of the day are accumulated on a page for each month and I am lagging a bit in getting them posted. Hope to have them up to date later today.
October 13, 2002: Enjoy the blessings of today.
October 12, 2002: Thanks giving weekend we are taking it easy with one story on the bale truck today and tomorrow some fabulous scenery and sky images.
October 11, 2002: It is important to note that most of the Op Ed material on this site is accompanied with references. These references often are absolutely vital to understanding the story and we urge you to make use of these. In the last month almost all newspaper links are been saved on this site as PDF files so that they will remain available in the years to come.
October 10, 2002: As the combines hummed into the night last night we are in Indian Summer and Tom Roberts said its perfectly right to call this mid season by this name.
October 9, 2002: Running late again today but will have four stories inside the one link on construction.
October 8, 2002: Impotence does not make for national pride and the poor condition of our military makes every Canadian more and more an American.
October 7, 2002: Edwin Wallace did a quick poll and discovered 82% of Canadians oppose military action in Iraq, now he's wondering about the monarchy.
October 6, 2002: In explicably the front page failed some time today, sorry about that we have no explanation, gremlin attack.
October 5, 2002: Tied up with a project today so stories and pictures delayed until tomorrow.
October 4, 2002: Yesterday the new "History" theme page was assembled. This one is definitely worth a look as it has a wide variety of stories related to history.
October 3, 2002: Though many people are concerned about ethics in Ottawa as Joe Hueglin discusses it today many more consider it like shop lifting or employee pilfering, you just sort of figure it into the equation because compared to national inequity it is pretty unimportant.
October 2, 2002: Ramsay Clark served the United States Government and now gives an amazingly detailed reason for the US not to invade Iraq and at the same time the NY Times points out that while it is an oppressive reigm it is one of the better Islamic countries in its treatment of women.
October 1, 2002: While Canadians ponder the real world in the light of the Throne speech yesterday I am going to concern myself with pictures of snow as we take a look around at the happenings in Tisdale today.
September 30, 2002: Honest to God, Kevin McIntyre claims he heard that the Lloyds of London term "Ship High In Transit" is the origin of the word for . . . well human waste.
September 29, 2002: Got a note from Mario deSantis yesterday as he and his wife are enjoying their trip to his home town, Rome Italy.
September 28, 2002: Ouch! A simple hitch in the use of Apple's new Jaguar (MAC OS 10.2) result in chronic damage to this page taking seven hours to repair last night. So if you happened to come to this site last night you saw the results. Just goes to show that progress is not always something that goes ahead.
September 27, 2002: Ensign will be posting late today again as I am once again on a road trip but hope to get all of today's stories up. By the way the professional health workers strike has come to Tisdale with the School community health worker and the physio-therapist both on strike.
September 26, 2002: As mentioned yesterday we have a major video project underway which kept me out of the office for the day, sorry for being late but it could not be avoided.
September 25, 2002: Work is a bit diffused this week with several projects on the go so we will be posting late for the next few days.
September 24, 2002: Be sure to check out the theme pages as they appear. They are listed under the left hand column and are collections of stories and pictures on each of the story themes. If you have some themes you would like to see in the list let me know.
September 23, 2002: The whole of Saskatchewan froze up last night and it looks like it will happen almost every night this week, the time has come.
September 22, 2002: Pictures usually require no explanation. Well that is true of a good picture. This site intends to provide you with lots to see and remains the focus of the web site. But you really need QuickTime in your computer to take full advantage of the QuickTime VRs that are posted regularly.
September 21, 2002: Last night our server came back to life but yesterday's page was not posted until I got home around 10:30. Read over "Mirror Mirror" as we duplicate our system hoping redundancy will keep us on line.
September 20, 2002: We have server problems in our Winnipeg office today and it is uncertain if we will be able to post today's work. (11:50)
September 19, 2002: For all that has been said on this website and by all of us at one time or another this latest health care strike comes as no surpirse. SAHO and the confusing and impotent administration of health care play games, for them a functioning healthcare system is not an option.
September 18, 2002: Gradually the topics pages are being added to the left hand column. These should assist you in finding past articles or seeing a story line as it developed over time. If you have some theme that you would like set into a topic page let us know so we can put it into production.
September 17, 2002: Disappointment in the United States and Britain as warmongering comes to a halt as Iraq agrees to inspections. This is an inherently unstable world yet Canada seems not to be using this possible lull to get its troops up to strength and better equipped to meet possible threats and action.
September 16, 2002: We have three political commentaries today from across the country. The Prime Miister spoke candidly at the United Nations about the inequalities of the world's economic structure, very positive stuff.
September 15, 2002: Since we only do a few stories a day we can select topics that you would like to see or read about. Ensign welcome's your suggestions.
September 14, 2002: No doubt regular readers of Ensign realise that the editorial comment is that of the contributors and not of the publication as a whole. One of the reasons Ensign carries political stories at all is that we believe in free speech and Canada's newspapers no longer provide the kind of discusion that we need to consider in a free and open society.
September 13, 2002: The new front page of Ensign allows for a wider format and we have the first two "TOPICS" pages developed, Agriculture and Aviation, as time permits more of these will fill the left hand column.
September 12, 2002: The format for this web site has been about the same since it began in 1998, today it is time to make some modest changes as we dumpt the left hand sidebar frame and begin the process of developing the subject pages.
September 11, 2002: We had a letter this morning congratulating Mike Reilly on his comments about the former minister of finance and today two different writers give us the scoop on the Canadian Alliance and its claim to be debt free.
September 10, 2002: War preparations with Iraq are now well underway, perhaps its a good thing not to know what is really going on as the United Sttates gets set to tromp on a oil producing rival of its good buddy Saudi Arabia.
September 9, 2002: It is important not to get swept up in the various media "stampedes" as it seems the whole world of news gathering picks a topic and works it to death. We are proud to present an alternative today as we have a message right from Joe Clark and Gerald Crawford's wonderful weekly column.
September 8, 2002: Mario deSantis does a lot of research for the material he provides us at Ensign today he has been digging around and discovered how the US based arms dealer operated by George Bush senior has its Canadian collaborators.
September 7, 2002: Sometimes, no correct that, most of the time there is not enough time. Doing our best here to get each day's stories up but lagging a bit. Ensign was offline last night from 10:00 PM until 9:00 AM.
September 6, 2002: Provincial health minister's conference at Banff concluded yesterday and like it or not we must turn our attention to what is happening to health care locally.
September 5, 2002: As we turn our political attention to Kyoto the US president continues to hanker for war with Iraq. Ensign will try to bring you some insight into both these issues in the coming days.
September 4, 2002: Little time to get Ensign up today so one story and one story only, road trip to PA.
September 3, 2002: Today we are going to see several stories and views on the Kyoto Accord as both Saskatchewan and Alberta are excessively dependent upon fossil fuels. The fear of adaption and change seems to cloud so many issues.
September 2. 2002: AS things turned out we were unable to get Ensign posted yesterday but will do our best to get some of the rich collection of stories up today.
September 1, 2002: If we post today Chris Blackman picks up the discussion about Canada and Michael Watkins makes a point or two about the on going discussion. However, we may not be able to get these stories up.
August 31, 2002: Today Chris Blackman picks up the discussion about Canada and federalism while Phyllis Hubeli gives us her view on reasons why our country should not ratify the Kyoto accord. Interesting story in the US today was the world trade organisation has ruled $4 billion in favour of Eurpoe over US export tax exemptions that are now considered unfair trade, this going to have a big effect on world trade.
August 30, 2002: Ensign is running late again today but the excuse today is the gloomy rainy sky.
August 29, 2002: Phyllis Hubeli replies to Michael Watkins's discussion Tuesday. This dialogue is remarkable important to Canadians we need to see the points of view and understand the implications of our confederation, as well as note the position taken by politicians on this century old issue.
August 28, 2002: I would really like to hear from you about your interest in historical stories. Today Ron Thornton gives us a brief run down about some of the oddities about Canadian prime ministeres and how old they were.
August 27, 2002: This web site grows steadily every day and now exceeds half a gigabyte of data. But what happens is a problem, people searching the Internet will find a story and not realise that the story is from this site so I have inquires about the sale of kidneys, plymouths and this morning someone looking for info on a kit car. Will try to include a bottom of the page link on each story from now on to redirect searchers back to the orginal site.
August 26, 2002: Unfortunately we were unable to this site updated yesterday but we make up for it with a heavy load of material today. Stu Innes gives us the farmer's view of the issue mentioned in Unhappy Harvest and Mario deSantis gives us something to think about as the New York Times discussed the same problem in its OPEd section as suspects under duress sign confessions for things they did not do.
August 24, 2002: It is important for you to know and understand that all material posted in Ensign remains available as everything is archived by the date it was posted. Sorry that the search engine only accesses perhaps a third of the pages avaialbe we hope to improve this in the future.
August 23, 2002: Stu Innes suggest that perhaps RBC might be "Revenue Based Computer". Got and idea, send it in.
August 22, 2002: Just consider the amount of time and effort going into discussing the Prime Minister's announcement to retire in February 2004. But we are pushing on and getting ready to tell you a true story of endurance and the real effects of 9/11. This story coming to this site next week.
August 21, 2002: Bet you were surprised as I to discover the documents showing Stephen Harper as first and foremost an anti-federalist and Alberta separatist. Today Phyllis Hubeli says the Alliance is a Canadian party but no evidence from her leader to refute his published documents siting the "Alberta way to Separatism."
August 20, 2002: One reader pointed out that we did not show a possible solution in the Thursday August 15 Yesterday the sun came out story. Considering that three more kids ODed in Nipawin on Sunday night we will provide you with some solution suggestions later this week.
August 19, 2002: When ever possible we will post responses from readers but do not accept annonymous comments or messages with invalid e-mail addresses.
August 18, 2002: Keep us posted here at Ensign so that we can provide you with the pictures and stories you want to see.
August 17, 2002: Michael Watkins received a reaction from the Canadian Alliance from yesterday's challenge but we are going to take a day off from politics.
August 16, 2002: Service disrupted this morning as our server folded its tent for the day sorry about that. Some disruption shut down a wide range of servers in Winnipeg last night and we were unable to get our's back into service for some time.
August 14. 2002: We use Flash on this site to display pictures but this is a powerful tool check out this remarkable site dedicated to creating flash for the web.
August 13, 2002: Grain companies express concern this morning about farmers growing unapproved wheat. These are American varieties licensed in Canada for feed only, though millable for flour not up to regular Canadian quality but only small amounts produced North of Yorkton
August 12, 2002: You might have been puzzled by Mario deSantis article yesterday and the quote from US Supreme Court judge Scalia. Today the Washington Post has a commentary on the Supreme Court judge that makes you wonder about the United States as a civilised country

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This page is posted on Ensign a daily web sites offering a variety of material from scenic images, political commentary, information and news. Published by Faster Than Light Communications . If you would like to comment on this page or you wish to contact the editor of these sites please send us email.

Editor : Timothy W. Shire
Faster Than Light Communication
Box 1776, Tisdale, Saskatchewan, Canada, S0E 1T0
306 873 2004