Back home... had a bit of an adventure with our transfer in Housten... so we ended up in Toronto later than planned, but made it in one piece. A large number of photos have been added HERE. The days following the trip have been full of excitement, so I haven't had time to write a full breakdown of the trip... hopefully I'll have time to do that after the long weekend.
Paul on 08.29.06 @ 01:45 AM EST [link]
Ok, at the computer again... this time I've added some pictures to the gallery. You can check it out here. Of course I've got tons of pictures, but these are just a small selection of them.
We've been working on a building that a previous group built. Our job is to finish the inside of the building with drywall and electricity. Tomorrow night we're planning on going to an orphanage near where we're staying, and to another one later in the week.
All in all its been a great trip so far. Hot and sweaty, but enjoying ourselves and having great food.
Paul on 08.23.06 @ 10:37 PM EST [link]
In 15 minutes I'll be heading out to meet up with the rest of the group that's heading to Belize... we're driving down to my Parent's place in Milton to stay for the night, and catching a flight early tomorrow morning. Hopefully I'll have internet access along the way and will be able to keep this updated...
Paul on 08.20.06 @ 11:47 AM EST [link]
Here's a shameless plug for another project I'm starting up... www.thephotoguy.ca
Yesterday was my first official event, the Swyft.ca Parry Sound Triathlon. I was taking pictures of all the participants, which are now for sale over at www.thephotoguy.ca. Here are a couple samples... the watermark is to help ensure people buy the photos rather than just copy them off the internet. If anybody has any suggestions for better ways to protect the images I'm all ears.
Brent Poulsen, 1st out of the water:
Brent again, winning the race:
Paul on 08.14.06 @ 10:47 AM EST [www.ThePhotoGuy.ca">link]
Some photos I took last night at Mike's Tri clinic of the mini triathlon we did in Lively...
www.paulgraham.ca/gallery/album51
Paul on 08.10.06 @ 07:38 AM EST [link]
August 21st... less than 2 weeks away. I've started the malaria meds, gotten all my shots, and the final meeting was tonight.
Kate and I are traveling to Belize with 10 other people from my church to do some construction and help with an orphanage. Last fall a group went and built a cabin that will be used for the Bible college and technical school that is being developed. Our group will be doing construction during the days, and making visits to 2 local orphanages in some of the evenings. Apparently we'll have internet access, so I should be able to post updates during the week.
Here's a picture of the cabin they built last time.
Paul on 08.08.06 @ 11:49 PM EST [link]
My new home, the Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery (CCNR). Today I started my indoctrination (safety training and orientation) and will be continuing it for the rest of the week. Apparently there's lots of things I have to learn. Tomorrow I get to do a urine test to establish a baseline nickel level which they can compare to in the future to make sure I'm not eating too much nickel dust. Also learning all about the joys of Nickel Carbonyl.
The Nickel Refinery is basically two large buildings, the NRC (Nickel Refinery Converters) and the IPC (Inco Pressure Carbonyl) buildings. The job of the refinery is to take the output from the smelter and produce the final product. This is done by melting the material in Top Blown Rotary Converter (TBRC). The red hot liquid is moved by large ladles and mixed with warm water to remove oxides and produce a granular product. Oddly enough, this is called 'granulation'. From here the granules are sent over to the IPC building (the lower building one in the top picture). Here Nickel Carbonyl is produced by passing carbon monoxide over the impure granules. This is then heated in a reactor column and the nickel detaches from the carbon monoxide and produces pure (about 99.99% pure) nickel. The carbon monoxide is recycled, and the finished product is either in power or pellet form, depending on what the customer needs.
This is my final offical rotation as an EIT, and will involve supervision experience, and Inco's Leader 21 course (starting in November).
Paul on 08.08.06 @ 11:11 PM EST [link]
Friday night's drive down south turned out to be much longer than planned. About an hour and a half into the drive I can to a complete standstill just outside of Nobel, and took the next 3 and a half hours to travel about 3km. Almost 2 hours prior to my arrival there had been a 5 car collision just south of the Tim's in Nobel, where the highway goes down to two lanes. One person was pronounced dead at the scene, and 3 others were taken to the hospital. No word on exactly what happened, but usually these involved someone crossing the centre line and colliding with oncoming traffic.
Highway 69 is considered one of Canada's deadliest highways and is shrinking as the 400 inches northward. It is currently about 200km and the 4 lane project is projected to be finished in 2017. The location of the accident (the stretch between Parry Sound and Nobel) is currently scheduled to be finished by 2008.
Here's a picture that was in the Parry Sound Beacon Star
Paul on 08.08.06 @ 12:30 PM EST [link]
Congratulations to the newly weds... Nik and Thea. 
Their wedding was held at U of T, with the ceremony in Knox College, and the 1st reception at Wycliff College.
At the request of the groom I took tons of pictures... over 300 of them can be found here
Here's a picture of Kate and I before the ceremony
Paul on 08.07.06 @ 11:42 PM EST [link]
According to this article Diamonds are no longer a girl's best friend.
Some interesting numbers...
77% of women surveyed would prefer a new plasma TV over a diamond solitaire necklace
56% prefer the plasma TV over a weekend vacation in Florida
86% would prefer a digital video camera over designer shoes
Somehow I don't think Kate fits into those stats. Good thing I already have a plasma TV.
Paul on 08.02.06 @ 10:54 AM EST [link]
