Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Dear Readers:

Now that we're into the hottest heat wave of the summer here in S.W. Ontario ......, do ya remember back a week or two ago when I told you about a snow pile in Boston that had just finished melting?

WELL FORGET THAT ONE KIDS, HERE IT IS, THE BEGINNING OF AUGUST, AND THERE'S STILL ONE IN BUFFALO!




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Abbotsford, B.C.  is being plagued by a string of drive-by shootings! (Although. since this is Canada, they were with a pellet gun!)

Gail Evans was out for a walk near her home in Abbotsford, B.C., last weekend when a car drove past and someone shot her with a pellet gun.

The random attack is part a string of recent pellet gun shootings in the city. Since July 18, there have been 15 drive-by shootings, eight targeting homes and cars and nine on pedestrians.
Most of the incidents have happened on the west side of Abbotsford, and all of them have taken place between 3:00 p.m. and midnight.
Police are on the lookout for a male suspect between the ages of 18 to 25. His vehicle is described as a dark-coloured sedan.
Despite the fact that the perpetrators are using pellet guns, police take any shots fired as a serious crime.



 http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/abbotsford-b-c-sees-string-of-drive-by-pellet-gun-shootings-1.2494051

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While we are on the subject of this being Canada, and NOT the United States, read this:

A Florida man says Starbucks banned him from all locations after he complained to customers who parked in the handicapped spots, Bay News 9 reports.

Rob Rowen says he got miffed when customers used the spaces without so much as a limp, let alone a handicapped plate or sticker, at a Starbucks on South Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa.

Now, here's the thing, folks, if it had happened in Canada, Starbucks would have given him free coffee for a year instead of banning him!

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While we're on the subject of Florida:  A Florida man got a warning from Pinellas County recently because his barbeque smoke was too smelly!

The county said 15 air-quality complaints have come in against Scotty Jordan, who uses a commercial barbecue smoker at his home.

BUT!

Here's the rub, bunky!


Of those complaints, all but one has come from one neighbour.

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 ON A MORE SERIOUS NOTE: Officials from 20 countries involved in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are gathered in Quebec City this morning.

For the second time in two months, representatives are meeting behind closed doors to talk about how the the fight against ISIS can be improved.

Today's meeting, being held at Château Frontenac, will include representatives from countries such as Australia, Saudi Arabia, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.

Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson will be at the conference, which is being co-chaired by Canada, the United States and Iraq.

THE ONLY DRAWBACK TO THE MEETING IS THAT SINCE IT IS BEING HELD IN QUEBEC CITY, IT WILL HAVE TO BE CONDUCTED IN FRENCH!

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FACT CHECK: Is McDonald’s replacing workers with self-service kiosks to get around $15 minimum wage laws?

Amid a debate about increases in the minimum wage of up to $15 in some parts of the U.S., the web site BuzzFeed published an article about the McDonald’s fast food chain trying out some self-service ordering kiosks. That article (which consisted largely of animated GIFs) explained that the success of McDonald’s kiosks in Europe had inspired the chain to consider bringing them to the United States:

http://m.snopes.com/mcdonalds-kiosks-minimum-wage/