The Q92 Morning Crew

This morning we were talking about how great it is to have a REAL tree at Christmas time. There’s no substitute for that fresh spruce smell…except maybe that PinSol aroma after washing the floors.

Then Q92 listener Derek emailed us a video that shows how quickly a tree can catch fire. Wow! Take a look, then read on to learn how you can fireproof your tree this Christmas. Thanks Derek.

Fireproofing Solution for your Christmas Tree

1. Once you get home with your new tree, get a saw and IMMEDIATELY make a fresh cut at the base of the tree trunk. This is mandatory for any tree you’ve bought. Make your cut about an inch above the bottom of the trunk.

2. Next, you’ll need a place to store your tree for a few days before taking it into your home, as it takes a few days for the preservative mentioned in the next step to fully saturate the tree. An ideal place would be the carport/garage or possible a balcony for apartment dwellers.

3. Immediately after making your cut from the bottom of the tree, mix the homemade preservative as follows:

Into a 2-gallon (or 1-gallon jugs) bucket, add HOT WATER from the kitchen tap. Fill the bucket to within an inch or so of the top, then add the following ingredients:
…2 cups of Karo syrup
…2 ounces of liquid chlorine bleach
…2 pinches of Epsom salt
…½ teaspoon of Boraxo
…1 teaspoon of chelated iron (pronounced KEY-lated)

Stir these ingredients thoroughly in the bucket(s); then IMMEDIATELY stand the trunk of the tree in this solution. Leave the tree in the solution containers for a day of two until you’re ready to take it indoors and decorate it.

4. After taking the tree indoors, make sure to put it in a stand with a water reservoir at the bottom. Once the tree is secured in its “final resting place”, get the bucket containing your preservative and FILL THE RESERVOIR IN THE TREE STAND TO THE TOP.

5. Last but not least, EVERY DAY, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, MAKE SURE THE RESERVOIR IS KEPT FILLED TO THE TOP WITH THE PRESERVATIVE SOLUTION.
That’s all there is to it. If you follow these steps faithfully, you will have a completely FIREPROOFED Christmas Tree to enjoy throughout the holidays.

And, for those inquisitive minds, here’s an explanation of why and how it works.
The Karo syrup provides the SUGAR, and it is only in the presence of sugar that tremendous amounts of water will be taken up by the exposed tissue at the base of the trunk. Without the sugar, only the smallest amount of water will be absorbed. However, in the presence of sugar, you can expect more than 1½ gallons of the solution to be absorbed by the tree during a 10-14 day period.

But there’s more. Thanks to the boron you have supplied (in the Boraxo), the water and sugar will be moved to every needle and branch of the tree. Remember, boron is what makes sugar move, not only in trees, but vegetables, fruits and even houseplants.
Then, there’s the Epsom salt and the chelated iron. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate, and magnesium (together with iron) is the center molecules in the process we know as chlorophyll production. By making the magnesium and iron available to the tree, you’re assuring yourself of green needles, even if the tree was not sprayed at the tree farm before being shipped to the market.

But what about the chlorine bleach? Chlorine stops a mold from forming when water and sugar stand for any period of time. Here, the chlorine stops the mold from forming in the bucket and the reservoir of the tree stand where your preservative sits.

Benefits

1. Your tree will be SOAKING WET with water. In fact, at least 800% more water than when the tree was growing in the forest! This in turn prevents the tree from becoming a fire hazard.

2. No needles will drop, no matter what variety of evergreen you choose to display in your home. At the same time, the tree will give off a fragrance like that which you’ve sensed while walking through a forest of evergreens or strolling through the Christmas tree lot.

3. Finally, make the test yourself. When the holidays are over and the tree is taken down and moved outdoors, cut one of the branches off. Move away from the tree and try to light the branch with a match. IT WON’T BURN!!! So, take the time to fireproof your live evergreen tree this Christmas and enjoy a safe holiday!!!

Deck the halls!

It’s almost December and we’re in full winter mode now. I’ve been plugging my Christmas lights in each night for a while now. Mostly just because I actually put them up early this year. But there is no tree in sight right now at the Shawn household. It’s way to early for that, for two reasons: I get a REAL tree every year - that’s right, no imitations. And, I’m really not in the Christmas spirit yet. Maybe it’s because I’ve been avoiding anything resembling shopping, maybe it’s because it’s been a busy month here at Q92, or maybe I’m really just a Grinch…no that can’t be it. Whatever the reason though, there will be no eggnog in my fridge for at least a couple more weeks.

Are you in the festive mood?

In other news, Melissa had a chat with MPP Gilles Bisson about the Ontario Northland strike and he foresees a resolution very soon. With parliament getting back into business next week, it should be something at the top of the to do list. With Christmas coming soon, that would be great news for many holiday travelers

How has the bus strike affected you?

Shocking. Literally.

Two videos have emerged on the world wide web showing what looks (to the average person) like extremely unnecessary use of a police taser. It’s a tool that law enforcement can use to control dangerous suspects when they become a threat. But it’s also a weapon. A weapon that some police seem to be treating like a toy when there is no threat.

Now to be fair, I have a great deal of respect for the men and women in blue and the situations that they face on a daily basis. It’s not an easy job and sure, everyone makes mistakes. But with the amount of training that these officers endure, and with a little common sense, both of these now infamous situations could have been handled without voltage.

Thanks to the internet - you can be the judge. Post your comments!

If you haven’t seen the video of the Polish immigrant that was tasered and died at the Vancouver Airport by the RCMP, you can find it here.

Here is the video of the Utah State Trooper that tasered a man after he refused to sign his ticket.

***Warning: Both of these videos can be quite disturbing as they are raw and unedited.

There’s a new dance craze that all the “kids” are doing. It’s called the Spongebob Dance. Here’s a clip of a couple girls showing off their moves:

Thanks to listeners for reminding us about some of these dances we’d forgotten, or tried to at least:

The Bump
Bus Stop
Cha-Cha Slide
Macarena
Chicken Dance
Electric Slide
The Hammer
Carleton
Hitch hike
Hustle
Chicken Noodle Soup
Limbo
Mashed Potato
Time Warp
Melbourne Shuffle
The Robot
The Running Man
Shimmy
Akey-Breaky
The Smurf
The Twist
YMCA

Add more to the comments section. Then try ‘em out at Mickey J’s this weekend.

So the snow is here, and it’s minus 10 this morning so it’s not going to melt today. But does that mean we should get out the shovel? I say “Hell no!” The weather network is predicting a plus 10 high on Tuesday. Wait it out, the snow will take care of itself…this time.

Truth is, I still haven’t put away my garden hose. Yes, I know. So now it’s frozen and covered in white. I really need that 10 degree day to finish winterizing my backyard!

As far as this coming winter goes though, expect a cold one. Mel talked to David Phillips, a climatologist with Environment Canada, earlier this week. He says, it will be long, cold, and snowy. Good news for all those skiers and snowmobile trail permit holders though!

Today is “International Tongue Twister Day”, a celebration of all those famously formidable phrases that are so strenuous to say. Such as …

• Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches, and which wristwatches are Irish wristwatches?
• The sixth sick sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.
• And our personal fave: I’m not the fig plucker nor the fig plucker’s son but I’ll pluck the figs till the fig plucker comes.

Think you’re good? Try some more here, or post your favourites below in the comments section.

Here’s another classy contest: The 2007 World Pole Dance Championship. Not surprising, it was a controversial event, but not for the reasons you might be thinking…Controversy erupted at the World Pole Dancing Championship when the winner was disqualified for removing too many clothes. She stripped down to her bra and panties.

Wait! Isn’t that what pole dancers are supposed to do? So she was disqualified for “stripping”? I’m confused. Anyway, since the “Maytag” is no longer, here are the photos and videos.

No joke. They held the 2007 World Backside Championships in Munich.

The winner Kristina Dimitrova of Bulgaria, shows off her backside…

Click here for the full story.

Or as I like to count, 47 procrastination days till shopping day.

But if you want to get a head start on your holiday gift list, the Canadian Toy Testing Council has announced its list of the top toys of the year. Click here to read a summary of the best toys as tested by 1000 experts (kids). What a dream job that would be for an 8 year old!

It’s Monday, and MAN was that every nice to enjoy that extra hour of sleep. I was actually ON TIME for work! If you’ve got some trouble getting out of bed in the morning though, check out this list of the 10 Weirdest Alarm Clocks and you could be listening to the Q Morning Crew from your bed in style:

http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/0,1206,l=218600&pg=0&s=25301&a=218612,00.asp