BT Edmonton Blogs

Final Roses for all of our BT Panelistas!

Ed’s the man…at least for now (depending on what “spoiler” blog you subscribe to), Kiptyn’s the new Bachelor (again, depending on what “spoiler” blog you subscribe to), and Reid’s the only man to be dumped TWICE in the same season.

Now that Jillian Harris claims to have finally found “true love” (though, we won’t know for sure until Tuesday night’s “After the Final Rose” at 9pm right here on Citytv), it was time to welcome back our esteemed BT Panelistas (Shannon Wilton, Dajana Fabjanovich, Kerry Clynes and Katie McLaughlin) for one final segment. Click on the video below to hear what they had to say about Jillian’s choice…

(And a big shout out to our friends at La Piazza Dasee for the beautiful floral arrangements!)

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Clear to Land!

Let me tell you ’bout the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees.

As a regular viewer of BT, you have most likely heard us talk about our colleague Phil.   We refer to him as our “Audio Genius”.   He has impeccable timing and an incredible library of songs and sounds that he can call up in a splt second to match our dialogue.   So we welcome A-G as the newest member of our Fresh Air Photo Nation.

And he’s captured the Bee all ~ End all in action shots!    Here’s the buzz.   Bees are about the hardest working insect there is!   And, ahem,….the female knows all about flower power.   In “Clear to Land!”, can see the pollen ’sac’?   Female bees have a structure on their legs that no other insects have–a pollen basket.   This basket is made of rows of stiff hairs that form a hollow space on the outside of the bees’ legs,…usually her back legs.   When a bee visits a flower, she combs grains of pollen into her basket.   Pollen from the flower also sticks to the bee’s hair.   Males do not collect pollen so they don’t have this special body part.

Bee careful!

Butt first landing

Bees really are marvelous flying machines.   In “Butt first landing” – it’s easy to understand how a little balance might be thrown off.   She can carry a payload of nectar or pollen as much of 90% of her own weight.   The most advanced design in aircraft can only take off with a load one-quarter
of its own weight.   Want to know how to pronounce PROBOSCIS ??   Want to know what that is? … Read on…    

Pollen-packed!

Sweet nectar!

The proboscis(pro-boss-iz) is the bee’s specialized tongue, and is a suction pump.   Nectar passes through the esaphagus into the nectar sac and a valve prevents the nectar from being digested.   Nectar is the bees energy source — pollen is their protein.     

DID YOU KNOW?    The next time someone says:  Busy as a Bee,..you can ask if that person can visit up to 40 flowers a minute,..because that’s how bees roll,…er fly.   AND – Honeybees are the only insects that produce food for humans.

GOTTA FLY – BUT WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR PICS OF MOTHER NATURE OR HER CREATURES!   UPLOAD YOUR PHOTOS TODAY!.

Prickly subject

Many farmers know only too well it can be desert-dry here in Alberta – but you might be surprised to learn that Prickly Pear cacti love it,…even flourish here.   It is extremely drought tolerant, able to withstand cold days and nights, and is a fast grower.   The shallow roots are adapted for water absorption near the soil surface.   At a safe distance, Murray captured this flowering prickly pear near Ponoka.

DID YOU KNOW?    The cactus can be despined(whaaaa??).   That means the spines are taken off and you can have lunch!   In fact, the de-spined, flat, succulent leaves are called nopalitos … and are a big fave in many Mexican kitchens.   so: Bon Appetit.  er, I mean:   ¡Buen provecho! ¡Buen apetito!   Just don’t forget to take those spines out … ’cause that’s one mean way to pick your teeth!

PICK YOUR PIC AND SEND IT IN.   WHEN YOU BECOME A MEMBER OF THE FRESH AIR PHOTO NATION, YOUR PHOTO WILL AIR ON BT AND EARN A PLACE IN BLOG HISTORY.   ACT NOW – OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY.

My 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. In fact, as you can see from the photo below, sometimes I have a hard time leaving it on land. The roar of the Hemi, the spacious interior, the impressive ground clearance…what can I say?

I have realized, though, that somebody else could probably put the Dodge to better use. So I’ve partnered up with our friends at Sherwood Park Dodge to give this bad boy away! All you have to do is swing by our secret location every week and get your photo shot with my rig. Then, check back to my blog the following week. If you see your photo, click here and send us a note. You’ll be entered to win a one-year lease!

Our photos from Friday are posted below – click on the thumbnails to enlarge the images. Don’t forget to click here if you see yourself! This week’s secret location is the pedway by the LRT station at Rexall Place for the Blink 182 concert on Friday, July 31st between 5-9pm. Good luck!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

Me and my Dodge. It’s a special relationship we share. Camping, cruising, helping friends move…

But a while back, when I took the ‘09 1500 Quad Cab down to California to chill on the beach (pictured below), I couldn’t help but notice how good the truck looked in the sunshine. That shine…that shimmer! Being that I park in an underground parkade, thus denying the Dodge its rightful spot in the sunshine, I thought I’d better give it away!

Thanks to our friends at Sherwood Park Dodge, we’re excited to give one of BT’s lucky viewers a one-year lease on “my” Dodge! All you have to do is check out the weekly secret location – this week, it’s today (Friday) between 11am-3pm right outside of Citytv (the corner of Jasper Avenue and 102 Street) – swing on by, get your photo taken with the truck, and then check back to my blog on Monday to check for your picture. If you see your smiling face next to the Dodge, be in touch with us and you’ll be entered to win the one-year lease!

For more on the contest, click here. Good luck!
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I am avoiding pregnancy bedrest by spending a LOT of time just sitting still and cruising the internet.

Here is where I found the “drunken yoga” pictures that I will be telling you about on Friday’s show.

http://en.kllproject.lv/

I confess this at my own peril, because all I am doing is giving Ryan ammunition that I really don’t want him to have. I am always harassing him about eating expired yogurt and keeping meat in the fridge for weeks past when I believe it should be consumed.

Apparently his belief in the preservation of foodstuffs has rubbed off on me, because I have just been guilty of it myself. There was a hunk of blue cheese in the back of my fridge for I don’t know how long. All I know is that all of a sudden the paper it was wrapped in could no longer contain it’s putrid smell. I swear it went from completely odourless to absolutely foul overnight. Even after I threw it out, the smell remained. It was so bad that I couldn’t eat the grapes that were in the crisper because even they tasted to me like mouldy cheese.

I had read that an open box of baking soda will absorb foul smells, so I gave it a shot.

It didn’t work.

I was now desperate. Not only could I not bear to eat anything out of the fridge, I couldn’t even watch my family do it without imagining that I was being bathed in the scent of Gorgonzola. The pregnant stomach is not a strong one at the best of times, and this was putting me over the edge.

So where do you go when you don’t know what to do?

You call your mother.

Then, if she has the nerve to have a life of her own and not be sitting by the phone just waiting for the moment when you might need her (like mine) you go to the next best place.

The Internet.

That is where I discovered an awesome site. It is called HowCast and you can find it here.

It has video and instruction on How To Do Almost Anything… including get the smell out of a fridge.

From How To Jump Start Your Car, to How To Make Someone Fall In Love With You, it is my new favourite resource. Check it out!

(Incidentally, if baking soda doesn’t remove refrigerator odour, wipe down the shelves with a solution of 2 parts white vinegar to one part water, then wipe dry. A slight vinegar scent may linger for a day or so, but will then dissipate).

Thanks Howcast!

And Ryan… before you get started…the difference between me and you is that I THREW THE CHEESE OUT.         You would have made fondue.

xo Wendy

Both are world class race car drivers. Both have tasted victory over the years. And both have already taken to the track at Edmonton’s Rexall Speedway.

But neither Raphael Matos or Robert Doornbos (aka “Rafa” and “Bobby D”) have ever stared down a sprint like we put in front of them. The two budding Indy stars swung by our BT studio for a quick interview leading up to this weekend’s Rexall Edmonton Indy. What they didn’t know was, we had our own race planned…

With a little help from our friends at United Cycle, we brought in two hot rides and laid down the gauntlet. For a couple of guys used to street tracks and ovals, they didn’t do half-bad on our straightaway…

I should mention, there has been some controversy within our crew over the results of the tie-breaker, heat #3. From my vantage point, it appeared to be Bobby D’s win. But from a different angle (as you’ll see on our video), you can certainly make an argument it was Rafa’s race. Click on the video below to watch - you make the call!

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Wowsah!

Zolton Kenwell is a local photographer and chased down the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) a few nights ago.   This is near Drayton Valley.   He, like I, is registered with a website that emails people when the conditions are good for viewing.   Here’s how you can register!  

 http://corona-gw.phys.ualberta.ca/AuroraWatch/    

DID YOU KNOW?   Our beautiful Earth’s magnetic field acts like a huge magnet and attracts electrically charged particles to the north and south ends of the globe(hence–a compass needle pointing north).    Now, when the sun releases solar winds, those flares head towards Earth.   And guess where they are attracted to — yup, the north and south poles.   Electrons colliding with oxygen atoms produce a very bright green light.    In the lower atmosphere, where there are more nitrogen molecules – the colour red is produced.    But you know what?   You can have the best scientific explanation in the world, but one thing I know for sure – The northern lights are the most beautiful and magical sights I have ever seen.

WE NEED TO SEE YOUR SIGHTS!   BECOME A MEMBER OF OUR FRESH AIR PHOTO NATION AND UPLOAD YOUR PIC TODAY.