The heat, the humidity, the power, will they conspire to bring Ontario to halt today? It remains to be seen. I begin writing this at 12:22 p.m. and the temperature in the house has risen to 23.89 degrees Celsius (75 degrees Fahrenheit). The temperature outside is approaching 30 Celsius (80 Fahrenheit) in the shade, and is sure to rise quickly through the afternoon.

Determined not to use the air conditioning, vigilance is needed to maintain bearable temperatures inside the house. To begin with this morning, all the windows and doors were opened wide to let the cool air bring down the indoor temperatures. As always in summer, our attic hatch is left open to allow the hot air to rise up and out of the house easily. We dropped from 23.33 Celsius (74 Fahrenheit) to 22.78 Celsius (73 Fahrenheit) early this morning, until around noon when the indoor temperature started to rise again.

As the sun rose, blinds were closed to prevent strong rays from falling into the house and increasing the temperature. As areas around the house began to warm in the sun, windows were closed to prevent that warm air from entering the house. All lights have been turned off. The computer and monitor, the refrigerator, and the freezer are the only electrical devices that are powered up today.

Since the blackout on August 14, 2003, we have cooked our meals on the BBQ. The electric stove is used only for boiling water. However, I continue to bake bread, as Attila has very short lunch breaks, and needs his quick and reliable sandwiches. Late tonight, long after the sun has set, I will bake tomorrow's bread.

Tomorrow should be the real challenge. It will be hotter and more humid than today. Tonight's low is predicted to only fall to 21 Celsius (70 Fahrenheit), which will not allow sun-warmed objects to lose their heat quickly. Tomorrow, we will start the new day with much higher temperatures than we did this morning.

We are very lucky to be able to affect the temperature in our immediate environment, our home. Significant proportions of Canadians live in apartments. They have extremely limited access to heat reducing strategies. They will doubtless need to use air conditioning. We are making every effort to leave the power for those who need it most.

Thankfully, the weather forecast calls for north winds and cooling temperatures on Friday.

My genealogy project is a continuing source of amusement. Recent transcriptions from the 1901 Census of Ontario are easily interwoven with my existing data. In this effort, the information on the LDS CDs for the 1881 Canadian Census is proving invaluable. People who are married with small children in the 1901 Census are usually small children themselves in the 1881 Census. Using these two sources, I am able to link several generations of familial ties with great success and accuracy. Of course, the previously transcribed information from the 1871 Census provides added depth to the recorded family lines. Then there are all those bits and pieces of genealogy that I have collected from the web.

Years ago, while visiting an LDS Family History Library, I mentioned in conversation that I had found quite a bit of useful information on the Internet. That was unwise. The "librarian" did not inquire further. He immediately provided an instructively loud verbal analysis of the unreliability and dangers of Internet research, which was very obviously directed at my assumed ignorance. It was a crowd-pleaser. For various reasons, I have not been back since.

Although web sources are not considered reliable in general, I find those published by family members who are researching their own ancestry to be remarkably well researched and accurate. I base this statement on a comparison between the information from specific web publications and the extensive data that I have transcribed from Census, and Birth, Marriage, Death records. The primary data reveals that genealogy researchers seeking their own ancestral roots are usually rigorous editors and publishers.

On the other hand, many published transcriptions of primary data records are done by individuals who are not personally familiar with the people and places represented in the data. These listings are more prone to inaccuracy, since there is no context of personal knowledge to aid in deciphering difficult handwriting, water damage, and the like.

I always cite my sources. If the information is accurate, that is wonderful. If the information is inaccurate, those accessing the data will be able to assess the reliability of the source for themselves.

My research focuses on areas where my ancestors pioneered. The surnames are familiar, as is the local micro-culture. My transcriptions and genealogical assumptions are as reliable as is possible, when one pretends to record information about people, places, and events long past.