All good things must come to an end

Fall colours - by Mike Lalonde

Well it was a great summer for people up in the north. Camping, fishing, hunting and hitting the trails. Now the leaves are changing colour signalling the arrival of winter.

Sudbury offers maintained trails for snowmobiling but if it's alright with you, I'm going to stay inside by the fireplace with a good book... and await the arrival of spring.

Gotta love the north

Hazardous winter conditions are expected. Snow, heavy at times, has begun in the North Bay area and will arrive in remaining regions this evening. The snow will continue into Thursday before tapering off to a few flurries Thursday night. Total snowfall amounts of 25 to 35 cm are expected near North Bay, with 15 to 25 cm expected elsewhere.

Just make it stop already. Spring can't arrive soon enough!

Key Cloning - Be Careful

CHICAGO (WLS) --

There's a new reason to keep a close eye on your keys. The ABC7 I-Team tested new apps that make copies of keys without the owner's knowledge or permission.

Two of the key cloning apps say the new technology doesn't make it any easier to steal keys. In fact, they say it leave an electronic trail. But some locksmiths have concerns.

The I-Team shows you how easy it is for someone to get in your home with help from a smart phone.

We usually think of keys being made by bringing in the physical copy. But now, a smartphone and white piece of paper can clone your key.

"Someone can just come with his phone and snap a picture, see where you live later on and he has a key for your house," said Shimon Mery, owner, Nonstop Locksmith Security. "The locksmith doesn't really verify, 'Yeah, you're the right person to cut the key,' he just sees a key and cuts it."

There are new apps and websites which analyze and scan your home, office, padlock or mailbox key codes, but doesn't work with car keys. Those codes can be brought into a locksmith or shared via text and email, with other people like a girlfriend, boyfriend or nanny.

"You share it with them you cannot go back and unshare it so they have a copy of your key. So even if you let them go for many reasons they can still go and have a key copied," Mery said.

The owners of Nonstop Locksmiths in the West Loop showed us how quickly they can make a copy, after we set up a profile on the "Key Me" app and paid $9.99 for the codes.

Our I-Team intern took my office keys on my desk, snapped the pictures and went to a local locksmith. About an hour later: "I'm in!"

Key Me recently opened this kiosk in Lincoln Park, where people can make a copy using a key, or with those codes from the app.

These locksmiths aren't fans of it but they won't turn a customer away.

ABC7's Jason Knowles asks: "Are you worried that you could be giving the keys to a criminal?"

"We are but it's not, it's not really something we can control," said ?

Key Me and another service, Keys Duplicated, both say their technology doesn't increase risk of theft. They say required, user profiles discourage would be criminals from logging in.

"We have some other security checks on the back end, not necessarily to tie you to the key but to make sure it doesn't look photo shopped or fishy. If we have any doubts about the key we will email the person and say please take the picture again to make sure they still have access to the key," said Jordan Meyer, COO, Keys Duplicated.

"With our mobile app we require a credit card to purchase, user verification, it has to be an Apple-verified device and an Apple ID to download it. We also require a USPS verified mailing address," said Michael Harbolt, Key Me.

They say it's just as easy to simply steal a key and make a copy, or use other tools for sale online that can measure keys.

"People need to treat their keys the same way they do their bank ATMs or their credit cards, so we strongly recommend only sharing keys with people you trust. Understand anyone with access to your keys can make a copy at a future point," Harbolt said.

You can also upgrade to a high security lock and key which requires multiple forms of ID and won't work with those apps.

"We are not going to copy that key," said Mery.

And a "high security" key is different than a key that says "do not duplicate." According to the Associated Locksmiths of America, the "do not duplicate" message is a false sense of security because many businesses will make a copy anyway. That group also says it has concerns with the new key cloning technology, saying anyone, including a valet, can take a picture and make a copy.

Where did the summer go :(

It seems just yesterday that we were at the camp enjoying the summer, visiting the kids in the south. Now it's 10 below and we're shovelling the driveway again. There's a trade off for the quieter way of live, the natural resources that surround us. That trade off is called winter, and it sucks!

As I look at the pageviews, I wonder what brings people here to this page? Are you looking for me or are you genuinely interested in what I have to say :) Maybe you're looking for my co-worker. Yes, there are in fact a number of people with the same name as myself. It's not uncommon considering we've got a large French community up here in the north.

Sharon and Mike on the highway for the upcoming long weekend - visiting Jordan in Guelph.

Winter woes

This winter was particularly brutal not so much snow but the bitter cold and the amount of ice build up. There was flooding in the Flour Mill and Notre Dame was closed for a bit.

Most of the snow has melted away :) To pass the cold days and nights, I've been dabbling in photography lately, Sharon's been busy with yoga.

The upcoming long weekend will be our first opening of the cottage and I hope that winter hasn't been too hard on it. We've been giving serious thought to relocating south, closer to the cottage and better business opportunities. I'm hoping this will be our last year in Sudbury - crappy roads, cold weather, limited employment opportunities and a whole lot of rocks. We'd also be closer to Ashley and Jordan. Ashley graduated and is now working in Human Resources for a Toronto area firm. Jordan is now self-employed as a home renovator.

This has been one of the coldest darkest miserable winters that I can remember. While the amount of snow has been reasonable, the temperatures have been dismal and the sun rarely shines through the clouds.



We're thinking perhaps it's time to move to Southern Ontario. Sharon could find accounting work and there are relocation options for me in the mining industry.



Having just purchased a smaller home almost two years ago, the value of the house has increased - but do we want to relocate ourselves yet again? So much incertainty.