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Showing posts from October, 2011

Today I tested over 7 major equipment at work!

At work today,  I tested over 7 major equipment at work.  Most of them lube oil pumps, to ensure that they work when the other fails.  It is mostly due to insurance reasons, that we test these pumps regularly. When the pressure drops to a minimum, the other starts. Simple as that. It is much fun, and, in a rare occasion you can actually lead yourself into problems when doing these tests.  If one would not start, then they would have to put in place measures where the pumps will have to start.  Sometimes a re-arranging of logic may permit this. Even valves that do not stroke right can mean a maintenance shut down in the near future. A shutdown gives us lots of work to do, in locking out hundreds of pieces of equipment. Besides that, on the book front, two guys at work said and kept on saying they will buy one.  I am waiting. Patiently.  As, It seems as if I do have nothing to wait for...  My newest sales results will be only out mid November,  which is a stone throws away.  Now that

My blog is up a whopping 80% !

Thanks, greatly to, the great people of the United States of America, my blog has gone up and astounding 80 % over my best months results.  My best months results, was, in September. I just wanted to thank, everyone for taking a peek on here every so now and then. Once again, the book news is getting scarcer, as, there is not much to report as of late. Part 2 is frozen in time. Waiting for much needed sales,  as the wife still will not allow me to fork over the mola for to print it off. She said I was being a wild spender, as of late... Spending money on beer, beer, and more beer... She said,  if I could only stop buying beer, put the money in a can, I would have enough over the year to publish 3 books...  But, if I quit the beer, I replied,  where would I get my inspiration to write?  I guess, you can't win them all! I want to wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween.  Here is a tip for all of the kids.  Use two costumes.  I did that when I was a kid one year, and got twic

A guy at work today bought a book!

A guy at work bought a book online today. That was a nice gesture from him. I also mentioned about the horses ass trophy that I will get at the end of the year, for least sales volume in fiction. I have to prepare, my acceptance speech.  I remember the horses ass trophy, as popular as it was in the 70s or 80s.  It was just for fun,  and usually given out to a team in darts or something,  that finished last.  When I was a kid, I would see the trophy at some houses.  A nice laugh would be generated from it. These 4 day shifts have got me down and out. I do not know what it is, about four 12 hour shifts in a row, but, they tend to wear me out on the brain.  I will be glad to hit my days off coming up this week.  Lunch is ready, got to cut short.. Till then...

Should I make a collectible hardcover version of my book?

A collectible hardcover version of my book would be awesome. It would be, later on down the road, if the demand starts to gain.  I think a hardcover book is more expensive, but more durable, and more desirable to have on a persons shelf. It is easier to hit a burglar over the head with it,  if you catch him in and about the house. And it feels more like a rock, too! Besides that, at work,  I found 6 equipment deficiencies.  Everybody at work finds, problems, the human kind (are rare), and the equipment kind.  Mostly the Equipment kind. Out of the 6 problems, I solved 3. Then, of the three last problems, one of them led me to another problem which, I had to fix. Then, the three I could not fix gets sent down to another department.  In effect, most of my job today was, preventative maintenance. Preventative maintenance is trying to catch something before it becomes a bigger problem down the line. For instance,  where one problem, e.g. A broken heater may leave to a frozen water line,

Another guys wife at work liked the book!

It was once again, good to note that, not one of my co workers on my shift have read the book, but their wives have read it! This new review from the friends wife,  mentioned that she liked the book very much.  Much similar to all results now.  I expect maybe to get a bad review someday, as perhaps it may not be to everyones liking, but so far it is unanimous out of 3 ladies reviews out of 3.  The on different shifts men seemed to like it as well. Working these 4 shifts at work will cut down my writing, reading, and leisure time a big amount. There is not much I can do, once working 12 hour shifts. All of a sudden your life is dedicated to something totally different from my other job.  Working in industry. Helping the cogs of the machinery run at maximum profit and capacity, while doing it safely. The world series will be on tonight.  I expect, and predict, with the better pitching, the Cardinals will win.  But, Texas has allot of offensive power.  I will soon put on the televisio

Done reading The Cat's Table

The book is definitely is well written. The cover, terrific. The book is, for the most part, about an 11 year old boy and his antics with his friends aboard the Oronsay. The 11 year old and his friends, sneak through the night, under the cover of darkness, over hearing stories in the night by passer byes. With all of this, it leads them into the knowledgeable loop of elders, and they make subtle questions in trying to learn what is truly going on aboard the ship. I must say, it was difficult to read in the mid section of the book.  The story line drags on, until getting much better towards the very end. But, it does go back and forth through time, like a memoir and autobiography style, as noted by the author. Mr. Ondaatje is a great writer, but for this book, I found the story to be plain until the very end. I gave this book, 3 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.  Mostly, for the superb writing skills, and the loss of stars for the story line.  The cover, helped the ranking, as it was what

Writing Part 3 of the Supermarket Guy.

I have around 15 pages done for the Supermarket Guy III.  It was hard, at first,  because in the first Chapter, I have 3 starting points.  One for the villain, another for the supposed to be villain,  and then one for the main Character.  It all played out very well, as the thought process continued to churn out ideas.  I am somewhat glad that I did start Part 3. If Part 1 does take off,  I can print off Part 2 very rapidly.  Part 3,  if I do get ahead, is already started. It will be no rush to do it, as I am way ahead of the process.  It just depends, on how well the public takes to Part 1. I have another shot at doing another 2 books for sure,  and then, a book of a different style of comedy.  I will see how things go,  before I venture into the other two.  Then, I would like to take a stab at writing serious fiction.  But, that is not in the cards until a long time in the future. I will continue to write, but for now, I will take my time.  There are no rushes on the horizon. Til

The authors famous "Things are looking up" seafood chowder...

Here is a recipe that I have been doing for quite a while lately. It is when you get a few more sales than expected,  on your book.  It is called,  the "Things are looking up Seafood chowder" First  cut 6 potatoes, dice into cubes. then, two carrots, dice into small slices. then, and onion, dice up. Put the three in the pot, add 1/3 rd a can of carnation milk. No creme here, sales are not that strong!  Then, add two cups of water.  let all the ingrediants boil,  then do two or three rounds of salt,  2 rounds of pepper.  Two dashes of thyme, a dash of celery salt ( Adding too much of these will overtake the taste of the chowder completely,  and ruin your sales success feelings). Then, let boil for 15 minutes,  then add some fish.  What kind of fish.. It only matters on what you have locally. I added first, clams ( hardest texture first),then, I added lobster ( second hardest texture), and scallops, let boil for 10 minutes.  Add a cup of water for each ingredient... T

Some authors are good writers and good story tellers!

I was thinking about this today.   There are some authors that are good writers,  and good story tellers.  There are others,  who can write very good,  while maybe their story telling element is weak.  Then,  of course there is a vice versa.  And,  the cover,  has to be honest, and on the back to the story that is inside.  The front has to push the story line. This is how I will try to rate my future books.  I will give, a rating for story telling out of 5,  and a rating for the writers writing skills or prowess.  Then add them up,  and divide by two. I would knock off maybe a half a star for a poor cover or back cover description,  if it was indeed bad. No doubt,  Tom Clancy,  and Stephen King would probably be most of the time very high to excellent in both ranges.  Great story telling,  and,  great writing ability. I like stories that have a kick to them.  I do enjoy,  every so often,  a mild book with no action in it.  But,  it is rare, and, I somewhat wonder if it is a true fa

Began to write Part III, of, The Supermarket Guy

I wrote 5 pages of Part 3,  of The Supermarket Guy.  It is the beginning,  of what I hope,  to be,  another funny segment of the series.  It has some interesting changes,  and I will try to keep the main characters in the loop and give them more adventures with the main character.  I can see the cover for the book in my mind now,  as I figured it out to match with the adventure in the book.  There is an impending cataclysm to come.  Harold has to do something,  despite the odds that are against him,  to save the day.  We know this is how many plots go ( the show/series 24 sometimes, Armageddon, Outbreak, ect, ect). I also thought of a childrens book last night in my dreams.  A comedy childrens book, with a good moral behind it.  I will see if I have time to produce it.  Or have the inspiration to do it.  Sometimes things come to me in and I have to get to the keyboard to type it down before I lose the story behind it.  I have the cover page here in the house for it, which looks great

2 New sales from United Kingdom!

My Lord!  I checked on Dog Ear Publishing Website,  and I received 2 sales from the United Kingdom.  This is the country which,  pushed my book the farthest,  and took it in as their own little orphan sibling.. Thanks,  to Great Britain,  for Amazons ranking at # 1 in Relevance total (Dog Ear Publishing books only).  These guys know their books!  Till then..

Got back my 122 dollars plus tax on return item.

As soon as I got up from snoozing,  I went to the Associate Canadian Tire store in Bathurst.  There,  I waited in line a good 20 minutes,  until I pulled my receipt out from my pocket to give it to the return teller.  There,  she indicated that I would have to bring in the two garage door openers,  in order to get the refund.  Now, just imagine.  What if I had installed those garage door openers.  Not much I could have done,  but I would have been out more money.  I asked to talk to the manager,  in case she was pulling a bluff.  She was not bluffing, and that the manager requested for me to bring in the packaged door openers.  After a look of frustration,  and a realization that maybe receipts could be forged,  I went back to get my boxes. I then returned,  this time with no line ups.  I had to actually get credited the money on my debit card.  Then, I was ready to go and buy another two garage door openers over in the aisle. I found this experience,  somewhat inefficient.  For my

Some good news on the book front.

Last night at work,  a co worker came in.  Began asking me about the process of writing a book.  I revealed everything about the main processes that I went through,  with my publisher.  He bought a book from me.  After explaining quite a bit, and how much it cost,  we both paused and looked at each other for a few minutes.  I thought I would hear some news or something about the book I had sold him. I broke the silence.  I said,  "So did you read my book?".  He replied,  "No", then a pause, "But the wife read it.  She liked it allot though".   So,  his wife read it.  And,  once again,  a reconfirmation of,  the status of the book.  I take this also as a strong review,  as,  if it was bad he would have greased me over pretty good.  He holds no punches, and is not a really close friend. With other news,  it seems some news releases about my book has come out in October on certain news wires. It is hard to understand,  how this happened at all.  But,  it

A sale just after a sale occurs.

Did you ever go to a store,  buy something,  and the next day it comes on special!  This is just what happened to yours truly,  this past Thursday.  We have a Canadian Tire store ( Hardware, automotive),  a store that every man loves to shop in.  And,  big specials usually come out every week on tools.  And, of course,  the best part was that the wife always tells me,  "Wait till it comes on special.  Do not buy it now".  That echoes, again and again in my head,  like a slogan of my defeat in a crusade somewhere in a department store, where my credit cards are maxed out and I have only pennies in my wallet.  As I cringe down to defeat! I bought two garage door openers,  this past Thursday,  at a price of 260 dollars each.  The next day,  they come on special,  at 199.  To my chagrin,  I realized I was duped out of 122 dollars,  then some tax on top of that.  Here in Canada we have a sales tax of varying degrees,  depending in which province you live in.  Ours is 13 %. Now

Reading The Cat's Table

The Cat's Table,  by Micheal Ondaatje.  I knew nothing of this author,  from the beginning.  I went to a small local bookstore here,  and was searching hard,  for something intriguing to read.  Then,  I picked up the hardcover book, at a price of 27.30 $.  The only thing I could remember,  was that the cover attracted me to it.  A steamship on the cover,  suggested that maybe the ship would encounter hidden dangers of the sea.  Or,  maybe it would be a saving vessel for those who were in peril.  There was no idea of what the book was about in the back,  just a few accolades from the New Yorker, the Guardian, and Dionne Brand.  To my surprise,  this book is if not a # 1 seller in Canada,  it is way up there. Now,  reading the first few pages,  told of a story of leaving a country and headed towards England.  The story focuses around Micheal (The authors name),  and two of his closest friends at around the age of 11.  They eat at a table on the boat,  the Cat's Table.  With his

It cost 250 bucks to clean out my septic tank!

It cost 250 dollars to clean out my septic tank.  It was 4 years since I got it cleaned,  and it was packed in there pretty good.  I could have left it over the winter,  but then you take a chance on the line plugging.  The guy from the super sucker service indicated that my pipe was long coming into the tank.  It might have been 3 inches from touching the baffle.  Then,  he indicated that he sucks from the manhole cover,  not the end covers,  which,  are smaller. Then I dug out the bigger manhole cover.  I was thankful it was only a foot or so of gravel on top.  Some Septic tanks are deep,  like my fathers,  which is 3 and a half feet deep to get to the top of the tank.  Then,  we pulled on the manhole cover handle.  It broke off.  We finally got the cover off with a pick,  and then he done his job. One job of digging out the port for cleaning,  left me with 2 new jobs.  I put a new handle on the manhole cover with some aircraft strength wire.  The cover alone must weight 50 lbs.

When dictators fall. Another book will be released... Maybe a few...

Interesting today,  how on television it showed how many politicians were cozy with Momar Khadafi.  I know I did not spell his name right,  oh well.  It was only Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher that gave him a few airstrikes,  and Reagan broke off all ties with him. Then,  the world embraced him after Khadafi dismantled his nuclear weapons ambitions.  It showed on television, how our leaders embraced him and shook his hand.  Of course,  you deal with the situation you are thrown in upon.  Why did some of our current world leaders shake his hand.  At the time,  he was in power, and relations must be kept, somehow, you hope maybe the man had changed?  We hope to believe,  our leaders shook his hand for the sake of his people,  and not for him. He still represented ( unfortunately) the Libyan people at that time.  A blind handshake,  maybe.  And all of those famous singers that sang for the man.  Did they not know of the mans infamous background? All they knew was that he drove a ca

Some good news to report.

This may come as a shock to everyone,  but my book moved up the Kindle in the Dog Ear Publishing from the back to 120 ish from 170 ish. We have to believe that it is going to turn around.  Just like,  when Hulk Hogan took out Andre the Giant way back in the Pontiac Silverdome..  Everyone wanted to know if he could body slam Andre the Giant.  And,  he did!  To my ten fans,  continue buying,  as Part 2 may have a breath of life after all!!!!

The tax man a cometh!

The tax man came this morning,  at 9 30 am.  He knocked on the door,   as I came to see a small man,  dressed in a tidy suit,  with a stylish Gatsby hat on.  I invited him to the door entrance,  and indicated the only change done was a new garage.  He then motioned,  if it was alright for him to come inside.  I said, alright,  but please take off your shoes.  So,  he came to the living room.  Checked what type of flooring I had.  Then,  he asked what the bedrooms had.  I brought him as far as one bedroom and one washroom,  and indicated to him it was cushion floor.  Not floating floor,  as he somehow,  or someone else may have marked it differently. Everything was marked down a few years ago.  The first time,  he was not allowed to come in,  due to the fact that my wife was here alone.  He was coming to see if we had done any renovations during that time.  Nothing was done.  Then,  he pointed to the basement.  I took him down,  and showed him a semi finished basement. I expect my tax

Watched the rest of Airplane tonight!

Airplane,  the movie.  I watched the rest of it tonight.  Don't call me Shirley.  Right.  There was some funny moments that stuck out for me.  Of course,  I talked earlier about the hospital bit.  But,  whenever the nun began playing her guitar,  singing "Give me a little Respect",  singing it to the two black men in order to try to calm them down or make them feel good,   it was a classic. The fast strumming was something else. Then,  Striker at the air controls,  thinking about plane crashes.  Old planes crashing,  world war 1 models, and even prehistoric model air planes that were crashing.  Does not give him much strength to land the plane. And, of course,  the stewardess who said she was not ready to die when talking to the Doctor,  that she was not married yet.  And,  then other woman that came in,  and said,  at least I am married if the plane goes down.  That was one of those old gimmick jokes,  but a classic.  Then,  Striker lands the plane,  and his captain

Where would any country be, without, the sawhorse?

I was thinking about that today.  Where would any country be,  without,  the sawhorse (s)..   I did small carpentry jobs around the house,  and sometimes you have to use chairs to saw a piece of lumber.  Two old chairs,  and sometimes if the wife is away,  you can sneak down the nice chairs from the dining set to cut on..  Be careful not to scrape them up.. The sawhorse.  Now they make them out of metal,  and are folding.  Do not use them as a scaffold.  I built two of them today.  One of them rocked a bit,  and I had to shave off one of the legs a small amount.   Mine are 30 inches high,   and right after that I took to cutting some plywood to fix my floor in my shed.  The old floor has allot of gaps in it,  good enough for mice to get in...  I put a stop to that. Yes,  without the sawhorse,  how could a country get built up so fast.  In some areas of the world,  it may be referred to as a mule.  I know it makes cutting plywood, long lumber,  small lumber,  a breeze.  Who thought

It is a good morning to pay some bills!

I have a few bills to pay today.  Seems like,  they never stop coming,  they pile up like fruit flies around some organic fruit.  I am sort of the old fashioned type when it comes to bills.  Most of my bills come through the mail, as I like seeing in front of me all of the charges and information.  Direct billing,  sometimes when you change a service provider,  they take an extra payment from you by mistake,  or even bill you extra for services that you never got.  It is a pain to go to the bank,  wait,  and get the information to change your service provider.  Sometimes it happens.  But,  if you intend to stick with your service for long periods of time, Direct billing is beautiful as well.  Just comes down to a difference of preference,  I guess... On a positive semi positive note,  a journalist e mailed me for an interview about the book I had done.  He heard I had done a book,  about the Second World War.  I did not do a book,  about the WW 2.  My Dad is a veteran from that confl

Sales for September...

The sales for September from Dog Ear Publishing,  is actually the news that comes out in October.  They are not October sales,  as we know,  the month has not passed yet.  0 sales for September.  This does not come as a surprise at all.  My book did not move up the rankings one iota. I have read numerous times,  on different articles,  why a publishing on demand book does not move.  Number one, is the possible quality.  People do not want to buy a book that maybe not up to par.  The second reason, is the price.  I seen POD people drop their prices of their e book just to sell them.  I had to do the same in the end,  this past few weeks.  Number 3 reason,  is that my publisher does not market the book.  I do not know of many POD publishers that do,  any marketing of any kind.  I am responsible for marketing.  I do not have a clue,  how to market a book.  Not only that,  but I am scared somewhat at pouring more money into a hole that is getting bigger and bigger. The only tangible sa

Watched 'The Big Year' Today...

Watched the Big Year today,  starring Owen Wilson, Jack Black,  and Steve Martin.  I expected a show with a strong laughter element to it.  It was totally opposite of what I expected, it was more of a heartwarming comedy than a burst out in laughter comedy.  It was nice to see a show without too much edgy content for a change,  though.  It did show some very beautiful picturesque areas all over the world,  as the three men embarked on a competition for to have The Big Year.  Who could see the most birds in a year.  It was a birdwatchers bonanza!  If you are a bird aholic,  then this show is for you! I found it funny,  how one of my friends took to the moral of one of the themes in the show.  Owen Wilson was always missing important times with his wife,  especially a visit to a fertility clinic.  He got a call on the sighting of a rare bird,  he needed to see,  in order to keep up to the competition.  He then turned his car around that was heading towards the hospital, and then headed

Need to get back into physical exercise!

We all think about it. Then,  we put it off.  It might be because visitors arrives.  Work commitments, or illness comes around.  Exercise is good for us all.  A brisk walk down a beautiful forested path,  or even a nice boardwalk in your very own town.  I have been putting it off,  for too long.  Been very busy in the last few months,  and I wonder if it is going to stop. My mother always used to tell me,  keep drinking beer like that,  you will get a pot belly like your dad.  A "Pot Belly",  is usually what comes with drinking lots and lots of beer.  I do,  have a small one.  I always needed exercise to burn it off,  because I do eat allot at meals.   And,  I do,  unfortunately,  eat allot of salted goodies.  I am not much for sugar,  though. My main character in the book is athletic, strong, and has no problem with a beer belly because he is highly active.  I think I wish I was more like him... This Sunday,  relatives will be visiting.  They want to see the latest movie

Viewership of blog up 18 % and it is only the middle of the month!

Thanks to my viewers again,  especially from the USA and Russia,  and England,  who pushed up my viewership 18 % up over my best month so far.  And,  it is only the middle of the month..  Thanks a great deal!

The Ugly Dolls!

When I was a kid,  the little girls were going gaga over cabbage patch dolls.   Then,  I remember the Elmo craze.  There are all kinds of crazes,  out there.  I remember whenever a popular Playstation model was first released,  or the game cube,  and watch it fly off of the shelves. I seen at a specialty soap store today the Ugly Dolls.  They are not really ugly.  I think,  everything is beautiful,  in its own way.  And,  that is from a song by Ray Stevens.  I thought,  with the different colors and choppy corners,   small ears, that they were actually cute.  Some were sticking out their tongues,  and some had one eye with the other eye with an X on it.  A great marketing idea,  and a product which is cozy.  Or friendly,  so to speak. They have tot bags and pillows to boot.  Go to www.uglydolls.com to check it out.  I think it will be the next fad,  yes,  even greater than my book!  My ten fans will not like me saying that,  but it is the truth!  No news on sales yet,  but I suspec

Farmers market every Saturday!

We have a farmers market open every Saturday.  This is where,  for the most part,  people can bring their home made goods to be sold.  It is not only for farmers,  but they are there too.  They do have sausage makers there, or snitzels booths there,  where they cook them and make lunches.  Breakfast is offered,  and there is nice cuisine from different parts of the world as well.  There are people from the Asian nations that offer up their own special style of cooking.  A table from India is there as well.... And,  how can anyone resist bacon wrapped scallops!  They are there too! Besides food,  there are quilts,  knitted slippers, books,  vinyl records ( say they were,  the best sound, maybe even today),  and other small wood working projects to buy. A farmers market is fun.  And,   I am sure all across the world,  they are to be found everywhere.  I hope everyone finds some time,  to enjoy an outing at their local markets and support their neighbors.  Till then..

Fog and rain for the weekend.

October has been beautiful thus far.  It just started raining a little today,  with some fog here and there,  a little drizzle.  But,  besides that,  October has been spectacular for New Brunswick. My October sales results will be out shortly.  I am assuming,  Monday I may have results.  I will keep my eyes pealed,  and I will report the sales on here,  every so slowly creeping up the ladder to continue my writing career.  I have achieved 4.2 % of sales required so far to fire up Part 2,  Rise of the Market Overlord. Still,  far from my actual value. I feel like,  my star meter has gone down dramatically since its uneventful release...  The IDBm has a star meter, where peoples star may go down if their film fizzles.  Some 6 %,  some over 20.  Wow.  Well,  I would think my star meter broken ; )    Amazing how,  they would even think of putting up a star meter.  Some star meters go up,  when a film is a huge success at the box office... Night shifts have run my dry.  Tired,  stub

I am a professional 45 auction player...

I played auction 125 today.  It is a fun game.  The 5 is high,  Jack, A of Hearts, then the A,K,Q,J,  of the same suit are trump,  then going down from high in red to low in black.  Now,  everyone has their own rules.  We can only bid 60 for 30 on being on the plus side,  120 to 60 on the negative side (hole). Guys at work get frustrated at my play.  It is because,  I win,  and,  I win allot.  They tell me they want to bring me to a casino.  I tell them,  that I find they are pretty lucky at times too.  It just depends,  sometimes,  what you catch in the kitty and what your partner has. There are some obvious ways to play the game.  There are,  sometimes,  what you hold in your hand,  and depending on what score the other team has,  you may play a little more or a little less aggressively which can make the game. Today,  my opponents put us in the hole.  They were at 100,  looking for game.  When in the hole,  we have the rule we can go 120 for 60.  You have to make every hand.  

Guys at work think it is funny to make sausage!

I told the guys at work,  or maybe my co worker told them,  that we were going to make some moose sausage from some of our Moose Hamburger meat...  Then,  one of our co workers opened up an episode of Seinfeld, with the crazy music playing in the background.  And they teased,  about doing making sausage,  saying that we could screw up the recipe big time. Why not pay,  to get it all done? The answer to that question,  is probably money and quality.  We can buy our own spices,  we can buy our own tubes,  we can grind our own meat.  And,  a good guy at work offered us a sausage packing machine... My friend told me,  we can cut costs in half by doing it ourselves.  Lets say for 50 lbs,  for 180 dollars approx. you can get  it made into sausage.  Now, divide it in half for the job we can do.  We will save 90 dollars approx.  This,  with a few beer to boot..  So,  if the guys at work think we are funny having a sausage fest,  so be it.. Night shifts got me grumpy..  Till then...  Lo

No messages yet from the funny or die website.

I messaged allot of people in the funny or die website.  I never got any responses back.  I think it is like,  a zombie site.  At any rate,  it is a good, funny site and you all should go and have a look at it. I sold 2 books again to friends at work.  They asked me to sign the book.  I could,  not believe my eyes,  but we could not find a pen anywhere.  In satisfying their pleas,  I responded that I would sign them if the book ever took off.  They believed it would take off.  I replied, that I was not so sure.   Looking back at the response,  with the 20 or so books I sold,  everyone said they liked it.  I did not hear of one bad complaint,  yet.  I am sure I will find one someday,  somewhere, sometime,  as you cannot please everybody. To renew my website coming in March, at word press,  from Dog Ear,  will cost a 75 dollar fee.  My instincts are telling me to shut it down when that time comes.  I received my certification of The Supermarket Guy Part 2:  Rise of The Market Overlor

Book is all over the world now!

It is hard to believe,  how a book written by yours truly is available,  all over the world now.  I checked the other night,  and it is in spectacular Portugal. When first writing it,  I thought it would be in the USA and Canada.  I never imagined it,  to be able to be found in Japan, Germany, India, China, France, Italy, Netherlands, and great England,  just to name a few.  It is not even,  translated into these languages.  Why would anyone with a different language,  even attempt,  to pick it up? Now,  I tried to add up all these populations the other night.  And,  then you try to figure out the % of internet based people in all of these countries.  People who have access.  Then,  try to figure out the % who is looking for a book..  Interesting... So,  internet connections,  lets say an average of 80 %  of the population has access.  Lets say my book is being sold to Europe, USA, England, Japan, China, India, ect.  I am estimating a possible viewership of 2.8 Billion.  Now at 8

Backwards or Frontwards thinking?

I remember not too long ago,  we asked a relative from Ontario how she liked it here in our little rural New Brunswick village.  She just answered,  with a glance at my two different colored socks, "It is backwards".  Backwards.  Maybe my two different socks on my feet gave her that impression.  I do not know what happened that day,  it is when you get out of bed after a late night of work,  and haphazardly put on different socks withoug even knowing it.  But,  I think my beautiful Ontarian relative,  who was used to live in the big city,  did not have her Costco and Winners stores to go to.  Where I lived,  we had the most popular malls only 35 minutes away, but just the bare minimum for a small population. Backwards or forwards thinking.  No one thinks much,  of backwards thinking.  What is it all about,  anyways?  And if you are Backwards thinking,  I think that is much fine.  I accept you.  A backwards person might think you are frontwards ( actually forward) thinking..

The authors famous "Stuck at zero Chicken soup".

This is a lovely recipe,  for all those authors whose wife is sick with the flue.  And,  especially if sales are way down. Brown 10 drumsticks in a pot.  Drain grease afterwards.. add water,  boil 5 minutes,  then add carrots and turnips,  since they bring that much needed color in an authors life. put a quarter teaspoon of celery salt.  Too much will overtake the broth,  like pirate sales of e books. add a full teaspoon of salt,  and likewise,  pepper. a little parsley for decorative thought. a little bit of marjoram leaves,  quarter teaspoon. once turnips and carrots have boiled for 10 or 15 minutes,  add cubed potatoes, with onions..  to hide our tears from weak sales results from our family members.. Get close to that onion and cut it deep... cook another 10 minutes. Then,  add some spinach in the last 10 minutes of the boil... I put about a small bowl of each major ingredient,  but you can vary the amount for the consistency you want to achieve...  It works very good

Just who the heck am I?

I was asking that question as I came home from my parents today.  Who the heck am I?  Do you ever have to re evaluate your standing,  in the world?  My wife was working today, so I decided to have thanksgiving dinner early at my parents house.  I would bring her back a bowl.  I would be the cook,  as my parents are up there in age. That is right.  I cooked the chicken,  seasoned it with summer savory, rosemary, thyme, and other spices.  I cooked the stuffing.  I boiled the potatoes, broccoli, peas, and had the stuffing at the side.  A little white wine at the table,  tea for those who wanted to relax.  Then raisin pie with vanilla ice cream.  Then I washed,  all the dishes...  I am just thankful,  I am given the ability to do what I can do....  I did a wonderful meal for 6 people today,  and they did not leave one small morsel in their plates...  Thank heavens..  It was good.. It all comes down to watching people cooking over time.  Perfecting the process,  I guess.  Especially my

How does the economy affect book sales?

I have always wondered how the economy  affected book sales.  As of now,  I believe there is minimal affect,  as it appears year after year,  thus far,  sales have been pretty much up from 2009 to 2010.  The Association of American Publishers,  there are numbers for 2010,  27.94 Billion revenues for publishers, an increase of 5.6 % from 2008.  They give figures for the units sold, up in 2010 at 2.57 billion units sold, up from 4.1 % from 2008. A recession,  as they say,  never affect beer sales.  I believe anything that people really want, they will actually buy even during hard times,  with a small price tag.  Tim Hortons coffee can outlast any recession,  due to its brand image and pricing.  Books,  I believe also are low enough of a price,  that they can withstand a recession, as long as it does not spiral into a depression.  But is it an effect of having more choice, more variety, more publishers pushing their products...  There was increases in publishing houses after the 1950s

Not even halfway through the month, and my Blog has increased 100 % so far!

I would like to thank everyone for the viewership that I have enjoyed as of late.  Since this being the fall,  I think people are more inside and looking for things to do.  Once winter comes,  people will be hibernating in their bedrooms,  so I think my viewership will fall back again..  At least,  this is what happens in Canada.. Yes,  a 200 % increase in this month.  This means,  I got 100 % of my views over my best month thus far,  and it is not even the middle of the month yet...  I know it is somewhat speculative accounting,  but isn't this what Wall Street does... I have seen the protests on the tv about Wall Street....  Very interesting,  and people have the right to protest.  Maybe,  short selling is getting to some people.  Maybe,  maximizing profits while undercutting labor is not the way to go...  Hopefully we will see some turnaround in the economy in the next year...  Hopefully... Till then...

How do you move a little shed around?

I was thinking about that for a few weeks.  A little shed stood in the way,  between my garage and the main gate to the road.  I even checked on you tube.  There,  I found videos of people dismantling the shed ( larger than mine),  then putting it back together again.  I found another,  where people used pipes underneath the shed and pushed the shed so far,  then set up the pipes underneath to roll  it again.  Finally,  of course,  there is the last attempt with,  a dolly or trailer set up. Well,  I did not have a trailer,  so that was not on the front burner,  but on the mid burner.  I could rent one,  for a few hundred dollars,  or buy one for a thousand approx.  And, then it takes a special trailer to do this job.  Hopefully a flat one where the wheels are below the deck of the trailer.  Then,  was the PVC pipe thing.  I would  once again have to buy a bunch of pipe... I could use logs,  but,  to get a certain type of all the same diameter is not fun.  Chugging through the woods,

If we could only hold the hands of time still!

I was thinking of that today,  as I drove down the road.  Taking my mother from the hospital,  who is now up in years.  She has arthritis in the worst form.  Rheumatoid arthritis.  This started showing up maybe 15 years ago,  and during this time I could see her have better days and worse days.  When it first started, she began to slow down her walks.  Some days she could not make bread,  with her strong hands that used to do so much.  Now, today,  she has a hard time to get out of the chair,  and crawls along with a walker.  Time has been,  her enemy, during her elderly years. If we could only hold back the hands of time.  I think,  we all would like to try to stop the aging process for our parents.  We only wish the best health for them and good times in their old age.  The golden years,  they call them.  My mother thinks otherwise.  Hopefully,  somewhere out there,  we can find the time to visit an old person.  They tell marvelous stories about the old days,  and some stories are

Another person at work gave a two thumbs up to my book!

Another guy at work loved my book.  He gave it two thumbs up!  Now,  once again,  I asked,  are you certain.  Are you absolutely positive,  and you are not doing this just to make me feel good.  The person said,  No man, I really found it good! Well,  this is better than I had anticipated,  right from the get go.  Just to say a few words,  the other night I watched some of the classic Airplane movie.  What a great show,  with Leslie Nelson coming on and doing his doctor skit.   Here is a classic quote that will be loved from that show,  from all time: Rumack : You'd better tell the Captain we've got to land as soon as we can. This woman has to be gotten to a hospital. Elaine Dickinson : A hospital? What is it? Rumack : It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now.  (from IMDb) internet movie database. Classic comedy,  with lots of intensity to boot.  Well,  I have to go for now,  but we must reflect on the death of Steve Jobs.   Fir

E book pricing update... From Dog Ear Publishing...

E book pricing will be changed in 2 weeks..  I know my ten fans,  will not be able to hold back that long,  and probably will buy the book at the 8.99 price instead of the 3.98 price.. : )  In a day and age when things can be done fast, this is really being done,  slow.  And,  a few days ago,  debit machines were down for the Province of New Brunswicks Service for license plates, licenses, ect.  And,  when doing a bank transfer of accounts the other day,  from one bank to another bank,  it took at least a week and a half.  Strange,  how things are so slow in a fast paced world for certain things and when the fast things do not work right... As I have said,  Part two would not burn on me the other day.  And the past 2 days the weather was to miserable to get a spark to burn the thing...  Maybe it was a message from above... At any rate,  it is up to you,  the public,  if a Part 2 will be published.  All I need is 1000 sales of the paperback..  Not many sales really,  but it is allot

The authors famous "feeling kinda blue Macaroni Surprise"...

When you are pressed for time,  have a few book signings to do,  and have to shave and are behind in time, this recipe is simple as a dimple.. 1 lb of hamburger browned and grease drained... 2 cups of macaroni boiled... 2 cans of low salt tomato soup..  which one is up to you,  well Heinz or Campbells, Alymers are not paying my sponsership..  (low salt!  Eat twice as much!) cooked onions with the hamburger... 1 tsp of garlic powder to taste..  a dash of salt and pepper to taste..  You do not want your 10 fans too close to you during a signing... grate some cheese or just use parmesan (Black diamond, Kraft is not paying for my sponsership so I cannot say which one i prefer) Mix everything up and serve with pride.   Eat your heart out,  Rachel Ray!

My dog is an intelligent life form.

My dog is truly amazing.  She shits outside, and pees outside.  And she asks to do it.  She also hides when it comes time to take a bath.  A dog that is afraid of water. As soon as we say the word 'Bath',  she runs under the bed.  She knows it is not right to sleep on the couch.  But she loves it so much,  and it is so comfortable, that she will sneak on the couch after I go to bed. I told her to get off the couch during daytime in her early years,  enough so that she never tries it in the day anymore. In the morning, if I get up early,  she jumps from the couch on the floor rapidly and moves to her bed on the floor.  If I get up late,  the dog already sneaked back to her bed on the floor.  She is some sly.  We luckily have a dog that does not chew up our furniture,  either.  A friend at work,  told me that those little buggers can hold their # 2 in for 14 hours..  I was skeptical, as I work 12 hour shifts.  I would take her out before going to work,  and when I got back home I

A CBC worker is now friends with me on Goodreads!

It is nice to have someone from the CBC as a friend on goodreads.  After all the cold shouldering,  from their books website,  to not even show or pretend that a POD book exists,  it is nice to have a friend from the CBC.  I think they will eventually open up,  to the idea of a forum for POD books someday.  I think they will have no choice,  as POD someday will be hard to put on the back burner with so many books produced that way out there.  I am not saying put it in the forefront,  but they do deserve some exposure.  We know that probably 10 % or less of POD sell extremely well.  I am not a part of that percentage,  as I have shown on this blog site. Now William Shatner has come out with a book on how to be himself.  From Penguin Canada.  How to be a good negotiator, a deal maker,  and such.  From what I gathered from my experiences watching people rise to the occasion,  it more or less has to do with your talent, or who you know,   or being at the right place at the right time. No

Too windy and raining out to start a fire!

I took my pages out to the old barrel I had placed outside.  I began striking matches,  and they blew out in the wind.  I then took some gasoline,  poured it over my Part 2 of The Rise of the Market Overlord.  Then it started to downpour rain,  so much,  that I could not get a flicker of a spark from my butane lighter....  Talk about bad luck..  I took the wet pages back in the house,  and let them dry in the basement...  I am beat. My wife is also pregnant.  This was actually planned,  and we did it in our own time line.  People would try to push us to have one earlier,  then we would say,  no not ready,  and then finally the surprise.  I was not even sure we could have any,  but,  it appears it is now 2 months past and things are going ok.  The wife gets a little nausea     at times,  or somewhat heavy cravings to eat all of a sudden.  This does not pose well for my hidden stashes of chips, bars, and other treats hanging around the house.  I will have to be smarter,  and hide them

Part 2, Rise of the Market Overlord a far fetched concept...

As I told my co workers at work,   Part 2 of the Supermarket Guy will probably be never published.  Sales are sluggish,  and this is just the number one underlying factor.  It is difficult to justify spending another 3500 dollars for a book that,  does not produce or generate any sales worth while talking about.  I probably sold 25 copies in the last few weeks, which is barely keeping over the cost of giving some free copies to relatives away.  My relatives and a few friends were very good to me when I was young,  so I obviously did not want any money for the freebies given to them. My fledgling career as an author has come to an abrupt stall.  I cannot write,  without anyone buying my product.  I sure had ideas for a part 3,  and a part 4,  but it is impossible to write without some positive encouragement. And,  a book on comedic poetry as well... All in the dustpan,  as my mother would say.  There is no chance to be given.  Even amazon, or any other site it is on, they books are far

52 hits in one day on one of my writings!

I am surprised that I got 52 hits in one day on one of my writings about book collecting,  on Goodreads site.  Usually I get maybe a hit or two a day on a column that I write, then nothing for awhile,  and it takes months to accumulate 20 or so hits.  It is amazing,  if you can talk about something that gets to a certain segment of readers heart,  then it takes off like wildfire.  It was about book collecting.  Something I feel more people should get into,  and something that I think the Antiquarian societies should promote more of.  Some people have libraries of books.  I have,  to be honest, an 8 by 10 shelf that is full of books (encyclopedias not counting).  That many hits in one day, never happened to me before,  and not even on here.  Although I have been fortunate enough to get hits every day for the last little while on here.  Phew...  As I thought I would have to retire,  like that guy off of 60 minutes....  Whats his name..  right... If the book does not do well,  then I am

Where are my Canadian fans?

It seems the majority of my viewers are from the Great U.S. of A,  Russia, Germany, and India.  Marvelous peoples of strong nations!!! Canada is slipping off the map for my support.  I think it is due to the donuts at Tim Hortons,  as they are too busy this time of  year eating away at those delicious Boston filled cream donuts...  Filling there heads with the coffee infused buzz from its delicious coffee...  Pigging out for the winter...  When you got a Tims in the neighborhood,  say goodbye to the internet,  as the village are scooped inside this building and they are trapped... They do not leave for hours at a time..  Lord have mercy on em. We were once known as a nation of beer drinkers,  now...  donuts...  I will never change,  that is for sure!  Long live Doug and Bob McKenzie of the Great White North,  true Canadians forever !!!

Visitors have left!

It was nice to have some visitors today,  and last night.  We went to see Travis Tritt,  in concert,  an American country singer.  I think he has more of the style of Waylon Jennings,  more of a rockabilly type country.  He played an acoustic concert.  It was the first time,  that I have seen 2600 people at an acoustic playing. It was just himself,  with his guitar.  And,  a stage man changing his guitars, depending on the sound of chords he wanted for the song.  He must have played for 2 hours straight,  and picked fast through his Trouble song.  He picked fast,  through a few songs.  To be quite honest,  it was very good.  Only,  after an hour,  it wears off on you.  I mean,  just the picking of the guitar,  for 2 hours straight can wear you out.  He did not take any breaks,  but just to tell an occasional story about his family life in Georgia,  which was quite interesting.  He had a country singer from Nova Scotia open for him,  who was quite a good impersonator of country greats

Visitors have arrived!

Visitors have arrived from Caraquet.  Father in law, and we just got done eating breakfast.  They loved my eggs a la chives,  and holandaise sauce a la beurre. As far as book news is concerned,  I have little to report.  I sent an e mail to Disney to check out the book,  to see if they could do a musical with it.  Then,  we can make a Supermarket Guy theme park,  a Supermarket Guy board game,  and A Supermarket Guy popsicle..    The options are truly endless. There is a guy in Quebec,  Elvis Gratton,  who always thinks big!   Think Big,  and who knows,  you maybe surprised someday at what may be the outcome..  I have to go,  visitors are calling me to serve them German Chocolate Cake... I will try to be back this evening,   till then!!!