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Showing posts from April, 2012

"Rise of the Market Overlord"

" Rise of the Market Overlord " Part 2 of The Supermarket Guy, Will be released in 2 to 3 weeks!  The cover work is being done, as I write on this blog! I was told by the publisher, that my book was taken by other internet booksellers due to them wanting it. Not all of their books, enter these other international book sites.  That was nice to know. He also recommended, that I do get a book review. I thought by now, I would have had one just by people purchasing it on line. It costs approximately 400 to 500 dollars in some areas, for a review. I will mull it over, as I was not akin to getting a book review done,  as I felt it should have been a natural occurring thing. That's all for now,  till next time...

Friend said they would advertise on Facebook.

Friend of mine last night, said they would advertise on Facebook for me. Some of my friends who have Facebook, do have approximately 400 friends. Hopefully, it will create an exponential effect. Where, this advertisement will go and create a chain, and create another advertisement, and continue on down until the ends of the earth. Wherever that maybe. I guess it is, maybe since the earth is round, from where we start.. Hum.. As every book author would like to achieve, is the chain effect.  It is a difficult thing to spark up. Without huge advertising dollars, I am unsure if it can be attained. I did opt for twitter over Facebook for my social media outlet. I liked twitters fast format, and easy controls. Although, some things can be improved over time (Checking through lists, making family lists of followers, star lists, and country lists ect). How to know when a follower has dropped you, so you can decide to unfollow them. Maybe it is there already, and I just do not know how to us

The Supermarket Guy Book of Poems

Very cold day, but windy in Northern NB. The Supermarket Guy Book of Poems is ready to be printed, but will be have to be polished off a bit before sending it to the publisher. Part 3 of The Supermarket Guy, is likewise ready to go, but needs to be polished off. This usually takes a few months of work. I did not work on Part 4 yet, as I was trying to get a little break from writing. But, I am unsure if Poetry, does sell all that well. I have heard that, unless you are a famous writer (which I am not), it probably will not sell. But, it is the same as the Print on Demand business. Only 500 of the 10s of thousands really do good out there. I am not in the top 500, that is for certain. The reality of it all is, if Part 2 of The Supermarket Guy does not catch, or sell a modest amount, I will probably not even publish the book of poems, or Part 3. I just have to accept reality, that there is no market for my writing. Or my style of humor. Sales have not been that great, to be truthful.

First pass, is the Second pass.

The Supermarket Guy 2 : Rise of the Market Overlord Two weeks of waiting for the second pass is not necessary. The first pass, seemed to go alright. The fast track is now on to put it on the shelves. Should not be too long now, but I e mailed to check and see if I could get the time of completion.  The ETA... Lots of rain here in New Brunswick. The rivers are swelled, and people are watching their basements to see if any groundwater may come in. It should not be as bad, as last week, as it rained every day for a 5 day stretch. Today, the french broadcast the Radiothon des Roses. It is a Radio fundraiser that is broadcast in several regions of the Acadian Peninsula, which raises money for special medical equipment required for cancer patients. With the high cancer rates on the North Shore, it was easy for myself to give a donation. They do very well, as in 2011 they raised approximately 168 thousand dollars. It is very good, since its inception in 2007, it started with raising 70

First Pass Done. Rise of The Market Overlord

First pass is done. When working the way I did this past week, I was too tired to review it. Until last night, and this morning. The Second Pass will probably come in within 2 weeks. Then, the book will be out on the market not too long after. I was surprised I did not get the cover of the book in yet. But, I will call to see how it is going with that. Also, the back cover description, is on there as well. I want to see the logo, as well, as they did do a super job with the first one. Soon, the web page will be re vamped. It will include, Part 2 as well, with Part 1. There is my own authors bio, which may need to be also updated. Maybe I should not bother. But, it could mention that I am the writer of the first part. I will go over it again, as to see if it is all in good order. Being a novice writer, there is always some things in the back of the mind that tick. You wonder if you did certain chapters right, the though process clear enough, and if it will appeal to a certain age

Worked 7 days straight. Dog chases rabbits.

Have been working, 7 days straight. Not much time to read my book, or get anything done as of late. This blog too, has been put behind. The time is just not as what it was, but maybe tomorrow things will be a little more back to normal. Lobster season starts Saturday here. The cold hands for them start. I know of one fisherman, whose hands are worn from over the years of fishing. The cold, icy, water is still cold here in the Bay of Chaleur.  There is no ice on its top, but it feels like it to the touch. Until the hot days of summer, where it can reach 21 C, it is probably around 3 C approx now. My dog took after two rabbits the other day. I just took her out of the truck, and laid her down on the ground. She then darted like a sprinter, 150 feet towards two grazing rabbits. I took only notice of the rabbits, when the dog was midway to her objective. I called out to her name to her loudly, as to try to avert her from catching one. The rabbits were now running in the woods, at the

Working in Remote Locations.

Today I worked in a remote location. A place, where wilderness surrounded me. Nothing but fog, and rain followed me all day. 40 minutes away from a hospital. With a gray, fenced in location, with some industrial equipment in the area. Checking several systems, to ensure they were all ready to go. Maybe it is not that remote, but it sure felt like it... We always wonder about working alone. Companies, always give the advice to keep a radio on your person. If you should fall, or get hurt, you can radio in for help. True enough, and as many times as I possibly can, I take a radio with me. Sometimes, I do forget, to take a radio. We are only human, after all. But, there more new ways to be seen as technology comes with new ideas to help with people working in remote locations. A device that you can wear, that if you stay still for too long of a period, will sound an alarm. Nobody sleeps on the job these days, anyways! It will generate a call, to somewhere. People will come hopefully l

Two of my friends gone to the Antiques Roadshow.

Two of my friends are gone to the International auction. It is like an antique roadshow. Well, it probably is a roadshow of some sorts. It was advertised as "We buy" Jewelry, coins, artwork, and everything in Gold and Silver. A 50 cent Canadian piece can fetch up to 25 000 $. A 1 $ Canadian coin, from 1948, 800 $.  Hockey cards, sport cards, ancient toys, and trophies. If you can bring it in, they will appraise it, and offer you a price. They are swinging through several cities in N.B., over the next few days. I always wondered about these ads. This was a 3 page ad, spread over a provincial news paper (French) a little while ago. I know, the British Antique Roadshow is coming to Saint John on Saturday. Here is the dilemma. Should a person take the first offer by the first auction. Or, wait, and check on the internet the news on the item as how it was identified by the appraiser. Then, should a person wait, and check with the other show that is coming to town. I am no

The Robins are underneath our deck.

The Robins are flying all over the place. It is just like, an Alfred Hitchcock movie. That 1963 classic, where they birds begin to attack people. Check it out at IMDb. The only difference, is that the Robins just whistle some beautiful sounds. In the morning, you can usually hear them chirp predominately over the other sounds of daybreak. They are 4 nests under my deck. I see Robins, flying underneath, back and forth. I think they know they are truly safe there. The only predator, is a slow moving dog that scratches on top of tightly spaced deck. The dog, will never get at them. I am glad that she does not bark, as it would make it more uncomfortable for the Robin population.  The Deck was designed with main support beams, then cross beams 90 degrees over top of them. It provides a good hiding place from the crows. From what we know, the Robins start breeding close to when they just arrive from the south. They lay their eggs in their summer breeding grounds. They may have around 4

Electrical work on the 12.47 Kv pole.

The electrical workers, as I forgot to mention, used hot sticks to perform work on the lines. They had to isolate further up the line using disconnects, and further down the line, to de-energize the equipment. If it was a really long isolation, they would have had to ground the lines, somewhere. Just by placing wires to the line, then to the ground. But, the lines were not far enough. Their boom truck lifted them up close to the disconnects, where their hot sticks (insulated long poles), attached to the small metal loops on the connects which opened the power to the lines. Since the power was 3 phase 60 Hz, they opened the three phases. They did a great job, and the power was back on in not too long of a fashion later on.  These guys work, in the blistering cold, rain, snow, and hottest temperatures at times. Times when things usually go wrong. Have a good day. Till next time...

Electrical Pole was on fire 12.47 Kv

My friend found a 12.47 Kv pole at work, smoldering. This is the usual rural distribution power voltage around New Brunswick, before it gets stepped down to 240 V coming into a house. These are the poles, that dot the highways of our province. A call was immediately placed to Transmission and Distribution team. I went to check the pole a little later on. Part curiosity, part concern for what was going on outside. By the time I went out, which was 20 minutes later, 1/4 of the pole was burned off. And, flames were shooting out ever so often. These wooden poles are heavy duty, probably a foot and a half thick. They do not taper off in size, 30 or so feet at the top. The transmission team arrived, and I escorted them to the burning pole. It was now, 3/4 burned off. Really incredible. It gives you a new respect, for the power of electricity. A loose connection at some pull out disconnects, was probably arcing across hitting the wood in the process. It generated enough heat, to burn the

Northern N.B. job losses.

If it was not for the pulp and paper industry leaving town, the recent government cuts in the Department of Natural Resources and our civil service, have left us we less jobs . They are going in opposite direction to FDR's job creation plans during huge unemployment. I am sure, even the Department of Transportation will do with less as well. A Power Plant closure nearby, leaves a town with even less tax revenue coming in to its coffers. The local Brunswick Mine, which employs approximately 900 jobs will be shut down come 2013. Our towns in the north, were one horse towns. One, or two, driving industries behind the economic drive here. There seemed to be little plans, during the good times, to make things bigger or better. What does it take, to expand an area or to make it grow bigger? It takes a good salesman. A good salesman, is someone who can look into your area and see huge benefits to companies that want to move somewhere. This person, unfortunately, has to be a politic

Tilled my Fathers Garden the other day.

I tilled my fathers garden the other day. The ground, was not froze at all, for Northern NB. Exposed to have snow and ice pellets tomorrow morning, then changing into rain.  My dad always said, only after the first week of June, gardens are normally planted. This is when you are sure to have no heavy duty frost in the morning. Green beans, butter beans, carrots, onions and cucumbers are usually the norm in our garden. We are not too much into the potato thing, but many farmers up North plant allot of potatoes and they do have great crop yields. Only if a blight comes, too much rain and fog, does thing goes sour for the gardens. By tilling the garden the other day, makes it a little less work in the heat for myself, later on. I found it was hard, as the soil would get hard packed, when tilling it in the first week of June. In the late fall, when the bean pods get a rust on them, we shell the beans and make a pot. Those beans are delicious, with butter, salt, pepper, and an onion bo

Cleaning the house- Spring cleaning.

We decided to clean the house, big time, these past few days. It is only then you realize the things overlooked from the regular cleaning. The stuff packed in the closets, the stuff found under the furniture and in back of the heavy furniture. No one likes to spring clean. We rented a rug doctor, for 35 dollars at the local grocery store. We had the cleaning solvent at home, so we did not buy its recommended cleaner, which probably goes for another 12 bucks. In cleaning the rug with it, it sends a hot jet of water on the rug, then picks it up. You can see the water coming into the top of the clear dome, as it appears black in the top collection tub. It is almost, the machine, colors the water by itself. Does it put ink, in the water stream somewhere in the hose. Hard to believe, that our rugs were that dirty. Then, we hot steamed the couches. The dog has a bad habit of jumping on the couch, late at night, to have a terrific snooze. She has her own (2) beds for sleeping on. One in

Lobster season May 1 st in N.B. Cold, overcast today.

Lobster season will start on May 1st in New Brunswick, on the Bay of Chaleur. I remember driving to work at 6:00 am in the morning, watching the boats bobbing around on the sea with a glimmer of a rising sun. I always wondered why they went at it, so early. But, in the back of my mind, I realized the huge amount of traps that they had to put in the water. They may vary from approximately 200 traps, depending on what zone they fish in. They are heavy, but use a winch device to roll them on the boat with a line. All the traps are attached to a line, a string of so many, then to a buoy. Usually they throw the smaller ones back (3 1/4 inch across the back), and in some areas, the larger ones as well  (5 inches across the back), to keep a continual stock for the future. I know my cousin worked on a boat, and talking about cold hands, and a long hard day of work. Some problems with the fishery in the past, included years when they were not many yields. My father and I would go to the boa

Testing the 24 hp Craftsman lawn tractor.

My 24 hp lawn tractor from Craftsman, sat in the garage for a few days. I was working a little too much to try it out. Yesterday, a day off, finally I had a chance to spin the wheels. This machine is said to be built on contract, by Husqvarna. First getting on the machine, I wondered if it would start. After all, the machine was probably in the warehouse for at least a 8 months or so? Maybe cold, warehouse, where the battery would drain fast. I pulled up on the park brake, to make sure it was not engaged. Then turned the key, nothing happened. I thought, time to get the battery charger. Then a second thought, nope, you have to press on the brake, which is on the left side of the machine. Then start. It requires a brake being pushed in, to start. The machine started up right away. I then pushed the back right pedal for to go backwards. I wanted to back out of my garage. Nothing happened. I then pushed the front right pedal to go forwards. Nothing happened. I did this a few times. T

Cover for "The Supermarket Guy II:Rise of the Market Overlord" soon here.

My book cover will be the first to arrive, this week. It will need my approval, to fit on the top of the 232 page book. Next, the First Pass. Then the Second. Then, it will be rolled out on Amazon. I just hope the details came out alright. 300 dpi, was the limit. I sent 600 dpi. There are burning embers in the air, and hopefully they will be seen on the cover. In this book, there is a little talk about antibiotics in food. Why we should avoid them, not in great explanation, but because they are not good for us over a long time. What the problem is, is that the antibiotics may not work when we really need them.  We could develop an antibiotic resistance.  Bacteria could be difficult to fight with antibiotics over time, rendering them useless.  Growth Hormones, are also mentioned in small detail in the book as well. We see more organic foods on the shelves every day. Some meat from Montana, at the Super Value was grain fed, natural, without hormones or antibiotics.  I had a steak t

Wolf may have been shot in Caraquet - St Simon area.

At first, they thought it may have been a coyote. But, it weighed approximately 90 lbs. They are sending the animal for DNA tests to determine if it maybe a wolf, or a mix breed of coyote wolf.  Last time a wolf was killed in the province, was back in 1876. The story ran in the CBC news. Here is a link to it, to see the picture of the animal. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2012/04/12/nb-wolf-shot-acadian-peninsula.html I always thought, that there could be wolves out there, in the backwoods of New Brunswick. Even if they did have a cull, how would they know if they shot each and every one of them. It is impossible to scan each and every corner of the woods, after all. Another animal, the lynx is on the endangered species list, but its growing number of sightings puts into question their listing. The eastern Cougar is said to be gone from New Brunswick Forest as well. But, these animals can travel 100s of kilometers. Who is to say, one could not make it over

Walking through the frozen hoth.

I thought I was in a Star Wars movie awhile back. Walking through a small nature preserve, Daleys Point. The land was half covered in snow, half in different textures of earth. When walking under the immense fir trees, their needles covered the ground in brown and green. It particularly helped, when walking over the snowy trail where packets of ice formed, by the sun and peoples tracks. The needles formed a good grip. No leaves on the trees, but only the rusty brown leaves from a fall gone bye. Ducks were sitting near the cove, one with a neck of glistening green, shining in the sun. We did not scare them off, as we tip toed by them. Then, we could see the wood chips on the ground, near a few poplar trees. There, our old friend, the red headed woodpecker, had made a visit here not too long ago. We seen him many of a time on our voyages here, making his knocking sounds, burrowing out a centimeter hole in the wood. Then a little farther near some aromatic cedars, a partridge stands

Supported a friendly protest group.

Awhile back a few years ago, I supported NB Peoples first. A protest group. It was a friendly group, not doing any damage or disrupting any kind of service. Our local government in New Brunswick was trying to sell our government owned Power Utility to Quebec Hydro. If the deal was good, of course, there was nothing that could have been said. The deal did not seem that great, to the population as a whole. It was just that the deal at the time, was a bad one for New Brunswickers. Giving 5 billion approx. in energy rebates to industry, and giving 5 billion approx. for the rest of NB Power. Our Nuclear reactor was being retro fitted, and we would hold the bag on that if (Billions of dollars) if it was not repaired right. To be quite honest, the deal would have went through if Quebec would have given us the same power rates (Residential), as what they get in Montreal, for instance. And just guarantee it. Why treat us different. The Quebec residential consumers were probably getting 2 ce

Natural Gas below 2 dollars per 1000 cubic feet.

The price of Natural Gas is phenomenal. The prices were low, due to a mild winter and a production boom. A production boom, which is probably due to the fracking industry. It is lower than the high price of oil, and coal, for power consumption requirements. If it is one thing, it eventually will go up. It just depends on how many customers hook up to it, in the future. As more companies see its price as an advantage to competitive fuels, they will start to burn it. It may take several years for the price to go up. But as it stands now, with the oil refining capacity as the way it is today, oil prices may stay around the $ 1.40 cent mark. For the economy to run good, we always hope it runs lower. They always said we had low gas prices in North America, but that is really what keeps the engine going. I now have 628 followers on twitter. I believe I joined 70 approximate days ago. You meet people from all over the world, from different walks and talks of life. I still do not understan

Tax Professional asked about my book at least 8 times.

Yesterday while doing my taxes up, the Tax Professional asked about my business. I replied that as an author, I believed I classify as a small business. She smiled, and asked more into the subject. She told me her teenagers read constantly. I informed her that it was a comedy fiction novel, "The Supermarket Guy".  She smiled, and had to control her laughter. She explained the title, was a very good choice. That it had the Super in it. I shrugged my shoulders. So far, I figured, in my mind, what did I know. It is the first time I met someone, who had a feeling of euphoria or being giddy, at the knowledge of my book. So we continued on with talking about slips, RRSP, ect, and then the book subject came up again. Where is it on sale. I replied, everywhere through the world. On the internet, as I clarified further. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, Saxo, in Japan, Europe, and China. All over the world, really. I told her that honestly, brick and mortar bookstores hav

Got my taxes done by a professional this year.

Since I wrote a book and published "The Supermarket Guy" in 2011, I decided I may need help with taxes. I am the kind of person, who usually relies on myself. I even did the taxes out myself, and got all the forms ready. I needed a form T 2125. From there, I subtracted my sales vs. my losses. Last year, I had more losses than profit. A print on demand book, is not easy to sell. And, I will get back 1/3 rd approximately, the cost of producing the book. I did not truly know this, until I formulated it all out by myself. Between myself and the professional, I was off a 150 dollars. That should have been owed to me. Enough to pay the bill, for the professional tax write up. Taxes should be simpler. Taxes, should not be so hard to do. The only thing I can think of, is that the lady who was preparing my taxes, took into consideration that everything was done in U.S. dollars. The cost, and the book sales in the United States paid to me in U.S. Dollars. The rate back then was a

Design approval came in for my book.

A memorable quote from the 1931 Frankenstein Movie: "Look! It's moving. It's alive, It's alive..." Today, the information came in for the design approval. A sample of what the book will look like, from Dog Ear Publishing. They decided to change the design layout from the first, and it is probably needed. In my heart, I did love The Supermarket Guy 1 interior design. It had that magic to it, and the starting letter and chapter letters had a mystery to it. The starting letters representing them, in the form of lightning, sort of. This book, will look business like. It is, more of a business oriented book. Has to do with Harold taking the helm of a company, and trying to get it out of its struggling times. They gave me back the sample with my name on every second page. I changed it, to put the chapter # s up there. I rather that, so people will remember what chapter they are on while they are reading the book. The only other error I seen from the publisher was th

Easter suppers gone and past.

I remember my mother, with the old black roaster, cooking whatever the main meal on the holidays. A turkey, ham, or chicken. She would cook for a gang of 10 or 12 at times, when things were really hopping. Even on the non holidays, in the summer months. The last few years she could not cook, as her arthritis got the better of her. This year was our job. We expected 4 extra people at the table this year. Reports came from mother, that two people were coming over from her side. My wife told me, that perhaps two people from her side would be coming over. We cooked two big chickens in one huge Paderno roaster. 5 hours long, maybe a little less, until they were golden brown on top. Potatoes, salad, and carrots. And a maple sugar pie to boot, with whipped cream on top. The two people from Moms' side did not come up. Now she says they will be there today. We left her enough left overs, to do the trick if they wanted hot chicken sandwiches. The other two people on my wifes side, did no

20 cm of snow for Northern NB this Easter Sunday. Arthritis.

It looks like Christmas all over again. But, it is Easter, and we are getting some snow. Again. It is great for those who love the white blanket of wet snow, covering every piece of what was left green and brown by high and warm temperatures. Now, we are snow covered again. Maybe the last run with skiis, or snow shoes, out in the back yard. This week they are calling for rain Monday, right through till Thursday, which will melt the snow away pretty quickly. Easter Sunday, was usually a time of gathering with family and friends. Mother usually always cooked a nice ham, chicken, or turkey. Visitors would come, home from University or College. Things would be going on, as the streets would be much busier with the influx of people from far away. It seemed as if, they never really left at all. We would go to mass, and the church would usually be full at this time. The church is usually always full at Easter, or around Christmas time. Now my Mother is in too much pain to cook. She has ar

The Grey. Maybe should be called The Prey.

It has been awhile past now, but I forgot about giving a review to "The Grey". This film did well in the theaters, due to the low cost of producing it. The opening week must have made 20 approx million dollars, while the production of this film was probably around 6 million. When you have Liam Neeson starring in a film, it is bound to do well. He has that Arnold Schwarzenegger quality, where people just like the guy. This film was about workers in an oil field, somewhere in Alaska. Liam Neeson, or Ottway, protects the workers there by shooting at wolves that come close to the operations. Once done their tour of working in a remote area, they head on a plane to go back to civilization. Well, you know what happens next. It just has to happen. The plane crashes, because if they would have made it to Edmonton or even Fort  McMurry they would have been alright. And, we know the wolves will be coming around. Once on the ground, Ottawy looks for survivors. He matches up with a

Good Friday.

It is a quiet Good Friday here in Northern New Brunswick. A bit overcast, but no bad whether yet. The Catholic faith marks the day with many masses and events. I remember my parents, especially my mother, making her meals with no meat. It was a tradition, out of symbolic honor for this mysterious but miraculous man named Jesus Christ. They would buy chocolate to the maximum, for Easter Sunday. Only then would I open the boxes of chocolate. I wonder how did I ever eat all that stuff, way back then. Maybe a kid expends the sugar rush faster than an adult. Whether people believe in him or not, the story is there and creates much controversy. We seen many people try to probe into the hidden depths of the gospels. Forming their own interpretation of it, based on certain clues or seemingly logical ideas they have gathered over time. They try to recreate their own version of the story, away from the popular and longstanding belief. There is allot of money to be made, in may respects, by cha

New Brunswick to reduce workforce by 4500.

New Brunswick is going to reduce its government work force by 4500. This will mainly be done through attrition, done through retirement. I imagine the first few years, the government will see no direct benefit, as severance packages and the such will negate any budgetary help. They will re hire 3000 of the total, leaving 1500 positions forever vacant. The Federal Government, is on a whim to eliminate 21000 approx jobs. The military civilian support jobs will be hit, as well as in other departments. The CBC will be laying off approximately 450 employees in order to deal with their budget losses. The IMF warned about doing this, as broadcast on the news, a day ago. They worry that if every country reduces budgetary spending too fast, that the world could go back into a recession again. Spain had announced budgetary spending cuts as well. As the world struggles to deal with deficits and debt loads, it means less spending out in the economy. Less money to go to keep it humming along. T

Air to Air heat exchangers.

Allot of my friends have air to air heat exchangers. Some are Fujitsu, Shinco, and Panasonic brands, to name a few. These air to air models can offer heating in up to minus 20 C weather. Some people, never turn them off during colder weather. The result, on average maybe an energy savings of 50 or so dollars approx. per 400 dollar heating bill. The results vary, depending on the machines co efficient of heat absorption. These units can cost upwards to 4000 dollars installed. They can come with a ten year warranty. This is usually the cost for an 18000 BTU unit, but the smaller 12000 BTU units can come in allot cheaper. You can talk to your refrigeration expert about the process. An outside breaker, for safety is required in some provinces. They can be pad mounted, or mounted on your home foundation. The ten year warranty is great, as it is offered in some areas depending on where you live. I always thought that these air to air heat exchangers were never that efficient. I thought t

The Happy Country standings are out!

The Happy Country standings are out. Denmark achieved number one. Canada, my own country, number 5. Number 11, the United States. Places in Central Africa ranked low, as people were asked questions and ranked their happiness out of a scale from 1 to 10. It is easy to see why people would be happy, and unhappy in a country. If you have: shelter, food, water, and work, then you probably live in a happy country. On the other hand, you can have all of the above, and if you have corruption and violence, and live in fear, then maybe your country is unhappy.  This is what the study is all about, to measure the many countries of the world. And, possibly to provide a scale or a ranking to determine how to make things better in the countries that are having a difficult time in developing. Changes take allot of time, and it takes powerful forces to enable change in countries that are war ravaged and corrupted. Stability comes first. Then a country can grow. Trade and business can flourish under

Ride lawn mower damaged in transit.

My ride lawn mower was damaged in transit, while arriving at the store here in Bathurst. They called and apologized for the inconvenience, and mentioned that I should make sure when paying that I should get the same sale price. These things happen, and long as they are worked out in a manner where I get a new crate that is not opened or banged up, I will still be a happy camper. I think, everyone has a right to see their box untouched. I bought a TV at Walmart awhile back. The box was banged and ripped on one side of the box. I seen it, and mentioned it to the staff. One of the workers added "There is still foam around the TV". In my opinion, if they want me to take the box with the rip in it the size of my fist, they should give me a rebate. And still give me the warranty. No one likes to travel back, and pick up a new TV set should the first set not light up. With sensitive electronics, and marked fragile on the side, I take no chances. I asked for a new box. And, they br

April 1 st.

Today we got a call from a relative, saying they were going to tax pets. It did catch me off guard. I told the wife, that that is totally impossible. Taxing pets. I thought, bad enough you have to get a tag every year, and pay 20 or so bucks just to say you have a pet that stays in the house all day. Now tax them. But, the wife laughed, as she was caught in the trap too. It was just an April Fools joke. An April fools joke, is always best when it comes from someone who never dishes out a lie. Or, maybe it is better coming from someone who is always spewing out speculation that never proves true. In the latter scenario, you tend to believe it more, while not believing it at all. Because they always dish out stuff, like: The price of gas will be 3 dollars a liter tomorrow. You say, alright, where did they hear that from? You know it is impossible, but it is not April fools. It is just a regular day in your life, with someone you know that always spews out 50 % truth and 50 % speculat