The Supermarket Guy

You are a great leader of a nation. Your unemployment rate is through the roof. You have no idea on how to even begin to turn the tide. This is one step on what I would do if I was Leader of Yazzieland. Ok, I will reveal two steps.. You all listening out there. Very simple.. Ok, Yazzieland has a few multinational corporations and allot of service industry. We have primary resources, but as the leader of Yazzieland I will tell you the best resource is your "People". Give them education first, a good university system that is accessible to all. Get the minds thinking, and focus your youth  on what I like to call competing technologies. Tell them they can compete. Tell them they would be very good, small business people. Tell them interaction and pooling resources is the key, and to have a business plan. Make sure my opportunities agency helps with a good 75 % of the funding with grants. But, with a payback scheme over a 10 year period with an interest rate of inflation. Bu...

Sold an old truck hitch today. A reese 5000 lb hitch. It was only 10 years old. Never used though. I sold it for approximately half of the retail price. The age was there, but was only connected to my truck for approximately 3 months before I traded it in for a new model. That is when I tore it off the back again. Before trading it in. I think making half off of something after 10 years is not a bad deal. The years are there, after all. It took maybe a day or two to sell it. Just a local add. A guy from the area came and got it right away. No jostling, no bickering at the price. He was happy as glee. I was thinking I should just put my book up there on a buy and sell. It should move. I was successful at everything in selling (95 %). I could sell anything I owned. Always taken care of my stuff, it left in pristine condition. Cars, furniture, appliances, all sold within days of putting it up on the market. Now here I have a book. Average rating 4.17 out of 5 total reviews on Goodr...

Amazon warned me today not to promote my work in certain discussion forums. I had a feeling I was over doing it, and I thought at the point of where I was standing, I might as well poke the dragon. Well, the dragon breathed fire at me. And, said the only place for that stuff was in the Amazon meet our authors forums. I was dissing it out in the humor forums, where my book truly belongs. There are probably ways to get around Amazons rules, I will play later on. But it is comical how Amazon e mailed me to say they would take away my posting power if I continued the trend. I felt like I was in grade school again, and I am all grown up. My book was being promoted where it should be. In a humor forum. People asking for, wanting, looking for good comedy books. Being socially conscious, and helpful, I decided to help these people get to the point a little faster than never. I put up a few Amazon links to my book in there. God forbid it. An Amazon link in an Amazon discussion forum on a...

The silver bullet is long but far from the chamber of my colt 45. As an author, trying to get your book across to the masses, you wonder what public relations or marketing scheme will work. What silver bullet will pierce through the darkness of under exposure, and lighten up the room with sparks? I have not found it yet. I am sure many authors have tried the same things I have done. Consignment may work if you live in cities with populations with over several hundred thousand. Lots of bookshops right at your doorstep. Personally, this is a trek for yours truly. Did not work, distance is too far. The gas costs would over ride my profits by a wide, wide margin. Of course I have been utilizing the only thing, source, of true empowerment of sales through the internet. The new age media. The new age media probably was better when things were just rolling with it. Now, there are   10s of thousands of authors with book sites, blogs, and on social networking sites. Not only them, but ...

I knew it had to do something with pie squared. This movie was 4 out of 5, for myself personally taking away my lust for action movies. If I would put my action movie bias on, it would be a 3 on 5. Now, the tiger was very good effects. The computer generated effects, are definitely going to be up for an Oscar or Razzie award. Probably the first. It is a story of someone finding himself, probably his spirituality, and the changes of a person within. Maybe you will take something different from the show than what I think about it. At any rate, the wind blows the right way right at the very end. Being on a boat is a tiring thing, crossing the great Pacific ocean. It is quite something to write, such a story, on a small little boat. I was thinking a little bit of Castaway with Tom Hanks, only with him stuck on the island. When it comes down to it, we are all survivors. Just looking at the best way, to get it done. Living life in the modern jungle. Have a great evening, till ne...

Got a Christmas card from my Aunt in Niagara Falls the other day. It was sent very early, and it was gladly received. She is in her late 90s, and is a part of the Greatest Generation.  The generation that saw the second world war, and with it, the great depression and the greatest challenges of the past century. These people were something else. The thing is, they could do allot of things that we could not do. Great cooking from scratch, prepare food for winter months, knit, make own clothing if necessary, and use the washboard by hand. Now technology does all this for us. I am thinking of a time when things were made locally. A time when the Model T ford was just starting to be seen in small rural communities around Canada. Picket fences and farm, fishing, blacksmiths, cobbler shops, sawmills dotted the area every 10 or 20 miles. Now, one sawmill can handle all the wood from a 200 square km range. My grandfather worked in one of the old sawmills. His wife would knit him a pai...

I should have put in the title, only after 48 hrs after you buy something, you can then start typing in Amazon discussion forums. Just that the title would have been to long. Now, do not get me wrong, Amazon is a super site! A distributor for just about anyone, big or small, any business, anywhere. They are a crusader for the small print on demand publishers too! There is allot of great discussions on books in Amazon forums. I would like to participate, big time. Great thinking, great directions, great debates. But, amazon says you have to buy something first. I did so this past while, and now can participate in the forums. I was wondering if it was to Amazons advantage for to be able to say to everyone, everywhere, that you have to buy something first. Then wait 48 hrs to post. I can see some advantages. You really want to get in there and post. You really want to get into discussions, to be heard. Well, you got to buy something. Sorry. Just have to. Then you can start doing wh...

Yes, the notorious beer belly. You are a man. You love beer. You wish you could drink it every day. But, those calories all stack up. Is it true, that there is approximately 300 or more calories per beer. That is like eating a meal during the day. This is what made me cut back a bit during the past week. I looked down, realized my belly was expanding a little bit. If I continued, I know I would not get it down. I am not a big sweet eater, so it is a good thing as the two would not mix very well. My family keeps telling me I could get diabetes in the future if I would continue on the bandwagon for very long. So, I intend to drink only once per week. It is going to be tough. It also stops me from getting allot of things done during the evenings. Now, I do not drink a dozen a day. It is more in the range of 2 to 6, per day. Just enough, to over time, get me into a larger frame with no activity. I started to weight train again the past month or so now, that should help somewhat. I may...

You can fry it up in the morning. Some people mix it in their thanksgiving stuffing. On top of burgers, it can have a pyrotechnic effect. Just like hamburger, cheese, or deep fried scallops. Bacon probably tops them all.  Great pricing, easy to handle, and can go with so many different things. It is accommodating, and does not prejudge. Could Bacon unite people and finally achieve world peace? I remember cooking bacon here awhile ago. Some friends were over for breakfast. I had to cook this humongous breakfast. I took out the tried and tested bacon, which would accompany eggs over easy and some pan fried potatoes with toast. I filled the pan with delicious slices of bacon. All of a sudden, I looked down to the side of me. My friends kids were watching my every move, as they all shouted "Bacon!". It produced huge excitement. This is the first time I had a reaction like this to my cooking. So I contained my surprise, as only my dog used to watch me intently as I cooked bac...

Your sailboat is in the water. You got your sail up. No wind. No inspiration. It happens to us all, at times. We feel left out at times. How many of us are like that? Depressed, or down in the dumps? Waiting for the wind to blow in any or one direction, to take us somewhere. Seems like in this life we try to create our own "winds of change", to follow in a direction in which we think, may take us somewhere to a more comfortable place. Some people are fortunate enough not to have to create their own winds. The wind was already in place to take them to where they were destined to go. Maybe you are a painter, an engineer, or a writer. Looking for that propellant to take you into a niche that can keep you going. Keep you creative, with lots of brain activity. Thinking, being constructive, is good! I think we are all, big and small, but through it all we are just looking to keep an edge. Make us feel that we are still wanted out there, by somebody, sometime, in this time at...

Just obtained another 5 on 5 review on Goodreads! This is the next after a string of a few 5 on 5 s. This was a surprising one. I did not see it coming. I did not think I would get a review for a long, long, time. This one was a lonely 5 on 5.  No words from the reviewer, just the grand star rating. This has been done to me, a few times on my book. Many people do this, and a friend of mine said it was probably an even better thing. A sign of respect. It is very interesting. And a very good way of just putting the thought out there, that let people see my rating, but the words are not needed to describe it. It was amazing, and that is all they wanted you to know. It may change forever the way I also rate books. Why place my thoughts, or impose them, on your way of thinking. Should you never read someones reviews before you pick the book up? Would that only allow you to prejudge, or to become imprinted to someone elses prognosis? Would you take a bit from what was reviewed int...

Skyfall. I heard good things from the relatives that went to see it. I love Bond movies, so I had to go see this one. So many good words about it. A movie critic from the CBC gave it 5 on 5. I thought Casino Royal was the top of the top of the top. I had to see this one, as the Quantum of Solace was alright. But it was no Casino Royal. The first part of the show was alright. The motorcycle scenes, good. But you get tired of watching hundreds of people running out of the way of the chase when on the over crowded streets. How does no one get hit? Maybe I am to much of a realist. Then the battle on top of the train. How could Madame M give such an order. Has she lost her brains. Especially when a chance was had for Bond to overcome his struggle. One of the bond girls only lives a short while. This really surprised me. Alright then. When the villain was on the ladder. He shot the steel bar twice. Let off on the trigger. Why not shoot him then and there? Finish it. Then a rail way ...

Frost was heavy on the windshield this morning. Minus two Celsius out there, the coolness could be felt all around. It was during one of those times when you are in a rush to get somewhere. You hate to leave your vehicle warm up. But in Canada, or in any northern country, it is a fact of life. Better to leave your windshield heat up, than driving with a small hole of sight through the frost. It may take 5 minutes, but the wait has to happen. I will have to get up much earlier now. A little bit, or program myself to get out faster to start the vehicle a little earlier. Are we all in a rush these days? We ask ourselves, why are we in such a rush. What is so important that we have to rush. There were times when I rushed to make social functions, only to see that someone, always seems to appear late. What is wrong with appearing late. I am starting to think it is, the cool thing to do. I see it all over. And people do have great excuses for it. Real excuses too, the alarm clock, or ...

The Hockey strike is taking its toll worse on the fans, than anyone else. We keep hearing on how the fans, are always on the worse end of the hockey stick. With the owners wanting a 50- 50 split from the 57 - 43 arrangement ( correct me if I am wrong), they have a long way to go in reaching a concession. The owners do want to cut them down quite a bit, in my view. My advice to the NHLPA, is to get better pension revenue for the players that are retired today. I think the players should get together, and start playing in other rinks across the USA and Canada. Give the fans a good show, at a reduced ticket price. Go to the towns, divide up the teams accordingly, or even play against the locals just for fun in some sort of game arrangement. It would boost the players popularity and give the fans a cooling off period. We see the old timers do this all the time. Come to our local towns, and play for fun, usually against local talent or mix up the talent with the local talent. Hoping ...

Whoa! A book sale the other day. From off of my website. Part 1 still does better than Part 2. Fascinating. I still do not understand this conundrum. Part 1 is approximately over a year and a half old. Part 2 is now 6 months old. Part 2 has more intense fight scenes, a more competitive edge to it. Part 1 has more to deal with some fate, as things unravel over time. It also takes the characters connections in life and brings his situation into full view. Maybe that is why it is more successful than the first. Updates on twitter, is that now I have approximately 2473 followers. This is without directly or first initially  following that many people on the site. I found i did pretty good, without using any programs to gather people to my twitter page. This is for approximately a time frame of 7 to 8 month period. I have heard out there that you would need approximately 100 000 followers to make a 1 % dent in sales. That is, if you are a celebrity. I am going to keep an eye on t...

If it only were offered in Florida. Hanging chads. Maybe I could win, the best humor book for 2012 on the Goodreads site!!! Long lineups, machines that punch out the wrong candidate you chose! A twilight zone of election results! It was very nice of this person to put my book up in the running, but I do not believe it made it past the first rung through the competition. I am thankful for the gesture, it was grand indeed! If you think my book should belong to win a Pultzer, a Booker, or a Nobel prize, then just go ahead and nominate it! It is great to try, anyways. You never know unless you try.. Have a good afternoon. This remembrance day, we remember those who sacrificed so much that we can enjoy our world as it is offered to us today. Till next time..

A few days ago, I played the "Call of Duty: MW3" on the Nintendo WII. I opened up the package. It says on the package for "Mature Audiences +17".  I booted it up. At my age of 37, I was wondering if I could handle the intensity of this game. Not so much the blood and gore, but the controls. The thing I hate about these games, is the controls. You need a numbchuck and the regular handheld device hooked together. Too many buttons, sometimes can cause you to lose a game just over how your thumb or finger reaches for that button in time. The WII fit is a great game also, getting away from the above paragraph. It is amazing what you can do now, with a video game console. Exercise and compete too. I played the game. It was ferocious at times. It is a good feature where the game loads after getting through to the next segment, or you would just never survive. Never get through it. At least, me personally. No doubt a teenager would get through there without probably ha...

Time to throw in the towel, perhaps. This blog has not really got me going anywhere. I must admit defeat. Move on to greener pastures. I am not a very good blogger. Book sales have stalled. No Part 3 can be released next year. It is next to impossible. Will I miss it? Yes, somewhat. Blogging is addictive in some forms. You always hope to have one blog that may spark a few hundred hits in one day. Although, this has never happened to me. I believe only one blog garnered 50 or so hits. I even had someone who monitors the action on blogs, respond back to me, telling me of congratulations! It is time to pack in the bags. I will wait until Dec. 15 th. Then start the slow, tedious, process. Who knows, I may give out my last and final blog with a big bang! To all the viewers, thanks for your support over this time. Till next time.. All good things must come to an end, as the old saying goes, somethings a little quicker than others...

Lets say you got a 3 % interest rate on a 100 thousand dollar mortgage. Great rate. Yes, beautiful. You did great in negotiating! But, in the back of my mind, that is still approximately 2989 $ you will pay for one year of that mortgage, just in interest payments. At 50 thousand, it will be 1500. You could pay weekly to really reduce the interest charges down faster. And the banks will tell you this, which is really good of them to do. In the above case, 3000 dollars maybe one months salary for a family. Maybe one and a half for many. Lets go up to 200 hundred thousand. 300 hundred thousand mortgage? Interest payments, up the yoodlie! This is something that we were lucky to have. Low interest rates, due to a recession in many parts of the world. We know if the economy was on rocket fuel, these interest rates would go up like an oil gusher. The economy should come back, we hope soon. To be truthful, I always thought governments should somehow regulate the interest rates on house ...

The book front. I have really just let the winds blow as they may. Thankful to have some good reviews that had come my way during the past. One ardent reviewer has done allot for me. This person even asked if they could put their review on Barnes and Noble. I have no review there yet. For sure, thankfully to this person, as every little bit should help. That is what the old folks would say. Every little bit should help. I was going to publish my book of poems this past little while. I am holding off. Things are not going quite as planned. I did garner another 3 pick ups from the 86 people I had to read my book. The only problem is, as I have mentioned beforehand, their reviews may come by in a year or two. These people read 100s of books before even purchasing my own. It is a long, long wait, for more reviews to come across the line. I have really given up, this past while. Stopped writing Part 4, even though it is 40 % done. No inspiration. When I cannot even publish Part 3, how ...

My last blurb about money and banks. I remember when I changed my mortgage at my bank, over to another bank. Also, all of my investments. The bank I was dealing with said "That is too much trouble to do that. It is going to cost you allot of money to do that". The reason for the change was that our branch was being cut. They were there with us during the good times, but during the lean years, they decided to go move to the branch in a local town 30 minutes away. Make people drive, old people, poor people, would have challenges at getting their banking done. To their credit, they did leave one ATM machine behind. Still, there is other business that cannot be done at an ATM machine. While convenient for some, these things can go out of order at times too. Not following the advice of the worker at my old bank, I switched banks. They are very persuasive, these people. Trying to say you have to take it, everyone else is taking it, or it is going to cost you big time. So, I swit...

I would like to personally thank Visa, for the option of not having a Pay Pass or Pay Wave card. A few days ago, I called various banks to apply for a credit card. My new Mastercard had a Pay Pass function on it. I thought it was good, at first. Until I seen on U Tube how hi tech individuals can steal the radio wave frequency, and take all of the information on your card. Sell them to organized crime, so they can upload it to their cards. I destroyed my Mastercard Pay Pass. I called them again (Mastercard) to apply for a card without that feature. I thought, choice, is nice. No choice with Mastercard, at least on that phone call to the bank. All their cards, the bank woman explained, had Pay Pass. I called another bank. All their cards had pay wave and pay pass. So I called Another bank. This bank had, A visa card with no pay wave! Finally a company that gives us Options, gives us Freedom. Give people the option, of what they want to do with their money. I know we hear it no...

I had a good feeling that Obama would win. I just did not want to say it on here. None of my business, really. I am a Canadian. But here are my after thoughts. Safe to say them now. He did do some good things. He took credit for the auto bailout that saved GM and Chrysler. The thing is, I thought it was W. Bush who got the ball rolling on that one. Maybe I am mistaken. But, I thought Bush got that scenario rolling, and Obama kept it rolling. The unemployment rate did go down a tad bit, as did the job creation went up a tad in the USA. He also, did keep his promise of pulling troops out of Iraq, and now Afghanistan is coming to a close. It seemed like a hard 4 years for some Americans though, as the jobs may not have come quick enough for to support his second re election bid. Mistakes on the Romney side. Gaffs. The 47 % speech, his hard talk on going into another conflict with Iran. His awkwardness at many times, made people question his true motives. The big money that backed him...

My old, 13 year old snow blower, ready for another year. Took it all apart. Greased the bushings, replaced the friction wheel, and even made a new part for the movement of the shaft for the aluminum round plate that butts up against the friction wheel for the drive movement. It was a redesign in motion. It was difficult because the shaft did not protrude that much out of the casing. Maybe a little more than a quarter of an inch. I had to put a plate there for a protection for the casing. As this shaft was rotating, it wore through the casing of the main body. I was wondering how any company could over see this. In time, when it is new, it works great. Over time, parts wear down. Any rotating parts without any type of bearing, bushing, will wear through eventually the casing. So, I had to improvise and drill two holes, place the plate up against it and then drill the plate down so a cotter pin could lock it in place. Bolted it to the frame, and it will protect the casing from weari...

We went to the cinema at 2 15 pm. The only film that was playing late enough where we would see the first part, was "The Perks of Being a Wallflower".  I sighed, as my entourage looked as what to do. I bought the tickets, and entered in. I was afraid it was going to be another mushy wushy film. But, it was the last resort. Everything else was already playing. I sat down in the theater. I chewed on some popcorn. Sipped some soda. I looked at this Charlie fella, or Logan Lerman. Good stage presence. Oh, and Nina Dobrev is there too! Emma Watson lights up the stage too! This cannot be all bad, I thought, as the beginning looked a little drab. But, the show did not disappoint. It left me holding on to what would come next. I thought the ending would be something foolish, or something insane to it. But it all made sense. Finally a show, that did not blare bullets or splatter blood, that I really enjoyed. A 5 on 5 star for this show. It brought me back to my youth, teenage y...

This is a review I received today, on Goodreads. A 5 on 5 : The Supermarket Guy II: Rise of the Market Overlord was another great book by Daren Doucet. Mr. Doucet writes with clarity and vision yet he is also able to capture suspense, mystery, espionage and his characters are absolutely delightful. The dog is a great asset to the story, too. This book continues with Harold and his crazy antics but this time Harold is the President of a supermarket chain with a supermarket nemesis who is out to destroy him.  If you want to read a book that has it all this is definately the book for you. Lighthearted enough to keep you in stitches and serious enough to keep you in suspense. What a read!! You really do not want to miss out on this series. I would love to see this story on the big screen! Thanks for your insight. Your words are what makes me want to continue the journey...

Making connections in life, is something people should not take for granted. It is important. With a few words spoken from one of your connections, could change your life forever. That ever elusive spark. It may lead you into a new business deal, a new idea, a better outlook on life, or even finding a special friend. Those who have more friends, more input, do they do much better in life? Or do others who have less friends, lower interaction, do much better? This is a study that I would like to see done. Although, I do believe there are geniuses that have done incredible things, while locking themselves away from much contact with others. I would have to believe that more social interaction, more community work, lends for a more down to earth and believable person. It is good to get out there with people, and converse. Albeit, regional distances may stop you from getting these important contacts to push you further. This is typically a huge problem for myself, even though the inte...

Frightful Halloween has passed. There were a few ghosts and goblins out and about, knocking on the door for treats. Pretty tame bunch. Princesses, Bob Spongepants and a lion. All in the foggy, wet weather we got this week. No sun seems to put everybody down in the dumps. It has been raining and foggy here since this past Sunday. It took me way back to when I was a trick or treating. The best treat was a can of pop. Only one house would give it out, and every year, that was where we would get that different thing from a chip, bar, or candy. Peanuts were alright too. There was a place where we were given bananas. Bananas? On Halloween night. Our sugary and salt cravings caused us never to go back there, but now I sit back and realize the potassium I missed out on during my younger days. I was dressed as carrot man. maybe that had something to do with the healthy treat at this one home. Besides that, nothing new on the book front. I sent out a few queries for some reviews, but no a...