The Supermarket Guy

" 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 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 t...

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....

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 raisin...

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...

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 ...

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 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 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 arou...

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...

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...

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...

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 onio...

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 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...

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...

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. ...

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 o...

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...

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...