I have a theory, I call, The Missing Link Theory. I hate shopping! That's right-shopping! This is one thing I do not excel at; however, buying, I am good at! I go in, grab, pay and leave! As fast as possible! Women, on the other hand are good at it.                                               I believe they have an extra strand                                                                                  of DNA that compels it! Last year, we went with another couple to Las Vegas. On the last day, my wife asked me if I wanted to go shopping with them. She quickly pointed out that "Walter" was going and it would be a foursome. I would have preferred to stay behind and play "Texas Hold 'Em", but, because "Wally" had agreed to go, I reluctantly went along. I'll try and paint a vista o... 02/27/2009

The year was 1953 and the cold war was heating up.          To answer the threat of Soviet long-range bombers,                    the Canadian Air Force needed a new plane.                            What was existing, world-wide, by                                  any manufacturer, did not meet                                          the requirements dictated by                                                 the Canadian air force......... So, they built it!                      What they ended up with was the fastest, highest flying interceptor on the planet.                                                                                    THE  AVRO ARROW No one really knows why the program was cancelled. Certainly politics had a lot to do with it.....................             ... 02/22/2009

No one seems to know why, (I researched it to death and I can't find an answer),                            but Finance Ministers in Canada, when bringing down a new                                                       budget, buy new shoes. It happens at                                                                             all levels of government.                                                             It's a tradition lost in the obscurity of time.                                                                    This is the Federal guy buying his new shoes! The other day in British Columbia, The Provincial finance minister,                                                       wasn't having any of that tradition!                                                           ... 02/22/2009

Lately in the news, there's been a lot              of coverage about two incidents                             involving commercial flights. One, unfortunately did not turn out well and the                                   other is hailed as a                       miracle landing                                                 on the Hudson river. A couple of other incidents come to mind.              I would have thought that when a jetliner lost power                            it would drop like a stone. Apparently not true! Case #1 became known as the "Gimli Glider".                                                                     A Boeing 767 on route from Montreal to Edmonton, completely ran out of fuel.           In 1983, when the incident happened, Canada was still in the ... 02/22/2009

                                                       A comment on the justice system......                                             I don't know where you live,                     but where I am, a LOT of people                                                                                                    are fed up with our system of justice.                                                                                               These days it seems, criminals                                    can pretty much operate with impunity.                                                                                                              Petty crime, break-ins and all manner of other          misdemeanors are on the rise. Some recidivists, with several hundred convicti... 02/22/2009

February the 15th-The first day of spring! In a previous blog, I mentioned that I live in                  southern British Columbia and,                                  this year, we were having                                                       a horribly long,                                                      protracted winter.                   (Normally, we would be phoning people back east                  who are up to their asses in snow,                                    and complain that the crocuses are doing poorly!)                                                      Well, I am here to announce that winter is done! Spring actually started at 1 AM this morning!                                                                       O.K., O.K., I'll explain. I couldn't... 02/22/2009

Remember all the fear just prior to the year 2000? Everyone was running around, pulling out their hair. Every computer on the planet was going to crash because of the dreaded millenium bug. Y2K.                       Remember all                                                        the hype that was created in the newspapers and on T.V.?                                         Life as we knew it was going to be over!                                                Most governments spent billions                     trying to short circuit the                                                                                                                                        looming disaster.            Two countries, namely,                                                             ... 02/22/2009

                                      Let's take a look at the bottled water industry. In North America, the industry is worth 146 billion dollars,                                     and is experiencing an annual growth rate of 4%!                                                   Everybody's jumping                        on the bandwagon. Why? Huge profits, that's why!                                    In North America, the average cost of bottled water is about $2.00;                    tap water cost about a penny, and most bottled water                                                                 is processed tap water. 90% of the cost of bottled water is the bottle, the label and the cap!                                             Even the 2 soft drink icons are in on it,   ... 02/22/2009

                                                                            Until a month ago, I had no idea what a blog was,                                                                                                        never mind trying to write one...            But I got into it, and while the first attempts were a little feeble,                     and trite, I perservered and gradually,                           they became a little amusing or informative,                                               and every evening I find myself retiring to my office for hours on end!                                            I'll pour myself a glass of merlot, light my pipe and blog and blog and blog,                        most times into the wee hours of the morning!            I'm... 02/22/2009

           We can't do anything about                           what's going on out there...                                     so, we might as well have                                              some fun with it. I've taken SOME poetic license with a few current financial terms and had my mischevious way with them. For all you financial geniuses out there, don't take offence... GET OVER IT AND GET A LIFE!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           C.E.O.                                                                   Chief Embezzlement Officer                  ... 02/15/2009

                                                   All over North America there are millions of homeless people,                                     people who have fallen through the holes in the safety net,        the disenfranchised and the just............unlucky.                                             In Canada, much public debate has raged over the                                                        years about providing social housing.  Usually little or nothing is done due to the political flavour of the month or                                                              financial constraints and most people                                                                                 don't want it in their neighbourhood anyway. The NIMBY factor. I'm assuming you hav... 02/15/2009

I'm told this is the first milestone, so, I'll comment on it briefly. When I was first introduced to blogging about a month ago I had no idea what a blog was.          The first thing that came to mind was                       that ridiculous monster movie that   Milestone                                                 came out in the late 50's.                                                 At first, my scribblings were about the mundane, and I quoted a lot of stats.                                                                                          I soon discovered....                                                                                                             that wasn't                                                                                          ... 02/15/2009

  For years and years, I used to go to a Salon to get                                                           my hair "done". Not cut mind, but "done".                                                                         Wash and cut-$85 bucks (plus tax)-easy! Reflecting back on that now, I think it had more to do with what the                                stylist looked liked, that influenced my decision making. Lately though I've going to one of these guys;                                                  You know, the old style barber with one those striped poles outside.        He's also got this really, really old                                                                  BARBER  CHAIR                       that dates back to about 1920!              On occasion, he'll... 02/15/2009

   Lately, there's been this pervasive 800 pound gorilla  in the room with me every day and it woudn't go away.         It was clouding my judgement and decision making and driving me insane!                           I couldn't quite put my finger on the root cause,                                             then suddenly, it dawned on me what it was, and, I ended it! I TURNED THE T.V. OFF! I'm really mad at myself.                          For the past several months I had been joined                               at the hip with several T.V. news programs.                                      I was also reading several newspapers daily and                                                               gleaning every bit of doom and gloom                                               ... 02/15/2009

As the title of this blog clearly indicates, this is the Morbid Irrational fear of  Friday the 13th!   Many cities do not have a 13th street or 13th avenue.                            Many buildings do not have a 13th floor. Check, the next time you use an elevator.                    The Turks disliked 13 so much it was practically expunged           from their vocabulary.   If you have 13 letters in your name, it is                   believed by many-you will have the devil's luck:                               Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson,                                           Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy                                                   and Albert De Salvo-pictured. (The boston Strangler).                               Many societies believe that a dinner p... 02/15/2009

Several years ago I got really ambitious               and built a pond. Not your normal                              pond, mind you. This sucker was huge; running about 40 feet by 10 feet by 3 feet deep,     with a waterfall and arched bridge              and  submerged lighting.        It was beautiful!                                The next step was to introduce the  appropriate plants suitable to a pond.                                              And, Koi! Lots of koi. A thing I didn't know about                                                     koi is that they grow in size to suit their environment.                                                                  In a few months, these things were huge                                                                           ... 02/15/2009

After much speechifying and promises-anything to return to power,                                                        (And it doesn't matter which party you vote for),  it turns out to be ending up being business as usual!                      Currently, the world is faced with the "Perfect Financial Storm", and,                             from an outsider looking in at American politics, at any rate,            there finally appears to be a breath of fresh air on Capital Hill.                  Every day in the news I watch these "public servants" delaying important bills and stimulous packages to ensure their fair                                              share of pork or special interests are included in any new legislation.                                                      ... 02/10/2009

On a recent trip to Hawaii, a diving buddy and myself decided to do a shore dive, (That's where you walk in from the beach). The plan was to do a "drift" dive; hovering a few feet above the bottom and letting the current take us on a trip.   Several species of sharks were evident everywhere and we kept a respectful distance.                              Then, the unthinkable happened, both of us had an equipment malfunction!   As I sat there collecting my wits, I decided we had to surface and do a surface swim back to the beach. When we did, the beach looked to be about 1000 miles away, and in my mind, those benign sharks we had just been looking at, were below us and looking like THIS! Now, I'm an experienced diver, but somehow I just couldn't get the theme song from "Jaws" out of my h... 02/08/2009

I cannot remember a time when I did not have a moustache in one form or another. Moustaches run pretty much the whole gambit........                                             from the "pretend" moustache,               .....to the bizarre                                                                                                                                                                                     .......and, everything in between.                       An observation I have made, is that Canadians seem to favour moustaches more than Americans..........                                                      ....and so do seals.            So lots of Canadians have them, Noteable moustaches include:                                                                        ... 02/08/2009

          Basketball. As American as ..........................................                                                                                                                                    Apple Pie! Not really; basketball was invented by James                                     Naismith, a Canadian!                      James Bond. As British as.......................     Sorry. The model for Bond was William Stephenson. Soldier, spymaster, the man called "Intrepid", and, a Canadian!                   The list of Canadian inventions is L-O-N-G!                   Some of the more notable ones:                                                                Snowmobile                                              Canadarm                                              ... 02/08/2009