Opening Preamble

I dislike Twitter. And Facebook. And mobile texting. They frustrate me to no end, because they all restrict you to a certain number of characters per tweet/post/message. More often than not, I can't possibly explain myself in 80 characters, or 140, or quite often even 420!

So I've decided to post everything here, because there is virtually no character restriction on this blog. Then, I will just place the link to the post on all the frustratingly character restrictive entities. Partly because I can't get my point across with so few characters, but mostly because I am aghast at the butchering of the English language that is happening as everyone only communicates through the mobile phone, or Twitter or Facebook. Since they only have so many characters to use, they make up new words or groups of letters that take the place of real words. Sometimes with disastrous results, because nobody knows what the heck they're saying, or they totally misunderstand what is being conveyed.

I know that languages morph and change as time goes on, and new words are added and others are dropped. However, this "number of characters restricted" has been dropped on humanity with such speed and force that the language isn't being given enough time to adapt and change. At least, not gracefully.

And I don't need any more proof of what I'm trying to say than this Tweet:

RT @JimCameron [James Cameron] I never tweeted before because I'm a long winded blowhard, and they don't allow enough characters.

I rest my case.

And yes, I get the irony ..

A Video of EPIC Proportions

Originally published May 25 2012

Another post involving my new fascination with awesome videos. The grit and determination displayed by the protagonist makes you want to stand and cheer!

Read the whole article here -> A Video of EPIC Proportions

Time Well Spent

Originally published May 24 2012

I just can't stop watching this! Perhaps the best 10 minutes you will spend today

Read the whole article here -> Time Well Spent

Journey Back Home

Originally published May 18 2012

The previous two posts on this blog covered some situations that we encountered once we were back home. Now I'd like to recount the actual trip that we undertook to get back here. The trip had its' moments!

I know I'm skipping between "I" and "we" a lot. This occurs because I am telling the tale of the trip we took. So, there it is.

We at first thought we might hire a moving company to carry our goods and drive our van across country. But when their 'estimates' came in equal to or more than the cost of a U-Haul + fuel, we decided to go the U-Haul route. I'm a driver, and I've driven cars, van with trailer, and a 5-ton truck across the Trans-Canada Highway before, and I wanted to do it again.

This is our journey:

Read the whole article here -> Journey Back Home

Back Home Again

Originally published May 6 2012

We are settled back into our hometown now. We have been wandering for 6 years, but a combination of the lack of employment opportunities where we have been (with causes that are far too numerous to mention here) and the serious illness of parents drew us back to the homestead.

Read the whole article here -> Back Home Again

Another Fine Mess

Originally published December 18 2011

Getting back to my main theme, another fine mess, I want to talk about my current situation, how I got myself into it, why I'm in it, and issue a warning to anyone else contemplating following my steps into the abyss.

Back in 2006 (which sure seems like 'the old days' now), my wife and I were both gainfully employed in reasonably secure full-time jobs that we enjoyed. For 17 years, we had been living in a "wonderful" old 1920's 2-story red brick house where we had raised our children and were close to family and friends. (I put "wonderful" in quotations because anyone who has owned one of these knows how much work it is to keep up!) We should still be there.

Read the whole article here -> Another Fine Mess

If You Are Unhappy

Originally published September 1 2011

Once upon a time there was a nonconforming sparrow who decided not to fly south for the winter.

However, soon the weather turned so cold that he reluctantly started to fly south. In a short time ice began to form on his wings and he fell to earth in a barnyard, almost frozen. A cow passed by and crapped on the little sparrow. The sparrow thought it was the end. But, the manure warmed him and defrosted his wings. Warm and happy, able to breathe, he started to sing. Just then a large cat came by and, hearing the chirping, investigated the sounds.

The cat cleared away the manure, found the chirping bird and promptly ate him.

The moral of the story:

1. Everyone who shits on you is not necessarily your enemy.
2. Everyone who gets you out of shit is not necessarily your friend.
3. And, if you're warm and happy in a pile of shit, keep your mouth shut!

[Author Unknown]

What I Foresee

Originally published March 10 2011

I'm a big picture guy. When I have to get right into the minute details of something .. anything .. my eyes glaze over and I escape to my happy place. Stresses me out to the nines. What I do is study everything that is going on within the sphere of whatever I'm studying and/or thinking about at the time, then boil it down to an observation -> (what I foresee).

Read the whole article here -> What I Foresee

Intellectual Paralysis

Originally published February 21 2011

I haven't written anything in quite a while, but not because I have a lack of ideas. I have so many potential blog posts in my head that I have achieved a state of word paralysis. I don't know where to begin, so I don't begin. Is there a medical term for this? Or is it just a lack of resolve? Is it depression? ADHD? Hopelessness? Anybody? Bueller?

Read the whole article here -> Intellectual Paralysis

Juxtaposition

Originally published October 24 2010

This is one of the most interesting and captivating photos that I have in my possession. I think it "tells it all" about our current situation, vis-a-vis, how we are treating the world, our world, the only one we have. This photograph was taken in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on a hot summer day. However, the exact location is irrelevant. The same thing "happens" everywhere.

Read the whole article here -> Juxtaposition

Here I Am Writing About It

Originally published September 14 2010

As of this time and date, this is the latest release on TED.com. The main crux of the talk centers around this fact: Reading and writing are fairly recent innovations in the history of man

Read the whole article here -> And Here I Am Writing About It

Vancouver Island Business: Comox Valley

Originally published September 2 2010

The most important businesses in any community are those that bring money from afar into the community. You could try to pin down where 'afar' is, but it would be difficult. For the purpose of this essay, let's say that 'afar' is further than a one day drive from where you are located, which in this case is the Comox Valley, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Read the whole article here -> Vancouver Island Business: Comox Valley

Quiet Canadian Patriotism

Originally published August 31 2010

Why Does Canada, Alone, Have a Highway Of Heroes?

This is a very interesting and fascinating question, which could probably fill an entire Ph.D. Thesis and still not be fully answered. One would need to delve into history, psychology, sociology and cultural anthropology to even begin to understand this phenomena that has morphed into a sense of unbridled national pride .. something that Canadians rarely demonstrated in the past.

Read the whole article here -> Quiet Canadian Patriotism

Rise And Fall Of A YouTube Channel

Originally published August 16 2010

A Business Case Study

There is a normal life-cycle for everything, be it flora, fauna, ideas, business, government, countries, planets, stars, matter, anti-matter, whatever. Birth and death, construction and destruction, rise and fall, the inevitable cycle reigns true for everything.

What I would like to do here - and I don't know if it will be successful or unsuccessful (another natural cycle of life) - is perform a study of a YouTube Channel as a business case. I had this idea quite some time ago. I typed the idea out on a Notepad page last year and saved it, but never found anything that fit my criteria. And then recently I was cruising the YouTube music category, doing my playlist thing, searching for one of my favourite songs - Ballroom Blitz by Sweet. I never accept the first search listing that comes up for any particular song on YouTube. I always scroll down the list and try out different videos until I find the one I want to save. So I was doing that for Ballroom Blitz, and this is what I came across:

Read the whole article here -> Rise And Fall Of A YouTube Channel

Just For The Record

Originally published May 23 2010

From SortMusic.com:

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), who performs under the stage name Lady Gaga, is a singer, songwriter and musician from New York, U.S.A..

Read the whole article here -> Just For The Record

Bobby McFerrin Rocks

Originally published March 25 2010

If you don't recognize the name Bobby McFerrin, you will certainly recognize his past hit song, Don't Worry Be Happy. Go ahead, give a listen. The song is over 20 years old and it is still an anthem for many all over the world. I run across people all the time who say, write, or post Don't worry! Be happy! He really struck a chord with humanity with that song. You just can't help bobbing your head to the beat.

Read the whole article here -> Bobby McFerrin Rocks

Kismet

Originally published March 23 2010

If you are a Blogger, or want to become a Blogger, you can seek out tips and advice from various other Bloggers. I have flitted around these blogs and one consistent tip I have seen is: write your title first, before you begin - helps you to stay on topic. Well, I'm writing this post and I have no idea what the title is going to be! Wonder how this will turn out ...

A few months ago, Darren Rowse, over at ProBlogger, ran a contest (a random draw) for some books about Blogging. I was fortunate enough to win one of the draws, and I want to thank Darren for going above and beyond the call of duty getting the book to me. The first copy he sent me got "lost" in the Post (hope you're enjoying the book, whoever you are! weasel), so he sent out another copy, Express.

Read the whole article here -> Kismet

A Rose By Any Other Name

Originally published March 22 2010

I went out for a walk this morning ... something I need to do WAY more often than I do ... and came across a backhoe (or excavator, if you wish) working on a lot that is a shortcut off of our dead-end street. I guess I'll have to say it 'was' a shortcut. Looks like they're building a house on the lot, and you just know that they won't put a public walkway down the side of the lot. No, the new homeowner will build fences, and that will be that. We'll have to walk almost a kilometer (half mile) to get to the same point where we now only have to walk 75 metres to get to. Damn!

Read the whole article here -> A Rose By Any Other Name

Yu Gotta Luv English

Originally published March 19 2010

I would hate to be an immigrant relocating to an english-speaking country. The english language has to be the hardest to learn as a 'second language'. And let's not even get into the regional dialects and accents in the various english-speaking countries. Some english-speaking people can't even understand or comprehend the meanings of other english-speaking people! So how on earth is a non-english immigrant supposed to master english?

Read the whole article here -> Yu Gotta Luv English

In Remembrance Of Hank

Originally published March 18 2010

I have been thinking about writing this post since February 4th, but haven't been able to do it until now because it is very hard. Here goes ...

Leonard Griffith Hawes was born October 28 1928 at Bueno Vista Lodge in Cumberland Beach, Ontario, Canada, just north of Orillia. Don't know why he was born at Bueno Vista Lodge when there was a perfectly good hospital in Orillia, but that's where it happened. And I don't know why a tourist lodge in central Canadian cottage country would have a Spanish Cuban name either. But there it is.

Read the whole article here -> In Remembrance Of Hank

Sunshine Of Your Life

Originally published March 17 2010

The sun has come out. In this part of the world, that is news! Around here [Vancouver Island], you can endure (and we do) unrelenting weeks upon weeks upon weeks of cloud/shower/fog/rain. So when the sun does come out of hiding, spirits are lifted. Everyone all of a sudden becomes happier and more agreeable, even though nothing else has changed in their lives. It's no wonder that many ancient cultures worshiped the sun!

Read the whole article here -> Sunshine Of Your Life

February Over Already?

Originally published February 28 2010

February 2010 is over already. It seemed to shoot past without a thought. The Winter Olympics surely made the month go by faster, and it drew attention away from other things happening around the world.

Read the whole article here -> February Over Already?

The Next Ten Years

Originally published January 4 2010

Which Way Will It Go?

If you generally believe, like us, that 2010 is the beginning of a new decade, then join us in making fearless predictions of what this decade will bring. If you don't believe that 2010 is the beginning of a new decade, then we ask you to suspend your beliefs and humour us. :)

It can probably be further agreed that there is no way that anyone, absolutely no-one, can say for sure what's going to happen between now and December 31 2019. Life is like that - you never know what you're going to get. And things are changing so fast, how can we possibly know what's going to happen next? So, we're going to present some different scenarios and you can decide for yourself.

Read the whole article here -> The Next Ten Years

Wishing All A Happy New Year

Originally published December 30 2009

2010

Have you been waiting for 2010? Does it mean something special to you? After the previous ten years that we have all lived through, I know I can say with some accuracy that most of you are hoping against hope that 2010 brings better times in general. There will still be strife, poverty, death. There will be calamities both man-made and natural, there will be tragedies. But overall, if you're thinking like I'm thinking, 2010 with its' nice round numbers brings hope and optimism for the future.

Read the whole article here -> Happy New Year 2010