kshippers place

I had this dream about breakfast....

2012-02-09T20:36:00.000-05:00

So, I am dreaming and in my dream I am really hungry for breakfast. I wake up (and I really am hungry!) and I look at the clock and realize: Cool, it's still early enough I can go out for breakfast, but somehow I fall asleep again and pick up on the dream where I left off (weird). Now there is this guy there, I don't know him, but the whole time I am thinking I want to go out for breakfast but I don't want to mention it or I will have to buy this guy breakfast and I only have $10 in my wallet (for real!) and I don't want to go to the bank first and I awake a 2nd time and I realize...HEY there's no guy, it's just me! I can go out for breakfast !

Gmail broken on Chrome in Standard mode....

2012-02-09T12:05:00.001-05:00

I have a Windows 7 32 bit machine that I run the Google browser Chrome on. I always have 20+ tabs open and the first one is always Gmail. For several months now, my machine would be unresponsive on first use of the day (I never power down) and occasionally Chrome would tell me that it was the Gmail tab on the browser that was causing the problem (it would display the "Oh Snap..." box). I tried everything computer-wise to sort the problem out. I had Task Manager running to observer processor load and memory. Nothing worked. Then I stumbled on the fix: Run Gmail in HTML mode! My machine has been as good as gold since that change. I don't like the HTML mode nearly as much, but no more slow downs or browser crashes!

3rd Holly dream....

2010-12-03T11:48:00.000-05:00

In this third dream about Holly, I have cut Holly's head off and I have her hanging upside down like a chicken (thanks for the child hood image from the farm Uncle Ernie!) and Tammy comes in and says something like "Hey you just killed Holly!" but I maintain that "..no I haven't, Holly has a bad heart and I am installing this artificial heart, as I glance down at the instructions once more". Suddenly I realize that I have skipped a step and that I wasn't supposed to start with cutting the head off yet!. The colour drains from my face (even in my dream this happens). It's that fleeting moment of panic when you realize you just did something really dumb that is going to have an impact. Then I wake up. Why do I have these dreams?

2nd Holly Dream

2010-12-03T11:39:00.000-05:00

So I had a 2nd dream about Holly. This time I open the front door and Holly races out to where the railroad tracks are straight into a train that is going by (apparently I have railroad tracks right outside the front of my house in this dream). I hear only 1 yelp and she is down. When I go to investigate, Tammy is calmly scooping her up (Holly looks like flat beaver roadkill) using a large shovel and putting her into a garbage bag (no tears of loss). I am mortified in the dream, because I thought Tammy was scared of spiders, and here she is taking care of this scene? Then I wake up. I try to recall: Have I watched a horror/thriller movie lately? Nope.

I had this dream about Holly....

2010-11-21T14:51:00.000-05:00

Well, I had this dream about Holly (my mini schnauzer) and just the week before I had purchased some new knives, and I was cutting myself just washing them, they were so sharp. In my dream I see Holly cut in 2 halves, just like a Ham hock. The kids are playing with the front half. There's Holly standing on 2 legs, cut in half (no blood) and the kids are scratching her behind the ears but they have my new Chef's knife in their hands. I come upon the scene and I say "Hey you guys, what are you doing? You cut Holly in half!". The kids protest "We were scratching Holly with the knife, and she liked it!". What a weird dream! The image in my dream of Holly cut in half, looks just like this painting by Luke Chueh. Check out his website, his art is incredible. For some strange reason Blurburger reminds me of Lukes site. I am a big fan of both now. =)

Teasing Holly....some more

2010-06-03T13:28:00.002-04:00

I have just come in the door with 2 pizzas, and as you can see Holly is waiting near the food. Normally, I would grab some pizza and high tail it downstairs and Holly will follow me (the Alpha dog) very closely at my heels, extra super fast (maybe she thinks I will out run her somehow?). Today was different: I ran downstairs with nothing in my hand (I was going to come back up and grab some pizza in a sec) and I noticed she did not follow me. That's odd! She always follows me when I do that dash downstairs after food has made it's appearance? I didn't have a plate in my hand tho'...Hmmm, do you think that was how she "knows" that I have food? Could I fool her, if I dashed downstairs with an empty plate? Drum roll...YES. Haha psych'd you out Holly !

Teasing Holly....

2010-04-30T13:50:00.000-04:00

OK, so I was making lunches for the family last night and I was cutting up some Kielbasa and I would flip a piece here and there over at Holly. One piece of Kielbasa landed right on the back of her neck and Holly knew I threw her something, but she couldn't find it! So she checked and double-checked the floor all over the kitchen, pacing back and forth sniffing extra hard. To make matters worse, her nose was telling her that this food item is very close by, as you can see in this action shot..... (in fact all the pictures I took of her were blurry because she was moving so fast!). I was naughty and let her look for it for 15mins before I helped her out. She really didn't seem all that relieved after it was all over, but I had fun. I have never laughed making lunches before. =)

I just had a thought....

2009-08-27T21:42:00.003-04:00

Hey I just had a thought this past week. When guys buy a blow up sex doll toy, it's a representation of the whole woman: Hands, feet, hair everything! When girls buy a sex toy, it's just one part of the man. Hmmmm? Why is that? Why don't the women want buns of steel, muscles etc...? Why are we working on all this stuff then? Maybe I need to be responding to more of my spam emails? =)

Hotels just don't get it...

2009-08-20T14:47:00.003-04:00

I mean, what's with the bedspread made of some type of icky foam or heavy tapestry that also functions as a blanket/comforter? The only other thing you get is a sheet! Why is the temperature control in a hotel so hard? It's either cold as a meat locker or it's amazon jungle warm (Oh and the warmth kicks in when I am sleeping, so I wake up sweating like some kind of farm animal at 2am). Why do we get 10+ drawers? I need like 1 drawer (if that).

You can't have people in your room to visit and chat. If the room has chairs, it has one wingback chair (maybe) and one wooden office chair. Are we going to all sit on the bed? I say get rid of some the drawers to make sitting room! There is no way to sit and play some cards. They always give you a low to the ground coffee table or way to high office style desk.

Where are they buying this one-ply toilet paper? Is it really an area we need to be saving money? My hind quarters says "No". Who needs timered heat lamps in the bathroom? They are often the only source of light and once you start the timer you can't shut them off! Oh joy.

Why do the TVs still only get a basic set of channels? There is never anything to watch, I am always struggling to find something to watch. Heck I watched a show that is all about a pawn shop buying stuff. A whole reality show based on a pawn shop. I watched it - and liked it. I must of been really bored!

A 2nd car-car story from my past...

2009-05-15T18:20:00.005-04:00

It was Fall 1994, and my 2 partners and I, had become new car dealers after many years slugging it out as used car dealers. We had just completed a couple creative car sales that month: (a computer as a down payment on one deal, and a stereo on another deal). I was feeling kind of cocky when a retired gentleman wanted to buy a new car from me, but he had to sell his 31', 1984 moterhome first. So here's me "What kind of moterhome, and what are you asking for it?" (gulp he wants as much as the new car cost, and his moterhome is 10+ yrs old!). I make a couple quick calls to some moterhome dealers to get a feel for value (they help me, but they don't want it!). I do find one dealer out of town that seems keen and promises to come get it, if I make the deal. I make a deal with the customer and I have $18,500.00 invested in this moterhome just to make a new car sale. My partner says "Please tell me you have this sold already". Well...kinda. My buyer goes south (Promising me to show up, but never does), and I am left wondering what I am going to do with this moterhome. We had it about a week or two, and what I didn't know was that officially, we are not allowed to take moterhomes on trade and finance them on our credit lines, so this is why my business partner is developing a new ulcer.

One rainy a night a man drives in (appears to be in his late 50s early 60s) and he wants to take a look at it. When he asks me "How much?" I tell him "I have it sold to a guy for $19,500.00 that is supposed to be coming to get it." Now I know what you are thinking...why would I say that? He could just say "OK" spin on heels and leave, but the salesman in me couldn't resist playing 'hard to get'. So the customer says "Ahh, OK well I have been looking at these all week and I will give you $16000.00 for it right now, never mind the other guy that is coming." (gulp a $2500 loss - nullifying the money we made on the new car). The salesman in me said "Sorry, no I couldn't sell it for that, but I tell you what, if my buyer doesn't show up I will give you a call OK?" My partner wasn't working that night, but he would have wanted me to take the money and in my own mind I could see my partner inside the dealership with his face pressed to the window his eyes saying SOLD!, SOLD!. I press on. Then the customer says "OK, I will go $18000.00 and if you don't take that, you wont have to call me, because I won't be back. I take the deal, and I think that ulcer healed up a bit. Until the next deal......

I'm calling about the 68 Chevelle...

2008-05-22T21:00:00.009-04:00

Many years ago I was a partner in a used car dealership and we had taken a 68 Chevelle on trade. This was a very tough car. The good motor was gone and in it's place was a tired straight six. There really wasn't anything left of the body. Cars in Southern Ontario rust so fast. We tried to hoist the car up to get a look at it but the host was moving through the floor and the car was staying on the ground. We just put it outside and hoped someone would come by. I took it to the car auction and the top bid was $75. It had to be worth more then that? My friend drove the car back from the auction for me and it drove so badly that he exclaimed "I thought you were my friend?!". I couldn't find a buyer so it was a last ditch effort to try the Old Car Trader. I worded the ad this way "68 Chevelle, bad body, bad engine, good price $850.

The phone rang a couple weeks later and this guy wanted to trade a 77 Mustang 4cyl that was a good runner for our Chevelle. We decided we had the Chevelle long enough and it didn't even run anymore. We did the trade. I couldn't sell that Mustang either! We had that car such a long time, that a famly of mice had moved into it. But this story isn't about that Mustang. No, no this story is about how the phone rang and rang for the 68 Chevelle. Each caller insisted he know the details about the car. Why? It was SOLD! Undeterred they would ask "What kind of engine was in it?", "Who purchased it?". What the... it was SOLD. In fact the calls came for 6 months! "I'm calling about the 68 Chevelle...". I had questions of my own for the callers. "How old is the Old Car Trader you are looking at?". You see, it turns out that the Old Car Trader is not the type of book that people throw out the next day. Who knew? Well instead of getting annoyed with all the calls I decided to have some fun.

The very next caller that asked "What was under the hood of this car" I would say "Oh it was some kind of big gas guzzler, and that it didn't run right. It ran all lumpity lump" (I was doing my best impression of being the type of person that wouldn't know what a cammed up big block would run like). I further imbellished my description with "You couldn't drive it, all it wanted to do is Rrrrrr and squeel the wheels - It was too hard to drive!" Well, I heard gasps, and even whimpers over the phone. These callers took the bait and believed they had missed out on the deal of the century. They were even more determined to find out who bought the car. I would never tell. The last call was at 9 months after the ad appeared. The car business was cursed like that.

Dancing defines my existence

2007-04-29T21:03:00.000-04:00

We get questions about our dancing all the time: "Do you take lessons?", "Where do you take lessons?", "Is there any place to go dancing around here?" It wasn't that many years ago. I was a total non-dancer, even to the point that I made fun of people that did try to dance. Who could blame me, when all I ever saw as an example of dancing was various people that would dance at weddings (badly). You see, I never watched old movies, so I had never seen Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers; I had no concept of ballroom dancing. About 5 years ago we went out to a dinner/dance with some old friends. I really enjoyed the music. It was the George Rose Big Band (Big Band music in a Glen Miller style). My friend Leigh asked my wife to dance. I watched them glide across the floor to this great music (Now I know it was Foxtrot dance steps, but I didn't know then). Who knew my wife could dance like that!? I vowed to start taking ballroom dance lessons, and in fact it was this same friend, who made all the arrangements for a large group of his friends to start group lessons (A great way to start).

This part about the lessons is important because I really feel that I couldn't have enjoyed dancing as much as I do now, if it were not for the very talented teachers we currently take lessons from: Kelly & Brian Sloat of Art in Motion. They teach you ballroom & Latin dancing in a way that you can understand, & have fun. You can progress as far as you want to go, but the main idea is to have fun!

This last paragraph is for the guys: Women like to dance. It is very likely: Your woman likes to dance. I find this to be the case almost 99% of the time. I talk to various couples and the lady will say "I would love to ballroom dance but my husband won't". That husband was me, so I know where you are coming from guys. You might think that dancing is not manly (I thought that! I was Mr. Wrong from Wronglyland). As I look back, I wish I started years ago and didn't wait so long to get started with ballroom dancing lessons. See you on the dance floor =)

She will eat anything:

2007-01-12T12:16:00.000-05:00

My dog Holly (a miniature schnauzer ) will eat anything except ketchup & vinegar. I worry when she eats chocolate though. We have 5 people in this house and it's almost impossible for me to discover all the places that something edible could be hiding (Those chocolate casino coins were in a Christmas stocking). The first year we had Holly she had jumped up on the breakfast table and cleaned out a whole tray of cinnamon buns when no one was looking (I can't eat a whole tray of cinnamon buns!). A year later she ate a good portion of a Java Log. That same year she ate most of a Christmas ornament made out of mini marshmallows & pins (thank goodness those pins didn't agree with her). She loves to chew on tissues (as you can see in the picture) and she can easily find them in any trash bin around the house. When I was at the dog groomer she noticed Holly was getting a little chunky and she asked "What are you feeding her?" and I said "Nothing! She feeds herself!" (I was joking of course) but my Dad says "Many truths are spoken in jest". I think you are right Dad!

Gas Coupons & Fishing Bait

2006-12-19T01:06:00.000-05:00

This past summer I am filling up my car at the local gas station and as I push the door open to pay for my purchase I announce "Pump Eight" so that the young lady can see on her machine that I owe about $30 for my gas. I whip out some Gas Coupons that I have been saving that come to about $1.50 off. She runs my charge card and asks me to sign here. I look at the slip and it 'looks like' I am only paying $0.30 ? I give it the old once-over but it still looks like I am paying $0.30, so I sign the slip, rather then protest. Just as I am about to leave, a young man that was kind of helping the young lady emerges from the back room with a puzzled look on his face and styrofoam container in his hand. He calls out to me "Don't you want your bait?" A few seconds later I see what has happened: She has thought I said "Bait" when I first walked in.

Lacking in a 'Sense of Humour' can cost you

2006-12-13T18:44:00.000-05:00

I am standing in line at a popular video rental store waiting for my turn to pay for my rental. I have my hands in my pockets and I am fingering this Save $0.50 coupon on my next box of Froot Loops. I must have forgot to use it at my last trip to the grocery store? I turn to my wife and I ask "Do you think this girl has a sense of humour?" (I am referring to the clerk, a young teen that is going to be serving me in a few minutes). With a quick glance my wife says "Yes, I think she has a sense of humour". On that note I step up to the counter and show my rental card and the movie I want to rent. With a cheesy smile on my face I extend my arm with mechanical precision, like I was in the Seinfeld Episode: The Soup Nazi and I say "I have a coupon". The young lady takes my coupon and quicky looks it over. I am ready to have a good laugh with her. She should say "Nice try", but that doesn't happen. She picks up the bar code reader to make the coupon good. 'Beep', the computer complains. With a furrow in her brow she looks on the computer manually, looking for a matching coupon. She tries to scan it again, 'Beep', the computer complains again. She quickly types in a override code and gives me $0.50 off my rental. She never once looked up at me to witness my big cheesy smile that would have conveyed 'the jokes on you' . My wife had to leave the store ahead of me , she is laughing so hard. =)

Dogs can be rude!

2006-04-28T19:27:00.000-04:00

Yeah, that's my Holly dog and she is giving me the "You are going to share right?" -look. I mean...it wouldn't matter if I have a stalk of celery, she wants some (she wouldn't eat celery, but she wants it anyways). You do feel obligated to share. My dog just patiently stands there like a soldier, never getting bored of waiting for even the slightest taste or morsel. If people did this to other people, it would be considered rude. Oh sure I can try and train her to stand a little further away or go tell her to lie down but then I would feel guilty because I was hungry, and made my self something and she thinks that sounds like a good idea.

This one time I just wasn't in the mood to have her staring me down while I ate some Corn Pops and I honestly couldn't see myself sharing my corn pops (It's a breakfast cereal you put in milk). it was late morning and I decide I am going to pour my Corn Pops & milk into a tall plastic drinking cup and take that, & a spoon downstairs and get some paperwork done. Just as I crack open the box and pour--Holly magically appears (of course). Now I wasn't in the mood but what am I going to do? Where am I going to go to get away? Just then....a single corn pop falls onto the table and I thoughtfly flip it onto the floor for Holly. Well it rolls off and she chases it with all paws pumping like I just shot a gun or some other animal is going to get it. I laugh at the spectacle that is dog paws on slippery kitchen floor. Just then I have a thought..this is my chance to make my getaway with my breakfast and eat in peace. I go running downstairs with my cup and spoon and I can hear scrambling dog paws trying to catch up and see where I am going with that cup of food. I don't go into my usual office I run into the furnace room (before she can see me) and I hide behind the furnace quietly eat my corn pops. I hear the dog looking for me. Dog tags, jingle jingle in my office, dog tags, jingle jingle in the furnace room. Dog tags, jingle jingle upstairs. Dog tags, jingle jingle again in the furnace room.

She never did find me and it was heavenly, eating something in my own house without company. I think I will keep that spot in mind. =)

Aerogel is cool !

2006-02-23T21:08:00.000-05:00

Whoa look at this stuff: It's a solid but it's lighter then air. It was developed for a space mission to collect particles of dust from a deep space comet. It also protects these crayons from the heat. it feels like styrofoam to touch but it is very tough. Here is a pic of Aerogel holding up a Brick Wonder what would happen if you touched it? "Silica aerogel is semi-elastic because it returns to its original form if slightly deformed. If further deformed, a dimple will be created. However, if the elastic limit is exceeded, it will shatter catastrophically, like glass." Check out the Jet Propulsion Laboratories here

90% of all purchases made with only 10% of the.....

2006-02-03T17:52:00.000-05:00

I read that 90% of all purchases are made with only 10% of the required knowledge to make an informed decision. Just working with all the computers that I see in a week. I believe it ! It seems that the majority of the systems out there run with integrated video, a old monitor, too little RAM, and some kind of weird ergonomic keyboard and a generic ball mouse. Gahh ! Optical mice start $20 ! Are we all waiting for a free optical mouse in our cereal?

It must all come from the fact that we (the consumers) buy the cheapest item we can find. We all seem to shop by price alone. I used to buy a pair of Reebocks for my everyday shoe more then once a year. No matter how careful I was the white leather on them cracked and the insides would give out. I was wearing them all day so I never complained. A friend of mine says--"Look you need to buy a quality shoe, that's all" he takes me shopping and points me at a pair of Clarks. I am not too impressed with the chunky look of it but I put them on and I think I am walking on a cloud and there is a distinct spring in my step now. I have only purchased two pairs of Clarks and it has been 10 years! You see... I didn't know that you could spend $140 twice in 10 years instead of $60 x 20 for the running shoes. I still wear a running shoe once in a while but you can't beat the support you get from a quality shoe.

Even if you have an old computer or your are thinking of a new computer consider these recommendations from me: If you are looking at an old CRT (cathode ray tube) monitor of any size or if you own a 15-17 inch LCD from a few years back take a look at the Viewsonic VA902b 19" LCD monitor. It is analog only which means it will hook up to all the older video cards. The picture quality is superb and it can be purchased for under $400 CDN. I have sold several and I use one here in the office for text and gaming. I am sure that as time goes on we will see more affordable DVI input monitors and even larger displays but 19" is the minimum size you should accept and don't forget that you only need to set the refresh rate to 60hz for a LCD. The native reolution you would set your desktop to is 1280 x 1024 and if you find your icons are a little small just change the DPI (dots per inch) settings to 120 from 96 (default) and/or grab the Cleartype tool from Microsoft: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx or do both!Your computing experience can improve immensely with just a few informed buying decisions.

New PC and no spyware protection installed?

2006-01-06T19:00:00.000-05:00

It's tough fighting all the Virus infections and Spyware out there. The average user buys a new computer that ships with a virus solution from Symantec or McAfee and no Spyware protection! I don't understand why, since there are very good solutions available for free. The spyware has become a much bigger problem since the presence of these applications can slow a computer down to the point where you can't use it. I have been removing Spyware for friends and clients for years now but I have to say that the average guy wouldn't have a clue how to go about it.

I am going to make some recommendations here: These utilities are tried and true for me and while I am aware that no solution is 100% this combo of tools will get rid of most of what you don't want.

For each recommendation use Google as your search engine to find the homepage or a download location.

Anti Virus: Grisofts AVG can't be beat for the simple reason that it does it job without interfering with you computing experience. They even offer a 100% free version for home users that is very effective and the updates are fast and easy. Have you ever run into the situation where an application you have insists you must un-install or disable your anti virus before installing some software? Guess what? I have never un-installed or disabled AVG anti-virus and everything has always worked fine. I have even updated my graphics drivers with AVG installed. They also make a XP 64bit version.

Spyware: If you run Microsoft XP 32bit or 64bit versions you should find Microsoft's own AntiSpyware Beta. Microsoft bought up a company called Giant Software that made a very good Spyware remover (that you had to pay for) and then Microsoft made the software available for free (yay!).

Spyware Level 2: While the above solution works well and even works in realtime (in memory) you still need another application called Spybot Search & Destroy from Javacool Software. This one is also very good and free. You run this application manually and you also have to do the updates manually but the power of this cleaner is well worth the time it takes to run it every other week. Works on Win 98,2000, XP

Spyware Level 3: Lavasoft's AdAware SE was the original spyware fighter to gain legendary fame status. This application hasn't been as useful as it once was, but I still like the tracking cookie removal power and it's easy removal of DAT files that track your use of your PC (If you are a privacy nut like me you will love that feature) I also use the Advanced Data Stream scan feature. (ADS Scan) Works on Win 98,2000 or XP.

Spyware has got even tougher with rootkits and if you want to learn more about that topic, search terms like" "Spyaxe+rootkits" and be prepared to be scared. I have fixed a PC with that infection and all the above tools couldn't touch it /shudder I also recommend Mark's Blog from Sysinternals since he talks a good storm about Spyware too and he mentions the fake spyware removal tools that are available. He also deals with such terms as "False Positives" where these fake Spyware apps find spyware that is not spyware and some of those apps put the spyware ON your PC ! Gahhh!

Marks Blog: http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2006/01/antispyware-conspiracy.html

Kshipper =)

The End of Suburbia & Oil Depletion

2005-10-31T14:36:00.000-05:00

I just finished watching the movie "The End of Suburbia". I consider myself well informed on the subject of conservation and environmental awareness. The film shows that alternative fuels are not going to save us and that oil production has peaked and as we go into a decline we will see more of those scary high prices for fuel at the pumps. What would you do if gasoline cost three times it's current cost -permanently?

I would like to share with you some dialogue between myself & a friend. The letter forwarded to me is of the typical "chain letter" type but people will try anything when they are frustrated:

Hi Ken,I just always delete any e-mail that I don't think is business. I
even delete some of those. I think this is worth a try since it cost me $71.00
to fill up the car the other day. I am not going to buy from Petro or Shell.
Please read:
It is rumoured that we are going to hit close to a $1.42 a Litre by
the winter. Want gasoline prices to come down? We need to take someintelligent,
united action. Someone offered this good idea:This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than
the don't buy gas on a certain day campaign that was going around last April or
May! The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't
continue to hurt ourselves by refusing to buy gas. It was more of an
inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, this is a plan that can
really work. Please read it and join.We all know that we're being controlled by
the oil companies. Does everyone remember how they drove up the prices and got
the gasprices to where they wanted them, claiming there was a shortage of
oil.Well, there isn't any shortage now, and the oil is more abundant than itwas
35 years ago when the price of a gallon of gas was 29 cents!!!
Now that the
oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us tothink that the cost of
a litre of gas is CHEAP at $0.78-$0.85, we need to take aggressive action to
teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace....not sellers. With the price of
gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action.. The only way
we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the
pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And we can do that WITHOUT hurting
ourselves. How? Since we all rely on our cars we cant just stop buying gas.. But
we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price
war.

Here's the idea:
PAY
ATTENTION HERE
For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from
the two biggest companies (which now are one), PETRO CANADA, SHELL. If they are
not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they
reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit. But to have
an impact, we need to reach literally millions of PETRO CANADA and SHELL buyers.
Its really simple to do! ! Now, don't whimp out on me at this point...keep
reading and Ill explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!
I am
sending this note to at least thirty people. If each of you send it to at least
ten more (30 x 10 = 300) . and those 300 send it to at least tenmore (300 x 10 =
3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of
people, we will have reached over THREE MILLIONconsumers! If those three million
get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will
have been contacted! If it goesone level further, you guessed it..... THREE
HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!
Again, all You have to do is send this to 10
people. That's all.How long would all that take? If each of us sends this email
out to tenmore people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people
couldconceivably be cont acted within the next 8 days!!! Ill bet you I
didn'tthink you and I had that much potential, did you! Acting together we
canmake a difference. If this makes sense to you, please pass this message
on.PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $0.64 OR LESS RANGEAND
KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK!!!!!!

(I read the above sent to me and I chuckle, but I send off a reply to my friend)

I was In the auto business for 17 years so of course I have a different opinion here. In the last 10 years the thirst for SUVs and trucks has created this market. How many people own a van for those family trips they take a couple times each year, then the rest of the year they are the only driver going to work work in it, with 6 empty seats behind you? How many drive the largest SUV money can buy or a luxury car? Then there is the pickup truck people. I swear these males buy the largest pickup trucks as some kind of phallic symbol. A pickup truck with leather interior makes zero sense. Period. If you work on a farm or in construction you need a pick up truck, otherwise you don't need a pick up truck.

We were in Niagara Falls this past weekend and on the way down I drove my usual 90-100kph and the rest of the QEW went the usual 120kph. Increasing the speed uses more gas then keeping a steady pace (never mind the speeding tickets) The fastest drivers I saw drove large gas guzzling vehicles at speeds that would make you sick to think of the energy that was being expended to push this "large box on wheels" down the highway.. I even saw vehicles in poor repair with black smoke belching out the back (that's unburned gasoline). Once we arrived at the hotel I couldn't help but notice (on one of my many trips to the car to retrieve luggage) that all the large expensive gas guzzling vehicles in the parking lot were Americans! I saw a big yellow Hummer, a 4 x 4 Suburban and I even saw a Cadillac truck with 4 doors and buttery cream coloured leather interior and gold emblems with a "Handicapped sign" in the window parked at the front. I saw the owner...a little old man. What was he thinking? He could barely climb into this vehicle. I wanted to suggest he get a anchor installed for his battleship but I bit my tongue.

We drive a 2.2L Subaru Wagon that gets very good gas mileage. It only has 135 HP so don't try to race me on Sun---I will lose. Sure....we would love to have a large extended wheel base van with individual captain seats for the last few trips, but then what do I do the rest of the year with it, commute to work in it? Bottom line is: we squeeze in and the kids complain a little but I know that it makes more sense all year round for the majority of what we use a car for. You want to hurt the oil industry? Purchase & drive more efficient vehicles! The industry has developed ways to run vehicles on alternative fuels. Do some self education. Read up on fuel cells, Ceramic Engines etc...consider that a diesel engine could be configured to run on vegetable oil and then consider the environment, & global warming. You have a bigger responsibility here then your wallet.

(My friend replies.........but misses my point, I think)

Ken, Thanks for the input. You are correct but why do you want to pay so much
for the fuel you do have to buy?

To answer your question: "Why do I want to pay so much for fuel that I do have to buy...?" No one wants to pay more, but I am doing my part. I can't save any more fuel and enjoy the lifestyle we have come to expect. Example: Road trips, driving kids to friends and sports. Quick trips daily to the store. Morning coffee. People have become complacent. They afford it without thought of the real cost (monetarily and environmentally). I am glad that these prices give us a glimpse of what the industry can do to us in a single weekend. If you drive a large vehicle that gets 20mpg---you are going to feel it (when gas prices go up) We all wish we could make our own fuel when prices are like this. Gasoline like any other commodity is market driven. Supply & demand. The hurricane was to blame in part. Prices were going to go up since some of the oil rigs were down in the Gulf. Hearing this demand increased further. This was a long weekend. Demand went up, prices went up more. News reports prices going up even further, demand hits record highs, prices go up even further. Some gas stations in T.O. posted $2.00L prices and some stations sold out at prices of $1.45L. If you own a business selling gasoline, you cleaned up this past week. How to fight back: Avoid filling up at the high prices. Cancel unnecessary road trips. Operate fuel efficient vehicles. Drive at lower speeds in highest possible gears with a steady foot. Keep the vehicle tuned, tire pressures at correct settings. What about electricity? Have you looked at your electric bill lately? It's huge! This is even a harder one to combat but even from my chair here in a small computer business I am building new desktop computers with processors that slow down and use less energy when they are idle. I want to do my part to educate my customers. I am glad that you want to do something about the energy costs but you need to hurt the energy people where it makes a difference. Reduce demand over a year & that will work better. A weekend rally does nothing. In the end.....I would like to see us move away from fossil fuel anyways so we need this price thing to stimulate investment in alternative fuels for our health, & our children's future.

Computer Museum

2005-10-27T19:35:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! Welcome to my Blog!
I recently visited a new computer museum here in Brantford owned by
a friend of mine, Syd Bolton. I took a picture of my very first computer the Atari 400 (right). The programs came on ROM cartridge or a cassette
tape. It took 5, and even as much as 20 minutes to load a program by cassette! The keys were touch sensitive, so you couldn't type very fast. At least there was no such thing as a virus back then. Here is the link to the Computer Museums website.
Be sure to view the Quicktime video near the bottom--It's worth the download =) http://www.pcmuseum.ca

I traded up to the Atari
800 which had real keys! Yoink! it also had two ROM cartridge slots and it was my first computer that I could buy a floppy disc drive for. The discs were 5 1/4 inch and held about 300kb of info. The programs loaded much faster and the floppy drive alone cost me $500. You can see the drive behind the Atari 800--It's that big chunky looking thing. I really enjoyed this computer. It was solid and reliable and the programs I enjoyed are still some of my favs. Empire of the Overmind (text adventure) Battles of Midway (text carrier-plane battles over Midway island), Miner 2049'r, Mule, Kennedy Approach just to name a few =)

I upgraded the 800 to the Atari ST,
which was the worlds first 16bit computer. The floppy disks were the very first 3.5inch drives I had used and my very first hard drive was a paltry 20 megs. The hard disc drive was the size of a large shoebox, and you had wait several seconds for it to spin up, before you could use it! I remember the price of that hard drive---$875 Gulp. I got this machine in 1985 and the hard drive around 1989 and I still have it today. It was the game "The Lost Adimiral" by QQP that got me hooked on PC's. My first PC was a 386 clone and the operating system was DOS, where you did everything by typing commands. C:\ tla.bat