Water in the Desert

We have returned from a wonderful week at the lake. The weatherman was bang on and we had meteorological perfection the whole time. We were immediately greeted with a very pleasant surprise when our sibling/property partner, Will, informed us that he has purchased an up-dated boat. It is newer and better than what it replaced and he graciously allowed Keith to use it.

This now meant that all water toys were 'on the table' and Liam was one to catch onto this quite quickly. He quite adamantly announced one evening that his plan for the next day was to go 'tubing', then for a ride on the boat, and finally, a ride on the Seadoo. Thinking this might be just 'three year old talk', we were surprised to see him so gungho the next day, with not a single hesitation.

Here he is, patiently waiting his turn, getting familiar with where the handles were situated.

Seeing that he was such a keener, I went along and gave him a serious lesson in signals to give the 'spotter' in the boat, so his wishes could be passed on to the boat driver. "Thumbs up for 'go' or 'faster'" He thought the fingers would work just fine.

"Thumbs down for 'slower' or 'stop'".

And then he invented this one for 'just right' or in nautical parlance, 'steady as she goes'. He was ready to get rolling and could hardly wait.

With mom holding him tight, what could be more fun? There were no 'sideslips' 'wake jumping', or 'flips'. He is not even three. Those adventures will wait for next year. He did get the boat ride and the Seadoo ride many more times that week, and believe me, he is hooked on motorized water sports. Now, if we could just get him in the water and teach him to swim.

This Is Not The Desert

This marvelous display is in our garden here in the Fraser Valley. Where we are going, it is desert and it would take some doing to get this kind of thing going. Living in the desert is a nice change. The weather forecast is for mid to high 20's with next to no wind, about as perfect as it gets. The air is warm and dry there, a very nice combination when there is not oppressive heat. I look forward to time with my family, uninterrupted, and relaxed. I will take some good books with me as there is no Internet or TV there, by choice. I look forward to some good long walks, early morning or evening are the best times. I will see some great sun rises, whereas, the sunsets are all behind the mountain to our west. We will no doubt have some good times with neighbours as our little bay is usually quite busy during July and August. I know I will enjoy the drive on the Hope-Princeton Highway. I always do. We will not have much traffic, either there or back as we will be travelling early Sunday there, and late Saturday back. I will take lots of photos. I will eat too much. I will come back fat and lazy. But then I am already fat and lazy so that's OK.   

Leave of Absence

I am taking a one week break from work, blogging, and just about everything else. Not that I need it, but it was in 'the plan' so I will just go with it. I will leave you with a few photos I took recently. These pretty roses are ground cover that our city uses in most of the parks. They are doing so very well this year and in places the flower beds are covered with them.  

This is Kariton House, a local art gallery in Mill Lake park. Not much to look at but the new colour of the building is rather striking.

A compressed view of the zig-zag board walk over the marshy eastern shore of Mill Lake. Sun rise is just the best light.

That elusive Humming Bird would not get close enough, so this is the best I could do this week. I try almost once a day because they visit regularly and I know I can do better. The plan is to get them used to me hovering around the red blossoms that they like so much.  

The Humming birds like these Sweat Peas too, and just as I was about to photograph one of the birds, he jetted away, but I still like what he left behind.

Maybe one more post on Sunday, but if not, see you in week or so.

What's a Billion Here or There?

Today, I simply give you a link. It speaks for itself.

http://usdebt.kleptocracy.us/

I Loved It

A few days ago, I posted an excerpt from Bill Bryson's book, 'In a Sunburned Country', you know, the guy who slept 'large'.  I have just finished the book and I must say that it was a most enjoyable read. It is a collection of notes and experiences of his travels in Australia. It is packed with history and very interesting true stories of the discovery and development of this nation/continent. If that sounds dry, it is not. Bill travelled through Australia on several occasions and his own adventures, which are for the most part hilarious, are always introduced with the history of the place he is about to visit. This is how everyone should travel as it would make it so much more interesting. Because Bill has done all the research, one gets the feeling that they have travelled with him, and learned almost all there is to know about that great land.

It left me with a bit of a conflict though. As beautiful, diverse, and interesting as Australia is, a part of me does not want to go because there is so much flora and fauna there that just wants to kill you. Seriously! It is a constant theme throughout the book, and is quite fascinating. 

If you are planning a trip to Australia, this is a must read. If you plan to never go there, this is a must read.  

Good For The Skin

I have never posted a photo up side down before, but that is what I have done here. This is an almost perfect reflection of a bridge, with the slight swell in the water giving the rail an interesting undulation. Click to make large.  

I have been bothered by a few minor skin conditions lately, probably inherited from my father. The chemical salves work well, but prolonged use is not recommended. For many years, Vit D from sun exposure both in the summer at home, and in winter in Mexico, has cleared it up completely. This year it is with me constantly. The slight rash is eczema, and the hives that flare up are some sort of allergy. Last night I got complete relief from a most unexpected source.

When I was kid, we used to go swimming at Manitou Beach in Saskatchewan. The water had an extremely high mineral content, not the least of which was salt. Any cuts or scrapes would heal within hours of being in contact with the water. No, I was not in Manitou last night, but was in the pool at my in-laws condo hi-rise. It is a salt water pool. We had a great time with our two eldest grandsons and their great-grandparents, but the big bonus came when I lay down at night and did not scratch myself to sleep.  

Heavy Traffic

Heavy cross traffic at Mill Lake loop trail.

busylizzy and I took advantage of a perfect morning and went for a very long walk. We have often driven to Mill Lake and walked around it, sometimes twice. However, today, we walked to Mill Lake from our home and then around it. Despite my not so subtle, whimpering suggestions to call a taxi, we walked home after that. Actually, it was not that bad. I have been walking everyday for a few weeks now and I was in good shape. busylizzy has always been a trooper when it comes to a long walk. We even stopped at a post office and did a bit of shopping in a mall on the way home. So many birds killed with one stone!

We were more than half way home when we had a really good scare. We crossed a very busy street, in a cross walk, with the light in our favour, when a fancy huge black pick-up, driven by a young man,  made a fast and wide turn, coming right for us and accelerating hard. I was about to jump one way or other, when he saw us and with a hard brake and a bit of a swerve, avoided killing two walking birds with one truck. When we reached the other side of the street, a bit shaken, I asked busylizzy why he did not see us. She did not know. I said to her, "We just passed the reason." busylizzy looked back a few feet over her shoulder and there stood a beautiful young lady, long slender tanned legs, white shorts, red top, and blond hair, waiting for the light to turn green. And they say cell phones are dangerous!   

SPF

While the economy of the USA goes to a warm eternity in a hand basket, there is another type of heat we are continually warned about. Actually, not the heat, but the rays from the sun, which, normally is accompanied by a lot of heat. Do you use sunscreen? Some of it is not safe, you know. Better the UV that you know than the chemicals you do not know. But hang on just a second!

There is some incredible research going on right here in Canada. Had I known about this sooner, I would have been their first volunteer.

Some foods contain high levels of a substance called polyphenals which increase blood flow to the surface of the skin, which, in turn, protects the skin from harmful UV and UVA rays. I always disliked smearing on the lotion and actually I will closely monitor my time in the sun instead of 'greasing up' for a time in the rays. But if I can eat my way to protection, I will do it. What is this food they are testing? If I tell you, you will want to volunteer also. It is chocolate. Yes, dear readers, chocolate. Sometimes I think all these studies are done by people who want to justify their huge intake of this finest of foods. As for me, I will conduct my own experiments. There is still time this summer to eat myself silly with chocolate and then sit in the sun and see what happens. If I burn, an indication that the experiment failed, I will simply console myself with more chocolate.  That is what you call a 'win-win' situation.   

Do You Sleep Quietly?

I was up at 5:30 am the other day and went for a stroll around Mill Lake. I captured the early light in the above photo, but that is not what I want to write about today. I was careful not to wake busylizzy when I arose, and was thinking about that as I was walking. I then recalled a chapter out of the book I am currently reading and began to laugh out loud as I was walking down the trail. Fortunately, there were not too many other early walkers so nobody was there to think I was mentally unstable.

I will give a review of the latest Bill Bryson book I am reading, but here is an excerpt, in the meanwhile, about sleeping, that I think is quite funny. The author has just arrived in Australia and is being given a tour in car, on a warm day, and feeling the effects of jet lag.

" I am not, I regret to say, a discreet and fetching sleeper. Most people, when they nod off, look like they could do with a blanket; I look as if I could do with medical attention. I sleep as though injected with a powerful experimental muscle relaxant. My legs fall open in a grotesque come-hither manner; my knuckles brush the floor. Whatever is inside-tongue, uvula, moist bubbles of intestinal air-decides to leak out. From time to time, like one of those bobble-head toys, my head tips forwards to empty a quart or so of viscous drool onto my lap, than falls back to begin loading again with a noise like a toilet cistern filling. And I snore hugely and helplessly, like a cartoon character, with rubbery flapping lips and prolonged steam valve exhalations. For long periods I grow unnaturally still, in a way that inclines onlookers to exchange glances and lean forward in concern, then dramatically I stiffen and, after a tantalizing pause, begin to bounce and jostle in a series of whole-body spasms of the sort that brings to mind an electric chair when the switch is thrown. Then I shriek once or twice in a piercing and effeminate manner and wake up to find that all motion within five hundred feet has stopped and all children under eight are clutching their mother's hems. It is a terrible burden to bear."   

Enough?

The wait, these days, to get a wallpaper order, is long. There is no competition among the suppliers so they can take their sweet time and they will not lose a customer. After a three month delay, one of our clients finally got their paper yesterday, and as promised, we came almost immediately to install it. Before I set up the tools and equipment, I always check the amount of paper to make sure there is enough. I looked at the wall and then at the rolls of paper in a small box and asked where the other box was. I saw the very troubled look on their faces immediately.

"That is all there is," was the weak reply.

"Can't be," says I, "you need twice that amount, but I will measure to make sure."

I did, and it was exactly twice as much that they needed. The architect had ordered it and had ordered the right amount, but in single rolls, not doubles.

This confusion is a throwback to the days when you paid for and ordered single rolls and they came packaged in double rolls, but if required, you could get a single roll. Now you can only get double rolls, but the pricing remains to be on a single roll.

This happens many times, but another reason for shortages is that paper is so very expensive now that the customer is reluctant to order anything at all extra. They typically do not allow anything for pattern match and waste. If there is not an adequate amount of material, I will not even start because when more is ordered to finish the project, getting the same dye lot is rare. Then one has to strip back all the paper and start over, and this drives the cost of the job through the roof.

I had an elderly lady hire me to paper her bathroom a few years ago, and I knew there was not enough paper. She insisted that I hang paper until I ran out. I did, and it was above her commode that there was about six square feet of blank wall. She told me to put the scraps and pattern match waste in there. She was serious, much to my dismay, so I consented, but on one very firm condition.

"Do not ever, ever, tell anyone that I hung the paper in this bathroom. It will ruin my hard won reputation." She consented, and I never heard from her, or her neighbours, again.

How About a Money Makeover?

I do a lot of reading and I tend to read categories of book in streaks. My latest streak is financial books. This is not because I have sought out this genre, but three books have been recommended to me within the last few weeks. I have just completed the second one titled "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey. Dave hosts a talk show in the USA that claims to have 3 million listeners a week. I have listened to him and found him to verbally communicate in a similar fashion to how he writes. He is very practical, blunt, humorous, and money wise.

The book is about getting out of all forms of debt and staying debt free, and beyond that, building wealth. The book is peppered with pithy advice, remarkable statistics, and catch phrases. It is very practical and his methods are not theoretical, but completely doable. Every third page has a mini testimonial of couples and individuals who have gone on his 'makeover' plan and have changed their lives. Even though my philosophy of money management almost totally aligns with his, I found myself learning things I did not know before.

This book is for people in their 30's and 40's and is a must read for anyone who feels that they are not liking debt or not having enough money at the end of the month, or feeling that retirement is looking a little bleak. I would go so far as to say that this should  be a required course in our school system. It is educational, entertaining, and has been a tool to revolutionize many lives, as evidenced by the  success stories contained in the book.  

This read gets two thumbs up from me.

As They Continue Down the Road

Was there ever any doubt? The bickering boys of DC in the once mighty USA are patting, no slapping, each other on the back in congratulatory adulation of the 'historic' agreement they have reached to raise the debt ceiling yet again. It is only historic in that it is history repeating itself, for the 94th time. A six year old can see through the sham. In the last two years, President Obama has added $2 trillion to government spending. Now, he has promised to decrease spending by $1.2 trillion .... over the next ten years! When will these people wake up and smell the coffee? My prediction is: when this house of cards (credit cards) comes tumbling down around their ears, and only then. The situation is beyond repair. The sad part is that we here in Canada will go down too, but maybe not as hard.

One can take a thousand snapshots across the USA that portray the real problem. Every picture will show waste, mismanagement, and debt, whether on a personal level, or some level of governance. Similar to an individual's financial situation, when every avenue of escape has been explored, when every source of revenue has been maxed out, when every structural re-financing has been used, the creditors will hound, the banks will foreclose, 'Bubba' will come with his baseball bat, and YOU WILL GO BANKRUPT! Your life will then be a nightmare for the next 10 years as you try, with great sacrifice to re-establish yourself. It will be painful, but possible.  

Sunflowers and Their Consequences

Every few months I haul out the Blood Pressure monitoring kit and self diagnose. I consistently get lower readings than my doctor does but there are logical explanations for this. When I tell him that my readings are very low average or optimal, he is OK with that. He agrees that home monitoring is more accurate because it is done in a real life situation, not a stress inducing doctors office where you have just been referred to a proctologist,  for example.  

For the first time since I have been doing this, my blood pressure is in the high normal range. Ordinarily, this would please me as well as most people my age, but there is an upward trend happening here.

So, I tried an experiment. I have begun walking in earnest. Well, on the trails, actually. ( Did hear the one about the two worms who were fighting in dead earnest?)

As much as 10K a day has been my norm.

After the third day, I found that a difference was taking place already. Now, ten days later, my pressure is down to optimal on a consistent basis. ( 117/ 73)

The other technique I have used is to to fool my circulatory system into thinking I am calmer than I really am. We have a wonderful bouquet of Sunflowers on the table where I sit to monitor my BP. Just before I hit the 'on' button, I stare at the mellow yellow blossoms and let them take me to a calm, sunny meadow in the south of France. As I feel my heart rate calm down, I punch the button and hope a stressful thought does not pop into my mind at the last second. I think I have mastered this technique now, and have actually fooled myself into thinking I am young and healthy once again. For your convenience, I have posted photos of the sunflowers so you too can lower your blood pressure in the safety and comfort of your own home. Happy pumping.   

Saving More Than Lives

Throughout history, nations have needed and used armies for either protection of their borders, or for expansion. This empire building has been the downfall of most great nations. Now, in our lifetime, the USA has invented another use for armies and it has several names. "Protecting our interests", or "defending democracy", or "fighting terrorism". Many of these endeavours have to be invented or at least propped up from time to time in order to perpetuate the myth that the military, in its present state, is necessary.

When trying to assess what is really going on, I always say "follow the money". The budget for the military is about $1.4 Trillion annually and because we know that a soldier's pay is not that great, there is a lot of big money going to defense contractors. They say it takes about $1million to train, transport, pay, and insure a soldier overseas. When a Taliban takes out a US Marine with $72.00 AK47, that is a good return on investment .... for the Taliban.

Here is a novel idea. Bring all the soldiers home, and maintain an army that will be adequate for home defense, and put the entire rest of the military budget toward the deficit. There would be no more deficit and we could then leave the world to solve its own problems. Military intervention in the affairs of other nations always creates new problems and costs huge amounts of money that is needed at home.

Of course, this will never happen. There is too much at stake for too many rich and powerful people. And just when the idea would catch on, another crisis would magically appear, and wrapped in the American Flag, and in the name of homeland security, the army would go marching off to bomb another camel lot somewhere in some remote desert. Going with my idea would not only save a lot of lives, but it would save the American economy.   

Debt Games

If you have not been following the little boys games in Washington these days, you should. It is political posturing at its worst. I am talking about the impasse between the republicans and President Obama over the issue of raising the US debt ceiling. The republicans cannot agree on a package to present to the president, and even if they do, the president says he will veto it unless it contains the elements that he wants, as a Democrat, of course. There is no doubt that the ceiling will be raised. The consequences of not doing so are too negative. Not only will the US government default on some of its payments (it writes 88 million cheques a month) but the credit rating of the US will drop from AAA (zero risk) to AA-. Of course, this erodes confidence in the dollar and may increase interest rates, the last thing they need with their increasingly faltering economy. The debt ceiling has been raised 93 times in the history of that country, but never has the situation been so grave.

I have an idea. Let the impasse remain and let the government default. A few seniors and some veterans, and some welfare recipients will not get their cheques, or at least will be promised that although they are late, they will come. What will happen then is that finally the citizens will awaken and take notice, and realize what is really at stake here. There will then be a cry for government cuts in spending, but on non-essentials, and there are many of those plus a multitude of inefficiencies that can be rectified. As long as Big Government can just get out another bigger credit card, things will continue on the path to ruin. The only difference is the rate of acceleration.  

Eye See That Twitch

You know it is a wet summer when mushrooms grow in the lawn.

I had a conversation last week with someone a bit older than me and we were comparing health conditions. This is what we do as we grow older. It is educational, supportive, but most of all, funny, and humour is a coping mechanism. My posts of late have been dwelling on this a bit, I see, but, again, it is a coping mechanism. If I could write a book about my ailments already, and I am still relatively young, I wonder what the future holds, an encyclopedia?

The ailment of the day is this twitch I have been developing in my left eye. I say developing because it was something I thought would go away in a few hours, and then in a few days, and then in a few weeks, and now I hoping it will go away in a few months. Now, that's development!

When you get the smallest irritant in your eye, it feels like a large stick. It is the same with a twitch. I was surprised to see, upon close inspection in the mirror, that it a rather small twitch and it is my lower eyelid, well hidden by the frame of my eyeglasses. But, it does not feel that way. I have to turn my head the other way when passing a young lady, lest she think I am winking at her. At least that is what it feels like.

I think I need my nervous system re-booted, as this seems to be a nervous kind of twitch. A good shock treatment should do the trick. I can see it now. "Doctor, I've been healed, it's a miracle" as my eyelid calms right down after the electrical shock treatment. But, in its place, my arms and legs are jumping, my head is bobbing side to side, the 'beast' in my leg has now moved to the other leg, and the girls no longer seem to think I am winking at them, but they are fleeing because of the obscene gestures emulating from my 'out of control' body.

Mmm. Forget the shock treatment. I think I will opt for the eye patch. Black. Like a pirate. Always wanted to do that.  

What Monster is This?

I am sure most of you have seen a science fiction movie where a seed somehow gets planted in a human and a monster starts to grow within. When it reaches maturity, the 'thing' has to exit the host's body and it breaks through in a most horrendous way. Just before this happens, you can see bulges and movements under the skin, and you just know something bad is about to happen. The only question remaining at that time, is how many heads is the beast going to have.

Strange and unbelievable as it may seem, I have one of those 'things' growing ..... in my leg. I wake up in the wee hours of the morning and I feel it moving. I immediately sit up and swing my legs over the edge of the bed and grip my inner thigh, just above the knee. It starts to move, and tighten, and grab me like a vice grip. There is nothing I can do. But it never escapes. It lives on inside me, the host, to arise again in a few days and reek more havoc. Some call it a Charlie Horse. Is that the shape of this beast, horse-like? It feels more like a Crocodile, with fiercely strong jaws and sharp teeth.

I take Calcium, and Cal-Mag by the handful, but to no avail. It seems only to feed the beast and increase the strength of its jaws.  So, tonight I did some research. I combined some other ailments, or symptoms, and hit search. I keep coming up with a thyroid problem. Yes, the thyroid is in the neck, but it may be regulating the beast with a tiny little remote control device. If it is a wireless remote, there is little I can do.

A small consolation is that I do have some control over the activity of the beast. Like I said in my last post, not working causes all the aches and pains to go away, and that, thank goodness, includes the bite of the beast. I spent some tense time on a ladder today, causing my muscles to ache with the tension, so I may have my visitor back tonight. I imagine throwing it a  piece of meat, to pacify it, but then I realise that it is already feeding on meat, my thigh muscle.   

Experimentation

Partly through deliberate action, and partly through circumstances, I have, since my birthday last year, been experimenting with semi-retirement. I am discovering some things. And why not? This is new territory. What have I been learning? Interesting that you should ask.

To begin with, the first few days off, after a bout of working, are relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable. But, soon after, a sense of guilt creeps in. It increases with each day and completely leaves after I go back to work.

The longer my layoff, the better I feel, physically. I am discovering that when I have aches and pains, it means I am using my muscles, ligaments, and joints, and they are being tested, but found wanting. When I stop working, the aches and pains go away, but so does my strength, endurance, and general sense of well being. So, I am concluding that pain is not a bad thing, but it tells me that I am alive and in good shape. So I can't sleep at night, but my arms do, and I have to roll out of bed, and my neck creaks like a door in a haunted house. My knees have gravel right behind the 'caps', and my muscles cramp up at night. But working is healthy. Have I convinced you yet? 

Something else about not working is that I miss it. I miss dealing with people and solving their decorating problems. I miss the tremendous sense of accomplishment at the end of the job, when the customer is all ga-ga over their new home. And, dare I say it, I miss the money. 

All through my life I have noticed that as long as I am working, I do not spend money, except for paying bills, you know, the necessities. When one takes a week or two off, there is dining out, coffee with buddies. Driving around, which requires a tank of gas more often than when the truck is parked all day on the job. It goes so against me to take money out and not put even more back in. This will be a huge shift in thinking for me after a life long habit of preparing for the days of no income. 

I had a good friend in High School whose dad was in the same business as I am. He worked, at least part time, until he was almost eighty! I asked him why he was doing that. He said, "It's good for me." And then he just smiled. Will that be me?      

Trouble in Norway

We have been following, with horror, the violence in Norway, perpetrated by a single individual. I do not recall an incident similar to this where so many people have died, and it was not at the hand of a madman or a terrorist. At least, I am not of the opinion that this was a madman and officials in Norway are not calling it terrorism. I do not see it as terrorism either, but having said that, no doubt it was absolute terror that the victims were feeling.  He seems to be rational, intelligent, and quite calculated and adept at what he did, and, with a clear cut purpose. He was more than willing to give himself up, and then relate to the police what his intention was, in doing what he did.

It is no secret that there is a growing problem in Europe which has spread with grave concern to the Scandinavian countries, and that is the massive migration of Muslims into these areas. It is no wonder that the citizens of these countries feel threatened. Their culture and way of life is being threatened, not to mention the huge drain on their social safety net programs. That there is a lot of resentment, is easy to understand. It is happening too fast, and just as the birth rates are falling in non Muslim populations. The feeling of 'being taken over' is understandable. We have a similar issue in my city, but not with Muslims.

Now, the bomber/shooter is being held in isolation for the next several months. As authorities are telling us, it is so he does not get his message out. Well, excuse me, but he just did. There are many across Europe who have the identical conviction that he does, but do not have the courage to act on it. There will be a rising in Europe against this tide of immigration, but for goodness sakes, do it through peaceful means and through the political process. There are smarter ways to integrate immigrants into society.

And here is an interesting take on the situation by Bill Bonner.

Ever since 9/11 "defense" industries have been peddling the idea that Islamic terrorism is a threat to national security. Their spirits must have lifted when they first heard the news from Oslo over the weekend. Finally, after 6 years of relative quiet, here comes more evidence that there really are some Islamic terrorists!

But now we discover; he isn't an Islamic terrorist at all. He's a Christian terrorist; he thinks he's defending Christendom from the Islamic Threat.

Oh la la...the valiant knights of the military industrial complex now have Christian terrorists on the right...and Islamic terrorists on the left. Or vice versa.

But wait, their story was that they were defending the USA and its empire against Muslim bad guys who want to destroy it. Are they also defending the empire against Christian bad guys who want to protect it?

The Visit

A good way to appreciate one's health is to visit a friend in the hospital on a beautiful summer's day. It was two months ago that he was doubled over with pain in the middle of the night and ended up in emergency at the local hospital. With the exception of four or five days, he has been in a hospital bed for the whole time. It is a story of inefficiency and dropped balls. It is a wonder anybody ever gets out of there alive.

In three more days, he will go home, but this will be for the third time. He is nervous. If indeed the problem has been found and corrected, the prognosis is good. But, he heard that the other two times also. Stay healthy, dear reader.

Summer is Here

Summer, once again, is making a valiant attempt to establish itself. Enjoy the warm day.

Do You Have It?

I borrowed a book called "The Millionaire Mind" and have just finished reading it. Why? Good question. I think the purpose of the author in penning such a book is to help the reader to determine if he has the mindset of a wealthy person, and if not, how he can achieve such a thing. After reading it, however, I have determined that you either have it or you do not. Thomas Stanley, the author, wades through the myriad of combinations of character traits, and bases his research on interviews of actual millionaires.

Mr. Stanley is an academic so there is much emphasis on the importance of education and intelligence, however, the charts bear out the fact that these are not the key ingredients at all.

I found it interesting that the book was written before the credit bubble and the "Great Correction" so I was thinking that many of the wealthy people he interviewed are probably paupers today.

One thing for certain is that you cannot always tell a millionaire from his lifestyle or outward appearance. One of the traits that got him there was frugality. It is the ostentatious ones that are probably living on credit and lots of it.

This book will not help you become a millionaire, except if you are young enough to change your ways. If you are my age, you either have it or you don't, you are one, or you are not.

If you like lots of repetition, and plenty of "how I did it" stories, you might like this book. I found it only mildly interesting.  

Bummer

I have had my new computer for a few weeks now and am liking it very much. It was quite apparent from the beginning that its ability to process the large image files in my Photo shop programs was greatly enhanced. But, alas, I have run into a problem. I had to uninstall my older version of Photo shop because it was causing my screen to freeze and when I tried to exit the program, my whole desktop, wallpaper, and homepage were rendered a weird kaleidoscope of bright colours.

Now I am reliant on Photo shop Elements 6.0 only. It is an enhanced version of the older program but it has some shortcomings too. Today, I discovered that one of my favourite filters in 'photo effects' has a glitch and leaves fine horizontal lines on my photos. I am discouraged. It is like asking an artist to paint a picture without any red paint on his palette. Every painting will henceforth lack colours with red in the mix. For me, it will now be that every photo will have to be processed without any special lighting effects, something I often apply to my photographs.  How limiting!  Here is what I mean.

The Old Pickup Truck

I photographed this old pickup truck at our Canada Day Parade a few weeks ago. It has obviously been restored as I doubt it would have looked this shiny even when it was fresh out of the factory. In the day it was built, pickups were meant as work vehicles and that was pretty much all they were used for. How these vehicles have evolved! Just as this particular truck would never be used for work today, neither are most of the new pickups being sold today. There is no limit to the amount of money or the amount of options put into a lot of trucks today. One could as easily haul manure or attend the opera in today's fancy pickups.

My friend had a truck identical to the one above, and when his dad gave it to him, it was a well used farm vehicle. He cleaned it up, had it painted blue, did some mechanical and power train adjustments, and we used it for our Friday night entertainment for a few years. I thought it odd at the time that we would be cruising the drive-ins in a truck. He was very much ahead of his time.   

Okanagan Rain

It was a short but much anticipated trip to Kelowna that brought us to this torrential downpour on the 97C on Sunday afternoon. We could see the angry dark clouds in the hills ahead, and as we rounded a curve, it hit like a hammer. We pulled over to the shoulder of the road as many other drivers did, but some of the more foolhardy ploughed through the several inch deep water that was building on the road surface. A few miles later, we stopped again as a deluge of even greater force poured from the heavens. Like any aberration of nature, it was awesome and a bit scary all at once. We were not in steep terrain so we did not even think about mud slides like we would have had to had we been nearer to Hope.  

Our few days away were punctuated with abnormal weather. Kelowna in July is normally hot and dry, with clear skies and blazing sun. Not so this year. It was warm but muggy with many showers. After a nice dinner out an an outdoor restaurant (the patio was covered), and watching the storm clouds circling the lake, we came back to our host's home and noticed that the light was changing in a dramatic fashion. Don and I, both avid photographers, grabbed our cameras and headed for a nearby lookout to get a sunset photo or two. Just as we started down the street, I turned in the opposite direction and this what I saw. It later turned double, but we were in a hurry to get to the lookout before the light faded so I did not stop to take more photos. This is the only one of the rainbow that I have.  

For the next several minutes, and that is all we had, we turned this way and that, marvelling at the show unfolding before us. The rain started, a misty but heavy rain, and our equipment was going to get wet so we covered it up and headed back down the trail and home.

God paints it, we photograph it.

Summer Reading

I have just finished Philip Yancey's latest book, "What Good is God", in search of a faith that matters. I like the unique format of this book. In his search for the answer to his question, he travels the world to various destinations and occasions and tells the story behind the story.
For example, the struggling underground church in China, the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, defeating apartheid in South Africa, addressing the graduating class at the very strict Bible College he himself graduated from, etc. This part of each chapter is enlightening and very interesting.

At each occasion, he was asked to speak, and the second part of each chapter is his speech. It is these speeches I have some trouble with. They are at times not relevant, and often the answers are a bit bland as he tries to console or counsel.

In general, I like Yancey's style, as he is both easy to read, yet at times deep and profound. I find him a bit too non-specific on some issues, almost trying not to offend or be labeled in any way. In other words, trying to be too many things to too many people.

I did find that the answer to his question was addressed many times, not by what he said in his speech, but by the descriptions of the people of faith as they lived out their Christianity in often very adverse conditions. At times, it seemed that Yancey was a bit in over his head and it was the audience that could have been counselling him.   

Red Velvet

We are gone for a few days, mixing business with pleasure, so you can enjoy our red roses because by the time we are back, they will be history, blemished by the rain, and expired from old age.

Timing

I was standing in the garden yesterday,

camera in hand, contemplating the right angle for a photo of a poppy. At first I felt it, and then I heard it, that low throbbing hum of a humming bird when it hovers just over your head. I did not want to startle it so I carefully looked downward, camera already to my eye, and scanned the pink bed of flowers at my feet, for I knew that he was not intereseted in me, but in the flowers near the ground. And into the viewfinder he flew, standing on his tail. He was only inches from my leg for a good three minutes and I rapid fired ten frames. The light was not great so I have done some photoshop techniques to enhance the photo. 

Only moments before, I was sitting on the other side of the garden when the birds started feeding on the lichen on our dead cherry tree. It was only a few feet away and they never saw me as I 'fired' away.

Today vs Tomorrow

"Why do today, what you can put off  until tomorrow" was a humorous phrase that was meant to teach us to avoid procrastination. Generally it is good advice to 'do it now', except that economically speaking, this has got us into the financial struggle that we are now facing as a world economy. Let me explain.

The last generation or two has been of the mind that it is better that we have what we want and that we have it sooner than later. I was taught a valuable principle called 'delayed gratification'. Save up for what it is that you want, enjoy the anticipation of waiting to get it, and then take pleasure in knowing that you earned it and now it is yours, clear. That concept has been lost in the last 40 years. We want it, and we want it now, and if we cannot afford it, we will get it on credit. And, we will get the most, the biggest, and the best, as much as our credit limit will allow. (The 'pre-approved mortgage' is a good example as it encourages home buyers to buy the most house the bank will let them)

What happens then, is that the purchases of tomorrow are transacted today. Then what of the purchases of tomorrow? There are none. The incentives to buy new vehicles just after the economic downturn showed how true this was. Vehicle sales sky rocketed, but in the next few years there were no more sales. Nobody could figure it out. Today, there are many people who have learned a valuable lesson. More money is going into savings now than ever before, and people are paying off debt, and trying to recover their retirement nest eggs. Not much money left for consuming stuff and that is why the economy is down. Too much buying on credit yesterday and leaving no sales for today. 

There is huge merit in saving up, considering what it is that one can actually afford, (living within one's means) and only making a purchase when the money is in the bank. It is less stressful, less expensive, and it helps to avoid the problems we are seeing in the developed nations of the world today.

Consumers and governments should realise that sometimes a little procrastination is a good thing.

Looking for Common Sense

This young gal may be looking for her contact lens, or she may learning to walk, or she may be looking for common sense in our

up-side-down world.

I came upon three unrelated articles last week, but upon closer inspection, they are related. The first story is about the Oakland Ca. police chief having to lay off staff due to budget cuts. He announced that because of the layoffs, 911 calls would no longer be responding to calls relating to theft, burglaries, passing fake cheques, embezzlement, extortion, vandalism, and the list goes on. This is another step toward third world status for Oakland.

The second article is in regards to the top paid state employees in California. The chief psychiatrist for the overcrowded prison system was paid $838,706.00 in 2010. The 10 highest paid employees were each earning more than $500 K. Seven of these ten were either doctors or dentists in the prison system.

Jumping over to Washington, we see that President Obama enacted a wage freeze for federal employees as one of his first acts as President. However, the rule did not take force until January of 2011. Before the deadline, his head of economic policy received an 82% pay raise, and his director of African American media received an 86% pay raise. That's the spirit!

We can see that in light of the fact that increases of the common working man's wages are near zero, and pay raises in private sector business and industry are barely keeping up with infaltion, there is a disconnect. 

The 'trough' is full of borrowed money and more and more fat pigs are feeding out of it. When this ends, there may be light at the end of the economic tunnel in both our countries. 

As an edit to this post, I just read that illegal Mexican immigration is falling off dramatically. In fact, the flow is now reversing. Mexicans are now sneaking back across the border, to their homeland, in search of opportunity and jobs. Wow! That speaks volumes. They may be the only people in America who are actually working and now they are leaving. Maybe, soon, prison psychiatrists will be mowing lawns and trimming hedges. If so, they will finally be earning what they are worth.