DNCL

Today is the day you can register for the 'Do Not Call List' By 1:30 this afternoon, more that 230,000 people had registered and at one point in time more that 18,000 people were trying to access the website. The system jambed up but is now running again. I know because I just registered our phones. Thirty days from now, I will no longer get those supremely annoying calls at dinner time telling me I have won a cruise.
Go now and do it. http://www.dncl.gc.ca/. It is quick and easy.

Market Freefall and Other Woes

If you are not watching the TSX in turmoil, it probably means you do not have RRSPs that are market based. But you should be paying attention anyway. We are in historic times. Today the TSX fell farther in one day than it has in 8 years. The world economies are thrown into turmoil over the refusal to bail out Wall St. It is fascinating to watch! My post today is a short quote from a long and insightful editorial by Bill Bonner regarding the peril that the USA finds itself in. It looks like we are about to see what it looks like when a country, the most powerful country in the world, goes bankrupt.

Here’s a sobering detail: For the last 15 years, the U.S. money supply has grown about twice as fast as GDP. Federal government liabilities, meanwhile, have grown three times as fast. It now has more financial obligations than assets. It is, effectively, broke.
And here is another cup of strong coffee: U.S. debts are now compounding negatively like a Neg Am mortgage, that delightfully fatal confection invented at the height of the housing bubble. Some house buyers didn’t even pay enough to cover the interest on their mortgage; the missed interest payments were added to the mortgage itself, causing it to grow automatically. Exponentially.
We don’t know what Professor Chris Martenson is a professor of. But he has done the world a favor with his description of what happens when things grow exponentially, rather than arithmetically.
Imagine you could make a football stadium watertight, he writes. Then, imagine that you put a magic drop of water in the center...a drop of water that doubles every minute...so that after six minutes or so, you’d have about enough water to fill a thimble. Now how long would it take before the stadium filled, he asks?
We’re not going to leave you in suspense. For the first 45 minutes, you can walk around the stadium and barely get your feet wet. But in the next 4 minutes the stadium fills and you drown.

My View

When I look up from my computer, this is the view I have. However, if you believe the rainbow is real, you don't know Adobe Photo Shop. I have seen many rainbows in the proximity, but usually by the time the camera comes out, the magic is gone. The rainbow is a symbol of hope, but its appearance is usually only fleeting, and sometimes only barely there. As humans, that is sometimes all we need to keep on going.

Today I ask a favour of my many readers. If you are a praying person, would you please pray for little Anika who only a few days ago acquired a mysterious blood disorder and is in danger of coming to great harm from bruising, both internal and external. Her mom and dad and many family and friends are hanging onto the hope that she will be rescued from this grave problem. May your prayers be the rainbow of hope that will sustain them.

Of Tolls and Taxes

The excitement of the last two days has died down a little now that the grandsons have gone back home. My daughter is home after only 36 hours in hospital! To calm myself down and get back to reality, I want to comment on a surprise announcement I heard on Friday.

At noon, Gordon Campbell announced that the toll was coming off the Coquihalla highway at 1 pm. That highway was paid for many years ago and as we all know, once a tax is implemented, it stays in place in perpetuity. This is the first provincial tax that I can recall being re-called. Don't get me wrong. I am delighted, but there is something puzzling about this. Is not the carbon tax supposed to encourage us to use less fuel, take less trips, etc.? Removing a toll does the opposite! We are getting mixed messages from our Premier and the only explanation is his fall in the polls and he is trying to buy our vote. So what else is new?

Worth Waiting For

Little Liam is fresh out of the oven and these pictures are hot off the press! He is a keeper for sure. Everything progressed really well and baby and Mom are doing great. He has impressed us all in his first few hours of life, as being a very healthy and content baby who already has a good appetite and knows where the cookie jar is and how to get the cookies.
For those into statistics, Liam was born at 8:33 am and weighed in at 7 lbs. 6 oz.

Here is the new and improved Dyck family, better than ever.

After 'carrying' him for 9 months, Rachel is content now to hold him.

Nathan's comments on the way home from the hospital: "I feel happy, excited, curious, and just good all over. This is the happiest day of my life!"

I must say that it is pretty hard to beat.

What's Under The Leaf?

This is a huge day for our little family. It will grow by 17% in a few minutes, as I write this entry. We already know that it is a boy but somehow the excitement is not diminished by this knowledge. Full report with pictures to follow.

Little Surprises

I found a patch of deep blue sky the other day and took advantage of it. It will not be long and the only colour in our lives will be the pictures we took in summer. I saw this picture on my computer screen and discovered a surprise. If you click on it and see it large, you will see a spider. We often undertake projects and tasks without realising that there will be unforeseen consequences or perhaps rewards. They often come unexpectedly. It is very useful and rewarding to examine our lives regularly for these serendipities. They are there if only we look.

Changeover

New evidence that Autumn is here and winter not far behind. Our house is not the most energy efficient one around, but we have managed to avoid turning the furnace on until now. There is a very characteristic odour the first time it comes on after a summer hiatus. It is the smell of the dust that has accumulated on the heat exchanger over the last 5 months, heating up. After several minutes, the odour dissipates and only leaves a reminder of larger gas bills and now carbon taxes.
More evidence is that I have now watched my first two hockey games of the new season. Now that really feels like winter. The Canucks are on their way to the Stanley Cup now that they have won their first two exhibition games. Do I hear you laughing in mockery? Oh, that's me laughing.

Election Gem #14

I seems that none of the parties are vetting their candidates with any thoroughness. At last count, the Conservatives let one go, the Liberals one, and today, the NDP let their third one go in the last week. It seems that all three candidates are party animals, two of them having a history of dope smoking, and one who likes to skinny dip. Dipping has always been an integral function of politicians, but not in the skinny. You need your pockets in which to stash the cash.

Cody

As I have stated before, I am not a great animal lover, but on occasion I meet one that grabs my heart. Like with humans, I suppose that first impressions are important. The minute Cody came to me with tail wagging and eager eyes telling me he wanted his ears scratched, I liked this dog. After he and I got acquainted, he obediently posed for his photograph. It is one of only a handful of dog pictures in my files.

Summer is Over

Today, summer is officially over. We were having a wonderful BBQ dinner, in July, with some dear friends, at their home on Cultus Lake, when I took this photo of a sail boat skimming across the whitecaps at the end of a warm summer's day. Of course, it did not look exactly like this, but this version represents the fading memory as the days shorten, the nights cool, and the first leaves begin to fall. From full colour, to faded greys, not only our memories, but our lives.

Angel Trumpets

Just outside our front entry, stands this magnificent Angel Trumpet Tree. It is around six feet tall and has, this year, about a dozen blossoms. The heat of the last several weeks has stimulated its growth and now with the coming cool weather, we hope the many buds that are hanging down will also bloom before winter. There is nothing quite like the lovely fragrance that comes from this plant, but it only is apparent in the evening. When we step out of our door, we are greeted with a flood of sweet floral essence. But, it reminds us that Autumn is around the corner and with the socked in weather of yesterday and today, we don't really need a reminder. We are invited to a BBQ for this afternoon which will either be cancelled or will be decorated with a myriad of umbrellas.

Avoiding the Inevitable?

This has been a truly historical week and a major financial disaster has been avoided, but perhaps only temporarily. If any of you do not know what I am talking about, you have been under a rock, but I must tell you that it is not safe there either.
In 1929 when the economy was in crisis, the US government did not intervene and the result was the crash of '29 and the subsequent ushering in of the Great Depression and the 'dirty thirties'. Today, the powers that be have intervened and in a purely socialistic fashion, have nationalized some of the biggest US players in order to bail them out and avoid an international crisis of confidence. The alternative is too scary to contemplate.
The question now is, when will the massive (and I mean MASSIVE) debt that the government has incurred come home to roost. The mortgage defaults in the US are running at one in nine overall! The sub-prime mortgages have not yet all hit the fan. The next tier of mortgages, the ones where some money was put down and the borrower lied about income and promises of getting a job, is about to come up for renewal. It is predicted that 60% of these mortgages will also go into default.
So the interestingness is not going away any time soon. Hang onto your hats. It will be ride to remember.
Has the lesson been learned? We shall see. Oh, what is the lesson, you ask? An economy cannot be built on spending and credit. It is built on savings, wealth accumulation, and avoiding risky debt at all costs. That may mean living within one's means, which is vastly unpopular in today's society.

Election Gem #13

Stephane Dion is busy on the campaign trail and for the second day in a row, he has not even mentioned the Liberal Green Shift, the plan to introduce carbon taxes. But a quick check with the Liberal website shows that the Green Shift is central to the Liberal platform. What accounts for this mystery? Well, well, well! He is in western Canada! The Green shift has been compared to the NEP (National Energy Program) of Pierre Trudeau's era when huge transfers of money and oil went to Eastern Canada at Alberta's expense. It put a deep and lasting division into our country. If Mr. Dion is not being forthcoming, it does not bode well for his credibility as a leader. Come on, Mr. Dion, are you going to shaft us with the shift or not?

Sky

I have many more photos of our time in Oroville but we will say goodbye for now. There may be a time after we stop working that we will spend much more of our lives there. It will always be a family property but some of us will have to be more involved in upkeep than others. In the future, my experience there will probably be more a working one than a vacation one, but there will always be time to sit back and admire the mountains and the dramatic skies, both ever changing as the day slips by. I will probably eventually take the view for granted and will put my camera away and just enjoy stopping, staring, and thanking God for his creation and for giving me good eyesight to enjoy it.

War

As all young boys, my seven year old grandson has a vivid imagination and lately he has had a fascination with war games. I believe this is normal for little boys and I will not discourage it because he is not an aggressive or rough child, but simply intrigued with the struggle between good and evil. Because of his familiarity with The Chronicles of Narnia, his perception of 'bad guys' is that they are all Germans. If I were a politically correct person, I would take offence at this, but because his war figures are WW II characters, and because WW II was a conflict against the Nazis, who happened to be Germans, I let it pass because it is history and it is truth. So be it. (I am of German/Dutch descent)
On our family vacation, he had set up his battle scenes with great care when his Great Grandmother came upon his little game and I was very curious to see what her reaction would be. She is a Mennonite pacifist, but also, a survivor of WW II and first hand witness of the horrors of war.
She stood looking for a short time and then told her great grandson a story that related to the planes and artillery and the soldiers that were lined up in front of her. The story was of hiding, of bombers, of artillery shells bursting all around and a fire that erupted. The struggle to put the fire out with pails of sand, as no water was available, made an impression because the great grandson's father is a modern day fireman. He stood perfectly still as she told the story. His eyes were wide, and I was wondering if he believed her.
We hope our children will be capable of distinguishing between fantasy and reality and this could have been a struggle he had with her story. Surely this only happens in books, movies, and video games. Some day he will be able to tell his children and grandchildren the time his great grandmother told him eyewitness accounts of a war long ago. Not many his age will be able to do that.

Great News!

I would like to announce that my new Grandson has arrived, but that is not happening until next week. This news is nowhere on par with a new addition to the family, but is nevertheless exciting if you are like us, being constantly interrupted by phone solicitors. The DNCL (Do Not Call List) will be up and running in a few days and you can register on line on Sept 30. by simply entering your phone number. http://www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/ Once you register, the only time your dinner will be interrupted will be when I call you to see if you have registered yet.

Election Gem #12

A general observation: The election spending promises by all parties are starting to mount. Two things. Election promises are are just that. They often have no reality in the world of governance once the election is over. In other words, the promises are made to be broken.

Also, in light of the collapsing economies around the world, who can promise what they will spend a year, or two years from now. We may be in survival mode and all bets will be off the table, as well as all promises. Come on boys (and girl :Elizabeth May), just show me that you have integrity and leadership skills. That will pull us through tough times in case the money is not there.

The Gate

There is a wall of green running along the south boundary of our property. On the south side of this wall is heat and blinding bright sunlight. There are two gates leading through the wall of trees, vines, and shrubbery, each guarded by a bell atop a wrought iron hinged gate. Stepping through the gate in either direction on a blazing hot day is an experience. Being on this side of the fence is much more desirable as it is cool and shady, a refuge from the desert sun. Sitting on the fence is not an option. This is a little like politics at election time. Look at both sides, choose the side you like, and get off the fence.

Priorities

I just came off my favourite news site where the top five stories of the day are posted in headline form. There is an election campaign going on in both the USA and Canada, Hurricane Ike has left utter devastation in the state of Texas, and the fourth largest American Financial Institution has just filled for bankruptcy sending repercussions throughout the world, and sending the TSX and The Dow into free fall. Then what is this headline doing in the top five?

"Family's puppy shot outside home." And why "puppy' instead of "dog"? This is not 'news'!

In case you had not noticed, animal stories such as this get a lot of press. It is part of the trend to elevate animals to almost human status. It is a much more serious offence today to kill a puppy than to kill an unborn child. Did you ever read a headline that announced how many babies were aborted at the local abortion clinic today? I am by no means advocating cruelty or inhumane treatment to animals (something which is not well defined) but rather drawing attention to priorities in today's culture. Affections are misplaced and will probably lead, some day, to more rights for animals than humans.