What a perfect time of year to release a documentary about discovering the 'real' tomb of Christ. James Cameron has just released his documentary for airing on the Discovery Channel that argues that he and some other archaeologists have discovered the real tomb of Christ. His proof being a couple of small caskets with the supposed engraving, 'Judah, son of Jesus' on it. The small caskets are believed to at one time have held the remains of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.
To me, this is nothing more than a stunt to make James Cameron some more money, I guess the Titanic meal ticket has run out. In 1996, when the British Broadcasting Corp. aired a short documentary on the same subject, archaeologists challenged the claims. Amos Kloner, the first archaeologist to examine the site, said the idea fails to hold up by archaeological standards but makes for profitable television.
One expert on Ancient Semitic writings, Stephen Pfann is even unsure that the name "Jesus" on the caskets was read correctly. He thinks it's more likely the name "Hanun." Ancient Semitic script is notoriously difficult to decipher.
This is simply something for people who are 'hardcore agnostic' to point to and say, '...see, there's nothing special about Jesus...' Meanwhile there are books upon books and fact beyond fact that points to something very different from what James Cameron and his film crew are trying to pass off.
Now, don't get me wrong, I would never try to impose my belief system onto anyone else. It's just that sometimes people who aren't 'believers' look too hard and too long for something that they can never conclusively prove wrong. If you're reading this and think that I'm just as nutty as the next guy, that's fine. You're free to believe what you wish, but be careful what you watch on TV, just because it comes from someone who should know better, doesn't always mean that they do.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Monday, February 26, 2007
Britney in Rehab, or Luxury Hotel?
Back in my day, when we went to rehab, it wasn't for a Swedish massage, or high thread count linens, gourmet meals or private rooms with a view of the beach. It was to kick an addiction once and for all. In my opinion, rehab should be somewhere that you can go to escape the lifestyle that has triggered the addiction (in her case it would be the incredibly posh lifestyle that she had lead since she became famous...or infamous, I can never remember). She should be in a shared room with someone going through the same thing so that they can share and help to heal eachother, with doctors that can treat her sickness, not treat her like a princess.
Britney Spears has checked herself into rehab not once, not twice, but three times now, and has finally made it over the 24 hour mark. Mostly due to the fact that if she doesn't clean up, K-Fed is going to take sole custody of their two kids. Now, Britney, in my humble opinion, has totally gone off the deep end. Remember the days when the most scandalous thing that she did was deny that she was still a 'good girl'?
Now, it seems like she's said, "...if ya can't beat 'em, give 'em what they want...", and sadly what 'they' want is to see her not wearing any panties, shaving her head, getting tattoos and going totally overboard with the whole 'single party-girl' thing. She must have forgotten about the two young babies she has sitting at home. Well, I guess it's the Nanny's problem when Brit's out on the town.
Hopefully, Britney can clean herself up, stay out of the papers for more than 2 minutes, and spend some quality time with her two babies before K-Fed takes them away. Now, K-Fed, that's a whole other ballgame, and you and I don't have the time or the patience to go over him, sheesh!
Britney Spears has checked herself into rehab not once, not twice, but three times now, and has finally made it over the 24 hour mark. Mostly due to the fact that if she doesn't clean up, K-Fed is going to take sole custody of their two kids. Now, Britney, in my humble opinion, has totally gone off the deep end. Remember the days when the most scandalous thing that she did was deny that she was still a 'good girl'?
Now, it seems like she's said, "...if ya can't beat 'em, give 'em what they want...", and sadly what 'they' want is to see her not wearing any panties, shaving her head, getting tattoos and going totally overboard with the whole 'single party-girl' thing. She must have forgotten about the two young babies she has sitting at home. Well, I guess it's the Nanny's problem when Brit's out on the town.
Hopefully, Britney can clean herself up, stay out of the papers for more than 2 minutes, and spend some quality time with her two babies before K-Fed takes them away. Now, K-Fed, that's a whole other ballgame, and you and I don't have the time or the patience to go over him, sheesh!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Nick Cleroux...Sledge Hockey Player
As you will read in past postings, I was given the opportunity to try my hand at playing Sledge hockey. Well, I actually took them up on the offer this past week.
Tuesday night, Steve and I, along with Natasha to 'cheer' us on, made our way to Chedoke Arena to join a Sledge hockey team during one of their practice sessions. Now, Steve was able to get out on the ice on a Sledge the previous Saturday, so I was really the green rookie on the ice. Steve and I were the first to arrive at the arena, so we went into the equipment room and selected out Sledges and sticks. Steve has been playing hockey for as long as I can remember, so of course he has all of the appropriate safety equipment to play hockey in, I on the other hand don't. So, on our way out of the equipment room, I grabbed a helmet, the biggest I could find, it was still too tight for my liking, but I had to use it...no helmet...no hockey.
So, Steve and I made our way into the arena and waited for the ice to be cleared. When the Zamboni was done, we went out onto the ice and strapped ourselves into these Sledges and away we went. I soon realized how dramatically out of shape I really was, I was gassed in about 10 minutes. These guys on the team that we were practicing with are all top notch guys, they really had some fun with us...some actually skated circles around me as I tried to get the puck off of him. Picture this, me scrambling like a mad man to get my Sledge stay upright, and this other player on the team literally skating around me in a circle playing keep-away. I was half amazed that he could maneuver his Sledge with such ease, and half pissed that I couldn't get the puck from him.
The other problem that both Steve and I ran into was something that we didn't really think about until it was kind of too late...how do we stop? This thought ran through my mind as I was picking up some momentum skating for the puck in the offensive zone. I missed the puck of course, but luckily the boards stopped me pretty quick...ouch.
After all was said and done, Steve actually scored a goal, and I got an assist on someone else's goal. The team that Steve and I played on lost 11-2...I think Steve and I were supposed to play defence.
When we got off the ice, all of the guys were laughing and telling us that they had a blast playing with us, they seemed like a great bunch of guys. I think that this is something that will go down as one of the most entertaining things I have been a part of.
Tuesday night, Steve and I, along with Natasha to 'cheer' us on, made our way to Chedoke Arena to join a Sledge hockey team during one of their practice sessions. Now, Steve was able to get out on the ice on a Sledge the previous Saturday, so I was really the green rookie on the ice. Steve and I were the first to arrive at the arena, so we went into the equipment room and selected out Sledges and sticks. Steve has been playing hockey for as long as I can remember, so of course he has all of the appropriate safety equipment to play hockey in, I on the other hand don't. So, on our way out of the equipment room, I grabbed a helmet, the biggest I could find, it was still too tight for my liking, but I had to use it...no helmet...no hockey.
So, Steve and I made our way into the arena and waited for the ice to be cleared. When the Zamboni was done, we went out onto the ice and strapped ourselves into these Sledges and away we went. I soon realized how dramatically out of shape I really was, I was gassed in about 10 minutes. These guys on the team that we were practicing with are all top notch guys, they really had some fun with us...some actually skated circles around me as I tried to get the puck off of him. Picture this, me scrambling like a mad man to get my Sledge stay upright, and this other player on the team literally skating around me in a circle playing keep-away. I was half amazed that he could maneuver his Sledge with such ease, and half pissed that I couldn't get the puck from him.
The other problem that both Steve and I ran into was something that we didn't really think about until it was kind of too late...how do we stop? This thought ran through my mind as I was picking up some momentum skating for the puck in the offensive zone. I missed the puck of course, but luckily the boards stopped me pretty quick...ouch.
After all was said and done, Steve actually scored a goal, and I got an assist on someone else's goal. The team that Steve and I played on lost 11-2...I think Steve and I were supposed to play defence.
When we got off the ice, all of the guys were laughing and telling us that they had a blast playing with us, they seemed like a great bunch of guys. I think that this is something that will go down as one of the most entertaining things I have been a part of.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Prince Harry
I read yesterday that Prince Harry will lead a Tank Unit into Iraq, does this sound like a huge publicity stunt to anyone else? Is this 'Prince' really going to go into Iraq and get his butt blown off by some roadside bomb? Seriously, he's probably got some Royal Photographer taking some pictures of him is his uniform with a helmet on sitting in some tank looking all serious like he's really going to blow something up...come on now.
When he's actually deployed, he'll do some cushy laundry duty or something where he can say that he 'fought' in Iraq and 'supported' the cause. In my opinion, this is all just smoke and mirrors for Tony Blair to say that he's even got 'Royal' support for this blunder called the war in Iraq. But that blunder is another Blog for another day. For now, let's just all send Harry our best regards for his tough road ahead washing the real Soldier's socks.
When he's actually deployed, he'll do some cushy laundry duty or something where he can say that he 'fought' in Iraq and 'supported' the cause. In my opinion, this is all just smoke and mirrors for Tony Blair to say that he's even got 'Royal' support for this blunder called the war in Iraq. But that blunder is another Blog for another day. For now, let's just all send Harry our best regards for his tough road ahead washing the real Soldier's socks.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
'Bum' Fighting
A disturbing trend that is taking American middle class families by storm. If you haven't heard of 'Bum Fighting' before, you'd better sit down for this one. Teenagers, usually drunk, high or both go around town looking for homeless men to fight.
One group of teens in Wisconsin were on one such search. They found 49 year old Rex Baum. They had a few beers with Baum, and then for no reason whatsoever began throwing sticks and piles of leaves at him.
This then quickly escalated to beating him with whatever they could find. They started out by punching and kicking Baum, after that lost its lustre, they found a BBQ grill and began beating him with that. When Baum's head got lodged in the grill, they got Baum's own baseball bat, which he kept around his site for safety, and began beating him in the head and upper body with it.
After Baum stopped trying to defend himself, one of the boys, who were ages 15, 16 and 17, spread his own feces on Baum's face and cut him with his pocket knife to see if he was still alive.
When they had determined that they had all of the fun that they could handle for one night, they covered Baum's body with a plastic sheet and hoped that animals would eat him before the police found him. After this, they went to McDonald's for 'a bite to eat'.
When police found the body 2 days later, they began their search for Baum's killer. They probably would have gotten away with the killing, except they just couldn't keep it to themselves. They told just about everyone they met that they '...beat the hell out of some bum.'
They were all arrested and plead no contest to first degree reckless homicide. They are currently serving 15 years each for their roles in Rex Baum's death.
The National Coalition for the Homeless say that in 2006, there were 122 attacks on the homeless, 20 of which resulted in death.
What kind of sick society do we live in that this passes for amusement? These kids should get a lot more than 15 years for what they did to this poor man. This guy had nothing to protect himself, and he was beaten to death with the only possessions that he had left in the world. Talk about kicking a man when he's down...literally.
One group of teens in Wisconsin were on one such search. They found 49 year old Rex Baum. They had a few beers with Baum, and then for no reason whatsoever began throwing sticks and piles of leaves at him.
This then quickly escalated to beating him with whatever they could find. They started out by punching and kicking Baum, after that lost its lustre, they found a BBQ grill and began beating him with that. When Baum's head got lodged in the grill, they got Baum's own baseball bat, which he kept around his site for safety, and began beating him in the head and upper body with it.
After Baum stopped trying to defend himself, one of the boys, who were ages 15, 16 and 17, spread his own feces on Baum's face and cut him with his pocket knife to see if he was still alive.
When they had determined that they had all of the fun that they could handle for one night, they covered Baum's body with a plastic sheet and hoped that animals would eat him before the police found him. After this, they went to McDonald's for 'a bite to eat'.
When police found the body 2 days later, they began their search for Baum's killer. They probably would have gotten away with the killing, except they just couldn't keep it to themselves. They told just about everyone they met that they '...beat the hell out of some bum.'
They were all arrested and plead no contest to first degree reckless homicide. They are currently serving 15 years each for their roles in Rex Baum's death.
The National Coalition for the Homeless say that in 2006, there were 122 attacks on the homeless, 20 of which resulted in death.
What kind of sick society do we live in that this passes for amusement? These kids should get a lot more than 15 years for what they did to this poor man. This guy had nothing to protect himself, and he was beaten to death with the only possessions that he had left in the world. Talk about kicking a man when he's down...literally.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Leafs Nation
Hello, my name is Nick, and I'm a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. I know, I know, the 'Toronto-Make-Me-Laughs'. The favourite phrase for a die-hard Leafs fan is "...there's always next year...", even if the circumstances are dim, a last place finish, anything, "...there's always next year...".
The last time the Maple Leafs went all the way was 40 years ago, that's right, 1967. That year haunts every Leaf fan to his core. Every year that goes by is another year that we have to hear from 'the doubters'. There's no satisfying people that aren't Leaf fans. I dare say that even if they did win the Stanley Cup, all of 'the doubters' would likely just call it a charity job, or the other team must have forgotten how to play hockey...anything to make it less significant.
Now, I've never been to a Leafs game myself, but that would surely be a dream of mine, to see it all happen before my eyes. Somehow, TV doesn't do live sports any justice, you have to be there to experience all of the sights and sounds.
Even though, as of the time that I write this, the Leafs sit in the 8th and final playoff spot, I know that when they take to the ice tonight, the Air Canada Centre will be sold out, more than 18,000 fans cheering their team, win, lose or draw. That's a real Leafs fan.
The last time the Maple Leafs went all the way was 40 years ago, that's right, 1967. That year haunts every Leaf fan to his core. Every year that goes by is another year that we have to hear from 'the doubters'. There's no satisfying people that aren't Leaf fans. I dare say that even if they did win the Stanley Cup, all of 'the doubters' would likely just call it a charity job, or the other team must have forgotten how to play hockey...anything to make it less significant.
Now, I've never been to a Leafs game myself, but that would surely be a dream of mine, to see it all happen before my eyes. Somehow, TV doesn't do live sports any justice, you have to be there to experience all of the sights and sounds.
Even though, as of the time that I write this, the Leafs sit in the 8th and final playoff spot, I know that when they take to the ice tonight, the Air Canada Centre will be sold out, more than 18,000 fans cheering their team, win, lose or draw. That's a real Leafs fan.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Anna Nicole...Again
This just goes to show you how low people are willing to go to make a buck. Hollywood Producers and Directors are already chomping at the bit to make a movie about the life and death of Anna Nicole Smith. Now, I've never been a huge fan of her, but for crying out loud, she hasn't even been buried yet and Hollywood already has the wheel in motion. This day in age, people will stoop to almost any level to make a quick buck. Oh well, I guess it's something we're all going to just have to live with.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Love Thy Neighbour
For those of you that don't live in the immediate Hamilton/Niagara region, we got about a foot and a half of snow over the last 36 hours. The worst part of it is that most of the snow came overnight, so everyone's cars were snowed in, everyone's doors were snowed in, and perhaps the worst part of all was that I had a dog with a full bladder wanting to get out!
Since we moved into this survey just over 6 months ago, we've been blessed to meet some great neighbours. The two young ladies on either side of us are great people. The one to our right, Vanessa, is a single mom that just had a baby, she is nice to talk with and she loves Spencer, and he loves anyone who will look at him. The lady on our left, Michelle, is another single mom, but her two kids are older, still in grade school though. Natasha and I have taken a real liking to Michelle, her and Natasha frequently go shopping together...luckily it's at Walmart, so nothing too dangerous. Other than those two, we really haven't met too many people around here.
That all changed this morning. When I braved the cold weather to try to dig out my walk-way, I remembered that my shovel broke right in half last night trying to do the same thing. One of Michelle's kids offered to go to Vanessa's house for me to borrow her shovel, he brought it right to my door. As I began shoveling, I noticed that just about everyone else was doing the exact same thing. People were just randomly shoveling around the survey and trying to get people's cars un-stuck from the snow drifts. This really struck me as something very 'neighbourly', not something you'd really expect in this day-in-age. After most of the work was done, 'Thank Yous' were exchanged, and people went on their merry way. For that brief moment in time, everyone was working toward the same goal, once the goal was mostly achieved, things became normal again.
So, just so you know, nice people are out there, it just sometimes takes a foot and a half of snow for you to see them...as brief as it may be.
Since we moved into this survey just over 6 months ago, we've been blessed to meet some great neighbours. The two young ladies on either side of us are great people. The one to our right, Vanessa, is a single mom that just had a baby, she is nice to talk with and she loves Spencer, and he loves anyone who will look at him. The lady on our left, Michelle, is another single mom, but her two kids are older, still in grade school though. Natasha and I have taken a real liking to Michelle, her and Natasha frequently go shopping together...luckily it's at Walmart, so nothing too dangerous. Other than those two, we really haven't met too many people around here.
That all changed this morning. When I braved the cold weather to try to dig out my walk-way, I remembered that my shovel broke right in half last night trying to do the same thing. One of Michelle's kids offered to go to Vanessa's house for me to borrow her shovel, he brought it right to my door. As I began shoveling, I noticed that just about everyone else was doing the exact same thing. People were just randomly shoveling around the survey and trying to get people's cars un-stuck from the snow drifts. This really struck me as something very 'neighbourly', not something you'd really expect in this day-in-age. After most of the work was done, 'Thank Yous' were exchanged, and people went on their merry way. For that brief moment in time, everyone was working toward the same goal, once the goal was mostly achieved, things became normal again.
So, just so you know, nice people are out there, it just sometimes takes a foot and a half of snow for you to see them...as brief as it may be.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Retirement
As I experience this business more and more, I sometimes have to stop and take a look at what it is that I really do. I have a couple that are clients, they are really nice people, seem to have their heads on straight, but had no idea that they should have started saving for their retirement a long time ago. It dawned on me that maybe, just maybe if I hadn't knocked on their door that fateful morning, that they would have gone 10 more years before thinking about their retirement. Now, just so this is out there, I don't think of myself as the be-all and end-all of Financial Advisors...yet. I'm sure someone at their bank would have eventually mentioned something to them...maybe.
Sadly, in todays economy, things are so darn expensive that the last thing on people's minds are how they're going to feed themselves when they retire. They're too busy worrying about the mortgage, the car payment, the kid's college and the list goes on and on and on.
I read an article last week on retirement that said that the average Canadian will retire with just over $60,000 in RRSP's. Now, that may seem like a decent amount, but keep in mind that that is all of the income that you'll have to live on for the next 20 years...unless you want to be a Walmart greeter. There is something like $490 Billion in unused RRSP Contribution room all accross Canada.
I try to tell each and every person I meet that their retirement should be top of mind every year. So, my advice to everyone reading this who is at any stage pre-retirement, whether you're just starting out or whether your knocking on retirement's door, call your Investment Advisor and come up with a plan, heck, call me (as long as you live in Ontario) and I can help.
I know this sounds like a horrible sales pitch, but it's not. In my line of work I see people and hear about people who don't plan ahead, and really pay for it...literally. They work themselves too hard trying to fund a retirement that just won't be very enjoyable. We work too hard when we're young to have to work hard when we're older.
Nobody plans to fail, but sadly, many people fail to plan.
Sadly, in todays economy, things are so darn expensive that the last thing on people's minds are how they're going to feed themselves when they retire. They're too busy worrying about the mortgage, the car payment, the kid's college and the list goes on and on and on.
I read an article last week on retirement that said that the average Canadian will retire with just over $60,000 in RRSP's. Now, that may seem like a decent amount, but keep in mind that that is all of the income that you'll have to live on for the next 20 years...unless you want to be a Walmart greeter. There is something like $490 Billion in unused RRSP Contribution room all accross Canada.
I try to tell each and every person I meet that their retirement should be top of mind every year. So, my advice to everyone reading this who is at any stage pre-retirement, whether you're just starting out or whether your knocking on retirement's door, call your Investment Advisor and come up with a plan, heck, call me (as long as you live in Ontario) and I can help.
I know this sounds like a horrible sales pitch, but it's not. In my line of work I see people and hear about people who don't plan ahead, and really pay for it...literally. They work themselves too hard trying to fund a retirement that just won't be very enjoyable. We work too hard when we're young to have to work hard when we're older.
Nobody plans to fail, but sadly, many people fail to plan.
Friday, February 9, 2007
Sledge Hockey
Have you ever seen a hockey game? A rather rediculous question for most people. Even if you hate the sport, you've most likely seen how it is played. Now, imagine that you can't use your legs...how would you play? Simple, you play Sledge Hockey.
My best friend called me up last week and invited me out to help him score keep with him for a Sledge Hockey game at Chedoke Arena. I was happy to do it, but I had never heard of Sledge Hockey before, and had no idea that it was a 'handicapped' sport.
As we arrived at the arena, I noticed that there were quite a few 'handicapped' guys hanging around. Upon further investigation, I found that they were waiting for their ice time! I was dumbfounded, how do handicapped people play hockey? That question was soon answered.
One of the Directors of the Sledge Hockey league was kind enough so show us how things worked. He gave us a rule sheet, and showed us the 'Sledge'. If you haven't seen one, they're kind of hard to describe, but basically they're chairs without legs attached to skate blades. The players legs are strapped in, and they use 2 modified sticks (which are only about 6" long) with picks on the end to propell themselves down the ice.
Now, the ice surface they use is the same as any other ice rink, except the team bench and penalty box areas are actually on the ice (for obvious reasons). As I watched in amazement, these athletes (I wouldn't call them anything less) scoot around the ice with what seemed to be the greatest of ease, I was shocked to learn that there were acually some able bodied players on the teams as well! What other sport can you think of that would put both handicapped and able bodied players on the same level? I can imagine that it would be quite an upper body workout to do this for an hour, but these guys certainly seem to be enjoying themselves.
If you ever have a free Saturday afternoon, I would surely recommend that you head down to Chedoke Arena and watch these guys play. I promise that you've never seen anything like it, I sure haven't.
The Director of the league invited us back for their next game tomorrow to score keep, and to try out a Slegde for ourselves! I'm not sure that I'll be able to live up to the standard set by the players, but I'll sure try to at least stay right side up.
My best friend called me up last week and invited me out to help him score keep with him for a Sledge Hockey game at Chedoke Arena. I was happy to do it, but I had never heard of Sledge Hockey before, and had no idea that it was a 'handicapped' sport.
As we arrived at the arena, I noticed that there were quite a few 'handicapped' guys hanging around. Upon further investigation, I found that they were waiting for their ice time! I was dumbfounded, how do handicapped people play hockey? That question was soon answered.
One of the Directors of the Sledge Hockey league was kind enough so show us how things worked. He gave us a rule sheet, and showed us the 'Sledge'. If you haven't seen one, they're kind of hard to describe, but basically they're chairs without legs attached to skate blades. The players legs are strapped in, and they use 2 modified sticks (which are only about 6" long) with picks on the end to propell themselves down the ice.
Now, the ice surface they use is the same as any other ice rink, except the team bench and penalty box areas are actually on the ice (for obvious reasons). As I watched in amazement, these athletes (I wouldn't call them anything less) scoot around the ice with what seemed to be the greatest of ease, I was shocked to learn that there were acually some able bodied players on the teams as well! What other sport can you think of that would put both handicapped and able bodied players on the same level? I can imagine that it would be quite an upper body workout to do this for an hour, but these guys certainly seem to be enjoying themselves.
If you ever have a free Saturday afternoon, I would surely recommend that you head down to Chedoke Arena and watch these guys play. I promise that you've never seen anything like it, I sure haven't.
The Director of the league invited us back for their next game tomorrow to score keep, and to try out a Slegde for ourselves! I'm not sure that I'll be able to live up to the standard set by the players, but I'll sure try to at least stay right side up.
James Brown is Still With Us...Literally
I found out today that the late James Brown, who by the way died almost 2 months ago, has still not been laid to rest. That's right, he is sitting in some freezer somewhere waiting for his family to stop their squabbling and decide what to do with him and his estate.
This sounds so stupid to me...why would you prolong the suffering of your family by not allowing someone their right to a proper burial? People these days have their priorities way to screwed up for my liking.
Put the guy in the ground, shut up and get on with your lives. I'm sure James Brown had more than enough money sitting around to make you all very, very happy.
This sounds so stupid to me...why would you prolong the suffering of your family by not allowing someone their right to a proper burial? People these days have their priorities way to screwed up for my liking.
Put the guy in the ground, shut up and get on with your lives. I'm sure James Brown had more than enough money sitting around to make you all very, very happy.
Anna Nicole = Marilyn Monroe?
It has been said that with the mysterious passing of Anna Nicole Smith, that she could be thought of as the Marilyn Monroe of the 21st century. This is absolutely absurd! Anna Nicole Smith is nothing more than a middle-aged Paris Hilton, famous for being famous, and no other real reason.
Now, I do have sympathy for the poor woman. After all, the did loose her son to an apparent drug overdose only 3 days after giving birth to a baby girl, who is now parentless because she never told anyone who the father was.
After she got her first exposure to the lime-light years ago for marrying some 90 year old oil tycoon and then trying to collect on his multi-billion dollar estate after he 'surprisingly' died of old age! I guess that legal battle is finally over, and now the two love-birds can be together again...right.
Now, there are some people who are going to make-out like gang-busters off of this. Namely, all of the sleazy tabloid news shows that will undoubtedly have their fair share of 'exclusives' and 'scoops'.
The only person who really looses in this whole ordeal is the helpless baby girl who now has no mother, and dozens of potential fathers! She may never know for sure who her real father is if this court case to have DNA samples taken never gets resolved!
Now, I do have sympathy for the poor woman. After all, the did loose her son to an apparent drug overdose only 3 days after giving birth to a baby girl, who is now parentless because she never told anyone who the father was.
After she got her first exposure to the lime-light years ago for marrying some 90 year old oil tycoon and then trying to collect on his multi-billion dollar estate after he 'surprisingly' died of old age! I guess that legal battle is finally over, and now the two love-birds can be together again...right.
Now, there are some people who are going to make-out like gang-busters off of this. Namely, all of the sleazy tabloid news shows that will undoubtedly have their fair share of 'exclusives' and 'scoops'.
The only person who really looses in this whole ordeal is the helpless baby girl who now has no mother, and dozens of potential fathers! She may never know for sure who her real father is if this court case to have DNA samples taken never gets resolved!
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
My New Career
As you may know, I have started a new journey in my life. I am now an Investment Broker with Edward Jones. They're a great company to work for, they offer you all of the support in the world, which is good because most of us new Brokers are scared out of our minds.
The basic outline of the new job is as follows:
3 Months of Studying for your various Securities Licenses
1 Week of Head Office Training
3 Weeks of Prospecting (Door Knocking)
3 Weeks of In-Branch Training and more Prospecting
2 Weeks of Prospecting (First and Second Contacts)
1 Week of Head Office Training
17 Weeks of Field Experience (You are actually Licensed at this point)
1 Week of Head Office Training
1 Lifetime of Work
I am currently in the 4th week of my 17 week Field Experience. Basically I am now a Small Business Owner trying to make it all work. I have to try to balance my Door Knocking, Phone Calls, Appointments and basically every other thing that may come up during the day. If all of this doesn't seem too bad to handle, I can send you the card of our recruiter. I have had to will myself out of bed every morning for the last 2 months trying to convince myself that 'everything will be alright'. I've had to go through bouts of anxiety that I never knew how to handle. The worst is when you finally do convince yourself that 'everything will be alright', someone you either phone or knock on their door tell you to (figuratively of course) 'go die alone in a dark corner'. There is nothing scarier to me than the unknown, and right now, not very much is known to me. I've had some modest success thus far, but the well is running dry. Still, to this point, I've had more cancellations than actual appointments, but I guess I have no other choice than to keep going. The last thing that I would want, is for me to look back and find out that I was 'only 3 feet away from the gold'. So, until either the anxiety completely takes me over, or I get that Million Dollar cheque, I'll have to keep plugging away.
The basic outline of the new job is as follows:
3 Months of Studying for your various Securities Licenses
1 Week of Head Office Training
3 Weeks of Prospecting (Door Knocking)
3 Weeks of In-Branch Training and more Prospecting
2 Weeks of Prospecting (First and Second Contacts)
1 Week of Head Office Training
17 Weeks of Field Experience (You are actually Licensed at this point)
1 Week of Head Office Training
1 Lifetime of Work
I am currently in the 4th week of my 17 week Field Experience. Basically I am now a Small Business Owner trying to make it all work. I have to try to balance my Door Knocking, Phone Calls, Appointments and basically every other thing that may come up during the day. If all of this doesn't seem too bad to handle, I can send you the card of our recruiter. I have had to will myself out of bed every morning for the last 2 months trying to convince myself that 'everything will be alright'. I've had to go through bouts of anxiety that I never knew how to handle. The worst is when you finally do convince yourself that 'everything will be alright', someone you either phone or knock on their door tell you to (figuratively of course) 'go die alone in a dark corner'. There is nothing scarier to me than the unknown, and right now, not very much is known to me. I've had some modest success thus far, but the well is running dry. Still, to this point, I've had more cancellations than actual appointments, but I guess I have no other choice than to keep going. The last thing that I would want, is for me to look back and find out that I was 'only 3 feet away from the gold'. So, until either the anxiety completely takes me over, or I get that Million Dollar cheque, I'll have to keep plugging away.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Super Bowl XLI...continued
Well, the game is in the books, the Indianapolis Colts are your Super Bowl XLI champs. To further my point from yesterday about the 'importance' of the game itself, we didn't even get to see the trophy presentation! All of Canada was watching the Super Bowl on Global TV, who was getting the signal broadcast to them from CBS in the States. No sooner did we see Peyton Manning and his team begin to celebrate their victory over the Chicago Bears, Global cuts to commercial and the next thing we see is Howie Mandel giving his into to the new Deal or No Deal Canada. This really made the whole game feel like a cheap means to an end, the end being the premiere of Deal or No Deal Canada. Now, that being said, Deal or No Deal Canada was a great show, the first contestant (whose shirt obviously wasn't available in Extra Extra Small I guess) walked away with $109,000...great show...very entertaining. But I think that the fact that Global didn't feel the need to show the presentation of the Vince Lombardi trophy to the Colts was a little silly. Oh well, life goes on.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Super Bowl XLI
Tonight, more than 100 million people will plop themselves in front of their television sets and watch the Chicago Bears take on the Indianapolis Colts play for the most coveted prize in professional football...or will they? If you go into any grocery store, and ask any random person who is buying that last minute bag of chips, what they will be watching for tonight, you would be surprised to find that most people will tell you that they will be watching for the Super Bowl commercials, or Prince's half-time show, or Billy Joel singing the national anthem. The Super Bowl has become so much more than just a football game, in fact, it seems to me that the game has become so secondary to all of the other hoop-la that surrounds the game, that I don't think that anyone would notice if the game itself didn't even take place! Who can remember who won the Super Bowl two years ago?...I can't. I do remember that Janet Jackson's boob popped out though. Who watches the Super Bowl for the game anymore? I feel sorry for the players who have been preparing their whole careers for this moment, they're about to be over shaddowed by some $2.3 million dollar commercial, a washed up pop star who can't keep his own name straight...and a Piano Man.
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