Arkay's Ramblings

Arkay's Ramblings: Preview "Whole Wheat Bread"

2011-05-01T20:49:00.000-04:00

Arkay's Ramblings: Preview "Whole Wheat Bread"

What's it tell you

2009-08-17T10:05:00.004-04:00

The Lone Ranger and Tonto went camping in the desert. After they got their tent all set up, both men fell sound asleep. Some hours later, Tonto wakes the Lone Ranger and says, 'Kemo Sabe, look towards sky, what you see? '

'The Lone Ranger replies, 'I see millions of stars.'

'What that tell you?' asked Tonto.

The Lone Ranger ponders for a minute then says, 'Astronomically speaking, it tells me there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo.Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three in the morning. Theologically, the Lord is all-powerful and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What's it tell you, Tonto?'

'You dumber than buffalo dung. It mean someone stole the tent. '

TFSA Farce on Canadians

2009-02-05T18:48:00.005-04:00

Is there really anybody (normal family income earners) out there who has sufficient income to maximize their RRSP deposits and have $5000 left over to put into an account that will allow them to earn $125 tax free.(actually saving approx. $30 in taxes.) Perhaps 10% of the total population. So, if these 30,000 people did ( and I strongly doubt that anybody that has that kind of money available would invest it in that poor a return) invest it in a TFSA that would be a total of $3,750,000.
Now, think of this from another light. We all watch TV, some more than others, so some see the advertisement regarding the fantastic TFSA more than others, but we all know that it is getting lots and lots of airtime. Also, if you do a fair bit of browsing on the Internet, you no doubt occasionally come across a similar ad. Not being in the advertising business, I would only be guessing at what it must be costing the govt. to air that many ads. Now think about this. If only the top 10% earners are able to take advantage of this amazing offer, who is paying for the advertisements? And I would be willing to wager my percentage of TFSA earnings that the bill for said advertising is a whole lot more than $3,750,000.
To add more insult, the people who have the ability to make the $3,750,000 are also the owners or shareholders in the advertising agencies that promote the scam that we pay for. I guess if you don't have the available cash to invest in a TFSA after you pay the ad bill, you might be lucky enough to be able to borrow it from the same 10% at 12% interest (if you're lucky).
Ahhhh! It doesn't really matter anyway. They're gonna find a way to take your money anyhow. I just thought that we might have saved a little if the govt. had just sent the 10% the $125 each and saved the advertisement money.

Out behind the barn

2008-12-20T15:49:00.004-04:00

Nope! My education wasn't from out behind the barn. Perhaps not far from it but a long ways from the education system of today. I'm not sure if that's for the better or worse. My education was based on the teachings from a small town, Nova Scotia, Roman Catholic parochial school.

While the nuns where strict disciplinarians, they were also avid teachers. Their lives being devoted to teaching rather than acquisition of wealth. Perhaps that's why so many of their teachings are still valid today. Almost daily I am reminded of some classroom discussions pertaining to events from today. As my education took place from mid 1940s to the later part of 1950s this is rather amazing, or at least it is to me. Things like the internal combustion engine being the single largest contributing factor in the destruction of the ozone layer. That there were companies back then that were striving to perfect the advent of the ultimate electric car. They advocated the use of wind energy as well as solar. I am sure that the nuns in small town Nova Scotia didn't invent this stuff.They must have garnered these bits of intelligence from forces supposedly in the know. So I have to ask myself, why is it, more than 50 years later, that we are still facing the same problems? Could it be that the nuns were forward thinking while our politicians are always covering the other end. Why have we allowed ourselves to become slaves to the oil industry when it was predicted by those same nuns half a century ago that the oil industry was corroding not only our atmosphere but also the minds of the people who had the ability to change it.

Is it going to stop somewhere?

2008-12-20T13:17:00.009-04:00

It has recently been touted that PEI will soon be a world leader in wind energy. This is supposed to be a good thing. I am all for wind powered energy. However, I have concerns as to whether PEI is going about this in the right way. Is this another ill fated attempt by our political leaders to garner undeserved world recognition? I would like to how this attempt at world leadership is being financed. By reading my light bill over the past year I would say that I am totally financing the project all by my lonesome.

From Oct./07 my rate for electricity was .1155 cents/kwh. In Oct./08 my rate had increased to .1553 cents /kwh. I'm not sure how they do their math nut according to my calculations that would amount to an increase of just under 35% in one year. Now, taking it a step further My bill in Dec. of 07 had increased to .1179 cents /kwh. A modest livable increase, if it stayed there. Obviously we know it didn't. Upon reading my bill for Dec. 08 I see my rate has moved up to .1604 cents./kwh. Again, according to my calculations that would be a 36+% increase in a year.

It keeps going up.

According to Statistics Canada, PEI has about the highest increases in cost of living. For sure our pay increases and pensions can't keep up to it. The last time I checked, the cost of living index for PEI was sitting at 6-7%. Our pensions and pay increases sit at around 1-3%. This is one of the basic reasons why the rich get richer and the poor pay for it.

I want to know if the increases in our power bills is going to finance the wind energy project, from which we get little, if any, benefits. Who actually benefits? Who actually gets paid for the energy that gets shipped off island, which more than 80% is destined to go? and who gets the accolades for being world leaders in wind energy, regardless of the cost to the citizens of the province?

Does PEI have a public utilities board? If so, what do they do? Is there anybody on the board who does basic math? Is there anybody on the board who cares about the citizens of PEI, who they are supposed to be protecting?

It won't be long now, the way these monopolistic companies, who are protected more so than the average Joe, before we will no longer need to go to the bank with our paychecks. We can just sign them over to the Govt. and let them send is a loaf of bread every once in a while. From where I am sitting, it doesn't look like that possibility is too far away.

Who is out there to answer my questions? Who is out there who cares enough to question their MLAs?

The joke's on us

2008-12-17T13:40:00.005-04:00

Canada's health care system has been a work in progress since its inception. Reforms have been made over the past four decades and will continue in response to changes within medicine and throughout society. The basics, however, remain the same - universal coverage for medically necessary health care services provided on the basis of need, rather than the ability to pay.
Canada's publicly funded health care system is best described as an interlocking set of ten provincial and three territorial health insurance plans. Known to Canadians as "medicare", the system provides access to universal, comprehensive coverage for medically necessary hospital and physician services.
Health Canada's Role
The federal government, the ten provinces, and the three territories have key roles to play in the health care system in Canada. Health Canada's mandate is to help Canadians maintain and improve their health. Among other activities, Health Canada's responsibilities for health care include setting and administering national principles for the health care system through the Canada Health Act and delivering health care services to specific groups (e.g., First Nations and Inuit). Working in partnership with provinces and territories, Health Canada also supports the health care system through initiatives in areas such as health human resources planning, adoption of new technologies and primary health care delivery.
What Information is Available
In this section, you will find an overview of Canada's health care system. More detailed information is also available on specific elements of the health care system, including health human resources, primary health care, home and community care and pharmaceuticals coverage. There is also information on studies examining the health care system and links to further information.

Re; Government of Canada web page regarding Health care.

Hahahahahahahaha!

What a joke, eh?

Try telling that to one of the hundreds of thousands of people who have lost their family physician and are now on a waiting list of indefinite length. Or to someone who has been suffering in great pain for the best part of a year to see a specialist. I have to wonder where the author of the above blurb got their information. They obviously did very little research. According to them our system is better today, when it is nearly impossible to get a family doctor, than it was when you could get a new doctor every hour of the day, if you had the time to visit that many. It used to be advised that you got a second opinion before accepting a serious diagnosis. Let this person tell me how you get a second opinion today when it's almost impossible to get a first opinion.

I'm not sure if it would do any good or not, but everybody should ask their local MLAs and MPs exactly what they have done to improve the health system. It was at one time considered one of the greatest systems in the world. Today it is a sad joke. And even sadder is that the joke is on us, the people who elected the buffoons who are laughing at us for expecting adequate health care in return for the tax dollars that we provide for it.

Shame on them for not caring. Shame on us for not daring to reproach them for it.

2008-12-17T09:45:00.010-04:00

Holy Crappola! It's Christmas again! Where the heck did 2008 go? I guess I was too busy to notice it passing by. Now I can't say if it was a good year or not. I'm still here, so I guess it wasn't really bad. And we did manage to get a fair bit done on the house so it wasn't a wasted year. Anything not wasted is good I suppose. H0wever, even though my year has been rather productive and fruitful, Kathryn has had a less than enjoyable year with a hip out of alignment and causing a great deal of pain by pinching her siatic nerve. A Chiropractor helped for a while but his manipulations have worn thin as of late. She has waited since Feb. to get an appointment this past Monday to see a specialist only to find out her appointment had been changed to the previous Monday, so she had missed it. Luckily for her that tears still work, and they found an opening for her this Friday. Our present day politicians, seeing little possibility in garnering public recognition from the health care system don't hesitate to steal from it in order to fund projects that have a better chance to immortalize them. Sorry! Didn't mean to go off on a rant.

Here is some of what I did this past summer. I started off by stripping off the old, improperly installed cedar shingles. What a shame. I would have preferred cedar shakes to any other type of siding. However, these shingles had so many nails in them that they were unsalvageable. This was not a complete waste though, as the shingles make great kindling for anyone with a wood stove. Aaaaaahem! We replaced our wood stove with a pellet stove. However, the neighbours were glad to help us get rid of the shingles as they all still have their wood heating elements.

There were a few surprises along the way. After I had removed the cedar shingles and the black fiber board underlay I discoverd that the house had originally been covered by white masonite clapboards. Oh my! Something else to get rid of. The neighbours didn't want this stuff. Even thogh it burns, it's too bulky to handle for the fireplace. So I loaded it, the black fiberboard and the tarred felt into my utility trailer and off to the waste management plant we go. Now I had taken stuff there before, and it was always free. Not this time though. They let me in with my load of perfectly good refuse, but when I tried to leave after unloading, they wanted me to pay them. The lady said 35, and I was sure she wanted 35 cents as our waste management is supposed to be free. Being embarrassed that I didn't have .35 in my pockets as I very seldom carry any cash, as was the case on this day. I felt rather silly handing over my debit card for a .35 cent charge but it was all that I had. When I got my card and receipt back I saw i had no reason to be embarrassed as the charge was for $35 n ot the .35 cents. I made the decision from there that any furtherwaste would be burned in a outdoor fire pit or the old woodstove I had put out in the yard. The neighbours weren't really happy about all the black smoke emitting from our yard so I began waiting until after dark to burn so they couldn't see the black smoke. Some of the things you have to do to keep your neighbours happy.

My recommendations

2008-12-13T15:18:00.000-04:00

OK!

So ya want a few $Billion to save some jobs! It's not my job that you're talking about saving, and I could care less about yours. However, I do care about the environment and the state of our economic woes. So here are a few things that I would recommend be included in the package.

#1. The Auto makers have to get out of the bed that they have been sharing with the oils magnates.

The technology has been available way too long to be ignored any longer to produce much more fuel efficient vehicles. Edison had the answer more than a hundred years ago. Electric cars are a viability today. There are much smaller companies than the "big three" who are developing EVs (Electric

vehicles) that not only have Formula 1 speeds but have the capabilities of going much longer distances between charges, with some having the added advantage of being totally recharged in a matter of minutes. Hydrogen as an alternative to gasoline in a hybrid vehicle. These are doable viables for companies with billions of other peoples dollars, mine included.

#2. Top executives have to forego their fat bonuses (or any bonuses) until they start to show profits again. And even then a cap should be imposed on bonuses. If there is that big a surplus that execs can grab hundreds of millions of dollars each year for overcharging the public for their goods, then the profits should go back to the people who supported them by buying their vehicle by lowering the price on their next years line of vehicles. I don't like the idea that I am funding some auto execs exotic paradise mansion while I'm freezing my butt trying to get the piece of crap I overpaid for started. Bonus for performance, not just because you want it. If the topped was trimmed to what was essential, there would be huge amounts of working equity. Make the people who manage to keep their jobs actually earn their pay. Some of us out here had our whole lives income based on productivity. I personally don't believe that any person should be paid for what he knows, but rather on what he does with what he knows.

#3. The unions will have to bend a little as well. I don't mean that they should have to take drastic cuts in salary, however wage cuts cannot be ruled out. Also, expectations on pay raises should not be expected until the time that bonuses are starting to flow again.

#4. The monies that you receive are not outright grants. They are repayable loans. In case of foreclosure, the Govt. stands at the front of the line for repayment. The loans should be monitored to be used for operational and development costs only, and not for repairs on Joe's swimming pool.

Tax shelters

2008-12-06T07:39:00.000-04:00

Tax shelters don't apply to the average man/woman. They are chiefly designed to protect the income of the very wealthy. This means that the people who are making enough money to be able to afford to pay taxes, don't. Leaving the burden of the tax load on the middle class families, thusly affording an ever increasing income disparity. This is not likely to change in our foreseeable future because it would require changes to our tax structure, which can only be done by political consensus. This is not likely to happen, as most, probably all, politicians require the finances provided by tax deductable donations which come from the wealthy citizens and corporations that will , in turn, expect considerations in return. It is not the lower or middle class who are providing the bulk of the considerable costs of running a political campaign. So what does the politician owe to the people who provided next to nothing towards his/her race to victory? You guessed it. And who will have his/her tax shelters protected? Wow, you guessed it again. I need say no more. 10:30 AM 06/12/2008

Saving the "Big 3"? ......Why?

2008-12-06T07:36:00.000-04:00

Saving the "Big 3"?

Why?

It has been known for decades that the internal combustion engine is the single largest provider of carbons into our endangered atmosphere. These industry giants have not seen it fit to provide an alternative to gas powered engines. On the contrary, they idealized the need to have larger trucks and SUVs while ignoring their obligation to provide more fuel efficient transportation. All three manufactures have consistently put out inferior quality vehicles and then found, or had inserted, loopholes by which they were able to sidestep their warranty obligations. I am not naive enough to think that I am the only person that this has happened to. I am also fully aware that all three have been guilty of this practice. Perhaps in looking after customer complaints might have eaten into the billions of dollars in bonus funds provided for executive level members on their combined boards. It has long been obvious to the average purchaser that the concerns of these execs. were not on the global effects of their products on the ecology or on putting low cost quality vehicles into the hands of the average potential buyers. I have to wonder why they waited until an off-shore manufacturer introduced a hybrid vehicle to the market before they started looking into that potential.

Electric vehicles are being manufactured by manufacturers with much less capital venture funds that were available to the "Big 3". GM is the only one of the three who has taken a step in that direction that I know of. And the possibility of that ever making it to the marketplace is becoming ever slimmer. At the rate that plants are being closed, it's a pretty safe bet that the "Volt" will be lost. Although I believe that the "Volt" would have been a step in the right direction, I also believe it to be a couple of decades late. However, better late than never, right? I will go so far as to say that the electric vehicle will be our mainstay method of transport in the not to distant future. God bless Edison! He had it right over a hundred years ago.

In my humble opinion, if there are funds available to the auto industry, they should have the stipulation that those funds be used solely for the manufacture of hybrid type vehicles with the emphasis on electric. My choice would be an electric/hydrogen combination. It is not an amazingly new discovery to know that hydrogen can be produced on the go, thus negating the need for fuel cells or a fuel storage tank. Batteries would propel the vehicle and produce hydrogen on demand to fuel a small motor which in turn recharges the batteries. Sounds simple enough to me. Can you see the potential Ford, GM, Chrysler?

We are currently the sad owners of a 2 year old GM produced vehicle and would gladly trade back for our 12 year old Toyota.

Pump price vs. cash register price

2008-11-23T19:49:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I filled a gas can for my generator. I noticed the price on the pump read .809/L. The can was a 20L can so I knew it wouldn't hold $20 worth so I stopped it at $15. I went into the store and paid the $15 and didn't pay any attention to the receipt at the time. When I got home, I was telling the wife about the price being down to .809/L. Then I happened to glance at the receipt. To my amazement, the receipt said that I paid .856/L. After seeing this, my wife checked the receipt she had from a fill-up the previous day, which she said that the price showing on the pump was .82/L. Her receipt also said that she paid .856/L. These were 2 different stations and companies. Can anyone explain what is going on with this? I don't believe that I have ever checked my receipts as to price/L before. If the pump said that I had $40, I paid the $40 and went on my way thinking that I get my $40 worth. Now I'm wondering if some dealers have found a way to keep their price up without the consumer knowing it. I know I will be checking my receipts much more closely from now on.

Low-Fat White Sauce

2008-11-16T06:13:00.000-04:00

LOW-FAT WHITE SAUCE

This can be used to lighten any casserole that calls for a white sauce.

6 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 cups low-fat (1%) milk
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, beaten to blend
1 teaspoon butter

Whisk flour in heavy medium saucepan to remove any lumps. Gradually add 1 cup milk, whisking until smooth. Add remaining 2 cups milk and nutmeg; whisk over medium heat until mixture thickens and boils, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in Parmesan, egg and butter. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over low heat until heated through before using; do not boil.)

Makes 3 cups.

Bon Appétit

Suggested serving

2007-04-03T05:55:00.000-04:00

I have been recently busy writing recipes. This is not about recipes, so don't ask me to share with ya. What this is about is that while busily occupied with these gastronomic endeavors I noticed something that made me wonder. On almost all these recipes there is a place where they tell you how many servings. So, you should equally divide it into that many servings. From there I went the next step and checked out the packages of prepared food stuff (boxed, canned, jarred and frozen) On every single one of them it also told you what a suggested serving was. (Some of them were a complete surprise - like the suggested serving for most dry cereals is 2/3 of a cup. Check that out in a bowl.) Anyway, after I checked out the food stuffs I started checking other stuff. And I ended up in the bathroom where I do most of my reading anyway and saw that the shampoos and other lotions all had directions for use. All except one item. You guessed it, the toilet paper. It comes in those neat little rolls with all the perforations on them. The package refers to them as sheets, like how many sheets to the roll. But no instructions as to how many sheets to a portion. Maybe it depends on the job you're using it for. I'm told that women use different amounts for #1s and #2s. However! Wouldn't it be logical to assume that where the manufacturer took the time and effort to perforate these little sheets that that would suggest that they considered one sheet a serving? Have you ever tried to clean up a #2 with one sheet? Even a triple ply rating would be scary. So, if anyone has instructions stashed away somewhere, please share. There are many of us out here wondering.

Suppressed?

2007-04-03T05:11:00.000-04:00

Do you often, occasionally or rarely feel suppressed in your attempts to achieve or be recognized? If your answer is often or occasionally, do you find yourself blaming someone for this? That there are certain individuals who have held you back for so long that you now believe yourself to be incapable of achievement or recognition? Have you rationalized as to why these individuals would feel the need to suppress your attempts? If you have and/or are doing so now, you are not alone. Many people who feel that they deserve more have found at least one person, usually several, to blame for their underachievement. And in truth, there is at least one person to blame. That one person who has the power to make them feel inadequate, unsure or inferior is none other than their own self. This no doubt was initiated by some small failure in early life, which, not recognized was allowed to permeate and amass to leave the individual permanently fixated on their inabilities and not allow them to move forward on their abilities. This fixation on failure is not prominent in conscious thought but very prominent in the subconscious.
Is there a way to overcome this fixation? I believe there is; however, one must first face the fact that they are responsible for their own shortcomings. The realization that one can fail at many things and still be a success in life is the key. No one is good at everything. We all have our shortcomings, so we should concentrate on being the best that we can on the things that we are good at. This is a sure confidence builder. And self-confidence is what puts you at the top.

Research this

2007-01-20T14:19:00.000-04:00

How come, when somebody robs a bank or commits murder(to be on a more serious note), the news is splashed all across the country and you can read or hear about it for months and sometimes years later. Worse case scenario maybe one or two lives lost, not that I am making any effort to belittle the lose of a single life, only to find reason.
This week I read an article in regards to the potential saving of thousnds (millions) of lives and it was stuck on a back page possibly never to see the light of day again. I am providing you with a link here so that you may read it and perhaps judge for yourselves as to why it may never make it to your local treatment center.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070116/cancer_dca_070116/20070116/

Hopefully there are others who would like to know why this discovery may die in research.

Me in 2002

2007-01-16T11:02:00.000-04:00

2007-01-14T15:15:00.000-04:00

I'm sure that there have been times in your life when you have done things that you might have considered insignificant, but to others was deemed as something great and worthy of eternal gratitude. It's just hard to explain people's reations to our actions. How often meaning is taken when none was offered.
Then, on the other side, how often you have done things with great care and consideration only to have them ignored or belittled by those for whom the actions were intended. How often meaning offered is not taken.
You might think that weighing the two it might give balance to a persons life, however this is not the case. The efforts ignored, belittled or forgotten far outweigh whatever good we may have felt for those gratitudes.
Perhaps the reason for this is that the people who share the greatest gratitude are usually people who are acquaintances, friends or people we hardly know at all, and the people who have the least gratitude are the people who are closest to us, family, lovers or very best friends.
And the truth is that we are often hurt most by the people we love the most. Ironic, eh?

2007-01-14T15:01:00.000-04:00

Infinite underlying threads of uncertainty web their way through the grayness of wakefulness. Surely there must be an answer to the consuming, overwhelming perplexity of how this should be handled. Head shaking does little to dispel the webs intent to confuse. Covering the eyes only darkens the image, enhancing the sinister proportions of the problem. Determination would be the solution. Resolving to overcome the complexities of the situation definitely held the key. Bringing this resolve into action however, causes immense anticipation of great discomfort. Desperation, and the need to urinate, finally convince me that I must get out of bed, only knowing I will be required to repeat this dilemma again tomorrow.

At least I woke up

2007-01-14T12:31:00.000-04:00

What does the expression "It's a free country" mean to you? Like, they got laws preventing us from doing almost everything that we enjoy doing. You can't drink and drive, you can't be drunk in public places, hell, you can't even smoke in public places any more. And the big one, you have to wear clothes. Where's the freedom there? I mean, if some sweet little chickee-poo wanted to take her clothes off and walk down my street probably not too many of the guys on the street would be running to the phone to call the cops. On the other hand, if I took my clothes off and walked down the same street the 911 # would be jammed with everybody calling at the same time. It's not like I would pee on anybody's lawn or anything. What would be the harm? There's only one answer to this problem. Protest. We all have to take our clothes off and march on parliment hill. We have to do this to gain back our god given freedom to wear what we were born with. Just think of the money you'll save not having to buy clothes, not to mention the hot water bill and the detergent you wouldn't have to buy. See! This wearing of clothes is another goverment gimmick to grab tax dollars. It's your duty to rebel, so take your clothes off now and run out into the street and yell "no more". Get your neighbours involved before they call the cops if you can. Then there'll be so many nekkid peoples the cops won't know who to arrest and they'll have to take their clothes off too. Think about that gals, all those cops with no clothes on. Now you see where this can lead, huh?

Seriously

2007-01-14T12:27:00.000-04:00

Seriously! How serious should life be taken? There definitely are things in life that must be taken in a more serious light, like having kids, making major purchases or choosing a life mate but for those everyday, mundane things that tend to bog us down, wouldn't it be much easier if we could find a way to laugh at our frustrations?