Is There Really A Santa?

No known species of reindeer can fly. But there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not completely rule out flying reindeer, which only Santa has seen. There are 2 billion children (under 18) in the world. But since Santa doesn't appear to handle Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total; 378 million or so. At an average rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each.

Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west. This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining gifts under the tree, eat the snacks, get back up the chimney, get back in the sleigh, and move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million homes are distributed evenly (which we know to be false but for the sake of these calculations we will accept) we are now talking about 0.78 miles per household, not counting bathroom stops. This means that Santa's sleigh is travelling at 650 miles per second, 3000 times the speed of sound. For comparison, the fastest man made vehicle, the Ulysses Space Probe moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second, while to average reindeer runs at 15 miles per hour.

The sleigh's payload adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium sized Lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more that 300 pounds. Even granting that "flying reindeer" (see point one) could pull ten time the usual amount, we can not do the job with 8 or even 9. We need 214,000 reindeer. this increases the weight, not even counting the sleigh, to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison, this is 4 times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth 2 Ocean Liner.

353,000 tons travelling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance. This will heat the reindeer in the same manner as a spacecraft re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 quintillion joules of energy. Per second. Each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the next pair of reindeer, and creating deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire team will be vaporised within 4.26 thousands of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to acceleration forces 17,500 time the force of gravity. A 300 pound Santa would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force.

Conclusion: There was a Santa, but he's dead now.

The Sandman Cometh

There are some very odd people out at night. From the dining room window again I watched an intoxicated male stumble up the street on Ropewalk Lane. He stopped just behind a road construction sign, lit a cigarette and then sat on the curb. I stayed at the window and watched him. He stayed sat at the curb as a RNC patrol car drove by. They slowed down to give him a quick look and continued on their way.

After a few minutes, I saw the guy take something out of his pants pocket. I continue to watch as I try to figure out what he was doing. I saw him reach over to the sand bag, which is weighing the construction sign down. He  ran his hand over the length of the sand bag. I then realized he was using a pocket knife to cut the bag open. He placed the knife back into his pocket.

Looking around to see if anyone was watching, he did something that would make anybody consider his mental state of mind; he began to fill his pockets up with sand! Handful after handful he placed the sand into his front pockets, then his back pockets, then into the pockets of his jacket!

The guy continued this for a few minutes, stopping every few seconds to look around as if he is stealing something very valuable. With his pockets filled to capacity, he began to walk away. Unfortunately with all the extra weight in his pants, his pants fell to the ground; and with his intoxication, so did his face! He tripped in his fallen pants and had one nasty face plant onto the pavement, which I am sure left a mark. Slowly picking himself up, he continued up the street, one hand holding his pants, the other holding his sore face! But what did he need that sand for? One could only imagine.

I found the whole incident quite interesting and quite funny. At three thirty in the morning it really gave a new meaning to the word sandman!

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Inspiration for the Poem:

During the Second Battle of Ypres, a Canadian artillery officer, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed on 2 May, 1915 by an exploding shell. He was a friend of Major John McCrae, a Canadian military doctor.

Major McCrae was asked to conduct the burial service, due to the chaplain being called away on duty elsewhere. It is believed that later that evening John began the draft for his famous poem 'In Flanders Fields'.

Things You See At Night

Last night I was waiting for my tea bag to soak in my cup and as usual I was standing at the window of the dining room, looking toward the Esso station on the corner of Ropewalk Lane and Empire Avenue. The Esso station is closed overnight but for security reasons, all the lights are left on, which makes it look as though the place is open. Many people drive to the pumps, only to realize the place is closed. While looking out the window I noticed a car driving very slowly toward the entrance, but before entering, the car stopped, halfway out into the road. Seems as though the car ran out of gas. The driver must of been so relieved to have made it so close to a gas station.

A young fella steps out of the car and tries to push the car, from the driver's side door, up the little grade toward the pumps. He didn't have much luck. After speaking to someone else in the car, a young lady steps out, dressed to the nines in high heels and mini skirt, looking apparently miffed at the driver. She reluctantly goes to the back of the car and begins pushing. After some effort they manage to push the car to a gas pump. The young lady gets back into the passenger seat and the driver goes to the pump and takes out his wallet. He places the gas nozzle into his car and after pushing some buttons on the tank and beginning an argument with his passenger through the car  window, he realizes the station is closed!

Then the guy lost it! First he started swinging his fists in the air and then he started pounding on the hood of the car. He even kicked a tire and looked as though he injured his foot. I started laughing because it reminded me of the British sitcom Fawlty Towers episode where Basil Fawlty (played by John Cleese) begins beating his car with a tree branch.

The young fella eventually calmed down and took out a cell phone and then hobbled away from the car, leaving his female passenger in the car. She didn't stick around for long, as a car came shortly, which she got into and left. Hopefully she wasn't on a date! The young fella came back about 30 minutes later with a gas can and managed to get the car moving again.

Sometimes the most entertaining things are not on television, but just outside your window. Especially at 3 o'clock in the morning! 

Why I Give

On Oct 8, 2010, I was at Canadian Blood Services to give my usual Platelet donation. The Telegram was there doing a story on blood donations and why people give blood. They approached me and asked if I would like to be interviewed, on camera, which would be seen on YouTube and on the Telegram website. I told them I wouldn't mind and in a short while Gerry Carew from The Telegram came over to where I was donating, while sitting in my large comfortable armchair. He placed the camera in front of me and then told me to say my name and then say whatever I like about giving blood.

Well there is a reason people on television sound so good and things flow from their mouths like they are the worlds best speakers; they have a written script that they practise before going on camera. Unfortunately I didn't have a script or very much time to figure out what I wanted to say, hence the "uhs", "ums" and fumbling with the words in my 49 seconds of fame! I think I got the message out there, probably the most wonderful thing and most rewarding thing you could do is give blood.

My first recollection of "giving blood" was with my father, who was a blood donor of the Canadian Red Cross, the precursor of Canadian Blood Services. It was at that time located on Duckworth Street near the Hotel Newfoundland. Actually I believe the building is still there, and is now the home of LeMoines School of Esthetics and Hair Design. I was always excited to go with Dad as it meant while I waited I got to have cookies and juice. Of course being a the cute little red haired kid I was, the nurses always slipped me an extra cookie or two when my dad wasn't looking!

My father eventually got my mother involved in giving whole blood. My father no longer gives, after giving over 100 donations of whole blood, as he is past the age which you can give. My mother still gives whole blood and has given well over 100 donations of whole blood herself. I started giving when I was still a teenager back in the 1980's. I started giving platelets in 2009, shortly after I became employed by the Canadian Cancer Society. I was asked by the Canadian Blood Services if I would consider giving platelets and they gave me a pamphlet to bring home and to think about it. After a little reading and a search on the Internet, I realized that Platelets were a major factor in the treatment for Cancer. And considering Platelets have a shelf life of only about 5 days, there was a very good chance that my platelets would be used to help someone at Daffodil Place, where I worked. I get to see my platelets working first hand; even though confidentiality prevent me from seeing exactly who received my platelets, just knowing someone I probably spoke with received them, was a tremendous feeling.

So to answer my original question; Why do I give blood? That question can only be answered one way; because it feels damn good! Not just because you know you are helping to save someone's life, which of course should make you feel good, but it makes you feel physically good! After donating I always feel revitalized, just the thought of the blood being renewed (in the case of whole blood donation) within your body. It makes your limbs feel better, makes you brain clearer and gets your heart pumping new fresh blood throughout your veins! I always look forward to my next donation and it keeps me coming back. If something feels good why would you give it up? Sitting in the chair is so relaxing, and the nurses look after you like you are a King/Queen on a throne. In my many years of donating, the clinic has always been a happy place. There is always lots of laughter between the donors and the nurses, many who have been working there many, many years. Being a regular donor, they get to know you and call you by your first name, like you are part of their family.

What more can I say? Being a blood donor, you have the ability to give someone the greatest gift known to mankind; the gift of life. This is why I give.

The Weather Girl

Considering the bad weather we are having, I decided to post this video of my 5 year old daughter pretending to be the weather girl. It was recorded a few weeks ago, long before Hurrcaine Igor, but she mentions a hurricane at the airport! In fact she is looking forward to visiting the CBC open house on Saturday, September 25th, to see where the weather on television is broadcast; look out Ryan Snodden, I think you have a very young fan!

Now I've seen it all!

I've ranted and roared previously about the state of the drivers in Newfoundland. Not really Newfoundland as a whole but particularly the St. John's area. I've seen drivers do everything while driving; texting, talking on cell phones, eating hamburgers, putting on makeup, and reading magazines and newspapers. A couple of weeks ago I even saw a child lying on the back window of a car while the driver drove through Kilbride! It seems that drivers in the St. John's area are not that bright when it comes to driving a vehicle. They would rather do anything except concentrate on driving. I've even witnessed police officers talking on cells while driving, but that is another rant for sure! Yesterday I have seen something that was a little astonishing. A man driving a motorcycle with one hand and texting on a blackberry with the other!

Now I don't know much about driving a motorcycle, but I would have thought that you need two hands to drive a motorcycle. Apparently not! The guy didn't even try to hide the fact he was doing this. He pulled up directly next to me at the light and only looked up occasionally to see when the light changed and then drove off again, still with the blackberry in his hand! Everytime I think I have seen it all, something else more astonishing comes up. What's next I wonder?

A New Haunting

I have had strange experiences at work; although none in more recent months; but now something strange is happening at home. I have always had a feeling about the house I live in, although I always attributed it to the fact that I just don't like living in the Goulds, never have and never will.

Many months ago, my wife woke up in the middle of the night and saw a little girl standing next to her bed. It was not our daughter Madison, as she could see that Madison was sound asleep in her bed. My wife was able to describe the little girl down to her hair and what she was wearing. She told me this the next morning, when I arrived home from work and I never had no real reaction to it. But in the back of my mind, maybe the feeling I was having were of a haunting nature.

Anyway forward to last night, August 9, 2010, approximately 10:20 pm, in our living room. I was sitting on one side, my wife on the other and Madison on the floor watching television. All of a sudden I hear a little girls voice come from our hallway. I could not hear exactly what was said but it was definitely a young child's voice. I turned and looked toward the hallway and noticed that my wife looked at the same time. We both just looked at each other but did not say anything. Neither one of us were sure what we heard. Then I asked, "Did you just hear a little girl's voice?" She replied "Yes!" It quickly gave me goose bumps and I went and walked down the hallway, and experienced the same sort of chill in the air I received at work in certain areas of the building. About 10 minutes later, my wife asked me again, "You did hear that girl's voice, right?" I told her I did. So the feeling I was having in that house was probably ghost related, although I still don't like living in the Goulds; never have and never will.

A Mystery Called The Human Brain

How the human brain works is a mystery. Take for example the following paragraph. Even though the letters are jumbled, most people have no trouble reading it!

Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. 

Only In Canada

1. Only in Canada...can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.
2. Only in Canada...are there handicap parking places in front of a skating rink.
3. Only in Canada...do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.
4. Only in Canada...do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries, and a diet coke.
5. Only in Canada...do banks leave both doors open and then chain the pens to the counters.
6. Only in Canada......do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.
7. Only in Canada...do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place.
8. Only in Canada...do we buy hot dogs in packages of twelve and buns in packages of eight.
9. Only in Canada...do we use the word 'politics' to describe the process so well: 'Poli' in Latin meaning 'many' and 'tics' meaning 'bloodsucking creatures'.
10. Only in Canada...do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille lettering.

Strange Things Are A Happenin'

People who know me will know of the place I am talking about in this story. I'm not sure if the powers that be (the bosses) would want the story getting out there, due to the sensitive nature of our business. With that said, I will not say where this building is, or the name of the building, but I will say that it use to be a church. And I am not the only person who has experienced strange things happening in the building. Other people have experienced similar things, and I have just discovered that some unusual things have been going on when the reconstruction of the building was taking place from a church to the building it is now.

Most "events" have happened in the downstairs of the building; which of course would have been the basement of the church. This event occured a couple of months ago. I was mopping the stairs in the main entrance when I had strange feeling I was being watched. On both sides of our stairway (which consists of only 6 steps) are planters with flowers and other plants in them. They are all fake as our building is strictly scent free. I felt I was being watched by a woman; don't ask me why I thought that, it was just a feeling. A few seconds after the feeling came over me, I heard the plants rustle in the planter next to the stairs, which was behind me. First I thought I was hearing things, so I ignored it. Then it happened again. I was so convinced that there was someone hid behind the planter that I went up the stairs to have a look. Of course there was nobody there.

At that point I started to get goose bumps all up and down my arms. Much like whenever I go downstairs. No matter how hot it is downstairs there are always certain spots that I break out in goosebumps. Again something I can't explain.

Just after looking behind the planter at the top of the stairs, another strange phenomenon happened. Remember when I mentioned that our building is strictly scent free? Well all of a sudden I got a very strong smell of nail polish. Much like if you were standing next to someone who were painting their nails. Strong enough to almost make you cough! That really confused me as there was absolutely nobody in the lobby with me. For anyone to come to the lobby, they have to enter through one of two doors which are heavy doors and make a lot of noise as they open or close. So I would know if anyone was there with me; and besides it was 3 am so everyone was asleep. The odour lasted about 2 or 3 minutes and then disappeared just as quickly as it came.

I finished my mopping and proceeded to the elevator to go downstairs to the storage room where the mop bucket is kept. Entering the elevator I have to use a key to go to the downstairs level, as that floor is locked out after hours. I pressed the button for the floor and the doors closed. Then the doors opened as if someone pressed the button outside the elevator and wanted to get on. The doors stayed open long enough for "someone" to get on and then closed. Although no one entered the elevator with me. Just as I thought the elevator would start moving to the bottom floor, the doors opened again! This happened five times before the elevator finally brought me to the basement! I think whatever spirit was there that night was having a bit of fun with me.

That's all that happened that night but there are many other stories to tell you as at my place of employment, strange things are a happenin'!

The Ghost Of JPL - Reposted

Here is a repost of a story I posted on May 20, 2007. The reason I reposted will be explained at the end.

____________________________________

I have never been a strong believer in ghosts. After my experience one early morning at Jasper Park Lodge I had to rethink a little more about my beliefs.

It was 5:00 am on March 10, 2000. For anyone who is familiar with JPL, there is a restaurant just off the Great Hall called the Moose’s Nook. In this restaurant was a large server station which I used to get clean water for various cleaning projects. I was employed as a Public Area Houseperson at this time.

On this particular morning I was at the server station which was located in an area where I could see the entire dining room including all exits. I filled up my bucket with water and proceeded to leave the server station and something caught my eye. Near the back and to the left, sitting at a table was an elderly lady. She had short grayish coloured hair and was wearing a dark blouse and what looked like an old style apron, with the straps made of a white frilly material. I could only see her from the chest up as she was sitting with her arms on the table in a folded position. Her head was leaning forward as if she was praying.

Now in a hotel the size of JPL we would always get guests early in the morning looking for breakfast. As all the lights were on in the restaurant, I assumed she thought the restaurant was open for breakfast and looked as though she was waiting for someone to join her.

Turning toward the lady I said in a louder than normal voice, “Good Morning, May I help you?” Her head started to rise just as I took my eyes off her and focused on the chairs I was walking around so I would not fall down. Resuming my glance a split second later in her direction, I felt a cold rush of air run through me. The lady was gone. I immediately had goose bumps run up my spine. (I still get them even now as I write this.) It was physically impossible for any human to leave through one of the 3 exit doors in the split second I had taken my eyes off her. I stood there for a few minutes just staring, as I was in disbelief of what just occurred.

I left the Moose’s Nook and started walking toward the Front Desk. A Security Officer and the Night Auditor were standing outside the desk chatting and when they saw me, as they told me later, I was a pasty white. They asked me immediately what was wrong as they could see something happened. I told them of my experience and the Security Officer went with me back to the restaurant and I showed him where the lady was sitting. I immediately got goose bumps again as I approached the table where the elderly lady was sitting. Arriving at the table, we saw that a chair was moved out and tipped over backward as if someone got up in a hurry.

Needless to say word spread very quickly about this incident. I did some research and apparently there have been ghost sightings throughout the years at JPL. One in particular involves an elderly husband and wife. The wife was always seen in the dining room, the husband was always wandering on the outside. The story was that this lady would be always sitting in the dining room waiting for her husband to come and eat.

Upon further research I was shown a photograph from the dining room taken in the 1920’s. The photograph was suppose to be of a ghost and showed an empty dining room with a shadowy figure sitting at one of the tables. As I stared at the photo, my jaw dropped. It looked to be the same lady I had seen!

To my knowledge, at least up until I left Jasper in May 2002, the actual photograph was hung in the Great Hall near the Moose’s Nook. I was told the story of my encounter was also mentioned at employee orientation. I had become a small part of the legend of the ghosts. To this day, I still can’t believe what my eyes saw that early morning at Jasper Park Lodge.

____________________________________

I reposted this story because I have met a new friend online who just visited Jasper Park Lodge and has read my story from May 20, 2007 on this blog. To my surprise she took a photo of the picture of the ghost of which I mentioned in the story and sent it to me! Thanks so much Nancy!

Can you spot the ghost of the lady sitting at the table?? That is the lady I saw on that morning of March 10, 2000! Still gives me goosebumps just looking at it!!

Janeway Day Surgery

I spent most of today at the Janeway Day Surgery with Madison. She was there to get tubes placed in her ears for the first time. We were originally told our appointment was at 10:15 am and with the procedure and recovery time we would leave approximately 3 hours later. Guess I was pretty naive to believe that, given the state of our health care in Newfoundland!

We registered a little before 10 am and we sat. Approximately 45 minutes went by and we started to ask questions. The nurse kept telling us we would be seen to shortly. Another 30 minutes went by and we were told Madison is at the bottom of the list due to priority given to other patients. A little while later we were told she would be seen shortly. By now the waiting area was almost full to compacity. We started chatting with other parents, one who drove into St. John's from Lewisporte that morning, told that their appointment was at 10 am, only to be told that their child would not be seen until 3:30 pm!! But the kicker, they were not allowed to leave the waiting room!! We immediately demanded some answers and was told that Madison's appointment was now at 2:15pm and she was not allowed to leave the waiting room!!!

Now you have a large group of about a dozen kids, with parents, beginning to get upset now that most of the appointments were pushed forward by about 5 hours. But you have to consider the kids, many of whom could not eat or drink since the night before.

We found out later by word of mouth that everyone was told to arrive for a 10:15 am appointment. Then alternate appointment times were given out. We were never told why they did this. It was like trying to get blood from a turnip, just to get a simple answer to our questions. I did get an apology from the nurse at the desk, as she didn't mean to keep putting me off when I asked when Madison would get to be seen.

I don't in anyway blame the nurses or even the doctors for the screw ups; it was clear that it was management that screwed it all up. They need a complete overall of the whole health care system. Many years ago when the health care all had their own divisions, I worked for the Bonavista Health as a medical courier and I can't remember anything being like this. Seemed like everything ran like clockwork back then. All the problems arrived when the Government combined all the numerous health care departments into one called  Eastern Health. They also did the same on the West Coast of Newfoundland.

The nurses were great with the kids throughout the whole ordeal. I don't know how they do it. They were always happy and calm even though you had a full room of not too pleasant children, or adults for that matter. We were lucky because Madison made friends with the daughter of the couple from Lewiporte and they played for hours. She was also 5 years old and went to kindergarten, like Madison. Later when we arrived into Pre-Op Madison was waiting to go in and there was another little girl across the room who was scared and was crying. Madison, little trooper like she is, was trying to talk with the little girl saying: "It'll be alright, I'm getting tubes in my ears too!" It's unbelievable how independent Madison is; she wanted us to leave her in Pre-Op by herself!! When the time arrived she gave us a kiss and held onto her Teddy and rode off on the bed with the nurse.

The procedure went well and she got to have a Popsicle while in Post-Op and then to her delight got to ride a little red wheelchair out to the car! She was back to her old self within a couple of hours and hopefully the tubes will prevent any more ear infections in the future. Time will tell.

If We Could Shrink The Earth's Population

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be:

• 57 Asians

• 21 Europeans

• 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south

• 8 would be Africans

• 52 would be female

• 48 would be male

• 70 would be non-white

• 30 would be white

• 70 would be non-Christian

• 30 would be Christian

• 89 would be heterosexual

• 11 would be homosexual

• 6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States.

• 80 would live in substandard housing

• 70 would be unable to read

• 50 would suffer from malnutrition

• (ONE)1 would be near death;

• (ONE)1 would be near birth;

• (ONE)1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education;

• (ONE)1 (yes, only 1) would own a computer

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.

And, therefore . . .

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

 

If you can read this blog entry, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

As you read this and are reminded how life is in the rest of the world, remember just how blessed you really are!

Time For Reform

Former Grand Falls Windsor town councillor Barry Oake will not be going to jail. Oake was convicted of sexually assaulting teenaged boys and through a plea bargain had agreed on house arrest. First of all when did we start allowing convicted criminals to choose their own sentence? Secondly how can anyone say that house arrest is a sentence? But in a surprise decision, the provincial judge, Bruce Short, ignored the original deal and imposed a tougher sentence; 22 month prison sentence plus three years probation. We need more judges in Newfoundland & Labrador like him.

Of course Oake appealed the judge's decision and the Court of Appeal overturned the the decision and sentenced Barry Oake to just 14 months of house arrest. For the next 14 months, you probably won't get the smile off of his face. He had beaten the system. That's the way the judicial system is going in Newfoundland & Labrador and it doesn't surprise me.

Judges are giving lower sentences all the time for violent crimes, while the victim suffers, sometimes their entire life. Precedents are being set all the time. Every time a judge gives a lower sentence, the criminal coming behind them is saying, "Yeah, wait a minute! That guy got 2 years for the same crime, why can't I have that?" Many times they get what they want, the judge will knock a few months off and another precedent is set for the next criminal in line. At the rate that is happening in Newfoundland & Labrador, the future will see the criminals get no sentence for the crimes they do, just because the one ahead of them got away with it. It is time for reform.

It is time for the judicial system in Newfoundland & Labrador to be reformed. We need to erase all precedents and start giving higher sentences for the crimes criminals do. The justice department of the government, of course, would never do that. Maybe we as a people of Newfoundland & Labrador need to reform the government.

Those of You Born 1930 - 1979

To all the kids who survived the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's:

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-base paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had baseball caps not helmets on our heads. As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes.

Riding in the back of a pick-up truck on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and no one actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And, we weren't overweight. WHY?

Because we were always outside playing.....that's why!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, As long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And, we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride them down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's and X-boxes. There were no video games, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet and no chat rooms. We had friends and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them. Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!! The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever. The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?

Are people really this gullible?

I have had my yahoo email address for many years; back to when they first started up on the internet back in 1997. So I get a lot of SPAM coming in everyday. The following is an example of an email which I get about once per month. Of course they always go into my SPAM folder:

Tue, January 26, 2010 4:32:51 PM
From: Mr John Banabaco geobana21@verizon.net

Re: Attention Payment Confirmation

Dear Friend,
Although this proposal might come to you as a surprise, since it is from someone you do not know or have not seen before, but based on recommendation, trust and confidentiality I decided to contact you. First let me introduce myself. My name is Dr. George R. Obanaco, I am the regional bank manager of the Barclays Bank Ghana Ltd. I am 51 years of age and married with 3 lovely kids. It may interest you to hear that I am a man of PEACE and INTEGRITY; I only hope we can assist each other.
I have packaged a financial transaction that will benefit both of us, as the regional Auditor General of the Barclays Bank Ghana Ltd.; it is my duty to send in a financial report to my head office in the capital city Accra at the end of each year.
On the course of last year 2009 end of year report, I discovered that my branch in which I am the manager made an excess profit of Three Million Seven Hundred And Fifty Thousand united states dollars [USd$3.750,000.00] which my head office are not aware of and will never be aware of.I have since placed this fund on what we call SUSPENSE ACCOUNT without any beneficiary. As an officer of the bank I can not be directly connected to this money, this is why I,m contacting you for us to work so that you can assist me and receive this money into your bank account for us to share.
I will offer you 30% of the total amount for your assistance.Note that there are practically no risks involved in this transaction, it will be bank to bank transfer,all I need from you is to stand claim as the original depositor of this fund who made the deposit with Takoradi branch so that my Head office can order the transfer to your designated bank account.
I assure you we can achieve it successfully if you can follow my instruction and direction. In your reply, please send the following information as underlined below:
1. Your full names..........
2. Your phone number............
3. Your nationality.............
4. Your Age/Sex................
5. Your occupation..............

Thank you for your understanding.
Best regards,
Dr. George R. Obanaco.
Tel: +233245731888.

If you Google the names in the letter you can clearly see that this name is associated with a Scam Email. Yet people still send these people money. How do I know this? Well mainly if these scams did not work; scammers would not waste their time sending them out. In a way I do not feel sorry for these people. If they are stupid enough to send money to these crooks, they deserve to lose it. Unfortunately many of the victims in these cases are people that are naive and think that everyone in the world is kind. Many don't realize that although the internet can be a wonderful wealth of knowledge; it can also be a very, very dangerous place. You may never stop this type of scam, but through a little education and getting the word out, you may never become a victim yourself.

The New Year Is Here!

Just like many years, this New Years Eve I had to work. Of course my job at Daffodil Place is not like my job in past years. Daffodil Place is kind of a hostal for cancer patients under going treatment so they are not the type to be having massive parties and drinking large amounts of alcohol. We had a little get together in the Common Room and by 12:20 they were all in bed!

Myself and a few guests watched the fireworks through the lobby window and all I have to say was that it was awesome! You see, it may not look like it from the front, but Daffodil Place is perched high on a piece of ground. From the windows in the back you have a great view of at least half the city.

Besides the fireworks at Quidi Vidi, there were dozens and dozens of fireworks all over the city, from private homes. It was an awesome display, probably the best I had ever seen. It seemed to be a good sign that 2010 may be a great year. Hope everyone had a safe and fun New Years Eve and cheers to 2010!!