Top 5 Ways to Spot Bad Drivers on the Road Shared via AddThis
UPDATE Check out my videos on YouTube documenting the idiot drivers on our roads!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJxLJPnuyjX-uAyxZjHg6M6ykE-NZQxtL
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Top 5 Ways to Spot Bad Drivers on the Road
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
My Favorite Word
What's your favourite word? Mine is Arbitrary Think of it. SO much in our "society" is based on arbitrary decisions; land rights, laws, rules, religion.
Ask yourself: Who makes the rules, laws, sets religious rituals? PEOPLE And who gives them the authority to say what's what? Who or what entity empowers them to do so? Think about it. Our society is based on arbitrary rules, regulations and laws thought up, pondered over and ultimately voted on by those who have been deemed educated, morally righteous or wise. People in power make the rules we all live by. Only those in power have the power to change the rules and laws. Those who don't have power must obey. So you see now why I feel so strongly about the word arbitrary. What's your favourite word?
UPDATE in 2022 this word has so much relevance in light of the nonsense over Covid-19.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Cause and Effect
Over a year ago the economy was humming along at record setting rates. Employment levels were at an all time high. Everything looked rosy but as the price of fuel began to rise everyone began to complain, as I did, that the unfair daily jump in the cost of fuel was making it hard to pay the bills. Eventually companies imposed fuel surcharges, which ultimately were passed on to the consumer, which just exacerbated their financial problems.
The economy can only absorb so much change before it's affected. In this case, the leading cause of the economic downturn was, in my opinion, the unregulated oil business, not the credit crisis.
The credit crisis was a result of the cutbacks caused by rising oil prices.
It's ironic that this should happen in Canada since we are one of the world's major suppliers of oil.
Since oil is the lubricant of the world's economy, it's no wonder that business was so quickly affected by the unprecedented rise in energy costs. There's only so much any one or any business can cope with before the straw breaks the camel's back.
When you remove a person or business's profit through extortionate means, daily uncontrolled, unregulated rising of energy costs, that person or business, in an effort to survive, must make hard choices to cope. The rapid decline in sales of gas guzzling SUVs and trucks for example. The cutbacks in air travel for another.
So is it any wonder the world's economy was so quickly affected?
As we've seen, everything is linked. When one part of the chain is kinked or broken, the rest of the line can' t deal with the load.
Sure, the housing bubble and credit crisis are serious consequences of an overheated market, an unregulated market, but I feel they were not the root of the problems we're currently dealing with. As I've tried to explain here, I feel it's the oil industry, which has brought on this calamity. It's their desire to make as much money as possible before the wells go dry.
The oil crisis of the 1970's resulted in similar economic chaos. You'd think we'd learn the lesson. Alas, people seem to have short memories.
The elephant in the room is the oil industry. We need to regulate it or even better, find alternative energy sources so we're not so vulnerable to one industry's whims.
Since Canada has an ample supply of oil, isn't it in our own best interests to use that for ourselves and to regulate the price independent of other markets? Oil may be a commodity but in light of the fact that it's limited, should it be classified as such? Should we allow this valuable resource to be sold on the speculative market? And since it's so important to the economy, should not its price be regulated by the government to prevent economic upset? As citizens of this great country, we all have a stake in what's in the ground, be it oil, gold, potash or any other valuable substance. Therefore we should have a say how it's used.
Unless we lobby our elected representatives to act in our best interests, lobbyists with opposing agendas (profit) will continue to have sway over what affects our individual economies.
Let's use this time of change to make a real difference in how our economy is structured. Let's use some or all of the tax money collected on the sale of oil to use for research into alternate, renewable energy sources. We have the technical expertise and the skilled labor to make it happen. We just need the political will to make it a reality.
UPDATE: May 27/09 On CTV the other day a former CIBC economist, JEFF RUBIN, has written a book on how the sudden oil price surge is really the root of the world's economic mess we're in now. He predicts the rust belt will be reborn as the cost of manufacturing goods overseas becomes too costly due to high fuel costs.
The economy can only absorb so much change before it's affected. In this case, the leading cause of the economic downturn was, in my opinion, the unregulated oil business, not the credit crisis.
The credit crisis was a result of the cutbacks caused by rising oil prices.
It's ironic that this should happen in Canada since we are one of the world's major suppliers of oil.
Since oil is the lubricant of the world's economy, it's no wonder that business was so quickly affected by the unprecedented rise in energy costs. There's only so much any one or any business can cope with before the straw breaks the camel's back.
When you remove a person or business's profit through extortionate means, daily uncontrolled, unregulated rising of energy costs, that person or business, in an effort to survive, must make hard choices to cope. The rapid decline in sales of gas guzzling SUVs and trucks for example. The cutbacks in air travel for another.
So is it any wonder the world's economy was so quickly affected?
As we've seen, everything is linked. When one part of the chain is kinked or broken, the rest of the line can' t deal with the load.
Sure, the housing bubble and credit crisis are serious consequences of an overheated market, an unregulated market, but I feel they were not the root of the problems we're currently dealing with. As I've tried to explain here, I feel it's the oil industry, which has brought on this calamity. It's their desire to make as much money as possible before the wells go dry.
The oil crisis of the 1970's resulted in similar economic chaos. You'd think we'd learn the lesson. Alas, people seem to have short memories.
The elephant in the room is the oil industry. We need to regulate it or even better, find alternative energy sources so we're not so vulnerable to one industry's whims.
Since Canada has an ample supply of oil, isn't it in our own best interests to use that for ourselves and to regulate the price independent of other markets? Oil may be a commodity but in light of the fact that it's limited, should it be classified as such? Should we allow this valuable resource to be sold on the speculative market? And since it's so important to the economy, should not its price be regulated by the government to prevent economic upset? As citizens of this great country, we all have a stake in what's in the ground, be it oil, gold, potash or any other valuable substance. Therefore we should have a say how it's used.
Unless we lobby our elected representatives to act in our best interests, lobbyists with opposing agendas (profit) will continue to have sway over what affects our individual economies.
Let's use this time of change to make a real difference in how our economy is structured. Let's use some or all of the tax money collected on the sale of oil to use for research into alternate, renewable energy sources. We have the technical expertise and the skilled labor to make it happen. We just need the political will to make it a reality.
UPDATE: May 27/09 On CTV the other day a former CIBC economist, JEFF RUBIN, has written a book on how the sudden oil price surge is really the root of the world's economic mess we're in now. He predicts the rust belt will be reborn as the cost of manufacturing goods overseas becomes too costly due to high fuel costs.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Fix Potholes Right!
Pothole repairs, the way they're done now, are a waste of money. Often repairs are done under adverse conditions which are not conducive to an adequate remediation of the problem. I cringe every time I see road crews shoveling in new asphalt into a pothole full of water and muck. Asphalt contains oil and we all know oil and water do not mix. Companies contracted to repair these holes should adopt a better, longer lasting method for repairs.
I suggest they should isolate the hole (dam around it and cover the area with a tent to protect from moisture) and extricate all water from the area then use a blow torch to dry it and prepare the road surface to accept the patch. Furthermore, the hole's edges should be undercut to provide a key or tooth and coated with liquid tar to hold and seal the new material in place when it's solidified thereby preventing moisture from entering around the perimeter.. All this would take more time I know but in the end it would be a better fix and might even lead to longer lasting roads. Perhaps a feasibility study could determine the financial benefits of this idea.
I suggest they should isolate the hole (dam around it and cover the area with a tent to protect from moisture) and extricate all water from the area then use a blow torch to dry it and prepare the road surface to accept the patch. Furthermore, the hole's edges should be undercut to provide a key or tooth and coated with liquid tar to hold and seal the new material in place when it's solidified thereby preventing moisture from entering around the perimeter.. All this would take more time I know but in the end it would be a better fix and might even lead to longer lasting roads. Perhaps a feasibility study could determine the financial benefits of this idea.
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