A botched attack?....

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Good Morning Friends,

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today is Thursday January 7, 2010

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Looks like the stock market is already starting to weaken up eh? I don't think any of the pundits expect it to be gang busters anyway. Actually, any gains that we make at all are a bonus as far as I am concerned. I am not expecting much if you want the truth of the matter. I would be happy with a 6 % gain or so by the end of the year. I mean, when you add everything up, we should just be lucky to be alive the way events are being played out on the world scene. Wars everywhere and crushing economies all over the place do not really help out the bottom line if you know what I mean. Like they say wars are not good things for stock markets.

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I guess I have to mention this little detail from work even though I said to myself that I wouldn't. And, I should have taken a picture as well and I did not do that either. I suppose it was just the pressure of the moment as to why I did not. Anyway, I was making this delivery to this place out in Port Coquitlam. I backed into a parking space and started to walk toward the service entrance and check things out. There was a little bird huddled in the corner by the door entrance. It was a pigeon if I recall. I was wondering why he was sitting there and not moving away from me. It did move a bit if I recall. I walked inside and make contact with someone who would be able to receive the goods. When I came back outside the bird was gone. But, not too far off to the right of me, about ten feet or so was another bird. It was sitting on the side walk and not moving at all. Now, that was really strange. It looked like an owl or a little hawk. It was brownish if I recall and not really that big either. And, then it struck me that it must be a fake bird, you know how they have birds sitting on rooftops to scare away other birds from not congregating in the area and leaving their droppings and that kind of thing. So I thought the bird was not real. But, sitting on the sidewalk to a store entrance? Well, that was very strange. I took a closer look at the bird. It was actually moving, but only slightly. Other people entered the scene and one girl said that it was a hawk. She had already phoned the wildlife people to come and help it out. We all agreed that it was not a good idea to touch the bird as that would be very dangerous indeed. So, what happened here? One girl said that the hawk was in shock and that is why he was not moving. He was just sitting there with his head hung down. Just sitting with no intention of not moving at all. The only thing that I could think of was that maybe he stunned himself in an attack on the pigeon. Maybe he banged into a wall or something. And, maybe that little pigeon that I saw hunkering down in the corner nearby was just lucky to be alive. Maybe this was just a botched attack by the little hawk. That is what I thought about the whole thing anyway. It was just really strange that is all.

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Don't forget friends. Racing at the Meadowlands in New Jersey on Saturday. So, see you there if you are planning to be around in these parts. This message for my friends and acquaintances of course.

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Hope Harper gets the message....

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Good Morning Friends,

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today is Wednesday January 6, 2010

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There you go friends. I did not even make a mistake with the date. I think I am starting to get with the program now. The weather is warm and crappy, that is the best way to describe it. But, then again it is better than freezing cold and snow. And, snow is really bad of course because as a courier I usually do not make any dough when it is snowing. Plus, it is really dangerous driving in the snow around here. I am going to have to try and remind myself about not fiddling around with my electronic devices when I am driving around in the City. It is now illegal in British Columbia to use electronic devices while you are driving. I do not have any Bluetooth gear and I do not plan on buying any. I am just not going to answer the phone when I am driving that is all. And, my other devices that I have on board, well, I will just have to figure out when to apply them on the job. I think things will be OK because everybody knows the score with the new rules now.

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I am so glad to see the current uproar in Canada over Harper proroguing Parliament. The guy is such a loser and I wish he would just fade away out of our lives and make room for someone who truly believes in the best interests of Canada. Stephen Harper seems to be like those American politicians who just serve their masters. That is my impression of the guy anyway. Nobody in my circle of friends really likes this guy and I do not know where his support comes from. He wants to lead Canada in some kind of new direction and I am not buying it at all. He is for the Middle East wars big time and if he had a majority he would ruin our country just like down in the States. So, I am glad to see this petition on Facebook making great strides by the minute. ( Back to Canadians Against Proroguing Parliament ) Well, done Canada and I hope the creep gets the message and leaves town before he is escorted out of town by a posse of concerned citizens. Seriously. Take off and leave us alone. Talk to you all later and don't forget: More racing on Saturday at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

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A dream about Nikita..

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Good Morning Friends,

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today is Tuesday January 5, 2010

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I am still not used to this new date thing friends and I continue to stumble a bit with it. In fact, I had to go over a couple of my past posts on these very pages because I had used the month of December instead of January. So, you can see how back focused and routine we humans really are.

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Sorry for the delay with this morning's post as there was something wrong with internet connection in these parts. Anyhow, the problem seems to have resolved itself and I can continue on with my daily post. My post this morning is about a dream. The dream is pretty old now because of the technical difficulty that I just mentioned above. The dream itself was about myself and the courier business. I was making a delivery of sorts to some kind of a government office. It could have been nurses, but I am not sure about that part. It was mostly girls and they were definitely working for the government in one fashion or another. I needed to get something from the receptionist at the front desk. She was about to hand me a couple of pieces of paper, and separately, one after the other. She handed me one piece and then she said: " Would you like me to place it in this envelope for you? " I said: " That is not necessary. " She ignored me though, because she was actually asking the question to a female who had entered the room. And, then she asked the same question again and again I said no. But, once again, she was asking the question to the female who had just entered the room. So, I was slightly insulted of course. And, then a man entered the room and placed a document on the desk. I decided to open up the document and have a peek. It was very official writing inside and was meant to be a set of directives for the people working in the office.

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I glanced outside the office door and noticed a bunch of female staff sitting in a rest area near by. They were all on strike and enjoying themselves outside in a covered area. They seemed happy in spite of being on strike.

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Then the scene moves to me leaving the area and I notice a huge gathering of people. They are all in a good mood and they are there for some purpose which I knew not. I sat down next to a friend and told him that Nikita Khruschev is right in front of us. ( The picture above is Nikita ) He was about to sit down next to Harold Pinter, who was smiling. He was wearing a blue blazer and had blond hair. I glanced about and noticed Mount Baker in the distance and there were some warships sitting in the harbour. It was a beautiful sunny day and everyone was in a good mood as far as I could tell.

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And, that was the end of the dream.

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Got out and about and did some shopping yesterday and it is still raining too. Seems pretty mild out if you ask me. I wonder how the Olympics will fair with this mild weather. Remember, I told you about the El Nino a while back? Maybe it is going to happen since there is so much cold air back East. Who knows eh?

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Is it gold where you are today?

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Good Morning Friends,

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today is Monday January 4, 2010

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Maybe I should have said " Gold " Morning rather than " Good " Morning. I wonder what is going on? I notice that the markets jumped out of the starting gate this morning and the price of gold is right up there with them. Up 24 bucks the last time I looked. Amazing isn't it, how these stock markets work, I mean. Just think about the whole thing and then realize what a total impossibility the whole stock network is. You cannot time the market and you cannot really determine its directions or figure anything out about it actually. You just have to sit back and watch and that is all that you can do. For me, I am rather bewildered by this impressive showing on the first market day of the year. Are we being manipulated? Is it real based on hints of growth and recovery? Maybe inflation will finally hit the radar screen owing to the trillions of dollars injected into the market by governments and central banks.

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The beginning days of any stock market are usually indicators of how markets will perform for the whole year. Interesting start because so many people are predicting nothing but gloom for the market. I mean, the U.S. economy in particular is in a very bad state indeed. And, Europe is not far behind. Are the Asian economies that good that they can pull the rest of us out of recession? Well, it doesn't really matter now does it when the whole world market seems to be going up at once. Am I buying this ascendancy with conviction? Not really, but I am invested throughout the globe and I do have my 5 % or so gold component in my portfolio. So, that means that I am qualified to go along for the ride. I do not know what kind of a ride this is going to be or if it is real or not. But, that is my role as observer and that is all that I am. So, let us just watch the show and then we can figure it out later. Or, rather the pros can figure it out later for us, that is.

Still raining....

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Good Morning Friends,

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today is Sunday January 3, 2010

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You know, I almost wrote 2009 in for the date. I guess that is just human nature though to want to do something like that eh? I mean, it takes a bit of time to move into a new schedule right? Well, I think it does anyway. Have you ever wondered about that feature of man, that he is tied up in routine, I mean? I suppose it is one of his basic attributes when you think about it. You know, one of his survival skills so to speak. Man needs direction and security and these are the kinds of things that he is interested in and that is why he acts like he does.

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It is still raining and relatively warm out. The warm part is the good part and the rain is the bad part. Why cannot all things be good I wonder and why do we always have to have these bad and good parts anyway? Just more stuff to worry about right? Well, if you are a worry wart like me then I guess the answer is yes. If you are just a person going about his business of living then the whole weather and climate thing should not be something that stresses you out. Things just are as they are and that is that. I guess the happy man is the man that accepts his fate and his circumstances as they appear in front of him. The weather is one of those things of course. Notice that all or most of us West Coast people are used to rain and it does not really bother us at all. We are used to it plain and simple. But, we all talk about it all of the time nonetheless. We might criticize it and complain, but there is nothing that we can really do about it though.

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I think the weather makes us tougher and real human beings though. Real, in the sense of being creatures that are accepting of things for the way they are. Are you one of those creatures? Well, if you are not then you should be. Friends, I am talking about things like the weather that are not controllable, not about man made things; things that can or should be changed when conditions merit. See, you have to be a bit discriminating sometimes too. That helps I think, to know the difference between the changeable and non-changeable things, I mean. Some things we should accept and some things we should not. Like me, I do not accept a lot of things which bug me. And, a lot of things do bug me, political things for example. Things that need changing. Those kinds of things. Are you following me, sort of? Well, all I am saying friends is that it is a good thing to accept nature for what it is and just enjoy it, whatever it is because nature has the upper hand in many matters. But, we as humans do have some power though, the power to change certain things. I think the happy person spends some time examining these changeable things and then goes about setting his mind on changing them. I think that gives man a sense of power and power is a very important thing for the human animal. Do you agree? Well, just think about it a bit. We are all satisfied that we cannot change the weather and the like but we like to think that we have control and power in other areas. And, that is where our power comes from. We acknowledge the power of the elements and nature, but because man is so interested in fairness and justice and the like ( where did these things come from? ) he wants his own power too and I think that shows up in the behavior of man. My power and security was relatively intact in 2009. I was learning how to cope with my reality and then bang, 2010 comes along. Have I accepted it in its totality and have I found a way to deal with this change? Maybe the incessant rains threw me off and made me think I was still operating in 2009. That is possible you know because there was no change in circumstance between 2009 and 2010 if you are Mother Nature. She does not recognize or have the same kinds of problems or concerns that we humans have. And, that is why she can rain continually and think nothing of it at all. Have a nice day friends and talk to you all tomorrow, nature willing, that is.

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The phony war and making a buck at the track...

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Good Morning Friends,

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today is Saturday January 2, 2010

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It was kind of brutally rainy and windy out yesterday friends, and we lost our power as well. First time this year so I guess that is the upside to the whole thing. I hope you all had a great New Year's Day and welcome once again to 2010. It is good to be alive now isn't it? Just think of all of the forces working against us and of our ability to breathe and carry on. Do you ever think of all of the people dying in the Middle East because of the illegal wars and the associated results, like the current string of suicide bombings? I do all of the time. The Middle East is being invaded and attacked by the West and that is why things are as they are. Divide and conquer and let confusion rule the day. That is the strategy as I see things anyway.

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But, we are somewhat sheltered here in the West and we do not have to worry about terrorism and even engaging personally in war. We pay people to do that. The wars are distant things and do not affect us directly and our personal safety is relatively assured. Oh, you might have to endure some airport delays and the like but the possibility of an attack is very remote indeed. You might as well pray to be hit by lightening if you want the same effect. Sure, there was 9/11, but we still don't know who did that because they are afraid to conduct a real investigation. Again, I don't know if you guys think about that kind of stuff, but I sure do. I don't think 19 Arabs did it actually because they did not have the ability to do so. Read up about this event on the web and see what you think about all of the fascinating details associated with the attack. Seems like a lot of planning going on if you ask me. And, after you have done some investigating and watched a few videos, ask yourself why Afghanistan and Iraq were invaded " illegally ". And, then ask yourself why there is all of this trouble in Pakistan and why the U.S. continues to surround Russia and why Israel and the U.S. continue to hound Iran. I think you will find that there is more going on there than meets the eye. And, the problem with the whole mess of course is that the mainstream media will not even give us an objective view of the whole thing. They just concentrate on the bombings and the terrorists. The terrorists that are everywhere and out to get us. It is just all so depressing now isn't it? And, that is why God invented harness racing, so we can take our minds off of things like war and bombings and terrorists....

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So, that gets us back to the races and sanity. Yesterday was opening day at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. Meadowlands Racetrack - Home I made a profit of about a hundred bucks and left after the tenth race. My best and only win was in the second race which paid me 230 dollars for my one dollar bet. Remember, I only bet triactors so that makes things a little tougher as you might expect. You can see all of the results here for yesterday January 1, 2020: http://www.thebigm.com/results.asp?racedt=1/1/2010 And you can watch the replays in the following link. It is free to join up so watch a few races and see how the whole thing works. Meadowlands Racetrack on RaceReplays.com There were 13 races in all last night. I wanted to leave with a profit that is all and that is why I left early. Now, the system was working to a point and I had to work with the history of the horses racing at a track other than the Meadowlands. There were also lots of qualifying races in the history of the horses and I did not really know how to handle this information. These qualifying races in the horses' history cause me problems at the best of times because I do not know how good the horse is or what kind of shape he is in. For the most part I could have overlooked this data and just bet my system and the five horses that if produces. Another problem was that the drivers' standings were not there because this is the beginning of the meet. So, that means, I was only considering seven things and not eight like I normally would do. I would have another hundred dollars or so if I had bet a different way in the first race as well. My first four horses were in the money in that race. So, betting just slightly differently I would have won that race as well. I think I should consider myself lucky that the system was sort of working early on and that I got out with a hundred dollar profit. I mean look at the long shots that were coming in from from races six to nine. Read on....

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Another interesting development is the Pick Four from races six to nine. They have a new feature and this pool will be guaranteed on Friday and Saturdays. 25,000 dollars on Friday and 50,000 dollars on Saturday. So, JUST pick the winners of those four races and you are off to the bank. There was only one winner for last night's Pick Four and the person won almost 68,000 dollars. I can see why there was only one winner though because weird horses were coming in. Check the payoffs above. And, that is why I decided to leave early and hang on to my money. But, now that they are guaranteeing this race it certainly looks interesting. Maybe I will set aside 20 dollars or so for this special feature. I don't think there will always be one winner and not always a string of long shots either. Racing doesn't work like that. Anyhow, if you are thinking about coming out I will show you how the whole thing works. This message for my friends and acquaintances only. And, don't forget if I have any serious wins I will detail those on the main part of my blog. Talk to you all later.

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Happy New Year 2010

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A couple of snaps for you from on the job yesterday. These are on Sea Island right by the Iona Island Sewage Treatment Plant, which is down the road away towards the north. The North Shore mountains are in the background in the bottom and that is the Gulf of Georgia in the top picture. The Vancouver International Airport is right behind me.

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Good Morning Friends,

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today is Friday January 1, 2010

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Vancouver, B.C. Webcams

( and weather report )

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Geez, that was kind of hard for me to get that out you know. I am not used to the idea of writing 2010 and that will get some getting used to. So, I hope all of my friends and acquaintances made it over the line with me. 2009 was kind of a difficult year all around, I suppose. I mean, the market crashed early on and there was just a general tension pervading society. Obama is turning out to be a dud and is just pursuing the same agenda as the Republicans, only with a prettier face and a more refined mind. He is not dealing harshly enough with the bankers or Israel and the illegal wars continue in the Middle East. Yes, preventative wars are illegal in case you did not know. Obama knows which side his bread is buttered on and that is the main problem of course. Here in Canada we have to put up with Harper and his minority government. The one that acts like a majority and has a lot of the population fooled. But, I am not fooled friends and I hope all of my friends and acquaintances appreciate the help that I am able to provide in these political matters. Harper is really bad news and will be even worse news should should he ever attain majority government. Try telling that the Harperites. They will not believe you, but I know that some of you undoubtedly feel the same way as me. Talk to me if you do.

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The stock market is an interesting animal indeed. I got virtually all of my money back from the steep losses of 2008. Plus, I ended up with a gain of over 13 % for the year. My Stock Portfolio: December 2009 So, that made me feel pretty good of course. There are conflicting ideas as to how the markets will perform in 2010, as there always is of course. Remember, that greed and fear rule the markets as they always do. And, you cannot time the market. These are the general rules of the marketplace and we would all do well to remember these things going forward.

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I am not going to do any predictions this year like I did last year on the main part of my blog. Actually, my Bold Predictions found in the following post Happy New Year 2009 didn't turn out too badly at all, but I think I will take a break from prognosticating this time around.

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I am still just working part time on my job and I am surviving well enough with the kind of dough that I am making. This is the year of the Olympics of course and I do not think it will be very kind to us couriers. More of a headache than anything else I think especially when you consider that they will be closing down roads in the downtown core and just basically making life difficult for us couriers.

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Today and tomorrow are racing days at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. Meadowlands Racetrack - Home So, maybe if you guys are popping into town you can check things out. If you need a ride you know how to contact me. This message for my friends and acquaintances of course. Karen did not take advantage of my latest marriage proposal which ended last night at midnight.Marriage Proposal Number 3 (A) But, that is OK, because I will be giving her other opportunities to get married to me. And, besides, who would I rather be married to anyway? That is kind of the bottom line for me so I hope everyone understands that. Talk to you all later and have a nice day.

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