Murdered Cop

An Ottawa cop was murdered the other day and the accused is an RCMP officer on leave! That's embarrassing to the Federal Government officers. The RCMP has been the centre of many accusations and wrongdoings in the last few years. From the Polish guy's death in YVR to drunk driver officer.

What's interesting about this tragedy (I know I shouldn't use the term " Interesting") is the murdered was 51 and a newly joined member of the force! It means the guy had been offered the job at the age of 47 which is amazing! I should be pretty confident about myself! I went to the gym yesterday and the day before. I've been doing better and better everyday in terms of machine and push and pulls but my Cooper Test practice results are just awful! I haven't been able realty to practice and just the day before I had to stop at almost 09:00 minutes!

I'm goin' to see my physician to see what to do to improve as haven't seen any progress lately. One reason could be my weigh! I eat a lot these days. That drove my heaviness pretty close 198 Lb.

(Photo: Ottawa Police vehicles are seen in the background of the crime scene. A pool of blood and crime items are seen in the picture)

4 Clint Eastwood Movies

I've recently watched 4 Clint Eastwood movies in the last few weeks:

1- Unforgiven.

2- Gran Torino.

3- Magnum Force.

4- Letters From Iwo Jima.

They are from different times and different genres. Besides Clint Eastwood has no role in the last one. He directed and co-produced it. The Iwo Jima movie is one incredible movie. Great story that opens your eyes to the truth about Pacific War, outstanding performances by Japanese actors and great soundtrack. I never knew that Japanese were so cruel on their soldiers during the Second World War in the way that is displayed in the movie.

Unforgiven is Western, Magnum Force is another story about Harry Kalahan a SFPD cop and Gran Torino is about a war veteran. What impresses me the most is the Japanese discipline and attitude in the war that you never see in Americans. That's part of their culture. And that's why they're here in the world. Japan always has been one of the places I wanted to visit although it's the most expensive one. I had a chance once and that was the time The Brave used to live in there but I missed it. Now he's back and I have to rely on my own!

(Photo: This picture shows the Japanese General who was in charge of battle of Iwo Jima at Japanese side played by Ken Watanabe with other Japanese officers)

Benjamin Button: A Strange and Lovely Movie

It might not be really important but I got The Curious Case of Benjamin Button from the mac's store we go to regularly and the first disk was scratched and we couldn't watch the movie. The store owner is a nice Panjabi guy and changed the disk for me. What a strange movie!

It was very slow and unattractive for me in the beginning specially with that bad scratched disk experience. Then the more the movie went on the lovelier and at the same time stranger it got. Brat Pitt speaks with strong Southern US accent and that I believe makes his character attractive. The story is very new, strange and attractive. That's the most important element in the entire movie.

Anyway I own the DVD like many other movies and it's a good movie to enjoy. It's a thoughtful movie too. It made me think about my past when he took his father to the pier early morning to see sunrise. The movie talks about forgiveness partially.

(Photo: In this scene of the movie the young-old Benjamin is trying to walk with the pray of a priest or whoever he is in the back while being encouraged by the lady who bring him up, the Black one beside him)

Charter of Rights and Freedom

The problem with this Canadian people, some of them I mean, is they think they're so special. They actually don't think, they believe they're so important and unique and whatever they say and want it must be done! The example is bunch of stubborn ski jumper who were dreaming to jump in the upcoming Olympics! They were all rejected! And why? Simply because you're not as good as they think or believe they are! So I. O. C. or whoever is in charge, simply put them away because why would the money which is hard to come get wasted by on bunch of girls who happened to jump and they might fall after that!

That drove the girls mad and they told themselves that they were very very special and there're three reasons for that:

1- They are women!

2- They are Caucasian!

3- They live (born and raised) in Canada!

And because of that specialty that they think they have in themselves, they also think that they are unique too(!!) so they complain to a court to obtain their right to jump. That obviously didn't help. ... Well because the court people are not that stupid after all! Then they took their case to the Supreme Court hoping that resorting to Charter of Rights and Freedom might help them to go to Vancouver and Whistler, put on Olympic uniforms, wave at the people in opening and closing ceremonies, and get other free stuff which might make them happy rather than their daily joys! And the Supreme Court's answer was the same with the addition that just hanging to the Charter does not guarantee you a few weeks free accommodation in B. C. as a Team Canada athlete! You should be as good as Cindy Klassen, Sidney Crosby or at least Jerome Iginla. (No offence to any real athlete)

So work harder may be in year 2164 Canadian women sky jumpers (not ski jumpers!!) have a team in Mars Olympics!

(Photo: The very optimist and hopeful face of a jumper of Canadian origin after hearing the court's rule!!)

Animal Farm

Have you read Animal Farm of George Orwell? They are all amazing. I bought the book last week from a HMV store although I had read it years ago, several times in Persian. Animal Farm is literally the story of every revolution, more specifically Islamic Revolution in Iran. This is a coincidence because one of the key figures and founders of Islamic Republic, H. A. Montazeri was dead today. He became one of the strongest, outspoken critics of the Islamic Republic in the past few years. He was under house arrest for over 5 years for that reason. That's exactly what George Orwell describes in his book: The architect of the revolution becomes the opposition and then either dies or is exiled. It's very brave of someone to confess to his or her mistakes in the past in that culture and he did bravely. He was toppled from his position, the leader-to-be for criticizing the regime. That's also very appreciated and very rare in that culture.

(Photo: Cover of Animal Farm by George Orwell)

Smoking Is A Hobby Of Third World People!!

Smoking is being fought against here in Canada by health groups and authorities. Smoking is banned in most places, public places including banks, restaurants, bars, shops etc. But you still suffer because of the selfish people who smoke inside the residential buildings and outside on the street, at the beach or in the parks.

I remember this time, years ago, I was working for Almase Saz Co. and there was a group of Germans working there as well to help to commission the factory. One time I was going home and instead of taking the usual shuttle bus, I took theirs which I remember clearly was a bit more luxurious. It had air conditioning and comfortable seat and it was cleaner. They were our guests and foreigners after all and they were Germans! Those reason all were enough to treat them differently from the permanent employees of the company(!!)

Anyways we were heading home. I was seating beside the driver and the Germans were all over as well as a few of my colleagues. One of on the last seat took a cigarette out and lit it. As soon as I sensed the smell of fucking cigarette I opened the window. We were in the highway and the shuttle bus was going fast and the wind was blowing to their faces!

One of the Germans said something open the window, opposed then I turned back and in response I said: Smoking is a hobby of Third World people! He apparently didn't understand what I said, asked the other one what it was all about. The other one just made a gesture meaning he either didn't get what I said. One of the colleagues showed his disapproval by asking why I opened the window and I said that I was being disturbed by the smoker. He said: This is their shuttle bus! I don't remember what I said but I didn't argue.

Now I'm here and years have passed. Smoking is no longer, to my view, a Third World people's hobby only. Westerners also smoke! And some of them smoke heavily but it's mostly common in lower level society people, the poor people, the people who try to cope with life so they use tobacco, alcohol and all other sorts of shit. It's also very common in young girls as it helps them to stay slim. But it's so fucking stupid and disgusting to loose something very important (lungs, heart, teeth) to gain something else (slimness!) There's no doubt that helps their budget as well. They buy a pack of cigarette for about $9 I believe and use it with a soft drink or coffee as a meal. Isn't that way cheaper!?

(Photo: The most common " No Smoking " sign)

Still Free

I have been using free Internet Service since I moved to this new place. There was only a short period of time that Telus provided me with the service and then for whatever technical reason the idiots were cut off be me. I didn't get a good reliable service from them and I canceled just after a month.

This wireless service I'm using at the moment has its ups and downs. I make overseas and long distance telephone calls to Canada and the US, download movies and songs, watch Youtube, do my online banking, search for jobs and check my e-mails. But at times I get disconnected and that's frustrating. Now after the last lost opportunity, I'm just trying to survive and cut the corner for that reason. For a few days I was buried on pile of bills. I had to use my saving account to get out from under them. Nevertheless I just had my cable hooked up today. I just couldn't live like that anymore!

Dive in Vain

I've been trying to get a job in Atlantic Canada for almost 6 months. I had two interviews which I passed the first one and I had a reference check and apparently the second interview didn't really go well. I felt good at the end and thought that I gave good answers but I was wrong. Or may be the other candidates were better than me. It was a permanent job for the Federal Government and may never happen again.

I was thinking a few days ago about the ways that I could go all the way to Nova Scotia. Now I'm thinking to start over! That's shit.

Tiger and Tyson: Resemblances and Differences

Mike Tyson and Charles Barkley have always been my favorite athletes while assholes like Tiger Woods never made any impression on me. I know quiet a lot about Tyson and almost nothing about Tiger " the asshole " Woods. Nevertheless I can make the following list:

 

Resemblances:

1- Their given names start with T! (What a wonderful discovery!)

2- They both screwed up their life through a woman (Tiger cheated on his wife and but Tyson raped a woman and went to jail for that)

3- They both are big in sport and will remain in history forever.

4- They are both coloured people.

5- They are both American.

6- They both messed up in religious terms! Tiger is a Buddhist, the religion which is stresses on decency, honesty and other stuff like that. Tyson converted to Islam in prison and even changed his name to Samad(!) and was wearing a cap but there's no sign of that conversion these days, probably because of all this shit we see with Muslim extremists in the world.

 

Differences:

 

1-Tiger's persona always was showed a nice, family-oriented and decent guy (not any more!), while Tyson characteristic always was known as an angry, out-of-control maniac. Look where they are now!

2- Tiger is not as strong as a tiger while Tyson really is (or may be was)!

3- Tiger never cheated on the game while Tyson did. Tyson never cheated on his wife while Tiger did, several times!

4- Tiger is being pushed back by the public because of what he did to his family. Tyson did many horrible things but never was boycotted.

5- Whenever Tiger is shown on the screen I feel bored, Tyson's bouts are all exciting. They make me eyes glued to the screen.

(Photo: Early photo of Tyson, King and a few other fellas)

Saved a Little Over $300

This whole Capitalism system of the US and Canada is like a big drum. There's nothing in it and is just load. If you dig really deep, you'll realize that many industries here are just founded to serve the kind of the needs that they're not really needs, they're not essential or vital. They just make employment! Everyone survives and lives without them in peace. I kind of wanted to provide you with a long list but give you just a few examples:

1- Insurance companies.

2- Wineries.

3- Professional Sport Clubs. (Gosh! That's a big sub-list itself!)

4- Universities and Colleges. (Most of them!, Not all! Believe me. It's true!)

5- Dance Studios.

6- Tourism related businesses.

7- ...

I can go on and on but there's no point. And then when there a economic recession most of the people who are involved in the businesses are in trouble. Who the hell wants to spend $180 on a ticket to watch an NHL game? You might say there are many but at the same time there might be many who won't, as well. As a matter of fact many NHL teams this years offered Buy 1, Get 1 Free tickets or other promotions like that. TV stations showed empty seats at the arenas.

Insurance companies are really useless. And this motherfuckers in ICBC, fuck you in every hole. These motherfuckers who claim this is a free country and this is a democracy, they brutally force you to buy insurance from them. There's no other alternative in Brit"Shit" Columbia. But in response this week I personally fuck this fucking liar with a baseball bat. I removed all my optional insurances and get more than $1000 back from the pirates of motherfucker ICBC! I, at the same time, had to buy the same type of insurance from another company because the basic insurance Must Be Purchased from fucking assholes, the thieves of ICBC. I paid the other company a some amount of approximately $700 which led to almost $300 saving. I don't know what type of democracy this one is that first of all they force you to have insurance and secondly have insurance with them!! This is ridiculous. So I probably keep the optional for a few months and then will cancel that one as well. if I move out of the province, I'll cancel my insurance with ICBC and will give them a big Screw You, but if I won't I see if I can get my insurance through any other company, out of the province.

A Two-Week Mandatory Break

I had to stay away from my regular exercises for about two weeks. I had a pain in the chest one day after my Cooper Test practice. It actually was I think I got out of the building when I still was sweating and panting and I caught a cold. The doctors don't think so. (I saw two different doctors three times and I had two lab tests!) She also doesn't think that there's anything wrong with the heart. She just warned me of fatty stuff as the test result shows a bit of high Cholesterol. That could be a result of eating too much egg, as many as 6 in a week!
The electronic scale showed 195.6 lb and I felt good after the exercises. I didn't push it too hard, though.
(Photo: My ECG. One doctor found it normal and I'm going to show it to another doctor today)

Stanley Park (2)

I had my second visit to Stanley Park last night, this time with F. F. It had been three years since my first visit. I started from the totem poles this time. They're magnificent but obviously every park is really nice in late spring and early summer where flowers are everywhere and it's all green. Or in a real winter when it's covered with snow. We walked for almost 3 hours and went to Lions Gate Bridge. It gets dark at about 16:30 hours these days so we had the opportunity to see the bridge and port at night under the lights.

We encountered a huge crowed on our way out to Georgia St. It was Night of Lights event, a kind of pre-Christmas gathering for the kids and their parents. Looked like it was organized by B. C. firefighters. Christmas lights were being displayed, train ride was available and music and food was being offered as well as other things, mostly as mentioned for the kids. It take a whole lot more time to see all the Park including its Beaver Lake and the Aquarium. We left them for another visit.

(Photo: I couldn't get a better shot of the totems in a gray, dark and gloomy evening of Vancouver!)

Idiots to Work With

I've already written about one huge and brain-destroying problem everyone might have at work and that's having an asshole as a comrade, co-worker, colleague.

Today I thought I can't stop writing about that shithead, R. S.! Here are a few of his quotes:

1- On N1H1 vaccine: I was vaccinated once 20 years ago and that protects me from all sorts of diseases forever (!!!!)

2- On smoking cigarette as he's a chain smoker. I asked him once how he would have rated his joy of smoking if he wanted to rate him between 1 and 10 and he said 0! Then he said that he feel the cigarettes are a little bit addictive (!!) because the companies add Marijuana to them (!!!!)

3- On rebuilding and renewing a long sidewalk in a tourist-attractive neighbourhood using Canada Action Plan funds: Why would they spend a million and a half here. That's my money. This is my tax money(!!)

What a fucking idiot!

Flying Birds

Have you ever tried to take a photo of a flying bird, for instance, a duck or a seagull?
Not easy, Ha? They fly fast and high. It's easier if you try that on a flock.
... Well I managed to do that yesterday at the shore. It was a stormy weather, strong wind and waves were growling. I didn't have a good camera on me but my mobile phone's. Seagulls and other sea birds were around, some riding the waves, a few were sharing a crab and some other just surfing the wind, with wide open wings, enjoying themselves! I wish I was one of them! Some of them were so close up on the air and they looked like they were just standing in the sky! The result is not too bad far that kind of camera.
Of course it's not as good to be sent to the new CBC photo contest but it's good enough to give me the joy of photography. I wish I only could catch them with the waves at the bottom of the picture. Nevertheless I'll go out for those photo soon and will reveal the results.
(Photo: Picture taken with a Nokia mobile telephone camera. Story above)

Got Screwed Again!

I had to do a little something for my job and I was supposed to get paid for that later. I spent some $30. I noticed that the money is refunded in the last pay-stub but obviously it was not the same amount although it looks like it is.

When you're refunded, the money is considered income and taxes are applied. So you get less than what you've spent. Simple as that!

(Photo: Capitalism gets back most of what it gives you, forcefully!)

Least We Forget

I'm not a war man, I don't support wars but at the same time I believe some of them are inevitable and justified. I appreciate the US's engagement in Iraq since 2003. Iraqis must have been punished for their invasion of Iran, Kuwait, killing of their own Kurdish people of north and harboring the traitors of P. M. O. I. And don't say that it was not the Iraqi people, it was Saddam. It actually was Iraqi people, a majority of them who backed up Saddam regime. So they deserve what's happening to them.

Talking about wars we have Canada's mission in Afghanistan which will end in 2011. I don't support that war but I'm not blind to see what's happening. Canada had to send its troops because the US, its main ally wanted it. You can't say No to a close friend many times when he asks you for a favour. Canada said No once in Iraq and had to say Yes in Afghanistan and is suffering as a result of that. More than 100 Canadians have been killed in there so far and big bucks are being spent. These poor guys and gals who are mostly coming from small towns of the country where's there's not many jobs available should not be forgotten and left after they're back. That's what Remembrance Day is for. The day which originally was to pay tribute to the soldiers of the WW I. A. F., an Army reservist, told me once that many of those guys are racist basically because they are grown in small communities where there's no foreigner. I don't blame them. I'd probably act the same. Many foreigners here in Canada are more racist compare to original European settlers, the Caucasians especially some East Indians and Chinese.

Anyway that's what I wanted to say about the soldiers who lose their life for their country. Canada Post has recently issued a new stamp to honer the ones who sacrifice their life and I just a pair today. You see it up here.

(Photo: The recently issued stamp by Canada Post with a P sign at bottom right which indicates that no price adjustment affects this product and is a domestic stamp)

Lay Offs from Secure Jobs

I was just goin' through the Sat. news and another disappointing news hit me, this morning. While the officials are talkin' about the recovery and actually there's many different versions of it, I just read that the City of Vancouver will lay off up to 180 permanent full-time employees soon! It's not clear what jobs will go but it could be anywhere from operations to even firefighters. VPD which is part of City of Vancouver will slow down hiring and that means longer wait to be responded when they are called. These are all must be done to compensate the budget deficit that the City is facing with. Property taxes are also going up as much as 2% to help the City as well. What else can I say? Not even a firefighter's job is secure these days, a job which is considered very risky and I call it very boring!

Richmond Olympic Oval

We paid a visit to Richmond Olympic Oval last week. That is a huge building for indoor activities and designed for speed skating, mainly. It has a 400 m. track which is as unique as the building itself. The Federal Government and the Provincial Government funded the $178 million building. The roof which can be seen in the above photo (Sorry! Did not get a better shot!) is made out of pine beetle trees of northern B. C. and again is unique in not only North America but also the entire world. The ice which can be seen, again, partially in the photo is 1 in. thick ,maximum, and has a blue and a white section, like any other track. The blue or inner side is for warming up and the white or outer, is meant for the race or competition.

The tour took only about 15 min. but was good enough. The gentleman also said that there was no seat left, are all sold out. So it's very unfortunate that we won't be able to see any race. Canada has good speed skaters including Cindy Klassen whom I personally met once in Calgary International Airport.

Anyhow that worth the trip but good for the people who actually can watch the live performances and also good for the young kids, like the ones in the photo, who can actually practice ice skating and enjoy their childhood in such a nice and wonderful sport complex.

(Photo: Richmound Olympic Oval from inside with the kids practicing ice skating on the track)

This Is It

We finally watched This Is It last Wed. I'm not disappointed but not thrilled though. The first hour of the documentary was really boring and could not help looking at my watch. Then it got a bit better. I think they could have made it much better by starting from when Michael started with Jackson 5 and just go through his life, his allegations and everything but I guess they didn't want to lose any time. They simply wanted to make the hay when the Sun shines!

Another thing is the legal restriction. I don't know what M. J. had put in his will which he prepared in 2002. There could be something like I don't want my kids up for any show or I don't want anything about my personal life revealed.

Anyways it's amazing what a guy can do at the age of 50 and after almost 4 decades. If you like Michael Jackson and his songs then there's a right movie for you. There was a moment that I really felt bad and that was the time he was singing his Jackson 5 hit, I'll Be There. He mentioned his brother's names and there were shots of him when he was singing that both at childhood and 50. I still like listening to all of his songs and I have a good collection of them.

(Photo: Michael Jackson at the rehearsal for This Is It tour with the Australian guitar Player)

Weight Watcher

I have been trying to keep a healthy for years but it's really isn't easy especially here in Canada because almost everywhere you go, you're surrounded by fattening, sugary and full of carbohydrate food. Back home it's all rice, rice, bread, bread, and again the same! You barely get out of that cycle which has no more better affect! Nevertheless fruits and vegetables are more natural and tastier over there but there's no education. Something you get here a lot from different media.

The said above turns to fat in my body and make me more inflated! I guess that's because I have a low rate metabolism. I started to keep an eye on my weight this past Oct., writing it done every day I would go to gym. The results doesn't seem right, basically because the weight is not fixed at the beginning, middle and end of the exercise. I made the table and drew the chart anyway. All I have to do is to make sure that I get it done everyday after I finished exercises.

(Photo: Simply a record of my weight in Kg in seven days of Oct.)

Oct. Results

Oct. was not a bad month in terms of practices and exercises. I did my Cooper Test practice 12 times in total and once I failed to finish while 4 times I did it in that soccer field. The above chart show the result of the days that the practice was performed on a treadmill but as it's seen there has been no improvement to the months before.

(Photo: Oct. chart shows ups and downs and no improvement. Horizontal axis is the sequence and the vertical is the length in miles. I guess I need at least 1.6!)

Reese's Bar

I'm a person who usually eats a lot but at the same time tries to keep a low weight! I'm currently around 195 Lb and I can't resist revealing my new discovery: Reese's peanut butter chocolate bar!I found the damn good chocolate bar in a Mac's store and ever since I find it very hard to ignore! The strange thing is I've checked a few store and major supermarkets and none of them carry it! So if you're a chocolate lover and not allergic to peanut butter, try that for sure. You'll love it!

(Photo, updated Nov.15.09: Resse's bar is a limited edition product as it's seen here!)

Pre-Halloween Carving

I just found a little pumpkin carving for Halloween today and that was interesting. The camera I used, none of mine, was not a good one so I didn't get a good shot but still want to display this. I hope there will be opportunities to 31th and I can take better photos.

(Photo: Pumpkin carving in a cold and rainy day while sipping coffee from a travel mug and gulping beer from a glass!)

The Stepfather

We watched The Stepfather tonight. I think it's an interesting movie, worth watching at least once. I'm saying that because I've watched movies more than 10 times at times and then bought the DVD but not this one. Nevertheless I recommend that. You follow the story to the last minute and it's not really predictable. The story is good, the cast is good and the cinematography is good too. But it's not a multi million dollar Hollywood movie with superstars. But who cars? As long as the movie keeps me seated, I'm fine with that. See it!

(Photo: Dylan Walsh as the stepfather is trying to convince Penn Badgley, the stepson, to stay home and be a part of the new family)

Serpentine Wildlife Area

If you ever enjoyed hiking , nature, photography and wild fruits as much as I do, you would definitely have a good time in south Surrey, B. C. where we were today and it's called Serpentine Wildlife Area. This is a protected habitat for different species like Canadian Goose, Duck, Blue Heron and so on and at the same time there's a path around it and pick nick benches so people who are respectful to the environment can sit and enjoy their time.

We walked around, took a few photos and enjoyed the beautiful wildlife and plants. And surprisingly we found 4 different types of fruits and one was really a blast: Medlar. We enjoyed the unique taste of some wild Medlar while some Nuts were still not ripe and the pears and blackberries were gone rotten.

(Photo: The Medlar trees were all at the other side of the fence where there was a private property. So we did not each much. But whatever we ate and that was after many years for me was fantastic!)

Hockey Season's Back

The 2009-2010 NHL season is back but I have no TV! I have a TV set but the damn apartment doesn't allow me to have a good reception of CBC, the channel that I always watch the games and it's free. So I decided to go to the local rink with F. F. and watch a bit of the young kids practice and that was nice. F. F. liked it as well and now we're goin' to watch a game soon in GM Place. At the same time I'm goin' to have the channel fixed soon.

(Photo: Kids were practicing very passionately in the arena. This is the goalie in the centre, I'm not sure if he's aware of the importance of his role he's about to take in his future team!)

Videoconference

I had the opportunity to present myself to the interviewers in Atlantic division of CSC last week. That was a good experience and I think I did not do very badly. I think they were happy with the way I presented myself. But I'm too far from being employed by them. I was told the next possible training, a 13-week one, will held in Jan. and I will be informed if I'm needed. A. F. works for their B. C. division and he's quite happy with his job. He says that the wage is good, the job's easy and the commute is fine. But this is not exactly what my former classmate, a retired Juvenal Correctional Officer told me. He extremely prohibited(!) having the job but I'm goin' to go forward with the situation.

Why Do I Hate Tim Horton's?

Tim Horton's, the most popular coffee shop in Canada, which is originally Canadian is not my favorite. It was founded by a player of Toronto Maple Leafs, Tim Horton, was sold to Americans and now is in possession of Canadians again.

There was a time I used to go there every day. Now, I just try to avoid and might even start a campaign to stop people from going there, something might never happened. I have nothing against Tim. I don't know him much. He's a guy from the past, a great Hockey player and a successful businessman but I just don't like the policies.

The first thing you see when you step in a Tim Horton's is We Reserve The Right To Refuse Service (!!) What a load of crap! And what an asshole whoever who put that up! All I've seen so far is welcome to this or welcome to that, we do out best for you to provide you a good time you're here and these assholes start their service with that stupid sign. One colleague of mine said once that they did that because of all the disturbance used to happens in cafes but's another stupid reason. Every fast food might have the same problem. McDonald's has worse problems. McDonald's is usually the gathering point for homeless, street drug dealers, prostitutes and so on. Students usually go there after their school as well to get a burger and soft drink or any other crap. It's most of the time not a pleasant place to stay and It's not just because of the inhabitants, the food is mostly inedible. But they don't post such a stupid sign. Instead, the people who work there rise their hand at the corner and say: Can I Help the Next Guest Here! You see the difference?

(Photo: The Stupid sign at one Tim Horton's shop)

Great Depiction During Depression

A majority of the people who were shouting slogans a few month back, I bet now regret what they've done! Obama is being criticized in the both sides of the border for his plans with health care. I just wanted to share the new picture of him that I found. The poor illiterate people don't really know that this is not Obama who runs the country and he just has to bow to the big companies. Now he's as bad as Bush or may be worse! Bush and his administration was being mostly criticized for his foreign policy. Obama started being hated because his plans for Americans and Canadians. Shame on you Joker!

(Photo: Barack Obama, the US President is depicted as Joker in the last Batman movie!)

Sep., A Better Month

Sep. is over and so does my Cooper Test practice for this month. This month witnessed a better month compared to the previous one for two reasons:

1- I practiced outside, not on a track
2- The number of exercises was increased to 10.
At the same time this practice had a disadvantage. That's not knowing the length of every lap of the track! I assume it's 200 m. but I can't be sure. For this reason this month's chart is depicted based on the number of the lap that I approximately ran in 12 min. which is actually the optimum time that 1.5 mile should be done. It can be seen easily that the chart could be turned to a real one by just knowing the distance I ran in every lap.
One problem I had was having a sore knee. J. H., whom I introduced earlier told me to use a sole. I got one from London Drugs and worked well but in no way helped me run much faster. Now Oct. is coming and I guess I'm going inside again. furthermore I have to start my work out.
(Photo: Linear chart of month of Sep. based on Day-Lap concept)

Employement: A Year Later

I received my annual evaluation from my superior officer last week. Doesn't seem fair to me but I didn't disagree regardless of the fact that he encouraged me to comment. I found complaining useless. I thought if I, the one who's the most enthusiast among the whole squad, gets this review, what would be the lazy bastards' who just horse around?! The good thing is now he finds me suitable to perform as a supervisor while giving me an about average score! And this is after missing at least 2 to 3 supervisory positions! I bring a comparison chart here, seen above. The categories are Knowledge, Suitability, Skills and Teamwork. The scores are Needs Improvement, Somewhat agree, Agree and Strongly Agree which are marked consecutively 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 by me. Have a look. Ups and downs can be seen! And the performance is compared with the 3-months evaluation.

(Photo: I used MS Excel to illustrate the quarter and annual performance comparison and came up with this)

Americans in Canada

If you just drive around or go to public parking lots of the big stores like Superstore, Safeway, WalMart, etc these days in southern Surrey and possibly other cities in British Columbia, you'll see many vehicles registered in the US, states like California, Washington, Iowa, Arizona and others as well. Some say they're visitors/tourists, some say they earn in the US and spend in Canada. Either one sounds delicious to me. But the truth might be far-fetched.

Many of the are the people who ran away from devastated economy and huge unemployment rate, I assume. Not knowing that Canada's situation is not much better than theirs!

I hope Canada's Economic Action Plan is working otherwise news like deficit until 2015 and " economy will start being recovered in 2013 " should be revised. The temporary-migrated Americans probably don't know that Canada's economy is completely dependent on the US's and more than %80 of Canadian products are exported to the US and while America is suffering, Canada can't be recovered. The only thing that helped Canada to stay stronger and partially unharmed is its banking system which is, happily, different and independent from the US's. Let's see if the action plan works. We're waiting and we hope the opposition give the Government enough time to exercise its plans.

Strange Dream

I'm in no word a superstitious person but the night before I had a dream that looks strange to me a bit. I can't recall most of it but the main structure is clearly visible.

I dreamed that I met my father somewhere and he was driving a very nice big pick-up truck, something like one of these new 2010 Ford F-150 that we all see the commercial on TV everyday. We were talking and he was fine. It was a very nice and comforting conversation. I don't know the topic, though. And then he got in and drove away at the end of the talk; didn't take me with him! It's been a long time since last time I had a dream of my father. It was may be 2003 when I dreamed of him last time. I don't know what that means but The Lady says that's not bad because he didn't take me at the end.

Foreclosure House

My new colleague is an American-Chinese-Vietnamese(!) fellow from San Fransisco, a former SFPD constable. He's here because he's recently married and his wife lives here with her family. I never knew someone who had a well-paid job down the States, leaving it just for a woman but love happens. He says that his pay-stub used to be as much as $6000 every two weeks(!) I wonder why he quit that job. He says the job is too stressful and talks about 20 hours straight shift, chasing suspects down the road or running after them, going to suicide scenes where someone chopped off his own head using a chainsaw.

" I bought a big foreclosure house for $250,000 by putting down just $15,000. The house originally worth about $1,000,000 and could be sold as much as $400,000 because of the slight recovery" he said. " It's rented out for $1,700 a months now" he added. He receives a total of $1,500 every month as his pension for the next 10 years. I still don't understand why he's here. How would someone who lived like that, works a security guard in a commercial building? That's what he used to do back in Aug.? He's trying to go back to policing business but he says that he has to stay in Canada for three years before they let him do that. That's again odd. I know British police officers who came to Calgary 3 or 4 years ago and all CPS asked them was to do POPAT. Other qualification exams of course will be performed but I don't think they had to stay until they get their citizenship. He said: We train Canadian police but he had no idea what POPAT is! That all lead me to not believe whatever he says. He's a nice guy after all! That's what is important.

Old Cars

We went for a ride yesterday morning and on the way back home noticed a car in the nearby Auto mall, a kind of like outdoor exhibition. Old American vehicles were on display, from three major automakers, cars as old as 1932! I pulled over and we spent few minutes there. It was amazing. I told myself that these all were belong to the golden era! The time that gasoline was cheap and Americans ruled! Ford, GM and somehow Chrysler each had a share in North American and world market and benefited a lot.

Look at them now: They are all devastated, in the verge of bankruptcy! Japanese and Korean companies have big share of the market, provide good quality and low price and become stronger everyday.

Anyways it was nice to see cars from Laurel & Hardy time to Al Capone's and others. I put a few here, hope you enjoy as well.

(Photo: Three of the old vehicles which were being shown are pictured here, from left a nice coloured Mercury, an old Chevy and a very old old one, possibly a Ford. Look at the emblems on the hoods of Mercury and Chevy, they look very alike. So I don't know if the re-builders have the same taste or this is an original thought which is a little far from reality. I hope publishing these photos is nothing against the new terms and conditions of Picasa and at the same time doesn't violate the privacy of the vehicle owners)

How to Save Millions of Dollars?

The current Government, the Conservative just was threatened by the Liberals to have a new election. It's irrational to me regardless of how the Government is doing now. That will use millions of dollars in a situation like now which we're in deficit and will remain in this shit for the next few years, some say until 2015!

I believe the NDP did a great job denying any coalition with the Liberals or anybody else. Jack Layton said that his party would back up the minority Government if the Conservatives do some of the things they have promised to do to ease life on people. Here's what the Government will do soon:

1- Extend the EI benefit for another 20 weeks (5 more months! Wow! You really want to be unemployed now!)

2- Omitting tax for home buyers. (I don't know the detail, don't ask me. I'm not buying anything!)

3- Helping the farmers who are suffering form the consequences of the recent drought.

That will keep smile on Harper's lip this Christmas! There will be likely no election after the Olympics and will save millions of dollars. Some say the election now and then is good because the creates temporary jobs and reduces unemployment rate. But what the morons don't understand, regardless of the fact that they have to give enough time to the Government to do something, is that election wastes millions of dollars of the taxpayers money which could be spent or invested some place better. The 2008 National Election in Jan. of that year cost an approximate amount of $300,000,000. Considering Canada spend millions on Afghanistan mission, no sane person would want another election.

(Photo: This cartoon chosen from mapleleafweb.com depicts the money was wasted in 2008 National Election)

The New Era of Cooper Test Practice

I had my third day of outdoor Cooper Test practice today. As I've recently moved to a new place and am no longer close to a gymnasium, I decided to continue my practices in a nearby soccer field. It's obviously very different from treadmill drills. Here wind, sun, temperature and the track are all factors. I, at the moment don't know how long each lap is but what I do is I just jog for almost 12 minutes. I might measure it soon. The track is bumpy(!), made of asphalt and weed has come out at every corner! But it's good until the time that I find a weight room, treadmill and indoor track.

(Photo: This picture of the soccer field is taken using my mobile phone. I never liked mobile phone cameras, only use them in emergencies but forgot to take that and used my mobile instead)

Good Attitude

There's this guy that I know, he's old. S. T. He's not in a good situation. He just bought an apartment condo last year, worth some $220,000 obviously pays monthly, owes over $4000 on his credit card, drives an old 80's sedan, you name it!

He's into his second marriage, consumes depression medication and has not heard from his children from his first marriage for years. They basically left him for good. He told me that once his daughter wrote him about her step father and asked him if he was going to heaven. That was the time of the guy's death. S. T.'s answer was that he had no idea. That made the girl sad and agitated. She expected him to have a positive answer on that. That was the end of conversation. The girl changed her surname to the dead guy and never spoke to him again. Then the that was the son's turn! He backed up his sister and S. T. and him are not in speaking terms ever since.

What else has happened to him lately? (Those all were not enough!) He made a few bad mistakes at work and the employer degraded him. That costs him a few hundred dollars every month which is bad for someone in his position.

But listen to this: The other day we were talking and he said that he supported two kids, one in South America and one in Africa, paying some $30 and $40 for each! I was amazed! I asked him why he was doing that while he was in such a shit himself, especially when he was in the verge of losing his job a few weeks ago? His answer was short and simple but said it all: They are in worse situation that us!

Nacho

We were thinking of something new to try at home yesterday and thought of making some Nacho. So we got a bag of Tostito crisps, we had a jar of Kraft CheeseWhiz, diced a few tomato before broiling it F. F. said lets try this pepper. It was a little green paper. looked like a banana pepper. When the top was cut, we smelled and that was really good. Then we tasted with the tip of the tongue and sensed nothing really hot. So it was cut, diced and put over the crisps with the other ingredients.

It took only about 5 minutes to get ready and that was delicious. But then after a few bites we realized that we had added a Jalapeno! It was so hot that I started sweating like a pig but I couldn't help eating.

Anyways if you need fast snack it's something really good. Just make sure that you put bell pepper instead of Jalapeno if you don't like it hot. Also it is very fattening. All that crisps and cheese, they are sources of carbohydrate and fat. Go easy on them.

(Photo: Your Nacho platter might look like this if lighting is poorly designed But tastes really good!)

Aug. of 09 Results

Sep. is here and we're going to have our fall started. Aug. was supposed to be the comeback months and although I had a good start, I was not able to make it more than six days, with one failure!

(Photo: The chart shows the results for the Cooper Test practice in the last month. The big slump is the result of failure to finish the practice at almost 08:20 because of tiredness!)

The Issue with the Internet

I just moved to a new place and that was why I didn't post anything in the last few days. There are still things to do. Boxes are in the middle of the room. But I wanted to write this:

I canceled my Internet service with Shaw and called another damn company, Telus because it's simply less expensive. I told them that I had a modem from the time that I lived in Calgary, perhaps 2004 and they said I could be connected today. So I woke up and tried to get the computer hooked up but I realized that one cable, the one which connects the Internet to the modem is missing! London Drugs, Futureshop or any other major computer store is far and I didn't want to go there. I called the bastards and they said they would send me a modem and I'll receive it Wed.! Stupid! So I turned the wireless switch on and found a few sources around, mostly secured. There was one only that I could use and here I am writing this! Fast, free of charge, reliable wireless Internet! Enjoy!

The Amazing Effect of Music

I went to gym for my Cooper Test practice on Wed. after almost 10 days again. That was the time the cyclists were practicing next to us. They have an amplifier and music is playing very load. I found it very helpful. If you focus on the run and get assistance from the song and harmonize your paces with the beats, you almost never feel tiredness! I did not get a good time though as I was tired because of 8 hours straight work. I got 1.41 miles but at the end I thought I still could go. I'm not sure if listening to music from an MP3 Player has the same result as I've never tried it but many people do. I think it's the echo, loudness and beat of the music which helps, something almost impossible to get when you listen to it through an iPod or something like that without damaging your inner ear!

(Photo: Apple Inc. has gained millions from his product iPod which was gained popularity in 2004, first. Many people use it everywhere while physicians warn of the possible damages to ear which might cause hearing loss when they age)

Marriage in Canada

I have already written about marriage a few times. This one has been planned to focus on the marriage of Caucasian Canadians. Generally Caucasians could be categorized to three classifications, like any other nation: poor, middle class and rich. Most of Caucasians fall into the 2nd one. As I posted once, only 49% of the Canadians live in families. Not to mention that family could be a single-parent family or a common-law one.

Many Caucasian Canadians these days prefer to marry with Oriental women. Many amongst them have their second marriage with such women. That works for both sides. Oriental women, actually the ones who were born and grown outside Canada, like most other women from other corners of the globe, are less demanding and don't know much about the women rights in West. It's a win-win situation. The woman gets a shelter, a steady income, at times a permanent residency and of course a hard full-force weekly or daily thrust!

There was a guy, a sales person once I went to a Suzuki dealer to buy a car and that was last year, who was married to a young Thai girl. The man, a retired Navy officer, had an anger problem. I remember once I was there he yelled at the poor girl why she had not done something which was actually not very important. A Canadian woman would shout back and kick him in the nuts! The woman was probably 15 to 20 years younger than the man. I have another example here: A Hodani's friend a Caucasian who was a brick layer, named Logan, married to a Filipino girl who was scared to death! The girl, like many other Filipinos was here on a work permit and her visa was about to expire. The guy proposed to him and they got married! The girl got her permanent residence and the guy got a cot!

Other class of Caucasians who marry foreigners are Canadian women who suffer from obesity. There're not a few! They mostly marry Black guys. I guess Black guys are the only ones who are able to satisfy them anyway!

Other than that average middle-class Caucasians marry to a Caucasian, only. A. F., my former colleague is married to Caucasian, like most others and that's their first. There might be a Caucasian who goes out with a non-Caucasian but that mostly happens when the other one had been born here.

In the nutshell marriage is more likely a trade these day. There's no sign of love and intimacy any more. A large number of them end up with divorces very soon which hurts the both sides. In the other hand love is not all, it's meat nor drink!

Julie and Julia

I am a big movie buff and I have written about different movies several times but I usually write about the ones which impresses me. This one, Juile and Julia, we watched last night was not amongst them but I'm writing about it because it was different. A different topic was presented: Cooking. That something that the North Americans have problem with. There's no American or Canadian food but different types of Hamburgers and Steak. When it comes to cooking they have to resort to Italians, French and Asians, if they can.

Julie and Julia might be boring to some people and at the same time interesting to others as it's a new subject to talk about in the format of feature presentation. None of the actor and actresses were known to me but Meryl Streep. It felt a bit long but at the end everyone was happy: Julie, Julia and us!

(Photo: Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in the primier of the movie)

Confusion Over the Economic Downturn

Whoever bastard started this shit that we're all in at the moment, is getting away from it. Life in prison would match the crime they committed. And now we are half way through the month of August and nobody know what's goin' to happen. People, the officials and the economists say different things every day and contradict themselves!

Brit"Shit" Columbia has his eye on the Olympic and many jobs have been created to answer the needs. Obviously the unemployment rate will hit the sky right after that. In the other hand it might remain the same! Why? because as I previously mentioned many projects are completed here using temporary foreign laborers. One day it's said the recession is over and the other day another person says that prediction was very optimist. In July only more than 46,000 people lost their jobs in Canada and that Buy American shit offered by that filthy dog, Obama is having big impacts on Canadian economy, especially in manufacturing.

It's a little odd that I can see many American vehicles in Brit"Shit" Columbia! They come from almost everywhere: California, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Washington, Portland, etc. You could say that some of them are tourists but not all of them. That reminds me of the Great Depression of the 30s. Americans were in such a big trouble that when the then USSR advertised for 6000 position, more than 100,000 applications were received! Of course the Socialist system of the soviets was unaffected by the economic turmoil. More people immigrated from the US than immigrating to the country, many of them to the USSR. And the soviets accepted them there and treated them very well. Many of them were arrested and tried as potential spies!

This depression is not as bad as that one but still ruling. They say everything goes back to normal in 2013. The question is can we survive until then?

(Photo: This picture chosen from a Soviet woman's diary shows who suspected, including the poor immigrating Americans are dealt with in the USSR labour camps)

10% and 90%

I think I almost find the reason why we people of the old country had to come here and have to put up with this hard life (not always). Why do you think people still work their way hard to get around the globe to have a better life here in a country which almost have nothing?One reason, I think, is people of that side of the globe, where I came from, mostly believe or even if don't believe, pretend that they know everything. That wisdom, which actually doesn't exist, is the cause of these all problems they have to hack with on a daily basis. Here, if someone doesn't understand something or doesn't know it, would simply say that s/he doesn't. Some people even use terms like grunt, idiot and so on about themselves. That actually comes from their honesty, an attribute in Western culture. Who do you really know that consider him/her an idiot over there? Everyone's Einstein! Look at all those universities grow on daily basis in every village and county! Everyone is a degree holder! I wonder who has the desire to do the labour job! I once for this company for almost a year and I remember there were as many as 10 engineers in the Holder Shop while I'm sure that just 5 high school graduate where able to run the entire shop.

What I want to conclude is almost 90% of the Canadians are grunts and have no wisdom and the good thing is they never claim anything more than what they really are. And the only 10% left are cleaver enough to be able to run this country beautifully. At the same time in the old country 90% of the population think they're clever and want to do big jobs with big money. The people follow the rules of a religion mixed up with cultural myths and superstitious and those won't take them anywhere better what they're now. They deserve that. The regime has nothing to do with that. That's what the people has been prepared for.

Deterioration

Months of June and July have been the worst in regards to Cooper Test practice. One reason is my evening shifts that makes me bike back home. An hour or more journey on a uphill road, mostly. I started my practices in July.30 and I promised me to do every other day. Yesterday was the second day. I have kept my promise so far!

Tonight is the start of my 5 night evening shift in a row. I try not to consume so much energy and give the muscles a break in order to be able to work out tomorrow. I'll go to the gym even if I'm not running. I'll do the other exercises. Here's the practice result of the past two months. (I'm ashamed):

June.05.09 1.42

July.30.09 1.39

Aug.01.09 1.39

A significant deterioration is seen clearly.

Organic Foods (2)

Today I noticed another proof that organic foods are no better than non-organic. The first time I realized that was the time that I watched a type of documentary on CBC, possibly in 2003. Jackasses like A. J. always claim that they can afford organic food and they're really proud of it! Now it's proved that it doesn't make any sense. No need to mention that organic produce and everything else, including meat it more expensive. Fore more information refer to: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090729/science/science_us_food_organic. Hope that makes people awake! Also refer to this and this for more on foods.

(Photo: This salad is made of lettuce, radish, carrot, asparagus, broccoli, tomato and green onion and none of them are organic!)

Recycling (2)

I bought my first iPod in 2005. That was just the time iPod emerged. I guess I paid a much as $400 for a 20 GB Classic and that was just to play songs. Then it just got broken and never played a song again! I guess it was infected by viruses because I never bought a song from iTunes! I always downloaded it from free sites and transferred it to the iPod and that was the result! Then I called Apple Canada and asked if there was any chance it could be fixed. The guy in Ontario told me that it might but it would cost as much as $150! He suggested me to buy a new one and said that I will be eligible for a 10% discount if I present the old iPod.

Then we went to the only Apple store in Brit"Shit" Columbia in Pacific Centre and told what we had been earlier advised.

The guys in there were all surprised seeing the old iPod in it's box. I bet none of them had seen it before or owned it at the time. They all admitted that. They got the old iPod from me but left the earphone, the USP cables and chargers and gave me a 10% discount on an iPod Nano 8 GB which not only plays music but also displays photos and plays videos. I have tested it with songs and photos but not videos as the common formats don't fit in it.

(Photo: The box of my Classic iPod is going to be kept as a memorabilia)