Cutting Corners

I was driving home from work today and the gasoline price caught my eyes at a Shell station: More than ¢158 for a liter! The funny thing is that the Provincial tax will kick in soon, meaning that there will be some ¢15 added to every liter of gasoline price. In the meantime the bastards of the Provincial Government implemented a $200 annual tax on EVs! 

It is obvious that only a small portion of people can purchase EV and those don't care about that annual tax but for me who has been trying to buy a vehicle for a long time now and hasn't been able to yet, there're no solution but cutting some corners. 

What is that I can remove from my list? It's very easy for me but let's start from an upcoming trip! I'm heading south soon and I have a big bag which I thought I shall check it in. I haven't check a bag in the past 9 years or so and now I need to do that! Not such a good idea! WestJet is asking $30 for a freaking bag! What am I going to do? Easy! Take as much as I can out! I don't care! Do you think I will pay $30 to these guys?! I eat for a week with $30! 

Now going back to the normal life:

1) Internet: I'm not going to renew my contract with the pirates of Rogers/Shaw when it ends in a few months! I will save $52.50 every  month, a total of $630 a year! I don't care about anything on the net. I have internet at work, at my siblings and at a local McDonald's! I $630 is a one-way ticket to a destination to the US! 

2) Milk for coffee! It's been a long time since I tried to avoid the outside coffee of any brand and have been mostly successful. I either use instant coffee or get my coffee from work but I need milk or cream for that as I don't add sugar. I usually buy Organic Milk or Cream but at times regular too. A 2 liters Organic Milk cartoon lasts me a week. It is about $8. The same amount of regular milk is half of that price. That will reduce a total of $20 every month from my bills.  

Why not?!

(Photo: Don't panic yet! This was taken in June 2022 in Downtown Calgary!)

Glory

I have a good number of old movies that I watch one from time to time and I have to admit that I enjoy a lot. I do have access or am able to watch the new ones but being a loser(!), I don't want to go to a movie theater all by myself! There was a time that I used to do that. Now I don't! Perhaps I should give up the idea that if someone sees a movie by themselves is a loser and go but I haven't been able to do that yet. For example when all these blockbuster were being shown, Top Gun: Maverick, Barbie, Killing of Flower Moon, and Oppenheim, I tried to convince myself to see them or perhaps to go with a date or my brother. None of them ever occurred and I ended up having a few of them in digital format but I only have watched and enjoyed the first one!

With that said, I watched Glory, last week. Such a fabulous movie. I intended watching the Civil War era movie once a couple of years ago but was discouraged by the hospital scene with all the blood, screaming and suffer they showed. This time, I skipped that and went all the way. Such a glorious movie, I'd like to say. 

Without spoiling the movie, I'd like to add that Hollywood rarely makes good movies like this, unfortunately: Interesting story, which is based on facts, great acting, good cinematography and great scenario. That's all I need to say about this 1989 film. Find and enjoy. 

(Photo: Both Matthew Broadrick, left and Denzel Washington provide excellent acting this movie. The latter received a well-deserved ACADEMY AWARD for male actor in supporting role)

One for the Guinness

I was all good last weekend. Regular life: Cooking, cleaning, visiting friends and family, jogging. Everything that I do and no one else does! The problem started Sun. afternoon! By Mon. I was in so much pain that I decided to go to Urgent Care! bad idea! I should have gone to a clinic, or more specifically the clinic that I usually go to see my own physician.

I was in the clinic at almost 18:30 MST and there was already a line of 5 or 6 people ahead of me, let alone all the ones waiting here and there! I immediately though I shall get the hell out of there but then remembered all the pain that I had the during the day and the night before and stayed! 

I tried to keep calm the entire time I was waiting. The line no was getting longer and I think it was almost 11:20 that I was called! Now that everyone knows that it doesn't mean I am not examined by a physician! It's just the beginning of the second period of waiting! It took more than 45 or maybe 50 minutes! I was running out of patience and started swearing everyone in the clinic in my head but got myself under control and then the doctor showed! He was a very nice person and helped me as much as I expected from him. The last person who wanted to irritate me was a cute little girl who had been assigned to the task of giving me a few pills before I am discharged. She purposely or unintentionally kept me waiting for 10 minutes and by the time I was leaving the clinic it was almost 00:35! A 6-hour treatment shall have a new record for Guinness. Shall it? 

Workplace Stories (24): Nice but Stupid

The most important factor in being successful at work, after having enough knowledge, is being able to build relationship with everyone. Was I able to do that part of the job? I can't say that I always have been. It's mainly because there're assholes that you can't level with them in any possible way, no matter how hard you try. 

Now I'm five months to this job, things haven't been so great: I still have the long commute, long hours, endless undertakings and like any other job, dealing with assholes! The latter, though, only takes a small part of my time. However I come across an issue of different nature: How to deal with people who make detrimental mistakes but they're nice?! Here's what happened a few weeks ago and I was quite shocked to see this:

The groove weld that bonds the 4" pipe, vertically, almost, to the 24" main pipe, from inside the big pipe. That is basically the only weld which you need, if you are planning to put a plate around the 4" weld, later.

One of the welders asked me to do a a Visual Inspection on one circumferential semi-horizontal(!) weld on a part. I normally don't do that. This is not common. I usually wait for a number of welds to be deposited and then the supervisors called me to go. This was an exemption because the weld would have to be covered by a plate. However, that was the problem. The plate would have to be flushed with the horizontal pipe that the welded pipe, the vertical pipe had been welded to! So, technically, the only weld you would need to deposit, for the small 4" pipe attached to the gigantic 24" horizontal pipe, is a groove weld. In order to do that, you would bevel the 24" to the point that you can deposit a good amount of material to provide sufficient strength and that would be it. The plate lands on the 24" horizontal pipe and a weld-all-around fillet weld would finish this part. The guy, instead, has deposited a big fillet weld right after the groove weld and now he had to grind it off to be able to put the plate on and weld it!!

This picture shows the plate before being pushed down to flush with the big pipe and welded. Notice the pig filler weld all around the 4" pipe? That needs to be grinded off before the this plate can be installed!

It was not entirely his fault because that how it was shown in the stupid drawing but as an experienced welder he should've either held the operation and ask or simply ignored the fillet weld but he didn't and that was where I was very surprised by the stupidity! I discussed the issue with both the drafter and the engineer and they accepted my point but I told them that I had left the guy on his own, mainly because bringing such a problem up would not do anything but damaging the relationship which I certainly need for a long-term career, to my retirement, a good position somewhere else or to the Government job!

(Photo, top; The 4" pipe after the plate is also put around it.) 

When a Thunder Strikes

There's nothing more pleasing to me while I'm on the road, rather than seeing people are pulled over by the authorities. I think there have been days that I saw at least once a day! In winter when it's dark, it's very easy to get caught. You're driving and you don't even see the car in pitch dark and all of a sudden you see the beacons. 
Now that it's bright, especially in the afternoon, starting this Mon. that he Daylight Saving was started, it's become easy see the police but there's idiots who are blind as well as being stupid. I was heading down the road this afternoon and at a merge of another road saw a truck sitting there. I always drive between 100 Km and 105 Km per hour and am never worried. So, when I was passing him I was able to see his camera installed on the dash. I didn't care much because I was within the speed limit as always. Just a few kilometers down the road I saw the beacon flashing! That was him! It happened so fast that I didn't get what had happened first! Just so a few cars passed me and then there were the lights! He truck on a drive like thunder on an early spring day! I'm sure he even didn't have to react. Enjoy the ticket, moron! 

(Photo: The moment of truth! I don't know how much this violation costs because the last ticket that I have received was in 2012 but I assume it cannot be less than $150 CAN. The funny thing is a drunkard stupid donkey asked once on the net whether he has to pay his ticket!! I honestly think, at times, that these people have concrete, dog poop and cat piss mixed up and placed in their skulls for brain!)

On the Road to Recovery

I don't know if you believe in this or not but I have a saying for myself which goes: Once a Loser, Always a Loser! And in that I'm talking about myself! After my separation from my wife, 8 years ago, I never was able to get myself into a meaningful relationship, despite the opportunities and trying. There has been always a problem or an excuse. And will be like that probably until the day I die, unless there's an extraordinary situation! 

With that in mind, I talked to The Chef last Saturday and we ended up getting a couple of nice Fishes and going to my place. Of course I paid for that and I picked him up at his place. He's broke as a homeless but considering all the times that I went to his place and he provided food and booze, this was nothing. 

The fish this time came out very nicely, especially because I was very hungry, I think. We finished two medium sized Salmon but not the top rated ones but not too cheap either. 

The difference this time was the Wine. This was given to me as a Christmas gift by the company. It obviously was not an expensive one, probably $15 or so for a 750 ml bottle but because of its low percentage of alcohol, only 10%, it tasted really fine. A white Zinfandel from California which was a little bit sweet and went down smoothly. 

I do not call The Chef by this name. It's because he's always awesome when it comes to cooking. The nickname, of course, is not known to him. I never use it to call him. Here he has used a mixture of herbs and spices to coat the pieces before they are fried in another mixture! 

My only worry was The Chef getting drunk and get me in trouble but it didn't happened due to the low amount of beverage and being low alcohol. I think he hasn't learnt his lesson yet even after this last time that he almost lost an eye and hasn't been recovered completely but who am I kidding?! Once you're addicted to alcohol or any substance, there's barely any return!

(Photo, top: The glasses contain the nice pink wine)

My first Apple Pie

Winter is the proper time for backing. At least for me. I turn the oven on to make something delicious and make the house warm as well! Sounds cheap? It's not! Home baking isn't cheap, if you use the proper or perhaps I shall say good ingredients. This time I decided to make Apple Pie and the result was spot on! As always I used Whole Wheat Flour which is way healthier than the cheap item they use in massive-backing factories. I used Granny Smith Apples and a little, probably only three tablespoons, of Brow Sugar. My way of preparing the Crust was just following the same method as preparing dough for the Flat Bread, which worked fine. I must add that I do not peel the Apples because that way, if you chew completely and properly(!) it is way better for your stomach and generally the digestion system. When it came out of the oven hot, it was amazing! I think not using much sugar it gave it a little bit taste sourness but that was still okay.

A closeup of the pie shows the texture and the pieces of apple with the skin on

Next time I might use one extra tablespoon or simply use another type of Apple. I was going to offer a slice to The Old Gal to reopen the negotiations(!) since she dodged me the last time I was approaching home, and I think it was because I have not contacted her since last Nov. but then I said F*ck it! I don't need her! I've lived my life alone for the mist of my life. I'm not going to beg a women because I feel I need someone physically or emotionally!

SALT

 

This post is about three different types of salt: Salt, the mineral, which is used for cooking. SALT, the movie and S. A. L. T. a treaty between the US and former Soviet Union and I'm sure this is the most understood one, amongst the three. Not that it is important.

I wrote an e-mail to Health Canada with the hope to make them understand that when they use the term Sodium to address Salt, they're wrong! Sodium is an element in Periodic Table with Atomic Number 11 and Na as its symbol and is considered a metal! Salt, on the other hand is a mineral and its formula is Na Cl, meaning it is composed of two elements Sodium (Na) and Chlorine (Cl)! The only thing that Sodium as an element and Salt as a mineral share is Sodium (Na) but they neither look alike nor taste the same! In fact you cannot taste Sodium because it's a soft, silvery and highly reactive metal! 

Why a Government organization makes such a silly mistake, remains a mystery to me!

Richard Nixon left and Leonid Brezhnev during SALT I meeting. The one next to Nixon is the long-time serving Foreign Minister of the USSR, Andrei Gromyko. 

SALT, in all capital letters, or S. A. L. T. was a treaty between the US and former Soviet Union to limit the development and usage, later, of the strategic weapons. In fact S. A. L. T., stands for strategic arms limitation talks. This meetings originally took place between Nixon and Brezhnev (or as I would write it in English as Brezhnef, because v at the end in Slavic languages or Cyrillic script pronounces as f but in English doesn't!) and was continued to the time that Ronald Reagan was the president. Did it do any good to the international peace? Probably! But that is not what we're going to discuss here. It was just a brief reference.

Sodium is a silvery and soft, highly reactive metal. Only stupid and ignorant people use this term to address salt that we add to our food

SALT, which in fact shall be written Salt but might confuse people with the mineral, is a movie after a person's surname: Evelyn Salt, with Angelina Julie as the main character. This was an enjoyable and very entertaining movie with great cinematography, acting and story. Many people praise Julie for her performance in different movies. This was my second one from her after Girl Interrupted and she's phenomenal in both, particularly the first. I'm not going to spoil the movie for someone who hasn't seen it yet but have to say that it was unique in story. Probably one of the movies that I easily would give 3.75 out of 5. 

(Photo, top: Evelyn Salt as a CIA agent is interviewing a defector who later blow her cover!)

Is Restaurant Industry about to Die?

Éclair called me to go for lunch with him a few weeks ago, at work, again and on the way he said he wanted to have Egg. We went to a local restaurant and he ordered a couple of Eggs, Toast and Hash Brown. I ordered the similar dish. Nothing more. Not even a beverage. Since he had paid all the time we had lunch together, I decided to pay this time, despite the fact that he had told me that he would have put it on the company's tab. 

You would not imagine to have a big bill for a couple of Toasts, two couples of Eggs, a handful of scorched(!) Potato cubes and some garnish. Would you? You should! It cost me exactly $51.89!! It is very easy to calculate how much such meal cost the restaurant and then add the other cost:

1) Two Eggs. I think you can buy a dozens of Eggs for as low as $4.5 these days and I'm sure that restaurants have access to bulk food and wholesale. So, the cost of the eggs would not be more than $1, at the most!

2) Toast. Cheap sliced Bread of different kind is available in the country which is amongst the 10 biggest producers of Wheat. I do not buy anything baked, at all, because of all the disgusting shit that the bakeries of the major supermarket add to the ingredients to increase the shelf-life, not to mention the fact that most of the bread out there is made of White Flour and is bad for the digestion system and generally, health. So I don't know how much a bag of sliced bread is these days but I think they can buy a cheap one as low as $3. Considering a bag of sliced bread could contain as many as 10 sliced, the cost of this part of the dish would not be more than $1, maximum, again. 

3) Hash Brown. I think restaurants buy frozen bulk Hash Brown and dip fry them in 1-week old oil or something like that. No one in any restaurant sits to peel and cut potatoes! Everything is done by machines. It is not easy to calculate the cost of this item but looking at the pile of Potatoes in the above picture, I'd say it's a large potato, probably a quarter pound and shall cost something around ¢50 and now because it was partially ready, before it entered the restaurant, I would give the same value to it and will say the Hash Brown cost $1, as well! 

4) There's nothing more in that plate rather than some garnish. The whole meal must not have taken more than 15 minutes to make, including plating. Do you want me to calculate the remaining of the cost, now?!

I know no one thinks about these details but I know that eating out has become difficult for people, particularly Canadians because they barely cook at home. Perhaps this has changed now after two years that inflation has been killing everyone! I wonder what the reaction of the restaurant would be, If I send this to them! Charging $25 for a $5 meal! I will never, ever go to that place and similar ones!

(Photo: My expensive meal at a local Alberta restaurant which cost me $25!)