Friday, May 29, 2009

Does Needing a Passport Stop You From Traveling To The USA?

Well as of June 1st our big brothers to the south are requiring us to have a passport to cross their border. What do you think of that? Since September 11th has the security measures been over kill? Do you really think that having a passport to cross the border going to make it any safer? Something that maybe not everyone has been made aware of is on two occasions here in my home town of Medicine Hat certain people had their documents go missing while they waited to receive there passports. Now you ask how does the government lose such important papers? Now believe this or not the government does not value your documents any more then to toss them in the mail, and hope for the best. I do have to say they are using priority post, but non the less documents as important as a passport should be moved by a more secure means then Canada Post. Why would they not use their inter-government mail transfer system? I assure you if it was their pay check it would be a local reputable courier service being used!

In the days of security breaches since 9-11 we should be more cognizant of what is happening to us regarding our countries security. I wonder out loud how much we should be worried, or is it the good old USA are just belt and suspenders type people? We all know that Canada seems to be the safe haven for every low life that wants to do wrong. Lets go to Canada they will take us. When the time is right we will slip into the states and do our dastardly deeds, and slip back home no one being the wiser.

A lot of people have a notion that Canadians are peace loving conservatives. We live in a frozen tundra that only Eskimos and sled dogs along with fugitives want to inhabit. Actually that is probably as far from the truth as what people actually believe. Yes we do have some nasty winters. Yes we do have some simple people here. Really if the truth be known other then the fact we are not as in your face as our American cousins we are not really that different. I will say the USA has a lot more money invested in technology, but there again they have the tax population to fund such projects.

Non the less I really believe that the border crossing procedures are a bit strict. We Canadians enjoyed slipping across the border to catch some great deals from our trading partners to the south. Maybe at the end of the day in these times of belt tightening they might make it so tight they strangle themselves to death. As it is it is very apparent that there is a lot of people will no longer be taking those side trips, because they do not have a passport. One has to factor in now if you are having to pay any where between $80 to upwards $200 for processing for a passport is it such cheap shopping anymore? If you need to factor in that added expense you are likely going to pay the same price here at home. The big box stores in the
USA seem to have the same idea, because now they are slowly starting to trickle up here, and open their doors because they can see the added value of our Canadian dollars. For now I think I will save my travel dollars invest it in Shipping and handling and shop on line where I do not need a passport. At least not yet anyway!....grin

Until next time remember; “To sell something, tell a woman it's a bargain; tell a man it's deductible”

Earl Wilson

Cheers
From The Big Ape

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

How Distracted Are You?

I read this article police target distracted drivers. Now I do agree if you are trying to read and drive you are a dumbass, and deserve a ticket. Now there is people who cannot walk and chew gum so it is debatable whether they actually should have a drivers license to begin with. Now driving and drinking a coffee, and being ticketed for that I think is a bit harsh. You think you have road rage now! Take away coffee from people in traffic, and you are creating a ticking time bomb! Now talking on a cell phone that is up for debate. Especially if you are using a head set. I have been guilty of this as most of us are. Now the young people text more then most people talk anymore so texting and driving deserves a ticket, and a dumbass of the year award I might add. Now before any tickets are handed out our law enforcement better practice what they preach. Now I do not want to hear well we are trained professionals we are allowed to drive and talk. Lets take this one step further what about people who use radios for their job. So do they have to stop to use their radio's? I think a better way of handling the matter is if an accident happens due to the cause of one of these devices then charge them accordingly. Lets use the laws that we have in place. That is the problem with society. People seem to think lets create new laws to solve life's problems.

So I encourage everyone to contact their local and provincial politicians, and tell them to enforce what laws we have, rather then weigh us down with more legislation to clog up the courts even further.

So until next time remember before we work on artificial intelligence why don't we do something about natural stupidity? ~Steve Polyake


Cheers
From the Big Ape...

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Are You Being Ripped Off?

As you know when I get a good tip I like to pass it on. So my sister-in-law thought this was one of those tips that needed just that exposure. Thanks Vickie you too is what keeps the big ape so popular! Now before I post this I would like to post my own tip as not so much as getting ripped off per say is as to the best time to fuel a vehicle. It is best to do this task when it is cooler out side. To get the maximum quantity pumped. I am not sure how it works, just trust me, and either fill in the morning before the days gets too hot, or in the evening when the day starts to cool. It has to do with the expansion of the vapors in the tank. Now with that being said try this next tip, and if you find you are being ripped off contact the authorities immediately. It may not be done intentionally, but non the less it needs to be stopped!

Cheating at the gas pumps (PRINT OUT YOUR RECEIPTS!!!)

This email was sent to me by my sister-in-law who has a friend whose cousin is the Ridgetown, Ont. fire captain.
This is true. It happened to them three weeks ago somewhere in
Ridgetown on our way to Kingston. The pump should have totaled @ $38.00 (and change).
When the receipt was printed, and she checked it was $ 47.00 (and change).
She got mad, went inside the store, asked for a calculator and let them
do the math. They refunded her. She told them that if they cheat, they
had better make it right. Normally, her husband would skip printing the
receipt..

Not her...

We saw on the news the other night that this is happening everywhere.
Brian pumped exactly one liter of gas. The price did not match the cost
of one liter. It was higher. He went inside and complained, got a refund.
There is also a number on each pump that you can call and complain..
This is a true story, so read it carefully.

On March 24, 2009, I stopped at a gas station in Chatham. My truck's
gas gauge was on 1/4 of a tank. I use the regular grade, which was priced at
88.5 per liter. BTW what is up with that as we are in oil rich Alberta, and are paying nearly 20 cents more!!!! When my tank is at this point, it takes somewhere
around 45 liters to fill it up. When the pump showed 45 liters had been pumped, I began to slow it down.
Then, to my surprise, it went to 50, then 55. I even looked under my
truck to see if it was being spilled. It was not. Then it showed 60 liters on
the pump. It stopped at 62 liters. This was very strange to me, since my truck has only a 65 liter tank. I went on my way a little confused, then on the evening news I heard a report that 1 out of 10 gas stations had calibrated their pumps to show more gas had been pumped than a person actually got.

Here is how to check a pump to see if you are getting the right amount:
Whichever grade you are using, put EXACTLY 10 LITERS in your tank, then
look at the dollar amount. If the dollar amount is not EXACTLY 10 times
the price of the fuel you have chosen, then the pumps are rigged.

In my case, as I said, the mid-grade was $0.885 per liter; my dollar
amount for 10 liters should have been $8.85 . I wish I had checked the
pump. It doesn't matter where you pump gas, please check the 10 liter
price. If you do find a station that is cheating, contact the MTO, and
direct your comments to the Commissioner, the
info is on the gas pumps.

Please don't delete this until you have sent it to all people you know. We need to put a stop to this outrageous cheating of customers. The gas companies are making enough profits at honest rates.


Remember in this day and age we need to be observant when we can as fuel is going up all the time, and we cannot afford to be ripped of any more then the government is doing it to us already through our fuel taxes.

Until next time remember theft is against the law because the government does not like competition!

Cheers
From the Big Ape

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Big Idea From One Man Or Maybe Ape...

As I skim my daily readings on this Saturday morning I wonder aloud why we would decided to sentence a person to 125 years in prison and want to keep them alive? Especially a teacher at that! Now for the record the person has not been sentenced yet, but if the thought is there, he will be there as quick as you can say Bob is your uncle! Now if he would have decided to do this in nandy pamby Canada. At best he would have got 25 years, and if the truth be known because of all the bleeding hearts he would be hard pressed to serve 15 years. Now getting back to the original idea, if a person oh say is sentenced to anymore then say 50 years. Why are they being kept alive? Now I can hear the bleeding hearts again....but they might be only 50 to 70 years old! So why not let them live out their golden years? Tell me what good are they to society at this point? I know that it is tough talk coming from a big ape that is on disability, that lives off of the government trough you say. STOP one second though some might say I am a hypocrite for saying that. Some might say why don't we put you to sleep? As I am not much good to society either! Well you can try, but the difference between them and me is this: I am not the demise of my life. I did not choose my path! Someone or something took my life.

The person who knowingly breaks the law and is sentenced a 30, 40, 50 or 100 years before you see the free world again. Sorry you are the weakest link...Good bye! I like the idea of what the Chinese do. If you are sentenced to a life sentences you are taken out back of the court house and exterminated. Now I can hear all the bleeding hearts, BUT what if someone is falsely accused? Well for every person that gets a bum rap, there is 25 more getting their just desserts! Tell me society moves at such a pace now that if a person is taken out of the loop for 15, 20, or 30 years what good are they going to be in society? Hell every time I walk into my local electronics store I feel that society is passing me by. Can you imagine what someone would feel like that is totally taken out of the loop! Mind you then again the way some of the way these prisoners are treated, they probably are treated to better technology then the working stiff on the street. I would hope that is a tongue in cheek statement....please let that be the case! So next time we as tax payers look at your tax bill just think about 20% of those dollars are paying to keep some creep alive in a prison when he has no reason to live. Now an area that really makes my blood just boil is the people that are involved in kiddy porn. Children that are exploited for pornography is sooooo wrong! Those sick bastards I am sorry do not deserve to take another breath in my book! Nuke them I say!!!!!

Finally if you start exterminating a few people it would send a message to tread lightly if you are a criminal , because if you do not, and you are sent packing for an extreme stay. You are going to do society a favor, and be labeled the weakest link, and some judge some where is going to tell you so, and we are all going to bid you GOODBYE YOU ARE THE WEAKEST LINK in that snappy English accent! Grin

Until next time remember; opinions are like certain parts of the anatomy. Everyone has one, just some are bigger then others!

Cheers
From The Big Ape

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Is Big Brother Watching You?

In a day where technology gets smarter and smarter, does that mean we get more careless? How private do you think your life really is? When we have facebook, myspace and every other social networking space out there who is really private anymore? Now I guess if you are unplugged you should be safe....well maybe not so much. If you have someone who really wants to make your life miserable there is identity theft, or just someone that wants to be malicious. They can create a profile and pretty well say what they want. Now lets take this one step further you have a good time one weekend do somethings you are not exactly proud of, but feel that as long as you do not do it again all will be forgiven. Well the old adage what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas may not be the case. Case in point...Social networking plays out in court. So even though you are portrayed in one light by day you better act like that at night or it may come back and haunt you! Now if you have a facebook page, and you have pictures of last weekend at the beer and whiskey run, and you were seen dancing on tables about 2AM. Now follow me and walk down a slippery slope here, say you are the CEO of a huge company do you want the board of directors really seeing those pictures? Unless they were the ones throwing the bash...lol I digress! So the whole point to this is be careful what you do, and remember what you do today might come back and burn your ass tomorrow so be careful out there! Now I think I am going to go checkout my Facebook page and see what is new. lol

Until next time remember It's 11PM, do you know where your pants are? I thought that was kind of fitting because of the topic at hand...lol

Cheers
From the Big Ape

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Are We Throwing The Baby Out With The Bath Water?

That is a saying my Grandmother used to use when people acted with a knee jerk reaction on an important matter. The matter at hand is the banning of Tasers by law enforcement in Canada especially Alberta. Now I will say that there has been a very unfortunate incident again this past Wednesday. Another man has died when in an altercation. They are trying to determine if it was the fault of the taser. Again it is important that someone died, and my condolences go out to the family and friends of the man in question. I can say I too knew Mr. Prentice. We were not long lost friends, but we went to school together. No one deserves to die in an altercation, whether it is with law enforcement or just with another person. The sad thing someone died at all. Now there is details that is being investigated as we speak that I am sure will come out at a later date. I will say that outside investigators were brought in at once. Nobody is trying to hide anything. The authorities are trying to make sense of a very bad situation. I can say I bet that cop is reliving that call time and time again wondering if they could have done something different. Now for the record keep in mind the victim was in distress. He was agitated, that is the reason the police was called in the first place. It was reported that he had approached people on the street in the neighborhood along with trying to force his way into a house in that same area. It was also reported he was seen being agitated and bleeding. So along with the police, medical attention was also summoned. Now I would like to state for the record I am not getting this information first had. This information is what I have seen in different media reports. When the individual was approached by law enforcement he was some what combative, and had to be restrained. Upon this altercation a taser was used to help subdue the person in question. Now people have to understand a few things here:
1. We are not sure even if the taser was discharged in the altercation, did it actually penetrate the person in question?
2. If the person in question had not resisted, the taser would never have been even thought of to be used.
3. Keeping in mind the taser is a better choice then having to pull their service revolver and shoot the person.
4. The person passed away they figure of a heart attack. Critics are saying it was because of the taser. My question is would he have passed away regardless of the taser? Was he having medical problems anyway, and that is why he was acting out to begin with, and would have died anyway?
5. Lastly this person was known to police for being aggressive on previous incidents.

Now the whole situation is very sad! A person died here, but if we can learn one thing from all this. Do not resist or defy law enforcement when they make requests of you. Also lets rethink the request to ban tasers, because I assure you if they pull their service revolver the person probably has a less chance of living!

RIP Grant you are gone, but will never be forgotten....

Cheers
From The Big Ape

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Is Laughter The Best Medicine?

If you ask Patch Adams of the Gesundatheit Institute he would agree. That is what his whole institute is built on. If we laugh and see happiness in our life we will heal better from life's illness's or just feel better in general. Just remember back to the last time you were feeling ill and happened to crawl into bed and flip on the TV or pop in a movie, and you became so engrossed that you forgot how ill you really were. If you have never done this try it next time you are feeling under the weather. Pop in a comedy in your DVD player or watch your favorite sitcom you might be amazed how much better you feel at least for the short term anyway. Actually what got me thinking about this is an article I read last week (sorry I can not find it now) on the subject of doctors offices not allowing their nurses to have comedy TV on in their waiting rooms, as it was starting to effect how the patients were feeling when they actually got in to see the doctor. Maybe if we did not have so long to wait we would not have time to watch enough TV to make us feel better. It must be an United States thing as I do not know too many doctor's offices that are hooking up televisions in their waiting rooms. Although it might be just a matter of time as my dentist actually has TV and videos in the ceiling to distract you while he works on your teeth. My local lab that I attend to get my blood work done at also has TV in their waiting rooms. Generally it is turned to the current talk show of the hour or Judge Judy. It is nothing that would enlighten me enough to make me feel better enough to forget what is happening to me physically. Even those that are depressed benefit from a good belly laugh or two. If you have ever seen the movie Patch Adams you will understand more. If you have never seen this movie it is an oldy, but a goody according to the old ape anyway. Who can resist watching a movie with Robin Williams in it? It is on my top 10 watch again movies list. I really believe we need more Patch Adam's in the world. Well on that note I better wander back to the jungle and get some work done. No that was not a joke....Honest I do some work once and a while! Hey I see you breaking out in laughter. Well at least made you smile!

Until next time remember lifes tough, get a helmet!

Cheers
From the Big Ape

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

What is News to You?

On today's super hiway of technology we get information from all over the place. People telling their story. People reporting on different subjects, but the big question is what is really news to you? A lot of the news networks have a computer component to them also. We can read news from soldiers first hand what is happening on the war on terrorism. It does not get any more real then that. That is first hand news at its finest. Now what got me thinking about this piece as Miss California deals with a photo that was posted on the net. Now personally I don't think that the photo is that risky, but then again it takes a lot to get me to flinch. With my experience of working in the media I have learned to tell no one or show no one anything that you do not want to be posted for someone's enjoyment, and believe me when I say one person's enjoyment is someone elses drama.

So I pose the question to you as readers where do you get your news? What do you consider news? Are you like some; believe 1/2 what you read, and 3/4 what you see?

Here is some of my sources:
Google News

AOL News

So here is a few of my sources I use when I try and stay informed. I would be interested who you get your news from on line. Well I know this was a short post, but I just had a few minutes, and thought I would post what I was thinking. See that is why it was a short post. I don't think too long or my brain starts to hurt.

Until next time remember everyone has photographic memory; some just don't have the film.

Cheers
From The Big Ape :-)