My favourite vacation: Kindred Spirits Country Inn, Cavendish Beach PEI
This website owes thanks to family, friends and people who inspire. Wendy, Jeff, Sean and Logan Patterson Gord Newton and Cathi Tournour, Richard Gane and Sheila Langdon- Gane, Al and Theresa Pidgeon Paul and Annette Lawrence, Ron and Debbie Lawrence Jayne Patterson, Brian and Sylvia Patterson Helen and Bruce Patterson, Audrey and Norm Harvey Jane Jacobs, David Suzuki, Margaret Atwood, Tommy Douglas, Jean Vanier, Stephen Lewis, Ann- Marie McDonald, Alex Pangman Play Mario Brothers!
June 20/09 New article...my early years as an Argo fan...the 68 and 69 seasons... The Movie Countdown has been changed to my top 150...and is ongoing!! See the Movie Review section!! The format has changed, I have used links, which cover the details of these great films...personal commentary will be added shortly... My music page is starting to move...check out some jazz...some links are available, my personal comments are available soon... Consumers must take some responsibility...boycotting is power!! Article to come soon...
Life is a Grind I have recently purchased a Mr. Coffee espresso machine, so I thought it would be a good idea to make a few comments about my experiences with coffee. Coffee is unquestionably addictive, and like most things in life, it can be enjoyed in moderation. De-caffeinated coffee is an option of course, but I personally prefer coffee with a caffeine hit and have many other options if I don't want the hit. Green tea is very enjoyable as an afternoon drink and comes either lightly caffeinated or de-caffeinated. Green tea comes in many flavours, my favourite being ginseng. I also love Blueberry herbal tea and Ginger Mango. But...back to coffee. There were a few things I wasn't aware of. I always liked the taste of Dark Roast coffee, and when I went to Second Cup, I usually ordered an Italian dark. But occasionally I found after drinking a half of it, that it seems a little uninspiring. I have since found out that dark roast coffee, because it is roasted longer loses acidity and tends not to be as robust. So I went back to a light roast and realized that the lighter roast did have a little more zest! So, now I enjoy both, depending on my feelings at the time. At home...I now generally buy a light and a dark and mix them togethet for a nice blend. Sometimes a lighter roast is better as a first cup, then you can go to a darker selection after that, or in the afternoon, if you are an afternoon coffee drinker (which I generally am not). Now that I have an espresso machine I can make coffee "treats". I like to put whipped cream on my espresso or add whipped milk, made with a "French-press style foamer". Espresso primarily refers to a grind, not a coffee. So if you buy any coffee, you can grind it to an espresso fineness and it will work, although certain coffees are better, such as dark roasts and Italian and French types, some which are called espresso. The Turkish grind is very powerful and is best used on a machine designed for it. I have a new Hamilton Beach coffee machine, which uses the preferred cone-type filter and the carafe is a glass-lined plastic one, which keeps the coffee hot for a while with the machine off. The French Press method though is still, in my opinion the best way to make coffee. You use a medium grind, put the coffee in the carafe and then pour in water which is just under the boiling point. Let it steep for 3-4 minutes and then push in the plunger and pour! Superb! Many coffee shops will make you a French Press coffee if you ask. Enjoy!
Mr. Coffee, frother, French Press and DeLoghi Grinder
The George Bush Story: Re-visited This story has been re-written as it was lost on the original web-site. I hope you enjoy it!
Little George was walking down the tree-lined street swishing the leaves with his feet. He had a restless spirit. He was on his way home from school, boredom suffocating him. Coming the other way was Binny Laden, Bin for short. George didn't particularly want to see him. Bin was bossy and picked on him a bit. Bin stopped in front of him and said, "Hey man, what ya doin'". "Nothin'", replied George. Bin started to walk away and then turned his head slightly. He said to George, "I've got some stuff, if you want it." "What stuff?" questioned George. "Oh, just some Greasy Gum", answered Bin. "Oh ya?" said George. "It's been a while since I've seen any of that around". George thought about what to do, realizing he was a little short on funds. So he he asked Bin about paying him a little later. "Do you think I'm some kinda smuck!" exclaimed Bin. He had a sarcastic grin on his face and George was intimidated. George explained his situation and told him if he bought a lot of Greasy Gum off of him he could sell some and give him back some of the profits as well as paying him back. Bin scratched his chin and thought about it for a second. "I guess we could work out a deal, but you'd better deliver", said Bin menacingly. He wasn't too worried, as he thought George was a bit of a wimp. One way or another he'd get his money. George bought a bunch and enjoyed it himself for the evening, but knew he couldn't chew up the profits. The next day he started selling Greasy Gum to his school friends. They weren't wild about the idea of having to buy from a friend. George though, convinced them that it wasn't worth his while unless he charged a tad above market value. He started to sell in bulk and developed a little ring of guys he called "Gumbies". He wasn't happy with Bin though, because he was being charged the same as before even though he was expanding the business. George was thinking of a way to get back at Bin. He started calling him "Garbage Bin", to get his ire. George started looking around for ways to get the gum cheaper, but he was already in over his head. He wasn't really very smart, and needed some advice. He was a little nervous about asking his Dad George Sr. who owned a big gum business. So he went to a friend who lived in a little town nearby, Big Dick. He was just that. He was big, always walked around with his hunting rifle, and carried a snarly grin on his face. He had recently gone hunting and accidently shot one of his mates...not the best thing for his reputation. He hung out with a friend of his, the richest kid around, Hal I. Burton. George asked Big Dick what the "I" stood for. "Interest", said Big Dick with a tone implying the stupidity of the question. George was glad he called Big Dick, because he was assured that something could be done about "Garbage Bin". Of course, George soon realized that Big Dick wanted in on the business too. George shook his head, realizing that maybe things were getting a little too complicated. Big Dick and Hal I. Burton went to George's schoolyard late the next afternoon. They gathered together all the "Gumbies" and told them of their plans. They were all told they had to come to meet "Garbage Bin" the next day after school. Before they went to see him though, they were informed of the necessity of an election, just to ensure proper group organization and a division of labour. The election took place, and fortuneately for George, Big Dick chose to be his running mate and not his competition. The boy who ran against him was a very dapper young man and somewhat of a scholar in molecular biology. His running mate was a Jewish boy who spoke out of turn a lot, his name was Blabberman. Interestingly, he later changed his allegience after George left the group. The young biologist was quite popular, but in the end was defeated in a very close vote. The vote was taken with ayes and nayes, and a few cold stares from George's big brother Zeb appeared to sway the votes. It was quite clear that the vote was rigged. The new organization decided the best place to have their meetings was in an tree fort that George said he and his brother always went to. He was a little worried about it, because many others had found it's whereabouts and were using it. But hopefully it would be available. One of the boys in the group was very alarmed when he heard about the fort. He was surprised that no one had heard about the attack on the fort earlier in the day. Many people had been injured. George acted dumbfounded. He claimed he didn't know about it because he was out talking to a bunch of school kids from another district. He yelled, with his right fist in a punching motion," We will find who did it and kill them. We do not allow evil deed doers in our country!" He sensed that "Garbage Bin" was behind the attack and promised to find him. Unfortuneately "Garbage Bin" couldn't be found. They looked everywhere. George told everyone that Bin's group was dangerous, and to be careful. Some of the boys weren't sure if George was right, or if Bin was equipped to fight back. The search went on, but George seemed terribly preoccupied. Some of his best friends quit the group because they didn't think he knew what he was doing. One of his best friends Rolin Howell even quit, because he thought George was ignoring the obvious. George was humiliated when a video was distributed showing Bin Laden in a cave talking of plans to attack agian. The Greasy Gum was still being controlled by those other than the "Gumbies". So George joined up with a group led by his old friend Lyle and Big Dick. He was pretty happy because Lyle had a car. It was the first time he had a friend with a car. They decided to call themselves the CarLyle Group. They had actual control over the profits of different groups that owned Greasy Gum. Lyle even had connections with a guy from Switzerland, who seemed to know a lot about financial security. George was glad he joined because he started pocketting money from what Hal called a a shared kickback fund. He asked his Dad about it, but as usual George Sr. was just smiled, laughing at his son's ignorance, and simply said, "Don't worry about it son, things go way back, and it's pretty complicated". George didn't even know that Bin's uncle used to visit his Dad. So George grew richer and opened many accounts, some a good distance away. His popularity was waning though, because only a very small group was benefitting from George's leadership. It was also very obvious that George was using a lot of friends to run around and fight various gangs. Nothing was coming out of it. He kept saying that the battle was being won, but nobody felt like they were winning, and Greasy Gum was costing them an arm and a leg. Not only that, but everyone was losing their tree forts, and didn't have the resourses to get them back again. So it was time for a new leader and the Gumbies called an election. They decided to give the position over to the oldest member of the Gumbies, who was a bit of an outsider who denied any allegience to George. To make matters even stranger he chose a girl as a running mate. So Arizona McBrain and Saralaska Pollen took over. They talked about making their own gum and said that all the big shots must be brought down to size. They promised that nobody would be charged any more money and that spreading the wealth was against the spirit of the Gumbies. Proudly they declared themselves the peoples' candidates and described themselves as mavericks.They were not prepared for a new movement that was taking place. McBrains campaign organizers thought that Pollen would steal the spotlight but her ignorance was exposed when she was interviewed on the local television station. People started thinking about a safer neighbourhod, more money to take care of their health and a cleaner place to live. The leader of the new movement exposed the rich kids, who lived on Wall Road, as being irresponsibe. The new leader was Bam Bam Oracka, and the Gumbies were no more.
Stop Human Traffickng! Check out www.notforsalecampaign.org Fight Global Warming!! www.fightglobalwarming.com The Obama Effect: There are so many reasons why the Obama presidency is important to Canadians. His leadership should provide for a safer international military situation and for a more aggressive move towards ecological stability. Looking at our government, Harper looks old and out of touch in comparison. Well, he'd better wake up or he'll drown in the backwash. What I hope is that our opposition forces, the Liberals, Bloc, NDP, and Green (in spirit) become aware that we MUST keep up with the new progressive movement and that no dawdling on the part of the Tories will be tolerated. If the opposition exercises patience, our country will be internationally embarrassed and we will be in political turmoil. With our current government, I am embarrassed with who our leader is. I think the Liberals should speed up the leadership process. Their choice may not end up being the be all end all, but I hope they provide us with someone who can help lead us in modernizing our policies, regardless of who is in power. "OUR NEW HOME" Wild turkeys marching looking like soldiers with red wattles and gold iridescence ... Entering the pantheon, a cavernous coloir
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Young George