The
Squamidian Report – Dec. 10 / 11
Issue #498
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
There is an endless list of advantages to being retired. But there are also some pitfalls as well. The biggest and most obvious is that there is no paycheck and therefore no copulas amounts of spending money. I spent most of my adult life with at least some spare cash in my pockets. If I needed or, more importantly, wanted something, I simply bought it. Never a problem as long as I was responsible and careful. But now, no, no spending money, empty pockets, doom and gloom. So, very predictably, the brain starts to ponder ways of creating spending money. The obvious first solutions would be to get a job but I’m not that desperate, at least not yet. There has to be some other, less intrusive options available.
I started thinking about what other people spend their money on, and, I saw an ad on TV about an Amusement Part. But those things are expensive and I’m certainly not interested in any kind of involvement in such a thing, even if I did have the cash to get involved with. I’m simply not interested in amusing people. Then I thought, what about a scaled down version, second rate in all respects, that would draw in customers who would be satisfied with a second rate experience, and I came up with an idea… a ‘Be’musement Park. An ‘A’ designation has always meant top of the line, best, that kind of thing. ‘B’ has always stood for second best, lesser than ‘A’. So, while people pay top dollar to go to an Amusement Park, they expect to receive top-of-the-line entertainment, and at least some value for their dollar. For a lot less money you could set up a ‘Bemusement’ Park and charge a lot less, and not have to give very much at all in return for their hard earned dollars. In fact, staying true to the definition of bemused, all you would have to do is leave them confused and bewildered. Customers with a solidly sick sense of humor would probably get a real kick out of such a place. Of course, I don’t have the where-with-all to set up such an endeavor, or even to get involved in one, but the mental exercise was fun anyway. And the profit level would probably not justify the effort either. Guess I’ll have to come up with some other income producing scheme. ;)
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We used to have a Chev Malibu. Can’t remember for sure but I think it was a 2004 model. We got ride of it in 2008. We hated that car. Actually, we hated the brakes on that car. It needed a full brake job every 15,000 kilometers, sometimes even sooner than that. The dealer tried several times to tell us that it must be how we drove, we must be braking too hard and too often. However, the service department did eventually admit that they couldn’t keep brakes in any of those cars but GM would not admit there was a problem and therefore would not do anything to rectify the problem. When we dumped that car we replaced it with a Toyota Camry. Our ’08 Camry now has 72,000 kilometers on it. We had it in for service and had the brakes checked. They needed some minor servicing and adjustments, and yes, just to make it worth while they turned the rotors. But the pads are still at better than 60%. They should be good for several more years. By the time the Malibu had the same clicks on it, it had had 6 full brake jobs. We drive the same now as we did then. The moral to that story is so obvious I don’t think I even need to say it.
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Ok guys, this is issue #498. We’re getting closer. How are those compositions coming? And yes, you will get bonus points for getting them in early so that I don’t have to scramble too much to meet the 500th’s deadline when the time comes.
doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello Everyone!
Well, we’ve finally got a little snow on the ground but I don’t think it’ll last for long. I still believe we’re in for a few days of sunshine and possible warmer temps! It’s at least going to be sunny over the next few days to a week and then we’ll be hit with the winter snow we usually get. The weatherman is predicting a heavy winter so I hope you’re all ready for it when it does hit here! For some reason it still doesn’t feel like Christmas so I guess we’ll just have to wait until we’re a bit closer to the actual date! Christmas things are already happening though. I took Bailey (our little Poodle) to have his picture taken with Santa the other day at the Sheridan Nursery on Ottawa St. The Santa they had there was a real good-looking Santa! He held all the pets as they were brought in and his “elves” even asked me if I’d like some clothing on Bailey so he’d show up better against Santa’s beard! LOL! Bailey is the colour of Bailey’s Irish Cream, hence the name Bailey! I declined and he showed up just fine. I have received the pics that were taken but haven’t had them printed yet. This year they sent all the pictures that they took via computer so you can pick and choose and edit the ones you like! I thought this was a great idea! They took 10 pictures and sent them all to me. I’ll have to load them onto a memory stick and take them to have them printed at Zehrs once we get them edited the way we like them.
Bailey’s 9 years old now and soon will be too big a boy to sit on Santa’s knee! LOL!
Geeze, do you all remember the times we all took our kids to visit Santa? We’ve got a good collection of “Santa” pictures from the years when our son was young enough to enjoy this tradition. These pics come out and are hung on the wall every Christmas and we still enjoy looking at them and remembering! Christmas is always a fun time of year for us and it’s nice to see that it’s still a big and religious occasion. I dread the thought of losing this occasion by having the “politically correct Do Gooders” spoil it so as not to offend people of other religions. We’re losing enough of our Christian traditions as it is! Let’s hope that Christmas is not another casualty of the times!
Well, I must get going and get out today to finish my Christmas shopping! The days of waiting till the last minute are a thing of the past! I’m sure there are still some people that wait until Christmas Eve but I couldn’t bare the thought or effort needed to do it all on the 24th! I guess age and smarts finally catch up to us and I’m one that no longer heads out so late in the season! I’ll get mine done over the next week or so and then I can relax and wait for the big day without so much tension!
That’s it for this week folks!
Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next time in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now…. GREG
PS: Something To Think About>
If you’re enjoying a “REAL” tree this year, be sure to keep it well watered! And if you’re at a loss as to what to give someone you love for a gift, try giving them a Smoke Detector, what better gift can you give than one that could save your loved one’s life!
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Have a good one..
the doug
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