The Mysterious Sound And Helping Others

Don't ask me why it is happening, but it is.

Since literally being brought back to life from being within days of dying because of the illness that I was experiencing just over a year ago, my life has been unbelievable to me. I am recovering well and I am very thankful to those who continue to support me in so many different ways.

I want to share a story with you.

After getting a thorough home inspection, we were advised that before moving into our new home in Tecumseh, a new furnace should be considered. It wasn't a question of if the furnace would go, but more of a question of when it would stop working properly. Calling him in, a Reliance Home Comfort employee concurred that one of the first major things that we should do in our new house was to replace the furnace completely in our basement and to add other small features during that process to improve our townhouse for the future. Frankly, to me anyway, it really wasn't such a big deal because this was an expense that usually came up.

We decided to go ahead with the purchase. For others it may have worked out well when they made the changes in their basement with the new unit being installed. However, for us, it was quite a crazy experience to deal with! Unfortunately, because of my health condition at the time in May of last year, I could not be involved in watching the new unit being put in. That task went to my daughter, Melissa, and to her boyfriend, Bill. Fortunately for her, Bill had some experience in dealing with home heating systems and knew the right questions to ask. Nevertheless, the person putting it in, who was an employee of the Reliance subcontractor to whom the task was given, must have done something wrong because installation was a mess and the furnace did not work properly.

According to my daughter, a number of things happened that seemed to be improperly done during the installation. I need not bore you with all of those details but when I heard about it I contacted Reliance and spoke to some senior officials there. My tone was not exactly friendly either. I warned them that, if I had to call them one more time after supposedly everything had been fixed up, I would require them to take out every piece of equipment that they put in and reinstall everything again properly or else! I also told them that I did not want their subcontractor involved in the unit replacement because of the mess they had made and how bad our phone conversation was.

Reliance performed beautifully to satisfy us. They literally sent us a team of employees to check out everything that was done initially, fixed it all up and the system worked perfectly. They fixed the outstanding problems that their employees spent hours trying to figure out, but had difficulty in doing so. They had various people checking the different pieces of equipment. Now that is service for just a plain customer with no other connection with the Company. It cost us zero dollars as well!

Everything worked well for months and months until a short time ago when I started to hear a noise that was coming from somewhere in the house. My guess when I first heard the noise, in the middle of the night naturally, was that it probably came from the basement because of the cold weather. It was just some expansion and/or contraction of some parts I felt. I had experienced a similar issue in a previous household where I lived. As time went on, the noise increased from a few times a night to several times during the evening and then throughout the day. My wife and I could not figure out from where the noise was coming or what the problem was.

After spending too long hearing these peculiar sounds, we asked my daughter's boyfriend, Bill, to come over and try to fix up whatever was going wrong. By this time, I had fortunately lucked out I thought. The noise seemed to come from the bathroom beside my bedroom. In fact, the noise seemed to come from the toilet, believe it or not. Bill made the decision that even though the time period was so short from installation, the problem probably came from the toilet itself with a flush valve not suctioning properly and so it was causing air bubbles to form and it may not necessarily be a problem that Reliance can help. He went to a local hardware store nearby and purchased a new flush valve to potentially alleviate the problem.

It took a fair bit of time for Bill to get the rubber part of the valve on properly. It would not seal flat and what a frustrating process! He finally did it and replaced the old part with the new one. Hallelujah, success! The sound disappeared.

My wife and I had a great night of sleeping the first evening. On the 2nd night however, everything broke down. It was a mess. I heard a sound at about a quarter to midnight that night and that sound came back every 10 minutes or so thereafter. My wife and I spent time trying to get that sound to stop. We achieved nothing. The decision was made by us that we were going to call up Reliance to have a worker come out that night under their repair service to have someone take a look further into what the problem may be, so we could finally get to sleep.

I spoke to a lady by the name of Patty who was in Reliance's Services group. She seemed to be nice. Obviously, I have no idea what she looks like but she seemed to be a bit older and she knew how to talk to a person who had a problem. She had a very friendly personality so late at night, which was comforting. Patty was very knowledgeable and our discussion lasted almost 45 minutes.

Yes, it was that detailed because I felt first that it was necessary for me to disclose our problem in our house because I couldn't figure it out. Also I did explain to her my medical situation and so sometimes I may get words wrong or it may take me longer to explain. She was very understanding and handled this complex situation in a professional manner, mentioning she would call back and let me know if someone could come and check out the issue.

Patty called back within a half an hour and told me about how many people she had spoken with already. I was shocked by how many to be honest and how senior they were even so late at night. I was told not to expect anyone coming in until around 8 o'clock that morning. I accepted what she said and we ended up chatting on the phone for a while more. I thanked her for her time and great efforts and said goodnight. I have never received such great customer service before in the middle of the night!

It was probably about 2:30 in the morning when we were all finished and Marsha and I went back to bed. I normally do not sleep very well in a difficult situation. However that night I fell asleep right away and got up a few hours later feeling quite relaxed. At around 7:30 AM, Patty called me again with a bit of bad news. Regretfully, I was told that the person that they wanted to come to take a look at the furnace equipment who was experienced would not be able to come until later in the morning because he was attending a conference for which he had been scheduled before. I accepted that because I wanted a senior employee to come over and we had settled the problem temporarily.

It was around 10 AM, the time when I was told that his conference would end, that I received a call from him, Ian, who told me that he was coming over immediately. It wasn't very pleasant outside because of snow and he told me that it would take a bit longer to get here than normal. He told me not to worry because he was going to remain at my house until he solved the problem. Another phone call came. Ian said that there was a problem with his daughter's car and he needed to tend to the situation right now. I understand that family is important and so I told him to come when he was ready. Fortunately, it worked out and his daughter was able to get the issue dealt with and Ian was heading over to fix this mysterious sound.

We spent a good amount of time when Ian arrived here talking about the system that I had arranged to be put into our house and the problems that we had experienced initially. I was afraid that one of them either was coming back or had not been identified before because of the mess of the system originally. He wanted to know everything that might be wrong with it now so that he could fix it up. It did not matter how long it took because he was there to solve any problem that I possibly had.

To be direct about it, as we were speaking, one of the situations that I discussed was that I heard a lot of noise directly from our toilet in the bathroom. That made him think that it was actually a toilet issue itself that caused the problem. In fact, it turned out that the work my daughter's boyfriend had struggled with was due to the fact that even the new flush valve was poorly manufactured and was not sealing properly again!

Ian had to go out and buy another piece of equipment to install. He went to one of the big Hardware stores in town to get something that was better quality. He did not accept what they had in stock, so off he went to another outfit where he was able to get a good piece of equipment with which he was very comfortable to install.

If you think that Ian stopped there just to repair that unit, then you are wrong. He went into the basement and took a look at all of the equipment down there. In fact, he organized changes for some of it even though it was probably earlier than it needed to be done because he told me that he did not want another issue a short time later. There were several actions that he took to change equipment to make sure that I was not going to have to solve another problem shortly thereafter. Thank goodness for that!

When Ian finished all his work after about 4 to 5 hours being in our house, I was thrilled. I could not believe how long he stayed here and how much work he did to help us out so much. I must say that I was a bit nervous in case I heard another noise that evening coming from the water system telling me that the problem still had not been solved but I heard nothing. Everything that Ian had done was perfect!

I was not finished after Ian left. I had a very important job that I had to do as a result of this situation. I spoke with Ian's supervisor, John, and expressed my gratitude about the great work that he had done. I also spoke with John's supervisor, Ghislaine, and then all of their supervisors, including Amanda, who lives out of town, to express how happy I was with what happened.

That's it, dear reader. I wanted to set out in great detail what took place so that not only would you understand the great relationship that I have developed with Reliance, but more importantly with many of its employees who made it their job to make sure that everything worked for our family so well. If I would have encountered a negative experience, I would share that too, so you are aware of how to deal with these situations. If you're looking for a furnace or any other equipment for your house, I would highly recommend booking an appointment with a rep from Reliance. It makes me happy that they offer live 24 hours a day, 7 days a week service to their customers. I intend to be a life-long customer.  Go here to contact them: http://www.reliancehomecomfort.com/Pages/default.aspx

So that's the end of the story. I enjoy letting people know the good and the bad of anything that takes place in my life because maybe a similar situation has happened to you, or may occur in the future and so reading my blog will help you know what steps to take.

Deleting Lots Of Material

 

I have been downloading lots of material on my computer for a very long period of time so that I can use it later on. When I downloaded a specific news story, I expected to be able to use it fairly soon thereafter as the basis of an article that I was going to write on a certain subject for my website.  

That plan failed miserably. Unfortunately, there was so much material that I downloaded and did not use because other more important events or items arose which I had to write about first. Accordingly, I started plugging up storage capacity on my hard disk drive with all this old material. However, in doing so, I found some interesting articles that I thought that you, dear reader, might be interested in taking a look at. Here are some of those articles that interested me so much that you might want to consider.

WHAT IS OUR NEXT BORDER CROSSING 

I wish I knew what the answer to that was. How will our new border crossing between Canada and United States finally be set out? 

You know from what I have written previously what I think will happen. My belief is that it is not going to be a new bridge a couple of miles away from where the Ambassador Bridge is located now. Rather, it will be a 2nd bridge right beside the existing one for a whole bunch of practical reasons. 

I'm sure that many people believe that senior politicians can tell us exactly what is going to happen although it is being kept secret publicly as it has for years and years and years. However, I am not one of them. I always believed that many senior politicians may not be giving us that information. Heck, they may not know what is really going to happen either! 

Here is just one example. This Story in the fall is what Dwight Duncan said in a Windsor Star story by Dave Battagello on October 20, 2015 http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/gordie-howe-bridge-project-should-remain-on-track : 

"Construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor and Detroit will remain a Canadian government priority under Justin Trudeau and the newly elected Liberals, says a longtime party insider. 

“The bridge project is significant enough in national scale it shouldn’t be affected,” said Dwight Duncan, Ontario’s former finance minister, who represented Windsor provincially from 1995 until 2013. 

Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper never shied away from declaring the new border crossing over the Detroit River a top infrastructure priority for his Conservative government. 

It’s too important to the nation’s economy for that to change under the new Liberal leadership in Ottawa, Duncan said." 

Then, what Dwight said a few days ago is remarkably different to me based on the new story that I saw published which might really be what the new Liberal Government wants to do. Naturally, he does not accept what is being proposed but he also has not rejected it completely right away: 

"Former Windsor MPP and Liberal government insider Dwight Duncan was recently named WDBA’s interim chairman. 

He said Saturday he has not seen the email or spoken with the Morouns, but called it a “significant development.” 

“It is the decision of government how to respond to this and determine if it is real — or whether to even respond at all,” Duncan said. “It certainly is a change in tone, but my advice is to be cautious about this.”  http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/ambassador-bridges-moroun-wants-to-talk-toronto-star-reports

 

Who knows now what is going to happen. Frankly, whatever the final decision is needs to be made already. We cannot afford in this region to continue being one of the worst ones in the country as we have been for so many years. We need a project started right away to help build up our region's economy so that we are no longer the worst one in Canada!

 

ANNE AND THE MAYOR'S RELATIONSHIP STARTS TO END 

It appears that the end of the relationship between the Star's Anne Jarvis and Windsor's Mayor may have started publicly in November, 2015. Here's what she wrote in her column that suggests this: 

"Two months ago, I praised Mayor Drew Dilkens for listening to councillors. Then came a string of controversial issues and heated, marathon meetings. And behaviour at the top deteriorated. 

Dilkens needs a handler. He needs a manual: How to be a successful politician. Frankly, he needs sensitivity training. 

But we can’t afford a handler because council has to freeze taxes for the eighth straight year and pay for a new sports tourism office, new city hall, aquatic centre that’s always over budget, etc." (Anne Jarvis Windsor Star November 22, 2015 http://windsorstar.com/opinion/columnists/jarvis-sunny-ways-mr-mayor).   

It may well be that Drew Dilkens' career could be hurt because of the comments of Ms. Jarvis in her columns after that date.  

The other interesting part of what is going on between Ms. Jarvis and the Mayor is that the other major Star columnist can write a good story about the Mayor as this recent one shows:  "Dilkens' excellent Indian adventure." http://windsorstar.com/opinion/columnists/vander-doelen-dilkens-excellent-indian-adventure It was by Chris Vander Doelen on February 12, 2016  . 

WINDSOR MAYOR TRAVEL EXPENSES 

Wow, fascinating stories about Windsor Mayor's travel expenses. I saw this one which was written in the Windsor Star much earlier in 2015. It is much more different now when the entire 2015 expenses were disclosed. Here's the earlier story that did not seem to get much of a reaction compared with today's story. 

"$11,648 tab: Dilkens posts second-quarter travel expenses online

 Craig Pearson Windsor  Star Jul 29, 2015 

Mayor Drew Dilkens wants the public to know exactly what he spends on travel, so he’s posting the information online every three months... 

“I wanted to be as transparent as possible,” Dilkens said Wednesday after his expenses appeared on the City of Windsor website. “So I voluntarily decided to post all my travel expenses every quarter online so the public can see where I’ve gone and what I’m doing on their behalf...” 

“I go where I have to go to do the job,” Dilkens said. “And that’s what I said in my inaugural speech as mayor, that there’s nowhere I wouldn’t go to bring jobs to Windsor.”  (http://windsorstar.com/news/11648-tab-dilkens-posts-second-quarter-travel-expenses-online) 

As I am sure that you are aware, the whole situation involving travel expenses changed very rapidly considering Dilkens' costs recently disclosed. Those costs were over $41,000 for 2015 as set out in this article "Windsor mayor's travel bill among the highest in the province" by the Star's Carolyn Thompson published on February 19, 2016: 

"Windsor taxpayers spent $41,230 last year on travel for Mayor Drew Dilkens — including a trip to South Korea that cost $7,358 — making him one of the most-travelled mayors in the province. 

He was out of the city for a total of 65 days, flying to Germany, Russia, China, South Korea, South Carolina, Washington, D.C., Toronto, Ottawa and seven other Canadian cities. 

Dilkens spent twice as much on travel in 2015 as the mayors of Toronto, London and Ottawa combined." (http://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/windsor-mayors-travel-bill-among-the-highest-in-the-province)

Interestingly, the Star article disclosed the expenses of the previous Mayor, Edgar Francis, while Francis was Mayor. In fact, some of those expenses in one year were higher than what Dilkens spent and in another was close to it. However, his name was not mentioned in the recent Star article because perhaps someone might want to know how he spent that money: over $52,000 in 2011 and almost $40,000 in 2012. 

How successful are these trips taken by Mayors around the country? As reported in the Star article: 

"In a 2010 report, University of British Columbia business professors John Ries and Keith Head studied trade missions, primarily at the federal level. They found no increase in trade despite governments touting the benefits of their costly trips abroad. 

“There is no evidence that they actually pay off,” Ries said in a telephone interview. Participants might hold back deals to sign during the trip and some agreements never come to fruition, he added." 

OUR EMPLOYMENT STORY 

This story was done quite some time ago in the Windsor Star. I'm sure that you expect, as I do, that its subject-matter will become a major issue for Windsor as time goes on especially as the lead-up to the next City election: 

"Windsor has been Canada’s most unemployed city for more than five years

Carolyn Thompson Jul 10, 2015  

Windsor has had the highest unemployment rate in the country on and off for more than five and a half years since 2006 — longer than any other city in the country. 

Since 2001, Windsor’s jobless rate has been the highest in the country for 69 months. We came in second 18 times. 

That a total of almost eight years with the highest or second highest unemployment rate in the country. 

It’s unusual for a city to stagnate economically for a decade, said Mike Moffatt, assistant professor of business, economics and public policy with the Richard Ivey School of Business in London. 

“You have seen historically some cities just not get out of this,” he said. “Like a Buffalo, New York, which shrunk economically for decades. That is a concern that we’ve seen in the rust belt.” 

Windsor is still the city with the highest jobless rate in the country, according to the Statistics Canada labour force survey, released Friday morning." (http://windsorstar.com/business/windsor-unemployment-rate-falls-to-8-9-per-cent?__lsa=bb83-3f90)

Now that should be a challenge for a whole bunch of people on Council and also outside of it, especially if they were elected representatives previously.

 

A Big Deal From Dell On A Small Computer

It’s time for another review! This time, I will be looking at the Dell Inspiron 11 3000 Series, 2-in-1 computer. I must say that technology is really impressive lately and this time was particularly fun because there are so many options on this product to explore. 

Cost is usually one of the top factors in buying any type of computer, and so I will let you know that the price is modest (starting at $499) considering the high quality, in comparison with other larger portable computers, even when you add-on other features, like portable speakers or perhaps an external optical disk drive.  

So who would be best suited for this computer? The Dell Inspiron 11 computer is age-less. You could get this as a starter computer for your teen entering high school, or for a young adult starting out at University.  It would also be a good for busy travellers, due to its portability and being only 3 lbs. No one wants to lug around a large piece of equipment on an airplane. The best part is that with Dell’s words “the convenience of a tablet” you can easily and whip it out to play or work on, and then conveniently fold it up, and safely tuck it away for future use. 

Look at the different ways that you can use  it.  All these ways for opening such a low-priced  unit  makes it a terrific  one!

I have to admit that I never expected it this way. The Dell Inspiron 11 3000 Series 2-in-1 computer is described as a "2-in-1" because it is a laptop computer and yet it's small enough that it has, in Dell's words, "the convenience of a tablet."  One of its big features so that it can be described as a "tablet" is the way that it can be folded up very easily so that it looks and feels like one. 

While surfing the Internet, it was a pleasant surprise that with even a smaller screen that I am not used to, I could read everything clearly. The visibility display made looking at sites with fancy font styles easy without having to squint. Now if you need to, you can always enhance the text size to your chosen preference. However, I was personally very happy with the outcome without having to alter anything. 

Dell Inspiron 11 3000 Series 2-in-1 computer offers the user many format options: 

You can use it as a regular laptop mode, or you can open up the top of it and push it over so that it now takes the shape of the screen only. It is categorized in the shape of "tablet."  It becomes fairly easy to hold in this shape because of its low weight. A nice unit to hold while lounging in a chair inside or outside, as an example. 

Secondly, it can be folded up into the "Tablet stand mode."  Again, this is for convenience purpose as well since it is a different way that the computer screen can now be viewed depending on where it is being watched. As an example, it could be put up in the kitchen so that the person cooking food can easily follow the recipe as it is being done since it would be in "pyramid shape." It could be placed in a very convenient place in the cooking area to be looked at as the food is being made. 

 A few neat features that Dell prides themselves upon through vigorous testing:

-Multimedia buttons stayed intact up to 40,000 pushes.

-Lasted through short-term heat conditions of up to 65°C/149°F.

-Laptop hinges were still tight, even after opening and closing the lid 20,000 times 

Given its excellent performance capabilities, battery saver feature for conserving power, and especially the memory keeper feature, for having multiple apps open at the same time, the Dell Inspiron 11 3000 Series 2-in-1 computer is a truly remarkable product that has come onto the market that I am happy to have had the chance to use and share my review.

Is There A Federal Government/Ambassador Bridge Company Settlement Now

 

Come on in and you will see what is happening with the border file. Do you think that there finally might be a resolution between the Federal Government and the Ambassador Bridge Company now? I wish I knew what the real answer was but a resolution is certainly a very strong possibility now. At least in my opinion! 

I just cannot believe what I read in the Star the other day.  Oh, in case you are wondering what I mean, it is the TORONTO Star that I'm talking about and not the WINDSOR Star. All that the latter Star did in its newspaper was a story reporting what the TORONTO Star had written earlier. Oh well, maybe the Windsor Star will smarten up now with its border coverage. I truly hope so for their newspaper coverage sake. 

I have to admit that I was stunned by what I read in the Toronto Star.  In case you want to read that story but have not done so yet, I would suggest that you go here first before you read the rest of my posting: "Olive branch could end Detroit-Windsor bridge wars"    http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/02/13/olive-branch-could-end-detroit-windsor-bridge-wars.html   It was their media scoop as far as I'm concerned. Here is what the Toronto Star told us: 

"Linda Diebel Sat Feb 13 2016  

WINDSOR—American billionaire Manuel (Matty) Moroun — owner of the Ambassador Bridge and foe of Canada’s plan for a competing bridge over the Detroit River — wants to talk. The message is the Harper government got its numbers wrong but he likes the new guy in Ottawa. 

“The Windsor-Detroit border can be a shining example of efficiency and co-operation,” said Moroun’s son, Matthew, in an email to the Star. 

“I’m inspired by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s desire to take a new look and a fresh approach to fix old problems. This situation is just such a problem. 

“I’m ready to do the same.” 

If that is not a proper invitation to get together and come up with a resolution ASAP then I don't know what is. Remember the costs as the basis for doing so, never mind anything else. For the Ambassador Bridge Company, their cost for a 2nd bridge was around a half billion dollars. For the Government of Canada, the number that is being thrown around now for a new bridge is about 10 times that amount for one a couple of miles away i.e. $5 billion plus! 

How can the Government in all fairness want to spend so much more money when right now the volume of border traffic is substantially less than what was being predicted before and can be handled on a much better and more efficient basis now. 

I am all in favour of a resolution now between the Ambassador Bridge Company and the Government of Canada. It is exactly what should have been hoped.  I'm not actually setting out what that resolutions should be. However, the structure of it should be in my opinion somewhat similar to something that I wrote about in my article here about a month ago: "I Have Had Enough With The Border File"  http://tecumsehcityblog.blogspot.ca/2016/01/i-have-had-enough-with-border-file.html  

 Perhaps the parties too are just as disgusted as I was with how long this border file has been underway and are hopeful for a quick resolution now that works well for both sides! 

Just so you understand, dear reader, a settlement could require no money from the Federal Government or could require an amount that will help pay for the cost of a new bridge. To be direct, I would expect that the final resolution will require a payment to the Bridge Company from the Government. After all, I would expect that this payment would also give the Government a share of the border traffic business to get that money back over time over the next number of years and would give the Government a bigger voice in the handling of border traffic.   

Yes, it does mean that the Ambassador Bridge Company's ownership of the new border file would not be 100% as it is now because they will have to give up some of the shareholding ownership. But hey, it will still be a pretty good deal for them considering who their new partner would be. 

The Reporter's comment was exactly correct in the Toronto Star story: 

"It’s a stunning statement after years of lobbying, litigation and threats to derail what is arguably Canada’s most important infrastructure project, seen as crucial to Canada’s trade and security." 

Effectively, the Ambassador Bridge Company would want to have a successful resolution with the Government of Canada now even if their border position would have ultimately won in a decade after huge amounts of litigation. That means giving up their claims but it also means saving millions of dollars to continue the fight in further legal disputes. For the Government, it means a much cheaper way to solve the border crossover traffic problems and something that can be done now that gives them a very significant victory other than what they might not otherwise get if I am correct that they really have no border position under the Bridge Company's legislation. 

I have to admit that the comments by Dwight Duncan really startled me. They were so positive I was thrilled by them, especially from him who was not the biggest fan of the Ambassador Bridge Company over the years: 

"Dwight Duncan, federally appointed interim chair of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, said he was “blown away” by the email. He was surprised at both its content and friendly tone. 

“It’s a significant development,” said the former Ontario finance minister, a Windsor native. “Clearly, it’s an issue for the political leadership of Prime Minister Trudeau and President (Barack) Obama.” 

In his note to the Federal Government, Moroun also made a very interesting comment: 

"Our company and the Harper government spent the last decade fighting unproductively,” he wrote. “Our position was that the Ambassador could be the only bridge. The former government’s position was that their ‘bridge-to-be’ would be able to pay back the taxpayers for the billions of dollars to construct it — even if Canada paid for the U.S. portion. 

“We were both wrong and unnecessarily strident.” 

I think that Moroun was being "generous" in saying that they were wrong in what they were thinking,  but I think that he is doing so to try to end the dispute between them.  It is an excuse for them to be "friends" again by him accepting some of the blame.   

I think that I have written a lot now about a resolution of the border file. I'm so happy about what Matthew Moroun wrote. I am so hopeful that the Government of Canada can see it as a practical way to solve the border dispute and to get a new bridge built as soon as possible. All that the parties have to do is end all of the litigation and agree on the future between themselves.   

I think it is a very practical resolution and can easily be done quickly. All that the Parties have to do is to act in a uniform way together and as soon as possible as well. That means that the border file is finally resolved. 

Just as important, for this region, is that we can move forward and get the people in here working again so we are not the Unemployment champions in Canada for another month! 

Let's start demanding a final solution between the parties as soon as possible. That should not be all that difficult to do!

Fearful Friday

I was debating in my own mind whether I should publish this article or not. I was afraid that you, dear reader, might think that it was rather childish and not something that should have influenced me as much as it did. However, this is important as part of my healing process.  

I try to keep everything in my life on the positive side as much as I can and solve any problems by the end of the day if possible, or at least just realize that it will be dealt with properly, so I can clear my mind.  However, on Friday, I had quite a lot of anxiety and distress. 

I usually get a bit restless, generally at around 3 o'clock in the morning after going to sleep in the early evening. I get about 6 to 7 hours worth of sleep each evening. I don't get out of bed, but I will listen to music on the radio and if I am still up, I will turn on my DVD player to listen to various DVDs that I have or watch videos  from a number of different singers. It has turned into a nice, relaxing way to start the day. 

On Friday, however, when I got up I felt a small pain in my back. I never thought much about it at first but the problem was that it never went away. No matter what I did in bed in early morning, no matter how I turned, never mind all the deep breathing, I just had this pain that I could not get rid of. 

Oh, it really wasn't that painfully intensive but it just never went away. For hours! To be honest, I started getting quite concerned. I thought I was doing better physically because I was not really feeling any kind of physical problems for a very long time. Until now. It just wouldn't leave me. It made no sense to me and started worrying me as well. 

I got up at my usual time and walked around hoping that this would end the pain. But it did not. Neither did having my breakfast or doing my usual morning exercises.  That small pain just bothered me and I started trying to figure out what it was and whether it was serious or not.  

My mind was not in a good place but around 9 AM I knew my PSW was coming to see me so maybe that would help.  I must admit though that I did not give her a very good time staying with me on this day because I was so glum, but I apologized to her because of it. She did the best she could to try to fix me up. 

However, even though the pain seemed to be less when she left, I still had it and was concerned about what might happen later on in the day. I became quite worried about it all even though to you, dear reader, I would imagine that you are thinking that I'm over-reacting.  

I probably was to be honest. After all, for so many months I had done so much exercising that made me feel good and now I had this pain in my body that just did not seem to want to disappear. I was becoming terrified that something serious was just starting up again. 

Fortunately, my wife was there and suggested a remedy that I never even thought of. She put a hot water bottle on my back. Within minutes, I could feel the heat in my back and shortly thereafter the pain disappeared. It was gone, completely, due to the advice of my wife, since that is what she often does when she experiences pain. This cold weather is tough on my body, so maybe it was a muscle spasm that didn't want to leave. However, if you have ever experienced this, it is painful! 

While this may sound very silly to you, dear reader, it really wasn't. I was starting to feel panic. This small little pain that I had in my back felt bigger than it actually was, and I felt like maybe I was getting sick again. Our minds can really play tricks on us.  

I was really was scared. There's no part in me trying to be so brave and make fun of it. That's not how I was feeling. I was remembering what happened to people who had suffered from my illness that I dealt with a year ago. I think that is what truly scared me. I thought that I had some weird and unknown disease again that had to be treated quickly just like what happened to me before, otherwise it would be fatal. I learned quickly that I was okay and I had just made some terrible assumptions about myself that were not true at all. 

I wondered if I was so unique in this kind of a medical concern and no one else acted in my silly fashion. Or rather, was I acting in a way that should be expected after what I went through.  

What I have really learned is that I still suffer side effects from the virus that attacked my brain. It affected many other areas of my body and mind, but that just means I have more learning to do and need to find better coping strategies. Like it or not, I think that kind of reaction that I suffered from is not unique to me and others share it as well who were in a position that was similar to mine.  It is hard to shake off these feelings all the time, especially when my brain recalls very scary moments and amplifies them.  Like many people, they also go through irrational moments and suffer from past trauma situations.  

In any event, if I suffer something similar down the road, I have to try and not freak out. I need to stop for a moment and remind myself that I am not in the same situation and the problem can be dealt with. I need to breathe and relax my mind with support near me for reassurance (my wife is great to help me!), figure out the issue and what steps to take.  If it gets worse, I can reach out for medical help.

Writing this down is easy, but putting into practice is often a challenge. However, I am not one to back down so I will work towards conquering yet another hurdle of my new life.

 

Thank you for reading!

 

Hooray! Maybe We Will See A Deal Soon

I really like that the Government of Canada and the Ambassador Bridge Company hopefully could follow my advice previously laid out and work on a smart solution between them NOW!

All that should be happening now is that the parties work out a solution between them immediately and get started with a new crossing. Frankly, in my opinion, a solution can be easily achieved!

We in Windsor/Essex must absolutely respect this and support it so we can get thousands working on the project construction now and so that our economy will be boosted sky-high immediately. Moreover, it's time to get new businesses to transfer to our territory for future economic growth in many economic areas, many of them new ones for sure.

Anyone in our local Governments who may oppose this smart solution rather than support it should be tossed out in the next election to be blunt about it as far as I am concerned. We have the only smart solution being offered now and local politicians should demand that our Senior branches get on board and resolve differences with the Ambassador Bridge Company.

Really, just think of the billions of tax dollars that will be saved considering that the new cost for a Government bridge otherwise could be over $5 billion. Moreover, our new economic future would be started NOW and not after another decade or more of lawsuits being litigated.

Read this immediately to see exactly why I am saying all of this:

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/02/13/olive-branch-could-end-detroit-windsor-bridge-wars.html

"Olive branch could end Detroit-Windsor bridge wars

The U.S. Moroun family that owns the Ambassador Bridge says it wants to co-operate as Ottawa goes ahead with plans for new bridge.

Currently almost all Windsor to Detroit traffic moves over the Ambassador Bridge; a small amount moves through a tunnel. The new bridge, named the Gordie Howe Bridge, will be built down the river.

By: Linda Diebel Canada, Published on Sat Feb 13 2016

WINDSOR—American billionaire Manuel (Matty) Moroun — owner of the Ambassador Bridge and foe of Canada’s plan for a competing bridge over the Detroit River — wants to talk. The message is the Harper government got its numbers wrong but he likes the new guy in Ottawa.

“The Windsor-Detroit border can be a shining example of efficiency and co-operation,” said Moroun’s son, Matthew, in an email to the Star.

“I’m inspired by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s desire to take a new look and a fresh approach to fix old problems. This situation is just such a problem.

“I’m ready to do the same.”

It’s a stunning statement after years of lobbying, litigation and threats to derail what is arguably Canada’s most important infrastructure project, seen as crucial to Canada’s trade and security."

More New Plaza Work Being Undertaken in Tecumseh

I have to admit that the temperature outside is making it easier to build new homes in the area near me.  I just went out the other morning because it was a bit warmer and took some photographs. It was fun to do.  Ok, so temps dropped today really low but NO new snow so far, right!.

As I had said before, the new construction project has made it very difficult for me to take photographs of the whole Plaza of the new home construction sites as I was able to do before.  I am now pretty much restricted  to photograph only a few of the new houses being built right behind our residence.

That is not a big problem because it seems that these new homes are going to be quite spectacular looking.  I must admit that I thought that one of the homes was going to be quite small but in fact it looks like it's going to be another large one.  That should be quite something once it is completed.

Once the temperature gets a lot warmer,  I'll be heading out to the new area to take photographs of  a whole bunch of new homes that are in the process of being built right now.  Its really is quite a huge program for all of the new homes.  I assume that they are all pretty expensive to build as well.

The City, I'm sure, will be pleased since the taxes that will have to be paid will also be nicely high  and that will allow the City to perform a number of their functions much more easily when the new tax dollars come in.

 Here are the pics I took and my comments about them:

 



It appears as if the new construction is building part of the roofing structure of the new unit.





 

Here is another shot of it.  It will be interesting to see if more of the house will be higher and needs to be added so that another roofing structure will be added.

 A closer-up shot of what is being done

Here is a better shot of where the roof will be.

 

 

Here is a picture of the entire new housing unit and you can see where the new roofing system fits in.  I am sure that we will see much more roofing being put in over the next little while. 

 

This was a very unusual shot at the time. I could not figure out if the birds were coming back into  Tecumseh after their trip or heading out for a big winter holiday down south.

Here is what the home looked like at the end of the day.  You can see how much more truly amazing work was done:

New News Opinions

While news stories can be interesting in what they reveal concerning what has just happened, it is also interesting to realize the manner in which media outlets report on its findings. 

Below I will have my personal thoughts and observations on a number of news stories that were written recently.  

Take a look at these stories and you'll see what I mean. 

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE CITY AND COUNTY GOVERNMENTS

There seems to be a lot of differences over the last little while, some of them rather nasty to be honest, between the Windsor City Government and the Governments of the various smaller County Governments around Windsor.

 

They seem to be having a lot of conflict lately over a variety of issues, like this story below: 

"LaSalle Mayor Ken Antaya slams Hilary Payne for 'childish' and 'classless attack' on his town 

Doug Schmidt, Windsor Star, February 5, 2016   

In an invective-laced email sent to city Coun. Hilary Payne, LaSalle Mayor Ken Antaya slams the Windsor politician for using the media to launch a “classless attack” against the county, an “amateurish” act which he deems provocative and “childish.” 

Antaya, in an electronic message copied to every mayor and deputy mayor in the county, accuses Payne of making “wild accusations” in his “attack on LaSalle.” 

“Rather than speak to each other, you have decided to insult and attempt to embarrass the ‘country bumpkins’ in the County,” Antaya wrote. The email was also copied to members of LaSalle council and the CAOs of LaSalle and Essex County. 

In a letter to the editor published in Wednesday’s Windsor Star, Payne was critical of a recently reported statement of Antaya’s that LaSalle and Windsor “share a border. That’s about it.” 

On Thursday, he described Antaya’s response to his letter as “absolutely ridiculous” and a “gross overreaction.” 

But despite the undiplomatic tone of Antaya’s email, a survey of county mayors who read it reveals that they side with his comments." 

Of course, there have been other issues where the City and County Governments disagree with each other to have made the newspaper. 

Of course, I have a view of it. My own feeling is that it provides a good excuse for the Provincial Government to one day require all the Governments in the area to combine into a Metropolitan Government. The more negative stories amongst them, the more fights and disagreements then the merrier everything is later. All of the differences and disagreements provide a good excuse for what the Province wanted anyway. The Province will merely come out and say that it no longer can tolerate these disagreements and therefore all the Governments will be required to combine into a major Government similar to the one in Toronto! 

It will be interesting at that time to see who will become the Head of it. Maybe that is the future role for Windsor's Mayor today or at least for what he hopes. I can think of a number of County Politicians who could make a very good Head also. 

WHY DID I AND OTHERS SELL SO MANY OF OUR SHARES

I'll give you my reason.  

The stock market has gone down very severely over the last while. That impacted negatively a number of stock market shares that I owned.  I don't think I suffered actual losses in the shares themselves but rather I lost a lot of the profits that I made in a number of them.  I expect that others had something similar happen to them. 

So I decided to sell a lot of my shares and so did others. My reason is pretty obvious. I guess we all felt that the stock market was in very bad shape and it made sense to sell the shares until it was going to rise again. That meant that we would not lose a ton of money and would buy back the shares to make a few extra dollars when it made sense to do so. Unfortunately, that time period is not yet apparent given some of the huge losses that the Toronto exchange is running through. 

Here's what I found interesting in a story that I read a short time ago. It was a significant difference between 2 banks: 

"Canadians Hoarding Cash Show ‘Amazing Shrewdness': BMO

Huffington Post Canada Daniel Tencer 

[CIBC] warned that stashing cash in their mattresses could cost households billions in lost investment returns. 

But Bank of Montreal chief economist Doug Porter sees it differently. “Being overweight cash over the past year perhaps indicates an amazing degree of shrewdness among Canadian investors,” he wrote in a client note this week. 

CIBC estimates that Canadians are hoarding an excess $75 billion in cash..."  

I have to admit that BMO approach makes a lot of sense to me. I just don't see the point of investing in the markets these days and taking risks. 

SHOULD WE REALLY GET RID OF NURSES 

With all the cuts being made in the Hospital sectors, what choice do the executives have other than getting rid of a number of employees? The question that arises is whether that action make sense or not.  Many are battling on both sides. 

To be blunt about it, with the reduction in revenues that they have, what other choice do the Local Hospitals have but to eliminate a number of the nursing jobs. It is a sad situation, but many will begin a new career over the border, so nurses will still have a chance of great employment opportunities. I saw this Letter to the Editor in the Windsor Star on February 7, 2016 by a retired nurse. I believe that what she is saying is interesting: 

"Right now, there are plans to eliminate 170 Registered Nurses positions from our hospitals in Windsor...  

When these nurses leave, they take with them years of knowledge and expertise. They will be welcomed with open arms to the Michigan medical system. They will never return." 

Really, does that make sense to do for those of us who, because of our age or medical condition, need a well staffed hospital today? We don't even know if the Mega-Hospital will even be built. What if that doesn't happen? Won't reducing the number of Registered Nurses cause further delays in care? It is very important to think critically on what is best in the long-term for the residents and if this new facility gets built, accessibility should be a main topic of discussion, plus hiring adequate amounts of trained professionals (nurses, doctors, etc..) to effectively handle patient care at any time.

 

MISADVENTURE BAY 

Perhaps that should be the new title of the big and expensive swimming pool downtown instead of the one that we have. Here is what is happening now: 

"Adventure Bay is under repair and underused — at least on some days of the week — a manager there says. 

Assistant manager of Adventure Bay, Michael Chantler, tells CBC News two water slides are being repaired and a new plan for changed — perhaps even reduced — hours is in the works... 

Chantler said the cost of the repair is covered by the manufacturer. However, the city had to drain the pools because there had to be little humidity present during repairs. So, the city will lose attendance revenue when the park is closed Thursday and Friday."  (CBC News, Feb 4, 2016) 

Of course, if this was the only problem that the pool had in its first few years after construction, I would not have written this article. However, here are other problems that the pool had as disclosed in that CBC story: 

"-Not long after it opened the floors needed a sand-based coating because people had been slipping and falling.

-In 2014, an air handling unit that moves air was malfunctioning and lifeguards complained of "minor irritation."

-Also in 2014, ripples and bubbles formed on the siding outside the building.

-The FlowRider was closed for weeks late last year as some of it had to be shipped away for repair." 

We were also told that the pool is used less than expected. 

It's just another action that shows the difficulties involving a new facility that was built here at a huge cost.

Fantastic Windsor-Essex County Photographs

One of the things that I like very much is looking at some of the fantastic photographs that have been taken by our own people here in the Windsor-Essex County area. I have been able to find a number of photographers who capture everything from historical landmarks to scenic landscapes.   

One of our big advantages is our riverfront location, which is peaceful and beautiful to take pictures of in both the day time and evening.  I asked a couple of people for permission to post their photographs here because I was so impressed by their work. I wanted others to have a chance to look at these incredible shots.

We certainly have very creative and talented photographers and I am pleased to showcase some of them on my blog. Keep up the great work!

Go and check out their pages and enjoy browsing through all the photographs. 

Let me just post a couple of them that I have seen over the last few days. They are simply amazing in their photographic brilliance as far as I am concerned.  I'm sure that you will agree with me that we have some very talented photographers in our area.   

Ray Akey Photographer  https://www.facebook.com/rayakey?fref=photo

Steve Biro Photographer  https://www.facebook.com/sbiro1

Digital Love on Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and I have a few presents to suggest that will make your significant other very happy!

I received a note from my friend at Dell about some interesting products that they have on the market right now. It was pretty obvious to me that they would make a perfect gift for the technophile in your life.  

Of course make sure that if you do decide to buy some of these items that I will list below, consider purchasing them in the colour RED for Valentine's Day. Don't worry though because if red is not suitable, there are many other beautiful colours to choose from. 

Top 3 choices:

Inspiron 11 3000 Series - $279.99 CDN

Beautifully-designed, ultra-portable laptop that is perfect for watching Netflix on cozy date nights, sharing photos and streaming music. Equipped with Windows 10, Intel® HD Graphics, Waves MaxxAudio® Pro and up to 10 hours of battery life. Available in Tango Red (the obvious Valentine's Day colour), Bali Blue and Alpine White.  

Dell Neoprene Sleeve (Red) - $27.99 CDN

Keep your laptop cozy and protect it at all times – and look stylish doing it. With a trendy, modern design, the versatile 15-inch sleeve is made for mobility, lightweight for travel and provides anti-scratch lining and cushioning that will keep your laptop sleek and safe from damage. While the red colour is perfect for Valentine’s Day, the sleeve also comes in blue and black, and can be used alone or tucked inside another bag.

Garmin Vivofit 2 - Activity Tracker (Red) - $119.99 CDN

Fitness challenges are a great way to keep the spice in a relationship – so get moving, get active and track all your activity with the Garmin Vivofit 2. As an added bonus, the adjustable wristband reminds you to stay active throughout the day with an audible alert that gets you moving every hour.

You can purchase all of these online from: www.dell.ca  Note that the prices are for the product  only.  There are extra costs for taxes and delivery.  The  product prices are valid today and could change later so check them out!

If you don't have a partner, not to worry. Buy yourself one of these gifts or give to someone special that would benefit from any of these new items from Dell.

Remember that no matter what you buy your loved one this Valentine's Day, make sure it comes straight from the heart!