A Changed New Article

I must tell you, dear reader, that my original plan was to do a Blog on some transportation matters for this area. There are some interesting things going on that I wanted to talk about. As I am sure you know by now, I usually start off with some personal issue and then go into my main topic. This personal issue generally does not take too much space.

Sometimes though my plans change. Not in advance, mind you, but only because the writing on the particular personal issue suddenly starts to take up a lot more space than I considered at first. Here is one of those specific cases that just seemed to happen and to require me to expand the space needed on here for this topic.  Sure, I wrote a similar story a short time ago but I guess I just have to do another one because it plays such an important role in my life these days.  And it might be important for some of you as well.

This time, dear reader, I am going to deal once more with some of the matters that happened as I started to exercise after returning from the hospital several years ago. This process increased rather dramatically for reasons never anticipated in advance.  I will be discussing the many small exercises that I have been undertaking to get better. These exercises are making me feel so much more fit so that I can transport myself around a lot better than I thought that I could. As an example, in the warm weather especially in summertime, I walk around generally 3 times a day: once after every meal. On particularly pleasant days, one walk itself could last for about an hour, believe it or not.

Regretfully, all of this action is relatively new in my life. I was hardly doing any exercising before. That is obviously why I had put on so much weight before I entered hospital. After I left, I probably lost somewhere in the range of 40 pounds there. I remember the first time I actually saw myself dressed in normal clothes, not pyjamas which I had been wearing consistently for about 3 months when I was back at home. Truly, I could not believe what I looked like. In fact, and this is really true, I thought someone had redesigned a photo that I saw and put my "head" on someone else's "body" which was quite slim. It took me a bit of time before I convinced myself that it was really a picture that I had taken of myself.

I have gained some weight since I returned home from the hospital about 3 years ago. I must admit that I get very depressed when I see my weight increasing.  This has happened several times when I quickly gained about 2 pounds each time and it worried me that I was eating too much. Immediately, I went on a strict diet to try to reduce the weight, but found that I could not, or rather might only have lost a small fraction of a pound. It took me some time after speaking with people who knew a little bit about putting on and taking off weight that it was the new exercising that I was just starting to do that was responsible for the increased number of pounds. It was the increase in muscle, not fat, that caused the weight gain.

I was very happy when I heard that because I was putting on this weight yet my clothes were fitting almost exactly the way they were before when my weight was less. This has now happened several times and yet, to be honest, I go through the same fear of weight gain every time until I finally figure out that it is the muscle building that put on the new pounds.

I have had to change my diet after I became so ill and returned from hospital. I do not eat all of the same kind of food that I used to eat before and which, to be honest, I really liked. Unfortunately, it helped put on pounds on me. My new diet, surprisingly, was very easily picked up by me and enjoyed by me. I do eat a lot more vegetables than before with more chicken and fish but much less meat. I do try to make sure that what I do eat makes up an acceptable diet that keeps me "full" yet does not put on the pounds. Oh sure, I still do eat meat, like steaks or veal chops, but I do not eat them as many times or in the comparable large sizes as before.

Let me talk a little bit about the exercising that I do. 

It was very important for me early on to start exercising to keep myself in good shape. Unfortunately, I could not do so. After returning home from the hospital, I was in bed continually for several months. I lived in our house bedroom on the 2nd floor and could not even walk down the stairs to get to the kitchen to eat. Accordingly, my wife had to go up and down the stairs several times for each meal to feed me! And I was not an easy eater either so she had to do a lot of stair climbing.

I really did not do very much walking around at all until we moved to our new condo house. Not only did I go for walks outside, but I was trained to do exercising by one of the people who came to help me out as part of the recovery program on which I was now involved.  I won't go into a lot of detail about my new program but he was here for 5 sessions teaching me new steps at each of them.

Just as one example, I had to sit down and lift each of my legs as high as I could for as many times as I could. Pretty easy don't you think? It sure seems that way. Except I could not lift my leg more than a couple of inches off the ground for more than 2 or 3 times and had to stop because I felt so worn out. These days, I can lift my legs individually quite high for about 20 times each and I probably could do more.

I go through about 7 different steps for each exercise session. Naturally, I increase the number of actions in each step as I continue to keep on adding to them. I spend right now about 20 minutes on each session with all of these steps. I go through them 3 times every day, doing a complete session once before each meal.

As I was increasing the number of steps for each exercise, I am sure you will understand, dear reader, that I got quite tired out. As an example, going from 2 steps per leg lifting a couple of inches off the ground for each leg to 20 steps per leg going quite high, and feeling good about it, is quite an achievement.  I might even add on a few more steps soon.

Naturally, FATE stepped in and my exercising changed. It improved dramatically. I saw that there was another group that provided exercising for people like me and contacted them to see if they would help me out. They said they would and after waiting some time, one of their senior people was assigned to me to go through a 12 week program learning new exercises.

Well, this person is quite excellent not only in the way he handles people like me but in exercising techniques as well. The approach he took was to make sure that I could undertake basic exercising that his program offered, but also he gave me specific exercises to meet issues with which I wanted to deal. I am going through that process now since I still have a number of weeks left to work with him. At this stage of the process, I am just learning the new techniques. However, these days, I can do a lot more in the new process than I could when I first started exercising before.

Whew, that is a lot more that I discussed than I intended to do so when I first was going to write about my exercising.  You see, dear reader, I can even write more with all of the exercising that I have learned for a number of different techniques. It is quite an achievement for me and I am happy to have accomplished as much as I have. I intend to continue this wonderful system which I trust will help me live better for as long as I possibly can. It is truly an activity that I enjoy today.

A Few More Interesting Stories

What I like to do is to add some of my own comments at the beginning of a Webpage before I complete the rest of my articles. It is just something which I just seem to like to do these days. I hope that you appreciate some of the comments I have made.

I must admit that these opening remarks are generally very personal. I don't plan them in advance. I just write remarks that just seem to me to be interesting when I do so. Something just seems to rise up in my mind and I feel the need to give my comments about it.

Let me give you an example of something that impressed me but, for most of you, I expect it is not something that you think too much about. 

For all of the years that I can remember, I used to drink quite a bit of coffee. No, not really strong coffee, but coffee nevertheless.  I never really felt any strangeness after drinking a cup, but just enjoyed it. Every so often I also used to have a cup of tea. Not very much of it or for any particular reason but just something else to drink.

I'm not sure why, but after returning from the hospital several years ago, I just stopped drinking any coffee at all. I'm not sure why exactly but probably because I was afraid it might not agree with me and might cause me some physical problems. Instead, I just drank a cup of warm milk after each meal.  That seemed to satisfy my needs and I must admit that I really enjoyed its flavour.

However, something strange happened. I started drinking tea as well. I don't think it was because of the caffeine in it, even though I no longer drank the caffeine loaded drink coffee. Moreover, I was also drinking some teas that had no caffeine in them at all. I just liked the taste of the various teas that were purchased. Moreover, its warmness was its big treat as well because it just stayed warm for a longer time.  In fact, sometimes, holding the warm teacup was an additional treat on a cool day.

I would have tea in the afternoon in between lunch and dinner meals. And then sometimes, I would have it about an hour and a half before I went to bed. I found that the non-caffeine tea helped me go to sleep very quickly.

There are a number of teas that I drink now. I must admit that I certainly have not had a huge number of different teas, but I am having several new brands these days. However, dear reader, and I expect that you will find this rather bizarre, my favourite tea right now is still one that I have had for many years.  <Gulp> It is: Red Rose® Orange Pekoe Tea Bags!

Sure the new ones are fantastic and I expect that I will be buying many other types just to try new ones to see which ones I like. However, and I don't know why it is like this, but I like the Red Rose tea! It just tastes so good that I need to have it whenever I want to have tea in the afternoon. Obviously, I don't drink it before I go to bed because it does have caffeine in it. But when I want tea in the afternoon… that is my first choice because it tastes so good. 

Moreover, I now buy the large box of 216 Red Rose tea bags, which this time around was on sale at about $3-$4 off the regular price! The price per tea bag is now very attractive, a real bargain for something so good tasting.

There it is. If you want something truly enjoyable and very tasty to drink but does not cost a fortune to do so, then Red Rose tea will be ultimately your best choice. Try and see if you agree with me!  If you do not, then in Red Rose tea's old ad word: "Pity."

HUGE RESIDENTIAL DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT

Wow, what a great story eh after reading the headline:

"Biggest downtown residential development in 25 years sign of things to come — Marra

"I think that's pretty significant, that after 30 years, something is happening on Ouellette Avenue," Coun. Hilary Payne said Monday after city planning committee approved biggest downtown residential development in 25 years." (Brian Cross, Windsor Star, February 12, 2018) 

You can read for the story for yourself, dear reader. However, as far as I am concerned, it really was not that much of a story other than the fact that I did not realize that there had been no big residential project in the downtown for such a long period of time. It is just incredible, especially considering how much money was spent by the City on real estate projects in the City. So many millions of dollars. Mind you, some of them were actually money losers. Oh well.

Seriously, here is what Councillor Marra hopes might happen:

"There could be as many as 100 more (residential) units if they’re all approved under the plan,” he told reporters after the meeting. “This is exciting and you can expect a few other applications coming very, very soon…

Marra said there are additional projects in the pipeline”

Really, 100 units are supposed to be so wonderful, and "additional" developments? I must admit I don't understand that.

I'm not going to spend much time on this, dear reader. All that it may seem to me is that Councillors Marra and Payne may be starting on their re-election campaign with all of this fantastic news.

WHO CARES ABOUT THE GORDIE HOWE INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE

Oh yes, I understand that Canada supposedly puts in most of the money for the Government Bridge Project but aren't the Americans supposed to put in many million dollars as well for work on their side of the river that is not covered by the Canadian Government? From where is that money coming?

Perhaps people were believing that the US President, Donald Trump, was going to put in the money that was necessary to pay for all of that stuff. I hardly think so. You might want to read this article to see that it is highly unlikely for US Federal Government money and/or private funds to be going in to be used for projects like these. Here is what the New York Times wrote:

"In this new competition for federal funds, a plan to, say, build a better access road for a luxury development — a project with the potential to bring in more dollars from private investors — could have a strong chance of getting the green light. By comparison, a critical tunnel overhaul that has trouble getting new money might not be approved.

“Instead of the public sector deciding on public needs and public priorities, the projects that are most attractive to private investors are the ones that will go to the head of the line,” said Elliott Sclar, professor of urban planning and international affairs at Columbia University. “Private investors will become the tail that will wag the dog, because they’ll want projects that will give returns.”

Proposals intended to serve more impoverished communities that require more state and local money, including improving drinking water in a place like Flint, Mich., could be given short shrift. Financial investors may not see a big profit in such a project." (Patricia Cohen and Alan Rappeport, New York Times, February 12, 2018)

What we are seeing again is just one more reason why spending $10 billion on a new Government bridge between Windsor and Detroit makes so little sense and the likelihood of it ever happening is so remote

Time For Some More Articles

Lots of interesting things out there for me to report to you, dear reader. Well, I am at least interested in them and would like you to know about them as well. So take a look at these new items.

SHE SHOOTS BUT WILL SHE SCORE

Truly, it is the most unbelievable advertisement I think that I have seen in a long time. Moreover, it was produced by one of the major political parties in the Province of Ontario.

Clearly, I would have to think that the Party who did it must believe that it will give them support from the people who live in this area and will make sure that they remain as the Government Party in this Province. How else can one explain this Liberal "Ontario Government" advertisement that I have seen online several times:

It is truly unbelievable to me. One site in the ad is Ontario's Parliament Building, while the other half of the ad but the one at the top is… The AMBASSADOR BRIDGE!

Can you believe how the Premier has effectively told everyone that there must be a close connection between the Ontario Government and the Ambassador Bridge Company. Why else would that bridge be published by the Government in the ad that is distributed throughout our area.

The ad calls on people to "share their thoughts" with the Premier of Ontario who will be heading up the big meeting on the 15th. People must believe that the only subject to discuss given the advertisement photo is the building of the new Ambassador Bridge.

She certainly has scored very well for Matty Moroun and the members of his organization!

MAYOR DILKENS REACTS

One has to wonder if Mayor Dilkens will be running for re-election or will he be going somewhere else for a job with the new Mayor in Windsor possibly being the brother of former Mayor Francis who is in Council now.

I must admit that I thought that the Mayor was not going to run again. I figured he was going elsewhere to work with a high paying job. I must admit also that I did not know exactly where he would be going. Not giving us a decision early on just seemed to me to be nothing more than to make it easier for Francis to run and minimize the amount of time that someone could run against him.

However, I also note that the Mayor is talking a lot about his view of Windsor. In fact, he just posted on Facebook a very long letter about Windsor's downtown to counter a letter posted against the downtown. It seems to me that what he did certainly would support him if he was running for Mayor again because it glorifies all of the supposedly wonderful stuff he has done for the Windsor downtown.

Before I deal more with this, there is something going on that surprised me. The number of people who have read that Mayor's piece and reacted on his page as at 2:15 PM on February 2 seems to me to be relatively few: 

This low number could well be a negative for the Mayor and may give him encouragement not to re-run.

In any event, this is really what his story is all about. As he wrote:

"It’s easy for many of us to focus on the ‘bad’ things we see while ignoring all the ‘good’ things happening around us. Some are doing just that in the conversation about our downtown."

He then goes through what he believes are the big, good items that should encourage everyone about what is happening in Windsor's downtown. I will leave it to you, dear reader, to read the article and make your own decision about how well the downtown is now OR not!  

Are there now many new activities that are helping the downtown to grow? I am really just asking you to decide for yourself whether some of these activities as outlined suggest to you that Windsor's downtown is now starting to boom to make everything so exciting for this City.  I must admit that I do not think so but that is just my opinion.

I am glad that Windsorites in municipal Government seem to be improving more now. Perhaps though it is merely because it is an election year and they are seemingly doing more than they have done previously. Of course, the little that has been done until now could well be because of how much money was spent on the huge projects that have also lost a lot of money as well and there is little City money available to do much for a considerable number of years.  Nevertheless, listing a relatively few activities, many of which are financed by the Governments at different levels, doesn't impress me all that much.

Could it be as the Mayor described: "Small steps. Big change." Perhaps. However, it might also be considered as an alternative with nothing more than outlining anything just to get some favourable publicity in order for a whole bunch of people to be re-elected.

Here is what may support this comment. No real action, just more meetings during the election year:

"Dilkens said the next step is “hosting a broader community conversation regarding the future of downtown.”

Part of that, he told the Star Friday, is bringing in an experienced urban planning firm to hear from residents and provide direction on how to “make the city more exciting for the people who live here and who visit.”  (Doug Schmidt, Windsor Star, February 9, 2018) 

POST-STORM PICS

I thought that I would take a few photographs of the storm that hit this area over the last few days. I wanted to do so after our outside firm did a fine job of clearing up not only our street for the local traffic but my private driveway as well.

Sure, we had some huge amounts of snow falling for this area that made everything to clean difficult but our group of snow cleaners made certain that they did so well for us that we could get out from our garage and into our traffic street easily and quickly.

Here are 5 of the photos that I took:

Pic taken from my porch to the main street

You can tell how high some of the snow piles are

An even better view

Close-up shot of the snow piled close to our front porch

A very close shot of the snow piled close to our front  porch

Cold Weather Makes Writing So Much Fun

Well, I'm not sure if it is actually "fun" to write these days, but I do enjoy doing it.

The day that I started writing this particular Website article was Friday. And what a lovely "fun" day it was. It started snowing very early in the morning.  I began writing this story at around 10:30 AM on Friday morning and it was still snowing very hard at that time. In fact, I just received an email sent from our snow cleaning company about how difficult clearing all the snow would be if we received a huge amount of it and asking us to give them enough time to do so properly. Of course, my wife and I are going to do that considering all the great work that they have done for us to date.

Generally, since living in this part of the Province, I don't remember any monstrous snowstorms hitting this area. Oh sure, we have had some large snowstorms fall in a wintertime, but the amount of snow falling seemed to be manageable in a reasonable time in just about every case.  This time, the prediction that I saw was "15 to 20 cm is expected" on Friday. Moreover, on Saturday we might get another 2-4 cm of snow and on Sunday an additional 5 cm. That could well be why our snow cleaners sent their note explaining the time needed.

We took some time to prepare ourselves for the snow fall. One of the concerns obviously was to make sure that we had enough food in the house even after the snow fell. Naturally, we thought that we would be smart and shop early at the Real Canadian Superstore on Dougall Avenue, our favourite place to buy our groceries.  Sure, it is a bit of a drive from where we are living now, but, as far as I am concerned, it is our best shopping location in this entire area even considering all of the other company operations around here.

Normally, when we go there usually early on a Saturday morning, it is not all that busy. However, on this day that we went there, Thursday at around 11AM, the parking lot was jammed and the number of people inside grocery shopping was unbelievably large. It was probably the most number of people that we had ever seen in the store. Ever. 

I was really shocked by that. Obviously, lots of people had read about what was going to happen and were taking the same steps as my family to make sure they had enough food in their homes. In fact, the demand was so high that I heard that the management of the store was bringing in a lot more people who were not normally scheduled for that day to come in to help handle all of the unexpected, but very heavy business. 

Anyway, we did all of our shopping and returned home easily considering that Thursday was a nice day.  Quite a bit of snow has fallen so far…it is now late in the afternoon… and I figure I should do a bit of writing. So here are some more stories about which I want to give you my opinion.

SHE'S RUNNING FOR  PC LEADERSHIP

Here is a nice ad I just saw for Caroline Mulroney on Facebook.

Will she be elected as party leader for the Ontario PCs?  We shall see!  

It will also be interesting how her father will appear during the election campaign if she makes it ---if he will at all.  Will he be a great reason for her to be elected as Party leader and then as Premier...or NOT?

DOES OUR NDP MP HAVE TO SUPPORT THE AMBASSADOR BRIDGE COMPANY

Unfortunately for him, as time goes on, and as things change, he may well have to support them because who else would there be to build a new bridge around here?

Oh, I know that there are several candidates who are supposed to be building the new bridge, assuming that they can afford a $10 billion one, but here is an issue already.

I saw this article: "Windsor-West MP Worried China Could Be Part Of The Howe Bridge Project" (Peter Langille, IHEARTRADIO.CA, February 7, 2018) 

"Windsor West MP Brian Masse says there is currently a review taking place of a Chinese government owned firm, attempting to buy a major construction company.

China Communications Construction Company is attempting a $1.5-billion purchase of Aecon.

Aecon is one of the key firms in the "Bridging North America" consortium…

"The reality here is that the new border crossing is going to be done by a P-3 proponent in the private sector" says Masse "and is now opened up for other governments including the Chinese to actually have a stake in our actual physical infrastructure"

What will Canada have to do now if the Chinese company wins? Will there be any worries? Will the  purchase be prevented? One can tell that Mr. Masse is not too happy about all of this yet does seem worried about giving the right response to what may take place.  

The answer is really quite simple. Why doesn't the Ambassador Bridge Company just be given now the only right to build an additional bridge crossing here. Ultimately, isn't that what is going to happen!

HOW MUCH RETIREMENT MONEY DO YOU NEED

Here is a story that you ought to read ASAP if  you want to plan for your retirement and especially if you will be retiring soon:

"Three quarters of a million dollars is the magic number Canadians think they will need to save for retirement, according to a CIBC survey being released today.

Well, $756,000 to be precise.

But while that is the average amount individual Canadians believe they’ll need to amass, up to 90 per cent don’t have a formal plan on how to get there. A majority (53 per cent) aren’t sure whether they’re saving enough, but 37 per cent haven’t even thought about retirement, or if they have say they just can’t save.

And it’s worse for women: only 22 per cent have a formal retirement plan or even a good idea of how much income they’ll need, versus 32 per cent of men. Even on the cusp of retirement, by age 55, 43 per cent of women and 27 per cent of men lack a plan. (Jonathan Chevreau, Windsor Star, February 8, 2018) 

The article goes through a number of comments about which I believe that you should read including comments about the amount mentioned. What is terrible is the percentage of people who have not done very much about putting together the right amount of money required for themselves. How these people can live well once retired is beyond me.

I am not going to go through a detailed discussion about this article. Rather, I want you to think about your retirement and what you think that you might need from a financial perspective. It would be worth your while to take a look at what was written here so that you will understand what must be done.

WHAT A DAY

I spent lots of time between the start of writing this article and completing the end of it later on Friday as well.  

I had a rather difficult situation that took up a good part of my time today with one of my product suppliers with whom I debated the return of some of its product that I purchased that had problems in them as far as I was concerned.  Accordingly, I spent time dealing with that Company over the telephone and online rather than completing this material as quickly as I expected to do so.

Fortunately, I was able finally to resolve our differences and get a new product sent to me and I am just about to finish this Website article now.  I intend to post it on Saturday.

That is a nice ending to my day and I will be able to start some more writing in the next appropriate time frame.  

Thanks for visiting with me!

Quite A Cold Winter

Quite A Cold Winter

I don't think that there is one day so far this winter that I have gone out for a long walk. In fact, I cannot remember even going out for a "short" walk. It just seems that the temperature this year has been so low all of the time. It is quite unlike what has happened in the temperatures over the last couple of years when I have been able to go out a few times for a nice stroll.

To be honest, I don't know whether this should be viewed as a good year or a bad year from a weather perspective. From my own point of view, it is not really all that bad notwithstanding my inability to go out for a walk. Oh sure, we have had a few snowstorms but they have not really been all that horrible. In general, the roads have been cleared quite quickly and quite well also.

I must admit that I don't really expect that much of a better winter this year. That is just the way it is I guess. What I do hope is that spring comes earlier and is warmer earlier as well. I expect that the summer will be warm based on the experience of the last few years but I also expect that we will not get the terribly hot summer we have experienced before.

What is most interesting to me is that the Weather people from different sites really have not told us so accurately what the weather conditions will be. I don't keep track of their accuracy numbers but it just seems to me this year that they have made a lot of mistakes in projecting what our weather will be like. How many times have even the "same day" forecasts not been right nevermind the weekly ones which change so dramatically!

No matter, it is fun for me to follow the weather forecasts to try to figure out what will go on around here so that I can make the appropriate plans on what to do a particular day.

Of course, considering what is going on with what we are experiencing outside now, I spend time writing articles like the ones that are about to follow.

BORDER CROSSING FEES INCREASE

I see that the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel fees have increased. The new rates are:

"For cash-carrying customers, the price is being bumped from $6 to $6.25." (CBC News, February 1, 2018) 

Interestingly, it is the same fee now as at the Ambassador Bridge.

I wonder if that helps pay for the cost that the Tunnel company is paying these days for all the work being done to fix it up.

HOORAY FOR THE TOWN OF TECUMSEH

It is great to see that taxpayers are still so favourable but what is going on in the Town that I have moved to just a few years ago. A Survey was recently taken here and here is a key result:

"The survey, designed and conducted by Probe Research Inc., was conducted through telephone interviews with 400 people between Nov. 9 and Nov. 29. According to the survey, 98 per cent of Tecumseh residents are satisfied with town services." (Trevor Wilhelm, Windsor Star, January 31, 2018) 

ARE WE IN TROUBLE IN CANADA

I will just draw your attention, dear reader, to a comment by the chief economist of the Bank of Montréal:

"Doug Porter was in Leamington on Wednesday to provide a snapshot of the Canadian economy, and pointed out Canadians have surpassed Americans in at least one respect.

“We now have a $1.70 in debt for every $1 of income we have,” said Porter. “That’s an all-time high, it’s above our American counterparts, and that’s not normal.” (CTV Windsor, January 31, 2018) 

I have to admit that it troubled me considerably when I read that comment. It suggests strongly that many of our debtors could face serious trouble if our interest rates keep going up as it seems to be doing now.  Can you imagine then what would happen to house prices and how far they could fall if people can no longer afford to pay the bills.

BRIAN MULRONEY SPEECH

You might want to take a look at the former Prime Minister's speech at the U.S. Senate Committee Hearings on Foreign Relations a short while ago. I thought that his comments were quite well done.

All I am going to do for you now, dear reader, is give you the reference where you can read the speech for yourself: "Brian Mulroney: NAFTA isn't just another trade deal. It's a model for the world." (http://nationalpost.com/opinion/brian-mulroney-nafta-isnt-just-another-trade-deal-its-a-model-for-the-world)

I'm sure that he had a good reason for delivering that speech. Here is what he said right towards the end of the speech:

"I have always believed that the United States of America is the greatest democratic republic that God has ever placed on the face of this earth. Canada is privileged to have the United States as a neighbour and friend and the U.S. should thank its lucky stars every day that it has Canada on its northern border. This is the most successful and peaceful bilateral relationship in world history and one that must be cherished and enhanced by our leadership in a manner that is thoughtful, understanding and wise."

He was also very fortunate that the National Post provided his speech to its readers.  Hmmm, I wonder though if there was another reason why he delivered the speech. Back in August, here is what was written:

"Caroline Mulroney announced this morning she will attempt to follow in her father's political footsteps and run in the next Ontario election for the Progressive Conservatives.

The daughter of former prime minister Brian Mulroney had hinted she was interested in making a career change to politics and in a YouTube video she confirmed she will seek the nomination for the riding of York–Simcoe. The riding is north of Toronto." (Meagan Fitzpatrick, CBC News, August 2, 2017) 

She won that nomination in September, 2017. However, after the former Ontario PC Leader, Patrick Brown, shockingly resigned his position, there is talk about what she might become even though she has not yet run for office:

"But the urge of a suddenly leaderless party to turn to a woman who has never held elected office is a reminder that the tribal instinct to pick leaders from a ruling dynasty remains alive in the third century of Western democracy. And Canada is no exception.

Caroline Mulroney ran unopposed for the PC nomination in the Toronto-area riding of York-Simcoe. She has a solid resumé in the private sector and philanthropy, but it's hard to believe that being the daughter of former prime minister Brian Mulroney wasn't a factor in the minds of Tories who urged her to run." (Evan Dyer, CBC News, January 28, 2018) 

Now won't that be very interesting if she wins the leadership of the Party, especially to see what her father will do.  

EXTRA COMMENT:

Who knows, maybe she is actually going to run now.  I just saw this:

"Less than a year later, Mulroney is not only a candidate for the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party in the June 7 election, but a timely opportunity presented itself for her to run for the party's leadership — and sources tell CBC News she's in." (Meagan Fitzpatrick, CBC News, February 2, 2018)  

UPDATE:  She is now running for that position!!!

US PRESIDENT DID VERY WELL 

Here are some very interesting statistics provided after the American President delivered his first State of the Union speech. President Trump has to be very pleased with the results that he received:

"Three in four Americans who tuned in to President Trump's State of the Union address tonight approved of the speech he gave. Just a quarter disapproved." (Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus, Kabir Khanna andAnthony Salvanto, CBS News, January 30, 2018)

"How Not To Get Fooled"

"How Not To Get Fooled" was the "title" of the specific show on the CBC program, Marketplace, that I watched yesterday, Friday evening at 8 PM.  I will do a comment on that particular show shortly. 

First, however, let me thank Facebook for writing this note about me and posting the picture of Marsha and myself that I saw today online:

"Ed's posts have been liked 27,000 times"

Now that is a lot of views! I am truly grateful that this has happened. I expect that many of these "likes" are because of articles that I have written in Blogs over the last many years about events in Windsor and elsewhere. I am certainly very happy that these reactions were identified as "likes" rather than a possible other less complimentary alternative.

Let me hope, dear reader, that you also will "like" what I will be writing now.

I should let you know up-front that the reason I watched the Marketplace program is because my daughter's fiancé, Bill Nuvo, was on that show as one of the main individual participants. I thought it was important that I told you that, dear reader. You should form your own opinion on what took place last night, even after I make my comments about the show.

I would suggest, dear reader, that you go to the CBC YouTube site before reading the rest of my article in order to watch the TV program so you will get a very good impression of what happened last night.

What was very interesting to me was how the show was structured. Bill was the first independent person with his own viewpoint who was interviewed.  He gave his own opinion that was set out in the program. Subsequently, actions were taken by people from the University of Toronto in a variety of different tests so that their opinions could be made. 

The products involved on the show were those produced by a company called NeuroReset Inc.  Apparently, they were involved in about $100,000 worth of sales in their products after their original TV program. That TV program was Dragons' Den where a number of those participating on the show wanted to become their partners initially. We learned on the CBC program on Friday that these people never put money into NeuroReset after the show, and therefore never became partners as far as I know.

The program I watched took place last night on February 2. What was fascinating was that I went to the NeuroReset website early on Saturday morning, February 3, as I started writing this article, and saw on the front page of their website the following comment:

"READ MARKET PLACE REBUTTAL"

In going to this particular page to take a look at their rebuttal, the first line was:

"This is a rebuttal to the Market Place episode that accuses me of duping the Dragons and selling snake oil. I have included their questions and my responses."

Now that was something quite fascinating, especially when reading the rest of the article that was so long and detailed.  It certainly provides the point of view quite strongly that this CBC TV show was not complimentary to them.

I do not intend to go deeply into the TV show. However, I was amused that the "patient" shown on the show who was examined when he was at the office of one of the principals involved was told that the person who was attending him was one of the people who appeared on that earlier show. I assume that the person examined was connected with CBC, so that is how his relationship with the person involved was shown on the TV program. Here is what was said:

"Do you ever watch Dragons' Den…I was on with all of this stuff."

Presumably, that "comment" is seen of having some positive value in the relationship with the patient. I assume that it gives the person providing the care some kind of respectability or else it might not be mentioned. I wonder if the care person will now tell patients about the CBC show that seemed to be so negative to him. I wonder if he will also now tell patients that the people on that TV show who were supposed to put money into his business decided NOT to do it.

I was quite impressed with how Bill acted on the show. He was pretty straightforward in his opinion.  Clearly, it is my own view that the CBC people "approved" what he said and made it public. It was their intention that it would help its viewers understand easily what was going on in the Dragons' Den show and what their opinion should be at the end. Moreover, he was the one making the comments early on, not CBC members of the show. Remarkably, it turned out to be supportive of the CBC people's attitude!

His biggest role was showing a "magic trick" of his own that helped emphasize what the CBC show people believed in my opinion. It was quite impressive. In fact, it was shown right after we saw how the NeuroReset people presumably fixed up the participant on the CBC program who had some physical problems. Take a look at the 3:25 time of the program see what I mean.

His "magic trick" is certainly amazing. He shows how he makes a piece of transparent paper "strong" so that it does not fall over, then using his power of the mind makes it fall down and then finally brings it back up again to make it strong using a sleight-of-hand. 

However, its real purpose is extremely important because it shows viewers how people are fooled by a magician. He showed it as people being deceived but not knowing that. In other words, "misdirection." It was brought back to the days when snake-oiled salesmen used tricks to fool people into believing that what they were being given was giving them benefits. To be direct, isn't that the attitude that ultimately was given to NeuroReset.

It was easy to make sure that people understood after his time on the TV program what the rest of the program was about and all of the tests that were undertaken. In effect, it seems to me that CBC was telling people that they were being "fooled" as well. Only this time, they were using people from the University of Toronto to take the tests and to give an opinion on their results.

Do you really think, dear reader, that $100,000 more of this product will be sold by NeuroReset? I have my doubts. In fact, I am rather surprised about how much publicity was given by the Company about the reduced value of their own products by talking about the TV show on their website even though they tried to reverse it.

More Blog Stories

I just like writing Blog stories. That may explain why I have written so many over the past little while.  Of course, not being able to go for walk because of this extremely cold weather means that I have to find an alternative way to pass the time because I am not working any more. One of the ways I have chosen to do so is to write more stories because I have the time.

The biggest advantage for me to do this is the requirement to work my "brain" better. That is one of the goals that I must reach. One of the after-effects of my illness is the loss of some of my brain power. Accordingly, there are things that I just cannot do as well as I did in the past. Therefore, I must figure out alternative ways to help me try to achieve what I have lost mentally to do. To be direct, that is the reason why I do write on here. It forces me to figure out ways to try to achieve what I was able to accomplish before.

I have found a number of matters that have drawn my attention a lot over the last little while and thought that I should write about them. I hope you find them of interest to you as well.

WILL SMALL CARS STILL BE BUILT 

A long time ago I used to work in the car industry. After all, that is the reason why I moved to Windsor from Toronto. It was quite fascinating for me to be involved although for my last few years working in that industry I was not really focusing on the car business directly. No matter though because, when one lives in Windsor, the car industry plays a major role and one thinks about it all the time.

I just read a terrific Associated Press article that deals with smaller cars. The theme of the story was that small cars aren't really all that relevant right now to purchasers but rather people are looking to buy SUVs:

"New small cars unveiled at auto show but will anyone buy?

…But cars — particularly small ones — are having a tough time getting buyers to look their way as SUVs grow in popularity.

Car sales are expected to hit a record low this year after steadily declining for several years. SUVs surpassed cars for the first time in 2016, and the gap only widens: Auto shopping site Edmunds.com forecasts the utilities will make up 43.5 per cent of new vehicle sales this year, while cars will fall to 34.5 per cent." (The Associated Press, January 16, 2018) 

To be honest, I find that quite astounding. Why would anyone want to buy a SUV? Isn't driving car so much sexier! Moreover, why would one want to buy such a big vehicle. Does it make any sense to anyone?

I must admit that is what I was wondering when I read the article.  It seemed quite strange to me that such a conclusion would be reached. Yet, the vehicles that I have owned for so many years, especially when our family only owned one, were not smaller ones but rather minivans. And in the last few years, we have been driving a Ford Escape, a small SUV, and enjoying it considerably.  In fact, my wife and I have been discussing this matter recently and talked about getting another SUV when the lease on the vehicle we are driving expires rather than getting a car, even a small one.

Why then did the writer focus so much on the smaller car business even though their volumes were decreasing. Here is why they are still being considered:

"There are economies of scale, since many cars are sold globally, including in overseas markets where small cars are more popular. Then there’s the “gateway” effect, according to Michelle Krebs, an executive analyst for the car buying site Autotrader.com.

“A small car is likely the first new vehicle a young person buys,” she said in an email. “So it is particularly important to make a good impression so that person sticks with a brand and moves up the size and price ladder.”

Sure, there is a need for us to focus on SUVs but let us not forget that the Automobile Industry will still be producing smaller vehicles for a variety of reasons because there always will be a big market for that sized vehicle. The object of the exercise for the manufacturer is to get a purchaser to buy its vehicle when it purchases its first one and then hopefully remains within its auto family forever.

SPEAKING OF CARS

I have to admit that I am surprised that Windsor/Detroit did not make the Top 20 list of areas that were chosen to compete for another major centre for Amazon. In other words, for Amazon HQ2.

To be honest, I never expected that our area would make it as the winner but nevertheless I expected that it could well be considered as one of the better areas where this kind of a project could be done. Unfortunately, those who were making the decisions, did not even choose our area as one of the finalists.

Here is what part of what CNNtech published about Detroit. It was shown as the first of the list of some of the other cities that were not picked:

"Detroit, Michigan

The Motor City, which declared bankruptcy in 2013, pitched itself to Amazon as a region experiencing an exciting revival. 

"Move here. Move the world," declared a flashy video that accompanied its bid. 

Detroit's 242-page proposal, reviewed by Crain's Detroit Business, shows that the city offered to remake its downtown area -- as well as 30 years of hefty tax breaks. The state also said it planned to launch a $120 million initiative to expand its tech workforce. 

But it wasn't enough for Amazon." (Julia Horowitz, CNNtech, January 19, 2018) 

I must admit that I am not all that disappointed about the loss considering what it might really have cost Windsor to have it built here. I am not really sure if proper numbers are shown in materials put forward as the cost by any of the regions across North America. In any event, the amount was $106 million as the price that Windsor would put up. Here though is how the Mayor described it and presumably why there was not a major concern about putting up so much money:

"Windsor's incentive package according to "Crains Detroit Business" is valued at about $106-million U.S which Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens says is a 'notional figure' which includes tax incentives and possibly the Paul Martin building downtown…

[Mayor Dilkens said] "We have put forward a plan that we think makes a lot of sense and one that we think we can do and one that we think is attractive to a company like Amazon."

Dilkens points out the dollar figure is a value of what was offered saying, "it doesn't mean it is cash out of the pockets of taxpayers in the City of Windsor." (Teresinha Medeiros, AM800 CKLW, December 20, 2017) 

I do not believe that we should be upset about what happened if realistically this area had little chance of winning. What we should be happy about is that the regions on both sides of the border CAN work together to improve the economic potential of this area.

Should we at least hope that people on both sides of the river can now see the opportunity between us for what should be done, especially in the automobile industry, to make this region unbelievably successful economically!

US TRAINS ARE OPPOSED TO POSSIBLE NAFTA DIFFICULTIES

I just read this news story the other day. Note that, while the story was posted from New York City, the company that I saw that published it was from the other side of the world. It was an online poster that was the link that I saw for whatever reason.

In any event, here is what the story was about:

"Major US railroads warn Trump against derailing Nafta

Major US railroads yesterday warned President Donald Trump of the potential financial and political consequences of scrapping the North American Free Trade Agreement and urged US, Mexican, and Canadian officials to find ways to modernize the accord. Trump has threatened to withdraw from the agreement, which is heavily utilized by US and Canadian railroads hauling freight such as cars, beer, and grain across the three countries.

Some 35 per cent of annual US rail industry revenue is directly linked to international trade, according to the Association of American Railroads lobby group.

Kansas City Southern Chief Executive Officer Pat Ottensmeyer told Reuters at a rail shippers’ conference that scrapping Nafta would put supply chains, jobs and consumers at risk and could come back to haunt Trump politically." (Malaymail Online, January 18, 2018) 

It is very interesting to me to see such strong support for this joint Canada/US program and to see how businesses are prepared to tell the Governments to keep it in existence. I would think that the US President needs to reconsider what he is proposing and get a deal done quickly. I would think that the Republicans who are running for office this year will try very hard to make sure of that if they want to get re-elected!