Happy New Year

It seems the Mayans were wrong when they predicted the end of the world on December 2012. Tomorrow is the beginning of 2013, but apparently they never predicted the end, only a change. Let's hope things will change...for the better. We are in great need of changes. There is nothing but bad news every day. I'm glad I'm not a hockey fan. I would be furious with the players and the owners of the Jets. If they don't come to an agreement there won't  be any hockey games next year. The MTS Centre will be empty much of the time. Many people who depend on the games will suffer. I don't even know what everything is all about. Obviously about money. It always is.
Our native population is creating problem throughout the country. Demonstrating in shopping centers and disrupting the movements of trains and other vehicles. They want the government to do something about their living conditions on the reservations. Perhaps they should get after their chiefs who are mismanaging the money they already get. Just my humble opinion. I'm not that well informed about all the problems they have. Only what I read and hear in the news. Maybe we should stop sending money to all those countries who beg for it and use it to help our own people. Many of those countries need to get rid of their corrupt governments and start to help themselves instead of expecting the hardworking and well-to-do countries to feed them. Again...just my opinion.
I count myself lucky to live in a country like Canada where we have the opportunity to work and make a good living and still have enough freedom to let our opinions be known without fear of prosecution. Of course, even we can't write or talk about everything freely without worrying that we might be accused of racism or hate mongering. There is really no such thing as complete freedom. The truth will set you free is only a saying. Speaking the truth can also land you in deep trouble. Sometimes it is best to keep your mouth shut and opinions to yourself.

I wish everyone who reads this a healthy and prosperous 2013. Let's hope the conflicts that tear so many countries apart will end and there will be a measure of peace in the world. And let's also hope our politician stop bickering and get things done, here in Canada and in the good old USA.

A free Christmas gift

Thank you for visiting. I'm giving a free pdf copy of any of my books to anyone who would like to have one. Just send me an email to hegro@shaw.ca and tell  me which one of my books you would like. To find out about my book go to my other blog  Herbert's Place. (Click on this link). You'll see all of my books. If you click on the covers it'll take you to my publisher's website and you can find out what the book is all about. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas

It's that time of year again. It's Christmas. Time for reflecting, for celebrating, time for presents, and time to get together with loved ones. We say 'Merry Christmas' but how many people really think about what it means and why we are celebrating Christmas? We are so busy buying  presents, turkeys, ham, and all the trimmings for a Christmas meal. Merchants hope to make enough money to offset losses that have occurred during the rest of the year. Christmas has turned into circus for many. There are plenty of people who'll say 'Happy Holidays', afraid to say 'Merry Christmas' as if it is a swearword. Some Schools are not calling their concerts "Christmas Concerts', they call them 'Holiday Concerts'. That is too bad. We are giving in to minority groups who seem offended when they hear and see the word 'Christmas'. There are forces out there who want to change our country and our traditions.
Sure, Christmas is celebrated by Christians to celebrate  the birth of Jesus Christ. I'm not a religious zealot, but I believe what Christ taught. He told us to be forgiving and loving. He preached peace. And that is something everyone should believe in. Let's celebrate Christmas with that in mind. Peace for everyone in the world.

Strange Phenomena

Yesterday when I went outside to clean my driveway I saw the strangest thing on the plastic Snowman. It seemed a piece of string was wrapped around its nose. When I lifted the end of the 'string' off the ground, it disintegrated between my fingers. I discovered it wasn't a real string at all but a string of tiny ice-pellets. We've had hoarfrost on the trees for a couple of days now, but that usually forms on branches, but this string isn't resting on anything solid. It is just hanging there in the air. How that formed is a mystery to me. Here are a couple of pictures:

Not a pretty picture

Not everything is beautiful in this world. We stumble across ugly things every day. I'd like to share this picture with everyone reading my blog. This is what happens when you leave a bunch of beautiful Goldeye in the Smoker for too long. But I have to say they did taste great.

Feast your eyes on this picture:

Don't you just feel like sinking your teeth into one of these eye-pleasing Smoked Goldeye right now?

30,000 kilometers

I know this isn’t exactly a world-shaking event, perhaps not even worth mentioning, but how often do you see this?

When I parked my car in the garage this morning, I looked at the odometer and noticed that it had stopped at 30,000 km. So I took a picture to preserve it for future generations. Well, at least until tomorrow anyway.

The car is a 2010 Hyundai Elantra. We bought it new and now we’ve driven 30,000 km with it. Not much compared to the miles or km other people put on their vehicles, but more than enough since we use it only for pleasure.

As I said, not memorable news, but with all the negative and horrible stuff we see on TV, hear on the radio, or read in the paper, I thought a little bit of positive trivia doesn’t hurt anyone.