All Hail Formed Boneless Pork

For the love of all things holy and sacred! McDonalds has decided to bring back the Mc”Rib”. Sorry I have to use quotes around rib, but I can’t possible class this disgrace to the art of creating mouth watering ribs in the same category. I will of course give credit where it is due; brilliant marketing of yet another heart stopping salt bomb! If you are unaware, McDonalds didn’t just follow the normal plan of taking a product off the market to create customer demand and by doing so minimize the stagnation of such a yummy treat. NO NO NO. They took it another level here folks! A farewell tour!! You read that right, a farewell tour and not just any farewell tour; one to rival the likes of an aging rock band trying to squeeze out one more tour to ensure their current millions don’t get lonely. The image above will transport you, in true Harry Potter port key fashion, to the stroke of brilliance that is the McDonalds marketing team.

They build it's exit up in fine style, leading us, as the removal of this glamour whore is brought to a fevered pitch, like pigs to the trough. People are begging them to keep it on the menu. Are they promising to eat one every day for the rest of their lives or what? There are websites built, blogs started, forums created and messages boards full of boneless pork zombies consoling each other like they will be losing a dear relative to a long battle with Cancer. I suppose the marketing works well enough to mask the fact that this sandwich is nothing more than processed pork pressed into form, like Playdoh, to resemble a slab of pork, with some “bones” thrown in for effect (see photo on the left). Yummy for my tummy! I mean really is this what it has come to? Is formed pork what drives our economy? Cheque please I need to go home! Isn’t the whole point to eating ribs the thrill of the fight? Isn’t it about a barbaric frenzy regressing back to our primal instincts as we sit hunched over a plate piled high enough so as to not be distracted by our fellow caveman across the table; both hands gripping the slippery ends of the tantalizing treat as we rip flesh from bone? In the process finding new ways to spread the saucing goodness of some slow roasted pork ribs to new locations on our bodies, say, behind your ear? What!?! I had an itch and there was certainly no time to wipe my hand first! Basically eating ribs should require an intense hose down with some sort of pressure washer or a good stiff shower.

To be completely forth right, I myself was at one time a big fan of the Rotten Ronnie’s tasty little pork invention. Really it is an invention; pork doesn’t come off a hog like that! I used to par take in the McRib back in the day and admittedly was a little unhappy when it left the menu. Sad reality has just set in; I need to go and gargle some bleach to wash away to thoughts of the slippery little bugger passing my lips many years ago. On second thought some therapy might be a better option. But it was good, or so I thought. My taste for finer foods was not yet developed back then.

So kudos to the marketing genius at McDonalds head office that has the power to grab a brand new generation of McRib lovers time and time again with a swipe of their magic pork wand.

With that I must go eat something salty and void of anything remotely nutritional! Or perhaps this banana I have in my lunch; a banana? Doesn’t seem to have the flair of a BBQ sauce drenched, pungent onion wearing, piece of formed boneless pork on a bun, with pickles added for color now does it?

My Two Cents

Jamie

Routine...Such A Powerful Force

What a weekend! It was a long weekend and not because of the extra day off either. I still find it amazing how strong a routine can be and how it can effect so much. But I guess I shouldn't be shocked when it surrounds us every where we look.

People in bad relationships continue to plug along without any chance of happiness. Routine is often mistaken for the ever elusive feeling of love. Is it the person you love or the routine created by being a relationship with that person. Ask yourself, "Does this person enhance who I already was before I met them?" or has your life changed dramatically to accommodate the other person and "yourself" gets lost in the shuffle? It only takes about 21 days to carve a new routine, that is not much time relationship wise. Now I am not poo-pooing relationships here, I believe most relationships are an incredible connection between two people that makes each of the lives better each and every day. I am merely pointing out the concept of routine as it's negative effect relates to some relationships.

Routine isn't just about relationships, it is about every day life. We get into a routine about how we get dressed in the morning, get ready for work, what we eat, how we drive to work, how we turn on our computers, which programs we open first and in what order, when we go for breaks, lunch and home time. We continue the routine through to our personal lives too. We do things in a very robotic way sometimes. And when ANYTHING alters our routines BAM! We are sent into a tailspin of emotional upheaval. It may not manifest itself into tears or flamboyant tirades, it can be subtle and distracting.

As I said earlier, I am continuously amazed at the power of routine, whether it is myself or I watch someone else self destructing when things don't go exactly as the routine has laid it out in our minds. Let me explain how I got here. I, myself, am a victim of the routine monster controlling my mood, instead of me controlling how I feel. This past weekend was a good example.

This year's Easter weekend was not 'normal' by my routine's standards. The routine is Easter dinner with my family, some time spent with the kids, dinner with the Lundar family and then send them to have some time with their mom to do the Easter bunny thing. This year was different, I was away from my children and my family wasn't having an Easter dinner, so I wouldn't be seeing them either. My Mom is still recovering from her surgery and wasn't ready to entertain. So the plan was to make up the dinner on another date, which was fine, or so I thought. Also a slight oversight on my part created a situation where changing things up with respect to my children was thrown into the mix and I wouldn't be seeing them at all over the weekend. Off to Lundar we went on Friday afternoon and I was disjointed all weekend. Couldn't really relax and felt out of it. I wasn't my normal self. While out in Lundar I usually help out in the kitchen and give the lady of the house a break, which she always appreciates. She has made reference to that effect before. But this weekend was different. I wasn't helpful in the kitchen and I never actually left the house! I usually try and get outside while in Lundar. Such a beautiful piece of land that is such a peaceful place. Nope not his weekend, glued to the inside of the house.

It wasn't until I was home again that I could truly understand how I was feeling. It is funny how, while in the moment, I can't see what is so clearly in front of me. Like most things, the only time you can make a clear and accurate assessment of a situation is once you remove the emotion from the equation. Very difficult to do but absolutely necessary to ensure the decision is based on merit not on emotion. Basically, I missed my family dinner and my children. Both of which is normal, but only because the routine was changed was it magnified. I miss my children any time I don't see them so that wasn't different and I knew the family dinner was still going to happen so that can't be the issue, but the routine DID change and subsequently threw me into a tail spin.

Hopefully I can learn from this and try and see it before it becomes mood changing next time. Routines can be helpful, but they can also be debilitating to the point of holding us back. Don't let routines run your life, I'm going to try and re-evaluate some of my routines and make sure they are helpful routines and not harmful ones. All routines are learned behaviors, we are not born with routines. And most importantly, any behavior we have learned can be unlearned, it is a matter of re-programming our brains. Re-training if you will. So often I hear the phrase "well that is just the way I am", but it really isn't. Bold statement, but true. Think about it. We are sculpted and molded by our experiences in life and the choices we make create routines. As we keep doing something (about 21 days) it becomes habit or routine. Conversely we can undo that learned habit the same way. But the trick is to recognize a routine before it effects our ability to think clearly and has us out of sorts when change occurs. I got caught this past weekend within the emotion of a routine, oops, hopefully I can work towards being less tied to my routines and more connected to my inner self.

Challenge yourself to change some of your routines, it will be strange, but it should be helpful to learn to take life as it comes.

My Two Cents
Jamie

Can We Talk For A Minute?

I am sitting here trying to come up with something witty to write about....not feeling it today. Inspiration can be hard to come by here at the day job! Wait shouldn't I be working...bah...whatever...on the day before the start of a long weekend, c'mon!

Maybe I should quickly rifle through some of my other favorite blogs and maybe the dreaded newspaper (that is for another blog) and see if I am given some direction. Be back in a bit.

............many minutes pass...................

Did you miss me? You never knew I left did you? How rude! Whimper, whimper. Suck up it fancy boy and start writing! Yikes, better get my act together.

Anyone else think I am strange? No? Okay, good!

............................many more minutes pass..........................

So nothing in the news that sparked my creative juices. But I was thinking about something. It goes back to Facebook. On Facebook you can play a game called Scrabulous, which is LIKE Scrabble but not the same! Have all the copyright infringement people stopped reading....all right let's carry on. Who the heck are we kidding it is Scrabble my friends. A couple funny things stem from this very popular Facebook game.
#1. The brain trust at Hasbro Inc. has decided they are going to put a stop to all this fun being had on Facebook, they feel they are not receiving appropriate royalties for....or are they? Back to that in a minute.
#2 The constant questions I receive about whether or not I cheat at Scrabulous because of my high winning percentage. Because you know, Jamie can't be smart enough to spell big words like 'cat' or 'dog'. Heck this blog isn't even written by me, I have someone type while I dictate and furthermore they dress it up to make coherent for others to read. Let's face it I am a boob. :) Seriously though, I have said to many and I will say it again, "I am not as dumb as I look!" You can take that to the bank!

As I was saying, Hasbro Inc. has a bee in their bonnet about Facebook and one of its most popular applications, Scrabulous. Over 600,000 members have Scrabulous installed?, attached?, hooked up?, ahhhh whatever, it can be found on over 600,000 profiles! Hasbro Inc. thinks they are missing out, but I beg to differ. I have read many an article and have heard from people who have never THOUGHT they would like Scrabble actually find it fun and interesting. Anyone can admit, at first glance, Scrabble looks a tad boring...a real yawn fest! But some have found out the truth through Facebook, to the point of leaving the comfortable glow of their monitors to find the real game in stores. They buy, play it and love it. Now Hasbro Inc. is getting full dollar on the game sold to someone who would never have bought it otherwise. Basically Hasbro Inc. is reaping huge benefits from Facebook tapping a demographic they could only dream of connecting with. The amount of time, money and effort Hasbro Inc. would need to sink in to developing a marketing campaign to MAYBE peak the interest of a younger dollar is astronomical at best. And its success rate would be that of trying to avoid death while letting a grenade detonate in your hand. Sure it is possible you will survive, but at what cost? Needless to say money spent on marketing by Hasbro Inc. to gain new younger customers would be costly and ineffective. Yet Facebook hooked them hard and fast creating a whole new customer base for a board game that wasn't even on the sites of the Hasbro Inc. marketing team. I say let them run with it and play off the Facebook success. Beats sitting around the boardroom pouting like a bunch of six year olds because while they were toiling over what the "next big game" will be, someone came along and revisited and age old classic board game. Classic is very cool these days, I know because I am tres cool! Notice how I used the word tres (its French you know), very hip and cool. I try.

Oh about the problem I have with people constantly questioning my integrity while playing Scrabulous. I am sorry to inform you, I am not a mindless goon. Sure I drool a little while watching hockey and if talked to during hockey my inner cave man instincts take over and forming sentences is hard (lots of grunting and such), but that doesn't mean I am stupid. Does it? I like to be informed and like to learn things, so I read stuff. Sometimes what could be described as "pointless" or "useless" information, but I read it anyway. Then along comes a game that requires thinking and a certain level of strategy and everyone is upset, confused and overwhelmed if I win. What is strategy anyway, the ability to learn how the game is being played on the fly and adjusting your game accordingly to put yourself in the best position to win...is it not. I believe that requires some brain power, no? But I digress.

I am competitive, I like to win, winning is a good feeling. Losing, not so much. Is winning everything, certainly not, but nobody can convince me that they enjoy losing! Even people who have known me for years are still befuddled when I win. I am sure they scratch their heads and wonder, "How did that buffoon win? He is thick headed, hockey loving, grunting, pit scratching, wing eating, goofball....how could he win?" Sorry folks, although a number of those descriptions may be true, ya missed one important descriptor......intelligent! I know, I know it kinda sneaks up on you doesn't it. But it is true, under all my man bravado and weird ways is a thinking man. So the reason I beat your confused asses at <insert name of game here> so often is because I actually have a brain and try to become better at games each time I play them. As for Scrabulous, I do know a few words with more than three letters in it and try to maximize when to use them most effectively. In addition I try not to set you up to score points off my words. I hope my Mom isn't reading this, because she serves me my ass on a plate when we play Scrabble!!! I dare you to play with her! I think she actually had a hand in creating the dictionary!! All crazy ranting aside. I play games because I love games. I honestly don't put as much stock in the win as it may appear, although I can't seem to convince anyone of this, I guess I am just lying to everyone. I prefer to win, put anyone who is willing to be honest would say the same thing. But it is about the game, and if it is a good game, hard played by all and I lose, so be it. It was in the challenge where I found my fun.

In summary, Hasbro Inc. needs to get their heads out of their collective asses on this Facebook issue and people need to stop underestimating me! Underestimating me will only cost you in the long run. Nothing I enjoy more than a challenge. I throughly enjoy a good fight, mostly because I find it to be an opportunity to learn to be better.

Everyone have a great Easter Holiday and don't forget to thank the Lord for all the incredible blessings in your lives! We all have them. Stay focused on the blessings it helps.

My Two Cents
Jamie

Fruit Juice. Healthy Choice or Time To Wake Up

Fruit juice is consumed by many as a healthy alternative to soda pop. But is it really a healthy alternative? It seems time and time again I hear people defend fruit juice in a way that would suggest they grew the fruit themselves, went through the process of squeezing it, bottling it, delivering it to a store and providing us the extreme pleasure of purchasing this misrepresented drink. Stop the car I want to get out. I mean really, is it really necessary to take everything so personally. Just because I suggest that fruit juice is not any healthier than drinking a can of pop doesn't mean I am attacking you personally. Perhaps I was trying to offer some information that may help you understand why you or your children are not finding the results you want from your exercise routine. Or why your children can actually climbs walls after having sipped a tall glass of "not from concentrate" juice, also not from nature I might add. Perhaps the liquid sugar entering directly into the blood stream may have some less than helpful side effects. Maybe an I.V. hook up of sugar water would be more helpful? I guess the poles with the bag hanging off the end are to hard to drag around the house or playground. And for that matter if you want fruit then eat a piece of fruit, rather than drink it!

Let me ask you this question, if I were to add the equivalent levels of vitamin C to a can of Pepsi would you serve it your child for breakfast? Or as a regular way to quench their thirst?

I didn't think so. But the true fact of the matter, drop for drop UNSWEETENED fruit juice has the same amount of sugar in it as pop.

12 ounces of	Coca-Cola	Orange Juice	Apple Juice	Cherry Juice	Grape Juice
Total carbohydrates	40 g	39 g	42 g	49.5 g	60 g
Carbs from sugar	40 g	33 g	39 g	37.5 g	58.5 g
Sugar (teaspoons)	10 tsp	8 tsp	10 tsp	9 tsp	15 tsp
Calories	145	165	165	210	240

As you can see some fruit juices have more sugar and more calories than a can of pop!! Alarmed? You should be. This doesn't speak to the fact that fruit juice contains a fraction of the health benefits the actual fruit has (things like fiber).

The next crazy thing I have heard is "It's natural sugar, so it is easier for the body to digest." WHAT? Did I miss something? 10 teaspoons of sugar is 10 teaspoons of sugar, natural or otherwise! What ever happened to drinking water? Isn't water natural and a healthier natural choice to boot? I know water is boring and isn't full of sugary goodness, but we are made up of 70% water anyway. Did you know that when you feel hungry it can actually be your body reacting to dehydration? So as you can see, fruit juice IS NOT a healthy alternative to pop, neither for your children or for you. I do understand that kids need more calories and an added dose of Vitamin C is important, but there are alternatives if eating the actual fruit isn't an option. Diluting the juice is a very easy way to start. It not only provides the children with the limited "benefits" of juice, but it continuously adds water to their growing bodies. I see the contorted faces reading this thinking, "that is gross!". Guess what sunshine...the don't know any better! As adults, we have more power than we understand and we often impress our personal likes and dislikes on our impressionable children. Of course if we make faces or openly talk about how gross we think diluted juice is they will believe us. But if they are not influenced by their leaders, us their parents, they go about their business blissfully unaware. My kids loved their watered down juice when they were young. They thought that is just the way juice is. They often made funny faces when mistakenly given the high octane real stuff by a grandparent. Good times!

I personally don't think adults should be drinking fruit juice period. The benefits you believe you are getting from fruit juice can be achieved other ways, without ingesting all the extra sugar. Starting with eating the actual fruit (what a novel idea) the old fashioned way, by chewing it. It seems we are in such a rush all the time and demand instant everything we are our own worst enemy. The easiest way to change the way we ingest calories and sugar is to empower yourself at the grocery store level. Stop buying the things you crave and start buying the things your body needs. Seems we are back to the age old theory: Want vs. Need.

We eat calories all day long, why do we want to drink them too? The next time you reach for the fruit juice in the fridge, think about the volume of sugar you are consuming and bypass the liquified sugar and grab the other natural option in the fridge, good 'ole H2O.

I have to go peel an orange for my afternoon snack.

My Two Cents
Jamie

The Battle Seems To Be Over

Well I have been out of service for a couple days. Sometimes I just don't know what to write about. I need to get used doing some writing on the weekends. But I am here today and need to revisit a previous blog.

You may recall a blog about the lonely girl working at Wendy's trying to peddle coffee to the Tim Horton junkies walking by. Well, not exactly peddling, she was much more statuesque than animated. But I digress. Point is today I was back at that same Tim Hortons and the gates were down on the Wendy's outlet! I suppose after they poured the 400th pot of coffee down the drain they decided to call it quits. They still serve the coffee, as far as I could tell, but not during the morning rush. Once again Timmys destroys the competition. This one in short order.

I actually have to say that I myself don't go to Tims as much as I used to. I put value on my time. Too many times I have been late for work or wherever it is I am going because of a Tim Horton's line up. I usually refuse to use the drive thru, not sure if it is the Joe Pesci's character Leo Getz screaming in my ear "They F$@%& you in drive thru!" (the movie Lethal Weapon 2) or because without fail there is some lazy ass in the line of three cars who needs to know, "what kind of muffins do you have?". If you are not sure what you are ordering then get out of your vehicle, get some exercise and go see for yourself what variety they have available!! Bottom line in my opinion the drive thru is for simple orders of two or less items, no counting out your change and NO QUESTIONS! Have your money ready, because if you use the drive thru properly you should know how much the order will come to without them telling you. Breath....deep breaths....in and out....there I feel much better. And of course if I go inside to try and usurp the "quickness" of the drive thru, I seem to always find two trainees working along side two more trainees fumbling along without any clear direction. Shouldn't a trainee be paired up with someone who knows how it all works? Thus giving them a fighting chance when facing the Timmys army of caffeine addicted zombies! So basically I look in the window as I drive into the parking lot and if the line inside has more than three people in it (which still won't guarantee you will get out of there in less than 15 minutes) and the drive thru has more than two cars in it, I usually leave. I turn the bus around and leave crazy town. I end up at Robin's Donuts where the lines, ummmm, do I count as a line.....anyway, where I can drive up, order, pay and drive away in about 30 seconds (no I am not exaggerating). As I said before my time is worth something. I do enjoy Tims coffee more than Robins, but it is about value people. The battle of value breaks down as such; time savings + the coffee from Robins vs. the loss of time + the coffee from Tims. Hands down Robins wins that race. On the days when I have a lot of extra time to kill or I can see clearly that I should be able to avoid the wait, I get my Timmys.

I have to say though, I have been drinking less and less coffee as of late. Thanks Tim Hortons for reducing my coffee intake overall. Probably not something they want to hear, but truth be told waiting 15 - 20 minutes to BUY a cup of coffee doesn't seem to make much sense to me.

My Two Cents
Jamie

The Price Was Big And Gave Advantage To A Penguin!

Well, my boys missed an opportunity to put some distance between them and those Pesky Penguins! ARGH!

Although I will have to admit I am torn. Les Habitants still are near and dear to my heart, this stems from my late Grandfather's love for, in his opinion, the only "real" hockey team in the game. He used to say he had two favorite teams, #1 the Montreal Canadiens and #2 ANY team that beat the Toronto Maple Leafs. Naturally my Grandmother is a Leafs fan. Made for some interesting Saturday night TV.

So I am not entirely upset Montreal took over top spot, but I am discouraged about the Devils squandering an opportunity to give themselves some breathing room atop the Atlantic division. It was a solid performance from the Devils with respect to their ability to create chances to score. However, they were exceptional sloppy in their own end. Three of the four goals were scored with cross ice passing rendering any goaltender irrelevant. One of those goals was a product of a terrible line change. It seemed like no one knew who was to be going on the ice or they weren't paying attention. Naturally an odd man rush was created.

Now I have give full credit to Mr. Carey Price! Man this kid is outstanding. Cristobal who? I recall when this kid played at the World Juniors, he was something special. He moves about the crease effortlessly. It almost appears as though he is not trying, but that is a product of his unwaivering confidence and his bullet proof emotional control. This kid will be become the real deal and will raise the bar. What I find very interesting is his ability to raise his level of play when in a big game. Back in November Price lost his first outing facing Martin Brodeur (4-0), then in the past couple of weeks he has faced Brodeur two more times. Now Brodeur is arguably one the best goalies all time to strap on the pads and play some shinny, and Price has been rock solid in both of the last two outings; saving 69 of 70 shots on goal to gain the Ws. Many have crumbled under that very same pressure of standing 200 feet away from a hockey icon who will most probably finish his career holding almost all the notable records a goalie can hold. Now two games doesn't set Price's path in stone of being a superstar, but two games starts the ball rolling of consistent performance under pressure. And when it comes to being one of the best at anything, specifically goal keeping, it is measured by consistency. It isn't necessary to be ranked #1 in every possible stat, but if you are consistently vying for #1 you are consistently giving your hockey team a chance to win. Carey Price is an incredible budding young super star and now the first rookie goalie for Montreal, since Ken Dryden, to post over 65 saves in his first two career shutouts. I think the Habs are on the verge of watching another young unproven rookie netminder go on a career defining playoff run. Could Carey Price be the next, Patrick Roy or Ken Dryden...say tuned and see.

So keep your eyes on the Devils and Habs, they may meet in the Eastern Conference final. And that my friends will be one hell of a series to watch!

My Two Cents
Jamie

Houston We Have A Problem

Houston we have a problem. In my opinion, one of the most over used phrases of all time. But it sure fits my purpose. My problem is astronomy based. You see I have been wrong about something for many years, I know what your thinking...how is this possible? The Earth is really flat!! No, no no. Some of you may have wondered (and of course I am assuming someone is reading the stuff I write) why my blog address is http://fivestarthoughts.blogspot.com. It isn't what you may have been thinking. I don't think my topics are 5-Star in the traditional sense. It is, what I thought, a crafty play on words. Sadly this appears to be not true and I am living a lie! Seriously though, I have always thought that Planets were considered stars, don't ask me why, but that is what I have believed to be true. So given my last name is Cinq-Mars, I translated the first part, Cinq, into English to get five and used the literal version of the second half, Mars, therefore Mars=Planet=Star. Thus producing Five-Star! Viola! Sounds simple enough. Pretty clever huh? Well it was until my discovery that planets aren't actually stars! DOH! This all stemmed from the younger days of playing hockey and going through the crazy days of high school. I had all kinds of nicknames, none of which really stuck. There was Mars, 5-Mars bar, 5-star, Mars bar, and the always popular "sink-mars". It never ceases to amaze me how many times I have to face that problem. Why do people complicate things. They look at my name, Cinq-Mars, and then try and perform some complex mathematical equation using advanced algorithms trying to figure out how to pronounce my name. And the brilliant sum total of all those burnt brain cells is "sink"? Has anyone looked at a five dollar lately? Funny how even the person with the least amount of French language skills can look at a five dollar bill and when asked to say the French word located on the bill they say it correctly "sank". Basically if someone looks at my name they come up with 'sink' and if they look at a five dollar bill they come up with 'sank'. Go figure. The other common fun that arises from my name is the translation of only one of the two words. I get the tilted head, that of dog wondering what the heck was that noise, as they attempt to figure out my name, smoke starts to billow from their ears , Let's see...Cinq=Five and Mars=Mars? "So it's Five-Mars, that's a unique (polite way of saying weird) name. What does it mean?" Why wouldn't they translate the entire name? Cinq=Five and Mars=March, officially the name is Cinq-Mars or the 5th of March, ya dumbass!

Well got a little off topic their didn't I, where was I.......

Ah yes, the meaning of Five-Star and my nicknames. I stuck with Five-Star, naturally, because it sounds cooler. And I am a cool guy, visualize the 'gun and wink'. ;) Basically I have been using this 5-Star name for years. For stuff like user names, names on hockey jerseys, and other things requiring a nickname of sorts. All along thinking I was providing a witty twist on my name, when in fact I was doing nothing of the sort! I am sure (laughing to myself) many have thought it was some egotistical thing, where I think I have a 5-Star rating! That's funny. Alas, my brutal, misinformed attempt at wit has failed. I looked it up, I was wrong to think a planet is a star. A star is a star and a planet is a planet. But I will continue with the loose reference to all things astronomy for my explanation for using 5-Star as my nick name.

Now that I think of it, I may be the only one using the nickname? Does that make it a true nickname? Ahhhh, whatever, Five-Star Thoughts powered by blog spot!! Read it and enjoy!

Now you know what the 5-Star is all about!

My Two Cents
Jamie

I Noticed A Missing Link

I noticed that my blog has a noticeable void, well, at least noticeable to me anyway. Hockey!! I am a rapid hockey fan. Some have said obsessive, what? Who? Me? Naaaah. Well maybe a little. Secondly I am a die hard New Jersey Devils fan! OH what is that I see...top spot in the East? I never noticed.

The playoffs are fast approaching and I am getting excited about the prospect of hockey on TV ever night for a month or so. I believe I will have to ensure my playoff tree is reborn again this spring. Last spring I built this playoff tree on a wall in our home, much to the dismay of my lovely finace. She is patient with me. God love her for it. But I have to say the playoff tree was a sight to behold. It was awe inspiring. LOL

Now, I am not sure why I have never added hockey to my blogging. I certainly do love it and have a passion for the game. I follow the scores daily, I watch the stats and I read numerous articles almost daily. I can talk hockey with the best of them. That brings me to problem I have with all the anti-Devils people out there. I understand that the Devils have had some unfortunate years of stifling coaches that preached DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE, which produced Stanley Cups, but some terribly boring hockey. However, like a true fan I stuck with them. So why is that no one has noticed their transformation? I guess because they are sitting right where they have been for the past 10+ years, at the top. Leading their division and/or the Eastern Conference. I know they got there with boring hockey, but that has changed. When the Devils hired Brent Sutter as their coach in this past off season he has been a changed the hockey philosophy in the New Jersey camp. This season they started slow out of the gate because of it. They were learning new systems which were a 180 degree change from previous years. They lost all their key defensemen and had a new coach who is all about puck pursuit and a strong passion for an aggressive fore check. That left Martin Brodeur alone in the back 40 to fend for himself for a number of games while the team figured out what this crazy coach was talking about. Not to mention they started the season with a nine game away schedule while they waited for the new Prudential Center arena in Newark to be finished. Needless to say with 13 games remaining in the 2008 season the boys from Newark are coming into their own and just in time. With the playoffs just around the corner; the offense is clicking, the defense has learned how to work with their veteran goalie and it looks like Brodeur is on fire, once again producing Vezina like numbers. In two games this past week against the leagues whipping boys (The Maple Laughs), Brodeur stopped 83 of 85 shots! Obviously some team break downs there, but what else would you expect from one the leagues best goalies of all time.

So as I gear up (like I am personally involved) for 2008s quest for Lord Stanley's mug, I watch on the edge of my seat as my boys hold on to the slim lead they have in the Eastern Conference. The Habs are working hard to bring back days of old to the Forum, backstopped by their young netminder giving them great success this season (flashes of the glory days of Patrick Roy dancing in their heads). And those pesky Penguins, lead by a young cast of incredible super stars are breathing down the necks of Devils for Atlantic Division supremacy. So if you hear a deafening scream and aren't sure where it came from; it was probably me cursing the all those who oppose my Devils ownership of the Eastern Conference!

My Two Cents
Jamie

eBay Has People Abandoning All Reason

I just don't get it! What is wrong with people today? Don't they understand how money works? now I do understand the supply and demand concept, but it is still nuts! I have been watching the Nintendo Wii systems being sold on eBay and buyers are either uninformed or just plain stupid. I know it sounds harsh, but I this chaps my ass!

A Wii console retails for about $249-$269 (I've done the research), yet on eBay these morons are driving up the bidding to well over $100 beyond the retail, that is before the ALWAYS bloated shipping costs. Oh, you live next door, wow, small World. So the shipping on that item will be $73.49. It's maddening! I would say the average (my guess) auction price on eBay for the Wii console is $380 + shipping costs. So the total cost, shipping included, is about $425-$475!!! Can anyone else see how insane that is!?!?

The sellers on eBay are buying consoles at a retail outlet in the morning and selling them by end of day for $150+ profit! I will give them credit for being on the ball. I don't blame the sellers for capitalizing on an opportunity to be make money. All they do is post the items and the bone heads bidding drive the price up beyond what it would cost them to get off the asses and go to the store and buy it themselves. Granted some are probably not in cities or towns with a retail outlet that would carry a Wii, but is there value in paying nearly double for the Nintendo Wii? Sure it's fun, but I am must be missing something.

Perhaps it is the Winnipegger in me...I don't like paying retail let alone MORE than retail. :)

I think eBay and what it offers is awesome but I just don't understand the mentality of the bidding public to drive the price well above retail. I will go back to watching the eBay auctions and continue to wonder in amazement why someone would pay so much for something worth half the price and ask myself, "Self," Because I call myself "self", "Self, what is wrong with people?"

My Two Cents
Jamie

Children And Their Oh So Cool Ways

I described a situation in an earlier blog regarding how I usually dress appropriately for the weather and joked about the parental lecture that accompanies the concept of warm clothes in Winter. I spent a great deal of time this past winter trying to instill some solid principles about wearing warm clothes with my 11 year old son. Even to the extent of purchasing "cooler" outer ware to avoid any fashion disasters. He has some pretty good looking stuff to wear. Does he wear it? Hell no! That would make sense. Oh but don't worry Dads he has it in his backpack just in case it gets colder than -45 degrees. Are you kidding me? He has this very nice ski jacket apparently; which was purchased without a zipper, oh no, I was wrong, there it is. He, sadly, has not mastered the art of zipper closure. So he walks around being very cool (who are we kidding he has to be freezing his ass off) with his jacket open exposing the stylish choice of sweater for that day. :) Then of course there is the classic pulling of his hands into his jacket, which would indicate to any sane person that your hands are cold. So how about putting on those mitts you picked out because they were cool? Naaa, this pulling my hands in thing works better and looks cooler. So let me understand this...it is cooler to look like you have no hands, than it is to wear mitts on them? Okay, got it. How about one of the multiple toques he owns? Those are in his bag too, and besides those are for Summer when he is skate boarding, DUH!! The kid wears a toque all Summer long and tucks it away in his bag all Winter long for safe keeping! UGH! Now I will extend a friendly reminder; Hey don't forget your boots, you know the nice ones that look like snow board boots to keep up the cool image. I get thanked (not in a gracious way though) for reminding him. And as we walk through the ankle deep, freshly fallen snow I find as we approach the van that he has remembered his boots; of course they aren't on his feet, they are snuggly tucked up under his arm while he walks through the snow in his runners....oh wait....sorry his skate shoes.

Clearly I have no idea or concept of what it takes to be cool, but as far as I can tell it has a lot to do with being very cold, having wet socks, chapped skin on the hands and let's not forget the unique fashion accessory of winter boots under each arm. But I digress.

All I can say is, I will continue to try and help him understand it is important to dress properly for Winter and hope somewhere in his brain he hears me. At the very least he can pass along all this wisdom to his kids one day.

And of course, we all know that when we were youths we NEVER EVER under dressed for the weather in Winnipeg!

My Two Cents

Jamie

That's it! I am done! No more! Finished! Fineato (is that a word)!

I came to the conclusion this morning that I am done with Winter. I know, I know, this coming on the heels of my diatribe about conversations surrounding weather. But I am requesting some latitude on this one, because it isn't really about weather per say, but more about seasons. A thin line, but one I am going to walk at this time.

I could not warm up this morning and for me that says something. I am a furnace, prefer cool to cold environments because I produce more than my fair share of body heat! That's right I said it, I am HOT STUFF! ;) But this morning, I could not for the life of me find warmth. At times it has been colder this Winter, but I never have any trouble being warm. So I decided that enough was enough and I am done with Winter.

Not entirely sure what that means?? I can't just walk away from Winter, now can I? Hmmmm. I don't think I've thought this declaration all the way through. (Is that smoke I smell, no wait, that is me thinking) I've got it! I could become a shut in until the season officially changes in a couple of weeks. Now how does that conversation go with the boss....."Uh, well, here's the thing boss. I am done with Winter so I won't be in until March 20th, once Spring begins." Ya that's the ticket! Na, that doesn't seem like a good idea. Although I am fairly certain I have said stranger things to my boss than that in the past three and half years. :)

It's odd for me, because this is the first time I can recall that winters iron grip on Manitoba has had such an impact on me. As stated above I am not normally effected by the elements. I do what I have to do and dress accordingly (most of the time, cue the parental lecture about warm clothes). I guess that is why I formed such a strong opinion about being fed up with Winter. Alas Winter is what is.

So long story shorten, I guess I will need to suck it up and stop being a baby. Winter is here for another two weeks, officially, and potentially another four weeks unofficially. There I think my hissy fit is over. Should be good now! LOL Thanks for tuning in this week for whiny guy cries about the weather. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

My Two Cents

Jamie

Working For a Living Doesn't Feel Right

So I picked some extra work over the weekend. As much as I like helping a friend out (I was being paid mind you), I really hate working weekends. I worked all day Saturday, came home and went to a social. Worked all day Sunday, stopped for groceries on the way home and then went and played hockey Sunday night! Doesn't make for much relaxation, so I am tired and not really motivated to work today. Go figure! :)

Ya see, a good friend owns a company that provides I.T. Services. He has a client that was changing offices over the weekend. As with most major computer network moves, the network is expected to be up until end of day Friday and fully functional Monday morning like nothing happened. Sometimes easier said than done. Oh and better yet if you can swing it keep the network available the entire weekend, even while it is unplugged and in transport. There must be a way! But we loaded up the vans and moved about 50 PCs and all the computer related office stuff and headed to the new location. We unloaded and began the task of setting up an office. Running cables, setting up PCs, testing and tying down cables to make all look neat. That was just the office space, that did not include the behind the scenes work in the network closet. The area where all the magic functionality the office takes for granted is created. Isn't it amazing...you plug a PC into the wall beside your desk and poof...you have access to the Internet and all the pertinent file information you need is at your finger tips! The plight of the unnoticed I.T. staff. Boo hoo right!

Working for the 'man' sucks!

And it REALLY sucks when the paper your pay cheque is printed on is worth more than the money it represents! LOL. Funny story...I was talking to a woman that used to work for me back at Sobeys. She was a great employee and had a lot of potential. I remember how she wanted to advance in the company and so I worked on grooming her for bigger and better things. She wasn't always aware that she was being taught something, but I think that is a big part of teaching. She didn't believe me that she would be the leader one day, I knew she had the skill and talent to be exactly what she wanted to be, but she had a hard time visualizing it herself. But today she is the leader I thought she would be! She runs her own department and is very proud of her accomplishments. Back to the story; we were talking one day on MSN. Gabbing about this and that, the grocery biz and its ups and downs. Like any industry, it has its ebbs and flows. She had asked me about my career and how I liked my career change. I let her know I was not truly happy with the career choice I made. Talked a little about how the I.T. industry is not as satisfying a job. Basically it wasn't what I anticipated it would be. She commented that at least I was making more money than I was in the retail grocery game! I had to LAUGH, I find it funny how people ASSUME that working in the computer industry equals great fortune. The reality, at least my reality, is I make about $14000 LESS per year than when I left the retail grocery business. That is a lot of scratch! In fact I made more money when I was 20 years old than I do right now! That is sad, instead of moving up with inflation, I am regressing. However, I believe starting over has its price. I am new to the industry, so I am unknown and unproven. Back in the grocery World, I was known and proven. Numbers don't lie. My accomplishments within the Grocery industry were very clear and I might add, impressive. Companies came looking for me and not me looking for them. I know what it takes to make money, how to create profit, how to drive sales, how motivate others to excel and most importantly, how to create a team that knows how to build something special. I build people into powerful individuals that WANT to exceed expectations and WANT to be the best they can be (which is a different level for each individual person).

I will apply those acquired skills to a project of my own one day. That is the path I am working towards. The grocery industry is not for me because it has changed. So going back is not really the best option. Although I know I would enjoy it more.

I need a financial backer! Any business! You choose! I WILL make it a success, I WILL generate a profit, I WILL create an atmosphere of success that everyone involved will be proud to be a part of.

Well that felt good! I should get back to work and get something meaningless done today!

My Two Cents

Jamie