Observations
Greetings My Dear Readers,
It’s been a week or so since my last post. This week has been turbulent as the
adjustment to this new
This new land leaves much to be desired as closed minds, self centeredness, and general lack of respect are the dominate themes in this place of little.
This has been a return to a small minded, uneducated culture of old. Although I understand it and have lived among it in the past I was glad to leave it behind more then a decade ago and hoped never to return to it.
Now that I find myself immersed back in it, for better or worse, I find myself struggling against old stereo types and views that I have worked hard to leave behind, but the small minded, obnoxious masses I deal with daily make it hard to keep these views of old at bay.
Not that it is all bad, there are some good people and wonderful angels that brighten my world daily, but this land still leaves much to be desired. The children are lawless and run rampant, where the idea of theft and violence are everyday behaviors, and the parents in the majority of these cases, are no better often teaching and encouraging this behavior in their children.
Another sad and unfortunate aspect of this new location is the lack of childhood. Many young teens that I’ve encountered, many as young as 15 and 16 years old are pushing a stroller with a young baby and are clearly pregnant with a second child on the way. Although teen pregnancy rates are high across the country, here it seems exceptionally high. Babies having babies.
That’s enough for one day.
Until next time,
Your Cold Hearted Bastard,
D.
Update From The Land of Not
Greetings my Dear Readers,
I come to you once again, at long last from the
The sunny near tropical paradise I once called home is a quickly fading memory as I immerse myself in a land of little.
The last couple weeks have been pricey weeks full of complication as I struggle to get settled and get a foothold in this new world. But these same weeks have also seen me thrust into a world of mindless evil that I had hoped to be well done with. But alas, a quiet, peaceful and sane world is not my destiny…
Mindless Evil
First off, not far from my new location a little girl barely two years old was abducted from her bed and taken outside and beaten half to death and left in a bloody heap thanks to a witness who rushed to aid the child, otherwise her abductor would have likely killed her. Her would be abductor is now in police custody facing kidnapping and attempted murder charges.
Second, a long respected Pediatrician, again not far from my new location, was recently caught with thousands of images of hard core child porn and was sentenced to a mere 45 days in prison which he is serving on weekends,a mere slap on the wrist for one of the most vile violations of the law possible. If a pediatrician gets busted for possession of this type of material what was he doing with the countless pediatric patients entrusted to his care of the years? The mere thought is sheer terror for any parent who has ever had to take their child a hospital.
This is my new world. Clearly the more things change, the more they stay the same. I am as always, in a sick world of insanity…
Canada Screws Its Taxpayers... As Usual
Now now to some headlines that have caught my attention in the last week or so:
I know many Canadians who make extra money by selling old belongings or general junk on E-Bay, although I’ve never sold anything on E-Bay, when news of Revenue Canada actively moving against E-Bay sellers, it got my attention:
EBay sellers warned to pay taxes
CBC News
Money earned online with auction sites such as eBay is taxable just like regular income,
"Taxpayers should know that the tax laws that apply to traditional commerce apply in the same way to electronic commerce, like eBay selling,"Jean-Pierre Blackburn said Thursday.
"I strongly encourage eBay sellers, and for that matter, any taxpayer who has not already done so, to correct their tax affairs as soon as possible to avoid penalties or prosecution."
In 2007, a Federal Court of Canada decision required eBay
The Court of Appeal upheld that decision in April 2008 and as a result,in November eBay
The tax agency can use the information to determine if eBay sellers properly reported the income they earned from sales. If the body determines that an individual or a business did not comply with the tax laws, it will take any necessary action, it warned.
In addition to paying any outstanding taxes, plus interest, consequences may include penalties, as well as legal actions that could result in fines and other imposed sanctions, the agency said in a release.
No penalty for voluntary disclosure
"To avoid paying these fines and penalties, taxpayers who have failed to file income tax returns for past years or who have not reported all their income can voluntarily correct their tax situation,"
Under the voluntary disclosures program, taxpayers who take the initiative to correct or disclose any information will not be penalized or prosecuted if they make a full disclosure before the CRA starts any audit or other compliance action.
The agency expects that the audits, based on the information received from eBay, will begin at the end of this summer.
They will then begin contacting eBay sellers to ensure they have filed all required returns and accurately represented the full scope of their business income.
Typical Canadian Government, determined to screw over the Canadian Tax Payer and take every dime they can away from us. This is the only country in the world where the government actively works to penalize those who do well for themselves and crush any attempt for entrepenres to ever succeed.
But in
American Musings
In listening to an outspoken American Talk host that shares many of the same views as I do here north of the border, I was alerted to the article below.
Although am not American, because we are flooded daily by American politics by TV and Radio I can’t help but find American Politics entertaining, as such I couldn’thelp but appreciate the following:
What has GOP done for workers?
Not too long ago, my wife and I attended a TV football party in south
Finally a lone, liberal voice asked: “Will you people name me one bill your party ever passed to help the working man of this country?” The question created much din and clamor, and someone sputtered, “Well, what have the Democrats done?”
The liberal responded with a few programs and was interrupted by howling and disdain. He noted that he had not promised they would like the programs and he asked to complete his statement — a difficult task to ask of Republicans.
He spoke of Social Security; Medicare-Medicaid; Peace Corps; unemployment insurance; welfare (for the poor and corporate); civil rights; student grant and loan programs; safety laws (OSHA); environmental laws; prevailing wage laws; right to collective bargaining (which brought about paid medical insurance, paid vacations, pensions, etc.); workers’ compensation; Marshall Plan; flood-disaster insurance; School Lunch Program; women’s rights.
He spoke of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established a minimum wage,instituted child labor laws, and set up time-and-a-half pay for over a 40-hour week.
He mentioned FHA-HUD with its public housing, urban renewal and 44 million residential homes (before WWII almost 70 percent of our nation were renters; by the 1970s this had been reversed).
And farm-conservation subsidies — USDA programs, Farmers Home Administration(the bankers didn’t want to make rural loans), small flood-control lakes (more than 3,000 in
The GI Bill was passed, which the Republicans at the time bitterly opposed.They were salivating over millions of returning veterans to hire as cheap labor. More than 8 million have used college benefits, creating millions of entrepreneurs; most of us had never dreamed of college. For the unemployed GI,there was $20 a week for 52 weeks to help get started (a lot of money in those days). The Veterans Administration provided more than 2 million home loans.
For the bankers at the football party, it was pointed out that the liberals saved their industry with the creation of FDIC and FSLIC, insuring their deposits, and saved Wall Street with the establishment of the Securities Exchange Commission.
The oil men came on bended knees to FDR at a time when
And the list went on and on, but of course this group didn’t let him get halfway through. He noted they were weary, inattentive, so again he challenged them to offer up any Republican legislation examples.
“I’m sure your party has authored one or two comparable bills from time to time, but I can’t think of any, and apparently you can’t either. What it boils down to is this: the liberals dragged you into the 20th century scratching and screaming with your heels in the mud, fighting anything that’s progressive,everything that’s made this country great. You Republicans have never understood that the spending power of blue-collar workers, obtained through Democrats and unions, is what really made this country great. You really believe “The Good Life” was obtained from your own endeavors. You cloak your greed in religion and patriotism, railing against any form of tax, never comprehending that these programs have benefited all of us and our country.”
Well, I almost didn’t make it out of the house. My wife and I didn’t even get to see the end of the football game… pity.
Clint C. Gold is former mayor of
Until next time,
From the
Your ColdHearted Bastard,
D.
Heart Break and Relocation
Greetings my Dear Readers,
The last few days since my last post have been a roller coaster of activity often leaving me mentally and emotionally exhausted. So without further delay let's jump right in...
Heartbreak and Anger
Every time I wander out these days I am amazed by the number of people that crowd our malls and local streets with small children in tow and yet are completely oblivious to their children's presence. Parents who parade around often with 3 or 4 children in tow yet storm ahead and pay zero attention to their children who struggle against the crowds in an attempt to keep up with parents who barely know they exist.
This all too common scenario that I witness daily, and more so in the summer, used to make me angry, now it just depresses me. Small children who want nothing more then to be loved and cared for are herded around and ignored, treated more like a burden then a gift. These parents pump out children like its nothing then seem to care so little for them. Its heart breaking to witness. These children are little more then a meal ticket for the majority of these so called parents. These are people who need to be taken into a private room and beaten severely in the hope that they might then feel some of the anger, frustration and hurt that they are putting their children through by not acknowledging them for the previous gift that they are.
The longer I live on this planet and the more I see how children are taken for granted, hurt, abused, exploited and just simply unwanted by so many, the more I lean in favour of forced sterilization. So many people are in such a rush and so wrapped up in their pathetic lives that they fail to see the effect they are having on their children and the long term damage they are doing to them by writing them off as burdens rather then loving and cherishing them for then precious gift that they are.
Some call this North American Society, I call it De-Evolution of Mankind.
Plan "B"
Everything is all but set in stone now. Weeks of packing have finally come to an end, moving companies are booked, accommodations are arranged, and all seems finally ready. The stress of preparation is all but done. Now the next 72 hours will see everything put in motion with completion by the end of the week. Its been emotionally draining with more to do then there are hours in a day. Its my friends, the few who have proven themselves to be true, repeatedly over the years, that have made this all manageable and kept me sane.
With everything set to go into motion shortly, this will likely be my last post until the relocation is complete and I am able to get re-setup in the Land of Not. Although I have mixed views on this entire re-location, it is over all a step up in the general food chain of life, and will allow me to put in motion other long term plans that have been sitting and waiting for an opportunity to see fruition.
Not to worry my dear readers, if all goes well I should be back up and running and free to return to my ranting and raving before months end.
Until next time,
As Always,
Your Cold Hearted Bastard,
D.
Homeless, Relocation & Bright Spot
Greetings My Dear Readers,
Today I come to you from the smoke filled Valley of Fire known as Paradise.
Today I was watching a homeless man pushing an overflowing shopping cart with all his worldly possessions down the street. Watching this man make his way down the street oblivious to all the looks he was attracting from those around him, I found myself wondering what had happened to this man to bring him to this point in life. Was he a victim of our failing economy? Was it mental Illness? Drug Habit? or was he simply another one of our Military War Veterans who ended up on the streets unable to make the transition back into civilian life?
Lost in thought I watched him until he meandered out of view. In my short time on this big floating rock we call earth I have seen several of our honoured Veterans living on the streets, men who after returning from war torn combat zones fell through the cracks and ended up on the streets of our nation. Forgotten Hero's.
Given the prevalence of drugs in this valley its highly unlikely that this man is a vet, but it did provide interesting food for thought. A few years ago an old homeless man collapsed here in town, and later died of Heat Stroke. It was later discovered he was indeed a vet. It was learned later that he had over $17 Thousand on him at the time of death (as he didn't trust banks) and lived in a make shift lean-to year round along side a city creek. Now he's just another sad statistic.
Sadly, someone doesn't need to be a Vet, Drug Addict or suffer from mental illness to end up homeless. Although the Bank of Canada has announced that the recession is over, many continue to lose their jobs. Statistics claim that the majority of people are only one or two pay checks from living on the streets, as a result our nation's homeless population has been growing at a terrifying rate. Men, Women and Children of all ages are now struggling to survive on the streets, forced out of their homes with no where to turn.
A Sad and unfortunate state of society.
Relocation to the Land of Not
Since my last post my days have been filled with packing, haggling with banks, realtor's and moving companies. Stress filled days, sleepless nights and never ending complications. Needless to say I haven't been bored
The transition from Paradise to the Land of Not is well in motion with all the final pieces almost in place. I imagine I'll get another post or two in before its time to pull up stakes and finish the final process of this relocation .
Bright Spot
The last few days has also seen me re-establish contact with someone special that I haven't seen in many years. It was a pleasant and heartwarming surprise to stumble across them. I look forward to the opportunity to play catch up
Until next time,
From the Paradise Curtain Call,
Your Cold Hearted Bastard,
D.
On The Road: Day Six
Greetings My Dear Readers,
After a full day yesterday that saw me return unexpectedly
to a city rich with memory and personal history, I now once again find myself
aboard a highway bus preparing for what I expect to be an 18 hour return trip
to
It’s actually lucky that I managed to find myself aboard a bus this early morning as no one saw fit to inform me that the bus terminal was closed today and that buying a ticket for travel would not be possible. Fortunately money talks and I was able to pay the driver in cash to ensure I didn’t end up stranded in my old home and effectively derailing the rest of my trip.
As I managed to get everything I needed to do in the Land of Not a day or so earlier then I expected, a friend managed to persuade me into changing my plans and ended up dragging me back to my old stomping ground, where I spent the day being pampered and chauffeured around the city taking in all the changes and sights of my old home, before retiring to my newly booked hotel, for a quick nap before having to get up bright and early to embark on more then a full day of travel back the land of plenty.
So now as the sun rises I once again find myself travelling the highways of this nation on the first leg of a four city, three airport journey home.
I may update from the various airports as time permits.
So until next time,
Your Cold Hearted Bastard,
D.
Now several hours into my return trip I find myself in the first of three airports that I will frequent on this trip with several hours to kill before I fly off to the second leg of this return trip journey.
This family section of the airport is abuzz with young children happily at play while tired and travel weary parents look on with attentive supervision hoping that their active little ones will play themselves out and be less active for their untold hours of air travel yet to come.
As planes come and go the shifting fluid like influx of people changes and ebbs as if on some cosmic whim just beyond human comprehension. But on a more human level the laughter and happiness of the little ones at play provide an unexpected and heart warming setting for the first part of this grueling journey still to come as the time ticks by taking me closer to check in time for the first of three flights that will launch me on my path back to Paradise and its Land of Plenty.
Until next Update,
Your Cold Hearted Bastard,
D.
Greetings Folks,
I am now in my third Airport of this return trip awaiting my
final flight of the day that will finally see me home in
I have to admit I am quite surprised by the number of small children flying on their own. During the second leg of this never ending return trip. I noticed three separate small children who were all traveling on their own, all under the age of nine, without a Parent or guardian accompanying them.
To their credit the airlines take pretty good care of these children, and these kids are certainly brave to travel alone like this. On this particular flight I ended up seated next to a delightful little seven year old who was just heading home from spending a couple weeks with her grandmother. Grandma had taken her to the plane, then Mom and Dad were meeting her on the other end when the plane landed. I complimented her for her bravery, and she quickly informed me that this wasn’t her first solo flight and that she had flown alone two years ago when she was only five. Certainly an incredibly brave little girl, and yet she wasn’t the youngest child flying alone on this flight.
Although the flight crews take good care of these youngsters and rarely do you ever hear anything bad when kids fly alone, I can honestly say, I’d never let my young child travel across the country alone, especially at the tender ages of 5 – 9 years old. These parents are incredibly trusting and daring. When it comes to the safety of children, sending them across the country alone, even on a non-stop flight, is far too big a risk in my eyes.
Brave kids, daring parents, but my own children will never travel with out myself or some other trusted Guardian with them. The risk is just too high.
In another 3 or 4 hours I hope this trip will be complete and I get on with finalizing all the finer points of Plan “B” that caused this trip to occur.
So until I make it back to
Your Cold Hearted Bastard,
D.
On The Road: Day Four
Greetings my Dear Readers,
This will be my last full day in the
Once again I need to touch base with the people that I will be answering to if I make the big leap of faith and make this Land of Little my new home base. As I mentioned in an earlier post, there is still something about all this that just doesn’t feel right. As a long term seasoned veteran of my vocation I know when things are fishy and out of place, and although I have been repeatedly assured that all is well, I can’t help but feel that something is grossly wrong and out of place with this entire situation. I will attempt to get resolution to some of these nagging issues later this morning before preparing to make the grueling return to
Until next update,
As Always,
Your Cold Hearted Bastard,
D.
On The Road: Day Three
Greetings my Dear Readers,
I come to you today again from the
I have spent the day bouncing around the city viewing potential living arrangements, meeting with employers and haggling with bankers. In as few as 21 hours the final piece to making all this official could fall into place and signal the beginning of a new era. Although I suspect full resolution is still a good month away.
It appears that word has already begun to spread of my potential return to Central Canada as I have been contacted and received messages from several people that I have not spoke to for many years. All rather looking forward to my pending return. Much of this was a rather pleasant and unexpected surprise.
This feedback comes as a surprise as very few people in my recluse world are even aware of the pending changes taking place and even fewer are in the know as to what has and/or will be developing.
I had planned to post these Rants of sorts from the road so you, my dear readers could get a blow by blow of sorts of happenings as they occurred, however a dual glitch has occurred to prevent the immediate posting of these updates. My internet access is choppy and unreliable at best while on the road, although my Hotel advertises full WiFi it is far from reliable or stable enough to be of any use and two, I seem to be having difficulty connecting to the posting server for ColdHeartedBastard.com. So regrettably these updates will all be posted chronologically when I return to
But fear not, for you my Dear Readers, I will always ensure that the mindless ramblings of your Cold Hearted Bastard get posted.
Until further development,
As always,
Your Cold Hearted Bastard,
D.
On The Road: Day Two
Greetings My Dear Readers,
After almost 19 hours I finally reached my destination and got checked into a Hotel just outside the city limits.
Very friendly and helpful staff but not exactly the cleanest accommodations. I guess I need to remember that I am back in Hickville, a tad step down from the fantasy world of ease that living in
Today I’ll scout my perspective Vocation Location and observe the staff anonymously before identifying myself in an attempt to get a feel for what I may be walking into by taking the position. Should this go well and seem worth taking then I’ll begin the laborious task of looking for long term affordable accommodations. Given that this area is actually more of a laid back country hick environment I don’t anticipate much difficulty here.
Will update later in the day.
Until then,
Your Cold Hearted Bastard,
D.
Hello again my Dear Readers,
It was a fairly decent day with everything going fairly smoothly.
My new vocation location leaves much to be desired, and my potential staff are not exactly rocket scientists from what I’ve seen. This first hand intel and other observations lead me to hesitation in making this move and making it all official. There is also this running undercurrent that is more of a feeling then anything else, but something doesn’t feel right. I feel there is someone working behind the scenes to railroad me in this new setting, its nothing I can prove it’s just a feeling I get when ever I’m dealing with the few people I will have to answer to in this new location. But with time working against me, my options are quickly running out. I may have little choice, but to roll the dice and take this leap.
I have also been able to lay the frame work setting up long term affordable accommodations. Tomorrow I have appointments to view multiple locations and could secure some property.
Until next update,
Your Cold Hearted Bastard,
D.
On The Road In The Land of Not
Greetings
my Dear Readers,
I come to
you today from the highways of
This has
been a day over filled with challenges, first my travel agent booked the wrong
flight for me and unfortunately I didn't notice the error until it was too late
to do much about it (lesson here, is to always double and triple check travel
documents before leaving the office). As
a result I found myself stuck at a midpoint in the trip for longer then
anticipated. Not a problem, Plan
"B" was to ditch my baggage and take in some of what the city had to
offer... Wrong. The storage lockers were malfunctioning and
relieved me of a sum of money without allowing me the security of being able to
leave my bags safely stored, as a result I was stuck staying put and
babysitting my belongings for a period that should be considered a Federal
Offense.
At long
last I now find myself aboard a Highway Bus for the 4 and a half hour road trip
to the destination that will likely provide the setting for the next chapter of
my continued existence.
But first
let me say its been quite a few years since I've travelled by Bus, as I've
gotten in the habit of flying everywhere I need to go, however this time around
I was unable to secure a reliable passenger airline to take me to this obscure
little hole in the middle of no where I may soon call home, so I begrudgingly
had little choice but agree to travel by Bus.
Now as I said its been quite a few years since I've travelled any
distance by bus, but it has been a different experience. Bus lines, or at least this one now conduct
security screening of passengers and their luggage before they are allowed to
board the vehicle.
This
security screening in many ways resemble Airline security screening found at
airports but without the high tech x-ray machines and scanning equipment. They now require you to empty your pockets
and your bags are manually searched for any weapons or other objects you might
be able to use in a disorderly fashion.
Then your given a once over with a metal detector to make sure your not
smuggling a small tactical nuclear weapon aboard in your back pocket or
underwear.
This was
definitely an unexpected change, but is necessary now since a passenger was
murdered and dismembered while he slept last year while travelling by bus on
Canada's Highways. One major freaking
Psycho and we all jump through new interesting hoops.
Its kind
of creepy, as I a have been passing through many area's that I spent quite a
bit of time in before I was dragged off to Paradise where I have spent the last
decade getting spoiled by scenery and near tropical weather. Its rather strange to find myself so very
near my old stomping ground, but still at a healthy enough distance to prevent
those that I've washed my hands with from crossing my path.
So what
brings me to this chilly land of little?
I am now actively scouting the Plan "B" I mentioned in a
previous post. Since my last post things
have come together for Plan "B" on the surface while continuing its
deterioration of slow destruction. I
have now secured employment in the Land of Not, but now must work on securing a
new location to Rant and Rave from.
Overall if things come together it will be a step up in the food chain,
but will come with risks and bonds that could tie me into a hopeless endless
loop until I retire or drop dead, which ever occurs first. Personally I'm leaning towards the later.
If all
goes according to tentative plan this will involve change of epic proportions
and levy some staggering changes and expenses on me. If things go as planned, and from all the
difficulties I'm running into I have little reason to believe it will, but if
it falls back into line, then while I make this transition my posting and
ability to do so will become extremely limited for the next couple months until
everything is settled into place.
At this
point I'm just scouting the conditions and doing a little first hand
reconnaissance before making the end all of decisions and deciding whether or
not to commit myself to an eternity of suffering.
Will
update some more when I reach my destination...
Until
next time,
As
Always,
Your Cold
Hearted Bastard,
D.
Coming Change and Birthday Wishes
Greetings My Dear Readers,
The few days since my last post have proved futile. Despite multiple efforts to stabilize the current situation, on going events seem to ensure that despite my efforts things remain as uncertain and unstable as ever as I hit one road block after another.
With few options left, I may have little choice but fall to Plan "B" which will in all likelihood take me to the Land of Not, a world of Ice and Snow where Ten Months of Winter followed by Two Months of bad ski-dooing is the norm, add into the mix having to fight for your life 24/7 against a black cloud of Mosquito's all as big as your fist and it becomes a homecoming of sorts. But even this Plan "B" is getting stone walled.
The one saving grace in all this uncertainty, is the security and stability of my vocation which will almost guarantee me solid employment no matter where I end up anywhere in the country. I have a personal deadline to settle and restore stability to this entire matter or at least have the frame work in place for the next chapter of my existence within the next ten days. If I can pull it off, all will be well. If I fail to settle this matter within the set time period, things will move from unstable to simply Ominous.
A tentative Plan "C" is also in the works in hopes of avoiding Ominous status should Plan "B" fail.
I'll know more as the days progress.
Happy Birthday PTK
My own matters aside, I also need to wish a Very Happy Birthday to someone special out there.
My thoughts are with you on your special day
Until next time,
As always,
Your Cold Hearted Bastard,
D.