| April 9, 2007 - Names Added to the "War on Terror" Honour Roll
 Sadly, I've had to change the "war on terror" honour roll numbers on the Connect2Canada page of the home website.Easter Sunday, roadside explosions killed six and wounded two Canadian soldiers in Helmand province, Afghanistan, where the NATO multinational force recently launched a major offensive against the Taliban. Ten soldiers, all members of Hotel company, were in a LAV-3 armoured vehicle when the blast occurred around 1:30 p.m. They had been out in the desert for a month living off their vehicles, eating field rations and sleeping under the stars.
Over the past few days they were busy shepherding coalition convoys to the Sangin district, the scene of fierce fighting between the coalition and the Taliban.
The dead men were identified as:- Sgt. Donald Lucas, 31, of Burton, N.B. 2nd Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment
Gagetown, NB
- Pte. Kevin Kennedy, 20, of St. Lawrence, Nfld. 2nd Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment
Gagetown.
- Cpl. Aaron E. Williams, 23, of Lincoln, N.B. 2nd Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment
- Pte. David R. Greenslade, 20, of Saint John, N.B. 2nd Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment.
- Cpl. Christopher P. Stannix, 24, of Dartmouth, N.S., who was a reservist from the Halifax-based Princess Louise Fusiliers.
- The identity of the sixth victim was not released at the request of his family. Military officials confirmed he was also from CFB Gagetown.
They are dead; but they live in each Patriot's breast,
And their names are engraven on honor's bright crest.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
It was the single largest death toll suffered by Canadian troops since 2002, when the campaign began. Since 2002, 51 Canadian soldiers and a diplomat have been killed in Afghanistan.
There are 2,500 Canadian troops serving in the country, the majority of them stationed in the volatile southern regions. "You can appreciate, clearly we are saddened by the loss of six of our best . . . but we stay committed to the mission," said Col. Mike Cessford, deputy commander of Task Force Afghanistan.
"This is what we do.
We are focused on rebuilding Afghanistan, on doing the right things for those kids who wave at us every day as we drive down the roads here." More than 18,500 troops make up ISAF, with contributions from 36 nations. To learn more about the NATO force and mission - click here for their official web site. Honor to the soldier, and Sailor everywhere , who bravely bears his country's cause,
Honor also to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field, and serves, as he best can, the same cause.
(Abraham Lincoln) To learn more about this attack plus additional special reports, visit my old network - CTV News - Assignment Afghanistan - (Go to URL)
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April 11, 2007 - Google and Retirement Jobs - Old Pancakes and Video Memories
As someone once said - "being close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and lap dancing."Examples - Tiger Woods came close, but didn't win the Masters - the Toronto Maple Leafs came close, but didn't make the NHL playoffs. But for us mere mortals - close can be cool. Take this old timer as an example - two years ago next week, I only knew how to turn on my computer and place the cursor over the monitor thingy so I could send humourous and profane Emails to my retired buddies - today, two websites (and two under construction) later, I'm this close I-I to being number one in the giant world of Google. As of this morning, the host website is number two out of about 19,300,000 possibilities in Google search for the keywords "retirement Jobs". I'm sorry for this bit of bravo bragging but damn it, who would have thought - I sure as heck didn't - here I am living in the fourth and final quarter in the game of life taking on a new challenge that, at the beginning, seemed insurmountable because of all the techie stuff - but I lucked out and, by chance, I was introduced to Site Build It - I just followed their instructions and there it is - #2 out of about 19,300,000 possibilities in Google search. Today, I'm just one of tens of thousands of folks around the world, young and old, who doing the same thing - using SBI to build a retirement job via the internet. Like I've said many times - if I can do it - it's damn sure you can do it. And, about this - close doesn't count bit - I would repeat a Zig Ziglar quote I used several entries back - Success means doing the best we can with what we have.
Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph.
Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.
If we do our best, we are a success.
Success is the maximumutilization of the ability that you have. - start checking into your creative retirement job.
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Retirement News Blog Email Box - There's an Email circulating around the globe about the dangers of how outdated pancake mix can be deadly. Apparently that's true - the mould that forms in old pancake mix can be toxic - but the mix has be really old stuff. Anyway, in case your received this Email, here's what Snopes.com reports. Here's an interesting look back - A slide show of old ads This is a PowerPoint slide show - If you don't have one, you can download your FREE viewer from Microsoft here.
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Have you heard this one? - Two Women Meet in Heaven 1st woman: Hi! My name is Wanda
2nd woman: Hi! I'm Sylvia. How'd you die? 1st woman: I froze to death.
2nd woman: How horrible! 1st woman: It wasn't so bad. After I quit shaking from the cold, I began to get warm & sleepy, and finally died a peaceful death. What about you? 2nd woman: I died of a massive heart attack. I suspected that
my husband was cheating, so I came home early to catch him, but instead, I found him all by himself in the den watching TV. 1st woman: So, what happened? 2nd woman: I was so sure there was another woman there somewhere that I started running all over the house looking. I ran up into the attic and searched, and down into the basement. Then I went through every closet and checked under all the beds. I kept this up until I had looked everywhere, and finally, I became so exhausted that I just keeled over with a heart attack and died.
1st woman: Too bad you didn't look in the freezer. We'd both still be alive. Have a great day - and get to work on your creative retirement job - (Go to URL)
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April 12, 2007 - Special Edition - A Must Read from the Sunday Telegraph
Again this week I've had to change the "war on terror" honour roll numbers on the Connect2Canada page of the home website.Yesterday, two Canadian soldiers died in Afghanistan and three others were injured in a day that saw three separate attacks on convoys of Canadian armoured vehicles.
The dead men were identified as:- Master Cpl. Allan Stewart, 30
- Trooper Patrick James Pentland, 23
Both were members of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, based in Petawawa, Ont. They are dead; but they live in each Patriot's breast,
And their names are engraven on honor's bright crest.
Henry Wadsworth LongfellowThe deaths, which come less than a day after a ramp ceremony for six other fallen soldiers, bring the number of Canadians killed on the battlefield since Sunday to eight, the most in a given week in Afghanistan since Canada's mission began in 2002. It pushes the total number of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan to 53.
Honor to the soldier, and Sailor everywhere , who bravely bears his country's cause,
Honor also to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field, and serves, as he best can, the same cause.
(Abraham Lincoln)
-------------------------------------------My thanks to retired buddy Jim Hill for sending me the following -
From The Sunday Telegraph
LONDON - Until the deaths of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan , probably almost no one outside their home country had been aware that Canadian troops are deployed in the region. And as always, Canada will bury its dead, just as the rest of the world, as always will forget its sacrifice, just as it always forgets nearly everything Canada ever does. It seems that Canada 's historic mission is to come to the selfless aid both of its friends and of complete strangers, and then, once the crisis is over, to be well and truly ignored. Canada is the perpetual wallflower that stands on the edge of the hall, waiting for someone to come and ask her for a dance. A fire breaks out, she risks life and limb to rescue her fellow dance-goers, and suffers serious injuries. But when the hall is repaired and the dancing resumes, there is Canada, the wallflower still, while those she once helped glamorously cavort across the floor, blithely neglecting her yet again. That is the price Canada pays for sharing the North American continent with the United States , and for being a selfless friend of Britain in two global conflicts. For much of the 20th century, Canada was torn in two different directions: It seemed to be a part of the old world, yet had an address in the new one, and that divided identity ensured that it never fully got the gratitude it deserved. Yet its purely voluntary contribution to the cause of freedom in two world wars was perhaps the greatest of any democracy. Almost 10% of Canada 's entire population of seven million people served in the armed forces during the First World War, and nearly 60,000 died. The great Allied victories of 1918 were spearheaded by Canadian troops, perhaps the most capable soldiers in the entire British order of battle. Canada was repaid for its enormous sacrifice by downright neglect, its unique contribution to victory being absorbed into the popular Memory as somehow or other the work of the "British." The Second World War provided a re-run. The Canadian navy began the war with a half dozen vessels, and ended up policing nearly half of the Atlantic against U-boat attack. More than 120 Canadian warships participated in the Normandy landings, during which 15,000 Canadian soldiers went ashore on D-Day alone. Canada finished the war with the third-largest navy and the fourth-largest air force in the world. The world thanked Canada with the same sublime indifference as it had the previous time. Canadian participation in the war was acknowledged in film only if it was necessary to give an American actor a part in a campaign in which the United States had clearly not participated - a touching scrupulousness which, of course, Hollywood has since abandoned, as it has any notion of a separate Canadian identity. So it is a general rule that actors and filmmakers arriving in Hollywood keep their nationality - unless, that is, they are Canadian. Thus Mary Pickford, Walter Huston, Donald Sutherland, Michael J. Fox, William Shatner, Norman Jewison, David Cronenberg, Alex Trebek, Art Linkletter and Dan Aykroyd have in the popular perception become American, and Christopher Plummer, British. It is as if, in the very act of becoming famous, a Canadian ceases to be Canadian, unless she is Margaret Atwood, who is as unshakably Canadian as a moose, or Celine Dion, for whom Canada has proved quite unable to find any takers. Moreover, Canada is every bit as querulously alert to the achievements of its sons and daughters as the rest of the world is completely unaware of them. The Canadians proudly say of themselves - and are unheard by anyone else - that 1% of the world's population has provided 10% of the world's peacekeeping forces. Canadian soldiers in the past half century have been the greatest peace keepers on Earth - in 39 missions on UN mandates, and six on non-UN peacekeeping duties, from Vietnam to East Timor , from Sinai to Bosnia . Yet the only foreign engagement that has entered the popular on-Canadian imagination was the sorry affair in Somalia , in which out-of-control paratroopers murdered two Somali infiltrators. Their regiment was then disbanded in disgrace - a uniquely Canadian act of self-abasement for which, naturally, the Canadians received no international credit. So who today in the United States knows about the stoic and selfless friendship its northern neighbor has given it in Afghanistan ? Rather like Cyrano de Bergerac , Canada repeatedly does honorable things for honorable motives, but instead of being thanked for it, it remains something of a figure of fun. It is the Canadian way, for which Canadians should be proud, yet such honor comes at a high cost. This past year more grieving Canadian families knew that cost all too tragically well. To learn more about this attack plus additional special reports, visit my old network - CTV News - Assignment Afghanistan - (Go to URL)
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April 13, 2007 - Retired at Tim's - An Active Mind - He Says, She Says
Eavesdropping at Tim's - again - and I can tell you there's a lot of negativity sloshing around out there.First however, for those who may be reading this in Singapore or the Sudan, I should explained that Tim's is Tim Hortons, a coffee, doughnut, soup and sandwich franchise that swept across Canada in a tidal wave of caffeine and cholesterol so that today, there's a Tim's in every city, town, village, hamlet and highway with outlets located in nearly every neighbourhood - my Tim's is only two blocks away - I'm having my caffeine hit in a Tim Hortons mug as I write this. 
There's even a Tim's with our Canadian Forces in Afghanistan - unconfirmed reports suggest that even the Taliban want a franchise in their mountain hideout.
Canadian comedian Ron James, who I talked about several entries back has a Tim bit in one of his routines.
But getting back to my eavesdropping at Tim's - not hard to do - the Tim's tables have about the same separation measurements as seats in the economy section of 747.
I was sitting beside a group of old guys and everyone of them bitched about something, but the majority of the comments seem to be the -"'good-things-only-happen-to-other-people" kind - all of them, like me, are in the fourth quarter and no one said - "ain't it great to be alive" - I figure that if I wake up in the morning and I'm looking at my ceiling - it's a huge plus.
Are you ever too old to try to break the negative thinking habit - I think not. I found that it's a stop and go training session.
Simply put, when you realize you're thinking negatively, stop it in mid sentence and replace with a positive thought - easy to do but most people give up early - repetition is the key. As noted in the creative visualization page and in my Self help journal,visualization is a major help - and you need all the help you can get because we've been dumping heaps of negativity into our thinking process ever since we learned to talk and walk. Tim's is a major hang out for retired people - especially since they introduced their new three layer chocolate doughnut - maybe I should print up some cards with a William James quote - "The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives." One more thought and the sermon's over -
The American Alzheimer's Association is urging retirees, particularly baby boomers, to "maintain your brain." Their research is offering increasing evidence that healthy lifestyle habits contribute to healthier aging, which may also decrease one's risk for Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. The health of the brain plays a critical role in almost everything you do: thinking, feeling, remembering, working, and playing -- even sleeping. The association offers the following steps that may reduce your risk of Alzheimer's disease or other dementia's. - Remain socially involved. Social activity not only makes physical and mental activity more enjoyable, it can reduce stress levels, which helps maintain healthy connections among brain cells.
- Stay mentally active: Some stimulating activities that strengthen brain cells and the connections between them may be solving cross-word puzzles, playing a new card game or memorizing a poem _(EDITOR'S NOTE - build a creative retirement job via the internet.)
- Stay physically active. Exercise keeps good blood flow to the brain and encourages new brain cells to develop. Take your dog for a long walk or learn ballroom dancing.
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Another slide show - video memories. This is a PowerPoint presentation - if you don't have one you can download your free viewer here.
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He said - She said: - any of these sound familiar? He said - What have you been doing with all the grocery money I gave you?
She said -Turn sideways and look in the mirror! He said - How many men does it take to change a roll of toilet paper?
She said - I don't know. It has never happened. He said - Why is it difficult to find men who are sensitive, caring and good-looking?
She said -They already have boyfriends. He said - What do you call a woman who knows where her husband is every night?
She said - A widow.
He said - Why are married women heavier than single women?
She said -Single women come home, see what's in the refrigerator, and go to bed.
Married women come home, see what's in bed and go to the refrigerator. Have a great day and as noted above - get working on your creative retirement job - here's everything you need to get started - (Go to URL)
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April 16, 2007 - TV Shows for Retired Folks - A Warning to baby Boomers - some Interesting Thoughts from Steven Wright
His name is Tom Ficara - he's not retired but he could be if he wanted to - but it's well down the line for him because he's using the internet to follow up on his passion and he'll soon be making big bucks.Tom is sitting on the top of a mountain of classic TV, entertainment and sports footage - old video takes and two inch reels he's been collecting for the past 37 years - priceless material that can now be digitalized and put on the internet. "CBS called me up one day and said, 'We're going to throw a lot of stuff out.' I brought a tractor-trailer and took it all," said Tom "They always thought they were robbing me." - who has the last laugh now? Now Tom has teamed up with an entertainment outfit in Nevada and last week they introduce their new website, TV4U - a 28-channel Web site that is a gold mine of nostalgia - everything from old variety shows, dramas, you name it - example - here's a blast from the past - the old Colgate Comedy Hour that takes you back to the very, very early days of TV - this was live TV folks - warts and all - no taping in those days. Warning - you have to sit through some commercials first - that's how Tom pays the bills - but this particular show features
the classic Abbott & Costello | Whos On First - with Victor Borgia and Canadian singer Gisele McKenzie as guest stars.
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While on the subject of nostalgia - here's another video trip down memory lane.
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Another warning to baby boomers - according to a new study by Sun Life Financial, many BB's will need more income in retirement. According to this survey, more than 70 percent of baby boomers expect their income needs to fluctuate greatly throughout retirement with the highest income needed just after retirement and according to Mary Fay, company senior vice president and general manager of Sun Life Financial's annuities division - "This survey shatters the old rule that people should plan to live on a fixed 70 to 80 percent of their pre-retirement income. Boomers are eager to live life to the fullest, particularly in the early years of their retirement. To make that possible, they will need to create much more flexible retirement income plans." Many already retired, thousands of BB's are building a creative retirement job on the internet, just like Tom in the opening report - perhaps not in such a grand scale - but still a retirement job that gives them not only a financial boost, but the joy of being involved in something that pops you out of bed in the morning as well as mentally energized - you should give it some thought .
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My thanks to retired buddy Elma Hickman for sending this - If you're not familiar with the work of Steven Wright - no relation - unfortunately - - he's the famously erudite scientist and comic who once said: "I woke up one morning and all of my stuff had been stolen... and replaced by exact duplicates." His mind sees things differently from most of us, to our amazement and amusement. I think he also said that he had bought a decaffeinated coffee-table, and couldn't tell the difference! Here are some of his gems: - I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.
- Borrow money from pessimists. They don't expect it back.
- Half the people you know are below average.
- 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.
- 82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
- A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.
- A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
- If you want the rainbow, you got to put up with the rain.
- All those who believe in psychokinesis, raise my hand.
- The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
- I almost had a psychic girlfriend, but she left me before we met.
- OK, so what's the speed of dark?
- How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?
- If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
- Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.
- When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
- Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.
- Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now.
- I intend to live forever......so far, so good.
- If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?
- Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines. What happens if you get scared half to death twice?
- My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder."
- Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
- If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.
- A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.
- Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
- The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread.
- To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
- The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.
- The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required to be on it.
- If your car could travel at the speed of light, would your headlights work?
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Now let's get working on our creative retirement job - (Go to URL)
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April 18, 2007 - Retirement living - Fun videos - Turning 80
Retirement Living
Let me set the scene - our place - just finished breakfast - the two of us move to the living room with our cups of tea to read the morning newspaper. I feel the wife's eyes on me - (after 55 years you develop a marriage radar that can pick up wife-vibes) "What?" "Now I know why you are like you are - I thought it was just part of growing old, but it's because we sleep together." "What in the name of sweet Suzie are you talking about?" "It's right here in the Globe - sleeping together is sapping your brain power."
"You've got to be kidding - that's a pile of poodle poop - I bet Einstein slept with his wife." "Wives - he was divorced once I think." "I read somewhere that George and Laura Bush sleep together." "There you go." "I've got to Google." "You go Google." So I Googled and there it was - A researcher, Gerhard Kloesch and colleagues from the University of Vienna, found that while men thought they slept better with a partner, and women believed they didn't, actually both sexes had more disturbed sleep, even when they did not have sex. Lack of sleep led to increased stress hormone levels in men, and reduced their ability to perform simple cognitive tests the next day. Sleeping with someone also affected dream recall, with women remembering more after sleeping alone and men recalling best after sex. But take a look at the small print - the couples the researchers used for this study were childless and - unmarried. - so hey - there's your answer - the guys can't get to sleep because they're trying to figure out whether they have to provide breakfast or call a taxi. And while we're on the subject of sleeping here's a scientific gem about snoring. Dr. Andrew Veale, a sleep-disorder specialist, says snoring is more of a problem for men than women - here's his quote to the New Zealand Herald - "The most important factor is the inherited shape of your face and neck.
So if Dad is a snorer and you look like Dad, you're in deep strife." When I brought this one to the wife's attention she shook her head - "The Doc's wrong, big time - you look more like your mother than you father and on occasions you sound like misfiring diesel engine." - that explains why, on some mornings, I have a bruise on my side about the size of my wife's elbow.
-------------------------------------------------A couple of fun videos: First, a mobile phone commercial including old people at a bangin' party granny should have stayed in the plane.
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This is the 18th of the month - in exactly 13 months - if given the chance by the executive producer in the heavenly control room - I'll hit the big 8-0.
Those of you who have already reached this milestone, I hope you agree with the following - it was written by a fella named Frank Laubach. "LIFE BEGINS AT 80" I have good news for you - the first 80 years are the hardest.
The second 80 are a succession of birthday parties.
Once you reach 80, everyone wants to carry your baggage -and help you up the steps.
If you forget your name, or any else's name, or an appointment, r your own telephone number, r promise to be three places at the same time, or can't remember how many grandchildren you have - you need only explain that you are 80.
Being 80 is a lot better than being 70.
At 70 people are mad at you for everything.
At 80 you have a perfect excuse, no matter what you do - if you act foolishly, it's your second childhood.
Everybody is looking for symptoms of softening of the brain. Being 70 is no fun at all.
At 70 they expect you to retire
To a house in Florida - and complain about your arthritis.
And you ask everybody to stop mumbling because you can't understand them - (Actually your hearing is about 50% gone.)
If you survive until you are 80, everybody is surprised that you're still alive. They treat you with respect just for having lived so long.
Actually they seem surprised that you can walk and talk sensibly. So, please, folks, try to make it to 80.
It's the best time of your life - people forgive you for anything. If you ask me, life begins at 80.
-------------------------------------------------Retirement Humour - My thanks to retired buddy Carol Clooney for sending this -
Three elderly women and three retired men are traveling by train to Toronto for a senior citizens convention.
At the station, the three men each buy a ticket and watch as the three women buy just one ticket.
"How are the three of you going to travel on only one ticket?" asks one of the men.
"Watch and learn," answers one of the women. They all board the train. The three men take their respective seats but all three women cram into a toilet together and close the door.
Shortly after the train has departed, the conductor comes around collecting tickets.
He knocks on the toilet door and says, "Ticket, please."
The door opens just a crack, and a single arm emerges with a ticket in hand.
The conductor takes it and moves on. The men see this happen and agree it was quite a clever idea; so, after the convention, they decide to do the same thing on the return trip and save some money. When they get to the station they buy a single ticket for the return trip but see to their astonishment, that the three women don't buy any ticket at all!! "How are you going to travel without a ticket?" says one perplexed man.
"Watch and learn," answer the women. When they board the train, the three retired men cram themselves into a toilet, and the three old gals cram into another toilet just down the way. Shortly after the train is on its way, one of the women leaves her toilet and walks over to the toilet in which the men are hiding. The woman knocks on their door and says, "Ticket, please."
After all these years, I'm still trying to figure out why men ever think they are smarter than women!!!
Now let's get working on our creative Retirement job - (Go to URL)
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April 20, 2007 - Retirement Plan "B" - Cute Pets - retired in 2007
I like this quote - "We're not about growing old - this is about living."So said Jeff Taylor, the developer of EONS the social networking website for seniors. I joined up yesterday under the screen name "Boomeratv" and so began an afternoon long, Alice in Wonderland journey on the invisible highways and byways of the world wide web - met a bunch of new web friends, some of them living in big cities around the world, others hunkered down in tiny villages with interesting names. Thanks to the computer smarts of the junior members of our GOTY community, (Growing Older - Thinking Younger) - the baby Boomers - social networking for seniors is now big business - according to one survey more than 20 million 50 plus folks have join a SN website. To edit a long story, I followed a link path to the Blog of retired Marlys Marshall Styne who lives in the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago - eons screen name - "seniorwriter" - (from her site I also joined a new social networking site for seniors - Seniors Grand Central - if you're new to this networking stuff, this site has instruction videos to show you how to work it.) Anyway, in one of her Blog entries, Marlys advises that baby Boomers, and I assume the older demographic as well, should have a plan "B" - "Dan Kadlec's article "Homeward Bound. Baby Boomers' parents who fled south at retirement are coming back to the family nest" (Time, April 23) reminded me again that nothing is forever. It also reassured me that realistic planning for the future makes sense." Marlys quotes stats from the Kadlec article - Nearly 18% of people over 60 who moved across state lines say they are returning to their hometown, according to the Census Survey - more than one third of the elderly who moved to Pittsburgh from 1995 to 2000 had relocated from Florida - most return because they've lost a spouse or are no longer mobile and need the support a family can provide." The reason this caught my eye is that I have witnessed several incidents were retired folks did not have a plan "B" and as a result suffered through some difficult times. I attended a retirement seminar years back and the speaker urged us that when planning major changes in your life, always consider the "What's the worst thing that can happen" factor and make plans to cover such a possibility. As Marlys noted in her closing paragraph - "To me, the answer is balance and planning ahead. Assuming that we have choices (some don't), we need to avoid both the danger of clinging to any lifestyle long after it makes sense and the danger of cutting all ties and assuming we'll live in an earthly, climate-friendly Utopia almost forever. Sure--go after the retirement lifestyle that suits you, but always have a "Plan B." Good advise.
----------------------------------------And while we are on the topic of computer use and the internet, note the following - thanks to retired buddy Tom Adams for the following -
YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2007 when... - 1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
- 2.You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.
- 3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.
- 4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.
- 5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.
- 6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.
- 7 Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.
- 8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 or 60 years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.
- 10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.
- 11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile - : )
- 12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing because this is all you.
- 13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.
- 14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.
- 15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list
AND NOW YOU ARE LAUGHING AT YOURSELF.
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Retirement News Picture of the week - 
As you can see on the retirement jobs - pet news page of the home website, I'm a sucker for cute animal pictures and this is slide show is special - my thanks to daughter-in-law Julie for sending this - Love me with all your heart
This is a PowerPoint presentation - if you need one for your computer, you can download your FREE viewer here.
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Ya'all have a great weekend - and don't forget to spend sometime researching your creative retirement job - (Go to URL)
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April 23, 2007 - Dirty Dancing - Satellite Stuff - Retirement Video
Back to the past I go - 1943 - I'm 15 years old and I'm dancing the "balmy" with who I can't remember, when the hand gripped my shoulder and made me wince - "more daylight kid" - It's Mr. "I can't remember his name" - he's a history teacher at Malvern Collegiate, one of the chaperones for the weekly Friday afternoon "tea" dance.(Strange how memory works - as I write this, I suddenly remember that at one point in my Malvern years - the last dance record at these Friday afternoon dances was Glen Miller's Blue Rain.)
The "Balmy" is a dance that was created at the Balmy Beach Canoe Club located on the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto's east end - it was the go-to place for us teenage eastenders on Saturday nights. This is what it looked like back in my day even though this pic dates back to the mid 1900's.
It's still going according to their website but it appears dancing the "balmy" is not the big attraction it was in my day - today they actually get into the canoes. The 'balmy" had the couple dancing as if they were glued together - "is that a flashlight in your pocket" close - the male holding the females right hand in close to the body while his other hand clamps his partner's waste in a vise-like grip - taking long strides - stopping intermittently to sway back and forth and grind the bottom half of their bodies. The wife and I still dance the balmy on occasion but attracts little attention. Now here we are some 64 years later and the kids in Toronto have their parents and teachers wheezing in frustration because of the new dance they call - "freaking" - the uproar made the papers this morning. According to these reports, "freaking which typically involves a female shimmying her backside against the grinding hips of her male partner, is simply isn't decent to some school officials trying to keep a lid on simmering hormones." I haven't seen the dance, so it's hardly fair to editorialize, but I wonder if this is just the typical overreaction to this generation's version of the Balmy. The Toronto Star put forth the following bit of dirty dancing history that will bring back memories to many a retiree - noting that what looks good on the dance floor has always been controversial - WALTZ,In the 18th century it was criticized on moral grounds because of all that close touching and rapid turning.
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CHARLESTON, 1920s With its knee-flapping game of "peek-a-boo", the dance was blamed for America's moral downfall.
- JIVE, late 1920s A movement tried to ban it because the boisterous movement in one spot disrupted other dancers moving anti-clockwise around the room.
Editor's Note:Iin the early fourties - jitterbugging ignited a huge controversy - I remember one occasion during a party at my house, my mother nearly had a stroke when I tossed a girl over my shoulder and in doing so everyone had a split-second peek at her panties - I was immediately commanded to join my mother in the kitchen. - TANGO, 1930s & 40s the Roman Catholic Church deemed as "sinful" the dance which legend says originated in Argentina's brothels.
- TWIST, early 1960s the hip-twisting dance was reviled by critics and banned by churches.
- LAMBADA, 1980s - The controversial groin-thrusting dance, born in the Brazilian slums in the 20s, became popular after a song and movie of the same name<
The Balmy never made the Star's list - truly disappointing - we caused a great deal of concern among parents and teachers back then - you would think, being local and all, we would at least get honourable mention.Anyway, today it's "freaking" - check your teenage grandkids for more information - four of mine are too old to have even heard of it while the other is too young - I hope. And then there's this dance gem - the last dance in the movie Dirty Dancing - my wife's favourite movie.
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Want to spend some fun time on the web? Check out Google Maps and Google earth.
Here's a satellite view of my home town of Barrie, Ontario - we're the gateway to Ontario's cottage country with thousands of lakes - keeping clicking the north arrow to view just a few of them then check out you place. Now to important business - grab a coffee, sit back and watch this video - learn how, with patience and determination, you can build a creative, revenue making retirement job on the internet.
even if you know squat about building a website.
And, after watching the video, you want to follow through with more research check out the Retirement Jobs Library - (Go to URL)
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April 25, 2007 - Retirement Food For Thought - Laugh at Life
Now they tell me.Watching the CTV national news the other night, I'm told that gulping down a fast food breakfast in the morning not only helps dam up your arteries but also sets your stress levels at orange, which in US terror alert terms is "HIGH". And if that's not enough to take away all your fast food fun they give us a double whammy with new information that grilling, broiling or frying meats seems to create a class of toxins called "advanced glycation end products" (AGEs) that over the years, build up in the body, causing oxidative stress. I was thinking back to my working years - all that fast food, hundreds of barbeques, both doused with gallons of caffeine all serving as additives to the stress of meeting deadlines - no wonder I took the heart hit back in 87. Even though these studies involved youngsters, (at my age anyone under the age of 50 is a youngster) I would image that all this would be double trouble for those of us in our retirement years - our arteries have been mistreated for a longer period of time and stress is one thing we don't need while living in the final quarter. First, the fast food study - researchers at the University of Calgary looked at the stress responses of 30 students who are two different meals after fasting the night before. On the first day, the students consumed a fast-food breakfast from McDonald's, including two hash brown patties, a Sausage McMuffin and an Egg McMuffin.
Several days later, the same students ate a low-fat breakfast of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes with skim milk, Source fat-free yogurt, a Kellogg's Fruit Loops fruit bar and Sunny Delight orange juice. Two hours after eating the breakfasts, the students were subjected to standard physical and mental stress tests.If you want the full report from CTV News - click on the video link on the right side of the page.
Now to this barbeque and stress thing - this new study at Mount Sinai School involved 172 healthy men and women who were divided into two age groups: those between the ages of 18 and 45 and those between the ages of 60 and 80.
The blood tests showed that the "advanced glycation end products" (AGEs). levels were 35 percent higher in individuals age 65 and older compared with those younger than age 45. Once AGEs enter the body, it becomes more difficult to get them out, especially as people age. Older people have a reduced capacity for removing AGEs from the body, the researchers explain, most likely because kidney function slows as the body ages. If you want to see the full story from CTV's Canada AM - click on the video link on the ride side of the page. --------------------------------------------
Retirement thought for the day - " Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. We've all heard this - "Laughter is the best medicine" - even the Bible gets into this - Proverbs (17:22) tells us "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." The other day a retired buddy was telling me he's fed up growing old and he proclaimed a long list of troubles.
We're joined later by another retiree who had a smile on his face and proceeded to tell us a joke - (coming up) - It was mid-scale but it caught our funny side and we all had a good laugh - the guy with the perceived troubles laughed the hardest - his whole mood changed. Back some time ago when I was researching for material for stress relief,I came across an article by Susan Stewart who offered the following laughter tips - - Practice laughing 5 minutes every day. Fake it till you make it.
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Laugh with other people when they laugh.
- Wear a smile. It puts you closer to laughing.
- Seek out entertainment that makes you laugh.
- Wave to yourself in the mirror. Every time you pass a mirror, give yourself a little wave and a smile.
- Do at least one silly, non-conforming thing a day.
- Practice these tips often and soon you will find you have developed a new healthy habit. Keep laughing; pass it on to everyone you meet. We can never laugh too often or too much.
Here's the joke -
A retired man and his wife were celebrating 50 years together. Their three kids, all very successful, agreed to a Sunday dinner in their honor. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad," gushed son number one ..."Sorry I'm running late. I had an emergency at the hospital with a patient, you know how it is, and didn't have time to get you a gift."
"Not to worry," said the father. "The important thing is that we're all together today."
Son number two arrived and announced, "You and Mom look great, Dad. I just flew in from Vancouver between depositions and didn't have time to shop for you."
"It's nothing," said the father, "We're glad you were able to come." Just then the daughter arrived, "Hello and happy anniversary! I'm sorry, but my boss is sending me out of town. I was really busy packing so I didn't have time to get you anything." Again the father said, "I really don't care, at least the five of us are together today." After they had finished dessert, the father said, "There's something your mother and I have wanted to tell you for a long time.
You see, we were very poor.
Despite this, we were able to send each of you to college.
Throughout the years your mother and I knew that we loved each other very much but we just never found the time to get married." The three children gasped and said, "You mean we're bastards?" "Yes," said the father, "and cheap ones too." Now let's get working on our creative retirement Job - (Go to URL)
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April 27, 2007 - Upbeat Retirement - Blame Canada - No Retirement Plans
Retirement news web wanderings this week has led me to some interesting sites and several, although unconnected web wise, had something in commonFirst, I want to take you to a "Youtube" video that I stumbled across - it's a beautiful song that's a real heart-tugger - it's by Laurika Rauch, a South African who usually sings in the Afrikaan language - The Old Folks (opens a new window) Now that song has gored me on the horns of a dilemma - it's haunting melody and finger pointing lyrics have captivated me - I've listened to it several times and Emailed it others - but it's a real downer - I don't like downers - not at my age - growing older is tough enough without another reminder that I'm playing in the fourth quarter and the game clock is ticking with no timeouts. Then, I received a pick-me-up Email from yet-to-retired buddy Chuck Langdon telling me about an upcoming BBC TV production.
Documentary-maker Tim Samuels has been all over Britain recruiting isolated and lonely seniors - those who can't leave their flats or who are stuck in rubbish care homes, herded them into a recording studio and had them record their version of The Who's "My Generation". They tell me the lead singer is 90 years old and a couple of folks in the back up group are 99 and 100 years old. Love it when they sing - "I hope I die before I get old".
Meet the Zimmers who will featured in a BBC TV documentary being aired next month. (Will open new window) Later, when I was clicking on various newspapers around the world, I came across a column by Acel Moore in the Philadelphia Inquirer that was headlined - "At 91, a testament to positive thinking" He was telling the story of Edward Lazar who over the years, has been an inspiration to everyone he meets.
Moore writes - "His attitude and persona exude positivity. When I first met him, I felt as if I were in the presence of a seminar on "How to Win Friends and Influence People." Moore points out that Ed has practiced what he has encouraged others to do: Think positively to overcome extraordinary challenges that he has faced throughout his life, even today as he recuperates from a lung ailment in a Department of Veterans Affairs nursing home. Here's a guy who has endured the great Depression, ethnic discrimination as a Jew, and World War II battles including the battle of the Bulge during which he was injured after he was blown out of a truck when it ran over a mine.
Two other men in the truck, buddies of his, were killed. Today, Ed is a loving grandfather of 10 and great-grandfather of four.
To live a productive life, Ed has overcome hearing loss and tinnitus - the piercing ringing sound that has filled his ears ever since the blast - he has been treated off and on for posttraumatic stress disorder - he has fallen several times. Until a few weeks ago, his wife of 65 years, Ida, was his constant companion.
Her Alzheimer's disease has drastically altered that relationship. Ida did not recognize him when she was brought in to see him. Moore reports - "When I went to visit Ed two weeks ago, he smiled and shook his head. He struggled to pronounce words. But he winked and gave me a thumbs-up." - still showing a positive attitude no matter what cards he's dealt. Here's one of Edward Lazar's quotes I liked - "When we sit down to have a meal, who we are with is more important than what we eat"- right on - who we are with at any time is important - stay away from the NT's (Negative Types) who constantly moan and bitch about growing older. ----------------------------------------------
Another Video - sent to me by the way, by my retired American neighour and buddy, Dan Dombroski - with the lead-in comment - "Ok, the truth comes out" - Robin Williams - Blame Canada.
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I don't know what the stats are for the rest of the free world, but research carried out by Abbey Savings in the UK reveals 4.8 million people aged 45 to 54 have not made any plans for retirement, sparking fears over the retirement future of UK workers.
This figure represents almost two-thirds of the 45 to 54 demographic. Reza Attar-Zadeh, head of savings at Abbey, warns of a "potential retirement time bomb" being faced by workers of the baby boomer generation who are failing to make provision for their retirement. Now couple that with this survey from the Social Issues Research Centre in the UK that shows baby boomers aged between 52 and 60 are enjoying the kind of financial freedom and stability that younger generations are looking for - 60 per cent of retirees state that retirement has given them greater freedom. Those 45 to 54 year olds should take a long hard look at the retirement job possibilities via the internet - by the time they retire, their retirement job could well be outperforming their regular job.
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My thanks to retired buddy Tom Adams for the following kicker -
A senior couple walk into a dentist's office. The man said to the dentist, "Doc, I'm in one hell of a hurry!
I have two buddies sitting out in my car waiting for us to go play golf - so forget about the anesthetic and just pull the tooth and be done with it.
We have a 10:00 AM tee time at the best golf course in town and it's 9:30 already. I don't have time to wait for the anesthetic to work!" The dentist thought to himself, "My goodness, this is surely a very brave man asking to have his tooth pulled without using anything to kill the pain." So the dentist asked him, "Which tooth is it sir?"
The man turned to his wife and said, "Open your mouth and show him Honey"
Now let's get working on our creative retirement job - (Go to URL)
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April 30, 2007 - Retirement memories thanks to Dion and Presley - More from MI5
When you're retired you have to play catch-up with the younger crowd - the following is for you retirees who may not have family near by to help you keep up to date with - "Whass happenin'?"Example - over the weekend, my daughter-in-law Julie asked us if we had seen the American Idol Special with the Celine Dion - Elvis Presley duet. We told her we hadn't as American Idol is not on our top ten TV list - not even in the top twenty - we're more the Dancing with the Stars types. Julie explained it was truly an amazing presentation - bringing Elvis back from the dead, or so it seemed.
So, as we can do in this day and age, to the computer we go - to Google. WOW - I'm impressed - but for me, it was another reminder of how much has changed since I landed my first television job. That was back in 1954 - CHCH TV in Hamilton Ontario - the first independent Anglophone television station in Canada.
Ken Soble, the pioneering Canadian Broadcaster hired me as a sportscaster and afternoon talk show host. (One year, my co-host was Joyce Davidson, who made the big time in Canada and the US and who, in1966, married American TV Producer David Susskind.) So much for name dropping - the point is that in those days, for visual effects, we would cutout pictures from magazines and paste them on pieces of cardboard.
My big story as a sports anchor in 54 was when the Canadian National Exhibition paid American long-distance swimmer Florence Chadwick ten grand to be the first to swim across Lake Ontario, from Youngstown New York to Toronto. However, a Canadian kid, 16 year old Marilyn Bell, decided it should be a Canadian and without any pay promises, plunged in the cold water - Chadwick was forced to give up with stomach pains and vomiting while 16-year-old Bell became the first person ever to swim the thirty-two-mile distance. To cover the story, we had speed boats rushing film to shore and transferring the film and stills to motorcycle guys who broke every road law in the books getting the material to the studio - today, they have briefcase size satellites that can beam up video from thumb size cameras from any location in the world. That's what I was remembering as I watched this Dion - Presley duet - 53 years - from cutting out pictures from magazines, to this amazing state-of-the-art technology that brings Elvis back. Checking it out, I found this technology is called - Rotoscoping - you take an image from a pre-existing piece of video and place it in another video.
That's what they did with Presley, taking his image from a 1968 performance. 
Apparently, a week before the actual broadcast, Dion spent hours on the stage singing her part of the song several times without an audience or anyone next to her, looking to her side on cue.
Then she did the routine again with a Presley body double who lip-synced Presley's song and matched his moves, then all three elements were combined through editing. So, here's the show - be sure to click for the full screen version Celine Dion and Elvis Presley.
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My Retired buddy Dan Dombroski tells me the following quotes are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters. ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.
-------------------------- ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks. .
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ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan. .
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ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do.
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes, voodoo. .
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ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Would you repeat the question? .
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ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls? .
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ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
-------------------------- ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral. .
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And the best for last. ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.
Now let's get working on our creative retirement job - (Go to URL)
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