Joepublik now tweets at www.twitter.com/joepubliksez
November 24, 2009
Save the children!
With Vancouver hosting the 2010 Olympics all is not good in the province of British, once again the most children living in poverty live here. If a nation or province is judged by the way it treats its children then Gordon Campbell is indeed scrooge by spending millions on the Olmpics while the children suffer.
August 13, 2009
Insurance woe
At the time of writing I am out $200 dollars why? thats my deductable after a third party broke a window on my car ,the vehicle drove off and I am left out of pocket, my insurance carrier Canadian direct has been woefully lazy trying to recover this sum. watch this space for more
July 5, 2009
A nice place to go
Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting Alouette lake within Golden Ears Provincial Park, the park provides excellent camping and picnicking facilities in a number of areas. Boat launch areas are available at Allouette Lake. With heavy summer use it is advisable to arrive early for campsites, or use the reservation service offered by the Ministry of the Environment’s BC Parks Branch. 205 campsites are trailer and RV accessible, a sani-station and no hookups. Pit and flush toilets are available in the camp and day use areas. The day use area, complete with change house and picnic areas, has a large sandy beach with a wonderful swimming area. Surrounding trails draw hikers, bikers and horseback riders.An additional beach area is reached by a 500 metre long hike alongside Gold creek that terminates at “North Beach” The shoreline and shallows are a little rocky but swimming is good here if not a little cold due to the glacier fed creek. For a day away from it all there is little to beat it for the average person.
Gold creek near its Mouth
November 13, 2008
Financial Mafia..
Perhaps they will make an offer you don’t want to refuse… the parallels between the Mob and financial industry are amazingly defined, you have the soldiers, in the mob the enablers keeping an ear “on the street” in the financial industry the cold callers and sales staff looking for clients “on the street”
Level 2 In the Mob “Made men” taking a cut from all the soldiers transactions. In the financial industry the middle managersget the lions share of commissions from the cold callers.
This goes on until it reaches “The Godfathers” who take the lions share of the “tributes”
so next time someone tries to sell you a policy or a financial package ask who gets the commission and at what the percentages are and how they are distributed.
September 24, 2008
Nickel & Dimed
I complained to Toronto International Airport aboy charging for carts and Wi-Fi when it is free at Vancouver International….here is their reply and my rebuttal….
Dear Mr. Sheppard,
Thank you for your email regarding your experience with WiFi and baggage carts at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
We are aware that some passengers are not in favor of paying for a baggage cart or Wireless Internet however; these services are offered on a user pay basis and are thereby solely paid for by customers requesting them, as opposed to all users of Toronto Airport. This is a common practice at several North American airports. We have forwarded your comments to the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) Managers, Contracted Services and IT&T for their information and review.
My Reply…
Thank you for response,
My Biggest gripe is the inconsistency of Canadian airports, what if I did not have change or a North American recognized credit card? and besides the per minute charges for carts and Wi-Fi are usurious, it still seems to me the travelling public are being fleeced and “common practice “ is no excuse for the necessity of charging for such services.
In summation Users of airports and especially Toronto Pearson(one of the most expensive to fly into)
it seems are sick and tired of being “nickeled and dimed” so be the exception not the follower and show the public you care.
Bernard Sheppard(joepublik.com)
September 4, 2008
SUV’s and Mega Houses
An old saying says People who live in glass houses should not throw rocks, so when BC Hydro proposes to have two tier pricing to discourage use of power, people who live in Mega sized homes better not squeal, the choice to have vaulted entrances and high ceilings has been made to satify taste and or ego and now the true cost is evident. you want a big home heated to excess …..you gotta pay the price!!
September 1, 2008
The Road to Hell
Some things are obvious only after 20/20 hindsight the housemarket crash that is happening now in the US the rise in the price of oil. I rode a motorcycle in the UK for 20 years and I cannot believe some of the methods used to patch roads in N.America the latest example is found on Highway 99 in Delta BC, along this road there seems to be a continuous ribbon of solidified tar along most of this road which from my experience offers little or no traction for motorcycles or cars, Its only a matter of time before someone has a major accident and the main exacerbating cause will be this shoddy cheap method of repairing this road. Will it take a death to prove this? I hope not, but as all too often that is what it will take I suspect, Delta city beware!!
August 14, 2008
A lifeline for life’s challenges
There is a place on the web that boasts 300000 members that counsel eachother and get support for some of life’s challenges separation, divorce, and a plethora of other dieseases, this place is called daily strength the cutting edge of support in the 21st Century
August 11, 2008
Common sense……..rare
Looking about on the streets of Metro Vancouver and all over North America I cannot believe how lacking in common sense most people are, Take the humble Automobile, common sense says that as something becomes scarce the price rises……………but oh if we all use gallons of gas more than need be in SUV’s and trucks that never carry what they were intended for, and because of that over usage forces the price up! everyone screams that gas is too Expensive!
I mean Duh! where is the logic then, the same goes for housing, people speculate on houses going up in price but as yours does so does everyone elses so who gains really ,not you!
just the realtors and lawyers on their astounding percentages……wake up people and find that common sense, just look for it under your nose!