The biggest scam and other shit to bitch about...

Vending machines are a major scam. Today I drove down to the local car wash to wash the beast. I pulled in, put my two bucks into the machine and nothing. I see that my money had jammed inside....I take my keys and jab at the twoonie and it pushes the money further down...nothing. Fuck! This is one of those put your money in and spray wash your vehicle by hand. This particular car wash doesn't have an attendant on duty. What do you do? Call some idiot number posted for your two bucks back? Whats the point! So I can have them mail two bucks to me...for every loser that calls for their money back ten decide it isn't worth the hassle....and those fuckers know it. I have had this happen on vending machines in other locales...it pisses me off big time.
Makes you want to wreck some of their property to feel vindication...but, I can't...I'm an honest person. I did leave the BIG bag of garbage in the stall that I had in my trunk...I hope they open it to see if some of our mail is in there so they can get our identity because there are some nasty diapers in it... ha ha.

GAS. Yes, oats, bananas, raisin bran all give me really bad gas...but, this post isn't about my gas it is about the global gas situation.

I have read lately that some analysts have said that the price of a barrel of oil will go back down to $65.00. No...not good. Why? Because then gas prices will go back down too. And you think WTF is wrong with this guy?? Why does he want gas to stay expensive? Because if gas comes down assholes won't change their habits....driving big gas guzzlers has to end. Our dependence on gasoline/oil has to slow or even halt. With gas prices so high North American auto dealers have had to scrabble to retool their plants for the production of smaller, more fuel efficient cars...Lets get more hybrids on the road....lets work on getting pure electric vehicles on the road..LETS HAVE SOME FUCKING DIVERSITY WHEN IT COMES TO ENERGY PERIOD!!!! The more diversity, the better for the consumer in the long run.

I met Eric Clapton...

A few years ago I was working as a dispatch for a local trucking company in the lower mainland. One morning right out of the blue I get a strange call. This man calls from New York City asking me if I know who Eric Clapton is. I said of course. I began to rattle off all sorts of attributes about Clapton saying that he has played with various bands during the 1960s such as The Yardbirds with Jimmy Page of Led Zepplin and Jeff Beck. A band called Derek and the Dominoes which spawned the hit song "Layla" and he also played in the famous three man power band Cream with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. I told him he went on to have a very distinguished solo career going down as one of the greatest electric guitar players of all-time. The man on the other end of the line says that's great and tells me he has a bizarre proposal for me. He asks if we have any drivers bringing a load out to the Eastern United States in the next few hours. I told him as a matter of fact we do. We have a truck leaving that afternoon going straight through to Philadelphia, PA. It was to take about 44 hours leaving at about 3:00 P.M. Pacific time on this day, a Tuesday, and arrive in Philly on Thursday at about 4:00 P.M. Eastern standard time.

After digesting all that info. the man thinks for a few minutes and says here it is. He says would you be willing to ride with the fellow driving out to Philly and he would pay my flight back. I said it depends if the boss would let me go and for what. He says Eric Clapton's son is attending school in Vancouver and his dad wants to see him for Christmas. He tells me he is a representative for M.T.V. and they want to film the entire trip for a reality show they are planning. They'd quickly script me with some ideas to talk about while we travel to spice things up. He tells me that some of their Vancouver representatives would come down to our office and do up all the legal papers for this event and that if I consented to doing this that Eric would personally call me to make sure everything would be alright.

I agreed to all of this thinking it was probably all a sham and that I'd probably never hear from this guy ever again. So about a half hour later a van marked with MTV logos on it's side pulls up and a guy gets out a walks up to our door. I almost shit myself. I told everyone around the dispatch the phone call I'd received, but we all played it off that is must have been some sort of hoax.

Well, so far it appears to be a true story. The man form the van comes in with all the papers and asks me if I am still willing to pursuit this venture. I said well yeah I guess. He tells me to hold on a second and makes a phone call. He hands the phone over to me and the voice on the other end is that of Eric Clapton. At least he claims he is Eric Clapton and asks me if I am a participant. I said, Yes of course. I talked to my boss and we drew up all the papers. Some more MTV folks showed up at the trucking company and began prepping me for this trip. At about 12:00 PM another car pulls out and out jumps this kid who claims he is Eric Clapton's son. We meet and talk for a few minutes. While we are talking, the MTV people are wiring up the Semi truck with video cameras and microphones.

At about 1:15 PM we pull out of the trucking companies parking lot on our way to Philadelphia.

After a long tiring two day, but really interesting trip with Clapton's son we pull into MTV's Philadelphia's office, get out of the truck and walk inside. Everyone's happy and a few seconds later an older gentleman walks in, lifts his glasses and says "Hi Patrick, I'm Eric." Huh? It is Eric Clapton. in his hand he is carrying a replica of his famous Fender Stratocaster guitar "Blackie." He handed it to me and told me thanks for doing all this, signed this guitar personally for me while a bunch of photographers took pictures. I was handed plane tickets and some other things and told me flight back to Vancouver was to be in about two hours so we had to get going. A few months later the documentary aired on MTV over a few episodes.
Ironically, Clapton's only son died tragically in 1991. I have very vivid dreams.

The New Vancouver Canucks = Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Aquilini group has it's own agenda?

Yup, the now post John McCaw era in Vancouver Canucks hockey (Orca Bay Entertainment) is now modeled very closely to the Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment business.

How? Well, in the past 10 years, since the dark days of mid-90s sub par hockey, the Vancouver Canucks have managed to amass a very strong fan season ticket/fan base. Brian Burke brought a lot of credibility back to this team with strong business sense coupled with icing a fairly entertaining hockey team. That has all changed with the Aquilini Group now running this ship.

It has become a popular idea on the net that these guys have alterior plans for this franchise.

The first theory I read was THIS from a poster by the name of The.Burrows states that the Aquilini group needs to pay off bank debt so they will not run the current salary structure up to the Cap and pocket more to address their current finacial state. Makes sense and could very well be.

Also, a friend suggested to me that the Aquilini group has business interests in Las Vegas and would love to move the team there. Oh and that will conjur up a healthy fan base?

Perhaps the plan is to gut the team, lower the cap by a ton, play out the year, get some high picks (John Tavares) , sign a bunch of free agents next summer and start from scratch in two seasons.

Whatever this ownship/management group is up to the people that get screwed the most are those that bought season tickets expecting to see a new, exciting team on the ice this fall.

Mike Gillis....

Whats the problem? You'd think a meteor was about to hit the earth following the Vancouver Canucks announcement of Michael Gillis as the team's new General Manager. This guy is an excellent candidate. Here is why:

1. He is a former first round (5th overall) pick in the N.H.L. entry draft. His career was cut short due to injuries. However, he knows the game from playing at the highest level.

2. Following retirement he successfully completed a law degree at Queens University in Kingston, Ont. and later became a very successful player representative in the N.H.L. He isn't a dummy.

3. Throughout his tenure as a player's agent he has obviously made many connections in the NHL and understands how the business works.

4. He has negotiated contracts for the players and now gets the opportunity to negotiate them from the team's perspective.

5. And finally, perhaps most important in my mind, he isn't one of the current recycled GMs (boys club) that exists waiting in the wings for yet another kick at the cat.

Give this guy a chance :-) What do Canuck fans have to lose? 38 years and counting.

Blame it on the scouting staff for the Vancouver Canucks...

Thats the remedy for a futile perennial Vancouver Canucks team.

What have the Canucks lacked since the early 90's? Scoring...More specifically, scoring from their draft picks. Although the Canucks had a ton of scoring in the early 2000s, neither Morrison, Bertuzzi and Naslund were Canuck draft picks.

Here is a link to the history of the Canucks draft picks.

Lets think about who the Canucks have drafted in their 38 year existence that could be considered a prolific scorer...hmmmm Pavel Bure, with honorable mentions to Cam Neely (traded) and Rick Vaive (traded). The only player of those to go over 100 points in a season was Bure. Rick Vaive and Cam Neely each had three 50 plus goal seasons...but none with the Canucks....ouch!

Lets face it....The Vancouver Canucks organization has had an abysmal history of drafting its own scoring talent.

Pavel Bure. Vancouver Canucks only prolific goal scorer.

Their scouting team consists of:

Lorne Henning (director player personnel)
Stan Smyl (Director Player development)
Ron Delorme (Amateur Scout)
Jonathan Wall (manager scouting and player info.)

Were any of these guys on the scouting staff a big-time scorer/play maker in their career? NO.

Lorne Henning scored in Junior, but was a third/fourth line checking centre for the Islanders back in 70's who managed 13 goals twice.
Stan Smyl was not a big-time scorer ever. He was a good leader and captain that managed 38 goals one year for the Canucks in an era where some guys were scoring 60 plus goals.
Ron Delorme was a tough, fringe, grinder NHL player for the Colorado Rockies and Vancouver Canucks.
Jonathan Wall. No Bio. for him on the Canucks site. Nothing found in the internet.

To me it seems the best recruiter of talent is someone who possessed talent in abundance at the same level.


Note: One can argue that some of the Canucks rivals (eg. Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames) have plumbers for talent agents too, but both those franchises have won Stanley Cups in the past and both have drafted some serious scoring talent of their own.

Pure hype built it up, so fear and reality will tear it down...

One word for British Columbia's housing market.....ouch! This market, primarily in the lower mainland, has experienced the biggest price run-up in history since about 2002. The following post by GSE36 on BC Real Estate Talks says it all in my mind.....

"I have mentioned this b4, and I will mention it again. Many people are basing "correction estimates" based on regular real estate cycles. However, what we are experiencing right now is of historical proportions. We have NEVER experienced a cycle like this before. This is same as in the US (largest boom in history). Just look at the graphs (US, Canada, UK, etc) and you'll say it makes all the other cycles pale in comparison. Therefore, there is a chance that what will happen will likely be of historical proportions as well. Vancouver is basically a culmination of all the potential hype of a real estate asset bubble. You put all the factors together, and it creates for one heck of a hyped market: 1) strong west economy (really riding off of Calgary's fame) 2) consistently top city to live (but not considered world class by many) 3) running out of land (surrounded by waters, mountains, etc) 4) olympics 5) worldwide housing bubble (everybody in RE-mode) 6) low interest rates 7) rich foreigners "

Couldn't have said it better myself. The current situation in Vancouver's real estate market cannot be compared to anytime in history. The following graph summarizes this market's 30 year history and my plan :-)

What goes up must come down....short term???

You are smoking "crack" if you think the Canadian real estate market isn't due for a correction....how big? Who knows. Sure, the dynamics with the sub-prime mortgage situation and over borrowing might be more extreme in the U.S., but Canada has it's own ills that will cause this inevitable correction. Canadian Conservative M.P. Garth Turner says that Canada's upcoming bust in real estate is similar to that which is currently occurring in the U.S. due to the no money down/40 year mortgages. Perhaps we aren't as maxed out credit wise here in Canada, but whatever happens south of us generally effects us too. Bulls seem to always remind us that the lower mainland of British Columbia is unique and will not suffer the same fate as elsewhere on the globe, but I don't believe it for a second.

Another thing I read from posters on other sites is, "what has created the BC boom?" Some say that it is due to immigration, others say its the bullish economy, others say a great deal of it is due to offshore investing post Olympic hype....it makes sense that as all these factors have probably contributed to the 5 year run upwards in property values. However, I believe that once the real estate upswing in the lower mainland really began its drive northward that much of the run-up was due to pure hype and house flipping. I know many folk in the Surrey, Langley area that have enjoyed the recent gravy train by doing just that....house flipping.

I'm not an economist, but what I've learned is that the same hype that creates a frenzy of buying and ridiculous price run-ups can easily be converted to the words "we've peaked" sending the prices in the opposite direction...Down. In this sense, real estate price trends are very similar to the economy in general, once the word "recession" is actually uttered by financial analysts in the media people take notice and protect their hard earned money other ways.

If someone who is a current investor with a lot at stake or simply a home buyer who has just gotten into the market at current prices tells me that the market will just keep rising, I tune out and think bullshit! Of course they'll say that, they have a vested interest. On the flip side, there are those like me that are currently not property owners and want in and we'll root for the market to correct waiting for the first sign ready to tell all "I told you so!"

History in lower mainland real estate according to the following graph found at bcrealtor.com shows that although there have been previous rises and drops in the past, the over all trend is upwards long term for BC investors. That is good news for all!
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So once we know the market has reached its peak and prices for homes begin to fall, the new question to ponder is when have real estate values hit their bottom? That is what guys like me will be waiting for so we can buy our first home....affordably :-)