buckrobin

There was a recent survey done with regard to bad health habits and it turns out that 46% of those who responded had at least two of the four bad habits mentioned. Here’s the choices: I smoke I drink too much I eat bad food I get zero exercise Like the majority, I’m guilty of at least two. How do you rate? It’s a good thing they only included 4! There’s probably many more. that’s the way I see it. ShareThis Read Full Story

There’s an old saying – “we’re born alone and we die alone” – and whether you believe it or not, it begs the question “so what happens in between?” This reminded me of a song from the 60’s (yes I can remember back then!) by Peggy Lee called “Is that all there is?” The lyrics of this song are written from the point of view of a person who is disillusioned with events in life and after each story she expresses her disappointment in each experience. She suggests that we “break out the booze and... Read Full Story

It’s time that the Vatican stopped blaming the media with accusations of gossip on the allegations that the Pope helped protect priests who had raped children in several countries. Reports of hundreds of cases of sex abuse of children by priests and evidence that the Catholic leadership protected the priests from prosecution is not “idle chatter” as stated by the dean of the Vatican’s College of Cardinals. Before becoming Pope, Cardinal Ratzinger was head of the Congregation for the... Read Full Story

When I was growing up my mother was at home to look after the kids. Back then, it only took one parent to work. By the time I got married in the early 70’s my ex-wife was already working and continued to do so. All that mattered to me was that I was making more money than her which is a ridiculous idea when you think about it because both salaries went toward paying expenses. But my generation was of the mindset that the man was always considered the “breadwinner.” Today, of course, both... Read Full Story

Every week on a Friday after work I drive the 50km to visit with my friends Eileen and Dave. We’ve been doing this for years and we spend the evening sitting at the kitchen table, have a few drinks and talk about whatever comes to mind. About a month ago, on one such visit, Eileen was taking her blood pressure and I decided to take mine as well. The readings were rather high – so high in fact that I decided to visit my doctor. The visit to the doctor resulted in being told I needed to cut... Read Full Story

When the Winter Olympics started a couple of weeks ago I wasn’t much interested in watching any of the events. When asked why my answer was simply that I thought the sports involved are what might be considered “elitist.” Furthermore, these games are more for countries that actually experience winter conditions. The only thing that I thought would interest me would be the hockey. As the second week rolled around, however, I found myself getting involved and taking an avid interest and was... Read Full Story

With Spring just around the corner a lot of people will be going into Spring Cleaning mode. Well, when it comes to being neat and tidy I have to admit I’m much like “Oscar” from the Odd Couple. I’ve never been organized both at home and at work. Contrary to what people believe, amidst all the clutter, I actually know where things are! I’ve never been organized. Occasionally, I’ll get into a cleaning mode when it’s absolutely required but I’m not very good at getting rid of things. But thank... Read Full Story

Some people manage to post daily on their blogs. I’ve come to the conclusion that either they lead exciting lives and have plenty to write about or they have lots of spare time in which to spend blogging. Whenever I write about something, particularly if it deals with something of a personal nature, I find myself asking “do people really want to read this stuff?” And so, for the most part, I don’t write about what’s happening in my life on a daily basis because my typical day is much the same... Read Full Story

During the past week there have been over 200 Haitian children arriving here in Ottawa whose adoptions have been fast-tracked since the earthquake. We’ve had several staying at our hotel before moving on to their new homes. Last week (Thursday), I received the following email from a gentleman in Alberta whose daughter and son-in-law were staying at the hotel while waiting for their child to arrive: “Our daughter and son-in-law have been staying at your hotel in Ottawa since last Saturday... Read Full Story

When it comes to dealing with family, friends or people at work are you a wimp? Unfortunately, in many cases I find myself falling into this category thinking that it’s somehow better to play along or be easy-going. I often find myself avoiding confrontation or holding back opinions. Not so much at work, because I really don’t care what co-workers think of me. This is probably because I am now just putting in time and collecting a pay check as I wait the day in approximately two years when I... Read Full Story