Pain in the GAS

I started driving about 13 years ago. Among wasting money on useless items, I was concerned with being able to afford insurance. A few years later, I bought an Acura Integra, and tried to pay both insurance and car payments, but ended up needing my parents' assistance. Gas back then was around the 50 cents/litre range.
Fast forward to this morning. When I woke up, regular unleaded gas was $1.20/ litre, putting the 91 octane gas that I prefer to use at just over $1.30/litre. Why are gas prices going up you ask?
The standard answer is that oil prices are going up. Yes, oil is at a record $114/barrel these days, but are gas prices a true reflection of oil prices?
Do you remember a little while back when regular gas hit over $1.30/litre? Was oil at $114/barrel then? Let me help you: No, it wasn't. So, if the two are related, one would assume when oil hits an all-time high, so would gas. But oil is at that point now and gas isn't. Gas was more expensive when oil wasn't as high.
Also, there are no gas companies that buy oil and turn it into gas the very same day you put it in your car. Oil is bought well in advance. So then why are we paying $1.20/litre when oil is at $114/barrel when the gas companies bought the oil that you are using when it was only $100/barrel? Shouldn't gas prices go up in a couple of months to reflect the high oil prices now? Gas companies won't get the expensive oil they are buying today to the pumps for a while.
Wait...does that mean gas prices will only continue to soar? I understand business and support turning a profit, but gouging people when there really isn't a valid alternative is inexcusable.

To help you find the lowest gas prices in your area, visit torontogasprices.com or gasbuddy.com

As Nice as I am...

There was an article on The Toronto Star's website tonight with the headline "Man slain as motorists watch." It was about a 29-year-old that was stabbed to death on the street, in daylight, near Bloor St. W and Lansdowne Ave.
The article focuses around a bystander who criticizes everybody else who just stood there and watched this man get stabbed between "10 - 15 times." The man was disappointed that no one rushed to the man's aid like he did.
I consider myself a nice guy. I hold doors open for people, I'm polite when speaking to others and I have stopped to help people in car accidents among other random acts of kindness. However, I fully admit that if I were witnessing a man being stabbed REPEATEDLY by another man, I would NOT jump in to help. I would call 9-1-1 as it were happening, and wait until the other man decides he is finished stabbing the victim. When I felt it was safe to proceed, I would then administer first aid on the victim. If not risking your life makes you a jerk, then I'm the biggest jerk there is.
I would not attempt to break up an altercation involving a weapon unless it involved an immediate family member. Call me inconsiderate, but I would not want to become a victim myself. I guess sometimes being a little unthoughtful is ok.

Sundin's Interests Are His Own

According to Mirriam-Webster:

SELFISH -

Pronunciation:

\ˈsel-fish\

Function:

adjective

1: concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself : seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others2: arising from concern with one's own welfare or advantage in disregard of others selfish act

— self·ish·ly adverb

— self·ish·ness noun

Using 'selfish' in a sentence:

Mats Sundin is a selfish and self-interested individual who has individualistic morals and values.

1) "I have always believed I would finish my career as a Toronto Maple Leaf," Sundin told TSN.

MY TWO CENTS: You still can, Mats. Go away for a couple of years, win the Stanley Cup, then come back here and retire wearing blue. I appreciate the loyalty, however, that doesn't necessarily put a winning team on the ice. The Leafs need younger, more talented players who still have their prime ahead of them. Sundin waiving his no-trade clause would have helped the Leafs to get their hands on players like this.

2) "I have spoken to and listened to my family and those closest to me about this issue. In the end, there is no right decision in a situation like this one, " Sundin told TSN.

MY TWO CENTS: There is a right decision - you just didn't make it. You did what you wanted to do because you are extremely selfish. If you truly cared about the Toronto Maple Leafs, you would have let them deal you to the Canadiens (and perhaps raise the Cup there) and let the Leafs pick up a couple of draft picks and/or a prospect. Instead, if you sign with another team or retire this off-season, the Leafs will get nothing.

The first round of the playoffs are full swing and before you know it, a team will be hoisting the cup, the draft and trade deadline will come and go, and it will be the start of next year's training camps. Will Sundin be there when camp starts and come back for a lucky 13th season as a Leaf? I hope not - I want the Leafs to win.

Picture taken from The National Post

Putting Out the Flame Will Only Make it Darker

All eyes will be on Beijing this August as it hosts the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. It is supposed to be China's time to excel on the world's biggest stage and prove it is one of the world's most powerful countries. However, their opportunity has been tainted.
Not since the 1980s has there been such political turmoil surrounding the games. In 1980, the U.S. led a boycott of the games in Moscow and the Soviets returned the favour as they led a boycott of the '84 Olympics in L.A.
Fast forward to this year and the political unrest involving China and Tibet. Riots and protests started on March 10th, the anniversary of Tibet's failed uprising of China's rule in 1959. Since the protests started just over a month ago, pro-Tibet activists have gained momentum and have shown support for Tibet around the world by trying to obstruct and disrupt the Olympic torch run. Have their antics brought positive attention and further support for Tibet? Shortly put, no.
Trying to stop the torch run is not the right way to go about gaining support. It only shows that pro-Tibet activists are ignorant, unreasonable, and uncivil. What is a better alternative? I'm not quite sure, but there has to be a smarter, more efficient, friendlier way to rally for peace and human rights.

Picture taken from The China Post

Heritage Canada to make changes to CMF and PAP

Heritage Canada is restructuring the CanadaMagazine Fund (CMF), as well as the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), in an effort to address apparent inequities. Changes could include the amount of funding received, how assistance can be spent, and even program eligibility.
The CMF has received $45 million from Heritage Canada to support editorial content, arts and literary magazines, business development for magazine publishers, and industry development for this year and last.
Current CMF guidelines allow more money for bigger and wealthier publications but do not necessarily assist the publications with smaller circulations, publications with lower subscription rates, or online editions of magazines.
For example, Maclean’s and Chatelaine received over $400,000 and $200,000 from the fund between April 2006 and 2007. But do others receive commensurate funding? What about online cousins?
The CMF does not currently consider the e-zine in the same category as the traditional print magazine, and although part of the fund can go towards development of a print magazine’s website, online-only magazines are left out in the cold.
CMF team leader Gary MacLean assures MagWorld that the e-zine issue will be on the table as Heritage Canada undergoes major changes.
“I am sure funding of online magazines will be raised at these meetings,” MacLean says.
Heritage Canada asked every publication that currently receives funding under the CMF for input before deciding on changes. Consultations were done in a variety of ways such as over the phone and in person.
MacLean cautions hopeful online magazine editors that it may be some time before we know what changes were made. Even then, they may not be implemented until April 2009 at the earliest.
No matter what changes are made to the CMF and PAP, it won’t hurt the Canadian magazine industry, says Jim Everson, executive director of public affairs for Magazines Canada, trade association for consumer magazines. “I am confident that there will be some improvements. However, the formula is working well. I wouldn’t do much to change it.”
Details of the changes, however, will be very important and determine how publications would do business, Everson says, adding that if Heritage Canada changes even the simplest procedures, it impacts how companies run their magazines and budgets, “The devil is in the details. “If the size of support will continue on, I see it only as an improvement.”