Home Invasions

This morning, there was thunder, lightning and big rain. Later on this afternoon, it should be a repeat.

I was flicking through the cnannels the other day and when I came to ch.35, it said it was no longer available. It has moved to digital. This is the PBS channel, where I watch for Masterpiece Theatre. This one came from Detroit, but I also have it again, where it comes from Boston. I don't mind losing one, since they are almost the same. The thing is, I always thought of PBS as being free. But now, in order to watch it, I would have to pay for digital. Then again, it hasn't been free since the days of rabbit ears. You could only get it on cable, and you had to pay for it.

What about PBS now? They get their money from donations. If people can't see it, chances of donations are slim. You would think this is eating into their pocketbook. I supose most of their funding comes from trust funds, etc.  It's a matter of time till we all have to invest in the little black box.

I just read on Twitter there was a home invasion in Halifax last evening. Easy targets are people who live alone and the elderly. Two teens took a computer from a woman in this incident. You can lock your door, but what else can you do? If you have a gun and shoot them, they throw you in jail. Calling the police may not help too much. It may take awhile for them to arrive. I lock my door in the evening and hope no one knocks on it.

Arab Democracy?

Rain today? Of course. We seem to have six days of rain and then one day to cut the grass.

Do you know what we did yesterday? We sent a lawyer to jail. Yes, we did. Not only that, it was a woman lawyer. Nothing is sacred. What she did was smuggle drugs in to her customers in prison. Now she gets to join them. She's fifty-seven and has now lost her career.

I don't know why we are sending people to fight in Libya. It's none of our business. Suppositly to help them fight for their freedom. The same thing seems to be going on in Syria. No one is sending any help there. What's the difference? Oil! No oil in Syria.

Charioteer

Sunny today and of course rain for the next two days.

Part #3 Charioteer came up on Smashwords yesterday. It will eventually get to all of them. Amazon is last. About a week. To write that one, I had to study up on chariot racing. The racer had to tie the reins around his waist, much like seat belts today. You saw on "Ben Hur", the drivers getting dragged. For that, they carried a small knife in their belt, to cut the reins. Of course, when you read my story, you will find that out. And heaven forbid, that you wouldn't read it.

So I have three more parts to go for the story. The publisher has one, I have the other two finished. Have to let them sit a bit, then off they go. I'm working on something different now and am finished ch.1. This time it will be a full length adventure in Morocco. I have been to Morocco and know what is where. A princess, two teen age boys, terrorists, sand and more sand. Start ch.2 today.

Everyone thinks I write these for children. Not so. I write them for seniors. Thinking about all my friends going into their second childhood.
Read the paper today and no murders yesterday, or stabbings.

Reading and Writing

Not raining right now. Supposed to have a high today of 16C/61F. Warm eh? (Eh? I am so Canadian.)

This morning I won a book on Goodreads. My second. It's called "I Have A Story To Tell" about Eastern European Jewish immigrants living in Montreal, Toronto, and Winnipeg in the early twentieth century. The stories encompass their travels and travails on leaving home and their struggles in the sweatshops and factories of the garment industry in Canada.

My ancestors came over about the same time and worked in coal mines. Just as bad, maybe worse. My twelve year uncles worked in the mine. I am forever grateful to my Grandfather for coming here.

On my Goodreads page, I have listed 79 books I have read. If I could remember all the titles, it would be much larger. When I was young, I went to the library every week. I have most of those books listed because I still have them. The last book I read at that time was Centennial by Michener. It was in Aug. 1977. Why do I remember that? Same week Elvis died.

After that, I had to  worry about paying bills. About 1999, I was able to get on track again. Instead of reading, I did crossword puzzles for the next eleven years. One morning at breakfast, I did the crossword and Sudoku in thirty min. Then I said that's it. Next, I wrote very short stories. Then I wrote and am still writing a six part series for EchelonPress. They certainly helped me a lot. The first thing they taught me, don't write OK, write okay.

John Grisham's "Ford County"

How dare they threaten us! With sunshine instead of rain for tomorrow. We'll just see about that!

I am reading John Grisham's "Ford County" and last night I read the chapter "Michael's Room."
For me, this chapter really hit home. It almost mirrors my own life.

It involves a lawyer, kidnapped by a father of a child, with Cerebral Palsy. Ten years earlier, the lawyer had defended a doctor in a malpractice suit. The end result gave the family absolutely nothing. The theory was that the child wouldn't live past a year anyway. But now the boy is eleven years old. So the father grabs the lawyer and brings him to his house to show him the result of the jury verdict.

The differences between that family, and mine, is not much. He's from Miss. and his son is eleven. My daughter is thirty-eight. We even have the extra room on the side of the house. It used to be my garage, but now it is her room, with a wood stove in case the power goes out. It has patio doors, which go out onto the patio, which I doubled in length to accommodate her.

My daughter also has one brother, and the description of the wife's life, pretty well describes what my wife does. Except it has been for thirty eight years instead of eleven. And the money problems? At one point, I had four extra jobs while being in the military. With government assistance, it is much better now.

He sued the doctor, I didn't do that. In fact, the doctor died a little while later, from cirrhosis of the liver. He also had family support, which I didn't get. Except for one brother out of four, and their families, I'm more or less shunned. But one can certainly pick up good friends along the way.

John Grisham really did his homework on this story.



Jack Sakalauskas
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Criminal Minds

No use telling you it's still raining.

It appears we have fallen into the abyss of crime. Since Sat. we have had two home invasions, two people shot (1 dead), two stabbings, one rape, one beating and robbery. It seems like every day someone is getting stabbed. Before my hospital visit, I did my daily walk and one of the paths was along a lake. The other day, a guy was stabbed in the back, on that same path. I will be staying on the sidewalk, but my wife is still not happy with that.

Parliment is trying to pass a law in which way the courts deal with arrest of a group of people like Hells Angels. If every member agrees, it's a done deal. So the leader of the Green Party, who happens to be the only one of her party to be elected, says no. She wants every part of it debated. This will slow down that process and everything after it. And one of the things coming is a major crime bill. It appears she is there for only one reason, to draw attention to herself.

What's this about lesbian bloggers revealed as men? Weird or what? Of course this is only on the internet. In real life they can't go and tell everyone they are lesbian. People would know something amiss when he went to the washroom.



Jack Sakalauskas
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Stealing From A Thrift Store

Big rain today and temp. is the large number of 9C/46F. We are not ready for palm trees yet. This would have been perfect weather for fat, nude people on bikes.

All we hear about around here is strikes. The post office is doing rotating strikes and Air Canada is going on strike. I figure the post office is just driving themselves into a grave. With Air Canada, I can see their point. New employees won't get a pension but excutives will. The guys on top will rip you off as much as they can.

Someone just dropped in and talked about the mess in front of the Salvation Army Store. What happens is, people drop stuff off over the weekend. In the evening you can see other people there, going through the stuff, seeing what they can steal. They act like a bunch of wild animals. They just rip garbage bags apart and toss everything around. With all that rain, the place looks like a dump, which leaves the store employees to clean it up.

Yesterday, I finished working on part 5 of "A Slice of Time." I'll look at it again in a couple of days. Now on to part 6, which is also finished, but needs work.




Jack Sakalauskas
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Indecent Exposure

Today the temp. is 21C/69F and no wind. Very pleasant. I can't enjoy it quite yet. Tomorrow I can go outside, but forecast is rain.

Yesterday in Halifax, we had the parade of nude bikers. I think it is called "World Bicycle Awareness Day". Bet if you asked the bystanders what kinds of bicycles they were riding, no one would know. It's mostly women who do it. They must be thinking,"Tee hee, I can be naughty and get away with it." I wonder what would have happened if they gave everyone a ticket. For sure, we would have been on CNN. What would they do if it had rained?

This morning I had to package up an old magazine ad. It's on its way to Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles. It's a 1961 Seagram's 7 Crown ad. Once I sent an ad to the postal code 90210. Another time I sent one to Boston to be used in a movie, and my name was in the credits. So there.

Back to revising part 5 for "A Slice of Time." My arc got kind of raggid in the middle. I hooked up this blog to my Goodreads page, so it will always have something. I wrote in the names of eighty books I've read. Read a lot more than those, but don't remember the titles.

I'm not allowed to drive for two weeks, so no yard sales for me. Last week I was at a yard sale and purchased a bunch of books. I gave a boxfull to a friend of ours. Her daughter's class is having a booksale to raise money for a trip.

This Side of the Grass

Well, I'm still on the same side of the grass. Came home from the hospital yesterday. The big thing is not to move around too much. I'll try. Not allowed to drive my van for two weeks.

It's sunny today, since I can't go out. The forecast for the next two weeks is rain. The U.S. has forest fires, Europe has droughts and we have rain all the time. I guess we have to wait till they control the weather, to take care of all these problems. Sounds good, but unfortunately they will use it as a weapon. That would really be a weaopn of mass destruction.

This is curbside giveaway weekend. That's stuff you don't want to bother selling. Just put it on the curb and anyone can take it. I wish they had it last week, when I wasn't sick. I talked my wife and son to go around for me. I want a dresser for my shed, to put my tool boxes on, and stash stuff away. Free yard sales! No trouble talking my wife into that.

I'm reading this book "Their Last Suppers: Legends of History and Their Final Meals."  Pretty fancy eating, like the captain of the Titanic and his nine course meal. It's a free book from Kindle. The pocket book I'm reading is "Ford Country," by John Grisham.

The 3rd and 4th part of "A Slice of Time", is at the publishers. The 5th and sth are finished, but I have to do some changing. I guess I now have the available time. http://amzn.to/jSQLeq  link for first two parts, on Amazon.

I imagine a lot of you people know about Goodreads. If not, check it out if you read a lot. http://www.goodreads.com/

The Time Machine.

Tomorrow is my operation and it reminds me, until this prostate business, I haden't been in a hospital for fifty years. (Not counting visiting, of course). So tomorrow, I put on the dressing gown and my plastic booties. Then I walk to the operating room, which I find kind of weird. Then they give me a little stool, and I climb up on the operating table. Also weird. They have an oven in there where they warm up blankets, so they cover me with a warm blanket until everything is ready. (Not weird, cozy).

So everything is going great. We are having a nice conversation, then Zap! I'm in the future, a different room and a different time. A Time Machine, that's what it is. When you wake up, you don't know how far into the future you've come. Hopefully only a few hours. So, if anyone ever asks me, "Have you ever done time travel?" I can in all honesty say "yes."

Time For Hospital Food

The weather for this week is rain. I think all week. We had a couple of good days last week, where we were able to cut the grass. I wanted to cut it this week before I go to the hospital. There won't be much cutting afterwards.

Because of an enlarged prostate, I had to have an operation last Dec. So they cut a part of it out and that should have been the end of it. But, by Feb, it grew back. So I need another operation, which is on Thur. I was wondering if it is like the miracle of loaves and fishes, or is it because I'm so healthy. I won't be cutting off a finger to test that theory.

This pretty well wrecks my summer. For the first few days, I was only allowed to walk around the house. A few days later, I was allowed to go out on the patio. (But who would, in Dec.?) I wasn't allowed to drive for two weeks. No lifting for a few months. I'm wondering if this time around, the rules will be more stringent.

At least I know what to expect. The first time I go to the washroom, it will be really bad, but each time after will be less. All the chores, I lined up for the summer, had to be done in the last two weeks. Too bad, I like cutting grass. It will give me time to write my YA book.

Mint Tea In Marrakesh

That's it, the election is over. The silent majority will be quiet for another four years, or maybe five. With a majority, they can screw us over good. No one can complain because we said we wer tired of voting so often.

You have to laugh at some candidates who won. The NDP really didn't expect to win so many seats, and some people entered the race, just so the spot wouldn't be empty. The one who stands out the most is the assistant bar manager from Ottawa, who ran for a seat in Quebec, and doesn't speak French. During the five week campaign she went to Las Vegas on vacation. She never gave any speeches, held any news conferences, and it appears she never even visited the riding. So, is this an example of, "Some people are trust into greatness," or "You deserve what you get."

The second part of my story came out last week. I'm waiting for it to show up on Amazon. You feel more legitimate when it shows up there. They asked for part 3 yesterday, so that is now in there. There are six parts and I have completed all of them. Now I am working on a book about two teens going on vacation to Morocco. I wrote about them sitting in a cafe in Marrakesh, drinking mint tea, and a couple of days later I read in the paper, the cafe was bombed. Not my fault, even though the terrorists are after these guys.

It's still raining here, as it has for a couple of weeks, and will all this week. Grass definately needs cutting.

How Smart Are You?

We sometimes think the Americans are fairly dumb, as to their preception of Canada. There is a lot of truth to it, especially when you see them up here in July, with skies on their cars, asking where the snow is. And I think Americans will agree they know little about Canada. Up here, we have the idea we know a lot more about the States, and to an extent, it's true. Of course, our knowledge of the U.S. is sort of warped. We get it all from TV. I've been to the States close to 40 times, and I never saw any downtown car chase, no one holding up a bank, and I never even saw one celebrity. I saw more celebrities when I worked at the airport.

From an article I read in the paper this morning, I'm inclined to think Canadians should not be too smug. I read about a poll they took about how much Canadians know about the North. Well, it appears not that much. 69%  believe people up north still have an Igloo as their main residence. 38% are not aware Eskimo are now called Inuit. 50% believe we have military bases protecting the Northwest Passage. 74% think Penguins live up there. Sorry, no Penguins up there, they're in Pittsburg. We do have one Penguin, who now lives here part time. That would be Sidney Crosby, who used to live a few streets away.

Mind you, it was a very small poll, only 303 people. So, I'm thinking, maybe they took the poll in Ottawa, where all the politicans live.

On To the Next Project

Gee, I haven't written anything here for a week. Time does fly. Especially when you're older. True. The temp. today is 0C/32F and it is supposed to be 7C/45F. When they say that, it's usually on the low side. It will probably be 10C today. It seems this snow just won't give up. We had it a few times this week. This time last year, I was outside working. Cleaning up all that landed in my yard over the winter. I also have to tune up my two lawn mowers.

Yesterday I sent in my Part 2, "Brigintine", for the series "A Slice Of Time." There are four more parts, one each month. I've finished them all, but won't send them in till later. I keep going back over them. When it first started, I was told it should be between 3000 and 5000 words. So that's what I did. The first was 3000 and each one after increases. The last is closer to 6000. I noticed the first day some didn't pay any attention to the 3000 - 5000 limit.

It's supposed to be for readers who are reluctent to read. That being the case, I thought I would start with 3000 and work my way up. That way, with each story, they would be reading more.

With that being mostly finished, I've started on a new one, about two boys going on vacation. It won't be 5000 words, since I have 2000 and they haven't arrived at the destination yet. It helps to have been with the military in Europe for four years, and travelled a lot.

Election promises are running rampant. The good thing about our elections is that they only last six weeks and there won't be another for 3 -5 years.

Politicking For th Next Six Weeks.

What am I doing up at 5:AM? And to top it off, I look out the window, and the ground is white. Maybe that happens every night, and by the time I get up at 7:AM, it is all gone. We'll see at 7:AM. While I was drinking my coffee, I looked out and it was still there.

The first installment of my story "A Slice of Time" called "Beyond the Fog" was published last Tue. That was very exciting. I'm just finishing off the last part now. That part doesn't come out till Sept. Time to start another one. Fantasy again, though I do have a cowboy one, with one chapter finished.

Oh boy! Another election. We didn't need one. Everything is going along smoothly. So we will end up with a minority again. Then the plan will be to form a government from the other parties, Which has never happened before. The Liberal leader, Michael Ignatieff is so despirate to be Prime Minister, he would even do it with a coalition involving the Bloc Quebecois, a seperatist party. Now that's asking for trouble. The other parties that join, know they will never lead the country, but now they have a chance to get a piece of the pie.

I don't like the way Prime Minister operates, but the head of the Liberal party is a dink, the Bloc party want to take Quebec out of Canada, the NDP party thinks everyone should be in a union and we should have everything free, and the Green party is just that, and lets not chop down any trees.

And how is the "not war" in Libya going on. Those dummies. Now they are in a hole and it is only going to get deeper. Us "Crusaders" are now at war with three Arab countries, with others in the pipeline. Just a matter of time before it's "Hey, they are waging a war against Islam, and we didn't even see it."

Read this, "Prince William slips off for secret stag weekend..." Can't be that secret if it's on the front page of Drudge.

Daylight Savings Time

Arizona is the only state in the United States that does not recognize daylight savings.

Saskatchewan is the only Canadian province that does not have it either.
Probably because of "The Old Indian."

Thank You, Old Indian!!!!!

Shakin' Up Young Readers!

Quake
Shakin' Up Young Readers! Electric Shorts


Hi! If you are reading this, you have found the next best place to get super fantastic totally awesome short stories for kids.

Each of these series is designed to make you want to read each and every word to the very end, then sit on the edge of your chair waiting for the next episode.

We really want you to enjoy these stories. And we are always looking for ideas for new series and stories, so if you’ve got someting you would like one of our authors to write, you send us an e-mail and we’ll see what we can do to make it happen.

Here’s what you can look forward to for the next six months.

Week One:
Tales of Ever by Jen Wylie
Laramie on the Lam by Deborah Dee Harper
Chasing the Golden Treasure by Tim Champlin

Week Two:
A Difficult Decision by Ella Grey
Into the West by Julie Campbell
What You See is What You Get by Nicole Zoltack

Week Three:
The Magnificent Carnival of Professor Pelusian Minus by Sean and Connor Hayden
King of the Marshmallows by Lydia Ondrusek
The Olive Branch Mysteries by Gale Borger

Week Four:
Delbert Dallas and the Dragon Diaries by J.R. Turner
A Slice of Time by Jack Sakalauskas
The Junior Justice of the Peace Chronicles by Ann Mason

eBooks - Electric Shorts

All over, American kids are crying out, “I don’t like to read!” What they really mean is I don’t want to read THAT!


Electric Shorts is designed for young readers who crave adventure and excitement. Each series contains six short stories presented once a month as electronic downloads (eBooks), much the same as a television series. Geared for kids between the ages of seven and seventeen, each short story will include relevant material to attract and captivate the young reader. From historical settings to futuristic fantasy, across all genres, Electric Shorts will strive to satisfy all interests.

“By publishing the Electric Shorts as eBooks we can cut back our contribution of paper waste and perhaps save a few trees while we’re at it,” says Karen Syed. Echelon Press has been offering their titles as eBooks since the company formed in February 2001. “No heavy books to carry, nothing to clutter the shelves, and eBooks really are cool,” Syed says.

A group of authors from America, Canada, and the UK have signed on to the project. The Electric Shorts will be released every Tuesday, with a new installment of each series appearing once a month. At only $.99 each, the short stories are affordable for all walks of life. Plans to create affiliate programs with schools and other literacy advocates are in the works, including a summer reading program to keep kids on track during vacation.

To obtain a complete listing of authors, concepts, and series please contact Echelon Press.

For advance review copies and requests for interviews and author events for any of the participating authors, contact Karen L. Syed at Echelon Press echelonpress@gmail.com.

Our main sites for sales are Amazon.com/Kindle, BN.com/Nook, OmniLit, Smashwords, and I have included LSI eBooks. The three books this week will first be uploaded to OmniLit, then to the others, over the next couple of days.

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Shakin' Up Young Readers!

Welcome to Quake. You’re probably wondering where we got the name for this division of Echelon Press LLC. It’s pretty simple, really. Having been a long time advocate for literacy and understanding the need for a stronger presence of books in the lives of the young, I decided I wanted to offer young readers a line of books they would WANT to read. To put it simply, I want to shake up young readers. I thought about it for a while. So what shakes? Earthquakes! Long word. Quake! Shakin’ up young readers! There you go.


There are plenty of books out there that kids HAVE to read, and unfortunaty, when you MAKE kids read, they rarely enjoy those stories. So I went in search of authors who would write books for the sole purpose of pleasure. It’s not just about fun and games. We want to make make kids feel things. We want them to laugh, cry, and maybe even get angry when they’re buried deep in the lives of our characters.

Quake hasn’t been around a long time, but we intend to say for as long as readers continue to embrace our stories.

We hope you’ll visit site often and that you let your kids do the same. It’s not really about you and I, it is about young readers and letting them have a say in what they read.

Happy Reading!
Karen Syed, President
Echelon Press LLC

CNBC and Beavers

I wrote a nice long blog the other day, posted it and it never came up.

That CNBC is disgusting. The other day, all they could talk about was, "How can we make money on this catastrophe." A sad excuse for humans. On CBC this morning, who mouths off, but Kevin O'Leary, "I think this is the best thing that ever happened to Japan." What he thinks, he should keep to himself. That ass should be fired.

You've often heard the whining and crying about not enough doctors in Nova Scotia. Here is how it works. If you are white, male, english speaking, and a family member is not a doctor, you're screwed. That's a given. In Med School in Nova Scotia, there are 73 positions for doctors, every year. The population may increase, but it stays at 73. More doctors, less money for each one. That was last year. This year, there are 63 positions. Why, you ask? Because we sold ten of our positions to Saudi Arabia. I guess the doctors are going to give themselves a raise.

The plumber came yesterday for plugged drain. Not totally plugged, just slow and noisy. My bank account is now $225.00 lighter.

You know we have beavers in Canada. I guess we have too many, at least in Saskatchewan. Trappers don't want beaver anymore. They only get $15.00 a pelt. Out west they have become a real nuisance, building dams that flood farmlands, and coming into your yard and chopping down the trees. Kit Carson, where are you when we need you?