JoyfulC

Thanks Jason. That's more along the lines of what I wanted to know. I am not thinking of getting one of these chips -- we drive maybe once a week, and I only drive a few times a year myself. We drive the speed limit or lower, and don't really need a lot of performance. I was curious because, when I was younger, I did a lot of the work on my own cars -- and my husband does as much as he can now. Last year, we sold our 1970 Beetle and got a 1993 Jetta, and as you can imagine, it's a quantum leap in technology for us. The price tag on the one we saw was $70, so it probably is the equivalent of the Amazing Ginsu Knife.

Since moving out of town, my better half has become a real Nazi about our only eating foods made from real ingredients at home from scratch. And we eat really well! But my guilty secret is that I still crave McDonald's Egg McMuffins. I know they're chock full of texturizers, flavour additives and probably even preservatives, but it's the one food "from the old days" that I still miss.

Giving to charity is more important now than ever. I always feel bad around this time of year because, for many years now, I haven't made the effort to get out there and give of my time. Giving money is better than nothing, but there are so many worthy causes that just need people to show up and put in some hours caring for others. You can help out at a local shelter, a home for the elderly, at the hospital, or be a dedicated driver -- there are so many things. I think (hope) we have finally managed to convince family and friends NOT to *buy* us any gifts. We're adults and if we really want something, we can buy it ourselves. I always tell people, if they want to give me something, give me a great big empty box with prepaid shipping back to their house. I'll fill it full of some of the junk that's accumulated around here over the past 30 years and send it back to them -- they can worry about properly recycling/disposing of it. We're trying to pare back, but it is soooo hard! I still so love personally made gifts though -- whether it be something from someone's kitchen, a drawing or a photo they took, something they've written, something handmade, A MASSAGE!! One of the best gifts I ever got was when a friend sang and performed "Mountains O'Mourne" on the harmonica for me, clad only in his underwear. If I live to be 100, I will never forget that sweet moment!

I clicked on one of those google ads yesterday and found myself on a site that sold chips that supposedly help you get more power and better mileage out of your car. Anybody tried one? Is there anything to it? Or is this the automotive version of the Amazing Ginsu Knife?

Oh yikes! I just now saw this. Thank you, everyone. How sweet of you to think of me. ..Christine.. (ps. My little netbook was out of commission for most of November and into December while I waited on a replacement AC adapter under warranty. Shoulda just bought another, but who knew it would take so long? I usually use it for browsing CERB.)

After a decade of being shaved, I decided to try to grow my bush back. C'était naze! I grew out my natural haircolour so I could see my grey and, after a serious trial, it all worked out. But no, not this. I just don't have a decent bush. I never even had any hair down there until I was maybe 17 or so -- and then we're talking just a couple lonely strands. I remember when I was in junior high gym class, there were girls with bushes that could knock you down. I always dreamed of something like that but, alas, it was never to be for me. My bush would qualify for the before pic on a hairplugs commercial. And so the other day I shaved it all off again. (Thank goodness for Witch Hazel, as I get used to shaving again.) For me, unshaved simply doesn't work. But I have met many women over the years who had beautiful, sensuous, fragrant, full bushes that were extremely erotic.

Angela brought this thread to my attention because she knows I broke my femur in '98, and then again in '99, skydiving. What? Anyone can break their leg once. ;) I did work through a couple years of being on and off crutches and varying levels of being able to bear weight on my leg. But I never had a cast. The first time, I broke it in four places from top to bottom, so I got an IM rod (very nice fix, in my view!) and the second time, I only broke it low, so they went with a bracket. I haven't had a cast since I was a little kid (...and then I was rarely without one). All I can advise on is the crutches. Get yourself a backpack and/or keep a couple plastic grocery bags around for carrying stuff. The worst is preparing food and getting it to wherever you will eat it, if you're on your own. Learn to like sandwiches -- but some tupperware type sealable containers might help you to get things like pasta dishes, cereal, soup and such from the counter to the table -- just lower the sealed container gently into your plastic bag, and hold it with your crutch as you go. Shortly after I broke my leg the first time, I got a call from a drop zone operator from out West to say that he had arrived in Ottawa. ?? I had promised to take him on a tour of Ontario drop zones that autumn, but I assumed it was off since I busted myself up. He tried to talk me into going anyway, but my husband would not hear of it, what with my broken leg and all -- so he went with him! Leaving me home alone for a week with four dogs in a three-story town house. It was really tough being on my own on crutches that week. I hope you will not be on your own too much. Get as much help from friends and family, even neighbours. as you can. It won't serve to be too proud just now. And finally, always be mindful of that stuff about keeping your environment free of trip hazards and slippery wet places. I slipped one day getting out of the shower when I put the tip of my crutch on wet tiling, and it went flying. My little toe hit the bathroom vanity and was smashed thoroughly. Believe it or not, this hurt a million times worse than busting my femur!!! And, of course, having a broken toe (on my good leg) didn't make my situation any better for getting around on crutches. Don't hotdog it! Be extra careful. Good luck! (PS. Get lots of massage. You'll be using your body differently for the next little while, and that will take it's toll. Massage can counter some of that.)

Around our house, we agreed with his politics AND we had tremendous respect for him as a leader and a warrior for the people's interests. We're stunned.

Some speculate pubic hair helps retain pheromonal secretions.

There's an interesting op-ed piece in the NYT today called "Outlaws Make Better Lunches" by Zach Brooks. It mirrors the situation with incall independents here in most Canadian cities. For much the same reasons, I feel our present laws should be allowed to stand, and actually are the fairest for the community at large, and most advantageous to both customers and SPs. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/15/opinion/15zachbrooks.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212

My first and most favourite car was a '66 Chevy Impala Supersport (2-door fastback). It belonged to my father before me, and together we'd lovingly maintained it over the years. When it came time for me to get a car, he asked me what I wanted. There was no question: I wanted that Chevy. He loved it too, and wasn't happy about giving it up -- but a deal's a deal. About a year later when I had to phone him to come get us after a bad accident, it was probably one of the few times I saw him with years in his eyes. It was the day of a UofM/Ohio State football game, and the traffic was heavy through construction. A car ahead of me hit a barrel which hit another car ahead of me and rolled up over it to slam into my windshield. I could see nothing ahead of me, but traffic was on my bumper behind me, there was a semi to the right of me, and all he'll was breaking loose. At some point, I got bumped off the road (at least a drop of 9 inches), hit a couple more barrels, and hit a piece of rebar which split my chrome bumper. Yeesh. Construction workers verified my version of events, so I didn't take a huge insurance hit. And believe it or not we were able to rebuild the Chevy. A few years later when the frame gave out, we even found a new body and rebuilt it a second time. That was a great car. But it was light in the ass end. Some ballast in the trunk helped with the fish-tailing. I can't say what my worst car was. I love all cars, but keep them in perspective. I even owned Renault 5- era and Yugos -- not usually thought of as great cars. But for what they were supposed to be, they were great. If I had to name a worst car, might be an AMC Gremlin -- built back in the heyday of planned obsolescence. The combination windshield washer and shoe shine feature was interesting.

I'd agree with Megan that business is never that hard to get without reviews. I've always preferred not to be -- although I can't really stop anyone who wants to. I think My aversion comes from having run one of the early review boards in Canada, and fearing allegations of favoritism. Sure, it's long since no longer a concern, but that's the foot I got off on. Still, I'm not entirely convinced that reviews help beyond a certain point. Is the SP as advertised? Does she deal fair and square? Is she a professional when it counts and never feels like a professional when it hinders? It seems to me that these are the important questions. But with respect to how well any two people click? I think it's always YMMV. I would recommend that anyone reviewing or recommending an SP run it past her before posting. There's nothing to stop you from posting once you've heard her comments, but it may prevent you from making an error. Example: I once had a guy write a glowing review of me. Trouble was, he quoted my half hour rare for an hour. What happened here was he arrived very excited, and despite my efforts to slow him down, he finished rather quickly. (As in it probably took him longer to compose the review than we actually spent together.) Although he'd requested an hour, I only charged him my half hour rate. I never found out that he'd reviewed me and misquoted my rates until later when someone accused me of jacking up my rates exorbitantly. When I explained my rates were on my site, he cited the rates in this other fellows review, and seemed to feel I had an obligation to honor them. Obviously, things didn't work out for me and the second guy -- and I was able to get ahold of the reviewer and the review site and get the problem corrected. But it never would come to that if he'd just run his submission by me beforehand. In the case of a really bad review, I can see where you might not to do this. But when posting a recommendation, perhaps consider it. It can save your SP some problems.

Pimping -- as in other relationship crimes like spousal and child abuse -- can be incredibly difficult to prosecute because the victim often sides with the perpetrator for any number of complex reasons. I believe the "living off the avails" law was as broad as it was precisely to remove the need for the victim's assistance for prosecution. But I know of no instance in which the law was used to break up legitimate families. Technically my husband has been in violation of this law for nearly 30 years, yet we knew he'd never never be prosecuted. I didn't have any problem with the laws as they were (are). It seems to me that this whole challenge is about streetwalker safety, although all sides seem to agree that dropping the laws will neither inhibit streetwalking or make streetwalking any safer. All my life, I've had cops, politicians, and self righteous assholes use streetwalking as grounds for treating me unfairly, trying to deny me my rights, and exploiting me It breaks my heart now to see misguided women in my own profession doing the same thing. These women DO NOT speak for all of us, and are doing as good a job of exploiting us as the best of them. I salute the lawyer -- what a feather in his cap. I'm sure he's smart enough to know the implications this will have for his short-sighted Pollyanna clients, but it's not his job to do what's best for them. It's his job to advance his career.

While I agree with most of what's been said here, I would only like to add that here at home, we have been noticing a steady increase in our costs of living. Our hydro bills are outrageous, despite stringent efforts to cut back on electricity use and purchasing energy efficient devices. Our gasoline prices are inching back up there again. We normally set a budget of $1000/year for home heating, and this is the first year we ever went over. We only went over by $20-30, but when you consider that we paid an extra $80 in HST this year, it's not difficult to see what pushed us over. There may be no rhyme or reason to slow periods, but I think it's true that almost all of us these days are finding our costs of living higher. Too, jobs are scarcer. I know a number of people who lost their jobs two years ago, and today either haven't found employment or haven't found a job paying anywhere near what their old one paid. Many young people we know are finding full-time jobs hard to come by, and jobs with benefits even rarer. Those of us who were around in the late 90s/early 00s see an enormous difference. Back then, I had friends who were happy to take 6, 8, or 10 appointments a day who had no trouble getting them! And at pretty much the same rates we're seeing now. So what's changed over the past ten years or so? Large, national and multinational corporations are sitting on more cash than ever, and their top executives are raking in salaries and bonuses that, until only recently, would have seemed unimaginable. Meanwhile, for those of us not blessed to be in that rarefied set are finding the basic necessities of life more expensive, incomes more insecure and depressed, a sharp increase in our tax burden, and less money in our pockets to live... well, shall we say, in the manner to which we've become accustomed. Who's at fault? Some will insist to us that it's government workers (our clients, ladies) or union workers (again, our clients), pensioners (ditto), or beneficiaries of "entitlement" programs. But I say, follow the money. Most of us haven't been doing well by the way our provinces and country have been managed in recent years, but others are doing fabulously. Maybe if our governments gave us the same breaks they give them, we'd all be doing better too! Or maybe if our governments simply expected them to pay their fair shares, thereby distributing the load a bit more evenly, we wouldn't be in a state of endless economic crisis. How much more of this are we gonna take? Get involved. http://canadauncut.net/

A tall glass of cold milk.

I'm glad she got four years at least. I would have liked to see her get another four for contributing to the stigma decent women in our business have to deal with. And yet another for trying the tiresome "abusive boyfriend made me do it" defense -- that should at least be contempt of court, eh? But she got four years. That's still four more years than anyone involved in the subprime mortgage meltdown got. Than anyone at Goldman Sachs got for creating derivatives from toxic sludge and selling them off as good investments to clients, all the while betting against them. Four more years than any of the rating agencies that slapped AAA ratings on any of those dirty deals. Four more years than anyone at Countrywide or any other mortgage broker who knowingly put people in mortgages they knew they'd eventually default on. And it's four more years than anyone at BP, Halliburton or TransOcean got for breaking the Gulf of Mexico. Probably more than anyone at TEPCO will get for breaking a substantial chunk of Fukushima Prefecture. And we can be thankful that Alan Greenspan wasn't her judge. Not believing fraud should be illegal, not only would he have found her not guilty, but would have pronounced guilty of no more than being bright, ambitious and hardworking. Funny old world we live in!

Yup. Not so sure about that. I think the bank is only entitled to demand an SIN when you are opening an interest bearing account. If you are opening a chequing account, there may be some deposit or transaction level above which they are required to report, but while I think they can ask for your SIN, I don't think they can legally insist upon it. We've obviously had different landlords. ;) I think that's true if you're renting from a property management agency. But when dealing with private property landlords, we've found consistently that they're only too happy to accept cash, and even provide incentives for paying in cash. Again, I'm not sure these examples always ring true. Although I've worked all my life in a cash business, I've found that the average Canadian business or individual is eager to do a deal to circumvent taxes. I've prepared resumes and other employment documents for people since the mid-80s, and I have actually had federal government employees and even CRA employees ask if there's a discount if they pay cash. I chalk that up to the average Canadian's feeling that the government bends over backwards to give tax breaks to big business, while piling taxes on workers. And I think even that was tolerable for many years, until recently when the government started acting like it was pinched and so some social and cultural programs were going to have to be cut. Let's face it, if there's one thing worse than feeling that all the tax burden is on the little guy, it's feeling that the little guy's safety net is going to get cut on top of it, so we can continue to afford to kowtow to big business (... which really isn't giving us much in the way of returns anyway -- not much in the way of quality secure jobs and not much in the way of paying their fair share). Maybe I'm wrong on this one, but I think that, for most people, saving for retirement is a scam. It's just a pool of money that will be suctioned off by blood suckers when the time comes. My advice? Live well today, and don't plan to live too much longer than you can support yourself. (Cynical? Mm-hmm. ;) ) But again, you have to pay into CPP in order to benefit from it. And that's assuming it will be solvent when you are ready to collect. I'm sorry to say it but my advice to young people these days, after kicking around on this planet for 50+ years, is enjoy life now. We don't know what the future will bring, but we can guess that any wealth accrued is going to be a target for bandits. And as we've seen over the past 30 years or so, this is a bandit's world. My advice to young SPs -- and to hobbyists as well -- is don't make more than you need, don't spend more than you need, and avoid paying taxes coming and going and/or making yourself a target for bandits. Spend the time you might spend making money you don't really need right now improving your quality of in ways that you could never buy -- no matter how much you earn or spend. Learn to bake your own bread. Grow and can your own tomatoes. Read all the stuff you always wanted to, even if you have to get books from the library. Get into star gazing! There are some things that can neither be taxed nor exploited. We're living in crazy times. Let's never forget that the goal in life isn't to have the biggest bank account or to screw the other guy more than we get screwed, but to live and appreciate and enjoy life in all its sensuality. That's something that surpasses dollars and cents. And that's something that's non-taxable. (...for the moment...)

Actually, if they decriminalize the "living off the avails" parts for agencies and family members of SPs, I'm pretty sure they'll decriminalize it for the tax man too. And, in fact, no matter how you earn money -- even if you make it as a hired assassin or a drug dealer -- you still have to report your earnings and pay your taxes. I'm not positive, but I believe that Canada Revenue's privacy policy is such that they cannot report someone to any other agency. Not sure exactly how that works. I wonder, say, if you were running a grow op, could you write off your equipment and expenses? I recall reading, a couple years back, that the Hell's Angels won a legal battle to get their club house back (?) which had been seized because either the police threatened to sic CRA on them, or vice versa.

My concerns about a Conservative majority are: 1) It would allow Harper to continue and intensify his neo-liberal policies of shifting taxes off corporations and onto the backs of working people. These corporations enjoy the profits of selling their goods and services in this market -- they should pay their fair share. (see http://www.canadauncut.net ) 2) Harper (and Ignatieff) seem to view Canada as a territory of the US. The US greatly pressures us to mirror their laws and policies (IP law, drug laws, immigration laws) and we need a strong leader who sees the mess the US is in, and can work with our biggest trading partner without genuflecting to it. We need a leader who reflects Canadian values (as opposed to multinational corporate values) to maintain and protect our sovereignty. 3) I find Harper's use of confidence votes and prorogations disturbing. (Although, perhaps with a majority, he wouldn't need them. Even scarier thought, when you look at how quick he is in a minority government to use every trick at his disposal to get his way, whilst knowing it does not reflect the will of the majority of Canadians. When he has a majority, then I think he'll use it to further a hidden agenda he'd never dare campaign on.) 4) Even if Harper gets a minority again, I think we will continue our march toward a privatized, for-profit prison system, such as the US has. And he will need Parliament to tighten laws and sentencing to fill these prisons. These prisons are modern slave labour camps, except that back in the day, those who profited from slaves carried the burden of sheltering and feeding them. With a private prison model, that burden will be on the tax payers. Private prisons are also useful for hiding true unemployment statistics and warehousing the mentally ill. Technically, I don't get to vote in federal elections since on paper I'm not a citizen (unlike in my heart). But I sort of do because my husband has a vote, and he never voted before we were married -- he carries my vote. I doubt that the candidate I will choose will win in our riding, but that's who I'm going to suggest he vote for anyway. And as for the dreaded "c" word -- imagine how quickly there'd be a coalition if the NDP ever got a minority government.

Thanks to everyone for your support and excellent comments. I guess we're going with it and hoping for the best.

Our daughter -- who is no stranger to throwing us curves -- is throwing us yet another. And one we never expected. Mid-thirties, married to her career and a jet-setter, she recently surprised us by announcing that she'd fallen in love with a recently divorced man with a 1-year-old boy by his former wife. (... amicable divorce, no??). She is doing very well in her career and has decided to buy a home for her and her new partner and kid. She's suddenly veered from exotic travel and cocktail circuit to step mom. And she's talking about marriage and maybe having a child of her own with this man. On the one hand, I'm happy for her. But on the other, quelle complications!! For one thing, I suppose the pre-existing child (who by all appearances is a sweetheart) will be something of a grandchild for me. But too, what if my daughter and her new partner don't last? What standing will I have with that kid then? And too, I have a heavy heart about the poor kid's situation. Here they are, buying a new home, giving him his own room, planning on having their own kids -- but unlike the children produced of their union, this child will always be split between one home and another. Is that fair?? Worse, already, apparently, there have been problems with the ex -- whom her partner describes (most suspiciously) as "bipolar." Here's a question for the guys here: if you think a woman is too crazy for you to live with, why in the hell would you take a chance of procreating with her, and subjecting your possible child to having to live with her, at least part time??? Why??? I can see you boinking a woman you think is crazy -- but why not use some effective form of birth control while doing so? Anyway, while I'd never say so to our daughter (and risk getting my head bit off), I must confess that I'm feeling put in an uncomfortable position with this kid. He's certainly adorable enough. Genetics or no, any grandparent would love to claim this one. I guess I'm just worried about getting too attached to a kid that I might end up with no legitimate claim to. Before I met my partner, I dated a guy that I really clicked with a couple times. But when he learned that I had a daughter, he pulled away. He had previously been in a relationship with a woman who had a daughter that he had participated in raising from an infant. When the child was 8 or 10, she decided to run off with one of his friends, taking the kid with her. Because they were never married and because he'd never formally adopted the child, he had no rights -- and yet, he was the one who took care of the girl, making her breakfasts and packing her lunches and helping her with her schoolwork and such. It was bad circumstances that the mother took her away under, and as such, he was cut out of this child's life even though he was probably more involved in it than her mother was. He had no rights to this child in the split up, and yet, he was very concerned for her well being. He wasn't ready to get involved with another woman with a child again. It was understandable. Anyone else have an experience like this? Care to share? I guess I'm not in any hot spot just yet, but I feel this coming up on me. I am a sucker for little kids, even though I claim I don't like them. I don't want to have my heart broken!

Exactly. It's easy for the hobbyists to be cavalier about this and think there's no problem with our needing licenses. But the very nature of our business leaves us more vulnerable to stigma and to predatory crimes. If they were on the other end of things, I'm sure they'd see things differently. Besides, licensing drives up the costs of doing business, and those costs are always carried forward. We won't be the ones paying for the licenses, ultimately -- they will be. There is another option. Similar to their approach to incall, municipal law enforcement agencies could adopt a different posture with streetwalkers, only arresting those creating problems through their behaviour or dress, and establishing a rapport on the streets so that prostitutes feel comfortable bringing safety concerns to them. I believe they already assign officers to prostitution outreach in most cities. As it stands now, they go out and do "sweeps" where they bust every streetwalker or john they can net -- but is that productive? As with the incall providers, it might be more effective to focus only on those creating true problems. It seems to me that the whole basis for the argument that the laws are making some prostitutes unsafe is because the current situation forces them to sneak around and hide from law enforcement. Imagine a situation where streetwalkers would feel safer working on a street where there was a cop car parked, watching the goings on, than on one with no police presence. Another thing city councils could do is sweeten the pot for businesses in red light districts by offering them slightly lower property taxes. That, combined with an assurance that those causing problems will be dealt with, might make business operators more agreeable to allowing discreet, well-behaved streetwalkers and johns to do their business on their streets. Similarly, if an area wants 100% enforcement, then let them pay higher taxes for it. I believe there will be neighbourhoods where local businesses have no problem with allowing some degree of street action -- it might even be good for business. The thing is, if they bring in licensing, this is not going to keep streetwalkers safer. If streetwalkers currently can't even scrape together enough for a small private premise, a cell phone and an ad each month, they're not going to be able to do all that and pay for licensing, as well. We'll still have a street problem -- but those prostitutes and their customers who aren't causing that problem will be paying for it. Typical government solution that totally misses the problem.

It may take some time, but people will eventually realize the necessity of labour unions. Unionized labour gave us our robust middle class, and as unionized labour declines, so does our middle class. Free market capitalism has been given its chance and has proven that it doesn't work for most people. People are fooled by slick corporate propaganda for the moment, but as things get worse, more and more people will start waking up -- and then they'll look to the leadership provided by Egypt these past couple weeks. If there was enough money in Egypt for Mubarak to amass a fortune of $70 billion, surely there's a way to distribute the wealth of that nation more equitably. As for China, most political prisoners there are labour organizers. I'd recommend caution in jumping to any conclusions about China because the country has long had a preference for appearance over substance. If we don't reverse the current free market trend, we'll end up back in the dark ages. That is, if we survive at all. The other thing free market capitalism has shown it can't be trusted for is to behave responsibly with respect to the environment. People here aren't hurting badly enough yet. But they will be soon, and then the question will be whether we'll fight over differences amongst ourselves? or join our brothers and sisters in Egypt and India and elsewhere around the world in taking power back and checking corporate overreach. Additional Comments: Here's a link to some background info on the role labour played in Egypt's revolution: http://agonist.org/egyptrevolution You won't find this info in your newspapers or on your TVs. Why is that?

While the media here are fixated on the Muslim Brotherhood, the prospect of an Iran-style theocracy and ending the peace treaty with Israel, what's never mentioned is the real story: Egypt's labour movement. Unionized labour has been so demonized here in the West that we have forgotten its ties to freedom, justice and democracy. People the world over are tired of systems that allow an elite few to get spectacularly wealthy, while leaving everyone else behind -- tired of such systems and tired of the governments that support them. Tired of governments that listen to lobbyists and not the people. How ironic that Tunisia and Egypt were the starting lines for a revolution that ultimately will spread around the world, and hopefully reverse humanity's march backward toward feudalism.

Even though I'd prefer to grow mine out, shaved is what it is. I have regulars who might prefer shaved and those who might prefer not, but you can't please everybody, and at my age, I can't grow back a full bush in a week. If I could, perhaps I could cater to variety.