Card Games

Do you remember the game, Go Fish, or Crazy Eights? I do, thankfully I have learned how to play a variety of other card games. My favourite would have to be Texas Hold 'em Poker. I'm not the greatest player, but I can hold my own when the cards are coming my way. I have tried different websites like Party Poker, but I would have to say the my favourite was always the Texas Hold 'em Poker on Pogo. Sometimes I won, sometimes I lost, but I loved the graphics in the game, even if they were a bit basic.

A Soaring Canadian Dollar Part 2!

Have you heard of the "Amero" or the "North American Union?" Well all this is new to me. Recently I have come across some rather disconcerting news, if you look hard enough you can find more information on it. I will definitely be doing more research on the topic, but here is some speculation based on what I have read and heard so far. An article of note on the topic of the N.A.U. (North American Union) is Debut of the 'amero' written by Judi McLeod, which is the inspiration for this post.

The collapse of the American Dollar and the rise of our Canadian Dollar has been fore casted. According to some sources, the collapse of the American Dollar was planned many years ago behind a curtain of secrecy. The purpose is to help usher in the "Amero" as the currency of the "North American Union." All of this information that I have come across sheds a new light on free trade agreements between Canada, Mexico and the United States. The strength of the E.U. (European Union) and the "Euro" illustrates strength in numbers, but can a similar system prosper here between Canada, Mexico and the U.S.?

A stronger Canadian dollar illustrates to many economists, the high cost of living here in Canada. Minimum wages are relatively higher here in Canada, for instance, an employee at McDonald's wage in Alberta or British Columbia is higher than it is here in Ontario. But here in Ontario, the Minimum wage is currently on a rise towards $10/hour. The cost of living has increased throughout the years and Canadians are suffering from price gouging every where we turn. How would a centralized currency affect the Canadian economy?

My opinion is that a N.A.U. would serve to drive prices down here in Canada, but would that really be good for the masses? Initially, if the cost of living for Canadians was reduced, the increase in disposable income would help out many Canadians throughout the country, and our GDP would be on the rise based on the increase in disposable income. However there is a draw back to falling prices, the reduced cost of products and services will in turn reduce wages across the board as companies reduce operating costs to increase profit margins. I'm no financial wizard, but reduced wages will force people to search for better paying jobs and most likely affect the national unemployment rate.

To Be Continued...

Blog Directories - My Thought of the Day

I've been searching for a new way to promote my blog. Recently I've come across some "Blog Directories" and I think joining them would be an excellent way to promote my blog. I've already submitted to a couple of websites, now I'm just waiting on approval. I should know with in the next couple of days.

I will definitely be looking into other options for promoting this website. There has got to be a million different ways to promote a blog, I just have to find them!

My Latest Addiction

Lately I have become addicted to traffic exchanges. Some of the sites on those manual traffic exchanges are quite interesting. My favourite would have to be StartXchange mostly because of the variety of websites. Most websites shown are splash pages, to encourage you the surfer to sign up to a program to make money.

There are other traffic exchanges, some of them are good, and some of them, well lets just say they're not the greatest. A couple other of my favourites are True View Traffic, Traffic Swarm, and Traffic G. All of these sites bring traffic to your site, just how much really depends on how much surfing you do. These are all manual traffic exchanges. You have to surf through members pages to get your page seen.

I like these four sites, I've found them to be addicting though. Feel free to check them out for yourself!

A Soaring Canadian Dollar Part 1!

Well folks, the Canadian dollar has been floating around par with the almighty U.S. Dollar. What does that mean for you? What does it mean for our economy? I'm not a financial genius, but it is my opinion that the only way for Canada to continue to keep our dollar at par or very close to par is to increase our GDP.

For those that don't know what GDP is, it is Gross Domestic Product. It is affected by imports and exports. Imports generally reduce the GDP while exports increase the GDP. This is just a brief synopsis of what GDP is. For more information on what GDP is go to Wikipedia to learn more. The most important thing to remember in my opinion is to consume Canadian made products, this will increase our GDP and overall help our economy to grow.

Now, what does the Canadian dollar trading at par mean for you? Well simply put, since products in U.S. markets are generally cheaper, it could mean more trips over the border. With all the border issues between Canada and the U.S. it would be a good idea to have a passport handy when travelling over the border. Even though the U.S. and Canada have generally good relations, having a passport to enter another country should be widely practised. You wouldn't go to another country with out one, so why should you go to the the States with out one?

The problem with a high Canadian dollar is that it tends to drive business south of the border. Labour costs are cheaper in the States and with a decreasing profit margin, more and more companies will be considering moving back across the border. As Canadians, we are going to have to invest more into our Canadian business' to support a stronger dollar. But with our dollar so high, some prices on commodities should be on a downward slope making your dollar go further. But will companies voluntarily reduce the price of their product? If we want to continue to trade with the U.S. they should, because they are not going to want to purchase Canadian goods at Canadian prices.

To be continued....

On the Rebound

Well the Maple Leafs have bounced back. But how long are they going to be able to keep up the hard work? Tonight's 8 to 1 win over the New York Islanders had a redeeming feel to it after their loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Are they going to play well against Pittsburgh on Saturday?

As of now, Mats Sundin is now, officially the all time point and goal leader for the Maple Leafs. Its about time! Congratulations Mats!

Before I end this post, I just have one thing to say. If you are going to leave a comment, positive or negative, leave your name with your comment! As of today I will not publish any comments, positive or negative, with out a name attached to them. I don't care if your comments are positive or negative, but if you do not leave a name with your comment, it will not be seen by anybody else!