Received this in an email from Rob S. Too funny not to share!
During a recent corporate password audit, it was found that an employee was using the following password:
"MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofyOttawa"
When asked why she had such a long password, she said she was told her password had to be at least 8 characters long and include at least one capital.
Shawn Peterson started this discussion with a re-print of a Telegraph Journal article by Stephen Chase. The article was fuelled by what Mr Chase refers to as “pre-Easter” presents in the form of the latest tax assessment notices.
As I noted in a comment on Shawn’s blog, I agree with Stephen Chase on this issue, Saint John tax rates are too high compared to other areas of the province.
Saint John is eating itself from the inside out. I know many people who left (and are currently in the process of leaving) the city. I have considered moving out of the city to join the migrating herds in the KV, Grand Bay, or elsewhere to stop paying crazy tax bills, particularly when the assessments keep going up by ridiculous amounts. As for the tax rates, I (of course!) have some thoughts…
First, the concept of varying tax rates by municipality is in itself a problem. NB is not a large enough province to have such a needlessly complicated system, therefore, in my opinion, a province-wide tax rate is in order. Yes, it would upset those who live in the local service districts and some of the smaller communities because their taxes would likely rise, but most of them use the roads in the various municipalities, they use the hospitals, they work in the municipalities, etc., so their argument can be countered quite handily. The mixed pot of money from the blended tax rates would then be proportioned to the municipalities appropriately. The taxes in the areas like KV would likely remain constant, while the tax rates in the municipalities would likely drop, making them more attractive places to live.
Second, paying taxes based on assessed value is another issue that pushes people out of the city and into lesser-taxed areas. A homeowner with a 2500 square foot home valued at $150,000 uses roughly the same amount of services as a homeowner with a 2500 square foot home valued at $300,000, yet the homeowner in the lesser-valued house pays 1/2 price for those services.
Imagine someone who makes $60,000/year going to McDonalds and being forced to pay $6 for a Big Mac while someone else who makes $30,000/year only pays $3. It would never be accepted, so why should we accept it with our taxes? A better system might be to assess taxes based on square footage rather than assessed value.
Finally, there should be a percentage cap in place for those who retain their primary residence. For example, a little old lady who has lived in the South End for 30 years in the same home is forced to come up with more and more tax money each year, likely while facing a fixed income problem, for no new services (some would argue she receives less services each year…). And as long as she lives in that home, she sees no real benefit for the increased “assessed value” of her home. Therefore, a plan similar to the “Save Our Homes” amendment capping (and allowing portability) to tax rate increases at 3% for existing homeowners (and a 10% cap on all previously uncapped properties) in the state of Florida would be in order .
Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with that expensive double-pane energy efficient kind, and today, I got a call from the contractor who installed them. He was complaining that the work had been completed a whole year ago and I still hadn’t paid for them.
Hellloooo,………..just because I’m blonde doesn’t mean that I am automatically stupid. So, I told him just what his fast talking sales guy had told me last year, that in ONE YEAR these windows would pay for themselves! Helllooooo? It’s been a year! I told him.
There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally just hung up. He never called back. I bet he felt like an idiot.
The latest headlines quotes Jeannot Volpe, a Conservative MLA and former Energy Minister, as saying that selling NB Power to HydroQuebec is a better plan than the status quo.
I have sat on the sidelines on this, mainly because I don’t know enough about everything, which is of course the fault of those in government who went through this whole deal-making process in secret meetings.
So how do I feel about it?
I have an issue with the fact they didn’t offer NB Power to the highest bidder. That to me is a major flaw in their plan. Other than that, I’m not sure what all the hoopla is about.
NB Power is not some great provincial landmark, it is a company and an asset. Yes, it employs New Brunswickers. Great. HydroQuebec will also need to employ New Brunswickers. The good employees will be kept on, the rest will need to find work elsewhere. It happens every day in business.
Let’s look at the facts:
NBTel is gone, so is Aliant. You can now send your bill payments to Bell in Ontario.
Fundy Cable is gone. Now you send your cable TV payments to Rogers or Bell or Shaw, either in Ontario or Alberta.
I pay my cell phone bill to Telus, a company based in Alberta and BC, because they offered me a better deal than Bell and have much better coverage than Rogers in my area.
My car payment goes to Toyota, a company from Japan.
What is the big deal about sending my power bill to HydroQuebec?
I don’t care where I mail my power bill payment, as long as I get the best rates possible. If NB Power can’t provide the best rates possible, I have no problem with finding someone better.
I am not convinced that selling NBPower is good or bad, but I am convinced that as a consumer in the current economic model we live under, if you shop at WalMart or Zellers or the Dollar Stores or Big Box stores, you support the principal of buying cheap rather than supporting the idea of buying local or high quality products. What is the difference?
My friend Dan is a talented photographer, writer, and music guru. He works with Revolution Strategy in Saint John, NB, and also maintains a photo blog titled “52 in Saint John”. For this blog, he photographs and posts about a different person in Saint John, NB, each week.
This week, he honoured me with a portrait and some kind words (and a bit of hyperbole).
© 2010 Dan Culberson
February 12th is the birthday of Charles Darwin, the British naturalist and writer who revolutionized (maybe I should say ‘evolutionized’… 
the way we understand where life came from on this big ball of rock we call Earth.
Using logic and reason, not to mention a lot of hard work and research, Darwin realized that all species are descended from common ancestors and that natural selection determines what species will survive and which will perish. These findings were published in his book “On the Origin of Species“.
Join me in raising a toast to the man credited with first coming up with the theory of evolution!
My sister gave me a gift certificate for a new Tilley hat for Christmas, just got around to ordering it last week. Woo hoo! (Thanks Ashley!!!)
Since I already own a summer weight Tilley (hence the reason my sister knew I liked their products…), I decided to opt for a winter-weight hat this time (if you had as little hair as me, you would understand!!!)
I am such a nerd… 
A husband and wife were having dinner at a very fine restaurant when this absolutely stunning young woman comes over to their table, gives the husband a big open mouthed kiss, then says she’ll see him later and walks away.
The wife glares at her husband and says, “Who the hell was that??”
“Oh,” replies the husband, “she’s my mistress.”
“Well, that’s the last straw,” says the wife. “I’ve had enough, I want a divorce!”
“I can understand that,” replies her husband, “but remember, if we get a divorce it will mean no more shopping trips to Paris, no more wintering in Barbados, no more summers in Tuscany, no more Mercedes in the garage and no more yacht club. But the decision is yours.”
Just then, a mutual friend enters the restaurant with a gorgeous babe on his arm.
Who’s that woman with Sam?” asks the wife.
That’s his mistress,” says her husband.
“Ours is prettier,” she replies…
Spotted in the toilet of a London office:
TOILET OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW.
In a laundromat:
AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES. PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT.
In a London department store :
BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS
In an office :
WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY PLEASE BRING IT BACK OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN
In an office :
AFTER TEA BREAK, STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE DRAIN BOARD
Outside a secondhand shop :
WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING – BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES, ETC. WHY NOT BRING YOUR WIFE ALONG AND GET A GREAT BARGAIN?
Notice in a health food store window :
CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS
Spotted in an African safari park :
ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR
Message on a pamphlet :
IF YOU CANNOT READ, THIS PAMPHLET WILL TELL YOU HOW TO GET LESSONS
On a repair shop door :
WE REPAIR ANYTHING (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR – DOORBELL DOESN’T WORK)
After getting all of Pope Benedict’s luggage loaded into the limo, (and he doesn’t travel light), the driver notices the Pope is still standing on the curb.
‘Excuse me, Your Holiness,’ says the driver, ‘Would you please take your seat so we can leave?’
‘Well, to tell you the truth,’ says the Pope, ‘they never let me drive at the Vatican when I was a cardinal, and I’d really like to drive today.’
‘I’m sorry, Your Holiness, but I cannot let you do that. I’d lose my job! What if something should happen?’ protests the driver, wishing he’d never gone to work that morning..
‘Who’s going to tell?’ says the Pope with a smile.
Reluctantly, the driver gets in the back as the Pope climbs in behind the wheel. The driver quickly regrets his decision when, after exiting the airport, the Pontiff floors it, accelerating the limo to 205 kms.. (Remember, the Pope is German..)
‘Please slow down, Your Holiness!’ pleads the worried driver, but the Pope keeps the pedal to the metal until they hear sirens.
‘Oh, dear God, I’m going to lose my license — and my job!’ moans the driver.
The Pope pulls over and rolls down the window as the cop approaches, but the cop takes one look at him, goes back to his motorcycle, and gets on the radio.
‘I need to talk to the Chief,’ he says to the dispatcher.
The Chief gets on the radio and the cop tells him that he’s stopped a limo going 205 kph.
‘So bust him,’ says the Chief.
‘I don’t think we want to do that, he’s really important,’ said the cop.
The Chief exclaimed,’ All the more reason!’
‘No, I mean really important,’ said the cop with a bit of persistence.
The Chief then asked, ‘Who do you have there, the mayor?’
Cop: ‘Bigger.’
Chief: ‘ A senator?’
Cop: ‘Bigger.’
Chief: ‘The Prime Minister?’
Cop: ‘Bigger.’
‘Well,’ said the Chief, ‘who is it?’
Cop: ‘I think it’s God!’
The Chief is even more puzzled and curious, ‘What makes you think it’s God?’
Cop: ‘His chauffeur is the Pope!’