Two words

to summarize the day:

Back Pain. F**k.

That's three.

@#*$.

Two words

to summarize the day:

Back Pain. Fuck.

That's three. Fuck.

DeBeers Class Action judgement

Fact #1: DeBeers made diamonds valuable through manipulative marketing and controlling the global supply by using aggressive price fixing policies, including flooding the local markets of any competitors to lower regional prices.

Fact #2: There 's a lot of diamonds in the world. They are more plentiful than you think. The problem is that there are stores of them hidden away in DeBeer's vaults, making them scarce by design.

Now I didn't buy a diamond between 1994 and 2006, because I am a stingy bastard and don't like to spend my money on things that have a questionable source that may have paid for an African massacre. I like to think (wishfully) that I am immune to manipulative marketing. Also, I am not in the USA, but this is an interesting turn of events. I am sure the 295 million is only a pale reflection of the actual money made by DeBeers through their business practices. But was I a US citizen and had I purchased a diamond, I'd be lining up for my share of the dole-out.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/556011/de_beers_diamond_lawsuit_could_entitle.html

https://diamondsclassaction.com/

resorevolution

Slacking on my resolution so far. have not blogged everyday, but will make up for lost time. Goal is not to be every day, but to be consistent. Moving is the big thing right now. Today we got a carload of boxes and packed up a good portion of the kitchen. A little every day and things will look a lot more packed. Thankfully, a lot of our stuff is already packed up & in storage: books, etc.

It's going to be a trick to keep both personal and renovation blogs going while working full time, moving and planning what needs to be done first once we move in. There is a bit of meeting lawyers, and dealing with financing in there, but that is mostly in good shape.

The first Canadian homicide of the year is a teenage girl killed by other teenagers. Not a random shooting, not a drug battle, not a pride fight between men. Just a bizarre stabbing.

The Wire is going into a fifth and final season, this time exposing the failings of American society and the inner city through the lens of the media. This may just be the best show in television.

Part of my new year's resolutions (yes, I still make those) is to write more. As one way of encouraging myself, I set a goal of blogging once per day, or the equivalent. If I getbusy, I will blog more later when I have time. If I lose steam later in the year, I will attempt to make amends. But of course, that will not happen.

Other goals are to improve my cooking skills, create an exercise regimen that I can stick to (I can't improve unless I do more than I already do) and well, never mind. None of your business is it?

I started out by trying out a new onion soup recipe. I am trying to develop a repertoire of simple, quick to prepare, yet delicious recipes using healthful, organic ingredients with an emphasis on whole grains and other healthful ingredients. The onion soup turned out great with a quick turnaround time from chopping to eating. I have decided I need to purchase a set of ramekins, then I can turn this out at a dinner party and impress people with an easy recipe that looks and tastes great.