You know what everyone wants? Beside that! People want leadership. They want to know that there is someone out there that is looking after things. When things need to be done, they get done. When things go wrong they are fixed.

Well all of our leaders have been replaced by committee. Nobody does anything and nothing gets fixed. Take the fiasco on the Cobequid Pass the other day. Shouldn’t somebody have had the ability to see that something was wrong and do something about it? Sure. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you close the road at the last exit and then you proceed to the back of the line, turn people around and have them drive back the way they came. Pretty soon you are at the front and then you can deal with the problem. But, noooooooo that didn’t happen. Somehow nobody could figure out that the highway should be shut down. The plow guys that were either sitting in it or driving by it in the other lanes couldn’t figure it out. The guy sitting in the toll both wondering why he had not see a car for the last 11 hours couldn’t figure it out. The RCMP that were unable to patrol the Pass couldn’t figure it out. Heck they had to rescue two people for medical reasons, yet they still didn’t close the road until three in the morning.

So lets assume that all of these people were yelling and screaming that there was a problem. Why wasn’t something happening? The simple reason is that they couldn’t get the committee together to meet fast enough. Rather than some “leader” stepping forward and taking charge, we have a bunch of different interests saying “Not my responsibility.” Great. Nobody does anything and nobody is at fault. What a province!

The roads are just one area. Look at our Cities, Towns and Counties. John Steele, owner of Covey Island Boatworks, was quoted in the Chronicle Herald last week about his desire to re-establish his company, that was devastated by fire last August, on the Lunenburg waterfront. Even though he has submitted a plan in May of 2007, he is still in negotiation with Lunenburg Waterfront Association and the Province. “Those wheels move slowly”, he states. Slowly, geez with the noted “leaders” in both those organizations how can things move slowly. Here are properties that lie empty and a viable business, whose former employees are dying to get back to work, and possibly revitalizing the Lunenburg waterfront in the process. I think it is appalling that something hasn’t happened earlier. Give him the space for free if you have too. Get it done. What is the downside? The association forgoes rent money or purchase money? Who else is going to use it? Tourism is dying. Having a viable boat builder on the Lunenburg waterfront can only help. Give him the buildings if he gives tours for free! There are lots of options.

I don’t want to pick on Lunenburg, it is just one example of a far larger problem that has gripped our country.

Here is my idea to get a start on things. No one can sit on any committee unless they are fully capable of handling all of the projects themselves. Then at each meeting you can draw straws to see who is going to see each project to completion. After that you only have to meet when everyone is done. Will people make mistakes? Sometimes. But so what. Things will get done and committees make mistakes all the time.

Until then, I remain,

A Sour Kraut.

What is it with tattoos? I just don’t get it. People, these were designed as a more humane way of identifying prisoners. Branding was the other option! So why does everone wnat to get a tattoo? Research shows that 60% of people with tattoos regret the decision yet it seems that everyone and their do has a tattoo. Actually, my dog might have a tattoo. I should check her ear.

I am assuming that the driving force behind tattoos is the same as the one driving the Facebook craziness. People are under the mistaken belief that others care what their tattoo signifies just as they care to know that Debbie G. is now doing the dishes, or she has plans for Saturday or that her boyfriend has an unspeakable disease. If people do care they should get a life. I don’t.

So I put many seconds of hard thought into what sort of tattoo I would get if someone put a gun to my head and forced me. I thought of my children’s names or that of my spouse, but I settled on a tattoo consisting of two words – “Holly. Sorry.” Holly is my dog and I had her fixed. Seems only fair.

I actually do have two tattoos. You wouldn’t notice them unless I pointed them out. They consist of four dots that form a “T”, one set of dots on my front and one on my back. I hate them. Everytime I look at them I want to scratch them out. They signify admission into a club that I never wanted to belong too, however it was out of my hands. Anyone else in this “club” probably feels the same way that I do. Maybe not. For some it could have been the start of something better.

Smarten up people!

Until then, I remain,

A Sour Kraut.

Remember way, way back in history when oil was $144 per barrell. Wow, that was a long time ago. July wasn’t it? Remember when every company under the sun was adding “fuel surcharges” to the prices of their products or services? Remember how everything was increasing in price because of the high cost of oil?

As of today oil is trading on the NYMEX at roughly $56 per barrell. Yup, there is no one in front of the five and six. Soooo, all of those price increases should be reversed right? I mean why would a company keep charging higher prices for increased energy cost when that energy is below levels of three years ago. Why would they do that? Tell me Nova Scotia Power, why?

I know why. The companies are putting all that extra cash aside and are going to send it to us as a christmas present. What nice people.

Oh, I forgot, now its the economic downturn that requires them to keep as much money as possible. Hmmm, I am going to stand by my mailbox, because as you know I am the eternal optimist.

Until then, I remain,

A Sour Kraut

The U.A.R.B. has decided that Emera (nee Nova Scotia Power ) should be granted a nine percent plus increase in power rates to cover their increased fuel cost. Man, that must have been some office party at Emera last night.

This increase was initially applied for in the summer. Remember the summer? Oil was at $144 a barrel and everyone was predicting $200 by year end. Emera raised the white flag and said that in order to keep operating under this fuel cost burden they needed a 12.3% increase for 2009. This was all based on the market fundamentals pushing energy prices higher. Well I hate to blow my own horn, but I was telling anyone who would listen that the actual market indicators were showing that energy prices should be lower than previous years, not higher. Since January 2008, the weekly US Department of Energy inventory report showed demand for oil and other fossil fuels lower than the preceding year. In May the international energey agency, downgraded its demand forcast to show levels only slightly higher or the same as last year. Yet oil, energy and other commodities skyrocketed. Speculation? Not according to the speculators!

So, taking all of that into account our wonderful utilities review board decided that even though Nova Scotia Power’s energy cost projections were way out of wack, they still deserved an increase for next year. Go figure. I understand that coal prices have not come down as oil has, but they have not skyrocketed as NSPC projected either. Ol’ Rodney says that the government lobbied against the increase but there is nothing they can do. Come on Rod! You are ready to jump in and get the Province to legislate an office development in downtown Halifax, yet you say there is nothing you can do when you see your province’s populace getting raked over the coals by an increase that you supposedly don’t like.

Now in 2010, the UARB has instituted a new policy that if NSPC’s energy costs are not as high as projected the rate increases will be refunded to consumers. The problem is that this policy is based on the utilities energy costs, not the world costs of energy. What is the motivation of the company to be efficient in their energy purchases if they know any efficiencies will adversely affect their rates? The conspiracy guys will be suggesting that NSPC will be overpaying energy suppliers to show higher energy costs on the books while getting kick-backs from these suppliers in return.

If the government or the UARB had any guts we would be a lot better off.

Buy, Emera stock. It is a no lose situation.

Until then, I remain,

A Sour Kraut.

There is one person in this world I would not want to be right now. Barrack Obama. I realize that he is a smart guy with a lot of abilities, but to walk into the White House and pick up all of the pieces left behind by President Chenney, is a daunting task. Not only that, but you are doing it with a very slim public mandate. Sure he won the vast majority of electoral votes, but only slightly more than half of the people voted for him. That means there are half of the people in the US that don’t like you. Combine that with the fact that you are African American with the crazy element and you know that you better buy a lot of coffee and donuts for your Secret Service guys.

The fact that the press treated him with kid gloves throughout the campaign doesn’t help. Barrack is a great orator. You are spellbound listening to him. But nobody asked him the tough questions. Sure he promised hope and change. The American populace was craving it. But not one person asked how. The speach remained the same over the last 22 months and I for one was hoping for a little meat. Yeah, yeah, change and hope. Hope and change. Uhh… can you be more specific?

President-elect Obama has to put together one heck of a good team. He can’t cover all this himself. Yet I fear that the wheels may come off the wagon. Hope is easy currency until people run out of it. He will have to make some serious, quick changes to keep the hope bank account from running out. Since, I didn’t hear what those changes would be during the campaign I am fearful his plan is a little short of ideas. 

I hope I am wrong. President Chenney and his front man W. need to be forgotten and soon as possible.

Until then, I remain,

A Sour Kraut.

I realize I have been spending far too much time on our road ways when I start plotting the demise of various drivers. I have three different types in my sights. The first group is the elderly. I have nothing against there driving technically, I would just like them to realize that there are other people on the road that are trying to get somewhere and do not want to proceed at a snails pace, because the older driver in front of them is busy admiring the new paint job on a neighbour’s house.

The second group are the meek. God how I hate the meek. If driving an automobile scares you that much, get off the road. There is nothing worse than driving the 103 in a line of traffic caused by some person maxing out at 78 kph. Both hands have the wheel in a vice like grip and their terror filled eyes are straining to see the yellow line in front of them. Naturally this type of driver causes the third category to go off the deep end and do something stupid. Like try to pass when there is not enough room.

Yes, the third group drivers that sends me over the edge ( thank God for guard rails! ) are the “Idiots”. You know these people. They are the ones that drive slowly then speed up as you try to pass. They are the ones that creep down hills  then floor it up the other side where the passing lane is now useless. These are the people who have forgotten all of the rules of the road. Like the simple one of ” if more than one car arrives at a four way stop at the same time, the car on the right has the right of way”. Yes they will cut you off, when it is their error and then give you the finger! I’ll bet they are also the ones throwing usine filled pop bottles from their cars, but I have no evidence.

I think I should start walking more.

Until then, I remain,

A Sour Kraut.