Are you starting your own business? Have you been reading everything you can get your hands on to help you get started or to grow your business? A local resource that might fit your needs is “Guerrilla Marketing Breakthrough Strategies” by Terry Telford and Jay Conrad Levinson. This book is written in a conversational style as if you are having a coffee at Tim Horton’s with an energetic and passionate business buddy. What I like about this business buddy is that he isn’t afraid to include his personal stories and discuss pitfalls or mistakes we could make. Telford and Levinson’s humanizing of dry stuff promotes your belief in yourself. By the end of the book, you realize that you too can be successful.

A lot of issues are very complex today but some are just no-brainers. For example:
The world relies on oil and no amount of conservation and alternative energy sources will end this. Alberta’s oil-rich tarsands offer the United States a bountiful, secure supply from a friendly neighbour—unlike Saudi Arabia, for example, where proceeds from sales to the Americans finance terrorism and support a society without regard for environmental concerns and human rights.

I long ago gave up on resolutions but I have my own new year wish list that I’m glad to share.
I wish police would clamp down on those motorists who insist on breaking the law by hiding behind darkened windows.

In my ongoing struggle against becoming cynical, I try to be positive but sometimes it’s not easy. This past month has been especially challenging.

In the beginning, I considered the Occupy movement a needed reminder that we have to do more to correct the inequities in society.

Linwood Barclay came to the Kingston Writers Fest to share readings and conversations about the art of writing crime novels. Although he was promoting his recent book, I chose to read his 2010 mystery novel Never Look Away.

Old age is challenging enough and an epidemic of scammers targeting seniors is making it a whole lot worse.

In recent weeks, close friends have fallen victim to greedy and shameless people who target the aged and prey off their generosity, trust and limited technical skills.
This is not a new experience for our family. In her late eighties, my mother became the victim of fraud by mail, which robbed her of her money but, more importantly, her dignity. Police described the practice as epidemic.

I’m not often embarrassed to be a Canadian.

But it happened two weeks ago when the head of our military was reduced to defending his sterling reputation to reporters and politicians, who dragged his name through the mud over his use of government aircraft.

Kingston’s Writers Fest was exciting, thought-provoking and rich in talent! This four day event held downtown at the Grand Theatre, Holiday Inn and Queen’s University, reads like a who’s who of writers, sponsors and author patrons. I bought passes to three events and wished I’d gotten more tickets. The Fest has workshops on everything ranging from stories for children and teens to stylistic hints and serious adult topics. I chatted briefly with the Artistic Director Merilyn Simonds and asked her why Kingston was able to get such high calibre talent.

It was the summer of extremes and maybe it’s just as well it’s over. A visiting aboriginal friend reminded us recently that her people believe winter is mother Earth’s opportunity to rest under a blanket of snow and awake refreshed and renewed in the spring.I feel like I could use a little bit of that rest myself.

I think it would be really cool if there was still a milk man. Some guy in a white hat who happily rung your door bell and gave you the good stuff whenever you needed it. Instead, I’m always out. Milk in my home goes faster than a kid chasing an ice cream truck. If I bought enough to last us the week, there wouldn’t be any room in the fridge for anything else. It would be cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I can hear the happy squeals already. But, being a responsible mother, I better not do that. Although, sometimes it’s temping. But I digress, back to the milk man.