Now Is The Time To Invest

Now is the time to protect your investment in your  houseif you still have old single-pane windows that warm air escapes through as if they were made of tissue paper.


If you act right away you could recoup much of the money you pay with the new Canadian Federal and Provincial grants  of up to $12,000.00 for the replacement of such things as window, furnaces, heat pumps and insulation.


You don't want to pass an opportunity like this up!  Who knows what the future will bring in both weather and the lack of government grants.

How Do Others Perceive You?

This can be especially critical when you are in dangerous or potentially dangerous environments like dark, isolated streets at night.


Predators often watch -- often for some time before they strike.  So first of all if you look like a mild timid person you are setting yourself up for possible attack.


Carry yourself in a confident manner, like a person who knows how to take care of himself or herself. Predators, like their animal counterparts are looking for "soft" targets in most cases -- not a fight they might lose.


Animals in the wild do this.  They don't normally attack the strong males or females in a herd of zebras, but the young or old who have a hard time keeping up with the main herd.


Human predators do the same thing. So stay aware of your surroundings and look like someone who knows self-defense and you will  be less likely to be attacked.


The other thing you should do is develop and follow your instincts  for danger. If you do you will usually sense that something  is wrong around you. When you  retreat from that area or take other defensive measures -- such as calling the police -- immediately.


Remember the practices of the gun fighters of the Old West in the United States. Although they were good with weapons -- the ones who lived the longest resorted to physical confrontations only as a last resort.


For more information on handling dangerous situations  see: www.multipliedforce.com

No High Pressure Reactions!

Remember, when confronting other people -- especially when there is the possibility of things becoming volatile in words or actions don't give in to high pressure reactions -- even if you are provoked.


I'll never forget how a security guard learned this the hard way. He  was doing a fantastic job of directing traffic at a major post office construction site here in Vancouver. For three months he did such a good job of keeping traffic moving that many of the postal drivers were commending him.


Until the last day he was there.  On that day one of the drivers refused to stop outside the post office on his directions and began a tirade of verbal abuse calling a "toy cop"  etc.


The driver then went around him and started up the exit ramp to the building and almost  rammed into an 18 wheeler coming out of the building onto the street.


Normally the driver would have been reprimanded, but everybody soon forgot about this because the guard gave in to a high pressure reaction to this driver's tirade with one of his own screaming at the driver that she was a . . . . and shook his fist at her.


Because of this the postal driver was able to convince  the post office management and her union representative that she had been threatened by the guard  since even some of the drivers who had earlier commended him because of his superb traffic direction now turned against him and backed up their colleague because of his vulgar language and threatening actions and he was nearly fired.


In the end the security pulled him off the postal site and sent him off  to a remote construction site at a much lower rate of pay with little chance of any future promotions with that company.


So remember, no matter how much you might be provoked by others give in to such high pressure reactions. It could be dangerous -- both emotionally and physically.


This particular scenario did not have any physical consequences but some situations could. If you were lose control and lash out at somebody without thinking you could find yourself charged with the excessive use of force or assault --especially if you severely injured somebody. Stay cool and remember that your actions will always have some reaction from others. Make sure it is a positive one if possible. At least one that will not get you in trouble.

Control Your Emotions!

Learning to control our emotions --  such as anger --even when we think we are justly provoked to retaliate can protect us from danger.


The outcome of a driving incident impressed this on me not too long ago.   This involved  another car drive who sat talking on his cell phone while traffic lights changed from green to red back to green three times.


Completely exasperated I finally pulled up beside him and yelled at him, " Get off that phone and drive twit!' and  raced past him as the light turned   yellow and red again.


I quickly forgot all about the incident but apparently the other driver did not for three months later near the same intersection  a man walked up beside me, stuck his head in the car window and shouted, " Remember me?  I'm the guy you shouted at three months ago because I was on my cell phone!....You  son of....!"


I started to laugh so hard that he eventually just stomped away in disgust, but before getting into his car he turned and shouted, "Don't you -- ever -- do that to me again!'


The incident turned out quite humorous, but obviously I must have really upset this guy.  And in this day and age he could just as easily been carrying a knife or some other weapon. You just never know.


It would have been much better and safer if I had just shut my mouth and driven around this person three months earlier when he sat blocking the intersection while talking on his cell phone.


I laugh every time I think of this guy but the incident could have turned out much different.  So it is definitely  best not to let any anger swelling up inside you cause to give way to high pressure reactions such as I did at that intersection.

Be Careful In Seeking Helping with Creditor Problems

If, like many Canadians these days, you have financial problems and calls from creditors be careful who you seek help from -- especially if you live in places like British Columbia, Canada.


Many persons have sought help from Consumer Credit Counselling Agencies only to have these agencies take a lot of money from them and still leave them with the original, or close to the original debt load.


The problem, reportedly, is that the consumer counselling profession is not regulated here  and far too many of these credit counselling agencies do not repay creditors properly.


In one case a family with approximately $60,000 00 in debts paid one of these agencies close to $48,000 over two years only to find that they still owed a huge amount to creditors.


Far too many persons fall into the traps set by the agencies because of being hounded by collection agencies who demand "full payment on a debt of $11,000.00 when the person can not even afford the regular monthly payments.


But if you are in this position.  Stop, educate yourself  about the  local consumer protection act and plan your response to your financial crisis carefully with the help of reputable agencies.  Some of these, although based out of your area can still help you.


For additional information on yours rights as a consumer and debtor in B.C. look up the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act.

Check With Your Doctor If You Take This Drug

If you are diabetic and take a prescription drug called Avandia according to a special warning on television researchers warn that it can cause heart problems.


Check with your family physician before making any decisions about this!

Could You Use A Guide Dog to Detect Diebetic Attacks?

If any young person in your family, or some other family, suffers from diabetes or other illness causing seizures or other problems  they can now be helped by specially trained canines who have been trained to detect chemical imbalances in a person's body and alert the victim to seek help before a seizure or other problem occurs -- or to alert somebody else to the problem.


For more information on this check out Global T.V. channel 11 Wednesday, September 15, 2011.


The story about these dogs first appeared on the evening news hour.