How Times Change!

Depending on when you born, you may have had the privilege of seeing progress at its best (and worst).  This post touches upon only a few of the changes that many of witnessed over such a short period of time.

Way back when, 1960 to be exact, you could get a half pint of milk for four cents/pennies.  A gallon (a bit less than four litres) would cost about 60 cents.  A gallon of milk now costs about $3.50.  You used to be able to get a candy for a penny.  The same sized candy now costs you anywhere from five to ten cents.  More shockingly, the penny itself has gone extinct (in Canada at least)! 

For the music buffs, many have never seen, much less played/listened to, vinyl records.  There were also 8-track tapes and cassettes that now have been replaced by CDs and other forms of digital recordings.  These older forms of recordings have, for the most part, disappeared.

For the video buffs, there was such a thing called “film.”  Later, there came Super 8 film.  Eventually it entered our homes in the form of Beta and VHS video cassettes.  All of these forms of video now have been replaced by the DVD.

Only a few decades ago, all calculations were done by hand using the computing power of the human brain.  Computers then came along with the purpose of facilitating such menial tasks, allowing people to focus on more “meaningful” endeavours.  At first, computers were the size of large rooms.  Now these “machines” can fit in the palm of your hand (or even smaller).  Some believe that computers/machines will eventually replace humans…or is it just that human beings will become so lazy that they will let the machines take over everything?!

Some would question whether or not progress is a good thing.  I guess it depends on your perspective.  If progress allows people to become more “productive,” I would venture to say that it might be a good thing.  On the other hand, if progress raises costs of everything and makes us lazier than we already are, I’m not so sure that progress is such a good thing!  Regardless, my stance on the whole subject is simple: Blame it on fast foods!


- B. J. T. Pepin

2014 Olympic Ice Hockey Team Selections—Canada and the United States

This month, we all witnessed how being two of the world’s hockey powers has its advantages and disadvantages.  Notably, some of the nominations—or non-nominations—for the 2014 American and Canadian Olympic Ice Hockey Teams seem to have drawn some attention.  Let’s take a closer look.

For the United States, Bobby Ryan was left off of their roster.  Shortly after the announcement, thoughts from a member of the selection committee were released to the media and the fiasco that ensued was pretty hilarious.  Why any organisation would share such information with a reporter is beyond me!  It did nothing but invite trouble, as we all saw.  In any case, too bad for Ryan—he’s a good hockey player.

For Canada, Martin St. Louis was not selected.  As outlined in the media, Steve Yzerman was in a no-win situation.  The real problem is that Canada has too many good players to choose from.  In fact, Canada could send two teams to the Olympics and it still would be difficult to select the players.  If you take a quick peek at the NHL statistical leaders, you would see that the majority of the leaders are Canadian and some of the individuals who are currently in the top five were not named to the team—including St. Louis.  With his recent four-goal performance, it makes you wonder if it was the right decision to leave him off the team.  We’ll see soon enough!

All of this to say that people will be unhappy regardless of the names included in final selections.  And the media—they create a story and blow it up themselves to bring in the bucks, all at the expense of Bobby Ryan.  If you’re upset by the selections or the media outlets that present them to you, just do what I do: Blame it on fast foods!


- B. J. T. Pepin

New Year’s Resolutions

This is the time of year when many folks make New Year’s Resolutions to resolve past/current issues or to lay out the foundation/path to achieving something in the near or not so distant future.  Ultimately, achieving the desired goal requires that the individual make some form of change in their life.  Given that the envisioned/proposed change most often entails making something better, the individual must be actively involved and put in an effort towards attaining their goal.  

At the outset, people making resolutions have the best of intentions.  Although this may be noble in nature, in reality, things fall through and the majority never do anything about their circumstance.  Others do take some initial steps toward the attainment of their respective goals, doing so for a couple of weeks, but their actions slowly fade and they go no further.  

In these scenarios, it is clear that the adage of “easier said than done” does, in fact, apply; in other words, it is always easier to talk about a task than it is to do something about it.  When reality sets in and people see the level of investment that is required—otherwise known as “work”—they throw their hands up and quit.  People have become so accustomed to having others do everything for them that when it comes time to do something, they just don’t have what it takes.  This is a classic case of “when the going gets tough, the tough get going,” while the not so tough “get going”…if you know what I mean.

So, if you find yourself in the latter category and can’t move forward with your resolution(s), do what I do: Blame it on fast foods.


- B. J. T. Pepin

E-Book Is Now Available!

In other news, the e-book version of “Blame it on fast foods” is now available via Kindle.  Click on the “Buy Blame it on fast foods” tab above to check it out!

We will be working on making it available via other online retailers in the near future, so come back soon to see where else it can be purchased.

- Steve

Holidays and Commercialism

For this post, I wanted to touch upon this past holiday season and how commercialism has taken over most, if not all, holidays.  I don’t know about you folks, but I was struck by how early we were inundated with the lure to buy items for this year’s holiday season.  To my dismay, I witnessed Christmas items on the shelves of stores two weeks prior to Halloween!  Commercials on TV seemed to broadcast earlier than ever before!  In no time, Christmas items will be out in the summer!

Regardless of one’s religious beliefs, many would agree that it is sad that the true meaning of Christmas has been lost and replaced by the requirement/expectation of purchasing “gifts” for our loved ones.  It is at the point where many people choose to get into serious debt in order to buy things for others in hope of meeting their desire to get each and everything that they want.  Everyone is pressured to get massive quantities of “things” for everyone they know!  It is at the point where most are made to feel guilty if they do not get the newest and most expensive gadget on the market for those closest to them!  It is as if one must “buy” the love of others!  What ever happened to the sharing of time and love?  Isn’t that the true meaning behind the holiday season?

It is clear that, over the past few decades, the meaning/purpose behind holidays has changed, such that a new meaning has been “fed,” if not dictated, to us and our society concerning what the holidays are all about!  It is time that we take back ownership of the holidays!  Maybe we need to boycott all stores and stop buying “things”!  Let them know what the holidays should be all about!

Of course, if this fails, do what I do: Blame it on fast foods!

- B. J. T. Pepin

Welcome to Blame it on fast foods!

Hello Everyone!

Blame it on fast foods has officially been launched!  Still working out a few bugs, but everything’s generally ready to go.  Check back in soon for more details and to buy the book!

- B. J. T. Pepin