Everyday you see those fast food restaurant commercials on TV and then when you order the burger or sandwich you wonder what it was the TV crew filmed because it doesn’t look like the item you've just purchased. A national sandwich shop is promoting a lobster sandwich on their fresh baked bread. The TV commercial shows the sandwich loaded with big chunks off lobster. I had to go and try one because I remembered a special time when I worked with my Dad at my grandfather’s warehouse on Saturdays. He would order lobster sandwiches and I would go and get them from the restaurant. It is a good memory. So I decided to go to the sandwich store and order the Lobster sandwich. I saw it on TV with at least 1½ inches of lobster and the fixings in the picture. When the server took the tray of lobster and dumped it on the bread it was maybe a quarter of an inch of little pieces with not a big piece to be seen. It tasted fine and I should have known better.
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I receive a lot of emails, mostly questions about something I have written. The following email came from a reader that had read my series on mortgage fraud. I had not heard about this approach:

“You have been talking about mortgage fraud in your recent articles and another solution to this growing problem is to always have a mortgage. After you payoff your mortgage, you can invest with the equity you have with a bank such as Manulife. You can watch your money grow and at the same time it looks like you have a mortgage on paper, but in fact you don't. This also creates tax benefits as well. Worth looking into.”

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Revelstoke Mountain Resort has a new partnership with Hawkair Aviation for flights between Calgary and Revelstoke for this coming ski and snowboard season. Scheduled air service between Calgary International Airport and Revelstoke Airport will commence on December 8th, 2008.

Hawkair operates the 37-passenger turboprop DeHavilland Dash 8 aircraft and will initially offer four return flights each week scheduled for Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

The airport in Revelstoke is located right at the base of the mountain and new village area, and only six kilometres from downtown Revelstoke.

Hawkair has been operating scheduled and charter aircraft throughout British Columbia and Alberta since 1994.

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Strand Lakeside Resort, the new Vernon lakefront resort with beachfront facilities, is now open as a four-season destination facility on Lake Okanagan. SL Resort Management Corporation has engaged an experienced resort manager, Bellstar Hotels & Resorts, to manage and operate the Strand.

The first phase of the Strand Resort includes 1, 2, and 3-bedroom condos. Each of the 104 units is fully furnished, spacious and ideal for week-long stays. The condos feature professionally-designed custom furnishings and accessories, including a full kitchen with high end appliances and granite countertops, a wine fridge, indoor/outdoor gas fireplace, balconies/patios, a full dining and sitting room and separate bedrooms. Common services and amenities include full-service concierge, private sandy beach access, a marina with 51 slips, a swimming pool and hot tub, roof top amenities with panoramic views of the lake and valley, and a landscaped courtyard, complete with fire pit and water feature.

Bellstar manages and develops destination resorts and boutique hotels in Alberta’s Rocky Mountains and in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley and Coastal Regions. Bellstar manages the Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort & Spa in Osoyoos. Bellasera Tuscan Villas & Piazza at the Okanagan Golf Club, Quail Ridge and The Bear in Kelowna.

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I knew it had to happen one day soon because the demographics of the Canadian marketplace have changed quite dramatically in the last five years. The question was would a financial institution break the barrier and open some branches on Sunday? It has happened and quite successfully.

Since January, CIBC's clients have been able to bank seven days a week at its Yaletown, Brentwood Mall, Kingsway and Metrotown outlets.

CIBC branches at Lougheed Mall in Burnaby, Guildford Town Centre and Park Royal Shopping Centre will now be open seven days a week.

The increase in the number of branches offering Sunday hours is part of the bank's plan to expand its services and branch network. Since 2007, it has opened six new branches in Metro Vancouver as part of its plan to build, relocate and expand over 70 new branches across Canada by 2011.