It's Superbowl Sunday in Trenton, Ontario, and I was surprised to learn that it happens to be Superbowl Sunday all over North America as well. What a happy coincidence.

I have never watched an entire football game, the sport never quite caught my fancy. In my opinion the games seem so long, and there's always a thousand other things I could be doing on a Sunday afternoon. I know I'm not alone, the stores seem to be busy and there are a good number of people out and about doing things such as washing their cars, doing their laundry, or eating out at restaurants. I even heard that some real estate agents were conducting open houses today. I hope they had a good turn out.

I'm sure some people will tune into the game just to watch the advertisements. I have learned that Century 21 will be airing an ad during the game, which interests me a little, but that's not enticing enough to get me to watch the game. If the ad is good, I'm sure I'll catch it one of the plethora of shows that highlight the best of the Superbowl ads. If it isn't any good, then I'm sure I will run across it on Youtube at some point in the future.

The sport itself just seems so complicated, almost as if it were designed with television in mind, with the time outs, stoppages, referees with microphones, large numbers of players milling around, and almost imcomprehensible rules. I think I'm going to stick with the more simple English sports like the one in the following video. Now that's excitement.

Here are the statistics for Single Family Residential Unit sales for Trenton Ontario for the month of January 2012.

34 houses were listed in January and 14 houses sold.

These numbers are not radically different from 2011.

The average selling price in January 2012 was$147, 371 .

This figure is down slightly from January 2011 when it was$148,846.

I guess I'm not a brand new real estate agent any more, I've moved up into the category of being a fairly new agent, I've been doing this for over three years now. I suppose that's quite a bit longer than most people who get their license. A lot of people give up. It is an intimidating prospect to be entirely dependant upon oneself to create enough business on your own to earn a paycheque.

Another intimidating prospect is learning all the paperwork so that deals are done properly and we don't screw something up. We are talking about large amounts of money changing hands with each transaction. It's very easy for real estate agents to find themselves in court these days. This shouldn't scare anyone from trying though, we all just have to be really vigilant. Each transaction can be fraught with peril, and each deal seems to have unique characteristics that require me to learn something new. I actually enjoy that very much.

Some of the best advice on accomplishing anything (including becoming a succesful working real estate agent) that I have ever heard can be found in the nugget of wisdom in the following video. This kids seems to have grasped the secret of success at an early age. I think if you watch this video, it might inspire you to go out there and give it your best shot.

An incident occurred on New Years night in Trenton.

A man alleges that he was beaten by the police, and the photograph accompanying the article would suggest that there are merits to his allegations. The fact that he was in breach of his probation and the the man's arm length criminal record will be factors in the investigation. I do know the man in question, but I don't know anything about the events of that night other than what I have read in the newspaper article. I will wait for the SIU to conclude their investigation before forming any opinions on this particular matter.

But I do know this;

The Quinte West O.P.P. (Ontario Provincial Police) detachment have a lot of trouble dealing with the public. I have quite a bit of first hand experience with them. I can sympathize with them to a degree, Trenton is a pretty tough town to police. This, however, is no excuse for the way they behave and the methods they employ, they are supposed to be a professional police force.

The Quinte West O.P.P. will often ask people to identify themselves with no reason. I suspect that they do this so that they can run the person's name and see if there are any outstanding warrants. We are not a police state, and this should not be a method used for policing. It might be a successful method of collaring criminals, but it infringes on the rights of people going about their own business.

The attitudes of the officers vary, but there are a few who are sneering, belligerent, rude and act like bullies. When there is absolutely no reason for me to provide identification, I don't. I make a point of it. Their response is no better than bullies in a schoolyard. They will walk right up to me, face to face and come within centimetres of chest bumping me backwards. I have been called a "scrawny bastard" by one (who was talking with another officer and thought I wasn't within earshot). I have been pushed to the ground, handcuffed unnecesarily, had an officer put his knee in my back while I'm on the ground, frogmarched to a police car, been berated, belittled, and lied to by these same men and women who my taxpayer's dollars are going towards protecting me. (Oh yeah, a middle aged guy in a shirt and tie standing outside his own house smoking a cigarette matches the description of someone who was seen looking into parked cars with the intention of breaking into them). The buggers have ruined two of my favourite shirts.

I was once at a court case involving a friend of mine where an O.P.P. officer from the Quinte West detachment had botched some paperwork and then lied on the stand (in front of a judge) about it. That's a very serious allegation, but I can back it up, so I'm not worried about making it.

I personally have been asked for identification at least fifteen times in the last three years while walking down the street minding my own business. I reiterate, Canada is not a police state. Unless they have reason to believe I have comitted a crime, or they catch me in the act of one, I have no legal obligation to provide them with identification. I suppose the fact that I walk with a limp gives them reason to think I'm inebriated.

The kicker is, if they asked politely, I'd probably just tell them who I am and give them my driver's license. They don't though. They have such a lack of respect for the public and have such a sneering attitude that I have no desire to comply with their demands. The way they handle themselves will guarantee that incidents will occur. I suspect that there are a few officers who actually want this to happen so that they can get physical with people. They treat people like criminals before they have any evidence to prove that they are. I suspect that they assume that any one who isn't cooperating with their demands must have something to hide. The absolute lack of civility and manners in the officers' approach will create a lot of bad situations out of nothing.

2011 was not a great year for the Quinte West O.P.P., there has been a lawsuit brought against them, an officer who was charged with criminal harassment committed suicide, and another SIU investigation cleared some officers of wrongdoing. We are starting to see a lot of smoke, so it's time that the fire was addressed.

The Quinte West O.P.P. behave like a street gang on steroids. Frankly, I do not have confidence in them policing my community any more. We, as a community deserve much better.