16th
February
2019
And so, it blowed, and then it rained, and then it snowed. Through
it all, I realized that having a heated house beats the worst that the local
weather systems can throw at me. If we wait a few more weeks, even the snow (now
drifted across the lawn) will disappear. The squirrel with his “go to the
feeders” tunnel will be exposed to my ridicule, and the birds… there’ll always
be birds.
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posted in economy, environment, Wx |
7th
February
2019
The press release uses the word “tweak”, but locally it will
be better seen as “great news”. For the next lobster season, less than three
months away, the closures due to whale sightings will be restrained. I, for
one, think this is a good thing. Last season, no whales died in Canadian
waters, but shipping traffic and fishing were on high alert.
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posted in economy, environment |
22nd
January
2019
Move over there, master merchants! Dollarama is opening a new online service, which should cause a ripple in the universe. I’m thinking about Amazon, Walmart and Costco, which all imagine me to be their exclusive property. There are some technicalities: you won’t be able to order one article at a time, and there’s a significant shipping tariff ($18) applied to each order. However, when you need a lot of low quality merchandise, at a price point that makes your pile of pennies into a valuable method of payment, this could prove interesting.
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posted in economy |
16th
January
2019
The world of online auctions has been good to me, usually.
Over a period of sixteen years, I’ve completed somewhere in excess of three
hundred transactions. Most of them as micro-payments, actually; going to the
shops for that connector or utility cable is easier via the web and the mail
system, in comparison with a trip “into the city”. As I said, usually.
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posted in economy |
11th
January
2019
This has not been a great day for vision. I’m waiting for “the
call”, and my ability to see things clearly is declining. Not how I want to
play out my next while. Right now, the benefits of a new (clear) view outweigh
the risks.
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posted in economy, health |
9th
January
2019
Wednesday; or for those keeping score, the second snow day this week. Winter is an endurance sport, and if the roads are bad, you move to Plan B.
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posted in economy |
3rd
January
2019
Fixing things can be fun. A hobby,
for some. But what if your desire to repair and economize interferes with the
game plan of the rich?
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posted in economy, technology |
30th
December
2018
Just over thirty years ago, an ad firm gave Canadians a goal. The slogan, “Freedom 55” seemed right. A financially prudent individual, having spent more than half of their entire life in the pursuit of wealth, would now have the savings and investments required to retire. That magic word. No death, reduced taxes, the “right” to forego our role in the workplace.
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posted in economy |
28th
December
2018
For over fifteen years, I’ve dabbled with online auctions.
After all, the world is a big place; surely someone has something I need. And
the search is fun. At the same time, I’ve discovered the useful side of “places”
such as eBay. A market for small things, not available locally.
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posted in economy |
23rd
December
2018
Earlier this week, Gatwick airport was closed. Seems that
there was a drone interfering with the “real” planes. Today, we learn that
there might not have been any drone, at all. I’m reassured.
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posted in economy, politics |
