According to a news conference I caught this morning, interest rates are dropping even further. Not the rates that would be meaningful to the neighbours and I; credit cards or mortgages. However, somewhere, somebody will pay a little less to borrow. I wonder who you have to know to get in on that windfall.
posted in economy | Comments Off on Costs someone less to borrow | 253 words
Today, more boxes were filled. I’m working with things that have (only) intrinsic value, but each piece requires reflection.
posted in environment, politics | Comments Off on A trite question | 257 words
A near miss… the storm that was heading my forecast list, this time yesterday, never showed. By dawn, the warning was over. Maybe someone had an itchy finger and the posting was just a result of an over-active imagination.
posted in health | Comments Off on Alternative price point | 259 words
According to the weather forecast, another storm is on my doorstep. I’ve already made the obligatory run for food (much to the amusement of my kitchen partners). They don’t know the risks! Due to my excellent care and attention, my family has never faced a three day wait for someone to wade through the head-high drifts to purchase fried chicken!
posted in environment, technology | Comments Off on My prepper tendencies | 249 words
Look at me. I’m back on board the MOOC express, learning about the history of the Stones. Who said education had to be stale? Not that I’ve ever been a raving fan of Mick and the lads, but the period interests me; I was alive when they first started making coin. Now the chance to put all those tunes into a timeline has presented itself, and “time is on my side”.
posted in music, pets | Comments Off on Viral chair dance | 281 words
I have this dream; a phone call announcing the completion of our building project. And I have reality; a phone call that clarifies the current state of things. Sort of. What I actually received was a request to authorize a substantial payment to one of the contractors. I decided to check with him, just because.
posted in environment | Comments Off on Breaking free from the backfilling | 272 words
Hard to decipher the retail sales industry. If I’d been willing to shop in a store that had high prices and chronic lack of inventory, I could have saved those 17,000 jobs at Target! Not a good week for the mall rats. Three major chains announce their intent to close out in Canada, and we’re not Friday yet. Anchor stores, with better than 100 people on payroll. Sadly, once those jobs are gone, there may not be anything to replace them.
posted in economy | Comments Off on Chain closure | 273 words
Whether or not you make regular (or supreme) purchases of refined petroleum product, the headlines are clear. The pennies you save on each litre will be responsible for the decline of the empire.
posted in economy | Comments Off on The pennies you save… | 252 words
Today, in a break with my usual pattern, I actually went outside and moved snow around for something to do. The new accumulation of about 40 cm needed talented intervention (or a mechanical plow); I simply provided my lifetime of experienced technique. How long until spring, already?
posted in computing, pets | Comments Off on Lending a virtual hand for the job | 262 words
Spare change? Some people take the concept very seriously, and I’m not referring to the man who sits by the gate in the Old City. Somewhere in La-La land, a collector just paid $4.8 million to “own” a penny and a quarter. Sure, the coins were old (and tarnished), but the rarity drove this obviously (too) wealthy individual to continue frantically bidding until the auctioneer did the gavel thing. Please, if I ever get that keen on owning anything, swat me with a gavel!
posted in economy | Comments Off on Spare change | 257 words
