Trojans, Explosions, Power Failures and Random Thoughts

Looks like another fun virus is out there and may do damage to your computer. The first one screws around with your DNS so check it out DNSChanger Malware Site, the second one looks like a threat from CSIS, which isn’t to be believed either.  Always keep your virus software up to date, and run different ones to get better coverage in these areas as well.

Watched some amazing Fireworks this week from Canada and from our friends down south. One things Americans can do is blow stuff up, and boy did they ever blow it up good! A few small glitches like barges sinking or 3 minutes of fireworks going off in 10 seconds in San Diego, but still loud and proud! Then you had our friends in Brazil smashing windows with sonic booms, but that is another problem.

There are folks on the Easter Seaboard of the U.S. without power, thanks to the storms during the week as well. Do you have an emergency plan for this kind of stuff? In the summer isn’t necessarily that bad (although if it is FRICKING HOT that isn’t good either) but if you don’t have a plan for the winter (and you live in Canada) you are asking for trouble.

BMO says on average most of us still owe 15 years on our mortgages, I am hoping that is not the case for me. We are also seeing Europe and China lowering their interest rates, wow, I guess the Chinese need to build up a lot more debt to catch up with the North American model? OK, that was a cheap shot but just think of a billion people owing more than $1000 on their Credit Cards, then I’d want to own stock in VISA.

Congrats to the Blunt Bean Counter and Mrs. Blunt on their 25th anniversary as well!

Weekly Recap

In Ottawa, we are recovering from our Canada Day hangover, and we are living through a drought, hopefully, it will rain sometime in July:

• Happy Canada Day includes a fun video of the Canadian National Anthem (done by a beer company).
• Happy Birthday Canada and Monday’s Best is my normal Sunday post on a Monday since that is how our holidays lined up (it confused me that is for sure).
• Have you started planning for the fall, Summer Time Plans for the Fall, asks that question, and you had better be thinking about it!
• I went for another cheap pop with What is the 4th of July? Didn’t get as big a pop as my post last year, but still not bad.
• Sometimes it seems like a good idea at the time, just isn’t good enough an excuse and Is it Really Worth It, points that fact out. Note that really is a picture I took in a parking lot near my bank.
• Cutting, Canada Day, Christmas, Graduations and some Random Thoughts The cuts continue here in Ottawa, with many more Civil Servants receiving notices that their jobs might be “affected” by the Harper Government Cuts.

And thanks to those who added me on Twitter. Check out my Facebook page as well .

Links for the Week

We averted having an Election in Ontario (not that anyone cared), we had the Omnibus Bill of Death pass for our Federal friends, :

• My Own Advisor is having a book review & giveaway of Rob Carrick’s book How Not to Move Back In With Your Parents, I should really get my kids a copy of that book.
• Femme Frugality has found (in the U.S., sorry to say) Cities that will repay your Student Loans, which is a great idea, which I think some towns in Ontario are doing to attract new Doctors as well.
• Jeremy at Modest Money  (a frequent commenter) points out Why You Shouldn’t Buy Cheap Pet Food, I’d like to buy cheap food, but I also have cats on strict diets!
• Boomer of Boomer and Echo wonders about Couples Money: Savers vs. Spenders, money can be one of the most enormous wedges possible into any relationship, so be careful who you decide to spend the rest of your life with.
• Timeless Finance confused me with Monthly Goals: July 2012, when in fact it seems more to be a June 2012 achievement list, either way good on ya Joe for your achievement, hope you learn to play the accordion better soon.
• The Blunt Bean Counter points out that His Wife Deserves a Medal for Staying with him for 25 years (as does my lovely wife as well). Are you going to give her a Silver Medal? I think GOLD is a more apropos choice.
• Michael James points out how some folks make money Exploiting RRSP Tax Confusion, I must admit it does seem to easily be fooled in some of these group sales presentations.
• The Canadian Couch Potato explains to us the importance of understanding something that seems simple enough, until you actually look into it How will Rising Rates Affect Bonds? You’d think rising rates might be good, but you’d be thinking wrong (ish).
• Miranda at Planting Money Seeds tips her cap to us hard-working Civil Servants (OK those in the U.S.) in her post Fourth of July and the Nature of Independence, hopefully no one hate bombs her like my I am a Civil Servant post got bombed.
• Gail Vaz-Oxlade takes another jab at we lazy folk who don’t keep up to date with What’s Your Net Worth? The answer for me is, “not much”.
• Preet has made it official, he will be on the OWN network very soon (will he be giving everyone a car? That remains to be seen), but Preet Finally Gets a Job, explains how this is all going to work. Remember you read him back when he was ghetto and cool, now he is Main Street and working for The Man (or in this case The Woman).

Now Dustin Hoffman is Gonna Blow Up!

Name that show, from the 80’s!

“WHOO HOO! She or he…. blowed up real good!“

— Big Jim McBob  from SCTV’s Farm Film Report  (played by the late John Candy)