Mothers, Hab Nots, Trains, and Friday #ShoutOuts

I trust all out there realize that it is Mother’s Day on Sunday (May 12th), and you should (as my Father used to tell me), “… show your Mother some appreciation for all the bloody hard work she has done for you…”. Ignoring the biological impossibility of a World with no Mothers™, without Mothers most of us wouldn’t have gone very far in our lives. Who would make your dinners (yes I still hate Liver Casserole, but that is besides the point)? Who would make sure we aren’t wearing the same pair of underwear for the 4th day in a row? MOM!!! To paraphrase Keith Hampshire, “… do something nice for your Mother…” on Sunday.

A helpful hint for new Fathers out there, you may have the idea that your wife is NOT your Mother so you don’t need to get her anything, you are mistaken. She is your children’s mother, and if you don’t get her something expect a very cold and quiet Sunday (and the argument, “You aren’t MY Mother!”, really seems to exacerbate the whole thing), not that I am speaking from personal experience.

As a Canadiens fan living in Ottawa it has been painful watching the Quarter Finals games go by, but I must admit I have new respect for Paul MacLean as Sens coach, his sense of humor and “aw shucks” attitude is quite entertaining, in comparison to some other coach’s persona (John Tortorella and Michel Terrien come to mind). This bit of “tom foolery” by the “Husky, Bug-Eyed Walrus™” Doppelganger really was quite funny.

One of the fun things I got to do with my son was go to the Ottawa Train Expo (model trains) this past weekend. My son loves trains and even though we didn’t stay as long as we normally did, he still had a great time. The amount of work that went into this show is amazing (there is a video at the end of this presentation you should watch). I thank the organizers for their good works.

My Weekly Recap

The auditor general’s report always brings out the most interesting stuff, I am thinking of putting in an offer to the CRA to do some Tax Collection for them:

My Writings for Week Ending May 10th “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.”
Best of: Best Financial Advice Ever May Dad passed away two years ago and this is one of my favorite anecdotal stories he told me.	Rant: What Kind of a Scumbag Truly I do not understand what kind of person steals from a Church.	Discounts (and you only get what you ask for) If you don’t like your insurance rates, shop around and ask for discounts, the worst thing they can say is, “No!”.	The Seduction of Spending Doesn’t blowing a big wad of cash not make you feel good?	Where is My Money ? If you are worried about where your money might be or if someone is going to pay you back, this is a very good question to ask.

Links for the Week

More fun and excitement in Downtown Ottawa with strange packages, why is it that I am nearby when this happens? :

Top Stories of the Week of May 10th Where would you be without your Mother?
Real Estate Agent Contracts Michael James talks about Real Estate agents and their contracts. Does anyone really respect what these folks do? It does seem to be easier than it might be.	What are you doing with your tax refund this year? Krystal Yee asks an interesting question for all of you licking your chops and waiting for your refunds.	Conservative 2013 Budget May Allow Banks to Confiscate Customer’s Deposits The Canadian Times have an interesting spin on part of the current budget. Is it really the case? Not sure, but it makes me wonder.	How to take the misery out of filing tax returns Larry MacDonald writes about how we can make this painful time more enjoyable, my only way to feel better is knowing I don’t owe any money!
Death and Taxes and Taxes in Death – U.S. Estate Taxes The tax man in the states actually goes into your pockets even when you are cold and dead. This is a complicated subject and Mark at My Own Advisor also has a GIVEAWAY going on!	Ex-Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling In Deal To Cut Prison Sentence By 10 Years So there really is a “Get out of Jail for $40M” card in Monopoly? Why are White Collar criminals allowed to do this stuff?	Safe Investing with Canada Savings Bonds Tom Drake points out that you can actually invest in CSB’s and make money (not a lot, but you will sleep a lot better than if you are holding Enron stock).	ETF Dividend Dates Explained The Canadian Couch Potato attempts to clear up this confusing topic.
Travel Travails What does a hard working tax lawyer do after tax season? A fun vacation, I guess, but BBC points out even travel can be problematic.	Stock market gains come from few top performers Larry Swedroe points out that only a handful of stocks are accounting for all those great grains in the stock market.	8 Signs That Girl You Met On The Internet Is Fake For those of you looking for love in all the wrong places, Popular Science gives you this helpful article, so you don’t end up like a certain former Notre Dame linebacker.	If the buck stops at the taxpayer, CMHC needs a renovation Preet wonders (in the Globe) about whether the CMHC has outlived it’s usefulness (or maybe it just needs a complete overhaul).

 

Other Bookkeeping

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Fun Model Train Presentation

My son really enjoyed this show, and this presentation shows how much work goes into setting up a Model Train Expo: