Senators, Weak Loonie, Superb Owls and #FreeFormFridays

So there are no longer any Liberal Senators in Ottawa. No, I am not commenting about how Chris Phillips is now a rabid conservative, Justin Trudeau pulled a fast one and dismissed all of the Liberal Senators in his Caucus. I like it, makes the political world in Ottawa a little less predictable and a bit more wild. I am assuming it is to short-circuit any Tory attacks on “over-spending” Liberal Senators. Well played, Monsieur Trudeau.

This weekend starts one of the most important Sporting events for me, the 6 Nations Rugby Championship. Rugby is a Hooligan’s game played by gentleman (whereas soccer is a Gentleman’s game played by Hooligans). The rugby world cup is a while away, although Rugby 7’s will be in the Olympics in Rio, so more sporting enjoyment for me.

The Super Bowl is this weekend, but the hype usually makes the game less enjoyable by the time there is an actual kick off. I may watch the game this year, I will certainly enjoy some chilli and beer, however, I am more excited about the Rugby this weekend than I am the NFL. I am hoping for a surprise “Snow Bomb” storm hitting New Jersey to make the game that much more interesting.

The Loonie continues to weaken against the U.S. Dollar which is causing a lot of “snowbirds” a great deal of consternation, but delighting Canadian exporters. The Canadian NHL teams are now feeling the sting of a weak loonie too. What caused this? Couldn’t be the Governor of the Bank of Canada saying he’d like to see some inflation in 2014, could it?

My Weekly Recap

My Writings for Week Ending January 31st January ends with Hope of an Earlier Spring
Financial Plimsoll Line At least you learned a new nautical term this week?	I’d Rather Be Flossing My Cat’s Toes… It is astounding the imagination of my readers, and what they’d rather be doing than their Income Tax return (even with TurboTax)	When To Let it Go No this is not a commentary on Mrs. C8j, just me lamenting a large repair bill on “the beast”, but it is still on the road at least.	By the Time You Have a Colonoscopy It’s Too Late Endoscopy or Colonoscopy it all ends up in the same place in the end. Do I not get an award for the oddest titles of the week?

 

Swiss Army Knife Section

Not much mention of football nor rugby by anyone else, mind you, no one else talked about colonoscopies either:

• So there was a chap who owned the Twitter handle @N, however, he no longer does and it’s not a pretty story How I lost my $50,000 Twitter username.
• The Canadian Capitalist gives us an update on his Sleepy Mini-Portfolio which I use as a template for one of my RRSP accounts as well.
• Evidently the Mac turned 30 last week? Doesn’t look a day over 20 Happy 30th Birthday Macintosh, the Controversial World-Changer. Funny I remember working on a LISA in my younger days.
• Michael James has some fun with the new CSA reporting rules A Portfolio with 3 Different Returns, you need to sit down with Michael James and see how his mind works to really appreciate this kind of stuff.
• Larry MacDonald suggest we all take a chill pill in the housing area with his article in Canadian Business Canadian Housing Should stay afloat in 2014. Move along folks, no bubbles bursting here right now.
• Gail Vaz-Oxlade gives us New Baby Savings and as a former new parent, I wish this was around when my babies were small.
• Mark W at 2nd Career Search does an interesting overview on Canada Pension Plan (CPP) versus US Social Security (SS) – “Star-Spangled Happiness” or “On Guard”?
• Mark from My Own Advisor pulls no punches with Do you really need $1 million to retire well? Of course you do, can anybody loan me a few hundred thousand?
• I was sad to read of the death of Pete Seeger, but his songs will live on 14 songs by Pete Seeger that are more relevant than ever, sadly, some very interesting topical lyrics (still).
• Haven’t seen a lot of ads  yet, but Jim Yih points out RRSP Deadline is fast approaching , so get your ducks lined up.
• Did you notice that Gmail And Google+ Go Down Across The World, Service Returns After Roughly 50 Minutes last Friday? It was quite the big deal.
• And for your patience of reading this far, I give you an Electric Porsche (thanks to Popular Science).
• Boomer and Echo brings us 4 Big Rip-Offs To Watch Out For , important things to look for.
• The Grumpy Cat tweeted, “If you’re happy and you know it, go to hell.“, there is your happy thoughts for the end of January.
• Mark at the Blunt Bean Counter argues with Mark from My Own Advisor with his article How Much Money do I Need to Retire? Heck if I Know or Anyone Else Does!
• Preet was hanging out at a #BitCoin rally this past weekend. He really is becoming a Bon Vivant Gadfly in the financial world, must be nice. A while ago he did ask in the globe  Should B.C. couple have agreed to a 25% interest car loan?

Monty Python on Money

I had forgotten about this interesting clip, a little NSFW, but I wish I could describe money the way Eric Idle does at the opening of “The Money Show” (the Lure of the Lira, that is good stuff) (note the Welsh Ladies and a harp, staying with our Rugby theme as well):

Mary Poppins and Money

A more conservative view of money from the movie Mary Poppins:

Can You Improve on Football

Yes, any time you add a Taser, things get better:

Other Bookkeeping

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