A true gentleman passed away this week, and I was saddened with the passing of Jean Beliveau. To me he was the epitome of a leader, and his demeanor on and off the ice was to be admired. My favorite Jean Beliveau story was when as a young lad, telling my Dad I’d play better hockey if I had a stick with a curved blade, and my Father’s response summed it all up nicely, “If Jean Beliveau can play with a straight blade, you can too”. Let’s hope Mr. Beliveau’s blade continues to be straight, wherever he plays.
My Son and the Lt-General
I was privileged to be invited along with my son to National Defense HQ for an International Day of Persons with Disabilities festival. My son’s soccer Club the Just for Kicks group with the Nepean City Soccer Club, was invited to show off their skills and play against some very high-powered talent. The Generals involved were very good sports and I also met the head of Soldier On a support organization for wounded soldiers.
The malls are now crammed with folks trying to find the next “perfect” toy, but remember the reason you are out there. I will no doubt be in the middle of the bloody fray this weekend, so stay the heck out of my way, if you don’t want to see what I learned playing rugby.
Oh and congrats to Wales for defeating the Mighty South Africa Springboks last weekend (for only the second time in 100 years).
My Writings for Week Ending December 5th 2014
Christmas lights twinkle and even I have got out the inflatable Christmas Penguin for the front of the Big C8j Hacienda :
To get all Christmassy I decided to go cheesy with It’s A Wonderful Life (financially?) where I pointed out that Index Funds and It’s a Wonderful Life have a little bit in common, read to find out what.
I went rummaging into my archives of articles that I had started but hadn’t finished and came up with 5 Ways to Optimally Use Your Pay Raise , some interesting comments to this one as well.
We got to see what Lake Effect Snow means with some vivid photos of Buffalo getting buried by 7 feet of snow. They are getting more snow today. This is why I am happy that Ottawa only has a river running through it. The worst part of this is that it might rain in Buffalo putting all roofs in the area in peril (7 feet of heavy wet snow is not what anyhow is designed to support).
Mr. Cardinal Confirms, Winter Sucks
Enjoy your web cams and such? The laptop I am typing on has one pointed right at me, but evidently our Russian hacking friends have sites from hacked cameras that folks can go and check. You know how to fix this (aside from having good anti-virus and security), cover the camera up with a piece of paper and tape, or point your web cams elsewhere when you aren’t using it.
A couple in Alberta learned just how expensive medical costs are in the US, when their bundle of joy showed up 9 weeks prematurely, and they are now stuck with an almost $900K bill, that their insurance provider (Blue Cross) refuses to pay. Travel insurance is always a tricky world, always be sure you are covered
My Writings for Week Ending November 21st
Winter has come with snow and all of that, but luckily this is Ottawa, so it is supposed to rain on Monday. Note that I am experimenting with a new grading system for comments (so far I only have Gold Stars, but I will be looking to expand that capability very soon).
Monday I asked the same question I asked a few years ago What is Financial Literacy (2014 Edition)? Any time I can quote John Lydon (especially in his guise as Johnny Rotten) is a good day for me
As I’ve said many times I am one of the luckiest bastards on God’s Green Earth, and in my archives I wrote about yet another example of my luck with Sometimes It’s Better to Be Lucky.
We have successfully landed on an asteroid! This is a tremendous accomplishment! Despite the challenges presented by the asteroid’s size and speed, the attachment mechanism is experiencing some glitches. Nevertheless, the team is working tirelessly to ensure that the dishwasher remains securely attached throughout the journey. However, concerns have been raised about the feasibility of a full rinse cycle. Nonetheless, it is an extraordinary feat to have a dishwasher onboard a fast-moving object in space.
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I must thank my parents that they pushed me to get a University Education, after watching those two window washers at One World Trade dangling 69 stories up. I’d need to be paid a lot more than I currently make to do that job, but I guess there are folks who don’t mind that kind of risk in their day-to-day jobs (but I am not one of them).
Plenty of talk about the coming tax cuts in the next budget, whether they deliver, is another question, and whether the Public can be bought off or not (sorry that is a cynical view of politics (or is it?)). Maybe they will cut our EI premiums a little more? A few other carrots being tested via “leaks” from the government. Start paying down the National Debt would be a very good thing.
Sad to read of the deaths of two of my favorite supporting characters on TV. First Carol Ann Susi passed away this week, you may not recognize her name, but she was the voice of Howard Walowitz’s mother, “HOWARD!!!“. Wonder what they will do about this on the show? The second passing was Jovian the Lemur from ZooBooMaFoo, who would leap around on the show. Jovian died of kidney failure.
My Writings for Week Ending November 14th
Remembrance Day in Ottawa is always an awe-inspiring event, and this year it was that much more, truly astounding to see that many folks come out to say thanks to those who defend our rights and freedoms.
We should all be partying like it is 2008 again, as Unemployment is at 2008 levels (according to Stats Canada). However one of my commenters questions the validity of the number, given he doesn’t count.
I shy away from individual stock picking for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was How Class B Shares are defined for some companies.
This week, our friends in the South have politically weakened their President by electing a Republican majority in both the Senate and Congress. This creates a situation where the President is essentially a lame duck. While there are discussions of “working together for a better America” right now, it is expected that by January, there will be talk of impeachment and attempts to undo Obamacare. These developments are likely to make the next couple of years in US politics very interesting. Although Canada has had some not-so-pleasant stories this week about harassment and overspending in elections, US politics always seems to be a more fascinating topic.
Me and Mrs. C8j on Vacation MANY Years Ago
For Montreal Expos diehards like me, MLB threw us a few more crumbs of hope, with the Blue Jays playing some exhibition games at the Olympic Stadium in the Spring. Might go down to watch, but I also remember just how old the concrete is at the Big Owe, so maybe I’ll just watch it on TV.
Remember that November is Financial Literacy month here in Canada, so look for Tweets with the #FLM2014 on them, for interesting stories about financial literacy. I am also growing back the Big C8j Mostache for Movember (I shaved it off, and four people thought I was Jim Watson, and no I can’t help you with the parking problem on your street in the Glebe).
Stephen Poloz the new Bank of Canada Czar had a novel way for todays youth to get jobs, that is to work for free. I have always wondered about this whole Intern Works for Free scam that has been going on at many companies, but Mr. Poloz thinks his exact quote is:
When I bump into youths, they ask me, you know, What am I supposed to do in a situation? I say, look, having something unpaid on your CV is very worth it because that’s the one thing you can do to counteract this scarring effect. Get some real-life experience even though you’re discouraged, even if it’s for free
I see where he might be coming from, and it does somewhat make sense (i.e. better to have experience working for free than, “I sat at home and played X-Box” as a statement about that time in your CV ) maybe he could have put it in a way that the media talking heads didn’t have such an easy talking point?
Mrs. C8j and I were immortalized on the Twitter, talking about my retirement plans (currently, not being dead by age 65 is the first thing on the list). Nice picture of us on our last vacation together in 1992 (yeh, that’s 22 years ago). The tweet is at the bottom of this article.
My Writings for Week Ending November 7th
Christmas ads are in the air, it’s dark at 4:30 PM, must mean it is Autumn in Ottawa.
Given this is financial literacy month, I felt it important to start with some Key Financial Rules, and then lampoon them as best I could. Remember a penny saved, is still worthless.
Most folks don’t think about how much it costs when you buy something with a credit card, but you are paying for that privilege, but luckily that transfer fee is now frozen The Cost of a Credit Card Transaction, outlines that.
