There are two things that I hate: Junk and Paying for Junk. My Canon Pixma MP520 only prints when all the toner cartridges have ink in them – even when I just want to print in black. So, I had to go buy toner at $20 each because my colour ones were empty. As a … [Read more…]
This spring I installed the latest Mac OS (Snow Leopard) and my rather old version of Final Cut (video editing software) did not run well on it. I researched online for a few weeks and was prepared to dish out some money to buy the latest version of Final Cut Pro ($1199). As I was … [Read more…]
$2.75 to ride the train or bus in Calgary. Not a terrible rate really. Our family used the transit system for the first time in Calgary on July 1st to go to Prince’s Island Park for the festivities and to avoid the parking chaos. I brought change in case the machines didn’t take credit card … [Read more…]
This will likely become a yearly event – Garage Sale Day in Tuscany, Calgary, Alberta, which is the Prime Minister’s neighbourhood and just a couple subdivisions over from where we live. Everything but the girl for $95. The best deal (and the bulk of the cost) were crosscountry skis w/boots and a near new set … [Read more…]
Truly, I’m overinsured! . . . at home I have car insurance: $132/mo I have contents insurance: $13/mo I have fire insurance: $75/mo I have life insurance: $57/mo I have health insurance: (our socialist system at work) . . . at school I have disability insurance: $74 I have employment insurance: $82 I have more … [Read more…]
A week and a half ago, I pulled into a gas station to fill up and discovered that the little door that covers the gas cap was locked and I had no way of opening it. It is supposed to unlock with the doors and if the key is out of the ignition. I was … [Read more…]
I got into my car this morning and CBC Radio 2 lit up “. . . this is the most requested song on Radio 2 right now . . .” and the best song I’ve heard in ages faded into huge sound. This is Charlie Winston (sign up for the newsletter and get a free … [Read more…]
This has always bothered me: corporations who take existing proper names and trademark them. Today, I’ve chosen the transportation industry to be my whipping boy. More than 40 years ago a recreational vehicle was made that really defined RVs for years to come. It decided to take the name from the midwestern Ho-Chunk Native Americans … [Read more…]
A short while ago, Sam Roberts was in town and Amber and I decided it was high time for a date. Tickets were only $30.50 each and so we saw this as a great opportunity. I bought the tickets just a couple days in advance and so we got some of the last ones, way … [Read more…]
This past fall I took a second online course (first one) from the Chalmers Center in order to further my knowledge of international development. As the title spells out, the seven week course explained the principles of creating financing opportunities and enterprise training opportunities among the world’s poor. There are three main ways that this is … [Read more…]