CBC Funding Cuts

So the Harper government has finally released the new budget. In the crosshairs was the CBC. After promising to maintain or increase funding (pre-election of course), funding will decrease by 10%. This in spite of the fact that six out of ten Canadians support continued funding for the CBC. And hey, that is a higher proportion of Canadians that voted for Harper in the last election!

I grew up with CBC television and radio and still am an avid consumer. As a child I remember mornings with The Friendly Giant and Mr. Dressup. Today I usually watch the National and tend to listen to Radio 2 during the day. With 650 job cuts I wonder which of my favourite programs (Quirks and Quarks, Vinyl Tap or perhaps Q ?) will be axed and whether the quality and scope of news coverage will suffer.

I see the CBC as a core cultural institution deserving of funding. It is part of our heritage and common cultural experience as well a major supporter of the arts in Canada. It is part of the glue that unites Canadians from diverse parts of the country.

I happened to be living in the US in September 2001. In the midst of the media madness that followed my local PBS station started airing the National every evening. It provided a voice of reason - it was comforting and it was home.

Blogger as a web development platform

I've recently been spending more time exploring what is and isn't possible with blogger and came across an interesting article by a company that is using Blogger as a web development platform for some clients. Some of sites they have developed are quite impressive - they don't have that "blog" feel to them. Given some recent changes to Blogger such as the ability to add some Meta tags via the Blogger interface and the introduction of Dynamic views, it appears that Blogger is moving towards providing a more robust web development environment. I think these changes are beneficial especially for small businesses that want a web presence - most notably because of ease of use and reduced costs.

Gaming Redux

In a very early post, I talked about playing online games with my nephew when he was younger. Well it looks like I'm going to have the same experience with another nephew. There are some differences though. When my older nephew and I started playing Runesape he was around nine-years-old. Brendan on the other hand is five! And even though his reading skills aren't quite up to speed, he has no problems figuring out how to play. And we aren't playing Runescape but Wizard 101 which is a much slicker game at least in terms of graphics:

Wizard101 versus Runescape

I'm enjoying playing this game with my nephew but can't wait to introduce him to Runescape when he gets a little older. It is a little more challenging and I think it is more amenable to social interaction which, in my opinion, is the major draw of all mmo games. But until that time you can find us in Wizard 101 - just look for Thomas Duskbreaker and Mary Fairyblood!

OWS and other things

Okay I'm going to voice my opinion on the #OWS. When I first heard that there were going to be  Canadian versions I was concerned.

Why?

Number one is that there isn't the same discrepency in wages as there is the US. Check out the Gini coeficcient. Won't go into stats but the US is dark purple and Canada is lime green.

Second, we did not bail out big banks because we have regulation.

Third we have universal healthcare - unless you have lived outside the country, you don't understand what an advantage this is.

Fouth, when I first moved to the US (outside a large city) I was shocked by the economic (racial) disparity.

I definitely support any groups' right to express themselves but I think the Canadian version of OWS needs to define their grievances explicitly in order gain any traction with the Canadian populace.

European Debt Crisis Becoming Surreal

Things seem to be reaching an inflection point in the ongoing European debt crisis. Zero Hedge earlier today linked to this purported page from a trader's diary:

Dear Diary:

• 7.00 – 8.00 Mkt rallies on Chinese Buying Italian Bonds – But they weren't!
• 8.00 – 9.00 Mkt Crashes as Greek Electricity/Tax Office Strikes & therefore default looms.
• 9.00 – 11.00 Mkt moves sideways to down as BNP in WSJ says that nobody will lend them $’s and nobody likes them. – But then they deny it!
• 11.30 – 12.30 Mkt rallies like crazy because Sarko; Merkel to make an announcement – except nobody knows what that the annoucment is for.
• 12.40 – 12.50 Mkt Crashes because they’re not going to make announcement
• 12.56 Figure out how to explain to a child that ‘yes dear, there’s a lot of clever people who think very hard; make very bright decisions in the stock market business!

Since then even more rumours have begun circulating namely that Brazil will join the bailout party! The UK's telegraph is running a live thread on the debt crisis so we can all stay up-to-date on the latest rumours and retractions which seem to be coming fast and furious.

Up North again and good memories

I recently returned from a trip up North with family. The drive back was hell - traffic accident on the 401!

But really had a great time. Love that my youngest sister tp'd my bike. Proud of myself for going out tubing and holding on for more than 10 seconds. Edit - a few minutes - it was tough!


Best memory however was one night when storms were rolling in. My four-year-old nephew is growing beyond the cuddly stage but every once in a while .... He snuggled in my arms that night and we picked out pictures in the sky - really priceless.

Dow down 500 points?

I have been waiting for a market correction like this for a few years. Why? The global economic problems have not been addressed just swept under the rug where they are starting to fester. Deer in headlights indeed.

Why I love TED

Data visualization, sheep and Johnny Cash!

Inflation Explained

Voting

Disclosure: I will not be voting for the Conservatives in the upcoming election. Aside from that, I'm not sure where I will cast my vote.
But I will vote even though I know the local candidate is a shoe-in. It is one way I can express views. And I will vote in the provincial election as well. We all live in a souped up media lane but I do remember. I remember this:

G20 In TO

And I remember Mulroney and free trade, Trudeau, Chretien and Bouchard.

Edit: The only good thing about getting older is that you do get a memory - sometimes good sometimes bad ;)

Career choices

The Old New Green

I came across this comment on a site I occasionally contribute to. I thought it was very interesting - liked the connections. Haven't been able to figure out how to link directly to him but I will.

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to her and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day....

That's right, they didn't have the green thing in her day. Back then, they returned their milk bottles, Coke bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, using the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But they didn't have the green thing back her day......

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.

But she's right. They didn't have the green thing in her day......

Back then, they washed the baby's diapers because they didn't have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts, "wind and solar power" really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing.

But that old lady is right, they didn't have the green thing back in her day......

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a pizza dish, not a screen the size of the state of Montana . In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn't have electric machines to do everything for you. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used wadded up newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.....

Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she's right, they didn't have the green thing back then......

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty, instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled pens with ink, instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they didn't have the green thing back then......

Back then, people took the streetcar and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus, instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint......

But that old lady is right. They didn't have the green thing back in her day.......

Baby with latest US gov employment numbers

Some new numbers on employment in the US. My opinion?

Grammy winners

Congrats to Arcade Fire for the grammy - still my fav - makes me homesick for Montreal:

Good versus bad customer service

Kudos to Rogers. I know we all like to complain about our internet providers but I had a good experience with Rogers this weekend. My internet suddenly died so first contacted Rogers. The person I talked to was in Nova Scotia (recognized the accent) and that person was helpful, smart and amiable. With his help, discovered that the issue was not the Rogers connection but probably an issue with my router. Once I told him what type of router I had, he had a number for me to call.

Then called the the number for my wireless router company. Because of language issues, I think this person may have been somewhere outside of North American. In addition, he was condescending and rude. I finally hung up on him and reset my router (which the Roger's person suggested might help).

I think it is important to complain about bad customer service but also important to let companies know when you receive great customer service.

LSE + TSE = ?

Woke up this morning to the news that the Toronto and London stock exchanges might be merging. I'm not sure what to make of it so far. FT.com did point out that both exchanges have been losing market share over the past few years, mostly due to tech trading companies.

I don't really like businessinsider but they offer an explanation that seems reasonable:

Why Are The London And Toronto Stock Exchange Groups Merging?

But Canadians are once again under-selling themselves. The TSE is accepting a 45% stake - sorry .... The TSE is so much more stable than the LSE - why are we taking a minority stake? I'm guessing there may be some political fallout from this deal but the number one question for me is why we are taking a minority stake.

Muslim, Christian, we're all Egyptian

I have been watching the unrest in Egypt and need to collect my thoughts. But one blogger I respect blogged about this one tweet, which I love:

"Muslim Brotherhood chanting Allah Akbar. Crowd stopped them chanting louder: Muslim, Christian, we're all Egyptian."

Maybe a true people's revolt against an outdated regime and certain globalist agendas?

Little Bears on the Bailouts

The little bears on the bailouts - all you need to know in 6 and a half minutes!

Another little bears video on the economy

Love these bears!

The Tooth Fairy and Economic Realities

I visit a few different economic forums on a regular basis. One of my favourites is zerohedge.com - I love that it provides articles on the micro including technical analysis and articles that focus on the macro which range from the psychology of trading to geo-political issues. I like that they have an active membership and that membership consists of divergent economic and political views. I have a learnt a lot there. Of course because it is an open forum, there are some viewpoints and comments I disagree with or find offensive. But, what the hey, I can always ignore those comments or respond to them.

But there are a few posters I just don't understand. Those are the posters that assume that this is just a temporary financial crisis and things will return to normal. Hmmm ... I don't think so. Just today Ireland is applying for an IMF/Euro bailout which will reward the insolvent banks for their bad behaviour (by propping them up) and penalize the middle and working classes by increasing their tax burden and cutting social services. Portugal and Spain are next. After that - the USA?

In any case - the Tooth Fairy. Recently, I had the opportunity to look after my 7-year-old neice and 4-year-old nephew for a week while their parents were out of town. I actually think I did a pretty good job - no cuts or bruises, kept them fed and somewhat clean and no major meltdowns with one exception.

The major meltdown came when the 7-year-old lost a tooth. Just listening to her and reading between the lines, I saw that she was questioning whether the Tooth Fairy was "real" or not. But she still wanted to believe. And somehow in her mind, she recognized that because her parents were away, the Tooth Fairy might not come - she likes science and thinks logically ;)

In the end the Tooth Fairy (moi) did come and delivered a little more than usual. My neice still is questioning but I think she has decided to extend and pretend for a little while (at least until she redeems all her baby teeth for cash).

I do see some parallels with some economic commentators and my niece. Children do not like change even though they are continually growing and changing - I think it is human nature. Some adults would like to see the economy go back to pre-crisis conditions  - or insist that it already has ... but ... I think we will need to grow and change whether we want to or not. When I look at all the data, logic tells me that we are in a sea change and may be in for stormy times ahead and to not look at, or plan for, those changes would be irresponsible.