here's a quick tip if you find you sometimes need a birthday card for a kids activity or whatever and aren't real fussy about cards.
don't hassle yourself with having to make a trip to the dollar store each time. instead when you are at the dollar store stock up and by 3,5, however many generic good enough birthday cards. so just keep a supply at home and use them when needed. when they get low or run out refill your home supply with several.
this may be totally standard. for some reason it took me a long time to realize how much easier it is to stock up on dollar store birthday cards. a couple of months ago there were some awesome cards at the dollar store. one was really weird and offbeat and just brilliant. another birthday card had an embedded deathwish in the cover art! they've since been used, I wish I'd taken pics to post here
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Target Canada Royal Bank credit card has been hacked
Last December I did some shopping at Target. While I was there I noticed there was a 5% discount if you used their card. So I got a form and sent it in.
Around the time I sent there was the big US story about Target getting hacked. uh oh, but I wasn't too concerned I figured they would just suspend the application until the security issues were fixed. Also I hadn't heard of any problems in Canada.
So in early February the Royal Bank called to tell me to go to my local branch to pick up my card. I went down on Thursday February 6 and picked it up and went through a tedious process with the reception followed by a teller to register or whatever.
After finishing at the branch the next step was to call the 1-800 number to activate the card so it could be used. I hadn't gotten to it yet. Then on Friday February 7 I get a call from Royal Bank security asking me if I'd made some purchases on the Target MasterCard. There was something on Feb 2 at astrology.com and some other place I'd never heard of. Of course security was just confirming the charges were bogus as I hadn't even received the card from the branch until the 6th, and the card hadn't even been activated yet.
So nice start I haven't even received the card and there are already unauthorized transactions. How did these even go through if the card wasn't activated? How was the card number even obtained? who knows, it's a pretty disappointing experience. I expected better of the Royal Bank and Target for that matter than to be involved in some matter like this. I'd never done anything with the Royal Bank before and it seems unlikely I will in the future.
The Royal Bank security said to destroy the card and they would send me a new one. I called them back and said to just cancel the whole thing. I want nothing to do with it at this point. I have all the credit limit space I need and I only got this for the discount. If it's going to be a hassle and something I have to worry about then who would want that.
Around the time I sent there was the big US story about Target getting hacked. uh oh, but I wasn't too concerned I figured they would just suspend the application until the security issues were fixed. Also I hadn't heard of any problems in Canada.
So in early February the Royal Bank called to tell me to go to my local branch to pick up my card. I went down on Thursday February 6 and picked it up and went through a tedious process with the reception followed by a teller to register or whatever.
After finishing at the branch the next step was to call the 1-800 number to activate the card so it could be used. I hadn't gotten to it yet. Then on Friday February 7 I get a call from Royal Bank security asking me if I'd made some purchases on the Target MasterCard. There was something on Feb 2 at astrology.com and some other place I'd never heard of. Of course security was just confirming the charges were bogus as I hadn't even received the card from the branch until the 6th, and the card hadn't even been activated yet.
So nice start I haven't even received the card and there are already unauthorized transactions. How did these even go through if the card wasn't activated? How was the card number even obtained? who knows, it's a pretty disappointing experience. I expected better of the Royal Bank and Target for that matter than to be involved in some matter like this. I'd never done anything with the Royal Bank before and it seems unlikely I will in the future.
The Royal Bank security said to destroy the card and they would send me a new one. I called them back and said to just cancel the whole thing. I want nothing to do with it at this point. I have all the credit limit space I need and I only got this for the discount. If it's going to be a hassle and something I have to worry about then who would want that.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
R I P uncle Claude
Bad news my uncle died last week. He was a good man, good to the kids. He had never married and only had his nieces and nephews and their kids.
The funeral went over well. Good turnout. Snow's did a great job. I'd been there with some other people and back on Windsor Street and they were always top notch. I ended up doing a reading Ecclesiastes 3. I used to have a blue bookmark of that chapter when I was young. A fine passage.
At the graveside Snow's hired some muscle to help pallbearers. The commissionaires actually do it, who knew? As most of those at graveside were old. I did manage to volunteer to carry the heavy coffin. Might be the 2nd or 3rd time now. Something I find satisfying for some reason.
Well the funeral is done so that's the time sensitive part. Less time sensitive is to get the apartment cleaned out. My dad is next of kin and executor so there are a lot of details. It's a bummer because he's really too old himself to be taking this on. We've been trying to help as we can. The apartment is going ok. We cousins did a sweep to box up anything for charity or sentimental items anyone wanted such as an old cookie jar. Salvation Army truck is coming on Thursday followed by find a junk remover for the last of it. He lived modestly so it hasn't been too bad with clutter. The timing is fortunate around the apartment he died early in the month so it's not too rushed to clear out of there.
Well he'll be missed, his absence will be noticed. I last saw him at Christmas we picked him up for the family dinner. He was pretty well then and right to the end really, never in the hospital. May he rest in peace.
The funeral went over well. Good turnout. Snow's did a great job. I'd been there with some other people and back on Windsor Street and they were always top notch. I ended up doing a reading Ecclesiastes 3. I used to have a blue bookmark of that chapter when I was young. A fine passage.
At the graveside Snow's hired some muscle to help pallbearers. The commissionaires actually do it, who knew? As most of those at graveside were old. I did manage to volunteer to carry the heavy coffin. Might be the 2nd or 3rd time now. Something I find satisfying for some reason.
Well the funeral is done so that's the time sensitive part. Less time sensitive is to get the apartment cleaned out. My dad is next of kin and executor so there are a lot of details. It's a bummer because he's really too old himself to be taking this on. We've been trying to help as we can. The apartment is going ok. We cousins did a sweep to box up anything for charity or sentimental items anyone wanted such as an old cookie jar. Salvation Army truck is coming on Thursday followed by find a junk remover for the last of it. He lived modestly so it hasn't been too bad with clutter. The timing is fortunate around the apartment he died early in the month so it's not too rushed to clear out of there.
Well he'll be missed, his absence will be noticed. I last saw him at Christmas we picked him up for the family dinner. He was pretty well then and right to the end really, never in the hospital. May he rest in peace.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
working from home
I've been working from home for a few weeks now from early January. It was announced last October and is now running. My badge at the old office was cancelled for some unknown reason so there's no going back.
It's going pretty well so far. I certainly don't miss travelling to work and back each day. Many things are similar to before I still get a shower and get dressed each morning. Maybe a shade not as nice but I haven't yet converted to all day sweatpants.
On the ground floor in my building with electric vents it's always a challenge to keep it warm enough at reasonable cost. I have been using the Presto HeatDish I got at Costco which a friend recommended last year for the apartment. It's been a great find. Especially for computer work at home where you generally stay fixed in one position. I wish I'd got it last year. Generally I only have the dish on during the day and all other heaters off and it has worked well enough.
It's nice I don't have to make and bring a lunch any more, yay. Still I like to eat lunch. I used to get a peanut butter and jam sandwich pretty much every day as that was the fastest and easiest to make. I haven't had that once since work from home. At home with the toaster I can do a bit better. I still want to be quick and avoid generating excessive dishes. I had a grilled cheese the first day at home and it was ok. Since then pretty much just toasting the bread and putting peanut butter on one and jam on the other. Maybe I'll check the grocery store many years ago I used to make sandwiches with meats and with toasting and mayo this has potential. I picked up a new toaster long overdue as my old one wasn't doing a good job for a long time.
With the work from home work ordered this desk from Steelcase. It was bigger than I expected, they had to take the door off the room to get it in. I wish I'd ordered the next smaller model. Along with the stuff from my cleared out cubicle I'm still trying to figure out how to absorb it into the space. It does get me finally moving on a long overdue kijiji project to clear out old unused stuff and hopefully that will help with the crowding.
Historically going back to 2007 there has always been a real focus and importance around where I live for where I work. So a fast, convenient and cost effective commute has been the key driver when choosing where to live. Now today with work from home where I live and where I work are now the same. Which means I could live anywhere. So I could move to Cape Breton, Springhill, Moncton, Montreal or Saskatoon and it wouldn't make any difference to my employer. Moving isn't on the radar screen at this time but it does create some possibilities.
It's going pretty well so far. I certainly don't miss travelling to work and back each day. Many things are similar to before I still get a shower and get dressed each morning. Maybe a shade not as nice but I haven't yet converted to all day sweatpants.
On the ground floor in my building with electric vents it's always a challenge to keep it warm enough at reasonable cost. I have been using the Presto HeatDish I got at Costco which a friend recommended last year for the apartment. It's been a great find. Especially for computer work at home where you generally stay fixed in one position. I wish I'd got it last year. Generally I only have the dish on during the day and all other heaters off and it has worked well enough.
It's nice I don't have to make and bring a lunch any more, yay. Still I like to eat lunch. I used to get a peanut butter and jam sandwich pretty much every day as that was the fastest and easiest to make. I haven't had that once since work from home. At home with the toaster I can do a bit better. I still want to be quick and avoid generating excessive dishes. I had a grilled cheese the first day at home and it was ok. Since then pretty much just toasting the bread and putting peanut butter on one and jam on the other. Maybe I'll check the grocery store many years ago I used to make sandwiches with meats and with toasting and mayo this has potential. I picked up a new toaster long overdue as my old one wasn't doing a good job for a long time.
With the work from home work ordered this desk from Steelcase. It was bigger than I expected, they had to take the door off the room to get it in. I wish I'd ordered the next smaller model. Along with the stuff from my cleared out cubicle I'm still trying to figure out how to absorb it into the space. It does get me finally moving on a long overdue kijiji project to clear out old unused stuff and hopefully that will help with the crowding.
Historically going back to 2007 there has always been a real focus and importance around where I live for where I work. So a fast, convenient and cost effective commute has been the key driver when choosing where to live. Now today with work from home where I live and where I work are now the same. Which means I could live anywhere. So I could move to Cape Breton, Springhill, Moncton, Montreal or Saskatoon and it wouldn't make any difference to my employer. Moving isn't on the radar screen at this time but it does create some possibilities.
Monday, January 27, 2014
nurses and doctors in Nova Scotia
A story went by about a looming nurses shortage in Nova Scotia. 45% of the nurses in Nova Scotia are over age 50. which is basically right in the baby boom nurses coming to the end of their careers. Can anything be done about it. that is, could the supply or demographics of the nurses be changed meaningfully in the next few years.
while nurses demographic reflects that of the population, this problem has been made much worse than it could have been due to a terrible policy decision around a generation ago. for a century the hospitals in Nova Scotia had a 2 year nurses residence program where a person would emerge after the 2 years as a fully qualified nurse. in the early 1990s these 2 year hospital nurse programs were force shut by the provincial governments of the day in favor of 4 year university nursing programs.
what a disaster that decision was. so the time to become a nurse was then artificially doubled from 2 years to 4 for no reason. raising the barriers and cost to becoming a nurse chokes off the supply of new nurses. perhaps that was the intent a generation ago? also with the hospital residence scheme a person could finish with minimal debt. so it was a bizarre and nonsensical decision to shut down the 2 year programs. the correct move then and now was to shutter the 4 year university nursing programs and insist that in Nova Scotia it takes only 2 years to become a nurse.
--
over with the doctors the Lacewood Medical Centre is closing. the owner said he has 20,000 patients and only three family doctors and was losing money. that was actually my clinic although luckily I was a rare visitor. will have to sign up somewhere else I guess. Dr. Power said he's lost Drs and was having trouble recruiting replacements.
let's take Dr. Power at his word that there's a general shortage of Drs in at least some situations. it's been documented about rural Drs certainly being a challenge to recruit.
so maybe the thing with drs is the same as with nurses. if the time to become a nurse was artificially doubled by fiat from 2 years to 4, then maybe the same has also been true with drs. maybe the 8-12 years we've been told to become a doctor is also artificially inflated for political and certain special interests. if we know it actually takes 2 years to become a nurse then how much more intense should it be to become a doctor? offhand twice as hard sounds about right. so even if it was twice as much then it should be doable in 4 years to become a doctor right out of high school. even 5 years is 2.5 times as long. I wonder in "the past" how long it took to become a doctor.
if the time to qualify "good enough" doctors could be reduced to say 4-5 years direct out of high school then that would fix a lot of problems. the dr only has to be good enough to help grind a 20k patient caseload. writing standard prescriptions, routine situations and treatments, and managing well understood chronic conditions. and it's not like the current doctors are all that special. every day there's stories about misconduct and malpractice and drs being named on suicide notes (after being suspended earlier for misconduct), so I doubt these optimized track educated doctors would be materially worse.
while nurses demographic reflects that of the population, this problem has been made much worse than it could have been due to a terrible policy decision around a generation ago. for a century the hospitals in Nova Scotia had a 2 year nurses residence program where a person would emerge after the 2 years as a fully qualified nurse. in the early 1990s these 2 year hospital nurse programs were force shut by the provincial governments of the day in favor of 4 year university nursing programs.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
The failure of the United States
Oh no another doom post on the United States. Everything there looked right. My fave was #13.
If the US eventually fails then my belief is the failure can be traced to two events around a century ago.
with the elected Senate then the house and the Senate are now aligned in their agenda. with the appointed Senate there was proper balance between the common sense of the common people, and the wisdom of the elites. when Senators were appointed by and answered to the governor then states rights were respected and there was a natural check on the spendthrift and expansionist house. with the elected Senate there becomes a natural alliance between the house and the senate with no counterbalance as they answer to the same constituents and pursue the same agenda which can be reckless and irresponsible
the income tax is the other key and related part of it. before federal income tax there was a natural financial boundary on what the federal government could do so it was limited to responsibilities enumerated in the constitution such as the common defence, and foreign embassies. the constitution was designed this way for a reason with prohibition on the taxation of individuals as a natural check and limit on the growth and expansionist tendencies of the federal government. alas after the income tax there was now vast revenue, and combined with an elected senate, the 10th amendment effectively went out the window decades ago. today the vast majority of the federal budget is spent on programs that have no constitutional basis to exist.
despite the enormous revenue generated by the income tax spendthrift congressmen and senators have of course grown spending and promises of spending even faster and now the result is catastrophic debt and unfunded liabilities
If the US eventually fails then my belief is the failure can be traced to two events around a century ago.
- the elected Senate
- introduction of the income tax
with the elected Senate then the house and the Senate are now aligned in their agenda. with the appointed Senate there was proper balance between the common sense of the common people, and the wisdom of the elites. when Senators were appointed by and answered to the governor then states rights were respected and there was a natural check on the spendthrift and expansionist house. with the elected Senate there becomes a natural alliance between the house and the senate with no counterbalance as they answer to the same constituents and pursue the same agenda which can be reckless and irresponsible
the income tax is the other key and related part of it. before federal income tax there was a natural financial boundary on what the federal government could do so it was limited to responsibilities enumerated in the constitution such as the common defence, and foreign embassies. the constitution was designed this way for a reason with prohibition on the taxation of individuals as a natural check and limit on the growth and expansionist tendencies of the federal government. alas after the income tax there was now vast revenue, and combined with an elected senate, the 10th amendment effectively went out the window decades ago. today the vast majority of the federal budget is spent on programs that have no constitutional basis to exist.
despite the enormous revenue generated by the income tax spendthrift congressmen and senators have of course grown spending and promises of spending even faster and now the result is catastrophic debt and unfunded liabilities
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