Posted on March 10, 2010, 7:27 am, by GrandpaRichard, under
Observation.
There are, generally speaking, three layers of government here in Canada. Federal, Provincial, and Municipal. How many employees do they all have?
3,650,000
That number by itself does not say anything. How many Canadians are in the labour force?
16,900,000
That means that just a bit more than 1 in every 5 Canadians (21.6%) is a public servant.
Further … [...]
Posted on March 4, 2010, 9:25 pm, by GrandpaRichard, under
Observation.
I really enjoy watching videos like this (featuring the band OK Go), where they set up a very intricate “machine”. I am not sure how to describe it, so just watch. Lots of fun.
According to this page at Wikipedia, “The construction took over a month and a half during January and February 2010. The band [...]
Posted on January 7, 2010, 7:47 am, by GrandpaRichard, under
Observation.
What happens to the money collected from the new Toronto plastic bag fee?
Retailers in the city of Toronto have to collect 5 cents for every plastic bag their customers use. I thought it was a form of tax, used to help with environmental issues. I was very surprised to learn that the retailers get to [...]
Posted on December 30, 2009, 9:30 am, by GrandpaRichard, under
Observation.
What is the true cost of getting food from farmland to kitchen tables?
In major cities of North America, it seems so easy. I have 2 major grocery stores 2 blocks from my home. I can easily walk to one of them in almost any kind of weather and buy whatever my palate desires. Better yet, [...]
Posted on December 21, 2009, 7:00 am, by GrandpaRichard, under
Observation.
It is actually a bit cool for camping right now (I live in Canada, and there is snow on the ground as I type this) but I saw one of these in the store while I was Christmas shopping yesterday.
Yep. A battery operated marshmallow stick!
Even handles 3 marshmallows at once.
Just does not seem right to [...]
Posted on November 22, 2009, 11:42 am, by GrandpaRichard, under
Observation.
I was poking around at amazon.com today and came across the “Most Wished For List“. There are 33 categories, from automotive to electronics to watches and more.
One of the categories is Industrial.
Come again!
People have a most wished for list in the Industrial Category?
Okay. So what is on the list?
When I looked (Sunday at noon) [...]
Posted on October 20, 2009, 7:16 am, by GrandpaRichard, under
Observation.
As previously reported, Toronto area drivers tend to pay the highest rates in Ontario. It has now been reported that these insurance rates will be increasing by an average of 14%.
Why so high?
According to a Toronto Star interview of Leonard Sharman of Co-operators General Insurance Co., “The big cost driver in Ontario, and even more [...]
Posted on October 6, 2009, 7:38 am, by GrandpaRichard, under
Observation.
When I leased a $17,000 Honda Civic in 2003, my insurance bill came to just over $2,000 for the year. My home address at the time was near Yorkdale Mall in the north of Toronto. I told the insurer that I would not be driving to work, as I lived a 5 minute walk from [...]
Posted on September 16, 2009, 11:00 pm, by GrandpaRichard, under
Observation.
One of the popular dating sites asked the question …
Would you marry someone vastly younger/older?
The answer seems predictable and traditional.
Slightly more than 1/2 of the men said, “Sure”.
Slightly more than 1/3 of the women said, “Sure”.
(Grandpa Richard’s answer was … “probably not”)
Posted on September 11, 2009, 7:32 am, by GrandpaRichard, under
Observation.
I hate this trend, now a very definite fact of life, and this article in the Globe and Mail will really help to make it even more mainstream than it already was.
Cougar – a woman in her 40s or 50s who happily embraces the idea of having a romantic relationship with a younger man, who [...]