Saturday, May 13, 2017

And MP Maryam Monsef Continues to be a MP and a Canadian...and Will Continue to do so Thanks to You Know Who

Caught red handed in your own definitions of what a fraudulent Canadian is for deportation and citizenship revocation purposes....then change the rules.

Thank your lucky stars Maryam.

Also, someone please tell me what an Innovation Minister is or does (MP Navdeep Bains)

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/politics/federal-court-citizenship-act-1.4108346

Liberals Spending Habits: Beyond Any Keynesian Economics and Helicopter Ben

In reference to textbook economics and whimsical economic theories (US Fed Governor Ben Bernanke)

...And based on the per capita daily figures you can add another 40,000 Syrians and 700 Iranians according to my recent MPP's newsletter for constituents.

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/trudeau-government-close-to-breaking-all-time-record-for-per-capita-federal-spending-fraser-institute

Friday, May 12, 2017

Singapore Airlines: I'm a Big Fan

My first time flying with Singapore Airlines and I'm now their biggest fan. From the moment I walked on to the plane awash in its distinct shades of green and brown I knew the 14 hr 20 min flight would be less daunting than I expected.  As I shuffled through the high back, regal looking chic business class chairs toward row 40, I immediately wanted to fly more, anywhere, just to have enough points for any business class flight that Singapore Airlines goes.

The economy seats were a somewhat modern take with a decent size monitor and a handset below, rendering the foldable pull out table a little lower than most planes or North American short haul flights. Along with accessible power,  USB and ear phone abilities, the foldable table has the normal indent for a cup or glass as well as a mirror with a cover that slides over it. Genius. Upon boarding, we were handed a decent pair of fitting ear phones (without the annoying extra $3.00 charge).

The movies and entertainment options exceeded all expectations.  I think I read or saw (it was a long, long flight) to review the thousands of choices (movies, music, pod casts, games, TV shows) "ahead of time" on their app...before your even board the plane!  After scrolling through the hundreds of titles I landed on the entire Star Wars series.  Flying on the longest flight I have bee been on I could budget for the original trilogy (IV, V and VI) and began watching those.

Before take off, the efficient and friendly stewardesses were darting around assisting passenger dead once seated handing out hot towels.  Later, and even more efficiently, a solid dinner was served of corn bean medley, beef, mashed potatoes, banana loaf/cake and tea.

After everyone had their late dinner and the trays taken away, most, like me, settled into their movies...then sleep.  The cabin was kept extremely dark versus other over night flights.

A New Hope done. The Empire Strikes Back next...

Thursday, May 11, 2017

Plaza premium Lounge Hong Kong

Having arrived in Hong Kong for a couple of days on the around the world ticket, I am making use of my Plaza Premium Lounge pass (American Express Platinum holders). I have posted before on other lounges (as comparison to Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge).

In Hong Kong, it is tucked away and was a little difficult to find.  The Airport is basically a higher end shopping mall with a parking lot of planes. When I arrived, there was a line up to enter the lounge, the first I've encountered, and extremely busy.  I did not have a lot of time so whipped around to the bar, grabbed light pasties then found the main food bar. There were a few choices that I did not care for but there were eggs and sausage that my eyes focused on immediately. After wolfing a small plate back I went  on the hunt for a tea as it had been about four days and could not bring myself to pay Hong Kong prices (~HK$5 to 6).  Much to my disappointment the first few white mind I grabbed were barely clean, comets with a ring of coffee stain.

Despite that, the lounge had their usual more than copious amounts of cereal (do world travellers really each that much cereal?), cookies/pastries/snacks, and one entree type to please the masses.

Good value and a nice break for the travels.

Friday, May 5, 2017

BNN: Informative Canadian Business News Broadcaster but Chronic Errors Like These....

Being in Canada, there is not much competition or choice in the telecommunications sector, as such, we have BNN in English Canada...and no other English business news channel.

As much as I listen to BNN (several years now) for the business news updates, there are chronic little errors that make you wonder has the editor gone cold turkey on drinking their coffee (eg. incorrect trading charts, spelling mistakes, incorrect negative or positive returns, relevant points of non-business news items that are not given full context or incorrect context).

Here it would help to have a Toronto picture (not a Vancouver picture) when discussing Toronto news items....


Sunday, April 30, 2017

Ontario's Provincial Debt: When Will it Stop

Even in my younger finance career, I never would have thought we would see the numbers we do now - $327B in debt....just for Ontario!  For the entire country of Canada I never expected such a magnitude, nevermind one province of 13 provinces and territories!

Here's how it happened.  Note, around the time I graduated, the debt nearly doubled from....$35B to $62B.  Since the Dalton McGuinty days, Ontario's debt has increased nearly 2.5x from $139B to the current $327B as released April 27th.


Canadian and Oilers Class: Let's Hope It Goes Further to an All Canadian Stanley Cup Final

Sometimes when there is a technical glitch, your audience is the one to bail you out...

http://www.tsn.ca/must-see/video/the-keg-must-see-oilers-fans-help-sing-star-spangled-banner~1112550