The Hotel

Is another resort…

http://www.solmeliacuba.com/cuba-hotel/melia-lasdunas/

Going back to Cuba

Going here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cayo_Santa_Maria

On Sunday for about 3 weeks. More later…

Lawyer Jokes

A lawyer was driving his big BMW down the highway, singing to himself, "I love my BMW, I love my BMW." Focusing on his car, not his driving, he smashed into a tree. He miraculously survived, but his car was totalled. "My BMW! My BMW!" he sobbed.
A good Samaritan drove by and cried out, "Sir, sir, you're bleeding! And my god, your left arm is gone!"
The lawyer, horrified, screamed "My Rolex! My Rolex!"

 

 A client who felt his legal bill was too high asked his lawyer to itemize costs. The statement included this item:
"Was walking down the street and saw you on the other side. Walked to the corner to cross at the light, crossed the street and walked quickly to catch up with you. Got close and saw it wasn't you. --- $50.00."

 

A dog ran into a butcher shop and grabbed a roast off the counter. Fortunately, the butcher recognized the dog as belonging to a neighbour of his. The neighbour happened to be a lawyer.
Incensed at the theft, the butcher called up his neighbour and said, "Hey, if your dog stole a roast from my butcher shop, would you be liable for the cost of the meat?" The lawyer replied, "Of course, how much was the roast?" "$7.98."
A few days later the butcher received a check in the mail for $7.98. Attached to it was an invoice that read: Legal Consultation Service: $150.

 

At the United Way in a fairly small town a volunteer worker noticed that the most successful lawyer in the whole town hadn't made a contribution. This guy was making about $600,000 a year so the volunteer thought, "Why not call him up?"
He calls up the lawyer.
"Sir, according to our research you haven't made a contribution to the United Way, would you like to do so?"
The lawyer responds, "A contribution? Does your research show that I have an invalid mother who requires expensive surgery once a year just to stay alive?"
The worker is feeling a bit embarrassed and says, "Well, no sir, I'm..."
"Does your research show that my sister's husband was killed in a car accident? She has three kids and no means of support!"
The worker is feeling quite embarrassed at this point. "I'm terribly sorry..."
"Does your research show that my brother broke his neck on the job and now requires a full time nurse to have any kind of normal life?"
The worker is completely humiliated at this point. "I am sorry sir, please forgive me..."
"The gall of you people! I don't give them anything, so why should I give it to you!"

 

NASA was interviewing professionals to be sent to Mars. Only one could go -- and couldn’t return to Earth.
The first applicant, an engineer, was asked how much he wanted to be paid for going. “A million dollars,” he answered, “because I want to donate it to M.I.T.”
The next applicant, a doctor, was asked the same question. He asked for $2 million. “I want to give a million to my family,” he explained, “and leave the other million for the advancement of medical research.”
The last applicant was a lawyer. When asked how much money he wanted, he whispered in the interviewer’s ear, “Three million dollars.”
“Why so much more than the others?” asked the interviewer.
The lawyer replied, “If you give me $3 million, I’ll give you $1 million, I’ll keep $1 million, and we’ll send the engineer to Mars.”

 

  A group of dinner guests were blaming all of America’s troubles on lawyers when a woman said, “They aren’t all so bad. Why, last year a lawyer gave me $1000.”
“I don’t believe it,” the host responded.
“It’s true, I swear it,” said the woman. “I had a complicated personal injury case and what with the lawyer’s fee, the cost of expert witnesses, the expense of the appeal and so on, my bill was $41,000. When the judgment only amounted to $40,000, my lawyer simply forgave the difference.”

 

An old man was on his death bed. He wanted badly to take some of his money with him. He called his priest, his doctor and his lawyer to his bedside. "Here's $30,000 cash to be held by each of you. I trust you to put this in my coffin when I die so I can take all my money with me."
At the funeral, each man put an envelope in the coffin. Riding away in a limousine, the priest suddenly broke into tears and confessed, "I had only put $20,000 into the envelope because I needed $10,000 for a new baptistery."
"Well, since we're confiding in each other," said the doctor, "I only put $10,000 in the envelope because we needed a new machine at the hospital which cost $20,000."
The lawyer was aghast. "I'm ashamed of both of you," he exclaimed. "I want it known that when I put my envelope in that coffin, it held my personal check for the full $30,000."

Personality Test

So I took a personality test…

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

Your Type is
INTJ

Introverted Intuitive Thinking Judging
Strength of the preferences %
56 38 50 78

All Rationals are good at planning operations, but Masterminds are head and shoulders above all the rest in contingency planning. Complex operations involve many steps or stages, one following another in a necessary progression, and Masterminds are naturally able to grasp how each one leads to the next, and to prepare alternatives for difficulties that are likely to arise any step of the way. Trying to anticipate every contingency, Masterminds never set off on their current project without a Plan A firmly in mind, but they are always prepared to switch to Plan B or C or D if need be.

Masterminds are rare, comprising no more than, say, one percent of the population, and they are rarely encountered outside their office, factory, school, or laboratory. Although they are highly capable leaders, Masterminds are not at all eager to take command, preferring to stay in the background until others demonstrate their inability to lead. Once they take charge, however, they are thoroughgoing pragmatists. Masterminds are certain that efficiency is indispensable in a well-run organization, and if they encounter inefficiency-any waste of human and material resources-they are quick to realign operations and reassign personnel. Masterminds do not feel bound by established rules and procedures, and traditional authority does not impress them, nor do slogans or catchwords. Only ideas that make sense to them are adopted; those that don't, aren't, no matter who thought of them. Remember, their aim is always maximum efficiency.

In their careers, Masterminds usually rise to positions of responsibility, for they work long and hard and are dedicated in their pursuit of goals, sparing neither their own time and effort nor that of their colleagues and employees. Problem-solving is highly stimulating to Masterminds, who love responding to tangled systems that require careful sorting out. Ordinarily, they verbalize the positive and avoid comments of a negative nature; they are more interested in moving an organization forward than dwelling on mistakes of the past.

Masterminds tend to be much more definite and self-confident than other Rationals, having usually developed a very strong will. Decisions come easily to them; in fact, they can hardly rest until they have things settled and decided. But before they decide anything, they must do the research. Masterminds are highly theoretical, but they insist on looking at all available data before they embrace an idea, and they are suspicious of any statement that is based on shoddy research, or that is not checked against reality.

Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke, Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Ulysses S. Grant, Frideriche Nietsche, Niels Bohr, Peter the Great, Stephen Hawking, John Maynard Keynes, Lise Meitner", Ayn Rand and Sir Isaac Newton are examples of Rational Masterminds.

United States Elections

…Are coming up soon, so here’s a bit of math:

The US House of Representatives is analogous to our own House of Commons. The number of representatives from each state is proportional to that state’s population as a fraction of the total in the country. There are 435 total seats.

The Senate, on the other hand, has two representatives from each state, regardless of population.

This brings us to the presidential election. In the United States, each state is allocated a number of Electoral College electors equal to the number of its Senators and Representatives. This means that for small states, the amount of representation can be significantly skewed by the fact that the state has two senators regardless of its population.

For example, California, the most populous state, has 53 seats, while Utah has only 3 seats. Each state has 2 senators. California has a population of 36,553,215 as of the last census. Utah has a population of 2,645,330. This means that the ratio of Californian electoral college votes to those from Utah is 55:5 = 11. The ratio of the states’ populations is 36,553,215:2,645,330 = 13.82. Thus, each vote in California is worth 11/13.82 = 0.796 votes from Utah. In other words, the numbers are skewed in favor of the voters in certain states, in this case Utah.

To make matters worse, the Electoral College works on a winner-takes-all basis, where each state essentially supports a particular presidential candidate with all of its electors. This means that regardless of how individual Californians vote, one particular person will have the support of all 55 electors.

The strange result is that candidates can fail to get the most votes in a nationwide poplar vote in a presidential election and still win the election. This has happened three times.

On Marketing

“I once heard a talk given by the vice president of merchandising from a national chain of young women’s clothing stores in which she deconstructed a particular display of T-shirts. “We buy them in Sri Lanka for $3 each,” she began.

“Then we bring them over here and sew in washing instructions, which are in French and English. Notice we don’t say the shirts are made in France. But you can infer that if you like. Then we merchandise the hell out of them — we fold them just right on a tasteful tabletop display, and on the wall behind it we hang a huge, gorgeous photograph of a beautiful woman in an exotic locale wearing the shirt. We shoot it so it looks like a million bucks. Then we call it an Expedition T-shirt, and we sell it for $37. And we sell a lot of them, too.”

It was the most depressing valuable lesson I’ve ever had.”

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/

House for Sale

There is a house for sale down the street from us, and we happen to know exactly when they bought it and what they paid. They bought about a month before we did.

January 2007 - bought for $282k + $1.5k lawyer fees + $1.5k land transfer tax = $285k.

October 2008 - asking $308k. Now add $15k (5%) for realtor fees and $1.5k for the lawyer (again) and you get a max selling price of $291.5k. Let's assume a full 2 years to make the math a bit easier.

If (and that's a BIG if, likely a no) they get their full asking price, then the finances are as follows:

291.5/285 = 1.02281 = about 2.3%. In two years. So 1.1% increase a year.

Now let's say they had a mortgage for 80% of the principle at 5%. In the first year, they would have paid a bit over $11k in interest alone. The second year almost the same. They also would have paid about $2.5k in property taxes each year.

So by living in this house for 2 years and assuming they get the full price they are asking, they will have paid out about $27k in interest and taxes and gained about $6.5k in appreciation. Total loss:

$20.5k

Ouch ouch ouch. Sucks to buy and sell that quickly. And this number will only grow [worse] because the market is terrible right now and they will NOT get their full asking price.

Although, to be fair, that's likely still less than they would have lost by paying rent. Rent for a house of similar size would be in the $1600 per month range, or about $38400 for this 2 year period. Lots more freedom though.

TFSA Accounts and ING

Interesting post from Million Dollar Journey on ING offering  a way to get a TFSA account early:

I tend to agree that the TFSA accounts are more beneficial for growth stocks, but for those who just want to sock away some cash in a safe place, this may be a good option.

2008 Canadian Federal Election Results

Is it looking a little blue in here?

Overall results:



2008 Riding Map:


2006 Riding Map:


Interesting to see what a difference the MMP system could make here. For example, in this election the Liberals lost 4% of the popular vote. Approximately 1% each went to the Conservatives, NDP, and Greens. The Bloc also lost about 1%, and that went to the Greens too.

However, in terms of seats, the Liberals lost 27 seats (26% reduction from 2006). 19 of those seats went to the Conservatives, with the rest going to the NDP. Despite a 2% gain in popular support, the Greens did not get a seat (in fact, lost the single seat they had).

This means that even though the Bloc got about 10% of the vote, and the Greens got about 7%, the Bloc have 50 seats and the Greens have 0. It is truly shameful how few people had any idea what they were voting for in the MMP referendum.

Had MMP been in effect, here is what the seat breakdown would have looked like (vs 2008 election results):

CON - 116 (vs 143)
LIB - 81 (vs 76)
BQ - 31 (vs 50)
NDP - 56 (vs 37)
IND - 2 (same)
GRN - 21 (vs 0)
OTH - 1 (vs 0)

Note that MMP rules involve some minimum thresholds. I believe a party must have at least 3% of the vote in order to any seats. This means both the IND and OTH seats might have gone to other parties.

Based on personal observations as the election unfolded and from past history, in GENERAL:

- Liberals do well in most large cities
- Liberals do well in areas with a high population of immigrants
- Conservatives do well in small towns and rural areas
- Conservatives do well in areas with a high population of rich people who have more to lose
- Conservatives do well in areas with a high population of Caucasian Canadians who have lived in Canada for multiple generations
- The Bloc does well in rural Quebec
- The NDP does well in poorer areas and fares badly in richer areas
- Greens get most support in areas with highly-educated populations

Maps created by CBC.

History of Glen Abbey

The land on which Glen Abbey Golf Club stands was originally acquired as a private estate in the 1930s by Andre Dorfman, a wealthy mining engineer. On his 350 acres, lying just west of the Town of Oakville, Dorfman built the handsome stone mansion that became known as Golf House. This building is currently attached to the headquarters of the Royal Canadian Golf Association, and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. Golf House stands on the upper part of the present
course, looking down into the deep, wooded ravine cut over the centuries by Sixteen Mile Creek making its way toward Lake Ontario.

In 1953 Dorfman sold his property and home to the Jesuit Fathers, who used it as a retreat for the men of the Toronto and Hamilton Dioceses until the early 1960s, when the Order sold the estate to business interests, leaving, as a memorial of their tenure, the word 'Abbey' permanently associated with the site. A golf course was constructed on the eastern section of the property and, along with tennis courts, a pool and a ski run, operated under the name Upper Canada Country Club, and Clearstream developments, until the early 1970s. In 1974 Great Northern Capital bought the land as part of a parcel they were putting together for residential
development.

The principal – Rod McIsaac – approached the RCGA about redesigning the golf course to be suitable as the home for the Canadian Open. Together they hired Jack Nicklaus to design a spectator-friendly, championship quality golf course to become the permanent host of the Canadian Open. Glen Abbey Golf Club opened on June 1 1976, and hosted its first open in June of 1977.

Glen Abbey was sold to the RCGA in 1981 and in 1999 it was purchased by ClubLink Corporation. Since that time, ClubLink has continued to operate the Abbey as a daily fee course with a limited membership.

How Rich are YOU?

http://www.globalrichlist.com/

Newmindspace

This weekend I took part in an event organized by Newmindspace – capture the flag at night in the financial district.

What an ABSOLUTE blast!

http://www.newmindspace.com/

Lori and Kevin,

I'm writing to thank you for being different than the norm, and actually doing something creative and fun to make the world better! This weekend I went to Capture the Flag Toronto 2008 (my first and hopefully not last Newmindspace event) and had an absolute blast. Too many people are apathetic about life in general. Thank you for not being like that.

Take care!

The Digestive Table

http://accad.osu.edu/~ayoungs/digestive.html

Hello Amy,

I’m sure you’ve received a lot of email from people impressed with your digestive table idea, but I’d like to add my own congratulations to that list. Unlike many ‘eco-chic’ products, I think you’ve actually created something that is both beautiful and useful, while hopefully raising awareness of vermicomposting and our place in the food growth/waste cycle. The homemade wood stain is a creative touch, and the LCD screen definitely calls to my inner geek!

Once again, congratulations!

More St. Kitts Fire Details

Article 1

Article 2

Article 3

Article 4

Article 5

Full Text

No definite word on cause of Needsmust fire

Authorities shine light on power outages
By VonDez Phipps
Reporter-SKNVibes.com

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - IN response to the mysterious fire at the Needsmust Power Station and the resulting widespread blackouts experienced throughout the island, a press conference was held yesterday (Oct. 2) at the Power Station to address the situation.
Manager at the Power Station, John Channer, explained that at approximately 03:45 a.m. on October 2, the Needsmust Power Station lost its two largest engines (Mirrlees8MB430 and Mirrlees12MB430) due to fire on the control panels of both engines.
He informed that the St. Kitts and Nevis Fire and Rescue Services was contacted and arrived on-site at 03:49 and were able to bring the situation under control at about 05:30. He also noted that two staff members were treated at the JNF General Hospital for smoke inhalation and minor injuries and were later discharged.
The normal supply of energy during peak periods is approximately 24 megawatts and some 15 megawatts during off-peak periods. However, the reported operating capacity at the station was reduced to an estimated 15.9 megawatts, leaving a deficit of 8.1 megawatts and thereby resulting in forced outages in certain areas of the island.
Channer pointed out that although preliminary observation revealed there was significant damage to the largest engine (Mirrlees12md430) at about 5:30 a.m., operators and engineers proceeded to carry out partial restoration to the system by putting online the available engines in the B Station.
He added that the feeders which were energised at 7:30 a.m. included those that serve Cayon, Bayfords, Canada and SSMC zones, and between 8:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., the Sandy Point, Port Zante, Basseterre South and sections of Basseterre North feeders were also energised.
Channer gave a detailed description in relation to the station's five counteractive measures that must be applied in order to restore its full functionality.
"[Firstly] There is to be final commissioning work of caterpillar number one, which, if our assessment is right, should be completed by Monday, October 6. And this engine being back on the system will depend on our acceptance after the commissioning is done.
 
[Secondly], based on our preliminary investigations, an attempt is being made currently to provide a temporary control mechanism to facilitate the return of the Miirlees8MB430 engine [the smaller of the two damaged generators]. [Thirdly], also based on preliminary investigation, the Miirlees12MB430 is expected to be out of commission for some time, but we cannot yet say how long.
"[Fourthly], due to the circumstances regarding the Miirlees12MB430, the government is now exploring the possibility of getting standby generators, in terms of renting. And, finally, we have no option, of course, but to engage in load shedding...and as such, schedules will be released to the press on a periodic basis to advise customers as to the areas that would be out of power."
Channer said buying a new engine would be discussed for later implementation, and he also stated further options that may be undertaken.
"We have some options during the day; we can take off significant loads off the system, like the ECCB and the other big users of electricity and allow them to use their generators in order to facilitate the process. We are optimistic that maybe about mid-October, we might be able to get back the Miirlees8MB430, and we are working on that...so that we can alleviate the power outages and the load shedding system," Channer explained.
Minister of Public Works, Utilities, Transport and Posts Hon. Dr. Asim Martin also reviewed the known facts of the fire and expressed hope in trying to return the electricity situation to a state of normalcy. 

He commended the staff at the power station for actually being able to restore some areas in "quick time"; the Fire and Rescue Services for their quick response in controlling the fire; and the Royal St. Christopher Police Force and St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force for securing and protecting the area.
Dr. Martin noted though that the commissioning of one of the generators that was offline for maintenance, scheduled for Monday, would provide an additional 4.4 megawatts, bringing total capacity up to 20.3 megawatts.    

However, there were still many questions unanswered in relation to the cause of the fire. Channer said he had no knowledge of how it started and maintained that "the operators just reported that they saw fire from the control room". He emphasised that "the investigations, I would presume, would give us some idea of how this all started, but, at this time, we are unable to say what caused the fire".
Dr. Martin, in his response, stated that "we were able to contact our representatives for the generators and they will be coming in to make a thorough investigation; thorough analysis on what probably might have been the cause of the fire, but there is no certainty at this point about the cause of the fire. What we are doing is to ensure that we are in a position at this moment to give our customers who are being affected a reliable supply of electricity under the circumstances that we are at this moment".

The load shedding schedule published yesterday gave distinct time periods in which specific areas of the island would be affected. However, it was noted that the schedule is not being adhered to, and so customers are asked to use surge protectors to safeguard their appliances.

Things are looking a little dark...

…in St. Kitts:

http://sknvibes.com/News/NewsDetails.cfm/6766

The Clean Song

There was a young sailor
Who looked through the glass,
And spied a fair mermaid
With scales on her island

Where seagulls
Fly over their nests
She combed the long hair
That hung over her shoulders

And caused her
To tickle and itch.
The sailor cried out
"There's a beautiful mermaid,"

A-sitting out
There on the rocks,
The crew came around
A-grabbing their glasses

And crowded four deep
To the rail,
All eager to share
In this fine piece of news.

Which the captain soon
Heard from the watch.
He tied down the wheel
And he reached for his crackers

And cheese which
He kept near the door.
In case he might someday
Encounter a mermaid.

He knew he must
Use all his wits
Crying "Throw out a line.
We'll lasso her flippers."

And then we will
Certainly find
If mermaids are better
Before or be brave

My good fellows."
The captain then said.
"With fortune we'll break
Through her mermaiden head-

-ing to starboard
They tacked with dispatch.
And caught that fair mermaid
Just under her elbows

And hustled her
Down below decks,
And each took a turn
At her feminine setting

Her free at the end
Of the farce,
She splashed in the waves,
Falling flat on her after

A while one man
Noticed some scabs,
Soon they broke out with the pox
And the scratching

With fury,
Cursing with spleen,
This song may be dull
But it's certainly clean.

The Bricklayer's Accident

Dear Sir,

I am writing in response to your request for additional information in Block 3 of the accident report form. I put "poor planning" as the cause of my accident. You asked for a fuller explanation and I trust the following details will be sufficient.

I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six story building. When I completed my work, I found that I had some bricks left over which, when weighed later were found to be slightly in excess of 500 lbs. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley, which was attached to the side of the building on the sixth floor. Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it tightly to ensure a slow descent of the bricks.

You will note in Block 11 of the accident report form that I weigh 135 lbs. Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel which was now proceeding downward at an equal, impressive speed. This explained the fractured skull, minor abrasions and the broken collar bone, as listed in section 3 of the accident report form. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley.

Fortunately by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of beginning to experience a great deal of pain.

At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Now devoid of the weight of the bricks, that barrel weighed approximately 50 lbs. I refer you again to my weight. As you can imagine, I began a rapid descent, down the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, broken tooth and several lacerations of my legs and lower body.

Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter with the barrel seemed to slow me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked.

I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the pile of bricks, in pain, unable to move, I again lost my composure and presence of mind and let go of the rope and I lay there watching the empty barrel begin its journey back down onto me. This explains the two broken legs.

I hope this answers your inquiry. 

Words

Proverbial - of or relating to or resembling or expressed in a proverb; "he kicked the proverbial bucket"; "the proverbial grasshopper.” Widely known and spoken of; "her proverbial lateness"; "the proverbial absentminded professor"; "your proverbial dizzy blonde."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proverbial

Prodigal - recklessly wasteful or extravagant. Prodigal of lavish with: you are prodigal of both your toil and your talent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Prodigal_Son

Ulterior Motive - a motive, object or aim beyond that which is avowed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motive_(law)

Pretentiousness - Claiming or demanding a position of distinction or merit, especially when unjustified. Making or marked by an extravagant outward show; ostentatious.