When the first brochures came out about time-of-use (TOU) billing rates, I was under the impression that somehow the change was going to benefit me as a consumer. I read the headings of the brochures sent with my electricity bill: “simple changes can bring real benefits” and “putting you in control” and “Choose your time. Manage your costs.” To me, …
It was the best of wait times; It was the worst of wait times
Let me regale you with a tale, a not so age-old Dickens tale: a tale of two walk-in clinics. It was the best of wait times, it was the worst of wait times, “it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,” it was the epoch of near instant service, it was the epoch of waiting forever.
Thanksgiving is a holiday for connecting, not collecting
Thanksgiving still remains my favourite holiday. When else is nature strutting her stuff so vividly? When else do you get a day off to spend with family that isn’t focused on buying or spending or doing laundry? When else do you find most families not cooking processed food? And perhaps most importantly, when else do you get pumpkin pie?
Everyone loves a parade, except the media — they’d prefer a protest
Fall in! Attention! Present soap box! Ho! It was a stunning sight. On Sunday, more than 4,000 peace officers paraded onto Parliament Hill to honour their fallen colleagues. Motorcycle police blazed the trail with their red and blue lights flashing, and the pipe bands followed, leading companies marching in dress uniform, buttons polished, and ceremonial swords glinting in the sun. …
Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses — we aren’t entitled to any of it
The unfortunate sign of the times is ‘For sale by owner’. Driving through upper Michigan this past weekend I was awestruck at the number of “for sale” signs. In this case, I’m referring not to houses, but to the items for sale parked on the front lawns of houses. Boats, recreational vehicles, trailers, riding mowers, motorcycles, tractors, and more, were …
Know the rules before riding away on your bicycle
A 76-year-old man was recently charged with driving a bicycle on a sidewalk after he was struck by a motorist. Can we assume that he knew it was called a sidewalk and not a sideride? Is this a question of a lack of knowledge or breaking the law knowingly? Should the motorist also be considered in this equation? Following the …
When your relationship with food is no longer healthy, get help
I don’t often read the advice column, but recently a headline of the Ask Amy column caught my eye: Anorexic worries parents by refusing treatment. The column was about a young adult “not ready to make a recovery from this disorder,” choosing anorexia as “the lifestyle I want right now” and tired of her parents’ “nagging.” The denial of the …
Credibility suffers when people use the wrong homophone
If I were Queen Elizabeth II, I would make my legacy a campaign reinforcing the importance of written communication skills, as “her” English is being mutilated daily. I’m not referring to the lack of eloquence, nor am I delving into dwindling vocabularies wrought with management-speak. Grammar is my focus today; specifically, my homophonia (or fear of the incorrect use of …
It only takes a couple of minutes to save a lot of lives
Recently, I was surprised at how few Ontarians had signed up to be organ donors. I guess I always thought that everyone subscribed to the concept that if you’re dead and don’t need the organs anymore, why not donate them? Perhaps the process is overly complicated? I went to www.beadonor.ca and clicked on the “register now” button to find out. …
Is it a deal? Saving money on spending or impulse purchases
You can’t open the paper lately without being told “Thou shalt Steal The Deal.” Full-page, colour ads with masked models smile back at us as they have supposedly saved money on restaurants, salons, golf, and more. Steal The Deal follows on the heels of other group buy sites, such as Groupon, Living Social, and WagJag. The premise is brilliant, even …