The Short Goodbye

It took me a while, in my work career, to learn this valuable lesson: When I was mad about something, do not make that phone call right away. Do not write that email right away. I am also sure that applies to sending out a blog on any subject to couple of hundred people. It's been a month ... so here goes:

With the exception of harm to a child or an animal, I have absolutely no right to comment on the life decisions made by anybody, least of all a work buddy that I had literally sat twenty feet away from, for over thirty years. I'm going to do it anyway. Beau would expect nothing less. He was my team leader from the first day I joined the bank in the summer of 1989. I'm pretty sure we exchanged a hello, a work conversation, a longer personal conversation or a laugh pretty mujch every single day day when we were in the office together. Easily thousands of times. Smoke breaks, staff parties, Christmas celebrations, we even attended a number of funerals together including his best friend from the bank, one of my best friends from the bank and both of his parents. He was a great guy, brilliant, funny, hard working. It's that last part I have had so much trouble with since I heard the news. Beau was probably a millionaire in his thirties? An only child, I think he always lived at home, never had a mortgage and seldom went out for lunch. He wasn't much for Armani suits or expensive vacations, he just socked it away. For four decades. His one passion was cars , he liked a game of pool, his coffee and smoked like a fiend. He had a very nice Honda Civic, a somewhat expensive (but not by today's standards) Mach One Mustang and a nice old Pontiac which I think was originally his Dad's. So only those closest to him know exactly where or when, but sometime in the last few years, he got the long face from the doctor. A terrible wasting disease. What would you do if you got that news and had, I don't know, five million in the bank? If I liked cars, I'd probably buy a couple of really nice ones? If I liked classic cars, I think I'd be at Barret-Jackson auction twice a year? If I like track days, I'd move down near Mosport so I could take one of my cars out of the track whenever I wanted. Wait, I'd move somewhere near Nürburgring in Germany. The best road track in the world available to the public for thirty Euros. My choices would be different. I have stood on the Great Wall Of China, but I haven't seen the pyramids. Or the Barringer Crater. Or Mount Everest. I would live near some water, book in hand, feet in the sand, nap in the afternoon, a monster kitchen. Your choices would be completely different. What I wouldn't do, is write automation code for the bank right up until the day before I lose my battle with a terrible disease? That's what my friend did? What made me so angry. Never got a penny of pension money. Never got a CPP or OAS cheque. Never took any significant time for himself. Never ran down any of the roads that present themselves to a curious person with a few bucks in the bank. I don't understand? Maybe I am not meant to? I will say this. Another buddy is at that age where the algorithm is starting to tag him with retirement content ... online. He keeps getting the same subject matter: "Can you retire less than two million?" He told me: "Sure, if you don't want a new Lambo every year." So that's my rant for the week. If Beau had a crystal ball twenty years ago and five million in the bank, would he have done anything differently? Apparently not. His call. The urge to keep doing what you are good at, what you have spent a third of your life doing, with people you enjoy being around, is so strong, some people just can't envision doing anything else. I would like to strongly suggest that if you are having trouble doing that ... try harder? Chances are, you are not curing childhood cancer. I had not really seen Beau for six years. COVID, then two years of working from home, then I then I retired before the return to work muppets got busy. I never got to say goodbye to my friend. I tell you that whoever you work for, will be OK without you! Trust me, they will. Apple did fine without Steve Jobs. You are not that important. This is not a dress rehearsal. YOLO. Goodbye Beau. Get SRV to play you one?

Pocket Hoses

A buddy (BL) found a great deal on one of those pocket hoses you see on TV. It was like 80% off, cost $17 and included a shutoff petcock and a sprayer. You can't really go wrong at that price. It is nice to handle compared to my industrial strength 50 footers and it doesn't tangle or kink. It's also light which has become an issue as I age. Having said all that, there are some major shortcomings. The hose expands and contracts both lengthwise and in diameter as it pressurizes. They hawk that as an advantage? Not so much. Lets say you want to fill a bucket that's 30 feet away from your hose bib. Ya, your 50 foot expandable hose won't reach. I use sprinklers a lot. You set the sprinkler so it doesn't spray the neighbours cherished black pickup truck. The hose expands while you walk away and when you come back, it's just dribbling out. You turn it up a bit, nothing happens while the hose gets used to more pressure. About the time you walk away, it catches up and that truck is wet again. If you want to get a lot of steps trying to get your sprinklers just right, then this is the hose for you. I am upgrading my rain barrel / rain tank infrastructure to 3/4" I.D. (internal diameter) industrial hose. Your paltry half inch hose doesn't stand a chance. Pictures next week.

Our Optimum Week

Shoppers Drug Mart must have had their signals crossed last week in that at the same time, I had two completely different (but similar) offers for an overall continuity spend. They had the Spend $60, get 20K back in points and the Spend $60 and get 20 times the points. I needed four or five things and it occurred to me I didn't know which one to use? Gemini knows?

How the Math Works

• Spend $60 for 20,000 Points: This gives you a flat bonus worth $20, which is a 33% return on a $60 spend.
• Spend $60 and Get 20x the Points: Base points at Shoppers Drug Mart are 15 points per dollar. A "20x the points" offer multiplies those base points, giving you 300 points per dollar (a 30% return).

So ...

• Under $66.67: Use the flat 20,000 points coupon. It gives you a higher percentage back ($20 value) on the smallest possible spend. Take your clicker.
• Over $66.67: Use the 20x points offer. Once your pre-tax total passes $66.67, 30% back equals more than 20,000 points! This offer has has no upper spending limit whereas with the former offer, twenty bucks is all you are going to get. Spend four grand on personal lubricants, you still only get twenty bucks. (It's the only thing I could think of)

I really went over budget last month. Nothing serious but some extra dog money, my new motorcycle trailer, a big Costco run, extra gas money and some odds and sods for my rain barrel system. This month will not be much better, as I had a plumber in yesterday and he is coming back next week. Smells like a grand? An old boss (KH) and I were talking about Beau and he read somewhere that the last cheque you write ... should bounce. I am doing my part. SWMBO is waiting for underwear to go on sale.

Those of you playing close attention will have noted that I accidently included a meatloaf recipe the week before last. You had to page down a few pages to find it. It's how I load content to the CMS in advance of publishing and didn't realize it was down there. No harm, no foul. I haven't tried it yet, but it's from Emeril (BAM) so it should be good. Next week. Bonus Redemption both at Zehr's and Shoppers this week! If you are not redeeming points, I would go easy. Swing by your local No Frills and get some fruits and veggies to hit that offer. Then Zehr's for the deli counter and one of the big offers. I gave you the T&T one. The rest we will save. Here is your list:

I Am Reading

Like a fiend. I will catch you up next week.

We Are Watching

Seal Team (Season Two) on Netflix - I sense a pattern developing. Drink some beer, phone rings, sit in a conference room hearing about bad guys, plane flight, kill a bunch of brown people who are terrible shots, fly home, drink beer. They killed off a major character and I read she left for a larger role in a different series. It was cancelled about twenty minutes after her fatal car accident on this series. Seal Team ran for six more seasons! Oops.

Blue Jays on SN - A subscriber asked me if the Jays were "done" about two weeks ago. I did the math and replied they needed to win something like 20 out of 30 and beat the teams they were trailing to get in. So probably not. Vladdy went 3 for 4 last night and they have now won 6 out of 7. We are back on the bandwagon. I think they are going to do it.

... and finally

Remember at the top, I wrote about waiting a bit before expressing your anger? WTF is Google thinking licking the boots of a monster who is about to be the lamest duck in U.S. presidential history? I am (of course) talking about Google changing their maps to show Lake America below Toronto!! I don't suppose they will go broke if I cancel my Google One storage contract? It's like $1.86 a month?

Mitch & Maddie

p.s. Milo turns one tomorrow