if we turn off latent power sources

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Apparently, if we all pulled the plugs, rather than turn off the electronic devices, we would save phenomenal amounts of electric power.

Standby power is the culprit.

$11B could be saved in north america each year.

This article, from the National Post about a week ago, cites a few rather startling statistics:

1. Standby power uses approx 10% of electricity in north america

2. 4B power supplies are sold each year in north america

3. in 1999, residential phantom power consumed more electricity in California than all refrigeration.

4. California then decreed all new power sources must draw less than .5W in standby mode.

5. Most new devices in California only draw .1W in standby mode ... and the cost to change devices was absorbed by manufacturing without increasing prices!

6. All except California have not moved to enable similar laws...in ten years in north america.

7. if these changes were made in Ontario, the two new nuclear plants ($26B to taxpayers) may not be required.

8. World-wide, standby power consumes more than 480 TWh a year - equal to all the nuclear power plants in France, China and India (87).

Wouldn't it be something if we (world-wide) could reduce standby in all devices to .1W?

We could start by asking store what the standby power is and not buying anything with more than .1W.

Market Performance - June 30th

In the Star, for end of June. There have been a few that have done well this year and I wish I had a crystal ball (or insider information). Looking carefully at the attached, some of the best funds appear to be:

- MacKenzie Alternate Strategies

- Fidelity China Series B and A

- CI Global Science & Tech Corporate Class

- TD Science & Technology I and A

Except for Fidelity China A & B, their 3-yr records are very poor.

Here are a few I checked stats on since the first of 2009. They are looking quite attractive and I will research further before getting back in some of these finds ... in the next month.

Do you know of any others that are looking good for the remainder of 2009?

Tour de France 2009

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Tour de France in July. The most popular road bike racing of the year.

It began July 4th and finishes July 26th ... 3,500 KMs.

Stage 7 (Fri July 10th) has been completed and Lance Armstrong is now third but very close. His Astana team-mate Alberto Contador, is two seconds ahead of Lance. The difficulty will be to find a way to beat his team-mate ... doesn't often happen ... without alienating or discouraging their American team. It is an unusual situation, a team with two leaders. But Astana is a highly respected team with, arguably, the best riders of any team.

Lance may have to out-muscle his team-mate on a hill climb (Monday or Tuesday) or do it in the last time trial (stage 18, July 23rd) ... or wait for the last (and toughest) hill climb in last competitive stage, July 25th.

It may be a very exciting finish!

It is available on OLN (Bell's 211) but you can watch it live (early in the AM) on various Internet live video feeds. Here is the one I have been using.

Harper is at it again

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As reported in the Star today, it is very important to have government auditors, to ensure mistruths and exaggerations (we would call them 'lies' ... but MPs are not allowed to use the word) are corrected.

The problem is Kevin Page (parliamentary budget officer) will probably not have the job much longer.

Here is another example of miscommunication by the Conservatives.

For 2009, the Conservatives indicated 7.5% unemployment (approx 160,000 jobs lost). Page says 8.7% (approx 530,000 jobs lost).

For 2010, the Conservatives indicated 7.7% unemployment (converts to about 200,000 jobs lost) and Page says 8.7% and could go as high as 9.4% (8.7% is approx 700,000 jobs lost). This is a significant difference in lost jobs!

As you can see in the attached, there is significant difference between Page's budget projections and those of Flaherty.

A short while ago, the Conservatives (the name is a misnomer) predicted a $33B deficit for 2009-10. which would improve to a $700M surplus by 2013-14.

Page is indicating a $49B deficit for 2009-10 and a $17B DEFICIT by 2013-14 !

The Conservatives site indicates Harper is a leader of competence and vision! If he is, he should consider using Page's figures from now on ... or change the name of their party and drop the competence and vision reference from their site.

The near future doesn't appear to be a good time for market investments.

Bell TV - better than Rogers

09.7.5: Two years ago, I moved everything from Bell to Rogers (poor Bell service and better Rogers pricing).

We just moved our TV from Rogers back to Bell, as the Rogers promo (free PVR for 24 months finished) and Bell had the same and better pricing. I now have one PVR and two std receivers vs one PVR and one std receiver. However, I must remain a customer for two years.

The only problem is getting used to remote control changes and finding channel preferences. Once you build your favourites, it is much easier.

After long chat sessions and searching of the bell.ca website, I located:
. the alphabetic list of channels that includes the associated channel number
. the numeric listing
. the channel what's on when site

You can search and check more easily than on the remote control. You can also check just your channels.
BTW, Rogers doesn't have a search function on their remote control.

I am very pleased with the HD quality (better than what I saw on Rogers) and the Personal Video Recorder (PVR) works almost as easily as Rogers.

Like Rogers, you can set up your account on the Bell website and easily make programming changes. I did find it quite easy and quick to call Bell for programming changes.

Pls share your comments on Rogers vs Bell.

Not a nice place to be

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Dead last in the G8 group. How ignominious!

The real problem is we are now worse than the USA ... and I thought only India and China would EVER be worse than the USA.

We should be leader in CO2 reductions. Once again, Canada is a

follower. "Canada's emissions are continuing to sky-rocket, now 26% above 1990 levels.".

I can hardly wait for the next election!

Either the Liberals or the lowly NDP will jump on this and use it as a platform.

Some people may be a little confused and associate green with Dion but I hope that has passed. A few days ago, I noticed in the Star how the Liberals are gaining a lot of new members (and funding) after Dion left. Amazing how a party can decide on a leader (who is very logical and has excellent ideas) that doesn't fit ... and then decide on a leader with NO experience ... and attract new members!

Some of you may remember this: "if there is hope it lies in the proles".

China and India - a comparison and impacts

Our children should be getting a little nervous.

These two countries will only increase their influence on world economics in the future.

An additional fact is Chindia's dependency on coal. If coal ran out, the world would not be able to support Chindia's need for oil (increased by 7% from 2000 to 2008). Due to this dependency, Chindia will significantly increase CO2 emissions by 2025.

Here are ten 2007 details from several sources, including the U.S. Census Department, the CIA Factbook, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the Economist Intelligence Unit and others:

1. China produces 3 times the electricity of India; more than 4 times the oil; and more than 1.5 times the natural gas.

2. On the consumption side, China consumes more than twice the oil of India and almost 1.5 times the natural gas.

3. China’s share of global oil consumption was 9% versus 3% by India.

4. The Chinese GDP expressed in US dollars is three times the Indian GDP ($2.5 trillion versus $0.8 trillion).

5. China has received more than 10 times the total foreign direct investment as India ($700 billion versus $68 billion). China has made direct investments abroad that are more than 3 times that of India ($67 billion versus $21 billion).

6. The market capitalization of the 10 largest companies today in China is $1.8 trillion, whereas the market capitalization of the 10 largest companies in India is only $0.5 trillion.

7. India’s population is smaller than China’s, but is growing more rapidly. In 1995, China had nearly 33% more people. By 2005, China had less than 20% more people. By 2025, their populations will be about equal. After that, India will have a larger population.

8. China has a 40% lower infant mortality rate than India, and a longer life expectancy.

9. Literacy is dramatically different. Only 61% of Indians over the age of 15 can read and write, while nearly 91% of Chinese over 15 can read and write. The development and therefore economic value of women is higher in China where 86.5% are literate, whereas in India only 47.8% of women are literate.

10. India has the fourth largest coal reserves in the world, while China has the world’s largest hydropower potential.

From another source -

Through the first 8 years of the 21st century, Chinese and Indian oil import demand (according to the IEA) increased at an annual average close to 400 000 barrels per day each year, raising their 'call on world exports' from near zero to about 7% of total. We can compare this with the approx. 26% of world export supply taken by the USA, and another 26% taken by the EU-27 countries, or the 11% of world oil exports taken by Japan.

Chindia oil import demand is modest not only because of poverty, but also due to King Coal. Combined coal and lignite burning of China and India was about 2.6 Bn tons in 2008, near 40% of world coal and lignite output, and growing fast. Without this massive, and massively polluting coal burn Chindia 'call' on world oil exports would, of course, be much higher - and would also be completely impossible to service and supply.

The impact of China is increasing

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We all knew China would increase their demands for oil.

As the USA is doing, so now is China - stockpiling (hoarding?) oil at lower prices ... which helps drive up the price.

If you check my May 30th item, it indicated $77/barrel in one year. This has now increased to $81 and it won't stop there.

Get ready for increased gas and air flight prices ... coming soon!

p.s. It may be time for a hybrid, if considering a new car.

Time to get back into selected stocks and RRSPs?

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For us more cautious investors, it may be time ot get back into RRSPs and stocks.

As this article (today's Star June 30th) indicates, investors are tired of holding back and want to get in before prices climb higher.

Energy and financial stocks appear to be the magnets at this time. See my other item added today on oil demand in China.

All indicators support this as a blip in the markets and much more time will be required to come out of the recession. It is a time to be very cautious and, if buying into energy high investments, be sure to watch carefully. Having said this, it does appear unlikely that major energy stocks (oil and natural gas) will decrease in value in the future ... demand will only increase (see China oil item in this blog).

yellow headlights?

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Canadian Tire has the solution, if your headlight covers are starting to fade.

I tried it and it works very well.

Saves quite a bit of money in replacement cost.

Trust Google to come up with something like this for free.

It is very simple and all you do is dial 1-800-466-4411.

I entered it as a speed-dial number in my cell phone.

Just respond to the prompts: say where you are, and what you are looking for.

I have used it and it is very easy and quick ... and free.

December Climate Change Conference

Just wanted you to be aware of the worldwide upcoming mtg in December ... to be 'actively' attended by Canada.

10 energy myths.

Understand climate change basics.

Understand which gases are greenhouse gases.

China is doing some good - what about Canada?

Read what Climate Action Network Canada (CAN) has to say.

Read the CAN International position paper.

all building should have white roofs

I have always wondered why our roofs used black shingles, as they significantly increased the heat within our homes in summer. White shingles always seemed better.

It won't help reduce CO2 in the atmosphere but will reduce heat build-up in the atmosphere.

Our earth is a closed system with only sunlight able to enter and leave. If we find ways to reflect the sun's energy rather than absorb it, it might help provide time to "figure out ways to limit greenhouse-gas emissions or remove the gases from the atmosphere".

The USA Energy Star site has more details and a roofing calculator which i used to see the difference between black shingles and white shingles with reflective coating. There are real savings each year (as well as, I suspect, longer shingle life).

There appears to be good development underway by Dow Chemical to develop a solar panel roofing tile. If these tiles do not cause home heat retention, we might turn a negative into a real positive!

"Necessity is the mother of invention" used to be a standard saying.

Now, it may be more appropriate to say "people will force beneficial innovation", as hybrid cars would not be here if the public hadn't demanded, Kyoto wouldn't be in place if people hadn't demanded (or if Harper had his way), plastic shopping bags and water bottles wouldn't be on the way out, etc.

We always must remain cognizant that big business will only develop reasonably priced environmentally friendly consumables if buyers demand them.

touch-screen programmable thermostat

Power Stream is now offering to pay you $25 to have them install this new thermostat.

Unfortunately, it doesn't apply to us who had them install the previous model (no touch-screen).

We have had it installed all last year and didn't notice anything different.

This model allows you to program it from the Internet (as with the previous model) which allows you to set it while traveling.

Read the details and if you haven't taken advantage to-date, call 1-866323-0206 to set an install date.

Support for CEO pay structure change

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Well, I guess there weren't only a few of us wondering how stupid Board of Directors (and shareholders) can be when it comes to defining CEO pay structures.

This article in the Star today (June 5th), by Roger Martin, supports the need for more realistic approaches - pay for performance (IBMers, sound familiar?) - and that should be solely real market performance (such as market share, profit, book equity return.

In my opinion, revenue growth is questionable unless tied directly to profit.

Any company should be cognisant how it looks if it is failing and their CEO is making a killing.

The bottom line should be:

1. low base salary

2. bonuses completely tied to the above business measures (by outside accounting firm only)

3. no revenue/profit - zero bonus compensation.

Canada's Internet Services are Poor

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In the Star June 1, 2009, Canada was compared with 29 other countries on Internet quality.
Canada did very poorly:

14th - monthly subscription price
24th - Internet speed
30th - price and speed combined
28th - price per megabyte

Only 4 countries (Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Belgium) have data transfer caps.

I just checked with Rogers and they increased their 2nd tier service (7MB speed with 60GB data transfer) to 10MB speed with 95GB storage. In my case, it came with a $20/mo reduction in cost (from $55/mo to $35/mo) ... without advising me. Quite a surprise!

Bell has a comparable up-to-10MB service at $43/mo with 100GB data transfer cap.

While I am surprised on Canada's low world-wide ranking, I am pleased with the very recent reductions in cost from Rogers.

Bicycles on Jarvis

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Here is one perspective of increasing availability of bicycle lanes in Toronto.

When I think of downtown Toronto, I see a sea of automobiles and remember how long it took me to get there and find a parking place.

Metropolitan Toronto does not have high-flow north/south arteries.

Rather than finding ways to allow more vehicles, Toronto needs to encourage drivers to feel good about alternate means of access.

This may be a bold (i.e. non re-electable) step by David Miller but it is necessary in the survival of the city core.

When I think of Copenhagen and Paris, I see people bike-riding, walking and sitting at outside cafes.

In my lifetime, I would like to envision Toronto in the same way.

Considering a tankless water heater?

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It would be beneficial if tankless water heaters really worked ... but that is not the case.

This article, in the Sun Star May 31, 2009, indicates more improvements need to be made before they should be considered.

The bottom line is it will cost you approx $100 more per year and more water will be used.

Heater rental still appears to be the cost-effective approach.

Perhaps the low-mass tankless approach will prove to be more appropriate.

I would think solar panel water heating would be a good fit here in Canada. More research will be done, as solar roof tiles become more viable in the next few years.

Oil and the Loonie

May 30, 2009.

Here is a site that not only indicates the current oil price but also forecast for one year hence.

The forecast is $77 in one year. This will mean gas prices should continue to move upwards.

Another reason gas will increase in price is oil reserves are being depleted at a rate of about 9% a year.

Another reason gas will increase is Chindia's insatiable desire to store oil.

Good reasons to consider a hybrid as your next car.

The loonie is increasing too quickly due to lack of confidence in the USA dollar (and the fact the USA is printing more money - should automatically deflate the value). This increases cost of our exports to our main trading partner and will probably increase the $50B deficit Flaherty indicated earlier in the week. WE NEED LESS DEPENDENCY ON THIS TRADING PARTNER.

On the other hand, it puts more money in our pockets and will, in the opinion of many, drive prices down ... which is also good for you and me.

It is difficult to sacrifice our benefits for the good of corporate Canada...

Can anyone explain why the price of gas does not come down when the loonie goes up?

CPP problem

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In the Star today Fri May 29, 2009:

It isn't bad enough the mgmt of the CPP funds were responsible for a loss of $24B in 2008 (19.3% of the retirement fund).

It also is disconcerting the conservatives didn't respond to this news immediately.

It is disturbing nothing has happened to the senior mgmt after the disclosure.

It is most distressing Canada acts like the USA and pays senior mgmt bonuses for failure.

"Harper told MPs the Canada Pension Plan, worth about $100B at the end of the fiscal year , is "actually sound," will benefit Canadians for many decades to come and doesn't need politicians sticking their noses into the operation.". This is what we expect from our governing party???

What really bothers me is it takes the NDP to bring the heat onto the governing party. Where were the Liberals? The conservatives use attack ads on Ignatieff and he doesn't jump at the chance to discredit them in a legitimate way.

More to the point, is capitalism and free enterprise structured to pay for failure?

Business senior mgmt get substantial bonuses if their business does well ... and they receive substantial bonuses if their business fails!!

I really can't blame Denison, Wiseman, Raymond and Eadie. I have to blame their employer ... the ones responsible for administering their salary guidelines.

It does seem odd. I know not to gamble with my retirement funds and I made 3% on my investments in 2008. And I don't make quite as much as these four make ...

I guess it is time to Twitter Stephen again ...

good time of year

Ah, spring. Nice to see crabapple trees in bloom. I thought our tree was dying and i was about to cut it down ... but it seems to be coming back.

Compare Cellular Rates

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Best Buy has a site where you can select various service providers and compare their rates.

You need to go to their mobile site -> Ontario -> Toronto & Area -> Small Plans -> and then the size of plan.

Select up to five plans and click on Compare. 

Here is a comparison of the $25-$30 plans. Note the line "First Month Costs".

Nutritional Fallacies - as we age

An article from my Bicycling mag on nutrition indicates we should be changing the way we eat as

as we get older.

fallacy 1: you can eat  the same at age 40 as age 20

As we age, we lose muscle and gain fat. Cycling and strength training help stem the loss. Because of age-related  kidney change, our blood becomes more acidic and we excrete nitrogen faster than we take it in. Nitrogen is an essential component of muscle protein.

Preserve muscle mass by increasing the alkalinity of your blood to neutralize the acidity ... take Acid Zapper supplement and/or enhance alkaline by eating more fruits and veggies. All other foods have an acid increasing effect. If you don't get most of your carbs from fruits and veggies, you are losing muscle mass and calcium from your bones. 

  

fallacy 2: all fat makes you fat

For years the american gov't preached low-fat carb-heavy diets ... and americans got heavier. It appears healthy unsaturated fats are essential for firing up fat-burning metabolism. In fact, starchy foods turn into stored fat more quickly. Fat is slower to digest than carbs which helps you stay hunger-free longer.

As our bodies become more conditioned (cycling, golfing, jogging, etc), fat will help you go longer and burn more calories. However, it is important to choose healthy fats such as almonds, avocado, olive oil and olives.   

cell phone usage -how will it affect us?

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Did you know there are more home with cell phones only than those with home phone only, in the USA?

I suspect it is trending this way in Canada and other countries.

How will this affect telemarketers?

How does it affect our communications techniques? For instance, I am now calling my daughter or my son-in-law, instead of whoever answers the phone at their place.

Why have both a home phone and a cell phone?

TSX rising - premature optimism?

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Things are beginning to look optimistic. 

If I were 30-something, I would get into energy stocks at this time. 

As I am past the risk age, I will wait until things become more stable, as economists are indicating another year before stability in the markets.

I have often wondered about what causes a heart attack. There is a lot of information out there but we seldom connect the dots.

Atherosclerosis (hardening of artery due to plaque) is a form of arteriosclerosis (hardening of artery) and is one cause of heart attacks. 

From what I have read, the main contributors to atherosclerosis could  be:  diet, smoking, exercise, stress mgmt  and genes.

Genes are difficult to overcome but knowing about them does prepare us.

The other factors are ALWAYS within our control.

Better to be educated than surprised ...or worse!

The exact cause of atherosclerosis, in addition to natural aging,  is not known (surprise, surprise) but here are some details that might help you:  

Manageable Causes - smoking, cholesterol, triglycerides, hypertension, obesity, diabeties

Unmanageable Causes - accidental artery damage, chronic inflammation, genes, aging  

Prevention - reduction of causes you can control ... and don't get old 

Detection - If you suspect you (or someone you know) may be affected, ask your doctor if one of these might be appropriate: echocardiogram,  electrocardiogram, or coronary angiography. 

easy/inexpensive long-distance

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If you are looking for a long-distance service that is easy to use, KeepCalling is the one i use for 1.2 cpm (cents per minute) in Canada. 

For instance, England, Australia, Ireland, India, Italy are only 3.5 cpm. Zambia is only 6 cpm.

It has an easy method of speed dialing numbers. 

I just code my most called numbers into their website and refer to them in my phones (home or cell) and one click does it.

If you know of one that is easier and/or cheaper, let me know.