Steve

That farmer would have had a ton of land available to lease... likely about 100 acres to get that return a month.

But that is because of the global economy, not because of local electricity prices.

it will move existing jobs around. less jobs for gas techs. more jobs for electricians. IBEW is running commercials supporting renewable forms of energy on tv all the time now. I've said it before though, unfortunately after installation, wind farms, solar farms, and hydroelectric facilities require much less man power to operate than traditional forms of fossil fuel energy. of course, that in turn means less jobs. the electric grid in this province is going to need SERIOUS (and I mean massive) upgrades in order for Whinny the Pooh's pipe dream to become a reality.

A lot of mention of Geothermal in the article. That is a technology that is truly in its infancy - even in comparison to wind and solar. Sounds like a lot of pipe dreams in that article. What is the carbon emission release on a standard home furnace? I can't imagine how forcing homes to go with electric heating will be at all economical! I sorta understand the reason for the tax credits for electric vehicles (sorta, at best), but don't understand the benefit of forcing homes and buildings to move away from proven natural gas.

ckewley - sounds like you were having a great night last night

a change in guard. great in my mind. "the sweater" didn't really want to hear none of that sciency stuff.

property insurance claims generally go well....no calculating deprecation costs. like usual, old ironmaker is on the mark. most policies contain vacancy clauses. if someone is coming over to check on your place when you are out, have them fill out a schedule with exact times and dates they visited. or better yet, call your broker and inform them of your long term absence. Depending on the company you may be able to have your waiver removed (for a cost I'm sure). I specifically work in construction project insurance and our policies have 30 day waiver clauses stating your project cannot sit idle and unattended for more than 30 days or your policy will automatically lapse. Construction companies use cell phone videos to show an employee attending the job site every 30 days in order to satisfy this clause.

Pugger Burgers.

if you want to try and reduce the numbers, you can use standard vegetable oil in a super soaker, and just hit up their nests..... the super soakers do clog up over time due to the thickness of the oil, but it sure works.

The painter?

Garnet, I agree 100% about Bernard. Quality, stand up dude who is a great guy to support. Glad he made some money off the spin drop as well. He has a brilliant mind.

no kidding eh? since I moved to the palomar knot for the final knot, and a surgeons knot to connect my leader to my main line, I haven't had a knot failure in many years. however, when fishing heavy slop for pig large mouth bass I've snapped 25lbs flouro on a hookset.

some of the fires we have been tracking for our assets insured started as early as the 2nd week of April...but as Sinker mentioned, all were reported to be "under control" until Monday.

Average Canadian home going for $433,649, Hamilton average in January was $380,000

and that is the key. you were making 10 in 1981. house costs are 7x's as high now (and that is on the low side), but guys aren't making 7x's that 10 an hour.... kids are making roughly 3.5x's the wage with 7x's the housing cost (and overall cost of living) - effectively making it 2x's as hard to succeed. combined with less physical number of jobs available make it very tough on kids these days. now, what about the children of today? those who are newborn. If the 20 somethings of today are having it much tougher than you and I did, what about 20 years from now? I truly don't know that answer.

do the math. 19% interest rate on $50K vs 3% interest rate of $350K do it based on a 25 year standard mortgage. you will find the interest payment is LESS on the $50K mortgage, based on 19% interest rate than the 3% interest rate based on $350K mortgage. ($45K paid in interest during first term of the 19%/$50K option vs $49K in interest paid during first term of the 3%/$350K option). Not to mention the 50K mortgage is 1/7th the amount. So yes, it is much better to accept a high interest rate on a low amount than a low interest rate on high amount.

Old Ironmaker, you sure have a good handle of what is going on out there... Maybe its because you worked in Hamilton, and understand the industry, but my gawd is it tougher for a kid than ever before. Walking off a bus, getting a lifetime job, with pension, and buying a house that is only 2x your annual salary is now a dream.... While those who did just that are blaming 'kids' these days :(

you know what is really sad, we Insure a number of oil and gas companies..... they, so far, aren't seeing any loss to assets (outside of worker camps) because they have the $$$$$ to fund private fire brigades to protect their assets. so while the homes are burning, and the government can't employ enough fire fighters to keep the fire under control, the oil and gas companies aren't having any issues (so far) keeping their billion dollar assets safe. money certainly talks.

one thing a lot of angers don't consider is, it is not the LARGER pike that cut through the leaders, but the SMALLER pike. If you catch pike frequently, you'll note that the smaller pike (hammerhandles) haven't had the time in the water to file down their ultra sharp teeth...similar to a puppy or kitten. the older (ie, larger) pike have been feeding for years, and their teeth aren't nearly as sharp as the hammerhandles. as such, don't let the "size" of the pike dictate what leader strength you need to use. personally, I wouldn't go less than 60lbs test for any pike....if I was fishing for pike that is. we often catch pike with our bass flouro leads (I use 20lbs or 25lbs test flouro leads for bass), but every once in a while you just get a bite off without any notice of the hit itself...those aren't big pike, rather, little hammerhandles.

yes, you can all kill me but..... I hope the raptors get swept...so my Pearl Jam concert can go on as planned.... :) I would have went for the raptors sweep instead, but that can't happen now lol.

you don't even consider the trade. not even for a second. the old leafs - maybe. Not our current Leafs!! Marner, Nylander ... Once we draft Austin Matthews, we will have the best young core in the entire league. Best time to be a Leafs fan since 1993.

Cliff, if you look at wage parity, and cost of living, no one has had it as easy as those who worked and lived in the 60's and 70's....and into the mid 80's. a few pages back there is a good illustration of that. To be like my father, and purchase my first house that only costs 1/2 of an annual salary...could one even imagine!!! Now the average house is approx 7x's an annual salary. In 1986 My dad made $28K annual, and our first house cost $54K. To dream, oh to dream. The amount of education required to make a decent salary these days....as oldironman has already said, you could once get a job out of highschool by simply going to an industrial area and show you want to work... Now you need four years university for someone to even look at your resume. Kids these days have it harder than ever before.....and the numbers clearly show it.

told ya man!!! ... and my cousin is a licensed tin banger. he makes 28 bucks an hour. maybe folks just get paid less here in Hamilton. Only tradesman I've ever made who made more than 40 an hour was a specialty millwright / journeyman.

Dara, if I understand you correctly, the township put in a public boat launch, but then didn't provide parking? That is poor planning on the munipalities part.

MB, I know the mines are better for employment, but you have huge populations centres without gainful employment. My father, after of yesterday, has been laid off for 8 to 10 weeks. He makes <$20 / hour. Has been a licensed industrial electrician for 30 years. Figure that one out.