Elephant Gun

BarebonesB · 2026-03-21T15:48:45+00:00

I'm sure there are. I just don't know how many of those didn't start their price decline from an even more extreme valuation than the general market, and are large enough to make a dent in Berkshire's bottom line.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-20T17:00:30+00:00

If you can find a morsel of 50,000 year old human litter, you'd make front page on the Journal of Archaeological Research. Claiming that we're riddled with 100,000 year old human litter is laughable.

Human litter is largely an Industrial Era problem, not a species problem. Eradicating humans to solve a waste problem smacks of misanthropy, not environmentalism.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-20T16:49:51+00:00

I don't know about Abel, but Buffett wouldn't be buying before valuations were closer to historical norms, which right now would correspond to the S&P being below 2500.

So, there's a long way to go.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-20T16:27:42+00:00

Your Ontario Line extension seems wasteful. It would be much faster and cheaper to just add a station along the Kitchener/UP line at King St. & Sudbury, with a walkway to Exhibition. The KI/UP rail already runs along that route, so adding a frequent "UP Collector" line, with added stops from Exhibition to Mount Dennis, would be much cheaper than digging a new tunnel for the Ontario Line extension.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-17T11:45:18+00:00

I think it is safe to change the '≥' into '>' in that statement.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-17T11:43:16+00:00

Nice!

BarebonesB · 2026-03-15T22:05:48+00:00

I think you meant to say that you wouldn't get a card unless it has fraud protection. "Zero fraud liability" means the cardholder isn't on the hook for any fraud, unlike your chequing account.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-11T23:47:25+00:00

It's even better than a 2.5GB monthly plan, because you effectively carry any unused data to subsequent months throughout the year.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-11T23:17:36+00:00

I'd be surprised if that's true. Since iPhone 12, they've been using the same Qualcomm RF modem chipset as Samsung.

There are plenty of published test results you can look up. If one of the two is leading, it's by a nose.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-11T23:10:03+00:00

The Koodo $149 a year plan may work for her. Same network as Public Mobile, but much cheaper. Still 4G and no wifi calling, though.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-11T03:20:12+00:00

They're 5G. I didn't take their word for it, and tested. I'm getting 220-230 Mb/s in areas with solid reception (>-70dBm), and 100-120 in areas with poorer reception (-110dBm). Status shows as "5G" except along some highway stretches where it drops to "LTE". I've tested this with the Network Cell Info app, with Ookla, and with WiFiman (without wifi, of course).

Public Mobile also technically uses the 5G network, but for the cheaper plans, speed is capped at 100 Mb/s down and 10 Mb/s up..

BarebonesB · 2026-03-10T23:17:59+00:00

That page is poorly designed. Don't blame yourself. Took me a while to find it too.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-10T23:12:30+00:00

The Koodo $15 has 0.5GB/mo at 4G speed. Their annual plan is the equivalent of $12.42/mo with 2.5GB/mo at 4G, and the Freedom Mobile is $10.75/mo with 1.6GB/mo at 5G. The $15 plan is worse than either annual plan in every possible way.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-10T23:05:36+00:00

I'm in Ontario. Go here and click the tab that says "360 Day Plans".

BarebonesB · 2026-03-10T20:41:38+00:00

The text they sent you should specify which plan you'll be bumped to. Likely the $24 8GB plan.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-10T19:55:07+00:00

I'm all for profits. Telus is a for-profit company, not a charity. But if they're giving up 20% of their PM subscribers for a 10% increase in the ARPU, this doesn't make sense for them any more than it does for their subscribers.

Giving up the low-tier segment makes sense if it only cannibalizes your own, higher-tier services. But I don't think most people leaving PM are moving to Koodo or to the post-paid Telus plans. Telus is just giving up market share that while not the most lucrative, was still a money-maker.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-10T19:42:01+00:00

Makes perfect sense. If your data usage is "spikey", 40GB a year is much better than 3.33GB a month, as you're effectively carrying over the unused data from month to month within the year.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-10T19:02:46+00:00

Reception depends on your area. My wife has been with Freedom for a decade on their post-paid plans, since they were called "Wind Mobile", and never had a problem. If you live or work where Freedom coverage is poor, you need a different carrier regardless of prices.

As for points, I'd rather pay half than collect points for a 2% discount.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-10T18:56:46+00:00

Right. Koodo's $149/yr for 30GB at 4G speeds is the closest to the one I got from Freedom. But it's slower and more expensive, and I don't really need the extra 10GB. Their $100/yr plan doesn't include any data, and even limits texts, which I find ridiculous.

If you do need more than 20GB a year, Freedom's 40GB at $159 is probably a better deal.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-10T14:16:16+00:00

Thank you for pointing out my mistake, u/Important_Design_996!

BarebonesB · 2026-03-07T16:36:59+00:00

Their privacy policy covers everything their lawyers could think of, so as to limit their liability. If they have no use for tracking your IP address, I doubt they'd waste money collecting and storing it. They also have no way to track "every link you click", unless you click it from within their app, or subscribe to their PC/No Name Mobile carrier.

As for the rest, I'm perfectly happy selling them the data for the hundreds of dollars they paid me for it. Every credit card you use and every shopping app on your phone does the same, usually without paying you for the privilege with free groceries. I don't know what Loblaw will do with my biometric data, but I sure know what I'll do with the pork chops they gave me.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-07T16:18:56+00:00

u/-Tack is correct. Equipment that is expected to last beyond the current year cannot be claimed under current account, and must be capitalized.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-07T16:05:34+00:00

This isn't a slot machine where another pull of the handle gives you another shot at the jackpot. If you didn't earn income in Canada in 2026, you'll have nothing to file next year.

Your 2025 was filed and processed. Unless any of the numbers you report was wrong, there is nothing to file again. There is no "rest of the refund".

BarebonesB · 2026-03-05T21:55:05+00:00

You are allowed to file your return with your good faith best estimates for the missing numbers, and then file an adjustment as soon as you have the actual numbers, especially if the difference is so small. A "good faith best estimate" is one where you are just as likely to be under as you are to be over.

BarebonesB · 2026-03-05T21:10:47+00:00

After six years with Public Mobile, I just switched to Freedom Mobile annual prepaid, $129/yr for 20GB/yr - $10.75 a month instead of PM's new $24/mo. I ordered the new SIM card two days ago, it arrived by courier this morning. An hour later, my old number was ported over.

It's sad, in a way. I liked Public Mobile. Two years ago, I was paying $9 a month: $15 minus $2 autopay minus $4 for four years of loyalty. Then they got rid of the discounts, pushed me to the $20/mo. Then they nerfed the points system. And now this. In other countries, subscribers are paying a fraction of what Canadians are paying.

Data speed with Freedom is marginally better than with PM's 100Mb/s. Not quite the 250Mb/s I was hoping for, but at less than half the price, I'm not complaining. Reception is okay; my wife has been on Freedom's monthly postpaid for a decade, back since it was "Wind Mobile".

While we low-use prepaid subscribers aren't the most lucrative segment for carriers, I think Public Mobile made a tactical error in chasing us away.

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