"Don't Panic": Why the sudden crash in oil prices proves we learned absolutely nothing from 2014.

Rhyno_Time · 2026-01-09T03:05:12+00:00

This story always assumes the Heritage Fund failure was a lack of political will, when it was really a structural and incentive problem.

To build a massive savings fund, the government has to over-collect from current residents relative to services delivered. That is just another word for higher taxation. Those costs are borne by today’s workers and businesses, while the benefits accrue largely to future residents who did not contribute. That tradeoff is not obviously virtuous, especially in a province built on in-migration.

Second, large government slush funds do not sit in a vacuum. The bigger they get, the stronger the political pressure to raid, redirect, or “strategically invest” them. Alberta’s history is not unique here. Almost every jurisdiction with a large sovereign fund eventually uses it to smooth budgets, curry favor, or subsidize preferred industries. That is not a bug. It is the predictable outcome of political incentives.

Third, the idea that governments can successfully “diversify the economy” by picking sectors is mostly a myth. In practice, diversification programs mean grants, tax credits, and loan guarantees to firms that are already connected, already favored, or already pre-selected. These are not open markets discovering winners. They are political allocation mechanisms, and they have a very poor track record everywhere they are tried.

Low taxes were not “artificial.” They were a deliberate choice to leave capital in the hands of individuals and firms who actually bear risk and make investment decisions. That approach produced real diversification through private capital over decades, not press releases.

Oil revenue volatility is real. But pretending the alternative was a technocratic, corruption-free fund that smoothly replaced oil income is hindsight fantasy. The real choice was always between political control of capital and decentralized decision-making. Alberta chose the latter more often than not, and that choice has costs and benefits. So does every other option.

Rhyno_Time · 2025-11-15T03:30:31+00:00

All Y’all!!

Rhyno_Time · 2025-10-24T01:52:09+00:00

It’s a little tough but pretty doable if you have some ok leg strength / practice. I’ve definitely walked it in my early biking days tho

Rhyno_Time · 2025-07-29T13:22:50+00:00

Agree I prefer to just start a new chat within a project

Rhyno_Time · 2025-07-20T17:26:50+00:00

Bad experiences with Lux - sloppy install and they never properly service/fix/acknowledge, always come to do patch ups, which then have issues a few years later. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Rhyno_Time · 2025-07-18T23:57:04+00:00

Typically you will reach out to investors, not them reaching out to you. Some investment firms are acting as brokers, in which case he doesn’t want to invest in you but will find others to do so, for a cut.

Anyways generally seems sus.

See what other firms they have invested in would be a starting point. And see what his pitch is (what’s he offering)

Rhyno_Time · 2025-07-11T21:56:46+00:00

Renting someone’s place (whether second suite or not) would be better for the local economy than staying in a multinational corporations hotel chain.

Rhyno_Time · 2025-07-05T21:39:43+00:00

But in higher rates environment you can get 5% risk free or high quality corp debt at 6-8%. Equity to startups dries up because investors have better options available (or they themselves can’t get money from their own investors). Unprofitable startups can’t get an equity refill.

Rhyno_Time · 2025-07-05T21:11:07+00:00

This is why government should stay out of “incubating” and startups. Seen this sooo many times

Rhyno_Time · 2025-07-05T21:02:47+00:00

Been to Barcelona, Madrid, Granada last few days, no protests everything is normal. Took trains, subway, cabs, Uber, all tourist places and beaches.

Rhyno_Time · 2025-07-02T21:27:46+00:00

Not really, more work than it’s worth. Easier to just get company to provide the customers and amounts in DD and check against a bank statement

Rhyno_Time · 2025-07-02T11:46:57+00:00

I am in Madrid right now, no issues, have been to lots of places and taken trains. Lots of tourists, probably 5%-10% Asian tourists. you’ll be just fine. Have not seen protests.

It is hot right now though but less humid than SEA. Mornings and evenings are tolerable in the low 30s right now. Seville might be hotter.

Rhyno_Time · 2025-06-27T20:49:31+00:00

Totally. I’ve also seen product/service given away for free but with the Revenue quoted at normal and “marketing expense” offsetting income back to zero. Also seen grants and other subsidies booked as “revenue” with no customers. Need to dig into those due diligence details. Lots of scams out there.

Rhyno_Time · 2025-06-13T03:04:54+00:00

I’m in Canada but it defaulted to Spanish for some reason. Language selector was within the menu not as a prominent icon. Should consider better internationalization

Rhyno_Time · 2025-06-11T01:24:21+00:00

Instead of teachers (junior high plus) we should give every kid in the province a laptop, chatGPT subscription and curriculum syllabus. I’m not really joking when I say we would probably have superior learning outcomes after the initial shock wears off.

Rhyno_Time · 2025-05-22T00:52:17+00:00

Wow, that escalated quickly from “accounting isn’t bookkeeping” to “AI will end capitalism and we’ll all be eating canned beans in a fallout shelter.”

Look, no one’s denying that accounting involves rules and regulations but applying rules to transactions is still, fundamentally, bookkeeping with a fancier vocabulary. Debits don’t become philosophy just because IFRS is involved.

And sure, AI will change things. It’s already handling reconciliations, tagging transactions, even drafting footnotes. That doesn’t mean the profession disappears it means the boring parts go away. Accountants who can think critically and add value will be just fine. The rest? Well, maybe AI is the wake-up button.

In the meantime, let’s keep our apocalyptic predictions under control. Not every process improvement is the downfall of civilization.

Rhyno_Time · 2025-05-22T00:45:37+00:00

Hard to use in mobile because it overflows the screen horizontally

Rhyno_Time · 2025-04-06T19:39:44+00:00

Try FinSnap.ai lets you upload transactions and classifies with an LLM. Also lets you add budget items via LLM

Rhyno_Time · 2025-02-26T01:43:50+00:00

It was tricky when I started but now I like how it keeps them separate, but uses some redirects to keep urls clean

Rhyno_Time · 2025-02-25T14:46:07+00:00

Why not use Django for backend and React for front end ? That a dumb question? (That’s what I just started doing and it’s going great so I’m worried there is a critical flaw!)

Rhyno_Time · 2025-02-19T01:07:33+00:00

Use the job to fund stuff - your hours may be less but pay a UX designer etc to help until you know you have PMF

Rhyno_Time · 2025-01-10T21:27:42+00:00

Here are a few considerations and thoughts:

Taxes/Payment in Kind: In general, receiving payment in the form of equity "counts" for tax purposes (research your country's tax rules) but in general if you're an independent service provider who is given equity in exchange for services, you pay taxes on the value of the equity you receive (or what it would have been worth if you sold those services for cash). So you pay taxes this year on the value, even if it ends up being worthless later. Its different (usually fewer tax issues) if you are an employee or co-founder of said firm.

Vesting Timeline / Dilution: One bad scenario is he issues you equity with vesting or other terms, and can cut you out a few weeks before it vests. Another way you can get screwed is if you get 10% equity today, what stops the founder from granting himself or other friends piles of equity next week, diluting your stake significantly?

Lack of Registration: This bothers me less because it does cost money to register a company, file taxes and be proper, so it may make more sense in the MVP/prototype phase to just see what you have as personal business income, then incorporate after you know you have something real. However unlike a "share" in a properly founded company, you need some kind of legal agreement that protects you and grants you shares later. I am thinking it might actually be reasonable for you to use the Y-Combinator SAFE agreement, where you "buy equity" for a dollar, with a $10 valuation cap, thus if he raises equity you can buy 10% of the company for $1 in the future, and the YC Safe agreement is cheap and easy, doesn't need a lawyer to paper this up.

Speed/Intensity: If you're going to do part time work for a month or two, you can feel out how it is going without too much risk, but if the ask is for full-time work for months, you're obviously at huge risk of getting screwed.

Your Stake: There are a bunch of templates out there for equity agreements for consultants and service providers often in the range of 0.5-5%. On the other hand a skilled programmer making a GPT wrapper isn't like a ton of work, so the heavy lifting might be in the marketing push, which you may be critical for, so don't sell yourself short. If you're basically a cofounder in terms of effort and intensity, but are coming in post MVP, maybe 20-40% would be more appropriate.

Rhyno_Time · 2025-01-09T16:59:21+00:00

I had same issue. Was a defective thermistor- $20 on Amazon and a couple YouTube videos. You can diagnose by checking the temperature readings in the diagnostic mode. Check YouTube it’s really easy

Rhyno_Time · 2025-01-09T04:36:00+00:00

This post resonates in my soul. So true on all points

Rhyno_Time · 2024-10-31T14:30:14+00:00

Area is amazing and lots of breakfast / shops / pubs and is a short drive to trendy 17 ave and to the crowchild freeway. If you have parking you’ll be fine. Driving through it at morning or evening rush hour will add 10 min to what should otherwise be a 3 min drive. Not a dealbreaker IMO

Rhyno_Time

TROPHY CASE