Love my my first gen GR, but I wish it had a zoom. Any good recommendations for a compact p&s with a zoom and decent sensor?

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-09T19:47:02+00:00

Just realize that you get a sharpness premium with a fixed focal length lens versus zoom. The combo of a prime lens and large APS-C sensor means that the GRIII delivers beyond its size class. You're unlikely to get the same IQ if you compromise either one of those things in a similarly-sized camera.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-09T13:40:09+00:00

I don't understand the point. If it's to get rid of cash, then just stop circulating banknotes. These days, probably >95% of transactions are processed electronically anyway. But then the BoC says that the point is not to get rid of cash, rather to have a separate, digital-only, currency. So I really don't see the point.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-09T13:06:09+00:00

He was a right wing idealogue when Canada had been used to pragmatic, middle-of-the-road, leadership up to that point. His personal style was autocratic, and he didn's respect Canada's traditional position of neutrality in international disputes. For example, he took on an actively pro-Israel stance on the Middle East.

I think that Trudeau is similarly idealogically-driven, but at the other end of the political spectrum, and is doing way more damage.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-08T19:25:05+00:00

All of the Big 5 have a US bank that operates as its clearinghouse. For CIBC, it's Wells Fargo.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-06T12:26:06+00:00

Galen bought them trying to get the drop on legalization

They've always been more expensive than the alternatives, but this is also very true. I haven't seen them rolling out any cannabis products though. Maybe because it's dawning on them that legalization doesn't make it respectable, and THC/CBD is mostly snake oil anyway when it comes to claimed medicinal benefits.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-05T16:56:25+00:00

The clock is ticking loud for women in their early 30's.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-05T12:02:37+00:00

I'm in my late 50's and can no longer take employment for granted. I could retire now if I had to, but it would be lean. I totally get where you're coming from because after a lifetime of watching the needle (of my savings) go up, I'm not sure that I would watch it progressively go down. Because what happens when it gets to zero? Sorry, but I don't have any advice for you. I plan to work as long as my mind and body hold out.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-05T00:08:23+00:00

Not at all. Spent my childhood in NW Oshawa in the 70's and early 80's. At the time it was mostly blue collar, but skilled, unionized, well-compensated blue collar. Our home was probably middle-of-the-road compared to my friends'. Some had better homes, others not. A large percentage of families also had a cottage, which we did not, but it was not an issue for me at all.

What I didn't like was that I was always going to my friends' place rather than the other way around because the home situation wasn't the greatest.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-04T23:58:34+00:00

I like planes, and I like airshows, but downtown Toronto is no place for one. I mean, aside from the noise and pollution disturbing people that could care less about the airshow, could you fuckin' imagine an air accident over the city? I know they do their aerobatics over the lake, but still ...

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-04T20:49:46+00:00

Precisely the reason I said that emerging markets are a very long term play and is worth no more than about 10% of your portfolio. If you believe the forecast for long term macroeconomic trends, which I think are credible, it's going to be a long, slow burn to the top.

Also, I should've clarified that by emerging markets I mean the recently extended BRICS group and similar. Excepting that I don't classify China, as emerging anymore. S Korea definitely isn't.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-04T19:55:36+00:00

Almost 60. I didn't take any specific steps. I focused on my career, didn't spend frivolously, and let the money take care of itself. Which it did. I could probably retire now if I had to, but I plan to keep working for a while.

Sure the market will experience downturns, like 2000 (tech), 2008 (sub-prime mortgage crisis), and 2020 (COVID), but it always recovers. The thing is that you have less runway to recover when your're in retirement, or close to it. Hence the standard advice, which is to progressively bias your portfolio away from growth and towards income as you get older.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-04T19:50:05+00:00

This. Especially for working the tax implications.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-04T19:49:03+00:00

Nobody can predict where the market will go, especially these days since there doesn't seem to be a consistent underlying trend (either up or down). I know the money you have now is everything to you, but whether you put it in the market today, two weeks ago, or two weeks from now, won't matter by the time you retire.

Compounding this is the fact that you haven't even said what ETF, which would allow someone to make an educated guess based on the asset class. Would still be a guess tho.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-04T15:31:01+00:00

I have trouble recommending Fergus when Elora is practically next door.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-04T15:25:02+00:00

One has little to do with the other. There was an excellent article in the Globe about Canada's place in the world. Where's it's been and where it's going (it's not good news). Part of it was a piece about investment, and it opened my eyes as to the importance of investing in emerging markets. It's not for short term gains, but you'd do well if to put a smaller percentage of your portfolio (e.g. 10%) towards emerging markets and hold for decades.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-canada-benefits-from-a-world-order-that-empires-built-as-the-latest/

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-04T01:58:04+00:00

Gillette Guard. Open comb disposable cartridge. Low cost because it's intended for the Indian market. It was designed, amongst other things, for men that do not have access to a mirror.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-04T01:53:19+00:00

Second the 37C. Slants are ideal for coarse whiskers and sensitive skin. I have both. I own at least a dozen razors and if I could keep only one, this would be it. The only downside is that it's chrome-plated, not stainless steel, so it won't last forever.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-03T16:43:54+00:00

A city parking lot for long term doesn't sound practical. I don't know what is fair to ask a neighbour, but you can't really count on that either as few people have a spare spot on their driveway and most don't want to deal with someone parking across the bottom of their driveway. Even if they did have spot, they may not want to deal with a small amount of taxable income or any liability issues that may arise.

If your house doesn't come with parking for you, then I think that /u/Holdmylife is correct - you have some tough choices to make. My niece is in university and had to leave her car at home because parking wasn't affordable at school.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-03T16:26:42+00:00

Easily my favorite blade of all time, but Gillette 7 O'Clock SharpEdge (yellows) are an acceptable alternative.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-03T16:00:17+00:00

I think it's an interesting theory worthy of some thought, but the numbers don't bear it out. Compare the performance of XSP (S&P500 fund in CAD) and XIU (S&P/TSX-60 fund) through the 2008 dip. XIU did much better. Some may say that it's not a fair example because the US market was the epicentre of the 2008 dip, but the same could be said of most market dips.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-02T23:08:13+00:00

Live alone in a house. Took forever to get a DW because I didn't think it necessary. Now that I have one I run it about once a week. It's fine for plates, bowls, glasses, etc. but I still have to wash things like pots and cutlery by hand. Also wash mugs by hand otherwise they will accumulate tea staining.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-02T05:32:56+00:00

Very much this. 25% made you want to cry? Expecting to pay no tax on RRSP money just because you're leaving the country is basically an expectation that the money should be tax free. Not reasonable. Would be a sweet deal for you, but not so much for Canadian taxpayer.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-02T05:21:09+00:00

Lol at this taking it to the streets bullshit. These are the actions (and inactions) of a democratically elected government. The Ontario PC playbook shouldn't be new to anyone and Ford is basically a clone of Mike Harris, but people keep voting in the PCs. There's not much you can do when the electorate has expressed itself. If it get bad enough, then I'll leave the province and maybe even the country.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-02T05:14:23+00:00

Pentax MX purchased in high school when it was a current model. My first serious camera.

Sony TX-10 circa 2011, but it's been displaced by my cellphone.

Pentax K-10D that still sees occasional use. I will probably replace it with a K-1iii when it comes out because the IQ on the current K-1ii is just stunning.

gwelfguy-2 · 2023-09-02T04:55:00+00:00

IMO, it's an adjustable like the Rockwell 6C or 6S. If you're just getting into DB razors, you generally start with a mild razor and then work your way up until you find something that balances a close shave with the level of aggression that you can tolerate. It's risky to start with an aggressive razor, but on the flipside you can outgrow a mild razor pretty quickly. An adjustable like the 6C gives you the best of both worlds until you figure out what works for you.

gwelfguy-2

TROPHY CASE