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druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 10 (view)

American vs International Accounting Posted: 1/3/2009 4:37:55 PM
The conern about CPAs having to back to school and professors having to retrain themselves is a mistaken assumption. Most accounting bodies/associations require that their members keep up their skills and upgrade their knowledge on a regular basis. I am a CGA (Certified General Accountant) here in Canada and I am required to collect 100 CPD points every year, with the average being between 30-40 per year -- it's a rolling 100 points, at no time can I have one year at 10 and the following at 90. Accountants are required, in most jursidictions, to upgrade their skills if they expect to maintain their membership and designations with their respective accounting associations. At the core of the differences between Canadian and US GAAP is the concept of revenue recognition and cost recognition. A simple example is how one values ending inventory. In Canada because Revenue Canada does not allow LIFO (last in first out), which would in effect inflate COGS and thereby reduce revenues, most companies do not even bother using LIFO as an inventory valuation tool. As well the concept of Treasury Stock does not exist in Canada -- when a company goes out into the market to repurchase their shares in Canada this is considered to be the retirement of those shares, they no longer exist; in the US the repurchased shares can be resold, thereby allowing American companies to inflate the value of their stock price through the whole "supply & demand" scenario. As well, COCO (which is the Canadian version of SOx but is well over 10 years old), and the control standards of IFRS are different from SOx...there is less of a chance for Company Directors to hide behind the corporate veil, there have been instances in Canada in which company Directors have been found personally liable for company liabilities.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 35 (view)

~TGIF!! HALLOWEEN Monster Bash~Eton House TORONTO~ Oct/31/08~7:30p~ Posted: 9/26/2008 9:55:07 AM
hmm it's been a while since I've been to anything POF-ie... could be fun :-)

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 113 (view)

Wiccans and Pagans! Give Me That Old Time Religion! Posted: 5/15/2008 2:58:41 PM
There is a difference between Wiccan and Pagan in that "Wicca" is one subset of "Pagan" - all Wiccans are Pagans but not all Pagans are Wiccans. To seperate the two and use the phrase "Wiccans and Pagans" is doing a disservice -- as if there is something more special about Wicca then the rest of us plebes. That's like saying "Catholics and Christians" - all Catholics are Christians, so why differentiate when discussing the overall "religious umbrella".

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 12 (view)

Airfare woes Posted: 5/12/2008 4:33:02 PM
there are tricks on ways to travel as cheaply as possible, and as many people have said, try to avoid the High Season - which tens to be May to September. Also if you can book your flights to be on a weekday you'll find you'll save anywhere from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars. Flying out on a weekend is very popular and the airlines know this - so they jack up their prices. Try cheap airlines as well. Zoom is pretty cheap. Once in Europe travelling by rail will be quite cheap, and very efficient. If you fly into Schipol (Amsterdam Airport) you'll find that it is an airport, train station and bus station. Transport is very convenient. But yeah, if you can get a ticket under $1K count yourself lucky...what with fuel surcharges and other fun stuff.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 108 (view)

Wiccans and Pagans! Give Me That Old Time Religion! Posted: 5/12/2008 4:25:35 PM
hmm this sort of topic keeps coming up, the "woo-hoo there are other pagans out in POF land". :-) I do have a few pet peeves with regards to even the title of the topic - Wiccans and Pagans. Since when are Wiccans not pagan? This has been an ongoing issue for individuals who follow a non-wiccan/ceremonial path -- what makes Wicca so special that it must distinguish itself from the rest of the pack? Anywho, I tend to differentiate between two types of paganism - neo-paganism and paganism. Neo-paganism consists of eclectics and wiccans primarily. Paths that take their inspiration and grew out of the late 19th/early 20th century interest in Ceremonial Magick (Thelema, OTO, Golden Dawn, Rosacrusians etc) and melded the "Guardians of the Water Towers" and the "casting of a circle" from CM with a mish-mash of celtic, anglo-saxon and greco-roman pantheons. Central "mystery" being that of the union between the God and Goddess as symbolised by the chalice and blade. Wicca tends to be fairly duotheistic, though at times there are certain wiccan flavours that are monotheistic (all the gods are one god, all the goddesses are one goddess and The God is one face of The Goddess). Pagans, or recons if you will, tend to be more culturally focused and polytheistic - hardcore at times. There is a greater emphasis on scholarship as we are trying to follow the ways of our ancestors (whether blood ancestors or spiritual ancestors), as it is difficult to understand a pantheon fully without also understanding the culture associated with that pantheon. btw, I am a Romuvaite - an adherent of Romuva - the modern expression of Lithuanian Pre-Christian Faith. And yes, I am a hardcore polytheist. Also don't like the idea of mixing pantheons as I find it to be both disrespectful and dangerous - saw one rit in which the HPS and HP sang that chant "Isis Astarte Diana Hecate Kali Inanna"... and they added in a verse for the male deities.. and they called upon Loki without also calling upon Odin. All the Asatru, Vanatru and other Heathens (and peeps like me) stayed quiet during the chant (and we made up one third of the circle) because it is dangerous to call on the Trickster without calling also upon the All-Father, who can control him to some extent.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 2 (view)

Toronto Gay Pride Posted: 5/12/2008 4:07:02 PM
The Gay, Lesbian and Trans-gendered/sexual community has many events right in the heart of the Village starting a week before the parade. Church Street shuts down the Friday before the parades (Dyke March tends to be on a saturday, and the Gay Pride one is on Sunday). All the patios, pubs, bars and restaurants are already jam-packed. I live in the neighbourhood (very safe neighbourhood btw) and the place is hopping for most of Pride Week.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 20 (view)

Pagan Life Posted: 12/9/2007 10:03:00 PM
lilm2w wiccans are pagans, unless you are referring to the difference between initiatory trads and non-initiatory.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 11 (view)

Downtown Toronto New Years Eve, Groundhog Pub 12/31/07 Posted: 12/9/2007 10:01:28 PM
can't make it, though I would love to. Just got home from a 3 week stay in hospital (11 hour surgery...still weak as a kitten). have fun all of you

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 65 (view)

How to annoy a wiccan Posted: 11/16/2007 5:58:48 AM
Gaia Gathering is the annual Canadian National Pagan Conference - the Victoria Day Weekend, this time up in Ottawa. It's different from other conferences/festivals in that it is held in a university setting, and it has a more academic slant to it with three main "tracts" - academic/scholarly, paths/traditions, and community. We discuss and share ideas on publishing, academic work, film/music work, our individual paths, how to network, how to live our spirituality and not just once every 6-7 weeks for a Sabbat. We also have some pub crawls :-) I missed this year's as I was frolicking through the Scottish Highlands, searching for Nessie....and ran across the Beltaine Festival in Inverness.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 63 (view)

How to annoy a wiccan Posted: 11/13/2007 3:28:50 PM
Ahh Mr Bored, you do know how to make a girl's heart flutter. I've toyed with the idea of visiting NYC again. Last time I was there I was a wee lass of 15, traipsing through the Cloisters. I get up to alot of mischief and have been somehow been roped into helping out a bit with Gaia Gathering (Canadian National Pagan Conference)

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 37 (view)

How to annoy a wiccan Posted: 10/19/2007 11:33:43 AM
Danke Bored :-) It's a never ending struggle, I tell you, to keep reminding peeps in the community that we are not all Wiccan. The whole "chalice and the blade" thingy as part of the re-enactment of the main mystery - meh, not for me. I did have a conversation with an individual this week over the word "wicca" and how it's being thrown about as an umbrella term for BTW (Alexs, Gards, Dianics, Minoan etc... the initiatory trads basically) and eclectics. Wicca, by the traditional definition, is a religion of priesthood - everyone is working towards initiation as a priest or priestess. The concept of "laity" is virtually non-existent. I like the Recons because there is a concept of laity - you'll have ritual leaders, usually appointed by the community at large, who will lead ritual. But there are also those who enjoy the religious experience, but who do not want to necessarily be involved with the ritual preparation and the logistics of running a rite. Anywho, that's my mini rant. Onwards and upwards! On to Samhuinn next weekend.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 3 (view)

Germany next year Posted: 10/3/2007 12:41:52 PM
I don't personally do bus tours, but others do find them enjoyable. I do recommend, if you make it to the Rhineland that you try the Koeln-Dusseldorfer cruise. I took it from Mainz to Cologne a couple of years ago, and it was a great way to see the castles along the Rhine in the space of 10 hours - sitting on the top deck, drinking beer (Alt or Kolsch for me), nibbling on some food and just watching the scenery go by. I'm toying with the idea of going to Bavaria next year - visit some friends in Berlin and Munich, and toddle about to places like Rothenberg.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 11 (view)

SECOND ANNUAL HALLOWEEN KARAOKE, DOWNTOWN TORONTO 10/27/2007 Posted: 9/26/2007 2:10:57 PM
sorry, no can do. I will be hopped up on painkillers and in no shape to attend. have fun.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 21 (view)

Used Bookstores in Toronto.... Posted: 8/24/2007 5:57:04 PM
Biggie, there are three BMV's within the confines of the old borders of the City of Toronto - Yonge & Eglinton, next to World's Biggest, and the one in the Annex. Any major street within the old City of Toronto will have a selection of used bookstores. Many libraries also have sales each year, clearing out old stuff, to make way for new inventory. And for those who would like to donate books, the Toronto Public Library also accepts donations - just need to drop them off at one of the larger libraries like North York Central and Northern District.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 15 (view)

Used Bookstores in Toronto.... Posted: 8/19/2007 2:00:27 PM
BMV opened up a new "branch" in the Annex nearly a year ago, on Bloor between Bathurst and Spadina. It's really large with two levels of browsing. There's a really nice little used book shop on Harbord, just west of Spadina, which sells hard to find books and rare academic texts - called Atticus Books I believe, across the street from the Toronto Women's Bookstore.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 8 (view)

Inexpensive restaurants in London Posted: 8/1/2007 1:48:29 PM
I liked the Borough Market when I was in London in May07.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 23 (view)

Any friendly Torontonians out there who can help with inside info? Posted: 7/10/2007 4:04:21 PM
Sparky already came and went :-) I met up with him for one evening while in Toronto. When I was in Scotland in May we also met up. POF can be a good place to just get to know others in other locales, so you don't quite feel so alone in a strange place....btw, Inverness is okay.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 47 (view)

It is addictive Posted: 7/7/2007 1:57:04 PM
It's a European chain, primarily. Really good deals. The IBIS in Mainz was 59Euro per night, and it was in a perfect location, just around the corner from the Altstadt and the Rhine.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 45 (view)

It is addictive Posted: 7/4/2007 10:06:01 AM
some of the hotels/guesthouses I have enjoyed are: Hotel Windsor - Brussels Ibis Mainz - Mainz, Germany (I really liked this IBIS and in general I like the IBIS chain) Southside Guesthouse - Edinburgh, Scotland Crown Hotel Guesthouse - Inverness, Scotland Shakespeare Boutique Hotel - Vilnius, Lithuania Hotel Riva - Palanga, Lithuania

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 36 (view)

Birthday Karaoke at the Groundhog Pub, Downtown Toronto - July 21, 2007 Posted: 7/1/2007 9:39:18 PM
PD it is moi who was suppose to have surgery - it's been postponed, ergo I can come to the Gannon Party. If it hasn't been postponed I would have been hopped up on morphine happily staring at my tubes.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 28 (view)

Birthday Karaoke at the Groundhog Pub, Downtown Toronto Posted: 6/29/2007 8:44:51 AM
LE - you are evil. I like you eng-ie, just a couple more weeks and then we can hear your dulcet tones over the microphone.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 18 (view)

Birthday Karaoke at the Groundhog Pub, Downtown Toronto Posted: 6/16/2007 5:31:45 PM
well, my surgery has been postponed to the autumn, so I'm free :-) No cameras, please... please focus on the birthday boy. He's the star attraction.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 19 (view)

Dating frustration in your 30s? Posted: 6/16/2007 5:29:28 PM
For me it's very much a case of working a lot and not having the time to go socialise. I'm not a barfly, not a clubber, and don't belong to any church groups. I came off a 9 year relationship, which started in my mid-20s and now I'm in my mid-30s and trying to navigate this whole dating scene and trying to build friendships/relationships. Where do I go? Where ever I go I either bump into peeps in their 40s and beyond or youngsters. If only I had the body of Demi Moore, then I could snag me a youngin like Ashton Kutcher It's gotten to the point that I have asked my parents if they know of any fellows within their "ethnic" community who are available.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 10 (view)

Birthday Karaoke at the Groundhog Pub, Downtown Toronto Posted: 6/8/2007 6:44:51 PM
you know...preemies happen all the time :-) but seriously, happy early birthday. I shall miss the opportunity for more tickle fights...which isn't good.... need another party. Oh I know, it was my birthday last week.. maybe we could do a late b-day party for me?

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 7 (view)

Birthday Karaoke at the Groundhog Pub, Downtown Toronto Posted: 6/8/2007 4:00:43 AM
dammit! I can't come... I will be happily doped up on painkillers in hospital. Why couldn't you have been born a month earlier? :-) Happy early Birthday Mr G!

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 12 (view)

Think it would be great to have POF get together/Party/BBQ?Pub night in Toronto Posted: 5/27/2007 8:12:44 AM
any further thoughts on the bbq suggestion?

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 13 (view)

Visiting Inverness Posted: 5/17/2007 6:45:52 AM
met with young Sparky and it was a good night. Now in Dundee (blinkblink)....it's much bigger than Inverness, I must say. Has a "law". Tomorrow it's St Andrews....

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 12 (view)

Visiting Inverness Posted: 5/15/2007 7:09:55 AM
rsx, as I can't stand the flavour of coffee I believe I can stand the lack of Timmies in my life for 2 weeks. Though, I do love their timbits...that will be a hardship.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 1 (view)

Visiting Inverness Posted: 5/13/2007 8:59:49 AM
Anyone want to get together with 2 lost Canadians in the Inverness area? Just landed in Scotland as of yesterday and looking to get meet others like POFers. Two Canadians, can't drive, and wandering the streets of Inverness for the next couple of days. :-) Staying at the Crown Guesthouse. Please email..... Thanks

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 36 (view)

Anybody wanting to act as a city guide (Toronto)to a couple of Scots guys? Posted: 5/2/2007 8:55:42 PM
I believe Sparky has gotten many offers to show him and his friend around :-) Question now is who's offer will he take up?

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 235 (view)

It can happen to men too - no photo should mean no date !! Posted: 4/30/2007 9:55:30 AM
I've had bad experiences with no-photo dates. Had one gentleman tell me that he was in his early 40s and fit. What I got was a man in his late 50s, skinny as a beanpole and shorter than me. My need to see a photo? I want to make sure I don't go out with someone who is old enough to be my father. I want to make sure I don't go out with someone who is shorter than me. Basically, someone relatively close to my age with a good sense of personal hygiene

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 55 (view)

Lets all hate Toronto Posted: 4/28/2007 8:59:08 PM
EGG, that was Benjamin Disreali, British Prime Minister in the 19thC. He said there are 3 types of lies - lies, more lies, and statistics.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 35 (view)

SCOTLAND Posted: 4/26/2007 5:49:09 AM
I've been poring over the visitscotland website. That's how I booked my accomodations - off the site. It's fantastic.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 49 (view)

Lets all hate Toronto Posted: 4/23/2007 3:38:42 PM
Well, with all due respect, every major city in North America has the same diversity as Toronto. However, Montreal has the exact same diversity PLUS the added major influence of Quebec's long-standing French roots. The diversity here is simply incomparable to anywhere in North America. Odd that, since I believe the United Nations declared Toronto to be the most ethnically diverse city. I'm not going to get into a one-upmanship over which is better, Toronto or Montreal. They are each sufficiently different enough that both can be enjoyed. Each as their pluses and minuses. But if you truly believe Montreal is the only place (other than the rest of Quebec) to have long-standing French roots I would suggest looking at other places in North America. Northern Ontario has a very strong french culture - can't go anywhere in Sudbury without bumping into someone speaking Quebecois, or quebecois television/newspapers/etc. The Maritimes as well - Acadie. The whole premise of this thread, I believe, was to discuss the documentary as to why the rest of Canada hates Toronto. For many peeps it comes down to not liking the idea of a huge behemouth. Go to any small town the people will generally not like large cities, with all the noise and pollution - and Toronto has become the symbol of that dreaded and feared entity - the large city.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 32 (view)

Lets all hate Toronto Posted: 4/17/2007 4:32:16 PM
Your typical bilingual French/English-speaking Montrealer is far more interesting than your typical unilingual English-speaking Torontonian who could easily be mistaken for a typical unilingual English-speaking citizen of any major city in North America.........aside from Montreal and Quebec City, that is. That's a lovely generalisation there. Most Torontonians can speak atleast 2 languages. Heck, both my parents speak 4 each, I speak 2 fluently (Lithuanian & English) and can get by with some German. Most of my friends speak atleast 2 as well - mind you, french isn't one of the two. I grew up in an area of downtown Toronto where you couldn't hear English or French on the street - it was mostly Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Russian and Ukrainian. A few blocks down it was Portugues, Italian, German, Chinese, Vietnamese, Greek etc. My parents shopped at a Halal store for their basic groceries. The largest "ethnic" group in Toronto is the Chinese so you can hear Cantonese and/or Mandarin virtually anywhere in the city. The towns/cities surrounding Toronto tend to be more ethnically homogeneous, but again, not necessarily WASP - Markham has a huge Chinese population, Woodbridge is I believe 50% Italian, Brampton has a huge south asian population. Granted, Toronto isn't as visually pleasing as Montreal or Quebec City - we aren't as old, our "old town" burnt down in the mid 1800s, and Toronto was founded by the Military and chosen for military purposes - not for any breathtaking scenery. I have to agree with one poster - as of yet I haven't seen any Torontonians on this thread say that Toronto is better than any other city. But there has been a distinct amount of posts of how Quebec is better.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 23 (view)

Pagan and searching for others Posted: 4/17/2007 3:17:23 AM
Pagans and Wiccans are simliar in many ways.........they celebrate the same festivals, which are : The Sabbats: Feb 2nd: Imblog March 21st: Spring Equinox April 30th: Bealtine June 22nd: Midsummer July 31st: Lughnasadh September 21st: Autumn Equinox October 31st: Samhain December 22nd: Yule That's actually questionable. For neo-paganism, yes, the 8 Festivals are fairly standard. For what some call meso or paleo-paganism (where you get the Reconstructionists and Revivalists) you do not get the standard 8 festivals. And not all neo-pagans call the Festivals "Sabbats" - that's a wiccan term. I am a member of OBOD (Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids) and the rituals/gatherings are never called Sabbats or Esbats. They are Festivals or Gorsedds. It comes down to which tradition you follow. "Yule" is Norse term and I have heard some Norse Pagans ask if people will be celebrating "Yule" or the Winter Solstice - gets a bit of a chuckle out of the Recons.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 30 (view)

SCOTLAND Posted: 4/16/2007 3:13:50 PM
Jaye, I would recommend taking a flight instead of a train down to London. I'm landing in London on my way to Scotland. My original plan was to go down to Brighton for a couple of days and then get up to Scotland - but the cost of a round trip ticket from London to Edinburgh was huge. I booked a flight with BMI for 75 pounds for a return flight - London-Edinburgh-London. I think Rynair does the flight up to Glasgow, but not to Edinburgh and I wanted Edinburgh. Might be a thought - flight instead of train.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 30 (view)

How to annoy a wiccan Posted: 4/8/2007 7:05:30 AM
Because, while early Christians did take influences and even downright borrowed elements of paganism - it was regional/ethnic pagan traditions, not Wicca. Wicca is a fairly new religion, and nothing negates its validity, but to say that it pre-dates christianity is a false. Wicca has no cultural context, it isn't the religion of any european/ethnic group. It's a new expression of an amalgam of Western European approach to paganism, ceremonial magic and eastern mysticism. The Norse, the Heathens, the Celts, the Slavs, the Balts, etc, they can claim older antecedents to christianity as their development and history can be traced back to the proto-indo-europeans - who cam to Europe well before the development of Christianity. Wicca cannot trace its roots that far back. So there, that is the biggest way to annoy a wiccan, to say that their religion isn't as old as they think it is. Many Recons, like myself, do take exception to neo-pagans to claiming that their religion is several thousand years old. You have some influences which are several are old, but the core of Wicca is not - it goes back to Gerald, though if you stretch the argument it could go as far back as the Freemasons.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 28 (view)

How to annoy a wiccan Posted: 4/7/2007 3:08:02 PM
the swastika can be found in other indo-european cultures. Buddhism developed in India, so it stands to reason that there are Hindu/PIE symbolism within Buddhism. Wicca is a 60 year old religion, so I think it's funny when peeps say "how wiccan evovled into christianity". Christianity is primarily a semetic/mediterranean religion with a latter day addition of some European pre-christian elements - but the core of it is still very semetic/mediterrenean. Can see this with the concept of the "dying god" which can be found in mythos from Egypt, Sumer, Babylon, Greece, Anatolia etc. Christ is a continuation of the "dying god" archetype.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 2 (view)

Think it would be great to have POF get together/Party/BBQ?Pub night in Toronto Posted: 4/7/2007 3:02:42 PM
I'm up for it... There are several spots/parks in Toront where you can barbeque - like Centre Island, High Park, Wilket Creek Park and so forth. I'd help out, if you need it.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 26 (view)

SCOTLAND Posted: 4/6/2007 5:19:13 PM
I'm going to be in St Andrews for a couple of days, meeting up with some friends.. and also Inverness. I'm hoping for a dolphin or puffin sighting :-D

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 21 (view)

SCOTLAND Posted: 4/2/2007 11:11:15 AM
well, if you're in Edinburgh on the 20th let me know.. we could prolly hook up and maybe visit a pub or something.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 79 (view)

Get ready to pay more for that Timmies coffee !!!!!!!!!!!! Posted: 3/28/2007 5:33:49 AM
I believe the last time we had rent control there was a reduction in the number of rental units being constructed. Rent control works fabulously for one part of the legal contract (renter vs landlord) - but in our discussions of rent control and tying our rent payments to our income. I'm sorry, but the government does not have the right to dictate how much rent should be for a privately owned unit. Governmental housing, yes, but not private. I believe someone suggested that instead of paying a blanket rent (say $925 per month for a one-bedroom) that we pay a certain proportion of our salaries towards rent. That means peeps like me would be paying a disproportionate amount of rent compared to someone down the hall. If I lived in co-op housing I would accept that, as that is the understood expectation when going into co-op housing. I don't want to be penalised for having a good salary - I worked hard to get to the level I'm at. Like I said in a previous post, we are coming very close to the ideals of soviet communism. The early communists also had this great idea of distributing the wealth so that all would benefit. The end result was that people (like me) decided what was the point of working hard when they could just schlep about, do the bare minimum but still be guaranteed shelter and food without going bankrupt. It is unfortunate that there are people out there who are living hand to mouth, at the poverty line, and they do deserve a certain amount of help (whether it's through training, medical, dental etc) but don't penalise those of us who have managed to get some lucky breaks and make it out of the subsistence level.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 19 (view)

SCOTLAND Posted: 3/27/2007 10:23:51 AM
There are day trips to John O'Groats from Inverness so I believe I shall be doing that. I have bookmarked visitscotland.com and have been reviewing it each day, trying to work out a schedule. I'm traveling with a friend who doesn't pack as lightly as I do (he's a bit of a diva and requires certain products just to feel fresh... yup, I'm traveling with a gay man). And he requires certain creature comforts, so trying to find interesting excursions where I can get my desired taste of nature/history and his for the nightlife has been interesting. There is a new website called something like "date a hot scot" - can't remember the URL, but it's all pink and girly, asking visitors to choose the hottest looking scottish male. It's a bit of a hoot. Arrive at Heathrow on the morning of the 12th and taking a BMI flight up to Edinburgh, and then a bus up to Inverness. It will be a bit of a long haul on the first day, but afterwards we will be moving southwards back towards Edinburgh - Inverness-somewhere-St Andrews-Edinburgh-London :-)

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 17 (view)

SCOTLAND Posted: 3/26/2007 7:32:51 PM
Jaye, hopefully your plans are coming along. I will be making my way up to Inverness on May 12th, for about 3 days, leaving on the 16th. I was toying with the idea of spending a couple of days in Glasgow but have decided to take a ferry to Northern Ireland instead. It's quite cheap, for about 49 quid return per person. Any chance of potentially bumping into each other while out in the wilds of Scotland?

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 37 (view)

what's the one extra you always take with you when you go away? Posted: 3/25/2007 7:01:48 PM
Immodium is my friend - I always carry enough to see me through for a month (though I usually only go for 2 week stretches... you never know). Antihistimines - my allergies always flare up when I travel Nail clippers A pen + small notebook (not for journaling, but to jot down items for later references like when booking through a TIC for a hotel) Luxury item? People will laugh - a beeny baby. I can't travel without my tiny Brontosaurus. I've named him Pythagoras.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 52 (view)

Get ready to pay more for that Timmies coffee !!!!!!!!!!!! Posted: 3/25/2007 11:39:25 AM
S_C here: I just want to say that I think Allison said it the best: I do not think it is unreasonable to expect that a full time job (40 hours) should earn you enough to pay for shelter, food and the other necessities of life. YES - I feel people should have a sense of entitlement when it comes to the necessities of life. If you work a full time job you should earn enough to be solely sufficient. Sadly though, with a low minimum wage that just isnt always the case. I stand firm in my belief that working full time should afford you the "luxury" of eating food, having shelter, health care, etc. but should it be up to the private sector to determine what is a living wage? Employers will pay what they pay and other than setting the minimum wage the government does not have the ability to determine the cost of produce/products, the cost of rent and so forth. If governments start dictating what should be the cost of living and dictating how much employers should be paying their employees to ensure a certain level of lifestyale - we are coming dangerously close to communism. One area that would do wonders for the underemployed, unemployed and those living at a subsistence level - true universal healthcare, mean, include dental care. There have been too many newspaper articles about people who want to find jobs, but can't because of the state of their teeth - it can be off putting if going for an interview to have rotting teeth at the age of 23. Dental health is just as important to an overall quality of life as does the ability to go to the GP and getting a script for antibiotics. Both my parents have to shop around for a cheap dentist, or go only every few years, as my father's TTC pension does not cover dental.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 20 (view)

Get ready to pay more for that Timmies coffee !!!!!!!!!!!! Posted: 3/23/2007 3:14:02 PM
I'm not saying the minimum wage shouldn't go up - it should. And over three years it probably won't hurt the consumers' pocket books too much. But the increase will be felt. If prices go up because of the increase in minimum wage other aspects of the economy will also get more expensive - food, rent, etc. And there may be an increase in the unemployment rate for low wage jobs. It's just the nature of many of these positions in which the local convenience store, hardware store, video store can afford to pay a certain amount for wages overall. There are correlations involved in this. I'm just speaking from the point of view of economics - no low-income bashing on my part. My mother has worked minimum wage jobs all her life and she was fortunate to have a husband who worked a unionised position which was able to fund the lifestyle the have and are still living. She is one of the lucky few.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 11 (view)

Get ready to pay more for that Timmies coffee !!!!!!!!!!!! Posted: 3/23/2007 1:48:35 PM
I happen to agree with Lyrical Girl. There have been enough studies done by economic think tanks, showing that everytime that minimum wage is increased significantly (I don't mean the dime here or the quarter there, but $3 whole dollars) there is an adverse effect on the cost of consumer products. I am one of those penny-ante well educated workers in a white-collar job. I just got my increase for the year, and it ain't $3 extra per hour. It came out to 99 cents extra per hour - and that was a 4% increase. Going back to the point I'm trying to make - many jobs are minimum wage, at what? $7/hr. Raise that to $10 and what is the effect? Some individuals will lose their jobs, because the actual monies being taken in by the employer are not going to increase significantly enough to fund this increase in minimum wage. So if an employer wants to ensure that he/she will keep all their employees, even though their payroll could increase (if they have 4 staff working 40 hours each) to $480 per week, the prices will increase to offset this large increase in wages. And before someone tries to bite my head off and say that it serves Corporate Canada right to have to fork over more cash for wages - bear in mind that the vast majority of jobs are not with large corporations but with small firms, with 15 employees and less where the owner is also the boss. They are trying to survive as much as anyone else. This would drive inflation higher, as all of a sudden prices would be increase.

druie

Joined: 3/16/2006

Msg: 10 (view)

Toronto St. Paddy's @ the Groundhog Pics / Kudos Posted: 3/19/2007 8:08:24 PM
I do find that odd. Wouldn't it make more sense to say "Toronto and surrounding area" since the Island is within the City of Toronto? Odd... I smell a conspiracy here. Is Mississauga looking to expand? Has Hazel finally gone off the deep end?

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