All posts by steve@kerrzone.com

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Protecting Intellectual Property

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With the advent of the internet it is very common for people to share and access others intellectual property without the owners explicit permission.  A common example of this is multi-media files (ie., music, movies, pictures, books, etc) .

Is this wrong?  Is it a bad thing?

Let’s Explore!

To start, I will share a couple of quotes on the topic that resonate with me.

“He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.”   Thomas Jefferson

“My words and my ideas are my property, and I’ll keep and protect them as surely as I do my stable of unicorns.”   Jarod Kintz

When I write a book, or a song or video tape a story should I be able to charge money for the privilege of accessing my intellectual property creation (my ideas).

I would say yes; However, I should be free to choose  if I want to share freely  (light other peoples candles so to speak) or protect my unicorns and decide who get’s to play with them (usually for financial remuneration).

Civilized societies have long recognized the need to protect property rights, in a way it is the cornerstone of individual freedoms.  This is not to say the socialist/communist societies are not civilized, or maybe it is.

To enable the intellectual property owner to decide how they want their output shared (a book or song) we have created the  “copyright”.   This can be used to mark your book, music, movie, etc as requiring your approval for use – whether via payment of money or just ass kissing.  Of course you can always choose the Thomas Jefferson course and share freely to the enlightenment of others – like this blog post.  (Don’t you feel smarter already?)

Does the Internet Promote Theft?

If your copyright  property (say a movie) is freely available for download on the internet without your permission is that theft?  Well technically not until someone downloads it;  then, you betcha it is theft.   The interesting question is who is at fault, the person who made it available, the person who downloaded it or even in fact the people that created the internet which allows this kind of theft to occur relatively easy (and frequently).

Personally, I don’t think these questions are easy to answer (although many would disagree arguing both the up-loader and down-loader are complicit  while the internet is a thing so not part of the equation).

To complicate matters further if you don’t actually download the intellectual property but rather stream it did you steal it at all – is just viewing it theft.   If you enter a movie theater and watch the movie or crash a concert without paying are you stealing?

What’s the Impact 

Most interesting is the impact the internet has had on music, book, movie sales.  It has changed the way the items are sold, I am not sure it have changed how much get’s paid for.

It is true the ability to access property owned by others without permission (generally payment ) is made much easier via the internet, that being said sales and “legal” transmission of such content far outpaces theft of said content.    Basically the trading of books, music, and movies freely is not new (many people share their actual paid for copies of CD’s or records or books with others for no cost.) This free sharing occurred before the internet and continues to occur and though I have no metric to prove it the level of this type of sharing has not really changed that much, just the way it is done.

So does the internet enable theft of intellectual property?  Sure.  But has it really changed the fact most people continue to pay for intellectual property they acquire – I don’t think so.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Pension Plans, Savings and Income Products – Bringing it all together

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And finally, this post continues, and ends,  the theme I started three days ago about the basic tools and practices to reduce or even eliminate financial stress in retirement.

Retirement is about a lot of things.  The most predominant for most people is the end of  working for an income (from an employer or self owned business).   So income from employment stops, do you have any worries about that?

Every year or so, regardless of your current age it makes sense to do a quick estimate of your post retirement income.  I say quick, because there are ton’s of variables and the goal of this exercise is to get a ballpark idea of what your post employment income streams will be.  This gives you the chance to make changes as desired.  Basically you end up with informed decisions and associated actions.   – i.e., do nothing or do something.

Remember if you can’t control it – don’t worry about it and if you can control it, then go ahead and do something – again no worries cause you got it in hand.  Simply put, there are only two categories of things – those you can’t control, no point in worrying about them and those you can control and do so, no worries there.  In the end, you have no worries.

How does this Quick Estimate Work?

The first year takes the longest and then it is quick.  Even the first time should not take more than 30 minutes.   All you do is list your income sources and the amount you estimate each will provide.  Some people will have income from all these sources and in some cases multiple incomes within a single source type (e.g., you might have worked for 3 companies and have 3 defined benefit pensions coming when you declare retirement)

Based on my blogs over the last 3 days here is the list of the potential sources with instruction how to determine how much you get from each.  I am going to use acronyms where they apply and I am not explaining these sources as that is what the previous blogs did.

OAS/GIS/Allowance  –    The amount depends on the number of years as a legal Canadian resident and when you start to receive it.    Get amount estimate from Government of Canada Web Site

CPP –  This depends on your contributions to the plan.  Get amount estimate from your Service Canada Account   You will need to register if you have not done so already.

Company Pension (Defined Benefit)  –  The company has to provide you your estimated income at retirement age by law annually.  You can get this amount from that statement.  (Because it’s defined benefit no estimation needed)

Company Pension (Defined Contribution) – This requires an estimate of the amount saved in the plan on retirement.  Use this estimate to determine how much of a life annuity you could purchase (you might choose a RIF or LRIF but estimating based on an annuity is easiest to do and the most conservative so for estimation makes best sense.  If you go with a RIF or LRIF ultimately you may get more income from this plan).  Use the estimated savings to determine income based on current annuity rates from Canada Trustco annuity comparison website

Estimate Savings Use the amount saved so far (you get a statement on this each year) plus what you contribute each year (that’s on the statement) times the number of years to retirement,  plus use an estimate of annual rate of investment return times the number of years to retirement and the amount in the plan (the statement tells you the historic rate and I usually just use that).   This calculation is best done with a formula, just use google search to find one if you don’t have it on hand or use the calculator Service Canada provides – it’s really easy to use.

Note: if you had a defined contribution plan from a company you have left and chose a LIRA (rather than lump sum) use the amount in the LIRA, adjusted for investment income estimated to retirement date.

Income from RRSP –  This requires an estimate of the amount saved in the plan on retirement.  Use this estimate to determine how much of a life annuity you could purchase (you might choose a RIF or LRIF but estimating based on an annuity is easiest to do and the most conservative so for estimation makes best sense.  (If you go with a RIF ultimately you may get more income from this plan).  Use the estimated savings to determine income based on current annuity rates from Canada Trustco annuity comparison website

 Estimate Savings Use the amount saved so far (you should get regular statement(s) from the institutions where your RRSP(s) are held) plus what you plan to contribute contribute up to retirement,  plus use an estimate of annual rate of investment return times the number of years to retirement and the amount in the plan  (There are simple formula’s you can access through a google search on the internet to do the investment return calculation).

 Income from Investments – Estimate how much savings of after tax money (non-registered or TFSA) you will have at retirement.  Estimate your annual return and this is the amount of income you could withdraw from these savings without deprecating the capital.   For example you will have $750,000 saved and believe you can reasonably investing it with a 5% return so this  would be an income of $37,500.

Note:  If part of the amount earned is from a TFSA (if any) this portion  would be tax free so you you might want to calculate that separately.

And finally

Calculate the tax on this income as that will probably be the largest expense.  That just the marginal tax rate times the annual income,  and your actual amount of income to spend is determined.  For example if your total adds to $75,000 deduct 19% (the marginal tax rate on this amount today) so you spendable amount would be  $60,750.

If your estimated living costs in retirement (food, heat, light, entertainment, housing, etc) are less than $60,750 you are good to go.    If not, don’t worry cause you are in control and can make changes as needed.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Income Products for When You Re-tire

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No surprise, this post continues the theme I started two days ago about the basic tools and practices to reduce or even eliminate financial stress in retirement.

The first post and part of my second on this topic focused on pensions.  These are an obvious source of income and any citizen or legal resident who has lived in Canada at least 10 years and resides in Canada post retirement will get at least one pension (OAS). So,  a start to meet your post retirement income needs.  As noted you may be eligible for other pensions as well.  This being said pension income might not be enough.

After pensions (most of yesterday’s post) comes savings which can be either or both; registered (tax deferred) or unregistered (after tax).

Which brings us to today’s blog about financial products to turn the  saving into income to complement the pension income stream.  Of course income collection from the savings can be directly from the investments (no specific financial product) and I will talk about that a bit as well.

I was not planning on this being a four part series but I can see I won’t be finishing up until tomorrow with a summary of everything.   Then back to random musings.

Retirement Income Financial Products

Retirement Income Fund (RIF)

The RIF is used to maintain the deferment of tax on a registered product while taking a regular income over time.   The lump sum of a registered product can be transferred to a RIF without payment of tax.  This is you can transfer the funds from a RRSP; however, once the money is transferred annual withdrawals must start.  The minimum withdrawal amount varies with age from 2.86% at age 55 to  20% at 95 plus.    (There are charts showing the various rates by age.)

While you can start a RIF as early as age 55 you must collapse the RRSP by December 31st of the year you turn 71, so in a sense if you are going to have a RIF it is sort of a must have at 72.

By December 31st of the year you turn 71, you can move the balance to a RIF or withdraw all the funds to non-registered accounts (there are penalties for not doing  at least one of these) .

If you don’t move the outstanding balance at that time to a RIF than you will be subject to a withholding tax on the full amount at the time of withdrawal. (The withholding tax rate varies depending on the amount withdrawn.)  The actual amount of taxed owed is adjusted when you submit your annual tax return and the some of the withholding tax could be refunded (or you may need to pay more).  Remember marginal tax rates are linked to the amount of income so collapsing all at once can have negative tax implications.

If you transfer the balance to a RIF and choose to withdraw at the minimum rate no tax is withheld at time of payment and you just pay the tax when you submit your annual income tax return (if any is due).  If you select a withdrawal rate from the RIF higher then the minimum, tax will be withheld from the withdrawals at a rate based on the amount withdrawn.

So in essence a RIF provides you a fixed income amount until you run out of money in the account or die and the balance is transferred to your estate.  (This is a bit more complicated when talking about how your spouse get these funds after you die potentially still tax sheltered but I am not going to get into that here).

I should note depending on how you set the RIF withdrawal rate and how much investment income the RIF is earning you could preserve the capital and depending on your rate of return on investment even grow it.

To clarify the about point about rate of return,  your investment options in a RIF  basically mirrors the RRSP options and in fact you can transfer your RRSP assets in kind so however you had the funds invested in the RRSP can be mimicked in the RIF.  That is initially anyway, but of course overtime some investments might need to be collapsed to meet the minimum withdrawal amounts.   (Although withdrawals can be made in kind too so you don’t have to sell anything but you do need to figure out the associated tax and pay that).

 

Life Annuities

These are a life insurance product.  They can be purchased with registered savings or unregistered savings.

Basically you pay a lump sum and based on forecast future rates of return and how long you will live the insurance company will pay you an annual income till you die (guaranteed).   So what the economy is like when you purchase the annuity, your sex and how old you are determine the monthly payout.   Also there are variations on the annuity products which include single and joint options as well as guaranteed minimum payout periods.

A simple example based on today’s rate for a 65 year old male is a $6000/ yr payment for each $100,000 purchase increment.

In this case you would have to live 16 years just to get your original purchase price back.  If you lived 20 years you would make $20,000,  which is a simple rate of return of 1% a year.   The longer you live the higher the return.

When registered funds were used for the purchase, the monthly payment from the annuity is fully taxed ultimately at your regular marginal tax rate (subject to withholding at time of payment and adjusted on your annual income tax return – just like your employment income was handled).

For annuities purchased with non registered or after tax saving there is a tax on the amount of interest income assessed to be earned on the original purchase amount (e.g.  the 1% in the above example – this rate of return is guessed at based on your normal life expectancy at the time of purchase) but the basic return of the purchase amount over time is tax free (because tax has already been paid on it).

The value of annuities is the income is guaranteed (like a pension) until you die.  The insurance company is basically assuming the investment and longevity risks.  In the case of RIF income when the savings are gone the income stops.  The longer you live the more likely this becomes.

Of course with a RIF you might have some money left for your estate.  Not so with an annuity unless of course you chose one with a guaranteed minimum payout period (these pay out at lower rates though)

Income Direct from Investments

You can choose not to purchase a RIF or an annuity and just withdraw the income from your savings as earned.  For example if you save $500,000 and have a 10% rate of return you could withdraw $50,000 a year in income without eroding your capital.  The investment income would be taxable of course.

AND NEXT

All three of these income vehicles have pro’s and con’s and if you can swing it a combination of all of them (i.e.,  pension, RIF, Annuity and self managed investments) is best (lowest risk, highest return) but more on that in my summary blog tomorrow.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Getting ready to Re-tire (continued)

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This post continues the theme I started yesterday about the basic tools and practices to reduce or even eliminate financial stress in retirement.

The basic income source (pensions, which I wrote a post about yesterday) can be supplemented by  retirement saving options both taxable and tax free and potentially government allowances.

Today I will cover the last pension type (I did not get to yesterday) and retirement saving options both taxable and tax free.

In future posts I will talk about how these savings can be used to create income funds and/or purchase annuities, resulting in additional income streams to those of your pensions.

Pension Continued/ Allowances

Old Age Security (OAS) Pension

OAS has wide eligibility and requires neither that you have worked nor contributed.  Associated with this pension are a couple of government allowances with more restrictive conditions.

If you are living in Canada and a citizen or legal resident who has resided in Canada for at least 10 years since age 18, at age 65 you are eligible to receive the Canadian Old Age Security Pension.

To get the full pension amount, which is currently paid monthly to a total of about $6,800 a year, you need to have resided in Canada for 40 years; otherwise it is reduced based on the number of years you resided since age 18.   (The eligible age changes to 67 in 2023).  You can also defer OAS up to 5 years and get a higher payout based on long you deferred the start after you reached age 65.

Note: If your annual income exceeds $72,000 the OAS payment is clawed back in increments up to annual taxable income of just over $118,000 when it is %100 clawed back.

 Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and Allowance

At age 65, if your single or joint income is lower than prescribed thresholds  and you are receiving OAS you are eligible for an additional supplementary amount (GIS).

If your spouse is receiving OAS and GIS then you are eligible to receive the “Allowance”.

Check out Service Canada website for the prescribed income thresholds, amount paid, etc. Service Canada OAS, GIS Allowance Info Page

Retirement Saving Options

Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)

The Government of Canada encourages residents to supplement pension income with savings.

The encouragement is in the form of a refund of tax paid on the amount saved in the year it is saved.  In the year the savings are withdrawn, tax is collected.

For example, if you save $10,000 in a year when your marginal tax rate for all your income is 30% the government will refund you the $3000 tax paid on the $10,000.   If you withdraw those $10,000 in savings 20 years later when your income and marginal tax rate is lower overall, say 25%, you would only pay tax of $2500.

So, the incentive is that you get “present value” from a tax refund (20 years of investment opportunity) and potentially reduce the tax on the saved amount when you withdraw it (the theory is your income is lower in retirement than while working).

Additionally, all capital gains, interest and dividend income earned on the registered savings is tax free until withdrawn.

There are tons of rules covering registered retirement savings plans in Canada.  These include things like; how much can be put in a registered retirement savings plan, withholding tax for lump sum withdrawals, penalties for over contributions, documentation and filing requirements, spousal plans and so on.  If you want more info on these things, the Government of Canada web site is a great source or if you are not so much a self serve person there is always a financial services professional, accountant or such.   I might do a future post about it but would need to be on request.

Regular Retirement Savings

Saving money to supplement your pension income probably should start with an RRSP  ( because of the great incentives noted).  However, given the restrictions to how much you can allocate to an RRSP additionally saving some amount of after tax money as part of your retirement nest egg can make sense as well.

The things to consider are what are my post retirement income sources and about how much will they be?  Based on this analysis you can get an idea how much savings is desirable to supplement your government, company pensions and registered plan savings.

Example:

Here is a hypothetical case assuming someone with both a defined benefit pension and from a second employer a defined contribution pension used to buy an annuity and RRSP savings of $120,000 :

CPP                                                             – $12,800                           OAS                                                            –  $6,800                                   Defined Benefit Pension                –  $30,000                             Annuity                                                    –   $6,000                          RIF (from RRSP)                                   –  $6000                                    Total  –  $61,600

If $61,600 before taxes is going to provide enough income you are done (this of course is dependent on estimated expenses).

If you want more income after tax savings come into play.  In the above example if the target income was $75,000 the $13,400 shortfall per year could be covered by purchase of a $200,000 annuity (individual, no guarantee, at today’s rates) or savings of say $500,000 savings assuming an annual return of 3% (probably a realistic assumption).  

If additional after tax savings is needed to get the retirement income target you seek  the next question of course becomes how to invest it to minimize risk and maximize return.  You guessed it, the subject of future posts.

A final note about retirement savings:

You can always withdraw your money from your RRSP or other retirement savings to spend on things you need at any point in time (e.g., a vacation, car, etc).

In the case of an RRSP though this requires paying withholding tax where applicable  (I should also note there are special rules about using your RRSP funds to make a down-payment on a house without triggering tax).   And of course, early withdrawals reduce savings and the money won’t be available for something else later should you need it (e.g., cosmetic surgery to make you look better as you age).

That being said, I do want to end this topic with a lead in to my next post which will be about options to get a regular income streams from your RRSP or non registered savings through fixed income vehicles (i.e, registered income funds or life annuities).

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Not about your car – Re-tire info

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Over the past couple of years I have had conversations with a number of folks younger than myself, about the basic financial tools Canadians can use to ensure their retirement does not include money worries.

I am invariably surprised at how little they know about the topic.  The point being, the best time to have an understanding and awareness of funding your retirement is well before you get there.  It’s kinda like the boy scout motto, “be prepared”.

Today’s blog is a simple (but comprehensive) primer about pensions.

In a future blogs (probably tomorrow and the next day to keep the momentum) I will review retirement saving options both taxable and tax free, government allowances, income funds, annuities and of course throughout all the blogs, tax implications associated with these things.

All of this is leading to death which ends the taxes, for you anyway but maybe not for your beneficiaries (that will be the topic of even another blog. )

Let’s Start with Pensions

 Canada Pension Plan (CPP

Everyone with earned income in Canada contributes to the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP).  Employer’s contribute on your behalf too.  The money you contribute to CPP is not taxed and the earnings from investment on the CPP capital is not taxed.  You can elect to receive an annual income from CPP starting at age 60 – 64 (reduced) or age 65 (full) or 70 (enhanced).  The amount paid depends on your contributions from employment income over the years.  The current maximum is about $12,700 year. (not including the post retirement benefit if you start after 65)

Employers Pension Plan

Many  employers in Canada offer benefits above and beyond  your basic compensation, like medical/ dental insurance, special time off options and pensions, among other things.  When your employer offers a pension plan these come in two flavors (described below) and each is somewhat unique in the details but the basic concepts are the same.  I also describe with each type what happens if you leave the company (and thus the plan) before retirement.

Defined Benefit

In this plan you contribute and your employer contributes monthly, both tax free (usually a % of your salary).  The investment of the funds and the return on investment is managed by the plan’s administrator (a paid third party -e.g.,  like Sunlife).  All earnings of the fund are tax free.

The pension society oversees the operation of the plan and determines the pension payout and this is usually based on your years of service and annual income when you retire (or average of several years near retirement).  The risk that the pension fund won’t have received enough contributions or earned enough money from interest, dividends or capital gains is on the employer and they need to make up any shortfalls in the pension fund over-time.   That is the benefit is fixed, good for the employee.  (Of course if the company goes bankrupt and the pension fund is not fully funded, that is part of the bankruptcy, like Nortel,  it is not good)

If you quit the company before retirement you have two options:

1) Have the money contributed by you and your employer and associated earnings on that money (interest and dividends) deposited to a Locked In Retirement Account (LIRA)  You can manage your LIRA’s investments but cannot withdraw any money until age 65.  You have to start taking annual withdrawals after age 72 at the latest.  Money earned in the LIRA is tax free.  Withdrawals, when they start are taxed as income and can be in the form of a life annuity or a retirement income fund (RIF) which will be explained in future blogs.

2)Elect to receive the pension due to you based on years of service and salary when you leave the company.  This pension would not start though until the normal age of retirement (e.g 65) or if you choose early retirement age with a penalty (e.g. 60)  or later than the normal retirement age (e.g, 70) but usually no benefit to doing this, except as it relates to your taxable income overall at the time the pension starts.

(Note: you need to have been in the plan at least two years to be vested.  Otherwise you get what you contributed but not what the employer contributed.  Also the take a pension option does not apply.

Defined Contribution

In this plan you contribute and your employer contributes monthly, both tax free (usually a % of your salary).  The investment of the funds is directed by you.  The plan is usually administered by a third party (e.g., Sunlife)  All earnings of the fund are tax free.

Since you oversee the operation of the plan and determine how it is invested, the amount of money available to create an income when you retire is determined by you.  (If you invest badly and lose money, oops)  Basically  the risk that the pension fund won’t have received enough contributions or earned enough money from interest, dividends or capital gains to pay what you need, is all on you.

When you retire how the money is paid to you as income is also decided by you – either an annual % usually paid monthly until the income is gone or through purchase of a life annuity (both of these options will be explained more fully in the next blog.

If you quit the company before retirement you have two options:

1) Have the money contributed by you and your employer and associated earnings on that money (interest and dividends) deposited to a Locked In Retirement Account (LIRA).  Some of the money can go to an Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP).  This is based on provincial rules as to how much can be unlocked (so varies) and also your spouse (if you have one) must give a waiver.

You can manage your LIRA’s investments but cannot add or withdraw any money (beyond capital gains, dividends and interest being reinvested) until age 65 (i.e., it is locked).  You have to start taking annual withdrawals after age 72 at the latest and these are through a Locked In Retirement Income fund (LRIF) explained in  a future blog. Money earned in the LIRA is tax free.  Withdrawals from the LRIF, when they start are taxed as income.

If you did choose to put some of the money in an RRSP you can withdraw it any time (but pay tax when you do) or transfer it to a Retirement Income Fund when ready to do so (not a locked income fund).

2)Elect to take the cash and pay the full tax.  In this case though most Provinces (again this varies) require the spouse (if you have one) to give a waiver saying collapsing the retirement account is okay.

(Notes: You need to have been in the plan at least two years to be vested.  Otherwise you get what you contributed but not what the employer contributed.  Also the take a pension option does not apply.

That’s all for today, more than enough I am sure.  Check in the future blogs to get the rest of the story.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Women’s Sports

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Canada recently hosted the FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) international soccer tournament (or in most countries of the world outside of North America – football. )

I had the luck to be able to attend Canada versus China and Japan versus England.  My wife saw Japan versus England with me and went to the Japan versus the Netherlands games with a group of friends.   The game she went to on her own was with a group of avid fans with drums, flags, uniform shirts, etc and I was a little wary of joining them.  I saw that game in the comfort of my media room at home.   All these games were fabulous entertainment.

Women’s sport’s both professional and amateur have grown to encompass much more than just tennis and golf and they have   come a long way from the 1970’s both in quality of the play and size of the audience.

Schools and community groups recognize the importance of offering a wide variety of athletic options for both sexes and the value of co-ed sports continues to be better understood and embraced as a valuable experience.

All our children were active in soccer from an young age and one of our daughters continues to play organized soccer as part of the Edmonton  district soccer associations (EDSA) women’s league both indoor and outdoor.  She is certainly is a more skilled player than I ever was (probably because of the coach).

I feel really lucky society was embracing and encouraging women to be as competitive as men, from the time our children were born.   This of course was not always the case and in the 1940s and 50s the focus for women was on the sports like tennis and figure skating and competitive professional sports for women was not broadly embraced ( and the audiences and remuneration for professionals was appreciably smaller).  Embracing sports of all type, competitive and amateur for all sexes has been a worldwide cultural change.

What’s good about it?

We were fortunate to be able to enroll our children in co-ed teams which helped to teach them (through experience) that both sexes bring strengths and weaknesses.   This is a life lesson in the value of cooperation and healthy competition and I am pretty sure our kid’s benefited from it, I know I did.

The bottom line!

My posts are usually triggered by something and that is also true in this case.

Our second oldest daughter regularly invites us to watch her EDSA women’s league matches and we go as often as we can – although the late matches are past my bedtime, so I need to take a pass on those.

Yesterday our daughter scored a goal off a penalty kick from center field.  Those of you who have played the game will recognize this is quite a feat (whatever sex).  I can’t even kick the ball from center to the goal let alone have it high enough in the air when it reaches the goal to go over the goalie’s outstretched hands.   Where is the video camera when you need it?

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

The Keyboard Speaks – Is it a call for help?

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Today’s topic is a bit of whimsey based on an experience I had this morning.  Just thought it interesting and worth sharing but I don’t assign any deep meaning.

What Happened?

The external keyboard I use for my U of A work laptop is quite dirty.  Over the years the dust has accumulated on the keys, mixed with some finger sweat I guess and this created dirt smudges.

I found an old keyboard, same model, with clean keys  and thought I would make a substitution.  Although I did wonder why a relative new looking keyboard with clean keys was just sitting on the shelf.

I wonder no more.  Shortly after plugging in and using the replacement keyboard I noticed that three 9’s would randomly appear in my documents, that is   999 out of no where.

This triggered a thought about the sign of the beast,  that is 666  (Sometimes a symbol revered by devils worshipers).  Basically 999 upside down but in numerology there is really no connection.    This thinking though, reminded me of the music album by Aphrodite’s Child from 1972  titled ” 666 (The Apocalypse of John, 13/18)”   It is a double concept album with dark biblical themes.  This rock band which hails from Greece (which of course is currently undergoing some serious economic challenges).  But, I digress from the original story with these random facts about devil worship and strange connections to Greece.

Back to the main story,  I stumbled, after some investigation, on the fact that 999 is the UK and China equivalent of 911, the number you would dial on your phone to report an emergency.  Was my keyboard calling for help?  Is this a built-in feature of the keyboard?  When it needs help the user is notified by the mysterious and random appearance of three 9’s in the document.  Possible but highly unlikely.   And unfortunately I was not really able to help the keyboard (I don’t have those skills) so if it was a call for help it went unanswered.

What did I do about it?

Not sure if a message was being sent or not but regardless, I got some cleaning materials and cleaned up my old keyboard.  I put it back and that is what I am using now.

I am sad to say,  the potential replacement did not make it.   Putting it back on the shelf for some other poor dude to discover the strange 999 message did not resonate to me so it was off to the surplus/ recycle bin.

Clarification/ Disclaimer

Today’s post does not contain, nor is intended to reveal  any strange or mystical messages and should be taken as nothing more than an account of a small part of my day.   Maybe the ultimate conclusion is that I should just get a life.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Fraternal Brotherhoods

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In my first year at University I joined the Sigma Chi fraternity.  Sigma Chi is both an international organization and the worlds largest men’s college fraternity.   (Many college fraternities have homes on US campuses)

College fraternities derive from a storied tradition of fraternal groups like the Masons (which date back to medieval times).  Male groups with a focus on good character and moral practices.  This usually includes a strong charitable bent which is particularly evident in the Shriner’s which are a sect of the Mason’s; albeit more open about their charitable operations.

In the case of colleges, Greek letter societies, as they are sometimes known, would include sororities which are the female version of the fraternal bother hoods.  Sometimes these are known as sisterhoods but I have never heard them called maternal.

A common trait of these fraternal societies are secret rituals (initiation and ongoing rituals reflecting the morals and beliefs of the organization.) These groups also have methods of identifying other members (signs known only to other members).   I would disclose more about this but then as the saying goes I would have to kill you to keep it secret.  Oh well.

I should also note while these fraternal organizations, like college fraternities and the Masons, have a secret rituals they also have a public facing aspect, which includes espousing of the purpose, goals and focus of the group ; unlike secret societies like for example the Illuminati.

Whats the point/ Who cares?

Often when I tell people I am Sigma Chi  (a life long Sig at that) I often get the “party hardy” comment.  For those with memories of eighties movies, animal house is often mentioned.

Don’t get me wrong in a group of 30 to 50 young men in their early twenties (lot’s of testosterone) it would be unlikely not to see some hi-jinks.  I do admit to singing a few rounds of “lets go piss on the beta house” while in my cups.  That being said, scholarship and leadership are the most prominent traits of the fraternity.  Basically it’s an organization with a strong and stellar tradition of supporting the development of young men who exhibit a life long practice of becoming and staying men of good character.

Of course my comments don’t just apply to college fraternities organizations like the masons and other similar brotherhoods are mainly founded on a strong set of values, moral’s and  believes.   These organizations generally operate to the benefit of society as a whole.  (Before you hit the comment button I get this is not universal and yes I have heard of the Klu Klux Klan.)

Why a post about fraternities?

My blog posts are on a variety of topics.  Things that arise from discussions I have during the day, suggestions from friends and family and just out of the blue sky.

This particular topic came from a discussion with a colleague who was not aware of college fraternities (beyond the party hardy and hazing aspects).  This got me thinking about the long tradition of fraternal organizations (like Mason’s) with ritual’s practices and beliefs that truly benefit all of us.  These groups exist and for the most part are good.  They deserve our awareness and support.

Final Point –  Sigma Chi fraternity was well known in the early to mid twentieth century for the hit pop song “The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi” which got radio play and the record sold well.   This is the song the brothers use to serenade the chapters sweetheart at the annual Sweetheart ball.   (Young sorority co-eds happily compete for the honor of the Sweetheart designation in large part because of the gentlemanly reputation of the men of Sigma Chi – of which I am one)

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

More thoughts on Economics – The Shoemaker’s story

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My father taught first year business economics, among other things.  As a result I was exposed to some great explanations about the economy as a young boy.

It was not until I was much older that I really appreciated my dad’s simple grounded explanations of what can be quite complex topics.  They set a foundation which has served me well through my adult years.

Among other things, I learned why stealing a ten cent chocolate bar from the local drug store hurt the economy.  Understanding the economic basis of theft, not just the moral imperative is quite a powerful lesson.   More on this in a future post but today I am going to focus on and my personal favorite, “The shoemaker’s story”

What is it?

The basic principle behind economic cycles can be easily understood through the shoemakers story.

The shoemaker made a variety of shoes in his factory.  Over time, with consideration to the quality, workmanship and styling of his shoes, people with money to spend and desire to buy sales increase.   As the demand goes up the shoe maker hires more workers for his factory and pays them from the increasing revenue of his ongoing shoe sales.  In turn the new employees  now have more money to spend so among other things they buy more shoes.  As they buy more shoes the shoemaker hires more workers as his sales continue to climb and in turn the new workers buy more shoes and so on.  During this period prices often rise with the increased demand. More people are employed making shoes, so more people can afford to buy more shoes.   This is the inflationary upward cycle.

Now unfortunately our shoemaker (paying close attention to trends) has most of his stock in red shoes.  This is unfortunate because the government is changing and the new ruler hates the color red.  Sales drop.  So our friend the shoemaker has no choice and lays off a worker.  This worker is now buying less shoes, so shoes sales continues to drop, and the shoemakers lays off more workers who in turn buy less shoes and so on.  This is the downward cycle, typically a recession.

What’s the point?

This is somewhat of a simplification of how modern economies rise and fall, and certainly there are many factors influencing the rise and and fall of the economic cycles (far beyond a liking for red shoes or not).   However, my dad’s simple tale of the shoemaker does set a context and helps to understand the basic principles and logic behind our national economic cycles.

These ideas can be used as building blocks to other concepts (which I will explore in future posts) like government management of the economy (probably an oxymoron at best) or why and how of inflation/ deflation, supply and demand influences and other cool topics.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

The Internet of Things

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A current hot topic in the public press is “The Internet of Things”  Basically this is the next step in the evolution of the internet from an informational base to an automated functional one.  That is,  computers connected to devices and devices connected to devices, doing things.

The scope of the internet of things can span from turning on the lights in your home automatically as you arrive because your GPS sends a signal to the light switch as you come into the vicinity of your home; to initiating a request for tax payment or explanation when a large lump sum is deposited to your account (one computer tells another about the deposit, an algorithm is triggered analyzing your financial behavior, determining a tax revenue opportunity based on an unusual lump sum deposit and action is initiated)

Today’s furor about the internet of things (IOT) is very reminiscent to me of the public press about the internet in the late 1980’s and early to mid- 1990’s predicting how the internet would change the world wide behavior.  And it did.  And IOT is just beginning, in 20 years we will be part of the same kind of massive transformation resulting from the internet.

How does this change things?

In 2006 Facebook was available to everyone over the age 13.  By 2014 the incoming post secondary cohort had been using the internet since kindergarten and were the first generation of new university students with facebook access since they started high school.  Think about how that influences their perception of what a friend is and how you communicate with them.

F2F or Face to Face communication is becoming a rare art form that has it’s own acronym.   When I was growing up the default communication channel was face to face.

What good has come from the Internet!

This is a loaded question with many answers.  A huge topic which I will continue to explore ongoing through my blog postings.

That being said, a good example I can think of is Kerrzone.

Kerrzone is a product of the internet explosion.  The domain was registered in the late 1990’s, html code written, apache web server installed, dynamic domain name service  implemented and the web site was off.

Over the years the domain has been used for a variety of communication purposes, the latest addition is this blog (there are other web sites under the Kerrzone banner too).

The benefits are intangible to be sure, but knowledge and information sharing is how humanity has grown and improved through the ages (inhumanity too, but good with the bad).  And Kerrzone is just a part of this, a positive addition.   (Maybe a subjective assessment but I own the domain so hey ……..)