May 26 2005
Can you believe that a tech guy like me still doesn't own a digital camera? (Unless you count the one
Blast Radius sent me as a 'valued customer' when I was with Playground. Made in China. Worth $20. Could never make the thing work.) Especially considering that I've had this web site to maintain for 6 years. So anyway, I might be ready to break down and get one. Gina and I are seriously considering getting ourselves a
Nikon D70s. I'll use my existing Nikkor lenses (a 20/2.8, 50/1.8 and 80-200/3.5-4.2). Anybody think this is a bad idea?
May 24 2005
We're working on weaning Sam from his nighttime feedings. So if I'm cranky, it's because I spent last night trying to convince Sam that he doesn't need to eat every hour. Hopefully he'll get the drift in another few days.
May 18 2005
We took Ana and Sam to the
Vancouver Children's Festival today and watched the
National Acrobats of Taiwan. It was fun, except for the 10,000 other kids.
May 16 2005
My running is going pretty good these days. I did a 16km long run yesterday and I've done my Thursday interval workout two weeks in a row. I've been taking L-Glutamine for a month, and so far no injuries... I don't know if it's a coincidence or if the stuff really works. I'm planning two races: the
Sandcastle City Classic 10K in White Rock on June 5th, as a primer for the
ScotiaBank Half Marathon on June 26th.
May 11 2005
I just read "
Stop Working: Here's How You Can using the strategy of Canada's Youngest Retiree". Here's what I liked:
- It's specific to Canadian taxes and investments.
- He actually stopped working at 34, and he never earned more than $30,000/year.
- He's retired on just $350,000 and a paid-off house. With all the government subsidies, his family can get by on the $19,000/year that his investments generate.
- He got me thinking about dividends and income trusts, things I hadn't thought of before.
- It's short: 180 pages.
- He's made me think maybe I really can retire in 10 years.
Here's what I didn't like:
- Where was the proofreader? There are hundreds of typos.
- Where was the editor? The book is poorly organized and often illogical.
- He makes this big argument against RRSPs, but it doesn't hold water for anyone but low-income families, who probably don't make up the book's audience.
I get the feeling that selling me this book is part of his retirement strategy. He's smarter than he writes. But I did get my money's worth, I think. He gave me a fresh perspective on retirement. What more can I ask than that?
May 7 2005
My wife's mother's cousin's daughter designs beautiful wedding cakes for a living, and she asked me to build her a web site. So I procrastinated for about 6 months, and then I put this together:
cakesbymeg.com. Most of the web projects I work on involve a dozen stakeholders and tens of thousands of lines of code, so it's a pleasure to work up a small, simple web site for an appreciative customer. Of course, there's not a lot of money in web sites for relatives.
May 6 2005
April to June are allergy months for me. I'm prone to do irrational things during this time of year--I can't think clearly because I itch too much. Last May at this time, I decided to quit my job. This year, I have no job to quit, but if I did, I would surely quit it. And
I hate allergy medication.
May 4 2005
In 1984, I may have had almost the worst overbite on the planet, but darn if my teeth weren't tough. After 32 years, I still don't have a cavity. So that's why I was so confused at the pediatric dentist today. My precious 3 year old girl needs root canals, caps and fillings, and she'll have to be put under general anaesthetic for the whole procedure. The dentist thinks it's from nursing Ana at night and letting her fall asleep with a breast in her mouth. As comforting as it was for her, it seems it's done in her teeth.
May 3 2005
I read
The Naked Investor: Why Almost Everybody But You Gets Rich on Your RRSP. It would make a good magazine article, but 288 pages? This guy is long-winded. However, the message is good: most mutual funds are a rip-off. The lesson I'm taking from it is stick with index funds and keep it simple: 1/3 bonds, 1/3 TSE, 1/3 S&P 500. I've been burned with stocks before, so I might even go with 1/2 my assets in a bond index fund. The book also turned me onto
Barclay's iUnits--index funds that are traded like stocks.
May 1 2005
Went down to
Kitsilano Beach this morning to watch the
Vancouver Marathon. We cheered and clapped, and I kept yelling, "1 more mile to go!" After a while, another spectator pointed out that we were standing at mile 22. I wonder how many athletes collapsed at mile 23 because of me, having completely expended themselves with another three miles left.
