Pi Day, March Break, Two Ferns, Snow and #FreeFormFridays

Happy Pi Day! Yes, it is March 14, which makes today’s date 3.14 or Pi (to three digits accuracy). Mathematicians and Geeks worldwide will be eating Pies and celebrating the day. Next year at 9:26 AM will be the best Pi day possible because March 14th, 2015 at 9:26 AM translates to 3.1415926 (Pi to 7-digit accuracy). Yes, we need to get out more (or eat more pies) in Math.

It is March Break for kids in Ontario this week, so many parents have been scrambling around to find things for their kids to do. One of them is leaving them in the McDonald’s play structure all day long? You know you could take them to a museum, skating, or swimming instead? Mrs. C8j was not impressed at what a lunatic asylum the Play Area looked like and quickly escaped from it with L’il C8j in tow.

President Obama decided that his approval rating was in the crapper, so the best thing to do was appear on “Between Two Ferns” with Zach G. (from the many Hangover movies and such). Suppose the President wishes to help his approval rating. In that case, I will gladly do a Podcast with him about March Madness or, better still, why he didn’t just outsource his Socialized medicine idea to Canada. You can watch the video at the end of this article.

It snowed in Ottawa this week—no, it snowed! Mother Nature reminds us that just when you think Spring might be near, you are sorely mistaken.

My Weekly Recap

My Writings for Week Ending March 14th It’s Einstein’s Birthday too!
Stagnant Job Picture in February Stats Canada paints a not glowing happy picture on job creation, but at least we aren’t losing jobs (yet).	Who Cares About Debt I Only Pay 2% on my Mortgage Why would someone choose to carry debt? Evidently it’s a normal way to think for some folks.	Myths About Your Taxes There are no Trolls working at the CRA that I have seen (maybe they work under a bridge somewhere, but from my vantage point none work in their buildings).	Fiscal Fasting An idea on how you can use a religious idea to help out with your financial situation.

Swiss Army Knife Section

The Swiss are more excited about Einstein’s birthday, I would guess:

• Bloomberg Business Week wonders is it Time for Smarter Rules on Digital Money ? I think the comment about Mt. Gox being , “… the worst-run business in the history of the world,…” I couldn’t stop reading.
• The Economist wrote about Mike Parker, typographer, died on February 23rd, aged 84 , and you might say, who is he? He was the Guardian/Defender of the world’s favorite font Helvetica.
• Speaking of fancy and expensive journals and magazines Kerry at Squawkfox wrote Use Zinio and your Library Card Read Digital Magazines for Free, yes it works in Ottawa too!
• The NY Times Money section seems to imply Men and Women view money planning differently with Mars, Venus and the Handling of Money , wonder why they thought that?
• LSM Insurance wrote about Bill 157 (in Ontario) The Insurance Experts Weigh In, which would create the Financial Advisers Act, wonder if I have to adhere to this standard?
• The New Scientist points out that Open Source University courses are a good thing but Online university courses can’t change the world alone .
• Now that I can read all these great magazines, maybe I should learn how to speed read? First read The Truth About Speed Reading from Lifehacker. I actually listen to a lot of books, wonder if there is any speed listening?
• It may be tax season but don’t believe any e-mail sent to you from the CRA asking for information to be sent via e-mail.
• The NY Times also had A Story of Perseverance ESPN Anchor’s Private Battle With Cancer Becomes a Public One , everyday he fights.
• Michael James takes on Debunking RRSP Myths with Pictures , and nice pictures they are.
• Must be debunking myth week with Mark at My Own Advisor writing about 3 Big Fat Myths about Critical Illness Insurance
• Larry MacDonald asks How should Canadian house prices be cooled off?
• Barry at Money We Have also adds more about houses Canadian housing: What We Should Know
• Mark at 2nd Career Search gives us a glimpse of the living hell that is the US Tax code with Withdraw Money from Your IRA Without Penalty , it even mentions Alpacas, and has a neat picture.
• The Blunt Bean Counter takes money out of his own pocket to give us  Income Tax Preparation Tips (he could charge you for this service).
• Preet brings us a new podcast with Discussing The Financial Advisors Act of Ontario with @WillBrittonCFP (PODCAST)

I Like Trains

My son loves trains and loves watching this video as well:

Random Thoughts for 2014

Lots of these kinds of Best of articles in 2014. Here is a list of them.

• World Cup Side-Effects, Seinfeld Cars, and #BestofFinancial What happens around the World at half time of the World Cup Final? Is it like Flushed away? Is there a sudden tsunami? Who knows?
• Cuba, Rubles, Christmas and #BestThisWeek – getting close to Christmas but Ian McKellen can teach us about impulse control.
• Snow, Christmas, Enhanced and #BestThisWeek talk of more festive ideas, like how to save money at Christmas.
• A Gentleman, Day of Disability, Christmas, Rugby and #BestThisWeek noted the passing of Jean Beliveau and John Oliver’s views on Lotteries.
• Black Friday is Here, Advent, and #BestThisWeek speaks of the blessed Black Friday and associated sales but also includes a Fanfare for the Common Man.
• Lake Effect Snow, Web Cameras, Travel Insurance and #BestThisWeek November brings snow in Toronto, as we see, and other financial ideas.
• Asteroids, Tax Cuts, Lemurs and #BestThisWeek how many times has the Earth almost been hit by an asteroid? Too often to remember.
• Lame Ducks, Financial Literacy, Working for Free and #BestThisWeek lame duck leaders never really get that much done, no matter how they negotiate.
• Happy Halloween, Income Splitting and #BestThisWeek a wonderful financial time of the year is Halloween? Maybe income splitting is a better subject.
• Ottawa We Shall Remember, Bank of Canada and #BestThisWeek after a bad week in Ottawa, with senseless violence.
• Crashing Markets, Ebola, Low Loonie, Cheap Gas and #BestThisWeek even in 2014 the markets were a little volatile.
• Hockey, Turkey, Leaves, Carry On Bags and #theBestFin4TheWeek is it right that the hockey season starts before Thanksgiving?
• October, Hello Ebola, Give Blood and #theBestFin4TheWeek October arrived unexpectedly this week, almost unnoticed. As we have entered the final (calendar) quarter of the year 2014, it may be time to start considering a year-end review of your financial plans.
• Autumn , United Kingdom, Beer Money, and #theBestFin4TheWeek the colours in Ottawa during Autumn are truly spectacular.
• Pins, Alibaba , Apple Pay , Lecosse , and #theBestFin4TheWeek remember when Alibaba the IPO happened, those were heady days.
• Home Despot, iPhones, and #theBestFin4TheWeek
• Back to School, Tim Burger King, Knee Defenders and #theBestFin4TheWeek will the dutchie ever come back? I can only hope.
• Broken Humerus, Ebola, Anniversaries, Blood and #theBestFin4TheWeek remember when we thought Ebola was going to wipe us out?
• It is Done, Ice Bucket Challenge, Media Perceptions and #theBestFin4TheWeek
• WW1 Centenery, More Hacked Passwords and #theBestFin4TheWeek
• The Long Weekend with no Name, Defaults, and #BestFinancialForTheWeek
• Unmasking Super Heroes, Dogs of Summer and #BestOfFinancialForThisWeek
• All Stars, Al Stars and the #BestOfFinancialForWeek the world cup was a big thing in 2014 as was Bastille day too.
• Brazilian Defeats, Tour De Chunnel, and #BestOfFinancialForWeek you mean Brazil can lose at the world cup?
• Tennis, Racing, Inflation and #BestofFinancial Canada Day is the start of the summer for most Canadians, and financial stories too.
• The Stand, Football Biting, Naughty Banks and #BestofFinancial even in 2014 the banks were misbehaving with shenanigans.
• Elections, Dad’s Day, World Cup, Friday the 13th and #BestofFinancial somehow the Liberals won the 2014 Ontario Provincial Election
• No Rate Hike, Better Performance, Montreal Grand Prix and #Bestof-Financial back in 2014 we were worried about rates, but they were already pretty low.
• Elections, Farewell Knowlton, May Done, and #Bestof-Financial Knowlton Nash was the voice of news for Canada for a while.
• Internet Memory, Grand Prix of Monaco and #FreeFormFridays the Internet has memory?
• Time Off, Elections, Victoria Day and #FreeFormFridays Victoria Day is always a fun weekend.
• Frosts, Elections, Farley Mowat and #FreeFormFridays it does get cold in May!
• Rain, Budgets, Bloggers Meeting, May Day and #FreeFormFridays When financial bloggers meet what happens?
• Beware the Financial Jabberwock, Netflix Expansion, Model Trains, Backups and #FreeFormFridays a thematically odd article.
• Easter is Here and a Saturday #BestOf for the Weekend a time of renewal, new beginnings in life and financially as well.
• RIP Flaherty, Heartbleed, Tax Time, Quebec Elections and #FreeFormFridays the former finance minister did a lot of good for the economy.
• #Selfies, Quebec Election, Big Joe, Awareness, and #FreeFormFridays would Big Joe Mufferaw have been a good fit for the Redblacks? We’ll never know.
• Don Quixote, Tax Time, Cheap Mortgages and #FreeFormFridays gotta hate tax time.
• Spring Has Sprung, March Madness, Celebrity Blogger and #FreeFormFridays talking about Spring in March in Ottawa can be a bit early.
• Pi Day, March Break, Two Ferns, Snow and #FreeFormFridays given pi is infinite, how much pie can we expect?
• Quebec Elections, Eating Sugar, Suing Parents, Big Rocks and #FreeFormFridays those elections in Quebec are never dull.
• Saint David’s Day, Big Posts, RRSP Time, the Dating Game and #FreeFormFridays always a good time to put a Welsh Choir Clip in an article.
• Hockey Day, Tax & RRSP Time and #FreeFormFridays Hockey day in Canada? Well it does happen, right around RRSP time too.
• More Olympics, Budgets, Love Day and #FreeFormFridays Valentine’s Day: Celebrating Love and Dealing with Financial Whining.
• Olympics, Not Super Bowls, Creationism and #FreeFormFridays 2014 Olympics Opening Ceremonies and Soshi Stadium’s Doppleganger: The Super Bowl.
• Senators, Weak Loonie, Superb Owls and #FreeFormFridays Rugby is a Hooligan’s game played by a Gentleman.
• Polar Vorteces, Olympics, Mayors and #FreeFormFridays The Polar Vortex brings Winter in Canada. But don’t worry – -30C highs in Ottawa in January are normal.
• Giveaways, Oil tanks, Eagles and #FreeFormFriday Have you checked your oil tank if you heat with Oil? What will your insurance do if the tank ruptures?
• Truly Canadian Issues, Ultra HD TV, Car Loans and #FreeFormFriday Get your lock de-icer and unlock your Super Mailbox cubicle like I did – Canadian Tire to the rescue!
• Some #RandomThoughts from 2014 Some of the best of, best of posts on my random thoughts weekly post.
• CPP Reform, Snow, Christmas, Boxing day and #FreeFormFriday Did the CPP reform of 2013 fix much? Kind of, but Christmas was coming too.