Interesting article
Tim
We are really like Blades of Grass
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https://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2012/04/marans-ameraucana-olive-egger.html
Some potential new eggs, green, blue, and 007 style
In a couple months, duck eggs will grace our tables in the spring season
Great article sent to me on this topic. My lady loves going to the gym, efficient, that is what she wants. I don’t go to gym very much, I prefer the actual work on something gym of life. The “Wood Splitting Club” , the “Shovel Gravel Club” , the Throw Bales Club” , the Push Lawn Mower Club” , the Garden with a Shovel Club” , lots of clubs , also the Hiking Club” , lots of options to work on your core physical fitness. Enjoy the article, learn about the business of the gym club. Alternatively, get a personal training and join some of the clubs that interest you. Have fun, and if you get to our local Snap Fitness friends gym, let us know, we decided this fall (2018) to offer a 20% discount on the personal part of your tax return. Supporting small business and our clients fitness goals in 2019.Tim $$$$$ Why gym memberships probably aren't worth the moneyMore than half of all gym members never actually go to the gym — yet year after year, they continue to pay for a service they don’t use. |
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Shortly after the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Day of 2018, Josh Kline closed his eyes and vowed a resolution: He’d sign up for a gym. He’d go every day. He’d lose the paunch and reclaim his former glory. Yes, he was 6 beers deep and full of carne asada. But dammit, things were differentthis year: He was going to do it! A few days, and a few inspirational Instagram posts, later, the 32-year-old New Jerseyan found himself at a local big-name gym, inking a $650 annual contract. Sans the hidden fees, that worked out to a little under $50 per month — a steal, he figured, for 365 days of value. But by early February, his commitment began to wane. “Every day” became every other day; every other day slipped to twice per week… once per week... zero times per week. At year’s end, his attendance tally looked something like this: |
A little too ambitious there, Josh? (Zachary Crockett / The Hustle) |
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Kline’s story is familiar. “Getting more exercise” is routinely the most commonNew Year’s resolution — and every January, gyms bulk up their staff and prepare for an infusion of fresh blood. There’s just one problem with this: Joining a gym, while admirable, is generally one of the worst investments you can make. The reasons for this are rooted in the way we make commitments for self-betterment, the core business model of the fitness industry, and even behavioral economics. But before we get into all that, let’s take a look at the bigger picture. Drop and give me $700In the United States, 60.8 million people (~1 in 5 adults) have some kind of membership to one of the country’s 38k gyms and health clubs and pay an annual, monthly, or daily fee to work out. Collectively, gyms rake in $30B+ in revenue on an annual basis.. Membership fees vary widely based on your location and gym of preference, but the industry-wide average falls in at $58 per month, or $696 per year. On top of the monthly fee, gyms often tack on an “annual fee” (paid at the start of each new membership cycle), and an “initiation fee” (a one-time dinger that can run as high as $250, due upon signing). The main purpose of these fees is to give the gym something to reduce to make you feel like you’re getting a “special” deal. In reality, the gym’s out-of-pocket costs to sign you up ring in at a measly $3. |
Gym fees vary widely on a person-to-person basis, and by location, but average around this range. (Zachary Crockett / The Hustle) |
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Generally, most of these fees are pretty fair. If the average gym-goer were to use a gym 7 times a week, every week, without fail, $696 per year would work out to a measly ~$1.90 per visit. Even at 4 times per week, you’d be looking at $3.36 per visit. But here’s the thing: We don’t even come close to 7 gym visits per week. Or 4. Or even 3. What makes a gym membership a poor investment is your lack of commitment. Staying home and eating cake counts as leg day, right?A study run by a pair of UC Berkeley economists found that while members anticipate visiting a gym 9.5 times per month, they only end up going 4.17 times per month. That works out to 50 visits per year. Assuming an average session length of 1 hour, the typical gym member is suddenly paying $14.50 per workout. This stacks up pretty poorly with other things we pay a monthly fee for. |
We spend 5x more on a gym membership than we do on Netflix per month — and we use it 10x less frequently! (Zachary Crockett / The Hustle) |
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Why on Earth is this average so low? Well, it turns out that a vast swath of people who pay for gym use just… don’t go at all. A Statistic Brain survey[paywall] of 5,313 American gym members found that 63% of memberships go completely unused. The granular stats are even more dismal:
From their data, the survey authors estimate that the average gym member “underutilizes” two-thirds of her gym dues — roughly $39 per month, or $468 per year. And as it just so happens, our laziness and lack of commitment are the lifeblood of big-name gyms’ business model. Gyms bank on you NOT showing upEach January, when our ambition is riding higher than a SpongeBob wedgie, gyms experience a 50% uptick in memberships. It’s what one fitness director once called “the perfect storm” — a time when “cold weather [and] a psychological awareness about achieving goals” draw out lofty ambitions. But most of these new signees, like our pal Josh Kline, eventually fall off the proverbial treadmill. It seems counter-intuitive, but big-name gyms don’t want us to work out. "If gyms operate at more than 5% of their membership at any given time, no one can use the gym," explainsone branding consultant. "They want [people] to sign up, but they know that after the 15th of January they won't see 95% of them again." |
A vicious cycle (YouTube, via Fox’s “The Cleveland Show”) |
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The nation’s largest gym chains often sign up 20x the number of people who can actually fit in a given location. They are well aware that most won’t show up. As Planet Money reported, one Planet Fitness branch in NYC had a max capacity of about 300, but boasted more than 6k members. Similarly, Gold’s Gym and Life Time Fitness often ink 5k-10k memberships per location despite having only being able to house 300-500 people at a time. In essence, the people who don’t show up “subsidize” membership costs for those who actually do go, allowing gyms to keep their prices down. So, why do we keep signing up?As the late economist Thomas Schelling laid out in his 1978 paper, Egonomics, we have “two selves:” The present self (who is highly motivated to work out come January 1st), and the future self (who will inevitably quit by March). These selves are engaged in a “constant conflict between immediate desire and long-term goals.” Oftentimes, the present self will trick the future self into making good decisions by enlisting a little concept known as “precommitment:” We commit to something in advance to make it harder — or impossible — for our future self to back out. If our goal is to save money, we might set up automatic paycheck deductions into savings. If we want to learn a new language, we might pay for classes in advance. And if we want to exercise more, we might lock ourselves into annual gym memberships. |
And if your goal is to get drunk, you pre-game (Zachary Crockett / The Hustle) |
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As the blog Refocuser writes, by precommitting, you must “always assume your future self is lazy… you’re practically dragging your future self kicking and screaming toward the ‘right thing’ by taking away his or her alternative options.” Thing is, this just doesn’t work — and it ends up costing most people money in the long-term. Okay, so how do I work out for cheaper?You shouldn’t blame any of this on gyms: They promote fitness and well-being, and, in general, are priced pretty reasonably considering mechanical upkeep, equipment costs, and employee overhead. Still, it’s hard to justify the cost when the odds of regular attendance are stacked so unfavorably against you. One alternative is to simply build your own home gym. The Department of Health and Human Servicesrecommends 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity (or 75 minutes of “vigorous” aerobic activity), in addition to at least 2 sessions of major muscle group strength training, per week. This is easily achievable without a gym membership. While the equipment you choose to buy depends on a number of factors, including what types of exercises you want to do, and the space you’re working with, it’s possible to build a relatively space-efficient, full-body setup for the same cost as one year at a gym. |
Also highly recommended (and free!): Wrestling bears (Zachary Crockett / The Hustle) |
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Let’s say you pay the average monthly gym fee of $58 ($696 per year). A home gym, at ~$625, will pay itself off in a little under 11 months; after that, you’re saving $58 per month in perpetuity. Over the course of, say, 5 years, that amounts to $3,480 in savings — enough to hire a drill sergeant to berate you into working out every day. Problem solved! |
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https://www.visualcapitalist.com/how-every-asset-class-currency-and-sector-performed-in-2018/
Great recap on a see saw year. The data digs into the US markets mainly.
The U.S. dollar was the strongest major currency, and the Japanese yen had an impressive year as well.
Energy (-20.5%) and Materials (-16.4%) sectors were the hardest hit.
https://www.mycocultures.com/about/
Decided to learn a bit more about growing mushrooms. So invested in a couple mushroom kits.
Have had them for a couple weeks and figured I better do something with them.
The Oyster Mushroom wasn’t waiting for me, and thus the shrooms are starting to develop, so cool.
Anyway, it wasn’t that hard to get them ready, cut some holes in the bags, and away we go. Now don’t laugh, I was actually out looking for pieces of wood to plant my kits in. Note to self, read instructions first. That was already taken care of , thus the word “kit” . Digging a little deeper, one can purchase the serum and that will require the logs I was searching for, so not all a waste.
The link above is actually worth a read, inspirational , background on the business that I purchased the kits from. They are out of Quebec and have resurrected a old mushroom farm. Looks like some innovative ideas percolating there. So glad I purchased there, great story.
Learning about what we eat and grow is a good investment in our health, and mental space, helps one appreciate things more, and with time, helps one become more frugal with our resources. There is a certain satisfaction about growing your own food.
Invested in some books as well about finding and utilizing the wild mushrooms that we see on our journeys. My favourite mushroom growing up turns out is called Meadow or Horse Mushroom. I know where to find them and when. The challenge is getting there. Next time, I plan to gather and then resettle some closer to home.
This fall we were blessed with Puff Balls, we had fun with harvesting and eating them.
Chaga , our fungus from the birch tree, with its healing properties is a daily addition to our hydration adventures.
Looking forward to our next meal served with our own delectable King Oyster Mushrooms and Shiitake mushrooms, both I have never eaten before. The adventure continues , “Be The Adventure”
Also got a message from our shipper that the button mushrooms should arrive on Monday.
Well, it’s 2019, and the year has some challenges already. I just wrote a nice little introduction and I inadvertently didn’t save it and swiped it off my phone. It was a really good reflection, and now I have to start over ! Lesson learned, once again, save as you go along.
So, this spot is going to be were I dump some of the tough , crappy stuff I find during my travels with the thought that I will be aware, and have the info should I need to remember and reflect on it. It will not be all negative, so the spot is half full and half empty. It will be like a well, hopefully not a sewer, yet some sluge will seep in. I simply for awhile don’t want to spread fear, yet do not want to be ignorant of the fact that we have some very fearful items on the world list.
So, I will endeavour to keep it balanced , and I encourage one to run it all through a filter as there will likely be some parts that don’t sit well.
When we were on the mountain, we had to drink lots of water. It was critical to our success and health. The water acted like a cleansing agent and it provided additional oxygen to our bodies as the higher altitudes resulted in less available oxygen to use. This extra hydration helped our brains from basically blowing up. The major side effect was one had to pee a lot , at least my personal experience and if you were not peeing clear, you needed to drink more. We would get our water bottles and water backpacks filled every night. My pack was 3 litres and I had a couple bottles so about 5 litres of clear water plus our liquid soups, coffee and teas. A lot of liquid, thus a lot of pressure on the bladder. But it was good. Frankly, I need to drink more, side note to self.
So, my biggest problem so far this year was writing something twice, it’s a bit different than the first time, be sure and save your work as you go along.
This article is about as bad as it gets from a global perspective . Guess that’s a good place to start. War and the threat of war.
https://www.crisisgroup.org/global/10-conflicts-watch-2019
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/time-new-social-contract-inequality-work-sharan-burrow/
https://www.ted.com/about/programs-initiatives/tedx-program
This would be a very cool opportunity should it be pursued.
Lots of great content if you ever wanted to consider everything that should be thought about while organizing an event.
If if we had a TEDxBrockShores whatb would we have covered?
What great innovative speakers would we want to present ?
Perhaps my son Alex Ross and his work on Radon Detection systems.
Perhaps , Greg Houldcroft and how he reaches the youth in the community
Newterra and how they have made the words water cleaner
Rotary and what it means to be a Rotarian, locally and globally
Burnbrae Farms , innovation and family farm
Small business hero’s of our region
Immigration and refugee
Canada’s flag and the birthplace connection
Bruce Wylie , a community champion of philanthropy and air waves
Bringing Ayo Home, the journey and the adoption heart
Dream Mountains Foundation, Shawn Dawson and his goal to climb the seven summits with purpose
John Barclay, video art of the story
Mental Health, Shelley McCaffrey
Shelli Warren and the Leadercast local leadership dream and impact
Mike Whitford, making the body work the way it was intended to
David Marshall, fastest snowmobile rider in the world, doing business around the world
Coming down is the hardest part of the summit journey, things work differently coming down , that was my personal experience climbing Kilimanjaro , getting down almost killed me. I had two guides going up and five guides going down, thankfully I didn’t need the sixth. There is a lot of analogies between climbing and retirement, looking forward to reading this article. I might add, I started out with a team of twenty, due to my health, I had to do the final stretch on my own, while the rest of team had their own group experience, I was solo. It’s certainly harder. I did a memory walk in my mind as I climbed that night. I seen my friends once in awhile on that part of the journey and they encouraged me, one was a bit delusional and tried to encourage me to give up based on her experience. So life is a bit like this. The key take away, our team leader had the experience, he had successfully climbed Everest and five of the other 7 highest summits of the world and he had climbed Kilimanjaro just over two years previously, experience coaching is important. Shawn gave the advice, encouraged, guided, was there for me and the others, yet in the end you have to take the next step, what ever that step is.
http://peakfs.advisor.news/the-3-biggest-risks-to-prepare-for-as-you-retire/
https://globalnews.ca/news/4798689/thrifty-social-worker-11-million-childrens-charities/amp/
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We have developed relationships with Family’s that have businesses. Those that have an entrepreneurial insight that in many ways flows from our tax business. We have a lot of legacy clients and referrals from this foundation built over the last thirty years. We need to get better at telling our story. We have reduced risk by providing SRI practices in our investment solutions and portfolios that use pension management asset allocation processes. Stable returns with less risk. All this reduces risk, providing confidence and word of mouth opportunities to share what we have done, all within a confidential environment. Our team continues to grow and specialize within the different areas we discover are important to Achieve Life’s Major Goals.
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Markets - Tuna is basically on sale
Things that “could” happen
Reviewing my farm paper, I came across this resource and encouraging place #RootedInStrength http://www.domore.ag
What greater gift than the love of a cat. ~ Charles Dickens
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/our-top-infographics-of-2018/
well, I learned a new word today, seaganism , reading the vegetables report in my Ontario Farmer, Postmedia had a few projections, facts and figures on the business of eating
35% of Canadians spend about 35% if their food budget on eating out
12,157 a year spent on food for average Canadian family with a rise of 411 projected
Prime rib is down 13% from January
vegetables are up 4% this year and with food growing conditions from El Niño and rain deposits in the wrong area, expect food shortages in prime growing areas , so higher projected food costs for 2019
carnifors and seafood lovers rejoice, meat costs are going down, so good quality protein will cost less
So, maximize your nutritional and economic value, seek out good Canadian grown, locally produced, ethically raised produce. Plant a garden, learn about your food. Eat out less, purchase less convenience food , Be The Adventure
http://www.visualcapitalist.com/12-ways-smarter-mental-models/
http://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4958820
exciting announcement. The purchasing power evidence is in once again
One of our Christmas gifts this season
up from a dollar
Canada Post says the cost for an individual stamp on a letter sent within Canada will jump to $1.05, instead of a loonie, starting Jan. 14.
The money for the post office is now in delivery of packages. Email has reduced letter demands. Parcels are probably nit as profitable, but big demand on the post.
Locally lots of work for postal workers, 7 days a week last few months, only s couple days off during the rotating strikes.
Things are better than the media would like you to think, remember fear sells
As one of my investment guru’s puts it
Stop The Fear
#StopTheFear
and buy the way
Companies are currently on sale, approximately 20% in USA currently from their highs
https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4958332
• ˚ •˛•˚ * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
• ˚Merry★* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★Christmas!★ 。* • ˚。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門｜ ˚ ♥ May this Holiday Season be filled with the love of Christ for you , your family and friends.
Merry Christmas from Tim & Megan ♥ ☺ ♬ ☑ ☎ ✩ ✉★❦✵ ✡ ☮ ♘ ✄ ❂
And Thank you from all of us
at Brock Shores Financial
Timothy Ross, Family Advisor ©
Family Office providing Omega Stewardship ©
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Helping Families Achieve...Life’s Major Goals ©
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* One Stop Process Driven Approach for Retirement & Income Planning
* Personalized Tax Management Solutions for Individuals & Business Owners
* Confidential Wealth Management Solutions
Mutual Funds through PEAK Investment Services Inc.
Brock Shores Financial #ImprovingFutures
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Well, the annual happiness report shows Canada in the top 10. #7
the report shows Canada is a bit less happy then it was a year ago, no improvement, down about 5% globally making it about 100 in the improvement category, loading about 5% overall.
http://www.visualcapitalist.com/measuring-global-happiness-countries/
What does that mean, not much, simply things are not as sunny as they were last year. Carbon taxes, failed pipeline misadventures, uncompetitive tax rates, falling oil prices and a government trying desperately to improve its leaders social opinions on the population, other than that everything is pretty good. Let’s not forget we are well positioned in case of a depression or recession the government feels we can handle a flood well. We think it’s about water, maybe he meant the proposed immigration targets of a million people over the next three years. So much going on, hard to follow it all. Let’s nit forget Cannabis is legal now and a guaranteed income for everyone is being proposed. The budget will be balanced with debt in the interim and by 2040 government taxes will match government expenses. So it’s not so bad. Future is looking like blue skies, and the morning skies are a glow, as they, sailors take warning.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and may 2019 bring you faith, hope, health, prosperity and the love of our Lord in your heart.
Tim
http://www.fatherly.com/play/50-short-dumb-jokes-kids-love-anyway
50. What do you call an old snowman?
49. Why are ghosts such bad liars?
Because you can see right through them.
48. Why is Santa always so happy?
He likes to live in the present!
47. How do you catch a whole school of fish?
With bookworms.
6. What is a witch’s favorite subject in school?
45. Why didn’t the zombie go to school?
He felt rotten!
44. What did one plate say to the other plate?
Dinner’s on me!
43. What kind of shoes do ninjas wear?
42. Why did the cookie go to the hospital?
Because he felt crummy.
41. How do mountains stay warm in winter?
40. Why do artists constantly feel cold?
Because they’re surrounded by drafts.
39. Why did the pony get sent to his room?
He wouldn’t stop horsing around.
. What do you call a cow that eats your grass?
A lawn moo-er.
37. Why do fish live in salt water?
Because pepper makes them sneeze!
36. What did the Dalmatian say after lunch?
That hit the spot!
35. Why can’t a leopard hide?
Because he’s always spotted!
4. Why should you not let a bear operate the remote?
He will keep pressing the paws button.
33. What is a robot’s favorite snack?
Computer chips.
2. What did one plate say to the other plate?
Dinner is on me!
31. What does a nosey pepper do?
Gets jalapeño business!
30. Why did the banana go to the hospital?
He was peeling really bad.
29. Why did Mickey Mouse take a trip into space?
He was looking for his buddy, Pluto.
28. What are the two things you can’t have for breakfast?
Lunch and dinner.
27. Where do you learn to make banana splits?
At sundae school.
26. What did the limestone say to the geologist?
Don’t take me for granite!
25. What kind of dinosaur loves to sleep?
24. Why do seagulls live by the sea?
Because if they lived by the bay, they’d be bagels!
23. What bone will a dog never eat?
A Trombone.
22. Why did the dinosaur cross the road?
To eat the chickens on the other side.
21. Why did the man get fired from the orange juice factory?
Lack of concentration.
20. When will the little snake arrive?
I don’t know, but he won’t be long.
19. What’s the biggest moth in the world?
A mammoth.
18. What do you get if you cross a frog with a rabbit?
A bunny ribbit.
17. What type of markets do dogs avoid?
Flea markets!
16. What do music and chickens have in common?
Bach, Bach, Bach!
15. Why aren’t dogs good dancers?
They have two left feet.
14. What do you call a blind dinosaur?
13. What did one penny say to another penny?
We make cents.
12. What kind of lion never roars?
A dandelion!
11. Why did the clock go to the principal’s office?
For tocking too much.
10. Why did the man put his money in the freezer?
He wanted cold hard cash!
9. What do you call a funny mountain?
8. Why did the man run around his bed?
He was trying to catch up on sleep!
7. Why do dragons sleep during the day?
So they can fight knights!
6. Why can’t Cinderella play soccer?
Because she’s always running away from the ball.
5. What did the zero say to the eight?
Nice belt!
4. Why is the grass so dangerous?
It’s full of blades.
3. Why is it so windy inside a sports arena?
All those fans.
2. Why did the student eat his homework?
Because his teacher told him it was a piece of cake!
1. What’s worse than finding a worm in your apple?
Finding half a worm.
"Everybody I know who is funny, it's in them. You can teach timing, or some people are able to tell a joke, though I don't like to tell jokes. But I think you have to be born with a sense of humor and a sense of timing." ~ Carol Burnett
“Altria will pay a USD$2 billion bonus to Juul's 1,500 employees as part of the price for its stake in the e-cigarette maker. While that averages out to USD$1.3 million a head, actual payouts in the form of special dividends will depend on factors such as longevity at the company, CNBC says. The maker of Marlboro cigarettes is paying a total $12.8 billion for a 35% stake, valuing the California startup at $38 billion. Juul recently said employees can only vape outside company facilities to conform with laws governing the use of tobacco in the workplace. • Here’s what people are saying.
Wow, nice vice bonus 1.3 million average for 1500
Many may know, in our own area in Smiths Falls, Canopy Growth has created over 100 millionaires that work at this local company. I understand everyone that works there is a shareholder of some sorts. Those early employees got vested early and have benefited immensely for working their buts off and taking a chance on a new industry.
Employees investing in the company they work for is a very good thing. I see many examples of this happening with those that are public companies and some private companies. Good lessons here for private companies and employees to work towards.
Tim
great quick overview about the challenges of growing
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/steps-scaling-your-business/
great pic from last nights Rotary Christmas Ham packing workshop.
