It’s no secret that I’m interested in a fairly wide range of topics. I suppose I ‘feed the habit’. Every morning I try cram in as much information as I can in as limited a time as possible. It can make for some interesting reading – and for a fairly ecclectic spectrum of topics.
We’ll start off in the US, right in the heart of Republican America…
- South Carolina is among Southern states that rank towards the bottom of the US health spectrum. This is a state that went 58/41 Bush and he doesn’t think the system’s broken. You’d think in areas where poverty is an issue they’d choose candidates with a desire to fix those issues. Oh well.
- I suppose the above’s to be expected, especially considering that the average American’s health hasn’t improved lately. Troubling in a country with a 30% obesity rate. Eat more get fatter – Yum.
- Imagine you’re a gas station attendent. Now imagine you own a mobile phone. Now what would your reaction be when you realize that a dog swallowed your phone. Would you use it again? One Turkish attendent did…
- Housing starts fall. This has major implications in Brampton. Being one of the most affordable neighbourhoods in the GTA (Not having good transit connections has some upside) a lot of the economy is driven by the housing boom. It’s not unusual to pass cornfields and notice them replaced by a new subdivision. The city’s financed infrastructure construction by jacking up property taxes and once growth slows… Hmm.
- Would you pay $120,000 for a shower with 18 shower heads and 6 computer programmable settings? What happened to turning a knob?
- Rogers just completed its takeover of Fido. The cellphone market in Canada just became less competitive. Joy.
- When doctors start mentioning ‘critical stages‘ in reference to patients in a coma – that’s not a good sign. In related news, Arafat is doing poorly.
- Ralph Klien’s being cagey on how he believes Alberta’s health care system should be revamped. Cries of ‘privatized healthcare’ linger. The truth is – I think the current system’s broken, but I don’t think the American model is the answer. There are other alternatives that we should look at for potential answers. Perhaps Sweden?
- I’m never going to African Lion Safari. Ever.
- Maybe I won’t frequent to Best Buy either. I guess I’m not really a desirable customer being as I always submit rebates, watch for the lowest price and comparison shop. I don’t like thinking of myself as Best Buy’s personal piggy bank.
Registration may be required for the Toronto Star. Unfortunate :-(