From The Hotline, Summer, 2009 By Ken McEwen Retired IBEW member I have recently been advised that another issue of The Hotline is imminent. As usual, a deadline was attached to the advice, and here I am once again operating under pressure to meet the deadline. Fortunately it is raining this morning, because deadlines are always harder to meet during sunny weather. Further, as I have stated before, retirees don’t handle deadlines at all well. While I have, as always, been diligent in my ruminations, I am not sure that any of the profound opinions developed would be of great interest to the readership of this publication. I am therefore somewhat at a loss for words on this rainy morning. Perhaps if I just get started something will come to mind. We returned to British Columbia from sunny southern California about mid-April along what I now call “The Casino Trail”. Actually, pretty well all trails are now Casino Trails. In the past, it seems people had to head for the state of Nevada to find casinos. Not any more. Casinos seem to abound in all the western states of our neighbouring country to the south. This has changed Catherine Dear’s focus somewhat. Shopping malls and factory outlet stores have been replaced by casinos as major attractions. Now I don’t want you to get the idea that our travel plans are determined solely by the availability of casinos. However, if the day’s driving ends in proximity to a casino, then why not? Again referring to the past, casino operators used to offer RVers overnight parking in crowded asphalt parking lots with few, if any, facilities. Nowadays, some of the best upscale RV parks we have stayed in, complete with all facilities and amenities, are provided by casino operators at very reasonable rates. Catherine Dear can go happily off to play casino while I spend quality time with Sesame the dog and the TV remote. After getting home, we discussed the possibility of our customary springtime wander around BC. Due to the usual backlog of doctor and dental appointments, as well as some necessary chores around the condo, we decided to defer our wanderings until after Labour Day, when school children have returned to their studies. However, the camper sits loaded and ready to go at a moments notice should the need arise. I want to assure everyone that I have not been idle. There have been two roofing projects on buildings across the street that required observation and supervision from our balcony. A building is being constructed kitty-corner from our apartment and the construction method is one I have not seen before and thus is in need of frequent observation and supervision. As well, our high-rise building is being painted, requiring an enormous commitment of my time in overseeing the job. Monitoring the commercial and recreational traffic on the Fraser River continues as a major responsibility. These are just some of the onerous tasks faced by this retiree on a daily basis. To further ward off idleness, Catherine Dear organized a multi-unit “yard sale” for our building. I mention this only to share with you the heart wrenching decision I made to pass on my stereo tuner/amp, tape deck, turntable and speakers that had been with me since early 1971. Well, the speakers hadn’t been around that long as I upgraded them about 1990 or thereabouts. Nonetheless, all components were treasured members of the household and travelled with us through the moving process. The only other experience that caused as much distress with regard to valued possessions was when moving resulted in the loss of my chain saw at a similar yard sale event. All these years later I still suffer separation anxiety when I see a flyer advertising chain saws or when I visit a friend whose chain saw is proudly exhibited on or near his work bench. I must confess though to some self-serving interest in regard to the disposal of my stereo equipment. See, I have been planting seeds of the need to upgrade for some time now. However, it is more difficult, from a negotiations point of view, to justify the need for new equipment when adequately operating components are on site. The absence of such components may now allow the seeds to grow and flourish into a fully flowered need for new sound reproduction equipment. In doing preliminary research for anticipated negotiations, I discovered, through discussion with a friend in Hitchcock, Texas, the availability of a turntable that can be plugged into the computer so that my vinyl albums can be converted to CDs and something called MP3. Even though I don’t know from MP3 (technologically I have just come to grips with CDs) I reckon that acquisition of such a device would fill any idle time that may occur once the painting project is complete. Back in the day when cassette tapes were on the leading edge of technology, I used to dispel idle time by taping programs made up of selected cuts from my vinyl collection so that I could enjoy the music while driving in the car. Now it seems I’ll be able to do the same with CDs. It’ll probably take me a few years to understand and make use of MP3, whatever that is. I have been ruminating for about a year or so on the application of the carbon tax to automobile fuel. I’m pretty sure I’m missing a critical element in understanding this endeavour to save the planet. It appears that the plan is to reduce the use of automobiles by raising the price of fuel to unaffordable heights. But, the government says, the tax is “revenue neutral” and the extra money spent on fuel will be returned to the consumer. So, the carbon tax collected when I buy fuel will be returned to me and thus I will be able to defray the higher cost of the fuel and be in the same financial position (or better according to our benevolent government) as if the tax had not been applied in the first place. I’m not really sure how this encourages me not to drive my car. Also, we are told the major determiner of fuel prices is not greed, but is that bedrock upon which capitalism is built, supply and demand. If the critical element I’m missing is there, and government is successful in taxing people away from the gas pumps, it would seem to follow that the demand for fuel would fall, thus increasing the supply. The rules of capitalism would then require the oil companies to reduce the price of fuel in order to entice consumers to purchase more fuel and keep the profit margins up. Again, the logic of the whole exercise eludes me. My rumination circuits are now in overload. I think it’s time to check on the progress of the painting and the building construction across the street. Please continue to work and play safely because retirement is a great way to fill idle time. |
