Tempus Fugit

Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies

Author: Garry

  • Subscriptions will be the death of us

    Subscriptions will be the death of us

    How many do you have? Seems innocent enough, just a few dollars a month or as they used to say “pennies a day”. Some of you are saying “What’s a penny?” ?

    Seriously, add them up, it’s killing us by just a few more dollars every month.

    In my Instagram feed I get lots of ads now like everyone and one that I’ve seen many time was for the reMarkable tablet, note taking with a pen and paper feel. Being a bit of a tech junkie I looked a bit deeper. How much does this reMarkable thing cost?

    Well, right now it’s about $549 CDN plus all the shipping, handling and taxes etc. but check out the subscription hook!

    To maintain full functionality of your $549+ purchase there is a $4.99/month subscription! A subscription that will slowly increase over time or take a sudden jump like my YouTube premium subscription just did from $17.99 to $22.99/mo.

    So reMarkable, no thanks.

    The subscription model? Death by a thousand cuts.

  • The Good Shepherd

    The Good Shepherd

    The good Shepherd knows the way, the path, to “green pastures” and “still waters”. Pastures and waters He will use to “restore our soul”. Psalm 23:2-3

  • The first installment

    The first installment

  • Godly Self Confidence

    Godly Self Confidence

    Wow, a good one to remember and review from time to time.

  • Is Amazon less expensive?

    Is Amazon less expensive?

    Apparently, not always and as the saying goes “It pays to shop around.”.

    So, I’m looking for something simple, a v-belt for the aquarobic air pump at the lake. You used to be able to just pop over to Canadian Tire and pick one up from an extensive collection, not any more, they don’t have any!

    The V-belt in question

    S.W.R. Industries a nice Canadian company with good products. Where are your local distributors now?

    The company sells on Amazon and direct from their website as well. I like to buy three at a time to have some backups on hand. Here is the breakdown.

    Description

    Cost

    Shipping

    GST

    PST

    Total

    Amazon (SWR)

    $14.95, 3 for $44.85

    $6.95

    $2.37

    $3.31

    $52.99

    SWR Website Direct

    $4.46, 3 for 13.38

    $22.62

    1.80

    $0.00

    $37.80

    Same product, same company, big difference. Hmmmm. ?

  • PressReader – a hidden gem

    PressReader – a hidden gem

    So, I was at the Winnipeg library yesterday picking up a couple of books that I’d requested and while I was there I thought I’d pick up a couple of magazines for some casual reading. I picked up a copy of Popular Mechanics, a magazine I had a subscription to thanks to my grandparents for most of my childhood. As I took it off the rack I noticed this sign.

    I knew that many library materials were available digitally and I’ve used Overdrive’s Libby to read and/or listen to these digital resources. I found that these apps on my iPhone or even the largest screen iPad Pro was a little difficult. There is typically a lot of scrolling and zooming to make the text readable so I generally gave up on reading library materials on the iPhone/iPad and stuck with the Kindle for reading digital materials.

    Enter PressReader! the app is amazing and there is a very good chance you can use your local library card to sign into this app and read a huge number of magazines and newspapers for free!

    The best part is the interface. Read in the original published format or tap an article and it pops up in a window where you can focus on just that article in a scalable font that you can adjust to your liking and even have the article read to you! Super cool! And even better it’s a Canadian company, how good is that!

    Tap on an article…
    … and get it in a nice scrollable window with scalable text

    Check it out on you iPhone and or iPad. If you’re a newspaper or magazine reader you won’t be disappointed.

    p.s. also available in a browser

  • Stava Peak – March!

    Stava Peak – March!

    Peaked on the trainer in March!?!

  • Farm Experience

    Farm Experience

    Today I was privileged to be out on the Bergman Farm riding shotgun in the combine with Will.

    I arrive at about 8:45 a.m. and we immediately hop in the combine and head out to the field.

    The combine – My ride for the morning and Will’s mobile office

    Once out on the field Will pick up the header and gets down to business.

    Clearing some mud that got stuck in the 42′ cutters

    We have a great conversation all morning about farming, charitable works, and other stuff. I get a much greater appreciation for what farmers do for all of us consumers. Every so often Will unloads the combine on the fly to the grain wagon which after a few offloads transfers it’s load to a waiting grain truck on the road at the edge of the field. This process is repeated all day long until conditions like moisture dictate a stop for the day.

    Into the truck and back to the silo on the farm

    I had an awesome morning and learned a lot in a short period of time. Now when I fly by on the highway and see combines harvesting in the fields I have a new appreciation of what it take to run a farm, thanks Will!

    And then there is a video that Apple Photos automagically put together.

  • What is your punch line?

    youtube.com/watch

  • Early Morning Kayaking

    Early Morning Kayaking

    I took a paddle down to the bay at the bottom of our point to be with the wildlife and nature as the sun rose. With a coffee on board it was a leisurely paddle with fog rolling across the water in the coolish 3°.