December 5th. Two weeks to our XMAS breakfast.

(It’s time to buy a $20 gift, gents.)

Home Security Report: A. Lockhart mentioned that $25,000.00 buys a lot of dog food.

Members:

Brett Bain. Phoenix is booming. It feels wide awake and getting ‘woker’. Jobs galore. High hopes and great expectations. So it’s a letdown to return to the doldrums of YYC.

Sean Baylis. Canadian banks ‘missed’ their quarterly targets. He’s surprised at TD and RBC. For now he’s kind of in a holding pattern with an eye on income from preferred shares (with possible buy and hold opportunities).

Jim Bladon. Spooked, he was: no sooner did he mention to his passenger (in his truck) that he really likes the new Dodge RAM, when an ad pops up on his iPhone from … yep, Chrysler: promoting that very truck model. So is Siri listening in on your life? They say you can shut her ‘ears’ down by going to Settings and turning off ‘background’ option. • In any event, Jim was surveying the state of the crops north of Grande Prairie. Not looking promising at all. • BTW if you didn’t know this: online retail sales are huge in the 25 to 45 age categories.

Paul Boucher. The wine draw continues. 

Ian Campbell: Hungry? Ian recommends Eden Restaurant in Inglewood on 9th.

Matt Dart.

Don Davis. The value of Don’s condo in Victoria is higher than the floor it’s located on. And no, he’s not complaining. Real Estate is booming in Victoria.

Todd Dean:

George Doherty. Pharmacology Economics 101: Generic drugs are cheap. New versions expensive. Same drugs in the US are exorbitant.

Don Doolan . Radon gas breathed its risky cloud of gassy leaks: it seems there are more than one way to measure your exposure. If concerned you might want to check with Don or the U of Calgary.

Tony Fisher. Just asking: when do Black Friday sales end?

Gord Forsyth. Gord is not suffering from over-priced insurance. Yet. (See next comment.)

Mel Gibson. Mel warns us to prepare for sticker shock: home and auto insurance rates are growing like sunflowers in Manitoba: higher than ever.

Henry Heuver.

David Hicks .

Dan Kennelly. Engineering biz always erratic at year end. January should be better with TMX and the LNG plant in Kitimat.

Matt Litke. 

Andy Lockhart. His mother is amazing. 

JD. MacDonald. Phone is ringing. But number of peeps shopping for prices is taking some of the fun out of answering the phone.

Michael McLennan.  

Ross Mikkelsen . He likes Vero Bistro on 10th Street in Kensington and if steak and frites appeals, so will you. • He’s off to Belize. ’

Mike Mikkelson . He brought ‘Oil Sands in a Baggie’ to share for breakfast. It kind of looks like you’d think it would. And it smells like asphalt. • The huge Aurora project in Medicine Hat has been mothballed. Gotta wonder … what were they smoking?

Brad Pachal. Drafting he is. It’s that stage of projects, right now,

Gerry Parcells. His granddaughter is now a proud owner of Gerry’s Mercedes. • Gerry is considering upgrading his security system. (Shh, don’t say that out loud.)

Dwayne Vinck. He is taking on the challenges of recording the financial activities of The Birds. • It looks like Kids’ Help Line will expand their services to help a wider (range of ages) market. Other options are being considered but … • Remember: income splitting is a no-no so get a pro to help w taxes.

Bob Wiggins . After years of diligent treasury services, Bob is turning The Books of Burds over to Dwayne. • Thanks, Bob. May your successor keep us in the black as well as you did for 44 years.

George Roberts. 

Associates:

Gregg Callander. 

Alumni:

Ken Eades. 

Bill Hoogstratten. 

Bruce Roblin. 

Chris Wright