No heads in the sand.

Sept. 26

Coming election stirs burds to predict a Trudeau win but with a minority position, giving green ‘Liza’ some business-bashing powers. Not promising at all. Same for Canadian dollar. And future prospects for insurance industry.

See this article in The Economist as suggested by Paul Boucher: https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2019/09/19/changing-weather-could-put-insurance-firms-out-of-business .

Some good news: VR is coming to Burds, just as soon as Brett and Gord can coordinate a date.

Members:

Brett Bain. Even a canny Scotsman can be fooled by scammers: Brett was looking for some Alberta Labour guidelines, so he called them. Had a pleasant chat with lady – who sent out a gentleman to ‘help make things clear’. On his arrival, it became clear that this was an ‘Alberta Labour Pretender’ organization with a mirror website. They were selling their ‘guidance services’. Brett tossed the imposter out … but he is still unhappy that he was fooled for a minute or two.

Sean Baylis. He expects that the ‘impeach Trump’ activities will come to nothing. • He reminds us that the Tech Sector is volatile (Shopify is up; it’s down; and it’s still around). • As markets go thru times like this, investors often start selling. He cautions that you not sell all your winners. • In fact, he kind of likes Husky. Their distress may be an investor’s gain.

Jim Bladon.

Paul Boucher.

Ian Campbell:

Matt Dart . He and Irina enjoyed their visit to Washington, DC. They ‘scooted’ around town and even, all the way to Georgetown. Something they may not have managed were it not for those Scooters-To-Go.

Don Davis. You’ve seen those nodding-birds action toys that drink water? Well, there were many burds’ heads nodding in agreement when Don spoke of the ridiculous situation facing the Okotoks farmer who is now being sued by the lowlife who vandalized the farmer’s property. • Used to be, you could protect your property and family. Now, it sounds like you’re supposed to help the perps.

Todd Dean: 

George Doherty. George is happy with the purchase of his new Accura MDX (or RDX?). Maybe have a chat with him if you’re in the market for a new car.  Find out how Geo saved $3500.

Don Doolan .

Tony Fisher. So now you might want to be really really careful about parting ways with an employee. Seems they might have recourse if your actions cause them stress, Hmmm …

Gord Forsyth . There is a very smart (i.e. intellectual) fellow coming to Gord’s Rotary Club to make some interesting predictions that will follow on the heels of our Federal Election . The date is October 16th. I cannot find the fellow’s name – but Gord knows him and believes his insights are valuable.  Gord has a table for eight and Burds can book with Gord. FCFS.

Mel Gibson.

Henry Heuver. Water.Water. And water some more. Your trees need to be watered-in for the winter. So let your hose trickle for a couple of hours. Roots run deep and water needs time to work its way down.

David Hicks . Used to be that you got what you bought. But now, with some of the new potlights, they come with an APP. So you can now adjust and/or change the colour, intensity and hue.

Dan Kennelly. Ah, the stupidity of government insurance. Seems ICBC is really jacking up the cost for first time car insurance buyers. This is leading to people saying they’d sooner pay the fine ($600, if caught) than the premium (around $5000). This is leading to quite a few uninsured drivers. • OH, and when you next head to Maui, you can now order your groceries from Wal-Mart  and have them delivered on your arrival.

Matt Litke. Once upon a time, we had Behavioural Psychologists. Now that we have Behavioural Finances, does this mean we get Behavioural Bankers? (We’ll have to keep an eye on Matt.)

Andy Lockhart . Got any spare cash? Or near cash? Andy is putting his into US dollars. (Or US Treasury Bills.) Sean agrees. As does ex-burd Merlin. • BTW Merlin and his biz partner are now Directors of RBC Dominion.

J.D. MacDonald. JD and his staff are looking forward to their meal at SAIT. 

Michael McLennan. 

Ross Mikkelsen. Surprise! Even Calgary’s Indian Buffet restaurants now get 40% of their business via Skip-the-dishes. Bigger Surprise? Someone called 911 demanding police charge a restaurant with assault … because they delivered a sandwich with tomato on it (after they had specifically requested no tomatoes!).

Mike Mikkelson. Want a good steak? The Salt Lick does a fine job. And when Mike was there the other evening, Bill Murray and Dan Akroid et al. (from the new GhostBusters movie production team) were there, too.

Brad Pachal. What goes around comes around. Brad was in Saskatchewan and marvelled at a 1912 Eaton’s House Kit (that you could order for delivery via train and then three local wagons). For $1200. He adds that you can now order a house kit from Amazon. For more than $1200, mind you. Much more.

Gerry Parcells. BC on his mind: he’s just back from his visit to Windermere where he got to watch 500 classic cars do a conga-like drive through town. • He loved the drive back to YYC. All the green and gold and yellow signs of fall. (Well, maybe not so much all of the Green ones!)

Dwayne Vinck.

Bob Wiggins. 

George Roberts. 

Associates:

Gregg Callander. 

Alumni:

Ken Eades. 

Bill Hoogstratten. 

Bruce Roblin. 

Chris Wright