Savings Acounts for Kids

RBC = rubbish

Took my 4yo to the bank to get into the concept of saving.

So the deal was no charges, a little paying in book that doesn't even have name on, we declined the bank card......

After handing over our cash we got $5 bonus. Then I asked about the interest...........

wait for it


0.1%

Current inflation rate 3.5%,

So in 10 years of diligent saving the $50 will be worth $35.

Great.

They refused to handle our pot of change unless we 'rolled it ourselves', note to RBC we don't freaking roll. You buy a freaking coin counter or stop being tight and let us use yours..
Go roll your coins......is this a Canadian hobby?

Apparently Loblaws has a coin counter....great we'll just mosey on down to Loblaws, and while we're there we may as well invest our money in propane or food or something that will be worth more in a few years..

Crap.

I looked on the Canada govt web page and they have some bond things that are also rubbish
premium bonds 10 yr bonds that pay less than inflation, canada savings bonds, similarly bad.

This is half decent but not many 4y0 have 500$ saved up..

Green Laser Pointers etc

This place on Cavendish in NDG is pretty good, quite cheap.  Good presents for boffin types.

www.apinex.com

very powerful, locally based so great for last minute purchases etc, 

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

I should have known someone cleverer than me would have done this.

Someone has changed googlemaps to look at running routes and have a calorie burn calculator.

I'd say the only drawbacks with it are
1) it does not snap to the roads so you need to click lots of small segments, it just does a straight line between points.
2) none of the help stuff works so it took me a while to figure out how to use it.
so here you go:
1) press start recording, double click to add a point, double click at every corner etc
2) when finished add you weight

not sure what elevation is doesn't seem useful, what is cool is it allows you to save a route with its own link like this one

*******Update*******
They guy fixed it like he said he would, it is really much better now
You can do snap to road, straight lines whatever..
Very good, thanks Mr gmap-pedometer

Finding distances of running routes on Google maps

Well this is pretty straightforward if you run in a straight line as the directions function will do if for you.

Even if your route is a bit wiggly you can just drag the blue line, but if it is really wiggly it gets messed up.  Tonight I learnt a new feature

lets start with a map of tdm

View Larger Map

First right click and define the start point

then you right click on the next segment and set it as destination

then you go to next segment and add as new destination

then you just keep adding them so you might have a route like this

giving you total distance in miles.

If you want a specific distance then just move the letters about and as you move them a box pops up telling you how far, e.g. 10 miles, see below

Important research on CuNTs

OK forget the ignoble awards and other geeky attempts at self deprecation I have found the most important paper of the new century

entitled Electrochemical synthesis of metal and semimetal nanotube–nanowire

heterojunctions and their electronic transport properties by D. Yang et al. in Chemical Communications 2007 they discuss Copper (Cu) nanotubes (NT).

I show you a figure from the paper, if you don't eant to see broken CuNTs and CuNT roots then please leave this site.

Now either Scientists are so dull they have neutered themselves by years or staring down microscopes or the editors of this english journal had great fun at the expense of their Chinese authors.  Either way makes a very dull paper very funny to a puerile person like me.

Forget grey goo, this may finally make science mildly sexy or sexual, but I doubt it.

injured

Bloody running eh?

So I was just starting the mile build up part of 'the plan' when I got pain in ankle, ran on it again and that REALLY hurt so I am off. However as per usual the answer is on youtube
found a physio video for sprained ankle. In a week I am able to do the toe raises pain free, now need to do them one footed.


I am worried though that there is something weird with the way I run that just makes my ankle sprain because I don't remember any particular event such as a twist or fall that set it off.

I lost 7lb or so from doing the first running training scheme....I actually miss it....