Soggier Still
The rains have now reached the point where everyone is now almost urging them on. The record for the most rainy days in a row for Vancouver is 28. We are at 24 today, and no end to it is seen on any of the forecasts (although every once in a while I’d see a sun appear next to Saturday or Sunday, but I suspect this was just wishful/wimpy thinking by some meteorologist). After just 5 more days, we have bragging (or perhaps whining) rights. Worst Winter Ever. Most Rain in Recorded History. Even George Stroumboulopoulos, the twenty-something hipster host of CBC’s The Hour took pity on Vancouver and had them put an inset of footage of a sunny beach on the screen during half of the news last night. (Pam and I are both becoming fans of The Hour. Sure it’s a little goofy at times, but it sure is nice to see a newscast that is targeted at younger viewers — probably about 25–35 — and it doesn’t talk down to them. You’d never find anything like it in the US, where the evening news is supported almost entirely by pharmaceutical companies and is clearly aimed at the over-60 crowd).
It’s not just the Rising Water Level
Accumulated days of non-stop rain are not the only records I’m keeping my eye on.There’s also the case of the Canadian versus the US dollar. I know, I’ve mentioned it before, how the US$ keeps dropping and dropping and the CAD$ keeps rising and rising. I remember a discussion with our investment advisor about what to do if it hit $.85, as we still had (and have) some funds here and back in the US in US dollars. Well, have a look at this:
The Canadian dollar hasn’t just hit .85. It’s roaring on past it. At the rate the Canadian Dollar is climbing, by the end of the year (by my estimates), the US and Canadian dollar will be equal. While this is bad news for our savings, it is good news that I’m working and being paid in Canadian dollars. Still, one wonders what happens after parity. Do we keep going? Does the US start to become a bargain for all us Canadian shoppers? More seriously, does this mean that trade with the US takes a hit? That could hurt the economy here pretty badly.
I keep wondering if the lack of confidence with the US currency is somehow linked to the US’s fall in the world’s esteem. As they roll around like some dying animal in unending war, multi-trillion dollar debt and one corruption revelation after another, perhaps the financiers and investment bankers of Europe, Asia (and Toronto) are starting to take a cue from all of those crowds of protesters. According to my parents, the port of Canton in China was not merely catching up to the US. “It’s there.” stated my father, meaning that it was clearly showing the signs of an economic superpower that had surpassed the US in infrastructure.
Nevertheless, fear of following the US politically seems to be on the wane. The Conservatives, led by Steven Harper, seem poised to win the election (sorry, no poll graph here of the opinion polls of Harper). While Harper is definitely not my choice, I have to keep telling myself that he’s no George Bush, and to be sure, he isn’t. Still, whenever I hear the words ‘Conservative victory’, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and my blood pressure probably follows that graph.
I’m liking your writing, David …
Glad we found your blog.