Summertime in Québec City - Encroyable!!!

Bonjour everybody.

I am having an absolutely magnificent summer residing in Québec's capital city.  No I haven't taken a position with the local tourist board here, however it will probably seem like it.  My kids stayed with me for ten days during my vacation, then after returning to work my father came and spent a week.  

It was a very busy, but worth every minute.  I just wish there was more time.  

I'd been to Québec many times before, but this is the first time I've actually lived here, and there's a lot more to do and see than many have probably realized.  I'm sure most visitors to Québec go and take in the old city, behind the walls.  

Here's a picture taken from the Citadel of the Chateau Frontenac, they're replacing the copper roof.

But that's just the beginning.  For those that are into a bit of thrill seeking and adventure there's going tree to tree north of city, or if you prefer 'arbre en arbre'.  Zip lining, rope bridges and Tarzan ropes take you over miles of forest up around the Laurentian mountains, with some spectacular views.  The journey ends with very sore arms and a zip line covering 1,000 feet.

If you're a baseball fan needing a fix, Québec's Capitales have you covered.  They play in the independent Can-Am league, which is mostly populated with has beens and never weres.  Its good baseball that's probably at about the AA professional level, maybe even AAA.  

And the atmosphere is electric.  If you've gone to a Jays' game at the Sky-Dome (yeah I know that isn't the name but I don't care) and thought you accidentally wandered into the library, then you're in for a shock.  The fans are loud and they're having fun, with lots of yelling...in English.  Whenever the fans aren't happy with a call the stands resound with a cry of, "Come On Ref"!!!  I was thinking of correcting some leather lunged patrons near me, but I figured they didn't care...ump, ref, c'est toujours la meme chose.

The ball yard is classic, probably seating around 5,000 I would guess, with bullpens down the right and left field lines and a terrace or patio area in the left field corner.

I can go on and on and on and on.  I'll let the pictures do the talking now though.  Here's some shots of Mount Morency falls just east of the downtown, another smaller water fall on the Wendat Mohawk reserve, and then the water park at Valcartier Vacation Village.

There's still lots of summer left, so if you're trying to think of where to spend a week or just a few days, give Québec some thought.  

And don't worry if you don't speak French, there are lots of bilingual people here, especially in tourist places.  Better still, dust off your old high school French and give it a shot, it might not be perfect or even close, but Québecers really appreciate the effort.

Higgs Boson - Looking at God, and in the mirror

I want to start this off by stating categorically that I am not a scientist, in fact I consider myself as having anything but a scientific mind.  As such what I am about to write is pure and unadulterated fiction...uhm, let's make that Fiction with the F capitalized.

I did not excel in the maths and sciences during my academic career, in fact I failed math twice in high school.  So why do I feel compelled to write about the discovery of the Higgs Boson or so called 'God Particle'?  Simple, I believe that this discovery will turn out to be at least as significant as the invention of the wheel, perhaps even more significant.

Higgs Boson, dark matter, quantum-physics, the law of attraction.  

A few years back a video and book called 'The Secret' made a big splash.  It talked about something called the law of attraction.  The creators of 'The Secret' contended that human thought has the ability to affect the physical world.  In other words people could change their lives by using concerted and concentrated thought.

I believe it, without doubt, without hesitation and without reservation.  And the discovery the Higgs Boson particle I believe plays a part.  

Don't ask me to explain matter, to describe atoms and molecules...I told you, mine is not a scientific mind.  All I know is that they're infinitely small and that water is expressed as H20, the H representing hydrogen and the letter O representing oxygen. Water is a mix of hydrogen and oxygen, with one of them having two atoms or molecules and I guess the other one, like I said I sucked at maths and sciences in school.  

The only reason I've retained the knowledge of water's atomic make-up is that people sometimes say, 'give me a glass of aitch two oh'.

But why do hydrogen and oxygen mix together is this fashion? Why do atoms and molecules bother joining together anyway? Why don't all these ultra teeny tiny little particles just flit about the universe willy nilly?  Scientists are telling us that its because of the Higgs Boson, this even smaller than ultra teeny tiny particle, so minuscule in size  that its smaller than an atom, its sub-atomic.  

Scientists are also talking how it may lead to the discovery and possibly even capture of so-called 'dark matter'.  Now this shit starts to get really interesting, and I'm not being facetious, not one Higgs Boson little bit.

Dark matter is stuff we can't see, and what's more scientists say it can be here one second and then totally disappear.  There is quite possibly, and personally I don't believe it to be a possibility but a reality,  a complete other universe right in front of us, parallel if you like, that's invisible but that affects our own.

And here's where God and the mirror come in.

I believe that things like the Higgs Boson and Dark Matter are the result of human thought, both conscious and subconscious.  In other words there is no exterior creator or God, we are the creators.  I also believe that there are individuals who know and have known this to at least some degree, people that have been able to use this power, in a limited but significant way to their general advantage.

I now believe that humankind as a whole is on the verge of tapping into and exploiting the most powerful force in the universe. My fear is that we're not ready.

The reason is simple.  If thought has the ability to affect the material world, then whose thoughts will prevail?  We live in a world that is both hyper connected and hyper competitive.  

Whose wants, needs and desires win out?  Humans divide themselves from their brothers and sisters so many ways its almost hard to categorize them all.  By nationality, race, culture, religion, socioeconomic class...even along family lines as well as by gender.

Whose agenda will win?  We're already in constant competition over so many things with the tangible tools at our disposal, often leading to armed conflict.  Its not hard to imagine competing visions of our world battling with one another, with the destruction off all being the result.

Then again, maybe I'm totally out to lunch on this thing.  After all, mine is not a scientific mind.

My first summer living in Québec City

This will be my first summer residing in Québec, and soon my kids will be here for ten days.  I can't wait.

I've visited beautiful Québec City often, five times alone for winter carnival, but this will be my first summer actually living here and I plan on being very busy.  I've bought a bike and already I've made good use of the path that winds its way all the down from the Laurentians north of the city, right to the downtown.  I'm lucky in that I live less than 10 kms from work, so whether driving or biking it takes me just 20 minutes, I prefer to cycle.

So far my plans for the summer include a day at Valcartier Vacation Village, a water park with enough slides that if they were placed end to end, they would reach PEI.  Actually I don't think there are that many slides, and they're not that long, but that's what I've been telling the kids.

Of course we'll be going downtown, to the old city and to the Citadel, to soak up some history.  Québec is North America's only entirely walled city, and the Citadel is an old fort built and fortified by the British after their conquest of New France.

There will be horse back riding, going tree to tree up near my place where you zip line and cross miles of bridges with your feet never touching the ground, Mount Morency Falls and some hiking through the small canyons.  I don't know if ten days will be enough.  Sainte Anne de Beaupré, Orleans Island, Lévis, a day at the ball park watching the Québec City Capitals of the independent Can-Am league, we might even get to see José Canseco who plays in the Can-Am because there's no drug testing.  

If it rains there's a shopping mall with an amusement park inside which includes a roller coaster, or perhaps a day at the aquarium to see some sharks.

Have I mentioned I can't wait?  

I'll be leaving the GTA with Big brother basketball star and the Princess Raspberry early in July.  They're both in French Immersion which means they'll be getting the chance to put what they've learned in school to practical use.  Should I be worried that they'll read my blog and that they won't be surprised?   Nah, like most people they never read Canadian Soapbox.  

Who knows though, after this summer they might start.

Bon été tout le monde!!!

Canada's housing market crash...the new reality

Its happened all around the world, and now its happening here in Canada, the inevitable collapse of our housing bubble.  There are still people in denial, especially those who've bought in during the frenzy of the past few years.  

Of course buyers have had good reason to dive into the market.  Banks were practically giving money away at what financial types refer to as 'emergency' interest rates.  Canada's banking system was supposedly more conservative in nature and subject to tighter regulation than our neighbours to the south.  And of course our media has been beating the 'buy now or buy never' drum.

After the euphoria, reality sets in.

Those super low interest rates mean higher mortgage payments at renewal.  During the first years of a mortgage, payments have next to nothing is going toward paying down the principal.  That means renewing for practically the whole amount at a much higher rate.

Our supposedly conservative banks started slutting out sub-prime 40 year zero down mortgages about 5 years ago, without even bothering to verify the value of the homes they were lending against.  The mortgage had government backing thanks to CMHC so the bank has zero risk.  Stated income was accepted without verification, and why not?  With taxpayers on the hook in the event of bankruptcy the banks posterior was covered.

And its only been in the last short while that media outlets have even begun talking about the possibility of a bubble market, while still trumpeting industry types who now talk of a 'balanced market' and the so called 'soft landing'.  Its the same language we hear just before a major recession hits.

I'm a big fan of Garth Turner's blog: Greater Fool, which is one of the only outlets which has been warning people of what will very soon be the new reality.  More popular are TV shows like 'Love it or List it' which get both homeowners and property virgins all hot and bothered to get active in the market, making industry players extremely wealthy.

Sadly I know of people who will get hurt.  One such example I'll call Bob, he will be closing on a Mississauga townhome in June.  The place cost close to 400 large and he'll be paying down a 30 year mortgage of about 350K.

Bob, like a lot of people, didn't see the point in throwing away money on rent.  On top of that everyone he knows owns a home, only losers rent....uhm, okay.

So instead of renting a townhome for 1,500 to 2,000...the same as what it'll cost him to occupy his GTA townhouse, he opted to part with $50,000 in cold hard cash for the privilege of 'owning' a home.  But if the same experts who predicted the US meltdown prove correct on their analysis of our market, then his home stands to lose about a third of its value.  

What does that mean to Bob?  It could very well fell financial disaster.  If his 400K home drops in value to 300K he'll have pissed away all of his down payment.  And when he goes to renew the mortgage he'll

need to re-qualify, which will mean coming up with at least $15,000 to meet the CMHC minimum equity requirement.

What if he can't come up with the do ré mi?  Simple, the house gets sold and he's left with a bill for the difference between the selling price and what's left on the mortgage.  In this scenario that would mean going from having $50,000 in card hold cash to owing that amount.  And why?  Because somehow owning a home has become the end all and bee all of a Canadian's existence, just like it was in the U.S. before their market tanked.

I think he would have been better off being a loser and paying off someone else's mortgage over the next five years while that 50K would have been growing into a even heftier down payment after the market corrects.