Beyond the Rhetoric

Wake up! It’s the first the month! So, we’re taking a look back at the month of January to see who were the most active when it came to comments on Beyond the Rhetoric. You’re going to see some familiar faces here and I’m glad that they’re sticking around to keep the conversation going.

Once again at the top is our good friend Ray Ebersole. To kick off the new year, Ray chimed in with his opinion on the Mayan apocalypse, as well as the US Presidential election, the GOP candidates involved in the race, and Florida Governor Rick Scott. From Nancy Pelosi to John Bonner, there’s plenty to read here.

Next up, we have Used tires. Seeing how I live in Vancouver, the post about how to stay safe while driving on wet roads hits a little close to home. Remember to check those treads for problems, deficiencies, and wear. Uneven tire wear can be indicative of a problem with your wheel alignment, which can prove disastrous under less than ideal conditions.

To my knowledge, this isn’t the first appearance by Zagorath on the top thinkers list and I hope it won’t be the last. A great read on the myth of the retina display was published on his blog a while back, reminding us that the “magic” number of 300ppi is only relevant at a specific distance. Beyond that, the pixel density can be less and still achieve the same “retina display” experience. The 720p display on the recent Galaxy Nexus is one example of that.

The last post written by Betshopboy on his own blog showcases his SCMS 2011 result, completing a full marathon in four hours and 21 minutes. I wonder if he has participated in any other marathons since then and, if so, if he has been able to crack that sub-four hour target time yet.

And finally, we have Sourish @ iPhone 4 Problems to round out the top five for January. If you’ve ever wondered about the benefits of jailbreaking, the forum thread has over 20 responses with all sorts of information about why you may want to hack into your preferred iDevice. There are risks, of course, but there are certainly rewards to be enjoyed too.

Side note: The winner of my CES swag bag giveaway has been randomly selected. Congratulations goes out to Ratman2050. You are the winner! Please contact me with your shipping address and I’ll send it out to you right away. Thanks again to everyone else who entered.

Following up on my first Dine Out Vancouver 2012 experience at Black+Blue Steakhouse, we made our way onto our second food adventure. This time around, we visited Fleuri inside the Sutton Place Hotel in Downtown Vancouver.

While I was expecting more of a “restaurant,” Fleuri is probably better described as a hotel dining room. It’s almost like you are simply sitting in the lounge and there just happens to be a few dinner tables there. This doesn’t really make for the best ambiance or atmosphere, but it didn’t really detract from the food either.

The Dine Out Vancouver 2012 menu for Fleuri was $28 and consisted of three courses.

BC Clam and Tomato Chowder chowder vegetables, tarragon essence, crab fritter

This was one of the appetizer choices. The crab fritter hardly had any crab flavor in it and soup was rather uninspired, but I wouldn’t say it was bad either.

Crudo of Albacore Tuna citrus, soy and sesame flavours, squid ink, cod roe aioli

Crudo is essentially an Italian take on Japanese sashimi. The albacore tuna here offered a fresh crispness and this worked quite well with the crispy bits that they placed on top.

Buttermilk Chicken Sous Vide and Shiitake Mushrooms mushroom pudding, sour plum jus, red chard and braised celery, aged cheddar croquette

This was the option I selected for my main course, mainly because I have never tried something prepared as a sous vide. Indeed, the chicken was mostly able to retain its moistness, but the overall flavor profile wasn’t all that special. The shitake mushrooms had a great earthy taste to them.

I didn’t sample the other two mains, shown below, but I was told that the beautifully earthy flavors of the mushrooms held up in those two dishes too. In the case of the pot au feu, there is a large piece of salmon underneath that, but there could have been more shellfish to round it out.

Seafood and Shellfish Pot au Feu creamy curry emulsion and consomme, clams, mussels, sweet peas, curried squash

24-Hour Braised Beef Flat Iron root vegetables, tiroler bacon jus, onion horseradish froth, sweet potato puree

Butterscotch, Vanilla Chamomile Gelato and Passion Fruit Coup

Everyone received the same dessert and it was a pleasant way to end the meal. The crispy sesame cracker on top reminded me of Indian papadum, which offered a nice contrast to the silky gelato.

While Fleuri isn’t quite as top shelf as a place like Pear Tree, it is perfectly adequate as a fine dining experience. The food is prepared well, service was attentive, and even the regular menu prices are very fair. The “hotel lobby”-like ambiance does throw you a little, though.

Even though I make my living as a freelance writer, I’ve always been fascinated with numbers. Some may say that I become obsessed with them, which is why it is a little curious how I didn’t end up with a career in finances, economics, or accounting. And it is around this time of year that, whether or not you have an interest in numbers, you have to deal with them. It’s tax season.

For me, this means going through the books of my freelance writing business, but it also means dealing with my personal finances. As you may already know, 2011 was a monumental year for me as I finally entered the demographic known as home owners. And with that came a mortgage. And with that came more complexities and more decisions.

The good news is that I do have some “extra” (and I use that term very loosely) money around and I wanted to see what was the best way to handle it. One decision that many Canadian homeowners face around this time of year is whether the “extra” money should be put toward paying off the mortgage or if it should be invested into a retirement fund via an RRSP. So, which is the sounder decision?

Buy More RRSPs If…

Even though your personal income tax return isn’t due until the end of April, you only have until the end of February to buy more RRSPs for the 2011 tax year. That’s the same kind of RRSP deadline we’ve seen for previous years.

There are several advantages to investing in your RRSPs. You’re saving for your retirement, to be sure, but you also “save” on your current income taxes. The tax liability doesn’t disappear, but it is deferred and the assumption is that you’ll be in a lower tax bracket upon retirement. That said, does it make sense to invest in your RRSPs in lieu of putting that money toward paying off your mortgage?

If you have “extra” money, you should invest that in RRSPs if doing so triggers a larger tax refund and if the expected rate of return on your investment is higher than the interest rate you are currently paying on your mortgage. If you are reasonably confident that you can earn a 5% return, for example, and your mortgage is currently at 3%, then it is a sound decision to invest in your retirement.

Pay Down the Mortgage If…

When, then, is it appropriate to pay down the mortgage in lieu of putting that money toward buying RRSPs? First, if buying those RRSPs only has a minimal impact on the size of your tax refund, then I wouldn’t bother. Not surprisingly, the other huge factor is the difference between your expected rate of return on your RRSP investment and the interest rate on your mortgage.

If the mortgage interest rate is higher, then you should focus on paying down that debt. It doesn’t make sense to “earn” a 2% return on your investment product, only to pay 3% interest on your mortgage. This also assumes that your mortgage allows for lump sum payments, above and beyond your regular payments. If you have outstanding debts with a higher interest rate than your mortgage, as would be the case with credit card debt, then you should focus your energies on paying those down first.

As Always, It Depends

In my case, even when we bought the house, I made a conscious decision to remain reasonably liquid. That’s because I still needed the cash on hand to pay for my wedding and I expect to have a few other major purchases related to my house in the next couple of years. As such, I want to have enough cash on hand to deal with these expenses, as well as a rainy day fund for “in case” purposes.

Given the current volatility of the market and the relatively low interest rates, I’m likely going to put some of that “extra” money toward the mortgage and leave the RRSP cap room for future investment. Keep in mind that I am no financial expert and your individual situation will surely vary. If you’re not sure, check with someone with more expertise and who has your best interests at heart.

“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”

Considering that we are still in the middle of celebrations for Lunar New Year, I thought it might be appropriate to choose one of the most prominent Chinese philosophers and strategists for this week’s Sunday Snippet. Sun Tzu is probably best known as a military general, having authored an incredibly influential book called The Art of War. It’s a book on military strategy, but its impact expands into other areas as well.

In the quote above, we are reminded that life is filled with momentum. Taking advantage of one opportunity opens up the doors to other opportunities. When you get on stage as a standup comic, you have the chance to get your own sitcom. When you get your sitcom, you may be able to host a talk show or get a book deal. Opening one door opens many others. You have more opportunities as you seize more opportunities.

Life is all about perspective too. When you take an opportunity, you may be able to gain a new vantage point from this new position. Sun Tzu continues on the concept of perspective by saying:

“Pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance.”

There’s one thing to be an elitist when you are actually are superior to your colleagues and competitors in some way. It’s another thing altogether when you are actually superior, but take on a more humble stance. Allow your enemies to drop their guard and take advantage of the situation.

Remember that perception is everything. Impossible is nothing.

Technology is supposed to save us time. It’s supposed to make life easier and more convenient, but we inevitably try to cram even more into even less time. For better or for worse, this has given rise to an increasingly daunting number of acronyms and shorthand.

Shorthand isn’t anything new and it’s not unique to the Internet. Terms like P.S. and P.M. have been used for ages and many people don’t even know their origin (postscript and post merediem, respectively). Even so, I find myself using even more acronyms and abbreviations in my online conversations with friends and colleagues.

Some of these come from text speak and others evolved with Internet communication, but here are a few prime examples of what I mean.

• AFAIK: As far as I know. I’ve also used AFAIR, meaning “as far as I remember.”
• AFK: Away from keyboard. This is a typical status I use in my GChat to indicate I’m not actually at my computer.
• BBL: Be back later. This indicates a little longer absence than the usual BRB (be right back). According to Stephen, BBL stands for “bye bye la.”
• FWIW: For what it’s worth.
• IDK: I don’t know. Thanks to the power of the Internet, lack of knowledge is oftentimes temporary.
• IMHO: In my humble opinion (or simply IMO).
• YT: “You there?” or YouTube. The meaning is derived from the context of the conversation. Similarly, I use FB for Facebook and TW for Twitter.

In conversations with friends and colleagues, I’ve come to use many non-standard shorthand terms too, like using “img” for image. The 160 character limit of a standard text message got the ball rolling. The 140 character limit of a Twitter update pushed the ball down the hill. Even where there are no character limits, as would be the case with instant messengers, we find these forms of communication spill over.

You would think that, as a professional writer, this degradation of the human language would irk me. While it would bother me to see them used in any formal or semi-formal writing, I have no qualms about shorthand when it comes to casual conversations. What about you? Do you tend to write everything out or have you started to rely more heavily on acronyms and abbreviations for brevity?