MSGID: 1:153/716.0 00cb2d52   
   REPLY: 2:221/6.0 5fcf234e   
   CHRS: IBMPC 2   
   Hi, Alexander!  Recently you wrote in a message to Ardith Hinton:   
      
   AH>  The other day I unintentionally omitted a proposition.   
   AH>  Even English teachers make misteaks.  What matters AFAIC   
   AH>  is that you can correct your own errors....   
      
   AK>  Did you mean a preposition?   
      
      
             Oops... indeed I did.  Give yourself a gold star.  :-))   
      
      
      
   AK>  I think the inflation in Canada is not so high as in   
   AK>  Russia. How many percent do you have per year?   
      
      
             On average it's been roughly 2% per year for the past few years, not   
   counting 2020, but in the more distant past I've seen it go a lot higher.  And   
   the numbers are based on the prices of all sorts of things... many of which we   
   don't usually buy at frequent intervals.  The price of food has increased with   
   the onset of COVID-19 and is expected to rise another 5% within the next year.   
   By the time it is lumped in with the prices of things others don't need to buy   
   right away because they're working from home... or can't afford to buy because   
   they're unemployed... the composite picture may be quite misleading.   
      
             Late flash:  Vancouver City Council announced recently that property   
   taxes will go up by 5% this year.  The cost of natural gas will go up by 6.59%   
   this year as well.  But meanwhile the Bank of Canada is keeping the prime rate   
   at .25%, meaning folks may get very little interest on their savings.   
      
             While I could ask what the inflation rate is in Russia, the averages   
   may not be any more helpful from an individual POV than they are here....  ;-)   
      
      
      
   AK>  Times are changing. A day on two ago I saw in an internet   
   AK>  shop a lock for a bicycle which can be unlocked only via   
   AK>  a smart phone application. ;-) It has an alarm system, too.   
   AK>  Looks as a usual bicycle lock. ;)   
      
      
             Hmm.  Sounds like a good idea... until you realize that in Vancouver   
   bicycle theft is increasingly common & what kind of lock a person uses may not   
   matter much to professional thieves.  We've watched film footage of them using   
   bolt cutters etc. to get through a chain or steal an entire bicycle rack.  :-Q   
      
      
      
   AH>  When smaller businesses such as Mom & Dad's Grocery can't   
   AH>  afford to do that they must still accept cash.  If their   
   AH>  produce is better & cheaper than what I can find at the   
   AH>  local supermarket, and they offer more variety, I may still   
   AH>  choose to buy such things from Mom & Dad whenever their   
   AH>  shop isn't particularly crowded.   
      
   AK>  So, people really can start money laundering, in a real   
   AK>  sense of this phrase. ;-)   
      
      
             Ah... now there's a wonderful example of a live metaphor!  Years ago   
   Dallas & I read a book by a woman who was "in service" during the 1920's.  She   
   mentioned that her employers insisted all folding money & newspapers be ironed   
   before they'd touch either.  And a female friend who is somewhat older than we   
   are routinely ironed sheets & pillow cases to kill any nits (i.e. insect eggs)   
   which might be there.  I wonder if today's plastic bills can be washed.  :-)))   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
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