This is a typical breakfast (more like brunch) for us. It is high in protein and fat, and low in carbs. The secret is to begin with the idea of making scrambled eggs with lots of butter and zero milk or cream. We've discovered that "light and fluffy" scrambled eggs whipped up with milk often taste dry and gravelly. These... Continue reading

Despite a marked slowdown in my blogging about economics, EclectEcon is still listed among the top 100 economics blogs. Here's an excerpt from the notice I just received: 5th Annual Top Economics Blogs Winner Dear John, I wanted to let you know that your blog, EclectEcon has been featured in the Top 100 Economics Blogs of 2020 Congratulations! https://www.intelligenteconomist.com/economics-blogs/ Continue reading

Recently, I spent three hours listening to brief speeches by members of group that includes urban planners and policy-makers, i.e. listening to the pleadings of elitist-interventionist rent-seekers. Here's a major portion of my feedback to the organizers, slightly edited. I apologize here for misspelling 'gubmnt' in the letter. Dear _____ Let me begin by saying I recognize that I clearly... Continue reading

From September, 1965, until July, 1967, I attended The Chicago Theological Seminary and lived on the South Side of Chicago. During that period we participated in numerous civil rights marches and numerous anti-war demonstrations. At every one of those events, I was outside my neighbourhood and, in many cases I was in a different city. I was one of the... Continue reading

Earlier this month, I wrote a post predicting that we will experience inflation in the 2-3 year long-term. This prediction was based solely on the expectation that central banks will be forced to monetize the massive deficits being created by gubmnts at all levels. Furthermore, even if these are short-term huge increases in deficits, they won't just go away. They... Continue reading

I wear a mask every time I leave our condo building, and I go out for walks maybe four or five times a week. Over the past month and a half, I have had some thoughts about the pros and cons of wearing a mask. Pluses: For others: A mask will trap some or most of the virus as I... Continue reading

A number of years ago, I realized my sons were taller than I was. I asked if they'd been growing (in their 30s!), but it turned out I had begun shrinking. And so, as a lark, I started a "Shrink Chart" on a door jamb to measure how much I shrink. The top line in the photo was my height... Continue reading

It snowed this morning! And so I was able to do some snowstomp art. I call this piece, "The Meaning of Life". Let me explain my interpretation of the work and why I titled it The Meaning of Life: If you look at the artwork from right to left, it looks as if the circles are being forced smaller and... Continue reading

Apparently consumer spending declined in March by nearly 8%, by far the largest drop in recent history. How can I predict inflation when there has been such a drop in demand? One big reason is that inflation arises when there is too much money chasing too few goods, and the recent drops in GDP have been monumental. Here's more of... Continue reading

Here's our latest version of crustless quiche. The custard mixture is amazingly light even though we don't whip it. I expect the cream (or half & half) really help. Delicious! The recipe is at the end of this post. The recipe we have put together says to whisk (very lightly) 4 large eggs, two cups of half and half, some... Continue reading

The Globe and Mail has reported that Tiff Macklem has been appointed Governor of The Bank of Canada as of June 2nd . This is great news! Tiff Macklem (Western Ph.D. 1989) Named as Future Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem (Western Economics Ph.D. 1989) has been named the new Bank of Canada Governor by Finance Minister Bill... Continue reading

After I posted a photo to Facebook of some half-year-old ground beef we found in our freezer, others began commenting that they, too, had come across treasures in their freezers that were considerably more past their expiration dates. So here's the contest: Contest #1: Post a photo, either in the blog comments or on Facebook, commenting on this post, with... Continue reading

Last month I posted on how to make a mask from an old T-shirt in 15 minutes. I have two of them now, and my guess is that they're at least as good as most surgical masks. Here are some tips for using them, if you decide to make them: Watch this ODIVI video. Alternatively, the steps are laid out... Continue reading

Background: I try to get out of our condo unit nearly every day. Some days I just leave the unit and climb the stairs for exercise within our building. Other times, if I'm not shopping (and only rarely am I shopping), I go for walks. Inside In this building, for several weeks we had a policy of only one person... Continue reading

Below is a letter (somewhat edited) I wrote to a friend this morning. How are you handling the CV19 situation there? I hope you're healthy and will continue to be healthy. I don't know about you, but I feel so blindsided by the whole thing. ... I worry about and for everyone. I see no way out of this for... Continue reading

Snow on Easter Weekend! My previous snow stomp art: Peter Cottontail Visits the Condo Fight CV19 and STAY HOME Skool Daze I Think It Might Rain The Penrose Triangle Snowflakes (done with my granddaughters) Tobogganing Through the Trees Kilroy Was Here Happy St. Patrick's Day, 2019 Spring is Sprung You Wanted Spring? Too Cold to Build a Snowman Simply a-MAZE-ing... Continue reading

Have you noticed that grocery prices have risen? Some of my friends have mentioned it, and yesterday I think I saw some prices that are higher now than they were a month ago. If prices are higher now, are rising, and are expected to continue to rise for the next few months or longer, here are some possible explanations: I.... Continue reading

Walmart opened at 7am today for Geezers/Elders/Seniors/etc. I arrived at 7:15 and had to join a queue of about 15 people waiting to get in because the store was limiting the number of people in the store. Of those in front of me, not one was wearing a mask; I was wearing a cloth mask over my N95 mask (for... Continue reading

Based on the scant reading I've been doing over the past two months, it looks as if maybe (please note the emphasis) people who are only lightly exposed to Covid-19 are less likely to get the disease, less likely to suffer as much from it, and less likely to die from it than are those who are very heavily exposed... Continue reading

The National Post has an article about how people are facing choices about death because of CoVid-19. Here's the important quote: A letter was shared widely last week from a Michigan hospital, for example, outlining its triage criteria for intensive care, making clear that other conditions such as cancer, heart disease or trauma could make a patient “not eligible” for... Continue reading

It was a lovely day... Sunny and nice breeze... So I took my $6 parafoil kite from Ali Express down to the park to fly it. The breeze was somewhat variable, but after only a few minutes, I had the kite up in the air and flying nicely. I love that sensation! Interestingly, not one person I saw was wearing... Continue reading

A lot of us are reading more these days, what with sports, concerts, restaurants, and theatre all pretty much shut down. Here's a book I just published you might want to consider, Murder at the Office Christmas Party. Those who have read it say that parts of it have the warm feel of a "cozy mystery" but the overall story... Continue reading

Amid forecasts of anywhere from 5000 to 5 million deaths from Covid-19, how serious is the pandemic, really? I admit it, I'm a little scared. I'm old, my wife is older and has other conditions that put her even more at risk, and I have several friends who are older and who also have many conditions that put them at... Continue reading

A wild guess for Ontario, though it seems roughly correct for other jurisdictions: Restaurants and pubs will be allowed to open just before the May 2-4 weekend* but camping in provincial parks won't open until just before or just after July 1. Why? The caseloads in countries that are well-along seem to be declining slightly and can likely be expected... Continue reading