I have written before on the frustration of seeing so many commercials for gambling on most sports programs – and many others. Sandstone Asset Management forwarded an interesting study by the Canadian Medical Association highlighting the mounting exposure of Canadian youth to gambling ads, particularly those promoting sports betting.
They make it look so easy to participate, and so exciting to dream of being a big winner. But studies show that the odds are not in the bettor’s favour, and in some cases, losses lead to continued gambling, often after a sequence of losing bets.
According to Statistics Canada, 64.5 per cents of Canadians aged 15 and over reported participating in some kind of gambling in the past year. Almost 19 million people.
I enjoy watching sports but now mute all gambling commercials.
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Had a recent conversation on data centres and their importance to this province. Discussion on whether data centres could attract significant investments and contribute to the province’s prosperity through jobs and new revenues to government brought a comment that the centres one person had visited required few employees and the majority of them were security guards. Not high wage earners who pay a lot of taxes. Interesting thought.
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Pooh asked Piglet, “What day is it?” Piglet answers, “It’s today.” And Pooh responds. “My favourite day.” – Winnie the Pooh
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It’s all over, apart from worrying about the result. Civic election, I’m talking about. During the campaign, a friend wondered if he should in fact vote, as council doesn’t appear to have a say in anything and wouldn’t discuss matters anyway. How anyone who served on the last council had the nerve to try to be elected again is beyond me.
The same observer complained that he wanted someone to discuss why Calgarians can fly to Toronto to get a new hip right away but had to wait 18 months to have surgery at home with no hope of paying to shorten the time. No response to telephone calls to city hall, did manage to contact a member of parliament who said it’s better to contact his MLA as it was a provincial problem, and never managed to get a call back from that representative of the people.
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CAMRA – Campaign for Real Ale, founded in 1971, is dedicated to promoting real ale in British pubs. Don’t know how successful it was but certainly has had little effect here. Yes, we have a lot of craft breweries, but few provide what I would recognize as good beer.
They obviously cater to a younger generation who seem to want added carbonization to their drinks. I was shocked to go up to the bar in a good restaurant that boasted four beers on tap, but three of them were IPAs that boasted an infusion of some kind of fruit. Despite the fact that IPA stands for India Pale Ale – brewed in England since the early 1800s for its troops serving in India – had to settle for a lager.
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King David’s plight “Oh how the mighty have fallen” came to mind when turning off Glenmore Trail onto Elbow Drive. Anybody remember the fine-dining, Red Carpet Steakhouse? The space is now occupied by a liquor store and cannabis shop.
Final words: “There is no duty so much underestimated as the duty of being happy.” – Robert Louis Stevenson