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Hi, Ardith Hinton - Alexander Koryagin!
I read your message from 23.01.2021 18:46

 AK>> I think the inflation in Canada is not so high as in Russia. How
 AK>> many percent do you have per year?

 AH> On average it's been roughly 2% per year for the past few years,
 AH> not counting 2020, but in the more distant past I've seen it go a
 AH> lot higher. And the numbers are based on the prices of all sorts of
 AH> things... many of which we don't usually buy at frequent intervals.
 AH> The price of food has increased with the onset of COVID-19 and is
 AH> expected to rise another 5% within the next year. By the time it is
 AH> lumped in with the prices of things others don't need to buy right
 AH> away because they're working from home... or can't afford to buy
 AH> because they're unemployed... the composite picture may be quite
 AH> misleading.

 AH> Late flash: Vancouver City Council announced recently that property
 AH> taxes will go up by 5% this year. The cost of natural gas will go
 AH> up by 6.59% this year as well. But meanwhile the Bank of Canada is
 AH> keeping the prime rate at .25%, meaning folks may get very little
 AH> interest on their savings.

So actually you are losing you bank money by 2% per year. Is your pension
indexing or your pension is constant?

 AK>> Times are changing. A day on two ago I saw in an internet shop a
 AK>> lock for a bicycle which can be unlocked only via a smart phone
 AK>> application. It has an alarm system, too. Looks as a usual bicycle
 AK>> lock.

 AH> Hmm. Sounds like a good idea... until you realize that in Vancouver
 AH> bicycle theft is increasingly common & what kind of lock a person
 AH> uses may not matter much to professional thieves. We've watched
 AH> film footage of them using bolt cutters etc. to get through a chain
 AH> or steal an entire bicycle rack.: - Q

Yes, that lock can be useful only in an open public place. The cutting tools
now are in a great progress. I see it looking at how our railways fight with
people. The new railway policy now is that people should not enter the
passenger platform without a ticket. So they barred all railways with high
iron fences, sometime literally cutting whole cities in two. But this fences
are mercilessly cut by a numerous cutting tools during the night. Actually
every day the railway workers go to mend the fences, and these fences look
very funny and pitifully because of their numerous patches.

 AH>> When smaller businesses such as Mom & Dad's Grocery can't afford
 AH>> to do that they must still accept cash. If their produce is better
 AH>> & cheaper than what I can find at the local supermarket, and they
 AH>> offer more variety, I may still choose to buy such things from Mom
 AH>> & Dad whenever their shop isn't particularly crowded.

 AK>> So, people really can start money laundering, in a real sense of
 AK>> this phrase.

 AH> Ah... now there's a wonderful example of a live metaphor! Years ago
 AH> Dallas & I read a book by a woman who was "in service" during the
 AH> 1920's. She mentioned that her employers insisted all folding money
 AH> & newspapers be ironed before they'd touch either. And a female
 AH> friend who is somewhat older than we are routinely ironed sheets &
 AH> pillow cases to kill any nits (i.e. insect eggs) which might be
 AH> there. I wonder if today's plastic bills can be washed. :-)))

I heard that viruses don't live long on dry surface.

Bye, Ardith!
Alexander Koryagin
english_tutor 2021

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