Here Are More Stories For You To Read

I know that I am commenting quite a bit on the weather.  I know that I probably should not do it as much. However, it does fascinate me.

Let me tell you why I say so much about it. I just think that until recently I have never really appreciated what the weather system can do. For all of the number of years previously, I would have to say that I really experienced very little about the weather. I was either in my office when working for a Company or doing work internally at my own residence. In other words, I rarely experienced the outside.

That all changed when I came back from the hospital after my illness was looked after there and then spent several months inside before I could go for a walk anywhere.  My "inside life" changed once I came home because I went out for several walks almost every day when it was warm out. I needed to do that to recover from my horrible illness and to gain energy for the future. In effect, I was doing all kinds of physical activities that I rarely did before.

I definitely was fascinated with the weather previously to my illness. However, I just seem to be more interested in it today. When I look up to the sky, I cannot believe so often now what I see. As an example, I am just thrilled watching the clouds moving across the sky so quickly. I am astounded at seeing storm clouds moving into our area and grow larger just before the sky opens up and the rain comes pouring down. As for the colour "blue," I cannot believe what that colour looks like when there is not a cloud in the sky.

So please excuse me, dear reader, if you think I write too much about what is up above my head. I just love it and am excited by it. Now, let me tell you about some stories that I have seen recently.

PARTNERING WITH MEXICO

It seems that some groups in Mexico would be very interested in partnering with Canadian companies, especially firms in this area:

"The WindsorEssex Development Corporation hosted a luncheon event at the Ciociaro Club where local business leaders attending learned the timing is perfect for Canada and Mexican corporate investors to start working together during the new era of protectionism in the U.S…

“Canada is a safe location for more Mexican business to come compared to the current perception of Mexico in the U.S.,” he said. “Canada also has good relationships with other parts of the world — and you have great talent here."  (Dave Battagello, Windsor Star, February 21, 2018) 

This area is desperate for new business. Why not partner with someone else who wants to invest in North America, but would have difficulty setting up an operation in the US:

"Volpe believes with Mexico shut out presently by the U.S., investors in that country will also look to expand here — with Windsor being a prime choice due to its location on the border."

Why shouldn't the people who are operating in this area consider dealing with companies outside of here to help them set up operations here in areas of expertise that people in our area have:

"Food processing, agriculture, auto, plus tool and die are the primary sectors of interest, MacKenzie said.

“The qualities and efficiencies we have in those industries are second to none,” he said. “Mexico needs our expertise, so will need to invest in companies here."

It will be interesting to watch and see if our companies start changing their operations and grow by partnering with foreign firms.

PERHAPS NOT A FAVOURITE CANDIDATE

It may be that, for the Windsor Star, one of the less favourite candidates running for becoming the head of the Progressive Conservative Party in Ontario, believe it or not, is the daughter of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

The story by Mary Caton on March 3, 2018 in the Windsor Star was quite a bit surprising to me because there were a number of very negative comments made in it about her right at the start. They were pretty small points but there they were at the beginning for the readers to see. Here is what I mean:

-"Breakfast was all but done by the time Progressive Conservative leadership hopeful Caroline Mulroney arrived"

-"Mulroney walked through the door almost 40 minutes late."

-"I’m overwhelmed to see this room so filled at 8 o’clock in the morning,” she said despite the fact it was much closer to 9 a.m. by the time she spoke."

-No one interviewed supported her completely yet although they did look at her favourably.

That did surprise me because the rest of the story was positive about Mulroney.

Based on what I have seen in different stories so far, it appears that Mulroney is in the 3rd position in the PC leadership campaign. I assume that action is supposed to be taken, which will move her up so that she will be the winner of the Party campaign and ultimately will be the Premier of Ontario. Whether that happens or not, we shall have to see.

At the least, even if she does not win and become leader this time around, I expect that she will be given a strong position in the Party either as a Cabinet Minister if the Conservatives win the election or a top Opposition member if they lose.

SAME-DAY GROCERY SERVICE

I saw an interesting story about this service being provided in Windsor by a Company called Instacart. It is a very simple project but still very exciting:

"You will soon be able to order your groceries from the comfort of your home from Zehrs and Real Canadian Superstore and have them delivered straight to their doorsteps in as little as one hour." (Liz Thorne, Windsorite.ca, February 13th, 2018)

The delivery cost to get the service seems unreasonably cheap: $3.99 for an order of $35 or more or no cost after $99 is paid once for an annual fee.

Does this make sense then for you, dear reader, to use this service? If one makes such an order once a week, the cost for delivery is so cheap then why would one even want to go to the store to do shopping? I assume that the person who makes up the order in the store will choose terrific products to send to the customer in order to keep that customer buying through Instacart.

However, here is where the problem may lie for those who phone in for the groceries. The price of the product may well be different depending on where one buys it. One would have to check to see which price is lowest before putting in an order. If it is lower at the RCSS, then one has to be very careful when one buys from Instacart and vice versa.

I expect that the other grocery chains will come up with competitive services. It should be interesting to see what happens then and which grocery company provides the best products at the lowest costs.

MORE BORDER NOISE

The New York Times just did a story about the noise that comes across to Windsor from somewhere in Detroit. So far, apparently, we do not know the source of that noise that bothers people over here.

Every so often, a story about this subject is printed and even with the negative results, no action seems to be taken to figure out what the cause is and how to stop it.

Of course, if this is something that the Ambassador Bridge Company was doing wrong, then you can anticipate what would be said about it, and the demands being made to solve it immediately. That has not been happening at any time for this issue.

Is this really why nothing is happening:

"Seeking intervention by government regulators for the hum is difficult because regulations typically address decibel levels that can lead to hearing loss or damage, not those that can affect quality of life, Rebecca Smith, a sound engineer and doctoral student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who researches urban noise, wrote in an email." (Christopher Mele, New York Times, February 19, 2018)

There has been one theory about this that has been expressed on a number of occasions:

"The University of Windsor report said the hum’s likely source was blast furnace operations on Zug Island on the Detroit River, which is densely packed with manufacturing. Activists complained that United States Steel, which operates the furnaces, has been uncooperative and secretive. A company spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment."

Regretfully, nothing seems to be done whatsoever in relation to this problem. Anyway, who cares about all this stuff:

"It’s possible that no matter what is done to relieve or attenuate the noise, it might never be enough,” he said."

Tough luck then to people who are impacted by it because no one seems to want to do anything about it. Just think, it may never be solved.