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+