I Was A Teenage Toffee Baron

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I Was A Teenage Toffee Baron

In 1973, I lived in Grand Forks, North Dakota, which is located on the Red River. Like the Nile, the Red flows northward, one of the few rivers in the world to do so.

That spring, a river wasn't the only thing flowing north from Grand Forks. My junior high school fed a steady pipeline of exchange students up to Winnipeg, Manitoba, which also is located on the Red.

I don't know how teachers picked kids for these trips, but I suspect only the best and brightest made the cut. Let's be clear: I've never been among the best and brightest in my life—which explains much of what follows.

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The ROI of Saving Like A Canadian

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The ROI of Saving Like A Canadian

Who has an easier time saving money, Canadians or Americans?... Canadians!  

According to median income numbers and average personal savings rates, typical Canadians save about $500 more per year than typical Americans. On its own, this probably isn't enough reason to switch citizenship, but it will save a few years off a working career by the time of retirement.

In addition to a few less years of work, there are some other pretty fantastic benefits to living in Canada, in my humble opinion, which include things like mandatory paid time off, paid maternity leave, government-run healthcare, greater social mobility, less inequality, better positioning to handle climate change, cheaper college, better education, more international travel, happier and more fulfilled people, stronger marriages, less jail time, and oh, did I mention more sex?  Yeah, that too.  I've got all the deets. :)

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Have You Found Your Tribe?

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Have You Found Your Tribe?

Humans are amongst the most social of primates and the evidence suggests that we lived in tribes for many millennia up to the start of modern times.

It is not difficult to imagine the evolutionary basis for this. When you are all alone in the world with just a flint axe and a loin cloth, surrounded by predators and not knowing where your next meal is coming from, the world can look like a pretty scary place. Having some like minded mates (in both senses of the word) around is obviously going to be helpful from a survival and reproductive standpoint.

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