In A Really, Really Good Mood -- May 12, 2016

After months of no new investments, I finally went to my three on-line accounts today and took all the cash that has accumulated over the past year and invested in shares in one company. I've never invested in this particular Blue Chip company before but with its emphasis on energy, it was time to invest. On an up day for the market, shares in this particular company actually pulled back. Great.

****************************

Ah, The Hypocrisy Of It All

Mr Trudeau: Your Thoughts

As much as I hate wind energy, this story actually warms the cockles of my heart. Fox News is reporting:

Blame Canada.

A U.S.-based company that accused the Canadian government of using phony environmental concerns to keep wind turbines off the Great Lakes could be close to a ruling in its $568 million suit.

A panel of international law experts could rule any day now on whether Ontario's open-ended "temporary ban" violated the North American Free Trade Agreement, as alleged by Windstream Energy.

In creating the moratorium, Ontario said it needed more time to study the environmental impact of the turbines, but documents obtained by Windstream seem to show the real reason was aesthetic, not environmental.

Indiana-based Windstream's 100-turbine offshore windfarm near Kingston on Lake Ontario was key to a deal the company had struck with Ontario's power authority. The company claims a $6 million security deposit was illegally seized and all its investments in the project rendered a loss.

Windstream's attorneys argue that under NAFTA, investments by U.S. companies in Canada cannot be arbitrarily scuttled. A decision is due imminently from a three-member panel convened by the Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration and consisting of international law experts from Finland, Spain and the United States.

***************************************

***************************

I Don't Know How She Does It

On our walks to the park, I often give Sophia my Samsung clamshell cellphone (bought back in 2000, or thereabouts) to keep her occupied on the walk home.

Today, she managed to change the settings on the cellphone: she turned the "ringer" off and I'm not even sure "vibrate" was even on.

I swear, it took not less than 15 minutes to figure out how to get the the settings back to "normal."

Some days she drives me nuts, but she is the sunshine of my life.