BP #41 – Free Satellite TV

///Free Satellite TV///

The “cable guy” came to my house and brought with him free satellite TV. Yup, I’m in on the “Local Television Satellite Solution” (LTSS) program (thanks again, Gene!).

I now get the following channels absolutely free: Global, CTV, CBC, CHCH, CityTV, OMNI, TVO, Knowledge Network, and TFO.

The CRTC introduced the LTSS to mitigate some of the negative impact of their forced transition to digital signals — e.g. reduced broadcast areas. Shaw wanted to take over the media properties of bankrupted Canwest Global. As part of their deal with the CRTC to snap up Global, Shaw funded the LTSS. And I am a beneficiary.

Socialism is a march toward serfdom with more negatives than positives. But, if nobody’s going to listen to me anyway, I might as well get my share during Canada’s race to the bottom. Sorry Nelson.

Also, I received my free Sony Internet Player last week (MSRP $199). My partner got hers, too. Here’s both:

I hope everybody who took advantage of this MBNA Sony MasterCard deal enjoys the fruits of their minimal labour. And, speaking of credit card deals, here’s the latest:

Temporary MBNA SmartCash Deal Alert There is a temporary deal (expires December 15th, 2012) that sweetens the MBNA SmartCash card. Get a FREE $100 Gift Card from RateSupermarket.ca when you use their site to obtain a no-annual-fee MBNA SmartCash or MBNA Platinum Plus credit card. You can get a $100 gift card for Amazon.ca, Toys’R'Us, Future Shop, or Boston Pizza. Plus you’ll be entered into a draw for $1,100. Want to do a good chunk of Christmas shopping for free? Well, take ten minutes and get this deal now!

///Catherine a.k.a. “The Only Cat Who Won’t Give You Toxoplasmosis”///

 

///Mentions///

• Control Your Cash paid TimelessFinance a huge honour/honor in their post “Some of You Aren’t Spending Enough“. Go check it out, seriously. I can’t think of a bigger compliment than to be called iconoclastic. I’ve arrived.
• Sir BCM (no, that’s never going to get old) is doing Movember. He also liked my post about the affordable Joe Wood smartphone plan.

///Tweet(s) of the Week///

@dqydj_net @timelessfinance @financialuproar So easy to forget Canada, all tucked away down there!

— AmericanDebtProject (@IAmDebtProject) November 7, 2012

///Keyword Fun///

Money-Smart Keyword Award goes to:

do they sell window kit at dollarama

Yes, but it’s not as good as the one at Dollar Tree.

Money-Stupid Keyword Award goes to:

where would you invest if you had a dollar

One dollar? Seriously?

lol wut? Keyword Award goes to:

tulip bankruptcy

Notably missing keyword to SEO-optimize this post by increasing the keyword density:

free satellite TV

///YouTube///

///Links///

1. November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. “Recent [poll] results… cited Canadian awareness of pancreatic cancer as being exceptionally low compared to other cancers despite it being the most deadly form.” Pancreatic cancer gets about 10% of the funding that breast cancer gets per death. The marginal return on investment in research is biggest when death rates are highest — and a whopping 95% of pancreatic cancer patients die within 5 years of diagnosis. The time to focus awareness, research, and funding on pancreatic cancer is now. I use Movember as an opportunity to discuss this terrible disease. Please read about this public health disaster that kills 4,000 fellow Canadians every year.

2. Apparently North Dakota is to America what Alberta is to Canada. It’s thus not entirely surprising that the employment picture is excellent for skilled workers. But, just like Adina’s article from last week told us, if you don’t have marketable skills, you’ll miss out on booms (and get double-screwed by economic busts).

3. Did you read the ControlYourCash post I mentioned earlier? No? Here’s a second chance. Go.

4. When you look at “The Creation of Adam”, you’re probably not seeing Michelangelo’s hidden joke(s). Michelangelo was one of the few guys who had seen the internal anatomy of the human body in his time, because he studied corpses. Quoth Wikipedia: “…the background figures and shapes portrayed behind the figure of God appeared to be an anatomically accurate picture of the human brain… borders in the painting correlate with major sulci of the cerebrum in the inner and outer surface of the brain, the brain stem, the frontal lobe, the basilar artery, the pituitary gland and the optic chiasm.” So what does this say about Michelangelo’s opinions on God?

///lol-worthy///