Good Sunday morning everyone! I hope you've had a great week. It was spring break for the kiddos this past week, which meant a different routine than normal. As I get older, change in routine certainly adds to the stress of the regular daily grind. I can imagine how persnickety I'll be about change as I get into my 60s.
On Alex Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal scoring record — I grew up a Sidney Crosby fan, ensuring I cheered against Ovechkin every chance I had. But I can't stop shouting now every time Ovechkin lights the lamp.
It was hard to know it in those years, but how lucky have we been to see both Crosby and Ovechkin play this sport for over 20 years and bring the sport into an all-new level of quality. They are still behemoths of the game, producing each and every night (Crosby just scored, as I write this this Saturday afternoon). And they have done it with class and tact throughout.
I really don't appreciate Canada's current political climate having to drive a wedge in Ovechkin's record-breaking run. We have to stop with this political nonsense. Ovechkin's record-breaking run is good for the game of hockey, regardless of his nationality or his choice in friends.
On splittable pension income and on dropping the base income tax rate by 1% or 2.25% — I've shied away from writing about Canadian tax on the blog recently, even though it’s probably my favourite topic. But again, with all the political crap in the Canadian news, I want to ensure my readers are at least somewhat notified.
I have two bones to pick with Income Tax Act currently.
The first: Though people think small business owners and "the rich" (whatever that measurable statistic means) have access to all sorts of tax loopholes, there are indeed few available. One unfair issue in the Income Tax Act though is the ability to split registered pension plan income with a spouse before a taxpayer turns 65 years of age. Those who contribute to RRSPs (which are subsequently converted to RRIFs later on in life) are only allowed to split income with a spouse after the age of 65.
Who cares right?
Well, the vast majority of folks who contribute to a registered pension plan are government employees and big business employees. In Canada, a huge swath of employed individuals (some measures are 20%, others are up to 40% depending on the categorization) work for the government in some shape or form. Nearly all of them have registered pension plans, which are triggered upon retirement (nearly always before the age of 65), and they are able to split this income with a spouse to better utilize lower tax brackets.
The vast majority of individuals who contribute to RRSPs are the self-employed and private business employees. These folks, even if retired before 65 years of age, are not able to split their income with their spouse, causing extra tax to be paid.
The second bone to pick: By dropping the base income tax rate by 1% or 2.25%, both Canadian politicians running to be Prime Minister are happily jumping over the reduction in non-refundable tax credits, as they are tied to the base income tax rate. This means all sorts of boutique tax credits — like my favourite Digital News Subscription tax credit, which is only available to recognized media publications as recognized by our Canadian government — drop in value.
Don't let any of these politicians fool you — there have been only one or two actual tax savings ideas put forward by either political party. Dropping the base tax rate does far less than they’re leading on.
Nintendo Switch 2 Impressions: One Big Asterisk!
Marques Brownlee’s first look at the Nintendo Switch 2 is excellent (though there are probably a dozen or more awesome videos out there.) I am not an original Nintendo Switch owner. We’ve worked hard to keep iPads and screens away from our young kiddo eyes and I haven’t felt justification to own both an Xbox and a Switch.
But the girls are getting older and I want to introduce them to the games I grew up with.
My understanding is Nintendo is limiting pre-orders for the Switch 2 to a subset of fans to ensure less nefarious scalping takes place. You know, fair. Nintendo’s prerogative. The last go-round was nothing to write home about.
However, I’m bummed I can’t order one for launch day. I’ve waited extra time because I didn’t want to buy a 10-year old device, and now I’m going to have to wait longer.
A few other thoughts:
- The GameShare idea looks excellent, especially for a Switch, which likely finds itself in more “shareable” situations than other gaming consoles.
- I get that the price of this thing (and its games) appear to have gone up significantly. But am I missing something? Xbox Series X games are increasingly $130 CAD (say, about $95 USD), let alone deluxe edition games. I’m not involved in video games much, so perhaps these prices have long been areas of scrutiny for other gaming consoles.
Overall, I can’t wait to see the Switch 2 hit the market. I am buying one for my family and I can’t wait to play Mario Kart with everyone all at once.
Dave2D’s M3 Ultra Mac Studio Review
Likely well past the official “viewing best before” date, Dave2D’s look at the M3 Ultra Mac Studio really opened my eyes. Not that this is something I would ever want or need in my life. But how the M3 Ultra Mac Studio introduces the power to run the most powerful local LLMs and it can be had for a simple five-figure price.
I’m only scratching the surface of AI, both in my personal and professional lives, and I barely grasp the capability, let alone the privacy and other concerns associated. I’m not certain I’m handling it correctly in my work life, either. It’s scary.
But the potential of this power, locally, at a $10,000 or so price tag? This is not a hard thing to spend money on for a plethora of business use-cases.
I can’t wait to see how some Mac Studio users build out their capabilities using this newfound, affordable power.
The Second Cup
Teresa Man’s Workspaces.xyz Setup
I’m here to point at the cool wrist rests in Teresa’s setup. They are Kensington Ergosoft wrist rests, which you can find here (oddly, to be ordered in bulk only? So perhaps try Amazon for a single order.) I think these look great, especially in an all-white setup.
Antinote
Thanks Marius for the cool app find. This app appears to have a cool ephemeral thought-process. Also, the “auto-paste” feature looks like something other notes apps should consider.
Hansker Vertical Mouse
This mouse looks a lot like Logitech’s MX Vertical and Lift mouses. From this page though, the Hansker Vertical looks nicer and appears to be filled with features. If you’re looking for an ergonomic mouse option, this one looks like it is worth your research time.
A Designer’s Dual Studio Display Workspace in Canada
I’ve tried working with two Studio Displays at once. I got sick. Maybe I had them setup wrong. But that much screen real estate and that much light became so overwhelming. The workspace looks amazing. I just don’t think I could work with this.
Happy Sunday. I hope you have a wonderful week ahead.