Richest Person Ever

The Globe and Mail reported this week that the richest man in the world has $150 billion.  He's Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon.  He's the richest person in history. This is more wealth than anyone since Forbes started its rich list in 1982.  Bill Gates had a net worth around $149 billion in 1999, and has since given away billions to charity so has 'lost ground'. The Independent UK article says that the nine richest men in the world have more combined wealth than the poorest 4 billion people.  In another article by author Tim Worstall in Forbes, he says that the average American today is 90 times richer than the average person in Central Africa.  And richer than the historical human being.  He proposes that outside addiction or mental health problems, there is no one in the U.S. today who suffers from the usual human description of poverty.  Real poverty is defined as $600 a year.  Brad Delong pointed out that historical living standards never fell very far below $600 for long, because if they do then they become dying standards. Tim Worstall, the author, makes a poignant observation: "...we sure do have a lot of people still talking about poverty so what are they on about? The truth is they're not talking about poverty at all. They're talking about how some have more than others: inequality." Which is where we started: wondering over the wealth of the richest person ever.

No Exit for Marilyn on Marilyn Street

Dezi and I walk around the neighbourhood each morning for her exercise chasing bunnies.  There are many so she is well exercised.   Marilyn Street is one of the streets we walk on and it is a No Exit street.  In other municipalities I've seen No Outlet.  I wonder what the difference is.  Isn't outlet a bit complicated for something as simple as "not a through street", or "no way out"? Here's outlet: A vent or similar passage to allow the escape of something.  Something which allows for the release of one's desires.  A river that runs out of a lake.  A shop that sells the products of a particular manufacturer or supplier.  A wall-mounted device such as a socket or receptacle connected to an electrical system at which current is taken to supply utilization equipment or appliances. Here's exit: A way out.  He was looking for the exit and got lost .  A passage or gate from inside someplace to the outside, outgang.  She stood at the exit of the house looking back and waving at those inside .  The action of leaving.  He made his exit at the opportune time.  Death.  The untimely exit of a consummate politician. Synonyms for exit are:  (a way out) egress, outgang, outway * (the action of leaving) egress, outgoing, departure Outlet seems a bit extreme - to imply that a car or person at the end of the street needs escape. Seems a bit existential to me.  If we take the last definition of Exit, though, we're at the extreme aspect of living.  It too has an existential quality.  Perhaps I shouldn't think of this in the context of Marilyn Street. Our pictures look at the Lily Show today.  The bottom one has David Maltby and Brian Bergman overseeing the show stems in the wonderful RBG atrium.

Lilies and Lilies...and Roses

It is the Ontario Regional Lily Society show this weekend at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington.  I got a chance to visit the newly renovated and redesigned Rose Garden, and the pictures today show the views through the garden. The garden opened at the end of June after a two plus year renovation.  The roses are now combined with companion plants, so create a healthier eco-system garden which will be more interesting throughout the summer.  Rose gardens in the past have required a lot of management for watering, diseases and pests - think of the rose garden as a monoculture.  This is not a very healthy system.  RBG is leading the way with a holistic approach for us to learn from.   I'll be back there today to check out the other gardens such as the renovated Rock Garden.  And of course, take more pictures of lilies.