13May 2010 by R&O No Comments

Pricey Pills

Health, Internet, Observations, Of Interest
You may have received the 'prescription drugs' email from a friend or co-worker that outlines drug price discrepancies from one pharmacy to another. I tend to ignore those type of emails as a general rule but I had occasion to test the accuracy of the viral email's claims recently and thought I'd post my findings. The email in question was titled 'Costco Prescriptions' and included a variety of prescription drugs with consumer pricing, cost of active ingredient and percentage of markup. Including the ingredient pricing and the markup is actually quite deceiving because drug companies don't really charge for the drug itself but rather the cost of development and marketing. Big bucks in the drug world and we, the consumer, pay for it. Through the nose and other orifices. The…
Read More
12May 2010 by R&O 3 Comments

Sudden Death in 1947

Observations, Of Interest
Newspapers have obviously changed in the last 63 years. The print and paper quality, size, typeface and layouts are quite different in The Vancouver Sun but the most glaring difference is the reporting style. The photo above was published Tuesday, September 2, 1947 in the Sun's second section, top and centre of the page. It shows onlookers at a motor vehicle accident on King George Highway, with the victim's bleeding and battered bodies still in the car. The driver is obviously dead, blood draining from his nose. The caption below the photo reads: SUDDEN DEATH ON THE HIGHWAY is vividly portrayed in this on-the-spot Sun photo, showing seven victims in one smashed auto following a collision on King George Highway early Sunday. At the wheel of the auto, foreground, is…
Read More
05May 2010 by R&O 4 Comments
Simpsons-Sears circa 1963

Simpsons-Sears circa 1963

Observations, Of Interest, Silly Stuff
If you close to my age you'll remember those great Simpsons-Sears catalogues, full of all that great stuff we loved so much as kids but could never talk our parents into buying for us. Bicycles, transistor radios, record players, board games; all of it was contained within the numerous pages along with those spicy pictures of bras and girdles. My neighbours, who have sold their house and are clearing out the junk before the big move, offered me a few circa 1947 Vancouver Sun newspapers and a variety of pre 1964 magazines. I grabbed a few newspapers and a single Simpsons-Sears catalogue from December 1963. See the bottom of this post for all the full size images. 1963 technology included the Tower 8 mm. push-button movie camera with Power Zoom…
Read More
28Apr 2010 by R&O No Comments
Marijuana in America

Marijuana in America

Business, Economy, Observations, Of Interest, Politics, The Law
Most, if not all residents of British Columbia are aware how BC Bud has prospered in this province from it's early beginnings in the Gulf Island hippie communities to the present multi-billion dollar underground industry. Our bud is know the world over for it's quality and potency. But what about the United States? Ah...yes, our friends to the north. Well fear not as they have a thriving industry of their own whether the FDA, FBI and local law officials like it or not. First...a bit of history: Up until 1883, cannabis hemp was the largest agricultural crop in the world, grown for it's various byproducts such as paper, oil and rope. In the late 1930's Canadian and worldwide hemp producers were competing directly with that greedy jackass William Randolph Hurst…
Read More