Four years ago a student approached me after lesson and asked me whether Bellerbys College London took part in any maths competitions and, if we did, could he be involved. At the time we didn’t participate in any such events but as a former A Level student myself I seemed to remember taking part in some sort of team maths challenge when I was at college, so I thought I’d try and find out if such competitions still took place. Well, that’s not strictly true – I actually asked my Head of A Level, Ms Erin Robinson if she knew of any suitable competitions and she volunteered to try and find out if any existed; which she did, and so the credit for our involvement in such events since then really belongs to Erin!

Since that day four years ago, Bellerbys College London has actively taken part in a range of extracurricular national maths competitions with very impressive success. One of our students actually came top in the whole country in one competition! This all started with our involvement in the Senior Maths Challenge (SMC) – an event which takes place across the country and involves thousands of students, and which Bellerbys College London has now entered for the fourth year running. The Senior Maths Challenge involves students sitting a ninety minute multiple choice paper made up of twenty-five questions, which range from slightly tricky questions to very challenging ones.

The exam itself takes place after school and I fully admit that when we started this I very much doubted that the prospect of staying late after school to take an extra exam in Maths would attract many students but I was very much wrong and every year we have approximately thirty students – from across all our programmes; A Level, Foundation and GCSE – taking part in the SMC.

The exam papers are handed out

This year’s competition has recently taken place, with twenty-eight students from Bellerbys London participating. The event is meant to be a light-hearted experience and so we always encourage students just to come along and give it a go, regardless of how good they think they are at maths – and for those people who don’t think that a ninety-minute multiple choice maths examination is exactly a ‘fun’ way to spend an evening there is always the added incentive that participation is something which looks good on their university application!

Brain Food!

And then there’s the food! Because the SMC takes place after school, during dinner time, the school’s kitchen staff led by our Head Chef Donald Sweeney lays on a sumptuous feast for the students taking part; this year we had spring rolls, samosas, a wide variety of sandwiches, some lovely biscuit and pork snacks which I’d never had before (but which were lovely!) and, my personal favourite, prawn parcels; all of which were served to the students by my colleague Clive Cubitt and I whilst the exam took place!

Maths teachers John and Clive

Although we encourage students just to have fun at the SMC we also want to give those students who want to take it seriously all the support and help we can provide and so, in the weeks leading up to the SMC, Clive runs a series of lessons after school and during lunch times to help prepare students for the real exam. At this stage I must say what a wonderful job Clive does and that without him our students would neither enjoy the SMC as much as they do or have had as much success as they have done. This is especially important as the SMC is just the first stage of a series of maths competitions.

Students who do well in the SMC often proceed to take part in the next stage, known as the British Maths Olympiad (BMO), which itself consists of two separate rounds. Indeed it was in the second round of the BMO that, just two years ago, one of our students came top in the entire country! And although the student in question was a very talented young mathematician who fully deserved his success (success which has continued beyond Maths competitions; he is now studying Economics at LSE) again my colleague Clive deserves substantial recognition for all the effort and support he provided throughout all those competitions.

And who knows, thanks to the talent of our students here in London – and all of Clive’s efforts – one of our students may even win this year’s competition too!

Find out more about what you can study at Bellerbys College

The Bank of Montreal has reported that their “Business” sector is thriving and their business is up 16% this quarter in the amount their clients are using BMO for their business.  That is all fine and dandy, but how about the little guy?

I have been banking with BMO for over 15 years how and honestly, how are they even still in business?  I am just a guy out there trying to make a buck and I am sure that BMO is no different that Royal Bank, Scotia or TD Canada Trust, but I am very tired of hearing just how much money the banks are making and how they are thriving but we have to suffer.  We are all just trying to make it in the world and the banks are making off like bandits with our money.  I work two jobs, pay my bills on time every month… but the banks continue to rip me off for $20 or $25 dollars per month for me to have somewhere to cash my pay cheques.

BMO charges me $13.00 for my “Performance Plan” bank account per month.  Alright, 13 bux isn’t that crazy, but when you hear then report quarterly profits of $647 million dollars, you really have to wonder whose pocket that $13 is going into.  Not only am I paying for my bank account, but I am charged $1.50 for each bank machine withdrawl at a non BMO machine (yay for the ATM Company) and then BMO charges me another $1.50 to take out the funds.  Okay, $3.00 isn’t that much, but when there are only 2 BMO bank machines in my city, you spend the $3.00 driving to their bank machines to withdraw the money… so where do you win?  A company makes $647 MILLION dollars in FOUR MONTHS and they can’t afford to cut a break to their customers and perhaps only charge them $10 or $5 a month for their accounts?  Never mind the other crazy fees they charge for having a money order made ($5) or an account statement sent to your house ($2) or the countless other ways that they steal your money every month.

BMO can’t afford to put some other bank machines in the malls or anywhere else but at the bank branches?  No, they leave that to the ATM companies (countless thousands of them) who make their own bank machines and make MILLIONS in service charges because our own banks won’t pay to have their machines where their customers will actually use them.

The government is so worried about making the Credit Card companies stop hiking their interest rates on consumers whenever they want… why not look at all the banks that are NOT STRUGGLING to make money by charging retarded service fees on a monthly basis?  What is it that there are SO MANY ATM companies out there who make their own ATM machines, hook them up to the banking network and then RAKE IN THE DOUGH from people who would rather spend the $1.50 for the convience of having the ATM right there rather than driving to their bank branch to take out their money.

To the black list you go BMO! I know all the other banks are similar, but it has to start somewhere!

Le fait que vous changiez votre technologie pour une carte à puce et que vous n’êtes pas foutu de prendre en considération les déménagements possibles des gens (oui, les gens déménagent et certains souvent à part de ça) ne devrait pas être mon problème mais bien le vôtre. Personnellement, je n’en ai rien à foutre de votre nouvelle technologie et ce n’est pas à moi à courir après ni à faire les frais de vos décisions administratives à la con et votre brassage de papier de vos ronds de cuir de banquiers étatistes lourdement graissés.

Que vous deviez attendre 35 jours avant de faire un renvoi est une chose. Que ce soit moi qui est à rappeler pour ce faire en est une autre. Pourquoi n’êtes-vous pas capable de vous faire une petite note dans votre système à la con pour que quand un client appelle, qu’il puisse régler la question immédiatement et non avoir à rappeler dans 35 jours.

Je ne me présenterai pas à votre succursale pour quelque chose que j’aurais dû recevoir par la poste, ça non, ça ne m’adonne pas, ça ne rentre pas dans mon agenda et ça ne découle pas d’une problématique qui me concerne réellement alors pourquoi devrais-je payer pour quelque chose que je n’ai pas demandé? Suis-je un client ou un foutu numéro à votre banque?

Salutations d’un malaise montréalais,

Tym Machine

WOW .. these guys are getting sh!t done!!.. get a massive gold deal from teck, raise 200 million dollars and stack the board with some really amazing talent..i have never seen a better operation ..

WELL DONE !!!!

Gleichen warrant offering to raise $200-million (U.S.)
Ticker Symbol: C:GRL

Gleichen warrant offering to raise $200-million (U.S.)

Gleichen Resources Ltd (C:GRL)
Shares Issued 28,763,380
Last Close 10/14/2009 $1.39
Wednesday October 14 2009 – News Release

Mr. Michael Murphy reports

GLEICHEN ANNOUNCES US$200 MILLION FINANCING TO FUND ACQUISITION OF 78.8% OF MORELOS PROJECT

Gleichen Resources Ltd. has entered into an agreement to raise approximately $200-million (U.S.) in a fully marketed private placement of special warrants to finance its previously announced acquisition of 78.8 per cent of the Morelos project from Teck Resources Limited through the acquisition of Oroteck Mexico S.A. de C.V. from Teck subsidiaries Teck Metals Ltd. and Teck Exploration Ltd. for the purchase price of $150-million (U.S.) and a 4.9-per-cent stake in Gleichen. Oroteck owns 78.7966 per cent Series A shares in the capital of Minera Media Luna S.A. de C.V., the holder of the Morelos concessions. Gleichen has entered into an amending agreement dated Oct. 7, 2009, in connection with its acquisition of the Morelos project from Teck to extend the proposed closing date for the acquisition. A copy of the acquisition agreement and amending agreement are available on SEDAR.

Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd. will act as bookrunner and lead agent and BMO Capital Markets and GMP Securities L.P. will act as co-lead agents in a syndicate of agents including Dundee Securities Corporation, Scotia Capital Inc. and Jones Gable & Company Limited in connection with the proposed offering. The terms and price of the special warrants will be determined in the context of the market and fixed on the day of execution of a definitive agency agreement.

The net proceeds from the offering are intended to be used for the acquisition of the Morelos Project, feasibility and development programs, and exploration at the Morelos Project, and for general working capital purposes.

Closing of the offering is anticipated to occur in the fourth quarter immediately prior to the acquisition of the Morelos Project. The closing of the offering is subject to entering into a definitive agency agreement and the satisfaction of certain conditions, including receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including from the TSX-V, and all other required approvals and consents. The Agents will receive a commission of 5.5 per cent of the gross proceeds raised in the offering in cash. The Agents will also receive compensation options equal to 1.0 per cent of that number of special warrants issued in connection with the offering.

Gleichen is pleased to announce that Fred Stanford has agreed to join the Company as director and incoming President & CEO upon the closing of the offering. Mr. Stanford is a highly qualified mining executive with nearly 30 years experience in the mining business. Mr. Stanford worked at Vale Inco (formerly Inco Limited) from 1981 to June 2009 holding senior management and executive positions including vice president of Business Services, Milling, Smelting and Refining and culminating as President of Vale Inco’s Ontario operations. Michael Murphy, Gleichen’s current President & CEO, will remain with Gleichen as a director.

Also at the time of the closing of the offering, Terry MacGibbon, Frank Davis, and Andrew Adams will be appointed to the Gleichen board of directors. Gleichen has called a special meeting of shareholders for November 26, 2009 to, in part, elect some of the new directors.

Terry MacGibbon is a registered professional geologist with over 35 years of international experience in the mining business. Mr. MacGibbon is the founder, Chairman and the CEO of FNX Mining Company Inc., a TSX-listed Canadian mining company that has emerged over the past five years from a junior exploration company into a mid-tier diversified Canadian mining company that produces nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum, palladium and gold from its mineral properties located in the Sudbury, ON, Canada mining camp. Mr. MacGibbon is a certified director, Institute of Corporate Directors, and has held directorships and senior executive positions in several TSX and TSX Venture public mining companies. Frank Davis is a partner of the law firm Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, practicing principally in the areas of securities and capital markets, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and mining. He represents various public companies and investment banking firms in public and private offerings of equity and debt securities. He has acted as counsel to offerors, target companies and financial advisors in both hostile and negotiated merger and acquisition transactions and has been active in a variety of take-over bids, mergers, acquisitions, amalgamations, arrangements and divestitures. Mr. Davis holds a B.Comm., LLB and M.B.A., all from the University of Toronto, and is a director of several TSX and TSX.V companies. Andrew Adams obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree from Southampton University and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the United Kingdom in 1981. He worked for the Anglo American group of companies for 12 years up to 1999, his final position being Vice President and Chief Financial officer of AngloGold North America based in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Adams worked for Aber Diamond Corporation as Vice President and Chief Financial officer from 1999 to 2003. Currently he serves as an independent non-executive director of Uranium One Inc.

Well, I had my wallet stolen from my car.  Yes, I know… I shouldn’t have left my purse in my car. I know. I know.  This happened outside my house.  The police were no help at all.  Our conversation was as useless as me telling them it’s sunny outside.  They did not care.  My car now has a broken window and I am expected to pay ICBC $350 deductible.  Sigh.  I created this blog to assist those who have suffered what I am suffering now.  I created easy links to get all the info you need in order to replace all that was lost from your wallet.  I hope this blog helps.  And thanks for checking it out.

Balade sensorielle.

Poussez cette grille rouillée encadrée par une cascade de lierre et aventurez-vous dans cet étroit sentier. Là, déjà, les sons atténués de la ville proche vous atteindront autrement mais surtout c’est le vert qui dominera votre vision…

Arbres, buissons, plantes grimpantes, tapis végétal, une sorte de jungle incongrue et familière accompagnera chacun de vos pas…

Puis, comme d’anciens temples enfouis ou ruines d’une civilisation disparue, des façades de bâtiments oubliés jalonneront cet espace mi-urbain, mi sauvage…Le silence est de rigueur car certains résidents ont élus domicile dans cet hors-monde, dans cet îlot de verdure, alors si ils vous acceptent, à votre tour, passants, de vous faire humbles et discrets…

Si votre audace vous pousse à entrer dans quelque édifice, vous pourrez peut être vous rendre compte que certaines structures ont plus de deux cent ans, d’autres plus récentes possèdent néanmoins cette poésie inquiétante des lieux abandonnés dans lesquels il est possible de se sentir intrus…

La lumière d’une fin d’après-midi se glissera au travers des feuillages et conférera à votre escapade mystérieuse une aura surréaliste tandis qu’il est possible que vous entendiez le son cristallin de l’eau qui sourd à travers d’anciennes pierres qui étayent la falaise.

Certes, plus bas, les sons du  port et de sa circulation vous rappelleront à une plus moderne réalité mais vos oreilles sauront capter les signes d’une vie animale discrète et vos yeux auront fort à faire pour explorer les moindres recoins de cet espace fait de terrasses, de cul de sac et de ruines…La falaise de Poullic al Lor, le petit lavoir des lépreux, vous ouvre ses portes… 

Du “où” et du “quoi”.

Si vous prenez un plan de Brest, vous pouvez observer une sorte de long triangle étiré situé entre la rue Poullic al Lor au nord, la petite ruelle de Portstrein-Lapierre du côté ouest,  qui descend par un escalier tortueux jusqu’à la Carène, et la rue de l’Amiral Troude qui ferme ce polygone au sud. Cet espace à flanc de falaise est en général vu d’en bas comme une sorte de “bois” duquel surgissent quelques pans de murs gris, quelques bâtiments dont on ignore s’ils sont encore habités ou s’il existe encore un accès pour les y rejoindre, ce qui est assez vrai, du reste.

Dans cette pente se nichent pourtant les témoins d’une époque révolue, un patrimoine historique lié à l’essor de Brest et de son port autant qu’un îlot de nature au sein d’un environnement artificialisé.

L’interêt historique réside en grande partie en l’existence de fours à chaux, bâtis dans le flanc de la falaise au 19ième siècle. Le four s’ insérait d’ailleurs dans un réseau économique qui comprenait la baie de Douarnenez comme la rade de Brest et où étaient installées, depuis le 18e siècle, de nombreuses unités de production de chaux ou de briques.

La matière était soit des pierres calcaires de petites carrières disséminées dans la région, soit du calcaire coquillier ou du sable dunaire. Pour débarquer cette matière première, un port existait plus bas, car ne l’oublions pas mais le rivage était alors à cette époque beaucoup plus proche et cette proximité avec le four avait donc un lien évident. Des indices architecturaux et d’anciennes cartes prouvent que certaines bâtisses situées sur ce site sont parfois même antérieures à l’installation du four à chaux.

Quant à l’interêt naturaliste et environnemental, il n’est pas qu’une question de sensibilité écologique et romantique. Certes on peut se réjouir de la présence d’un tel espace livré à lui-même (ou presque) juste pour l’idée plaisante que la nature se niche au coeur de notre ville et s’y maintient discrètement, servant d’îlot à des espèces animales et végétales, comme un symbole de résistance à un monde moderne et toujours plus dévoreur d’espaces. Mais d’autres arguments viennent s’ajouter à l’interêt d’un tel espace “naturel”.

Il est depuis bien longtemps reconnu que la présence d’arbres est un filtre concernant les poussières industrielles et contribue à la qualité de l’air en général. Je ne parle pas du cliché lié à l’oxygène dont on nous rebat souvent les oreilles, je parle simplement de la barrière physique que la végétation prodigue et qui piège véritablement poussières et fumées domestiques et industrielles.

De plus, par la présence de vieux murs, de terrasses, de zones humides et de terrains végétalisés, une mosaïque de micro-milieux naturels rend ce lieu Brestois intéressant écologiquement en terme de biodiversité classique dans nos régions.

Du côté des espèces végétales, typiques de ces milieux qui conservent l’empreinte des activités humaines, on peut trouver des frênes, des érables sycomores et des buis d’assez bonne taille puisqu’aucun sécateur n’est là pour les tailler. Quelques  bouquets de fougères Scolopendre et de fougère mâle occupent les espaces sombres et humides, lieux d’ailleurs fréquentés par la Salamandre. Les chauves-souris et les passereaux se partagent l’espace aérien de cette zone refuge.

Des enjeux.

Il était donc évident qu’un tel espace que certains considèrent inutile, puisqu’il constitue une sorte de tâche verte sur leurs plans plutôt gris, devienne la proie de leur appétit de transformer la ville par la seule motivation du profit et du “progrès”, valeur derrière laquelle il est si facile de se retrancher pour se donner une image honorable. La mutation économique et urbaine du port , entamée depuis quelques années, doit-elle donc faire table rase du passé sans considérer d’autres préoccupations que le logement et les immeubles de bureaux ?

Encore une fois, un conflit d’usage apparait et ce qui met à mal les défenseurs du site est justement qu’on pourrait leur rétorquer “Très bien, vous voulez conserver ce site, mais pour quel usage ?” Les arguments patrimoniaux et naturalistes exposés dans le précédent paragraphe sont en effet légers dans la balance des promoteurs. 

Les acteurs associatifs et une poignée de riverains se mobilisent pour cette cause qu’on entend parfois qualifiée de perdue d’avance. On inventorie la faune et la flore en faisant appel aux compétences de l’association SEPNB Bretagne Vivante, les uns recueillent de l’information concernant les manoeuvres du promoteur, d’autres entament des démarches et alertent l’opinion publique en rencontrant les élus (dont j’aimerais connaître la position, si quelqu’un trouve quelque chose à ce sujet). Selon certaines sources, le permis de construire a été pointé dans sa défaillance de sécurité – l’Art. R111.2 met à mal la décision de la mairie – Seule réponse :  fournir une étude commandée et faite par une société payée par le promoteur :  “société Parini” bien connue pour de la “complaisance” -

Quoiqu’il en soit, l’imminence de la destruction du site est bien réelle et malgré les efforts des défenseurs du site, il semble bien que la cause soit perdue. Considérons alors cet article comme le témoignage d’un lieu qui fut et qu’une poignée d’entre nous a tenté de préserver… 

Pour en savoir plus, d’autres blogs mentionnent ce site, soit pour évoquer son passé, soit pour le défendre ou encore pour parler du développement du port.

http://brestvieethistoire.blogs.letelegramme.com/ dans lequel vous pourrez découvrir la chronologie de la lutte pour sauver ce petit coin de Brest, http://www.errances.info/index.php?2007/05/21/470-la-falaise-poullic-al-lor-renferme-des-vestiges dans lequel sont précisés les noms de quelques uns des acteurs locaux, http://www.portde.info/index.php?post/2007/05/19/24-si-le-port-m-etait-conte-ou-brievete-historique pour en savoir un peu plus au niveau historique.

Le contexte économique actuel fait en sorte que les garanties relatives aux taux d’intérêt minimums de l’assurance vie universelle (VU) attirent particulièrement l’attention. Et Manuvie en est bien heureuse! Pourquoi? Parce les taux d’intérêt minimums garantis du produit InnoVision sont très concurrentiels tant au niveau du compte qu’au niveau du contrat.

Niveau du compte
C’est à ce niveau qu’un fournisseur d’assurance VU précise le taux d’intérêt minimum garanti qui s’applique à un compte. Toutefois, il peut se réserver le droit de supprimer ce compte et en pareil cas, la garantie ne tient plus.

Niveau du contrat
À ce niveau, le fournisseur garantit qu’il offrira toujours un compte dont le taux d’intérêt minimum précisé sera maintenu pendant toute la durée du contrat. Les garanties au niveau du contrat, ou garanties contractuelles, sont donc essentielles. Elles procurent davantage de certitude au client quant au risque associé au réinvestissement et permettent aux conseillers d’afficher une meilleure confiance à l’égard des projets informatisés qu’ils produisent et qui sont basés sur les taux d’intérêt minimums garantis.

Plus que jamais auparavant, lorsqu’ils comparent les contrats VU, les clients et les conseillers prêtent attention à la garantie relative aux taux d’intérêt minimums. Comme l’illustre le tableau ci-dessous, qui compare les versions bonifiées de plusieurs contrats VU, InnoVision se démarque.

*CPG 25 ans

The current low interest rate environment has focused more attention on universal life (UL) insurance minimum interest rate guarantees. And Manulife welcomes the attention. Why? Because InnoVision’s minimum interest rate guarantees are highly competitive at both an account level and policy level. Here’s what I mean by account and policy level:
Account Level:
This is where the UL provider guarantees that an account will offer a specific minimum interest rate. However, the UL provider may reserve the right to remove the account. If that happens, the guarantee is lost.

Policy Level:
With this type of guarantee the UL provider contractually guarantees to always offer an account with a specific minimum interest rate for the life of the contract. Policy-level guarantees are key. They provide more certainty as to a client’s reinvestment risk and allow advisors to illustrate at the guaranteed minimum rate with confidence.

Now, more than ever, strength in minimum interest rate guarantees are what clients and advisors are looking for when comparing UL policies. And as you can see from the chart below, which compares the bonus versions of several UL policies, InnoVision shines bright:

*25 year GIA

Mobile Banking Requires a Long-Term Strategy. Canada is ready.

The call for strategic mobile banking is increasing and two recent articles are absolute must-reads.

First, Mobile Financial nicely sums up the challenges of mobile banking. Mobile Banking is not a simple add-on to an existing product. Mobile provides new ways to connect with your customer, strengthen loyalty, and deliver better services at a lower cost.

Mobile poses significant risks and technical challenges. Making a prudent decision on mobile banking requires three key “legs of a stool” a) deep collaboration between the business executives who know the long term goals for the organization, and b) the technology team who knows the intricacies of the current environment, and c) deep mobile expertise, which is often missing from most organizations.

Success requires all three legs of the stool and moving forward without all three almost certainly will result in failure (although some banks have set the bar extremely low so they can claim success, regardless). Mobile banking efforts now should be a base to build upon in the future. Doing it wrong now and having to start over puts you behind your competitors who did it right.

Secondly, Jose Colucci writes a manifesto (or offers a 12 step program) on why Canadian banks should offer mobile banking now. The Canadian market is ready. Canada is the land of the RIM and increasingly the iPhone. Canada has the technology, the infrastructure, the resources, and the demand for mobile banking to completely explode (in a good way) and be an example of success for the developed world.

I predict that when the first bank makes a bold move, the entire industry will follow. Canadian mobile banking will happen in a breathtaking, large rush.

In fact, in doing some Search Engine Optimization last week, I discovered one of the most searched terms related to mobile banking in Canada is “TD Mobile Banking.” Like most other Canadian banks, TD has a mobile web site that is keeping the proverbial light on for mobile. But like most WAP interfaces,  the TD site has some usability challenges which are almost certainly preventing widespread adoption.

And the point is that despite the usability challenges and lack of promotion, there is considerable demand for the product.

Canadian customers like Jose are clamoring for mobile banking.

C’mon CIBC, BMO, Desjardins, Laurentian, National, TD, and RBC. Let’s have it!