Barking up the wrong tree

She may have gotten her kicks by messing with Charlie Brown, but Snoopy took every opportunity to pay her back by getting his licks. There was nothing that Lucy hated more than being subjected to his dog germs. Get the disinfectant! 🤣

For the most part, Lucy and Snoopy just didn’t see eye to eye. As it turns out, that’s not too surprising. New research has shown that, despite our efforts, humans just aren’t the best at properly reading dogs’ emotions. 

Still, they fill our world with joy ;)

(Love nostalgia? Play today’s trivia below for a chance to win a $25 Tim Hortons eGift Card!)

IN THE NEWS

Tesla claims $43 million in rebates, industry calls for investigation

Four Tesla delivery stores claimed they collectively sold 8,600 cars over a single weekend in January, leading to mass-claims of the now-defunct Zero-Emission Vehicles rebate (iZEV)

iZEV allowed EV dealers and purchasers to claim up to $5,000 per vehicle in an effort to stimulate demand for EVs in Canada. The federal government announced in January that the program would likely run out of funds a few months before it was meant to, but then shut down completely three days later, likely in relation to the $43 million claimed by the four Tesla stores.

One of the four stores reportedly claimed 2,558 sales on Saturday Jan. 11 alone, which one reporter determined was over ten times the amount of cars that could fit in the store’s entire lot.

Back-dating a few sales to hit a quota is somewhat of an unspoken but standard sales practice in many circles.

However, there’s quite a self-evident difference between that and what Tesla appears to have done in January, and the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association is calling for a full and in-depth investigation by Transport Canada to determine if the rebates were properly claimed.

HOUSING

Feds release Housing Design Catalogue

50 renderings were included in the Housing Design Catalogue published by the federal government the other day, providing standardized layouts for low-rise housing across the country.

The list is part of Canada’s “wartime housing strategy,” an effort to significantly expedite the construction of new homes across the country as the housing shortage continues to sit at crisis levels.

“These standardized designs will help smaller homebuilders cut through the complexity, speeding up the time between concept and construction and lowering costs of building," said Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Nathaniel Erskine-Smith.

Though the making of the catalogue was a federal project, regional design and engineering firms were highly instrumental, given the different financial, geographic, and regulatory environments of each province and territory.

The catalogue includes designs for rowhouses, fourplexes, sixplexes, and accessory dwelling units that can be downloaded and pre-approved for construction, dramatically reducing the time it takes to get a home planned, approved, and built.

BUSINESS

Loblaw marks tariffed products

Canada’s retaliatory tariffs are starting to seep into the economy, with some retail item prices rising considerably as companies pass most of the cost down to consumers.

Grocery stores will likely be the area where consumers feel this burden most, and Loblaw announced it will soon begin adding labels to items that have been affected by tariffs, and are now priced higher.

“As you would expect, we have inventory of U.S. products in our distribution centres, which we purchased before the tariffs went into effect. That means the pricing of many products will not be impacted until we sell what we already have on hand,” wrote Loblaw CEO Per Bank in a LinkedIn post.

“But tariffs will eventually impact prices for certain products we sell – and that could come within a week or two for some items, such as fresh produce.”

While some tariffs are already being felt, Loblaw stockpiled considerable sums of American products ahead of President Donald Trump starting a trade war in order to buy time. Per Bank says the stockpile will probably last about six weeks, at which point more American goods will be impacted by tariffs.

Any affected product will be marked with a capital T inside a white triangle on top of a grey box.

WHAT UP WEDNESDAYS

New treatment for high blood pressure

U.K. doctors in London and Cambridge developed a technique called targeted thermal therapy (TTT) as a method of curing an ailment that leads to one in 20 cases of high blood pressure and hypertension.

Called primary aldosteronism, the condition develops when nodules form on a person’s adrenal gland. The gland produces adrenaline, cortisol, and aldosterone, a steroid hormone that regulates the amount of salt in the body.

The nodules cause that functionality to short-circuit, resulting in considerably higher salt content remaining in the body than normal, often leading to blood pressure readings as high as 200/130. The healthy rate is 120/80, meaning aldosteronism poses a significant threat to the wellbeing of those who have it.

TTT involves sedating the patient and inserting a needle in the gut to initiate intermittent heat blasts at the nodules on the gland. It takes 20 minutes and patients can leave that day, as opposed to the fully anesthetized surgery required to remove the adrenal gland altogether, followed by a two-to-three night hospital stay.

Of the 28 trial participants, four were able to come off medication altogether for their aldosteronism, 12 improved significantly and cut their drug intake in half, and 21 saw their bodies’ aldosterone productions reduced to a healthy level.

TECH

Is Apple overhauling home screen?

Rumours are swirling that Apple is considering completely rejigging the iPhone app screen, opting to make it look more like the interface of its Vision Pro device.

The Vision Pro is Apple’s augmented reality headset, a device that may be too ahead of its time or simply just lacks real-world appeal. Though its capabilities are awe-striking, the company has had a difficult time convincing the Apple faithful of its practicality.

Details are murky at this point, though Apple is expected to present specs of its plans at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

The working theory is that the iPhone iOS 19 update will make the app icons circular rather than dull-cornered squares, complete with translucent panels, all in line with the current layout on Vision Pro’s visionOS 2.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, iOS 19 is expected to be the biggest update since iOS 17 was released in 2013. He says Apple is expected to release iOS 18.4 or 18.5 in April, though there isn’t currently a public timeline for the big jump to iOS 19.

MUSIC

Sony removes 75,000 AI songs

AI-generated deepfake music is causing serious problems for artists and record labels, particularly in the U.K. where the government is considering legislation that would allow AI companies to use copyrighted material to train their generative models.

Sony recently said the rapidly growing use of AI for music theft is causing “direct commercial harm to legitimate recording artists, including UK artists,” in a submission to the government pleading with it to not pass legislation codifying the right for AI firms to publish fake music derived from real artists.

Of the 75,000 songs it’s taken down, plenty included material ripped off from superstars that Sony represents, including Harry Styles and Beyonce.

This type of generative AI doesn’t have the same ongoing issues as predictive-text chatbots like ChatGPT, which often produces completely inaccurate and even senseless information. A song isn’t intended to be an exact replica of the artist(s) its style is based on, but its proliferation cheapens the value of the original creator’s material.

Some have speculated that AI-generated music would never actually be good enough to threaten the value of human-written music, but a deepfake song mimicking Drake and The Weeknd released last year sounded so similar, it became clear this is a legitimate threat to the recording industry.

CURIOSITIES

Do not adjust your set

No need to worry, Staker. Your eyes aren’t deceiving you. If you find yourself driving south down I-5 in Southern California, you may be tempted to fix your gaze on the endless ocean to your right, but as you approach San Diego, make sure to take a peak to your left.

The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch have been wowing passers-by for decades. Blanketed across 55 acres, the rainbow-like spread of ranunculus seemingly goes on forever.

Pioneer Edwin Frazee and other locals have cultivated the Turkish-native blooms for many years in an effort to enchant day-trippers and motorists simply passing through. They’ve literally managed to breed every colour of the rainbow, creating a work of art that can’t be fully appreciated from a moving car.

Luckily for those interested, the ranch is officially open for visitors as the season of blooming begins.

While these flowers have been growing along the coast for a century, it took over five decades for Frazee and his team to cultivate the masterpiece that appears around this time every year.

For the next month and a half, visitors can stop in for $27 to get an up-close look, and can also enjoy a variety of state-fair-like activities available for patrons, including a maze, tractor rides, and plenty more.

STAKE TRIVIA

She works hard for the money

Did you know that today is National Working Moms Day, Staker?

To celebrate, we’re quizzing you on some of TV’s most hard-working moms with today’s trivia! Complete the game and earn a shot at a $25 Tim Hortons eGift Card ;)

Winner will be notified tomorrow afternoon—keep an eye on your inbox!*

Have a great day ahead Staker!

Today’s issue written by Michael Cowan, Joey Cowan, and Maureen Norman.


*SEE FULL STAKE TRIVIA CONTEST RULES HERE.