Parrots can do more than mimic words. At least one of them can beat humans in a classic memory game. 

The LiveScience website reports that an African gray parrot named Griffin defeated 21 Harvard students in the so-called 'shell game'. The game involves placing an object underneath one of three plastic cups, which are then moved quickly around. The goal is to keep track of which cup the object is under.

In the experiment, Griffin beat the 21 undergraduates in 12 of 14 games. Researchers note that he may not be average for a parrot, though. He’s 22 years old, and has been the subject of numerous cognitive and communication studies since the age of seven and a half weeks. His owner, a Harvard psychologist, has also taught him how to pronounce about 30 words and understand at least 40, including the names of colors.

A group of students who had recently graduated were invited to afternoon tea by their college department head, a favorite professor who most students enjoyed in their final year. Not everyone invited could make it and some chose to stay home, but there were still about ten graduates gathered in the comfortable living room.

Within minutes, conversation turned to the stress everyone was feeling about work and life since graduation, with everyone talking about what, if anything, they were doing these days.

The professor rang a small bell to gather everyone’s attention, then directed them through to his large dining room. The main table held several small trays of desserts and delicate snacks alongside a massive buffet with hot tea, cream and sugar, and an assortment of cups and mugs that the professor had collected over the years— some delicate porcelain with a saucer, some vintage glass, and some plain pottery mugs.

When everyone was finally seated at the table, the professor observed: “I see you have all chosen the nicer looking cups.”

He smiled and looked around the table and switched to his beloved classroom voice.

“While it’s normal for you to want only the best, that’s also the source of your stress. What you really wanted was tea, not the cup, but you still went for the best cups, and some of you are even eyeing each other’s cup!

If life is the tea, then jobs, money and status in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life.

Don’t let the cups drive you. Enjoy the tea.”

Vancouver, BC – Septemeber 9, 2020. The British Columbia Real Estate Association’s (BCREA) latest Market Intelligence report, The Unusual World of Pandemic Economics, points to uneven job losses across sectors, an increase in many households’ rate of savings, swift government aid, a tighter-than-ever housing supply and low interest rates as the drivers behind BC’s recent housing market highs.

“The COVID-19 recession has battered many sectors of the BC economy. However, looking at recent data in the housing market, it would be difficult to tell there was a recession at all,” says BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “In a typical recession, we would see falling demand and rising supply, but this recession is anything but typical.”

Previous BCREA forecasts anticipated housing prices would return to the pre-COVID-19 baseline in early 2021. However, a surge of pent-up demand into an undersupplied market has prices at pre-COVID-19 levels well ahead of schedule.

“Pandemic economics are proving to be very unusual. Many of the trends we are seeing are without precedent and significant uncertainty remains, but we are cautiously optimistic that this housing recovery will continue,” notes Ogmundson.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

To read the full report, click here.

Canadian housing starts increased by 7% m/m to 262,396 units in August at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). This represents the fourth consecutive monthly increase and the fastest pace of national homebuilding since 2007, pushing up the six-month average to 213,144 units SAAR. August's increase was driven primarily by the multi-units segment in Ontario, marking the province's strongest pace of homebuilding since 1990.

In BC, housing starts increased by 6% m/m to 44,883 units SAAR in August, following an increase of 42,883 in July. The increase was primarily driven by the multi-unit segment. Housing starts in August were above the pre-COVID level. In the near term, we can expect housing activity to continue to be supported by sales that occurred prior to the pandemic and historically low borrowing rates. Meanwhile, the value of residential building permits was down sharply in July by 34%. Compared to the same time last year, housing starts were up by 23%.

Looking at census metropolitan areas in BC:

Housing starts in Vancouver were up by 22% m/m to 29,754 units SAAR in August. Both multi-units (25%) and singles (1%) were up. Compared to last year, housing starts were up by 50%, marking the first notable year-over-year increase in 2020.

In Victoria, housing starts were down by 34% m/m to 2,732 units SAAR. Compared to a year ago in August, housing starts were up by 64%.

In Kelowna, housing starts decreased by 24% m/m to 2,629 unit SAAR. Starts were down by 55% in the region compared to the same time last year.

Monthly housing starts in Abbotsford-Mission were up by 195% at 1,431 units SAAR. Compared to the same time last year, new home construction was up by 27%.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

Switching to a new career in the midst of recovering from a crisis like the coronavirus outbreak can seem like a daunting task. However, many organizations that were forced to downsize early in the crisis will be looking for skilled professionals as the situation improves. Here’s some advice from the Inverse website on establishing a fresh new career:

• Audit yourself: Conduct a SWOT analysis on yourself. Identify your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Look at your core competencies and zero in on skills that you can transfer to a new role. Consider going back to school to fill in the gaps.

• Look for meaningful work. Identify the kind of work you find fulfilling and satisfying. Look for work that will provide opportunities you don’t have in your current role. Figure out what you enjoy doing so you can seek work that fits both your personal and professional needs.

• Become an expert. Pick a subject that matches your skills and educate yourself. Read up on the industry, its leaders, its opportunities, and its challenges. Because you’re starting out fresh, this is your chance to define yourself and show your passion for change.

It may take some time for the economy to snap back from the ravages of the pandemic, but we still have to focus on professional development, even when budgets are still tight. The Gallup website offers some suggestions:

Build relationships. Establishing trust with your co-workers is the best way to encourage everyone you work with to share what they know with each other. True strength— at work and elsewhere— comes with confidence.

Coach and be coachable. Focus on developing employees’ strengths, setting goals, sharing expectations, and encouraging them to learn and grow. At the same time, be open to advice from superiors or those who have been in the business longer than you.

Lead from wherever you are. Don’t hunker down and wait for things to return to normal. Set challenging goals for your organization and work with employees on what they need to learn to achieve your objectives.

Inspire others. Keep spirits high by encouraging people to learn and grow, and praising them when they do. Share a positive vision of success and recognize those who succeed.

Think critically. Question the conventional wisdom about your organization and industry. Seek out new information to apply different solutions to everyday problems.

Communicate. Let employees know what’s happening in your organization. This points them toward what they should be learning and doing to help you succeed.

Hold people accountable. As you set goals and challenges for growth and development, hold yourself and others accountable for results. This shows you’re serious and helps you and others hit their targets.

Canadian employment gained 246,000 jobs in August (1.4%, m/m), following a gain of 419,000 in July. Combined with gains in May and June, national employment is now within 1.1 million of its pre-COVID February level. The national unemployment rate fell by 0.7 percentage points to 10.2% from the previous month. August gains were driven by full-time work, wherein the previous month it was in part-time work. Employment continued to increase at a faster pace in the services sector with the help of growth in educational services, accommodation and food services, and in other services sectors. Compared to the same month last year, Canadian employment was down by 5.3% (-1 million).

Regionally, employment increased in all provinces except in Alberta and in New Brunswick, with the largest gains in Ontario (142K) and Quebec (54K). In BC, employment grew by 15,000 (0.6%,m/m) in August, which follows a 70,000 gain in July. The province is now at 94% of its pre-COVID February employment level. The gain in August brought down BC's unemployment rate by 0.4 percentage points to 10.7%. Meanwhile, in Vancouver, employment decreased by 2,300 jobs in August. Compared to one year ago, employment in BC was down by 6.6% (-170K) jobs.

Canadian employment grew for a fourth consecutive month, but the pace of growth is slowing. This was expected as containment restrictions were lifted in the early summer months, but have since halted in an effort to contain rising virus infections. Employment recovery is expected to continue to slow from here on, as many of the hardest-hit industries have reopened and educators start to return to school.

For more information, please contact: Gino Pezzani.

The legendary David Ogilvie was a pioneer of the advertising industry. One reason for his success and influence was his ability to create what he called “the Big Idea”—a memorable concept that he could wrap an ad around, or on which he could base an entire advertising campaign. Here’s how he developed Big Ideas—and how you can, too.

• Step 1. Analyze your data and look for the single element that best expresses what you want to say. What one idea do you want people to remember?

• Step 2. Take that idea and boil it down to a statement of 10 words or less, using lively, action-oriented language.

• Step 3. Build your presentation—whether it’s an ad, a speech, or a persuasive email— around your big idea.

In the earliest days of the pandemic, the very idea of reaching out and touching someone was suddenly suspect. However, as leaves begin to fall and the world feels like it is beginning to find balance in the new normal, I keep thinking now, more than ever before, we have to extend a hand even if we might not ever meet the subject of our kindness in person, or actually come in contact with anyone at all.

Have you ever been the lucky recipient of someone who decided to pay it forward? Whether it was a stranger who prepaid for your drink at a takeout window or the person in front of you with the cart full of groceries offering to let you slip ahead in line with your handful of items, chances are you’ve had someone reach out to you. That brief moment of kindness likely stuck with you throughout the day.

This year has been tough on all of us, but if we give a little kindness— even one compliment a day, issued to a stranger we encounter, costs us nothing and brings them momentary happiness— it will come back around.

My friend, as I sat down to write this, I was going to suggest we could all remember to extend a hand every now and again, reach out to lift someone up in a time of need. However, I’m growing an idea here and would like to suggest this: let’s all take a moment every day to pay it forward throughout the entire month of September.

More than once, I’ve written about accountability and I’m making myself accountable to you here now that I will do something kind for an individual every day this month, whether it ever comes back to me or not, simply because the world needs us to extend a hand to each other right now. Will you join me?

Gino Pezzani