You find out big news from strange places now-a-days thanks to the magic that is the interwebs. Via Nathan Fillion's Twitter-feed, learned that my Country of Canada is trail-blazing the way and getting rid of the penny.

This effects me very little, because as more and more people seem to be in the habit of, I hardly use real money at all. Almost all of my day to day financial interactions happen through credit card, debit card, online or even the rare writing of a cheque. The exception to the rule is the Mayfair of course, which is still cash only, but luckily enough I happen to get in there for free.

I don't know if it happen in five years or twenty or even in my life time, but I can't imagine that paper or coin based currency has much of an existence or importance left on this planet. I'm pretty sure that if tomorrow the powers-that-be held a press conference to let us all know that legal tender was going extinct that the universal reaction from most would be a nice big "Meh."

I'm pretty sure that future generations with their jet-packs and robot maids will look back at these caveman times and be as flummoxed by paper and coin money about as much as they will be by the concept that we kept movies that up on shelves in video-tape / disc form or that we lived in an age where ay folks couldn't get married. I will not shed a tear for the death of the penny, but I do have to make sure to cash in a couple of jars of 'em to that machine at the mall.