Ideeahs

I have written about how quickly the world is changing these days and commented on how this impacts society. In the world of finance, politics, technology the changes are coming faster and faster - all domains are affected.  Often times these changes are not insignificant and hard to ignore.  So changes come fast and they have impact on our lives.  I recently read a book (The Way of Transition) that took this subject and extended it to aging.  The conclusion was obvious when I read it but I had not thought about it until then. Society has always made use of tools and inventions to improve its standing.  As humans have evolved we have managed to disconnect ourselves from nature (though in the end nature always has its way).  We have inventions that have decreased the impact of seasonal change on what we eat.  That have permitted us to migrate like no other animals can.  A winter storm is not as big a deal as it might have been 100 years ago when communities would be cut off. As our depe...

After sixteen years of service I am saddened to let you all know of the passing of YKK.  He toiled hard in service to his master.  In the rain, the snow, the sleet, the hail.  Pulled up, drawn down.  He was yanked in anger, especially later in his life when his abilities started to fail him.  But warm he kept me.  Bruised and battered, yet working to protect me to the very last minute, he passed away January 27 at 8:41am - a snowy day. Replacing him - a rookie to the task.  Someone who, recently laid off from her previous employment in the paper fastening business, has retrained and is ready for this more physically intensive job.  I will call her Trombone - the French word for her previous profession.  May she last as long as YKK. That little voice utters "Maybe after 16 years you could buy a new jacket." Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!

The length of a movie or...... Getting the kids outdoors for a walk can sometimes be a challenge.  The television has a strong magnetic force. Last weekend the four of us (wife, daughter, son and I) went for a walk around Point Grey.  I don't mean a walk around the neighbourhood called Point Grey but around the geographical Point Grey, the westernmost part of the city of Vancouver.  We walked to a beach called Tower Beach - so named because the remnants of two towers built during World War II still stand on it. Those towers were constructed in a very different time from our present.  They are gun towers that were built to protect Canada from a potential threat from Japanese warships.  Since the Pearl Harbor attack the west coast of North America was considered threatened and vulnerable.  The two towers were therefore built to help protect Vancouver's harbour. Today they are sealed shut and covered in colourful  graffiti.  There seems to be no effort to try and preserve these to...

Sitting in my daughter's bedroom.  It is very cozy.  A nice flowery duvet cover - all fluffed up.  Two pillows with flower patterns.  Stuffed animals in a corner.  Very neat and orderly.  Warm lighting.  She is reading a book and I am lying next to her reading mine. Silence..other than breathing and the flipping of a page now and then. She is in her world.  I am in mine.  Yet we are together. This is what life is all about. Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!

I joined the Facebook community last week.  It is quite an amazing tool and shows you the importance of human networking.  For me it reinforces the theory of seven degrees of separation.  From that perspective Facebook is a great and useful tool. Having said that I awoke from slumber at 2:00am the day after I joined.  I was hyper and wired.  That had not happened to me since leaving work back in April.  At work I used instant messaging, email, phone, virtual worlds and other technologies to get through my many tasks.  This would result in many interruptions and a scatter-brain feel.  A need to know what is going on everywhere...NOW!   Facebook has resurfaced that feeling.  As I go through my day I find myself wondering what is going on in my network of friends.  It interrupts my thoughts.  A touch of voyeurism.  So what is my friend up to and who is he friends with?  What is she doing?  What are those two over there talking about?  I need to know....NOW. I will need to control this ...

Autumn of '84.  Sunny day.  Leaves on the ground.  I am wearing my Clarke desert boots, jeans, a white sweater and a scarf, tucked in around the collar.  I am running down Springfield Avenue looking over my shoulder.  The ball comes in and out of sight as its path is hidden by the low sun.  Darn....incomplete pass.  I run back to the Mount Stephen end of the street.  My turn to throw the ball. Soon we'll order a case from Sam's. Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!

The weather forecast for Vancouver has been sun for the last ten days or so and is for the next week.  Sounds great but where we live it has been foggy....every day.  If you go a little further east or into the mountains you get glorious sunshine and mild temperatures.  Here it is hovering around 1 or 2 degrees.  (I know, it is all relative to where in Canada you live!!). Our kids told us a joke at dinner recently. What is your name?  Olivier What colour is the sky, well in Montreal during the summer?  Blue What is the opposite of down?  Up Olivier blew up!! Hahaha Even the wording for jokes is being affected by the weather! Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!