tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36785807047517043532024-03-24T16:33:36.547-07:00Free WritesRichard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.comBlogger289125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-10386851321932337822024-02-22T06:19:00.000-08:002024-02-22T06:19:00.881-08:00The Optional Octagon<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Anyone?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Somebody?</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Please, is there someone out there willing and able to enforce stop signs?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">It appears I am the only person on the face of the Earth who obeys these red octagons by coming to a complete stop.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Even most police cars I see, tend to roll through.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5c6qRk9sIDSuiDOA72bDksz-N09sGl6OUcygzxazCkaPz0MTCs3Oe2C_tGhy0aOck0vR3Wf0OaSxqFHiE5PiFUsQrOVo1WTl2EmiCwbA8ErR1M8umKttGAFDA1NEkiV0jlg-3VJC4aYuBJXD9pofPBkHIPV5h30Jkno2SCjTHaFVjm28VZjCJGYRO0sDx/s2559/thumbnail_IMG_8238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2559" data-original-width="1920" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5c6qRk9sIDSuiDOA72bDksz-N09sGl6OUcygzxazCkaPz0MTCs3Oe2C_tGhy0aOck0vR3Wf0OaSxqFHiE5PiFUsQrOVo1WTl2EmiCwbA8ErR1M8umKttGAFDA1NEkiV0jlg-3VJC4aYuBJXD9pofPBkHIPV5h30Jkno2SCjTHaFVjm28VZjCJGYRO0sDx/s320/thumbnail_IMG_8238.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">While walking our dogs, I am compelled to yell at drivers who don’t even slow down; they just drive right through stop signs as though the posted octagon is purely optional.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Behind the wheel is another story entirely.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The way I learned it, when two vehicles arrive at an intersection at the same time, the vehicle that makes a complete stop first, has the right of way and can leave first. That’s what I expect to happen and it $%#@&* never does.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Thoroughly infuriating.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">As a result, when behind the wheel, I am compelled to honk my horn at drivers who don’t do a full stop. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">That has led to road rage behavior by drivers I honk at, which is messed up.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I am convinced that if some diligent police jurisdiction enforced stop signs and collected fines from drivers, we would be able to rid ourselves of municipal taxes and, just a few short weeks later, income tax.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Should I simply wallow in my learned helplessness and, as a rule, start doing American stops?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">If you can’t beat them, join them?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Hey, you jerks out there…the red octagon is not optional.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Apparently, enforcing it is.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-8486696900417242902024-02-15T04:58:00.000-08:002024-02-15T04:58:14.591-08:00The Valueless Quebec Anglo<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">A few months ago, the city where we live informed us in our bilingual municipal newsletter that it was no longer permitted to communicate with its citizens bilingually.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Our municipal tax bill, which I just received, is no longer bilingual. Even a bilingual explanation and breakdown of our municipal tax bill is no longer permitted.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_J4l5dKcD_f2F0H19OYoSwlfdL6nE1cTtY8CILJAYHBVjYv6qhyT4aoGBuagteVfnMbSyUdT6fzWVcrygNTXXlKZn7DyZFWLYdo-9XjS7fvyEB3WKvcAk3bkGkt4lCvhAAOnE6GST3MHm0NPLWHk-o43XCwy2nY3fkDZ4l3FVx8Kv6oXpZmS7qSJn0mf/s1920/thumbnail_IMG_8119.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1920" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_J4l5dKcD_f2F0H19OYoSwlfdL6nE1cTtY8CILJAYHBVjYv6qhyT4aoGBuagteVfnMbSyUdT6fzWVcrygNTXXlKZn7DyZFWLYdo-9XjS7fvyEB3WKvcAk3bkGkt4lCvhAAOnE6GST3MHm0NPLWHk-o43XCwy2nY3fkDZ4l3FVx8Kv6oXpZmS7qSJn0mf/s320/thumbnail_IMG_8119.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p>Regarding our banned official language, no federal political party gives a crap, no provincial political party gives a crap. We are valueless, inconsequential Quebec anglophones, whose causes and rights are of no interest to any political party, or politician.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">That Camille Laurin said in 1995, “The English minority belongs to Quebec as much as francophones belong to Quebec”, matters not. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">That then-Parti Quebecois leader Jacques Parizeau said in 1990 Quebec anglophones are as Quebecois as anyone, matters not.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The dollars and cents earned by proud Quebec anglos in their Quebec jobs helped make Quebec what it is today – and yet no one cares.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Mission accomplished?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-23124700474652364922024-01-11T06:43:00.000-08:002024-01-11T06:43:35.294-08:00Remotely Tyrannical<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">I seek no complex, unattainable goal; merely homeostasis. I strive solely to keep all bodily systems stable and humming.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">The goal is harmlessly modest, is it not?</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">One of the more effective tools for achieving this, it turns out, is the everyday television remote.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Allow me to elaborate with the help of these abbreviations…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">PVR – personal video recorder</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">CC – channel change<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">FF – fast forward<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">RW – rewind<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">MU – mute<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">DEL – delete<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I’m not entirely certain of the reason but, as it happens, I find myself trending in the direction of television intolerance. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Is it that I, myself, have become more intolerant over time, or is it that television has significantly lowered its standards, choosing to allow for interminable propaganda and unambitious programming?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Both, perhaps.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Regardless of which it may be, the PVR and its remote, almost effortlessly permit me to maintain a stable body and mind.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I am no longer forced to endure an onslaught of propaganda, or bombardment by programming mediocrity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Thanks to the PVR and the programs it records for me, there is no longer no option. Happily, the TV remote always provides a better option. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Now when I encounter an irrelevant ad, or some other form of annoying programming, I have plenty of options. My favourite, by far, is FF.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6kFjEwypqdamZKVhC55j-kuBeW5NBNw_KoIn8mm9K4yNhKntNh2wUIHpjUUKRRElseklLlKiX0R8r2yppXmeAH_5n6bKrNRpH7mqmIuS2HQXD4ltdz68QAMPW6_H9XvJQ4Q5_OREU5GOLKaas_iYMLYbl9Zu5GdPdg1aMGTeh5Z-q1vHivOAl4YIHV2aA/s1920/thumbnail_IMG_7770.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1440" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6kFjEwypqdamZKVhC55j-kuBeW5NBNw_KoIn8mm9K4yNhKntNh2wUIHpjUUKRRElseklLlKiX0R8r2yppXmeAH_5n6bKrNRpH7mqmIuS2HQXD4ltdz68QAMPW6_H9XvJQ4Q5_OREU5GOLKaas_iYMLYbl9Zu5GdPdg1aMGTeh5Z-q1vHivOAl4YIHV2aA/s320/thumbnail_IMG_7770.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">What a welcome relief to be able to fast forward through commercials while watching a show that’s been taped on our digital recorder. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Things I don’t need or want to know - things I don’t need or want to see? Zoom. I whisk through, and peacefully return to the program I’ve selected.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">If FF is not an option, then MU is the next best thing. Enduring propaganda with the sound off is nothing short of wondrous.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The television audio and images together compel us to engage – they lock us to the screen. Not I.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Watching live television these days, I obsessively clutch the television remote, digits poised over the mute button. I poke it when the commercials start and poke it again when the commercials end. It makes life so much rosier.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Some viewers within our household appreciate the muting of ads, others less so.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I can save you having to listen to them. The appeals to pity, humor, responsibility, shock, good health, or charity, are all fairly predictable. Whether it’s banks, booze, betting, fast food, insurance, detergent, or pick-up trucks, their message is the same - we want your money; ASAP.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I tend to find most television programming and propaganda irrelevant, insulting, or boring. I am easily insulted, indignant, or stupefied by on-screen content. Who knew?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Dollar-starved networks may have discovered they are as likely to attract viewers with stupidity as they are to attract viewers with intelligence. I don’t doubt that there are millions of so-called viewers rooted in front of their televisions who do not demand terribly high consumption standards and, more likely, have no interest in imagining what such a standard might entail.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I, on the other hand, couldn’t possibly listen to one more long-winded and genuinely frightening pharmaceutical disclaimer. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">While I’m at it, I couldn’t possibly listen to any more of those interminable Dr. Ho ads, or claims about magic pillows and sheets, and if I can help it, I won’t have to endure another peep about that snot sucking machine.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">News anchors with idiotic questions, or moronic facial expressions? Not a problem. CC. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">All types of ginormous humans tugging on underwear for various products? Thank-you, no. FF. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">You didn’t catch what he said to the police officer? Gotcha. RW.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Utterly vapid sports analysts? They never happened. FF.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Popping pimples? Not a chance. CC.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Did you see the guy hanging by his teeth? Check it out! RW.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Contrived co-host banter? We’re outa here! FF.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The intense drama of dysfunctional families? Not today. CC.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">A reminder that the tip of a balloon resembles the human anus? All good. FF.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">This is nowhere near the quality of program I expected? Hear hear. DEL.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">A series of surgical scars, needles in veins, and other scenes that make me squeamish? Not to worry. FF.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Regardless of the infernal distraction, or destruction, it may cause to viewers, there is no limit to the amount of propaganda to which television networks insist on subjecting us. Sports leagues are among the champions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The NHL cannot just let us watch a hockey game anymore. They cram virtual ads onto the boards and ice surface. Virtual ads appear on football fields and basketball courts. I resent these virtual ads and I’m reminded of my resentment each time these ads change, or move, during games, or make athletes legs and torsos disappear.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">It can happen that I lay down my remote while watching television, but those instances are frightfully rare and tend to only occur during commercial-free movies and shows.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">There are occasionally commercials worthy of my attention for their creativity or humor, but they are as rare as a one-shot COVID vaccine.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Unquestionably, I am nearing tyrant status with the remote in my hand. That truth I will own. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I am selflessly looking out for the quality of life of viewers in the room, but mostly my own quality of life, and that thing I mentioned about homeostasis.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">If you have the fortitude to attentively absorb the relentless propaganda tickling your tympanic membrane and optic nerves, more power to you.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I have all the power I need seething through my opposable thumb.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-40899237418944225432023-07-28T04:28:00.000-07:002023-07-28T04:28:01.608-07:00Too Far Too Fast<p> <i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Warning: This content has been generated by a human</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424; font-family: "Segoe UI", sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Is anybody else as royally creeped out by the exploding prevalence of artificial intelligence as I am?</span><span lang="EN"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">AI is already busy churning out social media posts, classical music compositions, opinion essays and literature. It’s busy creating paintings, and it powers machine-generated trolls that are persuading people how they should vote.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">It is posting videos and engaging in conversations with unsuspecting internet users.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">AI is busy learning about you.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">AI is busy learning about itself.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Some AI systems are teaching themselves skills. They have what’s referred to as emergent properties. Robots are learning on their own. That is worrisome and scary.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Yoshua Bengio, who some consider the godfather of AI, is calling for a pause on developments until artificial intelligence can be carefully regulated. Experts freely admit deep learning has come too far, too fast, and as this dubious technology blisters along, government regulation hasn’t even got out of the gate.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Bengio just spoke before a US Senate subcommittee this week, urging legislators to regulate AI immediately and to make sure regulation is coordinated internationally. He even urged the Senate to set up laboratories to research countermeasures and penalties for criminals who will certainly violate eventual AI regulations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Governments and criminal organizations will, and probably are already, using AI for nefarious causes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">When experts themselves are urging caution, it’s time to slam on the brakes until everyone is certain we’ve got it right.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">I get the feeling Yoshua Bengio is freaked out by the monster he helped create.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">I had the opportunity to interview Yoshua Bengio in 2017 on a show I hosted. The founder of MILA, Quebec’s institute of deep learning, and professor at l’Universite de Montreal, was part of a panel discussing Montreal’s reputation as a hi-tech hub.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkywx1MKA2RA84VCuBJuGYyMnoRGHmrWriBuq-28em1OMR_dz-vOqMfaq3IJSL26YsUMPpT_nfG99h9x_X5KBj8Kh_wIsDMnrGCJEOH9F1hnA5psS7fBnSCOeAumBHMa8qXXSDnaqJrkMTptOXkAdltoGXM_X8jGTAxqt6hnH_SSUoJ00n9Alv89MwTe2/s1214/IMG_3463.CR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="1214" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBkywx1MKA2RA84VCuBJuGYyMnoRGHmrWriBuq-28em1OMR_dz-vOqMfaq3IJSL26YsUMPpT_nfG99h9x_X5KBj8Kh_wIsDMnrGCJEOH9F1hnA5psS7fBnSCOeAumBHMa8qXXSDnaqJrkMTptOXkAdltoGXM_X8jGTAxqt6hnH_SSUoJ00n9Alv89MwTe2/w397-h264/IMG_3463.CR2.jpg" width="397" /></a></div><span style="font-family: times; font-size: x-small;"> Yoshua Bengio appears on City Life with Eric Noel & Alain Tapp</span><br /><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Today, Bengio concedes machines could have human level intelligence within five years. Can you imagine a machine that thinks the way you do?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Using AI, machines are already threatening democracy, swaying people in their political beliefs, spreading falsehoods.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">People ought to be told that the content they’re digesting is machine-generated.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Granted, industrialized AI can have unfathomably huge benefits as much as it can have shockingly devastating consequences. It can help with health care, engineering and environmental projects, to name just a few, but it can just as effortlessly and efficiently spread poisonous disinformation and misinformation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Even experts warn we don’t really know how bad it can get.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">We humans must protect ourselves from this transformative technology.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">As I was learning about AI and its increasing prevalence, I vowed not to be among AI enablers, the ones who cheer unreservedly for more artificial intelligence in their, and our, lives. There are those who encourage AI to write blogs, social media posts, share conversations, drive cars, and enhance dreams.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Not me. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">I want to drive my own car! Sue me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">I want privacy. I want safety. I want me.<span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424; font-family: inherit, serif; font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">I want to be in control of me. I want to be in control of what I say, do, and think. I do not want a machine thinking for me, or acting as me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">As I say that, I realize, naively, that it’s already too late for me. I wholeheartedly use translation apps and even as I text, my smart phone offers me a choice of words with which to finish my thought.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6Eka6wKMds90XQ2CvvmmozdE_z1siTayGvGSNOW5mfC6Nl8Q7yIQYyrc_rIyxYV5UwVkB6S7uRQRZsou4soJa3x2Kr68-Fs43Vfy2QqX0He-scoC51ZD7jMweiuaoENkNuFtn3aHFIVP10y9iGCo3cWk7_e8GnASiSjyLBYNqQwBDNAdEzQMJpBekkJ6/s2532/thumbnail_IMG_6248.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2532" data-original-width="1170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6Eka6wKMds90XQ2CvvmmozdE_z1siTayGvGSNOW5mfC6Nl8Q7yIQYyrc_rIyxYV5UwVkB6S7uRQRZsou4soJa3x2Kr68-Fs43Vfy2QqX0He-scoC51ZD7jMweiuaoENkNuFtn3aHFIVP10y9iGCo3cWk7_e8GnASiSjyLBYNqQwBDNAdEzQMJpBekkJ6/s320/thumbnail_IMG_6248.png" width="148" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #242424;">My smart phone has learned the names of people, organizations and acronyms I routinely refer to in my texts. My smart phone is already learning. About me.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Our machines are getting to know us. They’re learning our tendencies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">I was aghast, realizing that I am already using and even appreciating artificial intelligence. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Do we care enough, do we think enough, about the ethics of our advancements? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">I’m really not sure. The atomic bomb. Penicillin. The internet.</span><span style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">We’re not cloning human beings. Or, are we? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">There are always scientists who want to push the limits of possibility to see how far they can go, morality and ethics be damned.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">I’m not even sure whether stem cell research has been sufficiently and ethically regulated. Has it?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">You may be reading machine generated content, you may be involved in a machine generated conversation. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Humans have never been able to leave well enough alone; it’s terrifying to think robots may develop the same flaw.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">What’s to become of us?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Yet again, before it’s too late, we must save ourselves from ourselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm; vertical-align: baseline;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #242424;">Hasta la vista baby.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><o:p> </o:p></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-23736256212245757552023-06-28T17:44:00.000-07:002023-06-28T17:44:50.503-07:00A Wavy Year<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">It was June 29, 2022, one year ago on this date, when I underwent bilateral hip replacement surgery.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">It has been a year highlighted by relentless waves of gratitude, appreciation and disbelief. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Did my joint pain really happen? Was I really unable to do all those things I can do now and had always done before osteoarthritis? Did surgery really happen?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">It wasn’t necessarily a blip when I was going through the process of surgery and recovery, but a year later, it is barely a blip.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The surgery brought a colossal improvement to my quality of life and I shall always be so grateful to Dr. Zukor and his team at the Jewish General Hospital.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEoLEPTPeDVMFi5CP7hB7EsqR0gXsUhxxPiMFyhKxKTykNDFGHFwN7SJbKDWZLSATIzSXujXsJJG6zqsyNPDTqaC-oclixwuiBfDAbc_bycXv2YQkR_ar4vFEESlfnPqHUuTd7Ykyl8B2uYPKcJkoPKTCxCrzUu0Cd3IM2Yw-krSEVfnpCCRCk7i0C671/s1280/thumbnail_IMG_5791-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeEoLEPTPeDVMFi5CP7hB7EsqR0gXsUhxxPiMFyhKxKTykNDFGHFwN7SJbKDWZLSATIzSXujXsJJG6zqsyNPDTqaC-oclixwuiBfDAbc_bycXv2YQkR_ar4vFEESlfnPqHUuTd7Ykyl8B2uYPKcJkoPKTCxCrzUu0Cd3IM2Yw-krSEVfnpCCRCk7i0C671/s320/thumbnail_IMG_5791-2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Three months after surgery, I was playing ball hockey. I played once a week all winter long and into spring, with our last game on May 1<sup>st</sup>, when I had this photo snapped. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">There was a time when I was certain I would not play ball hockey, ice hockey, or even ride a bicycle again. When I sat at my drums, I was not able to open my legs wide enough to put one foot on the bass drum pedal and the other foot on the hi-hat pedal at the same time.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">My mind had reluctantly sunk into a cloud of bleak resignation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Now, incredibly and so thankfully, I am playing ball hockey, enjoying long bike rides and playing drums, not to mention going up and down stairs, picking things up off the floor, walking the dogs, and sitting and standing the way I used to, as though I had gone back in time.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Words can never express my gratitude, but I hope that by resuming all the activities I love to do and the things I have always loved doing, I am somehow showing Dr. Zukor and his team how much their dedicated efforts mean to me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I saw Dr. Zukor last week for my one-year follow-up and, after briefly studying the new x-rays, he expressed his satisfaction at the condition of my hips. I did learn during the visit that there is more physiotherapy I can, and should, do.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">It certainly has been a year highlighted by waves of appreciation, gratitude and disbelief and, for as long as I am healthy, I am certain those same magnificent waves will continue crashing on the shores of my life.<span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-86313830678707888402023-04-14T08:47:00.001-07:002023-04-14T12:58:47.915-07:00I Stand Corrected<p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">When free agent Claude Giroux was signed by Ottawa, I was indifferent at best.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I was no Giroux fan and didn’t see why I should be. </span>I didn’t see why the Senators would want him in their lineup. Ottawa Citizen sports reporter Bruce Garrioch insisted at the time the trade would “reinvigorate the Senators brand”, an opinion at which I roundly scoffed. From my perspective, there was no way the signing was all that.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I admit now, Bruce nailed it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Giroux has been fun to watch because I get the feeling he’s been having fun. His competitive fire and effort are in plain view every game and he seems to be a good complement to the young stars on the team who I have enjoyed watching for the last three or four seasons.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdE4s68Anu-3Ncn2lMyD6hO4SZRUXeVGOPr9GExBQ1vJMO5LkEYv1GndG89unjNdPfPuY2DQlzKNAKs8uu87LyUK9ZAzc0Jxk7RJYxPaO4ELxMByCYsF8zzgozYRiYgtfmVojAcidt85M7RJpNZJc61Kf6OGS6Wq0GQoIuoVN_TZXzbRvTbiAZT547g/s4032/Sens.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJdE4s68Anu-3Ncn2lMyD6hO4SZRUXeVGOPr9GExBQ1vJMO5LkEYv1GndG89unjNdPfPuY2DQlzKNAKs8uu87LyUK9ZAzc0Jxk7RJYxPaO4ELxMByCYsF8zzgozYRiYgtfmVojAcidt85M7RJpNZJc61Kf6OGS6Wq0GQoIuoVN_TZXzbRvTbiAZT547g/s320/Sens.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Through the pandemic and into now, it has been fun to watch the young guys fly around the ice.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Stutzle (39 goals 51 assists), Batherson (22 goals 40 assists), Norris, Pinto (20 goals 15 assists) are talented and play with zeal.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Captain Tchachuk (35 goals 48 assists) is a glowing credit to the team on and off the ice.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Jake Sanderson (4 goals 28 assists) is smart and cool with the puck, and just so effective without it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Even Kelly never took a shift off.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Chabot, to me, doesn’t always play like he cares. Maybe I’m wrong. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">It’s thoroughly disappointing that the Senators didn’t make the playoffs, but how are you supposed to make the playoffs when your goalies give up…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Two goals on seven shots.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Four goals on eleven shots.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Two goals on two shots.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Seven goals on nineteen shots.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Does any of this ring a bell? Is it a gigantic alarm bell? It should be.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Now and then, goalies for the Senators have played some absolutely stellar games but, overall, the goaltending this season was shoddy; sorrily inconsistent.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I’m looking forward to next year and I’m hoping the same names will be in the lineup. Go Sens Go!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">BTW - in case you’re wondering how a Montrealer became a Sens fan, you’re welcome to read my September 25, 2010 blog, titled “You Can Keep Kovalazy”. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I was happy for Claude Giroux and the team when he tallied his 1000<sup>th</sup> point at the end of the season, becoming the 96<sup>th </sup>NHL player to reach that milestone.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">As far as his signing by the Senators is concerned, I stand corrected.<s><o:p></o:p></s></span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-8282229273245281852023-04-12T12:11:00.001-07:002023-04-12T12:24:08.038-07:00Ice Storm Twenty-Five Years Later<p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">We don’t seem to bounce back from ice storms any quicker than we did before, although, true, I did not hear of any hydro towers crumpling this time.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">You would like to think that each time these storms happen, Hydro Quebec is diligently taking steps to make certain the extent of future outages will be significantly reduced.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwUV0OGPUGfYtS7S_LTHGY-YB6qcs0qLjQHIegq1B2mSyPHLDcAACQ18cRY7GAen_ghgzR2d6hHlwynNs1lfz4NYVfyViS8yVCss6s8nfgh5vK2LfV3OgEDHToDb_zcTj6LvEKYuDuekOYZIqG0pCQ5rpsnNZkWpD5bgxcmR6RmbOu7-WxGerYLxAzA/s1280/thumbnail_NSW_4817.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiwUV0OGPUGfYtS7S_LTHGY-YB6qcs0qLjQHIegq1B2mSyPHLDcAACQ18cRY7GAen_ghgzR2d6hHlwynNs1lfz4NYVfyViS8yVCss6s8nfgh5vK2LfV3OgEDHToDb_zcTj6LvEKYuDuekOYZIqG0pCQ5rpsnNZkWpD5bgxcmR6RmbOu7-WxGerYLxAzA/s320/thumbnail_NSW_4817.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">I get the feeling Hydro much prefers to let it happen, counting on powerless clients to muddle through as best they can, whether the temperature is -2, -25, or +35. It’s a thermal crapshoot. This time we lucked out, with a temperature mild enough that heat wasn’t the desperately vital issue it could have been in the dead of winter.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Our ice storms typically happen in early January. I really thought we had made it through this winter without a major ice storm. Yes, there were several instances of mild wet weather during the day followed by freezing conditions overnight that made the following mornings, tricky. I spread pet-friendly salt on our back deck and stairs a few times this past winter to make sure our doodles didn’t risk their limbs when we let them out the morning after wet surfaces had frozen overnight.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I was just flipping through the book published by The Gazette after the terrible January 1998 ice storm, when power was out for 33 days in some areas of Quebec. </span>That things were not that bad this time is more a tribute to Mother Nature than Hydro-Quebec. Twenty-five years later, I have zero confidence that Hydro customers are any more likely to have power, or lose it, in our next ice storm.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">This time, we lost power for 40 hours and, as frustrating as we found that, I cannot imagine being one of the households that lost electricity for six days! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkl7fXpECwL8YNQ5tlSGNFCH3oCxSWuP-h56p3eRqDEaWv_Sm1609aSBN5gkJ5lQSHPd4ofc0M9A3lyJ2JEVuLEJvCQN8YB56b6GAR5RxqM3OgKxcoxHEZZE75DqN4KMk4uNZrLd3CdiqVrvo1DLB5RgPxSpJfF4jfL3Z477FrYy7JpfSyPKJuwAP3NA/s1280/thumbnail_NSW_4795.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="853" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkl7fXpECwL8YNQ5tlSGNFCH3oCxSWuP-h56p3eRqDEaWv_Sm1609aSBN5gkJ5lQSHPd4ofc0M9A3lyJ2JEVuLEJvCQN8YB56b6GAR5RxqM3OgKxcoxHEZZE75DqN4KMk4uNZrLd3CdiqVrvo1DLB5RgPxSpJfF4jfL3Z477FrYy7JpfSyPKJuwAP3NA/s320/thumbnail_NSW_4795.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>It was strange during the outage to go off to the grocery store where there was power and a slew of employees packing shelves with food. Everything seemed normal while you were filling your cart and then you’d leave and pull into your driveway and remember, oh yeah.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">It was the same when we ate at Harvey’s restaurant in Laval at the height of the outage. It was certainly busier than usual, but everything seemed normal until we rolled back into our driveway and remembered, oh yeah.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Thank-you to whomever invented the toilet, James Jonathan Toilet perhaps, for not making them electric.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Hydro should be making a far greater effort to reduce the extent of future ice storm outages while improving grid resilience, a term that, as far as I know, I just made up. In that area, it would be nice to see a surge.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-23066981226313097332023-04-01T10:43:00.001-07:002023-04-01T10:43:41.235-07:00Bound to Happen<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">I will accept that it was bound to happen, although, darn it, we were doing so well.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">I felt fine as I eagerly went off to ball hockey the night of March 13<sup>th</sup>. As a rule,</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I try not to eat too much beforehand, so that I’m less likely to resemble a bloated hippo as I play. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">About halfway through the game, my energy sagged seriously, I felt lightheaded and as though I might fall asleep while waiting for my next shift. I ended up leaving early but was hit by an intense cold chill as I stepped outside.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">By the time I had reached home, the car was toasty warm so I continued to drive around just to delay having to climb out of the car and into the cold again.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">When I finally did go home, I thought I would regain some energy by eating but I soon discovered I had no appetite. A hot shower did little to ease the uncontrollable shivering.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0a2P9YJENSjXVrp63N3jJSZgAUwZPi9m67EL0crqPdspPT0u73wBlb6wneJmP9R39b6gppZGYGUCvAsW6-mva4s2wf_9mwp94_zBo9BahZOfx93Pdo8czh5R7TJvO2-ct3DsgKb9J7NZwAYAF-G7QDgMTdkkRwYEGFRsD6gPBVtzcK5wTpw7K0NejFg/s1280/thumbnail_IMG_5569.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0a2P9YJENSjXVrp63N3jJSZgAUwZPi9m67EL0crqPdspPT0u73wBlb6wneJmP9R39b6gppZGYGUCvAsW6-mva4s2wf_9mwp94_zBo9BahZOfx93Pdo8czh5R7TJvO2-ct3DsgKb9J7NZwAYAF-G7QDgMTdkkRwYEGFRsD6gPBVtzcK5wTpw7K0NejFg/s320/thumbnail_IMG_5569.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Wouldn’t you know it, Susan tested positive for COVID and I did a short time later. My son also developed symptoms. It was the first time any of us had contracted the virus.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">My main symptoms were intense cold chills, general aching, a loss of appetite and some coughing. My son also manifested cold chills, along with a persistent sore throat. Susan had nasty and prolonged bouts of intense coughing, along with general aches, sniffles, headaches and chills. Both my son and Susan reported a diminished sense of taste and all of us seem to have lingering occasional coughs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I didn’t eat much for the week that followed and tended to have chills at night.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">To improve our nights, my son and I tried cough syrup but, far easier than ingesting two consecutive spoonfuls, was putting the stuff in shot glasses and downing the recommended dose in a quick gulp. We’re practical people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrc98297dXYV-TPiTyQhA9fmt0BF-QubNrViescwfj_vT7wsU-icM-4UGQbSSPBlV546eGcIzAcYYAUzyCYaTJm1lGTAIXSqk6N41H7Y_MIkOM8Vnik1cwdc5e7Bdmpyu2vIdJ_1tOmVEkxXoE4HGh07S3EM50vR7k8XNeOEBhnrGgOI4GgD8kLVavQ/s1280/thumbnail_IMG_5575.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBrc98297dXYV-TPiTyQhA9fmt0BF-QubNrViescwfj_vT7wsU-icM-4UGQbSSPBlV546eGcIzAcYYAUzyCYaTJm1lGTAIXSqk6N41H7Y_MIkOM8Vnik1cwdc5e7Bdmpyu2vIdJ_1tOmVEkxXoE4HGh07S3EM50vR7k8XNeOEBhnrGgOI4GgD8kLVavQ/s320/thumbnail_IMG_5575.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>The next Monday, March 20<sup>th</sup>, I wanted to play ball hockey and though I had tested negative earlier in the day, going to the supermarket proved exhausting. I decided I didn’t have the energy to play.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I returned to ball hockey the following Monday. Some of the other players asked why I had left early two weeks ago. When I explained I had COVID, some of them began sharing their stories, and the stories of their loved ones who had caught the virus.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The stark numbers show COVID is not a thing to mess around with and even now, even for the vaccinated, it is quite an ordeal for many people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">All in all, thankfully, we didn’t do too badly. I’m sure the vaccinations helped.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">We determined Susan brought the virus home after getting it from a fellow fitness instructor where she works.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I suppose. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">It was bound to happen.<span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-38823730952731494432022-12-29T08:48:00.000-08:002022-12-29T08:48:01.329-08:00Sunshine, Rainbows and Roses<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Six months ago today, I underwent bilateral hip replacement surgery. Physically, since then, life has been sunshine, rainbows and roses!</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">It’s as if they had wheeled me into a time machine instead of an operating room because a few weeks later, I had gone back in time and was walking the dogs again, mowing the lawn again, playing ball hockey again, riding a bicycle again, ice skating again, and sitting at my drums again, able to get my feet on the bass drum and hi-hat pedals at the same time.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">For the last few years, I had been living in pain and with diminishing mobility. The discomfort had been worsening and was going to continue worsening. It was all leading to a very dark place. Surgery would mean short-term pain but, ultimately, it would lead to sunshine, rainbows and roses. At some point, I realized surgery was a no-brainer.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I did not want to forget, or casually gloss over, how difficult movement was for me before June 29<sup>th</sup> so I wrote things down. Before the surgery, I would lean against a wall, or lean on railings, to gingerly go up and down stairs; if I dropped something on the ground, I wanted to angrily punch myself in the face because it meant I would have to painfully bend down and pick it up. Putting pants or socks on, or taking pants or socks off, was painful; I had to build a tower of towels to slowly step in and out of the tub, and sitting down on the toilet and getting up off the toilet was terrible. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I kind of hated myself for having taken these things for granted before.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KnOrAOfOi9UnOCkgrBEOFtb2ajqJh21qd_pZeiuvuB82cztVjTfpZSIO6frzIXsxUGVzWyHMNlFGZ0ZIapPEbClDCLVgVdVZxxOSJBf4WOu6maqiPZ_Lf-AB--lyX9cabGcYN7wc7sx0mUu5m1xhvyUp7-MLUBdgJbJezCSMDY5ZSILzlRL4jmCQGw/s3088/IMG_0020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9KnOrAOfOi9UnOCkgrBEOFtb2ajqJh21qd_pZeiuvuB82cztVjTfpZSIO6frzIXsxUGVzWyHMNlFGZ0ZIapPEbClDCLVgVdVZxxOSJBf4WOu6maqiPZ_Lf-AB--lyX9cabGcYN7wc7sx0mUu5m1xhvyUp7-MLUBdgJbJezCSMDY5ZSILzlRL4jmCQGw/s320/IMG_0020.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p>The morning after surgery, the amazing Dr. Zukor stopped by to see how I was doing. I asked if I could take a photo and he agreed. A few hours later, physiotherapist Andrew, and trainee Courtney, got me out of bed and walking in the hallway. The hospital had suggested bringing non-slip footwear that was easy to step into and out of – as you can see, that meant my highfalutin LL Bean duck boots!<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfoHQyGo7KPrLYPBQqq5kYidR-Ewa27AZzG_h1OYmGP68pUgPp63tumQ2AylJegdbxDW_Di09h31ERXdfgWaUboY6tZMPPRmdrg9-585e4wQWC_qsDJ6RbymD38IfWsAuTe1-BY3UVBI43JlT9mkg3WP5iXmoLBhotS_d6fWRJbWaA9cLkmvlzDfZWgg/s4032/IMG_0021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfoHQyGo7KPrLYPBQqq5kYidR-Ewa27AZzG_h1OYmGP68pUgPp63tumQ2AylJegdbxDW_Di09h31ERXdfgWaUboY6tZMPPRmdrg9-585e4wQWC_qsDJ6RbymD38IfWsAuTe1-BY3UVBI43JlT9mkg3WP5iXmoLBhotS_d6fWRJbWaA9cLkmvlzDfZWgg/s320/IMG_0021.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Noelly and Elyssia were the nurses caring for me the day after surgery. As you can see in the photo, they recorded my vitals - blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, oxygen and subjective pain rating - on a board in the hospital room.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKI-chy6STRHi0p8tlBkaYafr21ZmExXh2Z6uuVemq_sEL5PzjpOZdNRc90NdhHivX6OpgUxf3NCiDsXM_rSuK_oqpWphGdwuebBosC5c-7uLsUDak5e6SvDPkY84HDRvUFvdFYOtFwnjqwN21E5b95MnUP3ZQPLPoLZzqY2geivytEf-THsImi7Wc7Q/s4032/IMG_0033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKI-chy6STRHi0p8tlBkaYafr21ZmExXh2Z6uuVemq_sEL5PzjpOZdNRc90NdhHivX6OpgUxf3NCiDsXM_rSuK_oqpWphGdwuebBosC5c-7uLsUDak5e6SvDPkY84HDRvUFvdFYOtFwnjqwN21E5b95MnUP3ZQPLPoLZzqY2geivytEf-THsImi7Wc7Q/s320/IMG_0033.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p>Along with Dr. Zukor, I am grateful to so many hospital staff, Rona, Ulia, Angela, Mani, Shone, Keeba, Perline, Yvette, and Carlos, the orderly in recovery, to name a few.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Look at me! I can carry the tires from the shed to the car and carry the overstuffed box of Christmas ornaments up from the basement.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Fortunate doesn’t begin to cover it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">It’s all surreal; being able to do things I was not able to do a few weeks ago.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I’m dumbfounded that Dr. Zukor and his team were able to do this for me. The surgery and recovery are now imperceptible, a micro-blip on the continuum of my life; a micro-blip that changed everything. <span style="font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 16pt;"> </span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-15505371983231230082022-11-04T07:26:00.003-07:002022-11-04T07:26:48.039-07:00Many Lulled into REM DreamI want it to be everything they claim it will be, but I’m no fool. <div><br /></div><div>They claim it will be reliable, efficient, affordable and safe. </div><div><br /></div><div>Doubtless, it will break down in bad weather, be grossly overpriced, and who knows whether it will be safe. </div><div><br /></div><div>Ladies and gentlemen of Greater Montreal, welcome to your new REM. </div><div><br /></div><div>By now you feel me. Let’s call it like it is; my glass is half empty when it comes to the REM. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUe0_1lbE1Bq9lrpTMwoL5YdcxWoUZg4tIwnOujBRqQMX3-bjaQj2DNDorUXMfpc5AiTXnUA6TZ32cny65q6SuVPr2Q7-E5o4_IUHCAGAqtuveaVgGp2lw4wqa8n1_nZCJo3DCqaZ3DVGYYfFsfEB_1Ghch4_YYkfV2R6SwAM5YcdmB4rTuy5aB4V8w/s2525/IMG_4487.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1894" data-original-width="2525" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUe0_1lbE1Bq9lrpTMwoL5YdcxWoUZg4tIwnOujBRqQMX3-bjaQj2DNDorUXMfpc5AiTXnUA6TZ32cny65q6SuVPr2Q7-E5o4_IUHCAGAqtuveaVgGp2lw4wqa8n1_nZCJo3DCqaZ3DVGYYfFsfEB_1Ghch4_YYkfV2R6SwAM5YcdmB4rTuy5aB4V8w/s320/IMG_4487.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>I don’t like the fact that all the tracks are raised.
In some areas, perhaps there was no other choice, or perhaps they could have chosen other locations in which to build them. The Deux Montagnes corridor, for one, could have been kept on the ground, and some transit experts argue cannibalizing the existing Deux Montagnes line was pointless. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Ottawa light rail transit system had a derailment caused by improperly torqued bolts. A derailment on the REM, for whatever reason, would be a disaster, with tracks 30 or 60 feet in the air. </div><div><br /></div><div>Personally, I don’t like that there’s no driver. Most people I talk to seem fine with that, and some even yearn for driverless automobiles. In my utopia, I drive my car and a human drives my train. During routine disruptions and emergencies, commuters will be at the mercy of automated trains and any computer problems that occur. </div><div><br /></div><div>On the Ottawa light rail transit system, there have been various computer problems and door faults.
A pushy commuter pried open the doors of an Ottawa train causing the system to go offline for an hour, blocking other trains along the line that could not be rerouted around the stalled train. </div><div><br /></div><div>When one REM train breaks down, the line will come to a standstill. </div><div><br /></div><div>Can you imagine when an REM train breaks down and passengers are asked to get off and walk along tracks that are 30 to 60 feet in the air? </div><div><br /></div><div>The Ottawa trains, supposedly built for Canadian winters, couldn’t handle Canadian winter. Parts broke off or froze in the intense cold.
I hope you’re not under the impression the REM will be winter-proof, functioning reliably through Montreal winters. </div><div><br /></div><div>Fat chance. </div><div><br /></div><div>Freezing rain alone will be a huge issue. You heard it here. </div><div><br /></div><div>CDPQ Infra probably didn't skimp on concrete quality and, hopefully, won't skimp on the cost of upkeep.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1RbxmjitjOXVUqMNa3AeHz1Uc0dlga5UswawvvPU7RA04a9xJEPV0rr6i_iVvleqdQwlXFyVK0lwheFVhvwVs0vrY5P2uQNHc1ZF7rr7D-4zH_qJAlLhE2ldZPaKuQo42WajzeGY6DOey7bwjXVdFmwTsjuPnHd0BZ5BbFIl-BfdRRXyGGZ2ayxjIQ/s4032/IMG_2852.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1RbxmjitjOXVUqMNa3AeHz1Uc0dlga5UswawvvPU7RA04a9xJEPV0rr6i_iVvleqdQwlXFyVK0lwheFVhvwVs0vrY5P2uQNHc1ZF7rr7D-4zH_qJAlLhE2ldZPaKuQo42WajzeGY6DOey7bwjXVdFmwTsjuPnHd0BZ5BbFIl-BfdRRXyGGZ2ayxjIQ/s320/IMG_2852.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Ottawa’s light rail transit system has been a series of headaches. Ottawa and the construction company are suing each other, the project was plagued with issues and opened a year behind schedule. </div><div><br /></div><div>Thousands and thousands of people all over Greater Montreal continue to endure years and years of unbearable noise and disruption to their lives as construction on this mega-project plods along. </div><div><br /></div><div>On top of that, there are people who did not choose to live beside train tracks who are now forced to live beside train tracks, enduring all the inherent disruption. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhegTkhALH1oeEESzjw8YBP2ey_DM3VXf4ls5P0rFuIYizuNNPDKJQeXLMe8tnIUYwxmrAd4YgNM2NjJk2colV1oTCjphPNTOvJHpBgt2QbbrevtBINtkGysnO8IAZYXWdiuCMFZ1GnlfT7cMKpiB456atPilL5eG9P9QDpwafURVAdFnEX753u1TwOxw/s4032/IMG_4712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhegTkhALH1oeEESzjw8YBP2ey_DM3VXf4ls5P0rFuIYizuNNPDKJQeXLMe8tnIUYwxmrAd4YgNM2NjJk2colV1oTCjphPNTOvJHpBgt2QbbrevtBINtkGysnO8IAZYXWdiuCMFZ1GnlfT7cMKpiB456atPilL5eG9P9QDpwafURVAdFnEX753u1TwOxw/s320/IMG_4712.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Thanks to what seems to me to be hasty and shoddy urban planning, there are now huge concrete overpasses and unsightly raised tracks running through streets, malls, parking lots, front lawns, towns and neighborhoods all over Greater Montreal that were once quiet, if not quaint. </div><div><br /></div><div>Progress, they call it. </div><div><br /></div><div>The REM is less about progress and more about profit.
CDPQ Infra, the contracting arm of Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, makes it crystal clear Mission Number 1 is to make Quebecers’ savings grow. </div><div><br /></div><div>CDPQ Infra is not about making life better for commuters or better for the planet - they are in it for the money, to not only turn a profit, but to maximize the profit they turn. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rest assured, commuters will be charged a fortune to ride the REM and to park their cars at REM stations, and CDPQ Infra will surely justify it by saying supply chain issues during the pandemic made materials frightfully expensive. </div><div><br /></div><div>Cough up. </div><div><br /></div><div>What choice will we have? None. </div><div><br /></div><div>What choice did we have? None. The REM was imposed upon Montrealers. Virtually no consultation. Virtually no flexibility. </div><div><br /></div><div>We may not have paid the price to build this monster project, but if it turns out to be ill-advised, it will most certainly be Montreal commuters who end up paying the price.
</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-65770985645647025642022-08-11T15:33:00.002-07:002022-11-04T07:33:56.470-07:00Grateful's a Massive Understatement<p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">A year ago, for a variety of reasons, I could not have dreamt of being where I am today.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">A few weeks ago, I underwent bilateral hip replacement surgery and I am already moving comfortably in ways that, a few weeks ago, caused me pain.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The surgery happened June 29<sup>th</sup> 2022. I went home the next day. Three weeks later, I stopped using a walker to move around the house. On Sunday, I stopped using a cane. I am slowly going up and down stairs on my own and doing exercises to regain muscle strength and my range of motion.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I’m walking slowly but, more importantly, without pain.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I am getting my life back. As I moved around the house and even the grocery store on Sunday, after setting aside the cane, the word that kept coming to my mind was “incredible”.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">This morning, I went to see my amazing surgeon, Dr. David Zukor, for the first time since I last saw him the morning after surgery. It’s been six weeks. He was pleased with the new x-rays, incisions, and my progress so far. He has given me the green light to resume pretty much all of my prior activities.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I’ve got lots more physio to do!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTaOHbJRn0F3FRfA2nCNgIzzZ1joQnNmxgvWXYsh8ec1cepRvVhZJCnSVa3YgftAr1G-6RpIhzF-jttn9bKZ3CZG9TG4eF_1iPJN34AVtHIg2UyU_IxF5k5O8RL4Q7a0GR9wqyqxka1lnFJ3km_dM-E4ZSO95SvT8tpbohAhRsHupwke_7ez7kd--rsQ/s3088/IMG_0008.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3088" data-original-width="2320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTaOHbJRn0F3FRfA2nCNgIzzZ1joQnNmxgvWXYsh8ec1cepRvVhZJCnSVa3YgftAr1G-6RpIhzF-jttn9bKZ3CZG9TG4eF_1iPJN34AVtHIg2UyU_IxF5k5O8RL4Q7a0GR9wqyqxka1lnFJ3km_dM-E4ZSO95SvT8tpbohAhRsHupwke_7ez7kd--rsQ/w240-h320/IMG_0008.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In recovery a few hours after surgery, eating a protein bar.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Here’s just a bit of back story. I started physiotherapy in the summer of 2017 after noticing that I seemed to be losing strength in my legs. I no longer had my skating stride. I saw several physiotherapists over the following years, most of whom were curious to know what was going on inside my hips. I finally went for an x-ray in July 2020 and was diagnosed with moderate to severe osteoarthritis in both hips.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">As a physician injected cortisone into my more painful hip in June 2021, he told me the shot typically lasts three months for some patients, six months for others, and as long as a year for a lucky few. The shot provided me with 13 days of relief.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Surgery was something I desperately wanted to avoid and yet, faced with diminishing mobility, intensifying pain and so much more life to live, surgery seemed inevitable and the only sensible option.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">For me, the thought was frightening and the prospect, nothing short of dreadful.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">My mindset changed completely after meeting Dr. David Zukor on November 1, 2021. I left the Jewish General Hospital that day with so much confidence in Dr. Zukor and the direct lateral procedure he performs, even though I had not expected to hear Dr. Zukor recommend replacing both hips at the same time.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_3KxrPXpv16lvCrH2E0QxT8uWIVte2SKEpS47AdOJsBqdtH3LuH5fEeXok8HWUnGgNlXvrRi4JQlC-FxY1IuFjZSMSvLfigQxGsw4cOB6gUZhngdtUrpM5KqscMI7QCL5u4jOQZro9RWT6rN_d0o3HSjqoEMcLfVJF6QspjkTTEWLn_NFj1bB8-V6w/s4032/IMG_0051%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv_3KxrPXpv16lvCrH2E0QxT8uWIVte2SKEpS47AdOJsBqdtH3LuH5fEeXok8HWUnGgNlXvrRi4JQlC-FxY1IuFjZSMSvLfigQxGsw4cOB6gUZhngdtUrpM5KqscMI7QCL5u4jOQZro9RWT6rN_d0o3HSjqoEMcLfVJF6QspjkTTEWLn_NFj1bB8-V6w/s320/IMG_0051%20copy.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The first three weeks at home, I worked the walker.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Dr. Zukor’s office put me in touch with a flight attendant who had undergone the same procedure. Her words provided insight and encouragement, boosting my conviction.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">It’s not easy, but if you keep your eyes on the prize, which is sunshine and rainbows, it’s more than worth the journey, besides it’s all happy stuff - you’re headed in a happy direction and, given all the terrifying health issues people face, I am eternally grateful that Dr. Zukor and his team had this option to offer me. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">My wife and son were so incredibly attentive, patient and helpful, preparing meals, collecting materials from my downstairs office, and entertaining whims.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I am grateful to be loved so much.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-1095629082458967952022-04-12T12:12:00.001-07:002022-04-12T12:15:10.774-07:00Gratification - Instant vs Delayed<p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">I don’t know about you, but I find it frustrating that I have to wait seven days before I can see another episode of my favorite weekly shows. Every time an episode ends, I always think how completely awesome it would be to go straight into another episode.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Once a new episode has been recorded by our PVR, my wife wants to watch it. I have tried to convince her not to watch a taped show right away. I have tried to convince her to wait another week so we can have two new episodes of a show to watch.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Years have gone by without any luck convincing her to hold off seven days.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Our PVR taped Episode 17 of Season 12 of “Blue Bloods”. Over the next seven days, I kept suggesting we watch other shows that we had taped, in hopes I could get another episode of “Blue Bloods” into the PVR. We didn’t have as much time to watch taped shows over the week and when we did have time, we had other shows we could watch.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYm7R4cfuD5hjP4I4BPXcxsHTEZh7HqiQT2QlL6nDkP6tx06zDDLgxLS2CmHKG0sX-z2DKOo_CWv1TOAFBa2Ik3NRRP9wAbEILPkw1I8OO-o2rv9_8c4NHMN4yIuVog-QSzt4MU9lj_iwzGKsa0AftirtjIgKSZYWRMVUKsUYCB-3Y-4-CSa97VhjyFw/s1440/IMG_1554.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYm7R4cfuD5hjP4I4BPXcxsHTEZh7HqiQT2QlL6nDkP6tx06zDDLgxLS2CmHKG0sX-z2DKOo_CWv1TOAFBa2Ik3NRRP9wAbEILPkw1I8OO-o2rv9_8c4NHMN4yIuVog-QSzt4MU9lj_iwzGKsa0AftirtjIgKSZYWRMVUKsUYCB-3Y-4-CSa97VhjyFw/s320/IMG_1554.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p>Mission accomplished. Our PVR taped Episode 18 of Season 12 of “Blue Bloods” on Friday and on Saturday afternoon, we settled down to watch two new episodes of “Blue Bloods” back-to-back. <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Hot diggedy!</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">It was definitely worth the wait.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">You can just imagine the both of us binge watching. It’s not pretty! We morph into shapeless potatoes with twitching eyes, sprinkled in popcorn bits - but smiling.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Press that play button. Forthwith.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-56915066521320250082022-02-16T14:17:00.009-08:002022-02-21T08:47:13.279-08:00Vroom Vroom<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Look both ways!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The bike path is no longer a bike path.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">It's a super-highway for unadulterated freaks and their flying machines!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">There are motorized vehicles zooming along carelessly, oblivious to the rest of the world, and they range from scooters to wheelchairs, to four-wheel chairs and idiotically small cars.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">None of them should be allowed on bike paths, I say.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Fix it. Give out a ticket every once in a while to these bike path maniacs. Our laws can't possibly be so shoddy as to legally permit these motorized vehicles on bike paths!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">For cyclists of all ages, they pose a serious risk. All of them seem determined to travel at breakneck speed, sure to cause serious injury to an adult cyclist, child cyclist, or dog being walked, on or near the bike path.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I understand mobility issues, but you’re not the only person on this planet, you’re the only oblivious person on this planet. You should care about keeping other people safe.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I would insist there is a better solution, only now these motorized vehicles have begun invading stores.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvrfVc9ovsv8wYRe-R4eLUWlc-DSZaYiHyzmVkomklOjLDwAAstuBTgRJE4wCJM_KML9_aygH2sPbukHLaz6rGFyj64WCD2cJSPAzu13SoXMPjJxeUZ706ahHD0GhgZ--swRBIQBpW5Uf-w4pH0UNcKni2DYuNOHyk-f_Ptr_6coIQnG5pMGrhrc-pVA=s2844" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2844" data-original-width="2133" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgvrfVc9ovsv8wYRe-R4eLUWlc-DSZaYiHyzmVkomklOjLDwAAstuBTgRJE4wCJM_KML9_aygH2sPbukHLaz6rGFyj64WCD2cJSPAzu13SoXMPjJxeUZ706ahHD0GhgZ--swRBIQBpW5Uf-w4pH0UNcKni2DYuNOHyk-f_Ptr_6coIQnG5pMGrhrc-pVA=s320" width="240" /></a></div>Believe you me, they're giving drive-thru a whole new meaning.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Too many motorists ignore pedestrian crossings to think they’ll work in the dairy section.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Maybe we can put bells around the necks of these senior zoomers. Better still, confiscate their blooming buggies.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEii9gAwKjEzVuL8J8rKKxwxZAsc_5zAfj--zn1pGqQ74w9WWtuxG04-x3zxitJgI05m0Djrfi0FrSlFqH-iVpmZeG7wenMuxznguCy6RdAtYDm0rDKyNUClZ3qr-Gra99py5nF75G_nPpqoBTWGDB4TFfU3t376G4piuKEmg5CHU_8JRNLUy4o1Kx-lsQ=s2195" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2195" data-original-width="1646" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEii9gAwKjEzVuL8J8rKKxwxZAsc_5zAfj--zn1pGqQ74w9WWtuxG04-x3zxitJgI05m0Djrfi0FrSlFqH-iVpmZeG7wenMuxznguCy6RdAtYDm0rDKyNUClZ3qr-Gra99py5nF75G_nPpqoBTWGDB4TFfU3t376G4piuKEmg5CHU_8JRNLUy4o1Kx-lsQ=s320" width="240" /></a></div>Soon, police federations are going to be pushing to have the Highway Code expanded to supermarkets. Then what? A police chase through fresh produce?<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">You just don’t know when you are going to come face-to-face with a speeding senior seated on a turbocharged wheelchair. What chance does a grocery cart have?</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Police; legislators; fix it! Parameters, please. What's legal and what's not, and do the laws make sense and keep everyone safe?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0ESM6O__FnDmxfAb81e-d_WtMDlpUJd7XNOPnk3NraiYMvYPR3u3BMCWTH2VReFnK6Myf78Tu_K81GJIK8zQddi0QCVjbfDM1soEGXXYrIr_-C_R9syOAe8Fptv1pvqfc7t2YqnbpMjSccyjmnIXP9S_Zbq0roTb8uNxWvCkjjRwQvCJeaYP6PO2P4g=s1350" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="1012" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0ESM6O__FnDmxfAb81e-d_WtMDlpUJd7XNOPnk3NraiYMvYPR3u3BMCWTH2VReFnK6Myf78Tu_K81GJIK8zQddi0QCVjbfDM1soEGXXYrIr_-C_R9syOAe8Fptv1pvqfc7t2YqnbpMjSccyjmnIXP9S_Zbq0roTb8uNxWvCkjjRwQvCJeaYP6PO2P4g=s320" width="240" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p>It’s most unnerving to someone who’s always enjoyed going to the grocery store without having to contemplate the possibility of being run over in front of the frozen yogurt.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Maybe I’m overreacting.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Deep breath.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I’m sure I’ll feel better about the whole thing once they get traffic lights installed at the ends of the aisles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-8839965576514902522022-01-06T14:01:00.000-08:002022-01-06T14:01:46.006-08:00Get Your Act Together<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">What the hell?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Francois will not be getting my vote, not that he ever had it to begin with.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The curfew is wrong. Requiring a third shot on your vaccination passport is wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">How can you justify removing the rights of people who are double vaccinated? They no longer have the right to be outside after 10 p.m. even though they did exactly as you recommended and got vaccinated? Twice.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Why did we listen to you idiots?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">We got vaccinated twice and what do we have to show for it? House arrest. We are confined to our homes from 10 at night until 5 in the morning.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Infuriating.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhho1BK5wknwMMXoKaz2-uZ0gqKImPLoMU4438FODo2CuMcNQe8gV0GbMzjlF9empaa_rlENQC88Hufl2f7tngiYe5Nz1XfrbCGVkAaUjW-KzFFR2r_VAa8MT2Wp9IWhOijNPq6h8aTS0KVm_0PjhWbaxWVmoJHd-o77Ug0rbAeKvpKOO0wxsEYCaGoiQ=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhho1BK5wknwMMXoKaz2-uZ0gqKImPLoMU4438FODo2CuMcNQe8gV0GbMzjlF9empaa_rlENQC88Hufl2f7tngiYe5Nz1XfrbCGVkAaUjW-KzFFR2r_VAa8MT2Wp9IWhOijNPq6h8aTS0KVm_0PjhWbaxWVmoJHd-o77Ug0rbAeKvpKOO0wxsEYCaGoiQ=s320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Oh shutup!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">The arbitrary stupidity continues and, correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to be led by droning Legault and his inept cronies.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">You cannot keep banging people on the head with your arbitrary, inconsistent, unscientific rules.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">So, omicron is the latest worry but, wait, it’s not really a worry because it’s a run-of-the-mill cold, or flu. Well, if it’s a run-of-the-mill cold, or flu, leave people alone.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Pfizer says its omicron vaccine will be ready in March. Well then, why wouldn’t I wait for Pfizer’s omicron vaccine if that’s the latest issue, even though the symptoms that come with the omicron variant, we are repeatedly told, are not really an issue?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">What the hell?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">You had it? You haven’t had it? You had it but showed no symptoms? You had symptoms but tested negative? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Self-isolate for 10 days, 7 days, 5 days, wait, you work in health care, no need to self-isolate, get back to work.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">What the hell?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I know who I’d like to see self-isolate.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Get your act together and stop acting.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-69567423925913282742021-12-13T11:45:00.000-08:002021-12-13T11:45:21.715-08:00Stop By Anytime<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">How stupid is that? As stupidity goes, it’s positively rarefied.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Why would the government and science approve of people mixing COVID vaccines and then turn around and say recipients of mixed vaccines are subject to travel restrictions?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Typical.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The worst part is no one answers for all the COVID related inconsistency and stupidity. No one is accountable; makes me want to spit fire. The government can make up rules, change rules, warn you, then change those warnings, recommend actions, change recommendations and coerce citizens with propaganda.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am not comfortable with forcing people to have things injected into their bodies. I also feel like mandatory vaccines would set a dangerous precedent, allowing government to decree who knows what in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I do wonder how many of the people who are against vaccines would be willing to swallow a COVID pill?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, doctors and politicians are saying they always told people the vaccines would wear off, immunity would wane. Strange, I honestly don’t recall hearing too much about that as the masses lined up for their shots.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFpwWW0VVLsbWRSS0PfsfyxgYLkatL1_L0yXYX-HyK2l7CXmTnbr6bc6ML7Gq-kYcw4xQIjqi-g0vbzLSWzUL6Zb9yhXLjEnNaCK-znhf4NhKHOYqX9H44drHTs0tSRsXD7lNb44omblCMG3KpBkQRzkZ4xr4-h7eavUk3cQ0N7n3IByfO4NkVfoVtww=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFpwWW0VVLsbWRSS0PfsfyxgYLkatL1_L0yXYX-HyK2l7CXmTnbr6bc6ML7Gq-kYcw4xQIjqi-g0vbzLSWzUL6Zb9yhXLjEnNaCK-znhf4NhKHOYqX9H44drHTs0tSRsXD7lNb44omblCMG3KpBkQRzkZ4xr4-h7eavUk3cQ0N7n3IByfO4NkVfoVtww=s320" width="240" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I would have rathered not have to take vaccines, but that wasn’t really a reasonable choice. I guess many of the vaccinated would say the same thing.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The passports seem to be a bit of a joke. At two different fast food restaurants, they simply asked if I had been vaccinated without even a perfunctory glance at my QR code. At a different branch of one of the first two fast food restaurants, they actually scanned my passport to make sure I had been vaccinated. To sit in the food court at Montreal Trust, my QR code was also scanned. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At a Laval restaurant/bar where I just met with colleagues for a holiday gathering, they simply looked at the QR code on my phone without scanning it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Seriously? What’s the point?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You don’t really need a passport to eat out, although fake QR codes are out there and being used by some individuals who've had no vaccine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With omicron making the rounds, a third shot seems likely, not just for the immunocompromised and elderly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">People seem happy to get rid of 2021. My extreme good fortune is not lost on me. I have been able to work from home, my favorite place, where I was able to spend more time with my favorite people, and my favorite dogs. I bear 2021 no malice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I did not miss going to concerts, movies, parties, conferences, or sporting events.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, 2021, feel free to stop by anytime.</span><i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-28392185673973251762021-07-27T13:38:00.000-07:002021-07-27T13:38:06.982-07:00Synchro Tennis is a Real Slice<p><span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-family: arial;">No doubt about it, I was as skeptical as any sports fan could possibly be when I first heard synchro tennis would be introduced at the Olympics.</span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I wondered, quite vocally, what is the point of synchro tennis? You play tennis. You are an accomplished player. Now, why would you want to synchronize your playing with a teammate? What does it prove? What do you gain? What do sports fans gain?<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It seemed arbitrary and utterly pointless to me and something that should be reserved for any eventual Synchronicity Games.</span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJOn9lfFmxRRwG0FUuFwEbIR4Py1GFSSKSwDUxHntyUYeIuX3XkQPJxvlXiVnjxvYc_Uqd_4ihdxHsA4f03zNql6za2nmgALmFQc_Wx0Sj9laaaV4867pcWFgerOdE1X35BfCy8Tr_xbil/s592/Screenshot+2021-07-27+162302.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="592" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJOn9lfFmxRRwG0FUuFwEbIR4Py1GFSSKSwDUxHntyUYeIuX3XkQPJxvlXiVnjxvYc_Uqd_4ihdxHsA4f03zNql6za2nmgALmFQc_Wx0Sj9laaaV4867pcWFgerOdE1X35BfCy8Tr_xbil/s320/Screenshot+2021-07-27+162302.png" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><p class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><br /></span></p>However, after watching the athletes perform, I am entirely convinced the sport is worthy of my attention.</span></span><p></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The players, in teams of two, call out their strokes and with lightning quickness, execute incredible and precisely timed shots as mirror images of each other. In doubles tennis, players can move anywhere on the court and are not required to mirror each other’s strokes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #201f1e;">In synchro tennis, the two <span style="caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30);">players</span> on each side of the net can only move within their side of the half court. T</span><span style="color: #201f1e;">eams consist of one right-handed player and one left-handed player. Their opponents, on the other side of the net, one right-handed and one left-handed, must respond together with speed, agility and grace to the identical shots coming their way.</span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The synchronicity of the players is rather astonishing. I am certain I could never think as quickly as these synchro tennis players, not to mention move as quickly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The down-the-line, backhand slice executed by the British team to win the inaugural gold medal was absolutely brilliant. As the two balls were struck by their Spanish counterparts, the British captain called the return shot. In a matter of a millisecond, the two British players simultaneously positioned themselves with perfect footwork, and gracefully sliced their respective balls back down the line.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you did not see the game live, I hope you get to see the highlights.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="xmsonormal" style="-webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; caret-color: rgb(32, 31, 30); line-height: 11.65pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="color: #201f1e;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I can hardly wait until beach cricket is introduced at the next Olympic games and, if it’s anything like synchro tennis, it’s sure to be a smashing success.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-25222966441816531392021-07-19T08:18:00.004-07:002021-07-20T12:59:52.774-07:00Click Went My Switch<p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Listen to pharmaceutical ads on television; most of the disclaimers are downright scary.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Yet, a whole slew of pharmaceutical companies popped out of the woodwork with leading edge, perfectly safe, somewhat tested, COVID vaccines they all developed seemingly overnight. Evidently, these vaccines all came with no scary disclaimers, or side-effects.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">“Perfectly safe”, droned the politicians and physicians, in unison.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Seems unlikely to me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Oh, wait, there is that one COVID vaccine that can cause blood clots and has cost far too many people their lives. Why was that risk not mentioned in a disclaimer? There are those other COVID vaccines that contain nanoparticles of polyethylene glycol which have triggered anaphylaxis in an unfortunate few who happen to be allergic. Why was that risk not mentioned in a disclaimer?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Don’t the scientists and politicians have a responsibility to be transparent, or do pandemics permit dispensing with transparency?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Instead, the government and medical community insisted, very paternalistically, all the vaccines are perfectly safe and “the right vaccine for you is the one that you’re offered.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I don’t think so. I will choose the vaccine I get and if I can’t choose the vaccine I get, I won’t get one. Period.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">How dare they tell me what I have to have injected into my body? How dare they tell anyone they must accept the risk, however statistically unlikely, of clotting, or death?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I found that arrogance infuriating. Click went my switch. I decided I will not get any vaccine; at least, I would wait until I was convinced it was right for me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">How is it possible that no one has been held accountable for the tragic deaths of the women in Canada, the UK, Australia and elsewhere? Shouldn’t Astrazeneca, or the politicians who so cavalierly endorsed its safety, be held accountable? Shouldn’t someone be held accountable for the clotting issues people have endured?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">There were hundreds of millions of dollars up for grabs. Every pharmaceutical company in the world was salivating, eager for their piece of the pie. In spite of compressed testing times and incomplete results, many managed to get a share of the millions of dollars being spent by governments. Of course, after spending millions of dollars to pay for these vaccines, governments felt the need to push as aggressively as possible to get the shots into arms.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I wouldn't be at all surprised if there was some deal whereby the government purchased vaccines from pharmaceutical companies that agreed to chip in for the cost of propaganda campaigns.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Social distancing, masking and hand washing might have been able to get it done, but there was no enforcement and most people are too idiotic to comply. They can’t even wear their masks properly or follow the arrows in grocery store aisles! Some gym, restaurant, and other business owners went above and beyond, but most did not.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Aggressive propaganda campaigns have been bombarding us with didactic ads, preaching about social responsibility as the politicians very likely keep their fingers crossed in hopes snowballing peer pressure would help get it done.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilLZAshd1VR1JGnol6-RGzOg798U480KmzsehNF8giVigo_82EXoFuh8W0bsH3QPQuWLTyXCxQPo3XQna44_Vlc0GZbnhIDGU_PuBXvsGv_x7WA3Od9-RR9SnSTP-3qdmIZG8cp6d9xA3s/s2048/IMG_1966.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilLZAshd1VR1JGnol6-RGzOg798U480KmzsehNF8giVigo_82EXoFuh8W0bsH3QPQuWLTyXCxQPo3XQna44_Vlc0GZbnhIDGU_PuBXvsGv_x7WA3Od9-RR9SnSTP-3qdmIZG8cp6d9xA3s/s320/IMG_1966.jpg" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p>As people marched obediently off to vaccination clinics, the moronic announcements just kept coming. In most instances, they contradicted what we were first led to believe. The announcements seemed arbitrary and haphazard.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Now, suddenly, the vaccines that needed constant super freezing can be stored at regular refrigeration temperatures for one month.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Now, suddenly, you can mix vaccines from different pharmaceutical companies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Now, suddenly, the recommended interval between shots has been extended.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Now, suddenly, the recommended interval between shots has been shortened.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Now, suddenly, it’s perfectly fine to extend the expiration dates on vaccines.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">As she outlined the newly shortened interval time between first and second COVID shots, the woman registering me for my first shot on Saturday summed it up nicely, “C’est du n’importe quoi.” It’s whatever.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Since hand washing, social distancing and masking seem to have gone out the window, jabs may well be the only way out of this now. Certainly not my first choice.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">At the height of the pandemic, I watched a CNN documentary on the COVID vaccines. It offered a glimpse into what different pharmaceutical companies had done to develop their vaccines. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">On Friday, two things happened that made feel like I would eventually have no choice but to succumb to the intense propaganda pressure and take the jab. I won’t elaborate on what these two things were, or who was involved. Everyone is being brainwashed into thinking they have a moral obligation to save society by getting the jab. Many believe that anyone who does not comply is failing in their social duty to save society.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Travel, work, friendships and much more, seem to be at stake.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I caved-in to the pressure and conformed, indirectly and reluctantly falling victim to the propaganda machine created by the politicians. I don’t trust what they say or do. In order to make sure the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on vaccines are not wasted, they invested in bandwagon propaganda.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">If they had been forthcoming about the risks of vaccines, or endorsed the right of people to choose between vaccines, maybe I would feel differently. Instead, true to their oily nature, politicians were frothing at the mouth, and still are, eager to conjure up the perception that everything returned to normal on their watch, making them worthy of retaining power.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Truth be told, I don’t entirely trust pharmaceutical companies. Some may argue their motivations are pure, but when so much money is at stake, purity almost certainly becomes tainted to some degree.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Messenger RNA vaccines supposedly teach our cells how to make a protein, or part of a protein, in order to initiate an immune response inside our bodies. Admittedly, incredible technology. I sincerely hope there are no side effects related to cell manipulation that emerge down the road and, ideally, the vaccines vanquish the variants.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">As far as the politicians are concerned, they can stick it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-68889681285161754142021-05-27T07:50:00.001-07:002021-05-27T07:50:31.601-07:00Examine Examiners<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Someone at the SAAQ is raking in the dough. I mean they are pulling in seriously big bucks.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">There is no other possible explanation.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">I wish there were another explanation, but no other is humanly possible.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I have absolutely no other choice but to conclude examiners at the Quebec automobile insurance board are taking money under the table. There’s no other way to explain the incredible number of blatantly moronic drivers currently on the road.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Obviously, examiners can recognize the stupid people from the dunce caps they sport.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">These are drivers who couldn’t possibly pass a driver’s test without a juicy payoff to the examiner.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I don’t know whether it’s one SAAQ examiner in particular who is granting idiots their driving permits, or the whole team of examiners.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The stupidity is rampant.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Driving around the neighborhood, when there is a car behind me, it is, inevitably, tailgating.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">When there is a car in front of me, it’s crawling along far below the posted speed limit.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">It never fails. It’s as if this truth has become a newly implemented law of nature and I was not notified because the people who manage the Laws of Nature knew how infuriated I would be.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The force of gravity accelerates at 9.8m/sec2 and drivers behind me tailgate obnoxiously, while drivers in front of me crawl.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The lane hogs continue to litter highways, refusing to move from the passing lane to let others get by. The jerks who are unable to flick a blinker wand are everywhere and the cops are nowhere, as louts roll through stop signs, crosswalks and red lights.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I fear my sanity is at stake.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">I go pick up a pizza. All the way to the pizza place, the driver in front of me crawls, while the imbecile behind me, tailgates. All the way back from the pizza place, the vehicle behind me tailgates while the driver in front crawls, 20 km/hr under the posted speed limit. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Is it deliberate? Are they oblivious? Is it a combination of both?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRXWKCA6QVi_bKR2WQwi5BeoVfi5C_cI8iDxab-0IKllKB2RDa7NqBoBfXMm91Cp-9Im_MpXmT0SnVUDJQiZT8cXAUya3deAobw4tbIvj3rkBv6UagbUlAMvOb3X1GEUqMPKM_hrdv1ws/s2048/IMG_1873.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRXWKCA6QVi_bKR2WQwi5BeoVfi5C_cI8iDxab-0IKllKB2RDa7NqBoBfXMm91Cp-9Im_MpXmT0SnVUDJQiZT8cXAUya3deAobw4tbIvj3rkBv6UagbUlAMvOb3X1GEUqMPKM_hrdv1ws/w274-h365/IMG_1873.jpg" width="274" /></a></div>Why am I obliged to drive at the same irritatingly slow speed as some clueless nitwit? <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">I have no choice. I am forced to take action and I am no longer responsible for the action I take.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">It is the examiners, clinking their stemware drinking glasses and flaunting their ill-gained fortunes on a yacht in the Mediterranean, who are responsible.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Stop the payoffs, you simply must let the idiots walk instead of authorizing them to sit behind a wheel!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I tell you, it’s time to examine the examiners.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-82473854730141890772021-03-16T11:39:00.002-07:002021-05-14T06:50:06.855-07:00The Dog Ate our Fob<p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">When she was a puppy, our newest family member, Sniffy, used one of the key fobs from our car to strengthen her teeth. We found it in several pieces.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLM9N4xKWDlWBkadwpI3vYIxSZ3M_65lOTJyfXfc8AJFAxdmZKa0X8qSxfPCfL3jh0jwHX042DGqfLw12lDMSUeVcHR_2w32wAIgR9cQg9BWOVuoMwv9PCdKdV3ay1CZD5KjQ09zs30yBj/s2048/IMG_1829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLM9N4xKWDlWBkadwpI3vYIxSZ3M_65lOTJyfXfc8AJFAxdmZKa0X8qSxfPCfL3jh0jwHX042DGqfLw12lDMSUeVcHR_2w32wAIgR9cQg9BWOVuoMwv9PCdKdV3ay1CZD5KjQ09zs30yBj/s320/IMG_1829.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><p>We spent the last year with one key fob, biting our nails each time it was dropped, misplaced, or left inside the car. It survived and last week, we finally had time to take the car to a dealership where a new key fob was purchased and programmed.</p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWVDt4PuwzVkxjQ7y25P6fM5zT7ifL8Oq5mtUmZqWxuS4CzpW0nK-9hcjyGP24_iT3QKu6LCjXm9MpBP-A2OS1ThqO8dzUFGeRq4EQ3rBwyZxyCT7QF8TE9fuqffVzNGkpsNuaCoutINH/s1280/thumbnail_IMG_4004.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvWVDt4PuwzVkxjQ7y25P6fM5zT7ifL8Oq5mtUmZqWxuS4CzpW0nK-9hcjyGP24_iT3QKu6LCjXm9MpBP-A2OS1ThqO8dzUFGeRq4EQ3rBwyZxyCT7QF8TE9fuqffVzNGkpsNuaCoutINH/s320/thumbnail_IMG_4004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p>We sighed with relief when they put the second key fob in our hands. <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;">Then, we gasped in dismay when they put the $500 bill in our hands.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Of course, after spending this nerve-wracking pandemic year with one car key, we were willing to pay the bill.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Our first Australian labradoodle, Bear, ate a bunch of stuff before he finally came to his senses. You can read about the “Bear ingestion chronicles” in these blogs, “Spotless Insanity” (May 21, 2015) and “Celebrating the Bear Facts” (October 21, 2015).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">As she sits in the backyard in -22 degree cold, amusing herself by tossing a frozen poop nugget up in the air, Sniffy’s senses would seem far too distant to hope she will be coming to them anytime soon.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">We, on the other hand, have come to our senses by making sure the car keys are kept up high, on hooks.</span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-9309439713497594042021-01-06T16:31:00.001-08:002021-01-06T16:35:42.054-08:00Put COVID Cops on the Case<p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">A curfew? Seriously? That’s the best you can do?</span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">That’s the key step you’ve decided will move us forward? Are you so dense as decision-makers?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The problem is the widespread louts who could care less about protocols. You think keeping them in their homes at night will fix the problem? Fat chance. You’d have to keep protocol flaunters in their homes night and day to fix the problem. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">They’re not hard to find. Stand at the arrivals gate for the next few weeks as flights from vacation destinations return.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">It’s not the shopkeepers and restaurant owners who should suffer because our inept governments can’t keep people safe. Admittedly, there were shopkeepers and restaurant owners who were not enforcing protocols, but then, really, that should not be their job.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Many shops and restaurants bent over backward to continue operating while respecting pandemic protocols. For all their sincere, survival-motivated efforts and creativity, they get shut down because of covidiots?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">That’s not right.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I know exactly what I’m supposed to do in the grocery store to be as safe as possible, except that oblivious, or grossly ignorant people - clerks, cashiers and customers - are constantly walking, or standing right beside me. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Things at the grocery store were much safer during the first wave, with people forced to wait outside and clearly indicated lines and signs inside the stores that were closely monitored by employees. Ah, the good ol’ days.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Wsj52rBCfvpGR40BH59mcMWoqONBsDVNRViweDNlYOp1qC9oedtgbtRkwPQLIa2MIlNTJ4f1JvmVHl1eSfJbID1Gn3SHgRJ6h_XVFUfuAAb8CesjsP9a2ila74Wp2feTCYtRO3-KV2AP/s2048/IMG_4453.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Wsj52rBCfvpGR40BH59mcMWoqONBsDVNRViweDNlYOp1qC9oedtgbtRkwPQLIa2MIlNTJ4f1JvmVHl1eSfJbID1Gn3SHgRJ6h_XVFUfuAAb8CesjsP9a2ila74Wp2feTCYtRO3-KV2AP/w300-h400/IMG_4453.JPG" title="The good ol' days" width="300" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><br /></p>Keep stores open, but put stringent limits on the number of people in those stores along with individuals who have the power to enforce protocols and fine the covidiots who ignore rules. Set up longer store hours and provide more money for grocery store employees!<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Hire people who are out of work, train them and pay them well, as COVID cops,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">to monitor customer numbers and behavior in stores, restaurants and shops.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">That means jobs for people trained to enforce protocols and it means business for store owners. Once covidiots are identified and fined, it’s fine by me if you fit them with ankle bracelets and curfews.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Please hurry and get COVID cops on the case because I am willing to bet big bucks the selfish people coming back from sunny Cancun will not quarantine in their homes when they realize they’re low on coffee and pancakes. They will be out there with the rest of we, untanned, going the wrong way down one-way grocery aisles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Don’t fret over late night flights coming back from vacation destinations. I’m sure they will be given exceptions to the curfew that the rest of we, untanned, are obeying.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Bitter much? You bet. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">What government in its right mind allows people to fly off to sunny vacations in foreign countries in the middle of an uncontrolled pandemic? <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">The answer? Governments whose ministers do it themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I am about as disconnected from our clueless governments as I am from the Tampa Raptors.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Quebec had some so-called “educational success expert” by the name of Dr. Egide Royer on a television commercial saying the most important thing for our children is to go to school. I disagree. The most important thing for our children is to be physically healthy. Children in elementary and high schools, whether they get two masks a day or not, will touch surfaces touched by everyone else and touch their faces and bring whatever they touch, home, to spread to siblings, parents and grandparents who may, or may not, be in their bubble.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Quebec should provide parents with the option to keep their children home for remote learning instead of forcing them to put their children and families at risk of COVID.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">In pandemic proportions, the stupidity continues.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-70388946377724030962020-12-11T13:08:00.001-08:002020-12-11T13:08:20.649-08:00Inner DJ Busts Free & Running Rampant<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">We had a portable cassette player in our house when I was a child and I would use it to chat with people and record songs off the radio. We would act out excerpts of books we were reading and we would do comedy shows, telling jokes into the tape recorder. I had hours of fun with that thing!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">In CEGEP, I joined the radio station, hosting a jazz show I called, “The 4/4 Show”. When I was a student there, McGill’s radio station, called CFRM, only broadcast to campus buildings. Once a week, I hosted a morning show, playing whatever tracks I wanted and reading the spots that station administration left for me.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Outside of school, I would rent a mixing board from a downtown store and act as DJ for parties and graduations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Great fun and, I suppose, very basic training for what was to come in my broadcasting career.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I have released my inner DJ once again, hosting a podcast called RixPix. It highlights songs that have been among my favorites for decades. Truth be told, I am having oodles of fun doing it!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Bz2cy9A3b-QWpDhS1HM7FFRPIa2z1NECpfW0Gd3PK_VBlODHibjHqsfpDqEhyphenhyphenSFa-OIpJkmnQjEvyGHXek7ozeoTyoEbWa61esOqPd98TP410AxGRP1v4irGf37bZXwV9ik1wh4OwHbn/s1201/RIXPIX-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1201" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Bz2cy9A3b-QWpDhS1HM7FFRPIa2z1NECpfW0Gd3PK_VBlODHibjHqsfpDqEhyphenhyphenSFa-OIpJkmnQjEvyGHXek7ozeoTyoEbWa61esOqPd98TP410AxGRP1v4irGf37bZXwV9ik1wh4OwHbn/s320/RIXPIX-1.jpg" /></a></div>I have just posted my twelfth episode of RixPix.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I have to thank anchor.fm for making this platform available to people. What’s even more unbelievable, is that it is all free. I was having technical problems when I first tried uploading RixPix 1 and the support staff at anchor were on top of it, attentive and helpful.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">It’s also pretty cool that anchor.fm provides podcast analytics.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">For example, I know nearly a quarter of my audience is based in the United States, with nearly three quarters in Canada. I have a smattering of listeners in Germany, Singapore and Mexico.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Nearly half of listeners use Apple Podcasts and about a quarter find RixPix through Spotify.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Nearly half of listeners are between the ages of 28-34 and nearly a quarter between 45-59. Nearly three quarters of RixPix listeners are male.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">All of that is great information to keep in mind as I attempt to grow my audience. Anchor.fm even allows listeners to offer feedback. Feel free to get in touch!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">I am grateful to be able to add podcaster to my list of hobbies. I hope you’ll give RixPix a listen and get back to me with your feedback.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US">Music lights the way.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-69802646841617538262020-10-02T11:01:00.000-07:002020-10-02T11:01:04.260-07:00The Templeman Biography<p>After binge reading Jack Reacher, Longmire and Will Trent books, I just finished reading a biography about Ted Templeman that I had been given for my birthday. I had seen his name on many of the record albums I loved, so I had a feeling the book would be interesting.</p><p>He started as an artist in a group that I really don't remember. They had hits. At one point, his group performs for the first anniversary of Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow's wedding. He describes what that was like. </p><p>Among many other things, he talks about meeting Elvis and watching him record, his favorite guitar riff by any guitarist, working with Van Halen and watching them come undone, the David Lee Roth song he considers a highlight of his career, going to AA with the Aerosmith guys, Warner management and he includes an apology to Van Morrison.</p><p>As he talks about songs and recording them, I often went on music sites to listen to what he was talking about. I bought some songs because I read about them. I didn't know, for example, that Carly Simon had recorded a version of the Doobie Brothers song, "It Keeps Me Running". I bought her version.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Rb9dhbko9tirQCbutzheU4ZWQXfNgBgVp0hoGmSD3ujVKLLciUYb1J7IQ7lB6X1an_bg1Br9ziJ9LFLpni5Fe29cH6WeeB8jyMTql4lLyk_IFf9Md8nsokvD-5wFLJPWMYhewL45mM-C/s2048/IMG_0023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Rb9dhbko9tirQCbutzheU4ZWQXfNgBgVp0hoGmSD3ujVKLLciUYb1J7IQ7lB6X1an_bg1Br9ziJ9LFLpni5Fe29cH6WeeB8jyMTql4lLyk_IFf9Md8nsokvD-5wFLJPWMYhewL45mM-C/s320/IMG_0023.jpg" /></a></div><p>He tells a pretty hilarious story about accordionist Spooner Oldham. He also recounts being caught up in a hijacking that changed his life.</p><p>He obviously made a ton of money.</p><p>Ted Templeman is pretty frank about the music superstars and executives he's worked with, so you learn a lot of interesting things about the people.</p><p>As a musician who loves going into the recording studio but can't always afford it, overall, I really enjoyed this book.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-54855055639430992692020-07-23T06:13:00.001-07:002020-07-23T06:13:47.883-07:00Spare Me the SpandexMy wife purchased two pairs of jeans for me. I got one pair as a Christmas gift and, a few months later, she bought me a second pair.<br />
<br />
I remember pulling on the pair I got for Christmas and complaining with equal parts disdain and mortification, “Why are they stretchy?”<br />
<br />
She calmly told me they had spandex in them. Most indignant, I blurted, “Well, that’s swell, but why is it in my jeans?”<br />
<br />
She insisted that is how jeans are made now. No way that’s right, I thought to myself, you’re just going to the wrong stores! I have not gone shopping for jeans in a while, but I cannot imagine good old fashioned, non-stretchy, 100 percent cotton denim has been rendered obsolete.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvt4OiVZ8ncBeHHXp67buuH9vqL6SsrkNRv6C0HgRfBY19XTYfqNhwVvqUBn8pR0TVZrtsVQ3GhlIzvxrQlXJleESxzWC9eUGbQVZRNYd8-QyU0qkpeoyLCCUpsZ6yBR7UXvEnvdIgQetw/s1600/FullSizeRender-6+copy+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvt4OiVZ8ncBeHHXp67buuH9vqL6SsrkNRv6C0HgRfBY19XTYfqNhwVvqUBn8pR0TVZrtsVQ3GhlIzvxrQlXJleESxzWC9eUGbQVZRNYd8-QyU0qkpeoyLCCUpsZ6yBR7UXvEnvdIgQetw/s320/FullSizeRender-6+copy+4.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Are cowboys riding the range in stretchy jeans? Whoa, podner, I think not! Are construction workers on job sites sporting spandex? Fat chance!<br />
<br />
Sure it’s interesting that spandex is made of a long chain polymer called polyurethane and that it is produced as a result of a complex chemical process where a polyester reacts with a diisocyanate.<br />
<br />
But why is it in my jeans?<br />
<br />
When it was first introduced by Du Pont in 1960, spandex was used in bras and girdles. In the 70’s, it was used in women’s underwear and swimsuits, then in biking shorts, leotards and women’s hosiery.<br />
<br />
Why is it in my jeans?<br />
<br />
An article in lifestyle magazine, The Atlantic, suggests, “…elastane fibers give jeans a softer feel and help ease the adversarial relationship between the durable rugged textile and tender bits of the human body.”<br />
<br />
Pfffft. I’ve got news for you, none of the bits on this human body are that tender and I would prefer they stay that way.<br />
<br />
The fashion universe may be unfolding as it should, but my jeans are not.<br />
<br />
I will definitely have to purchase my next pair of jeans myself and my first, emphatic, question to the sales clerk will be, “None of my bits are tender so, please, where are the jeans that don’t stretch?”<br />
<br />
I’ll straighten this out.<br />
<br />
Women may have embraced softer, form-fitting, spandex-laced skinny jeans from the beginning, but I am not there.<br />
<br />
My wife may have been under the impression I prefer being on the cusp of fashion trends, but, by now, she has most certainly realized that’s a bit of a stretch.
Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-64184633872055524932020-07-02T06:13:00.001-07:002020-07-02T06:16:13.041-07:00Not Totally Crazy<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was one of the coolest places I visited as feature
reporter for the morning show. La Papeterie Saint-Armand produced the most amazing handmade
paper – out of the most amazing stuff! The Montreal company by the Lachine Canal transformed linen, flax, denim and
shredded cash. Co-owner Denise Lapointe was fun to interview, knowledgeable,
with a sense of humour.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJ-q_2i0b3sy1Ibj_v_s8Ft1krrS9Sa-j4o56aunPByOyOyPFg_gQ6FzfmTv5lQ7PzeSRbDH24aW-07ETOtQ2juFW8rEPrPf_AcXoD2V8isfa_P-zjMMIkdixpBOauLutNn8ZL3lFtZmM/s1600/IMG_4897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQJ-q_2i0b3sy1Ibj_v_s8Ft1krrS9Sa-j4o56aunPByOyOyPFg_gQ6FzfmTv5lQ7PzeSRbDH24aW-07ETOtQ2juFW8rEPrPf_AcXoD2V8isfa_P-zjMMIkdixpBOauLutNn8ZL3lFtZmM/s320/IMG_4897.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Their website says they are open to the public three days a
week. If you appreciate paper or
industrial history, La Papeterie is definitely worth a visit, once this pandemic is past. They have an
amazing assortment of papers and impressive machines from a bygone era.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since I had seen paper made out of blue jeans, I imagined
that blue jeans could very well be made out of paper. There are companies that
make polar fleece from plastic bottles!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbhqg3H912J6CWvbwK9qRpSrL04WWPk0skVtxlg6Nnsui1lfbQFBYBOvPCosQr8Q9OAhHGWTE5nU8gRLIEnatVk4yj83lmHfMO-cMlnx8YZHVVzSAOaZ2CXo9A3Zr87uBVfBDOy-iCQ5ai/s1600/FullSizeRender-6+copy+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbhqg3H912J6CWvbwK9qRpSrL04WWPk0skVtxlg6Nnsui1lfbQFBYBOvPCosQr8Q9OAhHGWTE5nU8gRLIEnatVk4yj83lmHfMO-cMlnx8YZHVVzSAOaZ2CXo9A3Zr87uBVfBDOy-iCQ5ai/s320/FullSizeRender-6+copy+6.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I got a pair of jeans for Christmas. The tag attached to the
jeans advertised, “100% Recycled Paper”. For several minutes, I believed the jeans I
had been given were made out of recycled paper. People thought I was nuts! I blame
La Papeterie Saint-Armand. It may have been 15 years ago, but with my own eyes,
I saw paper made from blue jeans, so my imagination allowed for the possibility
jeans could be made from paper.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So what is the tag in the photo referring to – the tag
itself? I guess that’s the only possible conclusion. Hardly as exciting as mine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In my own defense, there is a Swedish denim company that incorporates
paper in its jeans. I’m not totally crazy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3678580704751704353.post-49828500318711826482020-06-06T12:10:00.001-07:002020-06-06T12:10:31.360-07:00When CHOM was Home - Skating with The Great One<div class="MsoNormal">
I was opening up the newsroom
mail when I came across an invitation with my name on it from Coca-Cola to
attend its Future Stars hockey camp in Val-Belair. According to the invite, I
would have an opportunity to skate with Wayne Gretzky and other NHL stars.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Whaaaaat?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Incredulous, dumbfounded and
dazed, I slapped my face to regain my senses and hurried to my boss’s office to
ask whether I could attend. It was June 17, 1993, and my Program Director, Ian
McLean, said, “go for it and get some interviews”!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On June 28, 1993, I hopped
into a company vehicle with my hockey equipment and a company tape deck and
drove to Val-Belair. We were two entire dressing rooms crammed full of star
struck journalists. Organizers gave us a quick speech about being careful not
to injure the NHL stars and then we were out on the ice. Granted, ice time was
limited because of the large number of journalists, but I got out there four or
five times.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Denis Savard, Rob Niedermayer
and a pile of fellow journalists were on my team, playing against Wayne
Gretzky, Jaromir Jagr and more fellow journalists. After the match, there was a
reception where I interviewed Wayne Gretzky and Denis Savard. Jagr told me he
did not feel comfortable enough to do an interview in English, but he very
kindly signed an autograph for me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I remember being amazed at
how gracious The Great One was in the face of a ludicrous tornado of attention
sucking up every second of his time. He was gracious during our interview and
while posing with me for a quick photo.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTs75bed4GX7c5d4x6t8L47eqk9epvw-CL7MbEBZxLiPX6bYr7AwI7rIpAsLdvgA6i7dM-CZpNlK8mlIhLOqanZgfSntZ_27hH1P7aFpwfV7EpU0Pm9PltywwXdzhFxGBJI3wG7tY_eRDK/s1600/FullSizeRender-6+copy+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTs75bed4GX7c5d4x6t8L47eqk9epvw-CL7MbEBZxLiPX6bYr7AwI7rIpAsLdvgA6i7dM-CZpNlK8mlIhLOqanZgfSntZ_27hH1P7aFpwfV7EpU0Pm9PltywwXdzhFxGBJI3wG7tY_eRDK/s320/FullSizeRender-6+copy+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I still have the jersey
Coca-Cola gave us for the scrimmage, not to mention the memories and the thrill
of meeting Wayne Gretzky. He was the real thing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yeah, I played hockey with
Wayne Gretzky; that’s just the kind of crazy stuff that would happen when CHOM
was home.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Richard Dagenaishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16080459686555108782noreply@blogger.com0