MY REMEMBRANCE DAY REFLECTIONS

MY REMEMBRANCE DAY REFLECTIONS

It is happening again. I am starting to get somewhat nostalgic as Remembrance Day arrives. Of all of the various celebratory days of the year, I always become quite sentimental over November 11, when we honour our victims of war over the past century. No one in my family has ever been lost in war nor been an active participant in any global conflict, so I have not suffered any personal loss, but I am still affected. 

As I reflect upon the reason, it might have something to do with the fact that this not a holiday marked by joy or hope as happens at Christmas and Easter. It is not a holiday that notes some positive development or reason to celebrate like Dominion Day, Labor Day or Thanksgiving. Remembrance Day is a national time to reflect on the passing of many Canadian soldiers. It is a larger version of the anniversary of the death of a parent or family member when we stop to reflect upon our individual losses. 

During my Remembrance Day reflections, I often am forced to remember John Donne’s poem, “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.” I surmise that the essence of this poem is at the heart of my reason for serious reflection.

This year I have an added dimension to my thoughts. Generally, we watch old videos or movies of soldiers during the First and Second World Wars as they fight for our freedoms. They represent the distant past. At November 11 services we always witness a small group of 90-year-old veterans representing their departed comrades. Their numbers continue to diminish.

Then, for the first time, I just watched a tribute to a “young” veteran on a recent newscast. This young soldier had been involved in Bosnia and Kuwait with the Canadian Army. He represented the newest generation of Canadian soldiers who have seen service in much of the Middle East including Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. We do have young men and women in their thirties and forties who are really veterans of war. The wars were on a different scale but regardless, these young men and women served in some of the hottest trouble spots in the world. Hundreds of Canadian soldiers have been war casualties in the past thirty years. I know that I have never thought of them as war veterans before, but I have certainly now been educated to this fact. 

As the years continue to speed by, we will no longer have any living veterans of the two World Wars, but we will still have a host of “young” veterans. In either case, I am always quite sad on Remembrance Day as I give thanks to those young and old who have fought for me and reminded me that, “I am part of the main and any man's death diminishes me!”

I bow my head in their memory and offer them my thanks for their sacrifice!  

COULD YOU LIVE IN A WINDOWLESS APARTMENT?

COULD YOU LIVE IN A WINDOWLESS APARTMENT?

Billionaire Charlie Munger is bankrolling the design of a massive dormitory at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The $1.5 billion project comes with a major catch — 94% of the dorm's single occupancy rooms are in the interior of the building, and have no windows.

The plan for Munger Hall includes an 11-story building that would provide more than 4,500 beds for undergraduates. Each residential floor would have eight "houses," each holding 63 students. There are eight suites in each house, and every suite has eight single-occupancy beds — window not included -- as well two bathrooms and a common space.

The rooms do have artificial windows, however, which Munger said resemble the Disney cruise ship's artificial portholes where "starfish come in and wink at your children.”

I thought this was an interesting concept with a million questions to be answered. On the positive side, it provides low-cost student accommodation with easy access to the campus. The small room concept was intended to dissuade having students spend a lot of time indoors and thus they would mingle and socialize with other students much more. I didn’t think that student socialization was a problem for most kids but it would be hard to have a party in a tiny room. Having said that, I do recall ten or twelve of my St Joseph’s College roommates sharing a lot of laughs and beer the first year I lived in a 10x25 foot room on campus!

I almost sense that this venture is a sociology research project to study and record the impacts on human behaviour of those confined in small spaces. Will residents display more anxiety and stress because of the layout or will we be actually cultivating a hibernating student body? Will residents perform better or worse academically as a result of their unique situation? Other experiments performed on animals in confined spaces resulted in displays of more aggressive and volatile behaviour. How long will residents cope with confined living before moving out?

The other major factor besides the tiny living space that is significant is there is no view of the outdoors. I know that I have never booked an interior cabin on a cruise ship as I just assumed I would at least want a porthole to look out, if not a large window. I have experienced rooms that had window-size photos of outdoor scenery attached to a wall to try to simulate an outdoor environment. It might work for a while, but I am not sure if it would last. When we first lived in Istanbul, I often used to have to open up the one window we had in our living room, and stick my head out in order to see if it was cloudy, sunny or raining! That was pretty bizarre and I know i would not choose to do it again. Or even worse, live without a window that opens.

It will be interesting to see if the concept catches on or disappears into the sunset. I think I am betting on the latter option.

 

DID YOU EVER WONDER ..?

 DID YOU EVER WONDER ..?

Today, I read where baseball player Buster Posey announced that he was going to announce his retirement from baseball tomorrow. Did you ever wonder why a person would announce that they were going to make a announcement about some specific thing tomorrow? By announcing tomorrow’s announcement today, there is now no need for any further announcement. I don’t get it.

In a recent murder case against a woman and her young child, the accused admitted publicly to having killed the woman. We are now in the midst of a two-week trial. Given that he has already admitted his guilt, why are we going through the agony and expense of a long legal trial. I thought our courts were already so overtaxed that this would be a slam dunk decision. The judge should have only delivered a sentence for the crime. That would save everyone two weeks of their lives. What is the purpose of a trial for someone who admits to their guilt?

Scotland is hosting the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26 to deal with issues of climate change and especially reducing greenhouse gas emission and slowing global warming. Notably absent are four major industrial nations China, Russia, Turkey and Brazil whose environmental footprints are enormous. If these four major global players are not participating, is there any point in continuing? Without their support and cooperation on strategic decisions, very little will change.

Voting in a democracy in my mind is a one size fits all exercise. Whether it is the election of a President, a Senator, a Congressman or a Governor, the election process should be identical in all states and cities. In the US every state establishes their own rules and procedures. There is no uniformity in who can vote, when they can vote, what the ballot contains, what are the boundaries of an electoral district, a paper or electronic voting system etc. I really fail to understand why one model cannot legitimately work in every state. Can you?

There are two numerical measures that leave me clueless. When I read some solar system is 200 light-years away, my mind just blanks out even though I know the definition of a light-year. The same happens when I hear that the US government is trying to pass a 4.3 or 1.8 trillion-dollar bill to repair national infrastructure and stimulate the economy. I have to work hard to budget my frugal pensions against expenses. I often wonder if a “trillion dollar” plan is really a loosely defined wish list with minimal details and assessments and is more of a dream like having one wish granted by a magic genie. I can’t comprehend anything measured in trillions! If you really want to blow my mind, tell me they have discovered a planet two trillion light-years away!

I can understand why some people solve crossword puzzles. To be successful it requires a fairly sophisticated vocabulary, good general knowledge base and some problem-solving intelligence. I do not understand the appeal of word-search puzzles where they try to “find” words from a given list that are mixed in a large grid of letters. If anything, this kind of puzzle is an exercise in visual acuity, good eyesight and perseverance. I just wonder that is the point. If you want a really gratifying search puzzle, try and find and match all of your socks into pairs!

WHY IS THE BALLPLAYER WATCHING AN IPAD IN THE DUGOUT?

 WHY IS THE BALLPLAYER WATCHING AN IPAD IN THE DUGOUT?

Every day I am reminded that the world around me is constantly changing. And with the changes I am always challenged to learn something new. So, the notion of becoming a life-long learner is no longer at the discretion of the learner, it is forced upon us by our society. 

Today’s lesson was presented to me when I read the following advertisement for a job or career in major league baseball. Imagine how excited I got when I visualized that I might be able to apply for a job with a Major League team. It would have fulfilled a fantasy dream of mine and I would have been ecstatic. The ad read:

“The Detroit Tigers are currently accepting applications for the following positions:

Director, Baseball Data Infrastructure

Full-Stack Software Engineer, Baseball Operations (multiple)

Biomechanist, Performance Science

Coordinator, Performance Science

Analyst, Computer Vision

Analyst, Baseball Operations

Associate, Baseball Analytics (multiple)

Associate, Performance Science (multiple)

Associate, Major League Advance Scouting (multiple)

Pro Scouting Intern”

Needless to say, my enthusiasm was instantly extinguished after I read the ad. I was visualizing a job as a base coach, or a bench coach, or a groundskeeper, or a play-by-play announcer. Something that would gain me admission to Big League baseball games on a regular basis was the dream. 

The jobs that were advertised were of a nature that I not only did not qualify for one, but I did not have any idea what most of the jobs even existed, never mind what they entailed. A Full-Stack Software Engineer? A Biomechanist? An Analyst, Computer Vision? What about the need for a batting practise pitcher, a clubhouse attendant or even a beer salesman? These jobs I could understand and might probably qualify for! 

No wonder fan attendance at baseball games is down. It is no longer a simple game of “throw the ball, see the ball, and hit the ball”. It has become a complex game driven by science. Every pitch of every game, to every batter, by every pitcher is analyzed and the masses of data are input into a computer by science whiz-kids (the jobs advertised above) and the results of their computer analysis are then relayed back to every pitcher and hitter so that they can improve their own personal performance. I am sure you have observed players hunched over an iPad viewing all the data they “need” to know before they hit or pitch again. It is truly bizarre!

Players today must spend as much time studying the data profiles of each opponent for every game as they do practising hitting or pitching. I personally don’t think that any amount of analysis to assist a hitter is going to be that helpful when a pitcher throws a 100mph baseball that may curve or drop two feet in the space of 60 feet in half a second. You need incredible eyesight, reflexes and athletic talent to be a success, not a boatload of computer data dancing around in your mind. At least that is my humble opinion.

I don’t think I will apply to the Tigers for any of the new jobs, but I will inquire if they have a need for any senior Miller Light Beer Vendors!

NEED ANY MORE EXAMPLES OF STUPIDITY?

 NEED ANY MORE EXAMPLES OF STUPIDITY?

“Kyle Rittenhouse will go on trial next week for shooting three people, two fatally, during a protest against police brutality last year in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder has a standard rule prohibiting use of the term "victim" until someone is convicted of a crime, and Schroeder said the people shot by Rittenhouse could not be called victims.”

Another example of how the justice system has deteriorated into a verbal wasteland where language and political correctness overrides the principal issue. A man shot and killed two people. The two dead people are victims whether anyone is convicted of a crime or not. If they are not “victims”, should they be called “unwilling participants in a homicide” or “unfortunate bystanders”? Any admiration or respect for the legal system just continues to be eroded by nonsense like this.

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Do you ever find yourself shaking your head at the disparities that exist in our society compared to other places in the world? For example:

“A pair of trainers worn by the US basketball star Michael Jordan have sold for a record $1.47m (£1.1m) at auction. Jordan used the pair of red and white Nike Air Ships during his first season with the Chicago Bulls in 1984.”

“A Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps baseball trading card sold at auction for $2 million.” It was originally part of a five-cent package of bubble gum!

“Afghanistan is facing the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world, with the country seeing a sharp deterioration in the situation since the Taliban seized power in August. This week an Afghan baby girl was sold for $500 by a starving family in order to survive.”

Don’t the disparities bring tears to your eyes?

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Three high-level Alberta Education jobs are up for grabs in the curriculum department — in the midst of a highly controversial curriculum rewrite — and critics are concerned by a lack of specific qualifications for those who will be tasked with leading the process. The jobs, posted publicly this month, are assistant deputy minister of the curriculum division, executive director of learning and teaching resources and executive director of high school curriculum. 

None of the three jobs posted specifically requires a teaching certificate, bachelor of education or expertise in curriculum studies. 

I would suggest that the Alberta government not hire any surveyors, engineers, or companies with railway construction experience when they build the high-speed rail line from Calgary to Edmonton. and see how that unfolds. This project has been on the government's agendas since the 1950s and it appears that a decision is imminent! Ha ha!

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In 2015, Derek Saretzky was found guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of two adults and a two-year old child. He was sentenced to life with no chance at parole for 75 years. Of course, a lawyer is now appealing the sentence believing that it is unconstitutional (?). The lawyer also notes that the killer will not be eligible for parole until his is 95 years old and that this is cruel and unusual punishment. 

How much court time and expense were already expended in the initial trial? Why does the justice system now feel that they need to re-examine the verdict’s severity by hearing an appeal? The three dead victims do not have a chance for appeal and I have little sympathy for the perpetrator. 

Our legal and justice systems have become never-ending circuses where the guilty get more attention than the victims. It’s time to stop! 

DO YOU KNOW THE FIVE LAWS OF STUPIDITY?

 DO YOU KNOW THE FIVE LAWS OF STUPIDITY?

My random reading resulted in me stumbling upon the above topic and teased me read on. Often feeling stupid on many occasions, I was interested to learn that someone thought that there were actually laws that govern stupidity. Who knew? I list the laws below and try to provide an example or two to see if they really exist.

Law#1: everyone underestimates the number of stupid people.

Well, this one is not hard to substantiate. We see examples every day - people who still smoke, those who natter on their iPhones while driving on freeways and anyone who enjoys rock climbing without any safety ropes or harnesses.

Law#2: The probability that a person is stupid is independent of any other characteristics.

I really like this one. It does not matter if you are a doctor, a lawyer, a minister, a black person, a senator, a gay person, a prime minister, a movie star or a retired teacher, no category is immune to stupidity.

Law#3: A stupid person causes losses to others without gains to themselves.

My favourite example is the millions of individuals who choose not to be vaccinated against Covid, thus endangering others and remaining totally vulnerable themselves. Or the millions who use hard narcotics or excess alcohol or who smoke or those who partake of all three vices.

Law#4: non-stupid people underestimate the danger of the stupid.

Although I try not to think for one-second a day about this individual I have to nominate Donald Trump as the most obvious example of this law. Over 60 million people (I assume many of them non-stupid) voted for Trump and we are all aware of the destruction he has reeked upon us all in so many different ways.

Law#5: Stupid people are the most dangerous people on the planet.

Again, because we underestimate the number of stupid people, we do not consider the massive impact of their behaviours. Examples are endless. How many US states did not institute any Covid precautions until it was too late? How many governments have developed billion and even trillion-dollar national debts that will ultimately create financial havoc in the future?

The following quote possibly by Einstein, says it all, “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe!”

HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A STEWARDESS STRIPPING?

 HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A STEWARDESS STRIPPING?

Former Alitalia flight attendants protested this week against job losses and pay cuts in a particularly Italian way -- by taking their clothes off. In the centre of Rome, about 50 female former flight attendants turned up in their Alitalia uniforms, then removed them to stand in their underwear, chanting "We are Alitalia." This event stirred a memory of a flight from hell that I was on that offered a similar scenario.

I was on a trip from the Canary Islands to Freetown in Sierra Leone with three fellow teachers who were heading for a volunteer summer teaching assignment. Our flight provided me with the most bizarre experience I have ever had. My companions and I were waiting for our flight in an empty Las Palmas airport with only about four other individuals at 3 a.m. awaiting our 4 a.m. departure. The TV flight destination monitors did not indicate that there was a 4 a.m. flight until about 3 a.m. It was heartwarming to know that there was in fact an actual flight. 

We were shopping in Duty Free when a loud speaker announced our names and indicated the plane was waiting for us on the tarmac. It was only 3:30 a.m. but we hustled out to our Sierra Leone Airlines flight and rushed up the moveable stairs to the plane.

Only a few lights illuminated the interior because most passengers were asleep. We had not been given any seating assignments and the stewardess told us to choose any empty seat. Two trips up and down the aisles indicated no vacant seats. I finally stopped at a row of seats occupied by a rather large lady who was stretched over three seats and asked her if I could sit in the aisle seat. She told me to F-off and pulled her blanket around her. I finally had a hostess cajole another person to sit up so that I might sit down rather than fly standing up for three hours.

As the plane ascended with a roar all I could concentrate upon was the noise from the glass bottles (I am assuming empties) that all began rolling toward the back of the plane bouncing off the supports under the seats. If that was not scary enough, at least a dozen or more overhead bins were wide open as we took off and various items were dumped out on to the floor. I am just surmising that these might have been violations of takeoff regulations even for Sierra Leone Airlines.

My final memory occurred as were preparing to land. I was seated near the rear of the plane and as the plane descended, I detected a commotion right behind me. The three stewardesses were taking their clothes off and dressing in their native dresses. When the plane finally taxied and stopped at the gate - the stewardesses opened the back door and they were gone down the stairs and off into the night. They were in far too much of a rush to possibly assist any passenger who might have needed any help. 

So, the girls at Alitalia are not the first to strip in the airline's world. Obviously, the attendants of Sierra Leone Air have been doing it for years!

TWELVE BASEBALL TEAMS ARE ALL INJURED?

TWELVE BASEBALL TEAMS ARE ALL INJURED?

As of today, August 22, 2021 there are 319 baseball players on the Major League Injury List. This means that they are not allowed to play for a minimum of ten days after being placed on the list and it may be extended to sixty or more days. This is an average of ten injured players a team for each of the thirty big league teams. In fact, the 319 players who are on the injured list represent the equivalent of TWELVE fully-staffed major league teams. 319 injured players of the 750 roster players are not earning their keep. 43% of the best ball players in the nation are injured! I think that is a pretty clear indication of a major problem.

Further inquiry showed that 184 were incapacitated by injuries that affected some component of the arm - the shoulder, biceps, elbow, wrist, hand or finger. 58% of the injuries were related to the act of throwing a baseball. 57 injuries to the hip, knee, ankle, achilles tendon, or foot comprised another 18% of the total. 241 of the 319 injuries involved the arm or the leg of a player. 35 injuries involved an oblique muscle or back issue. A variety of other conditions that involved such things as the eye, toe, covid protocols, family issues or undisclosed reasons make up the rest of the reasons.

I find these numbers astounding for a number of reasons. At a time when professional athletes are probably in better physical condition than at any other time, why are there so many injuries? l think the answer is quite obvious. Athletes are trying to exert the human body well beyond the limits that our physiology is designed to handle. Pitchers throw harder than ever and a pitcher throwing a baseball over 100 mph is a common occurrence everyday. The human arm is not designed to withstand the stress, strain and torque applied to the bones, muscles and ligaments of the arm, elbow and shoulder. Thus we have at least 150 pitchers who are injured as a result. I don’t think it is rocket science. Even with the best medical trainers, equipment, technology and science, the human arm is only capable of a certain amount of abuse.

Leg, abdominal, and back injuries are another example of exerting the body beyond its limits. A major league ball player has the potential to become a multi-millionaire if they can excel at the game. Thus they throw harder, run harder and swing at the ball harder in order to become elite. And “elite” is where the money is. The players are prepared to ruin their bodies for the rest of their life if they can have one or even two exceptional years that ultimately leads to huge contracts. A tiny percentage of players reach that pinnacle but at what expense? Two of the biggest contracts issued in the past two years were to Mookie Betts ( $365 million) and Francisco Lindor ($341 million). They grabbed the Golden Ring and won the jackpot. Both are currently on the injured list for the first time in their careers and after a major injury does the body ever completely recover? My contention is  that a human body can only withstand so much abuse before it starts to become susceptible to more and more breakdowns. Time will tell.

Many players are placed on the injured list as a “precaution” rather than risk further injury. A strained muscle or a sore arm or a twisted ankle would never have forced a ball player out of the game even a few decades ago. Al Rosen played an entire season with a broken index finger and was happy to compete. Today’s players seem to be motivated more by a big payday down the road so will be happy to sit out active completion while a minor boo-boo heals.

Major League sports has become the Holy Grail to wealth. Develop a skill, exploit it to the maximum, achieve fleeting success and if you can earn the multi-million dollar contract before your body betrays you, then you are set for life. Future chronic health issues, walking with a limp, major surgeries be damned. You are a winner? 

ARE YOU READY FOR THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL?

 ARE YOU READY FOR THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL?

Next week marks the beginning of another school year for most Calgary students. During my lifetime I experienced 51 first days of school - 12 as a student, 5 in university, and 34 as a teacher. Every one of them was filled with positive anticipation and excitement! Somehow, I sense that the same joy that I remember is missing this year. It has been replaced by a feeling of uncertainty and gloom.

Last year’s school calendar was decimated by Covid with many shutdowns, isolations, restarts and disruptions. Students were exposed to a learning environment that challenged them on many levels. Some students worked successfully at home, while others found that at-home learning was very difficult to adjust to. My grandkids were at home four different times either from school closures or individual infections involving classmates. Students didn’t know what to expect from week to week and I think their learning was certainly different than it had ever been before. 

What they will face this year is also very uncertain. Calgary has been relatively restriction-free for the past couple of months but Covid infections are beginning to rise again and there is a cloud of uncertainly hovering in the air as we await next week’s start up. As a result, while students anxiously await the return to school to meet and mingle with their friends in a social setting, they are also reminded of what happened last year. What will this year look like?

Time will answer that question as it always does but I think we need to reflect for a moment on our first-day-of-school past experiences. I don’t feel they will ever return to the same joyful anticipation of the past before we were disrupted by Covid. Flu viruses have been with us forever. Covid is not a new disease: it is a variant of some former virus that we have just not been exposed to before. Viruses have been, are, and will continue to be with us forever. They may not be as serious as Corona has been, but the reality is that they will probably mutate into more infectious and dangerous forms in the future. The challenge is for the medical researchers and doctors to try to stay on top of the problem and become master vaccine-developers. They are challenged to stay ahead of viral mutating and that is no small challenge. Not only our new school years of the future will be determined by how successful they become, but our entire way of life will be affected. 

I don’t mean to sound pessimistic but rather realistic. Just as many other aspects of our life have been affected by Covid, our reaction and procedures to cope with a pandemic will continue to modify our personal lifestyles. Covid has reshaped our work place environment, our social interactions, our holidays and celebrations, our financial situations and how we behave and make choices every day. We are going to have to continue to become more flexible and adaptable to changes in our world that will be as significant as those that we had to face over the past year and a half. I think we best develop a mindset that recognizes that our lives have changed forever and will continue to do so. 

Over the next years, it will not only be the first-day-of-school feelings that will be different, it will become more far-reaching than that. There is an old expression, "You can never go back home” since the “home” as we knew it, has changed. I think that we can now anticipate that,” We can never go back to the life we used to have” as it will be impossible for the same reason! Enjoy today, plan for tomorrow, and fondly remember yesterday! 

I think I hear the school bell ringing!