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!