Orion up in the sky

The Canadian Thanksgiving Holiday is just around the corner.

I am not certain what corner it is around; perhaps in a calendar, since the days are often marked in squares, the corner being referred to is the corner of the date that Thanksgiving is.

Or, more likely, it is just a manner of speech stemming from the idea that something that is just around the corner is literally, just around the corner so it isn't too far away, but not immediately evident.

In some city blocks, depending on the city, the next available corner can be quite a distance away, so 'around the corner' in that specific scenario is no indication whatsoever that what is going to happen is going to happen anytime soon.

Growing up my nuclear family didn't do much to celebrate Thanksgiving. In my own nuclear family we didn't do much with it either; would occasionally eat at my mother-in-law's house, but we'd have the habit of doing that on a fairly regular basis anyhow, so it wasn't anything really special.

Well, if you are reading this, I hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving (yes, I know I'm early, but let me be the first).

bah, like what the word would type

Advice I would give..

to any male person older than puberty and younger than within the last year of their life:

do not complain about being hungry, thirsty or tired, or feeling cold or hot. Ever. You can be hungry, thirsty, tired, cold or hot, for sure, and you can certainly feel that way, but complaining about it will not serve you.

Do be concerned about the women, children and elderly in your life and in your surroundings and if any of them feel hungry, thirsty, tired, cold or hot and see to their comfort as and when it is possible to do so.

to any YouTube creator:

do not at the beginning, at the end, or at any time, ask for subscriptions, likes, comments or Patreon. Constantly hearing from various creators that doing so 'will help the YouTube algorithm' or will help the creator themselves is useless, YouTube viewers already know this and will do it if they are so inclined.

Do thank the viewer for having watched your video at the tail end.

Anyhow, these are a few behaviour recommendations that I have thought about over the last few weeks and I thought I would put them down somewhere.

Serendipity like a loose lozenge

Well, the days are getting shorter now. Not in terms of their actual length, but in terms of the number of daylight hours and minutes. Having passed the solstice just a few days ago we're already on our way to the shortest day; and, winter.

It isn't common to talk about winter near the end of June (in the northern hemisphere), but then, since no one is reading this, does it matter?

Hopefully June 26th will be at least as exciting as June 25th will have been.

Thoracic Jurassic

Who would have guessed that this would be the very first day of a year that as a number is not a prime number?

I did not stay awake last night to witness the changing from the previous year to the current year; I was content to witness that as I awoke this morning.

My plans for this year are as yet vague, certainly for the first few months there is little that will change in terms of work, attending church regularly, having book group monthly, exercising regularly, writing blog posts and watching sports on TV.

I can still wish that for myself, and for the few readers of this blog, that we all have a pleasant next twelve months.

If all of the pecans and the pecan'ts

If I hadn't swallowed the entire envelope made of cheese, a red-winged blackbird's feather and a toe nail clipping from a Minke whale, I'm sure that I would be in a better position to have an opinion on a more topical topic.

In other news, a slobbering poultry donation expert played chess against a moderately flatulent blocky iceberg named Jesse. The spectators at this event, well, most of them anyhow, did remember to brush their teeth earlier that day.

Celebrate! It is Tuesday!

blue sky brown table leg

Trouble amidst the corrupt, banking towards the left, high flight unlike the fly at night.

Celebrate anti ignominy, parachute erotically, fly a kite stealthily.

Send lipids away, there's no freak to pay; it is too late.

As large as the world sometime seems, there is also the quantum arena.

As small as the world sometime seems, there is also the vast reaches of space stretching out into parsecs and light years.

As medium as the world sometime seems, carry on as usual.

crouch then jump

It isn't every day that I get to post on a leap day. These happen rare enough that I ought to do something special on this day, but alas, I haven't anything happening that is different from the modus operandi or status quo.

That this day falls in the midst of my job's very busy season means I am unable to take this day off of work, which is perhaps one thing I would do to make it special.

If you read this today, or any day subsequent, I hope you will have had an excellent leap day.

In the block, not the twist

I just got home from a 90 minute walk and during the walk I had an idea whose impetus was a yTube video I saw from Second Thought about how Capitalism is at the root of an epidemic of loneliness.

This is not a bazillion idea as it doesn't require bazillions to do it, but unfortunately it requires more than I have.

I would approach the four universities in my city (there are two English ones and two French ones) and have a meeting with a head of social work or whatever equivalent that would be.

I would provide the following plan (in a more formal and succinct manner as compared to this blog post) and then ask for social work students to apply for the position, one for each university for a X month term project (I think it could be six, nine or twelve months, I'm not certain). I would ask the head of social work (or equivalent) to vet the applications, and perhaps even make the choice.

An English and French university student would pair; so there would be two pairs. As a pair they are to pick a neighbourhood and in that neighbourhood:

• Find a location that would accept weekly meetings, it could be a church basement, community hall, part of a restaurant, etc. Any cost associated with getting the location weekly would be absorbed by me
• Prepare a sign that they hang on themselves with something to the effect of 'are you lonely?' and find a busy pedestrian corner in the neighbourhood chosen and at various times of day (depending on the student's schedule) wander on that corner to see who approaches, and direct them, if they are interested, to go to the location picked above on the weekly day/time that has already been arranged, perhaps have business card sized ads that can be handed out that gives the day/time and location
• If the location they have picked is in a church basement or community hall, also advertise this combat-loneliness project in the church or community
•  Attend those weekly meetings such that the students arrive before hand to set up, and stay after to clean up, and the purpose of the meeting is to get groups of four or five strangers to coalesce, have one of them create a WhatsApp group to which they all become members, encourage them to come back each week to this meeting, but also encourage them to communicate with each other beyond the weekly meeting, and to eventually graduate out of the weekly meeting to then meet and be friends with each other on their own
• The social worker students would have to create activities and moderate the weekly meets, explain the ground rules (things like being respectful). They can also eventually ask any of the strangers at the end of the meeting to stick around to help clean-up, and in the future to help set up

The program would be a success if the social worker students do end up creating at least one group of 4 or 5 strangers who are now friends and who have maintained the friendship outside of the weekly meetings. Obviously more than one group would be even better. The social workers can ask one of them to check in two, five and seven months later, or something like that. The social worker students, during the weekly sessions can also give tips that would help to solidify these friend groups, like having a daily WhatsApp check-in, or mention that it takes a non-zero but modicum amount of effort on the part of everyone in this small group to keep the group together. Give examples of free or low cost things the whole group can do together.

I would pay the students a salary for the term of the project and also offer to cover costs of providing food at the weekly meetings. I would expect from the students a monthly report with both a qualitative analysis of how things are going and a quantitative one. At the end of term I would want a full project report that includes things like what went well in terms of stranger recruitment, weekly meetings, friend group creation, their own time management, review of their partner, what didn't go well, and any way that the program could be improved, etc.

The results of the four full project reports would be combined to better prepare the next cohort of students who would do this same project the subsequent year.

grow down not wrong

If the side stepping and the raw dropping went to the west by the most sinewy path, the ones who absolutely and unmistakably wanted it the most, clearly marked with the paint on their face, and the screams they belted out with the most force, well... the quiet selfless who participate only when there are voluntary tasks that are thankless yet need to be done, who want no attention and will choose to lose in any race to benefit the downtrodden; these make up the brethren, the articulate and the chosen.

A lesson in pathological indifference, the tremendous pause and the elevated earth bound can teach us all more about that which we didn't know we didn't know. I should know.

That would just about wrap it up, that little thing to the side that needed to be wrapped.

panting all of the elements orange

So Quebec is going back to curfew even though there is little evidence this has any meaningful impact on infection rates. The omicron variant is very fast moving in terms of infectiousness and so the hospitalization rate is rather extreme at the moment worrying governmental officials that our capacity to care for citizens will be stretched beyond a reasonable limit.

This variant is purported to be less severe in terms of its effects on people, but with a much higher percentage of even doubly-vaxxed people getting infected, it means even a small percentage of people can represent a lot of people.

Today is the last day of 2021, this might mean something to someone, but to me it simply means I'm a little bit past the midpoint of my current trip around the sun. If it does mean something to you that tomorrow begins a new calendar year, and you happen to be reading this, I wish you and those who surround you all the best for the new year.

a wallet, a dirigible and a raincoat walk into a bar

Sitting across, like a pancake mixture facing the other ingredients on the counter waiting to be combined; asking questions like an interview, oddity in the situation, unexpected but well received.

π/2 rad of minutes too long? Tough to say, I'll just think of it as a seasonal bonus and return to π/3 for subsequent sessions.

Very close to the midpoint of my trip around the sun, the daylight hours are still shrinking, almost to their annual minimum.

There is little else I can say about Tang, Miracle Mart or Consumers Distributing.

I hope if you manage to read this that today works out to be at least a vaguely memorable one.

a flurry of a chainsaw breakfast cereal

You over drank at a party last night, but just before getting too tipsy someone at the party said something that hurt you and this has stuck with you. You got home late and slept fitfully. This morning you went to get your coffee and the machine malfunctioned and now this made you late for your meeting. On the drive to work some jerk cuts you off; how do you respond?

You had a really nice phone conversation reconnecting with an old friend; catching up as if you had never been separated. The friend had to end the phone call before it got too late, so you end up going to sleep at a reasonable hour and get a great night of sleep. In the morning you notice the sun shine coming in the window, you have your morning coffee without incident and it just so happens that on your drive in to work, some jerk cuts you off; how do you respond?

Does how you respond change based on the experience you have had in the last 12-24 hours? Should it?

That jerk who cut you off is a fleeting moment in time that ends soon after it starts and yet after having had a rough night we might get super upset about this while after a restful night and pleasant morning it is an event easily forgiven and forgotten.

I maintain, even as challenging as it may be, that even after the rough night and the difficult morning that the response to that jerk ought to be the same as if you had had a restful night and pleasant morning. In fact, if anything, having had the rough experience, being cut off ought to generate a humorous response begging the question as to 'what else can go wrong today?'.

tldr; try to have a positive attitude irrespective of your experiences, this will benefit you.

squaring the circle while twirling the diamond

Of course it isn't the first time I talk about a compatibility matrix.

May not be the last time, either, though who can predict the future with any accuracy beyond what will take place in the next few minutes.

It turns out that the procons I listed from the J perspective ended up being turned into a compatibility matrix. I shouldn't have been too surprised; a little disappointed, yes, but not surprised. A sub 3/7ths fraction of the initial plan is now the top card of the deck. I'd offer to shuffle, but the reflection may not help me carry a tune.

In other news, of course, it has to be specspor related, the first game of the Stanley Cup playoffs is to start momentarily as I type this sentence.

If you have any windows, don't get used to the idea of being a door.

heh, long day

Yes, today is the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere. This must mean something to someone somewhere.

What it does mean, though it would not be immediately noticeable, is that the duration of sunlight hours and minutes begin to decrease on an incremental daily basis.

I do little to celebrate such events, one thing I do do is to replace my fall and spring shower curtain with my summer one.

If there is anyone who actually reads this at any time, irrespective of if it is on the solstice day or not, I hope you are having a good trip around the sun.

George Floyd and 'a riot is the language of the unheard'

I would be remiss to not post about this. If only so that I can come back to this from the future and know if anything has changed.

In Minneapolis in the last week a police officer who had had already 17 complaints raised against him for abhorrent behaviour pressed his knee against the throat of George Floyd who had already been knocked to the ground, pinning him like this for nine minutes until he died. George called out, clearly: 'I can't breathe'. All of this was documented in film by people nearby.

I have not yet seen the video, the description itself is gruesome enough.

Joe Biden, the most likely democratic nomimee for the presidential race this fall delivered an impassioned speech to put a cease to the police brutality, the inequality and the racism. Of course, as part of an election, he villified the existing President for riling up the populace with sayings like 'you loot, we shoot'.

Peaceful protests have sprung up in dozens of cities across the US and many other cities globally. Those peaceful protests have been sidelined by rioting from some, and from pre-emptive police brutality as well. As one example of literally thousands, I did happen to see a video, I do not recall what city it was, an older black man was just standing, waiting for a bus, when the protest came near to where he was. Half a dozen police officers were pushing people away to have them disperse, and overzealously they knocked over this older man who had nothing to do with the protest, he was just waiting for the bus.

In one of the articles I read about this, a passage from a Martin Luther King speech was referenced, the quote is so very appropriate for these times. I thought it so telling that I reproduce it here:

Certain conditions continue to exist in our society, which must be condemned as vigorously as we condemn riots. But in the final analysis, a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it that America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the Negro poor has worsened over the last few years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice, equality and humanity. And so in a real sense our nation’s summers of riots are caused by our nation’s winters of delay. And as long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.

So at this time, there is a pandemic still infecting thousands; and given the protests and riots, the infections will spread even further. For the black and brown people, and everyone supporting them, these civil peaceful protests raise the importance of social justice to a higher importance than the physical separation required by the infectious disease scientists. Something needs to be done.

So at this time, there is a climate crisis that affects black and brown people most severely, since red-lining has compelled them to live in places most prone to flooding, pollution, sea-level rise, forest fires and other storms. Not only is social justice required, but climate justice is required, and the two are linked.

On Sunday afternoon that just passed, there was a protest march in my city attended by ~10,000 people and social distancing was not observed, though photos of the event did show that most people were wearing masks. It was followed by rioting and looting which the reports I read indicated started only after the march had come to an end.

I heard an interview on the radio that there may be another march. I just searched to try to find information about the when and where and couldn't find anything, but if I do find out, I will see if I can join the march. I do not know what else I can do.

My thoughts and prayers are with the family of George Floyd, and more generally speaking, that both social justice and climate justice get addressed with an urgency never seen before.

Caution: icicles may form in your underwear

So tomorrow is Bell's Let's Talk day.

I am only peripherally aware of friends and acquaintances that have voluntarily made somewhat public their mental health issues.

I would like to be in more of a position to help anyone who is suffering loneliness, anxiety or depression. For more clinical ones, like eating disorders, PTSD or bipolar, I feel ill equipped.

I have already started volunteering at a place that offers both food bags as well as two hours of social time to help to combat social isolation from the patrons of this charity. In mid-February, we (the people at this place) are meeting to discuss how we can raise our profile and bring in more patrons to be of a more meaningful assistance. At the moment we get between 6 and 10 patrons for each of the four times a month we do this.

Is there more I can do? I don't know, I suppose I can look into it.

Bell will pay 5 cents to Mental Health programs for each time someone does something with their social media, in particular, tomorrow I will do this:
Instagram: Every Bell Let's Talk Day video view at Instagram.com/Bell_LetsTalk

when up is not up, but down is not wrong

I did not sleep well last night, but that's okay, I did manage to get a nap in yesterday.

I had some odd dreams this morning as I was waking up, I just remember that they were odd, nothing else.

I took the train in to the city, got my gym pass, went to the gym, did some exercise, ate at A&W, took the metro and bus home.

I'd like to watch the Grey Cup tonight, but it is only on TSN, to which I have exactly no account. I called my father-in-law to borrow his creds, but the account has been password attempted too many times.

I could create my own account, 100$ gives me six months, which covers the Raptors season and any other sports that TSN covers. After that, it would be 20$/month, something I'm not yet prepared to commit to.

The site said that I could try authenticating again in 30 minutes, so I will first try that to see if it works.

In other news, the second fifth derided the fourth sixth rendering the eleventh second nearly invincible. Before that eleventh second became nearly invincible, it was just vincible.

Tying a tourniquet around a centipede's fifth and seventh pair of legs is probably easier than walking from wherever you are reading this post to an equatorial region of Thalassa.

Improve your posture. Now.

Three times three times three times three times three

So I came across this article that talked about three core skills of building and maintaining both platonic and romantic relationships. It is based on this Ted Talk:



It is possible this blog post will out last the availability of both the linked article and the video (this has happened on older posts of mine), so I will include the most sentient points.

The first skill is insight. “Insight is about awareness and understanding and learning,” declares Davila. “With insight, you’ll have a better idea of who you are, what you need, what you want, and why you do the things you do.” “With insight, you’ll be able to anticipate the positive and negative consequences of your behavior,” “Insight will also let you know your partner better,".

The second skill is mutuality. “Mutuality is about knowing that both people have needs and that both sets of needs matter,” says Davila. “With mutuality, you’ll be able to convey your own needs in a clear direct fashion; that increases the likelihood you’ll get them met.” Of course, mutuality is about ensuring your partner’s needs are addressed, too. “Mutuality also lets you factor both people’s needs into decisions that you make about your relationship,”

The third skill is emotion regulation. “Emotion regulation is about regulating your feelings in response to things that happen in your relationship,” says Davila. “With emotion regulation, you’ll be able to keep your emotions calm and to keep things that happen in your relationship in perspective.” Emotion regulation means developing the ability to manage those moments when you might worry or snap.

In my relationship with my wife, I would score average in the 'insight' category, very low in the 'mutuality' and fairly well in the 'emotion regulation'.

It would be good to keep these things in mind.

Temps de partir?

Not all of the understandings that people have about other people are well understood.

Not all of the people that have understandings about themselves are always true.

Not all of the other people who suspect they have understandings about us are accurate.

All of the inaccuracies that people have in their understanding of others are not well known.

All of the people who insist they have understandings of themselves probably have more to learn.

All of the understandings that people have of each other could definitely use some improvement.

rain and all of the groupings that make it fallow

After four solid days of heat and sunshine, today is a day full of rain with some extreme thunder storms popping in and out all day.

But then, you didn't really ask about the local weather, did you?

In other news, I read that the ICE will raid to deport upwards of 2000 illegal immigrants in the US starting on Sunday. That this made the media gives all of those people the opportunity to run and hide.

Curiously, both the Canadian and American lead bankers talked about current economic outlook and gave hints to potential future interest rate changes. Canada guy says that nationally things are looking pretty good but globally there are severe trade concerns that offset what is going well in Canada, so we'll stay the course. US guy says trade concerns are important, maybe we'll lower at the next meeting.

Next week I'll be MIA from blogging as I'll be up at camp.

Don't forget to remember the thing you haven't yet forgotten.