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On the word Emergency

I am very slow to anger. Indeed, I can't recall the last time I was in an angry mood. However, I do get pissed off, and I'm sure that if I enrolled in a Pissed Off Management course, one of the things that I would hear would be "Get it off your chest". Well, here goes.

Standing in line to be questioned by the triage person at the doorway of the hospital Emergency (ER is an abbreviation of Emergency Room), all I was waiting to say was that I wished to visit a friend who, though formally admitted to the hospital, was being held in an Emergency bed until a bed became available in the hospital surgical wards.

The person in front of me, on being questioned as to why he was here, stated loudly that his big toe was sore and he thought it might be a touch of gout.

I had the sudden urge to shout "Get the hell out of here. This is not a walk-in clinic. This is an Emergency Room, so bugger off and go to one of the walk-in clinics available in the city."

To me, a key reason why our ER Unit has an often full waiting room, and, inside the doors, gurneys line the corridors and every seat has someone waiting in it, engrossed in their phones, is that our devolving culture seems to have lost the understanding of the specific meaning of many words in our language.

Nobody has headaches these days; they have migraines (laughably solved by taking an Advil, according to the ads). Nobody suffers an intolerance or sensitivity to certain substances; they are, it seems, allergic to a whole host of things, regardless of the fact that no serious immune response is associated. This is part of a general and steady decline in the breadth of the average person's vocabulary, such that, now, one word is over used, though there are perhaps numerous words in our lexicon that are available to describe nuances of meaning that would convey greater precision.

So, let's define our terms. The word Emergency is defined as "A sudden unforeseen crisis (usually involving danger) that requires immediate action."

With respect to medical emergency care, the definition clarifies that this is "The branch of medicine concerned with the prompt diagnosis and treatment of injuries or trauma or sudden illness."

Sorry, the simple fact is, a sore toe does not qualify as requiring Emergency medical treatment.

Other than this widespread lack of understanding as to the meaning of the word Emergency, another facet of the problem is that Ontario Emergency Departments are obliged to treat whomever walks through the door. They are not permitted to turn people away.

This has to change. You can call me all kinds of names, over-authoritative, lacking in compassion, intolerant or whatever comes to mind, it matters not to me.

For a start, the entrance doors should bear a sign that makes it very clear of what comprises an Emergency and states emphatically that the ER only deals with "the prompt diagnosis and treatment of injuries or trauma or sudden illness."

In addition, those at the triage desk should be granted the power of refusal to those with issues that clearly do not constitute an emergency. A list of available walk in clinics should be handed to such people and they should politely be shown out of the door by the usually bored security guard.

A recent letter to the editor of the local newspaper suggested that a fee applied to non-emergency cases would put a dent in the habit of using the Emergency Unit as a walk-in clinic. My twist on this would be to suggest that if a person insisted on not leaving, their option would be to be asked to sign a statement and hand over their credit card or cash to pay a "fee for service", on the understanding that they would still have to wait until all true emergencies had been dealt with before being attended to.

These relatively simple changes in procedure would assure that staff, both doctors and nurses, highly trained in dealing with trauma, could practice their skills efficiently and effectively, as was initially intended. It would also assure that genuine emergency patients brought to the unit in ambulances would not have to wait for hours outside the doors until a corridor space can be found. Currently, at any one time, both ambulances and their first response medics are kept tied up for hours, making them unavailable to answer new emergency calls.

If a system is not working, then it needs to be fixed, and fixed promptly. The ER doctors and nurses are painfully aware of the crisis and the need for reform. The greatest obstacle is the ineptitude of medical administrators (whom, I suspect, rarely leave the rarified air of their offices) and the heel-dragging slothfulness of politicians unwilling to do anything that might upset those who voted them into power and might keep them there.

It is no use wringing one's hands and complaining. Action requires both the cooperation and resolve of grass roots organizations. Things need to be said, loudly, firmly and repeatedly, and various asses need to be kicked into gear or out of office.

Canadians have a reputation for politeness and always saying "sorry" for things that are not their fault. However, the intolerable condition of our health system should not have to be tolerated. The greatest risk is that the current turmoil will be used as an ideal excuse for wide privatization,

leaving quality health care the domain of those who can afford it, siphoning off the best doctors and nurses with better pay and working conditions and leaving the quality of health care for the great majority a mediocre one at best.

senior70

August 2023

138

#emergency

On a More Secure Architectural Design for US Schools

There are some who think that the need for gun control legislation arises not just from widespread gun ownership but from the ease of availability of guns, particularly semi automatic and automatic military grade weapons. Their thinking involves, for a start, a ban on the sale of assault weapons.

The phenomenon of school shootings is frequently in the news, and as one student interviewed said "We want to get a good education, but we can't if we're getting put at harm by just going to school."

But, of course, the shootings have nothing to do with the perceived right to own guns of all kinds or that loaded guns are frequently within arms reach in many homes and businesses. The key is surely to prevent heavily armed malcontents from entering school buildings.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, has proposed an expenditure of $155m to place an armed security guard at every public school in Tennessee and to boost security presence at both public and private schools.

My thinking is that, despite the generous cost, this is but a short term measure. One security guard, especially if not as heavily armed as a potential aggressor, may not be enough. Current school buildings often have several entrance doors and a single security guard on his or her rounds may simply not be in the right place at the right time. One armed guard at each entrance door should be considered a minimum. This, however, still leaves potential access through a window or skylight unaccounted for.

My suggestion is that attention should be focussed upon the architectural design of new schools and the retrofitting of existing ones, with the aim of preventing aggressors from being able to enter a school building at all.

A lesson could be taken from our forebears who built many buildings that had only one entrance, at which a guard or guards were posted at all times. Indeed, whole cities were built with surrounding walls through which only a small number of guarded entrance gates permitted entrance. Furthermore, these gates could usually be closed and locked or made inaccessible.

Transferring this basic design into a model for building future US schools, it would seem a good beginning to build school building campuses as currently built but have them built within a surrounding wall, wide enough to permit a circumfrential walkway, the simplest form being a square, rectangle or circle through which only one entrance permits access.

In olden days, a wide moat outside the walls constrained access to the base of the walls and a narrow bridge, wide enough only for a horse and cart, limited the number of people who could arrive at the gate at one time.

An alternative was to have a bridge, all or part of which could be raised, leaving any aggressor on the far side of the moat.

Though the moat is still a viable option, the drawbridge could be substituted by a heavy steel door and the watchmen in the watchtower at each corner of the compound could be replaced with motion sensing devices that would warn of anyone approaching the base of the wall.

School administrators know how many staff and students should be within their campuses, so with fingerprint or facial recognition technology, each staff and student member could be channeled through a single turnstile-like gate at which their ID could be verified. There is also the possibility of sealing the entrance door at a set time shortly after classes begin, and opening the door again at the end of the school day. The campus could then be sealed at night, though there would likely still have to be armed guards present.

With this design, schools could operate without the chance of armed aggressors gaining access, and students and teachers could get on with the important business of education.

The School Board would, however, not be responsible for events taking place outside their walls. Should a malcontent shooter choose to be a sniper and pick off students and staff as they leave the gate or board buses or personal vehicles, there is no recourse. In addition, with rapidly developing drone technology, the walled campus design would not protect schools from explosive devices being delivered or dropped within their walls, a distinct possibility with plans and instructions for building such devices being freely available on the internet, and parts, like guns, being relatively easy to purchase. Providing school campuses with the means for detecting and intercepting airborne attack would likely stretch any budget, and could be criticized as "overkill" (no pun intended, of course).

But, building schools within well protected and guarded perimeters would be a step in the right direction as an alternative to the thorny issue of attempting to limit gun ownership and reducing the ready availability of loaded weapons to those with a chip on their shoulder.

Governor Lee, carrying your solution to school shootings to the degree required might become a bit more costly than you might have first imagined, but I am sure every penny spent on providing a safer learning environment would be appreciated by all and sundry.

There is, too, the added advantage that should a school be closed, a small software change and a division of classroom and other spaces to cell units would permit the campus to be easily retrofitted to become a penitentiary, allowing only those with appropriate ID to pass out of the single gate. An unexpected bonus.

Governor Lee, your esteemed potential leader, should he once again be President, head of the armed forces and privy to the codes for launching nuclear missiles, loves building walls. Please, if you think it appropriate, bring my suggestion to his attention. I need no recognition or acknowledgement. Just glad to be of assistance.

senior70

April 2023

senior70.tumblr.com

#138

#us schools

On the word ‘Lonely’ as distinct from the word ‘Lonesome’

The American author Larry McMurtry wrote four western novels in a series titled “Lonesome Dove” on which a later TV miniseries was based, and from The Sound of Music there is the charming song “The Lonely Goatherd” by the American team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. So, the question arises, is there a difference in meaning between “Lonesome” and “Lonely” or are they synonyms?

As a start to answering this question, there are indeed strong similarities in their meaning, but there is a subtle difference in the way these two words are correctly used.

Of the two, ‘Lonely’ is the much older word. Recorded in the 16th century, the word derives from ‘lone’ plus ‘ly’. The word ‘Lone’ is a Middle English abbreviation of ‘Alone’, also a Middle English word. To clarify, 'Middle English’ was spoken during a period of roughly 300 years from around 1150 CE to around 1450 and is not easy to identify because it is a time of transition between two eras that each have a stronger definition, Old English and Modern English. The suffix ‘ly’ is from Old English and is derived from the Germanic language. Old English, the earliest form of the English language, was spoken and written in Anglo-Saxon Britain from c. 450 CE until c. 1150, continuing to be used for some decades after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

The word ‘Lonesome” is formed from the adjective ‘lone’ and the suffix ‘some’. (This suffix derives from Old English ‘sum’, of Germanic origin, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek hamōs ‘somehow’ and Sanskrit sama ‘any, every’.) ’Lonesome’ was first used in English in the mid 17th century and has been spelled in several different ways, including 'loansome', 'lonesom', and 'lanesome', the last in Scottish English. In modern English, it is used more frequently in N. America than in other English speaking nations.

So, what is the difference? It appears to be one of emphasis. A lonely person desires companionship. A lonesome person is lonely in a profound, long-lasting, philosophical and especially forlorn way. That is a subtle but significant difference.

In everyday speaking the two words are commonly used as if they are synonymous.

The Oxford English Dictionary, that final source of what is and what is not English, has entries for the two words under discussion that are worth quoting in full.

“lonely | ˈləʊnli |

adjective (lonelier, loneliest)

1 sad because one has no friends or company: lonely old people whose families do not care for them.

• without companions; solitary: passing long lonely hours looking on to the street.

2 (of a place) unfrequented and remote: a lonely country lane.”

“lonesome | ˈləʊns(ə)m |

adjective mainly North American

1 solitary or lonely: she felt lonesome and out of things.

2 remote and unfrequented: a lonesome, unfriendly place.

PHRASES

by one's lonesome (British on one's lonesome)

informal all alone: I'll be by my lonesome all night.”

It is interesting and perhaps significant that the Oxford Thesaurus of English addresses only the word ‘Lonely’ and has no separate entry for ‘Lonesome’.

“lonely

adjective

1 a sad and lonely man | I felt very lonely: isolated, alone, all alone, friendless, companionless, without friends/companions, with no one to turn to, outcast, forsaken, abandoned, rejected, unloved, unwanted; unpopular; sad, unhappy, forlorn, despondent; North American lonesome.

2 the lonely life of a writer: solitary, unaccompanied, alone, lone, by oneself/itself, without companions, companionless.

3 a lonely road: deserted, uninhabited, unfrequented, unpopulated, desolate, barren, isolated, remote, out of the way, secluded, sequestered, off the beaten track, in the back of beyond, in the middle of nowhere, godforsaken.”

Note that ‘lonesome’ is mentioned only as a N. American alternative.

Words and the use of words is a fascinating mix of etymological, social and cultural histories, of which I, for one, never tire of exploring.

Online References Used

Oxford English Dictionary

Oxford Thesaurus of English

Wikipedia

Grammarist

senior70

March 2023

#137

“Mend It, Dear Henry...”

What happened to the l o n g winter coats? In Canada, a winter coat that at least reaches one's knees is a good thing to have, but current fashion (men's at least) is for shorter coats and jackets, some barely below waist level.

I have an old winter coat, dating from the early 90's. It is long, warm and even has a hood with a faux fur trim that can be drawn in around one's face. Yes, it looks it's age, but what do I care. Function far outweighs appearance, and "fashion" is nothing but a contrived nonsense.

But, the much used closing front is beginning to fray (Fig. 1) along the edge and other seams are opening up in places.

I am reminded of the circular ditty "There's a hole in my bucket, dear Lisa, dear Lisa." Lisa responds "Then mend it, dear Henry, dear Henry, then mend it dear Henry, dear Henry, MEND IT!"

At the Fabricland store, I always veer towards the more mature assistant ladies because they have life experience and know a thing or two that the fledgling, youthful assistants do not. My assistant listened to my woeful tale, examined the frayed material, and marched me off the Bias Binding display. Though the packets all looked similar she hunted for "Narrow, Double folded" binding and found it. My choice of colour was black or black. (Fig.2)

She said a good seamstress could mend it in minutes and I then admitted to her that I intended to mend it myself. She didn't flinch, and advised me to use a straight stitch foot with a small stitch length and to run the thread down the middle of the narrow tape.

However, unless one has three or more hands, there is a problem. How does one position the folded tape over the edge of the frayed seam and keep it exactly in place until it reaches the chattering needle? Ah! Enter a box of plastic mini clips that were sitting on Jenny's worktable. Placing a clip every inch or so down the full length of the seam requires patience and nimble fingers, and the result looks a bit like the operation incisions that are closed with a row of mini clips rather than stitches. (Fig.3)

Winter coats do not willingly allow themselves to be bundled through the throat of a sewing machine (the gap between the needle and the stem of the machine), so one has to sew with the coat on the outside of the needle assembly, knocking over everything else on the table as one tries to arrange it such that one can feed the seam through.

Now, position needle at the top of the seam, lower foot and take a deep breath.(Fig.4) This is high tension time. Ease the foot on the pedal and slowly start. Four stitches, press the reverse button, four stitches and forward again. That secures the loose ends of the thread. Now to sew.

It becomes a stop and start deal rather than a continuous one, because as each plastic mini clip arrives at the foot, it has to be carefully removed without shifting the tape. No wonder every muscle I have is in tense mode. And so, eyes focussed on the point where the tape runs under the foot, the bias binding tape is sewed securely in place all the way to the bottom and secured with four reverse stitches. (Fig.5) Phew! I can relax now.

Voila! "I mended it, dear Lisa, dear Lisa, I MENDED IT." Well, maybe this old winter coat will now last me out after all.

Now, perhaps, I can get on with quilting rather than mending and altering things.

senior70

March 2023.

#136

A Winter Lament

It began when notes accompanying the instructions for the strict pre operation weight loss diet I had to follow, suggested that an excellent aerobic exercise was to take a “brisk walk” every day.

I looked outside at the rutted road, narrowed by snowbanks, with its sidewalk hidden somewhere beneath a swathe of snow and ice, and muttered, “Well, that might work in your part of Canada, but not here in Thunder Bay.” Accordingly, I unearthed the rowing machine from under some boxes and took a “brisk” 5k row every day instead.

However, dogs demand a daily walk, though hardly aerobic, since every few metres there is a good smell that is worthy of their attention. A dog walk tends to be a repetitious start and stop operation, punctuated by the bending exercise of negotiating ground level poop into an uncooperative plastic bag.

It was on such a walk that my mind, such as it is, began to compose a Ditty (a short simple song or poem - OED). I am not a poet (and know it, though I did once win a Haiku competition), so let me classify this ditty as “doggerel”, nothing less and nothing more.

A Winter Lament

I’m walking like a penguin,

eyes fixed upon the ground,

making sure each foot fall

that’s placed, is firm and sound.

I’m walking like a flatfoot,

heel and toe together.

That’s the way I have to walk

in snow and icy weather.

I quickly found a tune from my memory bank that fitted well enough, and sang my ditty (very quietly) as I walked. It also became apparent that it could be sung while performing a little upper body dance, but after a few steps and a sidelong look from the dogs, I thought better of it and decided not to unduly enhance my growing reputation as “that slightly daft old guy who lives down the block”.

senior70, Feb. 2023

#135

On a New Personal Title and Some Words on Dieting

During my professional career, the formal entry of my name was followed by “PhD, FRGS." The PhD stands for "Piled higher and Deeper" and the FRGS for "Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society". The PhD bit stays with me for life, but once proposed by an existing member and accepted, the fellowship had to be sustained with an annual fee in British £. Thus, I allowed it to lapse a few years after retirement, having only once visited the graciously appointed HQ in London to attend the oral defence of my PhD against three learned professors seeking to undermine my field evidence, hypotheses, and conclusions - which they did not succeed in doing.

But, Hear Ye. Nostalgic for the missing FRGS after my name, I have decided to appoint myself an "LMSM". My vote was unanimous and none was opposed. I regard myself as now well qualified to take upon myself the title of "Lean, Mean, Senior Machine". No annual fee, but an annual weight requirement to sustain the honour.

To explain. In order to qualify for admission to an out of town hospital for hernia surgery, for which I have waited in vain for over two years, I was instructed to be "less than 184 lb.” on the day of admission and was sent the details of a calorie/carbohydrate deficient, but balanced, diet to which to strictly adhere.

Almost all advertised diets and weight loss plans are a sham, designed only for the purpose of making money for someone. As my GP father would tell his patients in the 1950's, "Eat less. There were no fat prisoners in POW Camps", a line significant to his patients shortly after the war, but likely now considered "politically incorrect".

The key to weight loss is remarkably simple and costs nothing. "Eat Less, Eat a balanced diet and Exercise." There is no other secret or short cut. There is nothing for which to pay.

On Nov.9th 2022, I weighed 211.8 lb., was not actually dissatisfied with my bodily appearance, but was taken aback to be informed that I was, statistically speaking, based upon my age and height, "Borderline Obese". One of my good friends exclaimed in surprise, "But you are a big boned man", a description for which I thanked her.

However, with no other choice, I followed the diet. I visited the Bulk store and assembled an array of jars on the kitchen counter, a selection of measuring cups and spoons and a small digital scale. I quickly learned how to cook Steel Cut Oats, Oat Bran, Bulgar and Buckwheat, and have never eaten so many nuts, seeds and vegetables in my life - Chia seeds, Flax seeds, Hemp seeds and Psyllium seeds, Slivered Almonds, Crushed Peanuts and Cashews. All varieties of meats were permitted, but 4-5 oz servings only and almost every legume one can imagine. No peas or corn, though. I bought frozen Edamame beans and Green Channa (an Indian green chick pea), Brussel sprouts, and California and Asian stir fry mixes, bought hard Tofu, Soy Ground Round, and Hummus. Coffee and tea permitted, but no sugary drinks, beer or wine. The phrase "no alcohol " was not specifically stated, so I snuck in a 1 oz shot glass of Tequila now and then - well, it is 100% made from the Algarve plant, so is "plant based" in my deliberately skewed judgement.

To say the diet "works" is an understatement. Lacking calories, one's body sounds the alarm and seeks Reserve Fat to make up for it. Now, contrary to the diet industry claims, the idea of "spot reducing" is entirely a myth. For one reason or another, fat is taken first from everywhere but the lower abdomen, which is a last resort, it seems. My shoes began to feel loose, I started losing my (shapely) bum, my pants lowered to half mast, my wrist bracelet began to hang and my neck became scrawnier than it was already.

Exactly 10 weeks later, Jan 15th, I weighed 186.4 lb.. In 70 days, weight loss was 25.4 lb.. That is 2.54 lb. per week on average. But, with a set target of "less than 184 lb.” I continued, and on Jan 26th weighed 181.2 lb., a safe margin below and 30.6 lb. lighter than when I began. I am a mere shadow of my former self. While ostensibly "healthy", I look as if just released from a 2 month detention in a prison camp.

Such a diet could very well reduce muscle mass, the last thing one wishes to happen, so, coincident with dieting must be aerobic exercise. On a rowing machine, the advised weight loss routine prescribes a steady rowing for an extended period of time, not the macho "row to beat everyone else" nonsense.

Starting with a gentle short row, I quickly built up and sustained a 5 to 6 km row each day, rowing a steady 22 strokes per minute. The routine takes 30 to 40 minutes and burns about 260 calories. One warms but not enough to perspire heavily, so it is a comfortable daily exercise to sustain, and almost one's whole skeletal frame is involved.

The largely agreed "safe" rate of weight loss is 2 lb. a week. This diet was overly effective but still made a variety of interesting and palatable meals possible. No desserts, of course. Maybe, the Dietician expected cheating and therefore less of a meteoric weight loss, but I don't cheat. If something is to be done then it should be done properly, not done half assed.

I hear too many people say, "Oh, I have tried to lose weight." Frankly, the only blunt response has to be, "Well, you obviously didn't try hard enough or set your mind to it." I hear Jenny's voice echo mine, for, when young, she was a smoker, but on learning she was pregnant, had one last cigarette, put the package in the garbage and never smoked again. Surely, exercising a bit of self control and self discipline is not beyond our mortal abilities. To admit to not having control of one's own body, the "vehicle" one is so dependant upon in this mortal life, is a sad admission indeed.

Now, you know why I am currently an MLSM. Am I going to stay at this surgically required weight? No. I plan to grow back into my skin, now crepey in too many places, which is likely around 192 lb.. That has to be done slowly, not by rushing out to eat a burger and fries followed by ice cream and cheesecake. A gradual, controlled increase in carbohydrates, keeping a balance between carbs, protein, fat, fibre, vitamins, minerals and water (the seven components with which we nourish our bodies) should achieve this nicely, after which that weight can be sensibly maintained within a reasonable range. Put weight on at Christmas? If you wish, yes, but make sure you take it off again afterwards.

“Eat well, Eat less and Exercise.” Simple. It is not "rocket science". It is your life you are living, so "put on your big pants”, as the Brits might say, and take control of it.

senior70

January 2023

#134

On the Training of a Human

Dogs, small children, cats, and other pet animals appear to have the propensity to quickly learn how to train their humans, those odd but necessary things in their lives who feed and water them and deal with their excretory issues.

These humans seem to think that they are the ones who are the trainers, and that is as well, for it saves them from the embarrassing realization that it is they who are, in fact, being trained.

I should say at this point that, being a dog myself, I can only really speak for my own kind, but collective familial observations lead me to believe that what applies to me does so for several other animals who live with humans.

One of the most important things in my life is food, so the first important thing to train one's human to do is to regularly provide food, preferably more than once a day. I do, grudgingly, understand why they do not just leave food readily available, though I do regret the occasion I managed to rip open a new bag of food and eat almost the entire contents before being stopped. I fear that single incident confirmed their plan to have a specific "feeding time" for me.

"Specific", humans. Get that? I am a creature of habit, repetition and routine, and I wish to be fed on time - promptly. I have done fairly well in that training, but my humans sometimes sit at their computers or work diligently on their hobbies and forget the time. At that point one is forced to take punitive action. They have learned to respond when I nose my empty bowl noisily across the tile floor and leave it in the middle of the doorway, but, really, they are not easy to train.

I have seen those "dog food" adverts on TV and, regrettably, most humans now think think that we dogs can thrive on that bland stuff that comes in bags and tins. But, we have far greater gastronomic sensitivity than that. You see us gobble our 'dog food' and attempt to eat all manner of dubious things we find on our walks, but it does not seem to register that this is because we are hungry and have no choice. The smells of human food are wonderful and so much more to our taste. We thank whoever invented gravity, for humans are occasionally careless and drop things on the floor. Though some humans try to stop us, it seems to us only common sense to let us clean up. We live at floor level after all. Oops, hold it there, my human just dripped soup across the kitchen floor….

Chocolate! I just love the smell of chocolate, caramel ice cream, the maple topping on doughnuts, the .... So, who are those insensitive humans who wrote those books that say that sweet desserts are not good for dogs? I say "let's bite their ankles or 'accidentally' pee on their feet". Grrrrr.

Humans have long failed to comprehend that we dogs are a great deal more intelligent than we sometimes pretend to be and our senses hundreds of times better than theirs. You don't see us wearing glasses and hearing aids as many of them seem to need, and their sense of smell is appalling. They really aren't designed that well.

We respond to Training, at least when we see some advantage in it, not because we are submissive and always wish to please, but because, though sometimes a ridiculous nuisance, it is ultimately the best way to meet our own goals - usually food or treat related. We can sit and roll over and appear to be willing to do truly stupid tricks to amuse them and let them show off to their friends. Personally, I draw the line at being dressed up in some costume that they think is cute. Non cooperation and apparent inability to get my neck or my feet through the right hole is the best strategy in such cases.

We dogs, like all animals, poop quite a lot and it is important to us to find just the right place to do it. Poop isn't just poop. I carries important information for us and other dogs on our circuit. A quick sniff of our poop is a medical check up for us and tells us exactly what state of health we are in. And, a quick sniff of the backside of other dogs we meet tells us far more about our acquaintances and adversaries than humans can tell of each other by a kiss on the cheek or a handshake.

It is utterly fascinating to watch a human poop. What a performance. It is a spectacle of which we never tire. First, there is often only one place in the house they can poop or at best two or three, a very limited choice in our opinion. They head to this special place, often after a rather noisy message, a little like distant fireworks, tells them to do so, and we follow as spectators. They wear these things called clothes and have to pull them down around their ankles before sitting on a special hollow chair. For some reason they object strongly if we take a quick sniff between their ankles, so it is perhaps better not to check after all. And then they tear pieces off that roll of paper beside them and perform strange contortions. A nice patch of grass or a carpet with a good pile is all we need if we get the post poop itch. Another extraordinary thing is that humans have to poop in water which is a great limitation in our opinion. As said, it is a spectacle worth watching and part of our entertainment for the day.

I guess that because humans tend to only sleep lying down in the dark in a special place, they feel that we should have a special place called Bed, too. Actually, it is a nice touch. We like to have our own special spot, but they must have noticed that we can sleep almost anywhere and at any time. Unlike those always busy humans, we have the time to sleep and dream, usually about chasing squirrels and other fun stuff.

Life in a human abode is not too exciting for a dog. There is not much to do much of the time. Humans always seem to be rushing about and looking vexed at all they feel they have to do, the opposite extreme to ours. Being let out for a pee is a small highlight. We have humans trained in various ways to let us out at fairly regular intervals. We can actually hold it in for hours during the day as well as at night but haven't let humans realize this. So we get to sniff and explore for a bit, selectively deaf to our name being called from the door, and sometimes we get lucky and find a bone or some other rotting food dropped by a crow or a raven.

Our real highlight of the day is "Walkies". Some of us get more than one walk a day - lucky dogs. We wait all day to hear that key word walkies, at which we are wide awake and raring to go. My humans avoid the word "walk" by saying "perambulation". I can't read a dictionary but it really doesn't take us long the connect the dots. We are brighter than you think. Now, a real dog walk is for us not the human on the other end of the leash. Smells are wonderful and need to be investigated and then of course we need to let the neighbourhood community know we are alive and well by peeing a drop or two on every pee spot we come across. All this takes time, so we need to train our humans to stop on command of the pull on the leash and let us go about our social business. But we do need to keep going. Humans stop to chat with other humans too much, leaving trying to summon up the patience to wait it out. It seems that many humans tire easily and head back home just as we get in the swing of things. These "two block walks" are not nearly enough for an inquisitive dog. As an aside, it seems that though we can poop anywhere in the garden, poop beyond the boundaries of the abode cannot be left where we dropped it. They carry blue or green plastic bags that smell of flowers - so artificial. It is rather fun to back up under a prickly bush to poop and then watch one's human crouching and stretching to reach it. Odd habit really. I have no idea what they do with all our collected poop.

One of the things sometimes hard to understand about humans is their attitude towards other humans. To us dogs are dogs. We come in many shapes and sizes and look quite different from each other, but we know we all canine and derive from our wolf ancestors and differences do not matter to us. Same thing for humans. They come with slight cosmetic differences but they are all human, they all poop the same, they all pat and stroke us dogs, yet make much of these superficial differences. Beats me. A lot of fuss about nothing it seems to a dog.

Dogs do wonder a bit why they are sometimes unfairly maligned by humans. They say "you look like a dog's dinner." Well, what is so bad about my dinner? There is never enough, but I like it. Then there is the phrase "you dirty dog.". Excuse me, I spend part of every day grooming myself. I have to rely on my tongue so can't reach everywhere of course, and some of the places I can reach seem to offend humans. They are so sensitive and full of inhibitions. We have none. Then there is the phrase "he's going to the dogs". These phrases are all hurtful to us dogs and we don't deserve it at all.

"It's a dog's life" so it is said.

senior70. June 2022

#133

On that “Later Time in Life”

Ok, I agree that I am probably older than many on social media but I am offended by and I do question the aegist assumptions that tend to be habitually tied to the word "Old". What does "old" mean and imply?

A dictionary defines "old" as "a later time in life". Well, that sounds a rather a general definition, but with life expectancy in North America being 77 years for men and 81 for women, a "later time in life" can be assumed to be the upper tercile or perhaps quartile of that span. From what is loosely called "Middle Aged", the transition to the "later time in life" for men would start at 51 (the final third of their lives, or at 57 (the final quarter of their lives). For women, the equivalent points of transition would be 53 and 60.

Our culture falsely decries the process of aging, trapping us in a costly cycle of denial and loading the word "old" with a multitude of negative connotations. In an effort to sidestep the word I prefer to refer to myself as "elderly", but in fact this word is a collective noun describing all who are in this "later time in life”.

Like so many words in the English language, the definition of the word "old" is loose enough that everyone likely has a personal idea of what the word means to them. After all, nobody can really make it clear to me at what precise surficial area a "puddle" becomes a "pond", a pond becomes a"lake" or a lake becomes a "sea". The word "old" is similarly imprecise.

As noted, our culture views "old" very negatively, readily associating it with other words such as "grey", "wrinkled", "frail", "lame", "doddering", "incapable", "incontinent" "balmy", "decrepit" and many others which together form a depressing picture of somewhere we do not wish to go in a hurry.

However, while these words do indeed describe some less fortunate seniors, they do not well describe many more. It is said that "age is just a number" and numbers by themselves, though they carry cultural messages, are not in fact significant in describing those in "a later time in life”.

Almost anyone in this "later time of life" will likely agree that in their experience, their minds age less rapidly than their bodies. All, I'm sure, have been tempted at some time to do something, such as a hike up a mountain or do a handless cartwheel, at which their bodies scream "No, no, no, don't even think of trying.”

The fact is some bodies and some minds begin to falter well before others. There is no manual or "green book" stating a correlation between age and condition.

Some cultures revere their elderly. With age comes wisdom, a long life of experience and a family heritage that calls for respect and care. Their elderly are treated as "elders", less active physically but rich sources of wise advice and guidance. To them, persons of advanced years are seen as a privilege not awarded to all, and an important remaining influence in their culture.

Yes, I am "up there" in number, but far from being "an old fossil" or an "old clunker". I do admit to a remarkable number of blemishes that have rudely appeared on my once almost perfect body (well, pretty good, anyway) and gravity seems to have had its way with me, though, again, I am far from being a "saggy, baggy elephant". Somewhat like my 26 yr old truck, the engine and transmission are doing fine, some odd noises aside, but it does have its share of dents and scratches and there is rust in places one seldom bothers to look. The cylinders have lost some compression and it doesn't zip about the way it used to. It stops pretty well, though it never did have those fancy anti lock brakes, and under the hood it still looks uncomplicated, with little in the way of emission sensors or pollution controls. There are indeed still quite a number of kilometres left to go.

And about that myth that the elderly lose their libido and interest in sex, and being sexy. Again, this is another broad generalization that applies to some but not others in their "later time in life". True, the long used male semi automatic is likely replaced with an older single shot model which requires reloading between discharges, and feminine lubrication products may now figure on the shopping list more prominently. Our prime sex organ is our brain, and as said, the brain tends to age much less rapidly than our bodies in the "later time of life". As one of my "old" friends remarked in the coffee shop while eying a pair of long legs beneath a short summer skirt, "I ain't dead yet.”

So, please, those of you in the first two terciles of your years, put aside this unfair ageism. We in the "later time of our lives" have long life experience, possibly some wisdom to offer, certainly tales to tell, and should not to be discounted or stigmatized by broad characterizations based upon our numerical age. There is no specific age at which one comes to depend upon Depends.

A few of the elderly, myself excluded, are still climbing mountains and running marathons, and illustrating to the world that age in years is just a number. Our actual sense of age is largely governed by our brain and what age we think we are.

Take note, you younger folk, for, if fortunate, you will one day be one of us in our "later time of life”.

senior70.

#132

#aging

On the Matter of Self Worth

Sadly, there are so many things wrong with our culture, particularly the fine focus on the superficial, inconsequential, and ephemeral and the way we carry that focus into our personal relationships, both close and distant.

It grieves me greatly to read an anguished letter from a 45 yr old woman who no longer feels "attractive" and fears that she can no longer compete with the younger, more "attractive" women at her husband's workplace.

Such a letter speaks volumes about the underlying issue, that of needing to appear to be physically "attractive" and up to date. What is it that so focusses on the externalities which are, as we will all discover, short lived at best?

Whether it be a shiny new vehicle, the latest model of phone, the gorgeous looking man or woman at the office, or the latest fad, the essential fact is that very soon that will no longer be new. In time it will become aged, for, on this earth at least, Time marches on and all things ultimately deteriorate, break or lose their novelty. It is a natural process, but one that has been artfully manipulated to the point where we have become the victims of misinformation and have been submissively seduced.

I have not a shred of respect for the cosmetic industry, for the fashion industry, for the wedding industry, for the advertising industry or for the built in obsolescence of the retail industry, all of which pedal untruths to us, the drone-like consumers, in the quest for greater profits and power.

We are constantly urged to competitively "get ahead" of others, to "keep up with the Jones’ ", to scramble up the rungs of the "social ladder" and to be enviably admired for the things we have and the people we appear to be rather than the people we are. Sadly, we have been duped into buying into this falsity with little resistance.

It is an ugly facet of our culture that women are targeted more than men. Are women more gullible, less intelligent, or easier to con than men? No, far from it. Yet echos of the long standing myth of male superiority still resonate throughout our culture and divert much of this false clamour to be what you are not, upon women.

"Oh, my dear, you have strands of grey hair"; "absolutely nobody wears those any longer"; "your kitchen is so retro"; "oh my word, you don't have one of those gizmos". The torrent of deliberate shaming goes on, the screech of misleading advertising blares loudly, the messages of inadequacy and outdatedness bombard us from all quarters.

It is no wonder that so many harbour the erosive feeling of lacking self worth. Yet, we are our own worst enemies in believing this barrage of nonsense.

Who actually said we should not show signs of aging? Who dictated that shoulder pads were "out" this year? Who said one should have the latest model of iPhone? Why listen to these seducers and manipulators whose only real interest is to reap profit and power?

We have been carefully nurtured into believing that our appearance and our possessions represent who we are. That is not really so, but to challenge that supposition is to step outside the invisible box that has been artfully built around us.

To use an analogy, our physical bodies and physical environment can be likened to a vehicle and its trappings, the primary purpose of which is to convey us around and enable us to function in a physical world. A few own shiny, supercharged vehicles that show hardly a scratch or a dent; a few own beaten up old trucks that bear all the signs of long use; most of us own moderate, nondescript vehicles that serve their purpose well enough but have the odd dent and scratch and sometimes run less than smoothly than we would wish.

But this describes the vehicles not the drivers. There are good and bad drivers, courteous and aggressive drivers, drivers who adhere to the rules of the road and those who flaunt them. The kind of driver we are is not dictated by the vehicles we drive. That depends firmly on our character, attitudes, and actions, all of which can be modified at will. It serves our purpose to maintain our vehicles and keep them as functional as possible but our vehicles are not whom we are.

Ultimately our vehicles cease to function and end up in the scrap yard to be disassembled for parts or largely recycled. But the drivers of those vehicles did not accompany their vehicles to the scrap yard.

In our interactions with other "drivers" we need to recognize that the "vehicle" they drive is of nominal importance only. What defines us as individuals is what is inside the vehicle, whatever model it might be and whatever condition it might be in. And the person we are is wholly within our control despite the barrage of misleading advice urging us to focus on the appearance of our vehicles and the "need" to equip them with all the latest devices.

Our sense of self worth should derive from whom we are as drivers, not the vehicles in which we currently move around.

So, yes, maintain your physical body and your physical environment as well as circumstances allow, but close your eyes and ears to the urging seducers and focus and build your sense of self worth on whom you really are, your character, your attitudes, your actions and your interactions with others, the things in life that truly matter and will last far longer than any vehicle and its trappings.

Measured in this way, you may well find that you are "worth" more than you have been lead to believe.

senior70.

#131

#self worth

20 Years Retired - Dec.31st, as Professor Emeritus and member of the LU Pension Plan

Twenty years of retirement should surely be a cause for celebration but I have mixed emotions today. I am certainly fortunate to have lived 20 years beyond retirement and still be this side of the turf. In that 20 years, Jenny and I have travelled in Europe, Russia, Australia, Egypt, Turkey, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand, trailered around N. America, published academic papers (and working on one), presented papers at conferences, including Hawaii, Florida, Mexico and Sydney, Australia, run field excursions, completed numerous research reports on features of the Mojave Desert as volunteers with the Bureau of Land Management, weathered breast cancer and stent emplacement, and together collected a huge store of amazing memories. A shared delight.

Retiring from Lakehead University, I had hoped and even expected to continue contributing to the university as a Professor Emeritus, and even arranged to have a shared office on campus. I was ready to give the occasional lecture and run the occasional field trip, have an occasional lunch in the Faculty Lounge and hang out with students in the student coffee shop, and as a faculty member since 1967, perhaps contribute to the oral and written history of the university. My framed certificate bestowing the status of Professor Emeritus on me bears the words “…with all rights and privileges thereto appertaining.”

But with a tinge of sadness I have to say that did not happen. The only time I have been to a formal event at the university was by invitation of the LU Alumni Association who held a reunion for 1960’s graduates as part of the 50th anniversary of LU. Sadly, while many universities actively include their retirees in ongoing activities, that is not the case at LU.

A small group of retirees founded RALU, the Retiree Association of Lakehead University, and though a link to our website can be found on the LU webpages, it is perhaps telling that we hold our meetings at the 55+ Centre. Quite recently, as a continuing member of the LU Faculty Association (LUFA, our union) and member of their advisory Professor Emeritus Committee, it was found that LU had no formal list of the professors who have retired over the years. The committee of seven turned detectives and have cobbled together a list from various sources, including word of mouth, though we know that it is not a complete record.

There is also a tinge of resentment in my thoughts today. In the fall of 2000 when I gave notice of my retirement, all my advisors advised me to stay in the LU Pension Plan, apparently unaware of amendments to the Plan made in August 2000. I retired with a reasonable pension and, though not indexed, rightly expected there to be small increases in pension. In 2002 we received a 1.5% increase. In 2007 we received another 0.78% increase. In 2007 amendments to the Plan divided the fund into three parts, those who retired before 2000 (currently 52 persons) and those after that year but before 2007 (currently 66 persons) being placed together in Group 1.

A recent ruling by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario sees the pre-2000 retirees and survivors continue to receive annual increments to their pensions. The post 2000 retirees have received no increases since 2007. Both their pensions are derived from the same fund. The post 2000 retirees have lost up to over 40% of their initial purchasing power, my own loss being about 48% (Bank of Canada Inflation Calculator). The 66 and their surviving spouses will never receive further pension increases.

In 19 of the past 21 years, liabilities on our fund have exceeded assets. The fund is currently likely to be defunct in 3 to 5 years. Article 17.8 of our Plan Text reads “Whenever, in the administration of the Plan, any action...is required, such action shall be uniform in nature as applied to all persons similarly situated”. Not so.

So, as I said above, this celebration is one of mixed emotions, delight, sadness and resentment. I oscillate between them today.

senior70

#130

#lakehead university

A Stark Contrast

Both Capitalists and Communists can readily pour scorn on each others political systems and indeed there is much to criticize about both, neither, in practice, being shining reflections of the political theories on which they are based.

Covid, however, has placed the two in sharp contrast with how their administrations set about managing a pandemic and how their citizens respond.

In the USA, unvaccinated Americans have made up the majority of Covid deaths over the past few months. The CDC reports that an unvaccinated American is 14 times more likely to die from Covid-related complications than a fully vaccinated person. This goes up to 20 times more likely, when compared with someone who has received a booster vaccination. Unvaccinated people are also 9 times more likely to be admitted to hospital compared with fully vaccinated people. Every adult age group in the US is much more likely to die from Covid if they are unvaccinated. Such conclusions likely apply equally well to unvaccinated people of any nation.

While 61% of Americans are fully vaccinated (two jabs) this average figure hides considerable differences from State to State. Indeed, resistance to vaccinations is divided down political lines, and the least vaccinated states have consistently voted Republican in recent presidential elections.

The unvaccinated population is now disproportionately made up of those who identify as Republican, 60% as compared with 17% who identify as Democrat. This reflects a political landscape that is deeply divided and a segment of the population which is deaf to the urgent appeals of both medical experts and leading administrative leaders to be responsible citizens. There is a flood of misinformation and an ignorant understanding of what personal “rights” mean in a democratic system, fuelling what is euphemistically called “vaccine hesitancy”. This obstinate reluctance to be vaccinated goes along with a lack of adherence to mask and distancing mandates, a reflection of a deep distrust and revolt against authority.

Facing such a large segment of the population disobedient to authority, any strategy to control or minimize the current pandemic is doomed to failure or at least to a serious measure of inefficacy.

352 infections per 100K people have been reported in the last 7 days.

Xi’an lies 1216 km west of Beijing, a journey of 4.5-6 hours by bullet train, at an average speed of between 250 and 300 km/hr including stops. The city of 13 million people is it is one of the oldest cities in China, the oldest prefecture capital and one of the Chinese Four Great Ancient Capitals. The city is the starting point of the Silk Road and home to the UNESCO World Heritage site, Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

The city has had 206 infections (in its population of 13 million) reported since December 9th, linked to an inbound flight from Pakistan.

Xi’an has a provincial status that gives the city administration some independence from the national government in Beijing. Following China’s “zero-Covid” policy, as of Dec. 23rd Xi’an has now declared the status of a "controlled area," China's second-highest category of lockdown, meaning residents are banned from leaving their homes except for urgent cases like medical emergencies. Each household is only allowed to send one designated person out of the house to buy groceries every two days. Many households have little or no refrigeration facilities, fresh food being available in open air markets on a daily basis.

Schools, public facilities and transport systems are also closed except for essential service providers like hospitals and supermarkets. The city has suspended long-distance bus services and banned out of town trips by taxis and cars hired on ride-hailing platforms, posting police at highway exits to stop trips authorities consider unnecessary. All domestic flights with Xian scheduled for Thursday onwards have been cancelled. The city has launched multiple rounds of mass testing.

The comparison is interesting. The Western anti-vac contingent can scream and yell about their imagined rights, but in truth it is they who will lead to overcrowded hospitals, exhausted medical personnel and the cancellation of a myriad of operations that would have relieved suffering and saved lives. It is they who will permit the virus to continue mutating. It is they who are undermining the economy, bankrupting businesses and putting thousands out of work. It is they who will be held responsible by history for the length, severity and long term impact of this pandemic. Why? Because they have the right to be ignorant, selfish, gullible, socially irresponsible and disobedient to authority.

To us in the West, the measures taken by Xi’an are “draconian”. We can cry out about the lack of choice, the lack of freedom, the imposition of authority, but Xi’an will likely recover quickly, having dramatically constrained the spread of the virus. Xi'an is ranked in the top 40 cities in the world by scientific research output and is home to many of China’s prestige universities and research institutions. They will continue to work apace while we struggle to try to recover in sadly divided disarray.

senior70

December 2021

#129

#COVID-19

To Follow an Excellent Example

We live on the top of a cliff, a few thousand years old and now modified by road works but still remarkable in that our road is numbered like any other though divided by a steep slope into an upper and lower half street. A set of 21 steps allows one to "cross the road" as it were. One of my neighbour friends keeps himself fit by walking up and down these steps 21 times each day, that number being appropriate since, as he says, he can only remember one number at a time.

I observe this athletic phenomenon with mixed feelings, one of which is more than a tinge of nagging guilt at my own too sedentary lifestyle. So, approaching New Year and the time for Resolutions (other than my annually renewed vow not to be in the same room as Fox News), I feel I should make some commitment to following his shining example.

However, 21 times would likely kill me at my advanced age, so I set about seeking advice from Dr Google. After a good deal of searching I found a "Chart of Age Related Exercise Schedules". This is not based on a simple arithmetic progression but on a more realistic algorithm derived from the descending limb of a log e sine curve. According to this fictitious chart, at my age it would be wise to base my new exercise on 4 steps and 4 times daily.

Right now my balance issues exclude the idea of rapidly turning 180 degrees on the 4th step of a flight of 21. So, come warmer weather and the loss of snow cover next Spring, I have resolved to find 4 steps somewhere in our neighbourhood.

I am already feeling the warm glow of virtuousness and am quite proud of myself for being motivated into action by my neighbour's worthy example.

senior70

December 2021

#128

#nonsense

Understanding the Variants of the Covid Virus

All viruses – including SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, evolve over time. When a virus replicates or makes copies of itself, it sometimes changes a little bit, which is normal for a virus. These changes are called “mutations”. A virus with one or more new mutations is referred to as a “variant” of the original virus.

When a virus is widely circulating in a population and causing many infections, the likelihood of the virus mutating increases. The more opportunities a virus has to spread, the more it replicates – and the more opportunities it has to undergo changes.

This key fact is what is being deliberately ignored by the selfish, socially irresponsible anti-vac contingent who insist loudly that their personal “rights” supersede those of the majority. Their selfishness makes them wholly culpable for the opportunities for the virus to mutate, and their selfishness places all of us, the majority, in potential imminent danger.

Most viral mutations have little to no impact on the virus’s ability to cause infections and disease. But depending on where the changes are located in the virus’s genetic material, they may affect a virus’s properties, such as transmission or severity, and, given time, may affect its ability to generate a variant which can resist a vaccine.

Most of us outside the medical and immunology community have been confused by the changing naming of the virus and its variants. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, first mutated into what was named the Alpha variant, initially called the UK variant, or, in immunological circles, officially as B.1.1.7. There followed the Beta variant (B.1.351), also initially called the South African variant, the Gamma variant (P.1), initially called the Brazil variant, and the Delta variant (B.1.617.2), initially called the India variant.

These four variants are together are referred to as VOCs, that is Variants of Concern. The WHO summarizes them as :-

Alpha (B.1.1.7) the variant first reported in the UK spreads more easily and can cause more severe illness. Alpha also includes the Q.* sublineages.

Beta (B.1.351) the variant first reported in South Africa, spreads more easily than older strains and has numerous sublineages. Some current treatments and vaccines may not work as well on cases of this variant.

Gamma (P.1) the variant first reported in Japan but later identified as originating in Brazil, which may be able to re-infect people who have had COVID-19. Gamma includes two sublineages P.1.1 and P.1.2. Some current treatments may not work as well on cases of this variant.

Delta (B.1.617.2) is a sublineage of B.1.617, which was first detected in India. Delta spreads more easily and may lead to more severe disease, particularly for unvaccinated people. Delta includes the AY.* sublineages.

It is, of course, difficult for a layman to understand the intricacies of “lineages” and “sublineages” but suffice it to say that it is not unlike the family tree research one might find on Ancestry. The diagram included here is of the “Haplotype network of 130 sublineages”. It is not for us to understand but it demonstrates for us the complexity of work in the field of immunology.

There is also a growing list of VOIs, that is “Variants of Interest”, few of which have been mentioned in the news articles read by many of us. VOIs do not necessarily develop into VOCs but some can be expected to. The WHO summarizes them as :-

Eta (B.1.525) which was first detected in Nigeria in late 2020.

Epsilon (B.1.427 and B.1.429) variants first reported in California, USA. Both spread more easily, and some current treatments and vaccines may not work as well on cases of this variant. In July 2021, Epsilon was downgraded to alert status and is no longer a variant of interest.

Iota (B.1.526 and B.1.526.1), variants first detected in New York in late 2020.

Kappa (B.1.617.1), a sublineage of B.1.617, the variant first detected in India.

Lambda (C.37), first detected in Peru.

Theta (P.3), which may have similar properties to Gamma and Beta. In July 2021, Theta was downgraded to alert status and is no longer a variant of interest.

Zeta (P.2), a variant first detected in Brazil in early 2020. Some treatments and vaccines may not work as well on this variant. In July 2021, Zeta was downgraded to alert status and is no longer a variant of interest

Mu includes B.1.621 and C.1.2. Mu is a relatively recent variant and is being closely monitored.

B.1.618, a variant first detected in India that is also referred to as the “triple mutant”.

There is a third category of variants that represent a highly serious threat. There have been no variants of this category listed to date, but one that developed vaccine resistance would likely be upgraded to this category.

Again it needs to be stressed, that somewhat in the way many species of animal depend on a set of environmental characteristics which we refer to as their “habitat”, viruses also thrive in habitats suitable to them. We know, to our cost, that depriving species of their habitat leads to them becoming “endangered” and ultimately “extinct”.

If only the vocal anti-vac contingent would understand this analogy and take it seriously. If the viral “habitat” is reduced through vaccination, the virus will have a greatly reduced opportunity to thrive and mutate.

Ultimately, as with so many former deadly and highly contagious diseases such as smallpox, measles, mumps, rubella, polio, chicken pox, shingles, diptheria, pertussis, and tetanus, all of which affected huge populations, the diseases and infections become rare and in some cases eradicated altogether.

The concept of “Herd Immunity” has been well demonstrated by the reduction of these former deadly diseases to a minor presence. Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community (the herd) becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. As a result, the whole community becomes protected — not just those who are immune.

The argument of the anti-vac contingent that, though members of the herd, they have the “right” to act in a manner that is detrimental to the well being of the herd, is misguided and misconceived. That we, the majority, should be held hostage and gravely endangered by the selfish ignorance of this vocal rabble should not be tolerated any longer.

There are currently 12 variants and there are 24 letters of the Greek alphabet. Let us not have to use the remaining 12, particularly Omega.

It is well time for the coming backlash to gather force and to exclude the unvaccinated from the activities of the herd.

senior70

September 2021.

#127

#covid variants

Civics - Too Often Neglected

Our news and social media seem to be full of protest by people clamouring about their sadly perverted understanding of “rights” and “freedoms” with little actual knowledge of what these terms mean in a socio-democratic society. Much less mentioned is the term “responsibilities”.

It is easy to point at the US as a prime example of how this perverted understanding is seriously threatening their democracy, but, to a lesser extent, the voices of similarly misguided sectors of the populations of Canada, the UK, Australia and other nations are also in the news.

A headline reads “Civic Engagement in America at an All-time Low” and the question that needs to be addressed is Why? Why are social democracies developing sectors of their populations who have no understanding of their role as citizens in the democratic process.? The simple answer is a lack of education. School curricula have tended towards stressing the improvement of academic achievement in reading and math and the introduction of courses considered more relevant to our workplaces and busy lifestyle. But, this has come at the expense of a broader curriculum.

Among other courses that that have lost emphasis in many school curricula, particularly in the US, are History, Geography and Civics. These core subjects in turn develop a “sense of time”, a “sense of place” and a “sense of responsibility”. An education without an emphasis on these senses can leave the school graduate at sea with no anchors on board, and with the only recourse to become self-centred, self-opinionated, self-ignorant and lacking a sense of social sensitivity and responsibility. Often, these same curricula tend to be conservative minded, under emphasizing the key skill of critical thinking.

In its education policy platform, the Texas GOP included this statement. “We oppose the teaching of higher order thinking skills, critical thinking skills and similar programs...[which] have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.” (2012). The teaching of critical thinking is clearly believed to be subversive.

Civics - a social science dealing with the rights and duties of citizens, widely included in school curricula up to the 1980’s.

“Civics is the study of the theoretical and practical aspects of citizenship, its rights and duties; the duties of citizens to each other as members of a political body and to the government. In civics one studies the rights and duties of citizenship which can help one become a better citizen.”

“Civics and Ethical Education is a field of study that deals with both rights and responsibilities, which is guided by social values and encouragement of active participation. It is a relationship between an individual and a state and governing an individual citizen's relations with other individuals and social groups.”

The main components of civic education, as defined above, are:

Human rights education.

Teaching a culture of peace.

Education of tolerance.

Development of intersectoral social partnerships.

Management of self-governing associations of citizens.

To the Texas GOP, though unstated, the disadvantage of such education is that citizens might not be so easily manipulated, might stand up for their genuine rights and might vote out incompetent and greedy government officials. A poorly educated, uninformed, gullible and self-centred electorate is a boon to any such political party. In the US only nine states and the District of Columbia require one year of Civics. Thirty-one states only require a half-year of Civics education, and 10 states have no Civics requirement.

Canada and other social democracies do better, but the increasingly loud call is that they need to do better still. To take one encouraging example, part of the Grade 10 curriculum for Ontario students is summarized in the table below.

To some degree, the effectiveness of such a curriculum depends on the teacher, but one cannot help but conclude that coming out of such a curriculum, a key lesson learned would be that “It is not Me that matters, nor You, but Us”. This mantra applies equally well to a partnership between two people as to a partnership between a democracy and its citizens.

One hesitates a little to point to a civics lecture given by Jesus, since the right wing evangelical “Christians” have recently besmirched the Christian faith and given the word “Christian” such a negative connotation, particularly in the US. In this talk, Jesus offered eight suggestions for leading a life that is socially responsible and worthy, and both in his day and today, they make a lot of sound sense. A modern, loose paraphrase accompanies each since word use and meaning has changed considerably. For example, “meek” today implies “easily imposed upon” or “submissive” but in Middle English meant “courteous”, “indulgent” or “gentle”.

1 Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Be the last of all, the servant of all, share all and do not judge others.)

2 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Consider well the people you and others have lost, the things you have not done well and the things you long to do well.)

3 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Be slow to anger and subdue your ego.)

4 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. (Love peace and be involved in helping others to make peace. Trust everyone but know they may let you down.)

5. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. (Strive to do the right thing. Forgive others, then yourself.)

6 Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. (Look at all things through the eyes of others, not just your own.)

7 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. (Build your life on peaceful and blameless foundations.)

8 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Do not stop doing the right thing because of the opinions or actions of others.)

For those who prefer a non sectarian origin, The Four-Way Test of Rotary International is a nonpartisan and nonsectarian ethical guide for Rotarians to use in their personal and professional relationships. The test has been translated into more than 100 languages, and it is displayed at most Rotary meetings as a reminder.

Of the things we think, say or do

Is it the TRUTH?

Is it FAIR to all concerned?

Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

It is a mantra that should be considered as a basic civic and ethical guide by a much wider population than the 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide.

Yes, we all indeed have personal rights and freedoms in our society, but at no point do the rights of the individual take precedence over the rights and freedoms of our society as a whole. We are individuals, but we are individuals gathered together to form a societal unit. Our civic and ethical responsibilities within that unit must always take precedence over what we might consider our personal rights and freedoms. It is not My rights or Your rights that are central to our society, but Our rights.

To operate effectively and positively in a social democracy, all individuals need to fully understand the civic and ethical basis of their society. Only education can serve such a goal.

Alas, too many have muted their ears to all but what they believe already.

senior70 Aug. 2021

#126

#civics

On Smoke, Viruses and Masks - a Cautionary Tale.

A lady in the grocery store, with whom I had a brief conversation complained of the smell of forest fire smoke then sweeping across our hometown. I asked, hesitantly, whether she could smell smoke while wearing her mask, to which she replied with a very positive “Oh, yes”.

I decided not to launch into an explanation of why she should throw her mask away and purchase a more effective one, but if I had, this is what I might have said.

The particles of which forest fire smoke is composed are of various sizes but the most concerning are the microscopic particles that are about 2.5 microns in size, which can be inhaled deep into the lungs and can injure the lining of the lungs, in a process known as oxidative stress, and cause airway inflammation.

A micron is 1/1,000,000th of a metre, so 2.5 microns is 0.0025 of a millimetre . If one can smell smoke while wearing a mask, the mask is permitting particles of 2.5 microns and smaller into your lungs.

There are two prime reasons for this. 1) the material of which the mask is made is not of close enough weave to catch such particles. Sadly, there are many well intentioned people making masks of inadequate materials, though they may look pretty, and too many online sources of purchase that care little about effectiveness despite their claims. 2) the mask is not snugly fitting the contours of the face. Far too many masks have no choice of sizes and no means of adjustment to ensure a close fit with a person’s individual facial shape. One visible test is that a mask should be seen to move in and out as the wearer breathes. If the mask is not close fitting around the bridge of the nose the cheeks and the chin, the wearer is inhaling air directly rather than through the mask material, rendering it ineffective.

If one can smell 2.5 micron particles of smoke, consider the size of a virus from which the mask is supposed to be protecting one. Viruses that have been identified and isolated can range in diameter size from 20 nm to as large as 500 nm. A nanometer is 1000 times smaller than a micron. However, in the typical transmission of a virus, such as Covid 19, the virus is attached to a droplet that is generated by breathing, talking, coughing, or sneezing. This droplet may consist of water, mucus protein or other biological material, all of which are a little larger than 1 micron.

It follows that an effective mask, both in material and fitting, must be able to filter particles of about a micron in size if the wearer is to be protected from a virus and, in turn, protect others from the wearer’s unfiltered exhalation that might contain a virus.

So, if one can smell smoke while wearing a mask, the mask is entirely useless as a protection against a virus.

Though any mask is better than none, only a mask that is genuinely categorized as an N95 mask, of a size suitable for the person and adjusted so that it fits snugly around the nose, cheeks and chin, is going to protect the wearer from Covid 19 and its more transmittable variants.

It comes down to a matter of mask education and “wearer beware”.

senior70 August 2021

#125

On Clowns and Drag Queens

It has always seemed an irony that having a clown perform at children’s parties is assumed to be just what the children would look forward to and enjoy. Yet, research suggests that for many children a clown is a frightening figure. Indeed, there is evidence that, for a small child, a single frightening encounter with a clown can have lengthy and even life long consequences.

A fear of clowns is a condition known as Coulrophobia, the term deriving from a Greek word roughly translated as ‘a man on stilts’. It can be a very real fear resulting in immediate symptoms similar to those of a panic attack. Though suffered more as children, some coming to terms with it as they grow older, many adults remain sufferers.

A clown is “a person who wears a unique makeup-face and flamboyant costume, performing comedy in a state of open-mindedness (by reversing folkway-norms) all the while using physical comedy” (Wikipedia). Clowns are recorded in the courts of Egypt in 2400BC, though the roles of priest and clown were held by the same person. It seems long recognized that “folly and fools, like religion and magic, meet some deeply rooted needs in human society” (Berger, 1997). The role of clowns has transitioned a number of times in history. In Native American mythology, the Trickster channels the spirit of the Coyote and becomes a sacred Clown character. During the Medieval and Renaissance eras a Jester was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests, and in the Middle Ages itinerant jesters entertained at fairs using song, storytelling, juggling, acrobatics and joke telling in comic style, often about people or events well known to their audiences. Modern clowns are strongly associated with the tradition of the circus clown, which developed out of earlier comedic roles in theatre or variety shows during the 19th to mid 20th centuries (Wikipedia).

Returning to the question of why young children are susceptible to Coulrophobia, research finds that it has much to do with the fact that “young children look for emotional cues from caregivers to interpret novel or potentially threatening situations. That is, children rely on their caregiver’s facial expressions and tone of voice to regulate their response toward people and new situations. The development of this emotional communication is referred to as social referencing, and occurs between infancy and the early preschool years.” (Katz and Hadani, April 2020)

When a young child looks in the face of a clown, the exaggerated makeup hides both the clown’s true identity and the feelings normally expressed in a face. To the child the face resembles a human but it is not. All the cues the child usually depends upon are confused. The situation is worsened by the clowns costume, often including huge shoes, with none of which the child is familiar. Finally, a clown’s behaviour is intentionally erratic, exaggerated and unpredictable. Many children respond with apprehension and fear to this unknown creature. Though in the circus most of the spectators are usually well distanced from the clowns in the circus ring, a child at a party can easily come face to face with a well intentioned clown and rapidly become panicked.

The suggested treatment for Coulrophobia is exposure therapy by which further exposure to the object of fear in a safe environment supposedly reduces fear. This may work for some, but not others, whose symptoms may worsen.

A similar, less common phobia is Pediophobia, an intense fear of dolls, again of childhood origin and often associated with an early traumatic experience with doll figures, itself often induced by well intended adults who frighten the child by making the doll act in more adult ways than in children’s play. A particular fear of puppets is termed Pupaphobia. Critics have pointed out that the Punch and Judy story glorifies domestic violence, and certainly the watching children are subjected to the violent beating of Judy, among other violent actions. A child’s fear is perhaps that their dolls and puppets may take on a life of their own, no longer a plaything controlled by them.

It is noteworthy that many horror movies include clowns, dolls and puppets, all of which are cast as evil and supernatural in their mysterious powers. The directors of such movies know that the film will play upon those adult viewers whose early apprehensions and fears were developed as a child.

There is a cogent argument for including fear of Drag Queens under Coulrophobia, since, in many respects, they also entertain using exaggerated make up, clothing and body language. Incidentally, the term ‘drag’ probably originated in the theatre of the late 1800s in which male performers acting as women wore petticoats which dragged on the floor. Dressing up as women was referred to as “putting on their drags” and by the 1920s the term was being used by the gay community.

Unlike clowns, whose clothing is a form of uniform not worn by others, drag queens wear feminine clothing and makeup, but in an exaggerated form that is unlike that worn by women in general. Copious wigs and flamboyant dresses, and over made up eyes and lips are characteristic. Again, while entertaining, the true person behind the drag queen is masked by the theatrical costume and makeup, and exaggerated behaviour. This instils similar apprehension to a child’s reaction to a clown in some of the adults observing, particularly if they already do not like clowns. The fact that drag queens have strong similarities to some dolls may also be a contributing factor.

Whether drag can be considered a form of cross dressing is arguable. Drag queens may wear feminine clothing but they are not attempting to appear like a woman. Most cross dressers and trans people do attempt to emulate the usual female appearance, without exaggeration, and some very easily pass for women without a second glance. Indeed, they are sometimes better dressed than many women and have superior deportment and style of movement. Research has found that most of the men who engage in cross-dressing do so to achieve a feeling of "comfort and peace." Men in the study said they cross-dressed to fulfil a biological, genetic or innate desire (Reynolds and Carson, 2008). Most have no desire to be women but need to express the feminine side of their otherwise male personalities in a society that structures what is expected of men. Women, oddly enough, can dress in a masculine style without social comment. Only a small percentage of cross dressers actually transition, through surgery, into being being permanent women.

The drag queen is not necessarily a performer who desires to be a woman, and may be as heterosexual as any other actor. But, like clowns, they use exaggeration to engage in humour, usually with a strong sexual innuendo, and can use their “uniform”, as do clowns, to be outrageous in ways that might offend elsewhere in society.

Coulrophobia is not to be taken lightly, particularly in young children. The condition of fear highlights the ease with which well intended adults, particularly parents, can traumatize a child in play by actions both physical and verbal that challenge the young child’s ability to socially reference and may have long term or even lifelong impacts upon them.

References

Berger, Peter L. (1997), Redeeming Laughter: The Comic Dimension of Human Experience, Walter de Gruyter,

Katz, Rachael, and Helen Shwe Hadani. (2020). Are you happy or sad? How wearing face masks can impact children’s ability to read emotions, https://www.brookings.edu/blog/education-plus-development/2020/04/21/are-you-happy-or-sad-how-wearing-face-masks-can-impact-childrens-ability-to-read-emotions/

Reynolds, Alberta and Sandra Carson, 2008. How Intimate Relationships Are Impacted When Heterosexual Men Crossdress, Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, Pages 63-77 | Published online. Oct. 2008.

senior70. July 2021

#124

On Lytton, BC

Lytton, BC, much in the news recently, lies at an interesting topographic and climatic location, together accounting for the village’s high heat records.

On the “old” Trans-Canada Highway, now superceded by the more direct but dangerous Coquihalla highway which summits at 1244m (4081ft), Lytton lies at the confluence of the Thompson and the mighty Fraser River. The village is famous not only for being a hot spot but for the view of the confluence of the milky, silt loaded, glacier fed Fraser and the clear waters of the Thompson. The two streams of water, of different density and temperature do not mix easily and run parallel down valley until there is sufficient turbulence to effect the mixing process.

Though both rivers run in deep valleys, it is just south of Lytton that the Fraser enters what is termed the Fraser Canyon, with rapids and falls along its course. So Lytton sits at 196m (315ft), the lowest point of the terrain far inland and at the mouth of the deep, narrow canyon along which the Trans-Canada Highway and both trans-continental railways run, somewhat precariously.

Lytton lies at the southern tip of an extensive interior valley system which is classified as “warm summer humid continental climate” (cfb) in the Koppen Climate Classification System (first published in 1884 and still widely used, though since modified). Such a climate is known for its extremes between summer heat and winter rain and snow. Though, en route from Kamloops, some of the scenery look very desert like, this is not desert, but can be very arid in summer, complete with Brittle and Grizzlybear species of prickly-pear cactus.

Though one thinks of hot air rising, hot, humid air is very dense air and collects in lower topography such as valleys. At Lytton it meets the constriction of the Fraser Canyon and forms a “lake” of accumulating hot, moist air which stagnates, held in place by the surrounding high topography, only a trickle of air pushing on down the canyon.

At Kanalla Bar, a small community 14 km down the canyon, the climate begins to transition into a “temperate oceanic” climate (cfb) which dominates the Fraser Lowland between Hope and Vancouver.

So Lytton lies at a location at which both topographic and climatic conditions favour the development of trapped hot, humid air. Hence it’s fame as “Canada’s Hot Spot”.

senior70. June 2021.

#123

#Lytton

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