Blog or white ... because it never is.

If you are looking for a podcast recommendation, I highly recommend "The Seems Legit" by the dude Sonny D.   Fair warning, though, after you listen to his podcast, you won't be calling him "the dude Sonny D", you will be calling him "the Amazing Dude Sunny D."  See what I did there?  Sonny is simply one of the greatest guys you will ever meet and his personality shines in his podcast.  You will laugh, you will be thinking, you will be learning, and you will want to go have conversations with people. For those unfamiliar with this concept, it is called interacting.  You will be inspired to learn more and listen more.  You will be soothed by his soothing voice that you won't realize that you are learning and being stimulated.  An amazing podcast that I thoroughly recommend.  Just type in "seems legit podcast" in any browser and you will find it.  Save it to your favorites.  For some reason, I thought of the podcast this morning when I

There was a full page article in yesterday's edition of the Free Press.  A reporter had traveled to Calgary to spend time around the addiction recovery centre that the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre will be modeled after.  The focus was on re-assuring residents who live around where the Centre will be built that they will have nothing to fear.  They spent time at the facility interviewing staff and residents and also spent time talking to members of the community.  It focused on the many benefits that BORC will undoubtedly bring to our community.  It was assuring residents that they have nothing to fear and everything to gain.   Don't get me wrong.  It was a great article. I hope it brought many people who may still have doubts to come around and accept the the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre will bring many benefits to all of us.  The ripple effects will be endless.   However, where was this in-depth article a year ago?  It could have made a powerful difference a year ago wh

Look at that laughing face.  That was pretty much how I remember my mom, either laughing or frowning at me.  Mostly, I remember her frowning.  We didn't have the greatest relationship but we did have our moments when we used to team up, become partners in crime.  Since my mom has gone, I remember more of those moments and less of the ones where she was frowning.  Most families have their own family rituals and important dates in their history.  I have to tell you that my childhood home was filled with laughter.   Humour, it turns out, is a skill, like any other skill, and the more you practice, the more it is developed.  In our house, we played practical jokes on each other and teased each other mercilessly.  We loved it !!  My dad had the best sense of humour of anyone I know.  April Fool's Day was a big day in our house, maybe even bigger than Christmas.  My dad was a master and very creative.  At about the time I was 7, my mom and I realized that we had no chance again

Have you ever been apologized to by the wrong person?  It is not that satisfying.  It doesn't make me feel good when someone you know is an ethical person takes responsibility for someone else's mistakes.  The person who made the mistake is deprived of learning the life lesson of taking responsibility for the mistake.  Learning to apologize is an important life skill.  Everyone makes mistakes.  I make about a million before noon.  No one expects anyone to be perfect.  What we do expect is humility.  It also helps if people make different mistakes rather than the same ones over and over.  When you don't have the common sense to apologize, you make a little mistake bigger.  The emotion when you are the victim becomes bigger.  Something really insignificant turns into a big deal.   Late this morning, I took my grandson to my favorite coffee shop, The Daily Grind.  There is very little about The Daily Grind that I don't like.  I have had memorable conversations.  I

Last night, I surveyed 100 poker players to get their answers for how to succeed in poker tournaments.  I had a hidden agenda.  I was curious about the parallels between training for poker and training for sports.  Every time poker is on a sports channel, it is always challenged for its legitimacy since it isn't a sport.  I confess I feel the same way when I watch darts on tv. Is that a real sport?  I wanted to ask random people of all skill levels for their insight.  There are already parallels to poker and some sports.  It is said that no matter how skilled you are, poker players will, on average, cash in 1/9 tournaments.  That is a lot of failure for a little success.  A little like baseball.  Someone will a .311 batting average would be considered an outstanding player.  It would mean that if they were up to bat 1000 times, they wouldn't get a hit 689 times.  That is a lot of lows to manage among the highs.  Other parallels between poker and other sports is the possibil

Aren't you ashamed that you are so fat?  I don't get that question every day, but I do get that question a few times a month.  Most of the time, the question is verbal but sometimes I get the question non-verbally by the look in someone's eyes.  It is an interesting question to answer.  First of all, I have been all sizes.  My first job with a pension plan was in a hospital and I happened to have an office next to the dietitian.  I weighed 99 lbs on my first day of work.  I remember the first Christmas party I attended as a fully employed upwardly mobile professional.  I don't remember much about the party but I remember the dress.  It was size 0.  I still have that dress.  My partner wonders why I don't donate it.  Well, there are some "clothes memories" for women that they just can't part with.  At the time, I was healthy.  I ate healthy, I ran 6 miles a day.  I thought clearly and I controlled my emotions well rarely experiencing valleys or peak

Trudeau has spent the last two and a half days in Winnipeg.  If you like Trudeau, you view the trip as a triumph.  He went places no Prime Minister has gone before, he tackled some hard issues, and made a great election style visit.  If you don't like Trudeau, you were appalled by some of his mis-steps and found his visit essentially tone-deaf.   If you like Trudeau, you find yourself in the minority today.  According to a recent poll, his popularity is at an all-time low, he is lower in popularity than Trump.  Let that sit in for a minute.  Lower popularity than Trump.   I have become increasingly disillusioned by Trudeau.  I used to think he was about scattering seeds, now it seems to me that he is one who obtains.  First of all, the federal budget was last week.  Why is Trudeau doing a campaign style sweep of the country explaining the budget?  That should be the Finance Minister.  Why is Trudeau taking credit for everything that comes out of his government?  Is he th

I just got a call from a friend.  She had a meeting this morning that she had been dreading for a week.  She made a poor judgement at work resulting in a mistake that affected client service.  She had to meet with her manager and it was bad timing.  She had been working with the same manager for the last ten years.  He just retired and a new manager had just started.  She didn't have much of a relationship with her new boss.  She was worried.  She asked if she should bring a union representative to the meeting and her new boss said that was her right but he didn't think it was necessary. Another friend and I coached this friend to admit her mistake, take responsibility, and suggest solutions that it didn't happen again.  My friend called to say that is what she did and things worked out better than she anticipated.  Not only were some process changed that will prevent her from being in these situations to begin with, the primary message from her boss was, "how can

. Dream projects 1: According to me, mobile phone are very useful gadget, we all are using it for various purpose. I strongly believe we all are not using all it feature sufficiently. The reason behind is the idea that changed my view. I idea is to  using phone  biometric(fingerprint ) software to taking as sign of delivery is delivered. First of all, creating such application that take Biometric ( fingerprint ) in the end of delivery.   Where one should keep in the mind that this application would not store fingerprint with any personal details of  customers. application has three  buttons one for delivery confirmation and another one for history. Create account : Through following this one can create account for the delivery. The function of delivery confirmation button: The First function is to take fingerprint through phone. Secondly,  saving and separating the fingerprint which is saved according  to different  company accounts. The function of History

What a roller coaster of a life that Jussie Smollett has been on.  First, he was successful actor on hit series, Empire.  Next, he was allegedly a victim of a hate crime.  Next, he was charged with several felony accounts including filing a false police report.  He was fired from his job.  About an hour ago, all charges against him were dropped.  Something tells me we still don't know the whole truth and may never will.  Entertainment and politics are blurring but our instant social media society urges us all to rush to judgement and become entrenched in our positions.  We are losing our ability to think critically for ourselves.  Also, in the news is that Justin Bieber is stepping back from music to focus on deep-rooted issues.  That seems to be code for addiction.  Why do we need a press release about this. Couldn't he just do this by just doing it?  Starting over is difficult.  Starting is difficult.  Life is complicated and human beings are deeply flawed and complex

The Mueller report is out.  Two years, hundreds of documents, staff members, hearings, and on and on.  If you are a Trump supporter, you are celebrating.  If you not a Trump supporter, you are celebrating.  Nothing to see here.  Can you imagine how much money the US government spent on this report?  Millions.  Can you imagine how much good could have been done to help people with even half that money.  The sad thing is that it appears that governments always find money for things like this, and it is always a disappointment.  But, enhancing victim services, just as one example, no, there is no money for that.  Austerity and all that.  There are examples in every government.  In Manitoba, we are heading to the polls this year.  Pallister and his Conservatives have had a fiscally responsible agenda and made many cuts.  For some reason, when government tries to save 5 cents they usually spend $1 to do it.  One thing that I have learned about austerity politics is that it is not effect

Just completed a two-day road trip.  Which means I have been seeing more advertising in gas station bathrooms.  Something you just don't get unless you are on a road trip.  I know the power of advertising in bathrooms.  My father once joked that my mom saw an advertisement in a gas station bathroom that said, "Drink Canada Dry".  She took this as an order and did her best to drink Canada dry through the rest of her life !  He also joked that she saw a note in a bathroom from a chain that said, "Clean bathrooms all across Canada."  So, any road trip they took after that took forever as my mom also thought that was an order and they had to stop at every little town all over the Canada.  But, seriously, I saw a troubling advertisement in a bathroom earlier this week.  It was two thought bubbles.  The first person said, "he shared my sext with her friends."  The second person said, "that's illegal and suggested she report him to cypertip.c

According to the Winnipeg Transit Union, today is Be Kind to a Bus Driver Day.  The bar for being kind if even set for people who don't have a lot of experience in being kind.  You are encouraged to smile at your bus driver.  You don't have to talk to them, you just have to smile. Unbelievable.  I don't really understand.  Weren't we all taught as toddlers to be kind to everyone and to say please and thank-you.  I was a month ago from being 50 when my mom died and she still reminded me to say thank-you for everything.  Now, we need a Day and media coverage to encourage us to smile as at bus drivers for one day.  This is the minimum we should be doing every day.  How did we get here?  Those insurance companies that teach empathy to their employees really bug me.  Who doesn't understand the concept of empathy?  Who have to teach empathy?  You need to teach people how to connect with people when they experience tragedy?  That is nothing to be proud of.  It is j

In Part 1 of this entry, I told you about my amazing friend Warren and the secrets to success that he taught me while we were in Grade 9.  I didn't tell you much about the pairing that finished second.  They were a little like my pairing.  They had one mastermind and one along for the ride.  The mastermind was an amazing man named Doug.  He had a secret weapon, his dad.  They had the rural route which was huge but they also had a secret weapon, Doug's dad.  His dad knew most of the people living in Rural Dauphin and drive Doug and his partner all over the area.  He and his partner would have been the successful team if he had kept quiet.  But, that wasn't his nature.  His real success came at graduation in Grade 12 but he scattered scattering seeds the first day of Grade 10.  He told everyone every day for three years that he was having the largest grad party ever at his farm.  Every other grade had several parties all over Dauphin and area.  Unfortunately, every year

The two guys in this picture are two of my heroes.  The guy on the left is Brendon Bottcher.  It is obvious why he is one of my heroes.  If you don't know who he is, you will someday.  I predict nothing but success for this young man. The guy on the right is a guy I knew while I was in 9th grade.  That is a long long time ago.  I didn't realize it at the time but he taught me all I needed to know about how to succeed in life.  I learned many valuable life lessons from him. 1.  Superior customer service will always be rewarded.   He will go down in history as my dad's favorite paperboy.  Believe me, that is a big deal.  My dad was retired and his paper was very important to him.  It was like his internet connection.  When he wasn't reading the paper cover to cover, my dad was tending to our yard.  He once had a paperboy who walked in his flower beds so he canceled the paper and got it a store daily until a new paperboy assumed the route.  My dad wasn't a curm

There are just no words.  How does such a young man have such hate in his heart?  Why did I learn his name and about his manifesto when it was on the dark net?  Why didn't someone see the signs?  How does a country recover?  How often do we have to hear about such hate before, we, as society, stop tolerating it?  A million questions and no easy answers.  Why does hate exist?  Not an easy question.  I guess it begins with us.  Do we want to be part of the solution or part of the problem.  #eradicatehate

Wow.  College Admissions Consultant arrested as part of 50 arrests on bribery, corruption, and fraud.  That this scam occurred shocked approximately 2 people.  That arrests were made was shocking.  What exactly would a College Admissions Consultant do other than bribe, participate in corruption, and fraud?  It speaks to a culture of rich white privilege, particularly male white privilege. I know.  This is the part where your roll your eyes.  You are getting sick of me going off on this.  It doesn't exist in our daily lives.  There is no such thing as gender discrimination anymore.  It does still exist and we all must be vigilant against this. This past week, I had two errands that I knew were going to be consuming too much time.  I had to return an item to a major retailer.  There were two clerks trying to serve about 20 frustrated consumers.  When I arrived, I was offered a chance to jump the queue and be next served.  I was grateful until I looked at the other consumers.

My grandson has nothing to do with this, but, he is so adorable !! I don't want to relive Sunday but it was a very stressful day for me and it involved my favorite curling team.  Enough said.  Whenever, I am stressed, I spend too much time on the internet as avoidance.  The internet was all abuzz about #FakeMelania.  It is a theory that Melania has a double and it is one of her secret service agents who is posing with Trump at functions the real Melania doesn't want to attend.  Once you start looking into it, you are a little hooked.  You can spend six hours on this, there is so much information.  Sadly, you can spend six hours on this.  I speak from experience.  In the end, I think it is false.  I can't believe that there is more than one woman who would actually pretend to enjoy Trump's company.  What is also obvious about this is that the media is covering this like it is a real story.  For those that need a reminder of what a news story is, it is when someth

The world is mourning the lives of too many.  This tragedy has struck the United Nations and Canada as we mourn the loss of 18 Canadians.  As the news is unfolding, we are hearing more about the aircraft and the response of other countries.  There is sadness of so many different levels that it is hard to understand.  Usually when there is a tragedy of this magnitude, there is a moment when it strikes a personal cord that connects you deeply to the sense of loss.  It happened last evening for me.  6 of the 18 Canadians killed were from one family from Brampton.  Grand-parents, parents, and two daughters.  Media like to give context on the victims and a brother and sister-in-law of the parents were interviewed.  They were devastated.  The sister-in-law was deeply mourning the loss of her mother-in-law.  Through tears, she said she had never considered her mother-in-law to be her mother-in-law, she considered her another mother.  She said her mother-in-law was also her best friend. 

What is that expression?  Lucky in cards, unlucky in love.  Something like that.  Well, I definitely hit the jackpot in the love department.  So, I guess I can't expect luck in cards.  But, that doesn't stop me from trying.  When it comes to gambling, I don't have any moral high ground to lecture anyone. However, as a social justice warrior, I know that gambling contributes to societal problems.  Addiction, regardless of the substance or the behavior, is devastating in its effects.  As a society, we have tried not to promote activities that can be harmful to us.  Decades ago, tobacco companies were banned from advertising because of this.  When that wasn't enough of a deterrent, cigarette packages were required to put graphic warnings about the effects of tobacco.  The City of Winnipeg passed a by-law last year that no smoking was allowed in public places.  Who knows if this is stopping usage of the products, however, no one can say that government is encouraging us

What a day !!!   It was such a long morning waiting for the semi-final of the Brier.  I knew Team Bottcher was going to win, and they were going to make it exciting and they were going to win as a team.  Last year, we were lucky enough to be sitting in the right place at the right time at the World Men's Curling Championship to spend 5 ends sitting with Brad's Dad.  It appeared he had a few and didn't want to navigate his way down the stands to get to his seat so sat with us for 5 ends. What are the odds of that happening?  Anyway, Ray was willing to have a candid conversation about just about everything and everyone up until my partner mentioned how impressed he was with Team Bottcher.  Dad was silent.  Apparently, he didn't have a negative counterpoint to share.  That is when I knew Team Bottcher had a date with destiny.  And, they have not disappointed.  It is so nice to see that nice guys finish first.  Regardless of what happens tonight, they have won the hea

. I am glad the Brier is coming to a close.  I have to admit that seeing the Evil Empire's cups on each side of the house has sucked some of the joy out of it for me.  Remember when it was very trendy to back pack through Europe.  This was decades ago, but it was the thing to do, a rite of passage into adulthood.  A last hurrah before you got a "real" job.  A three to six month journey of self-discovery.  The funny thing about that was that it was well known that all Americans who did this would get a backpack with a Canadian flag on it.  They wanted to be treated well in Europe and needed to masquerade as a Canadian in order to do this.  I don't know why I am reminded of this when I watched Tim Horton's open their first store in China.  I have to call it a store because it appears the product that they are selling is Canada.  Maple Leafs everywhere.  It looks like an airport gift shop.  Amazing that they are laying it on thick when they are not a Canadian