May 10, 2023
City of Pickering received $4,230,279 as fourth-quarter payment from the Casino recently.
During OLG’s fiscal year, from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023, Pickering has received $16,641,766.
Since the gaming site opened in July 2021, Pickering has received $24,484,059.
Conservative Party: An event organized by PUCA local Pickering-Uxbridge Conservative Party Association
The buzz from the Pub-Night with Pints and Politics event organized by Pickering-Uxbridge members of the federal Conservative Party continues. It was a well-attended gathering of people interested in hearing and taking the pulse locally of the national party.
Anthony Yacub and John Meloche, two executives with PUCA, Pikering-Uxbridge Conservative Association, organized this special even and they deserve much praise for how successful it was.
More than 200 guests attended the event and heard from numerous political guests.
The attending guests heard from party executives and party supporters among whom were: Patrice Barnes, MPP of Ajax; Pickering Mayor, Kevin Ashe; MP Jamie Schmale; Anthony Furey, Toronto Mayoral Candidate; Former MP Bob Saroya, Markham-Unionville; and Stewart Kiff join us for this amazing event.
It is grassroots events such as this that keep the federal parties in touch with the issues and interests of local voters. Much appreciation is extended by the guests and attending supporters to the organizers of the event.
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April was a busy month with an even busier month planned! Thank you to the many Conservatives who have come out and participated.
In March we have done the following:
Participated in Legion Branch No. 606’s Easter Day Parade
On Saturday, April 8th, Pickering-Uxbridge Federal Conservatives had numerous volunteers and Board Members participating in the Parade. This will be the last year in which the Legion will be hosting the Parade. In future years, the City of Pickering has stepped up in running this event.
Hosted a Nation-Wide Hybrid Policy Meeting
On April 23rd, Pickering-Uxbridge Conservatives hosted a nation-wide Policy Breakfast with over thirty-two (32) EDAs from around the country who joined either in-person or online at the Pickering Legion Branch No. 606.
Thank you to the EDA Board Members who helped support this event with the food, drinks, accessories, etc. Raveena Rajasingham and Pat Perry for the food. John Meloche for technical assistance.
Ajax Conservative’s EDA Pub Night Fundraiser/Social
Pickering-Uxbridge’s Conservative EDA also had representation at Ajax’s Pub Night Fundraiser/Social. We supported our neighboring Conservatives, and we hope that we can take each other’s best practices to better organize for our next election and build bridges that may be useful for our EDA.
Thank you to Ajax’s President, Dave Saunders for the invitation.
Scarborough-Rouge Park’s EDA AGM
I was invited by Scarborough Rouge-Park’s President Craig Anhorn who allowed me to give some words of support to our fellow Conservatives to the West. Moreover, it enabled me to invite some of the members to our future events and to bring attention to the progress we have made locally. Moreover, we also do share some members on our respective EDAs so in good faith, it is always good to have a positive relationship with our neighbors.
Tim Hortons Smile Cookies
Two of our Board Members: John Meloche (PUCEDA Secretary) & Ayesha Sardar, took part in making smile cookies in support of Durham Children’s Aid Society. Thank you for positively representing our EDA in the community!
Our Upcoming Events in May will Include:
PUCEDA’s Pints and Politics Evening (Sunday, May 7th, 2023)
This Sunday, I am proud to announce that we will be hosting a Pints and Politics evening between 4-7PM at the Harp and Crown Pub (300 Kingston Road Pickering, ON L1V 1A2).
There will be special guests which include: Pickering’s Mayor Kevin Ashe, Member of Parliament Jamie Schmale, Member of Provincial Parliament Patrice Barnes, Former Member of Parliament Bob Saroya, Toronto Mayoral Candidate Anthony Furey, National Councillor Stewart Kiff, and National Policy Committee Member Sue McArthur.
Tickets are $20, which includes dinner and can be purchased at: https://www.puceda.ca/pub_night_with_pints_politics_may_7_2023
Family Meet & Greet Evening with Member of Parliament Tom Kmiec (Friday, May 12th)
Due to a scheduling conflict, MP Tom Kmiec will be unable to attend our Pints and Politics Evening. In lieu, we will be having a Meet and Greet on Friday, May 12th at Second Cup (650 Kingston Road Pickering, ON L1V 1A6).
If you would like to attend, please RSVP at https://www.puceda.ca/meet_greet_with_mp_tom_kmiec
Only Members who RSVP will be able to attend the Event
We are trying to support our local small businesses, so all attendees would have to purchase their own food and drinks at the Second Cafe. The owners would like to thank everyone who helps purchase anything in advance!
In closing, I appreciate the grassroots support we have been receiving from our membership. The Direct Mail Campaign started last month, and we appreciate our members’ generosity to help successfully organize to win our Constituency in the next Federal Election.
City of Pickering passes 2023 Current & Capital Budgets
The City’s portion of the residential property tax bill will increase by 2.44%. This increase, when combined with the Region of Durham and School Board increases results in an average increase of 5.31 percent on the total property tax bill.
Budget Highlights
Council receives the 2022 Sustainable Pickering Year-in-Review
Through a Report and Year-in-Review, staff provided a high-level, reader-friendly summary that highlights the City’s achievements, events, programs, and projects, as they relate to sustainability. The document promotes the efforts of the City of Pickering and its community partners and serves to inspire others to connect and get involved.
The City of Pickering’s sustainability efforts address a variety of initiatives, including community engagement, pollinators, waste diversion, local food, sustainable development, climate change, natural environment, and more.
Council endorses staff comments on the Region’s Municipal Comprehensive Review of the Durham Regional Official Plan
The Region of Durham asked for comments on its new draft Regional Official Plan.
The Durham Regional Official Plan guides decisions on long-term growth and development–providing policies to ensure an improved quality of life–and securing the health, safety, convenience and well-being of present and future residents of the region.
A copy of the draft plan can be found on their website, under Envision Durham. It will repeal and replace the existing Durham Regional Official Plan and includes a new planning horizon to 2051.
In 2019, the Region launched Envision Durham – the Municipal Comprehensive Review of our Official Plan. This review looks at:
Council approves asphalt resurfacing for various streets
Council approved a net project cost of $3,467,059 to improve 13 streets:
Council approves running track replacements
The existing running tracks at Beverly Morgan Park and St. Mary Park.
The total net project cost is estimated at $945,045.00.
Council takes an official position on a Pickering airport
The Council for The Corporation of the City of Pickering:
A copy of this resolution will be forwarded to the Minister of Transport Canada, Omar Alghabra, and to Pickering-Uxbridge MP O’Connell, as well as to MPs Anandasangaree, Carrie, Holland, Jaczek, Turnbull, and O’Toole; to Durham and York regional councils, and to Scarborough East councillors; and to the municipal councils of Ajax, Markham, Oshawa, Scugog, Stouffville, Uxbridge, Vaughan, and Whitby.
This summary was edited and abbreviated by the BOOKz, COOKz, NOOKz who is responsible for any errors, omissions or misstatements.
One councillor voted against tax hikes for residents of Pickering. It would have been interesting to hear the debate on this topic!
May 27, 10 am – 4 pm
Join us at Central Library and explore your library beyond the books! Come see live demos of some of the equipment available in the Maker Space! From sewing machines to coding there will be something for everyone. What will you discover next that inspires you?
<— Click the logo for more details
[ Be sure to watch the videos there ]
[pdf-embedder url=”http://www.szpin.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/MAY-2023-NEWSLETTER.pdf” title=”MAY 2023 NEWSLETTER”]
Ward 2 Town Hall Report
The Ward 2 Town Hall, Apr. 25, held by WARD 2 councillors, Linda Cook and Mara Nagy was a very informative and friendly event. These rookie councillors could give veteran councillors some needed pointers on staying current with constituency issues and city policies. These councillors demonstrated that have done their homework and solid preparation for their town hall.
The main presentation
The main agenda of the evening was “Activities and Events in the City.” Kim Bradley, Activities coordinator, Pickering Recreation Programs, gave a comprehensive description of events and activities available to the city residents. Kim did a marvellous job distilling and summarizing the extensive list. The presentation covered all the bases, from athletic to cultural to social. Events held at the Pickering Central Library were also included in the presentation. Because there is so much information Kim suggested persons confer with the ‘Recreation Guide’ available online at Pickering.ca (The spring guide: https://issuu.com/esolutionsgroup/docs/638130830779042885 )
In short, the City of Pickering offers a treasure trove of activities and events to residents who are interested in being more active and involved with their community.
The Q&A session
The open Q&A session ranged broadly in topics:
Councillors Cook and Nagy are to be congratulated on holding another very informative and worthwhile town hall. However, there are some reservations about the compliment. Furthermore, town halls are information sessions not campaigning opportunities.
Clarity of comments/questions
Though the acoustics are very good at this venue, Cook and Nagy should remind all attendees that it is important to speak loudly and clearly to benefit if everyone. The very least officials should is take the essential rule from “Szpin’s guide to better communication:” repeat the question for everyone’s benefit. Too many commentors or questioners at such meetings forget their comment/question is for the benefit of the entire attendance. They need to voice their comments/questions with that in mind. This is not a question of good hearing. It is a matter of conversational clarity, verbal enunciation and crisp commentary.
Some personal comments regarding Town Halls
Town halls are an excellent venue for residents to express opinions, ask questions and initiate needed discussions with their councillors. However, only those who attend benefit. Councillor Cook acknowledged the problem in talking about tax payment assistance in the City at the last WARD 2 Town Hall. She criticized the city’s publication of such needed information underlining that a serious review and significant improvement of communication with the people of Pickering should be undertaken. She is correct. The City’s website at www.pickering.ca needs substantial modification for both what is being reported and published and how it is being presented. However, the onus of being informed rests with the city residents themselves.
Councillor newsletters
Additionally, attending Town Hall events is not always practical, easy or feasible for many Pickering residents. But there is a tremendous amount of information that is covered and non-attending residents learn nothing about it. Some councillors have launched personal newsletters, an excellent supplement to the actual town halls. However, the Pickering demographic is aged, and the majority of people interested in such information are older adults. Councillors publishing newsletters should consult with seniors or experienced publishers about such material. Seniors are challenged by extensive and overly comprehensive publications. Keep it simple and succinct. One town hall attendee at another town hall lamented that it took hours of navigation and manipulation on the city website to find the information being sought. This lament is corroborated by residences in a particular Pickering seniors’ residence. “We find it very difficult to find the information we need on the city website.”
The extrapolation from these difficulties relating to the city web site should be considered with newsletters also. Residents will appreciate and understand more when the material is present in a succinct, summarized form.
Ward 1 Town Hall
Councillers Brenner and Robinson, an unbeLEAFably comprehensive meeting
Lessons learned at the Ward 1 Town Hall
Town Halls are opportunities for local residents to express views and voice concerns relating to their city councillors’ work and endeavours directly to the councillor(s) in attendance. Attending the recent Ward 1 Town Hall, I learned much more. I learned about myself as a municipal resident and about councillors as adept politicians.
Residents are sincere in asking their questions, and in making their constructive comments, though at times, some might question if it is so. Nevertheless, these town halls are grassroots democracy in practice.
Questions varied:
Train traffic transporting toxic cargo through the city?
The participant expressed concern as the potential risk for Pickering is of greater concern given its nuclear facility, the environmental dump north of the city and the centralized thoroughfare the rail system has. The response was a repetition that rail transport through the city is a federal government responsibility. Councillor Robinson, a tenacious bulldog in seeking answers to questions received a less than satisfactory response from the federal Ministry of the Environment, “No substantive or concrete response.”
Amazingly long delays in policy enactments for city policies?
One ratepayers’ association executive questioned the reason for such long delays from when the city initiates policy discussion to actual implementation asking what has happened to policies initiated as far back as 2011? “Not our fault,” Councillor Brenner’s response. “Other councils initiated them but never had time to complete that initiation.”
Budget assignment of $15,000 per councilor for computer upgrades?
The premise of the question was that regardless of the computer model, expensing $105,000 budget for councillors’ computers seems excessive. Extrapolating from this, the budget could have an amazing amount of waste in it. Can this be explained? This is where attendees got a lesson on political deflection, the avoidance of a clear and concise response to the question. Councillor Brenner has refined political deflection to an epitome level. The deflection explained, “The councillors need electronic equipment to carry out their responsibilities.” No argument there but do they need ‘Cadillac’ computers? Does “economies of scale” not work for City of Pickering buying power? An obvious criticism. The point was if there is exorbitant expense in this minor area, what are the implications for the other areas of the budget? Councillor Brenner never addressed that. All but two attending participants seemed oblivious to that. One even blurted out, “You’re missing the point,” to which Councillor Brenner did not respond.
Main Agenda: Tree by-law and regulation
Other questions dealt with the topic of the town hall’s main agenda, Tree regulation in the city. Participants expressed worry and anxiety about tree maintenance in the region. The City of Pickering City Development Department staff, Chantelle, Whitaker, Ish Chowdhury and Dean Jacobs were excellent in covering all the asked questions regarding tree maintenance in the city. People in attendance left with a better understanding of tree maintenance, who does the work for the city and how the tree bylaws are enforced.
For more information, phone the city at 905 683 7575
Again, at the risk of being unnecessarily repetitive, acoustics is a continuous problem at these town halls. People need to hear the discussion. Surely, effective electronic equipment for optimum audience reception must be available. Three town halls have had communication problems, always rationalized somehow. Stop with the explanations and rationalizations…get the right equipment! At the very least, repeat the posed question loudly and clearly, so everyone knows what is being discussed.
Click –> VIDEO
From Richard’s desk…
REPORT: City of Pickering: Council meeting, Apr. 24
Primary Agenda: Pickering Airport
There were about a dozen delegations presenting to the Pickering Councillors, and most of them dealt with the proposed Pickering airport.
Mary Delany, LandoverLandings
Mary Delany, chair of LandoverLandings, a citizens’ organization opposed to the proposed Pickering airport, was a powerful start to the delegation parade of the evening. She was dynamic, on-point, and steadfast in her focus. When prodded by Mayor Ashe, she responded knowledgeably, intelligently with facts rather than subjective frivolity. LandoverLandings has been recipient of an environmental award by the City and if Mary Delany is indicative of the group’s thinkers, then the message it delivers deserves very serious consideration and thought. Opposed to the airport, LandoverLandings support high speed rail as the practical alternative to any airport.
June Enright, Anti-airport
This great-grandmother’s presentation had an emotional attraction. A great-grandmother representing multi-generations from older, her mom is 105, to much younger, great-grandchildren. So this delegate’s stake in the battle against the airport is familial. She wants her family protected from the potentially destructive impacts of an airport on the Class A farmland of the region and the environment in general. She too was a supporter of Rapid Rail transit.
Cynthia Davis (BSc, MSc, President and CEO) Lakeridge Health
Cynthia Davis, CEO of Lakeridge Health, arguably was the most powerful of the delegations at this council meeting. Her presentation seemed to be a fundraising endeavour for the Lakeridge Health facility, and she was very persuasive in this endeavour. She proudly explained the recent partnering of Lakeridge with Queen’s University to create a medical training school in Pickering, to be launched Sept. 2023. The school hopes to alleviate the problems associated with the growing aged population and the need for more general medical practitioners. Canada has more than a million people without family medical care association and the new school seeks to alleviate the problem by graduating more general medical practitioners. Lakeridge Health is a multi-focused medical facility, hospital, long-term care residence, mental health care and more. The council has designated $200,000 to LH.
Sharon Powell, private anti airport delegation
This delegate supports high-speed rail as a viable alternative to any proposed airport. She stated that the Pickering Council was pro-airport and that the council should cease all expenditures promoting it.
Anthony Yacub, “Serving the people, protecting the community:
The primary concern of this delegation was how Pickering was managing revenues from the Casino and when its current policy of sharing casino revenue with other municipalities would end. The response from the council was that such sharing would continue until the end of the term of this council.
Janice Frampton, Election 2022 mayoral candidate
Mayor Ashe’s misnaming of Ms Frampton as “Janet” may have been an honest mistake, after all, Frampton nearly snatched the mayoral victory from Ashe in the last municipal election. Frampton is a retired CP Air stewardess with over thirty years of service. She is a community activist leading an anti-airport group. Her presentation was a warning that the unforeseeable and unexpected could result in Pickering Airport becoming a ‘white elephant’ as Mirabel Airport is to Montreal, a very expensive financial sinkhole caused by unforeseen and unexpected events like jet-age technological modernization, lack of proper infrastructure and municipal connectivity for passengers and Quebec’s Bill 101, the language bill that drove away many successful and financially powerful corporations elsewhere in Canada. She asserted that High-Speed Rail, a likely endeavour in Pickering, would be the death knell of any airport as the Rome-Milan high-speed train affected Alitalia Airlines in Italy.
Frampton closed her presentation by critiquing the council’s current budget as being confusing, overly generalized, and developer centred. She concluded with a call to regional municipality consolidation to oppose the destructive policies of Premier Doug Ford.
Ted Nickerson, Gateway Partners
Retired engineer, Ted Nickerson’s presentation was another informative and educational address relating to the airport proposal for Pickering. Nickerson evaluated and analyzed the repercussions of an airport on employment and environmental concerns in the region. His conclusion was that an airport was inevitable and therefore, the council should concentrate on dealing with its reality instead of plans for its creation.
Helen Brenner, anti airport delegation
Helen Brenner, speaking for her anti-airport association described the biggest impacts of the proposed airport on the region as relating to pollution, air, health, and noise. She made the questionable claim that all the councillors but one opposed the airport, concluding that another airport would be needed in the GTA until the mid-2030s.
Margaret Bowie, chair, Rougemount Community and Recreation Assoc.
Chair of the recently established Rougement Community and Recreation Association, Bowie was critical of the current Pickering budget calling for it to be more innovative, more farsighted, and more specific in how it impacts on the city. “The people of Pickering should have more information about the outcomes of the budget.”
Maurice Brenner acknowledged the launch of the RCRA and stated that he was responsible for the City of Pickering’s assistance to the association in relation to printing needs.
Louis Bertrand, retired Durham College Professor, anti airport
The final delegation for which this attendee remained, was presented by retired local college professor, Louis Bertrand. Bertrand focussed on the environmental impact of the airport: destruction of farmland, devastating pollution, and destructive impact on the flora and fauna of the region. When queried about young people’s concerns about an airport in Pickering, Professor Bertrand deflected into how the school emphasized workplace preparation of young people, not environmental consciousness.
It Ain’t Over Yet
By Michael McFarland
My heart’s in the right place; what’s left of it, I guess
My heart ain’t the problem; it’s my mind that’s a total mess
It ain’t over yet; you can mark my word
It ain’t over yet. © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Those lyrics are from a song written and recorded by county singer Rodney Crowell. They carry a lot of weight today as more and more worldwide investigations are being carried out for the benefit of our senior population.
A new report from the World Health Organization says annual healthcare costs will rise from lack of physical activity. Under the current trajectory, the healthcare costs due to diseases linked to physical inactivity are estimated to reach US$300 billion by 2030; Canada’s share of these costs is expected to total US$421 million annually.
To hopefully offset this annual cost and to be a benefit to seniors, a new USA study marks the most extended test of whether exercise makes any difference once memory starts to slide — the research was carried out amid a pandemic that added isolation to the list of risks to participants’ brain health.
Researchers recruited 300 sedentary older adults with hard-to-spot memory changes called mild cognitive impairment or MCI — a condition that’s sometimes, but not always, a precursor to Alzheimer’s. Half were assigned aerobic exercises, and the rest stretching-and-balance moves that only modestly raised their heart rate.
After a year, cognitive testing showed neither group had worsened, said lead researcher Laura Baker, a neuroscientist at Wake Forest School of Medicine. Nor did brain scans show the shrinkage that accompanies worsening memory problems. By comparison, similar MCI patients in another long-term study of brain health – but without exercise — experienced a significant cognitive decline over a year.
The results suggest “this is doable for everybody” — not just seniors healthy enough to work up a hard sweat, said Baker, who presented the data at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference.” Exercise needs to be part of the prevention strategies” for at-risk seniors. “
Next up: Baker is leading an even more extensive study of older adults to see if adding exercise to other can’t-hurt steps such as a heart-healthy diet, brain games, and social stimulation together may reduce the risk of dementia.
It ain’t over yet; I’ll say this about that
It ain’t over yet; here’s the truth, my friend
You can’t pack it in, and we both know why
It ain’t over yet. © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Ongoing uncategorized list of tips, ideas, and useful suggestions based on non-tested Internet research.
Write Richard with your feedback for a tested tip:
The Public Service Alliance Coalition is about to walk out on strike. Wage demands are their biggest demand. Foolish or futile demands?
The corporate powers and their political partners pay lip service to care about workers. Politicians have never taken a pay cut, let alone been accountable for their inaction in helping workers. Today’s robber barons, the corporate CEOs of any large corporation, care about the salaries of their employees as the fox cares about the feed offered to the cooped chickens. Chicken feed everywhere.
Be aware, when the PSAC workers walk out, Canada Revenue will sharpen its corporate blades. File your tax return regardless of the strike situation. Otherwise, be prepared for tax filing penalties, late filing charges and interest fees. Do not expect the government to let you off the hook.
Prepare your tax return and file it by the deadline time. Otherwise, you will be subject to interest penalties with no possibility of assistance or support from any politician. It’s the way of the world today, the world of robber barons and political collusion.
Click the logo above to access their excellent newsletter. It’s free, so explore its menus to get the most of all that they offer at no charge.
We have been using/connected with Cloudeight for a couple of years now and have found the site safe, secure and dependable. The executive duo running the website, Thundercloud and Darcy, are responsive and proud of the work they do and the services they provide.
I recommend reading their newsletter first and exploring their website to determine if and how it can benefit you. Click: CLOUDEIGHT
More about CLOUDEIGHT…
What is CLOUDEIGHT and how did start?
Cloudeight Stationery is a website that provides a large collection of free email stationery for use in Windows Live 12, Windows Mail, Outlook Express, Outlook, and Mozilla Thunderbird. The stationery includes a variety of themes such as holidays, seasons, animals, sports, and more. Users can download and install the stationery to add visual interest to their email messages. Cloudeight Stationery has been providing these email stationery services since the late 1990s and is known for its extensive collection of designs.
______________________________________________________
It all started in a land far, far away.. well, actually it started in Michigan when I met my friends Orca and Ldy on the old IRC (Internet Relay Chat) Michigan Chat lines. We had a regular group of people who came to chat. Then sometime in 1996, TC came snooping around one day… even though he was not from Michigan! It made him stand out, so naturally, I began chatting with him. He was making a web page and was a newbie, so I took him under my wing, shared all my store of knowledge from the two months I had accumulated, and taught him how to put some images on a page. We started emailing and chatting about new things we were learning, and found that both of us were eager to learn all we could! Wow.. a cyber match made in heaven!
OK… on with the story. One day I was searching the web for something new I had just learned called “scripts” and set out to learn them inside out. I was playing around with one of these scripts (a script simply automates something) and it made my picture appear to be scrolling. Wow! Something really cool! I sent it in an email to TC and asked him if he could “see” anything. I was not sure if only I could view this scrolling picture or not!
He was as excited as I was.. instead of just answering me to say yes or no, I had to wait all day and my answer finally came.. he had created a nice graphic of his own (using skills he had obtained from the one and only… !) and had it scrolling away! We couldn’t believe something like this could be done on the computer, much less in email! We wanted to tell our friends about this.. so off we went, emailing our friends our new discovery.
We found our friends were just as excited about our new discovery, and soon they were asking how to do this. We tried to explain, though it seemed so complicated, especially for those that didn’t understand scripting or those that did not work in PSP/Photoshop, so we “made” a \stationery for them and send it to them by email. They would in turn click reply, remove all the text, change whom they were sent to, and were sending their “own” stationery. It was a roundabout way of doing things, but it worked, so our circle of friends was having fun along with us now!
Soon the requests got overwhelming… and we just couldn’t find the time to send stationery to everyone! So, TC and I decided to make a website page for our friends to download the stationery we had made. We created it from any pictures we thought were nice and soon we had 10 or 15 people a day coming to our new website. We were ecstatic when it hit 20! Twenty people in one day! We couldn’t believe all the traffic!
When we weren’t chatting, we were creating! We would spend days working on a single stationery design. sometimes editing an image one pixel at a time to get it to tile perfectly. I remember letting “the little things” go, like the dishes and the laundry so I could create! We put our hearts into every single creation, and couldn’t wait to show each other what we’d done. Then up to the web, it would go! Lucky for us, Thundercloud had his very own domain… it was empty so we had a great place to put our stationery! Cloudeight had not yet been born.. but soon would be and its home would be on Thundercloud.net.
Our next step was to come up with a name for our site. We pondered on this for days, tossed names back and forth, but nothing sounded “right”, until one day we mentioned something about being on cloudnine and how nice it was.. and it hit me.. let’s combine our names.. (or part of our names!) and call our site Cloudeight! A step back from “being on cloudnine” but better! And finally.. a name that clicked and after all these years we are still known as Cloudeight. This explains why Cloudeight’s home is on thundercloud.net!
Jump ahead to today, we have a mailing list for our stationery and tech news with over 200,000 members, and while we have created many new sites and products since then, our stationery site remains our biggest site with nearly 10,000 visitors daily and more than double that amount during holidays and winter season.
I highly recommend giving CLOUDEIGHT a test drive. They provide a lot of valuable information as well as computer repair service.
Richard
A SPECIAL AIR QUALITY STATEMENT is in place due to the possibility of deteriorating air quality. Hot and sunny conditions are expected to cause increasing ground-level ozone concentrations this afternoon in the above regions. Moderate-risk AQHI values are possible throughout this afternoon with the potential of short-term high-risk AQHI values for a couple of hours.
Individuals may experience symptoms such as increased coughing, throat irritation, headaches or shortness of breath. Children, seniors, and those with cardiovascular or lung disease, such as asthma, are especially at risk.
Visit www.airhealth.ca for information on how to reduce your health risk and your personal contribution to pollution levels, as well as for current and forecast AQHI values.
Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada.
If you are experiencing symptoms, such as coughing or throat irritation, consider reducing or rescheduling strenuous outdoor activities until the special air quality statement is lifted. Exposure to air pollution is particularly a health concern for people with heart or breathing problems, those with diabetes, children and the elderly.
Be air aware!
Check your local weather forecasts and alerts so you know when to take extra care.
Special air quality statement in effect
The latest status and details on all alerts can be found here: http://www.weather.gc.ca/
Sgt. Maureen Breau
Quebec Provincial Police.
Pause for a moment as respect for another fallen police officer.
Thank the next police officer you encounter for the job they do to make life safer and more secure for each of us. These men and women put their lives on the line every day, every shift. They never know what they will encounter. The most seemingly mundane incident can become a catastrophic event for any one of them, any day, any time.
Officer Breau was killed on her regular shift, Mar. 27. She was a mother of two, married to another Quebec police officer.
Take a moment to pause as respectful honour to Officer Breau and all the police officers who have been killed while on duty to safeguard us.
May they rest in peace.
Consult with your doctor about weight loss. There is no easy solution but your doctor will advise you on what may work best for you.
This article may also give you some insights regarding some popular weight loss medications and supplements: WEIGHT LOSS
WALMART: on sale !
Walmart is selling these tshirts supplied by third party producers. You, of clean mind and no alterior thinking, would read the tshirt caption as “REcycle, REuse, REnew, REthink…but upon closer examine and taking joining the first letter of cycle, use, new, think…you’re into profanity and mind boggling territory.
It’s a perverse world we live in. Far too many people just want to get something over on someone else. The extreme is pulling a gun. But this vendor sales product is a tad subtler…the tshirt producer got one over on Walmart. Bully for them.
Be sure to unmute your volume button.
Click —-> Grocery rebate scam
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the development of computer systems that can perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition and decision-making. This computer tool may not be of interest to many readers, especially the older ones who already are resistant to the Internet and digital tools.
At this time, AI is little more than a computer toy. However, as the corporate ‘whales’ of the digital world are working hard to exploit the revenue potential of this new toy. Their free trial offers will become fee-based subscriptions in no time, once they hook you by making AI easier to use and clearly beneficial.
Until then, computer users interested in exploring and experimenting with AI, can try one of these two sites which at the time of publishing were still free (Do not be surprised if that changes by the time you access either.)
RYTR.me
YOU.com
The large corporations are still in their exploratory stages of development offering their AIs, at no charge or a very small one for limited use. The two above sites seem to be unlimited and have no applicable fees for their use at the time of publishing.
So, what should you try?
The “YOU” AI is very easy to explore and experiment with. Type your question in its ‘search box’ and it will respond on the same screen in seconds. Ask it to write:
“A poem about the dampness of spring;”
“A short description about the joy of riding a motorcycle”..….or…
Hey Don, I asked it to “describe the appeal of golf to seniors”…..it went blank !
Where you might use AI
A member of a club, ask it to give you a plan for a fund raising event for the club;
A social club events planner: ask for a list of speakers for your social club;
Publish an online website: ask how it can be improved for seniors;
Want to learn how to play a harmonica: ask it how to learn to play it.
The limitations of AI
AI information is based on all the information input into it or that it can mine from online sources. It will summarize what it can find into short, reader-friendly paragraphs within seconds of being asked.
The developers have placed restrictions on AI: it will not give offensive replies; it will not respond to negative requests such as bomb-making.
Conclusion
AIs are not human. Though these computer programs respond in human-like replies, they are not sentient beings. Therefore they have no moral code or any ethical value system. Their responses are neutral, objective, and factual based on the ‘scraping’ of the Internet. However, their development continues at a rapid pace. The sentience is being developed which means the next group of AIs may become a real danger. Government and corporate leaders should be working on guardrails and safety measures relative to AIs. At the moment the creativity and original thinking of AIs is limited and narrow. However, they are in their nascent stages of development. The next generation of AIs will be capable of much more and will pose greater risks to our world unless protective measures are put into place at this very outset.
Though the Toronto campaign for mayor of Toronto is not Pickering news, many residents are still very interested in this political race.
Toronto Star City hall bureau chief, David Rider, has launched an excellent first piece regarding the campaign with his comprehensive summaries of the leading/current candidates campaigning for the office.
IMPORTANT DATES:
MAY 12 – Nominations close
JUN 26 – Mayoral Byelection
Click –> Candidate Tracker
AMICA RETIREMENT HOME had a party on Sunday, April 2. The celebrants ranged from old coots to old pooches…maybe said a bit politically incorrectly but these party people showed no signs of age and surprising energy and spirit in their dance steps all afternoon.
Amica deserves to celebrate after a year of development and growth. The 16160-suite complex with over 100 residents is part of the City of Pickering. These residents are in their homes which is a different residence in the city. The Amica corporation is behind the residential complex but in the words of general manager, Jennifer Smith, “We are providing a real home for older citizens and that is our first priority.” This feels like a corporation with a heart, intent on providing a caring home for older citizens, first and foremost, not to promote the corporation behind the home.
A Mardi Gras party!
What a party! Golden oldies dancing to the golden oldies music, nibbling away on delicious finger food with sparkling bubbly to wash it down. This really was a super party for the residents and for the invitees from the city who chose to accept the broad invitation made by AMICA. Many came, nearly all of the two hundred invited guests. Even political representatives like Councillor Shaheen Butt with his lovely wife.
Two hours of shufflin’ feet, in flats, some in heels, these seniors were ready to party. It was the festa of the besta…live entertainment with a local band playing oldies with energy and experience for those who really appreciated the reminiscence down memory lane of the old tunes and dancing away as they once did to the sounds played on CHUM radio and DJ Al Boliska.
Amica held a party and close to two hundred people used their invitation.
The music was fabulous: Elvis revisited, rockabilly Everly Brothers back once more, Rick Nelson, Fats Domino, Chuck Barry, Johnny Cash, all the greats of the past, their tunes rocking the room with vigor and vim once more. Even slow stuff by “Old Blue Eyes” adding a touch of romance to the atmosphere at Amica’s party. The main room of the Amica Rock Palace swung for two hours, a mite slower than in past years, but still spirited, alive and kickin’.
In another room, the music was augmented by a white-haired maestro tinkling on the ivories with the memory of a man who was familiar with all those golden oldie show tunes: South Pacific and Mitzi Gaynor, Judy Garland’s “Over the Rainbow” from the Wizard of Oz, movie memories with instrumentals from Exodus and GWTW. This man was a showstopper, a piano fortissimo.
To top everything off, the chef of the Amica kitchens deserves the highest of compliments for his non-stop production of outstanding “nibbles:” from pizza to pulled pork, gnocchi in mushroom cream with fried sage crisp to rosé creamed ravioli. This chef never stopped, always kickin’ up a notch which suggests these residents dine first class nightly. A charcuterie side table that would be the envy of a Parisian charcuterie with slices of salami, prosciutto and capicola, wedges of cheddar and Grana Padano chunks. The culinary offerings were endless and delicious.
Whew, then the desserts, no cake walk here. Creme brule, blueberry cream cheese wraps, meringue cookies and sugar cookies. Old standards, cupcakes, donut crullers and even candies, jujubes, and chocolate-covered raisins. Amica pulled out all the stops when it came to the food presentation and as John R., one of the residents confirmed, “Yep, our dining is first class here, like dining out every night.”
Finally, apple juice and refreshing water were supplanted. Amica pulled out all the stops even cracking open some bubbly for the festa celebrants.
What a great anniversary party! Amica deserves to be congratulated big time for providing the local residents to join a wonderful celebration in an opportunity of seeing how senior residents live in an outstanding retirement home in their city.
Bravo Amica!
Well they’ve done it again, still trying to con us into believing they are working on our behalf.
The federal government recently approved the Rogers-Shaw Communications merger after rejected it many times. What changed? Not the players? Perhaps some financial campaign support was increased. Well, break out the champagne, Philippe Champagne, that is, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation.
Talk about hypocrisy. “We’ll be watching them like a hawk!” Sure, like a hawk who’s resident at the CNIB, Canadian National Institute for the Blind. This minister is pulling our legs. He should do a sidehustle as barker for Clyde Bros. Circuses. Do you really believe this ministry will do anything about telecom service prices? Canadians pay the highest prices in the world. Canada ranks 157th out of 182 countries in terms of fixed mobile data pricing and it ranks 146th out of 204 countries in terms of broadband pricing. (2020)
Now, Minister Champagne expects us to believe that this Rogers-Shaw merger will really benefit all Canadian digital service users. Who is he trying to kid? All he has done is create another giant corporation which will gouge Canadians very soon, though he denies this will happen. Didn’t Rogers just unexpectedly disconnect service for a week costing users millions of dollars. And as a punishment, they get to merge with another telecom.
This is an example of government complacency and collaboration with big business. Champagne likely cannot be accused of corruption but the smell of collusion pervades the Ottawa air. Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri cashed in recently to about $31 million in salary and stock bonuses. Likely another Robber Baron of the 21st century. What do you think his highest priority may be? Profit for shareholders and equitable pricing for consumers. Ahhh, let me think about that a moment.
Just last summer Rogers delivered … disconnection to its users. Now it refuses to even consider making cell service available to TTC transit users where crime is escalating regularly. So, you cannot phone 911 from almost anywhere in the TTC. Explain the justification and rationale behind that one for us.
It’s almost Easter and we should be thankful for having such wonderful political leaders.
WARNING FROM POLICE
Warning..!!!! Warning..!!!! Warning..!!!!
THIS APPLIES TO BOTH WOMEN AND MEN
BEWARE OF PAPER ON THE BACK WINDOW
OF YOUR VEHICLE – It’s a NEW WAY TO DO CARJACKINGS (NOT A JOKE)
I was parked in a public parking area. As I drove away, I noticed a sticker on the rear window of the car. I did not stop to remove it but when I took it off after I got home, it was a receipt for gas. Luckily, a friend told me that it was the latest method used in carjacking and could lead to more trouble with a home invasion.
Heads up everyone! Please, keep this circulating. You walk across the parking lot, unlock your car and get inside. You start the engine, shift into reverse and then notice a piece of paper stuck to the middle of the rear window. So, you shift into Park and get out of your car to remove the paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view. When you reach the back of your car, that is when the carjackers appear out of nowhere, jump into your car and take off. They practically mow you down as they speed off in your car.
And guess what, ladies? I bet your purse is still in the car.
So now the carjacker has your car, your home address, your money, and your keys. Your home and your whole identity are now compromised!
BEWARE OF THIS NEW CARJACKING SCHEME.
If you see a piece of paper stuck to your back window, just drive away. Remove the paper later. And be thankful that you read this warning from BOOKz COOKz NOOKz.
Forward the link to the website to friends and family, especially to women. A purse contains all kinds of personal information and identification documents, and you certainly do NOT want it to fall into the wrong hands.
Please keep this warning message going and tell all your friends.
Pope Francis was released from Casa Santa Maria d’Alighieri today but his planned getaway to avoid the paparazzi and the press failed. The press and paparazzi gathered at the front of the hospital disappointed in their expectations as the pope took a more secure route to evade them. Using back hallways and wearing an unexpected black frock, the holy father exited the back of the hospital in what turned out to be near-perfect security. However, Guido Pompezzo, a photographer with Oggi magazine with many years of experience capturing celebrities trying to evade his lenses, managed another photographic coup. Pompezzo was too experienced to be fooled and snapped this photo of the pontiff sneaking out through the security-proven back hallways of the hospital. The strategy nearly worked.
Some of Pompezzo’s other photographic coups…
Silvio caught sipping a beer in a park in Rome.
Melania Trump sunning at the back of Donald’s expropriated yacht.
Megan riding behind Prince Harry.
Next TOWN HALL:
Tentative Agenda (to be confirmed)
[pdf-embedder url=”http://www.szpin.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/APRIL-2023-Newsetter-FINAL-1.pdf” title=”APRIL 2023 Newsetter FINAL”]
OACAO provides support and assistance to Older Adults and their caregivers. They present workshops that advise and inform caregivers and seniors in general about better living as they age.
South Pickering Seniors’ Club
This club is an association of seniors with the goal of enriching the lives of their members. For more information, click on the various subtitles listed below:
For more information, phone: 905 420 5049
Click –> SPSC website
The South Pickering Seniors Club
A seniors’ activities club that is excellently developed, very well-organized and finely managed.
Begun in 1974 when 6 seniors met in a basement to talk about forming a seniors club, to the present time where the SPSC has seen amazing growth in membership approaching a 1,000 members. Reopening recently after the covid shutdown, the Club has been in a rebuilding mode.
The Clubhouse: the East Shore Community Centre
The East Shore Community Centre, is a multi-purpose City facility from which we operate rent-free.
The City manages the property and maintenance absorbing all the operating expenses. City staff do the necessary work of property maintainenance and operationgs. It provides free printing of our club News & Views, posters, and all our printing needs. The City provides many extra services and support benefits to help our club operate, and always a not added cost to the club members.
The City also provides annual grants to offset club expenses associated with trips and our “Seniors Active Living Centre.”The club pays an $1 fee for its 5 year lease agreement for use of the property.
The club has full control of its programs and the use of our designated parts of the building facility. The club purchases and consequently own all the equipment used by its members including assets such as tables & chairs, kitchen appliances and games equipment, computers, and electronic equipment. Repair expenses are underwritten by the club.
The purpose of the Club
The Club’s purpose is to plan, promote, direct and operate the social, recreational and health-rewarding activities for its members. It enriches the lives of its members providing low cost programs, in-house activities, special events, trips and social support throughout the year
Club membership
To join the Club you must be 55 years or older, a resident of the City of Pickering or pay taxes to the City. An exception would be where one spouse is 55+ and their partner is under 55.
Club administration, executive, and group convenors
The Club executive and the conveners are all volunteers and many positions are elected.
Club meetings
Club meetings are held each Tuesday morning, attended by the administrative executive, Club directors and occasionally guests.
Club communication
The club is diligent about keeping members informed and does so via:
The club is dedicated to its members, their participation, their activities and their enjoyment of socialization. It is open to and invites seniors to consider joining. The goal is to provide greater enrichment to life as a senior.
| ACTIVITY | DAY | TIME |
| BADMINTON | Monday | 1:00 – 3:00 pm |
| BALLROOM DANCING | Friday | 2:15 – 3:45 pm |
| BID EUCHRE | Monday | 1:00 – 4:00 pm |
| Wednesday | 6:30 – 9:30 pm | |
| BILLIARDS | Mon – Fri | 9:00am – 9:00pm |
| Saturday | 9:00am – 1:00pm | |
| BINGO | Tuesday | 1:00 – 3:30 pm |
| BRIDGE (progressive) | Friday | 1:00 – 4:00 pm |
| CARPET BOWLING | Friday | 9:30 – 12:00 pm |
| CRAFTS | Wednesday | 1:00 – 3:00 pm |
| CRIBBAGE/PINOCHLE | Wednesday | 1:00 – 3:30 pm |
| DARTS | Monday | 7:00 – 9:30 pm |
| Thursday | 9:00 – 11:30 am | |
| DOMINOES/SEQUENCE | Wednesday | 1:00 – 3:00 pm |
| EUCHRE | Tuesday | 1:00 – 3:30 pm |
| Thursday | 1:00 – 3:30 pm | |
| EUCHRE/BID EUCHRE lessons | Wednesday | 10:00 – 11:30 am |
| FITNESS CLASS $3.00 / week | Wednesday | 9:30 – 10:30 am |
| LINE DANCING | Friday | 1:00 – 2:00 pm |
| PICKLEBALL | Monday | 9:30 – 12:30 pm |
| Wednesday | 12:30 – 3:30 pm | |
| Friday | 12:30 – 3:30 pm | |
| POKER | Tuesday | 6:00 – 9:30 pm |
| SHUFFLEBOARD | Monday | 1:00 – 3:00 pm |
| TABLE TENNIS | Wednesday | 7:00 – 9:30 pm |
| TAI CHI | Tuesday | 10:30 – 11:30 am |
The Rougemount Community and Recreation Association is planning to launch for May 1, 2023. Information flyers will be available soon, along with more information about the association.
Thought the City of Pickering has not yet begun improving its digital footprint at Pickering.ca, it has taken the first steps to improve communication with its residents by publishing “Council Meeting highlights,” (Mar 27/23). A great start to the promise to improve the communication process with its citizens.
Lets talk Pickering – Digitalization
A discussion group examining Digitalization of City of Pickering information was held at the East Shore Comm Centre Monday, Mar 27th. led by two coordinators from Edmonton [Curious!] and Shauna Muir, Coordinator, Corporate Communication and Community Engagement.
The group of nearly a dozen interested residents participated in this discussion with the goal of expanding knowledge and improving the digital dissemination of information to Pickering residents.
The group narrowed their focus to three key points:
Simplification is needed in all information processes used by the city. Make the information more concise and the sources should be easier to navigate. Simplify the text, reduce the material and make it easier to find information. The website at Pickering.ca was praised as being tremendously comprehensive but the same complaint was repeated: it is a challenge to navigate and find the information sought.
Humanization was repeatedly underscored. People want to talk to people, want to connect with people, not computers or computer robots. The telephone is the acknowledged work horse of information gathering but there is a need for more personnel to staff the other end of the calls. Hiring more staff to assist was a proposed idea with the suggestion of employing more young people to staff the phones. Given the current unemployment issues in the city, many unemployed people would be helped along the people searching for information.
Encourage greater connectivity seems to be a problem with all information publication in the city. As one attendee underlined, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” The point was that the city is working hard at publishing information, broadly and easily accessible, but unless residents make some effort themselves to access the information, the message falls on deaf ears. Use of the telephone is pervasive, not so with other electronic devices. However, there is a problem of motivation among the residents, the ongoing obstacle to any communication the city attempts in connecting with its citizens.
The meeting concluded with a clearer understanding of the problems with digitalization of information in Pickering. Now the city must bat that ball with constructive and practical swings. The city is in a pickle as the ball is its court.
Someone asked the other day………….
‘What was your favourite fast food when you were growing up?’
‘We didn’t have fast food when I was growing up, I informed him, ‘All our food was slow.’
‘C’mon, seriously. Where did you eat?’
‘It was a place called ‘at home,’ I explained!
‘Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, & if I didn’t like what she put on my plate, I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.’
By this time, the guy was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn’t tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table.
Other things I could have told him about my childhood,
if I figured his system could have handled it:
Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore Levis, set foot on a golf course, travelled out of the country or had a credit card.
My parents never drove me to school. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds and only had one speed, (slow).
We didn’t have a television in our house until I was 10. It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the air at 11:00 p.m., after playing the national anthem and a poem about God. It came back on the air at about 6:00 a.m. And there was usually a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people…
I never had a telephone in my room.
Our only phone was on a party line.
Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people weren’t already using the line.
Pizzas were not delivered to our home…but milk and bread were.
All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers – my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week. He had to get up at 5 AM every morning.
Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies! There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or most anything offensive.
If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Don’t blame me if they bust their gut laughing.
MEMORIES:
My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother’s house (she died in December) and he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to ‘sprinkle’ clothes with because we didn’t have steam irons. Man, I am old.
How many do you remember:
Older Than Dirt Quiz:
Count all the ones that you remember, NOT the ones you were told about!
Your count will get a rating at the bottom.
If you remembered 0-3 = You’re still young
If you remembered 3-6 = You are getting older
If you remembered 7-10 = Don’t tell your age, &
If you remembered 11-16=You’re older than dirt! THAT’S ME!
I might be older than dirt, but those memories are some of the best parts of my life.
Don’t forget to pass this along!
Especially to all your really OLD friends
Ford government cutting back OHIP-covered eye services for some seniors
Way to go Doggie Ford at Queen’s Park
Another example of our governments looking out for our best interests. Governments are not intended to be friends with their citizens. Doggie Ford epitomizes that rule.
Corruption at Queen’s Park. Maybe not in the classic sense where actual money is handed over under the table as in bygone eras, but something stinks in the state of Toronto and it ain’t the hogs downtown. Other hogs? For certain. As for money under the table in reality? In these days of Trumpism, it may actually occur. As for Doggie Ford, there is no question this political head walks among the questionable political leaders; consider his inefficacious Greenbelt promise, his dubious policies to assist families with autistic children, try his fee-based bridal shower garden parties with the $1500 entrance ticket, try his continual erosion of public health in the province, his inadequate salaries for hospital staff, his failure to alleviate the inadequate medical professionals in the province and now this new cut back…eye care for seniors. This provincial leader is clearly doing us in. Where do we stand in our response to him?
All this bears some resemblance to the public responses to the German government policies of the 1930s. Silence and apathy kill. Might Doggie Ford be a pit bull in oversized chihuahua’s clothing?
Eye care for seniors? Read that again. Is that the same government that saw many seniors killed due to inadequate or improper care in residential homes like Orchard Villa Residential Home, Pickering during the pandemic? Now seniors get hit again with loss of eye care. Those whose eyes deteriorate more quickly than the young get relegated to longer intervals between medical examinations. Bravo Doggie!
Will this ageism and inexplicable poor governing stop…not with Doggie’s “rain!”
They’re deaf at Queen’s Park. Worse, there’s no accountability, no transparency, no responsibility and by the time an election rolls around, the malevolence of this government’s current tainted policies will be forgotten. Just ask Saul!
The man is malevolence personified. He is in office for two more years for sure, until the 2016 election and is likely to win again given the problems and inadequacies with the alternative provincial parties.
Doggie Ford is as dumb as a Border collie with his herd of sheeple. In the next provincial election, he’ll follow his proven campaign strategy of avoiding all specifics, no explanations of potential policy, and clamming up every Party member and QP Conservative MPP. That strategy has been his successful go-to card twice already and he’ll play it again next election.
Will you remember any of his felonious failures, tainted inadequacies or malodorous machinations in two years?
What do you think? What are you going to do about it?
Reversible causes of dementia in older adults
Cognitive Decline something is missing
Source: Ian McClymont, PENSIONER FITNESS.
Early Identification and Accurate Diagnosis are Key
Reversible causes of dementia in older adults. Early identification and accurate diagnosis can improve patient outcomes.
Nurses often care for older adults (65 years and older) with memory issues that may lead them to suspect dementia. However, several medical conditions mimic dementia and can be misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia. So then, these conditions frequently are reversible if diagnosed and treated. An early and accurate diagnosis can reduce the emotional toll.
Seven common reversible causes of dementia
Some dementias can be reversed by resolving the underlying cause. Screening for cognitive impairment is an important first step. Screening typically takes no more than 10 minutes at a primary care visit and can help identify conditions with symptoms that mimic dementia.
If screening detects potential cognitive decline, additional evaluation may be warranted to determine the underlying cause. Caregivers or family members can help facilitate the screening process by providing information about patient’s behaviour or memory at home and by comforting the patient during the screening.
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism occurs when the thyroid can’t produce enough hormones to meet a person’s metabolic needs. One cause is Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disorder. The less-robust immune response associated with ageing puts older adults at increased risk for the disease. Other causes include certain medications that older adults may be taking such as amiodarone, lithium, rifampin, phenobarbital, phenytoin, and carbamazepine.
Hypothyroidism is associated with depression and memory problems related to damage to the brain systems. Also, it is associated with short-term memory, concentration, and problem-solving. If untreated, hypothyroidism may cause psychosis, anxiety, and sleeping problems. As a result, clinicians may misdiagnose hypothyroidism as an irreversible form of dementia.
Signs and symptoms
Many hypothyroidism symptoms—such as depressed mood, difficulty concentrating, and memory impairment—are nonspecific. The central nervous system is susceptible to changes in thyroid hormone levels which may slow all cerebral functions, resulting in memory loss and sleepiness. Hypothyroidism also may cause metabolic rate or neurotransmitter synthesis imbalance.
Diagnostic tests
Suspected hypothyroidism is assessed by testing serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and thyroxine (T4) levels in the blood. Low T4 or high TSH levels indicate primary hypothyroidism. Treatment should begin as soon as possible to avoid progression to severe hypothyroidism when brain structures may be irreversibly altered.
Treatment
Hypothyroidism symptoms can be reversed if they’re identified early, and thyroid function is restored. Thyroid replacement therapy using levothyroxine reverses most neuropsychological and behavioural abnormalities.
Depression
Depression can increase older adults’ risk of developing dementia, according to doctors. Symptoms of depression occur in 40% to 50% of those with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementia. The increased risk for memory impairment is highest in individuals with depression and those who are 65 and older, more severely depressed, bipolar, or in inpatient treatment settings.
Signs and symptoms
The hippocampus plays a significant role in mood and cognition regulation, which can cause symptoms of cognitive decline. Hippocampal volumes link depression and dementia; reduced volumes are typical in people with mood disorders. People with depression frequently have poor visual and verbal memory resulting in the poor interpretation of information, difficulty processing information or reduced executive functioning (organizing data and making decisions) on memory tests.
Diagnostic testing
Patients with depression symptoms and memory complaints may suffer from brain dysfunction rather than just depression. The way to distinguish brain dysfunction from depression alone is by screening for hippocampal atrophy via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In addition, cognitive assessment is performed using screening tools, such as the Mini-Mental State Examination. The AD8 dementia screening interview, and the Mini-Cog. Depression assessment can be accomplished using the Geriatric Depression Scale.
Treatment
Dementia may be reversed by treating hippocampal atrophy with antidepressant medication in early-onset depression to improve neuron health and prevent neuron damage progression. Patients receiving these medications should be assessed periodically for treatment adherence and symptom improvement.
Vitamin B12 deficiency
Memory loss may result from vitamin B12 deficiency. (and, to a lesser degree, vitamins A, C, and folate deficiencies), mimicking dementia symptoms. According to doctors, patients with low vitamin B12 or folate have double the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting they work together for cognitive function.
Signs and symptoms
In addition to memory changes, individuals with vitamin B12 deficiency may present fatigue, numbness, tingling in the hands and feet, vision loss, heart palpitations, GI problems, depression, or noticeable behaviour changes. Vitamin B12 can also affect cognitive functions because it is essential in the structure of myelin, the protective coating of neurons causing slowing of neuronal conduction. Vitamin B12 deficiency also may result in transcobalamin deficiency (a disorder that impairs the transport of vitamin B12). Malabsorption, and metabolic disorders can cause neuronal degeneration. In addition, vitamin B12 or folate deficiency may cause homocysteine levels to rise. Homocysteine has neurotoxic effects that can lead to cell death or neurologic disturbances.
Diagnostic testing and treatment
Patients with recent mental changes should be screened for vitamin B12 deficiency. This condition is reversible with vitamin replacement.
Memory loss may result from vitamin B12 deficiency (and, to a lesser degree, vitamins A, C, and folate deficiencies), mimicking dementia symptoms. Some doctors feel patients with low vitamin B12 or folate have double the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease suggesting that they work together for cognitive function.
Normal pressure hydrocephalus
According to research, approximately 375,000 Americans have been misdiagnosed with dementia or Parkinson’s disease when the underlying condition was normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). Misdiagnosis can occur because patients with NPH frequently have difficulty with word formation, inability to carry out simple tasks, or impaired sensory interpretation.
Signs and symptoms
Three distinct areas can be checked to help recognize NPH: cognitive impairment, urinary dysfunction, and mobility impairment (slow and shuffling gait). Early identification of NPH is difficult because symptoms occur gradually. Those that mimic dementia (apathy, dullness in behaviour and thinking, and impaired attention) are associated with altered brain structure, and cognitive impairment may result from reduced neurotransmitters.
Diagnostic testing
Early detection is critical when NPH is suspected. MRI and cerebrospinal fluid testing are the best ways to diagnose the condition and evaluate its severity accurately.
Treatment
Treatment for NPH requires surgical placement of a shunt that removes cerebrospinal fluid from the ventricle. Shunt surgery may reverse or improve cognitive impairment if significant dementia has not already developed.
Sleep apnea and related deficits
Sleep disturbances, including insomnia and sleep apnea, are common as people age and may lead to reduced cognitive performance, mimicking signs of dementia. Lack of restful sleep can increase the risk of sleep-disordered breathing, decrease total sleep duration, and impair circadian cycles. A study by Hung and colleagues indicates that insomnia is associated with a two- to three-fold increased risk of developing dementia.
Sleep apnea is known to cause neuron hypoxia and increase the risk of vascular conditions, such as vascular dementia and stroke which can increase the risk for dementia. Poor sleep quality and quantity can affect neuron health by interfering with the brain’s natural processes for clearing toxins, which can increase glial cell inflammation and oxidative neurotoxin accumulation. The result can be neuron damage, dementia pathology in the brain, and subsequent dementia-like symptoms.
Diagnostic testing
To determine whether a patient with a sleep disturbance has dementia or depression, their sleep patterns should be assessed with a sleep study. The study will help determine if the patient has obstructive sleep apnea, but it will not be able to differentiate a sleep disturbance resulting from dementia or depression. These will require complex testing and may still be inconclusive.
Treatment
Sleep disturbance treatment should begin with basic sleep hygiene strategies and nonpharmacologic approaches, such as transcranial nerve stimulation or cognitive behavioural therapy for chronic insomnia. For patients with sleep apnea, continuous positive airway pressure treatment is essential for improving cell oxygenation, which Ferini-Strambi and colleagues have shown to reverse dementia-like symptoms.
Alcohol-related dementia
Alcohol-related dementia (ARD) accounts for approximately 10% of early-onset dementia cases. It may result from neurotoxic damage or nutritional deficiencies related to chronic excessive alcohol consumption. For example, thiamine deficiency can lead to Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, a neurologic disorder with symptoms that include confusion and cognitive decline.
Signs and symptoms
Signs of ARD include cognitive and behavioural changes, such as impaired orientation, rational functioning, and inhibition. Patients with ARD typically are under the age of 65 years, socially isolated, and male. In addition, their cognitive impairment may be more difficult to detect.
Diagnostic testing
Specific diagnostic criteria for ARD are not clear. Frequently, clinicians rely on evaluating changes such as loss of memory or alterations in thinking or reasoning, but only after patients have stopped drinking for some time.
Treatment
ARD is potentially reversible with timely alcohol use disorder treatment, such as counselling, behavioural therapy, or medication. The earlier ARD is identified, the better the outcome and prognosis for the patient.
Medication adverse effects and interactions
Cognitive impairment resulting from prescribed medications is more likely to occur in older than younger adults because they’re already vulnerable to dementia caused by neurodegeneration. Adding a moderately neurotoxic medication might trigger delirium or memory issues.
Identification
To identify a medication causing dementia symptoms, the drug causing impairment would have to have been administered before confusion onset. A return to normal cognitive baseline would have to occur when the medication is stopped. However, these conditions rarely are met because many older adults take multiple medications. Medicines that can potentiate delirium in adults older than 65 years are found in the American Geriatric Society 2019 Beers Criteria®. These medications—including those with strong anticholinergic properties, conventional and atypical antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, and nonbenzodiazepine and benzodiazepine receptor agonist hypnotics—should be avoided.
Management
Medications causing dementia-like symptoms should be discontinued, as ordered by the medical provider, while still treating the underlying medical condition. You can educate patients about the risks of taking multiple drugs, work with them to ensure they take only essential medications, and recommend alternative medications when necessary. Medical providers should always ask patients if they take over-the-counter medicines, supplements, or natural products. Furthermore, which may adversely interact with prescribed medications. (See Medication considerations.)
Medication considerations
Older adults’ altered metabolism, absorption, and excretion may make them more sensitive to adverse medication effects. However, steps can be taken to mitigate them.
Dementia prevention
Nutrition, physical activity, and social networks are critical to dementia prevention. A healthy diet is associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, heart failure, diabetes, and hypertension. For example, in patients with diabetes, elevated blood sugar and insulin resistance can increase the risk of dementia, and more severe conditions (such as hyperglycemic hyperosmolar non-ketonic syndrome) can deprive neurons of glucose and lead to cognitive impairment.
Physical activity increases circulation, decreases triglycerides and cholesterol, and reduces insulin resistance. Physical activity also can lower blood pressure at rest. Studies, including one by Košcak Tivadar, have shown that exercise reduces cognitive decline and the risk of developing dementia.
Increased social contact has been shown to decrease the progression of cognitive decline. Older adults’ social networks may change because of decreased interaction resulting from retirement, children leaving home, and losing friends or family. Encourage older adults to strengthen their bonds with others and support healthy, social, and therapeutic relationships to maintain healthy mood and neuron health.
In Conclusion
Dementia is reversible under certain conditions; early identification and diagnosis are key. Like many medical conditions, the earlier the treatment starts, the better the outcome. This post is for your understanding of these conditions, but only your doctor can help you identify and diagnose these conditions.
Important Note:
Remember that everyone is different, it is ultimately YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to find what your body responds to. So please do your due diligence before trying anything new, including getting Medical Advice to ensure your safety and peace of mind.
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The Ward 2 Town Hall. Mar. 20th was a volatile and vociferous meeting managed superbly by the ward’s two rookie councilors, Linda Cook and Mara Nagy. They recognized soon after the meeting started that they were holding a tiger by the tail but they must be commended for keeping the discussion open and ongoing, giving the approximately three dozen attendees full opportunity for expressing their grievances and complaints.
The primary speaker for the meeting was Kyle Bentley, Director of the City of Pickering Planning Dept. Bentley barely got through his opening remarks when the room’s fans got splattered. A particularly assertive attendee expressed strong complaints about the planning department service at the city hall front desk. The complaint expanded into the lack of enough human help at city hall.
The door flew open to other complaints and grievances each handled with aplomb and respect by the two councilors.
The complaints covered many areas: parking availability and payment procedures in the Nautical Village at the waterfront, and the limited number of dog refuse containers along Liverpool Rd.
More grievances : the Bell Service boxes being located at the end of driveways in such ways that driveway egress becomes a serious challenge for the household; irregular enforcement of city bylaws, most notable in regard to new home construction that is outlandish in style compared to the other neighbourhood homes; homes that were very high, or extremely large. Bentley’s response was that the city bylaws were regularly and equitably enforced but that wrinkles occur in them. This just opened a new area of protests, the need for affordable homes smaller in size, thus more likely affordably priced.
The affordable housing opened more areas of grievance besides oversized homes and mismatched styles: ADUs. Additional Dwelling Units is recurring topic at every town hall. Homeowners have no problem with ‘granny flats” as these are family related tenants. However when rentals become open to more tenants, the impact becomes a much greater concern. The impact broadens to parking issues, traffic congestion, and greater use of city services by non-taxpayers.
Another area of concern was the underuse of the Nautical Village as a festivities, events and cultural centre. The attending residents lamented that the waterfront had far greater potential as a city festivities and events center than is being currently done. References to Ajax’s waterfront were repeatedly mentioned. Toronto’s Distillery District comes to mind, an area that not too many years ago was little more than abandoned warehouses of the Gooderham Distillery but which has become a shining jewel as an events center for the city. Attendees lamented that the Nautical Village is missing the boat here.
Cook and Nagy did a very commendable job managing the many complaints, always with positive, meaningful, and constructive responses. If it wasn’t the “city is doing this or that about the issue” then it was a “we’ll look into it and get back to you” reply. These new councilors deserve appreciation for their work and diligence in staying up to date on the issues of their ward.
This town hall was one which could have been extremely disconcerting due to the passion and level of intensity of some of the attendees. However, the councilors were excellent in keeping the discussion ongoing and open. They conducted the meeting with praiseworthy respect and liberalism, giving every questioner full opportunity of expressing concerns.
Town halls can become heated and very volatile but they are important opportunities for hearing the city residents’ anxieties and worries about the city they live in. Cook and Nagy gave the attendees the opportunity to vent their concerns openly, publicly and without criticism or restriction.
The town hall, Ward 2, a resounding success!
The next town hall:
St. Martin’s Anglican Church
1203 St. Martin’s Dr.
Apr. 25, 7 pm
Sep 19, 2016 – McMaster University –
The Bottom Line
We’ve all seen ads for “miracle” diets, pills, or other weight loss plans. We may even have tried one or two only to discover they’re fads that don’t live up to their claims. As many studies have shown – and you may have heard before – the basis of most successful weight loss is eating less and exercising more.
But just out of curiosity, which is more important? We often joke about needing to take an extra walk around the block to validate that extra slice of cake or serving of Thanksgiving turkey. Does exercise really help counter those extra calories, or do diet changes make a bigger difference?
That’s what a recent systematic review hoped to discover. It included 21 randomized controlled trials involving more than 3,500 overweight adults aged 35 to 70 who took part in diet and/or exercise programs lasting between 1-6 years. The diets emphasized low-fat, high-fibre foods including fruits and vegetables, while the exercise programs included both aerobic activity (e.g. walking) and resistance training done on a regular basis.
“Before and after” body measurements (weight, body fat, and waist circumference) and cardiovascular health readings (fitness level, blood pressure, and cholesterol) of all the participants were taken to help determine the most effective way to drop weight, reduce body fat and improve heart health.
What the research tells us
The verdict? Sorry, those extra steps are likely not enough to burn off extra calories. Like previous studies, the review confirms that changes in diet contribute more to weight loss than exercise.
However, the review emphasizes that the best results come from a combination of both. As McMaster University’s Dr. Russell de Souza says, that’s the important message people should take to heart – literally!
The overwhelming prevalence of obesity means that more and more people are at high risk for cardiovascular problems. Dr. de Souza, registered dietitian, and nutrition epidemiologist with McMaster University’s Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, explains that diet and exercise actually work hand in hand to reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering body weight and fat as well as blood pressure – which is known as the “silent killer” because it is a significant factor in heart attacks and kidney disease.
When it comes to weight loss, Dr. de Souza says the challenge is to go about it in a sensible, healthy way so that it’s sustainable.
“When people go to extremes with exercise or diet it can result in injuries or rebound food cravings. I recommend people start off slow by going for the ‘low hanging fruit’ such as actually having a piece of fruit or a salad and walking for five minutes every day. Once that becomes a habit it is easier to incorporate other healthy actions.” The good news, he adds, is that once you start, your body responds very quickly to exercise so that before long five minutes becomes 30 minutes – or more – each day.
You can ensure you are on the right track by monitoring your weight or BMI (body mass index) but Dr. de Souza suggests one of the best and simplest measures is waist circumference: men should aim to stay below 102 cm and women no more than 88 cm. Aiming even lower than these conservative estimates may be even better: a recent systematic review found that heart health risks increase for women with waist measurements over 75 cm (8). “The higher the number,” explains Dr. de Souza, “the more visceral fat being stored around your internal organs and in your liver.”
Dr. de Souza believes successful weight loss takes patience and persistence. “It’s a long-term effort. It took some time to put on those pounds and it’s going to take some time to take them off in a way that’s healthy and will keep them off!”
Why can an hour’s time change in spring disrupt our body, sleep, and mental health?
On March 12, most Americans and Canadians will observe the start of daylight saving time (DST) and “spring forward” by setting their clocks one hour ahead. (The exceptions are people living in Arizona and Hawaii.)
DST lasts from mid-March until early November when the clocks turn back an hour and return to standard time. During DST, people can enjoy more time in the sunlight in the evenings. But that convenience comes at a price.
“That one-hour change may not seem like much, but it can wreak havoc on people’s mental and physical well-being in the short term,” says Dr. Charles Czeisler, professor of sleep medicine at Harvard Medical School’s Division of Sleep Medicine.
Circadian rhythms largely depend on light exposure. The hour transition in the spring initially causes darker mornings and lighter evenings. Less morning light can decrease levels of the mood-boosting hormone serotonin. In contrast, exposure to light later in the evening can delay the production of melatonin, the hormone that helps you fall asleep.
Many people also have trouble adjusting their sleep schedule to the new time. For the first few days or even a week, they may go to bed later or wake up earlier than usual, which can cause sleep deprivation. One study found that the average person gets 40 minutes less sleep on the Monday after DST begins compared with other nights of the year.
“Disrupted sleep can cause people to feel fatigued, groggy, and less focused,” says Dr. Czeisler. This may explain, in part, the 6% rise in car accidents following the spring time change, according to a 2020 study in the journal Current Biology. Poor sleep caused by DST also can exacerbate existing problems like depression, anxiety, and seasonal affective disorder.
Is the end of daylight saving near?Present-day daylight saving time (DST) was officially adopted in 1966. Proponents believe the semiannual time change means people can enjoy outdoor activities longer, save energy by using less electricity for lighting, and perhaps have a positive economic impact. But DST has its critics. A 2022 poll found that 61% of Americans favored ending DST. Also, many sleep experts say evidence strongly suggests that staying on standard time all year is healthier. A bill to eliminate the time change has been introduced in the past three Congressional sessions but has not yet made it into law. It remains to be seen whether legislators will reintroduce it. |
People can take steps to make the hour change less daunting to their bodies and mind. Dr. Czeisler offers several different approaches:
Alter your bedtime. About three days before the time change, go to bed and wake up 10 to 15 minutes earlier than usual. The next night, aim for 20 to 30 minutes, and then 30 to 45 minutes on the third night. “By the end of this period, your body would have adjusted to that lost hour, and you won’t have the stress of trying to quickly catch up on sleep,” says Dr. Czeisler.
Take afternoon naps. If you feel tired in the afternoons after DST starts, take scheduled midday naps for 20 to 30 minutes (napping longer than that can make you feel even more groggy).
Get more light. During the first week after the time change, try to get about 15 minutes of exposure to morning light, which can help maintain your circadian rhythms. Another option is to use a light box that produces a bright white light. Choose a light box with 10,000 lux exposure (lux is a measure of light intensity). Sit about 12 inches away for up to 30 minutes. Keep your eyes open, but don’t look directly at the light. Spend the time reading, writing, or just being present.
Delay your day. For several days after the time change, postpone beginning your daily routine for an hour. For example, if you go for your morning walk at 8 a.m., wait until 9 a.m. “Your internal clock is still running an hour behind, so you give it a chance to adjust,” says Dr. Czeisler. Gradually shorten your start time by 10 or 15 minutes; within a week, your body’s clock should be reset to the new time.
Curb the alcohol and caffeine. Cut back on drinking alcohol and caffeinated beverages several days before and after the time change, as they can disrupt your sleep.
Rein in racing thoughts with these calming, expert-backed strategies (no counting sheep required)
Source: Joanne Chen, Consumer Reports Continue reading
How often have you been asked for your medical information, and medical history while visiting a medical practitioner or a clinic? If you use a cell phone or an iPad there’s an easy way to present the information to the health practitioner.
Create or locate an easily found folder, on your device and save your medical information to it. Such information as:
Learn how to put this information into an easy-to-find folder and practice accessing it yourself. Keep it up to date and learn how to modify or update the info.
Then, you visit a health professional, and rather than trying to recall all the medical/health information on the spot, you pull out your iPad or cell phone and display the information.
Practice doing that so you become adept at doing it when you need your medical/health information.
Rather than trying to remember on the spot, you can easily show your medical professional something like this on your ipad (or any information you photographed and stored on your ipad/cell phone:
Editorial
The Ontario Government, the Durham Region and the City of Pickering need to go back to school to learn the fundamentals of information dissemination, especially in regard to the growing demographic of seniors. The publications and information material they provide their residents is unnecessarily complicated, confusing and often chaotic. Comprehension of the material may be a challenge for many older adults.
K.I.S.S. (Keep It Super Simple)
Older adults struggle with information publications, not because their comprehension capabilities have diminished, but because their tolerance of long-windedness and bafflegab has. Older adults prefer that one gets to the point, quickly, efficiently, and directly. Informational documentation from many political entities, the City of Pickering included, is often far off the mark of succinct and concise writing.
The Durham Region provided local residents with The Ontario Government’s Emergency Preparedness Guide (2015), a comprehensive pamphlet informing recipients of how to prepare for a nuclear emergency. The pamphlet is excellent, for those with strong English literacy but even for them, it may be too much information. The surfeit of text may dissuade many readers from reading the entire pamphlet in detail. Many may feel it is information overload.
Furthermore, though lengthy explanations may be of much value, sometimes saying less says more. Refine, reduce, and simplify are key principles that need to be applied to public information material.
A picture is worth more
In line with the K.I.S.S. principle, fewer words and more illustrations may increase the likelihood the pamphlet will be read completely. Readers struggling with English will likely benefit from more graphics.
Website weightiness wasted
Lengthy website scripts may be an overabundance of information. Many readers want to get to the point as quickly as possible. The City of Pickering publishes an excellent website at Pickering. Clearly, the site developers have put themselves in the reader’s seat as evidenced by the design and layout of the site. Maybe more important, the site is dynamic, presneting the reader with useful and practical graphics in many areas. Thus, encouraging site visitors to explore more.
The site uses headings, color, cleanly-presented titles, and dynamic maps to the benefit of its readers. It offers local resident site visitors a pleasurable opportunity for learning a lot about their city.
The Durham Region distribution of the Government of Ontario nuclear emergency brochure is a necessary public service. However, the actual brochure should be more concise, be more succinct and and be up to date. The current brochure was published in 2015 and should be brought up to date for the safety, security and peace of mind of the Pickering population. An up to date plant can significantly reduce the impact of a nuclear incident on public health and safety. The Government of Ontario should get moving on this for the sake of the people of Pickering.
Reasons Why You Should Drink More WaterStaying hydrated is one of the best things you can do for your overall health. Staying hydrated can help support physical performance, prevent headaches and constipation, and more.
The human body comprises around 60% water.
It’s commonly recommended that you drink eight 8-ounce (237-mL) glasses of water per day (the 8×8 rule).
Although there’s little science behind this specific rule, staying hydrated is important.
Here are 7 evidence-based health benefits of drinking plenty of water.
If you don’t stay hydrated, your physical performance can suffer.
This is particularly important during intense exercise or high heat.
Dehydration can have a noticeable effect if you lose as little as 2% of your body’s water content. However, it isn’t uncommon for athletes to lose as much as 6–10% of their water weight via sweat.
This can lead to altered body temperature control, reduced motivation, and increased fatigue. It can also make exercise feel much more difficult, both physically and mentally.
Optimal hydration has been shown to prevent this from happening, and it may even reduce the oxidative stress that occurs during high intensity exercise. This isn’t surprising when you consider that muscle is about 80% water.
If you exercise intensely and tend to sweat, staying hydrated can help you perform at your absolute best.
SUMMARY
Losing as little as 2% of your body’s water content can significantly impair your physical performance.
Your brain is strongly influenced by your hydration status.
Studies show that even mild dehydration, such as the loss of 1–3% of body weight, can impair many aspects of brain function.
In a study of young women, researchers found that fluid loss of 1.4% after exercise impaired both mood and concentration. It also increased the frequency of headaches.
Many members of this same research team conducted a similar study in young men. They found that fluid loss of 1.6% was detrimental to working memory and increased feelings of anxiety and fatigue.
A fluid loss of 1–3% equals about 1.5–4.5 pounds (0.5–2 kg) of body weight loss for a person weighing 150 pounds (68 kg). This can easily occur through normal daily activities, let alone during exercise or high heat.
Many other studies, with subjects ranging from children to older adults, have shown that mild dehydration can impair mood, memory, and brain performance.
SUMMARY
Mild dehydration (fluid loss of 1–3%) can impair energy levels, impair mood, and lead to major reductions in memory and brain performance.
Dehydration can trigger headaches and migraine in some individuals.
Research has shown that a headache is one of the most common symptoms of dehydration.
What’s more, some studies have shown that drinking water can help relieve headaches in those who experience frequent headaches.
A study in 102 men found that drinking an additional 50.7 ounces (1.5 liters) of water per day resulted in significant improvements on the Migraine-Specific Quality of Life scale, a scoring system for migraine symptoms.
Plus, 47% of the men who drank more water reported headache improvement, while only 25% of the men in the control group reported this effect.
However, not all studies agree, and researchers have concluded that because of the lack of high quality studies, more research is needed to confirm how increasing hydration may help improve headache symptoms and decrease headache frequency.
SUMMARY
Drinking water may help reduce headaches and headache symptoms. However, more high quality research is needed to confirm this potential benefit.
Constipation is a common problem that’s characterized by infrequent bowel movements and difficulty passing stool.
Increasing fluid intake is often recommended as a part of the treatment protocol, and there’s some evidence to back this up.
Low water consumption appears to be a risk factor for constipation in both younger and older individuals.
Increasing hydration may help decrease constipation.
Mineral water may be a particularly beneficial beverage for those with constipation.
Studies have shown that mineral water that’s rich in magnesium and sodium improves bowel movement frequency and consistency in people with constipation.
SUMMARY
Drinking plenty of water may help prevent and relieve constipation, especially in people who generally don’t drink enough water.
Urinary stones are painful clumps of mineral crystal that form in the urinary system.
The most common form is kidney stones, which form in the kidneys.
There’s limited evidence that water intake can help prevent recurrence in people who have previously gotten kidney stones.
Higher fluid intake increases the volume of urine passing through the kidneys. This dilutes the concentration of minerals, so they’re less likely to crystallize and form clumps.
Water may also help prevent the initial formation of stones, but studies are required to confirm this.
SUMMARY
Increased water intake appears to decrease the risk of kidney stone formation.
A hangover refers to the unpleasant symptoms experienced after drinking alcohol.
Alcohol is a diuretic, so it makes you lose more water than you take in. This can lead to dehydration .
Although dehydration isn’t the main cause of hangovers, it can cause symptoms like thirst, fatigue, headache, and dry mouth.
Good ways to reduce hangovers are to drink a glass of water between drinks and have at least one big glass of water before going to bed.
SUMMARY
Hangovers are partly caused by dehydration, and drinking water can help reduce some of the main symptoms of hangovers.
Drinking plenty of water can help you lose weight.
This is because water can increase satiety and boost your metabolic rate.
Some evidence suggests that increasing water intake can promote weight loss by slightly increasing your metabolism, which can increase the number of calories you burn on a daily basis.
A 2013 study in 50 young women with overweight demonstrated that drinking an additional 16.9 ounces (500 mL) of water 3 times per day before meals for 8 weeks led to significant reductions in body weight and body fat compared with their pre-study measurement.
The timing is important too. Drinking water half an hour before meals is the most effective. It can make you feel more full so that you eat fewer calories.
In one study, dieters who drank 16.9 ounces (0.5 liters) of water before meals lost 44% more weight over a period of 12 weeks than dieters who didn’t drink water before meals.
Even mild dehydration can affect you mentally and physically.
Make sure that you get enough water each day, whether your personal goal is 64 ounces (1.9 liters) or a different amount. It’s one of the best things you can do for your overall health.
Ward 2 Town Hall
Mar. 20, 7 pm, East Shore Community Centre
Guest speaker:
Kyle Bentley
Chief Building Inspector
City of Pickering
Main discussion: the Nautical Village.
Ward 1 councilors Maurice Brenner and Lisa Robinson hosted their third town hall March 16 and it may have been the best one yet.
Kudos to the councilors for holding their town halls in changing locations to give more citizens opportunity of attending. Alas, the spirit of the citizenry is problematical as the turnout was low, about 50 attendees.
Friendly but business like
The Abbey Lawn Retirement home lounge was conducive to being a friendly and relaxed environment. From the outset, Brenner and Robinson maintained that atmosphere to the appreciative comfort of all the participants.
Gnome of Information
Councillor Brenner, a “gnome of information,” fielded the majority of questions with a deft political hand. He had boundless information and amazing recall of it.
The might consider parking him on a digital town hall for citizens to phone in questions. Councillor Brenner would be up to the task.
His responses were always loaded with details and recalled facts making them constructive and informative.
Questioning Councillor
Councillor Robinson is the councilor that poses limitless questions to the other councilors and to any sources from which she can learn. She is sincere in her quest for information and as she states, “I make my decisions on an informed basis.”
She may be the councilor of questions but she is also the councilor with informed comments and responses. She does her homework before she makes a statement.
Very successful Town Hall
Many of the town halls have been informative and valuable for the attendees, but this one seemed to cover all the basis. Relaxed atmosphere, an open floor to all participants, comfortable and casual but still very constructive and very informative.
Topics of concern were wide ranging:
The councilors acknowledge that the city needs to continue its improvement and effectiveness of information dissemination to the city residents. The council presents video summaries of its meetings on YouTube. The problem remains that the number of residents accessing the information is small, much like voter turnout in elections. Brenner commented on the City efforts to refine its publications to make them more effective. His conclusion seemed to waft away in the air of political vagary.
This town hall was excellent in every way.
Tentatively, the next town hall is scheduled for Apr. 20 at the George Ashe Community Centre. Stay tuned here for confirmation.
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Congratulations! Bravo! Kudos!
Congratulations Councillor Maurice Brenner for being recognized and awarded by the Ontario Govt (MPP Peter Bethlenfalvy) for his more than 25 years of service as municipal councillor in Pickering from 1985 – 2023 (except 2006-2016).
Brenner has been an oustanding councillor, involved, active and incredibly energetic in serving Pickering for throughout his whole time in office.
Congratulations Councillor Brenner!
Ford govt’s continues the onslaught of provincial Greenbelt regardless of studies showing no need for this in some regions of the province begs many questions.
Who is behind this push for Greenbelt destruction? Is developer money for Ford’s party behind this push? What are the benefits to the PC party with the carveout? Why are studies opposing this destruction ignored?
Mayor Ashe and Councillor Pickles should explain why they favour this Ford govt policy.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are two separate fictional characters in the book authored by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886. They have differences in their mental, physical, and moral characteristics, and are often portrayed as being fundamentally incompatible with each other.
Dr. Jekyll is generally described as a normal person with good morals and values and is well-respected in his community. He is often depicted as tall and middle-aged and is regarded as a man of great status. He is also said to possess a sense of humour and to be somewhat antisocial.
In contrast, Mr. Hyde is often portrayed as being small, young, and physically deformed. He is frequently depicted as being sociopathic and violent and is generally considered to be a morally corrupt character. Unlike Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde is said to enjoy talking with others and does not possess a sense of humour.
Stevenson was writing that good and evil both exist in the world, in each of us. Mr. Hyde is likely a play on words to indicate that we try to ‘hide’ the reprehensible side of ourselves for social reasons. However, the evil that lurks within each of us gets exposed, more or less, to various degrees depending on the person’s motives and objectives. Racism, sexism, ageism, misogyny are all examples of our Mr. Hydes coming to the fore. The isolated examples of police brutality, another example.
The Mr. Hyde character appears more readily with increased anonymity as seen in social media. People are more ready to make biased or offensive comments when they are anonymous. Evil appeals to more people than one might hope. Consider the multitude cheering for the criminal Barabbas rather than the preacher, Christ.
How does this relate to AI?
AI or chatbots work with the accumulation of material that is input to them, anonymously. Hence, it is inevitable that some users will write offensive material. Chatbots mine and record everything developing their database including the evil side material. This becomes a vicious circle of endless growth.
The current AIs have accumulated trillions of bits of data input from the technology users of the world and this accumulation continues to grow unimaginably and incredibly.
The ignorant, illiterate, uneducated
Most certainly, there is no debate about the benefits of AI as an assistant tool for writing, planning and inspiration. However, AI can become a cudgel rather than a pen if used by the Mr. Hydes. Educated users, users who evaluate and examine the information they read may not fall into the chasm of abuse and evil because they weigh and consider the information they read online. The ignorant, uneducated and non-analytical thinking users may succumb to their evil side believing that everything they read is truthful, valid and right.
We are on the technological cusp of an unimagined world of technological power and potential. We need to tread warily.
Regional Councillor, Ward 3, Dave Pickles has launched his first enewsletter and it is excellent.
Daylight Saving Time explained
Source: New York Times, Alan Yuhas
What is daylight saving time and why do we have it.
When is it?
Unlike other, Daylight Saving time is tied to a roving calendar day. Since 2007, the second Sunday of March is time to change the clocks springing forward an hour. The first Sunday of November, those clocks go back.
In Britain, France and Germany, the clocks change on the last Sunday in March, and the last Sunday in October.
American lawmakers in 1966, decided that the right time of day for this shift was 2 a.m.
What is it?
To farmers, daylight saving time is a disruptive schedule foisted on them by the federal government; a popular myth even blamed them for its existence. To some parents, it’s a nuisance that can throw bedtime into chaos. To the people who run golf courses, gas stations and many retail businesses, it’s great.
“When it’s dark or there are limited hours after work, people tend to go straight home and stay there,” said Jeff Lenard, a spokesman for the National Association of Convenience Stores, an industry group. “When it’s lighter, they are more likely to go out and do something, whether it’s in the neighborhood, a local park or some other experience. And that behavior shift also drives sales, whether at a favorite restaurant or the local convenience store.”
OK, if it wasn’t farmers, whose idea was this?
The idea is to move an hour of sunlight from the early morning to the evening, so that people can make more use of daylight.
Benjamin Franklin is often credited as the first to suggest it in the 18th century, after he realized he was wasting his Parisian mornings by staying in bed. He proposed that the French fire cannons at sunrise to wake people up and reduce candle consumption at night.
Over the next 100 years, the Industrial Revolution laid the groundwork for his idea to enter government policy. For much of the 1800s, time was set according to the sun and the people running the clocks in every town and city, creating scores of conflicting, locally established “sun times.” It could be noon in New York, 12:05 in Philadelphia and 12:15 in Boston.
But why?
One of the oldest arguments for daylight saving time is that it can save energy costs. There have been many conflicting studies about whether actually it does.
A Department of Energy report from 2008 found that the extended daylight saving time signed by George W. Bush in 2005 saved about 0.5 percent in total electricity use per day. Also that year, a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that the shift in daylight saving time, “contrary to the policy’s intent,” increased residential electricity demand by about 1 percent, raising electricity bills in Indiana by $9 million per year and increasing pollution emissions.
Energy savings was precisely the argument President Richard M. Nixon used in 1974 when he signed into law the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act amid a fuel crisis. But what started as a two-year experiment didn’t even make it the year. On Sept. 30, 1974, eight months after the experiment began, the Senate put the country back on standard time after widespread discontent.
Daylight saving time still has fervent supporters, especially among business advocates who argue it helps drive the economy.
Who wants to end it?
The European Union and several U.S. states, including California, Florida and Ohio, are either considering dropping Daylight Saving Time altogether.
In March 2022, the Senate suddenly and unanimously passed legislation to do away with the twice-yearly time changes, making daylight saving time permanent. But the bill failed to make it out of the House. Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, reintroduced the bill in March 2023.
If Congress passes the bill and if President Biden signs it, the new law would take about a year to implement.
In October 2022, Mexico’s Senate sent its president a bill to end daylight saving time for most of the country, but carved out an exception for the area along the United States border.
China, India and Russia do not use daylight saving time. Nor does Hawaii or most of Arizona. (The Navajo Nation, in northeastern Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, does observe.) Several U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands also do not apply daylight saving time.
In 2020, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine called for the abolition of daylight saving time. In a statement, the academy said the shift, by disrupting the body’s natural clock, could cause an increased risk of stroke and cardiovascular events and could lead to more traffic accidents.
“Not only are we sleep deprived but we’re trying to force our brain into a little bit more of an unnatural sleep schedule,” said Dr. Rachel Ziegler, a physician in the sleep medicine department at Mayo Clinic Health System. “If you ask any sleep specialist, I think most of us would be in favor of a permanent schedule.”
“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.”
― Plato, Philosopher
Music is a safe, inexpensive strategy to support health and well-being. Given the deep connection that most of us have with music, it should be no surprise that researchers worldwide continue to investigate music’s therapeutic benefits. Whether for yourself or a loved one, consider incorporating more music into your everyday life and enjoy its benefits.
Music can help ease your hospital stay
If you’re undergoing surgery or other hospital treatments, you’re probably not thinking of boogying to the beat. But research shows that music therapy can reduce anxiety and pain and help ease depression and fatigue.
Music can improve walking speed
Walking speed and “gait” (the pattern and manner of walking) are important indicators to gauge your overall health. Whether you realize it or not, you may be training yourself for a longer, healthier, and more active lifestyle by listening to music while you walk.
Music may improve cognitive functioning
Research has shown that active music-making therapy may improve cognitive functioning by a small but important amount in older adults with cognitive impairment or mild to moderate dementia. Seek out music-based programming delivered by a professional, emphasizing activities that actively engage participants in music-making.
Music can improve overall behavioural issues in people with dementia
Studies have shown that listening to music allows older adults with dementia to be calmer, which indirectly helps reduce caregivers’ stress levels. Also, group music therapy sessions led by a trained music therapist helped reduce caregivers’ anxiety by allowing them to express and share their feelings.
Whether for yourself or a loved one, consider incorporating more music into your everyday life and enjoy
Joanna Johnson hoped her TikTok post would heat up Ajax Mayor Shaun Collier enough to just melt the snow out of her driveway. It never melted, but her driveway got cleaned.
You will have to click various places of the Metroland news piece to access the TikTok video
Joanna Johnson posted.
And she is dead on right about her snow removal complaint.
AJAX resident
is dead on right.
Undeniably, snow removal is a problem, particularly for older people who more than likely have health issues already. Snow shovelling can really exacerbate an already serious residential problem. However, what is not debatable is that man vs machine is not a fair match. The machine wins in the snow shovelling department every time. But there is a loss here too. The machine’s victory over the snow removal battle has been known to also defeat the homeowner. It is emotionally destructive to have cleaned the driveway right down to the city property edge, the curb, only to have the plow come around again and dump gigantic snow berms at the end of the driveway. “Heart attack city!!!!”
So Ajax resident Joanna Johnson has a legitimate gripe when she complains and criticizes the City of Ajax for its snow removal service. City bylaws legislate that a person must shovel the walkways in front of their house within 24 hours after the snowfall. A couple of hours work and then, the snowplow comes by again and in a minute, the end of the driveway is filled again, an impassable mountain of snow, a giant berm.
This snow removal process is no trivial matter. Councillor Robinson addressed this problem very soon after taking office promising that Pickering residents would get more help with snow removal than the current snow removal assistance policy at Pickering City Hall.
Councillor Robinson must have been outvoted as nothing has come of her promise. It would be interesting to hear that discussion: It’ll cost too much money in employee overtime; the overtime expense being passed along to the taxpayer expenditures will never be accepted; it cannot be done, there is no practical, feasible way to shovel driveways twice or easily avoid the problem; ahhh, let Saul Alinsky’s 9 day theory take its course, the public will forget about it in no time.
This is not an incomprehensible problem. Person to clear the snow, hours; plow to refill the driveway as it was before, seconds. That is not right. Johnson is among many people who are right in complaining about how municipalities clear the snow. She is dead on right in her criticism of a problem which is becoming more significantly serious as Mother Nature disrupts normal weather patterns because of climate change. Next, wait for it, when the torrential rains hit us, the city’s possibly outdated spillways and sewer infrastructure may be putting in a call to Noah, rather than Kevin or Maurice or Lisa, et al.
The snowplow is a machine and can do its job in minutes. If the driver slows down, adjusts how he plows the snow, it may add minutes to his run but there is no danger to the health of any resident. However, the dumping of a second load of snow in a resident’s driveway is another matter. Some residents are seniors. Some may have health issues. All residents are challenged physically by horrendous snowfalls but for those with health issues, there is more to worry about. Clearing mountains of snow can mean a serious impact on individuals with health issues. Residents do not have options for snow removal as the city bylaws dictate snow removal and these bylaws even dictate the time frame for this work.
City councillors should be aware: your snowplow operators are putting residents at serious health risk. There is no way to record or confirm that heart attack victims increased after a snow storm but common sense suggests it is likely so. Councillors, spend some more of our tax dollars to have snowplow operators clear snow or clear it again so residents’ lives are not put at risk. Otherwise the public purse at the provincial will be impacted severely with the increase of cardiac patients. This is not an exaggeration nor an overstatement. There are many residents who are at risk of heart attacks in clearing snow from their residences as dictated by the municipal autocrats.
Councillors, it’s time for you to do the right thing for the people who elected you. We doubt any of you will volunteer to shovel any else’s driveway for them and we wish you good health while you shovel your own.
The 50 Best Foods for Your Heart
Source: Reader’s Digest.ca
This list of foods that will benefit your heart is listed in alpha order. However, there are some crucial notes to consider as underlined below:
The full article is very comprehensive and worth reading if you have the time.
2. Shop for these foods where suitable for you, your grocery store or Bulk Barn. Read our food shopping guru for advice about shopping at Savvy Shopper.
Almonds
Apples
Asparagus
Avocados
Bananas
Barley
Beans
Beets
Blueberries
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cherries (tart)
Chickpeas
Chocolate
Coffee
Cottage cheese
Flaxseed
Kamut
Kiwi
Leafy greens
Lean beef
Lentils
Milk
Mushrooms
Oats
Olive oil
Onions and garlic
Oranges
Papaya
Peanuts
Pumpkin seeds
Quinoa
Raisins
Red bell peppers
Salmon
Sardines
Soy milk
Strawberries
Sweet potatoes
Tea
Tofu
Tomatoes
Turmeric
Vegetable oil
Walnuts
Watermelon
Whole grains
Yogurts and spreads
Can You Hear Me Now?: How I Found My Voice and Learned to Live with Passion and Purpose, Celina Caesar-Chavannes
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2021 SHAUGHNESSY COHEN PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING
Synopsis
In ‘Can You Hear Me Now?,’ Celina Caesar-Chavannes digs deep into her life as a young Black woman, an entrepreneur and a politician. Her message may be that effective and humane leaders can grow from their mistakes and vulnerabilities if they are open-minded and willing.
Celina Caesar-Chavannes, already a breaker of boundaries as a Black woman in business, got into politics because she wanted to make a bigger difference in the world. But when she became the first Black person elected to represent the federal riding of Whitby, Ontario, she hadn’t really thought about the fact that Ottawa wasn’t designed for someone like her. Celina soon found herself both making waves and breaking down, confronting at night, alone in her Ottawa apartment, all the painful beauty of her childhood and her troubled early adult life. She paid the price for speaking out about micro-aggressions and speaking up for her community and her riding, but she also felt exhilaration and empowerment. As she writes, This is not your typical leadership book where the person is placed in a situation and miraculously comes up with the right response for the wicked problem. This is the story of me falling in love, at last, with who I am, and finding my voice in the unlikeliest of places.
Both memoir and leadership book, Can You Hear Me Now? is a funny, self-aware, poignant, confessional and fierce look at how failing badly and screwing things up completely are truly more powerful lessons in how to conduct a life than extraordinary success. They build an utter honesty with yourself and others that allows you to say things nobody else dares to say–the necessary things about navigating the places that weren’t built for you and holding firm to your principles. And, if you do that, you will help build a world where inclusion is real. Just as Celina is now trying to do, in all her brilliance and boldness.
Richard says
Raw, unadulterated, frank and in your face, Celina Caesar-Chavannes’ Can You Hear Me Now is a political junky’s absolute must-read.
Caesar-Chavannes memoirs her life from immigration to Canada from Granada to her term as a federal Member of Parliament, a life fully detailed, warts and all. Most often, what she doesn’t say speaks more loudly than what she does.
Her life as an abused child is torturous reading. Maybe a common occurrence in Granada, this kind of abuse would lead to criminal charges here these days. She survived because of her innate drive, her incredible determination and her deep devotion to living life authentically, one she believed she deserved.
Chavannes also survived a life of bullying, racism and microaggressions from school to society in general. Being Black in an era where there was much more open aggression and harassment of Blacks than today was obviously very excruciating. Compounding the problem, Celina was a student who excelled in her academics anywhere she put her mind to it, from secondary school to university. This led to envy and provocation by fellow students and even teachers as well.
Her post-graduation career led to statistical and medical research work, culminating with the creation of her very successful research consulting company, ReSolve (Resolve Research Solutions Inc.). Not good enough in her eyes, some kind of itch ragged at her constantly. Perhaps it was the earliest stages of the health challenges she would face later in life, perhaps it was her anger/revenge emotions roiling to a head in her psyche, but this mental chaos pushed her into considering politics as a new career opportunity and a final outlet to help resolve her inner turmoils.
A life of ups and downs
Celina’s life of ups and downs were extremes beyond the average, unwanted pregnancy, polarization and isolation in university. However, dealing with being Black was her greatest challenge. Self-taught coping mechanisms led to unrealized and surprising negative impact on her mental wellbeing.
Dealing with depression
Celina found professional assistance that brought the psychological disorders under control permitting her a more acceptable life. The same could not be said about her new career.
Politics, a new arena of issues
Celina never foresaw that the success of her second election campaign as the MP for the Whitby/Oshawa constituency would lead to unexpected turbulence and emotional disruption.
The sweet side of the bitter-sweet Ottawa experience: meeting important world-renown political figures, checking off of her bucket list item of meeting Barack O’Bama, travelling to foreign lands with her children. The bitter side, always related to her being Black, led to unexpected pain and disorder. The first Black woman elected to the House of Commons faced new interactions daily with politicians who had no knowledge or experience in dealing with a Black person in their political world, never mind a Black woman.
The problem was exacerbated by her own introspective analysis of this new world. The room temperature cooled noticeably whenever she entered. She was seated as an outlier in many meetings. She was met with indifference at conferences. The worst came from with her appointment as secretary to the Prime Minister. She was completely ignored when she needed help the most.
“Can You Hear Me Now?” speaks loudest at this point. Celina complains, criticizes and gripes, justifiably maybe, at being disregarded or being put on the back burner in the PMO’s office. Reverting to her intellectual energies, she self-learn the dynamics of her new role. There was no manual for it, no mentor and the PM himself was of no assistance.
One must read between the lines extensively here. Her claim is that Trudeau ignored her numerous pleas for help with the new role. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. The PMO’s office was fire station call #1 and had been for a while. Smokey wafts drifted in from various parliamentary offices, particularly of female parliamentarians. Add Celina Caesar-Chavannes to the smokey drifts coming from the offices of Jody Raybold Wilson and Dr. Jane Philpott.
Though she never openly describes Trudeau as being misogynistic or racist, from what the media has reported, Trudeau has issues in these areas. There is a legacy of racial ignorance from the days of his youth. Legacies of the Raybold-Wilson SNC Lavalin case linger even to today. But the inactivity in dealing with a novice parliamentarian thrown into the deep end as an executive of the PMO is excruciating reading.
Many readers may not identify easily with Chavannes in regard to her relationship and dynamics with the PMO, but they can recognize the incapability the general public has in regard to underperforming politicians. Accountability in the political world is the next election, by which time the electorate has often forgotten the political failures of poorly performing politicians.
Celina read the writing on the wall. In her eyes, her only recourse was withdrawal, resigning from the Liberal Party and committing to never campaigning again.
The sunset still glows brightly
As the sun set on her political career, it has not, in her life. Her family issues are under control, her children are doing well in the post-academic world, her business thrives, she continues developing her corporate networks. As importantly, if not most importantly, she manages and controls her mental health issues with professional help.
Perhaps the response to the final words of her book, “Can you hear me now?” should be….
We hear ya, Celina….loud and clear!
Michael Connelly writes crisp, sharp thrillers which keep you on the edge of you seat page after page.
Chasing The Dime is a typical Connelly oeuvre, well written, good plot, plenty of excitement and lots of twists and turns which keep you wondering ‘how our protagonist, Henry Pierce, will ever pull himself out of this mess.
Pierce’s company is on the leading edge of a technological discovery which will help pharmaceutical companies in the delivery and administration of their drugs. He will make millions if he can only extricate himself from being framed for murder, murder of a prostitute whose telephone number is mistakenly assigned to his new apartment. Pierce decides he wants to help this woman possibly because of his guilt feelings for his own sister’s murder when she worked the L.A. sex trade in LA a few years earlier.
The plot thickens as Pierce comes closer to discovering who is framing him. He gets violently assaulted in his quest but the police detective examining the case, Renner, believes ihe has an open and shut case to lock Pierce up for murder.
Pierce cannot abandon his quest to find the real murderer as first he fights to save the life of a prostitute he has never met and then when she is murdered, he fights to save himself as he is accused of the murder.
Recommendation of the book ?
If you like mysteries, murder and mayhem, written in a tight, breathless, fast paced style, go for it. It’s a book that can be read quickly and finished within a couple of days. It will be as satisfying a a crispy, salty potato chip. Enjoyable, crunchy and not very filling !
Are you aware of it yet? Do you feel it affecting you? Are you able to recognize it when it is happening to you?
This SCAM is easy to spot.
Instead of using GOOGLE Search, write a question in ChatGPT or You.com. These AI services will give you better search results because the responses will be descriptive paragraphs rather than a number of links which will force you to click more and synthesize everything you read.
Examine the responses to “Best way to deal with an arthritic hip?”
GOOGLE
You.com
This is not meant to suggest one is necessarily better than the other. However, depending on your need, what you like, the topic, your aim or goal, the two systems deliver significantly different responses. One displays old-fashioned conversational explanations; the other, multiple links related to your question.
The Durham Police publish a valuable and interesting map showing various criminal incidents which have occurred in the Durham region. The interactive map displays various crimes and a time-occurrences graph. This publication is a commendable public service on the part of the Durham Police Service.
To explore this very interesting map, CLICK –> CRIME
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CYBER-SENIORS recently presented a workshop explaining and discussing Artificial Intelligence.
Their PowerPoint presentation can be viewed here: AI explained
They also produced a YouTube video: AI explained – VIDEO
“AI,” artificial intelligence services use computer technology to provide solutions for computer users. The most commonly used service is generating text, and writing something thought there are other AI processes that identify people, generate unique images and create business projects and plans.
Popularity at record speed
The field is relatively new, launched about 5 years ago, but it is very much in the news now because of ChatGPT which is a writing tool that created much excitement when it was published in the media. ChatGPT was inundated with over a million users in less than three months forcing the developers to restrict access to the service.
Profit and expensive
Others quickly got on the AI bandwagon to exploit the possibility of making money from the early excitement, exposure and attention AI was getting. Be wary if you want to experiment with AI as today, almost every AI service works on a FREE TRIAL/monthly subscription basis. And the subscriptions are usually in foreign currency making them very expensive when converted to Canadian.
Really ‘fee free’
The only free services for text creation readily available on the Internet are:
The big corporations charge big bucks for the AI services, so unless you have deep pockets or like learning complex configurations, avoid them completely:
Experiment with caution
Artificial intelligence, sometimes called chatbots, can be very practical tools. They can write replies to requests very quickly and comprehensively. They can be used to inspire ideas and writing works that are surprisingly comprehensive and very engaging. They can be very useful tools acting as writing assistants and usually do an very good job of what they may be asked. They are constantly learning from the millions of world-wide entries that are being requested which improves the writing that they create. At this time, they are limited to material that is available prior to 2021 as well as having some limitations as to the kinds of work they will produce.
As detailed over the weekend in the Canada Gazette, Canada’s Department of Citizenship and Immigration is proposing to allow new citizens to fast-track their applications by giving them the option of affirming their citizenship oath via a secure internet webpage rather than raising their hands and doing so at a citizenship ceremony.
Becoming a citizen at a swearing-in ceremony was a historical and honourable institution in Canada many of us immigrants have never forgotten and of which each of us is very proud. The federal government is considering doing away with the ceremony, doing away with the pomp and ceremony that such an important event deserves to retain.
From 2016-2022, the number of citizenship grant applications doubled from 113,000 to 243,000. The Federal government’s immigration objective is 500,000 permanent residents by 2025.
The federal government defends the proposed change to the citizenship granting ceremony as a time saver. At this time, the wait time for the ceremony has taken over two years.
There has been vociferous criticism of the government’s proposal.
Institute for Canadian Citizenship CEO Daniel Bernhard told the National Post that losing the ceremony is tantamount to losing an important chapter in Canadian history.
He said, “The day you become a citizen is a once-in-a-lifetime occasion that has implications for every generation afterwards. People recognize that, and these are very special, meaningful and very emotional days, not just for the new citizens but also for their family and friends.”
For new Canadian Vivian Chan, the act of raising her hand and affirming an oath to her new home meant far more than just fulfilling a legal obligation.
“For me, it was very important to raise my hand during my citizenship oath-taking ceremony,” she told the National Post.
“It definitely wouldn’t have the same meaning if I were just offered to click ‘yes’ on a computer.”
If approved, the changes would come into force this June.
However, it should be noted that fewer Canadian permanent residents are going through the process of obtaining citizenship.
At the beginning of the year, Statistics Canada reported that less than 50 percent of permanent residents who immigrated to Canada between 2011 and 2021 obtained Canadian citizenship.
That’s compared to just over 75 percent in 2001.
Immigrants are concluding that life in Canada isn’t as rosy as they believed it would be: current political leaders are not as appealing as expected, high cost of living, and racism are the top three reasons why they wouldn’t recommend others immigrate to Canada.
Twenty-two percent of new immigrants say they may be leaving Canada over the next two years.
Under the proposed regulations, citizenship applicants would have the option to take their oath online, through a secure online solution, and doing so would not require a witness.
Citizenship applicants would still have the option to swear or affirm the Oath of Citizenship before a citizenship judge at a ceremony.
The changes would reduce processing times while allowing prospective citizens to meet the legal requirements of being granted citizenship.
Some understand the need for the government to streamline the process, particularly at this time when unreasonably long processing delays have become the default for the federal public service.
The feeling is that the government is facing a lot of pressure from people who, very reasonably, want their applications to be processed more quickly, but one hopes that efficiencies and expeditious changes can be found to improve the process.
As Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokesperson, Nancy Caron told the National Post, “These celebrations are really special, and if we do away with them, that’s a disservice to all of Canada.”
[Sourced from The National Post, Feb. 2023.]
Eggs Nature’s Superfood
Source: Ian McClymont, Pensioner Fitness
Why Eggs Are Good For Seniors
Eggs Nature’s Superfood. Nutrition plays a significant role in maintaining the health of older adults. Ensuring adequate dietary intake can help enhance the quality of life, reduce chronic disease risk and increase longevity. In surveys, older adults generally rated themselves as having poorer health than younger people. And with only 37% of persons aged 75 years and over rating their health as being excellent or very good. In addition, the leading causes of death in older adults aged 65 years and over are due to cardiovascular disease, cancer or dementia, all linked to diet and lifestyle. So then nutrition should be something you pay attention to.
Whole Eggs Are Nature’s Superfood
One Whole Egg
Eggs are a natural superfood and hold a special place in my heart because of their taste and versatility. However, they have had a lot of myths spread about their nutritional value. To clarify, the truth is that whole eggs are a truly nutritious food that is good for you. Most importantly, they come in their own individual mother, nature’s pre-packed shell. Besides, inside that small shell are all the ingredients required to create a life. So, there is no way that could be bad for you if cooked properly.
High in Protein
Eggs Nature’s Superfood. Most importantly, whole eggs are one of the best high-quality protein sources. Also, they are cheap and plentiful. Subsequently, they provide your body with the whole package of amino acids required for building muscle mass and repairing tissues. Many nutrition experts recommend eating three whole eggs daily as part of a well-balanced diet. Eggs will complete your healthy diet with a variety of precious vitamins and minerals. Just look at what is in an egg:
One whole egg is packed with:
Eggs have significant amounts of: Vitamin B6, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Calcium and Zinc
Eggs are good for eyes
The egg yolks contain lutein, a type of carotenoid that helps prevent macular degeneration, which is a major cause of blindness. Subsequently, lutein can also be found in green leafy vegetables. However, research has shown that the body can absorb it much better from eggs. Also, yolks contain the antioxidant zeaxanthin, which protects your eyes from harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Eggs can aid Bone Health
From around the 40s, we start Somatopause. Which gradually reduces human growth hormone(HGH), which affects bone density. So, Vitamin D is crucial for calcium absorption and maintaining bone health. Therefore, you might increase your risk of bone disease if you do not get enough of it. Vitamin D is present in very few foods. Researchers have proved many people are not getting enough of it regularly. So, perhaps you have difficulty getting out, or you cannot go out to soak up some sun. However, egg yolks can help deliver a decent amount of vitamin D.
Eggs help reduce Iron Deficiency.
Many people with mild iron deficiency experience vague symptoms of tiredness, headaches and irritability. Because iron is a carrier of oxygen in the blood and plays an important role in immunity, energy metabolism and many other bodily functions. The iron in egg yolk is in the form of gems iron, the most readily absorbable and usable form of iron in foods and more absorbable than iron in most supplements.
Healthy Brain Function
The yolks are rich in the nutrient choline, which is an important nutrient for the proper functioning of the brain. Furthermore, it’s involved in memory, muscle movement, regulating heartbeat and other basic functions. Choline is also involved in many processes, such as cell structure and messaging. And fat transport and metabolism. DNA synthesis and nervous system maintenance.
Cholesterol is no cause for worry
Firstly, studies on eggs natures superfoods have never found a connection between normal egg consumption and coronary artery disease. Secondly, cholesterol is a structural molecule that is an essential part of the cell membrane. Of every single cell in the human body. Furthermore, it is responsible for the production of testosterone, cortisol, and oestrogen. Besides, these are important for the normal functioning of the body. But, the body produces its own cholesterol in the liver. However, if we eat foods rich in cholesterol, the liver starts producing less of it. So, our levels of cholesterol never vary much.
Preparing and eating eggs safely
It is a well-known fact that eggs can contain salmonella. Suppose they are not cooked properly. Therefore, you should never eat raw eggs or eggs that are runny. On the other hand, always ensure the yolk and the white are firm to ensure safety. There is absolutely no risk if eggs are prepared and cooked in this manner. As a result, eating undercooked eggs can cause food poisoning. To clarify, if an older person contracts food poisoning, then the symptoms of this are likely to be much worse than for a younger person.
Consequently, they will experience a severe form of this illness, leading to dehydration complications. For example, dehydration is serious in any situation but is particularly dangerous for seniors. Dehydration is a common and severe condition in older adults – it can even result in death. Furthermore, dehydration can cause many major health problems, including Kidney stones, Blood clot complications, and Passing out.
In Conclusion
Eggs are a superfood and are particularly beneficial for older people, I eat four each morning. If you are alone, cooking for one is often put off or skipped. But boiled eggs are simple, quick and easy, filling and nutritious, so get the egg habit; you know it makes sense. Furthermore, I eat 4 boiled eggs daily, a great breakfast food, you should try it
Important Note *
Remember that everyone is different, and it is ultimately YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to find what your body responds to… Please do your own due diligence before trying anything new, including getting Medical Advice to ensure your safety and peace of mind.
We’ve known Bob Rotz as Rotzy. He has been our funny bone and our wonderfully humorous political prod for half a dozen years, appreciated by all of our website visitors. He made us laugh and nod our heads in agreement in every Monday morning column, wishing we were as creative as he was with his barbs and slings. He was a passionate court jester and royal critic of the supreme order with every political miscreant vulnerable to his verbal foils.
“From NAKINA,” first appeared on our site, www.szpin.ca, in 2018. Rotzy had already been writing for the Geraldton Times-Star for more than a dozen years. He even published his own paper for a while up in northern Ontario.
Who’ll forget his D.O.T.W. (Dink Of The Week) awards bestowed on numerous politicians, from Doggie Ford to Tuffy Trudeau? The Honourable Bob Rae once called him ‘an amazing journalist,’ but as Rotzy wrote, “now [Rae] doesn’t call me at all”.
His love for his wife Jo Ann was heartwarming. Miz. Jo, as he named her, was in poor health in the last few months and Rotzy’s weekly updates kept us praying and hoping for her recovery. It worked Rotz. Miz. Jo’s still goin’.
Sitting in his man cave, Edna, the truck he parked out back of Harris Place, even in the cold of winter, Rotz would sip his coffee, occasionally with a ‘splash’ of Bailey’s in it, Edna’s driverside window notched open a tad to let the fumes out.
Rotzy had a way with phrases, names and sobriquets for MPs and MPPs from Trudeau to Doggie Ford, Mr. Edsel. His spelling had our heads spinning and once early in his postings, I was about to edit his “mispellings” but realized these were not errors, these were the character of the piece, the personality of the man in ink. You do not touch such things, such sharp and poignant barbs as those that flew from Rotzy’s keys. Every sacred cow was a vulnerable target with this Robin Hood of the text keyboard. His verbal missiles targetted equally, every big whig might be a target, and usually was.
Rotzy was the curmudgeon of the north, the Gordon Sinclair of the Geraldton Times, the Allan Fotheringham of Nakina.
I have perused some of his columns trying to catch the special spirit of the man but it was like trying to catch a pixie in a hurricane. He was unique, one of a kind as a journalist and commentator. But most important of all, he uncapped humour across the laughter spectrum of laughter. Never crude or insulting, always sharp with a deftly delivered jab. Kings were as vulnerable as pawns at his keyboard. To say he’ll be missed is like saying heaven is heavenly.
May he rest in peace up there in his new office writing columns for the angels who’ll be rolling in the heavenly aisles reading Rotzy’s best.
We’re gonna miss ya Rotzy, real bad!
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Passwords use and management can feel like a nuisance but if your computer work takes you online, it is crucial that you have “GOOD PASSWORD PRACTICES.” Continue reading
Is Sitting Too Much Bad for Your Health?Modern society is designed for sitting.
As a result, people spend more time in a seated position than ever before.
However, you may wonder whether excessive sitting could have negative health effects.
This article tells you whether sitting is bad for your health.
People sit more than ever before
Sitting is a common body posture. When people work, socialize, study, or travel, they often do so in a seated position.
However, that doesn’t mean that sitting and other sedentary behaviors are harmless. Over half of the average person’s day is spent sitting, doing activities such as driving, working at a desk, or watching television.
In fact, the typical office worker may spend up to a whopping 15 hours per day sitting. On the other hand, agricultural workers only sit for about 3 hours a day.
SUMMARY
While sitting is a common posture, modern society overemphasizes this position. The average office worker spends up to 15 hours a day seated.
Sitting limits the number of calories you burn
Your everyday non-exercise activities, such as standing, walking, and even fidgeting, still burn calories.
This energy expenditure is known as non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), the lack of which is an important risk factor for weight gain .
Sedentary behavior, including sitting and lying down, involves very little energy expenditure. It severely limits the calories you burn through NEAT.
To put this into perspective, studies report that agricultural workers can burn up to 1,000 more calories per day than people working desk jobs .
This is because farmworkers spend most of their time walking and standing.
SUMMARY
Sitting or lying down uses far less energy than standing or moving. This is why office workers may burn up to 1,000 fewer calories per day than agricultural workers.
Sitting increases your risk of weight gain
The fewer calories you burn, the more likely you are to gain weight.
This is why sedentary behavior is so closely linked to obesity.
In fact, research shows that people with obesity sit for an average of two hours longer each day than do people with a normal weight .
SUMMARY
People who sit for long periods of time are more likely to be overweight or obese.
Sitting is linked to early death
Observational data from over 1 million people shows that the more sedentary you are, the more likely you are to die early.
In fact, the most sedentary people had a 22–49% greater risk of early death (6, 7Trusted Source).
However, even though the majority of evidence supports this finding, one study found no link between sitting time and overall mortality (8Trusted Source).
This study had some flaws, which likely explain why it contradicts all other research in the area.
SUMMARY
Evidence suggests that sedentary behavior is correlated to a much greater risk of premature death.
Sedentary behavior is linked to disease
Sedentary behavior is consistently linked to more than 30 chronic diseases and conditions, including a 112% increase in your risk of type 2 diabetes and a 147% increase in heart disease risk.
Studies have shown that walking fewer than 1,500 steps per day, or sitting for long periods without reducing calorie intake, can cause a major increase in insulin resistance, which is a key driver of type 2 diabetes.
Researchers believe that being sedentary may have a direct effect on insulin resistance. This effect can happen in as little as one day.
SUMMARY
Long-term sedentary behavior increases your risk of health conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Inactivity is believed to play a direct role in the development of insulin resistance.
Exercise doesn’t completely eliminate your risk
While regular exercise is always recommended, it doesn’t completely offset all the health risks of sitting too much.
One study measured metabolic markers in 18 people following different exercise protocols. One hour of intense exercise did not make up for the negative effects of inactivity when other hours were spent sitting .
Additionally, a review of 47 studies found that prolonged sitting was strongly linked to negative health outcomes, regardless of exercise levels.
As expected, the negative effects were even greater for people who rarely exercised.
SUMMARY
Being physically active is incredibly beneficial, but exercise alone does not completely offset the negative effects of sitting.
The bottom line
People in Western societies spend too much time sitting.
While relaxing can be beneficial, you should try to minimize the time you spend sitting during the workday.
If you have a desk job, one solution is to get a standing desk or go for a few short walks during your workday.
Minimizing sedentary time is just as important for health as a nutritious diet and regular exercise.
The Ultimate Guide to End of Life Planning
By Emily Landau, Reader’s Digest Canada
Preparing for the end now can save your loved ones plenty of heartache—and money—later on. These practical tips will help get you started.
ILLUSTRATION: CORNELIA LI
Getting Your House in Order
Prepare a will
Death is one of those things many of us avoid thinking about until it’s absolutely necessary—it’s often too sad, too scary, too morbid. A 2018 Angus Reid survey showed that more than half of Canadian adults don’t have a signed will or personal directives. When asked why, many respondents said they thought they were too young. But you can save your family extra heartache by planning and budgeting for your end-of-life decisions early. Ian MacDonald, an independent funeral planner in Halifax, believes the purpose of a funeral is to help the living. “You’re helping them transition from life with someone they love to life without,” he says.
Form an advanced care plan
At the same time you’re moving forward in life—saving up for your first house or your kids’ education—you should be planning for the end of your life. Even in your 30s, it’s smart to have an advanced care plan, which outlines what you’ll tolerate in terms of medical care and life support, what should happen to your body, and how you want to be celebrated. An advanced care plan eliminates the guesswork involved in end-of-life decisions and, once someone’s gone, allows people to grieve instead of scrambling to make funeral decisions. “If you have life insurance,” MacDonald says, “you should probably have end-of-life planning.”
Save for your funeral
Like most milestone events, how much a funeral costs depends on how elaborate it is. Even a mid-range funeral can cost as much as a downpayment on a house—and many people don’t want to surprise their loved ones with the bill. Prices vary, but Brett Watson, president of the Funeral Services Association of Canada, estimates the average funeral-home package—including embalming, a casket, flowers, music and catering—costs around $10,000. A burial plot and marker might cost another $7,000, depending on how desirable the real estate is. Many life insurance policies include funeral insurance, while some people instead make their own arrangements with funeral homes, prepaying into a trust.
Whatever you decide, it’s useful to do some research and go in with an idea of what you’d like—no matter how uncomfortable it may seem. “This is an industry that’s there for profit,” says MacDonald, “and you want to get good value for your money.”
ILLUSTRATION: CORNELIA LI
Green Your Death
A growing number of Canadians are making their end-of-life plans more environmentally friendly. Direct cremation, for example, skips the embalming process, which often requires toxic chemicals. It costs an average of $2,500 and can involve scattering the remains or burying them in a biodegradable urn. Alkaline hydrolysis, or flameless cremation, uses water, pressure and sometimes heat to dissolve the remains. Finally, there’s direct-to-earth burial, which also dispenses with embalming and involves depositing the remains straight into the plot, either in a shroud or a biodegradable casket.
ILLUSTRATION: CORNELIA LI
Hire a Death Doula
Chelsea Peddle is a death doula: one of
of professionals in Canada who provide emotional and practical guidance for people near death and for their families. She earned her credentials at Dawson College, in Vancouver, but was originally set on this path at age 15 when her father died of an aggressive brain tumour. The experience had initially left Peddle with a crushing fear of illness and death. “I know what it’s like to feel lost and to not know what benefits and resources are available,” she says, “or even how to be with someone who’s dying.”
About half of Peddle’s clients today are in palliative care. Many are undergoing treatments, such as chemotherapy, for terminal illnesses. Every one of them is simply trying to wrap their head around the process of dying. She acts as a sounding board, directs them to resources, and helps them cope with the big emotions that come with knowing you’re going to die. “Sometimes there’s a sense of unfairness,” she says, “but a lot of the time there’s also this amazing level of acceptance.
Facing death is often harder for the families. One of Peddle’s clients, for example, was recently caring for her sick mom in the U.S., living away from her family in Victoria, B.C., and felt guilty and conflicted for wanting the whole thing to be over already. Peddle helped her process those tough feelings and release the shame she was holding. “She had no idea that it was an entirely normal way to feel,” Peddle says. “She was so relieved that it didn’t make her a horrible person and that she wasn’t alone.’”
Find out seven things you should never say at a funeral.
ILLUSTRATION: CORNELIA LI
Personalize Your Memorial
Gregory Williams, a tattoo artist, carver, musician and member of the Haida nation based in Skidegate, B.C., has always been fascinated by tattoos. “For me,” he says, “tattooing is understanding our past, living for the present and dreaming of the future.”
Williams’ daughter, Kaiya, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, an aggressive cancer that targets nerve cells, at age five. Kaiya was smart, spunky and stubborn. She loved art and music and her home on Haida Gwaii in .C. She went into remission once but died in 2013, when she was 10. “When she passed, I thought my heart was going to stop,” Williams says.
Like many people, he saw an opportunity to use the art he loves to cope with his grief. Williams got several tattoos in honour of Kaiya, mixing his daughter’s ashes into the ink. One forearm tattoo depicts a raven, which represents his family’s clan and Kaiya’s heritage. He also has a tattoo of a spirit face on his throat—the placement represents her love of singing and music, and the subject represents her move from the physical to the spiritual realm.
“At times it’s difficult for me to do anything because I feel guilty about why I get to live,” Williams explains. Looking at the tattoos reminds him to live for his family. “They give me the strength that I need to not only move on, but to remember Kaiya for who she was as a person.”
ILLUSTRATION: CORNELIA LI
Don’t Leave Loose Ends
The estate planner
Willful.co
Founder Kevin Oulds created Willful, his Toronto startup, in 2017 after his uncle died and left him to deal with a complicated estate. Using Oulds’ web service, will creation is as fast, cheap and secure as online banking or grocery shopping: you answer specific questions about your assets, family status and life situations, and then the app generates a legally sound estate plan. The whole process takes about 20 minutes—and all but eliminates the need for stratospherically priced estate lawyers, who may charge between $200 and $500 per hour. From $99.
The digital lockbox
Everplans.com
Gone are the days when family members had to ransack boxes and bank accounts to sort out their loved ones’ affairs. Instead, Everplans serves as a one-stop shop where meticulous planners can securely store all of their essential documents for their families to access after they die. Financial information, digital passwords, life insurance policies—they all go here and can be accessed by designated executors. US$75 per year.
The millennial manual
Joincake.com
The sleek and sunny end-of-life planning service designed by MIT brainiac Suelin Chen is largely targeted at 20- and 30-somethings seeking a head start on their end-of-life planning. Users fill out a profile, dating-site style, selecting how they want to deal with their medical care, legal documents and social media accounts. Cake is also stacked with breezy, approachable resources to educate users about matters like life insurance and power of attorney. Free.
ILLUSTRATION: CORNELIA LI
Pick the Right Time
In June 2016, the federal government passed Bill C-14, the landmark legislation that empowered Canadians to seek medical assistance in dying, or MAID. And in 2020, more than 7,500 people availed themselves of this right. But what does the legislation mean for patients and caregivers? Here’s a look at the ins and outs of physician-assisted death.
Step 1: The Criteria
Not every patient is eligible for MAID. First, patients have to be at least 18 and determined by a physician to be mentally competent. Next, they must have a grievous or irremediable medical condition. “That means they have to be in an advanced state of decline that cannot be reversed, they have to be experiencing unbearable physical or mental suffering and their natural death has to be reasonably foreseeable,” says Helen Long, the CEO of Dying With Dignity Canada.
Step 2: The Assessment
Anyone who wants a physician-assisted death is required to make a written request confirming they’re mentally competent and not subject to undue influence. Depending on the region, an official form may be required. The request also requires two witnesses who meet certain criteria—for example, they must not benefit financially from the MAID-requester’s death. After the form is completed, you can see a doctor or, in some provinces, a nurse practitioner. You will also need to undergo two assessments with whoever you choose to make sure you meet the criteria.
Step 3: The Location
MAID can take place wherever the patient is most comfortable. According to the federal government, 47.6 per cent of MAID patients died in their homes in 2020, while 28 per cent died in hospital, 17.2 per cent died in a palliative care facility and 5.7 per cent died in a residential care facility.
Step 4: The Procedure
Before going ahead with MAID, you’re typically required to wait at least 10 days to ensure it’s what you want. Then, if you still decide to complete the procedure, you need to find a doctor who’s willing to do it. The medications for MAID are administered intravenously and designed for a peaceful and painless death. Many physicians use a cocktail of midazolam, propofol and rocuronium: the first puts the patient to sleep, the second sends them into a deep coma and the third is a muscle blocker that stops the heart.
Step 5: The End
A scheduled death can allow people to say goodbye in the way they want. According to Helen Long, a MAID is often like a celebration of life—except the guest of honour gets to be there. “A friend of my dad had a classic car, and he and his son went for one last drive around the neighbourhood,” she says. “Once a person makes a decision, it’s often a very freeing experience for them. It gives them back their control.”
Productivity is an important skill to have in both our professional and personal lives. It allows us to accomplish tasks quickly and efficiently, which can lead to greater success in the long run. Being productive requires a combination of discipline, focus, organization, and time management skills that allow us to get more done with less effort.
The first step towards becoming more productive is developing a plan for how you will spend your time each day. This should include setting goals for yourself that are realistic yet challenging enough so as not to be too easy or too hard; this will help ensure progress is made throughout the day rather than just spinning your wheels without getting anywhere meaningful. Additionally, it’s important to break down large tasks into smaller ones so they don’t seem overwhelming; this helps provide clarity on what needs doing at any given moment as well as helping prevent procrastination from setting in due to its intimidating size compared with other seemingly easier tasks available at hand instead of tackling it head-on right away.
Finally one must strive towards maintaining focus while completing each task set forth daily by avoiding distractions such as social media or checking emails unless absolutely necessary during breaks between activities; these can often take up valuable minutes if left unchecked leading one further away from their goal completion times when all said and done. Staying organized through lists also helps keep track of where you stand on any given project ensuring nothing gets lost along the way while staying focused remains paramount no matter what life throws at you unexpectedly (which inevitably happens).
In conclusion, productivity takes practice but once achieved leads to greater successes overall allowing individuals to reach higher levels than ever before thought possible; by following these steps outlined above anyone can become more efficient over time achieving great things!
More and more, stories and news items relating to dementia are appearing in the news.
There is no cure and it seems that it is inevitable in every aging brain.
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There a many winning tidbits in Rotzy’s column this week. Read the line about FACEBOOK; read the Joe Biden-Justin Trudeau phone conversation about the UFO’s over the Yukon. Great stuff!
Continue reading
Ward 1 Town Hall, Feb 16/23
Councilors Brenner and Robinson held their second town hall meeting recently, the success of which might be considered a split decision. View the town hall meeting video at the end of this post.
311 Phone system
C. Chakravarthy, IT director for the regional department of the 311 Phone system, was the guest presenter for the first part of the town hall.
“Casey” Chakravarthy
The 311 Phone system is tomorrow’s telephone today. It is a system, launched in February, with the intention of becoming a reporting and inquiry centre for residents of Durham. Residents can report issues to the region or ask about services the region provides from garbage collection to health and social services information. The service available weekdays from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm is in its initial phase of development based on software development by the Microsoft Corporation.
The second phase of the system scheduled to launch in 2024-2025 will have improvements and modifications based on user data gathered during the launch period.
Confidentiality and privacy guarantees
As ‘Casey’ Chakravarthy clearly underlined, the phone system is very cognizant of user privacy and confidentiality emphasizing that legal monitoring, restrictions and privacy gateways are in place to constantly improve and safeguard the personal data of individual users of the system. Casey assured the town hall attendees that data would never be sold or released to third parties and reinforced the idea that protection procedures were ongoing and constantly reinforcing privacy protection.
Councilor Brenner confirmed that the operating expense of the 311 system currently is the responsibility of the Durham region and impacts its tax-paying residents. He added that the 311 system uses existing resources (Regional Employees) that have always been part of the Regional Operating Budget. It brought together all the Customer Care silos and amended them into 311. The only additional costs in the Budget are the software systems that are required on both online and phone systems. These are the new costs noted in the Regional Budgets which Durham hopes to recover via various Government Grants to improve efficiencies. However, he sees provincial and federal assistance as a likely possibility in the future as the system grows, develops and is improved.
For now, the 311 phone information service is restricted to Durham residents only, putting them on the leading edge of yet another technological innovation that looks like it has much value and many benefits to the users of the region.
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Durham Region Rapid Transit System
The second part of the town hall was a presentation by David Dunn and Lorraine Pennock of the Durham Region Rapid Transit System Planning department.
DRTS Planning Executives David & Lorraine
The presenters explained that the goal of the DRTS plan was to provide a more efficient system of moving people around the Durham region safely and securely with its first planning phase concentrating on the southern, east-west corridor of traffic movement. The plan encompasses more than just traffic movement, vehicles, cycles, and public buses but even considers things like heating floors in wait shelters in winter and ways to attract great use of public transit in the system.
The presentation began as an explanation and description of what was being planned but it devolved into a vociferous expression of opinion and commentary as the audience members voiced their displeasure with a number of aspects relating of it: that it felt like it was “etched in stone,” a done deal, that there was a misconception of Metrolinx’ role in it and that it seemed to be being pushed on to the locals without enough input from them. The audience seemed to express being upset at what was felt was inadequate input from the local residents because too little public notification had been published in regard to planning meetings with local residents.
The audience members expressed fears and anxiety over finance, cost over-runs, and inadequate consideration of north-south traffic movement to which Councilor Brenner replied that though this phase of the plan was complete, wishes and further suggestions and considerations mobilized and expressed to the department would not be disregarded in the future. Presenter Lorraine emphasized that these kinds of plans always took years to develop and more changes and modifications were inevitable and likely.
This part of the town hall seemed to end without a clear conclusion but rather a loudly expressed dissatisfaction with the current DRST plan.
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Councilors Brenner and Robinson deserve many commendations for the town hall they presented. They were responding to issues, concerns and comments made in their first town hall, January 16/23 and this meeting was informative and well presented though the second half of the town hall did shift from presentation to debate and discussion reinforcing the claim as many attendees made that the planning department needs to consider improving its system of publishing and informing local residents about such meetings where resident input is considered vital and important.
The success of this town hall is a split decision but its value is unquestionable.
The next town hall will be on March 16, 7 pm at the Abbeylawn Retirement Home, 534 Rodd Ave., Pickering.
A video of the town hall is displayed below. [ Produced by Joe Pacione ]
As part of Project Majestic, York Regional Police have recovered 64 stolen cars in Malta and returned the vehicles, valued at $3.5 million, to Canada.
Investigators found the stolen cars inside shipping containers in the Republic of Malta, where they were about to be sold illegally.
York Regional Police worked with the Canada Border Service Agency, the Malta Port Authority and Customs, and Equité Association to locate the cars.
Project Majestic began early in 2021.
Protect your car:
Thanks to Sheila T
Rotzy is beyond his best…scathing, heated, scalding, hot and blasting away. Continue reading
A 5 star review has been withheld or delayed at the moment as I have had my hearing aids for less than two weeks. It is too soon to give a full review.
However, based on my experience thus far, EXCELLENT.
AUDIOLOGIST
More importantly, the audiologist, EDDY CHOW, is excellent in his work. Professional, personable and most accommodating. This man is amazing in his respect for the client, gently asking if he may do this or do that without any assumptions relating to the client. He is patient beyond description asking if you have questions with no limit to them. He treats every question as being important and needing a full answer. He is most reassuring and comprehensive in dealing with limitless aspects of hearing problems and hearing devices.
DEVICE
My model, the SIGNIA 5x SILK, feels like it may be the Cadillac or Porsche of hearing aids. And with EDDY in the passenger seat, I feel like Michael Schumacher is coaching me. The device is an in-canal model, practically unnoticeable to anyone speaking with you. It seems to do as all that one expects, in every situation I have experienced thus far. For more details about my experience with these hearing aids, visit www.szpin.ca where you will find a whole series of articles about hearing assistance.
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Read my website for more details, www.szpin.ca, about financial assistance. EDDY explains this in detail and emphasizes that service includes a 3-year full warranty with the only impact being a $25 shipping charge if something needs to be returned.
At this time, I cannot give a final word other than I am very satisfied with the devices but even more than satisfied with the professional service, EDDY CHOW, that comes with it. Now, I am in my exploration and evaluation stages and optimistic I will be positively surprised by each situation.
Vanity vs Ageism
I’m a senior and resentful of how many people in our society treat seniors as second-class citizens, or as inferiors with handicaps or disabilities. These people may also be guilty of dealing with seniors as if we are years younger without difficulties. These are problematic situations which should really be labelled as ‘AGEISM.’
I do not want to be treated as a second-class citizen, as if I am incapable of understanding things, as if I cannot comprehend things well. This even applies to other ways of dealing with older people that smack of Ageism: speaking loudly, repeating things, and speaking at an exaggerated slower pace. I am old, not stupid. Aging carries new challenges but the mind still works, maybe not with the alacrity of youth, but it functions.
A visible hearing aid would signal to many people that this person needs to be treated differently, like an old person. I don’t want that to happen, so I chose a hearing aid that is nearly invisible. It is an in-canal device that is almost unnoticeable. It works as well as external aids but has the added bonus that it is almost undetectable. In other words, most people would never see that I am wearing a hearing aid. Even at my first family gathering wearing the device, not one single family member, other than my wife, noticed the change.
This is exactly the situation I want no visible device triggering people into treating me as a lesser person, a person with a handicap.
Rechargeable vs battery
The smallest hearing aid uses batteries, replaceable after about 15 hrs of use. Rechargeable devices have the advantage of no battery maintenance or management, a debatable advantage or inconvenience. Batteries are depleted only when the device is used; removal means disabling the battery thus prolonging battery life.
The rechargeables are larger in size and more noticeable in the ear, even the in-canal models.
In short, I chose the smallest device with batteries knowing that I would not be wearing the devices every day or as long as others might. I do use the devices as soon as I leave the house when I will be entering the world of Ageism.
‘To buy or not to buy, that is the question.” This is a very serious consideration and one which requires personal and serious evaluation.
Let’s take my situation as a model for your reference.
I am a blogger, writing and publishing a lot of material on a website which I created years ago to help older adults: BOOKz, COOKz, NOOKz Therefore, I spend hours researching on the computer, followed by periods of writing there. As I am working alone in my office, there is no need to hear well beyond my softly playing music. And even that is played as background rather than dominant sound.
Hearing becomes an issue for me outside of the home. At home, my wife already is aware of my hearing shortcomings and speaks to me accordingly. However, when I go shopping, clerks in the store, at the cash are problematic, sometimes requiring me to assert that I have a hearing problem and asking them to repeat what they said.
In a restaurant situation, often the conversation at my table has hearing challenges. In a large gathering, a meeting, distanced people cannot be heard. Auditorium speakers often present hearing difficulties. Speaking with people on the street while walking my dog necessitates my turning the better hear toward the speaker.
These are situations which ultimately made me realize I needed a hearing aid so that I could hear well and properly in all situations.
Read what hearing aid I bought and the reasons for my selection in another post.
How to recognize that an email sender may be a potential scam:
In the first, opening the email to view the message, safe procedure, indicates that the sender is a ‘very strange address’…do not proceed with the email. Archive or delete it, depending what you do with your email messages.
In the second message, examine the name of the person. If you don’t know the sender or have doubts about that sender, again archive or delete the message:
The accent I heard, Indian or Pakistani, should have rang loud alarm bells. India and Pakistan are renowned and well-known as having very active scam centers. Be weary if you hear and recognize this kind of accent.
The last straw was when this caller with access to remote control of my computer, asked me to open my financial institution and I opened my password manager to get the password to it but the alarm bells were ringing so loudly, I closed everything and shut off my computer. Too late, I had already exposed my password manager with access to all my passwords to this scammer.
A week later, I am still in repair/recovery mode as each credit card account is examined, tested, balance confirmed and new password created. Tedious labour, but essential for each financial account, one by one.
Big lesson learned the hard way and the repercussions are still being dealt with.
The silver lining: I have learned more about scams and repair/recovery if affected by one.
Click –> HEARING LOSS
I received an email from something that looked like PAYPAL notifying that my account was to be charged hundreds of dollars. Never mind that my notification was PAYPAL. Learn to identify the fraud.
I was wary about the email and opened it with the determination not to click on it further. I saw an “authentic” looking email but still I was reluctant to open it. However, there was a phone number displayed and I thought, a phone number shouldn’t be a problem. I called the number.
The Indian or Pakistani accent should have triggered alarms when I was connected. The respondent asked to be connected to my computer to examine the problems. I allowed this. Then he asked me to go to my password manager. Alarm bells should have sounded. I typed in my master password [big time error: if they were logging my keystrokes, they had my master password.]
Next he asked me to access my financial institution. Alarms went off like crazy. I asked him questions about his identity, his phone number, his geographic location, to no avail. I hung up the phone.
Seconds later my phone rang with an unknown caller, the scammer no doubt. I answered. It was the same voice. I hung up. The incoming call was repeated but I did not answer.
This was a scam from the ‘get-go.’ The clues:
The BUTTERFLY Approach is an innovative kind of care for patients with dementia, an approach that is caring, empathetic and loving.
That the Internet is filled with false material, hoaxes, and fake information is not news to many people. There is so much false material on the Internet, it is shooting itself in the foot. Its days are numbered as more and more people realize and recognize that a significant portion of the material on the Internet is fake.
Read Toronto Star columnist Vinay Manon’s column about the fake restaurant review about a ‘restaurant’ in Montreal.
Then there are so many scammers and hackers posing greater risk and harm to Internet users, that now even fearless users are becoming skeptical and anxious when reading anything there.
To layer the cake with more icing, AI chatbots can generate stories in seconds and the material never touches the writing fingers of a real person. Add a media banner which can be photoshopped in minutes and the story takes on the cloak of authenticity immediately.
It’s just a matter of time before computer users begin to drop off like flies from vinegar.
Even the eponymous Google is threatened. AI responds more quickly and more fully than any Google search and much more practically. Google displays links to access sites as its answer while AI responds with full details in conversational responses. Google is likely to start investing millions, if not more, in AI just to stay alive. After all, valued as the GDP of the third highest country in the world, there is reason for Google to feel threatened.
We live in troubled times. Some even say we are going to hell in a handbasket as is, environment craziness, crime, social disruptions, corrupt and lawless authorities, irrational military invasions, and much more. The Internet is not safe from this turmoil and chaos.
No wonder an increasing number of people are abandoning its use and joining the “I don’t do anything on the Internet” camp. How long will it be before you join these unhappy campers yourself?
My hearing problems evidenced themselves about five years ago in my early 70’s.
At family celebrations, I would lose bits of conversation, asking people to repeat what they said. Family members began to recognize that I was not hearing everything and at first, teased that I should get a hearing aid.
Then, I noticed that one ear, the left, was less sensitive than the other. To compensate, I would turn my more sensitive ear toward the sound/voice/conversation. Eventually, I found in some situations, it made no difference which way I turned, hearing was still difficult. For example, in restaurants I had difficulty hearing people sitting across the table, people at the far end of the table were out of my hearing range.
Not only did this hearing situation stress me, but the worry was how would it progress, total deafness? I decided time to get some expert advice.
I had my hearing test at a local audio clinic and they confirmed hearing loss. I wasn’t ready to accept my hearing loss. I did not want to wear a hearing aid. Vanity was likely the obstacle, though I insisted it was the inconvenience of working with a hearing aid every day.
A few more years down the road and many admonitions from family members later, I decided to go to an audio clinic again and chose one recommended by a business colleague.
The visit answered many questions:
I decided to give getting a hearing aid serious consideration. Read more in the series.
Can you hear me?
Are you troubled with your hearing? Unable to hear some conversations clearly?
Greenwood
by Michael Christie
Synopsis
It’s 2034 and Jake Greenwood is a storyteller and a liar, an overqualified tour guide babysitting ultra-rich vacationers in one of the world’s last remaining forests.
It’s 2008 and Liam Greenwood is a carpenter, fallen from a ladder and sprawled on his broken back, calling out from the concrete floor of an empty mansion.
It’s 1974 and Willow Greenwood is out of jail, free after being locked up for one of her endless series of environmental protests: attempts at atonement for the sins of her father’s once vast and violent timber empire.
It’s 1934 and Everett Greenwood is alone, as usual, in his maple syrup camp squat when he hears the cries of an abandoned infant and gets tangled up in the web of a crime that will cling to his family for decades.
And throughout, there are trees: thrumming a steady, silent pulse beneath Christie’s effortless sentences and working as a guiding metaphor for withering, weathering, and survival.
A shining, intricate clockwork of a novel, Greenwood is a rain-soaked and sun-dappled story of the bonds and breaking points of money and love, wood and blood—and the hopeful, impossible task of growing toward the light.
Heather says…
The book Greenwood was recently shortlisted for the 2023 Canada Reads competition for “One Book to Shift Your Perspective”. Reading as many of the 5 shortlisted books was my initial reason for choosing to read this book as it had not been on my radar.
Both Michael Christie’s previous books, Beggar’s Garden and If I Fall, If I Die, were longlisted for the Scotia Bank Giller Award and also won prestigious awards. This usually signals that the author’s writing will be competent and interesting.
Although Greenwood is 490 pages, it is well worth the time invested to read it. The plot line is a family saga where each chapter is set up as a different timeline which both progresses and recedes much like the rings of a tree. It reminds me of a mystery with each character’s life unravelled in a marvellous convoluted series of adventures and relationships.
On the back flap of the book, Claire Cameron (author of The Last Neanderthal) recommended Greenwood as a book that was so “completely absorbing” that I “had to cancel everything for this book because I couldn’t stop reading”. I completely agree. This is a fascinating story and the design of the book with fine tree sketches beginning each time frame and wood grain along the side of each page of the book is an artistic marvel. It’s a great read about the value of forests and family.
This is an outstanding Canadian book.
February this year is very special.
Heir or spare?
Prince Harry’s new publication, Spare, is either gossip-mongering or airing dirty laundry? Regardless, like People magazine or TV’s ‘The Social,’ it may be riveting material.
Criticisms of Prince Harry’s verbal expose will be unnecessary. Justifiable? One cannot help but wonder. Prince Is Harry just hanging out dirty laundry about the royal family. Should he? Your call.
All this may be cathartic for him, but is it justifiable? He decided it was worth writing about. Of course, there’s money to be made. That’s irrelevant. Besides, who are we to judge if he has done right or wrong in trying to augment the family coffers? It’s his call.
Let’s hope it brings him the comfort and solace he seeks.
However, there are some thoughts to be considered about all of this. Prince Harry needs revenue after his banishment from membership in the royal family. He chose to leave, for whatever reason and in doing so, his income was affected. His wife, at this time, has no acting roles and her Suits residuals likely are insufficient to support the lifestyle to which they are accustomed.
Skepticism is warranted with his claim that publishing ‘Spare’ was a catharsis that helped him deal with the death of his mother. There may be some truth in that but the more realistic and believable fact is that publishing the book means increased income in the multi-millions. Oprah interviews, 60 minutes, and multiple TV appearances are not simply book promotions. They are revenue-generation.
There is no reason to disparage what Harry is doing. He has the right to earn a living in any way he sees fit and if this revenue-generating shoe fits, he should wear it.
I have not read the book. My reluctance comes from not wanting to add to the coffers of any celebrity. I feel most earn enough from the work they already do in self-promotion. My curiosity limit will not be broken by any wish to hear Obama or Michelle speaking at the cost of $500/ticket. If others choose to pay that freight, more power to them. But I won’t be a party to it.
It is curious to watch to what extent Harry will go to disparage his family in retaliation for the wrongs they may have caused him. Justified or not, it sounds like public dirty laundry hanging and there is something wrong with publicly criticizing one’s family, let alone criticizing it for financial gain. The decision to read the book is a tough call.
Remember “Neighbourhood Associations” of the past. Some are still going. These associations were residents of a neighbourhood joining together to help each other with house watching, assistance with home maintenance, or just simple socialization.
Residents in some Pickering communities have tried resurrecting the concept, which has lapsed in many areas of the city. Below is a list of the associations, some going strong, some a bit wobbly, unlisted, ones that are defunct. The list below is not definitive and is intended to assist people who live in those areas.
PAUL WHITE paulwhite4121@gmail.com
SCOTT LOYST sco%.loyst@gmail.com
PEGGY BOWIE pegbowie@rogers.com
GAIL LAWLOR info@sorogoodneighbours.com
How’s your hearing?
Are you troubled with your hearing? Unable to hear some conversations or parts thereof? Trouble hearing conversations in certain environments? Restaurants? Auditoriums? Large meeting rooms? Can’t hear people speak when they are a little distance away? Unable to hear certain speakers? Women’s voices? Men’s? Children’s? Certain volumes are not heard? Whispers?
If your response to any of the above questions is affirmative, you may have a hearing problem, the best response to which would be to have a hearing test. These are available in many places and usually are done for free with no obligation to buy a hearing aid.
In the last few years, I suspected hearing difficulties, particularly with my left ear. Certain sounds, conversations were harder to hear: restaurant conversations, spousal conversations occasionally, TV volume set higher than required by most people. A hearing test confirmed my suspicions: hearing loss in both ears, 40% left, 15% right.
The next step was to investigate hearing devices. I disliked the idea of getting a visible external hearing aid, not for vanity reasons but because of ageism. Being a senior, I already was experiencing ageism issues. Adding a seniors’ adaptive device would likely exacerbate the situation. Our society treats seniors in a denigrating way, as second-class citizens. I did not want to display a confirmation of being old. Hence, a visible device was off the table.
The benefits vs the difficulties of having a hearing aid were considered:
Pros:
Cons:
There are other factors that need to be considered when thinking about hearing aids:
However, people who are in environments where optimal hearing is important, need to give good hearing priority. For example, a teacher needs to hear the students; a musician needs to hear the music. A writer working alone may not need to hear clearly or a lot.
Technology has come a long way as they say. Inner ear canal devices are almost completely invisible and deliver improved hearing effectively and practically. Their use is enhanced by smartphone connectivity. Hence, wearers can fine-tune their devices as suitable for the situation or environment.
The likeliest and biggest factors people need to consider if they are thinking about getting hearing aids are cost, device management, and practicality.
The bottom line
If hearing is becoming a challenge, a hearing test and consultation with an auditory specialist may be the next essential step to improved hearing.
Have you ever been stuck trying to write a short note, a description, an explanation, a poem, even a short article? Stuck no more…go to LINK TO ChatGPT and explore/experiment. Continue reading
[pdf-embedder url=”http://www.szpin.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/FEB-2023-Final-4.pdf” title=”FEB 2023 Newsletter Final”]
Ranting about the inadequacies of the judicial system again….and I agree with him. Continue reading
Rest in peace Mayor McCallion. Continue reading
It’s hard to believe it’s 2023! The end of 2022 saw a big milestone for me personally, the eighth consecutive time residents elected me as their Councillor, it is both an honour and honourable to continue serving our community on Pickering Council.
An even bigger blessing in November was the birth of Brenda‘s and my first grandchild, Asher, to loving parents, our daughter and son-in-law, Alison and Cooper. Our daughter Amanda and Stephen became engaged and are currently having an adventure living and working in Vancouver.
One of the early challenges facing the city is addressing the many changes the provincial government has announced and implemented to land use planning and housing with the intention of providing more housing, more quickly, and more obtainable. Many municipalities (including the City of Pickering), municipal organizations, and other agencies have raised concerns ranging from mayoral powers, impacts on taxpayers and city finances, environmental protection, and the loss of development charges for important community amenities. This along with recent high inflation and the increases in construction costs is going to make for tough city budget meetings.
Planning continues at the Region of Durham to bring lands in Northeast Pickering on either side of Highway 407 into the urban boundary as a new community known as Veraine. It is proposed to be a completely mix-use community to live, work and play. I have supported a much-needed new hospital in Pickering in this area, and I also recently supported in this area an applicant’s request for a provincial MZO for a new 128-bed Long Term Care facility and affordable housing, but it was not supported by a majority of Pickering Council.
For those of you using FaceBook, you will know that I continue to visit and promote our many small business and talk with owners about the challenges and opportunities. Friend me on FB, if you have not already, to hear about these businesses and other interesting spots in Pickering.
I am hopeful this year will see several final plans and capital projects: a downtown centre with youth and seniors centres, a new library, a performing arts centre, and a public square, the first new school in years Creekwood on Dersan Road, a new fire station on Brock Road, and other roads, recreational and municipal amenities. Stay tuned for more news.
Our city will always be a work in progress and I hope you will continue to work constructively with me to make our community great.
David Pickles
Regional Councillor, Ward 3
Dear Neighbours:
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and had some time for rest and relaxation with family and friends. In this newsletter, you will find highlights of our council meeting from January 23, 2023, updates on the Pickering Casino Resort, and events happening around the City this winter season. I am proud to serve as your Mayor and I, along with City Council, will continue to work hard to make our community the best place to live, work, play and learn.
Council Meeting Highlights from January 23, 2023
Full Highlights are available here:
https://www.pickering.ca/en/city-hall/council-highlights.aspx
Pickering Casino Resort Update
OLG recently issued the City its third quarter non-tax gaming revenue payment of $3,857,611 for hosting the Pickering Casino Resort.
Since the site opened in July 2021, Pickering has received a total of $20,253,780 in casino revenue – and we’re proudly re-investing back into the community by funding a number of important current and capital budget items.
Projects funded by Casino revenue in 2022:
By re-investing these funds back into the community, we are creating a City with more opportunities to live, work, play, and grow.
Pickering’s Natural Outdoor Ice Rinks
City staff are getting Pickering’s rinks ready for you to use!
In anticipation of colder temperatures, staff are out flooding all outdoor ice rinks
Please stay away from the rinks until we have announced that they are open for use.
Visit pickering.ca/en/living/OutdoorSkating.
New Canine Activity Park
The City of Pickering is thrilled to announce that its Canine Activity Area, located in the new leash-free area in Dunmore Park, is now open to the public.
The new canine activity area, sponsored by PetValu, is the first of its kind in the GTA, comprised of ten activity stations that guide owners and their dogs through a number of fun exercises to build both skills and endurance.
The stations were created by canine experts, and are fully inclusive, meaning dogs of all sizes, ages, and training experience can enjoy them.
The area offers many benefits, including enriching and stimulating dogs by providing both fun and challenging activities to conquer and strengthening dog/owner relationships by providing a safe space to spend one-on-one time together.
Visit pickering.ca/CanineActivityArea to learn more.
Comprehensive Zoning By-law Review
Comprehensive Zoning By-law Review Event Registration
The City of Pickering is conducting a review of its zoning By-laws. The draft Zoning By-law and interactive map are available to review and comment on the Let’s Talk Pickering website at: https://letstalkpickering.ca/zonereview
You are invited to the following Open Houses and learn about the draft Zoning By-law:
Virtual Open House
Timing: Wednesday, February 15, 2023 (from 7 pm – 9 pm)
Location: Online (Webex invitation will be sent after registration)
Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at (905) 420-4660 ext. 1099 or zonereview@pickering.ca
How Body Fat Changes with Age
You’re getting older and notice that you’re gaining more body fat than you would like to have. “Suddenly”, you can “pinch an inch” in your love handles, or that dress or suit that used to fit you so perfectly now feels tighter. What can you do about it? Pretty much nothing. Just sit back and wait for the impending doom of middle and old age, as you gain body fat, and can do nothing about it?
Age is no excuse to gain tons and tons of body fat.
And that’s what we’ll explore in this article. We’ll talk about:
And if you want to skip all this information and just to want help yourself with losing body fat, regardless of your age, you can see if you qualify to work with us by responding to this email with the subject line “Fat Loss Help.”
How Maturation and Age Affect Body Composition If You Don’t Exercise
Up until the age of 11-13, boys and girls have fairly similar body fat. Around puberty, boys lose fat and gain muscle, and girls gain both fat and muscle.
Assuming a steady diet and exercise pattern, body fat stays stable until about 40, and then, starts to rise. You might be thinking “wait, I gained a lot of body fat before 40… what happened?” This is most likely due to changes in exercise and nutrition. Usually, no changes in nutrition or exercise = no changes in body fat (though there are exceptions, such as hormonal reasons).
Between ages 40 and around 75-85, body fat increases. Usually, not that much, again, assuming that exercise and nutrition patterns haven’t changed. Perhaps an increase of only 2% in body fat is the difference between a 40 year old and a 75-85 year old.
Around 75-85, an interesting thing happens. Body fat actually drops but not because of a concerted effort to lose body fat. More likely due to a decrease in appetite, a lower food intake. That’s good, right? Actually, not so much. Yes, fat is lost but unless the 75-85 year old does some form of strength training, muscle mass is lost as well. So yeah, you have relatively low body fat, but you’re also frail and may need the help of other people to take care of you. You can’t perform the regular activities that you took for granted earlier, like just going for a walk, carrying your groceries, doing household chores, and even playing with your grandkids.
The distribution (location) of body fat also changes with age. Men typically gain fat in the stomach, up until about 40. Then, it goes to both the stomach and the chest. Men start to grow breasts. In a healthy man, the chest should be one of the leanest areas. Maybe only 3-5 mm, as measured by calipers. But in many men that we work with, who are over 40, and don’t properly exercise, the chest is frequently one of the top 3 areas that we measure (out of 11), with measurements as high as 25-28 mm.
With women, during puberty, fat is gained around the hips, thighs, and backs of the arms. But with aging, and especially during menopause, fat is actually lost in those areas, and gained around the waist, and upper back.
Between about 11-13, up to about 40-45 years, there’s a very minimal change in body fat, on condition that the same exercise and nutrition habits are maintained over that period of time.
By looking at the location of the person’s body fat (not the quantity), you can actually infer their hormonal profile. I talk about this in much greater detail in my article on biosignature.
How Age Affects Body Composition If You Do Exercise
Notice how in the earlier section, I kept repeating that body fat doesn’t change (or doesn’t change much) if exercise and nutrition doesn’t change? That’s a real highlight. Because by far the biggest impact on your body composition is not your age. It’s your nutrition and exercise habits. A 40-year-difference doesn’t have nearly the same impact as a 1000-calorie difference (like the difference between eating 1800 calories, and 2800 calories per day. Or the difference between burning 1000 calories per day less).
This means that you can’t use your age as an excuse for the extra body fat. You only have your own nutrition and exercise habits to blame.
Proof? In one study, from the European Journal of Clinical Investigation, the researchers investigated body fat increase over the years due to age, or due to decreases in physical activity. The study group of people were divided into 3 groups:
The study results showed:
Another Study, “strength training and body composition in middle-age women“, compared women, all of the same age (around 50) in relationship to:
The surprising results:
Again, all women studied in this study were of the same age. Any differences in body composition can’t be attributed to age. They can only be attributed to training frequency and intensity.
In yet another study, researchers studied 2 groups of postmenopausal women:
What did the researchers find? Exactly what you’d expect: the group that exercised had lower fat, and higher muscle, compared to the group that didn’t exercise.
Empirically, we also know that age is not the primary (or even secondary) factor when it comes to changes in body composition.
After all, if age was the biggest factor in body composition changes, wouldn’t everyone gain body fat with age? What about the people who were unhealthy, and overweight in high school, and actually lost fat, as they adopted healthier habits? What about the few people who actually are now in their 60s and 70s, and are within 5 pounds of where they were when they were around 25-30?
Once again, if you want help figuring out how to bring your body fat down, regardless of your age, just respond to this email with the subject line “Fat Loss Help” to see if you qualify to work with us.
P.S. – Whenever you’re ready… here are 4 ways we can help you reach your goals:
I avoid many social media but I avoid FACEBOOK especially.
Continue reading
I am skeptical about everything that pops up on my computer screen but we’re all guilty of being gullible sometime. Even though I examined this emessage and wouldn’t click on the blue button, I still didn’t give the message enough thought.
However, I phoned listed at the bottom of the message, not giving it a second thought. Big mistake. I should have given it second thought, long thought. If the phone number is in the message it is the same as the blue button, tainted by the scammers.
Yup, I got connected to the scammers. They sounded authentic, saying things that seemed as appropriate for PayPal, pulling me deeper into their trap. But I was concentrating on the money drawn on my account rather than thinking about this message.
Then, a really foolish move, I let them have remote control of my computer. They looked around and when they asked me to connect to my financial institution, my brain finally engaged. The person asking me for remote control of my computer, trigger #1; the speaker’s accent, Indian or Pakistani…trigger #2; then they asked me to log into my financial institution which required accessing my password manager, trigger #3. The last straw, when I asked for the speaker’s phone number saying I would phone him back, there was much reluctance and excuse making. I insisted. He relented and gave me his badge#, name and phone number but by that time I was thoroughly convinced I had been taken in and HUNG UP THE PHONE.
Immediately the phone rang. I answered. It was the same voice. I hung up again. The phone rang again. I let it ring and go to message. I now realized I had been scammed and my computer likely had been compromised. I feared keystroke tracking software may have been installed on my computer, plus I had logged into my password manager. This meant that if they had keystroke logging, they had access to all my passwords.
I immediately undertook action to protect my computer and my passwords. It took me hours to rectify things but I am confident I am safe once again. Here are the things I did:
WARNING
Think twice, three times before you act on emails from sources asking or telling you about financial matters or asking about any of your computer information. The scammers use amazing tactics, awesomely inviting dialogue, very real looking phishing displays. Don’t open anything you have not initiated yourself, or anything you have doubts about. Be big time skeptical. I thought I was a knowledgeable and well-armed computer user. They pulled me in. Imagine what they can do to a person who is much less computer conversant. Don’t let them take you there.
Finance Dept. Director Stan Karwowski, Mara Nagy and Linda Cook
Osso buco
INGREDIENTS
MAIN DISH
1/8 – 1/4 cup olive oil
1 med sized carrot, peeled and diced coarsely
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 celery stick, coarely chopped
1 lge garlic buds, crushed
1/8 – 1/4 tsp chili flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1-1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 can Neoplitan tomatoes
1 tbls dried oregano
1 tbls dried basil
1/2 tbs dried thyme
3/4 cube chicken base, crumbled coarsely
2 1″ thick veal shanks (ask your butcher)
GREMOLATA
Skin of 1 lemon, sliced into strips
1-2 garlic buds, finely chopped
1/4 cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
(TIP: cut it up to suitable size with scissors in a short glass)
2 tbls ground Parmigiano cheese
3 tbls extra virgin olive oil
coarsely ground black pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
[I prefer making my osso bucco in a Dutch oven.]
1. Dredge veal shanks in flour and shake off excess flour
2. Sear shanks in olive oil and remove to side dish
3. Brown the crushed garlic in olive oil in a dutch oven and remove before it burns
4. Add chili flakes, canned tomatoes coarsely chopped, wine, chicken stock
5. Add seasoning: oregano, basil, thyme, chicken cube, pepper and bring to a boil
6. Add veal shanks to mixture; they should just be submerged in liquid
7. Bake in 350F oven for 1 1/2 – 2 hrs. Shut off oven.
GREMOLATA
1. chop the lemon slices into coarse bits
2. finely chop the garlic
3. finely chop the Italian parsley
4. add the oil and the Parmigiano
5. combine all the ingredients and let stand for 20 mins
SERVING
Plate the veal shanks and spread 2 tbls of the gremolata on each veal shank bone
Sprinkle with parsley to decorate and serve.
Simple, simple, simple.
1. Pour contents of pineapple chunks/todbits into a glass bowl.
2. Add seasoning: S, P, grated garlic, sprinkle of chili flakes.
3. Add 1-2 tblsp light soya sauce
4. Put 2 chops into the bowl, mixing so both chops get marinade
5. Let chops marinade for 2 hours
6. Remove chops from marinade.
7. Grill on high heat for 3 mins each side
8. Finish cooking chops in 350F oven for 25 mins (time varies according to desired doneness)
9. Serve with sides of your choosing.
This is a promotional ad for a weight loss assistance program. Continue reading
EDITORIAL: No cojones !
It’s your money they are playing with!
Here we go again, another example of government ineptitude, narrow vision, and inadequate research, all at your expense, the taxpayer.
The Ontario government has announced a plan to combat auto theft. Every 48 minutes a vehicle is stolen in Ontario, between 2014 and 2021, there was a 72 percent increase in auto theft across the province, while there has been a 14 percent increase in the last year alone.
The province has announced a plan to tackle the issue:
The criticism of this government is that the policies are wrong, more accurately they are inadequate.
No accountability; no tracking of the results; no timelines for a follow-up.
Political puffery
Political leaders proudly puff themselves up with such boastful policies but none proposes any follow-up to see confirm their effectiveness, test their impact, monitor their effects, or scrutinize their results.
These politicians seem very satisfied with making their policy proposals as if these things will automatically bring success. They do not. If they supposedly do, prove it. Show it. Publish the results. These politicians cannot because they do not do follow-ups to confirm the results they expect and hope the public will believe will happen.
The above criticism is not naivete. It is confirmation of the rule: “You can’t expect what you don’t inspect.”
Lack of backbone
As Latinos would say, “lack of cajones.” Politicians are quick to offer policy platitudes, make work policies, and band-aid solutions but they have no spine to put “their money where mouths are.” If they had backbones, they would attach accountability clauses to these policies, salary penalties to their salaries: if their proposed policies do not meet certain generous result levels, they would have their salaries reduced. If they operated with those accountability clauses, many political leaders would receive deficit salaries. Likely, even fewer people would run for office, or the ones who would, would do more carefully considered work. The current modus operandi for political leaders is to spend taxpayer money as if dipping into a bottomless pit with no personal consequences if they are wrong.
Should people express their dissatisfaction with tax increases without justification?