Reflections of an Old Man

Kenney is playing a dangerous game. Do nothing, let 'er rip until there are enough critically ill and dying people to wake up a fractured political base, seems to be the strategy adopted by our Premier and his cabinet in Alberta. Kenney is scared of a revolt in his own base if he takes more proactive steps to slow down virus spread. UCP cabinet members have convinced themselves that they have found just the right balance between restrictive measures and freedoms to survive as a government through the third wave. And are escaping into the fantasy that vaccines will save the day while variant infections are on a rapid rise throughout Alberta. Meanwhile the world, and notably the financial world, is looking at Alberta, and guess what those folks are thinking? "That's the last place in the world I would invest. Those guys can't get their act together for life, nor money". So don't expect any downstream financial boom in Alberta, folks. We are relegated to the bac

The passing of Mike Collins brings back memories of the 1960ies: Shortly after arriving in Sydney, Australia as an immigrant on April 25, 1966, I had an interview for a job with an Australian company called Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) with the possibility of working as a technician on one of the Australian space tracking stations used in the Apollo program. That in light of having served on a NATO early warning tracking station in Northern Norway as a technician prior to emigrating to Australia. AWA had been contracted to supply equipment for the Tidbinbilla tracking station that was to relay information through to Houston from the Apollo astronauts when stations on the other side of the globe lost contact due to the Earth's rotation. The hurdle proved to be a security clearance, as the Americans were rather paranoid about possible leaks to the Russians during that cold war time. The engineer who interviewed me told me that during his training stage in the US, he had a guard

In the early morning mists of this day, April 25, in 1966, after five weeks at sea, the Sydney heads rose out of the sea, as the T/S Flavia was about to complete her voyage to a new land for over one thousand immigrants to Australia. I was one of those people, and most of us were on deck with our eyes glued to what was to become our new homeland. Over the course of the journey tensions had developed between the two main groups of people on the ship, Germans and Englishmen, who just over 20 years ago had been mortal enemies. That was all forgotten on this morning 55 years ago as the Flavia, an old Italian troop carrier converted to the migration trade, slowly made her way through the passage between the Sydney heads into the beautiful and well protected Sydney Harbour. Ours was an experience shared with thousands of people for over 150 years beginning with a British penal colony in 1788. And, as we were to learn, the life of an immigrant is a hard one, as over half of the marriages of

Because it enables him to weasel inside our heads. Let me explain: Each and every human being has a 'footprint', both physically and mentally. We are shaped by many forces, all the way from the womb to the grave and Big Brother really likes the idea of being able to mould us into what He wants us to be, rather than finding our own way and marginalizing His power over us. And then there are a lot of Little Brothers who, like Big Brother, use us as feedstock for their human mind moulding business as well. To this end, the internet has proven itself to be a valuable tool for the power players. Ever wondered why there are so many 'free' services out there? Data collection on behaviors is the answer. A highly marketable and valuable commodity in today's world. Now, it so happens that 5G networks hugely expand the ability to collect detailed information on each and every one of us from the embedded little 'spies' in consumer devices we use every day. That informat

There is a popular belief that increasing use of technology means fewer jobs. That belief took hold way back at the beginning if the industrial revolution with Luddite activism: "The Luddites were a secret oath-based organisation of English textile workers in the 19th century, a radical faction which destroyed textile machinery as a form of protest. The group are believed to have taken their name from Ned Ludd, a weaver from Anstey, near Leicester." So, there are some 200 years worth of predictions that have not come to pass, otherwise we should have massive unemployment by now. The prediction seems intuitively correct, so what has actually happened? As usual, the 'devil' is in the details: Let's take a car as an example and compare Henry Ford's Model T to the average family car today. Apart from having four wheels, an engine and brakes in common, the complexity of content in the modern vehicle is an order of magnitude higher than the Model T's. So, in eff

It behoves us here in Canada to really take note if what is happening in India at this time, in regards to COVID. Why? "In 2019, there were 1,008,955 registered Indians in Canada. Between 2000 and 2019, the number of registered Indians in Canada experienced an increase, going from some 670 thousand to over one million. Mar. 15, 2021" That means a lot of travel back and forth between India and Canada and we all know that the Canadian border is more like a sieve than a barrier to travel. So, with the pandemic surging in India, it is just a matter if time before the same happens here, again; a fourth wave in the fall being most likely. As long as our borders are open to international travel, the virus will merrily move around the globe, to the most vulnerable spots, one of which is Canada.

On the morning of April 9, 1940, Norwegians woke up to a changed world: German troops were landing, by air and ship in Norway's major port cities, early in the morning, without any warning. German 'cargo' ships, already tied up alongside port facilities, ready to unload their 'cargoes', spewed forth armed troops and weaponry to facilitate occupation. It all happened within a few morning hours, and only spurious resistance was encountered by the German occupiers initially. Leading up to this point, Norwegian society was a divided one, between two opposed ideologies, communism from the east in Soviet Russia and National Socialism from the south in Germany. Europe was divided into two camps brought about by the ravages of the Great Depression during the 1930ies. The outcome of the invasion for Norwegians was a 280,000 strong German occupation force, the presence of which had to be endured for five long years that seemed like an eternity to most. I am personally a chil

Think again. The 1918 Flu pandemic lasted from 1917 -1920 before it subsided in a world population of 1.8 billion people. Covid 19 has now firmly established itself in a population of 7.8 billion people. That means that the probability of nasty mutations of the virus have increased by a factor of 4+ While we now have vaccines against the strain of the day rolling out, the virus is way ahead if vaccinations in all but a few countries. So, we can expect COVID to behave the same way as the flu virus with new vaccines required every year (and then some) Resistance to vaccinations and community conflicts over the seriousness of the situation gives the virus added advantage in spreading. As I see it, the only way to halt this critter in its tracks is to cut out international travel altogether, in order to avoid importing new smarter variants as they emerge in other populations, and work at lowering transmission at home. That's essentially what Australia and New Zealand have done quite su

Virus is now winning hands down. A local pastor told me today that COVID is well established in the Caroline community at this time. He also told me that congregations known to him in other parts of the world have lost several members to COVID. Looking forwards to a free and easy summer? Forget it. Instead get used to the thought of a hard lockdown with real enforcement behind it. Not the kind of pussyfooting we have seen to date. Also bear in mind that our illustrious Prime Minister can invoke the Emergencies Act at his own pleasure if our not-so-illustrious Premier can't get HIS act together. Emergencies Act: "An Act to authorize the taking of special temporary measures to ensure safety and security during national emergencies and to amend other Acts in consequence thereof". So there you have it folks. In a nutshell. And don't bother to shoot at the messenger. You'll miss anyway : (

What makes the present pandemic so divisive is the way the bug works to get its way: Relatively low death rate with extremely high numbers of infections. So, except in rare circumstances its effects are not readily visible to the general public who has to rely on second hand reports as to what is going on in medical facilities. Add to that a growing distrust of messaging from 'authorities', and you are left with a population increasingly unwilling to take protective measures. Quotes from statistical sources are used to justify entrenched opinions in regards to the severity of the pandemic. The central theme being: "I am right". Meanwhile, the bug is getting its way killing people and is getting smarter all the time. But ask yourself this question: Why would medical people be lying to us all. What's in it for them?? Are they all 'scared' to tell 'the truth', as defined by the sidestream media? I think the answer is that the bug is smarter than a lo

How a pandemic unfolds is a function of two main factors: The way the bug in question behaves and how people behave in response. A dance on a deadly floor. The bug's behavior is entirely predictable: It is an opportunistic entity looking for any opening available to multiply itself. To this end, it is helped by Nature to modify itself and its attack strategy by random changes that makes it better suited to invade our cells and use the cell to facilitate its own multiplication. In response, we take protective and aggressive measures to counter the onslaught, based on our ability for teamwork in order to create a unified front. That's where problems are arising at this time: Ideological conflicts are creating cracks in the wall of our fortress against the bug, who is laughing all the way to its bank. Alberta is now becoming one of those 'cracks in the wall' letting the new variants have their way, spreading rapidly. Real fear seems to be the only way to modify personal be

Almost one third of Alberta Premier Kenny's caucus has now publicly turned against him on his decision to turn the clock back on COVID measures. A lot of people are sick and tired of rules imposed on their behavior and are expressing their feelings to their elected MLAs. That at the beginning of a rapidly rising third wave of COVID infections in Alberta involving highly infective variants of the original virus. Kenney is now between a rock and a hard place and could be replaced as leader of the UCP by an irate membership. Who would take his place? Jason Nixon (with the highest popular vote of any UCP MLA), or Ric McIver (as the most experienced politician of the lot of them)? Or some outsider coming up through the cracks, perhaps. Whatever the outcome, we Albertans will ultimately pay the price in lives and lost opportunities.

With the onslaught of the variants becoming obvious, the time has come to bring a proven technology to bear on the enemy: UV radiation. In simple terms, we need to bring the power of our father in the sky to bear on our most deadly enemy that thrives in our indoor spaces. We need to bring the outside inside. And it can easily be achieved by purchasing existing air purifying units that just plug into a wall power outlet in smaller personal spaces. Existing ventilation systems in larger spaces can be modified by using upgraded filters and placing UV radiation units inside air channels. In combination with vaccines and other directly less invasive measures, life could return towards normal over time.

Tensions in our polarized world are increasing. Everybody is 'right'. At the same time, emerging issues like the energy revolution driven by climate change and the pandemic driven by COVID are fueling conflict. A perfect storm is building as both issues refuse to go away. Where is it leading? You can buy crystal balls on the internet, or get a vision of the future for nothing by picking the BS of your choosing. More likely than not, the mind fog will simply get thicker as you blunder along trying to find a horse to ride on. Or a wagon with kindred spirits onboard for mutual comfort. That's the choice made by most people, yelling at folks in the other wagon(s) travelling alongside in the fog. Meanwhile, the holes in the road, ditches and broken bridges ahead are hidden from view by the fog.