Open letter to Heather Malleck of the Tor-Star

Hi Heather, I am having the devil's own time of logging in to comment, but I want to make a point!

I am disabled, 63 in January, and unlike other's don't want a CPP Disability Pension, it will limit what I can earn at a later date, IF I am ever able to get something going.Ontario DSP, when I applied, replied that I wasn't disabled enough.I need to be under a nurses care.
My income is made up of 180 dollars CPP and the rest tops up to 643 with OW/SS benefits. The CPP is limited because of back injuries and surgery when I was in my 30's working in warehousing and have been forced in my work life to take either low paying, or non CPP deducting jobs, or be a stay at home dad; in the end, while I asked my ex wife to give me the years that she holds, for CPP, which I looked after the kids, she rightly refused; those were years she worked and contributed to the fund (btw we're friends); I am SOL; at 64 I will apply for the Old Age Supplement, to get it when I arrive at 65; but in the mean time, I jog along, making a bit of progress each month; life is not all beer and pretzels, but it sure is better than water and bread ;-)
Health wise I have deteriorated, but I am not giving up my dreams; I am not going to give the Scrooges that are commenting on your column the satisfaction of seeing my body on the DVP after a flying leap off the Via Duct; In this day and age, it would be easy to rephrase Scrooges reply to the men looking for donations for the poor, in modern terms; (see below)
Am I down Hearted?? NO!!! (Brit ex-pat) other than the occasional depression about being single, and that rarely, I am moving forward not backward;

Cheers

SW

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First Collector: At this festive time of year, Mr. Scrooge, it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute.
Ebenezer: Are there no prisons?
First Collector: Plenty of prisons and many more being built, with stricter sentences.
Ebenezer: And the Social Services and Ontario Works systems, they are still in operation, supplying cheap part time labour?? And the Food Banks, Thrift Stores and Soup Kitchens have not closed down?
First Collector: They are. I wish I could say they were not so necessary.
Ebenezer: Oh, from what you said at first I was afraid that something had happened to stop them in their useful course. I'm very glad to hear it.
First Collector: I don't think you quite understand us, sir. A few of us are endeavoring to buy the poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth.
Ebenezer: Why?
First Collector: Because it is at Christmastime that want is most keenly felt, and abundance rejoices. Now what can I put you down for?
Ebenezer: Huh! Nothing!
Second Collector: You wish to be anonymous?
Ebenezer: [firmly, but calmly] I wish to be left alone. Since you ask me what I wish sir, that is my answer. I help to support the establishments I have named through my taxes and support for the Conservative Party; those who are badly off must go there.
First Collector: Many can't go there.
Second Collector: And some would rather die.
Ebenezer: [firmly, loudly and dismissively] Then let them die and decrease the burden on the GDP!!! GOOD DAY, Gentlemen!!!

Making Christmas

I have been thinking this past couple of days about "Why am I hitting my head against the lack of Enthusiasm for Christmas traditions amongst my family and others??" only a few people are involved in Christmas, and other's are either expecting the Old Folks to Make Christmas, or are doing the commercial thing, of buying ready made products; to busy to be involved in the Real Spirit of Christmas

Some of it can be laid at the feet of Parents who have done everything, and not involved the kids; for others it is our fast paste lives, spread out from Family and Friends; while still more likely is the lack of any desire to get into a Seasonal Spirit of Past Traditions Handed Down, it's too much work and takes time, so not the quick fix that the Fast Food / Instant Gratification Society wants life to be;

My generation may be the last one to have grown up with and done for themselves the Christmas Traditions, at least as far as I know in my own immediate family; only one Daughter has any inclination to Make Christmas, and she married a man who is into that as well; regardless of his other faults, he is still someone that I am glad is in the family ;-)
This year we will have our first Christmas Dinner here at the house, with a Pot Luck, overly organized but still a start; then on New Years Day, we are planning another dinner Pot Luck, we will have more of the traditions of the family, with additions from my daughter's husband, mixing in; it will be a Made Celebration, not bought; home made beer, mead, punch, wines; puddings, cakes, and year old mincemeat I started last January; 4-5 traditional cookies, cinnamon buns, Christmas Tryfle and Jul log rolls; the nuts, cold cuts, cheeses, with home made sausage rolls, buns and breads; and of course The Real Music and Movies of Christmas !!


But Christmas Traditions are more than just food and partying; they are just a way of sharing and caring amongst the family; each one bringing what they do best, and making up the Celebration; for the religious or spiritual amongst us, it is a concrete way of sharing the Gift of the Messiah with the family and friends; by going amongst the houses and visiting, sharing a drink, cookies or cold lunches, along with chat and hugs, that is building relationships that epitomize the Spirit of the Season; whatever religion we belong to it is universal to people at this time of transition in the yearly calendar;

What to me are important traditions, won't be important to others, and while I won't do all their traditions, I will realize they are important to them and respect their doing and sharing; in the end we all grow and develop as people and friends; if I had not met the Wagners and other Northern and Eastern Europeans, I would not have the joy and pleasure of those traditions in my Christmas, added to my own families traditions; it is an evolving organic celebration that can and will change with each generation, but the core is always there; as my son said in November, Christmas to him now, would not be Christmas without the Weihnachten Lieder or German Christmas Songs to those who don't know the term;

Prettige Kerstdagen en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar
Frohe Weihnachten und ein glückliches neues Jahr
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Noflike Krystdagen en in Lokkich Nijjier
Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année
Glædelig Jul og Godt Nytår
God Jul og Godt Nyttår
God jul och gott nytt år
Boas Festas e um feliz Ano Novo
Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
Buon Natale e felice anno nuovo
Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou
Veselé Vánoce a Šastný Nový Rok!
Hyvää Joulua Ja Onnellista Uutta Vuotta!
Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!
Wesolych swiat i szczesliwego nowego roku

The going, not the destination!!!

Space the New Frontier, to boldly ignore it, and grow fat and lazy, to go no where, and live the status quo; is that what we should do!! To listen to a lot of people, who complain that there are more important things to do here on Earth, and we don't have the Billions it will take to go into Space, we would think so. 

      Mr and Mrs Joe Nobody, and their kids, have more to worry about on a daily basis than getting into Space; that is a luxury they can't afford; what with the economy tanking and jobs scarce; petrol, food, housing, health and education costs rising as fast as the waters of the oceans because of Global Climate Change (whatever the cause) how can they possibly have time to think of the consequences of NOT becoming a Space Faring Species; 

       But we as a Species are stuck in a basement apartment, with all our basic needs met, even if it is getting crowded and the supplies are getting spread thin; it is a nice basement apartment and so we don't notice that things are getting a bit tight; but like for myself, it is a beautiful trap; 

         I live in a lovely basement apartment, with a full freezer, stove, 4 rooms including kitchen, toilet, workshop and laundry facilities; groceries and other supplies are delivered; there really is no NEED to go upstairs; but in the past 5 years, I have experienced a degenerating body; I can do nothing and stay in my lovely basement, but eventually I will be carried out and put in a Nursing Home, where a 20 something beauty, will change my diaper, while another one will feed me, another give me sponge baths, and I will sit in a wheel chair in front of a picture window looking out on the world that I would once have explored at will, but now restricted from for my own safety; 

           Or I can fight against the enclosing future, and exercise my body and work towards getting out of my basement, not that I need anything up there, but because to do so will free me from a future of dependency and degeneration;

           That is the choice that the human species has; the destinations, of Moon, Cis-Lunar, NEO, LEO, the Inner Planets and the Outer Planets, are not important, as we don't need what they have; we can live without them, but eventually we will degenerate and become a marginalized and extinct species, whether by global cataclysm, or just the degeneration of our society through war and pestilence; the goal is not as important, as it is the doing and going, which will exercise our species muscles of intellect and economy;  

            I have said nothing of the potential dangers that lurk in my basement; the possibility of a fire. quake, or heat attack, that could leave me trapped if I am unable to climb the stairs to the outside door, because my leg muscles have degenerated to the point that climbing the stairs is impossible; I already have one leg that last year was at that point due to an injury; by persistent use, I have brought it up to 50% strength, and perhaps I can increase that yet; but like the Space Industry, if I don't have that goal of doing, it will remain withered and useless; getting out of the house is not the goal, as the Moon is not the goal, the real goal is to be able to get up those stairs, or in the case of humanity, to develop the ability to go into Space where ever we wish; 

What is Destiny and how do we walk it out!!

Truly trying to come to grips with that word destiny, and what's next; in truth,  a friend probably said it best in her e-mail, it is a rapid ride that we control the day to day (free will), but in the background is the real direction maker; 

I think of it as being a river, where we are in a kayak, and at times there are quiet pools of reflection, where we have lots of control, and can pick directions to smell the roses and choose to move towards the shore, but always the current pulls us along; and then there are the rapids, which just wooooooooosh us along with rocks and shoals, which we have to deftly get about, and if we spy a smooth area we endeavour to move towards it for a break from the struggle; 

but the fun thing is, we are not in the river alone, for it is a broad river and there are many travelling it; so we occasionally bump into one another and share experiences; sometime too we try to connect and it just doesn't work out; not going our way or the timing is not right; anyone of a multitude of reasons; 

so what is destined to be our lot; that good old Islamic saying comes to mind; "Struggle is the meaning of life. Defeat or victory is in the hands of God (the current). But struggle itself is Man's duty and should be his joy." - Aga Khan;

so dear friends, struggle on, set you eye on the polar star and mark your course; the next bend in the river is just ahead, will it bring smooth paddling or wild rapids ;-) 

Thoughts to question the Universe with!!

I wrote this post 4 years ago this month, on the 18th; that would be Nov 18th 2006 ;-) little knowing that on Jan 24th 2007 I would be in a plane over the Irish Sea, about to land in Manchester UK ;-) but I just found it again, and a lot of thoughts are going through my mind, about Destiny and where we are headed; see the next post for my thoughts; SW

Walking out my Destiny

Nov 18th 2006

The title outlines the purpose very succinctly… Walking out my destiny… taken from the title of a religious magazine I found in the bathroom this morning… Kenneth Copeland Ministries… July 2006… perhaps I should have read it earlier ;0… but walking I am doing now… my brother and I began last week, but one thing and another, he got distracted from it, and I just waited for him to get back on track… however, last night I had a bad night, and lots of dreams… always dream, never go to sleep without dreaming… most are what I call entertainment, nothing to write home about… but this morning I had one which upon waking had me thinking a mile a minute… getting into shape… ideas were coming at me from every direction… from going walking myself, to fixing up a used tread mill that I had repaired, into a gym centre, with weights, and pulleys, to making weights that would fit on my body, without encumbering it so that I couldn't move around, or work… like some of the stuff I see people in Gym Ads wearing, leg and ankle weights, definitely not what I am looking for… want something that I can wear with street clothes and it isn't noticeable that I am, aside from perhaps appearing a bit overweight…

The point to the wearing weights, over weight people can loose weight faster than lighter people because their bodies have to work harder… ergo, if I add weight, then my body has to work harder and the weight will come off faster… now I am hoping that by positioning the weight in areas that need to lose weight that too will have a beneficial affect… perhaps, perhaps not ;)

This morning, I knew that I could not get the weights ready, so I got my Sony CD player and put some batteries in it, only to find that the music, which I hadn't listened to since this time last year, while working at the church, was Christmas music ;0… then I got the camera and tripod, put 3 layers of shirts and my fav hoodie on… I met my brother as I was getting ready… he was headed back to bed, after he had a rough night, at 6:45… told him, and he said, 'I'll believe you, thousands wouldn't!!'

I headed out at 7, and walked down to the lake, thinking that I would take a few pictures, not that the weather was any good, dark and dismal… very over cast… it took me only 15 minutes to get to the lake, then I wandered around within a very constricted area, taking pics, then started back at 7:20… arriving at 8:39… took longer because I was still taking pictures ;0… really got into it hahaha… anyway, I arrived home and made some coffee from Chile, which a friend of my eldest daughter's gave me, and set about blogging… when it went frizz… I did take a pedometer that my brother had given me last week, and it registered 5449 steps, which translates into about 2.57 miles… so really not bad at as a start… but as I have discovered once started, gotta keep going… so there will be more morning walks to the lake… perhaps taking the whole morning to walk about… as for the weights and the tread mill, that will have to wait for another day… right now I have some work for money to do, packaging sample breakfast diet drinks HOL, now how is that for co-incidence… only found out when I had a peek while sorting stuff out just now… I REALLY think Some one is trying awfully hard to get through hahaha…

Of course as usual, comments and ideas gratefully received…

What Next???

Halloween is over for another year;

Hello,
Web 2 and soon to be Web 3 are around the corner, with all the other many other new apps and electronic tools and medical procedures brought to us by the new technology will change life and how we live it as drastically in the next 10-15 years as the last 30-50 years have changed life;

40 years ago the cry against technology and Space Exploration was we had to get things straightened up on our planet before we spent money on Space, but now after 40 years and counting, nothing has changed, other than we have more problems than we did in 1964-69 and we didn't get rid of poverty, war, or inequality; sure some places have benefited, like South Africa, Russia and East Germany!! but in reality, we are still a mess, with poverty and hunger in the First World that rivals that in the Third World Countries;

now we have Climate Change and the Fight to reduce CO2 emissions which threatens to stall the economic advances of the Third World, while the stronger Nations, like China, Canada, India, the USA and Russia fight any real attempt at control; and like I said, technological advances are just around the corner that will propel us into the 21st century at light speed ;-) I think it makes the book (WALDEN) on Thoreau's view of life all the more relevant as a means to balance the mental tight rope walk of life in this new age;

While I just lit three candles to see how much light they shine in my little corner display around the computer, Father Christmas and Indonesian Wood Carvings, I am reflecting on what next; last night I was up for 3-4 hours looking through the tech news; don't read the "real" news much; it never really changes except the names and locations; but the Tech news does; there is an Egyptian who is going to revolutionize Canadian telecomm industry by forcing them to compete against him and thus give consumer some real choice; a few new ways to get past the silicon chip (it was discovered in the late 1950's) and make electronics faster, more powerful and smaller; a stem cell was used to create a miniature liver; and of course last spring the creation of heart cells from stem cells; individual genome studies are available online, not sure of the safety of this, but if you know about cloud computing, their technology is akin to that (web 3 ???) soon we will all be able to have our individual genomes read and available for study as easily as we can access our credit reports; have heart disease or kidney disease, get a new one created from your skin cells, no rejection; this week we celebrate 10 years of ISS human occupation; in 10 years they will be deciding whether to extend it's life again; mean while Bigelow will be putting up Space Habitats in LEO and probably between the Earth and the Moon, with plans for a Lunar Base a couple of years down the road; by 2040, at the latest, the first persons born in Space and on another celestial body, will have celebrated their first BD; and a Martian colony is a distinct possibility by the year 2050-60;
last year we changed over here at the Hermitage to the fluorescent low energy lamps; this year our hydro has gone up, and we are planning on investing in LED lamps and motion/proximity detectors to turn off and on lights; last week we bought a LED bulb, with 1.5 watt usage, but 120 Lumen of light production, which is about twice the light as the 3 candles; it cost 9 dollars; for 15 dollars we can get a 220 Lumen bulb, 2.5 watt usage; that and the change over of the Halloween and Christmas decorations to LED and soon LED computer monitors, we hope to cut down the cost of hydro;

but having said that, I am looking at buying a 12" compound mitre saw for 315 dollars including tax for making frames for stretching canvas and framing pictures and painting, as well as other projects; (building another Walden??) all small steps forward;
















But again, WHAT'S NEXT!!??? 52 days to Chrimbo!!

Will we become a Space Faring Species in the next 150 years

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=22191.0

Quote from Robotbeat

In 150 years, there are at least 20,000 people on Mars (not necessarily in one colony). How did they get there? What are they doing? Why?

Try to provide unique but very believable answers, like Jules Verne. No "technological singularity" allowed (too easy). Try to have a different scenario from other posters. Everything must be based on real physics (or reasonable extrapolations), though engineering is more flexible (extra points if the engineering is realistic, low tech can also be interesting). Ready.... Go!

my answer
I do get tired of the defeatist thinking on this and other forums; we have gone from pre Flight to Wright Brothers and Space flight in about the same time that Robotbeat is asking us to imagine how we would set up a colony on Mars; in terms of human ingenuity and will, I don't think it is all that hard to imagine that in 150 years we won't have live births on the Moon, Mars and in Space Stations dotting the inner Solar System;
what I do find hard to believe is the degree of cynicism amongst the space community; it is as if the wind had been taken out of the sails of an American Cup yacht while racing to the finish line, and the crew just gives up;
what we will be doing, what we should be doing and what we could be doing in 150 years are 3 different things; and will basically depend on whether or not, we as a race, sit back and moan about the present, or our dreamers dream big dreams and we get inspired to do the “impossible”. By impossible, I don't mean warp drive or star-gates, I mean taking on projects that push the present envelop of human progress, advancement to the next level; Moon Bases, Space Stations, Mars colonies, Asteroid mining and maneuvering, and Space Craft that don't return to a gravity well; the technology is there to do it, we just need to bring it together;
In 150 years I would hope that we had begun utilizing ISRU (In Space Resource Utilization) through mining Asteroids, and bringing them closer to the Earth / Moon and Mars Systems; the Martians and Lunarians would begin building their own civilizations, to become independent trading partners of an Earth, Moon, Mars alliance in another 100 years OR LESS; perhaps we would have large scale Space Stations at the L-points between Earth / Moon, and Mars; Terra-forming of Mars and Venus would have begun in earnest, and the first person to reach a Jovian Moon would have returned; we would no longer be building space craft in gravity wells, but in space, out of materials mined in space;
This is what I see when I look to the future, not the same old, same old that a lot of you seem to think is our future as a race; there will be a time when the last of us baby boomers die off; there will be good times again between now and then and in the future; there will be leaders of industry, science and politics, born in this century that push the envelop; and there will be people who say, why, what is the good, we have problems to solve here on Earth;
but the final point is: the easy wealth has all but been run out here on this planet; if we want to advance, we need space exploitation and exploration; whether we do or don't, the results will be our legacy to the future; that is why answering the question at the beginning of this thread is important; not that the answers are accurate, but that they bespeak hope and imagination for the future of our children; our legacy to them;