Donstar

We are going on a an Alaskan cruise this summer as a gift from our kids. This will be our first cruise and we're looking forward to the adventure. Covid really impacted this industry and I'm glad it survived! I have been watching YouTubes (Brilliance of the Seas) and this excursion is going to be an incredibly opulent experience. Juxtapose this image with a 67 yr old man I met yesterday asking me if I had a cigarette. I spoke with him for awhile as he appeared personable and safe. He either was telling me a false story or he had 11 more days to make it before his wife or him see any income. They are not homeless but very close. In my brief encounter with this individual I felt guilt over my good fortune yet some pride over some of my better choices in life.

In the early 70's I purchased a 1964 Econoline van to "fix up". I was a living on my own, going to school/working part time, so I had very limited money to spend on this project. I included a professional engine rebuild in my purchase financing thinking this would give me many years of trouble free motoring. I was naïve and quickly learned the multitude of things that can go wrong with an automobile! Fifty years later, I'm discovering the myriad of issues that can slow or stop the human body! My post covid/retirement "spare-time" calendar is filling up with appointments for maintenance of auxiliary parts necessary to enjoy the golden years. I am not complaining and I know I'm very fortunate. I just had to laugh yesterday when my wife an I were looking for a three day window to go visiting. We couldn't find a space over the next few months without rescheduling a medical appointment!

I dealt with an inexperienced employee with a "working level" of English proficiency yesterday. She was exceptionally courteous and her efforts were outstanding. Her computer was charging me more than on my paper bill and neither of us knew why. I simply paid the extra few dollars to avoid confrontation. When I got home, I called the customer service department of this major company and spoke to an agent who very nice. She agreed with my concerns but had no solutions! This scenario, imo, is part of the post covid reality where workers were able to move into employment opportunities without the pre pandemic level of qualifications. I fully support workers challenging themselves but wondering why such opportunities exist? Services are being reduced and facilities are closing because of staff shortages. This is the "new normal" and takes it up a lot of time!

On the first day, God created the dog and said: "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this I will give you a life span of twenty years." The dog said, "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten ?" And God said that it was good. On the second day, God created the monkey and said, "Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span." The monkey said, "Monkey tricks for twenty years ? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did ?" And God again said that it was good. On the third day, God created the cow and said, "You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years." The cow said "That's kind of hard to want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty ?" And God agreed it was good. On the fourth day, God created humans and said, "Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years." But the human said, "Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me twenty plus, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay ?" "Okay," said God, "You asked for it." So that is why for our first twenty years, we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years, we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years, we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years, we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone. Life has now been explained to you. There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing it as a public service. If you are looking for me, I will be on the front porch.

Past few weeks, I've enjoyed some nice rides around town on my Harley "tuk tuk". Yesterday, we dried our laundry on the clothesline. This morning, I need to fire up my snow thrower. We'll be Skyping my daughter in a couple of hours who has been living in the aftermath of cyclone Gabrielle. Every morning lately has presented new opportunities and unexpected surprises. Yesterday, I heard two popular hosts on XM spewing the horrors of the Covid mandates that were imposed in 2020. Their points were made early in the broadcast but rather than going on to better options for next time they kept beating up the "mandates". Regardless, the covid time is a valuable experience and has taught me to be much more self sufficient and prepared. My snowblower is next to my leaf blower which are both beside my trike c/w extra fuel!

I ride a motorcycle/trike for the enjoyment. (wind in my face and shifting gears ). Like most boomers, I had some youth related experience with bikes, but didn't get my endorsement and first bike until I was 60. It goes on a trailer for service as the distance to a dealer is beyond my comfort level. This will not preclude going electric. A towing requirement of over 2k lbs. will be needed but this is inherent with any EV I have in mind or am anticipating.

Memories of past vehicles leaves me with a couple of favorites. I know that if money and space were not an issue, I'd have a '69 F100 and a '64 Galaxie 500 XL in my garage. I think if my current '15 Sierra had 50+ years to simmer in my mind it would achieve top billing. It helps ease the pain of not owning a classic by imagining I'm driving a future coveted motor vehicle!

Currently I am looking for a gently used utility trailer suitable for transporting my Harley trike. Pre-covid, this would have been an easy search. Now, a lot of people want to haul the toys they purchased during covid! I only need a trailer for occasional use and a suitable rental would be sufficient if one was available. Of course we all know that if I wait awhile there will be a glut of these on the market. I remember during the peak of covid we considered taking in another dog to foster and/or keep. The shelters were empty! Now, we're hearing pleas from our local shelters to help them with an overabundance of surrendered dogs! I can't get upset by such things especially when I'm doing the same. It would be like in 2020 when people were complaining about TP shortages as they were pushing their Costco cart full of the aforementioned product!

Today I begin the last year of my 60's. It is funny when I think of memorable birthdays, they usually centre around childhood. I not a fan of too much attention and most of my adult birthdays are indiscernible. Receiving a few phone calls and lunch out with my wife suits me! I truly appreciate having so many birthdays as the option is totally unacceptable!!

Please re-read my post. It was intended to support yours but these responses reflect that my intentions were poorly penned. It can be a challenge to communicate face to face and even more so when sharing solely by keyboard.

I appreciate the differences of understanding but the name calling is ineffective in helping us benefit from the knowledge of these individuals. Often a third party sees common ground but combatants appear to enjoy the fight. The fight over the bone serves as a distraction over the elephant in the room. (mixed metaphor ) Covid continues to impact us in many ways. "We" have learned a great deal over the past few years and the yin and yang have found us here today. The relaxation in restrictions have not made it go away The news last night showed many restaurants closing or repurposing in the downtown area of our provincial capital. This is due to government workers continuing to work from home. The spinoffs like tourism are taking a hit. My wife and I actually cancelled a "birthday" trip to this city this weekend because a few of our favored destinations are closed. As a result, I have more spare time this weekend compliments of Covid!

One of my personal objectives during my uncommitted time is to make my garage a place for me to make a mess. (A man cave) I read yesterday that wives generally like the man cave idea because it is a place to contain the mess made by the man. The female is usually in charge of the rest of the house and sets it up to suit her wishes. After I read this article, I looked around the house and concluded the garage is the only room in the house that is within my control! This research is a result of me trying to come up with name for a spare bedroom my wife has recently setup for her den. (ie lady cave) Boy, is her room spotless! While growing up I had a tendency to stereotype old couples. My aunts, uncles, grandparents had homes that were typically spotless and you had to be very careful not to disturb anything. The male was often found in an easy chair and often unkempt. There was usually a space in a basement or garage that the man stored his prized tools! I'm glad this won't happen to me....

I apologize for leading us down this road. I know climate change does occur naturally over long periods of time. We are very rapidly speeding up the process. Shut downs during Covid found a significant mass of people slowing down their "contribution" to the problem which apparently had measurable results. I believe we have the ability now, without a horrible amount of personal sacrifice, to permanently and significantly reduce/slow our negative impact.

I don't treat man's contribution to global warning as a belief. I thought his was proven several decades ago. I remember explaining global warming to my dad when he'd leave his new '70 Ford Galaxie idling for 30 minutes while he had his breakfast! The idea that people are still doubting our impact on the planet fifty years later impedes progress.

I've been riding my trike for the past few days even though the weather is very cold. (Investing in proper clothing is key.) It costs me a lot of money to "rough it" like this but I enjoy the ride. I am fortunate to have a choice but I know we can manage to maintain a good lifestyle while substantially dialing back the footprint of personal transport. Yesterday a man at Costco approached me in the parking lot to talk about the placement of my disability parking sticker on my trike. As all riders do, we talked bikes and he told me about him and his buddies riding down to Sturgis again this year. This guy is my age and obviously has some physical challenges. This is a 2,400 mile round trip for these guys. It takes a higher level of planning than a car trip but this is part of the fun for them. I've mentioned before that in my spare time I mapped out travel plans for cross country (USA and Canada) in a mid range EV. Travelling by motorcycle or an EV are significantly different than road trips with our Sierras and Silverado's. However we can still enjoy our beautiful countries by road even though changes in how we do so need to be/are imminent. I look forward to going all electric as the pros far outweigh the cons to the best of my understanding.

"Air quality worldwide improved greatly during COVID-19 lockdown." Covid serves as a modern day demonstration on what it takes to make global change. The squawking over the simplest of health measures demonstrated for me how difficult or slow it is to make change. We can make a huge positive impact on climate on short notice without being forced but too many of us our waiting until we can change with minimal inconvenience! A couple of days ago I watched a YouTube about a guy who bought an electric tuk-tuk with a pickup type bed. I think one of these would make for a fun toy. However the reality is, there is nothing I typically do or places I go that exceed the capabilities of a tuk-tuk!

A hybrid is a respectable compromise although some will argue there are no winners in a compromise. If given a choice in a 4X4 GM or Ford pickup, my order of power preference is; EV, Hybrid, 4cyl. I spent time previously mapping a cross country trip with an EV and I believe there is enough infrastructure "currently" in place to meet my needs. Local environment plays a significant role in how we embrace EV's. I live in a city and am of a demographic where looking to buy or owning an EV is the norm.

My truck is now 8 years old and this is the longest I've ever owned a vehicle. My love for this truck is really challenged by the beautiful new ones on my dealer's lot! It is good to see the supply issues appear to have eased. However, my current truck is in wonderful shape and is not a financial hardship. Unless the momentum changes, "gas only" vehicles will be hard to resell in a few years. My loss will be minimized by keeping my "old" truck. Currently, Hybrids and EV's are what people are buying. In my spare time I looked for companies that convert "gas only" vehicles to hybrid or all electric. My current truck is in pristine original condition and would make an ideal candidate. There are companies that will convert "show" or commercial vehicles to low range electric but nothing that would scratch the huge potential market that currently exists. Changes in how we fuel our vehicles is coming whether we agree or not. I remember many worried about losing leaded fuel and/or manual transmissions. These particular changes were only a hiccup compared to the changes that need/will happen in the near future. There is a billion dollar business opportunity in converting our treasured vehicles to low or zero emissions, imo!

My wife has waited for a year for non emergency surgery and I'm on a 6 month long waitlist to see a specialist. Covid and other bugs are still consuming a lot of service. Waiting prevents travel plans but we both manage to fill our days so that we're ready for any future adventure. Yesterday, I took my truck for a tire rotation and alignment check to make sure it is always ready to hit the road. These services are free where I purchased the tires, unless they find alignment adjustments are required. I had this shop do an alignment 6k miles ago and was very surprised when they charged $120 + tax for a full alignment yesterday. I know it takes only one bad bump to skew the numbers but I certainly don't recall anything out of the ordinary! I felt ripped off but am trying to convince myself they did what was right. I would rather err on the side of trust! "Just because everyone is out to get me doesn't mean I'm paranoid"

The quick lube place advertises brand name lubricants and the staff seem very knowledgeable about what they sell. If offered a choice of brands, I typically pick the more "expensive." I know they upsell at almost every opportunity but their best is still far cheaper than what is offered at the dealership!

I follow a couple on YouTube who spend their retirement living in a cargo trailer conversion (tiny house). Their assets and wealth are minimal but their commitment to each other is priceless. Their videos often describe how they made something for their tiny home or tow vehicle. However, the real substance comes from how this couple interact with each other under such close conditions. It's not all hugs and kisses but the respect they show for each other is indicative of years of work. This can't be turned off with the camera. Retirement, exacerbated by the covid years, generated a lot of extra time that I was responsible to fill. It took me no time at all to appreciate that maintaining a good relationship with my wife is infinitely more important and rewarding than any of my personal projects!

Personally, I don't use this expression because of the "matrimonial" folklore reference but this is not proven to be where this idiom originated. Unfortunately decent words get removed because of offensive historical references. Many of our street, building and geographical names are being changed because of suspected connections to people(s) who would not be deserving of this honour today. This is fine in some very specific situations but many/most of these names are arguably far removed from an individual sharing the name.

I was on an interview committee looking for a supervisor for one of our large departments. One candidate was great on paper but his spoken English required some effort to be understood. In response to a question about teamwork he said that there is more in two heads than one. Thinking that he was saying that two heads are better than one, I asked him to elaborate on his response. What he was saying explains why I find our respective political operations a huge waste of brain power. The structures are good but the participation is flawed. When you have a two or three party system and decisions and planning are done "along party lines", why do we fund hundreds of people to sit through the process? I've worked on staffs that have operated successfully on truly shared decision making "consensus" (not to be confused with compromise) and staffs that voted on everything. Painting your wall is an example of the effectiveness of more in two heads. We were planning a new building and the later stages involved colour schemes. I was chair of the building committee and knew my ideas would be opposed by some because they were my ideas. I knew there were others who still questioned the need for the project. Giving the committee choices of ideas to vote on would result in a decision with minimal ownership. Ideas, not choices, from our committee along with all of the people they represent resulted in a colour scheme that no individual chose but one better and we all owned the result.