From my perspective, and probably from the world’s as well, this past month was history-making, and not in any particularly good way. The proverbial fallout of many of these events are still happening even as I write this, and between the time I finish this post and the time you see it, some of it may be out of date. I’m not even certain I can make sense of it all, beyond the certainty that the world is now dramatically different at the end of this month than it was at the beginning. It was, without a doubt, a very unnerving month.
Continue reading “Monthly Observations: February 2022”There’s Bakery Afoot!
Over the Christmas holiday I got a gift from my parents of some cooking tools; a sifter, some measuring utensils, two bread pans, etc. I’d mentioned that I wanted to take some time to learn to make bread and they were happy to give me some support in that direction.
Why the interest in baking, one might ask? Part of it is economics: food is getting more expensive, and I want to curb my grocery bill before it gets larger. Part of it is due to the pandemic, now stretching out into its third year; a result of which is there are a number of foods I can no longer get by relying on stores or fast-food places. And part of it is a desire to learn new things, gain new experiences, and perhaps acquire a few new skills that might be useful later in life.
Now bread is hardly scarce, but it is costly, depending on where you buy it and what brand. And the skills needed to make bread can also be used to make other things; like rolls, or pizza.
So, I found a recipe online that will make two loaves, got the ingredients I didn’t already have, and yesterday, proceeded to bake bread.
Continue reading “There’s Bakery Afoot!”How I Vote
This past weekend, advance polls in our Federal election opened across the country. With COVID still a risk, I decided to take advantage of the smaller lines for the advance polls to cast my vote.
This election, perhaps more than any election I’ve voted in, had me in a bind. I’ve considered myself in recent years to be a Progressive in my thinking and, consequentially, in my voting habits. But, between the Progressive parties on the ballot, and the Conservative alternatives, I found myself worried that my vote might be useless, or worse help deliver a result that could be dangerous for Canada. How to make sure my vote counted?
In recent years, I’ve taken to asking myself two questions that have helped me navigate that dilemma:
- Which Party has a chance of actually forming a government – majority or minority?
- Which Party’s platform has a good chance of making things better for all Canadians, and of preparing Canada for the challenges to come – at least, as I see them?
If the answers to those questions delivered the same answer, then I’d know who to vote for.
Of course, a Party could form a government, and could promise many things… but not deliver on those promises for some reason. But then I realized that, if a governing Party doesn’t fulfil its promises, than the overall situation for Canada doesn’t change exactly (though the window for solving some problems – like mitigating climate change – does shrink somewhat, when a Party chooses to do nothing or to do as little as possible to solve a problem or fulfil a promise). So, really, a Party can only be good or bad for Canada if it actually follows through on the promises.
That last is a distinction we need to remember. The British Tories, for example, followed through on their promise to take Britain out of the European Union – and now their nation is in growing crisis; the resultant lack of workers and access to markets is slowly wrecking the British economy, and hampering Britain’s ability to deal with COVID-19. We must always remember that just because a given Party thinks their promise will Make Things Better, that it doesn’t necessarily mean that their promise will actually do what they think or say it will, if and when it is realized.
Which is why, when all is said and done, despite my own misgivings, I cast my vote for the Liberals. They have the means to form a government, and while their platform does not go far enough to aid the poor, tax the rich, combat climate change, combat systemic racism, and a myriad other problems, they will do better than the other party that can realistically form a government, to wit the Conservatives. The Conservatives’ promises, in my opinion, either do less than the Liberals, or do nothing at all to address the real problems our nation faces.
(And what of the parties that promise to do more than the Liberals? The NDP, despite having what I think of as a better platform, simply doesn’t have the numbers to be more than holding the balance of power in a minority government – which is the role they held prior to the election, and one where they did quite well in keeping the Liberals honest. As for the Greens – sadly, they never did a good enough job of selling their dreams to Canadians, and the recent racially-charged infighting between the party and its leader has done them no favours. I’d be surprised if the Greens remain a party of note after this election, honestly.)
Of course, my vote doesn’t mean that the Liberals will win the election – we could still see a Conservative government, or perhaps the NDP might surprise us and get a surprise surge on election day. But the above process allowed me to deliver a vote I could live with, and that’s what matters to me right now.
Drabble: The Betrayal
Biologist Peters raced to the colony’s lab dome, only to find his samples destroyed and Colony Director Carson wiping the last of his files. Carson said, “If the Council learned that there’s life on this planet they’ll want us to resettle.”
“But if we terraform this planet, we’ll kill off the native ecosystem!” Peters exclaimed, aghast.
“It’s men or microbes,” Carson stated as he left. “I choose men.”
When Carson had left, Peters went to where he’d kept his backup files hidden. “I choose both. It’s not either-or,” he declared, as he started to rebuild his case for the Council.
Vaccinated, Part 2
When I wrote about getting my first shot of the COVID vaccine, I mentioned that my next shot was scheduled for September. How things change in a month! The province’s vaccine supply had improved to the point that I soon got a call from the pharmacy, wanting to move my second shot up.
So, last Monday, I travelled down to the pharmacy again, and got my second dose, fully two months ahead of when I expected I would. As others, including some members of my family, had mentioned, the second shot tends to hit harder than the first, and I was no exception; the following day had me more tired than I’d been in a long time. The following days saw me much improved, though with some aches that might have been from the vaccine, and might have been something else.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that I’m immune just yet; I have another week from this writing before my body has built up the immunity needed to keep this disease at bay. And, as we’re finding, the current vaccines are not the perfect fit for the newer variants, especially Delta. But even there, we’ve found that the vaccinations still provide significant protection; those who get COVID-19 after getting vaccinated have a far better chance of shrugging the disease off. Overall, I’m glad I had the shots.
I’ll be keeping masks ready at hand for a while yet; even though our province seems set to lift the health restrictions around the beginning of August (and our vaccination numbers suggest we might actually hit the provinces’ threshold more or less on time), there’s always the possibility that we may have another outbreak before or after. The more people we have vaccinated above the provinces’ set threshold of 75%, the safer we’ll be.
So if you’re hesitating on the vaccination, either because you fear the effects or don’t think you have to because of ‘herd immunity’, some friendly advice. Take the shots anyway. Bank on a day or two to take it easy, just in case you get knocked back as I did. If a fourth wave comes, you’ll be glad you did, trust me.