The Collector

I've collected things since I was a small kid. I think a lot of people have collections and I've had quite a number over the years. I used to collect badges from police departments, POG, beer bottles from different breweries and stamps. 

Some of those collections I've gotten rid of over the years. The beer bottles were recycled; the POG were sold for $50. The stamp collection is still n a shelf in the corner. 

I also have a number of practical collections, things that I use like my guitars and kazoos, or my collection of tools. Even my music collection like my CDs and records are as much archival and research as they are just a collection. 

The music collection in particular has been wrought with disaster. As the digital age moved in through the '90s and early 2000s, I found myself not wanting to carry these collections around with me through life and many of them were sold or found the curb. It was mostly the practical stuff that stayed. My beat up CDs and tapes from my youth found landfills in this time. The records seem to stick around, at first it was really cheap to get them because I'd get them at garage sales. I do still have a small box full of CDs and an even smaller box of cassettes but mostly my record collection is actual records or online. 

The Navigator has made the wise and correct choice to leave Spotify for less fascist pastures. I on the other hand haven't been able to make that switch just yet. It is part of my master plan I spoke of to diversify and change my digital footprint over the coming year. And it occurs to me that I kind of want to go back to having tangible music and a few tangible things. 

I've got five or six albums from this year that I really like and for the most part my listening has been to those albums. I would totally be able to afford say a couple dozen albums a year over buying my music from Spotify and having access to all this stuff I don't need. I also think I would have a closer attachment and a closer relationship with that music. 

But at the same time I don't have a CD player in my car or a portable tape deck I can use in the garage. Everything's Bluetooth. So I'm going to have to find a balance and find a new way to consume music as part of that larger project. At the same time, one of my favourite albums this year, "Looking for People to Unfollow" by Ecca Vandal didn't even see a physical release until the last few weeks. It's been digital only since the spring. 

I've also had this thought in my head over the last few weeks about collecting all of the mainline Zelda games. I think it was seeing all of the switch Zelda games that I have together on one pile that sort of triggered the idea. I don't own basically all of the consoles that they would be played on, but it would be really cool to be able to hold on to each game and play them. I also think this is just a reaction to the recent debate, discussion and movement in the game industry where you don't own a game, you just rent it until the studio decides they're done with it.

I dunno. I don't particularly want to sort and store more stuff in life. I think we have plenty. But the way the world is going, it sure feels nice to have something tangible in hand sometimes. Maybe there's a balance point. 

Magic Expectations

Last Tuesday, I went to see the Queens of the Stone Age and the Foo Fighters live at Mosaic Stadium. I had to use all of my fingers and toes, and borrow a few from Rhonda to figure out it's been nearly 30 years since I last saw the Foo Fighters. We were scheduled to have them here in 2022, but the passing of Taylor Hawkins cancelled that tour. For QOTSA, it's only been 3 years as I saw them in Saskatoon. Interestingly, also the last time I consumed alcohol in any appreciable amount. 

Overall, it was a great show and pretty much exactly what you would expect of a stadium show like that. Plenty of hit songs, a tight band and great visuals. But at the same time, it kinda fell flat. I've listened to the Foo Fighters since their first album and many of these songs are as ingrained in my musical lexicon as anything by the Beatles or Queen. With my location being on the opposite side of the stadium from the stage, I was mostly watching the fun through the big screens. I could barely make out the band at all. 

I felt the same way after seeing Paul McCartney at the old Taylor Field. I was far too removed from the action to really feel connected. I think at the end of the day, I would have been happier with a 2 hour performance of the hits in a heated arena than a 3 hour performance full of filler on a cold prairie night in an open roof stadium. 

In some respects, I'd almost rather go to a small local show with a band playing something I've never heard before. Without an expectation being set, it's easier to impress me and expand my mind a bit. This happened this past weekend at Tiny Fest, a small local scene festival. I saw the duo Worlds Collide and had my mind completely blown by how original and beautiful their music was. 

Queens of the Stone Ago delivered a bit more. It was still a stadium performance and I was still a quarter mile away, but they brought a little more spice to the equation. For example, during "No One Knows" they started to sort of drag and slow around the bridge part. The bass started playing solo and things just started melting. Like I even commented how the song was melting. Then the visuals on the screens started glitching and showing tracers. I wasn't on mushrooms, but they did a great job of reproducing that experience. 

Maybe little surprise from a band that talented but also known for being loose handed and stoner rock. It was like watching the musical version of "The Legend of the Drunken Master". 

But you start to realize that all of this is about expectation. I didn't expect Worlds Collide so it was easy for them to impress. My familiarity with "No One Knows" set me up with an expectation of the song sounding one way, and the change made it magical. And maybe I expected the Foo Fighters to transcend what I've heard from them for 35 years and they just couldn't exceed those expectations. 

My ponderings on expectations were well and truly capped off yesterday when I watched an episode of Neil Degrasse Tyson's podcast "Star Talk" where he talked to Teller of Penn and Teller fame (apparently Ray Teller?) where they talked about how a lot of what magicians do is play with our expectations and when they can exceed or circumvent them, that's where the magic happens. Bending a spoon with your mind is amazing because we don't often go around bending spoons at all, let alone with our brains. It would actually be less interesting to make a car roll down the street with your mind. 

They did discuss how musicians use music to affect people's emotions just as magicians use illusion to have the same effect, but they didn't talk about how musicians can do the same thing by playing with people's expectations. I first noticed this watching Tool play live. Maynard will often sing the harmony part of a vocal and in your head you can hear the two part harmony even though there is no one signing the root part, nor is a recording being played. Your familiarity is so strong that the brain fills it in on it's own. 

Of course, this is nothing new. Victor Borge was using expectation and familiarity long before any of us were even born to produce delight and humour. 

I was pondering this weekend how I can use expectation to my own benefit in the music I make. It's easy for an established act like QOTSA or Tool to use familiarity to create a new experience for audiences. My audience is not that entrenched - to be sure. In some respects, I've been able to use covers to subvert expectation, but I don't have nearly the talent Borge did. 

But, this weekend exceeded my expectations through an act of kindness. Tiny, the organizer of Tiny Fest approached me on Saturday and asked if I'd be willing to bring the kazoo out of hiatus and play a couple of songs on Sunday. So for the first time in a couple of months, I strapped on the kazoo and guitar for a couple of songs. And the delight in the faces of the people there when, despite their expectations, a guy played the kazoo and sang some funny songs, told me that I've been using expectation to entertain for a while now. 

All that to say, manipulating expectation is something I imagine few people think of, but clearly can be used to affect how you feel or experience the world. 

Can you think of a time that someone else playing with your expectations led to a change in how you felt or saw something. What are some negative ways that this kind of power could be used? 

I'm Leaving

There is a concept in investment and insurance called "spreading risk". Most people know this more colloquially as "putting all your eggs in one basket." In short, the idea is that putting a great deal of your resources (or all of it!) in one place, no matter how attractive or safe it seems, puts you at great risk of losing everything if that one system fails. Insurance companies manage this risk by insuring a wide swath of risks in many geographic, economic and commercial areas. For investing, you invest in many different companies in many different industries so that if there is a failure in one, your loss is less. 

I have a particular concentration of risk in my digital world, namely my dependence on the Google ecosystem. I mentioned this dependency about a year and a half ago in a blog post musing on ways that Canadians can disconnect themselves from the proverbial American teat. My opinion on Google has changed a little bit since then, but not drastically. I've been a happy paying customer for decades with Google. Their storage of my data has been dependable and their services are world-class. In fact that last part is why leaving Google is such a challenge - there is no one else that does it quite that well. 

But as mentioned in the intro, it means the vast majority of my digital life is concentrated in my Google account. So if we were to lose access to Google, say from the fall of the American Empire or simply as a result of the current trade war with the US, I'd be out a lot. Like a LOT a lot. And that risk is being shared with the rest of Canada - our dependency on US data infrastructure puts us all at extremely high risk. And announcements from Prime Minister Carney today show that not only is this risk recognized, there is also some momentum to change that on a national level. 

So how do I go about this?

I've admittedly made only a few minor steps in the right direction since my post last March. I've gone to the effort to back-up my Google data locally and just in the last month I've switched browsers from Chrome and changed my data sharing settings to try and hedge off my personal information a bit. Because there's more risk than loss here. If we're in an antagonistic relationship with an America that seems to be increasingly fascist, then my data is also at risk of being misused. 

In fact, the challenge is much bigger than I'd initially thought. I've had this particular post on the backburner for about 6 weeks because I couldn't really wrap my head around how to proceed. Overall, I've decided that it took me about 25 years to get this intrenched in this system, so it's going to take a year or two to get myself out. 

Let's define the problem

I've started by listing out all of the Google services that I use and will need to be replaced. Trying to list these out off the top of my head was overwhelming but if you click the grid of 9 squares in the top right corner of any Google service page, it will give you a dropdown of Google services that you can use to trigger your memory of what you use. If you're trying to do the same exercise for Apple or Microsoft, I don't have that info yet. Those challenges are for future me! 

Here's what I've come up with. I'm listing both the Google service name and a more generic name for that service in an attempt to get my head around what replacement needs to look like. 

• Email - Gmail
• Calendar
• Cloud storage/Google Drive
• Search
• Maps
• YouTube/Entertainment/Infotainment
• Photos
• News/News aggregation
• Translate
• Documents/Sheets/Presentation - Office suite
• Smartphone/Android/App store
• Chat
• Password vault
• Google Authenticator/2 factor authentication assistants
• Blogger/Blog
• Google Wallet/Tickets/cards
• Contacts
• Texting/SMS
• Keyboard (on mobile)

Oof. A lot, I know. I expect there are a few others that I'll discover on the way too. Stuff like the SMS app and Keyboard that aren't necessarily services but ways that Google can watch what I'm doing. 

In addition to this, I'm also considering some other American-tech connections I have. 

• DNS hosting - with GoDaddy - I should have left this company long ago
• Microsoft - Operating system, some Office Suite stuff and games
• Apple - iPad and a few photos and things with them
• Grammarly - sees everything I write and sends it to the US
• Social media - Meta especially
• AI - I'm not quite a luddite, but I'm pretty cautious about AI. At the same time, it seems to be the way of the future. This one will need less of changing over as it will necessitate care with how I proceed with AI. 

And finally, I host my music website with a company called Webador. I thought they were Canadian when I signed up, but they're based in the Netherlands. That doesn't actually bother me much (the DUTCH), but the service hasn't been exemplary and as long as I'm rearranging my digital presence, I'm going to look at changing this as well. 

Where to begin?

As mentioned previously, this is a big problem that I won't be fixing overnight. Simply updating my emails and passwords to new services is going to take months. But at the same time, I've done the work of updating all of my passwords in the past. It's difficult but it's responsible online presence maintenance. 

The Beatles put it best, "I get by with a little help from my friends."

Just posting this article might be enough to illicit a few suggestions and ideas. Discussion will help illuminate some paths. I've also been following Canadian commentator and activist Tod Maffin. Tod posts videos about Canadian identity and history and comments on the current beef with the US. But more than just commenting, Tod and his wife, Jocelyn are doing something about it. They have a website called Mainstreet Canada a database of Canadian companies you can buy Christmas gifts from to support them. Or rude Canadian Snack Foods - so you can junk out like a real Canuck. 

Most valuable to my undertaking is Unplug America, a database of Canadian or non-American tech services to replace American tech. I both love and hate this site. Love it because it's such a volume of information in one place. Hate it because they've done their homework and this really highlights how hard this project is going to be. It's why this article has been sitting in my drafts for 6 weeks. 

Order of Operations

Now is the time I need to divide this up a bit. 

Quick wins - there are a few things here I can do right away. I've already replaced my browser and search with Duck Duck Go. I don't know if this is the perfect solution but a week in, it's going ok. I can also update my SMS app and keyboard apps on Android this week. My contacts lists might go with them. Contacts is hard because I use it across SMS, Phone, Email and a few other places. 

Half steps - I'm not sure that replacing Google Maps outright will be possible based on what I've seen, but I can install Open Street Map and use that instead of Google Maps occasionally. It will help wean me off at least until other services get better. My main concern is having good transit information and directions in strange places. Like Saskatoon. 

Buy some service - I already pay a couple of hundred dollars a year on DNS, web hosting and Google Cloud. I'm currently on the hunt for a Saskatchewan based hosting service that can take over all of these services and also include email. If I get the right service, I might also be able to move this blog, my contacts, calendar, document services and photo storage over. Lots to be done here and it's going to be one of the more challenging steps in the project. Moving this blog is likely to be a disaster, it's probably coming last. I self-link in this thing so much, I don't know how I'll fix it. 

I may need to subscribe to a new aggregation service, like Ground News, as an alternative to Google News. But again, need to find a non-American option. I think finding an alternative to Grammarly might fit here as well. 

Moving accounts - Once I have my emails and contacts squared away, I'll look into my passwords and security and will go from account to account moving everything over. Changing my email, updating my passwords, getting new security setups in place. This step will be incredibly labour intensive, but it's not one I'm too worried about. I've done a project like this a couple of time before, I can do it again. 

Problems without an answer - there are a few things I just don't know about yet. YouTube is kinda my jam. There are a myriad of other options, including Canadian ones, but they don't all have what I want. I will probably look to move my own content to a different site, but my consumption will take some work. 

I don't know what the alternative to my Google Wallet will be yet. And security Authentication apps all seem to be American so I don't know where that path will take me. 

Figure it out when I get there - Google Chat/Meet and Translate are services I use off the cuff a lot. There are obviously better choices, I just need to find them when I go to use those services. As mentioned previously, I'll approach my use of AI with this mentality too. 

Just quit it - Social media and my Meta-life aren't really as essential as they used to seem. I've even started accounts with other services like Bluesky and I just don't use them. I don't need them that bad. I do use Instagram a lot for my music promotion, so I'll need to contemplate that. And Facebook Marketplace is my jam for used crap. But I can find other ways too. 

My Apple account and probably fall in this category too. 

Longer term things - I'll almost certainly want to switchmy operating systems in time. I've flip-flopped to and from Linux distros for years and they do get better every time. But music/audio work has always been a challenge. 

On the subject of audio work, my current favourite is Reaper, a decidedly American product. But the company seems very cool and ethical. There are other options but I'm going to stick with this for the medium-term future. 

I'm also a bit worried about my mobile operating system. There are Linux options but I worry about app availability and stability. 

The unsolvable - As I move through this, I know there are a few things I simply won't be able to fix. My work ecosystem doesn't have a lot of wiggle room. I have to use an iPhone, my operating systems are set, our cloud service is Microsoft and that's just going to be the way it is. I just need to separate my personal from professional as much as possible. 

It's kinda exciting

As overwhelming as this whole project seems, there's something exciting about it all. I daresay, it's almost been fun.

I was an early adopter and user of the internet. Those early years were not only exciting because the internet was new but because there were so many cool options and you could Lego them together in whatever way you wanted to. In fact, Pilot's World started from that approach. I'm excited to try some new tools and rebuild my online presence in my own image a bit. Google is very useful, it's also very bland. And risky. 

How about YOU?

Have you contemplated or even taken some steps to remove yourself from the American tech system? What do you think of my plan? Will I make it? Am I being overly paranoid? Is this worth the effort I'll put in? Have I missed anything that I should be considering in this?

Live Long and Proper

Today is the 60th anniversary of the first broadcast of the television show Star Trek. Owing to my young age I never did watch Star Trek in those first few years. But I was a massive fan of the next generation when it came out in the late '80s.

You see despite the fact that I never watched the original Star Trek, mom sure did. And I remember distinctly when the Next Generation was coming out, how she encouraged me to watch it because she enjoyed the original show so much. In fact, we watched it together. 

I've been asked over the years whether I'm more a Star Trek fan or a Star Wars fan. And like enjoying Metallica or Megadeth. I'm not sure why I need to pick just one. I can enjoy both. 

But I do like them both for different reasons . 

For Star Trek I've always enjoyed the ships and the space battles. For Star Wars. I never liked the space battles. I was more into the Jedi stuff and the things that happened on the planets. I guess I like the space opera part of Star Wars. 

I never could fully articulate what I like most about the ships and the battles in Star Trek until the series Picard came out and I was watching some post analysis videos. It was often pointed out that the Enterprise is as much a character as Data, Riker or even Picard. I love the Enterprise and there are few ships that I would more like to have a model of hanging from my ceiling or sitting on my desk. 

And I always idolized Commander Riker. Was never as much into Picard. He's cool and a great Captain but Riker was a swashbuckler and very cool. I played trombone because he played it. Even my beard is based on the classic. William Riker beard. 

And of course, as I got older and more familiar with Star Trek, I did learn to love some of the stuff from the original series. In particular, the movies were were a ton of fun. I really loved Star Trek IV where they go back in time to steal a whale. And Star Trek 6 was a big favorite in late junior high - early high school. I even had a copy of the novel that I read to bits. 

Star Trek has always been held up as a mirror to what's happening in the modern world as well as an oracle into what the future could look like. Of course, if we let Trump keep doing his bullshit, we probably won't reach that future. No matter how many Starfleet academies he tries to build.

So happy birthday to Star Trek. Thanks for bringing so much entertainment to my life and for giving me just one more thing to be a complete utter nerd about. Thank you for bringing me the Borg to terrify me at night. And for bringing me Deanna Troy. For other things at night.

An update I guess

September is dawning, and I'm still navigating my nerve issue and hoping that things start returning to normal. I think there's some progress happening - in fact, I occasionally think "maybe this is going away" - only to be ripped back to reality by doing a little bit of work or sitting in a car. 

I finally got in to see my family doctor yesterday, and he's prescribed me some new medication and ordered some X-rays in addition to more new exercises. I'd complain about more exercise, but at this point, I'll do whatever is needed to return to some sense of normal. I've also finally got an appointment with a sports doctor next Tuesday, so hopefully I'll be able to get some advice that moves this shit show along.

Honestly, I do think things are improving. I've been able to sleep in my own bed the last couple of nights, which is huge, and the medication the doctor gave me yesterday is supposed to help with that even more. Plus more exercise to wear me out. 

I've been so bored and impatient with this whole process the last few weeks that the burst of activity over the past couple of days is actually a bit overwhelming. I had to wait 2.5 hours past my scheduled appointment to see the doctor yesterday and ended up putting off getting the X-ray until today; I was so worn out by it. It's going to be a bit of an uphill battle to get back to work. I've tried setting myself some goals on guitar, but I really can't play for more than 5 minutes before my arm lights on fire. 

But I am typing today's blog, which is good. Last week's was typed too, albeit much slower. And I don't know that I'd be able to type for a whole day at this point. But progress is progress, and I'll do what I can to recognize it. 

Being in chronic pain sucks, being uncertain sucks and being bored sucks. I'll be glad to put this whole ordeal behind me to be sure. 

Gordon

The first Barenaked Ladies album was named Gordon. You only need to read the acknowledgements of the album to understand that this is a reference to the seeming plethora of Gordons in the Canadian music scene. Gordon Lightfoot,  Gord Johnston (Big Sugar) and the band with the most Gordons of all - The Tragically Hip with Gord Downie and Gordon Sinclair. 

Of course, Gordon is a pretty common name for that generation. My neighbour to the South is named Gordon, as is my father-in-law. 

While I have been listening to a bit of Mr. Lightfoot over the last few weeks, it's the Gordons from the Hip that possessed me this weekend. 

Saturday marked the 10th anniversary of the final Hip show by rebroadcasting the final concert, "The Tragicall Hip: A National Celebration." I had not seen the concert in the last decade since it happened and had never seen the whole thing. We were in Winnipeg that night, and I was able to watch much of it in a crowd at The Forks. I remember it being an emotional and monumental moment. It was a very Canadian night. A friend texted me on Saturday during the show, and we discussed how timely the rebroadcast of this uniting moment was, considering the fact that Canada pulled out of trade negotiations with the USA on Friday. 

Watching it again was very different. First, it had that Titanic feel to it. We didn't know for sure then, but Gord Downie would die about a year later. This wasn't the last time we'd hear him; his solo album "Secret Path" would tell the residential school story like we had never heard it before he left, and he left us a double album as well. We also got to hear the Hip once more with Leslie Feist singing. But this was the last time we would ever see them together. 

It's a sad document to be sure. Fiddler's Green got me, like it always does. Fireworks had me in tears to my surprise, but my band used to cover it in high school, so I think there was a strong bit of nostalgia there. And of course that final farewell of Ahead by a Century is also devastating. 

Also surprising was how much Gord called out then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to help the First Nations. We know now, a decade later, that Mr. Trudeau failed in that challenge. And perhaps that's why he wasn't featured in the opening documentary, but our current PM, Mr. Carney, was. 

It motivated me to finally watch "The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal", a comprehensive documentary about the band produced by Gord's brother Mike Downie. It's a fascinating look at the band, their history and their struggles. It really is a good warts-and-all document, and the final part talking about Gord's final years is as sad as watching that final concert. Seeing the chaotic and wise voice of my Canadian musical youth reduced to weak whispers of  "I love you" is hard to watch, but it's lovely to know he was surrounded by his family and his friends. It's good to know that he was cared for and that he cared for others. \

Canada has come a long way since we said goodbye to The Hip. Maybe some of the people mentioned in these documents didn't, but the country has. We've walked further down the path of reconciliation, navigated a pandemic, looked our sovereignty in the face and staked our claim to our place in the world. I'm inclined to wish we had Gord and The Hip here to guide us through, but at the same time, we did it. We took the identity they showed us and the unity they created, and we've forged on. The Hip were important and something we should celebrate, but they were merely a spotlight on a people and a land I am becoming more and more proud to be a part of. 

Oh and fuck Donald Trump. Just fuck that guy. 

Three long breaths

I'm coming up on 4 weeks with this shoulder pain, and unfortunately things aren't really that much better. There's been a bit of improvement, but I'm still stuck in my Lazy Boy most of the day and up most of the night. Really disappointed in my body's ability to heal. 

I finally saw a physiotherapist yesterday and received a personalized exercise plan. Perhaps more positively, though, is that she doesn't think this is a major injury and that it should clear up with time. But that time might be a while. I hope it's not too long. My short-term disability expires in September. 

One of the interesting outcomes of this is applying a bit of meditation practice that I was working on while camping in the week before the injury showed up. 

Whether you're looking at insomnia, anxiety or just meditation, breathing exercises seem to be an important practice to help calm your body and get yourself through hard times. I've found breathing exercises to be very valuable through this shoulder injury.

I was practicing the breathing exercises while camping, just as a meditation practice. Breathe in slowly. Hold your breath for a few seconds. Breathe out slowly. It's amazing how hard it can be just to take three good breaths like that without getting distracted. 

Moving into the early days of this injury, I was using those same breathing practices just to get through some of the pain pangs that I was getting. Just try to relax the muscles so that I could feel a little less pain. 

Now, moving into the exercise and recovery part, that same long breath and hold and out is about 10 seconds long. So I'm using that to measure some of my exercises and stretches that need to last for 30 seconds. Instead of sitting there counting 1 one thousand, 2 one thousand… I just calmly take those three deep breaths with the holds. It counts about the same amount of time, and it makes the stretch a little more relaxed and calm, and I can end on a breath. 

I know it's not as glorious as designing my own crown, but slow, careful breaths have been an important part of my life over the past few weeks, and probably for the next few as well.

I wish this thing would just leave me alone already. I'd like to get back to my life now.

My Crown

This week's post is a counterpoint to a few previous posts by the Navigator. Namely, his post from last week about taking some indigenous history courses and learning about colonialism. And secondly, a post from a while back about making your own coat of arms. 

Being stuck in my Lazy Boy for the last few weeks has allowed me to delve into a few deep internet rabbit holes, as you can imagine. One of those rabbit holes has been watching videos about Crown jewels. But not just the British Crown jewels. The crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire, the Vatican and other European countries. In fact, I've also learned that many of the trappings of crowns come from Arabic sources.

And so to that end, today's post is me setting out my requirements for my crown. Because the way I've been sitting around in my chair lately, I feel like a king on his throne. Plus all the gout. 

Modernity

One of the things you learn about crowns is that while many of them are ancient and have deep, deep history, a lot of them are made brand new for the coronation of the new Regent. And other Royals get crowns too. Maybe one of the best illustrations of this is the Coronet of Prince Charles, which was designed in the '60s when Charles was crowned Prince of Wales. When King Edward VIII went into exile after abdicating the throne, he took the traditional Coronet used to Crown the Prince of Wales with him. So it necessitated a new Coronet to be made. If you go check out pictures of the Coronet of Prince Charles, you'll see how very 1960s it is. It's undeniable.

So to that end, I want my own Crown to be very modern. I know by the time of Futurama, rings are very retro, but maybe they aren't quite so retro now and could be part of my crown. The papal tiara famously has three crowns on it. To upstage everyone else, I want four rings on my crown. 

Base materials. 

Of course, crowns have been traditionally made with gold and occasionally with silver. The state Crown of the United Kingdom also includes platinum, as does the Coronet of Charles. But we are living in the 2020s, so I need even more spectacular and rare metals in my crown, like titanium or purple gold. 

There are also a lot of modern metal treatments that could look really cool on the crown. You can anodize aluminum to almost any colour these days, which would also keep the crown light. I've also watched a little bit about bluing steel, which looks gorgeous when done correctly. So maybe some elements of blued steel or anodized aluminum could make the crown really pop.

The stones

One of the most famous parts of any crown and one of the greatest contributors to the weight of a crown is the stones placed in the crown. 

The stones in any crown, of course, are beautiful but often have stories as well. It's not like they just dug up a bunch of new stones to make a new Crown. They're handed down. They are stolen, and sometimes they are gifted, such as the Star of Africa stones in the state Crown of the UK. So here are some of the stones that I would like in my crown. 

Lab-grown scientific stones. Sticking with the theme of modernity, I would like to have some of the spectacular lab-grown stones used to create gems for lasers included in my crown. Some of them are fabulously fluorescent and gorgeous. I would like to include a good number of these in my crown. 

Black opal. I have a minor obsession with opals. It came from another internet deep dive sometime in the past. Not this most recent round of illness. But they are the most spectacular stones, reflecting the entire rainbow. But black opals are just a step above. They're so gorgeous. In fact, some are black opal with just purple and blue colouring in them, and I would love several very large opals set in my Crown. 

Stolen stones. Of course, no Crown is complete without something stolen from someone else. I'm not sure whom I'm going to steal a stone from, but with technocrats being the real power holders of today, perhaps I could steal a stone from Jeff Bezos or steal from Drake. But usually they're stolen from someone of lesser caste. So maybe I need to steal it from some hippie chick with a crystal shop.

Gift stones. Many crowns also include stones gifted by other Royals, by the parliament or by the people (mostly rich people) to the Regent. Since this blog only has one reader, it is falling to that reader to provide me with that gift stone. Better get saving, Andrew. 

Other elements 

Relics 

Famously, the crown of the Holy Roman Empire includes a steel ring on the inside that is storied to have been wrought from one of the nails used to hang Christ on the cross. I don't have access to any Holy relics of that type, but once I ascend to the crown, I'm sure that some of these relics will become available. For my part, I believe that I would like a part wrought from a fork used to try and eat the Flying Spaghetti Monster as part of the relics of my crown.

Fur

Many crowns are trimmed with fur along the bottom to make them more comfortable, and I would say even more stylish. It looks like ermine is the animal usually used to trim crowns. But I don't think that's going to do it for me. Now. This isn't a statement on veganism. I'm not saying that it should be faux fur. No, not at all. 

It's been revealed recently that scientists are very close to being able to clone a woolly mammoth from DNA found in rocks or other fossils. I don't know how soft a woolly mammoth is, but lining my crown with mammoth fur would be pretty spectacular. Or maybe there is another extinct animal that we can bring back from extinction that has much softer fur. Or hell. It's 2026. Maybe we can just make our own DNA for our own new animal with the softest fur ever, kill that bastard and line my crown with his fur.

Step it up a bit 

As long as we're leaning into modernity, why do we have to stick with precious metals and precious stones to make up the crown? This thing could be fully lit up and even have a smoke machine built in using modern techniques. 

Obviously we're going to want to include some LEDs in this. But I'm not trying to be garish. I don't want some RGB rainbow pattern coming off the top of my head. This isn't a gaming keyboard. No, no, we're going to be a little more classy than that. Maybe we can mount some LEDs behind the gems so that they shine out. 

And would it kill you to include a few lasers? As soon as I'm crowned, I want 400,000 lumens of laser light blasting off the top of my head. 

Considerations

There are a few things to consider when creating the crown to discuss as well.

Weight 

Crowns are famously quite heavy. It's not just the gold and the silver. The stones themselves are, well, stones, so crowns can be very heavy, and it's even been said you can't even look down without the crown pulling your head down. With my recent shoulder and neck issues. This is going to be of Paramount concern. Hence why I think we need to consider the use of some aluminum in this and maybe some lighter stones.

Payment 

I don't know how to pay for this thing. It seems in the past that the royal families would order this using their own wealth, which is typically very significant or by conning the parliament or government that they work with to pay for it. Again, I don't have access to a parliament or vast familial wealth, so I'll have to steal it from a technocrat. It's fine. They have plenty.

So there you have it, the requirements for my crown. Of course, this doesn't make up a full set of crown jewels. There's no sceptre or sword. No fancy Crown clothing. But I need to start somewhere, and I think I should start with a crown. Because that's a totally reasonable thing to want. I should maybe have my medicine reviewed with my doctor sometime soon.

What Crown Jewel would you like? What would you put in your crown?

Walk Back Technology or Perish

This week's blog doesn't find me very much further along in my healing Journey than last week's did. Still feeling pretty awful and still haven't been back to work. But let's focus on more of a thought piece instead of my screaming shoulder.

There is a group of people in Regina who like to protest for the sake of protest. Or at least it seems that way. They usually set up shop on the corner of Albert Street and Victoria Avenue. There's signs about contrails and technology. I like to call them the "climate scientists". Never really sure what they're protesting about but they sure are pissed and sure love neon paper. 

Which makes it a little uncomfortable to talk sometimes about what it would be like if maybe we walked back technology a little bit. 

In a recent video by YouTuber Alec Steele where he went to an ancient Italian blacksmith that was powered by water. The hammer, the Bellows for the forge, even the welder were all run off of the energy from some falling water. Yes are running like it still operates today. It wasn't even a large or fast flowing amount of water. It was mostly just a stored pond above the blacksmith.

It got me wondering how we could still in the modern-day directly power some of our machinery and technology without having to go through a power grid that strips efficiency from our energy production.

A prime example here in Saskatchewan would be grinding wheat using wind power. It's actually incredibly ancient technology using windmills to grind wheat and other grains. Why couldn't we be doing that here today? Why are we paying a power company to burn coal hundreds of miles away to run grinders for wheat all over the province. A few windmills and we could be grinding wheat a lot closer to where it's produced into flower. It's not like flower needs to be run 24/7 all the time. Anyway, you make flour while the wind blows and I think we'd be able to supply a lot without burning coal or otherwise using a power grid. And I'm talking direct drive technology here. Not electric windmills powering electric motors for the grinders. Like just attach a belt from the windmill to the grinder and get to work. It's all circular motion.

I think we could also use it on our infrastructure, particularly in place of pumps. We could we could use wind powered pumps to put water into stored energy and stored water areas like reservoirs and water towers.

In some ways we see this being done now already. I see plenty of street signs and construction signs that are powered by solar power. Not to mention parking meters like those seen in Saskatoon.

I actually think modern design and engineering has got 90% of the way there lately with USB charging. It's this consistent 5 Volt supply. The biggest problem is that they've designed everything with integrated batteries. If they had made it so that we can replace those 5 volt rechargeable batteries then we could leave a set of batteries at home on a solar charger everyday and switch them out every night for a fresh one leaving our dead one to charge the next day. You could have a few spares for cloudy days or charge it off the grid if it's really bad. It would be great. And if you were on the road and you needed to charge up you can still plug into the wall and charge up like normal. 

But I mean at the same time they can power steel mills with solar energy. So I think people are just making excuses at this point.

It was something I noticed when I was buying a lot of tools for my garage. When I was trying to get into woodworking. It was very clear that everything was just a spinning motor with a different attachment on it. The table saw the chop. Saw the drill, the sander. They were all just spinning motors with something different attached to them. I just wanted to buy one spinning motor and change the attachments. I think we could be doing that with wind energy quite a bit. Just switch out what is on the other end of the belt from the windmill. Instead of converting it into electricity and sending it into a grid. 

What are some ways of using old technology or even rethinking how we will you solar and batteries to produce our energy the you can think of? I think we get so caught up in the fact that renewables can't replace everything that we don't consider how how renewables could replace a lot of things, leaving more fossil fuels for the future and less pollution in the air.

The Hot Shoulder

It's a bit of a cliché that every time you hit a major milestone in aging, your body decides it's going to stop working in one way or another. For example, when you turn 30, it seems you get hurt when you never would have been hurt before. Then you turn 40, and nothing heals anymore. You just cut yourself peeling an orange, get sepsis and die. 

Last year, at 44, I got a little bit philosophical and talked about how I wasn't going to let things bother me and was just going to go with the flow. Take things a little bit easier and maybe enjoy life a bit. 44 was pretty good. I enjoyed being 44. But a week and a bit ago I turned 45, and this is the beginning of the end.  

The problem first started coming back from camping when I noticed that my shoulder was a little bit sore. This is nothing new. It's sort of in that same 30- to 40-year-old aging thing. You take a little bit of time doing physical labour and the next thing you know, you're a little bit sore and hurt. But that soreness was not getting better. 

So on the Tuesday, I asked Rhonda if she'd mind giving me a little bit of a back rub and help to loosen things up a little bit. She was very generous and did exactly that. The back half felt great. A good massage was starting to loosen things up. Was hoping that maybe I could enjoy the rest of my time off. 

Then she said, "Turn over. Let's get the front half." And so began (so far) over a week of agonizing pain, hospital visits and really no end in sight as far as pain and shoulder injury is concerned. 

Wednesday morning, I ended up in Urgent Care in so much pain. I could barely see. They took some X-rays, poked at it, prescribed a few medications for me and sent me on my way. That night, the pain was so extreme and so unmanageable. I found myself in the Pasqua Hospital emergency room.

No shade on the nurse practitioner who saw me at Urgent Care, but there was a lot more going on there than just a little bit of shoulder injury. The doctor at the emergency room diagnosed me with a serious form of tendonitis and took me off work for at least a week. Gave me some very strong drugs and stuck me full of needles and things to try and get things under control. 

 Why is this tube full of air?

It actually took about 8 hours for them to get the pain under control, and if I'm honest, it only lasted about 6 hours before I was back to where I was. But at least now I've got some idea of why I can barely even see straight. 

So yeah, that really is my life right now. Just constant fucking pain. Even this blog is being dictated because the idea of sitting with my shoulders up typing right now is too much to bear. I'll just be happy to dictate today's post to you. But I'm sitting in the sun, and that's kind of nice. Makes me warm. 

Holding it together with hockey tape like my ancestors did.

I'm going to say I'm really impressed and want to vigourously applaud the staff in the two emergency rooms that I interacted with, both at Urgent Care and at the emergency room at the Pasqua. They were patient, good communicators, and they were very compassionate. I got a lot of help and a lot of comfort from them. Bravo to each and every one of those men and women who helped me out. They were great people. 

But the government of Saskatchewan can go fuck itself. I'm not impressed. That wait times I now need to navigate are unacceptable. And to be sure this is painful - but it's not life threatening. God help those people who are waiting on the government to let them die. 

I was given a referral for an ultrasound so we can see what's going on and develop some kind of treatment or intervention to make this better. The very soonest that I can see a radiologist to get an ultrasound is the end of November this year. So, foreseeably, I have to wait at least 4 months to even get a test to tell me what is actually happening in my shoulder so that I can start doing the exercises and treatment I need.

I was also given a referral to a physiotherapist. It's a week later and have not heard or seen a fucking word from any of them. So here I am trying to self-diagnose and self-treat using YouTube and the internet. I hear complaints from people in the medical field about how people self-diagnose and self-treat using the internet and using YouTube, but what the fuck else am I supposed to do? Honestly, what am I supposed to do? I have no access to effective treatment. I might just start bloodletting because what other options am I being given?

And of course there's the mental health part of all of this too that I've got to contend with. I took 2 weeks off of work. One week was going to be camping and the second week was going to be getting some things done. Get someone to come quote a new door in the back, do some work on the lawn, maybe see about getting the car fixed. You know, make some plans and get shit done. A lot is falling apart in my house, and a lot of things need to be taken care of, and I had a plan to do that. Until my fucking shoulder went out on me, and now what? Just let it fall apart, I guess; let it all fall apart because I can't get timely medical help and my body won't let me take care of the places around me until I do.

It also extends to some of the fun stuff. I wanted to maybe do a little bit of recording, sit down and do some multi-track demos. I wrote a song while I was out camping that I'd like to demo out, but I'm in too much pain. I can't even focus right now. If it wasn't for voice-to-text, you wouldn't even be getting a blog this week cuz I just can't do it. 

All that to say, 45 fucking sucks. I wish I was 44 again, and I'm not looking forward to 46. Just hoping I can make it through the next few weeks.

Down in the Valley

I'm a couple of days back from a week camping at Echo Lake campground in the Qu'Appelle Valley. It's one of my favourite places in the world, and Rhonda had to tolerate me insisting we should move there for another week. 

I don't feel that way when I visit the Lumsden, Buffalo Pound or even Manitou part of the valley; it's mostly right around Qu'Appelle, which I suppose makes sense since I was born in Melville. We spent time at Crooked Lake when I was really little, and even after we'd moved away from there, we'd regularly pass through on the way to visiting Melville. Going for ice cream at the DQ still feels like a required stop when I go through town. 

Thanks to non-existent cell service at our campsite and my bonehead forgetting to throw the book I was going to read into my bag, I had a lot of time to meditate and contemplate on the trip. This isn't as disastrous as it seems on the surface. It was a stated goal of mine to get really bored that week, sort of reset the brain box and maybe find a bit of peace in my own mind. And I think I did. I certainly found myself in a few deep meditations and finding peace and rest instead of scrolling. It was very nice.  

A few times I found myself pondering what the valley would have been like for the Indigenous people before Europeans came and took hold of the land. I've heard stories that it was a gathering place and that it was also a place of refuge from severe weather. You could survive a bitter winter or scorching summer in the trees of the valley. Certainly that cool shade was welcome on some of the hotter days last week. 

There is plenty of more modern history written about the area, like the coming of the Hudson Bay, the myth of the naming of Qu'Appelle and most prominently for people who live where I do - the signing of Treaty 4. But I was curious to learn more about that pre-history time. I had some questions. 

Unfortunately, there isn't much of anything online beyond what I've already said. I mean, some of it has a bit more detail, but really what I found could be summed up in a paragraph. I'm curious if perhaps more was happening or about to happen in the valley. Famously, what we call "civilization" was first developed in the Indus Valley, and there are many other examples of civilizations forming in resource-rich valleys all over the world. 

We also know that there were a number of more advanced civilizations in the Americas prior to the arrival of the Europeans, like the Aztecs and Maya. Is it possible that the Cree would have started their own cities in the valley over the next few hundred years if left unmolested by colonialism?

I suppose there's a lot more to it than just having a nice valley and some hard-working people to make something of it. You need things like animal domestication and agriculture. I'm not sure if this area necessarily has the kind of flora and fauna to make something of that, but at the very least, we know people were finding enough to survive here; it's really only a few more steps to building more of that. While we know the bison weren't domesticated, the people in the area of what we call Buffalo Pound built infrastructure to help them harvest the animals. In looking around, I found more modern stories of the people of the valley harvesting berries and roots to sell at the market in Regina. 

So maybe. Obviously, we'll never know. But it seems to me that there was certainly the kind of bounty needed to plant the seeds of civilization, and it was a well-known place of refuge and sustenance. 

But then again, this is me looking at this through a particular lens. Is civilization and modernity really something to be proud of or contemplated? Indigenous people lived in this area for thousands of years in balance with nature. That seems like an enormous success, right up until Europeans came along and stripped away the stories, the culture and the way of life. 

Do you ever contemplate the ancient history of the places you visit? Where is your zen place in the world? I have another visit to the valley scheduled in a few weeks. I'm going to try and take some time to visit the local museums; maybe I can find a book or some other resources to learn a bit more about the valley. 

Delicious, delicious organs

Every few weeks, one of our managers or other leaders will host a learning session during our weekly department meeting. Occasionally, that means we get a guest speaker who works in communications/marketing or public relations in another organization. We've had guests from other government departments, police services and other levels of government. 

They're always really informative sessions, and it's nice to network and connect with other people in the industry. What we do in communications is as much about making connections as it is about writing words on a page. Especially in the PR/Marketing part of what we do. 

Our most recent guest was from the Saskatchewan Health Authority, and more specifically, from the team that works with the Saskatchewan Organ Registry. She talked about some of the challenges and opportunities they've had in promoting the Registry and some of the work they've done to help spread the message. 

In the opportunity column, unfortunately, many of the chances they have to spread the news about organ donation come after a tragedy or loss. For example, after the Broncos Bus crash in 2018, player Logan Boulet donated his organs. This led to a groundswell of people registering and a grassroots campaign to get the word out. Our guest has used that movement to help promote the registry in Saskatchewan and get people talking about it. 

Likewise, in life and in death, Bella Thompson (Bella Brave) and her mother, Kyla Thompson, shone a bright spotlight on organ donation and worked (and still work) with the Saskatchewan Health Authority to spread the word about organ donation. 

The most relatable part of her presentation for me was in one of the challenges - folklore and false information that prevents willing people from registering. It spoke to me because, as someone who works to communicate traffic safety, we run into this all the time. You aren't better off without a seatbelt than with one. The slowest person on the road isn't the danger - it's the fastest people. But try to convince Buddy from Radville of that. 

The other way this connected with me was that I saw I was also a victim of a misconception that was preventing me from being registered to donate. The misconception is that the red sticker on my health card and donation card in my wallet are enough. They are not, and no longer indicate consent to take my organs if I die. Honestly, I think one of the kids tried to tell me this once, and I even ignored her. If you want to donate your organs to help others in Saskatchewan, you need to be registered. Not only does it make it easier on authorities to learn that you want to donate, but what if you die without your wallet on you? I know, you sleep with your wallet, but what if you're taking a shower or someone steals your pants while you're showing off how you can do a helicopter? It also makes your consent very clear and has a feature to inform your loved ones about donating. Best not leave it to chance. 

The good news? Registering is really easy. Like, it probably takes less time than filling out that tiny donation card. And it also looks way better than that ratchet old health card you've had tumbling around since 1997. 

Just visit the Saskatchewan Organ and Tissue Donation Registry website and go through the prompts. I'm positive it took me less than 5 minutes, and that included writing Rhonda a tender message about why I was donating and encouraging her to donate as well. 

That tender message actually kinda choked me up to write. It's hard to think of putting your family through that decision at such a hard time. So it was important to be sensitive, grateful and explain my decision. 

Rhonda, a registered nurse, also registered to donate in response. Her letter was just "yep, I'm donating, thanks for the reminder". Medical people can be so callous. 

If you aren't already registered and organ donation is something you're willing to do for someone else, go do it today and encourage your friends and family to help out too. If you're like me and think that you already were because of the red dot on your health card, well, times have changed. Sask Health may never update our health cards, but you can update your donation wishes! 

If you don't want to, hey, I respect that. If you're willing to share, why not? I'm curious to learn why. My personal belief is that while I might not know exactly where my spirit will go when I die, but I know it's not taking my stuff or my body with it. I'd much rather it be useful to someone else. But maybe that doesn't jive with you. Share in the comments if you like! 

(Heat) Strokin' Out

 I've spent the last two weekends in Manitou Beach at the Manitou Beach Busking Festival as a performer. A fabulous couple of weekends, a well-run event and a great chance to catch up with some old music friends and meet some new ones. 

The first weekend was very wet, the tail end of the weeks of rain we've been seeing around these parts. I'm not being hyperbolic in saying we had rain pretty much every single day for about 4 weeks. Great for the lawn I'm trying to regrow, terrible for my tan. 

Well, the rain finally broke this weekend, and Saturday and Sunday were clear and very hot. For the most part, I handled it well on Saturday. I found shade where I needed to, took long breaks and slammed the first Gatorade I've consumed in a few years. A solid B+ performance for taking care of myself on Saturday. 

Sunday, on the other hand, I threw all caution to the wind. 

Not that it was intentional. I certainly started the day off with good behaviour and made efforts to stay cool and hydrated. But that started to slip in the afternoon. I had picked up an extra busking hour at "il Pirato", the local guitar luthier, and ended up working a second hour when the next performer didn't show up. Happy to play and even happier to make a few more bucks. But I probably should have spent that time in the shade. 

I had to leave that performance and head straight down to the beach, where I had my final performance in the direct sun - already a bit crispy from the 2 hours I'd just spent performing. 

Suffice it to say, it didn't go great. I actually got a clip of video from a friend who was there, and I would really like to just bury it.  You can hear the heat stroke in my performance. 

I drove home straight from the performance, about 2 hours, and while I was tired, I didn't think I was in any extreme distress. I suppose I should have clued in to how I ate the peach on the drive. It was like a wolf going after a toddler's arm in Moose Jaw. Got home, unpacked - all seemed relatively normal. Tired, hungry, but not in any distress. 

Nah, the distress came yesterday. It started the moment I woke up, when my whole body seized up, and I let out a cry that Rhonda could only compare to the screaming of the Nazgul. It didn't take me long to realize that things weren't good. I could barely open my eyes and could only slowly shuffle around the house. I tried to go through my morning routine, make coffee, and get lunch ready. But I soon concluded that I wasn't leaving the house. I probably shouldn't leave bed. 

And so, this is where you find me, reader. I've recovered a bit. The cherry sunburn is turning to a lovely chocolate tan. I can stand upright for a few minutes and even made the trip to the bus this morning. I've still got a pretty sore neck and shoulder from playing so much, but I'm at least mobile again today. 

I'm very glad for the break from the rain. But my God, the sun sure did a number on me! 

Who'll stop the rain?

After a good run of very dry years, summer 2026 has been a pretty wet spring/summer. The snow left late, and I think it's rained nearly every day for the past month. 

Overall, being 44, I'm pretty happy about how it's helping my grass. I've been trying to re-grow my front lawn after the City dug it up last summer to replace the sweet, sweet lead in my pipes with lifeless plastic. With daily rain, it means I don't need to haul the hose out every night to keep the thing watered. I am, however, ready for it to dry up a little bit so I can mow. 

It's hit extra hard in Regina over the last few weeks. Back on June 9, we got hit with a massive hailstorm. Toonie-sized hail, y'all. It was a wild night. I was sitting on the back deck watching the clouds roll in. There was a big, loud blast of lightning/thunder, and then I could just hear this dull rumble in the distance. I sat and watched over the next two minutes as it got closer and louder. To the point where I was a little worried I was hearing a tornado coming, not hail. But then the telltale "ping" of a stone hitting a downspout and the storm front hit. Luckily, our new car was one neighbourhood over and was completely missed. And the Traverse was in the garage. Kayah's car, on the other hand, now looks like a golf ball. And that's not the last abuse we're going to hear about that car here. 

Would I lie to you?

This past weekend brought another dump on Regina, this time just heavy rain. I caught the start of the storm on my way to Manitou Beach, where I was performing at the Manitou busking festival. I texted home and advised everyone to move their cars in. Kayah did not get the message. The water got up to about three feet in the street out front. Amazing, since, as I mentioned at the start of this post, they spent all last summer replacing the plumbing under our street. So Kayah's car got flooded and is now drying in the garage. That poor car may not survive the summer. 

It only got worse from here.

To top it all off, I had to go to Saskatoon for a media event yesterday. Got soaked again. I mean, good for the crops, good for the forest fire guys. I might even be able to get through my summer holidays without a fire ban. And I'd like to enjoy my second weekend in Manitou next weekend without all of the mud. I'm pretty good at camping, and I kept myself dry and comfortable last weekend. But guh that mud all over and just slipping everywhere. Plus, I actually had to dry out my guitar and case when I got home on Sunday. A first for me. 

So yeah. There's my weekly report, from the Vancouver of the prairies. Hope you're staying dry, safe and afloat! 

Another Graduation

 With absolutely no forewarning, Kayah graduated from high school yesterday. 

I joke that there was no warning, but in some respects, I'm serious. It was clear in the conversation Rhonda and I had on the way home after dropping her off that it did kinda sneak up on us. Like Kayah talked about it all year, and we only bought 19 grad dresses, and it was basically all anyone was allowed to mention the last couple of weeks. But I don't think either of us really processed that Kayah was here. 

Kayah is a spicy person. She exploded into our lives and has been the center of so much of our family for most of it. That's not all negative - although there were times it was. She's just a very big personality in a little lady. I think that's why this snuck up, we've kinda learned to maybe put some of Kayah's enthusiasm on a shelf just to preserve our own mental space. 

And lordy, how dynamic this little lady has become. She's headed to U of R in the fall to start a degree in Social Work, with some intention to head into law from there. I can see that path adjusting over the next few years, but at the end of it, I know she'll do her work helping people and sharing that big, caring heart with so much of the world. 

For as chaotic as Kayah can be, the grad itself was textbook boring. 3 hours of names just being read over and over and over. Then another half hour at the prom supper that night. Strangely, I was embracing that boredom lately. There's a lot of talk these days about how we don't allow ourselves to be bored anymore. We always have a phone to scroll or a game to play. I just sat back and let it happen. As it is, even though (or maybe because) I hate ceremony, I don't attend many. A funeral here or there, and the odd award thing is maybe all I have to suffer. I did it a lot more when I was younger, going to church every weekend. Plus, the last few weeks have been chaotic, as was the day itself yesterday. Why not sit back and just zone out? Let the brain drain out some of those harmful stress hormones? 

Aside from the ceremony - which was like every other grad ceremony I've been to - we also went to a prom dinner. Rhonda and I finally got to meet Kayah's boyfriend's parents. She's only been dating him for 3 years. Suppose it was time. They seem like delightful folks, about a decade older than us. Their son is their youngest, and Kayah is our middle kiddo. So they're just wrapping up the kid part of life. We've got 3 more years. 

Various offspring

The day and how grown up Kayah's become didn't hit me until we had the dad/daughter dance at the start of the prom. She's still my little Kayah, but she's so grown up, so full of ideas and dreams and potential. I'm so incredibly proud of her. Not the high school thing, there were like 200 people in that room that achieved that. Hell, even THE NAVIGATOR graduated. Nothing to be proud of there. But she's grown into such a motivated and caring young woman, and dancing with her there last night it just sort of all came to me. Michelle even messaged to ask me where the Dad tears were, like just because I didn't share it on social didn't mean it wasn't there. 

So yeah. 2 of 3 graduated, and I'm sure this last one is gonna happen FAST. It seems like just yesterday I was showing Kayah how to take the bus to school, and the next day it was Jonas. So tomorrow, he should be graduating, right? 

Finals

Kayah is graduating next Monday which means this week... is finals. 

Cue dramatic music

I was bugging her about studying and she quickly retorted that I was probably the kind of person that never studied. I told her I did study but only when I wanted to and I didn't want to very often. So I would settle for for a 70 instead of the high 90s that she's shooting for. 

In my adulthood, I'm finding the best way for me to learn is to learn while I'm applying the knowledge. 

A couple of years ago I graduated from the Public Relations Diploma at the University of Victoria. It was a distance education course that took me about 3 years to finish. It was really in-depth and really rewarding, but I think I got the most out of it because I was also working for a media relations shop while taking the education. 

I was able to apply the things I learned at night to my daily work and a lot of things really stuck and connected because of that. Plus I think I challenged the people I worked with quite a bit. This arrangement really worked for me and it showed up in my marks. I finished the program with a 91% average and a deep understanding of public relations. 

I'm finding the same thing as I'm re-entering the music scene. I'm making mistakes and going down. Weird paths but it's teaching me some lessons while I learn other lessons online and read about things. I've been taking seminars and going to songwriter meetups to try and learn more about the craft. But I'm also out there playing gigs making mistakes in the studio. And meeting people all along the way. I'm having a great time learning this way.

 But, I feel like I'm in my own finals. Maybe an easier like grade 9 finals, but finals nonetheless. After the release of Trevor's Tincture back in May, I've been playing almost non-stop with an out of town gig pretty much every weekend. It's not just teaching me to play and entertain, but how to manage my life and responsibilities while being out so much. It's been busy. Very busy. 

That's not something you can learn by watching YouTube videos or practicing scales in the bedroom. You need to actually do the work to figure out logistics like where you're staying the night, how to plan out your travel to arrive on time (but not too early), how to negotiate contracts and how to handle everyone calling you the "kazoo guy" now. 

I still have 3 out-of-town weekends ahead and then there's really nothing on my calendar for a while. I'm kinda relieved. I could use the break from travelling, spend some time watering my lawn and just generally doing a little bit less for a while. But of course - something will come along. 

Oh and in the midst of this all, Kayah is graduating. 

Sigh. 

 

Damn wee wooos

 Hello reader. I'm feeling a bit lethargic this morning, so I've decided to ask a friend to do a guest post on Pilot's World today. Please enjoy and be kind; she's a new writer.  - Pilot

Hellos!

My name is Ahsoka Francesca Newfounland IV. As my last name hints, I am a Newfoundland-breed dog. I am 5 and a half years old. 

Me enjoying the finer things on Doodey Street

As you know, Pilot is a man, and I am a dog, so I am his best friend. Not just a friend, as indicated in that rather weak introduction. Thanks for the rousing introduction, man. 

An interesting fact about me is that I have lived for my entire life on a street named "Cameron". Even before I moved in with Pilot, the house where I was born was also on Cameron. Just a few blocks north of where I live now! 

It's a pretty nice street. There are lots of trees around to sniff, and on any given day, someone has left a hot dog bun or some leftover spaghetti on the ground for doggos like me to enjoy. It's pretty great.  

But there is another street very close to Cameron that's not so great. Sometimes we go walking on that street. Its name is Doodey Street, I think they call it that after a big piece of shit. There are not as many trees, and there are lots of cars that drive very fast on it. 

But there is one particular type of car that's extra annoying. Always looking for attention, they're constantly screaming, "wee woo, wee woo," or sometimes really fast, "wow wow wow wow." All hours of the day and night, "wee woo, wee woo."

Now, I am as fond as the next person of giving a nice loud "AWOOO" or even a few nice "woof woofs" when you meet someone. I mean, you need to let them know you're excited to meet them. But these guys are next level. You can hear them for BLOCKS. 

That noise kind of annoys me, but it sends my brother Liberty into an absolute crisis. He has to howl back and gets all antsy. Sometimes he even needs to go hide with Mom. He puts on a brave face, but I think he's secretly a bit of a coward. 

But sometimes I get to see these loud cars, and it's even worse than all the noise they make. Some of the cars are small, some even look like Dad's car, which he takes us on rides in. Others are really BIG with lots of hoses on them. Liberty always tells me he'd love to bite one of those hoses, that it's probably way better to bite than the little snakey hose we have in the yard. 

But the worst part is that if they aren't attention hogs enough, they're covered in flashing lights! If I could see colour, I wonder what colour they'd be? Probably glitter. 

The noisy menace is filling my street with water

Sometimes they even escape Doodey and come onto our street, at which point these men in big snow suits come out and start breaking stuff! They take big hammers and start knocking holes in things, then they take those hoses and start filling people's houses with water! I mean, I love water, but I don't want to SLEEP in it. 

Rude. 

The menace kidnaps people across the street.

Sometimes these other smaller ones come, and they just straight up steal people. Sometimes they're strapped to a bed with wheels on it. Other times, they tie a person's hands up and throw them in the back, and the car drives away again with those flashing lights and noises. 

These cars are an absolute menace, and since my Dad isn't doing a DAMN THING ABOUT IT, I call on you, gentle reader, will you please come (bring Capone and Sadie) and tell them to be quiet? Tell them to go inside and leave us alone. I know they can go inside, I saw some going inside their home a long way away on Doodey a couple of years ago when Dad would take me on super long walks. (Hey Dad, when are we doing a long walk again?)

I'm glad that I've been able to catch a few pictures of these criminals from the front window. You can see a lot from there, and I'm always very vigilant to let people know when these bad boys are around. Or if there's a dog on the street. 

In conclusion, I wish there weren't so many grandstanding cars around. We all need a bit of noise in our lives, but I'm totally sick of it. And their behaviour is terrible. They need to leave people alone. 

-Ahsoka 🐾

Old Man Yells at Bus

I ride the bus to work every day, plus any time I need to get downtown. I know the bus isn't for everyone, and it's only because I live in a particular part of town that it comes in as convenient for me. Like faster than driving to work, convenient. Faster than walking, convenient. 

What can I say, I ride a chauffeured vehicle that costs many millions of dollars to work every day. 

Score. 

But the shine has started to wear off my trusty transit transportation tale. 

The longest-standing issue has been with many of the drivers. To be sure, there are many great drivers in Regina Transit, and when the ride is smooth, it's kinda blissful. You can just relax and get home. But there's quite a crop of drivers coming out lately that make me wonder if they truly obtained their Class 1 licence. Jerky stops and starts, and rude behaviour can really ruin that end-of-day ride. 

In some cases, I get it. Being a bus driver seems good on paper, but when you look at the reality, it's not all sitting on your butt saying hello to Mrs. Jenkins. I've seen people full fist punch the bus, overdose and get in fights on the bus. More than any driver is paid to deal with. 

The riders are the other wildcard. Sometimes you can have a deep philosophical chat on the nature of words. Other times, they're punching the side of the bus so hard you wonder how they don't break a hand. Seen people overdose on the bus. And don't even get me started on not being able to use the accessible seating while I'm having a gout attack because some loser won't move. 

And I think that those things are pretty universal gripes with transit all over the world. It's hard to deliver that kind of service well. 

But Regina Transit has started to cross the line with me lately. It started in April when the cost of a monthly pass went up by $9. A 10% increase. Just like that.

Now, I am in a place where I can absorb that cost. I get it, the world is getting more expensive. But, for a lot of people, they can't. So there will be more of those violent encounters to look forward to. 

And the coup de gras? They removed both of the stops where I get picked up and dropped off. Like gone. They won't pick me up there anymore. So this mobility-challenged man is now forced to walk an extra two blocks at the start and end of my day. In addition to the two extra blocks I've been walking downtown for the last 2 years while the City takes FIVE FREAKING YEARS TO FIX ONE STREET. It's tolerable right now in clear weather, but once the snow returns, those extra blocks are going to be un-navigable for me. 

Yes, I'll write a letter. And yes, I'll get my blood pressure up when I read their dismissive response about cost-cutting. Talk about the danger of monopoly, as it is companies are trying to charge more for less, and when it's a government monopoly, they won't even hesitate. 

The next time I see the word "accessible" on the bus, I swear to God I'll deface it. Transit is a service for the lowest earners and the lease priviledged among us. If you're making it inaccessible and expensive, then who exactly is this service serving? 

No one. 

Results-driven Elmer Fudd

Many, many years ago, my youngest sister, Shanna (Soulfood), had a little rabbit named George. George had all black fur and was very small. Like very, very small. I don't know if he was some breed of dwarf rabbit or what, but he was always able to fit in the palm of my hand. 

Shanna always wanted a rabbit, so there was some delight when she finally got one. But at the same time, I don't know that she was in a position to care for an animal yet. At the same time, she was about 15 when she got George, so also just a teenager. And who cares about anything when you're a teenager? 

And so it fell to me on occasion to look after the little guy. Not that this was much of a lift, feed him, clean out his cage, play with him once in a while. One day, while I was playing with ol' George, Mom instructed me to go give that rabbit a bath. 

I recall even saying then, "Do rabbits need baths?" My thought was maybe they're self-cleaning. Like a cat. Or the oven. 

But mom insisted so dutifully, I proceeded. I took George to the sink, put in some water and gave him a gentle scrub. After that, I wiped him off, put a towel in the bottom of the bathtub and let George run around a bit in there to get totally dry - rather than put him back in his cage where his wet fur would just get clogged with woodchips. 

I left for a moment to do something and, upon return, found ol' George dead as a doornail.

It was pretty upsetting. I mentioned it in a discussion with Kayah last week that I haven't faced death that often. Since then, I've said goodbye to a couple of dogs and many fish. But up to that point, it had only been some distant or very old relatives. I'd never stared death in the face. 

Fast forward 25 years to Sunday night (Monday morning?), and I was driving south on Highway 2 on the way home from a gig in Prince Albert. I had just passed the turnoff to Penzance when a streak dashed from the ditch to the left of me and directly under my bumper. The last I would see was two tall rabbit ears before a sickening THUMP. 

Pilot's rabbit bodycount: 2. 

Talk about taking the joy out of a good night. Luckily, the car wasn't damaged, but that poor rabbit is now another mess of roadkill on the side of the road. 

I'm not so sure why Elmer Fudd found rabbit hunting so hard. I've taken two down without too much effort, and in my part of the world, you can walk within a couple of feet of a rabbit. I guess it speaks to the skill and intelligence of Bugs Bunny that he was able to survive so many run-ins.  But I do think ol' Elmer may need some guidance from an experienced hunter. 

Because if I were in a survival situation, I'd be eating rabbit.