Retirement? I'd advise against it

I'm writing this as someone retired for five years, retired with a luxury most retirees don't have; a pension that affords a reasonably comfortable retirement. It therefore seems near-blasphemous to declare against retirement. But here's the thing. Once you're retired, you gain an appreciation for all the good stuff you got from working, far beyond the paycheque that paid your bills. As regular readers will know, the Farm Manager keeps her day job at the school board. She spent three hours this evening telling me about her day at work. As an Ed Assistant in a good-sized high school, her day involved multiple dozens of interactions with staff, students, and admin. It's really hard to hold up my end of this conversation, because spending eight hours on the computer ain't quite the same! Work forces a degree of collegiality on social misfits that you won't find in the virtual world, and that seems to be where everything is heading. When those nerds retire, where will the next generation find its North Star? So, even if you're fortunate enough to afford retirement, remember all the daily interactions on the shop floor, or the sales floor, or in the staff lounge. They are the routine interactions that together weave the social fabric. Make sure you have a plan before you walk away from that.

How cold is cold?

How cold is cold? I got to thinking about this today, because we just hit our record low for the season. It was minus 20C this morning, and that's frigid cold. Once you get real cold like that, the snow glistens like diamonds in the moonlight. Problem is, just around when all that wonderful shit happens, the same cold that makes your snow glisten also busts the bead on your tires. So there you are, thirty below and flats all round. Canadians who live in the really cold zones are well acquainted with these realities. Nobody in the prairies imagines minus 20 to be a "cold spell." It's more like a heat wave! I took a trip out there fifty years ago with my old pal Terry, my Chev Impala towing a trailer with his Harley stowed aboard. Somewhere in northern Manitoba, or maybe it was the next province over, the Impala lost a wheel bearing. On the Trans Canada Highway. At 3 A.M... when it's minus 40 Celsius outside. That was my introduction to extreme cold. We had to do some diagnostic work outside the warm cocoon of the Impala. After 90 seconds I was shaking so violently I couldn't turn a wrench. Terry didn't last much longer. I bring this up only because I'm warm and cosy in front of my propane fireplace. I have the good fortune of a pension that pays my bills. Cold is a helluva lot colder for the folks living in tents down by the river.

Trump's new National Security Strategy concedes victory to Russia and China

Haven't seen a lot of commentary in Canadian media on what is a truly remarkable document. I read it as a death knell for NATO. The "Laurentian Elite," aka the American Empire Loyalists who occupy the heights of Canadian media and academia, must be soiling their adult diapers. The Yanks look to be handing off Ukraine to their European allies. That's unfair to the allies, because their enthusiasm for the war was only possible because Uncle Sam was promising "whatever it takes for as long as it takes." That was four years ago, when that claim was yet fresh and plausible. Four years and a million or so dead Ukrainians later, that claim has been decisively debunked. The combined NATO didn't have what it would have taken. What the NSS makes plain is that America no longer aspires to World Hegemon. That's the good news. The bad news is they're doubling down on the Monroe Doctrine. That means whipping the western hemisphere into shape. I think this will backfire. Trump's bullying of Latin America will unite the continent in solidarity against the US. This is already visible in comments coming from Colombia with respect to the "narco-terrorist" confection. Petro, largely seen as a Yanqui stooge, is standing with Maduro. What should Canada's approach to these new realities be? When you look at a map you see we're situated between Russia and the USA. Any de-escalation between them can only be a positive for us.

Canada promises to flush another $200 millions down the Kyiv commode

Why? If the $22 billion (roughly $500 million every month) we've already sent hasn't moved the needle in Ukraine's favour, why would anyone think another $200 million would do the trick? But such are the delusions of the "coalition of the willing." It's the same flawed logic that demands a 20th round of sanctions because the previous 19 have hurt Europe more than Russia. This latest tranche of boodle willl be sent to Washington, there to be bundled with tribute from other vassals and distributed to American military contractors as Donald Trump sees fit. Yup, we're sending Canadian tax dollars to enrich Boeing and Lockheed! For 200 million I hope PM Carney at least gets a pat on the back and an "attaboy" from the big dog. Speaking of which, what's the Orange Ogre up to in Venezuela? Pack your bags, Maduro! The Free World is about to gift your longsuffering people Human Rights and Democracy! Too bad about those innocent fishermen... to be honest, when I see three or four V-10 Merc Verados hanging off the transom of a thirty footer, I'm pretty sure those aren't fishermen. Which doesn't change the fact that killing them "extrajudicially" is considered a crime against humanity, or at least it would be if anyone other than Uncle Sam did it. I would guess it's beyond Trump and his minions to appreciate the irony of pardoning a man convicted of facilitating the import of 400 tons of coccaine into America while they're busy vaporizing small-time drug runners.

Mrs. Stonehouse

When I hit high-school they put me in an all-boy class. Packing a classroom with nothing but teenage boys has to rank as one of the dumber ideas in the history of education, and here's why. In a mixed class, the boys and girls are, to a greater or lesser extent, trying to impress one another. That can run the gamut from innocent flirting to brazen show-offery and everything in between. I know I'm indulging stereotypes here, but by high school the civilizing effect women have on men is already visible. Segregate those teens and the all-boy classes turn into case studies of raw, unmitigated, and savage Lord-of-the-Flies-style assholery. You've got 30-something testosterone-addled adolescent boys trapped in a classroom. French was a mandatory course, due to Canada's bilingual heritage. This was a recent policy ammendment widely resented by not only the students, but many of their parents. As a result, the Ministry of Education decreed that every student would be granted the French credit even if they failed the course. Which brings me to our French teacher, a Mrs. Stomehouse. The poor woman was put in a room with a pack of teenage boys who a) didn't want to be there in the first place, and b) knew they'd get the credit even if the teacher failed us! Well! When one kid in an all-boy class pulls an asshole stunt, there's at least a dozen guys willing to take a shot at topping it. I was briefly top dog in the a-hole sweepstakes after dropping my desk out of our third-floor window when Mrs. Stonehouse had stepped out of the room for a moment. Mrs. Stonehouse was not exactly a ray of sunshine at the best of times. Her spring chicken days were long behind her, and she seemed to relish torturing us with French verb conjugations. My pal Barry Kline and I noticed that, while she was crabby all the time, she was extra crabby for a few days at a time... like every month or so. Our math teacher would have been impressed that two idiots in his class had successfully graphed their French teacher's menstrual cycle. Once we could accurately predict the extra-crabby days, the whole class slathered on extra helpings of boorish assholery. A room full of chimps would have been easier to manage. We successfully drove Mrs. Stonehouse out of the room in tears at least once or twice a month for the rest of the year. Many years later I found myself standing in front of a classroom, facing obnoxious teens keen to pit their asshole skills against mine. They never stood a chance! But I did grow to regret how I treated Mrs. Stonehouse. If you're still out there Ma'am, please accept my apology.

Worshipping the Golden Calf of Artificial Intelligence

Have you noticed embedded pro-AI propaganda has infiltrated the entire media spectrum? I see dozens of ads daily for something called "AI training." For a fee, the gullible will be "trained" to use a tool that Big Tech has made impossible to avoid, training or no training. AI will give us "abundance." Yup. All we gotta do is clear the decks to make room for all the data centres required to spin all that abundance. Picture a hundred thousand robotic Rumpelstilkins in a giant warehouse, spinning data into gold! Picture tens of millions of robotic Rumpies in thousands of giant warehouses all across the land. Picture electic bills going through the roof in cities and towns clear across the land as power is prioritized for the data centres. Picture electricity grids collapsing because their mid-20th century specs are no match for data centre power demand in 2025 and beyond. Picture toiling in darkness and cooking over a wood fire while the data centres monopolize the power supply. Abundance my ass!

Reading the Globe & Mail's Ukraine coverage as black humour

I have long marvelled at the ability of the Globe's stable of wise men to plaster a happy face on the utter catastrophe that has befallen Ukraine. It has been beyond obvious, since at least the disastrous '23 "offensive," that this war is lost. The US lost, NATO lost, and Ukraine lost the most of all. Regardless, in the two-plus years since, almost every day sees another expert opining in the pages of the Globe, that the path to victory for Ukraine remains open. You gotta be kidding, I think to myself. I have come to the conclusion they are doing exactly that. Kidding. Pulling your leg. Joshin' you... As an example, take Mark MacKinnon's half-pager on A3 of today's paper. Mark is speculating as to how Trump's "28 point peace plan" might be recieved by Zelensky. He argues that in early '22, Zelly didn't throw in the towel when he was taking on Putin all by himself, so no way is he gonna cave when he's got Europe and Canada behind him! I know! You just want to shake your head and mumble, or perhaps shout, "get the fuck outta here!" While it's true Mark has been an indefatiguable cheerleader for Ukraine, he's not a stupid person. We know he's limited to NATO talking points. He knows we know neither Europe nor Canada have anything to offer Ukraine that could change the outcome of the war. So what's he talking about? He's joshin' us. He's pulling our legs.