It’s full name is a computed tomography scan. This time, it’s to see if any cancer has spread to areas around my prostate. (I’m learning so much about the human body, my human body.)
When Susan had a similar CT scan while we still lived in Midland, she proved to be allergic to the dye they flood the body with. She ended up staying an extra six hours to fully recover at Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie. So, you can imagine my concerns for going through this procedure.
Altogether it was an interesting experience. The thing they warn you about is the warm feeling that floods your neither regions when they insert the dye. They said, “You’ll think you’re peeing yourself.”
Good thing they warned me, because it felt just like wetting the bed when I was young!
Now we wait until a week tomorrow for the results.
Sunday, being the sports day of the week here in North America, is very busy, indeed. The division playoffs are being played in MLB (Major League Baseball); the NFL (National Football League) has just entered its 4th week of scheduled games; the CFL (Canadian Football League) has started their playoff schedule; and the NHL (National Hockey League) season has just begun. How much can one man take?
I’m not subscribed to Sportsnet, so I watch mostly football and baseball games on American TV, but for hockey, now, I have to rely on YouTube for highlights. Canadian football is still showing on CTV.
To say I’m watched-out would be a misnomer. I’m washed-out, definitely.
This Netflix series was filmed in the Netherlands in Dutch. The original title is “De Eetclub” which to my ear is ‘the eatclub’ but translates into English as “The Dinnerclub”. The show is dubbed into English which is a bit tiresome when you’re hard of hearing and trying to read lips. There is a version that’s subtitled instead, but that takes away from watching the subtle emotions playing across the actors faces.
When we watched the 7th (and final) episode last night, all the lies were uncovered and the guilty were arrested. But one mystery remained: who threw Hanneke off the balcony of a house she was renovating for one of the families? The final shot makes you realize that there might be a possibility for a season 2.
There is a lot of switching between the present and the past in flashback. The colour tone is the only clue to help the viewer keep track: the present time looks dull; and the past looks brighter. Otherwise its a confusing mess to watch. So, don’t watch this show unless you like being mystified. .
Two weeks ago, this cartoon video appeared (for the second time) on YouTube. Immediately, I knew that the maker of the title hadn’t fact-checked the years. 1429? They must suffer from a mild case of Dyslexia.
Like all matters that have to do with the education of our children and grandchildren, we want things to be accurate when they seek information on the internet. But who failed in their position of AI editor?
For decades, Albertans have concluded that they are being ignored by the Liberals in Ottawa. And, on the surface, this was true, usually because the province had no representation in Parliament after the Harper years. However, since Mark Carney has been Prime Minister in 2025, the tide has turned. Lately, the big Canada First projects that his government has put forward for approval seem to be centred on getting Alberta’s resources to the world. That cannot be accidental.
When Albertans vote on the separation referendum later this month, it will be self-defeating if they decided that a full referendum needs to be put on the ballot at a later date. Cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face comes to mind.
Each province (think, an independent Quebec) has the right to choose their destiny, but the spectre of becoming a part of the United States should be a sobering thought. Do they really want to become the proverbial 51st state?
American Democrats think they’ve got it made in the shade. There has been so much for them to be pleased about. According to the polls, Trump is at his lowest popularity, but he has a surprising MAGA base, even though the press is focusing on individual people with “buyer’s remorse”.
When the richest people in the world know that the US government will allow them to self-police ‘super intelligence’, they will want the gravy train to continue. Will Elon Musk come to Trump’s rescue, again, and flip some battleground states Republican? It’s not impossible.
Trump has threatened to veto everything Congress sends him to sign should the Democrats take back power in the midterm elections. So, at best, the country will be held hostage for another two years.
And then what? Will there be some national emergency where Trump can cancel the 2028 elections and continue on as #47? Why would he want to give up his exalted position that provides him with immunity from his crimes? ‘
Isn’t it obvious? He wants to die in office as POTUS. He’d better be careful what he wishes for.
The dream sequence, which ended at 5:15 am, answered the reason for my Mom’s visit the previous night. The message was one of facing the bully (our boss in a large department store) and telling him that we weren’t going to continue working overtime for essentially no reason, just his whim.
At one point, I challenged him physically and pushed him to the ground. When he got up again, and recruited another employee as backup, he tried to block my exit. I told him that I quit, and that he couldn’t boss me about anymore. I then left the premises.
In the real world, I don’t work for Donald J. Trump, but I am aware that I have toned down criticism of him in my posts here on WordPress. Up to now, this has been a self-preservation response to the far-reaching machinations of the US President. Literally, I didn’t want to get caught in the crosshairs of his questionable ambitions. Now, I don’t care anymore.
After reading “Miraculous Journey” last week, I am aware that a relative who has passed over can come back for a visit as a harbinger of one’s own death. That’s why I’m wondering why Mom showed up.
My two companions were also dead in the dream, so the effect is triple. We had a long weekend (Friday to Monday) to effect some changes (which I’m hazy about now). It seemed as if the changes needed to happen in the world, but that could be a blind that the truth was hiding behind. I honestly don’t know.
Before we moved into the seniors’ complex here in Noelville, we were told that our utility bills would be quite lower than what we were used to. For the most part, that was true: we now had only a Hydro One bill, where, before, in Midland, we had an NT Power bill for electricity, an Enbridge bill for gas; a Midland Corp bill for water and waste, and municipal taxes, included in our mortgage payments to CIBC.
Looking back at our bill payments, the total for all three in September, 2025 was $303.82; in October, 2025 (our last bills) came to $180.87. And these bills were for summertime usage.
You can imagine my delight when the electricity bill was only $109.19 for the first month in Noelville. Wow, I thought. Then the Ontario Electricity Support Program kicked in the next month. After the $60. contribution was deducted our December, 2025 bill was only $95.94. The next month it was still only $97.99. We had definitely found a way to pay less each month, even though we now paid rent for $450.00 more each month than our previous mortgage and municipal taxes.
Then the February, 2026 bill arrived: it was a whopping $167.22, even after the $60.00 contribution by the government. What!? I printed off the first three bills from our Hydro One account to figure out why.
Tricky. Hydro One extended the 28 day cycle to 36 days for this one month, only. That’s 25% more to start with. Then our kWh usage also increased which would have been augmented by the cold weather we went through for January and February. I looked up the average temps for the last year and found that January was the coldest for the whole year, of course. So, that makes sense.
The sticker shock therefore is lessened by the logic of it all, but it still hit home how dependent we are on our heat pump for heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. This past summer was mostly more moderate than we were expecting, so our electricity costs were lower than expected.
Oh, and when the electricity went out during the height of the winter snowstorm, it got very chilly inside our unit. Even the water was shut off. That was a wakeup call. (Since then, the council has added a generator for the water room, so hopefully that event will not recur.)
Now our rent is going up 4% on January 1, 2027. So, there goes more expense for us and other renters of one year. Needless, the tenants are upset. Are their protests going to be a Perfect Storm? I think so.
We’ve always had our suspicions, especially after a discussion between myself and my wife has resulted in advertising for the exact thing(s) we were looking for. But something happened yesterday that was too far out in left field to be dismissed as a coincidence.
I was re-reading my Kindle edition of “The Key” by Whitley Strieber when I came across the term ‘Fata Morgana’. I’ve written about the mirage-making optical illusion before on these pages so I decided to make a note on those words in my Kindle document.
Immediately afterward, I opened the MSN page on my computer and was shocked to see halfway through the opening news suggestions (and ads) an article discussing, you guessed it, ‘Fata Morgana’.
Honestly, what are the chances of that? Unless it ‘knew’ what I’d read and remarked on in my Kindle book. Nothing is private, folks, so don’t kid yourselves.
