Raven's View

Comments - I’d really like to see your comments on my posts, and I’m sure other readers would too. But to comment, you will first need to create a free SubStack account. It’s quick to do, and then with an account, you can also subscribe to other writers, many of whom offer a free option to subscribe. In addition, you can manage which sections in my blog you prefer to get newsletters from. I hope we hear from you.

 Podcasts for fun - I subscribe to a number of podcasts, of varying listening length and a number of styles. They cover politics, science, philosophy, history, and short stories. The stories are just to entertain, although I suppose good ones can teach you how to write effectively. There are lots of good ones from Podcastle, a site that has been going for 15 years. I listened to a very good one today, about a plush little toy that can slay the monsters under your bed for you. It’s Podcastle 254:Sundae Rated R: Contains violent Teddy Bears.

Here’s the intro from their site -

Perhaps the greatest warrior the world had ever known was entombed in a brown cardboard box in the attic. The box was scrawled “Kenny’s Room” in bright red Sharpie pen and stuffed into a dust-covered corner one Spring-cleaning with several others. Some contained toys the children had outgrown, others contained electronics that were working but hopelessly out-of-date. All of them were quickly forgotten about.

BTW - the photo above is my own little bear, just called Teddy. He’s over 70 by now.

 NORCs - Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities - CBC had an article on one of these being set up in a Halifax apartment building. The original concept is from an Ontario group, Oasis Senior Supportive Living. The idea is to set up in an existing apartment building, offering to any seniors living there such amenities as health clinics, occasional communal meals, a community fridge, workshops, game nights and group physical activities. The main benefit is fewer home care services and emergency department visits, as well as happier seniors. Once Oasis sets up the program, it is turned over to local community groups to support it. I might pass the article on to my own building, they have a good marketing department and there are a few of us old farts in here. I’m not THAT old, but you never know.

Note to my readers - I’ve decided to remodel how I share my view of the world. I’ve added this section, Odds and Ends, to my SubStack. It will be a place for me to collect, every day or so, various news items, thoughts and tidbits that have caught my eye. I’ll still keep the main page though, as a separate place to share the occasional long-form essay/rant.

Note also that you can opt-in/out of getting emails for a section on your SubStack account page. An account is free to set up and lets you explore the Notes area as well as find other publications you might like - there are thousands and many are free. Accounts are optional of course, you can just read the emails as is.

 Rapid Bridge Replacement - We’ve used this process in Ottawa several times to replace a six lane highway bridge over the weekend. The two u-shaped bridge sections are built on site, just to the side, three lanes at a time. Thursday evening the road is closed and the shovels dig in - as many as they can cram in without stepping on each other’s toes. Once a fleet of trucks has carted the rubble away, each section is rolled in, supported by four of those huge multi-wheeled Mammoet movers. Then just fill in at each end, pave it over, and reopen by Tuesday morning. There’s even a live camera trained at the site all weekend.

I posted the following on my SubStack yesterday, in a new section called Odds and Ends. I'll try posting there every day or so, to summarize things that catch my fancy in the day. Not a newsletter every day on this, maybe a weekly letter. And maybe less FaceBook too, as they block news links. Hopefully I get some feedback there.

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I’ll probably do a long collection of bits later on, starting with the Oct 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. As opposed to an attack by Palestine, I guess.

A history lesson - For many it seems the history of the conflict is something vague in the past, and not that relevant. I’d advise checking out this DW documentary, Israel - Story of a Contested Country, which traces its roots back decades before that.

From the description - The attack on Israel by the militant Islamist group Hamas that started on 7 October 2023 adds a new dimension to the Middle East conflict: From the Gaza strip, fighters of the Palestinian terrorist organisation were able to cross into Israeli territory, take Israeli hostages, and kill hundreds of soldiers and civilians. Israel responded by declaring a state of war and retaliating with full force. In the Gaza strip, hundreds of Palestinian Hamas fighters and civilians were killed. The documentary tells the complex story of how the state of Israel was founded – a story that lies at the heart of the violence and conflict in the region to this day.