Never Let Old Guys on Scanners

     Like a number of other bloggers I've been mumbling about digitalizing some of my old photos. My kids are 43 and 45 and they don't have photos of their childhood and growing up. 

     So  I have a plan. I'm starting with the Micro Manager's and my photos when we were growing up and before we had kids. You know, the photos your kids like to laugh at! I picked 25 of my photos that show the highlights of my life before children. 

    I have to gain some more experience in scanning. I know it can get better, but I'm not looking for professional stuff. I just want to pass things on to those for which it has meaning. 

    So yesterday was the first day. Of course, I found some classics and this is where I say, "Keep the old guys away from scanners."  

    So you know you're going to see a couple of momentous historical photos.

The adorable blogger in 1940

I always had to look after my brother

The blogger with bib overalls.

The obligatory first day of school photo. My brother is starting gr. one and I'm starting gr. two.

     You see why old guys should be kept off scanners.  I promise I'll improve.

Rover Knows Twice as Much as You Think

      I usually listen to the Current from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM on CBC radio. Sometimes something really catches my attention so that I have to share it in blog land.

     Arlene Weintraub, a science author , has written a book about the contribution of dogs to cancer research. It surprised me what dogs contribute in cancer research.

    Dogs get similar cancers to humans. In some ways dogs receive the same cancer treatment as humans. With dogs some different drugs can be given to them to see what effect they have on the dog's cancer. The dogs have cancer so it's not like some tests where the animal is given a condition and then "Oh let's see what will this do." The dog already has cancer and new drug therapy can be tried. So many things can be learned about a drug therapy that has not been approved for human use.

   What real caught my attention was that they are training dogs to identify blood samples where the person has cancer. A number of blood samples are taken. Most samples are not from people having cancer and some blood samples come from people who do have cancer. Dogs can be very accurate in picking the blood sample where the person has cancer. Some cancers are very difficult to diagnose until it's too late. Ovarian cancer is one where it's difficult to identify early.  They are hoping that dogs can identify blood samples that will tell if the person has ovarian cancer. Dogs can be trained to pick other specific cancers. 

     The dog's sense of smell is adequate to pick up the correct scent. The dog has to concentrate and not get sidetracked to pick up the correct scent. The dog has to be on his game. The dog will pick the sample with cancer by stopping beside the sample and sitting down. The same process happens when dogs are used to search luggage for illicit drugs.

    I know that dogs have a very keen sense of smell but I didn't realize that it could be applied to a cancer diagnosis. It adds more meaning to the phrase a dog is man's best friend.

Book Review: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

     In the last year I've read many good books but none of them were fiction. Somebody in blog land must have recommended All the Light We Cannot See and it's a good story.

    The story is set during WW II. It features two children: one in France and the other in Germany.  The author tells their stories by alternating chapters. So one chapter describes what happens to Werner and the next one tells about Marie-Laure. The author makes their lives realistic as he describes the horrors of war children had to go through.

    I don't normally like war stories or stories with violence. This one was dark but I couldn't put it down. It's easy to read. There's lots of conflict and most of the predictions I made about what was coming next were wrong.

    For all stories a certain amount of research has to be done. Either Anthony Doerr did a lot of research or was extremely knowledgeable about science. Whether it was radio, physics, snails, biology or minerals and gems the details were there. Marie-Laure was blind and he had to know in great detail how blind people function.

    In the end we come away understanding much more about the horrors of war during the war and what people suffer years after the war.

    Now I haven't told you any part of the story. You'll have to get all the story yourself.

 I enjoyed the story and recommend it.

     After I finished reading this story I noticed that it won the Pulitzer prize.

     Don't check Wiki Pedia as it gives a story summary

I'm a Fourth Generation Canadian!

     Well, you may be wondering "What's he talking about?" Well, you also know that he is going to tell you.

     In my last post I wrote a little about Ukrainian Christmas. What was also on my mind is that customs and traditions are slowly disappearing. 

     Let me use my family as an example. Western Canada opened up and was settled in the early 1900's.  My Great Grandpa, born in 1842 came to Canada  about 1900. He was about 60 and brought all his adult children and their families. Great Grandpa was looking for a place where he could have land, follow his Lutheran faith, speak the German language and not be conscripted into an army as they were pacifists. Western Canada looked like a place that would allow him freedom to follow his way of life. 

     Life was great for the family. They had free land. Life was hard but they happy compared to what they left in the Ukraine.

     Today 110 years later, probably none of great Grandpa's ancestors speak German. Very few of them are Lutherans. Some of his grandsons were in WW II. So most of the traditions and customs have been lost Gradually we mixed with other people. Children went to school and learned English. My Dad's first language was German. We don't eat  the same foods our grandparents made. 

     So when I described Ukrainian Christmas I wanted to tell how traditions have gradually been lost. Most Ukrainians came here after WWI and the Russian Revolution so some of their customs are still practiced. Ukrainians my age do not speak the language. When the language is lost the culture soon disappears.

  Now what in the world has "fourth generation " got to do with this? First of all, we are a very "new" area. 110 years ago there were few Europeans here and the aboriginals had been locked up of reserves. Much of North America has been settled for hundreds of years. Much Europe has been settled for 1500 -2000 years. 

     So by for generations much of the culture was lost.

Ukrainian Christmas

       I always leave my outdoor Christmas decorations up until Ukrainian Christmas which is Jan.8. Why January 8, you say? The Orthodox church uses the Gregorian calendar so Christ's birth is celebrated Jan. 8.

       I'm not Ukrainian, but this area has a high population of Ukrainians. You can't help but have Ukrainian friends here. Today the celebration of Ukrainian Christmas is abbreviated as traditions are not held as strongly as the first emigrants.

 The celebration is full of symbolism and goes on for seven days.

      Now my knowledge of the celebration is limited but I hear about the well loved traditions. One meal consists of 12 courses.. one for each of the disciples.

      So to all Ukrainians who celebrate Christmas today, Merry Christmas. I wish I could write it in Ukrainian as I've heard it so  many times.

      So tomorrow my outdoor lights will go dark.

   

Cross country Skiing

       I've had a good run of cross country skiing in 2016. Everything has been right...snow, temperature, wind. So I've been out in the afternoons and it's great. I have set up trails in the close so I just have to walk across the road, put the skis on and I'm away. I wish other things did not get in the way and I could ski everyday. 

      Now I did not ski tonight. I only took photos. It's minus 16 C (4 F ).

     Since I post on cross country skiing I have to explain that it's not sliding down hill on skis. This is walking or running on your skis. It takes effort...lots of effort. We can go down fairly steep slopes that are well groomed and trackset. We tuck ( bend the knees and stick the butt out ) and get a fast run down hill. Of course , we have to get up high in the first place. Usually the trail rises in another location that is longer but a lower slope.

      We have a Kananaskis Park which has many excellent trails. You actually gain a lot of altitude and then it's a nice run back down.

      Our city has an amazing number of cross country ski trails that are track set and well maintained. I have enjoyed the trail but no longer go on the trails. I like to ski by myself. At this age it's too risky to go on your own. If I fell in the snow I might not be able to get up!!!

     It's also light enough that I can ski in the evening so it's very convenient. Now I thought I'd show what the trails look like in the evening but I learned a little more about photography. With the level of light the camera is very slow so I wiggle and the photo is blurry. One day I'm going to have to get a tripod.

  

Don't You Hate it When...

....the computer and/or the Internet won't work?

     Yesterday was one of those days. The day  was long and frustrating. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 

     The day started off with the computer taking a long time to load. Then I found out that Google Chrome would not load. So. what's the problem. Is it my goofy computer ? Is  it something wrong with Google chrome?  Is there a problem with my Internet provider?

      I tried another browser, Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer would load but it was freezing up all the time. It took a long time to read blogs and comment. Smoke was coming out of my ears. 

      To complicate these matters a long scan was running. The scan did not complete. 

      Computer problems here are not common so when they occur I'm not ready for them and don't know what's going on. 

    So my question is: Why don't they put a message on my screen that tells me what the problem is and then I can cool my jets? I would be happy if they said chrome is under repair and will be back on in 8 hours. If my Internet provider put a message on the screen to say they were doing repairs and would be back in half an hour I could live with that. I suspicion there are other problems that slow the operation down and I don't even know what's going on. My computer seems to keep looking for updates!

     Now I know that some people complain about poor Internet connections. I sympathize with them. I know I'm fortunate to have good service.

     What about you? Do you have Internet problems? Do you recognize problems right away? What do you do about problems when they

 arise?