The Micro Manager is of an age when women who traveled sent little gifts to their friends. A popular gift was a fancy handkerchief! Anybody remember these?
These handkerchiefs were of a fancy design and may have had decorative stitching in places. Many times they had the name of the place the person was visiting along with a picture in the cloth. The were sold singly or in packages of four or whatever. The handkerchiefs were folded so that the four fit in a package making four triangles. The package could also be fancy with lettering and photos or maybe a painting that had been reproduced.
Well, there happens to have been 50 -60 of these fancy handkerchiefs in my house. I had no idea these things existed let alone were in my house.
Now the Micro Manager and I have been attempting to downsize for ten or fifteen years so the handkerchiefs came on the block for disposal.
Surprise! Surprise! These things are worth some money if you haven't wiped your nose with them. Check out eBay. One business bought about ten of them and paid money for them. That left 40- 50 in the house. The micro Manger found out that certain groups would take the handkerchiefs and give you a charitable receipt. All you had to do was present a price that was being paid on eBay. Go to eBay and have a look and you will find many of these handkerchiefs offered for sale. They are worth more if in the original package. If the original package is in good condition...more money. If the package hasn't been opened ...more money. As it happened the local college took the handkerchiefs for their Drama and Fine Arts program.
Now I don't remember seeing these fancy handkerchiefs in the house. How the Micro Manager got these in the house , I'll never know.
As of today, all the fancy handkerchiefs are gone from this house.
Friday, February 2, 2018
Tuesday, January 30, 2018
THE PENDULUM:SEXUAL ASSAULT
In recent days a cartoon with a pendulum showing females suffering the results and the swing now showing males being caught.
The pendulum is a good metaphor to show how the present situation has changed and that men are paying a price for their behavior. The pendulum tries to bring up the idea of a balance.
I'm not sure that there is any way to think of a balance in this situation. Both males and females lose a tremendous amount in this situation. Females lose physically, emotionally and it carries on throughout life. Males lose their position and power. They are very different types of losses and I don't see a comparison or equality in the situation.
People have been talking about a balance? I'm not sure what that balance would be. When the behavior is taken out of the courts and reported on line any control the justice system had is gone.
The other point is that inappropriate behavior still goes on. With recent reporting of assaults people think that might put a stop to it. It won't. There will be many males who still behave in a very inappropriate manner.
One of the comments in my last post mentioned that we have to look at each other as people rather than male/female. We should look at ourselves as people with characteristics describing character and ability. I like this idea although it is so huge that it will never happen.
I hope that we do move to a situation where there is less sexual assault and that there is a more definite understanding by all as to what various behaviors are.
The pendulum is a good metaphor to show how the present situation has changed and that men are paying a price for their behavior. The pendulum tries to bring up the idea of a balance.
I'm not sure that there is any way to think of a balance in this situation. Both males and females lose a tremendous amount in this situation. Females lose physically, emotionally and it carries on throughout life. Males lose their position and power. They are very different types of losses and I don't see a comparison or equality in the situation.
People have been talking about a balance? I'm not sure what that balance would be. When the behavior is taken out of the courts and reported on line any control the justice system had is gone.
The other point is that inappropriate behavior still goes on. With recent reporting of assaults people think that might put a stop to it. It won't. There will be many males who still behave in a very inappropriate manner.
One of the comments in my last post mentioned that we have to look at each other as people rather than male/female. We should look at ourselves as people with characteristics describing character and ability. I like this idea although it is so huge that it will never happen.
I hope that we do move to a situation where there is less sexual assault and that there is a more definite understanding by all as to what various behaviors are.
Friday, January 26, 2018
INAPPROPRIATE SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AND MORE
The reporting of numerous high profile sexual charges has taken us by surprise. It was always known that there were sexual assaults and more that occurred and were never reported. The rate of reporting is extremely low. The rate of conviction for offenders is again extremely low.
There would be numerous reasons why the very few assault charges were laid.
Our justice system is woefully inadequate to process sexual assaults. Women are unwilling to report and lay charges as the system doesn't work with respect to sexual charges. It's difficult for a complainant to give evidence regarding an assault. It's a personal and hurtful experience. Then a cross examination can add another layer of stress. The offender then gives his side of the story. So you have two stories. Which one does the justice system accept. Historically it's been very difficult to get a conviction on a sexual assault.
So the justice system has limped along making a very poor job of cases.
Too many males and very few females have been involved in setting up a legal system that works better than what we have now. The justice system until recently was mainly male and they set up and ran a very ineffective system. One judge in Alberta asked a rape victim why she didn't keep her legs together during the assault..
Now since some women have skirted the justice system and reported assault many more women feel confident enough to report what has happened to them. That is good.
So now we have men who are publicly accused of sexual misconduct . Many men have lost their positions without going through due process. So again the justice system fails us.
The patriarchal system we have leads to male behavior of dominance. I wonder if matriarchal systems have been looked at as far as their issues with sexual assault is concerned.
We are a highly competitive society. People who desire leadership rolls compete vigorously for the position. No holds barred. Many politicians are now accused of misconduct. Politicians are able to negate half of their rivals with inappropriate sexual conduct.
The justice system is only one piece of the puzzle. Education? Social behavior?
We have a long way to go on this one before an acceptable level of justice and equality are achieved.
There would be numerous reasons why the very few assault charges were laid.
Our justice system is woefully inadequate to process sexual assaults. Women are unwilling to report and lay charges as the system doesn't work with respect to sexual charges. It's difficult for a complainant to give evidence regarding an assault. It's a personal and hurtful experience. Then a cross examination can add another layer of stress. The offender then gives his side of the story. So you have two stories. Which one does the justice system accept. Historically it's been very difficult to get a conviction on a sexual assault.
So the justice system has limped along making a very poor job of cases.
Too many males and very few females have been involved in setting up a legal system that works better than what we have now. The justice system until recently was mainly male and they set up and ran a very ineffective system. One judge in Alberta asked a rape victim why she didn't keep her legs together during the assault..
Now since some women have skirted the justice system and reported assault many more women feel confident enough to report what has happened to them. That is good.
So now we have men who are publicly accused of sexual misconduct . Many men have lost their positions without going through due process. So again the justice system fails us.
The patriarchal system we have leads to male behavior of dominance. I wonder if matriarchal systems have been looked at as far as their issues with sexual assault is concerned.
We are a highly competitive society. People who desire leadership rolls compete vigorously for the position. No holds barred. Many politicians are now accused of misconduct. Politicians are able to negate half of their rivals with inappropriate sexual conduct.
The justice system is only one piece of the puzzle. Education? Social behavior?
We have a long way to go on this one before an acceptable level of justice and equality are achieved.
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
FRIENDLY LETTERS
I have written on this topic before but, today I was listening to a phone in radio show and the topic was friendly letters. It got me thinking about friendly letters again.
Now I'm old enough to know what a friendly letter is. I'm also old enough to have written many friendly letters. I grew up during the 40's and 50's. I had excellent mentors as far as friendly letter writing was concerned. My mother and Grandmother corresponded weekly. As little kids we would gather around Mom to hear Grandma's letter.
So when I left home I tried to write my mother a weekly letter. I kept it up for about 5 years and then it gradually dwindled to nothing.
Up until my mother-in-law's death we got friendly letters. Now about once every two or three years I get a friendly letter from a sister-in-law. It is an excellent letter and I like to see it come.
So that covers that. Friendly letter writing has dwindled to nothing.
Back to the phone in show. There are people who still write friendly letters but it seems that they are special projects. For example, one husband went through his wife's address book and asked people to write his wife a friendly letter for her birthday. She got fifty letters and is still excited today. The conclusion on the show was that friendly letter writing is dead.
The Internet became part of the topic...emails, face book , twitter. The feeling was that these devices were part of the problem for killing the friendly letter. However, writing in these formats did not give a good letter. Another enemy of friendly letters is the phone. There are very economical long distance rates compared to 50 or 60 years ago. It is literally cheaper to phone than write.
Now with blogging there is more room for detailed information. The goal of some blogs is to keep friends and family informed. Some blogs consist of posts that describe daily life. They tell the story well enough to make it interesting enough to read.
So are you involved in any way with friendly letter writing? Has blogging taken over friendly letter writing to some extent?
A stamp dealer was telling me that stamp collecting has almost disappeared. Young people are not interested in it. They don't write and have little to do with stamps.
Now I'm old enough to know what a friendly letter is. I'm also old enough to have written many friendly letters. I grew up during the 40's and 50's. I had excellent mentors as far as friendly letter writing was concerned. My mother and Grandmother corresponded weekly. As little kids we would gather around Mom to hear Grandma's letter.
So when I left home I tried to write my mother a weekly letter. I kept it up for about 5 years and then it gradually dwindled to nothing.
Up until my mother-in-law's death we got friendly letters. Now about once every two or three years I get a friendly letter from a sister-in-law. It is an excellent letter and I like to see it come.
So that covers that. Friendly letter writing has dwindled to nothing.
Back to the phone in show. There are people who still write friendly letters but it seems that they are special projects. For example, one husband went through his wife's address book and asked people to write his wife a friendly letter for her birthday. She got fifty letters and is still excited today. The conclusion on the show was that friendly letter writing is dead.
The Internet became part of the topic...emails, face book , twitter. The feeling was that these devices were part of the problem for killing the friendly letter. However, writing in these formats did not give a good letter. Another enemy of friendly letters is the phone. There are very economical long distance rates compared to 50 or 60 years ago. It is literally cheaper to phone than write.
Now with blogging there is more room for detailed information. The goal of some blogs is to keep friends and family informed. Some blogs consist of posts that describe daily life. They tell the story well enough to make it interesting enough to read.
So are you involved in any way with friendly letter writing? Has blogging taken over friendly letter writing to some extent?
A stamp dealer was telling me that stamp collecting has almost disappeared. Young people are not interested in it. They don't write and have little to do with stamps.
Saturday, January 20, 2018
MEASUREMENT
One of the American bloggers I follow , occasionally mumbles about the metric system and the lack of it's use in the States. She wonders why the US is not adopting the metric system.
The post got me thinking about Canada's change to the metric system. The change began in 1970 and it's still going on. The change was ugly but we can say that we have adopted the metric system of measurement.
Our change happened in an awkward fashion. The plan was to phase different parts of the economy into the use of the metric system. A special ministry was set up by the government to oversee the process.
It's difficult to make an overall change as some sections of the economy just can't change that easily.
Our land survey system is difficult so it took a while and is still in progress. Miles are part of the legal land system. Most of the agricultural system now uses hectares.
As a country we automatically use Celsius and kilometers. We buy gas by the liter.
I was a teacher during the seventies so the education system was charged with teaching the metric system. We did a poor job. We taught conversion of the English system to the metric system. Poor plan. Don't teach conversion from the old system to the new. Teach the kids about the size of the basic units in the metric system and then how the system is based on tens.
So now almost everything is metric. We by groceries by grams and liters or some form of them. One problem is that some groceries are also sold in pounds and priced in both pounds and grams. This gets to be a problem.
We had some major sieges. One old guy wouldn't change his gas pumps to liters. He fought a long fight but in the end he lost.
Lumber is still a problem because historically the English system was used so all old buildings were in that system. Most lumber is in English, but some dimensions have changed. Plywood thickness is in millimeters but length and width are in feet.
Somehow, we muddle along. The biggest advantage is that we fit in with the rest of the world. The worst of the change for me was listening to people complain about it.
The post got me thinking about Canada's change to the metric system. The change began in 1970 and it's still going on. The change was ugly but we can say that we have adopted the metric system of measurement.
Our change happened in an awkward fashion. The plan was to phase different parts of the economy into the use of the metric system. A special ministry was set up by the government to oversee the process.
It's difficult to make an overall change as some sections of the economy just can't change that easily.
Our land survey system is difficult so it took a while and is still in progress. Miles are part of the legal land system. Most of the agricultural system now uses hectares.
As a country we automatically use Celsius and kilometers. We buy gas by the liter.
I was a teacher during the seventies so the education system was charged with teaching the metric system. We did a poor job. We taught conversion of the English system to the metric system. Poor plan. Don't teach conversion from the old system to the new. Teach the kids about the size of the basic units in the metric system and then how the system is based on tens.
So now almost everything is metric. We by groceries by grams and liters or some form of them. One problem is that some groceries are also sold in pounds and priced in both pounds and grams. This gets to be a problem.
We had some major sieges. One old guy wouldn't change his gas pumps to liters. He fought a long fight but in the end he lost.
Lumber is still a problem because historically the English system was used so all old buildings were in that system. Most lumber is in English, but some dimensions have changed. Plywood thickness is in millimeters but length and width are in feet.
Somehow, we muddle along. The biggest advantage is that we fit in with the rest of the world. The worst of the change for me was listening to people complain about it.
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
IT'S BEEN A GOOD WINTER SO FAR
Today it was plus 1 C (33 F) so I went for a walk. It was also a good day to take the camera as it wasn't too cold on the hands.
Going for a walk is a good way to come home with a few photos.
We've had a good winter to this point. Yes we've had some very cold weather ...minus 30 C. We've had more wind than usual. But we did have a very pleasant six week mild spell. Not much snow melted. It was just very pleasant to have warmer than usual temperatures.
So today I walked over to one of my favorite natural areas and found a few things to photograph.
Going for a walk is a good way to come home with a few photos.
We've had a good winter to this point. Yes we've had some very cold weather ...minus 30 C. We've had more wind than usual. But we did have a very pleasant six week mild spell. Not much snow melted. It was just very pleasant to have warmer than usual temperatures.
So today I walked over to one of my favorite natural areas and found a few things to photograph.
Sunday, January 14, 2018
TODAY I DIDN'T THINK AHEAD
Today I had a big dose of the I didn't think "aheads".
Now I'll have to take you back a bit. Yes a way back.
When the Micro Manager and I got married in 1966 the thing to do was to record your wedding ceremony on an audio tape recorder. That's right folks ...non of the video stuff. We used a reel to reel tape recorder. That was before cassette tapes. I bought the reel to reel tape recorder in 1965. I used it for listening to music. At that time it was pretty good sound. You could borrow somebody's LP and record it. Now the recording went like this. You'd set up couple of microphones attached to the tape recorder. Then you would start the record player and tape recorder at the same time and you taped somebody's LP.
Since this technology was just about obsolete I bought something else for listening to music. I haven't touched my old reel to reel tape recorder for at least 40 years.
Fast forward to today. The micro Manager wanted to get the wedding tapes changed to cassette. Well, she said it would be easy. Turn on the reel to reel tapes and turn on the boom box and hit record! I should have been listening a little closer. There is no input on my boom box so I can play my tapes forever and nothing will be recorded.
So today I turned the machine on. It ran but was too slow so the sound was distorted. After cleaning a few things it ran close to the proper speed but the sound was awful.
What now? The micro manager is not one to give up. My ipad has a microphone. But then she said how would we get the music to cassette ? CD wouldn't be for her.
So look for some more obsolete technology in the house. Yes, the so called stereo which hasn't been turned on for more than twenty years. We found a microphone and input jacks. so that should work.
Well, that will have to be tomorrow because with all the fooling around today there was no time left.
Now I'll have to take you back a bit. Yes a way back.
When the Micro Manager and I got married in 1966 the thing to do was to record your wedding ceremony on an audio tape recorder. That's right folks ...non of the video stuff. We used a reel to reel tape recorder. That was before cassette tapes. I bought the reel to reel tape recorder in 1965. I used it for listening to music. At that time it was pretty good sound. You could borrow somebody's LP and record it. Now the recording went like this. You'd set up couple of microphones attached to the tape recorder. Then you would start the record player and tape recorder at the same time and you taped somebody's LP.
Since this technology was just about obsolete I bought something else for listening to music. I haven't touched my old reel to reel tape recorder for at least 40 years.
Fast forward to today. The micro Manager wanted to get the wedding tapes changed to cassette. Well, she said it would be easy. Turn on the reel to reel tapes and turn on the boom box and hit record! I should have been listening a little closer. There is no input on my boom box so I can play my tapes forever and nothing will be recorded.
So today I turned the machine on. It ran but was too slow so the sound was distorted. After cleaning a few things it ran close to the proper speed but the sound was awful.
What now? The micro manager is not one to give up. My ipad has a microphone. But then she said how would we get the music to cassette ? CD wouldn't be for her.
So look for some more obsolete technology in the house. Yes, the so called stereo which hasn't been turned on for more than twenty years. We found a microphone and input jacks. so that should work.
Well, that will have to be tomorrow because with all the fooling around today there was no time left.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)