All great truths begin as blasphemies. -George Bernard Shaw, writer, Nobel laureate (1856-1950)
Dear Friends,
Dear Friends,
I have joined my colleagues at UBC, MedIT, in the Movember campaign to raise funds for prostate cancer research. While my workmates are growing moustaches for the month of November, I am doing an alternative by growing out my hair, or rather, what is left of it! I am now into the third week of fuzzy fringe and shiny pate. It has been about 15-16 years since I started shaving my head, and the current collection of stubble on my head reminds me why I will go back to shaving on December 1.
Please check out my web page on the Movember site: http://mobro.co/zipodoug
I would be delighted if you chose to donate to this very worthy cause. Contributions of $20 or more will receive income tax receipts. I hope that my international correspondents will look up the Movember campaign in their own countries and become involved in the international observance of Movember.
With thanks and best wishes, Doug
Doug Jameson Member of UBC MedIT
Doug's Motivation
is to change the face of men's health
Buona Fortuna, Duggaccio! Will the added "drag" slow you down in the pool? Cheers, Patrizio!
Thanks for your donation. Your support of Movember and the 25,500 men that will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in Canada this year is sincerely appreciated.
Attached please find your official receipt for income tax purposes.
Through the Movember Foundation and our men’s health partner, Prostate Cancer Canada, Movember is funding world class awareness, research, educational and support programs which would otherwise not be possible.
For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please click on the link below:
*Prostate Cancer Canada programs
Please save your receipt for your records and thanks again for helping to change the face of men health
Thank you. Movember – changing the face of men’s health
Where to Go During an Earthquake
Remember that stuff about hiding under a table or standing in a doorway? Well, forget it! This is a real eye opener. It could save your life someday.
EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON 'THE TRIANGLE OF LIFE'
TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY
1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' when building collapse are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.
2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a bed, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.
3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.
4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.
5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.
6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jamb falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!
7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of frequency' (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.
8) Get near the outer walls of buildings or outside of them if possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.
9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.
10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.
"Triangle of Life"
Hi Colin!
Thanks for safety tips during an earthquake. Now I know that I can curl up beside my malt cabinet! Cheers, Patrizio!
Hi Colin:
I passed along your message to a friend and he replied with the following:
Recommend you check out the Snopes response to the Triangle:
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/triangle.asp
Always good to have a second opinion. Cheers, Patrizio!
Attached please find your official receipt for income tax purposes.
Through the Movember Foundation and our men’s health partner, Prostate Cancer Canada, Movember is funding world class awareness, research, educational and support programs which would otherwise not be possible.
For more details on how the funds raised from previous campaigns have been used and the impact Movember is having please click on the link below:
*Prostate Cancer Canada programs
Please save your receipt for your records and thanks again for helping to change the face of men health
Thank you. Movember – changing the face of men’s health
Where to Go During an Earthquake
Remember that stuff about hiding under a table or standing in a doorway? Well, forget it! This is a real eye opener. It could save your life someday.
EXTRACT FROM DOUG COPP'S ARTICLE ON 'THE TRIANGLE OF LIFE'
TIPS FOR EARTHQUAKE SAFETY
1) Most everyone who simply 'ducks and covers' when building collapse are crushed to death. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are crushed.
2) Cats, dogs and babies often naturally curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a bed, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it.
3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. Wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs.
4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. Hotels can achieve a much greater survival rate in earthquakes, simply by posting a sign on the back of the door of every room telling occupants to lie down on the floor, next to the bottom of the bed during an earthquake.
5) If an earthquake happens and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair.
6) Most everyone who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jamb falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed!
7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different 'moment of frequency' (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are a likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged.
8) Get near the outer walls of buildings or outside of them if possible - It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked.
9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them.
10) I discovered, while crawling inside of collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.
"Triangle of Life"
Hi Colin!
Thanks for safety tips during an earthquake. Now I know that I can curl up beside my malt cabinet! Cheers, Patrizio!
Hi Colin:
I passed along your message to a friend and he replied with the following:
Recommend you check out the Snopes response to the Triangle:
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/household/triangle.asp
Always good to have a second opinion. Cheers, Patrizio!
Hello Corinne and Pat,
we where waiting for you at the lake
this summer. What happened?
We hope everything is fine with you.
Are you going to Guayabitos this
winter? We send you same photos
We like to hear from you. Rose -Joe
Hi Rose and Joe!
How wonderful to hear from you! Great snaps indeed! We had a busy time this summer. Stayed in Vancouver until the end of August when we made a quick trip to Winnipeg to stay until after Labour Day. Unfortunately we won't be returning to Guayabitos this year as we have a fairly extensive trip planned for Australia. (Details below) Will you be traveling to Mexico? Let us know when you will visit Vancouver as we'd love to see you here. Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizio!
Hi Marcus Aurelius!
Thanks for the second opinion on earthquake survival! Have sent it along to initial sender.
I'm planning to go to the readings at VPL tomorrow so will see you there.
Didn't think that I'd be able to ride today but with almost clear blue sky here, before noon, I thought I'd take a quick spin around Stanley Park. Most pleasant, indeed, and Seawall was quite empty of both pedestrians and joggers so I zipped along. Decided I'd ride into West Van, once over LG, and followed the bike path which Robo Ray and I had done last week. Even met close friends, Julie and Richard Martin, out for a stroll near Ambleside. I "circled" for a few minutes while we chatted!
Followed Upper Bellvue Avenue a little farther than last time. It becomes Park Lane after 29th St., then Procter after 30th., and finally Travers Avenue, after 31st. Turned around where it crosses Marine Drive with just over 26K on the clock. Started to drizzle a tad once I was near Dundarave Village but let up shortly thereafter. Clear going back over LG and I took a good look at Seawall below and to my right to see if there was any activity, counter-clockwise from Prospect Point. Seawall had been closed off, with a barricade, just beyond path which leads up to roadway to bridge deck when I made my way there earlier. Couldn't see anyone but didn't know if that was because there wasn't anyone making the trek or if barricade was still in place. I then noticed a pick-up parked almost immediately below Prospect Point with at least two people standing nearbye. Looking up at the rock face of the sheer drop I was quite surprised to see an individual, (I could not help but notice because of bright yellow jacket or vest person was wearing), about two thirds up the cliff, dangling from a rope or ropes. I assume this was an inspection or work of some sort or other but really don't know. I gather, from a quick Google search, that VBPR does hand scaling on the sandstone sections above the Seawall as well as rock bolting on the basalt zone of the Prospect Point cliffs so maybe the latter was reason for closure. Hope whoever was dangling did a good job as don't think our bike helmets would be of much use against even a small chunk of basalt coming from above, no matter how high! (The falling rock, not the rider!)
At any rate, I proceeded to complete loop on roadway, (just managing to push my speed over 50kph on long descent), and determined, since it was not raining, to do another loop, leaving out LG and West Van, needless to say! In fact, repeated this process a third time, (barely managing 50kph on each subsequent downhill run), and with a bit of dipsy doodling, after third, (turned right under Georgia to head around Coal Harbour towards downtown for 1.5K), I had 61K on odometer by time I was back at playground near Second Beach. By then it was raining quite steadily and with a fairly strong head wind I was fighting the elements. However, when I reached the relative shelter of the buildings near Burrard Bridge, rain let up and by the time I was beneath Granville Bridge sky was even clearing and there was little, if any, precipitation. Rest of ride was just a walk in the park, so to speak and I pulled into the Heartbreak Parkade with 71.33K on my trusty odometer, more than chuffed that I'd "stolen" such a wonderful excursion from the Rain Gods!
Cheers, Patrizio!
I'm going to take this in tomorrow evening at VPL:
anyone else interested? 8^) cheers, Mark
we where waiting for you at the lake
this summer. What happened?
We hope everything is fine with you.
Are you going to Guayabitos this
winter? We send you same photos
We like to hear from you. Rose -Joe
 | ||||
 |  |  |  |  |
How wonderful to hear from you! Great snaps indeed! We had a busy time this summer. Stayed in Vancouver until the end of August when we made a quick trip to Winnipeg to stay until after Labour Day. Unfortunately we won't be returning to Guayabitos this year as we have a fairly extensive trip planned for Australia. (Details below) Will you be traveling to Mexico? Let us know when you will visit Vancouver as we'd love to see you here. Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizio!
Hi Marcus Aurelius!
Thanks for the second opinion on earthquake survival! Have sent it along to initial sender.
I'm planning to go to the readings at VPL tomorrow so will see you there.
Didn't think that I'd be able to ride today but with almost clear blue sky here, before noon, I thought I'd take a quick spin around Stanley Park. Most pleasant, indeed, and Seawall was quite empty of both pedestrians and joggers so I zipped along. Decided I'd ride into West Van, once over LG, and followed the bike path which Robo Ray and I had done last week. Even met close friends, Julie and Richard Martin, out for a stroll near Ambleside. I "circled" for a few minutes while we chatted!
Followed Upper Bellvue Avenue a little farther than last time. It becomes Park Lane after 29th St., then Procter after 30th., and finally Travers Avenue, after 31st. Turned around where it crosses Marine Drive with just over 26K on the clock. Started to drizzle a tad once I was near Dundarave Village but let up shortly thereafter. Clear going back over LG and I took a good look at Seawall below and to my right to see if there was any activity, counter-clockwise from Prospect Point. Seawall had been closed off, with a barricade, just beyond path which leads up to roadway to bridge deck when I made my way there earlier. Couldn't see anyone but didn't know if that was because there wasn't anyone making the trek or if barricade was still in place. I then noticed a pick-up parked almost immediately below Prospect Point with at least two people standing nearbye. Looking up at the rock face of the sheer drop I was quite surprised to see an individual, (I could not help but notice because of bright yellow jacket or vest person was wearing), about two thirds up the cliff, dangling from a rope or ropes. I assume this was an inspection or work of some sort or other but really don't know. I gather, from a quick Google search, that VBPR does hand scaling on the sandstone sections above the Seawall as well as rock bolting on the basalt zone of the Prospect Point cliffs so maybe the latter was reason for closure. Hope whoever was dangling did a good job as don't think our bike helmets would be of much use against even a small chunk of basalt coming from above, no matter how high! (The falling rock, not the rider!)
At any rate, I proceeded to complete loop on roadway, (just managing to push my speed over 50kph on long descent), and determined, since it was not raining, to do another loop, leaving out LG and West Van, needless to say! In fact, repeated this process a third time, (barely managing 50kph on each subsequent downhill run), and with a bit of dipsy doodling, after third, (turned right under Georgia to head around Coal Harbour towards downtown for 1.5K), I had 61K on odometer by time I was back at playground near Second Beach. By then it was raining quite steadily and with a fairly strong head wind I was fighting the elements. However, when I reached the relative shelter of the buildings near Burrard Bridge, rain let up and by the time I was beneath Granville Bridge sky was even clearing and there was little, if any, precipitation. Rest of ride was just a walk in the park, so to speak and I pulled into the Heartbreak Parkade with 71.33K on my trusty odometer, more than chuffed that I'd "stolen" such a wonderful excursion from the Rain Gods!
Cheers, Patrizio!
I'm going to take this in tomorrow evening at VPL:
anyone else interested? 8^) cheers, Mark
The Writers
Ray Robertson
Ray Robertson's Why Not? Fifteen Reasons to Live is a thoughtful and searching yet always witty and entertaining book-length exploration of life’s central and enduring question: What makes life worth living?
Robertson uses both autobiographical incident and the rich written reserve that is Western art and philosophy to locate the logical and emotional sources for a deeper, more profound understanding and appreciation of human existence.
Why Not? Fifteen Reasons to Live is a wonderfully engaging collection of essays in praise of such perennial human pleasures as art, love, solitude, and intoxication in which Robertson's own experiences and ideas are elegantly interwoven with those of various artists, philosophers, and thinkers. The result is a book that is not only absorbing and enlightening, but amusing and enlivening as well.
Cathy Stonehouse
In Something About the Animal, Cathy Stonehouse’s first collection of short fiction, the world is coming apart at the seams. These are stories of imminent crisis, which tread the hysterical edge of madness in a way few writers have managed; stories about the search for meaning, about haunted understanding, and about real life horror; stories that are bleakly, blackly funny, imbued with generosity, and possessed of great beauty.
Rebecca Rosenblum
In The Big Dream, acclaimed short story writer Rebecca Rosenblum documents a new generation coming of age in the workplace. With its transparent, biting, understated prose, The Big Dream is an In Our Time for the twenty-first century.
My lovely dental hygienist Karen is so soft of touch that I almost fell asleep in the utterly comfortable "chair" that one reclines in. It's hard to resist wondering just how gentle Karen's touch would be, but..never mind...
My bike light skittered off my bike after I hit a sewer cover in the dark at about 30 mph this morning; I spent ten futile minutes hunting for it until by chance a car swept by on this remote corner and I was able to lie down and look under a parked car and find it by its headlights. I will go down to the bikestore this afternoon and see if they have a suitable bracket that has not been worn down by time.
Funny we both have headlight problems the same day...back to woik at reg desk! Cactus
Hi Cactus!
Very pleased that your spill wasn't worse and that you recovered your bike light. Perhaps Karen can massage the new bracket onto the handlebars so that it will never want to detach itself, having felt the ecstasy of her gentle touch!!!!
Same is true for Grandma Clara this morning. She came over complaining about their bathroom sink. She hates it! It's too high and water gets underneath and you can't mop it up! And her toothache is back so she hates dentists now! We dream of Maggie's claws!!!Ilya wrote: "Not too bad there Patrizio! Glad to see you're keeping in shape. Maybe we can go for a swim when I'm home for xmas? Did the Sutherland's tell you I'm moving out to St Johns next week?"
Hi Reservoir Dogs!
Ayn P Ayn P updated her status: "just had a nice chat with Quentin Tarantino...he's quite nice for a chap with such a penchant for violence in his films"
Now Quentin is someone I'd like to meet! Please set it up for our next visit to LA!!!Fondestos and Cheers, Poppa "We Don't Need No Stinkin' Mr Pink" San!
Hi – sorry for the short email but I just had this thought pop into my head and don’t want to lose it! Do you have Rick’s phone number or email address? He offered to talk to Julia about protecting herself in terms of her inheritance. Perhaps coming from a legal professional and someone who knew George, it may be helpful (instead of listening to my advice that can tend to drone on….)
Thanks!!!! Elinor Culos
Hi Aquitaine!
Funny that I should receive your email today as I was thinking about not hearing from you in some time while I was out riding today! Here is Ricardos' email address:
XXX
but I don't think he ever checks his messages! Better to phone at:
YYY
Here is his office address:
ZZZ
Lots to tell so please let us know if you can come to a mini-gathering on Sunday, December 11th, at The Island Inn. Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizio!
Hello, Patrizio! Thanks for the status report. Why not toss the
Arch-Procrastinator a few crumbs... nay, a lifeline?
She doesn't actually have to read the book - unless she wants to. All
she need do is post something along the lines of...
"With her considerable years of experience running her own firms,
Deborah Sawyer's tips are bound to assist new entrepreneurs."
She can attribute it to "Corinne D, formerly management, large
institution" unless she wants to reveal more.
There - easy-peasy. Enjoy your cycling! Deborah
Hi Ms Easy-Peasy!
I'll cast the poils/crumbs domani and see what happens! Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizio!
Thanks for the notes - I've been meaning to write you back for a while now. The fashion show sounds like a real trip - I'm amazed you lasted as long as you did, but I've always thought you had a Sartorialist streak in you... www.thesartorialist.com And the ride yesterday (Sunday) sounds long. I would have joined you but I was wandering up Hollyburn with my dad - our Sunday Grouse Grind is now closed, so we have to go with the other Sunday hike. It was a lovely day, and we were the first to the top, which is always fun.
Oh, before I forget, I'm in a new space - 2nd and Quebec was getting expensive ($5000 a month for the 4 of us) and there was the small matter of the posts not actually being attached to the beams in the space we were in. Not a problem day-to-day, but if there was even a moderate earthquake the whole place would have collapsed like a poorly-made house of unreinforced masonry cards. Now that I'm getting older I'm living by the maxim that I might die any day - at any moment, in fact - but if I do I don't want it to be from something I could have easily foreseen and avoided. It keeps me from taking up smoking or sky diving, or driving too fast without my seatbelt on. Or, for that matter, renting buildings that are obvious hazards.
...so myself and another fellow have found space in a live-work over near Hastings and Clark.
...hang on a second. Just re-reading your notes - perhaps we have already had this conversation. At any rate, glad to hear you're out and about on the bike.
I have marked us down for the 11th - we would be delighted to attend. What sort of time/dish/family shall we bring?
And I trust you are now in tip-top shape for the Okanagan Fondo? I'm thinking I might need to get a new bike at some point soon - need to do something other than run. -A.
Hi Flash!
Great that you can come on December 11th, 6:30ish on. You are welcome to bring your intelligent/gorgeous daughters should you wish to do so. They are always welcome in spite of Cora Lee's fear that I will say inappropriate things to them! Don't worry about bringing anything other than your charming selves!
I did know about your new work digs as I visited when you so kindly printed out the malt tasting template in early July. Given your earthquake sensitivity you might be interested in the following flurry of email. Cheers, Patrizio!
Hi Patrick,
Thanks for all your news. I hope the toilet repair works, but from my experience you should go to the hardware store and buy a complete new mechanism. We really enjoyed the Canal Diaries (pictures). Fortunately you're a master of brevity!
My friend Lee and I spent the day in the vineyard today stuffing nets into bags for storage. I'm sure this is the worst job of the annual vineyard chores. Fortunately we had a shot of Jamieson's at the 2/3 point of the job to keep up our spirits (!). After more than 3 hours of hard labour we retired to the house for samplings of Tullabardine, Edradour and Balvenie Fortunately the weather came around nicely and we had a warm day and even some sunshine after a rainy start. Tomorrow we're golfing to take advantage of a relatively warm day before the club closes for winter.
Lynnie and I are flying Kelowna-Seattle-Phoenix on Thursday to spend 5 days with our friends Tom and Jan White. Tom is an old mining colleague who lives in Salt Lake City. One of their daughters has a large rental house in Phoenix that is vacant for the month so we're going to freeload there. A highlight of the trip will be a Canucks vs. Coyotes game in Phoenix on Thursday, for which Tom has procured tickets. It should be a big Canadian crowd.
I had a short trip to Peru last week for a couple of days of meetings. I may have one more trip to Chile before Xmas, or it may not happen until January. We're not sure of our Xmas plans yet, but may go to Victoria and then spend some time in Vancouver and New Years with Ted and Debbie on Bowen.
Un abrazo (a hug) for Corine and for you, too. Cheers, Peter
Hello Dearest Naramatians!
Funny that you should mention me being "the master of brevity" as Cora Lee asked me, just this evening, if I had thought about editing the CBD! I spit on editing, as you probably know or surmise!!!
Sounds as if working in vineyard is just an excuse for sipping copious amounts of Irish and Scotch whiskey! Phoenix sounds a blast, indeed! Do try to spend some time in Vancouver over hols as perhaps you can connect with Kathleen and Steve then. Have you heard from them?Fondestos and Cheers, Patrizio, but The Apprentice of Brevity, secretly dreaming of becoming a Journeyman, and then?
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