Christmas Eve 2016

So...here is us again. Those of us still here, anyway.

I am torn right now between hope and fear. Torn. I've seen so much in this past two months...the year's end after the crimes of 9/11/2001 did not leave me this torn.

Still.

I wish you the best possible greetings of the Season, by whatever Name(s) you choose to honour it. I wish you peace, hope, wisdom, freedom, justice, and love. If you do not find them, may they find you and may it bring joy to you when they do.

Happy birthday to mariness!

Happier birthdays to you in the years to come, Mari! 

Bell Foundries

They're not a thing I think about very often, so finding out that the oldest-surviving such business may be shutting down was a bit of a surprise. The Globe and Mail's Paul Waldie interviews the current management of Whitechapel Bell Foundry on the matter of those plans, the firm's history and technologies, and where that industry might be headed.

Carrie Fisher

In case anyone's wondering: I heard about her heart attack. I think the timing is rotten for her and for everyone else who cares one way or another about her. Including me, a complete stranger to her.

I hope she gets past this. Because a lot of people are going to need her. And she's going to need help too.

News: NPR and Algorithms

NPR's Tamar Charney explains how that outfit uses algorithms to get their news out to the wider world.

CBC: The Next Chapter - Chris Hadfield, Tom Jackson and more

Listening to this show was a steadying influence this afteroon for me. Hadfield and Jackson were large part of that. So was the host Shelagh Rogers.

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/chris-hadfield-gordon-korman-and-the-children-s-book-panel-1.3898418

Solidarity

The story's at the other end of the link.

CBC: Ex-Hershey factory worker perfects machine-made crunchy wonton

The last I remembered visiting Smiths Falls, my father was still alive and working if memory serves, and I was on a gig doing courtroom art for CBC News' Ottawa bureau. The space for the courtroom was rented by the provincial government and located on the second floor of a local shopping complex. If you didn't have it pointed out to you, you might never know it was there.

And, of course, Hersheys had their main Canadian plant in that town.

Had.

There's been a lot of consequences following from that infamous shutdown in 2007, some better than others with still more as yet unsure of their nature, and this report filed by Stu Mills with CBC Ottawa tells a few more of them.

Hopefully, for Prim Singh and his son Dean and their staff and their families and neighbours, there will be many more good consequences to follow.