It is amazing how quickly it changes.
Everyone complains that their "recent" meaning in the past 2 years tech becomes out of date so quickly and they are "xxxxxx" to keep spending to keep up.
I will admit I have always been behind the times. I am not a tech geek by any stretch of the imagination.
I just updated my 3 and a half year old phone that was cheap and therefore not top of the line when I got it. I again did not go for the latest nor even more recent, I went for cheap that would allow me to at least update to the most recent iOS .
Get to the point already!
When I got to NN digital cameras were unheard of to me. I spent an hr with a friend that I still remember fondly, trying to find out how to post pics. She was at least as dumb as I was but her partner had purchased the equipment. I was still using a 35mm camera.
Our conversation went something like this...
How do you post pics?
You take the pic then plug the cord into the thingie
What cord? What thingie?
You know the cord that came with your camera.
I don't have a cord.
Did you lose it?
I don't think I ever had it!!
Rae I love you and miss you! One ringy dingy!
Needless to say we got no where. It was others that introduced me to the digital world.
My first purchase was a web cam. I still have the first nude I ever posted in my gallery. The quality SUCKS!! But it wasn't horrible for the time.
I remember buying my first real digital camera, it was a whopping 4 mp! Suddenly my flaws were more clearly visible but I got used to that. Time went on, cameras got better then phones were as good as any point and shoot camera and each time I had to get used to "being seen for what I really am" None of us are kind to ourselves about our flaws and having them become clearer and clearer is intimidating.
I am sure in time I will look back on this blog and laugh but holy shit the difference a few years make in the quality of the pics that are available on phones is mind boggling. I look at what my beloved iPhone 5c took and thought I was doing ok sometimes, not so great others and now I look at the couple I have posted from my new phone. It is like night and day.
Looking back through my gallery is as much a journey through technology as it is a journey of exhibitionism.
Thinking how times have changed,
ju
I no longer have to worry about the cord that plugs into the thingie to post a pic. For that matter I no longer have to worry about buying 4 double A batteries to keep the damn camera working.
I can perv on my camera and even make phone calls but who does that anymore?

Canadians have no real identity. If you ask a Canadian what makes you Canadian you will not get a straight or even a single answer. You will instead be told what we are not and you may even get some (often true) stereotypical answers.
We may not have a single "thing" you can pinpoint and say ah ha!! You are Canadian!
What we do have is a bit of an identity crisis. We can go on for hours and hours about what we are not but if you asked any one of the almost 36 million of us what we are you are likely to find the conversation turned about in some form.
Today may give you a little insight about what it is to be Canadian.
Today Canada is mourning. Today our Prime Minister, love or hate him spoke with tears. Today our parliament took a moment of silence for a man who spoke loudly and clearly to each one of us in this country.
You don't have to be a 'Hip fan to appreciate the genius of the poetry that Gord Downie gave us. He is and now was a story teller that spoke to generations on this vast land we call Canada.
The man, the machine, the legend ...
He knew it was coming. We knew it was coming.
That did not make it any easier.
RIP Gord

I was one that thought I was invincible and boy was I wrong but this blog is not about me. It is about a friend who thought he was more invincible than most because of the longevity of ONE of his parents.
He has lived with blinders on for years and as he is approaching 60 is starting to realise not everything is working as it was. He is scared shitless about tests that have been routine for most for the past 10 years. He is putting off the need for the prescriptions he has been given. He is putting on a brave face but I know he is not so brave all of the sudden with results that are coming in in increments.
I am trying to be supportive but at the same time I am shaking my head. Just go, just take the meds, just do the tests.
He seems to think that health is something you fight drs about not realising they are the ones that are trying to keep you alive.
I actually feel sorrier for the Dr.'s than I do the patients. They are fighting the good fight to keep us alive and in general we oppose them at every turn trying to prove them wrong
We are not immune. We are not going to beat the odds. We are not going to live forever but we can stop being the rebellious teens we want to think we still are and "follow the Dr.s orders"
Being a bitch to a good friend for his own good,
ju

It is natural for people to want to help after disasters such as this.

There are right and wrong ways to do so.

This article sums it up nicely

[url]https://www.cbsnews.com/news/when-disaster-relief-brings-anything-but-relief/2/[/url]

ju

I imagine you think we are simple hicks who have no idea how the internet works or you wouldn't put so much effort into trying to trick us into thinking you are some how hotter, smarter, sexier...

You complain when we do not appreciate your ability to copy and post pics as yours. You want to be the king/queen of our little corner of the internet using nothing but deceit. You think you are so incredibly smart and will rule the land!

I have news for you.

We are here because we have inhabited the rest of the internet. Your stuff is not new to us. It is because your pictures, and/or and larger than life personalities were "noise" we could no longer tolerate that we are here. A place where we can be our selves. A place that no matter what our perceived faults are we can still find an admirer or two or perhaps many.

NN is not a place to display your massive porn collection. It is a place to give us a peek into you!

We like people that have insecurities, doubts and the sheer guts to give us a glimpse at themselves.

We find beauty in not only pictures but the personalities that congregate here.

This place is unique because of the real people here. Not everyone will be to everyone's taste and that is ok!! I do not have to like what everyone posts whether visually or "verbally" but what I will have is respect because they came and are showing us who they really are. In fact you may end up interacting with one or several who like you for you!

Pretending to be something you aren't will leave you as empty and isolated as you were when you arrived.

I know I am preaching to the choir but more and more I am lost to the motivation of the "fakes" What are they really after? It has to be an empty victory to have a lot of likes, comments, votes on something found rather than something created.

Reflecting 24 hrs before my first 14 years here.
Waiting to see what the next 14 will bring.

ju

After a conversation this evening with a NaughtyDroid, I have to tell you that you failed big time as a high school geography teacher. . .

I got to NN only vaguely aware of geography and time zones. Standing at the head of the class with your pointer stabbing at a world map was only slightly interesting if i crossed my eyes and let the colours blur.

Had you introduced me to naked person A living in country or state A and pointed out the flight times and time zones that I would be required to cross I may have gotten it. Just in case naked person A was not to my taste rendering anything more you had to say about geography useless you could have gone on to naked persons B-Z. I am sure I the glassy look in my eyes may have brightened.

You could have taught us that if we were to jump on a plane from the northern hemisphere in winter we have hot sweaty sex to look forward to in the summer we would be landing in.

But you failed me. You left me to my own devices to find out the very things you were being paid to teach me.

Mr what ever the fuck your name was, you are a disgrace.

Naked people of NN, I thank you for the geography lessons we were all unaware we needed.

Tongue firmly in cheek,
ju

It is a big one, 150 years as a country. The celebration plans have been in the works for years. So many out partaking and here we sit.

It is funny how things have evolved for my little family, the kids and I. I had not really thought about it until today. None of us have any desire to go out and join the crowds for any holiday. If I was to even suggest we go out and do something I am sure I would be sneered at.

We always have a good meal but we never want to go anywhere and do anything whether it is Canada Day, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving etc.

We look at of lack of public transit and all businesses being closed as a positive. None of us have moved more than a few feet. Breakfast was around 1pm. We are barely even saying anything to each other, even the dog seems to be taking advantage of the peace. Not much going on out there, no one to bark at no reason to be on guard. I know some would be going out of their minds thinking it is a long weekend we have to take advantage of it!! We are taking advantage of it just not in the "traditional" way.

We were busy yesterday. We will be busy again tomorrow. Today we have no obligations.

Happy birthday Canada,
ju

Isn't fancy and more often than not it is a complete disaster area rather than tidy.
What it has is a west facing view. Sun for the afternoon/evening.
It is most of the time sheltered from cold wind. Even at its messiest it always has room for a few chairs near the door. They can be moved out to catch the breeze if it is warm or can be tucked back in to avoid the chill.
It is a place to sit, have a few beers and let the conversation flow.
The music comes from a ghetto blaster circa 1985.
If the walls of my garage could talk they would tell you that idiots and beer have some pretty fucked up conversations and some incredibly insightful ones as well.
Tonight, much like any other night spent sitting there, part of the world but separate, sharing trials and triumphs we did not achieve world peace but we found some peace in our lives.
I pulled the door down feeling rested and optimistic.
ju

You may remember my lamenting about not being able to walk for more than a few mins back in the fall.
Well progress has been made.
Weather permitting the past few months I have been getting out there when I can. That was only a few days in Jan/Feb. March I got 10 workouts in and cracked the 3km mark.
April has been better, I have been more consistent and have been averaging 2.5/3 km per session. The other day I pushed and hit the wall at 3.6 kms. The last 400m home was pure hell.
Today for the first time I was below 10 mins for each of the first 2kms!
I am psyched. I am feeling stronger and it feels amazing! My motivation is increasing because I feel better and I feel even better when I do walk which gets me going on the days that aren't quite so nice weather wise.
I am hoping in the next month or so to crack both the 4km mark and get that 3rd km under 10 mins.
Wearing out my shoes,
ju

While I do my best to understand, somethings are just lost even when communicating in a common language.
Some sounds are specific to some languages and completely unheard of in others.
Today I had my pre treatment appointment and when I was describing a side effect that had increasingly worsened with each treatment my Dr was all over it and gave me a prescription. She then said that she had prescribed a steroid for the infusion itself as well.
Long busy day later I had dropped it off and went in to pick it up. I was asked if I wanted to speak to the pharmacist because it was new. I thought I understood but saw the list of side effects and thought ok maybe a consultation would be a good idea so I knew what I was in for.
At this point what you need to know is there are 3 tablets. That is it, 3.
The conversation with my Asian pharmacist went something like this...
You take one the day before, one the day of treatment and then 4.
I said I don't understand?
You take one the day before treatment.
Ok
You take one the day of treatment, treatment day is day 0
ok
Then you take 4
But there are only 3 tablets?
Yes! One the day before, one the day of and then 4.
The math just wasn't adding up.
At this point I am completely lost and he was getting incredibly frustrated so he grabbed the original, thankfully computer generated original prescription.
See? You take one the day before. One the day of then 4!
Ahhh I now understand!! I take one the day before. One the day of treatment which is day 0 and one on the 4th day!
For lack of a "th" sound we were both frustrated but 10 mins later he was in a lather and I was on my way home knowing what the hell I am supposed to do.
I don't think I will need to be reminded to take the last one 4 days after....
Doin' the math,
ju