These days, basic computer skills are as essential as knowing how to boil water. Whether it’s sending an email, using Skype to chat with a grandchild, or taking care of banking, computers have great potential to make our lives easier. Sometimes, computer use is a necessity. When the residents of
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wmtc: listening to joni: #10: mingus
Mingus, 1979 Mingus is unique in Joni’s work, in that she wrote lyrics to someone else’s instrumental music. Four of the six tracks on Mingus were written collaboratively by Joni and Charles Mingus. Charles Mingus was a jazz composer and band leader. He was enormously influential, and anyone following contemporary
Continue readingwmtc: orange shirt day: because reconciliation matters
Get the story at OrangeShirtDay.org.
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: ahoy there, matey! you can learn how to talk like a pirate – plus lots of fun facts about real pirates – through free apps from your library
Can you talk like a pirate? September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, a bit of fun invented by two friends in 1995 and spread around the globe via the internet. Typical “pirate-speak” are growly phrases like Arrr Matey, Avast Ye Landlubbers, and the ever-popular Shiver Me Timbers.
Continue readingwmtc: september 28: international safe abortion day
Today is International Safe Abortion Day. Because without access to safe, legal abortion, women can never be free. In North America, you can help ensure that women are able to access safe abortions, is to donate to abortion funds. The National Network of Abortion Funds (N-NAF) can show you how.
Continue readingwmtc: "how dare you": thank you, greta thunberg and #climatestrikers
Also: Why is Greta Thunberg so triggering for certain men, Jennifer O’Connell, Irish TimesCanada’s #climatestrike day is Friday, September 27.
Continue readingwmtc: picket lines, pupdates, and the 51st parallel: 10 things on my mind
It’s been a while. 1. Mom went home. My mom went home two weeks ago, after spending seven weeks here. I was sad to see her go! We had a great time, and it got better as we went along and settled into a routine. The dogs must especially miss
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: dreaming of streaming… at the library
If you have internet access at home, you are in for a treat. The Vancouver Island Regional Library (VIRL) has several high-quality streamingservices. You can listen to audiobooks, watch movies and documentaries, learn skills – and learn about the world – by streaming or downloading on your own devices. And
Continue readingwmtc: mlb rule changes: more disregard and contempt for baseball’s core fans
I stopped following this baseball season a while back. The 2019 Red Sox are not very good, and I’m perfectly happy to enjoy my first summer on beautiful Vancouver Island without them. But it’s not just the lackluster Red Sox that are keeping me away. I’m disgusted and deeply saddened
Continue readingwmtc: what i’m reading: the nickel boys by colson whitehead
By now wmtc readers, at least those who read my “what i’m reading” posts, know that Colson Whitehead is one of my favourite authors. I was so happy that he achieved breakthrough success with The Underground Railroad, winning both the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and the National Book Award. I’ve
Continue readingwmtc: island day trip with mom: grant bay and winter harbour
As we enter the last week of my mother’s extended visit, we took one last day trip, out to Grant Bay, on the west coast. As I’ve mentioned, there are no paved roads to the Pacific coast in the North Island. In fact, only two roads on the whole island
Continue readingwmtc: three questions for readers: instant pot, green smoothies, golden milk
I’d love reader feedback on these three questions. I know most people will reply on Facebook, which makes it really difficult to save reader reaction. But there’s no stopping that train, so… copy/paste/save. Instapot Yes, I know it’s an Instant Pot. I like to call it an Instapot. I think
Continue readingwmtc: my experience with bc (and small town) health care so far
So far, my experience with health care in our small BC town has been excellent. Limited sample size, anecdotal, non-scientific, yes. I’m just reporting on what I’ve experienced and observed in the past nine months, plus a few facts about funding. Port Hardy Our town of about 4,200 people has
Continue readingwmtc: pupdate: did i say progress? i spoke too soon
Remember this? Recall from canned salmon and dehydrated liver treats? Worked once. Didn’t work a second time. On our next visit to Storey’s Beach, both dogs were completely absorbed in harassing the little fish. Cookie had zero recall. And Kai regressed and had none either, no doubt learning from her little sister
Continue readingwmtc: island day trip with mom: whale watching cruise from telegraph cove
The pictures tell the story this time — all Allan’s. It was an amazing experience, far better than I expected. We also learned a lot about whales. It was such a privilege to be around these magnificent animals. We weren’t out 10 minutes before we saw orcas, humpbacks, and porpoises.
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: come play and learn!
We’re celebrating Christmas early here at the Port Hardy Library – and Port McNeill, Port Alice, and Sointula Libraries, too. We’re so excited to unwrap wonderful new supplies for the community to enjoy in our libraries. For children, we have a new selection of wooden puzzles, showing animals, shapes, “things
Continue readingwmtc: listening to joni: #9: don juan’s reckless daughter
Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter, 1977 I discovered I didn’t own Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter either on LP or CD — which means I don’t know the music from it, except for anything performed live or on compilations. This means I have only my current opinions and impressions, and no earlier thoughts
Continue readingwmtc: island day trip with mom: alert bay
This week’s day trip was fascinating, meaningful, and so much fun. We went to Alert Bay, toured the U’mista Cultural Centre (us for the second time, my mom for the first), and participated in a traditional salmon barbeque through Culture Shock. Know before you go: residential schools and the potlatch
Continue readingwmtc: pupdate: in which cookie decides to make a bit of progress
First there was Incident With a Fish Head. Then there was this. What is that dog doing, you may ask. She’s chasing tiny fish. She did this for two hours. Two hours!!! We brought treats to practice recall, but I didn’t remember to make them high-value treats. No way this
Continue readingwmtc: "at your library" in the north island eagle: did you know your library is steam-powered?
Your library is STEAM-powered. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. But STEAM is much more than those five subjects. It’s an approach to education and learning. STEAM is a way of looking at the world around us, discovering how things work, and working together to create. STEAM
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