May 12, 2026
Mississippi Mills, Ontario

My dear Reader:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to hold my interest. It provides a modern technological springboard that I am wont not to ignore. I am especially anxious to experiment with the capacity of AI to provide meaningful and worthwhile direction. Asking pertinent questions affords the opportunity to assess the answers. For openers, the comparative subtleties of the human mind are not in my opinion to be underestimated. As much as has been said to extol AI, the blunt truth is that AI was created by man not by a god. Doing something faster is not the sole measure of accomplishment.

Continue reading →

Clouds most frequently express a metaphor for woefulness, albeit as often as changeable and as fragmentary. As I sailed along the winding countryside roads today I was repeatedly overwhelmed by the inexpressible beauty of the kaleidoscopic atmosphere. Yet as aesthetically pleasing as the fickle clouds were, I recalled the imperative of balancing clarity and obscurity, brightness and shadow, perfection and ambivalence.

Continue reading →

During the golfing season most of the social events in the clubhouse commence in the afternoon. There was a time I concerned myself about possibly interrupting early morning activity but now the only reason to call ahead is to book a table for ourselves.  So it was, this morning, that we secured a table overlooking the fairway.

Continue reading →

We could not have chosen a more ideal Saturday morning for a springtime breakfast at 175 Constance Lake Road nearby the Village of Dunrobin along the Ottawa River on the outskirts of Kanata. The azure dome was brightened by irrepressible yellow sunshine. The wind, though still brisk, refreshed the air and stiffened one’s resolve. The weekend atmosphere was palpable along March Road descending to Durobin Shores; that is, the traffic was noticeably less frantic than is customary during the workdays.

Continue reading →

All is now in abeyance.  But until the day was complete there was ample reason for reluctance. Let me explain.

The leaves, grass and flowers are not the only organisms flourishing in the springtime. The improvement of the weather from its former frigid dimension to a more adaptable expression has collaterally stimulated other indicia of daily living in the country. This morning, for example, not long after I awakened and then savoured a delightful protein and fibrous breakfast (including the lip smacking teaser of palm tree dates) I pushed off around the neighbourhood on my trusty (and, so I was later told, my dusty) tricycle. The object of my journey was twofold: one, an old fogey’s interpretation of athleticism (today – should you care to know – an impressive 4.95 Km and Avg. Speed 6.9 Km/h); and, two, the irrefragable advantage of sunshine and fresh air.

Continue reading →

Awakening to a sunshiny day – especially during that narrow avenue called springtime – is my preference. Not that I abhor the contemplative inspiration of multi-designed grey clouds in shimmering white billows. But never have I purposively distanced myself from a uniformly azure sky. Yet today I had to work to accommodate the balance of Nature.

Continue reading →

Stabilizing oneself is an ongoing adventure, controlled not by vulgar personal ambition so much as the modest fulfillment of scheduled daily tasks. First attend to what is at hand. Admittedly for the agèd community in particular, many of the pressing routine activities centre upon medical purpose. It is an unglamorous and unanticipated abridgement directed to the depictions of one’s family physician or corresponding specialist who in turn collectively have carriage of one’s well being.

Continue reading →

Dear Reader, I think you’ll grant that generalities often border on platitude. Yet I dare say that the fortuity of one’s day is largely unpredictable. This is particularly so when estimating one’s personal well-being as opposed to assessment of global patterns. My day today, for example, began uneventfully, one might reasonably say disappointingly. The diminished strength of Tylenol Regular – as opposed to Tylenol Arthritis to which I formerly subscribed – was causing me ineludible annoyance. The drug wasn’t moderating the lingering pain in my abdomen (wherein reside my broken ribs).

Continue reading →

When I awoke this morning the first thing I did was take my blood pressure reading on my BIOS Diagnostics™ monitor. The accompanying energy was somewhat like playing with one’s newest toy following Christmas morning. The device has all the features required of an absorbing accessory – akin to a device of almost any description, whether a smartphone, watch, camera or radio. They are all creations which enable self-expression and which require a measure of adaptation.

Continue reading →

It was not long after my arrival in Almonte in 1976 – now almost precisely 50 years ago – that I first heard the comic proclamation: “Hurray! Hurray! The first of May! Outdoor screwin’ starts today!” It was told to me by a white-haired Mrs. Annie Honeyborne, my neighbour (and her husband Frank aka “Honey”) directly across the street. It was on that identical corridor (Martin St S) that in the summer of 1976 I witnessed a float celebrating the Almonte Fair.  The float had displayed on it a large banner which simply said, “Gidday!” My introduction was complete! It has survived as a test of the truly local candidate.

Continue reading →