What a Pain in the......Back

I've had back pain on and off most of my adult life. I think it's probably from working in a lumber yard and as a gliding instructor.

The lumber yard led to lifting a lot of heavy stuff and carrying it, often around corners and in houses where you can't always do it properly.

I have done over 2600 landings in a Schweizer 2-33 glider and nearly 2000 landings in tow planes. Not all of them have been perfect and some of them have hurt.

As of late I've been lucky. My back doesn't hurt very often and when it does, it's very minor. That all changed. I think it started about a month ago. I sneezed while doing the bench-press. My back was sore for a couple of days but it seemed to be ok. Last week-end it started to hurt while I was in Montreal but it was fine in the morning. Yesterday while doing arm curls over a preacher bench, my back slipped out. Way out.

It hasn't hurt like this in years. One of the reasons I exercise regularly is to keep my back strong so this won't happen. I guess it's not perfect. It's just annoying that this may put a crimp in my active lifestyle. I think staying positive will go a long way to getting back to normal.

I'm lucky for all the great things in my life but a back that sometimes bugs me is not on my good list. However, if that's the worst, I'm doing ok.

Everything Looks Better in the Sunshine

For the first day of Spring the weather couldn't get much better. As I walked home in the +25 degree Celsius weather I noticed that everyone seemed to be happy.

There was a lot of smiling. Car windows and sunroofs were open. The music was turned up. People were high-fiving. It was definitely spring.

It's no secret I'm not a big fan of Winter but it does have an upside, winter makes you how great Spring can be. Even the tulips in front of my building are poking through the ground.

I know everyday cannot be this nice. Next week the forecast is calling for more seasonal temperatures but for now, everyone should enjoy the Springtime weather.

Dreaming

I used to be a big dreamer. It always seemed to make more sense to ask why can't it happen then why would we try. I often looked at things that way. I wanted to try new things and was always looking forward for a way to make it happen. I'm sure it's partly why I learned to fly as a teenager. I'm also sure it's how I was done my degree in four years. I thought I could do it so, why not?

Lately, I've been noticing that I'm not thinking up such grandiose ideas. My next step doesn't seem to have an element of fancy anymore. I'm not sure why.

My first thought was I'm getting older. I have attained a comfortable living. Maybe I don't want to upset the apple cart too much. I'm still open to new adventures but if they don't come with a pay cheque or I can't keep my current job, my excitement is dampened.

I also considered that I'm becoming less risk tolerant. When you are 20, it's easy to take a chance, if you stumble, it's not too bad. When you haven't amassed too much, complete failure and starting over doesn't seem too challenging.

Ultimately I'm not sure what has taken my big dreams away. I think I need to get it back. I need to dream big at work and away from work. I may not see anything come true but if I don't start dreaming about what could be, how can I make it happen?

Automated

So, over the last couple of weeks the news cycle has been dominated by the robocall scandal. I'm not sure if the average Canadian cares or not but it sure seems to be a lot of drama in Ottawa.

I don't know if the Conservatives or any other party for that matter used robocalls to confuse or discourage voters. Honestly, I don't really care. I'm smart enough to research what each party and candidate is proposing and I always seem to be able to find the proper polling station. I can see how this could be annoying but so is all the spam I get in my work inbox.

Since there is no requirement to disclose who you intend to or did vote for, using a computer to contact people you believe will vote for the opposition without human interaction to attempt to confuse them or annoy them seems to be a very risky tactic.

If you don't know who you are contacting, if you don't know if all the members of a household intend to vote the same way, and if you don't even know if they have accurately disclosed who they intend to vote for, don't you think that using a computer to call and confuse you is a dumb idea?

I have never run a political campaign but I can assure you that if the race is close I just want to ensure that my message is out there and is accurate. Trying to get people to not vote runs too much of a risk of getting people who would have supported you to not vote.

Now it seems that someone was using robocalling. It did take around 9 months for this atrocity to surface. If it was really an issue, you would think it would have boiled to the surface a bit quicker so maybe this whole thing is blown out of proportion. Like I said, I really don't care. The constant nagging in the House of Commons looks petty but it gives journalists lots of fodder to fill their papers and airtime.

Like everything else petty, this will pass. It may turn out that someone was acting without support or maybe a key person knew about it. It doesn't matter, it's just taking time away from real issues. What's even worse is this one isn't as funny as the #tellviceverything campaign was.

Just Google It

Being able to access the Internet from your phone can be a useful tool. Getting needed information quickly helps you make sound decisions. It can help you if you are lost. It can lead you in the right direction.

For all this usefulness, being able to pick up your smartphone (I prefer the iPhone but the inferior BlackBerry will also do) has ended a once enjoyable activity.

Mobile Google has brought an end to the bar room debate.

For centuries people would discuss unimportant but interesting issues for hours over beer. Sides would be taken and an interesting discussion would ensue. Often the truth would not be found until sometime later, which would set off another interesting but non-critical debate.

This used to be the best part of getting together for beer.

Alas, it's gone. Invariably, someone will pick up their phone and Google the issue. What used to fill an evening is now answered instantly. The entertainment is gone.

I know that having instant access to a huge body of knowledge can enhance our lives, it can help in many ways, but anything with this much ability to make change, will invariably have unintended consequences. I'm not saying that the loss of the bar room debate is the first sign of the end of civilization but it is a change and it is some thing that I miss.