Time to speak freely about the H word

“How are the Hs?” my dad asked with my mom chuckling in the background. 

It took me a moment to understand what he was referring to. 

Mom interjected: “It’s code word for–”  

But I knew before she had finished. “Oh, yeah,” I mumbled like an embarrassed teenager. 

Then came a flashback of a commercial from when I was young: A middle-aged grey-haired man talking about itching and swelling, and that there was relief out there. The relief was called Preparation H.  

I never understood what the “H” meant until much later. I didn’t even know I had them until I was in my late 30s. It seemed even my doctors were hesitant to touch the matter (no pun intended). 

After visiting my family doctor, I got referred to a specialist, who punted me off to another specialist. I ended up getting a colonoscopy, which although beneficial and delightful, did nothing to relieve the H issue. 

At my follow-up meeting, the alleged H doctor told me to eat more fibre, and that was that. Now flax and bran are all good, but I challenge any man to consume the recommended 37 grams of fibre a day. There are only so many beans and lentils one’s body can endure, and while it may do wonders for the system, it did nothing for the Hs. In fact, they thrived on fibre. I could go into details, but I’m not quite at that comfort level (maybe when I’m 50). 

In the end, it made me wonder if the medical establishment even has a clue. For all its miraculous advancements in cancer therapies, 21st century medicine has done little, if nothing, for H sufferers. 

After my second colonoscopy (again, a wonderful experience, namely because of the Fentanyl), I returned to the first specialist who had referred me to the alleged H doctor. After describing my issue again, he looked at me sullenly from behind his desk, as though he were questioning why he ever took this job. “So... three years ago I referred you to [the alleged H doctor]... and he did nothing for the Hs?” 

I shook my head. “Nothing. He gave me two colonoscopies. He said to eat more fibre.” 

“Mm-hmm... So did it work?” 

I explained my high-fibre regimen that was pushing my regularity to the limits.  

“Hmmm.” He looked down at a sheet of blank paper, as if this was the first case of Hs he’d ever treated. Finally he looked up and smiled. “We can do a procedure that might help.” 

The procedure, called banding, was touted as a relatively painless means to choke the life out of Hs. The five-minute procedure required no cutting or snipping, but a little squeezing. Actually, a lot of squeezing, which is okay for the first 30 minutes, but let me tell you, the pressure builds. I later learned that two to three days of bed rest was not uncommon. The worst part was – it didn't work. I could go into details, but I'm sure you're not at that comfort level.

In the end, and there is an end to this (no pun intended), it all came back to my dear family doctor. In all honesty, he’s the most caring doctor I’ve ever had. 

He too was baffled by my mysterious case of Hs. But after scratching his head for a minute, he prescribed me something simple – something I’d heard of before...  

As it turned out, the middle-aged grey-haired man actually knew what he was talking about. 

Just like him, 30 years later, I found relief.    

Not your dairy farmer's A.I.

Lately we’ve been hearing a lot about advances in AI, an abbreviation that still makes me chuckle. As someone who grew up on a dairy farm, AI meant something quite different. To be clear, there’s nothing funny about artificial insemination when you’re breeding an elite herd of Holsteins – it was part of our lexicon. Yet I’m sure all you city folk are snickering... or wondering what I'm talking about.

Most regular people understand AI to mean artificial intelligence, and it’s creating a big stir. Over the next decade, AI will dramatically transform our society (much like the other AI did for dairy farmers, but enough about that). On the other side of the world, the transformation is already happening.  

According to tech giant, Kai-Fu Lee, China is leading the world in cutting-edge AI technologies, some of which make us Westerners uneasy. Paying with your phone, to offer one example, is only starting to catch on here, but is widely used in China. The Chinese skipped credit cards and went straight to cellphone banking. Even the homeless accept payments by phone – simply scan their personal QR code to make a donation. (If you’re wondering what a QR code is, you may struggle with the oncoming changes.) 

Pay-with-your-face technology is even more revolutionary. At one KFC in China, you can actually order your fried chicken with... yes, your mugshot. Facial recognition is becoming so advanced that programs not only can identify you in a busy street of people, but also tell if you look guilty enough to be the one who just stole that homeless man's QR code. 

China is re-inventing its infrastructure to facilitate a myriad of AI technologies. An entire city is being developed to accommodate automated cars. The first intelligent highways are being built, with roadways filled with sensors and pavement embedded with solar panels so that electric vehicles can charge continuously while driving (at least that’s the goal).

If this sounds like science fiction, you’d be right. I’m still trying to grasp what a QR code is... 

And it’s happening at a rate that could leave many people in the dust. In his book, AI SuperPowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order, Lee suggests that nearly half of existing jobs could be automated in the next 15 years. This includes both white- and blue-collar occupations. Lawyers and doctors are not immune. 

Lee also claims that the most populous country on earth will soon be the most progressive, technologically speaking. China now attracts 50% of all AI investments in the world, a substantial increase from only a few years ago. By 2030, it’s expected to take in twice as much revenue from AI technologies as the U.S.  

China has a lot going for it: A government that invests billions in new start-ups, research and development; an entrepreneurial class of workers; and reams of user data – a secret ingredient for deep learning technologies. 

All of this is taking rural China into the digital world at breakneck speed. Lee, who grew up in the U.S. but returned to China to become head of Google China, is aware of the perils. He writes extensively about the coming challenges that AI presents, job losses being one of them. 

What he doesn’t (and can't) write about is the threat that an authoritarian state like China may pose with such technology. The Huawei story of its CFO being arrested in Canada goes deeper than the alleged theft of American technology. Countries also understand that the Chinese government could wield extraordinary power when Chinese companies build the technology. The security fears are so real that some countries have already banned Huawei from building their 5G networks. 

Clearly, we’re only beginning to understand the scope and risks of AI technologies. One can hope that by the time we do, it’s not too late.

And that’s nothing to chuckle about. 

Legal system can't always deliver justice

This past week I violated a traffic law. Knowing full well I could stop, I proceeded through an intersection as the light turned red.  

After a quick glance into my rear-view mirror, hoping not to see those flashing blue and red lights, I promised to never do it again and proceeded on my way. 

We’ve all done it. Most of the time nothing comes of it. But occasionally, the timing is all wrong and a real disaster results. 

The Humboldt bus crash was one of those moments. Jaskirat Singh Sidhu flew through a stop sign at the exact wrong moment. A few seconds could have made the difference. It could have saved 16 lives. 

As I heard clips of victim impact statements this past week, I couldn’t help but put myself in the shoes of the young man whose life is now the epicentre of one critical mistake. 

As it turns out, he was inexperienced. He had only been driving semi-trucks for three weeks. Moments before the crash, he was preoccupied with a tarp that kept coming loose, one that covered the peat moss he was transporting. He made no attempt to stop his truck because he didn’t even realize there was a stop sign. He was distracted. 

Once again, I can relate. Growing up on the farm, I was transporting grain in over-sized trucks before I even had a license (don’t tell anyone). Driving in the darkest hours of night to get a harvest off the field, we sometimes did things that weren't quite safe. Distractions while driving, like fiddling with the two-way radio while barreling down a narrow grid road, were not uncommon. 

Fortunately, the roads in our parts were not too busy. Fortunately, nothing terrible happened.  

I can only imagine being a new driver in a new country, driving a full semi-truck, trying to make a deadline in an unfamiliar province. I can understand the concern with other things, like making sure you're not losing valuable product to the wind, all the while forgetting that your main job is to drive. 

The sentencing for the young man will take place on March 22, where Sidhu could face a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. The Crown is asking for 10 years. After serving a sentence in prison, he would likely be deported, even though he is a permanent resident of Canada.

While I agree there should be a penalty for violating traffic laws and for causing death (intentional or not), I wonder if justice will be served. 

Sidhu is living through his own personal hell, one that will haunt him for the rest of his life. His tearful apology showed that he has been profoundly affected by his own guilt. Jail time, while it may be warranted, will not help him or the families affected on their roads to recovery. 

Not to be flippant, but Sidhu would have faced a mere traffic fine if no bus had been crossing at that moment. His intentions were not to hurt others.  

As we saw in a recent court case in rural Saskatchewan – the one that involved a farmer who accidentally shot and killed an Aboriginal youth – when it comes to real justice, our legal system so often falls short.