Technology creeping me out

            I started reading a book about the “creepiness” of today’s technologies.  Since I was using the non-technologically advanced method of reading a book by borrowing it from the library, I didn’t quite finish before it came due.  But I read enough to get the gist: technology is slowly eroding our privacy.

            In Technocreep: The surrender of privacy and the capitalization of intimacy, Thomas Keenan talks about some of the creepy issues resulting from new technology.  Take, for example, that Smart TV you just bought with the built-in camera.  Sounds like a novel idea, if you like to see over-sized images of your friends on Skype.  But it’s also relatively easy for a hacker to get into your TV and watch you from that camera.  Same goes for your smart phone, laptop or tablet.  There are websites now that show real-time videos from hacked laptops, where a new form of reality TV is occurring.  

And about that smart phone you own... There are now technologies that can monitor shoppers’ movements in malls, by setting up transmitters that collect the “pings” sent automatically from your cell phone.  This is a way to pick up on customer’s shopping patterns. While this may sound somewhat benign, I’m sure there are many other ways to track people with the built-in GPS in your phone.  The feature can be great when wondering why your spouse is late to pick you up, but imagine a stalker tracking your child’s whereabouts through his or her smart phone.

            Understandably, there are always safety issues that arise with new technologies.  But for young people, especially, it seems a little too easy for them to be lured into unsafe places, without even leaving the home.  Amanda Todd is a prime example of this, a young teenager from BC who was stalked online and black-mailed by a person in the Netherlands, eventually leading to her suicide. 

            It’s easy to be deceived on the Internet, much more so than in person.  We can keep our kids away from those on the street much easier than those lurking in chat rooms and other social media sites.

            I was always a little leery of Facebook and how much privacy you give up by participating, but I would feel a bit ostracized if I didn't have access to all my social contacts goings-on (yes, I spy on you through Facebook).  If I feel this way as an adult, imagine how a teenager must feel, when so much of their worth depends upon being accepted in social circles.

Private information on websites can potentially be used by anonymous people who want to cause you harm.  But it’s not only creeps on the Internet, it’s private companies, too.  Insurance companies are loving these new technologies.  They can monitor you like never before, and aren’t hesitant at looking on social media sites to find out anything they can to build a case against your claims.

            Keenan relates the example of a woman whose disability insurance was cancelled because her Facebook page showed pictures of her on a beach while suffering depression.  The insurance company concluded that she was having too good a time to be seriously depressed.

            It’s Big Brother monitoring like this that not only violates our privacy, but may also not tell the whole story.  That picture that your friends took of you doing a jig on a bar table without your pants on 10 years ago may not be the same person who is applying for a job today.  Yet that might be the first image that comes up when the company does a quick Internet search on you (and no, I'm not admitting to anything!)

            The author talks of a whole host of issues that could come up in the next few years, as people find new ways to invade your privacy, whether you participate in social media sites or not.  Google Glass is one such technology, where Google has invented a pair of glasses that serve as mini-computer and video camera that can record without you knowing it.

            According to the author, it won’t be long before facial recognition technology is so advanced that you’ll simply have to do a scan of someone with these glasses on, and you’ll know exactly who they are.  You’ll be able to do a quick online search to have all their background information at your fingertips (like that picture of them doing a jig at the bar 10 years ago).

            It’s one creepy technology I hope doesn’t become mainstream.

A conflict without end

           The crazy thing about the conflict in Ukraine is that no one could foresee it happening.  It was unpredictable.  Politically, there had always been a divide between the east and west, where the east was more pro-Russia, and the west, more pro-Europe, but it was never a source of violence.
           What started out as a peaceful protest against the rejection of closer ties with the EU has now evolved into a violent clash between citizens of the same country.

            Our eldest nephew from Ukraine graduated from a military high school in eastern Ukraine that is no longer functioning as a school.  He heard that it’s now housing pro-Russian rebel forces.  Some of his family in the city of Lugansk have been forced to flee their homes and business because of their political connections to a pro-western political party.  Others have been able to stay and now support the rebels. 

Some of the people we know in Ukraine are surprised by the public support for the rebels in the region which they control.  It may stand to reason that if your homes are shelled enough by the Ukrainian military, you will start to form hostility towards the government.  There are also strong economic ties to Russia in this region that many fear will be severed by signing an agreement with the EU.

            But it’s also been reported that the rebels have instituted a reign of terror in the eastern region, where those who disagree with their exploits are quickly dealt with.  One million refugees have fled the region, and those who are pro-Ukraine and still live there, are likely remaining silent.

            It’s difficult to know the truth with the propaganda being pushed by both sides.  What is clear is that Putin is in complete control of the Russian media, thereby holding control of the Russian public’s mind.  The view that the Ukrainian government and Western forces are perpetuating this conflict is a reality to most Russians.

            Our younger nephew had the misfortune of being sent to the front lines of the conflict one month ago.  The only way he could afford his university education was to attend a military college, where after he became obligated to serve in the military for five years.  He’s in his first year of service after graduating.  At the time, there was no way to foresee that he would ever be sent into a conflict zone. 

Our youngest nephew in the trenches in Ukraine.

For 45 days and nights, he spent his time in trenches, guarding a position that should have not seen any gunfire since the signing of a ceasefire agreement in September.  As the Ukrainian government is short on funds, the soldiers had to rely on nearby residents to supply them with their meals.   

During this time, he became well aware of the fact that they were not fighting against some home-grown Ukrainian militia.  They were fighting a well-supplied army with considerable expertise, one that was certainly receiving support from Russia.

            While we were extremely relieved to have him home again, it remains uncertain whether he will be sent back out to the front lines.  The conflict does not appear to be ending anytime soon.

            The new president of Ukraine finds himself in a very precarious position, pressured to push back against the rebels and instigate peace at the same time.  All of this while Ukraine’s economy continues its downward trend, a fundamental problem that lay the groundwork for the conflict to erupt in the first place.

            We may want Russia to suffer as well, here in the West, because of Putin’s exploits and what he has taken already from Ukraine.  But in the end, like all conflicts that begin over a political clash in views (this was about a trade agreement initially), the innocent will pay the price.  They have already.

            Most Ukrainians just want peace and to have a better life.  But this conflict will affect generations to come, whether peace is achieved in the near term or not.

           

When car buying goes bad

            I always tended to think of myself as a shrewd car-buyer enthusiast who knew how to spot deals: buy, sell, trade, swap and make a mint in the process.

            But I’ve been thinking of my track record more recently and it doesn’t look like I’ve shown much promise in my ability to wheel and deal.  Now I never thought myself as a good negotiator, but I thought I could at least spot a deal when I saw one.

            The problem is I like to be sold on what I’m buying.  I like someone to tell me all the good things about the vehicle before I buy to give me that feeling that I’m getting my money’s worth.  I also like cars too much to be objective.  You can throw out any leverage I might have when I start to drool over a newer (yes, never new) vehicle.

            And when you’re a teenager, it really doesn’t much matter what kind of car it is – you want it.  Who else would want a 1988 Pontiac Firefly with 200,000 kms?  To be clear, this kind of car was only meant to function until 150,000 kms.  But my Dad and I ponied up $2400 for this gem, and after its motor job, it did serve me well for another thousand kilometres.  Sadly, its life came to a tragic end one snowy October day.

            My next car was a step up: a 1991 Honda Accord.   Almost having completed my university degree, I jumped on this opportunity to own a real man’s sedan.  The person selling it got high marks for his presentation – he could’ve been a used car salesman.  And it was a nice looking car.  Now whether he neglected to mention it was a car from Quebec because he didn’t know about that, we’ll never know.  It wasn’t even an issue of rust; as you might know, out East they salt their roads like Laird arena fries.  It was an issue of basic reliability.  Normally you buy Hondas for this very reason, but this Honda, sadly, was a lemon of epic proportions.

            So after thousands in repairs, I finally got rid of the Honda and bought a used (of course!) 1997 Acura 1.6.  A very economical car with few issues.  My one solid buy.  Sadly, its life came to a tragic end one snowy October day.

            As I entered parenthood and abandoned my university-day ideals, I decided to be a real man and buy an SUV (used, of course!)  It was quite a step up for me, costing almost half the price of a new vehicle!  Still, I got persuaded to buy the car with the engine light on (they said they would fix it, which they did a couple weeks later) and paid the full $500 “service fee,” which I’ve since learned is a bit of a scam.  Little did I know at the time that the salesman was desperate to meet his quota for the month, and I was in the proverbial driver’s seat.  Lesson learned.

            But I’m not telling the whole story here.  One year earlier, I actually decided to throw away my manhood and buy a mini-van.  Just a short-term buy, mind you, one that I would buy and resell when we no longer needed the vehicle capacity to drive around relatives on a summer vacation. 

            It’s much easier said than done, to buy and sell a mini-van.  You see, mini-vans at the price range I was looking at aren’t really much to look at.  And they typically have some serious issues under the hood.  Add to this older owners who think their vans are worth a whole lot more than what they actually are, and it becomes a problem finding a deal.  After much deliberation and pointless haggling, I finally settled on a Honda Odyssey with tons of mileage that smelled like dog.  It was a fine driving machine.  But it caused me lots of stress, and when I sold it, three months later, the buyer got a heck of a deal (I guess I can’t really sell vehicles either).

            It’s one vehicle that should have come to an end one snowy October day.

Look, the six-foot snow banks are gone!

Never have we so closely watched the weather as this winter and spring (or “sprinter,” as my daughter affectionately called it).  And we watch the weather very closely in Saskatchewan.

While it's not as apparent now, with the “normal” spring-like weather we’re having, there is still evidence of the horror we lived through the last six months.

As we drove northward on the May long weekend, we spotted a few specks of leftover snow banks on the side of the road.  At my parents’ farm, larger banks of snow adorned the east-facing slopes of the North Saskatchewan River, like miniature glaciers where glaciers really shouldn’t exist.  Regina’s landfill still has a massive snow bank where the winter’s record-breaking amounts of snow were dumped.  There is some disagreement, apparently, as to whether all of it will melt before winter… sheesh. 

Winter was always more enjoyable as a child

We had six months of snow on the ground this year – that’s enough.  We broke the record for the most snowfall and I believe it was the coldest month of March in 50 years.  It was painful for us, not to mention our Filipino neighbours, who bravely learned how to work a snow blower (I would guess it was their first time by the significant debris that ended up on our lawns).  It was also an experience of a lifetime for the Japanese student living with us, who brought with her non-insulated boots and paper-thin gloves for our minus 20-degree weather.

Almost every day, I would reassure our student from the warm clime of southern Japan that this would be the coldest it would get.  She must have thought we Canadians liked to tease, because it became colder the closer it got to April.  And every time we would drive down our street, jumping in and out of foot-deep snow ruts, she would utter, “Whoa, wow!”  When I told her we’ve had the most snow ever, she said, “I’m very lucky.”  The Japanese are so diplomatic.

There were some explanations offered as to why we suffered this cruel fate during this period of so-called global warming.  The climate people used the analogy of a large rock up in the atmosphere over Greenland.  Somehow this “rock” diverted the jet stream so we got all the cold, and somewhere in the world, they got a bit more heat.  Maybe the ice caps melted a bit more at our expense, which is not exactly a win-win.  Polar bears suffer, we suffer.  Why don’t we just keep the atmospheric air flows where they’re meant to be?

As I shovelled 12,000 pounds of snow off my roof in April, I briefly considered moving to a warmer climate like B.C. or North Dakota (a little warmer maybe?)  Then I reconsidered.  After all, I now I have the privilege to tell my grandchildren and great-grandchildren that I survived one of the harshest winters in the history of all mankind. 

When they’ll be going to school in shorts and t-shirts in December, cruising down the streets on their hovercrafts, I’ll be able to say to them, “Back in my day, I had to walk through six feet of snow, uphill both ways, just to get to work!”  

Because I did… I really did.

Ninety years and she's still going strong

            This last weekend my grandma, Mary Roth, celebrated her 90^th birthday.  That’s a lot of years.  Having experienced the Great Depression and a World War, having raised six rowdy kids on a farm (okay, I'll leave my mom out of it - five rowdy kids), and having supported an auctioneer who was gone many a weekend, she has seen and experienced more than most of the world’s population. 

            I learned a few more things about her this last weekend I didn’t know.  She became a hairdresser, for instance, when she was about 50, but first had to write her grade 12 equivalency before she could study hairdressing.  Having always had my hair cut by her when I was young, I thought she had done it forever.

            There is definitely a tenacity of spirit that never stopped her from doing things she wanted to.  When she was 88, for instance, she fought the authorities to get her driver’s license back.  She took her driver’s tests and eventually gained back a limited license.  Taking your driver’s exam at 88 is likely not as easy as when you’re 16, especially if this is the first time in your life that you’ve had to take it.

            She did always have a heavy foot though.  I remember one time when she took my cousin and I home in the back of her half-ton with our bikes.  We watched intently through the back window as the speedometer hit 140 km/h down a single-lane highway.  We thought it was great fun.

Mary Roth and her great-granddaughter

            There are a few other things about my grandma that dispel the myths about “old people.”  For one, she certainly doesn’t dress like an old person.  There are never any afghan-like garments draped over her shoulders or funny hats and white runners.  She dresses fashionably, going as far as to match her eye glasses with her outfits.  When she watches the news, her first comments are often about what the women anchors are wearing.  “Oh that blouse does not suit her.”  Never mind the news, it’s about the fashion!

            Many older people also tend to scale back their caffeine intake as they get older.  A cup of hot water with lemon tends to replace the watered down coffee.  But Grandma has never watered down her coffee – in fact, quite the opposite.  I think it’s getting stronger. 

            One of her favourite gifts at Christmas time is a Starbucks gift card.  She received about $100 worth one Christmas.  Now that she’s been given a Keurig coffee maker for her birthday, she’s free to make a cup of her favourite high-octane blend with the push of a button.

            She’s also quite an active woman for her age, despite a couple bad falls and broken bones in the last few years  While she may have had to give up bowling (both the real and Nintendo Wii variety), she can still walk without the aid of a walker or cane.  She’s also very independent, even though she now lives in a senior’s complex with those she calls “old people.”

            One other quirk about my grandma I have to share.  She has the most unique accent when she answers the phone.  I don’t think she has a British bone in her body (she’s of German Mennonite ancestry), but she answers the phone with a very unique British “Hello”.  After the greeting, her normal speech resumes.  Like her personality, it’s distinct.

            In all the years, we continue to appreciate her distinct tastes, enthusiasm, and devotion to her faith and family.  Grandma has gone through her share of hardships, yet these haven’t stopped her.  In my view, she’s only become stronger.