1) #blacklivesmatter. #nativelivesmatter

While we continue our work for Black Lives Matter, we must also address the historical mistreatment of our indigenous people. A reminder appears, written in black marker on the stop signs in our neighbourhood “Native Lives Matter.”

We have so much work to do.

• Donate to causes that need funding
• Show up at a protest
• Sign a petition
• Use your vote
• Show solidarity on social media
• Get clued-up about the anti-racist struggle
• Support black and indigenous artists and business owners
• Keep reading, watching, listening and learning

2) Betting on a Eucharistic Prayer

For the past few weeks, I’ve been making a friendly bet on which Eucharistic Prayer Father Michael will use at Sunday Mass. The game arose, when, after 47 consecutive weeks of EP#1 (+/- 40 weeks) Father called an audible and used EP#3.

This threw off the whole congregation. No one knew why he made this curious shift.

Was he bored with #1 and looking to shake things up?

Was he acting on a papal edict?

So the betting line shows the over/under is 2.5.

For the first three weeks, I bet the “over”, expecting another “joyful mystery”.

Father defaulted back to EP#1 each time. Three straight losses.

The fourth week, acting on a tip, I bet firm on EP#4…and he was back at #1.

What will this week hold? Smart money says he sticks with EP#1 and I should bet the “under”.

3) Nobody Knows Nuthin’

Part One: So it’s time to regrout the front porch. First step is to degrout (This sounds like a Seinfeld scene…”First he degrouted, then he regrouted, now he’s using an upstairs invite as a springboard….” I digress already.)

Off to Home Depot to get a grout removal tool. I’ve done my research. Website said there were 6 in stock at the Sherway location.

But when I got there, the cupboard was bare. After 7 minutes of searching for an associate, I found one and clamped on. She walked me to the aisle and bin where they should have been. Nope. She scanned up above (I did that too). Nope. Then we went to the computer to check inventory. Six of them arrived on July 28. We went back to the aisle and bin. Still no. Then the answer…”I guess we don’t have any. You know we have a lot of different people who stock the shelves.”

Epilogue: When I arrived home and checked the stock online (don’t ask me why) the inventory was reduced to five.

Part Two: While I had her, I asked about another project. Why not? I wanted to countersink a screw and put a plug overtop to hide it.

My Question: Was the part I’d selected to make the countersink the same size as the part I’d selected to drill the plug. I’d eyeballed it but it’s better to have a more accurate determination. Her verification technique was to…eyeball it. She gave it the thumbs up. Then she remembered that the Ryobi rep was in store – he’d be able to tell us for sure. Cool! So he came by and…squinted really hard as he…eyeballed it.

Thanks guys, I’ll take it from here.

And thank you for reassuring me that my techniques are industry standard.

Nobody knows nuthin’. We just share our best guesses based on our own experiences.

4) Nobody Remembers Nuthin’

Heard a great podcast by Malcolm Gladwell from his revisionist History series. The title is “Free Brian Williams”. It’s about the former NBC anchor retelling a story about being in a helicopter that came under fire during the Iraq War 10 years after it occurred. But some details changed from his original telling. Ultimately the changes cost him his job and a pretty strong vilification. As you listen…you’ll wonder…did he lie or mis-remember?

So, really…how valid is our memory? Are they perfectly recorded episodes stored for our later use, or are they subject to change based on our subsequent experiences?

Let’s go a bit further. What impact could this have on our judicial process, which is so reliant on eye witnesses? Have a listen and think…How accurate is my story from Home Depot?

5) see #4

I conceived of this “5 Things” during a massage by the amazing Judy at MassageAddict, Applewood. Worried I would not remember the essence, when she finished I got up and  quickly typed a few draft words. I had four solid points in my head while horizontal. Somehow in that short minute, one slipped out of my head when I stood. So this is #5.

I’m not making this up. Or maybe I am. I’m not sure anymore.