Learn – May 2015
When Everybody Wins – Does Everybody Lose?
By Tricia Kassotis
“. . . how would you like it if at your job, every time you made the slightest mistake a little red light went on over your head and 18,000 people stood up and screamed at you?” -Jacques Plante. Goalie. Montreal Canadians.
I think everyone has now heard of the everyone wins sports tournaments?
Now that my son’s hockey season has drawn to a close, his league not subscribing to the everybody wins ideal, I realized while watching his last playoff game (they didn’t make the finals) how far he has come in terms of dealing with that oh so painful loss of a game.
Being an avid Senators fan since . . . well being old enough to understand and love the game of hockey, he’s grown from huge tears when the Senators lost to being able to bounce back from his own team losing. “That’s the sport, mom.”
Mind you this has been a good ten year span of time, and in between there been many bouts of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth; I still cringe with the pain of watching him, as the last shoot out player in a tie game miss the shot, but all of this has taught him how to deal with t
he mixed bag of emotions that come with winning and losing gracefully in sports and life.
In hind sight, I can’t really see how these lessons would have been taught as well through the everybody wins a trophy tournament ideal.
Now, he’s in his teens and a goalie, and with that position comes a new sense of . . . something (see quote up top) And as I read the mixed opinions about everybody wins tournaments, I ask:
- When do these children learn how to lose?
- Where is the motivation to achieve something extra?
- And is there something lost when you win no matter the effort put in?
Snakes on A Plane……………Or Not?
By Catherine Lee
Summer feels like it has finally arrived in Ottawa, and there are many people right at this moment planning their vacation getaways to take advantage of some relaxing time away from the office. Many people start those getaways by hopping on a plane.
And that’s where the trouble starts.
Have you looked into the approved and banned lists of carryon items for the various airlines and airports? They are not all created equal. Many of the items do not even seem to make sense. So if you are relying on your common sense to sort out what you CAN bring and what you CANNOT bring, think again. Do your homework, and when in doubt, leave it out.
Most travelers know not to bring scissors onto a flight, but did you know that your Auntie Joanie’s knitting needles are perfectly fine to have in your carryon? That’s crazy.
Leave your ice pick at home, but you are welcome to bring your ice skates on board. Just in case.
Sometimes the security lines can be long and seemingly endless, so you might be tempted to wear gel shoe inserts to make the long wait more comfy. Don’t do it. These are a banned article, unless the total gel content of the pair is less than 3.4 ounces. Bring a small snow globe to amuse yourself instead, as it suprizingly is acceptable, mostly because the amount of liquid content is hard to judge.
Your granddad brought you back that cool belt from Texas, but you should leave it at home if it is made of fake bullets. This is definitely on the banned list. Disappointing, I know, as they go with everything.
It is okay to bring onboard one lighter. But don’t try to sneak on two, which is prohibited. Because you can only start a fire or threaten someone with open flame if you have TWO lighters, right?
It is quite acceptable anywhere to bring your canine service animal with you, and on a plane it is no exception. Some of these rules also state that if your service animal is a potbellied pig, or a simian (any variety of monkey), that would be perfectly legal as well. Hopefully they don’t snore or throw banana peels.
If you generally keep a handy can of bear repellant in your purse, please remember to pack that in your checked luggage, as you are not allowed to have bear repellant onboard a plane. You are on your own if a bear shows up.
This one proves once again that Canadians are much more serious than Americans. On a U.S. plane, a corkscrew is considered an onboard necessity and perfectly acceptable, but on a Canadian plane, it is prohibited. You have to stick to the mini plastic cups of wine, sorry. But you can bring on a cake to binge eat to reduce your fear of flying. Chocolate works best.
When travelling, say for instance, to Vegas, it is quite all right to pack your whips and chains and keep them close in your carryon bag. But please leave your nunchucks and throwing stars at home, as they are not approved on the plane. What happens in Vegas……………
When your Great Aunt Gertrude in England finally passes away, it is suggested that you don’t try to sneak her onto the plane as a “passenger” to bring her home, as that has been tried before (really!) and is prohibited. And the flight attendants always figure it out. But after the cremation, she is allowed to fly home on your lap.
Here is another useful tip for you, so that you will not be permanently separated from your personal electronics or luggage. Okoban is a global lost and found service. When you register, you are issued luggage tags and or stickers with a unique ID number and a web address to affix to your valuables. The Good Samaritan who finds your stuff will simply enter your ID number into the Okoban web site and this can connect you back to your lost cell phone. You hope. www.mystufflostandfound.com
Oh and Snakes on a Plane? They are NOT okay onboard in a travel box, but passengers keep trying to smuggle them on in their clothes and bags. Please don’t sit next to me.
Chef/Professor David Fairbanks shares his thoughts on ….BEES!
Photo: A passionate group of Algonquin Professors (Chefs in Culinary Arts) are doing their part.
Bees: “Who cares about bees, I don’t like them anyway?”
Personally I am fascinated by ants and I have a great admiration towards bees and their collective “bee” minds. Every bee has an encoded occupation and as the bee ages, its role changes. Bees are predetermined and predestined to clean hives, nurse the young and forage for water, pollen and nectar. A bee’s environment is a self-policing environment where the bees behave and work in unison for the greater good of the hive. If a bee does not “pull their weight” it will suffer a fate not unlike your favorite episode of Survivor; they’ll run the risk of hearing….. “votes are in, you’re off the island” or in this case “you are out of the hive”.
“But they sting…”
Bees are curious as bees are explorers at heart. Bee “scouts” are just trying to find a food source for their family. Bees don’t want to sting you, in fact bees don’t want to be around you…..truth be known bees don’t even like you. Alas our lives and bee’s intertwine and paths cross…..not always for the better. If you see a bee it means she is on the last stage of her life and in less than two weeks she will be dead. Move aside and let her help her family get some food before she breathes her last breath. What she is doing is bloody hard work…..I’m sure she doesn’t mean to interrupt your conversation while you’re relaxing on a patio having a sweet honey laced coffee.
“I’m happy that I don’t see many bees around now…”
Approximately 70 out of the top 100 food crops that we consume are pollinated in part by bees. Can we pollinate without bees? Sure…..but only with human labour (this is being done in parts of China due to major bee colony collapses) but even disregarding the environmental impact the disappearance of bees will hit you hard in the wallet! Food is already expensive…watch the price of food skyrocket without the help of our friend the bees.
“I still don’t like them, but I’m starting to care a little more…”
In simple point blank terms it is fairly easy to help. I won’t drone on about the use of neonicotinoids and the harm they are causing to bees, hopefully you don’t use pesticides at home anyways!
- The dandelions that you see and curse every spring / summer…leave them alone as they are a food source for bees and other insects. If you are that bothered by wild flowers / dandelions then pull the dandelions out of your lawn and eat them (think of them as the new “kale”, except it doesn’t cost $5 a bunch).
- Go to a dollar store and buy a few packets of wildflowers seeds and plant the seeds along an area that may need a little “coverage”. You only have to dig your heel into the earth, pour a packet of seeds in the “heel hole” and push the earth back over. You could even pour some water over the newly planted seeds if you were feeling generous. Food for bees. A veritable “bee buffet”!
- If you garden, don’t monocrop (plant only one crop). Variety is the spice of everyone’s life, including bees!
Are you still a little resistant to the idea of having encroaching bees in your backyard? Perhaps you should get an Orchard mason bee kit. These exceptionally passive but very efficient, loner bees very rarely sting and simplify want to putter about your yard feeding and laying eggs. Mason bees don’t want to interact with you and would rather be left alone. You can order a mason bee kit and get more information on mason bees at Crown bees (http://crownbees.com/ca/). You won’t get any honey from mason bees but you’ll probably have a great tomatoes and apple crop thanks to the mason bees.
Ignoring the decline of bees is like the radio show advertising sustainable initiatives about carpooling. “Carpooling is good for the environment”. Carpooling is not “good” for the environment!…Carpooling is just less detrimental for the environment than two people driving two cars. The decline of bees / pollinators is going to happen unless it is curbed on a much larger scale than we probably have input over, but on a small home front scale, you can easily help by simply planting some flowers and not swatting the bees when the bees are just being curious when “buzzing” over to you and your BBQ……
Interested in learning more? “The Beekeeper Stands Between Humans And Extinction” https://youtu.be/Orb7nE6WQZY