Below you will find pages that utilize the taxonomy term “opinion”
My Mistake
During the 2018 municipal election season I believed a candidate for town council who claimed to be protecting privacy by withholding encryption keys from the town. That was a mistake.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on June 23, 2022
Job Search Hesitancy
With the relaxation of Covid-related restrictions there are many people asking the question “I want to work, but do I want a job?”. This is generally not in the sense of wanting to become self-employed but hesitancy about returning to what has been a largely unhealthy workplace culture. In many ways going to work has felt like we’ve gotten spam instead of the ham we were promised.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on March 8, 2022
Think for Yourself — Not Your Guru
When your ‘gurus’ or other ‘authoritative sources’ make clever arguments that seem reasonable to you, it still doesn’t mean that following the ‘gurus’ is thinking for yourself. Another classic error of reasoning is believing that thinking differently is necessarily thinking better or smarter. The reality is, an offbeat clever argument can cause damage that could be avoided by willing to be ordinary. Of course the challenge is to know when to do which.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on March 2, 2022
Finding Satisfaction
Barring certain dire circumstances, or a medical condition such as ‘clinical’ depression, one can avoid the dangers of dissatisfaction by recognizing one’s own capabilities, abilities, and means to achieve what matters to oneself, and use this in creating a flexible plan to improve. In short, work and play hard, relax, and enjoy life by setting goals which matter to you and that are achievable; If you don’t succeed, try again, “fail better”.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on February 27, 2022
Municipal Meanderings
In a recent letter to editor of MidlandToday.ca I wrote that “We need to give municipalities the legal and financial tools to be able to ensure the safety, well-being and success of all residents”. I now add that we also need to make sure councils are not dysfunctional.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on February 22, 2022
Kudos to Council for Budget 2022 Efforts
Council makes mistakes, as do any humans, but they care and went through a great deal of stress and anguish to give Midland the best budget they could.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on February 4, 2022
Denying Abusive Deniers Treatment
What we should do, but probably won’t; Give two choices: accept the treatment offered without harassing (or worse) those treating you or acknowledge one’s choice of going home and managing on one’s own against doctor’s advice. If you can’t make a choice, you’re not competent to make a decision, so you are on a Form 1 and evaluated for mental health (or other impairment) issues.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on December 23, 2021
Single is Great Except Biology Hates Me
I’ve been single most of my life except for a brief disastrous marriage and am currently single and happy except that biology hates me.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on September 24, 2021
Tired of Not Having Skills to Stop the Hate
Theoretically I know that it’s not all on me, but I’m still tired of my lack of skills for damping down the hate that is destroying us.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on August 29, 2021
Hope & Hate — Tired
Just so tired of the hate. Even more than of the pandemic.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on August 25, 2021
For Shame: On the Hatred of the Unvaccinated
We’re (again) at the story coercion/force is justified if it is cast as protecting children, protecting health, or protecting wealth.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on August 16, 2021
May the Moderates Win
Extreme behaviour by the Ridiculous Right and Loony Left are the same, in all the wrong ways. The rest of us need to work to overcome their chaos!
By Daniel F. Dickinson on August 10, 2021
Counting Myself In
Now that I am feeling better, I have taken steps to ‘count myself in’ at the Midland Public Library MakerPlace rather than being stuck on the idea that I have included myself out. I have volunteered to do a couple of (short) presentations in August on topics that are more ’techie’ (including one that will make use of an A.I. project I did many years ago, while in university, along with other notes I am digging out from various A.I. courses of that era). I am also hopeful that once the physical space is open to the public again, that this will help the new MakerPlace Coordinator have more opportunities for tech talk.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on July 19, 2021
A Glass Half Empty
The MakerPlace virtual meetings were on a different track than expected for Makerspace, but my reaction was a reflection of a generally negative state of mind.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on July 19, 2021
No, I Have Not Sold My Soul
This is true despite the fact that I am moving my websites (including this one) away from OVHcloud and includes a shift to using Microsoft 365.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on July 1, 2021
Community Safety: A Positive Response
In response to my negatively expressed concerns, Mayor Stewart Strathearn came back with a well though out, and very positive response.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on June 1, 2021
Beautiful Community Safety Brochure for Council
It’s a nice looking report that has good information on root causes and issues of concern. It also has a lot of ‘aspirational’ objectives.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on May 29, 2021
Including Yourself Out
For mental health you need to remember to take care of yourself not just others, which explains the frustration I expressed in a previous post.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on May 14, 2021
Wear Your Name With Pride
You can’t avoid deliberate misrepresentation by changing the terms you use, so be yourself and call yourself as you wish to be known.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on May 13, 2021
Dodging Political Bullets
No, this isn’t about how to do politics and not get in trouble. This is thanking Fortune for not having run for council.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on December 3, 2020
Risking Portal to the Void
So I’ve done it. I’ve initiated the deletion of my Facebook account!
By Daniel F. Dickinson on September 3, 2020
Drugs and Trafficking in Simcoe: Possible Good News
Maybe it’s not all bad news. Perhaps the issue is that big city criminals are getting desperate to find new income sources.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on August 28, 2020
Not Down for the Count
Well it seems I was down but not out. I’m getting back up and getting ready to continue the round. I’m stubborn that way…
By Daniel F. Dickinson on March 7, 2021
A Vexing Question
It not “mirror, mirror on the wall” but the “sound of silence”. Have I annoyed the folks at Town Hall too much, or are they just busy?
By Daniel F. Dickinson on February 12, 2021
T -2 And Personal Reset
No it’s not the ‘big red button’! T -2 means out reality is going to get a bit of reset toward sanity, normalcy, and cooperation.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on January 18, 2021
Poor Man's Pancakes
Many, even in my own country of Canada might think that homemade pancakes every morning would be a dream come true…
By Daniel F. Dickinson on January 28, 2021
The Colombian Drug Cartel
A high school essay from 30 years ago about a particular drug cartel – long before the modern opioid crisis.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on April 6, 1992
Person Imperfect
A poem and comments on being imperfect and managing feelings about that.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on February 21, 2021
Not So Indefatigable
I may sometimes seem like I “keep on ticking” no matter what happens. This is as much acting that way in order to try to make it reality…
By Daniel F. Dickinson on February 17, 2021
Covid Project Blues
Sadly this is not a post about a Blues music project during the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s just me whining about something unusual for me: boredom.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on January 6, 2021
Personal(ity) Minority
More interesting to me is that only 3-5 percent match the INTP personality, explaining why I feel like ’the odd one out’ in local gatherings.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on January 22, 2021
Today the World Will Be a Little Better — We Need That!
Today is Donald Trump’s last day as the president of the United States, and the first day of their incoming president who at least speaks of unity.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on January 20, 2021
Fixing a Post and It's T -3
I must have fallen asleep between starting and finishing my ‘Covid Cut Day 21’ post
By Daniel F. Dickinson on January 17, 2021
Covid Cut Day 21, T -8 and an Epoch Fail
It’s been a busy five days since I last posted, but first: after three weeks my covid desperation self-cut is looking like it could use a bit of work!
By Daniel F. Dickinson on January 12, 2021
A Question That Frightens
How much damage can Trump do in the thirteen days that remain in his term?
By Daniel F. Dickinson on January 7, 2021
Rotten Eggs and SPAM
Fortunately I chose to go the moderated route, or my sites would be full of ‘rotten eggs and spam’ (with apologies to Dr. Suess).
By Daniel F. Dickinson on January 5, 2021
Frontline Still Forgotten
Our seniors and those who care for them are being forgotten, worse the provincial government is shielding private operators from liability.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on January 3, 2021
Data Responsibly
We need mandatory third party security and privacy audits to matter as much to directors and shareholders as financial audits.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on January 2, 2021
Ads ≠ Tracking
There are sites that do ads right; I don’t block their ads.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on December 31, 2020
Pandemic Incompetence
The short and sweet summary of why I think QAnon, “Deep State”, and a plethora of other vast conspiracies are complete nonsense.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on December 17, 2020
The Forgotten
TL;DR Our grocery clerks and other essential workers need their pandemic ‘hazard’ pay back. They also need our kindness and respect not abuse and attacks.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on December 13, 2020
I Support Local, But...
Local journalism is a great thing to support, but there are limits to what that means.
By Daniel F. Dickinson on December 12, 2020