75th anniversary of Hitler's installation as Chancellor

I’m a WW II buff. In today’s RFF feed of “On this day,” I read that on January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was named the German Chancellor. Today is the 75th anniversary of Hitler’s installation.

I didn’t see this written up anywhere in my local paper, but a quick search with GoogleNews revealed that at least some people in the rest of the world had not let this anniversary pass unnoticed. Der Spiegel has a well-written article describing the context of Hitler’s accession to power.

It’s hard to believe, but within seven months of Hitler’s accession to the Chancellorship, people’s rights were curtailed or eliminated, people thrown into prison for their political, religious, or other beliefs, and opposition parties were abolished. Within these short seven months, a democracy was transformed into a dictatorship, and the seeds were sown for the persecution of the innocent, be they Jews, homosexuals, Gypsies, or anyone else which did not conform to the Nazis’ ideals of the “German race.” And a world war would follow.

The next important 75th anniversary days are:

· 27 February: The burning of the Reichstag
· 28 February: Hitler’s proclamation “Decree for the protection of the people and the state”
· 23 March: The final meeting of Germany’s parliament (the last until 1990)
· 1 April: The beginning of the persecution of the Jews in Hitler’s Germany
· 2 May: Outlawing of labour unions

Lest we forget…

Our Common Future: 20 years later, it's a joke

Gawd knows that I'm busy, too busy in fact to take the time to update my blog. (It's a shame, really, I quite enjoy writing.) Perhaps it's the fact that nothing has happened lately that has motivated me to write. But something did happen to change that.

I read a story in the International Herald Tribune entitled "UN issues 'final wake-up call' on population and environment" outlining the fourth report in the Global Environment Outlook (GEO-4) assessment which was published back in October 2007. (Why write about it now?)

The article mentioned that it was over 20 years since Gro Harlem Brundtland's landmark report Our Common Future was published. I didn't dissect the article, just skimmed over it, and realized that things really haven't changed, at least not in a way that that would substantially reduce mankind's impact on the global ecosystem. In fact, things are worse, and it's not hard to see that given the way things are going that we are going to deplete fish stocks on which we depend, eliminate biodiversity in much of the world, reduce forests to tree nurseries, and increase the rate of climate change. That's if things don't change. Predictably, the article reports:

"The program described its report, which is prepared by 388 experts and scientists, as the broadest and deepest of those that the UN issues on the environment and called it 'the final wake-up call to the international community.'"

Hah. "Final wake-up call" indeed! How many more "final wake-up calls" will we need, collectively, before we take action? Too many, since I think that things will have to get worse, a LOT worse, before any real action will be taken. And by that time, it will be too late.

I realize that in the 20 years since Bruntland's report, the only thing that changed was me. Twenty years ago, I was optimistic. I had faith in people, and that decision-makers would act with foresight and in the best interest of all.

Since then, I've learned a little bit about human nature and about politics. I now realize that nothing can beat 99% of people's appetite for apathy and greed, and that everyone is in it for themselves. And the 99% of the remaining 1% who think that they can "make a difference" in the world are simply deluding themselves since they cannot carry out any real effective action. And that little that remains (the 1% of 1%) that CAN make a difference, will get corrupted, co-opted or otherwise brought into line with the group-think of the decision-makers.

All this to say is that I'm betting that, in about 50 years time, mankind will be on the "endangered species list."

'nuff said. Time to get back to work.

...then the other end

Ugh. Again.

I had my colonoscopy today, part of the Government of Ontario's Colorectal Cancer Screening Program, and let's just say that it was a memorable event. Heh. But first some background.

Colorectal cancer is the second deadliest form of cancer in Canada, but it is preventable if detected in its early stages, so it makes sense that the Government is in investing $193.5 million over the next five years to implement and expand the program to increase access to colorectal cancer screening for Ontarians aged 50 years or older. (See press release.)

I got a call for my screening in early summer, and on the advice of my physician, he advised me to get a colonoscopy. I agreed. I met the gastroenterologist later that summer, and he explained the procedure. He said the colonoscopy would take about 15 to 20 minutes in total.

Yesterday, I fasted all day (well, liquid diet only), interspersed with two doses of sodium phosphate solution. My afternoon was spent running to the bathroom every 15 minutes or so. By 9 PM last night, there was nothing left in my gut. I know that for a fact. I didn't mind that so much as not being able to eat for a whole day.

Since Cheryl was very busy at work and preparing for her upcoming trip to Brazil, I had asked my sister Françoise if she could pick me up from the hospital. Not only did she agree, but she offered to drive me there in the early morning. What a sister... ;-)

The documentation that I had from the gastroenterologist and the Ottawa Hospital indicated that I should show up half an hour before my appointment. Clearly their literature was out of date, because when I got there at 6:30 AM, the sign on the clinic door said that it opens at 7:00 AM. Damn, we could have slept in an extra half-hour...

After my check-in and exchanging my clothes for an open-backed gown and bathrobe, an IV stent into a vein on the back of my hand (for sedation), and a 30 minute wait, I was admitted into a small cubicle with a large TV. My gastroenterologist greeted me, and proceeded to sedate me. After about 30 seconds, I got to feeling pretty good...

I then lay on my left side like this and then introduced the colonoscope. The first 5 to 10 minutes weren't bad - just the discomfort of feeling bloated with gas. Unfortunately, the doc had difficulty navigating the ascending colon (see diagram), and it took him extra time (and me, extra sedation) before the 'scope made its way down to the caecum. Finally, the exam was over and he withdrew the scope. The doc then told me that my bowel looked okay. I barely heard him, because by this time I was exhausted and the drugs were running strong... I don't even remember how I got to the recovery room. I just felt drugged-up and bloated. In the recovery room, the nurse removed the IV and I was allowed to leave after a 40-minute wait, at about 9:30 AM.

I'd hoped to have my first decent meal in 4 days at a Cora's restaurant on the way home, but the drugs still had hold of me and I asked Fran to drive me home. Once arrived, I had some yogurt and Fran tucked me in before leaving at about 10:30. I slept with the dog and cat curled up beside me for a couple of hours.

I don't feel too badly now, though I still feel the effects of the drugs. Mostly, I just feel tired and "out of it." Before I left the hospital, the nurse told me that I should be fine by Saturday morning.

I can't say that it was a pleasurable experience, but I'm glad I had the colonoscopy done, if only for my peace of mind about colorectal cancer.

And, it was kind of neat, really, being able to see the inside of my gut!

First one end...

Ugh. What a day.

Work is going well, I just wish I was more on top of things. Now that I have my own scholarships committee to take care of, I have around 70 apps to process. I figure it should take me a couple of days straight, not counting breaks etc. Plus, the Doctorals have come in, and that will take a couple more days just to process... So in theory, I might have about a week's worth of work, but deadlines are tight, etc. I just wish I had more time.

On top of that, I managed to snap the root of my oldest root-canaled tooth, a lower incisor, last Saturday. The one I had fixed when I was 11 years old. Surprising, really, that it has lasted this long. So I had to part with it this afternoon, and it hurt. It really hurt - I've had a LOT of dental work done in my life, and this was by far the most painful experience I've ever had. All told, the dentist injected me at least half a dozen times (7 inside the lip, 3 on the inside of my lower jaw), because the deeper he dug, the more painful it got. The dental hygienist had to unclench my hands that had dug into the armrests for me: I hadn't even noticed I was doing it. I noticed as I was going through the pain that I would sweat. After a half-hour of this, the back of my jeans were wet with sweat, and I had a sheet of perspiration on my arms and chest. Really wierd.

At the end of it, the dentist told me it was one of the more difficult extractions he'd ever done. (He's my age, and he's been doing this a while.) So now I have to look at 3 options: to go for a partial palate, a bridge, or an implant. I have another 4 to 6 weeks of healing, and in the meantime I will have an appointment with a periodontist to help me determine the next steps.

While I was sitting in the dentist's chair, I became acutely aware of my body's ageing. Yes, the body does start to wear out and doesn't renew itself like it used to. It was just a question of time as to when my root would snap and someone would have to dig it out. I felt like my nose was being rubbed into my mortality once again.

Now, I can look forward to starving tomorrow so I'll be prepared for my colonoscopy on Friday. Oh joy, I can't wait - the happiness of being in my fifties!

1,000+ km and a new cat

I'm finally getting around to posting on a couple of newsworthy items (at least they are for me).

First, I achieved a minor milestone last week (well, almost two weeks ago, but who's counting) of having gone over 1,000 kilometers in the course of my daily commute to work. I have an odometer on my bike, which I attached a couple of weeks after I started my commute, so I have racked up maybe 100 km more than what it registered. No matter, it was kind of neat to see the numbers tick over from 999 to 1000.

The other event is that we welcomed today a 3-year old, chocolate point Siamese cat named "Joey" into our family. He's a real cutie, and once he calms down enough for me to take some pictures, I'll post some in my blog.

RIP: Bamse 926 and Severus Snape

I was shocked to learn this morning that one of the people I have regularly played Raven Shield with and chatted with over Ventrilo has died.

This person, whom I got to know as "Bamse" (which I learned today means "bear" in Norwegian) had been pretty much a fixture for the past year in the RvS clan to which I belong. I had gotten used to hearing his low, gravelly voice greeting me and other clan members as we joined the Ventrilo channel before we would begin gaming. In-game, I would greet him as "my socialist friend" given that the Norwegian and Canadian forms of government tend to be more left-leaning than the government of the American players who host the clan server. He would even invite me on occasion to come onto the Red side as if to reinforce the appearance of socialist solidarity and to tease our American friends. It might have been lost on everyone else, but I had the feeling Bamse and I shared that little bit of fun.

His death hit me all the harder as I biked home from work today. I had zoned out climbing a hill and I started thinking how unfair it was that Bamse was gone. Now, I didn't know much about his personal life, but I couldn't help but get the feeling from the time I had spent listening to him on comms that, sure, he had his share of warts, but that he was fundamentally a good person - and that if the opportunity had presented itself I would have met him in person, if only to get the measure of the man.

It saddens me greatly that I will not have the opportunity to hear him again and to know more of him. His death pushed me to ask the usual meaning-of-life and why-are-we-here questions, and I really hate when that happens, because my thinking ends up in why-can't-we-all-get-along and why-can't-people-see-that-other-people-are-important questions, then I get angry and disappointed and frustrated with humanity and my life, and I'd rather go live on a desert isle... And a fat lot of good that kind of thinking does, anyway. Sigh. It's just that Bamse's death is so damn tragic.

So Bamse, wherever you are, resquiat in pace, brother.

I guess what made it worse still was that I had read, and re-read, and re-re-read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I have to say that when I got to the end of the chapter entitled "The Elder Wand" and read through "The Prince's Tale," I cried. Really cried. Imagine, a 52-year old man, crying because a character in a kid's book dies.

Well, for anyone who know the Harry Potter series, Severus Snape is one of the least likeable characters. Even before the book came out, I was sure that Snape would not survive the series, but the way that JKR filled in the backstory on Snape took me completely by surprise, and made Snape, in my mind at least, someone for which I felt deeply. I felt anger at the way Snape had been treated by many of the main characters, but most of all, I was angry at the way life had treated him - how his childhood and the bullying had shaped his personality, or at least in the way that he would react to situations. For sure, Snape tread down the wrong path, but in the end his heart was in the right place and he was redeemed by his love for Lily. I guess I feel that kind of anger against life for the way Snape was dealt a crappy hand. I can't help but think that if circumstances were different, the outcome would have been quite different. I think of the scene where Dumbledore says to Snape: "Sometimes I think we Sort too soon." This leaves Snape looking "stricken." What if Snape had been sorted into Griffyndor?

So I'm left struggling with the same issue for Bamse and Snape. I grieve for both, and I'm angry at the injustice of seeing the lives of good men that come to a premature end.

I'll miss them both.

On the road...

I'm blogging from my first-ever series of site visits to some Quebec universities: Rimouski, Sherbrooke, Laval... I enjoy it, but the schedule is EXHAUSTING. At the end of a 2 hour visit (1 hour presentation, Q&As) I'm emotionally drained and I've had to drive for at least 3 hours a day for the past 3 days... thankfully, my last day is tomorrow (Laval), and I can look forward to a 5-hour drive home. Ugh.

I've become painfully aware of my lack of intimate familiarity (as opposed to nodding acquantance) of our postgraduate scholarships - our briefing notes are excellent, but it seems too much to cram into my small brain in so little time...

Anyway, I'm looking forward to administering my own committee competition. I'll finally be able to translate abstract information on our programs and integrate it into some concrete experience.

D'autre part, ça été toute une expérience de parler et de travailler complètement en français depuis quelques jours. D'une part, j'ai dû m'habituer à un environnement où l'anglais était complètement absent, et d'apprendre à communiquer uniquement dans une langue... mais dautre part, j'ai été surpris à comment rapidement je me suis ajusté à travailler dans l'absence de l'anglais. Intéressant.

Anyway, there's been lots more going on in my life, and I hope that I'll have the time to write about it later on.