My recent blog post about – not quite embracing, but – giving AI a loose bro hug attracted some interesting comments and dredged up some feelings about the way the world is headed. AI is a tool, not a competitor – so far. But I wondered: Did horse riders refuse to ride in the new invention, the car, because they were so comfortable on the back of their trusty steed? Did they think the automobile was a fad they could crush by refusing to purchase one?
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We sometimes buy things from Amazon. I shop at a couple of online grocers who carry specialty items I can’t get from anyone near me. We are not perfect beings and I despise helping a billionaire like Jeff Bezos get richer. But Amazon didn’t become the monolith it is without doing a few things right.
…What the Dickens is Up With Small Business SaturdayRead More »
My ride-or-die Erin had some professional engagements in the GTA last week. After joining her for her appearance on CTV’s The Social (which I watched from the green room), I brought her back for a few low-key days in Port Stanley. She’d never been here, and I was so excited to show her our home turf.
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An occasional visitor to Port Stanley recently posted on the village Facebook page one simple question: “Can anyone tell me why Port Stanley doesn’t have a Tim Hortons?”
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Music is in the air. We are almost ready for summer. My husband and our neighbour Bill recently built our backyard fences. Our pergola is partway up, soon to be completed. It won’t be long before we’re spending warm evenings outside enjoying the ambience. Is it just me or are winters getting longer?
…Music, Fresh Fish & Parking News – ImPort StanleyRead More »
ImPort Stanley is weekly series about life and discoveries by a recent “import” to Port Stanley, ON. Access previous posts on everything from shopping to hotels and our beaches by clicking the tag ImPort Stanley.
Candy, and cheesecake, and flowers – oh my!
…ImPort Stanley is weekly series about life and discoveries by a recent “import” to Port Stanley, ON. Access previous posts on everything from shopping to hotels and our beaches by clicking the tag ImPort Stanley.
…Heading to BC last week was a risk, some said. It’s too soon to fly, too difficult to maintain social distance. Too peopley. I get that perspective. We’ve been staying away from each other for so long, it’s difficult to know when it’s okay to resume some normalcy. Last week was “okay” for me, regardless of what anyone else thought.
…London is the largest city in Ontario without a green bin program. “It’s coming later this year”, they say. Forgive my uncharacteristic cynicism but I’ll believe it when I see it!
…Everyone’s looking for some comfort right now. Whether it’s the American election and its (bloody ridiculous) aftermath, the Coronavirus and subsequent restrictions and their impact on businesses and livelihoods – we all seem to be feeling extra stress right now.
…Online and curbside shopping in the pandemic era has been anything but smooth. For a while, it was next to impossible to get a timeslot for grocery pick-up. Deliveries take a lot longer than advertised. Canada Post has been backed up like a taster in a cheese-making contest. We’ve all had to adjust. Some of us take it better than others.
…I picked up some fruits and vegetables at a grocery store last weekend. We don’t run errands lightly. This will hold us for quite a while. We’ve found a small-town store where they have everything we need without lineups or stress. I was in and out in a few minutes and have become an Olympian in the Don’t Touch Your Face competition.
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Shopping! Am I right? Between ethics and prices and convenience and everything else that goes into it, it’s a complicated experience. Remember when the Sears catalogue would arrive? You’d dog-ear the pages showing what you wanted and that was it. No comparison shopping. No worries about free shipping. Done and done. Santa, please bring me the inflatable Barbie chair.
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I shopped like I was training for the Olympics when I was a teen. With a girlfriend or two, or my Mom, I could make a day of a trip to Eastgate Square in Hamilton. Back then, there were other great places to visit nearby including Boo-Boo’s (the latest denim with minor flaws) and Mother’s Pizza for lunch. (“Pick your Mother’s up or we’ll run her over!”)
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There must be some terrific points-spending stories out there. Maybe you bought something big with a whack of saved points or got a special deal of some kind. I envy you because I can’t seem to let mine accumulate before I spend them.
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It’s never bothered me to get captured by surveillance cameras. I know it annoys some people that everywhere we go, there’s a lens on us. Add to that, the people who feel the need to record everything, grabbing our images in the process.
…I’ve made a few observations about this part of the province. People are nice here. Everyone says hello, or gives a wave. A man let me in front of him in the Service Ontario office and even though I told him I had a pile of stuff to do there, he waved me off and took a seat. Maybe they can afford to be nice because they don’t seem to be in as much of a hurry. Cities hurry you up, whether you know it or not.
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While I check out my items at the grocery store, I can’t help but think about the last time I went through a cashier’s lane. We exchanged the usual pleasantries. She asked how I was. I responded, fine, how are you. And then she launched into the reasons why she shouldn’t be there. It wasn’t her shift. Someone called in sick and she was summoned at the last minute. She was really tired. …