Weekly News Recap: July 23, 2021

For the first time in the country’s Olympic history, two athletes will march with the Canadian flag at the Summer Games Opening Ceremony.

A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in. -- Robert Orben

SOME GOOD NEWS

A man’s dog was stolen. He found the thief, and instead of calling police, he got her into rehab. (Washington Post) CRANBROOK STORY Ugh. This is one of my fears. "Several weeks ago, Brayden Morton was working in his home office when he heard a commotion coming from his gated backyard. He peered out the window to check on his dog Darla, who was lounging on the back deck just minutes before. To his horror, she was gone. Morton dashed downstairs and saw that the backyard gate was wide open. Then, he watched as a truck sped off — with Darla, his treasured 3-year-old Chinese Shar-Pei, inside."
Two North Vancouver girl guides donate adorable handmade dog toys to BC SPCA (Yahoo News) NORTH VANCOUVER STORY #Adorable "Doggy eyes lit up with joy at West Vancouver’s BC SPCA branch last month when two North Vancouver girl guides dropped off a bundle of new hand-made stuffed toys just for them. The girl guides, Georgia Chilton, 12, and Alice Link, 11, stitched up the [dog toys], shaped like little bears, all by themselves as part of the community service section requirement toward the completion of the Lady Baden Powell Award with the Girl Guides of Canada. The award is the highest achievement that can be earned in the program."
Three women discovered they were dating the same man. They dumped him and went on a months-long road trip together. (Washington Post) That is exactly the perfect approach. #MorePlease "Three young women are touring the West together this summer, united by something they never imagined they’d have in common: They all had the same cheating boyfriend. At the same time. Instead of feeling bitter about their discovery, Abi Roberts, 19, of Salt Lake City, and Bekah King, 18, and Morgan Tabor, 21, who both live in Boise, said they decided the best way to cope was to move on — in a 30-year-old school bus that they bought and renovated themselves over 2½ months."
MIT’s newest robot can help elderly people get dressed (Fast Company) This is cool. "A few years ago, I was eating in a retirement home cafeteria when a woman in her eighties called me over and asked me to help put on her cardigan. I said no problem, then grabbed a sleeve and tried to get it on her arm. That’s when I realized that her body had stiffened over the years, and her back was hunched. I didn’t know how to line up the geometry between her arm and the sleeve without injuring her."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

National Music Centre in Calgary announces free weekend admission to Studio Bell for rest of 2021 (Q107) CALGARY STORY #Brilliant "The National Music Centre in [...] announced [...] that weekend admission to Studio Bell for the rest of 2021 will be free."
BC SPCA offers half price adoptions to make room for animals displaced due to wildfires (Cranbrook Daily Townsman) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY #NiceMove "From now until July 30, the BC SPCA is offering to cut their adoption fees in half in order to free up space for animals that are displaced due to wildfires."
Calgary Stampede wraps with over half a million visitors (CBC) CALGARY STORY Congrats on a safe Stampede. Well done! "The Calgary Stampede says more than half a million people walked through the gates at this year's event — less than half of the attendance of the past two Stampedes but still a substantial crowd for one of the first mass events in Canada since COVID-19 struck."
Jeff Bezos rides on company's 1st passenger flight to space and back (CBC) "Jeff Bezos blasted into space Tuesday on his rocket company's first flight with people on board, becoming the second billionaire in just over a week to ride his own spacecraft."
Liverpool, U.K., becomes 3rd site stripped of UNESCO world heritage status (CBC) #DontBuildOnWorldHeritageSites "The English city of Liverpool was removed from UNESCO's list of world heritage sites [...] because new buildings undermined the attractiveness of its Victorian docks, making it only the third site to be removed from the prestigious list."
Banff's Bear Street comes out of hibernation (CBC) BANFF STORY #Woot Can't wait."The town's $10 million transformation makes the street more accessible and aims to take the pedestrian pressure off Banff Avenue."
David Geffen’s Donation to Yale School of Drama Sparks Backlash (Inside Hook) Turns out, not everyone wants to be associated with David Geffin. "Last month, Yale University made a significant announcement: David Geffen had donated $150 million to its School of Drama, which would make tuition for all who attended it free. Henceforth, the aforementioned institution will be known as the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. It’s not the first instance of a university renaming a school after a donor, and it’s unlikely to be the last. But it hasn’t come without some controversy."
Basketball's Ayim, rugby's Hirayama to carry Canadian flag into unique Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony (CBC) CANADIAN STORY A lovely choice. #GoCanada! "When Team Canada enters a near-empty Olympic Stadium to officially kick off Tokyo 2020 on Friday, it will be led by Miranda Ayim and Nathan Hirayama. The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) announced [...] that Ayim, a basketball player, and Hirayama, a member of the men's rugby sevens squad, are the country's flag-bearers for the Tokyo 2020 opening ceremony. Ayim and Hirayama mark Canada's first duo from different sports to earn the honour after the International Olympic Committee made an amendment in March to allow each country to designate one male and one female. Ice dancers Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue led Canada into the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics."
How Jeffrey Epstein Used Philanthropy to Worm His Way Into Powerful Circles (Town & Country) #AchillesHeelOfPhilanthropy "Over and over again Epstein found a human conduit—usually a scientist or researcher—whom he would manipulate into helping him gain entrance to a world, that under any other circumstances, would or should be closed to him. This of course is the dark side of philanthropy, the part that few people want to talk about, but, talk to enough of the scientists who got to know Epstein and they will tell you, it is its Achilles heel."
Buying a car? Thanks to global chip shortage, they are harder to find in Edmonton (CBC) EDMONTON STORY Having just traded in my old truck for a new truck, I had many a great offer. "Near-empty dealership lots and advertisements asking Edmontonians to sell their used cars are symptoms of a global problem plaguing the automotive industry. A shortage of semiconductor chips — microchips used in electronics, household appliances and cars — continues to limit new vehicle production during the COVID-19 pandemic."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

The 8 Notion Templates for Productivity That You Will Swear By (Illumination) Notion is an app but the tools are universal. I like both.
Master’s Degrees Are the Second Biggest Scam in Higher Education (Slate) I have often wondered if getting a masters degree is worth it. Turns out, maybe not.
The 50-year-old intern: Mid-life Canadians are not just changing jobs — they're beginning again (Financial Post) Well, we are living longer...
Research Shows That There’s Only One Way to Lose Weight (In Fitness And In Health) It's true folks. You cannot exercise your way to weight loss.
Earth is losing enough ice to cover the whole of Lake Superior - 33,000 square miles - every YEAR because of climate change, scientists warn (Daily Mail) In case you were not already scared of climate change.
The Uber-List of the Top 200 Books of All Time (Books Are Our Superpower) I love books but I have only read 29 of these. Great list.
12 Changes You Need to Make to Escape Mediocrity (The Ascent) Great list but #10 is my all-time favourite.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

OU College of Law receives $2 million Mabee Foundation donation to create scholarship honoring Judge Thomas Brett (OU Daily) "OU received a gift of $2 million from the Mabee Foundation to create an endowed scholarship for students in the College of Law. The donation was given in memory of Thomas Brett, an OU Law graduate, former U.S. District Judge and long-serving trustee of the Mabee Foundation who died February 6."
10 US Colleges to Receive $15 Million Donation for Program Expansion (College Post) "Multinational building security equipment firm Johnson Controls has announced that it will donate a total of $15 million to 10 US community colleges to expand their associate’s degree and certificate programs. In a press release, the company explained that the grant will be used to establish or improve programs that focus on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), fire and security, and digital building automation systems."
Bezos Makes Largest Donation to Smithsonian Ever Received in Gifting Flurry Before Launch (Newsweek) "Founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos is giving away millions of dollars in donations prior to his scheduled flight to space. Bezos space company, Blue Origin stated that 19 space-centered non-profit organizations will receive $1 million. [...] Bezos also made a $200 million investment to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. This is the largest donation ever received by the Smithsonian since the museum opened in 1846."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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Vincent DuckworthJuly 23, 2021Comment