Weekly News Recap: February 11, 2022

Weekly News Recap: February 11, 2022

Canada's Max Parrot reacts after his gold medal-winning run during the men's snowboard slopestyle final on Monday at the Beijing Olympics. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

The Olympics remain the most compelling search for excellence that exists in sport, and maybe in life itself. -- Dawn Fraser (Australian Olympic Gold Medalist).

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • Road race (CBC) BRITISH COLUMBIA STORY This is an amazing feat of human effort and engineering. Thanks to Michael Donlevy for sharing this story. "How crews repaired the Coquihalla Highway just 35 days after floods busted bridges and snapped pavement along one of B.C.’s most critical corridors."

  • Meet the hawk protecting your flight at Tampa International Airport (Tampa Bay Times) #Cool #Eerie "The hired assassin stalked her victims from a slow-moving pickup truck on a recent Wednesday morning. Her dark eyes were intensely vigilant, but, seeing her shot, Cheddar grew impatient and ruffled. She craved the kill."

  • Incredible Winners of the 2021 Landscape Photographer of the Year Contest (My Modern Met) #Stunning "From over 4,500 entries, 100 images were selected for their quality in the 2021 International Landscape Photographer of the Year awards. This annual contest has been going strong for eight years; and this year, an incredible photo of the Comet Neowise as well as a portfolio of images from Cappadocia, Turkey, took home the top awards."

  • Biggest Pasta Factory Process | How Pasta Is Made (YouTube) Very very satisfying. "How do they make pasta? It is one of a short video in a series of short, concise videos that reveal the mysteries behind how everyday things happen."

  • Airstream’s new camper is solar-powered and parks on its own (Fast Company) The parking video is worth the watch all by itself. "The electric vehicle revolution is finally upon us, at the very same time that Americans have rediscovered camping during the pandemic. It’s good timing for Airstream, which has spent the last three years developing a radical new concept, the eStream. It’s still a shiny, aluminum trailer on the outside. But inside, it’s not really a trailer at all. It’s actually a two-wheel electric car."

  • For 2 decades, B.C. florist has been bringing joy to end-of-life patients with a free bouquet every week (CBC) VERNON STORY This is beautiful. Flowers are amazing. "For the elderly residents of the North Okanagan Hospice Society in Vernon, B.C., every Monday is a good day. For the last two decades, Vernon Flower Shop owner Jake Spoor has been hand-delivering fresh bouquets every week for free to seniors nearing the end of life."

  • This 7-year-old Yellowknifer just published his first book (CBC) YELLOWKNIFE STORY (I am such an underachiever -- what a kid!) "On a shelf of the Yellowknife Public Library, there's a book about a young boy who travels from Alaska to Yellowknife. He makes friends, learns about the outdoors, and when his hands are cold, elders give him warm handmade mittens to wear. It documents the adventures of seven-year-old Sebastian Bernabe, who wrote, illustrated and then published 100 copies of The Alaskan Boy Who Explored Bushkids."

  • Grade two teacher and her student find kinship and bond in surviving cancer (Discover Airdrie) AIRDRIE STORY My heart melts. "Jessica Powers, a grade two teacher at Glenbow Elementary School and her student Ella Reimer have a most unique bond. Both are cancer survivors. The pair who immediately became kindred spirits are now teaming up with the rest of Powers' grade two class to raise money for Kids Cancer Care and the Alberta Cancer Foundation."

  • Meet the avalanche dogs who save skiers’ lives (Washington Post) Dogs are amazing. That is all. "It is quiet in the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort’s staff locker room at noon. Most of the ski instructors, chairlift operators and patrol team members are in the field. Then, a whistle blows, sending a bounding 2-year-old Dutch shepherd, Cache, sprinting down the aisle and around the corner."

  • Big Ass Message (The Internet) Just because. #Fun

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Design team to transform Calgary’s Arts Commons (On-Site) CALGARY STORY Wow! "Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC), together with partners Arts Commons and the City of Calgary, have announced that Toronto-based KPMB will lead the team that will design the expansion and renewal of Arts Commons, one of Canada’s largest arts centres, through the Arts Commons Transformation (ACT) project. KPMB will work with First-Nations firm Tawaw Architecture Collective Inc., Calgary-based Hindle Architects, and SLA, a design studio from Denmark."

  2. Philanthropy 50: List of America’s Top 50 Donors of 2021 (Bloomberg) "(AP) -- These are the donors who gave the most in 2021, according to the Philanthropy 50, an annual ranking compiled by the Chronicle of Philanthropy."

  3. Mikisew Cree celebrate expansion of Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park (CBC) FORT CHIPEWYAN STORY This is terrific. "The Mikisew Cree First Nation is celebrating the expansion of Alberta's Kitaskano Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park, which the nation says will help protect the animals and watershed surrounding Fort Chipewyan. Another 375,000 acres were added to the park, bringing it to 775,000 acres. This park in northeastern Alberta is part of the largest area of protected boreal forest in the world."

  4. Pandemic restrictions have non-profits casting wider net for fundraising (CBC) BONNYVILLE STORY #NewTricks "COVID-19 has nearly put an end to the traditional fundraiser, gone are the galas and bingo. For non-profits and charities, that means getting creative to stay afloat. For the second year in a row, the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs will host an ice-fishing derby to help raise money for the community-owned team. The loss of fundraising opportunities has been difficult to navigate, said Neil Langridge, coach and assistant general manager."

  5. Worker burnout is becoming endemic and it’s everyone’s job to treat it (Globe and Mail) CANADIAN STORY The struggle is real. "When the alarm rings on a weekday morning, do you bound out of bed or bury yourself under the covers? Is your eye roll getting more action at work than your e-mail? Do you spend more time in your imaginary artisanal glass-blowing studio than you do meeting project deadlines?"

  6. Snowboarder Max Parrot soars to Canada's 1st gold medal at Beijing Olympics, McMorris adds bronze (CBC) CANADIAN STORY You really can do anything if you put your mind to it #Inspiring "Max Parrot's comeback from cancer is complete. The Canadian won gold in snowboard slopestyle on Monday at the Beijing Olympics, upgrading from the silver he won at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. [...] In between podiums, Parrot, of Bromont, Que., was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, forcing him to miss the entire 2018-19 season." RELATED: Ski techs hope their secret wax recipes will be liquid 'gold' for Canada's Olympians

  7. GoFundMe Cancels $ 10 Million Truck Convoy Donation-PlanetWeb.ca (Emnetra) CANADIAN STORY "The convoy organizers said they wanted these funds to allow them to continue protesting for a long time. The money was to be spent on food, lodging and gas. GoFundMe said the decision was made because it believes the convoy is contributing to hatred and violence. The company said it would automatically refund all donations."

  8. Melinda French Gates reportedly won't give bulk of her wealth to Gates Foundation (CNN) "Melinda French Gates may be shifting her approach to how she gives away her vast wealth following her high-profile divorce last year from Microsoft founder Bill Gates. French Gates is said to have decided not to give the bulk of her estimated $11.4 billion fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter. Instead, French Gates is expected to donate to other charitable endeavors, according to the report, though she may also continue to give money to the Gates Foundation."

  9. Long-term Statistics Canada research shows cities across country losing green space (CBC) CANADIAN STORY "Joni Mitchell was right — they really are paving paradise and putting up parking lots. Statistics Canada's first survey of urban green space shows that, just as the singer-songwriter warned, cities across the country are getting greyer and browner."

  10. Crokinole becomes an unlikely Canadian export, gaining popularity around the world (CBC) CANADIAN STORY And here I thought this was a niche Saskatchewan thing. "A classic Canadian game found in many basements across this country is picking up in popularity with online shoppers around the world buying locally-made boards and learning the trick of the flick. 'We can sell hundreds of boards,' said Ted Fuller who runs a board-making company called Crokinole Canada. 'Today, my wife sent 40 boards out the door and I was helping pack.' He started making and selling the octagonal boards, typically made out of maple, about four years ago from his home in St. Marys, Ont., because he loves the game that he learned to play with his grandfather. "

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. Image and Video sizes for Social Media. (Social Sizes) A useful resource for all of us really.

  2. 9 Ancient Philosophical Latin Phrases To Engrave Into Your Life (Mind Cafe) Timeless.

  3. 5 Hard-Earned Lessons From My First Marathon (Runners Life) I have run two marathons. I hope to run a few more. These ring true to me.

  4. A Busy Person’s Guide to Health (In Fitness And In Health) Honestly, you really do not need to spend a lot of time on this. But you do need to think about something everyday.

  5. The 30 Best Fiction Books I’ve Read in the Past 10 Years (Books Are Our Superpower) I love fiction. I think that fiction is what really makes us human. Read on. Some of my personal picks from this list: Ender's Gam (brilliant -- I can't say enough about this book), Ready Player One (OMGosh, a love ballad to the 1980s -- and your kids will love the audiobook [mine did and they don't like anything I like]), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (do I really need to say more here?), The Dead Zone (eek, awesome), Watchman (holy crap, so good), The Art of Racing in Rain (a love story to man's best friend), and finally, The Time Machine (first movie I ever watched in the theatre).

  6. 3 Tips From A LinkedIn Expert that Got Me Half A Million Views in 24 Hours (The Startup) LinkedIn is a big strategy for us in 2022 and this article is part of the reason why.

  7. The Writing Trends That Will Define 2022 (Get Fired Up) (Writing Cooperative) Not your usual mash-mash; these folks have it down.

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. $1m donation for planned mental health facility for young people (RNZ) Bravo! "The donation means the Māia Health Foundation is more than halfway towards its goal of raising $6 million for the unit in Hillmorton for young people up to the age of 18. Community Trust chairman Alan Isaac said demand for mental health services in the region was staggering."

  2. Billy Joel’s foundation pledges $1.5 million donation to favorite Long Island high school (New York Daily News) Way to go Piano Man! "Billy Joel’s foundation has made another hefty donation to a high school in Long Island. A $1.5 million donation pledge was confirmed to Long island High School for the Arts (LIHSA) in Syosset, N.Y., on Monday."

  3. The Jeff Bezos of China said he'll donate $2.3 billion to charity. He's the latest tech mogul pledging away billions in China's tech donation rush. (Business Insider) "Richard Liu, the founder and CEO of Chinese ecommerce giant JD.com, plans to donate about $2.3 billion worth of shares to charity, the Nasdaq-listed company said on Wednesday. He joins the list of Chinese tech moguls who have pledged to give away more than $10 billion since the start of 2021 amid Beijing's drive for 'common prosperity.'"

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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