Weekly News Recap: May 6, 2022

Weekly News Recap: May 6, 2022

Harvey the Hound sits in a kennel at the Calgary Humane Society on April 28, 2022. (Calgary Humane Society)

Dont ever work for someone you don't want to become. -- Kevin Kelly

SOME GOOD NEWS

  • Jacky’s quest: 1 woman, 1 leg, 102 marathons in 102 days (AP News) #HumansAreAmazing "'The first thing I did after my run today was take off my leg. Felt so good,' she tweeted. 'Marathon 69 done. 31 marathons to go.'"

  • ‘A legend at Ocean Beach’: Bill Hickey, one of the first San Francisco surfers at Kelly’s Cove, dies at 85 (SFGATE) #MayYouAlwaysBeCranking "On a recent Sunday morning at the weather-worn entrance of Kelly’s Cove nestled beneath the Cliff House, a crowd of nearly 100 people gathered around an assortment of custom-made surfboards, each bearing watercolorlike swirls, meticulous pinstriping and a bold, unmistakable 'H.' [...] All of them were there because of the late Bill Hickey, an artist and surfboard maker who worked for the first O’Neill surf shop on Wawona Street and went on to open his own business at 48th Avenue and Irving Street, crafting, shaping and glassing thousands of boards by hand from start to finish and changing the local surf scene forever. Hickey died at his Encinitas home Feb. 27 after a year-and-a-half-long battle with cancer. He was 85 years old."

  • US Army replaces cake it stole from Italian girl in 1945 (BBC) It is never too late to make amends. "Meri Mion - who turns 90 on Friday - was 13 when her village of San Pietro, near Vicenza, saw fighting between US troops and German soldiers. Her mother made her a birthday cake, but it was taken by the opportunistic - and presumably hungry - Americans."

  • A growing number of European countries are signaling they have enough energy to stop relying on Russia (Business Insider) Ironically, this war might actually accelerate the world to a post fossil-fuel future. "As EU countries scramble to wean themselves off Russian energy, a trickle of member states have signaled that they are finding alternative sources of oil, coal, or gas and won't need to rely on Russia for long."

TOP TEN STORIES OF THE WEEK

  1. Alberta Indigenous grandma pursues lifelong dream to become a lawyer (Global News) ALBERTA STORY Congratulations. It is never too late to live your dream. "Anita Cardinal-Stewart is over the moon to be graduating law school at the University of Alberta. It’s been a lifelong goal for the 45-year-old, but she didn’t realize just how young she was when she first decided this was a career she wanted to pursue. But then her friend sent her a picture of her yearbook photo; beside her it reads: Ambition: To be an actress or lawyer."

  2. Jackpot: Oilers 50/50 pot tops $4M (CTV) EDMONTON STORY For a great cause. Give early, gift often. Best wishes to all the playoff teams. "With several hours still to go until the puck drops on Game 2 of the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings playoff series, the Oilers Mega 50/50 Jackpot is over $4 million. Several early bird prizes are also available. The multi-day 50/50 is in support of the Alberta Cancer Foundation, and the Kids With Cancer Foundation."

  3. Mental health study shows Albertans feeling less empathetic towards others than at start of pandemic (Calgary Herald) ALBERTA STORY #EmpathyFatigue (it's a thing) "The Canadian Mental Health Association and researchers at the University of British Columbia conducted a series of surveys during the pandemic to monitor Canadians’ mental health at various stages. Results of the most recent survey show 14 per cent of Albertans are feeling empathetic, compared to 29 per cent of Albertans surveyed in May 2020 — a decline of 15 per cent."

  4. Charitable donors, 2020 (Statistics Canada) CANADIAN STORY "Total donation amounts reported by tax filers increased to close to $10.6 billion (+2.7%) in 2020, while the total number of donors decreased (-0.6%), continuing the decline that started in 2011. The median donation amount was $340, which represents a 9.7% increase from 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic does not appear to have had a significant impact on donations reported by tax filers. Donations in 2020 do not show significant changes when compared with those observed over the previous few years."

  5. Wikipedia Shuts Down Crypto Donation Function Following Community Pressure (The Daily Hodl) Interesting move. Cryptocurrencies harvesting, tracking, and transactions do contribute significantly to global warming but so too does traditional banking. "The parent company of the world’s largest open-source online encyclopedia is closing the book on accepting crypto assets as donations. In a lengthy page documenting the process of debate and voting among its community, Wikipedia announces that it is requesting the Wikimedia Foundation to stop accepting donations in the form of cryptocurrencies. [...] Primary arguments in favor of the measure that would end the continuation of accepting crypto donations include de facto endorsement of virtual assets and environmental concerns."

  6. Location, location: Why Edmonton is preferred by U.S. chains making their Canadian debut (CBC) EDMONTON STORY "Alberta's capital city is known for many things — a giant mall, a gorgeous river valley and a pretty successful NHL franchise. You can add to that list Edmonton's appeal as a testing ground for U.S. chain stores and restaurants looking to expand into the Canadian market. Dickey's Barbecue Pit, a popular Texas-based chain restaurant that opened its first Canadian location in Edmonton on Thursday, is one of a few major American chains that have eyed the Alberta city for expansion."

  7. Harvey the Hound to remain in Calgary Humane Society kennel until $100K raised (CTV) CALGARY STORY I made my gift/bail payment. "Harvey the Hound is helping support the Calgary Humane Society by pledging to remain inside one of the shelter's kennels until $100,000 can be raised. The Calgary Flames mascot took time off from his playoff preparations to visit the facility on Thursday and crawl inside one of the humane society's newly renovated kennels. The money will go toward the shelter's Facility Enhancement Project, a $14.3 million expansion aimed at benefiting not just the animals who end up there but also the community through programming and events."

  8. City announces first three downtown office-to-residential conversion projects approved for funding (City of Calgary Newsroom) CALGARY STORY Nice. We are finally making moves to address the vacant space in downtown. "The City of Calgary is pleased to announce the first three successful applicants to the Downtown Calgary Development Incentive Program. These three projects will infuse life into largely empty or underutilized office buildings by converting empty office space to new residential units. It’s one way we’re moving beyond the traditional 9 to 5 business district towards a vibrant city centre people enjoy 24/7, with a balanced mix of residential, office, retail, entertainment, tourism and culture."

  9. There's never been a better time for teens to land a job. So why aren't as many applying? (CBC) CANADIAN STORY Lots of work folks. "Teens who want a summer job this year will likely find it easier than ever to land one. While youth employment took a big hit when the pandemic started, it's rebounded completely now, along with most of the rest of the employment landscape."

  10. ACLU helped draft article at heart of Depp v Heard case for $3.5m donation, court hears (The Guardian) I find it personally disturbing that the ACLU helped a donor draft an op-Ed that essentially defamed another. Not making good on the donation is another issue. "The ACLU helped Amber Heard draft the Washington Post article accusing Johnny Depp of abuse after the organization was promised a $3.5m donation from her divorce – though at least $500,000 of it eventually came from a fund connected to Tesla founder Elon Musk, jurors in the Depp-Heard defamation trial heard on Thursday."

SEVEN LIFE AND CAREER HACKS

  1. Note Writing Methods I Use (Joash Xu) A excellent overview of a few great methods. If you are looking to retool your note taking, this is a great place to start.

  2. 10 Brilliant Science Books Worth Reading In 2022 (Piggs Boson) I am starting with "The History of Death".

  3. Tim Ferriss’ Top 4 Reading Tips (Mark Joseph Aduana) If you want to retain, you need to find a way to take notes while you are reading. Tim's methods are great starting points.

  4. If You Only Do 5 Exercises Today, Do These (In Fitness And In Health) No real surprises here but the 'things to avoid' sections are what make this a very useful article.

  5. Things That Surprised Me About Getting Old (The Haven) Smaller pupils and less sweating; some bad, some good.

  6. 4 Compelling Books That Will Keep You up at Night (Books Are Our Superpower) These are all thrillers, mysteries, and horrors. Enjoy.

  7. 103 Bits of Advice I Wish I Had Known (The Technium) Fantastic pearls. One of my favourites: 'The biggest lie we tell ourselves is: I dont need to write this down because I will remember it.'

TOP THREE GIFTS OF THE WEEK

  1. Venture Capitalist John Doerr Gives $1.1 Billion To Stanford To Fund Climate Research (Forbes) An entirely new school dedicated to arguably the most important issue of our time. Well done all. "Billionaire Silicon Valley investor John Doerr is donating $1.1 billion to Stanford University, a record gift for the university that will be used to establish a sustainability school and further Doerr’s commitment to combating climate change, Stanford said Wednesday."

  2. Leading by example with a $10M hospital donation (Ottawa Business Journal) OTTAWA STORY "When Rob Ashe first began volunteering with the Civic Foundation back in 1995, he and his wife, Sandra Herrick, never could have imagined they would be part of a vision to transform healthcare for generations to come. Now, with their donation of $10 million to The Ottawa Hospital, they hope to have an early and direct impact on the success of the most ambitious fundraising campaign in Ottawa’s history."

  3. Kobe Bryant's Foundation Receives $24M Donation From BodyArmor To Support Underserved Youth (AFROTECH) "Boardroom reports that BodyArmor has partnered with the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation (MMSF), which includes a $24 million joint donation courtesy of the company and co-founder Mike Repole — making it MMSF’s single largest investment to date."

LAST WEEK'S MOST POPULAR STORIES

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