Bennie's first Kayak

It seems like project and kayak weather didn't come together until now. Last year he was really too little; this year I've been working with him on swimming (he's great at wading). The weather was forecasted to be nice so we tested Bennie's tolerance to life jackets. We each have a different colour so it's easy to know if they're all there*. Today the weather was nice so off we went to a nearby lake. Bennie wasn't in a kennel for the short trip. He sat on the backseat and took awhile to relax but he doesn't seem to mind motion. If Duffy wasn't in a kennel he curled up as far under the driver seat as possible.This was looking good for kayaking.

New Amazon Prime Service in Canada - Prime Reading

Yes, this pic is skewed

The main reason I have an Amazon account is for the e-books. I've been a digital consumer for almost 2 decades starting with my first Sony Clie. Spouse has a Prime account for free shipping so we've been using Prime Video and Prime Music by logging in through their account. Most purchases are done through their account but the other day I wanted some dog stuff so I pulled the trigger on the free Prime trial...just in time for the Prime Reading launch.

Millennials

https://xkcd.com/2165/

I've wondered for awhile just who is included in the "Millennial" cohort. I know I'm supposed to be late Boomer and I match my horoscope better than the boomer stereotype. Activities Millennials are getting maligned for seem like a reflection of 70s flower child ideals. Turns out Millennials are the people entering the work force for pretty well the last 20 years that I've been doing safety training and would include MY kids. I was a teen in the 70s and managed to dodge the financial downturns of the 80s through luck more than good management.

How would I hope my kids turn out? Through those "participating trophies" we fostered they would learn that showing up counts and acceptance that everyone has valuable skills that should be encouraged and recognized. Having seen parents struggle with employment (we were the first wave of random downsizing and job loss through efficiencies) they would learn not to put off enjoying life. Speaking of works - I expect them to be cynical about loyalty to an employer (see random layoffs) so find the rules and follow them; that goes hand in hand with follow the money because, again, random layoffs in the name of profitability. Kindness, environmental awareness and people willing to take advantage of those qualities to make money off them.

What did I observe over the years of working in a manufacturing plant of mostly millennial men working shift work? Everyone want's defined roles at work and OTJ training. Most of the guys got along well enough with their parents to work with them and in turn became quite involved fathers. If you pay them, they will work. Aside from gossip, they got along pretty well. The main difference over the years is a willingness to follow rules as long as they are enforced. That rules thing can be exhausting for management because they want to pretend there is a rule based meritocracy but they can't really answer questions when they don't walk the walk. And wanting risks assessed because they have a life outside work.

All in all I'm not concerned about Millennials shaping the world.

Real life conversations

In the past few weeks we've had 2 garage sales (3 days), visited both sets of parents and saw all siblings. It was a lot of fun and now we're back to routine stuff.

Garage sales are interesting, for ours there was a lot of just chatting. One person came to ask us about our solar panels. We talked a little politics because the new provincial government discontinued the solar rebate when they discontinued the carbon levy and rolled the residual funds into general revenue. We agree that we didn't mind the carbon levy because the administration was so transparent; not sure about the Federal one. Some of the people who live in the multi-home unit behind us came to see what we were culling and a couple from our cul-de-sac came to see what we had for sale and check out the new greenhouse. There were people we didn't know as well - one bought our boat. Yay!

We were concerned about our visit to Medicine Hat because there was a "no dogs in the house" rule for a few years so we really pulled back on visits due to the expense of hotel stays. This time Bennie was allowed in the house and he was very good. As the new member, he was often the topic of conversation and there was a lot of travel news. I did trip into a weird taxes conversation. We were buying milk at the store and I noticed on the bill there was a deposit. When I commented I hadn't known they were returnable, I was told that is really was more like a tax. I changed the topic.

Then it was off to the coast to visit with my family. It's full of political conversation because my dad listens to the TV super loud and comments. I was surprised to find out my RCC attending Dad seems pro-choice and my brother got stopped by the cops when he was a kid and told he must live in Surrey because he looks East Indian!?! Dad's wife was chatting about first meetings. My brother's wife and her friends first thought he might be Thai. I was asked what people where I live think I am. I replied - someone who tans really well😁. (When I was a teen people thought I was Mediterranean)

Garage sale redux was a 2 day affair. Again, visitors! A fellow I worked with ages ago dropped by; he's moving to BC (Kootenays) I am a little jealous. Someone else was interested in solar. They were surprised to hear our system was only $15K (pre-rebate) and had a 7 to 10 year ROI after which free electricity! We talked climate change a little and they felt there were many routes to our destruction and clean energy is attainable so...

It was fun to socialize so much and we even sold some stuff. Nothing came back in the house and we donated some stuff that didn't sell and stored the rest in the garage. Bennie was calm in the house as people came and went.

Bennie is just over 1 year old!

Bennie's personality is totally different than other dogs we've had and it's really blossomed as he gets older. I'm struggling between enjoying the bouncy dogo that lets me brush his teeth and dealing with the thief that gets aggressive so we're going to some personal training.

The main problem is he growls if he get's an object too long (aka becomes his). We recognized with awhile ago and I started interrupting his eating more and hand feeding. He sleeps in a kennel and we make him sit or do something for rewards but I've been really bad at daily training. Still he was showing improvement until we got to my Dad's. They aren't used to keeping doors closed and Bennie is having a field day grabbing slippers and socks. But the other day I was taking a paper towel from him and he turned and snapped at me. That was it, he was in his kennel for a time out.

Since I'm getting help, I want to stop with the barking at other dogs. Milo and Duffy used to do that; Milo stopped once we were walking just us but I think it was because he couldn't really see the other dogs. Bennie starts carrying on from quite a ways away and I can't tell if he's under or over confident when approaching new things.

This timing will work perfectly for us. We'll be home all summer and Bennie's eager to learn. Traditionally I've taken the pup to obedience training. With Bennie we went to a puppy class before Christmas but I missed the structured spring classes. Now we'll both be getting instruction at the same time.

Climate realists - the question is what can be accomplished at a personal level

I tripped into a climate conversation when visiting family. I mentioned that oil company scientists used models that predicted 400+ ppm of CO2 in the air. I thought the accuracy of modelling was interesting. Back in the '80s greenhouse effects were pretty well known but it seems like people equate the '80s with the 1880s (where the greenhouse effect was also known).