-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Someone close to my family passed away this summer of cancer. In lieu of flowers her family asked for donations to help fund a new da Vinci Surgery robot for the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton. Being me, I wanted to know what made this robot special. The da Vinci Surgery system features a 3D-High … Continue reading
It seemed fitting as it is Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend to write about the turkey. I feel safe in saying that more people have seen turkey on the dinner table than in the wild. Wild turkeys were introduced to North America from Mexico. Through their own versatility and the tendency of early Europeans to transplant … Continue reading
With October being breast cancer awareness month it seemed fitting to write about the connections between breast cancer and dragon boating. At every festival I have attended there are teams of breast cancer survivors. There are breast cancer survivor challenge races, flower ceremonies, and generally not a lot of dry eyes. But how did the … Continue reading
The Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute released a new report in June 2014 assessing the climate change vulnerability of Alberta’s land based plants and animals. 173 species were examined regarding their sensitivity, exposure to risk, and ability to adapt. Not surprisingly, amphibians are considered to be most vulnerable to climate change. This makes sense because humans create … Continue reading
I used to take people on voyageur canoe trips down the North Saskatchewan River Valley in Edmonton. Today, I paddle and coach dragon boats on the river. I bike through the river valley on a regular basis, both commuting and for recreation. I meet friends in the river valley parks for campfires and walks. And … Continue reading
I once spent an entire day observing pikas for a research course. After a full day of recording whether our particular animal was running, sitting, eating, calling, watching, etc, I was either going to leave despising them or loving them: I don’t think it is possible to despise them. I will still spend hours trying to photograph … Continue reading
Shuffle mode on my iPod creates some interesting juxtapositions where a comedy A Capella group may be followed by some hard rock which is subsequently followed by some swing and jazz. So what is it about music that we can like some styles, and I like a lot of styles, and not enjoy others? So, picking … Continue reading
I used to work with a sulfur crested cockatoo named Sydney. He and I had a great relationship, I would take him travelling to schools. We would sit together in an empty classroom at lunch and share some memories and some peapods. When I walked into the room where he lived he would always come … Continue reading
During my first couple years of dragon boating I messed up. I would do the dry land warm up with the team and then hang around in marshalling until it was our time to go down to the boats. Then when we finally got on the water I would hold back the entire way to … Continue reading
Ted Talk – Amy Cuddy: Your body language shapes who you are In her Ted Talk Cuddy starts by talking about how different students shaped their bodies in the business classroom but as a post secondary instructor for the last several years I think this could be taken further into the classroom. If power poses … Continue reading
Connecting with Science 