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Flaco is Dead. Long live Flaco.
Last weekend I read that Flaco, the Eurasian eagle-owl had died. About a year ago, vandals had let the bird free from New York’s Central Park Zoo, after which he’d enjoyed a life on the lamb, much to the amusement and/or concern of the public and media. On Feb. 23, the “Wildlife Conservation Society, which Read more
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Staying the Course
When I began writing these posts in July 2020, I set out the topics I planned to cover. These were largely focused on my writing and reading journey, much of it nostalgic or inwardly based. Later, as world events intruded into our lives, I made two exceptions: one dealing with the former President of the Read more
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A World of Spies (part two)
I never did find out what happened to the Soviet Embassy’s Science Counsellor. Of course, my new security contacts were hardly likely to share that news with me. Most likely, our spy beavered away, trying to make and develop his various contacts under close CSIS observation until transferred to some other location. Flash forward three Read more
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A World of Spies (part one)
It was 1978. The world was divided between west and east; a stagnating cold war still in effect; Leonid Brezhnev had four years left as General Secretary; the USSR was months away from invading Afghanistan; the tearing down of the Berlin Wall still eleven years away. Allan Blakeney, then Premier of Saskatchewan, was planning a Read more
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On Being Hacked. Or Not.
On December 19, Canada’s national broadcaster, the CBC, reported on the increasing numbers of companies suffering from website hacking attacks, along with ransom demands. In the story, the case highlighted was an assault on The Weather Network, where the accompanying ransom demand was, according to its CEO, in the “tens of millions” of dollars. The Read more
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Godparents
I grew up in a rather insular family. No uncles or aunts. I never knew my grandfathers: my dad’s father died before I was born and my mother’s father played little part in her life growing up. As for my two grandmothers, I met them only once, as both lived far away, one in England Read more
