Moving through the world, RetirementLeave a comment

Hitting the creative wall in retirement

rbspecht

The creator part of me has hit a wall in retirement. It may be more of a speedbump than a wall. I just need to figure out how to move forward. Got any solutions for hitting the creative wall in retirement? I’ve got a lot of ideas, I just can’t get them done. There’s a lot of reasons for it. Its not inertia. I’m overwhelmed and it shows up as procrastination. I have an active retirement. Some activities are are driven by family and friends, and the necessities of a new retirement career. Some activiites are leftovers from my working … Continue reading Hitting the creative wall in retirement

Moving through the world, RetirementLeave a comment

Tyranny of New Year’s Resolutions

rbspecht

Tyranny of New year’s Resolutions It’s the time of the year when we fall into the biggest trap we create for ourselves; the New Year’s Resolution. At the changing of the calendar year we are expected to make New Year’s Resolutions. Oh, the tyranny of the New Year’s Resolution!! The expectations that drive the creation of New Year’s Resolutions started 4000 years ago in ancient Babylon.  At their New Year, which wasn’t January but Spring, the idea of rebirth and growth spurred the population to reaffirm the reign of the king, or crown a new monarch.  They also made promises … Continue reading Tyranny of New Year’s Resolutions

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Traveling goes wrong!!

rbspecht

We want to trust and believe in the competence of our travel service providers when we leave home. We embark on journeys for many reasons, not the the least of which is to expand our world view and to learn something. No one expects traveling to go so wrong because of our travel service providers. Traveling goes wrong. The one thing I’ve learned from this latest trip is not to trust WestJet schedules at face value when booking.  I no longer trust WestJet to get it right the first time. This trip was our first trip since the beginning of … Continue reading Traveling goes wrong!!

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Traveling again–a change in venue!

rbspecht

as the Covid restrictions seem to ease in certain places in the world we’ve decided to be brave and begin travelling again. Travelling again means preparing for a change in venue, something we haven’t done in three years. We’ve had all the vaccinations, all FOUR shots, plus the flu vaccination. We’re very careful about masking. We are confident that we can travel again. Thumbs up to traveling again! SIR5R is traveling again! Certain things do demand travel despite the Covid-19 Pandemic.  For my partner, and I, it’s been limited, short-range travel for her work, where I have the excuse to … Continue reading Traveling again–a change in venue!

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A Change is gonna come

rbspecht

Life in the time of Covid-19, a change is gonna come; The world is changing.  Hell, the world has already been marked by quite a few significant shanges!  I started to write this post back in September of 2021. That’s about eight months ago. Things definitely started to change! We had been slapped around by a pandemic, endured a pseudo fascist American President, witnessed violent recognition of systemic racism in North American culture, endured unprecedented forest fires, weathered more hurricanes than most of us have ever seen in a single season, watched floods ravage arable land, and fought through other … Continue reading A Change is gonna come

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Earth Day trip into the mountains

rbspecht

This post is intended to share images on Earth Day 2022 of north central Alberta, near to where my family and I currently live. Driving west into the Canadian Rockies on Earth Day 2022. A sample of the fabulous photos I took. Driving that distance seems to contradict the observance of Earth Day. What did you do for Earth Day? We are very fortunate to live in a part of the world where things are relatively stable and safe. By ‘things’ I mean environment, government and the physical world around us. Our great fortune provides the ‘blinkers’ that prevent us … Continue reading Earth Day trip into the mountains

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The Evil Empire didn’t leave

rbspecht

I grew up in an era where our parents openly worried about what the Evil Empire, would do to our hard won freedoms. The Evil Empire manifested itself first as The Third Reich and then as the USSR. Our parents lived with the effects of World War II, both during and after. Imagine their anxiety during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Now we worry that the invasion of the Ukraine puts us and our children back in the same place and mindset. As a grandfather this reality is very distressing. Is the Cold War back? The Cold war left … Continue reading The Evil Empire didn’t leave

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Your hand in my pocket

rbspecht

Why do I find someone’s hand in my pocket ? It seems like everyone wants a bit of something; a handout, a contribution, a donation, sponsorship or validation that can only come through monetization, and they’re looking in my pocket. As I browse the web, surfing for information and guidance I find that nothing is free anymore. Everyone wants a contribution either in the form of straight up ‘gimme money’ or in the form of donation and subscription fees. There is no free exchange of information. People are trying to monetize their experience and insights using the vehicle of online … Continue reading Your hand in my pocket