During one of our regular chats, we talked about aging parents and, being a librarian to the core, I ended up recommending a book that I had just read myself which I thought she might be interested in.
She put it on hold and even made a point of coming over to show me when it came in earlier this week! 🙂
Though this recent clip only popped up on my Facebook feed the other day, it did remind me of my time in Alberta (2001-2004) when I worked with the Writers Guild of Alberta where part of my work included helping jointly plan the annual Alberta Book Awards with the Book Publishers Association of Alberta.
Haven’t watched it yet but I suspect a lot of issues that existed back then – lack of government support, lack of skilled staff willing to work for low wages, lack of consumers buying local books (though perhaps this has changed a bit with the recent “Elbows Up” movement?), growth of self-publishing and vanity publishing options, competition from new entertainment options such as at-home streaming services and so on.
Ironically, a few years later, I’d find myself back in Saskatchewan, working in libraries but also serving on the Board of Coteau Books. And ten years after joining that board, being one of the two Board Members who most directly dealt with the bankruptcy of the organization once that became an unavoidable reality.
One of my favourite traditions on this blog for my least favourite events (hopefully today’s snow won’t stay since we have plus temps in the forecast for the next week or more!)
Definitely don’t listen to the politicians. And even many of the medical professionals misunderstand the ongoing risks.
If you want to know the true status of Covid, listen to the insurance actuaries whose whole business model is predicated on predicting the actual financial costs of Covid to their companies (no different than insurance companies increasingly refusing to insure property in areas most at danger to the risks of climate change – floods, wildfires, etc.)
A lot of folks argue that Covid cann’t be that bad since one does not really see it. 5 years + later, the data is showing it and this is only the beginning of a catastrophic self-imposed major shock to global Immunity and health that will hit humanity with full force in the next… https://t.co/5yBBc9FyrN
— Bruno Boccara @SocioAnalytic@bsky.social (@SocioAnalytic) September 30, 2025
Death is the ultimate impact but is anyone in your organization tracking the usage of sick time? And is there a plan to address that increased usage (beyond “everyone left picks up the slack?”)
Still one of the most interesting & important graphs.
This is not just an issue for our current workforce. This is going to be an issue for at least a generation and possibly longer.
“Children and teenagers are twice as likely to develop #LongCovid after a second coronavirus infection as after an initial infection, a large new study has found.
The study, of nearly a half-million people under 21, published Tuesday in Lancet Infectious Diseases” pic.twitter.com/O9Q1UsjPho
