Virtual Birds, December 10, 2020

Today's video is a bit of a Frankenstein monster. My internet connection "imploded" for the first time ever, and so I caught about 33 minutes of the meeting, before Zoom automatically detected Dwayne Vinck's account, made him the host while I disappeared into the ether, and he was able to start recording.

When I logged back in, the Zoom meeting resumed as if nothing had happened on my end, and I began recording again. Pretty impressive of Zoom to hardly miss a beat.

In the end, I had to assemble the three pieces of today's meeting, so the video has two short "transitions" at about 33-34 minutes and again at about 36-38 minutes where there appears to be a quick fade and jump to the speaker continuing. I figure there might be about 15-30 seconds missing from each speaker (George, then Jim).

Other than that, business as usual with the notable exception of the conversation about dues for 2021. Dwayne won't be sending out invoices. That conversation is in near the start.

Also discussed and resolved today: one of the reasons the Birds had always taken a holiday break was because Inglewood shut down over the holidays. Since we're in virtual mode, we'll continue to meet through the holidays for anyone so inclined. The Zoom-room will be open on Christmas and New Year's Eves at 7:15.

Dr. Tom Olson contributed a couple of post-meeting nuggets today. One was this article that led at the top with this quote:

"“Every Store And School Should Be Open.” Confronting The Pandemic With Confidence".

"Before Covid-19, there was 9-11. And the morning after the world changed on September 11, 2001, David Redman, Director of Community Programs for Emergency Management Alberta, found himself in Edmonton...". To read the rest, follow this link: https://c2cjournal.ca/2020/12/every-store-and-school-should-be-open-confronting-the-pandemic-with-confidence/ 

Before I move to the second bit, Tom wanted to thank and acknowledge Mel for the generous plug for his book "Don't Die With Your Helmet On." As he said in an email asking me to ensure Mel was acknowledged, he added: "...his comments may give me the inspiration I need to continue rewriting the tome."

The other bit that Dr. Tom shared was an old trailer about old friends/old enemies: