Stress is killing us

Daryl HattonHealth, Personal, Social issues

A friend of a friend committed suicide yesterday. This is not his failure; it is ours. We, as a community, have let him down in the most painful of ways. The chaotic state of the world (pandemic, politics, environment) is incredibly stressful. Some, like this young man, are not handling it well. Sadly, he successfully hid his distress and his actions were surprising. We didn’t figure it out until it was too late. And we all are damaged by his loss. We can and must do better. This stress surrounds us, assaults us, damages us. It is having profound effects …

Epic Data Hammers Apple

Daryl HattonEntrepreneurship, Social issues

I love that Apple is being beaten with their own words and their own concepts. They deserve it. For a company that likes to promote itself with “Think Different”, it is obsessively focused on just the opposite: utter conformance to their highly restrictive rules. In the Apple Universe, there is only one way to do things – the Apple approved way. Is there any clue in the name of main street at their HQ? One Apple Park Way. People drop the “Park” in common usage… For those too young to remember, in 1984, Apple released an ad on the theme …

Dr Bonnie Henry

Daryl HattonSocial issues

I’ve been thinking tonight of why Dr Bonnie Henry is so widely admired and, in particular, why I respect her so much. It is pretty simple: She talks frankly and empathetically about the serious and dangerous situation we are facing. She is obviously not only well briefed but also a deep subject matter expert on infectious diseases AND the intricacies of our public health system. Her knowledge of the daily inner workings of our very large health network is impressive. Her “situational awareness” of things like the various outbreaks in institutions across the province is outstanding. She knows what is …

Not a racist but…

Daryl HattonSocial issues

I originally posted this on Facebook but have captured it here to remind me… I’m frightened by something I’m seeing. There is a situation developing that is tearing at the very fabric of Canadian society. I’m appalled at the disrespect of core Canadian values it demonstrates. Fortunately, it is very easy to identify. If you recently have used the phrase, “I’m not a racist but …” Simply take out the words “not” and “but” and we’ve identified the villain. There you have it. You are a closet racist. And you are destroying Canada. Not protecting it as you so naively …

The Great Displacement is coming

Daryl HattonSocial issues

Technology is driving a massive change in the availability of jobs. And it will hurt everyone, not just the low end of the socio-economic spectrum. We are already seeing the edge of the wave. At the new restaurants in Toronto airport you place your order on a tablet at your table. People bring the food. It means half the staff to service the same number of customers. Or half the jobs of a similar size restaurant. When autonomous robots get a little cheaper even the food delivery staff will go. All but a handful of jobs will be gone. Check …