Holiday thoughts

As you read this we are just landing in Australia, to spend time with my daughter and her family and friends for Christmas. Family and friends are an important part of this time of year and we have not been to Australia to see our Australian family for a while. In fact, we have not been back for five years and this is only the second time we have been there at Christmas. I have decided that I will not post or spend time on the net, so I have posted ahead and thanks to the technology of Blogger I will not miss a day, but in real life, I will be spending my time visiting with family and enjoying having Christmas in the heat. I will not have to worry about driving around in the snow, or scrapping windows before I get to leave for whatever I plan to do for the day.

I am looking forward to exploring more of the high country of Australia, visiting  Mt. Buller,  Benella,  Lake Eildon,  Wangaratta, and  Mansfield  to name a few of the places we are going to visit or revisit. If we get the time, I hope to explore the  Great Alpine Road  from  Wangaratta  to  Metung  or further. My wife and daughter love a good glass of wine so we may spend time exploring the wine regions of the high country as well as the  Yarra vineyards. I love a good beer and so I am looking forward to visiting the local breweries in the area.

We also want to spend time exploring  Melbourne  itself and we will be visiting my daughters' in-laws who live on the  Mornington Peninsula. The last time we were there we did get a chance to spend a little time at  Arthurs Seat Eagle which we saw but did not have the time to take the ride to the top, this time we will take the time to soar to the top of this peak that gives spectacular views of the Peninsula and Melbourne. 

We have booked time in  Torquay  which is a seaside town at the east end of the  Great Ocean Road  coastal drive, southwest of  Melbourne, Australia. It’s known for surf beaches like  Bells Beach  and  Jan Juc Beach. The  Surf Coast Walk trail  starts at  Point Impossible Beach  and heads southwest via  Point Danger Marine Sanctuary  and is the gateway to towering  12 Apostles.

I hope that all of you have a wonderful and relaxing Christmas or whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year. I also hope that 2020 gives you all of the joy and wishes you deserve.

Car rental woes

Over the past months, we have been planning our trip to Australia for Christmas, while we were planning, my daughter let me know that a friend of hers had a car that we could use. She said she would pick us up at the airport and we would have the use of the car for our time in Australia. I thought it was a generous offer and so we agreed.

The car belonged to one of their best friends father who had suffered a stroke and could no longer drive. The man suffered his stroke about three years ago and the car had been off the road since that time. So, when my daughter's friend went to get the car insured he ran into a roadblock. If a car has not been on the road and insured then by Australian law (Victoria State) the car must be inspected by a mechanic to see if it is roadworthy. The car went in for an inspection a few days ago, just about a week before we were to arrive. It failed.

I have found that renting a car for a trip is similar to buying a plane ticket, if you purchase far enough in advance you can get a good deal if you book at the last minute you pay more. In the past, I have used a number of good car rental companies in Australia. I have used Spendless Car Rental, Cut Price Car Rentals, and Rental Cars.com, Kayak, Enterprise and Alamo to name a few. These are well run, the staff are helpful and the prices are low if you book far enough in advance. We have never had any problem with any of these companies and I would recommend them highly.

This time I checked out the prices at each of the above and I also use Trip Advisor, Car Rental8, Lbcarental.com and Expedia to see if I could get a deal. I found one at Rental Cars.com that beat the others by about $50 and they quoted the price in Canadian dollars. I found some lower prices but they were priced in American dollars and after the exchange, they were about 20% higher.

I was happy with the process, and the price I was able to get with only six days before I travelled so I went on Trip Advisor to give Rental cars.com a good rating and I commented on the service I received. The rating and the comment were removed by Trip Advisor because they said it was a paid endorsement.  I also had a few people making the same comment within minutes of my posting. I don't do paid endorsements, I am at a stage in my life where I can call it as I see it, and if people don't like what I say, so be it. 

The removal of my post did surprise me although it should not have as Trip Advisor most likely has its own agreement with car rental places and does not want customers to be directed to other company's sites. Business is business, but just be careful what you read on Trip Advisor or any other site as full information may be blocked to benefit the site. By the way, Trip Advisor had the same car and from the same dealership as Rental Cars but Rental Cars beat their price by about $50.00. My advice is you have to book a car at the last minute shop around you may get a good deal.

I can dream can't I?

When you dream at night, can't anything happen next?  Yes, of course, it can, dreams are stories we tell ourselves when we sleep. Dreams are collections of clips, images, feelings, and memories that involuntarily occur during the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of rest. We typically have many dreams per night and our dreams last longer as sleep draws to a close.

Scientists think that everyone dreams, but there is a small group that reports that they never remember experiencing dreams. I suspect they are wrong.  Dreams typically involve elements from our conscious lives. We dream of people or familiar locations but these often take on an illusory feel. Dreams are often interesting and can allow us to act out certain situations that would never be possible when we are awake. Dreams aren’t always positive—negative dreams referred to as "nightmares," can create feelings of terror, anxiety, or despair, and can lead to psychological distress or sleep problems like insomnia.

Why humans dream remains one of behavioural science's great unanswered questions. Researchers have offered many theories including memory consolidation or emotional regulation. For some their dream world seems real. These people may believe that they are the creator or the genius behind every bell, whistle, and sparrow they see in their dreams?

The ability of our dreams to appear real has led many thinkers—philosopher René Descartes (1641) being the most prominent Western example—to wonder whether the world we experience while awake might itself be a dream. If the dream world feels just as real as the waking one (at least while we are in it), how can we know for sure that we’re not currently living in a dream—a dream from which we may one day wake up?

One way that philosophers have tried to dispel such worries is by appealing to differences between the dream world and the waking one. For instance, our waking world has a coherence that the dream world often lacks. You may recall that in the feature film Inception, the characters learn to recognize that they’re dreaming by asking themselves how they came to be in a certain situation, then realizing that they can’t remember because the dream just dropped them there.

But does the integrity of our waking world guarantee that it’s real?

The logic of our waking world does give us evidence that our waking world is not merely an invention of our creativity. Correctly, it gives us proof that when we are conscious, something is causing our experience that is autonomous of the event itself. For instance, the comparative continuity of objects and environments we encounter in waking life appears to be explained by the fact there is something real and enduring that our experiences are reflecting.

However, the permanence of these objects and environments we encounter when we are awake is no guarantee that this world is as real. A high degree of permanence is also found in the worlds of video games, in which the “environments” and “objects” one interacts with are merely the creations of computer code. Physics teaches us that the objects we experience as being solid are actually made up almost entirely of empty space. And the results of quantum mechanical experiments indicate that, under certain conditions, the building blocks of matter do not behave as discrete particles at all, but rather as waves of probability. 

Nevertheless, people continue mining their nighttime reveries for clues to their inner lives, for creative insight, and even for premonitions. Are you limited by what you dreamt the night before? There is a probability that you are not limited.

Housing Options for Seniors in BC

Another topic that is important but I have not spent a lot of time on is the issue of housing options for seniors. 

Most seniors live independently but not all own their own homes. Many seniors who live independently may rent. In BC there appears to be not many options for seniors who want to continue to live independently.  This is important because as rents and other costs go up seniors on fixed incomes find it increasingly difficult to rent so they will have a place to stay. The more options that are available may help the pending housing crises for seniors in BC. According to the CHMC there are the following housing options for seniors in Canada who do not own or want to continue to rent, but some of these are not available in BC and the question is why not? An examination of the options available to seniors in BC, may help the government provide policies that encourage the use of some of the options not available currently in BC.

Assisted Living

Assisted Living is a combination of: Housing, Hospitality Services, and Personal Assistance Services. It also offers medication reminders, cash management, nutrition monitoring, and management by ‘non-medical’ professionals. Housing is usually self-contained units typically with full bath, small kitchenette, living room and bedroom

Co-housing

Co-housing involves sharing a home with a friend or family member. In addition to cutting costs, sharing a home can provide mutual benefits like companionship, help with daily tasks and extra support in case of an emergency.

Co-operative Housing (Co-ops)

Co-ops are legal associations that provide housing in return for a share in the maintenance or other tasks. Some co-ops cater specifically to seniors and may be seniors-only buildings.

Life Lease Housing

Religious or charitable organizations often operate this condominium-like option. Residents pay upfront and monthly fees for the right to live in the home for a specific period.

Supportive Housing

Supportive housing refers to independent apartments with access to services like housekeeping, personal support and healthcare available for free or at a reduced cost. Residents usually pay their own rent and any other living expenses.

Retirement Communities

These residences combine independent living with access to support and recreational facilities. They provide a community setting for active seniors.

Retirement Homes

Retirement homes are for-profit businesses that offer a full range of accommodations, services and healthcare support. The costs vary depending on the facilities and the level of service and support offered.

Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities

These are similar to retirement homes but are sometimes operated as not-for-profit residences by the federal government. They also offer a wider range of healthcare and support services for seniors with more demanding care needs.