For Love of Country: Military Policewoman www.silva.redigonda.ca

The next day I ran a mile and a half in fourteen minutes and five seconds. Was I dead! Our instructor told us that we would all pass the gym portion if it killed her. I think we all liked her. She made us laugh and treated us humanely. Wednesday was another rushed day with no time for myself. Thursday I had a haircut and was fingerprinted and photographs of me were taken. I felt good and wrote home. Friday I earned my pass to go out. Was I glad! I met a recruit by the name of Peter – not hard to look at. I had badly needed fun. We’d been so rushed all week, it was incredible to finally have a break. Saturday, I began the day by going to Canex, which is a store that military people use. It has everything one could need from groceries to stereo equipment. I went to get film developed. I had taken some pictures before leaving for the military and also when I arrived at the base. They turned out well. As I left the Canex, I paused at the barber shop. Many a young man would be sitting on the outside steps, crying after having his hair butchered. Young men with beautiful hair they would never see again; after the barber was finished, I couldn’t recognize them! I knew exactly how they felt and what their tears meant. I went to the bowling alley after that but couldn’t find Peter. I joined the bowling league and found I wasn’t doing badly. At home I considered bowling to be a bore and mainly for geeks. Here it was an excuse just to be out; we could almost be ourselves. I returned to the barracks at 8: 30 PM. It was becoming my home. I did the wash, ironed, and shined some shoes. I was glad to go to bed and sleep. It was Sunday the 27th of October. I went to church and saw Peter. I liked him. He was rubbing his knee against me, when he had the opportunity, which made me nervous, considering how everyone noticed everything. After that I didn’t get to sit next to him. Peter was confined to barracks (CB). He wasn’t allowed to go anywhere except church and to the mess for meals. Attending church seemed to upset me terribly. I felt like crying and wishing I could believe in God. I deduced the possibility that if there was a God, and I wanted to believe in one so much, then I should be able to, but since I could not believe, then God could not exist. Monday, I went to the Recreation (Rec) centre and saw Moose. We had started at the same time from Toronto. He was being released. I guess he couldn’t take it. He was with another recruit being released. I didn’t see Peter. That day I received a letter from home. My mom was worried about Granville. Granville would be our final testing ground. At drill, we were terrible. I saw Peter as I entered the class for first aid training. He was walking the opposite direction. I skipped PT (physical training) because my foot had swollen and proceeded to the hospital (MIR) to have it checked. A male recruit seated nearby kept staring at me and made the mistake of telling me how beautiful I was. I hadn’t felt beautiful since I was forced to cut my hair, and here in Cornwallis what they did to me would have caused my hairstylist to have an anxiety attack. I let the recruit know exactly what I thought of his comments. He did not speak to me again.

Excerpt From: Silva Redigonda. “For love of country : military policewoman.”

For Love of Country - Military Policewoman continues www.silvaredigonda.ca

I was looking forward to going out that night, but when inspected to see if I was suitably attired to leave the barracks, I was informed I was wearing too much makeup. Too much makeup consisted of some lipstick, so I was not permitted to leave. I ironed that night, while most of the other women went out. I awoke Sunday to find a light blanket of snow outside. I walked to church and socialized. One of the men I met, Tom, volunteered to shine a pair of boots for me. This would become routine. I was advised that if I was seen with the same male more than twice, I was considered his girlfriend. I decided to avoid that. I returned to my barracks, worked on my kit and wrote home. That afternoon we had a blizzard. A power failure occurred and left us with no electricity. It was a cold crisp day, but we had fun with all the changes. One of women told me that the others thought I was too wild. I couldn’t believe this place. Wild, I was not. That night we went to bed as nightfall approached because we still did not have electricity. The next day we were kept extremely busy. We were not given time to wash, go to the toilet, or smoke a cigarette. We immediately had three class periods of first aid instruction, followed by more drill, pool and gym. Thank goodness I had my Award of Merit, which gave me some time to rest. I found there was hardly time to breathe. There was certainly no time to study. My confidence grew as I totally immersed myself in the course. But I missed home so much. Excerpt From: Silva Redigonda. “For love of country : military policewoman.” www.silvaredigonda.ca (for your signed copy). Ebook is also available.

President Zelencskyy continues to keep me in awe as much as Putin does the opposite.

The Ukraine President is in Canada and we continue to support his country with weapons and equipment as all should. We cannot have Dictators try to take over democratic countries. During the first 500 days Putin had his people kill more than 9000 civilians and 500 children in Ukraine. This is what cowards do. They attack, maim and attempt to destroy the innocent. I fully support my country providing Ukraine all the help that they need to save their democracy and identity. As for Russia, you can do better than follow the actions of pure evil. I am so impressed that Zelencskyy has the strength to travel for support against Russia because he cannot do it on his own. All democratic countries must help. What a guy! Too bad Putin continues with this cruelty but can we expect anything else? Why he is still alive is beyond me. Zelencskyy received a deserved standing ovation. What does Putin deserve? Have a good weekend and pray for peace.

More of IA - University of Toronto Had to cut and paste. Article is at https://defygravitycampaign.utoronto.ca/news-and-stories/new-autonomous-lab

New autonomous lab at University of Toronto to improve drug formulation Aug 31, 2023 From left: PhD trainee Zeqing Bao, Professor Christine Allen, Allen Lab Director of Research and Partnerships Pauric Bannigan. Photo by Steve Southon. A new autonomous lab being built in the University of Toronto’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy will help to design and optimize formulations that will improve bioavailability, stability and efficacy of a variety of drugs. Christine Allen, a professor in the faculty whose research focuses on drug development and disease diagnostics, is co-leading the lab with Frank Gu, a professor in the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “I see huge potential for artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and automation in pharmaceutical sciences, for formulations and beyond,” says Allen, an expert in drug formulations. “The world is finally understanding the impact of formulation technology and how powerful it is. Now we can marry that technology with AI and machine learning, so we’re kind of unstoppable.” The impact of ‘self-driving’ labs The self-driving lab at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy is one of six being built at U of T through a $200-million Canada First Research Excellence Fund grant to the Acceleration Consortium, a global network of government, industry and academic researchers accelerating the discovery of materials and molecules needed for a sustainable future. The new facility is known as a ‘self-driving’ lab because it uses AI, automation and advanced computing to test different combinations of materials and iteratively develop the best formulations. This approach will allow researchers to evaluate a much larger number of materials, significantly reducing both the cost and time required to identify a new drug formulation. Allen explains that formulation scientists are often working under tight time constraints to get a product to market by deadline, and the final formulations are the best that can be done with the time available – but are not necessarily the best possible option. “We’re providing a solution to that – accelerating development while looking for the best formulation,” says Allen, whose team worked in collaboration with Professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik’s research group to develop a prototype of the self-driving lab last year. The world is finally understanding the impact of formulation technology and how powerful it is. Now we can marry that technology with AI and machine learning, so we’re kind of unstoppable. The future of pharmaceuticals Allen played a key role in launching the Acceleration Consortium during her time as associate vice-president and vice-provost, strategic initiatives. As a co-lead on the project, Gu is bringing his expertise in nanotechnology engineering to develop high-quality, precise formulations that use nanotechnology to improve the delivery, bioavailability and efficacy of drugs. “Nanotechnology engineering has revolutionized the pharmaceutical industry, and its potential applications in a self-driving lab are both imminent and paradigm-shifting,” Gu says. “By harnessing the power of nanotechnology in a self-driving lab for pharmaceutical formulations, my lab is working with Professor Allen’s team to unlock many advantages that will transform drug development, formulation, modular manufacturing and patient care.” A strong collaboration Allen says that the lab’s strong collaboration between pharmaceutical scientists and computer scientists also provides unique educational opportunities for trainees that will provide them with key skills needed for a career in the pharmaceutical industry. “The trainees are experts in both fields – this is where the future is going, and that to me is the power in all of this. It is true interdisciplinary collaboration,” Allen says. “The trainees are gaining knowledge, expertise and experience, and they are then able to secure exciting positions in industry and be leaders in the field.” Researchers say the self-driving lab will help the pharmaceutical industry improve efficiency in drug development and production. Photo by Steve Southon. Last year, Allen took a leave of absence from the university to take on a leadership role with adMare Bioinnovations, an organization that helps support Canadian life science companies and researchers. She has now returned to the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy full-time and brings back a wealth of new experience in entrepreneurship that she plans to apply to her research and the work of the Acceleration Consortium. To that end, Allen is also chairing the Acceleration Consortium’s committee on commercialization and partnerships, and is also developing a graduate course in innovation and entrepreneurship. Improving patient outcomes With the lab’s focus on translational research and commercialization, both Allen and Gu are excited about its potential to generate new formulations that will ultimately improve patient outcomes. “The self-driving lab is the most cutting-edge technology to help the pharmaceutical industry to drive toward digitization, automation and ultimately improve efficiency in product development and production,” Gu says. “With its unique capability in bridging automation and iterative discovery process, it is also the key to helping us accelerate the development and production of personalized medicines, which is prohibitively expensive and labour-intensive to be done today.” By Eileen Hoftyzer Explore related campaign priorities: Drive scientific discovery Enable healthy lives

Eschatology notes continues (Theology)

Ernst Block 1885- 1977::::Life long Atheist of Jewish descent influenced Marxist. Third Reich - notion of three ages. Age of Father, Age of Son and age of Holy Spirit. This was picked up by the Nazis. “Principle of Hope” - after the war, Block returned to Germany but was not welcomed there. His philosophy is that hope reveals the hope is human existing of being on the way. A future that not yet existing - we wouldn’t hope for something if we didn’t miss something. Hope is not yet P. We are not complete yet. S is not yet P. This incompleteness is that humanity wants to reach its true essence. Two points for Block: Hope can bring about justice. Injustice is examined and looked at how it can be. Hopes it can be different. Second - Hope can enable people to resignation. When Marx said religion is the opiate of the people. Fall of the Iron Curtain - Two type - 1. Hope - helpful - change 2. Also enable complacency Christians hope only God’s grace can bring eschatology reality for all. Based on Longarian thought - Inverse insight - Two men run into bear, third one dies. Marcel distinguishes between absolute hope and is specific - Up to God or up to us. To be continued with Hurmaneutics

What have I been up to? A few weeks in my life aside from work.

As usual I have been busy. Let’s begin with the last long weekend. I made sure to only relax and spend most of my time with Mr Attitude. He was in his glory. I read all the books I had bought and mentioned to you while watching mostly American planes give me a show from my backyard. I don’t know how, but I missed going to the Exhibition this year. I was watching the news and decided it was too late to go as it was super crowded. Last year wasn’t bad, but I also went during the weekday. I need to plan it next year. So, I told you I would let you know about the books ———. Well there was the one I mentioned who believed she died for four days and I thought she made a mistake. She didn’t. She really believes she was dead for four days which is simply not possible. Nada………How the book got published is beyond me. My publisher would take a fit and say bye, bye. I wouldn’t blame her. Now, this writer believes that while she was dead, Jesus was reading a quotation from the bible. I have a bit of a problem seeing Jesus reading from any book, religious or not. On the other hand she suffered greatly from brain tumours and I am pleased that she has recovered. I found that the book had many quotes from her bible and it is one of the few times, I could not read such passages. I placed the book in the recycling bin at my gym. It is still there. I also read, Over The Wall by Fatima Gould. I met this pleasant author and remarkable woman and do recommend the book. This is the woman, born in Canada and leaving to spend the first eight years elsewhere, to return home and feel racism for the first time. It is well worth reading. It may be a bit raunchy for high school for a small portion of the book, but otherwise very instructive regarding racism and harsh family life. The last book I read was Finding My Voice, Standing Against Racism by W. Nadine White. This book was very interesting as well. The experiences this woman has had, I have heard before. She sued The City of Toronto but in my opinion should have gotten a lot more money. I have been informed by another who successfully sued the City of Toronto where he worked and I have to wonder why is this happening in the City which should be up to date regarding work ethics, racism etc……What is going on? Get with the program. These are our tax dollars. Obviously not enough money is invested in educating employees not to discriminate. It is not the first time that I have heard about black women in positions of authority being complained about and people saying that they are scared of them. Black powerful women are just that and there is nothing to be scared about. That is called prejudice (pre-judging). When I was a young woman it was my gender being attacked. How can a woman do a man’s job? She can’t be a woman, must be gay etc……Of course I worked with great men but boy a few can make your life miserable. I believe I mention that in my own bio For Love of Country Military Policewoman, www.silvaredigonda.ca I haven’t read the elderly man’s book yet (which we traded. I gave him Hey Guy Buy Me). I needed a rest from the suffering these author’s went through. My work is based on the suffering of others and for self care, I spend a lot of time on me, me, me. Another thing I was reading about is how so many women think they are unattractive (this applies to men as well). Last night I was watching Big Brother. Now, I stopped watching Big Brother, Canada and continue with the original American one. I like it better and have not examined why. The Amazing Race I like equally Canadian and American, but Big Brother Canada, for some reason doesn’t do it for me. Last night a woman is telling another how she felt about her looks and it resonated with the other woman. I believe I read that in my books as well. Low self esteem is something I work with, I remember asking one person who she would like to be like, and she said, like me (meaning me). I normally tell my clients to surround themselves with positive people and to re-examine their relationships and how it can improve. If people are berating you, especially your appearance is that healthy for you? I also suggest for people who think they are ugly and have ugly bodies to strip down to nothing, and to look at their reflection, and then to tell themselves they are beautiful and to do that every day. You may not be able to do it for more than one second and that is ok. Try to do it a bit more each day. Remember it took a while to make you feel as low as you do about your self, so give it time. I have found that this works. As for me, well I didn’t have to study this. I even blow kisses to myself. We have to love ourselves people, nothing wrong with that. Enough, of this. Remember I bought a new (old) car because I had to drive out of the city for an important bridal shower? Now, if it was a Jack and Jill I could have just brought a date, but no it was for women only, so I decided that I had to go. Well, it took me three hours to get there. Why? My GPS has attitude and it sent me to the wrong places. I didn’t even know it was the GPS until I asked it to bring me home and it decided to give me the tour. I only know that I was so tired and even though I passed some nice restaurants, I kept driving because I would not want to get back into my car. I came home exhausted. The Shower was held at The Tea House at Hwy 11 and 5 Side Road. I found 5 Side Road but it was somewhere West of location where I was supposed to be (I didn’t know it at the time). I tried to ask the cows and then horses where I was. I really was in the middle of nowhere. I ended up at “Road Closed” and that is when I made my first phone call. How do you tell people where you are, when you don’t know yourself? After that I stopped people who were driving and asking them where this place was - Oro Station. No one knew. I found a Roti food van (probably from Toronto) stopped on the road and he tried to help me by getting the passenger to check his cell phone, but nothing. I stopped to ask about 15 people. About three told me, it was complicated. One told me she knew where Toronto is. Did you see my sign that states “bang head here”. I posted it in the past. It was given to me by a friend who used to work with the Toronto Police. I had and used it at two of my careers. It was kept on the door of my locker which came in handy after certain days or encounters. However, I don’t have one in my car. Also, when I was driving on the highway, I saw my little Fiat driving beside me and I thought how ridiculous that I am in this big SUV when I would rather be closer to the ground. Come on manufacturers make more smaller cars - think of the environment please. Yeah right, they care. I am trying here. Anyhow, I get out of my car when I am at a crossroad in the middle of nowhere and wave at the first car, I am able to raise my arms to. I think he is going to drive through, but no this handsome young blond hair blue eyed man parks his vehicle and runs over to rescue me. Yes!!!!!!! He knows where I am and he knows where I am going. He tells me that my car is parked in the right direction and what I have to do is pass several places, and then drive under the underpass and turn left at the church. I was rescued by the Church. I turn left and yes, I am on the highway. I see side road one and then two and then I finally see 5. Yup, I turn off and there is the Tea House, right there. If I had blinked, I would have missed it. It is right there. There is lots of parking which I always marvel at. I enter the house and see people I know and love. Boy, what an adventure it has been. Now, if this Tea House was closer to me, I would be a frequent flyer. It is an old house and the hostess and her servers are very friendly and accommodating. I ask for coffee and they make it for me. I am sitting with three people I know and who are family. They have left me my share of sandwiches and scone with cream and jam. I am in my happy place. I love high tea which is getting harder to find, because they are trying to make it high end and I just want a basic high tea. I spend a few hours there before dreading the return. I had a good time. That night I get a well deserved good sleep to be ready for the next day. I am getting back into the work mode while balancing my life. And how was your week? Good talk. (PS - there is still the wedding).

Article from York University cut and pasted here. Shared on my facebook, linkedin and X. Could not seem to share here.

MARKUS GIESLER A Bot Aced My Homework How ChatGPT is impacting the academic experience BY SHARON ASCHAIEK RELEASED LAST NOVEMBER, ChatGPT can compose essays and news releases, research subjects, suggest story ideas, even have philosophical conversations and debug computer code. Make a request, and it scans the web for relevant information and, using what it has learned from training data, almost instantly generates a response that is usually on topic and well-drafted. But don’t be alarmed. While the artificial intelligence tool can write, research and “converse” in surprisingly human ways, it can’t replace the “valuable components of a well-rounded education.” That’s what the bot says when pointedly asked if its very existence will threaten critical thinking and problem-solving at the university level. “I see myself,” it continues, “as a complementary tool that can enhance learning, but not as a replacement for it.” But can we believe that? Since ChatGPT lacks common sense and emotional intelligence (and also can’t understand the subtleties of context and humour) the tool sometimes gives inaccurate answers. Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said as much in a tweet posted last December: “It’s a mistake to be relying on it for anything important right now. It’s a preview of progress; we have lots of work to do on robustness and truthfulness.” Not the most encouraging of words, and yet here we are – with a chatbot that’s got many in academe rethinking what they do. Pina D’Agostino smiling, standing Pina D’Agostino As a tool that is incredibly helpful for students to use – and misuse – in their academic work, it’s compelling university professors and administrators to consider how to both leverage its educational value and hedge against cheating. “People are stressed out about it … and very concerned about what it might do for their assessment practices,” says Robin Sutherland-Harris, an educational developer at York’s Teaching Commons. It’s not exhaustive, and it’s never going to replace someone actually doing the work Within only two months of its launch, ChatGPT reached a record-setting 100 million monthly users; it took TikTok nine months to achieve that number. Because it can continuously learn from new queries it receives, ChatGPT is getting “smarter,” meaning it’s increasingly able to produce meaningful results. GPT-4, the tool’s latest iteration, was touted by OpenAI as being 60 per cent less likely to give false information. “We need to adapt and innovate, because the technology’s not going to stop,” says Osgoode Hall law Professor Pina D’Agostino (BA ’96; LLB ’99), who co-directs York’s Centre for AI and Society. As a research and writing tool, ChatGPT “is a good start,” adds D’Agostino, who was recently named as vice-director of Connected Minds: Neural and Machine Systems for a Healthy, Just Society, a $318-million research project focused on AI. “But it’s not exhaustive, and it’s never going to replace someone actually doing the work.” Creating and enforcing rules around students’ use of ChatGPT is happening in real time as York navigates the current Wild West terrain of advanced AI. The University now has a webpage on AI technology and academic integrity that includes advice for instructors, including instructing students that unauthorized use of ChatGPT or similar platforms in assessments is a breach of academic honesty. It also touches on teaching and learning suggestions and the detecting of AI-generated content in student work, and shares links to relevant resources. Recently, York went a step further in these efforts by holding a professional development event on ChatGPT’s capabilities, limitations and educational uses. Organized by Sutherland-Harris with Angela Clark, academic integrity officer in the Office of the Vice-Provost Academic, the event was held in response to an influx of questions from faculty members across the institution. Because of the unevenness of the landscape … people need to be very clear about what the expectations are for their students It included a two-hour panel discussion involving computer science Professor Marcus A. Brubaker of the Lassonde School of Engineering and sava saheli singh, a professor of digital futures in the Faculty of Education. Ideas for how to use ChatGPT to improve student experience at York animated the session, yielding new approaches for giving assignments, for instance, and essay writing. One suggestion was to ask students to develop thoughtful, well-informed prompts for ChatGPT that could yield a high-quality response, then assess it for accuracy and completeness. Another was to get students to generate alternate views to an essay argument, which would give them useful starting points for further exploration. University policy will need to keep evolving to provide clarity and align with the school’s code of conduct. “Because of the unevenness of the landscape … people need to be very clear about what the expectations are for their students course by course, and not just put it in the syllabus and assume people will read it, but talk about it, you know, really drive it home,” Sutherland-Harris says. Markus Giesler, a professor of marketing at the Schulich School of Business, researches the impact of new technologies on consumer behaviour. He says it’s important for the sector to consider the broader social implications of this innovation. “The product itself is not a technologically neutral or objective thing, but something that has built into it certain patterns of power relation,” says Giesler, co-author of the 2020 study “Consumers and Artificial Intelligence: An Experiential Perspective,” which identified the need for guidelines around AI and ethics in marketing. A higher education world within which only the privileged students get the real human educator, whereas the less privileged students get the chatbot, is a kind of world that I would not want As consumer-facing AI continues to become better at performing tasks that were once viewed as distinctly human, Giesler says universities may face more complex issues of access and equality. “It’s actually not that far-fetched to assume that professions that are mainly about storytelling, truth seeking and articulation of language and fact could in the future be done by artificial intelligence,” he adds. “My concern is that a higher education world within which only the privileged students get the real human educator, whereas the less privileged students get the chatbot, is a kind of world that I would not want.” To support students in producing original work, Professor D’Agostino recommends that course syllabi now include information on the strengths and weaknesses of ChatGPT, and how to properly cite the information it provides when used for academic assignments. She also sees a need to balance writing assignments with oral presentations and exams, so that students can develop their public speaking skills at a time when technology is infiltrating other spheres of their lives. “We have to become better at evaluating students, helping them produce authentic work, and training them to be critical thinkers,” D’Agostino says. “But at the same time, there needs to be regulations and rules in place … and our core values need to remain solid.” ■ Share this Story