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

Nazi Uniform selling for 6,500 pulled from antique mall in Ontario

I posted the link but for some reason I cannot see it, so I will just talk about it. I read the caption on the news this morning. I had to look it up and was amazed that it is in the town of St Jacobs. If you recall, I posted a picture of a horse and buggy when I was there. The link is https://globalnews.ca/news/9929039/nazi-uniform-ontario-antique-market. Now apparently this is the second time the town wanted to sell a Nazi item. It was at a different store in 2015. I for one will never step into this store. I am not a Jew, however, I have visited some camps which should remain erect so that we can recognize and feel the horrors of what happened. I mention how the tears kept flowing without me crying in my bio. www.silvaredigonda.ca Perhaps we need to make it law that only Holocast museums/organizations should have these items for educational purposes. Why would anyone want to spend 6,500 for this? I can just imagine. However, the storekeeper meant no harm. I for one, will never, ever walk into that antique shop. That is just me. I find it disturbing that anyone thinks this is ok, making profit of what has hurt so many people. History cannot be obliterated, I believe the shop keeper indicated. I agree. However, this is a different topic. This is making a profit from that history that killed so many people. See the difference? Of course one will say anything to justify actions. St Jacob's is a pretty town. Let's keep it pretty in spirit as well. We need to stomp out all this Nazism, white supremacy nonsence at the root, because this is still going on. St Jacobs is a tourist town. It should remember that. What do you think?

Writers Corner Authors Event - Up, Close and Personal - Meet your local Author

I had a real nice time. I bought more books than I sold because we really got close and personal. The Coptic Church I went to is breathtaking. I had never been in one before. There was an enormous amount of free parking which I just don’t see in Toronto. We were spaciously held in an elegant ballroom and were provided with beautiful white linen covered tables. I had brought my own but kept it in my box. I didn’t want to stand apart from the group. We were provided with what I thought was a money bag and water bottle. The money bag turned out to be an ice carrier for food which I will use. I haven’t figured out the water bottle option yet. I may use it as a pasta container. It had been awhile since I utilized my poster stand on my own and I received a nasty cut which wouldn’t stop bleeding. A wonderful author came rushing to me and took over the assembly while I stared at my red blood oozing from my finger. I was surprised it didn’t cause me pain. It is healing nicely, thank you. In case you didn’t know, I am a wimp. Ouchies are not for me. I was wondering if I still looked like my picture since I am now a blond. It seemed to work. People as always are enchanted with Holy Terror’s picture and I still miss her everyday. I have an image of her purring and my kissing her as I nod for the vet to euthanize her, the vet telling me that this was a peaceful death. What I didn’t share with you is that the next night, I woke up suddenly at night to a yellow glow at a corner in my bedroom. I raised myself to try to determine where the light was coming from. I couldn’t figure it out. However, I was overcome with sleep and set myself back down. I like to think that God let Holy Terror see me. She was such a beautiful gift to me and to think they were going to put her down if I did not adopt her, is mystifying. These are people who are supposed to be protecting animals. She was the sweetest, cutest animal. Wait, I remember one day when she was looking down at me from on top of the sofa and suddenly dropped right on my stomach. I bent over in pain, but she is so cute, I couldn’t even get mad. She didn’t do it again within the 20 years I had her. Animals are such a gift to us. We need to do a better job at protecting them. Ok, back to the event. We were informed that we can go up to the podium and talk about our books which is why I bought more books than I sold. What I heard was the hardship that racism has caused them and now they were telling their stories. One talked about dying and coming back so I had to buy her book though she could not have been dead as long as she said she was. That would be impossible. She also had a brain tumour which has completely healed so I cannot wait to read her book. Another talked about being born in Canada and then going to the Caribbean for eight years. I was stunned to hear about the racism she experienced from white children in school when she returned. What is wrong with our school system? She shared more with me when I bought her book, but I don’t know if it is in the book, so I won’t share it with you. I was told by the organizer that I was next. I didn’t intend to speak, not because I am shy but I didn’t want to intrude because I am from Toronto and I was in Mississauga and I was on their turf. I went up and gave them some info on my books. I also shared that I was a Registered Psychotherapist and Registered Marriage and Family Therapist and that I had completed one Internship in Mississauga working with women who were financially, emotionally, sexually and physically abused. I may have forgotten to say physically abused. There are so many ways to abuse. So I said it was like coming home. And it was. I began to think of these amazing women who suffered so much at the hands of their husbands all new to Canada. Some were able to leave their husbands. We need to do a better job of helping immigrant women when they come to Canada. They need to understand that they are no longer the property of their husbands. They need to know that they are protected here and can have their own agency. We also have to monitor the agencies who are there to protect them. They need to know how to be ethical. I remember one person who did not want to go to court to testify against her husband for her own abuse. I told her she didn’t have to. She had been told that she had to and she was terrified. Another time, one young pregnant woman wanted to see me and I agreed. However, she had been informed she needed to go to another location though she lived across the street. I did fight for her, but lost. After all I was an Intern. I was told that her English wasn’t good and she would need someone to help her in her own language. Her English was fine. I didn’t like the politics but I am glad that my supervisor encouraged me to stay because I did help a lot of women who really needed it. I learned so much - amazing women with so much courage, they didn’t realize they had. To those of these countries where men dominate women, you lose so much in your hatred. Now I am hearing how certain men will not let women out of their sight at medical facilities. We cannot tolerate this. Do we want these type of men walking amongst us? Ok, back from memory lane and into the ballroom we go. I had two men approach me who were interested in me as a Veteran. This always happens. One was a delightful Italian man who was in World War Two, in Italy. He had a mischievous smile and told me how he came to Canada after the war, went to University and became a teacher. He raised his hand, indicating he would be back and returned with a book. “Do you know why I returned with this book?” I said no because he was actually asking me. He had forgotten. He asked me if I wanted his book. “Would you like me to buy it?” I asked quite prepared to do so. He wanted me to have it, still not sure why. In turn I gave him a copy of Hey Guy Buy Me. Why not? He will be the oldest man who has read the book. Another man had fought in Nigeria. He said he had to protect his country. I nodded understanding the horrors that occur. Lunch came and the patties were wonderful. They were bought at the Scarborough Town Centre. I bought two and I didn’t have to worry about the spice. I could have had them spicier. I later bought two more which is now in my freezer. We all shared our stories and at the end of the day I left, knowing I had met some amazing people and would look forward to seeing them again. Apparently, “important people” were invited but they were too busy. I presume they were politicians and them not attending is their loss. I must say that in Toronto, regardless of how busy they are, politicians usually do show up or have a representative do that. I see politicians everywhere at events in Toronto and you know, that is a good thing. When I went to the bathroom there was another section where people were crying - a funeral. Wow - What a place! Well, I had a lovely day and though there wasn’t much of the public coming in droves, it was a nice day with fellow writers with dreams and lives shared. What do you think?

Why not visit me this weekend? Think of me as your local author, where ever that may be.

Writers Corner - IA and come and meet me

Hi, You know it is one thing when other people cannot read your notes but I cannot read my notes. I attended a webinar hosted by Indiana but I am not sure of the name of the city. It can be Speisl City or Speed City or is it even a city? Anyhow, there was a panel of five men and one woman. One of the speakers is a privacy lawyer from San Francisco. I believe his name is Reeco Hurch or it’s pretty close. This is what happens when I wait too long to share my notes. Anyhow, Indiana is a pretty serious bunch. Perhaps it was the topic. Perhaps they weren’t serious at all and I was just the silly one. This is what the question was. What would we expect from IA in the future, which was probably a rhetorical question but I couldn’t help myself and typed out the perfect man in the chat box. No laughter, chuckles, clapping hands or hearts. No sireeee. There was another speaker with degrees in psychology and computers who said he was going to read all the comments in the chat. Maybe he will chuckle or not. Ok, here is the serious stuff, what is coming is disruptive change (silly me; I thought it was already here. Anyone listen to the news lately?) One speaker said that there are phoney adds with voices of prominent people. They talked about GPT(3.5) and it was suggested we spend time with it to see what’s possible. There are already law suits from writers for copy writing works used to train AI. We were provided with an example of how GPT can can be used. He suggested to the IA that it types out 200 words regarding a short story and he offered some advice to it. Boy, did we ever get a good story. Of course I cannot keep my mouth shut and wrote out “he can write better than I do.” No chuckles. There were some gasps I believe because writers are becoming worried. Anyhow, the US Copyright Office has declared in their policy statement that if work contains material generated by AI, they will not issue a copyright (good stuff. I hope we wake up and smell the coffee too, when we are finished putting out all the fires here). Another suggested we ask for an obituary of ourselves which should let us know if we are famous (I am not famous, but I could ask for an obituary and check it out. I had to write one in a creative writing class I took to get a break from psychology. I think it was pretty good. I can see if I am famous enough for one to determine if it is better than mine. Of course it would be. GBT is equal to 100 million books (how do you like them apples?) One of the benefits was explained, research. However, it may not be accurate. Care for an illustration? A reporter was having a conversation with IA and IA told him to leave his wife. There was talk about lawyers using IA for a brief and they had the wrong information at court (looks like IA made the lawyers look bad). Another spoke of an independent author who included that her story was 100 % human (maybe I will include that in my next poster). One person complained about students using it to submit essays. The professor figured it out since the similarities was obvious. That professor was happy he was retiring because he didn’t want to deal with that and I believe he was taking essays off his course. What would I do? Well, first I would warn them at the time of the assignments and then if that happened I would give them a zero! Why punish everyone for a few or more? Another speaker asked rhetorically, how do we regulate it? What I didn’t like and it is a concern is that there is Fraud GPT to help fraudsters. In the past I could usually tell who they were because their grammar was so poor or it was obvious they were trying to make it poor ( that happened just a week or so ago). However, I did receive an email from someone who I believe was a fraudster stating she was a student. Now, I have always went out of my way for students but this may change things. I will have to adapt. Anyhow, I have mentioned that I asked Alexa my home AI, if AI was going to take over humans. She assured me she only wants to help. I asked her today if Kneau Reeves would go out with me. She said she wasn’t sure about that. Oh well. That would be too complicated anyway. So, what does GPT mean? I looked it up on google - Generative Pre-trained transformer. Ok, that is enough about this workshop. I did receive an email from Canada stating they wouldn’t be using zoom anymore because they were asked if IA could listen for information. This is why I use a secure platform. Another thing of concern from the psychotherapy side of the house, is the use of IA for clients. That is a big concern and my advice is don’t ever consider it. Your information will not be safe. Apparently people are more drawn to IA faces than to real people so don’t get caught up on that. So, that is all about IA for now. I may talk about IA in my next book. I keep thinking of what I am going to write about and keep changing it. This will be different from the rest of my books because I will include psychotherapy etc….This is because people always ask me to write about that - write what you know……………I do people. However, this time if I include IA, I shall be over my head and if it is over yours as well, it may just work out. So that is all for now. Please come and visit me this Saturday 26 Aug 23, at the Canadian Coptic Centre (Trinity Hall) at 1245 Eglinton Avenue West in Mississauga. There will be spicy tacos for sale and coffee. That should be all I need. I take my coffee black just in case someone who likes me comes. It is “Up close and Personal with your local Author”. I am local if you think of Mississauga being part of the Greater Toronto Area. The host is a writer herself (Olive Rose Steele) and I am grateful, she is letting me go. Please come and visit me and buy a book if you are so inclined, or just come and talk. I will be sending out a reminder Friday. Bye for now.

For Love Of Country - Military Policewoman www.silvaredigonda.ca (Meet your local author the following Saturday reminder) I will be selling my books at the Coptic Center in Mississauga

Friday, we began the day at the dental clinic, where we were instructed by a dentist about personal oral hygiene. Our teeth were checked and x-rayed. Then we experienced another kind of “drill” for the first time. We learned how to stand at “attention,” a rigid stance, and how to stand “at ease,” which is an informal, yet military way of standing more relaxed. We also learned various steps to march. Later that day we had a swimming class. Because I had been a lifeguard and held my Award of Merit, I was detailed to be the lifeguard. This would be my position for the duration of the course. We were rushed from class to class. Men working at the construction sites openly peered at us through the change room windows which weren’t covered, yet nothing was done about it. The female instructors continued to holler at us to hurry, while occasionally looking out at the men watching us. This would also become routine. The day ended with an hour allotted with the Padre. He was a priest and a Captain. This was the best part of the day. He told us to be strong and not to cry and continuously embarrassed our Corporal. Saturday, October 19, I received a letter from home informing me that a distant cousin whom we liked had died. I mailed a sympathy card to his wife immediately. Jess had been a gentle and kind man. I spent several summer weeks during the school holidays with his family in Woodstock, Ontario, enjoying each day to the fullest. The rest of the day was spent working on my kit. I was happy it was a weekend because it gave me the opportunity not to rush. The women were becoming tense and frustrated. The gossip was unbelievable and accidentally bumping into someone could cause a cruel confrontation. They were tearing each other apart. I found that some women were extremely masculine while others were very feminine. The masculine women were tougher and would automatically defend the latter. I decided to become the latter and avoid any unnecessary confrontations. By being silent, I could avoid fighting. It was interesting because I was normally quite assertive and self reliant, but I never had to deal with these types of aggressive women before. 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. Excerpt From: Silva Redigonda. “For love of country : military policewoman.