Copilot

 Working with Copilot yesterday was most interesting and I separated my large table into the four grandparent components although I did not do a complete separation as I wanted to see the results. They were pretty much as expected. A good separation with regard to the four names. A reasonable number in each grouping as anticipated. I could sort to get the entire table back into its numerical run and thus reproduce on a grandparent level the original chart. I could have asked Copilot to do that at the end if I so desired. I did not have it place the Knight family into this chart and will need to do that. It always picked up every incidence of Blake as I worked on Blake first (in the Greatgrandparent category). I could have written a python programme as well and will work with that methodology also. Did it save me a lot of time? Probably but the manual items that needed to be done have to be fed in one line at a time although you could do it as a long list of statements at the beginning possibly. Will have to look at that. I do need to do more work with Copilot in this regard. 

A good exercise day with my usual yoga and calisthenics in the morning followed by a run before lunch and then weightlifting in the  afternoon and a lovely walk on the beach after dinner. A most pleasant day although we had a fierce thunder storm later in the evening. 

Sunday and Church is beginning (I ended up switching to the Church online in England as I was not picking up my own Church here). God is with us always waiting and watching for us to do the one item other than loving God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind. That other part that Jesus brought to us from God is loving our neighbour as ourself which really is about respect for sure. 

Solitaire puzzles later as the day escapes me today.  

I often do agree with Conrad Black

" Last week ..... we [Conrad Black writing about his conversation shared with his readers that he had with Stephen Jarislowsky]  had a most amicable conversation on the somewhat distressing subject of the current political condition of this country. We agreed that I would write it up. We think our greatest national problems are that governments as a whole employ 4.6-million Canadians, 25 per cent of the entire workforce, an unsustainable burden, and that the first one-third of these people to reach retirement age and full pension eligibility should simply not be replaced. The compensation of the remaining government employees could then be somewhat increased: as in the private sector, fewer, better-paid jobs, with everyone eligible for full pension benefits.

Our second point is that both corporate and income taxes have to be reduced to below United States levels to compete successfully for investment dollars. To be eligible for government assistance, universities must devote themselves to producing a great majority of graduates who will be capable of earning an income in the field of their specialty, and skilled trades should be elevated to the socio-intellectual status of university disciplines: we need plumbers and electricians more than gender studies and decolonization experts. The demarcation of federal and provincial jurisdiction should be clarified, duplication avoided, and Canada should finally become a domestic common market. With reasonable care for the environment, we must exploit and export to the world our natural resources, and outgrow neurotic fixations on fictional climate horror stories. Stephen and I agreed that whoever advances these points will quickly lead this country to the position of admired success in the world that it rightly aspires to and can certainly attain. "

Thank you once again Conrad Black for an exceedingly interesting editorial in the National Post. I could not agree with him  more particularly on the role of trades in our society; their importance is the gift that will bring us to the prosperity that is the promise of Canada. 

Yesterday another busy day and the car is all vacuumed and dusted and the windows shinning. Then we took it through the car wash to complete the task. My husband did all these things in the past and every day one is reminded of how much a part of our lives was lost to us but we remember him every day so he is never forgotten. That was his greatest wish I think because his own father appeared to be forgotten; lost to him when Edward was just two years of age but he lived a full life doing all the things that he wanted to do except for following through on his childhood desire to be a Scientist working in the field of Chemistry. But Edward served his country very well working at CISTI in the National Research Council for thirty years. 

Today is a work day and I do hope to finally get to my file that I want to apply AI to in order to look at some interesting details that I have in the accompanying word files that match up with these particular results in the large excel file. The questions are somewhat jelled in my mind and I am ready to begin this very interesting task. 

A beautiful sunny day full of promise with just a slight breeze in the trees. God is with us always waiting and watching for His world to live the right kind of life. Love they neighbour as thyself. It was all that He asked us to do. The Creator waits for us to do the right thing. 

Solitaire puzzles next.  

 

 

Another sunny day

A beautiful sunny day today and I shall vacuum the car later and the trap for the dryer just to really get summer going. Our car is now seven years old and has less than 33,000 kilometres on it (about  20,500 miles) and my husband put the first 10,000 on in just one year, 8,000 the next year and 5,000 kilometres the year following before he became too ill to drive. Then I went to Florida with my children one time and that was another 6000 kilometres. It took another three years to reach 33,000 kilometres so less than 1000 kilometres per year. Amazing really as it looks almost new but a quick glance tells one that this is a nearly seven year old car. 

I was contemplating how one regards Canada in the world scene. We are different from every other country I think. The original inhabitants being the First Nations and they were mobile except perhaps for the Inuit who lived mostly in the north east of Canada I think (they were probably the first new Colonials for thousands of years as even at this time we can not place a time for arrival of the First Nations here). I must admit the archaeological digs become more and more fascinating as they are uncovered. The mobility for the First Nations was a north to south to north to south movement over the year (I believe a number of the First Nations lived constantly in the south of the North American portion of the continent) for the warmer climes during the long winter and returning to the great hunting, fishing and growing areas in the spring, summer and into fall. That has changed with there being a permanent border now across North America (two actually - Canada/United States and United States/Mexico). However Jay's Treaty 1794 guarantees the right of movement to First Nations between Canada and the United States. Canada does not see its history in quite the same way as other countries in the Western Hemisphere. It is a colonial happening with the intent that the colonialists and the First Nations were using the land in a Canadian way. The Treaties following Confederation in 1867 are similar to the system of land holding in the United Kingdom in that payment was made for the use of lands particularly acquired via the transfer of Rupert's Land to the Dominion of Canada as seen in the Treaties (I am not knowledgeable on these treaties to understand completely how they work). These lands continue to be part of Canada although purchasing in the normal way (again like the system of land holding in the United Kingdom) gave one the right to own it under the law, sell it under the law or pass it on to one's rightful heirs but the land always remains Canadian and can not be taken out of Canada as is claimed by separatist groups. If Canada itself and also the First Nations are willing to sell land (and both must be in agreement) then that is a process but the cost will be in the trillions for any provincial land purchase and probably even into the hundreds of trillions as this land is very profitable. The idea of the Founders of Confederation was to maintain the lands that we call Canada and originally was Turtle Island as named by the First Nations in order to benefit all Canadians. Alberta in particular has the highest salaries overall in Canada so they have done well as immigrants to come to a country mostly empty-handed where they end up having the highest salaries but still the sharing of the wealth in every province is the underpinning of Confederation. Looking at it purely in the humanitarian way one would expect that everyone would benefit from the profits of the lands of Canada. Education is the key in all of this and the more education the better (both trade/technical and academic - I place academic in third these days because our need for trades and technology is much greater than pure academia) everyone is able to utilize the best that this country has to offer. 

This idea that conquering a nation leads to a permanent change in the ownership is false really around the world as most countries with their original hunter gatherer populations are still existing some remaining basically in the same areas when one looks at the Y-DNA that has now been tested around the world (lots of movement in Europe and elsewhere but the persistence of older y-DNA continues). y-DNA predicts that Homo sapiens arose in Africa and moved out sequentially to the Middle East and the possibility that it also moved to the Western Hemisphere is being tossed about once again (perhaps this group was swamped by a much larger group arriving from Asia via the Pacific which is becoming better understood). 

We can only roughly predict what the world looked like during the most advanced Ice Ages which bared islands on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. If Asians could cross the Pacific which is much wider than the Atlantic thousands and thousands of years ago so could the Atlantic have been crossed. After all there has been known fishing in the Grand Banks area off Newfoundland/Nova Scotia (Canada) from Viking days onward (before 1000 CE). I do find it interesting that Neanderthal and Denisovan are absent in the Americas with the First Nations implying that their presence in the Western Hemisphere may be much further back than has been mentioned. My own lines have principally been in the British Isles in all lines except for Huguenot coming in the late 1400s from France to Somerset but yet we carry both Neanderthal and Denisovan in our autosomal DNA suggesting a European connection so perhaps the dividing line between the Western Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere original Hunter Gather populations is much greater than has been suggested although recent archaeological digs are now hinting at more than 100,000 years ago for the first settlements in the Western Hemisphere which takes us way back before the Last Ice Age and only gradually are we learning more and more about earth and how it existed in those earlier times. Yet another reason to listen carefully to our First Nations who carry those early stories in their story telling and they are very very important for everyone's survival. Listening to my grandfather's stories passed to him by his parents and probably other relatives (he appears to be related to half the people in Upper Clatford in the 1800s!) opened my eyes to so many things. At the time I just listened but then internet became available and I discovered this wasn't just a very elderly person talking it was someone passing on to me the stories of the deep past that were shared by many in the British Isles. 

Looking at my own Blake line stretching back into the Western Hunter Gatherer period in the British Isles and they still persist in the British Isles! That is a personal look at yDNA but I can find other Hunter Gatherer results in the various databases showing that Blake is not the only line that traces back so far into the past in that area of Hampshire which is quite fertile and beautiful to behold. Europe itself has not changed a great deal from a y-DNA viewpoint with many results stretching back through the eons of time showing locations of early Hunter Gatherer presence even today. There is also movement but historically people who move because of friction in their native country often return eventually to that native country when peace returns. Already my autosomal contribution to grandchildren down to 25% or less or slightly more and each generation will cut that finer and finer but they carry the autosomal contribution of two Hunter Gather populations from the Western and the Eastern hemisphere and certainly a huge migrant population autosomal presence in the United States from their grandfather Edward commencing in the early 1600s from The Netherlands/Germany and later France, Sweden and the British Isles. 

A fun time looking at Y-DNA but must get back to working on the things I plan to do today. The British Isles is perhaps like Canada in that movement from the continent to the British Isles particularly England was constant through this Common Era so perhaps Canada will retain its very interesting assortment of individuals particularly from the British Isles/France and later Europe and the rest of the world on into the centuries. But history suggests that many recent colonials return to their original countries over time if they have left because of wars/hard times. But it is this mixing of the autosomal DNA that protects Homo sapiens from abrupt decline which is what happened to the earlier Homo species. Nature will always choose the best route most times or it will abort spontaneously a bad combination but if the best route is the best of two weaknesses then that is a disaster for populations which become too close in cousin-ship to maintain a healthy population. Interesting this was well known to many populations in the past as one notes how they chose their partner to create a family. 

Must do the solitaire puzzles. 

 

 

Cleaning accomplished

Thursday is always a calming day although I did wake up early. The cleaning is all done and my research is ahead of me with four days until cleaning begins again. The routine is interesting and keeps me on track. 

The AI will be interesting working away on my large excel file and today I will split it into the four grandparent lines and see what I can note of interest in the Blake file in particular. There are a couple of old lines in there that are interesting and of greater interest are the Living DNA matches that fit in there as well with people living in the British Isles and Australia as most of these lines are in the United States with early English Colonial ancestry. Linking them to the Andover Blake family is possible in some cases but dependent on other people's trees so will be cautious. 

The weather has been beautiful and pretty much no smoke in the air thus far but it is early so will have to wait and see on that. Generally July can be the worst month for smoke from forest fires but hoping for lots of rain to keep them under control. Some fires are just spontaneous and create situations where some plants can only reproduce during fires which is amazing really. It is preventing the careless fires that we aim towards in particular. 

Perhaps a few walks on the beach if weather permits and today is another mostly cloudy day although the possibility of rain has disappeared. We had a very good rain yesterday.  

The Trans Mountain Pipeline is now running at full capacity (upgraded two years ago). I still wonder if just twinning this pipeline would serve very well in getting crude to tidewater and sales around the world.  There is  money to be made in oil for sure. 

I think Canada is very wise to learn more about drone warfare especially with the three evil satanic countries attacking or simulating attacks on other countries namely the co-operating countries of Russia, Iran (as well as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis) and North Korea (the Evil Three). One never knows when such material will be needed in national defense.  The threats that come out of Russia particularly of using nuclear weapons does make one wonder if there is anyone in that country that can put two words together in a sensible way. Always threatening and yet no one threatens them but they mercilessly attack a smaller country namely Ukraine murdering children, women and men because they are so greedy for land and what that land contains. Of course I know there are responsible people in Russia, Iran and North Korea who do not agree with their dictatorship leaders but they are murdered or destroyed in some way for speaking out. 

Almost half way through June and the summer goes amazingly fast. 

Solitaire puzzles next.  

My favourite cookies

 I now have a package of my favourite cookies in my pantry and they tasted very good. Two years without was a long time as I have eaten them as long as I can remember. They used to be Canadian made but are now made in the United States hence the two year break but I am back to buying them again. I do not drink so am not a part of that particular item. 

Yesterday very busy with cleaning and it was the main floor and the hardest floor this week because it includes vacuuming the stairs. Today the top floor and will start around ten this morning. It should be about 2 hours in total with cleaning the larger bathroom taking up some of that time. Then all done for another week although today I also plan to vacuum out the dryer vent outside and the car. We will be already for summer.  I often hang up the clothes inside for the extra moisture but less so in the summer. It would be nice to hang them outside but the flowers that my daughter is allergic to are all over the place and I would be bringing that pollen in so do not do that anymore. That is the first thing we will look for when we scout out a new house in a couple of years. 

We had salmon last night for dinner and the first solid meat that my daughter has eaten since the oral surgery on her one tooth. Liver pate (especially good from Quebec I must say) has filled the bill for the last five days as well as canned tuna so it was nice to have a piece of fresh salmon poached. It was so tender and flaky and easy to remove any residual bones missed during the deboning. Along with that some noodles with cream cheese and fresh asparagus also poached. An excellent meal for sure and greatly enjoyed - yesterday was a shopping for food day. 

Busy once again with her research and I want to get into my DNA data perhaps a bit this afternoon after cleaning. Along with bringing together all the Blake bits from individual Legacy charts into one chart that is my focus at the moment. Soon I will be able to produce the generational chart and then I will move to Pincombe to do the same. I still have another year and a half before I will publish the two books and will ensure that I proofread the index this time. I did forget with the Siderfin book and eventually will do that but do have some new material to put in anyway unless someone beats me to that!

Staying away from the news for the most part. I am ambivalent about the best route for Canada really. I prefer to see us developing our natural resources more completely and creating new industry to replace what has been lost during sixty years of basically free trade. But I do enjoy the trade that we partake in with different items being sold here that we do not make or grow. I think that is true of all of us here but we were terribly hurt by the suddenness and the cruelty of saying that our economy could just be destroyed and then we would have to become a 51st state. Considering the wonderful friendship that was enjoyed between the United States and Canada over the last more than two hundred years it was sad. Canadians went south in preference for vacations spending billions of dollars and some still do but many are not. But we will see how it all flows over the next couple of months. Personally I have many wonderful cousins in the United States and love them dearly. 

Windows open today for some fresh air and that is pleasant early this morning. The hot sun is gone for the day it appears as it is cloudy but will still be a warm day and perhaps with some rain. Rain is always welcomed and then I do not have to rush out and water the tomatoes!

I actually do not see a problem with Chinese EVs being restricted from entering the United States from Canada. I see them primarily as a car for our youth and really we do not want them to wander so far afield from Canada in their young days. When they are into adulthood and beginning families then they would buy the bigger cars made in North America (ours sold in Canada being made in Canada principally but we do realize that they cross the border several times or more during construction).  It is actually a favour to anxious parents to restrict the youth from crossing the border I suspect. Changing from buying cars from the big three under our present agreements - Ford, General Motors and Stellantis - is unlikely given our tremendous preference for these cars which have been built jointly with the United States in Canada and since the mid 1960s and Mexico since the mid 1990s. I agree with our government that less than 50,000 Chinese EVs is just a drop in the bucket of the number of cars that Canada purchases during a year. The price is right for our youth for sure. 

Fourty two million people is a huge market for any country looking at us to do business. Plus we have huge spaces if countries want to develop their industries and work co-operatively with us to increase their market around the world. From Canada one can ship around the world from our east coast, our northern coast or our west coast so a great advantage for industries looking for more space to increase their sales working co-operatively with us. 

Another beautiful rain storm has begun. Perfect weather for growing crops all across Canada.  

Solitaire puzzles to do.