The Psychology of...

Gender stereotypes suck. They pigeonhole people into designated and sometimes undesired roles, they prevent good people from trying things they are interested in, and they can encourage shaming of anyone who breaks from the social mold. This is coming from a man who likes romantic music, being creative in the kitchen, and spending most of my waking time with children. Stereotypes would label me as feminine. I reject that notion, not because being feminine is undesirable but because I don't think femininity should have the market cornered on domestic activities. I am a MAN that loves to do these things. I'm not motherly, I'm a father.  That being said, I have to recognize that if you took a sample of 100 human beings who enjoyed cooking, playing with kids, and listening to Josh Groban, the likelihood that the majority would be female is high. It would be naive to deny the reality of these gender differences. It would be even more foolish to think we need to enforce t...

They say the two greatest Canadian past-times after hockey are bragging and complaining about our health care. I am proud of our system but it is far from perfect. I am no expert but here are a few slight changes that I think could make our system more effective. Podiatrists - Did you know that many podiatrists get training and can become board certified for most surgeries below the knee? But in Canada their services are not covered under our universal health care plan. Recently my mother broke her arm requiring, eventually and unfortunately, 3 surgeries (we're hoping that's it). Because her surgeries weren't scheduled she was placed in the queue, requiring her to wait in a hospital bed, without eating or drinking. She needed to be ready for surgery at any point of the day. The ortho does not just operate on you, first come first serve. There are priorities, which make sense. So my Mom, because of other more serious injuries, ended up waiting for a week in total, fas...