Friday, June 18, 2021

"Baby bumps"/ "Facebook chooses Canada for Dating feature launch"

Jul. 16, 2018 "Baby bumps": Today I found this article by Eleanor Steafel in the Edmonton Journal:


It was at about 10 p.m. last Saturday night, at my umpteenth wedding of the summer, that I really noticed the difference between the men and women in my early 30s friendship group. 

 On the dance floor, the men, downing shots of vodka, dancing sweatily, chasing the solitary single bridesmaid. Watching from afar, the girls — all engaged, married, pregnant or with children. This gender divide has been sudden and extreme. At the age of 33, all of a sudden, most of the women in my circle of friends are “settling down.” Meanwhile, the vast majority of the men are living lives that are no different from their 20s.

For our parents’ generation, there was a widely accepted structure to middle-class life. You go to school, then university; you graduate, have fun in your 20s, then you meet someone; you buy a house, get married, have kids and live happily ever after. 

 But for my generation, that’s just not realistic any more. For a start, we’re far less financially stable — getting on the property ladder is by no means a given. We’re living longer, too. On top of that, what is “normal” has changed.

Our parents having a kid at 25 would have been considered par for the course. Now, if you announced you were having a baby at the same age, you’d be considered crazy. The crucial difference between the sexes is that, while many women have an ominous voice in their head telling them to be mindful of that biological clock ticking down, men don’t feel the same pressure. And that means we can find all manner of excuses to postpone having kids. “Plenty of time yet.”

“I need to focus on my career for now.”

“I want to be more financially secure.”

Our female counterparts, meanwhile, are freezing their eggs in increasing numbers — spending what they imagined would be their baby-making years waiting for a man to be ready to take the leap. Fertility experts confirmed recently what I already knew, warning that the demands of modern parenthood mean men are putting off children to avoid losing their free time, or compromising their careers.

In other words, now that couples increasingly share the burden when it comes to raising a family, men are recognizing some of the pressures of juggling jobs with children. And we’re making the choice to defer what many women would like to, but can’t, as nature won’t allow them to.

Because, let’s be honest, having a child is a big commitment. And we men want to have our cake and eat it, too. Why wouldn’t we want to prolong the hedonistic enjoyment of our 20s into our 30s — fuelled by a bigger salary? 

 From a man’s point of view, it’s simple: when the big 4-0 starts to loom, then (and only then) do you need to start entertaining the idea of settling down, getting married and fatherhood. 

 There are many women who must feel the same — that 30 is too soon for them to be thinking about children. It’s the age when careers are taking off, they’re finally able to think about getting on the property ladder, and they’re absolutely not ready for a baby. But they know they have a deadline, which men don’t. 

 Or at least that’s what we’re led to believe.

Most men (myself included) don’t give their fertility a moment’s thought until presented with evidence that there might be a problem. Mick Jagger can have a baby at 73, Robert De Niro at 68, we’ll be fine. But perhaps we shouldn’t be so complacent.

Modern life isn’t necessarily conducive to strong fertility. Men’s sperm counts in Western countries have been falling since 1973, with stress levels and increased exposure to chemicals and pesticides being blamed as the main culprits. Most men don’t realize male factors are the cause of 40 per cent of couples’ fertility difficulties, according to the British Fertility Society. 

 But online dating hasn’t helped shatter the illusion that we can defer thoughts of fertility to our 40s. Now we can pick and choose who we meet, and how old they are. 

 Most of my friends have their age range on Bumble and Tinder set to 24 to 28 years old: old enough to have stuff in common with, but young enough to not want a baby in the next five years. 

 Similarly, women I know who are looking to settle down are increasing their age parameters to 36-plus, to ensure they can get on with things if they do hit it off. It’s a modern way of coupling up, and it certainly isn’t helping to close that gap between what men and women typically want in their 30s.

As for me, my partner is my age — 33 — and yes, the biological clock is ticking. She wants a baby by 36, which means “trying ” by 35, marriage by 34, proposal by ... well, probably by the time I finish this article. Is that scary? Yes.

https://www.pressreader.com/canada/windsor-star/20180716/281702615489035

Nov. 9, 2018 "Facebook chooses Canada for Dating feature launch": Today I found this article by Tara Deschamps in the Edmonton Journal:


Mark Zuckerberg is ready to play matchmaker for Canadians.
His company Facebook Inc. will aim to make its social media platform's users more than just friends with a new dating feature that will mark its North American launch in Canada on Thursday.
Facebook Dating, which was previously piloted in Colombia, operates with users creating profiles that are separate from their Facebook ones and kept out of sight of friends.
The company will recommend matches that users aren't already friends with, but who share dating preferences, interests and if they'd like, mutual friends or groups and events.
The offering will support text-only conversations between matches in an effort to minimize "casual encounters" by building long-term relationships instead and will attempt to reduce catfishing — using a fake online identity to trick prospective love interests — by importing ages and locations from a user's traditional Facebook profile.
"We were really thinking about how inauthentic experiences are making online dating really difficult... and preventing people from trusting online dating and forming a meaningful connection," said Charmaine Hung, Facebook Dating's technical program manager. "We wanted to make sure you could build that trust with someone."

Privacy concerns

Facebook Dating's Canadian rollout comes as the technology giant is embroiled in privacy concerns following a series of data breaches. The most high-profile came last winter, when the company admitted the data of up to 50 million Facebook users was misused by analytics firm Cambridge Analytica. User privacy was at risk again this September when the company reported a major security breach in which 50 million accounts may have been accessed by unknown attackers.
Some experts said the dating offering will raise privacy concerns of its own and is unlikely to assuage worries about the platform — even if Zuckerberg previously claimed "we have designed this with privacy and safety in mind from the beginning."
Tamir Israel, a lawyer at the Samuelson-Glushko Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic at the University of Ottawa, said he had concerns around how separate someone's Facebook and Dating profiles will truly be because they're contained within the same app.
"People will think there is a degree of insulation because they are deciding what goes into their (Dating) profile...but we have seen over and over again that those types of divides are difficult to maintain," Israel said.
"It looks like, in spite of the challenges, they are making an effort to silo this a bit from the rest of their ecosystem, but the problem is they have a bit of a bad track record of eroding that over time."
Privacy concerns are why Facebook has introduced Dating with a slew of measures aimed at "integrity and safety," said Hung.

Users will have to opt in

For example, users will have to opt-in for the dating feature instead of being automatically enrolled. When they opt in, they will need to initialize their location services to verify they are in the city they are purporting to be in, but they can rescind that access once they've signed up.
There will also be a feature that allows people to be blocked and prevents users from messaging potential interests more than once, if the other person hasn't reciprocated with a response.
If a user is overwhelmed with matches or wants to take a break from dating, they can pause Dating and if they decide the app isn't for them, they can opt out and all their Dating data will be destroyed, Hung said.
"Good on Facebook for having thought through some of these issues, given some of the concerns they have had on privacy," said Imran Ahmad, a partner at Miller Thomson who leads the firm's cybersecurity practice.
"The more you share about yourself, the more there is potential exposure from a privacy point of view."
He said he was going to give Facebook the benefit of the doubt because it has pledged to address its privacy issues and has helped create a culture where social media users are becoming more attuned to privacy concerns.
"Arguably folks should be more comfortable with Facebook now given all the scrutiny they have gone through in terms of their recent missteps because everyone is watching everything they have done," he said. "Their information is probably more secure than it was in the past."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/facebook-dating-1.4824745

Jun. 8, 2021: There are 101 comments and mostly are negative:

 
  • 2 years ago
Oh great another site where women get loads of attention with boost to the ego and men get few if any responses while the site mines ones data to eventually monetize and sell to pad their bottom line profits. Welcome to a new addition to the online dating world.
  • 2 years ago
A platform that does nothing but invade your very self for profit, it's pimping all users
This week's theme is about dating:

"Wonderful guy mismanages his anger"/ "Mom wants 'frumpy' daughter to snag a man"



"Spouse strays from empty marriage"/ "Celibacy causes partner's esteem to plummet"




My week: 


Jun. 11, 2021 "Forever 21 returns to Canada with collections in Hudson's Bay stores": 

The low-cost fashion brand Forever 21 will have its full collections available at certain Hudson's Bay Co. stores across the country, as the U.S.-brand returns to the Canadian market.

The first Hudson's Bay stores started offering Forever 21 products on Friday at Toronto's Yorkdale Mall and the Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga, Ont.

YM Inc., which is the Canadian licensee of the Forever 21 brand, also recently opened standalone stores in Alberta and Quebec, Hudson's Bay said.

Forever 21 shuttered all of its Canadian locations in 2019 after filing for bankruptcy, although many of their stores remained open in the U.S.

The new agreement will see Hudson's Bay as the exclusive retailer of the brand in Canada.


Laura Janney, senior vice president of apparel at Hudson's Bay, said the retails expected to start offering Forever 21 in the fall season, but moved quickly to speed up its launch to Friday to coincide with Ontario allowing retailers to re-open with some restrictions.

She said the brand expects strong demand as people look to buy new clothes, and may have changed sizes from either exercising more during the pandemic or sitting idle during remote work.

“The customer is moving quickly ... our dress business today is really showing a consumer that is moving to what life is going to be like,” said Janney, who said the trends were already noticeable in provinces where stores are open, and in online sales.

“We're very optimistic to what people are going to start to do in Canada in dressing up and what we think will happen for us in the next couple months.”

Janney said adding Forever 21 helps the retailer diversify its business and offer clothes targeted toward younger customers.

Hudson's Bay expects to start offering Forever 21 at multiple other locations across the country.

My opinion: That's some good news.  I do like the store.

Forever 21 returns to Canada with collections in Hudson's Bay stores - BNN Bloomberg


"Neighbours come together to carry elderly woman to safety during Vancouver highrise fire": Today I found this on Yahoo News:


Neighbours carried an elderly woman down 15 flights of stairs to safety on Thursday evening after an apartment in their West End Vancouver building caught fire.

Firefighters were called to the building at Comox and Thurlow streets at about 6:15 p.m. PT after smoke and flames began billowing out of an apartment on the 14th floor, according to assistant fire chief Trevor Connelly.

Building resident Marieke Leliveld heard the fire alarm and was on her way out through the stairs when she noticed an elderly neighbour sitting on a chair outside one of the suites, unable to make it down on her own.

Leliveld told CBC News that she and two young men decided to carry her.

"I'm a little emotional about it still because we didn't know almost if we were going to make it," Leliveld said.

"We saw a lot of smoke come out of the building."

She said the journey downstairs felt like it took an hour. Everyone made it safely to the ground.

Family members told reporters at the scene that the woman hadn't left her apartment in three years.

Connelly said the woman was one of two residents who had to be helped out of the building.

Nobody was home in the apartment that caught fire and no one in the building was injured, firefighters say.

Neighbours come together to carry elderly woman to safety during Vancouver highrise fire (yahoo.com)

My opinion: Aww... that's so sweet.


Jun. 8, 2021 "GoFundMe for Canadian Muslim Family Killed in Suspected Hate Crime Raises Over $270K in Less Than 18 Hours": This is by Katherine Fung
A GoFundMe page created for the Canadian Muslim family struck by a truck and killed in a 
suspected hate crime over the weekend has raised more than $270,000 in less than 
18 hours.  On Sunday night, four out of five members of the Salman family were killed 
in London, Ontario, after the driver of a black pickup truck mounted the sidewalk and 
struck the family.
The GoFundMe says the Salman family has indicated they are not in need of financial 
assistance at this time, but that the fundraiser has been created to support sadaqa 
jariya, an important concept within Islam in which Muslims give to charity in memory of
 the deceased.  "Any charity which continues to have positive effects on a community 
in the long-term can be considered a sadaqa jariya," international aid agency Islamic 
Relief's website states.


Jun. 8, 2021 "An 8-year-old boy sold his Pokémon card collection to raise money for his sick puppy's treatments": Today I found this article by Joey Hadden on Yahoo News:


Bryson Kliemann lives in Lebanon, Virginia, where he set up a stand on his front lawn on May 4 with a sign reading "Pokémon 4 Sale" - all to raise money for Bruce's vet bills, according to a story in The Washington Post by Sydney Page. 

Kliemann's mom, Kimberly Woodruff, told Page for The Washington Post that she took Bruce to Southwest Virginia Veterinary Services because he wasn't eating or coming out of his crate. She then learned that Bruce's vet bills would add up to at least $655 - more than the family could afford to pay, she said in The Washington Post's story. 

"He is our first family dog," Woodruff told Page. "I really didn't realize how expensive it could be until this happened."

When Kliemann reportedly overheard his parents having a conversation about the bills, Woodruff told The Washington Post he came up with the idea to sell his Pokémon cards to help pay for Bruce's care. 

Making $400 in the first two days, Kliemann sold the cards for between $5 and $10 each depending on value, and some neighbors just donated money, according to The Washington Post. 

"Christmas, birthdays, any holiday you get gifts on, that's what he asks for, and that's what he gets," Woodruff said of Kliemann's collection of hundreds of Pokémon cards. 

The GoFundMe account raised more than $15,000, and Woodruff told The Washington Post. Woodruff said in the same article that so far, she's used the GoFundMe money to help three other local families pay their veterinary bills, and Bruce is healthy at home.


Jun. 15, 2021 "Guy casually strolls past woman pointing gun in shopping mall":
The woman was pointing the gun at another woman, and 2 security guards were there.


Joe A: This is everyday life In the U.S.A when things like this happed everyday you just live with it. Isn't the U.S great lets have have a gun fight.

James Voss6h
How dunce is this guy?  Would have been a perfect way to disarm her and hold until police arrived.  Where was mall security?

Le_French Frog5h
Have you watched the video? You see them.

waheed subhani1h
I don't think he even noticed the gun.


How dunce was he? It was not his fight, not his business, not his problem. Not everyone has to potentially martyr themselves for a good-guy badge and a pat on the back. That's why we pay taxes for police officers.

Jun. 14, 2021 Bus routes: I took the #7 West Edmonton Mall bus to an appointment.  It was like the #3 route.  I was kind of nervous taking the new route.  I prepared and planned by going on Google maps.

Chips: 

President's Choice: Sour Cream and Onion: This is great because it lots of seasoning.  I would definitely buy this again over any other brands that sell the same flavor.

Doritos: Chili Cheese Nacho: It was for a limited time.  Average.  It was spicy. 

Doritos: Dynamite: Average.  Medium spicy.

Jun. 15, 2021 Garage sale: Over the weekend, the house 2 doors down had a garage sale.  They had Criminal Minds and Arrow DVDS.  I like the shows, but not enough to buy them.  They had scrap booking and craft items.

I like going to garage sales to look at people's stuff.  What if there is something you really want or need there at a low price?

Jun. 16, 2021 The Republic of Sarah: I saw the pilot and thought it was average.  I will record the series and watch the episodes in a couple of weeks.


Nurses: This is a Canadian TV show that came out mid-season 2020.  I thought this was an average medical drama.  I saw the first season during the summer time on Telus on Demand.  The second season comes out on Mon. Jun. 21, 2020.

I may watch this during the summer time when there aren't a lot of written dramas to watch.

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