New chapter: Purpose and the process. Welcome to "new" IVIM (I+V+I=M) Newsletter!

Also, Voting makes a difference! Municipal elections coming - make sure you vote!

Dear friends, I’m glad to share with you the brand new issue of the IVIM newsletter!

I’m writing it from our new cottage that we bought two months ago in a gorgeous area of Black Mountains half an hour north of Montebello, Quebec, looking at the lake (see picture) and warmed by the wooden stove behind me and the thoughts that I can talk again to you after a rather long break.

View from my office at the cottage where I now spent most of my week-ends (This picture taken before I started writing this newsletter).

The events of the passed year left me, as many other my fellow Canadians, under quite a lot of distress. I did what I could to help the community, met wonderful people, families, new communities, helping each other in these difficult times. But now it was time to rethink and re-adjust the priorities.

I learnt that there are things that I cannot talk about in public because of the conditions of my employment. Hence I removed all past posts.

However, I can now talk about many other things - to allow myself to keep realizing the purpose of my life, which I see as helping other people, in particular, those in need because of what is happening now in Ukraine (where I was born and grew up) and Canada (my current home and where my four daughters were born and are growing up now), with the skills, knowledge and experiences that I’ve been fortunate to be given in this life.

Hence the new title and format of the newsletter - “I+V+I = M” instead of “Independently Verified Information Machine” as it was before. [For those who do not know what the IVIM “machines” are - these are the Web Apps (Machines) that I was developing (with other data scientists, while unemployed for several months) that track and compare various Open Canada Data, such as Vitals statistics published by Statistics Canada and Covid cases by vaccination status statistics published by Public Health Agency of Canada. Now, since I’m back employed, I don’t have time and freedom to continue further development of these machines, but they are still available at IVIM.ca portal that I maintain and also (some of them) at Open Canada portal, maintained by other people.]

So, what this new reborn IVIM newsletter will be about?

It will be something where, I hope, my knowledge of Russian and Ukrainian languages and cultures, as well as connections with multiple academic and local communities, could help people from different backgrounds to better understand what is happening now in Ukraine and Russia, as well as in Canada, so that we can reduce the risk of global and national catastrophe, which we may end with, unless we stop the growth of polarization and anger in our country and elsewhere.

I am much more optimistic now about that - that we can do it - compared to how I felt several months ago, having witnessed myself what a great difference Democracy (that we have here in Canada and that they have in Ukraine, and that they do not have in Russia) makes. The latest (provincial and opposition party leader) elections in Canada show that.

And so - to conclude this first issue, I’d like to leave you with another beautiful view of a Canadian autumn day and the inspiring words of our two new political leaders.

I also also would like remind everyone to vote in upcoming municipal and school trustee elections. If you are not sure whom to vote, please check out “A Blueprint for Canada” portal: https://blueprintforcanada.ca. The dates and key electoral issues could be found there, also quoted below:

Elections for representatives on school boards: October 15 in British Columbia; October 26 in Manitoba; October 17 in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories; October 24 in Ontario; and November 7 in Prince Edward Island and the Yukon.

Mark your calendars! We reject the influence of the extreme left and the extreme right in favour of moderate centrist policies which benefit all Canadians. Read our sample policies list here.

Have a good week!

Please talk to your friends and neighbors to make sure they vote too. And … of course, you can share with them this newsletter too :)

Relaxing in a cold water at our lake. Water temperature 10 C. (This picture taken after I finished writing this newsletter). Ice water dipping is something that my wife and I started doing during the pandemic, as featured in this CBC article.

Appendix A: Pierre Poilievre delivers remarks after winning Conservative leadership (24 mins)

Appendix B: Danielle Smith delivers remarks after winning UCP leadership – October 6, 2022 (21 mins)

Appendix C: Everyone has a purpose in this life. I found mine. Did you find yours?

… the purpose of my life, which I see as helping other people, in particular, those in need because of what is happening now in Ukraine (where I was born and grew up) and here in Canada (where I live now and where my four daughters are born and growing up), with the skills, knowledge and experiences that I’ve been fortunate to be given in this life.