Genie Real Estate Services

10/01/2024

Jimmy Carter was the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981

TODAY (2024-10-01) is President Carter's 100th birthday. As a centenarian, Carter is the longest-lived president in U.S. history

🎉🎊🎂🥳

09/30/2024

Beginning in the 1880s, Aboriginal children across Canada were routinely removed, often forcibly, from their homes and placed in Indian Residential Schools

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established in June 2008 as one of the mandated aspects of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (IRSSA) to create, as complete as possible, a historical record of this residential school system and it's legacy

Between 2008 and 2014 the TRC gathered what is estimated to be around 7000 testimonies from the survivors,[20] most from those who had attended the schools after the 1940s

In June 2015, the TRC released a summary report of its findings and "94 Calls to Action" to "redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation." The calls to action were divided into two categories: "Legacy" (focused on redressing the harms resulting from the Indian residential schools) and "Reconciliation" (focused on creating better relations between the federal and provincial governments of Canada and Indigenous nations)

Reconciliation Recommendation # 80 called for the establishment of a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as a statutory holiday. Bill C-5 was passed on June 3, 2021, to make Orange Shirt Day (September 30)

TODAY marks Canada's 4th TRC (& Orange Shirt Day)
https://raventrust.com/

09/08/2024

Today (September 8, 2024) is Grandparents Day

Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children

Alex Haley (1921 - 1992)

07/01/2024

Happy 157th Canada Day everyone!

🥳🎂📣💥🎪🎊🇨🇦

05/12/2024

Happy Mother's Day 🌼🌸🌻🌹🏵🌷🥀

Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis, inspired the creation of Mother's Day as a national holiday in the United States. After her mother's death in 1905, Anna conceived of Mother's Day as a way to honor the sacrifices mothers made for their children. President Woodrow Wilson declared the second Sunday in May as a day of national observance for all mothers in 1914

04/08/2024

Just in case you've forgotten - the solar eclipse (total in some areas) is visible across almost all of North America TODAY. Check online for the time where you are going to be

Be sure to observe WITH proper EYE PROTECTION

If you need / want to know more about what to expect and how to watch it safely, check out my recent post @ https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Z9s89dmMjpiufgSQ/?mibextid=oFDknk

04/05/2024

What to expect if you observe the solar eclipse Monday & how to watch it safely:

What to expect:
1. Watch the linked video below for a good presentation of what you can expect
2. Your experience will vary depending on whether or not you are watching from within or outside the zone of totality
3. If you are going to be inside the zone of totality, the closer you are to the centerline of that zone, the longer totality will last
4. You want to try and observe the eclipse by having a clear, unobstructed view to the southwest (ranging from southward to westward)
5. If you are able to observe the eclipse from a sufficient height, you will be able to see the shadow of the moon (totality) approach you
6. As mentioned in the video, you can expect an eerie silence to descend as you near and during totality. This is because the surrounding wildlife (birds, bees, insects, and other animals) nearby believe that it has become nighttime
7. Also expect a quick drop in temperature during and after totality. The temperature COULD drop by as much as 5o C (10o F) with the lowest temperature occurring about 2 minutes after the end of totality. If you are outside the zone of totality, this effect is far less pronounced

How to observe the eclipse safely:
If you have SOLAR ECLIPSE glasses (or viewers):
1. Verify that your eclipse glasses are ISO 12312-2. The glasses should also carry the ISO logo, the name of the certifying agency, and the manufacturer's name & address
2. There is a limited window when you can observe the eclipse without the solar eclipse glasses. This is ONLY during TOTALITY, more than 15 seconds AFTER (and BEFORE) the Baily's Beads occur. At any other time, including at ALL times if you are not within the zone of totality, eye protection is necessary
3. The partial phases of a total solar eclipse eclipse progress quite slowly. There is no need or point to watch continuously. You can, instead, take a brief glance every few minutes. The motion of the Moon across the Sun’s face will be readily apparent
4. Irrespective of the previous point, it is recommended that you limit your viewing of the sun pre and post totality to intervals of a maximum of 3 minute
5. Do NOT look at the sun when putting on or taking off the solar eclipse glasses. Instead, look away from the sun both when you put them on and take them off
6. Permanent blindness is a RISK if you fail to follow these guidelines. There are no pain receptors at the back of your eye, so it is possible to burn out the rods and cones of your eye (what makes it possible to see) without ever realizing it is happening until it is too late
7. Do NOT look at the sun through an unfiltered camera, telescope, binoculars, or any other optical device while using your eclipse glasses or handheld solar viewer in front of your eyes — the concentrated solar rays could damage the eclipse glasses and enter your eyes, causing serious injury
8. Always supervise children using solar filters

If you do NOT have SOLAR ECLIPSE glasses (or viewers):
1. View the solar eclipse indirectly using a pinhole projection. For example, cross the outstretched, slightly open fingers of one hand over the outstretched, slightly open fingers of the other, creating a waffle pattern. With your back to the Sun, look at your hands’ shadow on the ground. The little spaces between your fingers will project a grid of small images on the ground, showing the Sun as a crescent during the partial phases of any solar eclipse. Or just look at the shadow of a leafy tree during a partial eclipse; you'll see the ground dappled with crescent-shaped Suns projected by the tiny spaces between the leaves. A colander makes a terrific pinhole projector, as does a straw hat, a perforated spoon, or anything else with lots of small holes in it. Do NOT look at the Sun through the pinhole(s)
2. View the solar eclipse indirectly, either online or on television

Not sure what to expect during the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8th? The Weather Network's Kim MacDonald and Tyler Hamilton have an eclipse timeline to prepare you for the big day.

03/27/2024

For anyone who has missed the News, there will be a Total Solar Eclipse that will be visible across a large swath of the US & Canada on Monday, April 8, 2024

If you plan to catch this event in person, you can help NASA conduct research to better understand the sun. To participate in this research, all you need is:

> to be in a location where you can observe the eclipse
> have a smartphone
> have downloaded the app from NASA (at the link below)
> include solar eclipse protection for your phone (otherwise, just as you can be blinded by the sun without protection, so can your phone be "blinded")

More information about this research is also found in the link

The free SunSketcher app will use your phone’s camera to record the event and help study the sun’s ‘oblateness.’

03/26/2024

March 26th is Purple Day. It was first created in 2008, with the goal of getting people to talk about epilepsy in an effort to dispel myths and inform those with seizures that they are not alone

Cassidy Megan created the idea of Purple Day in 2008, motivated by her own struggles with epilepsy. Cassidy’s goal is to get people talking about epilepsy in an effort to dispel myths and inform those with seizures that they are not alone. The Epilepsy Association of The Maritimes came on board in...

03/25/2024

March is National Engineering Month. Please consider supporting Canada's & Ontario's future prosperity by making a donation to The Ontario Professional Engineers Foundation for Education

You do not need to be an Engineer to donate, though, admittedly, almost all the donation do come from past or present Engineers (whether individuals or corporations)

In 2023:

- The Foundation raised $110,000 in donations from approximately 1,400 donors (individuals and corporations)
- The Foundation provided $159,000 in scholarships to 106 engineering undergraduates at the 16 accredited engineering schools in Ontario
- Most of their donors have completed an engineering degree and are currently licensed or have retired. According to the PEO website, there were 86,109 professional engineers as of December 31, 2022. Thus, only 1% of licence holders gave to the Foundation!
- If only 5%, or 4,300 licence holders gave a donation of $50, the Foundation would raise $215,000 which would allow them to look at increasing the value of their scholarships (which haven’t increased since 2016)

Charitable tax receipts will be issued for donations of $10 or more. Ontario Professional Engineers Foundation for Education | Charity/Business Registration Number: 104001573RR0001 For information on all registered charities in Canada under the Income Tax Act please visit: canada.ca/charities-givin...

03/20/2024

Happy Spring 2024! It is almost here! (Early this year because it is Leap Year) 🎊

Countdown to Mar 19, 2024 11:06:28 pm. Showing days, hours, minutes and seconds ticking down to 0

03/18/2024

March 18 is Global Recycling Day

Every year, the Earth yields billions of tons of natural resources and at some point, in the not too distant future, it will run out

That’s why we must think again about what we throw away – seeing not waste, but opportunity

Every year, the earth yields billions of tons of natural resources to transform into consumables. At some point, there will be nothing left. That’s why we must, as a planet, think again about what we throw away – seeing not waste, but opportunity.