Super intern Maeghan Smulders lands 47 job offers after 112-day speed interning spree

Maeghan Smulders, at age 24, went to Mount Royal University last June and when she graduated, she had 29 job offers. She searched from Calgary to Toronto to San Jose. Her desire to find the perfect position persuaded the business major to launch ProjectONE12. What this really was was a speed interning initiative. It resulted in unpaid periods ranging from a week to a month at 10 different companies across the continent over 112 days.
“Being in all the different places you get a taste for culture and you get a taste for not just the work that you’re doing, but the people that are there and I really wanted to find an environment that I could really grow in,” said the knowledgeable job seeker who was back home in Calgary packing for next week’s move to Montreal. She also said, “You invest a ton of money into an education; you should be able to invest it into your future job too. If you’re taking a job for the next five to 10 years of your life, you want to make sure it’s the right one. Be persistent and really search for what you want to do.”

This is crazy knowing that she got 47 job offers in 112 days. About 13% of Canadian youth don't even have a job when she can accomplish this? As impressive as this sounds, I don't think that I would be able to handle what she does with her ProjectONE12 creation. Her having the effort and the motivation to be travelling all over the continent as an intern and having a lot of success does say a lot of great things about her. If I were in her position, I wouldn't go as far as she did as to go across the continent. At $10.25 an hour, minimum wage is too high for Ontario and that results in low employment and higher prices. New York State has minimum wage of 7.25 an hour which means minimum wage is 41% higher in Ontario. The system works against small businesses who could hire more folks if the minimum wage and payroll tax burdens were reduced. I think that this is the reason why Beyond the Rack can accommodate 300 employees.

Link:

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1201971--super-intern-maeghan-smulders-lands-47-job-offers-and-one-job-after-112-day-speed-interning-spree

Sherpas recover body of Canadian climber who died on Everest

The body of Shriya Shah-Klorfine has been found 7,800 meters high from Mt. Everest but it was later brought down to 6,500 meters by Sherpas (a member of the Himalayan people living in Nepal who are famous for their skill as mountaineers). They reached a height where a helicopter can pick them up. Bruce Klorfine, Shriya's husband, was obviously distressed about this happening and he decided to get her cremated there.
“It was important to bring closure to this tragedy,” said Bikram Lamba, a mentor and friend. “She conquered Mount Everest, but Mount Everest is a cruel opponent and it took her.”
Many people later said that where Shriya passed is not such a bad place to die.
“I know it’s risky but we didn’t force anybody,” Ms. Ahuja said. “We didn’t make them. We said only ‘if it is possible’.”

I think that all of things that people had to say were true. That how people who want to climb Mt. Everest are doing it at their own risk and that nobody is forcing them but it is a great experience. It is a crazy accomplishment to be able to say that you climbed Mt. Everest. I know people who have climbed Mt. Everest and at the time, they felt like they wanted to die and that they just wanted to turn back but when they finished, they couldn't think of a better experience that ever had in their lives. One thing that I can't understand is why her husband wasn't there climbing with her. He might have changed the difference between life and death for his wife.

Link:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/sherpas-recover-body-of-canadian-climber-who-died-on-everest/article2445093/

SickKids: Dad and all four children share rare genetic disorder

A family of six head to sick kids hospital in Bradford where the parents and their four children are bringing their children's breathing kits back in for a tune-up. The four children of this family have a rare mutation of the Phox2b gene that can cause a variety of life-threatening conditions, from cancer to heart disease. The father has this same problem and the chances of getting it was 50/50. The chances for all of them getting it was 16/1.
“I think there are only 15 people in the world with it,” says Dave Phillips. “Five of them are right here.”
This mutation leads to severe breathing troubles and this makes physical activities difficult, especially for the young children who just want to run and play all the time. The Phillips family say that they will have to take a lot of common sense into mind; like not going for swims, especially underwater because their body might not recognize when to come back up.

The chances of this happening are unbelievably low but it happened to this family. They are a positive family where they found good sides and bad sides to this mutation. This mutation is especially difficult for the children who want to go swimming or play at home or school or who even want to join a sports team. They will not have that opportunity, but the way that their thinking of it is that the absence of physical activity gives them time to do more productive things like finish homework or read a book. I think that these children will be very intelligent with the help of their parents and this mutation that they have.

Link:

http://www.thestar.com/specialsections/sickkids/article/1175104--sickkids-dad-and-all-four-children-share-rare-genetic-disorder#article

Taxi Panel May Raise Fares Up to 20%

New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission agreed on Monday to formally consider a proposal from the yellow cab industry that they would raise taxi fares by 20 percent, a significant increase to a pricing structure that has been virtually unchanged since 2006. It is said to take effect in mid-July. This is especially because of the raise in gas prices. The average taxi ride in January cost $11.82, for a trip of slightly less than three miles. A 20 percent increase would bring that fare to $14.18.
“The fare hasn’t changed since 2006, so it is reasonable for taxi drivers and fleet owners to put this on the table,” David S. Yassky, the taxi and limousine commissioner, said in a statement on Monday.

I think that this is just too much. The demand for money increases everyday and transportation is starting to get in the way of income. It does make sense for the taxi companies though, with gas prices raising, they will need more income for gas and a 20 percent increase in income keeps them safe. It is the customers that in trouble now. I think that there is not really a way out of this. While the demand for gas rises, the natural resource decreases so it becomes more valuable and expensive. The price of things are raising but so is minimum wage. To finalize, this 20 percent increase benefits the workers and the

Link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/nyregion/new-york-taxi-fares-may-soon-go-up.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

Sugar may make you stupid: Study

At University of California, Los Angeles, researchers discovered that sugar isn't only bad for your body but it also slows the brain and reduces ability in memory and learning. According to Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery, "what you eat affects how you think". He says that too much sugar can weaken the brains ability of memory and learning but you can change this. By eating omega-3 fatty acids, such as flaxseed oil, you can avoid this happening to your brain. This is the first study every to discover this significant fact. There was a test conducted to prove this. Scientists fed two groups of rats. The first group got fed corn syrup, which is found in soda, condiments,etc. The second group were fed the same thing but were also given flaxseed oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and docosahexaenoic acid (this specifically helps the body with memory and learning. This routine lasted six weeks. At the end of the six weeks, each group were sent to go through a maze. It turned out that the group with the flaxseed oil got out much faster than the other group who were getting fed corn syrup for six weeks. The average Canadian consumed about 26 teaspoons of sugar per day in 2004, according to Statistics Canada. It was said that the findings suggest consuming DHA regularly protects the brain against fructose's harmful effects.

I think that this is bad news for candy companies but good news for us so now we know to cut down on the sugar not only because of how unhealthy it is but to prevent your brain from getting damaged. It is also good to know a cure to this. Flaxseed oil is a great product and should be in more foods today.

Link:

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/05/16/sugar-may-make-you-stupid-study

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Big 3-0 (#12)

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom has recently (Tuesday, April 17, 2012) celebrated their thirtieth year. The Charter guarantees certain political rights to Canadian citizens and civil rights of everyone in Canada from the actions of all areas and levels of government. The Charter was signed by Queen Elizabeth II of Canada on April, 17, 1982 to a law. The Charter has done far more good than bad. This Charter built Canada and raised us to grow up as a nation. One of the effects of the Charter was to magnificently expand the scope of judicial review. Since the Charter was signed, legislatures still have the right to pass laws but because of this Charter, we have to construct laws so that they do not curtail our rights and freedoms.

I think that this changed us as a country greatly and that it made us look more independent and stronger than we ever were. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom unified Canada and it is a very important part of Canada. It also shows equality.

Link:

http://www.raisethehammer.org/blog/2419/canadian_charter_of_rights_and_freedoms_turns_30

80 year old woman lands plane with one engine

An 80-year old woman lands a Cessna twin-engine plane after her husband died at the controls. She had very little flying experience and she landed it at a northeastern Wisconsin airport. Her husband just fell unconscious and died at the controls and it was reported that earlier that day, there was minimal gas and one of the engines died out. Another pilot also went up in his plane to guide the 80-year old woman down to safety about 240 kilometers north of Milwaukee. Her son said that she took lessons to take off and land 30 years before this incident and her husband forced her to do it just in case something were to happen. She flied hours by his side. It was also said that she was calmer than the people on the ground communicating with her and she was responding to them by saying, "Don’t you guys think I could do this on my own? Don’t you have confidence in me?" The pilot who helped her was Robert Vuksanovic. Before this woman's husband died, she tried to get her husband in his seat belt but he didn't listen and he fell over after he passed out obviously. Maybe that was the reason to his death.

I think that this is crazy. An 80-year old woman landing a Cessna plane with one engine. She hasn't tried landing a plane since 30 years before this incident. She was put on the spot and she saved her own life. The one thing that really blows my mind is that she remained completely calm the whole time while she was taking over and the people trying to direct her to a safe landing place were freaking out. At that point, she just wanted someone to have some confidence in her and she did it. She was flying the plane with her dead husband on her side and I think that is what gave her the confidence and the strength to help her bring the plane down. Her son must have been scared to death already knowing that his father was dead and that his 80-year old mother is in a plane with nobody flying it. If I was in either her place or her sons place at the time, I would be freaking out.

Link:

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1156297--woman-80-lands-plane-safely-on-one-engine-after-husband-dies-at-controls?bn=1