Cole's Notes - The Sunday Journalist

COLE’S NOTE -The blog has been on hiatus since Christmas. I’ve been working on the new versions and had done this column back in February - but had some technical problems with Copilot running my blog and emails into the ground.  After it had deleted all my One drive stuff I’ve been re-constructing from backup files and found this article that was supposed to  go out in Feb but got deleted.  So here it is now. Why this blog exists—and why it refuses to let convenience erase understanding.  We are living through a quiet cognitive revolution. For the first time in history, machines don't just store information—they generate ideas, arguments, images, and decisions. Artificial intelligence has moved from novelty to necessity, from tool to collaborator, from assistant to invisible co-author. The question is no longer whether we will use AI. The question is whether we will still know how to think without it. At Cole's Notes, we believe technology should sharpen the m...

In the world of Patrick O'Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series, Stephen Maturin is a man of many layers—naturalist, spy, and skilled physician. But for those of us who dive deep into the historical mechanics of his life, one detail has always invited curiosity: Why did he need two different universities to complete his medical education? While previous posts explored the scattered fragments of Stephen's childhood, tracing his path through the medical wards of the late 18th century proved to be a much more complex puzzle. It required looking past the fiction and into the shifting sands of the French Revolution and the strict religious barriers of Trinity College Dublin. In today's post, we're "walking the wards" of 1780s Paris and the delivery rooms of Dublin's Rotunda Hospital to organize Stephen's training timeline. From cheering the fall of the Bastille to earning the right to wear the scarlet robes of a Doctor of Medicine, this is how political upheaval an...

I need a break Rather than a 2025 roundup of stories and posts on Cole's Notes and my Facebook page, I've decided to make some changes to my publications. Mainly evaluating what the Blog is for - and how I want to move forward. For  January, I am revising and streamlining my systems for the  Cole's Notes  and  View from the Plateau  Substacks, and  cleaning up a backlog of email across multiple platforms. I will return on  Sunday, February 1, 2026 , and will respond to your message then.

The Daily Wire - Breaking News, Videos & Podcasts – Amanda Harding Exposé On Discrimination Against White Millennial Men Goes Viral, Inspires Outrage Dec 17, 2025 at 12:06 PM Gemini 3 image A lengthy exposé highlighting the adverse effects DEI has had on white males, in particular millennials, has gone mega viral on social media. The Compact piece "The Lost Generation" by Jacob Savage goes into detail about how white men have been discriminated against over the past decade, especially in the fields of entertainment and academia. The statistical truths laid out plainly have struck a chord with the general public, leading to the article being viewed on X more than 11 million times. Beginning in 2014, prestige industries decided they urgently needed to diversify. They didn't purge established Boomers. Instead, they did everything possible to avoid hiring white millennial men. This is the story of a generation derailed by DEI. https://t.co/kUfmpHfaMH — Matthew ...

Black Friday Cole's notes: 50 Years ago today - I was a junior photographer for the Calgary Herald working this story. The photos are by John Colville, Bill Herriot, Roger Pierce, myself and others. 40 years ago Black Friday transformed Calgary policing Officially it was the last day of fall, cool with little snow around. It was the last Friday before Christmas, a pay day. And December 20, 1974 was the last day of Calgary Detective Boyd Davidson's life. Author of the article: By Brenton Harding A Christmas season shooting shook the city of Calgary 50 years ago today, while also providing the impetus for the Calgary Police Service to form its own tactical team — a key resource in dealing with high-risk events in the decades since. The tragic incident led to eight police officers being shot, one fatally, as a glue-sniffing convicted rapist let loose a barrage of bullets that changed the face of policing in our city forever. The day became known as "Bla...