Features
Medics are unsung heroes on the battlefield
“Rush To Danger: Medics In The Line of Fire”
By Ted Barris
(HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 406 pg. $32.99)
Reviewed by MARTIN ZEILIG
During the Second World War, Alex Barris was a front line medic with the 319th Medical Battalion of the United States 94th Infantry Division in Europe.
“While others in the heat of combat on the front line might ultimately choose to flee from the perceived or real danger, it was his duty and moral obligation to rush toward it,” writes author Ted Barris of his father in this engrossing illustrated (with numerous photographs) book.
Ted Barris has now published 19 non-fiction books, a dozen of them wartime histories, notes his bio. For 50 years, he has worked as a broadcaster on electronic media in Canada and the U.S. He has taught journalism and broadcasting at Toronto’s Centennial College. His book, The Great Escape: A Canadian Story won the 2014 Libris Award for Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year; while his book, Dam Busters: Canadian Airmen and the Secret Raid Against Nazi Germany, was a national bestseller and received the RCAF Association NORAD Trophy in 2018.
Sergeant Alex Barris earned a Bronze Star citation for retrieving four wounded US stretcher-bearers in Campholz Woods, Germany on 12 February 1945.
“His personal disregard for personal safety and his continual service to his organization over and above the call of his particular duties are in keeping with the highest of army traditions,” says the citation, which is shown in the book.
The story of Alex Barris, who went on to have a successful career as a journalist and author after the war, provides, as the author says, the thread that allows him to discuss military medics, surgeons, nurses, stretcher-bearers, dentists, orderlies and ambulance drivers. These are the people who were/are tasked with saving lives when others are taking them.
One learns in fascinating detail about the origins of the field ambulance by a man named Jonathan Letterman at Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1862 during the U.S. Civil War; the invention of gas masks during the Great War (First World War); about the role of medics at Dieppe, Bastogne, D-Day, and in the Pacific; saving lives in the Korean, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq wars; and much more.
In essence, the book is a panorama of military medical history.
“The book reminds us again and again of the quiet heroism of military physicians, nurses, and medics who have provided medical care to hundreds, sometimes thousands, of wounded and ill soldiers under enemy fire,” writes Brian Goldman, MD, in the Foreword. “Some were enlisted. Many were drafted in to the wars of their times. Others just rose to meet the challenge of a lifetime that they encountered by happenstance.”
For instance, he points to Augusta Chiwy, who was a 23 year-old-registered nurse originally from the Belgian Congo who just happened to be heading home to visit her parents in Bastogne, Belgium, in the days leading up up to Christmas 1944. She arrived just as Adolf Hitler had sent more than 400,000 German troops and 1400 tanks into the Ardennes as part of Operation Watch on the Rhine, “a desperate attempt to thwart the Allied advance toward Germany.
“Working beside U.S. Medic Jack Prior, Chiwy volunteered to lend her nursing skills to Allied troops. During a week-long siege of Bastogne, they treated hundreds of casualties while dodging enemy fire that destroyed the makeshift aid station where they worked.”
Then, there was Dr. Jacob Markowitz, a Canadian medical doctor who enlisted in Britain’s Royal Royal Army Medical Corps and served as surgical officer during the fall of Singapore.
“He was eventually captured by the Japanese. Despite being given no medical equipment and surgical know-how to tend to thousands of fellow prisoners of war, often working up to eighteen hours a day for many days at a time. He even risked his own life by hiding meticulous accounts of their working and living conditions in amongst the many bodies of prisoners who died in captivity.”
We learn about Airman 3rd Class Norm Malayney, a resident of Winnipeg, who served in 483rd USAF Hospital, the second largest military facility, n South Vietnam for during the late 1960s.
The hospital had 485 beds for general surgery, chest surgery, neurosurgery, orthopedics, urology, opthamology, and dental surgery and a 200 bed capacity casualty staging unit (CSU).
“Cam Ranh Bay served as one of three aerial delivery and mobility bases-the other two were at Saigon and Dan Nang— supporting the US war effort in Vietnam,” writes the author. “It was Malayney’s wartime address for a year. Until he landed at Cam Ranh Bay, Malayney had never had to deal with the dead. But, in Vietnam, the job of packing the body fell to medical corpsmen, including Malayney.”
He also helped save the lives of many wounded men.
“Whenever he found time, Malayney observed experienced nurses packing wounds; by the end of the tour he could handle the toughest dressing assignments as well as any of the nursing staff,” says Barris.
During an interview with the author, Malayney said that his experience in Vietnam was “one of the two greatest experiences of my life”, the other being attending the University of Winnipeg after returning home.
Canadian Armed Forces medic Master Corporal Alannah Gilmore served in the Panjawaii district during Operation Medusa, and in Kandahar City in 2006.
Her training as a medic in the CAF proved useful after returning to the civilian world. She helped save the life a woman in the immediate aftermath of a terrible automobile accident in Ottawa.
‘“Medics on the whole— we’re not a very familiar trade,”‘ she said to the author. ‘“I’m basically a glorified first-aider. I have knowledge and I will use whatever I need to. I’ll MacGyver whatever I have to, to make it happen.’”
Rush to Danger shines a much needed light on the lives of very invisible and often heroic people.
“They deserve to be remembered,” as author Barris states.
Uncategorized
Volatility, Hit Frequency, and RTP: Why the Number Casinos Advertise Is the Least Useful One
The return to player percentage looks clean as a casino data point. It gives players a neat number, usually around 94% to 97% for many online slots, and that number feels easy to compare. A 96.5% game appears better than a 95.2% game. The problem starts when players treat RTP as a forecast for their next 50 spins or one evening.
You may find the RTP listed on slot pages on a leading online casino in Ontario, but the number only tells part of the story. Two games can share the same RTP and create different sessions: one may return small wins often, while the other may drain a balance before one bonus round changes everything.
The RTP Trap
Return to player (RTP) measures the theoretical share of total wagers a game returns across a very large number of rounds. In plain terms, a 96% RTP slot returns about $96 for every $100 wagered in the long run. That does not mean one player who deposits $100 should expect $96 back.
The trap sits in the word “theoretical.” RTP comes from the game’s math model. It works across huge samples, not personal sessions. A player can finish far above that percentage, far below it, or with nothing left after a short run of poor results.
Is it useless then? No, RTP can still help. It gives a baseline cost of play. Lower-RTP games cost more on average than higher-RTP games. Still, once a game passes a reasonable threshold, the next question matters more: how does it distribute that return?
Hit Frequency: The Number That Shapes Session Feel
Hit frequency tells you how often a game produces a winning outcome. This often misleads players because any win can count. A spin that returns $0.10 on a $1 bet may still count as a hit, even though the player lost $0.90 in real terms.
A game can feel active because symbols connect often, sounds play, and the screen keeps celebrating small returns. The balance may still fall. In many modern slots, “win” does not always mean profit on the spin.
Hit frequency answers one practical question: how much silence can you tolerate? Some players dislike long dry spells. Others accept quieter sessions because they chase bonus rounds or larger payouts.
The educational site Get Gambling Facts gives a useful distinction: RTP concerns the percentage of money returned over time, while hit frequency concerns how often a machine stops on a winning combination.
Volatility: The Risk Label Players Need More Often
Volatility, also called variance, describes how unevenly a game pays. Low-volatility games tend to return smaller amounts more often. High-volatility games hold more value in rare events: bonus rounds, premium symbols, multipliers, or jackpots.
Here is where RTP becomes less useful on its own:
- A 96% low-volatility slot may give modest returns and longer play from the same balance.
- A 96% high-volatility slot may burn through funds quickly unless the player hits a strong feature.
- A progressive jackpot game may look exciting, but it often places more value on rare top prizes.
The same RTP can hide very different risk profiles. Players who ignore volatility often blame the casino or the game when the session follows its math design.
Why the Same RTP Can Feel So Different
Picture two slots with 96% RTP. Slot A pays small wins on many spins, has a modest top prize, and rarely creates dramatic balance swings. Slot B pays less often but offers a large max win and volatile bonus rounds. The advertised return matches, but the experience does not.
Slot A may suit a player who wants a slower bankroll drop and more regular feedback. Slot B suits someone who accepts sharper losses in exchange for a shot at a heavier payout.
A Better Way to Read a Slot Page
Most slot pages give players more clues than they notice. The trick is to read the details together rather than chase the highest percentage.
Start with RTP. If two games look similar, the higher number has better long-term value. Then check volatility. If the game uses terms such as high, very high, or extreme variance, lower your bet size or expect shorter sessions. Next, look at the paytable. A huge max win usually means the game saves a lot of its value for rare outcomes.
A sensible pre-play check looks like this:
- RTP: What is the average long-term return?
- Volatility: How rough can the session become?
- Hit frequency: How often will the game show any wins?
- Paytable: Where does most value sit?
To Conclude
Casinos advertise RTP because it looks objective, tidy, and easy to rank. Players should read it, but they should not give it more authority than it deserves. For long sessions, volatility may matter more than a small RTP difference. For comfort, hit frequency may explain the feel better than the payback rate.
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Features
The Popularity of Simpler Slot Games in 2026: Review From Casino Online CrazyTower Experts
Online casinos now fill their libraries with numerous video slots that have dozens of functions, long bonus rounds, complex mechanics, and so on. Interestingly, despite this huge range of modern options, many Canadian visitors at sites like Casino Online CrazyTower here https://crazytower.com/ca/ no longer want complicated gameplay that requires constant attention and long explanations.
Simpler slots now attract a wider audience because they save time and create faster sessions. So, let’s figure out why this change happened and reasons for the popularity of simpler machines.
Why Many Players Are Returning to Basic Gameplay
Modern websites like Casino Online CrazyTower pushed complex video slots for years, but many people now prefer classic formats again. Simple gameplay has fewer interruptions and is simpler in terms of budgeting, which is important when you gamble for fun.
These are a few potential reasons explain why simpler slots became popular again in 2026:
- Faster rounds. Symbols appear quickly, and rounds continue without long animations or extended bonus sequences.
- Easier controls. Most classic slots have simple menus and familiar layouts that don’t confuse new visitors.
- Smaller feature lists. Simple slots usually have standard wilds, scatters, and multipliers instead of dozens of random mechanics.
- Better session flow. People spend more time on gameplay instead of reading explanations about symbols and special functions.
- Lower visual pressure. Simpler slots use calmer designs and shorter effects that don’t overload attention.
Classic gameplay also suits mobile devices better because shorter rounds work well on smaller screens. Plus, many visitors now prefer games that start instantly and explain their mechanics within seconds.
Features That Make Simpler Slots Appealing
Simple machines at Casino Online CrazyTower and similar websites continue to attract attention because they have a high gameplay speed. Many classic titles also replicate older casino machines that people already know from physical casinos.
However, these aren’t the only factors that attract gamblers. So, check out this list:
- Short bonus rounds. Free spins and multipliers finish quickly instead of interrupting gameplay for several minutes.
- Common and standard paylines. Traditional layouts help people understand payouts without long explanations.
- Faster loading times. Simpler graphics reduce waiting time on phones, tablets, and older computers.
- Stable gameplay pace. Long cutscenes and constant pop-up notifications don’t interrupt the session.
- Traditional themes. Fruit symbols, bars, sevens, and classic casino designs still attract large audiences.
- Smaller menus. Important information appears immediately without complicated tabs or hidden sections.
Modern video slots often contain too many mechanics in a single game. Developers now combine expanding reels, random modifiers, mission systems, tournaments, and multiple bonus levels in one title. Many visitors lose interest because gameplay turns repetitive and overloaded with constant interruptions.
Compare this to a session when you get results immediately and aren’t interrupted. These still have free spins and even mini risk games, but not as loaded as innovative titles.
Conclusion
Simple slots usually create better replay value because people understand the mechanics immediately. Common and standard gameplay doesn’t cause frustration and allows faster decisions during casino sessions.
Many classic slots also function better during short breaks because rounds finish quickly without long bonus interruptions. That’s why simpler slots became popular again at many casinos, including Casino Online CrazyTower and such.
