Friday, March 23, 2007
Japanese Philanthropy
I think that this story is worth commenting on. I'm not entirely sure what my comment is yet, but I do think it's positive. Hmmm...check back tomorrow for more...
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Under the Category of: Things I Wasn't Expecting Today
At work this morning I pulled a mug out of the communal kitchen cupboard. I started to fill it up when I noticed it was one of those personalized mugs where you get one of your own photos printed on the side. This mug had a picture of someone else's kids. In the bath tub. Naked.
I'm not sure that sort of thing belongs in the company cupboard. In fact, I'm not even sure it belongs on the side of a mug in the first place...
I put it in the sink and pulled out a generic "91.5 The Beat FM!!" mug instead.
I'm not sure that sort of thing belongs in the company cupboard. In fact, I'm not even sure it belongs on the side of a mug in the first place...
I put it in the sink and pulled out a generic "91.5 The Beat FM!!" mug instead.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Now With 50% MORE Powerpoint Presentations!
I just noticed for the first time this morning that the office I work in has an 'Ultimate Meeting Room.' I can only imagine what fantastically amazing, ultra-rad, life-or-death meetings take place in a room labeled with such a name...
Monday, March 19, 2007
Bum Rush the Charts
Ok, I realize this is only 3 days away, and that I don't exactly have a large audience, but I wanted to share something with you nonetheless:
I will be participating in Bum Rush The Charts on Thursday, March 22nd. You can get more detailed info by clicking on the link, but the premise is this:
On March 22nd a large group of people will be protesting the evils of the RIAA by purchasing a specific song by a specific artist (Mine Again by Black Lab) through the iTunes Music Store in an effort to make it hit #1 that day and show the record labels that the days of their stranglehold on the music industry are finished and the independent artists combined with new media technologies are ready to take over.
I realize that this isn't quite like standing in front of a line of tanks at Tiananmen Square and I don't believe it's going to change the world overnight. Nevertheless, I think it is a powerful message to send to the record labels and symbolic proof of what grassroots, independent efforts are really capable of achieving. Therefore I urge anyone who cares about such things and who has iTunes installed to participate this Thursday.
PS: If anyone's afraid this is a get-rich-quick scheme for a band, you can see the money break down here and check the whole website for a lot more info.
I will be participating in Bum Rush The Charts on Thursday, March 22nd. You can get more detailed info by clicking on the link, but the premise is this:
On March 22nd a large group of people will be protesting the evils of the RIAA by purchasing a specific song by a specific artist (Mine Again by Black Lab) through the iTunes Music Store in an effort to make it hit #1 that day and show the record labels that the days of their stranglehold on the music industry are finished and the independent artists combined with new media technologies are ready to take over.
I realize that this isn't quite like standing in front of a line of tanks at Tiananmen Square and I don't believe it's going to change the world overnight. Nevertheless, I think it is a powerful message to send to the record labels and symbolic proof of what grassroots, independent efforts are really capable of achieving. Therefore I urge anyone who cares about such things and who has iTunes installed to participate this Thursday.
PS: If anyone's afraid this is a get-rich-quick scheme for a band, you can see the money break down here and check the whole website for a lot more info.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
A Pet Peeve
The seasons were wrestling again today and the decisive winner -- at least, in Kitchener, Ontario -- was Spring...blue skies with a high of 10 degrees C!
I decided to celebrate by walking over to the mall during lunch. It was at the mall where I saw a billboard which ignited the fire to write about a pet peeve I've had for some time.
The line on the billboard read "Are you a shoe-aholic?" Ignoring the blatant consumerism and materialism contained within, let's examine for a moment the language used here.
First of all, someone who is an alcoholic is addicted to what? Alcohol. What, then, is a workaholic addicted to? Workahol? Rageaholic --> rageahol? Workahol and rageahol are not, to my knowledge, actual words in the english language.
The word 'alcoholic' was created by adding the suffix 'ic' to 'alcohol,' NOT the suffix of 'oholic' to 'alc.' Thus, while it may sound somewhat crude and irregular, surely we should have "workic's," "rageic's" and "shoeic's" instead. I realize this is just one case of MANY in which the english language doesn't follow its own rules, but for goodness' sake people, you can't suggest people are addicted to things that don't even exist.
Alternatively, we could just have alcoholaholics, if that's going to be the norm...
I decided to celebrate by walking over to the mall during lunch. It was at the mall where I saw a billboard which ignited the fire to write about a pet peeve I've had for some time.
The line on the billboard read "Are you a shoe-aholic?" Ignoring the blatant consumerism and materialism contained within, let's examine for a moment the language used here.
First of all, someone who is an alcoholic is addicted to what? Alcohol. What, then, is a workaholic addicted to? Workahol? Rageaholic --> rageahol? Workahol and rageahol are not, to my knowledge, actual words in the english language.
The word 'alcoholic' was created by adding the suffix 'ic' to 'alcohol,' NOT the suffix of 'oholic' to 'alc.' Thus, while it may sound somewhat crude and irregular, surely we should have "workic's," "rageic's" and "shoeic's" instead. I realize this is just one case of MANY in which the english language doesn't follow its own rules, but for goodness' sake people, you can't suggest people are addicted to things that don't even exist.
Alternatively, we could just have alcoholaholics, if that's going to be the norm...
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Scheming
Inspired by Bill, I began looking into freighter travel and found that Los Angeles to Auckland only takes 14 days and costs about $1,200 US. That's about as much as a one-way flight to New Zealand anyhow.
Interesting....
Interesting....
Living Heroes
I have several.
The newest is this guy. He's traveling around the world and making a video diary on every weekday. He's just starting out, but his entries so far have been insightful and well-produced (he uses clever angles and his sound editing is fantastic). He's got a satellite modem so he can upload from pretty much anywhere in the world (including, already, the middle of the Atlantic ocean).
I am both significantly impressed and insanely jealous.
He's also a living testament to my theory that -- with a few rare exceptions -- you don't really begin to produce anything of significance before the age of 27. That gives me 2 more years to get my act together...
The newest is this guy. He's traveling around the world and making a video diary on every weekday. He's just starting out, but his entries so far have been insightful and well-produced (he uses clever angles and his sound editing is fantastic). He's got a satellite modem so he can upload from pretty much anywhere in the world (including, already, the middle of the Atlantic ocean).
I am both significantly impressed and insanely jealous.
He's also a living testament to my theory that -- with a few rare exceptions -- you don't really begin to produce anything of significance before the age of 27. That gives me 2 more years to get my act together...
The Light at the End of the Tunnel
Ok, so it's a cheesy and cliched expression, but until someone comes up with a better analogy, there isn't a more apt metaphor describing my current state.
You must understand that the work I do (and have done for the last couple years) is solely for the cash and that I have absolutely nothing invested in it -- there is no love for what I do day in and day out. Therefore, the worst days at work are the ones when I'm stuck in the middle of 'the tunnel,' so to speak -- when I'm working hard, head down, with no distinct goal or future reprieve in sight. These are miserable, miserable times.
Yet at some point this week (I think it was Thursday), it all just clicked for me. I realized that 5 weeks from now, I will be flying into San Francisco, spending a few days there before heading to LA and finishing with one helluva festival. Suddenly at work I had visions of bombing it along Highway 1 by myself in a rental car, windows down, tunes blaring with the sun shining on some of the most amazing scenery in the world. And y'know what? That was enough.
Which isn't to say there won't be frustrating times at work between now and then (in fact, there already have been), but simply that I have motivation to work through such things. I suppose everyone has their own driving factors, and adventure -- especially when combined with uncertainty and live music -- is definitely high on that list for me.
However, I am not only excited about my trip to California. The week I return home I am going to meet up with the 2 Scottish girls I met in Moscow and spend some time showing them around my corner of Canada. This should also be when I find out whether I was accepted to do my Master's at the University of Oslo or not, and so my next adventure (whether to Norway or elsewhere) should be in the works by that point as well.
Finally -- and perhaps as equally uplifting -- is the notion that spring will be here soon enough. Although we haven't had a particularly long winter this year (it didn't really get cold til mid-January), it's still been 2 years since I've experienced a Canadian winter and I'm ready for it to be done. It's been warmer the last couple days and the snow and ice has begun to melt. Again, this isn't to say that it won't be cold or snowstormy again, just that if it is, it will be bearable, because the worst is behind us and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
You must understand that the work I do (and have done for the last couple years) is solely for the cash and that I have absolutely nothing invested in it -- there is no love for what I do day in and day out. Therefore, the worst days at work are the ones when I'm stuck in the middle of 'the tunnel,' so to speak -- when I'm working hard, head down, with no distinct goal or future reprieve in sight. These are miserable, miserable times.
Yet at some point this week (I think it was Thursday), it all just clicked for me. I realized that 5 weeks from now, I will be flying into San Francisco, spending a few days there before heading to LA and finishing with one helluva festival. Suddenly at work I had visions of bombing it along Highway 1 by myself in a rental car, windows down, tunes blaring with the sun shining on some of the most amazing scenery in the world. And y'know what? That was enough.
Which isn't to say there won't be frustrating times at work between now and then (in fact, there already have been), but simply that I have motivation to work through such things. I suppose everyone has their own driving factors, and adventure -- especially when combined with uncertainty and live music -- is definitely high on that list for me.
However, I am not only excited about my trip to California. The week I return home I am going to meet up with the 2 Scottish girls I met in Moscow and spend some time showing them around my corner of Canada. This should also be when I find out whether I was accepted to do my Master's at the University of Oslo or not, and so my next adventure (whether to Norway or elsewhere) should be in the works by that point as well.
Finally -- and perhaps as equally uplifting -- is the notion that spring will be here soon enough. Although we haven't had a particularly long winter this year (it didn't really get cold til mid-January), it's still been 2 years since I've experienced a Canadian winter and I'm ready for it to be done. It's been warmer the last couple days and the snow and ice has begun to melt. Again, this isn't to say that it won't be cold or snowstormy again, just that if it is, it will be bearable, because the worst is behind us and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
A Day of Discoveries
Man, today just keeps getting better and better! Following a link I saw to a LibriVox reader's blog, I came across Kiva.org
This website is amazing! You can go check it out to get more detailed info but basically they partner with microfinance institutions around the world to provide small loans to business operators in third world countries! This is not charity but an actual loan that is expected to be repaid. Only instead of coming from large financial institutions that will suck them dry, it comes from first world investors, such as ourselves. Now, the loan does go through a few middlemen, Kiva.org being the first and then whatever the local microfinance institution is -- and the local institution is allowed to charge interest, however Kiva has stated that they won't partner with anyone who charges ridiculous interest rates and that the main purpose of the whole site is to invest in the lives of people in developing countries, not to make money (in cases like these, the money made from interest rates tends to go towards administrative and upkeep costs anyhow).
I really can't expound on the brilliance of this project enough. If the Internet was ever to be used for the good of humanity, truly globalizing the planet, then surely this is the ultimate example of such a thing.
Perhaps controversially, I have chosen to make my first investment to a business in Afghanistan. My reason for this is due to Canada's current military presence there. Now, I'm not naive. I realize that although the Mercy Corps (the local lending organization) investigates each business thoroughly, money could still be funneled to terrorist groups. I also realize that even if it's not, my small donation is not going to do much to combat feuding warlords or power-hungry extremists. And yet still, the idealist inside of me SCREAMS that this is such a better way of supporting and empowering the people of Afghanistan than sending in a bunch of young men and women, armed to the teeth with guns and tanks. From a big picture perspective, if you want to talk about fostering terrorism, then surely sending in armed Western forces is doing a lot more to harvest such notions than my $50 loan could ever do.
Please, I implore you to go to Kiva.org and invest in a business. All you need is $25 US and a credit card -- the money goes through PayPal but you don't even need to sign up...you just punch in your credit card number and you can make an immediate & immense difference in someone's life. I know from my travels that what may seem like so little money to us really goes a long way in developing countries. So far, Kiva has a 100% loan repayment rate, so once your money comes back you could keep it or, of course, you are free to invest in someone else ;)
Here's a PBS documentary on how it works:
This website is amazing! You can go check it out to get more detailed info but basically they partner with microfinance institutions around the world to provide small loans to business operators in third world countries! This is not charity but an actual loan that is expected to be repaid. Only instead of coming from large financial institutions that will suck them dry, it comes from first world investors, such as ourselves. Now, the loan does go through a few middlemen, Kiva.org being the first and then whatever the local microfinance institution is -- and the local institution is allowed to charge interest, however Kiva has stated that they won't partner with anyone who charges ridiculous interest rates and that the main purpose of the whole site is to invest in the lives of people in developing countries, not to make money (in cases like these, the money made from interest rates tends to go towards administrative and upkeep costs anyhow).
I really can't expound on the brilliance of this project enough. If the Internet was ever to be used for the good of humanity, truly globalizing the planet, then surely this is the ultimate example of such a thing.
Perhaps controversially, I have chosen to make my first investment to a business in Afghanistan. My reason for this is due to Canada's current military presence there. Now, I'm not naive. I realize that although the Mercy Corps (the local lending organization) investigates each business thoroughly, money could still be funneled to terrorist groups. I also realize that even if it's not, my small donation is not going to do much to combat feuding warlords or power-hungry extremists. And yet still, the idealist inside of me SCREAMS that this is such a better way of supporting and empowering the people of Afghanistan than sending in a bunch of young men and women, armed to the teeth with guns and tanks. From a big picture perspective, if you want to talk about fostering terrorism, then surely sending in armed Western forces is doing a lot more to harvest such notions than my $50 loan could ever do.
Please, I implore you to go to Kiva.org and invest in a business. All you need is $25 US and a credit card -- the money goes through PayPal but you don't even need to sign up...you just punch in your credit card number and you can make an immediate & immense difference in someone's life. I know from my travels that what may seem like so little money to us really goes a long way in developing countries. So far, Kiva has a 100% loan repayment rate, so once your money comes back you could keep it or, of course, you are free to invest in someone else ;)
Here's a PBS documentary on how it works:
Watch the PBS documentary from FRONTLINE exploring the impact of microfinance in Uganda and how Kiva is helping.
My Heart Will Go On
I have found work increasingly difficult to focus on lately. Although I am allowed to listen to music, and although my MP3 player has at least 15 gigs worth on it, I find myself growing weary of the tunes that I've got.
I've tried to compensate by downloading new music, and it has helped, to a degree. The problem is that most albums are shorter than an hour so I require several in order to keep a rotation that holds my interest. This is a lot of work to do every day, and there's no guarantee that I'll actually like all the new stuff I get. I was about to give up hope, when suddenly I remembered something...
Back when I was 15 and 16 I used to work during the summer at a computer firm that took about an hour to drive to in the morning. I remember that one of the other guys, Rob, had roughly the same commute and HATED it. He said the only thing that saved his sanity was the discovery of books on tape. Thinking about this, I remembered that Project Gutenburg had a lot of audio books online as well as original texts, so I headed over there to see what I could find. The first thing that jumped out at me was Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. The office has a fantastic internet connection which takes less than a minute to download a 40mb chunk of audio. And since all the works are in the public domain and read by volunteers, it's completely legal -- this is a black and white area, it's not even remotely grey (ironically, much like the setting of Heart of Darkness, ho ho ho). I reckon I'll be able to finish the book by the end of the day.
The book is read by the lovely Kristen Luoma and hosted on LibriVox. Although she occasionally fumbles over her words or mispronounces some of the British phrases, she does a pretty good job overall! Heading on over to LibriVox I found they have a ton more titles that, for some reason, aren't listen on Gutenburg! Certainly enough to fill the rest of my time here at the office. I've always wanted to read some more 'classics' but have just never made the effort to get around to it (recall my comment about self-discipline yesterday). Now I can do the next best thing and listen to 'em!
Since LibriVox is entirely a volunteer project, I'm totally gonna do some readings for it! I've got a nice deep voice and I like acting, so I don't think it will be too difficult! Apparently you start out doing chapters here and there and then 'graduate' to entire books. I'll be sure to let you folks know when I've completed a few recordings!
I've tried to compensate by downloading new music, and it has helped, to a degree. The problem is that most albums are shorter than an hour so I require several in order to keep a rotation that holds my interest. This is a lot of work to do every day, and there's no guarantee that I'll actually like all the new stuff I get. I was about to give up hope, when suddenly I remembered something...
Back when I was 15 and 16 I used to work during the summer at a computer firm that took about an hour to drive to in the morning. I remember that one of the other guys, Rob, had roughly the same commute and HATED it. He said the only thing that saved his sanity was the discovery of books on tape. Thinking about this, I remembered that Project Gutenburg had a lot of audio books online as well as original texts, so I headed over there to see what I could find. The first thing that jumped out at me was Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. The office has a fantastic internet connection which takes less than a minute to download a 40mb chunk of audio. And since all the works are in the public domain and read by volunteers, it's completely legal -- this is a black and white area, it's not even remotely grey (ironically, much like the setting of Heart of Darkness, ho ho ho). I reckon I'll be able to finish the book by the end of the day.
The book is read by the lovely Kristen Luoma and hosted on LibriVox. Although she occasionally fumbles over her words or mispronounces some of the British phrases, she does a pretty good job overall! Heading on over to LibriVox I found they have a ton more titles that, for some reason, aren't listen on Gutenburg! Certainly enough to fill the rest of my time here at the office. I've always wanted to read some more 'classics' but have just never made the effort to get around to it (recall my comment about self-discipline yesterday). Now I can do the next best thing and listen to 'em!
Since LibriVox is entirely a volunteer project, I'm totally gonna do some readings for it! I've got a nice deep voice and I like acting, so I don't think it will be too difficult! Apparently you start out doing chapters here and there and then 'graduate' to entire books. I'll be sure to let you folks know when I've completed a few recordings!
Monday, March 05, 2007
On the Subject of Blogging...
Through a series of unexpected events, I have recently been turned on to some new, fantastic blogs. Not that I don't enjoy reading about what my friends are up to, but there's something very interesting in reading about a complete stranger's life and their views on it -- even more so when they do a good job of documenting it.
Which has gotten me thinking more about this blog right here. I started it when I first moved to the UK in Sept. 04 as a way of keeping in touch with friends and family back home. I absolutely downright LOATHE mass e-mails that people send with updates of their lives and had no desire to inflict that horror upon the ones I love. I figured that those who actually cared about me would bother to look up a website a couple times a week and those who didn't, wouldn't. It morphed a little bit from there, as I would throw in a little political commentary or share something interesting that had been shared with me, but that was about it.
Ok, so here's the part where I pull back the curtain and reveal the SUPER-DUPER, BRAND-NEW, ULTRA, STEP UP OF MY BLOG!!!! Except I'm sorry to say that's not going to happen. What *is* going to happen -- at least, I hope -- is that I will be a little more intentional about my blogging efforts. I purposely never set a goal or target for my blog because I always wanted it to be something I enjoyed. If it ever felt like a chore, well then that would kinda be self-defeating. Nevertheless, there is something to be said for a little self-discipline (an area I've never particularly excelled in), and I find I do get quite a lot of satisfaction out of putting my thoughts into words...often I don't realize how therapeutic it is until after I've done so. I'm finding it particularly difficult to write lately -- there's something about the combination of a full-time job and the Canadian winter that just zaps the life outta me. And yet I've realized this is really the time I need to write the most.
So I'm still wary of throwing down a specific number or tangible goal, but just know that inside there has been a significant shift. And that's about the best you'll ever get from me -- sorry, it's just how I roll.
Which has gotten me thinking more about this blog right here. I started it when I first moved to the UK in Sept. 04 as a way of keeping in touch with friends and family back home. I absolutely downright LOATHE mass e-mails that people send with updates of their lives and had no desire to inflict that horror upon the ones I love. I figured that those who actually cared about me would bother to look up a website a couple times a week and those who didn't, wouldn't. It morphed a little bit from there, as I would throw in a little political commentary or share something interesting that had been shared with me, but that was about it.
Ok, so here's the part where I pull back the curtain and reveal the SUPER-DUPER, BRAND-NEW, ULTRA, STEP UP OF MY BLOG!!!! Except I'm sorry to say that's not going to happen. What *is* going to happen -- at least, I hope -- is that I will be a little more intentional about my blogging efforts. I purposely never set a goal or target for my blog because I always wanted it to be something I enjoyed. If it ever felt like a chore, well then that would kinda be self-defeating. Nevertheless, there is something to be said for a little self-discipline (an area I've never particularly excelled in), and I find I do get quite a lot of satisfaction out of putting my thoughts into words...often I don't realize how therapeutic it is until after I've done so. I'm finding it particularly difficult to write lately -- there's something about the combination of a full-time job and the Canadian winter that just zaps the life outta me. And yet I've realized this is really the time I need to write the most.
So I'm still wary of throwing down a specific number or tangible goal, but just know that inside there has been a significant shift. And that's about the best you'll ever get from me -- sorry, it's just how I roll.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
221
Today was my 25th birthday. Unlike 16, 18, 19 and 21, the only thing that happens at 25 is that your car insurance rates go down and most big rental companies will let you borrow their vehicles. I guess the whole 'quarter-of-a-century' idea is a big deal too, but I hypothesize that's only because we live in a culture founded on the decimal system. For example, if we only had 3 fingers and 3 toes, it is likely that we would function on a base 3 system, and in Ternary, today I would be 221 -- that's not a very special number now is it? (next year, 26, would be 222 and that would be kinda cool...) I bet in a ternary society, the big celebrations would be every 9 years (100, 200, 1000, etc.), and 81 would be huge (you're 10,000!) After all, us human beings are often just silly creatures who attribute false importance to symbols we arbitrarily create....
NEVERTHELESS! I had a wonderful 221st birthday! I had brunch in the T-Dot with all of my family members and their significant others (minus my cousin Greg whom we all missed cuz he's living out west!) It was a great meal and good to spend time with everyone since I haven't really had the opportunity to do so very much in the past 2 years. Hanging out with my family is always lots of laughs. Afterwards, my mom and I did some birthday gift shopping at the World's Biggest Bookstore, followed by Sam the Record Man and MEC, where I received a light-weight, one-man tent named Big Agnes (although having set it up in our living room, Matt and I reckon you could squeeze two men...er...people inside. Whether we actually tried this or not, I will leave up to your imagination). Hopefully she will see me through Coachella as well as future adventures. Then it was back down the 401 to Waterloo for a relaxing Sunday night at home. All in all, a pretty darn good day, if I do say so myself! Happy birthday to me!
NEVERTHELESS! I had a wonderful 221st birthday! I had brunch in the T-Dot with all of my family members and their significant others (minus my cousin Greg whom we all missed cuz he's living out west!) It was a great meal and good to spend time with everyone since I haven't really had the opportunity to do so very much in the past 2 years. Hanging out with my family is always lots of laughs. Afterwards, my mom and I did some birthday gift shopping at the World's Biggest Bookstore, followed by Sam the Record Man and MEC, where I received a light-weight, one-man tent named Big Agnes (although having set it up in our living room, Matt and I reckon you could squeeze two men...er...people inside. Whether we actually tried this or not, I will leave up to your imagination). Hopefully she will see me through Coachella as well as future adventures. Then it was back down the 401 to Waterloo for a relaxing Sunday night at home. All in all, a pretty darn good day, if I do say so myself! Happy birthday to me!
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Oh My Goodness!
Someone making SENSE with regard to Canada/NATO in Afghanistan! Unfortunately this will probably fall on the deaf ears of our current pro-military, pro-U.S.-style government. They will likely retort with some such nonsense about 'not supporting the troops.' Bah.
Sorry for lacking posts as of late. I'm working full time and though I have lots of thoughts to share, I just don't have the energy to make it happen all the time...
Sorry for lacking posts as of late. I'm working full time and though I have lots of thoughts to share, I just don't have the energy to make it happen all the time...
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