A Psychosomatic Recession?

You can't turn on a TV or radio in Canada without being pummeled with messages about an imminent recession. Pundits, politicians and media are all tightly ensconced on the bandwagon. It's coming: gas prices, housing slumps, interest rates and inflation. How could a recession *not* be on the horizon.

How about this: could the mere fact that every is talking and thinking about a recession be one of the main reasons that we experience a recession? People listen to the news, become wary, put off purchases, save money under their mattress, decide not to go on that vacation to Niagara Falls this summer, decide that they can get another year out of their '97 minivan? Corporations get wary because the folks making financial decisions are *also* normal people watching the news, so they are deciding to postpone projects, postpone filling that open head count because *a recession is coming, better be frugal right now*.

Are we experiencing a psychosomatic recession? Thinking that it's so just might make it so.

On the upside, Ontario is now Raccoon Rabies Free.


Technorati Tags: canada, recession

8 Weeks to a Greener Planet: Week 1

To help celebrate Earth Day yesterday, I decided to take it up a notch with our own *home greening*.

Over the next 2 months, we will be introducing new habits, new activities and new actions to *be greener*.
First things first - no more bottled water. Both the Wiz and I love cold bottled water, but the side effects of all that wasted plastic (even if it’s recycled) are less than appealing.
Last night we broke down and got a snappy kitchen water cooler from Costco. Don’t bother going into the store to get one, they are only available online (we checked):-)


Stay tuned for next week, when I contemplate those nasty wanna-be plastic bags that you put your veggies in at the grocery store.



Technorati Tags: Earth Day, recycling, green, water cooler, costco

An Itchy Green Thumb - 5 Great Gardening Sites

If you are thinking about spring, and creating spring magic in your backyard, you aren’t alone. I’ve been raking and tidying up after work for the past week now, thinking about all the possibilities that warm weather can bring. Of course, being cooped up inside for the past 5 months has only brought on the creative landscaping desires even stronger this year.

First things first - a quick Google search on landscaping ideas produced a plethora of options. Of course, I was digging in the weeds for articles that were *real* and not just teasers for pro landscapers. HGTV has a *very* good Landscaping section. I especially like their article on Creating Rhythm in the Garden.

Better Homes and Gardens has Edible Landscaping Ideas. Which makes sense, considering the push to create more *green* sustainability in subdivisions. :-) I love the idea of vegetables, without the *rigidity* of an obvious vegetable garden.

I never thought I’d say it, but Home Depot has a decent section on container gardening, and creating your own hanging baskets.

One of the trends being pulled into suburban Toronto is a reduction in gas powered mower usage. You can either go out and trade in your gas powered mower for a push mower, or the alternative is to reduce the amount of grass you actually need to cut - that’s the direction I’m leaning in right now. Landscaping Ideas Online has some very neat samples of alternatives to grass.

Last but not least, you need a place to dream about plants. Humber Nurseries has a very comprehensive online presence to build your wishlist from.

Here’s to reducing the itchiness in your own green thumb.


Technorati Tags: Canada Gardens, Landscaping

The Making of The Perfect Storm - Toronto Public Riots

Gas prices top $1.20/litre this morning.
Monday will see a TTC strike.

Could Tuesday erupt in city wide riots and revolts?
Could the people take to the streets en mass, in a wave of frustration and anger towards both government and the oil industry?

Are we too polite as Canadians, and will we just remain behind closed doors, writing insipid blog posts pontificating on the options.

Why are Canadian's paying $1.20 when there are LOADS of oil reserves in Alberta. Why are we paying $1.20 with the plethora of oil sitting in Newfoundland? Why is gas cheaper in Buffalo right now than it is in Toronto? Why is Canada being handcuffed by foreign multinational oil companies?

Pfft.
Forget about it. What do I know?
I'm going to work from home on Monday.


Technorati Tags: Toronto, Gas prices, TTC Strike, Canadian Riots

IT World Canada Lists Top 10 Canadian Technology Bloggers

Through a neat twitter tweet by Mark Evans, I discovered this morning that ITWorld Canada has recently published a list of the Top 10 Canadian Technology Bloggers.
I was hoping to come across new voices. Alas, it's 10 folks I am already reading regularly (congrats Alec!!). Either I am a full-on nerd, or there isn't really a large field of Canadian Tech bloggers to choose from? :-)

This list is missing:
Jon Arnold - how is this possible!?!?!??!
Kevin Restivo
How about David Crow
Darren Barefoot
Buzz Canuck
Profectio

So - if I can't find neat content via ITWorld Canada - where to look?

Who are *your* fave Canadian Tech Writers?

Apple Love - The AppleSac

It's been a month now, give or take a few days, and I'm ready to get yummy Apple accessories for the Mac.
Last week it was the Mighty Mouse.
This week... an AppleSac. For safety and security. I've been shuffling the Mac from one location to another in the house, and it's yet to go on a trip. But soon summer will arrive, and at some point, the Mac is going to have to go on vacation. With me, of course. It deserves safety. Plus, who can say no to Sherpa fleece linings? No one can say no to a Sherpa. period.

Red Delicious. Red Burlap and Fleece MacBook Sleeve by AppleSac

Why No One in Canada Is Talking About the Sea Shepherd and the Seals

I've been following the brave adventures of the Sea Shepherd, ever since the Canadian seal massacres started this spring out east. The coverage in Canadian media has been spotty at best, and more often than not, simply one sided. The surprising long arms of the Canadian government have seeming silenced objective journalism when it comes to the Canadian Seal Hunts.

Last week, the Canadian Coast Guard attacked and boarded the Farley Mowat, the Sea Shepherd's vessel, resulting in arrests all around. The folks aboard the Sea Shepherd aren't your average conservation folks. They are some pretty bright, respected individuals who volunteer from around the world, spotlighting the utter ridiculousness of the Canadian Seal hunt.

There's lots of global attention, and yet very little is being said within the Canadian media industry, until today. Yesterday, Farley Mowat joined the volunteers from Sea Shepherd in the media spotlight.

The Sidney Herald has one doctor's account of the terrors of the Canadian Coast Guard Attack.
CTV covers Farley Mowat donating half the bail needed for the crew of the ship that bears his name.
Atleast the Ottawa Citizen has a bit of decent coverage.

At some point, the government and folks in the east will realize that times have changed, that *ways of life* do NOT necessarily need to be preserved (at some point, people thought slavery was an acceptable way of life). The seal hunt is an antiquated, inhumane practice. Had the Canadian government spent as much on the hunters in re-training, relocation or creating a new industry as they did this year on *marketing* and coast guard operating expenses, the Canadian Seal hunt would cease to be a big deal.




Technorati Tags: Sea Shepherd, Farley Mowat, Canada, Seal Hunt

First Cattle, The Pigs... Up Next: Chickens

There's been a rash of livestock incidents in the GTA this spring.

A few weeks ago, cattle were loose on the 427.

Yesterday, pigs escaped on the 401.

I'm fully prepared for a chicken rig to flip on the 400 before we hit the Canada Day Weekend.

And why? It's not *all* driver error. Considering the laws of probability, and the number of livestock trucks traveling through the city, it's just a question of time before the chicken scenario occurs.

In January 2008, a chicken truck in Oregon spilled chickens all over the roadway.

I say again. Simply a matter of time. Imagine 200 chickens on the 400. Like a massive pillow fight. But much worse.








Technorati Tags: cattle, chickens, pigs, GTA highways, 401, 427, 400

Guitar Hero-A Whole New Game with 2 Guitars

2 weeks ago, the Wiz set sail for america, and returned with gold in the form of an additional Guitar Hero guitar for our Wii. The game has never been better. The competition, the collaboration... the battles! Instead of having to just watch each other, the players in this house are now PLAYING each other. The chickadees are so much better at the game. No more need for a grownup to do the strumming, they are battling each other in duels all over the place.

The only downside of having Guitar Hero for the Wii is the inability to buy and download more songs. We actually considered getting Rock Band, if only to draw from a new pool of music. Now that's just insane.
:-)


Technorati Tags: Guitar Hero, Wii

Facebook: People You May Know

Over the weekend I ran across a nifty new facebook feature: People You May Know.
It presents friend recommendations to you, based on the number of friends you and the recommendation have in common. Now there's no more need to troll through all your friends' friends lists ;-)

This could have been handy about 11 months ago ;-)
Although - there is a flip side to this - if, perchance, you are picky with who you are accepting as friends (and I say this only because friend filtering is starting to set in....)it's oddly creepy that folks can see who you are friends with.

That being said - I'm there is also a setting that you can tweak in the privcay settings that will keep you out of those friend referral recommendations. It's the ability for friends of friends to be able to see you.... ;-) If you set it to Only Friends, you will be placed in stealth mode.




Technorati Tags: facebook

eBay.ca Motors?

An interesting piece of fluff floated into my inbox this afternoon - eBay.ca Motors --- selling your car using eBay.
And from April 13 - 19th, there's no commission fees! ;-) That being said, when you check out the fees, they are fairly small potatoes. Now you can easily *buy* cars on eBay.

This could be the big competitor to the AutoTrader.ca
It will only be a matter of moments before there's also an eBay leasebuster option that rivals leasebusters.ca

Gulp. What's next, selling your house on eBay? Wait - I think I might have already written about that ;-)


Technorati Tags: eBay Motors, Leasebusters, Autrotrader

Testing mobile posting

Hello world!!

Radio Interference and Blackberries

This is always something I’ve questioned: why do GSM Blackberries cause radio/speaker interference? You know what I mean, you’ve got your berry too close to the radio, or to any speaker, and every once in a while (likely when the Berry is checking with the cell tower) you get the worst feedback/clicking/irritation. It can happen at home, in the car, on a conference call. Once it even happened to me when I was in a hockey arena, and sitting too close to the timekeeper box.

Wow - did I get the big heck that time ;-) Still, what to GSM berries do that CDMA berries don’t?My TELUS Berry Pearl is polite and quiet. It’s the Rogers Berry Pearl (belonging to The Wiz) who’s troublesome and chatty.I’m forever locking it in the bathroom to keep it from interfering with every other sound device in the house.:-)

According to this smart fellow, Al Sacco, it’s because CDMA phones are using less RF frequencies than the GSM phones. 

….some phones cause more buzzing than others is related to the specific frequencies they emit and at what power levels. (Specific absorption rate [SAR] regulations in the United States limit the amount of power cell phones can emit to roughly two watts, according to Bradley. The SAR is a measure of how much RF energy humans can safely be exposed to.)

This leads me to believe that CDMA phones, in theory, at least, are less harmful to humans.

Hmm, CDMA carriers should use this in the marketing!! :-) 

There's a Facebook App on my Blackberry

Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, yesterday announced that the Facebook for BlackBerry application has surpassed the 1,000,000 download mark. That’s a lot of socializing happening on productivity devices.

Inside Facebook - Tracking Facebook and the Facebook Platform

If you’ve been following my adventures this week, you know I’ve become bonded with my new blackberry pearl. Yes, it’s a work phone (thank you, work!!)

Funnily enough, it came loaded with Facebook. That in itself is curious - work phone with social networking apps. But how did Facebook hit the jackpot? How did it get itself loaded on every new cell phone?Who decides these endeavours? It’s a sweet deal…. If you are facebook. Likely less of a sweet deal if you are another social media application.I’m waiting for my LinkedIn mobile app.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Testing out PicApp

There’s often a time when I’m wishing I had a decent image or photo to add to something I’ve written. Somehow I stumbled across a thread last night that led me to Picapp. (Thanks Leigh!!!) Picapp lets you search for an image, they add the advertising, and BLAMO you’ve got yourself a decent, free image for an article for your blog. Originally, I investigated Picapp to see what was required to submit photos to be used in this process. I’ve yet to determine the submission part - but I’m sure that it’s got to show up somewhere. Right now, I think they are using a closed pool.

Fragrance Plugins: Fruits of the Devil

As I was busy plugging in a new air freshener this morning, I noticed a little power usage annotation on the back… ~ 2.1WAnd I thought - what the heck - these things *draw* that much power? They don’t do anything!!!!And then I started looking around to see if anyone else had noticed this - and what the power consumption actually is for these plug-in air fresheners.

Total electricity consumption then is: * 20 million units x 2.5w x 24 hours x 365 days / 1000 = 438,000,000 kWh (kilowatt hours, the standard measurement in the US for power consumption over time) * To power a year’s worth of Glade Plug-Ins therefore requires almost 26 million gallons of oil, or 613,000 barrels (one gallon of oil produces 17kWh of electricity, there are 42 US gallons in a barrel, so 714kWh per barrel) * It also equates to 1/8 the output of a typical 500 megawatt coal-fired power plant. In the course of producing this much energy, the power plant will also create 1250 tons of sulfer dioxide (causes acid rain) and almost half a million tons of carbon dioxide (causes global warming).

Richardsona // Adam Richardson’s Blog - Blog - The Surprising Energy Consumption of Glade Plug-Ins

More info over at Apartment Therapy indicates that the plug-ins aren’t only enviro unfriendly, but also contain chemicals that can have an impact on our health!!!!

Air fresheners have become a staple in many American homes and offices,marketed with the promise of creating a clean, healthy, and sweet-smellingindoor atmosphere. But many of these products contain phthalates(pronounced thal-ates)—hazardous chemicals known to cause hormonalabnormalities, birth defects, and reproductive problems.

This is uncool. I’m pretty sure I’m a bit of a goof for using these things.

(jules now walks through the house unplugging everything)

Alternatives:If you can’t totally unwind from having interesting smells, you gotta switch to the infusion choices:Fragrance Diffusers at Fruits and Passion

The Body Shop’s Fragrance Diffuser

Blogged with the Flock Browser

When Does The Expense of Driving Out-Weigh the Revenue of Commuting?

I’ve been pondering this question for almost a year now. Since moving out the GTA a few years ago, and switching to a more friendly organization, I’m a fairly hard core teleworker these days. It helps that 90% of the work I do involves people outside of the province, out of the country and out of the continent, and the support of the organization has been outstanding. I suppose it also helps that there are no wee monsters running around the home office. It’s peaceful and productive.

That being said - every time I drive into the analog workplace, I’m consumed by the question of how folks can afford to commute full time. I see the 404. How many of those people are going to be able to afford to drive downtown every day when gas prices hit $1.20/litre? Dont’ even get me started on the 400. What would companies have to do in terms of pay increases to keep their workforce in an office downtown? How many folks are going to ditch their jobs that require commuting and search for employment either close to home, or EASILY accessible via transit?

I can tell you, even if I *wanted* to take transit to my analog office, I don’t think I could. It would take about 3.5 hours… each way. There goes my workday. :-(

• Viva bus south for an hour to the subway.
• Subway south halfway through the city.
• Another subway to the west end of the city
• Bus north-west to the airport area.
• walk the last 2 km to the office.

I tell you. It wouldn’t work.

In the long run, either companies are going to *require* folks to work remotely, to avoid pay increases, or they are going to run the risk of losing employees, simply because a $60K job isn’t worth the $600/month in gas.
A $40K job is going to look so much more attractive, if there isn’t the expense of travel and commuter time attached to it.

CityNews: Gas Prices Soar To Highest Levels In Three Years

Technorati Tags: Gas prices, Petro Canada, teleworking, commuting

Personalize Your.... Kleenex?

I'm oddly amused and slightly interested in this.Kleenex takes a *page* from Jones Soda and creates an environment where end users can customize the product. My first thought - if this doesn't get get kids blowing their nose on their own, nothing will.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Tags: kleenex, jones soda

My New Blackberry 8830 - Pearl

I’ve just become the proud parent to a Pearl. Finally. :-)
After making the decision, and second guessing myself for the past few days, I think I’m glad. I like the size, and the weight; last night we bonded a little. It’s so very different from all the other Blackberry phones that I’ve had over the past [10] years, that it’s hard to make comparisons.
I’m getting used to the *nipple*. If you’ve got one, you know what I mean. If you don’t - it’s the little nubbin that has replaced the track wheel of the olden days.

I’m totally addicted to the camera (of course) and I’m utterly peeved that Rim decided to change the size of the headset jack. Who in their right mind uses a 3.5 mm headset jack!?!? Arggh.
I’m going to add music, to see how the sound is, and I’m already using the Facebook app that generously came pre-loaded. How’s that for work productivity? ;-)

I can’t wait to give the voice dialing a whirl. Now that’s an improvement that I’m looking forward to. And I don’t even mind the suretype keypad any more. (i’ve been using one for the past years now anyways.

Stay tuned to see how well the berry and mac play together. Word is that the bluetooth connectivity is out of this world.


Technorati Tags: Blackberry, Pearl

Blogging on Topic: Creating Personal Interest?

“I Help You Blog” has an interesting conversation regarding frequency vs topic, for blog publishing.

Here at jules.ca, I try to stay focused on telecom bits and technology pieces.  That being said, there is likely a plethora of commentary that could be related to neither. Be it photography or little personal anecdotes. Why? Well, it’s illustrating a side of me that’s beyond bits an bites, I suppose.

Well, here’s my arguement, and it’s completely a personal one - there are about two dozen blogs i read religiously and they’re very focused, but the posts that seem to resonate the most are the ones that show a glimpse into their real lives. Darren Barefoot does this really well. Alec Saunders has it figured out…So does Liz Strauss. And Seth Godin.

So - i guess the question is - do you post on topic to attract an audience, and keep them by creating personal interest?

Maybe this blog is more like a mullet: Business in the front, party in the back?

That’s a shameful comparison ;-)


Technorati Tags: blogging, Alec Saunders, Darren Barefoot, Liz Strauss, Seth Godin