The Safety of Children

Reading this morning of school shootings, again. Not even the Amish are safe now.  In a world/culture/environment where random acts of violence are becoming commonlplace, where do you turn to achieve peace and security?  When one human can effect change and tragedy on so many, so easily, what can be done? The wave of incidents over the past month has led others to wonder if there is a copycat mentality... or simply not enough news coverage of other events, to keep the public distracted (a la 9-11).

I'm left wondering, at what point will tragedy close in, and touch someone I know or love? It's simply a matter of time. Statistically speaking. And there isn't anything to be done to avoid it. it's a sad commentary, when you know that evil is going to happen, and you can't do anything to prevent it. Are we all now just waiting?

technorati tags:school shootings, safety, child safety

Blogged with Flock

Happy Birthday SARA!!!

Happy Birthday
Originally uploaded by Sara Lou.

I have a feeling you are officially OLD now!!

YouTube.com Drives Over 1000 Hits

Funny, the things that bring visitors Had I known that my wee article on youtube.com - Teens Fighting in Orangeville was going to drive oodles of traffic, I’m sure I would have written something more meaningful and profound. As it turned out, I was writing from a motel room in Rimouski, during a recent business trip.

Even now, weeks after the posting, folks are still flocking, and I didn’t even include a link to the video. Alas, now I cannot even find a worthy fighting video link, which, in hindsight, is a good thing. The flury of media attention is likely making these young Ontario ruffians salivate at the chance to be famous, even if only for 15 more minutes. Last night, DateLine had an interesting scoop about “Bum Fighting”. Kids out searching for homeless people, to beat up and catch on video. The segment included teens from Calgary, and as it turns out, these kids were caught, and sentenced.

It’s interesting commentary on society, what is considered entertainment. Likely even I am adding fuel to their fire.

technorati tags:bunfighting, youtube.com, Orangeville, Calgary

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PayPerPost?

Get Paid for Blogging. You’ve been writing about Web sites, products, services and companies you love for years and you have yet to benefit from all the sales and traffic you have helped generate. That’s about to change. With PayPerPost™ advertisers are willing to pay you to post on topics. Search through a list of topics, make a blog posting, get your content approved, and get paid. It’s that simple.

- tech whisperer - PasPerPost?

Take a peek at what I’m saying in Tech Whisperer about the idea of payment for posting. It’s a grey area, in terms of bias. 

technorati tags:PayPerPost, TechCrunch

Blogged with Flock

PayPerPost?

Get Paid for Blogging. You’ve been writing about Web sites, products, services and companies you love for years and you have yet to benefit from all the sales and traffic you have helped generate. That’s about to change. With PayPerPost™ advertisers are willing to pay you to post on topics. Search through a list of topics, make a blog posting, get your content approved, and get paid. It’s that simple.

PayPerPost :: Get Paid for Blogging, Blog Advertising, Advertise on Blogs

Wow - at first I thought this might have been a ship in the night, but apparently payperPost has teeth, and is settling in to become of of the more interesting Web2.0 companies that may indeed have a business plan with viability, providing companies and vendors the ability to advertise on blogs. After only 3 months, they’ve been able to now secure financing, and Techcrunch has interesting details with the executives of PayPerPost as to what their future directions look like.

Now, the question simply begs to be asked - would you write for money? Are their inmplications to a service such as this? Would your audience have to know that they were reading a post that was “sponsored” by the company you were posting about? What happened to non-biased writing?

Matthew Ingram has a serious article about the implications of disclosure/non-disclosure - and the credibility of the posters. 

He makes a valid point - and the question - “are you going to take a blog article seriously, if you know that the person is being paid to write about it?  Is there a difference between an advertorial, and say, a review of a tech gadget that someone has been given?  What about publications like EWeek and Information week, who are able to sustain themselves with advertorials and reviews?  They are still credible sources, but I bet that they get BIG BUCKS from companies for favourable reviews.

technorati tags:PayPerPost

Blogged with Flock

Ugly Betty?

In an era where we are just beginning to understand the significant implications of culture, fashion and entertainment on self esteem, it behooves me to wonder why and how a TV show named Ugly Betty gets released.

I’ve been parousing the news sites this morning, and stumbled across the Ugly Betty ad, right beside another ad from Dove, which actually is an outstanding service announcement about the implications of low self esteem on girls, and what women can do to support a young girl’s self esteem. Mixed messages, or what?

MamaVISION has another take on the idiocy of TV, and the messages that are being sent to the young women of today on “America’s top Model….  

Sigh. Who let this one out of the stable, and what sort of justification could there possibly be?

Silly people.

technorati tags:ugly betty

Blogged with Flock

Being in Love means Never Having to Use the Same Browser

… strange, but true. Simpler wordes were never spoken.

The wiz and I, by mutual agreement, don’t use the same browser when we are on the net, even if we may use the same computer.

It keeps things simple, sane and agreeable. We have our own favourites, our own way of doing things, and even better, we can keep our preferences and passwords to ourselves. He likes IE, I am a Flocker.

The other night, we were discussing why Flock was better than Firefox. (I am painfully aware of how geeky that sounds). It was easy for me to say:

• the blogging capabilities in Flock are amazing
• the tabbed browsing rocks
• the integration with my delicious bookmarks and flickr make it solid

But the best reason, Flock knows what to do with IE sites that are made JUST for IE. Firefox doesn’t (or didn’t) know what to do wth those sites, and went off and pouted when I tried to access them. This would be especially true with corporate intranets (those beasts are always made for IE)…

Still, the list could go on, and yet, the wiz just shook his head with a grin.

And then opened his IE browser. Neophyte.

technorati tags:flock, firefox, IE

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The Uber Nap

MetroNaps

MetroNaps is proud to introduce the MetroNaps pod. The MetroNaps pod was designed with one thing in mind: the Powernap. Its contours are perfect for napping; its mechanical processes are perfect for waking.

Finally - the art of napping has reached a new height, and perhaps a new audience.  The power napper. We need these in every office in canada.

technorati tags:MetroNaps, Power Napper

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The Best Comparisons. Ever

.....it was as abominable as a plate of scabs peeled from between the toes of a llama.

dooce

I don't know how she does it, but dooce manages to create the most visual similes. EVER.

technorati tags:similes, dooce

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Creating Art...

The wiz and i have been struggling for the past few weeks on what sort of art to have in our first "dining room".  Sounds strange, but true.

We looked all over - but it didn't seem right - finding a piece of art, be it a painting or photography or whatever, that didn't mean as much to us, as to the person who created it. And then i found art.com.

Where there are thousands of prints and reproductions, but even better - you can upload something that YOU created, and they will reproduce it on canvas. YOUR ORIGINAL ART. ON CANVAS. FOR CHEAP.

We picked a photograph i took from our old front door, of the marina in Toronto.  It means something. it has value to us.

I can't wait for it to arrive!!!

technorati tags:art, art.com

Blogged with Flock

Where Abandonned Blogs go to Die....

bLaugh

Very apropos. How many of you have lonely abandonned blogs pining away, looking for love?  I've got a bit of a bad habit of creating a new blog every time a new platform comes out.

Yes, i've got live journal (4 blogs), WordPress (2 blogs), Blogger (2 blogs)... and not to mention all the zillions of accounts on every new web 2.0 app. I need to recycle more.

technorati tags:dead blogs

Rainy and Sniffley...

.... ack. Going on day 5 of what could be the cold of the decade.  How I managed to stay so silly healthy for the past 5 years, and one trip out of province brings me to my knees... boggles the mind.

Up all night, up all day, over medicated, under medicated. Can't afford to be dopey during the day, and the night coughs laugh at the cough medicine shooters I have imbibed.

I sound like the Sea Lions of San Francisco (not the sports team), barking and coughing.

Throw me a fish, will ya.

technorati tags:sick, Sealions

Terror on the Great Lakes?

The United States Coast Guard have started to patrol the Great Lakes with machine guns mounted on their vessels and are conducting live-ammunition training drills on the U.S. side to prepare officers to combat terrorists flooding across the border from Canada by boat.

globeandmail.com : Great Lakes machine guns raise ire in Canada

Yeow - and this isn't even a joke. The idea that the US can "practice" military manoeuvers on the Great Lakes is utter nonsense.  Are these people out to lunch?  Practice on your own damn private military lake. 

C'mon over to the cottage for a beer, but leave the bullets at home.

technorati tags:US Military Great Lakes

Toronto Island Airport Gets New Airline

Travellers in Toronto will be able to begin booking charter flight reservations with Porter Airlines in the coming days now that the company has won approval to make the Toronto Island Airport its home base.The airline will begin offering round-trip service to Ottawa beginning in mid-October. Fare and schedule information have not yet been released. The private airline also plans on offering short-haul flights to other destinations in Canada and the United States.The airline said Tuesday it had received an Air Operator Certificate from Transport Canada and a licence from the Canadian Transportation Agency, an independent quasi-judicial tribunal.

Porter Airlines approved for take-off from Toronto Island Airport

I will take this as another good reason to move off the Quay.  New airlines at the airport, helicopters at Ontario Place... entirely too many fireworks for the average human (and neurotic dog).  The folks who live at the edge of the city, along the water live there for a reason.  The water, the peaceful vistas and the occasional magical storm. Now, noise makes it difficult to find the calm.

I would imagine the community groups are completely up in arms now. When we were leaving, they were aready planning to storm Ontario Place and take the helicopter pilot hostage.

Did i mention how quiet is is in Oak Ridges?

:-)

technorati tags:Toronto Island Airport, Noise Pollution Toronto

Building a Wireless Farm

In Southwestern Ontario, there's a black hole where no highspeed internet shall traverse.  No amount of fixed wireless, nor cable, not even a squeaky DSL line can penetrate. Despite the benefit of having an 80 ft silo on the property, there isn't a provider who can get connectivity to AQB Farms.

Really - I've been researching the problem for over 3 years now.  Almost got close with Execulink's fixed wireless, alas, the line of sight requirement alluded us.  Barret Explorer's Satellite service is our last hope - the alternative - holding our breath and waiting for BELL to appear, despite CRTC mandated rural broadband service, is unappealing.

So - 2 way satellite isn't the fastest, but it's faster than 56k dialup. It's more expensive than cable or DSL, but that's likely related to the hardware investments needed.

I've been kicking around an idea, as there are 3 houses on AQB Farms, and all want high speed internet,  but all are more than 200 ft away from each other. Picking a more expensive Satellite package, and splitting it among the 3 houses would be ideal...This translates to the need for wireless networking, and wireless accesspoints, to get the signal to where it wants to go.

I need to find wireless accesspoints that can live outside, and behave properly.  And getting power to them is going to be no easy trick either.

Ayone else have experience with building a mini wifi mesh outside?

technorati tags:wifi mesh, Appin, AQB Farms, Wreless access points

Where the Heck are These People Coming from?

.... not to be too self-depricating, but this has been the lamest 15 days in my life of blogging.  Between being busy, and being away, and being distracted, I haven't written a worthwhile bit in entirely too long.  And of course, the subscriber numbers are falling faster than the autumn temperatures in nortern ontario.

But the traffic is going bonkers.

Alas Internet.  There is no rhyme or reason to you.

technorati tags:blogging, traffic

the daily walk... in Oil Paint...

Art.com - Photos in to Art - Photo Details

technorati tags:art

More of the View

Art.com - Photos in to Art - Photo Details

technorati tags:art

Personal Art...

Art.com - Photos in to Art - Photo Details

I absolutely love this.

And the best part... it means something.  To me.

technorati tags:art

theview

theview
Originally uploaded by julebule.

what do you think? We are struggling with art. The idea of buying someone else's creativity doesn't sit well with me for some reason. I'd rather display something that means something. Not something that means something to someone else.

www.art.com lets you do amazing things with your OWN creativity.
I am addicted.