Ted Rogers Says No To Allstream...for now

Quashing a suggestion that he might bid for MTS Allstream (TSX:MBT), he noted that investment analysts tend to favour acquisitions over large increases in capital spending but “Allstream would cost a huge amount of money, and for a fraction of that - but still a substantial number in terms of capital expenditures - we will go in the business with the newest technologies.”

Rogers Communications triples Q3 net to $154M; stock to split, dividend up

Hmmm….. It’s like no one wants to Allstream to the Prom. She’s standing there looking all cutesy, but no takers.

technorati tags:allstream, Rogers, Prom

What Happens When You Break Up with an ILEC

The CRTC has rules about the type of contact that ILECs can have with former customers for the first 3 months after switching to a new service provider. These are called the Winback Rules and have been the cause for a Charter of Rights challenge.

Telecom Trends

Mark Goldberg always has the goods, especially when it comes to the CRTC, but I'm looking for the syllabus that covers what happens when you start to *go out* with an ILEC.  My first 3 months with BELL, after not dating them for over 5 years have shown Bell to be high maintenance, clingy, they tell all their friends about us, and I have to pay for every date. Yes, this is the first time in 5 years that I've got to deal with telemarketers. And of course, the bill's already been wrong once. I've had my beautiful, secret relationship with my Primus VoIP phone for almost 2 years. No one calls that number and tries to sell me something. To be funnier, it's the VoIP phone number that we give out.

Somehow, evil weevils have gotten their claws into the Bell phone number (hmm, I wonder how?) and they call daily.  It's a good think I don't answer that one.

;-)

technorati tags:BELL, Primus, VoIP, Mark Goldberg, CRTC, Telemarketers

Shrinking Canadian Support for Troops in Afghanistan

Slightly more than half of Canadians support the Afghan mission and believe troops are providing critical support, suggests a poll that found less enthusiasm for the Tories' foreign policies in general.

Slight majority of Canadians support Afghan mission: poll

I have a sinking suspicion that the people were polled were showing support for the canadian troops stuck in Afghanistan, and were NOT showing support for the Canadian government's foreign policies. The fact that Canadians have now been warned by Al-Quaeda should be a bit of a warning shot over Harper's bow........

Unfortunately now, it's too late to change direction, even if changing direction is the right thing to do.  Now, it will appear as if Canada is allowing itself to be blackmailed by a terrorist organization.  It's a damn shitty spot to be in.  And every morning, I watch the planes overhead, and wonder.

technorati tags:Canada, Al-Quaeda, terrorism

Dr Laura - Bible Clarification on Owning Canadians

Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?

StockHouse USA

Anyone who’s turned on the radio (and now the TV in the past 5 years has heard of her. Everything is cut and dried with Dr Laura - if it’s “in the bible” it’s a no-brainer. She’s become infamous with her stance on everything from marriage, same sex couples, and has used the “bible” to her own advantages.

Thanks to Karen for pointing me in this direction, where an East-Coaster writes a letter of clarification to Dr Laura, asking for confirmation on many other aspects of the bible. I think you will like it.

technorati tags:Dr Laura, idiocy

Scoble Talks about Blogging... and sex.

Blog cause you want to (and include sex in your headlines)

Imagine.

Sex :-)

Apparently, it's the easiest way to drive visitors :-)

Well, we'll see, won't we.

*wink*

technorati tags:sex, blogging, scoble

What Not To Read before Going to Bed...

As you may have heard, Al-Qaeda has told the Canadian government to end the Afghanistan mission or face a 9/11-type attack: The threat, attributed to a member of the al-Qaeda information and strategy committee, condemns Prime Minister Stephen Harper for refusing to pull out of Afghanistan. It also refers to Canada’s “fanatic adherence to Christianity” as well as its purported attempts to “damage the Muslims” and its support for the “Christian Crusade” against al-Qaeda.

What are the Canadian Terrorist Targets? | DarrenBarefoot.com

Note to Self: Read happy and uplifting things before bed, or suffer the consequences.  Darren's article on the risk of al-Qaeda threats to Canada invaded my subsonscious, and had me dreaming various assorted terrifying events. Sure, daylight savings time didn't help either, but still.

Why couldn't I have read something generic about youtube? Or Something equally safe, like Matthew Ingram's thoughts on the Un-coolness of MySpace?

Tonight. Something reasonable.

technorati tags:al-Quaeda, Canada, Daylight Savings Time

Falling Back

It’s easy to grasp the concept of daylight savings time, unless you happen to be canine. The smapp dog is still on “yesterday’s time”, and has been too early for everything today. WAY too early for waking up, and now, too early for dinner. The fact that her tummy is grumbing is an indication that regardless of what time it is, she’s ready for it to be supper time ;-)

I have a feeling that the next few days are going to bel ike this. An early tummy. ;-)

I’m not the only one who has figured out that pets have a hard time with DST…. Gary Bogue has a curious post about cats and clocks. 

technorati tags:Daylight Savings Time

Voice 2.0 Explained

First coined by blogger and telecom executive Alec Saunders, ‘Voice 2.0′ is a term that refers to the consequences of voice becoming a simple data stream and application, that will integrate seamlessly with Web based business and consumer applications. This convergence of telephony communication and the Web will lead to fundamental changes in the way communication services are provided and a dramatic shift in the industry value chain.

TelecomVistas.com

This article should become mandatory reading for all new entrants and employees at telecom “solution provider” organizations. The dramatic mindshift needed to pull these giant ships out of their present path is going to be impressive. That being said, I’ve heard that it only takes 5% of the organization to create enough buzz, that it makes it easier for 25% of the organization to actually pull the levers of change. Someday I will be able to stop talking about overseas minute volume discounts as if they were a good thing.

technorati tags:voice 2.0

Technorati : Alec Saunders

Rogers, Allstream and Person to Join Together for NewFoundland Fibre Network?

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. (CP) - Newfoundland is considering the construction of a second fibre-optic link to Nova Scotia that would prevent 911 services from shutting down as they did last week, Premier Danny Williams said Thursday.

The provincial government has been scrutinizing the $82-million proposal by Rogers Communications (TSX: RCI - news), MTS Allstream Inc. (TSX:MBT - news) and Persona Communications Inc. for at least several months. If approved, the project would provide a much-needed alternate connection for the only province in Canada that currently depends on a single carrier, Williams said.

A minor fire at a Bell Aliant (TSX: BA.UN) switching station that eliminated residential and mobile phone service throughout the provincial capital last Friday underscores the need for another link, Williams said.

Newfoundland pondering second line to Nova Scotia in wake of phone outage - Yahoo! News

A few obvious questions here: Did the goverment give Bell Aliant ao opportunity to provide their own redundancy and diversity plan? You would think that it would be easier to redesign and augment the network, rather than create a whole new duplicate one, especially for a province where burying fibre must be a considerable expense. That being said, with Rogers and Allstream, they've likely still got "decommissioned but not disassembled" radio towers floating all over the Rock.

Second Question: This isn't the first time that Rogers and Allstream have entertained a wild idea - [remember innikshuk?], will the incusion of Persona add sticking power to the relationship?

technorati tags:Rogers, Allstream, Persona, NewFoundland Networks

Methamphetamine Lab in Glencoe?

Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the middle of the night in June 2005 outside Glencoe, four OPP officers were watching a suspected methamphetamine operation.

London Free Press - City & Region - Driver admits ramming stakeout van full of cops

Holy cow! What a hotbed of activity Glencoe has become. At one time, it would have been a safe and sleepy town, parents secure in knowing that their wee ones were likely to never cross paths with the truly criminal. Having a meth lab in the neighbourhood likely squashes that feeling completely.

technorati tags:glencoe, meth lab

Americans Duped by Email Scams

Email fraud alone cost consumers US$630 million between 2004 and 2005.

Macleans.ca | Top Stories | Life | Pornography, gambling, lies, theft and terrorism: The Internet sucks

For some reason, this number is not terribly surprising. Not even a little bit.  Americans [generally] have a deep seated desire to get rich quick, by any means possible, the easier the better.  To think that an unknown person from around the world wants to give them $40 million, and all they have to do is send $2500 for an airplane ticket is just silly and irresponsible. You get what you pay for ;-)

Funny that Macleans calls it email fraud - I wonder how much is wasted on lottery systems?

technorati tags:Macleans, email scams

Personalized Radio Stations

Imagine.

You log into a web portal, choose your own music selections, be it individually, or by genre, or even by release date (say you wanted to stay up-to-date on the newest alternative music released between October 1 2006 and October 25th 2006).  You then choose the advertising that's relevent to you: Shoppers Drug Mart, Ikea, Nissan, Loblaws, etc. You submit your selections and pop into your car. 

2 things could happen now, you plug your EVDO phone into your radio, or you've managed to snag one of the new IP radios that have just come onto the market, with their own wireless broadband internet connectivity.  You enjoy personalized, streaming music for your commute to work.

Imagine. A partnership with an EVDO/wireless broadband carrier, a content provider like iTunes or Pandora, an advertising partner like Google, for personal commercials. 2 streams of revenue, from subscribers and from advertisers... why isn't anyone working on a service like this? Highspeed wireless is rolling out quickly.  Bandwidth pricing is dropping faster than temperatures in Ontario.

Disruptive services are all the rage now.  This one would be a smash!

A girl can dare to dream.

technorati tags:disruption, personalized radio, wireless broadband

Teaser Idea....

..... think about a solution that would completely disrupt the radio broadcasting industry. Think bigger than satellite radio.

I'll be back.

technorati tags:disruption, radio

One of the More Embarassing Ways to Go......

Pedestrian killed picking up his shoe
Oct. 21, 2006. 11:46 PM
MEGHAN HURLEYSTAFF REPORTER

A 49-year-old man was killed Saturday by a northbound car as he bent down to pick up his shoe that had fallen off while chasing a dog across Yonge St., police said.He was chasing the dog, which emergency crews could not find, across Yonge St., near the intersection at Lake Ave. in Richmond Hill when he was struck by the car, police said.“As he was crossing the road he lost his shoe and when he realized his shoe had fallen off he turned around to go get it,” Richmond Hill Staff Sgt. Harry Horn said.Emergency crews were called to the area around 8:30 p.m. and transported the man to York Central Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, police said.Yonge St. remained closed Saturday night between King Rd. and Old Colony Rd. for the investigation, police said.The man is from the Oak Ridges area, said police, who have not confirmed his identity.No charges have been laid, police said.

TheStar.com - Pedestrian killed picking up his shoe

Oh my.  The poor fellow managed to dodge traffic to save his dog, until he realized he was missing a shoe.  It was the shoe that managed to get him hit by a car. Word on the street it was actually a slipper. Yikes.

technorati tags:Oak Ridges, Pedestrian Killed by Lost Slipper

Now You Know....

There’s a trivia book in every bathroom and outhouse in North America. You know there is. Even if no one admits, there is a secret trivia hound in all of us. The wiz now has 2 trivia books, and I’m thrilled (and he has no shame) to admit that he’s spent such a considerable amount of time “sitting” and reading them, that his feet have actually fallen asleep. It doesn’t have to be this way… there’s help for trivia [freaks] buffs….

Imagine the things you could learn:

1. Cats purr at the same rate of a diesel engine, 26 cycles per minute.
2. The Jack O’lantern is named after a drunk?
3. Thomas Jefferson actually served Macaroni and Cheese in the White House in 1802.
4. The next time you cough, you might want to know that you are sending air through your windpipe faster than the speed of sound!

All this knowledge, at my fingertips, and no, my feet are not asleep.

technorati tags:Aviva Trivia

MTS Allstream and Hydro One Contract Renewal

MTS Allstream has secured a three-year extension to its data services contract with Hydro One, Ontario's electricity delivery company.Under the terms of the contract, MTS Allstream will continue to supply Hydro One with several data services, focussed on speed, low delay and reliability of data transfer, in support of bandwidth-intensive applications requiring real-time transport of voice, data and video.

mediacastermagazine.com - Mediacaster - 10/23/2006

It's good to see that Allstream continues to resign contracts with existing customers. One intersting point of note - the Hydro One contract is with the enterprise division of Allstream, and not the wholesale division. An interesting angle to take, considering the expansion of the wholesale markets in Canada. One of Allstream's strenghts is wholesale. It would do a world of good if the rest of the beast realized it, and allowed the wholesale group to grow and expand. The Allstream Wholesale division shouldn't be treated like the ugly red-haired stepchild, stuck locked in the attic.

technorati tags:Allstream, Wholesale Telecom, Hydro One

We Are What We do

An interesting site hit my radar this morning, We Are What We Do
It's all about changing the world, one action at a time.  It's a feel good site, full of interesting bits and ideas and could likely be the catalyst for some significant conversations. Take a look. Be. Do.

technorati tags:we are what we do

I'm an SOB!

Really! Imagine my surprise, doing the biweekly analysis of traffic reports, to come across a few references from The Successful [and Outstanding] Blog
It took three readings of the post to realize that I was one of the LUCKY Successful and Outstanding Bloggers.

Check out the fantastic company I’m keeping!!!!!

:-)

 

technorati tags:SOB, Successful and Outstanding Blog

Fruits of Labour

IMG_9046
Originally uploaded by julebule.

Thankfully not my labour. All I had to do was walk around, wipe up pumpkin shrapnel, and take photos.
I toasted the seeds, but had flashbacks of a bad experience burning pumpkin seeds, and the subsequent burning of a kitchen. I watched these seeds like a hawk.

from one angle

IMG_8843
Originally uploaded by julebule.

It’s damn hard to get photos of yourself. Especially when yourself is the photographer. The camera looks pretty small in the photo - I’m ready to upgrade my SLR. :-)

We have a “photo gallery” in our living room, and 99% of the pictures there are NOT me.  The wiz says I must include myself. And then he came up with this idea. Self Portrait. I shall soon be adding it…

Man that’s some good hair going on. :-)