Elan Gale has epic fun in an airplane

A couple of years ago I wrote about a relatively amusing experience I had with a man who, charitably, could win a bad-parent-of-the-year award with one hand tied behind his back. I wrote about the experience in this blog entry, The moron who slept on my shoulder. Go ahead and pull it up...we'll wait.

[Jeopardy theme plays]

Ah, glad you're back.

As you can see from the piece, my response to being stuck next to him in an aluminum tube for a couple of hours was to passive-aggressively not confront him while in flight. I simply wrote about it afterward and kinda forgot about it. Er, maybe not: If you pay close attention to the Google profile pic that I use to this day - posted again for your viewing convenience - you can see him after I've shoved his sleeping head off of my shoulder. Say hello to the doofus!

Fortunately, the world is filled with folks whose response is less polite-Canadian and more let's-have-some-fun-with-this. Enter Elan Gale, a producer for ABC's The Bachelor, who had a run-in this week with a whining fellow passenger known as "Diane". He live-tweeted the experience, and since then his story has gone delightfully viral as frustrated travellers everywhere cheer for a guy who deftly did what they've always dreamed of doing.

Here's the blow-by-blow, craftily summarized by the CBC's Lauren O'Neil (As an aside, she's another must-follow for the digerati. Her Twitter account is here.) Buzzfeed also has the lowdown, here, as does the UK's Daily Mail, here.

Kudos to you, Mr. Gale, for using humor in ways we won't soon forget. Well played.

Update: Aaaaand...he faked the whole thing. I suppose I could simply remove this entry from my blog and pretend it never happened. Or I could update this entry and keep it real. Since I'm not a big believer in deleting something once it's been posted, here it is. I guess we now know another brilliant-yet-deceptive way to boost your social media profile - he had 35,000 Twitter followers when this started, and he's now up to 176,000 or so. But credibility? Not so much. Le sigh.

On Charlie Chaplin's brilliance

"We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness."
Charlie Chaplin

Reaching out from the darkness

I often wake up early - 4 a.m. early - so that I can get a head start on the day's research and writing. I don't plan this. I'd frankly much rather be tucked into my warm bed and don't much relish the prospect of leaving it hours before most sane people are awake.

But I'm apparently not sane, and my brain works in weird ways. If my eyes snap open well before dawn and my head is already spinning with ideas, I have to go.

Yesterday was one of those mornings, and I soon found myself trundling through the quiet, dark house. As I wandered through the kitchen, I peeked out of the frost-covered windows at a landscape painted in thick powdered snow before heading downstairs to my office (note to self: how did we live before smartphone flashlight apps?) Before long, I was sinking into my office chair and powering on my laptop, external display and iPad.  I settled my fingers on the keyboard and kind of let them sit there for a minute - it's a writer's ritual thing - then got down to the business of filling a blank screen with prose that complete strangers would hopefully understand.

I churned through my first assignment, and by the time the sky slowly started to turn from black to deep blue, the first article of the day was done and I was well into my next piece. I heard stirring from above: time to drive our daughter to choir. As I headed upstairs and we pulled on our coats and woolies to prepare for the inevitable cold, we talked about how much we liked winter. how despite the cold it was still a neat thing to experience first thing in the morning, that crisp feeling you get when you first open the door and stick your head out.

Somehow, she inspired me. So when I returned home from dropping her off and headed back to my office, I found myself pulling up Twitter and staring at the blank Compose box. This is another early morning ritual of mine, a quick reach-out to the world to see who's up, to connect with other like-minded earlybirds or, further afield, with friends who live on the other side of the planet and who may be approaching the end of their own day. Less than 140 characters can have quite an impact if you string them together just the right way. This was what flowed through my fingers yesterday morning:

I closed Twitter down and got back to work. The rest of the day turned into the usual whirlwind of writing, interviewing and kid-shuttling. I picked little man up from school and got to spend a bit more one-on-one time with our daughter at the mall. In other words, a typical day in our decidedly atypical family. Just the way I like it.

So imagine how pleased I was when Dan Brown pinged me later that evening with news he had chosen this very tweet for the Tweet of the Day on page 2 of today's London Free Press.

Like the drive time with our son or the walking-around-the-mall time with our daughter, this wasn't a for-the-ages, life-changing moment. Rather, it was a small moment, a spontaneous happy thrown into the mix. But a moment all the same, and a much appreciated one given the kind of day his newsroom was having. 

See, longtime reporter Steve Coad, Dan's colleague and mentor at the paper, passed away suddenly (tribute here, obituary here.) As he and his newsroom family absorbed the unimaginable loss of someone who so deeply understood how precious the concept of community was, he continued to do his job, and continued to find ways to apply the lessons he had learned so well from Steve.

In the end, even the smallest gestures have major implications. And that tiny moment of kindness you share with someone when you hold the door for them in a store,  help them get into an elevator, or take a moment to shape their copy before it goes live, can make all the difference in the world.

I had no idea a tweet spontaneously tapped out in the pre-dawn murk would go on to have such significance by the time the sun completed its journey across the sky.

Quoted in USA Today...

The nature of my work sometimes means my name, words and work can show up in some crazy places. I'm okay with that, as it keeps things interesting and puts what I do into some kind of perspective.

Today I was quoted in USA Today, in Peter Moreira's piece on Canadian social media dashboard pioneer HootSuite's rocket ride. 

I've followed this company's trajectory for some time, and even use their web-based and mobile products to manage my own social media activity. As a journalist, I need to use whatever technology I can to streamline my day-to-day workflow, and as a Canadian I always want to find some way to support the home team. It's quite the kick to have it all pulled together in one little quote.

Here's the link:

Hoot, hoot: Social media tool HootSuite eyes growth

If you live in Tucson, AZ, this special link from the Tucson Citizen (yes, we read them all) is just for you.

Seriously, though, some days in my admittedly chaotic world of tech journalism are especially neat, and today is one of them.

#LuckyMe

Bitcoin value spikes as its future gets cloudier

Big news out of the world of cryptocurrencies - so-called virtual currencies that are supposed to make paying for stuff online easier than with conventional dollars, shekels and euros - as bitcoin, the uber-cryptocurrency of them all, has rocketed in value, doubling in the past week and hitting an all-time high of $1,200 U.S. earlier today.

What does it mean? Well, lots, actually. As its value continues to rise, it becomes a target for hackers and thieves, with the number of recent thefts rising along with its value. If it looks, feels and smells like a bubble, chances are it probably is. And as exciting as it may seem for some wannabe-billionaires to ride the wave, the ensuing crash is going to hurt. A lot.

This may be a headline-generating, speculative investment, but it isn't a currency we'll all want to use anytime soon. Not yet, anyway.

I wrote this article for Yahoo! Canada - Bitcoin skyrockets into uncertainty - and would love to hear your $0.02 (or is it bitcoin?) on this.

Your turn: Bitcoin yes or bitcon no? Why/why not?

On being a little more open

"In the world of culture, it's more interesting to err on the side of openness as opposed to the side of restriction."
Moby

I love the man's music, but I'm thinking his way of looking at the world is even more resonant.

Celebrating Winglet Wednesday

Waving goodbye to the sun
Miami, FL
January 2011
Please click photo to embiggen
Please click here for more in-the-foreground Thematic

WestJet is a delightfully successful Canadian airline that seems to do both the big stuff and the small stuff with more panache than virtually any other modern-era airline. Considering how reviled most airlines have become, it's quite a pleasant surprise to see how many folks really enjoy flying with WestJet.

They fly Next-Generation Boeing 737s. If you're an AvGeek, you know that these planes, with the exception of some older -600s, come with winglets. These wingtip extensions don't just look neat. They reduce turbulence and drag, which improves aerodynamic performance and, consequently, fuel economy.

An additional benefit is easy to see here: it's a great surface for branding. And WestJet has done a nice job making its logo easily visible to all passengers. They've also created something called Winglet Wednesdays, where they invite passengers to share their winglet-themed pics with them every week. Maybe I should drop this one into the mix.

Your turn: I think that boat down there wants to race the plane. Who wins?

One more thing - okay, actually, two:

1. For more In The Foreground-themed Thematic, click here.
2. Winglet Wednesday resources:

• Facebook page
• Flickr group
• @WestJet Twitter handle
• Boeing Randy's Journal blog entry.

Thematic Photographic 270 - In the foreground

This old barn
Woodstock, ON
June 2013

I'm a sucker for ruined architecture, and fortunately I live in a part of the world that doesn't suffer from any shortage of it. The country roads that ring London are filled with so many examples of houses and barns that have lost their battle with the elements yet, for reasons I'll never understand, remain in place as reminders that nothing lasts forever.

As I pulled up to this particular barn, I realized getting a clear shot would be a bit of a challenge, as the roadside ditch was impassable. The flat, grey light wasn't doing me any favors, either, and the tall wild grasses sealed the deal. So I improvised a little and tried some different framing/composition approaches.

I didn't exactly make lemonade out of lemons, but I salvaged something out of an otherwise cruddy day with lousy sight lines. Maybe it's an allegory for life, that we shouldn't be disappointed when the script gets changed on our behalf by forces we can't even minutely control.

Whatever the case, I thought it would make for a fun Thematic theme. It's called in the foreground, and I hope you're into it.

Your turn: Take a pic that evokes this week's theme - specifically, with something prominently in the foreground. Share it on your blog or website, then leave a comment here letting folks know where to find it. Visit other participants to spread the photographic joy and learning, and feel free to share more photos as the week wears on. If you're new to the Thematic thing, click here and all will be explained. Have fun with it!

Whatever you do, don't spill it

Apples. Squeezed.
At altitude, somewhere over Canada
February 2013
For one last Thematic drink, click here

Years ago, I started a tradition when I travel for work. It involved taking pictures of whatever I was eating, drinking, seeing or doing, then sharing the photos with my kids.

It helped bridge the distance a bit, and helped them better understand why I had to be away every once in a while. It also helped me, because it gave me a reflective moment in the middle of an otherwise chaotic trip where I could quietly sit down and think of them.

Even now, I try to stick closer to home if I can get away with it. But on the odd occasion where I find myself in a car, train or plane, it usually doesn't take too long before the camera comes out. And on this cold winter's day somewhere over Canada's Rocky Mountains, I found myself drinking apple juice, and it didn't take long before the camera found its way into my hand. For some odd reason, apple juice has been a recurring theme, and I can't even begin to explain why.

Your turn: What's your favorite drink? Why?

One more thing: Stay tuned for the next Thematic theme, in the foreground, which we'll launch tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern. If you want to throw in a last-minute drink-themed pic, feel free to head here (it's always a good time, after all.) Enjoy.

The day dawns grey in Cambridge

From one end of Ontario to the other, today was an unbroken string of fog, myst and rain. I know this because I witnessed it from the driver's seat of my car, and as much I willed the sun to come out, Mother Nature had other plans.

We're back in Montreal for a quick visit with my father-in-law. He turned 80 today, and as this is his first birthday since my mother-in-law passed away, we simply needed to be here. If I've learned one thing from my wife - okay, I've learned many things from her over the years, but please humor me - it's this: sometimes you just need to be there. Doesn't matter whether it's a celebration, a milestone, or even an illness. When it comes to family, she's taught me the unwritten rule. You go. No questions asked.

So here we are. And despite the darkened skies and rain-slicked roads, it was a bright day. Our car was filled with the unmistakable energy of a brood on a road trip. Our kids got a grandfatherly hug when we arrived. Okay, maybe two. And dinner was a dozen and a half members of his extended family filling the room with energy and warmth. 

Deb's mom would have loved it. At the very least, her spirit was felt, and for now that'll have to be enough.

On getting the most out of life

Life is short and often stingy; feast the heart with what it craves, short of cruelty, and let the world wonder.
Reynolds Price

Words to live by...

Because underdogs should always win

Betty, not Veronica
Mary Ann, not Ginger
Bailey, not Jennifer
Velma, not Daphne

Your turn: You know where I stand. What about you?

Tea far from home

Keeping warm
New York, NY
November 2013
Thematic. Drink. Here.

There's something about having tea far from home that seems to take the edge off of being alone and disconnected.

As I write this, I'm surrounded by masses of strangers rushing in every direction imaginable, overwhelmingly bright lights that assault my eyes, and enough foreground and background noise to keep me deaf for my next three lives - assuming this whole afterlife thing isn't a crock. It's a lot colder outside than I thought it would be, and my decision to disregard my wife's advice to dress warmer is coming back to haunt me. She was indeed right.

So I grab hold of my holiday-themed cup and let its warmth slowly seep into my fingers. I don't necessarily need to drink it just yet. Just the feeling of it in my hands is enough to not only return feeling to my frozen digits, but also cut down the distance from the part of this world that matters most to me.

All this from a simple drink. Crazy how that works, isn't it?

Thematic Photographic 269 - Drink

Tea is ready
London, ON
November 2013

I'll be quick. It's getting cold and windy outside, and winter is knocking hard on the front door. Some days, she comes right inside and makes herself right at home.

So we drink. Tea, coffee, whatever makes us happy. And for the next week, I hope we'll take pictures of what we're drinking - creative ones, wild ones, whatever you want - and share them online.

We call it Thematic Photographic, and everyone's welcome to pick up a camera and join in.

Your turn: Take a pic that supports this week's theme, Drink. Share it on your blog or website, then leave a comment here letting folks know where to find it. Visit other participants to share the photographic joy. Tweet it out using the #ThematicPhotographic hashtag, and feel free to return through the week: multiples are always welcome. For more info on how Thematic works, click here. Enjoy, and thanks!

One final flash of red

I didn't get out as often as I had hoped this year to capture the fall colors. Like most folks, I had the best of intentions, but my could-go times never aligned with the right time of day or the right weather or the right light conditions. And by the time everything came together, peak color had come and gone. 

Bummer, I know. But no one ever said this life thing followed a consistent script.

But the universe has an interesting way of salvaging what might have otherwise been. As I was walking back to my car on a damp afternoon last week, I came across this scene that in one last blast of color made up for my complete lack of lens time over much of the previous month.

Sometimes it takes a little extra time for the moment to present itself. Sometimes you just have to have a little patience.

On telling the naysayers to stuff it

"I will never turn down my ambition because someone else is uncomfortable with the volume."
Unknown

Yup. Sounds about right. I was never much of an apologist, anyway.

Eat your breakfast every day

I often joke about how social media can be such a wasteland because everyone uses it to take pictures of their breakfast and share them.

Yet here I am doing precisely the same thing. Which makes me wonder if I've joined the legions of the vacuous, or if I've simply decided the occasional snippet of a day well lived is worth sharing.

Call me conflicted. Interwebs, what say you?

The simple things...

Sometimes you just have to grab the fleeting moments to do stuff with your kids. Because they won't be kids forever, and they won't always want to hold your hand or hang around with you.

But today she did, so here I find myself sitting on frigid grandstands watching her school's team play. The temperature, of course, is irrelevant. The fact that I'm here at all, however, means everything.

Enjoy the moment, folks.

Batkid saves San Francisco

This week on Planet Earth, it's been all too easy to submit to the negativity, to give up in the face of overwhelming natural disasters and disasters of their own making. When you look around you and see so much grey, it often seems like the light at the end of the tunnel may never show its face again.

Thanks to a 5-year-old leukemia survivor, Miles Scott, in San Francisco, you might want to reconsider the hope thing. Try to read this story and not cheer. Or cry. Or both.

Batkid saves San Francisco in epic Make-a-Wish dream come true

And if you're the Twittering type, follow the #SFBatkid hashtag for the latest. This is what defines heartwarming.

Related links: ABC, Yahoo/AP, LA Times

On leadership and inspiration

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."
John Quincy Adams

All this Rob Ford drama - and, to be fair, the ridiculousness surrounding London's own indicted-for-fraud Mayor Joe Fontana - has gotten me thinking about who leads, why, and why we look up to them. As I write this, Mr. Ford refuses to resign amid a growing movement to either convince him to quit or force him from office.

The rules, such as they are, do not include provisions for removing a sitting mayor, but the rules are painfully inadequate here. We're long beyond the point at which process and procedure are the only things that matter. Rather, we're well into the zone of what this says about us as a society, and what kinds of messages we want to send to our kids. They are, after all, watching and learning. And the complete absence of inspirational leadership sets a tone for the rest of us that almost begs for perpetual acceptance of mediocrity in the way we live.

Leaders must inspire. And if they don't, or won't, or can't, they should leave the stage and make room for others who will. Too many so-called leaders seem to forget this very simple fact. Pity that. Maybe that's why the planet is so mired in chaos these days.