Publish Day - Ink Blog - officer down

It's hard to say anything unique when a young police officer is gunned down on the job. It happens with such alarming regularity that we're almost numb to it by now.

The city where I grew up, Laval, Quebec, has never experienced it. Until this week. Even though it wasn't a technically local story, I felt it had universal impact, that no matter where we live, we all rely on police forces that we largely take for granted. Until something like this happens, of course.

Wherever you may live, I hope that after reading this you'll thank an officer as well. It's easy to see that these folks truly are heroes.

Your turn: I hope you'll share a positive experience you've had with an officer. I'm sure we've all benefitted from their help at one point or another.

Constable's death a tragedy for us all
Published Friday, December 16, 2005
The London Free Press

Laval Police Const. Valérie Gignac was 25 years-old when a single shot from a high-powered rifle ended her life on Wednesday.

Gignac was the eighth Canadian officer to be killed in the line of duty this year, and only the second female officer to be shot in Canadian history.

Statistics do little to mask the tragedy or set things right. She was pursuing a career of helping others. Helping someone in need cost her her life.

I grew up in Laval. My parents moved there because it was a place where things like this didn’t happen. But they do, and no place is immune.

Think of what it must take to risk your life every time you head out to work. Police officers, even in seemingly genteel London, Ont., are willing to sacrifice it all so that the rest of us can lead our routine lives.

If you see an officer today, take a moment to thank him or her for taking that risk on our behalf each and every day.

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Publish Day - Ink Blog - Fire!

Today's column is all about priorities. Or the fact that sometimes it seems as if government doesn't know how to set them.

London's north end has grown so fast in recent years that fire protection services have not kept pace. Response times up here - yup, I'm a northerner, too - are well below provincial averages, and firefighters have been raising the alarm for years.

The city has studied the issue for as long as we've lived here, but shows no signs of actually moving ahead with building a new fire hall.

Sure, it's a seemingly trivial local issue. But it ceases to be trivial when the safety of your family is at stake. I thought lighting a little fire of my own might help matters along.

Fire hall delays put people at risk
Published Thursday, December 15, 2005
The London Free Press

Our city is playing with fire.

While London’s north end experiences tremendous growth, the city has failed to provide adequate emergency services to the area. Consequently, wait times there are dangerously elevated.

It’s old news that the area needs a new fire hall. While we all appreciate the city’s diligence in pursuing the lowest-cost solution – namely, a temporary house-style facility on Trossacks Avenue – numerous delays are raising the temperature for residents who must live with the additional risk.

Ideally, critical emergency services should anticipate urban growth – not lag far behind. It’s time to take the money budgeted for a full-sized fire hall on Fanshawe Park Road and just build it.

The province has announced that as of March 1st, 2006, all homes must have at least one working smoke alarm on each floor.

If you live in north London, you might want to go smoke-alarm shopping a little early, since you’ll need all the additional protection you can get.

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Quoted - Microsoft resignation

I keep popping up in all sorts of fun places. I was interviewed for a piece in IT World Canada about the sudden resignation of Microsoft Canada's President and the appointment of his successor. The article, entitled New chief, new prospects for Microsoft Canada, was published today.

Here's what I said:

Over the past year, Microsoft has been "making a lot of noise" about putting more resources into partner programs, said Carmi Levy, senior research analyst Info-Tech Research Group in London, Ont. With his track record, the new Canadian chief would be effective in enforcing that.

[Snip]

Levy said Sorgen's initiative in establishing the Microsoft Certified Solution Provider Partner Program at Microsoft's South Central District makes him the ideal candidate to lead the software company in further building relationships with Canadian partners.

"This is a very strong sign for the company that they are going to continue in this direction and they really do value who they do business with as they drive products into the market," the analyst said.

[Snip]

Simplifying its licensing structure is also another area where Sorgen should focus on as he takes over the reigns at Microsoft Canada in Mississauga, Ont., said Levy, adding that many companies are still struggling to stay on top of their licensing situations.

He said Microsoft's Software Assurance (SA) – a software maintenance program – is a great step in that direction, but the software company needs to "continue that significantly because licensing still remains an area of confusion for many companies."

"Microsoft has started (improving its licensing structure) over the last year, but there is huge opportunity to educate its client base on proper licensing, simplifying how its offerings are structured and on keeping that educational volume up so the level of confusion continues to come down," said Levy.

[Snip]

Another area that Sorgen could focus on in 2006 is establishing the company's position as a services-based company. This remains to be the biggest threat to the future of the software company, said Levy.

He said Microsoft has merely played catch-up while its "more agile" competitors have already established leadership in Web services applications, developments and deployments in recent years. "Microsoft needs to move very quickly here to establish its own position in the market."

The Info-Tech analyst acknowledged, however, that the company has started to recognize this threat and have made some strategic movements toward responding to it.

He cited Microsoft's recent announcement on its new Web services offerings, such as Windows Live and Office Live, speak well of that realization.

He cautioned, though, "in 2006 and beyond, Microsoft needs to cohesively deliver on this strategy," and how Canada plays in that strategy will soon be in the hands of its incoming president.

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Publish Day - Ink Blog - Carmi swears

I have always had little patience for people who pre-judge me even when they've never met me. They'll make assumptions about my behaviors and motivations based strictly on my ethnicity. They are rightly classified as racists, and they're very good at manipulating the system to support their destructive activities, at using a democratic society's freedoms to protect themselves.

But I've got a pen, and even though I fear raising the anger and attention of some of these people, my greater fear is if I don't write about people like this, I worry we'll all forget how insidious their influence can become. After all. termites don't go away from underneath the floorboards if we ignore them. So for today's column, I thought I'd lift up the floorboards and leave no questions about where I stand.

I even used profanity - "bastard" - a first in my writing career.

Your turn: Where do you stand? What do you do when confronted with such out-and-out hatred of others? Do you hold back out of fear of reprisals?

Free speech a lame defence for hatred
Published Wednesday, December 14, 2005
The London Free Press

Imagine if your neighbor took issue with the colour of your skin. If he published hate-filled material on the Internet and routinely encouraged anyone who would listen that you and your kind should be extinguished from the planet.

What should you do? Ignore him because he’s a crackpot? Invite him in for tea? Call the police? Is there even a right answer?

As a human-rights tribunal in Toronto finishes hearing the case of Londoner Tomasz Winnicki, the rest of lawful society is challenged to decide how to deal with those who toss hate-filled grenades before retreating behind the tired defence of free speech.

By Winnicki’s definition, I’m a Jew bastard who shouldn’t be allowed to live.

By my definition, Mr. Winnicki’s views serve no viable purpose in an otherwise civilized society. Canada should have no tolerance for intolerance of any kind.

People such as Winnicki are entitled to their pathetically held beliefs. Those they attack are equally entitled to bully them back into the dark hole from which they came.

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Publish Day - Ink Blog - Diabetic stupidity

Diabetes is one of those diseases that has touched many of us in multiple and personal ways. It runs in my wife's family. When she was pregnant with our two youngest children, she developed gestational diabetes and had to inject herself with insulin until she gave birth. She now lives with a significantly higher risk of becoming a diabetic.

Here in Canada, our federal politicians have been out-screaming each other to see who can promise us the most before we go to the polls next month. I thought it was kind of silly that they're throwing around funny-money, yet folks who suffer from diabetes are deliberately not taking care of themselves because they can't afford to do so.

This struck - and continues to strike - a chord with me. It seems like society can't get its priorities straight, especially when the current system will willingly fund the expensive surgeries and procedures these people will inevitably require because they didn't have the means to control the disease up-front.

More cynically, maybe this works in the country's favor because these folks will die younger, and as a result won't be clogging hospital beds in future. I know, it sounds harsh, but I wouldn't put it past a politician for thinking it. Here's the piece I published on this in today's paper.

Your turn: What other unfair funding practices have you come across in your neck of the woods? Are our elected leaders completely unable to logically and morally set priorities?

Diabetes skimping will cost dear later
Published Tuesday, December 13, 2005
The London Free Press

While candidates for federal office make billion-dollar promises for everything under the sun, diabetics across Canada are being crushed by four-figure annual expenses that aren’t covered by medicare.

According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, almost one-quarter of its members can’t afford to purchase all of the supplies they need to keep themselves healthy – and alive.

When the resulting years-long game of poverty-inflicted Russian roulette pushes sufferers into premature heart disease, amputations and other diabetes-related afflictions, medicare will pay the bill. Too late, unfortunately.

All of this could be prevented if government truly believed that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. But everyone’s too busy distributing holiday season electoral candy to notice.

Our penny-wise, pound-foolish approach to health care – namely skimping on critical preventative measures such as diabetes care and eye exams – ultimately costs society a tremendous amount in both dollars and pain.

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The newspaper of tomorrow

I admit I've got a bit of an extreme interest in how newspapers continue to evolve in this era of new media. I've written about this on a number of occasions (see here and here) and I suppose a part of me will always be tracking this issue. I am, after all, professionally selfish: if I fail to understand how newspapers are changing, I may eventually find myself out of work.

Ouch.

Monday's Toronto Star had a couple of companion pieces on the topic:

• Old idea, new media: Are you reading this text on paper, or as pixels? Does it matter? Some think not. As newspapers realize that they sell content, not ink, their future is taking hold. (Byline: David Olive).
• Inventors rethink paper and ink: Electronic news adapts to tradition. Hard to beat tried and true format. (Byline: David Bruser).

Both pieces do an effective job in adding to the ongoing discussion. The evolution of newspapers looks like a necessarily long-term process, so I'll continue to share links and thoughts in this space as I come across them. I hope you'll do the same.

Your turn: Is the so-called electronic newspaper a mere pipe dream? What's the one thing that you think newspapers must do to survive?

Quoted - twice in interesting places

My tech comments keep showing up in all sorts of neat places. This morning brings news on two fairly large fronts: Forbes and the Globe & Mail. Here's the lowdown:

Forbes: Help Wanted In Silicon Valley. Byline is Rachel Rosemarin. I spoke about current trends in hiring. Here's what I said...

The tech industry is expected to grow by 167,000 new jobs in 2006, according to Economy.com, with high-tech employment rebounding to levels higher than that reached during the tech bubble's peak. But a severe drought of tech talent is imminent.

"The very survival of these companies is at risk," says Carmi Levy, an analyst with Infotech. "If they can't find that talent to keep them innovative, their competitive edge will erode." He points to the fact that two of Google's most popular products--Google News and Gmail--were the brainstorms of individual minds.

Many mid- and small-size companies won't be able to compete at all. Because of this human-resources weakness, Levy believes about half of all existing small and medium-size companies could stagnate and go out of business.

The ones that survive will figure out ways to tempt workers with stock options and guarantees that individuals will have large roles to play in shaping business, he says.

[Snip]

...finding enough quality talent has been challenging.

But what's bad for the big portal companies is worse for startups and midsize enterprises. "[The portals] are skimming the cream off the top and leaving the lesser talents to the companies that can't offer the same salaries and exposure," says Infotech's Levy. "Google's barrier for entry is so high."

Many point to Google as the primary impetus driving the talent war.

[Snip]

Despite the current frenzy surrounding technical talent, experts aren't willing to see this as a sign of a bubble mentality returning to Silicon Valley.

"We've learned our lesson," says Levy. "As a society, there is a lot of tempering going on with these hiring increases. We say, 'Wait a second, let's think our way through this.' In the late '90s, business cases weren't even bothered with."

The Globe and Mail: Downloadable audio books heading to libraries - But electronic collection in public system won't be compatible with popular iPods. Byline is Joe Friesen, and the article appears on page A11 of today's print edition. Here's what I said...

More than three-quarters of the MP3 players sold at the moment are iPods, according to Carmi Levy, a senior research analyst at Info-Tech research group.

"They pretty much own the market right now," Mr. Levy said.

[Snip]

At the moment, iPod-compatible audio books can be bought through Audible.com. Mr. Levy said Apple may be trying to expand the market for audio-book sales before proceeding with any deals for libraries.

Your turn: Does it make sense for Toronto's library - or any library, for that matter - to implement an audio book/reader solution that doesn't support the 800-pound gorilla - Apple's iPod - of the audio player market? Do you think they're smoking crack?

Update: Computing in the U.K. has picked up the Forbes piece here. IT Week (also in the UK) has it here.

Let them eat...

I despise most birthday and anniversary cakes for the same reason that I hate marshmallows: too sweet. But that doesn't mean I won't pull out a camera and take a closeup picture of the icing on the side. I don't eat seafood, either, but that doesn't stop me from harassing the lobster tank at the supermarket (more on that in a future blog entry.)

Oops, I'm drifting off-topic. Sorry. Sunday evening brain fade. Let's realign, shall we?

This picture represents my somewhat lopsided way of looking at an otherwise forgettable item of food - which in a few short days will transform itself into a stale hunk at the back of the fridge.

Pity my wife for putting up with this kind of thing at mealtime. She never knows when I'll become intrigued by another element of the mundane, and she is ever gracious when trying to explain my obsession to friends and acquaintances. We've learned that some people kinda get it, and others kinda don't.

Your turn: Would you risk the strange glances of friends and family to take pictures like this? If you were the one holding the camera, do you think the end result would be worth the potential embarrassment? Should I find a new way to express my creativity?

Technical note: Click on the image to open up a higher-resolution version.

From color to monochrome

Since my last picture was full of color, I'd like to share one that's decidedly devoid of it.

The question is, what is this?

What we wish we could see

Thanks to a series of lake effect snowstorms, our city has been transformed into a veritable winter wonderland. It makes for wonderful walks to work in the morning and cozy nights under a couple of comforters.

I rather enjoy the blanket of white that in such a short time has repainted the landscape, but I always think something is missing when I look up and see bare, forlorn branches backing against a graying sky.

I took this picture in October - just a sliver of time in the overall scheme of things - while out for a walk to the park with our little guy. He hemmed and hawed while I took out the camera. He wanted to get to the playground, and didn't much care that his Dad was once again being a photo nerd.

Even though it's not in my nature to deliberately tick off our kids, I'm glad we stopped on that day. Looking at the colors on my screen reminds me that the monochromatic view out my window isn't permanent, and that color will return to the landscape soon enough.

I hope little guy reads this one day and comes to a similar conclusion.

Take to the skies

In the end, it's just a seagull. Or is it?

(Yeah, I'm feeling photographic this week. I'm raiding the archives and tossing some of my faves online. Hope you don't mind.)

Reach out and touch someone

Come on, you know you want to. Ten little buttons, pressed in unique sequences, can instantly connect you with anyone you wish. Sure, there is cost involved. And some people might not appreciate being called while it is still dark outside. But it's the thought that counts.

Your turn: Who you gonna call?

Another little man enters the world...

Sometimes, it's nice to share a happy.

Oliver Lucas Levy-Jones made his grand entrance at 9:13 a.m. EST in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He weighed 7 pounds even, and he's as healthy as can be.

Why am I writing this? His Mom is my sister, Shira. Mazel tov to Shira, Dave and big brother Ben as they welcome their newest bundle of joy and opportunity to the planet.

The future of newspapers

I think it’s now pretty clear that newspapers are being buffeted by forces that promise to reshape their very future. The good ones will evolve and thrive, while the not-so-good ones will falter and die.

For perspective, it helps to remember that this is hardly the exclusive domain of print media. Traditional news institutions are all in the middle of adjusting to the new world order imposed by the arrival of the Internet.

I’ve written previously about it here, and continue to look for examples of media organizations that get it. The Boston Globe’s Ombudsman, Richard Chacon, published this piece, The Globe’s future in WiFi, in yesterday’s paper. It’s fascinating reading because it reflects some creative thinking about how newspapers interact with their readers, and how they will need to leverage new technologies to maintain relevant relationships with them into the future.

Disclosure: it’s in my best interest to write about tomorrow’s newspapers because my career is increasingly dependent on the existence of a thriving media-based community. Call it job security.

Your turn: What other creative things are newspapers in your part of the world doing to thrive in the Internet age? What would you suggest they do?

More search engine madness

Written Inc. continues to grow in popularity with the freaks of the world: the site is now the #1 result for the following search string on Google:

Injects random swear words over VOIP

Lovely. My mother would be so proud.

Your turn: As part of my ongoing quest to understand how oddballs and weirdos find your sites, what bizarro search terms have been showing up in your stats? Come on, don't be embarrassed; we all have 'em.

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man

The marshmallow is another confection that I just don't get. It's too sweet, too artificial, too nausea-inducing when you consume too many. Yet I've always loved marshmallows for their not-found-in-nature texture.

As a contrast to the bold colors of my last posted picture, this one, with its monochromatic tribute to the color white, couldn't be more different.

Your turn: What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the simple marshmallow? What memories does this most processed of foods conjure up?

Crushed

Sometimes, the most photogenic images at a party can be found in the unlikeliest of places. I don't really drink all that much pop - carbonation is a harsh way to make a drink seem more "refreshing" - but the colors and textures in the cooler just got to me.

Your turn: Does this make you thirsty? Am I nuts for shooting these kinds of pictures?

Morning: Grosvenor Lodge

The landscape now sits under a thick blanket of snow. But on this morning a couple of weeks ago, these trees kept watch over a simple stretch of grass. I'm always amazed how a little bit of time and weather can so radically change the view.

I don't know what inspired me to stop my bike that morning and take this. I think it was the stark shadows on the grass.

Whatever it was, the view no longer exists; testament to why it's so important to capture the image before it disappears forever.

Cancer, humanized

I can barely hide my admiration for the Toronto Star's Rosie DiManno. I've often written about and linked to her work. She never fails to make readers think, and she always manages to reach in and change their perspective on virtually any topic.

She writes columns on both general issues, as well as sports. To be completely frank, I'm not a big fan of the sports side of the house. I find all sports "news" so, um, pedestrian. While I agree that there is indeed drama in so many aspects of sport, I find the way most media outlets package it to be repetitively boring.

Not so with Ms. DiManno. Her writing often jumps beyond the sports pages and deftly delivers messages more subtle than some lunkhead's assessment of how he put the puck in the net. Her piece on Pat Burns, entitled Ex-Leafs coach Burns battles cancer, does just that. If you read it, you will be moved.

Your turn: Does this writing inspire you? How? Who else can move you with mere words?

In passing...Stan Berenstain

I must admit I'm not the world biggest Berenstain Bears fan. Like most early-childhood literature, it's almost too antiseptic. Plots unfold in predictable, saccharine fashion. Conflicts are glossed over. Everyone smiles too much. It's about as far from the real world as one can possibly get.

Then again, who says early-childhood needs to represent the real world? I'm not an early-child - despite what some folks who know me might think. I'm no expert on what children really want to read. Given the fact that little man often asks for a BB book to be read to him almost every night, it can't be a bad thing. And when his big sister reads a BB book to him, the scene is almost too precious for words.

So I've developed a grudging respect for this genre of kid-lit. It's often the first reading a child will do. It represents a gentle introduction into the world of words, and it brings comfort when the real world around them may seem decidedly uncomfortable for them (school yards can be tough places, after all.)

Stan Berenstain passed away this week. He and his wife, Jan, started drawing their famous characters in 1962, and worked with Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) to get it right. One thing sticks in my mind as I think of his passing: Stan and Jan started drawing together over 20 years earlier, when they met at art school. Poignant.

I can't help but think that so much of them was wrapped up in these characters that kids so very much admired. A love story that began two generations ago still manages to touch my own children today. Nothing boring about that. I owe you many thanks, Stan.

Your turn: How has children's literature changed your - and/or your kids' - lives?

One more thing: The Hartfourd Courant's Kathleen Megan puts it all in its proper perspective in this piece, Berenstain Legacy: Cozy Memories.

Why some people should not be parents

No one ever said life was fair or balanced.

After all, you need a license to sell hot dogs on a street corner, keep a dog or cat in your house, or broadcast your grandmother's dessert recipes via ham radio. But anyone with working biologicals can have a child.

Sadly, having functional parts does not qualify a person to be a parent. This story, Police: Parents gave crying baby vodka, underscores why some people deserve to be sterilized before being thrown in jail.

The short strokes are chilling - a three-month-old baby girl died after her parents gave her a lethal dose of vodka. She had a BAC of 0.47 - over five times the legal limit. As if should could have decided for herself anyway.

I hope they throw away the key when they catch and convict these monsters.

One small consolation: we needn't worry about these two selling us hot dogs on a street corner.

Your turn: Is it time to tighten society's rules around becoming a parent? Should this be licensed? Is it even feasible?

Early morning at the breakfast table

Forget that it tastes good, it's relatively healthy and low-fat, and the kids really like it. What's most important is that it has a neat surface when it's first opened.

Your turn: Are you a hummous person? How do you pronounce it?

Nuts

Your turn: I can't put my finger on it, but these remind me of something. Anyone want to hazard a guess or two?

Quick aside: Why this pic? Simple: a new grocery store opened up in our neighborhood. So, without anything better to do on a Saturday night, we loaded the kids into the wondervan and went on an adventure. The place seemed somewhat overstaffed - typical for a new store, because they want customers to think the store will always have an abundance of folks prowling the aisles just begging to help lost customers....we know the truth, however. But I digress.

Zach and I set off in search of photographic targets of opportunity. We felt like kids exploring a brand new playground. It was all so fresh and clean. Pretty soon it'll be a depressing big box store, just like every other depressing big box store. But for a little while anyway, it was fun to wander the pristine rows and think about all the possibilities. Zach did the spotting and I did the shooting: he thought the nuts would be cool. I think his photographic judgment is better than mine.

Yeah, we definitely need to get out more.

Just a faucet?

Our typical intercity drive often has us spending oodles of hours on the 401. Canada's busiest highway cuts through Ontario from Windsor all the way to the Quebec border just east of Cornwall. All in all, it's a shade under 500 miles or 800 km long.

We've come to know this highway well in the years since we moved to London. It's the route we take to visit family back in Montreal, and in the dozens of times we've driven it, it's not a stretch to say that we've likely memorized every exit, curve, and geographic feature.

On our way home recently, we stopped in Belleville for a much-needed break. We parked beside the Quinte Mall - which despite the fact that it looks like any other indoor mall on the planet, is nevertheless a welcome refuge on a long, boring drive - and headed for the food court.

Little people have little constitutions. So we found the family washroom and were blown away by the pristine cleanliness, comfy chairs, lovely music and overall coziness of what is usually a disgusting facility that is ignored by management and reviled by those of us who care about such things. This place was different: we could have stayed there all night.

While the kids raved about how cool this loo was, I concentrated on the faucet and tried to get photographically artsy with it. This is a longer-than-handheld, flashless exposure, using the counter as a makeshift tripod. It may look plain. But it will forever take me back to a 10-minute slice during which my kids happily unwound with each other in a surprisingly warm place far from home, and I got to watch them be themselves.

Lucky me.

Quoted - eWEEK

Damn, I can't believe I missed this one: eWEEK published a piece entitled Microsoft Sees a Google Future on November 2. Byline was Ben Charny. I was commenting on Microsoft's Windows Live and Office Live announcement.

Here's what I said:

"This is the clearest evidence yet that Microsoft is getting Google's message," said Carmi Levy, senior research analyst at Info-Tech Research Group, a technology consultant. "Google has clearly shifted software towards a new, Web-based paradigm."

That opinion, a popular one nowadays, would have drawn a snicker two years ago when Google was showing how free, advertising-supported Internet search generates billions of dollars in annual revenues. But now...

I've been hoping to be quoted by eWEEK - a serious tech journalism heavyweight - for ages. This makes me skip a little more lightly on my feet.

Publish Day - Ink Blog - Suicide isn't painless

My paper has been running an excellent series on suicide all week. Entitled Ending it all, it has lifted the veil, so to speak, on a problem that at once touches us all, yet is deliberately not discussed by the very same people whose lives it darkens.

I wrote this because I wanted to ensure the discussion didn't stop here. I know so many of us have been brushed by it, yet haven't had the courage to discuss it in the open.

Your turn: Although it may be difficult for some, I hope you'll consider sharing a thought of two on suicide, depression, and the toll it takes on individuals and society.

Here's my perspective, published in today's paper:

Cloak of silence lifted from suicide
Published Saturday, November 26, 2005
The London Free Press

A lifetime ago, I was a 13-year-old learning to sail Laser-class boats at summer camp. My instructor, Robert, painstakingly guided me from neophyte to a confident captain who could easily command the boat in any situation.

He was barely out of his teens, but his maturity and wisdom made him seem so much older. He was a patient mentor who always seemed to have his hand firmly on the tiller on his way to a bright future.

A few years later, he killed himself.

This week’s London Free Press series on suicide has taught us how this disease of society thrives in dark shadows. We never talk about it for fear of offending. It has touched so many of us, but we keep it buried deeply.

But if the teenagers of tomorrow are going to have young mentors to guide them, someone’s got to shine the light on this silent menace, to flush it from the recesses of shame and into forums where we feel safe to talk about it.

Look inward, and don’t be afraid to start that conversation.

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Me again: My editor, Larry Cornies, today published a searing column, Suicide series touches many lives. Editor-in-chief Paul Berton ran a great journalist's perspective column - entitled Time to talk about suicide - in today's paper as well. As difficult as it is to talk about suicide, the all-stops coverage by the paper is encouraging, to say the least. I hope the dialog continues.

Here are the links to the articles in the Ending it all series that inspired this thread. Randy Richmond is the reporter who researched and wrote these articles. It's great, necessary reading.

• Help is fragmented
  
• We have no answers
  
• Family hopes to help others survive
• Negotiators' words hold life and death
  
• Life goes on
• A jumbo jet crash every month

Quoted - BlackBerry heads to the East Coast

It was a good media day for me yesterday. I was interviewed by Canada's national wire service, Canadian Press, for an article on Research In Motion's decision to open a technical support centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

They made the announcement on Friday, and this was big news in a region that has had more than its fair share of economic hardship.

The National Post is running the story, Research In Motion sets up shop in Nova Scotia; creates 1,200 jobs. Byline is Michael Tutton from CP.

Canadaeast.com is running two versions of the piece: here and here.
The myTelus site has it here.
Yahoo! posted it here.
The Brockville Recorder & Times (even small-town Ontario reads tech) has it here.

Here's my snippet:

Carmi Levy, a research analyst with Info-Tech Research Group in London, Ont., said the government money was likely key to the deal, but the major factor was Ontario's tight high-tech labour market.

"Waterloo and Ottawa are talent markets that have been tapped dry by the major technology vendors in Canada and the United States," he said.

"For now RIM has Halifax mostly to itself."

The company said it expects to begin hiring through job fairs beginning in January.

Levy also said the company needed some good news after months of troubles in the U.S. courts in a patent dispute with NTP Inc.

The legal dispute threatens BlackBerry sales in the United States unless there's a settlement or an appeal victory for RIM.

"This is the perfect kind of good news announcement that diverts attention from all of the bad news that's been dogging the company for the past year," said Levy.

Update: The Daily News (in Halifax) is running this piece: High-tech RIM to create 1,250 jobs. Byline is Stephane Massinon. Here's what I said...

Carmi Levy has watched the growth of Research in Motion. The senior research analyst with Info-tech said the jobs coming to HRM will be coveted.

“These are not entry-level jobs at all. This is one of the highest of the high-tech companies right now,” said Levy yesterday.

Levy described the company as a significant force with international clout.

“This a high-flyer in the mobile-wireless sector; they are the acknowledged leader in what’s called push-based e-mail. The term BlackBerry has become synonymous with mobile e-mail.

“For a small, upstart Canadian company, they have become dominant around the world.”

RIM has thrived in Waterloo because of that city’s high level of people with post-secondary education. Levy said Nova Scotia’s reputation for universities was part of the decision to bring an office here.

But not all is well with the company. For years, it has been in an American court facing a patent infringement lawsuit from NTP Inc., a company based in Richmond, Va. The judge hearing the case has said recently that a decision would come soon, possibly any day now.

Levy’s read of the situation is that RIM could end up paying between a half-billion and a billion dollars as a result. “That money isn’t that much of an issue,” said Levy.

“(Paying) would give them the right to continue to use the underlying technology to drive their network and BlackBerry service until 2012, when the patent runs out,” explained Levy.

Publish Day - Ink Blog - More local politics

I seem to be in a bit of a political mood this week. I didn't set out for it to be this way: I'm never fully sure what I'm going to write about until I sit down and start writing. I often start writing through a couple of story ideas before I let them battle it out. One wins, the other (or others, as the case may be) will simply wither on the screen.

This one jumped out at me because it dealt with one of my favorite anti-democratic bodies, the Ontario Municipal Board. As a free-speech-crusading journalist, few things bug me more than government-sanctioned bodies that ram decisions down the population's throat - which the OMB has done repeatedly since I started writing about them.

For once, though, I think the OMB sorta got it right this time. So I felt somewhat compelled to get off my usual critic's chair and give them the writer's equivalent of a pat on the back.

I still think the OMB is undemocratic, and I'll still flay it when I think it has crossed a line. But for now, I'm smiling.

New ward system will drive change
Published Friday, November 25, 2005
The London Free Press

I’ve long criticized the Ontario Municipal Board for its heavy-handed rulings that have often gone against the will of the communities it supposedly serves. But I may become an OMB fan in light of its latest position on London’s municipal roadmap.

The OMB’s order to London to replace its current seven-ward system with 14 smaller wards has raised cheers from citizen advocacy groups. City councillors who oppose this ruling have said the new system will make it easier for special interest groups to hijack the city’s agenda. I think they worry too much.

This city needs a good shakeup. Tax rates have consistently outpaced the rate of inflation. Services have been cut. City hall has been rocked by one embarrassing and expensive controversy after another. Civic bureaucracy has steadfastly resisted calls for change.

Something needed to change, and like it or not, London’s new ward system will form the basis for driving that change.

Any city councillors who aren’t comfortable with this might want to find a new line of work.

-30-

Publish Day - Ink Blog - Canadian politics

Here in the Great White North, we're on the verge of a call for a federal election. The ruling minority government is on its last legs after being hit with a corruption scandal, and the opposition parties are already circling their prey, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

If I'm being brutally direct, all of this kinda bores me. Political machinations never really change. The arguments are always the same, and the players are almost universally shallow and incomplete human beings. They are hardly the role models I thought they were when I was a kid, so I don't think it's worth my while to actively memorize every word they say on the evening news.

Still, it's democracy. So it's important to still know what's going on.

So I took out my pen and thought I'd muse on the irony of a pre-election spending spree by the ruling party. It always seems to work that way: the checkbook comes out just before voters go to the polls. It's nothing more than a blatant way to steal votes through bribery. And history shows that it works.

Of course, that's all our money that's being spent. I thought readers might want a little additional perspective on this.

Darn, I've become cynical and jaded.

Payback at polls for spending spree
Published Thursday, November 24, 2005
The London Free Press

I’m thinking of sending Prime Minister Paul Martin a card to thank him for the wonderful gifts he’s decided to lavish on us this holiday season.

All the things I’ve been wishing for – including a fleet of Hercules transport planes to replace aircraft that should have been retired decades ago, compensation for native Canadians who were sexually abused in church-run residential schools, and support for grain farmers so they can better compete internationally – will finally be mine. It’ll be the best holiday season ever.

I know that as a taxpayer I am footing the bill for this pre-election largesse. I know that none of this spending might ever actually happen if the government is not re-elected. Politics is, after all, a game of smoke and mirrors. And what better way to bamboozle the electorate than to wave gobs of goodies under their noses.

Still, it’s the season of giving. Taxpayers will have ample opportunity to give back what’s been taken when they finally go to the polls.

Happy holidays, Paul.

-30-

Publish Day - Ink Blog - Auto sector smackdown

Today's column deals with the fallout of the General Motors retrenchment announced earlier this week. I was originally going to write about something else. I figured enough ink had been spilled over the unfortunate loss of thousands of Canadian and American jobs.

Then I read the union response to the cuts, and I changed my mind. The leaders of Canada's largest autoworkers union trotted out same old themes. If it were up to them, we'd all go back to the days of guaranteed jobs, high wages, low education requirements, and a limitless future with no real-world competition.

Unfortunately for the Big Three, the cushy world they dominated fifty years ago is gone forever. They have failed to compete on the same playing field as their new competitors. They have become dinosaurs. And as much as we all - and I include myself in that "we" - pine for the days when we'd work for a benevolent employer until our retirement day, it's easy to see that the employment world is a much colder place these days.

So I wrote the following piece.

Your turn: After you're done reading this, I hope you'll share your perspectives on unions, and whether or not they've managed to adapt to the new realities of the business world.

Big Three, CAW running out of gas
Published Wednesday, November 23, 2005
The London Free Press

It is both fascinating and sad to watch domestic automakers cutting their operations to the bone, while Honda and Toyota invest billions in new plants and people.

The only response Canadian Auto Workers union President Buzz Hargrove can muster is the same old rant about foreign manufacturers having unfair, reduced-tariff access to the North American market.

Domestic manufacturers, hobbled by aging products union contract limitations, can’t compete against their more agile competitors. Their products lag behind.

Consumers spending their hard-earned dollars on a vehicle expect efficiency, performance and reliability. Other automakers have figured out how to do it better, and they’re eating up the domestics’ market share.

The war is over, Buzz. The imports have won. Union contract and pension costs have become an albatross around the domestic manufacturers’ necks.

Stop whining about unfair competition. You simply can’t compete any more.

-30-

Update - Sat. Nov. 26. I've been getting some nasty e-mail from readers - obviously union members who believe in everyone's inalienable right to permanent, high-paid employment. I'm not upset by this. As I've said before and continue to maintain, any response is a good thing. If I force readers to sit up, take notice and get involved in the discussion, then I have accomplished my goal.

Beyond the e-mail, much of which is so rife with grammatical and spelling errors as to be hilariously pathetic, the Free Press published a letter to the editor in todays paper. Here it is:

Auto workers only want decent living standard

Regarding the Ink Blog, Big Three, CAW running out of gas (Nov. 23).

Carmi Levy argues that it is our unwillingness to be "competitive" that has led to the current dilemma of North American automakers.

He is misguided. All unionized workers have ever asked for is a fair shake. That means fighting for liveable wages, adequate benefits and secure pensions, so that workers can raise a family, purchase a house, send their kids to school and retire comfortably. Is that too much to ask?

One of the main reasons Asian autoworkers cannot unionize and aspire to the standard of living we enjoy in the West is that unionization is banned in many Asian countries (China, especially). Is that the type of undemocratic society to which we should aspire?

Mike Hurley
London

Publish Day - Ink Blog - Drinking to excess

It's another publishing week for me at the newspaper, so from now until Saturday I'll be posting my daily quick missives on whatever's coursing through my mind. I invite you all to share your thoughts - agree or disagree, it's all good - and personal stories in the comments below.

I wrote this after reading another report on how problem drinking is an even bigger issue in this region than in any other part of the province. Holiday season always seems to bring with it an increase in the frequency of booze-related stories in the media. I know I'm contributing to it, but I don't have a problem shining the spotlight a little brighter or wider if it means even one person takes notice.

I thought of this piece last night as I drove my family home through a dark and rainy night. We were at the end of a 700+ kilometre drive from Montreal, about five minutes away from home, when an idiot in a blue Civic coupe charged sidelong through four lanes of oncoming traffic to get to the parking lot of an apartment building. I panic-braked to miss him, as did every car around and in front of me. My first thought was no sober person would consciously drive like that, and that had I been alone, I would have stayed at the scene, called 911, and had him charged.

Although my overriding parental instinct to get my sleeping family home in one piece prevailed last night, part of me feels guilty for not doing more - especially on the day that I had written this - to get this moron off the road. Decisions.

So without further ado, here's the piece. Please note the editing gremlin that seems to have crept into my byline. My family name is "Levy", not "Levi".

Drinking report needed wake-call
Published Tuesday, November 22, 2005
The London Free Press

It’s a sobering reality check to realize the rate of problem drinking in Middlesex County far exceeds the provincial average.

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health has just released statistics showing Middlesex residents report far higher incidences of drinking and driving, binge drinking, hazardous drinking and drinking-related problems than any other Ontario region.

If you’ve got a problem with booze, this is your wake-up call to get help. If you don’t, you are also accountable for fighting this scourge before you or those you love are killed by a drunk driver.

If a friend or colleague has hit the bottle too hard, we must all do anything in our power to help. Take away the keys, call Alcoholics Anonymous, rally some friends to intervene, do whatever it takes to stop the deadly cycle.

Christmas is just over a month away. Holiday partying season is already hard upon us. Consider this society’s long-overdue wake-up call. It is, simply, now or never for problem drinkers – and for the rest of us.

-30-

Cool shades on warm sand

I look outside the window and see nothing but a steel gray horizon and bare trees. I go outside and draw my coat tighter to ward off the bone-chilling cold that suddenly seems to dominate our days.

As winter begins its descent on this part of the world, I hold onto words and images that remind me of warmer days. It wasn't so long ago that my wife and I watched our kids frolic on the beach, wondering where they got the energy and how we'd be able to perpetuate the magic of days like that for as long as possible.

Hopefully we'll soon be able to give our kids the opportunity to let the warm sand ooze through their toes. Until then, I'll hold onto images like this one to keep the fires burning inside.

About this picture: I took this at the end of a great day at Grand Bend. As we began to pack everything up, I noticed our little guy's shades just sitting on the sand. I liked what I saw, so out came the camera.

Your turn: I hope you'll share a brief story in a comment about what brings you warmth. This time of year seems to be about keeping warm - in body and thoughts - and I'd love to see what y'all do to keep the cold - literal and figurative - at bay.

Young person's honesty

While driving along the highway yesterday, our youngest announced his need to use the washroom. His timing was impeccable: the exit to the rest stop was just coming up.

When he was done, he dutifully trooped over to the sink and I helped him stretch his little hands into the sink to wash his hands. It was tough for him, but he told me how much he likes washing his hands, and he always has to wash when he's done.

I thought he was ignoring the regular parade of men who were using the facilities, then nonchalantly walking out the door. As he proudly announced that his hands were all clean and rinsed, he turned to me and asked, loudly, how come that man wasn't washing his hands.

He: "Didn't he make a pee, too? He must have forgotten to wash his hands. Should I tell him?"
Me (quietly): "I'm sure he forgot...but we never forget, do we?"
He (still loudly): "We always wash our hands. Then we don't get sick."

Smart kid. It's amazing how so-called knowledgable adults could learn the basics from a five-year-old.

Your turn: How do you respond when you see someone not washing in a public washroom? Does it disgust you as much as it disgusts me?

Ivy - dead and alive

Whenever I visit a new place, I always try to walk around a neighborhood or two if I can spare the time. I cart along my camera as well so that I can bring back images to illustrate what I was feeling as I drifted through the alien landscape.

On my recent trip to Boston (click here, here, here and here if you haven't seen the original entries) I was lucky enough to have had an hour or so to stroll and shoot. In the middle of a fast-paced business trip amidst a period of intense workload, it was an idyllic way to unwind and let my mind roam. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

I took these two images a minute apart as I walked through the Back Bay area. They are mere meters away from each other on the wall of a beautiful old apartment building. But they couldn't be more diametrically opposed in the stories they tell.

As an aside, I've always wanted to shoot pictures of ivy, but for some strange reason never managed to get around to it until that day (October 19, at 2:36 and 2:37, respectively). The plant's abilty to cling to a hard, foreign surface and survive through whatever nature can throw at it has always struck a poetic chord with me.

Strikingly, even when it loses its battle, it remains a compelling image.

Your turn: Two parts...

1. Which one of these images is your favorite, and why?
2. Please walk through a neighborhood - your own or a new one - with a camera and post an image to your blog. Feel free to share in words what you were thinking as you took the shot. Post the link here so we can all see the uniqueness of your vision.
   

Little man's nightmare

I always look forward to quiet evenings at home. After the kids are in bed, calmness descends on the house as my wife and I enjoy an all-too-brief respite from the craziness of the day.

Last night was no different. We were in the living room. My wife was reading and I was rearranging words on my laptop. As the clock struck our almost-bedtime, we heard stirring from upstairs. As we have done countless times since we became parents, we looked at each other and wondered who it was, and why.

Little feet pattered their way down the stairs. It was our youngest, clutching his blanket, and he didn't look happy. He wasn't crying, but his face was pained.

He: "I can't sleep. I had a bad nightmare and it woke me up."

The last words weren't out of his mouth before he buried himself in my wife's arms.

We: "What did you dream about?"
He: "I dreamed that I died."

After my wife and I recovered from the kick in the abdomen that hearing something like this from a five-year-old can deliver, we scrambled to say the right thing to him.

Although we don't actively encourage them to sleep in our bed - not even the world's best sleeper would be able to handle it next to little people who flip themselves over almost constantly and steal the blankets - we felt an exception was in order this time.

So we trooped upstairs and tucked him in between us. Many hugs, kisses and calming words were shared. He drifted off to sleep in minutes and woke up the next morning with his usual cheery face.

Parenthood...

Chaos, close-up

I've been busy lately. Calls aren't returned. Voicemails remain in an eternal blinking red-light state. E-mails stay in my inbox until they are buried by the never-ending torrent of new messages. Even my wife often has to IM me from across the room.

Often, when fighting a deadline or otherwise juggling more things than I should, I tend to let the blizzard of papers get the better of my desk. Strangely, it doesn't slow me down any. I seem to thrive on the chaos that is my environment. It stresses me to that just-optimal point where I am most creative. Any more and I'd freeze up; any less and I'd be so relaxed that I'd spend too much time making the perfect mug of tea.

So this is a desk's-eye view of where I work. One the surface, it's pretty routine stuff: two-21-inch monitors, a keyboard (Microsoft...sorry), a set of headphones for the requisite drown-out-the-world soundtrack, enough paper to start my own recycling plant, and pictures of the people who inspire me. But it's homey, and I can't imagine it being any other way.

(BTW, those are indeed my hands. Madge - of dish-pan hands/Palmolive fame - would not be impressed. Typing is murder on my skin.)

Your turn: What does your immediate workplace look like? Is chaos the answer for you as well?

Quoted - twosies

The never-ending geek parade remains never-ending. I've been quoted in a couple of neat places over the past couple of days:

InformationWeek is running a piece entitled Fixing Your Network's Five Worst Bottlenecks. This piece, written by Matthew Friedman, reflects my contention that most network administrators need to spend more time doing their homework.

The Globe and Mail is running another in a series on Research In Motion's BlackBerry mobile device: RIM's U.S. customers needn't fret, analysts contend: BlackBerry service shutdown unlikely over patent fight. Simon Avery, the paper's technology reporter, penned the piece, which was published in today's paper on page B6. Here's my bit:

Mr. (Jim) Balsillie (chairman and co-chief executive officer of RIM) has said the company has tested a "workaround" system that would deliver BlackBerry service but operate on technology independent of the patents NTP holds.

Some analysts dismiss his claim as a temporary public relations effort meant to ease concerns.

It would involve nothing less than the "complete overhaul of the hardware and software that supports the BlackBerry messaging service," said Carmi Levy, a senior analyst at Info-Tech Research Group in London, Ont. "It's analogous to rebuilding an airplane while it's still in flight."

Live free or die? Not quite

In the never-ending search for content to read over breakfast oatmeal, I came across a rather provocative piece in The Washington Post.

Entitled N.H. Puts a Price on Panoramas, the article describes how assessors in the state made famous for banishing income taxes are now placing monetary values on the views from certain homes. These so-called bonus features are then used as the basis for increases in property tax assessments.

I have no quarrel with the basic concept of taxes. As I've repeated so often before, it's the price we pay for the standard of living we currently enjoy. I take issue, however, with blatant grabs for cash that violate every ethical contract between ratepayers and their democratically elected governments.

I know these things matter little to the porcine politicos we put into office and their civil servant cousins who collectively feed at the publicly-funded trough. But their indifference does little to reduce unfair taxation's impact on the rest of us.

Selfishly and somewhat sheepishly, I do admit I'm almost sorry that municipal governments closer to home haven't tried anything similar. I'd happily devote a column or two to this if it was ever floated for our part of the world.

Your turn: Now that they're taxing the view, I guess it's open season on all of us. What will they decide to tax next? Will this cat-and-mouse game ever really end?

Technorati tag: writteninc

Update: The Washington Post has picked up this link on its "Who's Blogging?" page. Click here to see who else is blogging about this story.

Don't cry

With the return of cooler weather, I once again find myself wearing a trench coat during the day. This supports my somewhat odd habit of taking surreptitious pictures of things I come across in stores, because it makes it relatively easy to carry my little digicam in a deep coat pocket without being caught by the grocery store police.

Your turn: I never thought I'd see the day, but I believe I'm starting to run out of things to photograph in supermarkets. Do you have any suggestions regarding other retail environments which might offer interesting photographic fodder? Do tell...

The sky has fallen

We took the little 'uns to see Chicken Little at the local movie theatre this afternoon. They've been talking about the movie for weeks, so we thought it would be a special treat to make an event of it.

More on the movie itself later. I need to vent on a little public etiquette issue that seems to come up every time I choose to view a film in a theatre. Here are the key bullet points:

• Father brings young son - I'd guess around three years-old - to see the movie.
• As is our usual luck, he sits close to us.
• Midway through the film, there is a sorta scary scene. OK, it's not really scary. But everything is relative. To a little guy, it probably seemed more traumatic than it did to me.
• Little guy starts to cry. Dad attempts to calm him down by speaking in quiet tones.
• Dad's attempts fail. Cries turn to wails, which quickly de-evolve into outright screaming.
• Dad gives up. Screaming continues.
• I turn around and see him shushing the munchkin while he tries to watch a pivotal scene. He seems somewhat perturbed that the child is affecting his ability to enjoy the movie.
• I stare at him until he notices. My lack of smile must translate well, for he sheepishly scoops up the teary child and heads for the exit.
• He remains beside the exit. Screaming child now bothers a whole new set of moviegoers.
  

When the theatrical chains wonder why attendance continues to freefall while home theatre sales skyrocket, I invite them to read this entry as a pretty succinct explanation of what's driving the trend.

The same thing happened during the last film we attended in a theatre. Mom didn't want to miss the movie, so crying baby (aged under a year...don't get me started) had to wait - and wail - for at least 20 minutes while Mom enjoyed herself and the rest of the attendees fumed.

OK, now, about the movie itself...

Chicken Little represents Disney's first post-Pixar computer-animated film. Off the top, it's no Toy Story. But with some solid voice work by Zach Braff (Scrubs, Garden State) and Garry Marshall (Happy Days, The Princess Diaries), along with a well-written script that scoots along at a pace that keeps kids engaged, it's a lovely way for families to spend a couple of hours on a weekend. The kids enjoyed it, and we even found ourselves laughing in parts.

Although it's not as adept as a pure Pixar product at playing to the adult audience with deeper meanings and messages, there are enough of them here and there to keep Mom and Dad from snoozing. The musical references alone were worth the price of admission.

But if I had to do it again, I'd wait for the DVD and watch it at home. Fewer interruptions..

Your turn: Is there room in modern society for manners in public places, or have they been lost to the ages? How do you handle something like this?

Quick admin note: commenting, updated

Good news: Blogger has added comment moderation to its administrative bag of tricks. That means I no longer need to worry about coming home to a fresh batch of comment spam.

Effective immediately, I've made a couple of tiny changes to how comments are managed on this blog:

• I've activated comment moderation. When you click on the Publish button, your comment will go into a queue for review. Queued comments will appear on the blog after I've had a chance to review and publish them. I'll try to do this a few times/day so as to minimize delays.
• Anyone can comment. I used to limit commenters to registered users of the Blogger service. This kept anonymous nasties at bay, but made it difficult-to-impossible for users of other services - or, gasp, readers who don't blog at all - to leave their thoughts. With moderation, this issue goes away, so the doors are now open to anyone.

I'll keep word verification on for now, and will update you as things change here. Thanks for continuing to read and share in the experience.

A tough day for a growing boy

Our eldest son just turned 11. In many ways, he's like me and my wife: reserved and thoughtful. Outside the house, he's always been quiet, shy, and insular. Like me, he observes from the sidelines, bides his time, considers his options. He's not a frivolous child.

So we were rather surprised when he came home from school this week brimming with news: he had decided to run for student council.

A year ago, he wouldn't have stepped forward. Even six months ago, he would have been content to remain on the sidelines. But not now. He came through the door rattling off ideas for boosting school spirit, and making his school a better place for students and teachers.

On a purely logical level, it was nothing I hadn't heard time and again during my own journey through elementary school. But now it was my son saying it. And the fact that he had never previously had the guts to step forward made this seem - at least to me - a defining moment in his life.

He sat beside my wife at the computer as she patiently helped him craft his speech. I chimed in with the occasional editorial suggestion to punch it up, but the ideas were all his. My wife made a couple of posters for him. After what seemed like an extended period of brainstorming and creative activity, his campaign package was ready.

We discussed best practices for delivering his speech, and coached him through a couple of dry runs. He had given a brief talk a couple of weeks ago in front of 350 people at the community centre, and I think it was that experience that may have lit the public speaking fire in him. We were immensely proud of him then, and we were immensely proud of him as he carefully packed up his stuff and left it in the front hall before heading up to bed.

Fast forward to today: the tears as he got home told all the story we needed to know. He wasn't elected. In a halting, hauntingly sad voice, he recounted how another child who hadn't prepared a speech or a poster was allowed to run. His teacher had earlier laid out the ground rules, one of which was the need for at least one poster and a speech. When Zach challenged the teacher after the fact, all he got was a set of shrugged shoulders.

Part of me wanted to undo the obviously unfair way it all played out. Another part of me wanted to go over to said teacher's house and share my unfiltered thoughts with him. Zach had done everything by the book, even taking the time to support other friends who were running for council. That's just the way he is; good to the core, always thinking about his friends before considering his own needs.

That the outcome wasn't fair was a given. That it was facilitated by a trusted teacher was - and is - in my view unforgivable. But it was what it was, and my wife and I couldn't change the outcome no matter how much we wished we could.

Pizza was hastily ordered as a form of pseudo-comfort food for a sad young man. I took him with me when we went to pick it up. The crying had stopped, but his voice seemed oddly fragile, as if he had gotten younger in the intervening hours. In the darkened car, I repeated, endlessly, how proud we were of him, how glad we were that he stepped forward, stuck his neck out, took a chance. We spoke about how some of the world's most spectacular successes were preceded by even more spectacular failures. We spoke about some of my own failures, and how I applied what I had learned from each one to whatever I did in future.

In the end, he enjoyed his pizza, and we tucked him in with still another reinforcing story and extra hugs for good measure.

Today, we watched our son get bruised by life. It won't be his last experience, and in that he's becoming just like anyone else on this planet. But he's our son, and it felt oddly unsettling to not be able to step in and just make it right.

He grew today, and we couldn't be more proud of him.

Note: Although I haven't identified any of the protagonists by name, I'm fully aware that anyone can read this and make the connection. That's one of the pitfalls of using my real name on my blog. If said folks surf on in and feel uncomfortable after reading this, so be it. I write for a living. My words get out there. And if it bothers the people about whom I (anonymously) write that their behavior came under the scrutiny of my pen, they're eminently free to comment here or start their own web log. I refuse to self-censor out of fear of offending those whose own conduct falls short of the bar we teach our own kids to target.

Your turn: If you're a parent, how do you cushion them on days like today?

Fireside chats: modern versions

When it rains, it pours.

For some reason, the past couple of weeks have been insanely busy at work. I spent most of my time talking to reporters and prepping for interviews with some pretty wide-ranging newspapers, radio stations and web publishers. I guess sometimes the stuff I write seems to coincide with what's going on in the broader technology world. So reporters, looking for folks to help make sense of it all, tend to call in bunches.

The net result is that I burned myself out thanks to lack of sleep and find myself home, trying to sleep off what feels like a major fatigue-induced hangover (sorry, don't do the alcohol thing.)

The cool thing about this week's pickups is that two of them were on the radio. My first job during j-school and immediately after graduation was working at a radio station. I produced content for the news and public affairs program, including on-air interviews and in-studio, full-show packages. It was an amazing learning experience that I carry with me to this day.

So being on the other side of the microphone after a few years has been a bit of a challenge. But I'm enjoying the process and hope to do more of it in the months to come. If you've ever wanted to hear me yak about technology, now's your chance. Feel free to laugh at my geekitude, and stay tuned for more...

Each package is available as a downloadable MP3 (CFRA) or WMA (RCI):

• CFRA News Talk Radio* - Business at Night with Rob Snow. Topic: The Microsoft Memo.
• Radio Canada International (RCI)** - Business Sense with David Blair. Topic: RIM's BlackBerry in China.

* CFRA is located in Ottawa, Ontario - Canada's capital city. Ottawa is also a major center of technology development, so media there tend to be very interested in news from Canada's leading-edge tech firms.
**RCI is the international broadcasting service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), our national broadcaster. The show is aired worldwide, which means I may have helped jumpstart BlackBerry adoption in Tuvalu. Frightening.

Nemo has been found

This little swimmer is named Nemo. I found him on a friend's kitchen counter, minding his own business and looking for his (her? One can never tell with fish) dinner.

I took the picture by setting the camera on the counter and using the self-timer. It took a few takes until the golden one cooperated and hit his (her?) mark.

Such is life in the fishbowl.

Your turn: Please share a pet story in a comment. Something's been missing from our home since we put our cat down. I still look for him when we come home. I find pictures and stories like this somewhat comforting, and hope you'll add your own experiences below.

Quoted - BlackBerries in China

The media parade continues...

I've been quoted in today's Globe & Mail. The piece is entitled RIM runs into China security syndrome, and in it I find myself quoted opposite Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty.

I've never met the man, but I understand he's quite the badminton player.

The piece is posted here, and is co-bylined by Simon Avery - the Globe's technology reporter - and Geoffrey York - who is tagging along on the premier's junket to the Far East.

In other news, The Chicago Daily Herald ran a piece yesterday on new Motorola Razr phones - pretty colors for Christmas. Anna Marie Kukec wrote the piece, entitled Motorola banks on pink, blue, and it can be found here.

I'm enjoying this immensely.

Large bananas

I can offer no tangible reason for uploading this beyond the fact that I like it. The banana has always been my favorite fruit: Self-contained, healthy, and so open to all sorts of interpretation at parties. Yes indeed, we have some bananas (sing that one a few times...it'll start making sense eventually.)

Between editorial deadlines, travel, and a relentless schedule this week, I guess I'm looking for things that bring me smiles, however briefly the fun may last. Kindly keep the banana sex jokes (now that ought to get the search engine spiders spinning) to a minimum.

Your turn: What are you eating now? What should you be eating instead?

Road trip

I took a little tour of the southwestern Ontario countryside today. Microsoft had a major product announcement in Toronto. So I left early in the morning and made the two-hour drive into the big city.

I had almost forgotten what it's like to drive in rush hour traffic. It's been almost nine years since we left Montreal, and in that time I've come to enjoy London's total lack of serious congestion. I forget what it's like to have to stay late at the office in a ridiculous attempt to avoid getting caught in the worst of it.

I was reminded of this as I got closer to Toronto's downtown and the zillions of cars swirled around me like angry bees in a hive. I was reminded again when a really big pickup driven by a really aggressive person cut me off and forced me to miss my exit. Technically, I could have made the exit. But that would have put the entire passenger side of the car at severe risk. I have plenty of insurance, but little desire to actually have to use it.

In the end, I made it to the event with plenty of time to spare. I met some incredible people, learned lots in the process, and even got called for an interview on the drive home. Yes, Mom, I pulled off the highway and did the chat thing from the gravel shoulder of a side road somewhere in the middle of farm country. Red Herring published the piece, Microsoft Updates Biz Products, later this evening.

As refreshingly different as this day outside the office was, my favorite part was pulling into our driveway at the end of the day and coming into the house. The rhythm of our family sounded especially welcoming as I put my stuff down and heard about everyone's day. When I spend any time away from home, I miss that homey sense every minute until my return.

Catching up - Ink Blog entries

This past week was an on week for my column in the London Free Press. I've back-posted each of the five entries to its respective day, and have linked to them from here.

Wherever you're visiting from, I hope you'll read all of them and share your thoughts on this week's topics. If I've provoked thought and discussion, then I will have done my job.

Happy reading - and happy commenting!

Tue Nov 01 – Iranian presidential hatred
Wed Nov 02 – Can’t take the bus
Thu Nov 03 – Why I despise our ex-leader
Fri Nov 04 – Illiteracy is our national disgrace
Sat Nov 05 – Development slowdown is boneheaded

Read this - Dena's blog

Every week or two, I post a thought or two on a blog that I think y'all would like to read. Today's spotlight is on Dena's blog, Morpheme Palette. Dena leads a typically atypical life - imagine having a 4-, 20- and 22-year old! - and has chosen to share her vision with words and pictures. If things like family, kids, life, and the future matter to you, you'll enjoy her unique take on the planet.

Please drop in, say hi from Carmi, and let her know we have her and her family in our thoughts and prayers. As she has recently received some scary news, she has asked us all to share happies, funnies, and other uplifting observations of life with her.

Today's quote

"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by the things you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Mark Twain

Your turn: I hope you'll take a couple of minutes to share one of the following (or both):

1. Three words that this quote makes you think of.
2. Another inspirational quotation that you've come across and would like to share here.