Archive for Thinkin’

Trying to do something good

March 17, 2010 Thinkin' No comments

You're *so* tough. I just added a new page to the site – it’s part of my effort to do something meaningful to mark my 30th birthday in a few weeks. As many of you know, I’ve been active in minor hockey for a few years now, coaching nine and ten year olds at the house league level in Ottawa Centre. The association covers a pretty wide area, including some lower-income neighbourhoods where hockey is just too expensive to consider.

I don’t think cost should ever prevent a child from playing hockey. Beyond the obvious benefits of exercise, hockey instills a sense of pride and an understanding of the power of teamwork. I’ve watched kids come out of their shell and become leaders; I’ve seen kids grow a sense of self confidence that their scholastic life never gave them. It’s been an awesome and humbling experience and I want more kids to feel it.

The 30-30-30 campaign has a modest goal – 30 people donating 30 dollars over the next 30 days. I know it’s a big ask for some people but I really hope you’ll consider making a contribution. Details are available on the 30-30-30 page.
Creative Commons License photo credit: kk+

Joe is a fecking hypocrite!

March 1, 2010 Thinkin' and Web 2.0 8 comments

nutmegA few months ago I wrote a post about the conference culture that seems to pervade several of my spheres of interest – namely government and social media. The post seemed to touch a nerve as it generated more comments than… well, any other post on the site, I think (especially once you factor in tweets and retweets).

The reaction was mixed. My point was that it seemed odd to charge upwards of $2,500 for a conference full of speakers who would largely give away their secrets for free at a meetup, unconference or even over coffee. Some agreed, some disagreed, and most came down somewhere in the middle.
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Really, it’s not about you

February 24, 2010 Rantin' and Thinkin' 14 comments

salute It was a rough start to the morning. Nowhere near enough sleep, comedy of errors resulting in no chance to eat breakfast, then the painful sound of the bus roaring away as I’m pulling on my shoes. My commute is pretty evenly split between bus days and car days these days but today is most certainly a bus day.

A few quiet curses so as not to wake anyone and I’m out the door to wait for the next bus. Trying desperately to untangle my earbuds so I can listen to some suitably angry music, my seething anger is interrupted by a friendly hello. Read more

I don’t hate newspapers, really, I don’t

February 21, 2010 Rantin', Thinkin' and Web 2.0 No comments
Dog Reads Newspaper?

Photo credit at bottom of post

The arrival of a new year and a new decade has prompted many “where was I ten years ago?” posts from people far smarter and more talented than this humble scribe. For me, though, this retrospective meandering was nothing new. I find myself gazing back to the turn of the millennium every time I hear about another newspaper axing staff or closing up shop altogether.

Back in 2000 I was a cocky kid slogging my way through journalism school. I had all the arrogance that comes with someone meeting with success at one of the best j-skools in the country (or so it sells itself – that’s a debate for another post, however). Yet despite being pretty good at journalism – at the student level at least – I was also coming quickly to the realization that I wasn’t meant to be a journalist. Read more

We’re here! Now what?

January 5, 2010 Thinkin' and Web 2.0 13 comments
Caught on CCTV

Photo credit at bottom of post

I swear, this isn’t going to become a politics blog. But feel free to consider this a follow up to my second-last post. As was the hot rumour on December 30, the Prime Minister asked the Governor General to prorogue Parliament and the Queen’s representative said okilly doke (or something to that effect). Bam. Proroguation sweeps the nation.

This clearly struck a chord with Canadians who feel as though their elected representatives should, you know, represent them. Columnists and editorialists were almost unanimously against the move and, as is the hip thing to do in this day and age, a Facebook Group was started to protest prorogation. Read more

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