Big Brook

A Lifetime In A Month

2007-01-12T06:28:00.000-05:00

First, apologies for the dearth of posts in January. The circumstances as follows:

I want to weave a story for you which captures a small part of the essence of how, in just one month (January 2007) and through a series of moments thereafter, the world became so different for me, for our large extended family, and for a number of magnificent and very special people deeply loved by my darling wife, Sabrina Kerim, and I.

This story, and possibly in some way your story also, may continue over a series of blog posts in the coming days, and possibly even, continuing throughout life's journey here on earth.

On January 5th, my darling wife received the sad news of the death of her beloved Auntie Alice. Alice was a second Mom to Sabrina, and Alice became deeply loved by many many people during her 80+ years of living on this earth. To say we were profoundly affected in emotional terms by the passing of this wonderful women would be a significant understatement.

A few days after the funeral, Sab's sister (age 57) suddenly began experiencing physical mobility and mental acuity problems for which the subsequent medical diagnosis was "brain tumor". She was operated (apparently with success) on Thursday of last week (January 25th) and released from the hospital this Tuesday (January 30th).

Yesterday (February 1st) Sab's sister was readmitted to the hospital (after 15+ hours in emergency) due to a significant deterioration in her well-being which is being caused by swelling in the brain. She is in tough shape right now and our large extended family is stressed.

Our stress is compounded by the structural weakness inherent in the medical infrastructure in Canada, not enough doctors, not enough nurses, not enough orderlies, not enough beds relative to the medical needs of patients. As a consequence, doctors are being forced to make tough decisions as to to who gets a hospital bed and in determining how long patients get to stay in the hospital. The families oftentimes have to be diligent and exceptionally firm with the hospitals in order that their loved ones can receive the medical care they so badly need. All I can say at this time about this health care situation is "bloody hell".

Coincident with all of the foregoing during the month of January 2007, I have been learning how to work with (AWESOME) partners and principal shareholders in a new international venture. This is a new experience for me as I've always run business initiatives on my own. I asked my colleagues to help me make this transition to a new way of working and they have been (and are continuing) to be a tremendous support.

In sum, life can be challenging at times, and yet, in faith I can continue to express...

Oh Joy!

Knowledge Workers and Money!

2007-01-04T09:14:00.000-05:00

This blog post regarding nine key points which so positively and constructively drive my life is in part inspired by a comment made to me last year by Sarah Blow, my friend and "ethos of blogging" mentor, talented UK software engineer, Founder of London Girl Geek Dinners and so much more.

Please note that the first four points were originally brought into my mind and spirit by the writings of Peter F. Drucker (passed away at age 92 on November 11, 2005), with the last five points being mine and having been developed over the last 16 years.

Here goes and hope you find this helpful and thought-provoking...

1. We live in a knowledge world.

2. There is no meaningful theory for knowledge work.

3. There are few (if any) meaningful measures with respect to evaluating the effectiveness (i.e., the value) of knowledge work and knowledge workers.

4. What are the future implications for organizations and for society at large with respect to knowledge work and knowledge workers?

5. Knowledge workers have to love their burro because whoever knows least in the knowledge world ends up getting their poor burro’s *ss kicked! Note: a burro is a donkey or ass.

6. My Mission: What do I have to do in order to enable knowledge workers to become financially independent so they can have life balance and the economic freedom to go out into the world and do magical things that help others?

7. My lifetime economic performance question (a work in progress until the day I die)… How much money can a knowledge worker earn from creating value?

8. We do not run for money. Rather, money is merely a useful by-product of creating economic value for others. Further, one true value of money for a knowledge worker is that it enables a quality life-balance and the freedom to create magically useful things that help others.

9. It all comes down to people (i.e., God’s creation) and we have to love, enable and lift people up. Once they reach that higher plane of existence then “all things are possible to they that believe.”

Oh Joy!

Five Things You May Not Know About Me

2007-01-02T01:32:00.000-05:00

A million thanks to my wonderful friend Sarah Blow and to the lovely and gentle-hearted Maryam Ghaemmaghami Scoble for inspiring me to join into this fun!

1. I spent a lot of my childhood summers on a very rural family farm in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and I LOVED it!

2. I LOVE BIG cities.

3. I have to get away from unkind people VERY quickly.

4. When I was a young boy I LOVED to go stream-fishing for rainbow trout and salmon and... it didn't matter if I caught anything.

5. Although born into the Roman Catholic faith I was blessed to marry my darling wife Sabrina Kerim, who happens to be of Albanian heritage and of the Muslim faith.

BTW I've tagged Dennis Howlett only to later discover that he had already been tagged and in the spirit of fun did his bit on December 21st (it's a fun read) and Sigurd Rinde of thingamy and Jeff Wheeler, my young friend from America, top-flight designer and all-around computer genius.

Oh Joy!

What A Party... Happy New Year 2007!

2007-01-01T09:33:00.000-05:00

Awesome!

How wonderful to conclude one year and begin another with family and friends!

One of our sons (Lucas, age 30) invited my darling wife and I to a New Year's Eve Bash celebrated at their home in Mississauga (a city just to the West of Toronto) and WOW... everyone enjoyed an AWESOME evening!

In attendance were thirteen in all: four of our five sons and one of our three daughters (Sender, Lucas, Aaron, Joshua and Rivcah) along with Sender's fiancée Charmaine (a gem and successful working actor originally from Saskatoon Saskatchewan on Canada's vast Western Prairies), two of Char's cousins also originally from Saskatoon, Tina (a very talented set designer) and her brother Kurtis (a young computer genius and almost as tall as a mountain), Luke's wonderful girl Karen (nutritional science graduate and hydrology policy guru) and her lovely friend (recent Masters in 15th Century Art History and now working at the University of Toronto), Riv's love of life Matt (a very talented automotive mechanic and incredibly great human being) and Jen, a lovely young friend of my son Aaron.

Champagne flowed as did the conversation, interspersed always with laughter and love!

Oh Joy!

Thank You For An Awesome 2006

2006-12-30T04:31:00.000-05:00

This ancient (admittedly very cool) guy enjoyed an AWESOME year in 2006 and a lot of wonderful people deserve a HUGE "Thank You" for making it happen. So here goes.

To Sabrina Kerim, my totally amazing and AWESOME darling wife... Thank YOU.

To my eight totally amazing (now grown) children... Naiomi, Shea, Sender, Lucas, Aaron, Joshua, Tova and Rivcah... Thank YOU.

To my three delicious grandchildren... Thank YOU.

To my wonderful sister and two very special brothers... Thank YOU.

To my many friends and colleagues around the world with whom I play (another way to spell work) and make magnificent contributions every day to help others in our chosen vocation of business... Thank YOU.

To those very special people in the social interaction and blogging worlds who have added so much to my life in 2006... Thank YOU.

In particular the following totally amazing and totally AWESOME people deserve special recognition...

Sarah Blow, my friend and "ethos of blogging" mentor, exceptionally talented UK software engineer, Founder of London Girl Geek Dinners, Barcelona Girl Geek Dinners, Girly Geekdom and so much more... Thank YOU.

Hugh MacLeod, the totally creative and wildly original artistic creator of the magnificeient Gaping Void Blog... Thank YOU.

Dennis Howlett, wonderful thinker and writer of the AccMan Blog, focusing on the issues of professional accountancy, technology and business... Thank YOU.

Jeff Wheeler, the oh-so-young and totally amazing totally competent website and blog designer and huge Django fan. It is almost impossible to believe that Jeff is only 16 and still in high school! He inspires me with his professional competence and he is teaching me the lingo of young people and so much more... Thank YOU.

Dharmesh Shah and Brian Halligan, the Founders of HubSpot, who share a magnificent and totally amazing desire to reach out to the millions of people owning a very small business (VSBs) and helping them to successfully compete in the global marketplace... Thank YOU.

Michael O'Connor Clarke, his magnificent way with words and his Celtic way of moving through this beautiful world moves my spirit... Thank YOU.

Sigurd Rinde, the Founder of thingamy, the "Here's 30 Megs, Go Run the World" genius and mad cyclist... Thank YOU.

Thank YOU all and best wishes coming your way for totally AWESOME health, happiness and prosperity in 2007!

Oh Joy!

Christmas 2006

2006-12-25T07:33:00.000-05:00

Luke 2:1-20

1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. 2 This was the first enrollment, when Quirin'i-us was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city.4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered. 7 And she gave birth to her first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8 And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10 And the angel said to them, "Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; 11 for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!"

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." 16 And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child; 18 and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Oh Joy!

Maggie K. Fox has Spunk!

2006-12-12T02:33:00.000-05:00

Maggie turned me down flat! And I've just got to share this GREAT! story!

We briefly met at the AWESOME pre-Mesh 2007 event in mid November.

Thereafter we began an email exchange wherein Maggie asked if I might be willing to provide a little mentorship. Now this was an important question because I had to make decision to commit time and energy as when I make a commitment I go 1000% because that's what works for me. In any case I said "yes" and that's what ended up inspiring me (totally unexpectedly I might add).

Lot of emails back and forth, lots of questions and answers and I became really motivated because the harder I pushed Maggie the more she would do and... Always very high quality stuff on her part.

I began researching social media and social interaction in order to provide benefit to Maggie, and in the process, my excitment grew and grew. I also prepared an information package relating to Maggie's efforts with respect to developing her company, Social Media Group. And, along the way realized that I wanted to take an active role in helping Maggie to acquire clients and revenues, no small consideration on my part.

During our luncheon (Maggie invited), we had a fabulous conversation, I turned over the information package, and I opened a door to the possibility of my helping Maggie grow her firm.

The following week, Maggie turned me down flat and... For one of the greatest and most valid reasons in the entire world. In her words, "I want to do it first myself!"

Of course this ancient (and admittedly very cool) guy was a tad miffed (after all I am one of the very best in the world at what I do), and at the same time, I was loving Maggie's spunk and she inspired me even more!

Now before continuing this story I want to make clear in the spirit of full disclosure and complete transparency that I do not work for Maggie or her company, I do not receive anything in the way of compensation (other than that one magnificent luncheon), and we will not be working together in the future. 'nuf said and here goes...

You ought to hire Maggie and her company to help you with respect to social media and social interaction. Why... easy... Maggie inspired me and she will inspire you. She has AWESOME ideas for those in the fast moving retail sector. So Nike, Holt Renfrew and you other cream of the crop players ought to hire Maggie fast. She will tell you the unvarnished truth. She will be a great coach and mentor to you and your team with respect to social media. She will laugh when you win and she will shed tears with you when things are tough. Maggie will help you create a dialogue with your customers that you never dreamed possible and... your customers will begin an entirely new kind of relationship with your company and your products. You will discover that Maggie really care about you and about your customers and she will give you way more than you could ever expect.

Maggie K. Fox inspires people to even greater greatness!

Oh Joy!

Living Your Dreams is Hot!!!

2006-12-11T10:04:00.000-05:00

What are YOUR! Dreams!!

Look up! Look forward! Look inside! Look outside!

What are those beautifully inspiring pictures you are seeing!

What are those just right sounds you are hearing!

What are those incredibly wonderful feelings you are feeling!

What are those beautiful just right smells you are smelling right now!

What are those gorgeous tastes you are tasting!

NOW... You are in the right frame to take action and live YOUR! Dreams!!

If this ancient (and admittedly very cool) guy at darn near 60 can do it and live it every day, YOU! can just easily imagine what this beautiful world of wonderful experiences holds for YOU!!

Oh Joy!

Think Differently... Brainpark is Hot!

2006-12-10T06:37:00.000-05:00

Middle of the night here in Toronto and couldn't sleep (a not uncommon experience for ancient guys even if they are awesomely cool!).

A great opportunity for me to get TONS of useful stuff done and loving the uninterrupted free time to discover something new, something fresh and delicious!

Speaking of new, fresh and delicious... I discovered brainpark just before I thought I was about to crash for a good night's sleep. On this little gem of a site there were two (count 'em two) ABSOLUTELY AWESOME presentations (look in the green grass to see the links).... The first presentation is eight ways to think like an innovator and the second is 10 ways to re-create your world.

These brief presentations are powerful and highly beneficial at multiple levels of personal understanding and experience... They will brightly hue your imagination with the sensual fragrance of flowers, lift your soul and spirit free to fly high and... they will awaken your mind and heart to think differently!

The fresh minds and spirits behind these AWESOME presentations are Bobby John and Mark Dowds of Brainpark and Creationstep. Bobby is based in the USA and Mark in Canada. Both of these dynamic, creative and talented young men have a solid history in starting and developing companies and share a vision to create companies with meaning.

AWESOME guys!

Oh Joy!

Snap is Way Cool and... Very Hot!

2006-12-05T04:36:00.000-05:00

I’ve added a way cool and FREE feature to my blog... Snap... It's A New Way to Search!

You’ll see an adorable balloon appear with a visual image of the URL link along with a super search tool as you hover over an external link. Of course. you can still click on the link as usual.

Snap is HOT!

Oh Joy!

Maryam Ghaemmaghami Scoble

2006-12-04T07:05:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed the delightful experience of discovering Maryam Ghaemmaghami Scoble (a Gem!) via Sarah Blow's Girly Geekdom November 30th post regarding the recent (and Hugely Successful!) London Girl Geek Dinners 9.

FYI Sarah Blow is a talented young UK software engineer, Founder of London Girl Geek Dinners and Barcelona Girl Geek Dinners, and... my friend and "ethos of blogging" mentor.

Maryam's London Girl Geek Dinners presentation (captured on video by some thoughtful soul) captured my heart as she spoke of her thoughts and emotions about entering the world of blogging. I highly recommend this lovely video to everyone interested in blogging and the blogosphere, especially for those wondering if they ought to give blogging a try.

I loved Maryam's honesty, good humor and openness so much that over the weekend I decided to go on a Maryam video search to see if I could discover other videos and... YAHOO!

My initial video interview discoveries quickly revealed that Maryam is a major supporter of Magnificient Women! and their Magnificent Journeys!

The first video (Outstanding!) interview with Betsy Aoki... The ever so talented and Magnificent! Woman! who formerly led efforts behind the MSDN blog network and is now leading Microsoft's Q & A search engine who speaks openly and sincerely about developing communities online, being a girl geek, the Microsoft culture and so much more.

The second (Outstanding!) video interview with Liz Lawley... Social Computing professor at Rochester University and Magnificent! Woman! as she speaks about her time working at Microsoft research, the future of social software, why she thinks there are few women following in math and computer sciences and why she likes playing video games with her sons.

Maryam' blog, Maryam Ghaemmaghami Scoble's musing about Life, Love and Everything Else... is well worth reading, and Maryam often includes links to her (Outstanding!) video interviews.

Let's raise a glass (Champagne of course!) to Maryam Ghaemmaghami Scoble... A Magnificent Woman! with a Magnificent Journey!

Oh Joy!

Magnificent Women and Their Journeys... Maggie K. Fox

2006-11-27T09:13:00.000-05:00

I met the totally amazing Maggie K Fox at the AWESOME! Toronto Mesh Meetup at the Irish Embassy Pub on the evening of November 15th.

Maggie provided her business card during our brief introduction and I decided to check out her blog early on the following morning and... That's when things began to get interesting!

I was astounded [1] Maggie had already written an outstanding post regarding the pre-Mesh 2007 event, including interesting vignettes on people she had met, and [2] therein included a (highly perceptive) observation (bolding is mine), "...Sheamus. We chatted for a bit, I wish now I’d asked more questions (he asked a lot)..."

Thereafter we began an email exchange and on November 20th Maggie included this eye-popping and spirit-catching comment, "...I mostly believe in the challenge of doing something new and pushing my knowledge and intellect to the max."

WOW! I immediately knew I had had just been privleged to met a Magnificent woman with a Magnificent Journey!

A little about about Maggie...

Maggie is the founder and principal of Social Media Group and is also the managing partner of New Sun Creative Inc., where she works with her kick-*ss great Creative Partner, Randy Cameron, in a very hot boutique custom publications firm working primarily in print for large retailers like Home Hardware and U.S.-based Do it Best. Within three years, New Sun had expanded into online development and revenues had more than tripled. With a heavy focus on great content, usability and design, New Sun has created websites and editorial for Home Hardware’s Home at Home magazine, Home Hardware’s Lumber and Building Materials Division, Transcontinental Printing, Home Furniture Stores Limited, Do it Best, Avery Dennison Canada and Truman Engineering Services, to name just a few!

Just imagine... "I mostly believe in the challenge of doing something new and pushing my knowledge and intellect to the max."

Oh Joy!

Magnificent Women and Their Journeys... Susan Scrupski!

2006-11-24T10:13:00.000-05:00

Susan is the the Founder and Principal of IT Services Advisory LLC (ITSA) which provides deep and wonderful world-class services to clients on Internet, software and related business issues and... Susan also has a super, well-written and interesting blog entitled ITSinsinder!

Moreover... Susan is a GREAT! Mom, a kind, thoughtful and giving person and... she really cares about others, even when it isn't always so convenient. In particular I LOVE how she demonstrates the courage to rethink her life in order to find the ways that make her feel great and which also enables her to shine, both professionally and personally.

From the perspective of this ancient guy that GREAT! attitude and commitment to living a joy-filled high-quality life takes deep personal integrity and courage!

Let's raise a glass this day (Champagne of course!) in celebration of Susan and her Magnificent Journey!

Oh Joy!

Rivers of Joy... Work and Relationships!

2006-11-23T15:58:00.000-05:00

Today citizens of the United States of America celebrate their Thanksgiving day, and my family and I take this opportunity to extend very best wishes for a "Happy Thansgiving" and for a wonderful, safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend!

Rivers of Joy in Work and Relationships!

When I was a young entrepreneur back in the seventies and early eighties I often experienced feelings of joy from my work. Then after a decade of unreasonable success including lots of dough I somehow lost that feeling of focus and joy. In fact things got kind of dark for me for a while.

Being a thinker and somewhat (read highly) analytical I tried to figure out what happened, in particular, because feeling joy felt so good! And, when I now look back it was rather hard work!

Identifying and re-evaluating my values. What was important to me? What didn't matter? What mattered less. What did I really want? How could I get it? etc. And of course, always looking to rediscover my joy.

A few years ago things seemed to somehow come together (for which I thank God!). I gradually began to live differently, to move though the world differently and in ways that were good and which made me and others feel good. Again gradually, as I moved more and more into that space that was just right for me I noticed my joy beginning to return and... Joy increasing.

Today I love my work! I love my contributions to others! I love the people with whom I work and hang out with! I love the Internet! I love the social interaction that has such a beautiful life of its own through this ether of the Internet. I love the incredible diversity of talents and positive energy that flows from a million points across the ether of the Internet.

I love the beautiful surprises... Like today on American Thanksgiving a lovely person, Susan Scrupski, the talented ITSinsider blogger and Principal at IT Services Advisory, LLC took the time to post a beautiful and touching comment to one of my blog posts.

Susan's comment touched my heart!

Thank you Susan and... Down with those occasional bears!

Oh Joy!

Think Different!

2006-11-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

With thanks to Apple by way of Ben Casnocha the eighteen year old entrepreneur and writer from San Francisco ...

Think Different

(Apple Computer Ad Campaign)

Here’s to the crazy ones.

The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.

The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.

Because they change things.

They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire.

They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kinds of people.

While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Oh Joy!

Life Balance: Work, Family and Personal

2006-11-20T07:46:00.000-05:00

I realized (after the fact) that I had gotten out of balance last week relative to appropriate rest for my body and mind.

So excited and energized by my work and the great people I work and hang out with that at (almost) age 60 (January 2007) I sometimes forget I am not a youngster any more. Last week I worked over 80 hours and Friday I worked 22 1/2 hours out of 24. And, of course, exercised only once during the entire week.

Saturday I was exhausted, still had chores (such as shopping at Kensington Market which I love as cooking is one of my hobbies), about 20 business emails to process and one afternoon business call. I finally laid down about 4:30 in the afternoon to close my eyes for a few moments rest. Next thing I knew it was 6:30 Sunday morning and I had enjoyed 14 straight hours of blissful restorative rest! And, I made sure that Sunday was a total veg out zero bandwidth day. For example: I love doing laundry and house cleaning, so simple and pleasurable.

These experiences got me to wondering...

I'll bet people strive to achieve balance in their lives. In particular, achieving a reasonable balance with respect to family, work, personal, friends, education and play / relaxation. I also get the sense that we feel better when we are living our lives in a balanced way.

So I began to further wonder if other people from time-to-time also experience challenges in achieving this blissful (and useful) state of balance.

And, what happens to you when things get out of whack!

Just for fun I am including a few dictionary descriptives regarding balance relative to the discussion at hand:

balance noun... an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady

balance... stability of one's mind or feelings : the way to some kind of peace 2 a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions [in sing.] try to keep a balance between work and relaxation.

2 offset or compare the value of (one thing) with another : the cost of obtaining such information needs to be balanced against its benefits. • establish equal or appropriate proportions of elements in : balancing work and family life.

DERIVATIVES balancer noun ORIGIN Middle English (sense 3) : from Old French balance (noun), balancer (verb), based on late Latin (libra) bilanx ‘(balance) having two scalepans,’ from bi- ‘twice, having two’ + lanx ‘scalepan.’

Oh Joy!

Jonathan Ive... Gasp!

2006-11-19T06:52:00.000-05:00

Magnificient Industrial design!

Jonathan Ive and his industrial design team are responsible for the beautiful design of Apple's iMac, iPod, iBook, G4 Cube, Xserve and more!

Jonathan P. Ive (per Wikipedia) is a british born industrial designer. He has received many honors for his work, and Digg just published a story that Jonathan has now also been awarded a CBE by the Queen of England... YAHOO!

Jonathan's industrial design work is so off-the-scale magnificent that it takes my breath away!

Oh Joy!

attap is Hot! personal dna... What Fun!

2006-11-13T10:45:00.000-05:00

attap is a way cool outfit which reflects all that is good about the concepts of social interaction as embodied within Web 2.0 initiatives and... The attap kick-*ss great team creates and provides way fun and way useful web-based tools!

For example... attap's personal dna Your true self revealed is so much fun and so insightful! Try it out. BTW my profile results are here.

Also and for sure... The attap blog is delicious!

God, I LOVE the Internet and the incredible range of talents and resources out there in this beautiful ether!

Oh Joy!

Magnificent Women and Their Journeys!

2006-11-12T13:53:00.001-05:00

With thanks to Penelope Trunk's very hot blog Brazen Careerist I discovered a fabulous Newsweek Business article of September 25, 2006 which profiles twenty Magnificent Women in Leadership. This kick-*ass great article is entitled Lessons We Have Learned: Accomplished leaders in their varied fields share their hard-earned wisdom about success, failure and not letting yourself off the hook.

Out of my love and appreciation to totally wonderful and magnificent women who influence my life for the better...

+ My totally amazing, feisty and Magnificent Irish Mom (Virginia Margaret Doyle, now up in Heaven!) who was also a career woman back in the 40's and 50's when it wasn't so socially acceptable (acknowledging, honouring and celebrating your journey Mom!).

+ My totally magnificent darling wife Sabrina, an extraordinary women who has lifted me up so many times and in so many ways that she now holds an honorary stevedoring license. My relationship with you makes me a better man in every moment and I love you with all my heart. And, to top it off... The "Yoda of Relationship" who sixteen years ago introduced me to the reality that "there are GREAT women in this world" and to "how women move through this world, including how they manage"... Thank you, thank you, thank you!

+ My three kick-*ass wonderfully magnificent daughters (Naiomi, Tova and Rivcah) and their incredibly exciting and enriching lives ahead to make this world a better place... Love ya, love ya, love ya!

+ My two extra delicious granddaughters... An entirely new generation of magnificent women for the better future of this planet. You go girls!

+ The kind and generous Sarah Blow (UK software engineer, Founder of London Girl Geek Dinners and Barcelona Girl Geek Dinners and Girly Geekdom)... A wonderful teacher and thought-provoker regarding the "ethos of blogging" and in supporting me to begin my first blog... Thank you Sarah!

To Penelope Trunk and her Brazen Careerist blog who through her totally awesome writing abilities introduced me to a number of fresh and original ideas, and in a way, who also influenced my writing of this post... Thank you Penelope!

I highly recommend this article celebrating women!

Oh Joy!

Penelope Trunk's Blog is Hot!

2006-11-12T10:47:00.000-05:00

Penelope Trunk's Blog, Brazen Careerist, has an OUTSTANDINGLY excellent post dated November 10, 2006 and entitled, The Easiest Instruction for How To Start A Blog.

I remember the intellectual and emotional challenges faced when comtemplating the prospect of starting my first blog. For example... Lack of understanding regarding the "ethos of blogging", not knowing where to start, not knowing if I had something to say, concerns about the time comittments, would anyone read my blog.

In fact I may not have taken the first big step into the blogosphere had it not been for the gentle support, encouragement and wonderful blogging education provided to me by Sarah Blow (UK software engineer and Founder of London Girl Geek Dinners and Girly Geekdom)... A BIG thank you Sarah!

Well these many months later I discovered Penelope's post which so beautifully addresses the interests of the ever so many people who want to begin a blog and need to easily know how to start.

Well done Penelope!

FYI per Penelope's Brazen Careerist About Page...

Penelope is a columnist at the Boston Globe. Her syndicated column has run in more than 100 publications including the Wall St. Journal’s Career Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Penelope’s blog, Brazen Careerist, has been featured in publications such as TIME magazine and the London Guardian.

Penelope’s forthcoming book is Brazen Careerist: New Rules for Success (Warner Books, May 2007).

Penelope’s prior experience includes more than ten years in the technology and consumer products industries. She launched new businesses for multinational corporations and founded three of her own companies. Penelope has endured an IPO, a merger and a bankruptcy. She also played professional beach volleyball.

Oh Joy!

State of the Blogosphere, October, 2006

2006-11-12T08:55:00.000-05:00

David Sifry (Founder and CEO of Technorati) has produced an interesting, informative and useful report entitled, State of the Blogosphere, October, 2006... David's report includes excellent analysis and is accompanied by first-rate graphs and charts... well worth reading and his findings well worth some thought and consideration.

Remembrance Day 2006

2006-11-11T01:02:00.001-05:00

On Remembrance Day I pause and reflect...

Thinking of the sacrifices made by so many men and women in war, and of their families and friends left behind, for some sadly forever.

I think of my father, Captain Joe MacLean, as a very young man during WW II, physically wounded twice in Europe and wounded emotionally for so many years thereafter.

I think of my mother, Lieutenant Virginia Doyle, as a very young nursing sister during WWII, first in England and later moving to Europe as the war progressed, caring for the wounded, sick and dying boys and men.

I think of the elderly former Canadian soldier who fought in Burma, and his having given me his "Burmese Star" for safe-keeping and as a reminder to honor his memory and sacrifices made by his fellow soldiers in Burma during WWII.

I think of my uncle who lost both legs while a POW in a Japanese camp during WW II.

I think of the men and women serving in the military right now, some wounded, some dying and... I think of their familiies back at home

I think of my eight now grown children and my grandchildren for the security and freedom they enjoy, all paid for by the sacrifices, blood, agony and privations of those magnificent men and women.

God Bless you all!

Microsoft Office 2007... Gotta Have it!

2006-11-07T08:59:00.000-05:00

I Love Google and use several of their offerings (daily) with great delight… For example: Gmail, Blogger Beta and Google Page Creator.

Furthermore as a long-time Mac user I am well aware of the whacks that Microsoft gets from the Mac community and others.

Now on to Microsoft Office and from a totally personal perspective… I’ve used Office on both PCs and Macs over the years, sometimes buying upgrades, and at other times, buying fresh new versions when purchasing new computers.

My usage has been primarily confined to Word, Excel and Entourage (Mac equivalent to Outlook), and my primary focus with respect to these tools has been and remains “increased professional and economic productivity”.

And over the years by every objective standard of performance and in every case my professional and economic productivity has increased by leaps and bounds.

In time perhaps online offerings by Google and others, and/or Open Source offerings such as NeoOffice may begin to match or outpace the capabilities inherent within Microsoft Office. But today (and I must work and collaborate today) these alternate offerings are not even close to Microsoft Office capabilities.

Microsoft and Microsoft Office may have many flaws. However I keep my eye on the doughnut and not the hole. That is, does the investment result in increased professional and economic performance i.e., “increased productivity”.

Thus I look forward with excitement and enthusiasm to purchasing Microsoft Office 2007 (for Mac) as soon as it is released.

Oh Joy!

What You Want!

2006-11-05T07:40:00.000-05:00

Molly E. Holzschlag has an interesting post of November 4, 2006 entitled What You Want, and it is well worth a read.

Good one Molly! And, in the spirit of playing this great game of life with gusto, here's my short list!!

What I want

Living a loving, courteous, kind and thoughtful life (working on it daily!)

Love and respect from my darling wife and children (got it!)

Independence (got it!)

Living my dreams (working on it daily!)

Making meaningful contributions (working on it daily!)

Competence in my work and in my life (got it!)

Respect, tears and laughter with my family, colleagues and friends (got it!)

To be a tad less serious (a ways to go!)

To cherish and honour the gifts given to me of always curious, always learning, and looking at this beautiful world with fresh eyes (working on it daily!).

To get to heaven when I die (working daily to be that quality of man and thank God for grace and mercy!)

Now I wonder, how about for you?

Oh Joy!

Dharmesh Talks to Startup Entrepreneurs

2006-11-03T16:53:00.000-05:00

Dharmesh Shah has just written an oustanding article on his Onstartups blog entitled 9 Pithy Insights on Venture Capital.

This is a damn good article and in my view... essential reading for startup entrepreneurs in the Software and Web 2.0 worlds.

BTW Dharmesh and Brian Halligan are the very experienced and very cool co-founders of an exciting new start-up called HubSpot... exciting because of their focus on helping very small business (VSBs) to grow relationships with new and existing customers and thereby... increasing associated revenues for VSBs.

I look forward to having the opportunity to play with HubSpot's beta version in the near futre and will post about it right here.

Oh Joy!

Entrepreneurship and Learning... A Chuckle

2006-10-26T08:39:00.000-04:00

When I was a younger fellow in my thirties I enjoyed an unreasonable amount of professional and economic success over a decade and... got to thinking "I am a genius" (the dreaded big head syndrome!).

Then... TA DA... lost a million four in 1991! Can I say "oh the wailing and the tears to learn (rather harshly I thought) that I certainly was not a genius"!

After the few months it took for me to get over the shock, and of course, permitting time for my head to return to an appropriately normal size, I decided to find out why I lost the dough-ray-me.

Up the that point I was a pretty good problem-solver and I demonstrated classic signs of newbi entrepreneur (great idea, great services, totally ignorant of business and financial management skills). Thus I went to the totally cool and totally awesome business librarians at the Toronto Reference Library, explained my oh so sad tale and asked if they would help me by putting together a reading list covering the stuff I ought to learn, hopefully including therein an answer as to why I lost all that dough (did I say "ouch!").

Well, those lovely (and knowledgeable) business librarians put together a list of 200 books, some going back to 1910 and I read every one. There's what I learned:

1. Other men and women had embarked on the journey of entrepreneurship and business and some had also taken the time to record and share their lessons learned.

2. With the degree of ignorance I previously held regarding business and financial management knowledge, and as I had been dealing in millions, it was a bloody miracle that I had not lost way more money way faster.

3. I added the important attributes of executive management and financial knowledge to my problem-solving and entrepreneurial skill-sets.

4. I learned how to "smell risk".

5. I learned that Peter F. Drucker's writings on management and society best suited my inclinations and long-term interests. In particular, Drucker introduced me to a few key concepts:

We live in a knowledge world!
There is no meaningful theory addressing knowledge work!
There are few meaningful measures for evaluating the effectiveness of knowledge work, and...
The great questions (which drive me daily!)... How does one make knowledge work productive? How do knowledge workers learn how to effectively collaborate with one another in order to accomplish meaningful and mutually shared objectives? How does one manage knowledge workers? What are the implications of knowledge work and knowledge workers for society and for the future?

6. I added a question to Drucker's insights "How does one enable knowledge workers to earn sufficiently within a personally and professionally satisfying environment such as to thereby create personal economic security and independence while they live a balanced life (e.g., accomplishing their dreams, work, personal, family, play, learning, travel, friends)?

7. I also created a distinction qualification to Drucker's insights "Whoever knows least in the knowledge world stands the best chance of getting their *ss kicked!". A few years later I rephrased this fundamental reality with a bit of humor "Knowledge workers have to love their burro, because... whoever knows least in the knowledge world will end up getting their poor burro's *ss kicked!".

Oh joy!

Women in Technology: Guardian Article

2006-10-24T09:12:00.000-04:00

The Guardian has written an excellent article which addresses the issue of Women in Technology. The insights and observations made by talented, competent and dynamic women (successfully) working in technology are well-worth reading!

Sarah Blow, awesome UK software engineer, Founder of London Girl Geek Dinners, my good friend and a technological mentor was interviewed and liberally quoted within this Guardian article.

Speaking of Girl Geek Dinners and for all you wonderful women in technology... Sarah has organized two (Wow! two!!) great girl geek dinners in Barcelona for November. These dinners coincide with (per Sarah's blog post)... "...Barcelona Girl Geek Dinners are just starting to come together, as such I have opened up the registration on the wiki pages. The event is open to anyone at TechEd and ITForum 2006 and also to those girly geeks based in Barcelona itself! It's even open to the guy geeks so long as they are invited by a girly geek who is also attending the event."

Exciting happenings and great news all around!

Oh joy!

Hackers not Crackers

2006-10-23T09:40:00.000-04:00

Eric Steven Raymond has authored an extremely interesting and informative article entitled How To Become A Hacker. Well worh a read!

Eric also makes an important distinction in the preamble to this (excellent) article, "Hackers build things, crackers break them".

As a person who has dedicated his life to learning and to solving economic performance problems... I LOVE "The Hacker Attitude" as defined by Eric:

1. The world is full of fascinating problems waiting to be solved.
2. No problem should ever have to be solved twice.
3. Boredom and drudgery are evil.
4. Freedom is good.
5. Attitude is no substitute for competence.

Oh Joy!

Visual Model for Complex Problem Solving

2006-10-20T01:01:00.000-04:00

Marshall Clemens of Idiagram has developed an exciting visual model to describe a process for complex problem solving. Well worth a visit and some thoughtful consideration.

Resolving Business Problems 001

2006-10-19T05:52:00.000-04:00

Well, let's get busy... I am putting into action an idea recently suggested to me by my good friend from the UK, Sarah Blow (talented software engineer, and Founder of London Girl Geek Dinners). That is, (paraphrased) "Sheamus, share your knowledge, experience and problem-solving capabilities with others".

The questions which follow are equally applicable to traditional companies and to technology oriented firms, including startups.

Do you own a business?
Do you want to create a startup?
Do you want to own a business?
Do you have business problems which you want to successfully resolve?

I intend to present a methodology that will enable you to successfully resolve business problems (i.e., what to do and how to do it). FYI... I am an older and increasingly fit fellow (ancient and increasingly fit to some of you young people) with almost forty years of knowledge and experience in helping people within large and small companies to successfully resolve business problems. Along the way I founded my own small consulting company and had the wonderful experiences of both losing and making a million while working on great problems with great people in Canada, the USA, the UK, Hong Kong and Mainland China (PRC). If you want to know a bit more about my journey then by all means please feel free to start here and then follow the links which recount the story of my professional life.

Also, please feel free to state your business related problems as comments to my posts or via email: sheamusj[at]gmail[dot]com. Then, where reasonably possible, I will make best efforts (not perfect) to analyze and resolve some of these problems with you and... Let's have a ton of fun along the way!

Travel and New Perspectives

2006-10-18T08:51:00.000-04:00

We are born into a specific place, time and culture, and each culture has an influence on our ideas and ways of perceiving the world.

I have come to realize that one way we can influence our ideas and ways of living is through travel for work and pleasure to differing countries and differing cultures... Thus two questions come to mind:

I wonder if it would be fun for you to take a little time and name each country you have visited?
And, upon brief reflection can you now easily identify three positive changes that have come about in your life as a result of your travel experiences.

It's only fair that I go first and I look forward to learning from you.

Travel for work and pleasure

Canada... Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

USA... Maine, NH, Vermont, Mass, NY, NJ, PA, Michigan, Ohio, Idaho, Wisconin, Illinois, District of Columbia, the Virginias, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Florida and California.

United Kingdom... England and Scotland.

Caribbean... Barbados, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe, Jamaica and St. Kitts.

Mexico... Cabo San Lucas

Hong Kong

Mainland China (PRC).

Three positive changes as a result of my travel experiences

1. I now have the ability see, hear, feel and think about situations and experiences from a variety of very different perspectives... In technological terms somewhat akin to the principle of requisite variety.

2. In China I was blessed to have the experiences, for the first time in my life at age 51, of becoming an immigrant and a person in the minority. These very personal experiences have enabled me to relate to people in entirely new and wonderfully useful ways.

3. The magical journey toward mutual understanding, respect, acceptance and successful adaptation between people of differing cultures is at times challenging, at other times joyful and always... a gift.

The Extraordinary Women in Technology

2006-10-17T09:39:00.000-04:00

Girly Geekdom in Monday's post writes about a minor change undertaken by someone at .Net Magazine which resulted in a major change of meaning with respect to the participation and contributions by women in technology at a recent London BarCamp.

I wonder if the person at the magazine who made this faux pas was male? And, I wonder if this error may have been an unconscious expression of negative culturally held values and attitudes toward women in technology?

The HUGE issues of respect and equality of acknowledgement regarding the contributions of women in technology... I'm beginning to feel that women in technology are going to have to fight for equal rights and opportunities in the same way that women successfully fought for the right to vote.

Speeding up Firefox

2006-10-16T07:46:00.000-04:00

Element14 has an interesting post regarding Firefox (with thanks to Digg). The author:

[1] States that Firefox does not have a memory bug, and

[2] Provides Firefox "configs to change" and detailed instructions on "how to change" the configs in order to improve memory usage and to speed up the browser

MAJOR CAVEAT... I am not a tech expert and as such I recommend you confirm the validity of the above Firefox configuaration changes from other sources before taking action.

Girly Geekdom Rocks

2006-10-12T20:26:00.000-04:00

Sarah Blow is that awesomely talented and exciting young software engineer from the UK, Founder of London Girl Geek Dinners, my technology mentor and very good friend.

Well stop the press... Awesome news... Sarah has just started a magnificient wowzer new blog... Girly Geekdom!

You gotta check it out, take a peek, leave a comment!! Gasp... I have a feeling that Girly Geekdom is going to become REALLY HUGE in the blogosphere!!!

HUGE congrats Sarah!!!!

Exceptional Search Resources

2006-10-12T09:41:00.000-04:00

Have you ever wished that you could be more effective when searching for information and knowledge on the Internet?

I certainly do as... I know with all of my being that getting better at searching will produce better results and save me great gobs of time.

Stop the press... Great news... This morning I discovered a knowledge seekers gem, an exceptional free Internet-based resource made available by the University of California Berkeley Library regarding the Internet, the WWW and Searching. It is part of their UC Berkeley Teaching Library Internet Workshops.

Major kudos to the UC Berkeley Library and I highly recommend this site to everyone who wants to become more effective in producing useful search results.

If you know of other great searching resources... How-to's, tips and techniques... I would appreciate your kindness in sharing these additional learning resources as comments to this blog post, and I'm equally sure that other people will also appreciate your generosity and benefit from your knowledge.

What a great day!!! More knowledge... easier, faster, better!!!!

Engineering Blog Readership

2006-10-12T01:09:00.000-04:00

Brian Halligan has written an informative, on-point and useful post on Small Business 2.0 entitled, "Engineering Blog Readership: 7 Ways To Drive Prospects To Your Small Business". I highly recommend Brian's article.

BTW Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah are the Founders of a very exciting start-up which has an equally exciting focus on the needs of very small business (VSBs). Their start-up is called HubSpot and you ought to check out their site.

I expect to have access to a Beta version of HubSpot's offering within the next few weeks and will post regarding my on-going user experiences.

Moo Cards... Gasp!!!

2006-10-06T07:47:00.000-04:00

Discovered Moo this morning, and nope, not on a farm. You have to check out this adorable idea and fab personal presence eye-popper.

It's all about a fun and highly effective way to take your virtual presence with you into the real world with a gorgeous Moo card. Cool factor of 10... Your colleagues, family and friends will love it!

iTunes 7 Radio Connection Problem Solved

2006-10-04T18:53:00.000-04:00

Yesterday downloaded the Mac iTunes 7 software update.

The Problem... Thereafter could not get any connection to any radio station and as it turns out many many people were experiencing the same problem

Actions taken

[1] Reached out to ehmac, the great FREE Canadian online Mac community.

[2] Went to the troubleshooting forum and asked "Help".

[3] One of the great ehmac community members, handle "Vexel", researched the problem and found the solution.

[4] Followed Vexel's instructions, rebooted my computer and voila... Everything now works perfectly.

Huge kudos go to the ehmac community, to Vexel and to Mode22 of the Apple discussion forum.

The Mac community rocks!

HubSpot is Coming

2006-10-03T10:06:00.000-04:00

HubSpot has a big idea and a great focus... Serving very real business needs for the millions and millions of very small businesses (VSBs)... Making it easy and making it affordable. Holy Hold Onto Your Hat Batman!

And, we may very well expect to see a HubSpot Beta version of their initial product offering within the next few months.

Dharmesh Shah and Brian Halligan are the prime movers behind HubSpot. These two brainiacs have great experience, admirable track-records and highly complementary skill-sets. Talk about a winning combination!

Speaking of a winning combination... There are two outstanding recent posts addressing powerful issues for entrepreneurs and VSBs relative to the Internet, one written by Brian in Business 2.0 with the second written by Dharmesh over at the Onstartups blog. I highly recommend a reading of these thoughtful and thought-provoking articles.

Best wishes to the entire HubSpot team as they drive toward the Beta version finish. I know I'm excited by the possibilities!

Soflow is Cool

2006-10-02T11:29:00.000-04:00

A big thank you goes out to Sarah Blow, hugely talented software engineer from the UK and Founder of London Girl Geek Dinners, for introducing me to the Soflow website.

Soflow is a super social networking community for professionals where they can post their profiles and create connections, in a way somewhat similiar to Linked In, although you may find making making connections on Soflow is a much easier and straight-forward process.

Take a peek and see what you think... Tres cool!

Sunday Morn Notes to Self

2006-10-01T08:41:00.000-04:00

A few of my goals at the start of 2006:

Learning to better understand what is sometimes labeled as Web 2.0, and more specifically, to better understand the interaction factor of which social networking is but one aspect
Learning to better understand the ethos of blogging... with HUGE appreciation to Sarah Blow UK software engineer, Founder of London Girl Geek Dinners
To identify new and original Internet based ideas that might be converted into successful growing companies
To begin a blog on a test basis... with major appreciation to Google and its amazing free Blogger platform
To begin a dialogue with a few talented young people in the technology world

Still lots to learn and understand with some good progress across all goals and realized last evening that I'm beginning to get it. I love the road ahead... top down, technology shining and feeling the pixels in my hair.

Distance Education... University... eLearning

2006-09-30T06:46:00.000-04:00

This is a HUGE idea... eLearning, also known as Distance Education at the university level, is changing the world.

The range of online eLearning possibilities is breathtaking, learning anywhere... anytime... and at your own pace.

In this post I address only one aspect of eLearning, that of university distance education. In my view a number of the key elements that must be present in order for one to undertake distance education with any university are as follows:

[1] Accreditation: This issue is exceptionally important to a student... Per Funk & Wagnalls Canadian College Dictionary... the granting of approved status to an academic institution by an accrediting body after examination of its courses, standards, etc. University accreditation in Canada and the United Kingdom tends to be more straight-forward because of government standards, oversight and funding. Things in the USA are more complicated in that valid accreditation can only be granted by six regional accrediting organizations. In this regard you may find of benefit this USA reference by Dr. Ronald B. Sandler.

[2] Experience: The university ought to have significant experience in providing distance education. For example [a] The London University External Programme is the grand-daddy as it has been providing university education to students since 1858. Interestingly, the UK has a number of universities providing excellent accredited distance education. In Canada, Athabasca University is a leader in distance education and they are accredited both in Canada and in the USA (Middle States Regional Accreditation). In addition, the University of Waterloo distance education program is worth checking out. [3] Over time I will check out and post regarding a select number of the accredited USA university distance education possibilities.

[3] Degree Programs and Courses: No matter how excellent the university, it must offer high-quality degree programs AND the specific courses that serve your needs as a student. Keep looking until you find what you need.

[4] Tuition Fees and Costs: As a prospective distance learning university student, whether undergraduate or post-graduate, you are the consumer... As such it is useful to remember that you may be spending about $26,000+ dollars for a four-year university undergraduate education, it's a lot of money and... YOU have the decision-making power. This is important because you will discover that tuition fees and the related study costs for distance learning programs and courses will vary from one university to another.

[5] Technology and Course Delivery: The technology used by the university ought to work. Sounds like common sense but sometimes even good universities use technology and approaches that make things unreasonably difficult for the student. The same thing goes for course delivery and student participation, it's got to be easy for the student. The good news is that today most of the high-quality and experienced universities providing distance eduction to students use platforms like WEBCT where students can access courses via their web browser (e.g., Firefox, Safari, IE et al).

[6] University Continuing Commitment to Distance Education: This last point is important and NOT to be lightly considered. One real-life experience... A person I know well enrolled in a four-years honors program in a fairly specialized field. After three-years of study, she was advised by the university [a] they were discontuing all distance learning programs, [b] the university was also discontinuing that degree program, and [c] therefore, she would be unable to complete her degree at that university. Thank goodness (by a pure stroke of good fortune) she had completed a sufficient number of courses such that she was accepted for MA studies at a UK university in the same highly specialized field. Save yourself some angst and thoroughly evaluate continuing commitment to distance education by a university before enrolling.

HubSpot and VSB's

2006-09-30T06:27:00.000-04:00

The founders of HubSpot are thinking about the needs of very small businesses (VSBs). It's early days and I have yet to receive my 30-day free trial in order to evaluate functionality and range of capabilities (will keep you posted). Nonetheless, the HubSpot orientation toward VSBs is exciting and worthy of note.

Software Start-Ups Blog

2006-09-29T07:40:00.000-04:00

onstartups.com is an interesting blog that addresses the issues of entrepreneurs and company start-ups in the software industry. Dharmesh Shah writes from the strength of his experiences with software startups and provides practical insights. Give him a visit and post a comment.

Lifehacker

2006-09-28T02:46:00.000-04:00

I discovered the Lifehacker blog (with thanks to Digg) on this very early morning here in Toronto. Lifehacker is well written and it includes a fab set of free tutorials. Gina Trapani is a free lance writer and programmer and she deserves kudos for her contributions!

Apple iPhone Plus GSM Network

2006-09-28T02:39:00.000-04:00

David Pogue has an excellent article well worth reading regarding Apple and the possibilities for Apple iPhone, especially the thought he expresses regarding Apple also setting up a GSM network.

Would someone please immediately call Steve, this idea is hot, hot, hot!

Great Satisfaction from Small Technology Purchase

2006-09-26T05:50:00.000-04:00

Our beautiful ancient G3 iMac (Green DVD model) began acting oddly a number of months ago. The problem (solved last Friday)... Every time a link was hit in either Safari or Firefox THREE windows would open, or open a blank email in Entourage and THREE would open and impossible to highlight and select a single word in any application, and Excel cell selection was wonky.

We even went to the trouble of re-installing the operating system and all application programs, still the problem remained.

We then guessed the problem might be related to a cheap Macally keyboard and mouse we bought about the time our problems started showing up. Not nice... Grrrr!

Last Friday we purchased [a] Microsoft Digital Media Pro keyboard and [b] Microsoft Optical intelliMouse. Then downloaded and installed the applicable Microsoft software (very easy to do) and TA DA... problems solved and EVERYTHING on our beautiful ancient Apple G3 iMac once again works just as it should... Oh, great shouts of joy!

Adding to our relief and joy, both of these Microsoft products are a pleasure to work with, very well thought-out, excellent design, well manufactured and look cool to the max... BTW did I mention that we are happy, happy, happy.

Great Canadian Online Mac Community

2006-09-24T11:47:00.000-04:00

In an effort last week to find help online regarding a really annoying problem with my iMac G3, I discovered a wonderful Canadian online Mac community, ehmac.ca and... It's FREE to join.

For those non-canadians who are kindly reading this blog, the prefix "eh" is a fun pun regarding Canadian speech patterns, as we Canadians will often use "eh" when speaking. For example, "great hockey game last night eh".

I very highly recommend ehmac to any and all Mac users and to those using iPods. The community members, both men and women in technology, are a terrific bunch. Very willing to help, a wonderful mix of people of all ages and a huge range of talents. It's also a great way to connect with mac users.

BTW I recommended the Girl Geek Dinner concept to a number of the ehmac female community. Sure hope they get in touch with Sarah Blow (UK software engineer and Founder, London Girl Geek Dinners).

Playing Around with Google Page Creator

2006-09-21T07:43:00.000-04:00

I've been playing around with Google Page Creator for the last four or five days. This wonderful free service from Google enables people to create a collection of web pages, all of which can be linked to one another.

A wonderfully liberating aspect of Google Page Creator is that you (on your own) just create a page, write your content, hit the "Publish" button and voila... Your pages are available to the world on the web. That is, you do NOT have to know HTML code or any other technical stuff. I'm darn near 60 and if I can do it (and I have) then you can too!

HUGE props to Google and the Google team that developed and made available this excellent tool! The concept of providing "anyone and everyone for FREE" with the means to easily and simply create a presence on the World Wide Web is breathtaking.

My experiences in playing around with this tool oftentimes brought to mind admiring thoughts for the rather amazing sound thinking, technological knowledge, methodologies and highly exacting attention to detail possessed and put to work by web designers, programmers, graphics designers, user interface specialists, information architects and all other technological magicians... HUGE props to each of you!

On many occasions in the past I've asked young people, "How did you learn all of this amazing technical knowledge?" to which they replied, "I learned by playing around, just trying stuff out to see what happens". Well, I wasn't so comfortable with the concept of "playing around", kind of afraid of breaking something that couldn't be put right again.

I now realize that my basic question and the essential answer provided by these amazing young people (including my son Aaron and my friend Sarah from the UK) clearly revealed two (contrasting) attitudes... Mine, apprehension, theirs... I'm going to jump in, find out and learn.

Well, with these last few days of "my playing around" with Google Page Creator I've made a leap toward sharing the wondrous attitude of these young people... Another GREAT concept made real, "I'm going to jump in, find out and learn".

Sunday Morn Notes

2006-09-17T08:32:00.000-04:00

Great news... Tara Hunt is posting again, sharing exciting good news, well worth reading. Welcome back Tara!

Weekly email update to my eight incedible children was sent into the ether last evening. Something must have worked because early this morning I had already received a reply from one of my daughters (Tova).

I've started playing around with Google Page Creator and as an ancient technology challenged guy I'm finding it a terrific learning exercise, creating the pages, creating the content, linking the pages. All in all four "right on" benefits... [1] Google provides this service for free [2] It encourages clarity of thought [3] It encourages clarity of organization by topic or subject [4] It will save anyone a ton of money, time and reduced frustration if they subsequently want to work with a designer in order to create a website.

Haven't attended a baseball game for a very long time as I was more than a tad annoyed when the players and owners did the strike thing... Their attitudes left something to be desired... It felt to me that the players and owners were communicating, "Hey, our millions of dollars of income are not enough, screw the fans, let's go on strike until we get even more money, money, money". Well, in the years afterward I've noticed fewer fans in the seats, and I registered my displeasure by refusing to buy tickets, refusing to attend the games.

Well, One of my brothers-in-law (Albert) has invited me to a Blue Jays baseball game this afternoon... Thanks Albert, looking forward to hanging out with you. Gee, I wonder how much they charge for a beer at the game these days.

Saturday Morning Notes To Myself

2006-09-16T08:50:00.000-04:00

Sarah Blow (UK software engineer and Founder, London Girl Geek Dinners) has posted news of the first major sponsor for the London Girl Geek Dinners... Very good news indeed.

Tara Hunt hasn't posted since September 10th, do hope she's just on a holiday.

My darling wife and I enjoyed a super discussion regarding young people in their twenties and early thirties and the various issues that might influence the nature of their relationships. Specifically, I was wondering why these lovely and talented young people (in general) seem to be drawn toward relationships of non-commitment (i.e., not marriage). Sabrina raised a number of interesting points regarding young women: For example, young women today want life choices, to develop their individuality, their careers and their abilities to be independently financially secure, thus, young women may want to postpone marriage for a time.

I continue to reflect on the possibilities of my helping young men and women in bringing their technological innovations to market within a sound business context.

Wedding Anniversary... 15 Magnificent Years

2006-09-14T09:31:00.000-04:00

We celebrate this day together. An amazing woman... Words are not enough. I'm a lucky guy. It sure will be great to celebrate our 50th. Heck I only have to make to 95, piece of cake. Love you babe and looking forward to our years of living, loving and laughter!

Jessie and the Life Rolls On Foundation

2006-09-13T14:20:00.000-04:00

An amazing story of courage rising from the ashes of a surfing tragedy, Jessie Billauer you gotta get inspired.

The Life Rolls On Foundation of which Jessie is such an important part is dedicated to amazing people who have done much more than to overcome their extreme physical challenges related to spinal cord injuries, living dynamic lives and helping others to see and live a larger world of goodness, meaning and life... Inspiring and uplifting are understatements. Do yourself some good and check it out.

Blogger Beta... Cool

2006-09-12T06:35:00.000-04:00

Migrated from Blogger to Blogger Beta very early this morning, and I feel so cool... What a blast in learning how to do these technological things.

So far I like it, biggest benefits so far [1] No more waiting for that (previous) publishing circle to indicate "done", [2] Found 7 comments to various posts, 6 of which I did not even know about. To all those lovely people who commented... Thank you!

Soon I'm going to learn how to post photographs.

Also, thoughts are running through my head about the possibility of creating a separate new blog (using Blogger Beta of course)... The idea: Use my 40 years of business knowledge to help young people in getting their technological (especially Internet-based) innovations off the ground and making money. Haven't decided yet.

Gordon Graham on Innovation

2006-09-12T05:20:00.000-04:00

Discovered an interesting blog written by Gordon Graham (with thanks to Hugh MacLeod's Gapingvoid bloglines). Gordon is a Scottish guy now based in Taipei, Taiwan. His focus is innovation and his blog is well worth a read.

Memoria

2006-09-11T09:13:00.000-04:00

My family honours the memory of those thousands of innocent people who were killed at the World Trade Center in New York City on that terrible day, September 11, 2001.

We honour the memory of the thousands of brave men and women who worked to save lives on that day and those who worked on the Pile post 9/11.

Our prayers and love reach out from our hearts for those that have survived, demonstrating the courage to overcome and to create lives of goodness, hope and love... The grandparents, aunts, uncles, nephews, neices, godparents, parents, brothers, sisters, children, friends and their fellow Americans.

God Bless America and the American People.

Equal Rights for Women in Technology

2006-09-09T04:17:00.000-04:00

There have been a number of recent posts in the blog world addressing the fundamentally important issue of equal rights and opportunities for women in technology, and in particular, the current state of their relative lack of inclusion with respect to involvement, participation and contributions at technology conferences and events

Sarah Blow (UK software engineer and Founder, London Girls Geek Dinners) has just addressed this issue in a magnificent post. Sarah's post includes three good references: an excellent post by Leisa Reichelt and a somewhat problematic (for me) post by Robert Scoble (The 74 comments to-date associated with Robert's post makes for very interesting reading), also an on-point podcast from the recent London BarCamp event.

Sarah has framed a number of good questions as a starting point which can facilitate a community dialogue and I'm sure people will get involved and contibute.

The issues of human dignity and equality are fundamental to human society and the healthy progess of society. We need to actively undertake a constructive inclusive dialgue, and we also need to develop and implement a (workable) action plan that will enable women in technology to participate on an equal footing, including at technology conferences and events.

Let's work together and get this done!

Apple's iMac 24 Inch Fun Machine

2006-09-07T09:30:00.000-04:00

Apple including Apple Canada have announced a new addition to their iMac line... A 24 inch beauty. Can I say desire to own. Lots of lovely tech spec goodies. I wonder if I should take the plunge and buy it.

After many years of faithful service from my good old Green iMac (DVD model) it will feel wonderful to have greater processor and front-side bus speeds, a big bunch of RAM and a large hardrive, and not to forget, the better graphics card and funky built-in iSight camera. My head is spinning!

Interesting Blogs on Sunday Morn

2006-09-03T09:32:00.000-04:00

Hugh MacLeod's GapingVoid posts a number of wonderful new cartoons on the back of business cards. Hugh also quotes Paul Graham regarding "business models being of relative less importance to creating something useful for people". Techcrunch contains the complete (and very thoughtful) interview with Paul. Also, Sarah Blow (Founder, London Girls Geek Dinners) has two fresh and interesting posts and two podcasts regarding just-happened BarCamp London event.

Browzar Caution

2006-09-02T07:43:00.000-04:00

Digg has a story from Web3.0log concerning Browzar. If web3.0log observations are accurate then caution is the word of the day.

September 1st

2006-09-01T08:45:00.000-04:00

September is always an exciting time for me. Lots happening... Students returning to schools and universities, the business pace accelerates, the weather begins to herald fall (my favorite season) and always something new in news.

Hugh MacLeod's Gaping Void and Tara Hunt each have interesting posts today. OneStat posted catchy stats on browser usage worldwide and by country/region, and the BBC News Technology Section has an interesting story about Browzar which is intended to provide better privacy protection, especially when browsing at public or work spaces.

Incredible Talents in This World

2006-08-29T09:25:00.000-04:00

Discovered Don Ross on YouTube this morning. Don, RockSteadyJones and Hugh MacLeod... There is such an incredible range of amazing talent in this world of ours... It takes my breath away and fills me with hope.

A Milestone

2006-08-28T07:48:00.000-04:00

This past week I passed an important milestone on the jouney of life. I started exercising during the last week of last December. Also modifiied my diet a bit at the same time.

Stats last December: Age 58 (within two weeks of turning 59), 179 pounds, waist 38 1/2 inches, chest 43 1/2 inches, tired easily.

Basic initial goals: Regular exercise, 3 times weekly, no injuries, basic weight goal of 150 pounds (i.e., get rid of the flub), good endurance, strength, flexability, balance, agility and posture.

First exercise session: 30 minutues on the treadmill, elevation 0, speed 3.0, single set of 5 abdominal exercises, took 4 1/2 hours to recover from that 40 minutes of exercise.

Last week: exercised 4 times, six hours of treadmill with four hours at elevation 15, average calorie burn of 1100 per session, weight 154.5 pounds (24.5 pounds of fat gone), waist 33 inches (5 1/2 inches of fat gone), chest 38 1/2 (5 inches of fat gone), lot of endurance, recovery time less than 15 minutes.

Reflections after eight months: [1] It takes a bloody lot of physical effort to burn a pound of fat! [2] I have learned a lot (of positive stuff) about my emotions and the incredible range of emotions relative to exercise and modifying my diet, and in most cases in the early days, if I had based my actions on emotions I would no longer have continued to exercise. However, I listened to the emotional turmoil while I continued to exercise. [3] Starting to look mighty fine... Having a slim waistline Oh la la!

Now beginning to think about the adjustments required to my exercise goals for the future. Ditto for other areas of my life.

Awesome Blues

2006-08-24T07:58:00.000-04:00

Came across RockSteadyJones on YouTube yesterday, his music (da Blues) is awesome! You can also search YouTube and find great clips by Son House, Bukka White and other Blues legends.

University Days

2006-08-22T09:17:00.000-04:00

Do you remember your university days, undergrad and possibly beyond? What did you love about university, what did you love about your studies, what did you hate, what was stimulating, what was fun, and based on your experiences what would you do differently?

Fall Weather Reminder

2006-08-21T07:55:00.000-04:00

This weekend in Toronto was chilly, bringing to mind that fall weather is approaching. Still about a month until the offical date. I look forward to the hustle and bustle of the university students, somehow the spirit and energy adds to the spice of city life.

YouTube and Geriatric1927

2006-08-18T08:22:00.000-04:00

Received an email from one of my sons this morning suggesting that I check out the videos presented by geriatric1927 on YouTube This gentleman is 79 years of age and lives in the UK. His life stories are worth watching... Thank you son!

Cheap Tarts Tastes Great

2006-08-16T08:07:00.000-04:00

Cheap Tarts favors the flavors of Hugh's Gaping Void, and her blog is well-written and a fun read. Delicious!

Google's Blogger Being Updated

2006-08-15T08:08:00.000-04:00

Digg and Techcrunch today post news regarding the soon-to-arrive Blogger update, an already GREAT service giving voice to so many people becoming even better.

Tara Hunt and Pinko Marketing

2006-08-14T09:38:00.000-04:00

Hugh's posting on his wonderful Gaping Void blog led me to Tara Hunt's HorsePigCow Blog and her Pinko Marketing wiki. This young woman writes with passion and she has the courage to frankly express her ideas and opinions, especially regarding marketing, community and integrity.

Tara does not expect everyone to agree (and mainstream lack of ideas copycats won't) with her. Give Tara a read and maybe some of her ideas and passion with strike a chord within your heart and mind.

PB Wiki is Cool

2006-08-14T08:02:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I discovered a terrific new (free) wiki and collaborative blogging tool called pbwiki BTW "pb" stands for "peanut butter". You can see how other people are using this tool, for example, Tara Hunt at Pinko Marketing

I love this stuff!

Technological Innovations in Application

2006-08-11T08:29:00.000-04:00

I have been checking out Internet related technological innovations in application for the past few years, new ideas if you will and how these new ideas connect with people in useful ways.

For example: Blogs and wonderfully original and creative bloggers such as Gaping Void, social connections in the vein of Digg, Myspace, YouTube, and fun fun fun initiatives such as The Million Dollar HomePage.

I'm an old (and increasingly fit) guy and I ponder about these people whose lives are so intertwined with technology and the Internet. Where do they get these wonderful ideas? What drives them? What do they think? What do they eat? What makes them happy?

I have been also researching innovations in order to discover the right opportunity which will enable me to work with the right team to help them create something magical.

It's getting close, I can feel it and it is exciting!

UK Terror Plot to Bomb Ten Airplanes

2006-08-10T08:04:00.000-04:00

This morning's news is distressing with respect to a UK terror plot which had the intention of blowing up 10 commercial airplanes travelling between the UK and the US. It is also highly encouraging that Scotland Yard uncovered this plot and arrested at least 21 suspects thereby thwarting the plotter's disgusting plan for mass-murder of innocent men, women and children.

You can check-out CNN and BBC News for updates throughout the day.

Scotland Yard and all other participating government agencies are due huge congratulations for their diligence in this matter of protecting our society.

The New Big Cat Has Spots

2006-08-09T08:02:00.000-04:00

Apple's next operating system (Leopard, OS 10.5) is almost here. I wonder what advantages will arise from the 64 bit capability. I guess that Leopard will be the included OS when I purchase my new Mac in December.

New Week and Sarah's New Post

2006-08-08T07:31:00.000-04:00

Well the lovely long weekend is over and back to work, although, since the summer is still with us, the pace of work is relatively slow and easy. Gosh, the weekend was fun!

Sarah has a new post and some excellent climbing photos in sunny Southern California.

My Apple Computer... Old Faithful

2006-08-07T07:21:00.000-04:00

Bought my Green iMac (DVD model) in the fall of 2000. Imagine, a six year old computer and it still works well! 450 MHz CPU, 100 MB bus, 20 GB hard drive.

Only a few minor upgrades since 2000: RAM increase to 320 MB, moved to Panther (OS 10.3), new keyboard and mouse.

Been buying Macs since 1984 and they have always worked. And, I expect my next Apple computer (to be purchased this coming December) will also provide me with an equal measure of high customer satisfaction.

Early Birds and Late Nighters

2006-08-06T07:03:00.000-04:00

Along with a large group of people I awake early, usually between 5 and 6 AM while others find later nights and sleeping in more suits their nature. It's always fun to note the posting timestamp for my favorite bloggers. For example, it is not uncommon for Hugh at Gaping Void (GREAT Cartoons on the back of business cards) to be hard at work posting at 1:00 in the morning. Now that is wonderful for me as when I daily visit his blog around 6 or 7 AM in Toronto... TA DA there is always something interesting, often fun.

I believe the above solidly and carefully drafted case study proves that, indeed, there exists balance in the universe.

A Party of Two

2006-08-05T07:46:00.000-04:00

Friday afternoon of the long weekend. My darling wife and I. Enjoying the day and into the evening on our balcony in the heart of the city. A lovely white wine and well-fed... A salad of verdant greens, paper-thin slivers of red onion, orange peppers, button mushrooms and beautiful tomatoes, topped with freshly prepared chicken breast and an organge juice, honey and olive oil dressing. Wonderful conversation and laughter.

August Long Weekend

2006-08-04T07:22:00.000-04:00

My son Aaron celebrated his 28th birthday yesterday... A beautiful introduction to three lazy summer's days of bliss. The city ought to be quiet with so many out of town for the long weekend.

Long weekend maybe plans... A lovely stroll with my darling wife on the University of Toronto campus, a delicious homemade burger with a cold beer, and possibly, even the chance to complete Moby Dick.

Best wishes to all for a super weekend!

Summer Storms

2006-08-03T09:56:00.000-04:00

Wild raging summer storm last evening here in Toronto, dramatic lighting, rolling thunder, windy noises and that very special hard summer's rain... Wonderful!

A Week's Light Reading

2006-08-02T10:19:00.000-04:00

James A. Michener's "Caribbean". A ripping good read and a little historical knowledge thrown in for good measure.

Herman Melville's "Moby Dick". American 1850's language, vivid descriptives and the author has a sense of humor.

John Grisham's "The Summons". A very very light read, not as good as some of his other books.

Ah, summer's relaxing diversions.

A Short Summer Break and No Computers

2006-08-01T09:17:00.000-04:00

Loved it! Kind of a long weekend refresh. This summer is turning out great... My exercise program progressing in leaps and bounds. Reduced my weight 21.5 pounds since January 1st, and my waistline is now a waistline, used to be 38.5 inches, now down to 32.5 inches. Excellent!

Relationships and Distance

2006-07-27T14:38:00.000-04:00

Many of us live at a distances, sometimes a great distance, from those we love. Our parents, brothers and sisters, our children, husbands, wives, friends, grandparents and mentors. Email, IM and telephones are great but they do not always fill our human need for closeness.

Mid-Summer

2006-07-26T08:22:00.000-04:00

Hugh MacLeod wants to play as mid-summer is upon us.

Sarah is working and playing while on a summer project in San Diego. Her recent post and photos regarding Comic Con is great fun.

My bother Joe is working hard in Vancouver. Three of my five sons are scuba-diving every weekend. My exercise program is coming along nicely after seven months of effort, very much hoping to reach my August 1st goal of 156 pounds (two pounds to go).

Do you remember summer as a kid? I'd love to create those good times.

Relationships... For The Moment

2006-07-25T07:22:00.000-04:00

You participate, for example, in a day of hiking, scuba diving or a museum tour with a group of people. Although you don't necessarily know anyone, everyone relates well, sharing stories, enjoying a simple rustic meal, and at the end of a fun day each person goes their own way.

I wonder why it is that these moments of shared activities and for-the-moment relationships in one's life can seem almost magical.

Relationships... At Work

2006-07-24T07:04:00.000-04:00

Let's say that the relationship chemistry is at work with someone at work... You like your work, you enjoy your working environment. What to do, especially where the relationship could go south, and possibly, also negatively affect your career.

Relationship Chemistry

2006-07-23T07:19:00.000-04:00

Why is it that the feelings of connectedness between some people occurs in such a lovely positive way? Is is chemistry, something else?

And, do these feelings that influence connectedness or separation between people change over time as we change throughtout our lifetimes?

Personal and Relationship Standards

2006-07-22T06:53:00.000-04:00

Someone wondered about each person within a relationship having and communicating non-negotiable personal standards that are, by mutual agreement, applicable in their relationship.

Of course, each person and each relationship is unique, thus personal and relationship standards will vary.

The idea of thinking through and formulating non-negotiatable personal standards only occurred to me around the age of forty, especially with respect to marriage and my children.

My first marriage had already ended in divorce after twenty years... We married young and were blessed with seven children yet we did not work through and agree upon those values and qualities we each needed to have a good relationship. We suffered as a couple and our children suffered from the harsh unkind words and from the lack of harmony and shared purpose in our home.

Could personal and relationship standards enable me to have good relationshps in the future? Would standards help me to become a better father to my children? What did I want in personal terms? What did I want in relationship? What did I want for my children?

A few years later I was blessed to meet and marry an extraordinary woman. Sabrina is kind, compassionate and loving. In addition, Sabrina's words are true, she is committed and always moves to the good, and further, she believes in the power of personal and relationship standards as a means to support the living of a happy life together. Early in our relationship and long before getting married we formulated, communicated and mutually agreed upon our standards.

Sabrina's Standards as Originally Stated:

1. No emotional, mental or physical abuse. This is, emotional, mental and physical support.
2. No sleeping around. That is, fidelity to each other.
3. No lying. That is, tell the truth.
4. No bigotry. That is, respect for people of other cultures.

My Standards:

Sabrina's standards were so excellent I adopted them, plus
No dumping (I don't dump on other people, and don't accept dumping from others)
No ragging and/or yelling (AKA nagging)
Love my children
Don't get fat (No longer applicable)

Results... Fifteen very happy and loving years of marriage, happy productive and loving lives for my (now grown) children, and more...

Relationships... The Beginning

2006-07-21T07:51:00.000-04:00

Relationships (to me) are mysterious and especially for great relationships oftentimes magical. The experiences within relationship throughout our lives give pause to, and are worthy of, a large degree of thought and wonder.

One might think that as a son, one of four siblings, twice a husband, a father of eight (now grown) children, and with almost sixty years of living and working with people that relationships are more easily understood. Not so dear friends!

In the days ahead the story of my relationship experiences will be unfolded... The wonderful, the tragic, the great, the less-than-wonderful, the good and... the surprising.

Getting News Quickly

2006-07-20T08:05:00.000-04:00

Getting information from around the world via the Internet is an essential part of my daily routine and... I want to get it fast and effectively. It occurred to me that other people may have similiar needs, so, here are a few of my favorites.

BBC News provides excellent coverage on world news and events. Their navigation by geographic region and subject is easy and fast. They also provide a (modest) Technology section.

Digg is a first-rate aggregator and their technology section rocks. Dozens of technology articles can be scanned in just a few minutes. Definitely worth checking out.

Technorati Top 100 Blogs is worth a peek from time-to-time. A check-in once or twice a week will quickly give you some idea as to which of the top 100 blogs are cooling down or hotting up in terms of blogger interest.

Techcrunch provides excellent insight, screenshots and commentary on current technology innovations, including new Internet-based applications and services. I wish my understanding of Web 2.0 was greater as lack of knowledge is limiting my ability to understand the significance of the ideas embodied within Techcrunch.

As a Canadian living in Toronto, the Globe and Mail provides Canada's best daily business news, a reasonably decent overview of the national news and a more limited overview of regional news. The Toronto Star provides superior news coverage for the Province of Ontario and Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

London Girl Geek Dinner Short Movie

2006-07-19T08:18:00.000-04:00

Sarah has posted news and a link to preview the soon-to-be released short movie regarding the London Girl Geek Dinners. Be amongst the first to check it out!

Sarah was instrumental in founding the London Girl Geek Dinners, and is currently working for a few months in San Diego and blogging of her experiences while there.

I wonder if there are girl geeks in San Diego who would enjoy connecting with each other by getting together with Sarah for a San Diego Girl Dinner.

Firefox Rocks With Blogger

2006-07-18T08:26:00.000-04:00

Sarah is a technological guru! This morning I downloaded Firefox 1.5 to my ancient and much appreciated Mac G3 and... Voila... I can now see (and use) all six of the Blogger posting icons.

This is a beautiful summer morn for me here in Toronto, literally and technologically. I'm really excited to learn more.

YAHOO... Links Within Posts Success!

2006-07-17T07:46:00.000-04:00

I posted a "How Do I" inquiry yesterday on Blogger Help Group regarding "linking within posts". I am really impressed that two people in addition to my friend, Sarah, kindly provided helpful advice.

One html coding suggestion with many thanks to Chuck.

My friend Sarah and Larry provided helpful guidance regarding the the icon method for linking within the body of my posts. However, I am currently using the Safari browser on a Mac and only two icons are visible on the top left-hand section of the posting box (spelling and post image). Within the next month or so I'm going to upgrade to Mac OS 10.4 (Tiger) and then download the latest Firefox browser. Hopefully I can then also use the icon method.

Larry has the technorati Icon on his blog... Thought this was very cool. I wonder how to do that! Hmm, good thing I like to learn as it seems that I have quite a bit of technology knowledge to acquire. Who says that age 59 (darn near 60) can't be a ton of fun.

Links Sidebar Success

2006-07-16T07:25:00.000-04:00

Technology as an enabler for me to connect with people, places and ideas is a beautiful thing. The "how-to" regarding the technological bits and pieces brings the phrase "new and somwhat intimidating" to mind.

It was fun and satisfying learning how to create sidebar links on this gorgeous early Sunday morning in Toronto. A big thank you is extended to the Blogger crew who created the excellent "Help" section (www.blogger.com).

I really want to learn how to insert links into the body of my posts. First, because I find this capability so cool, and secondly, because linking within the post is fun. Sarah, my friend from the UK and technological guru provided clear instructions (www.sarahblow.com). However, I just don't understand the "how-to" as of yet. It is my fond hope that the lovely Jamaican saying "Soon come mon" will become real relative to linking within my posts.

Aaron... My Son and Geek Exemplar

2006-07-15T08:12:00.000-04:00

This inital post to my initial blog was made possible because my son, Aaron, kindly helped to set it up on Blogger. YAHOO... Aaron rocks! Thank you son!

Additional thanks are extended to Sarah (www.sarahblow.com) for helping me to better understand "the ethos of blogging" and for her excellent commentary and advice regarding the subject of blogging. This kind, generous and delightful young software engineer from the UK has no shortage of demand on her time and energy with work, her technical blog, a recent biking marathon for charity and more... For example, Sarah was instrumental in founding London Girl Geek Dinners (http://www.londongirlgeekdinners.co.uk/). Sarah in currently working on a project in San Diego and you might enjoy reading of her experiences while there (http://sarahinsandiego.blogspot.com/). Sarah rocks!

I want to recommend Hugh MacLeod's site (http://www.gapingvoid.com/). His cartoons on the back of business cards are awesome. Moreover, the ideas and links that Hugh provides are interesting, informative, and at times, wonderfully thought-provoking. Hugh rocks!

I'm going to learn how to insert links with the body of my posts. I'll check Blogger help. Blogger rocks!