martin
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Posts by martin
Facebook Picks on Upstart Social Network
Aug 29th
Facebook Sues Teachbook Over Use of ‘Book’ | News & Opinion | PCMag.com.
I came across this article today that I thought was strange and reeked of intimidation or worry by Facebook.
My big question is “when did the use of the word “book” become a trademark by Facebook? Does that mean we are going have to start calling “Books” by a different name? What are we going to call a notebook? Are Blueline, Mead or Cambridge next up for the courts? I mean, Facebook might think that everyone could start writing status updates in them and mailing them to their friends or leaving them in designated bins for people to pick up and write their status in there.
What about Notebook software? Is Smart Technologies next in line for suing? What about the bluebook and your little blackbook? Where is this going to stop?
Next thing you know, YouTube will start kicking RedTube’s ass and taking TeacherTube to task over their use of the word “Tube” in their names.
NOTE: I didn’t link to Redtube for a reason. The word “Red” is there for a reason so if you want to go visit it you can go there yourself.
Now, I can understand Apple not allowing anyone to use that “i” in front of a product name…that is a little obvious in being an infringement. Same with McDonalds not allowing that “Mc” in front of a product that might get confused with their product. Those are pretty straight forward.
But “book”? I would think that Facebook would take the use of “book” in Teachbook as flattery. Isn’t imitation the best form of flattery? Besides, is anyone really going to get confused between Facebook and Teachbook. Isn’t this the same sort of situation as Youtube and Teachertube?
Get off your high horse Facebook and be happy that what you have created demands to be imitated in a different forum. Spend your time, effort and money in fixing your own product. Stop taking liberties with people’s privacy. Concentrate on your own issues and leave others alone.
Just When You Don’t Expect It
Aug 25th
Isn’t it funny how things work out? I had this idea for a post…something that has bugged me and I have been stewing about for the last 6 months. So today I was going to do my post and low and behold the complaint of my post was fixed at least this once.
Let me explain. I live on the corner of a 4 way stop at the start of a school zone. I walk to work and back home twice a day and my entire 3 block walk is in the school zone. At least once a week I am nearly hit when crossing at one of the 4 crosswalks along the route.
The school zones in Yellowknife have a speed limit of 30kph that is in effect 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks of the year. 365 days a year the school zones have this supposedly enforced speed limit. I call BS. Most days along this route I can guarantee that 50% of the drivers don’t do the speed limit. In fact, in the evenings I would think I lived near a freeway with the speed that some people drive. Do the city by-law people seem to do anything about it? No! I think in the 4 years I have walked the school zone I have seen a ghost car (that everyone knows) maybe 6 or 8 times parked in the open for everyone to see hoping to pick off a speeder. Occasionally they get one and then call it a day and it might be 6 months until we see them again.
The same thing with the 4 way stop by my house. After 6:00pm I have watched and counted numbers as high of 80% of the cars not stopping at the stop signs. Does by-law do anything about this? About 2 or 3 times a year, that obvious ghost car sits across the street from my house watching the corner and they will sit for maybe 5 or 10 minutes while drinking a coffee or coke.
The Power of Social Media
Aug 22nd
We live in a time when anyone can find out information about anything or anyone. We live in a time where the world has become compressed due to the internet with its’ blogs and many social media sites. News that used to take years, months, days, weeks or hours to spread to other areas of the world now is instantaneous through new forms of media like Twitter and Facebook. We used to rely on newspapers and libraries for information where we now have access to information through various websites be it online versions of newspapers or books or through blogs. We used to have to rely on mainstream journalists for the news. Now everyone can share the news as it happens or even their own opinions through blogs, Facebook, Twitter etc..
With this ability to access information anywhere and any time, people need to know that what they say online can (and probably will) be seen by anyone at any time after it is posted. It may not be read right after it is posted but it is available to read anytime…even years into the future. You have to be aware of that. If it is on the internet it is there for everyone to read.
Don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t want plastered on a billboard with your face on it. –
A couple of items piqued my interest this week when it came to the power of social media. First off there was a blog in Edmonton that received a nasty response from an Artistic Director/Actor of a local theatre company. An attempt to resolve the issue privately failed as another blogger was basically told the same thing. I won’t go into the details of the whole thing as you can read them at the links in this paragraph. The second blogger decided to write a post responding to the initial and subsequent nasty responses and posted this on his blog. He then sent a tweet out to announce his blog post as he always does.
iPad – Why and for What?
Jan 31st
The big hype this past week in the world of technology was Apple’s introduction of the iPad. The Apple tablet that many have been talking about for the last year. From the many tweets and articles I have read since the launch, this is not the product that most were expecting.
Many, I think, were expecting a MacBook Air without the keyboard portion. What they got was a large iPhone/iPod Touch. So if this is not really a Mac then what is the purpose of it? I am not a Mac lover by any stretch of the imagination but I could understand Apple making a device that ran OS 10.5 (or whatever the latest version is) that relied completely on the touch screen. In fact I would have even thought that to be partially worthwhile. But what did they give their fan base? A large iPhone/iPod Touch.
I know the Twitterverse was a buzz with tweets last week with over 177,000 tweets on the iPad in the first hour alone. Many people we super excited about the device but my biggest question is why? What is the purpose of the device? If I have an iPhone or iPod Touch then what would be the reason to buy one? The only advantage I can see is the larger screen for web browsing but really, is it worth the money just for that? I know there will be some games developed over the next while to take advantage of the touch screen and the ability to play driving games while using your iPad as the steering wheel. But really is it worth it?
Where are the USB ports for me to hook additional storage? Where is my web camera so that I can Skype my friends and family? I know, you can add a webcam…no wait, that would require a USB port which there are none. Where is my replaceable battery so I can carry a spare in case I run out of power on the fly?
So someone, anyone, please tell me what the purpose of the iPad is. Tell me why I should/must have one because right now I really don’t see what the fuss is all about. I have my iPhone and it does everything the iPad does unless I am missing something.
Technorati Tags: Apple – Apple Inc. – iPhone – iPod – iPod Touch – iPad
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There’s a New Player in Town
Jan 24th
The much anticipated Nico’s Market opened this week and it looks like it could be a winner. Chef Pierre, who also owns Le Stock Pot, l’Heritage and Le Frolic has opened his latest venture. I have some more pictures posted here.
I went to the new market on Saturday as part of my Saturday grocery shopping routine and was quite happy with what I saw. I had heard that Le Stock Pot was moving their kitchen supplies over to the new store and there was indeed an entire section for all the high quality knives, pots & pan and other kitchen gadgets that were available at the old location.
The market also has a bright produce section right up front with a dairy case at the back and shelves of the same kinds of oils, vinegars, relishes, jams, condiments of all sorts and other food stuffs that we were used to seeing at Le Stock Pot. There is also a butcher section for fresh meats, a Deli area for sliced meats and cheeses, an Antipasto section that has various dips & spreads like hummus, antipasto, salsa, spinach dip etc., a salad bar and a cafe that serves sandwiches and coffees. They also have a section with bulk coffee beans and a rack full of linens that used to be in a small room at the old store.
Here are my thoughts on what I saw. I liked most of the layout of the store. The produce was up front which was nice although with it up front they are going to have to make sure that it is always full and fresh. A less than brilliant looking produce section might just send customers away before they even get into the store. The dairy case was just another dairy case and unless they are going to carry things like rice milk, soy milk, almond milk, greek yogourts and other specialty items then it doesn’t really fit with the rest of the items in the store.
Lose Weight for YOU
Jan 17th
My first tip for losing weight and keeping it off is because you want to do it for you. Plain and simple. You need the desire to be a slimmer healthier you. What do I mean by this? Let me explain.
For many years I had been over weight. I knew it and everyone I knew also knew it. I had several people including a doctor tell me over the years that I needed to lose weight. All those years and as much as I knew it, I didn’t have the desire to lose weight. Sure, I had those half hearted attempts at weight loss. But somewhere deep down I didn’t have the want or desire to stay with it. I knew (or thought I did) the potential health problems that could occur with continuing to be over weight yet I still did nothing.
When I found out that I had diabetes I knew that my weight probably had a lot to do with it. I knew before that my weight had caused issues with high blood pressure and cholesterol but this time it was different. This time the doctor told me I had to lose weight and something inside me clicked. This time I really had the desire to lose weight.
I don’t know if the thought of diabetes was the actual trigger or it was just the time when I really wanted to change things. It might have been the combination of being scared of the diabetes (although I am not sure why the high blood pressure or cholesterol didn’t scare me) and the desire to start feeling less tired and have more energy.
I know that all those years I didn’t do it for my kids even though they suggested it. I didn’t do it for Mrs. EB who thought it might be a good thing. I didn’t do it for my doctors who had strongly suggested it. For some reason I didn’t want to do it and so the weight continued to pack on. It packed on to a point that I was almost double the weight that the BMI chart showed I should be. It packed on to the point that I was considered morbidly obese. Yet I still did nothing until that day in May 2008 when I said “I want to lose weight and get healthy and I want to do it for me”.
That day was the beginning of my life-long (or the remainder of it, although I don’t plan on going) journey to be a healthier me. 85 lbs have been shed, 10 inches have been lost from the waist line, my body fat has been cut in half, my chronic snoring has disappeared and I have the energy to do things that I used to run out of breath doing. I actually weigh now what I did when I graduated high school all those many years ago.
In the end you have to lose weight because YOU want to and YOU have the desire to do so. If it isn’t for YOU then you won’t succeed.
Technorati Tags: weight loss – health issues – healthy living – you – obese
Geothermal Heating Project in Yellowknife Gets Federal Funding
Jan 11th
In April 2009 I attended the Design Yellowknife: Community Conference and Charrette. This was a 4 day event that involved interested citizens along with various city and government employees, engineers of various kinds, urban planners and architects just to name a few of the groups that participated. I was an interested citizen and my reasons for doing the conference was to be more involved in the city, learn more about the place I live, meet new people and get an idea of what the future of Yellowknife will be like. I must say that it was a very rewarding 4 days and I learned a lot about the history of and future plans for Yellowknife.
It was at this conference that I first heard about the idea of Con Mine being used to help heat the downtown core of Yellowknife using geothermal heat. What an interesting concept. Con Mine was one of the 2 gold mines that used to operate in Yellowknife and was closed in 2003. Since one of the mine tunnels runs close to the downtown core it would make sense to use the energy to heat this area.
Back in early 2008 the city had a feasibility study done which showed that Con Mine has the potential to be used as a heat resource for the City of Yellowknife. The resource, if developed could significantly reduce the City’s dependency on fossil fuel, make savings on energy costs, and reduce carbon emissions. This would be a great use of an alternate energy source.
The City of Yellowknife then submitted a plan to the federal government’s $1-billion Clean Energy Fund asking for funds to cover half the project’s estimated cost of $32 million.
It was announced by Natural Resources Canada and reported by CBC today that the city has been successful along with 18 other applicants to share in up to $146 million over the next 5 years. The Northern Application of a Geothermal District Heating System Project with the lead proponent being the City of Yellowknife was listed as one of the projects that is to receive between $10 and $20 million over the next 5 years. This is great news and this is something that will help to reduce energy costs and green house gases in Northern Canada; a place that is famous for its clean, clear air.
All that remains now is for a written contribution agreement to be signed by both parties, and until this is done there is no commitment or obligation existing on the part of the Government of Canada to make a financial contribution to these projects. We will keep our fingers crossed that the “t”s are crossed, the “i”s are dotted and the John Hancocks are added to the signature lines real soon so that this project can start to progress as a viable source of alternative energy. Great job and vision by the City of Yellowknife.
Technorati Tags: City of Yellowknife – fossil fuel – Natural Resources Canada – Clean Energy Fund – clean energy – Yellowknife – geothermal – Con Mine
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Secrets to a Healthier You
Jan 9th
Over the course of the last year I have had several people ask me what my secret was to losing 85lbs in a year. Someone told me I should write a book on the subject but that is not really my style and I would really rather do a series of posts instead. There are several steps that need to be taken in order to achieve weight loss and keep it off. Between Mrs. EB and myself we have lost 150lbs and have managed to keep it off now for 6 months as we now maintain where we are.
So in no particular order these are the secrets that I found to losing weight. I might have missed some off the top of my head and I will elaborate on the ones I mention plus others that occur to me in further posts but this will at least get you thinking. If you are interested in knowing more about what I have done before my posts or want to understand the various points more fully before I elaborate on them then just leave me comment and I will try to send you an e-mail or base my next health post on that topic.
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You need the “want and desire” to lose weight for yourself.
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Stop eating white foods and limit the processed or fast foods
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Read the food labels
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Weigh everything you eat that is not in a specified serving size
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Record absolutely everything you eat
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Walk
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Talk to your doctor
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Weigh yourself weekly and consistently
This looks like a long list but for the most part it is something that can easily be accomplished. Once you have adopted the right mindset then it becomes second nature and part of everyday life. I hope my success will help get you inspired to become a healthier you.
Technorati Tags: food labels – serving size – second nature – losing weight – mindset – weight loss – health – healthy living
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No to Macs…The Right Decision
Jan 6th
Since I work in “education” I am always interested to read or receive articles dealing with technology in K-12 education I am always looking to see how others are using technology in their districts, schools or classrooms. Mastermaq sent me this article this morning that made my day.
The Toronto District School Board decided late last year to stop purchasing Mac computers as a cost saving measure. I must say that the TDSB made the right decision no matter that one of their school board trustees has now come out and questioned the decision.
The Yellowknife Education District #1 (YK1) made the same decision 4 years ago and it is a decision that I have to manage and defend on an almost daily basis as the Manager of Information Technology Services. What Lee Stem, the general manager of IT services at TDSB, talks about with cost savings with the current trend of applications moving to the web is right on the mark. Mac computers cost roughly double what an equivalent or even higher level PC costs. Since both platforms can do the same things and with the emergence of web based applications anyway, the hardware is becoming less important every day. Having an internet connection with a computer running a browser is all you need for much of what people need to do.
Inspiration? I’m Humbled
Aug 22nd
Posted by martin in About Me
1 comment
So in the past couple of months I have had several people who used to read my posts ask me if I was going to start writing again. 2 of my readers even went as far as saying that my writings on my struggles to lose weight and control my diabetes was an inspiration to them to either lose weight or live more healthy. For those thoughts I am humbled.
So, I have my computer set up and I will be back posting and hopefully people will come back and read what I have to say. You may not always agree with what I post but your opinion is as valuable to society as mine so either way, please leave me comments. It is this interaction that makes blogs and social medias successful.