30th
September
2013
As one of Canada’s better recognized brands goes away, there’s an interesting story available at the Globe and Mail, pointing to what may have happened. The phrase “We believed we knew better what customers needed long term than they did” explains much. Call it hubris. call it the “parent complex” That old saw about the customer always’ being right was ignored, and the price will be high. I wonder if a few other firms are listening?
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posted in technology |
29th
September
2013
As I work through the final set of videos for my current MOOC, I’m forced to admit that I learned something today. Among all the bad efforts attached to playing the theremin, there are actually a small number of musicians that can coax a tune out of one. Here’s an example: Clara Rockmore. Despite her patronym, this is not an example of classic rock..,
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posted in education, ham radio |
28th
September
2013
I’ve been involved with this blogging thing for a lot of days. Closing on three thousand. And I’ve become a bit complacent. I have to dig for content, and my personal involvement is minimal. My tribe is stable.
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posted in health |
27th
September
2013
On my todo list at work is setting up a pair of display units. Don’t need deteails; just take it that a display with HDMI is required. And, out of more than fifty monitors in the building, not one was suited to the task. Fixed that. Now we have a brand new large monitor, for the tech crew. Good.
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posted in economy, education |
26th
September
2013
Back in the summer of ’67, we learned a song. I can still remember most of the lyrics, and one line in particular has stayed with me. “Now we are twenty million”. An easy way to teach population statistics to a generation. A benchmark. Today, CBC passed along the news (no song this time), that “we are thirty-five million”. A little less rhythmic, and a lot more neigbours. Nobody went north; we just packed the people closer together in the downtown core.
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posted in travel |
25th
September
2013
How is that Stevie and his posse can go on a road trip to New York, for what many call UN Week, and then studiously ignore the gathering? Hard to take the man seriously, if he didn’t leave so much collateral damage in his wake.
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posted in politics |
24th
September
2013
The highlight of the work day: when the paper in a jammed printer came out, all by itself. There was that proximity effect thing, where my standing nearby did something, but as long as the staff continue to believe in my magic, I’m safe. Lots of days like that. The requests and questions aren’t as challenging as they used to be. More and more, I’m like an old hound that fetches because it’s polite, not mission critical.
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posted in environment |
23rd
September
2013
Some people have really cool jobs. The two lads from Canadian Pickers have a nice van, lots of cash, and an open invitation to explore other people’s stuff (what some call junk, but it’s all in the eye of the beholder). They even get to buy some of that stuff, and carry it home. A great trade: plastic bills in return for just about anything, (as long as it has been pre-owned and comes with a pedigree.) OK, I wouldn’t need as many Coke buttons as they seem to find important, and old oil cans are just that. But some of the other stuff. If I started listing, I’d blow the word budget.
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posted in economy |
22nd
September
2013
A good afternoon for the Rouge et Or football team. Evenly matched with the Carabins, the game really “wasn’t over until it was over”. No chance of sleeping through this one, although the dog came very close. Potato chips were his version of strong coffee.
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posted in education |
21st
September
2013
A mixed blessing that the university football game isn’t until tomorrow. Left to my own devices, I would have spent the afternoon glued to the tube; instead, I decided to go for productivity.
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posted in photography |
