Author: dave Page 34 of 75

My sister Janice in Edmonton sent along this link to some extraordinary pictures of a polar bear playing with sled dogs near Churchill, Manitoba.

Another example of just how fascinating the world is when you take the time to watch it, instead of trying to change it.

Thanks to No Impact Man for the blog post and Tuco Rides for the photos.

OK, so I may be hyping things a bit with the headline. But that’s sort of the way it felt this afternoon, when my wife and I drove into Vancouver.

We were driving by the Vancouver airport about 4 pm, just at the same time that a small Cessna took off from the airport and promptly crashed into an apartment building near the airport, leaving a gaping hole in the side of the building (shown in the photo on the right.)

Fortunately, the plane didn’t catch fire and although the pilot was killed, the two people inside the apartment were only injured, one seriously. It could have been a lot worse. (Link to the Globe and Mail story)

As we continued into Vancouver, we saw a couple of fire trucks race by us on the other side of the road. Then we ran into seven or eight ambulances. We had to keep pulling over because the southbound lanes that the ambulances were travelling in were completely filled with Friday afternoon traffic and it was tough for them to get through.

I suspect that if we had been just a few minutes later, we might not have been able to continue through on that road. Traffic for a long way around the site was shut down for awhile until the police could figure out just how bad things were.

The map below shows where the plane hit the apartment. We were driving north on Hwy 99 at the time.

I caught a bit of the live coverage on the TV here at the hotel later, and I’ve got to give credit to the supper-hour news folks. They were all valiantly working overtime to get as much information as possible out as quickly as possible. It reminded me of the movie Broadcast News, when William Hurt steps in to anchor the special coverage for some crisis in the middle East. Today’s events might not have been as dramatic, but I bet they got the hearts in newsrooms across the city beating pretty good.

I’ve always been fascinated by the sea, even though I grew up landlocked in Saskatchewan. Perhaps it was the acres of prairie grass and wheat fields stretching out to the horizon. In many ways, growing up on the Prairies is like being out in the open water.

When I was younger, my fondest dream was sailing around the world, just like Joshua Slocum in Spray. I devoured books about sailors, especially that special breed that went to sea alone. The circumnavigation of the world all alone, with just the fish and occasional bird for company.

The first sailor I remember encountering (in print) was a 16-year-old kid from California called Robin Lee Graham, who sailed the 24-foot Dove around the world from 1965 to 1970. He wrote a book about his adventure, called Dove, which I read when it came out in the early ’70s. I think it was that story that got me interested in the whole circumnavigation genre.

I’ve never followed through and sailed anything, despite my keen interest. I’ve always rationalized that by saying that sometimes its better to keep dreaming than get bogged down in reality. Whatever. I did own a small dinghy sailboat briefly, but that’s been the extent of my sailing career. Lately, kayaking has become a new passion. However, living on the beautiful west coast of Canada, who knows? Maybe those dreams of heading to the open sea have a better chance of happening here, where I can walk to the ocean.

But I’m still a sucker for sailing stories and these days I’m following another solo voyage around the world. But thanks to the magic of modern communications, I’m able to keep track of this guy in real time.

Glenn Wakefield sailed out of Victoria on Sunday, September 23 aboard Kim Chow, his Phil Rhodes designed Offshore 40′ sloop. He’s embarked on a solo, non-stop circumnavigation west about from Victoria, making him the first sailor to attempt the voyage from North America. He’s hoping to sail back into Victoria next July, 10 months after he left. It’s a fascinating story about one man living out his dream and you can follow along at his website.

Although I don’t know Glenn, I do know his wife, MaryLou, who is handling the PR side of things from her Victoria home. Each day, Glenn radios a report to a ham radio operator, who then emails MaryLou with an update, which she posts on the website. She’s also able to send Glenn email, although he’s been having some problems with his on-board computer, so I’m not sure how well that’s going.

You can follow along on the daily updates at this page, although there’s no RSS feed or email option. But it’s going to be a fascinating journey. I’ll provide occasional updates as it unfolds.
Technorati Tags:
Glenn Wakefield, Kim Chow

I don’t really know what this test shows, but it’s kind of fascinating.

According to an article from Australia’s The Herald Sun if you see the dancer in the image turning counter-clockwise, you’re using more of your left-brain and vice-versa.

They say that most people see the dancer turning counter-clockwise (left-brain). Apparently, some can make her change direction, but I only see her turning clockwise. Here’s what they say the two sides of the brain represent:

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
“big picture” oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy & religion
can “get it” (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

Which are you?

Watching the photos go by

The folks at Google have come up with a cool little application to help you spend some time doing not-so-much. It’s called Blogger Play.

Here’s the way it works. You open a browser and watch a slideshow of all the photos that are being uploaded to Blogger, Google’s blogging platform, in real-time. The show just goes on and on. It’s very addictive.

Here’s the link to Blogger Play. I couldn’t get the photo below to link you to the actual page.

Image credit:
kiwisweden

Things people said in court

You need to read some of these for yourself to realize just how funny they can be. It turns out that not everyone is quite as well-scripted as the folks on Law & Order.

Here’s an example:

* Lawyer: “How old is your son, the one living with you?”
* Witness: “Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can’t remember which.”
* Lawyer: “How long has he lived with you?”
* Witness: “Forty-five years.”

Check out the site. There’s some pretty funny clips.

Here’s the link.

Enjoy!

Technorati Tags:
Friday fun

I’m late to this story. The ever-ambitious (and incredibly prolific) Shel Holtz has started a campaign to fight back against companies that seek to block access to social media sites like Facebook.

The campaign is called Stop Blocking and features a blog and a Wiki where people can start adding to the storehouse of examples and information he wants to create.

Here’s a snip from his campaign intro:

For years, I have opposed the business practice of blocking employee access to online content. Any online content. It’s not that I believe employees should spend worktime perusing Web porn. But I don’t believe that blocking access for any and every employee is the best way to address abuse. Additionally, a lot of the content companies are blocking — Facebook is a good example — can actually produce business value.

Hear, hear, Shel.

Shel’s argument is that employees must be treated with trust:

Trust builds commitment, which leads to engagement. It is nearly impossible to build a highly engaged workforce when the message is clear: “We don’t trust any of you as far as we can throw you.”

This seems so much like common sense, it’s hard to see how companies get off-track. But boy, do they ever, and I’m sure that Shel’s new blog will point out a lot of those examples.

I think this is a terrific idea and Shel deserves a ton of congrats for putting his money where his mouth is. Hats off to him. And I encourage you to visit the site and take part.

Technorati Tags:
Shel Holtz, Stop Blocking

There’s an interesting story in today’s Globe and Mail that says that more Canadians are reading newspapers online, yet the subscription levels of the newsprint editions are not suffering. You can read the story in the Technology section of today’s paper, or you can get it here if you want to read it online.

Here’s an interesting snippet from the story:

…[O]verall newspaper readership is relatively stable in Canada, in contrast to the state of the industry in the United States where readership, circulation and advertising revenue have been slumping.

And later…

“The industry is actually enjoying a period of relative stability at a time when, in the United States, you’re seeing some fairly sizable drops in circulation and ad revenues,” said Globe and Mail publisher Phillip Crawley. “Our industry is not in the same kind of trouble.” He said many readers are looking at newspaper websites in addition to reading the printed version, but are not replacing one with the other.

I fit that profile. I’m definitely a newspaper reader. We get two daily papers delivered to the house and I’ve also got online subs to both. In addition, I regularly browse newspaper sites online, like the New York Times, Wall St. Journal, Washington Post, etc.

To me, reading a newspaper is not just the gathering of information. I like to feel the paper and scan the stories as I flip through the different sections. I like the pictures. Heck, sometimes I even like to see the ads and the flyers that come with them.

Online, it’s a different experience. The news is more targetted. I find I don’t read as many stories that catch my eye. I tend to look at the headlines and dismiss a lot of stuff. If it was already on the page, printed right there, I would probably scan the story. But when it’s just a headline on a screen, I’ll only look if I’m really interested.

I’ve written before about the future of newsprint (Will global warming speed the rise of digital papers? and What’s the future for newsprint?)

Looking back over those articles, I’d say that the issue is far from resolved, nor do I expect that to change any time soon. I still like to grab a coffee and sit down with the paper – the newsprint kind – in the morning. But who knows what’s coming? Electronic paper that recreates that experience? An improved online interface, like the kind that the Iphone promises?

What about you? Do you still like paper? Or have you switched over to online only? Let me know what you think. You can leave a comment here (just click on the comments button below) or send me a note. I’d like to hear from you.
Technorati Tags:
New Media, Newspapers