Benchmarks at end of March

Hi!
When I first started blogging I got stuck blogging about financial stuff. I was getting hits but I didn’t want to run a financial site for retirees or for those looking to retire. Hey, I’m not a financial adviser.
That said, there was one thing that peaked a lot of interest and I have decided to [...]

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Earth Hour: bloggers beat newspapers

Newspapers are failing. I know. I worked for one. Just before Christmas a layoff rippled through the Sun Media chain and I took a buyout.
With time on my hands, I read the paper. I groan. I blog, sometimes about newspapers. Newspapers think the Internet is killing them – and they’re right. But there [...]

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Earth Hour: not saving spaceship Earth

A 0.06 watt Night Minder light, one of three I use in a home hallway. The three operate for pennies a year, with automatic sensors turning them off during the day.
If you’re a big fan of Earth Hour, and love the idea that for an hour each year lights are extinguished from Toronto to Jakarta, [...]

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Green Feather Mask

Christine Newland, cello chick, is one cool digital-age lady. The principal cello with Orchestra London was asked by a friend to supply a piece of art for a charity fundraiser. Newland did and in doing so rekindled her interest in creating visual art.
Inspired, she has been doing sketches of her cats, her dogs, her Arabian [...]

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Buzzword of the Day: Placemaking

Kadie Ward, Director of Marketing & Communications at the London Chamber of Commerce, writes in today’s The London Free Press about the city’s new placemaking initiative. Placemaking? Oh, it’s another buzzword of New Urbanism – a buzzword all on its own.
She tells us the city has discovered that high-quality public spaces, variety, diversity, and distinct [...]

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Morgans Over America IV 2005

Back in the winter of ‘68, I saw a British racing green Morgan in the Morgan dealership in Windsor, Ontario. Contrary to what you may have heard about British automobiles, my little Morgan is a fine car; I still drive it today!
In the spring of 2005 my wife and I drove the little roadster to [...]

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John Berman Fooled by Urban Myth

Good morning America, grab your morning java, settle down in front of your television and prepare for some poorly researched bunkum from ABC’s John Berman.
Tuesday, John Berman opened a report on Good Morning America by saying, “As we all know, Puff The Magic Dragon was not a song about dragons . . . ” Later, [...]

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J.D. Power Releases VDS – Why do we care?

I’m becoming a crusty old curmugeon. On the weekend, I read that J.D. Power and Associates released their 2009 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS). My response: Whoop-tee-do! Not!
Buick and Jaguar tied for first place. Both had only 1.22 problems per vehicle (PPV). This result was hailed by many in the media as a “bombshell”. This crushing [...]

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Welcome

Welcome!
After almost 40 years working as a photojournalist in the newspaper business, I took a buyout. Layoffs were rippling through the Sun Media chain with buyouts softening the impact on staff. I took the bait much to the relief of the younger photographers.
Now, I find myself retired, stripped of camera gear, Blackberryless and strapped for [...]

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