Dom Ideas.

Sarah Doesn't Speak For Me

2010-08-18T11:17:00.001-04:00

A really clever way to make a protest video.

[link]

[DOM]

Nerd Alert: The History of Computer Symbols

2010-08-16T13:32:00.001-04:00

I found this kind of interesting. Anyone else think a "power" symbol makes for a great tattoo? http://gizmodo.com/5612630/the-secret-histories-of-those-ing-computer-symbols?skyline=true&s=i

Sofa King Epic

2009-05-06T11:00:00.002-04:00

With Sarah about to start a new job, primarily based from home, we decided it was long time due for an apartment overhaul and Ikea-purge. 85% of our furniture comes from Ikea, and it's felt somewhat too college, too temporary, for us to truly feel at home anymore.

The futon in particular bore the brunt of our nausea. It used to be some kind of cream colour, but time and food stains and general wear reduced the slip to something akin a tie-dyed unbleached cloth diaper. It draped an increasingly lump mattress. There was no back support to speak of - indeed, you'd often find us slouch low, way low, with our necks folded up against the back.

The wooden slats beneath the mattresses, well, two had snapped in a couple of places each. Duct tape ensured they not go anywhere.

You get the idea.

Other than a few flourishes, the main objectives of The Master Plan involved replacing the desk, getting some better lighting, new mattresses for the bedroom, and a sofa.

We scored a gorgeous sofa from Aaron and Jen, friends from work. Now, to get it in the apartment.

Our pad is on the top floor of a large house in Toronto's west end. It probably used to be an attic or somesuch. Now it's a 1 bedroom spread at the top of an old, creaky, winding, and terribly narrow staircase. We knew there'd be no way we'd get the sofa or the mattresses up that way.

So, up the back, and through the bedroom patio it would go.

We called in the heavyweights, Sarah's parents and brother. They brought the rope, the muscle, the patience, and the dinner (we provided the challenge and the booze). The little iron balcony Linda is standing on is the goalpost.

Things got started around 7 pm. We knew it was going to be a pain (a certain father in-law did, in fact, mouth the words "This is gonna be a b*tch," while pointing at the couch), but I doubt anyone anticipated we wouldn't be eating a meal until 11:30.

So, the trick was to tie up three ropes to the thing, and try to haul it up to the second floor deck. From there, we'd regroup, and push the thing up the last hurrah.

Gord and Matthew took care of roping it up, while I sent down an extra line from the 2nd floor deck to receive the rope and haul back up for the Big Pull.

Then it was a "simple" matter of hauling ass, pulling tight, struggling to clear the odd wooden planks that stuck out past the first floor decking, and getting the damn thing to climb.

The plastic drop sheet did what it could to protect the fabric, but I'd be lying if I said the arms didn't take a bit of dirt up with it.

In the end, it took: me on a ladder from the second floor deck, pushing up; the other men pulled. The ladies (Sarah and Linda) also jumped in, each adding some muscle to the two ropes Gord and Matthew worked.

Finally, there was an excellent victory cry heard likely around the block. By 10 pm (ish), we had suceeded. New mattresses and a new sofa were in, officially, our newly renewed pad.

You know, until we move.

New Obama Ad

2009-05-06T01:05:00.002-04:00

Nobody does bad advertising like Bad Boy. Nobody.

I don't know how many levels of meta this is, given that Mel Lastman, he of Bad Boy Furniture, was Toronto's mayor.

CBC's CEO update on cuts

2009-03-31T22:13:00.004-04:00

The thing about Hubert Lacroix is he comes off as a straight talker. Whether it's genuine or all for show, it does make him personable, which helps with the conversation.

-D

Hubert T. Lacroix: Answers to a few of your questions

March 31, 2009 - Last week was a long and difficult week for all of us.

I know that you got, and are still getting, more details on how the changes will affect our operations from your respective management teams. We still have a lot to work through and talk through. We’ll keep doing that.

On financial flexibility

People have been asking if we still would have had to cut jobs if we’d received a $125 million bridge loan from government. Our shortfall was too important ($171 million) to only handle it through this bridge loan. The only way for us to not have seen job cuts would have been to receive new, additional and permanent funding to make up for the loss of our advertising revenue and the other budgetary pressures I talked about. We knew that additional funding wasn’t in the cards and wasn’t realistic, particularly in this Canada-wide financial context, so we did not ask for it. We built a plan to show that we could reimburse our requested loan over a five to seven-year horizon based on conservative and thus achievable revenue projections. That’s how we determined our $125 million request: we were, and still are, very confident that we could borrow $125 million and repay it over that time period and not risk endangering our corporation even more.

Our bridge loan would have helped us reduce the effect of the shortfall on our people and our programs. If received when requested, we could have implemented our reorganization plan sooner and accelerated its savings; a simple calculation shows that the cost per week of this reorganization not being started is about $3 million per week (remember that there is $158 million of budgetary pressures in the $171 million; take this $158 million and divide it by 52 to get the cost per week of not acting on the plan).

The alternative of selling our assets is also less attractive because it means that money we would be receiving over the next few years will disappear. We will be taking it now to provide our own bridge.

How many less jobs? How many programs saved? Frankly, I can’t answer that question exactly. Best way though is to start from 800 and work backwards. Cuts would have been important but it would have been easier to manage the downsizing and reduce its effects.

Strategic investment and re-investment

A second issue I wanted to touch on is whether, if our financial situation improves and can be sustained, we will reinvest it in the places we’ve cut. The answer is yes and no. Not a really good answer but let me explain.

All funds would (and should!) be directed toward things that push our strategic direction forward: in things that enable us to become a content company, to become the most important creator and distributor of Canadian content across all platforms, and to be deeply rooted in the regions.

These are the principles that will guide future investment and re-investment. So, would we invest and re-invest, for example, in our regional roots, presence and visibility? Absolutely. Would we necessarily reinstate a particular program or position in a particular place? Not so much.

Would it mean that we would reinstate the same number of positions in each station, exactly as we were staffed before the announcements? Not exactly. Some stations, some centers would perhaps get their resources back sooner than others, depending on markets, other media alternatives, strength of ad revenue potential, fairness between the communities served by CBC/Radio-Canada, costs relative to re-staffing, etc.

Would it mean that we would necessarily reinstate a particular program? Same yes or no answer as above, for the same reasons.

But I would again state: impossible for us to be a national public broadcaster without being deeply rooted in the regions. I know that some you are looking at the choices we made last week and saying: “Lacroix, we don’t believe you anymore! How can you say this when you cut 17 positions in Nova Scotia, or 13 in Windsor, or 8 in Sudbury, or the only person in La Ronge?” You won’t like my answer: because we had to make difficult cuts and attempted, as best we could, to keep our presence in the regions. And we thought that we would do this by protecting our footprint.

The $60 million envelope

In case you haven’t heard about it, our Minister has now confirmed that CBC/Radio-Canada would in 2009-2010 be receiving the $60 million in non-recurring funding for programming initiatives that it has received each year since 2001. This amount was already included in our 2009-2010 budget. This confirmation doesn’t improve our current situation but not having received it would have been catastrophic. We are grateful for this announcement.

Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program

Some of you have also been asking about the Voluntary Retirement Incentive Program, which the Minister approved last Friday. About 780 of you are eligible for it, so I won’t get into the details here, but you can find out more here. And, if you’re eligible, you can also expect to receive a personalized information package in the mail.

Notes from CBC Radio

2009-03-30T22:57:00.005-04:00

Denise Donlon is a highly respected manager of CBC English Radio. Here's the email she sent CBC English Radio employees today (emphasis mine):

Hello Radio folks!!

Now that we've had a few days to digest all the news, I thought a note with some context around the changes to radio might be helpful. I know it's all very new, and our challenges many, but first I want to thank you for being so patient and professional over the last couple of days. We’ve got a lot of work to do as we weather this storm and it’s going to require a lot of energy and creativity and positive thinking to be successful. You are no doubt still feeling bruised from the news of last week, but it's precisely the same kind of positive energy and creativity that you pour into our programming already that will help to achieve what we've got to do.

Our plan was created on the basis that CBC operates as one content company. As radio, television, online merge ever more closely to become a multi platformed content company, we see our future more clearly and are reminded that it’s our job to serve Canadians not only with the most robust, thoughtful, innovative and compelling content ever, but deliver it wherever, whenever and however they want it. And we're really good at it! As you know, we're experiencing higher than ever audiences. We do it in English and French, in 8 aboriginal languages, across the time zones and round the world and we do it with increasing costs, no new $, in the midst of an economic meltdown, practically standing on one foot!

And yet, there are critics who think we’re fat. They think we’re over resourced and bureaucratic and slow. But I have to tell you, in my tiny tenure here, I’ve had a moment to look under the hood, and compared with my experiences elsewhere, FAT, WE ARE NOT! What you manage to produce in radio from coast to coast and is comprehensive and impressive. I apologize that I haven’t been able to meet you all at this point, but I expect you know now what I've been up to since I arrived - looking at numbers, reading the research, pouring over the data, and endeavouring to be a positive force at the table.

You should know that as this financial challenge was faced, the process was deep and consultative. All managers/media lines/regions and networks came together to tackle the problem together. It was all hands on deck across the company where hours were spent together collectively to formulate a plan. In Radio, Chris and Ted and I joined with the managers of the programming units and the people who lead the stations. We put our heads down with all your MD’s across the regions and we wrestled with the challenges. Not only with ourselves but between media lines.

We decided that across the board cuts would downgrade ALL our programs equally, and were not strategic. So what to do? The approach was to stay on strategy and protect the core of what Canadians value and position ourselves for the future.

That there are no easy solutions is an understatement. So we looked at everything. We looked at what value metrics we would make decisions against. We reminded ourselves of what aspects of our programming Cdns hold dear and looked at ratings and reach and share. We looked at where our highest audiences were vs the overall cost of the program. We looked at program areas that we provide that no one else does and we looked at WHERE we provided it – from tiny populations in the North to coastal towns to big cities hugging the border. We looked at the breadth and depth of content that CBC radio provides as journalists, storytellers, and communicators and did an overall inventory of our resources and our programs. We asked ourselves if the balance seemed right? Ultimately we decided that putting some programming resources on subsistence level was far preferred to cancellations and closures. We endeavoured to cut in such a way that hopefully, one day, we might be in a position to rebuild across the regions.

We looked at the network but found we couldn't get all the savings we needed, so we had to move to the regions. You should know that the discussion around impacting the regions was very vigorous and the MD’s were there and heard. To be frank, the size and seriousness of this financial challenge was such, that there was a moment when the complete closure of 13 small and medium markets across the country was on the table. The discussion ultimately underscored and reaffirmed the importance of the regions and who we are as a public broadcaster. I’m very glad about that. Local CBC radio is in the DNA of who we are as Canadians and the glue that connects our small communities to each other and to Canada as a whole. We protected the North, and while there are cuts there too, no bureaus in the North will close. We will shrink and it will be difficult but WE WILL NOT disappear and we hope one day to reinvest - perhaps in existing communities where we can, but also into new regions across the country that have grown to a size that deserve local CBC radio coverage but we haven’t had the resources to go there yet.

And so, you've now seen the plan. This is a lot of change. The next months will be very difficult. It will be hard for our colleagues who’ll be leaving and for those of you who will carry on. I know you’re sad and frustrated and you'll look hard at the choices, agreeing with some and disagreeing with others. I would like to reiterate what I think I said at last week's town hall, which is, please guard against 'Us vs Us'. It's not Radio vs TV or Entertainment vs News, French vs English or Network vs Regions. If we spend too much energy venting our frustrations and pointing fingers, the less successful we will be. We need solidarity now more than ever before.

The climate is not good . If you take even a cursory look at Blogs or letters to the editor there's some nasty invective and even more scary ambivalence out there. I've heard politicians practically spit out the words 'One Billion Dollars' . It's an inflammatory figure especially when you consider that it's actually approx. $34 per Cdn a year. For just $3 a month ( compare THAT to your cable bill! ) you get CBC TV, Radio Canada, CBC.ca, Newsworld, Radio One, 2, 3, RDI, Premier Chaine, French and English, in 5 ½ time zones, in 8 aboriginal languages, foreign journalists and much, much more!!. CBC IS THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY! As well, we're one of the lowest resourced public broadcasters in the world. Many have asked me for the info on that, so I've attached the graph and a link to the annual report below .

I know you’re proud of what we do. We stand for journalistic integrity and diversity and community reflection and depth and context and analysis, all the things we need from media now more than ever. After many months of number crunching, there is a plan and we can now start to talk together about how we are going to move forward. We'll re-imagine the ways we work and strive to offer our content in all the new ways available to us.

We may have less resources, but our mission remains the same. To serve Canadians as a strong, vital and vibrant public broadcaster. And there's no question we can do it. Those of you that I’ve had a moment to spend time with, are some of the most capable and talented and fun and full on people I’ve ever met. I’m buoyed by your endless creativity and respect the absolute integrity of your work. Thank you ALL, and remember if it falters, no one will build it again.

Keep the Faith,

Denise

For the record, I trust Denise.

Oh, and here's the graph that was added to the email (CBC is the red bar, obviously):

You Grow a Career And Then They Dump a Recession on it.

2009-03-26T15:43:00.006-04:00

Here's the freshest on the CBC English cuts. Across the board, the Ceeb's got to make up a $171 million shortfall.

CBC English Services announces program, service changes
March 26, 2009 — CBC English Services today announced changes to its programming and services, which will be introduced to address financial shortfalls and to position itself for future success as the national public broadcaster to English-speaking Canada. Spending reductions overall will total approximately $85 million for 2009/10 and will affect 393 full-time equivalent positions.

A series of cost-reduction measures will be implemented in coming months:
· Planned reductions in prime time entertainment, variety and factual entertainment programming, including the number of episodes of programs such as The Border, Being Erica, Little Mosque on the Prairie and others;
· Discontinuation of the daytime Living programs;
· Reduction of spending on children’s television programs;
· Reduction or elimination of some sports programming, including international figure skating, skiing, world aquatics, world athletics and some soccer programs;
· Reduction of staff at current affairs and consumer affairs programs the fifth estate and Marketplace;
· CBC News overall will see a reduction of approximately $7 million and 80 positions;
· Recently announced cancellation of daytime program Fashion File and hiatus of Steven and Chris
· On CBC Radio, discontinuation of network programs The Point, Outfront, The Inside Track, In the Key of Charles and the weekend edition of The Signal;
· Reduction of regional radio noontime programs to one hour;
· Reduction of live music recordings and radio drama;
· Closure of one-person bureaus in La Ronge, SK, Thompson, MB;
· Reduced staffing in: Windsor, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Quebec City, Moncton, Saint John, Sydney, Corner Brook, Labrador, Gander and Grand Falls, NL;
· Reductions in staffing at both the network and regional levels for all platforms.

In spite of the critical financial constraints the Corporation is facing, CBC will maintain a commitment to its non-commercial radio service, Canadian television programming in prime time, its regional programming network, its industry-leading broadcast news operations and internet platforms, said Richard Stursberg, executive vice-president of English Services.

“Our objective throughout this very difficult exercise has been to protect as best we can the programs and services we provide to Canadians, as well as our most valuable resource, the CBC employees who provide them,” Stursberg said. “That being said, we recognize that the reality is that we will provide less to Canadians: fewer programs and hours of programming, fewer songs written and performed, less debate and discussion of public issues and fewer Canadian stories being told.”

Stursberg noted that despite last fall’s precipitous decline in advertising revenues, CBC Television, CBC Radio and CBC.ca have been experiencing considerable success with their respective audiences. Every month, about 20 million Canadians, representing about 80 per cent of the country’s English-speaking population, turn to CBC for news, information and entertainment.

CBC Television’s Canadian prime time schedule is now attracting bigger audiences than one of its major private sector competitors, whose prime time schedule is overwhelmingly American content. This is the first time in the history of Canadian television that an all-Canadian schedule has beaten an all-American one. CBC Television’s market share has increased 33 percent since 2004/05, while those of other national networks have declined.

CBC Radio One and Radio 2, with a combined national market share of 14 per cent, are at an all time high. Radio 3 is the country’s most innovative and robust online radio service, while CBC.ca continues as the country’s leading news and entertainment website.

“Overall, our strategic priorities remain,” Stursberg said. “We want to continue to increase audiences in both television and radio. We will continue our renewal of CBC News. We will continue to be firmly rooted in the regions and we will make investments in the new platforms required for the future. We’ll do this within the framework of our available resources.”

In addition to programming changes, English Services will be introducing proportional reductions in both spending and staffing throughout its administrative infrastructure. The reduction of jobs will be achieved through a combination of voluntary retirements, elimination of vacancies and separations in accordance with collective agreements and in close consultation with CBC unions.

“Everyone in this organization recognizes the difficulties we are facing,” Stursberg concluded. “Our plan is to continue with honesty, transparency and respect for not only our employees, but also for the audiences we serve. Our mandate remains, and we remain committed to it.”

I can also tell you that The Current's facing a 10% operational budget cut.

If you're really into it, check my Twitter feed for my livetweets of today and yesterday's announcements. (@domideas)

Please share your thoughts about this in the comments below.

Kutiman and the future of collaboration

2009-03-17T21:00:00.002-04:00

If we're all going to grow up and stop behaving like children, we're going to need some smarter toys to play with. Toys, or distractions, inspirations and invitations. If I'm not about to get my mind blown at least once a week, then screw it, I'm going back to the sandbox.

My bet is it's in the sandbox where we'll find a guy like "Kutiman" playing. Looks like he's been sifting through the giant virtual sandbox that be YouTube. Somehow - and frak, who knows how long it took him - he managed to pull together a variety of disparate, unlinked, unrelated clips of the average joe and joanne playing some kind of musical instrument.

Please, please tell me you already know what I'm talking about it. I do tend to hyperbolize sometimes, but really, this sh*t is the birth of something altogether different:

This, for me, represents an evolution in culture so profound it'll show up in some musicologist's peer-reviewed thesis two decades from now. Kutiman represents the next logical (and profoundly awesome) step in democratizing culture. No more major labels. Good-bye (and good riddance) Jonas Bros. etc. See you later celebutantes, and the famous for being famous. Salut copyright, and farewell to passive media consumption.

Kutiman proves the potential in the polemic against media mainstreaming.

Thank the gods I'm not too old to get it.

Want more? Good reads about this here and here.

You? What do you think? Don't forget to comment!

Skilleton - Equipment and Technique (2 in a series)

2009-03-01T11:00:00.000-05:00

The name "Skilleton" is inspired by "Skeleton", the ridiculously crazy "sport" where one hurls themselves down a bobsleigh run, on a luge, face first.

Skilleton tries to reproduce that zany idea, mix in a bit of curling aesthetic, plus a pinch or two of freestyle performance skill.

Race Course

You'll need a clean, flat ice surface, bookended by a snow or land surface that offers enough grip for competitors to run on and launch from. The length of the ice is dependent on the type of competition. Racing Skilleton needs a defined finish line. Distance Skilleton needs enough ice to allow competitors to outdo each other's range. Freestyle Skilleton requires no defined end goal, and may in fact benefit from a round, open sheet.

Jousting Skilleton requires two ends from which opponents can simultaneously launch. *A word of caution, Jousting Skilleton is potentially dangerous and could lead to serious injury. Don't try this at home (try it at a lake instead):

Jousting Skilleton is not yet officially recognised by CASA (Canadian Association of Skilleton Athletes). The above video was recorded during a standard Racing Skilleton match - hence why no point was awarded.

Equipment

So let's walk you through the basic equipement requirements before a short discussion on technique. Have a look to refresh your memory:

As this video illustrates, a standard circular sled will serve as your curling chariot. There has been some light discussion regarding waxing the sled's base, but that remains just an idea at this stage of the sport's development. In any case, any saucer shaped sled is enough to get you started. However a serious competitor will add padding inside the sled both for comfort and for safety. In our example, the addition of a cottage chair cushion led to the genesis of this future Olympic discipline.

Technique

You want to launch as efficiently as possible. Run towards the launch point as quickly as you can, holding your sled in front of you. DO NOT JUST THROW YOURSELF DOWN AS HARD AS YOU CAN. The goal is to transition from running to sliding as smoothly as possible. Think of yourself a smoothie pouring from the blender. Just let it flow.

Once you're on the ice, you'll want to arch yourself backwards as much as possible.

If you have other suggestions as to how one can improve their racing speed, launch or overall body position, please contribute by adding to the comments section below.

We'll discuss freestyle technique and strategy next.

Love on The Street

2009-02-28T14:17:00.005-05:00

It's one thing to be coming home bearing flowers for the Wife, and seeing this:

Kind of a nice way for the world to remind me what I'm after.

Oh yeah... almost forgot. This other one was around the corner:

Kind of a nice way for the world to remind me what I'm after.

Skilleton - The Sport of Champions (part 1 in a series)

2009-02-23T21:00:00.001-05:00

There are moments in history that pass quietly, yet resound profoundly with time. Such was the birth of Skilleton, a winter sport that will dominate the imagination of active pursuits centuries from now.

Part luge, part curling, part synchronized swimming, Skilleton is playable in a number of variants.

This variant - Racing Skilleton - is the simplest to explain.

As the amateur video clearly demonstrates, the object of the sport is to launch yourself efficiently across a sheet of ice. Either in tandem or individually, competitors race to post the quickest traverse time across a pre-determined length of ice. Competitors can also chose to compete for distance instead of speed.

If you review the video post above, you may not notice, but there's significant advantage given to weight and size. Henry clears the objective quicker than Dominic.

For that reason, Skilleton athletes should register in the proper weight class when entering official competition.

Have a look at technique and finish. We'll discuss this, next.

Next in our series: Equipment and Technique.

A Death's (next) Door

2009-02-11T01:38:00.005-05:00

The Wife and I live not 3 minutes walk from Turner & Porter funeral home. We've been living in this place for a bit over two years. I've lived in the Parkdale/High Park 'hood since 2001. Yet, until tonight, it never occurred to me that I might actually walk by this place at a point in time when there might be a service taking place inside.

Not that I thought about it much. I don't really spend much time thinking about death. Life is too alive, too fresh, too present for me to consider its absolute absence.

But tonight, as I walked by the funeral building, as I passed the three gentlemen sharing a solemn cigarette break, it struck me suddenly how completely different this fine evening was for others.

Disturbingly, I thought at first, was the window shot. A quick turn of the head towards my left, towards the building, through the bay window, past the foyer, past the French doors, down the aisle, and straight into the head of the body laying in the casket...

Suddenly, I'm a part of this ceremony. Suddenly, a guy on a sidewalk bears witness to the death of some ones loved one.

What a strange, solemn occurence.

What an odd way to connect with one's community.

Boy Dom found it scary.
Man Dom found it sacred.

What's your opinion? Comment below, of course.

(photo credit Ben Dibble)

All Growns Up?

2009-02-09T21:00:00.000-05:00

You see this kid? This delightfully dirty, deliriously happy kid?

Yah. That's me. And the boy that grew into a man is still just as sloppy as ever.

The best thing about this photo might be the look on my sister's face. I won't deny you that.

But the second best thing is how that dirty kid I once was grew up into the messy man I am today.

What am I saying. What's the manifesto.

It's simple. I might look older. I may have lost that stunning crop of blond hair to a full crown of brown. And maybe the gut's got a bit more -- shall we say, impertinence -- than it once did. But the look on that face is the same. The brain behind those blue eyes hasn't changed much. I remain the goofy, errant, erring, and stumbling fool I always was.

Best Man's father once told him to "pick an age and stick with it." Funny how I've always tried to live the same way.

But here's the thing. Despite my vainglorious attempts otherwise, it turns out I've become a growns-up. A man. An A-dolt.

Look. The Wife and I bought a car. There are two unbelievable statements contained in that seven word sentence.

1. The Wife. I meet a sweet chick, wanted to spend my life with her, and therefore offered -- with a pretty decent amount of panache -- to put a ring on her finger.

2. We bought a car. A brand new car at that. A brand new hatchback of a car. With 0.9% financing over 60 months, a healthy down payment, an extended warranty, rustproofing, undercoating, and a few bells and whistles thrown in as part of the negociation.

So, boys don't get married. Boys don't buy brand new cars with The Wife. Boys don't learn about financing rates and deal making.

Men do.

*sigh*

And it doesn't end there, sadly. I've or we've done things like pay off student debt. We have beautiful friends with beautiful babies or with beautiful babies en route. We're saving up for a down payment on a house. I keep a budget. We have apartment insurance. I have a career. Not a job, but a bona fide career, with one of those career-tracking type feelings about it and everything.

Apparently, despite efforts to the contrary, I've turned into some kind of... man. So now I have to do something about it.

And whatever that "something" is, I'll try to sort out what it all means up on here.

So here's to growing up without growing old.