social issues

UBC Prof Says No More Subsidies to Fisheries

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008

This is going to be a controversial post. Feel free to send me hate mail. It’s just my opinion. I have been accused by the Left of being a Conservative. I have been accused by the Right of being a Commie. I am neither. I’m apolitical in many respects. As someone who works in policy [...]

Tired of Being Crammed Between Gen X and Gen Y?

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

This is something that I swore I would never advertise because I feel it is a liability to my business - I am 30 years old. Now that I’ve put that out there, it’s a much more interesting conversation to explore why my age has been a liability in my business these past five years.
Let [...]

BC Gas Tax to Start Tomorrow - So What?

Monday, June 30th, 2008

My wife got me panicked this morning because she said there was a “24 cent” per litre gas tax starting tomorrow. I said “WHAT?” and promptly got online to confirm. It’s actually 2.4 cents per litre. When I usually fill up, I put $50 in. A 2.4 cent per litre gas tax means I’m paying [...]

The Myth of Work-Life Balance

Saturday, June 14th, 2008

Over the years, I have heard people that I otherwise respect chide me on my lack of “work-life balance”. They see my weight problems, my obvious lack of sleep and my stress levels as an outward sign of a pending collapse. What they don’t see is the level of satisfaction that I derive from my [...]

Volunteerism - Marketing That Money Can’t Buy

Saturday, June 7th, 2008

One of the reasons that I didn’t post on Friday afternoon is because I was representing the SFU Alumni Association at the Spring Convocation Ceremony for Applied Science students at SFU’s main campus in Burnaby. I played a minor role in the ceremony - gave a short speech about life after university and the importance [...]

Are Energy Prices Turning You Into a Mobile Office Commando?

Friday, May 30th, 2008

A recent blog posting over at Computer World suggests that high gas prices are driving more and more employees and employers to opt for flexible work arrangements/telecommuting. It’s an interesting wrinkle for large companies but for us independent folks who have been working on the road, out of coffee shops and anywhere we can steal [...]

What Does Mars Mean for Us?

Monday, May 26th, 2008

The recent (and happy) announcement of the successful Mars Phoenix Lander mission last night should give anyone who has dreamt of manned colonization of Mars a reason to think. We’re learning more and more all the time about our second-closest solar neighbour and this time around, we’re looking for water. Scientists have hypothesized that there [...]

From Russia With Hate

Monday, May 12th, 2008

I normally write about science and technology on Monday mornings. This week, I’m going to bump my science and tech slot to Tuesday in favour of something that inflames my passion to an even greater degree - hate crimes. The following video won both a 2008 Webby Film and Video nomination and a Webby People’s [...]