Watch Out iTunes and Amazon, Here Come HMV and Wal-Mart?
I recently read an article in the Globe and Mail discussing the hot battle for online book sales. For the last decade, Amazon has enjoyed a cushy spot on top of their competition—wait, did they even have any real competition? If I had a penny for every time I proclaimed my love for Amazon, I’d probably have enough to order at least one more book.  Over the

Accepting Swine Flu (The Good Ol’ Days?)
I remember that when I was in high school and university, people still smoked in bars. When going to a restaurant, the hostess would ask you two questions: how many people in your party, and whether you wanted to sit in the smoking or non-smoking section. When I speak to student groups these days, I tell them that when I was in university, I didn’t have a mobile phone. They’re shocked by this, and don’t really understand how I got in touch with my friends. (And c’mon, I’m not even that old: I graduated in 2004, which was right on the cusp of when university students started using mobile phones.) Ten years after 9/11, and the security theatre at

Goodbye, CNW
After two and a half years of working for CNW Group, I’ve made the difficult decision to leave and pursue another opportunity. I say it was difficult decision because CNW has been more than just an amazing place to work. I spent the majority of my waking hours since 2007 at the company’s Bay Street headquarters, and the people here have become more than just colleagues. I mean, I’ve probably talked on the phone more with people in CNW’s Western Canada offices than I have with my mom in the past few years. CNW, and the people there, gave me a ton of great opportunities that I might not have had elsewhere, and for that I’m truly thankful. When I

More thoughts on laptop DJing (in response to…)
Recently I wrote a post for BlogCampaigning on my experience transitioning from a vinyl DJ to a laptop DJ, which, from personal comments, appears to have been generally well received. But the only comment anyone actually posted on the blog was quite negative and passively critical. Initially, I wanted to tell the semi-anonymous commenter where to go, but I decided to take the high road, thanking the fellow for his post and offering a very brief apologetic response. I was wrong. I’ve thought about it, and I now recognize that that person’s comment was uninformed and thoughtless, and I had no reason t

How Far We’ve Come
Can you guess what this is? Give up? It’s a computer’s hard disk drive (HDD) with a measly 5 MB of storage. I came across this picture a few days ago and it made me stop to thank the rapid advancements of technology and geekery. In September 1956, IBM launched the 305 RAMAC, the first computer with an HDD.  It weighed over a ton and only stored 5 MB of data.  My appreciation for my 8 GB memory stick, which holds t