Only the first part of the following interview applies to Canadian newspapers. It's good to hear someone else voicing some of my views. I like to say that the Canadian newspaper industry is now too big to succeed. Big corporations like Quebecor have gobbled up vast numbers of community newspapers and now must try to stay solvent while paying off the horrendous debt load they have accumulated.
The future does not belong to the one with the biggest press, the most trucks or the largest building. The future belongs to the organization that can pull together the largest group of talented, well-trained reporters and expert editors, and back their editorial A-team with great tech support. The Internet may prove to be the great equalizer when it comes to news organizations.
I visit the Internet site of my favourite newspaper, which sadly is Quebecor owned, and notice that their online editor may make a rash statement and then ask the reader, "What do you think?" This is not journalism. Bloggers often do more work.
Michael Moore is correct when it comes to advertising. I had an editor admit why the paper would not run an accurate article detailing the problems with the automobile industry's 0% loan programs - 0% loans that aren't 0%. Don't believe me when I say most, if not all, the 0% loans are a ruse? Read the fine print. Or go here, as I do not worry about advertiser support.
Ask yourself, "Why does the local paper accept double truck ads pushing the Amish miracle heater?" And if the local paper applies absolutely no standards to the ads running in the paper, how can we trust any ad running in the paper?
*
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Social networking, not quite a buzzword
Social networking: not quite a buzzword (buzz phrase?) but it is doing more work than should be expected of any two words, especially two words in such a young relationship. Constant and repeated togetherness can be deadly to linguistic unions. I've seen it before: mission critical, alternative lifestyle, hidden agenda, office effectivity. Office effectivity? It may be hard to believe but it was once such an overworked phrase that it was banned by the unicorn hunters of Lake Superior State University, Michigan.It is not just the the phrase that's in danger of early extinction; it's the social networks themselves. Do you recall Six Degrees. com? Once employing a 100 people, servicing a million registered members, it was valued at $125 million (U.S.) by YouthStream Media Network who bought it in 2000. YSM soon closed it, and in 2003 sold its patented approach to constructing a networking database for $700 thousand to Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn and Marc Pincus of Tribe.net.
In order to bid on the SixDegrees patent, it was reported that Hoffman and Pincus made an end run around their own social networking friend, Jonathan Abrams of Friendster. Social networking sounds so positive, so friendly but among the gurus of the movement it can be downright cutthroat.
Friendster may be almost off the radar in North America but it is a social networking force in Southeast Asia, and still boasts 105 million profiles worldwide. A quick check shows that there are still Friendster members in my hometown of London, Ontario. One is the heavy metal bank Kittie which is lead by two sisters, Mercedes and Morgan Landers from London. Note that Kittie has both the private profile and the messaging on their Friendster site turned off. Hmmm. Not all that friendly, but certainly wise.
Today, Facebook and Twitter are the big bullies on the social networking block. If you question the word bullies think of MySpace and how it was pummelled. Xanga has taken a bit of a beating, too, I believe.
With so many social networking sites, big and small, there is actually a social network aggregator - Spokeo.com. On their site Spokeo says they, " . . . set out to build search technology to automatically detect online identities associated with emails and URLs . . . " Note that Spokeo has an HR product as part of their Recruiting edition. Be careful what you post on Facebook and other social networking sites. It can come back and bite you.
What does social networking deliver? It's a mixed bag. I could have hundreds of Twitter followers but I block the vast majority. Most are ads and some are porn. I find in the computer world it is important to pick your friends with care. I don't want to pick up a social (networking) disease - a computer virus.
But the few contacts that I have made have had a positive affect on my life. When I expressed and interest in new urbanism a chap appeared out of the fog of the Internet to suggest a book to read. It was an excellent suggestion. And I've learned stuff, I've filled holes in my knowledge by paying attention to the comments elicited by my blogs.
But mainly, I find Twitter a great way to stay abreast of the news. I follow The London Free Press Twitter tweats. Facebook has become very crowded with oodles of suggested friends whom I have never met, never will, and have no desire to meet in either my real or my virtual life. And, I have a hard enough time pairing up real socks without accepting virtual socks on Facebook. A virtual sock?
Yet, it was through Facebook that I reconnected, a fragile reconnection I admit, but still a reconnection with one of my former students. I was then able to reconnect the long lost student with another friend whom we both have in common. I have to admit, all this was kinda cool.
So, if Twitter and Facebook are not my faves when it come to social networking, what is? GroupRecipes.com! This social networking site has a tight focus - food. Ah food, I think about it everyday. At my age, I enjoy it more than sex.GroupRecipes allows you to search by ingredients or by flavour. Check your pantry and run a search and find dinner. I like this.
Or, click on the folder tabs: new today, popular, active users, and trends. There's a lot that I wouldn't let near my kitchen but there are also gems. Find something that impresses you, click on the cook's name, and if you like a lot of what they have posted, become a follower. In researching this I stumbled upon Midgelet and a recipe for autumn pear pie.
Midgelet may I follow you? Think about your answer. Spokeo may be watching.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
McDonald's full of surprises
Quite a busy today but I read a post which I would like to share. It was written by a Londoner living and blogging in Scandinavia. This post points out why McDonald's is such a global success. But Elle Hermansen's blog is not the only link to McD's story today. Please, read on.
Elle Hermansen writes well and she illustrates her posts with clean, stylish photos. There is a beautiful, classic, graphic look to her pages. Look at how she writes Elle - the two l's form a heart. I read her stuff with a critical eye and try to learn from her. I hope you enjoy Hermansen's blog as much as I do.
Now, have you ever wondered what fish goes into a McDonald's filet-o-fish? Read the New York Times article. If you're a green, this is an interesting read.
Cheers,
Rockinon
Elle Hermansen writes well and she illustrates her posts with clean, stylish photos. There is a beautiful, classic, graphic look to her pages. Look at how she writes Elle - the two l's form a heart. I read her stuff with a critical eye and try to learn from her. I hope you enjoy Hermansen's blog as much as I do.
Now, have you ever wondered what fish goes into a McDonald's filet-o-fish? Read the New York Times article. If you're a green, this is an interesting read.Cheers,
Rockinon
Monday, September 7, 2009
On a loved baby and a contented grandpa...
Well, Fiona is home and, for the most part, she is a contented baby. She makes funny faces, she waves her arms wildly enjoying her freedom and sometimes she cries. So far, when she cries someone usually picks her up and she mellows out.Is this wise? I don't follow this stuff closely, at least I didn't, but I thought we were supposed to leave a child to cry and not reward them for bugging us. But, I pick Fiona up almost every time she cries. My hold-the-baby response just seems so natural and her hold-me-and-I-stop response also seems so natural, so expected, so right.
Time for some research.
First I found lots of links to something called "Attachment Parenting." Miriam Stoppard had lots of good advice. I don't know about the accuracy of the science but the close, caring relationship she promotes surely cannot be bad. She writes, "I shrink from leaving a baby to cry for long periods." But, what is a long period of time? I moved on.
Dr. Laura Markham tells me that Fiona thinks she's in mortal danger unless she's in some one's arms. I don't think so. Lay Fiona down and she's cool. Honest. When Markham told me to keep the baby close by, " . . . in the same bed," it was time to move on. This advice can be deadly.
Parents should never sleep in the same bed with infants or toddlers under the age of 2, the Federal Consumer Product Safety Commission has warned. Sleeping in the same bed with your newborn poses a significant risk of accidental smothering or strangling.
"Don't sleep with your baby or put the baby down to sleep in an adult bed," Ann Brown, the commission's chairwoman, counsels parents. According to an agency study and published by the American Medical Association (A.M.A.), over an eight-year period 515 children under 2 – an average of 64 a year – died as a result of sleeping in a bed with an adult or much older person.
A safer option is a co-sleeper bassinet which is attached to the bed of the parents but allows the child to sleep in a separate, protected space.
So much for attachment parenting. I went looking for university sponsored sites.
O.K. We're in agreement: babies cry; it's normal. But, should we pick 'em up the moment they burst into tears?
I clicked on Soothing Your Crying Infant on the UCSF website.
I learned:
"When your baby is crying, you can try:
- Changing your baby's diaper
- Changing his or her clothes or blankets to see if your baby is too hot or cold
- Feeding your baby to see if he or she is hungry
- Checking your baby for anything that might cause pain, like an open diaper pin.
If your baby keeps crying, you may want to:
- Rock your baby in a rocking chair or swing
- Gently stroke your baby's head
- Try offering your baby a pacifier
- Take your baby for a walk or a ride in the car
- Try giving your baby a warm bath
- Play soft music
- Ask a friend or relative to help you
If your baby continues to cry, understand that babies are exposed to many new sights, sounds, touches, tastes and smells -- all of which can be quite overwhelming. Crying is the only way babies have to release tension. Therefore your baby may be telling you that he or she needs to be left alone. Try swaddling your baby snugly in a blanket and lay him or her in a crib in a quiet, dark room.
Allow your baby to cry for 10 to 15 minutes. You may need to go to another room and shut the door during this time, but remember you are not being mean to your baby by allowing him or her some time to cry. Also, remember to consider whether your baby might be sick."
Did you notice that? Buried in all this advice it says, ". . . your baby may be telling you that he or she needs to be left alone . . . you are not being mean to your baby by allowing him or her time to cry."
Yesterday Fiona was supposed to be sleeping but she didn't seem to know it. She was oh-so-alert. And then she started to cry. But, her crying didn't seem to have depth. This wasn't anguish from deep within. She almost seemed to be crying to just get some low level practice. I didn't pick her up. She soon stopped and looked quite content.
I feel vindicated. I did the right thing.
______________________________________________
Addendum:
After writing the above, I found a bit more on the topic. I really liked the tone of this writing.
If you want to pick up your infant almost immediately, and do it, don't feel guilty. A loved baby is a contented baby. They feel confident and safe in their surroundings. I personally could not go more than five minutes without cuddling Fiona when she cries.
A loved baby is a contented baby and such a loved baby makes for a contented grandpa.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Della Reese and Dr. Drake
I've heard it said that lots of ill people go the the United States seeking health care but no American ever leaves. Not true. I can recall the American singer Della Reese coming to London, Ontario, and going to University Hospital in order to be operated on by Dr. Charles Drake. Reese credited Drake with saving her life when he operated on her brain aneurysm.
Later Reese rewarded the community by holding a concert at which $40,000 was raised for the Dr. Charles Drake research fund. The entire event was a big deal here in London and such a fuss was made that I can still clearly recall the event. Reese's decision stirred up a lot of civic pride.
Do I think that Della Reese could have received the same treatment in the States? Yes, I think so. But, Dr. Drake was a brilliant doctor and University Hospital an excellent facility. She made a good choice. I doubt she could have done better.
Are there any other cases of Americans leaving the States for treatment? According to claims on Democratic Underground.com, the answer is yes. So many Americans seek medical care outside the U.S. that a term has been coined for it: medical tourism.
If you can believe the numbers, thousands and thousands of Americans are active medical tourists. Why? My guess is cost. According to the information on Democratic Underground.com, " . . . data show that heart surgery, which costs more than $50,000 in the United States, can be purchased for $20,000 in Singapore, for $12,000 in Thailand and between $3,000 and $10,000 in India." Reportedly the quality of the purchased medical treatment is excellent. (My mitral valve heart repair was done robotically using the da Vinci system and it was covered by my OHIP payments. It was financially painless.)
As a Canadian, I'm torn. I would not want a system like the one presently in place in the States. Because of my open heart surgery, I would have a difficult time getting insurance in the States. If I was lucky enough to get, it would be out of my financial reach.
The Canadian system is not perfect. Having worked at a newspaper for years, I have met a number of people who were having problems with the Canadian medical system. But, with many of my relatives living in the U.S., I know that Americans can have problems, too.
What is needed is a careful, thoughtful discussion. The time for debate is over. It should be clear that with 45 million uninsured Americans, the system needs more than an adjustment.
I quoted infant mortality rate numbers in an earlier post. Not surprisingly, these numbers are suspect. And that is the problem with a debate. One-upmanship becomes paramount. We may even throw about numbers just because they prove our point. We may not look carefully at what the numbers truly represent.
When I was born, I was a small bundle of joy that cost my parents another small bundle but not a joyous one. If I had been born just days later, my delivery would have been covered by Windsor Medical. I believe, and I am going by memory here, that the doctors in Windsor, Ontario, in the late '40s banded together to form Windsor Medical and make medical treatment affordable to all.
When the government stepped in with its plan, Windsor Medical came to an end. I've often wondered if Windsor Medical was a superior system. I don't know and Google doesn't seem to have the answer either.
__________________________________________________
For all its problems, and it does have problems, read what it was like when my daughter gave birth just days ago right her in London, Ontario.
Later Reese rewarded the community by holding a concert at which $40,000 was raised for the Dr. Charles Drake research fund. The entire event was a big deal here in London and such a fuss was made that I can still clearly recall the event. Reese's decision stirred up a lot of civic pride.
Do I think that Della Reese could have received the same treatment in the States? Yes, I think so. But, Dr. Drake was a brilliant doctor and University Hospital an excellent facility. She made a good choice. I doubt she could have done better.
Are there any other cases of Americans leaving the States for treatment? According to claims on Democratic Underground.com, the answer is yes. So many Americans seek medical care outside the U.S. that a term has been coined for it: medical tourism.
If you can believe the numbers, thousands and thousands of Americans are active medical tourists. Why? My guess is cost. According to the information on Democratic Underground.com, " . . . data show that heart surgery, which costs more than $50,000 in the United States, can be purchased for $20,000 in Singapore, for $12,000 in Thailand and between $3,000 and $10,000 in India." Reportedly the quality of the purchased medical treatment is excellent. (My mitral valve heart repair was done robotically using the da Vinci system and it was covered by my OHIP payments. It was financially painless.)
As a Canadian, I'm torn. I would not want a system like the one presently in place in the States. Because of my open heart surgery, I would have a difficult time getting insurance in the States. If I was lucky enough to get, it would be out of my financial reach.
The Canadian system is not perfect. Having worked at a newspaper for years, I have met a number of people who were having problems with the Canadian medical system. But, with many of my relatives living in the U.S., I know that Americans can have problems, too.
What is needed is a careful, thoughtful discussion. The time for debate is over. It should be clear that with 45 million uninsured Americans, the system needs more than an adjustment.
I quoted infant mortality rate numbers in an earlier post. Not surprisingly, these numbers are suspect. And that is the problem with a debate. One-upmanship becomes paramount. We may even throw about numbers just because they prove our point. We may not look carefully at what the numbers truly represent.
When I was born, I was a small bundle of joy that cost my parents another small bundle but not a joyous one. If I had been born just days later, my delivery would have been covered by Windsor Medical. I believe, and I am going by memory here, that the doctors in Windsor, Ontario, in the late '40s banded together to form Windsor Medical and make medical treatment affordable to all.
When the government stepped in with its plan, Windsor Medical came to an end. I've often wondered if Windsor Medical was a superior system. I don't know and Google doesn't seem to have the answer either.
__________________________________________________
For all its problems, and it does have problems, read what it was like when my daughter gave birth just days ago right her in London, Ontario.
The halloumi staycation
This summer The London Free Press is running a little series called "Staycations." With the economy in the grip of a recessionary bear, many Londoners are passing on expensive out-of-province vacations. Staycations has tips for these stay-at-homes on how to have fun while learning about the immediate area — drive no more than two hours from London and often much less.
Retired, staycations are especially appealing to me. My personal boom has past and I am now in a permanent bust cycle. My cheap, old geezer addition to the staycation idea involves only a trip to Angelos Italian Bakery, Cafe and Deli, some visiting friends and a bit of Internet cruising.
I'm making a quick visit to Cyprus thanks to Bill, a visiting friend. I took Bill to the Angelos on Wonderland Road near Southdale Road. Bill loves food; he is quite the cook; and, he loves Angelos. The fresh baked olive bread or the sun-dried tomato loaf are both worth a visit.
Angelos carries a large selection of cheeses. It was there Bill discovered the halloumi from Pittas Dairy of Cyprus. If you are like me, you are asking, "Halloumi? What's halloumi?" You may even be asking, "Where's Cyprus?"
Halloumi is the national cheese of Cyprus. Pittas Dairy is a well known, decades old island dairy — and Bill, a well travelled chap, knew all of this. He lived for some time in the Mediterranean island country, found on a map to the east of Greece and south of Turkey. I mention both Greece and Turkey as the two have had dibs on the island for centuries and have had an open dispute over its control for decades.
I checked Loblaws for halloumi but found a Canadian made PC copy instead called Halloom. It may be a good cheese but it is not staycation cheese. Why the name change? Halloumi is registered as a protected Cypriot product in the U.S. and there are moves to protect the name worldwide. Loblaws wants to make cheese not waves.
More about Pittas Dairy, halloumi and even Cyrian politics later. For now, let's cut to the chase. What do we do with the stuff?
According to Bill, put a tablespoon or two of good olive oil in a frying pan and heat until a drop of water sizzles and dances on the surface. Add the halloumi, sliced about 3/8-inch thick, and fry. Grind a little fresh Telicherry pepper on the frying cheese, if you like. After a couple of minutes carefully flip the slices and lightly brown the other side. A squeeze of lemon juice is a traditional finish.
Halloumi, unlike most cheese, has a very high melting point. Traditionally made from sheep and goat's milk, the international product often contains a lot of cow's milk. If done right, the halloumi retains its resistance to melting despite this change.
That's the first part of our staycation — fried halloumi, a little bit of Cyprus right in our kitchen. Thanks to the Internet we can enrich this experience.
With a bit of googling we learn that Cyprus, with its location in the Mediterranean Sea, enjoys a combination of climate and vegetation making it ideal for raising sheep and goats. It's no surprise that over generations Cypriot cheese makers have fused different Mediterranean cultures and blended the result with their own ideas, developing a rich cheese producer tradition and world famous cheeses like halloumi.
Finding recipes is easy but to serve my halloumi I made up my own recipe inspired by what I had read. I lightly grilled buttered slices of Angelos garlic baguette, placed the fried cheese on the grilled bread and then topped each serving with a grilled slice of lightly salted beefsteak tomato.
The cheese, as promised, had not softened from the heat but it did have a squeaky quality reminiscent of fresh cheese curds. It was delicious.
Check out these recipes. The BBC offers 12 ways to serve halloumi. Delia Online had an interesting recipe for halloumi with lime and caper vinaigrette.
Pittas Dairy offers not only its own recipes but links to recipes on the Net. The 20 Pittas recipes are presented as a PDF booklet with lots of information about the dairy and the cheese. I downloaded it for future reference.
Bill had mentioned serving halloumi with eggs and bacon for breakfast. The Pittas booklet has just such a recipe.
Enjoy.
Oh, about the politics of Cyprus. You are on your own on this. I'm too busy enjoying the food to concern myself with the politics. Hey, I'm on vacation!
Addendum:
I still had some halloumi remaining and so the next day I grilled a sliced garlic baguette, spread a small amount of basil pesto on the grilled bread, grated just a little Parmesan onto the pesto, laid down the grilled halloumi and finally placed halved olives on top of all.
Delicious.
Cheers,
Rokinon
Retired, staycations are especially appealing to me. My personal boom has past and I am now in a permanent bust cycle. My cheap, old geezer addition to the staycation idea involves only a trip to Angelos Italian Bakery, Cafe and Deli, some visiting friends and a bit of Internet cruising.
I'm making a quick visit to Cyprus thanks to Bill, a visiting friend. I took Bill to the Angelos on Wonderland Road near Southdale Road. Bill loves food; he is quite the cook; and, he loves Angelos. The fresh baked olive bread or the sun-dried tomato loaf are both worth a visit.
Angelos carries a large selection of cheeses. It was there Bill discovered the halloumi from Pittas Dairy of Cyprus. If you are like me, you are asking, "Halloumi? What's halloumi?" You may even be asking, "Where's Cyprus?"Halloumi is the national cheese of Cyprus. Pittas Dairy is a well known, decades old island dairy — and Bill, a well travelled chap, knew all of this. He lived for some time in the Mediterranean island country, found on a map to the east of Greece and south of Turkey. I mention both Greece and Turkey as the two have had dibs on the island for centuries and have had an open dispute over its control for decades.
I checked Loblaws for halloumi but found a Canadian made PC copy instead called Halloom. It may be a good cheese but it is not staycation cheese. Why the name change? Halloumi is registered as a protected Cypriot product in the U.S. and there are moves to protect the name worldwide. Loblaws wants to make cheese not waves.
More about Pittas Dairy, halloumi and even Cyrian politics later. For now, let's cut to the chase. What do we do with the stuff?
According to Bill, put a tablespoon or two of good olive oil in a frying pan and heat until a drop of water sizzles and dances on the surface. Add the halloumi, sliced about 3/8-inch thick, and fry. Grind a little fresh Telicherry pepper on the frying cheese, if you like. After a couple of minutes carefully flip the slices and lightly brown the other side. A squeeze of lemon juice is a traditional finish.Halloumi, unlike most cheese, has a very high melting point. Traditionally made from sheep and goat's milk, the international product often contains a lot of cow's milk. If done right, the halloumi retains its resistance to melting despite this change.
That's the first part of our staycation — fried halloumi, a little bit of Cyprus right in our kitchen. Thanks to the Internet we can enrich this experience.
With a bit of googling we learn that Cyprus, with its location in the Mediterranean Sea, enjoys a combination of climate and vegetation making it ideal for raising sheep and goats. It's no surprise that over generations Cypriot cheese makers have fused different Mediterranean cultures and blended the result with their own ideas, developing a rich cheese producer tradition and world famous cheeses like halloumi.
Finding recipes is easy but to serve my halloumi I made up my own recipe inspired by what I had read. I lightly grilled buttered slices of Angelos garlic baguette, placed the fried cheese on the grilled bread and then topped each serving with a grilled slice of lightly salted beefsteak tomato.
The cheese, as promised, had not softened from the heat but it did have a squeaky quality reminiscent of fresh cheese curds. It was delicious.
Check out these recipes. The BBC offers 12 ways to serve halloumi. Delia Online had an interesting recipe for halloumi with lime and caper vinaigrette.
Pittas Dairy offers not only its own recipes but links to recipes on the Net. The 20 Pittas recipes are presented as a PDF booklet with lots of information about the dairy and the cheese. I downloaded it for future reference.
Bill had mentioned serving halloumi with eggs and bacon for breakfast. The Pittas booklet has just such a recipe.
Enjoy.
Oh, about the politics of Cyprus. You are on your own on this. I'm too busy enjoying the food to concern myself with the politics. Hey, I'm on vacation!
Addendum:I still had some halloumi remaining and so the next day I grilled a sliced garlic baguette, spread a small amount of basil pesto on the grilled bread, grated just a little Parmesan onto the pesto, laid down the grilled halloumi and finally placed halved olives on top of all.
Delicious.
Cheers,
Rokinon
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