Further to being good music, a portion of the proceeds of this album are contributed to World Vision to combat the AIDS crisis in Africa.
]]>One of the things that is bugging me incessantly in the wake of this fire is the scapegoating of “social media” for disseminating misinformation. I’m going to pick on Mike McCready’s article The Double Edged Sword of Social Media in particular here. He quotes fire chief Brian Cornforth as saying:
rumours ran rampant on sites such as Twitter about different fire locations and areas that were thought to be evacuated
Conflicting reports of evacuations seem to be at the heart of this whole controversy. My family and I did decide to vacate the neighbourhood, but not because of any reports we read on Twitter; On the contrary, everything I read on Twitter was encouraging us to stay put. It was neighbours, in person, knocking on each others’ doors and spreading word that the police were asking us to leave that prompted us to do so.
I have seen several comments on Twitter and heard first-hand from others that police encouraged them to evacuate. For the city and emergency services to insist that no evacuations were ordered seems a matter of semantics to me. More to the point, though, “social media” may have been the primary amplifier of this information, but it’s irresponsible scapegoating to blame social media for propagating rumours.
McCready suggests in his article that “To avoid the rumors that Cornforth indicated in the Herald article, it would have been smart to have an official representative of the city of [sic] fire department engaging in the conversation to correct rumors and provide information.” That’s all well and good, but when push comes to shove, I don’t care about the “official” word on Twitter, or even in traditional news media; If somebody is physically knocking on my door and telling me that we need to go because of that fire over the hill, I’m going to hit the road.
The fire chief went on to say:
We really count on the media to message the right information and keeping it accurate because there are a lot of things that get added out with the social media that are not necessarily factual.
The City of Lethbridge provided this update on Twitter at 9:01PM:
Reception Centre made ready ‘just in case’ for west Lethbridge residents (Soccer Centre) is now being closed as fire is contained
The local media who are being counted on to “message the right information and [keep] it accurate” were reporting two hours later that the reception centre at the Soccer Centre was still open. That’s right, folks, somehow Twitter was right and mainstream media was wrong. Misinformation wasn’t limited to just Twitter, but “social media” takes the blame.
My point in all of this is that communicating with other people is a double edged sword. Any time we interact with others there is going to be a risk of miscommunication or misinformation. I would suggest that miscommunication was at the root of this situation, and these newfangled social media web sites make a convenient centre of blame because they spread information much more quickly than traditional mediums with which officials are accustomed, and they are decentralized in a way where no individual ends up shouldering any blame.
I don’t mean to suggest that the premise of Mike McCready’s article is wrong. In fact, I would agree that the city and fire department would have been well served by providing information through engagement rather than using Twitter solely as a broadcast medium. The biggest problem as I see it, though, wasn’t a result of Twitter misinformation, but rather with inconsistencies between the officially released statements and what residents were being told in person; Such communication issues go well beyond the realm of social media.
]]>We will no longer continue to develop Flash Player in the browser to work with new mobile device configurations (chipset, browser, OS version, etc.) following the upcoming release of Flash Player 11.1 for Android and BlackBerry PlayBook.
Marco Arment hits on exactly what I believe this means for the future of Flash:
]]>If web developers must make non-Flash implementations of everything, why bother making the Flash versions at all? This isn’t just the death of mobile Flash: it’s a confirmation from Adobe that all Flash is on its way out.
After using my iPhone 4 every single day for nearly a year and a half, the glass on the front and the back was still in near-mint condition. The only physical blemishes to the glass were some minor nicks that were only noticeable when all fingerprints had been wiped off and you were holding the phone at just the proper angle.
This is pretty much identical to the experience I’ve had with my iPhone 4, although I have managed to get one noticeable scratch on the back of the phone. Like Shawn, I’ve never used a case or a screen protector, but I’ve also never dropped it from a significant height onto a hard surface.
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Further to being good music, a portion of the proceeds of this album are contributed to World Vision to combat the AIDS crisis in Africa.
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One Headlight and Africa are my favourites on here, but I’m really enjoying the entire album. If you know Relient K, you know how quirky and tongue-in-cheek their work can be (They did title an album The Anatomy of the Tongue In Cheek, after all). If you enjoy that, you’ll probably appreciate this album.
Get it now from iTunes (part 1 and part 2), Amazon.ca, or Amazon.com
]]>If you know me as a web guy, you know that I’m predominantly a Drupal developer, but I’ve recently become interested in the idea of using something more lightweight, like Jekyll, to host my own site. My personal site doesn’t require web-based editing, or user accounts, or most of the other features that Drupal provides. I already do all of my writing in Markdown-capable editors like Textmate and Elements, so the ability to keep my posts file-based and manage them in a Git repository rather than a MySQL database makes sense for me.
I tinkered a bit with Jekyll on Github Pages (very cool, by the way), but decided to go with Octopress (a framework built on Jekyll) because of its terrific HTML5 stock theme. I’ll probably start making tweaks to it before long, but when it looks this good, there’s no need to be in a huge rush.
Beyond that, there are a few reasons I liked the idea of a static blog:
No database queries or PHP processing mean pages are served more quickly without any caching systems required.
No web front-end means eliminating an entry-point for possible security intrusions.
Scalability. You know, just in case I ever get Fireballed.
Now my site looks just like Matt Gemmell’s site, and that’s got to be a good thing (Good for me, at least. I can’t say it’ll help his reputation much.).
The collection shown below doesn’t include a handful of team jerseys I’ve worn in-game and novelty jerseys that have snuck into my closet (such as a Guess Who jersey and the 2000 Canadian Summer Olympic podium jersey). Check out HockeyJerseyConcepts.com for more reader collections.
A friend gave this jersey to me a few years ago. Based on the tags, I believe it to be from the mid-80’s.
This jersey is way too big for me, but these ones were getting harder and harder to find, so when I found one in Calgary I bought it. I loved how they looked in the Heritage Classic; I was glad when they decided to keep it in the rotation.
This was a special time in hockey for me as a fan of Lemieux and as a jersey collector. The #66 had just come out of retirement and the Penguins had just introduced a snappy third jersey. I pre-ordered one as soon as I could. That’s why you’ll notice that this jersey doesn’t have a captain’s letter on it: early in his comeback, Lemieux wasn’t a captain (Sports Illustrated has proof). I’ve considered bringing it in to have a C added.
One of the less beloved jerseys in recent memory. It’s not my favourite, but I don’t hate it, either. When Koho/CCM took over all NHL jersey manufacturing, SportChek cleared out their ProPlayer brand jerseys for $30. That’s when I added this one to the collection.
Probably the most frequently worn jersey in my collection, this one has been autographed on the crest by goaltender Roman Turek. How frequently worn? I had to pull it out of the washing machine to take this photo. This jersey was acquired from the team shortly after Roman Turek returned to Europe.
Since originally writing this article, I picked up a Rbk Edge-era Flames home jersey. Am I the only one who like the lines of this jersey? It feels like it sometimes.
Not the prettiest jersey ever, but this is a landmark jersey that is unique if nothing else. The Lethbridge post office clock tower adorns the sleeves, and a Chinook arch like the sculpture in front of city hall passes through the torso. The clincher, of course, is the silhouette of the High Level Bridge along the hem.
When I tried out with the Hurricanes back in the day, they were wearing those horrendous Tasmanian devil uniforms. Those of us in camp, though, were wearing an old set of team jerseys in the classic Washington Capitals style. Somewhere my dad has photos of me on the ice at training camp wearing one of those red, white, and blue jerseys clashing terribly with my black and gold Bruins socks (I played for the Carstairs Bruins). When the Hurricanes brought this one back as a throw-back, there was no question that I needed to get one.
This is the only other autographed jersey I have, and it’s been autographed by the entire Lethbridge Hurricanes (post trade deadline) in the 2009-2010 season. This was the first year of the Reebok Edge jersey style for the WHL. I won this particular jersey for coming in second place during a “chuck-a-puck” contest at a game last year.
I believe this jersey was part of a Team of the Century celebration in 2000. I found it on a pretty good discount and had Henderson’s #19 added to it. I gave consideration to Esposito’s #7, but really how could I go with any number other than 19?
One of my earliest jersey purchases while I was in junior high. This is the only jersey I’ve had my name put on, aside from those of teams I’ve actually played for. There is an additional crest on the from left of this one, covering up a mark from where a captain’s C was removed. I don’t particularly like having my name on this jersey, so it doesn’t get worn often. It doesn’t have gold medal memories either, mind you.
My parents gave me this one as a Christmas gift in 2001. My mom told me that if she’d realized how many jerseys I already had, they would’ve gotten me something else. I’m glad they didn’t; this is still one of my favourites. Crested with the name and number of my favourite player, Mario Lemieux.
If you follow my family tree back a few generations, you’ll end up in Germany. For that reason I’ve adopted Germany as my second team. I couldn’t find one of these in Canada anywhere, so I ordered one from a shop in Düsseldorf. Much like that Canadiens vintage jersey, these became relatively easy to find shortly after I bought mine. I’ve also got a few German national soccer jerseys to go along with it.
I spent a year at the University of Alberta in 2002/03 and bought this jersey while I was there. The Bears are one of the powerhouses of CIS hockey, so I usually don this one once a year when watching the University Cup finals. Other than that I support my alma mater, the University of Lethbridge (hey, we won a University Cup back in 1994 when Mike Babcock was our coach). I haven’t been able to get my hands on a Pronghorn jersey yet, though. The U of L merchandising isn’t what it is at U of A.
I bought this jersey on a trip to England and Scotland in 2000. Some friends and I were browsing soccer jerseys in a sporting goods shop, and I came across a small rack of London Knights jerseys. The novelty of finding a hockey jersey in England was too much for a Canadian boy to pass up. Of course, nobody has ever heard of those London Knights, and they folded a few years after I bought the jersey.
No collection is ever complete. Period. Here are a few that I’d like to add.
I had not taken the time to read the novel until recently when I heard that a theatre adaptation would be performed this summer at the Empress Theatre in Fort Macleod. This was sufficient motivation for me to finally crack the book open for what was a thoroughly enjoyable and witty read. Justin Michael Carriere’s one-man performance was equally entertaining.
The problem with the performance: it was poorly attended. We arrived as early as we could to secure good seats, but sadly that wasn’t a concern. For such a funny and well-acted performance that is so historically relevant to this area, I was expecting a much larger turnout.
Fortunately, it’s not too late for you! There are two more showings of Dickens of the Mounted, August 27th and 28th at the Empress Theatre in Fort Macleod, and tickets are only $12. I highly encourage you to head out, spend some time in Fort Macleod’s historic downtown, and enjoy the show.
I’ve been using a first generation iPhone (quite happily, I might add) since bringing one back from south of the border nearly three years ago. That is easily the longest I’ve ever used a cell phone, and even though it is now three product revisions out-of-date, I don’t harbour the resentment towards it that I have towards previous devices I’ve owned. In that three years I’ve said time and again that it was the best phone I have ever owned, and given the current state of affairs, I wouldn’t consider anything but an iPhone. Friday was the launch of the iPhone 4 in Canada, and given that my phone is officially outmoded, I decided to upgrade to the latest and greatest.
I didn’t originally plan on doing the whole launch day thing, but you know how these things go when you’re under peer influence. Trevor and I talked each other into scouring Lethbridge in search of available phones, and after shuttling between a few locations and then standing in line for a few hours, we managed to get our hands on the shiny new phones at the Rogers store in Park Place mall.
After a day and a half of use with my new phone, I’m ready to share my preliminary thoughts on it. Let’s start with the questions that people have asked me so far:
My neighbourhood has intermittently flaky Rogers service; based on the less sensational death grip reports I’ve read, that sounds like prime conditions to demonstrate this phenomenon, and indeed I can make it happen if I really consciously try to do it. So far it seems academic to me since I’ve made a few calls from my house while the phone is showing one or two bars and I’m holding it in my left hand; I haven’t dropped a call yet.
Bear in mind that I’m a pretty pro-Apple, pro-iPhone guy, but yeah, despite the hokey retina display moniker, it’s pretty darned fantastic. Even getting up close to the display, I can’t distinguish individual pixels with the naked eye. Trevor and I have commented to each other while exchanging text messages that the display is beautifully clear and crisp.
Man I can’t get over how clear the text is.
– Trevor via SMS
Based on my first two FaceTime calls, it’s as good as I expected, and possibly better. Trevor called me from the Safeway parking lot using their free wifi. There were moments of choppiness in his video, and the call was abruptly ended due to an unknown error, but for the duration of the call, the video and voice quality were excellent. I later chatted with Jeddy for a solid 15 minutes, and the whole things was virtually flawless. We put the app through its paces, swapping between front- and rear-facing cameras, changing portrait/landscape orientation, and continuing a call in the background while checking my calendar. Everything worked as smoothly and as intuitively as you’d expect from an Apple product. It just works.
I don’t love adding bulk to my phone. I’ve managed to go three years without a case on my old iPhone, so I’m likely to do the same again. That said, Apple is just giving them away, so I might as well get one and see if I like it. My order for a Griffin Reveal Etch is already in.
Again, keep in mind that I’ve been using the first generation phone for three years and have missed out on several advances that were introduced in the 3G and 3Gs models; this is a big upgrade for me (and for the first time in three years, I have the cool phone again).
The speed is probably the most noticeable thing for me right now. Apps launch quickly and the typing feels so much more natural because of its responsiveness. iOS 4’s multi-tasking further improves the feeling of system speed, since you can quickly switch between many apps without losing your context within an app or being required to detour through the home screen along the way.
The unified inbox seems like a nice feature, but it’ll probably take some time for me to acclimate to it. I generally prefer having my inboxes divided up, since my email accounts all serve different purposes. Granted I can still view each inbox individually, and the option to view the inbox directly as opposed to viewing the full list of folders first is a nice improvement for me there.
The built-in speakers sound better to me. Speakerphone on the original phone was hit and miss, but here we are making FaceTime calls and raving about the audio quality. Playing music on the device, I can certainly notice the volume difference between the two devices.
iOS 4 folders are great. 3G users plagued by performance issues after the iOS 4 upgrade may not consider folders worth the performance hit, but on the top end hardware it is certainly a welcome feature to clean up and organize my cluttered pages worth of apps.
I haven’t played with the camera a whole bunch yet, but it’s easy to see that it outperforms the first generation phone in a big way. Somehow I was expecting more from the video, but I think that’s a result of comparing it against the quality of video from my parents’ new Canon G11.
Did I mention I was using an original iPhone before. Just the move to 3G from Edge is an awesome improvement for me.
It is blowing my mind a little bit to think that I paid more than twice as much for my first iPhone than I did for this one.
So the bottom line is that the iPhone is still the best phone I’ve ever used, and it continues to get better. Say what you will about iTunes or App Store approval processes, the whole experience of using an iPhone is tough to match. Now it’s time to start writing some apps for this thing.
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