jonathanmoore:

Epic Photo

Arnþór Ævarsson managed to capture both the Northern Lights and spewing lava in this incredible photo.  Talk about being at the right place at the right time.

As a prelude to the current massive volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull causing extensive air traffic disruption in Europe, a moderate eruption took place just days before on the east side of the volcano. The location provided an opportunity for up-close encounters with picturesque craters and lava flows, in contrast to the inaccessibility of the following eruption site at the top of the volcano. With a team of Jeep enthusiasts and other photography nerds, I was able to travel to the remote site of the eruption. …

Read the rest of the story on Flickr.

It’s been a while. Ugh! I seem to start every blog post that way.

Oh well.

The last time I wrote was back in May when I talked about the Apple iPad and the reasons why I wouldn’t be buying one. HA! Well, those of you who know me or follow me on either Twitter or Facebook know how that turned out. For those of you new to this blog, I ended up not taking my own advice. I purchased the 16GB Wi-Fi only model and I can report that I am very pleased thus far. It was well worth the $549 for the device. The lack of online video content is still my only complaint. Hopefully the TV networks will remedy that soon. For now, there is always Netflix for $8 a month. A pretty good deal eh??

In June I did something I never thought I would. I upgraded my iPhone 3G to a Blackberry Bold 9700. Gasp! After three months of use I’m still trying to convince myself it was the right decision. Especially after playing with an iPhone 4. Man, that’s a nice piece of hardware. Sorry, crackberry fans. :(

Now on to the personal stuff.

I can honestly say I had an awesome summer. In July I got to go back to Quebec City for a few days. It was the first time I had been there in quite a few years. The people, the language, the culture and the scenery are things you just don’t find in Barrie, Ontario. No offence Barrie!! I also had the chance to spend some time with my extended family in Quebec. The Relay for Life, in memory of my uncle Michael and my grandmothers 86th birthday party were two of the highlights. I still consider Quebec home and it is definitely where my heart is.

Despite the childishness and needless drama of some at work, August was pretty good. Oh, and you know who you are. Fan Expo and a Blue Jays game made the month.

To close out the summer, I spent my last week of holidays for 2010 in Ottawa. Although, it wasn’t my first choice I can say I enjoyed myself immensely and don’t have any regrets for going. One of the highlights from that week was the opportunity to meet @kavmac. She is one of my best buddies on Twitter and she proved herself to be as nice in person as she is online. If your on twitter, give her a follow.

Now comes the biggest source of stress in my life.

Back in April I wrote about how the contract between Zehrs and our union would be ending at the beginning of July. For the newbies here, I work for Zehrs. A division of Canada’s largest grocery store operator, Loblaw Companies Ltd.

On July 5th the union handed us employees the companies offer. To say it was not worth the paper it was written on would be the biggest understatement of the year. Some of the gems proposed were:

1. A $5 an hour pay cut.

2. Mandatory Sundays.

3. No more ability to transfer between departments for part timers.

4. Reduction in benefits. $1500 a year cap on prescription drugs.

5. Ability to bring in outside help at any time.

6. More non-union positions.

7. Ability to move people from one store to another at any time without notice.

And many more…. all concessions.

Needless to say a majority (97%) had the good sense to vote against this offer. What about the 3% who voted for it?? While I respect their right to vote whatever way they see fit, I fail to understand the reasoning behind it. They say they can’t afford to strike. They say we should be glad to have a job. My response, I don’t want a strike. But, I can’t afford the loss in wages and benefits either. While I am grateful to have a job, I’m not willing to give back everything I have worked hard for for the last 13 years. Especially when we’re dealing with a company that made a profit of $180 million in the last quarter of this year. Hardly, GM or Chrysler is it? Progress is not made by going backwards.

Hopefully this will all come to a head this weekend. We’re scheduled to vote on a final offer or to finalize a strike on Sunday. Stay tuned.

Well, I think I’ve rambled on enough. If you have any questions or comments feel free to ask.

Thanks for reading,
Barry

collinh:

So yesterday (July 30th), the long awaited iPhone 4 finally arrived in Canadian stores. Naturally there were lineups all over the place at the various retail locations, filled with people anxious to finally get their hands on one of these fantastic devices, myself included.

To be on the safe side, my brother and I decided to bite the bullet and go to our local Rogers Plus store incredibly early; 1:30 in the morning to be exact. We arrived, we were the first ones there and now it was just time to wait. For eight and a half hours.

At last, after a painfully long wait, 10:00 AM finally hit. They opened the doors and I was ready for my shiny new iPhone 4. I had of course, tested my upgrade eligibility online, and was indeed eligible for an early upgrade.

Read More

sirmitchell:

OOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

by Mike Mitchell

Yesterday, May 28, 2010, was another big day in the world of Apple fanboys and girls. Our good friends from Cupertino finally released the iPad internationally. I was really excited when I first heard that the 28th was the day. I gotta admit, I wanted one. Unfortunately my enthusiasm for the device didn’t last long. Why you ask? Well, there are several reasons but I’m only going to cover two of the them in this post.

My first issue is with the price. To get your hands on one of Steve’s newest toys it’s going to cost you $549 for the base 16GB Wi-Fi only model and $679 for the dual 3G/Wi-Fi version. If you want to go for the top of the line 64GB versions you’ll have to drop $749 for Wi-Fi only and $879 for 3G/Wi-Fi. Too expensive for me I’m afraid.

Lets compare that with what our neighbours to the south have to shell out for the same thing. For the W-Fi only models they are paying $499 for 16GB and $699 for 64GB. For the 3G/Wi-Fi versions, $629 for 16GB and $829 for 64GB. Not a lot of difference, but still cheaper.

My second issue is the lack of good content. While there are several apps for those who want to use the device as an e-reader, there is almost nothing as far as video. All three Canadian TV networks, the CBC, CTV and Global have excellent free streaming sites. In fact, I use them quite often to catch up on shows that I’ve either missed because I’m out or at work. Unfortunately, all three use Adobe Flash which is not supported on the iPhone, iPod Touch or the iPad.

The ABC network in the states has released a native app and CBS has fine tuned It’s site to use HTML5 streaming video to get around the flash issue. Sadly, neither one is available to Canadians. Time will tell whether the big 3 up here follow suit in some way.

So, until prices drop and and the content is there I’ll be taking a big iPass on the iPad.

If you have any comments feel free to leave them below.

Thanks for reading.
B.

1. Doman & Gooding (1)
2. Shapeshifters (1)
3. Jamiroquai (1)
4. Miguel Migs (1)
5. Mark Ronson (1)

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

1. Coldplay (3)
2. Tomoyasu Hotei (1)
3. The Killers (1)
4. The Ting Tings (1)
5. Jamiroquai (1)

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

1. Jamiroquai (1)
2. The Killers (1)
3. Bee Gees (1)
4. Thriving Ivory (1)
5. Mark Ronson (1)

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

Hey!!

Haven’t written in a while so I thought today was as good a day as any. I’ve been on holidays for the last 11 days. It was much needed and I can report that I am somewhat rested and ready to get back to routine. Sort of.

I’m not sure I’m ready to return to the world of the Big Z though. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s Zehrs. My employer since 1997. Many of you probably shop there in fact.

What’s wrong with Zehrs you ask? Well, the job in itself is not bad. I make good money and have great benefits, compared to some. What I dislike is the constant drama that goes along with it. Drama? How could there be drama working in a grocery store? Well, you would be surprised my friends.

While I count the vast majority of the people who I work with to be friends, there are some who see backstabbing and out right lying as a way of getting ahead. I have found it increasingly hard to find people who I can trust and who believe in loyalty. Two qualities I value the most in people. Protect yourself and throw everyone else under the bus seems to be the order of the day lately. The whole thing is actually quite sad and pathetic.

Adding to the drama is the uncertainty ahead. See, our contract ends July 1. Many people, including myself, are predicting a strike. The main issues seem to be wages, benefits, job security and our pension. The usual stuff I guess. Except this time the negotiations will be happening in a still down economy. What would I like to see changed or added? Well, being payed for Family Day would be a start. 5 sick days a year for part timers would also be welcome. Both of which are already enjoyed by full timers. A wage increase would be a benefit, but I can live with what i make now. We’ll see what happens I guess.

The expansion of the Walmart next to us on Bayfield street is also a source of stress. While Walmart is going to provide us with a great deal of added competition I don’t see this as a reason to push the panic button. At least not yet. By the way, I’m sorry for using the word ‘drama’ so much. It seems to be the only accurate word for the situation.

As for my personal life, I can’t really complain. I have a good family life. I’ve met some pretty awesome new people over the last little while. Mostly, from Twitter. Follow me if you haven’t already (shameless plug).

Anyways, It’s time to get ready for work. Sorry for not writing as often as I initially said I would. I’ll try to do better. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to comment below. Until next time.

Barry.