Generations When I was growing up in the 1950s and onward there was not all this talk about generations that seems to have become a fascination of the last twenty years. Although I became aware of the baby boom and even the term baby boomers (now apparently just boomers), I
Continue readingTag: technology
Things Are Good: Dead Laptops are Fantastic Sources for new Projects
E-Waste continues to be a growing problem in our waste streams. This is unfortunate since it doesn’t need to be this way as people can use computers for longer, or, use the laptop for parts. In the video above you can get some really neat ideas for DIY projects all
Continue readingThings Are Good: A Map to find Organizations Fighting Climate Change
Climatescape is a new web-based database to help you find organizations around that world that are trying to save the planet from environmental destruction. It can be hard to find groups on the other side of the world to partner with, or just to find a local organization that is
Continue readingThings Are Good: Canada to Update Digital Privacy Laws, Hold Companies Accountable for Breaches
Last year Canadians witnessed too many data breaches of their data and the federal government is reacting. Large Canadian corporations didn’t do enough to protect their databases against attackers and as a result personal data of Canadians is now in the hands of criminals. Canada will now follow the lead
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The Greatest MIstake Humanity Ever Made
There are those who argue that the greatest mistake we humans ever made was agriculture. And they have a point. For 200,000 years we lived a hunter-gatherer way of life, and we did rather well. Evolving in Africa, we came to occupy every continent on Earth except for Antarctica. Then
Continue readingThings Are Good: Tips for Remaining Anonymous in the Surveillance Age
Surveillance capitalism benefits companies who have large datasets about what people do and where they are – without the consent of those being monitored. The pervasive modern surveillance which is around us everyday from our phones to private cameras can be connected to large corporations or governments for nefarious purposes.
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: Age of Oblivion: Another End of Decade Rant
Of course calendars are a construct and don’t mean anything, but the end of the year and, even more so, the end of the decade are useful times to take stock. In pop culture, we have the Ecco Homo moment as a cultural foreboding – the chutzpah to insist on a fix that pretends
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Bernie Sanders and Rashida Tlaib discuss Donald Trump’s holiday menu of serving the rich and feasting on the poor, while Paul Krugman comments on the cruelty of a Trump Christmas. And Nick Purdon and Leonardo Palleja tell the stories of people facing
Continue readingA Puff of Absurdity: The Greatest Propaganda Machine in History
Sacha Baron Cohen (aka Ali G. and Borat, among others) won an award from the Anti-Defamation League. Here’s his 25 minute acceptance speech. It’s in writing, abridged a bit, below the video if you’d rather skim than watch. (Emphasis is mine.) “Today, around the world, demagogues appeal to our worst
Continue readingThings Are Good: Wikipedia Founder’s New Social Project Starts Strong
If you’re like everyone else then you still have a Facebook profile that you barely check, yet still need. Yes it’s handy to be in touch with people using one network, but let’s face it: Facebook is garbage. The amount of lies spread and the lack of effective content moderation
Continue readingThings Are Good: Hactivist Offers 100k to Hack Evil Corporations
The infamous (and very talented) hacker Phineas Fisher has offered $100,000 to people who hack into oil companies, banks, and other companies. There’s a catch: the hacks better be used to help fight the climate crisis or inequality. Since hackers like to remain anonymous Fisher will pay bounties for the
Continue readingThings Are Good: Little Robot Friends: Kids Should have Fun with Code
Little Robot Friends is a Toronto-based startup that wants kids to not only be comfortable with code, they want kids to have fun playing with it too. The company runs traditional classes which teach coding practices like similar educational services. The neat thing with Little Robot Friends is that they
Continue readingThings Are Good: Autonomous Objects
The sharing economy should be about sharing more than profits. At least that’s what the thinkers behind the sharing economy called for in the early days of the term; however we’ve seen it evolve into a profit-driven notion like rental cars and the ever-questionable AirBnB. Frustrated by this greedy turn
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: The state, not the private sector, invented the modern economy
I read an article in The Economist a while ago that insisted the state should constrain itself to providing basic services and otherwise stay out of the economy. That is, of course, a common belief on the right. The Economist, however, ought to know better. Let us assume that governments
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Saturday Morning Links
Assorted content for your weekend reading. – Ernest Canning writes about the importance of treating corporatism as a specific and extreme position, rather than allowing it to define the political centre. And Norm McKee rightly argues that Canada’s federal election campaign needs to include a focus on ensuring the rich
Continue readingThings Are Good: Try These Ethical Alternatives to Popular Apps
Large tech companies find ways to make money off of your data without you knowing about it, they might even be sharing personal information about you with governments or advertisers. If that makes you uncomfortable (I hope it does) then you should consider looking for alternatives to mainstream software services
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Did the Chinese learn their trade antics from the U.S.?
The China/U.S. trade war heats up. The rest of us get dragged along willy-nilly. Nonetheless, there is a lot of sympathy for the American case. The Chinese have hardly walked their talk about being free traders. Ont the contrary, they have engaged in a number of nefarious trade practices. They
Continue readingThings Are Good: Noteworthy Companies from Collision Conference
21 May 2019; Chelsea F. Briganti, left, CEO, LOLIWARE, Dianna Cohen, centre,rnCEO, Plastic Pollution Coalition, and Catherine Abreu, Executive Director, Climate Action Network Canada, on planet : tech Stage during day one of Collision 2019 at Enercare Center in Toronto, Canada. Photo by Sam Barnes/Collision via Sportsfile There were a
Continue readingThings Are Good: Canada and Global Fishing Watch Trying to Save the Oceans
21 May 2019; Stephen Leahy, International Environmental Journalist, National Geographic, left, with, Andrew Sharpless, CEO, Oceanaon centre and Sean Casey, Parliamentary Secretary, Government of Canada, on Planet : Tech Stage during day one of Collision 2019 at Enercare Center in Toronto, Canada. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Collision via Sportsfile Our oceans
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