The Realm of Sean

I consider this to be a holiday album. I think that I started...

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 09:50:54 -0500

I consider this to be a holiday album. I think that I started listening to it in late 2009 as I rode the bus back and forth from school in the snow. Since then, whenever I hear one of the tunes from it, I start thinking of Christmas.

Occupy Nova Scotia and Remembrance Day - Degrading Public Opinion

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 22:08:16 -0400

If there’s one thing you avoid doing at all costs in politics, it’s pissing off veterans. The same thing goes the anyone or group, as in the battle for public opinion, veterans tend to reign victorious.

This is why the Occupy Nova Scotia demonstrators are only putting the ‘pedal-to-the-metal’ while driving straight for the edge of a cliff by choosing to remain in place despite the upcoming Remembrance Day ceremony at Grand Parade, something which is being framed as creating difficulties for those planning the ceremony.

The ‘Occupy’ movement has already faced a rather negative spotlight from the media which has had difficulties framing the movement, and in many cases has taken on the narrative of those opposing it. As George Lakoff says, you must frame yourself or risk being framed by others.

The movement is not necessarily aimed at a single grievance, which makes it different from many protests that we see on a regular basis (anti-War, against tuition increases, ect.) but instead is a general statement of, “We the people are not happy with the way things are going”. As the media has often taken the job of consistently framing movements through a consolidated list of demands, they seem confused as how to portray these protestors.

The lack of clarity makes it difficult to gain sympathizers to the cause. While a professor of mine said that the movement needs a leader in order to effectively communicate it’s message, I initially disagreed mainly because I felt having a single leader could risk de-legitimizing the entire movement by slandering that leader (see Assange and Wikileaks). Unfortunately, it seems that they face being further de-legitimized without someone speaking on their behalf.

What prompts this post is a discussion I heard earlier today on the bus between two women a couple of seats behind me. As we drove by Grand Parade, one said something along the lines of having to clear out “those protestors before Remembrance Day” followed a few seconds later by “how about get off your ass and get a job”. They then proceeded to talk about the awful bus service in the city, which I found amusing as one of the reasons for poor public transit services can be attributed to income inequality, which is one of the things those in Grand Parade are protesting against.

Last week, Mayor Kelly “requested” that the protestors leave by a set date in order for the city to prepare for upcoming activities such as the Remembrance Day ceremony. I commend Peter Kelly’s patience and realize this is a political move to frame himself as the reasonable leader, while the protestors are irrational hippies who oppose the honouring of Canadian veterans.

Apparently the protestors voted to continue to occupy the Grand Parade in response to the Mayor’s request for them to leave. I understand that they do not want to set a precedent of leaving the area every time an event is hosted, as this could be seen as them being weak. They must realize though that they will only face negative attacks if they remain in the Parade with their tents during an already tightly packed Remembrance Day ceremony.

The protestors should issue a release stating that they will temporarily leave the area out of respect for Canadian veterans and the Remembrance Day ceremony in order to allow for the greatest number of persons to be facilitated. They should state that they plan to return to the Parade following the ceremony and remain here until government recognizes and responds to their protests. It would also be preferable for them to elect a spokesperson for the movement in order to best take questions and respond to those wishing to talk ‘with’ the movement.

When it comes to public opinion - the veterans will always win.

I find this to be an incredibly moving piece of music. One of my...

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 08:06:06 -0400

I find this to be an incredibly moving piece of music. One of my favourite pieces.

Farewell to an iCon

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 17:21:00 -0400

When I opened my Facebook page after hours of working on a paper, I saw a post from Digg, “We will miss you, RIP!” followed by Steve’s name.

Initially, I felt like it was one of 4Chan’s usual “Goodnight Sweet Prince” jokes. Quickly typing “Steve Jobs” into Google taught me otherwise.

While I had figured his cancer was back when he resigned from his post as CEO in August, just like with Jack, I failed to recognize the possible gravity of situation.

I think what first drew me to Steve Jobs years ago was his ability to think, quite literally, outside the box. Being a bit of a futurist, I admired his ability to look to the future and push the boundaries in thinking of what technology can do.

This was the guy who took the MP3 player, which was largely a niche and relatively new device, and perfected it through a unique design and clean interface. If you take the bus, get on an airplane, or go to the gym, chances are you’ll see over 50% of those people with earphones in their ear and an ‘iDevice’ attached to the other end.

This is a guy who had the tenacity to think, “One day, everyone will have a computer in their household”. This was at a time when computers were reserved for universities and big business, often because they were too large and cumbersome to fit into one’s home. Taking on the big players in the industry, Apple was able to force them to compete through innovation in order to survive.

Most recently, we have seen this after the creation of the iPhone. Beforehand, there really wasn’t a phone that “just worked”. Cellphones were clunky, tedious devices that often were more trouble than they were worth. The Motorola RAZR was considered one of the most unique on the market, simply because it was thin. Since the introduction of the iPhone, you’ve seen a boom in competition in the smart-phone market, many of which have begun to offer features that even exceed the current hardware of the current iPhone devices.

Similarly, you’ve seen this happen in the tablet market after the introduction of the iPad. Say what you will about the device, but it’s remarkably similar to something you would have seen in Star Trek back in the 1960’s, a show based hundreds of years from now. All of this is an example of how the man with the vision was able to push the envelope of technological innovation forward, not just through his own products, but by forcing those in the industry to innovate as well.

I remember back in high school in my Entrepreneurship class, we were asked to make a poster or visual medium about an entrepreneur. I chose Steve - But instead of doing a poster, I decided to take it a step up and make a 13 minute video (which you can find below). I suppose this was a means of making a visual record of all of the information I already knew about him.

Saying that one misses Steve because, “Oh no, now he won’t be able to make more things for me to buy” sounds disgustingly consumerist. When “famous” individuals die, we often see social media websites go into a sort of ‘circle-jerk’-mode where everyone is trying to be the first to tell someone else. Less caring about the actual passing of the individual, but more excited that something significant happened in the world that they’re able to talk about for the next two days.

What I’m sad over is that there is one less person out there willing to push the envelope of what is possible; one less person out there willing to “Think Different”. I’m an optimist when it comes to the future of mankind, I believe that people who are able to think outside the box will be the ones who help further push this race forward.

Without a doubt, the vision that Steve had when it came to technology was remarkable, making him one of the most notable individuals from the ‘Computer-age’ of the 20th century.

It’s sad to think that we’ll no longer hear “One more thing…” and proceed to see the the boundaries of technological innovation be further extended.

Farewell Mr. Jobs.

_______

Steve Jobs: A Biography of an iCon

It’s coming…

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 08:00:06 -0400

It’s coming…

“Come on, Steve! It’ll be a great profile...

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 18:44:20 -0400

“Come on, Steve! It’ll be a great profile pic!”

Cheering for executions, shouting “Let him die!”...

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:42:26 -0400

Cheering for executions, shouting “Let him die!” about uninsured Americans who become ill, and now booing American soldiers who happen to be gay.

What the hell has the Republican Party become?

Aaron Biber, 89, stand outside his shop. It was ransacked during...

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 06:39:15 -0400

Aaron Biber, 89, stand outside his shop. It was ransacked during the U.K. riots.

[Source]

Photo

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 18:16:32 -0400

Terrorism is not inherently linked with Islam - The Norwegian attacks

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 13:15:11 -0400

As I sat at work looking for any energy-sector related news that I could include in the association’s daily bulletin, news of a bombing in Norway began to trickle its way through my RSS feeds. Soon after, reports began to surface of a gunman at a Norwegian political party’s youth camp. It goes without saying that these attacks are outrageous and a tragedy.

Quite quickly, the boming and massacre was labelled as a “terrorist attack”. This is a fair and fitting definition of this event. The bomb that blew in Oslo hit a building housing offices affiliated with the Prime Minister. A terrorist attacked is regularly defined as an attack against civilians launched by political motives.

What was interesting to me is that some apparently link the term “terrorist attack” exclusively with Islamic Extremists. Those who do are likely unfamiliar with the terrorists of Northern Ireland, or the right-wing extremists who carried out the Oklahoma City bombings. In both cases, as well as thousands more, the perputrators of these attacks were not practioners of Islam.

Those who inherintly link terrorism and Islam are not necessarily at fault for their erroneous beliefs. The events of 9/11 became the most prominent example of a terrorist attack for those in the Western world, and the media began to use the term almost exclusively with attacks launched by Islamic extremist organizations such as Al-Qaeda. In the aftermath of 9/11, terrorism was increasingly framed as a product of the Islamic religion; the ignorance is astounding.

What is terribly worrisome is that when those in the public and media immediately hear of an attack and assume that is must have been carried out by a member of the Al-Qaeda network. This is precisely what happened in the U.K. when the Sun ran a front-page story shortly after the Norwegian attacks declaring it an “Al-Qaeda Massacre - Norway’s 9/11”. This sort of sensationlist, knee-jerk reaction by the media to sell papers is quite concerning (although, The Sun is a Murdoch paper, so this does not come as a surprise).

When I heard of these attacks, I did not immediately think that Al-Qaeda was behind them. My initial predicition was that it was an pschyotic individual disgruntled by government, which appears to have been the case.

Two things that should be highlighted to the general public are, first, that terrorist attacks can be committed by any individual, not just those blindly devoted to religious ideals. Second, that some media outlets, when lacking any solid information, will make wild assumptions regardless that further higlight their sensationalist ways.

I read a comment on Youtube saying, “If Jon Steward becomes president, I want Stephen Colbert...

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 20:13:18 -0400

I read a comment on Youtube saying, “If Jon Steward becomes president, I want Stephen Colbert to be VICE president”. I was going to say that a comedian would never be taken seriously as a candidate for the Presidency of the United States.

Then I remembered a Hollywood actor was elected President in the 1980’s.

Photo

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 15:48:19 -0400

The Unions vs. Harper - And the Weakening of the Middle Class

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 07:57:57 -0400

“Force the strikers back to work!” That’s the mantra of the Conservative Party of Canada as they prepare to vote on legislation to send striking Canada Post employees back to their jobs as the two sides have been unable to reach an agreement so far. Heck, why would Canada Post even bother negotiating with the workers if they knew all along that the government would eventually force the union members back to work?

This legislative push ties in with the typical Conservative ideology of diminishing the power of unions as much as possible. This is not just an attack on Canada Post, but on all unions, on collective bargaining rights in general. Unions are seen by many Conservatives as money grabbing powerhouses that are in place to stall economic growth. Others see the unions as being as bad as the corporations that they fight.

In some circumstances, sure, this can be the case. The most recent example that I can think of is the teachers union in Washington D.C. While watching the documentary, ‘Waiting for Superman’, I learned of how one woman and her staff were trying to change the education system to better benefit the students by bringing in a wage system that rewards those teachers who are good at what they do. This was a policy solution to try and incentivize being a good teacher, as the district had a problem with poor quality teachers plaguing their schools. Unfortunately for the system, the union would not even allow this new incentivized wage system to go to a vote.

This is one example of stubborn unions who are unwilling to accept change, but we must not discount the benefits that unions in North America have brought to all of us. Unions are one of the primary reasons that the general public has sick pay, minimum wage, and vacation pay. As well, an increase in union wages helps to increase the wages of other sectors which are not unionized. Unions were also strong advocates for workplace safety measures, helping to create a safer workplace for all employees through legislation.

Apparently, those on the Conservative-right are successfully dividing the middle-class into pro-union, anti-union camps as I’ve increasingly heard many speak out against the unions in both the Canada Post situation, as well as Air Canada.

For example, here is a comment posted by “Marie” on a CTV news article with regards to the strike:

“Perhaps the striking postal workers need a little check on reality. They have big paycheques, banked sick days and you name. Most people don’t get that. I’m waiting for a cheque to come to me that I truly need, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the striking people. We need our income too.”

Marie takes on this situation with the “I don’t have it, so neither should they” approach. It’s actually sad how bitter she seems over the fact that these employees are trying to fight for their benefits, and how she is taking the side of the corporation over the people who work for it. Instead of shaking her finger at the people working for Canada Post, maybe she should look at why “most people don’t get that”. It’s not necessarily because its unreasonable, but more so that CEOs and those in upper management like to collect as much money as possible to put into their own pockets, instead of distributing it amongst the workers.

So in closing I would like to point out two facts.

1. Canada post has netted profits for 15-years in a row. They’re not on the verge of an collapse.

2. I’m waiting for some sunglasses to arrive in the mail, but I’m willing to wait indefinitely if it means men and women across the country are able to keep their collective bargaining rights.

N.B. Government brews weak Minimum Wage Policy

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 14:54:00 -0400

Apparently New Brunswick Labour Minister Martine Coulombe is considering some rather poor policy decision that will negatively affect the majority of service sector employees in the province.

According to a CBC article, the Minister is considering a “two-tier system that would pay workers younger than 18 or trainees a lower wage”. Now, most people may initially think, “Who cares?”, but this is likely to have a negative effect on those over 18 working in the service sector.

Assuming that there are plenty of under-18 workers in the province (which I think is a safe bet) the result will be employers hiring these young employees into positions where they are directly substitutable for older workers.

For example, grocery stores like ‘Superstore’ will be more inclined to hire young workers as they, for the most part, can do just as good a job ringing through food as a 35 year old employee. The result will be not only a younger workforce being hired for these types of jobs, but some employers may be biased to give these cheaper employees more hours, pushing out the older workforce.

This could result in the older workforce heading to school to receive more training, finding jobs that better utilize their skills, or increased poverty as they can produce no greater benefit to a company than a sub-18 worker, making them unattractive to employers. As those under 18 would tend to live at home, whereas those above that age are more likely to live independently, poverty would rise. An unemployed, uneducated workforce is also much more likely to turn to crime than otherwise.

While this policy is likely meant to appease small business, its effects will likely have a negative net effect if implemented.

To Infinity- Or at least a Coalition

Mon, 02 May 2011 17:10:40 -0400

Layton really reminds me of Buzz Lightyear in this commercial

Here we go again.. Election 2011

Sun, 01 May 2011 20:25:29 -0400

I’ve been rather quiet on the federal election of 2011 so far. I suppose the main reason is that intially, I didn’t know where the campaign would end up. I didn’t know if Harper would surge thanks to a Dion-style blunder by Ignatieff, or would Harper’s track record since the last election end up turning the electorate against him.

What I didn’t expect at all was a surge by the NDP. Yet here we are, one day before the election, and the results are still difficult to predict

Going through the leaders, Stephen Harper and his Conservatives have become the most unattractive choice in my opinion. I’m not a hyper-partistan person; I used to support the Conservative Party, specifically Stephen Harper. Alas since 2008 he has lost my confidence. No longer do his actions show that he is guided by reason and transparency. What completely lost my support was his destruction of the long-form census. This highlights that Harper is no longer interested being guided by reason and empirical evidence, but by that “gut feeling”. Similarly is his views on what Canada’s justice system should be shaped into.

I like Michael Ignatieff, even more so when contrasted to Stephen Harper. He’s an academic, something which I have much respect for, and seems to be guided by reason more than than blind ideological drive. Unfortunately he seems to be unable to translate his wisdom into votes. I was talking to someone who said, “I don’t know why, but I just don’t like Ignatieff”. This is something I’ve heard from many people with regards to the Liberal leader. When this is the stance that one seems to generate on default, then there is an obvious problem.

Elizabeth May seems to be most concerned with winning her seat in British Columbia. This is a smart move politically, as she needs to get the Green Party’s foot in the door, and then focus on expanding afterwards. To many, the party is still seen as a fringe party, partially due to its lack of representation in Parliament. I think that May will have beneficial effects on parliament as she helps to change the current political culture in place in Ottawa.

Jack Layton is- well- Jack Layton. The guy has been around for 10 years now and is now front and center in this election. No longer is the NDP a small, hopeless third-party on the national scale. Now there is a possibility that the man with the ‘stache could actually become the Prime Minister of Canada. Layton has less for other parties to attack as he both has not been in power, so does not have a history of governing to attack, nor does he seem to have any skeletons in his closet.

Ever since Barack Obama began his race for the presidency of the United States, Canadians have begun looking for their own ‘Obama’ character. They seem to want a character who will speak of change, one who is a bit of a celebrity and charismatic, and one who can motivate the country and possesses a vision. Michael Ignatieff lacks these characteristics, so Stephen Harper is the ‘safe’ choice, as he has proven to govern while not destroying the Canadian economy. Now Jack Layton has come forward with an ‘orange wave’ of support across the country. While he is not young, nor is he as charismatic as Obama, the man represents a fresh change from the Red/Blue domination of the Canadian government.

May 2nd will be an interesting day as regardless of the outcome, the repercussions of the election are sure to have significant effects on all the parties, as well as Canada.

The Cesspit that is the Sportsplex Bus Terminal

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 17:53:54 -0400

Want to ruin my morning?

Aside from running out of milk for my Cheerios, the most effective way to make me sour at the start of the day is to make me stop off at the Dartmouth Sportsplex bus terminal. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, count yourself lucky.

I generally like the idea of public transportation. It’s like being having a chauffeur, except he is always late, and scared of parking lots as well as dropping you off at your doorstep. Oh, and you’re being driven around in the company of 30+ strangers. While I generally have no problem with this, some individuals can make it rather unpleasant. I’ve discovered throughout my public-transport ventures that the Sportsplex bus stop tends to attract the most unpleasant individuals is the Sportsplex terminal. This bus hub is like the ‘Bowser’ of bus stations; it’s big, bad, and rather smelly. This place is apparently so prone to incidents that it requires security personel in the evenings to deter brawls (I’m sure ineffectively).

The small island of cement contains a couple of small covered shelters which put you in close contact with everyone else waiting for their bus. These people tend to consist of 3 majorities: People with imaginary friends, assholes who will blow smoke in your face, and ‘ganstas’. Often individuals will fall under two such categories. All of whom are perfectly willing to throw their coffee cups, cigarettes, pop cans, receipts and candy wrappers all over the place.

This general lack of regard for others, the lack of lucidity, and mischievous youth makes the Sportsplex have a similar effect on me as the Dementors of the Harry Potter realm; it sucks the joy out of me. It’s incredibly depressing to be in such a miserable environment.

While there are certainly worse places to be on earth, this is one of the worst in HRM. If you can avoid making a transfer at the Sportsplex bus terminal - do so.

The Playstation Network

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 06:36:07 -0400

The Playstation Network

The older I get, the more I appreciate Calvin and Hobbes.

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 08:18:36 -0400

The older I get, the more I appreciate Calvin and Hobbes.

Facebook brings forth some 'Questions'

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:12:42 -0400

Facebook recently implemented its own native ‘polling system’, allowing users to ask and answer questions from both their friends as well as the larger Facebook community. When I logged on and saw my Facebook wall cluttered with questions such as, “Which is better? Coke or Pepsi?”, I quickly realized the genius behind this for Facebook. By adding this new feature, the website further cemented itself as the single greatest source of consumer information on the web and allows corporations to further manipulate social media to their benefit.

Quite simply, these sorts of questions act as a free, viral means of data collection on the general Facebook user-base. Facebook’s 500 million users increasingly represent a broad range of the developed world’s population giving those seeking data a wide array of users to gather information on. For example, going back to the ‘Coke vs. Pepsi’ question; looking at the data from this, companies are able to determine (depending on privacy settings) the sex, age, approximate location, as well as networks of those who voted on the question. While the ‘Coke vs. Pepsi’ question that popped up on my feed was likely asked by some person who wanted to know the opinions of his/her friends, it will be very easy for corporations to ask similar questions and distribute them on a grand scale.

Most likely, this new feature is a precursor for a new means of revenue for the website down the road. I would not be surprised to see corporately sponsored ‘questions’ on my Facebook feed by the end of the year seeking my opinions on various products and world events, all of which will be used by corporations to better market or distribute products.

Facebook needs to make money, and the site may be looking to make its books look better before a possible public offering next year. Alas, this question system, as harnessed by advertisers, will be an incredible source of information and could also spark a significant outlash from the Facebook community.

Although, due to the network effect that social-media websites suffer from (one’s utility only increases if others use the service) its unlikely that even a huge breach of privacy would demolish the giant that is Facebook anytime soon.