Brian's Big Yap

Or maybe they’re telling poor Matt Hasselbeck , who’s season is now over, that he can get back in the action by watching the playoffs on a new TV.

I don’t think this is quite what BioWare had in mind when they agreed to sponsor this page.

One of the things that first attracted me to politics in university was how ridiculously passionate we were about policy. We all believed we had the answers that would solve the country’s problems.

Just as significantly, though, was the fact that we generally listened to our opponents, and almost always understood where our opponents were coming from, even if we didn’t agree with them.

I’ve tried to carry that philosophy with me through my political career, so I find myself in the odd position of having to confess that I genuinely cannot understand what Canada’s Liberals are so upset about regarding a recent speech by Prime Minister Harper.

Continue reading Liberals offended, nay, outraged that Harper wants to win a majority?? –>

My 3 year-old son loves to play hide and seek. He’s not the most challenging opponent that I’ve played against, but he absolutely loves the game. My ridiculously compeitive nature means that I sometimes struggle to enjoy the game (and supress my urge to coach him), but my mother more than makes up for my shortcomings in this area.

She is officially the hide-and-seek queen of our family, since she plays almost endlessly with our son – who absolutely loves the game. Last week he picked a terrible hiding spot (even by his standards) and she took a second to snap a quick photo.

Continue reading Me and 60,000 of my closest friends. –>

The Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunication Commission (CRTC) will wade this week into the muddy waters of net neutrality. The familiar voices of industry and privacy/tech advocates have started the predictable debate, but it seems that – in true Canadian fashion – both sides are missing the boat.

Net neutrality is, at its heart, a debate about whether or not Internet service providers (ISPs) should be able to control its customers’ Internet usage, setting limits on how much of certain activities are allowed, and even prioritize sites or ads that come from sponsors of the ISP.

The debate has raged in the US for a few years now (see the condensed version here) but has only heated up earnest recently in Canada.

Continue reading Canadian net neutrality debate misses the point (so far). –>

I stumbled across two, unrelated services that seem to be harbingers of one of the biggest tech trends in the next few years.

The first is an app called Digsby that is a handy little tool that looks a lot like a standard instant messenger (IM) interface. What makes it unique is the fact that it integrates MSN Messenger, AIM, ICQ, Yahoo and others. I’ve seen that much before, but this great little tool also monitors social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn. It even allows you to monitor Gmail, Hotmail and other email accounts – including standard pop3 or imap accounts.

I’ve got accounts set up on most of these services, so people can pretty much reach me any way they want, now. Surprisingly, despite all this, my best efforts, and my abrasive personality, I still have people who want to call me. For that, I’ve got a home phone, a business phone, a personal cell phone and a work cell.

Continue reading Is app convergence the next major tech trend? –>