iMatt :: The Blog of Matt Clare

During lunch with Don Cherry in Philadelphia Ron MacLean responded to someone looking for help to save a drowning man by jumping into the Delaware to save the man who was apparently trying to take his life. Written up here: http://www.theprovince.com/mobile/story.html?id=3108588

My response was to make fun of this man who is national treasure:

1. Ron MacLean jumps into the Delaware river to save a man while Don Cherry stands on shore and signals rescue aircraft with his jacket.
2. Ron MacLean was able to rescue that guy because he is used to working with dead weight.
3. Ron MacLean was able to be cool under pressure because he’s used to working with the man beside him complaining that he’s running out of time.
4. Run MacLean asked the man he pulled out of the river in Philadelphia if he received a “brotherly shove”. The man asked to be thrown back.
5. Run MacLean saved this mans life, but he was trying to take his life. Bud Selig, commissioner of Major League Baseball, has ruled “too bad” he still has to die.

Matt McKeon has created an excellent “Evolution of Privacy on Facebook” infographic. It’s a great demonstration of how what was a great private place to share information surreptitiously became a tool for selling your information to marketers and disclosing your private information to the entire Internet.

The Evolution of Facebook Privacy on MattMckeon.com

It is worth noting that Matt McKeon’s infographic assumes a user has left their privacy settings at the default.  If you go through the 50 settings with more than 170 options you can eventually configure your Facebook privacy to be more like 2006.  The New York Times has their own infographic to explain these settings:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/05/12/business/facebook-privacy.html

If you haven’t been there yet I highly recommend MP Dan McTeague’s “Tomorrow’s Gas Prices Today” web site. It delivers what it promises based on a formula that factors in today’s closing price for bulk gas on the New York exchange and projects tomorrow’s price.

–Updated Friday; March 12, 2010
The site even provides an RSS feed of the prices (featured above)!

If you have a phone with a mobile browser I recommend bookmarking either the web site or one of the RSS feeds. You could even use that RSS feed and a service like RSSFWD to forward that information to your E-Mail (or Blackberry, etc.)

Why can’t you reach www.brocku.ca, lms.brocku.ca and kumu.brocku.ca (and more) right now, or at least at Wednesday; January 21, 2009 at 12:15 EST? Apparently there’s a power outage across St. Catharines.

If Brock University’s back on the Internet it’s probably fixed, but if not then there’s probably still now power at Brock University.

It’s official, as of 12:48:

Due to a power outage affecting portions of the Niagara Region,
Brock University is closed and classes are cancelled for Wednesday,
January 21.

All other campus programs, events and activities are also cancelled.
It is expected that the university will reopen on Thursday, January 22
at 7am.

Listen to local radio stations or watch www.BrockU.CA for updates.

Tonight I was at my local CUPE meeting. As a contract instructor (among other things) at Brock University I’m a member of CUPE 4207. This has generally had little influence on my daily thoughts, but last week when CUPE Ontario president Sid Ryan made his statement condemning the invasion of Gaza… and then some, my membership in CUPE Ontario was more top of mind.

For those who would like to meet Sid Ryan, I know he will be at Brock University on Friday to talk about CUPE’s “Unbottle It! – Kick the bottle. Tap into public drinking water.” campaign and speaking with the local membership. I would encourage anyone who wants to speak with Sid Ryan and Maude Barlow about the commercialization and commoditification of a natural resource they are welcome to do so Friday evening. If you want to take issue with Mr. Ryan’s comments about Israel I suggest you contact CUPE 4207 about when that can be done (and not confuse the two events).

I have no issue with the commendation of Isreal’s disproportional reaction to Hamas rockets, and I have no problems with CUPE’s previous or future condemnations of Israel’s treatment of Palestine, but threats to make anyone denounce anything as a condition of employment is not something I want to be associated with. Gratefully, CUPE Ontario has clarified/stepped back from this position but it’s my hope this doesn’t even make it to the May 27-30^th CUPE Ontario convention — but if it does I know I’ll be interested in making sure it is not adopted.

I’ve been waiting to post comments on the Canadian GP’s removal from the 2009 Formula 1 calendar until their was a definitive outcome. Officials from various levels of government and the Montreal promoter were attempting to save the race and had met with the Formula 1′s commercial rights holder, Bernie Ecclestone, about what could be done to save the race. Apparently we’re at that point: Auto Sport.com: Attempts to reinstate Canada fail

With the Canadian GP now off the FIA calender for 2009 and Abu Dhabi, a race that is owned by Bernie Ecclestone, now joining the schedule have this comment to share:

Go to hell Bernie Ecclestone.

Congratualtions on the victory!

It took almost a full year to mount your challenge for the the number one spot, but you finally achieved it this week. Many asked if you were too young for this role, many asked if the world was not ready to give the number one spot to a black man, but you proved them wrong.

Your determination and willingness to fight right to the very end demonstrated your innate skill; skill that was evident from when you first appeared on the scene a few years ago. The only thing that is regrettable is that your victory means that your chief opponent, who was very deserving himself, is denied the victory that he too had worked so hard for.

This is why I send my most sincere congratulations to you, Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 Formula 1 Champion!

Thanks for the imagepaulwoolrich

Rick Mercer was recently at Brock University to help spread the word on the Spread the Net campaign. The goal of the campaign is to have Canadians buy simple Mosquito nets at $10 each that will be given to children in Liberia and Rwanda to give them a place to sleep protected from mosquitos and the threat of Malaria.

Everyone at Brock University would love it if you could make a donation at: http://my.e2rm.com/TeamPage.aspx?EventID=15008&LangPref=en-CA&TeamID=84330

Its simple way to make a big impact and save lives.

www.spreadthenet.org” width=”380″ height=”71″ border=”0″ />

Additionally, I will NOT be buying the Rogers iPhone on July 11th after previously calling it the best devices ever made. The only way to affect change in the Canadian cell phone market is to resist it. Sorry Rogers, you ruined the iPhone.

Just submitted the following comment to The Creators’ Copyright Coalition article The Hockey Song? Blame Michael Geist.

I’m often just as apt to do it, but it fascinates me how different people interpret the same vents differently. Remember your semiotics, all meaning is negotiated!

Your article doesn’t make clear how refusal to pay for something and then not using it (in this case the Hockey Song) is anti-copyright? I thought it had something to do with payment/permission for use and no use without it – the CBC’s not even trying to argue a fair use/fair dealing situation.

Unless the only thing copyright stands for is paying people, and if that’s the case then I submit that its in fact you who’ve fallen into the “kid downloading an MP3 mindset”.

In any case, thanks for contributing to the public dialogue.

I did forget to divulge my conflict of interest: mattclare.ca/wordpress/2008/05/31/i-won-tfc-tickets/

Ironically, the op-ed posting on the educational exceptions of Bill C-611, Straw in the wind: the mindset behind C-61, is bang on.

Thus concludes post 500.