Ayn Rand

Remember my post about all the s**t Lululemon was getting about using an Ayn Rand quote on their reusable bags? (Refresh your memory by clicking here.) Well, Women’s Health Magazine posted this tweet the other day:

The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.
-Ayn Rand

While it is inspirational, I’m curious to see if Women’s Health Magazine gets the same sort of backlash from its readers (excluding me) for quoting such a controversial author. I guess we wait and see…

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Why the change? In an article from the Globe & Mail, the school’s president believes it will make the institution more recognizable around the world, more friendly to international students.

But what is really in a name? For as long as I can remember, we’ve always called it “Western.” Very rarely did you hear it called “University of Western Ontario.” So what’s the big deal? It’s the same school, with the same programs, and students, alumni, faculty and staff will still feel the same attachment to it.

How do you feel about the name change? Good? Bad? Could you care less? What if they changed the name of the university you attended?

As I was flipping through this week’s issue of Maclean’s magazine yesterday morning, I came upon a paragraph in the “Good News” section that the Feds plan to repeal a section of our Elections Act that makes the transmission of election results before all polls close illegal.

I think this is great. No more worrying if the tweet you send on election day will get you thrown in jail or if your Facebook post will net you a fine. Maybe this will encourage people out West to get out and vote! Oh, the PCs are winning in the east? I still have an hour until my poll closes, I better go vote for the other guy! Maybe if we know we can actually make a real change to a stagnant and stale governing body (as they all eventually become), we can finally break through the wall of voter turnout that is continually in the mid-60% range.

What do you think? Do you believe that announcing results as they come in will make for higher voter turnout?

Since social media is meant to be instant, do you keep hounding an organization until they respond? And if they do respond, do you keep bugging them if you don’t get an answer you like?

I’ve been on both sides of the fence on this one – the customer and the organization. I love it that some brands are so helpful online (WestJet is a great example), and I get frustrated when I feel like my complaints are not heard (hello, company who runs the transit system where I live). But, when I have my work hat on, and someone is reaching out to us about the same thing over and over again, even though we have already provided an answer to their question, I start to wonder when we can just ignore them…

Yes, I know, play the devil’s advocate and put myself in the customer’s shoes. But really, if you’ve asked something, and gotten a response, why keep asking the same question? To me, it just starts to sound like the five-year-old kid asking “Why?”

(sorry for no photo with this post, I wrote it on my BlackBerry)

Tonight, Team Canada lost in the semi-finals to Russia. The team that beat us last year in the final game, destroying our hopes, once again, of being the best of the best in Junior-level hockey around the globe.

All across Twitter and Facebook, posts were flying about how we couldn’t have won after the crappy second period and all the penalties Canada took. But these boys pulled their shit together in the third period to come back from a 6-1 deficit, scoring 4 goals in the third, eventually losing 6-5. It was a nailbiter of a game. My heart was racing, and at times, it was difficult to watch. But what surprised me the most is the lack of support fellow Canadians were giving these kids when the going got tough, only to jump on the bandwagon again once that third goal was scored.

It’s easy to be tough and to know everything when you’re watching the game from your couch, tweeting advice and displaying your coaching skills on Facebook. But what were you doing when you were 17? Worrying about your diploma exam at the end of the month, and who you were going to go to prom with.

These boys put everything they had on the line for our Canadian pride, and we need to support them. Sure, we won’t be playing Sweden for gold on Thursday, but what’s so bad about playing Finland for bronze? These kids have done what the majority of Canadians will never do or experience – they have held the hopes, dreams, pride, and patriotism of all Canadians on their shoulders since December 26. It’s our responsibility to support them all the way, no matter what the outcome.

As Washington Capitals star (and former Russian Junior team member) Alex Ovechkin said in a tweet after the game “it’s just hockey.”

courtesty www.thestar.com

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 2,100 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 35 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

The link to the article is here (sorry for the long link, I’m writing this from my BlackBerry): http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/for-gay-teens-words-of-understanding-and-support-on-youtube/article2281708/?service=mobile

Click here to read the article.

(This is also my 100th post! Yay!)