Bringing Creativity and Intelligence Together

Last week, I was interviewed by Lisa Wolansky of Shaw Television about my participation in the sport of Ultimate Frisbee.

This piece works on a number of levels:

1.  It explains in very simple terms how Ultimate Frisbee is played.  There are several pieces where the narration and the action in the scene have been synchronized, especially on the word/action for the ‘pancake’ catch.

2.  It describes the kinds of people who get involved in Ultimate Frisbee, from beginners to competitive players like Adam Ward, showing that Ultimate Frisbee has a lot to offer people from all skill levels.

Areas for Improvement:

1.  It would have been nice for the website of the Calgary Outdoor Club to show up or be mentioned somewhere in the piece.  Maybe a ‘for more information, check out Calgary Outdoor Club dot com!”  Sadly, it totally slipped my mind to ask for this.

Next time, baby.  Next time…

On a whim, I decided to look for other news items on Ultimate Frisbee and came across this glitzy piece:

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Last week I took a pilgrimage to the Edmonton Fringe Festival and watched 13 plays over 4 days.   Overhead, the haze from the forest fires in British Columbia cast a pall on the weather — that and the rain.

Fortunately, we had decided against taking our bikes in favor of taking the Edmonton Trolley from Jasper Avenue to the Fringe Grounds.   The trolley with the most character was the Melbourne Trolley.  It is also where we met Gregor the beetle. (more about that later)  Also, The Fringe Festival had made a deal with Edmonton Transit to offer free rides from the grounds every day after 6 pm.

The Edmonton Fringe Festival is the largest Fringe festival in North America and offers hundreds of plays from all over the world.  These plays are  usually composed of one or two actors with a minimal set and last between an hour and an hour and a half.

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Rick Mercer has to be one of the ballsiest Canadians I have ever met.

Between his ankle biting work on ‘Talking to Americans’ to the antics he gets up to with Canadian politicians, it is difficult to know if there’s anything in this world the Rick is afraid of.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to work with X-Weighted, a reality program that challenges individuals, couples and families  to lose weight by changing their diet and fitness activities.

In this show, a family was challenged to bike 4.5 km into Little Elbow and then climb 3.5 km to the top of Nahahi Ridge in Kananaskis country located on the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.  The challenge for the camera crew was to keep ahead of this very energetic group.

As Production Assistant, it was my job to carry the lead camera, batteries and other gear.  All in all, it was about 80 pounds of kit to carry up a 1300 meter elevation gain while hustling ahead of a family working to beat a fitness challenge.  To say that there was a fitness challenge for the crew as well would not be an exaggeration.

It had rained a great deal the day before and we were concerned that, if the rain continued, the shoot would have to be cancelled.  Fortunately, the only challenge we had was the occasional muddy trail and muggy atmosphere.  The views of the Elbow Valley were spectacular with Glasgow Mountain, Cornwall Mountain and  Banded Peak dominating the horizon.  The clouds and wind (especially near the ridge line) were a blessed respite from the hot sun.

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On June 26, 2010, Calgary was the site for the first ever Smash for a Cure in support of the Canadian Diabetes Association.  The idea behind Smash for a Cure was to enable people who were frustrated with their technology (computers, cellphones, printers, etc.,) to vent their frustration using a variety of implements in an environmentally responsible manner.

All this for a minimum donation to the Canadian Diabetes Association of ten dollars.

Implements used to smash computers ranged from the relatively workaday tools such as sledge hammers, pitchforks and crowbars to the more sporty selections of hockey sticks and golf clubs.  Hapless computers and other pieces of faithless equipment were speared, tossed, flattened, dismembered and disemboweled with gusto while Don Cherry impersonator Clark Robinson provided color commentary.

Also in attendance was Darth Vader and members of the 501st Badlands Garrison Storm Troopers.  Vader was especially aggressive as he was to encouraged to “USE THE FORCE!” He was overheard muttering to a 4- in-1 HP Inkjet printer, “You have failed me for the last time”  and elected to use a golf club instead of either a force choke or blue electricity to destroy his robotic foe.

The centerpiece of the event was the Heavy Destruction Zone  where, for a minimum $100 donation to the Canadian Diabetes Association, you can use a 20 foot backhoe to smash your computer to kingdom come.  This piece of equipment was the Equalizer and was very popular with those who had trouble with lifting the sledgehammer.

Now, one may think that smashing computers would be an environmentally damaging activity.  However, it is not.

Computers are provided by the Electronics Recycling Association that it collects from its donation locations and brought on site for the smashing.  They are stripped of any the potentially damaging parts ( batteries, toner cartridges, etc.,) removed for proper disposal and the computer itself, and indeed any computer more than 5 years old, is recycled at a rate of $82.50 per ton regardless of its condition.

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Just finished working with members of the Provincial (Alberta) Health Ethics Network to promote the importance of their organization to the delivery of quality health care in Alberta.  At the beginning of March, the Alberta Government was set to pull its funding and close its doors effective April 1, 2010.

Due to the work that I and others did to promote PHEN,  the Ministry of Health and Wellness has agreed to provide PHEN with funding to continue operations for the 2010-11 fiscal year.

The Provincial Health Ethic Network (PHEN) is a group of trained ethicists who provide advice on ethical issues to health professionals, government and the general public.  Given that science is giving us increasing powers over the health, quality of life and the longevity of an individual, while at the same time challenging us with an aging population, the question of ethics has never been more important.

In late February 2010, I was approached by a PHEN member who was determined not to let this organization, of which he was one of the founders, go down without a fight.  We met and mapped out a strategy to get PHEN membership engaged in saving their beloved organization.

There were two thrusts to this strategy: a communication strategy pointing out to Alberta Health decision makers the value of PHEN to Alberta’s health professionals, and an emotional appeal to PHEN members, all of whom have contributed, to a greater or lesser degree, to PHEN’s reputation as an internationally recognized ethical resource.

I’m currently working with a client who has just opened up a computer repair shop as an adjunct to his onsite IT and web design business.  His desire was to combine his need to have a place to meet his clients with a business that would provide regular income.

In addition to having a multi-use location, each of his lines of business also mutually support one another: a small businessman brings his computer in for upgrade, decides to revamp his website and upgrade his office network.

The market for computer repair is growing: computers are becoming obsolete as new and more powerful programs (primarily games) are being demanded by customers and the spread of more complex computer viruses and malware will continue unabated for the forseeable future.

We are currently working together to develop ideas to make his business successful:

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In March of 2009, I discovered a product that my friend was using to deal with pressure-related headaches he suffered from whenever a thunderstorm blew through our city.

Given that he was uncomfortable taking headache medication or other drugs to deal with the pain, his chiropractor prescribed a Posture Pump exerciser which, when used regularly, would help relax his neck, return curvature to his spine and relieve what he believed to be a pinched nerve that was causing my friend trouble.

The problem that he was having with the Posture pump was that the recommended exercise involved inflating and releasing the air bladder every 10 seconds over a 5 minute period (the warm up) followed by a sustained inflation over the next 5 minutes (the sustain) and then a second 5 minute interval of inflating and releasing the air bladder every 10 seconds (the cool down).

It was very difficult for him to keep track of 10 second intervals over the 5 minute period and he  had a habit of dozing off during the 5 minute sustain period.

My solution to this problem was not only innovative, it enabled him to make the Posture Pump a regular part of his workout activities.   It made using the Posture Pump so easy to use that even his Chiropractor now uses it in his regular practice.

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Running a political campaign is one of the most challenging and exhausting activities possible.  Running a typical campaign will mean 12+ hour long work days for several months.

While nothing can eliminate the stress of the countdown to Election Day, the proper organization of a political campaign can avoid some unnecessary challenges.

Politics and elections have entered other aspects of our lives, from corporate governance to promoting issues at our local school boards

I have run as a candidate in 2 Canadian Federal Elections and 3 provincial elctions which has given me an intimate understanding of how to put together a strong campaign team and plan for success.

As a civic, provincial and federal organizer for one of Canada’s newest political parties, I have a strong grasp of election guidelines for candidates and experience in planning and executing regional political campaigns.

Need some advice?  Ask me here!

Part of any business plan and vision is how a company or an individual presents itself on the web.  While the tools for doing so have changed over time, the need for clear, concise and attention-getting presentation has not.

Whether you are considering building your very first website or looking to have your existing website re-designed, I have the expertise to create your online presence effectively and affordably.

Contact me here!