All Macked Out – Unlimited Magazine

paramagnus No, I didn’t come up with the title. But it’s sorta catchy, no? Anyway, that’s the title of an article in this month’s issue of Unlimited Magazine, part of a column called Look Who’s Teching. The column takes a look at the “wired west” and the growing number of individuals dabbling in technology here:

There’s momentum now, agrees John Bristowe, a development advisor with Microsoft Canada in Calgary. Bristowe, who talks to developers throughout Western Canada, noticed the shift in 2004. “I don’t know what happened,” he says, “but the tech community really began to take off.” Case in point: Calgary. “We’ve always had a vibrant developer community,” he says, “but what you’re seeing now is a growing interest in venture capital, entrepreneurship and the sort of things you only hear about down in Silicon Valley.”

The column introduces topics like “the unconference”, “tagging”, and “agile software development”, and profiles a number of individuals, myself included:

When Mack D. Male co-founded a software company in Edmonton at age 16, his goals were clearly and rigorously defined. One: fame. Two: fortune.

Eight years later, his ambitions have matured, and Paramagnus has grown in step.

mack in unlimited I can’t say I’m incredibly pleased with the photo – it’s kind of an awkward pose! That said, I think it’s pretty cool that they made the three photos look very similar, considering they were taken by different photographers in different cities! I haven’t yet seen what it looks like in print, but the photo online is pretty high resolution. The photographer I worked with was great too. He did his best to stick within the strict guidelines the magazine gave him.

I am quite happy with the article. I think Tyler managed to capture our conversation at Starbucks very well. He also did a really great job of ensuring he had the technical details of podcasting correct. I would however like to clarify one comment Tyler made:

Suddenly more money was going into podcast creation than was being made, and Paramagnus was left to search out the next big hit.

We’re always keeping an eye out for what’s new and cool, but that doesn’t mean that we’re ignoring Podcast Spot. We’re long overdue for an update, but we’ve still been working on it. And yes, we have something new in the works also.

Anyway, give the article a read and let me know what you think! There’s lots of other interesting things in “The Tech + Media Issue” too, so be sure to check it out.

Read: Unlimited Magazine

Notes for 3/2/2008

Since I am a bit late, and it’s officially March 3rd – Happy Birthday Mom! Hope you have a great day!

Here are my weekly notes:

Mind Mapping with MindMeister

mindmeister If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s brainstorming. Sometimes I would rather come up with a bunch of new ideas than actually work on existing one! Since I do most of my brainstorming on the computer, it makes sense that I’d seek out software that makes it easier. I use OneNote a lot, and lately, I’ve started using MindMeister too.

MindMeister is an online mind mapping application that I’ll talk about in a moment. First, what’s mind mapping? From Wikipedia:

A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key word or idea. It is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing.

It’s basically a way of visualizing ideas and concepts in a non-linear way. A list can only take you so far. Once you get used to the idea of creating a mind map, it can become very addictive!

One of the most popular mind mapping software packages is MindManager from MindJet. I played with a trial version a while ago, and I really liked it. I especially liked that it worked with ink on my tablet – that’s very neat! Unfortunately, it isn’t cheap ($99 for “Lite” and $349 for “Pro”). As much as I might enjoy it, brainstorming isn’t my primary gig, so that’s a bit pricey.

So I started looking for alternatives, and came across MindMeister. From their about page:

MindMeister brings the concept of mind mapping to the web, using its facilities for real-time collaboration to allow truly global brainstorming sessions.

Users can create, manage and share mind maps online and access them anytime, from anywhere. In brainstorming mode, fellow MindMeisters from around the world (or just in different rooms) can simultaneously work on the same mind map – and see each other’s changes as they happen.

Right away I liked the look of it (sorta Web 2.0 I guess) and decided to give it a try. I was surprised to find that mind mapping can work so well on the web! MindMeister doesn’t contain all of the whizbang features that MindManager does, but I think it includes just enough to make it really usable. Some of my favorite things about MindMeister:

  • It works in Opera! This despite a warning telling me I may notice weird things because I am not using IE or Firefox. Exceeding expectations is a good way to get me using your product.
  • All I need is a browser. The one major negative about MindManager is that you need to install it on every computer you want to use it on. I have three computers that I use regularly, so having my mind maps on the web is really handy.
  • You can export to other formats. Notably MindManager’s MMAP (with a premium account) and PDF.

Currently I’m using the free account, which gives you up to 6 mind maps and most of the other features. A premium account is just $49.90 per year, and adds unlimited mind maps, SSL encryption, exporting to MMAP, and the ability to work on maps offline.

I’m going to continue using MindMeister for a while, but I might give their competition a try too. Currently they look like the online app to beat. There’s a good list of mind mapping software at Wikipedia.

Have you used MindMeister or any other mind mapping software? Any suggestions?

Northern Voice 2008: My Post-Mortem Post

nv08 A week ago I was in Vancouver with Megan, getting ready for MooseCamp2008 which is the “unconference” part of Northern Voice. I’ve attended the conference ever since it began back in 2005, and I have enjoyed myself each time. I usually learn something new too (this year I learned that I am a WikiGnome). Attendance keeps going up, and the organizing committee is continuing to organize the conference, so it must be going well. It’s bigger and better each year!

Despite this, I find myself wondering why I should be attending Northern Voice. It just doesn’t feel like the “must attend” event that it was in 2005 and 2006. Yes, even last year felt a little different.

I don’t know why this is exactly, but here are some thoughts:

  • It’s less exciting. When NV started, blogging was still relatively new to most people. It was exciting. Lots of people were experimenting. Maybe it’s a bit tired now? Too many people doing it?
  • A related point: blogging is no longer enough. Just look at the website – NV is now a “blogging and social media” conference. Yet NV is still a two day event, which inevitably means that you can’t get as in-depth as in the past. There’s simply too much to cover.
  • It’s not downtown. The UBC campus is great, but it has a completely different feel. It’s further away from hotels and restaurants and people and general buzz. I think NV was better downtown.
  • The schedule sucks. Seriously, it has gone downhill in the last two years. Take a look at the schedules from 2005 and 2006, and compare that to 2007 and 2008. I don’t know about you, but I’d take the early two any day of the week. At least you can sort of make out what the sessions are about by reading the titles. This year the NV schedule had some really whacky session titles.
  • NV has become too Vancouver-specific. I love Vancouver, and I fully appreciate that it has been home to Northern Voice for four years now. I don’t think that justifies “Inhospitable Climate: Dating in Vancouver’s Techno-Mediated Scene” from this year’s schedule, however. MooseCamp is also getting fairly Vancouver-specific, with a couple Vancouver TransitCamp sessions in the last two years.
  • The website is stale. Aside from the fact that there are two websites (the main one and the wiki), I think simply changing the color scheme each year is bad. For long-time attendees like myself, it gives the impression that the organizers didn’t care enough to make it better. I know they’re all busy people and they truly do care about NV (and I do like all of them!), but that’s the impression it gives. Gnomedex gets a visual refresh each year, and I think that makes a difference.
  • It lacks polish. Kind of related to the website and schedule points. When it was just getting started, I loved that NV was a little rough around the edges. Four years in? I expect more. For instance, I expect the nametag to fit inside the nametag holder.
  • The wireless was spotty. Okay, this one is strictly related to this year, but lots of people were having connectivity problems all weekend. Too many live streams going maybe?

You should also have a look at the Post-Mortem page on the wiki for more comments.

All of that aside, there are still some awesome reasons to attend NV. There are some incredibly creative and smart people who do, like Duane Storey who created this amazing poster:

Northern Voice 2008

Some other positives:

  • Lunch is now included! This makes a huge difference, as I said last week.
  • Somehow, the organizers have managed to maintain a very diverse group of attendees. There are lots of women (somewhat unusual for a tech event), and people with varying levels of technical knowledge.
  • You will learn something new.
  • You will make new friends.
  • I like that I get to see some familiar faces in meatspace.
  • I also like meeting new people who I may have only communicated with online. There aren’t many opportunities for this.
  • It’s a personal conference. Unlike some other events, you’re not inundated with logos and slogans and pitches and buttons and stickers and such.

One other thing I wanted to mention is that James Sherrett should get the “top moose” award for 2008! Yeah I just made that award up, but seriously, he was everywhere. I have a feeling he put in more than his fair share of hours to make NV08 a success. His session entitled “Is advertising killing blogging?” was pretty good too.

So there you have it – my Northern Voice 2008 post-mortem post. Hopefully it doesn’t sound too negative! I look forward to seeing what NV09 is like.

Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope

wwtelescope If you spend any time in the blogosphere, you probably heard about Robert Scoble’s sob session on Valentine’s Day. He said that he was shown a project at Microsoft Research that was so world-changing it brought tears to his eyes. Scoble said he couldn’t tell anyone what it was until February 27th, and he kept that promise. Today he explained:

Lots of people are asking me questions about what made me cry at Microsoft a few weeks ago.

If I told you “a telescope” you’d make fun of me, right? Tell me I’m lame and that I don’t deserve to be a geek and that I should run away and join the circus, right?

Well, that’s what I saw.

The project is called the WorldWide Telescope. Here’s how it is described on the official website:

The WorldWide Telescope (WWT) is a rich visualization environment that functions as a virtual telescope, bringing together imagery from the best ground- and space telescopes to enable seamless, guided explorations of the universe. WorldWide Telescope, created with Microsoft®’s high-performance Visual Experience Engine™, enables seamless panning and zooming across the night sky blending terabytes of images, data, and stories from multiple sources over the Internet into a media-rich, immersive experience.

It does sound like a pretty cool project for astronomy, and like Scoble says, it could have a really huge impact on education and the way we view and understand our place in the universe. Scoble will have a video up on Monday showing it off, and it should be officially available sometime this spring.

Read: Scobleizer

That's How Refineries Roll

Gas prices here in Edmonton are about $1.05 right now, and they were $1.18 in Vancouver on the weekend. Most people generally expect the prices to keep going up, perhaps quite dramatically in the near future. What would you do if you were an extremely profitable oil company faced with that reality?

Petro-Canada Refinery

If you guessed “burn excess gas and pollute the environment”, you’d be right!

That bright orange spot is from the flames atop one of the “flares” as they are called (I think) at a refinery near Edmonton. I believe most refineries will tell you that burning off excess gas is a common practice, though the flames I saw tonight were unusually large. They were burning at 6:30 PM when I drove by heading north, and they were still going at around 9:45 PM when I took these.

These photos are from the Petro-Canada refinery on the southeast side of the city. According to the company’s website, the site processes 135,000 barrels of crude oil per day (switching this year to 135,000 barrels of oil sands feedstock per day).

Petro-Canada Refinery Petro-Canada Refinery Petro-Canada Refinery Petro-Canada Refinery Petro-Canada Refinery

Notes for 2/24/2008

Made it back to Edmonton this evening without any problems. Here are my weekly notes:

burgoo – food for comfort

Last night after the conference, Megan and I met up with Kelsey for some dinner and drinks. I think the girls were hoping for sushi, but I put the kibosh on those plans! Not such a fan of the raw fish. So we asked Kelsey what kinds of restaurants were nearby, and she suggested burgoo bistro.

Mac and Cheese - $8

As you can tell from the picture above, I had to use the flash. That’s because like most little bistros, burgoo is really dark, with a single candle on each table providing most of the light. It was also quite small, with maybe a dozen tables and a tiny bar. We only had to wait about ten minutes for a table, however.

They more than make up for their lack of physical size with the menu! Even their harvest takeout menu is really impressive. Burgoo offers a wide range of dishes, from Mac and Cheese (which is what I had, for $8) to Ratatouille and Laksah and Pacific Chowder. Megan had a really hard time deciding what to order, eventually deciding on the Kentucky Burgoo for $14 (slow cooked meats with lima beans, corn, tomatoes, cabbage and okra served over garlic mashed potatoes).

We had White Sangria to drink. The $16 pitcher was impressively gigantic, though it did include quite a bit of ice. Kelsey enjoyed the oversized spoon they gave us for stirring!

When the waitress brought my Mac and Cheese out I was both surprised and a little worried. Surprised because I really liked the presentation – tiny white pot on a wooden plate – and worried because it didn’t look very big. It turned out to be quite filling though, so my worry was thankfully unnecessary!

It may not be the fanciest restaurant in the world, but I really liked burgoo. It would take you quite a while to get bored with the menu, and with the reasonable prices you wouldn’t break the bank trying everything either. Give it a shot if you’re in the area!

Another Northern Voice in the books

nv08over

I don’t think this was my favorite edition of Northern Voice, but it wasn’t bad either. I’ll elaborate on that when I do a wrap-up post in a few days, but a few things have already been captured on the Post-Mortem wiki page.

I think Northern Voice is still a great event for people interesting in blogging and social media, and I admit I enjoyed it. If you’ve never experienced the conference, consider attending next year (yes it sounds like the organizers are definitely planning to hold NV again in 2009).

See you in twelve months!

Northern Voice 2008 – Free lunch!

Make your own wrapLast year Megan and Sharon went out in the rain to get us McDonald’s. I don’t remember what I did for lunch at Northern Voice in the years before that – I may have skipped lunch. This year, for the first time ever, lunch was provided!

And not just today, but yesterday at MooseCamp too. I think providing lunch was a really good idea. Food makes people happy. And the fact that no one has to leave means the conversations can continue. It’s hard to remember what Northern Voice was like in previous years without lunch, because this is what it should be like!

Here’s what was on the menu:

Friday: The DIY Sandwich Bar (Salads, assorted rolls, veggie fixins, deli meats, three cheeses, Nanaimo bars, brownies & dessert squares.)

Saturday: Mexican Buffet (bean dip with tortilla chips, corn & black bean salad, flour tortillas, chicken, veggies, monterey jack and cheddar cheeses, sour cream, salsa and guacamole, chocolate brownies.)

My wrap was soooo messy, but it was also really yummy.

Good call on the food, Northern Voice organizers.