Coming Back as a Pencil
March 30, 2007
This is awesome, and brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “pencil me in”.
From the wonderfully obsessed mind of Nadine Jarvis in the UK
Pencils made from the carbon of human cremains. 240 pencils can be made from an average body of ash - a lifetime supply of pencils for those left behind.
One question.
The lack of an eraser - significant ?
Cash. The New Safe Way to Do Business.
March 30, 2007
Ars Technica and others are reporting now that the recent data security breach at TJ Maxx is likely the largest in history.
A data breach originally disclosed this January by the parent company of retailer T.J. Maxx could be the largest case of consumer information theft to occur to date. TJX Cos. disclosed in a regulatory filing this week that the company believes that data on at least 45.7 million credit and debit cards was stolen by hackers, and has reason to believe that the actual number could be much higher.
You have to bet CEO Carol Meyrowitz wasn’t having too good a day when she had to post a note on the company web site that starts like this…
As TJX’s President and Chief Executive Officer, I want our customers to know how much I personally regret any difficulties you may experience as a result of the unauthorized intrusion into our computer systems. We are working with leading computer security firms to investigate the problem and enhance our computer security in order to protect our customers’ data.
TJX operates a number of companies - in Canada brands like Winners and HomeSense are most recognized, but they include TJ Maxx, Winners, Marshalls, Homesense, HomeGoods, AJ Wright and Bob’s Stores.
As a consumer, this is a nightmare.
Most of us are crawling with credit cards and we assume retailers take as much care with them as we do.
Reading the Ars Technica story, and the TJX FAQ just adds to the nightmare, since it appears that months went by before they realized what was going on.
All this leads me to wonder how long it will be before we see ads for the “new” safe way to do business: 
Just a Big Ole Bag of Cash.
Your average CBCer clocks in at 86,000 $
March 30, 2007
Information has a way of surfacing in the most interesting manner. Under a headline that reads “Private Television Profit Margins Dropping”, one of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s blogs cited a recent CRTC report. The CBC blogger’s take was to highlight the private station profits and ad revenues. The excerpt ends with this little tid-bit:
In 2006, the private conventional television industry employed 8,197 people and paid a total of $593.6 million in salaries.
But a sharp reader (who, if the name is correct, is a former CBCer who’s now a consultant) was drawn to some other information in that same report, and posted a comment…
The CRTC report also contains data on the number of CBC employees, which is the only public source for that information. As of August 2006, CBC had 10,784 employees, an increase of about 50 from the previous year. Total salaries and benefits amounted to $930,393,000 in 2006.
As noted, this is the only public source of this information, since the CBC is not subject to the Freedom of Information act. Some smart spotting there.
Those numbers mean the average CBCer costs out at just over 86,000.00 (with benefits in).
If you you want to get some, the CBC job board is here.
Cat Available for Radio Focus Group
March 28, 2007
Can you guess which Vancouver radio station invokes a cat nap?
Acting is for the Dogs
March 27, 2007
Without a doubt, the funniest and freshest couple of minutes you’re ever going to find.
Unleashed makes Mondays worth it.
Unleashed is an animated comedy show that follows the trials and tribulations of animal actors in Hollywood. A new episode every Monday!
If there was ever an example of how main-stream-media is missing the boat, this is it.
Catch the episodes on the Unleashed website, or on Blip.TV or subscribe to their feeds.
Irrational is Irresistable and Canada Needs You
March 27, 2007
There are a lot of reasons to read Doc Searls weblog.
His tip on the NPR parody Irrational Public Radio is the latest.
IPR is the brain child of actor/writer/performer/voice over guy Joe Smith.
Surely there’s someone out there who’d love to take the mickey out of the every-so-serious CBC radio here in Canada.
If nothing else, these guys sure could use it…
CBC Radio 2 is Canada’s national music network. Our mission is to reflect the diversity of music making in Canada while embracing the network values of quality, relevance, and discovery.
Oh, and if someone could explain that header, that would be good.
The 5-years-in-the-making-newly-minted CBC Radio 2 has even launched a blog, fueled entirely by the hard working Jowie Taylor - probably the last guy who has the time. Hmmm, wait, his show Global Village got axed in the network remake - so maybe he does have time.
In any case, Canada Needs You Joe Smith. We have Public Radio Too, um, er, 2.
Believe me. Parody is required.
cross posted to LivingWithAnActor.com
Adobe’s Big Upgrade Page
March 27, 2007
Adobe has finally announced costs and package details for their new round of upgrades, including some new types of Creative Suite packages. It’s Adobe’s biggest upgrade release ever - with some products expected in April, while others will show up in the summer.
If you’re thinking about getting the full suite including video and audio editing, you’ll be eyeing the “master” collection at a cool 2,499.00 USD. Ouch.