Drummer Dan keeps his carbon footprint small getting to his next gig.

With Bike to Work Week, Velopoloosa, and the In the House Festival all converging this weekend, the stage is set to highlight another fascinating musical instrument maker, Daniel Lunn.

Daniel is making a name for himself as a drummer (and guitarist) around town, but for someone who plays an instrument that is legendary for its lack of portability, it’s his mode of transportation that caught my attention—by bicycle.

Orkestar Slivovica at the Russian Hall

Tonight, I attended part one of the two-part concert week-end known as Ederlezi – Balkan Brass Festival (6-7 May at the Russian Hall). Billed as a “Roma Spring holiday”, it features no fewer than three Balkan-style brass bands: Orkestar Zirkonium from Seattle, Brass Menazeri from San Francisco, and our own Orkestar Slivovica. There were also two lovely belly dance troupes, (and assorted vendors of Balkan eats and drinks), but the stars of the show are the brass bands.

The evening began with Orkestar Slivovica, which I thought was playing a little more up tempo than the last time I heard them at the Ukrainian Hall. Perhaps, they were intimidated by the quicker and sharper performances of their American counterparts. Gradually, they eased into their signature pelvic back beat and things began to heat up. That’s the thing about this music: if you’re not willing to let go with the hips, you’re not going to enjoy it. But they let go, and so did we—especially as the Šljivovica (Balkan plum brandy) started flowing.

Mexican Newscaster Benefits from Webtech Wireless’ Quadrant Solution

Webtech Wireless’ Quadrant helps reduce theft, and aids in the recovery of stolen vehicles. In Mexico City, where automobile theft rates exceed 30%, GNP previously faced huge payouts due to rising vehicle theft, and urgently needed a solution.

“Over the last 10 years, vehicle theft has increased 67%. In 2000, 47,213 vehicles were stolen and by the end of 2010 this number reached 78,876 vehicles. Of those [stolen], only 29,077 vehicles were recovered—37%.”
– eleconomista.com.mx

Webtech Wireless Launches Corporate Rebranding

Webtech Wireless announces the launch of its new corporate identity, unveiled last week to employees worldwide, and being rolled-out across all of the Company’s operations over the coming months. The new identity will be applied to all marketing and communications materials, including the launch of a new website slated for early next month.

Quadrant proves powerful tool during tsunami warnings

On March 11, 2011, the tragic 9.1 Mw Sendai earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan, again demonstrated Quadrant’s usefulness in times of crises. As Pacific Rim nations raced to secure their coastlines before the tsunami hit, Kelvin was able to use Quadrant GPS to allocate trucks and drivers, and to prepare to assist with evacuations and clean up on the Big Island.

With a tsunami bearing down on the Hawaiian Islands, Kelvin rushed to HELCO’s headquarters to check that fuel acquisition, standby contractors, dispatch, and equipment were available and ready. In addition, he hurried to ensure HELCO trucks located in the tsunami inundation zone were relocated to higher ground.

Hawaii Electric Light Company (HELCO) renews its service contract

Within the first two years of deploying the Quadrant solution (2008-2009), HELCO realized a fuel savings of over 22,000 gallons (US). In 2010, HELCO saved an additional 18,000 gallons. Kelvin Kohatsu, HELCO Fleet Administrator, credits the impressive reduction and subsequent cost savings for their decision to renew the contract and attributes lower fuel costs to a combination of “GPS technology, driver training (operator knowledge), more fuel efficient vehicles, and improved dispatch management.”

MTS Sales & Service sees a tangible reduction in fleet management costs with Quadrant

Quadrant customer, MTS Sales & Service, has reported “a tangible reduction in the cost of fleet management costs of 69%.” This figure is based on the difference in the cost of their old fleet management solution and savings in vehicle usage using Webtech Wireless’ Quadrant. Gino Venditti, VP of Operations, says that in addition to the superior quality of service and reliability (at the above-mentioned reduction in cost), it is now possible to manage routes, forecast fuel usage, and monitor assets with real-time notifications of unauthorized vehicle use.

Hino Trucks introduces advanced telematics solution powered by WebTech Wireless

Hino Trucks hails its newest solution designed—in partnership with WebTech Wireless—to advance GPS telematics’ fleet-management capabilities in their trucks. The new offering, HINO INSIGHT, enables fleet managers to gain daily snapshots of their fleets’ critical diagnostics status and performance against established targets. One of the unique elements to Hino INSIGHT is the “Dashboard” main page of the HinoInsight.com web portal. Fleet managers can now use the INSIGHT Dashboard to access real-time vehicle data and driver information simultaneously.

1. Get educated: Many technical schools and universities have technical writing programs. They often offer their courses on an iterative basis (i.e., you don’t have to commit to the entire program; you can just take a course or two to try it out). Apart from the training you’ll get, formal training is also a great way to network and immerse yourself in the milieu of technical writing.
2. Get Informed: Check out the job boards and read the requirements for various jobs in technical writing. If you find the requirements daunting—don’t be discouraged. Many job descriptions are little more than wish lists, but they’ll give you an idea about the kind of skills you’ll need to succeed and the range of industries that need technical writers.
   Tip – rather than searching for “technical writer” over a large date range, I view all posted jobs in, say, the last three days. Positions that require technical writing skills are frequently posted under other names than “technical writer”.
3. Get involved: Find opportunities to write—don’t wait for a paying job. You may want to volunteer with some non profit or other group as a writer just to get experience. Everyone needs good writing and if you can provide it, you’ll start to acquire samples of work (ensure that any freebie work you do comes with the understanding that you’ll use finished writing as samples of your work).
   I volunteer as a writer for the Vancouver Observer (an online magazine) and it is definitely helpful for keeping my writing skills honed as well as for networking.

Some notable Vancouver job boards:

• T-Net
• indeed.ca

I wrote this article for the Vancouver Observer. Since it’s mine, I’ve quoted it here in its entirety. BTW – Pumpkin image is a nice example of my work in Photoshop.

Hallowe’en is a great time to recast our traditional fear of death and dying as a fun and happy time. Children eagerly await the opportunity to dress as mummies, vampires, and zombies to knock on the doors of complete strangers and demand candy.

So, while we have less to fear about sending our children out for trick or treatin’ than many American cities, we have to take care in areas that have more to do with personal safety.

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Shock and Awe!

No one is more surprised than me that I will soon be observing my 51st birthday. So, on 14 August, 2010 with the grim reaper in hot pursuit, I shall be blading, cycling, gardening, swimming, singing, and dancing the day and night away. I invite you to catch me if you can! at any point on that day.

Here’s the Game

I cycle everywhere I can and you link up wherever you want, or if you’re really brave, hop on your cycle and join me for all or part of the journey. I may be ancient now, but I’m stronger, braver, and probably more foolish than ever—there’s one way to know for sure!

During the day, you can call or text me (604 682-5242) to confirm my whereabouts or, if you like things a little more predictable, join me for a Mexican feast at Doña Cata restaurant (please RSVP that one).

Here’s the Itinerary

Time – Activity

8:00 AM – Rollerblading at Stanley Park

9:00 AM – Sipping coffee at Starbucks, Denman and Davie

10:00 AM – Swimming at Spanish Banks

12:00 PM – Lunching at Van Dusen Gardens

3:00 PM – Chillin’ at Burnaby Blues & Roots Festival, Deer Lake Park, Burnaby

6:00 PM – Dining at Doña Cata Mexican Taqueria, 5076 Victoria Drive (please RSVP me by Thursday if you’re coming for sure so I can warn them)

9:00 PM – Streetfesting in Chinatown

10:30 PM – Dancing at Numbers Cabaret, Davie Street

Catch me if you can!

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Hagia Sophia, Istanbul

“It’s been a bad couple of weeks for the old British Empire in Canada. Even the Queen’s visit seemed to be generating undue negative reaction, culminating with accusations that Michaelle Jean’s husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, had suggested the Queen find accommodation in a local hotel (rather than Rideau Hall) whilst visiting Ottawa. Would Motel 6 do? And famously here, there was the suggestion of doing away with Lord Stanley’s eponymously named park in favour of the traditional Xwayxway. What’s next? No more tea at the Empress?

A most interesting case for name changing is Istanbul. That ancient city founded as Byzantium by the Greeks during their heyday in the 600’s BC, it took the name Constantinople when Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire there in 330 AD. It remained the centre of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) until the Ottoman Turks sacked it in 1453, and among other renovations (such as adding minarets to the Hagia Sophia), the name Constantinople got the works and the city was renamed Istanbul.

Read entire article…