Rolandt

I think maybe the dialogue on online learning is beginning to shift a bit. "We will all have some nostalgia for the way things were. But as many commentators have argued – 'we cannot return to normal, because normal was the problem.'"

Running a business as a freelancer is like anything else in life, you’ll get better with experience. Unfortunately, that means that you’ll make some mistakes along the way. While mistakes can be great learning experiences, wouldn’t you rather learn the lesson without making the mistake?

Let’s take a look at some of the most common mistakes made by new freelancers in an effort to avoid making some of the same costly mistakes. 

1. Jumping to Full-Time Freelance Work Too Soon

In some cases, you may need to turn to full-time freelance work faster than you’d like (for example, if you lose your full-time job unexpectedly). But if that’s not the case, and you’re able to decide when you move to full-time freelance work, be sure that you don’t rush into it.

Freelancing is ideal for either part-time work or full-time work, so you can certainly do it on the side of a full-time job. This is a great option because it allows you to ease your way in and you can leave your existing job only when you’re confident that you can replace your income.

If you leave your existing job to pursue freelancing before you’re ready, you could struggle to find enough work to support yourself. This obviously creates financial issues, unneeded stress, and it may even result in going back to a job for some stability and security. Making the jump too soon can decrease your chances of success, and you may wind up giving up on freelancing altogether.

Related post: How to Transition from Part-Time Freelance To Full-Time Freelance. 

2. Not Using a Contract With Your Clients

Many new freelancers don’t use contracts because they feel like the dollar amount is too small to justify using a contract, or because they feel like the client will object to signing a contract. 

You should be using a contract with your clients, regardless of what type of service you’re offering. The dollar amount of the service being provided is not a valid reason to avoid using a contract. Even if the dollar amount is small, the contract serves other purposes like limiting your liability and setting expectations (deadlines for example).

Most clients will appreciate having a signed contract and very few will be turned off if you ask them to sign a contract. A fair contract will give the client some protection as well, so it’s in everyone’s best interest to use a contract. Additionally, using a contract will help you to look more professional and clients will take you more seriously.

One of the reasons why many new freelancers don’t use contracts is because they don’t have the money to hire an attorney to draft a contract for them. However, there are plenty of free and inexpensive contract templates available online. Of course, having an attorney draft a contract especially for you and your situation would be ideal, but working with a template can be a good free or low-cost alternative. Do a Google search for the type of contract template that you need and you should find some options. For example, Rocket Lawyer offers this free contract template for freelance writers.

3. Not Specifying All of the Terms Up Front

Another common mistake is to agree to general terms with a client without specifying all of the details. The contract should cover the important details so everyone is on the same page, so there are no assumptions, and to minimize the chance of differing expectations once the project begins.

What’s referred to as “scope creep” occurs when there are continuous changes or unexpected growth in the scope of a project. For example, if you’re a photographer and a client is hiring you for a photo session, you should specify details like the length of the session, location, the number of photos that will be provided, the format of the photos that will be provided (digital vs. prints), and any other relevant or important details.

If you’re a web designer and a client is hiring you to design a website, you should specify details like the number of pages that will be included on the website, the coding languages that will be used, the CMS that will be used, the number of revisions that will be made to the design, etc.

New freelancers often agree to general terms with a client but fail to specify the details. Later on in the process, it becomes obvious that the freelancer and client had different expectations. That can result in either the freelancer doing a lot of unexpected work or a disappointed client.

Learn more: Managing Commissions: A Guide for Freelance Artists (and other creatives!)

4. Starting the Work Before Receiving Payment

With most freelance services, you should be getting at least a portion of the payment upfront before you begin the work. New freelancers might feel afraid to ask for any payment upfront, and they wind up doing work before the client has anything invested into the project.

If you’re working without a contract and without an upfront payment, the client can change their mind at any time and you’re left without payment for the work that you’ve done.

The amount that you charge upfront may depend on the type of work you’re doing and the overall scope of the project. You don’t need to charge so much upfront that it makes the client uncomfortable, but you need to protect yourself and ensure that clients are invested in the project.

Your contract should lay out the details of when payments will be made. This could include at the start of the project, any specific milestones throughout the project, and at completion. 

5. Underestimating the Time Needed for Projects

Most of your projects will involve a flat fee for your work rather than paying you per hour. However, in order to determine how much you need to charge for the project, you’ll need to estimate how many hours of your time it will require. This is how you avoid your side of the scope creep equation—and your clients will appreciate you for it!

Almost all new freelancers underestimate how long a project will take. There are a lot of factors that often get overlooked like the time needed to communicate with clients, administrative tasks related to the project, changes requested by the client, and unexpected challenges that arise. 

Learning how to effectively estimate time requirements for a project is a skill that requires some experience to develop. As a freelancer without very much experience in this area, you should be forming your best estimate and then increasing it to give yourself a buffer for error. Add 10% – 25% more hours than your estimate and you’ll probably be closer to the actual time needed.

6. Underpricing

This mistake is connected to the previous point about underestimating the time needed for a project, but it can also be a separate issue. Even if you accurately estimate how much time a project will take, you may still underprice the hourly rate that you’re charging.

Many new freelancers charge a low rate because they don’t think they’d be able to land clients if they charged more. As a result, many freelancers undersell themselves.

While clients will be somewhat sensitive to price, most clients will want to work with the right freelancer, even if they have to pay slightly more for it. Most of your clients are probably not as sensitive to price as you assume.

The best way to determine an appropriate price for your services? Ask other freelancers. 

Yes, there are ways to calculate your pricing as a consultant or contractor. You can base it on what you want to make annually/monthly/hourly or by converting your salary and benefits into an hourly rate. However, the only way to know you’re being competitive and comparable to the market is to ask others in your space. They’ll thank you for it because that means one less freelancer out there undercutting their pricing.

7. Ignoring Growth and Skill Development

While your main priority will be providing services to clients, you also need to be sure that you’re developing your skills and continuing to grow. If you’re not improving, you’ll eventually get left behind. This is especially true in industries that change very rapidly, like web development.

Be sure to allow for some time in your schedule to learn new things and develop the existing skills that you have. You could do this by reading books, following along with online tutorials, completing courses and/or certifications, working on personal projects, or any number of other things.

Improving your skills will help you to increase the value of your services and allow you to charge more while still providing great value to clients. It will also help you to stay on top of the changes and developments in your industry.

Related: Lead Generation for Freelancers: How to Get More Clients

8. Failing to Evaluate Potential Clients

Not all clients are the same.

A common mistake made by new freelancers is working with any client that will hire them. When you’re talking to a potential client, you should be asking questions to find out if it’s a good fit. 

If you feel that a client would be more trouble than they’re worth, or if they’re simply not a good fit for you, it’s best to avoid working together. You could explain to the client why it’s not the best fit and recommend another freelance if you know someone who would be a better fit.

Check out The Best Time Organization Hacks for Freelancers

9. Not Setting Up a System for Finances

Most freelancers are experts in their field, but not necessarily experts in running a business. While you’ll get better at the business aspects with some experience, you should make an effort from the start to get a system in place for managing the finances of the business.

You’ll need a process for recording income, keeping tabs on outstanding invoices, tracking expenses, keeping receipts, and paying yourself.

Bloom can help with all aspects related to estimates and invoices, managing and signing contracts, and more.

10. Overlooking Taxes

Don’t make the costly mistake that many new freelancers make by overlooking or underestimating the amount that you’ll owe in taxes. As a freelancer, you won’t have an employer to withhold taxes from your paycheck, so you’ll need to plan ahead and set money aside for taxes. 

First, you’ll need to determine your tax bracket so you know how much you should be holding back for income taxes. This will take a little bit of an educated guess because you won’t know exactly how much money you’re going to make.

Next, you’ll need to pay quarterly taxes rather than simply waiting until the end of the year when you file. You’ll probably need to make quarterly payments to both the IRS and your home state.

The truth is that taxes are a big topic if you’re in the freelance game. You can continue learning from the mistakes of others by checking out the complete guide for how NOT to file your taxes if you’re self-employed.

11. Displaying All of Your Work

If you’re a photographer or designer, you probably have an online portfolio site that showcases your work (Bloom can help you with that too). But you don’t want or need to show all of your work in your portfolio.

You should use your portfolio for showcasing your best work. When you’re first getting started, you probably won’t have that much in your portfolio. As you start to land some clients and complete projects, don’t feel like you need to include everything in your portfolio. Quality is much more important than quantity, so don’t worry if you have a small selection of your work in your portfolio. It’s better to leave a project out of your portfolio than to include it simply to showcase more work.

If you make an effort to avoid the mistakes covered in this article, you’ll be well ahead of most new freelancers. Sure, you’ll make mistakes as you go, but minimizing the impact of those mistakes can be the difference between success and failure with your new business.

Try Bloom for 14 days for FREE!

The post 11 Mistakes Most New Freelancers Make That You Should Avoid appeared first on Bloom.

	mkalus shared this story from Rolandt shared items on The Old Reader (RSS):
	Multiple arguments with people who want to find me on “WhatsApp”. Never going to happen, regardless how often people try to get me to.

I left Facebook under two years ago, but I remained trapped in Zuck’s hell on earth. Instagram and Whatsapp had a major control on me for some stupid reasons. No more. I disagree with the company, and its leaders so much that I won’t spend any of my attention or energy on its platforms.

As I told you, you have to act on principle:

While you are at it, get off Instagram, and use something other than WhatsApp. Otherwise, you are just endorsing Zuck’s way of doing business - and it is a dirty business.

Grow a spine, even when it seems difficult. Especially, if it seems difficult.

More >

Dear Facebook employees,

Honestly, I want the best for Facebook. I poured my heart and soul into the company from 2008–2012. I also want the best for the world, though. I know you do, too. I don’t think those things have to be in conflict. I wrote down some thoughts on how I think we get those things more aligned, in case it’s helpful to you. None of this is revolutionary, quite the contrary. Much of it has been said by others but I don’t think it hurts to be restated. Here goes…

I’ll start with my own admission. In 2009, I said, “We believe in Facebook’s mission that giving people tools to make the world more open is a better way to combat ignorance or deception than censorship.” It turns out that I was wrong. First of all, it’s a false choice. There are more options than just being “open” and “censorship”. Most importantly, though, it’s become obvious in the 11 intervening years that the opposite is actually true. The more successful Facebook is in accomplishing its mission, the more ignorance, deception and the like there appears to be in the world. There is definitely correlation here. Unfortunately, I also believe there is more than a little causation.

How did we get here?

Well, in part, Facebook’s biggest strengths are also its biggest weaknesses. Early on, Facebook focused on the connection. If you get a person connected to another real person they actually know, a lot of other problems go away. And it worked. Friends are much less likely to scam you, be inappropriate or annoy you than strangers. Also, there is a good chance you’ll be interested in the content they share. Unfortunately, it doesn’t solve everything because, you know what? Your Uncle Daryl isn’t a doctor, doesn’t know shit about vaccines and is easily misled by others on the topic. This is doubly bad because of the connection. You’re more likely to believe misinformation from Uncle Daryl than from strangers.

Adding gasoline to the fire is Facebook’s sophisticated content system. Using signals from billions of people and untold pieces of content, it knows what content people will find engaging. You know what’s engaging as heck? Wild conspiracy theories and incendiary rhetoric. Put together a piece of content that comes to you from a trusted source (i.e. your friend) and Facebook making sure you see the really tantalizing stuff and you get viral misinformation. That’s why Facebook’s system is so susceptible to it and it spreads so quickly. When the integrity of your entire system is based on the quality of the connection and not the quality of the information, the forces of misinformation see a vulnerability and they are exploiting it aggressively. The Plandemic movie was recent and tragic example.

It has been said that a lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on. Now, Facebook’s speed and reach make it more like a lie circles the globe a thousand times before the truth is even awake. This is no accident. Ironically, the one true conspiracy theory appears to be that malevolent nation-states, short-sighted politicians, and misguided interest groups are using conspiracy theories to deliberately misinform the public as a means of accomplishing their long-term strategic goals. The same could be said for those deliberately using incendiary and divisive language, which is similarly propagates your system.

Why isn’t Facebook doing more to address this?

Unfortunately, I do not think it is a coincidence that the choices Facebook makes are the ones that allow the most content–the fuel for the Facebook engine–to remain in the system. I do not think it is a coincidence that Facebook’s choices align with the least resources required, outsourcing important aspects to third parties. I do not think it is a coincidence that Facebook’s choices appease those in power who have made misinformation, blatant racism and inciting violence part of their platform. Facebook says, and may even believe, that it is on the side of free speech. In fact, it has put itself on the side of profit and cowardice.

You don’t have to be, though. Facebook has seemingly limitless resources at its disposal. You’ve got some of the smartest people in the world who work at Facebook. I know, I’ve worked with them. You’ve developed some of the most advanced technology in history and have mountains of capital. As one example, the company has said it may spend as much as ~$34 billion for stock buybacks since just 2017. The main ingredient that you lack is the will.

How to find the will?

First of all, it’s helpful to realize the world has changed and so has Facebook. In the four years I worked at Facebook, a lot of precedents were set that are still playing out today. Some of them made sense for the 2008 world but don’t make sense now. In 2008, the professional arbiters of truth–the press–were much stronger both in terms of resources and distribution. In 2008, Facebook’s reach was growing but it only touched a small percentage of the population. In 2008, people used Facebook more to keep up with friends than as a news or information source. Today, all of that has changed dramatically.

Newsrooms have been decimated and the press’ overall distribution has been similarly reduced. Meanwhile, Facebook has become a primary source of news and information for billions of people. In short, when we decided that Facebook would take a hand’s off approach to content, the world didn’t need Facebook to fact check or contextualize information. The world needs it now desperately.

I still believe that Facebook does more good than harm. There has been no better example than the emotional support for the current health crisis. The value of connection with family and friends during this time is incalculable. However, just doing more good than harm is not enough.

If you think of Facebook as the place where people get their information, it’s like the one grocery store in a town. Everyone shops there and its shelves are mostly filled with food that is nutritious, fun, entertaining, engaging, etc… However, sprinkled through the shelves are foods that look like regular stuff but are actually poison. I’m not talking about junk food with frivolous or empty calories. I’m talking about food that literally poisons one’s mind, turning him or her against science, facts, and other people. If that’s your mindset, what resources would you leave on the table to find the poison? Are there any risks you would not take? At the very least, you would not hesitate to put warning labels on the poison.

That’s not the way Facebook has thought in the past, though. Instead, I believe there is an inherent intent bias within Facebook. That is, you know your intentions are good and therefore you focus on the good outcomes and dismiss the bad. I was definitely guilty of it. It’s easy to do, especially, when detractors have the opposite bias. That is, they see some bad outcomes and assume bad intentions.

It would be helpful for Facebook to cut through all of that and be honest with itself. If you believe that productive information on Facebook can create a sisterhood of truckers, sell Cliff bars, start revolutions in the Middle East, defeat a terrorist organization, then you must also believe that misinformation you host and distribute can destroy lives, incite violence, torture those who have already endured unspeakable tragedy and convince people to make devastating health choices.

Promoting free speech shouldn’t be used as a get out of tough choices card. Yes, people have the right to express ignorant or misinformed views but that doesn’t mean you are prevented from providing context on those views or that you are required to give them distribution.

For centuries, the main way people received the free speech of others was through publishers or the press. Maybe a few people heard a speech. Maybe it was even a few thousand people who were present. However, the vast majority of people read about it in the paper, where it was put in context. Even with the advent to radio and TV, the actual video or audio of the speeches were followed by commentary of reporters. These employees of for-profit private companies provided context and attempted to arbitrate truth. Was it perfect? No, but it mostly worked and it kept the forces of misinformation and divisiveness largely at bay.

That system has been disrupted, in large part, by you. You have a responsibility to take an active role in fixing it and/or finding a new system that works better. The Facebook Journalism Project and the support of fact checkers are a great start but they are bandaids. Alas, we are hemorrhaging civility and truth. The scale and sophistication for a real solution is orders of magnitude more.

What should Facebook do?

I don’t have a silver bullet but I know you need to build trust. You need to show the world that you are not putting profit over values. Therefore, I would suspend the stock buyback program. As I mention, you’ve committed ~$34 billion to stock buybacks. It looks like you’ve spent about $20 billion. That’s $14 billion left (please check my math). I’d devote the equivalent resources to a goal of better informed users. You’d be showing that you’re literally choosing users over profit.

What’s the metric? I don’t know but I have confidence that you can figure it out. The spirit is that you have swung the pendulum all the way toward enabling expression. Let’s move it toward the quality of information or an outcome of an accurately informed public. Success on this would be infinitely more valuable to your investors than artificially propping up the stock with buybacks.

I’d put the company in lockdown. We did it in 2011 when Google was launching Google+. They had orders of magnitude more resources, more engineers, the largest distribution platform in the world and had committed everything to squashing Facebook. We worked day and night and kicked their ass. We humiliated them. This challenge is even more daunting but also infinitely more important. I know you can do it.

It will be hard, though. You’ll need courage, money and brainpower. You’ll also need to cast aside long-held beliefs. Just because taking a specific action could be a “slippery slope”, doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Just because a solution isn’t currently “scalable” doesn’t mean it’s unworkable or that you couldn’t eventually scale it. Just because something is an “edge case” doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant.

In case it is not clear, the stakes are high. We are in the midst of a global pandemic. Nearly 400,000 people are dead. Many more are likely to die and that risk is being made worse by content you host. Every. Single. Day. The only way the stakes could be higher is if we were on the brink of a world war. Thankfully, we are not. However, I encourage you to ask yourself where a concerted and systematic undermining of science and truth and rampant divisiveness ends if it is left unchecked? A lasting peace? I doubt it.

Whatever you do, I can promise you this: You will continue to be criticized. People will always say that you are both doing too much and not enough. That is the price of leadership. I used to tell Facebook colleagues who complained about criticism to go work at MySpace. No one bothers to criticize them. You don’t work at MySpace, though, because we trounced them, as well. You work at Facebook and you can beat misinformation and divisiveness, too. I’m rooting for you. We all are.

Your friend,
Barry

Four recommendations, all of which can be found on Crave in Canada (a Bell-owned mashup of HBO and Showtime):

• The Newsroom — The Aaron Sorkin one, not the Ken Finkleman one. Three seasons of Jeff Daniels and Emily Mortimer, with an excellent supporting cast that includes Sam Waterston, Jane Fonda, Dev Patel and Alison Pill. I just rewatched from the beginning and enjoyed it just as much as the first time.

• Homeland — Just wrapped up as a series after 8 seasons. Mandy Patinkin and Clare Danes never disappointed. Among my favourite series ever.

• Billions — Damian Lewis as a hedge fund billionaire vs. Paul Giamatti as district attorney. The fifth season just got underway and it’s not the strongest. But the first four were excellent, especially season four, which moved Asia Kate Dillon into a more prominent role.

• Picard — Star Trek continues, focusing on Patrick Stewart’s Jean Luc Picard. I could do without all the Romulan sub-plot, but I’d happily watch a Picard do nothing but tend his vineyard.

Crave is frustrating for its multiple subscription levels, meaning I often run into “you can only watch [this amazing new thing] if you have the + HBO + Movies extra package.”

(There’s also the danger of the entire Seinfeld back-catalogue, which can consume hours if you’re not careful).

But these four series are worth a month’s investment if you’ve exhausted Netflix.

North Van City Councillor Tony Valente was apparently very pleased with his Council’s last meeting, according to his hashtag:  #bestcouncilmeetingever. Two reports, especially, drew his praise: the first  on Open Streets, the second on public drinking.

By dealing with the reports immediately, Council sped past every muni in the region. On May 25, 2020, Council had directed staff to develop “an action plan for advancing the reallocation of road space …”   Two day’s later an action plan was on their agenda – with this proposal for an Open-Street Network.

 “Open Streets” (nothing ‘closed’ here) is made up of Green Trails, Neighbourhood (or slow streets) and Destination Streets (closer to flow streets.)  For $150,000, the 12 kilometres in the system will by priorized for action:

Clearly staff were ready to go, meaning they were confident of council approval. When things happen this seamlessly and this fast, it’s a sign of well-coordinated relationship among Council and Staff.

Assuming the same efficiency, with cities across Metro laying out their own open streets and patios, by the end of the summer the region will have gone through the fastest, biggest and furthest experiment of street reallocation in its history.

And that wasn’t all.

On May 11, Council had directed staff to come back with a process to expand temporary patios into public spaces, and report back on the feasibility of “the consumption of liquor in certain public spaces for safe, informal public dining.”  Given the abuse of alcohol in the rough-and-tumble North Van of the past, this is quite an evolution. Of course “it relies on people adopting, using and managing the public place with regard to physical distancing and respectful consumption of liquor.”  A challenge when the last word overcomes the first.

So, a qualified thank you, virus, for giving us the rationale to do what we’ve only talked about before.  Now we have crises, collapses and uncertainties for justification.  Here’s the one CNV staff used:

Just as the coronavirus fallout threatens to cause economic uncertainty, it also may cause a collapse in social contact among our residents. Utilizing public places is a central part of moving forward and getting people out of their residence, which in turn will support local businesses.

In the next few weeks, in North Vancouver City and elsewhere in the region, we may see the emergence of a street culture we haven’t seen before: places of domestic conviviality for people who live nearby.  Few visitors, no tourists, just the people who live here and aren’t on vacation.

We’re going to find out who we really are.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the Dreamcast 2. It also isn’t a successor to the Sega Saturn.

To celebrate the company’s 60th anniversary, Sega has revealed a miniature re-release of its 90s handheld console, the Game Gear. Several questions about the console remain unknown, including if it’s coming to North America. We do, however, know that the handheld is launching in Japan on October 6th. Regarding cost, the price comes to ¥4,980 (roughly $62 CAD), and colours include ‘Black,’ ‘Blue,’ ‘Yellow’ and ‘Red.’

The Micro measures in at 80mm wide and 43mm tall with a 1.15-inch-display, making it roughly a third of the size of the original Game Gear’s screen and even smaller than the Game Boy Micro’s tiny display. Other features include a built-in speaker, 3.5mm headphone jack and the fact that the Micro can be powered by two AAA batteries or a USB micro cable. Further, M2, the developer that handled the emulation for the Sega Genesis Mini, is also behind the Game Gear Micro’s emulation.

Each colour of the handheld includes specific Game Gear titles. Black features Sonic the Hedgehog, Puyo Puyo 2, Outrun and Royal Stone, while Blue includes Sonic & Tails, Gunstar Heroes, Sylvan Tale and Baku Baku Animal. On the other hand, Yellow features Shining Force Gaiden, Shining Force Gaiden 2, Shining Force Gaiden Final Conflict and Nazo Puyo Arle no Roux, with the red Game Gear Micro including Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible, Megami Tensei Gaiden Last Bible Special, The GG Shinobi and Columns. In an amusing move, pre-orders also get a free ‘Big Window Micro’ accessory that magnifies the handheld’s tiny screen.

It’s likely Sega will opt for more North American-released Game Gear titles if it does bring the Game Gear Micro to North America.

The original 8-bit Game Gear was released back in 1991. While the console included a backlit display and better visuals than Nintendo’s competing Game Boy, the handheld featured poor battery life and was relatively bulky and heavy.

The Game Gear eventually failed to beat the Game Boy and was ultimately discontinued in 1997.

Notable Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu recently teased that a significant announcement was coming from Sega this week, with some rumours pointing towards Microsoft utilizing Sega’s brand recognition in Japan to release the Xbox Series X in the region. However, it seems those reports were inaccurate.

Update 06/03/2020: The story has been updated with more details related to included games and the Game Gear Micro’s Japanese release date.

Via: Kotaku 

The post Sega announces the Game Gear Micro appeared first on MobileSyrup.

If you spend most of your day typing, you shouldn’t be stuck with the mushy keys on your laptop or a cheap, uncomfortable desktop keyboard. Mechanical keyboards allow you to customize their looks and get the typing feel you prefer. And compact keyboards—which are similar in size and layout to a laptop keyboard—take up less space on your desk.

Of the dozens of keyboards we’ve tested, the 75% Epomaker TH80 Pro and the 65% Epomaker TH66 Pro provide the best typing experience and the most extra features for the price.

I’ve changed my years-long avatar to the blue Cap’ shield because the colors of our flag have no business being displayed in any venue until Donald Trump is no longer President (one way or another). The red/white/blue triad has been coopted by an authoritarian, sociopathic puppet and is now a symbol of fear, greed, hate, and evil. I refuse to be associated with it until the principles it is supposed to stand for are even remotely embodied by those who serve our country. I would like to hope that is in mid-January 2021, but I’m not optimistic we’ll have a peaceful change of power.

Be safe. Be well. Be an ally.

Fresh out of university, one of my first jobs was working for the United Nations in Geneva.

I quickly felt bombarded with tedious rules and dull training sessions explaining where to properly store and tag documents, update internal tracking systems and communicate with others.

Frankly, I didn’t have any time for this ‘administrative crap’. I was too busy doing the work.

My first performance review said my work was good, but I wasn’t being a ‘team player’.

Ouch! That stung.

That single phrase ‘being a team player’ resonated. It didn’t only compel me to change my ways, but I’ve found it’s useful to change the motivation of participants in many communities since.

Team players don’t consider themselves too important or too busy to properly tag, store, and share their work.

Whenever we work on an internal community or a project where members are sharing vast amounts of information (which require some tedious rules), we spread the message as clearly as possible – this is what team players do.

In my early twenties I met a wonderful girl named Melissa. In previous relationships I felt like an outsider, but with her I was so at ease. We were young & stupid and let it slip away, but I always looked back on her as the one that got away.

Thirty-ish years later I was walking my dogs in a nearby park and I ran into Melissa. I couldn’t believe it was her, and I couldn’t believe she lived just a few miles away.

We walked and talked for a while that morning, and continued to walk and talk for weeks after. We pretended to be platonic, but I knew I loved her. One day I held her hand and it was the most connected I ever felt with someone.

We went through a lot to get to this point, but on January 1, 2019, we married. “Here Comes the Sun” played as she walked down the aisle, because that’s what she is to me. Our wedding dance was to “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” which was when my friends and family learned I really can’t dance.

We love doing so many things together – hot yoga, running, hiking, martinis, and so much more – but our favorite thing is live music. In the past few years I’ve seen more concerts than I’ve seen in my entire life.

Roger Waters, Metallica, Buddy Guy, Beck, Primus, Rolling Stones, Trombone Shorty, Hamilton, Tool, Dweezil Zappa, Wilco, Aerosmith, Joe Bonamassa, Gary Clark Jr, Anthrax, George Clinton, Jonny Lang, Foo Fighters, the list goes on.

These days, of course, our concert-going has been put on pause. But we’re still having fun.

To keep us sane in lockdown, my wonderful wife filled the yard with toys. We have a badminton net, bean bag toss, croquet, hoppity hops, and a tiny kiddie pool to cool off in. We also bought inflatable paddle boards and kayaks so we can enjoy a nearby lake.

We don’t know where things are headed in this country, but we do know that we’ll continue to live a life of love, laughter, and music. I’m so glad for that morning in the park, and so glad I’m finally sharing this story with you.

1993 classic Doom is headed to yet another video game platform.

Doom is coming to Playdate, a yet-to-be-released handheld console, according to Kotaku. For anyone unaware, Playdate was announced back in May of last year. The handheld is being created by Oregon-based video game publisher and app-developer, Panic.

The device features a black-and-white screen with a yellow look to it. It also has no backlight similar to Nintendo’s original Game Boy, Game Boy Colour and Game Boy Advance.

Unlike Nintendo’s classic handheld, however, the Playdate features Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB-C. The news of Doom being ported to the handheld was revealed by the developer behind the project, Nic Magnier. Magnier showcased the Playdate port through multiple videos, including using the handheld’s crank arm to fire Doom‘s chaingun.

Magnier told Kotaku that this was the handheld’s first playable version of the classic shooter. He adds that it was a personal project for him and that it took about 15 hours to port the game.

“I naturally asked if it would be possible to run Doom. We talked about it, but no one really had time to work on it,” Magnier told Kotaku. “The real challenge [was porting] Doom to a black-and-white screen.”

Playdate is currently only available to developers, but it’s designed to be easy to mod and tweak. The intention of Playdate is not to feature ports but for game developers to develop “fresh, fun, and quirky games”
on the handheld.

If you’re anticipating the launch of Playdate to play original Doom again, it’ll cost you $149 USD (about $201 CAD). That said, the handheld doe not have an official release date yet.

Image Credit: @NicMagnier

Source: Kotaku

The post Game developer cranks Doom’s chaingun in Playdate port test appeared first on MobileSyrup.

My friend Brenda generously gifted us a hot pepper plant and a tomato plant, and I found a place for them in our back yard this morning. We have named them Fiero and Jackson, respectively (the tomato is of the Pollock variety).

The back garden was always completely Catherine’s domain, so this is a stretch for me, and starting out humbly with two plants seems the best approach.

Brenda was full of helpful advice, and I have the full power of The Old Farmer’s Almanac to deploy if needed (/plant/tomatoes has a whole new relevance in my life now!).

There’s a lot of misinformation passing through the internets right now. A lot. Connie Jin, for NPR, made a comic that explains how to spot it.

I suspect FD readers are better than average at staying skeptical, but maybe pass this along to the family members who aren’t so good and picking out what is real and not.

Tags: comic, Connie Jin, coronavirus, misinformation, NPR

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: the Surface Go 2 isn’t for me.

That’s not to say that the Surface Go 2 is a bad device. Far from it. I quite enjoyed using Microsoft’s newest mini-Surface 2-in-1. It’s light, small, easy to carry around (although in the days of COVID-19, I don’t have many places to carry it to).

My issues stem more from my perception of what a Windows device should be and do. When I use a computer running Windows, it’s to get something done, or to play a game. The point is that I need a level of power to accomplish what I want to do on Windows, whether that’s work or entertainment.

The Surface Go 2 doesn’t fit into that niche, but that doesn’t mean it has no place in Microsoft’s lineup. Not everyone is like me, and the Go 2 could be the Surface for you if you can look past the cost.

Specs

• Display: 10.5-inch PixelSense Display, 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, 3:2 aspect ratio, 1500:1 contrast ratio
• Processor: Intel Pentium Gold 4425Y or 8th Gen Intel Core m3
• Memory: 4GB or 8GB of RAM
• Storage: 64GB eMMC drive or 128GB SSD
• Dimensions: 245 mm x 175 mm x 8.3 mm
• Weight: Wi-Fi: 544.3 g (1.2 lb), LTE Advanced: 553.4 g (1.22 lb)
• Camera: 5-megapixel, 1080p front camera with Windows Hello and 8-megapixel rear camera with 1080p video
• Operating System: Windows 10 in S mode (upgradable to regular Windows 10 for free)
• Battery: Up to 10 hours of typical device usage
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, LTE Advanced with Snapdragon X16 modem
• Sensors: Ambient light sensor, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer and NFC
• Ports: 1x USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack, 1x Surface Connect port, microSDXC card reader
• Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 615

You’ve seen this before

Microsoft did not rewrite the rulebook with the Surface Go 2. It is a Surface through and through, from every angle, port and hinge. While the Surface Go 2 isn’t significantly different in looks from its predecessor, it does offer some small refinements.

Namely, Microsoft eked out a slightly larger 10.5-inch display by slimming the bezels. It’s a definite improvement but the bezels are still quite thick and, depending on what you’re doing with the Go 2, it can still feel cramped.

Further, the Surface Go 2 is remarkably light and thin. I’d have no problem tossing it in a backpack and carrying it around. As I said up top, the Go 2 doesn’t offer quite as much power as I would like, but when I was a student this would have been a great companion device.

When I was on campus, I needed something to take notes and occupy my downtime between classes. At the time I had a custom-built PC — obviously, I couldn’t carry it around campus, but it was great for tackling bigger projects — and an ancient Dell laptop that felt about as heavy. My solution at the time was a Bluetooth keyboard I connected to my phone to take notes. The Surface Go 2 would have been perfect in that situation.

Ultimately, I think that’s where the Surface Go 2 excels. The design doesn’t wow you in any meaningful way, but it does a great job of miniaturizing the Surface experience so it’s ultra-portable in ways even the outstandingly portable Surface Pro line fails to be. Another part of this is the charging cable, which itself is a lighter version of the one included with the Surface Pro, which makes it easier to haul around.

Powerful it is not

If I haven’t hammered this point in yet, here it is one more time: the Surface Go 2 is not a powerhouse.

Microsoft sent me the Pentium 4425Y model with 8GB of RAM to review, so my expectations weren’t high to begin with, but it really surprised me how slow it felt. To be fair, I don’t have anything equally low-end to compare it to. However, going from my ageing desktop with an i5-6500 to the Go 2 felt like slamming on the brakes.

At the same time, the Surface Go 2 handled itself remarkably well for various light tasks. Browsing the internet, social media, watching videos and stuff like that all worked fine, even if I had to wait an extra few seconds for the content to appear on my screen.

For the most part, I kept my Surface Go 2 usage light. Probably the most difficult task I put it through was writing this review which, aside from the keyboard (more on that below) was rather smooth.

In Google Docs, there were moments where my typing got ahead of what was on screen and I’d have to pause for a moment to let it catch up. When switching tasks, I often waited a few seconds for things to catch up. However, it was able to get the job done.

Photo editing, on the other hand, was an exercise in suffering. Photoshop was sluggish on the Surface Go 2, and Adobe clearly didn’t design the interface to work on a screen this small. Everything felt cramped and too small, with the exception of the Camera Raw app. Its interface was so large I couldn’t fit the whole thing on Surface Go 2 screen, or shrink it enough to make it fit.

Ultimately, temper your expectations with the Surface Go 2. While the higher-end Core m3 model may fare better, I doubt it will be significantly faster than the Pentium. If you use the Go 2 for light web browsing, productivity and multimedia, you’ll likely have few problems with it. If you use your PC for heavier tasks like photo editing, the Surface Go 2 isn’t for you.

Can’t help but wonder why it wasn’t ARM

While Intel’s Pentium handles fairly well, I found myself wondering why Microsoft hadn’t opted for an ARM processor of some kind in the Surface Go 2.

Not only are ARM CPUs better suited for small, ultra-portable devices like the Surface Go 2, but Microsoft has also proven the efficacy of ARM on Windows.

Last year’s Surface Pro X was one of the most exciting launches for the company because it returned to ARM and, despite some early teething issues, showed that Windows 10 can perform well on the platform.

The biggest issue with the Surface Pro X was a lack of compatibility with some x86 apps. Further, those that did work often didn’t work well due to emulation. While definitely a concern, I feel it’s less so on a device like the Surface Go 2 which comes running Windows 10 in S Mode and arguably doesn’t have the power to make the most of the x86 apps that ARM would struggle with.

First, let’s tackle S mode. A Microsoft representative told me the Surface Go 2 wouldn’t come running S mode by default, but that wasn’t the case on my review unit. For those unfamiliar with S mode, it’s a more locked-down Windows 10. Out of the box, it can only run apps from the Microsoft Store and can only browse the web with Microsoft’s Edge browser — egregiously, the Surface Go 2 didn’t even offer me the new Chromium-based Edge out of the box.

Microsoft bills S mode as a more secure version of Windows since you can’t install stuff that Microsoft hasn’t vetted for safety. While it could be great for the less tech-savvy or for kids you want to protect, it’s definitely not for everyone.

Thankfully, S mode takes all of two minutes to remove. The first time I tried to install something from the web, Windows 10 gave me a warning about S mode and sent me to the Microsoft Store where I could leave S mode with the click of a button.

As for the x86 apps, most of them work fine but expect there to be some issues. Apps like Photoshop just aren’t made for screens this small and performance is mixed on these low-power processors.

The other big culprits are third-party browsers, specifically Chrome. Firefox has a version for ARM, which worked okay when I tested it on the Pro X, but it wasn’t great. Microsoft’s new Edge browser, however, worked great on ARM.

All this is to say that, at least to me, an ARM option in the Surface Go 2 would have made much more sense. Microsoft wouldn’t even need to fit its custom SQ1 processor into the Go 2 — Qualcomm’s own Snapdragon compute platform has several system-on-a-chip (SoC) options that would fit well into the Go 2 budget and likely offer appropriate performance, battery life and more.

It’s mostly speculation, but I’d imagine an ARM-powered Surface Go would at worse be less performant than an Intel-powered equivalent, and at best elevate the experience with better performance and battery life.

Tiny keys

The Surface Go 2’s keyboard is difficult to judge. On the one hand, I find it far too small and in general, typing is more difficult on it than other devices I’ve tried, like the Surface Pro 7. However, I’m also impressed by just how good the typing experience is for a device with such a tiny keyboard.

First, let’s get the obvious out of the way. It’s a Surface keyboard, so that means typing on your lap is more difficult than with a traditional laptop. Interestingly, I found the Go 2 handled lap typing much better than other Surface devices, possibly because the smaller size makes it less top-heavy. Despite this, it still bounced around on my lap.

Typing on a desk was much better, but I found the keyboard cramped. I typed the entirety of this review on the Surface Go 2, which was a test in patience and how robust auto-correct has become. Perhaps given enough time I could grow used to the size of the keyboard, but as is, I find I often overreach the keys I want to hit.

Suffice it to say, if you plan on doing a lot of typing, you may want to consider a bigger Surface model, or perhaps skipping the Type Cover entirely in favour of a larger Bluetooth keyboard for use when you really want to type.

Even more aggravating is that the Type Cover remains unbundled with the Surface Go 2, which makes the Go 2 seem deceptively cheap. The base model costs $529 and you’ll shell out at least $129 for the Type Cover, which puts the Surface Go 2 at almost $660 before tax.

Battery Life

Throughout my time with the Surface Go 2, I was impressed by its standby time. Unlike many other laptops I’ve used, I was able to close up the Surface Go 2 and leave it off the charger and unattended for days without worry it’d die. In my experience, most laptops, including the Surface ones, would struggle to make it more than two days in a similar state.

While standby time certainly impressed, battery life during typical usage was less impressive. Microsoft advertises 10 hours of “typical device usage.” In my own testing, I never cracked the five-hour mark and often got considerably less, depending on how hard I pushed the Go 2.

To be frank, I never expected the Go 2 to offer incredible battery life, but the standby time definitely is a point in the device’s favour. Being able to leave it off the charger and freely use it as I need without worry about the battery was a nice convenience.

Identity crisis

Ultimately, I feel like the Surface Go 2 has an identity crisis. On the one hand, Microsoft bills it as a great, portable computer for students or kids. The Go 2 definitely works in those scenarios, but I’m not sure it makes the most sense.

For example, the price of a Surface Go 2 would rule it out as a device for kids in my mind, while at a student level I feel like something with a bit more power would make the most sense.

Additionally, the Surface Go 2 seems to be a portable, low-power secondary option to a desktop PC. In my time with it, that’s how I found the Go 2 worked best for me. However, that niche segment isn’t something I’d find myself spending over $600 on, especially when so many low-cost tablet alternatives exist to fill the same role.

Throughout the review, I found myself struggling to find reasons to pick up the Surface Go 2. I think that’s the root of the issue for me. In almost every situation I needed a computer, I found I either needed something more powerful, like a desktop, or much more versatile, like a phone. It was rare that I needed both less power than my PC and more screen than what my phone provided.

The post Surface Go 2 Review: Great mini computer in a tiny niche appeared first on MobileSyrup.

The wave of protest and unrest in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by the police shows little sign of abating just yet. Unrest nationwide is, if anything, increasing as protesters are met with repression by the police. Civil unrest of this scope is unusual. The conjunction of mass protest and widespread disorder should be worrying to those in authority.

When property damage and theft happens as a side-effect of real mass protest, authorities in a democracy cannot baton, tear gas, or shoot their way to legitimacy. People want social order, but this isn’t like quelling a riot after a sports game. The key issue—as the Governor of Minnesota put it the other day—is that “there are more of them than us”. All the tactical gear in the world isn’t worth a damn, ultimately, if enough of the population ends up in open revolt against civil authority. There are just too many people.

That’s one reason the Army are on the scene already in DC. If the mobilization is large enough and it’s met with police repression and brutality—rather than some more accommodating strategy—then it will only take a few days before things seem to spin right out of control. The desire to present a “show of force” to protesters is understandable. It can be strategically sensible, too, insofar as it is aimed both at dealing with those in the streets and at securing the support of an approving audience who just want things to calm down. This calculus can change rapidly, however, as larger and larger numbers of people become directly and indirectly supportive of the protests.

Those actually running cities, and city police forces, are usually aware of this. Practical experience and decades of research makes it clear what’s at stake when “ordinary criminal behavior” is happening in the context of mass protest rather than as mere disorderly conduct. This is one of the reasons that authorities tend to blame “outside agitators” or “the media” or “protesters from out of state” as being the real cause of unrest. Protest organizers will do this too, often enough, blaming disorder on fringe groups or provocateurs who have illegitimately attached themselves to an otherwise peaceful protest. But if the bulk of a city’s population really is directly engaged in mass protest or indirectly supportive of it, and these protests are met with force by the authorities, then violent disorder will start to look less like pockets of disruption disapproved of by all and more like the loss of legitimacy.

In the United States, these pressures are exacerbated by racial stratification. The deep-seated racism of almost all aspects of U.S. life, and the residential racial segregation of many cities, makes it easier to mobilize the support of whites for the use of force in the name of social order. Even here, crises have been accommodated by efforts to redirect unrest towards an ordinary political process. The demand for social order without repression, after all, is not restricted to whites.

President Trump has no interest in routine politics. His instincts are authoritarian, his interest in the mechanics of governance is nil, and his attention span is minimal. He has been happy to cultivate the political support of the police and to egg on its paramilitary elements. Trump’s temperament intersects badly with long-term trends. The increasingly paramilitary culture (and equipment) of U.S. police forces has been noted by observers over the past twenty five years. The police were already aware that, thanks to astonishingly strong union contracts, weak internal oversight, and the doctrine of qualified immunity, individual officers would face no or minimal consequences for the use of excessive force, up to and including force that resulted in someone’s death.

Trump’s personal attitudes merely catalyzed what was already there. But it did so on both sides. Trump started out as a very unpopular leader and the scale of the economic crisis accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic has made everything much worse. Structurally, lockdown has put millions of people out of work. Contingently, the relatively small but highly visible wave of reopening protests threw the current unrest into sharp relief. In the former case, white protesters were allowed to vent their anger directly in the faces of police in ordinary uniform. Masked men with armalite rifles were permitted to walk onto the floor of state legislatures in the name of liberty. Such things are of course simply inconceivable in the context of black-led protest.

Thus were created the conditions for the fusion of mass protest and violent unrest. In the absence of mass mobilization for protest, imposing “Law and Order” by force is usually a politically successful tactic, at least in the short-run. The demand for order is the most basic demand of political life. But attempting to impose order by force when people are protesting in the streets en masse is much riskier, both for the leader wanting to “dominate” and for political institutions generally. A competent democratic leader may effectively de-escalate conflict and return it to the sphere of ordinary political struggle. Alternatively, a competent authoritarian may secure control of the police and military and get the backing of enough people to leave democracy behind. What you generally can’t do in a democracy, though, is “crush” or “dominate” real mass dissent purely by force without also causing political institutions to come crashing down around your head.

Price Tags Reader Ray read my  post on the Return of the Corner Store and reinforces the importance of the neighbourhood store for convenience, independence, and aging in place.

Ray says: I grew up a 5 min walk from McGill Grocery in the 1950’s & 60’s. There were actually three small grocery stores close by, the closest to me was also on McGill, a block west of the McGill Grocery at Penticton.

Having a grocery store on our North side of busy McGill Street, meant that my mother could sent me to get milk, or the odd item of food, or frequently used household supplies. I could also go there when I walked home from school, or when my friends and I were free. My mother walked or took the bus everywhere. She did most of her shopping on Hastings St., unless she caught the bus on McGill Street to go to Woodwards downtown.

In her later years, my mother relied heavily on McGill grocery. Access to that store helped her to ‘age in place’.I feel badly for parents who can’t walk to neighbourhood services as I did, who don’t know most of the people they get their supplies from, and often don’t even know their neighbours.

Now I live in West Point Grey. We moved here because it enabled my father-in-law to live with us. Here he could walk to the Safeway, and to the shops on 10th Ave a few blocks away.However Safeway has now closed, and many other shops on 10th Ave have closed. Without those shops, I fear aging in place will be more difficult for us.

I hope the experiences with Covid-19 will increase the efforts increase the viability of grocery stores and other local shops. They help create the more walkable city we need.”

I’ve been posting the occasional video vignettes of city life in the time of covid – especially along the Slow Streets and the Beach Flow Way.

Video captures the cyclists and walkers intersecting among each other – appearing like dancers on an asphalt stage.  The setting is ideal: the beauty of a particularly lush spring, according to gardening friends.  A big drop in the number and noise of vehicles.  Busy roadways notched down.  All that’s needed is music.

Here’s the latest such vignette: 32 seconds set to Bach, at the corner of Beach and Davie, where the blocks on all sides are completely closed to cars.

The volume of cyclists is so high that the crosswalk demands even more attention and respect from high-speed two-wheelers and alert walkers, who want to cross the flow way wherever they want.  So they should – so long as there’s mutual respect.

The result can seem almost choreographed, right up to the birds overhead.

Here is ‘English Bay Ballet’ from the Virus Pastorale Suite*.

* Thanks to Andrew Walsh for music, production and support.

Hearing aids cost thousands of dollars, which is in part why less than a third of Americans who would benefit from a hearing aid actually wear one, according to a 2006 study. For those with mild to moderate hearing loss, studies have shown that personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) can be nearly as effective at around a fifth of the price. We tested seven PSAPs in 2020 (and have tested 10 total since 2018), and we are sure the Sound World Solutions CS50+ is the best one. In some situations it improves hearing nearly as much as a hearing aid; it’s also the easiest to program, and it has a longer return period than most. As with hearing aids, no PSAP will work well for everyone, and shopping for one requires some trial and error.

Microsoft’s revamped Edge browser is finally starting to roll out to Windows 10 users.

Despite launching back in January, the new Chromium-based Edge was only available to Windows users if they manually downloaded it. However, a new Microsoft support page spotted by The Verge notes that the browser is now available on Windows Update, the software the company uses to rollout Windows 10 updates.

In other words, an update with the new Edge browser should begin rolling out to most Windows 10 users in the coming days. With over one billion Windows 10 devices currently in use, that could mean a lot of potential new users for Edge.

The Verge also notes that the new Edge will automatically install on on Windows 10 version 1803 or higher through Windows Update. While that should cover most currently supported versions of Windows 10, anyone on an older version of the OS who wants the new browser can still manually download it.

If you’re not sure which version of Windows 10 you’re running, you can check by tapping the ‘Windows’ key on your PC and typing ‘About’ and hitting enter. Under the ‘Windows specifications’ header, you can see which version of Windows 10 you’re running.

As with the recent Windows 10 May 2020 Update, Microsoft appears to be rolling the Edge update out slowly, so if you don’t see it just yet, you may have to wait a bit.

Over the last few months, Microsoft has steadily improved its Chromium-based Edge browser. It’s received plenty of new features, including Collections and extension sync, and should be set to receive more, including vertical tabs. While some things, such as history and tab sync, still aren’t fully available, they should arrive sometime this summer.

All in all, if you’re looking for a possible Chrome alternative, Microsoft Edge is finally a competitor once again.

If you’re on an older version of Windows, run macOS or just don’t want to wait, you can also download the new Edge manually from Microsoft’s website.

Source: Microsoft Via: The Verge

The post New Microsoft Edge to start rolling out via Windows Update appeared first on MobileSyrup.

Vancouver-based national carrier Telus is planning to build a commercial office and innovation centre in downtown Victoria, B.C.

The centre will become Telus’ regional headquarters for approximately 250 employees. It will also be home to an innovation hub that will showcase advanced communications and information technology.

The carrier is paying $8.1 million to purchase the property from the city, along with an additional $1.1 million purchase price adjustment depending on the final proposal submitted and approved as part of the rezoning process.

Telus is working with Victoria-based Aryze Developments as a community development partner. The Aryze project team will ensure the initiative progresses in alignment with the shared goals of the community, the city and Telus.

“Together, Telus and Aryze are seeking to bring forward an architecturally-significant project; one that will create an opportunity for Victoria to be at the forefront of new technology and contribute to the social and entrepreneurial fabric of the city,” the city wrote in a press release.

Source: City of Victoria

The post Telus to build an office and innovation centre in Victoria, B.C. appeared first on MobileSyrup.

Three years ago on the 100th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion I wrote about the 2,000 people that died when a munitions ship blew up. That explosion left 25,000 people homeless, with 20 percent of the  population killed or seriously maimed. The Vancouver Sun published an interactive map that detailed the events leading up to and after the explosion.

But there was another story too, and that was the rebuilding of the city. The explosion meant that Halifax could  rebuild the city with better constructed houses, paved roads,  and proper water pipes and discharge sewers, an effort that took many years.  The City of Boston and organizations like the Rockefeller Foundation teamed together to bring health and sanitary services to the community. This has been documented in a book edited by David Sutherland called We Harbour No Evil Design: Rehabilitation Efforts after the Halifax Explosion of 1917.

Before the blast, Halifax still had dirt roads, unreliable electricity, open sewers and a declining tax base. Despite the  funding that came to rebuild the city in a sanitary way, it  was not distributed evenly across Halifax. While the funding brought pasteurized milk, water treatment and a health centre, certain neighborhoods received sanitary sewers while one neighbourhood received none. Author Michelle Herbert Boyd observed that wealthier areas such as Richmond were  provided for while the African Canadian neighbourhood at Halifax’s North End, Africville, received scant assistance.

Africville was established in the 1840’s and included freed slaves and refugees from the War of 1812.  When new sanitation sewer was provided for all of Halifax, it was not extended to Africville. While the Richmond neighbourhood  was “being reconstructed and improved after the Explosion, the main sewer line was brought directly through Africville to empty into Bedford Basin; Africville residents were not themselves given sewer service, and to add insult to injury, they had to endure raw sewage from their Richmond neighbours running through their backyards whenever a line broke.” 

That inequity continued in the following decades.  In the 1930’s Africville residents petitioned for running water, paved roads, sewage disposal garbage removal, police coverage and electricity. That was ignored by Halifax City Council. And in the 1950’s Council placed an open-pit garbage dump 350 meters away from the western side of Africville. That cemented the city’s perception of this neighbourhood as a slum. There’s no “reference in the council minutes to any concern for the health of Africville residents, or any consultation”.

In the 1960’s when Africville was cleared for a “renewal” scheme popular at the time, few residents had land titles and the land was expropriated by the City a lot at a time over a period of five years. Promised rehousing never materialized, and residents’ belongings were moved in dump trucks instead of moving vans.

Today the segregated school which was closed in 1953 has been rebuilt as a museum and the area renamed Africville Park. The school site was made a National Historic Site in 1996 and on February 24 2010 Halifax Regional Municipality Mayor Peter Kelly offered an official apology for the community’s destruction.

You can read more about Africville’s remarkable history and legacy here and view this short YouTube video from Historica Canada.

Shortly after the 2016 elections I found myself, my wife and daughter (almost 5yo), and a couple of thousand other people down in Seattle for an event around Green Lake. It was a moment of everyone joining together, a show of solidarity. Or something. I live in a very liberal area so you can imagine people were feeling pretty down and not sure what to do after the election.

There was a playground within walking distance from where we stood, so afterwards our daughter was swinging from bars and running around with other little kids, as they do. I remember seeing one child with curly dark hair wearing a shirt that said Black Lives Matter on it. I looked to see if their parents were wearing similar clothing.

Of course they weren't. Why weren't they? Why weren't any adults wearing this message? Why wasn't I? I agreed that Black Lives Matter. We were all outraged by what we were seeing happening to black people in America. But why did I never see expressions of this outrage in the physical world? And when I do, why are the adults having the children wear the clothes?

It was embarrassment or a fear of being judged, I surmised. Was that the reason I had seen no adults, in real life, sharing this message? Was this why I wasn't proclaiming this for everyone to see?

It gnawed at me. The memory of this little kid wearing a BLM shirt and the shame I felt for not doing the same never left my mind.

So I made some bumper stickers. 3 inches by 10 with black text on a white background. Black Lives Matter. Easy to read and hard to miss. It's the only bumper sticker on my car, and for years I've been driving with it, on the lookout for reactions. I kept the extras in my glove compartment, hoping someone would say something as I parked. Maybe exchanging some sort of positive dialog and I'd be able to hand out the extras and they would show up on other cars.

Every little reminder to my white neighbors would help, I thought. Hello random white person behind me in an SUV- have you thought about your privilege today? It's a bumper sticker. It's not much, but it's something.

Over three years now, and I still have all of the unused bumper stickers in my car. Nobody has said a thing. I was being foolishly optimistic hoping I could convince or talk to someone about it.

...

But this is supposed to be a post about what's happening in these socially distant days.

Life continues, for most of us.

We apparently have a small family of rabbits living off our grass and clover and vegetable garden. Three small ones and at least one adult. Kirstin has tried to block them from entering under our fence, but she has found out it doesn't work very well from the videos I show her of bunnies squeezing on through.

She's torn, as am I. She's worried about the strawberries we grow every year and I'm slightly pissed about the decapitated pepper plants. But the bunnies are so damn cute! Our dog is super curious about them as well, and wants to be their giant friend. There may or may not be a bunny relocation effort in the near future, depending on Kirstin's tolerance. I'm fine with them, enough peppers will survive.

I haven't had a pizza takeout for a number of weeks because I started a new project to turn our little tool shed into a bouldering cave. It feels good to be pulling on climbing holds again, and to hang from a 50° wall, even if it is only 3 or 4 feet off the ground. This combined with traversing on our retaining wall is keeping me in climbing shape. I'm still hopeful that the climbing gym will open up again at some point this summer, but I have no doubt that it'll be closed again in the fall when the second wave hits.

And so life goes on. Waiting for what feels like forever and at the same time, no time at all. Hoping a vaccine will come sooner rather than later.

...

I guess I lied earlier about how many BLM bumper stickers I have left. This past week 6 of them went to new homes, via Kirstin, who let people know they were available on a local moms mailing list.

I hope to see them on cars around town. I hope to see more reminders for everyone, everywhere, that Black Lives Matter. I'm hopeful for change, but if things continue as they are it'll only happen one inch at a time, one beating after another. Another murder. And then things will quiet down again.

A bumper sticker feels pointless and more than a little silly. I know I can do more than this piddly little thing and who am I, hiding up North away from all the violence saying "Hey look at me I'm doing my part!". I'm not doing all I can. Barely any of us are, and some of use are actively pushing against change.

But I hope that even if it makes only one person stop and think for a few seconds, or to feel some shame, it's done something positive. It's too easy to move on and forget about injustice for a while once the flames burn out. I hope that after the current protests die down and the outrage is put away for a while, I hope to see more reminders for everyone. Let's not forget and let's be mindful of our prejudices and make changes every day, and let us keep on reminding our white neighbors and friends that America is still awash in racism. And let's vote for people who will make change in the right direction, and let's push back and call out racist behavior when we see it

I left Facebook under two years ago, but I remained trapped in Zuck’s hell on earth. Instagram and Whatsapp had a major control on me for some stupid reasons. No more. I disagree with the company, and its leaders so much that I won’t spend any of my attention or energy on its platforms.

As I told you, you have to act on principle:

While you are at it, get off Instagram, and use something other than WhatsApp. Otherwise, you are just endorsing Zuck’s way of doing business - and it is a dirty business.

Grow a spine, even when it seems difficult. Especially, if it seems difficult.

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