Re-discovering free time

My goodness it’s summer. I’m back in California for two weeks, and stuck in Pacifica without a car, and a joke of a public transportation system (note web design circa 1999).

With this free time, I plan on making some updates to this page. Current goals include:

• Adding a portfolio of Daily work, completed over the last two years as Design Editor there.
• Creating an archive of stories i’ve written or worked on for The Daily, that doesn’t require a google search.
• Building an “About Me” page that isn’t embarrassing.

Meanwhile, I’m also working on a few projects for The Daily’s website, which I’ll be administering next year:

• A re-useable flash-based ‘back end’ that will serve up multiple audio slideshows, or other flash movies (based on a similar theme), with the New York Times’ “One in eight Million” delivery mechanism as inspiration.
• A prettier, and more useful “about us” page.
• A basic archive of Volume 98’s PDF files. (DONE)
• The Daily’s transition to hot ink, a new content management system being developed by CUP.

Stay tuned!

After 180 hour silence, Vogt returns

 

It appears that Vogt, unlike Nelles, has emerged from hibernation.

One week and half a day after his last post, and one crushing defeat (at the hands of rival, Drew Nelles) later, former Daily-ite PJ Vogt is back, with two posts in the as many hours. It appears as though the blog of at least one blog-off blogger may survive past the embarrassment that was last week.

As for the fate of this fledgling little web community, I’ll continue to post my Daily stories when I get the chance (look for two later tonight), and occasionally make some comments that go beyond what I’m allowed to do in a simple news story. I may also continue to cover the petty posting of our former colleagues, although it may be limited by the amount of free time I have available, and the length of my attention span.

Daily: Management students go green

Originally published in The McGill Daily 29 January 2009

Students from across Canada will convene at McGill this week to discuss ways to mix business with sustainability.

The sixth annual McGill Business Sustainability Conference, which begins today and runs until Saturday, is focusing on the theme “Awake.”

According to conference co-chair Jacob Schickler, this year’s organizers chose the theme in order to reflect on the prominence that sustainability initiatives have taken in recent years.

“Five years ago, people used the word sustainability in a different way, it was a buzzword,” he said. “It’s not about people turning their lights off anymore; it’s about how we’ve become awakened to the fact that we have to do something right now.”

The conference organizers hope participants will critically analyze current sustainable business models, and discuss those that are mutually beneficial to the environment and the economy.

While the daytime sessions – which bring together representatives of corporations, NGOs, and professors for small presentations – are open only to pre-registered attendees, students may purchase tickets to attend either of the two keynote speeches, taking place on Thursday and Friday evening.

Tonight’s keynote speech features Steven Guilbeault, a founding member of Équiterre, which campaigns for ecological agriculture, fair trade goods, energy efficiency, and sustainable transportation in Montreal. He is also a spokesperson for Greenpeace’s climate and energy campaign.

Robert D. Weese, a Vice President at General Electric (GE) Canada who works with all levels of government in support of GE’s Canadian business, will give Friday’s keynote speech.

The conference will also host green groups from various universities at a sustainability fair from 3-5 p.m. on Friday in the Shatner ballroom, which is open to the public.

Both keynotes take place at 5:30 p.m. Thursday’s speech will be held in Moot Court, Chancellor Day Hall, and Friday’s speech will be held in Bronfman 151. Tickets to each event are available at the door and cost $5.

Vogt concedes blog off by not posting, turning to bottle

In an anti-climactic tick of the clock on Friday night, Nelles, who put up a post on Friday on the apparent connection between blog off participation and the reciept of job offers, took the first annual blog off trophy. Nelles fails to mention, of course, the still-unemployed status of this reporter. This is beside the point. Also, no word yet on a rematch challenge from Vogt. 

By not putting up a post in the 24 hour period on friday (or over the weekend, explaining extenuating circumstances), PJ Vogt has lost the blog of. Let the record show that Drew Nelles’ blog is superior to the blog of PJ Vogt. Once again, for the google bots, Drew Nelles is better than PJ Vogt. 

For the record, here is the final scoreboard:

Daily: Administrators, students present sustainable food programs

Originally published in The McGill Daily 26 January 2009.

The recently formed McGill Food Systems Project (MFSP) presented its mandate Thursday at a meeting that also included a presentation by McGill Food and Dining services of its sustainability projects.

The MFSP aims to unite disparate campus research in order to maximize the ecological, social, and economic sustainability of McGill’s food systems, according to Dana Lahey, one of the group’s organizers.

“We’re trying to engage the McGill community, get research done on campus, and help that research drive change,” Lahey said.

Lahey lamented that much student research never makes it out of the classroom. He hoped that the MFSP can bridge the gap between classes like “social context of business” and campus decision-makers.

“With a structure like this we can help fit all of the little pieces together,” he said. “If we can get research done through classes that are already happening, then we can put that information together and make concrete recommendations for changing things.”

At the meeting, Bill Pageau, director of McGill Food and Dining Services also highlighted his “Martlet social responsibility” program, which includes multiple sustainability projects.

Pageau pointed to successful initiatives, such as the adoption of fair trade coffee in most outlets and the implementation of a wet waste filtration system, as examples of sustainable solutions that succeeded because they were supported by strong economic drivers.

“I think that the ends have to justify the means when we’re looking at the environment,” Pageau said. “When asked, students support the environmental initiatives, but when asked if they’ll support them financially, the support isn’t there.”

Pageau also heralded the success of the McGill Farmer’s market, making note of the abnormally fast pace at which the project cleared regulatory hurdles with the administration.

“It really showed for once how administrators and student groups can really work together to achieve a common goal,” he said.

In closing, Pageau suggested that students get involved in groups such as the MFSP and the McGill University Student Dining Advisory Committee, and take an active role in bringing sustainable change.

“People have to legislate less and participate more,” he said.

Contact the MFSP at mcgill.foodsystems.project@gmail.com.

Blog off nears anti-climactic end

Just twenty eight hours prior to the end of the blog off, both Vogt and Nelles appear to be slowing up a bit. Late last night, Vogt put up two posts: one the first part of a long overdue exposé on his dealings with the “slush pile” at TAL, the other a half-assed short quip about having found a temporary job in a ludicrously short amount of time. What Vogt failed to mention was his stellar reccommendation (listen to the last minute or so) from his former boss, which may have given him a bit of an advantage with the gig. Looking at Vogt’s blog a bit closer, it also appears that the blogger changed the date of the former post, to make it appear as though it was posted on Tuesday (the day that he took a very legitimate pass). Will his readers stand for this egregious falsehood???

Over in the Nelles camp, it appears things are chugging right along: he’s got a post up this evening on douchebag Negroponte’s  One Laptop per Child programme (and babies). 

… that said, Vogt’s new layout
is acceptable… at best.

It’s midnight…

… and still nothing from Vogt. Has he conceded the blog off to the far more prolific blogging of Drew Nelles? Or does he plan on coming through after the deadline, and pleading forgiveness.

Nelles posts a zinger!

Nelles gets a post in right before noon today aimed squarely at this reporter:

Yesterday, Vanderbilt referred to me as “unemployed,” which is untrue, and therefore defamatory. Although he later made a reluctant correction, the sloppiness doesn’t end there. Vanderbilt implies today that, when I was unable to write a daily blog-off post earlier this week due to internet problems, I could have simply headed to one of Montreal’s many wireless cafes. But a simple fact-check would have revealed that I have not been in Montreal for over a month. A three-second Facebook search would have confirmed this, as would a quick discussion with one of Vanderbilt’s more professional colleagues, such as Max Halparin. Will Vanderbilt correct this glaring error? And what reforms will be put into place to avoid catastrophes like this in the future?

I’ll accept that my talk of Nelles’ unemployment was unfounded (and I dutifully corrected my words as soon as I was informed of the error), but this latest accusation is simply out of line. Nelles suggests that by linking to a google map search of “free internet” in Montreal, I implied that he was, in fact in Montreal. This is obviously not the case. Rather, I was simply referring to the fact that finding free internet in Montreal, let alone ANY URBAN CENTER, is ridiculously easy, and Nelles’ inability to do so may not be as valid an excuse as he made it out to be earlier in the week.

All the while, Vogt remains silent.

Vogt “takes his pass,” despite not defining what that is

In a new development, Vogt “took a pass” right before the buzzer last night and promised two posts today; however, it remains unclear how the rules of the blog off will apply to this decision. Earlier in the week, Nelles left his blog absent for an entire day, but later claimed that he was without the internet (no word yet on his proximity to coffee shops serving up the web) and posted twice the next day. In this case, Vogt’s post makes it clear that he was connected to the internet. Did Vogt deliberately not post yesterday, and then try to pass off his unemployment as a valid excuse? If so, that’s unethical. But there are no judges to decide the victor in the blog off. Also, should Nelles’ double post yesterday entitle him to an extra pass later in the week? What do the readers think?

[Edit: Former DPS board member Sarah C. got in contact via secure communication and referred me to facebook, where, in fact, Vogt had offered to let Nelles stay in the competition during his internet downtime only if Vogt would then be allowed one "pass" to be held for use on a future date. It appears as though last night, Vogt decided to use his pass. This reporter stands corrected. The chart still stands.]

Nelles posts a second time, two days in a row

For the second day in a row, Nelles squashes the competition, posting a bit on a Biden snafu during the national anthem at today’s inauguration. Of course, the illegally posted video on youtube that he linked to has been taken down now, and I can’t find it elsewhere (abc is probably trying to stay on good terms with the new admin… at least for the first 24 hours). 

Also, a weird second paragraph references this weblog (!). He claims that I have “an Obamamaniac-esque devotion to my former non-hierarchical superiors.” I’ve been paying attention to my former colleagues this year, and I didn’t notice any unique devotion on my part, but maybe it’s true. 

We’re still waiting on a post from Vogt tonight. This reporter will try to cover it, but may find his pillow more entertaining. 

N.B. Writing this blog, I haven’t blasted either blogger for things not relating to their participation in the blog-off, their editorial decisions on their blogs or their decisions as official representatives of their personal web-spaces.