Trekking Out: More TNG 6

“The Chains of Command” is a fantastic, dramatic two-parter. Ronny Cox delivers a great performance as the abrasive Captain Jellico while David Warner returns to the Trek universe as the Cardassian who tortures Picard. Written in consultation with Amnesty International, the ordeal for Picard is far worse than when he experienced with the Borg.

“Ship in the Bottle” is an excellent contrast to the previous dark story, and is example of a Holodeck story done well. Daniel Davis returns as Prof. Moriarty and we get some Barclay to boot in this sequel to season two’s “Elementary, Dear Data.”

“Acquiel” is a mystery-style episode that never quite works for me. It’s meant to be a Geordi-centric episode, but only in that he falls for one of the guest characters, a young woman who may be a murderer.

“Face of the Enemy” has a few holes in the plot if you examine it too deeply but it’s a lot of fun to watch Deanna Troi forced to go undercover as a Romulan helping Spock with his underground movement.

“Tapestry” is yet again proof that the Q character doesn’t have to become stale. This time around he helps Picard revisit his past and change the course of his personal history.

“Birthright” is a two-parter I couldn’t be bothered to watch again. The scenes is part one where Data’s dream program is activated with the help of Deep Space Nine’s Dr. Bashir, but the second half with Worf is rather dry.Technorati Tags: star trek, ST:TNG, tv, dvd

Bring Back The Rhino Party

I normally don’t get political, but as a former journalist and someone who’s incited to yell at the TV whenever he watches the evening news, I must post something in response to the shenanigans in Ottawa.

First off, Stephen Harper started it. As a standalone issue, I would like to phase out government support for political parties, but now was not the time to do it.

Second, I applaud the Harper government for trying to reign in spending in certain areas. That makes sense, even in the good times. I do not want tax dollars wasted.

However, the second half of the economic statement should have outlined new spending on infrastructure and innovative ideas to stimulate the economy with a modest deficit as a result.

Stephen Harper seems completely out of touch with the fears of Canadians about the state of the economy. The fears are valid. Two cousins of mine just lost their jobs. One has a baby on the way and her husband just lost his job too. The economic slowdown, recession or whatever you want to call it, is real.

Harper also seems to be unaware that he is leading a minority government and despite pledging to work with others in parliament to address the challenges of this country, he has gone back to being the close-minded bully he’s always been.

In the meantime, that Dion and the Liberals are so willing to topple the government now after not challenging the last minority government is irritating. In addition, since all of the soundbites post-economic statement were with regard to the cut in funding of political parties, all opposition MPs come off sounding like children who found out their parents were reducing their allowance during tough times.

Their objection to the economic statement as a whole is valid. There should have been a stimulus plan of some sort. Harper, who denied Canada was in recession and later admitted this is the worst period since the depression, can not put yhis off until the spring or even January. Even president-elect Obama is getting his ducks in a row before taking office and every Western country is making moves to stimulate their economies through some sort of infrastructure spending. Does Harper know something they don’t? I doubt it.

Now, for the people who say this coalition initiative is undemocratic, you’re wrong. It’s a valid response to this minority government’s recent economic statement. It’s opportunistic, not treason.

Hopefully our Governor General will knock some sense into everyone. But while I think Harper shot himself in the foot and would love to see him gone because of who he is, not because he’s a Tory, the Coalition-Made-Up-Of-Those-Who-Didn’t-Win-The-Last Election doesn’t inspire me with confidence either.

Mark Your Calendar: ORION / CANARIE Joint Summit

Powering Research and Innovation: A National Summit – Program

This Is Why People Bittorrent TV Shows

Series Four of the current incarnation of Doctor Who will debut on the CBC on September 19th.

The series is already half done in the UK but we still have to wait despite the fact CBC is a co-producer and that we have a specialty channel here called BBC Canada. To add insult to injury, this will likely delay the release of the series on DVD.

I Don’t Want to Be Hyperconnected…

… although when I do need to connect, it should be fast and easy.

I don’t believe being hyperconnected makes you more productive. I’ve worked with people who are online all of the time, through e-mail, text and IM, and they so busy connecting, they never get any work done.

US Polar Bear Listing Misses Point

The main threat to polar bears is disappearing ice, not hunters. [via Quirks + Quarks]
Technorati Tags: environment, nature, global warming

More decision-makers bring less efficiency

This reminds me of a client who let every member on its board of directors have input into every press release.

It’s the other Parkinson’s: the progressive degeneration of a committee’s ability to make decisions as the committee adds more members.

[via ScienceNews]
Technorati Tags: science, workplace, psychology

Sanity Prevails

Tempest over a Timbit: fired Tim Hortons cashier gets her job back.

This Is Just Wrong

Tim Hortons fires single mom over free Timbit.

Is Your Corporate Culture Conducive to Innovation?

Do people have time to actually do their work, or are they sacrificing the needs of their own projects on the altar of “responsiveness”? If so, you might want to first have a conversation about whether these habits are actually helping your company move forward.

Dan Markovitz observes that many organizations, no matter how much money they throw at a problem or how many gurus they bring in, are not truly able to innovate because they simply do not have enough time to think.

Forget about hiring the business guru [TimeBack Management]

Technorati Tags: technology, productivity, innovation, workplace, time management