newsonaut
Turning inner space into outer space
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Moving on
I’ve picked myself up, dusted myself off and am ready for another ride. I’ve decided to take a blank-slate approach to my search for new work. I learned at lot as new media editor at the Kamloops Daily News, and I’m sure I could apply it in many ways. With that in mind, I have created a web page showing samples of my multimedia projects. It makes me feel good that I can preserve it.
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Thursday, January 9, 2014
Closure
I never imagined it would end this way.
Here’s what I imagined instead: I would reach a certain age and decide to retire. I would make all the arrangements and set a date.
But here’s the twist: I would be less than truthful with my co-workers about the date. I would tell them I was actually leaving a month later. Then when the real date came along I could just quietly leave for the day — never to be seen again.
Why would I do such a thing? Truth be told, I likely wouldn’t. It’s just that I was hoping to fade off into the sunset at a time of my choosing and, mostly, avoid the emotional goodbyes to colleagues I have worked with through thick and thin for the past 20 years.
Now, with the closure of The Daily News, I am forced not only to hold back tears as I say goodbye to people who have been a part of my life for so long, but do so with the realization that these are talented journalists whose good work may never be seen again. With luck, some will find new jobs in journalism but many will move on to other fields, attracted by better pay and more stable careers. Their voices will be lost.
I knew I would be in for a rough ride right from the beginning of this career. Newspapers, after all, have been laying people off and going out of business for decades. But changing times doesn’t mean good journalism has to die. It may get harder to find the resources needed to produce it, but I hope there will always be people with the skill and determination to make it happen. May they never give up.
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Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Yet another webcam
The last I looked, the webcam at the Tournament Capital Centre was showing live video of a couple of guys shooting baskets. It wasn’t exactly riveting, but we can still hope for better things from the newly installed device. After all, this being the tournament capital, we can expect to be able to catch an actual tournament from time to time.
Now that the fieldhouse has gone live, webcams are in the works for the Canada Games pool and Hillside Stadium later this year. The idea is to allow people to see whether the place is busy before they go, but I suspect there is a coolness factor involved as well. Precious few cities have live webcams at their facilities. Even the new Drive BC webcam at Peterson Creek bridge only shows stills.
Go to: TCC webcam
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Monday, September 26, 2011
Eye in the sky
At last Kamloops has its very own highway webcam. Drive BC now has a camera perched so that it views the approach to Peterson Creek bridge, looking west. It’s not a “movie” camera, though. It’s a still camera that takes a new picture every 15 to 20 minutes. It will be handy for commuters wanting to check snowfall conditions during the winter. There was a bad accident in the area recently, so motorists can also keep informed about closures due to emergencies.
Go to: Kamloops webcam
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Monday, September 19, 2011
Irony taken to new heights
Apparently the Kamloops Broncos football team has complained that the Vancouver Island Raiders (based in Nanaimo) have been running up scores. When the Broncos played the Raiders in 2007, for example, the final score was 97-0.
The Raiders were incensed by the Broncos’ “whining” and used it as inspiration in Sunday’s game at Hillside Stadium to lay another licking on the Broncos — this time by a score of 77-4. “We used those idiotic comments as motivation and they gave us something to keep us focussed,” said Raiders coach Matthew (Snoop) Blokker.
Go to: Angry Raiders whip the ‘whiny’ Broncos
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Saturday, September 10, 2011
A royal pain
Jeffrey Simpson nails it with a great column in the Globe and Mail offering some “royal” suggestions to Tories. Sometimes I think Harper must be nostalgic for the 1950s, but he wasn’t even born until April 30, 1959.
Go to: Here’s a royal suggestion
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Wednesday, August 3, 2011
The ultimate parking enforcement
There may be days when Kamloops Mayor Peter Milobar wished he had the moxy of the mayor of Vilnius, Lithuania. The mayor of this Baltic country in Europe got fed up with people parking their luxury cars in bike lanes and decided to take direct action. Shaming driver with pictures on Twitter hadn’t worked, so he got into an armored personnel carrier (basically a tank) and drove over top of one. See it for yourself in this video at The Consumerist.
Go to: Mayor crushes car parked in bike lane with armored vehicle
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Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Bertrand Russell's message to commenters
Bertrand Russell, a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic, had an interview with BBC’s Face-to-Face in 1959. And he has some great advice for people who leave comments on website. As paraphrased by Boing Boing:
“Shorter version: Recognize that you could be wrong, be tolerant of people who say things you hate and kind to people with whom you disagree, and, for god’s sake, don’t feed the trolls.”
Go to: Bertrand Russell’s Message to the Future
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Photographer opens up The Snake's Den
Snakes have to be one of the most fascinating creatures in the world. Even the harmless ones are capable of putting a little fear in us. But at the same time I can’t help being hypnotized by their combination of colours and movement. So it’s great to learn that a Kamloops wildlife photographer has created an educational blog dedicated to snakes in our area. Peter Sulzle promises pictures, videos and chat.
Go to: The Snake’s Den
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Monday, July 4, 2011
What to do if you meet a bear
A bear sticks its nose into a home in Sahali. A woman is apparently mauled to death near Lillooet. What would you do if you came face to face with a bruin?
The Province talked to Christine Miller of the Bear Aware program for the Vancouver area’s North shore. Her advice: claim your territory. Of course, there’s more to than that, so read on.
Go to: Face-to-face with a bear? Here are some tips
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