Going to plant some potatoes over the long weekend

For the long weekend, I am going to St.Mary of Egypt refuge to participate in vegetable planting. The vegetable garden will serve the needs of the people staying at the Refuge. Potatoes, here we come!
A nice feature of the Refuge is the absence of the Internet access. (I doubt that I would have strength for Internet browsing anyway, after 8 hours of serious potato planting.)

The purpose of the Refuge is to be a “home away from home” for people who need a break: peace and quiet, shared meals and work, nature, fresh air, prayer space. It is located near Madoc, Ontario.
Here’s their website

New prizes available for completing the 2011 Mobile Innovation Survey

In addition to Microsoft Canada’s prize offer of a Windows Phone 7 smart phone, OCAD University has kindly offered a lunch with Dr. Sara Diamond at Spoke as a prize for completing the 2011 Mobile Innovation Survey.
The survey is designed to gather responses from companies that are either producing products and services for mobile devices or are providing enabling technology and services to companies that are building mobile products and services.

Plus, MEIC is offering one free registration to the Mobile Accelerator Program (MAP). More information on MAP is available here: http://www.meic.ca/mobile-accelerator-program

MEIC needs to have 250 completed surveys by the end of this year. Please help MEIC reach their goal by completing the survey now:
http://5965502.polldaddy.com/s/mobileinnovation

My I’ve Been Had week, or Coupon Rant

As I had said in my previous post, I tried to reach the people for McLuhan Future Festival or whatever its name is, to recover the money I’ve spent on buying a ticket to their 3-days Vortex Videogame Competition event that petered out to two hours. The e-mails are bouncing, and their web domain of mcluhanfestival.com is for sale, so I suppose there is no way to recover the money. Oh well. Such things happen. The only thing I don’t understand is, is it really so easy to call yourself a Mighty Fund of All Things Bright and Beautiful, rip people off, and vanish into thin air?
I am going to contact PayPal and find out whether anything can be done still. It being over a year, probably nothing, but I can at least try. Will keep you posted.

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Interestingly enough, I’ve been had this week again. I bought a certificate to Punch Fitness at Fabfind. Let me tell you, the concept of customer service at this company varies from crappy to non-existent. To avoid wasting words, here are some figures:
The easiness of getting information about schedule, on the scale of 1 to 10: -1. There was no website or it was down (it is up now, though, but it wasn’t at the time).
Phone calls answered: about 1 of 10. I called and called and called, and I left voicemails. I only got lucky once, and the person on the other end promised to get back to me and hanged up. He did call me back… about 2 weeks later, and he gave me some info about classes schedule that proved to be mostly incorrect.

So I decided to just come over. After stumbling for a while in a dark backyard I found the door. I had to knock and ring for about 5-7 minutes. At last someone deigned to open, and, having done so, wandered away. There was no receptionist of any kind and no class (contrary to what an employee told me on the phone). I had to go around looking for people in a mostly deserted facility and at last a random customer told me that I have to go downstairs. I found out that so-called Punch Fitness is located in a dingy basement. There is no changing room whatsoever, just a couple of chairs in the washroom, and some lockers in a meter-wide hallway. I felt sick and left immediately. Honestly, I don’t care if their trainers are geniuses and could make me into a Miss Universe in three weeks – if they scrimp on a decent changing room, for all I know they would scrimp on proper equipment and someone gets hurt. I don’t want to spend my money in a place where they treat customers like dirt, either. So my losses were $20 I paid for the certificate, plus some time and the wasted parking fee (there is no free parking, either). I don’t know if there is any lesson in that. I’ll try to get my money back from FabFind, but I am not sure if this is at all possible. Will have to review their refund policy. Will keep you posted…

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Got a letter from my aparment building management today. They are increasing my rent 3.10% and say this is in line with the limit set up by Landlords and Tenants Board. Which is a lie because (as one can find out in a second) the said limit for 2011 has been set up as 0.7%. Will call LTB tomorrow and find out what can be done.

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Since I’m ranting anyway, why does Fabfind ask for your email every time you enter the site, without an option to sign in if you are already a customer? And, having asked for it, why on Earth cannot it check that you are already a customer and sign you in? That’s the silliest piece of (un)usability that I’ve ever seen.

Trying to get my money back after Vortex Videogame Competition that never happened

The story is as follows: in late 2010 I bought an admission to Vortex Videogame Competition and Vortex Boot Camp, a three-day event on game development, with a dinner, a game development competition and so on, organized by a “McLuhan International Festival of the Future”. In January 2011 I received a letter from the organizer, Sari Ruda, saying that the competition had been postponed. The event got rescheduled several times, shrinking to 2 days, then to one, and eventually the organizers offered two hours (yes, two hours for the price of three days!) at a two-days notice. I was unable to attend at such short notice, and notified the organizers accordingly. You will probably guess what happened, or rather, did not happen next. I never got an apology and I never got my money back.
Since it’s been a whole year and it now becomes very clear that the event will never happen, I would like to get my money back. Today I wrote to Sari Ruda asking for a refund. Will I see my 160 dollars again? I’ll keep you posted.

My second and last article for Blogging Idol 2011: Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Switch by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

I am sure each of you tried to change something in your life at least once (lose weight, change the way you do paperwork so you submit your taxes in time and do not get fined, make your developers comment the code they write… you name it). The goal may be clear and theoretically desirable to all the stakeholders, and the means to reach it, not very taxing, but still, for some reason, six months later you discover that your tax receipts are mislaid, you have to pierce another hole in your belt, and your developers spend hours trying to figure out what exactly does this piece of code do, even if they wrote the code in question themselves not yet five months since. Sounds familiar?
Well, Chip Heath and Dan Heath know what ails you. You may have heard of them: they wrote “Made to stick”, a beautiful book about how to explain things to people and make the lessons stick. This book is written using all the lessons from the previous one. It is clear, lucid and sticks to memory. Chip and Dan tell us stories: about a manager who transformed a lackadaisical customer-support team into service zealots by removing a standard tool of customer service; about a simple technique that helps desperately exasperated housekeepers to overcome the dread of undone workloads and get away from the slough of despond by following a simple routine.

Read the rest of the article on the Blogging Idol website

BlogIdol 2011 – my first article

At last I got around to actually write something for BlogIdol 2011! The contest ends in a week, but I still hope to accomplish something in the remaining time.

Programs that help you fund your IT projects

If you are looking for funding to develop an IT product or hire people, here are some useful federal and/or provincial programs that may help you. SR&ED is one of the most important ones, but there are others as well, and they can make all the difference in the development of your business.
Read the rest of the article on the Blogging Idol website

Upcoming ENTERPRISE TORONTO EVENTS

FEATURE EVENTS
Innovation Camp 2011 “Growing Green”
North York Civic Centre, Council Chamber
9 am – 4:30 pm
Tues., May 17
Learn how simple green strategies can attract more customers, increase sales and reduce your business costs!
Hear from and speak to successful business founders and CEOs. Learn about sustainable business strategies and practices and meet leading experts in financing, marketing and management. Find out how the government can help your business. Make valuable
business contacts.
View full program at http://bit.ly/eTk1EW. Admission is FREE but registration is required at www.enterprisetoronto.com or telephone at (416) 395-7416.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
ENTERPRISE TORONTO SEMINARS
MORNING SEMINAR SERIES (MAY)
10 – 11:30 a.m.
Topics include: The Power of Email and Social Media; How to Get the Attention of a Buyer in a BIG Company; Managing
Your Cash Flow; How to Market Your Business in the Changing World of Media.
Learn the tools and resources you will need to forge ahead in your business various locations. Admission is FREE but registration is required at www.enterprisetoronto.com or telephone at (416) 395-7416.

Summer Company Program
Up to $3,000 for Student Entrepreneurs
Do you have a viable business idea? Would you like to pursue it, earn some extra cash and gain invaluable business experience during the summer? If so, the Summer Company is for you!
Enterprise Toronto in partnership with Ministry of Economic Development and Trade offers the Summer Company Program.
It is an excellent initiative for enterprising students aged 15-29 to start up and operate their own business. Awards up to $3,000 will be available to selected students. Deadline for application is May 9, 2011. For more information, please see www.ontario.ca/summercompany.

Ontario Society of Professional Engineers
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Estates of Sunnybrook
8 am – 11:30 am
May 4
Whether you are looking to start a business, identify funding opportunities or turn innovative ideas into opportunities, you’ll definitely benefit from this unique learning opportunity. Keynote Address: Reza Moridi, M.P.P., Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Research and Innovation.
Enterprise Toronto members will receive their ticket for $45 + HST. A light breakfast will be served. More info @
http://bit.ly/dOsnfg, register @ http://bit.ly/elcDqL

Startup Weekend Toronto 2.0 is here!
Burroughes Building
June 3 at 6 pm – June 5 at 8 pm
Startup Weekend is one of the leading catalysts for startup creation and entrepreneur education in the world. The program educates and inspires entrepreneurs and gives them the motiviation and networking they need to take the next step in creating a successful startup company. More info @ http://bit.ly/h5ZtB8, registration @ http://bit.ly/frD5ML.

Net Change
MaRS Discovery District
June 6-10
Net Change Week (NCW) is Canada’s premier event on social tech for social change. The weeklong series of events features training workshops, evening programming with guest speakers, lab sessions and plenty of opportunity for networking. Oh ya, and every year, we throw in an art show to boot. More info @ http://netchangeweek.ca/

JVS Toronto Centre for the Advancement of Business Literacy and Entrepreneurship
How to Start your Own Business – Building an Idea into a Success Enterprise
May 20, 27, June 3, 10
These Seminars will guide aspiring entrepreneurs through the process of starting a business from a basic idea and transforming it into a viable enterprise.
The fee also includes a personal financial assessment with a Financial Planner. The total cost for the 5 part program is $100.
To register for this program please call Allen Stern, 416-636-2481 ext. 217 or astern@jvstoronto.org.org

How to Start a Food Business
North York Civic Centre
5100 Yonge Street
(various dates)
If you are a chef or foodie, these valuable workshops are for you! Hosted by The City of Toronto’s Economic Development & Culture Division and delivered in partnership with the Enterprise Toronto.
Learn how to develop your products, develop your business plan, financing, branding your identity and utilizing the Web to source information. Admission is FREE but registration is mandatory. For registration please see, http://bit.ly/9MrSBT

BUSINESS NEWS & OPPORTUNITIES
Are you 18 – 34?
Need money to start your own business?
The Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) is the ‘go to’ place for youth entrepreneurship. As a national charity, they are dedicated to growing our nation’s economy one young entrepreneur at a time. They look at character not collateral, when providing youth, age 18-34, with pre-launch coaching, business resources, start-up financing and mentoring, to help them launch and sustain a
successful business. Enterprise Toronto is pleased to join the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) in becoming a new Community Partner aimed at encouraging local young entrepreneurs within the Scarborough community to start and build their own business by providing support and resources available to them. Contact Vikas Jain, Tel: 416-396-5243 or E-mail: jain@toronto.ca for
more information.