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Reception
’08
They came. They saw. They cheered! Photos by Barry Boroditsky, Terry Bourque and Quincey Deters
Brian Wrightson of NAIT and friends with Sizzler Dustin Thomson, a 4th year apprentice
Innovation writer and broadcaster Cheryl Croucher with Nykie Starr, ABS Casinos
Bonni Clark, Alberta Research Council, with Sizzler Carolyn Jarvis of Gobal Edmonton Hot group: Ken Isla, fiance of Sizzler Ailynn Santos; Bercham Richard, cousin of Sizzler Marlon Wilson; 2007 Sizzler and MC Jesse Lipscombe; and Sizzler Natasha Thompson.
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Go to www.edmontonians.com click on Sizzling Twenty Under 30 & follow the links EDMONTONIANS OCTOBER 2008
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Riley Scribner, e-business manager at Lexus, Dr. Bob Westbury, and Lexus GM Bruce Kirkland
TV with n nier, City u Paul Men icks, Edmonton S Graham H
Sizzler Stephen Petasky of Luxus Vacation Properties and Sobeys Sherwood Park. With Bruce and Sharon CTV‘s Carrie Doll chats with Tammy Stewart of Pure Elements Salon & Spa
Ian O’Donnell of Manasc Isaac Architecture with girlfriend Sabrina Loo
and Louise Gray Amber Overdulve neering outside gi En re of Hemisphe hool ia, MacEwan Sc with Peter Rocc ions of Communicat
Dean Elsie Elford and Jana Clarke of the MacEwan School of Business
Gary Kash and fiancé Kirsty Strynadka who represented her brother, Sizzler Gregg Tad Hargrave with model Leanne Young
Jerret Jonzon, Diageo Canada, Edmontonians Maria Jose Politti and Craig Ellis, Beyond Fitness
Sizzler Don Iveson brought greeting from the city in his role as deputy mayor
Angus Watt of National Bank Financial attended with his daughter Sizzler Kate. Mom Lucy acce pt Sizzler Bryce La ed on behalf of her son, mbert
Edmontonians publisher Sharon MacLean with Rob Christie, Capital FM morning man
uests reeted g sadors g s a b m A Concordia 2008 Sizzlers get to know each other
Sizzler Kevin Gillese— ever the comic
d The Sizzling crow
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CELEBRATING
19 YEARS
with Muggsy, Marty & Mark Muggsy is on a well-deserved holiday
FOUNDER DICK MacLEAN
Vol. XIX
OCTOBER 2008 No. 10 SHARON MacLEAN Publisher and Advertising Director
Telephone: 780.482.7000 Fax: 780.488.9317 e-mail: info@edmontonians.com edmontonians.com
INSIDE PHOTO FEATURE Sizzling Party . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 VOX POP Marty Forbes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Mark Scholz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 CORPORATE ETHICS Canadian Vision/Somji . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 VISIONARIES Cover Story/Gazin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Briefs/Croucher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 McDougall Profile/Croucher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Social Media/Schwabe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Tech Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 CIVIC BUZZ/Norwood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 MEDIA MINUTE/Hogle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 BUSINESS OF LOVE/Jesperson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 MY E-SPACE/Rayner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 LIVELY LIFESTYLES Menu Magic/Berry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Absolute Bodo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
BARB DETERS Editor
editor@edmontonians.com COLUMNISTS Linda Banister John Berry Linda Bodo Cheryl Croucher Marty Forbes Muggsy Forbes Bruce Hogle Ryan Jesperson David Norwood Erin Rayner Mark Scholz Walter Schwabe Nizar J. Somji FEATURE WRITERS Barb Deters Greg Gazin Rick Lauber Peter Drake McHugh Marg. Pullishy PHOTOGRAPHERS Barry Boroditsky Terry Bourque Quincey Deters SPECIAL PROJECTS Edmontonians Transformers Tom Bradshaw Les Brost Steffany Hanlen Larry Ohlhauser
H
abitat for Humanity is all about teamwork… whether helping build a house or swinging a golf club to raise money. Congratulation to Team 18B: Gerry Gorgichuk, Peter Young, Rod Keys and Jordan Bilan (pictured here). They were the 2008 winners of the annual Habitat for Humanity golf tournament. I was MCing the event at the Belvedere Golf and Country Club. As they were coming forward for their prize, I was questioning their incredible score and how many mulligans they may have used. They made sure to tell me and the room that it was an honest score. I believe them. I’ve hosted some tournaments where the winners didn’t defend their low score—just grinned like Cheshire cats as they grabbed their loot. Good on 18B for their honesty and support. The event netted more than $55,000 for Habitat Edmonton. A few things to ponder: First, you should play in and support this tournament. It has a great vibe and great folks show up. Plus maybe think about getting involved with a ‘build’ of a home on your own or, even better, with a group of friends/colleagues. B You will put in a Honest Team 18 good day’s work, learn a ton and do something that is good for those in need. It is a great team building event and if you are a closet handy-type, it’s a great way to expand your skills. Check out www.hfh.org. Alberta was well-represented at
live auction. The IOC member figures there are only a few torches in Canada. It sold for $3000 to Jerry Jaud of FSC Architects & Engineers. I ran into Randy Boissonnault, a principal with Xennex in Edmonton, who was up North on business and got an invite to the gala. He laughed, saying, “I didn’t know I was coming tonight. I just got back from buying this shirt and tie… nice selection here in Yellowknife.”
Come one, come all to “a night with our stars”... the Elves 2008 Red Carpet will roll out on Saturday, October 18th at the Mayfield Inn & Suites Ballroom. The gala will feature a night packed full of entertainment, the red carpet experience and fantastic live and silent auctions and will feature Global Edmonton’s chief meteorologist Nicola Crosbie as guest speaker. Premier Ed Stelmach will be on hand as well as many of our local celebrities. I will be handling the hosting and auction duties. The Elves Special Needs Society is a private, non-profit organization, accredited by Alberta Education. It promotes maximum development and enhanced quality of life for students with severe disabilities, and provides support to their families. Tickets are a reasonable $80 and available from Andrea Patershuk, fundraising director, at 780.454.5310 ext. 205 or elvesfundraising@elves-society.com. Visit www.elvessociety.com
Congrats to Edmonton author Molly Anne Warring on the launch of her latest book, Return to Paradise… the third and final of her series. The first was Paradise Acres, followed by Lost Paradise. Known as the Stry-Ker family trilogy, they are historical fiction that chronicles the journey of Evan and Tainka Stracher from a small village in Austria in 1903 to the Canadian prairies. Molly introduces readers to several generations, wrapping up in 1996. The books are informative, and take place in and around our neck of the woods—full of heart and hard to put down. √
the third annual RBC Champions for Children Dinner in Yellowknife a few weeks ago: Current World curling champion Kevin Martin, gold and silver cross-country skiing medalist Beckie Scott, Edmontonian Megan Mark Scholz, owner of MES Communications Inc. Metcalfe who’s back from Beijing offers a variety of services including production, where she competed in the 5000creative and entertainment. Email metre run, and Olympic bobsleigh Beckie Scott mscholz@edmontonians.com competitor David Bissett who is from & Jerry Jaud Edmonton but moved to Calgary to Editor’s Note: I unintentionally embarrassed Mark train with Olympian Pierre Leuders. with editing changes to his September column. He’s very They were joined on the Hotstove panel by NY Islander great Mike knowledgeable and committed to the music scene… so there’s no Bossy. The event is a fundraiser for Kidsport, NWT, which helps way he would have made the mistake of saying Tom Petty, a Rock & children under 18 get involved in sport by providing funds for Roll Hall of Famer, and Steve Winwood had appeared at the registration fees, equipment, and community programs. Edmonton Folk Festival. Of course, the performance was at Rexall The crowd enjoyed live and silent auctions, live music, the all-star Place… and Mark was there. My apologies to Mark and his fans who Hotstove and a delicious dinner featuring Arctic char. Olympian thought he had a memory lapse. My bad. ~ Barb Deters Beckie surprised the crowd by offering a Beijing Olympic torch for
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Collin Snowball of Snowball Interactive Photo by Terry Bourque Published by 399620 Alberta Ltd. on the first day of each month at C-100 Park Side Tower, 8920-100th Street Edmonton AB CA T6E 4Y8. ©All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. Manuscripts: must be accompanied by a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. Edmontonians is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. All stories Copyright ©Edmontonians Publications Mail Agreement No. 40023292 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Circulation Department C-100 Park Side Tower, 8920-100th Street Edmonton AB CA T6E 4Y8 Email: info@edmontonians.com
EDMONTONIANS OCTOBER 2008
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hen Jay Leno was performing at
the River Cree Casino last month and said, “Say hi to Tommy for me” most of the crowd in attendance at the show knew exactly who he meant… as he saluted Edmonton’s Senator Tommy Banks. Tommy has been a lifelong friend of our family, and graciously sat down with me last month for a heartwarming trip down memory lane. I opened with “You’ve been a senator for so long many people may have forgotten what you’ve done for the music and entertainment business in our city. I want to fix that up and remind Edmonton of how much you’ve done for us.” Tommy has been intimately involved in establishing Edmonton as a vibrant music and entertainment centre: from his involvement in building The Winspear Centre for Music to launching ITV Television (now Global)… from working with the World Athletic Games to mentoring young musicians. It’s hard to give Tom a compliment for all the work he’s done over the past halfcentury. He sidesteps praise, suggesting, “It’s this city, Marty…it’s the people, the volunteers, the leaders in Edmonton that make it all happen.” I countered with the notion that we’d have had none of it without his personal leadership. So let’s start at the beginning. Tommy is from an entertainment family… born in Calgary and raised in Edmonton. His father was a musician, his mother was a dancer. They met performing in Calgary. Mother Laura Lindsey was probably the first female television personality in Canada to host her own live midday show; it aired on CFRN TV, now CTV. Tom’s first venture into the music business came at the tender age of 15 after he quit his first job in the credit department of a hospital to become a musician full time. “One night, Dad wanted to take me to a concert at the old Sales Pavilion. I wanted to go to a baseball game. But they took me to see the Lionel Hampton band and that did it for me. We didn’t have a Winspear or a Jubilee back then… so the Pavilion was used to sell cows and goats in the day and then turned into a concert hall at night.”
The Sales Pavilion was on the Exhibition Grounds, now known as Northlands. Tom recalls, “Big names appeared there back then: Billy Daniels, Earl Grant, The Ames Brothers, Bobby Vinton, Nat King Cole and Bob Hope. You were so close to the performers, you could almost reach out and touch them.” One of my most precious pictures is a black and white shot of my father, the late Jerry Forbes, actually shining Nat King Cole’s shoes during his visit. As Tommy’s career evolved, he was part-owner, with Phil Shragge, of The Embers Night Club, downtown on 106th Street just south of Jasper Avenue. Tom pointed out that the city boasted close to 20 clubs back then where live music was performed—week in week out, year round, all over town. Some of these other clubs have legendary status if you grew up in our city. Names like the Tivoli, Skyline, Trocadero, Rainbow Ballroom, Paddock, Tita’s, Kingsway Motor Hotel, Coachman Inn, and Warwick’s Fine Foods. Hundreds of musicians were working full time in these clubs, and many also supplemented their incomes by playing on television shows; backing up other performers and, as studio musicians, recording albums and singles. The Embers was one of the top clubs in town throughout the early 1970s, helping to launch several major careers. When Tom decided to open a quiet lounge upstairs, he had to replace himself at the downstairs club. A young man from Victoria by the name of David
Tom’s television career also goes back a long time. He was a major part of the launch of Dr. Charles Allard’s ITV. GM Wendell Wilkes asked Tom to be part of the station’s Promise of Performance to the CRTC by hosting four Edmonton Symphony Orchestra live shows. Tom thought it was a great idea but, as usual, thought bigger: He and Wendell went to Dr. Allard to persuade him to almost double the budget and put name performers in front of the ESO so they could syndicate the shows. The In Concert Series debuted with people like Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdinck. The shows eventually ran in 78 countries. When you hear radio stations playing the live version of Procol Harem’s Whiter Shade of Pale, keep in mind that this version was recorded right here during one of those sessions with the ESO.
As well, when you’re sitting in The Winspear, enjoying the pristine sound in the hall, you can thank Tommy Banks as well. He points out he was only part of the team that built this wonderful edifice, but he was—pardon the pun—instrumental in making sure that the sound was “as close to perfect as possible. “The most important thing, putting aside architecture, is acoustics – we’re building a concert hall. It has to look okay, but that’s to keep the rain off. The meat and potatoes is what’s inside. “PCL did a magnificent job of The Winspear—and, remember, it was designed by an Edmontonian (Doug McConnell)—but we had to bring in some acousticians from New York. The project not only came in on time and under budget but is nothing short of a world class entertainment complex.”
The hour went by too fast. We barely touched
David Foster and Tommy Banks at The Winspear
Foster showed up and auditioned. He “nailed it the first time out,” Tom remembers. “He’d practiced my sound and my style and was an instant choice.” In addition to playing at the club, David also worked at Century II studios (which Tommy owned) doing jingles and soundtracks. He didn’t stay here long… Tom was also helping to “rebuild” his friend Ronnie Hawkins’ band at the time, and recommended David to him. BJ Cooke was also in that band. BJ, Donnie Gerrard and David went on to form Skylark, who had a huge international hit with the song She’s a Lady.
Sizzling
U P D A T E
In recent weeks, two Sizzling Twenty under 30 Alumni have been making the news for their latest accomplishments.
When Chris Bolivar was interviewed as
CHRIS BOLIVAR
Tommy saw, and heard, David’s talent early on and, although he doesn’t take credit for it, Tom was one of David’s first true mentors. They hugged with mutual respect and admiration at a meeting at the Royal Mayfair Golf and Country Club when David flew up this spring to announce the David Foster Foundation event here last month. Tom was on the organizing committee.
a 2006 Sizzler, he said his goal was to be a leader in the national branding and design community in Canada. All indications are that he is well on his way. Optamedia , his marketing and creative services firm, has earned a position on PROFIT Magazine’s prestigious HOT 50 List, a ranking of Canada’s emerging growth companies. Chris credits his talented team of marketing and design professionals for helping him attract and retain notable local, regional and national accounts.
on his many accomplishments. Tommy and Ida Banks continue to operate Banks Associated Music. The senator is highly respected for his views and his vision… not only for a better life in our own backyard but for our entire country. My last question to Tom was “What’s in your iPod?” “I’ve always liked every kind of music, as long as it’s good. Military band music; Lyle Lovett; real cowboy music like Ian Tyson; my record collection has everything. I’m really enjoying the latest Joni Mitchell. And I love a lot of jazz and big band music.” Tom is one of those guys who makes things happen. He credits everybody else for successes where he clearly has been a huge influence. And he’s done it with class, integrity and respect. Tommy is Edmonton. His final words were, “I’d like to salute the musicians. We’re so lucky in this city with the talent we have here… so say ‘thanks’ to your local artists and please support them.” I concur. √ Note: True to form, Edmontonians upheld their reputation for generosity. The Edmonton David Foster Foundation Benefit broke the record—raising $3.8 million. Top auction item was David’s grand piano, adorned with celebrity autographs, pulling in $125,000. Marty Forbes is VP and general manager of The Bear, EZRock and The TEAM 1260 Sports Radio. Contact marty@edmontonians.com
2005 Sizzler Tyler Hamilton is a talented singer who won the David Foster Star Search contest—258 people auditioned. It earned him a performance at that incredibly successful fundraising gala at The Winspear in midSeptember. Tyler described it as “the biggest moment in my life”… while Foster praised his “tremendous voice” saying Tyler “owned the stage.” TYLER HAMILTON & DAVID FOSTER The biggest door was opened for Tyler’s career—especially with the highly reputed “star-maker” spreading the word about him. Check out YouTube—key in David Foster & Friends—to see video clips that illustrate the range of Tyler’s styles… especially his operatic duet with young phenom Charise Pempengco.
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corporate ETHICS
Looking for the elusive
Canadian Vision “Give us clear vision that we may know where to stand and what to stand for – because unless we stand for something, we shall fall for anything.” ~ Peter Marshall By Nizar J. Somji
J
ust as Canadians were getting comfortable with a minority government, the government shakes up the status quo and calls an election. This unsettled many, as we were getting used to how each party operated within the minority government context, finding ways to get things done until the next scheduled election in the fall of 2009. The big question is: What will this election solve? Will it bring us a majority government? Even if it did, would this make a difference in our lives? In a global economy, where we compete for everything—resources, technology, leadership and the investment dollar—Canada had a distinct advantage. We provided the global business community with a level of stability: a stable government, stable tax and royalty structures and stable property and business ownership. The advantage we once enjoyed is now on the decline as this stability is called into question on three fronts. First, the perceived stability of our government may disappear, especially with a minority government that may be dissolved very quickly. With each party’s distinctive views on the management of environmental issues, the economic implications vary significantly. This makes investment risky at best, with the possibility that the model could change in six weeks should we continue with a minority government. Second, the current government has made key
changes that add to the uncertainty. The reworking of the Income Trust models by the federal government changed how Canadians invest, and many have not recovered their asset base to preannouncement days. This of course leads to increased hesitation and additional “what-if” analysis prior to making an investment decision. The royalty change by the provincial government, while expected by many, still created a wave of uncertainty and resulted in a visible slowdown in investment. Third was the meltdown of asset-backed paper, which resulted in a global lending crisis. This has had a disastrous effect on a large number of lending institutions, making access to investment capital and debt a major bottleneck in economic growth and driving opportunity. While some of these causes of uncertainty are outside of Canada’s control, we clearly need a sense of decisive leadership to define the overall “vision” and counter the uncertainty. A defining “vision” for Canada changes the overall framework. For example, universal health care would no longer be questioned. It may be supplemented or enhanced. Different means of achieving the vision may be put forth by different parties or leaders, but the vision itself is unwavering. This shifts the focus to finding creative solutions for achieving the vision. At the same time, Canadians, and those interested and affected by our policies, will know what to expect.
So what is the vision for Canada? What can it be? Who will provide the vision? Today the perceived vision for Canada has generally been provided by politicians (or in some cases, past politicians) and this vision has generally been tainted and defined by what it will take to win the election as opposed to what makes sense for Canada over the long term. To recreate our advantage in the global economy, we need to shift the source of leadership and vision. We need rethink how we define what Canada is all about and change the mindset of where this vision is created, housed, updated and communicated. All governments and parties would be held accountable to drive toward that vision within their own framework. The Canadian media need to create a platform to drive this vision and create the right and consistent branding and image globally of what Canada stands for. Canada is not short of visionaries—this issue showcases many of them. Yet we have not been able to harness their collective wisdom to help create, develop, market and sustain a vision for the country. That remains our challenge to overcome. √ Nizar J. Somji is president and CEO of Jaffer Inc., a management/investment consulting firm; and chairman of the board of Matrikon Inc., a company he founded in 1988.
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By Greg Gazin
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t’s 10:00 pm on a Sunday and Collin Snowball is huddled over his desk at his office on Edmonton’s Southside. The president of Snowball Interactive is working on the latest features of his on-demand billing solutions. He and his technical team have developed a worldclass integrated system with 15 modules, ideally suited to small businesses. Five more are on the way. Snowball is one of those untold success stories. He recently solidified a partnership with telecommunications giant Rogers Communications, to offer Easy Bill Online.com to its customers for their smartphones: Apple’s iPhone, RIM’s Blackberry, and Windows Mobile. Within months, he’s expecting it to be available as part of Rogers’ wireless packages. “I’m literally living my dream everyday,” says Snowball, “but I take nothing for granted.” He’s clearly on an upward path, but a major setback a year ago almost wiped out the possibility of securing a major partner. It’s not uncommon for a rosy future to turn into doom, gloom and bust. Statistically, it’s no secret: Many startups fail within their first year of operating— more than 80 percent fail before their fifth birthdays. Snowball now gets energized in the face of any setback, determined to be part of that other 20 percent. He shared the ups and downs of his journey.
ANYTIME, ANYWHERE Snowball ran a small web design and tech support business, ensuring his clients’ computers were always clicking along. One of the most frustrating things for him was his inability to properly complete the paperwork—the lifeline and cash flow of any business. “I wasn’t able to bill clients properly,” he explains. “I was always running around. Either I didn’t have a proper invoice or a work order.” Snowball pondered this insanity, “I’ve embraced the web… I live my life on it.” He thought, “Why limit yourself to your desktop? Why be a slave to it?” He had an epiphany: “Anytime, Anywhere.” For someone who was always out and about spending significant time on clients’ sites, this made perfect sense. Anytime, Anywhere became his mantra. Not only did Snowball create his own web-accessible billing and invoicing system, the database was entirely on-line. Unlike traditional applications that are installed and run on a specific computer or network, his ran via a web browser, whether Internet Explorer, Safari or Firefox. And, because it was web-based, it could run on any computer, Mac or PC. “So even if my laptop dies, I can always get access to the web and do my billing and invoicing right there on the client’s site.” That was in 2003-2004 when he was solely concerned with his own problems. “By 2005, I was already making a decent living as Snowball Media, but I wanted to do more.” He contemplated adding new features; then he realized he wasn’t alone. Others experienced the same difficulties. As an entrepreneur, Snowball saw an opportunity to extend his business.
Easy Bill
Online
Collin Snowball
“It was one night at Boston Pizza; I planned it all out on a napkin.” He reviewed the plan to offer his online billing program to customers with one of his employees the next day. “I figured I just needed to pay bills.” Revenue from the existing business could support development of the new initiative. “I took no salary, but I did odd jobs with friends and used imagination to survive.”
A STRATEGIC SHIFT The new chapter began in 2006 and programmers were hired in 2007. The first major setback was about money, of course. Personally, Snowball could handle a limited cash flow, but this wasn’t about him. “I had three employees and I was waiting for one cheque to make payroll. It bounced on a Friday afternoon.” In a panic, he banged on doors to collect any receivables he could. He questioned himself: “Can I really do this?” Snowball turned to the one person who had always been his source of inspiration and biggest supporter. His mother, Jean Taylor, herself an entrepreneur, owns a local convenience store. “Why give up your dream?” she asked. “Keep at it. If you stop, you won’t get anywhere.” Snowball quickly began to channel his negative thoughts into positive energy, turning every crisis into opportunity. Instead of having Peter pay Paul—using one business to feed the other—it was time for a strategic shift. His biggest challenges were finding investors and reliable employees… and convincing clients his system was safe and secure. He pounded the pavement every day, doing odd jobs, whatever he could to keep going. Essentially, Snowball was ahead of his time, embracing Web 2.0. as a platform more so than a place to host and access websites. “Initially,” he recalls, “investors felt the idea was not great… they didn’t grasp the concept of it being on-line and felt that people would not trust or use the service.” But looking at what people use today and what large companies are offering on-line validates his business model. “People can prepare and file their taxes on-line—no software to install. With Adobe.com’s Buzzword and Google (Docs), you can run an entire suite of office applications online—anytime, anywhere—and on any computer.” For those who were still not convinced, Snowball presented a simple scenario: If they lost their phones, wouldn’t they be ecstatic if they could still have all their contact lists right there on-line without having to reload each one individually?
Continued on page 11
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“Hewers of wood... dr
By Cheryl Croucher
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lame it on our colonial heritage, but it’s a description that, for the most part, still fits Canadian industry. Efforts to truly diversify our economy or magnify value-added manufacturing are meek. And, if John McDougall is correct in his assessment, Canada’s efforts to stake a claim in the knowledge economy don’t fare much better. As president and CEO of the Alberta Research Council, he is in a unique position to comment on the big picture for innovation. “Today, we’re left with a situation where North America is becoming really a producer of raw science or early stage technology that we export to the rest of the world at very cheap prices. It’s the same thing when we talk about being hewers of wood and drawers of water. We’re becoming the same thing with science and technology because we don’t move it along the path and actually turn it into products.” So how do you change this? How do you ensure Canadian innovation succeeds? For McDougall, the answer lies in sharpening our focus on what he calls the “value proposition” of discovery. This places
Briefs
the emphasis on applied science and commercialization of new technology. But he cautions it’s not about waiting for the serendipity of scientific discovery to give us the big breakthroughs that change the world. “Most of the value propositions, most of the wealth that gets created actually comes from incremental activities… from problem solving around issues that exist within our economy as it is today.” He continues, “We have to get people’s minds around the fact that the applied research, problem-oriented work, whole solutions as opposed to science, the market pull, industry based inputs have to come to bear.” Innovation in the public interest underlines McDougall’s perspective. “We need to collaborate to solve the really important problems that we share together. Those are the ones that really, really matter and where organizations like the Alberta Research Council are so important.” But it’s not just the problems that are top of mind today. He stresses, “You have to be able to look far enough ahead to see emerging problems, too. And I can tell you even as recently as four or five years ago when I was speaking to the energy industry, for example, and saying, ‘You know guys, the need to deal with CO2 is imminent.’ And they didn’t like to hear that,
Dr. Robert Rankin
support of Alberta’s Cybera Inc. and other research agencies. Dr. Rankin’s team will spend the next two years expanding the software they’ve developed. The objective is to provide seamless integration of very different data sets generated by space researchers in many countries. Dr. Rankin explains, “It’s a new technology where you have to use standards to access all these different data sources. They’re all in different formats….stored on different types of computers. So it’s a technical challenge actually to get at all this data and bring it all together.” The new system will help Dr. Rankin’s research project with NASA, for example, which hopes to solve the mystery of space storms that wreak havoc with satellites. According to Dr. Rankin, “There are actually storms in space driven by processes on the sun. And these are magnetic storms where you have magnetic fields and their affect on charged particles that, as a result of these storms, can get very high energies and cause damage in satellites. So protecting this very valuable satellite infrastructure in space is the applied aspect of this type of science.” Learning how to predict these space storms will be easier with the Canadian Space Science Data Portal.
Cybera launches NEP space data portal
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pace may be the final frontier, but keeping track of data
collected by scientists is still very earth bound. That’s where a new Alberta-based IT program hopes to ease the collaboration among space researchers around the globe. Dr. Robert Rankin, a professor of physics at the University of Alberta, heads the Canadian Space Science Data Portal. It is one of nine CANARIE Network Enabled Platforms (NEP) and it has the
but it was important that they knew it and that they were told. At the end of the day, they actually came to the table with the money to help us come to grips with these problems. “It’s not an easy task championing research on issues that are ahead of their time and not yet recognized by politicians, industry or the public. “We have to argue very strongly and we have to be able to create this level of confidence that will allow us to be exploring the future,” says McDougall. “Trusteeship is the best way to describe it, that the government is confident enough that we will make the right decisions.” It’s a process and a relationship that has paid off throughout the history of the Alberta Research Council. The research Dr. Karl Clark initiated in the 1920s on hot water separation laid the foundation for today’s oilsands industry in northeastern Alberta. Dr. Bill Gunter’s research on carbon capture and storage began almost two decades ago. The technology he pioneered was included in the Nobel Prize winning report by the International Panel on Climate Change. Explains McDougall, “That’s why, in fact, we can talk about carbon capture and storage today: Because a lot of work was done to try to put the technology in place… to understand how it would work… to do some experimental work… to get out into
The Cybera Inc website at www.cybera.ca lists details of this and other IT research programs
the field and try things out and so on. Without that, we’d still be essentially where we were 15 years ago, but with a much bigger problem to deal with.” Finding those emerging trends to channel discovery and innovation is so important, McDougall recently established a new position at the ARC called the Chair of Foresight. His new staff thinker and futurist is Dr. Axel Meisen, who stepped down as president and vice-chancellor of Memorial University in Newfoundland to come to Alberta. As one of their first collaborations, McDougall and Meisen organized the Jasper Innovation Forum in June. Sixty of the brightest people in the world attended the retreat. They included a recipient of the Stockholm Water Prize, the UK’s foremost energy expert, the head of the International Institute for Sustainable Cities, and NGOs working in Africa. And they discussed the fundamentals of life: food, water and energy. “There was absolute consensus from all parties that there actually isn’t a shortage of food or water or energy in the world,” explains McDougall. “What there is, is an enormous amount of wastage that occurs throughout the world’s systems.” A second insight. “There’s a certain concern would be the best way to describe it, about the fact that our systems have become so large and interconnected that
Trees killed by mountain pine beetles to be salvaged for newsprint
T
he Alberta Newsprint
Company in Whitecourt normally uses spruce trees to produce its high quality, bright white newsprint. This makes it the popular choice of publications like USA Today. However, ANC plans mix in pine from trees killed by mountain pine beetles. The company is embarking on this experiment with help from the Alberta Research Council. Wade Chute, a pulp and paper specialist with the ARC, explains the challenges: Pine is a less desirable wood for making pulp. Not only is it darker and its fibres weaker than spruce, there’s the added problem that these chips will be stained by a blue fungus the beetles have introduced into the trees. That means all the pulping processes must be adjusted to allow for such things as more bleaching when the pine chips hit the production line. The mill will be retooled with special sensors, developed by ARC, that automatically signal the need for
Wade Chute
process adjustments. Water is also an issue, so the scientists are designing a new shoe press that will help dry the pulp as it rolls at high speed through the paper machine. Chute says the new shoe press will have a zone that extends the length of time the sheet spends between the rollers without altering the speed at which the sheet is moving. “So the sheet still moves at 80 kilometres an hour, but it spends a little bit longer in this nip, because the nip itself is extended. And that allows for more gentle dewatering, an increase in dewatering and an increase in sheet consolidation which ultimately leads to an increase in sheet strength as well.” The major challenge for ARC scientists, says Chute, is to ensure the final newsprint product is as good as it was before the mountain pine beetle hit the scene. Find more information on the Alberta Research Council’s website at www.arc.ab.ca EDMONTONIANS OCTOBER 2008
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rawers of water” we’re making them increasingly vulnerable to any kind of a disruption.” Out of this comes what McDougall calls the constraints or parameters that will shape the path to discovery at ARC. “It tells us that we have to be thinking more of microsystems, of distributed systems, or smaller ways of doing things. And, if we can mimic nature more in what we do by ensuring that we really do think holistically as opposed to linearly, so we think about the system where the wastes of one are feeding into another part, as opposed to just taking something and processing it and throwing the rest away, that’s very important, too.” Along with foresight, another guiding principle for McDougall is collaboration. The jewel in the crown on this front is Innoventures Canada or I-CAN. He has brought together numerous research councils
Cheryl Croucher hosts Innovation Anthology which is broadcast on CKUA Radio at 7:58 am and 4:58 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays. Or download the podcasts at www.innovationanthologyy.com
and agencies from across the country to work together on those issues that really matter and where Canadian innovation can have Pond scum global impact. I-CAN’s first project puts the spotlight on pond scum. McDougall can’t help beaming as he describes it. “We said, ‘Nature has to have a way to deal with CO2’—and it does. It turned out that algae was one of the best ways. So we’re trying to see if we can make that on an industrial scale and industrially economic. So far, it’s looking like we just might be able to do that. “And if we can, we’ve changed the world. There’s no doubt about it.”
McDougall has established the Chair of Foresight at the ARC and hired a staff thinker.
John McDougall
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EDMONTONIANS OCTOBER 2008
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ne day, your television, newsprint, press release and community outreach programs are cooking right along… the next, blamo! New terms like Web 2.0, social media marketing (SMS), conversational marketing and return on relationship (ROR) spring up. Suddenly, your e-mail pings while the phone rings simultaneously. It’s the CEO, wondering what you’ve got planned for this “social media thing.” You start to sweat. “We’re on it,” you reply. “No problem,” you think. “I’ll just Google: social media.” Time for some social media clarification. A large segment of the population is still of the opinion that social media is a fad. It’s not. Maybe you think social media is just for kids. Nope. Think blogging is going away? It’s not. How do I know? Well, for starters, Google didn’t buy YouTube for US$1.3 billion just to kill a slow afternoon. Acquisitions of that magnitude demonstrate a certain level of market maturity. Further, social media isn’t late-1990’s search engine optimization (SEO) or pay-per-click advertising campaigns masquerading as “Web 2.0 technologies” as I overheard at a local event. Social media is far more than participating in a form of online advertising. It is really a collective online representation of the “heart, soul, voice and power of the people.” Corporations are having a tough time coming to terms with this. “What’s great about the blogosphere is that we can find our own stories and make things happen.” – Sarah Lacy, Blogger, Gnomedex 2008 This is the kind of user-generated comment that, I dare say, makes the editor of this publication and all others from the Guttenbergian era furl their brows. Social media is permeating corporate thought in many ways today regarding its uses; everyone is looking for a competitive advantage. “How can social media improve our brand recognition online?” “How can this improve our internal communications and efficiencies?” And the dreaded, “What about the negative responses?” My personal response to my clients regarding that last question is simple: The negative exists online today anyway and, currently, you’re powerless to “manage” what you don’t even know exists. In standard management consulting terminology, “You can’t manage what you don’t document.” An effective social media strategy equips you with methodologies to first recognize then engage in those situations effectively so that you can take positive action. In reality, opportunities for competitive advantage are everywhere.
Social
101
media with Walter Schwabe
Moreover, brand recognition and value in today’s social media world are now increasingly defined by the amount of conversations being generated about it, good or bad. Further, your personal influence as a business owner or executive is also now being measured by your social media value bank. Questions such as “Are you on LinkedIn?” are simple initial indications that the marketplace is starting to pay attention to this way of measuring your social media influence and value. Frankly, this entire enchilada has marketing and advertising veterans scrambling to catch up as old methodologies just aren’t working and the right answers about social media are not necessarily on the tip of their tongues.
TWO CAMPS Wondering where to start? Generally, what you need to know is that social media philosophy is broken into two camps. Camp One believes in mantras like “Join the conversation,” “Get out there,” “We must do something—anything—right now.” So people start signing up for every social networking site they can find. Facebook, LinkedIn, Xing—you name it and within 24 hours they’re on it. Then they spend countless hours maintaining those profiles and, pretty soon, they wonder why they’re doing it at all. No new business has come in and the “real” work is piling up. The other camp—the one I belong to—is “build the right social media strategy first.” Rather than jump right in and join the conversation, seek to understand by learning to “listen” to the Internet (since 2004 in my case). Corporations constantly
tell me that as part of their social media strategies, they want to “manage the conversation,” a dangerous approach if left unchecked. In fact, this is at the core of how different today’s Internet and, by extension, the social media eco-system is compared to conventional managerial and marketing thinking. Here’s why Camp One corporations potentially lose millions, not only in coldhard cash but also in brand-value. They will undoubtedly use standard, best practice marketing to begin to engage their online target audiences with some sort of tactical event, idea or contest. Why? It’s what they know. After all, it’s what worked in the 1980s and 1990s, right? Fast forward to today. Never before has the consumer been more informed, more savvy and more ready to tune our marketing messages. Applying old rules to a new situation where your audience is armed with on-demand information and has the power to respond effectively about you without your permission and “bingo”, the battle has been lost before it has been fought. Regardless of the Art of War-Sun Tzu reference, this is why Camp One is often on the losing end of the results element. Conversely, Camp Two is better prepared to win. A properly constructed strategy that encompasses a clear understanding of the online culture and how your company will be impacted by it means you’re prepared for the tune-out effect. It also means you can communicate in the same language, using appropriate technologies in an appropriate manner. In other words, you’ll know precisely why you’re on a social network and how to effectively leverage it
to further your business objectives. Now you can “join the conversation” all you want. Knowing why you are engaging in social media at all is the new best practice. In reality, the central question you should be asking is, “Are you social-media ready?” This is prudent to contemplate because social media isn’t for everyone. It requires patience, bravery, transparency and diligence. This is where old school management tendencies clash with the new social media reality. Your organizational DNA may not consist of an open willingness to have meaningful discussions with your customers online about your faults and short-comings. If that’s true, you may find comfort with many others who are participating online today outside of social media. Starting with the simple stuff; a Google Adwords campaign for example, set-up an account at Google, pick keywords with some specificity, set a daily budget of four or five bucks or more and, the next thing you know, you’re getting targeted traffic to your site. The same goes for Facebook ads, which in some ways are even easier to start and target, and the interface is very simple. Ensuring your search engine optimization is up to speed may also be a good idea for increased traffic to your corporate site, too. That service has been around a long time and is pretty straightforward. There is no looking behind the green curtain to expose the wizard required.
STRATEGY FIRST Having said that, if you want to consider social media, then my admittedly selfserving—but correct—recommendation is strategy first: • Start with the people rather than the technology and the tactics; • Examine culture rather than software; and • Analyze organizational impact rather than which ad network to use. Social media is about dealing with the real issues first and, sooner or later, chances are that someone out there is doing the research on your organization right now— it’s not really a secret anyway. My thought is that you’d much prefer to be in front of that fact rather than be the next organization that kills someone with tainted product and is ill-prepared to deal with the online discussion nightmare that ensues. √ Walter Schwabe is the Chief Evolution Officer of fusedlogic inc., a social media strategy firm and Alberta company since 2000. You can learn more at www.fusedlogic.com
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On the
HORIZON
OCTOBER
October 2-3 Banff Venture Forum At the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel www.banffventureforum.com October 7 ECAT Networking Event: Going Global: Virtual or Reality 4:30 pm: Five concurrent seminars 6:00 pm Reception, dinner & speakers Royal Glenora Club, Edmonton info@abctech.ca www.abctech.ca October 7 Science Café: Nanotechnology Presented by Telus World of Science 6:30 to 8:30 pm Good Earth Café 8623 – 112 Street October 22 VenturePrize Business Plan Competition Seminars run weekly from October 22 to November www.ventureprize.com October 24 ASTech Awards Gala At the Shaw Conference Centre Order tickets online www.astech.ab.ca
NOVEMBER November 5 Iron Science Teacher Competition Regional Playoff Telus World of Science www.ironscience.ca Send technology-related events to info@edmontonians.com by the 10th of the month prior to the event.
Continued from page 8 In need of financial backing, Snowball sought venture capital. Luckily, the market was ripening. With the proliferation of the smart-phone and later the iPhone, the ability to access the web—anytime, anywhere—had grown significantly. It was time to make his pitch. He approached Everest International, a firm primarily involved in land development but open to other investment opportunities. “I did a presentation to the president as if my life depended on it. I went for broke!” He liked the idea and took a financial interest in Easy Bill Online. Snowball’s next step: Secure a major partner to increase market share. His preference was Rogers Communications, the company he had been trying to attract for more than a year. When the Rogers people said, “Give us a call when you’re good,” Snowball took it to mean the doors were not yet totally closed. “We had the wrong product at the time,” he admits. “The way it was (originally) developed made it difficult to get it working on anything other than a Blackberry.” Snowball had to make a difficult decision: Last January, he literally threw out a year’s development and starting over with a new platform and new team. “Our aim was to get onto the wireless network and maintain any platform.” As Snowball cleared the crest of one hurdle, came yet another. His contacts at Rogers were gone, and the new people weren’t receptive. He feared the doors had, indeed, closed. Never accepting defeat, he approached Cellmart’s Peter Lee, a Rogers dealer, who had become his friend and mentor. According to Snowball, Lee had believed both in him and the product, so he used Lee’s association with Rogers to set up a meeting. Not only did Snowball get in the door, he walked out with a smile and a deal. Buoyed by this success, he’s optimistic that Staples will come on board.
EMBRACING TECHNOLOGY While he focuses on partners, Snowball is always willing to go that extra mile for his clients. He realizes they helped him grow. And, as the Internet levels the playing field, his product helps his customers—many of them small businesses—become more competitive in global markets. Easy Bill Online gives them access an array of modules: billing, time-tracking, quoting software, sales records, project and contact and task
management, mobile billing, and expense tracking, He also helps them become efficient by leveraging existing technology and melding it into his system wherever possible. Innovations include having his contact manager module integrate with Google Maps, and accessing e-mail from within the system. Snowball started with two people, a developer and interface designer. He has expanded to five technicians. Core development here is supplemented with some outsourcing. Although he recognizes that there is still a stigma associated with Edmonton, he believes that attitude is changing. As more innovations emerge, more people realize that not all world class developments come from somewhere else. Snowball loves this city. “It’s friendly. The community and businesses seem to support each other. That’s why I stick around.” He has declined offers from venture capitalists to move to Seattle. He could do his business anywhere, but won’t. It’s family, friends and associates here that have contributed to his success. Having moved to Edmonton from Montego Bay, Jamaica at age 15, he chuckles, “Minus 35 C set me straight.” While the final chapter on Collin Snowball has yet to be written, he has sound advice for budding entrepreneurs: Have a real good sustainable plan. Realize there will be many changes along the way, but the rewards can be endless. Let setbacks energize you. Always embrace technology. Learn from your mistakes. Listen to your customers and get feedback. “Anything that I or someone complains about becomes a new feature.” Snowball still puts in incredible hours. He says he’s both president and janitor at the same time. He’s hoping to give up one of the positions by next year. √ Go to www.edmontonians.com for Easy Bill Online free services for a year—$450 value! Greg Gazin, “The Gadget Guy”, is a serial entrepreneur, freelance technology columnist, small business speaker, an avid Podcaster and producer of Toastcaster.com. Greg can be reached at 780.424.1881 or greg@gadgetguy.ca
NOVEMBER
AT THE BANFF VENTURE FORUM Sponsored by:
Edmontonians November issue will profile four local presenters seeking venture capital and Angel investors from across North America who can provide the funding to help grow their businesses:
Bruce Johnson, Semanti Inc. Tom Ogaranko, Redengine Health Inc. James Chivers-Wilson, SciMed Technologies Rod Precht, Excitron
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11
C ivic Buzz with David Norwood
S
ome observations returning from a brief mid-September trip to the UK, ending in London, a city I love for many reasons, not least of which are its density and vibrancy. • Urban Parks: Edmonton may have the longest contiguous parkland in North America, with a spectacular river valley. But, I’d rather we stopped the comparisons to such areas as Central Park or Hyde Park. They simply aren’t the same kinds of recreational
Hyde Park destination. I spent the better part of two days walking across Regent’s Park (and along the canal that skirts its northern boundary) and Hyde Park. I hadn’t been to Regent’s Park for more than 35 years, and what struck me was its vastness, right in the middle of the city, and its accessibility. The same with Hyde Park, which is even larger than Regent’s Park. Both parks are accessible from so many points. There are amenities of all sorts, from places to dine and drink… to historical monuments and structures… to public gardens… to walking, running and bridle paths. And, as a dog owner and lover, I think that one of the best things about both parks is that dogs are allowed to run freely in the parks (and their owners DO pick up after them). It’s great fun to see them chasing each other or pigeons or squirrels (none of which they ever catch). All very civilized, and
M
edia Minute with Bruce Hogle
The Canadian Radio-television Commission (CRTC) determines who gets TV, radio and cable licenses in Canada and closely watches their performance. It recently released two interesting and provocative decisions of high interest to Edmontonians. One was approval of Canada’s first pornographic channel to Sherwood Park entrepreneur Shaun Donnelly. The second was the first-ever severe censuring of Shaw Cablevision by the CRTC, which renewed Shaw’s license for only two years, rather than the normal seven years they expected. The Commission’s 32-page report specifically cited Shaw’s non-compliance with CRTC regulations pertaining to sponsorship messages on community channels, lack of proper notice of channel realignments, and the company’s audit practices. But there are two unmentioned reasons why Shaw got the proverbial kick in the pants from the CRTC. One was CEO Jim Shaw’s actions on the Canadian Television Fund (CTF). Shaw committed to contribute $50 million a year for the production of Canadian programs by CTF.
Lessons from London is very densely populated, and that public transportation is essential to its functioning with any efficiency at all. The region’s 11 separate underground lines with 268 stations coordinate with the Docklands Light Rail system, local and national railway networks and stations, trams and buses. People might argue about the system’s efficiency (any of the underground lines’ peak hour passenger loads make Edmonton’s recent complaints about LRT crowding laughable), but the fact is it does work and is heavily used: Transport for London, the operator, estimates that in 2007 the system carried more than one billion paying passengers. A guiding principle for planning in London has been allowing increased density at or near major public transit facilities. This in turn reduces, or often eliminates, the need for parking spaces, which in London are virtually nonexistent. The best example of this forward thinking is the Shard/London Bridge Tower. Part of a massive redevelopment of the Southwark area near the Tower Bridge, the Shard will be Europe’s tallest mixed-use tower (offices, hotel, residential) at 310 metres/1,016 feet, but will contain just 47 parking spaces. Shard/London Bridge includes the redevelopment of the London Bridge Shard/London Bridge at 15 floors Underground and railway station along with bus and taxi bays, a major Devon to Fort Saskatchewan.). One transportation hub in London. Indeed, hopes the federal government will also virtually all of the tower’s parking lend its support. This is a project well spaces could be eliminated. Similar worth promoting, and with the addition buildings exist in such cities as New of bridges, trails and other features, it York (also close to major transportation will rival any urban park in the world. hubs), and the major cities of Europe Go to www.rivervalley.ab.ca/ for an overview of the proposed Capital Region (the latter out of historical necessity). What makes the Shard/London Bridge Park. different, for London at least, is its • Density: Everyone knows that London
massive scale and height, half again as tall as Canary’s Wharf’s Canada Square. Copyright restrictions prevent using illustrations for this column, view them at www.shardlondonbridge.com
But when he became disillusioned with the administration of the fund and quality of the programs produced, he stopped the $2million monthly cheques—depositing them instead into a trust account. Later, a miffed Mr. Shaw deliberately ignored CRTC cablevision hearings which were attended by all of Shaw’s competitors.
section of books while there are dozens of adult stores throughout this city offering magazines, porn DVDs and toys. Then we have those men’s clubs where women are not allowed—except for entertainment. In other words, Bunkee, anything your sexual heart desires is available for a price. I won’t be watching Northern Peaks channel when it goes on air, nor reading similar available garbage. I get a much greater kick out of life listening to Rev. Joe Walker preaching at St. Timothy’s Anglican Church… helping the Al Shamal Shriners or the Good Neighbour Fund charity with fund raising endeavours… reading books to Thorncliffe School kindergarten and grade one kids… working with destitute individuals…driving a blind lawyer to out of town cases… enjoying my family and friends… and visiting those in hospitals or inner city lodges. We all have priorities. While I may not agree with your choices, I respect your right to pick and choose— provided, of course, there is no criminal element. √
very relaxing. Another reason to stop the comparison is that the Edmonton region’s River Valley Alliance has a plan that, if realized, will create a park which includes these sorts of amenities and much more. It’s time to think beyond comparisons and appreciate what we have, or could have. The central section of the proposed park will include amenities and facilities including restaurants that will integrate the river valley with the Legislature, the Shaw Conference Centre, the Royal Alberta Museum, and so on. The award-winning $600+ million project has been given preliminary funding by the province, as well as contributions from Alliance members (municipalities and counties from
The Canada Family Action Coalition is urging the Harper government to quash this CRTC decision. Edmonton Sun writer Michael Coren climbed on the same bandwagon. This, at a time when a full page spread by Tanya Enberg appeared in the same paper on Canada’s up and coming porn stars. Plus, the Sun accepts solicitation
CRTC demands 15% Canadian content... Local porn channel promises 50% Turning now to the other CRTC decision, even though it won’t be on the air until next year, opposition has already started to Donnelly’s Northern Peaks specialty channel which will show pornography—and nothing but pornography, 24/7—across Canada. The CRTC demanded 15 percent Canadian content. In fact, Shaun has promised 50 percent of the porn shows produced will feature Alberta and other Canadian men and women performing all kinds of sexual acts that would make Grandma turn over in her grave.
ads daily from men and women offering themselves for anything your kinky heart desires. But, quite bluntly, why the furor over Canada’s first specialty TV pornography channel? Dick Curtis tells me Star Choice recently offered a $69.95 weekend package where any Albertan or Canadian could view five different porn channels for 48 hours. Playboy and Penthouse pay-perview adult entertainment is available on most cable networks across Canada. Major hotels here and the world over also offer the same product. Chapters has its erotic
The lesson for Edmonton planners is somewhat longer term, but emphasizes the importance of both public transit and high density. It’s always made sense to plan high-density developments, office and residential, around public transit hubs—in Edmonton’s case, LRT stations or transit centres. To be successful, however, public transportation must be readily accessible, and this is where planning in the Edmonton region has fallen short. It’s good to see LRT expanding now, with more and more lines planned. However, in a manner of speaking, the train has already left the station: The city sprawls across a huge region, and it will never be possible, or feasible, to serve those areas with rapid transit. Still, working with what we have, it’s not too late to plan for density centering on LRT stations. Perhaps more high-density residential towers should be planned for Southgate, Clareview and Belvedere, not to mention planned stations on other routes. The more density developed, the less the parking requirements should be. Performance in the future doesn’t lie in more and more freeways and ring roads, but rather in accessible and convenient public transit. Maybe we don’t need new roadways into the downtown core. Maybe we need more LRT routes— from Mill Woods, Sherwood Park, St. Albert, Spruce Grove, Fort Saskatchewan and the International Airport. It would be a long-term process, but there’s no time like the present to begin planning. √ David Norwood is a freelance writer/editor. Contact dnorwood@edmontonians.com
Bruce Hogle is the former news director at CFRN TV and recently retired head of the Alberta Press Council. Contact bhogle@edmontonians.com EDMONTONIANS OCTOBER 2008
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The Businessof
Love
By Ryan Jesperson
I
should have seen it coming.
Her thumbs, clanging tiny cymbals. Her hips, thrusting in a way only a belly dancer’s can. And then…eye contact. Even though I tried to disappear back behind my menu, our quiet corner table at Koutouki was already in her sights. The master of Mediterranean movement closed in, her hands swirling the silk scarf that would ultimately drag me out of my chair. I was about to give belly dancing a whole new meaning. Funny, when I pictured our quiet evening of wedding planning, tucking a fiver into a belly dancer’s belt in front of my new fianceé Kari Skelton and my parents Bruce and Catherine hadn’t come to mind. It’s those types of moments that can really throw a newly-engaged man like me for a loop. I mean,
nearly 3,000 couples put their registries together. Right off the bat, I share our hesitations. She promptly tells me to get over my “old school etiquette”. “Your wish list has got to be big!” she announces, handing me a pamphlet subtly titled, Dream Big! “Go for the gusto—ask for the things you’ve always wanted. That’s the tradition.” Lee tells us about a couple that recently “kind of as a lark” added an LG washer/dryer set valued north of $5,000. They got it. That’s when I realized a gift registry is essentially the grown-up version of Santa’s lap… except you only sit down once. Lee’s assistant Sandy Semeluk takes us through a checklist designed to make the whole process a little less daunting. Linens. Flatware. And then… Electronics.
Understanding the rules of
ENGAGEMENT
husbands-to-be don‘t make public spectacles of themselves with belly dancers…do they? Clearly, I need a crash course on the rules of engagement. But causing people to choke on their calamari is one thing. Flying in the face of good taste when it comes to our actual wedding is a much bigger concern. Take our gift registry for example. What’s an appropriate price range? Where should we cap the socalled big ticket items? How much is too much to ask for? And how on earth is it possible for the entire process to come across as anything but a giant, guided gift grab? Kari and I needed some expert advice. So we looked up Frances Lee at the City Centre Bay. Lee has helped
“Big screen TV?” Semeluk asks, her eyes fixed on the checklist. “You do already have a big TV, babe,” Kari reminds me. She‘s right. It is big. And cumbersome. And three years old. Doesn’t she know they make big screens that hang on the wall now? I thought we were supposed to ‘dream big!’ I mean, do I want a new big screen TV? Of course I do! But am I willing to add it to our registry, indicating I actually expect friends and family to drop $1,500 on a wedding gift? That’s a whole different question. In the end, apprehension wins out. There’s no big screen TV on our registry. But there is a $500 appliance and a set of pots and pans worth more than my first car. Turns out putting together our registry was a whole lot
Essentials M
ailout Interactive is an eightperson, e-mail management company. It has developed software to help companies use and track e-mail newsletters as part of overall marketing strategies. Recently renamed, Mailout Interactive was started six and a half years ago by Gregg Oldring, Mike Bridge and Jon Larson after the trio noticed an unfilled niche in the e-mail market. Jon, a U of A Arts graduate, and I discussed the growing company’s strategies to keep themselves on the minds of their clients. He recalls their favourite mistake: In the beginning, they accepted clients who weren’t ‘perfect’ customers even though they knew better. “The revenues may have been good, but it caused a lot of pain in the end.” Current marketing focus is on on-line advertising, using click through ads on search engines. They also rely on word-of-mouth referrals and customer loyalty. Often, when clients change jobs, they introduce a Mailout Interactive product such as Industry Mailout or My Mailout to their new company or position. Practicing what they preach is the thrust of their re-branding plan: Mailout Interactive plans to use
E
my
like the fallout after making eye contact with that belly dancer back at Koutouki—sometimes you’ve just got to step up and admit you’re asking for it! √ You can catch Ryan Jesperson “live on location” on Your City, weeknights at 6pm on Citytv. E-mail rjesperson@edmontonians.com
space
For Young Entreprenuers
ctive’s Mailout Intera Jon Larson
By Erin Rayner their newsletter service themselves as well as expand their website; creating a resource for their clients including a blog and more information about e-mail marketing. Jon explained what I have been telling my clients for a while, “E-mail communication lends itself not to the hard sell but more as a relationship tool”. He says that it is particularly important to ensure your content is valuable, useful and relevant to your subscribers’ needs. Look at it this way: Those customers who voluntarily sign up for your e-newsletter or communications want you to talk to them and tell them what’s new and interesting in your business. What more could a business owner ask? √ Erin Rayner is president of ED Marketing and Communications Inc. You can submit marketing materials for review; suggest young entrepreneurs to be profiled; nominate a Top Three; or ask a business developement question. Contact erayner@edmontonians.com
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lifestyles LIVELY
Comfort Food MENU
Magic with Chef John Berry
W
hen the wind turns cold, the leaves are almost gone from the trees and the smell of winter is in the air, nothing calms the savage beast in me more than my favourite comfort food. It may be a casserole that mom used to make or a hearty, robust, thick homemade soup. For me, it’s Shepherd’s Pie. Comfort food is anything that warms the soul. It has become so fashionable in restaurants from Paris to London to New York to Montreal, it’s now regarded one of the latest hip ideas for dining out. Did you know TV dinners are among the granddaddies of comfort food? When I was a kid, it became a staple around our house. In 1954, it was introduced to the world by C. A. Swanson and Sons. It consisted of roast beef or turkey, gravy, sweet potatoes, corn bread and peas. It was some 30 years later, the TV dinner made the Smithsonian Institute’s Treasury of American Artifacts. Today at New York’s Lowes Regency Hotel, the infamous TV dinner is actually on the menu. The tin trays have been replaced by porcelain, and the fare has been upscaled to pot roast braised in Burgundian Pinot Noir… the Mac and Cheese has been fine-tuned to cheddar assiago with a parmesan crust. The fried chicken? Free range, of course. Your choice for a mere $30 US. A lot of research has been done lately on comfort food. It has been found that eating certain foods may be a biochemical way to reduce stress. At least it works in female monkeys. Others say that it’s simply a personal preference—more behavioral than cultural. I’m sure the monkeys really don’t care. A Cornell University study suggests that females seek comfort from snacks like chocolate. Men, on the other hand, prefer heartier foods like pasta and casseroles. So marketable is comfort food that last year the Swanson company re-branded its TV dinners of the 1950s as today’s Swanson Classics—using the the slogan, “Comfort Food Then, Comfort Food Now.” One of my favourite comfort food cookbooks is
Everyday Delicious from the ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen in Edmonton. Undisputedly, one of the best ideas is ham and swiss stuffed potatoes. Or how about everyone’s favourite? Slow cooker pot roast. Another fabulous dish is maple glazed chicken with yams. This great little cookbook can be ordered by calling 780-420-1010, or outside of the Edmonton area 1-877-420-9090. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to finish my stuffed potato. Cheers.
• Bake uncovered at for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Serves: 4 Chef’s note: After assembling potatoes, they can be held in the fridge for up to 24 hours before baking.
SLOW COOKER POT ROAST HAM AND SWISS STUFFED POTATOES: 4 large baking potatoes 1 tsp. chopped fresh parsley ¼ tsp. freshly ground pepper 1 cup chopped ham 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/2 cup light sour cream 1/4 tsp. dry mustard Dash of hot pepper sauce Sprinkle of paprika
• Scrub potatoes and pat dry. Pierce with a fork. Place in a baking dish and bake at 425˚F/220˚C for 45-60 minutes or until tender. • Cut lengthwise and using a spoon, scoop out potato pulp into a mixing bowl, leaving a 1/8” rim of potato in the shell. • Add to the potato pulp in the mixing bowl sour cream, parsley, dry mustard, pepper and hot sauce. Beat ingredients with an electric mixer for one minute or until smooth on medium speed. DO NOT overbeat. • Stir in ham and 1/2 cup of cheese. Spoon evenly into potato skins. Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with paprika.
3 lb. boneless beef chuck roast 1 cup chopped onion 1 clove of garlic diced fine 1/4 cup ketchup 1 /4 cup apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup water 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp. paprika 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper 1/4 tsp. beef bouillon mix 1 can (7 ½ oz, 213mL.) tomato sauce • Cut roast in half to make 2 smaller portions. Place in a slow cooker. • In a mixing bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients (onion through beef bouillon) and pour over beef. • Cook on high heat for one hour. Reduce to low heat and continue cooking for 9-10 hours. Or if time doesn’t permit, cook over high heat for 5-6 hours or until meat is tender. • Remove beef from slow cooker. Let stand for 15 minutes before carving. Skim fat from sauce, and serve sauce with beef. Serves: 4-6 √ Contact Chef John Berry at jberry@edmontonians.com
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Comfort Food for
Thought Gas Fireplaces are ideal alternatives to their wood burning cousins as gas burns much cleaner. No messing with logs, kindling or ashes; simply flip a switch and enjoy an instant fire. Gas logs hold heat evenly, warming areas faster and more efficiently than wood. They can be installed in just about any room since they do not require a chimney. Today’s venting technology enables homeowners to exhaust gas through outside walls for easier and more flexible installations. Consider converting an existing wood burning fireplace with a gas insert for a more efficient heat source. The amount of heat emitted from gas fireplaces is determined by BTU. Typically, 10,000 BTUs can heat 500 square feet, although there are variances based on ceiling height, windows and floor finishes.
with Linda Bodo
I
t begins with subtle changes. The skies are a deeper blue and the nights are clear and sharp. The river valley is aflame in autumn’s vanity as she takes her final walk down the runway in the season’s latest colours. A few lingering geese banter about last minute travel plans to their winter homes, honks echoing in the crisp fall air. The wind shifts and brings in the scent of winter, then carries off the last of the leaves from naked trees. They argue with bare limbs waving futilely, but there is no denying that Jack Frost is on his way. You shiver and wrap your sweater closer around you, then head inside to warm by the fire.
Direct vent fireplaces are increasing in popularity due
oduct
The finished pr
The practice of burning wood to heat our digs dates back over a million years when Thor first harnessed the dancing flames to grill T-Rex loin chops and warm the cave. Today, environmentally responsible fireplaces are heating up the market with green gusto. If you are thinking of adding, upgrading or elevating the comfort factor in your home, here is some food for thought:
Pellet stoves burn economical pellets made from
Vent-free fireplaces
During...
require no venting and have the lowest carbon footprint of any gas appliance. They offer a high efficiency rating of up to 99.9 percent, and are frequently a fraction of the cost of traditional fireplaces to purchase and install. They are available in a variety of sizes and styles and can be used in conjunction with existing wood burning fireplaces, making them ultra-high efficient and ultra-low emission heat sources.
Before
recycled sawdust. The combustion process is nearly complete, making these stoves the lowest emission solidfuel burning hearth products available—a popular choice in areas where winter air quality is an issue. Operation costs are generally equal to or less than the cost of natural gas. Pellet fuel is considered carbon neutral.
Electric fireplaces are well-suited to apartments and homes without chimneys. Fume-free and readily available in hardware outlets and box stores, these fireplaces offer instant gratification with a nofuss plug-in. Finishes range from wood panelling to marble slabs and the inserts can heat up a room with up to 10,000 BTUs (British Thermal Units). Controllable thermostats maintain energy output while keeping costs down, rendering a 100 percent efficient model. And, if you are relocating, take your fireplace with you.
to their ease of operation. Unlike traditional masonry fireplaces with foundations and chimneys, direct-vent units take advantage of zero-clearance technology and can be installed almost anywhere. Prefabricated from metal and designed to be installed in a wood-frame construction, these units burn so efficiently that they can be vented directly out a wall and virtually give off no particulates. Thermostats control the amount of heat generated and fans circulate the warm air into the room, costing only pennies per hour to operate. During a recent renovation, we opened up our family room to the kitchen by removing an arched entranceway. Exactly three feet of wall space was left to install a much desired fireplace. Thankfully, the area in question bordered an outside wall, so the decision to integrate a direct vent fireplace was a no-brainer. I wrapped the insert with bendable plywood to replicate a farmhouse kitchen fireplace. Once the enclosure was complete, a professional installed venting and natural gas. The original doors were powder coated with a textured rust patina for a touch of Old World charm. The upper portion of the fireplace was plastered and faux finished with a burnt umber glaze to imitate years of use. The lower section was tiled to match the Saltillo floors. A mold was created to form a concrete banner to demarcate the year the fireplace was erected. An armful of logs was attached to a plywood backer for easy removal to access the gas line. The project took one week and the results are hot. Visit www.edmontonians.com for step-by-step illustrations. √ Contact Linda Bodo at lbodo@edmontonians.com or visit www.absolutebodo.com.
EDMONTONIANS OCTOBER 2008
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ACQUISITIONS, DIVESTITURES & CORPORATE FINANCE
If you are a mid-market company operating in Alberta with extensive credit lines, you may be feeling a little pinch from your lender. Lenders have been tightening up on credit for the past number of months due to the fallout from the US housing crisis and its impact on all variety of financial instruments as well as from a general slowing of the economy. Recent collapses of major US financial institutions will not help matters. Tighter credit can take many forms such as more restrictive financial covenants, increased interest rates, less available credit or a combination of all these. Further, the lenders may be reacting more quickly and with a little more vigor if covenants are not met. It is certainly shocking that banks with 100+ year histories and multi-billion dollar valuations could have their reputations and market values wiped out
in just weeks. Mismanagement at all levels appears to be the blame. Nevertheless, this will have a profound effect on the amount of capital available in the markets. Anyone who tells you this will not affect the lending in Canada is living in a dream world. As much as we talk about de-coupling from America it has not happened to any great degree. Just ask the Ontario automotive sector. To further accentuate the times, I get at least two emails a week now from my broker advising of immediate happenings and the whys and hows of the current frantic state of the market. In other words, let’s all stay calm. Lenders must now deal with multibillion dollar write-offs and potential bailouts from the respective governments and we can expect a different lending environment in the short to medium term. All lenders will be subjected to
greater scrutiny of their lending practices and will not have the same ease of access to capital. This means that revised and tighter lending policies will be disseminated down the ranks. This Head Office tightening will affect all borrowers and Alberta will be no exception. If you are feeling the heat or perhaps a wavering attitude from your lender, you may want to consider your options. It may be a change of lenders or the introduction of a second lender to reduce the exposure of your current lender. It may also be to bring in fresh, more patient capital to restructure the balance sheet. We can analyze your situation and go through your options so you can appropriately decide what’s best for your company in these uncertain times.
www.citytv.com
with Stephen W. Kent, CA (780) 441-6793
Global Credit Turmoil— a new financial reality
Weeknights 6:00pm and 11pm
Citytv
What local TV should be EDMONTONIANS OCTOBER 2008
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