Green means go

This is progress
Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, August 2010
[Please click here for more transportation goodness]

We see traffic lights every day, but do we really look at them? Probably not, as a detailed analysis might not be advisable when you're negotiating a six-lane intersection at speed, bracketed on one side by some kid balancing driving his dad's Volvo with texting his buddies on his BlackBerry and on the other an octagenarian on her way home from bingo who apparently has difficulty telling the difference between the accelerator and brake pedals.

(For what it's worth, I've encountered both of these folks in recent days. I love London drivers.)

So on an afternoon when I found a set of lights while out on a walk with my wife, I had all the time in the world to explore it with my camera in a way I just couldn't do while fending off Teen Berry King or Grandma Pedal Pusher. Either way, I need to walk more and drive less.

Your turn: What's your favorite traffic signal. Why?

Four sea legs

Young faithful
Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, August 2010

No one ever said transportation must revolve exclusively around motors that burn dinosaur remains yanked from some distant desert governed by despotic rulers with an irrational devotion to American muscle cars and high-end luggage stores. Sometimes, a quiet, efficient paddle with your best friend on the bow is the best way to get from here to there.

I'm going to assume the lack of a lifejacket is due to the fact that the water is so polluted that this lovely pooch would likely dissolve before drowning.

Your turn: I know this pic is just begging for a caption. I also know it's been some time since I did a Caption This. Got a caption suggestion, anyway?

One more thing: Every week here at Written Inc., we do this weekly photo-sharing-theme activity called Thematic Photographic. This week's theme is transportation, and if you follow your mouse here, you'll be able to share your own transportation-themed photo. Trust us, it won't hurt a bit.

Chloe joins the family

The road ahead
Laval, QC, August 2010

Because nothing in life is permanent, especially if it's a planned-obsolete piece of North American engineering, it's only a matter of time before the lovely set of wheels you carefully piloted home from the dealership just a few short years ago eventually becomes an older, less lovely conveyance that increasingly - and increasingly unpredictably - consumes family resources you'd rather allocate to basics like food, shelter and Apple-branded products.

So as the noise from another clearly blown wheel bearing gradually evolved from a gentle thrum to something a little less gentle, we kinda knew the wondervan's time with us was drawing to a close. As much as we enjoyed having something large enough to carry a miniature pony to the fair or the Iceland national basketball team to its next practice, our vehicle's slow de-evolution back to oxidized metal particles meant it made more sense to redirect our finite dollars toward something a little newer, a little smaller and a little (okay, a lot) more efficient. We'd miss the cassette deck, of course, but that's the price of progress.

But here's the thing: our not-so-mini minivan (seriously, can something 200+ inches long and well over two tons in weight be considered mini?) served us well. It took us to Florida five times, to Montreal dozens of times, and to countless other places near and far on trips that helped us continue to tell the story of us. Even on drives to school, it served as our little cocoon, a place where we got to spend a few relatively peaceful moments together before the day took us all our separate ways. So when it came time to take Wilhemina (or Wilma. Yes, we name our cars) on her last drive to the dealership before trading her in, I found myself trying to commit the last five years of ownership to memory.

The new car has a working rear defroster. We don't need to keep our ears tuned for the next thing to go wrong. The kids aren't allowed to eat in it. Or within a 25-foot radius, for that matter.

Our daughter named her Chloe. She fits just fine in our driveway and, more importantly, into our family. This reflective photo, shot in the parking lot of my in-laws'/mom's condo complex after completing the first leg of her first-ever road trip, makes me realize that in the end, it's not as much about the car itself as the places it takes you and the memories you make - and hold on to - along the way. If Chloe is as effective in that regard as Wilma was, we'll do just fine for the next few years on whatever road adventures await us.

Your turn: Do you name your cars? Do tell!

Memorable wheels

My dad's car
Laval, QC, October 2009

I had been hearing stories about my father's Renault Gordini (a sportier version of the venerable R8/Dauphine) ever since I was a munchkin. It's the car he owned when he and my mom got married, the car that unceremoniously ended its time with the family long before I came along in a puff of smoke and flame, the car that, by today's standards, was all style and notably less substance.

But none of that matters now. Because somehow, this vehicle - well, not this particular vehicle, as this is merely a photo of a dinky car, while the actual Gordini was long ago melted down and re-cast as a planter just outside the entrance to the Airport Hilton - weaseled its way into the psyche of our family in a way that no car since has managed to do.

To wit, we don't swap stories about the burgundy Chevy wagon (was it a Biscayne? I can't remember) or the gold, then silver Ford monster-wagons we owned when the company paid the gas bill (man, imagine that!) or the fire engine red AMC Concord wagon (sense a pattern here?) with woody appliques on the sides and enough black crushed velour on the inside to outfit a Las Vegas lounge.

Yet this car, a car I never saw first-hand, never rode in and, frankly, have never seen another example of on the road ever since, became a character in the stories my parents told about their just-begun adventure. They personified it, reflected how much character it had, and allowed it to set the tone for the years ahead, when cars of every stripe would connect our far-flung family in ways the young couple at the wheel of this ill-starred foreign car could hardly foresee.

Your turn: A car that mattered to you. Please discuss.

About this photo: We had returned to Montreal barely two weeks after we had left. That's how long my father had been gone, and we were home with my mom, slowly, tentatively beginning to go through some of the things in the house. His things. I found the dinky in the catch-all on top of his dresser and had to catch my breath - something I've been doing a lot over the last almost-year. It was a little the worse for wear, as witnessed by the missing tire, but that was irrelevant in the context of the day. I immediately thought of why he would have bought this overtly foreign car when the conventional wisdom of the day would have pointed him toward a bigger, more conventional piece of Detroit iron.

But my father wasn't conventional. Not then, not ever. And for better or for worse, he lived - and drove - on his terms. I guess I was meant to find this car after all.

3PAR: HP wins. Dell loses. I write.

The media craziness continues, as I've been commenting extensively on BlackBerry maker RIM's challenges in India, the CRTC's decision to force carriers to give refunds to some of its customers, and the HP/Dell bidding war over storage vendor 3PAR.

I published a piece on that last bit - HP won the war yesterday, BTW, with a final $33.00/share offer that prompted Dell to bow out - in today's Toronto Star*. Here's the link:

Fighting for the cloud: Behind the duel for 3PAR

I've also been busy in front of the camera. Here's a rundown of this week's major hitters:

• CTV News Channel. Chatted with anchor Dan Matheson about the RIM/India thing. Video here.
• CBC's Lang & O'Leary Exchange. Spoke about the RIM story as well. Video here. They begin coverage about 1:15 in, and the interview proper starts at 16:50 in.
• Global National (first time!) I spoke with anchor Gord Steinke about the CRTC (Canadian telecom regulator) decision to tick off carriers by forcing them to refund some of the proceeds of the so-called "deferral account". Video here. Click the Sep. 1, 2010 image, then scroll to about 7:25 in (14:45 to go) for the report by Francis Silvaggio.

Whew...what a great week! This stuff never gets old, and I always feel privileged that the phone continues to ring, and that I get to share perspectives with some of the smartest people out there. Very cool stuff.

--
* This is my third article for the Star. Article 1 is here. Article 2 is here.

Thematic Photographic 113 - Transportation

Where the rubber hits the road
Laval, QC, August 2010

For the coming week, I'm hoping we'll share perspectives on the things that help us get from one place to another. While cars are easy targets of opportunity, don't feel compelled to limit yourselves to them. In my own archives, I've got a pile of bike, aircraft and even kayak photos that may or may not show up here in the days to come.

What have you got?

Your turn: Please share a transportation-themed photo on your blog, then post a link to it in a comment here. Participate as often as you wish. And if you've already got something that you posted online a while back, feel free to share that, too. For more background on how Thematic Photographic, our weekly photo sharing extravaganza, works, please click here. To see all TP-tagged entries, click here. Oh, and have fun with it. Because that's the point of this entire exercise.

Life begins. Life ends.

Circle of life?
Thornhill, ON, August 2010

About this photo: We're winding down our week-long look at flowers - thank you to everyone who made this theme (see here if you've got something to share) such a vibrant one. Thematic Photographic launches a new theme tomorrow morning. What will it be? Pop by after 7 a.m. ET to find out.

Flowers have a bit of a bittersweet aura about them. Their near-limitless loveliness exists within a somewhat sad context, because their beauty will soon shrivel into brown, crinkled dryness. They'll quickly go from being the center of attention to yesterday's news, forgotten as we look for the next pretty thing to capture our eye.

Such is the nature of ephemeral beauty.

Your turn: Treasured but temporary. Please discuss.

Little. Yellow. Different. Better.

They call me Mellow Yellow
London, ON, April 2009
[Please click here to participate in this week's Thematic flower theme]

There's a softness to flowers that extends well beyond how they feel when you touch them. I think of it as a visual kind of softness, more of a feeling or a tone than anything else. It's the kind of thing that lowers my blood pressure when I'm around them, that makes me smile because I can still enjoy a simple pleasure in the middle of an otherwise busy life.

Your turn: Does this make any sense at all?

(Almost forgot: Happy new month, everyone!)

Mournful

Remembering a life
Montreal, QC, July 2009

A little over a year ago, I came to this cemetery with my father to visit the graves of our extended family*. I had been wanting to make this trip with him for years, but for various reasons, most of them having to do with his failing health, it had never worked out until then.

We lost him barely six weeks after this photo was taken, so in retrospect I'm glad we had this day. It's one of the things I hold on to when I find myself drifting in the nebulous vastness of losing a parent. I simply focus on specific days, events or memories and, for a few minutes at least, I feel a small sense of comfort.

Someday I suppose I'll return to this place. And when I do, I'll have to remember where everyone is, and I'll have to retrace our steps alone. And I'll replay this day in my head as if it was yesterday. And I'll wish I could actually go back and be here with him, if only for a moment.

This life thing isn't always easy.

* Previous entries here, here and here.

Flower in the surf

Chasing birds
Deerfield Beach, FL, December 2008

At once, this photo has both everything and nothing to do with flowers. The nothing is easy: This is a salt water beach. Between pounding surf, mindless surfers and the occasional jellyfish infestation, this isn't the kind of place where a bouquet of anything short of titanium would survive. The everything is also easy, as our daughter's name is Dahlia. And like the flower, she's blooming into one lovely human being.

(Sidebar: She got glasses last week. They make her look like more of a lady than she already is. My wife wrote about it here. End tangent.)

As I've shared previously, it's a joyous thing to watch the munchkins pursue their own art. They're such effusive, creative kids that it's easy to put some tool of creation - whatever that tool may be - into their hands and let them loose. They come by it honestly, thanks to my wife, but they still manage to make the moment their own, and to come back with something totally unique to them.

It was 4:35 p.m. as we wandered through the ankle-deep water, cameras in hand. Late afternoon is an interesting time at the beach, as the lengthening shadows send the sunbathers home, only to be replaced by a smaller crowd of hoodie-wearing folks walking through the surf.

The day was slowly drawing to a close, but our kids were intent on squeezing just a little more joy from the day. Dahlia quietly followed a few seagulls (familiar, I know) and zoomed in from afar to avoid disturbing them. She spoke to them gently, almost willing them to stay nearby, nearly convincing them she wouldn't hurt them. Nearly, because soon after 4:35, the inevitable gaggle of unruly kids (no parents in sight, big surprise) ran through, splashing everyone in sight and frightening the birds away.

No matter. She's the kind of kid who seems able to create peaceful moments, both with a camera and without, wherever she is.

Your turn: Making peace where there is none. Please discuss.

Red rose, not the tea

Two of a kind
London, ON, July 2010
[Please click here for more on Thematic's flower theme]

If flowers have to have a hierarchy of desirability, I'm going to go out on a limb and say roses top the list.

Wouldn't you?

Published - Intel, McAfee and you

Last week, fate tickled me happily with a pretty big journalistic break: My first byline for The Toronto Star. I wrote about it here.

Fate's still working for me, apparently, as the Star published another article of mine - Why Intel's deal for McAfee will shake the laptop landscape - in today's edition. It's the lead article in the Business section, which is pretty neat.

I'm liking this.

Flowers ate my kitchen table

Red petal glory
London, ON, February 2009
[Click photo to enlarge. Click here for Thematic Photographic - Floral]

If you ask my wife, I don't bring flowers home nearly as often as I should. She's right. She deserves more frequent, tangible expressions of how I feel about her. It's never enough to assume your partner just knows: You've got to be obvious about it in obvious ways - like bringing flowers home just because you felt like it - as well as less obvious ones. At once, it's a subtle and none-too-subtle form of non-verbal communication that way too many people seem to misunderstand. Or not understand entirely.

When I do bring flowers home, I try my best to capture them in their pre-tossed-into-the-garbage state. They're perfect for such a brief amount of time that you either commit them to memory immediately or lose their loveliness forever. And since our south-facing kitchen gives us such perfect morning sun, it's common for me to interrupt breakfast for a quick floral-themed (or jam, or...) photo session.

There's method to my madness, as it's difficult for my wife to shut me down when the subject matter is a bouquet I brought home for her. At least that's the way my ham-fisted man's logic sees it.

Your turn: Why are gifts of flowers so important to so many? (Note: this question is targeted at folks of any gender.)

The Color Purple

By the side of the road
London, ON, July 2010
[Click photo to embiggen]

We often think of flowers as delicate things that live behind glass, whose purpose in life is to be purchased and brought home for a special occasion. Yet long before florists with state-of-the-art air conditioned display units dotted the urban landscape, I'm thinking Mother Nature knew a thing or two about painting the landscape with stunning color.

So the next time you find yourself in a desolate corner of the city and come across a riot of color in an otherwise abandoned field, I hope you'll take the time to record it in some way. Because beauty happens where we least expect it.

Your turn: Beauty in a surprising place. Please discuss.

Thematic Photographic 112 - Flowers

Natural sculpture
Thornhill, ON, August 2010
[Click photo to enlarge]

I've been shooting flowers for almost as long as I've been shooting at all. They stay in one place, they don't talk back, and they let you linger for as long as you need to get the shot. I've accumulated enough pictures of these delightfully ornate examples of Mother Nature's artistry that I thought it might be neat to share 'em for a week. Hence, this week's Thematic Photographic theme, flowers (I know, such a surprise.)

Your turn: Thematic Photographic is our weekly photo sharing extravaganza. It's actually quite simple. Just post a flower-themed pic over at your place. Come on back here and leave the link in a comment. Click over to other participants to share the wealth. Rules are here. All Thematic-themed entries are here. Wagering is strongly frowned on, but simple enjoyment is majorly encouraged.

New hands-free nav alternative?

So this big Ontario hands-free law has been in effect for almost a year, and I still see squillions of distracted drivers yakking away on their handsets when they really should be focusing on keeping their vehicles from turning me into a hood ornament. I'm just that deluded to believe that I'm that important. Yet after a local cyclist was sent to hospital with life threatening injuries this morning after being flattened by a car on a stretch of road I often ride, I'm inclined to feel more than a little anxious that a law that's supposed to protect the rest of us doesn't seem to be working.

Which brings me to this rather facetious photographic moment. I was doing a radio interview from my car. (Long story short, I do radio here because a car makes a wonderful makeshift studio, devoid of barking dogs and pattering feet.) When I got off-air, I absent-mindedly plopped my netbook on top of the dash and snapped this admittedly lame shot with my BlackBerry. At first, I laughed. Then I realized it was anything but funny. For a brief and horrifying moment, I realized there's probably at least one person out there who would actually use a netbook or laptop as an improvised GPS device. Think about it: "But honey, it's got a 10-inch screen!"

There's always one. And that's the problem in a society where we trust others to do the right thing. As soon as one of us fails to uphold our end of the bargain, innocents suffer. This may be a funny-themed photo from my safely parked car, but I fear the moment when my path crosses with someone who just doesn't appreciate the difference.

The injured cyclist's name is Patricia Stacey, and the idiot who hit her has been charged. Thankfully, her condition was upgraded, and I hope you'll join me in praying for her complete recovery. And that her experience snaps the rest of us into rapt attention the next time we turn the key and back our cars - without netbooks on the dash or phones pressed to our ears - out of the driveway.

Your turn: What are you doing to cut the risk of distracted driving?