It doesn’t do to embarrass oneself in front of the waiter in the lobby bar of the Four Seasons George V hotel
When we were dating, my wife-to-be made the mistake of mentioning that it would be nice to stay in the Four Seasons George V hotel with me in Paris. I took this idle chat as a mission. Twenty years went by, but I remembered my assignment. I had some business in Geneva and suggested that…
Pierre Trudeau came perilously close to losing it all in 1972 to an unassuming federal Conservative leader. That fate may well await his son
A charismatic leader with most of the bloom off the rose near the end of his first mandate. An ordinary leader, elected from a province with the fraction of the population of a major city. The current Canadian federal election? Yes, but also the contest in 1972 – the first I covered as a young…
Parties should publish their cyber security policies and subject themselves to audits that they publish. And they need to tighten up their practices
By Brennen Schmidt and Allan Bonner Contributors It’s almost federal election time. That means many Canadian voters will be trying to guess if political parties will do what they say they will if elected. That’s a difficult guess. But what about judging a political party’s credibility on a policy issue by seeing if it practises…
The view along the Fundy Trail offers something at every compass point – crashing waves, rocks, hills, forests, waterfalls and streams
This is the first of a five-part series on travel on Canada's East Coast. On my recent trip to New Brunswick, I finally drove the Fundy Trail and saw Fundy National Park. It inspired me to sell the province a new tourism slogan. The slogan, worth millions, is “Get Off The Road!” I’m also considering…
Voice-activated assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple’s Siri are prime targets for sabotage, big and small
By Brennen Schmidt ALEUS Technology Group and Allan Bonner Troy Media columnist Whether listening to the radio in its digital or analogue form, fans will know the rush associated with contests. A station’s telephone lines can soon become jammed with requests from callers hoping to be “lucky caller number five.” While this may sound innocent,…
So why don't we pay attention to the detail necessary to secure our information?
By Brennen Schmidt ALEUS Technology Group and Allan Bonner Troy Media columnist Cops have a pretty good set of rules and responses. They look for the good and bad actors. They question everything and have a response for most eventualities. “Move along buddy” solves a lot of problems, for example. It turns out that Det.…
The project is supported by thorough research into what works best to create a green city, a large injection of funds and the participation of lots of volunteers
By Natalia Pryadilina, Roy Damary and Allan Bonner The green city movement has given environmentalism new energy and purpose. Large urban populations offer economies of scale and walkability, and bring businesses closer to each other, their customers and their suppliers. But all of this comes with costs: pollution and waste. Understanding the greening of cities is…
Outdoor furniture and art are essential parts of a healthy urban environment
By Natalia Pryadilina, Roy Damary and Allan Bonner Most of us upgrade our furniture over time. We progress from a student’s bookcase made of bricks and planks, through second-hand furniture, to better and newer items. The same is true of green cities, where outdoor furniture is a key component. If citizens are to be encouraged to…
The Internet of things has made us all vulnerable to the malicious work of web warriors, who are intent on upending the computer-controlled world
By Brennen Schmidt ALEUS Technology Group and Allan Bonner Troy Media columnist In old TV comedies, soap bubbles from the washing machine rise up the basement stairs and fill the living room, or the oven keeps baking until the cake occupies the whole kitchen. This was funny before the Internet of things (IoT) meant that…
Building standards include energy balance and water use, health and well-being of occupants, pollution, transport, materials, waste and ecology
By Natalia Pryadilina, Roy Damary and Allan Bonner Densely-populated cities are good for the environment in many ways. Condominiums and apartment buildings are more efficiently and easily heated and cooled. Public transport systems move people using a smaller environmental footprint. Walking is healthy. Yet cities also bring noise and air pollution. They create heat islands as…