July 2009 Archives

Until recently, I ignored the whole social media thing. I just didn't want to bother having to keep another site active. Keeping my blog current was and is challenging enough. Much to my surprise, however, I found I enjoy Twitter.

So what's so special about Twitter? My answer is that it's fast and light. When I spot something interesting, I can quickly blast off a tweet, and I'm done. The vast majority of my tweets are simply articles that I have found interesting. Occasionally, I respond to someone else's question or concern. Oddly enough—at least to me—I actually read a substantial number of tweets from those that I follow. When I fire up TweetDeck, I scroll back in time and quickly review everyone's posts.

I follow an eclectic mix people. Most are related in some way to financial markets. Some are related to photography. A few are writers, and the rest are just a general assortment. Now that I am following more people than I can keep up with, I am reluctant to follow more. In fact, I probably should prune my list to reduce the noise level. For those that do want to follow me on Twitter, you can find add me @Stecyk. As mentioned, I am following enough people now, so I am unlikely to reciprocate.

Switching emphasis, I will provide a list of some of the recent articles that I highlighted in my tweets. Please note that Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, and Barron's are all paid subscription sites. You might need to be a subscriber to see their articles. The New York Times requires a free registration.

• Financial Times Microsoft in free software assault on Google;
• The New York Times Exxon to Invest Millions to Make Fuel From Algae;
• The New York Times Updates to Google Voice;
• King World News Bill Fleckenstein podcast;
• King World News Jim Rogers podcast;
• The Wall Street Journal One Small Step for Man, One Giant Mess in the Spacecraft (be sure to view the Interactives;
• The New York Times Driven To Distraction: Drivers and Legislators Dismiss Cellphone Risks; and
• Barron's Gold Still Has That Glitter.

On 18 July 2009, I enjoyed a 50 kms (30 mi) bike ride through the Weaselhead Park area and onto Fish Creek Park. I was looking west when I took the picture above from a bridge in the Weaselhead area. If you click on the picture, you will be taken to Flickr where you can see more pictures.

Ana Avramovic is a full-time finance professional and part-time model—that is, she models as a creative hobby. We had an opportunity to meet in advance of our photoshoot. If it is convenient, I like to meet potential models for coffee in advance of a photoshoot. This provides an opportunity for us to meet each other and confirm that we want to go ahead with the photoshoot. During our coffee meeting, we discussed our backgrounds briefly. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Ana and learned that we shared some similarities in our backgrounds but also some vast differences. Our similarities were interesting because they allowed us to form common understandings and shared experiences. However, I found our vast differences more interesting because I was able to ask questions and learn more about her character. If you ever have an opportunity to meet Ana, I am confident that she will impress you with her intelligence and friendliness.

On Thursday, 4 June 2009 we met at Heritage Park for our photoshoot. Unbeknownst to us, this was the same day that the park was hosting seven thousand children as part of the AMA school patrol. The first sign that things were different was there were lots of police in the parking lots directing traffic and there were lots of school buses.

Once we arrived at the park and got set-up, we were notified that we would not be allowed to shoot. There were too many children wondering about. Ana had already changed and we were getting ready to leave when a senior manager approached us. He asked a few questions, with two important questions: First, Were we professionals or shooting for a magazine or something similar? And second, Didn't we know about the kids' day at the park?

We replied, "No, we are just amateurs looking to have some fun modeling and photographing. And we were surprised by all the children that were present." Luckily, he reversed the prior decision requiring us to abandon our photoshoot, and Ana changed once again. We then began our photoshoot.

I am grateful to the manager at Heritage Park who allowed us to stay. I can understand the Heritage Park's dilemma: on one hand, they want to ensure the privacy and safety of the children; and on the other hand, the park should be accessible and open to all. Sometimes these two objectives collide as they did on fourth of June. Ana and I did our reasonable best to avoid the children. In the early part of the shoot, the kids were listening out on the lawn to the grownups drone on. And after the lawn meeting ended and the kids dispersed around the park, we generally tried to find areas where it was quieter.

In the photograph above, we found that just as we set up, the kids and accompanying adults started filling the area around Wainwright Hotel. So we didn't stay and photograph here as long as we would have liked. So we just moved from location to location.

Heritage Park is a great location for kids to enjoy themselves. Even though we had make allowances by working around the kids, we enjoyed ourselves and had a productive day. And again, I am grateful to the manager who trusted us and allowed us to stay.

My picture of Ana is hosted at Flickr. If you click on the picture, you will be taken to Flickr where you can see more pictures.

Today, Canada celebrates its 142nd anniversary of confederation. I hope all my fellow Canadians have a terrific Canada Day.

I took this picture of a Canadian Girl in 2007 during Canada Day celebrations at Prince's Island in Calgary, Alberta. If you click on my picture, you will be taken to my Flickr site where you can see more of my pictures.