Canadian airliner, WestJet has hit another home run with their latest community initiative and YouTube video. Last year, WestJet surprised Canadian commuters with a Christmas Miracle. This year they gave back to a village in the Dominican Republic.
Today is a brand new day
I thought I’d never see the day that I would be so excited to see December 2 2014. You see, I’m not a huge fan of winter. I love the summer and the warmth of the sun on my face. Snow, cold and short days are not my cup of tea.
But today is not a great day because of of winter. It’s great because today is Day 1 of a new Toronto. John Tory is now officially the Mayor of the city of Toronto.
And that’s a good thing. No. That’s a great thing. His predecessor was nothing short of a huge disappointment. He may have had good intentions. He may have been a great councillor and returned everyone’s calls. But Rob Ford is not mayor material. He is not a leader. Nor a builder. And not someone who cared about creating a city that everyone could be proud to live in. He was, in my opinion, divisive and interested in cutting everything from the budget to public services that we all rely on.
John Tory has an opportunity to not just reverse the mess that Ford left Toronto in but he also has this opportunity to help build a great city. A city whose transportation system is once again the envy of the world. A city with a waterfront that we can all be proud of. A city we can not be ashamed of. A city that the late night comedians once again ignore.
Today is a brand new day. #fingercrossed
Hiking the Doris McCarthy Trail
Yesterday afternoon Minaz and I walked the Doris McCarthy Trail in the southeast part of Scarborough. It’s not a long trail but it’s a fun walk along the Bellamy Ravine as it empties into Lake Ontario at the foot of the Scarborough Bluffs.
Yes. Scarborough is most likely the most scenic part of the city of Toronto.
Here are some photos we took. I hope you enjoy.
Connected Life survey | We Are Wearables
The hottest start-ups and technology can be found every month at the We Are Wearables meetup in Toronto. At this past week’s meet-up, attendees were also treated to a presentation by Nielsen Canada on their soon to be released report: Connected Life.
Following is a summary of comments and photos from this presentation.
For more information on the Connected Life survey and the future of wearables and smartwatches in Canada visit Mobile Syrup’s post on this presentation.
Thalmic Labs demos the Myo armband at FITC Wearables
On Thursday November 13 2014 in Toronto, FITC hosted their Wearables event. During the event, Thalmic Labs demoed their Myo armband with a drone. Watch the YouTube video above.
FITC Wearables Conference | Toronto
My new home on the web
Many of you have noticed that I haven’t really blogged here since mid-summer. That’s because in what little time I do have I’ve been figuring out what to do with this little real estate of mine that I own on the Web.
For many years I’ve been creating content on the internet. Not as long as some people I know, but longer than most. I started with a Blogger site and soon moved over to WordPress.com. I’ve tried using Tumblr when I visited Africa and even had an active Flickr account for some time. I had a popular podcast called SMS for a few months which then morphed into a YouTube show. And during these crazy days I also had a hand in building a social media agency called THIRDOCEAN. Not to mention my earlier gig with Techvibes and my current experience with itbusiness. (Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, I’m currently “making waves” at Canada’s largest Search Marketing Agency, Catalyst, as their Digital Content Manager.)
Well, times have changed. And during that time my interests have changed. I have opinions outside the world of social media and Toronto’s tech start-up scene. I’m more interested in the wearables explosion that is currently happening (especially in Toronto). I’m also interested in telling you what I think about the Blue Jays off season pursuits of free agents and Neil Young’s latest musical experiment.
So what does future hold? I’ve no freaking clue. Honest. But we have to start moving. So, starting with this post you can now find me here at karimkanji.com (no more karimkanji.wordpress.com). The new website is not yet fully complete. and it may never be. and when it is done, don’t expect to be wowed. However, expect there to be content. Good content. About everything from living just inside Scarborough to what I think about Toronto’s current mayor.
You can also follow me on Twitter here -> @karimkanji. And please remember to bookmark this site.
Barenaked Ladies tackle social media in latest single and viral video
Scarborough’s favourite adopted sons are back at it again with “Did I Say That Out Loud?” The band that first gained prominence with “If I had a $1,000,000” recently released their newest single which was subsequently backed with a video.
At posting, this video currently has 1,010,579 views. Hope you enjoy.
We met @JohnToryTO…
So this happened yesterday (sort of):
“What happened?” you might be asking. Well, that’s my family in the cover image of the Twitter page of Toronto’s future mayor, John Tory. From left to right is my nephew Omar, niece Iman, Kahzmir (DS8) and my beautiful wife Minaz. Oh yeah, and beside her is Tory. 🙂
It’s kinda funny that they are on Tory’s page. Not that we don’t like him. He’s probably the most likeable guy running to be our mayor this October. He’s also smart, a dedicated public servant, and been successful in almost everything he has done in business.
Why is it funny? We probably would not have even thought of voting for Tory if he was running for the PC Party of Ontario. But as a mayoral candidate for the city of Toronto? Sure, why not?
The photo above and the one’s below were taken at the Taste of Lawrence Festival a few weeks ago in Scarborough.
And here’s the obligatory selfie….
