How Many Canadian Women Choose Not to Have Children?
Published January 24, 2010 @ 10:50 in My 2 Cents

I'm expecting the arrival of my second nephew next week. It'll be my brother Steve's first kid. My other brother has a son who was born the exact same day as my second (and probably last) child.

We were all together last night to celebrate my oldest child's birthday, and a great debate erupted. Based on zero facts and figures, I thought the number of women who choose not to have children could be as high as 30%. Everyone thought that number was ridiculously high (although I'm told Ryan started to side with me).

Here are some assumptions I made as I argued my case:

• There's a correlation between education and motherhood - the more education you have, the less likely you are to procreate - Canadian women are becoming more educated - more woman are earning university degrees than ever before
• The less religious you are, the less likely you are to start a family - Canadians are becoming less religious as each year passes
• City folk are less likely to procreate than suburban or country folk
• The higher in the corporate hierarchy you climb, the less likely you are to mother a child - women are assuming upper management positions in companies more than ever before

All of that seemed logical to me, and 30% seemed plausible. This morning I did a little Googling and I found this New York Times article entitled More American women choose not to have children.

American women are waiting longer to have children, and more than ever are choosing not to have children at all, according to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Twenty percent of American women from the ages of 40 to 44 have no children, double the level of 30 years ago, the report says, and women in that age bracket who do have children have fewer than ever - an average of 1.9, compared with the median of 3.1 in 1976.

The article went on to say that Hispanic women in the US were bucking the trend. Considering Canada doesn't have the same Hispanic women populous, and per-capita Canadians are more educated, my 30% might not be that ridiculous.

How many Canadian women choose not to have children? If you're a woman who chose not to have kids, I'd love to hear why you made that decision.

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Molson Sticks it to Leafs Fans With Molson Canadian 67
Published January 15, 2010 @ 18:50 in My 2 Cents, Toronto Maple Leafs

Near my house there's a big billboard advertising Molson's new light beer. It's called Molson Canadian 67 and the logo is half a maple leaf beside "67". When I see this logo, I only think of one thing. That's 1967, the last time the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup.

I see this ad as a taunt. '67 was a long time ago, a time when there were only six NHL teams, a time before my birth. Why is Molson taunting Leafs fans?

Oh right, George Gillett recently sold the Montreal Canadiens and the Bell Centre to the Molson family. Now it all makes perfect sense.

Molson's marketing team will tell you the 67 references the number of calories in the beer, but we know better. It's Molson, and the Montreal Canadiens, sticking it to Leafs fans.

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Long Ago, When the NHL Had Ties
Published December 19, 2009 @ 13:25 in My 2 Cents, Toronto Maple Leafs

I've been writing a recap of every Maple Leafs game the since 2002. Six years ago today, I wrote about the 2-2 tie between the Leafs and Capitals.

Sure, the Leafs extended their franchise record for consecutive games registering at least a point to 13, but a tie against the craptacular Capitals is disappointing. This was certainly a game we should have won, even with backup goaltender Trevor Kidd making only his second start of the season and regular defensemen Tomas Kaberle and Aki Berg out the lineup. A win tonight against the Habs will make everything alright again.

Note the peculiarity? No, I'm not referring to the fact the Capitals sucked in the pre-Ovechkin era or I thought the absence of Aki Berg might actually hurt us, I'm referring to the score. This game ended in a tie.

Yes kids, there used to be ties in the NHL. I swear, it's true. Only six years ago there were ties, and we still loved the sport.

Let's bring back the tie. I've had enough of shootouts and 3-point games. In an effort to have less ties, let's play 4-on-4 for ten minutes of sudden death overtime, but if it's still even after that, let's give each team a point and call it a tie.

What say you? Do you agree it's time to bring back the regular season tie?

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Cheer Nation? I'm Not Chanting "Eh! O' Canada Go!" For Pepsi
Published December 17, 2009 @ 09:30 in My 2 Cents, That Damn Pepsi Cheer

If you've watched any hockey lately, you've likely seen the ads for Cheer Nation. Pepsi seems to think the voices of Hockey Canada's fans need to be united with an official cheer. They've unveiled this new cheer under the marketing banner "Cheer Nation".

I've got several issues with this. Let's see... where should I begin...

The Premise is Faulty
Team Canada hockey fans don't need to be united. We are united. It's not broken and certainly doesn't need fixing. As my Twitter buddy @vinaymenon said, Cheer Nation reminds us all of New Coke and other forced marketing gimmicks.

The Cheer is Shitty
The cheer, in case you've missed it, is Eh! O' Canada Go!. That's awful. I'd be embarrassed to be caught saying that in public. I think I'll stick with the tried and true. Ca-Na-Da! Ca-Na-Da!

We Aren't Owned by a Multinational Corporation
PepsiCo, Incorporated is in the business of selling carbonated and non-carbonated beverages. There's nothing wrong with that, but this "Cheer Nation" moniker and the cheer itself is theirs. Hockey Canada fans are not sheep. We'll be cheering for Team Canada, but not for Pepsi.

And one more thing before I leave this topic for good. Pepsi promises the names of the first million fans to join 'Cheer Nation' in support of the cheer will be displayed in Hockey Hall of Fame. Thank you, PepsiCo for devaluing that hallowed hockey shrine with one fell swoop. I can't imagine anything minimizing the accomplishing of being displayed in the Hockey Hall of Fame quite like that.

You can keep your Cheer Nation. I'm not chanting for Pepsi.

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Barilkosphere Call to Arms: Our Time is Now
Published December 16, 2009 @ 14:19 in My 2 Cents, Toronto Maple Leafs

Are you a passionate Toronto Maple Leafs fan? Are you intelligent? Are you active in digital spaces, either blogs, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube or other? If you answered "yes" to all three questions, this entry is for you. All others can pick apart my 40 favourite Christmas songs over here.

Following the Leafs game on Monday night, I had a lengthy discussion with Jonathan Sinden from MLSE. Jonathan is a recent hire who's tasked with improving the interactive component of MLSE's teams, which include the Maple Leafs, Raptors, TFC and Marlies. For the first time in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs, they're making an effort to encourage online dialogue, good and bad, amongst folks like us.

As Jonathan and I spoke, a vision began to emerge. We can both see it. It's a consortium of passionate, intelligent Maple Leaf fans who are unofficially empowered by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Allow me to explain...

The digital space belongs to us. It's our blogs, our forums, our podcasts and our content. MLSE would have no editorial privilege and no veto power. MLSE would give us access normally reserved for the traditional mainstream media, and would empower us with tools, funds and some degree of promotion, but we would be the stars of this show. This is where our biased but realistic voices would be heard.

I just described the Barilkosphere. The Barilkosphere already exists in a sense. There are a core group of us who create good blog content and collaborate and communicate on Twitter each day. We love our Leafs, and we express this with others online. That's the Barilkosphere, a term I've been using for years but one that was completely unknown to Jonathan. In this new vision, MLSE treats the Barilkosphere the way it treats the reporter for the Toronto Sun or Fan 590. We're invited to games, given media access (like I was on Monday), given access to multimedia traditionally reserved for television and mapleleafs.com and empowered. But unlike MLSE interactive properties like mapleleafs.com and official Maple Leafs Facebook pages and Twitter accounts, there is no spin. It's raw, it's organic and it's from the hearts and minds of an independent body: The Barilkosphere.

I know Jonathan shares this vision, and having someone on the inside of MLSE with the mandate Jonathan has is a huge step in the right direction. Inviting bloggers to sit in press row is also a huge step for MLSE, so I'm optimistic. With the right pitch, buy-in from MLSE management is entirely possible.

The fact is, young people today are unlikely to read newspapers or listen to the radio. The next generation of fans is immersed in the pervasive web, with omnipresent internet access. This digital space is MLSE's final frontier and they can't permeate it by controlling the content found on their official channels. We're too smart to buy what they're selling over there.

Members of the Barilkosphere, this is a call to arms. I'll keep you abreast of developments as I continue to work with Jonathan on what I hope will be a long term, mutually beneficial collaboration. Our time is now.

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This is a Blog. This is My Blog.
Published November 27, 2009 @ 16:23 in My 2 Cents

I started blogging here exactly 7 years ago this week. It was a place to sharpen my writing skills and a chance to test various SEO practices and web development techniques. In the beginning, the number of daily unique visitors was often less than ten, and I knew them all in "the real world".

Seven years and 9525 entries later, I'm still writing for the fun of it. I choose topics based on what's of interest to me, as I sharpen my writing, web development and SEO skills to determine what can be applied on the commercial front. I'm still writing for my brothers, my buddies and myself. The only thing that's significantly changed is the number of visitors this blog gets.

This is a blog. This is my blog. I'm not trying to break news, I'm not trying to be CNN or TMZ or The Toronto Star, I'm just trying to write about stuff I dig, things of interest to me and things I think should be shared.

Earlier today, I wrote about a shake-up with the EZ Rock morning show. Of course I wrote about the dismissal of Rick Hodge and Kim Stockwood. You could have bet the farm on it. After all, I've always loved radio, I wrote about Rick Hodge leaving CHUM-FM, about Humble getting a new gig at EZ Rock and it's the only morning show I've sat in on. It would have stuck out like a sore thumb if I didn't address this developing story.

So I did what I've done 9524 times before. My fingers hit the keyboard and I reported what I knew to be true. Then, because it's my blog, I threw down some personal opinions about it all. And yes, that included a less than flattering story about Rick Hodge. This isn't something I do lightly, I managed to not tell the story for 18 months, but this morning I felt like sharing it. So I did.

Rather quickly, my email filled up with angry emails and comments. It was as if I had attacked the Pope. I came back from lunch, read one negative email after another, and quickly realized it simply wasn't worth it. This is my hobby, I had shared a little story about the subject of the news story I was writing about, and suddenly I was under attack. That prompted me to do something I haven't done in 9525 entries over 7 years. I deleted the story about Rick Hodge.

Rick, if you're reading this, I got your note but you didn't provide an email address for me to write you back. I'm happy to write you if you give me an email address. To everyone else, nothing I wrote this morning was based on anyone's opinion but my own. I just threw down some thoughts about a local DJ based solely on one morning I spent in the EZ Rock studio.

That's what I do here. You're welcome to read it... or not. This is a blog. This is my blog. Nothing more...

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The Final Taboo: The Man-on-Man Mouth Kiss
Published November 24, 2009 @ 16:16 in My 2 Cents

I recorded Sunday night's American Music Awards and watched it last night. Most of it was pretty bad, so I'm glad I was able to fast forward a good chunk of it. I did watch the closing performance by Adam Lambert, however, and part of that performance was one of the final taboos on American television.

Adam Lambert, an openly gay man, had the audacity to kiss another man on the lips. The kiss with his keyboard player lasted only a second, but it resulted in over 1,500 complaints by American viewers to ABC. ABC's "Good Morning America" has even cancelled an appearance by Adam Lambert on their show as a result of this performance.

I believe the man-on-man mouth kiss is one of the final taboos on network TV. When Britney Spears and Madonna smooched during the MTV Video Music Awards, it was great water cooler chat fodder, but there was no FCC action. We'll see if the FCC can resist creating a clear double standard moment with Lambert and ABC.

I think those 1,500 people complaining about Lambert's 11pm performance need to get over it. Same sex kissing is just as boring as opposite sex kissing.

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My Sore Arm (Or Proof I Practice What I Preach)
Published November 24, 2009 @ 14:39 in My 2 Cents

Yeah, I'm the guy who called you selfish for refusing to get the H1N1 vaccine. And you parents who won't get your kids the shot, you're doubly selfish. There, I said it.

I wrote that at the end of October, but practising what I preached turned out to be trickier than I thought. For the longest time, vaccination clinics were only serving the very young, the very pregnant and those with other conditions. Finally, at some point in mid-November, my kids were able to get their H1N1 flu shots.

To close the communication loop, and to prove I practice what I preach, on Sunday my wife and I made our way to the Etobicoke clinic at Burnhamthorpe and West Mall to receive our vaccines. I'm feeling great, but I must warn you, this ain't your yearly flu shot.

My left arm still hurts! It's not the worst pain I've felt there this year, but I'm surprised by how much it still hurts two days later.

Now get yourself to one of our free clinics. Many have no wait at all right now. It's better to have a pain in the arm than be a pain in the ass.

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Ready for a No-Buy, No-Recieve Christmas
Published November 23, 2009 @ 16:46 in My 2 Cents

It all started two years ago with an entry entitled "The Story of Stuff." It was about our mega-consumer society and the stuff we accumulate, particularly at this time of year.

In the comments of that entry, I wrote a comment that was heavily on my mind all last December. Here's what I wrote.

I've been flirting with an idea. Not for this Christmas, but for next Christmas. It's still perculating, but the premise is fairly simple.

It's a "no-buy, no-receive" policy that we, as individuals, promote. It requires one inform all of their friends and loved ones what they're doing in advance. Essentially, you're not buying holiday gifts - and you don't want to receive holiday gifts. You can do things for people, and should do things for people, and you should spend time with those you care about and spread good cheer, but you don't buy them stuff.

When you're in the "no-buy, no-receive" program, you may influence others to try something similar. Heck, if you can do it, so can others. You still take care of the kids, Santa still comes, but adults get nothing. If they want to get you something, ask them to donate a little coin to your favourite charity or to sponsor your Terry Fox run or something like that.

"No-buy, no-receive"... I'm seriously considering making such a statement in 2008, and if I do, you can read how it all works out right here.

Last year, my wife, my mom and my brothers and I reached a compromise. We played "Secret Santa" and threw our names in a hat. I saw "Secret Santa" as a gateway drug to where I wanted to go in 2009. No-buy, no-receive.

Now I'm ready to go whole-hog. Don't buy me anything for Christmas, please. With kids being the exception, it's time we all implemented a no-buy, no-receive policy.

We've all got enough stuff.

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TV Tax Ads Lie, Annoy and Infuriate
Published November 11, 2009 @ 16:31 in My 2 Cents, Television

I hate those TV Tax ads. There are the two varieties... the ones from the cable and satellite guys and the ones from the networks telling us "Local TV Matters". I hate them both.

That's my tweet after seeing another TV Tax ad during the Leafs game last night. I thought they were gone, but apparently not.

That was someone replying to me on Twitter, helping to explain why these ads are so annoying. I find them insulting, but not just because of the obnoxious sarcasm. I resent the implication we're about to be hit with a TV tax. There is no TV tax!

Only the government can tax us. The government is not taxing us here, the CRTC is just ruling whether TV broadcasters can charge the cable and satellite providers for their content. If our cable bill increases as a result, it's because Bell and Rogers and the gang passed on the extra cost. It's not a tax, it's a multi-million dollar company passing on a new business expense to its customers.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Bell on both sides of the fence here? Bell is one of the big names behind the "TV Tax" ads (along with Rogers, Telus, Cogeco, EastLink, BellAliant and others), but they're also part-owner of the CTV network, one of the big names behind the "Local TV Matters" ads (along with CBC, Global, A Channel, CHEK and others). They simply can't lose.

I fully expect my Rogers bill to go up after this CRTC ruling, but it won't be because of a TV Tax. The TV Tax doesn't exist. My bill will go up because the cable and satellite companies are greedy bastards.

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