Now if you are part of a large corporation who has a Microsoft Exchange or Blackberry Enterprise service, you already have this functionality. However, I am talking about synchronization for the little guys. This is a solution that anyone with a Smartphone and a data plan which includes web access can do. This is what you need.

The Basic Steps

1. Microsoft Outlook, Apple iCal or Mozilla Sunbird
2. Google User ID, setup to access Google Calendar
3. Google Sync installed on your PC or Mac
4. Google Sync installed on your Blackberry, Windows Mobile or iPhone

Explanation

So how this system works is that Google Sync allows you to synchronize your Outlook / iCal / Sunbird calendar with Google Calendar automatically. For those who are not familiar with Google Calendar, it is a web based calendar client which offers much of the same functionality as Outlook’s calendar. It also allows you to share calendars with other contacts and make calendars public to other users.

With Google Sync installed on both your mobile device and your computer, you have created a calendar that will update through to your phone, which you can customize to your own style. So if you make your schedule through your PC but just want it to display on your phone, you can choose an one-way sync, which would mean changes made on your PC or Mac would change in Google Calendar, but changes made on Google Calendar or your mobile phone would not show in Outlook or your Calendar program. In addition to updating your Calendar, Google recently added Contact Sync with the program so your contacts can also be synchronized along with your events.

The most dynamic effect is when Google Sync is set for 2-way sync’s. This means that a change on your Computer, also changes in Google and on your phone, but also any changes you make on you phone would be synchronized across Google Calendar and your Calendar program. This is the best solution for the individual who make appointments and schedules not only while on the computer but also on their phone, this way all of your different calendars are updated with your recent changes.

Limitations

Currently there are several limitations to this setup. The first is that from your mobile device all of your events must be in one calendar, you can only currently sync one type of calendar from your phone and from your Outlook / iCal calendars. However, if you currently use Google Calendar, you can set many different types of calendars in that application, but when you sync with your phone or PC / Mac, all the calendars will be made into one.

BlackBerry specific Synchronization

A couple notes about BlackBerry syncing since this is my main mobile device. First of all, Google Sync will move all events from Google Calendar into your device default calendar. The only issue I found is that I also was running the Facebook application, with the option to automatically update Facebook events and birthdays to my BlackBerry calendar. The issue here is that the Facebook application sets the Device Default to ‘Facebook’ so if you want your BlackBerry events to sync you need to create any new events in the ‘Facebook’ calendar. Coincidentally, this also means that any Facebook events will automatically be synchronized across Google Calendar and your Outlook calendar if you set this up across all platforms. I have not tried this with a Windows Mobile device or an iPhone but I imagine the two apps would have a similar effect.

Business Applications / Ideas

So there you have it, you can keep yourself organized across all of your devices and platforms. I’ve tried it over Microsoft Outlook / BlackBerry 8330, and it works well. It’s an inexpensive organizational solution which really can help manage your many appointments and events. In a small business setting this could be used to update your employees of important dates and events without actually having an Exchange or Enterprise server. You can also utilize the contacts function to add important contacts to all employees as well.

Broadcasted versus Collaborative Events

Let’s say you want to be able to spread events to your employees, you can either setup the software to be Broadcasted which would mean employees could not make changes, or Collaborative where employees can make changes of their own. You could create a Google Login specifically for the Calendar, and then provision Google Sync on all employee devices using that Login. Create your schedule on Google Calendar, lets say ‘your_calendar’ and sync this calendar on both your personal computer and every mobile device you want to receive updates.

In order to setup in a Broadcast format, on each mobile device, go to;

Google Sync>Options>Sync These Calendars>Add New Handset Events to;> Select ‘ None’.

In order to setup in a Collaborative format, on each mobile device, go to;

Google Sync>Options>Sync These Calendars>Add New Handset Events to;> Select ‘your_calendar’.

And there you go synchronized calendars and contacts for your employees. There are a few extra steps, but it will give you an inexpensive wireless solution to keep you and your team organized.

Coming out of a political science background, much of the discussion is not particularly groundbreaking. We know the media loves a good story and gives unequal coverage to those which have a good tag line or involve bizarre circumstances. We also have had many demonstrations of politicians bending the truth or using fiery rhetoric to strengthen their cause. All of these instances play on our emotions and skew our view of reality.

I really enjoyed the book mostly because it tied all these factors together and shows how we get caught in what the author refers to as ‘feedback loops.’ Its a cyclical effect where a news story will come out, media reports it, people start to worry about the topic, media picks up that this is a concern to people, run more examples, more people worry, people start wanting action, politicians use rhetoric and polarized the issue, media further ingrains the importance of the event. At each of these points the intensity of the fear is increased as it gets more coverage the perceived threat becomes more intense despite still being rather minute.

 
There are numerous examples in the book of this, take West Nile, Sars, Killer Bees, Listerosis, WMDs the list goes on and on. Not that these things aren’t worrisome but that people’s general perception of the likelihood of being harmed by one of these things is very high compared to the actual risk of being effected. We worry too much about exotic risks to our health at the expense of risks which actually matter.

Let’s take the health care debate versus terrorism as an example. The actual projected cost of even a two-tiered health care system across the US is in the tens of billions. This will help the low income in that nation who are dying due to not getting preventive treatments such as basic shots to helping pay for chemotherapy etc for those who cannot afford it. These are risks that average Americans face everyday of their lives.

Cost of the war on terrorism? The war in Iraq has already been an investment of hundreds of billions of dollars with little end in site despite election promises to end it.
Yet the average American is more likely to go to a town hall and fight health care then argue for an end to the war in Iraq. Its been made painfully obvious that the US did not go to war for the reasons originally stated, Iraq was not any threat to the US, they had no part in 9/11, yet the American public is more concerned with blocking the spending of tens of billions so Americans don’t die in their hospitals, than preventing hundreds of billions on an unnecessary and unjustified war. Go figure.

Another reason why the health care debate is frustrating to me is that I have always been a proponent of self-interested politics. It makes sense to me that the wealthy tend to be financially conservative since a lower tax rate means these people keep an even larger sum of money in their pockets. Also that right wing parties tend to give the first tax breaks to the wealthy, so it’s in their best interest to support that party. It’s same with those in the middle or lower income sections of society and the support for social democracy. Those who cannot afford private education or health care should be the most vocal supporters since they tend to be the ones who gain the most from strong social programs. It is in their best interest to support redistribute methods since they will likely be better off than if these programs did not exist.

Yet here we are, it’s not the big corporations showing up at town hall meetings, its the average American. They are fighting health care reform on a variety of grounds, but the largest one stems from a belief that it’s un-American. Never mind that their neighbours do not have health insurance and if they get in an accident they will have to re-mortgage their house to pay for it, they will be able to fight through it.  This is what makes sense to me, so naturally I find the US health care debate infuriating and frustrating. Those who will be biggest beneficiary of a government health care system are those who are standing up and shouting dissent at those who want to give them a hand up.

Many Americans believe the American way is either pay for insurance or to grit your teeth and bare the pain. Sure there are so many feel good stories about a family having a horrible tragedy and communities coming together for them. These are heart warming stories; I have watched enough Extreme Home Makeover to know how these make for truly touching moments.  But the point of this is that why create the opportunity for these sad stories when they can be prevented.  So many people would be better off, yet for some reason the things we fear do not equal the risks out there, and many people do not follow self-interested politics.  The world is a strange and irrational place.

NOTE – Check out Dan Gardner through his blog at the Ottawa Citizen

Check out this list of the top fan-bases in the NHL.  It is based on attendance numbers and online presence. Interesting way of ranking the teams.  The suprising thing is 2nd and 3rd place, not quite how you would expect it to be, sorry Leaf Nation, you have been moved into 3rd in the league.

Not so suprising is the bottom end with Pheonix, Tampa Bay and Atlanta rounding out the least followed and represented crowd base.  Explains why you can get combos which include 2 beers, 2 hot dogs, valet parking and 2 tickets for under $40 in TBay.

CNN ran an interesting piece tying together a few different stories regarding social networking etiquette.  Anything regarding your career obviously is very sensitive.  Being glib about your employer is always a bad mood, but many people do not remember that Facebook and Twitter are all public forums where anyone can be listening.

Its not just important for your job and career, but personal relationships as well.  Recently I have seen a blog regarding an upcoming wedding.  The bride had posted the decision-making process that went into deciding who to invite into the wedding party.  She even goes as far as saying ‘I hope so and so isn’t mad they aren’t in the wedding party.’

Social networks, blogs etc are not to be used as an inner-monologue.  Be careful out there because you are never sure who is watching.  The CNN article mentions one such incident where a potential employee mentions that the work will be boring, and the offer is rescinded. So be your own editor and please… try to be kind and remember your audience.

Team Canada finally has its 2010 logo picked out after the much debated decision by the Olympic Committee to rule out the previous logo design due to it having Hockey Canada’s corporate logo on the jersey.  The logo still maintains the same outer edge, and the same text below.

The new logo features art work by Debra Sparrow, a member of the Musqueam First Nations  and features the image of a thunderbird and an eagle within the maple leaf.

I like the new jersey and welcome the change.  It is a shame that we couldn’t continue with the exact same jerseys, but I understand the decision to remove national corporate images from the games.  However as I read the comments over this choice I am greatly disturbed by the comments of many of our fellow canucks.

As the above link mentions, the logo is taking heat from those who think its too ‘native’ and this comment has been echoed in the CBC comments page as well. I think this is a shallow and ignorant way of viewing the new logo.

It may not be your part of Canada, but I see the eagle and thunderbird of proud symbols representing Canada’s strength.  The two birds are of great power and influence in Native Canadian heritage and it demonstrates Canada’s diversity.

We are much more than just maple leaf wearing, hockey loving, beer swilling people. Even if you prefer the basic maple leaf hockey symbol,  the leaf is the predominant design, with the same text as the previous jersey.  The rest of the imagery is inside in a lighter shade of red.  Calm your intolerant voices, you are making us all look bad.

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