Here are four stories that caught my attention this week.
- Mike Lazaridis is Blackberry’s $26 Million Dollar Man.
- The LRT has left the station and those who don’t want it are making noise.
- Micro living is not for everyone. It’s a lifestyle choice.
- Blackberry is crumbling but KW rises from the ashes. it’s what we do here.
Micro Apartments: Living in the BIG bubble
There was this story in the New York Observer that claimed micro apartments are bad for your health. They are self imposed solitary confinement for the urbanite. They lead to claustrophobia, alcoholism and domestic abuse. They are bad for children who need lots of space.
I think the study is flawed. I think it’s easy to say negative things, to pick things apart.
First of all, I doubt many married people, let alone, married couples with children would even consider living in a micro apartment. They are for the young urbanites. Those who like camping perhaps, roughing it, making due, but in an urban setting. They’ll give up space to be close to the action.
I’d do it. I’d live in a micro apartment. I don’t need much. These days, my laptop and cellphone have replaced all the other tools, equipment, and books I used to need. If I have my laptop and an internet connection, I’m good to go.
Micro apartments are a lifestyle choice. It’s a place to sleep. If you live in a big city, you’re always out at coffee shops and other places. In the suburbs, your home is your bubble. In the city, the city is your bubble.
LRT
A couple of weeks ago, the “stop the LRT” voices got a little louder. They started a website and a petition. It’s a place to sign up, to vent, to show how much you care, to show how much you know, to offer your anonymous opinion. (You know I have a real problem with anonymous opinion.)
What’s new since I last checked in is:
They’ve collected 1066 signatures.
Mayor Brenda has decided not to run again. The commenters say this is because she won’t get elected anyway.
They would like a referendum. No, no, no. We cannot let the people decide. People are not visionary. People collectively make very poor and short sighted decisions.
One commenter wants to reevaluate it in light of Blackberrys fall from grace. I think he missed the story a few months ago that said even if we quit now, we’d already spent our (municipal) part. We wouldn’t save anything.
They say it will go over budget and be late. Fortune tellers.
They offer suggestions of putting it underground, of a “hyper loop” system, other things.
People related this to Rob Ford, Hamilton, Calgary, Europe…
Frankly, when we let the people have a say, it quickly becomes apparent that they haven’t been paying attention and their ideas are sad and ludicrous.
Blackberry
Interesting timing was my first thought. Mike Lazaridis sells off $26 Million worth of shares two days before Christmas. Maybe he thought no one would notice. Maybe he doesn’t care if they do. It’s his money. He can do whatever he wants with it is what I think. The timing seems suspicious. That’s all I’m saying.
Bigger than Blackberry
The New York Times did a story about us. We are that BIG.
It was basically a story about how big our tech (start up) community in Kitchener Waterloo is. Reading it, I started to get the feeling (for the first time) that Kitchener has stolen Waterloo’s thunder. That aside, it was a bit of a puff piece and an introduction to KW for those who have never heard of KW. The article was a bit about Blackberry’s demise, a bit about our demographics and history, a bit about how much talent we have here. We may be down but we’re not out. That was about it.
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