Interwood Direct

Three Elections in 11 Months If You Live In Ontario

2011-04-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

So what do you think? If you live in Ontario, you would have voted in 3 elections in 11 months by the time October 6th, 2011 comes around. That's a election for every level of government; Municipal, Federal and Provincial! In my mind, that's too many! Period! The solution isn't simple but all of us need to recognize that it happened!

A Great Example of Good News

2010-08-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

Often good news is relegated to the inside of paper or really not talked about. Here's an article from Time magazine that suggests a much more favourable outcome of the tragic BP oil disaster in the gulf than had previously been reported! I'm watching to see when more areas open up for fishing!

Fascinating Site To Watch

2010-08-05T10:47:00.001-07:00

I wondered whether fishing had resumed in the Gulf after the oil disaster. The site below reports every day on the status and it will be fun to see what progress is made in getting back to normal

Everyone Should Travel To China: You Have to See It To Understand It

2010-03-24T08:27:00.000-07:00

China is going to have a major influence on what happens in three worlds going forward. In fact, they already have – much of what we buy comes from there!

In my minds, the government acts in the best interest of the community. If a highway need to be built it is and quickly. If homes need to be removed they and people are set up in another place.

Development is happening so quickly that its breathtaking! The Chinese are pragmatic, hard working and want to better themselves and they are. You need to see it

There is a great two week trip that’s being offered to Canadians – a five city tour, a 3 day cruise on the Yangtze River - all for $1,999 – this is an unbelievable value including five star hotels, all of your meals and other incidental expenses. You can’t go wrong!

Mayor Millar Outfoxes the Media: Finds an Extra $100 Million

2010-03-14T06:58:00.001-07:00

It seems that Toronto's Mayor announced an important press conference at 4:30 PM on March the 10th, 2010 to take place at 9:30 AM the following morning. All of the Toronto media had a field day speculating what it was about. And I mean a field day!

The two recurring themes were the either he was going to resign early to take another job or he was going to be back in the race. Fooled you all!

He announced that $100 million had been found in for this year’s budget so tax increase and user fees would not need to be increased as much as feared! Got ya!

Paralympics: Be Proud

2010-03-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

The 2nd half – albeit with a lesser profile – The Paralympics started last night in Vancouver! These athletes deserve as much support and enthusiasm as we all gave to the Olympians. Please follow what happens to them – they are true athletes. There is little live coverage but there will be lots of “shows” summarizing several events. The first is due to broadcast Saturday afternoon on CTV. Please watch it!

Robin Hood Tax: Intriguing Idea That's Right On To Help The World

2010-02-11T07:49:00.000-08:00

The Robin Hood Tax is a tiny tax on bankers that would raise billions to help tackle poverty and climate change around the world. The idea seems to have been born in the UK and is starting to spread everywhere.

It would involve taking an average of 0.05% from speculative banking transactions and would generate up to hundreds of billions of dollars every ear!

It's sounds like a brilliant idea. The web site is linked below. The video is very powerful! What do you think?

The site is www.robinhoodtax.org

Fascinating Internet TV Series: Well Worth A Look

2010-02-10T09:22:00.000-08:00

There is a Federal Court trial currently underway in San Francisco challenging California's Proposition 8 that blocked gay marriage. Initially, because of the high interest in the challenge, it was planned to broadcast a live video feed of the proceedings.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a last minute ruling blocking indefinitely the broadcast of this live feed.

Within a few hours, a film production team in Los Angeles was readying a script taken from court transcripts, securing a courtroom set and casting actors in the effort to make the proceedings available to people by way of re-enactment!

It has happened! 12 days of proceedings have been produced so far and will continue through the trial. The actors have donated their time, the characters portrayed are as closely to real as possible, nothing is missed and it is something to watch. This would not have been possible without the dedication of the two principles behind it – John Ireland and John Ainsworth!

But it took the internet to provide the forum for delivery to anyone in the world that wanted to watch the trial! It clearly demonstrates the power of the internet to change and expand the content we have to watch!

To view any or all of the episodes, go to www.marriagetrial.com

Be Proud - Canada - The Olympics Will Be Amazing

2010-02-08T12:30:00.001-08:00

I listened to a CBC Radio programme this morning that caused be much angst! Three reporters were discussing all the things that could go wrong with the Olympics - from no snow on Cyprus Mountain to the homeless issue in Vancouver and what if there are transportation delays to name a few of the calamities that might happen!

Not one word about what an inspiring event this was going to be much less ANY mention of the athletes and the dedication and sacrifice they make to participate in the event. BE PROUD Canadians - we're going to knock the socks off the world starting with Friday night's opening ceremonies!

The Olympics are going to bring us together and make us all proud to be Canadian! Trust me. Don't listen to the media - they only want to report the negative side of issues - this is truly a transforming event that is about to happen to all of us that are Canadian and our country!

Canadians - Be Proud - The Olympics Will Be Amazing!

2010-02-08T12:14:00.001-08:00

Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints!

2010-02-08T12:13:00.000-08:00

Hats off to the Saints. They played a wonderful game and won the hearts of many including of the three of us that watched the game in our home! What a well deserved victory for them! How proud and excited must they be! Their first Super Bowl game and a win - 1 for 1! Thanks should go to the fans, the team, the management, the trianers and everyone involved - it was truly a team effort!

Be Proud Canada!

2010-01-29T11:25:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure to listen to a speech by Chris Rudege,.CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee! He told us about all of the effort that had been devoted to ensuring that the Winter Olympic Games will be a successs - fror Canada and for our athletes. An "Own the Podium" programme was created 6+ years ago and the real fruits of this effort should be seen in our performance! USA Today's lead front page article tells the story! We going to do great! Be proud Canada!

.http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2010-01-29-canada-host-win_N.htm

Apple's Real Invention: A Revolutionary Retail Experience

2010-01-27T15:51:00.000-08:00

Apple's real invention is not really the Mac, iPod, iPhone and iPad but their almost obsession with the customer to make the whole process of buying an Apple product an unforgettable experience And I mean the Apple retail stores. There are 15 in Canada - 6 in the GTA! The experience is amazing - as different more a normal electronic store as black and white.
First you book an appointment on the internet for the store of your choice. A knowledgeable representative spends an hour showing you the Mac and telling you about the Apple philosophy.. It's fascinating!

At the end if you buy, the transaction is done right where you are sitting and your invoice is magically produced from underneath the table we are sitting at! No cashier, no wait and it's actually produced on the same machine that has been used to demonstrate.
Next you can bring your PC to them and they will transfer all your files and upload any extra software you might have - all in less than 48 hours guaranteed! So your machine is ready to be used when you get it home.
And when you go to pick up your purchase - they offer to carry it to your car but if you choose - you are welcome to attend an a 1 hour instruction - at 6:00 pm every day - with the others that have purchased a machine.
And they offer a one to one instructional class - for $99.00 a year - you book an appointment and have one on one with an Apple tech for one hour - as many times in the year as you want at any Apple store in the world!
I have visited the store say 12 times - my wife double that and we have never waited more than 2 minutes before someone has apporachs us and asked - not what can I sell you - but how can I help you!
They want to to get the most out of your purchase and become a convert. Certainly I have!
This is the future of retail!

A Sad Time and A Very Moving Video

2010-01-14T09:59:00.000-08:00

As I was collecting my thoughts for today's blog, a wonderful Mexican friend emailed me this very moving video. Somehow, with the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti still at the forefront of our minds, it seemed just right to be today's posting.

The world is so interconnected and intertwined that all of us have a responsibly to help in any way we can when there is a disaster like this. It impacts all of us!

Our Sympathies To Everyone In Haiti

2010-01-13T10:29:00.000-08:00

I was overwhelmed this morning - as were all of us - at the devastating earthquake that happened yesterday afternoon in Port-au-Prince,Haiti. I can't imagine what it must be like to be there now. On behalf of my family, all the employees of Interwood and their families, I would like to extend our condolences to everyone that is affected by this tragedy. Our thoughts are with you.

Facebook Users Are growing Dramatically: 55 & Older

2010-01-12T11:18:00.000-08:00

The Canadian Press reports that Amy Webb, a consultant and chief executive of Webbmedia Group that "Facebook users now are people who are much older, people who are retirees or who are in their 50's, 60's and they're starting to use Facebook as a primary means of communication". Users aged 55 and older grew by an astounding 514 percent in the previous 6 months according to iStrategy labs" That's another indication of the revolution that continues to take place in communication.

I remember when Interwood was founded in 1974, we started with a telephone, a typewriter and a telex machine. Soon the fax machine was invented and eliminated the need for our telex machine. Then came the personal computer which eliminated the typewriter. And next the internet and email enabled everyone to talk on equal grounds to everyone else!

Then the social sites were invented and we are where are are today with Facebook, Twitter and a host of other social sites! And it's early days yet! I can't imagine what's to come!

Imagine What Will Happen with Technology in the Next 5 Years

2010-01-11T15:34:00.000-08:00

Technology, lead by the digital revolution, is changing so quickly that it's virtually impossible to stay on top of everything that's happening! Last week's CES Show in Las Vegas is a great reminder of this! In our business, video viewing will continue to evolve - different sized screens will be almost everywhere so we be able to be on the "net" and doing whatever we want whenever we want! One thing for sure as we all become more comfortable with the web and it offers, we'll be shopping more and more on it!

Recommend That You Read This Post

2010-01-08T08:41:00.001-08:00

This post was copied verbatim today from an email I received from a good friend. Normally, I tend to ignore communications like this but I believe there's a lot of truth to what is said and an excellent proactive suggestion at the end! Let me know what you think!

Subject: Israeli security vs. North American Security

Juval Aviv was the Israeli Agent upon whom the movie "Munich" was based.

He was Golda Meir's bodyguard -- she appointed him to track down and bring

to justice the Palestinian terrorists who took the Israeli athletes hostage

and killed them during the Munich Olympic Games.

In a lecture in New York City a few weeks ago, he shared information that

EVERY American needs to know -- but that our government has not yet shared

with us.

He predicted the London subway bombing on the Bill O'Reilly show on Fox

News, stating publicly that it would happen within a week. At the time,

O'Reilly laughed and mocked him saying that in a week he wanted him back on

the show. But, unfortunately, within a week the terrorist attack had

occurred.

Juval Aviv gave intelligence (via what he had gathered in Israel and the

Middle East) to the Bush Administration about 9/11 a month before it

occurred. His report specifically said they would use planes as bombs and

target high profile buildings and monuments. Congress has since hired him as

a security consultant.

Now for his future predictions. He predicts the next terrorist attack on the

U.S. Will occur within the next few months.

Forget hijacking airplanes, because he says terrorists will NEVER try and

hijack a plane again as they know the people onboard will never go down

quietly again. Aviv believes our airport security is a joke --

that we have been reactionary rather than proactive in developing strategies

that are truly effective.

For example:

1) Our airport technology is outdated. We look for metal, and the new

explosives are made of plastic.

2) He talked about how some idiot tried to light his shoe on fire.

Because of that, now everyone has to take off their shoes. A group of idiots

tried to bring aboard liquid explosives. Now we can't bring liquids on

board. He says he's waiting for some suicidal maniac to pour liquid

explosive on his underwear; at which point, security will have us all

traveling naked! Every strategy we have is reactionary.

3) We only focus on security when people are heading to the gates. Aviv says

that if a terrorist attack targets airports in the future, they will target

busy times on the front end of the airport when/where people are checking

in. It would be easy for someone to take two suitcases of explosives, walk

up to a busy check-in line, ask a person next to them to watch their bags

for a minute while they run to the restroom or get a drink, and then

detonate the bags BEFORE security even gets involved.

In Israel, security checks bags BEFORE people can even ENTER the airport.

Aviv says the next terrorist attack here in America is imminent and will

involve suicide bombers and non-suicide bombers in places where large groups

of people congregate (e.g. Disneyland, Las Vegas casinos, big cities (New

York, San Francisco, Chicago, etc...) and that it will also include shopping

malls, subways in rush hour, train stations, etc., as well as rural America

this time (Wyoming, Montana, etc.).

The attack will be characterized by simultaneous detonations around the

country (terrorists like big impact), involving at least 5-8 cities,

including rural areas.

Aviv says terrorists won't need to use suicide bombers in many of the larger

cities, because at places like the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, they can simply

valet-park a car loaded with explosives and walk away.

Aviv says all of the above is well known in intelligence circles, but that

our U. S. Government does not want to "alarm American citizens"

with the facts. The world is quickly going to become "a different place",

and issues like "global warming" and political correctness will become

totally irrelevant.

On an encouraging note, he says that Americans don't have to be concerned

about being nuked. Aviv says the terrorists who want to destroy America will

not use sophisticated weapons. They like to use suicide as a front-line

approach. It's cheap, it's easy, it's effective; and they have an infinite

abundance of young militants more than willing to "meet their destiny".

He also says the next level of terrorists, over which America should be most

concerned, will not be coming from abroad but will be, instead,

"home-grown" -- having attended and been educated in our own schools and

universities right here in the U.. S. He says to look for "students"

who frequently travel back and forth to the Middle East. These young

terrorists will be most dangerous because they will know our language and

will fully understand the habits of Americans; but that we Americans won't

know/understand a thing about them.

Aviv says that, as a people, Americans are unaware and uneducated about the

terrorist threats we will, inevitably, face. America still has only have a

handful of Arabic and Farsi speaking people in our intelligence networks,

and Aviv says it is critical that we change that fact SOON.

So, what can America do to protect itself? From an intelligence perspective,

Aviv says the U.S. needs to stop relying on satellites and technology for

intelligence. We need to, instead, follow Israel's, Ireland's, and England's

hands-on examples of human intelligence, both from an infiltration

perspective as well as to trust "aware" citizens to help. We need to engage

and educate ourselves as citizens; however, our U. S. government continues

to treat us, its citizens, "like babies".

Our government thinks we "can't handle the truth" and are concerned that

we'll panic if we understand the realities of terrorism. Aviv says this is a

deadly mistake.

Aviv recently created/executed a security test for our Congress, by placing

an empty briefcase in five well-traveled spots in five major cities. The

results? Not one person called 911 or sought a policeman to check it out. In

fact, in Chicago, someone tried to steal the briefcase!

In comparison, Aviv says that citizens of Israel are so well "trained"

that an unattended bag or package would be reported in seconds by citizen(s)

who know to publicly shout, "Unattended Bag!" The area would be quickly and

calmly cleared by the citizens themselves. But, unfortunately, America

hasn't been yet "hurt enough" by terrorism for their government to fully

understand the need to educate its citizens or for the government to

understand that it's their citizens who are, inevitably, the best first-line

of defence against terrorism.

Aviv also was concerned about the high number of children here in America

who were in preschool and kindergarten after 9/11, who were "lost" without

parents being able to pick them up, and about our schools that had no plan

in place to best care for the students until parents could get there. (In

New York City, this was days, in some cases!)

He stresses the importance of having a plan, that's agreed upon within your

family, to respond to in the event of a terrorist emergency. He urges

parents to contact their children's schools and demand that the schools,

too, develop plans of actions, as they do in Israel.

Does your family know what to do if you can't contact one another by phone?

Where would you gather in an emergency? He says we should all have a plan

that is easy enough for even our youngest children to remember and follow.

Aviv says that the U. S. government has in force a plan that, in the event

of another terrorist attack, will immediately cut-off EVERYONE's ability to

use cell phones, blackberries, etc., as this is the preferred communication

source used by terrorists and is often the way that their bombs are

detonated.

How will you communicate with your loved ones in the event you cannot speak?

You need to have a plan.

If you believe what you have just read, then you must feel compelled to send

to every concerned parent or guardian, grandparents, uncles, aunts, whatever

and whomever. Nothing will happen if you choose not to do so, but in the

event it does happen, this particular email will haunt you...."I should have

sent this to.....", but I didn't believe it and just deleted it as so much

trash from old Bill Jones!!!

Always Be Positive: The Best Way To Live your Life

2010-01-07T12:09:00.000-08:00

Being positive, particularly when times are tough, is very hard to do. Yet, just by being positive, one's mind is opened to the possibility of a solution! If one is negative, there can be no solution. One's minds is "closed" to even think that the problem can be solved! One of the life lessons that I have learned is to "play it out" when you're in a difficult situation! Be positive - things have a habit of working themselves out! Think about it -this is really true and the best way to live one's life

Communicate In Any Language: Google Translate

2010-01-06T09:07:00.000-08:00

Google Translate is a neat tool in the Google repertoire! Just set the from and to language that you wish, copy what you want, and paste it in the translate box - automatically, it's translated into the language you have designated! It's not perfect but it's good enough for day to day use! For example it would be a great way to communicate back and forth with a pen pal that speaks and writes a different language! It removes one of the most significant barriers in communication! Try it!

A Great Example of the Digital Age: Smart Electrical Meters

2010-01-05T13:53:00.000-08:00

Toronto Hydro installed a smart meter at our house some time ago! The smart meter lets Hydro charge more for electricity in peak periods and, of course, less in non-peak times! One fascinating benefit is I can see every day what my hourly electrical use by kilowatt per hour! I just log into my account on the internet and a whole array of information is available to me. It costs me nothing! Here's my chart for yesterday! It's divided into low, medium and high cost prices. Our peak was the 6:00 PM hour! What will be fun is to see if we change change some of our habits and reduce our consumption or move it to off-peak times! This is a great example of the usefulness of digital information.

2010 - What Will It Bring

2010-01-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

2010 - a new year and a new decade for all of us! Best wishes to everyone for a fulfilling, peaceful and prosperous year AND decade. For anyone interested in technology, it's a fascinating time! The CES (Consumer Electronics Show) that opens on this Thursday in Las Vegas is going to be full on new and fascinating "stuff"!I can't wait until the week is out to see what's new! I'll give you my thoughts on the highlights as they unfold. As we say in our business, stay tuned!

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T14:16:00.001-08:00

Best wishes to all for a healthy, happy and prosperous 2010! Have fun tonight!

The Impact of New Technology

2009-12-30T08:27:00.000-08:00

Think about the change we have all seen in the last 5 years. It's been incredible and it's all driven by developments in technology - in essence the ability for any information to be digitized, stored and served up to anyone at a cost that keeps lowering! What fascinates me is that technological change is advancing upwards at about a 10% angle. What this means is - "we ain't seen anything yet"! Change is gonig to cintinue and affect us all in positive and not so positive ways! And I can't wait!

An Amazing Kindle Experience

2009-12-29T11:09:00.000-08:00

Guess what? I got a Kindle for Christmas! It's really, really neat! It was opened on Boxing Day and before I knew it, two books were downloaded as was a free 2 week trail for The National Post. The next day, my wife spotted an interesting book in the Sunday New York Times and wondered whether it might be available on Kindle. The title was entered and within 30 seconds the book was downloaded on the screen. See the link at the bottom of this post! What's most intriguing is that for most of yesterday Fran was reading the book on my Kindle and had finished it by the end of the day! What a remarkable experience!

eBook readers are going to revolutionize the book industry.! They are easy to operate, instantly give you what you want, the tablet is easy to read - even has 4 different type sizes - and makes the reading experience very simple. Amazon says that on Christmas Day, they sold more eBooks than paper books. Imagine what this means for textbooks! Students will never need to buy a book again - they will all be available electronically!

And this is just the start. eBook readers are in their infancy. Imagine what is to come!

Here is an interesting article on this topic.

Amazing Disruptive Successes of Apple

2009-12-24T08:01:00.000-08:00

Apple led by Steve Jobs has been incredibly successful in inventing new ways for consumer to live their lives! First, it was access to music with iTunes and the iPpod, next the launch of the Apple retail store and its devotion building a long term customer relationship by offering a superb customer experience, then the iPhone and apps for the iPhone and now plan, according to reports in the Globe & Mail, to launch a new competitor to cable and satellite TV. It would offer TV shows from participating networks streamed over the internet for a monthly fee! Imagine your favourite TV shows available on any screen hooked up to the internet for one monthly fee!
Whether this is the service, one has to believe that Apple will continue to turn existing entertainment businesses upside down with their intuitive and innovative new product developments. I can't wait to experience them!

The End Of Traditional Christmas Cards?

2009-12-23T10:33:00.000-08:00

Has anyone noticed a decline in the # of Christmas & Holiday cards received this year? Last year, at our office, the cards we received the tops of two filing cabinets! This year, as of today, the number totals 15 about one quarter of last year! A similar trend has happened at home! On the other hand, the number of ecards has increased so this is obviously becoming the accepted way of wishing happy holidays to friends and business associates!! Ecards are free, sent without any postage cost, have virtually no impact on the environment and can be as elaborate as one is creative - not a bad substitute! My sense is this is a positive trend!

Too Much Profit?

2009-12-21T13:50:00.000-08:00

The Globe & Mail reports that the Ontario Government is considering selling all or part of some of our Crown Corporations. One of these is the LCBO. The LCBO's revenue in 2008 was reported to be $4.3 Billion and yielded a whopping Net Profit of $1.4 billion or32.5% of revenues. AND this does not include the duties and taxes that are payable to the Federal Government! Whilst the LCBO may serve residents of Ontario well, it is a monopoly and has no competition. I only wish that private enterprise like Interwood could show even a quarter of the % return of the LCBO! The total amount of money paid to all levels of Government needs to be published and every resident and tax payer in Ontario needs to see and understand the contribution that the users of the LCBO make to funding our various levels of governments!

What One Tonne of CO2 Looks Like

2009-12-17T18:18:00.000-08:00

Most of us would be aware of the controversy around CO2 that is emitted by many things – one being petroleum that gives us our gasoline, heat, air conditioning and so many other things. I have often wondered what it might look like. Finally, someone has visualized it – at the Copenhagen Climate Conference this month! Here’s the link!

It looks like a smaller version of a square hot air balloon. The visual impact is startling. According to The Nature Conservancy's calculator my household generates 77 tonnes of CO2 each year – the average American family generates 110 and the average of a 4 person household globally generates 2.2 tonnes of CO2. Imagine what 77 balloons would look like!

Quite a picture!

In my mind, anytime we can do to reduce this would give all of us a cleaner and healthier world

What A Different Holiday Season This Year!

2009-12-16T12:39:00.000-08:00

What a difference a year makes! This time last year, the global financial world had fallen apart, the US was in a major leadership transition from an unpopular president, H1N1 was a looming major threat, Canada's government had been prorogued and I remember thinking what more could go wrong.

This year is so different - the end result is much calmer, more secure and confident state of mind for everyone as the holidays approach and that's something to remember. Most of the time, these "disaster's" have a habit of righting themselves!

Much More Than A Roller Coaster

2008-09-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

What a week. I don't remember the time that there has been such turmoil in the markets. Imagine, the TSE closed UP today 848 points! Great new and indicative, I trust, that all of the steps taken by the various central governments and US authorities has finally given a sufficient level of confidence that we have a from of stabilization! Let's keep our fingers crossed that nnext week falls into line!

2008-09-17T11:40:00.003-07:00

Wednesday, September 17th, 2008

There is certainly a lot of financial turmoil happening right now. It’s a bubble bursting – long overdue to many in the know – and although it leads to scary times, the greed and excesses at every level of the US housing market from the consumer who purchased a house that they could not afford to the major bank that sold/insured these bundles of worthless mortgages are now seeing the consequence of their actions. Lax regulations helped make it easy for it all to happen. Let’s hope that the crisis has been adverted and stability will return.

2008-09-17T11:40:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

These are changing times. Enormous businesses can be out of business overnight! Lehman Brothers, Bear Stern and now possible AIG – impossible but it’s happened. Let’s hope stability returns soon!

2008-09-17T11:39:00.001-07:00

Sunday, September 14th, 2008

This was our last day at the cottage – packed up and returned to Toronto for another year. One highlight of the past few months are finding out about the Rogers Stick. It goes in the USB port on my computer and wirelessly lets me have access to high speed broadband internet. It works anywhere a Blackberry can receive data and is truly an enabling device. It let me check the various weather sites while sitting on my dock! Imagine that!

2008-09-17T11:38:00.001-07:00

Saturday, September 13th, 2008

There is very little in today’s national Canadian newspapers on the devastation called by Hurricane Ike! That’s a shame. The damage was enormous and I would have expected there to be more coverage if only to encourage all North American’ s to do what they can to help

2008-09-17T11:37:00.003-07:00

Friday, September 12th, 2008

Talk about distraction. The US election seems to have gone on forever. Imagine, the candidates have devoted almost two years full time to running for President! And that’s not the last of it! Prior, time was also invested. It seems to me that it’s a real distraction for everyone. How can you been “running” a country and also “running” for President. Not to mention the enormous amount of money being spent - $1 billion and more. But the real issue is the distraction when there are so many important other issues to be followed!

2008-09-17T11:37:00.001-07:00

Thursday September, 11th 2008

Realizing today is the 7th anniversary of the September 11th, 2001 tragedy reminded me that terrorism is, indeed, a threat to our world today! There should be no question or any debate about the realty of this.

What the world needs is a coordinated global initiative and strategy to combat this threat. Up until now, at least the public sense is that the US has lead the attack in Iraq and NATO in Afghanistan. However, it’s likely that both initiatives have huge flaws but nevertheless, we must remember that terrorism does exist and does need to be fought. Just because there haven’t been incidents of the same size, scope and horror of 9/11 doesn’t give any of us the right to “stick our heads in the sand”

Every nation must contribute and take the same risks. This is a worldwide challenge and must understood as such and fought in the same manner

2008-09-17T11:36:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

September really brings in a New Year. The weather changes – summer slips away – it’s noticeably darker longer in the morning and earlier in the evening. Families find their children back at school. Summer clothes are replaced with winter clothes. Many promises and resolution are made by each of us to ourselves. It really is a 2nd New Year!

2008-09-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

It’s A Different World

The internet and email - Outlook, search engines - Google, social sites – Facebook & MySpace, entertainment downloading – iTunes, shopping sites – so much that is part of us today BUT was not almost yesterday! It’s really remarkable the new “stuff” that has spring up from nothing to become a household – regular part of our lives. Think about it!
I don’t know about you but I now order books, clothes, computers online, make travel arrangements myself – even select seats and print boarding passes, answer almost any question I have, talk directly too our customers, do my banking, check the value of my investments, find out the weather for the weekend and so much more.

The New screen is infinitely more powerful than the TV screen. It puts us in control of what we do when we want to do it where we want to do it!

This “power to control our lives” just happened – the internet – for the most part being FREE – enable it to happen!

However, to be fair, the key is making sure that everyone has the ability to access the internet. This “tool – invention – miracle” is so powerful that all of us that have the privilege to be able to have it MUST do what everything we can to help those people that don’t have it to have it!

Maybe it’s really the next level of communication. Imagine how handicapped you would be if you could not hear or talk! That’s the basic way we communicate. If you could talk or hear, you would clearly be so far left behind! Now there’s an additional way the internet!

Last Xmas, I took advantage of Nicolas Negroponte’s special two for one offer of his computers – one was donated and other came to me. This was the first tiny step to finding out how we do something to make a difference in enabling children and adults all over the world to have this “miracle” tool!

This leads to the conclusion that every major computer company MUST develop an inexpensive computer that can be offered/given to those that can’t afford it!

Only when this happens and everybody is connected – can we really begin to make changes in the world. Remember, we are in control – we really are – the internet has given us all the ability to talk to each other, to simply and complicate our lives but most importantly to be more
in charge of what we do when we do it and how we want to do it!

So some of the major “problems of the world” are really solved by everyone having access to the internet. It is the leveling tool – it gives everyone the ability and the power to maker a difference in the world.

Clearly what is happening is everyone will have a voice in what is happening in the world – if they are online! Imagine asking a question and having the input of all of your customers. Imagine sharing the results with your customers!

We’re moving from the power of the government/big business to the power of the individual! Hurray!

Who Would Have Guessed?

2008-02-22T10:11:00.001-08:00

Talk about coincidence! One of our Lauren Hutton Face Disc customers who lives in Yellowknife wrote us a wonderful testimonial about her experience with Lauren's product and quoted "As someone who NEVER wore make up prior to this product, I would now never leave home without it. Love, love, love it!!!" And we asked her permission to post this on our site - http://www.interwood.com/.

And then a month later, we received a 2nd glowing testimonial from another happy customer - also living in Yellowknife - telling us she had read her sister email, was very pleased to see that our testimonials were real and that her other sister and her mother also wear Lauren Hutton makeup and "love it".

What enthusiasm for the product and thanks very much to them for taking the time to tell us about it and sharing their experiences! Who would have guessed that there would be so many happy customers in Yellowknife?

Congratulations to Premier Gordon Campbell and Carol Taylor, Finance Minister

2008-02-20T08:13:00.000-08:00

An amazing event happened yesterday in Victoria, BC. The British Columbia Provincial Government became the first North American State or Province to introduce a carbon tax effective July 1st this year. And it's neatly packaged such that the extra tax that we'll all pay when buying gasoline will be refunded through lowering of other provincial taxes. It appears to be "tax revenue neutral". and if so, is a major step towards changing our behavior and taxing us as we pollute!

What isn't clearly understood is that each gallon of gasoline that our cars consumes (each gallon weighs 6 pounds) combines with the amosphere to produce 19 pounds of carbon emissions or greenhouse gases as some of us! For us, each litre produces 5 pounds! What I don't know and would love to someone to show me is what these 19 pounds of greenhouse gases look like! Then it would make more sense to all of us. A picture is truly worth a 1,000 words!

This really now sets the stardard for the rest of us! Well done!

Day After Family Day

2008-02-19T09:54:00.000-08:00

For those of us that live in Ontario, Canada, I hope you all had an enjoyable Family Day! In my case, I snuck into the office to do some thinking. Our business is in the midst of change - as are many others - and it's a intriguing challenge to be part of that change and understand what role Interwood will play!

It's all centered around The New Screen as it's been called and is truly changing the way we live. It enables all of us to talk - virtually free - to each other, find new freinds, share interests, learn about almost anything - what an opportunity!

Interwood has been in existence since 1974, seen many changes but this is by far the most profound! As we continue to try to find our way in the New World, this blog will serve of a way for me to share our experience with you! I hope you enjoy it