Natasha D'Souza

Sustainable Development Technology Canada opens it’s 14th round of funding.? They will invest $350 Million though this fund. This is great news for clean tech entrepreneurs. so if you have a technology solution that resolves some of the environmental issues that we are having, apply for these funds.

This web conference, hosted by Teh Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, is for Canadian companies specializing in the publishing, distribution, and marketing aspects of the gaming industry.

Format

• Fast overview on opportunities within the southeast U.S. marketplace
• Specific export opportunities from at least one American company
• Matchmaking prospects with suggested prospects
• Ongoing online advice, information and networking

Featured attendees include

• Steve Flamm, Trade Commissioner, Consulate General of Canada
• Clinton Lowe, President, Georgia Game Developers Association
• Todd Harris, COO and Executive Producer, Hi-Rez Studios
• Mike Tinney, President, CCP
• Asante Bradford, Digital Entertainment Liaison, Georgia Department of Economic Development?

To access the call or for additional information please send your contact information to eboucher@cata.ca with Export Now in the subject line.

Last month I wrote about Ecological Footprints what they are and also some resources where you can figure out your footprint.
So I took the Ecological Footprint tests and here are my scores.

Global Footprint Network Results

My score is 89.94 which translates into 5.72 planet earths to sustain my lifestyle!!!!? In this quiz my carbon footprint was the highest.

Global Footprint Network Numerical version

My Footprint results

My score in this quiz is 18.2global acres for the Earth’s productive area or 21.4 tons of carbon dioxide.? I take 4.1 planet earth to sustain my lifestyle.

Earth Day

This quiz is currently unavailable.Hmm interesting numbers.? I am somewhat disappointed as I do strive to live green or so I thought.
So what does it mean to live a “green life” and how do I go about to reduce these numbers?? I am now on a quest to discover this and I will share my findings with you as I go.

Ten years ago Mike Hambly was involved in a car accident which resulted in him loosing his sight.? He went back to school and now has a full time job.

During one of his meetings he was presented with a business card which he promptly returned.? The business owner was very perplexed by this.? Mike pointed out that this business card was of no use to him as he could not read it.? This problem could be solved very easily if the business card had braille.

Braille is a series of raised dots, that represent the alphabet, numbers and punctuation, that a visually impaired person can read with their fingers.? Different languages have their own braille code.

Incidents like this are a constant in Mike’s life and he decided to do something about it.? He founded a company called Braille It who’s mission is to make the printed word accessible to all.

He custom designed a braille press which can print about 500 cards per hour.? It’s all manually operated and he hopes to have it automated in the next year or two.? He does not do this alone and does have the help of his family.

So if you want to have Braille on your business cards, flyers etc., it’s very easy.? Just ship your products to Braille It and they will convert your business co-lateral to braille.

Psst…. Braille friendly business cards have a high probability of being picked during a draw

The “Periscope” session at Ramius seemed to resonate with the audience. This event was sold out and Craig Fitzpatrick, from Devshop, promises to have more of these sessions, just ask him.

Craig? started his presentation with the Developers everywhere are in terrible pain video. He followed this by asking the audience what were the pains and risks when it came to the project management of software development.

Pain vs Risk

• unclear requirements
• compressed schedules
• change of requirements
• conflicting needs
• lack of budget
• deadlines not communicated
• user feedback too late
• changes in staff
• inexperience
• manage support during development
• balancing testing/development

Top 5

• estimate work
• pure development time vs fighting fires
• premature speculation (promises)
• requirements out of sync. with schedule
• not planning for change

Devshop?

• time estimation error
• distraction rate
• schedule confidence
• tie requirements and designs to tasks/estimates
• churn/context switching

So far Devshop 2.0 addresses the first 4.? Craig, followed this discussion with a demo of the software.? It’s pretty cool.

The main concern was the good vs evil use of this tool, i.e. used for policing.? So for all you project managers in small to mid- sized companies that are looking for a solution to help you accurately manage your development projects, give this a shot.

I have spent the last couple of days working at The Code Factory and Ian Graham and I have been commenting on how quiet it’s been this week.? Almost no emails, voicemails, the blog sphere is somewhat quiet as well. It’s that time of the year when everyone is off on vacation.? This will all come to an end tomorrow as I will be attending a very interesting presentation by
Craig Fitzpatrick, founder of Devshop.? He will discuss the pain associated with project management and how they tend to stem from a few fundamental bad habits.

“Delivering on time is hard.? Things always seem to take longer than you think.? Fires need fighting and people have to drop what they’re doing to help out.? Requirements change like the wind.? Unqualified promises are made with too little information and risk setting the team up for failure.”

He has some easy solutions to kick these habits.

The icing on the cake is that we get to see a demo of Devshop’s latest project management application.

So here are the details
Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 from 12:00 PM – 01:00 PM (ET)

Location:? Ramius Corporation

55 Metcalfe St.
Suite 530
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada

Lunch will be served and you have to register.

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You have decided to apply nematodes to your lawn to take care of the grubs. There are many types of nematodes so make sure you purchase the right type for your lawn. Your garden center should be able to help you out. If you live in the Ottawa area the best time for application of nematodes is at the end of April and August.

These nematodes arrive on a damp sponge or mixed with clay. They are extremely sensitive to temperature and periods of drought. If you don’t have time for an application then store it in the refrigerator for up to a week The nematodes should not be frozen.
Warm the sponge or clay mix to room temperature then soak in at least one gallon of water for 30 minutes. This water has to be at room temperature, non-chlorinated and not-distilled.

Apply using a watering can or sprayer. It’s best to apply during cool, cloudy weather. It it’s really hot then apply during the early morning or late evening when the temperatures are cooler and the sun is not so bright.

The lawn or what’s left of it should be moist and recently watered. The temperature should be approximately between 12 to 30 degrees Centigrade or 55 to 99 degrees Fahrenheit. For maximum success keep your lawn moist for 3 days after application.
The results are immediate and the grubs begin to die 24 hours after being ingested.

Still confused on how to do this, here is a how to video.

Buddy Keep Your Million -But Buy My Product was a networking event by The Ottawa Network (TON) early this summer.?

Here are some words of wisdom from this event

• define your objective
• listen to mentors and friends
• take off your happy ears
• VC’s will rarely tell you no
• tell everyone what you are doing
• beg, borrow adn don’t steal
• balance your team = no one like you
• give it away
• find ways to say yes
• always think revenue
• start with services
• get customers to fund your deal
• SR&Ed credits
• be careful about your IP

There you have it some words of wisdom from people that have been there, done that.?

Summer is going to be over in a few weeks and this means that the beetles have laid their eggs and now the grubs will be back.

Last week we had discussed a number of options of getting rid of the grubs.? So start with Milky spore as this is a long term solution.

It’s best to apply them before the application of nematodes as the grubs need to ingest the milky spore in order to create more spore and propagate the spores. Also it’s best while the grubs are still feeding.? So either at the beginning of spring or at the end of summer.
Apply 1 teaspoon (approximately one sprinkle) of Milky Spore powder on top of grass in spots every 4 feet in rows 4 feet apart. Water lightly after application to soak Milky Spore into the soil. Watering for 15-20 minutes with a sprayer should be sufficient. You can wait 36 to 48 hours before watering in Milky Spore, but do not mow or rake your yard until Milky Spore has been soaked into the soil.

Don’t worry if there is a white residue left; it is the chalk carrier for Milky Spore. Areas between the spots will be inoculated naturally.

If you are really keen make your own dispenser, take at

Apply 1 teaspoon (approximately one sprinkle) of Milky Spore powder on top of grass in spots every 4 feet in rows 4 feet apart. Treat your lawn any season of the year as long as the ground is not frozen. Water lightly after application to soak Milky Spore into the soil. Watering for 15-20 minutes with a sprayer should be sufficient. You can wait 36 to 48 hours before watering in Milky Spore, but do not mow or rake your yard until Milky Spore has been soaked into the soil.

Don’t worry if there is a white residue left; it is the chalk carrier for Milky Spore. Areas between the spots will be inoculated naturally.

If you are really keen, make your own dispenser by attaching (duct tape works great) one pound coffee can with 15 nail holes to 4 foot stick six inches from bottom. If not just buy one.

Here is a how to video.? Happy grub busting.

It has been all gloom and doom for windows XP users and Microsoft’s decision to discontinue it’s use post June?30th?2008. If you really want to use Windows XP there has to be a loophole in the fine print.

Yes indeed there are loopholes around the June 30th deadline and Dell, HP and Lenovo have all found them!!!!

The loophole is very simple, ship the customer their PC with Vista installed however there will be an option to downgrade to Windows XP!!!!

The companies selling the software can’t oficially charge for XP but might consider it as a “give away”.

So if you can’t live without XP you?or your organization has a workaround for a while.