Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/genxtral/domains/billo.ws/public_html/wp-content/themes/fit/bloglisting.php on line 39
May 28

Being Nice Can Be Unkind

by Chris Billows in Spirit Speculations 0 comments
I attended a workshop about safe and respectful workplaces and one of the messages that was impressed on me by the presenter (a great presenter by the way) is that being nice can sometimes be very unkind to our fellow person. If kindness represents doing the right thing, I have seen lots of people who are nice, but are not kind as they lacked the fortitude to do what was needed to be done. These people avoided conflict when they should have head it straight on. As well, some people use the shroud of niceness to hide their agenda or to avoid being held accountable. For example in my job in the health care field I have seen how being nice leads to taxpayer money being spent in ways that would make any rationale person cringe or have seen a nice, folksy senior manager turned out to be monstrous manipulator. People might have good intentions to do the right thing, but make a citical error thinking that the nice thing is the same. Some people avoid the unpleasantness associated with doing the kind /right thing, and thus take no action. I guess this is why massacres and holocausts are allowed to […]

Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/genxtral/domains/billo.ws/public_html/wp-content/themes/fit/bloglisting.php on line 39
Dec 28

Leadership Through Insight

by Chris Billows in Political Ponderings 2 comments
About four weeks ago, I was invited to a private dinner party with some old political associates and friends I made during my years with the Green Party. The guest of honor was former Leader of the Green Party of Ontario, Frank de Jong. Also present was former and present Green Party of Manitoba Leaders, Markus Buchart and James Beddome. The dinner and discussion was enjoyable. I have not had the opportunity for many years to interface with others related to politics and economics. I came away impressed with my discussions with Frank de Jong. Talking with Frank, one is immediately impressed with a person who is smart, friendly, speaks with integrity, and humble. He talked about his decision to resign as GPO leader because he saw the need to bring in fresh blood and perspective. The GPO suffered a loss of votes under the new leaders but Frank feels it has more to do with particular election contest than about any personal issues with the existing leadership. I personally disagree with him, because leadership and personality is how voters relate to most political parties but I appreciated his humility. One of the questions that he answered was something that […]

Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/genxtral/domains/billo.ws/public_html/wp-content/themes/fit/bloglisting.php on line 39
Dec 26

Enjoying iTunes via Statistics Year 3

by Chris Billows in Hobby Heedings 0 comments
A year ago I posted about my second year of listening enjoyment on iTunes. Another year has come and gone and my iPod Touch has become how I listen to 90% of my music. I continue to enjoy the organizing of my music library and savor the anticipation of artists waiting in my queue. I use two different programs to run the statistics. The most polished one is called SuperAnalzyer and it creates some wonderful statistics and graphs. SuperAnalzyer PDF Document The other program is a fabulous little script written by Scott Yanff. Thanks Scott for updating it with some new reporting goodies. iTunes Statistics Text Document These statistics were taken late December 26, 2011 of my personal library. It is a snapshot of a year of iTunes use and listening. After listening to a song a couple of times I will assign a rating to it. Some changes of note: 21,108 songs has grown to 25,717 songs with over 4,600 songs being added to the library. 1,737 artists has grown to 2,238  artists 1,341 albums has grown to 1,710  albums I have over 25,000 songs and I have listened to 44% of them at least once. Last year I […]

Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/genxtral/domains/billo.ws/public_html/wp-content/themes/fit/bloglisting.php on line 39
Oct 10

The New Winnipeg Jets and a Return to Old Hockey

by Chris Billows in Jets Flight Control 0 comments tags: Jets Logo
So, the Jets have finally returned… they played their first regular season game yesterday vs the oldest and most successful NHL franchise, the Montreal Canadiens. It was fifteen years of planning and waiting. While the Jets lost, it was still excellent hockey and an enjoyable game. Well, I have come around to accepting the Jets name since True North did not pick the Mosquitoes name like I wanted them to. But the biggest reason why I like Jets 2.0 is because of the new logo and what is symbolizes. I really like it because it is very classic era. It borrows from the same kind of assumed imagery as the Red Wings, Canadiens, Bruins, and Blackhawks. All of these logos do not have their city name pasted on them. The symbol is expected to say it all just as you know that the Red Wings symbol stood for Detroit. It implies knowledge. The Jets 2.0 logo follows that tradition and I commend it. This means it stays away from the recent NHL cartoon logos that have been fun, but have lowered the cache and majesty of the NHL in the past two decades such as the Panthers, Lightning, Blue Jackets, […]

Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/genxtral/domains/billo.ws/public_html/wp-content/themes/fit/bloglisting.php on line 39
Oct 02

From Flippa to Sucka

by Chris Billows in Business Beller 0 comments
As I alluded to in my New Years address, I was going to become more busy with some website launches. Well, that ‘some’ has become ‘many’ thanks to an obsessive pastime I have had this year. That pastime is named Flippa.com. When I found Flippa, I was stoked. I quickly realized it to be the channel where I could direct my multitude of interests in business, media, and starting a business sideline. I found my investment with Complex Games not moving along as fast as I wanted so jumped right into the world of website buying. Flippa.com as a website and as a marketplace is attractively designed and very functional. It superior to eBay in both features and the quality of the listings. Flippa,com is like a well run computing machine. In July 2010 I purchased my first website, a Flash Arcade. I then purchased a second website, a Persistent Browser Based Game and between these two sites I started generating some money! I could not believe it. These websites were established, had traffic, and a revenue record. I quickly thought it should become possible to develop a sideline that I could expand into a full time job. In January […]

Warning: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /home/genxtral/domains/billo.ws/public_html/wp-content/themes/fit/bloglisting.php on line 39
Jun 15

The Newest NHL Team: The Manitoba Mosquitoes

by Chris Billows in Jets Flight Control 0 comments tags: Humor
I grew up being a Winnipeg NHL hockey fan. I ceased to be one when the Winnipeg Jets left in 1996. I never became a fan of the Manitoba Moose, just because I never found the level of hockey to be too exciting and cheering for a team that had its best players called up to the majors did not appeal to me. So, I am pleased that Winnipeg and Manitoba is getting the Atlanta Thrashers franchise. The fact that season tickets sold out and a wait list was created really demonstrates that Manitoba is pretty hungry for NHL hockey. There is lots of opinion that they will be called the Jets, possibly the Manitoba Jets to create a separation from the old franchise. Personally, I say let the Jets name go. I was a Winnipeg NHL fan, but thought that the Jets stunk. From 1979 to 1996 they posted a pathetic 0.378 winning record. While they had some exciting players, they were haunted by a culture of mediocrity. It continues to this day with the team in Phoenix. So, I say we rename the team to something fresh and unique. Something that captures some defining element of Manitoba, namely […]
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
Categories