Prime Minister Paul Martin

Prime Minister Paul Martin
Originally uploaded by PBryden.

The Gomery inquiry has tabled its report, and found Prime Minster Paul Martin free of any of the unscrupulous dealings that plagued the Liberal Party of Canada during the tenure of Jean Chretien. See the CBC website for more details.

This now brings into question the effectiveness of Paul Martin himself. As Minister of finance under Jean Chretien, if he was not aware of the Party financing, then he was evidently more "out of the loop" than most Canadians had previously thought.

One should then ask, "how in-the-loop in Paul Martin as Prime Minister"? This is a more revealing question as we head towards another Federal election in Canada.

Churrascaria in Calgary

According to Calgary's top restaurant critic John Gilchrist;

"Calgary's first Brazilian-style churrascaria is slated to open early in 2006. This is the ultimate meat-on-a-stick experience with whistle-blowing waiters wielding huge hunks of meat on nasty-looking skewers. They slice off as much as you want and keep on bringing it until you say uncle."

I can't wait! After being in Brazil and hearing my wife go on and on about churrascaria, I can't believe we'll be able to experience it!
Does anyone know where the restaurant will be located? I want to line up now!

People Who Dump on SUV’s

I am reading "An Accidental Canadian" by Margaret Wente. Its not a bad book, but I until I read this passage below, I really hadn't had a outright laugh. Unfortunately it happened to occur on a city bus at seven A.M. and I consequently received a few strange looks.

To tell the truth, I like this sort of thing when it happens. If I can make even one person on the bus smile to themselves and think "that was funny", then I am happy in my knowledge that I’ve spread a little unanticipated cheer.

Here's the quote, the italics are mine:

“Deep down inside, these people really believe all cars are wicked. They think all of us should get around on bikes and public transit. In their view, people who love cars for the freedom and mobility they bring (to say nothing of the six CD-players and heated seats) are like people in the olden days who had sex for fun – dangerous and immoral.

By the way, what would Jesus drive? It’s not hard to figure out. Jesus was a country carpenter. So if he lived in Canada, he’d drive an old beat-up F-150 pickup, which is the vehicle of choice up in our neck of the woods. If he was a really successful carpenter, he’d drive an F-250. And some of his disciples would turn them into mudders with gigantic tires and extra strong suspensions, and in winter they’d dig out the Pharisees from the big city for fifty bucks a pop.”

What I'm Reading

I am currently reading A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews, and I am struck by how her writing is so easily able to paint vivid pictures in my mind. The writing is tight and full of great imagery, here is a taste...

"I looked straight into the sun to give me something painful to concentrate on".

It simple, yet rich in meaning and symbolism.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted on the book. Its a tale about a teenage girl breaking away form a Mennonite community in Manitoba, it includes all of the typicall teenage angst that one might expect, along with a dose of religious fundametalism.

Labour as a Commodity

I am reading Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton, and I ran across a nugget that I want to share.

On the two divergent imperatives: the economic imperative, which dictates that the primary task of business is to realize a profit; and the human imperative, which causes employees to hunger for financial security, respect and tenure.

de Botton correctly points out that for long periods these two imperatives can coexist happily, however when a company is faced with uncertainty, the economic imperative will always win out.

So if labour is just another input, like raw materials and machinery, the only thing that actually separates it from say a computer, is labour's human quality.

Ahhh Summer

Vancouver Island Summer Holidays 2005 073
Originally uploaded by PBryden.

Well I've been on hiatus for a few weeks from the blog, enjoying a much needed family summer holiday on Vancouver Island. It is a truly spectacular place to visit, one that every person with a love for the outdoors should venture to discover.

After finishing an intensive two-year MBA at the Haskayne School of Business, endlessly plowing through textbooks and sinking in cases, the last thing I thought I would do is read. To my suprise I have just devoured books of all kinds since the trip to South America. I have a few that I'd like to write some comments on so I will do that over the next few days.

Santiago – Day 10 (May 11)

Conch y Toro Vineyard - Main House & Gardens
Originally uploaded by PBryden.

Groggy due to lack of sleep! Packed up for flight back to Canada, but first we have a tour of the Conch y Toro Vineyard!

The vineyard, which was my first, was absolutely spectacular! The fall colors were really evident at the vineyard and we tasted a Chardonnay, a Carmenere, and a mixed blend named Trio. The cellars of the old house were very neat, spooky almost, with a very musty smell. The mortar between the bricks was made of a raw egg mixture, and seemed to be holding together very nicely. I bought a hat, thinking that I should have bought a few bottles of wine, but wasn’t willing to plunk down US$200 for a few bottles of the good stuff.

We said our good-byes to our classmates who were staying on in Chile and Argentina, and hopped on the bus for our return to Canada via Santiago, Buenos Aries, and Toronto. Things were very quiet on the bus on the way home as we were all sad to be ending out trip.

We had to de-plane in Buenos Aries and “lost” Rolf and Brenda for thirty minutes. Things were looking grim as we were about to board again when someone spotted them sitting quietly by themselves at the gate. It turns out that they were the first off the plane and were sitting there the whole time!

The flight back to Canada was routine, and other than customs clearance for Jon, everything was as expected. Back in Calgary it was a really great feeling to be home at last!

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Picture: Conch y Toro Vineyard - Main House & Gardens

Santiago – Day 9 (May 10)

Chestnuts in Chile
Originally uploaded by PBryden.

Early breakfast and transfer to Transelec for a business visit. They seem to be the government power provider, but also compete in the open market. An interesting visit and overall good to see. Back to the hotel for the Placer Dome presentation, which was very informative and well done.

The afternoon was set aside for shopping and so I went off the Artisan Market and also a hellish trip back the the University of Santiago’s Business School for a too-small golf shirt. We all met back in the lobby of the hotel and took a bus to San Cristobal’s Hill, the highest point in Santiago and the smallest of the Andes. The view of the city was extraordinary and the top of the hill was graced with a thirty-foot statue of the Virgin Mary. Quite a spectacular sight and very unexpected. We didn’t get to ride the funicular, which would have been great, as it was a “real oldie”.

The meal was fantastic with many great speeches and “Gampei’s”. There was a group from New York beside us that was also on a school tour, but unfortunately they arrived a few hours after us and the head professor was a grumpy old snot. I played a bit with him and apologized for the Yankee’s performance, in the end we parted ways in good company and I hope that he was able to modify his opinion of us and much as I did of him.

We hopped of the bus in the new district and went to Louisiana Bar for a few half-price pitchers of beer. I managed to escape with Luc before the rest of the crew went off to a disco,…they didn’t return home until 4:30am. Unfortunately we learned that the Chinese guys will need to fly back through Sao Paulo as they don’t have entry visa’s for Argentina. Sadly we said our good-byes for maybe the last time, I will especially miss Guozhen.

Santiago – Day 8 (May 9)

modern building2 in santiago
Originally uploaded by PBryden.

Early morning departure for the University of Santiago's Business School this morning for a presentation on "Doing Business in Chile". The presentation was good and attended by a large number of faculty, there seems to be a connection between on of the professors and Rolf Murius. Oscar Uirbe made a memorable presentation about constructing the gas pipeline between Chile and Argentina, and some of the issues that Chile now faces with curtailed production from an economically depressed Argentina.

We transferred to our bus for a visit to Methanex: a very interesting company that might be worthwhile investing in.

Sea bass lunch {isn't it endangered?) at a very nice restaurant and then a visit to Abongoa, which is a Spanish civil construction company specializing in the power industry among other things. Might be a potential customer, however they seemed a little non-technical and mostly concerned with financing or projects and sharing of ownership/revenue.

Back to the hotel in the afternoon, a quick call back home and then out to the artisan market for a little shopping. Dinner at Isla Negre, mostly seafood but I had a steak and egg that was pretty good. Grabbed a cab back to the hotel and hit the hay early.

Santiago – Day 7 (May 8) Mother's Day

church in santiago1
Originally uploaded by PBryden.

Woke up too damn early, 4:20AM to get the bus to the airport for check-in. I had lost my entrance ticket to Brazil somewhere but I was able to sweet-talk the check-in agent to fill in a replacement for me so I could exit the country.

A great flight over the Andes with spectacular scenery as we landed in Santiago, the bus ride to the hotel was very nice and the weather was sunny with temps at 20C. After a roast beef and egg sandwich at a local diner we had an afternoon city tour by bus. We saw many Colonial buildings, some of which were copies of European buildings such as Notre Dame and the Arc de Triumph.

We visited the Pre-Columbian art exhibit, what a great collection of rare antiquities, never before have I seen such a subtle exhibition of such magnificent early art. The collection was over 7000 pieces and one could spend a week easily scratching the surface.

Later on we walked through a major square and saw a balloon clown entertaining the kids and a slapstick team that reminded me of the Marx Brothers. I returned back to the hotel and slipped into the Church right next door. It was one of the few really older Spanish churches left in Santiago since the earthquake on the 80's. It was of wooden construction with an adobe-like exterior, it had some amazing paintings and some over-the-top statues of Christ and the crucifixion. Dinner was at the hotel and into bed early at 10:00PM.

Thoughts:
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Santiago is a clean and vibrant City.
Saw a few gypsies in the street and many performers and street artists were about.
Traffic is pretty crazy, particularly the city busses who compete per passenger for fares.

Rio de Janeiro – Day 6 (May 7)

Still a little groggy this morning from last night's festivities at Platforma 1. We had a tourist visit to the Christ Statue, what fantastic views of the whole city and a fun little tram ride up to the top. Despite the many flying ants at the top of the mountain, the statue and views were awe inspiring!

After descending from the mountain on the same tram we were dropped off at Impanema beach for our first real R&R. A group of us went for a quick lunch at Bob's Burger Bragazio (Bleah!) and then hit the beach right away. What a beautiful beach full of beautiful people who are always running, jumping and being generaly athletic in the hot. hot sun...

A few of the boys played beach volleyball for a while and felt very much like the Icelandic Olympic team, no tans and very little volleyball talent! We got pretty warm pretty quickly and decided to direct our remaining energy to saying "No Obrigado" to the various vendors, who were a lot less persistent than the ones on Impanema. We met "Scott" from Winnipeg who has been living in Rio, teaching English and PhysEd, and operating a small eco-tourism operation. He chatted with us for about twenty minutes and gave us a good primer on Rio, the crime and what was real vs. Inflammatory stories. He was a very nice guy and I really enjoyed meeting him. We had dinner at Top Beer and packed for our departure to Santiago.

Thoughts:
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Everyone of all ages in Rio are fitness crazy!
A little kid tried to get into Scott E's backpack on the walk back and was dissuaded by the linebacker brothers!
The walk back from Ipanema to Copacabana was a real highlight, even though it was way longer than the promised 40 minutes.

Rio de Janeiro – Day 5 (May 6)

Carnivale Show
Originally uploaded by PBryden.

Woke up at 7:00 am, Scott E. has a doctor’s appointment as he can’t seem to shake this cold/flu thing that he brought with him. Man I feel for the guy but he’s still slugging it out like a real trooper! After a quick breakfast we were off to the Encana visit in beautiful Barra, a suburb of Rio where all of the soccer stars live. The beach was absolutely gorgeous, an un-crowded 18km of paradise and a great looking place for a family vacation.

The Encana presentation was very interesting, a Canadian guy was the speaker and they kindly took us out for Churrascaria at Barra Bistra,…man it was a real carnivore hoedown!

That afternoon was our visit to Petrobras Transperto (the pipeline arm of Petrobras). We were able to visit a training control room and then got to see the real thing at the flick of a switch. The other great thing about the visit was that we were really in the business centre of Rio, and man it was active!

We had a second Churrascaria of the day for dinner , whew, along with many Caipiriha’s. We were then off to "Platforma 1" which was a mixture of Canivale and Las Vegas. It wasn’t bad, a little on the cheesy side but there was a great Capoeira demonstration and many tall Brazilian women to oogle, I have never seen Yonglie more excited. We were then back on the bus and returned to the hotel for a few beers before hitting the hay.

Rio de Janeiro – Day 4 (May 5)

Rio by Chopper
Originally uploaded by PBryden.

Went to “Top Beer” last night right on the main strip facing Copacabana Beach. Had a really good pizza and more draught beer. The street vendors who I assume were on the beach earlier in the day moved up to the restaurants and would float around the fringes of the restaurant hawking their wares. They were pretty persistent but moved on when you said “Nao Obrigado”. There are lots or prostitutes in Rio and kids begging for change,…poverty really is running “head-on” into wealth on Copacabana Beach. This part of Rio is vibrant and alive, however there is an underlying seediness about it.

Went to bed at midnight and woke early as we are right over the kitchen. The staff was getting ready for breakfast, but I swore they had filled a giant pot with water and coffee cups and they were just stirring them around,.. what a racket! Ah well… We had a visit with Brascan at Rio Sul shopping mall, a property owned and managed by Brascan. The presentation was excellent and very informative, the presenter was quite terse and short with his comments, but I can tell that’s his style. We spent two hours in the shopping mall, and it really reminded me of shopping in the suburbs of Verona. The stores were pretty uninspiring and the prices were not that much cheaper that back at home.

A quick drive to Impanema for a great lunch in a small Italian restaurant. Sat with Barry, Scotty and Sheri (seafood pasta and chicken/fish). Bought a bottle of cachaca for making Caipiriha’s when I get home! We then had a business visit to CEG-Rio which is the gas distribution company for the city of Rio de Janeiro and RJ state. The presentation was excellent and the presenters were all very engaged and excited about us being there. I am impressed by the level of English in both Rio and Sao Paulo, all of our meetings so far have been held in English and the business people are very well-spoken.

Back to the hotel for a quick shower, changed into my suit and waited for Roberto Dizin to pick me up. (For those of you who don’t know, Roberto is a business associate of mine who has been selling GEO-SLOPE software in Brazil since 1991). Roberto arrived in his VW Jetta and drop me back to his wonderful apartment. From what I could tell it was the top floor (8th storey) of a 1950’s building that was very quaint and large. We had a fantastic meal cooked by Roberto’s housekeeper Maria, and Roberto had invited Hobson (ABACUS) Carlina (FURNAS) Carmello (Carlina’s husband) and Mama Diniz (Roberto’s mother). The dinner was a beautiful whitefish in tomato sauce with prawns, followed by a marvelous beef tenderloin marinated in a rich sauce, rice, manioc, salad and that tasty Brazilian coffee. The desert was a coconut pudding drizzled with a fruit syrup and then covered with figs or plums,…simply scrumptious. Roberto drove me back to the hotel at about 12:30 and I crashed heavily into bed.

Sao Paulo – Day 3 (May 4)

embu2
Originally uploaded by PBryden.

Early checkout of the hotel (7:00 am) and a quick breakfast before boarding the bus for our first business visit of the day. We drove North for about 90 minutes and started to get into a more rural setting that seemed to support a large number of small industrial plants and warehouses. On the drive up I was amazed at the different types of trees, including a eucalyptus plantation and some massive pine trees that were just large spiky balls on the ends of branches, almost like a poodle with a bad haircut. The presentation at Husky Injection Molding was interesting, as the company has a Canadian connection and seems to be doing well in Brazil. We had a plant tour from one of the engineers, a German gentleman named Thomas who has been “in-country” for six years and has managed to marry a Brazilian girl.

On the drive back we stopped in a magical little town named Embu for a sightseeing and shopping excursion. The town was originally founded by Jesuits in the 1900’s like Sao Paulo. However unlike its larger sister city it has been left mostly untouched since then. The streets are quaint and lined with cobblestones, old churches and museums stand shoulder to shoulder and the town square still plays an integral role of a gathering place for the towns artisan residents. Embu is geared towards one thing, selling crafts. Wood carvings, handmade furniture, jewelry, weavings, you name it,…they’ve got it. We had lunch at an authentic German Biergarten where there were many other blond patrons,…bratwurst and sauerkraut were very good with a few cold beers to wash it down (20 Reals).

We drove back to Sao Paulo Airport, had a smooth check in and picked up a Brazil t-shirt for the kid. Must try to call home tonight if I can figure out the damn phone cards…Off to Rio de Janeiro

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Thoughts:
Got some great pictures today of dogs and kids in Embu
The main river/canal in Sao Paulo is being dredged and the banks are being covered with concrete and vegitation,..quite a big geotechnical project
The soil is very red in Sao Paulo
I saw real favelas (slums) today. They are very much like what I saw in Jamaica, however they are usually perched precariously on top of a hill or spilling down into the valley like running water.
The forests are very dense, green and tall. Eucalyptus and strange bally-pines dominate.

Sao Paulo – Day 2 (May 3)

pfizer sao paulo
Originally uploaded by PBryden.

Up early for breakfast and out to the Sao Paulo Business School for a presentation on “Doing Business in Brazil”. Prof. Gregorio Stukart was very candid and animated about the situation in Brazil; in his estimation the two biggest issues that Brazil faces are the disparity between the rich and the poor, and the level of government bureaucracy.

Lunch was at the weigh-what-you-eat buffet, a great idea that might work well in Calgary. Basically you load up your plate, pop it on a scale, a receipt prints out and you settle up after you’re finished. Both the lunch and the B-School visit were in the newer business district of the city, although I am not sure which of the 7 or 8 downtowns it was,…this city is simply massive! We visited DowAgro Brazil after lunch and had a great presentation by Dave from Texas,...of all places. At 4:30 we took the bus back to the hotel and experienced my first real traffic jam in Sao Paulo, rush hour in any other city pales in comparison.

Barry, Luc, Eric and I walked a few blocks down the local Extra Foods, this is what they call a “hyper-mart” (think of a regular sized North American Wal-Mart and then add two more). On the way to and back from the hyper-mart we saw many cool little shops that seemed to cater to the middle to upper middle class. The stores were mostly small boutiques with Brazilian clothes, shoes, toys etc,… but none of the International name brand things.

Dinner was at a really fantastic restaurant named Figueira Rubaiyat. Frommer’s describes it as “surely the most beautiful restaurant in the city“. The centerpiece of the restaurant is a 150 year old fig tree that the entire restaurant is built around. The ceiling is all glass and the major branches of the tree stick right our of the roof. Now a fig tree that is 150 yrs. old might not be that big in Canada where we have a five month growing season, but remember that Brazil has a twelve month growing season so this would be like a 300 year old tree in Canada. It was truly a neat experience and might be worth the trip to Sao Paulo alone, not to mention the unbelievable dessert bar at the place! Back to the hotel for a 2 beer night cap and then off to bed.

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Thoughts:
Sao Paulo is a massive city 17 to 18 million inhabitants
People dress very business-like and a very friendly
It is not hard at all to find someone who speaks very good English.

Sao Paulo – Day 1 (May 2)

HPIM0340
Originally uploaded by PBryden.

It was a very long flight from Canada, arriving at about 8 AM local time in Sao Paulo. We hopped onto a nicely air conditioned bus and headed out for the hotel. The day was bright and about 15C. We arrived at the hotel and most of us had quick showers after the 15 plus hours of travel time from Calgary or Edmonton.

The Hotel restaurant was the lunch stop and the pasta bar was fantastic. Here in Brazil there seems to be two waiters for every person in the restaurant, I can tell you that I am going to miss this fabulous level of service! Our waiter was Fernandez, a fantastically enthusiastic guy who recommended my first Brazilian beer, CERPA .

That afternoon we had a bus tour of Sao Paulo, looking at the extraordinary array of different architecture and walking a bit of the downtown pedestrian mall. Our stops included Japantown, the Stock Exchange, the Cathedral of St. Paul and the Black Madonna, and the Opera House.

Back to the hotel for a one hour nap before heading out for dinner with a group of about twelve people. We were quickly lost in the streets of Sao Paulo, but happened upon Rufino, a very nice looking restaurant with scads of eager waiters inside. As soon as we sat down there were plates of antipasto, smoked sardines, oysters, and huge baskets of fresh bread. I had the Spaghetti Arabiata and the mango mouse for desert with about five glasses of a nice Argentinean red. A great meal for about 45 Reals.

Then it was back to the hotel to try to talk to Lisa on Bently’s VIOP phone,… sorta frustrating but it was nice to hear her voice. Had a quick nightcap in the lobby and I was off for a much needed rest.

Off to South America

Statue in Rio de Janeiro
Originally uploaded by PBryden.

Well I am off to Brazil & Chile on Sunday and looking forward to the trip in a big way. The excursion is the culmination of my MBA program and part of my International Business class. Our group is a little on the large size for traveling, 40 people, but the school has done a great job of organizing things for us to do there and all should be fun.

Stay tuned to this blog and my Flickr.com account and I will try to keep you updated on my trip.

Panels vs. Roundtables

I have been reading Hugh's blog at gapingvoid for a few months now and I really like his perspective. He recently attended LesBlogs in Pairs and had some comments about panel discussions at conferences.

At the conferences that I've organized I have found the use of roundtable discussions to be very effective. The participants can either listen, speak, or on rare occasions do both. We have one leader at the table that sets the tone of the discussion and acts as a facilitator. It really is a great way to learn from your peers and express your ideas.

A Hero Celebrated

I clearly remember the first time I saw the images of a solitary Terry Fox on the news as a young Canadian; I was immediately in awe of his dedication and determination that he exhibited in his 1980 attempt to cross Canada. His message and life were celebrated today with the announcement of a new one dollar coin that will go into circulation on April 4, 2005. The spirit of Terry Fox lives on as each year more than 60 countries around the world hold Terry Fox Runs to raise funds for local cancer treatment. This young man born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and raised in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, truly signifies how one person can make a significant global impact.

I encourage you to visit the Terry Fox website at http://www.terryfoxrun.org/ and be inspired by his story.

Who owns the website project?

What is the age-old question of website development? Plainly put, should the entire website be a software development project, a marketing project, or a combination of the two? We have struggled with this at my company and the pendulum seems to swing each way every three or so years.

Recently we had a consultant develop an entire website based on an extremely heavy-weight CMS tool from Microsoft, which we thought would solve many of our problems as far as content management and workflow. What the CMS tool did solve was the need for a developer to constantly maintain and tweak the structure and functionality of the site; what was lost was the granular control of the site as we were forced into a complex system of templates and strict formatting. I'll admit that we were a little naive in our approach to this problem, and as usual we are guilty of trying to adopt a big company solution for our small company needs, however if you can consider the costs as sunk, and get past the notion of failure, it was actually a very good learning experience.

From a content author's point of view, the CMS tool and WYSIWYG interface was fantatsic, there was even some ability to make structural/navigation changes without having to get deep into DHTML or C++,... it was liberating for a quasi-techie like myself. The drawback was that to develop a new template, for example a submission form, I needed to enlist a developer who was familiar with IIS, SQL, .NET, and C++. In addition, the developer had to "learn" the specific idiosyncrasies of the CMS tool and have the ability to build the whole website as an application. Not an easy task when our core competency is developing commercial engineering software, and not websites!

Needless to say we have since started from scratch developing the new site in-house using our own people and tools that we are familiar with. It is now firmly a "software project" which is just fine with me, as long as it has priority from time-to-time over our commercial products.

So if you hear someone say "we need to re-do our whole website", and they can't give you solid proof that shows visitors to your website are having a negative experience, then consider carefully what your response should be. A website has more than just a cool factor, or a look and feel associated with it; a website is an application, and you'd better have a damn good reason to go mucking with the UI and functionality because you could give your visitors (end-users) an even worse experience than that are currently having. And a poor reputation is a very difficult thing to shake.

Time to Reflect

I was late for work today but it was worth it! In my busy life I take far to few moments to snuggle up to the kid and just relax. We had a little chat, snoozed and woke up slowly, which is so much more civil than the usually harried escape from the house in the morning.

Everything is a negotiation with the kid, we sort of asked for it as we have always tried to present her with choices ever since she was tiny,.. something about teaching the idea of making choices and decisions, and then dealing with the consequences. Now the tables are turned and I hear more "deals" and "propositions" than ever before,.. I always take a mental step back and chuckle, thinking how much our children are both mirrors and windows.