Don Tai (Canada) Blog

For half a year China has cut off internet access to the Xinjiang region of North West China. Recently a trickle of the wired world has been allowed to creep back. My friend Josh, who lives in Xinjiang, has suffered near irreparable psychological damage that I hope he can overcome. Still, one fact remains: The withdrawal of internet services is not a human rights violation.

Mike Holmes exudes credibility because of his knowledge and actions, not because of a slick web site.

Home renovations shows are useful to me because they educate the public in the care and feeding of your home. Like any system, homes need maintenance and upkeep. Knowing what to do can prevent major damage and expense in the long run. On occasion, these seemingly mundane shows highlight issues that stick to me. Recently Mike Holmes, from “Homes on Holmes” and “Holmes Inspection” lamented that one of his customers found a contractor online, thought the guy was legit and handed him $25,000CAD for a basement renovation. This legit contractor subcontracted out and created a structural and aesthetic disaster of dangerous quality. Mike’s conclusion: You can’t find a legit contractor from a web site. I agree with him.

Seattle PI Globe, AP Photo/ Elaine Thompson

It is with deep regret that today, March 17 2009, the Seattle Post-Intellingencer has written its own obituary and ceased production of its paper version. In business from 1863-2009, the 146-year old Seattle newspaper served more than 117,600 weekday readers. While the online version will continue, the PI has layed off 90% of its reporters, whittling its staff down to 20 reporters, a shadow if its former self. The PI will certainly be missed.

A recently announced Chinese subsidy program targeting farmers has expanded it’s range of eligible items from the traditional home appliances to computers. This is an effort to spur domestic consumption. While on first reflection this seems like a good plan, note that farmers have a very low income. They have not benefited from China’s once booming economy as much as China’s urban middle class. Family members who have ventured to China’s big cities to become migrant workers are now facing grave difficulties finding employment. Many are forced to return home, causing great concern from the Chinese government. Further, conditions at the village level will not allow computer technology and knowledge to flourish. In these conditions I do not think many will be splurging on a new computer purchase.

I was researching all day on the web, hard at work looking at some new-to-me web technology and where it might lead the world. It’s all part of the fantastic world of web 2.0. There’s a 15% off sale for web hosting at Site5 that ends today. Dave says Site5 is good, and from what I’ve read they seem great. I sign up and in the middle of the transaction I wasn’t clear on an issue and clicked to the previous screen, when Summer popped up on my screen and cheerfully upped my discount to 20% off. Whoa, was I surprised, in the middle of my kitchen. Here she is.

?????? Huo dao lao, xue dao lao.

I continue to learn everyday. The internet makes this continual search for knowledge convenient. All from the comfort of my kitchen. It’s a far cry from just a few years ago. While I’m a strong supporter of the internet, note that there are dangers that lurk, and there’s a great portion of life outside of the internet and computers. Are we destined to be stuck indoors in front of our collective computer monitors? I say not. Use the internet for research, but live life outside.