Vancouver’s BC Place Collapses

by  on  in Around Vancouver

News from laid back Vancouver – the inflated, domed roof of BC Place Stadium has collapsed. What a shock! They say that a piece of the fabric came loose from the concrete or there was a tear that quickly grew and it deflated in 60 seconds. A new meaning of “gone in 60 seconds”!

 bcplace_flap.jpg   bcplace_down.jpg

The stadium is the largest, air-supported, doomed stadium in the world. Not sure yet the reason for the failure in the roof fabric. Here is some raw footage from CTV.CA.

deflated, originally uploaded by Uncleweed.

This is what it looked like in the past. The steel cords hold the roof fabric in place and the inside of the stadium is under pressure lifting it up. I remember back in 1985 when the “raising of the roof” happened. The roof was installed hanging down into the stadium. Then the fans were started and it slowly inflated lifting the roof up. Finally with a “pop” the roof lifted above the rim and then fully inflated. It is going to be while to fix this and get it inflated again.

bcplace.jpg

Starbucks is cutting trans fats

by  on  in health

Kudos to Starbucks for getting with the program and cutting trans fats in its baked goods (Starbucks cuts trans fats). There is ample research that indicates that trans fats raise the bad cholesterol leading to higher risk of heart disease. Other chains and jurisdictions have already made that change. 

Blogging in the enterprise: Tips for Success

by  on  in collaboration, enterprise, web 2.0

Melanie Turek provides some good tips on blogging: Blogging in the Enterprise: Tips for Success. There are still many organizations that are not taking advantage of blogs behind the firewall.

In the increasingly virtual workplace, it’s important for employees to make virtual connections—and blogs are one way to help them do that.

In the enterprise, there are two ways to use blogs. One is a corporate-supported (and approved) blog that’s meant to be read by the outside world; the other is an internal blog for employees’ eyes only, for sharing information and creating job and interest-related connections. (There are also lots of blogs out there penned by individuals who use the space to discuss their companies and the markets they are in, among other interests, but these are not technically “enterprise blogs,” as they are not established or supported by the companies themselves.)

Frankly, I don’t see a lot of either type of enterprise blog being used today, and I rarely talk to people who have even considered an internal version. But I think that’s actually the type that has the most promise for the enterprise.

Internal blogs can provide tremendous benefits if developed and supported by the culture change that is necessary: 

Internally-focused blogs are easier to maintain and serve a more relevant purpose. Companies with large numbers of remote or virtual employees can use enterprise blogs to keep those staffers connected to the company and one another. By setting up a variety of blogs tagged to specific topics, companies allow employees to share ideas for new products, IT fixes and best practices, better business processes, strong customer service.

Are you taking advantage of blogging in your organization?

Santa Claus lifts spirits of Canadian troops on front line in Afghanistan

by  on  in human interest

The CBC reported that Santa paid a visit to the Canadian troops in Afghanistan. But this was not your everyday Santa.

Santa

Santa Claus, aka Warrant Officer Jean Blain of Montreal, visits a Canadian soldier whose name is witheld for security reasons at forward observation base Mas’um Ghar on Sunday, Dec. 24. (CP/Bill Graveland)

It had a Canadian look to it but the red and white uniform worn by the visitor to Canadian troops at forward operating base Mas’um Ghar was definitely not regulation.

However, the government-issued flak jacket worn underneath certainly was.

“Santa may be silly, Santa may be jolly, but Santa is certainly not stupid,” said the famous old gentlemen