…and we’ll put your bonus on hold. According to an article in yesterday’s Ottawa Citizen.  Apparently the Royal Canadian Mint is a tad short on gold. 17,500 troy ounces to be exact.  And they can’t figure out where it went. The Government’s response?  Put executive bonuses on hold. Perhaps I missed something, but last time I looked, $15.3 [...]

Sometimes in security, and life in general, it’s the seemingly small issues that cause problems.  As the saying goes, “The devil is in the details.” Take dates for example.  If I were to suggest we meet for a 10:00 coffee on 07/10/09, when should you show up?  Most of you would assume that 09 is 2009.  [...]

[Carter is on vacation, but he'll be back next week, cranky as ever!] Last week Carter wrote about some positive aspects of the Canadian health care system.  But it’s certainly not all roses. While Canadians are guaranteed a basic level of healthcare, those with conditions that fall outside this basic level are on their own, and some [...]

This came across my desk last week. A small company in Blowing Rock, NC called Christopher’s Wine & Cheese is using social media to compete with large companies and their multi-million dollar marketing budgets. Banding together with three small Bed & Breakfasts, they are sponsoring a “B&B and Winery Dream Vacation” along the Blue Ridge [...]

Did I catch your attention? This week I’m writing a few thoughts about a 4 letter word and it’s not the word you might think it is. The 4 letter word is called LIFE. The word “life” brings up so many different thoughts, feelings, definitions, hopes, dreams and even fears. The fact of the matter [...]

    “Have no fear! Doc Savage is here!” – Monk, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975)   Admit it. You missed Steve opening WWDC (Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference). You missed him walking out at the end of Phil Schiller’s keynote where Steve walks from behind the curtain and says , “One more thing!” [...]

There’s a lot of information about the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) on the Internet, but if you’re looking for a good overview, check out eNable’s Quick Guide to PCI Compliance video.  Their fifteen minute presentation is both technically correct and presented in language that anyone can understand – a refreshing change [...]

I’m tired of hearing American commentators rail against “Canadian style health care” as if our system is more flawed than theirs. The U.S. Health care system works if you’re a healthy 30-something with a good job and employer paid health care. It also works if you’re the CEO iof a Fortune 500 company, and it [...]

Today’s  FITLife tip is brought to you from my own experience. Is food winning over you? Try this: Get a small notebook or use your computer to track EVERYTHING you eat. It may take some time to get used to doing this. But, when you think about having that double scoop of ice cream or [...]

Coming Your Way — We believe that Wolverine was more than “a little” irritated when someone decided to steal a yet-unfinished copy of X-Men Origins ahead of the movie’s opening.  He probably wouldn’t have been happy if people would have stolen the movie when it was truly complete but this was Hugh Jackman’s creative work [...]

 This year, with Father’s Day on the horizon, I invited some of our favourite companies to give us their best Father’s Day suggestions.  Here’s what they had to say!   Nikon COOLPIX S630 – $349.95  The COOLPIX S630 is for the Dad who wants a piece of the action. He will never miss a moment [...]

One of the reasons that security programs aren’t always as effective as they should be is that organizations of all sizes often fail to ask the most important question: What is security? Security is often categorized as physical security, personnel security and information security. Much of the reason is historical.  Back before computers, corporate security [...]