Skip to main content

So this is what happens today when a network goes on strike

Those of you in the US, and those who really don't listen to government sponsored radio, may not be aware of this but our national broadcaster (CBC, similar to the UK's BBC) went on strike last week.

So Tod Maffin of ILoveRadio, who reported a number of items prior to the lockout (including a post that said "email is no more, oh so is my voice mail"), started CBC Unplugged.

The locked out workers have been doing podcasts, blogging and more. Even doing competing shows

Even the managers from within the locked out building are posting.

Some have suggested that this isn't the way to get people to appreciate them.

My brother, Keith, works for the CBC - at one time as a producer (even won some awards) and now I believe as a Manager. Haven't heard from him on this although he lives up in Yellowknife so who knows.

I'm not a big fan of strikes or lockouts but then I don't like unions to begin with. But what would be interesting would be if what Tod had talked about doing with CBC Unplugged actually came true.

Have a REAL online network - don't just gripe about your picket lines and blah, blah, blah. Show the world (and I guess your managers at the same time) that you love what you do so much that you are going to do it WHILE you're on the picket line and you're going to do it SO MUCH BETTER than the normal CBC could do it.

But enough anti-union spat, I think that it's very cool that if enough like-minded individuals wanted to get together and start a "network" for news, music, commentary anything - that they don't have to get the handouts from the government to do this. (CBC gets almost 1 BILLION dollars annually - maybe instead of looking for advertisers for the TheFoxShow, I should just go to the people who take all my money anyways)

Speaking of a "real network", I'm going to fire up the TechPodCast Network live feed. Why is this cool? Well, all 40+ members of the network upload their latest shows onto the Live Stream. As a result, you get the equivalent of "tech radio" - all day, all night.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Elevating Project Specifications with Three Insightful ChatGPT Prompts

For developers and testers, ChatGPT, the freely accessible tool from OpenAI, is game-changing. If you want to learn a new programming language, ask for samples or have it convert your existing code. This can be done in Visual Studio Code (using GitHub CoPilot) or directly in the ChatGPT app or web site.  If you’re a tester, ChatGPT can write a test spec or actual test code (if you use Jest or Cypress) based on existing code, copied and pasted into the input area. But ChatGPT can be of huge value for analysts (whether system or business) who need to validate their needs. There’s often a disconnect between developers and analysts. Analysts complain that developers don’t build what they asked for or ask too many questions. Developers complain that analysts haven’t thought of obvious things. In these situations, ChatGPT can be a great intermediary. At its worst, it forces you to think about and then discount obvious issues. At best, it clarifies the needs into documented requirements. ...

Respect

Respect is something humans give to each other through personal connection. It’s the bond that forms when we recognize something—or someone—as significant, relatable, or worthy of care. This connection doesn’t have to be limited to people. There was an  article  recently that described the differing attitudes towards AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini (formerly Bard). Some people treat them like a standard search while others form a sort of personal relationship — being courteous, saying “please” and “thank you”. Occasionally, people share extra details unrelated to their question, like, ‘I’m going to a wedding. What flower goes well with a tuxedo?’ Does an AI “care” how you respond to it? Of course not — it reflects the patterns it’s trained on. Yet our interaction shapes how these tools evolve, and that influence is something we should take seriously. Most of us have all expressed frustration when an AI “hallucinates”. Real or not, the larger issue is that we have hi...

Friend vs Therapist vs LLM: Shades of Grey

The conversations with AI series brings up a single point and then compares it between different LLM engines. These types of conversations were one of the many contributing factors to my writing of " Towards Consciousness " that explores the benefits and issues of creating a conscious AI. In this scenario, I was interested in seeing how an LLM might differ from a friend or therapist on issues that may have nuanced responses or contexts. In doing so, I came up with an interesting discussion on shades of grey. My Premise: Is it a bit strange to be using an LLM as a sober second thought? Every time I walk down this path of “why use an LLM to do certain things”, I come back to the alternatives that people like to say. “Why not bring it up with a friend?” A friend typically has your back or will say whatever to support their own agenda. “A therapist?” That’s someone who is “trained” to be impartial. But a computer? A computer is impartial based on two logical outcomes. If you say ...