Daniel Kligerman

TV Options

Daniel Kligerman — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 15:00:22 +0000

As we reach the end of our free PVR rental period with Rogers, it is time to consider whether we should make the move away from cable-type TV service. The most likely alternative is a combination of over-the-air (OTA) digital service, an on-line streaming service such as Netflix, and the ability to play other downloaded media.

The main pros of this solution are:

Lower monthly recurring costs
Greater selection of media-on-demand
Less exposure to aweful advertising; especially important for the kids

The main cons of this solution are:

Less selection of live programming
Potentially less reliability
One-time cost to get it setup

Overall, I think the pros outweigh the cons. On the other hand, if Rogers agrees to extend our free PVR rentals for a while longer, that may be enough to postpone the move for now.

Don Cherry is an Entertainer

Daniel Kligerman — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 01:05:05 +0000

In case you missed it, Don Cherry wasted no time in offending three former NHL enforcers during his first appearance of the season. Cherry referred to them using colourful language (for prime-time, kid-watched TV), and said directly that the former players were hypocrites for making their careers as enforcers, and then blaming the fighting for their current mental and physical health issues. The players in question all said how offended they were, and are looking into legal action.

Ultimately, what this comes down to is that Don Cherry is an entertainer, and nothing more. He will say whatever he needs to say to draw attention to himself, because that’s what increases his ratings. Cherry has no motivation to be balanced, or to apologize, or even to be rational: expecting him to be or do any of these things is only causing people much frustration.

That is not to say that Cherry should not be held accountable for making false, potentially slanderous statements–he should. Especially if holding him to account ends up limiting his ability to speak further on this topic, since that is really the only thing that will hit him where it counts.

Ironically, the fact that Cherry is an entertainer parallels the enforcer’s reason for existence in the first place: fighting in hockey only exists because NHL hockey is, above all else, entertainment. Those who argue that fighting adds to the sport itself are kidding themselves; if that was the case, why is Olympic or World Junior hockey so great? So in the end, what we are dealing with here are a bunch of entertainers being offended by another entertainer. Yes, one is wrong and the others are right, but seeing them in that context makes them much less about the sport of hockey, and more of a side show to the side show.

Own your on-line presence

Daniel Kligerman — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:52:35 +0000

I have always agreed that you should own and control your on-line presence, assuming you care about such things. So while there is no issue with using Facebook, Google+ or Twitter, you are giving up a significant amount of control and ownership if you use those sites as your only presence.

I have (sparsely) maintained a blog since 2001, and I just completed an update to it that includes moving it to my own domain name (kligerman.ca), and rejigging it to add links to all the other places I am active on-line. These changes make it feel much more like a real home for me on the web, and I think it will encourage me to share my thoughts more often. I also added a feed of the posts by others that I think are worth reading–oddly, I have been sharing such posts for years within Google Reader, but for some reason have never shared them elsewhere. I chose a theme with lots of columns, where the column with my posts is no larger than the others, because I think this accurately represents the importance (to me) of content from Twitter and from others, relative to my own. Sharing is just as important as producing.

Let me know what you think of the new setup. I look forward to seeing how it continues to evolve. It feels good to have a single place that aggregates me.

Giant Ankle

Daniel Kligerman — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 20:49:49 +0000

On Thursday morning I attempted to play tennis for the first time in years. Actually, I have never really played tennis–squash has been my racquet sport of choice. But tennis is outdoors, which is perfect for the spring, and so I gave it a go.

All was going well, and it was lots of fun, until I attempted what would have undoubtably been a very impressive backhand, and ended up rolling over my ankle and spraining it real nicely. Since then, it has been about three times the size of my other ankle, and all kinds of interesting colours.

I can still walk, so I don’t think anything is broken in there. Yeah, that’s my expert medical opinion, which I’m sure is beyond questioning. Today it’s not quite as gigantic as yesterday, and there’s some tingling sensation when I walk. Weird, huh?

So now you are completely up-to-date on the status of my ankle. I don’t know how you would have survived otherwise.

And yeah, as soon as this thing feels better, I’ll be right back on the tennis court, maybe this time with proper shoes. Take that, huge gross ankle!

CBC Radio 3

Daniel Kligerman — Sun, 29 May 2011 19:25:31 +0000

For anyone looking for a source of new, Canadian music to listen to, CBC Radio 3 is fantastic. They have a massive and ever-growing collection of new and emerging Canadian artists’ work, and there are no fewer than 16 podcasts, many of them weekly, that showcase some of the best.

I’ve been listening to the main weekly podcast recently, and there are few tracks I don’t at least enjoy, and many of them I would love to add to my collection. And besides, supporting our local indie music scene is always a good thing, right? So check it out.

Warp Speed

Daniel Kligerman — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 00:58:38 +0000

It seems like such a cliché to say “I’m so busy, time just seems to fly by!”, but that’s how it goes. No complaints: what fills my time is the right stuff–family, work, a little hockey, writing, and the occasional beer with friends. But wow, is it really almost 2011? Puff puff, toot toot–and away we go.

Board Games

Daniel Kligerman — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 11:00:49 +0000

Now that our son is three, we have started to play board games with him. Unfortunately, most of the games you find at toy stores range from average to terrible–they tend to be repetative, boring and have little educational value.

Thankfully, there is BoardGameGeek.com. There, you can find reviews and comments on thousands of games, including a ranked list of games for kids. They also revise the recomended ages for games, since the manufacturer isn’t always right. Finally, they have a marketplace, where you can buy games that your local store doesn’t stock, or that are out of print, from other site members. So far I have done this twice with excellent results.

We have three games so far: Cariboo Island, Gulo Gulo, and Go Away Monster. All are excellent, and perfect for preschoolers. They challenge just enough, and have a repeating sequence of play that a three-year-old can learn quickly.

Of course, lots of open-ended toys and unstructured play is important too, but I think it’s great that there are some higher-quality board games available for kids of this age. And check out BoardGameGeek, no matter how old you are.

Liora

Daniel Kligerman — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 08:38:33 +0000

Liora Rose Kligerman was born on August 26, 2008, and is now almost four weeks old. While the experience of having a newborn is familiar from just under two years ago with Joshua, it’s amazing how quickly you forget what it’s like: fussy and sleepless nights, seemingly continuous feeding, and the magic of seeing someone so new growing and developing so quickly.

Ted Cole

Daniel Kligerman — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:00:14 +0000

Ted Cole, founder and director of Camp Walden for 35 years, passed away earlier this week, after losing a battle with leukaemia. I spent many summers at Walden, and have many memories of that time. What I associate most with Ted is the music of camp; nobody could lead a sing-along like Ted could. To this day, those song are ingrained in my head–the words come to me easily, and the melodies evoke images of those long summers past.

One of my favourites, and one that Ted described as “One of the most beautiful and meaningful songs about growing up ever written”, is The Circle Game, by Joni Mitchell. Good stuff.

How terrible to lose someone who was such a positive influence over so many generations of children. His voice, though, sings on.

Moving

Daniel Kligerman — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 02:19:53 +0000

Alas, I have not found the time recently to post anything here. Here is an update for you: We have just purchased a new house (new to us, not new in general), and will be moving on July 16 (which also happens to be my birthday–how about that?). We managed to sell our current house in about a week, which is great, since keeping your house in a perfectly clean condition every day is very time consuming.

The timing of the move is well in advance of when our second bundle of joy is scheduled to arrive, which is late August or early September. That should give us just enough time to unpack and get hold of a second crib before we give up sleeping again.

Things are otherwise good: Joshua is growing fast, and although is a little late perfecting his walking (due to being a little bit of a chicken), has better hand-eye coordination than I do, and is saying lots of words. His favourite things to say right now are “hot”, which he seems to attribute to things both hot and cold, as well “up”, which he has found to be very useful in commanding us to remove him from high chairs, car seats, etc.

Onwards!