This blog stays put

After weeks of intense posting, some lockout bloggers are winding things up. I applaud their efforts, and thank them for their work and dedication.

A group called the CMG Lockout Archive Project is working to establish a collection of lockout blogs, photos, etc.

But for me, the blogging continues.

I started this blog about a year ago, long before the lockout. Originally, the point was to document my post-graduatation life. Basically, “follow Dan around as he tries to find a career in public radio.” If you look back through some pre-lockout posts, you’ll find information and links on what I was listening to, what I was working on, and gadgets I coveted.

As the lockout wraps up, the focus of my blog will shift back to its roots. If you came here looking for lockout content, I hope you’ll check in once in a while and find something interesting.

R.I.P. MD?

Via Gizmodo, an article from Alice Hill’s Real Tech News: Sony’s Mini-Disc Format About to Bite the Dust.

Google Newsmap: Paris Hilton beats CMG/CBC deal

Curious to know how much attention other media are paying to the CBC/CMG deal, I checked Marumishi’s Google Newsmap, which visually displays the popularity of news stories on Google News.

As of 9:15 this morning, Google News’s algorithms hadn’t categorized the story as national news. Nor as business news. Nope. You’ll find it under entertainment. And it seems that way more news outlets are paying attention to Paris Hilton and Tara Reid.

Just goes to show that a story’s importance can be highly relative.

I have no job to go back to

Now that a deal has been reached, it’ll soon be time for me to actually find a job at the CBC. Here’s why:

My contract at CBC Windsor was up on September 4. The week before management locked us out, my managing editor offered me “a couple more months of work.” Not a job job, but work. Unfortunately, the offer was too late. It was midway through August, and I had no indication that I’d be asked to stay on. So I’d already made arrangements to move back to Toronto.

Then, of course, we got locked out.

I picketed in Windsor for a week, then for a week in Toronto. Then I went back to Windsor for a weekend, during which I packed up and left. Jenna and I packed up all of my things in the back of a rented Corsica, and headed north. I settled back into The Penthouse with my roommates Tristan and Phil.

And the lockout continued on.

The lockout continued beyond the end of my contract. So I picketed beyond the end of my contract. I told myself I could do this with a clear conscience because if we hadn’t been locked out, I’d have continued on in Windsor.

I stayed up late. I slept in. I picketed. I worked on Toronto Unlocked. In many ways, it was a bit like a vacation. I got to visit picket lines in four Canadian cities. I met some fantastic people (including several of my radio heroes) on the line. I collected my cheques, and smiled.

Then, on September 6th, I received an email from Windsor, asking if I planned to return after the lockout to take my managing editor up on her offer.

I said no.

Why? I’d moved my things to Toronto. I was on the hook for rent in Toronto. I had nowhere to live in Windsor. I had started to fall for a girl in Toronto.

And now, a deal.

Once we go through the ratification process, and figure out how to get back to work, I’ll actually be looking for work. I have no job to go back to.

I’m hoping there might be CBL casual pool stuff for me. I’ll continue to pitch and sell freelance pieces. Hell, maybe if I get lucky, there’ll be a contract for me. Who knows?

The next little while will be fun, or scary, or exciting, or sad. Probably a little bit of all of the above. We’ll see.

Let’s Play Jonathan Goldstein

Lockout left you with too much spare time? Why not take on this project from Engadget: How-To Build a Telephone Recording Circuit from an Old Modem. I’ve used Skype and Audio Hijack Pro to record telephone conversations before, but I’ve always been disappointed with the audio quality.

I’d love to own the RemoteMix C+ I used to borrow from Ryerson, but it’s just too expensive for how much I’d use it.

Anyone with a soldering iron want to help me out with this?