toronto Archives - Page 3 of 11

Encourage Your Kids to #WeDay

Oct 29 2012

We Day is Free The Children’s annual “youth empowerment” event. Held in cities across Canada, We Day motivates youth to take action on local and global issues. Each student group that attends is asked to make a commitment of one local and one global action throughout the year in order to help create positive change in the world (source)

These kids earned their way this this event, by being the most awesome at giving and charity, and they genuinely enjoy doing it. The money rasied is for the Canadian organization, Free the Children: the world’s largest network of children helping children, with more than one million youth in 45 countries involved.

These kids are into learning how to build healthy and sustainable communities, how to “foster a stronger more compassionate nation“, said Marc Kielburger, co-founder of Free The Children.

You’ll recognize some of these supporting faces.

They called it the, ‘Generation Without Borders‘, and the most activist generation, ever. There will be over 90,000 youth participating this year across Canada.

Here’s 22,000 screaming teenagers.

Know what they’re cheering for? The founder of ‘Doctors Without Borders’. Their teachers. Getting water to an impoverished African village.

I KNOW :O

This was the first TELUS WeDay, they just shook hands with ‘Free the Children’ for 5 years. Congratulations guys!

Backstage I ran into my long-time hair stylist, Brennen Demelo. He and his team had volunteered for today’s event. See internet, I’ll only steer you towards good.

I think if your kid participates in one WeDay, spends the months earning their way here, and then experiences an event like this, they can’t come out that bad.

Watch Toronto WeDay on TV:

– Much Music, November 11 at 7pm

– CTV, November 24 at 7pm

Maybe one of the most pure atmospheres I’ve ever been in. Even my robot eyes misted up.

WeDay Coming Soon:

• We Day Waterloo Region: November 14, 2012, Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex
• We Day Montreal: November 20, 2012, Theatre St Denis
• National We Day: April 29, 2013, Robert Guertin Arena in Ottawa

(an aside)

To me, online means public

It’s big internet out there, and I worry how the kids put so much of their life online.

Parents please: keep an eye on video chat, not a lot of good ever comes out of video chat; remind them they should have minimum-8-character passwords; that their photos will follow them, the internet doesn’t forget; and no one under the age of 10, needs a Facebook account.

IMPORTANT: make sure their EXIF data, and geo-location services, are turned OFF.

EXIF data – information attached to an uploaded photo. GPS location, time, model of phone, more. Can be used to track the person, in real time, using a simple web app.

Also parents – if you hear at work about the TELUS WISE program, ask to attend. It’s the first security-awareness program of its kind in Canada, and it will help you help your kid, to make good online choices.

I'm at SecTor Today

Oct 2 2012

SecTor – Canada’s premiere information security conference

For a sense of what my day will be like, read my posts, This is BlackHat Security Conference 2012 and Apple’s First Ever Talk at Black Hat,

Hi SecTor, nice to meet you. I blog about security for the end-user,

think of the housewives of Idaho.

You might enjoy my ‘DefCon 19 Interview Series‘, and click here for all security blog stuff in one place.

See you at the conference!

Keri

Cherry Beach is Changing Ugh

Jul 17 2012

It’s in my ‘Top 3 Favourite Places in Toronto’.

It’s all over all my blogs. I used to drive it 5 times a week for years. I fit a profile one time.

Look up. Dramatically.

It’s Toronto’s old power plant.

1 – 2nd tallest structure in Toronto
2 – Toronto’s old power plant, abandoned for years, recently purchased by… a movie studio
3 – There’s a falcon couple nested there, one of Canada’s most protected species ($millions). Until the falcons raise their babies and leave, the studio cannot start construction.

I explorered it years ago, here’s a look inside.

I used to photograph “Car of the Week” here all the time, until it started to feel lazy, even though look, so beautiful.

A couple summers ago, my thing was running in the bushes along the water. So fun, because you never knew what you’d find around each corner. A big wink that goes with that last line ;)

It’s on one of my business cards.

If I was handed a bunch of money with which to buy real estate,

I’d buy it in Cherry Beach.

Construction and change has started here, and I think the city is creeping into Cherry Beach, taking away it’s secret-ness. I’ll miss you Cherry Beach.

Love,
Keri

A New Week Starts Now

Jun 25 2012

Pretty matter-of-fact blog post titles lately, huh.

I walk a lot.

Fresh air and exercise, no destination just wandering, off my phone, follow my heart around corners, sometimes day dreamy.

Like here.

—-> I imagine how I’d best get to the roof
* – I’m not alone – that plywood is someone’s security measure

Re-discovered Bulk Barn on Saturday.

Not scared of that.

Doesn’t it look like I photoshopped in my boots?

Now if ever I have to submit a photo of my plain face, I’ll come grab this one. Efficiency yes!

Sunday cleaning. Obviously.

Half the reason I declare that online each week is to remind myself one week of time has passed.

Time. Goes. Too. Fast.

During cleaning I unpacked this.

You know that item of clothing you have, a pair of jeans or a dress? That one you use to measure your weight and size, you keep even if they don’t fit, because they don’t fit. That’s this dress.

Hadn’t seen it in 9 months. Last summer the pleat in the front was splayed open and the zipper, oh.

Deep breath.