Archive for January, 2010

New basil.CA design intelligently critiqued

31 Jan 10: Regarding the new basil.CA design, my friend Val McMeekin writes: Thinking back to my first impression of your [old] website…it visually wowed me! It implied importance…vital information here…the art of communication in combination with the art of fast paced media attributes! The site looked more fancy…and importantly…it worked…yet the aspect of you was somewhat lost due to the linked-in aspect on your home page…being able to click to another person…the focus was less you…the concentration of your prior homepage was the links.

I just went through your site more in detail as it is set up easier for me! From my perspective…I spent more time on your site today. The prior times I went into your site I would click on something that was visually appealing or interested me through title. However, then I was in other peoples sites and not as concentrated on You! I went into your site because I wanted to learn about you!!

I like the new…but in all honesty…I prefer the more chaotic!

Everybody looked beautiful

31 Jan 10: I’ve updated my iPhone blog to convey what a wonderful Sunday it was to walk around the West End and English Bay. I ran into some friends, including Val (by chance), and everybody looked beautiful and happy.

New Kwantlen degree

15 Jan 10: Kwantlen Polytechnic University has launched a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Visual Arts degree program. Offered at Kwantlen’s Surrey Campus, this program provides learning opportunities ranging from traditional studio arts to new media technologies in a critically engaged academic environment.

Scott McBride, chair of the Department of Fine Arts comments, “Kwantlen’s new BFA cultivates creative excellence through technical expertise, conceptual approaches and innovative applications in a diverse community of students, artists and professional faculty.”

Read whole story here.

TNR Gold Corp news

15 Jan 10: TNR Gold Corp. (TXS-V:TNR) and wholly owned International Lithium Corp. are undertaking the option to acquire 100-per-cent interest in the Fairservice mining leases adjacent to the company’s Mavis Lake property, located 15 kilometres northeast of Dryden in northwestern Ontario, from Rich Resource Investments Ltd., a private company in Edmonton.

The Fairservice property consists of six mining leases totalling 88.4 hectares and is dominated by east-trending spodumene-beryl-tantalite-type pegmatites considered to be part of the same dyke swarm as on the company’s adjacent Mavis Lake claim block. Past exploration identified 10 pegmatites and delineated a historical (non-NI 43-101 compliant) resource of 500,000 tonnes at 1.0 per-cent Li2O at pegmatite No. 1.

To earn a 100-per-cent interest, TNR has agreed to make payments totalling $120,000 and issuing a total of 500,000 common shares of TNR over a three-year period and incurring exploration expenditures totalling $500,000 over a four-year period. The vendor will retain a 5-per-cent net profits interest royalty of which the company has the right to purchase in entirety by paying the vendor the sum of $1-million. The agreement is subject to regulatory approval.

Teaching is a blessing

8 Jan 10: I taught my first class of the semester today. It is a blessing to have this gig.

Vic Chesnutt

8 Jan 10: The wonderful Teri Gross talked to Vic Chesnutt on her radio show “Fresh Air” a few weeks before his death.” Listen to the podcast, with comments by Michael Stipe and other friends spliced in. It is beautifully rich and smart and human, very emotional.

Kwantlen prof honoured

7 Jan 10: Dr. Deborah Henderson, director of Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Institute of Sustainable Horticulture (ISH), was named educator of the year by British Columbia Landscape and Nursery Association (BCLNA). Read more here.