A southwestern Ontario police force's annual list of the silliest emergency calls of the year: A lovers’ quarrel over a glass eye

A lovers’ quarrel over a glass eye and an attempt to sic police on Senator Mike Duffy make 2013 list of
silliest 911 calls, by Paola Loriggio, Canadian Press | December 31, 2013

Extract: 

A southwestern Ontario resident’s attempt to meddle in the Senate scandal by calling 911 on Mike Duffy made the local police force’s annual list of the silliest emergency calls of the year.
The caller accused the embattled senator of fraud in effort to sic Chatham, Ont., police on him — despite being more than 700 kilometres from the capital.
That wasn’t enough to nab the top spot, however. The call only ranked fifth out of the force’s 10 most ridiculous reports.

FotoliaSecond place went to a driver who ended up being carjacked by a goat.

First prize went to a lovers’ quarrel over a glass eye. A man reported his girlfriend hid the prosthesis after he took it out at her home, and asked that police help him retrieve it.

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This Woman Read One Book From Every Country in the World

Here Are Her Favorites,  A holiday reading guide by Uri Friedman The Atlantic Monthly
Sample extract:

"In the fall of 2012, Ann Morgan was wrestling with a problem few of us can identify with. No matter how hard she tried, she simply could not find a book to read in English from the tiny African nation of Sao Tome and Principe..."  

Canada:   

• Mauve Desert by Nicole Brossard/   
• Our Daily Bread by Lauren B. Davis /   
• Mennonites Don't Dance by Darcie Friesen Hossack /   
• Fugitive Pieces: A Novel by Anne Michaels /   
• Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King/   
• Late Nights on Air: A Novel by Elizabeth Hay/   
• In the Skin of a Lion by Michael Ondaatje -- Other countries...

continue reading The Atlantic Monthly

Libraries in Edmonton so much more than books

courtesy: metronews.ca

By Omar Mouallem
Extract:

I never saw a librarian shush a talky patron. That too is an old cliché. But I have watched a librarian help a grandmother contact her grandkids on Facebook; organize a community group meeting; and borrow change from the staff coffee jar so that a down-on-his-luck man would have bus fare for a job interview.
One librarian I met at the Lois Hole branch even helped Nigerian immigrant bring his daughter to Canada because he struggled to understand the paperwork. She thought it was her duty to succeed where customs had failed him.
“There has always been an element of social work to my job,” she told me.
Seeing librarians at work, and this institutional evolution, has been fascinating and humbling, especially at the Stanley Milner branch. continue reading

Canadian Employers Anticipate a Steady Hiring Climate for early 2014

• Manpower Employment Outlook Survey Reveals Canadian Employers Anticipate a Steady Hiring Climate for the First Quarter CNW Group via Yahoo! Finance --The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey Includes: Construction, Manufacturing - Durables, Wholesale & Retail Trade, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate, Services, Public Administration, Manufacturing - Non-Durables, Mining, Transportation & Public Utilities, Hiring Intentions Most Favourable in Western Canada
•  Modest hiring in Cape Breton projected for early 2014Cape Breton Post
•  Manpower says 20% of Barrie area employers will hire first quarter of 2014
•  Skilled Trades @ globalmanpowercanada
•   HOT JOBS 2014 Computing Canada

How social media status updates helps cyber predators

Top 5 Threats That Social Media Can Inflict On Users

By SiliconIndia  |   Thursday, 12 December 2013

#1 Third Party applications 
#2 Malware
#3 Hacking
#4 Identity Theft
#5 Exploitation by Cyber predators. Extract:

"Exploitation has several connotations. In cyber world, it is specifically about personal exploitation. People usually tend to update status such as ‘going out with family for dinner at 8’, ‘visiting Goa on the 25^th with family’ and other such messages. These are bits of information that can be exploited by cyber attackers. They can plan to rob the house on the day the family is out or stalk the family at the location mentioned in the status update."

On the same shelf:

• Google's Throat Tattoo To Detect Lies

   

Information Professionals' Conferences 2014 in Canada

• SLA Western Canada's The Status and Future of Canada’s Libraries and Archives - 
• Toronto (in conjunction with The Archive Summit)—January 15-17, 2014
• SLA Western Canada's The Status and Future of Canada’s Libraries and Archives -
• Toronto (in conjunction with The Ontario Library Association SuperConference)—January 29-31, 2014
•  ARMA Toronto welcomes ARMA International's SharePoint roadshow this coming January 27-28
• Ontario Library Association Super Conference. January 29 - February 1, 2014. Toronto, ON.
• FIP 2014: BiblioTech  February 7, 2014   –   Edmonton, AB
• Canadian Association of Law Libraries Conference (CALL). May 25 - 28, 2014. Winnipeg, MB.
• B.C. Library Association Conference (BCLA). March 31 - April 2, 2014. Vancouver, BC.
• Special Libraries Association (SLA). June 8 - 10, 2014. Vancouver, BC.
• Canadian Health Libraries Association (CHLA). June 16 - 20, 2014. Montreal, QC.
• Association of Canadian Archivists. June 26 - 28, 2014. Victoria, BC.

On the same shelf:

• The North American Serials Interest Group (NASIG) Accepting Applications for 2014 Conference Awards Link
•  KM and Social Business Conferences, global list

Six myths and realities about Canada Post, cbc.ca

 6 myths and realities about Canada Post: The 145-year-old post office isn't what it used to be, By Leslie MacKinnon, CBC News -- Extract: 

1. Most Canadians don't have a letter-carrier coming to their door  2. Not many people use stamps, anyway3. People aren't sending or receiving a lot of letters, but many more parcels4. One of Canada Post's biggest customers is cutting back5. Online shopping ensures Canada Post will always have a business6. Dogs will have to find something else to do

Is Canada wasting its young Asia talent and skills?

Is Canada wasting its young Asia talent and skills?

Opinion: Canadian firms' focus and reliance on business with the U.S. stifles opportunity

By Christine Park, Special to The Vancouver Sun December 9, 2013

Canada to charge many foreign tourists a fee for a proposed electronic security screening plan

Citizenship and Immigration is accepting feedback on the plan until mid-January.
Extract:

The federal government is soliciting public comment on the plan to introduce online travel applications as part of the sweeping perimeter security pact with the United States.

Foreign nationals who currently do not need a visa to visit Canada — including people from Britain, France and many other countries — would have to successfully apply for an electronic travel authorization before arriving by air.

U.S. citizens would be exempted from the new requirement.  news.yahoo.com

CTV:

Those not approved by the electronic system would be referred to an officer for further examination and a decision.
The government plans to charge a "cost recovery" fee -- how much isn't specified, but it would be a "minimal amount," the notice says. Approved applications would be valid for multiple entries to Canada over a period of up to five years.
"We're never in favour of new traveller taxes," said David Goldstein, president of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada.
However, he applauded the federal effort to catch up to other countries by using technology to modernize the application system for foreign visitors. Continue reading