The cost of convenience

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kcups

How will we cope with all our wasteful products?

By Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor
Formerly published in The Other Press. March 10, 2015

John Sylvan is the inventor of Keurig K-Cups coffee pods. Like Doctor Frankenstein bringing life to his monster, Sylvan caused unintended havoc with coffee pods.

In an interview with the Atlantic, Sylvan openly admitted that although his creation had earned Keurig Green Mountain billions, he regretted it and does not personally consume it himself. It was a rare confession, but one based around a real-world dilemma. Since the inception of coffee pods into the morning routine, people have found it ever more challenging to be waste-conscious.

Environmentalists have condemned coffee pods from day one, but the product is thriving. In 2013, one in three Americans enjoyed a single-serving cup of coffee at work or at home and over 11.6 million coffee pod machines were sold. If there is a problem, we are not dealing it. But should we?

The premium price we place on convenience is hard to ignore. Coffee can be as cheap and as expensive as you want it to be. Instant coffee only requires a few tablespoons from a canister of Nescafé and a little bit of stirring in hot water. It’s not fancy, but it’ll give you the same jolt as a coffee pod. The price of that is approximately $10 for 50 cups. Not bad. For K-Cups, the cost is about a dollar per cup, which is a third cheaper than Starbucks. The price at the moment is in a grey area: reasonable and worth trying.

So what are we actually doing? Is there any logic to using coffee pods or are we all committed to it now that we’ve purchased the ultra-expensive kitchen appliance? We have become dependent on Keurig and other coffee pod machines. Like a home printer, we’ll buy ink just to keep it relevant. Caught in a wave of trendiness, coffee drinkers are now shackled to the machine. And sooner or later, remorse will seep in.

This is not the first product designed for coffee that people deemed wasteful: disposable cups, coffee sleeves, lids, stir sticks, and the like. It seems like everything associated with coffee is somehow wasteful. Should we stop drinking coffee? No. Caffeine is the fuel for our society and that isn’t going to change. What we need to reconfigure is our reason for convenience.

When do we need something convenient? When we are in a rush. When we are too tired to put in the effort. Those are reasonable excuses to use K-Cups. Sure. But when those two scenarios aren’t a factor, make a cup of coffee the old-fashioned way. If it’s not too much trouble, carry a reusable cup with you into a coffee shop.

There is nothing wrong with using products that are convenient. Technology is built to make our lives easier. And if it’ll make you a cup of coffee and help you catch the bus on time, then the bit of waste is worth it. However, if you are just lollygagging and hanging around waiting for the Keurig machine to brew your drink, shame on you. Make a cup of coffee in a less wasteful way. It might actually taste better too.

Let taxes equal charities

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Photo via Thinkstock

Is it really better to give?

By Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor
Formerly published in The Other Press. March 3, 2015

It’s hard to get excited about taxes. Like having someone reach into your pocket and take whatever they want, tax season often leaves us all feeling a little violated. But for as long as civilized living has existed, taxes have been constant and increasing. It’s clear today that if we want to continue living the Canadian life, we’ll need to pay taxes, and a lot of them.

After you wash away the tears, let’s take a look at all the benefits, because it is all about the benefits. Public safety and services are two popular reasons to pay taxes, and they’re good ones. I’ll be glad to pay taxes if the firefighters put out my burning house or if a policeman arrests the dude who just robbed me. I frequent the library, so I’m happy about the books my tax dollars bought. I drive, so I’m glad there is money left to fill potholes and extend the highway. Let’s call taxes a security for our future, insurance for our way of living, and a charity for the people in our society.

As I progress through life, I have noticed that I’m paying more taxes. I remember there was a time when I received money from the government for simply being alive. Now, I’m required to pay it back—it’s bullshit. But I’m not going to stop working; I’m not going to stop making money. My attitude toward taxes is different. I want to make more money so I can pay more taxes. Rich people get praised all the time for donating to charity, but they get pitied for having to pay significant taxes. No! Don’t pity them. They are rich. If needing to pay taxes is a deterrent for wealth, there is something wrong with your mentality, and that needs to change.

Money creates power and power begets money. Taxes break this pattern. They put responsibility on the wealthy to help provide for their less fortunate peers as they cope with the hardships of life.

We are all in this together, although we might not all agree on where the money should go. Some say the money should be dedicated to slums, others say it should go into renovating a public art gallery. Some want it to build a new transit infrastructure; others want to upgrade the healthcare system. We might never agree, but the thing is, we should be optimistic that wherever our money goes it’s going to good efforts. The same way we have little control once we donate to a charity, is the same way we should approach taxes.

Friendly fire

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Thinkstock

When do friendly insults become hurtful?

By Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor
Formerly published in The Other Press. March 3, 2015

While some dub it as a masculine trait, others label it as immaturity. I’m speaking of the act of friendly insults: when we call our friends “losers,” “bitches,” or “idiots” for fun. Even though this type of interaction varies from friend circle to friend circle, and each cultural group reacts differently to name-callings and put-downs, we all have experienced friendly fire at one point or another. The question isn’t if it exists, but when too much is too much.

How fine is the line between bullying and simply being vulgar for the sake of fun? No friendship begins by signing a term of agreement, saying that X amount of name-calling can be accepted. Usually, this type of behaviour evolves over time as comfort levels go up and social barriers go down.

I’ve worked in a restaurant with an all-male back-of-house staff, and that shaped the dynamic of the working environment greatly. I saw how men behaved with each other both as team members, friends, and leaders. At some point in the whole interaction, an individual is highlighted as both easy-going and resilient. That is the one who will become the butt of the joke, the one member of the team everyone is okay calling out without any repercussion.

You want to feel sorry for that lonely individual as others gang up on him. You want to help him or do what the anti-bullying ads advise and step in. But not when it’s friendly fire, not when the dude actually enjoys the attention.

If you find yourself as the guy who everyone is making fun of, know this: nobody will help you, because you’re laughing along with them. You are not in distress. You are not harassed. The interaction between you and your friends from the outside appears to be perfectly normal. If it bugs you, you’ll need to step up and say something.

Or you can stop the insults yourself. This type of interaction is not one-sided. More often than not, people only continue this trend because you are knocking it back into their court. Stop. Recognize that you are dishing as much as you are receiving and stop. Otherwise, it continues to be one vicious cycle.

I enjoy busting balls now and then. It’s a perfectly normal masculine expression of appreciation and tough love. But at some point, we do need to grow up. We need to treat our friends and peers with respect. We cannot go out in public and continue calling out our friends for their shortcomings when we are 40, 50, or 60 years old. At some point, too much is, in fact, too much.

Canucks: The enigma heading into the trade deadline

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Vancouver Canucks right wing Zack Kassian photo by Elise Amendola/Associated Press

As usual, there is not much the Canucks can do

By Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor
Formerly published in The Other Press. March 3, 2015

Not even Alan Turing can solve the Vancouver Canucks this year, as the team nobody expected much from is currently hanging on in a tight race towards the playoffs. It’s hard to tell how the Canucks will play heading down the stretch. Winning games against teams like Pittsburgh and Chicago, and losing games against Calgary, New Jersey, and of course, Buffalo, leaves a lot to question. Such inconsistency is nothing new for the Canucks, but one wonders what good exchanging players would actually do for the team.

The team has been plagued with injuries since October, and, as trends continue, will remain so deep into the playoffs. If I were in Jim Benning’s shoes, I would wear some slippers because it’s going to be an uncomfortable few months. The Canucks need depth on defence and another top-six forward to play the role of goal scorer if the third or fourth round is where they want to end up. But gone are the days of blockbuster trades. Acquiring a game-changing player is almost impossible, especially for the Canucks. And yes, I am ignoring the whole Mats Sundin thing.

While the focus on whether to deal or keep Zack Kassian is the storyline heading into March, many are forgetting about Shawn Matthias, who has also been contributing with stellar plays the last couple of weeks. As an unrestricted free agent in the summer, it might be an opportunity to see what the market has to offer while their stock is still high. Derek Dorsett and Brad Richardson are two other players who may be shipped off early for prospects, but that is unlikely to happen. Yes, in terms of baiting teams to offer us their superstars or future superstars, we are pretty much doomed.

And assuming Ryan Miller can return to form in time without rust, we can least feel confident that the net will be secure. But that is only if Eddie Lack can carry the team for a month. He had his chance before when Roberto Luongo was injured last year, and the result was far from impressive. Well, here’s his chance to earn his position again. If only J. K. Simmons were behind the bench yelling at (motivating) him, right? The community has shown nothing but love for Lack, but believe me, if he chokes and causes the Canucks to miss the playoffs this year, we’d better pass the Sedins a couple of shovels to dig him a grave between Alex Auld and Dany Sabourin.

I’d be thrilled if the Canucks are able to make a trade before the deadline. I believe they need one. But for what? There’s nothing out there, and if there is, the prices are too high. It’s time for us Canucks fans to do what we do best and just sit on our laurels and wait until it’s all over—yet again.

So lame it just might work

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Screenshot from Saturday Night Live

How the stupidest technology can catch on

By Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor
Formerly published in The Other Press. Feb. 24, 2015

This is not a criticism of any individual or organization, but rather the designs that come from an embarrassing collective demand. I’m talking about technology such as the selfie stick. You know, the elongated pole that people use to take pictures of themselves. Honestly I don’t mind it, the same way I don’t mind someone wearing a fanny pack, or socks and sandals. We can all do whatever we want; however, I’m surprised that technology has gone from innovative to awkward.

I’m as comfortable implementing hashtags into my social media posts as I am making cold calls on the phone. There is just something about the action that I still can’t buy into. For lack of a better phrase, when I do use hashtags to further my social media reach, I feel like I’m trying too hard. I feel like I’m trying to show off in an audition, I feel like I’m trying to get the pretty girl to look at me, I feel like I’m knotting a bow tie for a business-casual kind of party. I feel lame.

I know I shouldn’t because it is just technology, and hell everyone is doing it. In fact, some might say I’m stupid for not using selfie sticks to take my pictures and hashtagging my photos #SelfieStick on Instagram. Even that sentence caused me to cringe a bit.

For a while, I watched as some “fortunate” individuals walked around town with Google Glass on their face. They did whatever they did, smiling and explaining what they were doing while they were doing it, and it was all fun and merriment. However, one day Google Glass’s popularity plummeted and now I rarely see it around. Perhaps it was because those who were wearing it were deemed “Glassholes” and that led to problematic interactions. Like Bluetooth earpieces, you cannot look cool wearing it while walking down the street because you just don’t need it. You look stupid, arrogant, and lazy.

Technology, tools, and metadata tags are useful in situations where they are actually necessary. In my mind, there needs to be a purpose for something to be “cool.” It’s not cool hashtagging every word in your Twitter post, even if it’s done ironically, because that post will ultimately affect nobody.

However, if you are expressing your opinion, offering insight, or promoting something of value, then hashtags are great because you give someone who is searching #Cupcakes a place for them to find cupcakes, recipes for cupcakes, or your opinion on a brand of cupcakes. If you are driving a car, Bluetooth is wonderful. If you want to get a group picture without excluding someone, selfie sticks are the grand solution. And if you have other friends with Google Glass, it would be awesome to interact through that wearable platform. However, people are using technology for reasons that are beyond me, and that is why so many of us consider them lame.

You only have one reputation

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Photo illustration by Joel McCarthy

Don’t underestimate the destructive force of dishonesty

By Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor
Formerly published in The Other Press. Feb. 24, 2015

Journalists getting into trouble—an old story, yet a frequent one. There is not much you can predict these days except that sooner or later some established media figure will stumble off the pedestal they created for themselves and writhe in the filth of their undoing. What happened to Brian Williams, NBC’s Nightly News anchor, could not have happened to anyone. It was not an honest mistake. He did not misquote a subject. He did not make a typo. He made a conscious decision to lie. And although the public may be forgiving, they will never forget.

A person’s reputation is built upon their competence and integrity. When someone compromises it, as in the case of Williams, that reputation is tarnished. The stakes are the same; it doesn’t matter if the person is a 40-year veteran or a newly hired intern. But what can we learn from this incident? After all, we understood at a very young age not to lie.

The reason we lie is not necessarily because we are evil, lazy, hurtful people. The main motivation for lying comes internally from the person telling it. They may have a lack of confidence, lack of ability, or lack of trust. People lie to themselves first in a fake-it-until-you-make-it sort of way. The lies then snowball and eventually what began as a little confidence boost becomes a rolling, unstoppable stone of trouble.

When Williams was called out for his exaggerated story, he admitted to misremembering the situation. And believe it or not, in his subconscious mind, that is in fact true. If you tell a lie enough, eventually it does become true; however, that doesn’t change reality. We need to be aware of what we are lying about and how far we string our web.

It is time we recognize that there is no such thing as a harmless lie. Whether it’s in a professional, academic, or social environment lying can compromise your reputation and destroy your relationships. We must have confidence in ourselves and own up to our mistakes. People are quick to forget errors. We all make mistakes. We all live pretty normal lives. We all work hard. We should stop allowing lies to be an acceptable norm.

Take a look at your resumé or listen to yourself at a party and try to catch yourself when you stray from the truth. Call yourself out on it. The sooner you know you are a liar, the sooner you can stop. You do need to stop. If you don’t, it will destroy your life. Maybe not today. Maybe not 20 years from now. But one day. Look at all the famous people who are now only recognized for the lies they told and not their accomplishments. You don’t want your name on the career tombstone alongside Brian Williams, do you?

Photoshop challenge

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Photo composite via http://galleryhip.com/

The impact of retouched images

By Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor
Originally published in The Other Press. Feb 24, 2015

Can a magazine with untouched images of models sell? I don’t know. Every time I have stood in the supermarket checkout line, I’ve noticed the stunning works by digital artists on the front pages of magazines. I must admit; I’m not the demographic for those magazines. There is nothing in there for me except fashion advertisements and regurgitated articles about topics I have no interest in. That leaves me to wonder, how influential was Cindy Crawford’s photoshop-free image that leaked on the Internet? Was it simply a publicity stunt to sell magazines or a true stance against a manipulative industry?

In the April issue of Marie Claire, you will be able to find a picture of the famed supermodel dressed in a bathing suit with all her flaws fully displayed. It’s a bold move that has earned resounding applause. But will it affect the landscape of modelling or the cutthroat world of media? It won’t.

As magazine sales decline dramatically, marketing stunts need to be implemented. Yes it’s brave of Crawford to appear in her humbling form, but it was also brave when Kim Kardashian appeared in Paper Magazine oddly mutated with her giant butt exposed. And there is a certain courageousness to those Instagram girls who take to social media, posting #NoMakeup pictures of themselves. These are apparently the things people need to do to get attention and to sell magazines today. However, models and people are not pioneers, and if they were they would be destroying the very industry that entertained and created them.

It’s clear why the veil of computer modification needs to be pulled down. People are impressionable and photoshopped images corrupt the idea of what beauty—achievable beauty, realistic beauty—actually looks like. However, the public does not want to pay good money for magazines with undesirable images.

I’m sorry that I’m skeptical and that I believe one day our shallow world will realize what hideous creatures we’ve become, not just in print but also in reality. Photoshopped images are drugs and we are addicted. We are now obsessed with the fantasy of looking perfect and dressing well. No model can change the current zeitgeist alone. Sure it is empowering but how can we use that power for good and not have it be one small step forward and three giant steps back.

I hate the idea of someone behind a computer retouching scars, wrinkles, pores, and pimples from an image of me, and I’m sure you’d hate that too. But simply eliminating it won’t work either. Perhaps there is a middle ground, a balance in every publication to have both retouched images and originals. Perhaps there can be two versions printed. Maybe we can see which initiative sells better.

It is a business, after all. McDonald’s burgers always look bigger, juicer, and tastier in advertisements. And so it goes with supermodels.

TeamSnap Assists League and Club Organizers With All-Star Communication and Management Tools

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For the longest time, team sports have had reputations as being poorly organized.

It was not because the coaches were incompetent or because the players were disorganized; it was because there was a lack of easy-to-use tools. In addition, the market for communication, management, and scheduling apps is as crowded as a defensive zone in the fourth quarter.

TeamSnap, an application designated for teams and clubs management, has a simple philosophy to break away: elite customer service and great user experience.

Team communication is paramount, whether it’s on the field, on the rink, or even on the way to practice. People need to know where to be, when to get there, and what to bring before they can score goals, make saves, and win big.

“We need to let people know about what’s happening in the way they want to be informed,” said Dave DuPont, CEO of TeamSnap. “If they want to use email, fine. We send 40-million emails a month now. If they want a text message, that works too. If they prefer Push, that’s cool. If they just want to use the native mobile app—we were one of the first in the industry to introduce that—then they can use the native mobile app.”

It’s not uncommon for venue and game time to change last minute. There isn’t always time to inform every person individually, and mass messaging on certain platforms will be neglected because the player or participant is already on the road.

Most of us understand the pain and hassle of organizing an event. Most of us also know the headache when a certain aspect falls through. But with TeamSnap, all the organizer or coach has to do is change—for example—the time of the event on the TeamSnap calendar and every member will be informed in the manner they desire.

Another element of a successful team is accountability. Because of the leniency of technology, people have gotten a little flakey or unresponsive when it comes to invitations. One of TeamSnap’s popular features is the “availability.”

“We make it super easy for folks to say if they are coming,” said DuPont. “They can confirm if they are coming, they can confirm if they are bringing the orange slices and beer. And that is all tabulated and everyone can see it, if the organizer wants everyone to see it. And it can be changed automatically. That is just the sort of thing that makes everybody’s life a lot easier.”

With over seven million users and an infrastructure that informs people, TeamSnap is taking it to the next level by broadcasting in-game experiences. Chat, scores, and highlights can all be crowd sourced during the game. Everybody on the sidelines can contribute and offer an experience for those who aren’t there.

Unlike Twitter, TeamSnap is a private social network. Only those accepted by the team’s inner circle will be able to receive updates, stats, and conversations.

While the experience on TeamSnap is familiar across the board, different sports require different approaches for a fine-tuned experience. Every game and every league has little subtleties and TeamSnap accommodates by allowing organizers to modify templates.

“We are most valuable for folks that are particularly sensitive to saving time and having great communications,” said DuPont. “A hockey team in general is going to be more sensitive to that issue than a pick-up baseball or pick-up football team. If you have a certain ice time, you want to make sure everyone is there on time.”

Having hit critical mass in such markets as Vancouver (2,200 teams and the third largest in Canada), TeamSnap is aiming to add more value to the users involved by providing goods and services related to sports. The data stored in TeamSnap, such as experience level, type of sport, and start of season, can all be utilized by brands to offer products and services that fit the players and the teams’ needs. A coach can inform a brand of the team colour, and in return the brand can recommend shoes and jerseys of that colour for the players.

DuPont added: “We take an altruistic view of this. We aren’t trying to maximize pageviews or anything like that—we just want to be the indispensible tool for teams.”

All work and no love

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Illustration by Ed Appleby

How to balance work and relationships

By Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor
Formerly published in The Other Press. Feb 17, 2015

There are two key channels in life that we are all sailing through simultaneously. One is the career path we have chosen. On this route we are empowered to catch the wind and ride as far as we can undaunted. The other channel finds us embarking on a journey for love and companionship. Our attitude on this trip, however, is much different. We dock occasionally, testing the waters here and there, uncertain when we’ll reach our destination. As you can tell by my longwinded metaphor, the success of work and love are two separate achievements, both of equal importance. But how do you attain one without losing sight of the other?

While some believe that people should keep work and love separate, I don’t believe that is true. A healthy relationship is built upon support, and a thriving career requires that too. The two channels feed into each other. The time you spend working and the time you spend with your loved one should be interchangeable. It should be teamwork. You and your partner should have careers that feed into each other’s lives; both of you should be passionate about what the other does and sail the same course.

Men are often praised for not bringing work home, but in today’s world what does that really mean? It means keeping a significant portion of the day hidden away. Your partner should be there to encourage you when you have an assignment due, or if there is an opportunity for promotion. It’s a competitive market and having someone on your side is irreplaceable encouragement.

With that being said, dedicating time to your romantic partner is equally as important. While accomplishing work or showing up on time is imperative, time you have away from the office, kitchen, studio, and the like should be portioned appropriately. Here is where you can help your partner better their situation. Help clean, make dinner, or even do some repairs. Life can unravel when there is nobody looking out for you, so do your best and pick up some slack when your partner can’t.

Life is not all sunsets and paycheques. Work is work and relationship is work, but that doesn’t mean you can’t succeed. I’m not going to tell you the type of person to date or the kind of job to have, but if you want a fulfilling life, it’s better if the two channels intersect occasionally. Find a partner that cares about your job and find a career that your partner is passionate about as well. Only then will you find true balance between work and love.