Hi everyone, you've been so supportive and helpful with my clumsy endeavours on ned of late, in particular my fund-raising drive for Haiti earthquake relief.

Often, when I'm on ned (I try to visit regularly), I'll just poke around, reading and trying to learn, which is not my natural "mode of operation" -- I'm a big talker, and I usually have to work hard to be a good listener and "consumer" of info, as opposed to being a "producer".

Anyway, as I was getting ready to logon to ned today, I received news that an acquaintance had been killed in a road accident, out in the countryside. He was someone I had known through my dad, and was a young man who was working the family farm, loved animals and the rural life, and was interested in agricultural innovation.

I'm a big city boy, but have enjoyed my trips out to country, where my dad and his partner have bought a home and are considering retiring there, or at least having a combined city/country retirement. I know the death of their young was a shock to all, and it hit me harder than I might have expected.

A bit dazed, I began perusing the pages of ned, and found comfort here. This is such an amazing group of people, interested in a wide range of things, but able to find the interconnections, and to celebrate one another's diversity and ideas.

I guess I just wanted to say "thanks".

I'm very happy to announce that a local project I'm involved with, PlanetGeek, has successfully installed a small computer resource centre at a nearby food bank in Flemingdon Park, a Toronto neighbourhood with a high concentration of low-income households, many being newcomers.

We used donated PCs that we refurbished, and free software like Ubuntu Linux and OpenOffice.org.

Initial indications are that families using the food bank are very pleased. Hurray!

A laptop successfully received in Leh, Ladakh, India. A great opportunity to work with a charity run by some friends of mine, the Give Kids a Chance Foundation.

Photo: http://www.ned.com/group/communi ty-general/news/91/22/

A laptop computer I donated to a school in Zambia was well-received!

http://www.ned.com/group/communi ty-general/news/91/20

Photo: http://www.ned.com/group/communi ty-general/news/91/21

A little music, on a frozen winter's night (at least here in Toronto).

Justin Hines is a local artist who has made a great impression on me.

I hope you like it. More information about his work can be found at the web sites for his music and his foundation. He also has a MySpace page.

There's a severe winter storm raging outside my window as I sit here searching for news updates and thinking on the situation in Kenya.

However, a bit of good news - as mentioned previously, another laptop, donated to my laptops4all project, is all set to go to Kenya!

This time, I'm more directly connected to the recipient - he's someone to whom I delivered a laptop last January, when I had the great fortune to both visit my small charity's own nascent project in Embu, Kenya, and also attend the World Social Forum.

I'm hoping to be in contact with the recipient, and glean further information about how things are going there.

My foundation is co-sponsoring aconference on the Halifax Initiative, entitled The Changing Face of Global Development Finance, in Ottawa on Feb. 1 and 2.

From the conference page:

The face of Global Development Finance is changing. The international financial system has entered into a remarkable period of transition, relative to a few years ago. Numerous countries have repaid their debts to the IMF ahead of schedule, leaving the Fund with a US$103 million shortfall in fiscal year 2007. Many of these same countries have indicated that they will not return to the IMF because of the burdensome conditions that it imposes on debtors.

In its place, new institutions and new sources of finance are emerging. Increasingly, Southern governments are seeking real alternatives to the Bank and Fund: a Bank of the South is emerging in Latin America, an $80 billion Monetary Fund has been created in Asia, and both China and India are providing Africa with condition-free financing that far surpasses current Bank allocations. But these new alternatives are not without their own challenges.

The Halifax Initiative is a Canadian-based effort to reform the international development financing and banking systems.

The keynote speakers for the conference include Amar Bhattacharya, Director of the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on International Monetary Affairs and Development (aka the "Group of 24" or "G-24"), and Yao Graham, Coordinator of the Third World Network - Africa.

Should be a stimulating and worthwhile event.

I "divorced" my car, to reduce my GHG emissions, and gain the chance to walk and smell the roses.

Photos currently on display, down the street on the Front Porch.