Last month at the International Gaming Summit here in Vancouver, a new task force was launched to ensure that BC remains at the forefront of the world's gaming and digital entertainment industry.

Almost sounds like a comic-book premise doesn't it? Quick, someone make a movie. And don't forget the spandex jumpsuits.

New Media BC heads this worthy initiative, which was created to address the fear that Vancouver is losing its lead in the heated race around the world to be the premier hotspot for digital entertainment. In order to sustain our position in the global marketplace, Vancouver must devise ways to cultivate smart business growth.

Few people know that software that drives radio newsrooms around the world, and has become an industry standard, was developed right here, by someone who got his start in radio at Citr, UBC's campus station.

Before he passed away suddenly from illness this spring, Stefan Ellis had parlayed the coding he developed in his spare time in the mid-nineties into an industry giant: Vancouver-based Burli Software. Go to Sudan, Namibia, Taiwan, Poland, Australia, Ireland, the US -- name a country and you're likely to find a radio station newsroom powered by Burli software. The photo shows Stefan at work at one of the world's largest and most famous newsrooms, 1010 WINS in New York City.

Stefan created a software that significantly changed how radio newsrooms operated. He built a company that continually innovated, not just making its software better, but always finding a way to help technicians and stations when something wouldn't work. He kept Burli based in Vancouver, and did his best to make it a good place to work. And he never forgot Citr, giving generously of his own time and talents to extend the station's reach and technological power. Most recently, he developed Citr's podcast engine. Yet you won't find Stefan listed in Canada's top 40 under 40, or on Maclean's list of Canadians to watch. Why?

We've already heard about the possible health hazards of repeated Blackberry usage, but it seems like there could be other dangers for those who are too focused on their hand-held gadgets.

Picture this: a guy on a conference call has his earphones firmly in place and is checking something on his cell phone/email device. He doesn't even slow down as he steps off the sidewalk - still focused intently on his gadget! - and a car coming up to the intersection has to slam on its brakes in order to stop in time. That happened the other day in Yaletown. I did giggle, but it was hardly an isolated occurrence, so it's getting less and less funny, especially when you consider what could have happened.

And it's not just the super-geeks.

Do you guys love craigslist as much as I do? I freakin' LOVE craigslist. I've got some sweet sweet deals off of this site, like a couple of years ago I bought a car for $150. It only lasted 4 months, but still, that's cheaper than a bus pass. Over the past few years I've bought a couch, a microwave, a laptop, an ipod, 2 cameras, and a rice cooker off craigslist. I actually don't even buy big items new anymore, because with enough trolling I can usually find something great for really cheap. Especially at the end of the month, when people are moving, or broke.

Cory Doctorow, internet savant, anti-copyright activist and science fiction writer, was in down last night as a guest of SFU's Faculty of Applied Sciences' Leonardo Institute Lecture series.

The lecture was titled "The Totalitarian Urge: total information awareness and the cosmic billiards" and I didn't really know what to expect, as it was the first time I had heard Cory speak (although I am pretty familiar with his work). I thought it was a pretty engaging talk, with a multitude of tangents and references insuring that there was something in it for everyone, on every level. I thought it was pretty great. There were a lot of shocking bits and a lot of funny bits and even so I was so tired that I'm sure I missed a lot of it.

How many bloggers can you fit in a minivan?

Apparently an awful lot, as per the above photo. This Saturday, along with about three hundred others, I braved the sleet and trekked out to UBC for Northern Voice, Canada's blogging conference.

What happens at a blogging conference?

Well, it was surprisingly fun.