Archive - Archive for the year 2009

Consumption, a form of compensation

Sunday, 1 November, 2009

The following are extracts of « Consommation et image de soi, Dis-moi ce que tu achètes… » (Consumption and compensation, Tell me what you buy…), a book I published in 2005 (pages 108 to 110); it’s in French only… for now.  In it, I demonstrate that consumption is a form of compensation for some people. […]

Read the rest of this post

From the Consumer Society to a Society of Hyperconsumption

Sunday, 11 October, 2009

Technology improves everyday life, producing useful, many would say indispensable, consumer items. Think of how easy it is to wash dishes or clothing. Machines, at the heart of which are microprocessors programmable at the touch of a few buttons, carry out tasks our grandmothers took hours to perform. Like it or not, material comfort is […]

Read the rest of this post

Origins of the digital computer

Saturday, 19 September, 2009

I’m finished writing Consommation et technologie (Consumption and technology); the book will be published this fall before Montreal’s book fair. I now have a little more time for my blog’s column which I hope to resume presenting more regularly. In my last regular column, Sunday July 19, I’ve begun exploring the origins of the computer, […]

Read the rest of this post

Apollo 11 Moon Walk, a giant leap for Mankind

Monday, 20 July, 2009

This is not a regular column and thus doesn’t follow the one published yesterday. Its purpose is to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Mankind’s first footstep on the Moon and inspire all generations to follow in kind. I will always remember where I stood at 10H56 PM EDT on July 20 1969. Only 18 at […]

Read the rest of this post

Origins of the computer, the analog calculator

Sunday, 19 July, 2009

Absorbed by my next book, Consommation et technologie (Consumption and Technology), due out this fall (in French only for now), by my daily microblog on Twitter and by other publishing activities, amongst which an article titled « Le luxe de 1950 à 2020 : une nouvelle géoéconomie des acteurs » (Luxury from 1950 to 2020: a new geo-economics […]

Read the rest of this post

War technologies: the Royal Air Force

Sunday, 28 June, 2009

1940: The Blitzkrieg allows Hitler to conquer France in 6 weeks. In May, France capitulates and in June the British Expeditionary Force withdraws hastily at Dunkirk, abandoning most of its military equipment. England is alone, but luckily for her, has an ace up her sleeve: the Royal Air Force (RAF). In the 1930s, England worries […]

Read the rest of this post

War technologies: the Blitzkrieg

Sunday, 14 June, 2009

If at the end of the First World War, France has a powerful air force, such is not the case in September 1939; inconsistencies in government policies, misunderstanding of aviation’s strategic and tactical importance by the high command and insufficient production capacity of national aircraft manufacturers prevents France from rebuilding an air force capable of […]

Read the rest of this post

War technologies: introduction

Saturday, 6 June, 2009

Today, we celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Normandy landings (D-Day) which mark the beginning of the reconquest of Europe by the Allies. I believe it is only fitting, indeed essential, to have a thought for the thousands of women and men who have given their lives to repel the invader and to reconquer occupied […]

Read the rest of this post

Buyer beware!

Saturday, 30 May, 2009

What we have all noticed in supermarkets has been confirmed by Statistics Canada; for the period of 12 months ending in April, the price of food bought in stores has increased significantly. The average increase is 8.3%, but this statistic hides another reality; the price of some foods has increased much more. Such is the […]

Read the rest of this post

Why abandon the Pontiac brand?

Friday, 1 May, 2009

April 27 2009, GM announced that it will phase out the Pontiac brand as part of a restructuring effort to reduce costs. Is this decision wise? Consider this. Pontiac is a grand and old brand to which millions of people were and are still loyal. Introduced in 1906 by Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works, it […]

Read the rest of this post