ScaleBright Solutions

Most people would define “maintenance” as “fixing stuff that’s broken”. If you told them that that’s “repair” and that maintenance is different, they’d reply that you should get your head out of the dictionary and stop being so pedantic. After all, the difference is semantic at best and nobody cares! My argument is that you should care, and that the difference will save your household, your busine...

This week is a short story about an off-grid homesteader in the near future. The various technical and other odd bits I used are all either real things or will be very soon.

Artificial intelligence is upon us and not showing any signs of slowing. The most common concern from those in the workforce is being replaced by one of these “thinking machines”. But what if AI wasn’t coming for your job? What if it was coming for your boss’s job instead?

Welcome to part 4, the final entry in the What is Money series. We’re capping it off with “crypto” and CBDCs.

Millennials remember the era of Buzzfeed quizzes with fondness, and some may even describe it as identity or culture shaping. People have always loved these miniature personality tests, and while Buzzfeed may no longer be in its heyday, the popularity of these dinner-table icebreakers has transcended generational gaps. To the analytically-brained among us this sounds like a datapoint that could be...

Welcome to part 3 of the “What is Money?” series! So far we’ve covered the base concepts of money and money as a system in part 1, and the Canadian Dollar in part 2. Today we’re going to talk about a relatively new system of money, Bitcoin!

If you haven’t had the experience of waking up in the morning and fearing going to work, you’ve probably heard at least one story of someone who has. Someone who was afraid of their boss, a coworker, an impending audit, or layoffs. These stories are centered around fear, but what about fear’s older, more mature cousin, respect? How are they related, and what are their roles in the workplace?

In part 1 of this series ([Part 1 - What is Money? ]( https://scalebright.ca/blog/2025-01-20-what-is-money-series-part-1-what-is-money)) we overviewed the history of money and as a global concept. Now that we have a base understanding of what money is we can get into detail about the Canadian Dollar. Why the Canadian Dollar specifically? One of the inspirations for this series was realizing how mu...

Minimum wage has been a hot topic as far back as I can remember. If you’re an employer it can feel like government needlessly meddling in the free market, while for employees it feels like its never high enough to make a difference. This is especially true where oversaturated labour markets are combined with high costs of living (HCOL) (which is pretty much everywhere at this point). Workers may n...

“What is money?” sounds like a bit of a silly question. You’d probably hold up some cash or maybe flash your debit card. But I challenge you with this: imagine a 5-year-old asking you this question. How would you answer? If you showed them a $20 bill, they might respond with, “I know that’s a money, *but what is it?*” If you manage to explain that the bill is worth $20, they’re next question is go...

We’ve all been in meetings that seem to be stuck in an unending loop of “discussions” going nowhere while simultaneously ratcheting up everyone’s emotions as the minutes past dinner continue to climb. You stand to leave as you reach your limit and declare, “It’s past my bedtime”. If only there was a way to make meetings more efficient!

“Technology never changes” sounds insane, doesn’t it? Of course it changes! Far too fast! New models of smartphones, laptops, refrigerators, cars, and toasters every year! And that’s just hardware; software and the internet move even faster. Every time you open your social media app of choice you’re greeted with a new *thing* to figure out. But under the hood of version 999 of all these newfangled...

Look at any white-collar office job posting from the last few decades and you’re likely to see something like “basic computers skills” listed as a requirement. “Great,” you think to yourself, “I can use technology, after all, I managed to find this job posting!” And if you’re on the hiring end for a position that’ll be spending six to eight hours in front of screen, you’d certainly hope applicants...

“Can you help make our website good?” is one of the most loaded questions I get. There are many aspects to this question’s galactic gravitas, and their root is another question: what makes a website good?

I’ve been on the internet since the mid 90s. Once I started “cyber-schooling” a few years later my time spent in front of a screen skyrocketed. One of the time vortices both for and outside of school was finding things on the internet. Everything from encyclopedia-style information pieces to news articles to music to games; the hunt was relentless.

“Sam did it!” You can hear the edge in the child’s voice as they attempt to shift blame for whatever minor misdeed they may-or-may-not have masterminded. In the court of humanity our feelings take wide precedence over objective justice. Even if there’s no fallout or formal punishment for that thing we did wrong, we really don’t like taking the blame.

The Americans just had a big election, and Canada’s next has been effectively underway for a while now. Automated moderation systems are being increasingly relied upon by large social media networks and are running amok with bans (I may be biased on this one, see [“The Technology Deleted Me”]( https://scalebright.ca/blog/2024-10-07-the-technology-deleted-me)). Opinions are everywhere, and many soc...

The internet has had tutorials for job applications for a while; I remember searching for and reviewing them as part of “Career and Life Management (CALM)” in grade school. But it still never hurts to go back to the basics!

What is “the cloud”? And more importantly, who cares? The term has been in use for years and is long past the point of being a buzzword, but it might become relevant again as we enter the next phase of the cycle.

Last week our household acquired a dog. I’ve had and trained dogs before; four in total over the course of about 20 years. But it’s been about 6 years without one, and this one is an inside dog, which is completely new to me. Old habits die hard though and I’m finding nuggets of skills and knowledge slowly returning.

Two weeks ago I posted “Delete the Technology” talking about the idea of removing entire technological elements from your life, such as smartphones or social medias, as a way to simplify. Little did I know one of those elements in my life would soon be deleting me…

There aren’t many things in the technology realm that evoke the same level of disgust as having to deal with passwords. For I.T. staff printers are a close second, but for everyone else, passwords are something most would gladly vote off the island. Unfortunately they play a key role (pun fully intended) in verifying your access to your accounts, the same way a physical key verifies your access to...

Does your life feel overly complicated? Do most things feel like 10 steps when they used to be 3? Does simply maintaining your existence feel like a hamster wheel with hopscotch squares on the inside? Do you find yourself yearning for “simpler times”? While there are many things in a complex society outside our control, personal technology choices are still within our purview. Maybe it’s time to c...

Apple held one of their regular events last week and announced the iPhone 16. The inevitable repeating questions ensued. Should you upgrade your phone? Is it time? Is it worth it? What about Android users? Should I switch to an iPhone? Should I switch to an Android? If you’re looking for a short answer: no. If you have an attention span longer than that of a ferret, there is some nuance to be had.

Have you heard the phrase “death by committee”? The idea being put forward by the phrase is that a project or task is doomed to fail if given to a hierarchically-flat group instead of an individual (see also “death by a thousand cuts”). While an individual decision-maker will almost always be more efficient, most organizations that are not for-profit (and even many that are, such as publicly trade...