Thanks so much –

Lauren Thompson

People like this will say anything to make a sale.

Note here that putting your name and email on a brief is a bad idea. I no longer work for this project, the website no longer exists, yet it’s still up on the web.

1. Using Microfinance to Improve the Quality of Reproductive Health Services
2. Private Sector Family Planning Service Access & Contraceptive Use

Any ideas?

- I am retired, living exclusively off my investment portfolio
- I have traveled extensively throughout the States my entire adult life as I am married to a US citizen.
- For the last 8 years I have vacationed in central AZ for periods of the winter, living in my motorhome. (Snowbirds do that sort of thing).
- I spend a load of money having a wonderful time there every year.
- I cross the border every year at the same Point-of-Entry.
- Every year, it’s all about “working”. What do I do? How do I live? Why do I have so much fancy (read expensive) photography and sporting equipment.
- Oh, you have a website? With a few of your photo’s posted? And people “can” buy them if they want? No sir, it doesn’t matter you offer the original data-file for free, if you’re selling any pictures on-line taken “anywhere in the US, you’re working illegally!”
- Oh, and you admit that sometimes before you can step up to the window with money, a friend beats you to it and pays for your sporting day? Well then, you are being “compensated” for your time, effort, skill, and you’ve been “working illegally” in the US.
- Oh, you’ve been doing this for… 8 years you say?
- Well then sir, you just won the prize behind Door Number 3: Expedited Removal, complete with a 5-year ban from re-entry. Let us escort you back to Canadian Customs (20 yards away), and by the way, do you mind if I keep one of those beautiful 8×10 prints in your motorhome?

A lovely way to spend 11.5 hours of my day on Thanksgiving 2009.

And there does not seem to be a mechanism in place to appeal this nonsense.

“I think a lot of coworkers work(ed) and to a certain degree live(d) in those clouds, participating in a variety of networks, groups, collaborations, etc. online. Yes meeting in person but largely in more fragmented and temporary ways. That storm of activities and connexions was always somewhat immaterial. I think you can see coworking spaces as the place where the eyes of those storms hit the ground. Coworking spaces to me mean the place where a lot of loose electronic connexions take a physical space, where a more classical kind of connexion and interaction can take place, in person. We still need that, the incredible growth of coworking shows that.”

Making connections here… I notice that Joe recently wrote about libraries as social spaces: “I understand libraries as incredibly valuable social spaces. I have witnessed generally welcoming spaces where people can read, get info and hang out, usually without being pestered to cough up dough.”

Made me think that as municipalities cut back on the number of libraries, some could be turned into a new kind of coworking space instead of closing them down completely.

(Even mentioned it here)