Copywriter, technical writer, translator (FR>EN, ES>EN, IT>EN), journalist

TechnoZen

Fun in the sun: the BMW 228i Cabriolet

When carmakers build facilities on large plots of land, they like the roads that lead to their facilities to bear their company names. BMW goes one better. Their offices north of Toronto aren’t located on “BMW Avenue.” They’re on – wait for it – Ultimate Drive. That’s

Read more

Prevent unwanted software activity on your computer

All types of malware, from viruses to trojan horses to bots and so on, aren’t particularly mysterious. They’re merely pieces of software. They worry people since they do things to computers their owners don’t want done. Security-conscious computer users have already adopted good habits. They don’t click

Read more

Comfortable and droll: the Mazda CX-9

Approaching certain intersections back in August, the vehicle I was reviewing lowered the volume of my music (or “So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish,” a droll story in audiobook format by the late lamented Douglas Adams) and in its place emitted a series of beeps. Clearly

Read more

A thinking person's UV: the 2015 Honda CR-V

Compact sport utility vehicles were first driven off auto dealer lots in the late 1990s. The baby siblings of lumbering SUVs that were taking over North American roads, these CUVs, or crossovers, retained much of the utility of larger vehicles while enabling drivers to do things like

Read more

Creativity in user manuals

I worked as a technical writer full-time for years at a software development company, and I continue to do so on contract for various companies. Yet I kept on thinking manuals need to be one of the following: on paper PDF HTML Windows Help The following video reminds

Read more

Vibrantly attractive: the 2015 Hyundai Accent

Sunflower Yellow. This colour made me chuckle when I saw it on the 2015 5-door Hyundai Accent I picked up from Hyundai’s offices north of Toronto one fine summer morning. For the record, Hyundai credibly describes the colour as “vibrant.” Here’s my impression: I had just spent several weeks

Read more

Ditch your dead tree planner

I used to cart a 12″ by 9″ binder whenever I had to go to work appointments. I got that binder thanks to a Priority Management course a former boss sent me to. (I owe him a thank-you for that.) (The instructor, Andy Sherwood – “Sherwood like

Read more

Review: 2015 Toyota Prius v

After playing recreational hockey one morning, one of the other players noticed the car I was driving. He drives an upscale crossover, but he enthused that this was the vehicle he would have bought if his family supported the choice. What was I driving? The “big Prius,” Toyota’s Prius

Read more

Inbox Zero tip: prevent spam

When junk mail arrives in your mailbox, do you keep it? If you’re like most people, probably not. Into the recycling bin it goes, moments after you recognize it. For some reason I haven’t yet figured out, many people aren’t as ruthlessly efficient when they receive electronic junk

Read more

Review: 2015 Honda Fit

Honda recently indulged my desire to try one of the snazziest four-door hatchbacks on the market today: the 2015 Honda Fit. The name so precisely matches Honda’s vision for this vehicle that I may stumble and write puns unwittingly throughout this review. I apologize for that in advance.

Read more