Robert Dickie – Spark Innovations

I admire US design powerhouse like IDEO. So I was excited to see Spark Innovations (founded by Robert Dickie in 1988) doing something cool and taking a different approach at King City (north of Toronto), Canada.

The following G&M article is where I first read of Robert’s Spark Innovations.

Also check out some patents by Robert from a Google search.

The business of brainstorms by Chris Nuttall-Smith (Globe and Mail)
Apr. 29, 2010

United States patent number 5,231,973, the single-hand-operated, camshaft-enabled disposable plastic speculum with built-in fluid reservoir, developed in the waning days of the 1980s, will never be remembered as one of the more vital innovations of the dawning digital age. Nor will the same inventor’s bottle for white glue with housing to attach glue stick, developed in 1993 (patent number 5,316,398). Likewise with 2001’s “rotatably disposed” drive mechanism for an oscillating head (6,536,066) or even last year’s behaviour-monitoring toothbrush (application 20090307859; patent pending) that proposes—in a belated nod, perhaps, to the advent of the iPad era—to dole out video game minutes to children who properly brush their teeth.

And yet as unsexy as the business may be, inventor Robert Dickie and his firm, Spark Innovations, are doing just fine. That speculum design sold for cash and royalties to a U.S. medical products company a few years ago. The glue-bottle-and-stick combination, designed for the owner of LePage’s Inc. to introduce high-margin glue sticks to reluctant North American consumers, became a retail hit and helped transform the school and children’s adhesives market. And while the video game toothbrush has yet to find a market, that rotatably disposed oscillating head helped make one of Spark’s spinoff ventures, called BrushPoint Innovations, the top supplier of house brand electric toothbrushes to Walgreens, Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws and Zellers. “From a cold start in 1995, we’re the fourth-biggest power toothbrush company in North America,” Dickie says. “And nobody knows our name.”

National Geographic Live Curious Documentary Awards 2010 – Ashes of Memory 《淡忘的煩惱》

Ashes of Memory 《淡忘的煩惱》has won best documentary and best director (羅乃智 & 劉梓翹) at National Geographic Channel’s 2010 Live Curious Documentary Awards. Congrats to all the students and teachers involved in the project.

Here is the 5 minutes doc in Cantonese with English and Chinese subtitles.

Following are some info about the film in Chinese.

Solution to iPhone 4 reception/antenna problem: Learn Apple approved way to hold your phone!

July 15 Updates: “It’s Time Apple Fixed the iPhone 4 Antenna Problem” Wired News
“Apple Engineer Said to Tell Jobs IPhone Antenna Might Cut Calls” Bloomberg

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July 3, 2010 Update: “Is Apple in Antenna Denial?“

“On Friday Apple released a letter admitting the iPhone 4 has problems, but insisted they are due to a signal-strength formula that is “totally wrong” and not caused by the antenna design. Since then the news has saturated tech blogs, Apple support sites and message boards — and it seems like most people aren’t buying Apple’s explanation.”

July 2, 2010 Update: “Tests Confirm iPhone 4’s Antenna Flaws“, Wired Gadget Lab,

Many customers are complaining that the iPhone 4’s antenna loses the signal when you hold it a certain way. They’re not delusional: Independent tests lend credence to the issue.

A study led by AnandTech saw a major drop in signal strength when the iPhone 4 was “cupped tightly,” covering a sensitive area in the lower left corner. The iPhone 4’s external band is actually two antennas — one for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS, and the other for voice and data — and according to Anandtech, touching the point in the lower left, where the two antennas meet, causes attenuation.

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Apple Steve Jobs has spoken and declared iPhone 4 reception/antenna problem as a “non-issue”. Reading following from Bloomberg “Apple Tells Users to Hold IPhone Differently to Fix Reception” is almost funny if it isn’t actually painfully stupid to see Apple’s problem. Why didn’t Toyota thought of telling their customers to drive their car or apply the brakes differently to “fix” their problems? Apple current respond reminded me of Intel’s Pentium floating point bug multiplied by a million times but Apple’s currently antenna design flaw can be experienced by any users anytime, any day, simply depending on how they hold their phones at that time.

Here is an excerpt from Bloomberg‘s “Apple Tells Users to Hold IPhone Differently to Fix Reception”,

“Apple Inc. responded to complaints about reception on its new iPhone by telling customers they should hold the device differently.

“Gripping any mobile phone will result in some attenuation of its antenna performance, with certain places being worse than others depending on the placement of the antennas,” Apple said today in an e-mailed statement. “If you ever experience this on your iPhone 4, avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.”“

From CBC News “Apple blames iPhone signal loss on users“.

I found this clear demonstration of the iPhone 4 reception problem from this insightful analysis of the iPhone 4 antenna problem by Spencer Webb: “Apple iPhone 4 Antennas …“. [note: I think Spencer's statement "I already know how to do the Vulcan Antenna Grip on the iPhone, and I am wearing out my current model."  goes into the engineer solution and let Apple off the hook too easy for the millions of non-technical customers that should not be bothered with the "Vulcan Antenna Grip"! :) Think of the Toyota example again.] By the way, I am curious if the gap is put at the top and bottom of the phone, will the chance of this problem happening be greatly reduced?

Also see PCWorld “Apple Responds to iPhone 4 Antenna Problem“.

PCWorld also did its own tests of iPhone 4 signal and took the new phone for a spin in San Francisco alongside an iPhone 3GS. PCWorld was able to replicate the signal problems when covering the bottom left edge of the phone, something that did not occur when the phone was laid flat on a table with the antenna untouched.

These days, Apple is thinking so highly of itself that it thinks it can simply “fix” its design flaw by telling its customers to change the way they hold their phone or pay additional money to buy a cover to coverup the cosmetically beautifully but engineered poorly iPhone 4. Sad.

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Jun 30, 2010 Update:

- This Cnet article contains a purported steps “AppleCare representatives are being instructed on how to coach users about the proper way to handle the latest-generation smartphone”

- From ABC News “Trouble Ahead for Apple’s iPhone 4? – Law Firm Investigates Complaints, Petition Pushes Apple for Free Cases“

Ricky Gervais wins Sir Peter Ustinov Award for Comedy @ 2010 Banff World TV Festival

To us Canadians, the world famous funny comedian Ricky Gervais is Ricky Dene Gervais (watch Ricky’s acceptance speech to find out why)! :)

The following is red carpet interviews with Ricky including my question to Ricky about the finale of Extras (highly recommended funny comedy).

The following is Ricky‘s speech and a brief clip after receiving his award.

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This is part of the amazing scene from Extras I love so much and a very insightful and enjoyable interview “Ricky Gervais in His Most ‘Postmodern’ Interview Ever“.

Here is a quote from Ricky, Apr 29, 2011 Update “Week one hundred and sixty-six – April/May 2011” – “That happened with Extras a bit. It wasn’t till the last episode that people realised it wasn’t really about all the famous people in it.“

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Check out some of the YouTube clips of RICKY GERVAIS on Inside The Actor’s Studio.

Here is one clip (unless they remove it),

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June 19, 2011 update: Just discovered Banff has an official YouTube video of “Ricky Gervais accepts the Sir Peter Ustinov Award” but since it doesn’t pan to show Ricky‘s or Jane’s reaction, I think, imho, my video gives a much better viewing experience.

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The following is Ricky’s Banff bio.

“At the turn of this century, Ricky was preparing to star and direct a pilot he had written with Stephen Merchant for the BBC, called ‘The Office’. It went quite well and a series was commissioned. It first aired at 9.30pm on Monday 9 July 2001 on the BBC. The rest as they say is history.

It is the most critically acclaimed sitcom of all time becoming the first British comedy to win a Golden Globe. In all, Ricky has won three Golden Globes, two Primetime Emmys, and seven BAFTAS.

‘The Office’ is the most successful British comedy of all time being shown in over 90 countries with seven remakes. The NBC version is the most successful US remake of a British show for over 30 years. It reached the magic 100 episodes in 2009 and has started its first phase of syndication.

Ricky won his first Emmy as Executive Producer on ‘The Office’ (US) in 2006. He won his second for ‘Extras’ in 2007. Only two British sitcoms have won Golden Globes – ‘The Office’ and ‘Extras’.

Over a 10-year period Ricky Gervais has become the most influential British comedian since Charlie Chaplin. He is an award-winning stand up and his tour ‘FAME’ became the fastest selling UK stand up show in history selling an untouchable 100,000 tickets in 9 minutes! He played to 500,000 people that year including his first US tour, which was recorded as an HBO special at Madison Square Gardens. The show received three Emmy nominations.

He was named in Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People In The World, one place behind Nelson Mandela. This annoyed Ricky who said of Mandela… “He didn’t do anything for 25 years”.

He is the only guest star of ‘The Simpsons’ to also write an episode. It became the highest rated Simpson’s episode of all time on Sky One in 2006. He also appeared on ‘Sesame Street’, which he says is the highlight of his career.

In 2005, Ricky turned his hand to podcasting and is now in The Guinness Book Of Records as the most downloaded internet show of all time. He was the first to charge for podcasts the following year and has now clocked up a staggering 180,000,000 shows downloaded. ‘The Ricky Gervais Show’ has been the number one selling audiobook in the world since 2006. In 2009 it was made into a 13 part animated series for HBO. It is currently being sold around the world and will air in The UK on Channel 4 in March 2010.

In 2004 his children’s book ‘Flanimals’ was published going on to sell over a million copies. It is currently being made into a Hollywood movie in which Ricky will star as the Puddloflaj- a fat sweaty wobbler – (The Puddloflaj that is).

The beginning of the next decade is looking good for the fat bloke from Reading too. He started the year as the first host of The Golden Globes since 1995, with an estimated world TV audience of 250 million. His new animation premiers in February. ‘Cemetery Junction’ is out in April and his new tour will spread to The US and other parts of the world.

For more info check out www.rickygervais.com“

Oscar winner & director of The Cove wins Banff Green Grand Prize

“The Cove” is a documentary I love and highly recommend. It was my pleasure to see Louie Psihoyos, Oscar Winner and director of The Cove won the Green Grand Prize at the 2010 Banff World TV Festival.

In Louie‘s acceptance speech, Louie talked about measuring a documentary’s success in terms of the people you changed. And a movie as a “Weapon of Mass Construction”, something that changes millions of people’s life. “We are not making movies, we are trying to start a movement.“

Here is the award winning trailer (yes, the trailer won award too) of the Oscar winning documentary.

The following is from the press release.

“GREEN GRAND PRIZE
Green Grand Prize: Louie Psihoyos, Oscar Winner and director of The Cove. The prize recognizes outstanding achievement in creating public awareness and understanding of environmental issues through the use of visual media. Psihoyos was selected as a result of nominations received from all around the world, honouring his tremendous impact on a global level. Dr. David Suzuki, president of the Banff Green Jury, presented the award to Mr. Psihoyos.”

Touched by Maureen Eykelenboom & Boomer’s Legacy

Oct 28, 2010 Update: “Boomer’s Legacy moves on but Afghans still need help“, Times Colonist

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I was deeply touched by Maureen Eykelenboom when she talked about how she found out her son Corporal Andrew James Eykelenboom “Boomer” was killed by a suicide bomber in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan on August 11, 2006 (CBC News). Maureen also talked about the foundation she created: Boomer’s Legacy (see also forces.gc.ca article), a foundation developed to directly aid the women and children of Afghanistan (100% of funds collected go to the cause).

The following is a video of Maureen speaking to the guests at Brett‘s garden party and many guests (including me) had tears in their eyes as they listen. Please visit Boomer’s Legacy and consider making a donation.

I was also touched by Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay‘s talk to Maureen on stage about her lost, the Boomer’s Legacy, and lead the guests for a moment of silence for Sgt. James Macneil (killed in Afghanistan in an IED explosion on Monday June 21st).

Peter mentioned that Brett had previously asked if he and his son Russell can go to Afghanistan and see how can they help, and last night, Peter announced that Brett and Russell will have a chance to go to Afghanistan.

I am excited to report $250,000 was raised in the Garden for Boomer’s Legacy last night. Again, you can help too. Please check out Boomer’s Legacy and see how you can make a donation or help.

P.S. Last night, when I got a chance, I went up to Maureen and told her that I am really sorry for her lost. And I told Peter that the moment of silence he lead was very powerful and the decisions to send sons and daughters of Canadians to war are never easy and I understand the government of Canada made those tough decisions (make those phone calls or meet the families) on behalf of all Canadians.

P.P.S. More info in this 2007 article, “Mother keeps ‘Boomer’s’ legacy alive“. Here is an excerpt,

“When Eykelenboom was establishing the foundation earlier this year, she wasn’t sure how best to distribute its funds in Afghanistan. Before he died, her son had written letters and e-mails home about the desperate needs of the Afghan children he encountered.

His mother wanted to make sure the money she raised was effectively spent, to reflect the care – not of Canada’s government — but of its ordinary soldiers.“

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June 28th 2011 update: I am not 100% sure, but I think the following are some footage from the 2010 Garden Party.

Internet Co-Inventor Vinton Cerf receives the Webby Lifetime Achievement award

Internet Co-Inventor Vinton Cerf receives the Webby Lifetime Achievement award presented by Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

Boomer’s Legacy in Calgary (tonight, June 22nd)

Calgary entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Dragons’ Den investor W. Brett Wilson features a charity each year at his garden party. At the 2010 garden party tonight (June 22nd), the featured charity is Boomer’s Legacy (see also forces.gc.ca article), a foundation developed to directly aid the women and children of Afghanistan.

You can find more information about Corporal Andrew James Eykelenboom “Boomer” who was killed by a suicide bomber in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan on August 11, 2006.

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June 23 Update: Brett’s Garden Party was fun.

At the same time, the party also had its very solemn moment. I’ve written more about what Maureen (mother of Andrew “Boomer”) told us at the party and what Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay said.

Orcon with Iggy Pop – Direct Grand Prix

“Direct Grand Prix Goes to New Zealand’s Orcon – Internet Company’s ‘Fantastic Product Demonstration’ Featured Potty-Mouthed Punk Icon Iggy Pop” AdAge

[...] WHAT IT IS: Orcon was an unknown broadband service in the country, so to boost awareness it set out to find eight New Zealanders to record a song with punk music icon Iggy Pop. The selected musicians were connected, using Orcon’s service, to a potty-mouthed, shirtless Iggy, who is based in Miami, and they redid a version of his song “The Passenger” virtually. [...]

WHY IT WON: The jury members called “Orcon & Iggy Pop” one of the best uses of celebrity they had ever seen. They also deemed it a “fantastic product demonstration” that showed the public the reliability and strength of the internet service in real time.

What I Learned from My Dad – Peter Buffett

On this Father’s Day, I thought this article is a good read. “What I Learned from My Dad – When his youngest son decided to become a musician, Buffett offered moral but not financial support” by Peter Buffett. Here is an excerpt [emphasis added],

“When I turned 19, I received my inheritance—proceeds from the sale of a farm, which my father converted into Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) stock. At the time I received them, the shares were worth roughly $90,000. It was understood that I should expect nothing more.

So—what to do with the money? I was a student at Stanford University; there were no strings attached. Fortunately, I’d had the advantage of seeing my older siblings burn through most of their cash; I didn’t want to follow down that path. At the other extreme, I might have done absolutely nothing with that stock—just left it in an account and forgotten about it. If I’d picked that option, my shares would now be worth around $72 million. But I didn’t make that choice, and I don’t regret it for a second. People think I’m either lying or crazy when I say this, but it happens to be true, because I used my nest egg to buy something more valuable than money: I used it to buy time.“

Royal Love – Swedish Crown Princess Victoria & Prince Daniel

This is an absolutely loving speech of Love between Swedish Crown Princess Victoria & Prince Daniel on their beautiful day. May the couple love each other for the rest of their lives as much as they do today!

Check out more photos here & here and I want to comment on three things.

1. The Speech

2. Altargate

3. Restrictions imposed by Swedish state broadcaster SVT (Sveriges Television)

1. The Speech

I love the speech and it is very touching. Like people in Sweden (as reported by stockholmnews.com) I was moved to tears. :) The story of thirty letters was so loving. The crown princess was so caring and loving to write the letters. And it took someone like Prince Daniel to appreciate the gesture and to re-tell the story.

2. Altargate

Have a read of “Royal altar walk stirs controversy“. My view is this controversy is not completely baseless but at the end of the day, the wedding day is Victoria and Daniel’s day, it is up to them to do what they feel like most. The fact that the Act of Succession is gender-neutral in Sweden is a lot more significant than whether her father walked with her or Victoria and Daniel walked into the church together.

3. Restrictions imposed by Swedish state broadcaster SVT (Sveriges Television)

Have a read of VOA’s “News Organizations Refuse to Cover Sweden’s Royal Wedding“. I wish Associated Press (AP), the French News Agency (AFP) and Reuters had covered the wedding but I also understand their frustration completely. I think the Swedish state broadcaster SVT has done its country a disservice and had made an unacceptable mistake of historical proportion. I hope there will be some internal serious rethinking of their policies. Here is an excerpt from the VOA article,

The Associated Press (AP), the French News Agency (AFP) and Reuters declined to cover the lavish ceremony in Stockholm because of restrictions imposed by Swedish state broadcaster SVT (Sveriges Television).

In a joint statement, the news organizations said a royal wedding is an event of historical importance and should not fall under restrictions normally applied to sports and entertainment events. [K: I totally agree]

The news organizations said SVT had barred them from immediately sending video of the wedding and had imposed a 48-hour limit on its redistribution.

[HT Eva & Michelle for the video]

NextMedia & Banff World TV Festival 2010 – Day 1 & 2

The 2010 NextMedia & Banff World TV Festival (combined into one event this year) is turning out to one of my most favourite Banffs possibly because I made a few changes this year. In each of my previous Banffs (starting with my first one in 2006, attending as a CTV Fellow), I tried to pack and do as much as I can every minute which exhausted me completely.

So I decided for my coverage this year, I am no longer going to kill myself to try to write & post as much as I can during the festival (I tweeted a little but not that much). What I decided to do instead is to attend as many interesting sessions as possible, meet and interview some cool & insightful people and share these experiences with you in articles and video clips or video interviews later.

So stay tune for my upcoming blog entries (tagged with bwtvf2010).

The following is not an exhaustive list but only a few that came to my mind,

- the CRTC Chairman Konrad Von Finckenstein speech and an introduction by WIND Mobile Chairman Tony Lacavera (see my previous phone interview with Tony after the gov of Canada overturned the CRTC decision in Dec, 2009). [Tony wasn't able to do a face to face interview at Banff because he had a plane to catch but he has agreed to another phone interview.]

- an interview with Tom Rogers, CEO of TiVo

- an interview with Dick De Rijk, Creator of the worldwide popular game show Deal or No Deal

- an interview with comedian Ricky Gervais (this entry may take longer as I want to include materials and quote from an hour long sit-down interview that Ricky did with an interviewer at one of the session)

- the story of how the Dragons’ Den show format finally manage to break out of Japan and become an international success starting with UK BBC.

- Well, it is getting late and 11:07pm already. I better stop now and get some rest for tomorrow’s reporting (I am hopping to be able to leave before 6pm, will see).

Incidentally, a few reporting colleagues covering Banff have asked me, what do I plan to cover in Banff? Well, I guess for each Banff, there are usually a few people/topics I want to write about, but the rest I just cover topics that are interesting and insightful to me and I hope you (my readers) will find them interesting too.

Here are some photos I’ve taken at Banff2010, enjoy.

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2010 Banff World TV Festival articles by reporting colleagues from other media outlet:

- Canadian TV ‘crap’: Alberta culture minister [Lindsay Blackett] (CBC, with audio)

- Comments on Canadian TV get Alberta minister in trouble – ‘Why do we make such shit here?’ Blackett asked Banff festival (Edmonton Journal)

Finding K’naan & Wavin’ Flag (2010 FIFA World Cup anthem)

[repost for 2010 World Cup Day 2] It is cool to have Canadian K’naan (his name means traveler) singing the 2010 FIFA World Cup anthem Wavin’ Flag.

You can get to know more about K’naan in this 14-minute CBC news video report the story of K’naan – Wavin’ Flag for the World Cup. I like to add this serious note that K’naan, in his youth after leaving Somalia and living in Toronto, has 8 of his friends died (5 were murdered and 3 were suicides).

Here is a live performance of ‘Wavin’ Flag’ by K’naan (Official World Cup Theme Song) on QTV.

K’naan interview on QTV.

2010 World Cup in HDTV vs 3DTV

Here is a cute excerpt from WIRED “ESPN Launches 3D Channel for World Cup But Few Can Watch“,

ESPN launched its 3D cable and satellite channel on Friday to show 25 matches from the World Cup soccer tournament for the first time ever. Perfect: broadcasting a sport Americans don’t care about to a device none of us have.

That’s an exaggeration, of course, because The World Cup is a big deal even here, and 6.2 million 3D-enabled television sets are predicted to sell this year worldwide according to a Displaybank report. iSupply says four percent of Americans purchasing new televisions reported choosing the 3D option, so somebody apparently has these things.

HDTV vs SDTV is an easy decision once the HDTV sets are cheap enough and there are lots of good programming available because HD enhance the viewing experiences and let you see more details. For 3D, I’ve been thinking about it since attending the 2010 NAB in April and I am not convinced yet of the advantage of 3D in sports (golf, hockey, or soccer).

I can’t quite articulate and define what I feel yet. But I think the current “3D” from 3DTV images are unlike what our eyes perceive. Paradoxically, I think the 3D TV cameras of live events can distract us by forcing us to focus on something and then decide for us what is in the foreground or background (in reference to the focal plane). The problem is we may not want to focus on those things the focus puller decides as “important”.

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P.S. After watching the first four 2010 World Cup games, I enjoyed the South Korea vs Greece game the most and paid most attention to it while I work. :)

Actor Tim Robbins’, of The Shawshank Redemption, 2009 Sing Sing commencement speech

An excerpt from Tim Robbins‘, of The Shawshank Redemption (one of my most favourite movies), insightful 2009 Sing Sing commencement speech,

At the heart of Shawshank is the idea of hope. That despite the cards you have been dealt, whether you are innocent or guilty, whether you wound up in this prison by just or unjust means, that every one is equal within these walls and that everyone possesses the same potential of spirit. That all within these walls have lives to live, choices to make, love to give and love to receive. That beyond the transgressions and oppression of the incarcerated life there is always the possibility of liberation, of freedom. And that freedom doesn’t come from prison breaks or drugs, or idle fantasy, but from the transformative power of the mind, the transformative power of the written word. No one knows that more than you.

[HT Doris Buffett's "Giving It All Away" and Alice Schroeder]

Wavin’ Flag, 2010 FIFA World Cup

From TorStar, “A World Cup moment“.

Two previous blog entries,

- How K’naan’s ‘Wavin’ Flag’ became anthem for the world

- Wavin’ Flag, 2010 FIFA World Cup anthem, sang by Canadian K’naan

If I had a billion dollars – I’d build you a lake

Security expert Bruce Schneier had commented in his post “Canada Spending $1B on Security for G8/G20 Summit in June” and rightful said “These numbers are crazy. There simply isn’t any justification for this kind of spending. [...] Think of all the actual security you can buy for that money.”

Selecting a high risk area to host the G20 meeting and then spending a billion dollar to provide “security” is just crazy and irresponsible. One way to expose a clueless and inept government is to laugh at them.

[Thanks Jennifer Smith and Lesley Stankaitis for a neat song via TorStar "Fake Lake prompts YouTube parody ‘If I Had a Billion Dollars’ - Song pokes fun at fake lake; muskoka chairs and gazebo"]

Mao’s Last Dancer in theaters August 20th, 2010

I love and enjoy Mao’s Last Dancer in an advanced screening which I previously blogged about it here in May. Check out the movie’s HD trailer on Apple, advertising its theatrical release on August 20th, 2010.

Bella

Bella (2006) is a very enjoyable film, highly recommended. Here is a brief plot summary from imdb,

“Sooner or later every one of us will face an irreversible moment that will change our lives forever. If it hasn’t happened to you yet…it will. BELLA is a true love story about how one day in New York City changed three people forever.“

Spoiler Warning: The plot section of Bella in Wikipedia has too much detail that I don’t recommend reading. I didn’t know much about the film and ended up loving it, very well made.

Clever raccoon defeats green organic recycling bins

You have to check out the accompanying video for “Ottawa’s Green Bins prove no match for clever raccoon“. The naughty/clever raccoon is just so cute!

Here is an excerpt,

“I first thought that the raccoons were opening the locking lid by forcefully knocking the bin over. But a few tests show that doesn’t happen. The lock stays shut no matter how hard the bin slams to the ground.

So, were they somehow manipulating the orange handle lock with their tiny raccoon paws, I wondered.

To find out, I set up a video camera with infrared mode to see in the dark and began recording. I put the green bin on its side to ensure the camera would capture all the ‘coon action.

Within 15 minutes, a raccoon shows up to jack the bin.“