From an article on engaged philanthropy: “with engagement comes ownership, with ownership comes commitment”.

But, really, fill in the blank with anything and it still holds up.

Last night I had a fantastic meal with Howard and Ellen Lindzon in Toronto at a wonderful Italian restaurant on Eglington. The internet is such a wonderful tool for making and strengthening connections and friendships – I’ve met them only once before at dinner about a year ago and have only exchanged emails and blog comments with Howard over the past year.

And yet.

It was a free rolling conversation, one that friends would have. Covering everything from the Phoenix Suns to the Wallstrip deal to future investments… it was a great evening. To make things even better they wouldn’t let me pay for dinner (I’m thinking of making a sign on cardboard that reads “will work for food!”).

Howard’s an incredibly bright guy who is tapped into the web scene – as an entrepreneur and an investor he’s had an amazingly successful 12 months. It will be interesting to see what the next 12 have in store for him.

It also made me smile to see how engaged Ellen is in everything (“behind every great man…”).

Thanks again for dinner you two, hopefully the venture that received my blessing this time will do as well as the last one (fyi, this year it was Adaptive Blue).

Last Tuesday at Philthy McNasty’s off of Brant the diverse innovation occurring within the Golden Horseshoe region was celebrated. The turn-out was once again stellar and the buzz at the end of the evening when the discussions took place was infectious. I heard back from all 16 presenters, I think, saying that they received some form of valuable guidance or made a positive and helpful connection.

I walked away from the evening once again proud of all that’s occurring in our region. From innovations in hearing aid technology to modular support accessories for wheelchairs and a few web based technologies… the start-up community in Hamilton and the Halton region is healthy, which was so great to see.

Thanks to everyone who helped make the night a success as well as all of the attendees who came to help support the ideas, but especially the presenters who passionately shared their thoughts.

I used to dislike buzz words, believing that they were tools used to support weak/sparse arguements.

While reading the Globe this weekend I came across an article on the London 2012 Olympic logo.

Agreeing with the author’s take on the logo (eww) I found myself taking issue with his assault on a buzz word used by all parties involved, “brand”, simply because he identified it as a buzz word.

I have something to admit: I like buzz words. In fact, I not only like them, I fully support them and believe them to have an important place.

The more I dig into how to best disseminate ideas the more I realize the importance of wielding certain tools, at certain times, to certain audiences.

In a discipline where brevity generally always counts, the use of buzz words can prove a powerful tool. When everyone present shares a common understanding of all that the buzz word encapsulates, you can slash the level of effort needed to communicate elements of the idea.

That’s a wonderful thing.

Of course, like any tool, when misused, the results can be absolutely brutal. I’m increasingly content walking the line as I feel the return justifies the risk. Disagree? Let me know…

Kent, the hardest working man in the blogosphere, is running an experiment to help rebuild his reading list.

I was included in the experiment thanks to a recommendation from Earl.

Kent, you’re being a bit too kind when you say that I’ve been blogging “intermittently” lately. I did appreciate the subtle nudge though. Between work and closing on a home / moving (yep, one down, one to go)… I’ve been busy. I’m not going anywhere though

Earl – how did you come across Disruptive Thoughts? And what made you stay? I’m always curious about this with people who read the site.

Kent, here are my recommendations:

Eric Olson: Eric’s a great guy with a sharp mind. His interests overlap with a lot of mine and when he’s not working for FeedBurner he’s getting trounced in our fantasy baseball league.

Josh Kopelman: Josh is an active early-stage investor who shares thought provoking insights. I’m surprised he only has 4,000 subscribers.

Jing Chen: Jing just comleted a cool degree and shares a passion for start-up companies.

Howard Lindzon: Howard’s a scrappy entrepreneur and sharp investor who recently sold his start-up, Wallstrip, to CBS, which will allow him to cover dinner (and dessert) next time he’s in T.O.

David Cohen: David, from Boulder, CO, is “a serial entrepreneur, investor, and technologist.” He’s part of the team behind the buzzworthy Techstars.