Ryan Porter
- Content Designer, CIBC
Toronto
Editor / Freelance @torontostar @quillandquire / Year of the Horse: “Cheerful, popular and independent.” - Chinese restaurant placemat
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Articles by Ryan Porter
The OpenAI Decisions API Needs a Confidence You Can Trust
Say you send an agent's next step to a decision model, and you only let it act on its own when it's at least 99% sure. Everything else goes to a person. That rule is only as good as the 99%. We gave GPT-6 Luna, the model behind OpenAI's new Decisions API, 3,600 reasoning problems and asked for exactly that kind of answer. When Luna said it was 99% sure or more, it was right 68% of the time. OpenAI announced the Decisions API at DevDay on September 29, in limited preview.
Lender Options for a nice BRRR
Followed Discussions Followed Categories Followed People Followed Locations Private Lending & Conventional Mortgage Advice Market News & Data General Info Real Estate Strategies Landlording & Rental Properties Real Estate Professionals Financial, Tax, & Legal Real Estate Classifieds Reviews & Feedback Updated 10 minutes ago on 06/21/2025.
What Does It Mean to Be the First Woman in the C-Suite?
On International Women’s Day, professional services firm Grant Thornton released its 20th annual report on the state of women in senior-ranking positions at mid-market companies around the world. It surveyed 5,000 executives at companies with valuations between US$100 million and US$4 billion. Findings revealed that progress in the promoting of women to leadership roles over the past two decades has been slow at best—and when it comes to the C-suite, frankly, pretty dire.
Can you be Christian and queer? Sharon Lewis asks the question again in ‘With Wonder: Untold Stories’ Original
When director Sharon Lewis would meet queer Christians, she would ask, “How do you do it?” Church was an important part of her community growing up in a Caribbean family, but that changed when she came out in her 20s. “I still enjoy the community of church, I still enjoy the essential principles of Christianity, but I personally did not find a way to integrate that into my life and be queer at the same time,” she said over the phone from New York, where she had just directed a scene with Mary J.
Framingham SafetyNet Tracking Systems Technology Helpin to Find Lost Patients - NECN
A program is using tracking technology to locate people who are prone to getting lost in Framingham, Massachusetts -- home to one of the state's largest... “It is the best piece of equipment I’ve seen in my 27 years of law-enforcement,” officer Keith Strange said." It's the best piece of equipment I've seen in my 27 years of law-enforcement.Ryan Porter said."A traditional search might take 60 to 90 minutes to find somebody -- if they’re ever found at all," Porter said.
What to do with your money in your 20s, 30s and 40s, according to a financial adviser.
This investment portfolio for most Australians, will usually be made up of shares, property and superannuation investments. The income amount you need to cover your living expenses each year will determine the size of the investment portfolio you need to achieve this goal e.g. the higher the income amount the bigger the investment portfolio you will need. 3. Setting the kids up financially.
Sitting with a stranger and learning to drive can already be stressful, but for some in the LGBTQ community it can come with added anxiety
When Danielle St. James was learning to drive as a teenager, she failed her written test by one point. “I’m a very impatient person and I figured, I’m not doing this again,” she said from her home in London, England. “And I moved to Ibiza and partied for two years.” Now, as a 30-year-old Instagram influencer and owner of the trans underwear label Zoah, St. James was ready to try again, but wanted to support someone from the LGBTQ community.
Sitting with a stranger and learning to drive can already be stressful, but for some in the LGBTQ community it can come with added anxiety
When Danielle St. James was learning to drive as a teenager, she failed her written test by one point. “I’m a very impatient person and I figured, I’m not doing this again,” she said from her home in London, England. “And I moved to Ibiza and partied for two years.” Now, as a 30-year-old Instagram influencer and owner of the trans underwear label Zoah, St. James was ready to try again, but wanted to support someone from the LGBTQ community.
Keeping their grip: the origin of driving gloves
Gaspar Gloves’ Dorothy Gaspar designed the bareknuckle brown leather glove worn by Ryan Gosling’s stunt driver in the 2011 crime drama "Drive." Most of us don’t really need them, but their enduring presence proves we want them just the same. By Ryan Porter Special to the Star Sat., Feb. 19, 2022timer3 min. read Driving gloves may signal style and sophistication today, but the origin story of this sporty accessory is hardly a glamorous one.
What My Startup Taught Me About the Future of Content Creation
Before I answer this question, I need you to close your eyes and envision your perception of a startup. Is it a group of college kids tinkering at new software in their dorm room, or is it a 40-year old who's tired of her 9–5 and decides to take her savings to invest in herself and pursue her dream of becoming an entrepreneur? I couldn’t find a reliable statistic to tell you how many startups there are, but I did find that there are 31.7 million small businesses in the United States.
How an opera director and a musician mustered their artistic sensibilities to plan a wedding to remember
Opera director Alison Wong and bassist Alex St. Kitts designed an artistic Toronto wedding By Ryan PorterSpecial to the Star Sun., Jan. 16, 2022timer4 min. read Alison Wong and Alex St. Kitts, both 34, may have met at a raucous party at the Drake Hotel—and St. Kitts may have crashed her 23rd birthday party a few weeks later—but their romance really began during conversation-filled strolls through St. Lawrence Market and the Harbourfront.
Half of All Businesses Failed in 2021
Photo by Surface on Unsplash The pandemic hit my startup like a ton of bricks. We were one of 200,000 businesses taken out by the world health crisis. Some survived the initial shockwave of pandamonia, but many of them crawled the end of their road in 2021. “The percentage of businesses that fail increases to 31.2 percent in the second year and 38.8 percent in the third year.
I’m Quitting Freelancing for Financial Security
Building a smart portfolio is a bet against time Photo by TANYA LAYKO on Unsplash The jig is up. I’m working full-time again after freelancing for most of 2021. Some of you know me as a writer who writes about freelancing (what a mouthful), but alas, I’m switching things up. “Job security” has a nasty reputation on the internet. It assumes a lack of freedom. Let’s get over it. When you have money, you have freedom. Money gives you ample choices.
4 Crucial Lessons That’ll Make Me 6-Figures in 2022
Photo by Cash Macanaya on Unsplash If I were to sum up 2021 in one word, I’d say the year was all about investing. I don’t just mean in the stock market, either. I’m talking about personal growth, baby. The type of growth you look back on and think, “wow, that’s the person I used to be?” I spent 2021 planting seeds for later growth, even though, overall, it wasn’t a great year. I mean, Betty White just passed away, and the world health crisis lives on in our minds.
Being a “Creator” Will Be an Essential Job Quality in the Future
Medium is an open platform where 170 million readers come to find insightful and dynamic thinking. Here, expert and undiscovered voices alike dive into the heart of any topic and bring new ideas to the surface. Learn more Follow the writers, publications, and topics that matter to you, and you’ll see them on your homepage and in your inbox. Explore If you have a story to tell, knowledge to share, or a perspective to offer — welcome home. It’s easy and free to post your thinking on any topic.
What is a Social Media Stack?
Photo by Surface on Unsplash Twitter is genius. I dumped my old Twitter account to make a new one specifically for learning. I log in once a day, and it’s enough to make me feel 0.01% smarter than I was before. Twitter is all about the people you follow. I carefully follow marketers and creators who are all more intelligent than I am in many respects. There aren’t any memes (unless relevant to marketing), but “social stacks” get mentioned a ton on there.
LinkedIn Reveals Gen Z Is Its Fastest-Growing Audience
Photo by Dylan Posso on Unsplash Gen Z will lead the workforce sooner than you know. About 10% of all LinkedIn users belong in the Gen Z category. They may not make up the majority, but their numbers are growing fast. Currently, there are 78 million global Gen Z’ers on LinkedIn. The Gen Z age range includes the ages 9–24, and they are more focused on their careers than other generations.
3 Mental Resets That Will Save You From Giving Up Big Dreams
Another take on side hustling your life away Photo by Aziz Acharki on Unsplash Letting go is living on Easy Street. We’re all a paperboy trying to meet a quota. We ride our little bicycle through our neighborhood, throwing the daily newspapers at our neighbor’s doorsteps. We’re pretty good at riding bikes, but concentrating on the road ahead and tossing the newspaper in on the porch are two separate things. Easy Street doesn’t have many obstacles, but it doesn’t pay the most either.
7 Thought Processes That Are Killing Your Potential as a Writer
Photo by Jacob Owens on Unsplash Most writers are quitters. Quitters aren’t writers at all, if you think about it, since they give up before finding real traction. It’s inevitable to feel like a complete and utter failure. What differentiates writers is their ability to keep pumping out content even though it doesn’t always feel right. Here are seven things they say to themselves, as well as seven ways to turn the table on their negative feelings. Ah yes, the timeless classic.
I’ve Been a Knowable Creator for Months - Here’s What I’ve Learned
Photo by Malte Helmhold on Unsplash Finally, Knowable announced its new partnership. I can metaphorically shout into the metaverse (not the Facebook one) and tell you, I’ve been on Knowable for months. Not only have I been listening to the latest lessons on my morning walks, but I’m something of a creator on the platform myself. Knowable has an exciting value proposition for writers that I didn’t expect, and I believe the recent acquisition marks a turning point for creatives.
3 Reasons You Won't Be Successful on Social Media
Photo by Stormseeker on Unsplash You'll find three types of people on any social media platform. First, there are the influencer types. They run the gambit, but the grass isn't always greener. They post because their livelihoods depend on it. The second is the casual type. They post when they feel like it and get a couple of comments on their photos. They won’t admit to caring about vanity metrics, but they secretly want to be an influencer without doing any of the actual influencing.
‘Call Me Mother’ part of a wave of reality shows with ‘RuPaul’ alumni being produced by OutTV Original
By Ryan PorterSpecial to the Star Mon., Oct. 25, 2021timer3 min. read Family comes first on the new drag competition series “Call Me Mother.” The OutTV original pits three drag teams against each other in a cavalcade of challenges to crown the “First Child of Drag” with $50,000 worth of prizes.
‘Call Me Mother’ part of a wave of reality shows with ‘RuPaul’ alumni being produced by OutTV
By Ryan PorterSpecial to the Star Mon., Oct. 25, 2021timer3 min. read updateArticle was updated 4 hrs ago Family comes first on the new drag competition series “Call Me Mother.” The OutTV original pits three drag teams against each other in a cavalcade of challenges to crown the “First Child of Drag” with $50,000 worth of prizes.
Why it took college friends Kim Jose and Ian Surage more than a decade to walk down the aisle
A downtown wedding suited Kim Jose and Ian Surage, who got married more than a decade after meeting at university By Ryan PorterSpecial to the Star Sun., Oct. 24, 2021timer4 min. read The first time Kim Jose crossed his path in university, Ian Surage was focused on his ping-pong game. When Jose grabbed a paddle to take on their mutual friend, Surage bristled. “I was a little bit annoyed,” he recalls. “I didn’t really know who she was, stepping into our game.
5 Things I’ve Given Up Since Becoming a Full-Time Freelancer
I’d give up consistency for freedom every time Photo by Elia Pellegrini on Unsplash Everyone's dream is freedom from a job until the bills arrive. You could make passive income, but even the best ones take effort and time to set up. No matter what, you have to work to get what you want. Freelancing is no exception. If anything, you have to work even harder to cover your butt than at a “normal” 9–5.
How You Can Make More Money by Seeking Long-Term Clients
Photo by Cash Macanaya on Unsplash Sites like Upwork are overrated. I said it so you don’t have to. I even have an Upwork profile, but I've never used it because the fees make me feel queasy. If you make $500 with a client, Upwork takes 20% of it. In other words, they get $100 for your hard work. Don’t forget you have to pay taxes too. You could spend ten hours working for $25 an hour, and you’ll only make $20 an hour before taxes. That doesn’t seem like a fair deal to me.
LinkedIn Just Launched a $25 Million Creator Fund
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash Linkedin is still trying to figure out its place in the metaverse. At first, they were the premier platform for the business-minded individual. It was a pedestal to brag about ROI numbers and short-sighted claims that the office is the best place to work. Things have changed over the years.
What You Need To Understand About High-Ticket Clients
Use think-outside-of-the-box freelance method Photo by Dylan Posso on Unsplash Finding freelance work is like going to the Cheesecake Factory. After pouring over the massive menu and turning the server away three times because you don’t know what to order, you resort to the one thing you’ve tried before. You could pick anything, but you’re overwhelmed. So you want to be a freelancer, eh? The 9–5 office lifestyle doesn’t suit you, hmm? I don’t blame you.
How to Increase Your Views by Doubling Your Writing Output
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash Like other writers, I doubted myself when I first started. When I was a kid, my mom thought I should start a blog. She bought me a book about creating a website, picking a niche, and writing on the internet. I didn’t know what any of it meant. It felt like bloggers just wrote on the internet, and if they were lucky, people read their content. I wanted to give it a try, but I didn’t know what in the world to write about.
2021 Best of Fall guide: Nonfiction
NONFICTION Personal stories, rigorous investigations, gorgeous art, and audacious visions of a post-pandemic future “Indian” in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power Jody Wilson-Raybould HarperCollins, Oct. Wilson-Raybould, the first Indigenous justice minister and attorney general of Canada, resigned from Trudeau’s cabinet in the midst of the SNC-Lavalin affair to sit as an independent MP.
2021 Best of Fall guide: Fiction, Short Fiction, and Poetry
FICTION Canadian novel, short-fiction, and poetry highlights from publishing’s golden season Fight Night Miriam Toews Knopf Canada/PRHC, out now Swiv, nine, lives with her pregnant mother and her frail grandmother in the latest from reader-favourite Toews. When Swiv’s expelled, Grandma becomes her teacher, and the pair assign each other letters: Swiv writes to her absentee father, while Grandma pens a letter to her unborn grandchild.
Memoir from novelist Brian Francis inspired by 1992 personal ad
Brian Francis is a faithful letter writer, as Q&Q readers know from his literary advice column Agony Editor. But those who’ve been plucked from his mailbag may be surprised to learn the 50-year-old wasn’t always so dutiful in his correspondence. In 1992, when Francis was a 21-year-old university student cautiously peeping out of the closet, he placed a witty personal ad in a southwestern Ontario newspaper that elicited 25 responses.
Casey Plett on truth, fiction, and the illusion of community
In “Enough Trouble” from Casey Plett’s new fiction collection A Dream of a Woman, Gemma, “a professional drinker and a sloppy hooker,” couch-surfs her way back to her hometown. The unnamed city of 8,000 shares landmarks with Morden, Manitoba, where Plett attended elementary school before moving to the U.S. with her mother and stepfather. Throughout the novella, Gemma considers whether she could live there once again, now as an openly trans woman.
How I Was Almost Scammed Over a Web Design Offer
Photo by Stillness InMotion on Unsplash Freelancers walk a tightrope. Debating contracts with clients is a finicky process. There’s never a middle ground either: a freelancer is either too busy or not busy enough. Even worse, a freelancer’s info is everywhere. You can hit them up on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and their website. They do this, so they’re an email away from potential work opportunities. Access to your email is a double-edged sword.
Canisia Lubrin wins $65,000 Griffin Poetry Prize
Canisia Lubrin has won the $65,000 Griffin Poetry Prize for her second poetry collection, The Dyzgraphxst (McClelland & Stewart). Lubrin is currently working on a short-fiction collection for Knopf Canada in addition to serving as poetry editor for McClelland & Stewart. The Dyzgraphxst was a Q&Q 2020 Book of the Year. The $65,000 International winner was Valzhyna Mort of Belarus for Music for the Dead and Resurrected (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). Each finalist will receive $10,000.
Michelle Good, Eternity Martis win Kobo Emerging Writer Prize
Michelle Good (Kent Wong Photography); Eternity Martis (Corey Misquita) Michelle Good has won the $10,000 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Literary Fiction for her debut novel Five Little Indians (Harper Perennial). In the past two months, the book about five residential school survivors navigating post-traumatic stress in different ways has won the Amazon Canada First Novel Award and Governor General’s Literary Award for English-language fiction and been optioned for a television adaptation.
Q&Q named honorary lifetime member of ACP; Hamish Cameron receives ACP President's Award | Quill and Quire
Q&Q was grateful to receive an honorary lifetime membership in the Association of Canadian Publishers on June 22. The honour, presented to “an individual or group who is not a member of ACP, but has made a significant contribution to the association and to the Canadian publishing industry,” was made as part of the 2021 ACP awards’ announcement. “Quill & Quire has long provided an inestimable service to the Canadian publishing industry,” said ACP executive director Kate Edwards in a statement.
Joshua Whitehead's Jonny Appleseed optioned for the screen | Quill and Quire
Joshua Whitehead’s debut novel Jonny Appleseed has been optioned for the screen by Stories First. The Indigenous-owned and -operated production company is based in Vancouver. “Jonny is already such an animate kin to me, and so many folks have loved and cared for him on the page, I cannot express how thrilled I am that he will be potentially animate onscreen as well,” Whitehead said in a statement.
Winners announced for Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers
Awards « Back to Omni Articles Zehra Naqvi and Anna Ling Kaye (Rosalee Yagihara) Zehra Naqvi and Anna Ling Kaye have each won the Writers’ Trust of Canada’s $10,000 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. Two prizes are awarded annually in the categories of unpublished poetry and short fiction. Naqvi, who was raised on unceded Coast Salish territories (Vancouver) and is now based in the U.K., won for her unpublished collection The Knot of My Tongue.
TIFA announces summer crime festival, moves to Word on the Street weekend for 2022
The Toronto International Festival of Authors is trying some new things for 2022, launching a summer crime and mystery festival and shifting its dates from late October to late September. While this year’s festival will once again be virtual, running October 21 – 31, next year’s in-person event at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre will run September 22 – October 2.
Bestsellers: The success of Iona Whishaw's Lane Winslow series is no mystery | Quill and Quire
When Iona Whishaw’s first book, a picture book called Henry and the Cow Problem, was published by Annick Press in 1995, a review ran in Q&Q: “We are sure to be hearing more from Whishaw soon.” “And then no one heard from me for 20 years,” the author, 72, says by phone from her home in Vancouver. Readers are certainly listening now: Whishaw’s Lane Winslow series of historical mysteries set in B.C.’s Kootenay region have become reliable bestsellers on the Canadian fiction chart.
Devon Rouse is making history as an openly gay NASCAR driver – WHEELS.ca
In October 2019, Devon Rouse booked a week-long trip to Florida on a whim. He had never been on an airplane. Little did he know that trip would kick off a racing career that would have him driving in NASCAR at the Daytona International Speedway. “You could have told me when we were down in Florida, ‘You’re going to race Daytona at the start of the 2021 season,’ and I would have literally laughed in your face,” Rouse said by phone from his hometown of Burlington, Iowa.
Devon Rouse making history as an openly gay NASCAR driver
By Ryan PorterSpecial to the Star Thu., June 10, 2021timer4 min. read updateArticle was updated 19 hrs ago In October 2019, Devon Rouse booked a weeklong trip to Florida on a whim. He had never been on an airplane. Little did he know that trip would kick off a racing career that would have him driving in NASCAR at the Daytona International Speedway.
Devon Rouse making history as an openly gay NASCAR driver
By Ryan PorterSpecial to the Star Thu., June 10, 2021timer4 min. read updateArticle was updated 1 day ago In October 2019, Devon Rouse booked a weeklong trip to Florida on a whim. He had never been on an airplane. Little did he know that trip would kick off a racing career that would have him driving in NASCAR at the Daytona International Speedway.
Devon Rouse making history as an openly gay NASCAR driver
Last June, Devon Rouse came out as gay in a 400-word post on Instagram, becoming the first openly gay driver in the NASCAR Automobile Racing Club of America series. By Ryan PorterSpecial to the Star Thu., June 10, 2021timer4 min. read In October 2019, Devon Rouse booked a weeklong trip to Florida on a whim. He had never been on an airplane. Little did he know that trip would kick off a racing career that would have him driving in NASCAR at the Daytona International Speedway.
Devon Rouse making history as an openly gay NASCAR driver
Last June, Devon Rouse came out as gay in a 400-word post on Instagram, becoming the first openly gay driver in the NASCAR Automobile Racing Club of America series. By Ryan PorterSpecial to the Star Thu., June 10, 2021timer4 min. read In October 2019, Devon Rouse booked a weeklong trip to Florida on a whim. He had never been on an airplane. Little did he know that trip would kick off a racing career that would have him driving in NASCAR at the Daytona International Speedway.
Brandy and Brent Morris bonded over their silly quirks. But when life got tough, their love grew into something more
When Brent Morris, 38, woke up on New Year's Day, 2018, he had a match on Tinder.
Brandy and Brent Morris bonded over their silly quirks. But when life got tough, their love grew into something more
Brandy and Brent Morris bonded over their silly quirks. But when life got tough, their love grew into something more
Brandy and Brent Morris bonded over their silly quirks. But when life got tough, their love grew into something more
The two married last August in a small ceremony at a Caledon farm. Brandy, having lost her father not long before, wore her dad’s jacket down the aisle. By Ryan PorterSpecial to the Star Sun., June 6, 2021timer3 min. read When Brent Morris, 38, woke up on New Year’s Day, 2018, he had a match on Tinder. Though the information architect designs apps for a living, dating apps were something of a mystery to him. As he went to respond, he fumbled his phone and accidentally sent an animated heart.
Brandy and Brent Morris bonded over their silly quirks. But when life got tough, their love grew into something more
When Brent Morris, 38, woke up on New Year's Day, 2018, he had a match on Tinder.
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