Matt's Blog is Stupidly Awesome

Mission Impossible in LieMAX

2011-12-22T17:36:00.005-05:00

I went to see the new Mission Impossible movie last night with my friend Josh in IMAX. The movie itself was very good and I enjoyed it thoroughly, as I have pretty much all the Mission Impossible movies (except the awful 2). But I just don't see the big deal with these new IMAX screens they have now at Empire Theatres. It's in a renovated regular theatre, and the screen is pretty much the same size as normal (albeit curved). Now, the picture was great, but it's not like I think that the regular theatre has a bad picture... basically, if the theatre didn't tell me it was IMAX, I would never have known. So, bottom line, no reason to spend more money for this LieMAX experience (I did not come up with that term, I just really liked it).

Fortunately for me, I didn't spend anything, since I was using a free pass I got when a movie I went to in the summer had technical difficulties. So, no harm to me. But if it's my own money, no way will I go to IMAX.

NHL Realignment: I Called It!

2011-12-05T21:46:00.003-05:00

According to this article, it'll be 4 conferences, with teams playing teams outside their conference twice (home and away). The top 4 teams from each conference would make the playoffs. The only difference between my suggestion and this is that inter-conference playoffs only happen after round 2, so there's only 1 team per conference left. Also, the teams composing the conferences is different (but I was never stuck on them anyway).

I draw your attention to my post from July 14 of this year.

The best idea the NHL has ever had, and it came from me.

New Music from Big Wreck!

2011-12-04T12:45:00.002-05:00

One of my favourite bands, Big Wreck, has gotten back to making new music. I had heard about it this summer, when Ian Thornley was featured in the LCBO magazine for some reason, but it had slipped my mind until I caught their new song "Albatross" on satellite radio a few days ago. I gave it a few listens when I got home and I absolutely love it! I bought the single off of iTunes and added it to my BBM Music profile. Apparently, the new album will be out in the new year and I'm really looking forward to it now.

Not that we've been completely without the Big Wreck style of music since they disbanded in 2002, since Thornley's new band Thornley carried on with a similar sound over their 2 albums, but getting back to the old name with the addition of the Big Wreck guitarist is a nice touch. Side note: I read that the Big Wreck guitarist, Brian Doherty, has been living and teaching guitar in Camlachie. That was kinda cool to find out.

Anyway, add me to your BBM Music friend list to check out the song. Or just go buy it. I'm really happy with the sound of the song... big sweeping guitar melodies that is a signature of the Big Wreck/Thornley sound.

The Muppets

2011-11-29T01:01:00.003-05:00

I went to see The Muppets in the theatre this weekend. I usually don't go opening weekends, but I was going to see a show anyway and it was the one I most wanted to see. I had high expectations going into it, and I'm so happy to say that it did not disappoint me in any way. I was so very funny and did the Muppets characters great justice.

While this movie is definitely family friendly (as evidenced by the G rating), adults will get as much (maybe more) enjoyment out of this movie. In fact, when I went on Saturday night, I didn't actually see any kids in the audience. To be fair, it was the late show (9:40pm), so they could have been in the earlier showing.

Do yourself a favour and see this movie. Compared to anything else out there, this one deserves your money. Definately the best movie I've seen in 2011. Although, to be honest, I don't always remember every movie I've seen. I should go back and make a list.

Millennium Force = Barometre of Success

2011-11-24T23:14:00.002-05:00

I went to Cedar Point on the last weekend of October this year. It was also the last weekend it was open. They had their Halloweekend thing going on, which I had never been to. I had a great time going with a friend of mine, and enjoyed the haunted houses and walkthroughs they had set up along with, of course, the rides. However, it wasn't all super good. I didn't ride 2 of my favourite coasters, the Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster, as it seems I've on the high side of my perpetual yo-yo diet that I seem to have been on for the past, I don't know... 5 years? This even after I went (and rode on everything) back in June of this year. This is a pretty depressing feeling for me, and my second biggest motivator to losing weight. But even a whole month and a half of a heads up for this trip couldn't get me to smarten up and eat right.

I'm at a loss right now of how to get back on the weight loss train in a significant way. I've done it twice before (with less than permanent results, obviously) and maybe the third time will be the charm, as they say. However, it seems I can't bring myself to do this right now for some reason.

Just a bit of a whiny post. Don't mind me.

Recommend A Beer

2011-09-27T23:21:00.002-04:00

This may surprise you, but I don't have a favourite beer. It used to be Alexander Keith's back when I first started drinking, but lately, while it's still a good beer, it tends to give me headaches. So, I've been avoiding it a little more. Here are a few others that I've been trying and liking lately:

Sleeman Original Draft - It's pretty good, but has that distinct Sleeman taste that prevents me from having too much of it.
Waterloo Dark - It's a dark beer that tastes like a light beer. Again, a similar problem to Sleeman in that there's a bit of a taste that stops me from drinking it too much. Although, it's much less pronounced than other Brick beers.
Miller Genuine Draft - Here's a beer that there's nothing to complain about, but nothing to rave about either.
Heineken - I got back on this after coming home from Holland this summer. But oddly, it tastes much better over there. In fact, it tastes glorious over there. Why can't that make it's way across the ocean? That and it's hideously overpriced in Ontario.
Mill Street Organic - I don't really know what it means by "organic", but it tastes all right. If it means that it has no preservatives (which has been suggested as the cause of beer headaches), then I'm all for that.

I'd appreciate any other suggestions you may have.

Thing That Frustrates Me

2011-09-12T15:24:00.001-04:00

Why is it when a website has problems loading videos, it never seems to have trouble loading the advertisement beforehand?

Parisian Redemption

2011-09-08T23:42:00.000-04:00

A week or two ago I received a letter with the return address originating from "Prefecture de Police" in Paris. First of all, I only saw it because I was about to throw it into the recycling with the mass of flyers I get every week and it slipped out. I just pointed that out to note the stupid amount of printed advertising I get now is ridiculous (but I suppose it keeps Canada Post in business). Back to the letter...

So, I was pretty excited when I saw the envelope, since it really could only be about my wallet that was stolen in the Paris Metro. Upon opening it, I found that it was written in french only (understandable) but I could read enough of it to tell that they indeed have my wallet, I had 3 months to claim it and it would cost me 10 Euros to do so.

Upon translating it online, I further read that I had to claim it in person (or have someone claim it in person for me) instead of doing it by mail as I had hoped. Here's the letter for anyone interested in reading the original french version.

I had cancelled all my cards lost and had replacements either in hand or on the way, so there wasn't anything of importance left to claim. So, of course, I'm not going back to Paris just to claim the wallet. However, I can't help but really want to get my hands back on my wallet, and the awesome sense of closure it would bring.

I don't suppose anyone I know is going to Paris by November, are they? I half-jokingly posted this question to the usual social networks, but to no avail. Since my blog has a much greater readership of people I know than Facebook, I figured I'd ask here.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

2011-08-20T19:17:00.002-04:00

I just got back on Thursday from a 10 day trip to Holland and Paris with my siblings. Here are the highlights:

Holland was cool. Besides catching up with relatives that I haven't seen in 8 years, we went to Amsterdam and did the Heineken Experience, walked through the red light district, visited a coffee shop and ate at KFC. Also, a trip to Zeeland and Utrecht along with some laid back days in Veenendaal playing Rummikub and Toepen. It was also good to eat some patat met, bitterballen and soused herring.

The Paris experience was mixed at best for me. We did a lot of walking, saw the Eiffel Tower, did a River Seine tour, saw a concert in Notre Dame, saw the Catacombs and Sacre Cœur. Paris was very busy (granted it was a weekend in August) and wait times were just all kinds of stupid. Also there were scammers and sellers of cheap knockoff souvenirs everywhere. But the lasting memory for me might just be that I was pick-pocketed in the Metro on our way back to the airport. So, I've had to replace all my credit cards, bank card, driver's licence and health card. So far I've only got 2 of my 3 credit cards back and it'll be a few weeks before I have a real driver's licence and health card in my hands again. The lost money isn't so bad as the hassel. But the worst part is knowing that some creep in the subway had me marked out as a target. One can only learn from the experience.

I've put a set of pictures up on Flickr, which has more photos than the ones I put on Google+ and Facebook. So check that out if you want.

Summer Vacation

2011-08-07T16:26:00.000-04:00

In a couple hours, I'll be heading out of here on the first real summer vacation (other than camping, cottages and Cedar Points) I've gone on in 8 years. Coincidentally, I'll be heading to the same place I went 8 years ago... The Netherlands. Also, we'll be doing a short weekend trip down to Paris. I'm going with my sister and brother, which will be a first as well.

We don't have any plans yet besides our flights, accommodations and visiting with relatives, so we'll see what we get up to.

This is also the exact type of trip that I bought my PlayBook for, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it holds up. I've got it loaded up with the final 2 episodes of Games of Thrones and the first season of Fringe. I also got a bunch of podcasts loaded up and I'm bringing a book, so I'll keep myself entertained on the flight, which I should be sleeping on. Departure at 2305.

NHL Realignment Idea For 2012

2011-07-14T22:39:00.001-04:00

With Winnipeg replacing Atlanta in the NHL next year and playing this season in the Southeast division, realignment for the 2012-13 season is a necessity. I think that the NHL should take this opportunity to not just realign the divisions and conferences, but to really restructure the league in a way that will encourage local rivalries and ensure that the 2 best teams are playing each other for the Stanley Cup.I had a brainstorm today of what that could look like and was kind of impressed with myself and how it worked, I had to share it.

First of all, forget 3 divisions in 2 conferences. That's gone. In fact, conferences are gone altogether. In this structure, there will be 4 independent divisions (2 with 7 teams and 2 with 8 teams). To keep the current 82 game schedule, each team will play the teams in the other divisions twice (1 home and 1 away) and play teams within their own division either 5 or 6 times, depending on if they're in a 7 or 8 team division. For teams within the 7 team division, it's simple: play each team in your division 6 times. For teams within the 8 team division, it's a bit more complicated: you have to have to imaginarily split the division in half (play teams within your half 6 times and the other 4 teams 5 times). That will work out to 82 games in total, half home and half away. Go ahead and do the math... I'll wait.

The top 4 teams in each division will make the playoffs. The first round will be played intradivision (1 vs 4, 2 vs 3). After the first round, the remaining 8 teams will be ranked according to their regular season points and then 1 plays 8, 2 plays 7, and so on, reseeding after each round, as the playoffs do now. Finally, 2 teams are left that are from any division... even the same.

Pros for this concept:

More games vs local rivals during the regular season
Guaranteed first round matchup vs divisional rival
The best 2 teams in the league can meet up in the Stanley Cup Final, even if they are in the same division. This will enable possible finals like: Montreal vs Toronto, Detroit vs Chicago, Edmonton vs Calgary, New York vs Boston, LA vs Anaheim or even the epic Tampa vs Florida.
Games against out-of-division teams are perfectly balanced for all teams in the league

Cons for this concept:

What do you do with the conference championship trophies? Since the ridiculously superstitious players never seems to want to touch it anyway, you could just stop awarding it and keep it in the Hall of Fame. Or my idea is that you just designate one semifinal to be the Campbell series and the other the Prince of Wales series... doesn't have to be east or west.

Here's a possible new divisional alignment:

West Division	South Division
Vancouver	Florida
Calgary	Tampa Bay
Edmonton	Nashville
San Jose	Dallas
Los Angeles	Carolina
Anaheim	Colorado
Phoenix	St. Louis

East Division	North Division
Boston	Montreal
New York Rangers	Ottawa
New York Islanders	Toronto
Buffalo	Detroit
New Jersey	Chicago
Pittsburgh	Columbus
Philadelphia	Minnesota
Washington	Winnipeg

Anyway, that's my bright idea. I can dream, can't I?

Google+

2011-07-12T21:39:00.004-04:00

I've been trying out the latest and greatest in social networking over the past few days: Google+. Seems to me to be a mix of Facebook (in terms of functionality: statuses, sharing photos, videos, links, etc.) and Twitter (in terms of following people and people following you). Also, once set up, it seems pretty simple on being able to share certain things with only certain people.

Right now, it seems to be invite only, but it also seems that there are unlimited invites. So, if you want to try it out, let me know and I'll send an invite your way.

I can't describe what it's like better than the following xkcd comic:

Update: I suppose I should put a link to my Google+ profile, if you'd like to add me.

Good Riddance Apartment Living

2011-07-06T23:48:00.001-04:00

You may have heard most of this if you followed my Twitter/Facebook feeds for the past 2 weeks, but since it's over now, I'll summarize: Three and a half weeks after moving out of my apartment my former superintendents sent me an email asking for money. Their claim was as follows:

The apartment was left in a mess
They had to spend "many hours each day" for a week to clean it up for the next tenant
They don't get paid to clean
They assumed I was too busy with my move and work, so didn't bother to contact me until then
They thought the (4 year old) oven was too dirty, so decided to just replace it

For that, they said people usually give them $150 - $200 to do the clean up for them. Also, they forwarded an invoice from a carpet cleaning company for $136, saying it was a little extra because it was "heavily soiled". The last part was the best: saying the invoice can be paid by cheque, but the cleaning part... they preferred cash.

So, I called bullshit on them.

First off, my apartment was not in total disarray when I left. While perhaps not squeaky clean and the cupboards and fridge needed a wipedown, it certainly didn't require "many hours each day" to clean. I didn't take a photo log of everything when I moved out, just one as memento, but you can see what state I left my living room in at least.

I know... horrible, right?

Anyway, my other beef was with the carpet cleaning. I said that if it needed to be done, then I could have done it myself for $30 instead of just throwing an invoice at me. They said they don't let tenants do their own carpet cleaning, because we ruin them. My thinking is that if it's a requirement for all move outs, and they won't let us do it ourselves, then hold some of the deposit money back. Simple.

My biggest beef was mostly about the timing of it. I handed over the keys to the apartment a full 24 hour earlier than I had to. They could have taken a look inside and asked me to do some stuff while I was still legally the tenant. To throw this on me three and a half weeks later, after I had long forgotten about my move, was just too much for me. The time to go over move out expectation was during the last week of May, not the last week of June. The fact is, I probably would have been fine with what they were asking, if it was explained to me beforehand and I was given fair time to take care of it. Basically, it was a lack of respect (along with gratuitous demands for money) that was the core of this whole thing.

One last thing I brought up was what a complete waste to throw out a perfectly working oven because it was deemed too dirty on the inside. They've obviously never heard of Easy-Off. The whole thing makes me wonder if they didn't bother to clean, then how could they have spent "many hours each day" for a week? I called them out on that.

So, after I ripped into them with a reply email, they wrote back. They threw all the blame back in my direction, but in the end they said to not worry about it anymore and that they were over it. So basically, they attempted to save face and tried to look like they took the high road. Oh, I was so tempted to write one more letter back to them, because I still disagreed with nearly everything they said, but the bottom line was that they weren't pursuing money anymore... So I got what I wanted, and to drag it out any more wouldn't be worth anything (except being a little therapeutic for me).

And now I never have to deal with Equitable Life and Beacon Tower again.

Calling All Botanists

2011-06-27T18:23:00.000-04:00

Anyone have any idea what these plants are (the three stalks with the pointy leaves)?

They're popping up everywhere in my yards. I'm just not sure if they're friend or foe.

My Garage Smells Like An Ashtray

2011-06-09T22:05:00.000-04:00

Since moving in, I noticed that my garage smells a little off. I chalked it up to it being a garage and how it had probably stored things that wouldn't matter if they smelled. I couldn't put my finger on exactly what smell it was. However, the inside of my car is starting to pick up on the smell, and now when I get into it when out somewhere, I can distinctly smell cigarettes.

This is unfortunate, since I definitely plan to keep my car in the garage. However, I have to get rid of the smell. Problem is that there's no one source of the smell... it's probably just seeped into the walls over long periods of exposure.

Does anyone know how to get rid of a smell like this? All I can think of is to leave the window and doors open as much as possible, but I can't do that all the time as it's an invitation to steal my stuff.

Cedar Point 2011a

2011-06-07T22:37:00.000-04:00

This weekend I had the pleasure to introduce a few people to one of the best things in the world: Cedar Point. This was the earliest in the season I've ever been and was rewarded with some pretty light crowds, especially on Sunday. Monday was a bit busier, and besides some school groups getting in a late year trip in, I can't explain why really. We used Saturday and Tuesday as travel days.

We stayed at the on-site Hotel Breakers, which really is by far the best way to do it. A bit of extra money per night gets you so much convenience, especially traveling with a baby.

Also, we lucked out incredibly with the weather. It was mid-20's for both days in the park and when we got up this morning to leave, it was a pouring thunderstorm. The nice weather also let us take advantage of the water park.

Some stats: 5 rides on Maverick (within the first hour and a half of park opening on Monday); 3 on Millennium Force and Magnum XL-200; 2 on Top Thrill Dragster, Power Tower, Disaster Transport and Iron Dragon; 1 on Raptor, Mean Streak, Blue Streak, Gemini, Sky Hawk and Wicked Twister. Unfortunately, the new Wind Seeker wasn't ready yet.

Now enjoy a photo from the Millennium Force line at dusk.

So Long Apartment

2011-05-31T23:29:00.000-04:00

I haven't seen my apartment this empty since I moved into it.

Yesterday I handed in my keys at the apartment and there's no looking back. Now I have to go through all these boxes and find my stuff again. It took me 2 days to find my new prescription sunglasses. Really, who boxes things in the Xbox box?

Final Painting Results

2011-05-22T21:49:00.001-04:00

Here's what my basement looks like after a two-coat painting session yesterday.

I went with a less brown colour and more grey... and a little lighter than I had originally thought.

Springtime Slurpee

2011-05-22T17:29:00.000-04:00

Coke at 7-Eleven on King St at Wellington in Kitchener this afternoon.

Now that was good Slurpee.

All Good Stories Must Have An Ending

2011-05-19T13:12:00.000-04:00

One of my favourite shows on right now, Chuck, just got renewed for a 13 episode fifth season, which will be its last. This is only good news, as far as I'm concerned, even though it means the end of Chuck after this coming Fall.

I fully believe that a show that tells a larger story over the course of its run (as opposed to an episodic type show in which each episode is self contained and doesn't require any significant previous knowledge) needs a proper ending to be considered a good story as a whole. Think of Lost, and if it was cancelled before the writers could wrap things up. Despite of whether you liked the series finale, at least they were able to wrap up most of the million loose ends they created.

For the past 2 years, Chuck has survived by receiving an initial renewal of 13 episodes and then getting an additional 9 episodes added on to that mid-season. This has forced the writers to create 4 different episodes that has enough closure to be considered a series finale, but enough left unresolved to be a season finale cliffhanger. I think it's made the stories over the last 2 years seem forced.

Now with the knowledge that the show will end after 13 more episodes, I hope they can write a great close to the series and therefore, make it complete.

Painting Opinions Solicited

2011-05-11T01:01:00.000-04:00

So, I've decided that one of the things I'm going to do first with my new house is to paint the basement room. This room will function as my main TV room... a pseudo home theatre room. Right now, it's painted yellow and the walls have a few scuff marks. Here's how it looks now...

My thought is that a home theatre should have a darker colour, both because it'll reflect less light from the TV and because a darker room will seem cozier. Using an online room painter, here's my first go at what direction I should take...

Any opinions or suggestions on what to do here?

I Bought A House. No, Seriously This Time.

2011-05-04T15:01:00.000-04:00

Some of you may have heard, some maybe not as I haven't made an official online announcement yet (until now), but I finally bought a house. For real this time. I wanted to avoid the situation from last time and waited until I had the keys in my hands before getting all announcy on everyone.

I got the keys on Monday.

It's in the Forest Hills area of Kitchener, near Fisher-Hallman & Hwy 7/8. I'll be avoiding a privacy faux-pas by not giving the exact address on le blog here, but I'll be sending out a mass email announcing the new address and phone number situation. Moving day looks to be May 28th as I have the apartment until the end of the month, so I'm just going to take my time with it. Oh, and I have moving favours that I can totally call in now... for real this time. Thou art truly forewarned now.

No Election Is A Waste

2011-05-02T11:58:00.000-04:00

I just got back from casting my ballot in this, the 41st Canadian General Election. After starting out very boring (for lack of a better word), the campaign got really crazy really quickly. Now, I'm certainly not a fan of Jack Layton (this video/article shows why I'll never vote for a party led by him, petty as it may be), but I hold out great hope by the poll numbers the NDP has gotten in Quebec, especially since it seems to be mostly at the expense of the Bloq Quebecois. The sooner they're out of the federal election scene, the better.

One of the argument that was thrown around early on was the idea that this election was unnecessary and a waste, usually (and understandably) by Conservative supporters. My counter-argument is that no election is a waste, especially this one. This was the longest serving minority parliament in Canadian history, which seems to suggest that our political parties are adjusting to the new reality of minorities. If an election wasn't called now, it would be in a few month or a year at most. So, the expense of an election would just be spent then. Of course, over time, more money will be spent than if elections were held every 3 to 5 years. But it would maybe be one or 2 elections extra over 20 years and in the grand scheme of federal budgets, would be a drop in the bucket.

I love elections, but mostly election night. Despite if who I want to win actually does, seeing the numbers roll in and the seat counters at the bottom of the screen is just some sort of nerd crack to me.

Enjoy election day everybody.

Round 2 Pick-a-roo

2011-04-28T14:06:00.001-04:00

I went 5 for 8 last round. Let's do better this time.

Washington over Tampa in 6
Boston over Philadelphia in 7
Nashville over Vancouver in 6
Detroit over San Jose in 5

New Blog Design

2011-04-14T17:05:00.000-04:00

What do you think of the new look? Downside is that I lost nearly all the comments on my posts. But I wasn't going to pay a third-party for the service (that was free when I originally signed up 7 years ago) when I can just revert to the default commenting system, which is mostly as good for my purposes anyway. So, I just had to suck it up and do it.

Round One Picks 2011

2011-04-11T11:05:00.002-04:00

Just getting my picks down on virtual paper before the playoffs start.

Washington over New York in 6
Philadelphia over Buffalo in 5
Boston over Montreal in 5
Tampa Bay over Pittsburgh in 6

Chicago over Vancouver in 6
Los Angeles over San Jose in 7
Detroit over Phoenix in 6
Anaheim over Nashville in 6

Blue Jays 2011

2011-04-02T09:46:00.005-04:00

Here's a great video essay by Stephen Brunt that Sportsnet played before the Jays' home opener last night.

I Love Elections, But...

2011-03-26T17:45:00.003-04:00

I'm having a hard time getting excited for this recently announced federal election. Even though despite what the Conservatives say, I don't think this is an unnecessary election... I don't consider any election unnecessary. However, with the polls where they are, it's hard to imagine an outcome that looks significantly different from what we already have. Listening to all the leaders and their parties' representatives just emphasizes how little they take voters seriously. Their talking points are irrelevant if not outright fabrications of their opponents' stance on issues. The media, being lazy and hungry for stirring any sort of controversy, just blindly run with whatever unimportant angle the parties feed them.

Locally, the Liberals have nominated the two candidates who lost last election, who both first came into office during the Liberals' hey-day in the 90's. These lazy nominations of uninspiring candidates turn me off nearly completely from voting for them. It always seems to be the same old politics and nothing ever changes.

Following Steven Harper (@pmharper) and Michael Ignatieff (@M_Ignatieff) on Twitter is simultaneously hilarious and frustrating at how out of touch and partisan these two are.

Hey Harper, where's Senate reform?

Pros vs Cons: Telephone Edition

2011-03-13T21:59:00.003-04:00

So, I'm seriously thinking of ditching my land line in favour of using my cell phone more. Has anyone done this sucessfully? I'm making a list of pros and cons.

Pro: Save about $50 a month
Con: Call quality isn't as good on a cell
Pro: Use the minutes on my cell which often go very unused
Con: Have to keep my cell near me whenever I'm at home
Pro: Still have my office VoIP line available with its included long distance
Con: I'll have to list my cell number as my actual number, increasing the likelyhood of telemarketers
Pro: I get my choice of toppings
Con: The toppings contain potassium benzoate

Any others?

Dear UPS

2011-02-17T12:55:00.001-05:00

I don't mind that you leave my package with the superintendent of my building. But at least try to see if I'm home first. Thank You.

Dear Tim Hortons

2011-02-15T15:43:00.002-05:00

Please stop serving your "Steeped Tea" so hot that I have to wait 15 minutes for it to cool down enough for it to not burn the inside of my mouth. When I get a beverage to go, I want to drink it now... that's why I got it. I understand the argument that you want to keep it at a drinkably warm temperature for longer. But if I have to wait for it to cool down, that wait time is not drinkable time.

Didn't McDonald's have a lawsuit about the temperature of their coffee a few years back? One of these days I'm going to bring a thermometer with me.

Want To Know What's Weird?

2011-02-14T20:12:00.003-05:00

I think I've had the same salt and pepper shakers... with the same salt and pepper in them, for the past 7 years. And they aren't big ones either. They're those little novelty ones with the logo of a hockey team on them. I guess I don't salt up that much.

Guitar Hero Done. Rock Band "Wins"?

2011-02-11T16:24:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday, Activision announced that there were going to be no more Guitar Hero games. A couple items come to mind as I think this over...

First, although it's no secret, the music game industry isn't selling as well as it did at it's peak a year or so ago. There certainly is an element of novelty with these games, and there isn't always a compelling reason to buy the latest and greatest iteration of the game, if you already have it. The big problem with Guitar Hero is that they were churning out a couple of games every year... it was just way too much.

Second, this is good news for Rock Band and fans of Rock Band, in the end. Although they still have to deal with the general downturn in interest in their genre, they now have de facto free reign over the best music out there. As someone who placed his bets on the Rock Band side of things, I'm pretty excited about what this could bring in terms of content in the next little while.

Having two companies making basically the same game over the last few years has definitely spurred on innovation. First, it was the addition of drums and vocals, then vocal harmonies, then keyboards and real guitars. We may not have gotten to this point without the competition. But how much further do we want the genre to progress? In terms of instruments, I think they've maxed out. No real value will be added with a sousaphone.

Big Brothers' Curling Fundraiser

2011-01-26T00:04:00.003-05:00

Hey guys, it's that time of year again. I'm in the Big Brother's of Sarnia-Lambton Curl For Kids Bonspeil. I've had a stretch of successful fundraising over the last few years, and if you've donated, I thank you for that. If you'd like to make a donation for the fundraiser this year, click here to go to my fundraising page. There you can make a donation by credit card (and get a tax receipt emailed to you almost immediately) or you can let me know if you'd like to make an offline donation via cheque or cash.

This year's 'speil is March 5. I'm not sure, but I think we may be undefeated in all our years so far. Or maybe we lost once, I can't remember. There's not really any keeping track of those things.

Anyway, thanks once again.

A Little Slow On The Uptake, But I Get It Now

2011-01-23T11:33:00.002-05:00

An unusual number of people were independently suggesting that I use my new domain to have the address m[at]brouwer[dot]ca I just thought people were hung up on the one letter shortness of it. But now I see that if you say the @, it become m at... or Matt. Clever people you are and not a bad idea. The only problem I see with it is that I would verbalize that address as "Matt Brouwer dot See Eh", it would be more like "Em at Brouwer dot See Eh".

So yeah... good idea. Doesn't quite work for me though.

And yes, I freely admit it took me too long to realize what everyone was getting at.

Best Purchase Ever!

2011-01-18T14:51:00.004-05:00

Say hello to the new owner of the domain name brouwer.ca!

Nowadays, one of the most useful things you can have on the internet is a domain of your very own. It can be your personal online identity. Of course, each domain can only be owned by one person at a time, so pretty much every premium domain name is gone... including personal names. For example, my arch nemisis/coolest guy I've never met has the domain mattbrouwer.com, and that's something I can never get now.

A few months ago I decided that I should have my own domain. Knowing that my name dot com is gone, I looked at other alternatives. There still is mattbrouwer.ca out there, but I got thinking that having an address that reads matt@mattbrouwer was kind of redundant. So, taking a longshot, I looked up the domains brouwer.com and brouwer.ca... both of which were registered, and had been for a long time (1997 for the .com and 2001 for the .ca). However, brouwer.ca was listed as coming up for expiry in about a week from when I was looking. I thought "wow, that would be cool if it was left to expire". Unfortunately, when the expiry date came, the whois listing showed that it had been renewed. That just started my journey of leaning how domains work.

Turns out that there's a grace period after expiry to give the previous owner a chance to renew, and to someone on the outside, it looks like it was renewed. Thinking it was gone and wanting to register at least something, I snagged the domain saxwithmatt.com in the meantime. However, on a whim about a week or 2 ago, I decided to check the status of brouwer.ca again. This time it was listed as "to be deleted" or something similar. So, I waited until expiry (hoping a domain reseller didn't get to it first) and was able to snatch it up. All for $15 per year.

Now I have my ideal email address... matt at brouwer dot ca. Of course, it just forwards to my current gmail account, so either address will work the same. It's just going to be so much easier (and cooler in a geeky kind of way) to be able to tell people what my email address now is.

Any Brouwers out there want an email address?

A Few Cruise Photos

2011-01-02T23:00:00.003-05:00

For those that are interested, here are some photos I took while on the cruise last week.

It was a great trip, once again. Warm weather... not hot though. The only hitch was that we weren't able to tender into Grand Cayman due to sea conditions on one day.

This Had Better Be The Best Internet Ever, Part 3

2010-12-25T13:02:00.002-05:00

I'm on a boat.

Went swimming yesterday on Christmas Eve in Half Moon Cay. It's been a little cooler this time... only about 23 degrees. At sea today, heading to Jamaica tomorrow. I really, really hope it's cold back home right now.

I'm (almost) On A Boat

2010-12-21T20:11:00.002-05:00

We're leaving tomorrow to fly down to Fort Lauderdale. On Thursday we board the ms Noordam for 56 3-hour tours. Stops include The Bahamas, Jamaica, Cayman Islands and Mexico. Back on the 30th. I'll see if I can get some of that really expensive Internet while I'm there.

Why Are You Still Using Facebook?

2010-12-21T15:49:00.002-05:00

If you have a Facebook account and are active and use it to post comments, status updates, photos, videos, links, etc... this isn't about you.

If you have a Facebook account but aren't active with comments or photos, but keep your page active as a way for people to find you and contact you... this isn't about you.

However, if you have a Facebook account and have, for all intents and purposes, abandoned it... if you don't check it regularly, don't post content, have email notifications turned off, and ignore friend requests and messages sent... what's the point? Why don't you delete the page? Because if someone is actually trying to get in contact with you, there is a reasonable expectation of some sort of response. To not respond, because you have long since stopped being active on the site is, for lack of a better word, rude. How is someone coming onto your page to know that you'll never see any message sent?

Please do everyone a favour and clean up your online presence.

You And Everyone Else

2010-12-13T20:45:00.000-05:00

I went to Gamestop to buy a TV mount for the Kinect. Here's how the transaction went:

Salesgirl: "These things are pretty complicated. I hope you have an engineering degree."
Me: "As a matter of fact..."
Salesgirl: "Oh right, this is Waterloo."

So not only is my degree nothing special around here, the mount was ridiculously difficult to put together.

I Wish I Knew A Word That Sounded Like "Kinect" So I Could Make A Funny Title

2010-12-09T00:16:00.003-05:00

Yeah, I picked up a Kinect for my Xbox 360 on the weekend. It looks like it has potential. So far I only have the one game that comes with it, but hopefully they can get some other applications built for it soon. Browsing the menu is pretty easy, and it can be done from sitting down, although there's not much to browse through, as the main menu are still controller only. It recognizes gestures really well and picks up voice commands no problem. I have to give watching a movie a shot still, so that can be good.

Best Movie of 2010

2010-11-30T22:18:00.003-05:00

I finally got to see the movie Scott Pilgrim vs The World last week. There wasn't much hype surrounding it when it was out in theatres, so I didn't know too much about it. But I knew enough that those who had seen it spoke highly of it. I didn't even know that the director was also the director of Sean of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, two of my favourites (I saw that on the box just before putting in the movie). After watching it, I immediately knew it was my favourite movie of the year, and an instant personal top 5 of all time.

I don't really want to give a review of synopsis, but I think that it is very important that you all see this movie, especially if you're close to my age (give or take 10 years). Movies like this aren't made very often. It's not a normal movie and it's something really fantastic.

That's all I'll say on that.

What A Deal!

2010-11-02T18:37:00.003-04:00

I'm approaching the end of my cell phone contract and I was informed by my provider that I have an upgrade credit available to me to upgrade my phone. So I go into the store to see what that credit involves as applied to a Blackberry Torch, and the answer I got was that I get the privilege of purchasing the phone for exactly the advertised price for anyone else. The guy at the store even still called it a "credit".

Tell me, service provider... where is the credit in that?

Vote 2010

2010-10-26T00:33:00.002-04:00

It was municipal election night in Ontario tonight. About half of the people/answers I put a mark beside turned out to be winners. I was really surprised by the outcome of the fluoride vote... a narrow victory for the "no" side. I don't personally mind that our water won't be fluoridated, but I just found the "no" campaign was mostly based on fear and ignorance. I hear it called a "poison" and the phrase "evidence suggests there might be adverse health effects" when any major (reputable) medical association I could find said that there's nothing wrong with it. Then there was the "we're not sure, so better safe than sorry", which is one of the worst arguements that anyone can use for anything... being not sure (uninformed) is pretty sorry.

I have this nagging suspicion that there's a swelling of an underground "Tea Party"-like movement happening in Canada. It seemed that every candidate had in their platform that taxes should never be raised more than inflation. Not that that is a bad idea, but the way it was always thrown around made it seems very disingenuous. Is there any jurisdiction in Canada that ties taxes directly to inflation? I'm not sure... at least I've never heard of one.

And the point of tax increases brings me to the subject of LRT (light rail). It seems after approving the project, asking the other levels of government to pitch in financially and getting the funding, almost all the regional councillors are now calling for a reconsideration of the project because they think the Region's financial portion is too much. What I ask is did they think that we wouldn't be on the hook for some of this project locally? Did they think that the other governments would reject the funding, allowing the locals to be able to say that they tried... but then the Feds and Queens Park called their bluff? Do they think there's no cost to not having this project built and running in say, 30 years time? How many widened roads will we need that we don't have space and money for? Do we want to shape our cities to be an all-driving-all-the-time adventure?

All that and I think it's humorous that Toronto elected Rob Ford. That'll be fun to watch (but it also fits with my underground Tea Party theory).

What's the Trade-In Value on a Law Degree?

2010-10-20T19:36:00.004-04:00

So I just started up a new video game I purchased: FIFA 11. I went through about 3 "Terms of Service" type documents that I had to agree to to be able to just start the game. Since when was it necessary to be a lawyer to just play a video game? The documents are so long (like so many others that come with software) that it would take an hour to read. So obviously, I didn't read it and just said "agree". Maybe I just gave all my earthly possessions to EA Sports, I don't know.

Seriously EA, it's just a video game, not a real estate transaction.

Is It Still A Band If It's Only One Person?

2010-10-16T18:32:00.003-04:00

I downloaded a few new songs for Rock Band this week (Bob Marley, The Tragically Hip and The Doobie Brothers, FYI). It got me thinking, though, that I might be the last person I know that still plays Rock Band anymore. No matter... I'm still really looking forward to Rock Band 3.

Goodbye, Uncle Bryan

2010-10-08T15:59:00.002-04:00

I don't really know much of what to say at times like this, so it'll be short.

So long, Uncle Byran. I love you and I'll miss you.

I'll see you later.

Post From A Nerd With Too Much Disposable Income

2010-10-05T19:56:00.005-04:00

I bought a new computer today! I've been meaning to get a good gaming rig for a while, and the recent release of Civilization V has finally pushed me over the edge. I trust that this one will be able to handle any game out on the market and last for quite a few years.

I'm excited, because I've got a few games over the last couple years which I've been able to run on my work laptop, but not to the optimal performance. Now I have a personal PC that I can keep my own stuff separate and save my laptop from the extra work.

For those that are interested, specs:
Intel Core i7 870
1.5 TB HD
12 GB RAM
ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1 GB)
DVD Writer/Blu Ray Drive
and so on.

As a side note, as the sun was setting tonight, I saw a full on double rainbow all the way across the sky.

What does it mean?

What Happened This Past Week

2010-09-07T17:27:00.002-04:00

I took a "vacation" week this past week, and it included a 3 day trip to Cedar Point. We went down on Tuesday, got Starlight tickets, then had 2 day ride and slide tickets for Wednesday and Thursday. All the while, staying in Hotel Breakers, right on site. Being the last full week of the summer, lines were fabulously short. Many rides were walkons, including Raptor, Magnum and Gemini. Longest lines included Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster and Maverick, of course, but none were longer than 30 minutes. We even did the water park, which is a first for me.

I think I've decided that there's no reason to not go on weekdays... it's completely worth the vacation days and the crowds are just so much smaller. Also, staying at Hotel Breakers is completely worth the extra $50 or so just for the convenience.

Next year, I'd like to try weekdays in early June. I think the crowds could even be less at that time.

Goal over the winter: get back on the weight loss, so the rides aren't quite so tight. I got on everything alright, but some were close.

What Happened This Weekend

2010-08-30T19:19:00.002-04:00

We ended up 2-2 at the tournament this weekend and in 3rd place, which was our most likely finishing position going into it. The kids weren't able to pull of an upset, but made it exciting taking Guelph to all 7 innings, losing 7-4.

Now... back to my regularly scheduled life.

All Good Things Come To An End... Baseball Too

2010-08-27T21:17:00.004-04:00

This weekend the baseball season ends for us, appropriately with the season ending tournament. We finished the regular season in third out of five, a couple games over .500, so it can't be considered a disaster at least. However, we had a terrible time trying to beat both Guelph and Kitchener and it got a bit frustrating as some games we were real close to them and some we were just blown out. We managed a win versus Guelph and a tie versus Kitchener over the course of the season... together with all wins versus Cambridge and Woodstock, we ended up with our third place.

Well, we got one last chance versus Kitchener tonight, but it was one of those "blow out" games. It will be hard for us to make the final now, as Guelph had already beat Kitchener (it's a round robin format). But nonetheless, we still have three games to go and at this age, I just hope they're having fun out there.

I'll have to reserve my thoughts on the experience of coaching for a later date. I'll say this though... we had our first practice in February. It's been a long season.

Well, That Was Needlessly Complicated

2010-08-16T19:51:00.003-04:00

I tried updating the look of my good ol' blog here, but with all the alterations made to it over the years and it basically being a hybrid of the classic blogspot, the new blogspot and haloscan (echo) commenting system, the experiment was a complete failure. I couldn't get my title to display right (since I deleted that widget to get that picture up top) and I certainly couldn't get my comments to go back in. Good thing I saved a backup of the template first. Seriously, I should just let go and revert to the default commenting system on blogspot here.

Not Hiatus. Writing Drought.

2010-08-09T18:55:00.001-04:00

I haven't had much to write about recently. Truth is, usually I don't but can find something inane to post anyway. But I can't even make something up this time. Since September of 2004 (almost 6 years!) I've managed to post something every month, except for one. I'd say that's a pretty good track record.

There have been many blogs started by people I know, and most of them quickly fizzle out, some after less than a month. That's too bad, because I think the blog is a great way to keep up to date with the happenings and opinions of friends... much better than Facebook. I can understand how it can get discouraging if you have a streak of posts with zero comments and you aren't sure if anyone is actually reading. On the other hand, it's really encouraging when you get some post with lots of activity in the comments (my bar for "lots" is set at 5 at the moment). Just a note to those who have blogged and stopped, if a link to your old blog appears to the right, I was always reading.

Here's the funny thing about this post. I started it as a post basically to fill the gap until I had something to write about and it turned into a post about blogging itself. See? That's how easy it is. You don't have to have great things of great importance to say, just put down a blurb every once in a while. So, if you haven't blogged before or you used to and haven't in a while, give it a go (again). Not everything on the internet needs to be shared through Facebook.

This Sums It Up Nicely

2010-07-16T15:07:00.002-04:00

Today post over at Penny Arcade (starting at the 3rd paragraph) summed up why Microsoft shouldn't have cancelled 1 vs 100 pretty well.

I'm having trouble convincing myself why I should renew my XBox Live Gold account when it expires in October.

The End of 1 vs 100

2010-07-15T15:19:00.004-04:00

Today, it was announced that there will be no more 1 vs 100 on Xbox Live. This makes me sad. It was one of those video games that I could get almost anyone to enjoy playing, even if they weren't a gamer. Trivia is liked by nearly all and playing against tens of thousands (sometimes over 100,000) other people at once was a great feature.

I understand how they had to find sponsorship to run it, since they offered it free to anyone with an Xbox Live Gold account. If they couldn't find a sponsor to cover it, then I guess there's not much that they could do.

I hope that they can do more Live Primetime games like this, because it really was a great concept. Until then... very sad.

Welcome, Human Child

2010-07-12T21:47:00.002-04:00

Congrats to Joel, Pam and Anna on the arrival of Molly. (As announced on the recently restarted blog of Joel's)

World Cup Final

2010-07-11T12:29:00.003-04:00

It's a pretty momentous day today... The Netherlands is in the World Cup Final match for the first time since before I was born. I got my KNVB shirt on, ready to watch the game starting at 2:30. I find it a bit surprising that most commentators are making Spain the overwhelming favourite, even though before the tournament (like most tournaments), the Dutch are picked as one of the favourites. However, it was the same situation as when Holland played Brazil in the quarterfinals... the amount of shock people expressed in the Dutch victory was a little much and a bit disgusting at the same time. The Dutch are always talented and are always a threat to win. They're on a 25 game unbeaten streak. I can't see how anyone would write them off.

My pick is Netherland 2:1 Spain in extra time.

One thing to remember is that Spain has proven one thing that The Netherlands has not this World Cup... they've shown that they can be beaten.

New TV Ordered

2010-07-05T11:25:00.000-04:00

Thanks for all your suggestions in response to my last post. It seems the overwhelming opinion was in line with my original thought... go with LCD over plasma. I ended up ordering the Philips LCD set.

I'm glad I didn't rush into a sale in the store on Wednesday, because both of the sets I was looking at went on sale a few hours later in the Shop of the Future's online-only Canada Day Sale. I'm guessing the salesman knew about this, and while I can't blame him for trying to make his commission as opposed to telling me to buy it online, it really reinforces the fact that you have to really know exactly what you want when buying there, because you can't ever fully trust them.

Anyway, after the problem I had with my plasma and the other tiny day-to-day issues I had with it, it seemed silly to go with a plasma again. I would have really been kicking myself for that decision. I don't know why I even let that guy throw me off track.

Delivery is Wednesday afternoon. Exactly one day too late to watch Holland's semi-final victory over Uruguay. So, now my dilemma is do I watch it online, or just deal with the crappy picture on my current TV?

Help Me Replace My TV: LCD, LED or Plasma?

2010-06-30T20:07:00.001-04:00

So, I've started on my quest to replace my broken Dell plasma. My thinking going into this is that I don't need to go super-top-of-the-line, since just about everything is better in quality than a TV bought 4 years ago, but at the same time I might as well use this as an opportunity to upgrade the size. My initial leaning were towards the 55" LCD range. I know 2 of the issues about my old plasma is that it gave off a tonne of heat and (while I didn't have any permanent burn-in problems) there were temporary ghost images of static images left of the screen for a few minutes... that's why I was thinking LCD.

So, I went out to a local TV shop (not a chain, but just an independent) to see what they had. I couldn't get a feel for what they really offered, but the salesman there was seeming to guide me to Sharp's new line of LED TVs (with the fourth "yellow" pixel). While the image looked great on the showroom floor, I'm not convinced that the extra yellow pixel is anything more than a marketing ploy and that the brilliant picture was just achieved with playing around with the colour settings.

Tonight I went to look at the local Shop of the Future to see what they had. After talking to the salesman about my leanings towards an LCD and what I'll primarily use it for (let's be honest... gaming), he steered me back towards the 50" plasmas. He recommended the plasma due to its superior refresh rate over LCDs, among other things.

So as it stands right now, I'm stuck between a 55" Philips LCD and a 50" Panasonic Plasma. They're about the same price. Pros for the LCD: Larger screen, cooler operation, no annoying ghost images. Pros for the Plasma: Better refresh rate, better contrast ratio.

Help a guy out here. Anyone got opinions/experience with TVs recently?

Things Should Last Longer Than This, Right?

2010-06-29T11:51:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, right after the Dutch soccer game, my TV decides it's had enough of being a useful piece of electronics and the picture went all funky on me. Now everything I watch is along with a bunch of horizontal lines throughout the screen, no matter what source the video is coming from.

I'm sure there are TVs out there that have been working for about 40 years, but mine lasted barely more than 4. What is it with these high-end electronics that make them little more than disposable products?

Well, silver lining... bigger and better TV coming soon.

$200 Less Because I Don't Wear A Ring On My Left Hand

2010-06-16T17:07:00.003-04:00

I got a letter in the mail from Dalton McGuinty himself today. In it, it explains how the changes to the Ontario tax system will create 591,000 jobs and all sorts of other great things. To help us transition into this new and improved system that makes everything better, Dalton is giving away money to everyone. Seems to me, if it was so great, we should be paying him! Oh, wait... Anyway, ragging on the HST isn't the point of this post. The point is about the amount that we get under this Tax Transition Benefit.

According to the official site, a single person will get $300, while a couple (regardless of children) and single parents will get $1000. Excuse me? So, you're telling me that because two people signed a piece of paper and now live together, they get $200 more each? Maybe the rationale is that seeing how I love being single so much, I don't need as much money. Yeah... that's it. Thanks for kicking me while I'm down, McGuinty.

Plus, I think it's funny that a letter from the Ontario government is return-addressed to Summerside, PEI.

Popular For A Day

2010-06-14T13:47:00.002-04:00

A good day for hits on this blog is about 10 unique visitors. Most of the time, it's the usual suspects of people I know who check to see if I've posted something new lately. Well, today I decided to check the stats for my blog, just on a whim. What did I find for last Sunday? 698 unique visitors! Wow, that's just not a new record, but it completely dwarfs any previous daily total. Of course, on Sunday I posted about how I was in Leamington during the tornado. Well, apparently that post ranked high on Google for the search "Leamington Tornado".

Of course, I know that everything I post is public and potentially readable by anyone, but it's still kinda weird when I think of all the people who came across my random ramblings.

Tornado Photos

2010-06-13T19:10:00.002-04:00

As promised, here are some of the photos I took walking around the morning after the tornado in Leamington, as uploaded to Flickr. Obviously, the police kept everyone away from where most of the damage occurred, but I still got a couple shots in.

Leamington Tornado

2010-06-06T10:35:00.004-04:00

This week I've been surveying people riding the ferries to and from Pelee Island. I've been staying in Leamington this weekend, because one of the ferries begins and end its trips here. Last night a (suspected) tornado ripped through town, mostly along the lake. There are trees down everywhere and roads are closed. So far, I haven't heard of any reports of injuries, just lots and lots of property damage. Locals are all walking around where they can taking pictures... and I decided to join them. If I can get my hands on a USB cable, I'll upload the couple of shots I took to my flickr page.

The ferry service was cancelled this morning, so I got the morning off. It may run later, but out of Kingsville maybe. I still have to call the ferry service to find out.

Maybe I can get some danger pay out of this.

Lost Finale

2010-05-24T00:10:00.001-04:00

I, for one, was really satisfied with the series finale of Lost tonight. All good stories must have an ending.

What I'm Doing On My Summer Vacation

2010-05-23T11:24:00.003-04:00

This summer I'm coaching a minor baseball team here in Waterloo. There weren't enough parent coaches available so the manager, who I curl with, ask me if I was interested knowing that I used to play and umpire. Thinking it might be good to do some community volunteering for a change, I accepted. It's a Tier 2 Mosquito team (kids born in 1999... scary in and of itself), so we do a bit of travelling, but not too far. It's pretty good, as the kids are good enough to want to be there but they aren't the Tier 1, Triple-A, more focussed on winning pressure cooker. So far, we're at 1 win and 2 losses. If you really feel like keeping track of our progress, here is the league homepage (after clicking on schedule or standings, select Mosquito Tier 2 in the drop down box).

The downside to it is that it's a few more of my evenings every week taken up than I had originally thought. We usually have 2 games (home and away) and 2 practices each week. The consolation is that it's good fun while I'm out there.

Now all I have to do it learn all their names without using the lineup card as a cheat sheet.

Round 2 Picks For You

2010-04-30T21:06:00.002-04:00

I only picked 3 first round series correct, which means I did worse than most monkeys. But I got one exactly correct (Sharks in 6), so... consolation? Anyway, round 2 goes like this:

Pittsburgh 4-0 Montreal
Boston 4-2 Philadelphia
San Jose 4-2 Detroit
Chicago 4-1 Vancouver

Barenaked Ladies Concert

2010-04-27T22:17:00.002-04:00

I went to see Barenaked Ladies last night at Centre in the Square. I was really eager to catch them live since they became a 4 piece band. They certainly did not disappoint. Of course they played a bunch of stuff from their new album (which is pretty good), but there was a solid amount of their hits. I think my surprise favourite of the night was "Sound of Your Voice". The only song I had really hoped that they would play, but didn't, was "For You".

Of course, one of the things going into the concert was how were they going to be without Steven Page. Honestly, I can say except for one or two times during the concert, I didn't even really notice that something was missing... which I suppose means that there isn't. The only time I really noticed it was during "If I Had $1000000". Speaking of $1000000, someone actually threw Kraft Dinner on stage during the song. Really, guy? Really? I thought they got people to stop that like 10 years ago.

The crowd was a bit weird though. About a third teenagers, a third late 20's/early 30's, and a third seniors (for some reason). That, plus being in Centre in the Square, made the band work really hard to get people up out of their chairs during their songs... but they eventually succeeded. And kudos to them for doing it creatively (an impromtu rap which included the chorus of "get off your ass!"), instead of how I saw the Tea Party do it one time (they just simply said, "Stand up, this is a f*cking rock concert").

So, anyway, that was the third time I've seen them in concert. The first being at the Palace of Auburn Hills and the second at Bayfest. 3 very different venues. I'll see them again for sure.

What's In A (Country's) Name?

2010-04-21T22:53:00.000-04:00

Here's something that's always bothered me. Maybe you can shed some light on the subject. Why is it that there are some countries that have completely different names for in English from their native language? I'm looking at you Deutschland. You too Nippon. Don't think I forgot about you Bhārat. Eire, Norge, Italia... you're all on notice.

Maybe the question should be, why don't we call them by their native name? And it's not just limited to English. French has Pays-Bas, Corée, Allemagne to name a few. I can understand, to an extent, when a name is made up of actual words (United States = États-Unis in French, Cote d'Ivoire = Ivory Coast in English), but a name should be a name. If I were to go to another country, they wouldn't start calling me Kodos instead of Matt because that's how they say it. That would be weird... and it's not my name.

I want to single out Germany, because it's case is especially weird. For example... the Olympics, ok? Usually, the countries will be identified onscreen by their 3 letter short form in their own language (NED for Netherlands, SUI for Switzerland) but not Germany... they're GER instead of DEU. What's up with that? Well, maybe what goes on TV screens is out of their control. But then why do they paint GER on their own bobsleds?

Better Late Than Never Playoff Predictions

2010-04-19T01:01:00.003-04:00

Yeah, I made predictions for the NHL playoffs before they started. Honestly. So, I'm just posting it late. I'm totally not letting the knowledge of the last 5 night affect my predictions at all. Some of them are already wrong... but I'm still gonna post them.

Washington 4-1 Montreal
New Jersey 4-3 Philadelphia
Buffalo 4-2 Boston
Ottawa 4-2 Pittsburgh

San Jose 4-2 Colorado
Chicago 4-1 Nashville
Los Angeles 4-3 Vancouver
Detroit 4-1 Phoenix

See? Phoenix is already up 2-1 in their series. I can't get that one right now. But, in my defense, how was I supposed to know that Phoenix actually had a hockey team?

Today's Slurpee Conditions: Unnecessarily Frozen and Unofficial

2010-03-09T14:27:00.001-05:00

So, I bought a six pack of coke to put in the mini fridge I have in my hotel room. Yep, they're frozen solid now.

CYQG-CYPT-CYQG-CYPT-CYQG and so on

2010-03-07T21:27:00.006-05:00

I've been working in a new office since last Thursday.

It's the inside of a Cessna 208 (I think that's what kind of plane it is). I've been doing travel survey interviews (boo!) for people travelling to and from Pelee Island (which, at this time of year is by air). And since it's much easier to get people to participate before they take off, I've been flying in the plane as part of the job (yay!). It's about a 20 minute flight and it doesn't get too high, so you get to see Essex County from a nice aerial perspective. Here's a shot I took of Point Pelee:

The people have been warming up to me as I've spent a couple days there now (everyone knows everyone else on that island, it seems), and the pilot has been super-cool... even letting me sit up front on a couple trips:

Anyway, I'm really glad I like to fly, because it's been a really nice perk of a crappy, crappy job. It almost makes me want to learn to fly myself... but I know that takes a lot of time and money. I'm here for instant gratification, people.

Help Me Help Big Brothers

2010-02-25T15:22:00.002-05:00

This weekend is the annual Curl for Kids event, which is a fundraiser for Big Brothers of Sarnia-Lambton. This is my fourth year (I think) of participating. I'd appreciate any help you could throw my way for my fundraising effort.

Click here to go to my donation page.

Thanks.

Geocaching

2010-02-21T15:27:00.002-05:00

So, 5 years after signing up on the website, I finally went out and tried Geocaching last weekend when I was visiting friends in Belleville.

For those who are unaware of this hobby, people hide small containers with a logbook in public places and list the longitude and latitude online. Then you use your GPS to hunt it out. It's a fun reason to get outside and enjoy a walk. We were able to find 3 in a conservation area near Belleville, then when I got home I found a couple more in Waterloo Park. While in the park I ran into a couple of really experienced Geocachers and they gave me some good pointers on getting started out.

Anyone else ever try this. I think I might do some more of it, especially when the weather gets better.

Canada Wins The Gold... In Airing Commercials and Pointless Fillers

2010-02-15T19:22:00.003-05:00

So, I was actually going to write about how awesome the Olympic coverage has been so far from the Broadcast Consortium. The fact that there are 3 big networks showing coverage (4 if you include OLN, which I don't because it's not in HD) and there is really good online viewing is really great. However, I'm sitting here watching the coverage right now... It's about an hour after Canada won a silver in Snowboard Cross, and on CTV they're showing fluff pieces about the atheletes, on Sportsnet they're showing a replay of the Snowboard Cross final that THEY JUST SHOWED LIVE AN HOUR AGO, and TSN is showing a Women's hockey blowout. I'm thinking, "It's the Olympics... how strange that there's nothing else going on right now". I know the 500m speed skating is coming up tonight (that's one of the oft-played fluff pieces... yeah we get it, Wortherspoon fell in 2002). So I look up the schedule online, and in actuality, the first run of the 500 metres is on right now! It's just that it's not the Canadians' turn yet.

Is that what we've come to? We have a multitude of channels, and we won't show an event live if a Canadian isn't involved. Once upon a time, I remember thinking the American coverage was terrible in 1996 because they never showed anyone but Americans, while our coverage was superior because we gave coverage to whole events... and that was when we only had one station showing coverage. But I guess that's what we, as Canadians, are told we want to be. I'm just waiting for the tape delayed for primetime only coverage that we'll surely be getting in a few Olympics from now.

CTV, you have a chance to show that you're just as good as CBC when it comes to Olympic coverage, but you're quickly blowing it.

And I miss the CBC Olympic theme song.

More 1 vs 100 Fun

2010-02-07T16:13:00.003-05:00

With the 2nd season of 1 vs 100 winding down, I finally got to play in the Mob for a real prize today. Me and 37 other members of the mob outlasted the one, and in the process won 80 MS point (about a dollar) and a free arcade game (which this week was Marvel vs Capcom 2... not bad). The only weird thing is that all prizes are virtual, but I still have to wait 4-6 weeks for the prize. I suppose it's for contest verification or something, because it sure isn't for shipping and handling.

Now that I got my 1 vs 100 fill out of the way, I can watch the last half of the Tournament of Hearts. I think it'd be nice to see PEI win in their first final appearance ever.

This is a Dilly of a Pickle

2010-01-27T13:33:00.002-05:00

So, the commenting system I've been using on my blog is shutting down. I have 2 options: Switch to another commenting system owned by the same company, or switch back to the Blogger commenting system.

The first option is good because I can keep all my previous comments. The downside is that the interface is quite complex and COSTS MONEY. I've been given a 1 month trial, and that's what is active now.

The second option of using the Blogger default commenting system is good because it's free and relatively easy to use. The downside is that I'll lose all my previous comments.

What to do?

Now THAT'S a Lake Effect!

2010-01-03T18:35:00.003-05:00

I drove home today after being in Bright's Grove for 2 weeks. Of course, the day I drove back was some of the worst driving weather I've been through. Highway 402 was actually closed between exits 44 and 69. It took 2.5 hours to get to London. After that, it was fine though. All this after leaving Sarnia with no evidence whatsoever of snow (unless I looked at the Road Conditions website... which I did).

My New Favourite Person

2009-12-11T00:50:00.004-05:00

This letter to the editor was in today's Waterloo Region Record...

John Reidt, Sr. of Waterloo... you sir, are my new favourite person today.

Again With The Winter? Didn't We Just Have One Last Year?

2009-12-11T00:34:00.002-05:00

So, between the really cold temperatures up in Thunder Bay when I was up there on Tuesday and Wednesday and the article about a resort in Puerto Rico in the in-flight Air Canada magazine I read on the way back... I'm pretty sure I'm ready to go somewhere warm for a vacation. Really, just to be able to step off the plane and feel the warmth, that's all.

Oops... Where Did November Go?

2009-12-01T11:04:00.002-05:00

I just looked back and noticed that I didn't make a single post last month. That's the first time I've missed a month since I started this blog in 2004. So, a little catchup then?

Last week I participated in the Home Hardware Bonspiel. It's a regional bonspiel that that 13 area clubs all host games. In the 3 games I played in I went to the Galt Curling Club, Plattsville Curling Club and the KW Granite Club. It was fun to get to see the other clubs and meet some new people.

At the beginning of the month, I went to visit Joe in Halifax. I got a tour of his office, we went on the Keith's Brewery tour and did a bunch of gaming. Good times. Bonus: I found out how awfully convenient flying out of the Hamilton Airport is. No lines, no crowds and close parking. I put a couple pics up on the Facebook, if you're interested.

So Long Demon Drop

2009-10-29T11:17:00.003-04:00

I read this past week that the Demon Drop will be leaving Cedar Point after this year and moving to a park in California. Like so many rides at Cedar Point, I have good memories of this one. Back when I first went to Cedar Point, it was still relatively new and had quite the reputation (don't go on it after lunch... you'll throw up!). I always wondered how much money they made from the spare change falling out of people's pockets at the bottom.

While the Demon Drop doesn't have a large footprint, I hope that moving it will be part of making room for a new coaster sometime in the near future.

Matt vs 100

2009-10-25T22:28:00.000-04:00

So, best story ever tonight...

I've mentioned playing 1 vs 100 before. After a run this summer, they took a break before Season 2 starts. Well, it looks like they're almost ready, because this weekend was a preview of Season 2 just for Canadians (I assume it was limited to Canada to keep numbers down while they tested stuff out). I won't go into how it's played, but you can read the description at Wikipedia. Since it was just a preview, no actual prizes were at stake... it was just for fun.

Anyway, to get to the point, after the second round of the night tonight and being in the mob for those 2 rounds, I was selected to actually be the "One". Keep in mind that I had never been selected to be the One or in the Mob all last season (mostly because the games are on Fridays and Saturday evening... and in the summer, I had things to do and played the Live game rarely) so it was quite the exciting moment when the screen came up that said I had been selected as the One. Now, I'll admit that my chances of being in the mob or the One were much much better than usual, seeing how there was only just over 1000 players due to it being only in Canada and the short notice given... usually, from what I saw, the full version leveled out at 40,000 players last season.

Anyway, to get more to the point... I outlasted the mob and won! I can barely remember some of the questions... it's kind of a blur now. There was one about who the prime minister was during WWI and there was one that asked what the provincial bird of Saskatchewan was (I had to use a help on this one). I can't remember the others... my memory has faded. I don't know if I was the only one to outlast the mob tonight since I had to go offline for a bit during the middle... but from what I saw, I was.

I kinda feel for the Ones during the regular season... after I had won, I got a whole slew of messages and friend requests. Now, times that by 400, and the notifications wouldn't stop for days, I think.

Anyway, when the season starts up for real, I'll let you know. Hopefully I can get some people over to play with me. Or, even better, get yourself a 360 and join me online.

Seriously

2009-10-16T15:29:00.002-04:00

Why is it that every time you just want to browse in Futureshop you can't not be harassed by sales people, but if you're actually there to buy something there's not a salesperson in sight?

Home Is Where The Heart Is... So Your Real Home's In You Chest

2009-10-08T00:18:00.001-04:00

Wow, it's been over a year since I bought a house (and subsequently unbought it). I didn't realize it had been that long. So, thirteen months since then and well... not much has really changed. Am I still hunting for a house?

Well, yes and no.

On the one hand, the apartment I'm in right now just isn't really cutting it. With my office setup and other stuff, I'm struggling to find enough room around here. Also, there's the fact that once in a while, my neighbours are really loud, and I can hear them clear as day... which makes me hesitant to do things that make noise myself, since other people would probably be able to hear me too. Thirdly, I dream of the day I have my own laundry facilities. So, I'd love to get out of here.

On the other hand... I don't know how much the unbuying of house last year unnerved me to the whole process, but I've been a mountain of indecision since then. Basically, it boils down to this... the houses that are in my price range aren't what I'm looking for (which is to say I wouldn't be completely happy with) and the ones that I am looking for are out of my price range (and quite frankly, way too spacious for just me). Now, technically I could raise my price range (as the bank would let me do that), but then almost every cent would be going to a mortgage and bills (and how would I buy things like the new surround sound system I just got last week?) and I'm not prepared to go that route.

Other options include a condo, but the whole noise thing in my building has really made me wary of sharing walls anymore. Alternatively, I could move into another larger apartment, but then I'd have to sign a new year-long lease, and I'd have to give up my utilities-included sweetness that I enjoy now. Plus, my building is really nice as apartment buildings go, so a new apartment is definitely not the way to go either.

Gotta Find The Kind With Tiny Nubs...

2009-09-21T13:04:00.000-04:00

I was able to sneak in one more round of golf on Saturday. Went down to Dundee Golf Club and while it's a really nice course, it was really SLOW. The entire course was backed up the whole time. The marshals are really inept there, unless we're supposed to wait 10 mintues to tee off every hole. Anyways...

But the most exciting thing that happened was the head of my 4 iron flying off while taking a tee shot. Let me tell you, that's a weird feeling. Fortunately, the head went straight forward and not to the side. On the bright side, I now have a cool metal stick.

So I'm now down a 4-iron (broken head), 7-iron (broken handle), and pitching wedge (umm... I forgot it somewhere). Time for new clubs? The expense would probably be worth the 3 times I go out golfing each summer.

Matt Versus the Small-Nosed Sunglasses Designers

2009-08-26T10:40:00.003-04:00

So, once again, I find myself looking for a new pair of sunglasses after my current ones broke. What I really need is to get a case to carry them in, but unless I start buying more expensive glasses, I'm not really inclined to bother. But that's not the point here. The point is that I figure that nearly 90% of sunglasses have nose pads that are completely inadequate for people with wide bridges, like me. I find this in regular glasses too. It severely limits the selection of styles available. Maybe I should start looking at more expensive models, but if I've learned anything about designer stuff... they'll probably be even smaller.

Camping in Algonquin

2009-08-12T12:22:00.002-04:00

This past weekend I was up in Algonquin Park on a canoe/camping trip. This time we entered in through the east side of the park and stayed on St Andrews Lake. Here are some pictures.

A Non-Work Post

2009-07-21T10:57:00.003-04:00

So, I looked at my blog today and saw that the last post I made was a soliciatation for work. I hate putting those things up... it's like my work life intruding into my personal life. So, what better way to get rid of it than to make a new post?

So, what to write about? I notice the last time I mentioned Weight Watchers was back in March when I wrote how I had gained 10 pounds since getting off the program. Well, to bring you up to date on that... add another 10 pounds. The first 10 wasn't so bad, but the second 10... well, things just aren't fitting again. So, starting yesterday, I'm making a conscience effort to eat within my point target without having to go to an actual meeting. Yesterday was a success, but today the hunger pains (and when I say "pains" I mean "minor discomfort") are out in full force. My goal is to see if I can get to the end of the week staying on the program... and then we'll see from there.

Need Some Extra Cash? Want To Survey?

2009-07-14T15:55:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone,

We're doing travel surveys on Highway 26 up in and around Collingwood for the next couple weeks here at work. As usual, we're tight on staff (tight as in we're short). So anyone who want to spend a few (around 6 or 7) hours doing some short travel survey/interviews and make $15/hour doing so, let me know and I'll get you in touch with the appropriate people. Gord, I think, can vouch to how easy and straightforward the interviewing is. There are, however, a couple catches... First, we need people for the morning shifts (5:30am start on weekdays, 8:00am start on Sundays). Second, you'd be responsible to getting yourself to the sites, so it'd be a bit of a drive. The surveys will run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays for 2 weeks and then just Sundays after that. If it sounds like something you'd like to do, like I said, let me know.

Before Friday.

(Sponsor Name) (Race Title), Baby!

2009-07-12T23:43:00.003-04:00

Today was the ~~Molson Indy~~ ~~Steelback Grand Prix~~ Honda Indy Toronto. For something different, I watched the race with my Dad from the comfort of my parents' living room this year. Maybe it was getting used to the year off last year, or maybe a lingering bitterness at the Indy Racing League's buyout of Champ Car, or maybe a lack of a full-time ride for Paul Tracy or Alex Tagliani (and therefore, much less change of a good result for the Canadians) but we decided not to trek up to Garbage City this year.

A couple things I noted:

Both PT and Tag ran really well... 1-2 at one point. It looked good for both of them until Helio Castro Neves took out Paul and Alex tried a bit too hard to make a pass, ending his day.
Hearing the crowd boo the crap out of Castro Neves was beyond great. The guy didn't quite know how to handle it.
They really cut the number of stands significantly from years past. To their credit, it kept the stands they did have full.
Franchitti won... meh.
For people who say that Indy Cars and Champ Cars were the same thing... let me first point out the difference in the engine sounds. Sure, I have an obvious bias here, but the cars there this year don't sound nearly as sweet.

Indy Car has some evolving to do before I become half the fan I was of Champ Car. With Tony George "stepping down" as ringleader, it'll be interesting to see what happens. It's just too bad that didn't happen before he wrote his cheque to kill Champ Car.

Genius? or Smart Kid on the Short Bus?

2009-07-03T00:03:00.004-04:00

If you caught my facebook status yesterday, you'd have seen that I placed 5th in just over 1000 people in the Canadian edition of 1 vs 100 Extended Play on XBox Live. Well, tonight I did a bit better... First place, baby! That was even after missing the first question due to logging on late and getting 2 easy questions wrong early on because I was chatting to Joe about his bad blind date. Not that it means much... there's no prizes given away for Extended Play, but it's still kinda cool.

The Canadian edition is a special one tacked on at the end or beginning of each night of 1v100 where only Canadians answer Canada specific question. Now, the rest of the night is open to Canada and the US and it's general trivia. The number of players on those games is much higher (at it's peak it was up to 100,000 but it's settled down to about 20,000 for tonight) and good luck getting anywhere near the leaderboard. So, the Canada game is only for Canadians who've stuck around and haven't logged off yet.

But still, winning is fun.

Now the Live version of 1 vs 100 plays like the actual game show, and it's quite a bit different to watch/play. But it's only on Friday and Saturday nights. So, if you have an XBox 360 (and really, when was the last time you even touched that Wii?) and like trivia, give it a go.

Cedar Point 2009

2009-06-23T23:42:00.003-04:00

A week ago I got back from my most recent trip to Cedar Point. There were no new rides this year, but obviously there's still lots to do. We went on Saturday, did the starlight ticket, then 2 full day tickets on the Sunday and Monday. It had rained on Saturday, so by the time we got there the crowds were not very big. On Sunday, it was ridiculously not busy, and most rides had short lines. Strangely enough, Monday was much busier than Sunday. I had thought we went early enough in the year so weekdays would have low attendance. I had noticed the same phenomenon last year (although we went 2 week later), with Monday being more busy than Sunday. Next year, I think I want to try and do an even earlier trip.

So, here's the breakdown of this year's awesome trip: 3 times on Millenium Force (once at the front), 3 times on Top Thrill Dragster (once at front), 2 times on Raptor (once at front), 2 times on Maverick (once at front), twice on Wicked Twister, Magnum XL200, Mean Streak (twice too many), Power Tower and Sky Hawk. The others we only got on once. Also, I had a blast playing Deal or No Deal in the arcade and came home with a spiffy mug.

Rock Band Library

2009-05-26T22:34:00.002-04:00

So, I was thinking about how much my Rock Band library has grown since I got it. In fact, it's starting to become difficult to get an overall picture of what songs are available by using the on-screen menu. I thought it would be useful if I had a list like a Karaoke Bar of all the song I had... So, I made one up. Turns out, I have 224 songs available in my Rock Band 2 game, counting the imported songs from Rock Band 1, my downloaded songs, and my imported songs from track packs. That's a lot of songs! Want to see my list?

Here it is!

I know my list will grow by at least 1 more... because Kenny Roger's "The Gambler" is due to come out sometime, and that's going to be awesome!

So, now I just need people to come over and play.

The Worst Disappointment In The History Of Human Civilization

2009-05-20T16:44:00.004-04:00

You know what makes me mad?

The fact that when Season 4.5 of Battlestar Galactica comes out on DVD, it won't fit on the same row as the rest of them. Who do I blame? Universal for making the packaging too big, or Ikea for making the shelves too narrow?

Chuck Renewed For Season 3!

2009-05-19T20:08:00.002-04:00

... and there was much rejoicing!

NBC renewed my new favourite show, Chuck, for a third season. However, right now it's just for a shortened 13 episode season with an option for 9 more, but that's far better than getting cancelled. Now all it has to do is gain a little traction from this "Save Chuck" movement so it can get an extension and more seasons. It's going to be a mid-season show and won't start until after the Olympics... so expect to hear more from me then.

In the meantime, if anyone wants to check this show out and borrow my Season 1 DVDs, let me know and I'll get them back from Joel.

My Experience With Internet Telephony

2009-05-14T21:25:00.000-04:00

Right now, for work, we're doing telephone travel surveys for Stratford. Because Stratford is long distance from Waterloo, I had to look into options to keep calling costs down. Travelling to Stratford every night wasn't an option (milage would add up), and I didn't want our surveyor names to show up on call id. So, the best option seemed to be using the internet.

I first looked at Skype, since they're the best-known service, but they charge a connection fee of 6 cents each time you call a real number on top of the 2.9 cents per minute. Bell Internet Talk is the service that I ended up using, which uses Windows Live Messenger. As a service by itself, it worked decently. Quality was good and it was also 2.9 cents per minute without the connection charge per call. The problem arose when I tried to create 5 new hotmail accounts for my 5 surveyors. After 2, Microsoft blocked my IP from creating more hotmail accounts (presumably to prevent spammers), so I had to create them from other people's houses.

Once I got the accounts created, I tried to put money on the accounts (since it's pre-paid). After the first 2 accounts worked fine, I was unable to add money with my credit card anymore. I did manage to get around that (through endless chat sessions with customer service) and set up the accounts with money and set to automatically recharge to my credit card.

Well, as soon as the auto-recharges started happening, my accounts kept getting locked, and no amount of unlocking the accounts and chat sessions with customer service would help. I think that my credit card was raising red flags, since I've never used this type of service before. But even when I tried other cards, my account would still get locked.

So, my conclusion is that phone calls over the internet aren't a bad way to go... just don't try and get 5 accounts going at once.

New Star Trek Movie

2009-05-10T23:13:00.002-04:00

I went to see the new Star Trek movie this weekend. My verdict is that it is all kinds of awesome! And it looks like it raked in a tonne of money this weekend. Here's hoping that it will bring about a sequel or two with this "rebooted" version.

I so have to see it again.

Matt Needs Your Help

2009-04-29T14:37:00.003-04:00

Hey everyone. Can you do me a favour? Can you test out a web-based survey I created for a work project and see if it's worded clearly and the options make sense? The survey was here.

What we're doing is asking people about their travel habits to get an idea of demand around the city. The survey isn't live yet, so responses you give now won't be included in our data and won't skew our results, so go nuts.

Thanks for your help, if you did it.

Update: I took the link down because the survey will be going live soon. I made a few changes based on your comments... thanks.