Round 2 Pick-a-roo

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

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

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

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

I Love Elections, But...

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

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

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

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?

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"?

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.