Every Sport Puck No

rant sports has a very apropos article about ESPN and their indifference to all things hockey.

This is why I can't stand TSN 1290 when the jets aren't playing. Non stop NBA and football and baseball from their ESPN feed. Nothing else. I'd rather listen to dead air or a high pitched buzzing noise or babies crying on a loop. TSN Radio should seriously work on dropping ESPN. Not that I don't find other sports interesting, but ugh, they're just so tedious.

The end is Nye

Consider the following

So I'm reading the Winnipeg metro today, boxing day 2011, and they've got half the paper devoted to end of the world prophecies. Now, I've.. WE'VE dealt with this before... 12 years ago.. but some people are simply eternal optimists and refuse to give up. If the Mayan calendar ends at the end of 2012, then obviously it means the end of the world as we know it. Heck, REM broke up this year.. maybe they know something. Hopefully they feel fine.

Bill Bill Bill!

So back to the metro. They asked 412 individuals who the best and brightest they would bring with them. Top 3? Barack Obama, a doctor, and the dalai lama. Doctor. .. I'm OK with. But Obama? Why? Who needs politicians? And the dalai lama doesn't make sense. Why pick a seriously old Tibetan monk when he's just going to reincarnate anyways? What a waste!

Nye Nye Nye!

Other choices included brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.. yeah. and Keanu Reeves and Oprah Winfrey as celebrities they would bring if they could bring a celebrity. Meh.

But the most ridiculous thing I read was Adam Carolla's response to the question "What is your last meal" if the world was going to end. He actually said he'd go to the busiest restaurant and keep changing his order three or four times. First of all - good luck finding a restaurant open at the end of the world willing to deal with your smug self-entitled bullshit. Even if he's joking .. it doesn't come across as a joke, but Adam Carolla's never been funny to me.. even if, it's still such a douchebaggy thought to put out there. And second, its the end of the world, everyones going to be looting and raping and pillaging. You're going to be hiding in your bomb shelter eating cans of beans hiding and shivering in a corner making no noise in case you're discovered by the last remnants of humanity.

Bill Nye the science guy!

Anyways, its all moot, the world isn't going to end in 2012. Right Bill? Right.

Boxing day was so bad this year

I got a concussion.

Seriously, I couldn't get my phone to connect to MTS in St James it was so busy.. but there was nothing worth buying.  It made no sense.

Cosmos - With Ilya Bryzgalov

SOPA - The NHL wants to Censor the internet.

How would you like an American law that basically censors the entire internet the way China is censored? Without any real oversight? Guess what! That law is currently being pushed in the United States after many large multinational companies paid off "lobbied" some politicians enough to push it through. Among those companies are all of the major professional sports leagues of North America, including the NHL.

Now, I get where the NHL is coming from. Obviously here in Winnipeg, there are counterfeit Jets jerseys being bought and sold. It's worse on the internet. Obviously the NHL wants to protect their business. There are also streaming sites out there that they might wish to have shut down.. though I consider the proliferation of streaming sites a reaction to the needs of consumers not being met, not piracy that needs to be stamped out. I mean nothing is more infuriating to a Jets fan stuck in Vancouver not being able to watch TSN Jets. If I could subscribe to TSN Jets through a $10 web stream and not have to pay for basic cable, I'd pay it. Granted I'm happy with the radio feed.

But SOPA is to anti-counterfeiting and copyright protection what the Code of Hammurabai is to family law. It's akin to dropping a nuke on a city in order to kill a terrorist. It incriminates far too many people and gives far too sweeping powers to individuals and entities that CAN'T BE TRUSTED to use them.

Obviously as a Canadian, there is little we can actually do, even though this law effects us, we cannot threaten an American politician with votes. We get all the "benefits" of these laws with none of the say. Lucky us, to be serfs in a globalization game of thrones.

We can boycott companies who do support (foolishly) this law. GoDaddy recently backed down from their pro-SOPA stance thanks to the THREAT of a boycott. But lets be realistic, nobody is going to boycott the NHL. Especially here in Winnipeg. But we can hopefully communicate to the powers that be our distaste for this entire premise. Being anti-SOPA is not being Pro-piracy. Piracy is not something that can be legislated away anyways. Obviously as consumers everyone wants creators to profit from their works. I myself write this blog and would hate to have others steal it and post it under their own name. That said, a bad law is a bad law, and insane people who push those laws because they think theres something in it for them need to step back and rethink what stepping off the edge of a cliff will do to them.

These giant companies that are most in favour of SOPA? They want us to go back to the days of AOL or Compuserve or prodigy where they control everything we see and hear. They want to turn the Internet into a passive media where they profit off of every bit.

Christmas wishlists and Retail details

I keep reading articles about retail businesses complaining how the recession or online shopping is hurting their sales.  I have to disagree.  What is hurting sales is the fact that every single store sells the exact same Chinese crap as every other store.  If I want to buy something, often I'm FORCED to buy online because local selection is non existent.  There is no variety.  Especially between large chain stores. 
That's probably the reason specialty stores are coming out relatively unscathed.  Good for them. 

Canadian retail selection is horrible.  If you look at products available in the USA that aren't available here you can see how bad it is.  While price is always a consideration,  as long as people aren't being horribly gouged its not a deal killer.

Why anyone does shop retail in Canada is beyond me.

To the Jets fan with the sign "Teemu we forgive you"

Forgive him for what? Being a class act? Being one of the greatest all time hockey players?

You're an idiot, and you made the people around you look like idiots.

Daddy's girl Paris Jackson

So I'm reading today's metro winnipeg newspaper and Paris Jackson, Michael's daughter, is talking about her decision to take up acting. Which is great. Good luck to her I wish her all the success in the world ..

But what causes me concern and pushes me to make this blog post is how she says her decision to act is due to her father.  In an upcoming interview on Ellen she says "My dad was in the movie Moonwalker and I knew he could sing really well, but I didn't know he could act.  I saw that and I said, "Wow I want to be just like him."

Now I'm one of the few people in the world who sat through Moonwalker for its entire duration.  Horrible horrible movie.  Michael Jackson was a brilliant singer and dancer, but as far as acting is concerned .. not so good.  In fact if you think Michaels role in Moonwalker was impressive, I worry for your sanity.  Its bad, its bad, you know it.  It's up there with mariah carreys glitter as one of the top 5 reasons singers shouldn't act.  Fortunately marky mark and eminem are arguments in the other direction.  Jamon.. heehee.

Boo Who?

With regards to the notion that the Winnipeg Jets taking money from other segments of society.. such as donations to such and such or visits to the arts or theatres or concert hall or what have you.. TOO BAD SO SAD. You've all had 15 years of support without the Jets here. But now you have competition, tough competition at that. It's not even about the money, its about time and interest levels.

I have never visited the Ballet. I have no interest in dance of any kind. I rarely go to the concert hall. While I do appreciate the distinct sound of a live orchestra, I can live without it. As for going to plays or what have you.. its not something I go out of my way for.

But does the Jets crowd really intersect with the Ballet or concert-going crowd all that much? I highly doubt it. But the Jets have better marketing. I've never seen any piece of advertising that would convince me to visit the ballet.

The point is, if you're not getting fans in the seats.. leave to the American south for 15 years. Then miraculously come back. Instant sellouts. Go for it.

If I suddenly became a billionaire tycoon

And I had to build an Asian headquarters for my awesome company that sells I dunno.. working hoverboards, I'd totally hire a feng shui expert and do the complete opposite of what they recommend. 

Wheres wald..Winnipeg?

It must be difficult for Americans to find winnipeg on a map, all tucked away down there.  So far I've seen winnipeg placed in BC and Alberta in articles about the jets.  At least they put us in the west.

Building Better Borders

In my opinion any politician who votes in favour of the US Border "Deal" should be tried and sent to prison for treason. I'm a citizen of Canada, the USA has no business dictating how Canada runs its business. The USA has no business poking its nose into ours. Imagine if this was China we were giving this information to? Or WWII Germany? Disgusting. If you voted Conservative knowing that this raw deal was in the works, shame on you. If you want to be an American so badly, apply for U.S. Citizenship.

Santa vs Dragons

So I'm watching CBC (Finally available in high definition in Winnipeg with an antenna) and a commercial for Dragons Den comes up. Santa Claus is going to visit the Dragons Den.

Now I don't know how this is going to work out.. but it got me imagining a scenario where Santa comes up to the Dragons looking for 10% of his North Pole based corporation in exchange for oh I dunno, two million dollars.. then proceeds to explain his business plan of giving toys for free to good little boys and girls.

I'd watch the heck out of that.

Using street name pronounciations to prove someone is a winnipeger

Notre dame - its pronounced no ter dame .  Why?  Nobody knows. 

Leila - its not Layla like the song its leela like the futurama and Doctor Who characters.  Why?  Nobody knows!

Lagimodiere - watching an out of towner try to say this word is incredibly fascinating.

Portage - yes its derived from the French word portage, but we don't say it that way.  Again.. no idea why.

Any other street names out there that have unique winnipeg pronounciations?  Let me know in the comments!

Dominoes Pizza and other Facebook whores.

Dominoes, if you want me to like you on Facebook, giving me a 50% off deal only if I go through facebook is not going to do it. In fact, if you want my love, its a lot more expensive. Too bad most people appear to have low standards. My like vote will cost you $10,000 dollars. In the meantime, I will be removing myself from all Dominos pizza mailing lists and ordering pizza elsewhere from now on. I don't have any desire to spend my money on companies who are facebook whores.

NHL Realignment

So the NHL is set to do a re-alignment with Winnipeg in a central time zone-ish conference. This is probably the best solution, but I think they should bring back the conference names. I miss the old division names like Smyth division, Adams division, Patrick division, and Norris divisions. And the Wales and Campbell conferences rather than the Eastern and Western conferences. It just sounded classier.

I suppose they could go an updated route and instead of old owners they can name the new conferences after the greatest players of all time. Thus the Gretzky Conference with Edmonton and LA and the rest, perhaps the Hull Conference with Winnipeg and Chicago and so forth, the Richard conference with Montreal (or the Orr conference? I dunno!), and.. perhaps the Lemieux conference. It kind of works out nicely.

Conference A	Conference B	Conference C	Conference D
Anaheim	Chicago	Boston	Carolina
Calgary	Columbus	Buffalo	New Jersey
Colorado	Dallas	Florida	N.Y. Islanders
Edmonton	Detroit	Montreal	N.Y. Rangers
Los Angeles	Minnesota	Ottawa	Philadelphia
Phoenix	Nashville	Tampa Bay	Pittsburgh
San Jose	St. Louis	Toronto	Washington
Vancouver	Winnipeg

Moose Droppings

Apparently the Philadelphia 76'ers are having a "pick the mascot contest". Now, I hate basketball, and I'm really not a mascot aficionado, but heres the thing. One of the proposed mascots is named Phil E. Moose. A Moose.

What do Moose have to do with Philadelphia? I guess maybe they have one at the zoo there?

I understand where they get the "Phil E." from, but Mick E. Moose of the Manitoba Moose and now the Winnipeg Jets is so close that it's freaky.

Perhaps a cease and desist order is in order?

Interestingly, the Flyers don't have a mascot.

Listening to TSN Radio 1290 (and other local radio stations)

For a while I was content to listen to TSN 1290 in winnipeg using the tunein radio app for android.. but I ultimately wanted a better solution. Ideally it'd be great if cell phones included AM/FM radio and voice recording options, but for some reason the more convergence we get the less there is. Ultimately features are left out because hey, you can use the internet and stream it. And nobody uses AM/FM radio anyways! Though you can usually get FM radio. Supposedly AM doesn't mix well with mp3 decoding somehow. That's what I heard. I don't understand it, nor do I care. Now, sure there are cheap analogue AM/FM radios all over with a dial that you tune to the station you want.. and if that's good enough for you, great. But those ALWAYS break. The dial stops dialing because you dialed it too far, or the volume is no good. I wanted a digital solution. I can press a button, and voila, radio station, and it even says what frequency I'm tuned into on the LCD screen.

Oddly enough I found what I wanted at the source (formerly the source by circuit city but now Bell source). Or maybe it's not so odd considering TSN 1290 and the Source are both owned by Bell. Yes they're one of the most evil companies on the planet next to Monsanto and nestle and shell.. but they have - until December 14 at least - a digital AM/FM pocket radio tuner by Centrios on sale for 24.99+taxes. Regular price is 50 bucks so it's half price right now. The nice thing about it is it is digital. No knob on the side and a clock and digital screen that lights up. I got pretty good reception with it. $25 is a fair price for what you're getting. These devices in this format are really difficult to find.

Seriously its about the size of a pocket digital recorder. Very portable. In fact it'd be nice if they had a recording capability but what can you do.

Takes 2 AAA batteries .. it'd be nice if it took a cell phone battery that recharged with a USB port but beggars can't be choosers.

Lights up in orange on the led screen when you use it. Even has dbbs. Dynamic Bass Boost.

Also has a slot for putting a carrying strap through, and you can even toggle a lock button so you don't accidentally change the station. All in all a good deal for a Christmas present.

It looks exactly like the Coby CX90. Which comes in Silver and Black and has a blue backlight as opposed to the orange of the Centrios. It's probably the same device, and you can get the CX 90 for $10-$20 online, but it's hard to find anyone selling them in Winnipeg and you'll probably have to pay shipping and wait for it to arrive anyways, so if you want something right away, the Centrios is on sale at the source until the 14th of December.

Juice(idiot)box

So I'm listening to the illegal curve hockey show and the most infuriating commercial I've heard in a while came up. Apparently there is a digital channel called "juicebox" which bills itself as television you can leave on for your kids without parental supervision or worry.. then they state that their programming consists of Justin beiber and selina Gomez and other such horrible horrible role models. If I had kids, I'd feel safer forcing them to watch cartoons all day than this horrid tween bile. Basically, if you subscribe to this channel then in my mind you're a horrible person and a horrible parent.

Hey you know its true.

Greed traps

So the new extension to the Chief Peguis Trail opened today (Finally), and according to reports from CTV, they already had a police speed trap set up. REALLY? Really, police? It's a new road, people are just getting adjusted to it, learning the speed limit, and you're going there? Shameful and blatantly opportunistic. I hope they didn't catch anybody speeding.

Hopefully they start construction of the extension the other way from Chief Peguis to McPhillips next year. I can't see it costing as much, I doubt it even needs a single overpass. Once thats done, Main Street won't be jammed all the way down between 3 and 5:30pm.