Wall Street Journal's Best and Worst ads of 2008

The Wall Street Journal online has put together a list of best and worst ads of 2008. No surprise the worst list included the Bill Gates Jerry Seinfeld microsoft ads that talked about did not talk of product features or create a strong brand image. One of the best ads was the E*Trade baby ad, that showed Superbowl fans that the stock trading service was easy.

Stuff I like

I enjoy satire that points out the predictability of people like: people who think themselves to be unique, quirky and individualist.

One website that really captures the tastes of left-leaning university educated middle to upper class North Americans is Stuff White People Like. The site, which I've been reading for some time since learning about it on a local forum, is written as a guidebook for those trying to befriend people in "white" culture. One can gather from the blog that "white" culture, which is defined as the "unique tastes of millions," can be a little shallow as it pursues hip lifestyle.

My favorite posts are: #107 Self Aware Hip Hop References, #102 Children’s Games as Adults and #73 Gentrification.

I imagine blogging posts to Stuff White People Like might show up on the list soon.

Change update

So I wasn't a very good citizen last night. I laid down for a nap after work and neglected to move my car to the alternate side of the street as south end Saint Johners must to celebrate the coming of the 16th of any month.

Now I have a $15 dollar parking ticket to pay.

I plan on paying with some rolled change.

Should be fun.

Deep Thoughts

If you like humorous pop-philosophy check out Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey. The thoughts used to appear on Saturday Night Live. The pieces of quasi-wisdom are online at http://www.deepthoughtsbyjackhandey.com/.

Here's a recent Deep Thought:

The greatest medicine in the world is human laughter and the
worst medicine is zombie laughter.

Coin Bank Machine deposits

I have a problem. It's not a big problem. More of an issue.

I have a lot of coins (about $64 dollars of rolled coin) and a PC Financial Bank account. The problem is that while PC Financial offers free bank accounts, they do not offer teller service.

I wish a local bank or store had a Coinstar, or similar machine, that would allow me to convert coin into paper money for a small fee.

Better yet, I wish there was a bank machines in town that was equipped with coin counters, for ease of deposit.

Being that it is Christmas time, I was thinking I could donate some of the cash, but I will feel a little foolish bringing a first full of rolled coins to a charity's administration desk.

When I was in university I enjoyed using our Canon Rebel DSLR when volunteering for the student paper. That was in the early 2000's. I want to have a DSLR to play with again. I'm considering the following:

• Canon EOS 1000D / Digital Rebel XS
• Canon EOS 450D / Digital Rebel XSi
• Nikon D60
• Sony Alpha DSLR-A350

Price is a factor as are reviews. I'm partial to the reviews at dpreview.com but am willing to take anonymous advice from commenters.

I was impressed with what could be done with the 2003 generation Canon Rebel, and surely would be pleased with any of the above.

As much as I hate to admit, my desire to get a new camera was reignited in part by the recent Avril Lavigne ads for the Rebel XSi.

Thanksgiving gets Rickrolled

A float at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade was Rickrolled this year (though it is pretty apparent that the Rickrolled float was in on the joke). All the same it is a little funny. Read about it on NME. Video below:

For good measure here's the best Rickrolling themed video I've seen. The Barack Roll:

Mr. T endorsed cooking product

I caught the end of an informercial for the Flavorwave Turbo. A cooking product has to be good when it's endorsed by Mr. T.

Gas Prices going down, already less than much of the world

Portfolio.com has a really cool interactive map where you can compare the average gas prices in different countries of the world. One can easily see that we in Canada have a lower prices than much of Europe and Africa and parts of Asia and South America.

According to the CBC gas guru gasoline in New Brunswick should be going down another $0.03 per litre tonight.

Sea Shepherds TV

Paul Watson is a maverick environmental activist. I watched in the film Sharkwater his Sea Shepherds organization attempt to stop high-seas criminals killing sharks for fins. His techniques involve ramming offending boats and violent and non-violent action to stop those who are decimating our seas through irresponsible practices. Fredericton blogger Spinks ranked Watson as number 28 on his list of 101 People Screwing Up Canada, calling him an eco-terrorist.

I've recently seen previews for Animal Planet show Whale Wars on which the Sea Shepherds hoist their Jolly Roger and try to stop the whaling that is depleting the numbers of these large sea animals.

I expect the show to be exciting drama, but full of heart breaking imagery of dieing animals. I hope to watch this show if ever its replaying on channels in my cable package.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians. I went to a family dinner yesterday that was full of Thanksgiving goodies - including my homemade cranberry sauce.

A highlight of my Thanksgiving weekend has to be getting to see Iron Chef America: Battle Cranberry, featuring Giada de Laurentiis and Rachael Ray. There are a number of clips from the episode on YouTube. All sorts of sweet and savoury cranberry dishes.

Mispec River

A friend and I went on a pretty cool hike today that involved crossing the Mispec River with our shoes off and pant cuffs rolled up to our knees. Below a few photos along the river and of my damp, post-crossing feet.

I'm a PC just like BG

I love the new Microsoft ads. The commercials play off of the Mac ads that paint PCs a dull, by introducing PC users as hip, including Pharrell Williams, astronauts, architects, designers and others. The ad campaign website is at http://imapc.lifewithoutwalls.com/ with the commercials posted at http://imapc.lifewithoutwalls.com/watch/

(I posted this from my Toshiba notebook)

Save.ca

I'm trying to be frugal of late - bad economic times and all. In my adventures in saving I have started visiting Save.ca. The technology allows you to browse for product coupons that are sent to you by mail. I like the coupons and am likely to continue using the service, but it seems like a half-step to me, to have an online resource that sends hard copy coupons when downloadable and printable versions would be cheaper for the companies involved.

Who should I vote for

I'm considering who I should vote for in the upcoming federal election. My options are:

• Liberal Paul Zed
• Conservative Rodney Weston
• New Democrat Tony Mowery
• Green Michael Richardson

Federal politics interest me, but I'm no expert. Here are my thoughts. Offer your thoughts in the comments section.

Zed seems to push for local issues and seems able to work with a party that isn't his when his isn't in government.

Rodney Weston has experience with the provincial government and could likely move into the position of MP without too much of a learning curve. Also, if the Conservatives win (which appears likely), Saint John would have a government member (which is supposed to be a good thing).

Tony Mowery seems to get local issues and was popular in the west side in the recently municipal election. I agree with the NDP on many social issues, though I'm concerned about how they would be at governing (spending money on social programs is good, but running a Federal Budget with no previous experience could be tough).

Mike Richardson seems to be a pretty reasonable guy. I respect that he ran for mayor (with little chance of winning) in spite of critics saying he should work on name recognition first. I think the Green's ideology that the economy and the environment must both be considered in policy decisions. Still, I bet Mike Richardson's run will likely just get "his name out there." This will be positive for his future in local politics.

I have until October to decide, and am open to suggestions.

House, without ads

I just watched an episode of House on the Global TV website. I find it odd that there is no advertising on these full episode. The show was split into 6 clips, I'm surprised that none of them started with an advertisement. The only revenue generation seems to be from a small still ad at the bottom of the screen.

I wonder what the revenue model is for showing TV programs in their entirety without forcing me to watch tradition TV style ads. I doubt dose.ca's ad at the bottom of the page generates as much cash for the TV station as the advertising during the show's original broadcast.

Edit: There is also a 3 ad, Google Adsense text ad.

Natural Gas follow up

I visited the Enbridge NB website. The comparison of fuel on a litre to litre basis that I wrote about yesterday is clarified on the Enbridge site by this:

• "Note: These charges are strictly commodity vs. commodity and do not account for equipment efficiencies."

The site also offers a comparison between the price of electricity and the price of natural gas. The comparison of these heat sources is done on the basis of price per kilowatt hour. This sort of comparison is likely to be more helpful to consumers than the per litre comparison offered when comparing oil to gas.

Natural Gas

I recently saw a bill board promoting natural gas as a home heating fuel.

The sign indicates that natural gas costs $0.15 less per litre than heating oil.

The problem I see with this as a measure of cost effectiveness is simple: we don't measure fuel effeciency in litres. If natural gas and oil don't produce the same amount of heat per litre, then cost per litre doesn't help us decide which is a better deal.

If we are to decide which fuel is a better deal, we need to compare cost per heating unit; perhaps a sign that tells us cost per BTU would better assist customers in making an informed decision about heating costs.

Another issue one must consider before making a decision is the upfront costs associated with each fuel type.

Keeping our cool

I just heard on CBC's Quirks and Quarks Andrew Weaver, environmental scientist and author of Keeping Our Cool: Canada in a Warming World.

My understanding of science is limited to high school courses, and documentary watching. Still, Weaver said something that made me question what he had to say about global warming. Weaver said that the global warming symptoms are worse than projected by the most "pessimistic" models.

What I am curious about is this: if the results of global warming are worse than models project, meaning the models do not yield results replicated in the real world, are the models valid?

While the concepts around global warming and the human causes seem realistic to me (again, I'm not that scientific), if we are depending on models to make decisions about how we react to global warming, shouldn't we rely on models that march reality?

New Home

I've moved into my new apartment. The move was a little stressful, but everything I own fit, so that's good news. I like my new apartment, it's pretty modern inside. The building, in the Heritage Preservation area, should give me instant cred, with the uptownsy folks ;)

Getting out of my old place taught me a lesson though. Make sure your landlord follows the rentalsman regulations. My former roommate and I realized too late that the landlord did not forward our damage deposit to the rentalsman and is now claiming we have to pay (from our deposit) to fix various damages that existed before we moved in.

YouTube Find: David Sides

I found a piano cover of my favourite (non-Shatner) karaoke song (Party Like a Rock star). The pianist is David Sides, and he has a lot of cool piano covers of popular songs.

Improv Everywhere

I like making people uncomfortable, causing scenes and pretending I am able to create performance art. Thus I love Improv Everywhere and their mass of YouTube videos in which they pull off quirky acts of mass participation in public places. One event had a group of 200 or so holding in the same position for 5 minutes in Grand Central Station. Another event was an impromptu seeming musical in a food court.

A local comedy/improv group worked on a similar project involving folks listening to directions and going through a series of actions through mp3 player headphones. I missed the event, but aim to participate in a future improv experience.

Ivan Court uses public private partnership

According to 94 FM News,

• "The paperwork is flowing at the Planning Department in city hall -- so much so -- Mayor Ivan Court says an outside firm has been hired to help process the growing number of development applications."

Hopefully no one lets the mayor or his brother know that this is a public private partnership.

Irving Media Monopoly

The hip people in town love telling up that Irving has a monopoly on local media and thus they are evil.

They could be evil, but who are "they."

It has been reported in the national media that succession planning and internal conflict are leading to a break up of Irving assets.

Te fact that one guy who is an Irving owning a newspaper does NOT indicate that the newspaper is creating biased coverage of all projects being done by guys named Irving.

Harbour Station ticket ordering

There has been talk on radio and in the letters to the editor page of the paper that Harbour Station needs to update its online and telephone ticket ordering systems.

To what end?

The criticisms I've heard seem to be in the vein of "people can't get tickets online before they are sold out for major events." People demand Harbour Station spend part of its operating budget on making ticket buying easier, rather than using the money for promoting and attracting new events.

Why would Harbour Station change what it is doing after they were able to sell out for an Elton John show in less than a day? If Harbour Station was not selling out events because of their systems, they could do a cost benefit analysis and decide if a change were in order. Right now they are selling shows out without incurring additional system costs. They should keep doing the same until there is an economic case for changing.

Irving Oil headquarters negotiation

Irving Oil executives negotiated a low fixed tax rate for its new LNG terminal in east Saint John. Since a deal was struck with the approval of council in 2005 there have been many critics.

Irving Oil is now proposing to build its new headquarters in uptown Saint John. This will be good for the uptown economy and community and will benefit Saint John as a whole. Still, for this to proceed, the city needs to sell Irving a piece of land (the former sugar refinery site). The land that is needed will be swapped with the port for the land on which Irving wishes to build.

The city should sell the land to Irving Oil for what it is worth. Council should approve this. But if Mayor Ivan Court wants to win a moral victory for the citizens against the fixed assessment, he should ask Irving Oil to agree to the assessment increasing with inflation as a condition of the sale.

While Irving Oil is not the sole owner of the LNG project, and the tax bill may not change, the company could pay this additional “tax” into a special fund that the city can use for special projects (I think environmental responsibility initiatives could be a good fit).

Emergency Ferry Service

I learned today while cycling back from the Kingston Peninsula that a ferry will unload it's centre aisle and rush an ambulance to the other side when needed. This seems reasonable, but was a bit of a novelty for me having never seen this happen before. Hopefully all is well for the person who needed the ambulance.

Future of Fundy Footpath

I went for a hike and camped on the Fundy Footpath this past weekend. Three of us went in to Seely Beach, about 8.2 km from where we started at Big Salmon River. The Footpath is a rugged hike, made more of a challenge by carrying in our camping gear. It was a good time and the difficulty is part of the fun, but I would not recommend the trip for everyone.

However, our provincial government wants to make the footpath’s highlights available to anyone with a car and the desire to gas up and drive through the heart of nature. This will make the Footpath far less of an adventure; I don't want to hike to a camp site knowing in the back of my mind a road is just a few minutes (or less) away.

I find it difficult to understand why the province is putting so much cash into this project that seems to be tied to the hope that it will generate tourist dollars. As gas prices go up, drive-by vacations might soon be rather unappealing. Also, by putting a road through the park, we are hurting our chances of inviting eco-tourists to the area.

I’m happy to have done this hike and hope to get to enjoy more of the trail before a line up of SUVs can meet me half way in.

Photos: Road work being done at Big Salmon River, including a car bridge (left). Clearing and Future road (right).

Tom Young on IOL HQ debate

I love Tom Young.

Here is part of his opinion on the Irving Oil headquarters location debate:

• "There are many reasons the city of Saint John trails other cities in development and most of the reasons are some of the people who live here.
  If you’re opposed to the relocation of the Irving headquarters to their desired site, there’s only one thing I can say…
  …Shake your head if you can stand the noise."

His full opinion is at his blog.

Mortal Combat

I had seen a video some time ago of UC Berkeley's deCadence performing some great a cappella music. Today is the first time I have come across this, an musical ambush of two guys sparring in a park that are given accompaniment in the form of the Mortal Combat video game theme song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOYjtSumBRo

Hilarious.

Would a day of rest reduce carbon emissions?

Would a day of rest reduce carbon emissions? Closing businesses on Sundays and other suggestions like closing stores earlier and not allowing students to park cars at school are some of the things suggested at the Burton Front blog to reduce the amount of carbon we produce.

Less lighting and less electricity usage in general might be a useful start.

Bees!

Anyone with a large pile of sugar should be aware: the bees have escaped!

In northern New Brunswick a highway was closed due to a transport truck full of bees was in an accident releasing the bees that were being used to pollinate blueberry plants.

Guerilla Marketing

I received a reminder on Facebook today that the Canada Day Countdown was this evening. The invite came from Craig Allen, who recently ran for Saint John city council using some guerrilla marketing techniques (chalk drawn website refers on side walks, and apples with stickers with his URL).

While Mr. Allen isn't on council, his techniques were commendable (less waste than big signs stuck about town), and led me to search for some other interesting street level marketing campaigns.

Weburbanist.com has a post with 15 interesting guerrilla marketing examples. The coolest one on the list involves a sign that simulates a car jumping over a drawbridge.

Still, by far my favourite guerrilla marketing campaign has to be one that went horribly wrong: the mooninite Boston bomb scare.

No Vendors

I realize that when a group of vendors selling random nicknacks and junk congregates in front of Rockwood Park, city parks officials might think this makes the city look less than sparkling, but today when I drove up to the park for a walk I was less than impressed that this was the first sign I saw.

I find this a bit less than inviting.

Randy Bachman

I was disappointed to hear that Randy Bachman isn't coming to Saint John in July. I would love to see him play - especially if his performance was full of stories like an episode of Vinyl Tap.

I was going to try to hold a grudge but then I listened to his CBC show this evening and heard him refer to himself, Burton Cummings Fred Turner and Neil Young as the "Four Horsemen" of Canadian rock. He went on to explain and play songs that featured this artists that shaped Canadian rock in 1960's Winnipeg.

I love Bachamn's ability to bring up how prolific he is. Bachman's style of self promotion has led me to refer to him as the Gene Simmons of Canadian music.

Rhetorical consultation

I recall some time back that Barack Obama was being called eletist. John Stewart of the Daily Show gave a good commentary that essentially said that he wanted an elitist president - a president that was better than him and could govern better than him.

I think in Saint John, 20% of the voting population voted for our non-elitist candidate in May, which was enough to make Ivan Court our mayor, and we're starting to feel the results.

Our "down-to-earth" mayor and his cronies are opposing (or stalling) a major development proposed for the city's waterfront because they are "looking out for the little guy" (in this case the little guy is a union that thinks maybe one day the port might expand its industrial operations back into the downtown) and standing up to the corporate elite (in this case a large local company that wants to invest in a city-center modern, attractive, LEED standard-built, headquarters).

We are seeing the bitter folks that didn't want an elite leader - or an elite city that moves forward - say things in the local news like "the Irvings have too much" and writing letters to the editor criticizing the city manager for completing a report on the proposal "behind closed doors."

Openness can be good, and considering all options is prudent, but we can't expect those who lead to ask our advice on every micro detail, this clearly isn't leadership. And just because we're "poor workin' folk" doesn't mean a bitter anti-business mindset is good for our city - in reality it is clearly not.

So mayor Court, get on your high horse (it comes with the robe and chain) and lead our city into an elite future.

Google Maps for cyclists

An interesting thought occurs to me as I prepare for a bike trip to a family member's cottage. I am printing off Google Maps directions that have estimated travel times between various points. These are often eerily close to the actual time it takes to get from point A to B to C.

I think it would be good if Google Maps or another mapping tool allowed for you to put in you estimated travel speed (say 17.5 km/h) and then output your directions based on how long you should expect to take between various points on the map.

If this exists already and I've just missed it, please let me know.

George Carlin

George Carlin died yesterday. A discussion of Carlin's death and works on the CBC this evening introduced me to this quote, that was part of Carlin's Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television routine:

• “We have thoughts, but thoughts are fluid. You know, [humming]. And, then we assign a word to a thought, [clicks tongue]. And we’re stuck with that word for that thought. So be careful with words. I like to think, yeah, the same words that hurt can heal. It’s a matter of how you pick them.”

I really like the quote, its a good thought expressed with good words.

Shaq attacks mortgage problems

An article at the Consumerist talks about a plan by pro basketball player Shaquille O'Neal has to help some families in Orlando who are facing mortgage difficulties. While details are sparse, Shaq plans on using his wealth to take over mortgages and provide advantageous financing terms to some Floridans in need.

How to complain for fun and profit

I read about a book that teaches about writing effective complaint letters that will get attention and empathy from readers who can respond effectively. How To Complain For Fun And Profit sounds like a good read. There is a free chapter online and the book can be purchased in PDF form. I might download it and learn to complain more effectively.

Poverty

The mayor-elect Ivan Court wants to tackle poverty. Good on him. According to News 889, Court plans to work with housing and poverty groups under a Mayor's task force to address poverty issues. Hopefully after this next 4 years serious improvements have started.

Our outgoing mayor was an advocate for housing, hopefully the new mayor will use his term to continue improving the services provided to the poor of the city.

Saint John deserves it

So Ivan Court appears to be the incoming mayor.

His "tough on business" stance could easily be a real headache to the energy boom and could very well cause the paper mills to pack up and leave town.

The two things I like about Ivan are that he is very ethical (I think his motives are pure, he and I just disagree on where the city should be going) and that he was not one of the councilors who opposed the North of Union development.

Ivan good luck.

At least Hooton is gone! This isn't to say Hooton couldn't have done a good job, but I would hate to see the Telegraph Journal succeed in swaying the electorate with horribly skewed election coverage.

Mixed feeling regarding medical school building

I was excited to read earlier this evening that a local business person has offered a building to the province for use for the local medical school (which needs a building before it can open).

I then got a knot in my stomach when I read he was doing this as a political statement with our Deputy Mayor Michelle Hooton at his side. Hooton is running for mayor against incumbent Norm McFarlane who is very supportive of the medical school and against Ivan Court the councilor who has worked on the health portfolio. Not only is she an odd choice for that, Ms. Hooton ran a nasty campaign against the current Minister of Post-Secondary Education when she was supposed to be acting as deputy mayor.

Hopefully this offer is legitimate and Hooton's sorted political past won't put a taint on this if the idea is a good one.

Nasty

Politics in town are getting very nasty.

I was driving to pick up a friend after work today and heard an ad saying "Do not vote Stephen Chase." This wasn't just "be aware of the issues" or "beware of Stephen Chase's ideas" it was directing people on who to not vote for. I was surprised. Chase has a pretty complete platform at his website. His opponents are most upset with his plans to consider public-private partnerships for water treatment.

"Journalists" and the election

I have a theory that started becoming clear when I listened to the CBC this morning featuring a "journalist" giving her opinions of the upcoming mayoral election.

The theory flies in the face of the conspiracy theorists that think the Irving Empire is using a newspaper it owns to sway voters in a certain direction. The theory is this: when a chardonnay sipping elitist out of touch candidate runs for mayor, journalists will support her because she is their kind of people.

Even if the publisher of the local paper was trying to win an election for a candidate, when that candidate goes to the same gallery openings and laughs the same forced laugh as the sort of people writing our news, it can't be very hard for him to convince them.

I know several journalists and at least one of them is a hardworking honest person, however; I think it is time for reporters to report and editors to steer conversations in the way of public interest. I don't think the news should always be unbiased, but I think the bias has to go toward something and someone far greater than the personal taste of journalists.

When in Rome do as the Vandals

Generally whenever I am told that if one doesn't vote that he or she has no right to protest I feel the need to respond that the opposite logic must hold; if one doesn't protest he or she shouldn't get to vote. I don't agree with either of these extremes, but I think the same logic is in both: to participate in any element of democracy you have to participate in all.

I respect protesting and non-institutional expression as well as traditional expression of discontent with politicians and the political system, still I don't know if thuggish vandalism is something I can get behind.

I noticed today at the entrance of Rockwood Park that two mayoral candidates' signs appeared to have been plucked from the ground, while other signs seemed untouched. Expressing oneself by putting up signs or changing the messages of signs is one thing - it adds to the expressive landscape and dialogue, but removing someone else's signs doesn’t add it subtracts.

This is not the way to win an election or a strong way of getting a point across.

Add to the discourse, don't take from it.

Less Poverty

I saw this story on the Country 94 news blog and thought it was a good sign.

[STATS CANADA DATA SHOWS POSITIVE SIGN FOR POVERTY]
18:49:04

POVERTY LEVELS IN SAINT JOHN ARE SHOWING IMPROVEMENT. NEW DATA FROM STATS CANADA SHOWS AN IMPROVEMENT IN BOTH THE LOWER SOUTH END AND OLD NORTH END. THE PER CENTAGE OF PEOPLE LIVING BELOW THE POVERTY LINE HAS DROPPED FROM 27 PER CENT IN 1996 TO 20.8 PER CENT IN 2006. URBAN RESEARCHER WITH UNBSJ, KURT PEACOCK, TELLS CHSJ NEWS THE NEWS ISN'T SO GOOD FOR THE CROWN STREET AREA. THE 2006 STATS SHOW PEOPLE LIVING THERE ARE ACTUALLY POORER THAN THEY WERE FIVE YEARS AGO.

PEACOCK SAYS THE GENERALLY POSITIVE DATA IS A RESULT OF THE GROWING ECONOMY IN SAINT JOHN.

Saint John Graffiti

I have a new blog at http://sjgraffiti.blogspot.com that features pictures of various graffiti around the city that catches my eye. I think a lot of it is neat and adds to the make up of the public landscape and discourse.

Eiders

I regretfully didn't have my camera with me but saw two groups of eiders in the harbour today. There was a large group of eiders, some other ducks and a few loons in the water in front of the former sugar refinery site. I also saw a few eiders swimming under the harbour bridge near harbour passage.

Opera Bistro

I'm taking my lady to Opera Bistro tonight for their Valentine's day dinner. It should be good. This will be my first meal at what I hear is one of the city's nicest restaurants. It will have to be good to top the meal I had at Thandi over the weekend. Maybe I'll have to start an amateur food critic blog.

Corporations don't have to be evil

I found an interesting article that tries to dispell myths that company's have to be evil and that greed is the best way to corporate wealth. It's a good read and can be found at: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=do-all-companies-have-to-be-evil.