Procrastination by Poulton

The Wovel? You have to be kidding me!

2006-12-29T14:59:00.000-05:00

As an Internet savvy shopper I'm subscribed to my share of retail store newsletters. One of this is Home Depot. In the latest email there was an advertisement for the Wovel.
What is the Wovel you ask? Why a shovel on a wheel of course! It is advertised as "The world's safest snow shovel. It's fast. It's safe. It's easy. Outperforms snow blowers without the expense, fumes, maintenance, or noise."
I thought it was a joke at first based on the picture, it looks completely ridiculous, but alas Home Depot feels they are going to sell these -- at $149.95 a pop!

It seems there is some strong precedence for it as well. Time magazine awarded it a Best Invention of 2006 with Popular Mechanics giving it an Editor's Choice award.

You judge for yourself. Would you buy one?

The Wovel

Gears of War Ad

2006-11-12T21:48:00.000-05:00

In the continuing spirit of supporting advertising, the latest ad that has caught my attention is for an upcoming XBOX 360 (video game console) game entitled Gears of War.
It's interesting to pair such a violent game with a ballad but for some reason it works (at least to me). Check it out on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL7edUTDVv4

Moving sidewalks does not equal an opportunity to be lazy!

2006-10-27T14:46:00.000-04:00

So I'm at the airport the other day (Toronto) and something tweaked a pet peeve of mine -- Laziness!
Friends know that while I can be lazy at times, overall I don't think I'm that lazy when it comes to walking places, using stairs, etc. I've always been a proponent of taking the stairs at work as opposed to the elevator. My whole rationale being that I am going to climb those stairs while I still have the health to do so.
Back to the airport. Todays airports are quite massive and the newer Terminal 1 at Pearson (Toronto) is no exception. Because of the great distances you may need to travel between gates or parking garages, the airport authority has installed moving sidewalks. (Notice I didn't say sideSTANDs).
The extension to my pet peeve is people who walk briskly to these moving sidewalks and then proceed to stand on them. Compound that with people who block the entire sidewalk with their luggage. If you are going to be lazy, at least do it to the side so people can get by.
And you wonder why almost 60% of our population is overweight (36.1% are overweight, 23.1% are obese!)

My invention - silent pop can

2006-10-04T20:31:00.000-04:00

For those who have seen the movie Garden State can probably relate this post to silent Velcro. They can at least appreciate the financial potential of such an invention.
What I am proposing is somehow inventing a silent pop can. How many times have you been in a school lecture, a business meeting, a movie theatre and have been distracted by someone opening a pop can. Why can't someone invent a can that opens silently?
I have a free weekend coming up - I'll see what I can do.

Wish me luck!

Canadian produced TV - I found a winner (Dragons' Den)

2006-10-04T20:18:00.000-04:00

While it doesn't compare to my current favourite TV show, Lost, it is impressing me. CBC has a new program entitled "Dragons' Den" that allows entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas to prospective investors in order to get further investment funding. There are some pretty cut-throat comments but under that are some strong business fundamentals. If you have a business background, or an interest in business I would recommend taking a look. Enjoy!

Check it out:
http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/

Guys and washroom...

2006-08-21T14:51:00.000-04:00

So there is an unwritten rule that when a guy goes to the washroom and there are three urinals, you take one of the end ones so that the next guy coming in can have the other end one and you have a buffer zone between each of you. I don't know why exactly that is, whether for peeking reasons, for spraying reasons, or for talking reasons. Whatever the reason, that is the unwritten rule and I abide by it.
So I'm in the washroom today and while the above rule wasn't broken, something just as bad happened. I was doing my business at the urinal when a co-worker came in. He said hi in passing and proceeded to a stall. Being polite I said hi back not expecting a conversation to start! You can almost manage a urinal conversation (although it really shouldn't happen), but a urinal and a stall conversation? Never! You just can't do that with the other "noises" that may happen when you are in a stall - and they happened today! People, there are doors on stalls for a reason. Please keep all conversations to yourself and whatever noises you create. We'll catch up outside the washroom, thanks.

A salute to my German readers

2006-08-09T15:54:00.000-04:00

David Hasselhoff has done a remake of the classic 1975 song Jump in My Car by the Australian band the Ted Mulry Gang.

Be prepared to laugh.

For those who don't know, David is huge in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. In fact, David was the best selling artist of 1989 in Germany.

You have to demand respect when you are quoted as saying “There are many dying children out there whose last wish is to meet me.”

BTW - Listen to the song. Are the girls saying "I know your gay" or "I know your game" ???

David Hasselhoff's Video

Making of David's Video

Original Ted Mulry Gang Video

Is everything made in China?

2006-08-09T15:04:00.000-04:00

So I'm enjoying the Rogers Cup Masters Tennis Series in Toronto on the weekend and noticed that the plastic hair clip that the lady in front of me was wearing had a "made in China" stickers.
Normally that wouldn't raise an eye brow in today's society but it made me think. Where do they make the stickers that tell you where the product was made? In keeping with globalization and focusing on your core competency, there should be a powerhouse in the world who makes those stickers. Is that China? I am wondering if the 'made in China' stickers are in fact made in India....hrm....

New Neighbourhood? Get a dog!

2006-07-31T12:13:00.000-04:00

I just celebrated my first year anniversary in my new house. No, I didn't throw a party for myself or cook myself a nice dinner but it has been a year. I've noticed that I really don't know a heck of a lot of people in my neighbourhood. Sure I know my immediate neighbours and directly across the street but beyond that people seem to be content with keeping to themselves.
I had the fortune of dog-sitting this weekend and came to the conclusion that if you really want to be known in the neighbourhood, get a large dog. My friends dog is a Great Dane (130 lbs and probably 4 1/2 feet tall). It's amazing how many people talk to you when you walk a dog like this. And for those who are staring in pure terror, it's a great ice-breaker to say hi to them.
So if you are new to a neighbourhood or just want to meet some people, get a dog and go for walks. You'll be making friends in no time!

Am I going to hell?

2006-07-28T16:27:00.000-04:00

No, it's not a common theme for my blog but I was in the washroom today and there were three stalls. One of them was a handicap stall. I'll be honest, none of them were in use but I still decided to take the handicap stall (hence the title of the blog). Besides the extra room you get in these stalls, they are great because the toilet is further off the ground. No more bending way down and stressing my quadriceps getting up. Sure I'm only six feet tall but this is still a nice feature!
I made sure I was quick in case someone who was deserving came in but next time you are in the washroom, and feel like living on the edge, take a quick sit on the handicap toilet, it's great!

Toilet Paper

2006-07-28T16:23:00.000-04:00

So I remember this topic from a few years ago but it came up in my house the other day. It seems one of my bathrooms had run out of toilet paper. No, don't worry, there was an extra one in there so they could finish their business. The purpose of this comment is to discuss the loading of the toilet paper.
Do you have it roll out and over the roll for dispensing or do you have it roll back and down the wall? Next time you are in the appropriate setting, take a look.
Personally, I am an out and over kind of guy. Whoever loaded it for me did a back and under load. I tried to live with it but couldn't. I had to reload it!
People - out and over....out and over!

DQ Blizzards? Not any more!

2006-06-26T21:18:00.000-04:00

Well maybe I am a little harsh on Dairy Queen. I may sneak an odd blizzard in here or there but my eyes were opened the other day.
I was listening to the radio and they were commenting on the nutritional value (or abuse) in a DQ blizzard; specifically a Large Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough blizzard. This "treat" has 1320 calories and 52g of fat! With 193g of carbs maybe I should be loading on this before my adventure race!
You may have seen such movies as Supersize Me. Honestly, it's the kids that don't have the knowledge yet to make these informed decisions that bothers me. I have to applaud the government for trying to control the amount of trans fats that manufacturers can use. If you're old and know what you are putting in your body and are happy with it - fine - but obese kids is not something we need. Just be thankful we don't have the Triple Whopper with Cheese here in Canada (I think it is just in the US). Otherwise you'd be in store for 1230 calories, 82g of fat and one serious stomach ache if you combined that with a DQ blizzard dessert.

Just remember, most nutritional labels are based on a 2500 calorie a day diet consisting of no more than 65g's of fat. I guess a Burger King followed by DQ for dessert is out of the question for me :)

Chicken & Rib Fest

2006-06-26T21:06:00.000-04:00

So this past Saturday I attended the International Chicken-Rib Cook-off in downtown Ottawa. You see these events on TV all the time. Teams from across North America come to little 'ol Ottawa to compete for the best ribs, etc. This was the first time I have attended such an event.
Pete, Brad, Sanjay and I put on our "comfy" pants and headed down for some gorging - and boy was there gorging.
The first problem is determining where to get your ribs from. There were probably 10+ vendors down there, all selling a full rack for $20. Unfortunately they don't have samples or anything so you really don't know what you are getting unless you ask around. My suggestion would be to have little cups of the sauce that you could try.
Lacking any formal selection process we applied the only know selection criteria that we could - the longest line-up must be the best ribs. 3 of us went to one place with Pete getting his from another.
In the end the ribs were OK. I think Pete's were better than ours. Would I do it again? Yeah, probably but my advice is to look at the quality of the ribs being BBQ'd. I was a little disappointed in the quality of meat I was eating. I've had better elsewhere.

Oh yeah, and wear comfy pants. It was definitely nap time after that sitting.

Dockers Ad - Pt. 2

2006-06-21T13:28:00.000-04:00

For those who have not seen the Dockers ad. You can see it on their web site at:
http://www.us.dockers.com/lsco/dockers/feature/d_feat_landing.jsp

The song is entitled Sunday Kind of Love and is performed by Etta James.

A side note. Etta will be at the Cisco Systems BluesFest, happening July 7th - 16th. Etta performs on July 13th at 9:30pm. Hopefully by that hour is will be plenty cool enough to wear your Dockers!

More info: http://ottawabluesfest.ca

While you're at it - Check out the Jazz Festival (June 22 - July 2).
http://www.ottawajazzfestival.com/2006/

English Language (?)

2006-06-21T13:11:00.000-04:00

I have a bad habit of analyzing the English language and trying to figure out why things are the way they are. Here are a couple examples:

1) Why is collocation a valid way of spelling co-location? If 'co' is the prefix to location, why do we get an extra 'l'? Cohhabitant isn't valid is it?

2) Is is try that sometimes we use 'an' in front of acronyms instead of 'a'? Is there an English rule that we treat non-vowel starting acronyms as if they were vowels? For example, when I say "I want to buy a RRSP" I think I use 'an'. Am I correct?

Just something to take your thoughts away from work.

Shameless plug

2006-06-21T13:10:00.000-04:00

Well my friend referenced my blog so it would be rude of me not to plug his.
Check it out some time. He loves Disney songs, lululemon pants and sparkly skin cream?
http://www.warrenyeung.ca/lifetimes.html

I won! Can you be picky with free?

2006-06-21T11:05:00.000-04:00

So I was at the gym (Goodlife) on the weekend during their charity event. Goodlife supports a kids charity so they were asking for donations for the classes being run that day and a charity BBQ and car wash over lunch.
For attending their BodyPump class everybody got their name entered in a draw and I won! I am now the proud owner of another Goodlife gym bag, some promotional material, a heart rate watch (cool!) and a Goodlife technical t-shirt.
So here's the dilemma. The t-shirt is a small and is quite tight on me. Unless I was in Toronto this week celebrating with a certain segment of our society, I really shouldn't be wearing it. So when I was at the gym this morning I asked if I could exchange it. They didn't have any appropriate sizes in stock so they are going to order one in for me. This made me feel awkward. Can I exchange something that was free? Shouldn't I just be grateful?
Oh well. I am sure there are harder things in life for me to deal with.

Tails of a blown cleat

2006-06-15T14:55:00.000-04:00

So it was bound to happen (or so the story goes). I was playing Ultimate last night and blew a cleat. On it's own that doesn't mean much but it was game point! I was tracking down a guy who was going long and we both were diving for the disc when I felt my shoe become lose. I didn't have time to look at my shoe as we were right at the end zone. A couple throws later, and them scoring their 15th point (resulting in us losing 15-13) I look at my shoe and noticed a hole from my midsole to my heel. It seems when you don't properly dry out your cleats it rots the cardboard base and weakens the shoe. I found out the hard way :(

I am now the proud new owner of a pair of GAIA cleats. A little more expensive so they better last a couple seasons! They are comfy though. First test, tomorrow night.

So if you learn something from me it's DRY YOUR CLEATS!

If you don't give my football back...

2006-06-15T14:41:00.000-04:00

So I'm enjoying the World Cup. With that comes the usual sponsorship and advertising. The Adidas ad is sticking in my head. The two boys who draft a weath of professional players to play some street ball. The latest ad has a catching tune....

"If you don't give my football back I'm going to get my dad on you..."

A song by Jim Noir entitled Eanie Meany

But if they keep playing this ad EVERY BREAK I may want to pop a football!

BTW - England is 2-0, yeah!

Hamburger Options

2006-06-11T22:43:00.000-04:00

So with my new BBQ that can cook up to 35 burgers I thought it would be good to have hamburgers in the house. Have you seen how much fat is in a regular hamburger? Over 30g's on average! While I don't necessarily watch calories, I am aware of fat content. Long story short, I am trialing two alternatives - Meatless burgers and Soy burgers (yeah, I'm crazy).
Test #1 was tonight, the meatless burger. Overall it wasn't that bad but I didn't realize meatless meant replace the meat with onions! Seemed a little weird. I'll be able to get through the package but I don't think I'll be buying these ones again.
Next test, soy. I'm not looking forward to them :(
I've heard that the PC Blue Menu burgers are good. Real meat. I'll have to try those next.

Dockers Ad

2006-06-11T22:37:00.000-04:00

Maybe I should just dedicate my blog to the advertising industry. It seems the majority of my posts are around ads I have seen on TV.
The latest is the Dockers ad with the woman who runs into the waiter sending glasses everywhere. A bottle lands perfectly on the mans table, spinning the bottle to point at him. Convenient.
Anyway, the song to the ad goes like this...
I want a Sunday kind of love,
A love to last past Saturday night.
I know it's more than love at first sight
I want a Sunday kind of love.

I wonder if that is a real song or just creative marketing....hrm.

World Cup

2006-06-10T13:39:00.000-04:00

Well the World Cup has officially started. Nothing like an afternoon off of work and 15 drumsticks on the BBQ to celebrate that. Should be a good month. England and Netherlands are my teams.

Template

2006-06-05T17:28:00.000-04:00

So I changed my template. My friend wanted me to write about my jealousy of his lululemon pants but personally I like them on women better.
Out of tribute though I decided to change my blog template to same as his. That's all you get Warren! :)

Motorcycles

2006-06-05T17:24:00.000-04:00

So with the nice weather here I am seeing more motorcycles on the road. Sunday was a prime example. Beautiful sunshine and bikes galore.
It made me think. Have you ever seen a female driver with a male on the back? I've only ever seen it the other way around. Would you be that much less a man? I guess our society has a way to go still.

Honda Fit Ad

2006-06-05T17:22:00.000-04:00

So it's been driving me crazy and Google doesn't seem to be able to help me out. Honda's latest ad for their Honda Fit has kids singing some sort of song. It's the cartoony ad.
I can't understand the lyrics! Don't know why it's bugging me but I want to know! Oh well. I'll survive.