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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

How NOT to park (or How to not make friends with your neighbours)

I had to drive my wife to work this morning, so I'd have the car to drive our kids to her when she's done for the day, so we can take them to the dentist. Note that I said car and not truck. We have a loaner (a Ford Focus) while our truck is in the shop.

Anyway, I stepped outside to find that the neighbour from two doors down had parked their truck behind the car beside us, and it was partically blocking our car. The car beside us rents the spot from the neighbour right next door.

It's actually not too unusual to find the two-door-down neighbour parking their truck there. They tend to do it often, but usually for short periods of time, while unloading stuff from the truck.

My wife went out to ask them to move it. Before she got to their door, our neighbour's basement boarder came home. This was the first time I've heard him speak. He's a quiet guy, who works night-shift. He asked her if it was our truck. She said no. He said it had been parked there all night, apparently. He works with the guy who rents the spot and said that he blocked in car owner) had been ringing her (the truck owner) doorbell non-stop this morning to tell them to move I guesss he must have given up and found another way to work.

So my wife rang the "offender's" doorbell and knocked on her door a whole bunch, in attempt to wake her up. Finally, she answered the door and my wife asked her to move the truck. Her response was something like "Did I forget that I parked my truck there last night?"

Holy crap.. what kind of condition would you have to be in when you got home to make you forget that your truck was parked illegally all night?

I think they'll soon be hearing from their landlord. My wife and the guy from next door are going to call the condo management office and complain, and ask that they notify the owner who rents to them. We do have parking security that we're supposed to call if someone parks in our spot, but apparently you have to prove that it's your spot before they get it towed. All the home owners got letters a while ago stating which spot is their's, but I'm sure the guy who rents that spot doesn't have the paper. Still, I don't think you need to prove parking spot ownership to get someone towed or ticketed when they're parking behind you, which is technically in a fire lane.

This isn`t the first time we`ve had parking problems with them. I came home one day from work to find an unknown car parked in our spot. I parked in the fire lane and sat on my door step for about 5 minutes. I was about to move our truck directly behind them so they couldn`t leave, but then a kid came out of that house and left in the car. The woman who lives there (the offender from last night) told him that he`s not supposed to park there, and to use visitor parking. (Pot... kettle?) He said, "I was just there for 5 minutes" which was obviously BS.

The woman and her live-in boyfriend used to park in the neighbours spot all the time, when the unit was empty for months and undergoing renovations. They never asked permission. Even when the place was sold and the owner moved in, they continued to park there on occasion after he started renting his spot out to another neighbour a few doors down. That guy even once left them a note on their windshield telling them that he'd get it towed the next time.

It's too bad because they are generally nice people, but they're not making (or keeping) any friends by being so inconsiderate.
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Spread Firefox - Download Day 2008

Mozilla FirefoxI think most people have tried Firefox at some point. If not, it's time to check out the new version, and help set a world record for most downloads in a 24 hour period.

Spread Firefox | Download Day 2008

What are you waiting for?
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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Day 2

It's officially day 2 of my 2-week vacation and so far I have done nothing terribly exciting.

Monday was spent vegging on the couch and playing Rock Band. :) Oh... and the inlaws from 4 or 5 doors away came over for cake since it was my Birthday.

This morning my wife and I attended our daughter's school play for an hour, after my wife dropped our truck off at the dealership to get the paint chips on the bumper repaired. The remainder of my family-free day was spent watching a movie and farting around here on the laptop.

Now that the kids are home from school, I'm sitting on the doorstep typing this boring blog entry.

Tomorrow will probably be more of the same, but in the evening I'll hopefully be going to pre-register our team for this Friday's Relay for Life event. That's assuming that I can get everyone's cash donations to bring with me, otherwise we'll have to wait until Friday evening to register during the event.
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Saturday, June 14, 2008

Guitar Hero & Rock Band Haters Make Me Laugh

To play a note, the fret button and strum bar must be pressed when the solid note scrolls through the corresponding ring at the bottom. The interface shows the player's score and score multiplier (left), Star Power meter (right), and Rock Meter (bottom right).I can't help but laugh at all the Guitar Hero & Rock Band haters out there.

I was browsing a few impressive videos of young people playing both of these games when I noticed a trend. It never fails that some know-it-all chips in his two cent comment like "That sucks man, play that on a real guitar" and adding that they hate it when some kid thinks that it's like playing a real guitar.

The only people I ever see making a comparison between Guitar Hero or Rock Band and a real guitar or drum kit is the so-called "real" musicians who hate the game.

Here's a particularly pissed off individual, quoted straught from a YouTube video (spelling & grammar errors included) of Eddie Van Halen's live "Eruption":
"It fuckin pisses me off,kids go into the guitar shops while youre playing a real guitar,and theyre like,yeah,I can play that...on guitar hero,its easy.and they think theyre real bad asses.Guitar Hero has to be one of the worst inventions ever."
Good grief, does that really matter? It's apples and oranges.

I'm sure there are probably a few kids who think that it's like the real thing, but so what? If it gets them interested in music, maybe one day they'll take interest in learning a real instrument?

I've heard some say that these games are nothing more than a glorified "Simon" game. Hate to break it to you, but they're more difficult than Simon. There's more coordination needed to play. It's not as simple as just pressing a coloured button when it flashes. There's timing involved in pressing the button and hitting the strum bar. You have to be in sync with the notes. You need to get a feel for the rhythm and the beat to play the game well.

If you're one of these haters, keep your hate to yourself. Don't slam anyone who likes the game. You've got nothing to fear. You may or may not realize this, but these games are designed created by REAL musicians. People who can play real instruments, AND play the game well.

Maybe that's why you hate the game. Because you can't do both?
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Monday, June 9, 2008

CBC - You Snooze, You Lose

CTV purchases The Hockey Theme

CTV Inc. has acquired the rights to The Hockey Theme in perpetuity, the network announced Monday.

The agreement was reached with Copyright Music & Visuals, which was unable to renew a deal with CBC Sports.

CBC Sports executive director Scott Moore said he was disappointed but not surprised the song was shopped elsewhere.

"The two sides were so far apart and there was so much bad blood that we knew a deal would be difficult," he said. "The reality is it takes two sides to do a deal and we tried everything we could to do a deal.

"We offered arbitration, mediation — we offered to meet their price. On Friday, when it came right down to it, we never got a response from them on our latest offer and find out, in the meantime, they appeared to be negotiating with CTV."

Moore said CBC had negotiated for 14 months but to no avail, and that the agency was asking for $2.5 million to $3 million for use in perpetuity.

"If they got that from CTV, we would never have been able to get there," Moore told CBC Newsworld. "It is not a responsible price for us.

"If that is the price CTV wants to pay, it won't be the first time nor will it be the last time, probably, that they outbid us for something. They have a lot more profits than we do."

The song had been used on Hockey Night in Canada since 1968.

"Hockey is a game, it's not a song," Moore said. "We have the No. 1 sports property in Canada.

"I don't expect one less viewer to tune in on Saturday to watch Hockey Night in Canada. They will continue to watch their favourite team."

According to a release, CTV said it agreed to a deal with Copyright Music & Visuals after Friday's deadline with CBC passed.

The agency represents the song's composer, Dolores Claman, who was born in Vancouver.

"The song has a long and storied history in Canadian sports, and has become ingrained in the hearts and minds of hockey fans across the country. It is an iconic tune, embraced by Canadians everywhere, and we felt it was imperative to save it," said Rick Brace of CTV Inc.

Moore said he was surprised a rival network would purchase something so inextricably linked to the Hockey Night brand.

"It's a constant commercial for our network," he said.

Lawsuit complicated negotiations

Earlier on Monday, CBC Sports had said it planned to bring in noted sports and entertainment lawyer Gord Kirke in a last-ditch effort to bring about a mediated resolution.

Complicating the bid for a settlement was an outstanding lawsuit filed against the CBC in late 2004 surrounding its use for ringtones and downloads.

Moore said CBC wanted to resolve that issue along with the song's future use, but that representatives for Claman wanted to keep them separate.

Claman, 80, has written about 2,000 jingles over her career, including the Ontario theme A Place to Stand, which she co-wrote with her husband, Richard Morris.

"I am very moved by how so many Canadians have taken the hockey theme to heart. We are so pleased the song has found a new home," said Claman, who now resides in Britain.

Before Kirke's involvement was announced, CBC Sports announced plans to launch a new national contest in conjunction with Nettwerk Music Group to find a new theme song.

Canadians will be invited to write and record an original song for Hockey Night in Canada, with fans and a jury of experts to choose the best new composition.

"I think it'll help us get a new demographic," Moore said. "The theme that we had was a great theme. [But] it was 39 years old. Maybe it's time for something else."

The son of Stompin' Tom Connors said Monday his father is open to licensing his famed hockey song to CBC as a replacement.

"If they want to use The Hockey Song, it's a good song, whether Tom sings it or not," Tom Connors Jr. said. "There's other versions out there.

"Even if they wanted to commission some other band, like a big [name] band if they wanted to do more of a Hockey Night theme, everything is open for negotiations, of course. That's the business we're in."

The last 3 paragraphs of that article scares me. For the love of all things hockey, please... NOT Stompin' Tom Connors. I don't like Stompin' Tom. And I don't like "The Hockey Song". I don't think it would matter who sang it.

Anyway, the CBC really dropped the ball on this one. They're trying to make it look like they did everything possible, but seriously, how can they expect anyone to believe them when they openly admitted that they were going ahead with the contest to find a new HNIC song, while trying to negotiate a deal? Would a few more days of waiting really make that big of a difference to their contest?

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CBC requests mediator for song dispute

From the Sportsnet web site:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2008/06/09/kirke_hockey_song/
TORONTO -- CBC appears to be making a last-ditch effort to rescue the popular Hockey Night in Canada theme song.

The public broadcaster has asked Toronto sports lawyer Gord Kirke to mediate negotiations between CBC and Copyright Music and Visuals, the company that controls the song.

CBC Sports executive director Scott Moore says CBC feels it's worth one last effort to save a theme song that evokes such passion among Canadians.

CBC's licence for the song, written by composer Delores Claman and a staple of Hockey Night in Canada since 1968, expired last week following the Stanley Cup finals.

The parties were in negotiations late last week before CBC announced Friday it would begin the search for a new theme song.

The broadcaster has asked Canadian musicians to vy for a $100,000 prize by submitting their own original compositions to replace the theme.
I can't see this making any difference... but hey, it's worth a shot... I guess.

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Saturday, June 7, 2008

Paint Chips Follow-up

A quick update to my Paint Chips posting.

My wife took the truck to the For dealerership during the week. The warranty on the paint is 3yr/60,000kms. They have to order some part(?) first and will call us to set up a service appointment once it's in.

No definite word on exactly what they're going to do.