On Tuesday evening CBC debuts a new show. The show is based on Douglas Coupland's novel jPod and, fittingly, the show is called jPod. I've read the novel, and I urge you to too, before Tuesday at 9pm if possible. Click here to read a review of the show, and then watch the trailer below. Or watch first and read second, it doesn't matter. You could also choose to only watch or only read, or to neither watch nor read. You know what, I don't care what you do, as long as you don't interfere with my jPod watching.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Friday, January 04, 2008
Cheetah Speed
We recently became acquainted with three Sh...'s, but might not ever see them again. During our brief acquaintance, talk of the cheetah came about and I told them that cheetahs are the fastest animals in the world. When they asked me how fast t
hey are, I told them I didn't know and made a mental note to find out before day's end. My mind buried that note. It remained buried for a few days, and by the time it resurfaced, we had said goodbye to the three Sh...'s. It's doubtful that better late than never applies here, but for the record - and on the very slim chance they stumble upon this blogpost - cheetahs can reach speeds between 112 kilometres per hour (70 mph) and 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph). They have the ability to accelerate from 0 to 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) in three seconds. Also, for accuracy's sake, cheetahs are the fastest land animal. With a quick google search I found out that the Peregrine Falcon has been reported to reach speeds of up to 200 miles per hour during vertical dives. [sources: this wiki page and this Australian Fauna page]
hey are, I told them I didn't know and made a mental note to find out before day's end. My mind buried that note. It remained buried for a few days, and by the time it resurfaced, we had said goodbye to the three Sh...'s. It's doubtful that better late than never applies here, but for the record - and on the very slim chance they stumble upon this blogpost - cheetahs can reach speeds between 112 kilometres per hour (70 mph) and 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph). They have the ability to accelerate from 0 to 110 kilometres per hour (68 mph) in three seconds. Also, for accuracy's sake, cheetahs are the fastest land animal. With a quick google search I found out that the Peregrine Falcon has been reported to reach speeds of up to 200 miles per hour during vertical dives. [sources: this wiki page and this Australian Fauna page]
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Merry Elfing Christmas!
Please note: the dancing elves are no longer watchable, so don't bother clicking the links in this post.
Courtesy the genius creators at ElfYourself.com, Biscotti and I are pleased to present to you the Aubertin clan performing a holly jolly Christmas jig. Watch our dancing (s)elves by clicking here.
And here are some friends doing a very similar jig...
If you've done one up and it's not listed, please send me the link.
Merry Christmas!
Courtesy the genius creators at ElfYourself.com, Biscotti and I are pleased to present to you the Aubertin clan performing a holly jolly Christmas jig. Watch our dancing (s)elves by clicking here.
And here are some friends doing a very similar jig...
If you've done one up and it's not listed, please send me the link.
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Recent craigslist Best-Ofs
One posting that amuses and one posting that warms the cockles of your heart. But, which is which...
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Does He Read Them? Can He?
FYI, Yann Martel is still mailing books fortnightly to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Book number eighteen - Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka - was mailed yesterday.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Thursday, December 06, 2007
TSN Doubleheaders
Further down in this post is a full transcript of communication between TSN and me, but first the backstory. Last week TSN - Toronto Sports Network - attempted to broadcast an NHL doubleheader. At 4:30pm PST they began airing the Montreal Canadiens versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. At 7pm PST they were supposed to begin airing the Vancouver Canucks versus the Anaheim Ducks, which featured Todd Bertuzzi playing his first game in Vancouver as a non-Canuck. However, the Habs/Leafs game went into overtime, and then into a shootout; and before the shootout could begin, there was repeat zamboni-ing due to careless zamboni-ing. At 7:21pm PST, with TSN still not showing the 'Nucks/Ducks, I felt compelled to send them a comment via their website. And so it begins...
My comment to TSN via their website's contact us:
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 10:21 PM
the canucks/ducks game on november 27th has started and i'm watching a zamboni driving nonstop around the ice in toronto... COME ON!!! SHOW THE CANUCKS!!! BERTUZZI!!!
TSN's email to me:
Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:44:57 -0500
Hi Rob,
Thank you for emailing TSN regarding Tuesday night's NHL game featuring the Vancouver Canucks vs. the Anaheim Ducks. I understand your frustration and would like to take this opportunity to explain why TSN joined-in-progress the Canucks game.
It is TSN policy to always broadcast a live event until its completion, and Tuesday's NHL game featuring the Toronto Maple Leafs vs. the Montreal Canadiens was no exception. The Leafs/Canadiens game went to a shootout and ran longer than anticipated. Subsequently, TSN was forced to stay with this game until its conclusion. Following the shootout, TSN did not televise any post-game interviews or analysis from the Leafs/Canadiens game and immediately switched to live coverage of the Canucks/Ducks game.
Understanding that coverage of the Leafs/Canadiens game would overlap the start of the Canucks/Ducks game, TSN commentators mentioned numerous times that TSN would go to the Vancouver game immediately following the completion of the game in Toronto. TSN also showed live coverage of the Vancouver puck-drop at the start of the game in a split-screen. At 10:21 p.m. ET, TSN joined the Canucks/Ducks game in the first period with the score still 0-0.
I hope that this letter conveys how seriously we take our programming responsibilities. Thank you for taking the time to write to us.
Regards,
Chobi
Audience Relations
My email to TSN in response to their email to me:
Sent: November 29, 2007 5:06:47 PM
Chobi,
Thanks for writing back. I understand why the start of the Canucks/Ducks game wasn't aired, but seeing as how the games involved were regular season and not playoffs - where games can have indefinite lengths - it was preventable. Here's a solution: Don't buy the broadcasting rights to two regular season games that start two and a half hours apart. Games that end in regulation time take the full two and a half hours to play, so there wouldn't be time for much postgame analysis or interviews anyway. Plus, there is a fairly good chance that any given regular season game will go into overtime then into a shootout (as we saw on Tuesday). Regardless of what happens, we can be very sure that any given regular season game will end in under three hours. So for doubleheaders, how about choosing to only broadcast games that start three hours apart, eg. 4pm and 7pm PT. Between games there would then be time for postgame analysis and/or interviews, whether the first game ends in regulation or requires extra time.
Rob
My comment to TSN via their website's contact us:
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2007 10:21 PM
the canucks/ducks game on november 27th has started and i'm watching a zamboni driving nonstop around the ice in toronto... COME ON!!! SHOW THE CANUCKS!!! BERTUZZI!!!
TSN's email to me:
Date: Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:44:57 -0500
Hi Rob,
Thank you for emailing TSN regarding Tuesday night's NHL game featuring the Vancouver Canucks vs. the Anaheim Ducks. I understand your frustration and would like to take this opportunity to explain why TSN joined-in-progress the Canucks game.
It is TSN policy to always broadcast a live event until its completion, and Tuesday's NHL game featuring the Toronto Maple Leafs vs. the Montreal Canadiens was no exception. The Leafs/Canadiens game went to a shootout and ran longer than anticipated. Subsequently, TSN was forced to stay with this game until its conclusion. Following the shootout, TSN did not televise any post-game interviews or analysis from the Leafs/Canadiens game and immediately switched to live coverage of the Canucks/Ducks game.
Understanding that coverage of the Leafs/Canadiens game would overlap the start of the Canucks/Ducks game, TSN commentators mentioned numerous times that TSN would go to the Vancouver game immediately following the completion of the game in Toronto. TSN also showed live coverage of the Vancouver puck-drop at the start of the game in a split-screen. At 10:21 p.m. ET, TSN joined the Canucks/Ducks game in the first period with the score still 0-0.
I hope that this letter conveys how seriously we take our programming responsibilities. Thank you for taking the time to write to us.
Regards,
Chobi
Audience Relations
My email to TSN in response to their email to me:
Sent: November 29, 2007 5:06:47 PM
Chobi,
Thanks for writing back. I understand why the start of the Canucks/Ducks game wasn't aired, but seeing as how the games involved were regular season and not playoffs - where games can have indefinite lengths - it was preventable. Here's a solution: Don't buy the broadcasting rights to two regular season games that start two and a half hours apart. Games that end in regulation time take the full two and a half hours to play, so there wouldn't be time for much postgame analysis or interviews anyway. Plus, there is a fairly good chance that any given regular season game will go into overtime then into a shootout (as we saw on Tuesday). Regardless of what happens, we can be very sure that any given regular season game will end in under three hours. So for doubleheaders, how about choosing to only broadcast games that start three hours apart, eg. 4pm and 7pm PT. Between games there would then be time for postgame analysis and/or interviews, whether the first game ends in regulation or requires extra time.
Rob
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
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