More gearhead stuff

As a follow up (boy that sounds like about 50% of my business email) to an earlier posting re: cars where I showed the pic of the beautiful Audio race car...this article in the Post today was another story about Audi's world leading automobile (racing) technology - The "R10's 5.5-litre, twin-turbo V12 diesel pushes more than 650 horsepower and 812 pound-feet of torque".

Time to grab a diesel ?

The Art of Noise

Dad just forwarded this beauty...

The New Honda Civic Ad, incl. even better making of mini-documentary.

Thanks for being such a good surfer Dad. Just think how much other cool stuff you'll find when you really have some free time when you retire. We've got to think of some new title, like... Collaborative Virtual Enjoyment Catalyst.

An early morning photo blog

Grab a coffee. Good morning.

Sideways friends

It's the weekend, time for movie inspired deep reflection...I won't go on too much right now, let's just say that Sideways is a great, great movie and even better when enjoyed with a decent bottle of wine by your side. The best thing about this movie (watching now for the second time) is that it really made me think a lot about my good friends.

Thinking of you all.

Happy Birthday T.O.

Happy Birthday to Toronto, 172 years old today.

An excerpt from A Very Short History of Toronto...

...in the 17th century, indigenous peoples opened trade with the French, who subsequently established trading posts in the area in the 18th century. [The community] passed to British control in 1763, and the creation of an urban community began 30 years later when colonial officials built Fort York and laid out a town site. That community, "York", became the capital of the province of Upper Canada (now Ontario). It also grew as an important commercial centre, and, in 1834, with 9,250 residents, it was incorporated as the "City of Toronto".

Hope to see in our fantastic city soon.

I'd like to thank...

Reporting on the Academy awards the morning after, movie fan - PJMixer...

I'd like to thank...Mom and Dad for introducing me to the music of Johnny Cash when I was young...otherwise I wouldn't have been interested in seeing Walk the Line (fab movie, too bad Joaquin was competing against Philip). And there again, is the connection to all things music in my life.

Of all the nominated movies I didn't see this year, I did manage to see 4 of the big award winners - Reese; Philip; Rachel and Crash. Can I pick 'em or what.

Biggest surprise - Reese. Best speech - Clooney. Most deserved - Philip (great performance, great career roles, although I wasn't a big fan of Capote) and Crash (everyone I know loved this one, best movie I've seen in a long time, gotta see it again now).

I heard Syriana was a great movie, so I'll give a nod to Clooney. But Brokeback Mountain ? I actually don't know anyone that's seen it !

For car lovers

I'm beginning to consider car options for later this year as my current lease on my Passat Wagon expires in November (after all, isn't half the joy of the big purchase the research).

I took the kids to the auto show a few weeks ago and started to do a little research online. I often take a browse through the Driving section of the National Post on Fridays and I came across this article about VW's Direct Shift Gearbox that is in the new Audio A3 3.2. Luckily this little gem is too small to consider as our replacement family car, so I'm not seriously tempted (just keep your fingers crossed that my old Mazda keeps running and I'm not made to make the decision on whether I really need a second car).

Don't get me wrong, I'm still a big fan of using public transport whenever appropriate, and I'm a happy man when I take the subway to work most days, but the need to drive on a more regular basis would really tighten the justification screws for some leading edge German engineering.

As you may know cars are in my blood, with my Dad being a huge car nut. He's proud to have been in the industry for 50 years and is about to formally retire at the end of this month. Thanks Dad for giving me the appreciation for: the beauty of the body curve; a handbrake turn (which is a cinch in an icy parking lot - very popular the kids in the backseat - maybe they're also getting the bug); double clutching and heel-and-toe (which I still can't do); Formula 1; and the excitement of seeing a new model for the first time on the street - what was "that" ?

If you're interested my shortlist for a replacement this year is:

Mazda6 Sport Wagon
Subaru Legacy/Outback Wagons
Volvo V50
VW Passat Wagon

Plus perhaps a few more interesting choices if I consider a used vehicle !

My buddy DK at work is also in the market for a new car this year, and he keeps asking what he should buy - and with his budget it may be exciting to do a few test drives for him !

Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans

I miss her.

But I've heard she's coming back.

Without deliberately focusing on her, she's come up quite a few times this week and is in my mind now. I don't think it's a coincidence that it's Mardi Gras, I glimpsed a few shots of bourbon Street earlier this week and it appears 'Nawlins is back.

Unfortunately I've never been to New Orleans for the big party, but I have great memories of my three visits there. Actually, I almost lost faith in her last time, right up to the last night, when I went for one last lap and sat down to listen to a jazz band, talk to the musicians and reconnect with everything I love about her. That wiped out all the unflattering images of this dirty town and some of the bad memories of the "worst hangover of my life".

With no real planned theme for tonight's dinner, I reached for a New Orleans cookbook my brother bought me a while ago and decided on Trout Meuniere Amandine. That of course set off the theme and the sound of Harry Connick Jr. (singing the title of this post) is still lingering in the background.

I'm not sure what it is about New Orleans, of even the feeling you get in the south. It can be one of laissez faire and it comes as a pleasant surprise if you travel there. Even a cab ride from the airport will reveal a slower pace of life than what meets the eye on TV America. You get a genuine feeling that people value the simpler things in life. There are of course exceptions, but the average Joe (or Jenny) in New Orleans seems like the real McCoy. And I've got to thank my Bro again for a couple of things: introducing us to some very fine Southern folk, especially my sister-in-law CS and her wonderful family; and tainting my music collection with an odd alt/country track here and there.

Unfortunately, don't think I can close here, without giving you a pointer to the latest embarassing Bush moment (AP video, MS Internet explorer probably needed) on the Katrina cock-up.

Gotta grab a bourbon and put on Wild at Heart, but first, where's that Iko Iko song ?

If you're still looking to help New Orleans out, The American Red Cross is probably a good charity to donate to.

p.s. Yes, Mom - we had pancakes on "Fat Tuesday" (Shrove Tuesday)

What a Flügellauf !

Maybe it's the time of day, but I thought this was funny in the Guardian Unlimited !

"Off" sick, poor old me !

Well in this world of "always-on", how can one actually be "off" ? The emails keep flying and the mobile phone keeps ringing.

I've got one of those head hurting, can't think straight, low energy, drippy and coughy cold / flu things. Although Mom, in her traditional ways, would say I can't have the flew if I'm not in the hospital !

I've been taking a lethal combination of cold/flu/cough day/night drugs and the occasional ibuprofin, Fisherman's Friend and cough syrup, mixed with unavoidable warm drink caffeine. The drug store visit was quite an ordeal, faced with the myriad of choices, in my state, how can I really distinguish between post-nasal drip, sinus pain or simple cold symptoms - just make it go away - I feel like crap ! Oh, but make sure it doesn't make me fall asleep in front of the computer, or worse, driving the car !

What makes it worse, is that annoying call you have with a person that almost sympathizes with you, but says "I've got the flu too - only got an hour sleep last night" - B***SH**, they sound so frigging cheery you'd swear they'd just won the lottery, no way could they be feeling this bad !

Oh, and of course this week just happened to be the date for my annual checkup with my doctor. Lucky me. Of course, she thinks I've got something a lot worse than the flu, which she is trying to prove with a saliva sample from deep in my throat - definite gag reflex - I thought I was going to throw up right in her face ! Not to mention the...

Prevention ? You ask - well, no I didn't get a flu shot back last fall. But I'm not sure that would have helped against the emotional and environmental stress of building a back yard ice rink in -15c weather last weekend ! Maybe my work buddy (and TTC newbie DK) has the right approach - wearing gloves on the subway ! Prevention - how about not going near your germ carrying kids when they come home from school (bless their little hearts) !

I've actually had a fair share of customer meetings this week. And each one has that awkward moment - should I pass on my germs via a business appropriate hearty handshake or be a wimpy, polite guy and mention my sorry state ! Then you have a little time with a colleague when you finally have the time to ask all the important questions you've been saving up for months and he's rambling on with all this great insight into the industry and technology - but your head is just about ready to explode. Then you decide, hey, before I go home, get a few winks perhaps, and prepare for the onslaught of the weekend - I might as well post my to my blog...and here I am.

Wish me luck shaking this one soon so I can enjoy the weekend. I've just got to get past a kids concert at school and maybe an adventurous outing to see my ultimate buddies open their movie Metal: A Headbanger's Journey tonight, sounds like that'll cure it !

OPB

No, not that "company" that SEH and I started many years ago.
No, not that old rap song.

Other Peoples Blogs

Mark Evans is a friend of mine who just happens to be a highly credible news and commentary source for the telecommunication industry. Mark writes for the National Post and his blog usually contains very serious content regarding the industry. However, Monday Jan 16th's entry provided a link to Rick Mercer's latest take on RIM with this spoof-ad, funny stuff, thanks for the link Mark.

Stvhrst is another friend that started a blog way before mine. However he definitely needs a little friendly push to increase the editorial comment a bit !

A VC is a new one that Mark just recommended, a nice blend of new tech, NYC, US politics and most importantly, music recommendations.

There are of course lots of corporate blogs, some which end up being a PR nightmare, while others can perhaps show a corporation's more personal side, like my fellow colleagues at Entrust - Sue and Chris.

The list of blogs is endless and constantly growing (well over 60M), so while I've been writing this entry I've wasted away quite a few precious minutes looking for some other cool blogs, but it's time a made dinner for the kids. I'll leave you with a sports one for the motor car racing [said with a Jackie Stewart accent] fan, especially with the new season close by - FastMachines.

What's a Googlewhack ?

I just tripped across this one again (I don't remember exactly what the trigger neuron was!) - this story always brings a smile to my face.

First, a googlewhack is what happens when two words are entered into Google (with no quotes) and it comes back with one and only one hit. Simple right, no !

I think I've told some of you about this before, but we went to see Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure last summer. What a fabulously funny, TRUE story.

If you ever get a chance to see this show, get your hands on the DVD or read the book - go for it, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

If you're in the mood to burn away a few minutes (hours), give it a try. You can get a one hit result pretty quickly, however the real trick is finding a real web site, not just an obscure link (like what you get when you enter something daft like "wonderously bizarros"). Note that many/all of the googlewhacks at googlewhack are probably no longer googlewhacks !

One Passion - Two Monkeys

[It does sound like a porn movie title doesn't it !]

I was thinking recently about what my real passion is in life...it didn't take too long, although I had to determine why some of my other interests weren't passions.

Music.

Adding two new music related recommendations for January:

Artic Monkeys - latest cocky young lads from England. Their first hit didn't get me too excited, but they just released their first album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not and the tracks are really growing on me...download recommendation: Dancing Shoes. Latest single peaked at number two on the whacky UK charts last week.

Love Monkey - new show on CBS with Tom Cavanagh (from Ed fame). For me, the setting of the indy record business is very cool, with funky group of characters, a hot babe, great song samples, and some new artist "finds".

Can you have more than one passion ?

I'm hoping I can post a regular music recommendation per month.

Hanging out with J.Lo

Well, not quite. But it got your attention.

Big shout out to my big party work friends (especially, SM, TB, DK, KH, ML, GM and PB) who made the late night events of this week a lot of fun.

Summary: Downtown Miami, not so nice; South Beach, a great way to spend a hell of a lot of money; weather: not fab, but a lot better than here; music - could do with a good dose of fab Brit tuneology.

Note that the party events of the week were paid in full by massive amounts of Powerpoint exposure starting at 8am, mind numbing rah-rahs from a Tony Robbins motivation speaker protege, Armageddon talk from guest speaker Wesley Clark (although I actually did like his talk), constant Blackberry interruptions and customer "emergencies" and being away from my family for 6 days.

Other pluses for the trip were the real animals of Florida (gators in the Everglades National Park and dolphins in the harbour), and of course the golf (see previous post).

For those heading to South Beach with unlimited wads of cash, these hotel style hot spots are a must: The Shore Club and Hotel Victor, and Nikki Beach would have been pretty cool if our company hadn't rented it out for the (earlier part of the) evening.

Golf in January

I was lucky enough to be on business this week in Miami, and even more lucky that my wife was ok with me going down early to play a little golf. Turns out the planets were aligned and I shot my best round ever last Sunday. I'm proud of the score because I've finally broken 100, but don't get me wrong, I'm still a little embarrassed it's taken about 30 years. We had a late tee off (for this time of year) so the last couple of holes was an interesting exercise is ball hunting, with a hero par on the island green 18th in the dark. I managed to score a 96 (51 out, 45 in, 7 pars, a-blow-up-9 and a bunch 'o doubles or worse). Course: Hillcrest.

Faith once again in the great game.

Fun videos - time well wasted

WARNING - watching the following videos and getting caught up in the likely hunt for others will likely chew up a good portion of your time. If you've got a new baby crying in the background or about to pick up your kids at school or on a short coffee break at the office, you may think twice at watching them now.

Faves:

1. "torn"
2. A music video showing a new "sport" called Parkour. (Thanks SEH for finding this one and the GPRIME site that lots of other gems).
3. Honda ad

And for the sports fans (many from YouTube):

• Super soccer dribbles
• "Magic" soccer practice
• Table tennis
• Wicked foosball shot
• Hockey shot (a few folks have sent me this one)
  

A few for the those with a more "unusual" sense of humour:

• Napoleon Dynamite Top Ten tee shirt
• Ice scraping
• Old folks
• Haloween

Music vids:

• If you're looking to see what the voice looks like, there's a massive collection of free videos at Yahoo's uk music site
• But you won't find this one...Skinny Puppy - Pro-test (thanks SR for finding this one, BTW - the old link was broken)
  

Don't blame me, I warned you.

Politics - the topic had to come up sooner or later

I don't plan on writing a lot about politics on this blog for a number of reasons:

• I'm not an expert on (nor even really understand) our political process or system
• Most of the time, it's boring - old blokes firing argumentative comments based on party lines
• Most of you probably think it's boring, and I think there are other topics that are much more entertaining for the blog
  
• It's depressing, having to accept the fact that you've got a bunch of untrustworthy, immoral men running your country

All that being said, you do find some good comic relief now and again, and often with politics other than your own. In my case - US politics - now that is entertaining ! Especially as reported by Jon Stewart (not sure if your saw the news, but Stewart will be hosting the Oscars this year - should be fun !).

However, it's election time here in Canada and it's hard to escape political news, so much so, that even my 9 year old son was watching an "informal" interview with Prime Minister Paul Martin this morning on Canada AM.

I was rather disappointed with the interview, for some reason I had thought that we may see a different side to the PM or perhaps more substance. But alas, no. Same old story. But one fundamental thing struck me this morning.

During the build up to a federal election, aren't the party leaders supposed to be in high gear "selling" themselves as the best choice for the new PM ? These guys are fighting for their lives. Well, although I'm not an expert on politics, I do know a thing or two about selling and one big rule is as follows:

Objection handling - when the person asks a question, treat it as an objection. Handle it precisely and quickly. Make sure that after your response, the person has understood you, perhaps by saying "did I answer your question?"

This is one of the things that is really getting to me, most of these candidates never answer the blessed question. It's pointless, you just hear the same ranting and raving every day, sticking to their agenda. I think these guys are quite intelligent, so I'm reasonably sure they hear the question, but in their heads, the question is basically a trigger to a pre-written diatribe . Perhaps it's too risky to actually answer the real question, or perhaps it's just how politics work. I'm pretty sure they know the answer, but are second guessing that the public won't like it. Don't they know that if they don't properly answer a question, it lingers in the minds of all watching - what is he hiding ? Doesn't he care ? Isn't he listening to my needs and concerns ? I don't like it and I think the public deserves better. Wouldn't some genuine sincerity be refreshing, but would the public notice it ? Sometimes, the politician is so left field, that they even forget what the question was. This almost happened this morning, when a lady who had sadly lost her son recently to a gun death was asking the PM about gun control etc...off he went on auto-pilot and then (luckily for him) at the very end..."um, ah, blah and blah, I am sorry for your loss".

What we have here in Canada is a common problem. Two parties that are fighting it out and a few other also-rans. In a few weeks time we are basically voting for the lesser of two evils. Back to this morning's interview, I thought to myself, I'm hearing all this bullsh, what does some other intelligent person think ? So I asked my 9 year old son "what do you think of PM Paul Martin". The first two, auto, non-thinking, replies didn't surprise me, "good" and "he makes good rules", but the third threw me a bit or a curve ball. My son actually said "safe". This was a very quick response after listening quite intently, so I take it as genuine. I think the topic at the time was something about western Canadian alienation, so my son's comment probably wasn't about the content, I can only imagine it came from a deeper, subconscious place. "Safe". I guess he does come across rather fatherly and in command. I don't think I can say that about Mr. Harper.

On US politics during their last election I read something that I found very interesting (unfortunately I can't find a reprint or web source, but it went something like this...).
If you take political parties out of the equation and put the high priority fundamental issues of the day (foreign affairs, social welfare, military spending, same sex marriages) on a voting form, the large majority of Americans would vote the same way. Meaning there perhaps isn't polar opposite opinions dividing the population. What I take away from this is that when it comes down to it, most people want similar things from their government, priorities may be a little different, but one leader isn't going to be that different to another on major topics during the same period of time (pretty bold statement eh?). Would Kerry have gotten the US into Iraq ? Were the majority of the population in favour of this war ?

So, wrapping up, do I simply put my faith in the local MP to represent my views in Ottawa ? After all, that would appear the most effective way for me to have my issues heard and perhaps properly represented. Do I shun the process altogether and blame everyone else on the result the next day ? Or do I try and alter the course of Canada's future be trying to read between the tight lines of the promises being made by the party leaders ?

Happy voting, and don't forget about poor Jack.

Lessons learned

This is perhaps a good topic for the beginning of a new year.

I think a lesson learned could be as "simple" as a golf lesson (keep your head down, bum out, reach back and follow through) or as complex as learning to stay out of "certain" arguments with your wife. All have serious consequences if you forget what you've learnt (2 stroke and silence penalties).

3 of us in the family took golf lessons last year and I think we'll be continuing with more this year. My son has been taking lessons for quite a few seasons and most would agree, it shows. It was the first time I had taken a golf lesson and I truly think it's going to have a positive impact on my game, however, it'll take a little time. I think I've gone from the typical beginner hook to the hopefully more easily cured, slice. The family have been loyal students of Gary Kent for quite a years now.

Lessons do not have to be of the formal kind, just think of anything where, from experience, you know what the right thing to do is. If it's important enough (usually defined by the cost of a mistake) then learn it. How you learn it ? Well that's another topic. One method a good friend of mine (SEH) used to do was re-write all his study notes when preparing for an exam. He said that he always remembered the material better if he wrote it down, rather than just reading it. Perhaps actually writing this blog is helping me learn some new things !

I truly believe that if you can get that lesson learned (or is that learnt ?) to become a habit then you have success. You don't have to really think about it anymore, it's a habit, it feels natural, it feels weird if you don't do it. Most people say that good habits take a lot of repetition, which makes sense to me and is definitely one proven way of learning anything. As you used to hear from parents, how many times does it take for you to "learn your lesson" ? I'm wondering if bad habits have a similar connection ?

Here's a few more that came quick to the front of the memory buffer:

• Call your parents
  
• Back up your computer(s)
• Keep you weight forward (skiing)
• Fake a throw and go to the disk (ultimate)
• Always choose the first thing that sounds appetizing on a menu (however, this doesn't usually work for other purchases like clothes, home electronics etc)
  
• Do your homework early (kids and techies preparing for a demo)
• Lock your car
• You really don't need that last beer

I hope this provides some food for thought (and it is your first choice on the menu) !

Man, these kids are exciting (and a plethora of other sport links)

A few minutes ago, Team Canada won the World Junior Hockey Championship and last night, the Texas Longhorns won a thriller of over USC in NCAA's Rose Bowl. Two great games played with big hearts by young men.

I'd say Canada's win was a great example of team play, a few standouts (Justin Pogge), but team effort and heart won out. Quote of the game (just as Russia went down 3-0) - "that's the personification of embellishment".

The football game appeared a little different, with an incredible, standout performance by Vince Young. I love this guy - a similar non-traditional scrambler like Doug Flutie (ex Argo). BTW if you didn't hear about his drop kick last week or you're having trouble finding the replay, you can find it here.



It's a welcome change from pro-sports to watch younger athletes and amateurs play in big games, like these two examples. An old friend once said that he prefers watching college sports because it's more unpredictable, and I gotta agree.

But there's lots more to come over the next couple of months - the upcoming NCAA basketball Final Four and of course the Olympics (oh, and of course my son in goal for this Saturday's house league hockey game).

What a great start to a year in sports, if only England could put it all together for the World Cup.

Happier thoughts

I hope those last few posts weren't too much of a mood downer.

On a much brighter note, we just heard that our dear friends S&SH had a new baby boy early this morning. Congrats to the whole family and welcome to the big and beautiful world (yes, even with all the doom and gloom over the last little while, a can still truly say, it's beautiful).

Who would have thought that a nerdy and partygoing bunch of lads and lasses from the University of Waterloo would have such a bounty of children in a relatively short period of time (not to mention we amazingly found attractive and responsible spouses, and except for one couple, we're all still together).

My count is 22 children (ranging from a few hours old to 10 years old) from 11 UW alumni families.

Personally, two is just fine for me. We're in the great age between needy youngsters and horrible teenagers. Please, let me enjoy it for a few more years !