April Fool – Chalk Circle. A song I heard on the radio today. Shazam on my iPhone couldn’t figure it out; but I managed to somehow pull it out of the archives.
Yesterday, trying to make a hung-over friend feel better, I mentioned how beer makes one smarter by killing off the weakest brain cells like killing off the weakest buffalo in a herd – à la Cliff Claven in Cheers…
“Well ya see, Norm, it’s like this. A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we know, kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. That’s why you always feel smarter after a few beers.”
Beers on the weekend. Click here for the slideshow or click on the image below to advance to the next image.
The original goal was to hike/climb 7th Heaven on Blackcomb mountain – which we did. However, on the way up we started collecting garbage. We found the usual objects including water bottles, beer bottles, cans, goggles, clothing, skis, ski poles, two-way radios and the best of all, $125 (US) and a money clip. Maybe that was some good karma for picking up garbage and lost objects.
During the winter season, similar objects are found every day – especially cell phones and wallets. Whistler is a fairly good place to lose thing and have them returned. I recently left my credit card in a restaurant. I didn’t discover it missing until a few days later. When I did realise where I left it, I called and they did indeed have it. I retrieved it shortly after that without any hassle of getting it replaced.
I normally don’t carry cash with me – maybe for fear of losing it? However, banking is different that what it used to be. With ATMs and credit cards, cash is almost unnecessary in large cities and popular resorts. I can’t think of any place in Whistler that does not accept credit cards; and I think every merchant does because Visa is a worldwide sponsor of the Olympics. Even my lift pass is connected to my credit card so I don’t even need to carry a credit card with me when I’m on the mountain. Replacing a lift pass is easier than replacing a credit card or wallet. I’m not sure why people still carry cash.
The set from the day is below; click on the larger image to advance to the next one. If you’re on your iPhone or can’t see it, click here.
Palm Inc, an off shoot of the 3 Com company, made the PDA a mainstream object – it was the Palm Pilot; a name synonymous with the PDA. I never owned a Palm Pilot until they merged that item with a phone. The Palm Phone was born and I was a fan.
I got my first Palm Phone, the Palm Treo 600 in 2004 and then the Palm Treo 650 in 2006. The Treo 650 works so well, that I still use it to this day. I think It still works better than the Apple iPhone.
Recently, the Palm Pre was released on the Sprint network in the US. I got to test drive it when I was in New York last month. It is a worthy successor, unfortunately, in North America, the new Palm Pre is only available in the US on the Sprint network – a non-GSM network. I refuse to get one because I wouldn’t be able to use it outside of North America and I’m on Rogers in Canada. It it were available on GSM, there would be a much larger market for this phone.
However, they did produce some good commercials as seen below…
The new Safari interface is friendly to look at and make it easy to access my frequently visited websites. I had been using Firefox more often before this because it worked with more websites. Hopefully Apple has made it more compatible and did not only put on a new face. I’ll keep using Safari for now.
I was starting to lose faith in some Apple products after my iPhone was underperforming. I realized that it was today after it shut down in the midst of a phone conversation. Some say I talk too much, but I noticed that this has been going on since October of last year according to my photo below. After an unusually quick call to Rogers, they offered to replace my dysfunctional iPhone with a new one – hopefully that makes it all right again.
Several people have asked me for the recipe of my chocolate smoothie and the nutrition of it. I was unsure of the nutrition because I’ve made several changes to it recently. I’m not sure if it’s better or worse than the previous version. The new smoothie include less avocado, more hemp, less Vega and I also added some mango. According to Nutridiary, it’s about the same as before (685 calories now vs 660 before, 36g vs 39g fat and 79g vs 63g carbs). I updated it and the recipe and nutrition is below. It still tastes just as good, if not better and it might cause you to have your best day ever!
Ingredients
1 ripe pear
handful of frozen strawberries
handful of frozen mango
handful of soaked almonds
1/2 frozen banana
1/6 avocado
3 raw cacao beans (grind in coffee grinder before)
Blend fruit, almonds and avocado with water until a smooth consistency. Add water as needed or to desired consistency.
Gradually add cacao powder, ground cacao beans and protein powder. For a more chocolately flavour, add some raw cacao powder.
After adding water, it’s about 1.5 litres of smoothie! I usually have it all for breakfast, but most people can only drink half because it’s pretty filling. But it’s all good.
As a volunteer at the Whistler Golf Club, I’m entitled to unlimited free golf. I’m not sure if I can golf as much as I ski, but I will soon find out. I haven’t swung a golf club in almost two years. Today I spent an hour hitting golf balls. I will definitely feel it tomorrow.
I didn’t have my clubs with me – so I tried a variety of clubs – some that likely came from the lost and found. Regardless, It was just like old times. I was happy with how I hit the ball – most went where I wanted them to go. One surprise was the Nike Slingshot iron (pictured above). This was the first time I tried Nike clubs and I was pleasantly surprised. The club seemed heavy, but it was rather effortless to get the ball into the air. I used to poo-poo on Nike clubs, but I guess I shouldn’t knock it until I’ve tried it.
I can’t wait to retrieve my clubs from Toronto and play a proper round with them. I’m not looking for new clubs; but I would like to try the rest of the Nike irons. It’s going to be a fun summer.
Day 51: the best day of the season so far was on February 25 (day 51)
I skied my 60th day of the season yesterday – more days than the last four seasons combined. Living in a ski town certainly helps. I’m well on my way to skiing 100 days this season. Even after taking a vacation from my vacation, and if the weather cooperates, I will reach my goal by the end of April – right around the Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival – more reasons to celebrate.
Fifty days slipped by rather easily as winter really began on February 22nd (day 48). It was a good month; however, the snowfall is much less than the last three seasons which would be considered epic seasons. The best day that I’ve had, probably over the last four seasons was on February 25 (day 51) where it snowed over 30 cm. This combined with my powder skis made for a very enjoyable day!
I also managed to somehow ski 28 days in February and 29 days in a row. The streak was broken when the bus from Vancouver was delayed. February was all about skiing, eating and sleeping – and not much else.
In the 60 days I also took five lessons which dramatically improved the way I ski. I took lessons before, but my days on the mountain were always limited to practise what I learned. I also think the quality of the instruction at Whistler Blackcomb made a difference. This was the first time I took lessons here and the style was much different than other resorts in North America. This combined with the positive attitude of the people that work here is probably why WB is consistently ranked as one of the best ski resort in the world.
Today, day 61, is also my birthday, I think I’ll celebrate by going skiing! :^)
My flickr set of my days on the mountain so far. Click on the larger image to advance to the next one.
According to the mission statement on the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) website,
PETA works through public education, cruelty investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns.
What this means is that they produce materials and campaigns that get people, companies and organizations to take note, talk and write about what they are doing.
A recent example is the ‘banned’ Super Bowl commercial, (video above). I don’t think they meant or wanted to have that aired during the Super Bowl. If it did happen, it would have cost PeTA $3 million; or roughly 10% of their operating budget. Not the best use of money as the viewers are likely not their target audience. However, by getting the spot banned, it caused countless news organizations, bloggers and other media types to write about it as well as creating a general hubbub around the spot.
PETA is one of the world’s best marketing organizations and knew exactly what it was doing when they submitted the spot to NBC. They’ve done this before and none of spots have been aired. However, because of the interest, they’ve been viewed millions of times – far more effective than spending $3 million.
The target audience of PETA is actually quite small because when people realize the connection between the treatment of animals and their dinner plate; many cannot deal with that and become quite defensive or are in denial about their food choices. Many never get beyond this point.
Regardless, the PETA campaigns are meant to shock – so they are quite effective. They are probably more effective than mainstream advertising because the effects of their campaigns last in the (emotional) minds of people for years. PETA does piss a lot of people off, including vegetarians, but I don’t know of any vegetarian that would start treating animals poorly or revert to eating animals again because of it. PETA takes the bad with the good.
The good is that they have made someone notice – that’s their first goal. Their second goal is to get people beyond that point. Most will never get beyond the campaign; however, a small percentage will and read further. The third goal is to get people to provide support (money) to carry out their campaigns.
Mainstream marketers can only wish they could have this kind of impact.
Whistler is comprised of four groups of people, rich tourists, ski bums, foreign workers and the locals that put up with all of them. The bulk of the people that keep the resort running are usually a combination of the ski bums and foreigners from around the world – some on their first trip outside of their country. One thing they like to do is party – and they party hard.
Part of the culture here is drugs – mostly marijuana – aka BC Bud; the other is alcohol. I wonder how many have purchased root beer thinking it was real beer. Maybe it was after some BC Bud.
I recently read some articles about the imperative for businesses to become green. It still seems that being green is still a fad among most people and that short term benefits and cost is a major factor – despite the potential savings over the long term.
Being green has been always been a focus for a small segment of the population because of the inherent desire to consume only when necessary, not be wasteful and ultimately save money. If all consumers had these ideals in mind when consuming, we likely would not be in the predicament we find our planet in today.
Lack of Awareness – people claim they do not have enough information
Negative Perceptions – green products are less effective
Distrust – people do not trust the message of government and business
High Prices – people do not understand the long-term benefits
Low Availability – business do not really want to sell these products
It is a bit of a chicken-and-egg game. However, the Internet is a wealth of knowledge and consumers can find the information with some effort. Consumers must also decide on their own what is right for them rather than wait for the market to decide what is right for them. Otherwise consumers will be at the whim of marketers – the very ones that help put us in the position we find ourselves.
Businesses that take a leadership role in such areas will be rewarded by loyal customers and not have to catch up when the mainstream realizes that being green is better (and essential). Whole Foods Market did this in the 1990s by stocking organic and local produce as well as other environmentally-friendly products. They are now a leader in the grocery business with strong growth by attracting informed customers.
I’ve worked in the retail business for more than 15 years (almost all of my working life) and I’ve seen what attracts customers. In North America, consumers are addicted to cheap stuff – period. We are intent on obtaining the best deal and not necessarily the best value or product. That’s why Wal-Mart is so popular.
Europeans are more concerned with obtaining the best value or product and not necessarily the lowest price. The North American strategy does not retain customers as they will flee once prices are not the lowest. However, the European method retains customers because of the value delivered through a superior product.
Unfortunately, marketers have created this problem because of the short-term pressures. Hopefully they can dig us out of this problem without more consumption. The actual answer is through reduced consumption.
A McKinsey & Company chart that illustrates that perception is very different that what is effective in reality. A surprising point at the first position is driving a more fuel-efficient car; driving less is at the fourth position. However, the biggest and most surprising gap is with eating beef – consuming less is the third most effective action people can take – vegetarians have know this all along.
Advertising, Animal Rights, Couchsurfing, Culture, Environment, Music, Photography, Technology, Television, Vancouver, Video | Garry August 24, 2009 | 
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