We’re in Toronto now, watching the Oilers who currently have a 2-1 lead over the Sharks at the end of the second period. Just waiting for our pizza to arrive! More later.
Go Oilers Go!
Off to Mesh in Toronto
Dickson and I are off for Mesh in Toronto in a few hours. The conference is Canada’s first ever dedicated to Web 2.0, so I am really looking forward to it. As per usual, conference related posts will have the picture shown to the right, allowing you to skip right over them if you want! We should arrive in Toronto just before the start of the Oiler game tonight, so hopefully we won’t miss too much of it.
The conference runs Monday and Tuesday. We’re going to see The Lord of The Rings Broadway show on Wednesday, but aside from that, we’ve kept our schedules open. If you want to get together in TO, give me call (780.619.3864). If you need to get a hold of me for non-urgent things, email will work best.
Next post will likely be from Toronto!
Edmonton Oiler Playoff Madness
What an amazing game! The Oilers scored five unanswered goals to come back from a 3-1 deficit and defeat the San Jose Sharks by a final score of 6-3. Some really great goals in this game, like Samsanov’s out of the penalty box. The Edmonton Oilers website has a good recap.
Playoff fever here in Edmonton has reached crazy levels. I’m too young to really remember the madness of the dynasty, but some say this is worse (or better, depending on how you look at it). Whyte Avenue was shut down this evening, open only for pedestrians, because it was just too nuts. Jasper Avenue was pretty insane too, so I took some video of it. Loud horns, hundreds of flags, lots of jerseys, etc – very crazy indeed! The roughly 10-minute video features me walking into traffic, and Oilers music courtesy of 91.7 The Bounce. Enjoy!
Click here to watch the video at YouTube. Or if you’d prefer, you can download it (better quality) in WMV format, 25 MB, from here.
Go Oilers Go!
Read: Edmonton Oilers
Microsoft: Buy a Wii with your 360
Ah you gotta love Microsoft sometimes. They hate Sony so much that they are willing to side with another competitor, that being Nintendo. Dickson and I have long planned to buy a Nintendo Wii (used to be called Revolution) simply because we don’t expect it to cost very much. Microsoft VP Peter Moore agrees:
“Tell me why you would buy a $600 PS3?” Peter Moore, a Microsoft vice president, said in an interview. “People are going to buy two (machines.) They’re going to buy an Xbox and they’re going to buy a Wii … for the price of one PS3.”
“People will always gravitate toward a competitively priced product — like what I believe Wii will be — with innovative new designs and great intellectual property like Mario, Zelda and Metroid,” Moore told Reuters.
He makes a good point. Super Mario Galaxy looks like a pretty cool game, especially with the Wii’s very innovative controller. I hope they announce pricing for the Wii soon!
Read: Washington Post
Windows Vista gets thumbs up from DOJ
It turns out that I’m not the only one who though Google’s whining about Internet Explorer 7 was dumb. The Justice Department has reviewed many parts of Windows Vista, including the new search box, and has found no problems:
While criticizing Microsoft for its implementation of its existing antitrust accord, regulators appear satisfied with the software maker’s plans for Windows Vista, including a new search box that is part of Internet Explorer 7.
As part of its status report on Microsoft’s antitrust compliance, the Justice Department said that it had reviewed the search box and concluded that Microsoft’s implementation “respects users’ and (computer makers’) default choices and is easily changed.”
Thank goodness the government has gotten something correct for once! Apparently they have also approved the “first-boot” experience for Windows Vista, after having reached an agreement with Microsoft that gives flexibility to computer makers.
So what does it all mean? Essentially, it means the only thing holding Windows Vista back now is Microsoft itself.
Read: CNET News.com
VenturePrize Mentor Breakfast
I just got back from the VenturePrize Mentor Breakfast presented by MacEwan, which I mentioned we were attending in my previous post. Fortunately, we called one of our mentors this morning to find out where it was, so we made it on time, and everything worked out okay. Dickson and I were invited to speak at this event by the MacEwan organizers, to share our experience with and thoughts on the mentorship program that comes as part of VenturePrize. To sum up our presentation:
A mentor’s only obligation is to provide honest, altruistic advice regarding the business plan to the business team they work with during the competition. In our experience, the business team ends up receiving much more than just advice in the mentorship program – they essentially gain another team member – making it a truly invaluable resource. As far as we’re concerned, VenturePrize simply wouldn’t be the same without the mentorship process that comes from the business plan screening, judging, and presenting, the seminar series, and of course, the mentors themselves. We’re truly grateful we were able to take part!
The breakfast this morning was quite good, both the food and the people! We sat with and spoke after Grant MacEwan College CEO and President Dr. Paul Byrne, as well as TEC Edmonton CEO Dr. David Cox. Talk about some tough acts to follow! Both of them are excellent speakers, extremely well-versed in what they do. It probably sounds kind of corny, but events like the breakfast today are all part of that mentorship process we talked about, and we keep learning more and more with each event.
Overheard in the Paramagnus office
We’re still here in the Paramagnus office, at around 4:30 AM, which has been normal for us lately. And you know what? Not only are the late night hours our most productive, they can also be the funniest. And on that note, I present to you, overheard in the office:
The last few days we’ve had problems with the circuit breakers in our office. A little while ago Dickson wanted to boil some water, but we didn’t want to risk plugging our crazy kettle into an outlet here, so he took it out into the hallway. A little while later he went to get the boiled water, and when he returned:
“I feel like an African, having to go elsewhere to get my water!”
Not the most politically correct statement, but that’s the way it goes at 4 AM. And according to any documentary I’ve ever seen, he’s right, they always carry their water from elsewhere.
Tomorrow morning we’ve got a breakfast presentation to give on mentorship and our mentoring experiences in VenturePrize. I wrote a small speech the other day, and was going over it tonight:
Mack: Alright this looks good. Where is the event tomorrow?
Dickson: Hang on, I’ll check.A few minutes pass as Dickson scours his email…
Dickson: I can’t seem to find it.
Mack: Hmm, that’s odd. I wonder if it’s on the TEC Edmonton site or anything.More time passes as we both look at various websites for event info.
Mack: I can’t believe we don’t know where the event is!
So if you’re reading this, and you happen to know where the event is tomorrow, give me a call ok? Thanks.
Smallville Season Five Finale
I won’t give any spoilers away, but…what an amazing episode! Huge cliffhanger. Lots of action. Excellent special effects. Some very interesting twists. Some funny moments, and some scary moments. Perhaps the only bad part was that it further proved that Lana is the most terribly written character on the show (well that and the few usual plotholes I guess). I’m going to have to watch it again, and then I’m sure I’ll find more faults heh.
The next few months of waiting for season six are going to be unbearable. At least there’s Superman Returns and KryptonSite in the interim.
That is all.
Quick Update
I’ve got lots to say, but not enough time to say it, so here’s a quick update for now:
- The Oilers won in triple overtime last night! w00t!
- I will never go back to less than three monitors ever again. After about a week of using the setup, I can honestly say it has made a big difference in my productivity.
- I can’t believe we are leaving Sunday…time sure flies. I am looking forward to Mesh though!
- I received a couple physical copies of my Financial Post article in the mail the other day. It’s pretty damn cool to see it actually printed 🙂
- Halo 3, PS3, Nintendo Wii, GTA for Xbox 360, ahh…sooo much great gaming news, so little time.
- Season finale of Smallville is tonight!
PS3 Pricing Announced
Sony announced pricing for its upcoming PlayStation 3 gaming console yesterday, and as generally expected, the console will cost more than Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Though not nearly as much as I expected! The system comes in two options, though the only difference between the two appears to be a larger hard drive:
Sony, which unveiled the specs and pricing of its PlayStation 3 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles on Monday, will charge $499 and $599 for the consoles when they arrive in November.
Many people seem to think that it will all come down to Blu-ray. I am not so sure. I don’t exactly have a strong desire to own a Blu-ray device, though I admit the PS3 is by far the cheapest such device available. The $499 model comes with a 20 GB hard drive, making it more similar to the higher end Xbox 360 console. Who knows what kinds of controllers or other extras the PS3 will come with though.
Does anyone else think it’s stupid to charge an extra $100 for 40 GB of space? I can buy a 300 GB hard drive for just over $120 CDN for crying out loud! Unless there’s something extra, that $100 is a complete rip off.
Oh, and the sexy controller in the picture is not what the final controller looks like. Nope, the real one is much more mundane.
Read: CNET News.com
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