Thanksgiving

So with the Thanksgiving weekend closed, for us in Canada, I thought about what I am thankful for. Family, friends, and home. It has many meaning to many people. Home is where you come from for most. Some think of it as where your rump rests. Many others think of it as a place where you established yourself and your current identity, maybe where you spent the most of your time so far in your life, or maybe where you went to university or college. I think of home as somewhere safe and inviting, somewhere where i can close my eyes and be relaxed. Somewhere where everyone knows your name, and there are always glad you came.

A little part of me will always think of home as the place I am from, and while I no longer live there i often think of the Rock. Something you never get to experience while at home are tourist commercials about the place you are. So living away from the rock I have got to see many of these, and they are well done.

This is a great video, not just because I am a newfie, but because it make you feel like you would be relaxed and comfortable there, it has a homey quality to it. Places are named after people and events, but with names like Heart’s Content and Paradise why would you be anywhere else?

What do you call home, and what memories keep it safe in the vastness of your mind?

Sony, Words for Thought

Speaking of how awesome the world is, images are one thing, but sometimes facts are another.

Did you know was a commercial of sorts made for Sony to present at their annual corporate meeting? While this was not technically a commercial it was an ad for Sony and thus have included it in this blog. Apart from it just being cool. The music is from Fatboy Slim, Right Here Right Now, which in itself has a great video. The video made sometime around 2009 may be in need of some updating, but it does show some interesting and sometimes scary facts when you really think about it.

So what does it all mean? Well nothing really. It means that things change, as has always been a constant on this earth. Nature has a way of breaking that which does not bend. It does show an interesting shift, I can remember a time B.G. before google and in fact before the internet. Back when things were written in books and

So are you flexible, are you this flexible? Watching this also makes me think about which statics I myself have contributed to. To quote an ancient proverb we do live in interesting times, and hopefully we will continue to live in interesting times. Where would we be if the world was boring? Where would you be?

The World is Just ... Awesome

The World is Just ... Awesome.

The world is awesome and very rarely does a commercial come along that while branding something makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. While this one might not make you feel fuzzy inside, you cannot help but be uplifted by its imagery and positive feel to it.

This was first used for the discovery channel in 2008 after a change to it program line-up and target base. Taking on more than just educational programs and starting to introduce more reality programs the new direction has been a success. The music used here is from Morcheeba, a British band form in 1996, from their album The Antidote, entitled Wonders Never Cease. Making this a good mix of music and imagery to create a unique commercial, and one that I enjoy.

The ad show cases the various programs on the Discovery Channel and shows you just how awesome the world is, while we look to space and the final frontier, there are still so many things on this tiny blue marble that we have yet to explore. So get out there and discover your world, because you never know what awesome things will be waiting for you.

Dos Equis

Well it is now the long weekend, and what are you going to do? Well drink of course, and what o drink, well if Heineken did not do it for you, then may i introduce you to Dos Equis. These commercials are by now famous, who has not heard of the most interesting man in the world? You, you say well enjoy.

Apart from getting different images in your head, as in who is your most interesting man, Bond, Dr. Evil, or Bob Marley. The things and metaphors that are used are outrageous, his personality is so magnetic he is unable to carry credit cards is one great example.

The beer itself is Mexican, first brewed in 1897 by a German born Mexican, Wilhelm Hasse. It was originally called Siglo XX or 20^th Century. The label had two giant X’s on it to mark it, hence the name now of Dos Equis, or Two X’s. Dos Equis features actor Jonathan Goldsmith as the the most interesting man in the world, with Frontline (the public affairs T.V. program) narrator Will Lyman doing voiceovers.

On in interesting side note Dos Equis is brewed Cervecería Cuauhtémoc-Moctezuma, which is a major brewery based in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. It is currently a subsidiary of Heineken International, which explains the similar feel for both commercials for Heineken and Dos Equis.

Heineken - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour

So, now you have a wife and kids, where to?

Well to the bar of course, But what to drink? There are lots of choices out there and how are you going to make such a difficult choice. Well with great advertisement. Heineken is a good choice

This commercial makes it seem like you too can be the life of a party. If you drink our beer, look what can happen. Great music, good friends, and most importantly, a good story. This is not your typical beer commercial with boobs and beers and sand. No this is much better. It shows a glimpse into a life that everyone can relate to in some way. Not because you lived it, though some of us have. No rather it brings you back to those innocent times when perhaps you saw your first bond film, or your first music concert. Or perhaps your college years where everyone knew you and you knew everyone, there was no party off limits and you where cool. Don’t you want to recapture that, just drink our beer.

The music is good, a Danish band called The Asteroids Galaxy Tour. This has been a major push for Heineken, and great publicity for the band, which has been collaborating together since March 2011. This commercial has been a great success, with over 4 million views on YouTube and countless more on the old fashion Television.

What is your favourite beer?

VW - Rabbit

Now for the next stage in life, after you run off with the hot girl in the bitching car, you inevitable have to deal with kids.

This commercial came on the scene as the VW Rabbit was released. (Duh) The great thing about this commercial is that nowhere, and I mean nowhere in this commercial do you find out about the size of the engine, or the speed of the car. No there is no info on the car except that its called a rabbit and it has been re-introduced. Yet after watching it you cannot help but want to go out and buy one, marketing at it best.

One more fact about the VW, their name is Volkswagen, German for the people’s car. It was founded in 1937 by the Nazi trade union the German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront). One thing about the car is that in the 30’s cars were still a luxury and not everyone could get one. Hitler decided this was no good, and as part of his economic recovery plan for Germany sought a car that the people could afford, hence the name. So on 22 June 1934, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche agreed to create the People's Car for Hitler. The only change Hitler really wanted to make with the new design? Well he wanted it to be a happy car so designed the front of the now famous VW Beetle to look like a smiley face.

So the next time you see a beetle and its smile puts one on your face, don’t forget to thank Hitler.

Nissan 300zx - 1990s

Commercialization

Being a child of the eighties and nineties one thing stands out to me that this new digital generation, with their TiVo’s and downloads may be missing.

Commercials.

So these things came about because everyone was sick of watching them, but that has more to do with the fact that programs have allows more time for them and now product placement is on the rise. But there was a time when there where commercials, most of them terrible, but some a golden few were memorable, even magical. They were sometime funny, sometimes just catchy, but always you remember them.

So I start this new segment with a commercial that has stuck with me throughout the years.

Nissans 300zx commercial from the early nineties.

It was made before CGI was big. This means time and effort went into the making with models and stop motion. Something that sadly has gone the way of the dodo, but it was an art, a time consuming often painful art.

This was a good commercial because it made you stop and think why was Barbie with Ken, when GI Joe was in the next room? Maybe she liked that sort of thing, but were all the Barbie’s the same? Surely not. Also this was released about the same time as the first Toy Story, and while that movie has entered the movie lexicon, and personified toys are almost main streamed, at the time it was not. It also makes you ask would you rather have a hot place and a bitching wife, or a hot wife and a bitching car.

I have the latter, how is your life arranged?

On closer inspection you may also notice that despite the persistence on the name of Barbie and GI Joe, both are close but not actually the toys, she looks more like Barbie dark haired vixen and he looks more like the Army Man from the discount store, you know GI George.

Not that either matters, the commercial was good and it stuck with me, and at the end of the day all that matters: Did you remember it?

Sailing 101

So time has come to finally start the journey into saildom. I have to admit it was more than I was expecting. The first and most important thing to think about is what kind of boat will do you want; followed by the more important question, what kind of boat can you afford? As it turns out my position is leaning more towards the latter, which by the way is a good thing. I have learned a lot about my first boat recently. The most important thing is saleability, your first boat is not your last and you will upgrade at some point, so it is a good idea to find something that meets several requirements:

1. In your budget, this is not to say what you can afford, but rather what you can afford to lose. You see your first boat will be a learning experience, on all fronts. So make sure it something that in worst case scenario you will not be too terribly upset at seeing the boat at the bottom of [insert area of sailing here].

2. Repair costs, while this would seem to go into the first point, it is something that needs real consideration, as a larger boat will have more expensive parts, and dockage fees this is something that should be looked at as a monthly expense. If you cannot afford this you cannot afford the boat.

3. Saleability, as in if you somehow manage to not sink the boat or rub your nerves raw in the attempt to sail(or sink) and you want to move up to a bigger, faster, or prettier boat you can get rid of the previous boat with little trouble.

4. Right size, make sure you do not bite off more than you can chew, I know this is something you have heard since grade school, but it is especially true with boats, something that is too big will result in a hazard for all, you need to be able to control your boat, start smaller and move up from there. Sailing is an art, and as such cannot be calculated or planned for.

5. You, of course you need to like the boat. As an art it needs to be likable, you must want to visit it, spend time with it, like any relationship in life you must want to be a part of it, otherwise it will sit in dry-dock and rot. There is always the ascetics of anything you will spend money on.

With this in mind I plan to start the journey now, the first thing to do is of course review some boats, find out what is good and see where it goes from there. I will be reviewing four boats to see which one will be crowned the winner of the Das Newf name.

The first matter at hand is of course the budget, as it turns out the Budget subcommittee has found out what our afford to lose amount is and it is much lower than I would have wanted, but then again we do need to eat. We have looked at our options and our want lists and have come up with some things to look at. We will be looking at boats between the 22 ft and 30 ft. This range was chosen because they would accommodate an overnight trip for two at the lower end to weekend sails with friends on the higher end, this way we can enjoy sailing with friends. The range also give us creature comforts of a head, and a bed, and a basic engine to look after and use, without the need to spend lots of money on costly repairs. It also fits into the monthly budget on the higher end.

Cell Phones, Minutes, Data, Oh My!

This is insane. People need to wake up and think about things before they just start to yell and scream.

They say that people in Canada pay more every month for cell phone bills, and it has a lot of extra fees and they are right. System access fee? Really, I mean really, it is there because it is a good way to make extra money, it should really be called we just want more money fee. Then they go and change it to Government regulatory recovery fee, which by the way if you check out certain providers website it specially says that this fee is NOT collected to pay the government or required by the government. So really, what is happening here? This is the only industry that says; hey the government is making me pay for my business licence, so I will pass that cost on to you in the form of a fee, but not really because it is not required or even really going to the fee.

Imagine you go to get some street meat and it is 2$, but then they tell you it is 2$+0.50$ street venders licensing fee, or you go to take a taxi and there is another fee on top of everything for their drivers licence and their taxi licence and extra cost for having lots of bags and more money to cover their gas cost. I mean really, would you take a taxi then, would you put up with it from any other industry. No you would not. It would be unthinkable for any other industry, well except maybe airlines... but that is another rant.

That being said, people need to get their act together. You got the 750$ cell phone for 99$ based on a contract that you signed. Complaining that it has been 6 months and you backed over your phone so now you want another one, and they say ok, that I s 750$, and you get mad. Why? You broke the phone, and you got the phone for a cheap cost and the company has not made their money back on your phone yet, and you want another 750$ phone for free. Are you on crack? Then they would be bankrupt. No other industry would do this, if you bought a car on loan then crashed it, you would not go back to the dealer and demand a new car at no cost.

They would laugh at you, and so would I.

People need to think smart, pay more for the phone up front, you will pay way more than 750$ for the phone over the 3 years you signed up for, than if you just paid for the phone and went with a cheaper plan. Then maybe there would be no hidden cost, or fees, or the need to lock you into a contract. Cheap phones have strings, you should try to remove as many as possible.

Think of cell companies as gas stations, you should buy the phone from the dealer, and simply go the station to fill up on minutes or texts or data. The only thing you should really be demanding from them is better coverage, or maybe a full service station, or the occasionally the window squeegee or car wash.

Never get into bed with any company that promises the moon, you may wake up in a tub, missing a kidney.

The Blue Marble

It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.
Neil Armstrong

Wednesdays Squalls

About god

I am not a theologian nor will I ever claim to be. However this notion that god is everywhere all the time seems a bit over the top. It seems to me that a better way to run things would not to be everywhere all
at once. Occam’s razor suggests that being everywhere all the time is neither easy nor efficient. The one thing nature and god as the creator of nature is efficient.
If he's doing everything then he's making my heart beat and your muscles work at the same time making the sun burn and the earth move. This would be an incredible waste of time for an all-powerful being.

It would.

As the creator of the cosmos would you like to spend your time making sure every creature got born ok, hearts worked fine, the sun kept burning? No neither would I.
It would make more sense to have god establish a set of rules to govern everything. As an all powerful being he would be able to create any rules he wished. Like the prime-minister making laws, CEO making rules, they are there to prevent micromanagement, you never see Steve jobs delivering a Mac. No he makes rules and delegates. As much as Steve would like to think so he's not smarter than god so why would god micromanage.

Therefore he created the rules of physics: let there be light.

The rules of biology: he made man from his rib.
The rules of earth sciences: and then he made the sea and the earth raised from it

The rules of science was born.

All we are doing is rediscovering that which he made. We were made in god’s image, and we ate the apple now all we have to do is learn. We must always remember though to keep the moral high ground. It is harder sometimes but there is never an advantage to give an inch. We draw a line in the sand for many things, science and religion should not be divided.

Science without religion is immoral. Religion without science is just stupid.

or as Einstein put it:

"Science without religion is lame, Religion without science is blind."

Waiting

I am sick of waiting.

Every day I spend most of my time waiting, for buses, in lines, for websites to load. I understand why people steal, it use to be to save money, now it is to save time. I start my day at 8 am getting up to walk the dog, and then it is off to wait for the bus to take me to work. At the bus stop I wait at the transfer for my second bus to arrive. Then I finally get to work, and it is more waiting, for the elevator, for my computer to load, for my job to start. Then it is waiting for my first break, for lunch, for last break, finally time to go home! Yahoo. Then it is back to waiting for the bus. Finally Home.

On my days off its waiting in traffic to go anywhere and once you get somewhere then its waiting for a parking spot. Once in the store you have to get your items and then wait in line. It seems like the lines just get bigger and move slower, all in the interest of saving money for the company.

Time is money

That is what ever company I have ever worked for tells me. 30 seconds wasted per employee makes for lost money that adds up every year. Well my time is money too. If I am wasting it at your store you should pay me.

People tell me the big city is more convenient, ba-hum-bug. The convenience factor will never out weight the waiting involved with the big city and all these people who waste their and my time waiting.

That is why I am starting to shop at independents around town. Mom and Pop shops may not have the cheapest stuff, but they are always personable, and my time is never wasted. Some of the best stuff that I own has been found with the smallest store, and the best people.

I hope my boat has the same feel to it. I will spend my time wisely in searching and buying a boat. Once on a beautiful ship of the line, my time will never be wasted, but wisely spend enjoying all the leisure that craft can offer.

Long may your big jib draw.

Das Newf

The Wheels on the Bus

So I know it has been awhile since my last post, and this is something that needs to be corrected. As it turns out I am concerned about expressing myself and making sure not to sound too preachy and/or self-indulgent. Then I was told by a very wise family member that the whole point of a blog is just as such, those who want to know will, those who will get offended or bored will not.

Good Point.

As it turns out the new job that I have applied for is a government job, one that will lend itself to the pursuit of a sailing vessel. The Canadian Coast Guard is a great way to have a good career doing something interesting and challenging while working with people who share my passion. Like all government jobs it requires moving at the speed of the bureaucracy, which I am sure has tried to be measured by someone, but is probably still waiting for the results to come back.

I have applied via their “fast and convenient” website, as all public employees must, I was then told that they will process my request and forward it on to the hiring committee where it would sit for an unspecified amount of time until someone in the expanse known as government would get back to me. Well almost two months later and I finally have a response, I have been selected to do an assessment to determine if I qualify to do an interview, which will allow me to write a test to see if I will be able to do the training required to be able to do the job to which I have applied.

At least it is a move in the right direction, slowly but surely in the right direction.
My first test will have me tested in the following areas:

Arithmetic, 2+2 is still 5 right?

Checking, well will have to brush up on this, anyone for a game of chess?

Memory, what?

Coding, some of those bar codes use a lot of ink, bring pens!

Spatial reasoning, paper airplanes, check, paper boats, well it kind of floats!

Memory, no problem here

On a different note does anyone know why everyone engraves their wedding date on the inside of their wedding band? These areas all seem pretty straight forward. So off I go the see if I have what it takes.

The boat show this year was a pass, it was not filled with much in the way of new and improved, and there were many missing venues and boats, so all in all we did not miss much. Next year should be better. Until then we will just have to keep looking for something that fits us.

Long may your big jib draw

Newf

A New Year A New Start

Well it is a new year and so it will be a new start. And I know what you are thinking, hey wait it is only December and what are you drunk? Well no, not at the moment. I use December as the start of my year because December is a month that will live in infamy, and not just for Hawaii vacationers. We were though a fire that we, my wife and I, lost our house and all that was in it. But that was then, this is now, and this blog will not be a walk down memory lane. The past is the past. I know where I have been, and now I want to look forward to see where I am going. And I intend to go to the Toronto boat show in January and start my journey into the sailing world. This blog will be about that journey, into the mists. That being said here is a quick run though of my memorial maple mews lane.

The first year I dubbed the year of hell. It was filled with many new and false starts. Having to replace everything is a very interesting feeling, not having anything more than a year old, is also interesting. We filled our house with denial, and tried to manage ourselves though thick and thin, and we are now better for it. One of the few good events in that year was the fact that we married. It was complete with all the fanfare that we usually put with our self promotion. I met and married my wife in 8 months, learning to live together, be married together, and generally be together is hard enough individually and spread out over years, but compressed into one year and all at the same time is, well hell. I know we have each other’s backs at any given moment. Again we are better for it.

The second year I dubbed the year of change, we moved from the black hole that was the town in which we were living to the big city. I thought that this move would be good for us, just another freak in the freak kingdom. But it was a start to the year, and the rest was just as movable. The changes never stopped, we both got new jobs, a new apartment and a new dog. While the dog was most welcome, it was a massive change in our lives and our lifestyle.

Now it is the third year, and I dub it the year of growth, and not just in the horizontal way. I have applied to a new job and am very excited about it. It will involve moving to a small town, a big plus, as it turns out big city equal big problems. We both look forward to small town living. If all stays on course we will also be in a position to move forward with house saving and most importantly, and the reason for all this blogging will be the purchase of my first sailing vessel.

I have been sailing for many years, but all with friends’ boats, never my own. I have decided that I want to own my own sailing boat and take it ideally around the world. More realistically it will just be a crossing and a lot of cruising. I will use this blog space to document my journey though the very beginning of searching and looking for a boat to the final sail. A new year and a new start, and the first place to start the journey is at the Toronto Boat Show, January 9 – 17 2010.

My wife and I are both sailors, just not sailors together. She has many years on the water with her father, and many more with her family. I have many years on the water with friends, as my family like dry land; I appear to be the only one with salt in my veins. But we have not sailed together, and anyone who has been on the water knows the need to understand any and all signals from the cockpit or foredeck which comes only with many hours logged on ship. There are many more signals that will be given on a boat that are not verbal, but are of equal importance and both parties need to be in complete understanding. While many four letter words will mean just as much, the only way to make sure there are no missteps is to misstep and learn.

Our first ship will be something small and manageable. It will also be, most importantly expendable, so if it finds its way to the ocean floor it will be missed, but not so much that we could not carry on. And for those of you who say, why would you expect your boat to be sunk? My answer is simple, go sailing. A quick nor’easter will answer all questions on this matter. And after three years of learning, we will not be caught unprepared. This means, our first boat will be nice, but our second boat will be better, and more important, permanent.

So if you please, follow me on my journey from land lubber to cruising captain and all the ups and downs, side to sides, and overboard spills, all part of the adventure of sailing.

Long may your big jib draw

Das Newf