[product review] Pong iPhone Cases

360° view of Pong’s “Sleek” edition for iPhone 6

Hi folks!

I’m pleased to bring you another product review — this time, a second offering from the fine folks at Pong, experts in cell phone radiation reduction/fried brain mitigation. [read my review of their iPhone 4/4S case from 2011 here]

Before covering my iPhone 6 with the Pong Sleek Case, I had a major issue of constantly dropping my phone. Not only does the Pong case’s materials provide me a considerably better grip than without, the case has been drop tested and certified up to US military specs for drops up to 6.6 feet high. I drop my phone far less now, and when I do, I stress a lot less about it because I know my drastically overpriced phone is adequately protected. The case fits rather snugly on the phone, so be prepared not to remove it too often. If you do find yourself needing to and struggling to remove the case, simply refer to this video from Pong’s YouTube channel for a procedural walkthrough.

360° view of Pong’s “Rugged” edition for iPhone 6

Additionally, from their research backed claims, I know that this case is deflecting more than half of the radiation that was otherwise headed towards by brain with every call elsewhere, thanks to its gold-plated antenna (verified by an independent, third-party study — see below for the link, or watch this video link). I try not to think about how much I was letting through prior to suiting my phone up with this case.

Furthermore, Pong makes an aesthetically pleasing, subtle and understated, yet unique looking case. The “Sleek” comes with easy access to the volume, ringer, and power buttons on either side, speaker and jacks on the bottom, and top panel. Great for someone wanting to minimize the aesthetic interference a case usually veils a phone with, while providing great safety and durability at the same time.

The “Rugged” on the other hand, covers the volume and power buttons, gives marginal access to the ringer switch, closes the top panel, but keeps good access to the bottom speaker and jacks. A little bulkier, but it’s obviously built to endure high levels of abuse. If you’re hard on phones, this is the edition for you.

Personally, I enjoy and appreciate this phone case on a number of levels, and I’d bet you would too. Order one for yourself today!

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More tech and specs from the manufacturer:

Pong Technology Reduces Your Exposure to Mobile Phone Radiation.

Total Radiated Power is a measure of the radiation your mobile devices are emitting. TRP isn’t bad. In fact, it’s what gives you a strong mobile connection. Pong’s patented antenna is unique in that it doesn’t decrease the TRP of your mobile device. It maintains your signal and redirects that radiation away from your head and body. That’s good for your phone and even better for you.

How Pong Technology Works:

Pong cases are embedded with a patented, micro thin, gold-plated antenna, that reduces exposure to potentially harmful cell phone radiation while maintaining the phone’s signal — it may even boost your signal by up to 25%. The Pong antenna couples with the antenna in your phone and redirects radiation away from you. Results from tests in FCC-certified labs show the Pong Sleek Case for iPhone 6/6s lowers your radiation exposure by up to 67% below a bare phone (or up to 89% below the FCC SAR limit). What’s more, it was verified in an extensive, independent test by WIRED MAGAZINE.

What Parents Should Know About Radiation:

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) states, “In theory, children have the potential to be at greater risk than adults for developing brain cancer from cell phones.” According to the NCI, this is due to the still-developing nervous systems and smaller heads of children. Pong cases give you an easy way to proactively protect your children from exposure to radiation.

4′ – 6.6′ Drop Protection

Beyond protecting from radiation, Pong cases provide protection from 4′ to 6.6′ drops, and are drop-tested to U.S. military specifications.

Available for:

iPhone 6/6S, 4/4s (iPhone 7 version coming soon!), iPad 1,2,3,4, Samsung Galaxy S4 & s5. “Sleek” and “Rugged” versions both available for most devices.

Connect with Pong:

On Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and their website.

New AllSportsMarket Free App allows you to trade pro sports teams like stocks

Follow @xppspFollow @davecunningFollow @bernienicholls9Follow @ASMFreeApp

NHL hockey legend, Bernie Nicholls, and Hollywood stuntman and filmmaker, Ace Underhill have teamed up to build the World’s First Sports Stock Market. The duo’s brainchild, the All Sports Market App (ASM), is a sports stock market App where fans can buy and sell shares in their favorite NHL, NBA, and NFL teams.

After each game, the winning teams payout dividends to their shareholders (note: the app is free, and no real money is involved). Players can accumulate SportsFolio Points to exchange for ASM Dollars (the in-app currency), which can then be used to buy real sports memorabilia and other sports products from the Rewards Store (opens in or before January 2015, though points are collectible now). The program parallels the real stock market, except that ASM uses sports teams from leagues that people actually know, rather than unfamiliar businesses listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

ASM is free to download, free to play, and offers sports fans an alternative to “gambling”, instead focusing on “investing”. It’s more of a “reality sports” product, rather than a “fantasy sports” product.

“As a player, I always loved the fans and appreciated them,” Nicholls said. “I’ve tried to give back as much as I can. All Sports Market is taking it to the next level by opening up a whole new world of fun and opportunity for sports fans everywhere. It’s simple. You buy and sell teams like stocks on the stock market. When they win, you win!”

“ASM is a quantum leap beyond fantasy sports,” Underhill remarked further. “We know fans love consuming all the data they can find, following their players and bragging about them, but something is missing… a REAL connection to their favorite teams. We enable fans to own the game.”

The app, and its unique combination of founding talent, has drawn the attention of comedian Christopher Titus, film and television star Zack Ward, triple Grammy winner Ben Moody, Snoop Dogg, and many other celebrities and athletes who are participating in the worldwide launch over social media.

By contributing to and supporting the Snoop Youth Football League (SYFL), ASM seeks to help end financial illiteracy and create new opportunities for kids to learn finance through sports. The SYFL’s classroom setting and focus on education in addition to athletics makes a partnership with the sports stock trader a logical evolution.

“I love the kids and I always have,” said Nicholls. “I love the youth camps and programs. Having Snoop on board is just awesome. I know we’ll do great things together.”

“The children are our future,” Underhill continued in his manifesto on the sports trading movement. “As cliche as that sounds, it’s true. Financial illiteracy in this country, and the world, represses people’s abilities to overcome the day-to-day challenges of earning and handling money, as well as planning for their future. What if you could focus all that sports knowledge and passion into a positive change for your personal future?”

Upon reading Underhill’s statement, Snoop replied, “Run with it everywhere.”

Full disclosure: I owned 50 shares in the LA Kings at the time of this picture.

ASM is a great way to really get involved with your favorite teams, giving players a feeling of novelty and involvement not normally gleaned from other sports products. It gives the fans a sense of empowerment both through the ownership of a team ‘share’, and the confidence that goes with having learned about stock trading, without having to open a text book.

To find out more about the AllSportsMarket App, visit ASM’s website: http://ASMFree.com/; Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/asmfreeapp; and Twitter feed: http://www.twitter.com/ASMFreeApp

You can download ASM for free on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/kr/app/asm-free!-allsportsmarket/id905746665?l=en&mt=8

Read more about ASM online:

1) Yahoo! Finance: www.finance.yahoo.com/news/hollywood-stuntman-hockey-legend-build-184700872.html

2) Reuters: www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/16/ca-allsports-snoopdog-idUSnPn5gC6sQ+89+PRN20141016

3) The Hockey Writers: http://thehockeywriters.com/all-sports-stock-market-ex-nhler-bernie-nicholls-explains/

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AllSportsMarket (ASM) is operated by The New Sports Economy Institute, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established to teach finance through sports. Ace Underhill is the sole technical architect with over 15 years experience working in movies, television, and music videos with such luminaries as Snoop Dogg, Coldplay, Rihanna, Foo Fighters, and other top artists worldwide. Bernie Nicholls is ASM’s spokesman and sports industry liaison. Bernie was an explosive scorer who accumulated over 1,200 career points while playing for six NHL teams. Recently, Bernie helped coach the L.A. Kings to their first Stanley Cup in 47 years.

The Snoop Youth Football League is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded to provide the opportunity for inner-city children to participate in youth football and cheer. The SYFL serves children between the ages of five and thirteen, teaching them the values of teamwork, good sportsmanship, discipline, and self-respect, while also stressing the importance of academics. Visit: http://snoopyfl.net/

Follow @xppspFollow @davecunningFollow @bernienicholls9Follow @ASMFreeApp

FWD Powershot by Quattriuum

Hi folks!

Wanna pass along some info on a neat new product from Quattriuum. They have designed the FWD Powershot; a sensor that is inserted into the shaft of your hockey stick, and can be used to measure and track all sorts of user specific data about you and your shot. I know the radar shooting station was always my favorite part of hockey school, and this little gizmo allows you to essentially bring a radar gun with you every time you play or practice. It also has the potential to help you see very pointed areas of where you could improve that you would otherwise not be conscious of. Have a read, support their Kickstarter campaign, and maybe even buy one!

-SDC

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Montréal, PQ

Quattriuum has begun a Kickstarter campaign to support the consumer launch of the FWD Powershot sensor, a game-changing hockey innovation.

Executing shots with power and speed is vital for every hockey player. Come release day, a major technological innovation will forever change the way amateur and professional athletes train for this sport.

Designed by Quattriuum, the FWD Powershot is a sensor that attaches to your hockey stick, allowing you to measure different aspects of your performance. With the Powershot, you can measure the acceleration and speed of your stick, the duration and angle of movement, and the speed of your stick’s rotation. The Powershot also estimates the speed of the puck in game situations, without radar.

The technology in the FWD Powershot helps you learn more about how you play and identifies your strengths and weaknesses. You can follow your progress over time and compare your performance with that of other players. You can also share your results on social networks.

“Because we’re passionate about sports and cutting-edge technology, we realized there was no technological solution that allowed players to push their talent one step further. We combined our strengths to create an accessible and ultra-efficient tool, something that would bring science to our national sport. Now we’re looking for passionate players like you to back our project on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter,” said Olivier Munger, President and Chief Technology Officer at Quattriuum.

How does it work?

The FWD Powershot is a user-friendly, high-performance miniaturized platform that allows real-time processing of algorithms that detect and analyze complex movements. The Powershot is specially designed to measure the range of shooting techniques in hockey. The system is a powerful asset for players looking to push their skills to the next level, fast.

The FWD Powershot works hand in hand with the FWD Sportscard App, which sends and displays the Powershot’s tracked data via Bluetooth, and allows you to analyze, share and compare your data with others.

To learn more about the technology behind the FWD Powershot, visit www.quattriuum.com/en/

To back our project on Kickstarter, click here.

Founded in 2007 by a group of tech-savvy entrepreneurs, Quattriuum specializes in motion tracking and analysis.

Drawing on its team’s specialized expertise in the areas of telecommunications, microelectronics and computing, the company aims to export these competencies to other sectors and increase the range of potential applications.

Inspired by a deep understanding of the digital nature of movement, Quattriuum is working to create products for amateur and professional athletes, as well as sports organizations. Our goal is to help players understand, learn more about and improve how they play as individuals and as members of a team.

FWD Powershot retails for $149.99

For more information on the FWD Powershot, contact their President and Chief Technology Officer, Olivier Munger by email at o.munger@quattriuum.com, or call 514-817-9255

Or find them on Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube

Hockey Fan Living Abroad? The Best Links to Free Online Streams of Games.

Follow @davecunningFollow @CunningAthletix

I’m Canadian, and if you’ve followed this blog for any amount of time, you’ve put together by now that I’m a big hockey fan too. As I’m currently residing in Asia, watching games can be quite the challenge. Major networks like TSN and CBC won’t stream games online outside of Canada. So I’ve been forced to sift through the internet for the best online streams I can find.

You’re welcome guys!

If you’re in the same boat as me, today’s your lucky day. I’ve hacked through all the junk, and compiled a list of all the best links to free hockey games that I’ve found. I’ve got no doubt the game you want to watch can be found at one of them. And for free!

The following links are my go-to’s. You’ll have to wade through them to find the best feed, but it’ll be worth the effort. Most of these sites will require you to close numerous ads to uncover the screen, but they’re all free, and don’t require any players or software to be downloaded.

Here they are (*updated December 2022*):

1) https://sportsurge.net/#/events/32

2) http://livetv.ru/en/allupcomingsports/2/

3) http://atdhe.eu/hockey

4) https://v1.streameast.to/nhl/schedule

5) https://crackstreams.biz/nhlstreams/

6) https://markkystreams.com/nhl-streams-2022-2023/

bonus) Reddit Hockey’s VLC solution

If you’re ok with downloading software, then download Sopcast. It’s a trustworthy P2P internet TV internal player, and you can stream much higher quality feeds from it than you can from any of the above links. Just be aware through the download process to uncheck all the non-sense it wants you to install along with it. If any of this sounds too risky for you, stick to the links above.

Did I miss any? Leave your favorite links in a comment, and I’ll review them.

Happy hockey watching!

Follow @davecunningFollow @CunningAthletix

Integral Hockey stick repair

Hi folks!

Any of you just have your $300 composite hockey stick snap shortly after your warranty also expired? Well, this blog post may be for you. Check out what Integral Hockey can do for you and your stick budget.

-Dave

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Aerospace Technology Takes Composite Stick Repair To New Level 

New Development In Composite Repair Process Saving Teams, Players, & Parents $$$

Canadian business owner, and founder of Integral Hockey Inc., Randy Langille, of Port Alberni, BC, has developed a process in composite hockey stick repair that is quickly becoming the leading-edge repair system in the industry. Since the arrival of composite repair services, stick owners have had to make do when sending their broken sticks in for repair, namely, dealing with substantial loss of flexibility in their sticks – typically affecting several inches on either side of the break, along with a considerable increase in weight. The Integral Hockey repair process involves taking these broken sticks and repairing them applying true composite aerospace technology with the end result – no noticeable change in respect to weight, flex, kick-point and balance. Junior A, Junior B, Triple A Midget and Bantam teams, along with minor, as well as, rec-league players, are reporting no compromise in the dynamics of their repaired sticks, in addition to experiencing the cost-savings benefits. Further details along with testimonials and video clips on the performance of an Integral Hockey stick repair, may be found at the following lnk: http://www.integralhockey.com/media

Integral Hockey’s goal (pun intended), is to provide everyone involved within the dynamic hockey community, whether it be teams, players, parents, etc., from a local to eventual, international level, not only a trusted source in affordable composite stick repair, but in addition, offer superior quality and workmanship utilizing composite aerospace technology. In Langille’s own words, “We have taken a very real problem, solved it with the most high-tech solution on the market, and we’re delivering it at a price that will work for everyone. Something we are very proud of.”

In addition, Integral Hockey is doing their part in promoting a ‘Green’ agenda. They’ve implemented a system taking broken sticks that are beyond repair, and sending them to be ground into carbon fiber powder which can then be reused to manufacture other products, thereby reducing the carbon footprint from these composite sticks that typically end up in a land-fill. Integral Hockey considers themselves to be ‘the ultimate Canadian recycling business’.

Integral Hockey is the brainchild of former aircraft component manufacturer, Randy Langille. Having tested and refined repair techniques for several years during the early days of his manufacturing career, his desire was to use his skills to develop a process that would revolutionize the hockey stick repair industry. Hence, Integral Hockey was born. And, due to the tremendous response the company has already received in the short time since its inception, repair service locations along with franchise opportunities, are now available, Canada-wide.

For general information, or to contact Integral Hockey regarding repair locations in your area, please visit http://www.integralhockey.com. For inquiries on franchise opportunities, contact Gord Piercey at, gord@integralhockey.com, or call 250-710-5895.

Win Vancouver Canucks Tickets, Free Shipping Day, Pong Cell Phone & Tablet Cases

If you win, you'll probably get to see these two decide who's going to let in the most goals that night.

Culture in Vancouver is holding a sweepstakes. Enter in your name, email and location for a shot at one of five prizes (each “experience” has been uniquely tailored with themes ranging from Theatrical to Culinary — Their grand prize includes Canucks tickets, valued at $800 (not sure where the seats are, but at that price, assumably they’re good ones), as well as hotel accomodations for 2-3 nights, a visit to the private vault of the Vancouver Art Gallery, live theare, touring the Vancouver Aquarium, and dining at fabulous restaurants such as The Teahouse in Stanley Park, Seasons in Queen Elizabeth Park, and Lift Bar and Grill in beautiful Coal Harbour. The sweepstakes will end with the drawing of the final winner on January 6, 2012.

http://www.cultureinvancouver.com/sweepstakes/

Culture in Vancouver was started by Tourism Vancouver (with the help of Vancouver-based digital agency, smashLAB), who’ve been around since 1902. They’re a business association representing approximately 1,000 members in tourism and related industries/activities. Their purpose is to effectively market Metro Vancouver as a destination for leisure, meeting and event travelers. Their goals are to attract visitors to the region, encourage them to stay longer and ensure they return. Meanwhile, for those who live in the Metro Vancouver area, the campaign encourages them to take in some of the many events happening in their own city. They highlight the vast amount of arts and culture available in Vancouver; and promote all types of culture as accessible, from opera to burlesque; and encourage people to try something different. Most importantly, their campaign helps to establish Vancouver as a cultural destination.

Learn more at www.tourismvancouver.com and  www.cultureinvancouver.com

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December 12th is Free Shipping Day in Canada. Online Christmas shoppers might wanna take advantage of this one.   Nearly 100 current e-retailers are involved in Free Shipping Day Canada include Under Armour, Best Buy, Toys R Us, Gap, Old Navy, SportChek, Apple Store and many more. Check their website FreeShippingDay.ca for full listings. Might as well save a few bucks this holiday shopping season if you can!

Free Shipping Day was created by Canadian-born Internet entrepreneur Luke Knowles.

A recent article in Entrepreneur highlighted small business participation in Free Shipping Day, mentioning the event “virtually guarantees a bump in sales.”  According to a Forrester Research survey of North American online shoppers, “75 percent of participating consumers said they would shift to another retailer at checkout if shipping was not free.” What’s equally interesting is that free shipping boosts sales tremendously. In October 2010, online retailers found it to be “the most effective promotion they can offer to drive sales during the holiday season.”Merchants can register to participate by filling out a simple form on the website.

FreeShipping.ca  allows Canadian shoppers to access free shipping codes year round — as well as a dozen other frugality-related websites.

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At long last, I finally upgraded my cell phone from my 4 year old Motorola KRZR to an Apple iPhone 4S, after the predecessor decided it no longer wanted to display anything on the screen. After much debate between Apple, Android, and Blackberry, I concluded that Apple is the leader that everyone’s trying to keep up with and just jumped in. My jump to the smartphone world has been enjoyable thus far.

Since my plunge, the fine folks at Pong Research were kind enough to send me a new protective case for my iPhone 4S. I have to be honest and admit that I’ve been avoiding getting a case, because I like the way the phone looks without any coverings, and I don’t see why a phone manufacturer would make a device made to be all covered up. BUT, I also don’t want a cracked screen and would like to avoid breaking my phone and having radiation seep into my brain.

Below is some more info on them, and why you should probably get a case for your phone too. From them, preferably.

Pong is the leading maker of phone and iPad cases that have been proven in FCC-certified labs to protect consumers cell phone radiation. (In May, the World Health Organization classified cell radiation as potentially carcinogenic.)

Just in time for the holidays, Pong has launched a stylish, new collection of cases for the iPhone, BlackBerry, iPad and iPad 2. Unlike any iPad cover on the market, it can be folded into five different vertical or horizontal positions, each of which is optimal for a different iPad activity, i.e., watching videos, reading, typing. The patent-pending design also has a convenient sleep/wake function. Available in a variety of colors, Pong cases are easy to put on and take off, work anywhere in the world, range in price from $49.99 to $99.99 and are available at www.pongresearch.com.

Pong’s new and innovative cases are the perfect gift for anyone who is a heavy phone and/or iPad user, is health conscious and concerned about radiation exposure and/or loves tech gadgets.

About Pong Research Corporation

Founded in 2011, Pong is the world’s leading maker of cell phone and iPad cases that protect smart phone and tablet users from the wireless device radiation that the World Health Organization classified in 2011 as a possible carcinogen. Developed by scientists out of Princeton, Harvard, UCLA and MIT, Pong cases have been tested and proven in FCC-certified labs to reduce the level of exposure to wireless device radiation by up to 95% below the target set by the FCC. Pong embeds in each case a patented and proprietary technology that redirects and redistributes the cell phone radiation that would otherwise be absorbed by the user’s head and body. Easy to put on and take off, Pong  cases fit a variety of iPhones, BlackBerrys and Android phones as well as the iPad and iPad 2, are available in a variety of colors and styles and have been designed and tested to work anywhere in the world.  For more information, visit www.pongresearch.com.

About Cell Phone Radiation

In May 2011, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified cell phone radiation as possibly carcinogenic to humans. The WHO based its findings on a large, international study coordinated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer that showed an increased risk of a certain type of brain tumor called glioma from regular use of cell phones defined in the study as 1,640 hours or more of cumulative use. In consumer terms, that equates to slightly less than a half hour of daily use over a 10-year period.  Adding to the evidence is a separate 2011 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), which found that 50 minutes of cell phone use affected brain activity in the area nearest to the phone. Concerns about SAR have led the FCC to impose strict SAR limits on cell phones and tablets and mandate that Apple, Blackberry and other cellular device makers warn consumers not to put their cell phone directly against their head or body when using it. Unbeknownst to most consumers, these warnings can be found in all cellular device manuals. Suggestions on how to limit exposure to cell phone radiation, such as texting, using the speaker, or turning the cell phone off when not in use, are not always possible or practical. In addition, the FCC warns against the use of products that claim to shield or block cell phone radiation because they can actually increase the user?s radiation exposure. Making matters worse, shields can also negatively impact a device?s performance.

Why Roberto Luongo is Like A Fax Machine, The Crustacean Job Crunch, and the European Style Excuse; amongst others.

I’d like to take a moment to thank you folks, my loyal and/or re-routed from links on other websites’ audience.  Last month was again, an all-time high for reads, and marked the 10,000th read of this non-sense.  That’s a pretty low readership compared to other bloggers, but I think it’s pretty good for a guy who rattles off his random thoughts at 2 am 5 times a month.  It’s fun to see that people read this stuff, and voluntarily choose to come back again.  I’ve even had a few of you mention to me in person that you read and enjoy the blog, and that’s been pretty cool too.  So, thanks everyone!  I’ll do my best to continue to entertain you, (hopefully less often) stir up controversy, and generally thieve relatively unimportant moments of your life away from you that you’ll never get back 🙂

Alright, on with the show…

Mike Gillis tried to fax Luongo his termination, but got a busy signal. Oh well, only 11 more years...

 

Why on earth does faxing still exist?  It’s like laserdisc-like invention that we seemingly got too excited about too early, and then made waaaay too big of a commitment to.  It was a pretty revolutionary idea for its time, no question.  But by the time email rolled around and made it obsolete, every business in North America was still too proud that they had their shiny new fax numbers listed in the phone book, and weren’t willing to give them up.  And like the gasoline engine, or Robert Luongo’s 12-year strangling overpayment deal, we’re in too deep and/or just too proud to get out now.   

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After all man’s technological advancements and inventions, the power still goes out when it gets stormy. Can we solve that already?  We can broadcast a zillion useless channels to every TV on the planet, move ourselves with every form of transportation imaginable on and off the planet, and even create objects capable of leaving the solar system; but we can’t quite figure out how to keep the lights on when grey clouds roll in and it starts to rain.

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so, the iPad is basically just a big iPhone that doesn’t make calls? What do I need one of those for?  Of all the things I need to carry around that doesn’t fit in my pocket, is an oversized electronic rectangle one of them? 

Any iPad owners out there?  Are you happy with your purchase?  In 200 words or less, tell me why or why not, in the form of a comment. 

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We recently discovered water on the Moon & Mars, which we previously believed to be barren,  and found shrimp-like creatures living in frigid Antarctic  waters… Does anyone else get the feeling we don’t know as much about the universe as we thought we did?

How long until we start sending Honda Asimo’s to other planets to settle new civilizations?  And of course, how long until they become self-aware, and enslave the human race?

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Are we done using the “it’s European” excuse to wear ridiculous things skinny jeans, faux-hawks, and man-purses  in North America yet?  Can we just let the Europeans be the Europeans already??  Have we still not learned anything from Seinfeld???

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It’s unfortunate that misogyny is a negative word. Everyone likes massages, don’t they?

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Girls that have been told they look like their dad, or their brother, or some other male, probably shouldn’t get boy haircuts, right?

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Do you think the job market is as tough for crustaceans and other sea life as it is for humans?  Example: the Alaskan Pollock fish that are masquerading around as crab and being sold as imitation crab meat, just because they’re lower in cholesterol and cheaper; do you think they’re putting hard working real crabs out of work?  Yeah me neither.  The crabs are probably pretty pumped about not being swiped out of their existence and being boiled to death, I’d say.

Finale Frenzy! The Office vs Parks & Rec, LOST, Seinfeld, and Canada 2’s IIHF Early Exit; In 3-D!!

So Canada 2 got bounced from the IIHF World Championships, and Corey Perry is eliminated from the DCC.  Anybody care?  The only thing worth bothering with is that Canada will probably lose some ground in the official world rankings for hockey, after we reclaimed it so awesomely in the Olympics.  Meh, we still rule at hockey.  Did anyone really not think Ray Whitney was going to lead us to international glory against Ovechkin, and every other player who was mad they lost at the Olympics, when all our good players were quite content with what they already accomplished for us?

Chicago’s manhandling of San Jose has awoken Joe Thornton from his comatose state, but is it already too late?  Answer: yes.  Montreal decided they like winning better than losing too.  Interesting hockey coming up…

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So The Office ended its most recent season Thursday night.  All year, I was left with a lingering thought of this, one of my favourite shows: I wish the Office writers turned Parks & Recreation’s writers hadn’t given P&R all the good scripts and storylines this season.  It really was not The Office’s best season.  Though the shows’ writers will deny it, P&R is clearly the Pawnee, Indiana version of The Office.   For whatever reason, Rashida Jones, the former Karen Filippelli on The Office  who ended up as the Manager of Dunder-Mifflin Utica, for some reason changed her name to Ann Perkins, cut her hair, abandoned her child and husband, moved to Indiana, became a nurse, and met and befriended Leslie Knope the female, Indiana version of Michael Scott.  There she also met April, the female Dwight Schrute; Mark, the Indiana Jim Halpert; Tom, the Andy Bernard of Indian descent; Jerry, the fat Toby; and Donna, the large, African-American Kelly.  Surely you can make a few other connections yourself if you watch both shows.  Too bad it means that one show has to get mediocre.  Maybe that’s at least partially why Steve Carell isn’t coming back after next season…

With DVR’s, PVR’s, and torrent downloading, is anyone even watching TV anymore?  It’s great to record TV and watch it when you like, but you still have to fast forward the commercials.  To my wife and I, downloading torrents is definitely the way to go.  You can’t watch it immediately because you have to wait for the show to be uploaded, but no one’s doing that anyway, hence all the D and P V-R’ing.   As far as mindless entertainment goes, there’s nothing like watching your favourite 22 minute episode  commercial free.  The only lame part is that you have to wait a week for new stuff.  One of the best moves I ever made (and I give full credit to my wife for this) is starting to watch LOST this way after four seasons had already gone by.  We could string together 3 or 4 episodes together in one sitting, and never be left dangling off any dramatic cliffs unless we chose to.  Now unfortunately, we’ve caught up to speed; luckily right in time for the big finale of which has no chance in satisfying anyone in tying up all the series’ loose ends to viewers’ satisfaction.  Much like Seinfeld’s finale, and Dr. Dre’s Detox album, the hype has created an unobtainable contentment standard.  When you think about Seinfeld’s finale from a logistical standpoint, where did you think Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer – the most cynical and judgemental fictional characters on the planet (albeit the most hilarious as well) – deserved to end up, besides in prison, with each other?  I have a feeling LOST’s finale is going to make sense in the end, but the majority of people will not be happy with it.    

If you’re looking for the BEST TV TORRENT DOWNLOAD SITE IN THE WORLD, look no further than eztv.it .  Posts every day’s new episode torrents, and they’re always virus-free.  If you live anywhere besides the USA, don’t waste your time with hulu.com , no matter what it says you’ll be able to watch.  I want to hack and destroy hulu.com every time it tells me my video can’t be displayed in my region (note to security people reading this: I’m not  actually capable of doing either of those).  I can watch U.S. shows on TV, download U.S. shows from the internet, but can’t stream them from hulu.com because I live outside the U.S. That seems fair.

And lastly, HD and Blu-Ray, Plasma and LCD all seem a little low-tech now that 3D TV’s exist, don’t they?  The technology train sure has chugging along the last few years; this “Digital Age” that we’re living in may end up being the continually the awesomest thing ever, or the complete and utter death of itself and modern commerce.  What’s that? You bought a 50” HD plasma TV last year for $5000 that’s now obsolete?  That’s a shame…