Has it been 12 years?
It’s been 12 years since I’ve last posted. Time flies! I know that very little people read this, but I plan on posting here on a semi-regular basis about all different types of subjects.
Life
Luc "Sandman" G. The Sky Is Falling; 2012 NHL All-Star Game Voting Results
Four Ottawa Senators have been voted as starters for the 2012 NHL All-Star game. Millenniums ago, the Mayans predicted that this was one of the signs of the end of the world or so the Internet’s reaction would lead us to believe. Everyone from hockey fans to professional TV analysts seem up in arms that Alfredsson, Karlsson, Spezza and Michalek were voted in as starters to the game.
I’ll first start off by saying that the NHL All-Star game is all about popularity, not about who deserves to be there. It hasn’t been in a very long time. When you add the element of allowing fans to vote up to 120 times each, in most instances the results will always be skewed in favour of the home team that’s hosting the event. The hometown fans feel that their players deserve to be there; hockey fans are a passionate bunch. Some call this unfair. Is it any more fair than forcing every team to be represented? I personally don’t think so.
The All-Star game is not a true competitive event. It’s a show, it’s purely entertainment put on for the fans of the game. To argue about who deserves to be there is pointless as it’s purely subjective. Accolades are given at the yearly award show and by crowning a winning team and an MVP, and even in those instances it’s arguably not the most deserving that wins. The All-Star game isn’t one of those events. The ASG is nothing more than a fantasy hockey team come to life to entertain the masses. Who is deserving is not the whole equation. If the All-Star game was truly about who ‘deserves’ to be there, there would be no fan voting, it would all be based on stats and rankings. Teams would probably even start putting salary bonus clauses in the contracts in relations to the All-Star game if it was that important, but it’s not. It’s the Globetrotter game of hockey, nothing more.
Just because those 4 guys were voted as starters by fans, it has nothing to do with being top 3 (right Mr. Cullen?). It’s not like they are the top of the league and will be the first line (not that lines really mean anything in this game). What it does mean is this: It just means that they’ll be starters. It also only means that they’re guaranteed a spot at the game. It also means that hometown fans feel passionate about their players, enough to hit their keyboards and mobile phones in droves and out-vote other fans.
So hockey fans, it’s time to sit back, relax and breathe. There are 44 other players that will take part of the All-Star Game, and chances are at least one player from your team will be there. I’m sure that when the game comes around to your city that your fanbase will do it’s best to vote in as many hometeam players as possible.
Senators Desktop Calendar – December 2011
I bring to you the Ottawa Senators December desktop wallpaper calendar just before the stroke of midnight. Enjoy!
Note: If you’re unsure what your screen resolution is, follow these steps to ensure you’re downloading the correct background:
- Windows: Right click any blank area of your desktop and click on Properties. Go to the Settings tab. Screen Resolution is listed at the lower left.
- Mac OSX: Click on the Apple logo in the top left corner of your menu bar and select “System Preferences”, and then select “Displays”
- Linux w/ Gnome: Click on System, Preferences and select Display
| Screen Resolution | Wallpaper size |
|---|---|
| 1024 x 768 | 1280 x 960 |
| 1280 x 960 | 1280 x 960 |
| 1440 x 900 | 1680 x 1050 |
| 1680 x 1050 | 1680 x 1050 |
| 1360 x 768 | 1600 x 900 |
| 1366 x 768 | 1600 x 900 |
| 1600 x 900 | 1920 x 1080 |
| 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 |
Boycott Arcane Services
I highly recommend that the good people of Ottawa boycott Arcane Services (also known as Arcane Landscaping, Arcane Snow Removal and a few other names). The reason for this call to arms is simple: the company cold dials Ottawa area residents, completely ignoring the Do Not Call registry list, and ignoring requests to be removed from their calling list.
We received yet another call from this company again tonight. Upon inquiring how they came into possession of our phone number, the gentleman from Arcane Services who called informed me that he was random dialing people in the area. This is completely against CRTC regulations and could lead to fines ranging from 1500$ to 15,000$ per offense/complaint. We have had no prior business relationship with the company, nor have we ever contacted them, filled out any type of surveys or any other type of communications.
This isn’t my first beef with this company. Arcane Services thinks that its perfect fine to plaster permanent, very hard to remove stickers on community mailboxes. Those mailboxes are not there for free advertising.
All you’ve done at this point is guarantee that I will never do business with your company, and strongly urge that others do the same.
Update August 24th
Arcane Services yet again called our house this evening. Again I asked to be removed from their calling list, and again I informed the caller that what they were doing was illegal, that we were registered with the CRTC Do Not Call Registry and that this is the 2nd time that I have informed them of this. So yet another complaint was sent to the CRTC. I wonder if anyone at this company has a clue, or maybe they just don’t care. Either way, it’s not a way to run a legitimate business.
Cellphone Drivers Still Not Getting the Message
It appears as though Ontario drivers are not getting the message. The OPP released numbers stating that they gave out almost 46,000 tickets last year to people who were using their cellphones while driving. At 155$ a ticket, that added 713,000$ to the coffers. The statement also didn’t say if this included all tickets, including from municipal police forces like Ottawa Police. Regardless, this high number clearly shows that a majority of Ontario drivers don’t care about this law, and don’t care that their carelessness could easily cut a life short.
When talking on a cellphone, or texting, using an app or any other activity that can be done on a cellphone/smartphone, you’re taking away from your concentration and are putting the lives of everyone around you at risk. Without exaggeration, every time I get behind the wheel I see at least one driver using a cellphone; a soccer mom with 4 kids in the back seats of the minivan, a worker driving a company truck, a 70 year old man driving 60 in the fast lane on the Queensway, all blabbing away.
Studies have shown that using cellphones behind the wheel reduces your reaction time even worse than someone who’s drunk. So why do people continue to do so? Education seems to not be making any difference. I think that the fines and penalties need to be increased. The fine should be in the 400-500$ range, and drivers should lose 2 demerit points. Get caught a 2nd time and lose your license for a month or more. If the driver is driving a company van, not only should the driver be fined 400-500$, but the company should also be fined 1000 plus dollars. This would encourage companies to educate their drivers to not use cellphones while driving, and the stiffer penalties would hopefully make most people think twice before grabbing that cellphone while driving.
30 years ago or so it wasn’t illegal to drive drunk. Cooler heads prevailed and now not only is it illegal, very few people do not find it immoral. Hopefully it won’t take that long for people to realize how much of a danger it is to use a cellphone while driving.