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I’m one of those “Matchstick lucky ones”

I’ve been watching various Vancouver bloggers talk about getting contacted by Matchstick for a few months now.  For those not aware, they are a marketing company wishing to have bloggers to use the Nokia 6682 in the hopes that they’ll post about the phone.  Buzz marketing is what they call it, and posting about it on blogs is really just a cheap form of advertising.

I got my phone on Friday of last week and spent a portion of this afternoon with Rebecca getting it all setup.  It’s nifty, but that’s all about it for now.  Will be posting more about the phone plus the entire process soon.

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Bring the Salmon Kings under the Canucks

Aside from the news about next season’s schedule being released[vancouversun] for the Canucks, the other news of interest about the team is that we are in the business of finding a new ECHL affiliate after cutting ties with the Columbia Inferno in South Carolina.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (CP) – The Columbia Inferno of the ECHL announced Monday that the team is no longer affiliated with the Vancouver Canucks and Manitoba Moose.

The Inferno had been linked to the organization for the past five years. Goaltender Alex Auld and forward Alex Burrows are among the players who spent time in Columbia before playing for the Canucks. [cbc]

A story I caught the other day[vancouversun] painted the likely picture of the Victoria Salmon Kings becoming the new choice. The idea was being tossed around prior to the seperation with the Inferno, but the deal is far from being final for the team in B.C.’s capitol.

I’m all for it. It’d be wonderful for the folks on the island and a great marketing move for the team. On top of that, it brings the kids coming up to the NHL much closer to the parent organization that they are working so hard to get to. It’d be great for folks in Victoria to see the team grow and move on to GM Place. That might make them want to hop a boat and check out more games in Vancouver, not that there is any weakness in drawing fans to the games around here at all.

Bottom line, I just like the idea a lot. I would even go as far as saying that I’d be more interested in checking out a Salmon Kings game while vacationing in Victoria if I knew that they were linked with the Canucks.

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But Daddy when you call me, you can call me Steve

Steve is the Prime Minister of Canada.  Steve is friends with Bush.  At least he doesn’t mind too much that Bush likes to call him Steve.

While his mother isn’t a big fan of the moniker, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he doesn’t mind if the leader of Canada’s biggest trading partner wants to call him “Steve.”

During an appearance on a Calgary radio program Tuesday, Harper was asked what he thought when U.S. President George W. Bush referred to him as “Steve” at least three times during a joint news conference in Washington last week.

Harper's belt buckle from the Calgary Stampede“I’m proud to have allies like Steve who understand the stakes of the 21st century,” Bush said during the televised news conference.

“It surprised me a bit,” Harper laughed during an interview on CHQR Radio. “I’m normally called Stephen … but a few people, close friends of my mine, do call me Steve.”

The prime minister joked that his mother isn’t a fan of the name.

“My mother doesn’t like that, and I’m sure that President Bush will be getting a letter,” he said with a laugh. [cbc]

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No one escapes the FCC inquisition

The FCC is pushing the pursuit of cleaning the airwaves even further. Going beyond live broadcasts of award ceremonies of the world’s rich and famous, sports programming is next.

In its continuing crackdown on on-air profanity, the FCC has requested numerous tapes from broadcasters that might include vulgar remarks from unruly spectators, coaches and athletes at live sporting events, industry sources said.

Tapes requested by the commission include live broadcasts of football games and NASCAR races where the participants or the crowds let loose with an expletive. While commission officials refused to talk about its requests, one broadcast company executive said the commission had asked for 30 tapes of live sports and news programs.

“It looks like they want to end live broadcast TV,” said one executive, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity. “We already know that they aren’t afraid to go after news.” [reuters]

The article goes on to say that live sports events will come under an almost, “no-slip” rule, meaning that accidents will come with consequences.

Indecent or not, how are broadcasters supposed to police ambiant noise from the crowd in a live event? Go to an Iowa Hawkeye football game some time and pay attention to what is coming from the student section. Sometimes, those chants can be so loud that the mics in the announcer booth can be pick it up, and that’s in an outdoors venue.

7-second(perhaps even more than that) delays or just not putting a mic on the crowd will be the only answer. Or else you have to have some one listening for “bad stuff” on the ambiant audio as well as another person listening to the main content for more “bad stuff.” That means seperate delays for each, costing more money for the broadcaster.

I might be pushing the idea, but the tighter things get about this, the more that will need to be done to stay out of hot water. Kinda makes having 5.1 dolby-digital surround sound not worth it if the FCC cracks down so hard that you can enjoy what you thought you were paying for.  Rediculous.

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The off-season has some excitement to it

The last time I updated anything about the Canucks, it was about the contract with Luongo. Lots have happened since then. Let’s see if I can sum up who else has come and gone from the organization.

Vancouver Canucks – Acquired right wing Tommi Santala and a 2007 fifth-round pick from the Atlanta Thrashers for a 2007 fourth-round pick; signed center Brandon Reid, who had been in Switzerland; signed center Brad Moran, who had been in Switzerland; acquired goaltender Roberto Luongo, defenseman Lukas Krajicek and a 2006 sixth-round pick from the Florida Panthers for right wing Todd Bertuzzi, defenseman Bryan Allen and goaltender Alex Auld; signed defenseman Willie Mitchell, who had been with the Dallas Stars, to a four-year contract; acquired a 2007 second-round pick and a 2009 conditional pick from the Los Angeles Kings for goaltender Dan Cloutier. [allsports]

Other changes to note, Ed Jovonoski found a new home in Phoenix with Gretzky and Roenick. Baumgartner headed east with the Flyers, and Keith Carney found a multi-year deal with the Minnesota Wild. Jarkko Ruutu (sadly) grabbed a nice deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Anson Carter at the game we went to against the Chicago Blackhawks last seasonFor the most part, that brings us up to date. If it seems like a core of the team is no longer with the Canucks, then you’re not alone in feeling that way. One name that hasn’t been mentioned, and is still, as of this post, a free agent, is Anson Carter. The salary cap says that there is no room in the inn for him, and we most likely won’t see him return. It’s a damn shame, too. Not only is he my favorite player on the team, but he was the key to, what I like to refer to as, “The Brother Line.”

A 33 goal season just didn’t happen for Carter. He fit the mold. After trying so many combinations with the Sedin twins, those three clicked. That type of teamwork led to a great season for that line. For the most part, everyone expects Carter to take a deal somewhere else.

After that, it’s really unknown as to what to expect this coming season. The guys coming in have promise, we’re already in love with Luongo (or so it seems), and the kids coming up through the ranks are starting to make some noise. Some of the Canuck’s top prospects were in town recently to strut their stuff, but nothing to really be said of them until the pre-season gets going. Once again, there is promise, but I’m still scratching my head over what’s up at top to work with.

The national anthems at the game we went to against the Chicago Blackhawks last seasonGM Nonis says he isn’t done shaking up the team, but I could have swore that we just got a new head coach. Not a lot has been said by the new guy, and I have yet to really discover a whole lot about what to expect. Vigneault had some success down in Manitoba, and if you are coaching a team that had Ouellet in goal, that means you must be something good. I was never impressed with that guy protecting the net instead of Auld.

Speaking of goalies, with Auld gone, that puts our trade from Buffalo, Mika Noronen, in at back-up for Luongo. This sounds great, but Noronen wants to be a starter in the NHL. As much as they are paying for Mr. Roberto, it’s not likely to happen. We only got the very best of Mika Noronen in the final game of last season. I’ve heard lots of good things about him, so it makes sense. Dude’s in a really tough spot though.

So, even though we are in the off-season, there is a crap load of stuff going on that is exciting to keep tabs on. I’m keeping close track of my RSS feeds, but if you really wanna know what’s going on with the Canucks, check out Vancouver Canucks Op Ed and HockeyNW.com. I love this stuff, but these folks live, eat, and breathe it.

I can’t fail to mention that Rebecca can talk the talk a hell of a lot better than I can.

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Get impending doom directly on your phone

The Digital Emergency Alert System (DEAS) is expanding once again in the U.S., and I emphasize “digital” because for a long time it was simply known as the EAS[wiki]. Welcome to the new age of technology.

The US government unveiled a communications system that in case of emergency should soon allow it to send SMS alerts to Americans’ mobile phones and computers.

“We have the ability to do this. It’s a major step,” Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director David Paulson told reporters outside the US capital as he unveiled the program’s design.

The Digital Emergency Alert System (DEAS) will include the participation of television networks and public radio stations and be based on an existing alert system built in the Cold War era for use in the event of a nuclear attack. [breitbart]

This is a brilliant concept, but everything like this will come with some type of problematic consequences. With so much information coming to us, “digitally”, there is that nagging convenience of ignoring that information as it comes in. The whole, “I’ll get to it later.”

This also can make people avoid the idea of paying attention to conventional methods of information distrubution, such as radio and TV. I’m not saying that is a horrible thing, but putting all your eggs in one basket could prove fatal if your mobile phone network is lacking electricity for some reason.

I can’t fail to mention the last part of this article. Who says big brother isn’t watching? Well, watching out for you, right?

Internet-linked computers will automatically switch on to a video message from the US Department of Homeland Security while downloading instructions prepared specifically from natural disasters, chemical and nuclear attacks, and other calamities. [breitbart]

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Some one hit the reset button

Carlos ZambranoI’m not one who gets full on into blogging about sports, but as a Cubs fan, it’s a little hard not to. And being all the way up in Vancouver, I think I’ve been doing a fairly good job paying attention to what’s been going on. Combining the powers of RSS feeds and podcasts, it’s easy to see that this season is turning more and more painful.

First, it was the broken wrist of Derek Lee. That should have clued all of us in as to what we were in store for. Wood and Prior have been nothing but a bag of problems, having something constantly dragging them down. I love them as pitchers, but kids, let this be a lesson to you. Being a pitcher can really mess your shoulder up, especially if you start throwing curve balls and junk at a young age.

Mark PriorI had a buddy growing up that could throw the most wicked curve, sinker, and slider, all at the age of fifteen. It was shortly after that age that I developed a disliking for organized sports in school, focusing more on the arts, but that other guy went on for just a few more seasons until struggles with tendinitis and reoccuring shoulder pain was common, all before we graduated high school.

When Woody and Prior are healthy, they are great, but this is another chapter in a growing list of problems for both of the guys. I’m not too sure that the Cubs should keep investing so much in the two of them if these problems keep happening. I don’t want to see them cut or traded, but at what point do you say enough is enough?

And to almost add even more crap onto what is turning into a crappy season, there’s Zambrano’s recent mishap.

In a bizarre accident, Zambrano’s right elbow was struck by the bat of a White Sox coach during the American League’s batting practice before Tuesday’s All-Star Game. […]

Zambrano was doing interviews with members of the Venezuelan media when he backed up into the swing of White Sox third base coach Joey Cora, who was hitting infield grounders.

The fungo bat slammed into Zambrano’s right elbow and he was taken to a local hospital, where X-rays were negative, according to a source close to the situation. The extent of the injury, and any effect it might have on Zambrano taking his turn in the rotation, is unknown. [mlb]

There’s talk of firing Dusty Baker, but is he really to blame? Look what they guy has to work with. People were starting to wonder about Juan Pierre and why the Cubs ever got him. Once Lee was back, he’s been producing some good numbers and the fans love him again, saying we need to sign him for next year already.

Cubs fan cryingEverything is seeming to be too little, too late. When certain things are going well, others aren’t. Listening to the CubsCast not long ago, they were going through a list of players from around the league that we should be watching out for in terms of next season. Next season?! Is it time to give up already?

Well, at 34-54, fifth place in the N.L. central, and 14.5 games out of first, there is a hell of a lot that needs to start going the right way. Never try to out guess the all-star break. It can do magical things to teams, good and bad. Let’s hope for good, eh? 

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Theory on Overheard in New York

I’ve been getting caught up on some of the podcasts I’m subscribed to.  That’s not to say that I’ve been overly busy to catch everything that comes in, but this is the reality of listening to podcasts.  While taking a shower after my run along the Seawall this morning, I caught up with Benjamin Walker’s Theory of Everything a little bit.

Readers of Overheard in Vancouver will really find this episode interesting because Walker grabbed an interview with Morgan Friedman, the founder of Overheard in New York[wiki].  Friedman gets into the premise behind the site, how it started, and the things he loves about it.

While I’m at it, I have to give a big plug for podcast listeners out there to subscribe to the Theory of Everything.  Walker has been working the public media wheel for a while now, taking his works through the PRX and now with alt.NPR.  I’ve been listening to his stuff since his early days of venturing into podcasting.  Very good stuff.

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A lot of chatter about a Microsoft, “iPod killer”

A lot of sites have been reporting on this for the last week, but the rumors are turning more factual. It won’t be too surprising that by the time you head out to do you Christmas shopping this year, Microsoft will have their own portable media player trying to empty more cash out of your wallet.

Music companies are apparently leaking some details about Microsoft’s plans, according to a Times story that cites sources close to the project. As the story goes, Microsoft is not merely developing one product aimed at dethroning the iPod. It is developing a complete line of Xbox-branded digital media products, including a device that plays media, a software media player and an online media service.

Microsoft has code-named the project “Argo” in honor of the huge warship used by the Greek mythological hero named Jason, the Times reported. Microsoft executives were not immediately available for comment. [macnewsworld]

The friendly geeks, I mean folks, over at Engadget have posted a photo of the yet to be revealed device, saying that the source is some one working very close to the project. Being a companion to the Xbox brand, this might not be the only device of its kind released. Only time will tell, but “wireless” is the buzz word surrounding it.

But will this be an iPod killer? I wouldn’t bet on it. Based on a post from MacRumors, this product, or products, is likely to be utilized much in the same way that Apple uses the iPod and iTunes music store. Obviously, Microsoft is pushing to get their own contracts for their service, whatever it might be.