After being an early adopter of Facebook it is now time to move on. Within 14 days my account will be totally deleated forever. Just like the prior Social Netwoks I used to belong to Yahoo! 360, MySpace, MSN Spaces… The new terms of service that gives Facebook rights to all the content you link to is what I found objectionable.
Fear not if you are looking to follow me you can always view me here. Or follow @cefm on Twitter, flixster, last.fm. There is a list on the left of many options.
General
Because every post deserves a category these posts could be about anything and everything.
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Good Bye, Facebook!
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Slamming Empire Theatres
Okay, so instead of a review of a movie I’m going to post about the whole getting into the theatre. This is payback for not showing the new release “New in Town.”
1. Congestion at Entrance.
First off the last renovation to the theater was based on the time when probably 70% of the transactions were cash based. Now that this is not the case there is a large congestion at the point by the arcade. I mean there are several ad-hock lines for the automated machines and the REALLY LONG cash line. It practically is impassable to get past it especially if you are going to the concessions and getting you tickets there. To make it worse the on sight that informs you of this is the one that is in the way and makes the situation worse on a busy Friday/Saturday. And move that sign further near the foot of the ramp.
2. Focus in the Cinemas.
About 20% of the movies that I see are so out of focus that it bothers me at times, like most people would not notice but to a trained eye like mine it does get annoying during some presentations.
3. The Express System
Why can’t you buy tickets from more than one movie at once? Also why can’t you buy single items? Or, items from different categories. This results in needless transaction costs to the theatre, as I have to go through a few times to get everything I want. No the single items go to my next point.
4. The express lanes need more items!
This is ridicules why if I want to just get a Pop why cant I get a ticket run through and grab the pop and head off to my movie. Also New Your Fries could be added as a Regular and Large Fries, and Chocolate Bars should be added as well. And the auto system should allow you to select different items available as mix and match. Of course anything that requires preparation like Nachos, Poutine, and TCBY would not work but the quick stuff, even Hot Dogs maybe. I also don’t think it would be difficult to have a monitor scroll by what I items are being ordered in real time by the automated machines and allow the concession supervisors to optimize the system. E.g. if 5 poutines and 5 pretzel bites combos are ordered on the automated system you may need an extra person over there and the revised express lane would relive some of the line ups.
5. I wanna see the good movies too..
I was really disappointed by not being able to see New in Town, Be Kind Please Rewind, and countless others. I understand that some movies are limited release and some have contracts that are too long for the quality of the movie but. There have been many hyped movies that I have been disappointed that they were not shown.
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Is the was digital revoluton really a revoluton?
This is a topic I usually don’t get into here on my Blog, nor do I get this deep into a topic ether but I was listening to TWiT 180, and they were discussing a migration from blogs to Twitter.
This got me thinking of the term revolution that gets applied to new technologies all the time. In a non-physics (my head hurts) interpretation a revolution is when something or a group of people become so outdated and useless that by force and necessity need to be replaced.
The Internet revolution was not a forced or possibly necessary revolution it is merely a change in preference. It is not like the upper class and the peasants of the 1700’s France. The digital and non digital worlds can and do co-exist. TV and YouTube can coexist. It is all in preferences not a Revolution.
Therefore, Twitter will not replace the Blog. Then again I do have the capability to re-post all my Twitter tweets here but I tend to see Twitter as like facebook.com but without all the annoying apps. In fact my Facebook front page is all I really use.
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2009 Oscar Predictions
ACTOR, LEADING
Disagree with all the NominationsMy Choices would have been:
Will Smith in “Seven Pounds”
Clint Eastwood in “Gran Torino”
Hugh Jackman in “Australia”BEST PICTURE
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”My Choices would have been:
“Australia”
“Twilight”
“The Dark Knight”
“Seven Pounds”ACTOR, SUPPORTING
Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight”But would not be disappointed by:
Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder”SHORT FILM, ANIMATED
Skipping as did not see any.ACTRESS, LEADING
Anne Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married”But would not be disappointed by:
Meryl Streep in “Doubt”
Angelina Jolie in “Changeling”SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION
Skipping as did not see any.ACTRESS, SUPPORTING
Viola Davis in “Doubt”SOUND EDITING
“The Dark Knight”Would not be disappointed by:
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”ANIMATED FEATURE
“Bolt”Would not be disappointed by:
“Kung-Fu Panda”
“WALL-E”SOUND MIXING
“The Dark Knight”Would not be disappointed by:
“WALL-E”
“Wanted”ART DIRECTION
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”VISUAL EFFECTS
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Reader”SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED
“Doubt”Wish was nominated:
“Twilight”
“Seven Pounds”COSTUME DESIGN
“Australia”Would not be disappointed with:
“The Duchess”SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL
“WALL-E”DIRECTING
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Skipping as did not see any.Wish was nominated:
“Outsourced”DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Skipping as did not see any.FILM EDITING
“The Dark Knight”FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Waltz with Bashir”MAKEUP
“The Dark Knight”ORIGINAL SCORE
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”Would not be disappointed with:
“WALL-E”ORIGINAL SONG
“O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire”Would not be disappointed with:
“Down to Earth” from “WALL-E”
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My MacBook and Twitter vs. WordPress
Okay lets start by this stupid article from Wired:
Steven Levy on the Burden of Twitter
wired.com — The shame and remorse of not keeping up with Social Networking… I’m digging this story in honor of Steve Levy as he’s never ‘Dugg’ before…
I think this article is a crock, just because this guy doesn’t update the Blog as often as he used to doesn’t mean that Twitter is to blame. For ages now it had become a popular thing in Windows/MSN/Windows Live Messenger that people would change their name to include a “status” of what they were doing that it was eventually permanently added as a feature. AIM, IRC, Facebook, Twitter… the short message is usually the perfect size to let others know what you think. I am still certain however that this does not replace the need for the long format that a blog allows to express your full thoughts on a topic. Generally speaking I use Twitter to update something quickly as I’m usually only using me iPhone or Macbook while laying in bed in the morning so I can tell the world quickly my thought or things of interest, and have it auto populate to the sidebar of my blog, Facebook, Friendfeed, MSN and other places quickly.
Speaking of my MacBook I just lost the hard drive in it. Luckily, there was still ten days left on the warranty. The agent on the phone originally insisted that I would need to go to Fredericton or Halifax to get a new one. However as she was concluding the call and I asked if I was to just purchase a new one what type of connector it would take, already knowing that it would be a SATA. She then to proceed with the, “You mean you would replace it yourself? In that case let me talk to a product adviser to see if we could just mail you out a new one.” After a long wait on hold she returns with the news that it would be no problem and even preferable to mail out a new drive for free. Her explanation/excuse was that “Most people don’t like to replace parts and that is not usually offered.” It is hard to believe that something along the lines or replacing a hardrive is as simple as 3 screws and pulling a tab, why not just save the trouble and offer it first? I could see for a screen or a motherboard but RAM and a hard drive why not just offer to ship it. in 5-10 business days I’ll post a video of the unboxing and replacing the drive in the MacBook.
Any ways that is all for now.
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This Kid’s a Text Maniac – New York Post
THIS KID’S A TEXT MANIAC – New York Post.
Now I had seen this posted on Shocking News on Yahoo! News and tracked it back to this New York Post article. Now in my past experiences in the wireless industry leaves me seeing this as not a “shocker” I have personally dealt with accounts that the list of usage was so massive it was impossible to do anything. about 21,000 text messages in a month are about the max I have seen to date. But this article goes to those cases where people say with a teenager, “$10 for 2,500 message who would ever use that many?” remember this article.
Now in my personal usage I use 25-60 SMS messages a month, which is mostly to 2-3 people both yonger than I. and personally I only have a plan with 125 messages.
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CEFM $1000
This is the official page to request the Bank of Canada reinstate the $1000 bill and to place my picture on it instead.Possibly also to give me 5000 copies since my picture is on it.
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Farewell to 2008
2008, as you are bidding us ado for the uncertanties of what 2009 will have instore. I am going to take a moment to reflect on the times we had togeather as we prepare to spit on your grave upon your death this evening. Unless we are of the 45% that will pass out before your death.
This has been a year of taking things away so I will start with the things I lost this year. Disk 2 to my Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan set, my grandmother, my job at Zellers, two of my favourite Rogers TV shows to make Daytime and Too Close to Call, and my dignity (lol). Once again procrastination hampered this post.
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My Logitech M-BJ58 2000-2008
I just tried to change the LED in my mouse to a Blue LED. Let’s just say it did not quite go as planned. After putting the LED inplace I plugged it in and worked but as I put the clip back in I somehow chipped the printed circut on top. I was thinking that possibly I could use a small wire and follow the circut down further to the next solder point. I miss my mouse.
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Saint John Transit and Google Transit
I sent an e-mail to Saint John Transit offering a suggestion :
I recently read on CBC News the plans to incorporate an text messaging system which is great, however the currently the method of displaying the schedules in PDF remains unreadable by 90% of cellphones.
The new Google transit system works with most cellphones (minus the maps for some) and for people with GPS Enabled cellphones it can use the Google Transit to find the closest bus stops an times. Best of all it’s free.And here is the response from Chris Campbell at Saint John Transit:
Good morning Mr. Frees-Melvin. The system we will be using is from a company called Grey Island. There will be an interface with Google Transit, but not immediately. You will be able to text a 5-7 digit code from any cell phone and we will be adding a 5 digit numerical code at every stop in the city. Text that 5 digit number specific to the stop and the next bus arrival time will be sent to your phone. This will be in real time, not scheduled time. We hope that in the future people with a PDA will be able to access this new site and see the bus on a map. Google transit will come on line later next year enabling trip planning. You will see details in the media in late January or early February.
Thanks you for your note.
Chris Campbell
This leaves promise in the future, and I think an excellent idea.
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If I Could Change the Government of Canada
The first thing I want to start out with is a call I received earlier this week from fundraisers for the Conservative Party. Now I have always supported the party, and in ways still do. This brings me back to March 2005 in Montreal when the party had its last national meeting. Those long sessions debating the policies and constitution of the newly created party.
The ideals of trying to give balance to the bottom-up Alliance to the top-down Progressive Conservatives. Now to see the current leader Stephen Harper disgraces the party by not knowing when to give up. Too many times in history have leaders like Idi Amin, Fidel Castro, Joseph Stalin and too many others repeat the same level of seeing themselves as the alternative to the status quo, then gain a position of power and do whatever they can to remain in office.
Harper has blatantly in his struggle to maintain power thrown away the policies and constitution of the Conservative Party. One must remember that although the Conservative Party has more MPs the House of Commons does not have a majority and needs to work together.
There needs to be reforms in the way government works, to those ends I propose a new style of government one that still is democratic even slightly more democratic than the current one. Under the current Canadian system of government, there are really six divisions or levels of the federal government. In my system of government, the Monarch will remain the Head of State, however, the monarch will be chosen in principle by the majority of members of the Parliament and all Provincial Legislatures. For example, after the passing of Elizabeth II, Canada may select to follow Great Britain and choose HRH Prince Charles, or skip to HRH Prince William.
The Governor-General will be the only official representative of the Queen, eliminating the Lieutenant Governors in each of the provinces and the Governor-General assuming the responsibilities to the Federal Government and Provincial Legislatures. It is 2008 after all it is not infeasible for the Governor-General to assume all the ceremonial duties, or even request a greater presence from the Monarch in ceremonial functions in Canada. The Governor General is to be chosen by the majority support of the Prime Minister and Provincial Premiers.
The Privy Council in Right of Canada will remain but will be formed by the 39 members, three from each province and territories and will be composed by the percentages of popular votes to the House of Commons. If a party receives 1/39th (2.6%) of the national popular votes, the unelected member from that party with the highest percentage of votes for their riding will be appointed to the Privy Council. The party with the most members will appoint one of their members to be “Prime Minister of Canada.”
The senate would be abolished as I deem it useless.
House of Commons will remain the same but the Party with the most members will appoint one of their members to be “Government Leader of the House of Commons.”
I was going to talk about other topics too, but this post is long enough on its own.
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Australia
What is there to say about the movie Australia. This movie is definitely on the calibre of movie with Casablanca. This movie has aspects of almost every gents of movie it’s a comedy, drama, romance, war, western, nature, coming of age, family, real-life type movie.
Even more remarkable than the fantastic acting in the moving is the calm heart-pounding score that carries you seamlessly through the story.
This movie is written in the three-act style but all three acts have their own three acts it is truly a must-see. CEFM Rating: 5/5
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Outsourced Breast Men Bolt Twilight Four Christmases
Breast Men R
Dull but based on real life events, with a porno-elements in a tasteful manner. CEFM.ca Rating: 3/5
Outsourced PG-13
This movie is a hoot and very ironic of you have ever worked for an outsourced company or are an outsourcer. But is the story of people understanding other unfamiliar cultures to help find themselves. CEFM.ca Rating: 4/5
Bolt PG
Worth seeing in Real 3D. This is one of the first movies in 3D that I was not pissed off. Usually, 3D movie does things to show off the 3D that takes away from the storytelling. But not Bolt, Bolt uses it to tell a story of a dog who it lost both literally and metaphorically who struggle to find his way home (and himself). Meanwhile the cat is also learning its true nature without being boring. A good movie for the whole family. CEFM.ca Rating: 3.5/5
Twilight PG-13
This is not the type of movie I typically go to, but I really loved this movie. I especially liked the way the movie tied itself together so well. Also, the fact of the way she trusted them despite the fact of him being a monster. I really love how the villain type can be a hero without seeming too good. CEFM.ca Rating: 4.5/5
Four Christmases PG-13
This was an amazing, good movie. A romantic comedy that will toy with your emotions. These two are a perfect chemistry for each other. CEFM.ca Rating: 4.5/5
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Empty Stocking Fund 2008
$167,000. That number is the value of the pledges being made today at the 2008 Empty Stocking Fund. It was a whole lot of fun and a whole lot of work. It seemed as if at the beginning that it was going to be a nightmare, but the number of pure professionals that came together to pull it off was awe-inspiring.
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2008 Saint John Santa Claus Parade
Update: The show was cancelled due to the weather. Night-Rain-Fog-TV Cameras don’t mix well.
(more…)
Believe it or not, the Santa Claus Parade is one my my favourite shows to work on each year. I also like seeing what is new each year and really enjoy coming home later to actually watch it. As a bonus for my readers, I have the float list for this year’s parade.
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Urban Renewal Saint John
I was walking through the market this weekend when I saw taking with elderly ladies talking with the clerk at Baleman’s in the Saint John City Market holding this article. It was nice to see the interest as I have been working with the author on her website at http://www.ursj.ca.
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Taking Perfect Long-Exposure Pics
Today is Election Day. Sure I could write about the election but, instead, I’m going to write a self-help post about one of my favourite hobbies, photography.
The first tip to long exposure shots is to use a tripod. What is the fun in that? Knowing that your shot will be perfect first time, every time.
That leads to tip 2, lean on something. It is almost given that this will work best most of the time. Tip 3 is to hold your arms close to your body. They are the main tips that most people who teach photography will say but I have a few of my own that work better in a digital world.
Tip 4 is to use the delay timer set to like 2 seconds. I find the movement of pressing the button has ruined many photos. Tip 5 works off of the same idea. Use the multiple photo mode. You are likely to get one of many right.
The next tip is to use the LCD screen. There is no way you can hold it still enough up to your face. If all else fails then my last tip is to fake it in PhotoShop.
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Setting the economy up for Failure
Amongst the news of the bailouts to the economy in the United States, the Bank of Canada snuck in an additional bailout of the economy. That is resulting in the devaluation of the Canadian Dollar along with the US dollar.
In the federal Leaders’ English debates this past week Green Party leader Elizabeth May said that the Canadian Dollar should be worth $0.80 US to stimulate our economy and as that makes sense from a manufacturing jobs standpoint of does not in the big picture.
We can choose to not elect May. However, we have no say as to the Bank of Canada officials. There is a reason why the EU is banning the four largest EU states from this plan. It only allows more money to be borrowed and spent, money that can not be afforded to be paid back.
It is true there is an overvaluation of real estate prices in Canada but when you borrow $750,000 for a house that drops when the bubble bursts to $225,000 and you have over $600,000 left to pay it makes more sense to default and buy a different house. This is what will happen in the next 5-10 years and there will be no amount of bail-out money that can save you then.
This free money is what I causing the prices of everything to go up if you add more money to the economy this will happen. There is not the option at this point either to add a sales tax to control the inflation like former PM Brian Mulroney did in the 1980s since all that is keeping the economy afloat is the unnaturally high rate of spending that has to increase at a faster rate than the rate of inflation bit can’t ever stop, or we will be stuck between a rock and a hard place.
In closing, we refer back to the old saying that money does not grow on trees.
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SJ Port Fireworks & Queen Mary 2
Tonight I went to the Harbour Passage and watched the fireworks presentation paid for and put on by the Saint John Port Authority. It lasted for around 15 minutes. For Saint John, the fireworks were average and, delayed a day from when planned.
I decided to post the best few here now but I took nearly 60 and will post them in my SnapShots gallery once I get home. I only had my iPhone so the pics are not the best for at night.
The ship in the port was Canard Line’s Queen Mary 2. It is a really big vessel for the port. I’m not certain I have ever seen a ship quite as large.
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Democracy 250 1758-2008… But why only Nova Scotia?
Many people in the Maritimes are being flooded with the Democracy 250 events in Nova Scotia. It is great to see that province get together to recognize the importance of colonial democracy. The legendary ideals of the planner of Halifax Mosses Harris, and Governor Edward Cornwallis, is a legacy that all of the Maritimes can be very proud of. I haven’t been able to track the exact date of when St. John Island (current-day Prince Edward Island) split from the Nova Scotia colony, but I believe it was 1759 according to Wikipedia. Also, the colony of New Brunswick was not split off until 1783.
So, therefore, I see these as a uniting celebration that we can all be very proud of. However, the fact that this celebration is not being openly acknowledged by the leaders of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island are truly disheartening. But then again this is New Brunswick, and what else can we expect.
But none the less I wish that I could make the 18th Century Period Costume Ball but that does not look very likely at the moment. Long Live Democracy. Also, prove you care and vote on October 14th democracy only works when people care.
This was written prior to the controversy on the history of Edward Cornwallis.
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