c.t.overdrive - random thoughts since 2006

Welcome to the Randoms.

This is a a little collection of all the Random Thoughts for ... Friday posts I have ever made. I started it on a whim one Friday in MArch and since then it's been a staple of the site. It usually starts of with a ridiculous topic that's been bugging me all week. Then it lists five-six random links. Scan through the archives and hopefully you'll find a link you enjoy.

Random Thoughts For Living In The District · Saturday March 13, 2010

Categories: The-Random, the-dc,

Well, my first week of living in The District, as the locals like to call it, has come to an end. It’s been a rather slow and quiet week, as I have been given a crash course in the American experience… With all the good and bad that comes with it. Needless to say, we only got hooked up with a steady stream of internet on Wednesday, so you’ll have to forgive me for not blogging for the past week.

It’s been great to finally see my wife and even better to finally put a place to the stories. DC is going to be a great two years and a fresh start. It’s sad to leave everyone in Calgary, but at 29 (24 of which in Calgary) this is going to be a nice little change. I honestly can’t wait to be back in DC in two weeks and to hit the ground running.

But in the mean time, I’ve got 5 days of geek madness in Austin to make it through. If you’re in Austin for SXSW, make sure you hit me up with an email or follow the cto_sxsw twitter account. As usual I’ll be blogging about everything going on here and professionally at the corporations blog.

Enjoy the ride kids and see you in 5 days.

First – Threadless knocks another T-Shirt out of the park, with this awesome Type T-Shirt

Second – More T-Shirts, but at least this one isn’t courtesy of Threadless…. For once.

You know you want to purchase it.

(via. Duncan Kinney)

Third – Ah fahk it, let’s just make this a T-Shirt and Design Random Thoughts. Here’s another nice shirt from Threadless, albiet it’s a bit of the over done Joker variety.

Fourth – I’m not sure when this happened, but all of a sudden I find anything IRONMAN related extremely cool. Sorta like these killer skins for your keyboard and mouse.

Fifth – I think we have to admit that Mad Men has officially jumped the shark… Barbie set to release a series of Mad Men Barbie Dolls (via. Laughingsquid)

Sixth – This comes from the Twitter world (and I can’t remember the source), but if you’re going to run for congress, we know that not many people watch Hockey in the States, but at least do a bit of research

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Random Thoughts For Virginia Is For Hustlers · Friday March 5, 2010

Categories: The-Random, the-dc, The Blogosphere, The Calgary Vibe, The Humourous, The Inane, The Music, The Southern Neighbours, The T-Shirts

Nothing in the entire world could be more fitting, because today my friends, Virginia is indeed for Hustlers.

Today kicks off TURNERS MONTH OF MADNESS TRAVEL. Yes, today I fly to DC to finally see my wife. Remember the one who I married a couple of months ago, but then got accepted to a Masters program in Washington DC/Virginia. Yes, that one. I get to see her. I know, it’s kinda awesome.

But also, it means I get to go back to being a full time web design hustler. Freelancing, pixel pushing and coding for a living.

So yes, Virginia is indeed for hustlers.

First – Adding to their cannon of incredibly amazing T-shirts, is this gem from Threadless.com

Bomberman FTW!

Second – For all of you who dig Polaroid cameras…………… Okay the two people who read this that are really in to Polaroids as much as I am, here is some interesting news. It seems that Polaprieum, the company which has been selling the remaining Polaroid stock out of Switzerland, has now fully moved over to the Impossible Project. (via. splorp)

Third – This is a technology move that doesn’t sound like much, but in a year will be critical to every image that you submit to the Google Overlords. Anyways, it seems that online photo editing software Picnik has been purchased by Google. For all you Flickr and Picca fans, this is huge news.

And if you’ve never tried Picnik before, you really need to give it a whirl. It’s essentially a free online version of Photoshop.

Fourth – If you love music, and really who doesn’t nowadays, you need to check out Gerry Loves Records our of Edinburgh. Yes, Edinburgh the same place that’s responsible for my favorite new band, Frightened Rabbits. It’s also a side project/label of a friend of mine, who has exceptional taste in music. So it’s guaranteed to be quality stuff.

Fifth – I didn’t get a chance to take this talk in last week, but if you’ve every been interested in PodCasting and how to get started Third Tuesdays Calgary has a full list of valuable resources to get started on creating your own PodCasts.

Sixth – Fun news for all you people looking to help curb your Olympics Hangover, vinyl toy store nation has a selection of vinyl reproductions of the Vancouver Mascots.

c.t.overdrive

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Random Thoughts For Rocket Skates · Friday February 26, 2010

Categories: The-Random, The-Music, The Blogosphere, The Calgary Vibe, The Canada Vibe, The Humourous, The Inane, The Pop-Culture

So this random post is two weeks coming and clocks in at 13 separate ideas, which probably breaks a personal record of some sort. While I initially had something a bit more dramatic to dedicate these random thoughts to, I’ve thrown that out the window. Instead these random thoughts go out to Rocket Skates.

Better yet, the first single from the Deftones new disc which is called Rocket Skates.

Yes, kids, a new Deftones release is big news in the world of the old c.t.ovedrive. So talking about TEDxYYC and everything else will have to wait till next week.

First – Sick new shoes from my favorite little European Pixel Pushers.

Second – Ah, well now we can all officially get our knickers in a knot about locational based apps like Foursquare, Britekit and Gowalla. As noted in this nice little article about the new shock web site PleaseRobMe.com, we are all going to be robbed enmass because we don’t use common sense on Social Networks. (via. mastermaq)

Update: Foursquare has responded to PleaseRobMe.com controversy.

Third – Have you ever wondered what your favorite Social Networks would look like if it were reinterpreted like a retro 1960s-era paperback novel? Okay, probably not. But here is a cool list of “what they could possibly look like if that was done“http://www.howtobearetronaut.com/2010/02/how-the-internet-looks-as-vintage-books/. (via. poploser)

Fourth – Another great little article on TEDxYYC and the evolution of Calgary

Fifth – (Please note that I do understand the irony in this next random post). But Holy Toledo, there are a lot of This is what Canadians are articles popping up due to these Olympics. Have a look at this one in the New York Times or even better the 15 Signs You’re Talking To A Canadian (via. lydyzze)

Sixth – This is what happens to all broken Lego figurines … They face the Lego Grim Reaper...

Seventh – Last Wednesday the Ministry of Awesome (or a Ministry of a similar name) in England finally reveals decades of information regarding potential UFO cover-ups.

In completely unrelated news Robert Stack has risen from the grave. He’s pissed and he’s prepared to do Unsolved Mysteries Season 14.

Eighth – You all probably saw the horrible list of new baby names in Alberta last week. Unfortunately, most people were too preoccupied with the fact someone named their kid Ericlindross to notice that someone in this province named their kids Choas, Morpheus, Epic, Fury, Fyre, and Mystique.

If there’s anything I’ve learned over the past 30 years, is that in 20 years there’s either going to be a handful of weird strippers out there or a group of devious super-villains.

Ninth – The Dali Lama is now on Twitter. Which in the end really just means that we can all look forward to more people retweeting even more catchy pockets of peace and harmony.

Tenth – Darth Vader can let the beat… drrrrrrrrrop?

(via. jbristowe)

Eleventh – A fantastically gorgeous site called They Make Apps. Which essentially works as directory for iPhone App developers… except you navigate it like a video game. Very, very cool. (via. nonimage’s blog)

Twelfth – Jay Dorn does a better job explaining why The Thermals are awesome then I ever could.

Thirteenth – An Irish company has completed a 1200 pound robotic replica of my worst freaking nightmare.

My sleep patterns thank you.

c.t.overdrive

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Random Thoughts For the Start of The Olympics · Friday February 12, 2010

Categories: The-Random, The-Pop-Culture, The ArtWorld, The Blogosphere, The Calgary Vibe, The Canada Vibe, The D.C. vibe, The Humourous, The Inane

This could be the single best comment I’ve heard about the Opening Ceremonies tonight…

Hmmm, I wonder when the Opening Ceremonies are for the Olympics? I can’t remember after watching the Super Bowl this past weekend. (via. Pagal4321)

First – Let’s get into the Olympic spirit with this beauty. Apparently, a small time newspaper in Poland ran an image of the Vancouver 2010 Mascots to promote the games … Unfortunately, nobody told them that Pedobear wasn’t an official mascot. (via. Mr. Rennie)

Second – A pretty cool find from Poploser, it’s a site called My City vs. Your City. A little app which lets you compare your cities musical tastes with another city.

Interesting enough Calgary easily out triumphs Washington.

Third – Bet you didn’t know that Hienz has reworked their Ketchup Packages. I must say it’s a pretty brilliant design.

Fourth – Oh rats… It looks like my epic Unicorn fighting a whale over a cliff with lighting raining down in the background tattoo will have to wait a couple more years… Calgary Health authorities close down 7 in-home tattoo parlours

Fifth – These are the companies in your neighbourhood

Crazy, crazy, crazy news for local publisher and Art Central main stay, UpperCase Gallery. Turns out they have be selected as one of 16 finalists in the annual Society of Publication Designers’ Magazine of the Year Awards. While being selected to be a finalist is pretty common, as there seems to be hundreds of awards out there, this one is huge. It means that Uppercase is in competition with magazines such as Wired, GQ, Time, Blender and the New York Times Style Magazine. (thanks to lbourgon for the heads up)

Unreal and congrats to them. That is fahking impressive for a husband and wife duo.

Sixth – More Calgary-based news. Here is a neat article on the draw of artists to Calgary’s downtown core neighbourhoods (via. TerryAtCADA. Which as we all know is the concept of Gentrification kids. Which in the grand scheme of things isn’t a bad, bad, bad thing. It’s actually the basic life cycle of a thriving city.

See …

• A city grows.
• Artists gravitate to the city and establish themselves in the cheapest ‘hoods.
• They set-up and build culture.
• Developers and yuppies get wind of this and start developing upscale projects to leverage this new culture.
• Artists can’t afford rent anymore, so they move to another inner city neighbourhood with cheaper rent. The cycle begins again.

All this means is that in 5-10 years the neighbourhoods the next article will be written about will be Montogmery, Bowness, Bridgeland, Lions Park, Ramsey, Ogden etc., etc.,

The world will be fine people. Gentrification is actually a good sign for the city. It means that we’re attracting the creative class.

Seventh – In honour of TEDxYYC here is a list of 5 key TED presentations on Social Media (via. darron)

Eighth – Not to put a damper on the day, but this is a rather stirring and emotional video clip. It’s from a poetry slam in Austin Texas by Gabrielle Bouliane about life called Don’t Waste Your Fahking Time.

… This was her last public performance.
Gabrielle was diagnosed with Stage Four Cancer shortly before this video was filmed. She died in January 29, 2010 surrounded by family and friends, and apparently her passing was in a very quiet, peaceful room full of love and affection.

And for those shocked and in awe… Yes, I did just post to a poetry slam clip.

Ninth – Last but not least, here is the latest in a string of tumbr blogs showcasing Hipsters in funny photos… It’s Hippster Puppies

(via. sarahblue)

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Random Thoughts For The UrbanDictionary.com Meme · Friday February 5, 2010

Categories: The-Random, The-Blogosphere, The Beverages, The Calgary Vibe, The D.C. vibe, The Flames, The Personnal, The Twitter-verse

So, if you’ve toiled on Facebook for the past couple of days, you’ll have noticed that some people are posting the definition of their name based on what ever appears on UrbanDictionary.com. (Which happens to be a hysterical site… albeit somewhat crude). It’s gaining momentum and to be honest I find it pretty hysterical. (Check out the old definition of Connor, while all of these are very true. #5 is probably the most likely. #1-#4 aren’t really age appropriate definitions).

Anyways, my point bieng, is that I want to congratulate the marketing guru or who ever is responsible for starting this meme. You, good sir are an absolute genius.

Thousands of new hits to a stale site and even more new visitors, all due to a simple idea which leverages our human instinct to be cooler than everyone else. It’s genius, funny and it probably didn’t cost UrbanDictionary one single dime.

Well Played! Very, well played.

First – Rhett and one of his friends, (whom I actually think is imaginary) have launched a new site called Today For Lunch. It’s a series of letters between two friends detailing what they eat and in a weird Knowledge For Thirst kinda way, it is pretty darn funny. (via. bailingbucket)

Second – Ah Foursquare. How I really need to stop writing about you… But this was too good to pass up… Anyways, did you know that Foursquare has a DoubcheBag badge? Bet you didn’t know that.

I’m just curious, which bar in Calgary has been bestowed this great honour? Melrose? Metropolitan Grill? The new Mercury? The Owner of Nellie’s?

Third – I think I wet myself.

Sega to release a cheap classic console system this summer. It will only play vintage Sega games on a Wii like interface.

Fourth – Continuing on from the last point, I just want to reconfirm to anyone who reads this that I don’t really pee myself or wet myself as much as it may sound. I’m just easily excitable by old school gaming and T-Shirts.

Fifth – This is very cool news for a local developer. Terry Stasiuk is getting a fair bit of exposure for his great iCheer app. If you’re heading to the Olympics, download the app and help out a local developer.

Sixth – For those times when only a good old Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! will do. (via. myownbiggestfan)

Seventh – My wife is in the middle of what has been called as the 2010 Snowpocalypse of D.C.. Apparently, it’s estimated that 1-11 inches of the wet fluffy stuff is set to land in Virginia/D.C. this weekend.

Now before we all laugh at the ridiculous nature of this weather warning, especially the people for Saskatchewan, please note that this is the same area of the world that doesn’t have a Winter Semester. (via Chronotope)

Eighth – I’ve already forwarded this on to a few others, but it looks like Ales Kotalik has one fan … With Mad MS Paint Skillz and some love for trashy Euro dance music. P.S. make sure you turn down your speakers, before clicking… or you’ll be in for a shock (via. jbristow)

Ninth – By the way, you should all do two things this weekend. 1) Read the corporations article called a Tale of Two Bars 2) Head down to The District pub (where the old Fox and Firkin used to be)… Trust me both are well worth it.

Tenth – I’ll sneak this one in at the end. If you are in Calgary and at Art Central, make sure you check out UpperCase Gallery and their latest exhibit – A Showing of Letters. Very, very cool stuff.

c.t.overdrive

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Random Thoughts For Post Number 800! · Friday January 29, 2010

Categories: The-Random, The-Site, The ArtWorld, The Blogosphere, The Calgary Vibe, The Humourous, The Inane, The Pop-Culture, The Twitter-verse, The VideoGames

So as c.t.overdrive enters it’s 5th year of existence, it’s time to celebrate the 800th post on this crappy little blog.

Yes, the old c.t.overdrive is at big 800, which is twice as large 400. See kids, that’s the sort of Math you learn after 6 years of university.

Anyways, like I’ve said before thanks for sticking around and I hope you enjoy the ride.

First – Interesting news from the world of Photography, an award-winning photo dubbed the lone wolf was recently revealed to be a fake (via. russic)

…. Ah … so many jokes lone wolf jokes … so little time.

Second – Have you seen Sherlock Holmes yet? If you have you probably remember the stunning Opening and Closing credits? (I haven’t seen it, so I’m not sure how stunning they really are) Anyways, are you interested in how they were made?

Well … There’s an article for that

Third – The Fantastic Four issue #26 parlayed into Donkey Kong For the Nintendo.

Fourth – There is so much wrong with this. The Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL are having a Girl Scout Night to celebrate, what else but girl scouts. This is only creepy, because this is the same team that had a +21 night and also has Prison Night in honour of corrupt Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. (via. j3r3mjf).

Nice unis guys. Nice unis.

Fifth – These are the companies in your neighbourhood

No feature this week, but I will let you all in on a secret. iPhone users and iPod Touch users take note!

Sixth – In a long list of nightclubs in the city that have died a quiet death, the Warehouse and Underground are no more. My memories are fuzzy, but the Wizard Beer Tap at the Underground still sends shivers down my spine.

Seventh – An amazing article by Wired on the affect (or is effect) of the Madden Football Franchise on this generation of pro football players.

Eighth – Zappos.com, finally unleashed a redesign of their web site. Which sorta, almost makes me want to buy shoes. P.S. Please don’t tell my wife about this redesign.

Ninth – c.t.o’douls and wintr at last nights yyc4Haiti event at Flames Central. (For those curious it was a fantastic tweet-up).

Tenth – Last, but not least.

I’ve started reading Julien Smith’s blog InOverYourHead.net, since his talk at Calgary’s Third Tuesday meet-up. Julien is writing some brilliant stuff about media and human relationships. His book Trust Agents is a definite pick-up for those interested in this stuff. One of his latest posts Why Twitter was Inevitable is a great look at the basic concept of the network.

Well worth the read if you’ve got a moment.

c.t.overdrive

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Random Thoughts For Sweet Memories Of The Wedding · Friday January 22, 2010

Categories: The-Random, The-Future-Turners-Wedding, The Blogosphere, The Calgary Vibe, The Canada Vibe, The Corporation, The Humourous, The Inane, The Music, The Personnal, The Pop-Culture, The Twitter-verse, The World

This made my day… It’s Don’t Stop Believing by a bunch of New York School Kids. (you can thank my cousin in-law Lyndsie for that link)

The last time I heard this was at our wedding … At least these kids kept their pants on.

First – From the CBC ten bands that are expected to make it big in 2010... And by expected, I mean might. We are Canadians after all and making bold statements about success really isn’t our thing.

Second – The Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno feud… explained by Intense JAPANESE 3D ANIMATION…. Conan O’Brien as The HULK and some other dude as Capt. America. (via. Jaydorn)

Third – This might come as a shock to some, but Matt Good (of The Matthew Good Band fame) is increasingly becoming one of the most interesting celebrities on the Internet.

Yes, you can judge his political stances, his opinions on government influences, his opinions on his fans and the music industry; but without question the way he’s using the Interwebs to connect with fans and stay in the online consciousness is really impressive. Recently, he announced that he was going to switch to a subscription fee model for his site … But that disappeared and now it looks like they are taking a different approach … maybe … Something about pubic hair.

Either way, it’s interesting and he’s pushing the concept of a personal brand in to a whole new realm.

LOVE IT.

Fourth – To be honest, I haven’t watch late night television since my Jr. High years, but this whole Conan vs. Leno feud is highly entertaining.

Watch as Conan does what every jilted employee would love to do and spends his last few days of employment blowing the company’s expense account.

Fifth – These are the companies (sorta) in your neighbourhood.

I’m going to go off the charts for a bit and got to the home of one of my best friends… That’s right. We’re running to Saskatoon.

Anyways, at the Digital Alberta event on Tuesday I ran into a member of team ZuLabs an interatctive company out of Saskatoon that has done some great media campaigns with large Canadian companies. During our discussions, Stephanie mentioned that their team has broken into the iPhone App market in a huge way with their TimmyMe App http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=49621.

Yup, an app that allows you to find the nearest Tim Hortons. Genius, eh?

Well it’s also a pretty simple and slick application, with a well designed interface. It’s already made a wave on the market, but I thought I’d give it a shout out. It’s a great idea and it’s a simple way to get a product out there. Plus it’s free.

So congrats to ZuLabs & TimmyMe.

Sixth – I just wet myself… My man-crush Damon Albarn is back in the studio again. This time it looks like Gorillaz are gearing up for a new album to coincide with their Cochachella Show.

Seventh – I choked on my coffee twice reading this week’s edition of Poploser’s Amusing Myself to Death... The first choke was during the Gamer synopsis and the second… Well, you’ll just have to guess.

Eighth – From Kermitology … It’s a series of Star Wars branded Adidas shoes.

Yeah, I’m freaking serious… They even have STORMTROOPER shoes.

Those would look killer with my Star Wars cufflinks.

Ninth – Also, for all you entrepreneurs out there make sure you read Duncan’s work with local serial entrepreneur Ken Bautista. If you’re curious as to how to get your idea of the ground in Canada, make sure you get on board with this series of stories.

Tenth – Last, but not least as apart of the High Performance rodeo in Calgary, The Uptown is showing Art & Copy. A highly regarded documentary on Advertising.

c.t.overdrive

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Random Thoughts For The Political Moshpit of the 21st Century · Friday January 15, 2010

Categories: The-Random, The-Southern-Neighbours, The Blogosphere, The Calgary Vibe, The Canada Vibe, The Humourous, The Inane, The Pop-Culture, The World

Say what you will about Ben Affleck Keith Obermann’s overindulgence in the English language and his tendency to provoke the extreme left-wing radicals; but holy shit does he sure knows how to beat down the extreme right.

Watch as everyone’s favourite Celiac pwns Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robinson on their inhuman comments about the Haiti disaster.

(via. Mr. MusicCritic)

First – Without question, Mark Ecko rules...

Second – A fantastic letter of inspiration from the creator of Ren & Stimpy to a 14 year old fan in the late 90’s. More people at the top of their game need to do these types of letters and help spread their knowledge.

Third – An interesting, but leg crossing article by cousin in-law Lyndsie Bourgon on the topic of circumcision.

Fourth – A stunning, stunning article about deceit, lies, adultery, egomaniacs, a self-destructing family, but more importantly it’s showcases the slow demise of the Democratic Party’s golden boy – John Edwards. (via. Kristen Lester)

Fifth – These are the companies in your neighbourhood.

This comes from a little collective called BIG NERDS IN DISGUISE who recently released their first iPhone Game called OWN THIS WORLD….

Own this World is sorta like Foursquare, but with Tanks and Armies and Kamikazee attacks in attempt to own real property all over the world. You create armies and try to steal other portions of your own city… Which is a genius, genius little idea. It’s already a huge hit on “CalgaryPuck”: and it’s picking up some steam. Plus at $0.99 it’s definitely worth downloading.

If you have an iPhone, give these guys some support. They are an up and coming Calgary company and one you should definitely get behind.

Sixth – The Cancer Bats cover The Beastie Boy’s Sabotage... And this is the nail in the coffin of my musical memories.

Seventh – A huge round of applause needs to go out to the yycTwits that made the finals of the 2009 North American Film Racing Awards... They didn’t win, but they put out a solid performance and created something special for Calgary.

Congrats guys!

Eighth – I’ll just get this out of the way so nobody has to read the Editorial column in the Sun for the next week, but how come City Hall can campaign to become the number 1 city in Canada, but can’t clear out my snow or build a bridge that doesn’t look like a Chinese Finger Trap? Grumble, grumble, grumble

(end of my sarcasm rant)

Ninth – Great product design for Samurai Vodka

(via. imjustcreative)

c.t.overdrive

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Random Thoughts For Realizing I Failed as a Barista · Friday January 8, 2010

Categories: The-Random, The-Past, The Adventures, The Beverages, The Blogosphere, The Humourous, The Inane, The Pop-Culture, The T-Shirts, The Twitter-verse

In a past life, in a shopping mall that’s been renovated more than 5 times, I was once a coffee Barista. They were the days of youth – hangovers, minimum wage and five espresso shot morning. But because of that glorious time in my life, I now have an deep respect for people who can work an espresso machine… But this collection of latte art has put my lackluster Barista skills to shame.

But it has given me hope for the future.

Today I am decreeing that by the time my niece is old enough to drink a latte, I’m going to have mastered the art of the latte… To the point where I can draw a Unicorn fighting a Whale with Lightning in foam…

That’s right kids… UNICORN fighting a WHALE!

First – Facebook gets it’s own bottle of water

Suddenly, I can’t wait for Twitter RedBull or Foursquare Malt liquor…

Second – Vanity Fair has a piece on last week’s Winter Classic between Bawwston and Philadelphia. Thereby proving that Hockey is more than just a great way for a starlet to find a husband. (via JayOnrait)

Third – Who wants to purchase a business? No seriously… Who wants to own a legitimate business? You essentially have until Sunday to put in bids to own FAIL Sticker.com-

Fourth – Well it kinda does…

Fifth – This made me feel warm and fuzzy in a good way. Polaroid & Lady Gaga are now business partners.

Sixth – Besides the Zipper, this is the greatest invention in the History of mankind… The Irish Car Bomb Float … Mr. Shaw, I think this is a great way to celebrate the new addition to your family. (via. lbourgon)

Seventh – Lost Season 6.0 Promotional photos of the cast as the Last Supper… Lost Nerds beware....

Eighth – In preparation for our decent down to Virginia, here’s a great graph on why showing the costs per person for different Health Care Systems vs. Life Expectancy (via. kottke.org)

c.t.overdrive

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Random Thoughts For A Miss-published Random Thoughts · Monday January 4, 2010

Categories: The-Random, The-Site, The Blogosphere, The Calgary Vibe, The Canada Vibe, The Flames, The Pop-Culture, The Twitter-verse

So some how in the lame chaos that was Dec 30th & 31st, I seemed to forget how to use the publish button on Textpattern. Because of which, my final list of random thoughts for 2009 didn’t make it to the Internet. But fear not, because my stupidity is now your gain… well sort of… everyone gets an early Random Thoughts.

First – Great news in the world of Social Media and iPhone apps, Hootsuite has upgrade their iPhone App to allow first generation iPod Touch compatibility.

Signal the chorus of Hurrahs you hear, is from all first generation Touch owners.

Second – From what has to be is the single best Hockey-humour blog in the entire world comes Down Goes Brown’s post on the history of NHL Players vs. Cars.

The victim: Kyle Okposo
The incident: Filed police report after being run over by speeding oil tanker. The charges were withdrawn after a review of the video determined it was actually just Dion Phaneuf.

Third – Paste Magazine lists the Top 50 Movies of the past decade. Surprisingly, neither Reign of Fire or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen were included on this list.

Fourth – Ah yeah, that’s right more lists … But at least this one is from the L.A. Times – The Top Ten Social Media Moments of 2009.

Fifth – These are the companies in your neighborhood.

This is less of a feature on a company and more of just a great article. Which ultimately does a better job featuring some of the companies in Alberta than I could have. It’s DuncanKinney’s The Quest for the Killer App? article from this month’s Alberta Venture magazine. It’s a great read and features some of the companies and events I’ve been talking about on c.t.overdrive.

Sixth – Just ignore the NSFW link title of this article. But check out the article on TechCrunch about the web site DeviantArt’s 100 Millionth piece of work, (which is a NSFW piece) and you’ll see a hand drawing of a freaking Arctic UNICORN. Just don’t open it at work or where they track link titles.

But seriously, a freaking ARCTIC UNICORN…

Seventh – The Onion takes on Alexander Ovechkin

Hmmm…. I had no idea he hawks around Washington like Batman. I’ll have to keep my eye out for that one.

Eighth – From the Herald, it’s a look at the booming creative class in Calgary. (via. Creative Class guru Richard Florida & DJ Kelly)

c.t.overdrive

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Random Thoughts For A Boxing Day Tradition Of Sorts · Tuesday December 29, 2009

Categories: The-Random, The-Personnal, The Canada Vibe, The Inane, The Music, The Pop-Culture, The World

We have a tradition, and by we, I mean my furry little Ph.D friend and I. This tradition has spanned almost 6 Boxing Days. It starts with breakfast at Nellie’s and then involves the two of us taking on the most ridiculously busy mall in the city.

This year we took on MALLZAC and the monstrosity that is the Bass Pro Shop=. We even took turns at shooting robotic raccoons with lasers…. That’s right Robotic Raccoons with Laser Guns…. That just blew your mind.

Anyways…

First – A hilarious, but possibly not safe for work article on why Jersey Shore is the Worst thing to happen to the East Coast. (via cracked.com)

Second – More reasons why James Franco is a golden god and even more reasons why NBC just doesn’t understand the Web.. (BTW for my Canadian readers if you go to GlobalTV you can catch all the skits from Franco’s SNL stint)

Third – If you’ve got an interest in the Climate Change debate and a bit more patience than I do, please check out this graphical representation of the Climate Change Deniers point of view vs. The Scientific Community Consensus (via I_Q)

Fourth – 5 really good reasons to punch a Dolphin in the Mouth … (via. theoatmeal.com).

Fifth – Stereogum has released a year-end in review cocktail mix tape mash-up to celebrate the end of 2009. If it is anything like the mix tape they released last year, all you hipster kids will need to download it… ASAP. Come people, it’s got bands like Phoenix, The XX, Chroemo and others are mixed up with U2, Taylor Swift and The Cure.

You can preview the tracks below if you’re interested. But my advice is to just down load the sucker and enjoy.

Sixth – Hey Kids, it’s time to play around of STARBUCKS Bingo. Pssst. If you ever run into me at Starbucks you’ll have B1 locked

Seventh – Apparently, even though I was incredibly lazy with this list of random thoughts, it appears that I also decided to throw my entire concept of the English language out the window. My apologizes to people who read the first version of this post.

c.t.overdrive

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Random Thoughts For Being Kinda Busy · Friday December 18, 2009

Categories: The-Random, The-Personnal,

So besides getting Lainey to give us a shout out and failing at keeping up with the Month of New Music, things have been incredibly busy in the world of c.t.overdrive. Therefore there will be no Random Thoughts for this week.

Look for another rendition next week.

c.t.overdrive

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Random Thoughts For A Bachelor Party · Friday December 11, 2009

Categories: The-Random, The-Personnal,

Well first and foremost, to tonight is my c’est un Bachelor Party.

Which is perfect French for It’s my Bachelor Party your crazy monkeys… I know it’s not really, but that is what you get when you get a 33% in Grade 3 French.

Either way it should be good times. If it’s a third as good as this guy’s bachelor party of laser tag and dinner at Perkins, then I’ll be stoked.

(P.S. A shout out is in order to Mark, Doug and Chris and everyone else involved with the planning of it. You guys are amazing friends.)

First – To follow-up with my Music Critic post, here’s Ronald Pemberton (aka Cadence Weapon)‘s Top 10 records of 2009

Second – You’ve probably noticed over the past few months, that I’ve been really diving into Eric Karjaluoto’s work on his blog ideasonideas and also his latest book Speak Human. Which is an amazing read for anyone in the design industry.

Well to promote his book, he’s launched a GooTube channel which encompasses all of his rants and thoughts. To give you a sneak peak, here’s the latest video about designers and details and of course bourbon.

Third – Not sure how I exactly stumbled upon this little article, but it’s an odd and interesting read anyways, it’s Vanity Fair’s profile of Erik Prince.

By the way, Erik is the CEO of the Famed Mercenaries for hire outfit. You may have heard of them, they’re called Blackwater. Yup, that Blackwater.

Fourth – Because Willaim Dafoe was already killed off in the first one, it looks like John Malkovich is scheduled to play the Vulture in Spider-man 4... and yet again the Lizard gets over looked as the next villian…

For those keeping track all they need to complete the trifecta is to have Gary Oldman play…The Rhino?

Fifth – These are the companies in your neighborhood.

Great news from the world of iPhone app development, Hootsuite has finally ported their popular software into the iPhone. But the better news is that Richerd of Tapium fame (which was profiled here) is the man behind the coding.

While that doesn’t make sense for most people who read this, the gist of it is that this new Tweetie/Any Twitter related iPhone App killer has it’s coding roots in the growing and strong Calgary Development community. So a large congrats to Richerd is in order.

Sixth – The Top ten GMs of the Naughts. The fact they missed Mr. Darryl I can Do Anything I want Sutter is a travesty.

Seventh – Because Foxes appear to be the new Bear/Shark…. Foxy Hip Hop.

Eighth – How the SAW producers destroyed the Tampa Bay Lighting. (via. jmirtle)

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Random Thoughts For Sochi 2014 · Friday December 4, 2009

Categories: The-Random, The-World,

I know everyone is focused on the Vancouver Olympics and the barrage of Hoopla brewing over their games, but in four more years Mother Russia gets a run at the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Please don’t ask me to point on a map where Sochi is. That wasn’t one of the key city’s that Carmen Sandiego and her merry band of of thieves tried to hide their stolen treasures.

But in preparation for any Olympic games the official logo has to be released. In recent weeks a few ideas were leaked to the design community, including this stunning wreath inspire logo.

Looks pretty classy right? Yeah, unfortunately for the rest of the world this atrocity is the chosen symbol.

The only redeeming factor in this entire logo concept is the ‘14’ looks like a inverted ‘hi’.

But yeah, it has the damn url in the design.

First – You probably saw my post earlier this week about Month of New Music, but finding music can be a pain in the ass. Luckily, if you’re struggling to find new music test out Grooveshark.com. Honestly one of the most amazing services on the net.

Second – This is a great shirt from 200Nipples.com

And by the way, after you stop laughing at the web site name, check out the concept behind 200 Nipples. (via. Darcy Bross)

Third – This just screams to the British in me.

Fourth – Love the Poster, but I question whether or not Helvetica can save a life.

Fifth – These are the companies in your neighborhood.

I want to draw your attention to a really interesting online magazine called unlimited. It’s run out of Edmonton, which I know isn’t necessarily in the neighborhood, but it’s still chalkful of insightful stories for the 24-32 year old entrepreneurial workforce.

Duncan Kinney, who you may remember from the yycPhotobook, moved up there and is running their daily blog which runs a great series of articles. If you’ve got a moment and I know you do, please give it a read.

Sixth – Don’t worry kids, this won’t happen. Even I have Limits on my Twitter Addiction.

Seventh – From one of the funniest web sites I’ve come across in a while; it’s The Oatmeal.com’s How A Web Designer Goes To Hell.

Eighth – Also, here is an interesting concept for on the eve of the Copenhagen Climate Conference from Greenpeace. I don’t want to get into the validity/controversy of the posters, but from a design standpoint they are pretty well done.

(via. andrewmcintyre)

Ninth – I know this series of Random Thoughts is very design and t-shirt heavy, but I have to add this link. It’s the news that a new company called Square is set to go live

What’s square you ask? It’s essentially a small device that can be attached to any iPhone that will allow businesses to accept Credit Cards. It’s from the main-brain behind Twitter and it is going to revolutionize business.

Think about it, this puppy allows any business in the world to accept credit cards. The Hotdog vendor down the street, The arts and craft merchant at your Farmers Market, that creepy guy selling T-Shirts outside the Jonas Brothers show.

This is going to be game changer.

Tenth – And a tenth under the wire. From DownGoesBrown – Signs Your Teammates Are Trying To Kill You, with a forward by Keith Ballard... Too funny.

During a meeting with NHLPA reps to discuss the CBA, every question is about how the unsolved murder of the goaltender would impact the salary cap.

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Random Thoughts For I Want A Goat · Friday November 27, 2009

Categories: The-Random, The-Blogosphere, Glutastic, The ArtWorld, The Books, The Calgary Vibe, The Humourous, The Inane, The Pop-Culture, The T-Shirts, The Twitter-verse, The Urban

Here is some kickass creative Non-Profit marketing. It’s from I Want A Goat.com and their campaign to purchase goats for impoverished villages in Africa.

Come on, like who doesn’t want a #$%$ing Goat after that video….T.PAIN ftw.

Anyways, back on track.

First – You all know that Glutastic loves the Lainey and by proxy I also adore the Lainey. Because of which, here is a solid little rant about Miley Cyrus and an incident at small Burger Joint.

Come for the story, but stay for the rant about snotty children.

Second – A hilarious review of uber-hootie uber-hottie Leighton Meester’s latest single somebody to love. (via Sarahblue)

Third – And the Glee backlash begins…

It looks like Fox’s Mega Hit Glee is facing pressure from disabled groups for trying to break disability stereotypes, by using an able bodied actor to play the roll of wheelchair bound Archie. (via. cousin in-law lyndsiebourgon)

This goes to further my point, that sometimes you can’t win for trying.

Fourth – Could Wes Anderson’s new stop motion flick be better than Bottle Rocket? (via. Kermitology) …

All signs point to yes.

Fifth – Usually, I’ve reserved this for introducing my readers to local companies that are making a big splash in the tech industry, but with Christmas coming along I’ve decide to dedicate this to a great gift idea for that adorable Photographer on your Christmas list.

If you need an idea for that special someone pick-up the yycPhotobook. $25 Dollar and you get a piece of this special city we call home. But even better all proceeds of the book go to the charity Brown Bagging It For Kids. If you do I’ll even sign the damn thing for you … which will probably lower the monetary value of the book even more.

But seriously it’s a great, great gift.

Sixth – Here’s an interesting discussion on municipal policy, social media, and a the City of Calgary’s decision not to follow local users on twitter (via. SarahDawley).

Seventh – Here’s Matt Good’s take on the demands of some of his fans and the outrage against his choices.

Now, I’m not saying that Matt Good only did this in Saskatchewan, but it’s ironic that the largest amount of backlash came from our friends to the East … I wonder if that little shoe incident a few years ago had anything to do with it?

Eighth – Alright, I’m not trying to bash Saskatchewan today. One of my groomsmen is from the Saskatoon and I love the Smitty’s in Swift Current. But sometimes, Saskatchewanites scare me…

Ninth – Threadless is having their massive $9 Thanksgiving day sale… Because of which you need to purchase this t-shirt.

Tenth – And last but not least for the week, Roger Ebert takes aim at the people and the corporate suits that torpedoed his beloved At The Movies.

c.t.overdrive

Random Thoughts For The Launch of Foursquare in Calgary · Friday November 20, 2009

Categories: The-Random, The-Blogosphere, The Books, The Calgary Vibe, The Corporation, The Humourous, The Inane, The Music, The Pop-Culture, The Twitter-verse, The Urban, Want To Be A Web Designer

Poploser broke the new yesterday, but Calgary is now officially on Foursquare.

What does this mean?

Well, not much, but expect the buzz about Foursquare to build in the city until April, when one of CityTv or CTV does a special on it. Suddenly, it’ll be the new business craze as restaurants and bars start leveraging it into gold. By offering specials to Mayors and Foursquare regulars. That sentence made no sense to half the people reading this, but it will in Four months.

Essentially, Foursquare is the location based game/task version of Twitter. Think Google’s Latitude, but without the all-knowing-1984-in-we-are-in-your-internetz-following-what-you-are-doing sort of vibe.

Please note, I’m off my game today, so if I have not credited the right people on notes, I do apologize.

First – Here’s why the Super Freakeconomics Guys think all this climate change stuff isn’t as dire as we think and how we shouldn’t ‘really’ worry, because an answer is coming … and subsequently why the New Yorker thinks they’re idiots.

Second – Surprising stats on the NFL’s lack of social media interaction. Compare this to the excellent work being done, by the Chicago Blackhawks and it’s pretty shocking.

Third – I don’t know where I found this link, it just appeared in my browser tabs, but it’s a great read. It’s Roger Ebert reminiscing on the 15th anniversary of Hoop Dreams. He even goes as far as to calling it the Great American Documentary, which is a pretty bold statement.

Fourth – Check this out, crazy redesign of three of the NFL’s most recognizable helmets.

Fifth – I know it’s not a Calgary company, but the new Jamble iPhone/iPod Touch app is pretty killer and it’s making some nice waves

Sixth – This is almost like Darth Vader and Dr. Doom teaming up to take over the world … just without the cool metal masks. Sarah Palin & Glenn Beck toss around the idea of forming the most lunatic Presidential ticket in American History.

Seventh – This is another one of those random links that appeared in my browser over the past two weeks, but it’s a random series of texts between a 20 year old designer and some pour 15 year old bus-ridden hood who thinks he’s about to get some action from his 15 year old Edmontonian girlfirend.

This right is why the Internet rocks.

Eighth – Ah, this is my new favourite site in a long line of Designers/Developers venting about their own client sites – ClientsFromHell.com.

$1,000 is very expensive, you know. We only want a simple website with our current contents, and contact form as well. And don’t forget about CMS features. We want to add or edit content on our own. And the picture gallery, we want something that stunning and animated. The header should be animated as well. And our logo seems too old, can you design new logo for our company? But the best price we can offer is $300, and we think that’s more than enough

Ninth – Last but not least, Threadless now has Designer iPhone Cases…

Tenth – And by the way, Ari Gold was in #yyc for the Holt Renfrew Party last night. Although it sounds like he acted like a fool. Truth is it’s Ari, like Sutter he can do whatever he wants.

c.t.overdrive

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Random Thoughts For A List of Epic Proportions · Friday November 13, 2009

Categories: The-Random, glutastic, The Blogosphere, The Humourous, The Music, The Pop-Culture, The Site

It’s Friday! And you know what that means…a list of epic proportions. I know that you’re going to be expecting something that refers to a new technology and a great Threadless T-shirt. But this is my blog right now, and with that comes my chance to share a few ditties of mine with you.

First – Glee. Have you seen it? Do you love it? You’re heart is dead and your mind is mush if you just answered no to those questions. Glee is adding a new surge of awesome to nighttime TV. It’s got nothing to do with reality, and nothing to do with high tech crime solving. Glee is pure, quick witted, musical genius and entertainment.

This line from last night is dedicated to Mr. Rennie: Maybe one day you’ll find a way to create a teaching moment without running my life.

Second – “Etsy.com!“http://www.etsy.com It’s fantastic. If you’re looking for something original, something handcrafted without the approval of the majority, then go shop Etsy. I will admit that at first glance, it will look like a hippy love in. Just trust. Spend some time, enter some search words and fall in love. HINT: It’s a great place to find the perfect Christmas gift for the perfect person in your life

Third – These guys make prison look like fun. I wonder what they would do with the uncoordinated inmates?

Fourth – Smut is fabulous. Celebrity Smut, even though none of us want to admit it, makes our day just a little better. There is just something about taking a few minutes out of your day to read about how the rich and the famous are falling from grace. Watching other people screw up makes us feel better about our lives. The best Smut Hound around is Lainey. Read her, love her, and thank me for it later!

Fifth – I’m outta here. Thanks for indulging me and pretending like you read the blog this week. I’ve loved every minute of it, and I am going to love every minute of my time back blogging about gluten. Please don’t take this the wrong way; I think you guys are awesome. I just love my people a little more. Thanks for the time.

c.t.overdrive

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Random Thoughts For A Switcharoo · Friday November 6, 2009

Categories: The-Random, The-Site, Glutastic, The Blogosphere, The Calgary Vibe, The Canada Vibe, The Humourous, The Inane, The Music, The Pop-Culture, The Southern Neighbours, The T-Shirts, The Twitter-verse

So next week, we’ve decided to do a bit of an experiment. A little bloggy, blog switcharoo.

My fiancee and myself have decided to guest blog on each other’s web site for the week. Yes, I’ll be writing on Glutastic and Caitlin will be taking the reigns of the old c.t.overdrive, granting her the distinguished honor of becoming the first person to ever guest blog on the site in it’s four years of existence.

The idea is to a) expose people to different content and b) try and get out of our typical blogging routines. So if things seem a little different on Monday, don’t worry, you’ll survive.

First – Hey-ho! It looks like the NHL is finally the first in something… and I don’t mean in line for the H1N1 shot (don’t even get me started on how ridiculous this controversy is).

But in all seriousness, the NHL is the first Sport League to embrace Twitter Lists for thier fans.

Second – In conjunction with the release of Raditude, Weezer has released customized Snuggies. Which will ironically come in handy as you cry your self to sleep with the realization that one of you beloved adolescent idols has officially lost his touch.

Third – Some Type fiend is going to lose their shit because of this … Helvetica in Comic Sans – (via DarcyBross)

Fourth – Another killer T-shirt From Threadless, make sure you click on the link and zoom in on the actual shirt. Pure Genius!

Fifth – These are the companies in your neighbourhood.

I’ve been spending a lot of time at Etsy.com recently and although it is not a Calgary based company, it really is turning out to be an amazing online space for retailers. Especially for retailers looking to reach out to a larger market. I bring this up, because I’ve recently made purchases with two awesome Calgary retailers Broken English Leather and Falice Emo (who no longer seems to be selling work at the moment). These are retailers in my own city, that I would never have come across if it wasn’t for Etsy and for that I’m thankful. So, if you’re bored and looking for something to do this afternoon, you might want to see what other Calgary based Entrepreneurs are on the site and see what you find.

Sixth – I think I might just join this solely to volley clutter back at everyone who plays Farmville and MafiaWars on Facebook … But either way, EA has released a Facebook version of their popular SPORES game. Create a monster, tell it how to eat and the take over an island … Now isn’t that genius.

Seventh – I know I’m talking about hockey a lot this week, but somethings are too golden not to link to. Like for examples an introduction sequence, involving a Coca-Cola Polar Bear, rocket packs and the Destruction of a motha f$%%king planet … All to the tune of Kenny Logins. (via cpuck)

Eighth – And since I’m still ranting about Farmville and MafiaWars, here’s an interesting little article on the big money making machines that they are. In addition. It also brings to light of the accusations of ‘Scamville’ that are being levied at both Farmville & MafiaWars.

Ninth – I can’t get enough of the pixelated eBoy web site. This one is for Mr. Miller …

Tenth – Added Bonus And here’s one more reason why James Franco (The single greatest actor to take on James Dean) is a God. He’s now doing a two week stint on Legendary Day-time soap General Hospital for shits and giggles.

c.t.overdrive

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Random Thoughts For Scarecrows · Friday October 30, 2009

Categories: The-Random, The-Pop-Culture, The Blogosphere, The Books, The Calgary Vibe, The Canada Vibe, The Craziness, The Flames, The Humourous, The Inane, The Music, The Southern Neighbours, The Twitter-verse

I stumbled across this collection of creeptastic Scarecrows in my journey through the wonderful world of Tumblr web sites. Since it’s Halloween, I think a collection of scarecrows that don’t hang around with rusty Tin Man and bumbling Lion is in order.

Happy Halloween Everyone!

First – Hidden in the depths of the iPhone App store is this gem from Nike. It’s an App that lets you purchase customized sneakers directly from Nike.com. Who knows it might even been sweat shop free…

I mean the App, not the shoes.

Second – Okay, for a brief second there I thought I read Zombies. I damn near almost purchased a Sjostrom jersey right there on the spot. Anyways, it turns out that new Flame Freddie Sjostrom is ridiculously terrified of ZAMBONIS (via. cpuck)

But I still think he’s terrified of Zombies … Because who isn’t.

Third – I cannot reiterate this enough – The end of the newspaper industry cannot come soon enough. Just check out this gem in this week’s Calgary Sun – Right-wing women rock: Looking at the shoes tells a lot about a female’s political persuasion. (via. Mr. Rennie)

Fourth – A great web site and now book for anyone who is tired of the irrationality of the world – Rules For My Unborn Son.

Fifth – These are the companies in your neighbourhood.

I plan on writing about this a bit more in the future, (maybe even a full blog post on a tour of the place) but there is great news for all you Freelancers out there; Calgary’s first Coworking Hub opened it’s doors to the public last week.

I spent some time talking with a couple of the guys behind the idea and they really have their shit together. So if you are working independently out of your basement, please check their web site out and consider it as a viable alternative. The $450 you’d pay in a desk rental will go a long way with the connections you’ll make at the space.

Sixth – Sara (From Tegan and Sara fame) explains how to play Walking with the Ghost. (Again, I’ve forgotten the source of this link)

Seventh – The Ultimate Warrior has a web site and a blog. It will change your life. (via. Kurtyp)

Eighth – Did you know that Cobra, The Green Lantern and Batman were shameless rip-offs of other cartoon characters? … I didn’t.

Finally, both organizations give their member a special, unique weapon that can be used by nobody else but the person to whom it was given. In Lensmen’s case a lens that gives them telepathic powers, and in Green Lantern’s case the ring that can’t protect you from banana peels.

Did you also know that Cracked.com is the world’s best waste of time? … I did.

Ninth – I’m being a bit irresponsible as a blogger this week, but I can’t recall where I found this for the life of me. Anyways, here’s the story of how a battered and bruised Maple Leafs fan gave up on his life long dedication to failure, for a mere 25 dollars on eBay.

Tenth – Unfortunate news from the world of sports reporting, Mike Toth was let go by Sportsnet. In homage to his great career, please find below some of Mike’s best work with one of the best programs in the history of local Calgary Television – Sports At 11:30. (via cpuck.com)

Eleventh – In case anyone doesn’t have Halloween plans, the Foo Fighters are playing live tomorrow night at 8:00pm … On Facebook.

Twelveth – Alright, final link this week. It’s Flickr’s Dogs In Costume photoset

There, I’ve filled your cute quota for the week. You can all smile now.

c.t.overdrive

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Random Thoughts For smoke51.com · Friday October 23, 2009

Categories: The-Random, The-Pop-Culture, The Blogosphere, The Calgary Vibe, The Music, The Personnal, The Soapbox, The Southern Neighbours

So the D.A. showed me this little web site a couple of weeks ago at his lovely house warming party. Essentially, Smoke51.com is online company that sells electronic Cigarettes and Cigars. Their sole product is a fireless/tobacco-less version of your every day cigarette. Smoke51.com’s mission is to provide the world with a safe fireless alternative to your regular Peter Jacksons, Lucky Strikes, Camels and even Cuban Cigars.

They even come in Cherry and Vanilla….ooo…ahhh

But, the best part about Smoke51.com, and unfortunately I cannot find an image of it for the life of me, is the Flyer Card. See every package of Smoke51 cigarettes comes with a special card, which basically says: Dear Air Marshall, It’s okay for me to smoke this sweet death of a nicotine stick on this plane, because it is neither a real cigarette or an incendiary device that could blow us all out of the sky.

I’d love to be saying I’m kidding, but it’s true. It’s one of the most ridiculous marketing ptiches I’ve ever seen.

First – Via Tech Crunch – Nokia spoofs the new Paranormal Activity Movie for it’s latest ad campaign

So why is this important? Because it again demonstrates that as hard as I may try, my age is really showing. WTF is Paranormal Activity?

Second – This is why spending $300,000 to build a city brand can actually be an important move by a city. Have a really long look at Belfast’s new city brand.

Considering that 89% of people associate Belfast with The Troubles, The IRA, The Ulster Union and The Cranbrerries I think this new image is going to dramatically change people’s view point of such a beautiful, beautiful city.

Third – The Mayan Calendar Warns Of Cataclysmic Roland Emmerich Film On Nov. 13

Fourth – 5 reasons why you should go to college, from a bitter 20-something (via. Leahblonde)

Fifth – These are the companies in your neighbourhood.

I’ve talked about these guys before, but Tapium really is a company to watch in the next couple of months. In particular, their iPhone apps are going to blow some people out of the water.

On Tuesday, at the Digital Alberta: Mobile Madness Mixer, Richerd showed me a couple of the projects that are in the tubes and all I can is Wow!. One of his products, without question is going to kill one of the most popular apps on the market.

Sixth – TSN.ca is trying to find the NHL’s best goalie mask. So please go to TSN.ca and prevent all those pathetically suicidal Maple Leafs fans from winning … for the first time this season.

Seventh – I know this is a bit biased … Alright it’s completely biased towards the Anti-TV Tax in the debate, but here are some interesting editorial view points on the whole Save Local Television debate.

And if you’re curious as to my stance on the whole debate, I’m increasingly on the side with Shaw and the Cable providers. Don’t get me wrong I love and value local Television, but what has changed in the past 40 years that has suddenly made another tax so important? Oh, wait that’s right your business model is suddenly crumbling.

You’re still spending millions of dollars to import American Shows, while people are watching those same shows at their own time via Torrents, hulu.com and DVD boxsets. All the while you’ve really worked to further local television by shutting down Sports At 11:30, BucShot (Although that was more of an age thing) and you bastards even fired Dar Maqbool.

Eighth – I have no idea what this is … But it’s from one of the guys who started-up vimeo. (It’s not really safe for work though)

Ninth – More OffTheBeatenTracks.tv goodness.

Episode #13.3: Adam from Y’all Is Fantasy Island – “Consider Yrself Swallowed” from Off The Beaten Tracks on Vimeo.

c.t.overdrive

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Random Thoughts For A Spiderman Fatty Doll · Friday October 16, 2009

Categories: The-Random, The-Blogosphere, The Blogosphere, The Books, The Calgary Vibe, The Family, The Humourous, The Inane, The Music, The Pop-Culture, The VideoGames

We’ve been spending a fair bit of time on Etsy recently. Mostly for a variety of cool reasons, but mainly because if you need something unique this is the place to go. And when I say unique, I mean unique.

Like for example hand crafted wooded Spiderman dolls.

I’m not entirely sure what a custom made fatty doll is used for, but I want one. It actually might over take my desire to have an entire collection of 20 Spiderman super villain buttons.

First – From Andy (of nonimage fame) It is Frightened Rabbit live at The Royal Blind Scottish Variety Performance.

Second – You know, with a 0-6-1 start it is becoming incredibly easy to make fun of the Toronto Maple Laffs. It seems like everyone and their cat is taking jabbs at the jokes from the east. Just check out this ingenious rendition of straight outta Compton called Straight outta Anahiem. Or better yet, just sit back with a steaming hot cup of coco and enjoy the Laffs bashing with DownGoesBrown’s 6 positives of this horrible start … Ah, the sweet smell of failure.

Third – Excellent news, Polaroid and the Impossible Project are starting to release new polaroid film. (via. lbourgon”:http://twitter.com/lbourgon/status/4864055014)

That sound you hear? That’s me air-pumping in excitement.

Fourth – Because, if you are anything like my future wife, you’ve probably already conquered the drums, bass and guitar. (And you’ve probably taken a pass on the microphone and left it to the scratchy throated smoker in the corner). But now it’s time to take on the Turn Tables.

See below for the DJ Hero Introduction. (via. Magnozine)

Fifth – These are the companies in your neighbourhood – So if anyone is curious as to my reason for disappearing from the world this weekend, here’s what I’m up to. It’s the first iPhone Dev Camp in Calgary. It’s a full weekend of iPhone developing fun-happy-party-times at the University.

It’s also being put on by Robots & Pencils, a husband and wife tandum with an impressive amount of business and tech start-up knowledge. They are also the brains behind the successful iPhone app CRUSHfactor.

Sixth – Hot Damn! Laser-etched Kellogs Cornflakes. Hmmm…One question. When do get I my laser-etched Leprechauns on my laser-etched Lucky Charms. (via. splorp)

Seventh – I’m sorry, but since popping out a second baby, I have to admit that Dooce is on blogging fire. If you haven’t read her stuff in a while, I strongly suggest you do. P.S. Loving the Don Knotts references in most of her posts.

Eighth – Speaking of Spiderman, the best part of this interview with Sam Raimi is the he uses the singular form of Villain. Not two, not three, not sinister six, but one villain.

Ninth – From Blogs To Books – a timeline of all the blogs that have received book deals.(via. poploser)

The sad part about this timeline is that I have purchased three of these books. (Postsecret, Stuff White People Like and Douchebags with Hot Chicks) Which is more two more books than any other genre of books, besides UBST textbooks, that I’ve purchased in the past nine years.

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Random Thoughts For A Turkey Hangover · Monday October 12, 2009

Categories: The-Random, The-Family, The Blogosphere, The Calgary Vibe, The Flames, The Football, The Humourous, The Pop-Culture, The Southern Neighbours, The T-Shirts

I’m going to blame the tardiness of this week’s random thoughts solely on the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend and the ensuing Turkey hangover that comes with it. And for the record, since I’m still a first generation Irglish child, I still have no clue what this whole shindig is all about.

Anyways…

First – The FTC now mandates that Bloggers must disclose payments for all products reviews on a web site. Even though, I’m not American, I thought I would disclose the amount of money that I have received from reviewing a product on c.t.overdrive.

That value is: $0

But for the record, I would gladly modify this number to review some Threadless T-Shirts, Polaroid Camera equipment and even a large screen television.

Second – Forget being on a Boat … Anand and the Bumtop team are in Wired

Third – When Panada’s Attack has to be one of the best T-Shirts Threadless has ever released. In my honest opinion, this sucker really should be a hoodie.

But the good news is that it’s for sale again, during their retro t-shirt sale. Because a two year old T-shirt is so retro.

Fourth – Ah, this pains me, but I kinda have to agree. That being said … Ha Ha! Stupid Oilers”.

Fifth – These are the companies in your neighborhood. So this week’s this is a company in your neighborhood is dedicated to Pho3nix New Media Inc.

Pho3nix New Media, may not be a huge multimillion dollar name in your world, but if you’ve played Curse of the Pharaoh or it’s sequel then you know of the company. Earlier this week, Pho3nix’s president Jon Lam launched news of the first Canadian Based iPhone Fund. Which again probably doesn’t mean much, but 2 million dollars towards the iPhone development community in the city is pretty impressive.

Sixth – This could be the best looking version of FIFA soccer since the original 1995 Genesis version. I just hope they kept the feature where you could run away from the ref for hours at a time … Stupid ref, look at him run. Why didn’t he just tackle the offending player.

Seventh – Here’s an interesting turn of events, it seems Dallas Mavericks uber-owner Mark Cuban, is starting to champion the local Dallas scribes over the local Dallas TV reporters in regards to coverage of his team. This is pretty impressive, because Cuban garnered his billions off of the back of his online Television business. So it’s extremely odd to see him urging supports to support a traditional newspaper system.

Eighth – Here’s a Class of 1998 flashback with a HoodInternet Mix. P.Diddy vs. The Volcano Choir

All About The Islands (Puff Daddy vs Volcano Choir) – The Hood Internet

Ninth – Vikings & Skateboards … oh my!

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Random Thoughts For Mussoorie · Friday October 2, 2009

Categories: The-Random, The-Family,

It’s a bit of a little known fact that although Papa Overdrive is probably as English as one could possibly get, he actually grew up in the mountainous region of the Himalayas. In fact, Papa Overdrive and Grandpapa Overdrive lived in the small mountainous town of Mussoorie, where Grandpapa Overdrive was head of Military Police for the province of Uttarakhand. This is all way back before Indian gained its independence from the glorious British Empire.

I mention this, because after a 6-10 year communication gap, I have finally started re-connecting with my cousins via Facebook. Through these conversations, my interest in the region has been rekindled and I find myself search Flickr on a daily basis for pictures of Mussorie, India. So below are some of the pictures from this beautifully amazing region of India.

If you want to check out more from Flickr, have a look at the Geolocation stream on Flickr.

First – Classy article from Flames President Ken King regarding Theo’s retirement.

Second … And this is why I’m going to stop building web sites and just start building Facebook Pages. The New England Patriots have released their new uber interactive Facebook Fan Page … (P.S. For those curious and wondering how Facebook would ever make any money here’s your answer.)

Third – Are there any camera junkies out there? Or maybe someone who is looking to explore the world of cameras?

If you are, then help LouderThan10 (Mr. Travis Gertz) get rid of his stuff before he and his wife leave on an epic Winnebago Adventure with Walter.

So if you want a great camera pack, take a look at what he’s selling.

Fourth – From Mr. D.A.Arnott, Here’s a case study of how a business use of Twitter can go horribly wrong. Uncharted 2‘s Horrible Game Updates experiment

Fifth – I’m going to start a new trend with these random thoughts. I’m going to call it These are the Tech Companies in Your Neighbourhood.

I figure since I spend most of my time talking about start-ups, social media tools, internet business and the what not maybe it is time to start promoting some of the companies I meet and hear of on a regular basis. So from now on look for the Fifth link to be a link to a company (or an article on the company) from the Calgary region.

This week’s big winner is crowdsourcing-uber-champions Mob4Hire

Sixth – With the NHL Season starting yesterday, here’s an awesome article in Sports Illustrated from 1980 about the Sutter Brothers and their brash clan.

Seventh – It’s articles like this that make me wish I had more time to do Logo design work… Or at least hone my Logo Design skills. Anyways, here are another 50+ Logo Designs for inspiration.

Eighth – Because I think it’s a great store and a great example of a local business leveraging Twitter in Calgary, check out ThinkHenry.

Ninth – Apparently the Conservative Party of Canada is sponsoring the Canadian National Olympic team … I’m kidding, but I have a feeling someone from the other political parties won’t be. (via. Dave Brekenridge)

Update: Ooops. Looks like somebody is already a bit mad

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Random Thoughts For Q-Tip 2.0 · Friday September 25, 2009

Categories: The-Random, The-Music, The Beverages, The Blogosphere, The Calgary Vibe, The Humourous, The Inane, The Pop-Culture, The Southern Neighbours, The T-Shirts, The Twitter-verse

I had a different idea for this set of random thoughts, but decided to scrap it in favour of something a little lighter. So let’s talk about Practise… I’m kidding let’s talk about Q-Tip.

Yup, apparently Q-Tip is finally back with an other solo album (thanks to Kurt For the heads up). Why is this important, because … It’s damn Q-Tip and nothing in the world beats a hot day and some Tribe Called Quest. And while I’d love to embed the new Q-Tip Gettin Up you’ll have to settle for this lo-fi version of Move for the time being. (Note to Universal… Embedded videos sell tracks … Just saying)

First – Remember I was talking about Foursquare a couple of weeks ago. Well, here’s a bunch of reasons from Robert Scoble on why Foursquare might make Twitter seem so May 2008 … That’s if it ever makes it to Calgary.

Second – Bear Trap (via. rumplo.com)

Third – What is this? Is this 12-side-dice awesomeness? Oh you bet your arse it is. Dungeon and Dragons freaking Jones Soda is available now. (via. Trendd)

Forth – Ahh … Excellent! With this information it is only a matter of time before the Calgary Sun dies a slow and drawn out death. Metro Newspapers (nationwide) reachs over a million readers a week. More importantly it surpasses the Calgary Sun in the 18-34 year old readership department. (via. Ashely MacIssac)

Fifth – Great illustrations by Kelly Sutherland from the 48-hour Luddite article in the next addition of Avenue Magazine. (Which is courtesy of the article’s writter – Poploser)

Sixth – An Onion article with Levar Burton on what life is like without Reading Rainbow (P.S. It’s a joke)

Seventh – Wow, did I miss something, but when did online celebrity-video nerd ZeFrank score a gig with TIME Magazine?

Eighth – You know what? I really wish there was an app that allowed me to purchase my Starcbucks coffee directly from my iPhone. What? There’s a a fahkin app for that? … Awesome.

Ninth – This came across my INGDirect Facebook fan page. Which in itself is pretty hysterical, but it’s essentailly a updated SuperSavers account for ING with astronauts and lasers and aliens and like lasers. It’s called OrangeKids.ca. So send all the rug rats or any foresaken offspring that you may have over there so they learn how to save now … so they aren’t asking for student loans when they graduate from high school.

Tenth – This is going to be a great public relations coup for the local Christian community. A local christian group is upset over the Ganesh statue at the Calgary Zoo… You know the one that’s been sitting there for 3 years now… Yup that one.

Eleventh – Just because… Just because.

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Random Thoughts For 55 Cadillac · Friday September 18, 2009

Categories: The-Random, The-Music, The Beverages, The Blogosphere, The Humourous, The Inane, The Pop-Culture, The Southern Neighbours

Here’s an interesting article in the Guardian about Andrew W.K.‘s latest album – 55 Cadillac. Although Andrew W.K.‘s has never been mistaken for someone who mincing his words, reading between the lines reveals some of the reasoning behind Andrew WK’s sparce publicity over the past few years after the release of I Get Wet.

First – A strong and incredibly haunting photostream on flickr showing some of the ‘unique’ signage at the most recent Conservative/Tea Bag Rally against Obama in Washington D.C. (via. Mr. Jamie Rennie)

I’ll give them points for creativity, but take away 15,000 points for a combination of stupidity and historical inaccuracy.

Hell no! they even Got McLovin’!

Second – Let Kanye interrupt your Twitter Avatar.

Third – Ah…. Is there anything Overlord Obama can’t do? Dude’s a Jedi Master now. (via. Laughingsquid.com)

Fourth – It seems that the constant hatemail that Dooce receives has finally pushed her over the edge. In response she’s done what all web celebrities do and created a web site … a fantastic web site called Monitzing The Hate

Fifth – (via. kermitology) A collection of gig posters created by The Small Stakes. (P.S. I’d kill for the Modest Mouse Posters)

Sixth – Uberwine web site cork’d.com gets a massive maker over and it even has a business model.

Seventh – This is probably an old joke but … Kanye Intrupts my attempt at defending him on c.t.overdrive. (via. a slew of people on twitter)

With, that I’m officially putting to end of my Kanye jokes … for at least a week.

Eighth – An open letter to online shoe giant Zappos.com and their response to the critique.

To be honest although, I really do love Zappos’ response, but the main reason I personally won’t buy shoes at Zappos is because of their current design. I just don’t feel comfortable with it. It isn’t intuitive and although I know they are a major player in the online world, It still doesn’t instil confidence in their business and online transactions. Which is really ridiculous I know, but it’s the truth and it drives me nuts.

Ninth – For those interested, here’s more details on how close to death the Yellow Pages are. Just think about this, in five years not a single high school/elementary kids will understand what let your fingers do the walking means.

Tenth – How PBR has increased it’s market share via word of mouth and leveraging the Hipster Generation.

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