At NorthGeek, above all, we love cars, mountains, and adrenaline. So when Travis Pastrana attempts a flying attempt at the fastest rally drive up New Hampshire’s Mt Washington, we’re all ears, eyes, and sweaty palms.
Bonus: here is more video eye candy. Ken Block drifts up a wall. It even makes a Segway look cool:
(via Jalopnik)
This past weekend, the Tour de France came to Quebec.
It is extremely remarkable that Quebec City and Montreal hosted the ProTour. The ProTour is the season long series of races around the world and mostly in Europe, but very rarely in North America. The last time a similar race was held in North America was in Montreal in 1992.
These world’s best cyclists from the very select ProTour teams (there are only 18 of them) raced two road races on Friday in Quebec and Sunday in Montreal. The ProTour squads were joined a Canadian national team which is being directed by 1988 Montreal winner Bauer.
And what heroic racing and deafening crowds. Watch the final kilometres of the Montreal race here:
Rabobank’s Robert Gesink from The Netherlands apparently climbed the big hill, the Camilien Houde in Montreal, in 3 minutes and 45 seconds, the last lap and 16th of the race. This is unreal, and so hard to comprehend from my best — 4:45 or so.
NorthGeek’s own Chris Manitt shot this video on the downhill, for some appreciation of what they do — the pace and concentration:
Here are the final kilometres of the Quebec race:
The ProTour will be back for at least the next four years. Did you go see it? Was it promoted well?
If you haven’t already, go check out Omni-Tracker. These guys build affordable, professional-grade camera dollies for everything from a Flip to a RED ONE. I, personally, look forward to getting my paws on one for some Hollywood-esque pans with my Canon Rebel T2i.
I’ve been in touch with Warren over at Omni-Tracker, and he sent me this sexy time lapse clip, apparently shot using a prototype motorized Omni-Tracker dolly. Can’t wait to hear more, and when we do, NorthGeek will deliver the scoop. In the meantime and in between time, enjoy:
Ever wonder what it would be like if the damage you caused your vehicle in a racing video game were actually real? Well, wonder no more – thanks to this cool contraption, you can actually damage a real piece of machinery. Granted, it’s just a remote-controlled car, but still. Crash in the game, and cause some real damage. Good luck. Thanks to our buddy Brian at Black Book Design for this tip.
UPDATE: I meant to say that pro OUTDOOR baseball lives in Canada – please forgive me, Jays fans. I’m not forgetting about Toronto’s MLB team, it’s just that this experience really gave me that “now, this is what sports should be like” feeling.
If you haven’t yet, go check out Nat Bailey Stadium for a Vancouver Canadians baseball game. This minor league club, currently at 11-11 and 4 games back of the first place Everett AquaSox, know how to put on a show for their fans. Nat Bailey Stadium, at Main and 30th in Vancouver, is a beautiful and well-maintained outdoor ballpark seating just over 5,500 loyal fans (I think – although Wikipedia disagrees). Tonight’s game, the third of five home games in a row against the Yakima Bears, was a special “fireworks” evening at the stadium – with ongoing entertainment following Vancouver’s 10-1 crushing of the Bears. The club didn’t disappoint – winning big for the first nine innings, and putting on a spectacular pyro show after the game.
Aside from being in a fun and energetic setting among the thousands of fans, in an open-air (packed) stadium, with the sun heating up the perfectly manicured natural grass field, there are plenty of things to keep the whole family entertained. Mascot races, animated beer and hotdog guys roaming the stands, and more – including a choreographed dance by the club’s grounds crew after the 5th inning at every home game:
I took this next video with my phone to send to my friends back home in Montreal, to show them how magical local baseball is:
Tickets to see the Canadians play are just $12.50 and less – depending on your student status, age, and whether you buy packaged deals. They also do a great job hosting groups in picnic or BBQ areas, and they even offer corporate boxes. The kids have a blast, too – even if they’re not into the baseball, there are plenty of activities and areas to keep them entertained.
While at Nat Bailey Stadium, be sure to check out the Canadians Baseball Hall of Fame – see who has worn the C’s uniform. It’s pretty impressive! Who knew Sammy Sosa once lived in Vancouver to play for the Canadians?? Also, keep your eyes open for General Manager Jason Takefman – he’s got a pretty amazing story!
Here’s a short clip from the fireworks show after the game:
GO CANADIANS GO!
I’ve been looking at buying a new boat for some time now. My budget is somewhere int eh range of, oh, $300. That’s not $300,000, and definitely not $300,000,000 – I mean $300. One boat I will not be buying, is this one:
Don’t get me wrong – I’m not not buying this boat because it’s the coolest looking THING I’ve ever seen with multiple 52″ LED TV’s inside it, certainly not because it’s powered by two 4610HP engines, and not even because it comes with a pretty cool tender – an 880HP twin turbo V12 handcrafted sports car:
The reason I’m not buying this boat – if you must know – is because when I called the designer, he told me that $300 wouldn’t even be enough to buy the universal remote for the main entertainment system, let alone buy the boat.
This magnificent combo of marine (and land) engineering is a product of Strand Craft. Contact them here.
July 7, 2010, TORONTO: Sony Ericsson has announced a global software update for Xperia™ X10 which is available to Canadian customers. By visiting www.sonyericsson.com/updateservice, customers can update the product software for optimal performance and get the latest enhancements. This update focuses on improving the general performance, power consumption, speed and responsiveness of the Xperia™ X10.
Once upgraded, the Xperia™ X10 will include:
To upgrade the Xperia™ X10, please follow these steps:
1. Before you start, back up your contacts, messages, media files, bookmarks, calendar, tasks, notes, etc.
2. Go to www.sonyericsson.com/updateservice
3. Select your phone – Xperia™ X10
4. Install and run the update by clicking on the link “Download here”
5. Follow the instructions on your computer to connect your Xperia™ X10 and update the software.
This past Saturday was Vancouver’s The Cheaper Show, where the public was asked to come out to support ‘local’ artists, buy any of the 200 artists’ pieces onsite for precisely $200 each, and, well, be seen. While I have issues with arbitrarily pricing every piece at some mitigating level and the spectacle of selling art instead of being able to enjoy it, it was a very slickly run event, ultimately benefiting new, rising artists and new, curious art buyers.
Unfortunately, if you showed up after the doors were blown down by the first attendees, much of the highly sought work was already sold. Those red dots meant you were too late. And they really just indicated that the more established artists’ discounted work was the secret to such an event. Hell, if that were my work, I might have placed the red dots on my work before the event started. Most people notice the red dots moreso than their own perceived value of the art, and I was not the only person punching the names of memorable artists into my iPhone.
Still, it would appear that the brand of The Cheaper Show is beyond needing high profile artists anymore. So what’s next, more local events across the land for their respective cities’ new artists?
On that note, ironically, here were my favorite artists, all of them local to Vancouver — The Cheaper Show used to be only Vancouver artists, so I thought I’d stick to that. Check out all their linked sites. And support local art, because, well, Stephen Harper won’t.
In reverse alphabetical order:
Nathalee Paolinelli:
Editor: Welcome to new NorthGeek contributor Chris Manitt!
Like many Apple loyalists and perhaps those who were just plain curious, I was anchored at my office desk last Tuesday to watch Steve Jobs make his annual keynote address from the World Wide Developers Conference in SF. Of course when I say “watch the keynote,” I’m referring to how I was reading live blog posts from those who were lucky enough to be there in person. Even still, reading the posts, as they popped up on my screen giving me the play by play, I was excited to hear what Steve had to say, what new innovative products Apple was bringing to market and most importantly – why I had to have them.
What made this Keynote different from others was that in the weeks leading up to it, a much publicized lapse in judgment let the “new” iPhone see the light of day a little sooner than expected. I still had faith in good old Steve in being able to wow the crowd at the WWDC not only because of an inevitable “one more thing…” but because Steve hadn’t yet told the masses the “why,” even we thought we only knew the “what.”
iPhone 4. We knew what it was going to look like, had a pretty good idea of what it was going to do, but expectedly I was still surprised at how much more there was to it. While Steve explained that there are over 100 new features in iPhone 4, he only focused on 8. Of those 8, the following stand out in my mind the most:
iOS4. While this was previewed back in the winter, there was still much to learn about the next evolution of the iPhone OS. Again, many new features were announced and given their time in the spotlight on stage. But without being able to have the OS on my growing number of i devices yet, here’s what’s keeping me dreaming in i’s:
Does anyone else feel that more and more the updates to the iPhone OS are looking like the jail broken versions that have been available over the years since the iPhone was released? Am I alone here? I’m an Apple traditionalist. I update software via Software Update the day it comes out, I buy my Apps through the App store and I’ve never hacked my iPhone. Why would I want to? The reasoning I use is that someone at Apple believed in a given feature enough that they felt it was perfect for the iPhone. It didn’t need to be fancy, it didn’t need to be flashy, it just needed to work and that’s exactly what it would do. When the iPhone 3G came out, I had an answer for every criticism that was thrown its way. There wasn’t video functionality for a reason, cut copy & paste wasn’t needed either and why would you ever need a faster iPhone anyway?
John Gruber wrote a fantastic back page column in MacWorld last month. It really put Apple’s yearly ground breaking innovations in perspective using the simple analogy of building a snowman. You’ve got to start off with a solid base (iPhone 2G), add a middle section (iPhone 3G), add the head (iPhone 3GS), then add the buttons and carrot nose (iPhone OS 3). If Apple came out with an iPhone 3GS running OS 3 in 2007, it probably wouldn’t have been as good as it could have been because, as we’ve seen, Apple takes the time to build things one step at a time. They won’t ever take a next step unless they’re sure that the one that preceded it has been firmly established. In a way, it’s managing our i-expectations.
Oh and “one more thing”, this entire post was written, edited and submitted via my iPad. Yes, it may look like a giant iPod Touch or iPhone to the uninitiated, however once you get your hands on it you’ll know why it’s much more than that. Currently I use it at home as a replacement to the iMac that my wife uses for her writing. From the night that I brought it home, I use it more than my iPhone. In fact, I find myself using it preferentially for email, browsing the web and, of course, discovering the multitude of purpose-built iPad Apps that don’t have anything on their iPhone brethren.
No, it’s not something I would break out on my morning commute – because that’s what my iPhone is for. My iPad is a device that I use at home and at the office, that, for me, completely replaces any need I would ever have for a MacBook. I upload, edit and print photos from my iMac. I walk, talk and message with my iPhone. I sit down, email, web surf, and browse my entire photo library with my iPad. I’ve never done that on my iMac! That says something to the UI or lack of one on the iPad that makes me want to browse ALL my pictures and not just a a few here and there.
So, “what do i want?” No, it’s “what do i need?” iPhone 4 will be yet another addition to my Apple collection that I can’t wait to get my hands on.
Many people believe that it’s fair to say the marketing industry has changed more so over the past decade or so than it has since its inception. Classic marketing techniques such as direct mail, print and radio advertising are no longer considered to be nearly as effective as they were in the past, and have been eclipsed by digital marketing. The advent of technology has changed how people consume media, which has had a direct effect on how marketers reach their target audience. Digital marketing is without a doubt the future of the industry, and it is best for agencies to jump on the bandwagon early before it is too late to get with the times.
Social media is perhaps the most popular aspect of technology to emerge in the last few years, and has quickly become an institution. With websites such as Facebook and Twitter, people have never been able to integrate their online and offline lives together better than they can now. Since so many people spend a good deal of time visiting and updating their profiles on sites such as these, marketers have come to realize that there is no better way to reach people these days than through social media. Taking advantage of social media sites can make marketing easy and inexpensive.
Marketers use social media in a variety of different ways. Most social media sites sell ad space, which can be used to target either a national or local market. Marketing agencies are learning that since these sites can target someone based on their location it is not much different than advertising in print, yet it costs a whole lot less. On top of these methods, marketers are also starting to set up their own Facebook and Twitter accounts so that they can report any type of news or events. If the page is fun and interesting to read, it may even be possible to develop a following of people that you can market to on a regular basis. Using social media to this effect is perhaps the single most important thing agencies can do.
About the author: James Mowery is a computer geek that writes about technology and related topics. To read more blog posts by him, go to online dating.
