I have always had a little pet peeve when it comes to tractors on the highway. I’m mostly referring to front-loaders* and dump trucks, because I pass them every day.

Yesterday while driving to work I was coming up on a dump truck. Not wanting to drive behind because of previous bad experiences (a rock flew up and cracked my windshield on two separate occasions) I began to over take him.

Then I heard a sound I could only describe as a meteor bursting through my car.

It was a rock. And it came from under the dump truck.

Note: This isn't my windshield. I brought my car in to be fixed before I could take a picture.

That’s 3  cracks on my windshield from rocks on the ground that fly up as dump trucks run over them.

The first couple of cracks I chalked up to bad luck. Now I’m really considering how often this must happen to other drivers.

There must be a lot of windshield cracks out there from this same effect.

In fact, I asked my insurance broker out of curiousity if this is a regular claim.

“You wouldn’t even believe how many claims we get.”

Why hasn’t anyone acted to correct this?! Insurance companies are spending a fortune and it’s creating major headache for you and me. Not to mention the safety ramifications of flying rocks while driving.

Obviously the government cannot ban these vehicles from the highway, but surely something can be done to prevent these problems from happening in the future.

This is dangerous. I am a composed driver, but if my mother was behind the wheel when that rock his my car there would have been panic. There could have been an accident on the highway yesterday. The kind that could be avoided.

Perhaps regulating better mud flaps to deflect rogue stones. Perhaps limiting the speed of these trucks to a speed that will not catapult rocks as they drive over them.

Alternatively I could stop using the highway and take a route that takes four times longer but why should I have to drive the long and painful route?

What can we do to fix this problem?

* It came to my attention yesterday that front-loaders, which are always driving along the shoulder of the highway, may not be driving legally (someone told me a vehicle must be able to reach the speed limit to be allowed to use that roadway. Not sure how best to verify this) and that they have to be loaded on a flat-bed truck to be carried on the highway. Consequently when these tractors are givin’er on the shoulder of the road, they are pushing loose stones out on to the highway.

Rants Dump trucks, Outer Ring Road, Tractors

Upon hearing that there would a live action movie of Avatar, the Last Airbender, I convinced Riss that she would have to watch the show so that when the movie came out we would be ready for it.

We finished watching it together last night  and it was just as good the second time around as the first.

Of course, by now people have seen the movie and warned us about how terrible it is.

Being a man who likes to come to his own conclusions on movies (I liked Alice in Wonderland) I convinced Riss that we still had to go see the movie.

Well we did and now here is my unbiased objective review of it.

Directing: 0 / 10
I doubt the director was even on set

Screenplay: 0 / 10
Did anyone read this? Actors even?

Cast selection: 1 / 10
Surely there was somebody out there suited to one of the characters from Avatar. Aang could have been good if they played to his happy-go-lucky character, but they didn’t. 1 point for potentially finding a diamond in the rough.

Acting: 1 / 10
There must have been a competition between the actors to see who could stink the best. It was an all-way tie. Hat’s off to Yue for not competing in that challenge.

Characteristics of characters: 1 / 10
Iroh is seen drinking tea in one scene.

Special effects: 1 / 10
I have to give them 1 because they did a better job than I could do, with my lack of education or experience in the subject, but the ice couldn’t look more like clear plastic.

Sticking to the original storyline: 3 / 10
Any Holywood production is going to lose points here because you have to make a movie appeal to a wider audience and shrink the duration to make the movie withstandable to those stuck in the theatre chairs for a few hours. I’m not going to say it was great (they did manage to convert good dialog into rotten feces), but it was certainly the best part of this movie (next to the Fire Nation ships; those were badass).

Pronunciation of names:  2 / 10
Congratulations of pronouncing Katara, Appa, and Zuko right out of all of the characters from the show. By the way, their names are announciated clearly enough in the cartoon series that you can pick out what they are. Who the flip is “Uung” and “Aero”?

Everything else: 1 / 10
Just in case I didn’t cover anything.

Overall: 1 / 10
This may be a tie with Hally Berry’s Catwoman. I only give it a 1 because they went through so much effort to entertain us. As bad as it was, they tried. (I could only really give them a 0 if they did not finish the movie really… Actually, I might have given them a 2 if they had not finished the movie. Too bad they did).

RE: The Last Airbender showing in your theatres

Dear Empire Theatres,

You are supposed to be a business. As a business, are you not concerned about people losing faith in the quality of your product? Have you not read reviews or seen the movie for yourselves? Or heard your costumers complain about?

You may think I’m speaking in jest, but I want my money back. As well as compensation for the time wasted in this movie.

By that way, that was not a jest.

I understand that not everyone is going to enjoy every movie as everyone has their own opinion. Unfortunately this movie is the exception since how much it sucks is grounded in fact, not opinion.

Please stop showing this movie immediately and send me a cheque for the money I am owed. You can make the cheque out to: Gregory Pike.

Thank you. I am sure you will not slip up like this again.

GregPike.ca

RE: The floating turd you recorded from your toilet

Dear M. Night Shyamalan,

I do not understand how you could hate such a great show so much to go through such lengths to make a mockery of it. I mean, you could have written a blog post or tweeted or even just punched a pillow. There really was no need to disrespect such a great franchise.

Please eat a turtle shell and choke.

Sincerely,

GregPike.ca

PS: Book 1 was a great spot to end off. In fact, the first scene was a great place to end off. Unfortunately you let the whole first book unfold into your vision.

Editors Note: Just found some more fire power.

“If any movie ever warranted a class-action lawsuit against the filmmakers, it’s The Last Airbender.”—Keith Phipps, AVClub.com, June 30, 2010

“The Last Airbender is an agonizing experience in every category I can think of and others still waiting to be invented.”—Roger Ebert, June 30, 2010

“Once ‘A film by M. Night Shyamalan’ promised suspense and power, but that was 11 years ago. We must stop enabling him and not pay to see this garbage.”—Matt Pais, Chicago Now, June 30, 2010

“He hasn’t mastered the craft yet, but M. Night Shyamalan may be on to something with this action-movie thing.”—David Bowles, USA Today, July 3, 2010

“[S]ome unsolicited advice for Mr. Shyamalan: Stop writing. Direct, but let others write. Don’t produce. Don’t adapt. Don’t polish someone else’s screenplay. And last thing: drop the over-the-title credit. Besides being another sign of hubris, it’s no longer deserved.”—Mel Valentin, Cinematical, July 4, 2010

“But Shyamalan’s strengths as a director are formidable, and unlike other auteurs we’ve written off, we’re genuinely hoping he can get his groove back.”—Bilge Ebiri, New York magazine, in “Don’t Give Up On M. Might Shyamalan,” July 7, 2010

“If you describe someone as ‘a filmmaker of rare talent and creativity,’ as I did, and then they follow your vote of confidence by releasing Lady, The Happening, and now The Last Airbender (currently the worst-reviewed movie of the summer, below Furry Vengeance and Sex in the City 2) on an unsuspecting public … well, let’s just say I wouldn’t blame anyone who cited Shyamalan as exhibit A in the case against my critical acumen.”—Ross Douthat, NY Times, July 7, 2010

“The current national priorities should be as follows: reduce carbon emissions and stop funding the films of M. Night Shyamalan.”—Cliff Doerksen, Chicago Reader, August 5, 2010

These quotes are from Blastr: 40 kindest and cruelest things ever said about M. Night Shyamalan

Interest, Rants, Service Avatar, Empire Theatres, M Night Shyamalan, Review, The Last Airbender

Well despite all my defending Mount Pearl to my St. John’s counterparts as a man who grew up in this city, it seems I was wrong, in a sense.

I know a few people who ought to enjoy this post.

If you compare the indices below you can see that Mount Pearl is virtually only ever average or below (though it should be known St. John’s in much in the same boat). Part of this can be accredited to our education system, part of it can be accredited to our dependencies of St. John’s.

For instance, everyone assumes Mount Pearl has no arts scene because there are never any events held in the city. Well that can almost single-handedly be attributed to the fact that there is no infrastructure to handle it. Consequently Mount Pearl artists show off their wares and talents in St. John’s. The Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl is trying to combat that.

I am sure there are other factors that Mount Pearl’s averageness as well.

In the same census, St. John’s is ranked as the single highest improver in a 5 year span, skyrocketing from a total score of 65 to 80. Yes, better than Mount Pearl. I said it.

From Yahoo News: St. John’s impresses in Maclean’s magazine’s ranking of Canada’s smartest cities

Local News, Rants Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl, CLI, Mount Pearl, St. John's

Well, I’d have a hard time selling that statement. But you should be careful when using it.

It’s not mere coincidence that my last post was regarding Facebook’s charmingly lengthy privacy statement and this one is about Facebook’s privacy issues.

It all comes out

Recently the internet has been abuzz of Zuckerberg’s early IM conversion regarding privacy. Here it is below:

Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard

Zuck: Just ask.

Zuck: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS

[Redacted Friend's Name]: What? How’d you manage that one?

Zuck: People just submitted it.

Zuck: I don’t know why.

Zuck: They “trust me”

Zuck: Dumb fucks.

Of course this conversation is completely out of context and for all we know it was a big joke. At the time of his posting this Facebook was still a relatively small website and did not have a lot of social power. It may not have been on his mind to be so careful about things he said to friends.

On the other hand, the Facebook community has been continually rallying against privacy policies changes, usually accusing Facebook of attempting to sell personal data to third parties.

I figure Facebook will continue to do what it does best and beat it’s hornet’s nest of a privacy policies until eventually it stops getting stung. Of course it’s a big nest with lots of hornets.

The recent Facebook controversy has made me seriously consider the level to which I will use the website. A friend of mine has completely removed his account because of it.

I doubt many of you will follow that lead, but you should, at the very least be ever mindful to the personal information you are giving away.

Because you also have to bear in mind that if Facebook owning your personal life isn’t enough, the fact that Facebook’s website are hosting in the States means your information belongs to the Department of Homeland Security whenever they want it.

Rants, The Web Facebook, Privacy Policy

My friend Jedediah Baker submitted this short clip (along with some of his portfolio) when applying for a creative position at The Idea Factory.

I think the idea of submitting a job application without a resume is a terrific way to stand out.

I have always complained about references on resumes. I hate that they are such an integral part of the resume because they penalize the loyal employee. After working my last position for two years my old references seemed obsolete. One of those references was a professor I had one semester who I am sure could barely have tons to say about a student she hadn’t seen in years.

Anyways, I thought this a very clever way to combat the traditional resume.

Comedy, Interest, Rants, Videos Jedediah Baker, Resume, The Idea Factory

I think it says a lot when three of the top four worst companies in America are back in contention for this years Consumerist Worst Company in America contest.

Bank of America, Ticketmaster, and Comcast are no strangers to this competition, and I think that speaks very poorly of their customer service.

Cash4Gold made a surprising first round elimination of the incumbent AIG, who was awarded the title last year. I think that also says a lot.

There were some companies that came out punching, but managed to get eliminated in the later rounds. The big shockers in my opinion were Apple and PayPal.

Not that I’ve ever had particularly great service from PayPal, but their service for me has always been good or fair.

And I can only presume Apple did so well in this competition because of growing pains and the launch of the poorly received iPad.

I know most of my readership is Canadian, but who is your pick for worst company of the year?

From Consumerist: Meet Your Worst Company In America 2010 Final Four!

Rants, Service AIG, Bank of America, Cash4Gold, Consumerist, Ticketmaster

I have been arguing this for years, but bottled water consumption in a place like St. John’s is totally needless.

Some large corporation is making billions off your cost-of-bottled-soda purchases.

Furthermore people are spending ridiculous amount of money on something that is better provided for free. Especially in St. John’s where tap water is clean, healthy, and delicious.

Has it occurred to bottled water buyers that Memorial University stopped vending bottled water for a reason?

Check out this infographic to get an idea what you are getting yourself into when you drink bottled water.

Key points:

• Bottled water is 10,000 times more expensive than tap water (when it isn’t already free)
• 40% of bottled water is nothing more than tap water
• Bottled water often does not meet health standards
• Bottled water is not tested for e. coli
• Bottles are wasteful, very few are actually recycled.

Rants Bottled water, Memorial University, St. John's

I can’t say it should be illegal, because undoubtedly some people do need to use studded tires.

But the average intra-city driver does not need studs in their tires. Why people in St. John’s are adamant to have studs when they are driving on slush-cover asphalt is beyond me.

If wearing studs was neutral to city infrastructure I wouldn’t mind. But it’s not!

Studded tires cause severe damage to roadways when under regular use.

They are banned in some states in the US because of the damage they cause compared to the relative safety benefits they provide. Studded tires only perform better directly on snow or ice and have less traction when on asphalt.

“Pavement ruts caused by increased wear from studded tires can cause the dangerous conditions of trammeling, hydroplaning on accumulated water in the ruts, excessive road spray, and premature damage to pavement markings.”

To top it off cars with studded tires require as much as 1.2 to 15% more gas than cars without which contributes poorly to the environment.

It is still a matter of great debate between the advantages and disadvantages of using studded tires, but those who use them tend to contend they are safer. Studies show that radial tires actually offer comparable safety without all of the asphalt damage.

I rant about this today because it is clear that studded tires have become very popular and you can see it in the roads of St. John’s. There aren’t many roads in the city right now that aren’t adversely affected by the use of studded tires.

People who use studded tires should be subjected to a tax that goes to pay for fixing the roads they destroy.

From Washington.edu: Studded Tire Information
From Tire Information World: Studded Tire Report

Rants Radial Tires, Roads, St. John's, Studded Tires

The logo for the London 2012 Olympics has been circulating for months, but it was only today I read an article that displayed the logos for each of Olympics, including some logos for cities bidding on the Olympics.

The official logo for the London Olympics in 2012 is a disgrace.

It is not uncommon for Olympic logos to not contain the five Olympic colours, blue, yellow, black, green, and red, but the colour choice usually has some significance.

I can’t imagine what significance the bright pink and yellow has other than maybe that the 1980’s happened in London.

The design is totally retro, but completely lacks the cool appeal of retro.

They were looking for something “dynamic, vibrant, contemporary, flexible and inspiring” and they may have hit all those elements but they also could have designed something classy.

And it doesn’t come as a surprise that the logo came with a price tag of approximately $650,000 CAD. I can respect that the marketing company Wolff Olins invested considerable time researching, collaborating, and designing, but the committee selecting the brand for these Olympics surely could have challenged Wolff Olins to make the best possible logo.

My expectations are that Jem and the Holograms perform at the 2012 Olympics in London based on the logo.

Rants Logo Design, London, Olympics

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

It just crossed my mind why Jean-Sebastien Giguere is a great fit for the Leafs. Experience. Obvious, I know. But here’s why.

The Leafs have been playing all season with two young aspiring netminders who have had an incredibly inconsistent season. Wilson had the Leafs defense working hard to keep the puck from reaching the net. (In fact, the defense was practically forbidden from entering the attack zone.)

Unfortunately the puck always eventually gets through.

And when it did, all it would take would be a sharp shooter or a good rebound to put the puck in the net.

Now that Giguere is there that same hard-working defensive mentality is there, but when the offense reach the net, they aren’t facing a rookie. They’re facing a Venza-winning Stanley Cup goaltender who is ready for both the first shot and the second shot.

Now Giguere has 60 saves in back-to-back shut-outs.

Interest, Rants Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Toronto Maple Leafs