Great Advertising, Questionable Product

I read about two very interesting things this morning when I woke up, and both have stuck with me throughout the day. The first is an advertisement for an optical company. The second, a product that I won't mention until you get to it.

1. Advertisement for Oogmerk Opticians (Digg.com)
This is simply a case of great, catchy advertising. It was on the front page of Digg this morning, and it is not hard to see why. It's catchy, memorable and uses imagerary instead of words to get its point across. Unlike most ads for glasses featuring stunning models, this ad used simple cartoon characters. Still, it was able to get it's point across without anything else. This is why I loved it so much.

2. Cheeseburger in a Can (Gizmodo.com)
I don't even know where to begin with this. First, you can click here to order one for yourself. Second, realize what you are doing. You are ordering a cheeseburger, IN A CAN. Third, the cost of it is almost $6 CDN. So, not only are you going about ordering something you can get for $1.39 at Wendy's, you are getting it in a can, which all but points out the fact that it must be the farthest thing from fresh. I don't even know how a company could go about selling it. At the same time, I am so intrigued and want to try one.

Monday Morning Weight Change Week 3

Monday Morning Weight Change

Monday is an important day for me in my current lifestyle. Every Monday is another week past in my quest to get to 250lbs. Today marks the two week mark that I have been making an effort to lose weight. My starting weight when I went onto this challenge was 313.8lbs. Today when I stepped onto a scale I was down to 300.2lbs. I consider that to be a very good loss. 13.6lbs in two weeks. I am very happy with myself, but I won't be fully happy until I hit my goal.

What have I been doing to achieve this goal? So far, just eating right. Very right. I typically have large flake oatmeal for breakfast, a small salad for a lunch with lots of vegetables, a second small salad three hours later with the addition of chicken for protein. As the afternoon passes I tend to have a little snack that varies by the day. I have a dinner typically with a meat (chicken or ham) and lots of green vegetables. I end the night with celery and natural peanut butter as a snack. It's been working great so far. Cut down the carbs, cut down the sugar, eat well, eat often.

This week will allow the introduction of some more regular exercise. I want to get back into yoga, and cardio to help speed up the process. I also look forward to the benefits of both practices. In a month I plan to add weight training into the equation as well.

As of next week this MMWC will be a video update.

The Sad State of Job Acquisition

So after examining my financial status, I've realized I need to get myself a part time job for my last few months of University. Although I am not impressed with this realization, it is the only possible option besides more loans (and I don't want more with only three months left). So in a bout to quickly get a easy, "decent" paying job that is close to my house I've determined I have three
possibilities. One being Best Buy. Two being Starbucks. Three being LuLu Lemon @ Masonville.


Since it is late at night and I am bored I decided to examine the application process for Best Buy. Sure enough, instead of going into the store, or speaking to a human, I am force to fill out a long winded online survey to "assess my capability to be a potential hire".

Now, at first it made sense. Asking me if I had retail experience, knowledge of the product area I wanted to work in, and if I was allowed to work in Canada. Instead of ending those questions with the submission of a resume, I began a period of question and answers. Again some of the questions made sense, but the longer I spend doing it (about 15 minutes, and answering 5-10 questions a minute) the less intelligent it seems.

The question I just answered was "You avoid doing favors for people when you know they will never pay you back". Options for an answer are "Definitely Yes", "Probably Yes", "Probably No" and "Definitely No". Now, I am starting to get the feeling these questions were designed by a psychologist specializing in employment and hiring. This theory is simply because I have now answered several questions that are VERY similar. Some add that it is a family member, some say it was only for $1.00 and some ask if I should be fired for doing so.

For the question at hand, is it for a friend? A family member? A random person on the street? Do they want me to jump their car? Build them an ark? What is this "favor" they are expecting me to perform and not get repaid? These questions don't have any basis to determine employability because they are so subjective.

It's sad that a company has taken away someone's job of actually reading a resume and making a hiring decision and instead dedicating it to a series of trivial questions about my personal beliefs.

Update: After writing this, the next question I was asked used the same scale mentioned above. The question was "Do you ever feel guilty about being late for work? Even if it wasn't your fault". Come on, yes I will feel guilty if I slept in, or just didn't feel like being on time... but if I got run over by a reindeer, I might feel like its a justifiable excuse!

Update 2: Okay, this one takes the cake! About ten questions after the last one I mentioned... "Do you enjoy comedians who make fun of the audience"? How in any way does that determine my employability? I love when a comedian tears on the audience, but I'm answering "probably no". Why that... because I might actually enjoy it, but they probably don't want me to!

Update 3: Now I'm just going to keep a list of the "stupid" questions this is asking me...

• "Everyone you know tries extra hard to be friendly"
  
• "These days people have to fight extra hard for what is rightfully theirs"
  
• "Some people just have it in for you."
  
• "People are always nice to you"
  
• "It bothers you when people ask you stupid questions"
• "You enjoy stories about telling people off who deserve it"
• "Your mood sometimes goes up and down"

What I found ironic about the fifth question, was that the question itself was in fact, a stupid question.

Social Media, Web 2.0 & this thing called "Technology"

I find it humorous to sit back and look at the extent to which technology influences my life on a daily basis. Now, I am not referring to technology such as my fridge, car or electricity. I specifically am interested by voluntary technologies that I organize and dictate my life by. Recently my girlfriend said to me "get off the computer, why are you always on that thing anyways"? This made me begin to consider the effects that certain technologies (SMS, PDA's, Web 2.0, Social Media) have on society and the level of their acceptance and implementation amongst different genders and generations. In fact, this has become the thesis for a paper I am writing this semester.

Regardless, what set the ball in motion was when I sat down and outlined the "technologies" that keep me up and running. In fact, if all of these were to disappear in one simple moment, I believe I would just stare blankly into space wondering what to do next. Well, I think I could figure it out, but it would be such a change from the past 10+ years of my life that it would not come easily. The following is a simple outline of what I use daily, and how I use it. This is my inspiration for my paper.

Microsoft Outlook - This replaced my paper calendar three years ago and I've never looked back. Having it on my laptop at all times, and being able to invite attendees and have constant reminders of where I have to be make it an essential part of my day. It's also nice to have my daily tasks managed right inside it, and receive my e-mail. This program is almost never closed on my trusty HP Laptop.

Blackberry Pearl - This hands down was the most addicting toy I have ever bought myself. Although I've only had it a month, it has completely changed my life. In fact, I rarely find myself needing to bring my laptop around since I can answer e-mails, look up information and get in contact with everyone I know. On top of that, it complemented Outlook perfectly which eliminated carrying my laptop in tow. The one click synchronization of all my daily events lets me always know where I have to be and when.

Apple iPod - I still remember the day I coughed up $700CDN to own a 1st generation 10GB iPod. I've since owned a shuffle and a 30GB iPod Video. Having music with me at all times, plus the ability to take large files and watch videos has made countless hours in airports, planes, buses and trains seem like nothing. I'm currently waiting for the iPod Touch to have a major revision before I take the plunge on it.

Memory Key - School work used to be centralized on my laptop. Then I had to transfer files to my desktop to print, or take my laptop places to work on files. Instead, I just use a trusty 2GB memory key. I keep all my school work on it so no matter what computer I am on, I always have the most up to date versions of my assignments. Perfect!

Facebook - Now we get into some of the social media and web 2.0 sites that keep me coming back to my Laptop. Like everyone, Facebook plays a major part in my online life. Although it used to be fun to browse walls, and look for friends, I now find it to be an essential part of organizing my social life and discovering what is going on. It's easily replaced e-mails, phone calls and text messages as the easy way to arrange a fun night. Set up an event, send it to whoever, and voila.

Flickr - Another pivotal site in my daily life. Having been a pro member for almost two years now, Flickr ensures that wherever I go I have access to my photos. Also, if I ever happened to loose the hard copies (digital hard copies) then I have them backed up. It's also perfect for sharing photos with friends and family. The one issue I have with it is that it's basic account is severely limited. Still, once you go pro, this site is excellent and worth every penny.

Twitter - This is my newest Web 2.0 site that I have integrated into my daily life. Although it honestly serves no real purpose to me, I find it fascinating to update throughout the day letting the world know where I've been and what I've been doing. It is also a nice touch for the blog to keep some content always changing.

Blogger - I started designing web sites when I was 10 years old. I'm now 22. I still find using an install of Blogger easier to manage my blog than spending any time customizing my own. Mainly out of laziness. Still, it provides me with everything I need to have a fully functioning blog since my coding skills are stuck back in 2002.

Youtube - This is everyones dirty little secret. Who has not spent an entire Saturday browsing videos of dutch kid's singing pop songs, babies laughing, people whining about their lives and watching music videos.

Traineo / Fitday.com -These two sites have been crucial to my weight loss goals. In fact, I feel like plugging that I am down 14lbs in the past 9 days! Regardless, these two sites allow me to get support, keep logs, and constantly remind myself that I am one day closer to my goals.

Netvibes -I only discovered Netvibes a week ago and it already has taken over my homepage. It simultaneously gives me important information from Facebook, access to my Twitter, Flickr and Youtube accounts. It also brings me breaking news from all my favorite sources and does so in an easy to use way. This is quickly becoming my favorite "web site".

What I find most interesting is that with all of these, I don't even find my laptop to be as essential as it was a short year ago. They have allowed me to take my essentials everywhere I go, and have them accessed at the drop of a hat. Overall they all take a small portion of my day, but also allow me to live the life I want. My girlfriend might never understand how I could spend 15 minutes logging food into my Fitday Journal, but it keeps me going.