Lack of 'Pep', keeps us non-Super.

Over at Retro Thing, bohus posted a few Superman themed entries this past couple of weeks, timed to the current movie launch.  In one of entries, a 1940s Kelloggs sponsored radio program is detailed.
And now I know why I can't fly: no Pep.

Actually, I do have a favourite cereal brand.  And I nickname it as 'Super Kelloggs'.
Whenever I stay over at my parents' place, they tend to have an assortment of cereals on hand.  At some point I was undecided.  So I poured out a bit of Rice Crispies, added in some Special K, perhaps a portion of Bran Flakes, etc.  Not entirely Kellogg's based, Post's Shreddies is also a shared favourite.  I don't like Cheerios - as an ordinary cereal though.
We rarely bought any of those candy like cereals while I was a kid.  I also prefer taking my cereal with plain water.  Not that it's a personal health issue, 2% milk just feels way too sugary to me nowadays.

That's how Trudeau (and non-profit fan clubs) takes care of me.

Regularly, the public will be 'presented' with the public service announcements of CUPE.  I doubt whether their paying Liberal MP Justin Trudeau for a speaking engagement for their own support staff's professional development training will become one of those "How I take of care of' spots.  The money flowed directly out of a taxpayers' funding.
Whenever I applied myself for career training, I paid it directly myself.  One large corporation offered a payback if I passed a recogized development course.  They also sacked me in a layoff and paid me so little I needed to ask for a raise - to qualify to pay for a small apartment's rent.  And I either failed or received zero in merit recogization for having undertaken six years of post-college education.
(I also worked a year after high school - to pay for my own community college attendance.  I couldn't self-afford to attend a pre-University Ryerson.  Again, that attitude was met with educational system disdain.)
A Wateroo Catholic-split education's school board's support staff's self-serving career development training.  Organized Job Training for which they themselves wouldn't pay out for!  What could Trudeau have offered?  "Hold the mop this way.  Keep extra chalk nearby the blackboards.  And wash your hands before serving the kids an unnecessarily junky cheese-pizza lunch."
This son of a former 1970s PM and current 40-something Liberal leader Trudeau has taken a number of such increasingly expensive and publicly helpful government agencies' speaking fees.
Trudeau and the Liberals are wrong for this, and for his initial refusal of refunding a failed N.B. Senior Housing Group's money-losing fundraiser.  All of these governmental agencies, across Canada, are more wrong for shovelling taxpayer monies towards mostly and needlessly self-serving, and politically biased, purposes.

Added: More (Ont. college) agency money losing fundraisers for the Liberals and Trudeau here. As staunchly defended by ongoing Ont./Fed. Liberal party strategist W. Kinsella.

Giveaway daily puzzles.

I was skimming through today's Globe and Mail's print edition.  One of their reading sections is 'Life and Arts'.  Before I discovered a pair of daily number puzzles, on page L9, were their same-day solutions openly positioned on page L4.
C'mon.
Couldn't they have at least printed their same day(!) puzzle solutions inside another section or on a following (page-turned) page , or in small (normal article sized) type, or better yet, upside-down?
Their Monday crossword shared its space with Friday edition clue solutions listed afterward.

An Origin of Canada's west coasts' neighbour.

Throughout my first 35 years, Canadian History had this general rule: "Anything west of Toronto's Bathurst Street doesn't eff-in matter.  Okay! Okay."
So tonight I discovered, through a casual cooking contest show's mention this historical item: the U.S.A. purchased Alaska... in 1867.  The very same year as the original confederation of the 'Dominion of Canada' (mostly towards the Gulf of the St. Lawrence region).
That surprised me.  I've always known that the 49th state become so, a few years (1959) after WWII.  What surprised me is that the 'contintental U.S.A.' expanded to include Alaska, so early on during the previous century.  Today, the northern Arctic Ocean shoreline of Alaska is a major source of domestic oil production for the United States.
So which came first, the official American-Alaskan territory, or 'Canada'?
Canada formed on July 1st.  The answer is therefore 50-50+.  And did either affect the other?  To me, that's interesting.

+ Alaska came into being first (Mar. 30th).  The Alaskan Purchase (for 2 cents per acre) was nicknamed as 'Seward's Folly'.  The formal day of transfer, from Russian to American ownership is celebrated on Oct. 18th, or Oct 7th per Russia's calendar.  Russia needed the money to help pay back the Rothchild's financing of Russia's own Emancipation reform of 1861, following their Crimean War against an alliance of Britain, France, mid-19th century Italy, and the Ottoman Empire, a few years' earlier.

For Russia, the United States of America was a preferred buyer.  Spain's West Coast influence had already been sharply scaled back during the late 1840s during the (1821) Independent Mexico's war with the Americans.
BTW, ownership of the province of British Columbia's southern half was also resolved, as between Britain and the U.S.A., through the negotiated 'Oregon Country' Treaty of 1846, using the earlier Treaty of 1818's 49th parallel.
Here's an extra 19th century land treaty item: 'Fort Blunder' required a 3/4 miles border adjustment between New York state (along Lake Champlain) and Quebec in 1842.  The U.S. didn't give up the Northwest Angle mapping mistake between Minnesota with Ontario.

Another failed attempt.

I tried to apply for a job via Monster.ca just now.  (Not that it was particularly all 'that', for me.  It was still good.  CI Financial's Assante Wealth Management division had a 'realistic for me' listing.)
Somehow I went through Monster's own process, using a long-time email address with a new password / ID a week or two ago.  That surprised me, but it worked at that time.  So I figured it would be a snap again, this time out too.  It shouldn't at all have been 'rocket science'.
I couldn't tell if I logged in, or not.  No indications as to my leaving any blank fields (none were left).  I tried maybe 7 or 8 times to follow through with their apply button.  I then switched to a 'new' account email field, which is immediately next to the sign-in section's email field.  You know, I undertook some local (self-paid) computer programming University courses at night; and I had long ago scored a final 100% for a GTA community college computer theory course.  Yet here I was, and thinking huh?
Absolutely no dice.  And no surprise.  This is Toronto.  My multi-generational hometown and region.  Nothing around here ever works correctly.  We just 'tsk tsk' and assume of this city's grand, world class leading, betterness.

Sears Canada just announced that it was shuttering two of main store locations here in the GTA; the Square One mall and also the Yorkdale mall.  A third mall (Scarborough Town Centre) was also listed on a maybe status.  I mention this because, Jeesh and Damn, Sears Canada would have been a place, once, that I would have given a newborn to work at!  Yet for years, I have had zero luck with applying to Sears Canada, either for a head office or just a back of store position.  Actually, I had a failed interview when the same Toronto head office building was once for Eaton's.  Hey, at least that was something tangible; that company could at least answer their phones and emails.
Some places you just can't ever reach.  Other places simply won't hear of taking a resume.  Simon & Schuster Canada is one of the latter.  (I believe I even had a job agency once call me up - only to say 'I wasn't good enough' for that same unnamed East Toronto publishing company.  Another time, I tried calling S&S direct.  Could I forward my resume to them? No thank you very much.  They didn't "give out" contact information.)  The large Weston Group is the same way.  Lord how tried to contact their PC Financial Group.  I couldn't get through for even a lousy street address of that financial company.  And yet they had been supposedly 'advertising a position'.  Well, we now know, in 2013, how the RBC's and Tim Horton's etc., advertise and yet import foreign low waged workers to be trained here.
Actually, a couple weeks ago, S&S Canada received a governmental green light to begin a Canadian book publishing arm.  I don't understand that much; there had always been other foreign corporations publishing domestic books here.  I guess those companies were the Coors and Budweisers of their specifc industry.  No government permitted room here for any such Miller and/or Pabst competitors.
Sometimes Bell, Air Canada, and Rogers, look like bloomin' all-stars!

Lame Nationalism.

I feel partially sorry for TV interview host George Stroumboulopoulos.  This summer he has a weekend gig with CNN.  It hasn't started well.  But what did anyone expect for this?  Seriously.
I haven't seen his CNN performance, and it still very early on.  However, he's been a reasonably successful figure, here in Canada, for years.
He is on U.S. TV, and yet he is predominantly interviewing other Canadians.  Why?  Worse^ is that he seems to be interviewing only the mainstreamiest of Canuck personalities.  (George is a Canadian, too!  Oh boy, do others know that?)  As a comparison, ask around if many people truly enjoy listening to mainstream shortlisted radio.
Do you like Bryan Adams? Bryan Adams is a Canadian.  Let's all listen to... 3 songs from 30 years ago by Bryan Adams.  Every day!  I mean, I won't know about any of his other songs, current works, or about any other music artists or groups!  Bryan Adams was the only(!) Canadian music artist who can rock.
Yikes.
I feel that this is the mentality of Stromoboulopoulos' U.S. interview opportunity.  At least in Canada, he has a range of interviewees, big and less big, national and international, with something topical, interesting and/or not-interesting, to say.
Lame Nationalism.  It is deserving+ of a Not-awesome Number.


^Sure I often call for more at-home Canadian promotion!  But that's if it is comprehensive in its sourcing materials, of quality and on topic.  And still 'reasonably' open to International inclusions, too.
+ One day, I'll flashback to this entry.

Not-awesome #943

# 943.
Signing Other(s)' Names to a Card.
Too many women seem to do this.  As a bachelor male, I say to heck with that fake names-signing business.  If I receive a holiday or a birthday card (or a wrapped gift) signed by ONE actual PERSON - then it is at least honest.
I sign all my cards myself.  So I resent when other men etc., year after decade after year, won't even buy an occasional stamp for their 'signed' cards.  Your family or group doesn't all share the same hand-writing (we can tell).
Signing Other(s)' Names to a Card, not-awesome.

Last year Improv, now Quattro Pro 8.

Last summer, I hemmed and hawed over needlessly reinstalling a copy of Lotus's failed Improv spreadsheet.  Ever since, Quattro Pro from the Corel Office suite 8.153 has haunted me.  Well, I've installed that no-update copy finally.
Yea.
I guess.

I was long hoping to maybe discover another discounted copy - of a different individual or suite version for Quattro Pro.  No such luck again throughout this Spring.
Long ago I loved using the Dos and then early Windows' editions of Lotus 123.  (And those larger and heftier keyboards, too.)  I can't stand how Microsoft's Excel is almost entirely counter intuitive for how I would utilize or develop spreadsheets.
It was always a regret, years ago, that I never found the chance to use Quattro Pro.  That chance would have been within a professional setting.  Just dabbling at a home PC cannot offer the same level of program utilization.  It's nice to see then, for whomever's using the Wordperfect Office suite, it still actively exists, including for Windows 8.

A year ago I also was looking at both current freeware(s) and pre-internet BBS-listed programs.  In the process, I checked Nathan's Toasty Technology Page.   Here could be found a long history of general GUI development, plus a set of Win9-XP runable mid 1980s(!) Microsoft 16-bit accessories from Windows 1 and 2.


It would interesting - if I had, say, Bill Gates' level of money - whether old versions of substantial programs could be readily ported into new, and yet entirely unimproved, 32 and 64-bit versions.  Online can be found a few opinions of 'The Office Suite Wars'.  I know that some older games had required* a few old data and system function files to be added into my XP Pro hard drive.  I even added in a separate Windows\System folder (XP uses System32 folder.)  Lotus's 123-r5 later issued a few Milleninum era updates such as for its 2-digit year limitations and an Euro currency symbol.  A couple of 1990s games I enjoyed had required a freeware Soundblaster emulator, as that hardware component was changed over the years.  But those games and applications themselves were never altered internally.

* Actually I also recently needed to download an updated copy of d3dx9_##.dll.  That was for a new (and free) update of a favourite slide show JPEG Saver v4.9 program.

T.O. Star's reportage criticism by Public Editor.

"Unfortunately, this is not the first time Benzie has set the record straight in the Star on this pervasive legend, seemingly rooted in early (overzealous, perhaps) reporting by Toronto reporters in the days following Ray’s infamous sojourn here. Reports indicate at least one Silver Dollar stripper claimed she saw Ray there."
From the Toronto Star's Public Editor's weekend column (Jun. 14th).

Given all of its 'Chasing Mayor Ford' issue, and with this week's sizable police raids in the troubled neighbourhood he's been linked to... What is that newspaper's public editor doing here?  This item's story, about a long dead killer of a U.S. Civil Rights Leader from 45 years ago had little of current news value.  Rather it is an at-length editorial acknowledgement that a current Star reporter neglected to find out a refuted, yet widely trusted, myth before having an article submitted and published.

Summertime is here.

Time for a city cruise.

Miss Toronto cruise boat postcard.
KS-9644. A Traveltime product, published by Len Martin Sales. Majestic.

Extra: recent news article.

Summer 2013 Films I don't want to watch.

It would seem that a trend has emerged with this year's blockbuster movies.  Movies that I would like to watch, and then again - after previewing their clips - don't want to watch.

- Star Trek's most recent sequel received its immediate praise.  Then negative reviews started to emerge.
- Superman's film reboot just opened in theatres.  I've always been a Superman fan!  This version would seem to be even worse than the last film version.  Everything about this version seems to posture angst.  All the clips were cold light filtered; every colour is muted into a greasy greyish tone.  Maybe it can be retooled the way Bladerunner was long ago improved after its inital release.
- There's a Google Intern comedy.  Despite its promising promotional images and star power casting, yeah, it could well be yet another 'comedy' where the only movie laughs are those that were already included in its 30 second commercial.
- The Lone Ranger.  This movie's preview was introduced during the Superbowl last February.  Earlier this Spring, I had watched a dvd copy of an old TV episode.  LR says to Tonto, "You hold these numerous [white] men (with a gun), and I'll go into town to..."  Racially dismissed 1950s' Tonto wasn't portrayed in full face paint or by a noticeably lesser sized comical male actor.  Actually Tonto was portrayed by a real First Nations (and Canadian) actor, Jay Silverheels.
- World War Z(ee) stars Brad Pitt. While I'm already not a BP fan, I can't tell from their promotion ad whether there are supposed to be masses of people or if this movie is about hordes of space ant aliens taking over.
- Maybe there will also be a big budget animated film, shot in 3D where the characters all lurch forward and/or drop potty jokes as laughter.

Failure gets a fast reward.

Pittsburgh Penguins - recently badly swept from the semi-finals of the NHL playoffs - give their coach a two year contract extension.
The finals, between Boston and Chicago begin tonight.

Note: the Bruins have a former Leafs draft pick as their currently leading netminder.  Back during the Summer of '06, Toronto had traded and received Andrew Raycroft in return.  Despite the widespread critcisms, I liked Raycroft as a goaltender.  In the 2006-07 season, he tied the team's franchise record for most regular season wins by a goaltender (37).  That squad missed the playoff rounds by one point.  Early the next season he was replaced by Vesa Toskala.
Raycroft's regular season career NHL win/loss totals are at a virtual .500 percentage with a 2.89 Goals Against Average and a .900 Save percentage.  In the playoffs those figures improve to 2.16 GAA and a .922 Save Percentage.  He was a CHL Goaltender of the year in 1999-00 and NHL Calder Trophy winner in 2003-04.
Long story short: I won't begrudge Rask having success with Boston.

Non-citizens will now have Toronto's Vote.

H/t to Eye on a Crazy Planet.
I need to be careful here, as I am not an expert of deciphering municipal procedures.
It would appear that on Tuesday, 21 councillors have approved a Motion: "that City Council request the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to amend the necessary legislation to allow Permanent Residents the right to vote in municipal elections."  20 councillors (with the mayor) voted against this.

The 21 supportive councillors of this permanent residents' voting motion as listed are:
Paul Ainslie, Maria Augimeri, Ana Bailao, Michelle Berardinetti, Shelley Carroll, Josh Colle, Janet Davis, Glenn De Baeremaeker, Sarah Doucette, Mary Fragedakis, Mike Layton, Josh Matlow, Pam McConnell, Mary-Margaret McMahon, Joe Mihevc, James Pasternak, Gord Perks, Anthony Perruzza, Jaye Robinson, Adam Vaughan, Kristyn Wong-Tam.

I would choose to vote against this motion.  Other items, such as accomodating religious holidays and weekend observances - for a once in 3 or 4 years election - I do support.

1,200! (50-172K earners) living in Calgary's Tax-Subsidized Housing.

Jeesh.
1,200 subsidized housing well-to-do'rs in Calgary.  Reportedly these individuals are each earning anywhere between $50,000 to $172,000.
Article link is via Yahoo! News Canada.


Also: Calgary's Board of Education drops report card letter grading and personalized teacher comments. The change to a grading system of “exemplary,” “evident,” “emerging” or, “support required” is for students between Kindergarten and Grade Nine.
What happened to Alberta's no-nonsense and self-made citizen style?

Snowden's limited qualifications.

Via Quotulatiousness.ca, is an entry regarding the NSA whistleblower.
CQ: I thought he looked rather young (and a bit chippy) for holding such a confidential national security position.  It turns out he didn't get a regular high school diploma.  Didn't last six months with the U.S. Armed Forces' Reserves (training accident, no continuation).  He started as a security guard with the NSA before switching to an IT department and a 200k per year cyber analyst job.

Hey, if that's who's doing this monitoring, maybe I feel a little less concerned.  And yet, more concerned about the monitoring of actual terrorism.

McGuinty still at the (collection) plate.

Yet to say 'Goodbye Again', where is former ('Remember My Name') Ontario Liberal Premier McGuinty, who's still an actively paid MPP?
'On the Beach' or a 'Tall Story'?  This 'Ten Days Years' Wonder' of 'Friendly Persuasion' ought to be closer than 'Five Miles to Midnight' with his replacement by-election.  So what's Premier Wynne's 'Catch-22' during 'This Angry Age'?  Why is McGuinty still 'Someone Behind the Door', seemingly 'For the Term of his Natural Life'?
While Ontario is left all 'Les Miserables'; isn't there another 'The Black Hole' for this no-show gov't payroller.

Film titles of a looklike former Hollywood actor are borrowed for this entry.

Yes, a favourite TorStar writer.

After all of the hubbub flowing through politics and media and business and agencies+ - there is The Fixer, Jack Lakey of the Toronto Star^.  I just found a column posting of his from last week.
In this one he describes his former 2000's Torstar CEO as "pompous".  The issue is about another reporter getting rough-handled and fined for taking an unauthorized picture at the Metrolinx controlled Union Station.  A week's earlier Fixer column was more directed.
I had already read of some of the former CEO's local elite business career.  Per Wikipedia, Pritchard is currently the chairman of the board for the Bank of Montreal, Metrolinx, Penguin Group Canada, and law firm, Torys LLP.  He is also listed as a board member for the Onyx Corporation, and George Weston Limited (Loblaws).  The elite connections throughout Toronto run extensively.

+ Recently, The Fixer also wrote upon the FPARS budget.
^ There is a small grouping of Star newspaper column writers of which I continue to respect.  But not as many as from the Sun - which has less news reporting overall.

Too much Fly Emirates advertising.

Montreal Canada's Grand Prix race has concluded.  I missed those overpaid 'Canada' and Casino du Montreal billboards of past years.  What was in place were just a few corporations.  The most dominant was an oft-repeated banner for Fly Emirates.
With auto racing there are usually numerous corporate sponsors involved.  F1 is a very international sporting league.  Blackberry, for example, was a secondary sponsor with 3rd place finisher Lewis Hamilton's team.  They have a pair of new smartphones issued earlier this year.
I don't think that Fly Emirates should have been this event's major (most visible) sponsor.  Besides the issue of a Canadian Government refusal for allowing increased landing rights, here; the company doesn't match+ the host city.  Adding a weak Sunday afternoon sports calendar, they also received a (stronger than usual) access across U.S. national broadcasting.
In New York, insurance company Allianz had intended being the title sponsor of its latest pro football stadium.  The local citizenry objected, and that company's plans were changed.  Allianz also had a tiny bit of billboard advertising at today's race in Montreal, btw.
When women are free to vote, and drive independently, across various Arab nations, and when the United Arab Emirates' foreign national construction labourers are also better compensated, then should Emirates be accepted as an F1 event's 'top leading' sponsor.
Montreal is also the business home of Air Canada's corporation.

+ Neither did repeated Mobil Oil ads shown on NBC, while Shell Oil was this event's 2nd most visible track side advertiser.
Jun 11th UPD: Sadly, a racetrack worker died during this year's race.

Not-awesome #944

# 944.
Parachuter Pouch.
One of the events of D-day, in 1944, was the landing of thousands of Parachuters.  Earlier this year, I had also learned of carrier pigeons being basketed and parachuted into Europe.  Resistance members would send back messages - as tied to the pigeons, which would instinctively fly back to England.  It was a radio silence method for communications.  Every Bomber Plane also included a pigeon in case of being shot down.
Now compare all of that(!) to would-be modern era freefall sky adventurers.  No one, it seems, is ever allowed to actually parachute.  Instead newcomers must be strapped immediately against another parachuter's body, or pouch area.  Yet, it is a completely wide open sky.  Couldn't a 90 ft safety rope (with a 20% 'newbie' chute) provide the same level of pseudo security?
Otherwise, it really isn't a parachute jump.
Parachuter Pouch, not-awesome.

550? Not that fast.

I was watching parts of the Firestone 550 last night (on ABC, and in complete widescreen).  Given my recent Indy 625 entry two weeks ago, I was pleased.
As the saying goes, "Everything is bigger in Texas".
Then I noticed how "fast" these same cars were running.  Not being a regular follower of a full car racing season; I just assumed a 'Firestone 550', in Texas, would have been measured in miles.  The lap number at the Indianapolis Speedway would have been 220.  I started guessing that a 228 lap race was to possibly reflect a cornering or banking or a pitstop adjustment.  Leap Year days work out this way to keep the calendar measurements precise.
Except that, no.
The Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, is a mile and a half oval course.  228 laps equaled 342 miles.  And the boastive Firestone 550 identity?  That's a kilometres' measurement.
I should have realized when this car race started half an hour after the hockey game, and ended before the last regulation time goal was scored at the ending of the third period.  There were few slowdowns during the Texas race.  The car race was completed in almost exactly two hours last night.

Bruins better.

Generally I have a hate-like feeling for Boston.  Hate the Patriots and Red Sox; like the Celtics and Bruins.  Boston the music group I can take or leave; the Cars I enjoy listening to.  I couldn't care a whit about what some sports fans across S. Ontario or Canada might feel towards about Boston and diehard team rivalries.
Last night the Boston Bruins swept the Pittsburgh Penguins in their semi-final hockey series.  I hate the Penguins.  I have never liked Crosby and I dislike Cooke.  Malkin, however is my favourite hockey player in the league.  He has been that ever since the KHL was growing and NHL announcers began discounting his younger abilities; they were cautious of Malkin leaving the NHL.  I'll admit to not following other western conference teams though.  The Penguins get a lot of media coverage in Toronto.  They are like a 3rd favourite Canadian team (in Toronto), behind hometown Toronto and also Montreal.
Crosby continues to be a golden boy in the minds of many hockey experts.  Not for me.  To me, Crosby is a very boring player.
He may do a lot of the little things correctly but he doesn't display any flair IMO.  A mid-series graphic was shown detailing Crosby's recent shots.  As with most 'highlights' they were almost all from approx. five feet away at a 45 degree angle to the net.  He's a shuffler of a goal scorer.  When Malkin is featured, I can often follow as he crosses the blue line, with then duking and jiving his way through the defence.  And that is goal scoring, or attempted scoring, flair.
I felt embarassed for the HNIC commenters and announcers.  Through this short series, they just kept saying how Crosby is the greatest player in the game.  Over and over they would repeat this 'fact'.
I hope Boston wins the cup again.  I won't mind if Chicago or Los Angeles win it instead.  A Boston - Chicago matchup will be an Original Six final.  I would need to search for the last such matchup.  It was in 1979.  34 years ago.
If the Maple Leafs had progressed from their first round series with Boston; I expect that they would have turtled to Pittsburgh.  A lot of people around here simply believe that Crosby is unbeatable.  Therefore he should be given the league championship each year.  The Bruins are better and proved it.
Good for Boston in winning four straight games.

Worst Billionaire.

Here is an overseas oil tycoon, suing because an American magazine has disputedly underestimated his personal wealth for its yearly published ranking.
A news report, on television here, showed off his gold airplane toilet.  When flying, look a little farther upwards.  None of us can take it (money) with us.

Using Microsoft as an online-gift example.

Earlier today I was in an online conversion regarding business corporations and how they mis-engage the online and public sphere.  In my opinion.  It followed an earlier treat of General Motors of Canada to an already multiple industry treated (more successful) local blogger, this week.
Now, I recognize the difference of my own lowly site.  Its limited comments and page views.  An alias for its author. Its unfavourable reviews.  And so on.  I would have loved to have found any car company (etc.), in Canada, that - equally - treated other, still always left out, bloggers for a change.
I mentioned that I've had a top corner logo and specific link to GMC for a couple of years (approx.)  Maybe they, or Honda, etc. could have previously offered me a weekday pass to a local car show.  Something.  Any something that probably would have cost themselves close to nothing, at that.  Maybe they could have insisted on getting more for themselves - like a full week or month long graphic posting at a chosen recipient'(s) website.

I think Microsoft would be a better example company for me in this regard.
I've posted independently about improving, and criticizing, some of their products (with added linkage) over the years.  I had noticable (to me) traffic flow back and forth to one of their corporate blogs last Spring.  I also was in the midst of an ongoing freeware series which showcased small programs that could further enable user experiences with Microsoft's family of operating systems.  Like many companies, they have a Canadian headquarters office which I could have taken a couple of city buses to get to.
Last Summer (I recall), they did treat that same other local blogger - with an invite to an in-town Conference meeting of 15,000 people.  Maybe they could have invited me, too?  No?  And/or maybe they could have offered me a time-limited pre-final copy of Windows 8, to try out.  Or MS could have offered a similar treat of Windows 7 or Vista - during their product turns.  They have offered d/l copies to thousands of interested user testers worldwide.  Or did they really just stick with "who they know"?
This year Microsoft is scrambling to issue an o/s update that might address wide spread criticisms.  I'm not special; I don't have or believe to have better opinions.  But 15,000 conference attendees strong - just from here in my own hometown - and a failed major worldwide product launch afterwards says that my product evaluations - if asked or accepted - couldn't have been any much worse for them.

Sunday Apology to CTV.

My apology is given, in advance to the CTV network, here in Canada.
This Sunday afternoon, I intend on watching the Canadian Grey Cup Grand Prix auto race, via an over-the-air widescreen broadcast from an NBC affiliate. Before this I might also watch a portion of the French Open tennis final (a semi-final match aired on NBC's main broadcast network this morning, btw).
I am sorry for not choosing to watch CTV's repeat of Canada's Worst Driver, two epsiodes of Cash Cab, and a dreaded TV movie. I might later (on Sunday Night) also choose to channel flip to ABC's ota HD broadcast of the NBA finals (with my old 20" TV), instead of a non-simsub airing of a Law and Order Special Victims repeat plus yet another dreaded TV movie.
H/t to Cdn Crossing.

Cloudy, on a no-Sunshine day.

Alberta Conservative MP, Brent Rathgeber, has quit his governing party caucus - and is now sitting as an independent.  The issue is his private member's bill to introduce a Federal 'Sunshine' List.
Already it was comprised to a $188,000 income level.  Then the government wanted to revise it to a $444,000 transparency level.  In Ontario, we have a $100,000 baseline Sunshine List cut-off - as introduced by its then PC government in the mid-1990s.  As of 2013, that income figure has never been increased.
Meanwhile, forever political system elite Peter MacKay wishes to continue his two-tiered party leadership's voting system.  As it is his own favour, of course.
Well done, MP Rathgeber.  Even here in Toronto, I'm tired of those 'talk a big game - do less than nothing' mainly central regions' Conservatives.


Now(!) what about a 'Sunshine PENSION' list?
Fri UPD: List of seven Conservative MPs who voted to gut transparency bill, (six from S. Ontario).  H/t to BC Blue.