January 2011
1 post
Theme update for naidle.com
I probably don’t have too many people who follow this site but if you had you’d notice I’ve been a bit neglectful since June. I had expected to post throughout my trip to South America but stopped after Brazil (missing any discussion on Argentina, Bolivia or Peru). Oops.
Anyway, I’m going to make an attempt to update more consistently moving forward. Think of it as a New...
June 2010
3 posts
Jardim Botanico
Last week I stopped by Jardim Botanico which was about a 25 minute walk from where I was staying. I doubt most will have interest in flowers and fauna but I have uploaded them anyway ;)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/naidle/sets/72157624207226425/
Supposedly they have a similar place in Argentina (with the same name too) so I might check that out. No real stories here, although it was probably the...
Teresopólis, Pao de Açucar and Barra
Teresopólis
On Sunday we went to Teresopolis which is just over an hour north of the city. Unfortunately it was too cold to swim in the waterfalls but the views were still worth the trek. We split up our time in the national park (views of Gods Finger) as well as downtown Teresopolis where we took in the weekend market. There were probably 200 booths and 190 of them were all womens clothing. No...
Life in Rio De Janeiro
Well, I arrived here in Rio Thursday afternoon after a 10 hour flight through the night. The first day was hard on the senses. I was quite stressed about customs, carry-on limits and the Sao Paulo airport. Everything worked out well though and I met some great people along the way. Here are a few things that I’ve noticed so far:
People just seem happier here. They understand that there are...
May 2010
1 post
Questions About My Trip To South America
With my trip to South America fast approaching I wanted to break down my itinerary for friends and family to see while answering a few common questions. I’ve been rather lazy when it comes to updating my blog. I haven’t been in one place for more than 5 days in a row since April so that’s a big part of it. Over the next two weeks I’ll try and document what I’m packing...
March 2010
4 posts
2 tags
Top 10 Ways to Make More Money on Craigslist
I’ll be moving again in April which means it’s time to purge myself of consumer goods. I find it refreshing and liberating but at the same time I never liked the idea of giving my stuff away for next to nothing at a yard or garage sale. The expectation at a garage sale is cheap, used goods. It’s for browsers and not people with specific needs.
Craigslist on the other hand...
1 tag
6 Ways to Becoming More Productive at Home
In a previous post I had mentioned that I would follow-up with how to become more productive at home. Unlike the first part however, I wanted to keep this more straight forward. I’m learning as I go folks. Better get used to it ;)
1. Cut your TV usage by half. As I mentioned last week, if the average person spends 4 hours a day watching TV, think of ways you could get that down to two....
Ecommerce for Technology Vendors: Maximizing Your... →
Step 1 to Becoming More Productive at Home
To me time is the most valuable commodity we all have in life. Some have more than others but as a whole, people aren’t all that great with it. We create devices or tools with the original intent of shortening tasks only to have them balloon once they’re applied (smart phones come to mind). I’m going to write up a two-part series about how to be more productive day-to-day...
February 2010
2 posts
Superbowl Commercials 2010 - Taco Bell and......
As a Canadian we get tortured with bad ad after bad ad. Thanks to the internet I get a chance to take it all in. So far not good though.
Taco Bell “It Rocks, It Rocks” (…no it doesn’t)
I’m assuming this is to pay off Charles Barkely’s gambling debts..? What was Taco Bell thinking? Moreover, how does this sell product?
1 tag
The Challenge of Reviewing the iPad
There seems to be two distinct groups that make reviewing any Apple product or service a nightmare. Apple fanboys and haters. They both suck. Fanboys love everything with a bitten apple on it while haters typically rip any launch because of pricing or lack of features. Worse still are the ones who pretend to hate something only to turn hardcore bullish only days later (or vice versa).
The iPad...
December 2009
1 post
Top 5 Japanese Game Show Ideas
From digital toilets to robotic sex puppets, the Japanese are just plain awesome when it comes to thinking differently. So I suppose it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they also have some odd, yet amazing game show ideas.
For those of you who loved watching MXC I bring you a few more wonderful game shows. You can find plenty more on YouTube.
5. Human Tetris
4. Playing Soccer with...
November 2009
7 posts
Time for a Re-Brand?
Stumbling by this restaurant in Vancouver, I just had to snap a picture. I’m not sure when the name was developed but I hope it was before two girls and a cup.
P.S. Their chocolate ice cream is delish.
Microsoft Store Employees Crank Up The Douche
This reminds me of grade 6 when my choir teacher thought it would be “cool” to put a rap together in front of our parents. I chose to be sick the day of performance. Unfortunately I wasn’t sick for our rendition of the Rembrandts Friends Theme. I still feel sick to this day.
Anyway, could you imagine working at Microsoft and having to choriograph this crap? I’m still...
Turkish Ice Cream Man
This guy puts on a good, yet unsanitary, show. I’d love to see a bank teller or garbage man do something similar. How longer before someone shoots him?
Jesus Fish 2.0
This makes me want to buy a car.
Banned Ikea Commercial
…And I’m still trying to figure out why?
The Golden Age of Video - By Ricardo Autobahn
Great little montage video. Enjoy.
Mathemagic to the extreme!
Arthur Benjamin considers himself a “mathemagician” due to his love of magic and math. The latter will be more obvious in the video below. He makes rainman look like George Bush.
Thank you again TED.
October 2009
3 posts
Vodafone Symphonia
I love this kind of stuff. Great direction.
Somewhat reminds me of the Honda “The Cog” Ad years back.
CSI Sucks But You Suck More For Watching It.
If you like shows that are repetitive, unrealistic and filled with bad actors you’ll love CSI. Then again when I look at their ratings you probably are a fan (have you no shame?)…
Anyway, I always found it funny how in detective shows always find a way to gather important clues from photographs in ways that make my head hurt. Well here are a couple spoofs. Enjoy.
How to Shoot an Anvil 200 Feet in the Air
Why do I have this feeling like someone has tried this and died? In either case, check it out!
September 2009
3 posts
Steve Ballmer, YouTube Loves You
Just to continue the shit-parade on Microsoft, I thought I’d share a few great YouTube videos of Steve Ballmer, CEO of Crazyville Microsoft. For those of you who haven’t been lucky enough to witness him in action, get your popcorn ready:
Ah-Yeah, Developers remix! Never has it been so cool to program. Let’s party like it’s 01101010101110.
Now, let’s...
Does your cat look like Hitler?
The internet is becoming really, really niche. Want proof? Check out CatsThatLookLikeHitler.com
From their site:
“Does your cat look like Adolf Hitler? Do you wake up in a cold sweat every night wondering if he’s going to up and invade Poland? Does he keep putting his right paw in the air while making a noise that sounds suspiciously like “Sieg Miaow”? If so, this is...
Why does Microsoft suck at everything?
I shouldn’t be all that surprised to see Microsoft suck at something but please tell me how a director missed that rather obvious stove clock in the background? The actors managed to produce a 6 minute video in an hour-and-a-half. Bravo. They also managed to bend space/time to get the right takes.
Its as human-like as a robot wearing a potato sack… PARTY!
P.S. Vista sucks.
August 2009
5 posts
Top 3 Door Fails
#3 - Oops. No glass.
#2 - Like a moth to the sun…
#1 - Full steam ahead!
2 tags
Pringles Asks Agency to Prove Ads Work
It had to be a tough pill for ad agency Grey Global to swallow. No more billable hours. Instead the proof better be in the pudding… potato pudding.
According to Bloomberg.com: “Instead of being paid for hours clocked devising promotions for rice potato chips or crispy cracker sticks, Grey earns an undisclosed fee upfront and add-on payments for sales and market share gains.”...
GM to Sell Cars and Trucks on eBay
It’s been a tough 12 months for GM car salesmen and with the latest agreement between eBay, it’s only going to get worse. You can read more about the promotion over at the New York Times but essentially instead of an auction system, which is what eBay is known for, you can place a bid in which the dealerships can choose whether to accept or not.
Going the Online Route
Years ago...
4 tags
Do Social Networks Limit Innovation?
In a recent article by the New Scientist, some researchers have suggested social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter “reduce diversity and keeps radical ideas from taking hold”. The larger the interaction (group size) the more likely you will run into people who will disagree and potentially deter you from pursuing it further.
Viktor Mayer-Schönberger’s suggestion? ...
"Bing Goes the Internet" Jingle Winner
As reported by TechCrunch today, it looks like Jonathan Mann took home the trophy for the “best” Bing jingle of what must have been a clear stack of winners.
I’m short of words for how bad this is. I’m assuming it’s a joke but based on the announcement it looks to be real.
Microsoft reminds me of that Great Aunt who thinks it’s “cool” to sing...
July 2009
6 posts
iTunes App Store to Add Keywords?
It took me several years but I finally joined the iPhone bandwagon (with bells on of course). I love the device but after trying to search for a few popular apps out there I realized iTunes leaves much to be desired. With 50,000 apps and a search function that reminds me of AltaVista it’s not surprising that Gizmodo picked up on a request from Apple to all app developers: “It is...
Apple Rejects Google Voice iPhone App http://su.pr/AmUNFv
Oh, and added to Technorati - tu9wdrp824
4 tags
Slow Cow Anti-Energy Drink →
It’s one of those products that slaps you in the forehead when you see it. So obvious and marketable you wonder why you didn’t think of it yourself. Neverltheless it was a great idea by Couche-Tard to develop a line of anti-energy drinks for those wound up individuals out there.
Let’s hope it doesn’t taste like a cross between milk and Red Bull.
March 2009
1 post
“If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be...”
– Warren Buffett