Terminator Chronicles

Okay I know Terminator Chronicles (aka Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) has been cancelled for 2 years now. Still for anyone who loves the Terminator movie series, the TV show is an excellent addition to the mythology of the story.

Despite being cancelled the show has been picked up by, as of February 22nd 2011, the SyFy channel announced it had gained the rights to all 31 episodes of the series. They started showing them as of April 7th 2011.

So ta da! Its back, sort of.

As TV shows go I give Terminator Chronicles a solid 5 out of 5 stars. Fantastic plot, good actors, lots of action, and lots of unexpected and interesting goings ons.

IN OTHER NEWS

On April 27th 2011 it was announced that a 5th Terminator movie is on its way, starring former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger. Woot!

Arnold is also hoping to make one last Conan film apparently... something to do with King Conan and having to make difficult decisions as a leader. Of course this might just be a lead up to Arnold wanting to run for the White House. (Assuming he can overturn the law that says people born outside the USA cannot run for the presidency.)

Welcome New Reviewer, Vanessa

Today Product Reviews Canada gets a new reviewer... Vanessa from Montreal (aka Fiona Blue).

If other Canadians wish to join us and review products, please contact us.

All that we ask is that you follow a number of rules.

#1. All reviews must be entertaining and informative.

#2. Photos and videos help. They're not mandatory, but a good idea.

#3. The most important part of a good review is personal opinion.

Damn Expiry Dates!

I got two Cineplex tickets for Christmas 2010, but apparently I didn't notice the expiry dates on the back... March 2011.

Basically the tickets were only good for 3 months after I received them, and the movies during the Winter were all sucky so I didn't bother to use the tickets right away. I was thinking of saving them for the next Harry Potter film...

NOTE TO SELF: Must remember to sneak into 2 Cineplex movies for free sometime. Jerks! Its their own fault for sticking expiry dates on their tickets.

Kudos to Walt Disney World... their tickets NEVER expiry. They're good FOREVER.

Faxe Beer, not so good

Last night I went to a BBQ with friends, and thought it was BYOB. I misread the invitation however and it was only BYOM (Bring Your Own Meat).

But whatever.

En route (and under the impression it was BYOB) I popped by the LCBO at Yonge and Dundas and browsed their impressive selection of beers, trying to decide which beer to try and review.

I chose Faxe Brewery's "Extra Strong Beer", a 10% brute from Denmark which had an "okay" taste, but left me feeling queasy despite a normally cast iron stomach which was full of meat, bread and potato chips.

This leads me to believe Faxe's beer isn't so stellar (I would have been better off buying Stella Artois, from Belgium/UK)... so I give it a dismal 2 stars out of 5.

The queasiness later wore off and I slept like a baby, but my opinion of Danish beers has been significantly hurt.

I like the viking on the logo, but that just goes to prove vikings will drink any crappy beer.

My Hunt for Summer Sandals & Sunglasses

I HATE SANDALS.

There, I said it...

That done and over with, my reasoning for wanting a pair of sandals may seem flawed.

Its going to be hot this summer. I don't want to be walking around in socks and shoes when I could be barefoot with nothing but sandals between my feet and the sidewalk.

Now as to the reasons why I hate sandals...

#1. I hate plastic shoes. Crocs, flip flops, anything like that is complete crap. The plastic gets too hot and they end up feeling sticky. Any sandal I buy will have to be made of wood and leather.

#2. I hate the straps that go inbetween the toes. They're damn uncomfortable. My goal therefore is to get something more like a Roman sandal, with two strap that goes over the top of the foot and one that goes around the ankle. Anything else will be "pootahed" as absolute garbage.

#3. Sandals get sand and dirt in them too easily. You keep having to remove them to get rid of any grit that has gotten under your foot. I am hoping that whatever sandal I buy its easy to take off when needed.

#4. Sunburned feet... nothing I can do about that except wear sunblock on my feet.

After the sandals the other thing on my agenda is to find sunglasses similar to the blue 'John Lennon' esque sunglasses I had back in 1997-1998. The blue lenses were shiny and tinted in a way that they changed colour slightly depending on the lighting and the angle you were looking at them.

I remember when I first got those sunglasses my friends tried them on and EVERYONE looked good in them. They were the most perfect sunglasses ever. Sadly they were later stolen by an ex-girlfriend (that bitch Kristin Greeniaus, who also stole my favourite bandanna from New Mexico) and I never saw them again.

So my goal is to find sunglasses exactly like them. A challenge I admit, but one worthy of attempting. I did at one point a couple years ago find purple sunglasses similar to the blue pair, but they just didn't look as good. MUST FIND THE HOLY GRAIL OF SUNGLASSES!

Air Conditioners and Keeping Cool

It was so gawd awful hot yesterday I decided to go over to Canadian Tire and buy a new air conditioner.


For $135 (tax included) I think I got a bargain. A Garrison air conditioner with 5,250 BTU. Admittedly 5,250 BTU doesn't seem like a lot when there are other air conditioners on the market that go up to 12,000 BTU, but those are frankly outrageous and overkill.

5,250 BTU doesn't just keep my apartment cool, I don't even have to run it all the time to keep the place cool. It works so efficiently I frequently find myself saying "Its too cold in here!" and I turn it off.

The point I want to make is that you don't need a big expensive air conditioner to get the job done efficiently. Modern ACs are already very energy efficient and assuming you keep it clean and in good working order it will provide years of coolness even in the height of summer.

The beauty of the air conditioner I bought is that it comes with a remote so I can adjust the digital temperature, fan speed, timer, etc from a distance. Sweet!

Now some people out there might be cheapskates and decide they don't want to buy an air conditioner.

In which case you will be looking for a nice fan and other tricks to keep cool.

#1. Buy a fan that is BIG and LOOKS NICE. Speaking for myself I got a stainless steel fan years ago and have loved it ever since. Its fast, does the job and doubles as an object d'art.

#2.Freeze Pops... This is more of a nostalgia thing for me. I remember growing up and eating ice cream, Freeze Pops, sundaes, etc a lot during the summer. Last summer I got the small ones and they made for a nice cool snack, but I found I kept eating more than 1 at a time. This summer I opted for the extra big ones. Each 150 mL Freeze Pop has 100 calories so I don't recommend overconsuming them since they're essentially just flavoured water with sugar.

#3. Run cold water in your bathtub, sinks, etc. This is for the ultra cheapskate who doesn't pay the water/electricity bill.

#4. Add wooden shutters to the outsides of your windows and curtains on the inside. Close them when its super hot out. Some super cheapskates might also block the sunlight out using tin foil on the window.

Amusing Heineken Beer Commercial

They're trying really hard to look kewl in this ad. So much that it becomes cheesy. The guy ends up looking like an idiotic show off.

But whatever, I still like Heineken anyway.



As beer commercials go I still find these ones way more funny...

The Walking Dead, Pillars and Thrones

I recommend watching the following TV shows:

The Walking Dead



Pillars of the Earth



Game of Thrones

The Spotted Dick, 81 Bloor East

I keep coming back to "The Spotted Dick" located at 81 Bloor Street East.

And why not... the name is amusing (it has to do with Dalmatians, not diseased penises), it has WiFi access, its good for business meetings, casual get-togethers and dates.

The food is excellent (above par for pub food) and the service is more than adequate. On a busy night the service may be a bit slow, but that is to be expected.

And I really like the big painting of the Dalmatian on the east wall.

If that doesn't interest you there is also "The Duke of York" (39 Prince Arthur Avenue), which is the pub I suggested when my parents visited Toronto for my birthday. Its more upscale, more classically British, and the service / selection is fantastic. Expect to pay a bit more than a regular pub however.

Voice Recognition Software = Horrible

TECHNOLOGY - I just spent over an hour trying to use Windows Voice Recognition software on my Toshiba notepad. It was horrible, as you will see from the text below. It didn't seem to matter how many clearly I enunciated my voice, it still could not write down what I wanted properly.

Clearly voice recognition software has a long way to go.

I thought it might be a way to make blogs easier, just talking to the computer in a clear voice and let it do the typing, but apparently even my clearest speaking voice is too difficult for the computer to understand.

I wanted to try and write this blog post using the voice recognition software, but it was too difficult and I got an headache. (I recommend Advil or Ibuprofen.)

At several points I even swore at the computer and told it was wrong, but even those epithets wasn't correct. Maybe someday the software will be better, but not yet.

Consider the following a bit of 'failed voice recognition poetry'...

"All glen Ellen and you hear me all I think that is wrong. The way at the above long island online one I've

A lone figure entered

On the line and all I am writing you age alive at anchor and camp

All I am a liking the throat
To an hour
To enter key rough and cover your
enter
For

IN right thing to

Ole annual lighting
Your citizen after the lawn and garden machine after
For

All I am writing the weary of being a recognition voice recognition of where of where of where I live off when the water ridge road conditions of where
In
And

Recognition are lower

All one wall of the recognition withdrawn commission vowed not

Let an issue and the wearer with a vision of where a event of an all I have been better and I live"