Cool

Windproof Umbrella – Senz Original

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Sparking Silver Senz Original

I’ve had bad luck in the last couple of years with Umbrellas in Montreal (merde il pleut). The first double canopy umbrella I had was large, and worked great. I lost it at Mister Steer (which has amazing burgers by the way) and was devastated when I came back and it was taken. Next I bought a small umbrella on the go recently because it was raining a lot, only to lose it a couple of days later. Finally I bought one that has a feature that if the umbrella inverts it doesn’t break easily. However it is sort of broken after a really powerful storm rolled through town.

We are now getting more into the raining/snowing season, so I decided I need a new umbrella. After about five minutes of research on the net, I bought the Senz Original which can stand wind forces up to 100kph/70mph which pretty much makes it wind proof. According to the manufacturer it plays with the wind instead of fighting it. One really cool design point is the higher front which allows you to see in front of you. I can attest that’s an important feature to have in an umbrella since others almost always block your eyesight. So you can head on over to the manufacturer’s website to check the umbrella out (I bought mine on eBay) and watch the video of it in front of a wind tunnel below.

Update: I changed my order for the larger Senz XL.

Ps. I still really hate Internet Explorer, the backend of wordpress looks so squareish compared to Chrome, Firefox, and just about every other browser.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPVzNEFAaho

ArmaniExchange.com 15% off coupon code

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Today I received an email from Armani Exchange with a link to get 15% off (valid until Oct 10th 2010). However they did not provide the coupon code in the email. I quickly found the code deciphered from the link and posted on retailmenot.com (coupon code site). I also thought I would share it on my website. It works on the American and Canadian sites, however there are some stipulations on the Canadian site. Also at the same time they are running a $50 off every $150 which can be combined with this offer, so you can save a nice amount in the next few days!

Of course clicking the link will take you the American site. If you live in Canada you have to go to the Canadian Store by selecting “Canada – Shop Online” from the drop down list in the bottom left of the site. As usual the savings are better if you live in the States, and the selection is much better. I found that out after having six items in my cart at a really good price. Anyways enough with the complaining, you can find the coupon code below!

Armani Exchange 15% off Coupon Code (valid until Oct 10th 2010): 15OFF100310

Bixi, One year later

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Montreal has had the Bixi bike for a little over a year now, and as a member I find it a great way of getting around the city or even just for a joy ride. Today my one year membership comes to an end (until I renew it), and these are the stats that are in my online account. Although recently I have been angered by the availability of the bikes at night, I still love Bixi. Over this year, I have made 297 trips, totaling a cool 47 hours, and traveling 565 kilometers or 351 miles for you imperial folk. The mileage though is approximate, because it does not actually measure how much you bike, but the time spent biking at an average of 5 kilometers per hour, I figure that I bike faster than that though. Finally we have greenhouse emissions, I would have used 142 kilograms of carbon emissions if i was using a car, and 40 liters of gasoline.  Overall I really like using the Bixi bikes, and love the online statistics and thought I should share!Bixistats

One Planet Version 3 by harajukumatt

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While everyone enjoys art, not many people agree on what is beautiful, or good art. Today I found a really great piece of art that everyone can probably agree is great art. This piece is called One Planet Version 3 and is a creation by harajukumatt on deviantart. It is available in white and black. He has given the OK to share and distribute it, but remember give credit when doing so. On the the deviation page, it says it was even featured on an Australian TV show too!

One Planet Version 3 on Deviantart

ONE_PLANET_VERSION_3_by_harajukumatt
Click on the link above to download full sized versions
ONE_PLANET_VERSION_3_by_harajukumatt
Click on the link above to download full sized versions

TinEye: Cool image search engine

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Today I was looking at pages that referred traffic to my site and I traced them. I found one very interesting link. TinEye is a new Image search engine, that can find where similar images are on the internet compared to ones that you upload or link to. Someone had uploaded an image of Mfi Multiloader and TinEye linked back to my site. However I noticed that it saves searches in its database which might cause some privacy issues.  None the less this search engine is really cool, and is already being used by Adobe, Associated Press, Digg. If you still don’t understand how this works, just take a look at the video on the faq page.

Montreal is great in the Summer! (Videos)

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[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/9jP_hf2_HlY" width="576" height="324" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/LqPWTWHmR4g" width="576" height="324" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/ohDOLPodfdM" width="576" height="324" allowfullscreen="true" fvars="fs=1" /]

I have not posted recently because my parents are in town, and I am busy spending time with them and being a tour guide. With that said I have had a lot of exciting video to capture and thought I would Share. If you like the videos and would like to know anything about them let me know.

First Video:

1. Medieval Battle in Mount Royal (Happens every Sunday in the summer at Tam Tam Park)
2. A Band in the Old Port
3. A Painter in the Old Port
4. A Human Robot in the Old Port
5. A Bicycle stunt rider in the Old Port6. An Acrobatic Duo in The Just for Laughs Festival

Second Video:

1. Just for Laughs Stilts People
2. Just for Laughs Drummers
3. Just for Laughs small Parade
4. Just for Laughs Musical Van
5. Just for Laughs Pogo Guys (Double Backflip)

Third Video:

A crowd gathered around a performer singing a bunch of songs mashed up into each other. Reminds me of Playing for Change.
Stand by me, and In the Jungle, they actually sound good mashed up together!

Photo of the day – Stats from my first day of using Bixi

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Bixi Stats

Yesterday I received my Bixi key. Bixi is a public bicycle service in Montreal. So I was so happy to receive my key yesterday, and I biked around and discovered parts of Montreal that I have never been to. As you can see from the stats I drove 39 KM, saved 10kg in greenhouse gas emissions, and 3 Liters of gas if i was to have riden a car for all those trips. If you want to know where these figures are generated from here it is: The distance you traveled is an estimate, calculated using an assumed speed of 12 km/h and depending upon the time of use. Source : Vélo Québec.
The reduction in greenhouses gases emitted is an estimate calculated according to The Urban Transportation Emissions Calculator for a light passenger vehicle, depending upon your estimated traveling distance. Source : Transport Canada, April 2008.
The amount of gas saved is an estimate calculated according to Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE ) norms for tourist vehicles, establishing average gas consumption of 8.5 litres/100 km. Source: Environment Canada.

Photo of the day – Salvation Army Clothes Drop

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A couple of my closest friends have finished University here in Montreal, and have moved on with their lives. They left some old clothes behind that were going to be thrown away. I decided to take it to the Salvation Army, so they can benefit someone that needs them. We Should all donate whatever we have lying around that we don’t need.