Owner: Chris Chen.ca URL:chrischen.ca Join Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 05:23:34 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A blog that asks whether we should drink the digital Kool-Aid. Site statistics:Click here
Is Second Life Getting Too Real? 2007-04-11 01:26:10 After reading Brown Thoughts’ post about Best Buy setting up a Geek Squad Island I had to offer my take on this virtual world. I’ve followed the MMOG Second
Life (also called SL) since it started back in 2003. It’s become a true phenomenon that’s quickly losing its “game” status and quickly becoming real life for its users (Merriam Webster’s Online Dictionary defines a game as: an activity engaged in for diversion or amusement).
Based on usage stats from Second Life
creator Linden Labs, users are engaging in much more than a diversion:
As of April 8th, 2007, Linden Lab reports 5,429,495 subscriptions and growing rapidly.
Second Life has been taken by storm by companies trying to sell their stuff. Businesses, in addition to Best Buy, that have established presences in SL include (to name only a few):
20th Century Fox - premiered X-Men: The Last Stand
Dell - sells PCs
Disney - promotes various movies
IBM - held a meeting about MMOGs
Mazda -
Ain’t Too Proud to Beg - Now Gimmie My Zune John Chow! 2007-04-06 11:52:21 John Chow, is giving away a free Zune
for posting an entry about the giveaway and linking to his blog that helps you make money on the internet.
Normally, I wouldn’t pimp out my blog like this but c’mon, it’s a free Zune! And for anyone that knows me personally, they’ll tell you that when Chris hears the word “free”, his ears perk up like a dog that just heard the jingle of his leash and his master asking “wanna go for a walk?”
Yes, Chris likes free stuff.
free, john chow, zuneShare This
Read more:Proud
More Transformers Movie Screens 2007-04-06 03:35:05 The release of the first ever CG-ified Transformers
movie is getting closer (07/04/07). I posted a couple of the new one-sheets a while back. Now I have some new screen captures from the film itself. This movie looks better and better with every trickle of new info! Check them out and tell me what you think.
And if you think you’re the ultimate TF fan, enter Yahoo’s contest: Fanaticon and prove it.
I worked with this guy that made a wicked Optimus Prime costume last Halloween. He had speakers built into the back of the suit that were hooked up to his iPod, rocking out the TF theme song! To quote him: “Walking to work this morning was… interesting.”
He so could have kicked ass in the contest.
halloween, optimus prime, transformers movieShare This
A Site for the MyBlogLog fans - MyBlogLoggers.com! 2007-04-05 18:00:22 MyBlogLoggers.com is an up and coming blog about the blog networking site that you can’t get enough of: MyBlogLog. That’s a lot of use of the word ‘blog’!
Participating on MyBlogLoggers.com is as easy as 1-2-3:
You can register on MyBlogLoggers.com and share your thoughts on MyBlogLog; promote your own site (hold the spam of course); announce contest or happenings from your own blog; or write about whatever! I personally have used MyBlogLog as a way to meet other bloggers and to drive traffic to my relatively young blog.
MyBlogLoggers.com is also running a promotion in which the most active commentator will receive a $25 Google Adwords coupon, and a randomly selected individual that writes a review about MyBlogLoggers.com will also receive a $25 Google Adwords coupon. Sweet deal.
Hopefully this little review of mine wins!
bloggers, drive traffic, google adwords, mybloglogShare This
Gotta Love the Title 2007-04-05 09:44:45 Keeping up with the Chens
Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Status symbols in China used to be pretty limited. But a booming economy has changed all that. A recent survey by market research firm TNS found most middle-class Chinese (64%) say they associate owning luxury goods with success, and just 1% said they associated luxury goods with superficiality. China now accounts for 12% of the luxury goods market.
chenShare This
Read more:Gotta
, Title
Axe Towels Rule 2007-03-30 01:22:38 I’ve always enjoyed the Axe commercials, although their products smell like crap. However, their towels rule like monkeys that bring you cold beer.
Source: Geekologie
axe, commercials, style, towelShare This
Vista Shares the Xbox Live Love 2007-03-29 19:00:32 My friends and I have hoped for this for a while now, but only recently has it been announced that Microsoft Vista
will allow gamers to play against Xbox
Live gamers! I’ve messed around with Vista but didn’t see any real advantage of upgrading from XP, but this is certainly a reason to run out and get a copy of Vista as well as a Live subscription. You’ll have to buy an XBL Gold Membership, but it’s certainly a better alternative for PC gamers who want to experience the honey-like goodness of XBL without having to buy an X360 console.
Here is an excerpt of the press release from Microsoft:
Microsoft Corp. today announced the extension of the Xbox LIVE® games and entertainment network to the Windows® platform, bringing together the most popular online console game service with the most popular games platform in the world. Debuting on May 8, 2007, with the launch of the Windows Vista™ version of the Xbox® blockbuster “Halo® 2,” Games for Windows — LI
7-Eleven to Become Kwik-E-Mart. Woo-Hoo! 2007-03-28 22:50:50 To coincide with the upcoming Simpsons movie, 11 7-Eleven
storefronts will undergo a makeover to resemble full-fledged Kwik-E-Marts!
Does this mean the cashier will dress like Apu?
To add to the Springfield feeling, you’ll be able to buy Krusty O’s, Buzz Cola, and Squishees. No word on whether Radio Active Man comics, Duff, or Laramie will be available though.
I can’t wait to watch the CNN report about the smart-ass thief, dressed as Snake Jailbird, that robbed the Kwik-E-Mart and took off in Lil’ Bandit, only to be chased by Chief Wiggum. Now that’s some Springfield awesomeness.
Here’s what the Times Dispatch said about this:
It appears as though the world’s largest convenience store will get Simpsonized, though 7-Eleven Inc. said the deal isn’t done yet.
But at a company event yesterday in Richmond, officials showcased their planned promotional ef- forts with major upcoming films, including “The Simpsons Movie.”
If all Read more:Become
It’s Official: Google is the Best Place to Work! 2007-03-28 21:00:30 If you haven’t already heard, Google
is the search engine that’s been kicking ass and taking names since its debut. Now, it’s also an ass-kickin’ company to work for, not only because of their perks, but because of the value they place on their employees. I know that I’d mentioned Google might be evil in a past posting, but how can a company that offers such employee flexibility and trust be bad? According to this segment, Google receives 3,000 job applications a day! Some of the perks include free gourmet meals, on-site doctor, massages, $5,000 discounts for purchasing a new hybrid vehicle, and a whole lot more. If Google is truly evil, it looks like a hell of a lot of people want to come to the dark side.
Don’t worry, I don’t work for Google (though I’d like to) and I don’t get a referral fee if you get a job there!
And if any of you are Googlers, I’d be very interested in hearing your take on what it’s like to work Read more:Official
, Place
New Transformers One-Sheets 2007-03-28 19:58:21 For anyone that knows me, I’ve been a Transformer fan since I was a wee lad. When news of the upcoming movie was announced, I screamed like a little girl at a Britney Spears concert! There’s been a fair amount of secrecy surrounding this movie, but we’re slowly getting insights as its release date nears. Below are the newest one-sheets - you can see Optimus Prime and Megatron (although you wouldn’t necessarily know it by looking at it - weird rendition!).
Click the pics for larger versions:
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been hyped about this movie since it was announced. Michael Bay better do it some justice!
Source: Ain’t It Cool News
megatron, movie, one sheet, optimus prime, poster, transformersShare This
Read more:Transformers
, Sheets
Who Wants Free Fonts? 2007-04-12 22:08:20 If you’re like me (if you’re not, then you should be) then you drool at free fonts. Free fonts are like free pens: you need another one like you need a hole in the head, but dammit you just can’t resist picking it up because it’s FREE.
Chris likes free.
Head on over to Fonts
500 to claim the zip file of your freebies and thank me later.
Some of the fonts included are: aardvarkbold, aardvarkcafe, abaddon, abbey_m1, aberration… c’mon you don’t expect me to list them all, do you? There’s 500 of them!! Check out the site for yourself and enjoy the goodness of free stuff.
freebies, free fonts, free stuffShare This
Second Life a Second Time 2007-04-11 22:02:30 My earlier post about Second
Life (SL) prompted me to look for more info about the type of people that “play” (or live) in this virtual world and try to understand what the heck makes them tick. It must be pretty frickin’ sweet for someone to spend the majority of their day in it! As one guy in this video puts it, “There’s no game to it, it’s very much like life.” Hey buddy, newsflash: life is like life, not some virtual world where you can makeup for all your real-life shortcomings. After watching this, I conclude that Second Life
rs have several common characteristics, specifically:
Nerds
Introverts
Possibly socially inept?
Longing for companionship
A little creepy perhaps?
I figure there’s a reason why someone flocks to SL like a fish to water - they gotta be having issues in the “real world”. I figure it’s like The Wizard of Oz: You enter this dream world with supposedly powerful/influential figures that you think
I’ve Been Drummed 2007-04-11 18:00:08 Just passing on the link exchange love because that’s what it’s all about! Brown Thoughts included me in his, so I’m keeping it going. It’s kinda like standing up for the wave at a hockey game. You don’t want to suck and not keep it going do you?
Brown Thoughts - Analog Ideas in a Digital World
Peopleized - People interview People!
Andrew Kuo dot Net - Web 2.0 Entrepreneur
Eastwood Zhao dot COM - Fellow Vancouverite
John Chow dot Com - The Miscellaneous Ramblings of a Dot Com Mogul
If you have been “drummed” just make a list of 5 blogs of your choice including the blog that drummed you.
The beat goes on.
drum, link exchangeShare This
Free Starbucks Coffee on Earth Day 2007-04-14 19:07:07 For anyone that knows me (and maybe some who don’t), you’ll know that I’m a Starbucks
whore and that I love free stuff. I’m not ashamed to admit it. In fact, I’d drink their delicious cups of dark roasted awesomeness everyday if they weren’t so expensive. On that note, have I got a deal for you!
Bring your favourite coffee mug into Starbucks this Sunday, April 22nd and receive a free cup of java in recognition of Earth
Day. Starbucks has ran this promotion on Earth Day
in past years so this isn’t a surprise. If you bought a coffee from SBUX anytime recently, have a look at the bottom of your receipt to confirm my claim of free coffee! It should read something like this:
“Use a tumbler on Earth Day, April 22, & we’ll fill it with brewed coffee - on us! Even better, receive 10 cents off each time you reuse it.”
The only thing better than a hot, steamy cup of Starbucks coffee is a FREE, hot, steamy cup of Starbucks coffee!
Read more:Coffee
, Free Starbucks
The Quest to Raise My Alexa Ranking 2007-04-14 13:34:57 I’ve been blogging for a little over two months now and so far it’s been both enjoyable and a learning experience. I’ve learned about SEO, link exchanges, the world of WordPress Plugins, trackbacks, pingbacks, and a little thing called an Alexa
ranking.
Alexa started in 1996 as a toolbar that showed web surfers where to go next based on traffic patterns. It was eventually bought by Amazon for $250 million in stock (cha-ching!) and the rest, as they say, is history. So, I’ve set a goal to get my blog into the top 100,000 of Alexa ranked websites. There’s no time frame for this goal. I’ll just keep plugging away until I get there. There have been rumblings about the accuracy and validity of one’s Alexa ranking, but this isn’t a concern to me.
Why not, you ask?
Because my quest to raise my Alexa Ranking
is not about proving something to anyone or qualifying for any affiliate programs, but rather a personal goal for me and my blog.
(more& Read more:Quest
2,000 Words Project - 1,999 To Go 2007-04-15 21:23:41 Kool Aid.
That’s my word for the 2,000 WordsProject
by Nick Pruett. Why Kool Aid you ask? Because it’s delicious, flavourful, and has a kool mascot.
I’m not sure why he’s...
My Newest Niece Olivia (aka Poi) 2007-04-17 23:31:06 I took this video while Olivia
was still in the special care nursery at Lions Gate. I swear she smiles at us after!
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baby, olivia, poiShare This
Read more:Niece
Pimp Your Rig with Free Vista Icons 2007-04-17 20:22:05 I don’t know about you, but I really like the new Aero glass styling of Microsoft’s Windows Vista
. So anytime I see anything resembling its glossy interface, I’m all over it like a...
Read more:Icons
Dave Chappelle as Rick James 2007-04-17 02:26:24 I was watching the Canucks game (won 2-1 it OT!) with the guys last night and my boy Karl started doing his Chappelle
-Rick James
impression. Damn funny!
So I had to find the skit to relive the...
Read more:Dave Chappelle
, Rick James
How to Piss Off Your Girlfriend FAST 2007-04-20 20:51:29 Surfing the InterWeb, I stumbled upon this little gem. It’s funny how the dudes almost forget their girlfriends are even with them!
bikinis, boiling point, funny, girlfriends, mtvShare This
Read more:Girlfriend
Will Ferrell’s Funny or Die - The Funny YouTube Killer 2007-04-18 00:34:19 Funny
or Die is a new video sharing site brought to us by comic-genius Will Ferrell
and his production partner Adam McKay. Basically it’s a YouTube
that offers new and veteran comics (like Will Ferrell
) to strut their stuff. Kinda leaves me thinking why not just use YouTube?
Similar to YouTube, you can post, rate (either funny or die), comment, and link to videos on the site. The clips that get enough die votes get banished to the Crypt, but can be resurrected if they get 1,000 votes. I guess the Crypt is like Purgatory, which means Purgatory doesn’t have any funny people!
This is Will Ferrell’s “The Landlord” (click the picture to play the video). It’s vintage Ferrell! I crack up just looking at his face:
Check it out, there’s some seriously funny shit on here:
Circle Circle Dot Dot - Bad-ass Lego dudes
5 Worst Candies in the World
Rent-A-Mex - Look at him go!
Only the funny people live on.
Download Squad has more info too.
comics, funny Read more:Killer
My Blog Experiments 2007-04-24 09:31:46 My blog is almost three months old, so it feels like a good time to review my experiences in the blogosphere thus far. Upon starting this blog, my initial goal was to figure out what it took to generate a modest presence in Google, Yahoo, Alexa, and Technorati and how to go about doing so; I undertook a few traffic generating experiments which I’ll now recap and comment upon. Going forward, my blog will change a little: there will be more original content (opinions, commentary, ideas, etc.), more personal content (i.e. stuff happening in my life), and more cool stuff I find around the web that make me laugh or go whoa! Conversely, you won’t see any link exchanges, participation in random blog lists, or contest entries.
(more…)
alexa, contests, crappy content, experiments, google, link exchange, memes, quality content, reviews, technorati, traffic, yahooShare This
Common Schemes by Blog Whores 2007-04-27 18:00:07 Blog Whores
(come in different forms) are rampant on the Internet. They’re not hard to find and don’t hide what they do. In fact, they’re proud of it!
To proliferate their underhanded efforts to game ranking systems (Technorati for example) while producing crappy content, the whores of the blogosphere have devised a number of common schemes. The result of these schemes is a tidal wave of garbage content that possibly prevents quality content from being found in Technorati, Google Blog Search, or other blog tracking systems.
There are a few common link exchange schemes (and yes, they are schemes) and why they’re schemes:
(more…)
big guys, blogs, blog whores, crappy content, gain traffic, google, link exchange, newbie, pagerank, quality content, technorati, whoresShare This
Read more:Common
, Schemes
TELUS Apologizes for Canucks Screw-up with $15 in Free Money 2007-04-26 18:00:40 TELUS contacted me in response to TELUS dropping the ball during the final game of Canucks
vs. Stars playoff matchup. They’ve credited my account $15 + taxes to smooth things over, and I accept this gift as a gesture of “I’m sorry for ruining the game!” It’s nice to actually get something for my emotional distress and mental anguish.
Good on TELUS for responding quickly to their mistake.
Chris likes free.
canucks, chris likes free, nhl, screw up, telus, vancouverShare This
Read more:Screw
, Money
, Free Money
Blog Whores and Pimps are Polluting the Blogosphere 2007-04-25 18:05:55 I’ve been blogging for a little over three months, and after experimenting with my posts, reading other blogs, and talking to fellow bloggers, I’ve come to realize that the blogosphere is polluted with “Blog Whores
and Pimps”: Bloggers who use their gamed rankings to artificially increase their PageRank, and with the resulting traffic, make money by pimping their blog’s popularity to anyone who’ll pay them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against anyone creating a successful blog and monetizing its success; I encourage it — live the dream man! But please do it with real honest content, not stuff you create with the sole purpose of generating traffic and making money. My problem lies with the newbies that StumbleUpon some guy who makes $1,000+ a day from his blog and decide to try to do the same thing.
(more…)
big guy, blog, blogosphere, blog whores, google adsense, increase traffic, newbie, pagerank, pimping, quality content, Read more:Polluting
, Blogosphere
TELUS TV Enrages Canucks Fans Everywhere 2007-04-24 20:00:03 Yesterday was game seven between the Stars and Canucks
in the first round of the playoffs (unless you live under a rock, Canucks won 4-1). Undoubtedly, the biggest game of the season thus far, and one of the biggest games in recent Canuck’s playoff history.
Around midway through the first period, my beloved CBC broadcast suddenly switches to Fairchild television! My wife and I screamed WTF? I flipped the channel, it’s Fairchild TV; flipped the channel again, it’s Fairchild TV again. Alex quickly calls up TELUS to chew them out as the seconds tick away on the period. All she gets is a busy tone.
(more…)
anger, canucks, cbc, enrage, piss, playoff, shaw, telus, tvShare This
Problogger Agrees - Technorati Gaming is Bad 2007-04-30 20:59:43 I recently ranted about this issue because I think it ruins what could be a potentially useful and worthwhile resource. Well, one of the top bloggers, Darren Rowse, recently posted his opinion about gaming Technorati
favourites just to gain a high ranking and supported my view. His basic take is that gaming the Technorati fave system is a waste of energy and simply makes it laughable and useless.
Some people have responded to my post suggesting it might be link bait or my creative way of generating traffic. I can understand the scepticism, but let me assure you that my intention for ranting about pollution in the blogosphere and that good content is suffering from those who are blogging for a quick buck were not only genuine, but also overdue. My hope is to incite some discussion around my contention and hear your opinion on the matter.
(more…)
blogosphere, darren rowse, favorites, favourites, gaming, problogger, technoratiShare This
Read more:Gaming
Inside the Windows Cursor 2007-05-04 00:53:52 Everyone is familiar with the flexibility of Windows
’ cursors. In the old days, before the Windows 3.1 GUI, the cursor was represented by a rectangular text block. Not very interesting, but it worked well enough to get the job done, and it was much better than the DOS command line! As the world’s most popular OS (that’s Windows for those of you not paying attention) evolved, its graphical attractiveness exponentially followed suit. Today we have XP and, most recently Vista, to take the cursor to new heights of polish. In fact, the cursor has become so complex that hackers managed to exploit them in Vista and potentially execute code to make your life miserable. It seems like the fancy cursors might be more trouble than they’re worth.
Now don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the glossy pretty stuff as much as the next person, as my previous post on free Vista icons proves. But have you ever wondered what goes on at the source code level to make it do what it does? Read more:Cursor
I’m Hooked on Facebook… for now 2007-05-05 21:05:32 If you’re like me, you’ve probably received a few invitations to join Facebook
in the last little while. My initial reaction to these were, “screw this; I need to join another social networking site like I need a hole in the head!” To date, I have homepages on these networks:
Friendster
MySpace
Tribe
MSN Spaces
Facebookmost recently
And probably a pile of other paces that I can’t remember joining!
In the end, I had to join Facebook to view a friends photos.
Some people call it CrackBook because it’s hella addictive, but I can’t put my finger on exactly why. Maybe because it’s exciting to see who my friends know and if I know any of them — must be the voyeur in me… err all of us. On a cool note, I’ve come across a number of old acquaintances whom I haven’t spoken to in years. It’s particularly trippy to see old high school friends that have wives and kids and real jobs! In the same breath, Facebook is Read more:Hooked
Going Back to School 2007-05-09 18:15:06 Some of you already know this, but many of you don’t.
Since leaving EA, I’ve done some soul searching, taken part in some career counselling, and done a lot of thinking about what my next move should be. My conclusion is to change careers and become a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). It’s a drastic change, without a doubt, but I feel the time is right for me and my family, and after thinking about it, I realized it’s really a great time to be making it.
At first, I felt a little frazzled about what was next for me because I’d never put any thought into the next step of my career. Losing my job forced me to do this, and I soon realized that it was actually an opportunity! With the baby boomers beginning to retire in droves, financial planning is a field that’s both in high demand and quite lucrative (if you put the work in, much like any other job).
It’s not an easy job, but I know it’s one that fits my personality and interests very Read more:Going
, School
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