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 I wish everyone a Happy New Year! I hope that 2023 brings you joy. The last few years have been difficult for most people, due to the pandemic. Lives have been changed, and plans have been altered. I pray that this will be the year that things return to normal, so that we can make the most of our lives without worrying about putting our health at risk.

Happy Easter to my fellow Greek Orthodox Christians, and others celebrating the holiday today. This year is particularly difficult with the global pandemic, which is keeping many of us apart from those we love due to social distancing. We pray that next year we will be spending it with all of our friends and family members. It sometimes takes a global crisis like this to remind us to treasure each moment , as we don't know what the future will bring.

I wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2019!

Today is the 20th anniversary of registering my first domain name. It's been quite a ride since then.

I really enjoyed Blade Runner 2049! Although success at the box office has been muted, perhaps due to its long running time (2 hours and 40 minutes), it's well worth seeing it in IMAX, while it's still on the big screen. Watching it at home doesn't have the same impact.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May the holiday season bring you peace and joy.

The Toronto Blue Jays clinched a spot in the postseason for the first time since 1993 (when they won the World Series). Despite a formidable offense, they had a ho-hum season until August, when they became red-hot. General Manager Alex Anthopolous' trades for ace pitcher David Price and all-star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki lit a fire under the rest of the team, propelling them to the top of the American League standings due to strong pitching, an explosive offense, and solid defence. There are still 8 tense games remaining. But if the season ended today, the Blue Jays would have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. This is critical, because the team has a 52-28 win-loss record at home, but is only .500 on the road (37-37 win-loss record). There's a feeling of excitement in Toronto that hasn't been felt in a generation. When the Jays last made the postseason, I was still an undergraduate at university! Let's play ball!

Canadian media giants Rogers and Shaw launched  shomi this week, which is positioned as their answer to Netflix Canada . With a free 30 day trial, I signed up yesterday. Overall, it seems Netflix has a greater inventory of TV shows and movies. But, shomi does have some more recent TV shows like Modern Family which aren't on Netflix. I like that shomi works with my cable box, as it means that none of my internet data usage limit or bandwidth is affected when watching in that manner (although watching via an iPad or other device would use up internet data). This is especially important for HD content, and for 4K content in the future. Netflix has a more mature user interface. For example, they allow users to mark shows they want to watch in the future, by adding it to a list. shomi should copy that feature eventually.  shomi supports this feature via their shomi_later system (I couldn't find it on the cable box interface, but it exists on the web and tablet interface, ac...

Today is Mother's Day. It has been criticized for having been overly  commercialized . Indeed, one should be grateful to moms everyday, for all that they do. That being said, I believe it doesn't hurt to have a special day to reflect upon and honour the great contributions to our lives by mothers everywhere. I am certain that I would not be half as successful had it not been for the good upbringing and values instilled in me from my own mom.

Sometimes it pays to keep an open mind, keeping alive the opportunity to be pleasantly surprised. Several recent movies that didn't give me great first impressions turned out to be better than I initially expected. Gravity  - The first trailer for Gravity was terrible, in my opinion. When it was shown in the theatre, I think at least half the audience was laughing at it! But, subsequent trailers were a great improvement, and the actual movie was wonderful (perhaps the best film of 2013, so far). Rush  - I'm not into Formula 1 racing, and the trailer didn't impress me. Taking a leap of faith, since  Ron Howard  was the director, it turned out to be a great film (even for non-racing fans), one of my favourites this year. Metallica Through the Never  - Heavy metal music isn't my cup of tea, but the film was showing on the  retrofitted IMAX  at Yonge/Dundas, so I thought I'd give it a chance. The film was very loud, and I'm still not a fan of heavy met...

Today is  Canada Day . More than just a holiday or a day off from work, it's an opportunity to reflect what it means to be a Canadian. When my mother left Greece in the 1950s in search of a better life, she considered moving to either Australia or Canada. While I'm sure that Australia is a wonderful place, I'm glad she chose Canada. We're blessed to live in a free country, whose citizens are tolerant and where multiculturalism is embraced. Rich in natural resources and situated next door to the world's richest economy, we have advantages that are the envy of much of the world. We're also quick to adapt to technological change, which has made us more connected to each other within Canada, while also being confident global citizens. While we should not be complacent, and indeed there are many things in Canada that can be improved (e.g. a lower tax burden, better treatment of First Nations ), we should be thankful to past generations that they've done so ...

It was 15 years ago today that I registered my first domain name, the dot-com that corresponds to my surname. I was fortunate to register it before others who share the same surname caught on to the importance of the internet and owning domain names. Fortunately, my surname isn't "Smith" or "Jones" as I'd have had no chance to register those as dot-com domains in 1998! Indeed, it wasn't until a few years later that I acquired, via my company, some domains that most others would consider valuable (including math.com and school.com).

Cineplex  has been running a great promotion in conjunction with  Pizza Pizza  lately. The top player in the  Timeplay  movie trivia competition (which precedes the trailers) wins a free medium pizza. The remaining top 10 players get a free slice of pizza. In 5 competitions, I've been the top player 4  times, and came in 2nd place the other time. Here's what I've learned: You can't have more than one of the same prize be redeemable within the "My Stuff" folder. For example, I had 2 free pizzas (because I didn't redeem the first pizza, before winning the 2nd free pizza), but once I redeemed the first free pizza, the 2nd one disappeared from the "My Stuff" folder. So, it's important to redeem the reward quickly, or at least before you win again. You can't win more than one prize per day. Sometimes I take in two movies in a single day. I won a free slice in the first movie, and a free pizza in the 2nd movie. But, since I'd already ...

Yesterday I received a jury duty summons. It should prove interesting, as I've never served on a jury. As luck would have it, the Toronto Star published an  article on jury duty  in this morning's newspaper.

I was surprised to learn today that  Ally.ca High Interest Savings Accounts will be terminated  as of April 30, 2013. They had been paying an attractive interest rate of 1.80%, which had CDIC insurance protecting the principal, but have since dropped it to only 1.20%. The Royal Bank of Canada acquired the deposit business of Ally.ca a few weeks ago, and it seems they don't want to pay the rates that drew many customers in the first place. Since  other financial institutions are paying more than 1.20% , I telephoned Ally.ca and asked that all of the funds I had deposited there be transferred out immediately, so that I can direct the funds elsewhere. The customer service representative, who was very polite and professional, did not seem surprised by my decision. It appears that I'm not the only person who moved all of their funds out of Ally.ca today. I hope that she and other staff at Ally.ca will not be laid off. Canada needs more options, not fewer ones, for savers ...

On Monday, the Royal Canadian Mint will  cease distribution of the penny  (1 cent coin), making the nickel (5 cent coin) the lowest issued coin in Canada. Inflation has eroded the purchasing power of the penny over decades, so much so that it now costs more to produce a penny than its face value. Many people won't even bother to pick up a penny, although I still consider it good luck to do so! This also means that prices will start to be rounded to the nearest nickel when paying in cash . This won't affect me too much, as I use my credit card for most purchases. But, I think many skeptical folks will be upset when they see certain cash purchases rounded up, as they won't realize that it's balanced out in the long run  by purchases that are rounded down.

Following up on a  prior post , I had the opportunity to watch  The Hobbit  again at 48 frames per second (FPS), and the experience was much better than the first viewing. I actually watched it at the  ScotiaBank Theatre in IMAX  first (at the standard 24 FPS), and then immediately went to the SilverCity Yonge-Eglinton UltraAVX screen, which was not only showing the film at 48 FPS, but also had the  Dolby Atmos  sound system (the only venue in Toronto with this new technology, apparently). After three viewings, I'd update my rating of the film to 8/10. As for the 48 FPS technology, the picture appeared superior to that of the IMAX screening earlier in the day. It still felt a bit "different" than a normal film experience, but I'm starting to get comfortable with it now. I could enjoy the film this time, without being distracted by the technology. The second film in the The Hobbit trilogy,  The Desolation of Smaug , is due in theatres ...

A few days ago I watched  The Hobbit  at 48 frames per second (FPS), and I have to say it detracted from the experience, at least on a first viewing. The picture was of such high quality and clarity that it appeared too  lifelike, and I could not get immersed into the story. It felt like I was watching actors performing lines, doing a rehearsal or staging a live play, rather than watching characters in a film. It was missing the magic of the movies. Despite the high ratings on IMDB, I'd have to rate the film a mere 6/10 at this point. I've seen several other movies shot at the standard 24 FPS since, and by contrast they did seem fuzzier. However, I was able to suspend disbelief and enjoy those movies. The Hobbit is also showing at 24 FPS in the downtown Toronto IMAX , so I plan to watch it again, to see if it fares better in the IMAX format at the lower frame rate. If I like it, I'll go back and try the 48 FPS version a second time. James Cameron is apparently expe...

Canada's population reached  35 million people  this week, making us the fastest growing country in the G8. Immigration is an important component of that growth. As someone born in Canada to parents who had immigrated from Greece, I can understand the attractiveness of this great nation for those looking for a better place to call home. With the world in turmoil, Canada stands out as a beacon to those seeking a better future. Other nations should look to us as a role model for showing how people of different cultures can work together successfully.

Today is  World Toilet Day . It's a reminder that, in large parts of the world, the things most of us take for granted are simply unavailable. The next time you're going to complain about something trivial, it might be wise to pause for a moment, take a deep breath, and put things into perspective.