While surfing over the message board at HowardForums.com, I stumbled some discussion about Bell Canada’s sudden end to the Bell Beavers. Frank and Gordon (in Quebec, those beavers are named as Jules & Bertrand) the mascots behind Bell Canada Enterprises’ advertising strategy has come to a sad ending, after BCE’s advertising agency, Cossette has come to an end.

After 26 great years with Cossette, it seems that Bell has decided to move along. I remembered the time that there are a few commercials featuring those beavers. There’s one commercial that Gordon is broadcasting to the entire neighbourhood that he is about to download a huge file off the internet and does not want anyone to slow him down. Another commercial features when they are in a talk show and Gordon was singing a Whitney Houston song showing how the song is played when comparing with a inconsistent internet connection against Bell Sympatico’s internet connection.

Anyways, the legacy of those ads still lives on - in the form of parodies. With BCE in the process of being sold to a private equity firm, it seems that the new owners will decide if they want to carry on without the Bell beavers. Hopefully, they will bring back those old pixel ads or maybe feature some live people in it! I leave you with these videos and two music videos One by the Spice Girls called “Goodbye” (dedicated to the Beavers’ depature) and the other by Paramore called “Hallelujah” (dedicated the people who hate the Bell beavers and they are finally glad that Bell has final get rid of those loudmouth beavers). Enjoy.

Megaphone:

One of my personal favourites: Gordon uploading Lil’ Frank:

Spiderman:

Jellybean Demonstration (comparing how Bell Expressvu’s HD channels compare with others):

Playoff Beards:

Bring it home:

Smooth Operator:

“Get it to go”:

Jules & Bertand (in French) - showing about inconsitent speed:

Jules & Bertrand (in French) - demo tape:

Jules & Bertrand (in French) - HDTV:

Jules & Bertand (in French) - don’t know what they are advertising:

I hope that Bell will bring back the advertising strategy as they did with those Pixel ads. Speaking of them, here are two videos of those ads:

Cheetah:

Xmas 2005 (shoulder strap):

More of those ads can be founded here: http://filmblender.com/category/technique/pixel/ (alternate link: http://filmblender.com/)

Spice Girls - “Goodbye”:

Paramore - “Hallelujah”:

References:

“Cossette’s exclusive partnership with Bell comes to an end.” National Post. 15 April 2008. 14 May 2008. <http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=447905>

“Cossette reeling after loss of exclusive partnership with Bell Canada.” Montreal Gazatte. 14 May 2008. 14 May 2008. <http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/columnists/story.html?id=75452750-4550-4e68-b1a6-39c2c5cb1d86>

With the high prices of gas skyrocketing to $1.24CDN per litre, many people are trying to drive less and to reconsider their summer vacation plans. With the first long weekend approaching (Victoria Day holiday), many people have no choice but to curtail or alter their plans because of the high price of gas. Many people decide to take public transit (one of my personal favourite modes of transport), ride a bike, get a scooter or buy a hybrid vehicle. The hybrid vehicles have many flaws however. You might have to plug the car into an outlet and there are some safety concerns as well.

Anyways, The Canadian Taxpayers Federation held a special rally at some gas stations at major city centres all across Canada. They launch a campaign against gas tax “gouging” and demand Ottawa and many other provinces to lower gas taxes. The taxes that we end up paying for the price of gas ends up on spending for maintaining roads, infrastructure and public transit. I’m a strong advocate on sustainable public transportation.

On average, the price per litre for regular unleaded is $1.29CDN. $0.335CDN ended up to the governments in taxes. The federal government under Stephen Harper stated in an interview that his entire government won’t provide a plan to subsidize oil companies for businesses and individuals. Meanwhile, the Canadian Taxpayers Federal proposes these points:

• Eliminating the 1.5 cent/litre “deficit elimination tax”;
• Removing the GST (and HST where applicable) charged on federal and provincial gas levies; and
• Reducing the federal levy an additional 2.5 cents.

By taking these points off, a nickel ($0.05CDN) is trimmed off per litre. Manitoba and Saskatchewan meanwhile has a plan to contribute gas tax revenues to be used towards on roads and many transportation infrastructure. The federation demands that all provinces must follow these steps so that in the long-term many people will benefit from that.

The federal Liberal party also proposes a plan on introducing a carbon tax. However, this has many people very angry against it’s proposal. If a carbon tax was implemented today, we could end up paying $1.47CDN per litre. Until someone will step in, get used to it. Just like the song by Paramore, “That’s What you get”. I’m finishing off this blog with this music video. Enjoy.

Paramore - “That’s What you get“:

References:

“Taxpayers’ group offers gas tax ‘rebate’ to some.” CTV.ca. 14 May 2008. 14 May 2008. <http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080514/gas_tax_080514/20080514?hub=Canada>

“Take 5 pennies off the gas pump taxpayers federation urges Ottawa.” CBC.ca. 14 May 2008. 14 May 2008. <http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/05/14/gas-tax.html>

“Canadian Taxpayers Federation Gives Back to Drivers.” 660 News. 14 May 2008. 14 May 2008. <http://www.660news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20080514_160359_4196>

“Ottawa sits pretty as we’re forced to sit.” The Province. 14 May 2008. 14 May 2008. <http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=63a36cb1-1f56-4058-a349-60339b6e0ff5>

Canadian Taxpayers Federation

I stumbled upon reading a message board topic down at HowardForums.com and one thread that has caught to my attention that leads me to a news article.

According to an article posted on CBC.ca, a new report produced by a Montreal-based telecommunications consulting firm called Seaboard Group has stated that a new (if not, many) cell phone carrier(s) might be up and running by next summer as opposed to a 12 to 18-month timeframe as produced by other analysts. With the wireless auction about to take place in Canada starting on May 27th and lasting for a month, many customers are waiting for a moment like this.

A similar spectrum has recently wrapped up in the United States, in which Verizon won the piece of that pie. It’s currently moving forward on upgrading their network to LTE (Long Term Evolution) making future phones work around the world. I’m not sure if Verizon will have SIM (subscriber identity module) cards for their LTE phones, but it’s anyone’s guess.

Anyways, to view the list of bidders for the Canadian wireless auction, please click here. Many companies out there are trying to fight back against so-called System Access Fees, Activation fees and those lousy cancellation fees (penalties). One provider, Koodo Mobile has decided to take back the approach on marketing as “fat-free mobility”. I’ve created two posts about Koodo mobile. You can view them here or here.

Virgin Mobile on the other hand, now offers some monthly plans (known as the myPlan) that roughly follows on the same trail as Koodo. The only drawback is that you can only make long distance calls to the U.S., but still text message to other destinations (including the U.S.). As for U.S. roaming, you can do that with myPlan, but it’s the opposite of Virgin Mobile’s prepaid plans (for prepaid - a.k.a. Pay-as-you-go plans). You CANNOT roam your phone down to the states if you are prepaid customer. Maybe someday, Virgin Mobile Canada will work on this any day…..

There are many other providers out there that many people have never heard of. The list goes on (i’ve put some hyperlinks on those providers so you can do some research about them):

The providers that many people have not heard of are:

• Solo Mobile
• PC Mobile
• Petro Canada mobility
• 7-Eleven speak out (unofficial page *or official one)
• Primus
• SearsConnect
• SimplyConnect (only for Scotiabank VISA customers)
• uWho Wireless
• DCI Telecom
• Videotron (Quebec Only)
• CityFone

These providers either run on the big three’s (Rogers, Telus, Bell) networks or have it’s own dedicated network.

* = Editor’s note: at the time of blog posting, the 7-Eleven official website is undergoing maintenance. I couldn’t provide the official link at this time..

The providers that you people may (or might) know are:

• Rogers
• Telus
• Fido
• Bell Mobility
• Solo Mobile
• Virgin Mobile
• MTS
• Sasktel

Anyways, based on my original blog postings, I thought that the auction is taking place as of now, but I heard it’s going to start on May 27th, 2008 - not end on that date. I vaguely apologize for any misunderstandings that I have made to you, guys. I hope you understand it by now.

I can’t wait on who will get the piece of the 2GHz spectrum…..

References:

“New cellphone carriers by next summer: report.” CBC.ca. 9 May 2008. 12 May 2008 <http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/05/09/tech-cellphones.html>

“City man part of major wireless bid.” Peterborough Examiner. 10 May 2008. 12 May 2008 <http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1022558>

“Canada’s Wireless Crisis.” Geist, Michael. 7 May 2008. 12 May 2008 <http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2907/135/>

A couple years ago, me and my dad used to attend a special sale every year on some bargain hunting because I was very proactive in computers (and still have) in my life time. That’s why we went to Computer Fest, a three-day event that is held at either the Automotive Building (since been converted into a convention centre) at the Exhibition Place in Toronto and the International Centre in Mississauga. In the past, Computer Fest used to host four shows of the year, the following is a run down on the two venues on where the shows were held:

International Centre in Mississauga, Ontario:

• Spring (sometimes it is held there in either March or April)
• Christmas (usually somewhere before the end of November)

Automotive Building at Exhibition Place:

• Fall (usually held before the end of September)
• Winter (usually held in February)

Many vendors set up their stands into a flea-market like atmosphere and customers went to look for a specific part (like motherboards, video cards, routers, books, etc.) and such. The first number of customers who get in line early get a free gift - in the form of a computer software program or a book. They tend to sell out very very quickly. I vaguely remember the days when me and my dad spend some quality time together looking at some computer stuff and now that I’m more advanced, i’m ready to take to the next level. There are also some gaming areas in which many gamers play in a tournament environment and fight against people in a LAN-party. Apart from there, counseling-like areas are set up in which a person who is very knowledgeable in computers discuss in a one-on-one basis to the customer about what the user should do (for example, “I want to share multiple computers in my house”)

Anyways, back to my story - sometime in 2004/2005, the show was axed from four shows to two shows, due to a “partnership dispute”. In its place are two shows: Compusale (which is essentially run by the same organizers) and Super Computer Sale (a mobile event in which organizers arrange with specific vendors to set up at a public place - like a hotel lounge). The last time that I went to Compusale was at the National Trade Centre at Exhibition place back in 2005. At that time, I was heavily listening to my punk rock tunes a lot and taking college prep courses in high school. I still remember those days…

With the advent of the internet and heavy aggressive competition from many local computer stores and also big-box outlets, the need for Compusale, Computer Fest and Super Computer Sale has made them redundant. The last time that Super Computer Sale was held, it was back last year. It hasn’t been brought back ever since.

Oh the memories of the Computer Fest. It may have been gone, but it has never forgotten. You might often see some computer stuff the next time you go to your local flea market on the weekends. As always, be careful on what you are buying.

References:

http://www.ehmac.ca/everything-else-eh/24403-review-toronto-compusale-march-2005-a.html

Archived pages of compusale.ca

Archived pages of compfest.ca

Archived pages of supercomputersale.ca

I stumbled watching a news report yesterday when one lady who worked for Tim Hortons got fired for giving away a timbit to a customer - a baby-in-arms with a mother. Nicole Lilliman, a 27-year-old single mother of four children was working at a London, Ontario-area Tim Hortons the other day and she served a baby who was with her mother a timbit. Nicole did not realized that her actions was caught on video surveillance . It wasn’t a day after until the manager of the Tim Horton’s franchise ask her to see what she had done. As a result, she was fired.

It really saddens me that her ex-manager has gone her too far. She was crying and many bloggers - including myself looked into a second opinion of that (one user wrote one, while the other one wrote another in their own perspectives). The incident was spreading like wildfire, giving a broad media attention. The craze goes as far as Texas, New York State, California and so on….even China! As a result of the case, she was later rehired by the company.

Nicole Lilliman stated in an interview: “It was just out of my heart, she (the toddler) was pointing and going ‘ah, ah…’ I should have gone to my purse and got the change, but it was busy,”

For those foreigners out there who don’t know what a timbit is, they are tiny donut holes and they come in a wide range of flavours including chocolate, dutchie cream, strawberry filled and so on. A single lousy timbit cost about $0.16CDN (sixteen cents) and many customers opt in to buy in boxes of 10, 20 or even 40 timbits.

Tim Hortons later issued a statement and apologizes to Nicole Lilliman for her ordeal:

“Unfortunately the action of the manager of this location was not appropriate, nor grounds for dismissal,” a statement from Tim Hortons said Thursday. “With an apology from management, Ms. Lilliman has been rehired by the franchisee.”

As one song shows, “There’s a class for this” (in reference to a song by a band called Cute is What We Aim For).

Back to Nicole now and this is what she also state: “I just wasn’t happy with the whole thing, They said that I graciously took my job back, but I just took my job back. I need that paycheque in two weeks.”

With her ordreal over, she still works with Tim Hortons - but at another location in the London area - she took her duties working at the Drive Thru.

Good thing that Phreak615 wasn’t witnessing the action as it unfolded! To finish this blog off, I’m leaving you two music videos by my favourite band, Simple Plan. These music videos are “Your Love is a Lie” and “When I’m Gone”. The reason that I choosed “When I’m Gone” and this is especially dedicated to Nicole Lilliman and her ex-manager of the Tim Hortons (the place that where she formerly worked at) because the video is asking them, “You’re gonna miss me when i’m gone?” Enjoy the music videos.

Simple Plan - “When I’m Gone”:

Simple Plan - “Your Love is a Lie”:

References:

“Woman fired for giving 16-cent treat to toddler.” Thomson Reuters. 8 May 2008. 9 May 2008 <http://ca.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idCAN0836799020080508>.

” Fast food woman fired, excused for giving free doghnut.” Xinhua News Agency. 9 May 2008. 9 May 2008 <http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/09/content_8134948.htm>

“Tim Hortons apologizes, rehires mom who gave away Timbit.” Canwest News Service. 8 May 2008. 9 May 2008 <http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=aaf9eba6-3bf3-4aff-a5af-2720d6c92dec>

“Woman fired, rehired for giving baby free Timbit.” Toronto Sun. 8 May 2008. 9 May 2008 <http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2008/05/08/5506961.html>

“Rehired Timbit mom needs the dough.” Toronto Star. 9 May 2008. 9 May 2008 <http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/423225>

“Mom gets job back.” London Free Press. 9 May 2008. 9 May 2008 <http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/Local/2008/05/09/5515571-sun.html>

Notice to all blog posters:

A user by the name of Phreak615 is currently on the loose. He masterminded an underground operation on hacking over MuchMusic using sophisticated equipment and manipulating video clips of people filming on their webcams. Earlier reports suggest that a guy named “Mark David” was behind phreak615. Mark David was also identified by the alias of “Matsuto77″ or “c v j”, but after an lengthly interview and disputes over who the real “phreak615″ is, Mark David has released from police custody and the search is on to track down the real “phreak615″.

Earlier reports suggest that “phreak615″ might catch a flight to London, Birmingham or Glasgow. He also might be seen driving a Porsche 911. Surveillance tapes show that “phreak615″ was at a local Timmy’s (Tim Hortons) on the Highway 401 in Wesleyville (just west of Port Hope). Indications believe that “phreak615″ is planning to go to Montreal. All police detachments are notified of the wanted criminal.

Suspect is described as the following:

• 6′1″
• Green cowboy hat
• Green goggles
• Blue mask with no mouth part
• Long-sleeve plaid sweatshirt
• Drives a Grey Porsche 911 similar to the video below with Ontario Licence plate of “3REAK615″

If you see this particular criminal, DO NOT APPROACH HIM! Contact the police immediately by dialing 9-1-1 or to be anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). With Crime Stoppers, you don’t have to give your personal information or testify in court, ever. As always, Crime Stoppers DOES NOT use Call Display (Caller ID).

Porsche 911 Chase (in Dutch):

“Grainy” video of phreak615:

Over 15 or 16 years ago, this particular TV show was aired on TVOntario. It has a cool and interesting introduction and it is well known for Science and Technology. The show is called “Acme School of Stuff”. I stumbled upon this particular TV show when I saw a video on how subways work. Before “How it’s made”, “How do they do it”, “How’d they do that?” and  one particular TV show that was aired on HGTV  (it follows the same paths as the latter three, but I couldn’t remember what it is), this particular TV show gives us a close understanding on how things work.

“Acme School of Stuff” is hosted by a person named David Stringer and he’s lucky enough to host an official website about him and his accomplishments he had contributed over the years. His official site can be founded here: http://www.davidstringer.ca/

Also, there’s a youtube channel dedicating to the Acme School of Stuff: http://www.youtube.com/user/acmeschool

I’m still trying to find on how electronic signs\displays work from this particular series, but over time it’ll be on that particular channel….lol Anyways, enjoy the videos that are my favourites, especially that phreak615 should know how a Vinyl record works (if you want to refer to my blog posting on that, click here)!

Acme School of Stuff (intro):

Electronics (from tube to transistor) - one of my favourites:

How a telephone works (with a humourous opening):

How Digital things work using ones and zeros:

Making of a Vinyl Record:

I was watching MOD on MuchMusic the other day until I saw a series of random commercials featuring people filiming on a webcam. But there’s one “obvious” person that has these characteristics: He’s wearing green goggles, a green cowboy hat and a blue partial mask that one has eyes and nose parts. He’s holding a sign that says, “THIS IS THE NEW REALITY - Phreak615.com”.

There was some speculation going on about this viral advertising. Phreak615 decided to hack and intercept every television show that was aired on MuchMusic. This reminded me when there was a series of Obay advertisments popping around in my neighbourhood and it wasn’t until later that these ads were produced by Ontario Colleges - showing awareness for parents who is considering post-secondary opportunities for their children. Earlier, it reminded me when YTV’s The Zone (and the entire YTV network) back in 2001 was hacked by some kind of odd enemy named the “Freaky Fowl” (or something like that). This is from a wikipedia article:

“At one point during their tenure, a bizarre plotline emerged involving electronic insects known as yokomites that were under the control of a mysterious chicken-man named Fiendly Fowl. They were created by Fowl to destroy the station, should his demand to be given the station was ignored. At the end, there was an animated comic where Pat and Jenny went into the yokomite’s lair to defeat them. The hand in the toilet was “killed” saving them.”

Many bloggers, including mine were circulating rumours about Obay. Even many message boards has their own point of view about the Obay ads.

Back to the Phreak615 craze, there is a blog by the alias of “Phreak615″ and he unravels his plot to hack this year’s MuchMusic Video Awards, which will take place on June 15th, 2008. This is what he explicitly states on his blog:

“It’s no secret that I am going to hack the MMVAs.
It’s no secret that if you send me a video I’ll put you into the MMVAs
It’s no secret that MuchMusic and Mad Mark have the same initials.
And it’s no secret that CDs have a better sound quality than cassette.
CDs Nuts!”

Is that guy is some kind of retro brainiac who thinks that cassette or vinyl produces better sound quality than CDs? Or is he some kind of terrorist leader? Anyways, I was extremely slow on trying to get all the details on Phreak615, but I was able to find some videos on how MuchMusic suffered the effects of Phreak615. I spent almost day and night trying to research some information and provided an APB on Phreak615 until I realized that Phreak615 is some kind of MMVA advertisement teaser (or something like that).

EDIT: This is phreak615’s full and detailed information about himself (to view the original post, please go here):

Anyways, I have some evidence that you may find (somewhat) disturbing - in the form of youtube videos! Right now, I’m in the process of trying to unravel and try to nick Phreak615’s operation once and for all! I wonder how loyal MuchMusic viewers will think about this…lol Who knows? Perhaps “Phreak615″ will appear on Road Wars!

The Phreak615 is here!:

MuchMusic got hacked - #1:

MuchMusic got hacked - #2:

MuchMusic got hacked - #3:

A Hole in the system:

Look what I can do with a computer:

Fly the coop:

References:

http://www.dabbler.ca/news/is-phreak615-hacking-muchmusic-me-thinks-not-20080413/

http://phreak615.blogspot.com/

http://www.dabbler.ca/news/phreak615-the-plot-thickens-20080418/

I was reading a news article today that Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s iPod is finally heading to Canadian store shelves. The Zune, which was released back in the United States in the beginning of 2007 is finally to compete against the iPod. As an iPod owner, I personally haven’t tried the Zune out myself, but I saw a display at a Target store down in Erie, Pennsylvania on a snowy day back in February 2007. For some, it’s finally worth the wait after we left out in the cold for the Apple iPhone to come out. With the Zune and the iPhone finally hitting Canadian store shelves, people can decide which portable music player is best for them. There’s no word if the Zune will be “iTunes” friendly. Well, it’s anyone’s guess.

In other Microsoft related news, it seems that Microsoft has finally pulled out of the controversial bid to buy Yahoo which in turn cause a ripple effect on their stocks. Both shares of Yahoo and Microsoft were slightly dropped after the announcement. For my part, it seems that both companies have finally “Decided to break it” after they couldn’t agree on a certain deal. If Microsoft were to buy Yahoo today, it’ll be topsy-turvy in the information world and this could fuel the next dot-com bubble (like it was back in the late-1990s and heading towards the early-2000s).

In other news, the Virgin Festival in Vancouver (the music festival in which many big-ticket acts perform for two days) has cancelled after it had failed to secure many of the big-ticket and top acts. This is the second time that such a music festival has cancelled in the Vancouver (and B.C.) music scene. First, it was the Vans Warped Tour that pulled out of Vancouver. Now the Virgin Festival has finally fallen to it’s wrath.

Andrew Bridge, one of the organizers has quote in an interview: “It wasn’t from a lack of trying, but we just couldn’t make it come together this year for Vancouver. We don’t want to do a sub-optimal festival in Vancouver, We want to make sure that we hold up extremely high standards.”

Rock festivals in Vancouver bring a lot of money to the city’s economy. Now with two tours being nixed, it leaves many music fans in a uncertain economic future. The V-Fest website for the Vancouver listing mentions that they will be back next year. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen to one businessman who bilked up thousands of dollars on the Walkerton Watershed Festival (which was cancelled not once, but twice - back in 2003 and 2004).

In other news, I was a reading an article at durhamregion.com about residents protesting against Rouge Valley Health System’s move on moving the mental beds from the Ajax-Pickering Hospital to Scarborough’s Centenary Health Centre. The hospital coroporation suffered a massive debt worth $78 million CDN. According to one MPP (Member of Parliament), the person who is planning to go for treatment in Scarborough is unrealistic.

Many protesters, from residents to members who work for the Ontario Public Services Employees Union (or OPSEU) took part in a rally against the hospital’s decision to move all mental health beds to Scarborough. Despite the rainy weather, many of them won’t give up a fight. When I was in Grade 9 and attended the now-defunct Exeter High School, we used to participate in the Terry Fox Run and I can see the hospital in the distance.

In other news, my first day in the Electronics course went very well. I’m striving to be very well in this particular course. 7 weeks is not bad for me. Anyways, I’m leaving you a few lyrics that will fit the scenarios.

Westlife - “If I let you go”:

But if I let you go
I will never know
What my life would be
Holding you close to me
Will I ever see
You smiling back at me
How will I know?
If I let you go …

Marianas Trench - “Push”:

Hey, don’t you feel it now?
My shiny side down
Hey, burning brighter still
And you’re getting sick
And you’re feeling it

It’ll wear you down and wear you down
You chase it, breathing in and out and in and out
They’ll push you up against the wall, against the wall
You didn’t think you’d feel it all but you were wrong about it
Push

References:

http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/04/30/zune.for.canada.in.may/

http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/06/zune-headed-for-canada-on-june-13th/

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hjU4WijVVNa5XulswezGrDtj0Tsw

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/PCWorld/story?id=4785469

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/durham/article/98295

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/ajax/article/97948

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/412746

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/ajax/article/98389

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/421227

“Cancelled Virgin Fest leaves B.C. cold”, Calgary Sun, 04 May 2008

“Don’t make cuts to Ajax Hospital”, Newsdurhamregion.com, 15 April 2008

I have to post this blog right now because my sister just came home from the Bell Walk for Kids Help Phone. She had volunteered at the walk and she also took an opportunity to see her favourite (and my favourite) band Faber Drive! They were performing at the walk and my sister got up to get an opportunity to meet them. She told me that drummer Ray “Red” Bull wasn’t there and a replacement drummer by the name of “Sanchez” (or something like that) was there to fill Red’s void.

It saddens me that Red left abruptly without public notice. The last time I saw him was at the Dungeon in Oshawa a couple weeks ago. He was a very nice guy and I will remember him for some time, but that does not stop me from listening their tunes of course! I’m not sure how this will impact the upcoming Simple Plan tour (along with opening acts The All-American Rejects), but that’s not really important to me at all.

Back to my story, my sister was able to get autographs from the band and they leave me some special messages to me. This is what Dave Faber said to me: “Work Hard @ Summer Skewl!”. As for David Hinsley, this is what he told me: “Missed ya today, BRO!”. That really make my day.

Anyways, this week and in the next coming weeks, I will be taking an Electronics course that will last me for seven weeks. Expect some limited blog postings by then. I will try my best to keep you up to the loop! Until then, best of luck for me!!!