The 3D movie Fad... What's the point?

FYI: If you look at that image with 3d glasses... the Leopard drools on your face.

I've always said, and I'll quote myself, that "in 15, 20 years, people will not be able to watch 2 dimensional movies."  Whether i believe that statement anymore, i don't even know. 

There's always a bit more excitement coming into a movie that is 3d. Recently Pixar Animation studios released a statement sayings that all of their future movie releases will be in 3d. There are some movies that simply are meant for 3d. Kids movies being one and the random action movie that has a ton of flying obstacles being another.  Recently TV networks have started broadcasting Television shows in 3D. NBC's Chuck was broadcasted the day after the Superbowl, and many fans sat in front of their screens with the classic goggles attached to their faces. But the real question is does the 3D experience really heighten your enjoyment at a movie theatre, or watching your favorite show? Since I'm taking economics in University, and all i see all day are formulas, I'm going to create one myself to see if 3D is worth it for me, focusing more on the movies in theatre. 

Main Rule: I'm going to add different variables. The variables will be anywhere from -10 to +10, if the final number is above 0, 3D is a worthwhile investment for the movie industry because this formula says so.

Variable 1 (-2):   Extra cost of 3D glasses at theatres ($3)

Variable 2 (-2):  Nauseous feeling after leaving the theatre.

Variable 3 (+6): Improvement of Visual effects.

Variable 4 (-3):  Annoyance of wearing goggles.

Variable 5 (+2): Does it improve the average movie experience

V1+V2+V3+V4+V5 = Legitimacy of 3D movies.

-2 + (-2) + 6 + (-3) + 2= +1

As i expected, there would be no standout decision. There are positives and there are negatives with regard to 3D movies. The only reason that the film industry should lean towards 3D is because it symbolizes change in something that hasn't really changed since color was introduced to the big screen. 

Were still waiting for that 3D movie that's going to blow us all away, (Hopefully James Cameron's Avatar), but until that happens, my +1 will remain the same.

Sports Recap 101

OK... So, as all of you know (and I'm sure: your wallets know), Superbowl XLIII took place tonight in Tampa Bay Flaridaaa. Some were calling this one the classic offense vs defense battle, some were disgusted that Pittsburgh was back in the Superbowl. Yet most were just shocked that the Arizona Cardinals, with 97 year old Kurt Warner made it to the big game. 

1st Quarter: Blahhh...not much, couple good commercials.

2nd Quarter: Whatever, whatever... ok that interception was ridiculous. Changed the game completely. James Harrison's interception for 100 yard was a 14 point swing, and instead of the Cardinals going into halftime up, with momentum, and the ball for the second half, they were down 10. Crazy. FYI, if you were watching, you would have heard Madden and his ridiculous blatherings of i don't know what, say that James Harrison was cut 4 times (3 by the steelers and once by the Ravens). News to me, news to most of you I'm sure. Shows that if you can bench 490 pounds (fact..I'm not kidding) you can be scary on the football field.

3rd Quarter: OK Budweiser, enough with the horses. How many Bud commercials were there with the damn horse?

4th Quarter: All the buzz and hype for the Superbowl was lived up in this quarter. Where there were 55 lead changes and 165 points put up. Honestly though, the single greatest quarter I've ever seen in any Superbowl. I'm not going to recap because that's useless, but Ben Rothlesberger's pass to Santonio Holmes for the win, was one of the greatest passes of all time. Unbelievable

Superbowl Grade: 9.76/10

Other news today, at about 8:00 AM Eastern Time, Roger Federer Unfortunately lost to Raphy Nadal for the 75th time in a row. Honestly, Nadal has taken over the sport, as much as i love Federer, and wish that he can make a jump and take command of the the tennis stage again, it is not looking good. I felt awful for him, when he broke down trying to make his speech, he is the classiest athlete out there, it's hard to ever root against the guy. Catch the video here.

Federer-Nadal Rematch x20: 8.231/10

So now that football is done, I'm going to induce myself into a coma and hopefully wake up on September 14th when we can look forward to Superbowl XLIV.

Canada ---> What have you got to sell?

Though much of the emphasis of concern over the recession is pinned on the US, it is Canada that will be in a deep hole after this economic disaster. 

Remember a few months ago when the Canadian dollar was at par with US? Well, we had it going for us. Alberta's oil production was fueling our country, and Canada depended on itself to produce. Now there is a recession in the US. No one wants the oil in alberta. Gas prices are as much as a pack of trident. The cost to extract the oil from the sand in alberta is above the roof, and in no way are they profiting with the prices so low. It is amazing that in a few months we can go from a major oil exporter to a country that lacks major exports.

GO GREEN: What happens when the dependance for oil is gone? it's happening as we speak. Hybrid and electric will take over very soon. 

Let's throw away the oil sector of our economy. What does Canada have to export? Maple Syrup. Honestly though, it is very troublesome. Yes, there is Hydro Electricity, but that isn't enough.

We don't hear about how bad the economy is in Canada, frankly, it is not as bad as in the US right now. But with our government being a mess, and there being a lack of a major exported good, it's going to get shaky. 

Load the Maple Syrup onto the trains!

The Legitimacy of our Professional sports

We are finally being be treated to fair professional sports leagues (Except Baseball), where dynasties are built based upon superb management rather than money or location.

It's something that bugs me when i think about dynasties in the 70's and 80's...not so much in basketball or football, but very much so in Hockey and in Baseball. The salary cap was established in 1994 for football and in 1992 for basketball, so right there all teams could only spend up to a certain allocated price limit, so this was not so bad. The problem with baseball is infuriating though and it truly is ridiculous that the same problem remains today.

Baseball:
Besides the steroid issue in Baseball, which is absolutely embarrassing for a "professional" league, Baseball has very clearly lost most of its ground to the NFL in every way possible.The once true and dominant sport of America is overshadowed by the spectacle and the drama on Sunday's, and the massive audiences of the Superbowl. I was never a fan of the MLB, and from my perspective, i have no reason to ever be one. With no salary cap limit for any team, it is a given, year in and year out that the Yankees and redsox will lead the bid for the best free agents. Yes, there is generally a new World series champion every year, which isn't the problem, the problem is with teams like Washington, and Pittsburgh, who may very well never have a roster that matches that of an uper echelon team. This is not the case in leagues that are governed by the salary cap. And consequently, teams do not become great from great management, but rather how far they reech into their wallets. The New England Patriots drafted Tom Brady in the 6th Round in the draft, and brought in a mastermind of a coach in Bill Bellichik, the two of them at the helms of their dynasty. The Yankees on the other hand this off season brought in A.J Burnett because no other team was willing to pay him 13.5 million dollars a year. As a result of the utter stupidity of not having a salary cap, these baseball players are getting paid like they discovered a way to teleport. Baseball will never catch up to the NFL, but until the sport establishes a salary cap and therefore has a league which wins based on skill and management, I can never lay my eyes on it.

Hockey:
We can finally say today, that in Hockey the great teams are built based on acquisitions and great management based moves (aka. Detroit Red Wings).. There are still some major issues with the league today and they stem from major problems in the past. I love the Montreal Canadiens. They are my home team, and hands down my favorite hockey team. But when people ask, why cant we be the same as we were in the 70's, 80's? There's a somewhat simple answer. A statistic recorded in 1987 showed that 81.67% of the NHL were Canadian born players, 59% of those from Quebec. So not only is there a problem that this insignificant province in a fairly insignificant country that is Canada is dominating this professional Hockey league. The problem is that Montreal was the obvious team to play for. Yes there were great signings and draft moves by the Canadiens, but it was virtually a team of all star quebecers vs the rest of the league. Is it fair to have the Canadiens up there with the Celtics as the second most winningest team in the history of professional sports? I wont answer that, i just know that in a more respectable, even league, like the NHL is today, it's taken the Canadiens 16 years and counting since their last Stanley cup. And like the NBA and the NFL, it's the Management moves that make all the difference.

I'm gone

For one week I will be in a location where they have never heard of something called electricity. I'll be back next weekend, hopefully not as a caveman.

"Shotgun": The most overused word on the planet

I hear the word shotgun every single day. When i go to school, when i go to my friends house, ANYWHERE i go i hear the word, and i hate it. It summarizes the type of people many of us have become on this planet (including me). We shotgun things to make it easier on ourselves, sort of guaranteeing ourselves of something in most cases. We do this to avoid conflict and get what we want or like. The word shotgun is a direct result of how our society functions today. For instance, i will focus on technology; Isn't the reason for creating new technologies and gadgets to make our lives easier?

A couple months ago i was introduced to the future of remote controls. I was shown a remote that can turn on every god damn thing in your house. Could you imagine if you had to turn on the DVD player AND the TV! how ridiculous would that be! Or how about this? Remember when humans used to make fires with sticks and stones and they burned WOOD? We'll now all we have to do is flip a switch and we get the instant satisfaction of a nice warm cozy fire burning through tanks of gasoline. Oh wait, the new fire places don't have switches, that's too difficult, they come with 55 different remotes to scatter all over the house so that you never have to move an inch to enjoy you freshly burnt gas.

The fact is, it doesn't seem as though we were supposed to have all these gadgets and technologies that make our lives so easy, it just doesn't feel right. And i know that as long as we advance our technologies we will create things that will make our lives easier. By 2015, you wont ever have to get out of your chair at the office, they will all be hydrogen powered (Could Happen). So when i hear the word shotgun, i refer to all the laziness that we are. I avoid the word, although it does slip out sometimes, it's important that i consciously don't say it.

Because i despise the word, I am going to make a promise to myself, as a New Years resolution to not say the word shotgun for the entire year of 2009. If i say it then i am just breaking my own promise which sucks. BUT i will still use my universalized remote to turn on anything i want in my house, just because I've already fallen into the trap of laziness that is society and technology.

This Year will be Happy

In this new year (2009) i will make an infinite amount of scientific discoveries, and post all of them on this Blog.

Be Optimistic!

Happy New Year