Fishbowl Living 2.0

If I've Got No Say, I Won't Pay

2014-08-01T05:17:00.000-07:00

The Foreplay:

Hey everyone, I'd like to write a quick (and likely inflammatory) post about something we can ALL relate to in some fashion...

Baby mamas and daddies...

Yup, the age old issue of unexpected pregnancies and one of the most common disputes to arise from the surprise situation.

Core Play:

Okay I don't want any 'short foreplay' jokes here folks, this one's a quick so let's just accept that fact and move on to the good stuff.

You have undoubtedly heard of a situation where two people have bumped uglies and, unintentionally found themselves holding a little stick with a "+" sign showing on it. There are a number of reactions to the glorious miracle of impending new life and many of them are full of joy and laughter... Yeah I'm not here to talk about those, sorry.

I'm here to talk about the argument that comes up when one side of the fraternizing folks doesn't want to keep the child and the other does. This doesn't matter to me if it is given up for adoption or aborted, the core issue is the disagreement over the ultimate fate of the child and by extension, the fates of the two parents-to-be-or-not-to-be.

What typically happens is the old "it's a woman's body, therefore she gets the ultimate decision". I have no problem with this (in theory) however in practice his has been used by some women to try and trap men into either 1. Staying with them romantically when the man may otherwise wish to leave a relationship OR 2. To force a man to pay child support which then may, or may not be mis-used by the ne'er do well baby mama to buy shoes and clothes for herself rather than taking care of well... You know... That child mentioned in the whole "child support" term.

Here's my view, and yes, be prepared for inside-your-head notings of "shots fired" because this is probably going to ruffle a feather or two out on the interwebs:

If two people engage in sexual activity where it is stated (honestly or otherwise) that they do NOT wish to have a child via the sexual action, and any form of contraception is used (take the pill, pull it out, wrap-it-before-you-tap-it, I really don't care just pick your poison) however pregnancy occurs then:

The woman gets the ultimate say in whether or not to attempt to carry the child to term.

HOWEVER!!!
If the man does not wish for the child to be carried to term, no child support need be paid by the father.

I know what you're probably thinking... "But Josh, it takes two to tango, he's responsible for that child!" Here's where you're wrong. If you take reasonable precautions, state that you do NOT want a child from the get-go, but you're still not given a choice in whether or not the child is brought into the world, you should not be made financially responsible for a situation that you have no control over.

I'm telling you, if this were the case you'd see a LOT more women carrying condoms (seriously, you ladies get to decide whether or not we get to use it... You should be at least willing to shoulder the same responsibility of making sure it's wrapped... Equality and whatnot), likely fewer unexpected pregnancies, and the incident rates of women trapping men by intentionally getting pregnant after deceiving a man would sink to zero since well... Getting yourself knocked up would no longer be a viable source of income.

The Afterglow:

Was that as good for you as it was for me? Yeah? No? Either way, stop off at the comments section at the bottom of this page and leave your opinions, I DO actually want to hear them.

As always, enjoy your swim folks!

Joshua J. Taylor

Financial Fuss - Minimum Wage and Living Withing Your Means

2014-02-16T23:55:00.001-08:00

Hey folks,

I'm here to give you my perspective on the current minimum wage debates and the societally-accepted bullshit that I'd like to call "the age of entitlement".

Age of Entitlement:

Entitle: To furnish with grounds for laying claim... To put that a little more simply, since it's a bit of a 'frilly' definition... Being entitled is the act of believing that you are owed, or deserving of something for one reason or other. Based on that definition I suppose I should call our current time period the Western age of universal entitlement but I think the Age of Entitlement will do.

What I mean to say by this is that people seem to feel that they, purely by their existence, are entitled, or deserving of everything that life has to offer, regardless of their financial position. People say that they 'need' the best, newest, shiniest things in life when really, the world doesn't own you anything at all. It is these same people, and this general mindset that gave the banks their ridiculous power, which ultimately led to the economic collapse.

You see, when people feel entitled, they tend to act upon that feeling. This leads them to buying things they can't afford which then causes them to demand higher wages, more benefits so on and so forth. These people will also then claim, that these better wages and benefits are a "necessity" and stir up a rather considerable fuss in order to get what they want. This is where the modern day worker's union came into being, but that's likely a discussion best left for another article.

The main point that should be understood before moving forward is this... People need to get their heads out of their asses and accept that they can't get everything they want... Should be simple but God-knows it's not how enough people think.

Minimum Wage Increase:

Personally, I support what I'd like to call a "Practical Minimum Wage", one that actually makes sense. You may be asking "what makes sense" and I would reply with this...

A "practical" minimum wage is one that is tied to the cost of living which is tied to inflation. Such a wage would be the minimum wage upon which an individual can sustain themselves while working a 40 hour work week.

There are many who disagree with my view, and I understand that, it's the way of the world. What I don't understand is HOW these people can disagree. If you work a 'typical' work week, which isn't exactly typical at all anymore, why should you still come in below the poverty line? Why should the simple basics of food and shelter be beyond your reach? Some people have said that "students don't need to make $14/hr"... And that bugs me considering if they're doing the same work, they deserve the same hourly pay regardless of their age or that fact that they're in highschool. Some highschool students HAVE to work so that their family doesn't starve, or get kicked out onto the street.

To me it's quite simple, as are most things in theory and I understand that. People argue that it would chase away business, despite the proven fact that a fairly-paid worker produces better results which more than compensate for the wages they are paid. I'd like to say that there are more arguments but that is by a LARGE margin the most popular one going, and it happens to be wrong or at the very least ill-informed.

The Wrap-Up:

Despite my strong feelings I would like to hear your opinions, regardless of what they may be. Whether you agree or disagree with me on my claims that people are far too entitled, or that the minimum wage should be tied to cost of living, I would like to hear your opinion and why it is that you believe as you do.

Until the comments come in, or I feel inclined to write another article however...

Enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylor

Problematic Politics - What About Wages

2014-02-05T19:57:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

Been a while but I'm back with a definite purpose this time (I know, you're all just SO excited). Being entirely serious though, this topic is something that every country needs to consider and the topic of the night (and of many posts yet to come) is the wage discrepancy between Canada's politicians and the average worker's salary.

Just The Facts:

I'm not here to start a flame war over opinions, I'm here to put it to your straight-up, as honest as can be, with the best information that I can gather. Fortunately the information is readily available and it's extremely cut and dry.

I'd like to start you off with something simple, just to get the juices flowing in all of our brains... The average Canadian's annual income at the start of 2014 (information gathered from Workopolis) was documented as being ~$48,250.00. That translates out to being around $928.00 per week, or $23.20 per hour for a full, forty-hour work week. Personally I've never seen a figure like $23.20/hr in my life even with almost six years of experience in my field (sure that'd retail but still, I've never seen even an assistant manager nomination with my experience... But I digress) however I understand that there are some -not many, but some- very high-earning individuals in Canada to bump that average up a smidge or two.

The point where this annual income really becomes shocking to me is when you look at the base salary of a member of Canadian parliament (MPs). Your run-of-the-mill MP makes a guaranteed $160,200.00 yearly income. I'm not sure how much of that is taxable, but it wouldn't make a lot of sense to tax a politician's income considering it's tax dollars being spent but then again, with political logic, you never know. Different members of the House of Commons received increased pay depending on their 'workloads' which range from a 'simple' extra $5,700.00 for each caucus chair of parties other than the leading party and the official opposition up to the Prime Minister who makes a tidy sum of $320,400.00 a year from a 'workload bonus' of an extra $160,200.00 per year... Yup, the Prime Minister gets double the already inflated salary of an MP.

The difference here, if you're without a calculator or a mathematically gifted mind, comes to $111,950.00... Let's put that in a list shall we?

Average Canadian Income: ~$48,250.00/year
Baseline MP Salary: $160,200.00/year
Prime Minister Annual Salary: $320,400.00

Average MP - Average Canadian: $111,950.00/year
Avg. Canadian / MP x 100: 30.11% (average Canadian income is 30% of an MP's yearly salary)
Avg. Canadian / Prime Minister x 100: 15% (Average Canadian makes 15% of the Prime Minister's annual income)

So, those are the facts, the cold hard truth, and nothing but the truth. If this seems a little unfair to you, then you're of the same mind as myself... So long as you think that the gap should be smaller, rather than larger. If you DON'T think this is unfair, my guess is that you've never had to worry about where your next dollar would be coming from.

My Angle:

I always have one, as you know, and although I try to be a moderate, I can't help but be completely opposed to this level of wage disparity. There is no reason that, with a national debt of $683,315,279,727.00 and rising (as of 10:17pm, February 5th, 2014), which comes out to an individual average (your 'personal' share of our national debt) $19,360.00 per man, woman and child in Canada, that politicians should be making this kind of money.

Answer me this reader... Should a politician's salary not reflect the people they were elected to represent? Are politicians not, by definition in Canada, elected individuals intended to carry out the majority's will while protecting the minority's rights? In that event, it is my opinion (strongly held opinion) that politicians should be restricted to making no more than the average Canadian's salary... That includes people who are designated as unemployed ("seeking but unable to find employment").

Is this not a fair proposal? I elect an official to represent me and my interests, values, and opinions. We all elect these people to conduct themselves as our representatives to the rest of the nation but how can they be expected to identify with, and represent us if they make so much more than we do? You cannot be "of the people" when you've put yourself up on a pedestal now can you?

My Proposal:

If you feel like I feel then I urge you to take action and take back control of YOUR tax dollars. You elect your MPs and other political representatives to stand in your stead on the national stage, and it is money taken from YOUR income paying for theirs. Why should they make three times the average Canadian's salary when they're meant to represent that average?

I don't mean taking action as in rioting, bombings, violence of any sort... I'm honestly a peaceful-enough fellow. What I DO mean is to pick up a pen, lay down some paper and write (yes, WRITE) a letter to your MP and MPP (Member of Provincial Parliament... For which statistics should follow in my next post re: their salaries) and tell them what you think of this situation. You, dear reader, if you are a Canadian citizen, 'owe' $19,360.00 because that's 'your' share of our nation's debt. IF you have children, they each 'owe' that same amount... Why? For a lot of reasons including poor personal finance management but to a much larger degree, poor financial planning at the highest levels of government.

Personally, since I wasn't alive, much less able to vote when most of the policies that would eventually cause our current national financial predicament were put into place, I can't help but feel a little slighted by all of this. It's like walking into a restaurant and having your server tell you that you're responsible for the check of the group of businessmen that just left and if someone tried to pull that on me, it wouldn't go over so well so why should we take this lying down? Get on the phone, get to your keyboards, writing desks, typewriters... I really don't give a damn how but contact your elected representatives! Just because you may not have voted for your MPP/MP doesn't mean you're not still paying their salaries and as such, they are (believe it or not) accountable to YOU, the taxpayer.

I was once told by my politics teacher in grade twelve that a career-minded politician equates different types of communication from their constituents with a number of votes. If you make a quick email? That's around 10 votes worth in their minds while a phone call represents about 100 voters, and a hand-written letter speaks for about 1000 individuals. You may think that's ridiculous but the logic is pretty sound. If one person is willing to sacrifice the time it takes to hand write a letter, if they are that passionate about the issue, then the odds are that more people are bothered by the problem, but simply haven't yet taken that level of initiative. When you make a gesture, even one so simple as writing an email, dialing a phone number, or penning correspondence to your political representative, you'd better believe that they take it seriously. If enough people get up off their asses and do the same? Then you can bet change will be just around the corner.

Politicians like having a salary, they like having a job, and they're the type of person who enjoy being in the spotlight and in a position of power, that's just a simple truth based on the type of occupation and the mindset required for campaigning. These people want to keep their positions which is only done through keeping the voting public happy... Emphasis on the VOTING public, as too many people stay home from the polls and refuse to stand up and be counted. If you don't vote, you can't complain about the government. Even if you go to the polls and select "abstain", it's still counted and says "I don't believe in any of the options, they're all equally unsuitable for office" and that can go a LONG way to indicating that we want change.

The Wrap-Up:

There's really not much more for me to say folks, we're getting fleeced. People are making decisions that negatively affect our lives every day and they're getting paid quite generously to do it.

The figures I quoted earlier don't even bring into account expenses for cars, or the international trips that these dignitaries (and I use that term loosely as little dignity seems to be involves) conduct each year so you could just imagine the amounts being spent for which information ISN'T provided to you, and please feel free to let your minds wander on that idea.

I'm asking you no, begging you to do something about this. We CANNOT advance as an equality-minded nation with this kind of elitism in our political system. These men and women are in the House of Commons to represent Canada's provinces, and regions within those provinces and yet they out-earn the VAST majority of their constituents.

If you think that this abuse of power has gone too far then join me, and let's make a change. Let's you and I get in contact with those we've allowed to represent us, and tell them exactly what we think of their ludicrous incomes, expense accounts and more. You may think they won't change regardless of how many people we get behind such a movement but I guarantee you, if they won't make a change, we can put in someone who will.

Join me? Regardless of if you do, or do not...

Enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylor

Life-Saving Student Angers Administration

2013-06-01T23:16:00.000-07:00

Now I've heard it all...

This article just filtered through to me which is surprising as it was published back in May. The Globe and Mail reported about a student who was reprimanded for, get this, intervening when a bully pulled a knife on another student. That's right folks, this boy was chastised by school officials because he stood up to a bully, an action that may very well have saved another student's life.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/05/31/briar-maclean-reprimanded-for-stopping-a-knife-wielding-bully-at-school/

Here's the altercation in a nutshell:

Bullies beggin harassing a student across the classroom from Briar.
One bully gets the victim in a headlock, a "flick" is heard and another student verbally indicates the presence of a knife.
Briar gets up from his seat, crosses the classroom and pushes the blade-brandishing bully off of, and away from the intended victim.

At what point in that series of events did Briar earn himself anything less than a commendation? The principal had him brought down to her office where Briar's mother was called and told that the school does not "condone heroics". In case you missed it, Briar very likely SAVED A LIFE through his intervention. Do you know how fast someone can be mortally wounded with a knife? I'm not talking by some professional, special-operations soldier no, I'm talking about some punk kid with a pocket knife... Faster than you can even process it having happened.

There was an incident a number of years ago where a student from a neighbouring school to mine was killed by some coward with a knife in a fistfight. A crowd formed around the two quarrelling students, the punches started landing and then one of them pulled out a knife. Reports said that someone tried to give the other student a skateboard to defend himself but before anyone could step in the boy had already been fatally stabbed.

A former friend of mine was rather close to the victim and so I accompanied him to the funeral. Between multiple viewing rooms for the service and the grounds outside it seemed that the entire student body had shown up to pay their respects. We lost a sixteen year old boy that day because no one stepped in to break up the fight... How many more children will it take before the administrators realize that their approach is doing far more harm than good.

My Bullying Background:

I had to deal with my fair share of shit and abuse from my classmates over the years. As you can probably tell from my attitude, I wasn't the easiest kid to get along with and so I made for a great target. I had students try to steal things from me, push me around and eventually earned a few death threats in high school but after I got out of elementary school I only got into one fight.

I'd been harassed for about four months by the same kid every single day. Didn't matter if it was in the hallways, in the geography class we shared or even in other classes where his friends would start in on me, I never went a full day without some sort of insult or threat from him or his 'associates'. Finally, after he shouldered me in the hallway and knocked my pizza out of my hands, I snapped. I picked up the pizza, lobbed it down the hallway and hit him across the back of the head with it (why not right? Wasn't like I was about to eat floor pizza) and everything went rapidly downhill from there. I spent the next week and a half getting shoved around in the hallways and threatened by both him and his friends who told me "so-and-so's gonna kick your ass after school today". At a certain point you get really sick of having to worry about your walk home, trust me, so I decided to confront him about it. Talking hadn't worked since I'd asked many times before the pizza incident for him to leave me alone. The administration hadn't done anything as the teachers I'd complained to sent me to guidance which saw no change in the issue, so I went out to the bus stop on my way home, made it very clear that I was looking to 'drop the gloves' with him and get it all over with. Sure enough, 15 minutes later he finally decided to show up... Right before one of his friends shoved me from behind and he sucker punched me in the face. From there the whole thing went into a grapple, I sent a few shots into his kidneys and he tried to throw me to the ground before a teacher broke it up. I received a suspension as I'd instigated a fight, as did he but only for being involved in a fight and nothing was done about the months of "bullying".

Some of you won't see my actions as being justified and that's fine but to me? I did what I had to do. I wasn't going to keep shuffling up my route home, walking a kilometre out of my way just to avoid a fight so I decided where and when I'd face my tormentor. If that's wrong, I've got no problems being the bad guy but I'd like to say this. No one should EVER be ridiculed for standing up to a bully, EVER. As Briar's mother said in the article, without heroes we'd have no police officers, no firemen, no emergency services what-so-ever and definitely no military servicemen or women.

If you'd like to let the school know about your views on the incident and their 'no heroes' policy, you can send them a quick email at SirJohnAMacdonald@cbe.ab.ca or even better yet you can email the school board's chief superintendent and REALLY rattle the cages by sending your thoughts to ChiefSuperintendent@cbe.ab.ca... I did, and this is what I sent to the Superintendent:

"Madam Superintendent,

I am writing this email to make my opinions known to you as per the 'no heroes' policy enforced in your schools. Having just read an article regarding an incident this past month at Sit John A MacDonald school where a bully pulled a knife on his victim. It is this type of "no tolerance" idiocy that will see a generation of wimps, cowards and 'innocent bystanders' raised by schools more concerned with covering their asses than with providing valuable life lessons to their students.

A boy at a neighbouring school to mine was KILLED when another student pulled a knife on him and no one intervened. Despite knowing that this sort of outcome was VERY possible during the altercation at Sir John A, the principal said that the fact that the victim's throat could have been slit in the time it would've taken for the young good Samaritan to notify a teacher was "besides the point".

How can you stand by when policies like this exist in your schools? How can you knowingly allow children to be taught that it's better NOT to stop bullying, better NOT to save lives and to simply keep their heads down and let the worst happen around them? I hope that this has brought a very serious problem to light for you and the entire Calgary Board of Education and that you'll be taking immediate actions to begin instilling proper values in the students whose minds you shape each passing year.

Just remember, these are the students who'll grow up to be the bystander that might have to make the choice between walking by or stepping in and helping if you or your family are being mugged, or in a car crash, or any number of other dangerous situations. Instead of chastising heroism, I think it's about time someone encouraged it don't you?

"Some work of noble note may yet be done"

Joshua J. Taylor - Concerned Canadian"

Yup, that was my letter word-for-word and I encourage you to write you own. You don't need to write a novel, but you should definitely consider sending SOMETHING and if not to the Calgary superintendent (though her school most-obviously need a revamp in policy) perhaps to YOUR school board asking if they support this type of ridiculous bureaucratic bullshit.

That's all for tonight everyone, hope you enjoyed the read and I hope even moreso that you're inspired to demand change.

Enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylor

Boston Bombings - Best Guesses

2013-04-23T19:01:00.001-07:00

Get Ready to Hate Me:

Yup, I'm about to tell you something that you're not going to want to hear. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, nor am I some whackjob coming in from WAY out in left field on this, I'm just a guy who understands how things usually function and who's noticed the patterns of human behaviour.

Befuddling Blasts:

Some of you might understand this, but a lot of you have probably put a lot of effort into NOT thinking about the subject matter but I assure you, with a little bit of research, that all of the pieces fall into place.

I've seen a pattern in terrorist activities, as have major federal agencies and that is their almost textbook execution. It would seem that there is some sort of script, or terrorist handbook out there for creating the most damage and destruction possible with the resources at hand. This is how it typically works.

Phase One:

This is usually some graphic, atrocious display of aggression causing severe injuries and occasionally death. The point of this phase isn't to kill, it's meant to maim, injure and in doing do, draw first-responders to the scene.

The example I've chosen is the attack on a housing community and a softball game pictured in the movie The Kingdom. The people at the softball game flee from the shooting, a man dressed in a security officer's uniform calls for them to follow him and when they do, he pulls out a live grenade and detonates it.

The result of these attacks again, are not nearly as devastating as the second phase strikes but they create panic and bring all sorts of people to the initial scene. These first responders become the secondary targets of phase two.

Phase Two:

Right here is the piece of the terrorist puzzle that you REALLY need to be worried about. This isn't about distraction, it's not about any ulterior motives, it's about total and complete devastation. This applies to both physical and emotional destruction as the people targeted in these situations are those who've come to help, and it's more likely to be widely observed and televised because of the attention drawn by the previous attack(s).

This phase normally takes place a considerable time after the initial incident, allowing for first responders to congregate on-scene but not leaving enough time for explosive ordinance teams to detect any secondary explosives (if that's the method being used for the Phase Two attack). Keeping with the references to The Kingdom, the secondary phase could be something like a larger explosive charge brought to the scene by a vehicle that would not appear as out of place. In The Kingdom it was an ambulance and that theme continued with an ambulance being used in the Criminal Minds episode based in New York as well.

This should start making sense to everyone reading this. You cause trouble, people come to check it out. News crews, paramedics, fire and police responders, construction engineers if necessary... All of these people create a massive influx of targets and if you asked homeland security, they'd tell you the same.

Disclaimer:

I want to say it plain and clear before I go any further. I am not some psychopath determined to destroy the world. This information is not something I've gathered together in order to CAUSE destruction, but instead to explain it and root out the issues and maybe understand how to be better prepared in the case of a catastrophic incident.

My previous blog was put on a police watch list as I'd made a large number of insulting and very critical remarks about my old high-school's administration so I know that there's a chance it could happen again. This is my little disclaimer to let any such police force, law enforcement agency or government agency know that I'm not a hostile person, just a guy trying to make sense of a mostly senseless world.

Square Peg in a Round Hole:

So maybe you're starting to see where I'm going with all of this as far as the Boston bombings are concerned. If you can't see it yet, don't worry. I'm about to explain it all very clearly and hopefully in a way that will make even the most die-hard believer in the popular press' stories question what they've heard.

The blasts at the finish line of the Boston marathon occurred within seconds of one-another, in a crowded area and only managed to kill 3, and maim just shy of 200 individuals. You might think I'm being cold by saying "only managed to kill 3" but considering more civilians than that are killed each day by US military operations, I'm not going to get too teary-eyed.

Anyway, the bombs go off in rapid succession, and compared to the damage that COULD have been caused, they were extremely ineffective. If they had half a mind to do some REAL destruction, the whole thing would've been staged much differently which could've and likely would've caused MUCH more damage and isn't that the goal of ANY terrorist? Cause as much harm and create as much chaos as possible? Yup, it sure is.

Psychological Profile:

I'd like to point out a second aspect of the whole mess that doesn't fit the mould of your typical terrorist-type... The younger brother's psychological and social profiles.

This boy, only nineteen years old, had just received a $2500.00 scholarship to pursue a career in medicine, he was fairly welcomed by his highschool class which is about all that any student can ask for, and his life aspirations were to have an enjoyable career and make money. Someone in his position simply doesn't establish an 'endgame' and decide to bomb a major event.

No, a kid like that thanks his lucky stars that his education was going to be $2,500.00 cheaper and starts planning their entire life. Maybe the brother fit the profile of a hostile psychopath somewhat, being a loner and expressing some serious anti-American sentiments on their web profiles etc, but I have a lot of anti-American policy feelings and a very select group of friends... I'M not an extremist so what's the difference?

Well they're originally from the area around Chechnya which is just to the north of Georgia... If anything they should have anti-Russian sentiments in abundance but I suppose that slipped most peoples' minds as well right? Of course it did. Regardless, since they're not American-born they must be terrorists right? Anyone from outside the country could be one of these evil extremists who're jealous of American freedom and prosperity right? Suuuuuuure, let the media blame the immigrants and foreigners. That's worked well before (It really has folks. Just look up the issues surrounding the start of the Spanish-American war).

Seriously folks, I hope you're seeing how little sense any of this makes. I know we live in a screwed-up world where everything seems so out of control and senseless but there are some human truths that just can't be avoided. In this day and age, unless you're already rich, you don't walk away from $2,500.00... Even if you ARE rich you sure as hell aren't going to sneeze at such a scholarship so why would this young man do such a thing?

The Clean-Up:

So, the bombing doesn't fit any sort of 'terrorist logic', and at least one of the apparent perpetrators doesn't come close to fitting the profile of the type of person who commits these acts. By all accounts the younger brother was a smart kid, and I mentioned the $2,500.00 scholarship... Don't you think that someone going to school for medicine would know how to cause the most damage to the human body? If you've got the know-how to make a pressure cooker into a shrapnel bomb, you could sure as hell figure out how to make the most of it.

I'd like to say I'm sorry for not believing the popular news, but I'm not. Would it save me some hassle? Sure, but then I'd be just another sheep and that's not cool to me.

Oh well, until next time folks... Enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylor

Student Savings - Car Cash Conundrums Pt. 2

2013-03-13T18:58:00.001-07:00

Routine Maintenance:

As with all good proposals, mine's run into some roadblocks but it's nothing that can't be worked around. One of the most important traits to a successful individual is perseverance in the face of adversity and I intend to show just that with this addition to the "Car Cash Conundrum" article.

I feel as though my initial article was well-written (of course I'm biased but you CAN disagree if you'd like) but I still faced some challenges when I actually brought my proposal to my mother. This started me thinking that if I was getting challenged on my proposal, it's likely that anyone else who tries to implement my system would get some push-back from their prospective partners as well. As such I've written this article to address the main concerns that I've had raised by both family and friends.

Dream Car Doubts:

The first obstacle that I encountered when I pitched this concept was my mother worrying over money, as everyone does in life. She argued that she wasn't going to have the amount of disposable income available after retirement that she has now, and that she couldn't afford to be purchasing a car now that she wasn't going to keep.

Cars mean money...

It's fairly likely that this is the leading argument that you'll run into as most people worry that after retiring, their financial situation will be in a never-ending state of serious jeopardy. The argument is rather simply beaten though if you take THIS approach:

Remind your prospective 'business partner' that to purchase a NEW car, they'd likely require a lease to pay it off.
Figure out the vehicle that they're in the market for, determine the lowest possible price for that make and model, and factor in their current vehicle's trade-in value* along with the down payment that they'd be making on a new car. It will help to link your proposal to this argument if you use the down payment you'd require from them to purchase a suitable used vehicle.
*www.motortrend.com has a trade-in value tool. They're a reputable group so I'd recommend working your research through them as much as possible when it comes to vehicles.
With as much relevant lease rate data on their preferred car gathered as you can find, work out the amount of money they could SAVE by totalling up the monthly lease payments by the number of months, and restructure your proposal to fit their available lease period.
Factor in the amount of money you'll be paying them over time for the used car that you're proposing and you can tell them what their NEW down payment on their dream car would be after completing YOUR proposed payment plan.

Almost every parent understands the fact that a larger down payment means less money spent on financing a purchase. In my case, I was looking at comparing my proposal to financing a 2013 Cadillac CTS. Factoring in our vehicle's trade-in value along with my requested down payment on a used vehicle the lease payments would have been $311 over 36 months. This equates to $11196.00 spent financing the NEW vehicle where it COULD be added together over the same time period to become a $23000.00+ down payment towards a new vehicle. Compared to putting only about half of that down on a purchase? Yeah, you can bet that there's a huge difference and anyone looking at buying a new car will see it.

Misinterpretation:

This might be your worst enemy through all of this. Money can be summed up and put into cold hard facts, but how someone reads or interprets your words. If they're not taken the right way it is very likely that your words might lead someone into getting their back against the wall or completely discounting your proposal simply because of an instance of inaccurate wording.

A little misinterpretation anyone?

My recommendation here is for you to write out your proposal, have it proofread by someone who has a business-oriented career or background, even someone taking business or law in school as they may have a better grasp on the issues and they have a better chance of getting you to a point where your proposal is beyond misinterpretation.

Just work by the mantra that "anything than CAN be misunderstood WILL be misunderstood". Go with this in mind and you should fly pretty true.

Criss-Crossed Car Concepts:

I didn't run into this myself, but I thought that some of you, in an overzealous state, might overshoot your mark.

What I mean here is if you KNOW your 'target' is looking for a 4-door family car, don't try to bargain them into getting a convertible or a sports coupe. Make sure you stay inside the type of vehicle that will fit THEIR needs, as they're going to have a larger list of 'must haves' and you simply need four wheels and a motor. I'm not saying you need to give up, roll over and play dead, but you DO need to be more mindful of your target's needs than your own. This is a time for patience folks, your time will come and with a lifetime of savings you might just get your hands on YOUR dream car but now is not the time.

These have been just a couple of pitfalls you might encounter. If you can think of any more challenges, please feel free to post in the comments section and I'll do whatever I can to help you work around them.

Student Savings - Car Cash Conundrums

2013-03-12T23:45:00.001-07:00

Start Your Engines:

Hey there fellow starving students! Have I got a post for you or what!

No seriously, that wasn't a question and this post is entirely about a situation that most of us will face at some point in our young lives... Buying our first car.

BMW M3 CSL... I can only dream...

Buying your first car can be an experience that brings up a number of emotions... Pride and shame are usually the first two that come into our heads. We're typically either ecstatic and disproportionately proud of our new vehicle (like the people who flip out over a rust-eaten, beat-up and SUPER high mileage jalopy) or somewhat ashamed (those of us driving our mom's old minivan because it seemed like great graduation gift at the time). Then there are the group of young drivers who venture to a used car lot intent on picking out a 'winner', finding a great deal only to realize that their dream car was nothing more than a cash cow in disguise... Andrew, I'm talking to you on that one bud ;)

Seriously though, the biggest issue is usually financing your wheels and that's understandable considering the price of gas, insurance, and the few pennies we manage to scrounge from out part-time, foot-in-the-door-level jobs after tuition takes its bite out of our savings. To this end I've come up with a suggestion that you can take to your parents in a time where everyone has changing needs, and one solution might just fit all of them adequately enough to get you behind the wheel, and give your family a new sense of pride in their fiscally responsible and reasonable youngster.

Weighing The Wallets and Wants:

As you're coming into your own as a young adult, your parents will likely be transitioning into a new lifestyle as well. With you looking to get out on your own, they'll be looking at a greater level of disposable income, odds are that they're looking into retirement, and as such their transportation needs will be changing as well.

Using my household as an example we've had a minivan since moving into this house almost a decade ago. This has always come off as odd to me seeing as I have had a sports practice in about the same amount of time, and I've not been to soccer practice since I was around 7 years old... Seriously, why my mother's got a 'soccer mom' vehicle at this point is beyond me but onto the real substance here. My mum wants to get herself behind the wheel of a Cadillac, but it's a big jump to go over the the luxury sedan side after driving a minivan for so long, not to mention a pretty hefty financial burden.

As for my needs? Well it's about high time that I started driving SOMETHING. I was never given the opportunity to practice with the Grey Goose (my affectionate nickname for the minivan) and my life never really saw me needing a vehicle as my school, work, and friends were all local to me and well within walking or biking distance. Now I see my life changing, longer commutes to see friends, family and a larger world of opportunity beyond my effective walking or biking range. This means, like many other people my age, that I'm in need of a motorized method of transportation. With that said, I don't have a lot of money to sink into that need, so my options remain limited.

This is where the needs of myself and my mother collide, and where you can likely find the common ground between you and YOUR household's needs as well. This works best if you're not in need of a vehicle on a daily basis, and especially well if you're just working on getting your full G License. My recommendation to you? Propose a "Scheduled Transfer of Ownership" to your parents and see what their feelings are on the matter.

Scheduled Ownership Transfer:

Essentially you're looking at a 'rent to own' arrangement. You and your parents/guardian make an initial investment into a vehicle that adequately meets the needs of all the parties involved. In my case it's rather simple however you might need to do some bargaining as per your household's specific demands. After the initial investment (purchase) is made, under the agreement you, as the young driver of the house, would begin making scheduled payments over an established period of time until you take ownership of the vehicle.

My suggestion in arranging the payment plan is this... Your payments should include the cost incurred by your parents involved with insuring the vehicle so that you can drive it, as well as a percentage of the car's projected value at the point where you would be taking full ownership of it. This system works much better when dealing with buying a used, earlier model vehicle as the initial cost and insurance payments will be lower. Here's my situation...

My mother's target vehicle: Cadillac Sedan, New.

My proposed vehicle: Earlier-Model BMW 3-Series Sedan, Used.

Proposed Vehicle Cost: ~$5,400-$10,000 CDN.

Payment Term: 3-4 Years.

So, I've matched the needs of the parties involved, picked an older model car, a 4-door sedan as well (trust me, a young driver in a sports coupe? Insurance companies see nothing but dollar signs when you apply). the payment term reflects an average college or university education timeline and the cost (look it up people, you really can get BMWs in this price bracket) is very reasonable. Now comes the tricky part... Calculating the depreciation in value and establishing what value of use the other parties in the agreement will take from the vehicle.

For my example, here's a little spreadsheet I drew up for the calculations:

Simple enough.

I used a website to determine the projected decrease in my car model's value, applied that to any investment into a used vehicle and since the 'off the showroom floor' factor can be ignored when buying a used vehicle (the amount that a new vehicle depreciates simply by you taking it off the car lot), the calculation becomes a piece of cake. You need to use the formula for "exponential decay" to determine the value but honestly, with the online tools available to you, that's easy enough to do.

So, recapping everything:

Proposed Vehicle: BMW 3-Series, 320i 4-Door Sedan, Used.

Avg. Cost: $7,600.00CDN

Depreciated Value After:

-3 Years: $4595.37 CDN

-4 Years: $3824.84 CDN

Now, here's the more complicated part... Establishing what you're going to pay over time until the car is transferred over to you. I would argue that you could only owe, at most, the percentage of the final value, that your parents put into the initial investment minus an amount from them having benefited from the vehicle's use. As an example, if your parents were to pay for 75% of the car initially, then you would owe them 75% of the car's final value. Now there will be a lot of squabble about this, there always seems to be when I post my opinion but that's what I'm going with.

To sum things up, using my example of the BMW 3-Series 320i 4-Door Sedan purchased for $7,600.00 and a payment term of 4 years where the initial investment was split 60:40 between your parents/guardians and you respectively:

Initial Investments:

-You: $3040.00

-Parents/Guardians: $4560.00

Car's value after 4 years: $3824.84

Amount to be paid over payment term: ~$2294.90

Monthly Payments: $47.81 + Insurance Share

Driving Into the Sunset:

So, with the numbers broken down, there's really not that much to it. Everything in this system boils down to the five lines of data seen above. Just establish every value you can before making your proposal and you'll have given yourself the best chance of success.

Readers, from what I can gather, the majority of today's parents just want to see their children taking on more responsibility and proving that they can handle it. If you go to them whining "mommy, daddy I want a car!" odds are, unless you're some over-entitled brat, that you'll be getting nothing and you DEFINITELY won't earn any respect. However, go to them with a fully planned financial proposition and not only will you improve your chances of success, but at the very LEAST they ought to respect your level-headed approach.

That's really all I have to say about the issue... I hope that this solves some problems and puts you behind the wheel of a half-decent ride sometime soon!

Enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylor

Pokemon - A Post-War Prophecy?

2013-03-07T20:02:00.000-08:00

I Wanna Be...

The very best, like no one ever was. Explaining them is my real test, to blog this is my cause. Okay, enough of that and onto the actual meat of this article.

I had an argument with a friend today over the theoretical origins of Pokemon... Yeah, you heard me, Pokemon. Why did this argument take place? Waaaaaay too much free time on our hands but I think I managed to nail it down and I've brought my theory to the blog for all of you to pick at.

War! HUH!

What is it good for? Creating a fantastical world where kids get to own, raise and fight with superpowered animals for money while travelling around the world by my reasoning. How did I come to this conclusion you ask? Let me lay it out for you.

Check the list

You have no father, and your best friend/rival is an orphan.
Children are on a journey around the world.
You are accepted as the man in the house and you're allowed to make your own life decisions from a very young age.
Most of the people you meet are either children or gym leaders (most of whom are women, young people or seedy characters).
The men you meet are either very old, have military-linked jobs or are involved with organized crime.
There are hospitals and basic markets everywhere but no entertainment centres or services.
"Hey, kid! What do you think you're doing here? You won't live long in combat! That's for sure! I tell you kid, electric pokemon saved me during the war!" - Lietuenant Surge aka "The Lightning American"

So think about this folks, what else could cause these conditions? Lt. Surge being nicknamed "The Lightning American" points to the existence of the Americas, which makes Lt. Surge inhabiting Kanto (the name of an actual region in Japan) a likely instance of immigration.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes:

Before I start this, I need to make one point clear. In the Pokemon universe, pokemon coexisted with animals as we recognize them, meaning not EVERY organism in the Pokemon universe has always been a human or pokemon. My evidence? The Weepingbell Pokemon Card, an official, Pokemon-licensed piece of merchandise featuring Weepinbell and a small blueish-green bird not identified as ANY pokemon ever shown.

See the bird?

That's not a pidgey, spearow or any other pokemon released so what else could it possibly be? This leads me to my next point... Pokemon are simply organisms that evolved rapidly from organisms currently known to man.

Pikachu is known as the "electric mouse pokemon", and with names like Pidgey (Pidgeon) and Spearow (Sparrow) not to mention Squirtle being a hybrid Squirrel-Turtle (note the fluffy squirrel tail) it makes a pretty clear case that these names were given to new species that were so closely related to their evolutionary ancestors. These evolutions still require an explanation though, as such changes in animals even that we've seen don't just happen overnight. To explain that I go back to the war.

In a world with such advanced technology as Pokeballs and a computerized pokemon storage system it is hard to believe that nuclear power would be unavailable. In staying with my theory that Pokemon makes the most sense as an evolution of our current world state, nuclear power would have been available, especially during a war where America is involved. Since radioactivity HAS been proven to cause cell mutation albeit rarely positive mutation, the case could be made to this explanation of why the Pokemon experience is what it is:

The Wrap-Up:

Pokemon takes place in Japan following a devastating world war culminating in nuclear conflict. Japan, as an island nation very difficult to attack and isolate (experienced by the United States during WW2's island-hopping campaign), managed to remain geographically untouched in the war but suffered from the loss of the majority of their prime-aged male population due to the conflict.

Your father and your friend/rival's father were killed in the war, leaving you the man of your household and your rival in the care of his grandfather. You and your generation are the first generation of people living in an era of piece in a post-war environment that sees the expansion of organized crime, a complete lack of an entertainment industry (would have been necessary to finance a total war), and a burgeoning expansion of construction projects (Veridian and the grounds to its east).

Of course this is all just the ramblings of a very bored mind. I don't believe that pokemon exist, existed, or will exist. I'm just taking a pass at an analysis of a world provided to me by Game Freak Inc. and Nintendo. What do YOU think reader?

Enjoy your swim, and catch'em all!

Joshua J. Taylor

Game Changers - Fearsome Fighters

2013-02-18T22:46:00.000-08:00

Drop The Gloves:

This is a question that will be asked all year, and likely for years to come... Can a fight change the course of a game? Can winning or losing one good dust-up change the momentum of a game enough to win or lose it? I submit for your consideration, my take on the issue from last night's Toronto game against the Florida Panthers.

A Slow Start:

This game didn't precisely explode out of the starting gate. It was back and forth for a little but eventually Florida took over, leading 12-6 in shots on goal and definitely outskating the Leafs. Toronto's game suffered like this until Phil Kessel scored at 17:04 of the first period but what's more important is what happened less than three minutes before. That would be this:

Definitely a decisive bout.

After this point, the Toronto game really picked up. We saw bigger hits, better passing, and more determination in the offensive zone to maintain puck control and put pressure on the Florida defence. This increased effort eventually led to Kessel's marker late in the first.

Throwing in the Towel:

Many people are trying to have fighting taken out of the game which I think is simply ridiculous and I believe it's a bad idea for a few reasons.

My primary focus here is on the psychology of the game. If you put 12 men on an ice rink... Tell them that millions of dollars depend on their scoring against the other team, and allow for a decent level of physical contact as 'part of the game' but take away the fighting you have tantamount to a pipe bomb. fights allow for the release of tension and the last major steps to eliminate fighting only brought in more frequent use of dirty hits, headshots and clipping. We began seeing players targeted very specifically and no one to back them up. Players would go after another team's star forwards, their playmakers and even their goaltenders as Toronto fans know extremely well. This trend is going to keep getting worse so long as fighting is pushed from the ice to the history books.

Second, and almost as importantly, I DO believe that a good scrap can change the pace of a game. It's not necessarily so simple as if you beat a player his team will fall apart, however YOUR team can be inspired by your actions especially if they've been sluggish. Watching your teammate take matters into his own hands can spur a player, lacking in energy to step their game up.

The Unchanging:

There is however, one force that will most likely persist in their fight against fighting in the sport... But don't worry folks, odds are that this won't be going away anytime soon...

Proper signage IS key.

Because who doesn't love seeing him get his ass kicked? Precisely. Take that as one extra bonus when it comes to leaving fighting in the game, someone gets to lay his ass out cold every now and then when he shoots his mouth of... That, or we get to watch him dive like an Olympic 10m competitor.

Enjoy your swim folks, and as always, feel free to weigh-in.

Joshua J. Taylor

Leafs Line - Montreal Massacre

2013-02-09T22:19:00.001-08:00

The Puck Drop:

There's not much else to say really, one team showed up big and the other seemed to have gotten stuck in traffic on their way to the ice because from the scoreboard situation, this was a complete blowout.

The Scoreboard:

So the scoring runs down like this... Toronto scored, then they scored again... and again... then they put another one between the pipes... and another... and finally one more for good measure. In the meantime Reimer had to field 37 shots fired on him and fights broke out left-right-and-centre as the game just fell apart for Montreal.

Toronto Goals:

L. Komarov from N. Kulemin.
T. Bozak from JVR and J. Liles
JVR from P. Kessel
PPG - P. Kessel from D. Phaneuf and C. Franson
K. Holzer from C. Orr and J. McClement (Yeah, the big boys put some points on the board along with their PIMs)
PPG - D. Phaneuf from P. Kessel

Kessel got on the board with three points, Reemer (that's James Van, not a 'Reimer' typo) came up big tonight and I must give a little congratulations to Dion Phaneuf who actually managed to hit the net as opposed to the boards behind it and his own team mates.

Although it was a high-scoring game for Toronto, the penalty minutes became just as big a story if not something to overshadow the beating that Montreal took in goals.

The Sin Bin:

To put this in perspective early folks, a total of 116 penalty minutes were handed out over the duration of the game and 94 of them came in the 3rd period... Yeah it got a little hairy on the ice as things drew to a close.

Honestly, every time I see a game that's so one-sided, where one team is taking such a ridiculous beating, I'm usually watching someone pound on the Leafs so this was a nice change. But in those cases, tempers almost always flare and the fists start flying and this Toronto-Montreal grudge match was no different. The only change from the Leafs last year compared to their performance in such a physical style of game THIS year is, well... Almost everything. Montreal tried to beat them with skaters and that didn't work. When that failed they tried to rough up Toronto but realized far too late that the likes of Jay McClement, Mark Fraser, Colton Orr, and Frazer McLaren amongst others were waiting to greet them and Montreal simply didn't have enough bodies to put on the ice in order to wear down Toronto's heavy-handed capabilities which is something that they've been seeking for YEARS. Well, it would appear that the Leafs have found a perfectly functional balance between speed, 'magic mittens' and spunk. It came out in a big way against Montreal and for the first time in a long time Toronto has been able to say "WE are the Toronto Maple Leafs. Don't mess with us!"

I suppose it would be unfair of me to tell you about the mayhem without at least featuring the best fight of the night... Well, here's MY pick though you likely have your own. Seeing Colton Orr one-punch Rene Bourque? Yeah that made my night I must say. It's not that I have anything against Bourque, OR that that I think it was a real fight (as there would've needed to be two sides to the altercation) but I just love seeing Colton Orr back in the lineup and moreover that he's been laying people out fearlessly. So, here it is... Orr one-punches Rene Bourque with a bonus bout between Frazer McLaren and Josh Gorges.

Don't blink or you'll miss it

Honestly, the scariest part of this video is the sick, sadistic laughing smile that McLaren has painted on his face for the entire fight... Sort of reminds me of Matthew Barnabe's mug when he got into a scrap with anyone. Seriously, check out Barnabe, then look and McLaren and tell me you don't see the similarity.

Exhibit A:

Check 30s into it... THAT smile lol

In any case, the point just needs to be understood that McLaren looked like he was having the time of his life, and it scared me a little to see a man taking such enjoyment out of pummelling poor Josh Gorges.

The Return of Optimus Reim:

Not since his electric start with the Leafs have I seen James Reimer look so comfortable between the iron. Reimer was on his game tonight and little did I know when I jokingly said "OH! Reimer made a save on the first shot! It's gonna be a good game!" how right I was soon to be.

As I stated before he saved 37 shots, 8 of them on power plays, and he seemed unflinching when the bodies started flying around him... Not Ron Hextall level unflinching but good enough for my tastes. Reimer seemed to stand a foot taller than his 6'2'' frame as he faced down Brian Gionta and the Montreal Canadiens who only last year left him with his concussion that has since hounded his time with the Leafs. If he was nervous about staring down the elbows of Gionta he sure didn't show it, nor did his team mates give him any reason to fret as they did quite the job keeping Montreal's bodies away from their goaltender. It was refreshing to see Toronto finally stepping up and protecting good ol' 'Optimus Reim'.

Way to go Jimmy!

The Final Buzzer:

With all the misconducts, minutes, goals and goaltending out of the way, the game went into the books as yet ANOTHER Toronto road win, earning them the nickname "The Road Warriors" to a few with only Chicago boasting a better away-game standing. Toronto has now (soundly) beaten the Montreal Canadiens twice this year and here's hoping that's not the last Montreal Massacre we see this year.

Actually, the next time they're scripted to meet is on my birthday. Anyone wanna get me tickets? Just kidding.

Enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylor

Leafs Line - The Frat-Factor

2013-02-01T08:09:00.001-08:00

A Look Back:

While writing for my original Fishbowl I put my opinion out there (as I always do) about a young Leaf forward that I had a great deal of faith in. Went on to detail his relative success in the minors, his pre-Leafs-affiliation performance, and the impact he'd had in the few games Burke had him playing with the big boys. "That kid's going to be someone big on the Toronto offence" I'd say to anyone who'd listen... "That kid's going to do great things". It would seem that he's on the right track.

Before the Buds:

Raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Matt Frattin has had a bit of a rocky history before getting into the big leagues. Admitting to excess partying nearly being his downfall while at the University of North Dakota, being charged with a DUI, and losing his athletic scholarship all nearly ended his career in sports before it had even started but he was later cleared of all charges and made it back to join his North Dakota team mates.

Frattin has a history of being a very influential force in the sport, leading the NCAA Mens Division I in goals scored (2010-11) and he scored more goals in his senior season than in his first three years put together. He managed to pot a pair of game-winners in the WCHA playoffs and was awarded the WCHA Player of the Year honours.

This photo actually comes from a great article I found wherein Frattin is being interviewed about his success back in his North Dakota days. They cover his attitude looking ahead, his roles in major wins, him "leading the nation" in scoring and most amusingly about him pranking his coach... Randy Carlyle watch your back, this kid's got a mischievous streak in him although that may help to add levity should the team start trending downhill again this year. You can read the entire thing here if you'd like.

Some of the Numbers:

Here's a little chart from the Maple Leafs' official roster page for Frattin. You'll notice that he's developing a habit while in the NHL of scoring game-winners (must be a habit from his university days) and as it stands he's holding six points over his last four games played in two of which (the last two Toronto games in a row) he's put in the winner.

SEASON	TEAM	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PP	SH	GW	S	S%
2004-2005	GREGG DISTRIBUTORS CANADIANS-AMHL	34	12	13	25		14
2005-2006	GREGG DISTRIBUTORS CANADIANS-AMHL	34	20	17	37		48
2005-2006	FORT SASKATCHEWAN TRADERS-AJHL	3	2	0	2		0
2006-2007	FORT SASKATCHEWAN TRADERS-AJHL	58	49	34	83		75
2007-2008	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA-WCHA	43	4	11	15		18
2008-2009	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA-WCHA	42	13	12	25		48
2009-2010	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA-WCHA	24	11	8	19		21
2010-2011	MAPLE LEAFS	1	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0	0	5	0.0
2010-2011	UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA-WCHA	44	36	24	60		42	10	3	6
2011-2012	MAPLE LEAFS	56	8	7	15	-4	25	0	0	2	92	8.7
2011-2012	TORONTO MARLIES-AHL	23	14	4	18	-2	20	3	0	3	68	20.6
2012-2013	MAPLE LEAFS	4	4	2	6	2	2	0	0	2	7	57.1
	NHL TOTALS	61	12	9	21	-3	27	0	0	4	104	11.5

Game-Winning Goals:

Now don't start believing the nega-hype from Buffalo netminder Ryan Miller, who'd have you be of the mind that he 'gave' Frattin the winning point by being in the wrong place, wrong time, and not covering the angles. Frattin shelfed the puck over Miller's right shoulder to put them over Buffalo and Miller was about as flush to the post as he could've been. With only two seconds left on the clock and in overtime it takes a certain something to muster up the confidence and composure to slide one past a netminder like Miller.

January 29th, 2013: TOR @ BUF - 4-3 Toronto in Overtime

"What a goal" is right!

I'd like to take just a quick second to point out that Frattin's 'first' NHL goal came in a shootout and so, didn't actually count as a goal scored on his numbers sheet. My ex and I had an "awwwe, Frattin" moment when we watched him nail the shootout as we both knew he'd be getting a lot of grief from the rest of the players about the technicality of it all.

January 31st, 2013: WSH @ TOR - 3-2 Toronto in Regulation Time

Unfortunately the goal hasn't made it onto Youtube yet (in a format I'm willing to post on here) but I do have the link to the Maple Leafs' official website which hosts an HD quality video of the play. You can watch the video here and I recommend that you do because it comes off of a beautifully salvaged play and a set of wonderful moves by the other youngster in Nazem Kadri. This pairing seems to be working much to the Leafs' advantage and I have no qualms in saying that they're going to be a line to watch for the rest of the season.

Going Forward:

The only thing that Frattin needs to be careful of right now is that he doesn't develop the same problems Kadri ran into when he first made waves in the NHL. Burke sent him (Kadri) back down to the Marlies for good reason as Kadri had -and still has to a lesser extent- a problem with his attitude, viewing himself as God's gift to hockey as it would seem. Sometimes a player just isn't ready for success and accolades and they get caught up in their own hype (see: Downfall of Alex Ovechkin for reference). However, if Frattin can keep this from going to his head and stay focused on the games ahead, we should see a highly productive career from him.

Leafs Line - Globe and Mail Gruff

2013-01-31T11:52:00.001-08:00

Why I Don't Read the Paper:

I was just reading an article by Robert Macleod of The Globe and Mail today and it inspired me to write this little piece. The article -which you can read here- took some liberties in criticising the rookie defenceman Mike Kostka saying that he (and Phaneuf) are "not delivering despite plenty of ice time".

What Team are YOU Watching?

As it stands right now Toronto has a 3-3-0 record in this modified season. Considering that they've managed to draw to a game a-piece with the Buffalo Sabres who have a record of being Leaf-killers and that they've also managed to oust the highly-regarded Pittsburgh Penguins amongst their wins fans should be happy we're not worse-off than we are.

So maybe his game isn't 'godly' but he's pretty damned
good... Also the resemblance is uncanny.

Although the numbers don't say much about the new Toronto D-man (save for his 3 assists) those who have actually watched the game and his attitude on the ice would know that Kostka is nothing but an asset to a Toronto team that has been so lacking in defencemen willing to put their heart into the game. Now maybe it's just because he's desperate to prove that he deserves the spot he's been given on the team, but even still it's a player displaying real heart and determination, going to lengths that were unheard of from former defenceman Luke Schenn during his time with the club. How Brian Burke managed to ignore Kostka while sporting a raging hockey hard-on for Schenn is beyond me but then again, I'm not a general manager of the Leafs am I? Yeah well neither is Burkie anymore so HA!

Back to the real issue here, Kostka's willing to jump up into the play yet knows when not to push his luck. He's thrown himself across the blue ice in front of the net to prevent goals, and he has no problems hitting when the time calls for it. He has more than kept pace with the (for reasons I'm no longer able to comprehend) much-loved Dion Phaneuf and after all of this, in his rookie start during a season that can be described as nothing other than FUBAR, The Globe and Mail wants to blast him? Give me a break.

Scapegoat Much?

Could it be that TG&M (The Globe & Mail) is just looking to blame someone new for the Leaf's not having an undefeated season? Are they looking for someone expendable to shoulder the blame for shortcomings we as fans have been witness to for the last number of years? It just seems to me that the critics always seem to jump on the backs of the newest team members while ignoring the failings of those before them. I will give Macleod some credit in that he doesn't absolve Phaneuf of HIS sins on the ice, but to start nit-picking the play of Kostka seems a little hasty. Yes he has the second worst +/- in the league, only above Dion Phaneuf, but both of these players have been given -by far- the most ice time per game through the following match-ups:

TOR @ MON: 2-1 TOR
BUF @ TOR: 2-1 BUF
TOR @ PIT: 5-2 TOR
NYI @ TOR: 7-4 NYI
TOR @ NYR: 5-2 NYR
TOR @ BUF: 4-3 TOR

So facing heavy-handed Sabres and Rangers squads, an ever-potent Pittsburgh offence and a sixth-ranked New York Islanders (in the conference) it's no surprise that they could be expecting high goals-against games. Really the killer factors here are that they've been put out on the penalty kill, and that coach Randy Carlyle has admitted to insisting that Dion and often Kostka be out for defensive zone faceoffs... Faceoffs that aren't being won and as such you see the defensive pairing trapped in their own end, typically on fumes with no chance to switch off and get some relief.

The fact is that we've had 20 goals scored against us, while only managing to score 15 ourselves. Consider that a decent few of those have been powerplay goals and as such, would not count towards any positive rating and a clearer picture begins to develop. I honestly don't feel that Kostka of all players really deserves to be thrown under the bus or sniped at with the amount of work he's been doing each game. Some things simply don't show up in numbers, especially not this early in the season.

Send It Upstairs:

So what's your review readers? How do you feel about our top defensive line's performance thus far? Satisfied? Left wanting? Comment on the post and let me know. Aside from that, until next time...

Enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylor

Leafs Line - Eneuf of Phaneuf

2013-01-30T06:24:00.001-08:00

Forgive the title folks.

There used to be this game called hockey, it was a glorious thing. Centremen and wingers knew to tread carefully as they crossed the opposing blue line. Defensemen spent their minutes eagerly awaiting a cocky forward's headstrong approach to their net for which they could answer with a resounding, bench-clearing-brawl-starting hit... May that sport rest in piece.

Hockey as we used to know it died years ago, but some players fought valiantly to prevent the NHL's higher-ups from really putting those last nails in the old gal's coffin. One of those champions of good, full-contact play was none other than Dion Phaneuf. You would hear of him -to borrow from basketball's vernacular- 'posterizing' players with hits that left them wondering which way was up, and they were GOOD hits. He was a player that a young physical player could look up to as a role model for their own style of play. He'd take aim, step up and go body-on-body with anyone crossing the blue line and take them from full-speed to a dead stop in an instant and he was prized for it. Add to that the fact that he could send in bombs from the point and you had a pretty lethal player. Unfortunately it would seem that the Phaneuf we knew, loved, and acquired from Calgary is also dead and gone.

Yeah, about that 'C'...

Now I wasn't all that fond of Phaneuf by the end of the 2011-12 season. I'd set aside a page on my old blog known as "Dion's Phan-omenal Hit List" and for the first two months he gave me something to post about to the tune of a highlight per game. By the end of the season? I'd be lucky to find ANY Leaf with something worth mentioning, much less Phaneuf whose play seemed to die. He lost any 'oomph' he'd had in years past, players just blew by him on the ice... It was as though the game had just gotten too fast for him and he couldn't catch up.

Jeremy Roenick, Scott Stevens, Chris Pronger, Cam Neely, Eric Lindros, Wendel Clark, these names all have something in common... They're not in the game anymore. Pronger being the latest to hang up the skates DID manage to hold true and stay relevant in his play however when you're one of the best defencemen to ever play in the NHL, and I believe I'm more than justified in calling him one, you tend to stick around. However, the guys who hit, and did little else, just aren't in the game anymore because the game was simply made too fast for them to follow and I fear that's what's happening to Dion Phaneuf. Players skate by him, he can't get the puck on-target with his slapshots from the point... The man's just not the weapon he used to be.

Now I'm positive that he no longer deserves the 'C' on his jersey. I don't care at this point what he might be like OFF the ice, he's not putting in enough ON ice effort for it to matter. Maybe that's not fair though, maybe he IS putting in the effort, it's just not amounting to anything. Either way, a player who just can't get results isn't usually kept on the team, much less on as the team's captain.

I'm not going to start bringing up who should hold the captaincy over him, because really, there aren't many players who I'd say aren't ahead of him in that race. All I'll say is that it's about time we shopped him around while some of the other clubs may still find value in him and try to pick up someone better. Honestly, if it meant getting a veteran goaltender, I'd sell Phaneuf in a second. It's not that I feel Reimer is inadequate for the job, just that he COULD stand to be mentored by an older, more experienced netminder as opposed to forcing him to get his experience via firing squad as we've been doing the last couple year.

So, to sum this up:

Phaneuf's slacking.
He sure as hell doesn't deserve the 'C'.
He's getting to the point of not earning his roster spot.
Shop him around in search of something better (like a bucket of pucks or 10-12 rolls of hockey tape).

Enjoy your swim folks!

Joshua J. Taylor

Fishbowl Favouritism - Welcoming the West

2013-01-30T01:10:00.001-08:00

Yeah, I'm Biased:

I'm a Leafs fan, there's no two ways about it. Call'em the Buds, the Boys in Blue, Leafs, Laughs... Yeah, even the Laughs and I'll call'em my team.

As such I've had a Leafs Line series for almost as long as I've had a blog. You've probably read it at least once and yes, I vehemently support Toronto and you'll have noticed that as well. With that said I think it's about time I evened things out a little.

Welcoming the West:

I'm not going to start supporting Boston, Ottawa, or Montreal, but I AM going to be welcoming a second team into the Leafs Line type articles. The team is going to be nominated by my Facebook friends and through comments and suggestions made here by readers. You can pick any Western conference team, comment with the team name or city at the bottom of this post and have your vote counted in the decision.

Now, in case you're not familiar with the division between the Eastern and Western conference team sets... Actually, if you're not familiar with the East-West division in the NHL you probably shouldn't be voting but hey, democracy lets anyone in these days. In all seriousness, the teams are divided into two conferences that USED to be based on their relative location in North America however with the shuffling of hockey clubs, buying, selling, moving etc. the East-West label is sometimes just an organizational formality. Here's the separation as it exists today.

The Teams:

Note, the ATL Thrashers have become
the Winnipeg Jets.

The conferences are divided top and bottom here. East's on the top, and the West is on the bottom.

The list of teams (just in case you're not so hot with the logos) runs down like this:

Eastern Conference:

Winnipeg Jets
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Carolina Huricanes
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Washington Capitals

Western Conference:

Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Calgary Flames
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
Phoenix Coyotes
San Jose Sharks
St. Louis Blues
Vancouver Canucks

Just a reminder, you can select ANY team from the Western conference to be the newest member of the NHL News segments here on the blog. The only reason I'm not looking to add in an Eastern Conference team is simply to spread out the focus rather than to bring it in purely on the East. Also, this means you'll get a wider range of news as two teams from two conferences will have a vastly different playing schedule with their respective paths crossing less often.

If you have a favourite team, and I'm sure you do, vote them in. I'll be collecting everything that comes my way and announce the new series addition in about a week.

So vote it in folks! And enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylor

Broadcasting Bullies - Radio Rejected

2013-01-29T22:17:00.002-08:00

The Rant Begins:

Maybe it's just me, and maybe it's because I'm a little on the old-fashioned side of life, but sometimes I like to sit and listen to the radio broadcast of a hockey game. Sure, I typically go online to The Fan's website to listen to the broadcast, but it's still radio of a sort, and it has -in my opinion- a certain charm to it.

You avoid some of the colour commentary that comes along with watching the televised game as the announcers can get away with more 'off ice' chatter when the visual is accompanying them. To me this leaves you hanging onto every word of the professional play-by-play men as you envision the scene playing out in your mind. However, in some cases, this isn't an option.

The Real Issue:

Greed, and too God-damned much of it. It's already cost the fans almost half of our regular season games, and now it's costing the fans who don't have specific television packages.

It used to be that, no matter what, I could hit up The Fan 590 to listen to a live radio broadcast of Leafs games. It didn't matter if they had to rout it through local, affiliated broadcasters closer to the location of the road games you were able to get the play-by-play from The Fan. This year however, for the second Leaf game now, I've been greeted on The Fan's "listen live" webpage with a message basically stating that 'due to certain broadcast restrictions, we cannot provide the play-by-play'. Don't worry though, they assure you that the post-game will still be broadcasted... Well that's all fine and dandy for the people who've seen the games, but for the people who're just struggling to GET updates on the games it doesn't do much more than you could get by just Googling the game's final score.

How can it be, with everyone involved in the lockout issue actign SO apologetic to the fans, that there are still squabbles over who can broadcast the games when it wasn't an issue before? I have NEVER been unable to get a radio broadcast of a Leaf game whether home or away until this year.

The Solution:

Honestly I don't know what to say other than for these penny-grabbing companies to get their acts together, and allow for the radio broadcasting of the hockey games. Some complain that it somehow harms the attendance of the actual sporting event however, I don't see it as such. I see it as a way for people who CAN'T afford the INSANE ticket prices, or the travel expenses involved with getting to these games (remember, I'm talking about a trip to Buffalo + Admissions since this was an away game) to still enjoy the sport.

It isn't as though listening to the radio broadcast and being at the actual game are the same experiences anyway. It's surprising how many steps these owners will take in attempts to drive people to the arenas BEFORE they're willing to drop ticket prices. Is it not enough that they make money off of corporate endorsements, merchandise sales, and a million other tributary industries that they have to gouge us for every little dime? It would be bad enough if it was ONLY ticket prices, but look at the cost of food and drink at these arenas. Of course they prohibit any and all outside food and drink, so sitting for a number of hours at an event you're inevitably going to need something to eat or drink. I'm surprised they don't charge admission to the fucking restrooms on top of it all... Shouldn't say that too loud though, they might take the idea and run with it.

It's a sad day when you can't enjoy the game you love due to a bunch of territory-marking, money-grubbing, heads-up-their-asses fat-cats/ These men haven't had to worry about their financial situations in decades while the people propping them up in their palaces have to save up for months just to attend a single game. And I don't mean "worry about their financial situations" as in "oh no! I won't be able to keep all 62 of my exotic sports cars this year!" I mean they'll never have to worry about a roof over their head or food in their stomach for the rest of their lives and I can't even catch a game on the damned radio... Stop the greed, play the game, let the game be played, and let it be enjoyed.

Your Thoughts:

This is where I open the floor to the readers. How have you been impacted by the lockout and the resulting changes in the NHL's conduct? Do you have complaints, questions, or maybe an anecdote or two about this lockout or maybe even the full-season loss from a few years back? I'd love to hear them so please take the minute or two to post in the comments section.

Enjoy your swim, and your hockey!

Joshua J. Taylor

Zero to Hero - Early Morning Muscle

2013-01-28T04:38:00.000-08:00

Rise and Shine!

Well, I couldn't sleep more than an hour last night, so I figured I'd put my insomnia and terrible sleeping cycle to work. My gym opens at 05:30 on Mondays, then stays open until midnight on Friday when it shifts over to weekend hours so around 04:45 I started getting ready.

Yup, quarter to five and I'm getting up, grabbing a nice, wholesome breakfast, my vitamins, going through "The 3 Morning S's" (sh*t, shower and shave) and after gathering my gym gear I was off through the brisk morning air to go about my newly decided-upon gym routine.

Where're My Morning People At?

I don't drink coffee, but for those
of you who do, HERE :)

The gym apparently. Everyone I ran into today, and there was a surprising turnout for a VERY early start to the day, was energized, pleasant... Hell, they were downright HAPPY!

Anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I am NOT a morning person. I will hit that 'snooze' button until it breaks before I'll willingly haul my sleepy hide out from under the covers but if these are the kinds of people I'll be meeting, I could give being a 'morning person' a try.

I don't what it is about being up and active early (just to come back and get on my laptop, I know) that gets people so pumped and energized. I understand endorphins and all that fine jazz but let's face it folks, naturally produced energy hormones can only take you so far. I'm thinking it's something mental that really pushes these early-risers above and beyond the rest of the late-starting crowd. Whether it's simply that their engines are ignited earlier and are warmed up sooner, or if they actually perceive it as a headstart over everyone else and THAT's what boosts them I don't know. What I DO know is that it works, they're happy, and I'm feeling the bump, and the burn from my morning workout. So if you're not a morning person, and you want in on the extra-energy action, come join me as the doors open at Goodlife Fitness in the Oshawa Centre (or you know, just around 6am on weekdays since Monday's really the only "door opening" day what with them being open 24hrs after that point) and see what the 'morning person' fuss is all about. You'll be glad you did!

Just the Facts Ma'am:

As outlined in the intro post for this "Zero to Hero" series, each gym trip update comes with the workout info from that visit (and yes I realize that I'm still behind on updating my first 'official' post's numbers) so in the words of my favourite Italian... "Here we go!"

The Numbers:

These aren't the only set that'll be done, I feel as though I should post that little heads-up before I get into the data. These are the numbers for my Monday routine which is primarily focuses on my abs, chest and back with some supplementary arm work tossed in.

I figure I'll use Wednesday as 'Leg Day' and Friday for arms will supplementary abs and my mandatory low back extension. Some of you might wonder why I've made hitting the LBE machine a staple for my routines and it's pretty simple really. Ever since highschool I've had a pretty bad back. I don't really know WHY it was so messed up, but I had attacks where I'd wind up immobile and in tears on the floor ultimately requiring a little more extra-strength Advil than the bottle would recommend, and an emergency trip to my chiropractor's. In the summer of 2011 I suffered a couple of major setbacks as I was the victim of a hit and run by a GMC Acadia (large SUV), and I threw my back out while loading a steel pagoda-style gazebo during my employment at Lowe's. Since then I've had to be very careful with both my back, and my right knee since it took quite the beating from the hit and run too.

With all of that said, and with me knocking on the wooden table beside me, I haven't had any major back or knee problems since I started focusing on them in my gym routines (I do still wear a knee brace for safety's sake). It's a wonder what some targeted exercise and good old "sticktoitiveness" can do eh? Well, here're the numbers!

Treadmill:

10 minutes @ 6mph

Low Back Extension:

2 sets of 10 reps @ 240lbs

Abdominal:

3 sets of 10 @ 80lbs

Pectoral Fly:

2 sets of 10 @ 75lbs

Lat Pulldown:

2 sets of 10 @ 90lbs

Arms - Triceps:

2 sets of 10 @ 50lbs

Shoulder Press:

2 sets of 10 @ 60

Standing Obliques - Free Weights:

4 sets of ten @ 30lbs (both sides)

The Cooldown:

After my workouts, as HORRIBLY strenuous as they are (yes, sarcasm) I like to sit down for a few minutes in a massage chair, chat with the person who plunks down next to me about whatever the day's news might hold and sip away at my after-routine drink of choice... Strawberry milk.

It's actually the exact drink I was sipping on this morning...
Good stuff!

No, I'm not one of those folk who've taken on milk products after a workout from the damned milk Nazi commercials, I've just always had a love of strawberry milk because well, who WOULDN'T love a beverage that comes from pink cattle? Oh... Oh wait one sec... *aside* -Whoa whoa, you're telling me it DOESN'T come from pink cows? Oh come on, that's just a horrible thing to do to someone... And here I am telling my readers... You know what forget it! Just drop it!- Aaaaand I'm back... So breaking news, it doesn't come from pink cows. Don't worry though, it's still delicious!

My cooldown today was extra-chill however, as I walked outside to find the snow just blowin' down from the sky. It made for a very scenic walk home that otherwise would've been nothing but cold, black tarmac but it wasn't precisely comfortable. I heard that the Peel Catholic School Board has already called off classes because of this but, I'm not Breakfast Television so I'll leave the school closure reporting to the professionals.

That's really all that I have for today. No pics as they're only being updated monthly (I know, you're heartbroken right? Again, sarcasm) but rest-assured, they'll come around when my next major update gets published. Hopefully we'll be seeing just a little bit by then.

Zero to Hero - First Proper Update

2013-01-25T23:21:00.000-08:00

Warning!

If your ideal version of me is one that IS wearing a shirt, you may wish to stop reading now.

Let's Get Going!

Alright everyone, between illness, exhaustion, and a myriad of other excuses, here's the first official update to my "Zero to Hero" article series.

The article banner... I miss 'Old Disney'

As I said, I'd be updating my blog with my workout routine (which went way off-script from the outline I posted originally), my weight, and my weights used alongside the reps of each weight. Honestly, there's nothing impressive in the amount of weight I'm using right now, or the number of reps I'm doing at each weight level. I'm currently just trying to get into a better gym-going routine and find a workout that doesn't leave me too broken to work.

I haven't been doing much concerning my legs the last little bit, simply because they've always been a strong point of mine, and it's my opinion that my upper body needs to catch up with my bottom half. Don't worry, I've seen the "Friends don't let friends skip leg day" photo, and that's not going to be me... I'm a bit of the opposite so as I said I'm trying to even out.

Alright, and without further ado, here's the first update to the Zero to Hero photo series.

Photo Album - Zero 2 Hero #1, 1-4

Regular Standing

As promised, these are the photo updates. I suppose this is less an update and more a baseline image.

I accept that this is the internet, and that there are likely to be people eager to troll the ever-loving hell out of me for this and you may all knock yourselves out. I'm posting these to keep my efforts honest, and to hopefully show some results that inspire my readers to start on their own personal fitness journeys.

Each of these updates will (until I can find someone willing to take the photos that I can't take on my own (back, legs) contain 4 photographs. The first will be just plain and simply me, standing. The second a shot of my right arm flexed, the third will be the left arm, and the fourth will be my stomach. I should note that I'm not doing this to become some chiselled-stone, statuesque figure out of a Greek fresco, but instead to tone the little muscle I have already, and to burn off the excess body fat and improve my general fitness. I'm not bashing the people who ARE out to become body builders and extreme fitness models and professional weight lifters, that's their choice and it's a hard road to travel but that road just isn't one I'm interested in. That's not a lack of faith in myself so don't mistake me. It's simply a difference of desire.

Right Arm Flex

I do hope that no one is utterly repulsed by these photo sets, and I'll post this heads-up to hopefully prevent the comments that no, I will NOT be spray or bed-tanning for any reason at all. I'm not some fake jerk who thinks becoming an oompa-loompa is super hot or cool, and I'm not trying to impress anyone with my skin tone ESPECIALLY if they think that looking like a Jersey Shore wannabe is appealing. Nope, you'll all have to deal with the good ol' "Irish Tan" until summer, and even then you won't see much of a change... Really sucks that I sort of blend in to the wall behind me... I'm calling it urban cam-tan... Sure.

Anyway, here come the last two photos in the series. After that, and some minor babble, I'll be outlining the numbers as they apply to my Z2H series. That means my height, weight, and all of the weights and respective reps done for my gym visits. Obviously these numbers are guidelines as some people won't be able to handle as much weight or as many reps, and most will blow past me with their potential, just giving people an idea of how I get any results that I *might achieve.

Left Arm Flex.

So, now for that random babble I was mentioning. I so hope that some of my readers take the time to comment on these articles, and I don't mean "sit here and praise me", I really don't (for once). What I'm hoping is that people who've either already been through their own journey to personal fitness or people who want to start theirs will comment with what's worked for them thus far, what they feel is holding them back from starting, that sort of thing.

Unfortunately I haven't been able to generate the reader base that my old blog had, which would make getting the comments up and running a lot easier but here's to hope and a little luck right? Right! I want to inspire people, I really do, and if there's even a slim chance that someone will read my updates and think "gee, it really doesn't seem so bad to start exercising more" then I'm going to keep going at this with the best of intentions at heart.

Abdominal Flex

Now, if you have any questions, suggestions, etc. and you don't feel like posting them on here, you can feel more than welcome in sending them to the blog's email address: fishbowloncemore@hotmail.co.uk. A note to any would-be spammers etc. Please, don't waste your time or mine. If I get spam email I won't be opening it, I'll be labelling it as junk and reporting your email address as fraudulent and malicious. So once more, don't bother dicking around just because the blog has an email address now. Thank you.

There's really not a lot more that I can think to say except that I recognize that there's really nothing to look at thus far, which is fine, as I'm not posting these in the hope of levying some sort of sex appeal out of it, just creating a photo-documentation chain to help with the overall cataloguing of any changes. As a note these photos were all taken yesterday on Friday January 25th, 2013.

The Numbers:

*Grabbing my notebook, please wait*

The Cooldown:

Well I hope you've enjoyed the first legitimate update on the Z2H (Zero to Hero) journey. Here's hoping for many more, with results aplenty and hopefully a little more skin tone come the warmer months of Canada's Spring-Summer hybrid season that might see me outside more than you know... Negative-21-with-the-windchill weather.

Enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylo

Gamer Gab - Who's The Bitch Now?

2013-01-23T12:06:00.000-08:00

In some form or another, every major game seems to have at least one. Yup, I'm talking about bitches.

You've got it Buzz!

No, I'm not talking about the "bitches and hoes" type, I man the whiners, sulkers, the guy who manages to get his panties in a bunch no matter how epic the people around him continue to be. Yes, I know these people exist in real life but my question is why, in a fantasy world where anything is possible must we always include 'the bitch'?

Let's start off with Skyrim, an obvious favourite of mine and a big winner of gaming honours. You start off being transported on a prison wagon with a headstrong rebel soldier, the leader of the Stormcloak rebellion, and a whiny, jittery little "horse thief from Rorikstead which happens to be a pretty pathetic town anyway. He bitches and moans for the majority of the opening cinematic ultimately taking an arrow in the back as he flees from the execution area... In case you missed that, the opening cast of characters consists of:

The Dragonborn
A soon-to-be Stormcloak captain
The 'true' High King of Skyrim
A bitch

Okay, maybe that's not enough for you, maybe you say he's too small of a part to matter. Fine.

The Cousins Bellic

Yup, you know this guy and what he stands for... Nothing. He's a whiny little punk who still manages to be a leading character in a story centred around the Russian underworld of 'Liberty City'. I really shouldn't have to explain more about it but if that doesn't satisfy you, he winds up hiding in a dumpster... Yup, a dumpster.

Finally, let's go to my favourite series in Call of Duty. Here's a couple of titles and their corresponding 'bitches'.

Modern Warfare: Pvt. Paul Jackson (You. you happen to be ordered around and sent into the worst shit imaginable).
World at War: Privates Chernov and Polonsky
Modern Warfare 2: Cpl. Dunn (Just reference his entitled griping in The Pit and his freak-out during Second Sun)
Black Ops 2: Salazar (generally a bitch) and Hudson (whining, traitor who betrays you and then tries to give you up for dead to save his own ass in the end... Oh yeah SPOILER ALERT).

Hell, in World at War your sergeants do everything BUT literally call these two out as the bitches they are. I'm not saying that war is easy on the mind, but they sure do make a decent focal point out of the two whiniest NPCs.

So folks, why do we do it? Why do we need to inject these characters into an otherwise intense storyline? Comment with your thoughts and maybe we can uncover a little piece of the gamer psyche.

Enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylor

Leafs Line - Orr Opens Up the Home Opener

2013-01-21T23:26:00.001-08:00

Might as well start with the highlight right?

Orr Cleans House:

If you saw the game, you'll no doubt know what's coming. If you DIDN'T see the game, you missed one hell of a display of what could be called nothing other than 'truculence' from the Toronto Maple Leafs' Colton Orr who stood up to Buffalo's 6'8'', 270lb John Scott.

Orr's no small fry but it looks like David v. Goliath here.

Some of you might have followed Orr from years passed, and you'll likely know about his history with concussion problems and so, as you'll hear in the video, for him to make it through a fight much less to take the other fighter to a knee, and much less for that fighter to be John Scott... Well, it's a pretty big 'welcome home' to the ACC for him to pull that off. In any case, here's the video. Well done Colton, it's good to have you back.

Unfortunately, though this had the majority of the sold-out crowd on its feet, the Leafs were unable to capitalize on any of the energy generated. Here's the rest of a rather sad story.

Joffrey Lupul: Gets an 'A' for Effort, and Results

Everyone who followed the Leafs last year knows about the record season posted by Lupul. the guy was dynamite, he was the key to unlocking a peak-efficiency Phil Kessel, and I spent the entire year posting the question "Why hasn't someone sewn the extra 'C' or 'A' onto his jersey yet. Finally, my prayers have been answered.

Joffrey Lupul took to the ice last night, having signed a tidy 26.25 million dollar, 5-year contract, with the 'A' on his chest (yes he was sporting it against the Habs, but this is his homecoming) and I couldn't be happier. He's put in a lot of hard work to get where he is now, and the results speak for themselves... Well not really but close enough. He had a point-per-game season last year, beat back surgery and a resultant blood infection before coming to the Leafs, and he's become a legitimate top-line left winger.

Good for you Joffrey, good for you!

First Period: Chances Gone to Waste

As I sat watching it, I thought the game had been handed to the Leafs on a blue and white platter. Buffalo was taking penalties left, right and center, the Toronto 3rd line started the game with great forechecking - forcing turnovers in Buffalo's end, and the first line was putting rounds down range resulting in Buffalo being outshot 13-5 in the first period alone. Yup, it looked like a guaranteed cakewalk for Toronto and then they were given the gift of a two-man advantage lasting 1:23. At this point I, and likely every fan in the building was thinking "Oh boy! It's just a matter of seconds until Toronto opens up the scoring" but we were sorely disappointed. The 5-on-3 passes, Buffalo manges yet another penalty late in the existing charges and has to sit a third man in the penalty box giving the Leafs an even more extended opportunity and yet they still managed to go scoreless.

Beyond this the Leafs were their normal self, and the lack of practice preceding the start of this shortened season was extremely evident. Passes were falling short or being sent too far almost all night, there was an easily discernible lack of cohesion amongst the players... All-in-all although they managed to out-shoot the Sabres, they really managed to lose the period more than Buffalo won it.

Buffalo DID score at 8:51 of the first period on a tip-in by Hodgson from Ehrhoff and Pominville and not only was it an odd last-second deflection off what appeared to be the inside of Hodgson's arm, but it came through traffic and went past a completely screened Scrivens. I'm not making any excuses for the guy, none need be made as his goaltending was solid however the team really let him down on their side of the blue line.

Rotten Refs:

It needs to be pointed out that the refs really turned on Toronto after this point. Tyler Myers leaving the penalty box early was allowed to slide, Leaf goaltender Ben Scrivens -the only reason the Leafs managed to stay in the game at all- was run-over by a Buffalo player without a call, and a number of hooks, trips, and a poor call of goaltender interference against Phil Kessel later and Toronto was struggling to keep out of the penalty box, much less in the game.

Second Period: Definite Double Standard

More chances went spoiled in the 2nd period, but Toronto did manage to kill off a penalty early. Just after the penalty kill, Kessel flubs a great chance at a goal, and shortly after runs into Ryan Miller which earned them another penalty. I have to point out that in this case, Kessel was looking to the point for a shot, being jostled by a Buffalo player, and Miller moved up to be in behind Kessel as he came past the crease. Was it a case of goaltender interference? Not by my books but unfortunately I'm not the one officiating these games. It was much more innocent than when Hesch ran over Scrivens without another soul around him, but everyone and their mother seemed to shit a collective brick when Kessel bumped Miller "with Buffalo's history and Miller's concussion problems last year" piped the colour commentators and the 1st intermission Sportsnet panel.

Honestly folks, if you want to see a goalie stopped by a head-hit, you need look no further than the Leaf bench. Reimer went his second straight game without starting, and this after he came to the team like God's rookie gift to Toronto goaltending. He was doing splendidly until hits from Ottawa's Folino and Montreal's Brian Gionta rattled his cage and scrambled his eggs for the rest of the season. Since then Reimer's never been the same man on the ice and yet everyone's willing to cry over Miller... I'm just sayin' is all.

Buffalo scored again to make it a 2-0 hockey game.

Great Expectations: Mike Kostka

Now here's a guy who knows his job, and gets it done. Mike Kostka, who's finally been given his chance at the big-time after years in the Marlies, has had two great showings in the first games of this shortened season putting up huge on-ice minutes and doing a lot with them. For some reason people seem overly quick to commend Dion Phaneuf for putting in big minutes on the ice but frankly, he hasn't done shit-all with what he's been given. to illustrate my point, here's an illustration!

Notice the difference?

On the left if a very rough rendering of how most players look at the opposing net. they look past the goaltender, aiming at the open pockets around him where they have a shot at scoring a goal, and the pipes and crossbar only apply to tell them the boundaries, beyond which is ignored.

On the right however, is how scientists believe Dion Phaneuf sees the opposing net, this time with Ryan Miller clearly visible, and nothing else but the goalposts and crossbar factor into the image processed by his brain. It is still a medical mystery as to why Phaneuf's brain interprets information differently than most shooters though he may just really have a hatred for goaltenders, and the colour red. Who knows?

The point here is that Phaneuf damned near manages to break the bloody crossbar at least once a a game and does little else. I'm pretty sure I've even seen him dressed in orange to serve as a pylon during practices... Okay, that's enough against him. Maybe he'll pick up his game but it just feels as though the pace it too quick for him.

Third Period: At Least it was Interesting

Not much went on the in 3rd. Right near the end Toronto's Nazem Kadri puts his second goal in the net in as many games, and brings the Leafs back into the game... With around 2 minutes left to play, so nothing much was made of the last-minute attempt.

The fans were given a show, albeit a disappointing end, Ryan Miller stole the game for Buffalo along with his cohorts on the officiating team and Toronto's lost it's first game which means their season has ACTUALLY begun because we all know a season can't be considered legitimate until the Leafs blow it at home... Which usually isn't long of a wait.

Enjoy your swim, and sticks on the ice folks!

Joshua J. Taylor

Pandora's Box - Pros and COMs

2013-01-21T15:55:00.002-08:00

This one's for ALL of you!

I'm back from The Vault with some extremely useful information for the rest of you Vault hunters, so listen up.

COMs or Class Optimization Modules (Class Mods) can be your best friends (aside from your guns of course) when you're trekking around, gunning down baddies and generally trying to keep your ass alive. some will only benefit you, where others will benefit your entire team in different ways from increasing accuracy, decreasing reload times, increasing magazine sizes, damage output... really, if you can name it, COMs will usually be able to have some effect or another on it. It's important to know what you're doing when it comes to these items though as they can make you almost invincible when wielded right, but are useless when equipped to a person with the wrong style of play. As an example, here's the "Ranger" COM made by Tediore and Hyperion:

Ranger COMs:

+28% - 60% Team Accuracy
0-5 Predator Skill Boost: Decreases bloodwing cooldown time.
0-5 Bird Of Prey Skill Boost: Increases the number of enemies bloodwing will attack in a single deployment.
0-5 Focus Skill Boost: Increases accuracy with all weapon types and decreases sniper rifle sway.
0% - 84% Team Critical Hit Damage Boost
0% - 84% Team Accuracy Recovery (Though this may not be in effect in some patches).

If you have a well-levelled, or highly elemental bloodwing, this is the class for you. You should note that for ANY class mod skill boosts to work, you HAVE to have at least one skill point already attributed to the listed skill to gain the bonus. In this case though you'll see a bloodwing strike that can strike up to ten targets, or ten times when rotating between targets, and that can then be used just moments after bloodwing returns to Mordecai (literally only one second of 'cooldown' when a +4 boost from a mod, and a standard skill value of 5 are put together). With this set-up the player becomes almost secondary to Bloodwing as far as combat is concerned. You need only pull the trigger on your action skill button and let Bloodwing go to town on the enemies around you.

Now this class won't work for everyone, but it's a great start. It allows someone using the otherwise vulnerable Mordecai to inflict massive damage in a ridiculously short period of time, and allows them to do it over and over again. Also, if you have to choose between cooldown speed and number of enemies hit per send-out, choose cooldown. It's more effective to immediately send out Bloodwing than it is to get one extra attack, but spend more time waiting to send him out on another run.

Another favourite of mine, especially when playing alongside friends is Roland's Support Gunner classs. It incorporates team ammo regeneration with team magazine size and team accuracy, not to mention the boosts to his Stockpile, Impact and Barrage skills. Essentially you get a class that boosts everyone on your team so the more players you have at any one time, the more this class will do. It's not an offensive or defensive class really, just a balanced boost to everyone's potential leaving the players to make the most of the benefits rather than doing all the work itself (like with the Ranger class mod used on Mordecai).

So, what have we learned today?

Put COMs to use at all times.
Pick COMs that fit your style of play.
COM skill boosts ONLY affect skills you've already given points to.
Try to pick a COM that will also benefit your team.
Mordecai is an absolutely devastating killing machine with a high-grade Ranger mod and an elemental Bloodwing.

Enjoy your swim, and best luck with the Borderlands!

Joshua J. Taylor

Ahmed Al-Khabaz - Malevolent Montrealer or Student Saviour?

2013-01-21T13:45:00.000-08:00

You probably won't know the name to read it, but if you were a Dawson College student you'd likely have heard all about Mr. Ahmed Al-Khabaz by now.

Al-Khabaz is one of two students credited with exposing a flaw in the security coding for the system that handles the delicate personal information of students from most of Quebec's colleges. These colleges use a system created by Skytech to store this information and while attempting to design a mobile app for students seeking to access their information on-the-go, he stumbled across what he calls "a flaw which left the personal information of thousands of students... vulnerable". He immediately contacted the college about the issue saying that he felt it was his "moral obligation" to do so, and was initially thanked for his actions and told that Skytech would work immediately to resolve the issue.

So far, so good right? Right. Up to this point there was no issue held by the college or by Skytech against al-Khabaz or his colleague Ovidiu Mija. However, the story develops further and it is with these developments that the real issues come out.

Ahmed ran a program to test against the security breach some time after reporting it to the college and having the meeting to discuss the issue with college and Skytech representatives. After running this program he was contacted by Skytech at which time they notified him that what he was doing was considered a cyber attack, regardless of intentions, and they are reported to have mentioned that jail time and prosecution could result from his actions. Now it has not yet been determined in what manner these statements were made, that being whether they were issued as threats or simply as advice to a student, however the real issue is that Ahmed Al-Khabaz was expelled from college through a meeting held a short time later.

So my question to you, the reader, is this:

Should Ahmed Al-Khabaz be allowed to return to his program, and have his record wiped clean of what is being called a "serious professional conduct issue".

As you could imagine, this kind of labelling could ruin any chance that Al-Khabaz would ever have of getting into another computer sciences program, or any post-secondary program at all much less into a stable employment position. He has also incurred an amount of financial aide debt because of his expulsion, further inconveniencing him.

To me this is a case of someone going farther than they should have with the best of motives at heart. Although the road to hell is rumoured to be paved with good intentions, I can see where he could've found the justification to run the breach-checking program as he was, after all, one of the students who discovered and reported the issue in the first place. You would think, and likely HE thought, that his actions would be seen as simple due diligence, and that they should have even garnered him some level of gratitude to make sure that all the angles were covered. In essence, he was helping Skytech to cover their asses and he was crucified for it. So much for not shooting the messenger. It's a wonder we have any whistle-blowers in today's society where no matter how pure your motives are, or how much people stand to actually benefit from your actions, when you expose a flaw in a business all hell will be brought down upon you.

I hope you've enjoyed your swim, please comment with your views readers!

Joshua J. Taylor

Quotes and general info first taken from: http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/01/20/youth-expelled-from-montreal-college-after-finding-sloppy-coding-that-compromised-security-of-250000-students-personal-data/

Pandora's Box - The Borderlands Begin

2013-01-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Badlands: Fun and Games Sold Separately

Meet your new best friends.

So you're looking for The Vault huh? No, I don't mean the Vault Tech, super-tech, underground trash cans no, I mean THE Vault. Well good, you've come to the right place.

The Magic Bus: Meet the Class

Okay, so it ain't so magical, but it's where you start your journey like it or not. Driven by a fat, middle-aged man who reminds me quite a bit of Roman Bellic from GTA: IV, this thing seems more like an APC than what I'd call a bus but hey, when you're driving through skag-infested deserts on Pandora you need all the protection you can get.

This is where you get to meet our four intrepid... Heroes? Sure, for lack or a better term let's call'em heroes. You've got Mordecai "The Hunter", Lilith "The Siren", Roland "The Soldier" and Brick "as Himself". Just for future reference, Brick's the massive mountain of muscle in the middle of the title image, Roland's the armoured dude to the right, Mordecai's the twiggy-looking four-eyes bastard and Lilith well, I'm betting you can figure out which one SHE is... Get it? Good. Moving on.

Each character has their own traits, skills, specialities and so fourth but for this little series of articles we'll be focusing on Mordecai as he fits my style of gaming the best.

Mordecai: The Hunt Begins

"Another million for that
annoying bird."

Listed as 39 years old (though that's not stated as for Borderlands 2 or the original), colour-blind and with a negligible appetite, this skinny dude is your typical marksmen. He likes covert strolls in the moonlight, high-calibre rifles and falconry. He and his pet "Bloodwing" make a daunting duo so it's no small wonder his bounty is listed (provided Bloodwing is killed as well) as the second highest of the original vault hunters next to Brick's.

It was a no-brainer for me picking Mort (as I'll be calling him) for my character. A solitary sniper with first-strike, first-kill capabilities? Always a good choice so long as you can keep your distance. As an alternative fighting style to sniper rifles, Mort's skills can also be used to buffer his effectiveness with handguns giving you great long and short range potential. Now this DOES technically leave out the mid-range stuff like assault rifles and SMGs as well as completely neglecting launcher skill but really, there's not a lot to be changed with skills involving SMGs and rifles... They tend to function regardless of who uses them whereas if you botch an attack with a sniper rifle or pistol... You can be in for a world of hurt so every bit counts. Not to mention when you're GOOD with rifles and pistols the skill boosts can make you nigh-untouchable.

Well, now that we've got you acquainted with the attitude-to-be of this series, let's REALLY get started shall we?

Light My Fyre: Outpost Fyrestone

-Dr. Zed's Shop (Not really an MD)-

You start your adventure, at least the part you control, just outside of a sleepy little outpost called Fyrestone. Why the name? No idea. Maybe Pandora's hot as hell and it sure is rocky so, there, rocks and hot weather gets you Fyrestone... And inbred people trying to spell gets you the 'creative' name. Regardless it's a pothole on the road to the vault but a rather important one because this is where your primary armoury and medical facilities are until you branch out into the other, larger settlements.

Here you'll find Zed, a non-doc who's here to keep you stitched up and in the fight. After a mission or two the armoury will open up and you can start buying and selling weapons to suit your needs... Depending on what the shop has in its inventory. Since you're Mordecai (provided you're following in my footsteps) you'll want to look at sniper rifles and pistols first and foremost. Everything else is just shiny little bonuses. Staying with handguns and snipers will provide the best bang for your buck.

Making the Most of Mordecai:

Now I'm not going to be doing some detailed walkthrough as to how you should take on the quests and bounties, no sir. I'm going to giving you universally applicable tricks to help you take down ranges of enemies rather than spend time honing in on just one or two. Occasionally this series is going to put a spotlight on a certain individual or individuals but mostly? I'll be teaching you how to make the most of Mordecai.

I hope you'll tune back in when I release the next article. This has just been a brief introduction to adventure. Come back soon for the main course.

Enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylor

Alchemical Corner - A Profitable Potion

2013-01-04T07:37:00.001-08:00

I posted this in the comments of my last post however I think that this little recipe requires its own article.

This potion is the most valuable alchemy combination so listen up as it stands to make you a pretty penny when you're down on your coin because well, we can all admit that every now and then we wind up spending more of our gold than we should. Oh, and picking alchemy ingredients IS free after all.

Ingredients:

Blue Butterfly Wing - Extremely common in the temperate regions of Skyrim especially in the woods around Riverwood and the foothills west of Whiterun. You'll see the butterflies hovering over flowers and tundra cotton which will help you locate the next ingredient.
Blue Mountain Flower - As I said, butterflies will be fluttering over most flowers and as such, blue mountain flowers will be part of that grouping. As you'll find one with the other, look again to the foothills west of Whiterun and the forests between Riverwood and Falkreath. The mountain that contains Bleak Falls Barrow will host mountain flowers all around its base, and at the base of the connected mountains. My advice? Just do a lap of these mountains and you'll leave with a great stock of butterfly wings AND blue mountain flowers.
Giant's Toe - ALSO available in the foothills and plains west of Whiterun, you can acquire giant's toes by, how else? Killing giants. Yes, they also sell them in alchemy shops but actually killing giants is typically a bounty mission from local Jarls as well as a great way to gain general experience and items when looting the chests that giants almost always have in or around their camps.

Effects:

Fortify Conjuration - 75
Damage Magicka Regeneration - 265
Damage Stamina - 43
Fortify Health - 485
Value - 868 gold

Now you'll need to remember that when you select the perks that remove positive traits from poisons, and negative traits from potions this potion in particular, might be impossible to create. Since the best potions and poisons typically don't come with effects strong enough to offset the positives or negatives that you're looking for, I'd avoid these perks for as long as possible. Remember folks, the value of each potion is dictated by the power of its effects and your speechcraft perks so the 868 gold value of the potion is only an initial one, and will increase with the power of the potion's effects as they're boosted by your skills and perks.

I hope this has helped you out folks. I know the potion is really 'down the middle' as far as effects go. You're working with two positives and two negatives so you can't really make it into an effect potion or poison but it WILL make you a good pocket of coin if you use it right.

Enjoy your swim folks!

Joshua J. Taylor

Skyrim Studies - Alchemical Corner

2012-12-31T08:06:00.000-08:00

So, here goes nothing I suppose.

I told you I'd be writing another post about the wonderful skill of alchemy in Skyrim and here it is! Two new potions with 6 effects to consider as you set about your business in Tamriel's tundra province.

My first potion steps in to protect the heavy armour enthusiasts, especially when they're working with a shield, or if they're mindful enough to put the block skill to good use. With a combination of honeycomb, sabre cat teeth and slaughterfish scales you will generate a potion that will fortify your light armour skill, your block skill and restore your stamina at the same time. As you might imagine this can be an extremely beneficial combination especially if you forsee a serious brawl in your future. This concoction ought to allow you to fearlessly charge into the fray regardless of how many enemies you might face though I won't accept the blame if you get yourself killed thinking this potion somehow grants you the gift of immortality.

Potion of Stalwart Defense:

Honeycomb - found in alchemical shops but more easily obtained by visiting Honeystrand Cave where you can find 3 bee hives and a bounty of bees buzzing around you. This will provide you with honeycomb, beehive husks and bees.
Sabre Cat Tooth - slightly more difficult to obtain as they're not commonly found just lying around. You're going to need to take down sabre cats for these (though they rank as an uncommon ingredient after you select the merchant perk) but to be fair it doesn't matter what type of sabre cat you kill, they all have the same chance to drop one of these.
Slaughterfish Scales - as with the sabre cat tooth the name of the ingredient tells you how to obtain it... Kill slaughterfish. I find that simply grabbing a sword and diving in the lakes, ponds and rivers between Markarth and Falkreath provides a bounty of these through the slaughterfish that eagerly chase you down.

For those of you wondering, the base attributes of this potion are:

- Restore Stamina: 25

- Fortify Block: 118

- Fortify Heavy Armour: 55

- Value: 198 Gold

These values will be modified by any applicable perks you've selected and your alchemy skill as it exists buffed by equipped items etc.

This next potion goes out to the conjurers reading this post. It functions to boost your conjuration skill, restore your magicka and to help you resist fire-based attacks. So if you're looking to go dragon hunting (though conjuration only comes into play once you ground them) or seeking a fight with some fire mages you'll be more than prepared. Again, I assume no responsibility for the misuse of these potions nor for an individual's failings to equip and conduct themselves properly in combat.

Conjurer's Philter of Fireshield:

Bone Meal - one of the most common ingredients out there, bone meal can be found on the bodies of draugr of all varieties, skeletons, it can be bought in shops and found lying about in cabins and kitchens. You shouldn't have any trouble getting your hands on this so I'm not going to post specific locations... Just raid an ancient nord crypt or two.
Elves Ear - kitchens and covens are your best bet for this ingredient. It can be found hung up and drying alongside garlic in most cases and in the stocks of alchemist shops.
Frost Salts - much more uncommon, these will likely pose a challenge to you. You CAN buy them at alchemy shops but they're not only costly but rare to find in stock as well. They can be looted from frost atronachs but those aren't particularly plentiful to say the least. Your best bet will be raiding the shelves of alchemy shops (don't get spotted) and the various alchemy labs scattered across the Skyrim landscape. Random basements, witches covens, even down in Blackreach at Sinderion's field office if I remember correctly. Just keep your eyes peeled and pick them up whenever you can.

As like before here are the potion attributes:

- Fortify Conjuration: 75

- Restore Magicka: 25

- Resist Fire: 86

- Value: 186 Gold

Well folks that's all I have for you today. I'd like to thank my friend Kim for the feedback that inspired me to write this second alchemy piece. I hope these come in handy for you. To the rest of my readers I hope these potions prove just as useful to you in your journeys just remember to give me a little credit if you're discussing your digital exploits with fellow Skyrim enthusiasts. Thank you and as always...

Enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylor

Reader Request - New Game Guide

2012-12-25T18:15:00.000-08:00

Hey folks!

I have a question to ask of you, and it involves video gaming.

I have finally sorted out all my games, I've got my new 500GB PS3 hooked up and kicking, but I want to do something more with it. SO, I'm writing a new game guide based on requests. Now, I have a number of games already that might be suitable for having a player's guide written for them, but I'm also accepting suggestions and if I get enough recommendations I'll likely go and get the reader-picked title and write a guide or review for THAT game. Here's what I have so far I feel would suit having a guide written for them:

Grand Theft auto 4
Gran Turismo 5
Skyrim, an official guide dealing with the entire storyline and general gameplay
Fallout 3 or New Vegas
Dead Island

Now it's not a big list I know, but most of my games are first person shooters or NFS titles that don't lend themselves well to guide or review writing so please, should you feel as though a game deserves higher recognition, comment with the game title of your choosing for the next Fishbowl 2.0 game guide / review article. Thanks!

Enjoy your swim!

Joshua J. Taylor