I’ve been talking about Tom Bihn bags for years.

I originally got one of Tom’s bags in 1999 because I was looking for a back-pack-type bag that could carry a multimedia laptop and some audio gear. C. William Smith from CBC and a bunch of us were working on the ‘radio in a backpack’ idea and we needed the perfect backpack for the job.

There were loads of book bags and back-country bags, but nothing that combined the protection needed and the form factor.

While doing yet another web search (this is 1999 remember) I discovered Tom’s Brain Bag .

It absolutely did the trick (and still does). Mine has at least 300,000 airmiles on it and looks as good as new.

Over the years I’ve bought other bags for specific bits of gear, and they just WORK. Only the best materials, fasteners and shoulder straps.

Today, my new Buzz bag arrived. It’s going to be my podcast bag, and I’m thrilled to discover it is exactly right for the job.

It’ll hold my digital IC recorder, a couple of mics, and assorted stuff that I inevitably need. The great thing is I can set up my gear, keep it in the bag, wear the bag, and still have my hands free. And I love the iPod holder on the strap.

Tom’s just down the way in Port Angeles and he’s also got a store in Seattle. I’ve only ever bought my stuff via the web.

According to Ipsos Insight’s lastest poll in the U.S.

Almost a quarter of respondents (22%) anticipate buying a portable MP3 player or lower-storage Apple iPod Shuffle or iPod Nano (to use primarily for music) in the next three months, and 14% are interested in buying a portable multimedia device, such as the 30GB or 60GB iPod, Sony PSP, Creative Zen, or iRiver devices.

Which may explain what’s been going on in my office when I’m out…

Ben Garfinkel over at Industrial Brand Creative e-mailed me to get my mailing address.

In response, I can’t believe I actually wrote this:

Ben. You can surface me at….

Hello – not a verb – hello. Time to get off the keyboard and go for a walk.

Have managed to fix the RSS feed problem.

I blame it all on iTunes.

One of the plugins I was using for Word Press was meant to include some iTunes specific tags, but it was making a bit of a mess of my main feed.

Nuked the plug in, replaced the original Word Press file, and all’s well in RSS land.

I’m having some trouble with my RSS feed out of Word Press. Working on it, and my apologies .

Birthday Shoes.

These are from a Vancouver company and they are awesome.

Two things caught my ears today.

First thing.

Assuming you want it, 16 dollars gets you a piece of satellite radio.

According to their web site, CSR, the operators of XM satellite radio in Canada has “filed a final prospectus with securities regulatory authorities in each of the Canadian provinces in connection with an initial public offering of 3,437,500 subordinate voting shares at a price of $16 per share.”

Canadian dollars mind you.

Second thing.

I see that 16 bucks (real American dollars that is) will buy me just over 16 days of commercial free CNN – delivered on line through CNN Pipeline.

CNN clearly got their money’s worth in this branding exercise – they got hook lines a plenty for this new service:

Control it. Watch it. Live

CNN Pipeline. Ride Your World.

Funny that – I control my media just fine, on my own, without having to fork over 99 cents a day.

My thing.

Whether it’s satellite radio or CNN sans commercials, we Canadians love to pay for radio and TV.

You’d think we’d all be flag-waving, demonstration-leading, rabid little beavers trying to save free, over-the-air broadcasting. After all, Marconi bounced the first trans-Atlantic signal to Newfoundland, we practically invented the communications satellite, and the first television set in North America was built by a distant relative of mine, Alphone Ouimet.

But.

The reality is, the vast majority of us pay for TV by cable or satellite.

We’re abandoning AM and FM radio in droves – currently to listen to our iPods.

Note to Steve Jobs: my kids think you missed the boat and should be marketing the new iPod to their grandparents – the iPod Nana. While I’m on this aside, it seems to be official – there are now more accessories available for the iPod than there are for your average Detroit automobile.

So what if there’ll be more shareholders than listeners, we Canadians should be lining up to fork over our 16 bucks to get a piece of the bird (though it is a shame those satellite radio receivers are so damn ugly).

We’re your perfect test market. We’d jump at the chance to fork over some of our multi-coloured money so we can stick some decent content on our PSP’s or our iPods.

But.

Forget about CNN and Desperate Housewives.

This is Canada.

If you really want a blockbuster success, try 6 Feet Under. Coronation Street.

Where in the World Are You ?

You should be here…



15 cm’s new last 24.

(grab the Google Earth locator for Cypress, right click here)

For the last 11 years I’ve been taking my 91 Jeep and all 240,000 kilometers of it to Mountview Jeep for service. They’ve kept the old heap running like a top. They’re a family run business and it shows.

When I called yesterday to make a service appointment they told me they’ve been sold. Not sure what it’s going to mean, but they’ve been bought out by a big dealer, so my guess is the changes won’t be for the better.

Oddly, their web site doesn’t say anything about the changes. One staffer there told me that because no-one knows (yet) if they’re going to have a job or not with the new owners, people have been leaving in droves for other, sure-things. They’ve been told some of them may be kept on, but who and how many won’t be known for a week or so yet.

Time to find a new spot.

Last week, after our fabulous experience geocaching, we decided to buy a map enabled hand held GPS unit.

Here’s the short story.

Whatever you do, do not buy one at Canadian Tire.

Here’s why:

I admit it, I was in a hurry.

We’d done our homework and knew we wanted the Garmin 60C.

We quickly checked the web for availability and that our local Canadian Tire Store (North Vancouver) had one in stock.

We trotted down only to discover the sporting good counter to be a total mess of boxes, papers, and assorted detritus – and no staff person to be found. We pushed the electronic call button. After 20 minutes, someone finally showed up.

We told him what we wanted and he pulled out the box and away we went.

Customer wait time = 21 minutes. Time spent with customer = 1 minute.

The next day was Sunday, and while looking for some information on software for the unit (the clerk at CT didn’t have a clue about any) I came across my new favourite store, Deakin Equipment.

Not only did they have software, they had the same unit for 50 dollars LESS, plus a 25 dollar one-time coupon. These stores are a 10 minute drive apart.

What I should have done was return the GPS at CT and buy the one at Deakin. It was a Sunday, and Deakin was closed.

My son Matthew had noticed a ‘price gaurantee’ sign at CT, so I called, they said said YES, just bring down proof of a lower price.

So off we went again.

15 minutes in line at Customer Service, and we’re told that the guarantee is only if you show them the lower price BEFORE you buy something.

Huh ? I look up at the guarantee sign directly in front of me. It’s posted on the wall. It doesn’t say that.

I point out this anomaly to the clerk. Besides, I had called first and was told they would honour the price guarantee.

She checks. Yes, ok, we’ll make an exception.
And exception ? At this point, I’m finding customer service to be a tad customer annoying.

Here’s the exact text of the sign (I made them give me a copy)

Price Match Guarantee
Canadian Tire will match any competitor’s price on an identical item AND give customers an extra 10% of the lower price in Canadian Tire “money”.
The competitor’s lower price must be verifiable (advertised price, flyer, phone call, etc.)
Whether an item is ‘identical’ will be determined by looking at:
– product features
-brand/manufactuer
-model/size/volume
-warranty

Any questions over whether an item is ‘identical’ will be resolved on a case-by-case basis by the Dealer, Store Manger, General Manager or other appointed Manager.
The Price Match Guarantee program applices to compitor’s regular and sale prices.

Exceptions to the Price Match Guarantee program are:
labour, competitors’s clearance, bankruptcies, volume discounts, mail-in rebates, wholesale prices not available to the general public, live goods, web-based competitors, propane tank refills.

Thank you for bringing this item to our attention. Your assistanace will help Canadian Tire price our products more competitively.

So, the clerk takes my credit card and refunds me my 50$.

“But wait” says I, “What about the 10% extra in Canadian Tire money.”

For those of you from away, CT money is worth par at CT stores. This is going to be almost 45 dollars I can spent right here, right now.

Another pause from the clerk. She looks at me like I’m a complete idiot.

She tells me I do not get the CT money because I used a credit card to pay for my purchase.

Huh?

I look at the Price Match Guarantee sign again.

Now I’m annoyed, but I’m calm. After all, I am in the right.

I ask her to show me where the policy explains this new wrinkle. “Nowhere” she says, “it’s always been that way.”

At this point, the clerk actually removes the sign from the wall. She’s literally peeling it off the wall. The Guess Who’s “Undone” is running through my mind.

Ok. Time to get serious.

I ask to see a manager.

There are now about 10 people in line behind me.

I’ve now been at the so-called customer service desk for 34 minutes.

Manager “Blair” (not his real name) shows up. “Sorry, can’t do it”. We go through ‘what about the sign’ questions again. I calmly ask him to explain to me why they do not adhere to their publicly posted policy (which is now no longer actually posted…)

Blair explains there is nothing he can do. I’m flabergasted, but I’m calm. There are now 15 people in line behind me. I ask Blair for his name, and a copy of the sign. He actually makes a photocopy of the sign for me right then and there.

Then Blair has a brainstorm. If I pay with cash or debit I can get my CT money. He starts to walk away.

I pull out my secret weapon. The debit card. Hey, I’m no flakey customer. I’ve got money IN THE BANK!

I’m now handed back with the clerk who issues a huge sigh, and says: “This is going to take awhile”. Gee, I’m so surprised.

It’s now 40 minutes and counting.

Much heavy sighing and muttering. Ms. Helpful counts out my CT money in (and I am not kidding) denomination of 1’s (18 of them) and the rest in .25 cent and .50 cent denominations. She’s got a wad of CT money 3 inches high on the counter.

Total time invested: 52 minutes. Total refund: 50 real dollars, 49.20 in Canadian tire.

Since I’ve got this useless CT money, I actually go back to the sports counter, wait another 15 minutes for someone to show up, so that I can buy what I later find out is discontinued map software for the Garmin.

At the checkout, the clerk freaks out at the tiny denominations of CT money, and I explain that I just got them from her co-worker over at customer service.

Incredibly, she won’t take it or count it and insists on getting someone from customer service to confirm the amount, even though it is ACTUALLY PRINTED ON MY RECEIPT. Finally, some haggard looking fellow clerk tells her to take it. I know, it’s like an episode of The Canadian Tire Twilight Zone.

Total time spent, and the last time ever you’ll find me at CT : 1 hour 12 minutes.

But here, fellow bloggers, the story gets much cheerier.

The next day I make the trip to Deakin Equipment, only to discover they have the world’s most amazing customer service, informed courteous staff, a wonderful attitude, and great prices.

It’s like the CT store in North Van is this black hole of negativity, and this place, across Burrard Inlet, is the exact opposite, the ying/yang of retail. No, that’s not it.

I know.

It’s the BIZZARO of Retail.

Deakin was super helpful, found me the accessories I was looking for, and actually spent time talking to me about what I need. As i was paying, I casually meantion that I bought my unit at CT. The counter person asked me “how was your experience at CT, did they know anything about GPS?”

To which I laughed, and said “you’ll have to read the blog…”

Want one of these ? Buy it at Deakin Equipment in Vancouver or online.

Oh. One other thing.

I noticed that CT still hasn’t changed its price on the unit. So much for their pledge that ‘your asssitance will help Canadian Tire price our products more comptetively”

Yah, right.

A couple of weeks ago we had a fabulous time out at Royal Roads University in Victoria BC, geocaching at Hatley Park National Historical Site.

They’ve got a really great program tailored for families and even for birthday parties. Matthew and Garnet totally got into it, though Matthew had done geocaching before with Scouts. He helped get the rest of us up to speed, but the geocaching activities here come complete with a guide ! You get the thrill and fun of geocaching along with historical information about this amazing location (at 10U 465022 5364730 if you’ve got MapSource of other GPS enabled software).

Check out the program here.

Checking out a cache at Hatley Park National Historic Site

We had a blast – so much so that a week later we bought our own map-enabled Garmin GPS unit. And that experience itself is worthy of another blog coming soon.

How’s your day. Click here to find out.

Had a great morning snowboarding on Cypress yesterday. Planning on heading up again tomorrow morning for a few quick runs. It’s been snowing there all day and well below freezing so things should be great.

Spent the afternoon at the Vancouver Art Gallery where they’re showing some Picasso etchings and a few paintings.

I love the rain in Vancouver in the fall. It means snow on the local mountains and that means snowboarding.

This could be a banner year for early-on-the-mountain. As I write this, Blackcomb is open, and locally, my season-pass-hill, Cypress is talking about opening next week.

This is good.

This is better than good.

Bring on the rain.

Boo.