Food – Yangs Teppanyaki & Sushi

Posted on February 22nd, 2009 by grinthock.
Categories: Department of Good Eats, Department of rant services..

Since I tried Teppan cooking table type food awhile ago at Yamato (and reviewed it) I decided to start checking out other places.  Prince Japanese is another one on the list worth checking out.

At the recommendation of a friend, I decided to check out Yangs Teppanyaki & Sushi at 3255 Rutherford Rd near Vaughan Mills Mall in Toronto.  The Sushi was good, the teppan was average and the background music was annoying.  Here are some bullets…

Like:

* Sushi…  It was amazing, top notch.  Some of the best I have had.

* Miso Soup and Salad were also quite good.

Don’t Like:

* The entire Teppan experience, the food wasn’t good, Chicken and Salmon and Filet.   Chicken was rubbery, Beef was tender but not flavourful, the Salmon was ok.

* The fried rice was ok, definatly better than Beni Hana, but not as good as Yamoto.

If you want Sushi, this is probably a good place, but for Teppan, you can do better, so avoid the “cooking table”

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PC Wild Pacific Salmon Mini Wellingtons – Amazing implementation, horrible product.

Posted on January 15th, 2009 by grinthock.
Categories: Department of horrible food, Department of rant services..

So recently I saw an add for this product, PC Wild Pacific Salmon Mini Wellington     looked like a novel idea.

I am not a “frozen food” lover by any means.  They are mostly a convienence product, sometimes you just want a hot snack or something, and heat and serve sounds like a good idea.   Most of these pastry based products come out either dry, flat or soggy.   This is a perfect example of a product implemented perfectly but just didn’t come togeather in the end.  The strong lemon flavor is overwhelming in the product and leaves quite the strong aftertaste.   The salmon in the product tastes like canned generic salmon and doesn’t taste anything like the salmon found in the freshly made product and as a result leaves something to be desired.

Strangely enough the pastry itself was nice and crispy, not soggy and came out surprisingly well, unfortunatly the filling didn’t meet the products promise.

The product get’s a thumbs down from us.  Why are we reviewing some random product like this?   This is the world of opinionation, we have opinions about everything.

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Movie Distributors and Retailers Conning Consumers into purchasing “useless” Blu-Ray movies.

Posted on January 9th, 2009 by grinthock.
Categories: Department of Film, Department of rant services., Toy Box, What's Up Department.

Recently I had a conversation with an assocaite about HDTV’s, he was telling me about his “120hz 1080p 14bgillion:1 contrast ratio hunger saving” HDTV that he purchased over boxing week.

While this was all fine and good, he also mentioned that he purchased a blu-ray player and has picked up a bunch of movie – one of which was “TOP GUN”, and he mentioned how “GREAT” it looked on his TV and how amazing TOP GUN was in 1080p.

He mentioned in the store the sales person was  telling him how “35MM Movies shot in the 80’s are already higher def, they just needed a better distribution format”.    Upon asking others, many have been told the same.  This is clearly deceptive, not to mention they are taking advantage of highly technical issues related to the product to trick the consumer knowing full well they can’t understand this stuff.

When visiting the  store recently I walked over to look at these movies – nowhere on any movie does it say what the SOURCE was, it does not mention that the movie is an upconvert, re-capture, re-digitization.  I know for a fact the movie was not shot in 1080p digital – or in any format that can provide that level of detail – yet the box clearly said the movie was in 1080p resolution.  Well i’m sorry but that a deceptive practice – sure it’s in 1080p resolution – but at the end of the day this would be no better than an upconverting DVD player in my opinion – i’ve seen both, side by side.

Bottom line – the amount of 1080p ACTUAL content out there is limited – purchasing a blu-ray player and movies right now might be a little pre-mature – even now – the content STILL isn’t there yet.   You are better off with a good quality upconverting DVD player for the time being – wait till the blu-ray’s hit $50 a walmart.

Here is a 720p capture from TopGun,  film grain clearly visible.  This is not digital compression noise, tiling or pixelation – the pixels are intact – this is film grain.

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Steve’s got a hormone imbalance – happy now?

Posted on January 5th, 2009 by grinthock.
Categories: Apple, Department of "Things that make you go hmmm", Department of Morality.

So our friend Steve Jobs has finally let the world know about his health in an open letter to the Apple community.

Now that it has been said, is everyone happy? Are we finished?

But wait – are we?  This entire situation has brought up serious questions, Steve is known as a very hands on guy, slave driver, very ingrained in the company that is Apple, personally coming up with major ideas for the company as a whole.   So the question is, what would happen to Apple if it disappeared.

The bigger question is – as an officer in a company do executive officers, Sr Directors and other officers of the company have a duty to divulge personal medical problems if there is a chance that they may die or be unable to perform their duties?

Do the rewards associated with being CEO/President/what have you, along with the huge money they make and benefits not make them  duty bound to advise the shareholders if they are in trouble?    Personally this writer things YES – while it may be none of our business, when you chose to make YOU personally such an integral part of a company and take that kind of $$, you have a responsibility to do your job – and should you have knowledge that you will not be able to – than you should be required to divulge it.

Quote of letter below..

– BEGIN QUOTE

January 5, 2009

Letter from Apple CEO Steve Jobs

Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.

Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.

I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.

As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.

Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause—a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.

The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.

I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.

So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.

Steve

”

— END Quote.

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Canadian Kid on website makes us all look like idiots.

Posted on January 4th, 2009 by grinthock.
Categories: Blogroll, Canadiana, Department of rant services., Toy Box.

Engadget has posted this story about a kid who went nuts when he got a Wii.  Not sure why it’s important that he’s Canadian and i’m pretty sure that they say it for no other reason than to make us look like idiots (again)

Why are Canadians constantly portrayed at weak moronic people?     It’s getting old.

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Saltlik : A quality steakhouse worth a look.

Posted on December 25th, 2008 by grinthock.
Categories: Department of Good Eats.

Recently my travels found me in Calgary, Alberta.   In the past I visited Hy’s in Calgary, a good steak, a selection of fine wines, excellent Alberta beef; an excellent way to top off a hard work day.

Hy’s in Calgary has closed it’s doors, claiming that “Calgary” has grown (see link) so on the advice of someone locally I visited “Saltlik” in downtown Calgary at 101 8th Ave (Google Maps Link)

A good selection of steaks on their menu, the french onion soup was excellent, the wine list was not as elaborate as Hy’s but let’s be honest who honestly needs 400 different varieties.    I went for the California New York, Medium Rare, it arrived cooked perfectly, with just the right amount of service, and perfectly cooked food.

I could go on for more paragraphs about how great it was, but I am no food writer, I just know what I like, and all I wanted was a good Alberta steak, a nice wine, and a good meal.   At Saltlik, I got it.  In a day where I experienced 4 hour flight delays, 7 hours in an airport, the steak was worth it.

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Airport Laptop Power Still Not Abundant…

Posted on December 23rd, 2008 by grinthock.
Categories: Air Travel, Department of rant services..

So recently on a trip to Calgary, I was stuck (today infact) in the airport for several hours – over 5 to be exact.  Even with the new battery in my IBM laptop, and power saving turned on, there is simply no way I could possibly run for 5 hours (and then on the aircraft for 3 hours).   I started searching for the life juice that is AC power for my laptop.

Sure these airports have power, but they tend to be near signage, near equipment, nowhere near a seating area.     I did find a few people  plopped either on the floor, or in corridors utilizing the power outlets.     This isn’t a familiar sight in many airport.

However these types of activities are short lived, a search will show you many have been told (this writer included) to “unplug” from power plugs due to various reasons “Fire hazzard” is ususally the excuse used, the LiON battery pack is probably more of a fire hazzard than my lenovo power adapter.

So after wandering for 30 minutes, I found a plug, in a wall, behind a row of chairs, plugged in and I was good to go, for now, however then I had to get through security and near my gate.  In that area I found 4 of these…  Not actual photo, you get the idea, but there were 4 of them available for over 40 gates and with thousands of people here during the holidays, getting one was wishful thinking – but I did.

All over the airport here (which for the record is Calgary YYC), there are the following signs…

First — the internet was pretty slow, 500K Up and Down, no matter what I did, it’s also trasparently proxied with various sites being filtered (although TOR project does work to get you around it).   Second — what’s the point of Wifi in an airport, without power!   Nobody wants to board an aircraft with a dead laptop,  people need to charge cell phones, and various devices such as this.  I am sure at the prices they charge they can afford it, so let’s look at it.

Making an assumption that 5,000 people per day, utilize power for 4 hours each, on a laptop that uses a 100W supply (most are 75-90 max), it would cost the airport $6402 per month (assuming a 10.67 cents / KW hour and tax)

That’s nothing!  I hardly beleive 5,000 per day, 4 hrs each and 100W is even realistic, it must be way out to lunch as well.

Bottom line is, the costs are so low, it’s crazy, i’d be willing to drop a twoonie (that’s a 2 dollar coin for non canadians) into a slot to get 4 hours of power, even if that $2 is worth way more than that!

Many airport have added power, but it’s far from enough, there is a nice Wiki where people are adding info the “Air Power Wiki”      this resource is growing, and I would recommend bookmarking it on your mobile device so you can look up info while at the airport.

Good luck and stay safe, and don’t forget to leave those gel’s liquids and aerosol’s behind, because 3oz of gel’s couldn’t possibly be a security risk.

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Top Gear Morse Code Seasion 12 Episode 1

Posted on November 2nd, 2008 by grinthock.
Categories: Uncategorized.

So BBC Top Gear has restarted for Season 12, in Episode one during the STIG’s test of the LP560 Lambo there was Morse Code in the background (see attached file)  our team here at grinthock.com has pulled the audio from the video and isolated the CW code.  Download The Morse Code Isolated from Top Gear Season 12 Episode 1

Without question (2 Morse Code certified Amateur Radio Operators confirmed it) the code says

“You Like Cheese, Strictly is Crap”

This is clearly a reference to “Strickly Come Dancing” a show that is aired at the same time as Top Gear on BBC 1 (Top Gear air’s on BBC 2)  many references to this competing show (and the 85 year olds who apparently watch it) were made during the episode.

Personally we at grinthock.com don’t know if Strickly Come Dancing is crap – but we know that it couldn’t possibly be better than Top Gear Season 12 Episode one or the very cool Morse Code that they embedded in this episode!

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iPhone 3G Battery Power Up!

Posted on August 19th, 2008 by grinthock.
Categories: Toy Box, iPhone.

So once we got our iPhone 3G here, it’s been a few weeks, we all know the battery stinks.

First – we have noticed that conditioning has made a difference — after about 10 battery cycles the battery started to last about 10% longer than when we first reviewed the device.

I’d like to show you this product…  (No we didn’t get one for free)

that’s the “Brando iPhone Power Station”  now if you have not shopped at Brando, then you are missing out on Hong Kongs best.  We ordered this little gem for $25, it’s got a 1000MAH capacity.

Charge it with your standard iPod/iPhone power cord, and I have been just tossing it in my bag.  If I get 3/4 of the way through my day, and realize i’m not going to end up at home until late, and i’m not in the car to charge, it’s nice to just have tossed in my laptop bag.

It will take your iPhone from 20% to 100% in about 45 minutes and works perfect.  For $25, you can’t beat it.   How much longer a review can I write about something so simple…

Head over to Brando’s to get one — Here

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Where did the innovation go at RIM?

Posted on August 17th, 2008 by grinthock.
Categories: Department of WTF, Department of rant services., RIM.

Many of my friends got “RIM Jobs” back in the 90’s.  I even remember one of them showing up at my place with this little black box…  He said it was the “Blackberry” something that you couldn’t even get yet.  It was the internet in your pocket, email and basic web.

It was a cold winter when I first visited the RIM campus, and saw the “Blackberry 950″ pictured above, it was small, pager sized, but innovative.

Specifically when we talk about innovation

- Mobitex Radio built in

- Small Form Factor

- Innovative Power Management

- Almost impossible to destroy

- Back end technology that made push email ACTUALLY WORK.

This device ran for up to 3 weeks on a single AA battery.  Yes, that’s right – 1 single 2500MAH battery would run this device for an entire week.   Part of this magic came from the innovative charging system.  The AA actually charged an onboard lithium battery, and then the handheld ran off the lithium battery in order to provide the 3V required for the unit, and a stable power supply.

Power management was something RIM spent significant time developing, they wanted a device that was reliable and ran for a long time on a standard battery.  Significant feat when you consider the device contained an 800mhz Mobitex cellular modem inside, 386 CPU, screen and ram.

One of the first handhelds of it’s time, again looking at power management a magnetic read switch turns off the display a soon as it hits the holster, a feature found in all of the RIM handhelds even today.

Form factor was key, we have all heard about the RIM vs Handspring lawsuit related to “a hand-held electronic device with a keyboard optimised for use with the thumbs.” an innovative keyboard design that worked well, provided tactile feedback, was compact but still useable, even by someone with large hands.  The form factor was the best part, to this day I wish my handheld was that small again,  give me something 950 sized, full screen, and have it split it two with a slide out keyboard.

Eventually the 957 (above) was launched, and while everyone wanted the big screen, people like myself stayed with the 950, the size was simply better, many people said they wanted the smaller size .

The 7250 (and others in the same formfactor) became quite popular, with those who longed for a device that wouldn’t cut into your side when you sat down, but still significantly larger than the Blackberry 950.  Sure these are now telephones, but the 950 formfactor could have been saved.

I think if you go back and look at some of the innovative cool things the Blackberry 950 was, you will notice some of the new ones are simply not.

This photo (above) recently posted at engadget outlined someone who apparently dropped the new blackberry “BOLD” and as you can see cracked the device.    Yet another innovation from RIM down the toilet, this is far cry from the “flying” blackberry 950 that i’ve seen fall 6 ft onto concrete, bounce 3 times down a flight of stairs, and not even have a scratch.  They knew that they had to put a bezel on the device that stopped the screen from hitting the ground,weigh the device so it lands a certain way, when it falls it lands on a certain side.

New devices are horrible, I have the “Blackberry Curve” (pictured below)

While I like this handheld, I fear it will die the same death as many of my previous blackberries, one drop and it’s time for a new device.  So I have purchased an OtterBox Defender for the Curve..

With the case above, I think my curve is closer to as durable as my Blackberry 950, but  still not there.  The size of the 950 simply won’t allow that, especially with that massive huge screen that isn’t bezelled.  I like the Otterbox, and if you end up at this article during a google search, YES, the Otterbox is great, I have one for iPhone, and the Curve, and a dozen of my friends have OtterBox’s for their Curve – we all love it and have nothing bad to say.

So what’s wrong RIM?  Batteries that don’t last, devices that hardly last a day, no durability, where’s the innovation?  It’s time to get back to your roots and build us something NEW, INNOVATIVE and GREAT.  Give me the feeling I had when I saw the 950 again, oh and Bold and the upcoming Thunder, sorry, but that’s not good enough.

Rim brought us push email in the 90’s, and that same technology is STILL in use today, and still works.   ActiveSync does not even come close to as reliable, fast and clean as the Blackberry email push system, which integrates with each step of the network.

Until something cool comes along — I’ll be here waiting…

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