More free fun apps for your iPhone!

This morning a look at the New York Times and iChoose.

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Here’s the thing about apps for the iPhone 3G: they’re brilliant and fabulous and the killer feature for the phone, but rarely can you try before you buy.

You see something, it looks cool, but you gotta buy it to test it. There’s no way to get a refund if the application you thought you were getting is not even close to what you wanted.

So I’m throwing up reviews and videos and demos of the apps I pluck from the iTunes store for you to see in action before you buy them. Here’s the catch: all the apps I’m testing are free.

Here are the latest fun games I’m playing:

Got an app you love on your iPhone 3G? Do a video demo and toss it up online so we can see more of these things in action.

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I’ve been a Canucks ticket holder for a few years now.

At first I shared Ice Paks with friends, then I got my own Ice Pak. Then I shared half season tix with friends, and just this week I’ve upgraded to FULL SEASON TICKETS!

Wow, quite the commitment.

Sign me up for 45 visits to GM Place this year .. or not. The reason I upgraded to the full season package is to grab some tickets for the rest of y’all. Again, I’ll be sharing tickets with some colleagues, but I should have about 17 games available for you to buy.

Here’s the deal. My seats are in Section 302, Row 11, Seats 5-6. Since I buy them as a Season Ticket Holder, I can get them at a discount (about $40 ea). Later, when single game tickets go on sale, my seats will be worth nearly $60 each to the general public.

So I will be offering up some tickets for you to buy at the general public price, with the difference being a direct donation to Team Diabetes.

For example, if you wanted my tickets for the January 28 game vs Nashville, I would charge you $120. $80 to me to cover the tix, and a $40 donation from you to my Team Diabetes page where you get a tax receipt. Sweet!

Some of the games will be highly sought after, like the Maple Leafs‘ visit on November 15, and Detroit on November 24. These tickets will be sold at higher premium, perhaps even an auction. Again, all I want is the $40 a seat to cover my investment, anything you pay over and above will get a tax receipt.

I’ll have more details in September, once training camp starts and we have hockey fever. In the meantime, check out the Canucks schedule and circle your favorite game - cause I’ve got tickets!

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Flickr image credits:
Canucks vintage by Jeffery Simpson
GM Place by Jeffery Simpson

When Jen and I were in France this spring going out for dinner was a struggle. Z’s bedtime is 7, and no restaurants opened until 7. That meant more than a few nights of deli meat and baguettes from the grocery store in the hotel room for dinner.

In Vancouver, however, if you show up at 7, you’re in the heart of the rush and can expect to wait for a plate.

Last night I crashed Jen’s Dinner Club - a gaggle of girls who vow to get together once a month and have drinks, dinner and gossip at one of the city’s newest boites.

So the 6 of us hit up Trattoira Italian Kitchen last night in what looked like an episode of Elimidate; one guy and 5 girls out for dinner.

Trattoria does the first come, first served thing. So with a party larger than 4 we were told to expect a wait. And wait we did. Nearly 90mins.

To be fair, the manager, Peter, gave us frequent updates on the table we were waiting on. They were lingering with their bill and desserts and he was trying as gently as he could to hurry the process along.

Peter was great. He was the one who made the Elimidate crack, and when I made a crack about liveblogging our wait on Twitter, he joked along with that as well.

The servers, in the lounge anyway, were a little lax. There wasn’t a dedicated lounge server bringing drinks to those waiting for tables, so it was nearly 15 mins before Jen and I were offered a glass of wine when we arrived. It would be nice to have the hostesses running this section while the servers can work their tables.

Finally we were sat and Peter rushed out with an amuse bouche of Kobe Meatballs. We were all wowed, thinking it was a treat for our long wait, when Lesa reminded Peter she had been given the meatball last time she ate at Trattoria. So apparently it’s something for everyone, and we weren’t so special.

The meatball was good, but odd for an amuse bouche. It’s big, heavy, and spicy. If you were ready for a light crisp salad and pasta, this would blow your palette. We ordered a couple bottles of wine, and the first to arrive was the Villa Antinori - not a good thing to try right after a spicy meatball.. but we plowed through.

As Peter dropped the meatballs on the table, I started clicking away with my camera. After live blogging the wait, and now clicking with the camera, Peter wondered if I was a critic or something.

“No,” I said, “I’m just a nerd.”

Nonetheless, our experience for the rest of the night changed immediately. Our server was on us immediately. Our wine glasses never below half full. Our sips of water immediately replaced. Our food came hot and quick.

Want better service? Twitter away on your iPhone in the lounge and pull out your camera to snap pictures of the food as it arrives on the table. It might work.

But on to the wine .. the room was a little loud, the light a little low and the camera work a little awful. We had the Villa Antinori Bianco and Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon:

The Liberty School was brilliant, the Villa Antinori a little too light to hold up to the food. $50+ on the wine list, both about $25 at your fave wine shop.

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    - Scrabulous is dead (on Facebook). Long live Scrabulous (on the web)

    - Like Banana Republic? Like saving money? Here's a 15% off coupon for ya.

    - The local blueberries are big and beautiful right now.  Check out this no bake blueberry cheescake bar recipe!

    - Gentlemen may prefer blondes, but we'd like her more if she was a size 10.

    - Sandals and socks.  On a fashion runway?  w00t!

    - The kids get juice drink boxes. Now you can have one for your morning shot.

    - There was an earthquake in Los Angeles today.

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I’m all about the free apps for the iPhone 3G… I havent bought one yet because there are so many great little toys you can get for free!

Last week I showed you Shazam, an app that will tell you the name of a song you’re hearing right now.

This one is for when you know the words, but don’t know the song. Have a closer look at Midomi:

I’ve got lots more, so I’ll be featuring free iPhone 3G Apps ALL WEEK! w00t!

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I was named after Buzz Aldrin.

My mom found out she was pregnant in the summer of 1969, just as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were walking on the moon. So I was going to be either Neil or Buzz some 7 months later… I was Buzz.

In 2005 I had the chance to meet my namesake at CES in Las Vegas, it was a huge thrill.

Today Virgin Galactic unveiled their mothership, Eve, as they continue the Race for Space.

Virgin Galactic is giving the world a glimpse of its secret space tourism program.

The spaceline trotted out the mothership aircraft Monday that will launch a still-to-be-built spaceship out of the atmosphere.

The early morning rollout in California’s Mojave desert comes four years after SpaceShipOne became the first private manned rocket to reach space.

The White Knight Two aircraft will undergo flight tests this fall. The actual spaceship is still under development.

More than 250 customers have paid $200,000 or put down a deposit for the chance to be one of Virgin Galactic’s first space tourists. [AP]

I have been fascinated by Space my entire life.

When I was 6 I visited the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

On my 16th birthday, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded.

When I was 26 I starred in an exhibit at the HR Macmillan Space Centre in Vancouver.

Who knows .. when I’m 46 will I slip the surly bonds of earth? The dream became a little bit more possible today.

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I dont have a problem writing about products for my blog. I think companies that reach out to the blogosphere for feedback should be applauded, and those who offer honest reviews on their blog should be thanked - not accused of being sell outs.

I mean, would you rather have honest word of mouth advertising from people you know and trust, or would you rather be fed spin from the marketing machine? I’ll take the blog reviews anyday.

Schick approached me about writing a piece on a new razor they’ve got on the market and I agreed to do an entry on the Schick Quattro Titanium Trimmer.

Disclosure: I got a free razor for this piece, that’s it.
Value: $11.49 at London Drugs.

Here’s the video (warning I get naked and shave in the shower.. it’s not an NSFW warning, just more of a topless fat guy in a shower warning):

So the summary:

PRO
it’s a close shave
the trimmer is a nice touch if you have something to trim

CON
it doesnt fit in my razor rack in the shower
it doesnt have a vibrating blade

VERDICT
It’s not right for me, but it might be right for you.

BONUS POINTS:
Because we all know women steal men’s razors, I let Jenner try it too. While she thought the Schick Quattro Titanium did a good job on her pits and legs, she found it a little too bulky to maneuver around her curvy corners.

So, guys, if you get this one it won’t get dulled by your partner

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You’re a gamer. A good gamer. But are you a pro gamer?

The Amp Your Game Tour will be at Richmond Centre Thursday - Sunday looking for a new member to join the pro ranks.

In each city, there will be four days of auditions in a rigorous double elimination bracket style tournament. If you make it to the fourth day on Sunday in each location, players will have an opportunity to win prize money for the top four spots. The top four players in each location will then be put in a pool nationally against the top four players from each location. If you are selected for the fourth spot of the Amp Energy Pro Team, you will be signed to a full pro gamer contract exclusively with Amp Energy and Toshiba Canada. [MLG Canada]

I’ll have an article in 24hrs on Wednesday this week, here’s a headstart with my raw interview with pro gamer Nelson Trianna.

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I’m going to do some video demos over the next little bit each time I find a cool application for the iPhone.

Here’s my current roster (I have the mandatory apps I dont use on a 3rd screen):

If you want to screen cap your iPhone, press the home button and then the power button. Let go and the screen will flash white for a second and a screen cap will show up in your camera roll.

My fave new app that performs great party tricks, and is free, is Shazam.

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