Christmas is Right Around the Corner!

I think I've just set a new record for me. It's not even the end of September yet, and this morning I started planning for the Christmas season. Usually, Christmas doesn't even show up on my radar until around mid-December. Sure, I hear other people talking about it and can't escape from it in malls and stores, but the extent of any actual planning I've ever had to do in the past was buying gifts, which rarely happened before the couple weeks leading up to Christmas.

How Not to Launch a New Service

Earlier this week, Netflix launched their Internet streaming based video rental service in Canada. And boy is this one launch they really bungled for a variety of reasons. If you don't already know, Netflix is a wildly popular American “DVD-rental-by-mail” company that has gotten to be very popular, and they also have a service where subscribers can skip the mailing of DVDs and stream the video directly off the internet.

First of all, they launched with a significantly poorer video selection than everyone was expecting. More on that later.

Secondly, they hired paid extras to pose as enthusiastic Netflix fans in downtown Toronto. That didn't go over too well once word got out.

Thirdly, their CEO insulted his fellow Americans during an interview about the Canadian launch. When asked whether their American subscribers would be upset about the Canadian price being lower than the US price, he responded, “How much has it been your experience that Americans follow what happens in the world? It's something we'll monitor, but Americans are somewhat self-absorbed.”

Our Friend Dirt

And now, for the educational portion of our program, a short documentary about dirt.

First Post!

• First post for the month of September.
• First post in over a week.
• First post containing the word "antelope."
• First post written somewhere other than home. Not exactly sure where I am though... somewhere past Kamloops.
• First post written in a moving vehicle. Don't worry, my dad is the one driving right now, not me.
• First post composed completely on my iPhone. Not something I'd like to do regularly, but I found a way to make it a little easier. Type the whole thing, HTML and all, into the Notes app and paste it into the Blogger interface later. I would not recommend trying to type a full post using their blog editor on an iPhone.
• First post written somewhere without Internet or cellular connection of any kind. I won't be able to finish and publish this post until I'm going through Jasper National Park. They have great cell service there, in contrast with the zero coverage everywhere else between there and Kamloops.
• First post written with a cat a few feet away from me. He's the third traveler on this trip. He'll be staying with my brother for a couple weeks during my parents' big move. My young nephew will love that. The cat, however, will be very happy when that time is over, I'm sure.
• First post for which I'm not proofreading as much as normal. Well, if there are any big errors I can always fix then later...