Kinect rock-tude

 

I don't say this often but... Microsoft rocks!

 

The kids received a Kinect for Christmas and it's amazing. I have no idea how it compares to the other consoles and frankly my dear, I don't give a damn. This thing is cool!

 

Friday nights are much more interesting when you're competing for points against your kids than when you're listening to yet another movie. Tonight, Kinect saved us from that cinematic masterpiece, Vampires Suck! Dubbed in French, no less.

 

We bought Dance Central which is an awesome game. I had tried the other dance title on the Wii and, to tell you the truth, when I played, you could mistake me for one of those vampires. On Dance Central, though, I rock! Well, except on those girlie dances. I can't quite get my feminine side to come out like it should. But those dude-songs are awesome!

 

The soundtrack is great and reminds me of my club days. You know, before I suddenly turned old and started to dance in front of my TV instead... Too bad House of Pain isn't part of the mix. It'll probably be downloadable soon, though. Hint! Hint!

 

I also tried the game that comes with the Kinect. First time I actually took time to play it and, honestly, it is purty darn decent. The one where you have to jump to make the thing go faster had blood and sweat pumping out my ears. I guess that's how it's supposed to be. And that's what makes it such a superior system compared to the Wii.

 

I remember playing the boxing game on the Wii about a year ago and feeling highly frustrated from the experience. I was playing against an "expert" and here I was, punching and jabbing and flailing my fists in wild uppercuts while she was merely flicking her wrists... and she won! After one game, i was on the floor, heaving and panting, wondering if should call 911 and she was filing her nails. I'd like to see her cheat now!

 

Too bad Electronic Arts won't come out with a FIFA title for the Kinect. Oh well, maybe in a couple more generations of the device.

 

Hollywood, here I come!

Ever since I won the lottery two weeks ago, things have really taken a drastic turn. The ad is true: it doesn't really change things, except that...

It was a harder secret to keep than what I expected. I had to keep things the same at work, at home, with friends, and family. I didn't want to let the cat out of the bag until I knew exactly what I was going to do. Now that it's settled, I can finally let it out!

A couple of friends of mine, Nick and Eddy, moved to California a few years ago to make it big in show business. They haven't hit the big time yet, but they're making a decent living and they really like it there. What's more important, though, is that in the seven years they've been there, they managed to create a pretty nice network, and they have the ear of a couple of people close to some producers.

One of those producers is Jon Favreau. Nick says that Favreau may have an interest in my retelling of Peter Pan as a darker character, tortured by the fact that he was abandoned by his parents in the grime of New York. He liked the (partial) synopsis and would like to hear more, but he's too busy right now with the Iron Man II tsunami coming up. So I'm going to work on it some more and head down to LaLa land to pitch my idea and my vision.

I'm not quite sure how it's going to turn out, but I have a few interesting ideas for casting: Charlize Theron as Tinkerbell, the exotic dancer; I'm torn between Scarlet Johansen and Lauren Ambrose as Wendy the waitress. I originally thought of Gary Oldman as Kap'n Hook, the Kingpin but after seeing Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds, I'm thinking he might make a better villain. I'm thinking of giving myself a part as one of Hook's cronies, but I dunno if that'll work. Anyway, we're still a long way from that.

So my plan is to wait until after the launch of Iron Man and then make my pitch. Exciting times!

My wife and the children don't know about this yet, I'm planning on springing it on them as an Easter surprise. I'm planning on taking them on a trip this summer, all I have to do now is figure out the destination. I'll see where they want to go. I'd like to check out Australia, but by then it'll be winter time. Maybe I'll wait until next winter and go to Hawaii instead.

For now, though, I put a sizable deposit on a brand new 2010 Mercedes S600 for the family and I'm thinking of getting a little something for me too. I had to borrow some money for the deposit, though, since I still have to cash in the money. But it's all planned: I'll surprise my wife and the kids by taking them out to Loto-Quebec and having the car waiting outside when we come out.

Well, it was supposed to be a surprise but my nosey daughter read over my shoulder and saw the title of this post. So now she's asking all sorts of questions, that I don't want to answer just yet. She'll probably be telling everybody at school now... *Sigh* Oh well, such is life with kids, I guess.

In the meantime, every night before I go to sleep I just admire that ticket. Dang! Look at it, it's so beautiful. It's almost like it has a glow around it!

Hmmmm.... that's weird....

Lemme check something....



HOLY !!*"?/(!(?!*"(?Y/"!&?"/(?*?(?)!"@!##!&+!@))(#!!)!!!)(><!!!

WHAT THE !()!#@$)#$)*!_&*@!!^$!(!@(^#@!*$@^!!!!!

I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!! I LOOKED AT THE RESULTS FOR THE WRONG DATE!! I DIDN'T WIN!

OH NOO! HOW AM I GONNA PAY FOR THAT CAR!!

I am in DEEEEEP trouble.





P.S. April Fool's!

Starting the day with a smile

Some people have no sense of humour. This morning I was heading to town in the train, and a man entered with his toddler. After a few minutes, the child became a bit agitated. He began chirping and making noise, like a toddler would. I noticed that  people around him were smiling or laughing at his antics. All except one woman, who got up and stomped out in a huff. As I looked at her face, I could almost hear her thoughts: "How dare he bring that */*"%?& kid in my wagon?"

I wonder if she had a nice day?

The little train conductor who couldn't (part 2)

Yesterday, the same thing happened again: I got to the train station (at yet a different time) and the commuter train's passing coincided with the passing of a freight train. We were about twelve, waiting anxiously for the caboose to pass us by. When it finally did, we heard the bell which signaled the departure of the commuter train. Internally, I went "F****** S***!!! Not again!" But this time, the conductor waited until we boarded before the train left.

I'll have to start getting earlier to the train station if I want to live a long life.

The definition of security

I called to cancel a service I have been using for a couple of years. This is the conversation we had:

Me: Hello, I am calling to cancel my service.

Him: Yes sir, may I have your name please?

Me: Laurent Duperval.

Him: Thank you. Now, to validate that I am speaking to the correct person, can you please give me your email address?

Me: Sure. (I give him my business address)

Him: Thank you, sir. By any chance did you ever have an email which was (he spells out my personal email address).

Me: Yes, and I still use it.

Him: Excellent. Now, let's see what we can do for you...

Hmmmm..........

Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark?

In December I participated in a fun interview:

Entrepreneur.com: Who Is The Better Entrepreneur: Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark?

Not all of my answers appeared so here are the other answers I provided, but that were not published:

Who would you rather work for?

WayneCorp. I'm not big on munitions. Wayne Enterprises has a social focus which I prefer. I'd rather find different, useful ways to help my fellow man/woman rather than focus on more innovative ways of destroying him/her.

Who had a better strategy for building up his company?

You got me. I need to study their histories better.

However, it's important to know that Wayne Enterprises was already a gigantic operation when Bruce Wayne inherited it. I think that Stark Enterprises was still iin growth mode, though I'm not sure.

The skills needed to manage a mature, centuries-old company are somewhat different than a constantly growing, relatively young company.

And some other comments:

• Bruce Wayne has one trusted advisor (Alfred) who he listens to periodically. He is willing to admit that he may be wrong and will try to correct the course before disaster strikes. He does more planning than reacting. Tony Stark, on the other hand, trusts himself to make all the right decisions all the time. He will head right into disaster and figure out a way to get out of his mess. Somehow, he always does, but it would be much less of a hassle for him and for his entourage if he took more time to plan ahead. Executives need trusted advisors, and need to listen to them even if they don't agree.
• Both are highly innovative and resourceful which is essential in a world of rapid change. They both have the ability to act under constant pressure (usually) without a complete breakdown.
• Both have demons they are constantly battling with (depression, substance abuse, womanizing, etc.) Fortunately for them, the wear and tear on their psyches and bodies are strictly limited to the written page. For any executive, any form of abuse needs to be dealt with and eliminated as much as possible. Executives have a responsibility toward their company, employees and other stakeholders. Substance abuse affects mood and judgment which are critical to effectiveness. Therapy, for both of them, is essential. Many high-powered individuals may not seek help because they feel they are constantly in control and therapy is a sign of weakness. It is actually the opposite: it takes a strong person to admit they need help and cannot do it alone.

Voting with your funny bone

The past couple of weeks have seen Sarah Palin and John McCain show up on Saturday Night Live, letting the folks at SNL have a little fun at their expense.

Now, this is not an endorsement by any stretch of the imagination, but if I had to vote solely on the "fun factor", the McCain-Palin ticket would win, hands down.

Palin has appeared on Saturday Night Live while McCain has appeared on SNL and David Letterman. In both instances, the folks at SNL had a chance to poke fun at the candidates, although I thought McCain did better than Palin. As for his Letterman stint, McCain showed up even though Letterman had been picking on him the previous day because McCain had reneged on a promise to appear on "the big show", choosing instead to be interviewed by Katie Couric.

Barack Obama has also been on some shows, but nothing like Palin and especially McCain.

For those who don't know, Sarah Palin was spoofed by Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live's season opener. Fey did a nail-on impression of Palin that received rave reviews and was the talk of the water cooler for weeks. You can see it on Saturday Night Live's site. A few weeks later, Palin agreed to appear on SNL, and appeared in two sketches: The Palin Rap and the opening of the show.

As you can see, they didn't give Palin much to work with. But they gave McCain much better material and he delivered:  a QVC Opening (which included his wife) and Weekend Update. On The Late Show, he traded barbs with David Letterman, who kept on nagging him about skipping the show the previous day. McCain could easily have said "no" and skipped out completely. But he came on, faced the music, and gave a great show. There was even a tense moment where I felt Letterman was truly upset and agitated about the state of the economy and the country. McCain, to his credit, treated that part of the interview seriously and gave a decent answer to Letterman's questions. This occured only a few days after a debate with Obama. That two-minute segment had more emotion and grit than the entire 90 minutes he had spent "debating" with his adversary.

During the SNL skit, I discovered a side of McCain that I hadn't noticed in the debates: when he's at ease, he is actually a very funny guy. Notice in his skits that he pauses when the audience laughs, in order not to step on their laughter. He doesn't hesitate much and he doesn't have a fake, scary grin like he did at the Republican convention. He genuinely is enjoying himself. I feel like all his TV appearances are a testament to that.

As for the Obama-Biden ticket? Well, so far, they are no fun at all. They don't seem to be making the rounds of the comedy shows and Obama's few apparitions barely made me crack a smile. Obama is smooth, even, and unemotional in his appearances. Those are great traits for a president trying to be reassuring to a nation in distress. But together, they make for boring TV!

I don't know what's going to happen on November 4th. Will the so-called "Bradley effect" prevail? Or will Obama win, as all polls seem to indicate? Will the appearances on comedy shows make McCain appear like a lovable, funny human being? Or will it portray him as a goofball? I'll be watching closely to see.

I will say this in closing, though: if McCain does not win, I hope Saturday Night Live gives him a spot as a regular guest. He could become one of the most valuable members of the team.

Telemarketing III

I'm not even sure this is telemarketing or not. Maybe it's just a bad case of customer service.

As a member of Alan Weiss's mentor program, I am constantly being reminded that I need to follow up consistently. This lesson came to mind as soon as I received a call from a company that will remain nameless... because I don't remember what it was.

They called me around 10 pm and... well, instead of telling you, how about taking you LIVE to the phone call I received just moments ago. Roll tape!

(Phone rings)

Me: Hello?

Them: Hello Mr. Duperval, my name is So-N-So, how are you tonight?

Me: (Uh oh! Cialdini at work) I'm fine thanks.

Them: I'm calling from SomeCompany.com. On January 4th you sent a query through our Web site and I am following up. I don't have the question in front of me but I'll be glad to answer if you let me know what it was.

Me: ...

Them: Sir?

Me: Are you serious? That was seven months ago! How on Earth do you expect me to remember what I asked you?

Them: I understand sir. I just wanted to let you know that we have received your query and that we are following up. I apologize for the delay in responding. You may be interested to know that we have a new download of the software available and I invite you to get the latest copy. Do you have any more questions sir?

Me: Dude, I didn't have any questions to begin with!

Them: Fine, well thank you for your business and have a great evening! Goodbye!

Me: .....

Well, at least it gave me a good laugh.

Picking fun at oneself

Here is a great video on Bill Gates's final day.

Video Le dernier jour de Bille Gates vost_fr - Microsoft, Bill, Gate, dernier, vost - Dailymotion Share Your Videos

You can never take yourself too seriously. It's refreshing to see such a monument of a man poke fun at himself so easily. And he does itin such a way that he still remains dignified in the end.

Kudos! I was rarely a fan of the software company, but the man did good!