Future Shop is Sneaky

I'm a little irked today thanks to Future Shop.

I called to complain but the woman I talked to obviously didn't have a clue how the issue happened or what to tell me. I sent an email as well but that resulted in a long winded form letter response that attempted to justify the reasons for what happened but I still think it's just plain wrong of Future Shop to just raise their prices on an item for no other reason than supply and demand. The item wasn't on sale and then bumped back to the regular price....they just raised the regular price.



Here's the note I sent which explains what I'm upset about.



"I printed off the page listing for the Acer One 11.6" (AO722-0465) last night with a price of $349.99 and intended to buy it online today. When I went to purchase it Tuesday morning it was listed at $399.99, up $50 in less than 10 hours. It wasn't listed as being on sale so you've jacked up the price. What gives? How can you justify the price increase? How can I get it at the previously listed lower price? Please explain this. I was prepared to buy it but feel like I'm being scammed by your company now."



If nothing else I felt better by venting but this to me seems like sneaky blatant price gouging. The new before taxes price is higher than what it would have been with tax before the price jump. There's no way the laptop suddenly increased in value overnight.



I realize I'm only one person and losing my little sale doesn't mean much to a big company like Future Shop but I have spent a lot of money over the years in their stores and I'm pretty sure I won't be again any time soon. I think I'll give the local small store retailers a look from now on.

Me, Myself & I

Me, Myself & I
Originally uploaded by *Bundy*

I belong to an online photography challenge group where every week a new project is listed. In each project are the guidelines for the challenge. This could be a black and white photo, or landscape or more technical images using our Nikon cameras.

On the most recent challenge the subject was "In My Kitchen" where your photo could be anything, provided it was taken in the kitchen.

Rather than pull out the toaster or find something simple to just point my camera at, I decided to make the challenge even harder by challenging my editing skills as well.

I came up with the idea to photograph myself playing cards. But I didn't want to be playing solitaire so I had to create opponents. Nobody else was around so I decided to play against myself.

I took three separate photos (four actually but that version of me was blocked out by the me in the foreground) of me playing cards. As you can see in the image I even had wardrobe changes.

The hard part came next. I had to get all three images into one photo and make it look right. This was a challenge as I'd never tackled a project this complicated before. I'm sure for those with a lot more skill than me, this is a routine undertaking but I've never done much with layers and masking in Photoshop. It was a learning process.

After two days of trial and error, searching the internet for video tutorials and lots of cursing, I finally managed to complete the project as you can see. You can click on the image to see it larger on my Flickr page if you like.

Having done this once, I now have a feel for how it works and will look forward to trying it again in the future.

New Year's Day Frozen Marsh

Frozen Marsh (B&W)
Originally uploaded by *Bundy*

Happy New Year!!!

I didn't stay up too late last night but did manage to see 2012 arrive. I wasn't long going to bed after though. I rang in the New Year watching CNN of all things. Actually, Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin were quite entertaining.

Once I got organized today I decided to grab my camera and head out to get my first images of 2012. I had good intentions but Mother Nature had other plans. Instead of the usual cold and snowy weather we should be getting this time of year, I ventured out into mild and rainy conditions.

But I couldn't come home without something. I didn't take as many photos last year as I would have liked and even though I don't make resolutions, I am hoping to be a bit more active with the photography hobby.

Just when I thought I'd give up, I pulled my car up to an area near Brighton Bay and spotted a couple of swans napping on the thin ice. They didn't cooperate either but I spotted this scene you see here that I thought would make for an interesting subject. I think it works really well as a black & white image.

So, 2012 is off and running and so is another year of looking through the lens.

Funniest Video of 2011

I've watched my fair share of videos over the year but this one is by far the funniest one I've come across. I honestly laughed so hard watching this I was in tears.

Now you should know that I'm a huge hockey fan and unlike a lot of other people (mostly tree-huggers) I am a fan of Don Cherry. I agree with 95% of what he has to say regarding the game and his support of the Canadian military is second to none. The troops love Don! He's a colourful, outspoken hockey commentator on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada and a former NHL Coach of the Year. He also has a style of his own.

Having said that, I'm sure even Don would get a big charge out of this video which is very well done. I have to admit, when I watched this edition of Coaches Corner recently, I also thought Don was trying to play us a tune.

An ad will pop up on the video, just click on the "X" to get rid of it. Enjoy!

Bring On Those Gifts!

With the big day only a few sleeps away I wanted to take a quick moment to wish all of my regular blog visitors, family, friends and anyone else who just happens to stumble across my little corner of the internet all the best for a safe and festive holiday season.

I love receiving gifts as much as the next guy but as I've gotten older I've learned to appreciate family more and spending time with the people I love is now the most important thing. I won't get to spend this special time of year with all of my family as some are just too far away to make it home or have other plans but hopefully we'll be together again soon.

Life is too short to take family for granted and if you don't enjoy the time you have with them now, you might regret it later in life.

So to everyone and especially my family and close friends I hope you have the Merriest of Christmas' and a Healthy and Happy New Year!

Now...someone pass me a holiday beverage.