Canadian Ecommerce By the Numbers
What is Sound?
SoundCloud, the neat “social sound platform” that allows users to create and share sounds with anyone who has an internet connection, turned to design company, The Wilderness, to help answer the question, “What is sound?”
See what the experts—Moby, Imogen Heap, Julian Treasure, Martyn Ware, and others—have to say.
15 Places You Must See On Google Earth
Google Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency. Google Earth lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean. Google Earth displays satellite images of varying resolution of the Earth’s surface, allowing users to see things like cities and houses looking perpendicularly down or at an oblique angle (see also bird’s eye view). The degree of resolution available is based somewhat on the points of interest and popularity, but most land is covered in at least 15 meters of resolution.
Top 5 Superstitious Hockey Players
5. Pelle Lindbergh
Former Philadelphia Flyers goaltender, Pelle Lindbergh, use to wear the same orange t-shirt under his equipment during each hockey game. The t-shirt was never washed and when it would start falling apart, he would have it sewn up. During intermissions, he would drink a Swedish beverage called ‘Pripps’. He would only accept the drink if it had two ice cubes, was delivered by a certain team trainer and as long as it was in his right hand. Lindbergh’s quirky habits helped him on the ice with a record of 87 wins, 49 losses and 15 ties in 157 NHL regular season games. Unfortunately, Lindbergh died as a result of a devastating car crash at just 26 years of age.
4. Brendan Shanahan
Known as a great power forward, Brendan Shanahan had some pretty quirky superstitions during his NHL career. He would wear old shoulder pads that dated back to his days in junior hockey. He would also listen to Madonna on game days. Obviously the ‘Material Girl’ and ancient shoulder pads worked in Shanahan’s favor, as he recorded 1,354 points in 1,524 NHL regular season games.
3. Sidney Crosby
Sidney Crosby could very well be the most superstitious player currently in the NHL. He will not call his mother on game days, as some of his past injuries occurred after he was talking to her. If he’s travelling with his team on a bus, he will lift his feet and touch the glass when they go over railroad tracks. If his team is playing on the road, he’ll only use tape that’s provided by the home team for his sticks. And when he’s done taping his sticks, nobody is allowed to touch them or else he’ll have to re-tape them. Crosby must be doing something right, as he’s one of the best hockey players to ever play the game. He has won numerous awards, including the Stanley Cup in just his fourth NHL season.
2. Patrick Roy
Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy had a long list of superstitions. He would never talk to reporters on game days before he played. During pre-game warm-ups, he would skate to the blue line, stare at his net and picture it shrinking. He would also never step on the blue or red lines. Prior to the games, he would lay out his goalie equipment on the locker room floor and dress himself in a certain order. Then during intermissions, he would juggle with a puck and bounce it off the ground. And if those weren’t bad enough, he would quite often talk to his goal posts, claiming “they are my friends”. Apparently, his goal posts were extremely loyal friends, as he holds numerous NHL records and won many trophies during his incredible career, including four Stanley Cups.
1. Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky is one of the most superstitious players in NHL history. He wouldn’t get his hair cut while his team was on the road because one time when he did, his team suffered a major loss. During practice, he would start off by shooting a puck to the right of the net. He would then drink a Diet Coke, a glass of iced water, a Gatorade and another Diet Coke in that exact order. As for his uniform, he would always put the left side on first and he would always tuck in the right side of his jersey. Also, he would put baby powder on the blade of his hockey stick. He most definitely lived up to his nickname “The Great One”, as he holds a large amount of NHL records, won many trophies and averaged almost two points a game during his illustrious career (2,857 points in 1,487 games).
Congress Restores FHA Loan Limits
The U.S. House and Senate yesterday restored FHA loan limits to the level they were at before they were allowed to expire at the end of September. As a result, the limits will rise to 125 percent of the area median home price from 115 percent, up to a maximum $729,750 from $625,500. NAR estimates that several hundred counties where FHA loan limits fell at the end of September will now rise back up to the previous level.
“The reinstated loan limits will help provide much needed liquidity and stability to communities nationwide as tight credit restrictions continue to prevent some qualified buyers from becoming home owners and the housing market recovery remains fragile,” said NAR President Moe Veissi in a statement released last night.
President Obama is expected to sign the legislation shortly. The restored loan limits are in a broad-based bill that includes funding for a wide variety of federal operations and programs.
The maximum conforming loan limits for secondary mortgage market companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also expired at the end of September, but lawmakers did not include a restoration of those limits in the bill. As a result, conforming loan limits will remain at 115 percent of the area median home price, up to $625,500.
Once President Obama signs the bill, the limits will go into effect. FHA will release a mortgagee letter to its approved lenders thereafter, containing a list that’s been updated to reflect the new limits. NAR analysts say it will take the agency a short period to update its database and release the mortgagee letter, maybe a couple of weeks.
The funding bill also extends the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) until Dec. 16 to allow lawmakers time to consider long-term authorization of that program, which is an NAR priority.
Goldman Reveals What You're Getting For Christmas
Despite bleak consumer confidence, 51% of consumers expect to spend the same amount on gifts this holiday season compared to last year. 11% expect to spend more. This is according to 1000 consumers polled by Goldman Sachs.
63% of respondents plan on giving gift cards, while 56% plan on giving clothing. Gift cards and jewelry are expected to gain significant "gift wallet share", which is the percentage of total gift spending.
The "gift wallet share" for consumer electronics is up only 30 bp this year. Meanwhile, after declining 60 bp last year, the share of clothing is up 20 bp this year.
Based on the survey results, Goldman analysts Michelle Tan, Matthew J. Fassler, Adrianne Shapira and Michael Kelter believe that the TJX Companies, which include retail chains like T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, and American Eagle Outfitters are poised to do well in the holidays. Goldman has buy ratings on both stocks.
TJX Companies is expected to benefit from shoppers looking for a bargain and the slight recovery in clothing gift share. Meanwhile, American Eagle is expected to be a key destination for consumers who intend on focusing less on themselves and more on gifts for the family.
Now here’s a chart from the Goldman report that shows this Holiday’s "gift wallet share":
Smart Self-Adjusting Thermostat Learns Your Living Habits
Did you know that the average homeowner  turns on (or off) the heat, or cranks up (or down) the cold, 1500 times per year?
Of all the things we could automate and rarely do, temperatures seem too tempting a candidate to pass up. Hence the new Nest, a self-scheduling, temperature-regulating device every home should hope is in full production (currently in pre-order) for this (chilly) holiday season.
It starts, as usual, with manual inputs, but adapts to patterns naturally over time, learning when you are usually at home or away, night and day, and showing a green-leaf signal when it is in energy-saving mode.
Remote-controllable too, you can use your smartphone to tweak the temp while away from the house, and when you are around, well, it is a handsome piece of wall hardware as well.
You CAN Make A Difference
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