Netflix

As my friends and family will attest, I am a reserved and humble man who rarely makes boisterous claims about the quality of service provided by businesses I willingly (or otherwise) involve myself with.

Ha.

Let's start over.

NETFLIX IS THE SINGLE GREATEST CONSUMER SERVICE EVER OFFERED IN CANADA.

$7.99/month.

Genuinely caring customer service.

My Shaw bill (which I'm never quite sure why I pay) is close to $130/month for a bunch of channels I hate 95% of the time, and absolute shit internet service.  Yet, I have to pay the evil telecommunications oligopoly, as without them I cannot engage in their own destruction.

I've had Netflix for over a year now.  I signed up for my initial free month after the launch on September 22, 2010.  Since then, my credit card has been billed 11 times for a total of $87.89, or roughly 6% of what Shaw has made off of me over the same timeframe.

Yes, in the beginning content was somewhat limited, but it has been an exponential triumph of win since then, with new titles coming out weekly. And besides, most of the complaints were from the type of people who thought movies like Transformers were the pinnacle of cinema.

If you come to terms with the fact that Netflix isn't the place for watching the latest sequel to the third remake of a film that was, in fact, shitty when it came out 25 years ago in the first place, it's quite possible to discover some amazing pieces of cinema that would otherwise escape the average Bit Torren--I mean internet user.

I'm honestly speaking when I say that the greatest films I have seen in my lifetime have all been things I've watched in the last year on Netflix.

There's no way to run statistics (yet, come on guys) but Netflix does keep a record of everything you've ever watched.

A quick tally of this page says that I've watched (in full, ignoring things I've started and not finished, and yes, Netflix always remembers where you left off) 156 things since October 1, 2010.  $87.89/156 = $0.56/item.

That's pretty hard to beat.  Didn't it cost like $5 to rent back when Blockbuster hadn't failed, plus the time, cost of gas, and risk of death to get there and the horrible return trip?

Almost all of my favorite films now are various independent ones that Netflix has an abundance of.

Below is a shortlist of my favorites in no particular order, and I suggest them to anyone who walks upright:

Keith

Holly

Dakota Skye

Gardens of the Night

Primer

Ip Man

Paths of Glory

Music Within

Mao's Last Dancer

Frozen River

The Visitor

Saving Face

Shattered Glass

Trade

Little Children

Lust, Caution

I will warn the squeamish that quite a few of these films are disturbing, dark dramas, and none of them are suitable for children.  Netflix does have a kids category, though.  Also, some of these films may no longer be available (like Primer).

I won't be making any comments on finance and current events, as my forecast from a couple months back hasn't changed in the slightest.

Good evening!

The Better Late than Never Canada Trip Entry

Alrighty then, I figure I should tell the tale of my Cross-Canada exploits before I go on leave again. It’s been five weeks since I got back and I kept finding excuses not to write this blog entry. In part, it’s because I’m lazy but it’s also due to the fact that I lack the eloquence to describe what I experienced. I’ll keep it simple and just show you, which fits with my laziness as well.


I will add one more thought to this blog. Whether I’m working or exploring, I am going to be travelling around the world for the rest of my life, yet I will always find some reason to return to Canada. If you don't understand why then you're just not paying enough attention.

Short Update

It's been an interesting couple of months since my last post, culminating in a long-overdue 14% drop in the TSX in just over 2 weeks, from July 22 to August 8. The icing on the cake was the S&P rating downgrade of US debt (no real surprise there...).

Year-to-date, the TSX is down about 6.5%, and the established downward trend I commented on last time, which manifested in April, is still holding.

Nonetheless, as a self-proclaimed value investor who primarily follows the Graham-Dodd theory, the three major investments I have made so far this year -- including one quite recently on June 21 -- are up 14%.

Not a bad situation to be in, by comparison.

Because I don't provide investment advice (disclaimer), I don't like to name specific companies, but I will say that after QE2 was wrapping up, the June stake was in an undervalued, major gold producer, in anticipation of the scenario that has played out over the last couple of weeks, and the other two investments were in a mid-tier zinc producer (since bought out at a nice premium, though still low-balled in my eyes) and a large silver fund.

I still very much like the medium-term outlook for precious metals, as I believe that whatever plays out from now until the US election will be positive for them; more fear in the market? Great! More rounds of QE? Even better.

About the only thing that can spoil my outlook would be the election of Ron Paul, and the subsequent monetary policy reform that he would lead, but I put the odds of that happening right now at about 10,000 : 1.

In other news, we have been travelling non-stop. The last 4 weeks alone have seen over 8,000km added to the odometers of our vehicles.

Managed to go on a few hikes, made a trip out to the lake in Saskatchewan, hurtled back and forth from Edmonton a few times, and completed a Top Gear-esque road trip through the best driving roads in BC (the winner for me was Kaslo to New Denver).

Things are slowly settling down now, although we have a wedding to go to this weekend.

Anton's planned stop in Elkford was enjoyable, though unfortunately I had to work and his hiking plans were somewhat crushed. Next time, buddy.

Anton's Amazing Race

Anton’s Amazing Race

Terry wrote an entry a few months ago admonishing the rest of us Canadians for not travelling within Canada often enough (See the post in March named “Change is Good”). He made some good points and funny enough I had similar thought processes several months earlier when deciding (and just as importantly budgeting) where I would like to spend my rotational leave this year. Here I am, a globetrotter since the age of six, and I have never been to the East coast of Canada. I resolved that one of my trips this year would take me there. Terry didn’t mention that the reason a lot of us don’t travel within Canada is that it can be more expensive to do so and this trip is no exception. FYI, one way car rentals are stupid expensive. Expense aside, I’ve put together a trip that’s going to take me from one coast to the other. I’ll admit that I’m skipping a lot of the stuff in between but when you check out my itinerary below, you’ll see it’s ridiculous enough as it is.

Ahem:

- Thursday July 28th 1:25 AM – Flight from Santo Domingo to New York
- Thursday July 28th 9:15 AM – Flight from New York to Halifax
- Thursday July 28th 3:15 PM - Flight from Halifax to St Johns
- Thursday July 28th in St Johns: George Street Festival – Great Big Sea Concert
- Friday July 29th in St Johns: Recover/Explore/Collect Water from Atlantic Ocean & More George Street Festival
- Saturday July 30th – Drive 8.5 hrs from St Johns to Rocky Harbour in Gros Morne National Park
- Sunday July 31st – Ascend Gros Morne Mountain 8hr Hike/Climb
- Monday August 1st – Hike/Boat Cruise through West Brook Pond in Gros Morne National Park
- Monday August 1st 8:00 PM– Leave Rocky Harbour and Drive 4.5 Hrs to Port Aux Basques
- Tuesday August 2nd 5:00 AM – Catch Ferry from Port Aux Basques to North Sydney Nova Scotia
- Tuesday August 2nd 12:00 PM – Drive from North Sydney to Cape Breton and follow the Cabot Trail
- Tuesday August 2nd 3:00 PM – Hike on headland north of Cheticamp, Nova Scotia 3 Hrs
- Tuesday August 2nd 6:00 PM - Drive to Ingonish Beach approx 2 Hrs
- Wednesday August 3rd – Breakfast in Ingonish Beach and a quick morning exploration
- Wednesday August 3rd 12:00 PM – Leisurely drive to Halifax Approx 5 Hrs
- Wednesday August 3rd 6:00 PM – Dinner in Halifax near the harbour and explore the old fort
- Thursday August 4th 5:45 AM – Fly from Halifax to Toronto
- Thursday August 4th 8:15 AM – Fly from Toronto to Edmonton
- Thursday August 4th in Edmonton – Kill time until people are off work
- Friday August 5th in Edmonton – See movie/buy supplies eat at Julio’s Barrio and drink myself silly
- Saturday August 6th in Edmonton – Different movie, different restaurant but essentially the same thing
- Sunday August 7th 12:00 PM – Drive to Elkford approximately 5.5 hrs depending on how adventurous I get with the gas pedal and if I stop in Calgary
- Sunday August 7th Evening – Lamplighter pub dinner for old times’ sake
- Monday August 8th – All day trip to Elk Lakes & hike to Petain Falls
- Tuesday August 9th 7:00 AM – Drive to Penticton BC along Highway 3 8.5 Hrs
- Tuesday August 9th 4:00 PM – Visits in Penticton potential dinner at best greek restaurant ever
- Wednesday August 10th - More visits in Penticton
- Wednesday August 10th 11:00 AM – Drive to Vancouver Airport (5hrs depending on traffic)
- Wednesday August 10th Evening – Gathering of friends & family depending on who's available
- Thursday August 11th Morning – Catch a ferry to the island, stop briefly in Nanaimo and drive to Tofino (est time 9 hours due to grandparents in Nanaimo)
- Thursday August 11th Evening – Dinner in Tofino
- Friday August 12th in Tofino – Dump water from Atlantic into Pacific (yay) Possible hike near Tofino
- Saturday August 13th 10:00ish – Drive to Nanaimo Approx 4 Hrs
- Saturday August 13th 6:00 PM – Attend Wedding in Duncan
- Sunday August 14th – Return to Vancouver & Chill
- Monday August 15th 2:25 PM – Fly to Dallas & Pass out
- Tuesday August 16th 7:10 AM – Fly to Santo Domingo via Miami and drive back to Minesite

DISCLAIMER: In no way can the above be considered relaxing. Side effects include fatigue, overdose of Tim’s Coffee, irritability, and one of the best damn experiences of your existence.