Have you ever given any thought to how far you can see at night as you are driving along down the highway? High beam headlights seem to overpower the dark, but there are a lot of situations where we are limited to using just the low beams. I was required to calculate the safe speed using only low beam headlights at a seminar and I was surprised at the result.

Most drivers can see a dark object at night with low beam headlamps at a distance of 24 to 25 metres. The average perception/reaction time is about a second and a half. Using these facts, the result is a speed of 38 kilometres per hour. If you travel any faster, or don’t pay full attention, you will collide with the object before stopping.

Dark objects such as pedestrians and deer are commonly found on the roads we travel at night. Granted, there is other light to see by in town, but out of town approaching and passing other vehicles we are hurtling along at 80 and 90 or more, and using only the low beams. This seems to be a compelling reason to be a little more careful with our speed at night to me.

Now consider what could happen if one of your headlights were not working, or that both were so coated with dirt from winter driving that the full light output was not available. Complaints about vehicles with only one headlight are common and one only has to observe and count to see that this is true. For your own safety it is well worth the time and money to keep your headlights clean and in proper working order.

Reference Links

If you are a habitual jaywalker, this morning may not be a good day to do it. Calgary Police and Calgary Transit officers will be out in full force starting at 6:30am targetting pedestrians who jaywalk. The goal of the blitz is to increase awareness of the dangers that jaywalking poses.

Police departments from all across Canada have been focusing on pedestrian safety after a rash of pedestrian deaths in Toronto and one just last month in Calgary. In all of these cases, the pedestrians were crossing the street at an unsafe spot.

“It’s a concern to us and that’s why we’ve decided to take this initiative,” he said, adding the idea that drivers are always to blame in pedestrian-vehicle crashes is simply untrue.

“Anybody who uses the road has a responsibility to make sure they’re using the road properly, safely and lawfully.” - Const. Peter Adria, Calgary Police Service

The safety blitz is expected to run through to the end of the morning rush hour and if the past is any indication, the City of Calgary will be getting a nice injection of revenue after this is all said and done. Last summer during a crackdown on pedestrians on 8th street and 7th avenue, officers were kept busy issuing warnings and tickets.

Last year, one of our sponsors offered up Valentine’s Day special for our forum members. I know there were many happy customers who took advantage of the great deal and this year Beyond Roses (no relation to us) is back again with the same deal.

For $60, you get 12 long stem, premium, red Colombian roses elegantly designed and hand wrapped complete with greens and baby’s breath (gypsophila) for $59.99 + GST INCLUDING DELIVERY! Other colors are available for only $50.

From the vendor:

This is not your typical, out of the bucket, mass produced dozen roses. What we are offering is an elegant, ‘boutique style’ arranged bouquet. Our product is not just quickly bunched together and thrown in a sleeve. Our intent is to impress not only your special girl on Valentine’s Day but to earn a repeat customer for future promotions.

We would like to repeat that this is not your typical ‘grab and go’ low ticket bunch of flowers. An equivalent product will cost significantly more at a retail outlet.

Beyond Roses is a local wholesaler/importer of fresh cut flowers with over 15 years experience in the floral industry. They pride themselves in their commitment to the quality of the products and service.

I know there will be a ton of repeat business from those that ordered roses last year, but for those that have never ordered roses from Beyond Roses you’ll want to take advantage of this offer. They will deliver to any address (including restaurants) at any time that you request.

For more information, pictures and instructions on how to place your order please check out the discussion thread on our forums: Valentine’s Day Roses Delivered in Calgary

Note: This offer is only available in Calgary and Area

McLaren unveiled their 2010 Formula 1 contender this morning at Vodafone UK’s headquarters and heads are starting to turn. The MP4-25, which will be piloted by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button in the 2010 championship features a very aggressive rear diffuser, shark fin engine covers, side exhausts, and a much longer wheelbase and sleeker shape than the outgoing MP4-24 which struggled against the competition in 2009.

McLaren’s engineering director Paddy Lowe has stated during the launch that the team went with a very aggressive diffuser approach that pushes the limits of the FIA’s interpretation of diffuser legality. “You will see we have produced a fairly extreme incarnation of that but we won’t be alone in that. We believe you will see some pretty extreme solutions on our competitors’ cars as well.”, said Lowe. “This is the first car in which we have had a clean sheet of paper to really exploit the interpretation that was developed last year for a design of floors.”

Recall that last year, the double diffuser concept pioneered by Brawn, Williams and Toyota were under heavy scrutiny during the first few races of 2009, where many teams complained and the FIA had to officially rule their legal status. The extreme diffusers was what led Brawn GP to dominate early season and run away with both drivers and constructors championships.

Ferrari has already voiced their displeasure at the competition’s new diffusers. “We were and still are convinced that the double diffuser concept was illegal. We feel there may still be interpretation over this, as the rules leave the door open to many possibilities. It’s up to the FIA to supervise, but we are rather worried.”, said Ferrari technical director Aldo Costa.

How will the new McLaren stack up against the competition? The team is confident with their radical design, but the same thing could be said last year during launch day, where the team found themselves 2.5s a lap slower than the top cars at the first race. Find out next week when winter testing officially kicks off!

source: Jamesallenonf1 on twitpic

source: Jamesallenonf1 on twitpic

In 2008, Formula One announced that it wouldn’t return to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. To celebrate the return of the Canadian Grand Prix for 2010, Sebastien Buemi drives an F1 car on the frozen waters located near the circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

The Internet has spawned many global phenomenons, but none so rapid as Twitter. Twitter is a microblogging service that allows users to send and read miniature, 140-character messages or “tweets”. Twitter has gained massive popularity in only a few years, and has triggered a tremendous wave of celebrity user accounts, more so than any social site before it.

On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, a Haitian earthquake measured a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw. The United States Geological Survey recorded a series of at least 33 aftershocks, 14 of which were between magnitudes 5.0 and 5.9. The International Red Cross estimated that about three million people were affected by the quake; the Haitian Interior Minister, Paul Antoine Bien-Aimé, anticipated on January 15th that the disaster would claim between 100,000 and 200,000 lives.

The Twitter Nation took action. Users from all over the globe have pitched in with various ways of donating money for Haiti disaster relief.

One eye-catching motive, was that of well-known actor, Kelsey Grammer, who issued a challenge to his followers to donate $50,000 to Haiti relief efforts, and he would match it with his own $50,000.

After reading about Kelsey’s iniatives, we immediately brainstormed ways to guarantee Mr. Grammer’s challenge reaches its goal. Instead of just making a donation to his cause, we are going to use the power of the Twitter community to see how much we can really raise.

Beyond is going to donate $1 to Kelsey’s campaign for every new twitter follower we get up to $10,000. Hit up our twitter page (@beyondca) and help raise some money for a great cause. For more information on the cause or to make a donation, visit Kelsey Live or click on the promo below.

We have 206 followers right now, let’s see how much we can all raise!

The Canucks’ Alex Burrows received a slap on the wrist and a $2500 fine for speaking out against NHL referee Stephane Auger.

Burrows claimed Auger skated next to him before the anthems to express his dismay over the December 8th incident that saw Nashville’s Jerred Smithson take a 5 minute major and a game misconduct for his hit on Burrows.

The league later revoked the misconduct, in a rarely seen move, claiming the video reply shows Burrows “selling” an injury. According to Burrows, Auger took exception to this and in their pre-game discussion, told him he would get him back making him look bad.

Auger did just that. Calling Burrows out in the third period for diving and then again for an (imo, total phantom) interference call, effectively costing Vancouver the game on a powerplay goal by Shea Weber.

No, I am not a green-laser-toting Canucks fan. I don’t give a shit about the team nor anyone on it. But I do like hockey – fair hockey. So in my unbiased opinion, the NHL is doing what the NHL always does; handing out retaliation penalties. The initial offender goes Scott-free, while Burrows gets in shit for pointing out the obvious (albeit through the media where he should have went to the coach or NHL execs first, but the obvious nonetheless).

From the video replay, Burrow’s story definitely fits the obvious and documented story he gave the media. A conversation clearly occurred, just as described, and those penalties were total horseshit. The glove fits.

However, from the NHL’s perspective, there is no hard evidence tying Auger to actually saying anything that Burrow’s claims he said. Yes, YouTubers everywhere are commenting balls out, saying that a conversation clearly did happen - agreed. However Auger could have been asking Burrows about his scoring streak, his French-Canadian upbringing, or his favorite color underwear. In a 110db arena during a pre-game skate, I doubt we’ll ever hear a clear audio recording of that conversation.

The NHL has no ground to stand on in suspending Auger, other than what could be an upset player’s word, moments after his penalty cost his team the game. Shit happens.

Footnote: No idea why SportsNet was so determined in getting multiple opinions from members of the Flames. Craig Conroy quoted, “Nobody likes a tattletale”, in regards to Burrows calling out Auger to the media. I’m sorry, Conroy, but I would much rather learn the truth of the matter from Burrows than listen to a (biased) 38 year old man call another man a “tattletale”.

I asked a couple of transport truck drivers what bothered them about the drivers of small vehicles. We had a lively half hour discussion from which I gathered their top five concerns. Each of them could have serious consequences for everyone on the highway.

The first two concern sudden reductions in speed. The small vehicle driver will either pass the transport truck, pull in suddenly, and then slow down, or just slow suddenly without taking note of the truck behind. When you consider that a fully loaded truck with all the air brakes properly adjusted has only 50 to 65% of a small vehicles braking efficiency, you can guess how dangerous this move could be.

Passing over a double solid line when drivers are impatient with trucks forced to travel slowly is next. Often there is oncoming traffic and nowhere to go for all vehicles involved. The truckers would travel the speed limit on hills if they could, but they can’t so it would be best to wait for the proper place to pass.

On multi-laned roadway slow drivers that won’t keep to the right are frustrating. This situation isn’t limited to truck drivers either. People need to realize that even if they are traveling at the speed limit in the inside lane if someone faster approaches they must move to the outside lane.

The last situation is where drivers of small vehicles follow along directly beside heavy trucks. There is no law against this one, but it is not a good idea to do this with any vehicle. If either driver is required to make an emergency maneuver there is nowhere to move to. Pacing slightly ahead or behind is the preferred method.

Reference Links

With every new snowfall, at least 70-80 car accidents occur within the city. I shouldn’t even be calling these “accidents” as many of these collisions are avoidable. I have driven through Calgary winters in all sorts of vehicles: those that are equipped with a rear-wheel, front-wheel and all-wheel drivetrain. I have also driven in cars equipped with all-seasons as well as winter tires. Despite what you may hear, vehicles of all types can be driven in the winter, it is all about equipping your vehicle with proper tires and most importantly, driving for the conditions.

1. Get winter tires.
This is one of the most important things to consider if you drive regularly in the winter. The most common argument I hear from people that don’t have winters on their car is that they have the best all-season tires and they have never had any issues driving with them. They’ve never been stuck and don’t feel that the cost of winter tires is worth it. The fact is, with all-else being equal, a vehicle equipped with winter tires will have more traction than a vehicle equipped with all-seasons. This additional traction allows you to accelerate quicker, corner faster, and stop in shorter distance. You may drive with the utmost care and attention but one factor you cannot control is other people. If someone cuts you off, the few extra feet of braking distance that winter tires reduce could make all the difference.

2. Ease up on the brakes
The roads are slick and you’re trying to turn onto a side street. You apply the brakes and you feel the car sliding. You turn the steering wheel but the car doesn’t respond, its just sliding and you feel like you’ve lost control. What most people will do in this situation is crank the wheel even more as they slide past the street where they are trying to turn. Worst case scenario, you slide into an intersection and get hit by another vehicle. If this ever happens to you, try easing off the brakes instead of cranking your wheel more. During that moment where the most common instinct is to turn the wheel more your foot will naturally want to apply more brakesto slow the vehicle down. The problem is, on slick winter streets applying the brakes wont make the car stop, it will just make turning more difficult.

3. Ease up on the accelerator
Back during the big storm on December 4th when all the roads across the city were ice rinks, I saw people trying to get their cars going spinning their tires away. On every hill this just became outright dangerous. If you try to get your car going and it just slides from side to side, your tires are spinning. The key to trying to get going in this situation is to ease up on the throttle. If you drive an automatic, just let go of the accelerator completely and let the car roll on its own to get going. I know, this sounds really obvious but next snowfall I can guarantee you’ll see someone spinning their wheels away trying to get going.

The second part to this is when you’re already moving. Those speed limit signs have a very important word above the number. It says ‘Maximum’. It does not mean you should be travelling at that speed even when the roads are covered in ice. Don’t feel you need to be travelling at the speed limit. If someone is tailgating you, and you aren’t already in the right lane then move over and let them pass.

4. Avoid any sudden movements
This applies to steering, accelerating and braking. If you stomp on the accelerator on slick roads, you’ll just spin your wheels. Likewise, if you stomp on your brakes while on an icy road you’ll either lock your wheels up and slide or ABS will go crazy and you slide a bit less. Crank your wheel suddenly and you’ll upset the balance of your car and depending on how slick the roads are, may throw your vehicle into a spin. Ease onto the throttle, the brakes and steer gently.

5. Pack a Winter Safety Kit
As much as you prepare, and as safe as you try to be on the roads, SHIT HAPPENS. In the event you are in a collision you’ll want to ensure you have a safety/survival kit. If you’ve ever had car trouble in winter, you’ll know how fast your car cools down when its not running. In -20 or colder weather, it’ll take mere minutes for your cars interior temperature to plunge to below 0. The most important thing to have in your vehicle is a jacket. You may be coming out of a heated garage and be in a toasty car, but if you’re ever in a collision where your car is no longer running, you’ll wish you had something to keep you warm. Here are some essential items you should have in your vehicle when driving in the winter:

Gloves
Blanket
Ice scraper
Small shovel
Booster Cables
Warning Light/Flare
Windshield Washer Fluid
Flashlight
Toque/Hat
Water
Candle
Metal Cans/Dishes
Matches/Lighter
Whistle

Of course, if you all you do is drive within the city during the winter you won’t need much more than a blanket, jacket, booster cables and windshield washer fluid but I’d recommend having some sort of survival kit in your vehicle if you ever do any highway driving.

Driving in the winter is no different than driving in the summer. As long as you are paying attention, your vehicle is equipped properly and you are driving carefully it should not be a problem. If you have a fear of driving in the winter, do everyone a favor and take public transit or ask for a ride.

After losing the annual New Year’s Eve game to the Calgary Flames, the Edmonton Oilers dropped the gloves with the staff of Osteria de Medici, an upscale Calgary restaurant.

After a group of almost 50 people racked up a bill of $14,234.06 before tip (16.796.19 after an automatic 18% gratuity), they demanded a break on the bill, according to manager Maurizio Terrigno. Staff members even claim some of the players became threatening during the dispute.

Reports show that half of the Oiler’s tab was on alcohol, ranging from shots of tequila to expensive wines and champagne (they lost, right?).

Restaurant staff claims that only after the fact of calling in the tab did the group request bottle-service prices. (Keep in mind that any restaurant owners who want to provide bottle service must apply for a permit through the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission. Although an upscale restaurant, without evidence of Osteria de Medici having this permit, it may have been part of this issue.)

Reading many online reports, many people have stepped forward with their two cents from both sides of the table:

Wayne Leong, owner of Melrose Cafe and Bar in Southwest Calgary said, “Out of the blue I don’t believe you can say, ‘Can I have bottle service?’” He continued, “I think that if they were to negotiate it at the beginning … but not after, whether they were a regular customer or celebrity.”

Oilers spokesman Allan Watt (although biased from being directly connected to the dispute) stated the bill was “outrageous” and had earlier said the players had a pre-arranged menu on the evening in question. However, Watt has little ground to stand on for some areas of their dispute. He also said the restaurant tried to charge for an imported bottle of expensive brandy after one of the players took a swig from it. Ok, somebody drank directly from the bottle, and are all pissed they’re being charged for the whole bottle? My firm understanding of the Health Code is that the restaurant can no longer serve that bottle to anybody else now that a player was drinking from the bottle. But the all-too-common sense of entitlement and arrogance that comes with being a high-rolling NHL player - such as drinking from the bottle of what was a $200 imported brandy - then crying about being charged for it because you’re an NHLer, makes you a bag of shit.

But alas, there are unbiased opinions floating around the Internet claiming the players have been treated unfairly and accused the eatery’s management of trying to gain publicity by going public with the allegations.

On the Oilers’ team message board, user “Hillcat” stated, “This guy sounds more like a hardcore Flames [fan] just looking for an easy way to give the Oilers a black eye”

IMO, the Oilers should have better managed their evening’s events beforehand to avoid this mishap after the fact. Discover the facts about the restaurant’s bottle service existence/rules and sort it out ahead of time.

From the restaurants perspective, going public with a report did nothing positive for their business. If anything, they lost some seriously paid customers - the entire Oilers organization, plus players and friends, and by going public, any loyal fans as well.

One thing for sure, as someone who doesn’t give a shit about the team nor the restaurant, I’m no more enticed to go there now than I was before all this went down.

The general opinion however, is not one of sympathy for the Oilers. Most people side with the fact that the Oilers and players are very well-paid athletes and shouldn’t be disputing a tab for the team’s night out. The team’s eventual bill was trimmed to $12,381 by restaurant management - almost one-third less.

On the same team message board, username “Lilfrnz” suggested that perhaps the players should have chosen another restaurant if they didn’t want to pay a hefty bill, or the large tip that went with it.
“It was a group of nearly 50 people who refused to pay 33 per cent of their bill. If anything, it sounds like they objected to the 18 per cent (automatic gratuity) which means they shouldn’t have gone to the restaurant.”

Regardless of opinion, the bottom line is that ANY player on the Oilers’ roster (let alone the organization itself), could have paid that bill in full, without question, and not even missed the money. This season’s combined salary for the Oilers roster is a staggering $56.8 million. If it was perfectly split among all 26 players, I’m accurate in stating that the “average” Oilers’ player annual salary is nearly $2.2M, or $42,011 a week - A WEEK!!! Now put all of them together and watch them go “ballistic” (as restaurant manager Terrigno stated) over a <$17,000 bill. Give me a break.