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MORE_Good News, and Money in Your Pocket

Posted on January 19, 2017July 7, 2023 by execulink@creativeone

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MORE_Good News, and Money in Your Pocket

Great news! Today, we are very excited to announce that we will be reducing the rates of many of our residential Internet packages, giving you, our neighbours, considerable savings. This is a very rare occurrence in our industry, as infrastructure, hardware costs and bandwidth costs only ever seem to rise. To be able to offer our customers a lower rate is truly a special kind of joy for us.

Why Are Rates Dropping?

The reason for these price decreases is due in part to a ruling by the CRTC (Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission) in October of last year, which stated that the large incumbent providers were charging third-party ISPs (like us) too much to access what is called the “last mile” of their networks, from the street to the home. This ruling has made interim corrections to the prices the large incumbents are allowed to charge us for last-mile access.

In turn, this has allowed us to lower many of our rates and give back to our customers. When we win, you win.

How Can I Find Out About My New Rate?

We will be sending e-mails to affected customers notifying them of their new lower rate. In the meantime, you can also find the new rates on the website upon entering your postal code.

Again, we are delighted to be able to do this for our customers and thank them for their loyalty and support over the years.

Thanks,
Ian Stevens
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Wacky Winter Sports

Posted on January 13, 2017July 7, 2023 by Christine Chalkley

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It’s the middle of January and we are now in the thick of winter. There’s been snow on the ground and let’s not mention those double digit temperatures that we’ve already witnessed. If you are like me and hate winter, this time of year can get pretty tough. No matter how many layers I put on, I can’t stand being outside in the cold for more than 5 minutes. This time of year I start hibernating inside and cozying up with a glass of wine and binge watching my old favourite television shows. I just don’t get tired of watching Ross and Rachel’s comedic up and down relationship! “We were on a break!”

But there are many people out there that love winter and spending time outside in the snow. These people can’t wait to hit the slopes and put on their skates. I am terrified of doing both those activities- (maybe that has a lot to do with my feelings towards winter). Hockey seems to be the quintessential winter sport in Canada. But there are a few off the radar sports that some people have found to be exciting winter passtimes. Let’s take a look at some of these wacky winter sports:

Skijoring is where a person on skis is pulled by a horse, dog or a motor vehicle. It’s a sport that comes from Scandinavia and now made its way to North America. Skijoring can be done like cross country skiing where you can follow a trail or as a race with obstacles and ramps. Fun fact, Skijoring was in the 1928 St. Moritz Switzerland Winter Olympics.

Wok Racing is exactly what you think it sounds like. A person races down a bobsled track on specially designed woks with added handle bars. Inspired by a German TV show in 2003, wok racing became so popular it turned into a real sport which can be competed in as an individual or as a team. So now when you think of making a stir fry, you now might also think about taking your wok outside to play after.

Shovel Racing began when ski lift operators used shovels to make it quickly down to the bottom of the slope. This sport is simple; all you need is a standard snow shovel and a toboggan hill. The rider sits on the shovel, leans back and keeps their feet pointed forward. Fun fact- in 1997 shovel racing was featured in the X Games, but was quickly removed for safety reasons.

Baseboarding is a hybrid of skeleton, bodyboarding and tobogganing. A person rides face first down a hill on an aerodynamic board. The Bromely Baseboard has been developed by four-time Olympian Kristian Bromely. You can find baseboarding at ~~Whistler Olympic Park~~ in British Columbia. This sport is suitable for anyone aged 8 and up and you doesn’t require any prior experience.

Our last winter “sport” was apparently founded by the Georgia Tech swim team. They were on the road when they found out that their swim meet had been cancelled. They were also snowed in—stuck in their hotel room in Virginia. So, they decided to do what any swim team does when they’re snowed in– some outdoor snow swimming. They snow swam in different styles including backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle. Watch out this may catch on as a new winter sport.

Now these sports all seem kinda crazy to me and I’m sure all of you reading this may stick to the popular winter sports like hockey, skiing, tobogganing and ice skating. To be honest even those sports all seem crazy to me. I may be the only Canadian out there that feels lost while watching hockey (Sorry Canada– don’t hate me for saying that!) So next time we get a big snow fall and the ground is all covered, go get a shovel or a wok and have some fun…. or be like me and get all cozy on a couch, turn on your favourite tv show and pour a glass of wine. Now that sounds like fun to me.

References: Wikipedia
Skijording Picture: Kaila Angello
Shovel Racing Picture: Lynn Eubank
Wok Racing Picture: DPA
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Cool New Tech To Look Forward to This Year

Posted on January 6, 2017July 7, 2023 by Christine Chalkley

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The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is held every January in Las Vegas. This year is the 50^th annual conference and it will showcase over 3,800 exhibiting companies including manufacturers, developers and suppliers of consumer technology hardware. During this event some of the biggest tech companies unveil their newest tech innovations. The products showcased at this conference will be good an indicator of what cool new products might be coming on the market. Check out this neat infographic of “Milestones in the Technology Industry” that charts out what dates products were unveiled during this conference.

The products trending at this year’s CES includes artificial intelligence, virtual reality, new television models, smart technologies including wearable tech and smart appliances for the home. Here’s a list of some cool new products that were featured this year.

Zera Food Recycler by WLabs is a home composter that is to help reduce food waste. This will hold a week’s worth of food and converts it into homemade fertilizer within 24 hours. It is designed to fit into your kitchen and uses your daily food scraps. It uses oxygen, a plant based additive and an agitator that will break down the food.

~~iRobot Braava jet Mopping Robot~~ is similar to a robot vacuum, but this is a wet mop to tackle your hardwood, tile and stone flooring. It comes with 3 cleaning pads: a wet mop that will remove dirt and stains, a damp sweep that will clean dust while leaving a clean scent, and a dry sweep to remove dust and pet hair.

Motiv Ring is an activity tracker that’s a ring. It has similar features to what you expect from a fitness tracker, heart rate sensor, step counter and sleep duration. It’s made out of ultralight Titanium and is also waterproof. It comes in 7 ring sizes and 2 colours.

~~Foldimate~~ – The Robotic Laundry Folding Machine will fold laundry quickly and consistently. It will even perfume, soften and de-wrinkle while it folds!

Whirlpool All-in-One Care Washer/Dryer Combo washes and dries your clothes in one machine. No need to transfer any clothes between machines. It includes a bulk laundry detergent dispenser, so you can fill it up with your detergent ahead of time and have to refill only twice a month.

WalabotDIY lets you look inside your walls to help with renovation projects. It will detect the location and depth of pipes, studs, wires and even rodents.

Smartypans is a cooking pan that has temperature and weight sensors that can help assist with your cooking. It will provide step by step instructions and computes calories of the food you are cooking. This would help make sure you don’t burn or undercook your meals!

Willow Wearable Breast Pump is a hands free, wireless and tubeless breast pump. It’s designed to fit in your bra and to be more discreet then a traditional pump.

Lego Boost is an educational codable toy robot. It is a set of motors and programmable bricks that can work with existing Lego kits to turn them into motorized toys.

~~LG 4K OLED W series~~ is a new TV model that is just 2.57MM thick. This TV is super thin and just 17 pounds for its 65” model. This model is designed only to be mounted on your wall and when mounted will sit flush against the wall. There is a soundbar as well that is included that also houses its HDMI inputs.

And lastly, the Kerastase Hair Coach is a smart hairbrush. It’s made with boar and nylon bristles and will collect data about your hair. It will provide you with a daily hair score and product advice on how you can fix your dry, damaged and tangled hair. Not sure I would buy a $200 hair brush that’s connected to the internet, unless it would literally cut and style my hair for me. But maybe if someone has enough bad hair days this might be the right product.

With over 3,800 companies from 150 countries attending this conference, there were many cool innovations that were unveiled this week. While we only featured a few in this blog, there will definitely be some cool new products to watch out for this year.
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Free Apps to Help You Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on January 3, 2017July 7, 2023 by Meredith Gillin

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New Year’s resolutions are a nice idea. I say “idea” because most of them are forgotten soon after they’re made. In fact, a 2015 study found that although roughly 45% of Americans usually make New Year’s resolutions, only 8% of them actually achieve them. Another survey, conducted two minutes ago with myself as the only participant, concluded that the all-encompassing reason for people’s failure to achieve their goals is that they had not yet read this extremely helpful article. Keep reading to learn about mobile apps that will make keeping your resolutions easier so that we can bring the success rate up by next year!

Get Fit

The most commonly made New Year’s resolution year after year is to get fit or lose weight. Because of this, there are about a million apps that revolve around at-home ab workouts, leg exercises, cardio training programs…the list goes on. But what’s going to keep you going back to those apps? We’re thinking things like competition, challenges, and gamification (applying elements of game playing into another facet of life – such as workout apps)! Here are a few that use some of those elements to keep you on track.

~~Fitnet~~

When you think of personal trainers, you probably don’t think of the word “free”. They usually come at a pretty high price, but Fitnet allows you to have one right on your phone or iPad at no cost at all! After entering your fitness goal, you’re presented with a variety of workout videos that you can follow along with. Now, here’s the motivation – the camera on your phone or iPad captures your movements while you’re matching the trainer’s moves, and gives you real-time feedback on your performance! It’s like having someone there coaching you, so you’re way more likely to keep up with it instead of pretending to be doing crunches while actually taking a quick nap.

~~30 Day Cardio Challenge~~

The idea of this app is that you’ll do a bit of cardio that increases in intensity each day, in the comfort of your own home, with no gym equipment. So you’re steadily building up your endurance, but still have a “challenge” to complete. I like this app because it presents a goal within a manageable time frame – 30 days doesn’t sound too bad, does it?

Zombies, Run!

Okay so this is the only app on the list that isn’t free. It was just too cool not to write about. Basically, you plug your headphones into your phone, start running outside or on a treadmill, and you’re immediately told that it’s the zombie apocalypse and that you have multiple missions to go on. They involve collecting supplies along the way and actually allocating them (and this affects the rest of the gameplay), following complex storylines, and even getting chased by zombies! You have to run faster or slower depending on your status in the game – like if a zombie is 4 feet behind you, for example – and I imagine this is extremely motivating. This app is $3.99 on the app store or Google Play!

Eat Healthy

Eating healthy ties in pretty well with the first New Year’s resolution, so it’s near the top of a lot of people’s lists of things they hope to accomplish this year. Thankfully, there are a ton of apps to help.

Lark

Lark is described as a “personal weight loss coach and 24/7 nutritionist”. I downloaded it just to see how it works, and it was pretty interesting. It tracks your activity on a graph, asks about your meals, and gives you feedback on their nutrition. It even gives you advice on what you should be eating instead, without directly counting calories or making you feel bad. It even sends you notifications that look like texts if you haven’t logged a meal in a while just to keep you on track.

Noom Coach

This app, on the other hand, allows you to keep a very detailed record of all of your food consumed and all of the nutrition information (including a calorie count) in each meal. The app then gives you advice on how to change your eating habits to meet certain goals, and even allows you the option to join online communities to interact with people with similar goals to you so you’ll stay motivated.

~~HealthyOut~~

If you really want to start eating healthy but you’re not ready to commit to learning to cook with all-natural ingredients quite yet, HealthyOut might be the app for you. All you have to do is enter your address and the type of healthy meal you’re looking for – it offers specifications like low calorie, high protein, low carb, paleo, and so on – and it will give you a ton of dishes in the area offered by local restaurants, as well as their nutrition information. Then you can either order them on the spot or have a lovely night out! No shopping or cooking required.

Be More Organized

I feel like we could all do with being a little more organized. Whether it’s keeping our work calendars up to date, remembering people’s birthdays, or remembering to check the traffic conditions, there’s always some area that we could use a bit of help with. These apps will be all the help you need!

~~Google Now~~

This basically seems like the only “app” you’d ever need to organize all of your things in one place. It’s technically an intelligent personal assistant rather than an app, but it reminds you about events, restaurant reservations and birthdays, alerts you about traffic and weather conditions, gives you suggestions for nearby events…it seems like Google Now does it all. Unfortunately, it’s only available for Android, but we’ll take what we can get.

Evernote

Evernote seems like another app that allows you to have all of your things all in one place, which is very helpful for staying organized. You can set reminders, take pictures, make lists, and save things you find online, then have them all on one online database to have for later. Sounds convenient to me!

Learn to Budget and Save Money

Extra money is a good thing. We can agree on this. But extra money doesn’t happen unless we know how to intelligently manage our money and make smart financial decisions! These apps will do their best to help you become a financial virtuoso.

Mint.com

This is a service you sign up for online for free rather than an app you download, but it sounds like it makes your life a whole lot easier. It puts your bills, credit card balances, and account information all on one dashboard, and helps lay out budgets for different areas of your life. It also gives your financial tips, and sends alerts when there’s unusual account activity. Did I mention this is all on one simple dashboard? Just one place to go for all of your finance info – I like the sound of that!

Pocket Expense

Pocket Expense does most of the same things as Mint.com, but also automatically categorizes your spending habits into sections like groceries, clothes, entertainment, and calculates what percentage of your budget is spent on each category. This feature sounds like an interesting one to try out, even if just for interest’s sake!

Learn a New Language

This is another big contender on the list of top New Year’s resolutions. People want to know they’re becoming smarter and learning new things as they get older, and learning a new language is just one way to do that. These apps will help you learn a whole new language and have fun while doing it!

Duolingo

I can speak from personal experience with this app – it’s awesome! I took a couple of Italian language classes in school and I decided to try this out alongside it, and it was a lot of fun. You can choose from around 23 languages to learn and from there, you’re taught the very basics, then some simple words like types of food, animals, and so on. And they’re all in game format! So there are multiple levels and points – it’s very motivating.

Busuu

This app is a language-learning app like Duolingo, but it seems to be more structured and less game-y. It also allows you to interact with native speakers of the language you wish you learn, which is a really cool feature! There are 12 languages to learn in total, so you better get started ASAP!

With the wide range of apps to keep you on track with your New Year’s resolution, whatever it may be, there’s no excuse not to get out there and accomplish your goals. 2017 is a brand new year, and it’s up to you to make it amazing.

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Execulink Telecom’s A Year in Review

Posted on December 29, 2016May 30, 2023 by execulink@creativeone

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2016 is coming to a close and it’s hard to believe that another year has passed before our eyes. We wanted to take the time to reflect on this past year’s great moments at Execulink! So let’s stroll down memory lane in this 2016 A Year in Review.

In January we had our More_Giveaways contest giving away 3 exceptional prizes: FitBit Surge, GoPro Hero 4 and a Surface Pro 4.

For Family Day we were in Forest for our 5^th annual Family Day at the Movies.

On July 13^th we hosted a Summer Customer Appreciation Event in Thedford.

July 27^th we were in Poplar Hill for our Summer Customer Appreciation Event.

Our 3^rd Summer Customer Appreciation event was in Delhi on August 10^th.

Our final Summer Customer Appreciation event was in Burgessville August 24^th.

In the spirit of the 2016 Rio Olympics, our Execulink employees competed in events like ‘holding a plank the longest’ and ‘the most push-ups’.

We announced 3 winners in our annual Scholarship program.

In September we visited downtown Delhi during the annual Delhi Fall Festival.

For back to school in September our More_Giveaways contest gave away 3 more exceptional prizes: an iPad Air, Samsung 50” TV and a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge!

We were at the Greater KW Chamber of Commerce Inspiring Women Event on September 22^nd.

We held a Fibre Info Session for residents in Denfield and Carlisle.

No shortage of Halloween spirit in our Execulink office during our annual Halloween festivities.

Grade 9 students visited our Execulink office for Take Our Kids to Work Day.

On November 18^th we held Execulink’s Day at the Movies in Woodstock.

Our Execulink office gets festive with our Christmas tree.

On December 6^th we hosted Woodstock Chamber of Commerce’s Business After 5 event in our Woodstock office.

We supported Youth Opportunities Unlimited You in our annual Holiday Giving Campaign.

We wrote 115 Execublog posts in 2016 and here are our top 5 blogs from the past year!

Roll up the Rim is back

Local Company Launches Canada’s First Virtual Realty Arcade

Top 10 New Shows We’re Looking Forward To

Pokemon Go: One Trainer’s Tale

Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Google Search

Here are some great things our customers have said about us this year:

“Execulink is AMAZING!!! Thank you for all your support. Your tech support doesn’t even compare to the competition, please keep it that way!! :)” -TonyaHere are some great things our customers have said about us this year:

“Execulink is by far the best out of all the other service providers. Never had a problem with Execulink. The services are top of the line. Their customer service is incredibly helpful and so polite; just like talking to a buddy. Technical support are so helpful and knowledgeable. I have been with the other guys. Execulink for life for my family.” -Mike

“Great service, friendly staff best you’re going get. This I know, have tried every option available.” -Downey

“Execulink is the only internet provider I have ever used. No complaints here. Most helpful staff, stay with you on the line until you get your problem solved. Excellent company.” -Sadie

“Great customer service. I never had a problem that wasn’t solved in a very efficient manner. Keep up the great work you do.” -Josie

“I wanted to inform you about the excellent performance of your technical support team! Their help and patience is above the call of duty! You should be very proud of their work! This is one of the main reasons I have Execulink as my internet provider for many years!! Cheers!” -Joan

2016 was a great and fun year at Execulink with many successes and moments to celebrate. We are looking forward to 2017 and we wish everyone all the best in the New Year!

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Are Interactive Temporary Tattoos the Next Big Tech Accessory?

Posted on August 18, 2016July 7, 2023 by Meredith Gillin

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Have you ever experienced the burning desire to control your music playlist or transmit data to other devices via your tattoos? Well, me neither – but given the opportunity, I’d be pretty excited to try it out.

The MIT Media Lab recently introduced a product created in partnership with Microsoft Research called DuoSkin: an aesthetic and easy-to-make on-skin interface. In simpler terms, it’s a temporary tattoo enhanced with tiny, multi-functional electronic components and topped with gold leaf, the element that makes it shiny and pretty. The video below makes the product a bit easier to understand, so give it a watch if you’re more of a visual learner.

So, are you sold yet? In case you missed it in the video, the three main uses for the DuoSkin device are:

1. Sensing touch input

Essentially transforms your skin into a 2D touchpad
Allows you to control your mobile devices with a swipe or two directly onto the tattoo
Uses row-column scanning in a two-layer construction which differentiates horizontal traces from vertical ones; each type carries different information

2. Output displays

Shows information using thermochromic pigments
These displays have different states; color change is triggered when heated beyond body temperature
Device can also light up to show your emotion

3. Wireless communication

Enables users to store information directly on their skin. Concert tickets are a good example – if you had a NFC chip (near-field communication chip) containing the ticket information for the Tragically Hip’s final show this Saturday in Kingston embedded into a temporary tattoo on your wrist, it could be scanned, and you would theoretically be admitted just as easily as anyone else

If you can’t find a use for any of the above functions (which is highly unlikely), keep in mind that you can also enhance the tattoos’ aesthetics by adding LED lights to them! A shiny, glowing tattoo seems like a pretty great conversation starter to me.

Another unique point about this product is its widespread accessibility. As Cindy from the MIT Media Lab describes, these temporary tattoos are simple to make using commonly found instruments. The DuoSkin website lays out the creation process in three steps:

Step 1

Sketch the tattoo’s circuitry with graphic design software.

Step 2

Fabricate the tattoo, a process which includes:

a) creating stencils of the circuitry;

b) applying gold leaf as the conductive material, and;

c) mounting electronics.

Step 3

After the the DuoSkin device has been fabricated, apply it to the user’s skin through water-transfer – holding a damp cloth over it for a few seconds – just like any other temporary tattoo!

The only issue with this list is that it seems to be one step short – where and how do users buy the specific electronic components, like NFC chips, needed to make the product actually work? I guess that part will be up to the MIT lab once they completely roll out their DuoSkin device. For now, we’ll just have to imagine the possibilities.

All in all, I’m curious to learn more about the specifics of the DuoSkin device – the exact functions and customizability, price tag, and whether it’s really accessible to anyone. Maybe my first tattoo will be one that doubles as a pair of movie tickets – only time will tell!

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Local Company Launches Canada’s First Virtual Reality Arcade

Posted on June 2, 2016July 7, 2023 by Meredith Gillin

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Long gone are the days when pinball and Pac-Man ruled the local arcade scene. These machines were replaced by sleeker models with better graphics, and then by portable, in-home video game consoles. Eventually, we even figured out how to integrate human movement into our game play (the Nintendo Wii, anybody?), and now, the next big thing has arrived—virtual reality. And it’s available in your own backyard (practically).

Virtual reality (VR) may sound intimidating at first. The term is basically an oxymoron in itself— “simulated reality”, or in other words, unreal realness. I can see how this could be confusing. But hang in there, because Ctrl V, a company in Waterloo, Ontario, is hoping to make VR crystal clear for the public.

Ctrl V has just launched Canada’s very first virtual reality arcade. Essentially, VR is a platform where you can experience and interact with a shockingly realistic three-dimensional environment using specialized equipment and computer software. You just put on a gaming headset and HTC Vive hardware (including what looks like an intense pair of high-tech goggles where you’ll see your virtual world), and you’re ready to play.

At the Ctrl V headquarters on Columbia Street, there are a bunch of games to play, and a ton of space to play them. There are first-person shooter games, of course, like Jeeboman and Space Pirate Trainer. But there are also more low-key games for the inexperienced gamer, like Cloudlands: VR Minigolf, which you can play with a big group of people. And, to top it off, there are horror games like Affected: The Manor, which looks like the single most terrifying experience of all time. Maybe being scared out of your head is your thing, but I think I’ll sit that one out.

Another great thing about Ctrl V’s space in Waterloo is that it’s roomy – it currently has 16 VR stations, with each being 8×10 ft. You can go check it out alone or with a partner, or with a larger group. You can even book out the entire space for a corporate or school event! The general entry rate is $19.99/person/hour (excluding big events), so it’s a totally budget-friendly activity.

One other really cool thing about Ctrl V is that they have partnered with the University of Waterloo’s Games Institute, which focuses on games research and projects. This way, both institutes can lend each other a helping hand when necessary, and ultimately grow together in the field of games and games research. There is a lot to be learned, and it’s pretty awesome that Ctrl V and the Games Institute are going to work together to figure it out.

Now that you have a taste of what virtual reality is and exactly what it looks like, I hope it’s clear that you don’t need to be a seasoned VR professional or gaming fanatic to give it a try. So head on down to 170 Columbia Street West, Unit D for a completely new, exciting, and immersive experience. I’ll see you there!

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Tips and Tricks to Improve Your Google Search

Posted on April 19, 2016July 7, 2023 by Andrew Mustard

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Online searches are second nature to us. The word Google has expanded from a noun to a verb – now we Google everything we need to know. Almost every argument can be solved by pulling out your phone. Like it or not, Internet searches are an important part of our day to day life.

These days, it is expected that Internet users are up to date on their online search techniques. We thought we would take this opportunity to give you some tips and tricks to improve your search results and get more out of Google.
Use quotations for specific searches

When you are searching for something specific, you can use “quotes” around your search term to help Google return the precise information you are looking for.

For instance, if you search for Puppy Dog Sweaters, Google will return results using those three words in any order. If you search “Puppy Dog Sweaters”, it will search for those three words in that exact order – giving you more specific results.

Exclude words using a hyphen

Sometimes the Google search term you use will have multiple meanings, and not give you the results you are looking for.

If you wanted more information about our Galaxy, but your search results included mostly Samsung Galaxy phones or Cineplex Galaxy Theatres. To get results that you need, you would search galaxy –Samsung –Cineplex, which would give you results that exclude sites that mention the phone maker or movie theatre.

Use colon to search specific sites

If you are looking for information from a specific website, there is a way to limit your search results to include only information from said website. After you type your search term in the search bar, type ‘site:’ and then the website you would like to index.

For example, if you wanted to find all the instances that Justin Bieber is mentioned in his home town of Stratford, Ontario’s official website. You would type – Justin Bieber site:stratfordontario.ca.

Include unknown words using an asterisk

Using an asterisk in a Google search, will be seen as a placeholder that may be automatically filled in by the search engine later.

Discovering song lyrics is a great example of this. If you heard that popular Drake song on the radio, and could not figure out every word, you may Google “I know when that * bling” and immediately find out it is indeed Hotline Bling by Drake.

Find a specific file type

If you are looking for a specific file type, include that in your Google search.

For instance, if you were looking for a .PDF with the specs for the iPhone 6, you would Google the following; iPhone 6 filetype:pdf. This will only return results that have .pdf documents with iPhone 6 information.

Do a quick unit conversion

Figuring out unit conversions has never been easier. Type in the units you are trying to convert, and a convenient tool will appear allowing you enter data and quickly convert to any measurement unit you need.

You can also convert currency – I do warn you that Canadian to American currency conversions may depress you a little.

Check sports scores & schedules

If you are away from your TV while your favourite team is playing, you can check the score of the game in Google.

Type the name of a team (eg Toronto Raptors) or league (NFL, NFL, NBA, MLB, etc) and your search results will include easy to read scores and schedules.

Look up local movie availability

To see what films are available in your local theatre(s), type ‘movies’ followed by your postal code or city.

Define a word

Type ‘define’ followed by the word you are looking for the definition of. Also, if you type ‘etymology’ followed by your desired word, you can find the origins of said word.

Look up a celebrity’s ‘Bacon Number’

A celebrity’s Bacon Number (otherwise known as Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon) is a fun way to see how everyone is connected in Hollywood by analyzing how many degrees actors/actresses are separated from Kevin Bacon.

To find any celeb’s Bacon Number (and the chain in which they are linked to the legendary actor), type the name of the celebrity followed by the words ‘bacon number’.

Get the weather forecast

To get a quick forecast of any city/town, just type the word ‘weather’ followed by either a postal code or city name and you will get the current weather and weekly forecast.

Check flight times

Type the name of an airline and flight number to get updated information on arrival times, terminals and gates.

Track a package

Similar to checking flight times, you can get updated information on packages that are being delivered to you. All you need is your tracking code – type that code into Google and you will be presented with your package delivery status.

Discover the time in a different region

Before you call someone overseas, it may be a good idea to see what time it is over there before waking anyone up. You can find the time in any location by typing ‘time’ followed by the postal code or city/town name into the Google Search bar.

Plan your sunset / sunrise viewing

Google can also let you know when the sun will rise or set in a specific location. Type ‘sunrise sunset’ and then the location, and Google will give you the times of the sunrise and sunset.

We hope you have learned a thing or two about searching on Google that will eliminate any stress while trying to find the information you are looking for.

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The Biggest Collapses in Sports History

Posted on April 11, 2016May 30, 2023 by Andrew Mustard

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Yesterday at the Masters – the most important professional golf tournament (and most watched) of the year – Execulink TV customers witnessed one of the craziest collapses in this prestigious event’s history.

Jordan Spieth, a 22 year old golf phenom and winner of the 2015 Masters, was well on his way to receiving the Green Jacket (the prize awarded to the Masters champion) two years in a row – joining an elite club that includes golf legends Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.

As Spieth tee’d up his ball on the 10^th hole, he was seven-under par with a comfortable 5 shot lead over Englishman Danny Willet. He missed an easy put on the 10^th, costing him a shot, and his drive off the 11^th tee block ended up in the trees. Suddenly, his lead was down to only 1 shot with seven holes to go.

Which brings us to the famous 12^th hole, nicknamed the Amen Corner, at Augusta National – a hole that has ‘broken more men than marriage and moonshine’, a common joke amongst local golfers. It has been said that no one is a champion until he has made it around Amen Corner, a lesson Spieth learned after sinking not one, but two balls in the water – giving him a quadruple bogey and the loss of his once massive lead.

Although he made a solid attempt, Spieth was never able to rebound from this breakdown, and ended up losing to Willet, who was hot on his heels. It is a tradition at the Masters that the previous winner must award the aforementioned Green Jacket to the new winner. As Spieth won in 2015, he had the awkward task of awarding the prize he had all but wrapped up an hour earlier, to someone else. Unfortunately, the 2016 Masters will not be remembered as the year that Danny Willet won, but rather the year Jason Spieth lost.

With that mind, we thought we would take this opportunity to go over some of the most memorable collapses in Sports history.
2004 New York Yankees

In 2004, the New York Yankees were up three games to none, in a best of seven American League Championship series against the Boston Red Sox. The Yanks only needed one more win to advance to the World Series. No team has ever blown a 3-0 series lead in MLB history, and considering the Red Sox were still under the Curse of the Bambino, things were looking good for New York.

In Game 4, the Yankees were up by one run in the bottom of the ninth with only 3 outs to advance to the World Series. They blew the lead, the Sox won the next three games and swept the Cardinals in the World Series to end an 86-year championship drought.

Ronda Rousey

2015 was quite the year for UFC fighter Ronda Rousey. She became a house-hold name after several high-profile UFC wins and started edging into celebrity status with Late Night Talk Show appearances, hosting Saturday Night Live and movie offers.

At the height of her popularity, she was scheduled to fight Holly Holm – a fight that was supposed to be a breeze for Rousey. Ronda herself predicted a victory and the confidence she displayed made few doubt her predictions.

Soon into the fight, it was clear that Rousey had underestimated Holm, and lost by knock-out after a fierce Holm kick to the head. Although Rousey remains in the public eye, her dominance in fighting is questioned.

2003 Chicago Cubs – The “Bartman” Incident

Similar to the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs are a baseball team synonymous with the inability to recapture the magic they once had. In 2003, the Cubs were up 3-1 on the Florida Marlins in the NLCS, trying to make it to the World Series for the first time in over 50 years. In the 8^th inning of game 5, they were 4 outs away from making this happen.

After a foul ball was hit in the outfield, it appeared Cubs outfielder Moses Alou was in position to make the catch and end the inning. Steve Bartman, a Cubs fan’, reached out and caught the ball, disrupting the potential catch by Alou and denying the Cubs the out. The Marlins ended up scoring 8 runs that inning, winning the game,and creating a turning point in the series, which the Cubs ended up losing.

2004 Los Angeles Lakers

We have already gone over Shaq and Kobe’s 2004 NBA finals breakdown in our #Execublog showcase of the biggest upsets in sports history, but similar to Spieth’s weekend. The Detroit Pistons didn’t win the finals as much as the Lakers lost.

After a season known for its off-court shenanigans – the 2004 Los Angeles Lakers were able to make it to the finals with skillful players such as O’Neal, Bryant, Karl Malone and Gary Payton. They faced the Detroit Pistons who did not have a single player as good as any of the Lakers’ starts. Despite the difference in talent, the Pistons defeated the Lakers in an embarrassing 4 games to 1, putting a dent in the Lakers dynasty.

2013 Toronto Maple Leafs

This one is hard for me to talk about. As a long-time Toronto Maple Leafs fan, I was ecstatic to see the boys in blue up by a comfortable 3 goals in the third period of game seven against the Boston Bruins – 15 minutes away to advancing to the division finals. With the Leafs’ post-season performance in the past decade (or lack ther of), it’s safe to say Leaf Nation was ready to celebrate.

Cue the collapse. The Bruins scored three goals in what I consider the longest 15 minutes of my life. Boston won in overtime, competing the comeback and breaking the hearts of loyal Leafs fans everywhere. I cannot put in words how devastating this felt – I have friends who have not watched a Leaf game since. I have been haunted ever since, and will never trust a 3 goal lead ever again.

Remember – don’t count your chickens before they hatch, it ain’t over until the … well you know what I am trying to say. The 12^thhole at Augusta will haunt Jason Spieth for a while – but luckily he is young. At 22, he will still have 70 opportunities to win another Major tournament before he turns 40.

References
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/apr/11/jordan-spieth-loses-masters-amen-corner
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1363917-the-most-epic-collapses-in-sports-history

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Every Underdog Has Its Day

Posted on March 7, 2016May 30, 2023 by Andrew Mustard

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This was quite the weekend for the underdogs.

At UFC 196 at the MCM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas (which was available on Execulink’s PPV service BTW) – both co-main events ended in upsets. The very confident and heavily favoured Conor McGregor lost by submission to Nate Diaz, a man he spent the past few weeks trash talking at any opportunity he had. Earlier in the night in the other co-main event, Meisha Tate upset Holly Holm, who recently upset UFC superstar Ronda Rousey and was considered the top female fighter.

The weekend of sports shockers came to an end on Sunday, where the Los Angeles Lakers, who have one of the worst records in the NBA and have considered their 15/16 season to be more of a farewell tour for superstar Kobe Bryant, defeated the almost-unstoppable Golden State Warriors. This gave Steph Curry and the Warriors only their 6^th loss in 61 games.

If you were a betting man (or woman) that usually takes the safe bets by choosing the favourites – you were in for a surprise this weekend.

What made the Diaz win so interesting is how McGregor finally had to eat his own words. He is known as an arrogant trash talker, just take a look at the joint interview McGregor and Diaz had with CNBC earlier this week.

It’s hard to watch that interview today, given the outcome of the fight, without having a strong pathos feeling. As an athlete (well an athlete 15 years ago), I can tell you there is no sweeter feeling than beating someone who is overly-confident and making them eat crow.

To honour this weekend full of dark horse victories, we have compiled a list of our five favourite sports upsets.

Buster Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson

In the late 80’s and early 90’s, Mike Tyson was an indestructible force in the boxing world – in addition to being one of the most notorious sports figures of all time. On February 11^th, 1990 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, the undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champion Tyson was defeated by underdog Buster Douglas, who only had a 42-1 shot to win the bout. As far as biggest upsets in history, this is considered to be the biggest.

Miracle On Ice

Another very famous sports upset occurred at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. The American Men’s Hockey team, made of only amateur and college players, defeated the Soviet Union (who had won 6 of the seven previous gold medals) in the semi-finals. The USA went on to win the gold medal over Finland. Sports Illustrated named the ‘Miracle on Ice’ as the Top Sports Moment of the 20^th Century. This event was also made into a Disney movie entitled ‘Miracle’. Check out Kurt Russel (as head coach Herb Brooks) deliver one of the all-time greatest sports movie speeches.

2008 SuperBowl

In the 2007-2008 season, the New England Patriots (led by Tom Brady) had a perfect regular season going 17-0. They won the AFC championship and were set to play the New York Giants in the Superbowl, trying to be the first team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins to go a full season (and playoffs) undefeated. Despite being favourites to win the Vince Lombardi trophy, the Giants won the match 17-14 after some late game drama – making the 07-08 Patriots one of the greatest NFL teams NOT to win a Superbowl.

2004 NBA Finals

The Los Angeles Lakers built quite a dynasty in the early 2000’s – winning the NBA Finals in 2000, 2001 and 2002. In the 2003/2004 season, the Lakers were the subject of intense media coverage due to star Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault case, and the subsequent fall out between Bryant and other Lakers superstar Shaquille O’Neil. Despite the off-court drama, the Lakers dominated their way through the 2004 NBA playoffs to play the Detroit Pistons who squeaked by to make it to the finals. Detroit ended up winning in 5 games, to the shock and disbelief of many basketball fans.

2002 Winter Olympics – Mens Hockey Quarter Finals

In the 2002 Winter Olympics, the Swedish men’s hockey team was off to a great start, beating Canada in a round-robin game. During the Quarter Finals, a game they expected to win to play Canada in the semi finals, Sweden lost to long-shots Belarus (allowing Canadian hockey fans to breathe easier). The best part of the upset is the ridiculous goal that lead to the Belarus win. A goal that Swedish goalie Tommy Salo will never forget.

As a lesson, remember not to get too confident when you are favoured to win, and never give up if you are the underdog – crazier things have happened.

Execulink TV customers, make sure to catch UFC and other special events on our Pay Per View channels.

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