What a meal!! Just perfect.

Last night I took my lovely wife out to dinner (just the two of us) for the first time in many months.

For those of you who spent more than 15 minutes with us you would know we love sushi. In fact, we have enjoyed good and bad sushi bars all over the world. Last night was the best sushi I have had in months!! Each piece was amazing, we didn't want to leave.

Here is a list of my 5 favorite Sushi restaurants in the world. Last night I went to number 5.

1. Nobu London
2. Ran-getsu (Orlando)
3. Sushi-Ya (Los Angeles)
4. Yo Sushi - Selfridges (London)
5. Hiro - (Toronto)
   

This is a cool video of what a Sushi bar in Tokyo looks like.

Lots of fog in Toronto cant see more than 90 feet

The weather in Canada leaves (I think I'm spelling this wrong) a lot to be desired. But in all things there are advantages and disadvantages.

I have a secret love of shoveling show. So much so that when I wake up and see that it snowed I cannot wait to get outside.

The wierd thing is I attack the job of clearing my drive way like all projects I work on. Methodically.

1. First I clear a section down the middle.
2. Then I shove the snow in each direction. Pushing it close to the edge of the drive way
3. then I lift and throw each side

If I miss any snow at all I just have to go back. Finaly I salt it all.

Yes a little obsessive.

Kinda cool how I can find anyone I know online. The family we ate dinner with each night on the Disney cruise was from California. Really nice. Each night our conversations would keep us there until the restaurant was closing. I lost the Peter's email address. So I searched online based on a few criteria. Name, location and profession. 10 seconds later found his profile on his company site. Also kinda creepy that our personal info is so available.

Whew Vacation is a lot of work

We visited 5 islands, had a blast in Orlando at Lego Land and even made it to Great Wolf Lodge. It's nice to be back. Not really...

One thing I noticed was that the downturn that the US economy is currently facing is really starting to affect the places outside the USA. I have traveled to Cozumel at least once a year for the past 8 years and I have never seen the sellers so desperate. Its the same in the caymann islands. I was speaking to one the native islanders. He's been a DJ/Entertainer there his whole life. According to him all the big American companies basically cut all their pay by 30%. No explanation except - too bad. Tips are down, visitors are buying less.

Scary...

But I'm back in Toronto. We wont be in the studio until January 5th. So all you people who have been trying to reach me - email!!!

I have list of about 25 people who have been trying to finalize thing (Stella your first!! Ashley your second, Maria they're ready!!!)

In the meantime,

Things that need to be done at the studio.

• repaint
• finish bathroom
• reconnect the viewing computer in the front office
• move the scanning station in the back editing room
• move the Excellence bags back into the selling office
• reconnect a computer for Chelsea
• Get our phone system back online
• get the carpets cleaned
• buy snow matts for the front and back doors
• put a drape up to hide the closet in the front
• finish the drywall in the back editing room
• set up a presentation area in the back editing room for REELifeENT appointments
• finish a new video demo for REELifeENT video presentations

Plus...

• need to spend at least 48 hours of 2009 projections for MHM, FHM,Excellence, REELifeENT, and TorontoHomeMovies
• Need to rebrand Excellence site to include REELifeENT oi
• spend as much time possible with Isaac and Sammy and Marianna!!!
  

Being the absolute best!

In the few months I have had the opportunity to eat at some of the finest restaurants in Toronto, Boca Raton, Montreal and Miami. I could just put a list and be done with it, but thats not really what todays rant is about. And believe me its a rant.

Yesterday I went for Dim sum at a restaurant in Markham. For you Floridians that's a suburb on the outskirts of Toronto just a bit north. Markham is know for being mainly populated by people of Chinese decent.

There are 2 things that piss me off. One, if a place is absolutely amazing then after a year or two it starts to cut corners and become shit. Two, that because people still think its the place to go - they continue go even though its obvious the owners don't care. The food took forever, over cooked, service sucked, they reduced the menu so that they could serve more people but left only mainstream items like "Har Gow" but no curry squid.

The restaurant last year was the coolest. 50 Flat screen tvs, a Huge round tv in the middle. I cant explain this as a tv, more like the jumbo tron but like the old scoreboard at Maple Leaf Gardens.

Side note: I couldnt stop laughing at the gangsta rap videos - they were these skinny little chinese dudes dressed as Rapper singing in high pitched voices in Mardarin or Cantonese. Girls on the cars moving their booties.

Anyhow, I went there yesterday and was completely disappointed.

Here are a few kick ass "Real Chinese" restaurants in Markham. Dont look at the reviews below only based on a few people. I took the info from a new reviewing site.

• Big Mouth Kee

• 4.0 stars
  (Based on 3 Reviews)
• Cuisines: Chinese
• (905) 881-8821
• 280 West Beaver Creek Road, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3Z1

• Imperial Jade Chinese Cuisine

• 3.5 stars
  (Based on 1 Review)
• Cuisines: Chinese
• (905) 886-8872
• 350 Hwy 7 East, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 3N2

Growing.

I recently did a survey to determine the demographics of this blog. What I found out was prtty amazing. Of the approx 3000 unique hits a week that read my little notepad over 50% were between the ages of 23-40.

That's mostly brides, grooms, ushers, bridesmaids, cousins, friends. The other large demographic was 55-70 year olds. That's like THM, FHM, MHM clients that read the blog by clicking on the site links and get hooked.

Knowing this I try and not just write about the happy wedding I shot, or get bogged down on how interesting our scanners are. Today though, I"m tired. I drive back to the studio last night after 9 and worked a few hours, then came back home and work a few more hours.

My newest task is to learn all I can about our new customer relations management system SugarCRM. What a lot of people dont realize is how many people our team actually interacts with on a daily basis. Keeping track is a monumental task.

When I was in school, I believed that once out I would get a job, make money and be happy. Imgine if understood I would be learning for the rest of my life?? I spend at least 10 hours a month learning new things from scratch. Here is my list of learning tasks for the next few months

• SugarCRM
• Adobe CS4 suite (Photoshop, Adobe Encoder, Premeire)
• New to find and learn a new acct system
• I want to frame my basement and need to learn how

Cccccvvccold

According to the temp gage in my land rover it's -9. Oi!

Www.jeanmarcotte.com

Cross the world phone calls today...

Spent the day working on fix its for Engagement portraits and on the phone. I really love the internet. Seriously. Its so cool that I can sit at home, call Matt in Boca Raton through Skype link in Andrea at the Montreal studio and have a conference call with Alex and Aaron in Toronto.

Also got a few slideshows up. Click on the photo to go to the site.







My new car!!!!





Few cool things -

• The 2e is designed to charge overnight your ordinary garage outlet (110v) so that it's energized and ready to start the new day with you.

• The Aptera 2 Series vehicle (electric and hybrid) will range in price from the mid-$20,000s to the mid-$40,000s, depending on options and powertrain.

And!!! I can plug in my iPhone!!!

Smart Phone Connectivity

Time to put all those playlists to work. Simply plug n' play music through the audio system, and with the push of a button, switch over for that important incoming call.

Embrace Aerodynamics

In aerodynamics, the word drag defines air’s natural tendency to slow things down. It steals your vehicles energy and decreases your fuel economy.

To be more efficient, we aim to reduce drag by becoming more aerodynamic . Much like a bird gliding through the wind.

At Aptera we learn from nature and apply those lessons to create forms that work with wind, rather than against it. The result is the Aptera 2e.

Introducing the Transportation Diet

Weight is the measure of gravity acting on an object. The more weight you carry, the more difficult it is to get moving.

To be more efficient, we reduce weight to be more nimble, much like a gazelle.

So we put the 2e on a diet. Cutting the total weight to nearly half of the average vehicle. Take that gravity!

Personal Armored Vehicle

Don’t believe us? Well, when you can carry the weight of two elephants on your roof with barely a dent you are doing something right.

To Aptera, safety is not a punch line. It’s a fundamental principle that encompasses the protection of all things of value in your vehicle, including and, most importantly, you.

Would love to

Stayed up late to finish Twilight series. I feel sort of weird. Sort of like a vampire and also like a teenage girl. Not cool.

So I went to the book store and had a look around. I think I"m going to go back to the classics. I"m a little bored with life improvement books (whats to improve? I have the best wife and kids int he world!) I read a lot of Fantasy, but that just perpetuates the myth that I am a geek. (I guess I should stop using words like perpetuate then?) Romance is cool but see above:

I hate mystery and horror, just don't see the point. So if anyone has any suggestions.



I really want to buy Marianna an iPhone. She insists that she is more than happy with her old school Nokia and please do not buy her any phones. I think she mentioned purses after that but I tuned out around that point.

But I wonder if I bought her this case for the phone???


Click here to visit the Louis V site and see the other iPhone cases- except you Marianna please dont visit the site. Please?

I'm out books!!

Darn.

I need to go book shopping again. Marianna complained that I was spending too much on books. She suggested shopping online.

I would love to, but I never sem to find the time to search for stuff to read online.Plus---- There is a Starbucks inside my bookstore. How perfect is that??

I sometimes like coming up with names or figure out what on earth the person is thinking for the photos I take.

For beautiful Michelle below:


"I wonder what that weirdo is doing in speedos in the backyard?"




"I'm so cool - I can balance a drink on my head for 45 minutes. "

Its Saturday --- Only 2 weeks left!!

Its so nice to wake up on a Saturday and actually not get dressed up in a suit. I know most of you get up Mon-Fri dress up and go to work so I shouldn't bitch, but that's your choice. The more we are exposed to violence on TV, Newspapers and movies the more I want to isolate my family from it all. Stay inside and watch Sponge Bob.




Of course that's not viable. For me. I love being able to choose what I do. Its a kinda freedom Marianna and I share. Yesterday Sammy and I were playing with stainless steel marble we found in the couch and it was really cool that I remembered another time I saw a stainless steel ball. Marianna and I were in Tokyo Japan visiting a famous park when I came across this huge ball. Funny. We probably have a dozen funky art pieces like this in Toronto/Miami and yet we would never think to take a photo of it. But, if your on the other side of the world you have to take photos of the strangest things.

My new Quad

So I said goodbye to my laptop for the next few weeks and moved all my work to a new quad processor. Wow is it fast.

I realize that just this change has increased my productivity significantly. The fact I am working in 64bit help too. Basically, where I save the most time is the switch from Lightroom to Photoshop is almost instant, where before on my laptop I had time to go to the bathroom.

Just a reminder.

Today 2 couples sent me songs to use in their slideshow - guess which slideshow I will be doing first?

Your correct theirs.

So for 10 or so brides that have emailed me asking "when" I can assure you the process will be faster if you select a song and send me the name. The problem is I am multi tasking (ordering photos, editing portraits, managing THM,MHM, FHM) and reading of course. Does it question my sexuality if I express how much I love the stephaine meyer vampire books. Saw the movie with Marianna and we loved it!!!

Busy season

It seems like I"m always in the middle of the busy season. From just before September until November Excellence photography is really busy. Then in January we start the bridal show season. This past 6 months have really been tough.

From October until December TorontoHomeMovies.com is really busy.

Good thing we leave for Florida in a few weeks. Of course, I travel with work, and am available online, basically anytime - its still nice to sit on the beach after a long day.

Book List!!!!

Few books I am reading

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Hardcover - Aug 7 2007)

Buy new: CDN$ 21.99 CDN$ 16.05

13 Used & new from CDN$ 16.00

Usually ships in 1 to 3 weeks

Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping.

(17)

Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett (Paperback - Sep 2 1997)

Buy new: CDN$ 11.99 CDN$ 10.79

14 Used & new from CDN$ 2.73

In Stock

Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping.

(37)

Few house keeping notices!!!!!

Excellence

If you are waiting for us to get your photos online - PLEASE send us music choices. As it stands those who have sent us a song will go online first. That goes for Engagement photos and Wedding!!

If you have not ordered your photos you will NOT likely be getting them for the holidays.

If you have not completed the VIDEO INFO FORM you will NOT likely be getting them for the holidays.

Please contact Marianna if you are still hoping to complete it all in time - 905-326-9622



MontrealHomeMovies.com

Over the past 6 months there have a number of people who have asked us to contact them. The best thing to do is to call us before stopping by. Although Andrea is working nearly fulltime - even she needs to step out of the office for lunch.

You can reach us at - 888-705-6380