COFFEE WARS

For the next two weeks, it looks I won’t be spending any money for coffee :). McDonald’s Canada just announced that its java concoction will be offered free to the public for two weeks – all day, not just during breakfast time like they did for a couple weeks in 2009. It is a rather intriguing move for McDonalds which interestingly coincides with the 2010 launch of Tim Horton’s celebrated Roll Up The Rim to Win contest. People are excited about the prospect of laying hands on the 40 Toyota RAV4’s up for grabs and countless other prices from ranging from $10K cash, netbooks, coffee cards and millions of free donuts and coffee. This contest – literally rolling the rim of the paper cup to look for a prize – also covers the handful U.S. states where the Tim Horton’s franchise had expanded . The great part about the contest is you can go to the website and check the winners map where you can view the places where the major prizes were won. In this type of lottery, geographical distribution of major prizes is important. The contest is definitely not a ruse as by law, the franchise will have to apply for a permit and provide the odds of winning to get approved.

I am not sure what Mcdonalds is trying to pitch with their free coffee campaign other than to say that theirs tastes better than Tim’s ( which I kinda agree, somewhat 😉 ). Or probably lure folks into saying – “hey, you get free coffee so why not buy a muffin or chicken wrap along with it for good measure “? The free coffee still won’t stop me and my wife from spending an hour or so at a pricier Starbucks or Second Cup joint after our regular weekend dinner dine out where we can enjoy real coffee and healthier non-fruit dessert (if there is such a thing). At Second Cup I can browse with my netbook for 2 hours for free since daughter would be incessantly blabbering with her stories not allowing me and my wife to engage in a decent conversation 😡

As for the free Mcdonald’s coffee – sure, oddly enough,  it would be nice to pass by their drive through anytime and say “medium with milk only please” and not pay for it :). For those cheapskates who are thinking of taking their date for the first time to free coffee, I can tell you it’s as worse as paying with free coupons 😆

AFTER THE GOLD RUSH    PART I

The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics finally ended with an awesome closing ceremony last Sunday. It was a proper and fitting celebration for a beautiful and gracious host city often touted as the most livable city on earth and a tribute to a country that did itself proud with the way its athletes performed and the way its citizens supported the once in a lifetime chance to showcase itself to the world. It was the sweetest success amidst the challenges of logistics, the fatal accident of a Georgian luger at a practice session, the unpredictability of mother nature itself and the ever lingering concerns of a wicked recession. In the end, 14 gold medals, the most ever in the history of the winter games, and being 3rd in the overall medal count, not to mention the overwhelming attendance and healthy TV viewership were testaments to an astounding success. As one fan said on TV – “I don’t care about how many medals we win. I only care that we win gold in hockey“. That probably sums up the mind of a typical Canadian you would rub shoulders with during the games. It sure happened – the men and women hockey teams bagged gold. The jubilation was felt all over the country as an amazing 80% of the population watched the men’s hockey finals . This country simply lives and breathes hockey, a game they are proud to call theirs.

ENGAGEMENT

They came and watched to support the games and buoyed up the spirits of their athletes to excel. Nothing gives an athlete more adrenalin than a supportive crowd cheering to the top of their lungs, waving the country’s flag. More than anything, it is the support of the local folk that will make or break the games. As Sebastian Coe, a decorated British Olympian who is heavily involved with organizing the London 2012 Summer Olympiad said :

“We will never see a games like Beijing again,” Coe said. “That’s not typical of the way games are going to be delivered. You take from Beijing the extraordinary obsession with detail and eye for delivery. You take from Sydney the party atmosphere and here the party atmosphere and engagement. These are all things you need to bring together for a games.”

“Not since Sydney have I seen a city embrace the games the way they’ve been embraced here,” Coe said. “My gut instinct is that is what these games will be remembered for. I haven’t been anywhere where there’s been an empty seat in the house. And the people look like they want to be there.”

Unfortunately, much that I would love to watch the games live, I live 3 time zones away and the games schedule was too close to the March break vacation. I have been to Vancouver many times on long business trips and I pride myself of being able to hope in to a rent a car and drive around the city without a GPS and I showed off to my wife when I brought her there to tour the city when we didn’t have a baby yet 🙂 Speaking of the Olympics, Toronto lost its bid to host the Summer Olympics twice – to Atlanta in 1996 and Beijing on 2008. It’s hosting the Pan Am games in 2015 and plans to bid for the summer games of 2020 and 2024. I hope it wins one of them. I’d be thrilled and in fact I am prepared to sign up as an unpaid volunteer. Being there to savor the moment of such a prestigious event in my own backyard is good enough for me 🙂