New Company and New Macbook Pro

If any one needs wonderful web and graphic design done then check out http://www.InformativeComputerSolutions.com. I have just started this business with my good friend Zack Spear. We can do all your digital needs for very resonable prices!

Also just bought a new Macbook Pro and they are awesome! Such a great improvement from the white macbook I originally have. The displays are great.
Saint John Web Design

Share (the band) New album scheduled for early August.

Share (the band) will be releasing a brand new album soon in August.There are a  few preview songs  on CBC’s website and also some trailer videos on youtube. Check them out below!

Killer Thriller!

Ohhhh man, I was shocked at work today when I heard on the radio playing on our PA throughout the store that Michael Jackson has Died. I immediately googled it  and was shocked to see that MJ had died to hear complications. It is  truley a shocking event to see such a talented man come to such a shot end at his early fifties. Our hearts go out to you and your family Michael, heeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, (touch groin) .

love jill and mike.

New Alexisonfire Album!

I have been waiting for a new alexisonfire for a while and as of today it was realeased. So far upon listening it seems to be the good old Alexisonfire that we all love and rock too. Heres a sneak peek of the album thats available off of youtube.( ps you can probably listen to the entire album there, wink)

Mardeen “Kids”

Heres a sweet song from Halifax’s Mardeen. Check it out!

Its Mike’s Birthday

Hooray its my birthday! I am turning 23 tomorrow morning. As my sister has explained I am beginning my quarter life crisis. Maybe I will buy myself something nice. I got a few gifts already from my family members, the usual gift certificates and money in a card, which are sweet gifts btw. You can never beat money. Some say that its an impersonal gift but I do not mind. Especially being a poor student! Tomorrow I also have the day off which is sweet. I get to relax a bit on my Birthday, however I must go into radio in the morning for our Wednesday slot morning show. It will be the Mike’s birthday edition minus Jill as she is working in the morning. I believe she plans to take me out for dinner tomorrow night so I am really looking forward to having a nice meal with her.

Speaking of gifts, I have been looking at some different bikes so I can get to and from work. One in particular is Easterns 24″ traildigger (picture below) at easternbikes.com. It seems like a pretty cool crossbreed between a dirtjump moutain bike and bmx, it also has a cool color scheme. Its a hardtail thats got some attitude. I’ll let you know on my decision as soon as I make it

Summers Here!….well for us anyway.

Jill and I have both survived exams this semester. Jill blew most of my marks away so congratulations to her for doing so well in her first year. Jill was also accepted into the education program. Double Congratulations Jillabenhur! So what now? Well summer has begun for the both of us and we will begin yet another summer of long work days. Jill works at the Golf club while I will be working at the service center….fun times ahead (sarcasm). We have to make the most of our summer so it begins now in may!

Due to our full time employments during the summer, the radio show will be a tad bit different. We will be doing the show on Wednesday’s and prerecording on Fridays . The prerecorded shows will probably end up being better then our usual banter. So look forward to hearing those. Almost forgot to mention as well that Jill and I are featured in an buyer flyer ad on the station for f#$% Ads. Listen for it!

To start the summer off I have just acquired my first pair of sperry’s topsider boating shoes. There sleek and comfy as heck and hopefully they last as long as the reviews say (12-20 years !) There super comfy at the moment. They would be comparable if birkenstock made a mens shoe. They have also sparked my interest in boating and tying knots.We will see how these shoes hold up this summer! I hope to see how well these hold up with fishing at Jill’s camp. Anyways now that schools over we should be able to keep this blog up and rolling a bit better then the past few weeks so stay tuned and make sure you subscribe to our feed!

Wow…Exams are a bitch and I hate Bell.

Well here I sit in a coffee shop eating some toast and drinking a cup of java. Anything to take my mind off of my Political Science exam tomorrow night. I hate studying. It seems the more I study the worse I do on exams, possibly information overload. It works the same way if I was to write an essay a week ahead of time and do almost double the research but I would achieve a higher grade writing it the day it was due. oh well, exams are just a regular part of university. This is the time of year where girls wear sweat pants and guys grow their exam “playoff”  beards. I am getting to the point now where I hate school. Although I should be finished this year (although I should have finished last year as well) I still have one more computer science course to tackle next semester. When I am done school then what? This is the question I have been hearing the past few weeks from parents and girlfriends. Although I cannot clearly answer this questions as I am unaware of what areas truely interest me. A few days ago it struct me that I may continue on and work towards a graphic design diploma from a school in Fredericton. I just do not want to make the journey away from home.

In other news this week, I have picked up an IPOD touch. These little guys are the next best thing besides my macbook. If your unaware of what these are then google them.  These all in one devices are great…. as long as you have wifi (or as my mom pronounces it as w-e-f-f-e). I have allready used it to make phone calls with fringe and skype which are free. The internet browser is surprisingly good. Also theres has got to be well over a million third party applications for these things.

After making a phone call it got me wondering on the future of mobile phones. If I have a wifi enabled device I should be able to make free phone calls as long as I have wifi. While wifi is not exactly everywhere in Saint John I assume in larger cities that it fills most places. I almost though about buying out of my contract from bell mobility (douches…oops that slipped out). It was while I was managing my features on my bell page that it offered me to remove my “system access fee” of $8.99 and the two 911 fees that I was paying into. System access fees are pretty much the same thing as paying for shop supplies at a auto garage.  Apparently when jill worked at Bell she said that the fees were used for system maintenance and the upkeep of the lines. So then why do I pay a monthly plan and then have to pay for a system access? I don’t think so. Well its been two days now and no one has called me from Bell telling me I cannot un-check these expensive “options” so I gonna see how it plays out. If anyone else is on Bell do the same. Maybe Iv struck gold with this one….probably not but oh well, if I can get Bell  getting one of their Representatives to try to call and then get ahold of me for a few days then fine. That must cost them a few dollars more in expenses. Also their website is ridiculously slow. For one of the leading communications company in Canada it is pretty embarrassing for them to have the slowest website in the world… I have ran flash applications on a tandy faster then this. Check it out if you do not believe me. Maybe it is because so many people are complaining at what hacks they are. I cannot wait until we get rid of this monopoly of phone companies here. Koodo looks quite intriguing on a side note.

Vote Below for your Band of the Day

OK we will be showcasing the winning band all day on April 3 2009 in what we call the “Band of the day poll” ! Get voting!

Too CBC with love from Jill and Mike

Well the news is sure depressing as we are listening to all the cuts which are about to happen to our beloved national treasure the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It was announced that the CBC will be axing quite a bit in order to compete against a 171 million dollar redline for  2009-2010. Wow! Included in these cuts are as CBC news states  ” 80 positions from its news division and a further 313 from sports, entertainment, current affairs, sales and support”, and this is only on its english side of programming! In total around 800 jobs will be lost throughout Canada. How many Saint Johners? This is unsure at the moment. But I assume some will be laid off.

The main cuts  will result in shorter seasons and re runs of  popular shows such as “This Hour has 22 Minutes” ,  “Being Erica” (never watched this show, not sure if it is good or not) , and also “Little Mosque on the Prairie”. Unfortunatley no cuts heard yet for “The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos “(I had to copy and paste his last name). This is the first show that should have gotten axed. Disguising itself as ” a hybrid of news and celebrity, reflected through in-depth conversations and dynamic production”.  This show may have dynamic production but heavily lacks on all other descriptions. So let us get this straight, we are cutting shows such as “The Fifth Estate” which actually dwelves into investigative journalism, which seems to be dwindling ever so quickly in our society, and keeping someone who interviews The Trailer Park Boys and recording artists like Pink and Nickleback (congratulations Nickleback , you have just won another Juno, while better more talented bands in New Brunswick still go credit-less . excuse me while I puke) ?  Right , just what media companies want, less responsibility on reporting local and investigative journalism while as a society it seems the mass of populations wants as Andrew Krystal (Maritime Mornings 95.7 fm) would put it “Fluff” or entertainment over actual news content.

This story gets worse as CBC’s better line up of radio programs extends cuts on Radio one and Radio two and will also trickle into Radio three. Radio one will be seeing cuts to the local programming, which is terrible as  we should be increasing this . Radio three will  be heavily consolidated with Radio two as well. We are seeing a number of radio programs getting  cutbacks including The Point and The Inside Track also.

What we do not need in this idiosyncratic time is a cut back on local journalism. We need to strive in local journalism and investigative reports especially since corporations have such a heavy insight into our once “democratic” society (this idea slips in  as I am in a Canada provincial politics class at the moment ) .It is especially necessary for Saint Johners as we live in a city where if not all of our media is controlled by one of the largest private employers of this city.  Let us think for a moment, why is it that Irving owns our News Paper and radio stations (not our wonderful CFMH 107.3 fm! The only Independent radio station in Saint John) ? Is it a business opportunity for them? Do they make a huge profit from these businesses? Some questions to think about. While you are pondering these questions check out this article entitled Journalism is Important and see why we need  local journalism. It is also important when we hear such things as people questioning President Obama and if legalizing  Marijuana would push the recession. Wow, just an embarassing question when you are talking to THE PRESIDENT. Come on you could not have “thunk” of a better question, and fox news says that we are the lolly gaggers (couldn’t help myself). Where has our emotion gone?

Here at jillmike.com we are saddened to hear that the CBC is experiencing difficulties. Yes, just like all other businesses and companies during this economic disaster, there is a need for change. But this change is coming at the cost of losing valuable information which directly effects each and everyone of us.  Demand more of your media and do not be fooled by “news for ratings” over actual news that matters.