Twelve days ago I quit smoking.

That is to say, I had my last cigarette ever on March 13th,2010, the end of a habit I picked up on June 2, 1997. Almost 13 years ago. It’s been such a constant in my life throughout that time that 13 years seems almost short, it’s difficult to remember a time when I wouldn’t have a pack of cigarettes and a lighter stuffed in my pocket. When leaving my house it’s more likely I’ll forget my cellphone.

The odyssey began outside the Opera House in Toronto, in anticipation of a Radiohead show. My friend Michael and I were camped out in front of the venue hours before the doors opened in order to ensure we would be up close (mission accomplished). What we hadn’t planned for was the downtime.

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One of my favourite Super Bowl stories this year, besides of course the Mancrunch campaign, was Pepsi. Pepsi decided to forgo advertising during the big game. Instead, Pepsi launched the refresh project.

Rather than spending money on a Super Bowl ad, Pepsi will launch the Pepsi Refresh Project on January 13, 2010. At that time, users can submit their ideas to Pepsi for ways to refresh their communities, making the world a better place.

Voting will begin on February 1, 2010, and the projects that get the most votes will be funded by Pepsi. Pepsi expects to spend $20 million to fund thousands of projects.

And it’s working, the website is full of projects of various sizes being pitched by real people looking to make a difference in their world. It’s an experiment I really hope proves viable from both a philanthropic standpoint as a marketing/financial standpoint. Just imagine the possibilities!

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The Conservative government announced this week it would be cutting off funding to the Community Access Program, reducing its $15 million budget down to $2 million. The initiative, brought forth in 1994, “gives thousands of Canadians affordable access to the Internet in places like schools, community centres and libraries. It provides access to those people who might not have computers or Internet access in their homes or workplaces.”

A noble and just effort for sure, so why the cuts?

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I’ve got a post going up on this.org later today about the government’s planned debate over the lyrics to the national anthem.

It’s kind of a quirky and unexpected thing to bring up in the throne speech, but to me it kind of a fun idea to think about. How important are our national symbols and does it matter if they change?

The national anthem has only been O Canada since 1980 when it replaced God Save the Queen. It’s remained unchanged in English and in French since that time. The French (the original) version has remained the same since it was written in 1880, but the English language version has a long history of amended lyrics, which I discuss in the blog post (I’ll post a link when it goes up).posted!

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Last week I wrote a post on this.org about a ludicrous request from some “hot dog experts” in the United States for a redesign of the classic shape. The request was not by some conservative wing-nut declaring the shapes phallic indecency, but rather from pediatricians concerned that they are a choking hazard. Sadly, these doctors didn’t supply the public with any alternative shapes hotdogs might take.

The internet has come to the rescue though, the brilliant minds at Fast Company got out a little play-doh and came up with some interesting alternatives to the edible throat plug.

Personally, I like the the coil myself. I’m also pretty confident we’ll see something like this one on the market in the near future, if not for safety sake then for sheer marketing value. I don’t really eat too many hotdogs myself, but I couldn’t resist sampling slinky coil-dog.

Check it out HERE.