Last September, the Montreal Shaw Direct Customer Care Centre
decided to put their shoulder to the wheel and get involved with some
very special fundraising.
St-Viateur Bagel & Café on Monkland St. held an event called Back-to-school Bagel-O-Thon,
in collaboration with the Generations Foundation organization. On
September 18, donators could order one dozen bagels and pick them up
between 6am and 10am. To help grow the success of the event, Montreal’s
Shaw Direct team ordered a total of 175 dozen bagels! The organizers
were delighted with their participation and all proceeds went to the
charity.
About Generations Foundation: They directly help young children in
the community. Every day, thousands of students go to school with empty
stomachs because their parents do not have sufficient resources to
provide them with three meals a day. Experience shows us that when
children are supported by balanced meals and snacks, they perform better
in class and achieve better results. It is also a well-known fact that
eating in the morning is essential, particularly for children and
teenagers.
The Generations Foundation offers breakfasts, snacks and hot meals to
more than 7,700 students in 96 schools and learning centers. It also
introduced a feeding program to help children in becoming independent
and autonomous regarding nutrition. Cooking classes and programs were
set up so that older students could help younger ones. The difference
Generations Foundation makes in the lives of these young people is
remarkable and undeniable.
Generations Foundation receives no government aid and requires no
cost from the children or their parents. Thanks to the generosity of
caring people who support the Generations Foundation, they can continue
to help these young people.
You can find more information about the Foundations Generations here.
The new guide interface is more intuitive, delivering an
industry-leading customer experience. The HD Guide user interface offers
many improvements when compared to the SD Guide, including: faster
navigation, redesigned menus to ensure optimal usability and enhanced
shortcuts/preference functionality. The HD Guide is available for 6XX
series receivers only. Legacy receivers (including 5XX HD receivers)
will not be updated.
With the launch of HD Guide, two features on the 6XX series receiver have been retired:
Interactive Weather Application.
Instant Pay-Per-View (IPPV) ordering: the IPPV order feature has
been removed from the 6XX series. The phone line will remain for caller
ID only. IPPV will continue to be available on all legacy receivers.
There are six new major features introduced with the HD Guide:
1. Customizations
Three different font sizes are available, controlling the number of
rows of data in the guide, plus two different program colouring options.
These settings can be changed at any time by pressing the following:
Options // Preferences // User Settings & Appearance.
2. MiniTune & MiniPlay
MiniTune: You can press the ‘B’ button from the guide to immediately
tune the video window to the selected channel, while maintaining your
current position in the menu.
MiniPlay: For customers with an HDPVR 630, MiniPlay functions the
same way as MiniTune, but within your list of recorded programs. You can
press ‘B’ to begin playback of the selected program in the video
window, while maintaining your current position in the PVR list.
3. PPV Store
A new way of browsing available PPV movies! Selecting ‘PPV Search’ from the Pay-Per-View (PPV) menu bar allows you to:
Narrow results by genre.
Show clear ordering instructions and ID above the movie description.
Be notified that the purchase has been successful once it’s been ordered through the IVR.
Purchased program are identified by a checkmark in the guide, PPV Store, and ‘Upcoming Airings’ screens.
4. Smart PVR Technology
Our HDPVR has an overlooked feature: the ability to look for the
episode on multiple channels. This feature, in conjunction with the fact
that Shaw Direct carries channels from every Canadian time zone,
effectively eliminates recording conflicts.
The HDPVR allows you to record from ‘HD only’, ‘SD only’, or ‘All channels’, rather than a single channel.
Descriptive information written in user-friendly language.
You can also edit your recording preferences by pressing ‘Enter’ on the program and selecting the new menu option.
When customizing a particular recording event, you can now access a
‘More Channels’ selector to change the channel you want the recording to
take place on.
5. Multi-User and Single User Modes
Multi-User Mode: Up to eight users can have their own preferences
applied at login, in addition to parentally-defined permissions, locks,
and restrictions.
The current profile can be changed at any time by pressing the FAV button on the remote. Each profile can have a unique PIN.
Users can be copied to a USB key for transfer to another satellite receiver.
Parental restrictions that can be customized for each user include:
Ratings locks
Channel locks
Access to Adult content
Ability to order free VOD titles
Daily VOD purchase limit ($ value)
Auto-logout duration
PVR Permissions (ability to schedule new recordings, delete existing recordings, etc.)
Preferences that can be customized for each user include:
Onscreen and audio language
Closed Captions display and settings
Descriptive Video
Font size and program colouring style
Unsubscribed channels in Guide (show or hide)
Caller ID notifications (not available on the HDDSR 600)
Automatic prompt to delete recordings
Single User Mode: It uses the same approach as before, wherein a
single set of restrictions is applied consistently and unlocked
individually on an ad-hoc basis. While Multi-User mode generally does
not present a PIN challenge upon encountering locked content,
Single-User mode does.
When migrating from SD Guide with the Parental Controls enabled, you will be placed into this mode by default.
You can switch between Single and Multi-User modes whenever you want. If set, a PIN is required to make this change.
6. Notification Bar
The Notification Bar replaces the ‘Alert’ (!) icon used in the SD
Guide and will notify you of Caller ID, PPV purchases, reminders or
auto-tunes, dual recordings, and more. It also displays the signal
strength, Internet connectivity status (for VOD), HDD space (HDPVR only)
and number of active reminders.
Press the ‘Down’ arrow while watching TV to show the notification bar.
Other enhancements:
The A, B and C buttons on the remote control serve as shortcuts in a number of different windows – try them out!
New ways to search for content: Keyword Search and Category Search. Press Menu // Search to see the different categories.
Ah, the Calgary Stampede – When the
population of Calgary increases by almost a million people for ten days
of cowboy hats, deep-fried food and twangy country music.
Toted as ‘The Greatest Outdoor Show on
Earth,’ the Calgary Stampede does not disappoint. Held on the Stampede
Grounds for 102 years, there are so many things to see and do. People
come from literally all corners of the map to participate. Two of our
favourite reasons to keep coming back: The Rodeo and The Midway (food and fast rides. What could go wrong?)
The temperature almost every day we went
surpassed 30 degrees Celsius with only a few clouds to give us a
well-wished break from the searing torment of the sun. If you don’t have
something that closely-resembles sun stroke by the end of the day
you’re not stampeding properly.
The Stampede always kicks off with a
monstrous parade that blocks off most of downtown for hours. We got wise
and went down to the parade route the night before to set (read, tape) chairs down in order to get front-row seats, went home for some excited ‘squee’s’
and a quick sleep before returning at 5:30 the next morning to defend
our turf. The parade didn’t start for another four hours – Queue over-caffeination and screaming children.
When the parade did start, we had a
really good time. Took lots of amazing pictures and got to wave at
William Shatner, the Parade Marshall. You can check out the entire
parade album on our Facebook Page.
Our main goal of visiting the grounds was to try all the wicked new food that had been posted on the Calgary Stampede website for
months prior. We saddled up and headed down to the grounds. You can
always tell when Stampede as the ratio of cowboy hats and boots goes up
wherever you look – trains become more difficult to board and suddenly
the view for shorter people like me turns into a sea of pressed felt and
plaid.
There are so, so many things to do at the
Calgary Stampede. I’ll be concentrating on food for this blog post.
Sorry if you were looking for reviews on the rodeo and Super Dogs, but
I’m sure there are lots of other blogs out there for you to imbibe.
Let’s get to it!
Red Velvet Mini Donughts
Photo Credit: D. Koch 2014
I was really
excited to try these little wonders. Everyone who we had talked to
prior exclaimed how rich and dense they were. I’m a fan of true Waldorf
red velvet cake which, due to food rationing during World War II, was
coloured with boiled beet juices and was extremely moist and sticky.
These were neither moist nor sticky. We
were handed a stick of doughnuts that looked suspiciously like regular
mini-doughnuts and were assured ‘the red was inside’. Nope. No red. More
like a light-tinted rose on the insides of them. The flavour: Less than
that of a regular mini-doughnut with the only saving grace being the
cream-cheese frosting they had dunked the entire stack into before we
received them.
We still ate all of them. Why waste food?
Ranking: 1 out of 5 Cowboy Hats
Takeaways: Disappointing reality after reviews, no colour
Deep-Fried Cheezies
Photo Credit: D. Koch 2014
What could go wrong? Oh, right –
Everything. These looked and smelled delicious upon receiving them.
Battered lightly with some pieces of that mystery green vegetable you
find in instant soup broth. Things were going great until we took the
first bite.
Did they mistake Cheezies for Styrofoam
peanuts? These were horrible! I tried eating the breading from around
the now rock-hard remains but the ‘cheeze’ in the Cheezie had melted,
gone nuclear and created some sort of biome inside of the
battered-atmosphere. It was like lighting an aerosol can of cheese on
fire and devouring what’s left (don’t try this at home). At least the fried bits of dough on the bottom were tasty.
Ranking: 1 out of 5 Cowboy Hats
Takeaways: Alien environment contained by breading, styrofoam-like squeaking on my teeth
Deep-Fried Cookie Dough
Photo Credit: D. Koch 2014
I was so happy to find the booth selling
deep-fried cookie dough! Delicious little balls of sweet goodness dusted
with confectioner’s sugar… until you bit into it and realized there was
a molten mass that resembled a microwaved tube of Keebler Elves. The
dough collapsed, my mouth, face and shirt were flooded with goo of all
shades of brown and my only reaction was to cough powdered sugar all
over everyone within a ten-foot radius. The dough was sweet and
resembled a chocolate-chip cookie but the fact that the treat drooled
all over the place after the breading was broken was a total ‘nope’ for
us.
Ranking: 1 out of 5 Cowboy Hats
Takeaways: Brown goo, a new take on the ‘cinnamon challenge’ with confectioner’s sugar
Scorpion, Mealworm & Cricket Pizza
Photo Credit: D. Koch 2014
Maybe I’m rating this higher than a 1 because I was really hungry (read, hangry).
I’ve eaten bugs before on purpose; Candied grasshoppers and
cockroaches, teriyaki scorpions and centipedes among other weird things
so my expectation for the pizza was fairly positive. I ordered a slice
for $10 (TEN DOLLARS!) and was greeted with mealworms standing
up on their end, wingless crickets and one dilapidated scorpion. I don’t
know what tasted foul, the cheese or the bugs. Everything was dry and
dirt-flavoured. For ten bucks, you could at least put some bugs on a
primo piece of pizza. The scorpion still had some substance, but the
crickets and mealworms were so dry and hollow it was like biting into a
stale chip filled with air. This is the only food I did not finish
simply because I could have gotten better pizza from a garbage bin.
Ranking: 2 out of 5 Cowboy Hats
Takeaways: Tastelessness, legs stuck in my teeth, high price
Maple Bacon Doughnut Cheeseburger
Photo Credit: D. Koch 2014
This was both fulfilling and disgusting
all in one quick-serve meal. I’m one of those horrible Canadians who
dislikes anything maple. This bad-boy was a cheeseburger with maple
doughnuts acting as buns. The patty, cheese and bacon were all pretty
tasty. The fact that the grease from the meat was melting away the maple
glaze, creating a sticky coating of sweet/savoury that made my palate
shriek with confusion and horror was enough to keep me from eating the
entire thing. Thankfully I had two other members of my team to help. It
was actually fairly comical how fast I requested a hand-washing station
once we were through with the ‘burger’.
Ranking: 2 out of 5 Cowboy Hats
Takeaways: Maple, proximity of hand-washing station from food stall
Flower Cotton Candy
Photo Credit: D. Koch 2014
Another high-priced item, ringing in at $10 for a whopping $0.10 of sugar, the remainder of the value was found in the labour (each piece took about five minutes to craft).
I got to pick my colours and watched the master at work. They were
using coloured brown sugar rather than white which gave the flower a
very robust, deep flavour. The three of us destroyed the bloom in under a
minute. R.I.P., cotton candy art.
Ranking: 3 out of 5 Cowboy Hats
Takeaways: Complexity, high price
Perogie Poutine
Photo Credit: D. Koch 2014
Oh my gosh, perogies. This in itself is
enough to get me intrigued. Smother them with fries, cheese curds and
gravy? Where’s the wheelchair because I’m going to be too large to walk
myself off the grounds. The perogies were pretty tasty, along with the
sausage that was smothered in sour cream and gravy. The poutine portion
itself was a tad disappointing. Poorly-cooked crinkle-cut fries, very
little cheese and watery gravy lapped in the bottom of the cardboard
tray after we had massacred the meal. I’d go back for a second one, just
no fries please.
Ranking: 3 out of 5 Cowboy Hats
Takeaways: Limp fries, perogies in anything (mmm…)
Mini Doughnuts
Photo Credit: D. Koch 2014
Ah yes mini doughnuts. A midway staple no
matter where you are in North America. The company who technically
invented these little treats and patented the machine they use graces us
with their presence every year on the Stampede midway for $5 a dozen.
Best use of money ever! They’re hot, sweet and greasy. A perfect balance
of cake and crisp, fried outside. Everyone knows the smell of
mini-doughnuts, I hope you don’t pass these up the next time you smell
them.
Ranking: 4 out of 5 Cowboy Hats
Takeaways: Deliciousness, price, midway classic
Deep-Fried Macaroni & Cheese
Photo Credit: D. Koch 2014
Triangles of Heaven is what these should
be called. Delicious, piping hot macaroni and cheese breaded in fine
crumb served with nothing but napkins. They’re not too saucy to be a
mess but not too dry to be disappointing. We all burned our mouths on
them though, so be careful because I’m pretty sure they’re baked in a
nuclear reactor. They were pretty greasy, served in a tray of seven with
four napkins. I used a napkin per and was still whining for another
hand-wash station. If it wasn’t for the last entry, I would have gone
back for a second order. Mmm cheese…
Ranking: 4 out of 5 Cowboy Hats
Takeaways: Perfect little triangles, brings me back to my college days, grease
Turkey Dinner Poutine
Photo Credit: D. Koch 2014
Literally just like Grandma used to make.
Delicious hand-cut fries, thick gravy, aromatic bread stuffing, real
cranberries and a mound of juicy, well-seasoned turkey breast that
reminded us of Christmas and Thanksgiving rolled into one takeaway
container. This was another dish served directly from a volcano-oven, so
we had to take turns playing ‘hot-potato’ with the container until it
decided to cool down. (Side note: You don’t place your food down at the
risk someone else will smell what’s cooking and approach asking to
share). This had all the right herbs and spices, the fries were
golden-brown and crisp, the gravy had an amazing fat ratio that made it
stick to everything. Oh – and cheese curds! Hello.
Ranking: 5 out of 5 Leopard-Print Cowboy Hats (because why not)
Takeaways: Turkey. Poutine. Cheese.
All in all, we spent a lot of money on
food that would make any nutritionist have nightmares and cold-sweats.
But it was totally worth it. My jeans are tighter now than ever and I’m
proud of my Stampede Belly. Want to see our Food & Fun gallery?
Check out the Facebook Album.
Tickets for the 2015 Calgary Stampede (July 3rd-12th) go on sale October 6th, 2014. Hope to see you, cowboys and cowgirls!
The weather in Calgary hasn’t been well-received this month. We were
teased with two weeks of hot, humid, sticky days and chilly nights
followed by constant rain and nights near zero. At the start of this
past weekend it seemed the weather was going to behave so we hurriedly
packed our weekend bags, the s’mores kit and a few other weekend
essentials. We were off to the cabin about 40 minutes NE of Edmonton,
Alberta.
If you haven’t had a chance to check out the RDIO app on your phone, I
highly recommend it. Streaming music based on what suits your mood and,
if you have the paid version, instant access to thousands of albums,
there’s never a boring moment when you’re driving down the road, sunroof
open listening to exactly what you want to, no more annoying radio
commercials. Of course this app uses some healthy data so it’s best to
keep an eye on your consumption. No one likes data overage charges on
their monthly mobile statement.
We had not visited the cabin since February for a Valentine’s Day
getaway (our idea of celebrating is avoiding all the lovey-dovey and
commercial pressure and enjoy each other’s company in the woods) and the
lawn was overgrown, windows were covered in spider webs and I think a
family of squirrels had moved into my hosta garden. No matter – we got
to work! Arriving at 5pm on Friday we had the entire property trimmed
and shiny by 8pm. I took to organizing the bedroom and kitchen as well
as preparing dinner while the other half chopped some wood and readied
what was to be a momentous fire seen from space. Steaks and Caesar salad
in hand, we sat outside at the fire. At the ‘click’ of the lighter to
begin a night of laughter, stories and reflection we heard a bigger
sound: the boom of thunder rolling in. Literally ten seconds later the
skies opened up and soaked about ten square kilometers with our cabin in
the dead centre.
Photo Credit: D. Koch 2013
We ran inside and shook ourselves dry. Now I can handle most weather
like a 5’6” warrior, but when it’s raining sideways the last thing I
want is a second shower in freezing rain. The decision was made to hide
inside, cowering from the rain with high hopes the storm would pass and
we could enjoy that fire we had been craving for months.
Two hours passed. The storm was not letting up. Thankfully a few
months back we had the smart idea to sign up for the Shaw Direct 2nd
Home – a program provided by us that offers service at a second
location for almost 50% off the retail price! We were shipped a
satellite dish and receiver, booked the install with the local company
and had the service up and running within a few weeks (it could have
been sooner but our schedules were a bit tight). We picked a package
smaller than what we had at home, no movies or sports, got a free month
of service, a free HDPVR rental and some free movies, but it’s perfect
for those rainy nights at the cabin when all the Monopoly money has been
played and that DVD set of Star Wars is smoking from being watched so
much.
You can find more information here: http://bit.ly/1kjsvQL along
with the program requirements and terms, and if you are ready to sign
up, get in contact with one of our customer care agents – Chat now http://bit.ly/15naFpg with a live agent.
What better way to celebrate Cottage season? Enjoy your weekends away in any weather with the 2nd Home program from Shaw Direct.
Wait! Who said you didn’t have super powers?! Whoever it is, go tell them off!
I’ll wait here!
Seriously, though. You most definitely can do your part to make the
world a better place. Heck! You’re probably already doing so! However,
some of those many ways combine the useful with the pleasant. Take
electronic billing for instance. Not only you get a notification through
email as soon as your invoice is issued, but you also contribute to
reduce the amount of paper in circulation. It’s somewhat like planting a
tree with every electronic invoice you get. A green environment is a
healthy environment! Hey! Put down that paintbrush and that green paint
bucket! That’s not what I meant.
If we want to successfully make the world a greener place, we need to
take the little details into account. After you sign up for electronic
billing, you might want to have a personal account on our website.
When we send your monthly billing summary via email, it is good
practice for you to click the link to the detailed bill. That way you
will be kept in the loop if we make any announcement. Besides, there are
tons of things you will be able to do once you create an account
online. Things like changing your programming, making a payment, viewing
PDF versions of your invoices (those are very printer friendly), etc.
You can top it all off with an automatic withdrawal. The ways you can do this are literally endless. You can contact us to
have it set up or… take a wild guess… Yup! You can also set up
preauthorized payments through your personal account online. With
instant invoice delivery via email, automatic payments through credit
card or your bank account, the ability to manage your account online,
all the power is yours.
Now you can simply sit back, relax, and let it all flow smoothly on its own. You can see more details here. We thank you for your efforts towards a healthier environment.
The 86th Academy Awards aired Sunday, March 2nd
on ABC and CTV (for us Canadians!). Getting nominated is simply an
honor; receiving a coveted gold statuette is considered one of the
greatest achievements in the industry! The 2014 Oscars were hosted by
Ellen DeGeneres, known for her fabulous sense of humour and
entertainment qualities – She broke Twitter for a short while with that selfie
and ordered pizza for everyone. The night went on smoothly with
performances, among others, from Pharrell Williams, Karen O and Idina
Menzel (aka Adele Dazim, if you’re a slightly-off John Travolta).
The Oscars are organized by the Academy
of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Movies, actors and
actresses, music scores, directors and other behind-the-scenes
components are nominated into different categories and voted on by over
6,000 Academy members. You can learn more about the Oscars’ history
right here.
Bottom line: What we care the most about these events are the winners, those who should have won (we’re looking at you, Leo), and how good-looking everyone was in their outfits! Take a look at the gentlemen here and the beautiful ladies here. They looked ever-so-glamorous during the ceremony, but also at the after party – Pictures galore here!
The complete list of nominees and winners can be found on the Oscars Site. Many of the nominated and winning movies are already available on Shaw Direct Pay-Per-View (channels 951-983) or Shaw Direct Video On Demand:
12 Years a Slave: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong’o).
Dallas Buyers Club: Best Actor (Matthew McConaughey), Best Supporting Actor (Jared Leto).
Blue Jasmine: Best Actress (Cate Blanchett).
Frozen: Best Animated Feature.
If you wish to get more information on
our Pay Per View or Video On Demand services, don’t hesitate to chat
with a member of our eCare team via our Contact Us page, available 7 AM to 9 PM MT Monday to Friday, or contact our Social media team on Facebook or Twitter.
The Golden Globes were presented on Sunday, January 12 on NBC,
and kicked off this year’s annual Awards season (with a February
intermission for the Super Bowl and Olympics). Presented by Amy Poehler
and Tina Fey, the best movies, series, music, actors, and actresses were
nominated in different categories, the winners being voted by the
Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Here are some of the highlights:
You can find the list of this year’s nominees and winners here.
Five memorable moments, according to CBC can be found here. Emma Thompson was hilarious indeed!
The Golden Globes’ best jokes, as listed by EW are here. Amy and Tina did a great job this year again!
What we were really interested about: THE DRESSES! Here are slideshows from Entertainment Weekly and the Huffington Post, a list from Buzzfeed, and many more all over the internet. Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle, The Hunger Games) is quickly becoming a meme with her Dior outfit, which is said to resemble Ariel’s dress in The Little Mermaid.
Many of these movies hit theaters in the last month or will be
premiering in the weeks to come. They will eventually make their way to Pay Per View
for those who prefer to enjoy movies at home. While you wait for them,
why not take a look at the selection of series we offer through Shaw Direct On Demand? The Ray Donovan, Masters of Sex, Behind the Candelabra, Michael J. Fox Show, The Good Wife and other House of Lies
are available and most free with your subscription to Shaw Direct
(additional subscription to a movie premium might be required, depending
on the show). If you wish to get more information about a subscription,
don’t hesitate to chat with a member of our eCare team via our Chat feature, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. MT, Monday to Friday, or to contact our Social Media team on Facebook and Twitter.
