The 2017 100 Wrap-Up: 31 Successes.

Last updated on April 30th, 2021 at 04:56 pm

Several weeks, a few dozen photos and four thousand words later, we’ve finally made it—the Casey Palmer, Canadian Dad 2017 wrap-up, filled with stories aplenty of 365 days spent in my not-so-orthodox life.

After wrapping the year up on a quiet note (because two sick children under five will do that to you), I still felt it necessary to do this. These year-to-year changeovers offer a lot of perspective for me—with so much happening all the time, I often forget what I had for breakfast, so I write everything down. And if the height of the pile on my desk is any sign, 2017 was quite the year. But it’s also the time where I’m the most transparent, looking back objectively at everything I’ve done and celebrating successes, owning up to failures, hoping all the while that I’m somehow growing from the process.

But yeah—let’s do this as we did in 2016: look at the year in excruciating detail, figuring out what’s worth taking with me into 2018 versus what doesn’t feel part of my world anymore.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me present—the 31 things I did well in 2017! Let’s get it!

The TELUS Holiday Gift Guide

Last updated on January 24th, 2021 at 02:16 pm

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

Okay, everyone, it’s not too late. I know you’re stressed out—there’s not enough time to buy all the gifts, bake all the treats, see all the people and wrap all the things… but we’re a species that’s all too good at overcomplicating stuff for ourselves.

Ladies and gents, I’m here to show you a better way.

It wasn’t so long ago that people just knew TELUS for its phones. They’ve always had more services out west, but it’s not like you’d think to give the gifts of a mobile plan when Christmas came along.

But things have changed. Now you have the TELUS Connected Experience Stores and plenty of offerings online from their many brand partners. It’s a brave new world my fellow last-minute shoppers, and TELUS might just be the ones to help save your Christmas!*

(*Perhaps your Christmas doesn’t need saving at all and you just like cool stuff. If that’s you, don’t worry—this post’s for you, too!)

TELUS | Why I NEEDED a Google Pixel 2 XL

Last updated on April 14th, 2021 at 12:50 am

Zach Bussey put it well; to paraphrase: “if you’re going to be a serious influencer, you should be using serious tools.” As someone whose phone’s fused to his hands, it’d better be a good one!

Why My Next Phone HAD to be a Pixel 2 XL—a Casey Palmer x TELUS Joint—What's in the Box

I haven’t rocked a flagship model since my Lenovo Moto Z a little while back, and man do you notice a difference! The phones I’ve had since were okay, but there was always something not quite right when I used them. The camera wasn’t sharp enough. They lagged a little when I gamed. Enough of these imperfections and I knew—my next phone needed to be as close to perfect as possible… and that’s when I spied the Google Pixel 2 XL!

TELUS | The Lenovo Moto Z Review

Last updated on November 10th, 2020 at 12:07 am

“You need a Moto Z.”

— Casey Palmer to basically everyone he talks to, gushing over how awesome his phone is.

In the beginning, I wondered what was so cool about a phone without a headphone jack.

TELUS x The Lenovo Moto Z—Moto Z Front and Back ComboWhen Apple announced the iPhone 7 in September, people lost their minds—what’s the point of having a device with access to millions of songs if you can’t listen to them? Buy wireless earbuds, they said. Change up the charging port with a dongle, they said.  It took a feature everyone knew so well and did away with it—for a number of good reasons, mind you (waterproofing and Bluetooth redundancy to name a couple), but for all the negative hoopla they got about it, people failed to note two things:

  1. We must embrace better methods to make better phones, and
  2. That Apple didn’t do it first.

Motorola Moto 360 Smartwatch (1st Gen) | TELUS | “Mr. Nice Watch”

Last updated on November 17th, 2020 at 02:08 am

“No more Mr. Nice Guy—hello, Mr. Nice Watch!”

— J. Cole, “Mr. Nice Watch” (featuring Jay Z), Cole World: The Sideline Story (2011)

What Dick Tracy dreamt up in the ’40s and Inspector Gadget toyed with in the ’80s is something I’m finally getting to play with myself in 2016! Replacing my regular wristwatch, the Moto 360 smartwatch1 is my latest device from TELUS that just might change everything.

Like much new tech, when we think of the smartwatch, the first word that usually comes to mind is “gimmicky”. In a world where the smartphone’s changed our relationship with tech so much we barely remember life without it, who wants yet another device? And one with less functionality, a smaller screen, and—frankly—isn’t all that smart without a phone to pair it to?

Busy people, that’s who! I never saw myself needing a smartwatch before rocking one on my wrist, but between raising my family, my 9-5, and managing a growing digital brand, I keep finding new ways to work the Moto 360 into my life—with everything going on, I need all the help I can get!

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