Archive for the ‘British Columbia’ Category


That and a mutant form of football

Sunday, November 19th, 2006

For those around Vancouver, we all know that the BC Lions are playing the Montreal Alouettes for the Grey Cup[wiki] this afternoon. Actually, they are playing right now as I’m writing this. -3C in Winnipeg. Looks damn cold, but BC’s holding in there, 16-0 in the 2nd quarter.

Now, let me put this into perspective for my friends and family back in the states. The CFL is just like the NFL, but Canadian football[wiki] is slightly different than American football[wiki]. It goes a little bit beyond how Robin Williams once put it, “We’ve got twelve men, we have a longer field. You have fun, enjoy!”

Mutant form, maybe. The interesting fact is that the history of Canadian football just barely out dates that of the American form of the sport. Yes, bigger field and more men, but there’s other things that start popping up as you watch a game. I’ve barely watched a whole game, catching nearly the entire second half of last week’s game between Saskatchewan and BC for the western championship. I’m not the biggest football fan in the world, but I do pay attention from time to time. My mainstays have to be the Iowa Hawkeyes in the world of college football, the Kansas City Chiefs for the NFL.

Let me list off the things that still trip me up a little bit. Penalty flags are orange, not yellow. The defense lines up a full yard off the line of scrimmage, not a football length off the line. No fair catch, just a mandatory five-yard buffer zone until a player touches the ball on a punt or kick-off. Three downs to move the ball ten yards for a first down, and that’s something that constantly gets me. Second and long is a big deal, and third down is the punt, field goal, or go-for-it down.

Also, -3C is 26F. This would be like playing a game of football in Green Bay. That should put that into a better perspective for folks back in the states. There’s more differences in the game, and if you really want to get more of a side by side comparison, check out this Wikipedia entry for a comparison of Canadian and American football. (more…)

No comments yet
Filed under: British Columbia, Canada, Canucks, Football, Vancouver

I’ve drank a lot of orange juice today

Thursday, November 16th, 2006

All Greater Vancouver residents urged to boil water

By Kent Spencer, The Province

Published: Thursday, November 16, 2006

A boil water advisory has been issued for the entire Greater Vancouver Area.

Vancouver Coastal Health spokesman Viviana Zanocco said Thursday the warning was issued because Wednesday’s storm dumped large amounts of dirt and mud in the region’s three reservoirs.

“We’ve never seen turbidity this high,” she said.

The entire region is affected, but the problem is worst on the North Shore.

The health region is advising hospitals, care facilities and restaurants to change the way they prepare food.

Water should be boiled for one minute, then cooled thoroughly before drinking. Or persons should drink bottled water.

The ban applies to brushing teeth and washing food. Showers are okay.

Zanocco said she doesn’t know how long the ban will last.

Persons drinking water are at risk of suffering diarrhea and vomiting because bacteria is present in the water. [theprovince]

There might be some people who would look at this as a cheap way to lose weight.

I did go running today through Stanley Park. For the most part, everything looked pretty ok. Trails seemed to not be over run with any fallen trees, and leaves were actually very sparse. Water is gushing out of Beaver Lake though. Was neat to see peaks of snow up on the mountains.

4 comments
Filed under: British Columbia, Lower Mainland, News Item, Vancouver

Remembering veterans on both sides

Monday, November 13th, 2006

I’ve always grown up with Memorial Day[wiki] being the one day of the year where we take a moment to remember those who have fallen in various conflicts. Believe it or not, it was marching band in high school that taught me the impact of observing that day. It wasn’t the marching in the parade we had to do. It was the one football game where a handful of us started playing Taps when our team was blowing out the opposition in the second half of the game. A stupid thing to do, but we were young. That didn’t stop Mr. Russel from, politely, chewing a few of us out. Thankfully I got this information second hand.

Here in B.C., November 11th isn’t just a bank holiday. The mail still doesn’t arrive, much like Veterans Day[wiki] in the states. However, there is heart felt observance of what is called Remembrance Day[wiki] here. Most of the province gets the day off work, and there are numerous events that take notice for those who this day is reserved for.

Other than the standards I already mentioned, there isn’t much more that observes veterans from conflicts past in the states. I think that’s why I find the observance here somewhat intriguing. That’s not to say that the political debate doesn’t get in the way of everything, and trying to do something to this extent would get the stiff arm in today’s contentious climate for the U.S., at least on a national scale.

I know I’m late to the post here, but Rebecca has been so busy lately that we just did our best to enjoy her down time over the weekend. I will say that I have a lot of veterans of various conflicts in my family. My grandfather, uncle, great uncle, cousins, and even my brother, and some of them are still active(two extended family members caught up in Iraq right now). You always remember.

No comments yet
Filed under: British Columbia, Canada, Holidays, U.S.

Announcing a new podcast: The Crazy Canucks

Monday, October 2nd, 2006

A few months ago, Rebecca[miss604] and I brainstormed an idea for a podcast that seemed too good to pass up. With the friends that we have been making in the world of blogging and podcasting, The Crazy Canucks was born.

We’ve brought together Vancouver Canucks Op Ed, the Canucks Hockey Blog, the Canucks Outsider, Miss604, and my adventures with RadioZoom into a podcast that is probably unlike anything you’ve heard before, and nothing like anything I’ve ever been apart of. And you don’t need an iPod to listen!

The Crazy Canucks

[krey-zee, kuh-nuhks]

Local Canuck Bloggers to Host a Weekly Roundtable Podcast this 06/07 NHL Season

Current album art: The Crazy Canucks podcastVANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA (October 2, 2006) – Coming this October is a podcast the likes of which Vancouver has never seen. It will be a collaboration of hockey bloggers and the brainchild of a podcaster who all have one thing in common: The Vancouver Canucks.

The Crazy Canucks will be a weekly podcast about the team, the players, the organization and the league. Our goal is to have a fan’s point of view, since we’re not cable TV and we’re not local sports radio. Agree or disagree, leave us a written or audio comment and tell us how you really feel.

Listen and subscribe to the podcast, which will be available weekly on TheCrazyCanucks.com.

For more information contact: feedback [at] thecrazycanucks.com

Look for the premiere episode to debut this week as the Canucks kick off the regular season on Thursday. Subscribe or listen directly on the website. It doesn’t matter how you hear it as much as it matters that you come be apart of the podcast. Afterall, we’re fans just like you.

No comments yet
Filed under: Audio, Awesome, Blogging, Blogs, British Columbia, Canucks, Hockey, Internet, Lower Mainland, Podcasting, Podcasts, Portable Media, RadioZoom, Skype, Ubercaster, Vancouver

The press and emergency services in B.C.

Wednesday, September 13th, 2006

I am consistantly impressed with the way that the press interacts with emergency services in British Columbia, and the same can be true about the rest of Canada.  Sitting here and watching the news coverage of the recent shootings in Montreal, the amount of information coming from the police, in near real time, is really interesting compared to the news coverage I am used to in the U.S.

First off, I should say that my heart goes out to those people affected by this.  Regardless of who or why, things like these are shocking and scary.  While the CBC was covering this, I had sirens going off all around the west end.  Kinda spooky.

The media seems to be included on these events as they unfold, at least for the most part.  I so often see the morning news where there was a fire the night before.  While there are still firemen putting out the flames in the background, someone is talking to the camera, giving an update as to what happened, possible causes, and preliminary info about people affected.

What I’m used to back in the states is official statements that get released to the press or press conferences that happen hours, if not days, after the fact.  That gets printed up in the papers or some person with overly perfect hair tells you the facts on TV.  In between that time, everything is uncomfirmed and speculation.  You get some of that here, but the involvement of people on the scene is much higher.  It’s not some guy, outside of the whole situation, who has the job to collect the information and report it to the press.

It impresses me.  Maybe there is more confidence in the whole spectrum of distributing information, meaning the people on the scene, the media, and the person taking in the news, in Canada.  There is a lot more scrutiny in American media, always making sure that the right people are saying the right things at the right time.

No comments yet
Filed under: British Columbia, Canada, CBC, Interesting, Media, News Item

Jiminy Jillikers, Radioactive Man

Wednesday, August 16th, 2006

No stone is left unturned in the War on Terror[wiki].

An 83-year-old Surrey man who had been injected with a radioactive dye as part of his medical treatment set off a nuclear alarm at the Peace Arch crossing south of Vancouver last week.

Stanley Smith had undergone an injection of a radioactive dye into his heart as part of a diagnostic scan.

He was on his way to the Ferndale Casino in Washington state when the alarm sounded.

Mike Milne, who speaks for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, says guards took the senior to the secondary inspection area, where he was interrogated for half an hour before being allowed to proceed.  [cbc]

My mother has to carry a card with her whenever she travels commercially because of a knee replacement she had a few years ago.  That way the TSA knows that there is metal in her knee and not a concealed weapon.  This a far cry from detectors picking up nuclear material at the border, but maybe they should issue cards for radioactive, elderly folks as well.

Maybe it helps him see what the dealer is holding at the blackjack table.

1 comment
Filed under: British Columbia, News Item, Travel

Eat at Rolly’s

Monday, August 14th, 2006

Rolly's in Hope, B.C.I was going through my photo library on my laptop and came across pictures from the weekend getaway that Rebecca and I took to the Okanagan a few months ago. Perhaps one of these days I will get around to posting some of those to my Flickr. When you take a boy who has lived in the rolling prairies of the midwest all his life into the mountains, he tends to get a little camera happy.

Let me just say, landslides are impressive. I fear them now.

We stopped in Hope, B.C. for some breakfast on our way out, obviously at Rolly’s. Personally, this will be one of the most memorable parts of our trip because not only is the food good, but that little grease stop is too cool. Never before in my life have I ever felt more like Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction[imdb]. The locals kept looking at Rebecca and I like we were going to rob the place ourselves. That doesn’t imply that they were unfriendly. We just weren’t apart of the local crowd, and it might be fair to say that this fact was on the obvious side.

Still, I will make my demands that anytime we pass through Hope and are looking for a meal, we’re stopping at Rolly’s.

No comments yet
Filed under: Adventures, British Columbia, Dining, Travel, Yum

Very Berry Fair in Fort Langley

Wednesday, July 19th, 2006

Krause Bros. Farms stand at the Very Berry FairThis past Sunday, we had the chance to visit the Very Berry Country Fair in Fort Langley, B.C. This is the same place where I did some recording for the last episode of the podcast. I realize that the quality of that audio wasn’t the greatest, but the Griffin stereo lapel mic is proving to not provide the greatest quality. At least I haven’t discovered the best way to record with it yet, but my hope was to provide some sounds of the experience as well as doing a post about it, which you’re reading right now.

It was an incredible day for the fair, and there were plenty of people heading out to check out what was there. There was plenty for the kids to check out, but the best part for the adults, in my opinion, was inside the winery itself. Free wine tasting is always a quick way to make me happy.

Blueberries from the Krause Bros. Farms stand at the Very Berry FairThe one element of the fair that I have a major complaint about is those pastries in the picture above. Don’t they look good? Yeah, I thought so, too. If you wanted one, then you had to enter the eating contest to be the first one to stuff your face without using your hands. I just wanted to buy one and savor its taste, granted they were as good as they looked. Krause Bros. Farms aren’t stupid though. Their place was just a short drive away where you could purchase some, so we left there with some fresh blueberries, which filled that void somewhat.

Mini-golf at the Very Berry FairAbout that wine tasting though, go check out the Fort Wine Co. if you ever get the chance, especially if you are a fan of the drink. Walking into the winery, there was a strong smell of berries, and that’s what they make most of their wine out of. We sampled the cranberry, white cranberry, and blueberry wines, picking the last as our purchased bottle of choice.

In the podcast, you’ll hear our helper guy (with the super cool handle-bar mustache) talk about what the wines go well with, as is usual in most wineries where you get samples. However, the cranberry wine and his suggestion of making crantinis by simply adding vodka almost had me push for the cranberry wine. That’s a lot of alcohol, and that cranberry wine went down far too smooth. We opted for the blueberry instead.

There was plenty of other good stuff in this tiny, but entertaining, fair. Mini-golf, crafts for sale, other berry related goodies, and meats on a bun. It was well worth the trek.

2 comments
Filed under: Adventures, British Columbia

Banning gadgets while driving in Canada

Friday, June 16th, 2006

The Canadian Automobile Association is going one step beyond banning just cellphones while driving in order to cut down on distractions while driving.  MP3 players and other portable electronics are the next thing on the list that they want Ottawa to consider, but the ban would only apply to new drivers in Canada.

The CAA called on all provincial governments to legislate a restriction on the use of electronic devices by novice drivers.

“We don’t want their minds taken off the driving task and we want them to keep their hands on the wheel,” said CAA president David Flewelling.  [lfpress]

The B.C. government has weighed in on the suggestion[vancouversun], sparing the west coast for now.  Their position makes sense.  Doing more to make the education of the driver is the better route to go.  You can only regulate so much before it becomes ineffective.

No comments yet
Filed under: British Columbia, Canada, Technology, Transportation

Adventures On the Sunshine Coast

Friday, June 2nd, 2006

Venturing through the woods on the Sunshine CoastAs you might have heard on the podcast, we took a day trip to the Sunshine Coast[wiki] over the weekend. This was my first time making the trek, but Rebecca is a seasoned pro. And anytime you have to take a ferry to get somewhere, I’m pretty excited, fear of sinking or not. Is that because in Iowa we don’t have ferries? Yeah, you’re probably right, but we do have some nice boats you can ride on down the Mississippi while you gamble.

Our time up the coast was a super awesome good time. Rebecca spent a lot of time in this area while growing up and speaks about it highly. This was my chance to check it all out, and I have to say that I can see why. It was very apparent, as with nearly all of the lower mainland, that the area is developing a lot. Ocean front homes are the thing to have, and people are building them where they can, as big as they can.

Horseshoe Bay ferry terminalI heard someone say that living in B.C., it’s hard to not become a lover of the outdoors. I can say that is oh so true. I had fun playing soccer and what not while we were there, but I wanted to keep exploring the woods and just see what was out there. There were some trails that we went around, but with my hiking shoes on, I could have stayed out there for hours.

I uploaded a series of pictures from the day to my Flickr account. Check out some of the shots from Horseshoe Bay[flickr] and the Sunshine Coast[flickr] if you’d like. I have a feeling we’ll be back there again in the future.

No comments yet
Filed under: Adventures, British Columbia, Hiking
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »