Archive for the ‘British Columbia’ Category


High Crime for High Gas Prices

Wednesday, May 10th, 2006

There has been a couple of crimes lately involving people attempting to steal gasoline around the lower mainland. One was a total gas and dash on the edge of Surrey, almost into Delta. That station attendent was sent to the hospital and the suspect is yet to be found. Of course, this comes on the heels of another incident last year where the attendent was dragged to death trying to stop another person pulling a gas and dash.

Last night was a theft that you would only hear about in the movies. $2,200 worth of diesel lifted from an underground tank in the middle of the night. They are saying that a theft of that porportion would need a 5-10 ton truck just to haul the barrels of fuel away.

It’s incredible, but with gas prices making their way upwards, it’s like people are robbing banks. This could just be the beginning of a trend, and I’d like to not believe that.

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Filed under: British Columbia, Current Events

Seeing David Suzuki At the CBC

Saturday, May 6th, 2006

Rebecca scored us a super cool opportunity to check out David Suzuki[wiki] at the CBC studios here in Vancouver. CBC’s Studio One Book Club will feature Dr. Suzuki with his new book, David Suzuki: The Autobiography[froogle].

The Book Club takes place in CBC Radio’s Studio One in the CBC Broadcast Centre, 700 Hamilton Street in Vancouver (corner of Georgia Street), across from the main branch of the Vancouver Public Library.

The show is being taped for broadcast on North by Northwest in two parts over one weekend: Part One on Saturday May 27, between 8 and 9am, and Part Two on Sunday May 28, 8 to 9 am, both on CBC Radio (690 on the am dial in Vancouver).

I recall catching his programs(The Nature of Things) on PBS growing up, especially during those days when we only had four channels on our TV. When I got sick and had to stay home from school, I spent hours watching PBS because daytime TV was torture. And I’m not saying I loved all the programming Iowa Public Television had to offer. It was the alternative that made those days go by.

All it took was a creative essay on Rebecca’s part and someone over at the CBC making the selection. It’ll be exciting as it’ll be my first time venturing inside of the studios here in Vancouver as well as the chance to hear Suzuki speak. A very BC experience, if I must say so myself.

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Filed under: Adventures, Awesome, British Columbia, CBC, Radio

Mean, Freakin’ Geese

Monday, May 1st, 2006

Canada Goose in Stanley ParkIt doesn’t matter if you are in Iowa or B.C. All Canada Geese are mean. This one didn’t mind me getting too close to snap its mug, but a few more seconds, I probably would have been warned.

Yes, it’s Canada Goose[wiki]. After a little reading around various websites, such as here and here, I understand now that “Canadian Goose” is the improper name for them. So from now on, I will call all the mean ones the incorrect name. The ones that don’t flap and hiss at me while running by them will get the correct one.

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Filed under: British Columbia, Vancouver, Wildlife

Ogopogo

Tuesday, April 11th, 2006

Sign for sighting Ogopogo at the Gray Monk WineryIt’s no secret to people who know me that I have an affinity for the supernatural. There is this magical, magnetic draw that will suck me in things that seem so rediculous to some people that there is part of me that thinks there might be truth in the story somewhere.

Ogopogo is just that. This is a legend that has just recently come to my attention, and I find it to be fairly fascinating. A mythical creature that lives on the bottom of a lake. Dragon or serpent like, the legend has been around for hundreds of years. Now I will admit that I still don’t grasp the reality that I am living in Sasquatch country and the legacy of that myth, but that’s another topic for later.

I had heard Rebecca’s mom mention the name before we left, but I wasn’t sure what they were talking about until we set out on our wine adventure. That’s when I started getting more and more curious. (more…)

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Filed under: Amusing, British Columbia, Geeky

Back From The Fruit Of B.C.

Monday, April 10th, 2006

I am a good driver... What a great, little getaway.

I get a feeling that running away like we did to the Okanagan[wiki. def.] would be a cliche thing to do for some Vancouverites, but there is no way that we are not going to do trips like this again. You can see how people flock to the valley for summertime vacations, even more so for those family holidays that your mom and dad dragged you along to. Miniture golf courses, beaches, B&B’s, real golf courses, hotel after hotel, and huge homes on the shores that one can only dream of ever owning.

Kelowna is a great community. However, it’s a city with two faces. Off-season and on-season. It seems like all of the hotels are hiring right now, the phrase “for the coming season” being key. To me, it’s a bit like the Wisconsin Dells[wiki. def.], but Kelowna has it beat for sure. I don’t think you can check out as many attractions as you can back in the states. At the same time, I don’t think that is why people flock there.

Crusing down Highway 5...The drive to get there and back was a treat for myself. I have this ongoing love of road trips, and Rebecca couldn’t be a better companion for that. With both of our iPods, we had plenty of tunes to make up for the lack of radio stations between populated areas. We took a different route there than we did back, so I got to see a lot of the mountainside between destinations. It could have been the fact that we set out early on Friday, but I said very little the whole way there, my head turned out the passenger side window with the hope that I might get to see a bear. No luck. (more…)

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Filed under: Adventures, British Columbia, Travel

Adventures in Canadian Wine Country

Thursday, April 6th, 2006

Heading off to the Okanagan [wiki. def.] to get away for the weekend. For me, it’ll be a chance to explore more of the interior of British Columbia. I’m unsure as to what to expect from the mountain passes in terms of driving the route to get there, but it’s going to be a pretty fun experience.

Rebecca and I on wine tours? I think it’s a recipie for neat things to happen. I’d say disaster, but I know it’s going to be a good time. Makes disaster seem like such a lackluster word, eh?

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Filed under: Adventures, British Columbia, Travel

Spending Sunday in Fort Langley

Tuesday, March 28th, 2006

Planet Java's ceilingThere isn’t a whole lot in Fort Langley, but sometimes that’s just what you need. A place where there isn’t a lot of hustle and bustle to get away from the city for a while. We were able to check it out a little more than just the drive through that I have experienced before. And if you are driving through, that doesn’t take too long.

Needless to say, it’s a small town with some character. Reminds me a lot of the small towns from where I grew up, but I think it’s a lot harder to get soy in your lattes back home than it is in Fort Langley. Even though there isn’t a Starbucks or Blenz in sight of downtown, there certainly is no shortage of coffee related establishments. You’ll have to wander past the numerous antique shops to get to them.

Autographed Tori Spelling photo at Planet JavaYou can tell that the town gets more traffic in the summer. People head out from the city to do the exact same thing that we did on Sunday. And if you do get the chance to get there, check out the little 50′s diner for a bite to eat, Planet Java 50′s Soda Fountain Café. They don’t do fries as a side to your sandwich of choice. The potato salad is just as good though, perhaps even better than the fried alternative. And it still tastes good for at least two to three hours after. How can you beat that?

And there have been movies film in this little downtown area as well. What kind of B.C. town would this be if it wasn’t used as a film set? It’s getting to the point where the game is spotting the place that has yet to be in a movie.

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Filed under: Adventures, British Columbia, Dining, Lower Mainland

The Amber Alert System in British Columbia

Thursday, March 16th, 2006

I was unaware until this week that BC has its own Amber Alert System in place. I found out about it due to an alert that was issued and resulted in locating the child, fortunately, without harm. I’ve read other accounts where people caught news of the alert flashing on bus signs. That’s pretty impressive. This goes a little beyond the usual highway signs and news outlets that I’m familiar with, but it makes so much sense. You can declare this one a success.

My brushes with the Iowa Amber Alert System gives me some insight on this. My chief engineer back at WSUI/KSUI, Jim Davies, was one of the main guys getting the Amber Alert to work through the Iowa Emergency Alert System (EAS). This stuff doesn’t simply work from the start. It takes a lot of work and testing to make all the information flow correctly, not to mention the politics of what constitutes an alert or not.  Have to give my congrats to BC for this one working so well.

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Filed under: British Columbia, Radio, Technology, Television, Vancouver
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