Category: Lower Mainland

Posted on

The Canucks jerseys will change

Rick Ball - Team 1040I got a note from GZ Expat the other day about a recent episode of the Canucks Lunch podcast from Team 1040 that aired on May 31, 2007. Being that I still get a lot of hits from people searching for results about a potential logo change for the Canucks next season, I thought I would pass on this little bit of info that popped up on this show.

Rick Ball had CEO Chris Zimmerman of Orca Bay Sports Entertainment (who will be changing their name in the coming months, according to this interview) on the show, and he had some very interesting things to say, one of them alluding to their efforts to connect better with Canucks fans. Does that have any reference to what we are doing with The Crazy Canucks? I’m not completely sure, but the hands that have been extended to us is evidence of that. If you think there is still a ways to go, then I think it’s safe to say that they do, too.

But, the jerseys. Will they change? Zimmerman says yes, and there isn’t much more beyond that. Ball gave out some statistics about what that change should be, in terms of a logo, there isn’t any hints. In regards to the stick-in-rink, gives a long response about respecting the past and great traditions that have come before today’s team, and the “next era of Canucks hockey” will also “pay tribute and respect the past.”

Fin is here to say, and the orca will be a long lasting image with the team. However, we’ll know exactly what will happen just before training camp starts, and that was the major piece of news that he let out in the interview.

Posted on

The fish monsters of Lost Lagoon

Yes, another post about Stanley Park, but a long standing question of mine was answered this morning. Are there any fish in Lost Lagoon? The answer is a resounding yes.

We were passing by this morning and only had my cellphone on us. The quality isn’t the best, but a lot of people were stopping to see all the splashing. The fish, as I say numerous times in the video, are huge. At minimum, a foot long, and their swarms were creating ominous waves in the middle of the lagoon, making it seem like some sort of X-Files[imdb] like creatures had moved in.

We had seen good sized turtles basking in the sunshine sometime ago, and Rebecca found that hard to believe but understandable. After that, I kinda imagined that if there were fish in there, they wouldn’t be much in terms of variety and size. Of course, I’m wrong, but this is amazingly surprising.

Update: Almost uncanny timing, a new video of Nessy has surfaced.

Posted on

Guest editing for the Canucks Outsider

HockeyNW.com DaveO had the opportunity to catch the celebration of the Vancouver Giants success in winning the Memorial Cup at Vancouver City Hall this past Tuesday afternoon. He captured some great audio, even snagged an interview with the legendary Pat Quinn!

The only issue he had was cranking out the audio into an all out podcast episode, so he asked if I would help him out. We’ve talked about this concept before, and it worked out fairly well. When you have all the audio laid out for you, it’s easy to put it all together. It also helps that Dave is really good at formulating an entire episode in pieces, all set up for sliding them together and splicing music to segue between all the parts.

It was a treat to do it, and I could really get used to the production side of things if I ever found myself doing this on a regular basis, full compensation, of course.

You can find episode #54 of the Canucks Outsider at HockeyNW.com, edited by yours truly.

Posted on

Horse vs. Dog in the park

This is purely an observation, but there is something that I have noticed for a long time when it comes to the numerous trips I make into Stanley Park. The place is a bit of an obsession, but I’m not the only person who likes to run in or around the place.

Expensive Dog Beach In my best Seinfeld impression, what’s up with all the horse poop on the trails? Not only that, but it shows up on the Seawall path as well! Big, honking clumps of horse manure, green in all of its glory. Little land mines just waiting for some sucker to not watch their step and get a nice, aromatic surprise.

The thing that kills me is that dog owners face fines for not having their pet on a leash, taking their animal is prohibited areas, or not picking up “the business” of that all dogs must do. If it’s not a few hundred dollars of a fine, it’s got an extra zero or so tagged on to the punishment.

Now, I am not a dog owner, never have been. Love all sorts of animals, but this is something that still confounds me. Why is it that horses can crap where they please without punishment, not to mention a complete lack of clean up? I’ve ran around piles of these green apple treats for a series of days before the rain can come around to help wash off the pathway, and this is in high traffic areas like around the Nine O’clock Gun or the little information center by the aquarium.

The worst speculation that I have is that a potential, common offender here is horseback police patrols, as I’ve passed just a few in the park while living here. If this might be true, then I really think something needs to be enforced to deal with this horse crap. Double standards stink. Literally.

Posted on

DemoCampVancouver01 follow-up

The Demo Board If I don’t sit down to hammer out some quick, follow-up thoughts about DemoCampVancouver01 right now, I won’t get to it later. Better yet, the freshness of the event won’t be there, even though it’s been about 24 hours since the event. If you missed it, check out Rebecca’s live blog of the event.

Basic low down about DemoCampVancouver is that it is a outstanding concept. It’s a very open sourced, controlled environment that is what the name really implies. You show up, people have a limited amount of time to present their idea or product, and then you move on.

The best way that I can sum up the experience is that it’s like watching a commercial but being able to ask questions, and you completely understand what I’m talking about. For instance, I caught a spot for a cellphone service via TV that offers a really great package and literally spit out in response, “yeah, but what’s the catch?” The tube doesn’t interact with you at that point as you would like.

30 second schpeal time At DemoCamp, you can pelt as many questions as you want to the presenter, as long as there is time. The crew running the show, namely Boris, Kris, and Bill, did a crack job of keeping everything on track. It moved from one to the next, and I got my fill of things that I knew nothing to little about.

There is to be another one of these in the near future, and I’m pretty confident that I’ll do my best to make it out to see what’s going on.

Posted on

Thank you for coming back, summer

Summer is Gelato

Of course, I’m wearing a jacket, but the sun was setting, plus I’m eating gelato at the same time. Give me a break, and nothing screams “hello, summer” better than gelato in English Bay.

Posted on

Going to DemoCampVancouver 01

Let me just let the text on the site for DemoCampVancouver speak for itself.

What is DemoCamp Vancouver All about?

Unlike other iterations of DemoCamp, the Vancouver event covers all industries. Idea people will be presenting innovations on all things ranging from business to charity, high-technology to high-art. The purpose is to encourage a cross-pollination of industries and individuals in hopes that people engaged in unrelated endeavors might provide an enlightening perspective on the presenters concept. There is strength in diversity!

Yes, that’s right, we’re redefining “Demo”, but at the same time, showing a connection between all the bright people across Canada and beyond who are gathering to share cool ideas.

The Idea is your Demo

Your concept or idea should be developed enough to support a three minute presentation, but it is not necessary to have a working model to “demo” … it’s the idea that’s important! There are three minutes for delivery and three minutes for discussion. The time limit is strict so if you take two and a half minutes to setup your laptop, you only get thirty seconds to present. (the gong hath no mercy).

I always have ideas floating through my head. My biggest problem is putting them on paper so I don’t forget them. After that, it’s a daunting task to go from paper to project. Right now, I have about five post-it notes floating around with lists of things that I’m thinking about or actually applying to various things. Trust me, that’s better than letting it float to the back of my brain.

I’ll wander my way to DemoCampVancouver on May 24th and see what happens. Would be neat to get some audio from people who are thinking about various things, not to mention see some cool people.

Posted on

Serious tourist traffic congestion

If you are someone who walks along the Seawall in Stanley Park, then you know about the amount of traffic that can happen. Some of this is from the locals out for a stroll, walk, jog, run, skate, or bike ride. The other, painful part is the amount of tourists that are either lost, stopping to take pictures, completely taking up the pathway with no regard for anyone else who might be trying to “share the road”, or just screwing up the flow.

So imagine my surprise when I ran into this a few weeks ago by the Rowing Club.

Tourist Traffic Congestors 1

Oh but it gets better. There’s another one about fifty meters further, and there is no other way to get around it except go through it.

Tourist Traffic Congestors 2

There are hints that this might be temporary, but this would completely stink if it wasn’t. Being that this is the portion of the park that is so close to Coal Harbour and in easy walking distance of cruise shippers that have a day to run around Vancouver, the volume of foot traffic can get aggressively annoying, especially if you are a runner like me. Funnel hundreds of people through a tiny opening like that and… well that just sucks.

Ever try to say “excuse me” to someone and have them look at you in complete blankness? It can happen here a lot in Vancouver because you never know what language someone can or can’t speak.

Posted on

Follow up thoughts on SuperHappyDevHouse

My post about attending the SuperHappyDevHouse at the Bryght offices in Vancouver was pretty last minute, so I thought I would do my best to give a post-game reaction to the festivities.

20070511(003).jpg In all honesty, I went there with the intent of doing something kinda geeky and fun, but the fun really got put in front of the geeky. While the true hackers and do’ers were on the main floor doing some, what looked like, intense coding, I was manning the grill for hot action with some brats. And the way the sun was shining on the rooftop patio, I quickly made myself at home up there. The keg was up there too, so I was far from alone.

Talked to a lot of really cool folks while I was up there. In no particular order, Jordan Behan, Roland Tanglao, Jason Vanderhill, Boris Mann, Richard Eriksson, Kris Krug, Ianiv, Ivan, John Biehler, and big shout outs to good pals Duane Storey and the Dave Olsen.

20070511(006).jpg I’m unaware if anything monumental came from the event, but there were a chunk of folks who were looking to do something that sounded neat. I don’t think that I was completely out of my element there, but hard coding is a tad out of the realms of the things I know and like to do. I overheard that one of said coders asked Rebecca why she was there once they found out that she was “just a blogger“.

Bottom line, I had a lot of fun. People that I hung around and chatted with were a great group of folks, and we certainly had a good exchange of ideas, concepts, slams, jokes, laughter, and so on. Being that I have a few Drupal projects that I have been working on, these are the right folks to be talking to.

Posted on

SuperHappyDevHouse – Vancouver Edition

SuperHappyDevHouse - Photo by: kk+ on Flickr

Not sure what trouble I’ve signed up for, but this sounds like a good time. Compared to some of the folks that will be attending this, they will completely put me to shame with their talents and geeky ninja stylings. It doesn’t help that I’m posting this completely last minute, but something is better than nothing.

If you want to attend, sign up on Upcoming.org or get yourself on the SocialText Wiki.

I’ve been working on a few projects involving Drupal, and these are the folks to be talking to about it. Hopefully the whole night won’t be laced with geeky work talk, but worse things could happen. You could feed a bunch of geeks alcohol. God help us with what could happen next.