Category: Vancouver

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Anything for a shovel

Flickr: Snowy west endBeing ill for the past couple of days, I haven’t been able to enjoy the snow very much. My plan was to take more pictures, if not do some mobile recording for RadioZoom. The internet has been my only link to seeing what’s going on beyond the windows of the apartment. If it weren’t for the KatKam and Vancouver.com Web Cam(you guys got to come up with a better name for that thing), I’m not sure I would have a good sense of what the world of Vancouver would be looking like right now.

Yeah, this is another post about the weather in Vancouver, but even I find some amazement in all the snow that has fallen recently. The short amount of exposure that I have gotten in it has been intriguing.

While on my way up and down Robson during my picture taking venture[flickr], I passed by the shoe dumping spot in front of Payless, as Rebecca often calls it. There’s so many times that we see a pair of shoes sitting on the corner there, always saying how odd it is. Do people actually dump their shoes there for what they just bought in the store? The answer is yes, and I passed by some chick who was trading in her runners for a pair of those annoying fuzzy boots, using the front windows for balance as she made the switch.

Alas, the one time in Vancouver in which horribly ugly, fuzzy boots actually make sense. Well, aside from the days when I was eight, but those were moon boots that were more robot like, not so much fuzzy and “cute”. I’m sure there are those who wouldn’t dare wear them out in this snow because they might ruin them. Or better yet, those fuzzy boots are for summer wear, not winter. Yes, you see them even on the hottest of days.

I mentioned how our building guys used a pole and dust pan contraption to clear the sidewalks before[post], but other folks have some slightly better tools at hand. Still, they’re not the best for removing snow. Garden spades, kitchen brooms, and even floor squeegees are some of the things I’ve seen. Those people tucker out pretty fast, too. At least they’re out there removing the snow. Some folks, and many shops on Robson, have not been very quick to this courtesy.

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It’s beginning to look a lot like a mess

Flickr: Snowy Robson StreetEveryone and their cat is blogging away about it, but snow is rare in Vancouver. Compared to growing up in Iowa, whiteness is something that you learn to live with, but this “falling white death from the sky”, as my high school physics teacher from Florida liked to call it, has completely caught me by surprise.

I’m actually surprised to not hear more about accidents on the roads, but folks on the lower mainland might have opted to stay off them as much as possible. That hasn’t stopped me from spotting a few horrible drivers in the downtown area. One should understand that when snow falls, the roads get slick. When the roads are slick, you can’t drive like you usually do. You can’t do quick acceleration and stop quickly when coming to an intersection. The laws of common sense tell you that you’re stupid if you try. And just because you own a Jeep or Hummer, that does not make you invincible.

Flickr: Snowy west endI did witness a pretty bad fender bender on Saturday night. I was walking along Georgia and caught a minivan-taxi run into the back of a fellow car-taxi. It all happened in my peripheral vision, but I caught all the plastic pieces falling to the ground after the initial crunch. This is what happens when the light turns red and you don’t give yourself enough space for the car ahead of you to stop. I was in a hurry to meet Rebecca at the SkyTrain station but made sure everyone was alright before I went on my way.

The lack of snow removal really shows how unusual this weather is to this area. Earlier today, I watched one of the maintenance guys from our building clear the sidewalk. He was using a dust pan that was duct taped to a pole. It didn’t look pretty, but all that matters is that it worked.

Flickr: Snowy Robson StreetRunning an errand today, I wandered around the west end and Robson with my camera for a bit[flickr]. Snow removal on the sidewalks was spotty. That’s a little unheard of back in my home state, and Rebecca noted that during her time in Boston, sidewalks were cleared of snow on a constant basis. Like I said, snow is unusual here, especially in the downtown core. However, this stuff is going to stick around for a few days. It’s only going to get colder before it warms up enough to melt it all away.

Truthfully, I’m not complaining. I love snow. I love to throw snowballs and go sledding. Sadly, there’s not too many places to do that nearby. It’s only been in the last hour that the snow has really stopped. My hope is to do a bit of running tomorrow. Jogging through the snow is tricky. It is more of a workout and requires a little more concentration. It’s fun, too.

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We can drink the water again

Drink the water in Vancouver again

It’s never tasted so good, and at least it smells a hell of a lot better than it did. We might be buried under the snow, but we can drink the water again in Vancouver[cbc]. Thank god because it’s been cramping my workout routines a little bit. I think I’ve been borderline on the dehydration side for a few days now. Gets expensive to keep buying water.

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Happy Thanksgiving

Rebecca really wanted to do some ice skating for a while now, so why not do it on Thanksgiving Day?

My legs are feeling it. I haven’t been on ice in about five years, inline skates for about two. It took me about five minutes to get back into the groove, but it all came back to me pretty quick. Quick stopping, cross-overs, and skating backwards? We’ll save that for next time.

Happy Thanksgiving to all celebrating this American holiday, but we’ll be throwing some Canadian spice into today. Canucks play Nashville late this afternoon, right at the same time that the KC Chiefs kickoff at home against Denver. How much better can today get? Lamb roast. We’re skipping the turkey.

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After all, it’s just an advisory

Stacks of water at 7-11Rebecca hit the nail on the head when she called this boil water advisory blogging gold[miss604]. You might be saying that this is getting old and not worth reading about anymore. If that’s true for you, then skip this post. You can say that I’m whining, but this is more about documenting a short lived nuisance to exhibit potential bigger problems that I highlighted in my last post about this situation.

I bit the bullet today and started in on the pile of dishes in our kitchen. Quite honestly, it’s been driving me nuts. I blame my mother for instilling this element of a neat freak in me, nicely balanced by my dad’s ability to achieve zen through delicately controlled messes.

I did boil a large pot of water to fill up an empty gallon jug for various needs, mainly to make coffee. The water still smells a bit funky, even after boiling. I’m not brave enough to ingest it, and that includes cooking. Once again, it’s a matter of the smell translating into funky taste that steers me away just slightly.

A recent post on Metroblogging Vancouver caught my attention when someone posted the following comment.

I was talking to a hydrological engineer yesterday, and she speculated that the current water “crisis” has been blown out of proportion and prolonged to drum up public support for the expensive $600-million water filtration plant that’s currently under construction on the North Shore. She’s been drinking the water out of the taps for the past week and she tests water quality for a living. No contamination has been discovered in our water and no one has been reported ill. That’s pretty amazing considering 2 million people were under the boil water advisory at one point. Health officials have only ever reported “increased risk” of contamination.

Interesting theory, and one that she said was widely held at her office. I should note too that she supports the new plant, probably because it will create more work for her and the engineering consulting company she works for.

Posted by: Chris at November 20, 2006 07:42 PM [mbv]

I was waiting for the “theories” to start popping up, but there is a lot of truth in that statement. No one has been getting sick from the water, and there hasn’t been any evidence of harmful bacteria being found through testing.

On the same post, a recent resident to Vancouver from France is amazed at the poor response the city has given to the locals. They site that the city has done poorly to provide water to those in need, which is somewhat true. I’ve heard more reports of radio stations and businesses giving out free water than local authorities. I’m not going to lay blame anywhere, but it is interesting to note.

The advisory, for the most part, is basic over caution, but it’s expected to go on for a while longer than I imagined[cbc]. Several days? Couple weeks? Ridiculous. I doubt that all of this has been done intentionally for the support noted above. However, it has much more support than ever before, that’s for sure.

It’s just nice to have clean dishes again. With Thanksgiving coming up, of which we will be celebrating in this household, it will make cooking a tad interesting. Like I said, I’m not ready to drink it, and the leg of lamb we intend to make might take some careful prep. The side dishes will need a little finesse as well. Would the water give potatoes a strange tint?

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Going to beat this until it’s good and dead

This boil water advisory has gotten old, fast. This goes beyond whining. I’d consider this a matter of concern for every person in the GVRD. If a bad weather system can leave us fighting for bottled water, think what an earthquake can do.

Posted AT 12:17 PM EST ON 20/11/06

B.C. water warning could last weeks: official

TENILLE BONOGUORE
Globe and Mail Update

Stark water warnings forcing almost a million B.C. residents to boil their tap water could be in place for weeks to come, the Greater Vancouver Regional District has warned.

Weekend storms and continuing rainfall added even more sediment to the already-turbid water supplies for Vancouver and Burnaby.

District spokesman Bill Morrell said Monday that, without a prolonged stretch of clear weather, the water supply had little chance of clearing.

“The sediment is very, very fine, and it will stay suspended in the water for some time,” Mr. Morrell said.

“It’s very difficult to speculate when it will be within acceptable limits. Our operations folks are of the opinion it may be weeks before this is settled out.” [globeandmail]

In a pinch, I could fashion together a setup to distill our own water, a la MacGyver. Amazing that high school chemistry taught me something and I remember it. Kinda. Thank you, Mr. Nelson.

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That and a mutant form of football

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. Continue reading “That and a mutant form of football”

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Washing dishes during boil water advisory

As I mentioned in my last post, we don’t have a dishwasher. During this boil water advisory that we’ve been under since Thursday, the recommendation is to not use the water for drinking, rinsing fruit and vegetables, or washing dishes. If you have a dishwasher with a “hot setting”, then you can use it.

Doing some quick searching, I found this page from the Ontario Ministry of Health regarding How to Use Water Safely During a “Boil Water Advisory”. It’s all worth a read, but here’s the info I was most interested in.

I wash dishes by hand. How do I disinfect them?

You could use boiled water for washing dishes. Dishes washed in soap and hot water can also be rinsed in boiled water or disinfected with the following bleach solution. Mix 1 ounce (about 30 ml) bleach in to three gallons (13.5 litres) of water at room temperature for at least one minute. Let dishes air dry.

We had a bit of rain and wind this morning, but the skies have been partly sunny since about noon. My hope is that’s all from the storm that was supposed to take hold today. I would think that this whole boil water thing would be lifted somewhat soon.

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It’s like being in Mexico again

You can have you water and drink your coffee tooThat’s what I’ve told Rebecca more than a few times, but I recall the water being much more clear. It’s deceiving that way. Right now, when you take a shower, the water has a slight tint of a grayish, brownish color. I think part of that depends if you are using hot or cold water, and you can certainly smell a slight difference when you take a shower.

I went ahead and caved into the cravings for a good cup of coffee yesterday. Reportedly, no one has suffered any serious effects from consuming any water. Even more so, Laura drank water straight from the fountain during the whole day of Thursday. Keep in mind, she lives and works downtown where this advisory is still in effect.

That tells me a whole hell of a lot. If she can handle that and not get any symptoms of illness, then we should all be okay. It’s not like she did this knowingly. She’s very lucky that what she didn’t know, didn’t hurt her.

I boiled the water in the tea kettle yesterday for beyond the recommended minute, tossed some grounds into our French press, and didn’t notice too much of a difference. I thought it might taste funky, but there might have been some over compensation in the grounds department. Hardly an accident.

Dirty dishes, dirty waterThe dishes are stacking up. Around here, and being that I’m the one without the full time gig right now, this falls under my duty. I never thought I would be happy to be able to do dishes again though. With no dishwasher to speak of, we have to consider the risk even though everything seems alright this far. The water coming out of the tap smells funky and has a strange color to it.

I think tomorrow, if this thing has yet to be lifted, we’re going to bite the bullet. We’re low on silverware. Wash the dishes like normal, boil a pot of water, and then dump the utensils into the water.

It’s that typical story of not knowing what you got until what you’ve got is gone. It’s nothing to really bitch about. There’s just a few extra things that you have to do. A little annoying, but nothing we can’t handle. Buying water is getting a little old though.

Oh yeah, and there is supposed to be another weather system moving through starting tomorrow.