It must have been nearly a month ago, and it took me a long time to get the pictures posted from our trip to Osoyoos for a quick weekend getaway, so here’s a delayed recap in photos. Rebecca has some good posts about the trips and various portions of it here, here, here, and here.
Lots of rest and relaxation, but we don’t own a car. It’s nice to take long drives through the countryside, see the land, and listen to music. That’s what makes us happy.
In less than twelve hours, the first Apple Store in Vancouver will be open.
In the wee hours of tomorrow morning, the crowds will descend, a line shall form, and madness will ensue. In fact, people are most likely camped outside of Pacific Centre on Georgia Street at this moment. I would love to be there for an Apple Store opening and have heard nothing but cool things about it.
Sometimes they even hand out super fun free stuff, crazy discounts, or the odd gift certificate. Still, not enough to really want to make me suffer in line on a day off from work. Plus I’m holding out on replacing my Powerbook G4 with something more of a MacBook flavor, so that’s more of a priority in the near future.
There also won’t be any iPhones to speak of, but that will be changing in the very near future. John Biehler has more on that with some good points.
Unfortunately no details other than it’s coming ‘before the end of the year’.
The big questions to me are:
1. How much for the phone itself in Canada?
2. what does the data and voice plans look like? They better resemble the US pricing
3. How long do we have to lock in? Rogers seems to like 3 year terms
4. Will it be the rumoured new 3G model or as Rogers tends to be behind in releasing phones, will it be last year’s model [johnbiehler]
So an Apple Store within easy walking distance plus the iPhone on the horizon. Things are finally starting to happen for B.C. About freaking time, Apple.
What seems like ages ago, I was invited to be apart of the “Frogsquad” at EPIC 2008 and happyfrog.ca’s official media coverage of the weekend festivities. Rebecca joined in with her blogging expertise, and I did my fair share of producing podcasts while DaveO ran amok inside the convention. I have never published so many episodes of a podcast as I did in three days. Lots of audio goodness there.
To give a little a little more background on the event, EPIC is the annual, sustainability living expo that happens in downtown Vancouver. This was my first time attending, but I’ve heard about the event previously. People gather to discuss and discover ways to live a more green lifestyle and find alternative resources to satisfy everyday needs. And mark your calendar for next year’s expo, May 8-10, 2009.
While we’re at it, I should mention that if you are looking to find more information like this in the lower mainland of British Columbia, then that’s where happyfrog.ca comes in. They are a community and directory of all things green in B.C., and you can find a wealth of information there as well as contribute to the growing site. Every time I hear from DaveO about it, there’s more and more in the pipes, so keep checking back.
DaveO got a lot of great interviews, and the Vespa folks were one of my favorites. They are introducing a three wheeled version of their scooter which makes me want one. It’s a scooter by law, but you basically need a motorcycle license to drive it. Oh yeah, and there’s no kick stand.
Even Raul got into the mix, taking the microphone and talking to a well respected expert in the field of eco-living, Adria Vasil.
Certainly the highlight to my experience at EPIC 2008 was an appearance by Mike Holmes and his talk on how we can build greener homes, and how to do it cheaper, better, and right. I’ve come to really enjoy his show on HGTV, but it will end after this next season. According to what he mentioned on stage, he will be starting a new show called “Making It Right“. He’ll be “going to New Orleans, and we’ll make things right there. After that, we’ll be going to Africa, selecting areas and families that need good homes and show how we can make things right there.”
I’m not sure what comes after Africa, but that’s pretty amazing.
Of course, you can’t forget all the clothes you could buy at EPIC. And honestly, there was a lot of really cool stuff. I think most people have hemp come to mind as being the main source of material at an event like this, but there are all sorts of ways that people are creating great clothing. More so, the happyfrog.ca t-shirt I got is made out of bamboo, and it’s fantastic! It’s so soft that I want bed sheets made from bamboo now.
I have lots more pictures of the event on Flickr, but there are a lot more reports of the event on the frogblog. After all, this is official media coverage, most of it created live from the event floor, and I’m lucky to have been apart of it.
I had the chance to attend the Bridging Media conference a few weeks ago while Rebecca live blogged the whole event as a media sponsor. It’s been a little while since then, but I figure it’s better late than never to post a few thoughts about it while showing off some photos that I snapped throughout the day.
The purpose of this event was to bring the realms of traditional media into the same conversation as electronic media, and it was a really good mix of methods. Print, broadcast, and film shared the same stage as online video producers, bloggers, web marketers, and so on.
Being someone who currently works in the area of broadcasting, this is something that I struggle with on a daily, personal level. How can the realms of online media mesh with the traditional, highly stagnate methods of traditional media? That’s what this conference of sorts was meant to open the conversation to, not that I have a lot of weight or say as to how these two things are indeed bridged. I’m just a huge advocate for it.
It’s really tough for me to break down each and every conversation at this point, so I really encourage you to read through Rebecca’s live blog to get a better sense of what was discussed.
What I took away from this conference is that there is a lot to learn about how each side of the coin can work together in order to enrich media content as a whole. From education to story telling to information sharing to the way that marketers let you know about neat, new things, there are a lot of methods that have strengths and weaknesses which can only be helped through sharing the load.
In this world of electronic media, it’s tough to say that one form of distribution is better than the other. Each method has the way it delivers its message, and that message gets to a particular audience based on interest as well as the method. To me, it says that the only way to really strengthen your distribution is to have more ways to put out your message.
In radio, there is the old adage of saying it enough times and someone is bound to hear it at least once. But not everyone listens to the radio, and not everyone owns a TV. So it comes down to getting your message out to as many outlets that you can, and then doing it well. That’s what I think Bridging Media is trying to do, all the while opening new doors for traditional media to try out.
And finally, congrats to Megan and Erica for pulling together a really great event. It was a great day that really left me feeling inspired and full of great ideas.
It’s really no secret, but I’ll say it again. In 1994, I was cheering for the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Finals[wiki].
I know that might sound hard to believe, but it was only about six or nine months prior to that when I really sank my teeth into hockey, all because of NHL ’93 on the Sega CD. I was 15, growing up where football rules the fall, basketball is king of winter, and baseball consumes summer. That video game taught me a lot, especially about this Patrick Roy[wiki] guy that played for that Montreal team. I couldn’t score against those freaking Canadiens[wiki], so I started playing as the Habs. I was nearly unstoppable.
That June of 1994, I remember watching Pavel Bure[wiki] more than I recall Trevor Linden. However, the thing I recall more was how incredible of a battle that series was. I sat and watched the games in the kitchen, enthralled with ESPN’s coverage, wanting so badly for the Rangers to win only because of Chris Farley’s sketch on SNL where he portrayed the annoying, drunk, baseball fan in the stands of Yankee Stadium, crying out, “Go Yannnkkkeeeeess!”
I’d find that clip on YouTube, but it’s nowhere to be found. Needless to say, I sat there with my best impression, “Go Raaaannngggerrrss”. At the same time, I remember a dislike for Brian Leetch and Mark Messier that remains to this day. I was more of a Mike Richter fan, and goalies were the thing that dragged me into an interest for hockey, even if I have only played roller hockey, in the first place.
Still, the crowds in Pacific Coliseum[wiki] were insane, and it made sense to me as to why the Canucks held such an advantage over the Rangers when they played in Vancouver. The players had heart. They had support. There was a love for the game that only New York could try to buy into. It was mesmerizing. On top of that, I had no idea that I’d be working at that place nearly 13 years later.
Ten years after that cup run, I recall hearing a little bit here and there about the Canucks. Once Rebecca became apart of my life, I was taught a lot about the legacy of what came before and after that time, and that was enough for me to finally shed my years of wandering for a team to follow. The Rangers were just a one time thing, Chicago never really appealed to me, and Colorado was pretty cool during those Roy years.
But how does this all tie into Trevor Linden? I can’t really be sure, but all of that history came back to me when I watched him on the ice this past Saturday. It was in that moment at the start of the third period where you understand how amazing, beyond just being a hockey player, this guy is. He’s not the greatest to play the game as much as he is one of the best, true men among men that only comes along once and a while.
Yes, he has dazzled with the way he has played the game over the past 19 years. Some days have been better than others, and he didn’t get the brilliant send off that he deserved in a 7-1 loss for the, potentially, last game of his career. Even though I have only had the chance to really pay attention to him in the last three years, I still get it.
It’s not that he was the greatest hockey player to have ever lived. It’s simple character and class that I have a lot of respect for, and that is hard to come by these days. That was the chill that I felt when they players backed off the red line at the start of the third period on Saturday night. Trevor just wanted them to get the period started, but the crowd won out, forcing him to acknowledge the noise of 12,000+ who would stick it out to the end of the game.
And if this story plays out like the media expects it to, Trevor Linden will retire this year, and Markus Naslund will move on from Vancouver. What a huge void to fill in this city.
Rebecca and I made a trek into Stanley Park this morning. With the hectic schedules that we have these days, it’s one thing that we both love to do, especially so we can see all the changes they’ve been doing since the massive storm that affected so much of the park.
Apart of that laundry list of damage is Hollow Tree. The humega tourist landmark is losing the battle and has recently been decided to be taken down.
The most famous tree in Stanley Park will soon take up a new home, horizontal, on the ground.
The Vancouver Park Board voted unanimously on a recommendation to take down the hollow tree rather than spend $200,000 trying to prop it up.
But even with braces on the tree, there was no guarantee it would be safe for tourists to surround.
The tree will now likely be sliced down the middle with each half laid out so that people can walk between them. [news1130]
With this information in mind this morning, we stopped by to see it before it’s gone. Well, at least before it’s turned into a different variation of a tourist landmark than what it already is.
I think it goes without saying that I am a huge lover of Stanley Park, and the fact that this tree has to come down is sad. However, nature should be allowed to return to nature.
The fact that this tree (which, last I checked, is a type of living organism with roots, bark, branches, and leaves) is being held together with nuts, bolts, cable wires, and steel beams (which I’m fairly sure isn’t common among most plant based organisms) says that maybe the time has come to let it go.
Since I had strep throat on the official day of our two year anniversary, Saturday was the rescheduled time to do a lot of nothing.
After a breakfast in English Bay on one of the best days that we’ve seen yet this year, we decided to head out for a walk. First we thought Stanley Park, maybe venturing the whole way around the Seawall, walking with some coffees, etc. You know, the typical things a lot of people do who live downtown, just minus all the Lululemon gear.
We ended up hopping the water taxi and spent nearly four hours on Granville Island, tooling around the painfully swarming crowds to offer up ourselves a sense of relaxation. That’s actually possible as long as you just keep telling yourself that you have nothing to do, nowhere to be, and in no hurry. Once you grasp that idea, you can do damn near anything.
When we saw a crowd around this guy, there were flames on sticks and laughter. I knew we had to head that way and see what this “Byron from England” was all about.
He’s a street performer that juggles fire, escapes from a straight jacket and chains, and is incredibly funny. This photo was where I became apart of the act, posing and talking to me while making fun of me for taking so many photos (which you can see more of here). It was hilarious. If you get a chance to catch this guy, stop and see what’s up. I think our experience was well worth it.
The plan for the night was to get all fancy and hit a posh place to eat, but we could feel ourselves getting tired out from our all day excursion. We utilized the market for all it is worth, picking out incredible dishes to take home that were easy to make and amazing to taste, not to mention some outstanding desserts that were mind blowing.
All of this after a delicious coffee with a fresh croissant in a tucked away place on the island that was free of tourists. Good bless all your dollars you spend into the local economy, but Rebecca was able to lead us to a peaceful place to enjoy the sunshine, not to mention croissants that were so flaky and fresh that I was afraid the pigeons would soon be onto me.
Aside from getting a chance to explore a creative side through photographs with my nifty christmas present, we sat near the ferry dock to pause and listen to this man with his guitar. He sang in French, so I have no idea what he was saying. Still, the soundtrack couldn’t have been better with a backdrop of city, mountains, and water, who cares what he was saying.
We don’t get over to Granville Island as often as we probably should, and it’s the tough crowds that mostly likely make it that way. It’s really refreshing when you can have days like these, even more so when it’s far too convenient to take a round trip over there on a water taxi. You don’t get to do that very often where I grew up, and it beats the hell out of a bus ride.
When I moved to B.C. in 2005, I got strep throat. Within a few weeks of settling in on Vancouver being my home, a soreness in my throat grew to proportions that I never knew could exist. It hurt so much that I finally bit the bullet and went to a clinic. It cost me $100 just to see a doc, and the meds cost just a little bit more. At that point, I didn’t care. Just give me something to help make this go away.
Unemployed and unable to work in Canada at that point in my life, it was a relief to have the access to care like that. The cost would have probably been twice as much in the states, and the USD was still a tad stronger than the loony. That didn’t stop the doc I saw from giving me a lecture on the importance of having a B.C. CareCard if this happened again in the future. Kind of a “no shit, Sherlock” moment if you ask me.
After an intense few weeks at work, all of the going-ons of Northern Voice last week, and an excursion with The Crazy Canucks to the Canucks Open Practice, a tickle in the back of my throat grew to the point where gargling with salt water and a variety of over the counter remedies weren’t going to cut it. I was in full blown strep throat yet again, but this time I had that damn medical card, plus benefits.
I still made Rebecca go with me because I had no idea what to expect. Every medical place you go to in the U.S., there is paperwork to fill out. Medical history, etc. At the clinic, however, I gave them my card, they asked me to verify my name, address, phone number, and got my allergy to penicillin in their records.
That was it. No paperwork. Just have a seat and wait for my name to be called. The doc was brief and to the point of giving him the story of what was wrong with me, took one look at my “severely inflamed, very red” throat, and cut me a prescription for antibiotics which cost me $29 that my extended medical coverage will take care of.
20 minutes and I was back home to settle in with some tea, forcing everything down through the pain. So much pain, all on the day of our two year wedding anniversary. Oh happy day…
So there wasn’t anything great and grand about the experience other than it being quick, efficient, and made me better, even though I had to take the slow working meds because the faster way, the penicillian way, could potentially kill me.
Thanks for making me feel better, B.C. That was pretty awesome.
I had the opportunity to hang out at Launch Party Vancouver 3 on January 25th at the Lamplighter in Gastown. It was chalk full of all sorts of people in the ever so progressing Vancouver tech scene. Even though that is a geeky thing to say, good and interesting things are happening in the Vancouver tech community.
As the wine seemed to be never ending, I took my camera around and took some various shots. Taking photos with flash is never to my liking, but I’m adjusting more and more to how my new toy works. See all of my photos from the night here, but ace photographer Duane was officially on the prowl with his gear here.
Speaking of photos, one of the reasons we were there is that Rebecca was invited for a photo shoot as being one of the top women in tech here in Vancouver. Can she code in C+? Probably not, but as fast as she has taken to learning PHP and becoming a crack WordPress ninja tells me that she could learn it pretty quick if she wanted to. She also kicks some butt at her day job, so you could say that she’s really on top of her game.
Probably the coolest thing that I can’t stop talking about from that night is the free, 1GB thumb drive that were given away courtesy of Sun. Yes, the same Sun that you are thinking of, and they were there for the official launch of a software platform specifically aimed at helping tech startups be tech startups with their Startup Essentials program. Notice a theme there?
I didn’t take nearly enough time to explore the other folks who were demoing their products at the event as much as I took the opportunity to get caught up with some faces that I haven’t seen in quite sometime. Life has become too hectic to see everyone that I’d like, so it’s good to get a chance to get reacquainted.
If you’d like to see more details on the various folks demoing their latest and greatest, check out launchpartyhq.com.
Looking forward to the next edition of the Launch Party Vancouver. It’s a great way to keep the community in Vancouver familiar with each other. Otherwise, it’d just be a bunch of faceless people with products and URL’s. Gathering for good drink and food is a nice touch, geeking out optional.
A few weeks ago, the newest addition to the BC Ferries fleet was docked down at Canada Place for public viewing. After the Skate for a Cure event and a quick meeting downtown, I made my way over to check it out. The lines seemed deep for being so close to closing time, so I did my best to take some pictures and look through the windows. It still had that fresh through the Panama Canal smell.
I have only been on a ferry a hand full of times, but it’s another one of those things that really makes you fall in love with living in British Columbia. Planes, trains, and automobiles are one thing, but the fact that you toss in boats just adds an extra layer of uniqueness to the lower mainland. Just ask Rebecca who got back from the island after spending the weekend in Keira’s homeland.
I’ve already become a fan of the breakfasts on the ferry, then the trip to the deck to catch a view of what you can see, weather permitting. One thing I can say is that walking around the front of the boat in the dark is freaky. I can learn to get over it, but that thrill is fun for now.
My overall impression of the new, Super C-class[wiki] ferry is pretty cool. It doesn’t look as big as I imagined it to be or by what all the advertisements led me to believe, but I could see that the interior is a lot of the same from what you have in the existing fleet. Just newer.
You can see more of the photos from my short walk here.
