Well, wait no longer, you don't even need to go out and make a big purchase. You can just use this great little mapping tool I found on the ol' interweb.
So, where to next?
21.12.06
World Travels
Ever wanted to have a great big map that charted your world travels? It's definately something I've always wanted as I really enjoy travelling and it's always nice to know where you've been, especially when charting where you're going to go next.
Well, wait no longer, you don't even need to go out and make a big purchase. You can just use this great little mapping tool I found on the ol' interweb.
Here's the places I've now been, all 33 of them. It looks like I need to do quite a bit more travelling, especially in Eastern Europe & Asia, South America, Africa, and the South Pacific.
So, where to next?
Well, wait no longer, you don't even need to go out and make a big purchase. You can just use this great little mapping tool I found on the ol' interweb.
So, where to next?
12.10.06
Accomplished...
Last weekend was the big day, the day Tricia had been working towards for the last 4 months.
We headed over to Victoria on Saturday morning and boarded one of the busiest ferries I've ever seen; being Thanksgiving weekend the ships were packed.
Once we arrived in Victoria we stopped by one of our favourite coffee shops, Pure Vanilla, in Oak Bay. After our little snack we checked into our
hotel which was not willing to provide a late enough check-out, but we checked-in anyways, choosing to "deal with it later".
Since our check-in was done we headed for the registration of why we were in Victoria in the first place, the Victoria Marathon, Tricia's first full marathon.
After the registration we took advantage of Victoria and went shopping in their downtown.
Before dinner we took a quick trip of most of the marathon's route so Tricia would have some mental comfort with her enormous task of the next morning.
To cap off the evening we headed over to The Tapas Bar with the whole family and some other friends that came over for the race. The company was great, however we weren't as big fans of the food, which was satisfactory but didn't blow us away.
After a good night sleep, and early morning, and a healthy, pre-run breakfast Tricia was off and running. She managed to complete her first marathon in very good time and in very good shape.
A quick lunch at Med Grill capped off our Victoria experience and then it was off to the ferries for our trip home.
We headed over to Victoria on Saturday morning and boarded one of the busiest ferries I've ever seen; being Thanksgiving weekend the ships were packed.
Once we arrived in Victoria we stopped by one of our favourite coffee shops, Pure Vanilla, in Oak Bay. After our little snack we checked into our
hotel which was not willing to provide a late enough check-out, but we checked-in anyways, choosing to "deal with it later".
Since our check-in was done we headed for the registration of why we were in Victoria in the first place, the Victoria Marathon, Tricia's first full marathon.
After the registration we took advantage of Victoria and went shopping in their downtown.
Before dinner we took a quick trip of most of the marathon's route so Tricia would have some mental comfort with her enormous task of the next morning.
To cap off the evening we headed over to The Tapas Bar with the whole family and some other friends that came over for the race. The company was great, however we weren't as big fans of the food, which was satisfactory but didn't blow us away.
After a good night sleep, and early morning, and a healthy, pre-run breakfast Tricia was off and running. She managed to complete her first marathon in very good time and in very good shape.
A quick lunch at Med Grill capped off our Victoria experience and then it was off to the ferries for our trip home.
21.9.06
Listed
It's been a little while since I've updated the blog as we've been so incredibly busy trying to complete the renovation of our condo (pictures at dwellhere dot blogspot dot com). Well, it's done, and as such it's now just been listed with our realtors.
I guess it's now time for us to get back to all those little things we neglected over the last few months.
12.7.06
Renovating...
Time continues to pass and I've been so busy I haven't even been able to update the ever compelling online record of my life, but here's a quick one.
So as the title suggests, we are indeed renovating our apartment. Neither my wife nor I have ever undertaken anything like this so its quite the challenge. Every change or task as to be researched, decided, and attempted before finally being completed.
Thankfully there's plenty of great resources on the web. One of the best sites I've come across helping guide our strategy and things to think through has been on BestHouseFlip.com and their housing blog has been great to read as well. In addition to that a few experienced friends and my trusty ol' pal Google have helped us accomplish things we never would have dreamed of doing.
So as the title suggests, we are indeed renovating our apartment. Neither my wife nor I have ever undertaken anything like this so its quite the challenge. Every change or task as to be researched, decided, and attempted before finally being completed.
Thankfully there's plenty of great resources on the web. One of the best sites I've come across helping guide our strategy and things to think through has been on BestHouseFlip.com and their housing blog has been great to read as well. In addition to that a few experienced friends and my trusty ol' pal Google have helped us accomplish things we never would have dreamed of doing.
Wrapped Up...
May 19th brought a little bundle all wrapped up into the world. Aiden made my sister and brother-in-law parents for the first-time, Trish & I an aunt & uncle, and my parents into first-time grandparents.
He's now about 7 weeks old and growing like a weed, a cute weed, and his neck is getting very strong and the smiles are just starting to come.
Wonderful little miracles.
He's now about 7 weeks old and growing like a weed, a cute weed, and his neck is getting very strong and the smiles are just starting to come.
Wonderful little miracles.
5.6.06
Quick Update
It's been nearly two months since I've updated the official blog about 'my life' and it's been a bit busy.
Trish & I have been keeping our eyes open for some real estate options, trying to figure out where we should be and what we should be doing. We were looking at houses in South Surrey for a while, with an eye for small renovations, but weren't able to find appropriate value. After exhausting that, at the very end of April we decided that a condo might be more appropriate for us, so we found great realtors, Jim & Leslie, and started looking.
On Sunday we contacted the realtor, Tuesday we looked at a couple places & made an offer on one, by Wednesday we had an accepted offer with subjects, and by the following Friday subjects had been removed. Barely two weeks later we closed on our little abode.
Since then we've wrapped up our life at C-side and moved out to White Rock. The place is several years old and needs some serious updating. We currently finalizing our plans and doing some further pre-reno research, although we've already acquired hardwood flooring & granite countertops.
One of the unfortunate sidenotes of our little adjustment is that I have had to give up fish-keeping (or for those of you that know me better than that, 'water & rock keeping'). I wasn't able to sell the entire fish tank as a package so I've been shipping & delivering various components across the country; Vancouver, White Rock, Fort St. John, Regina, & more.
The most exciting happening of the last month has most surely been the birth of my first nephew, Aiden Daniel. He's about 2.5 weeks old now and bringing a lot of joy to the entire family.
7.4.06
Stabilo...
So I made a little post about Stabilo the other day and made reference to their new CD coming out. Well... it's out and it's great! Of course I am a fan of Stabilo and have been for some time, and although my judgement may be slightly clouded by the fact that I am friends with some of the members, I do believe that this could be their breakthrough album.
I picked up the CD from Future Shop on Tuesday. The CD is only $9.99 in store or on-line and there's free shipping!
Also... the boys will be a part of the World Ski & Snowboard Festival's free Outdoor Concert Series in Whistler on, according to the website "Tuesday, April 17" so I'm not certain if they're referring to Monday, April 17 or Tuesday, April 18? I'm not sure of the time, but I would assume it's after 3pm.
After further research it appears that they are indeed playing on MONDAY, APRIL 17 in Whistler and that they will have a follow-up show in Vancouver on Tuesday, April 18.
I picked up the CD from Future Shop on Tuesday. The CD is only $9.99 in store or on-line and there's free shipping!
Also... the boys will be a part of the World Ski & Snowboard Festival's free Outdoor Concert Series in Whistler on, according to the website "Tuesday, April 17" so I'm not certain if they're referring to Monday, April 17 or Tuesday, April 18? I'm not sure of the time, but I would assume it's after 3pm.
After further research it appears that they are indeed playing on MONDAY, APRIL 17 in Whistler and that they will have a follow-up show in Vancouver on Tuesday, April 18.
27.3.06
Whistler
We spent a relaxed weekend up in Whistler with two couple friends of ours. The six of us met at our condo around 3:30pm and got out of the city before the Friday evening rush.
It's tough to top Whistler most days, it's even harder to beat it when the top of the mountain has over 20cm in the past 24 hours and then the skies give way to glorious sunshine.
You can't time a good day at most mountains, but when you've got one, you have to try to take advantage of it. Trish & I made sure we were on the lifts at the opening and rode straight until 1pm. At that point the top of the mountain was shrouded in a few clouds and the good snow was getting tracked out so we headed down the mountain.
Since we were in Whistler for the entire weekend with some friends we decided to head back to the condo to rid ourselves of our gear before heading back to Monk's Grill for a little apres lunch of nachos. We enjoyed some great people watching from the patio.
After our apres we enjoyed the condo's hot tub, went for a walk, dozed, and read magazines in our eager anticipation of Jeff's famous sangria.
We woke up on Sunday to complete cloud cover and massive snowflakes. Amazing how quickly the weather can change at this time of year. Fortunately, by the time we checked out and headed home the temperature had warmed up enough that the roads were completely fine, especially with the Sea to Sky highway improvements that have already been done in anticipation of the Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Olympics.
Since the journey home was so easy we decided to stop at The Village at Park Royal and more specifically our favourite coffee shop, Caffe Artigiano where I was able to enjoy my favourite drink, a grande, extra-sweet mocha.
mmmmm....
It's tough to top Whistler most days, it's even harder to beat it when the top of the mountain has over 20cm in the past 24 hours and then the skies give way to glorious sunshine.
You can't time a good day at most mountains, but when you've got one, you have to try to take advantage of it. Trish & I made sure we were on the lifts at the opening and rode straight until 1pm. At that point the top of the mountain was shrouded in a few clouds and the good snow was getting tracked out so we headed down the mountain.
Since we were in Whistler for the entire weekend with some friends we decided to head back to the condo to rid ourselves of our gear before heading back to Monk's Grill for a little apres lunch of nachos. We enjoyed some great people watching from the patio.
After our apres we enjoyed the condo's hot tub, went for a walk, dozed, and read magazines in our eager anticipation of Jeff's famous sangria.
We woke up on Sunday to complete cloud cover and massive snowflakes. Amazing how quickly the weather can change at this time of year. Fortunately, by the time we checked out and headed home the temperature had warmed up enough that the roads were completely fine, especially with the Sea to Sky highway improvements that have already been done in anticipation of the Vancouver/Whistler 2010 Olympics.
Since the journey home was so easy we decided to stop at The Village at Park Royal and more specifically our favourite coffee shop, Caffe Artigiano where I was able to enjoy my favourite drink, a grande, extra-sweet mocha.
mmmmm....
17.3.06
The Loop...
It seems rather pathetic, but this is going to be the second TV related post, but at least this ones not reality TV based. Today we're talking sitcoms, new sitcoms.
I don't envy the job of trying to find a new television show that actually connects with its target. Earlier this season Love Monkey was doing just that. LM was a unique television show that didn't seem as contrived or juvenile as many of the programs that air week to week. The star was a young music producer dealing with the challenges of making it in a rather tough industry. He wasn't a superstar, he didn't drive a Bentley, he didn't live in a penthouse, etc. The show seemed quite real. Unfortunately it seems that it was too real for most of America as the show received little advertising or promotion and a mere 6 episodes were aired.
On March 15th I stumbled across the premiere of The Loop on Fox. Yes... I know... Fox. But I decided to give it a chance and ended up watching one of the funniest shows currently airing. The young airline executive constantly falling our of "windows" and having to land on "his feet" is quite humourous as is the rest of the cast and their various quirks. The Loop will be airing on Fox on Thursdays at 8:30pm.
15.3.06
Lake... like the ocean...
Currently there aren't many television shows that I watch on a regular basis, but two have grabbed me for a regular weekly timeslot: The Amazing Race and The Block. Surprisingly both reality shows, but if Alias was currently airing and Love Monkey hadn't been cancelled the mix would be more even.
Amazing Race, now in it's 9th season is an excellent show helping to broaden the horizons of its contestants and viewers alike. One of the most interesting (read: wacko) contestants of this season is Lake, a dentist from Hattiesburg, Mississippi who will help you by relating his name to the ocean if you didn't understand him. Hopefully Lake's horizons will be broadened from his experience on the race and maybe, just maybe, with time he'll cease to tell his wife, Michelle, to, "Shut the f@*# up!" Hmmm... now is that any way to speak to your dental hygenist wife? Click here to view their bio. Thankfully their are still 9 other teams involved in the race.
Now despite most reality television shows becoming completing boring and ridiculous as their ideas get tired and the ratings even more fatiqued The Block is surprisingly refreshing. The primary reason for it's refreshment is in my opinion the fact that the show was not created in North America. This ultimate renovating show was developed and shot down under in Australia. Since not everyone is aware of the show I'll give you a basic rundown.
A small apartment building, thus far consisting of 4 units (2 up, 2 down), located approximately one "block" from the beach is in requirement of massive renovations. The producers ensure that all of the units are of similar value and are appraised as such before the show commences. The show begins with four couples selected, each of which will move to The Block for the duration of the show. Renovation money will be given to each couple at the start along with various other items helpful for completing their renovation such as tools, laptops, cars, etc. The couples then have 100 days to completely renovate their flats and upon completion of the units each one will be sold at auction, a method often employed to sell houses down under. Through the 100 day dash the couples will have to completely renovate one room per week in addition to renovating common areas of the apartments. Now 100 days doesn't seem that bad to renovate an apartment but one of the catches on the block is that in addition to abiding by the local noise bylaws each couple must maintain their day jobs throughout the show. At the end of the competition each couple will keep the difference between the auction price and the reserve price (set at the original appraisal amount). The winning couple receives an EXTRA $100,000!
Season 1 of The Block called world-famous Bondi Beach home while Season 2 calls Manly home.
So if you want some refreshing 'reality' TV check out The Amazing Race or The Block.
Amazing Race, now in it's 9th season is an excellent show helping to broaden the horizons of its contestants and viewers alike. One of the most interesting (read: wacko) contestants of this season is Lake, a dentist from Hattiesburg, Mississippi who will help you by relating his name to the ocean if you didn't understand him. Hopefully Lake's horizons will be broadened from his experience on the race and maybe, just maybe, with time he'll cease to tell his wife, Michelle, to, "Shut the f@*# up!" Hmmm... now is that any way to speak to your dental hygenist wife? Click here to view their bio. Thankfully their are still 9 other teams involved in the race.
Now despite most reality television shows becoming completing boring and ridiculous as their ideas get tired and the ratings even more fatiqued The Block is surprisingly refreshing. The primary reason for it's refreshment is in my opinion the fact that the show was not created in North America. This ultimate renovating show was developed and shot down under in Australia. Since not everyone is aware of the show I'll give you a basic rundown.
A small apartment building, thus far consisting of 4 units (2 up, 2 down), located approximately one "block" from the beach is in requirement of massive renovations. The producers ensure that all of the units are of similar value and are appraised as such before the show commences. The show begins with four couples selected, each of which will move to The Block for the duration of the show. Renovation money will be given to each couple at the start along with various other items helpful for completing their renovation such as tools, laptops, cars, etc. The couples then have 100 days to completely renovate their flats and upon completion of the units each one will be sold at auction, a method often employed to sell houses down under. Through the 100 day dash the couples will have to completely renovate one room per week in addition to renovating common areas of the apartments. Now 100 days doesn't seem that bad to renovate an apartment but one of the catches on the block is that in addition to abiding by the local noise bylaws each couple must maintain their day jobs throughout the show. At the end of the competition each couple will keep the difference between the auction price and the reserve price (set at the original appraisal amount). The winning couple receives an EXTRA $100,000!
Season 1 of The Block called world-famous Bondi Beach home while Season 2 calls Manly home.
So if you want some refreshing 'reality' TV check out The Amazing Race or The Block.
11.3.06
Admission...
Not 'admission' as in "acceptance to university" but 'admission' as in "admitting a character flaw". [But I guess the real question is to whether or not those two versions of 'admission' are spelt the same way... ;)]
Now I'm not certain that my blog is the appropriate place to admit a genuine character flaw, but I figured what the heck, it's not like many people actually read my little web foray at this point... so here goes:
I enjoy chick flicks.
There, I admitted it, it's out in the open. Now I don't want to go into too much depth as that might incriminate me further, so I'll just leave it at this... Failure to Launch was pretty good, but not quite as funny as Hitch .
The secrets out...
Now I'm not certain that my blog is the appropriate place to admit a genuine character flaw, but I figured what the heck, it's not like many people actually read my little web foray at this point... so here goes:
I enjoy chick flicks.
There, I admitted it, it's out in the open. Now I don't want to go into too much depth as that might incriminate me further, so I'll just leave it at this... Failure to Launch was pretty good, but not quite as funny as Hitch .
The secrets out...
10.3.06
Stabilo
Stabilo's new album titled Happiness & Disaster will be released April 4. What I've heard of the CD sounds great! Some previews are apparently available on iTunes. View the complete track list here.
The boys have also put out a music video for the first track that's been released. View the video from the EMI Canada website here.
To learn more about Stabilo's music or to join in discussions check out their forum.
The boys have also put out a music video for the first track that's been released. View the video from the EMI Canada website here.
To learn more about Stabilo's music or to join in discussions check out their forum.
9.3.06
Lent's Been Rough...
It's barely been a week, but two of the vices I've given up for Lent are proving to be rather difficult to kick. Having owned a couple of Volkswagens and being fascinated by the entire Volkswagen AG empire it's tough to stay away. Prior to Ash Wednesday I spent far too much time on the Volkswagen Drivers of Vancouver website and an equally excessive amount of time on the VW Vortex, a site dedicated to the empire.
I've still got until Sunday, April 16, 2006.... ahahahahahhhh.... I can do it.
I've still got until Sunday, April 16, 2006.... ahahahahahhhh.... I can do it.
8.3.06
Bright Trading
Yesterday I launched a website for my Bright Trading office. Bright is an excellent option for day trading in Vancouver. We offer professional tools, excellent rates, a variety of training options, and a friendly atmosphere to trade in.
Silverstar
Just spent the weekend up at Silverstar near Vernon, BC.
Unfortunately we had to drive the Coquihalla highway to get there, which can be treacherous and WAS treacherous. The snow had just started to fall as we past Hope meaning the plows and sanding trucks hadn't yet got out of the work yards. Fortunately I had just purchased a brand new set of Michelin 4X4 Synchrone tires for the Disco.
Fortunately snow on the Coq' translates into 'snow on Silverstar' so we were blessed with a bunch of the fluffy white stuff for the next day. On top of that, we also "had to" ensure we put on sunscreen as there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
As pathetic as it sounds, Thursday was my first day snowboarding all year! Lucky for me, snowboarding's a lot like riding a bike, you've just got to get back on and it comes right back.
While I was up at the 'star I did a bit more work on the website for Sacrifice Designs. Sacrifice was a small clothing company that my best friend Dave and I started almost 8 years ago. Sacrifice was started as a clothing company geared at creating streetwear for both skiers and snowboarders.
Like all good Vacations this one also had to come to an end. Thankfully the Coquihalla was completely clear for the journey home and the road was almost entirely dry. The highway is very beautiful and quite peaceful when not engulfed in a blizzard. Imagine that, eh?!
Unfortunately we had to drive the Coquihalla highway to get there, which can be treacherous and WAS treacherous. The snow had just started to fall as we past Hope meaning the plows and sanding trucks hadn't yet got out of the work yards. Fortunately I had just purchased a brand new set of Michelin 4X4 Synchrone tires for the Disco.
Fortunately snow on the Coq' translates into 'snow on Silverstar' so we were blessed with a bunch of the fluffy white stuff for the next day. On top of that, we also "had to" ensure we put on sunscreen as there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
As pathetic as it sounds, Thursday was my first day snowboarding all year! Lucky for me, snowboarding's a lot like riding a bike, you've just got to get back on and it comes right back.
While I was up at the 'star I did a bit more work on the website for Sacrifice Designs. Sacrifice was a small clothing company that my best friend Dave and I started almost 8 years ago. Sacrifice was started as a clothing company geared at creating streetwear for both skiers and snowboarders.
Like all good Vacations this one also had to come to an end. Thankfully the Coquihalla was completely clear for the journey home and the road was almost entirely dry. The highway is very beautiful and quite peaceful when not engulfed in a blizzard. Imagine that, eh?!
27.2.06
Olympics
Turino 2006 was quite the games. It was so exciting to watch the athletes compete for the last 17 days. Turino put together exceptional opening and closing ceremonies.
Mayor Sam Sullivan did an excellent job receiving the Olympic flag from the mayor of Turino for the handoff for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic games.
The CBC again had oustanding coverage of the games. Iterestingly enough, they will again have the rights to the summer Olympic games in Beijing in 2008; however they will lose the rights to CTV for both the following games.
So with regards to the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, BC a new website I've come across for Canadian travel. It appears to be new but shows excellent promise and will provide great information as the site matures.
Mayor Sam Sullivan did an excellent job receiving the Olympic flag from the mayor of Turino for the handoff for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic games.
The CBC again had oustanding coverage of the games. Iterestingly enough, they will again have the rights to the summer Olympic games in Beijing in 2008; however they will lose the rights to CTV for both the following games.
So with regards to the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, BC a new website I've come across for Canadian travel. It appears to be new but shows excellent promise and will provide great information as the site matures.
16.2.06
Home, Sweet Home...
My wife and I purchased a small condo, pre-construction, last winter and the unit should be ready this fall. That means that we will no longer be living in our lovely rented condo in Coal Harbour where we can't have any pets. But it also means that we will be living in a lovely area where we CAN have pets. So the countdown to being dog owners has commenced.
We've decided that we'ld like to a Keeshond also known as a dutch barge dog. They look much like a smaller, manlier husky. They're very social dogs and have a lot of hair.
We've already been looking for dog accessories and of course dog sweaters, dog coats, dog jackets, etc. I came accross this site for dog clothes.
We've decided that we'ld like to a Keeshond also known as a dutch barge dog. They look much like a smaller, manlier husky. They're very social dogs and have a lot of hair.
We've already been looking for dog accessories and of course dog sweaters, dog coats, dog jackets, etc. I came accross this site for dog clothes.
15.2.06
Flickr
I've added a Flickr sidebar to my Blog so you can check out photos I've taken. Some of them are all right, might be worth you looking. ;)
This picture is of fishing boats in Mazatlan right next to the Stone Island passenger ferry 'terminal'.
My Flickr Page
This picture is of fishing boats in Mazatlan right next to the Stone Island passenger ferry 'terminal'.
My Flickr Page
14.2.06
Resolutions...
Well seeing as it's a new year and all and I've been into this whole "new year's resolutions" thing and been pretty good at, I might add, I've been focusing on improving my health.
I've been eating well, exercising, and trying to get more regular sleep.
Here's a diet website I came accross that provides some pretty good information with regard to the essentials of diet, weight loss, and healthy living AND they even had a link to some great soy products from Revival Soy for a really good price.
I've been eating well, exercising, and trying to get more regular sleep.
Here's a diet website I came accross that provides some pretty good information with regard to the essentials of diet, weight loss, and healthy living AND they even had a link to some great soy products from Revival Soy for a really good price.
23.1.06
the suck...
wow... i really suck at updating this. maybe one day i'll be a real blogging guru, for now, i'll continue to observe the blogging world from afar.
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