Lobster With Kimchi

Brooklyn Gets Down

2011-05-29T20:21:00.000-07:00

Today was Brooklyn's dance recital. She's taking a jazz dance class. I'm not sure how "We Are Family" by Sister Sledge is a jazz dance song, but who cares, she was awesome! It was more impressive watching the show live today because all the other young girls had instructors dancing with them...Brooks' group was the first to dance on their own without an instructor. I'm very proud of my little girl.

BTW, she starts in the center and is basically the second in the line for most of the routine, just in case you didn't recognize her!

Unique Christmas Gifts

2010-12-24T16:04:00.000-08:00

Hee hee hee! A Brian puzzle! Mom must have LOVED getting this fantastic, unique Christmas gift from her favourite son!

Katy Perry Sent Me A Greeting From Santa!!!

2010-12-22T15:31:00.000-08:00

Wow, I didn't know she cared! The kids can hardly believe it!

http://www.portablenorthpole.ca/watch/LnmOSaeCEmttd2IPpKPmmA

Christmas Party

2010-12-22T14:00:00.000-08:00

We had our company Christmas Party at the Pacific Rim Hotel this year. Yup, the hottie in the picture is yours truly. Very dapper, what with the perfect two point pocket square and all. Oh yeah, and Judie is the one in the red dress.

Holiday Express

2010-12-22T11:14:00.000-08:00

All aboard! It's time to roll out the Holiday Express!

Truth be told, this is another space consuming Christmas decoration taking up a valuable spot on our garage shelves. The box for this thing is massive! I don't know if it is "garden" gauge track or what.

I strained my back pulling it out and it is so massive we have to set it up in our living room around the ottoman. It is so big I can't even do a circle around our tree without the tracks spillling into the hallway! Nonetheless, the kids love, Love, LOVE it. Justin has been playing with it all morning. Sheesh. I guess as much as things change, an electric train can still captivate the imagination of a little boy.

The set is very colorful, with flashing lights on every car. Pretty good for a Costco special. We must have had this set for at least 5 years and it has become a favourite Christmas tradition with the kids...and every other little kid they invite over during the holidays!!!

There is something that moves on each car too. Santa waves from the engine, a little elf pops out of the back of the tender, the elves saw a candy in half on the Candy Dancer car, and chop wood on the Log Mill car.

My personal favourite is the Tanker car, where a little elf on a magnet spins around as if he was skating.

And Santa's toy shop is in the caboose.

Along with a jolly little...clone trooper??? OK, now I understand why Justin likes it so much. The Republic has commandeered the Holiday Express for a special mission against the Separatists.

And to top it all off, there's a Station that plays non-stop Christmas music while the Holiday Express chugs around the living room. Did I mention there is a remote control to make the train go fast or slow, forward and reverse, and make an assortment of sounds?!? Oh dear, I have a headache already. I need to go check to see if there's any rum in the house for my eggnog.

Breakfast With Santa

2010-12-22T11:05:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn got all gussied up for Breakfast With Santa at Canada Place. Fancy dress, straight hair, the whole nine yards. The event featured perennial Vancouver kids' favourites Music With Marnie and Bobs and Lolo and I guess they threw in the Show Stoppers (a glee club) for the parents. That's an angel painted on her face...yes, they had face painting for the kids too.

And don't worry, unlike the Trudeau's, we only wear fake fur in my family.

Naughty Or Nice???

2010-12-13T11:25:00.000-08:00

Christmas Mashup - The Police v Rudolph

2010-12-13T11:17:00.000-08:00

The kids just watched the classic puppet animation version of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" last night. This is a great mashup of "Roxanne" and the Christmas classic.

H-E-L-L-O, It's Showtime!

2010-12-12T13:30:00.000-08:00

Oh dear. Camera work by Justin. Performance by Brooklyn. It becomes semi-coherent at about the 25 second mark.

Holiday Happenings

2010-12-12T11:23:00.000-08:00

Well, apparently I have ruined Christmas for my wife by getting a tree that's a little short and fat. I've nicknamed it Pavorottree after the fat tenor. She's facebooking about how awful it is and everything. Sheesh. So, instead of a picture perfect Martha Stewart tree, we have adorned Stumpy with multicolored lights and all the kids' homemade decorations! Hey, it is all about the kids isn't it? They had fun decorating it and that's all that matters. Since it is short and squat, they could reach most of the branhces without my help. Now if only Brooks would leave the freakin' decorations on the tree and stop playing with them!!! The other good thing about picking up our Douglas Fat from Home Depot is it came with a $25 coupon for January. The tree is basically free!

I'm sure my parents cursed me for goofing off when I was a kid when they were trying to take a picture. Thank goodness for the digital camera, or the folks at the photo-mart would have a good laugh developing the film from our house.

Justin, in particular, is a little freak. Half the time I think he's trying to replicate 80's robot dance moves or MJ's Thriller video.

The kids are pretty excited about Santa this year. Let's just say that their letter to Santa involved taking the Toys'R'Us flyer and crossing out a couple of toys they DIDN'T want.

In the meantime, Judie decided to buy a 1,000 piece Christmas puzzle to keep the kids busy over the holidays. It was a good idea except the puzzle she picked was freakin' impossible!!! We ended up doing most of it because it was far too complicated for the kids. I don't even want to guess how many hours we spent on this. Thank God it is done. Whew.

Next Saturday the Leafs are in town and we've got tickets for the game. Nothing would make the season more complete than having the Canucks kick Toronto's butts.

Lights On

2010-11-28T21:49:00.000-08:00

Well, US Thanksgiving is over, and it was a dry Sunday, so I figured it was time to put up the Christmas lights. This is an annual undertaking that I both love and loathe. On one hand, I know I'll end up falling off a ladder, cursing in front of the kids, destroying shrubbery, or electrocuting myself. On the other hand, I look forward to the look on the kids' faces when they see the house lit up for the holidays. It also marks the first step in the building excitement to Christmas.

I was very organized this year. I assembled my tools and got out the ladder before I started carting lights out of the crawl space.

Things got off to a bad start as I bonked my head in the crawlspace as I was digging out boxes of lights and decorations. Ugh. Anyway, I had neatly packed things away last year and as I pulled each string from storage, my plan of attack came together and I was eager to start. I was soon up the ladder ready to go. ARGH!!! What the heck? The gutters were full of leaves! Urgh! What a pain, having to stop to clean the gutters before I got started. Oh well, minor setback.

I set to work, meticulously lining up every single light with a clip so that they were perfectly aligned along the gutter. Believe me, squeezing every single light on a string into the plastic clips was getting hard on the fingers after awhile. I was making good progress until I reached the peak of the porch and realized my step ladder wasn't tall enough. Off to the garage to dig out a taller ladder.

It was about this time that the kids came outside and starting running around under the ladder (don't they know that's bad luck...especially with a 185 pound klutz clamouring above them?). I enjoyed the company until they started stealing my tools and supplies. For some reason it was funny to take my bag of gutter clips and chase around the yard while I was yelling obsenities from on high.
After I got my gutter clips back, I had to contend with the overgrown shrubbery to complete my gutter string. A few wobbles, a few close calls, but in the end no falls from the ladder and no blood drawn by the bushes from hell, although I nearly impaled myself on a branch. The hard part was over and the garland and lights around the doors were easy by comparison.
I was feeling proud of myself for getting everything done as I hung the wreathes and cleaned up. Empty boxes back to the crawlspace, tools to the closet, ladders to the garage. I did the grand lighting and everything looked great.

I love the OOO lips from the Garfield Christmas special. From Christmas lights to fireworks, nobody does better OOO lips. Anyway, it was only at this moment that I realized that one of the porch lights was out...AFTER I put the ladders away!!! ARGH!!! Back to the garage.

Not many new additions to the decor this year...so far! But, hey, it's not even December yet! There's lots of time to add new stuff.

I hope the kids appreciate the end result. Wow, that was a lot of work.

5 Going On 15

2010-11-04T08:29:00.000-07:00

Something tells me that when your 5 year old daughter is already straightening her curly hair and dressing in leather and boots, you should be very, very afraid of what's to come.

Happy Birthday Brooklyn!!!

2010-10-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

My little girl is now officially 5 years old!!! I can hardly believe it, she is growing up so fast.

What a cutie she has become...and she's the tallest girl in her class! Maybe I have a model on my hands...nah, she says she wants to be a rock star.

Justin, I hope your sister doesn't forget her rude little bro when she's famous!

Raking Woes

2010-10-31T18:38:00.000-07:00

If there's ever a time of year I wish we had four seasons instead of two - Vancouver has "Summer" and "Soggy" - it would be autumn, particularly when all the leaves come down. Maybe I'm romanticizing it a bit, but I used to really enjoy raking leaves on a cool, crisp fall day in Nova Scotia. The air was so fresh and clean, and raking leaves with your brother, Mom, Dad, grandmother, aunt or whoever was always a chance to talk and have a laugh.

Trust me when I say, there is nothing less fun than raking soggy leaves. In Vancouver, you wait for it to stop raining so you can dash out and clean them up and you waste the only time it isn't raining straining your back to pile wet leaves in your bin. And man are leaves heavy when they're wet!!! It is really an unpleasant experience!!! Not sure a leaf blower would be any use in Vancouver, unless it could dry them out a bit before raking!

Even worse, my kids are still a little young to be of any real help. It usually ends up being more work when they help!!!

Oh well, at least we don't have any snow to shovel most winters. Sigh. That's another season I miss!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T18:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! My date for the Halloween sock-hop was my sweet darlin' Brooks. Ain't she cute?

Justin is hiding under the Boba Fett mask...last year he was Jango Fett, now Boba Fett. Oh well, at least he didn't want to be Princess Leia!

And speaking of Boba Fett, this freakin' pumpkin took forever to carve!!!

We carved another one quickly at the club Halloween party, where the gym had been converted to a haunted house. They had bowling with skulls, a place to make your own magic potions and fishing for rats and bats out of a witch's cauldron. The kids had fun but were too scared for the haunted house!

This little guy was a quick free form carving by yours truly after Justin decided it was too much work!

Happy Birthday Justin!!!

2010-10-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

Justin is 8 years old!

We booked the gym for an hour of floor hockey with 12 boys and wouldn't you know it, the sun is shining and it must be 20 degrees. Who knew? Oh well, you never know in Vancouver.

I'm a bad dad, I was in Seattle on his actual birthday. And just to show I don't play favourites, I'm going to be out of town on Brooklyn's birthday too!!!

Parksville

2010-09-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

There's nothing quite like a long weekend at beautiful Parksville, especially when the weather cooperates. The beaches are incredibly sandy and the shallow water lends itself to searching for crabs, clams, mussels and other little critters at low tide.

Hotshot Brooks won the bouncy ball race...

...against her less coordinated competitor!

Urgh! I was so conscious of keeping the score close, Justin ended up beating me at mini-golf due to a couple of late brilliant shots!!! Revenge will be mine!!!

The weather couldn't have been any better. We even saw three deer on the way to mini-golf!

The kids loved the s'mores and log cabin after a long day at the beach!

And the parents loved a glass of red wine after a long day at the beach!

The king of burning marshmallows!

Pouty Justin on the ferry ride home. I don't blame him, Parksville is a great place for a summer getaway!

Upper Canada Village

2010-09-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

Boy, am I behind on my blogging. Haven't even got all the pictures from our Kingston trip posted. Here's a couple from our trip to Upper Canada Village, a recreation of a typical late 1800's Ontario town. Justin thought it was pretty boring, of course, and Brooklyn sneezed from the hay and animals the whole time, but otherwise it was fun. The funniest part was the trip to the doctor's house...if you could have seen the look on Justin's face as she explained what all the torture devicies...er, I mean surgical tools...were used for!!!

A couple of freaks from the canrival!

Justin pumps it up!

Justin pushing the hay wagin to earn his wages.

Museum Of Science And Technology

2010-08-03T10:11:00.000-07:00

The best chocolate ice cream ever...according to Justin and his wealth of experience.

No, it's not the tin man, it's a Brooklynaut ready for launch!

Only in Canada would they have a snow mobile simulator at the Museum of Science and Technology.

Brooks drives an old CP engine.

Little people and big wheels!

I thought the coolest part of the museum was making bottle rockets out on the lawn, which the kids did, but apparently not. Their favourite part was a life size fibre network maze with slides and blinking lights that you could run through. Judie hogged a game machine while the kids played...lots of sad little kids running to their parents saying "aw, that lady is STILL playing the game."

Parliament Hill

2010-07-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

You can't really go to the nation's capitol without visitng Parliament Hill can you? Brooklyn felt so patriotic she burst into a rendition of her own version of our national anthem which goes "Oh, Canada, give a little shake-shake" followed by shaking her butt. God only knows where she came up with that one!!! I blame Judie.

The kids thought all the limestone bannisters were for climbing...good thing they didn't have skateboards or we may have been arrested.

These two get along only slightly better than Harper and Layton.

Hey, Justin actually smiled, so I had to include this shot.

Brooks liked the Unicorn with the tongue sticking out. I'd be gagging too if I had to hold the flag of Royal France.

Canadian Museum Of Nature

2010-07-29T15:56:00.000-07:00

The Canadian Museum of Nature underwent a massive renovation recently and the results are spectacular. Lots of hands-on activities to keep the kids busy, lots of cool dinosaur bones, fossilized dinosaur poo, whale poo and neat exhibits of real live bugs and frogs of all kinds. I liked the leaf and stick insects, but I've been itchy ever since we left.

Justin pretending he's a baby seal coming out of the ice. Where's that club-like-Olympic-torch when you need it?

Heat map of Justin's face. Hey! Even his boogers are hot.

Brooks pretends to be an Arctic Ocean researcher.

And Uncle Bruce can't help but take the wheel! Which kid had the most fun?

So Much For Not Playing With Guns

2010-07-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

Brooks hangin' at Fort Henry...with my sunglasses. After having several pairs destroyed by the kids over the years, I only go for Zellers $12 replicas these days.

Take another step back...no, that's ok, you can cross the chain fence...yeah...ok...uh huh, just one more step back...

The best 5 minutes of our vacation.

I would have paid triple the admission if I knew I go to lock up the kids in the brig.

Holy crap, it looks like he's wearing a kilt!

This picture makes me glad I didn't have a sister (well, other than Bruce). All that excitement of pretending to be a British soldier shooting your rifle at Fort Henry stifled by a sister saying we look like Barbie and the Three Musketeers.

My son is pretty smart. I shouldn't have taught him how to light matches, though.

Well, Uncle Bruce, after introducing my innocent children to guns and violence and armies and war, you deserved to get a rifle rammed in the family jewels! OK, I can't lie, Brooks is actually ordering him to do one of those Irish Riverdance dances. I'd post the video of what followed but as much as I'd like to embarrass Bruce, he is my sister, after all. And, well, he's not a very good dancer either. He CAN carry a tune, I'll give him that, the man can sing. It's just too bad that all he knows is showtunes and Gilbert and Sullivan songs.

Dinner At Rosecliff

2010-07-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

Parties at the Newport mansions in Rhode Island...that's how I roll, baby! Rosecliff has been featured on America's Castles and is one of the many summer "cottages" preserved by the Preservation Society of Newport County.

It was built in 1902 by Theresa Fair Oelrichs, a silver heiress from Nevada, who modeled the mansion after the Grand Trianon of Versailles. The ballroom is the focal point of the property. After dinner, a 14 piece band played 3 solid hours without a break, covering everything from Chattanooga Choo Choo to Poker Face.

Have you ever seen such a beauty? This is the car I rented in Newport. We had a few pre-dinner whiskies at the hotel and I was feeling a little tired so I just parked on the lawn in the back yard. Oh yeah, and Judie is in the picture too.

The Great Gatsby was filmed at Rosecliff.

Dinner was in a tent on the lawn...a tent with hardwood floors and air conditioning. Each of the 8 courses was paired with a wine. This is the sort of mindless, mundane crap I have to do for work. I really took one for the cause, and I hope my coworkers appreciate my sacrifice.

Climing At The Boiler Room

2010-07-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

Aunt Ellen took us to the local indoor climbing wall in Kingston. Justin proved to be more of a bouldering guy...but Brooklyn was aggressive and fearless and climbed to the ceiling of the former cotton mill.

We also met Rob Chisnall, a local who has a Guiness Book of World Records title for the most two finger and also one finger pullups!!! Insane!!!

Samsung Crap

2010-07-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

I am no longer a fan of Samsung after our LCD television stopped working. The tv is only 3-4 years old and naturally I didn't buy the extended warranty from Best Buy. In my experience, every electronic device I've ever bought has lasted at least 5+ years, so I didn't think I'd need an extended warranty.

Why I'm upset is that it appears that - after scoruing the internet - Samsung has a well documented problem with their LCD tv's with this very issue. The culprit parts are 4 tiny capacitors that cost about $2 each at Radioshack. It blows me away that Samsung does not stand behind this problem. Why buy a $1,000+ tv when the components Samsung chooses to use are crap?

I've ordered replacement parts to fix the tv, but it is nothing but a nuisance and it makes me never want to buy a Samsung product again.

Happy Canada Day!

2010-07-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

This is the second coldest Canada Day I've ever experienced. When will this miserable weather end and summer begin?!? The only time I've been colder is when I had to buy a fleece in Whistler one year because it was practically snowing. Sheesh!

End Of Season

2010-06-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

Heh, heh, heh! Justin was really having an awkward time smiling with his new front teeth for his baseball photo!!! But Brooks is so sweet she could play for the Angels!

Anyway, school and activities are winding down for the year. The Green Gators had an impressive 7-1-2 record for the short baseball season, and Justin played very well. Brooklyn's t-ball team is also winding down.

The summer is wide open now...if it ever arrives!!! Judie wants to buy new patio furniture and I don't know why. To look at, I guess. We've had one day over 20 degrees and we ate outside once so far. Brrr. I need another trip to Hawaii to warm up!

Go, Go, Go! Busy, Busy, Busy!

2010-06-14T13:25:00.000-07:00

Sometimes my faithful readers (who never seem to post comments on the blog) send me snot-o-gram emails wondering when I'm ever going to update my blog. Well, between work, home and kids activities, there isn't much time left in the day to write a proper post. What have we been up to? Well, I've been to New York again, killing a few days of precious time. And the kids have been full on with activities now that the weather is FINALLY getting better.

First of all, a belated congratulations to Justin and Brooklyn, who passed Swim Kids 3 and Whale respectively at the Atlantis swimming program. Brooks is now stuck because she's reached the top level for kids under 6!!! She can't register for Swim Kids 1 or 2 for another year and a half! Both of them were very pleased and swimming better than I remember doing at that age.

Second of all, Justin has been running 3 days a week before school in the "kilometre club", which encourages kids to be active. He hit his goal of an accumulated 100 kilometers last week! Way to go, Justin! As a reward, we bought him some goalie equipment for street hockey that he REALLY wanted.

Justin blocks a shot with his pads.

Justin decked out in his new goalie equipment. He's about as graceful as Luongo (take that comment any way you want!)

Justin catching. The Green Gators are 7-1-1 (with one rainout) this season. Coaching 7 year olds at baseball is like herding cats! Our team seems to be the only team in the league where we have to teach the kids to be less competitive! They are killers! We turned two double plays in a recent victory over the Spitfires.

Brooks is playing t-ball, which is about as exciting as watching paint dry!

Justin takes Trevor's dog, Reggie, for a walk. The kids desperately want a pet but I'm sticking to my allergic-to-dogs-and-cats line.

Justin finally riding his bike. He really should have a proper bike with gears. The "Hummer" bike he's riding must weigh at least twice as much as he does!

Brooks still has her training wheels on, but she looks stylin'!

Justin takes to the fireman pole at the playground.

Brookster smiling down after climbing the wall with the chain.

Monkey bars!

Brooks scales the tower from another angle.

Geez, Justin doesn't even need a push on the swings anymore. When did that happen?

Um, not sure what to say about this picture. Oh, Brooks. She said she was supposed to be a clown...with a bag on her head and a deflated inner tube around her neck. At least she has an imagination!

And this? This is the picture my dear, sweet daughter took of me on the patio yesterday! No respect, I tell ya!

By the way, the picture quality isn't great because I took all of these with my Blackberry, not a proper camera...but at least I was able to capture the moments and give you an idea of what we've been up to!

Just Another Weekend In New York

2010-05-29T09:44:00.000-07:00

Well, with my airmiles account still busting at the seams, it was time for another weekend in New York. We arrived late Friday night and stayed at the lovely Muse, a boutique hotel just off of Times Square. The room was spacious and they had free wine in the lobby from 5-6 every day! Whoo hoo!

Judie had never run in Central Park before so her idea of a "get-away (from the kids)" weekend included an early rise to run the 6-mile loop around Central Park. I have to admit it was nice, the weather being perfect and Park Drive being closed to traffic on the weekend. It did sort of feel like we were in a race though, as there were literally thousands of people running in the park. I even went back for additional punishment the following day, including the aptly named "Great Hill" at the northwest corner of the massive park.

Times Square was busy day and night, despite the troubles a couple of weeks ago. There was a strong police presence, but there always is. The potential car bomb incident doesn't appear to be keeping anyone away from the area.

Judie went to an outlet mall on Sunday, so I had some time to kill. I spend so much time in New York, and I've seen so much, I decided to take a trip to Brooklyn for a change of pace. The area around the somewhat disjointed Brooklyn Museum is quite lovely, with tree lined streets and amazing brownstone row houses. The Montauk Club, inspired by a Venetian Palace, is a particularly extravagant architectural display. They even have their own version of the Arc de Triomphe at the Grand Army Plaza, called the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch!

Mostly, this trip seemed to be about food. While Judie was in town, we enjoyed great steaks and lemon cake at Delfrisco's, a cavernous, busy, noisy, restaurant on 6th, and checked out Gordon Ramsey's Maze on 54th the other night. Unfortunately, he wasn't there, so we didn't get to hear him using the F-word.

After Judie jetted back to Vancouver, I was on business, and ended up at Madison in a surprisingly trendy area in Hoboken, New Jersey. Next we had a magnificent meal at the Bayonne Country Club, a Links Course built on dredge spoils overlooking New York Harbour and directly across the water from our container terminal at Bayonne, New Jersey (check it out on the web at http://www.bayonnegolfclub.com/). The clubhouse is spectacular and the food was to die for.

I also had a chance to enjoy Veal Milanese at La Catena, my favourite Italian spot near Roselle Park in New Jersey, which always leaves me wondering why Vancouver Italian restaurants can't do veal like they do in the Big Apple. Finally, back in Manhattan after a successful bank meeting, I sat down to a delicious braised short rib at the trendy Brasserie 44 at the Royalton Hotel. Needless to say, I will be exercising in earnest the next two weeks.

I have to go back shortly...but will mainly be stranded on Staten Island. Oh well, it just means lots of delicious Italian cuisine!

Recently Heard At Our House...

2010-05-20T12:25:00.001-07:00

"When can we go to Hawaii again?"...Brooklyn...Geez, we only came back from Maui less than 30 days ago! Gimme a break!

"Which one is Uncle Bruce? Is he the bald haired uncle?"...Brooklyn...Hahaha. Out of the mouths of babes. I told her yes, Uncle Bruce is the bald uncle who catches frisbees like a ballet dancer.

"NO GOAL! The net was off the morons!"...Justin...One of his many excuses for letting in a goal playing street hockey. And that's "moorings", you little moron!

"NO GOAL! The goalie was itchy!"..."NO GOAL! You chanted U-S-A and you're from Canada!"..."NO GOAL! My fingernails were dirty!"...Justin's many excuses for letting in goals...He has more excuses than Luongo!!!

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

What says Happy Mother's Day more than your children "dancing" to the Wii game "Just Dance"? You may have to crank the volume after the start to hear the music...it is Kim Wilde "Kids In America" they're dancing to. This is one of their favourites, after "Who Let The Dogs Out" (Justin's top pick) and "Hot And Cold" (Brooklyn's top pick).

Unfortunately, my blackberry videos cut out at 3 minutes.

Enjoy...Brooklyn is at least as good as Pam Anderson on Dancing With The Stars!

A Little Maui Story I Forgot To Tell...

2010-05-03T08:15:00.000-07:00

One lazy day after beaches, waves, pools and waterslides, we decided to have pizza on the patio for dinner. The problem was that we only had 3 chairs...including one from the room we moved outside. So off I went to pick up the pizza, and by the time I got back, I could tell the kids had thought it through and concluded that I would be the one with no chair and I would have to stand. They laughed and giggled.

Anyway, it was dark by then and pretty quiet around the hotel. I served up the pizza and looked around. I ducked next door to a dark room and swiped one of the chairs from their patio, sat down and started eating my pizza.

Well, my goodness! You should have seen the looks on the kids' faces!!! Like I'd broken the law or something! They simply couldn't believe what I'd done and sat there speechless with their mouths hanging open! It was hilarious! They just kept staring at me with the oddest look, the two of them! And of course I said I'd put it back when I was done (Justin checked the next morning).

What a couple of nuts. Like they've never seen me do anything bad before!

Castles In The Sand

2010-04-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

Some of the many sandcastles at Elua, Wailea and Big Beach!

3 For 3 game

2010-04-24T14:59:00.000-07:00

We interrupt the Maui pictures to bring you an important baseball update. After missing Game 1, Justin was 1 for 2 on Wednesday and 3 for 3 today for an .800 batting average so far this season! Justin made great contact for three great hits.

The drill at this age is that we use a pitching machine to deliver a consistent pitch to the boys so they can become more proficient in hitting. They get 5 pitches and if they don't put the ball in play they get to hit it off a tee. Justin didn't need more than 3 pitches today to hit the ball from the pitching machine. He was awesome!

He also made a good play at first base for an out. The Green Gators won 18-10, their third straight win!

You Better Not Pout

2010-04-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

Yes indeed, when will Justin ever learn how to smile?

Surf's Up!

2010-04-20T20:52:00.000-07:00

Cowabunga, dude! Brook was ready to ride the waves...but had to be on a constant lookout for humpback whales. We saw dozens of whales at Wailea, fairly close to shore. At breakfast one morning a whole pod of them swam by, putting on a show right before our eyes for about 20 minutes. A couple of days later they did massive jumps and splashes in and out of the water by Elua beach. Wow! It was amazing. Even one day just walking along the shoreline path we saw them. I'm glad I didn't pay for a whale watching excursion.

The only bad thing was that I never bothered to grab the camera, thinking that as soon as I pulled it out they would disappear. At least Judie got a couple of tail shots.

Meanwhile, back on shore, my little hula girls did a little dance...Justin is so going to regret being such a little ham when he's older!

Tiki Idol

2010-04-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

Man, I've wanted to go to Hawaii ever since I saw the Brady Bunch episodes about the tiki idol way back when I was a kid. And no, that's not Vincent Price behind the mask! I tried to make a fire offering to appease the island gods, but who'd want a skinny nose picking kid anyway???

Waterslides And Lounging Around

2010-04-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

Justin mastered the twisting waterslide last year, but this year he was up for the cannonball waterslide, now that he can swim. It blasts you straight down, plunging into a deep pool of water at high velocity. BAM! Somehow I managed to catch him just before he hit the water.

Brooks spent the first few days loving the beach...until her pretty pink bathing suit got sand in between the layers of fabric...she became a pool rat after that!

Maui Week!

2010-04-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

A whole week of pics from our recent trip to the 808 state...

Maui...The Calm...

2010-04-19T03:24:00.000-07:00

What a place to relax. I've travelled the world and I can honestly say I've never felt as calm as when I'm in Maui. I don't know why, I don't know what it is...but I love this tiny island. A few pics to ease you into island life...the calm before the storm of Justin and Brooklyn unleashed in Hawaii!!!

Coming Soon...

2010-04-19T03:01:00.000-07:00

Ah, Maui. Is there any place on earth as wonderful as this?

The Easter Doggie

2010-04-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

This Hair's For You

2010-03-29T22:32:00.000-07:00

Everyone thinks of A Flock Of Seagulls as a one-hit wonder from the early 80's, even though they had a number of singles, including "I Ran", "Space Age Love Song" and "Wishing", to name but a few. Instead of their music, everyone remembers the ridiculous haircuts. Sigh. Yes, the hair was ridiculous, but the music was fantastic!

I've been rounding out my AFOS collection recently with b-sides and rarities and came across this little gem...AFOS doing a Budweiser beer advertisement!!! How cool is that?

If I'm not mistaken, it is loosely based on their song "Telecommunication".

Ghosts of Jingles Past...

2010-03-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

30 years after I first heard it...17 years after leaving Nova Scotia...the bloody Casino Taxi jingle is still solidly embedded in my head. Whenever someone asks me for the number of a taxi, the first thing that pops into my head is 429-6666. Well, sheesh, that doesn't do a feller much good here in Vancouver does it? I tried to find the Casino Taxi commercial on youtube but it's not there. As far as I can recall, these are the lyrics:

"If you're a person on the go, write down this number

It's the key to travelling quick!

It's Casino Taxi's number

429-6666

Casino Taxi, they're the fast ones

Casino Taxi, near as your phone!

No need to run, don't get wet, dial that number

429-6666 (ba ba ba) or 425-6666 (ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba!)"

As far as I know, there are no other taxis in Halifax. That was a great jingle.

I can say the same thing for the Halifax Pizza Huts..."42 O - double O - double O, it's ooey gooey good!"

Now if anyone can remind me of the lyrics to the Green Gables convenience store jingle, my day would be complete. "At Green Gables we stay open just for you!"

OK, well it's not the original ad by any stretch, but my aunt June did find this version on youtube, at least to give you a vage idea of the Casino Taxi jingle. The original ad was much punchier!

Thanks June, for coming up with this...not sure if it is 100% right but it sounds pretty close to me...

You forgot to buy some food and now it's late.
You'd like a tasty snack, but it's late.
Come on down to Green Gables, morning noon or night
Our shelves are filled with goodness, our stores are clean and bright.
Day or night, remember what we do
At Green Gables we stay open just for you.

That made my day! Love that tune as well!

Don't Bother Me...Blogger At Work

2010-03-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

Hey, get that camera out of my face, Brooks...

If you wanna see more pics of the kids and what they're up to, it doesn't hurt to post a comment every once in awhile, people!

Jamboree G-O-A-L

2010-03-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the end of season soccer jamboree, where the Condors played 4 matches at UBC on the spectacular new artificial turf. These games were 7 on 7, played on a much larger pitch than during the regular season. The larger playing surface meant the boys had to practice the skills they learned during the year and play together as a team. The kids who are used to running end to end on the smaller field quickly tired out, and passing was key.

And wouldn't you know it, Justin dashed up to the side of the net and drilled a pass into the net for the first goal of the jamboree for the Condors. Way to go, Justin! It was an awesome goal, and it got him fired up such that he was in the heat of a lot of action. He took a nasty boot to the shin that took him down awhile, but later on made a great play on defense and booted the ball about a mile up field to his teammate. I've never seen him kick the ball so hard and far before.

But you know what the best part of the soccer jamboree is? It is the END! The last games of a gruelling season that runs from September to March, through the cold, wet days of a Vancouver winter. Thank the good Lord it is finally over!!! With the length of the season, I'm surprised Vancouver isn't turning out more world class soccer players. I'm exhausted. Baseball is up next!

Seattle

2010-03-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

We spent a few days in Seattle over March break. It isn't far from Vancouver but we haven't been there with the kids before. I guess because its just a typical dirty American city that pales by comparison to the beauty and cleanliness of Vancouver. Seattle is kind of a bigger, dirtier, more run down, less spectacular version of Vancouver. And with an overcrowded freeway running right through the middle of it. Blech. Whoever it was that decided to shelve the idea of a freeway through downtown Vancouver deserves a medal.

The area around the Space Needle is semi-interesting. There`s a combination museum of music and science fiction...right...hmm...ok then, moving on...there`s some interesting architecture there.

The kids were hiding behind the art, and yes, Justin is there hiding in the background somewhere. Zero cooperation! I`m sure I wasn`t that difficult when I was a kid. That`s Jess and Jamie hanging out with us.

Nonetheless, I managed to get a picture of the little monster.

And speaking of monsters, Justin was swallowed by a whale at the Children`s museum, where we blew off about 4 hours! Sheesh! A good rainy day thing to entertain the rug rats.

Justin did a great job on the rock wall.

The weather finally turned and we took in the zoo. The kids enjoyed a ride on the vintage carousel.

Justin, Jess, Brooks and Jamies take a ride on a komodo dragon.

You know, I just don`t even know where to begin to describe this picture. At some point over the past year, I`m sure Justin was abducted and replaced with an alien clone.

Overall, the kids had fun, we had some great pizza from Serious Pies, the hotel was a super mega deal, the zoo was pretty cool and it was nice to get away. If I had to rank the major cities of the Pacific Northwest, Vancouver is by far number one, and I`d recommend Portland over Seattle without hesitation.

One Last Olympics Related Picture?

2010-03-06T10:52:00.000-08:00

Holy cow! Just got this picture from Justin's school. Who says Canadians aren't patriotic? But this is a little over the top! We've come out of the Olympics with a fever pitch of Canadian patriotism...sure to impact my kids for their entire lives.

I have to admit that I've always considered myself Nova Scotian first and Canadian second, but I don't think there's any worry of that happening to Justin and Brooklyn. Furthermore, Justin went into the Olympics mildly interested in hockey and has come out a hockey nut! He commented while the Canucks game was on TV last night that Ryan Kessler played for Team USA and Roberto Luongo was Canada's goalie. Wow, I guess he was paying attention!

New Car - BMW 528i

2010-03-06T10:11:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I broke down and got silver this time. I got tired of constantly washing that damned black car, even though it was much more stylish. This one has the great luxuries of my old car like the heated steering wheel, heated seats, parking assist, automatic passenger side mirror adjust for parking, handsfree cell phone and so on, plus a usb jack for my iPod, free satellite radio, automatic side view mirror retraction in parking lots so people don't take off your mirrors, gps navigation system and great one touch buttons for your favourite radio stations or dialing phone numbers. Rides like a dream. The US auto makers have a long way to go to compete...

What A Party...Sad It's Over

2010-03-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

It has been an astounding 17 days of competition, but the games were so much more than medals. I have never seen anything like this. Canadians embraced these games and it was a non-stop, magical experience. The venues were full, the fans cheered with passion, and the city was behind the games fully and completely. Everyone was happy wherever you went.

We started off with the tragic death of the Georgian luger, the cauldron glitch, no snow, broken down zambonis and an Olympic flame secured behind a chain link fence, and things didn't look so good for Vancouver. I was nervous. But the spirit of the people took hold and Vancouverites took over the streets, people filled the Live City sites and then the brilliant, if unusual, February sunshine made the city sparkle like a jewel.

Canadians, typically repressed when it comes to displays of patriotism, took to the streets in red and white. Never have I seen so many Canadian flags, hockey jerseys, maple leafs and painted faces. It was the most amazing display of love for our country I have ever seen. It was not difficult to get swept up in national pride and it was so contagious it spread across the country and even to visitors from nations around the world.

I will always remember coming out of the hockey game v. Russia only to stop at a pub to watch the Canadian women go silver and gold in bobsleigh. That Wednesday was an incredible day for Canada, and the beginning of the gold rush in the final days of the Olympics.

These were great games. Fun games. Friendly games. The world left smiling and even though I'm sad it is over, it is 17 days I will remember forever!

The sky lit up every night in downtown Vancouver!

The light show...

A snowboarder flies over Robson Square on the zipline!

Cool. Lasers.

Ken is glad he came home from Houston to experience a city gone mad!

Brian and Ken on the streets!

Wow, what a rush. Congrats, Canada! Congrats, Vancouver!

Leave No Doubt...Canada ROCKS!!!

2010-03-01T22:19:00.000-08:00

Photo of Team Canada's dressing room...

Leave no doubt…this is OUR game. This was the slogan plastered all over Team Canada’s dressing room. My co-worker’s brother works for Easton and had incredible access to the dressing room and the players. He has a great photo of he and Luongo with his gold medal after the game in the dressing room. Wow! How lucky!

What an incredible journey this Olympics has been for Canada…

14 GOLD! The most EVER won by a host country…in fact a record for gold medals for ANY country in the winter Olympics. In European terms, Canada is the outright winner of the games, since they tend to judge the winner based on the number of gold medals, not the overall medal count. We did OWN THE PODIUM!!! Way to go, Canada!!! Our athletes were amazing from curling to speed skating to moguls to hockey.

Sure, the Americans had the most overall medals, but Canada still scored 26 medals in total…a RECORD for Canada and 2 more than our previous high of 24 in Torino. And Canada missed many medal opportunities because our athletes were going for gold and wiped out or crashed because they were pushing so hard! We had more top 8 finishes than any other country!

Canada kicked ass, and won the most important gold medal of all…HOCKEY GOLD…in dramatic fashion, in a game we'll remember here in Canada for all time, 3-2 over the brash American upstarts. It was payback after losing to the USA in the round robin game 5-3. Sidney Crosby redeemed himself after a failed break away in the third and caught the magnificent Miller off guard in overtime. WOW!!! And I thought the stunning victory over Russia was amazing!!!

16.6 million Canadians watched the game making it the most watched program EVER on Canadian television. After the puck went in the net the entire country erupted in one great cheer that was heard around the world! From Sidney Crosby’s hometown in Nova Scotia to the LiveCity site in Yaletown, Canadians were overcome with joy, winning hockey gold here on our home soil. Team Canada skated around the rink waving a massive Canadian flag as tears of happiness rolled down the cheeks of millions red and white clad fans from coast to coast to coast. Thousands of Canadians took to the streets…closing down most of downtown Vancouver and even Yonge Street in Toronto! Oh Canada!!! What a finish to the greatest Olympics ever!!! Whoohoo!!!

I might add that Team Canada scored more goals than any team has ever done at the Olympics. Simply put, the boys got the job done.

I am prouder than ever to be CANADIAN!!! TRUE NORTH STRONG!!! Go Canada Go!!!!!!

Canada House

2010-03-01T21:21:00.000-08:00

Canada House, sporting 50's-esque-McDonald's-like arches, was designed by an American firm and was a sore point for Canadians in the days leading up to the games. Oh well, it was cool anyway, with Gretzky's jersey on display, interactive hockey and snow boarding games and an opportunity to get your picture taken with the Olympic torch. Lighten up, people, what else do you need?

Why yes, you're right! Beer! Well, there was a beer garden right across the plaza. Mmm.

Canada 40-something...Ken and Brian!

The Great One's jersey...

Passing the doobie...I mean torch...from one Canadian to another!

Would it be OK to club a baby seal with this thing? Hahaha...OK, bad joke, just kidding. Well, I'm not really, you could do some damage with this bad boy. OK, I'm kidding, just go to the next picture, would ya!

Ken shoots!

Interactive hockey and I didn't get along. Maybe it was the beers...more beers, please!

Bronze Medal Game!

2010-03-01T20:35:00.000-08:00

Ah, so much to blog and so little time. The past few days have been one non-stop celebration of Canadian GOLD! Last Sunday was supposed to be Super Sunday and we came up empty...our Own The Podium program was looking like a sinkhole of taxpayer money...but then we had Wonderful Wednesday, Fantastic Friday, Stellar Saturday and SWEET SUNDAY! Yeah, baby!!!

The stinking lousy Fins didn't even make the Americans skate in their semi-final, which is why the USA was so well rested to take on Team Canada on Sunday. That's also why I had to cheer against them in the bronze medal game that Ken and I attended on Saturday night. That and the fact that Slovakia has a great team that played its heart out at the Olympics. The Slovaks have never won a hockey medal, but this team beat the Russians and the Swedes, and almost beat Canada. Pretty impressive. Hossa, Gaborik, Demitra, Handzus, Satan, Chara, Stumpel, Palffy, Halak...a team with a ton of NHL talent.

The Fin team was loaded with talent too, but I'm too disgusted with them to mention any names after the total collapse to the Americans. Ugh.

Ken and I hanging out in mainly Canadian crowd...but one that enjoyed a great hockey game regardless of the countries involved. That's what was so great about these Olympics, the Canadian fans enjoyed every minute and every great performance by every country.

Face off!

Hossa from the Detroit Red Wings was dangerous throughout the Olympics...

He scores! Slovakia was up 3-1 after 2 periods of play! Go Slovakia!

Oh no! The Fins pour it on in the third period! Slovakia falls behind!

The Slovaks give it their all to tie the game at 4...but...no goal!

The Fins win the bronze and I lose a bet with Ken. Oh well, it was a lot of fun. Who knew a hockey game between Finland and Slovakia could be so entertaining!

Crushin' The Russians! Canada 7 - Russia 3!

2010-02-25T21:41:00.000-08:00

Wow. I'm finally calmed down enough to write about the Canada v.Russia game last night. It was absolutely the most amazing sports experience of my life. My voice is gone from screaming and cheering and my ears were still ringing this morning from the incredible noise at GM Place.

As a Canadian, I've grown up hating the Russians for claiming supremacy in "OUR" game. Challenging the Russians at hockey is part of what defines us as a nation. And not only did we beat them, we annihilated them. Crushed them. Obliterated them. Dominated them. Embarrassed them. Kicked the crap out of them. It wasn't even close, not for a moment. By the third period the Russian players were dancing around away from the boards they were so tired of getting crushed by our players.

For me, this was perhaps sweeter than winning the gold medal is going to be on Sunday. When I've watched Team Canada play on TV, I've always wondered how exciting it would be to actually be at a big game like this...and it was more incredible than I ever imagined. The energy, the buzz, the ecstasy when Getzlaf first scored.

As the crowd started to head for the exits after the game I noticed a young Russian woman sitting in her seat with tears streaming down her face. It is exactly how I would have felt if the score was the other way around.

Go Canada Go!!!

Judie and I looking tense before the puck drops...I was even more nervous than I look!

Santa drove all the way from the North Pole to give us all an early Christmas present

The crowd

The puck drops!

The crowd erupts after Getzlaf scores to make it 1-0 at 2:21 of the first period!

Rick Nash made it 3-0 and the crowd was giddy with excitement!

No one could believe we were up 4-1 against powerhouse Russia at the end of the first period!!!

We want gold!

The amazing destruction of Russia is comlete!

Team Canada thanks the Ruskies for coming out to play OUR game!!!

The crowd applauds the boys for a job well done

The game against Slovakia will not be easy...I've seen them play and they are the real deal. But if Canada plays with the heart and intensity they played with against Russia, Slovakia and the then the gold medal should be OURS!!! I'm going to the bronze medal game with Ken...I'm hoping to cheer on Slovakia against Team USA!!!

Go Canada Go!!!

Outstanding, Joannie Rochette

2010-02-25T21:34:00.000-08:00

Congrats to the courageous Joannie Rochette, skating her heart out to a bronze medal in figure skating tonight for Canada, only days after her mother suddenly and unexpectedly died of a heart attack on her way to see her daughter perform at the Olympics. Amazing character, a true Canadian hero.

Do Or Die Time ... Canada v. Russia Today at 4:30 PM

2010-02-24T08:40:00.000-08:00

Team Canada takes on the vodka-swilling-potato-eating-red-army-wanna-be-Russian-to-YVR-for-their-flight-home-without-a-medal bastards today at 4:30 PM. Judie and I are going to the game but I don't know if my heart can take the excitement. I thought I'd post ahead of the game because afterwards I plan to be drunk...hopefully due to the party that will ensue around Vancouver when we win!

I didn't take these pictures, but they're nice, especially the night shot of downtown. Hey, this is our city, beautiful, isn't it?

Meet The Macots At Robson Square

2010-02-23T22:14:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn loved the Meet the Mascots show on ice at Robson Square.

Miga

Quatchi

Devo Rocks Whistler!

2010-02-23T17:13:00.000-08:00

Devo - Uncontrollable Urge

Justin's Inukshuk

2010-02-23T17:11:00.000-08:00

The boys build an Inukshuk at school today...

More Olympics

2010-02-20T22:53:00.000-08:00

Holding the torch, the flame, the rings...

Container Inukshuk

2010-02-19T08:33:00.000-08:00

Hey, it's what we do. Even grizzly old waterfront types can get excited about the games, replicating the Vancouver 2010 Inukshuk symbol with a handful of 20 and 40 footers!

Around Town, Olympic Style

2010-02-18T16:42:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a fantastic day! I have never seen the sun shine on Vancouver in February the way it shone today! I decided to take the day off to partake in the Olympic sized party that has overtaken our city!

Brooklyn sporting Canada tattoos on her cheeks!

Brooklyn and I outside Canada Hockey Place

Brooklyn and Judie at the incredible 4D film at Ontario House. I got splashed by Niagara falls and sprayed with snow from a toboggan!

Brooklyn with a real Canadian hockey giant!

Brooklyn and Judie in front of the Molson Canadian hockey tent...basically a gigantic beer garden with massive screens to watch the hockey game

Brooklyn and I bobsledding with the mascots!

Ditto!

Brooks perched on my shoulders to see the mascots at Robson Square

Quatchi plays hockey

Sumi on ice

The crowd in front of BC House

Ziplining right over Robson Square!

I know we're not typically known for our displays of Nationalism, but the entire city is decked out in red and white. I'm flying a Canadian flag at the house for the first time in my life...something a lot of Vancouverites are also doing for the first time. Go, Canada!

That was a nailbiter against the Swiss tonight...only winning in a shoot out. Yikes! We won thanks to the supersonic Nova Scotian goal scorer, Sidney Crosby! Whoohoo!

Game 1 - Norway

2010-02-16T22:45:00.000-08:00

The fans in red, white and black.

Face off!.

Action in the Norwegian end.

Canada wins 8-0!

Team Canada congratulates Luongo.

Whew, what a game. It was supposed to be easy, and in the end the score was 8-0, but I have to say the crowd was feeling nervous after 20 minutes without any goals by Team Canada. I was sitting with my Norwegian bankers and they were pretty happy after the first period. But once Iginla scored, the floodgates opened and the game was no contest.

On the way in, there were dozens of anti-Norway protesters pestering my hosts. What, you say? What did Norway ever do to us? Well, apparently 92% of BC fish farms are owned by Norwegians (something I didn't know) and fish farms are purportedly bad for wild salmon. Who knew?

The entire crowd was decked out in Team Canada red, white and black, and the city erupted in delight after the game. The streets downtown were filled, as if the Canucks had won the Stanley Cup. It was only Norway, people, get a grip! Anyway, I have to say it was amazing to see the Canadian NHL stars competing for our country! Go, Canada!

In related news, I've been hearing numerous stories about establishments running out of beer! There are still 1 1/2 weeks to go! Get brewing!

Canada Wins Gold!

2010-02-14T20:25:00.000-08:00

Alexandre Bilodeau of Quebec won the gold medal in the men's moguls - Canada's first ever gold medal on home soil...33 years and 7 months after the Summer Olympic cauldron was first lit on Canadian soil in Montreal!!! Jenn Heil from Alberta should have claimed the honour, but she ended up with a silver medal finish in ladies' moguls last night.

The sun came out on Sunday and it was about 15 degrees celsius and downtown was PACKED with people. I have never seen so many people in Vancouver in my 16 years here. A fun atmosphere but the result was huge lines everywhere, especially Canada House, pictured above.

As for the kids, they weren't happy until they got a free CBC / Canada flag Sheesh, it doesn't take much to put a spring in their step! I included a couple of pictures to demonstrate why I haven't been posting many pictures of the kids. Look at these two twerps! My beautiful daughter looks like she 's on her way to an Ozzy Osborne concert and Quatchi the Sasquath is more handsome than my son!

Taking In The Games

2010-02-13T20:37:00.000-08:00

Judie and Justin took Harmoni and Haraboji to see the men's 5,000 meter speed skating today at the Richmond Oval. It was the first Olympic event for any of them...and hey, that little seven year old pipsqueak of a son of mine got to go instead of me!

Lee Seung-Hoon from South Korea captured the silver medal, to the delight of my inlaws, who cheered him on to an unexpected second place finish.

The gold went to Sven Kramer of the Netherlands. Hmmm, apparently getting gold wasn't good enough for his coach, who felt a need to roger the poor boy in public...maybe since he didn't break a record or something. Those Dutch take their speed skating seriously! Don't bend, Sven!!!

Go Canada Go!

2010-02-11T20:27:00.000-08:00

No Canadian has ever won gold on Canadian soil...until the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, when all that's gonna change, baby! The opening ceremony is only hours away, and the kids were out to cheer on the torch bearer on his way to the stadium!

It has been a long wait, a lot of construction nightmares, a ton of dumbass protests, constant messages about traffic congestion, parking restrictions, lineups, ticket scams, and criticisms that Vancouverites care more about the Canucks than the Olympics (well, there may be something to that), but it seems to me that finally the city has got Olympic fever!

Go Canada Go! WHOOHOO!

Deutsche Haus

2010-02-11T15:36:00.000-08:00

The games begin tomorrow, but the beer at Deutsche Haus started flowing at 10 AM today. Seeing that it is set up right below our office windows, and they've been disturbing us with their sound checks, we decided we would be the first in line for a German brew. Kerry and I had the first and second beers pulled, and they were delicious!

We even made it to the German Fan Fest website!!!

http://www.germanfanfest.de/cms/front_content.php?idcat=49

(see image 17)

Flaming Sushi

2010-02-09T21:18:00.000-08:00

When you dine at the world famous Tojo's restaurant in Vancouver, you expect to sit beside Morgan Freeman or Arnie, or some other Hollywood actor who's in town to shoot a film. But tonight I sat beside not a famous who but a famous what. The Olympic Torch was there with a group of Japanese Canadians and I sat next to it! Alas, I didn't have a camera to capture the moment.

You know, it does sort of look like a joint. How fitting for Vancouver!

Red Hoodie Frenzy

2010-02-08T12:33:00.000-08:00

With the Olympics just days away, the hottest item in town has got to be the red full zip Canada hoodies at the Bay. There isn't a men's hoodie to be had this side of the Rockies, and today when I was there a full on feeding frenzy was in motion! An employee wheeled out a rack of fresh red hoodies and a dozen men swarmed him. It was like a sale on women's shoes at Barneys or something. Alas, every hoodie on the rack was XXL. I think the Bay misjudged what was going to sell - they can't keep Canada stuff on the shelves while all the Vancouver 2010 Olympics stuff is gathering dust.

My first ever Olympic event is on February 16th. Den Norske Bank invited me to the Canada - Norway men's hockey game! I'm very excited, even though I'll be sitting with the Norwegians. We also have the quarter final game that Canada will play in, assuming they're in...which they better be!!! Ken and I will be going to the bronze medal game, hopefully to cheer on the US v. Russia or Sweden. Alas, I didn't get the gold medal game.

On a related note, Deutsche Haus is right across the street from my office, and they set up a massive beer garden tent in the parking lot right below my window! Looks like it's oompah music for the next two weeks!

UPDATE: On Tuesday I went to the Bay at 9 AM, when the doors opened. There were about 30 people waiting outside. Lo and behold, there were two full racks of men's red hoodies. One rack was all XXL, but the other rack had M and L. I grabbed one and went straight for the cash registers. By 9:05, they were GONE. Every single one. As were all the white ladies ones they had put out. I overheard an employee telling a man that if he wanted one, he'd have to be at the store first thing in the morning. The man said, incredulously, "But you've only been open for 5 minutes!". I should have grabbed them all and sold them for $200 on the sidewalk. Anyway, I have MY red hoodie, WHOOHOO! Do you have yours?

G-O-A-L!

2010-01-09T14:50:00.000-08:00

Justin had a great soccer game today. He scored his first goal of the season...a huge power shot on a breakaway destroying the back of the net...he very nearly scored a second...and he made a great sliding defensive play to stop a hard kick while the goalie was down! He played hard from start to finish in the rain, got muddy and trampled on a few times with no tears shed. Way to go mini-dude.

Happy Birthday Nana

2009-12-30T15:54:00.000-08:00

So my Mom is getting super old...she just turned, like, 101 or something on December 29.

We tried to call on her birthday but she was out. So I decided to get the kids to sing Happy Birthday to her on video. What a mistake!!! Brooklyn is sick and Justin is 7 going on 17 with all his bloody attitude. So recording a simple Happy Birthday song devolved into slamming of doors, tears, banishment from Wii, etc.

Here are a few of the many outtakes. Sheesh. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Christmas Dinner

2009-12-26T13:37:00.000-08:00

Brooks got her hair straightened for Christmas dinner at the Kim's house last night. She was so happy to have "beautiful" hair. Sheesh, if it was straight she'd want to curl it I'm sure.

Mrs. Kim put on a good spread...turkey, stuffing, kimchi, jellyfish salad, tuna sashimi, spicy pork ribs...all washed down with a little Christmas cheer!

The Year Without A Christmas Card

2009-12-23T11:41:00.000-08:00

The Christmas cards we ordered from Kodak weeks ago got lost in the mail. We only received them today...the 23rd!!! Needless to say, no one is getting a Christmas card from us this year!!!

I put up our cards for 2009, 2008, 2007, 2005 and 2003...not sure what happened in 2004 and 2006?

The White Stuff is Coming...

2009-12-14T08:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I swept the snow off the walk. Yes, I said "swept" not "shoveled". Yes, with a broom, not a shovel. Yes, we who live in lotusland are wimps. I had a snowball fight with the kids for about 10 minutes and then all the usaeble snow was gone, so we went inside. I did manage to get a snowball down Brook's shirt so she went in crying anyway. Bad Apa!

More snow forecast for tonight...about 10 cm...turning to rain tomorrow and for the rest of the week. That's what they said last year before we got blasted with 3 feet of snow in December!!!

At least we got the house ready for Christmas. Lights are up, tree is up, Christmas train is chugging through the living room, and the liquor cabinet is stocked!

The Super Mega One Year Blog Anniversary Post

2009-12-12T21:41:00.000-08:00

Can you believe a whole year has passed since I created this blog? The blog with a stupid name about nothing? I surpassed my goal of achieving 72 posts...this is number 93. That works out to one post every 3.92 days, for those of you who criticize me for not posting often enough. And they said it couldn't be done!

In following the Lobster With Kimchi tradition of posting about nothing, I have a monster post with pictures, music and video!

The pictures portray the events of the week at the Lobster household. First I bedazzled the outside of the house with lights and shiny red balls. Judie hates it but everyone stops to look...I think it looks great, and what else matters, really. Now if only I could get an inflatable Santa to stick on the roof....the possibilities are endless! After much debate about getting an artificial tree this year, we ended up with a 7 foot Douglas Fir, and I have to admit there's nothing like the smell of a real tree filling the house...unless you're the poor sap covered in sap from wrestling the damned thing into the stand and into place. I've had squirrels following me around for days now!

The kids did a fine job decorating the tree, and although Judie won the battle of white lights over multi-coloured lights this year, the kids won the battle of homemade decorations, construction paper and all. Bwahahahahahaha. Brooklyn was so excited she decorated the tree with her toy beads and necklaces as garland before I even got the lights on it. If you click on the fourth picture of the kids standing in front of the Christmas tree you'll notice Brooklyn is holding a bottle...it is the "Florida Snowman" melted in a bottle that Mom sent us years ago. The kids finally "got" the joke this year. Sheesh.

Justin also finished up his skating lessons today. Congrats, dude, you really gave it your all this time around.

Seems like the whole city is gearing up for Christmas now, and I guess it's just around the corner. One of my favourite Christmas songs is by the Vancouver band, Payola$. Yes, the same Payola$ that sang "Eyes of a Stranger". As far as I know, this song is out of print, which is a shame. Here is "Christmas is Coming" by the Payola$, a great song that kind of makes me miss my brother Barrie this time of year.

The video is from Brooklyn's dance recital. Ah, watching 4 year old girls dance is just so...so...so painful!!!

Thanks for reading...and hey, if you really want to encourage me to post more often, how about leaving a few comments, would ya?

Merry Christmas,

Brian

Snow Miser - Heat Miser

2009-12-11T18:51:00.000-08:00

One of my favourite songs of the Christmas season, Snow Miser - Heat Miser is from the 1974 classic "The Year Without A Santa Claus". Snow Miser kicks ass!

Disney On Ice

2009-12-06T21:07:00.000-08:00

As if the kids didn't get enough Disney this year already, Brooklyn took in the Disney on Ice spectacular last week. The Little Mermaid seems to be her favourite of the moment, and the show didn't disappoint! The merchandise was even more of a rip off than at Disneyland itself, and that is no small feat!

I didn't think my daughter liked licorice, but there she is in the picture eating it...

Christmas Shopping in New York

2009-12-06T20:49:00.000-08:00

After the intense pressure of Board meetings and an openly combative session with the 38 banks that finance our company this week, I was glad to have arranged for 2 days of doing nothing away from the kids in New York. Judie flew down on air miles and we ended up getting a great rate at the Millennium Broadway. They upgraded us to the Premier wing, you know, because I'm such a mover and shaker.

Friday was clear, cool and crisp...a perfect day to stroll down Fifth Avenue. I hate shopping at the best of times but I have to admit I enjoyed it. Shopping and people watching in New York is always interesting, and close to Christmas there is a great vibe in the city with all the shops and streets decorated for the season. The tree at Rockerfeller Center, which is fantastic, had only been lit on Tuesday, so everyone was in a festive mood. Lighting the tree sort of kicks off the holiday season in New York and people come from all over to check it out. The ice rink looked a bit dodgy though, like skating in slush.

We had lunch at Tao, which is supposed to be "the" super trendy place to go for Asian food. It's a rip off of Buddha Bar, with a giant statue at the back of an immense space. The rent must be astronomical! The food was good, but being a spoiled Vancouverite, it didn't hold a candle to the quality and flavour of the Asian cuisine we enjoy on the west coast. So I'm glad we did the $24 three course prix fixe lunch menu instead of battling for a table at dinner, spending a ton of money and being disappointed. I'm told that Spice Market in the Meat Packing District is the same idea with better food.

Back on Fifth Avenue, Judie tried on every pair of UGG's in the city. They are aptly named boots...Ugh! If she had tried one more pair I would have gone postal! I got back at her later making her wait while I tried on suits at Macy's. The discounted prices had an additional 25% off!

All the department stores doll up their windows for Christmas, and I understand that taking your kids into the city to view the "holiday windows" is another New York tradition. I liked the classical approach of the Lord and Taylor windows, but Macy's were more contemporary and a lot more fun for kids. Having said that, the controversial XOXO live model display at 38th and Fifth was my fave! Every guy should check out the hot chic changing her clothes at http://www.whatwillshedonext.com/. Merry Christmas to me!

We also watched some excellent break dancers on the street up by the Plaza. Maybe they don't call it break dancing anymore, but whatever, the kids were great.

After a super late Italian dinner at Lattanzi on 46th, we ended up at the bar at the W until early morning. Yikes. Drinking in New York is not nearly as fun when you're paying for it yourself instead of on an expense account!

On Saturday the weather was a little dodgy, so we scored cheap scalper tickets to the matinee of "A Steady Rain" with Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig. I thought it was great but admittedly it wouldn't have made such an impression on me without the two big stars. I thought Hugh Jackman was a better actor.

A great couple of days, but nice to get home to see the kids! I spent more than Judie, heh, heh, heh...

Pool Rats

2009-11-28T10:06:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Justin and Brooklyn on their swimming lessons! Justin passed level 2 with flying colours and will move up to level 3. He can float on his back, tread water and do the front crawl the length of the pool. No diving yet but he loves to jump in and then swim back to the surface.

Brooklyn finished the "salamander" level and will move up to "sunfish" next time. She can float on her back and glide and is starting to do the front crawl.

Both kids love, love, love the pool and their swimming is really progressing well. Great job, mini-dudes! Maui in April is going to be a blast!

DJ Justin

2009-11-23T08:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was cleaning up some "lost" songs from an old cassette tape on the computer using a software program called "Audacity". The program can take out or mask the hiss of a cassette tape or the crackles and pops of a vinyl record. But it also has a number of mix effects you can use and you can splice and edit the sound recording any way you want - it is really just up to your imagination.

Justin walked in and for whatever reason he was very interested in how the soundwaves appeared on the screen and what the program could do. We opened up Devo's "Whip It", one of his faves, and did our own remix. Crack-crack-cr-cr-cr-cr-crack that whip! Talk about cheap entertainment...I never would have thought something like this would capture the attention of a seven year old boy.

DJ Justin's in da house!

Happy Birthday Brooks!

2009-10-31T20:46:00.000-07:00

My little girl is 4 years old now. Wow!!!

We had 18 hyperactive kids screaming around the UBC gymnastics building...you would have thought that would be enough to burn off all their energy but n-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!!! They just kept going and going and going. There was a cake frenzy followed by a present frenzy followed by a loot bag fenzy!!! And all this leading up to Halloween tonight!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T19:00:00.000-07:00

I do like Halloween.

This is the first year the kids have gone trick or treating with their friends - Justin and Brooklyn joined Callum and Anika, Wesley and Jaden for a romp around the 'hood. Justin went out as Jango Fett from Star Wars and Brooklyn went as a Princess...although she was originally supposed to be Little Red Riding Hood.

It was also the first year Justin drew his own face on his jack'o'lantern. He struggled to carve it but at least he gave it a shot!!! I was cursing my decision to tackle the Scooby Doo pumpkin. I was pressed for time in between Brooklyn's birthday party this afternoon and Justin's skating lesson to get it done.

Seven o'clock and only 11 kids so far...and not only is it Saturday night, it's not even raining!!!

How Kids Respond to Music

2009-10-13T14:30:00.000-07:00

Strange what songs kids respond to...this one is a couple of years old but when it came on my iPod the other night the kids started bopping around the house in the goofiest way ever! A big hit.

Dirty Pretty Things - Bang Bang You're Dead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zYde_Hckww

Michael Jackson's "Bad" is also a favourite around here. Justin has invented his own version of break dancing to go along with the music!

...and Devo's "Whip It" conjures up all sorts of bizarre dance moves from Brooklyn!

Hotel Must Haves

2009-10-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

Now that I’ve become a road warrior again, I decided to do a post of all the things I now consider as necessities in a hotel / room. Now, some of you may take these things for granted, while others may think I’m a princess, but I now what I like and trust me, you don’t always get what you expect to get, especially outside North America…or in New York.

General:
- full length mirror
- bathrobe
- slippers – the ultimate sign of a good hotel, but oh, so rare in North America!
- hair dryer
- complimentary soap, shampoo and conditioner
- some kind of moisturizer or lotion, especially during winter on the east coast
- one more towel than people staying in the room
- alarm clock / radio with jack to plug in your iPod
- safe
- luggage rack
- closet with ample coat hangers
- phone book
- functioning temperature control
- a sink that drains (often a problem in New York hotels)
- a toilet that flushes (I had to fix my own toilet at the Peace Hotel in Shanghai)
- kleenex
- a dvd player is a luxury but nice to have if you want to pop in your P90X dvd

As a business traveler:
- iron
- ironing board
- PLUGS!!! Give me a BLOODY ELECTRICAL OUTLET for the iron!!!!!!
- in room coffee maker
- bill under the door the night before
- in room check out
- mini-bar with snacks as well as liquor, especially if the bar closes early or there is no bar
- shoe mitt
- wireless internet access
- a 24 hour gym
- a 24 hour business centre with a printer, stapler and paper clips (yes, freakin’ paper clips! I’m obviously printing a document if I’m in the business centre and I need something to hold the pages together!)
- 24 hour (or at least late night) room service
- complimentary local area maps
- complimentary luggage storage (some Manhattan hotels charge)

Useless things the hotel room can do without:
- a phone in the bathroom (I’m not taking any calls while I’m doing my business)
- trouser press (mainly a UK thing I guess)
- voice mail (call my mobile for goodness sakes)
- all those poofy, dysfunctional, designer pillows you have to throw on the floor to sleep in your bed
- a call from the front desk to make sure everything is ok with your room – I’ll bloody well call if there’s a problem

What did I forget? I’ll have to update my list as I continue my travels.

Coffee Wars (Part 5)

2009-10-04T08:56:00.000-07:00

My final day of sampling different coffees got delayed due to travel, but I finally got to Cafe Artigiano to sample their regular, straight up, drip roasted coffee last week. Cafe Artigiano is a growing Vancouver based chain with several outlets around the Lower Mainland and Calgary, and they are the undisputed champions of espresso drinks...they definitely make the best cafe latte in town. In fact, they have consistently placed in the top 10 in the Canadian and World Barista Championships (coming soon to TSN, right after snooker and darts).

I therefore had high expectations for their regular coffee. However, without going into all my other factors on price, convenience, cups, etc., I have to say it was the worst sludge I've ever tasted. 1 bean out of 5, and only for the caffeine I needed. I literally couldn't finish the cup, which means it was really, really bad. I have to say it was an utter disappointment.

I've decided to expand my search for the perfect cup of coffee...if I stop now, McDonalds will have the top spot!!!

Trafalgar Park

2009-10-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of pics of Justin and crazy-hair Brooklyn playing at the park...I didn't comb her hair before we left the house.

Happy Birthday Justin!

2009-10-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe my little boy is already 7 years old! Halfway to being a teenager!

Happy birthday, dude!

We had an army of 7 year old boys at the Play Palace for his party and it was pure and utter chaos.

I was going to interview Justin on turning 7, but now that I've explained that the entire world can read my blog he's clammed up!

Plums!

2009-09-13T10:46:00.000-07:00

Our plum tree is loaded this year...which is not a good thing because it attracts raccoons, birds, skunks, squirrels, wasps and all manner of city critters. The combination of plums and critters makes for a huge mess and this time of year when it's dark, I'm always fearful of a standoff with a skunk while I'm taking out the garbage!

The picture represents less than a fifth of the plums on the tree this year. We're bagging up plums for everyone we know, making plum cakes, and sending a load to Harmoni for plum wine! I'm even dreaming about plums and concocting ideas on how to harvest the top of the tree!

Disneyland 2009 (Part 6)

2009-09-07T11:33:00.000-07:00

It was a great California Adventure for everyone, but it the blistering heat was too much to bear. It was so hot we actually convinced Justin to go on the whitewater rafting ride. Boy, did he get SOAKED!!! He loved it but he got drenched...so we went on it again and he got it all over again!

We finally found a good place for Justin to hang out and left him in the Toon Town jail!

Disneyland 2009 (Part 5)

2009-09-05T15:28:00.000-07:00

Life isn't always a cup of tea, but the Mad Hatter Tea Party is always fun. Brooklyn and Justin made us spin so fast I literally stumbled out of the teacup. The more I threatened them I was going to barf on them, the faster they went.

We also spent time at the adjacent Disney California Adventure Park, which has a lot of Disney-Pixar inspired rides and attractions. The kids area, based on A Bug's Life, had no lines and no waiting at all this time. In addition to the new Ariel ride I mentioned, they're building a Pocahontas water show and a whole new area based on the Cars movie. The best ride at either Disneyland or California Adventure has got to be the new Toy Story 4D shoot 'em up arcade game/ride. We all loved that one, especially with the comment-tater entertaining us in the lineup! Don't we look cool in our 3D glasses?

Disneyland 2009 (Part 4)

2009-09-05T14:46:00.000-07:00

What would a trip to Disney be without the Princesses? Well, let me tell you, when I was a kid, Disney was Mickey, Goofy, Donald and Pluto...not Ariel, Jasmine, Mulan and the gang. Another brilliant marketing ploy targeted at young girls to fill Disney's coffers. At least they're actually putting in an Ariel ride at the California Adventure park for 2010.

Brooklyn loves the princesses to be sure. Her current favourite is Ariel for some reason, but it has been Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and Belle at different times. Anyway, pictured above is Princess Brooks with Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Ariel, Tinkerbell, Jasmine and Cinderella.

(PS My favorite Princess is Jasmine, what's yours?)

Disneyland 2009 (Part 3)

2009-09-05T14:34:00.001-07:00

Did I mention how hot it was in California? The heat got to Justin pretty quickly and he turned a bit Goofy. He didn't even want his picture taken with Minnie Mouse! Brooks and Justin enjoyed her house, especially the kitchen.

Justin's favourite ride seems to be Mr. Toad's wild ride. I was feeling a bit hot and annoyed after several repeat rides, so I decided to take care of Justin with my Toad-mobile. Sorry, Mom, the heat got to me!

Disneyland 2009 (Part 2)

2009-09-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn's second visit to Disneyland was a bit more fun than her first, since she didn't have to nap all afternoon this time. She really enjoyed the carousel...so much so that after her first ride she got off the horse and kissed his leg. "My horsey was the mostest beautiful one of all" she squealed with glee.

Disneyland 2009 (Part 1)

2009-09-05T13:59:00.001-07:00

Off we went to smokin' hot California last week, bound for Disneyland. The trip was a surprise for the kids and they didn't clue in where we were going until the Disneyland Express pulled up at LAX. Their reaction was muted and disappointing after the lengths we went to to keep it a secret! Sheesh. When I was a kid, going to Hawaii and California in the same year would have been a dream come true. But Brooklyn already has a surprising amount of air miles for an almost-4 year old, I guess.

Before we made it to the monorail station, we encountered the Lego store. Holy guacamole! Even I thought it was cool! I've never seen so much lego in one place, and they had practically every plastic piece of Star Wars lego ever made, including the $500 Death Star, on display in a case. The 6 foot tall Darth Vader made of lego blocks was pretty cool too.

But enough of that! Justin was soon ready to drive us to the the Magic Kingdom!

The Ellen McAllister

2009-08-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

After our Board of Directors meeting this week we boarded a working tugboat, the Ellen McAllister, for a tour of New York harbour. This was more a tour of our competitors' facilities as opposed to a tourist style dinner cruise, if you know what I mean. It was a warm evening and the seas were calm. It was an unusual way to see the harbour, but very educational.

After the obligatory sail by the Statue of Liberty and view of the Manhattan skyline, we headed down the Kill van Kull, the strait separating Staten Island from New Jersey.

The third picture is the Bayonne Bridge. Dating from 1931, the Bayonne Bridge is the fourth longest steel arch bridge in the in the world. The span presents a difficult obstacle to large container ships passing under it on the way to and from the port complex in Newark. Many of the larger vessels require 175 to 200 feet of clearance and the Bayonne Bridge has only 150 feet of air. This problem will become more serious after the Panama Canal expansion is completed in 2014 that will allow larger ships to pass through. This is good news for us because our company operates the ONLY container terminal outside the Bayonne Bridge, and we are the only game in town for large vessels. Location, location, location!

The next picture shows Maher Terminal on the left and PNCT on the right. The Maher brothers sold in 2007 to Deutsche Bank for $1 billion or so and then promptly lost $400 million of it with Lehman Brothers. Easy come, easy go, I guess. Maher also operates the tiny terminal in Prince Rupert. PNCT was one of the terminals bought by Dubai Ports in 2007 that caused such a commotion in the press about Arabs owning critical port infrastructure...it was subsequently sold to a US based company. PNCT is the only container terminal in New York owned by a US company.

My last photo shows part of APMT (the blue cranes) and part of Maher Terminal. APMT is a sister company to Maersk line, based in Denmark.

We ended the tour at our other facility, NYCT, on Staten Island, but it was too dark for a picture at that point.

Coffee Wars (Thursday)

2009-08-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

Today I sampled a local coffee house - JJ Bean. JJ Bean is a Vancouver based micro roaster that provides beans to restaurants around the city and also has several retail coffee outlets, including a small kiosk at Granville Island. I don't really know anything about the business - who owns it, when it started, etc. - but I do know they make great coffee. I usually buy a pound of JJ Espresso beans for home. JJ Bean is one of the last places around that will give you a free coffee when you buy a pound of beans.

Interestingly, JJ Bean is one of the most expensive drip coffees in town at $2.10 for a large. Interesting because most of their outlets are on the less affluent east side of Vancouver. If you stop for a cup of joe on the way to work with your tie on, you're sure to get attitude from the bohemian crowd and servers. In the summer, you can often smell marijuana wafting from the patio at the Commercial Drive location.

JJ Bean makes GREAT coffee. Strong and flavourful but not stinkface bitter like Starbucks. And they have sleeves for their cups. And you can usually find parking. The downside is that the price is high and there's only a few locations to choose from. Overall, I'll give it 4.5 beans out of 5. Delicious coffee, served hot, JJ Bean is a refreshing change from the major chains.

Coffee Wars (Wednesday)

2009-08-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

Starbucks. Coffee Mecca or purveyor of overpriced sludge? I eased into Starbucks in 1993 with cafe lattes. But it wasn't long before I was addicted to the intense caffeine and wanted more. I moved to dark roasted drip coffee and cafe americanos.

The Starbucks phenomenon started in the Pacific Northwest where there are a lot of rainy days to spend inside reading the paper at your favourite coffee shop with a hot beverage. Starbucks invaded Vancouver in a major way, and they use our city to test market saturation. Finding a Starbucks isn't a problem.

Starbucks is responsible for coffee prices soaring from $1 a cup to $2 a cup. They're pretty good at packaging things up and marketing "quality" so they can justify their inflated prices. The independent coffee houses in town should be thankful to Starbucks for opening up the pricing, which has become pretty much standard at any upmarket place.

The most annoying thing about Starbucks is the proliferation of fancy, expensive foo foo drinks they serve, which also slow down the espresso machine. "I'll have a tall, non-fat, extra-hot, slightly wet, decaf cappuccino with one pump of vanilla, one pump of hazelnut, a dollop of foam and a dusting of cinnamon." WTF? Even worse is the pretentious dorks who order it at "precisely 103 degrees". Why don't you try a cafe americano...watch out, you might actually taste the coffee in your coffee!!!

A grande dark roast drip coffee at Starbucks will run you $1.98 including tax. It will be consistent from location to location, hot, served with a sleeve and strong enough to strip the paint off your car. So watch out for spills. The caffeine content has got to be at the upper end of the legal limits. One Starbucks and my hands start to shake and I'm good for the morning, if not on edge. People who do cocaine have never tried Starbucks...the same high legal and cheap. The coffee is usually so bitter it invokes a frown and a quick shake of the head, but after a few sips when you start to feel the infusion of caffeine your body is craving, you stop noticing the taste. Aaahhh.

Starbucks does a lot right and for caffeine content alone, I'll give it 3.5 beans out of 5. I would have scored it higher in my younger days, but lately it just leaves me a bit too jittery and the flavour is a bit much. The other thing about Starbucks is the super laxative effect...excuse me while I run to the washroom!

Coffee Wars (Tuesday)

2009-08-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning saw a reunion with Tim's. I have fond memories of Tim's...a steaming hot coffee to warm up from those frigid Halifax winters, a delicious maple dip doughnut (donut for Americans), a bowl of soup...and in eastern Canada you can't walk two blocks without running into one. The last time I was home to Nova Scotia, I noted that my little hometown of 10,000 people had at least seven Tim Horton's stores. They obviously love their doughnuts.

I am embarrassed to tell you that when I first moved to Vancouver, there were NO Tim's anywhere, and once in awhile on a Sunday morning I'd get up early and drive all the way across the water to North Vancouver just to get a coffee and a doughnut at the lone Tim Horton's I knew of in the Lower Mainland. It was a bit of a treat and a reminder of home. Fast forward 15 years and Tim's presence is finally being felt in Vancouver proper. There's even one on Commercial Drive, right there competing with the real Italian coffee houses. Wow! Ten years ago the Subway store on the Drive was forced to close after being constantly barraged with anti-corporate graffiti. My adopted city is changing.

I've tried to push the nostalgia aside and just focus on the cup of coffee in front of me. Hmmm. It's still not easy to get to Tim's because they don't seem to have any locations in my part of town that have any parking. That's inconvenient, but at $1.68 for an extra large coffee, I can afford the quarter for the parking meter. One thing I've noticed at Tim's is that now that they have breakfast bagels and all this other crap besides doughnuts, the service is painstakingly S-L-O-W. It doesn't help when all the customers and all the cashiers are ESL from different parts of the world trying to understand one another in broken English...but that's a rant for another day. When I finally got my coffee, I burned my fingers on the paper thin cup. Good for the environment I suppose, but not so good when you have to carry your coffee two blocks back to your parking spot. They have sleeves but it seems like management has told the employees not to be forthcoming with them unless a customer makes a fuss.

When I finally tasted my coffee, it was a major disappointment. In fact, I would say that Tim's coffee sort of tastes like dirty water. I think there's a little bit of coffee in there somewhere but it is fairly weak. It provided a mild level of stimulation, but the caffeine content seems minimal. I think I'll need another one before the morning is out. On the positive side, it seems to have a low laxative factor.

I know this will seem like blasphemy to Tim's fans and eastern Canada in general, but Tim's coffee is really nothing special, and requires a fair amount of effort and planning to get to in Vancouver. If you add a maple dip doughnut to your order...well, now you're talking. Maybe the difficult access is a good thing given how much I LOVE those calorie ridden doughnuts. Its just NOT good coffee, people. And it left a nasty film in my mouth. Yech! I'll give it 2.5 beans out of 5, based on value.

Songs You Didn't Know Were Covers (Part 3)

2009-08-18T13:27:00.000-07:00

If you were alive in 1982, Toni Basil's 80's anthem "Mickey" has been forever burned into your memory banks. In fact, it has appeared on so many 80's compilations, I'd be surprised if anyone over the age of 12 hasn't heard it. Well guess what? It was a rework of a 1979 song called "Kitty" by the UK band Racey.

** Link Removed **

Mighty Machines

2009-08-18T09:25:00.001-07:00

An exciting day yesterday for the company as 3 new quay cranes for our Deltaport expansion arrived from China. These are currently the 3 largest quay cranes in all of North America, capable of handling the largest container ships afloat. Each of the new cranes can lift four 20 foot containers or two 40 foot containers at the same time. Now if only we had a weapon of massive consumption to kickstart the economy, we'd be all set!