Part of the reason I drove to Seattle last weekend was that I was really anxious to try out Virgin America’s relatively new airline. They have already garnered a reputation for being fun and innovative, much the same way Canada’s West Jet is viewed by locals. Their planes are all new Airbus models, they have funky mood-lighting, and also plugs between all the seats so you can use your laptop during the entire flight. I even went so far as to email their media contact email address, and received a prompt, personal reply from the Director of Corporate Communications at Virgin America, Abby Lunardini, ...

I’ve hardly slept at all this last week, and I feel like absolute garbage. I don’t know what my problem is, but I spend most nights just tossing and turning. They had a bunch of free liquor at work today and I could hardly bear the thought of drinking any of it because I was so bagged. I got home tonight and promptly passed out on the couch. Of course, given my stupid body, I woke up every 30 minutes or so, and didn’t really get any rest. I’ll be honest — the only time I’ve had a decent sleep in the last year is when I was pounding back Oxycontin tablets after my first surgery. It ...

You know, I’m pretty tired of hearing about Olympic scandals. I mean, so and so did drugs, what’s his name did dope, and what’s her name wasn’t legal age to compete. It’s hard to blame these athletes really, considering that the fireworks were faked for the broadcast, as was one of opening songs. I mean, there’s corruption all across the board. But you know, I think the penalties for the people caught doping are pretty loose. Sure, you might lose your medal after the fact, but some of them probably get away with it. It sounds pretty harsh, but I almost think that if you’re caught ...

Well, I’m not actually sure if it’s today, but Dave Olsen recently had a birthday. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Dave in the last year or so through Rebecca and John, and he’s an outstanding guy with a real love for the Internet and his friends. Not only is he an amazing podcaster, but if he were about 75 pounds heavier I’m pretty sure he’d be one of the few people to keep up with me at the bar, no doubt about it. In addition, Dave and I have actually been cooking up a little web kung-fu that we’ll be talking about real soon. I was down in San Francisco this weekend, ...

Well, the event is all over now, and I officially have a small hangover to remember it by. I met a lot of really great people last night at the social, and it was a ton of fun. I have yet to meet a blogger I didn’t like, and last night was no exception. Everyone was friendly, and a pleasure to hang out and drink beer with. The social event was at Pete’s Tavern, which is conveniently located directly across from the baseball stadium. The bar was completely open as were the pool tables upstairs, so there was lots to do. I tried my best to walk around and meet as many people as I could, but I’m ...

To say that yesterday was a rather crappy day would be an understatement. For several weeks now I’ve been planning on attending WordCamp in San Francisco. Since I’m paying for the trip out of my own pocket, I decided to try and be a bit more financially conscious than I usually am on trips. So I decided I would fly out of Seattle instead of Vancouver, which as it turns out was around $300 cheaper. I was actually looking forward to the drive, and burned myself a few CDs. I went into work for a few hours in the morning, and then hit the streets heading for Seattle. Somewhere around White Rock, ...

It seems like just a few weeks ago that I was down in California with my sister. Strangely enough, tomorrow I’ll be making my way south once again, this time for WordCamp San Francisco. While I’m pretty excited to go down and meet a lot of new bloggers and WordPress enthusiasts, I can’t say I’m looking forward to driving to Seattle tomorrow for my flight. For whatever reason, flying from Canada is super expensive these days, and I’m saving about $300 just by flying out of Seattle. I’m going to burn a few new CDs before the trip, so hopefully I’ll have a bit of music to keep me company. At ...

if (is_single()) { ? } ?Wash, rinse, repeat – that’s my life these days. Wake up, work, code, sleep. I eat once and a while, although considering I had a bit of cream cheese at midnight and called it supper, I think I need some drastic improvements in that department. My thermostat in my apartment shows 27C at 9am, which obviously makes it rather difficult to sleep. Actually, sleep in general is pretty difficult these days. I have a little bottle of Zopiclone that I keep around for special occasions, and even though it helps me sleep, it usually makes me a groggy mess in the morning. So ...

if (is_single()) { ? } ?As most people now know, Apple released a full suite of online web applications similar to Google’s offerings just a few weeks ago. Those products, launched under the name “Mobile-Me”, were touted my Steve Jobs as being crucial to the future success of Apple and the iPhone. I’ve been using Mobile-Me for a few weeks now, and I thought I’d give some feedback. Truthfully, it’s a very shoddy alternative to Gmail. I find the website extremely slow, and I have had loads of trouble even logging into the service. The only reason I’m still using the service at all ...

Yes sports fans, it’s that time again — we’ve been messing around with yet another plugin over at BraveNewCode. But first, everyone should know that we just put the finishing touches on WPtouch 2.0 today. There are still a few small bugs to squish, but hopefully it’ll hit the market sometime in the next week or two. It’s pretty sexy, if I do so say so myself. In terms of the new plugin, I’ll give everyone a little context. In the last two months I’ve had several people infringe upon my Flickr photo licenses by using my photos commercially. One of those incidences ended peacefully, ...

Updated – I booked a flight and a hotel for this weekend, so I’ll definitely be at WordCamp on Saturday. I love San Francisco, and I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone in the Bay Area. If you see me on Saturday, feel free to flag me down and say hi. Drop a comment if you’ll be there, and I’ll try to find you! This Saturday is WordCamp down in San Francisco. I registered to attend, although the jury is still out on whether or not I’m going to go. Flights aren’t that expensive to be honest, but accommodation is kind of a killer considering how much traveling I’ve done ...

After playing with my photos this evening, I decided it was about time I put together my official media kit. As most people know, I’ve been fortunate enough to cover a lot of great events in the last year or so. Thankfully, it’s a trend that seems to be continuing. With that in mind, I slapped together the first little bit of my Media Kit tonight. I also integrated the jQuery image gallery, which is pretty slick if you ask me. I still have quite a bit to add, but it’s slowly shaping up. If anyone sees anything I missed, please let me know. Also, looks like Martina Franko (the olympic soccer ...

Today is my sister’s 34th birthday. It seems like only yesterday we were tromping out in the backyard together in Chilliwack. As most people know, my family is very important to me, and I am very protective of them. My life growing up in Chilliwack wasn’t all roses, and most of us had to pull together to get to where we all are today. My university education was basically funded by various members of my family and loans from the government. My sister worked extra hard and offered to pay my phone bill every month, while my mom gave me spending money. My dad and stepmom came in and saved the ...

Here’s the latest piece of brilliance from the guys and gals over at Giant Ant Media. [easyvideo video=”http://www.youtube.com/v/-ZF5w05AggM&hl=en&fs=1″] Also, I saw Step 1 from this for the first time today as well. It’s golden: [easyvideo video=”http://blip.tv/play/AbOXYoSmBg”] Awesome video guys. ...

I was talking to Rebecca tonight about how easy it is to forget all the things in life that are important. Too often people focus on the negative things, and forget all the people and things in their lives that make them happy on a regular basis. So tonight I walked around my apartment taking photos of things that make me happy at home. I added them all to a Flickr set called Things That Make Me Happy. It’s a work in progress, and I’m adding a few old shots as well, including this one of me and some friends that snuck under the radar. I had a ton of fun doing this, so I’m hoping I can encourage ...

Well, I would hope that Rebecca would need no introduction in this city. But that being said, Rebecca has gone out of her way time and time again to throw link love towards other bloggers, and share whatever knowledge she can with others. So, the least I can do for a good friend is return the favour. Over the last few years Rebecca has firmly established her blog as the most informative and relevant source of information on Vancouver life, bar none. Her blog is a enjoyable mix of personal reflections within the city, upcoming Vancouver events, and local media and band coverage. The information ...

Apparently some hotelier in India told everyone that he saw an image of the Virgin Mary in the sun, and also claimed that some of his statues were crying honey and bleeding oil in his home. Since then, nearly 50 people in India have gone completely blind while trying to look into the sun to try and see what he saw: At least 50 people have lost their sight after staring at the sun hoping to see an image of the Virgin Mary, according to reports. Alarmed health authorities in India’s Kottayam district have set up a sign dispelling rumours of a miraculous image in the sky and warning of the dangers ...

Today is Marty Jordan’s birthday. Marty is basically my step-dad, and he lives out in Chilliwack with my mom. I have a little shindig to go to tonight, so in case I don’t get a chance to call, here’s an official birthday greeting for you Marty. Happy Birthday! ...

My new LCD arrived via FedEx this morning. I picked it up on the way to work, along with a Torx screwdriver to remove some of the internal pieces. I decided to take a stab at fixing it when I arrived, but it turns out it was far more involved than I thought. I ended up having to disassemble the entire keyboard portion of the Macbook Pro. Afterwards, I had to disconnect the antenna for the wireless card, as well as the inverter for the monitor. Then, the data cable for the LCD came off, and finally the entire top portion that contains the screen. At that point I was basically half-way. I then ...

I’ve been lying in bed for about 20 minutes now, trying to slow my brain down enough so that I can finally catch up on sleep. Unfortunately, my mind has been racing ever since blogathon, and it’s been rather difficult to shut it off. While in bed tonight, I started thinking about the day I had today, the people I spent it with, and the events of this past weekend. Like a hiker nearing the end of a long trek, I forced myself to stop and survey the trail from which I’ve come; the moments of exhaustion, the long rainy nights, the hills and the valleys, and the painful blisters that may never ...