I spent this afternoon out in Hamilton, Ontario, watching the Canada vs the United States hockey game. This morning I predicted that they would win with a 3-2 margin, which they did. And on that note, thus ends the 2010 Winter Olympics. I’ll be honest — I was against the Olympics. I was against the costs, against the expenditures, against the further widening of the gap between the rich and poor. But truthfully, I’ll carry the three days I spent in Vancouver at the start of the Olympics with me for the rest of my life. I have always loved Vancouver, but I have never seen a Vancouver in love ...

I went down to the Atlantic House the other day with Rebecca, John Bollwitt, and John Biehler. We did our best to help the Atlantic House with their excess beer problem, and eventually had to solicit the help of a few other people, namely Robert Scales and Kris Krug, who happened to be in the area and swung by. Since I had my video camera on me, I thought I would take a quick stroll and see if I could find out what some of the people in Atlantic House thought about the Olympics. The end result is this 13 minute video, which I’m hoping to have on Blip.TV and/or YouTube sometime soon. ...

We started the day yesterday down on Granville Island, eating a nice healthy breakfast of cheese fondue at the Swiss House. Rebecca was there to judge a chocolate contest, and we tagged along for the event. The Swiss House is in Bridges on Granville Island, which is a really picturesque location. The prices were a little steep for the food, but I guess you’re paying a bit for the novelty of eating Swiss Food and having a great view of False Creek. Afterwards we decided to head on over to the Atlantic House, which is currently in the Backstage Lounge on Granville Island. We waited close to ...

I actually didn’t apply for a media pass, so I technically do not have access to the BC International Media Center. That said, if you have access, you can sign people in as visitors, so I’m currently down here as a guest of John Biehler. Here’s a quick video that John and I shot to give everyone a little tour of what it’s like inside. ...

John Biehler and I decided to grab some grub around 7pm tonight, but unfortunately, had a hard time finding a place that could initially accommodate us. The first pub we tried to get into (on the corner of Robson and Granville) was completely full, so we decided to try the Kingston Pub on Richards street. While it was also extremely full, they managed to find room for the two of us downstairs near the large screen TV. Shortly afterwards Rebecca and John showed up, and we watched the Women’s Mogul event while sipping a few beers. When Jenn Heil started her final run, I turned my video camera ...

I’ve started putting some of my Olympic photos on VancouverStockPhotos.ca for use by organizations seeking stock photos from around Vancouver during the Olympics. John Biehler is also going to be putting a pile of his photos up soon there, so if you know of anyone looking for commercial licenses for photographs, by all means send them to the 2010 Olympic Stock Photos gallery. If you’re a non-commercial organization, then you are free to use the photos as long as you follow the attribution clauses as indicated on their associated Flickr photos (non-commercial, attribution). The set of CC licensed ...

I’m somewhere near Surrey I think, stuck near the back on a Greyhound bus. The mood here is pretty dismal — most people are either sleeping or in some weird state of iPod euphoria. The scheduled arrival time, barring any major road hiccups, is around 12:10pm I think. The first order of business for me will be to store my luggage somewhere, most likely in a locker in the bus terminal. That’ll of course mean that I have to come back and get it later, but that’s way better than walking around with a suitcase all day. It’s no secret that I haven’t been a huge supporter of the Olympics ...

Shortly after arriving in Vancouver, I saw someone Tweet that the Barenaked Ladies were busking on Robson Street, so I strolled on down. Sure enough, right on the corner of Robson and Burrard was a massive group of people and music playing. I only got to listen to a few minutes worth of music, but the crowd was definitely into it. Here’s a shot of the bass player, Jim Creeggan, that I snapped shortly after the show was over: ...

I’m going to have to spend some time going through all my friends’ previous posts about the Olympics, because truthfully, I really have no idea where any cool events or things to see or do are, other than the actual events. It sounds like there are a lot of international houses that are worth visiting, as well as a few pubs (although based on some of the Tweets, the prices seem rather incredible for beer, even by Vancouver standards). As it stands, I have a few events to attend next week already. There’s a party/event on Robson I’ve been invited to, which I may swing by and check out. ...

Well, here we are, two days away from the start of the Winter Olympics. As everyone knows, the event is massively over budget. The last time I checked, the total cost (thus far) of the Winter Olympics was at 6 billion dollars, the majority of which was paid for by the people of British Columbia. I’ve been on the fence for a while now about whether or not I want to be in town for the Olympics. I didn’t vote for them, but at the same time, here they are, and there’s no going back now. So to that end, I finally decided that I’m going to try to be in Vancouver for at least a week during the ...

Hard to believe the Olympics are only a few short weeks away. When I was living downtown I remember when they erected that big countdown clock. I remember thinking it seemed strange that they put that up nearly three years before the event, but I have to say, it went fairly quick. It’s interesting to see the city ramp up to the event, and all the associated problems that are starting to occur. Last week the local skihill Cypress shut down in an effort to save snow for the actual Olympic runs. Given the unseasonably warm temperatures right now, it’s even hard for the local mountains to create ...

I read an article this morning that basically made me feel bad for being against the Olympics at this stage in the game. It was written by a participant in the games, one who is disappointed with the lack of support in this province: With a blunt and harsh realization that not everyone with a Canadian passport is brimming over with excitement and anticipation for the sixteen day event in February, I must admit that my bright and shiny optimism has turned a murky shade of grey. Not because sliding hasn’t been great – it’s been fantastic. I feel in top form on my sled, I am in my best physical ...

I just heard this on the news, and it’s the kind of thing that makes my blood boil. The Hastings Racetrack is being forced to close for a month during the Olympics due to security concerns by VANOC. Lots of employees will be out of work, and some may even lose their jobs. Given the Olympics are supposed to help the economy, it’s rather ironic that VANOC is forcing some people out of work. Shouldn’t the rights of the individual business owners be respected, regardless of what VANOC wants? ...

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 ...