Apparently there's a photo of me in the 24 paper today drinking beer and eating peanuts at the Canuck's game the other day.
Photo by Rebecca Bollwitt. ...
Having driven over the Port Mann bridge probably close to a thousand times in my life, I'm pretty much an expert on how traffic works in that area. Years ago, in an effort to relieve some congestion for westbound traffic heading into Vancouver, the city created a dedicate HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lane that goes pretty much from the Port Mann bridge all the way to the Hastings exit downtown.
Unfortunately though, one of the characteristics of that lane is that it's rarely used to capacity. There's nothing more frustrating than sitting in grid-locked traffic and seeing a completely empty lane ...
I saw this over on Matt's blog and thought I should write about it too. Captured on digital film is the Vancouver police department tossing a pile of someone's belongings into a garbage truck. The person who filmed the footage is David Eby, the Executive Director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.
No doubt, police officers have a difficult job. They are asked to protect, to serve, and to make real-time decisions that are never easy. That being said, given the current conditions in the lower mainland with respect to violence and gangs, one has to question the actions of these officers, literally ...
Last year I attended the 2008 Canadian Juno awards in Calgary, AB, as a media representative for Urban Vancouver. The media accredidation is open for this year's awards show, which are in Vancouver. I would love to attend this year as a photographer again, but am hoping to be able to go as a social media representative for another company where the coverage can potentially reach more people.
I received a great deal of coverage both during and after the event, and was essentially one of the only social media people in the room who was using grass root's technology to showcase the behind the scenes ...
On Monday I made the trek to Chilliwack out from Vancouver. The timing was actually perfect, since the roads were fairly bare when I left Vancouver, and are now pretty clogged up with snow. It's been snowing off and on here in Chilliwack, but at least driving around is feasible. The forecast is currently calling for rain for the next few days, followed by more snow probably on Monday. That basically means I'll be making the journey back into Vancouver sometime this weekend, hopefully before the next wave of God's winter-fury hit's British Columbia.
So far, it's been a very relaxing time out at ...
For the past few months, I really haven't been sleeping that well. Typically that means I sleep in a little later than normal, and am always pushing it getting to work on time. On a lot of days that usually means I end up taking a cab to work. So over the last few months, I've gotten to understand a lot of what makes a good cab driver in Vancouver. Here's a brief list of five must-have things that most Vancouver cab drivers have:
First, you have to have a vehicle that failed some inspection at some point in the last year. Probably not a big enough failure to warrant pulling it off the road, but ...
Yesterday morning I found myself in Pacific Center mall doing a bit of shopping for Brennen's daughter, Kaede. I ended up getting her this pretty cool Canucks shirt (thanks to Beth for the idea):
I ran into Ianiv in the mall, and we ended up chatting for a bit. One of the things I've been debating for quite some time now is moving out of the downtown core. My first choice is somewhere on the North Shore, hopefully fairly close to the Seabus (since I work downtown). Whenever I'm out that way, it just seems more community oriented, and easier to get around than downtown. My second choice is the ...
Today is of course Remembrance Day. It's a holiday here in BC, but unfortunately I'm at work today. Ultimately, that's not a bad thing, since in exchange we're getting some extra time off around Christmas time.
There's a lot I could say about today, but browsing around the Vancouver web it seems others have already said it for me. But I'm obviously thankful for the sacrifices others made so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today.
Outside it's rather dismal out today. I ended up driving to work, which is something I don't typically do since it costs me around $20/day to park downtown. But ...
A few weeks ago, after spending the weekend out in Hamilton, I stepped off the plane here in Vancouver and felt the brisk, cold air of a summer now long since past. It was a harsh reminder of how things change, and how fast time seems to move sometimes. It seems like just the other day I was celebrating my birthday back in April, and here we are, knee deep in October's gloominess.
Halloween is just around the corner. For me at least, it's not an event I particularly look forward to, and view at it as more of a nuisance as opposed to a day to celebrate. I expect I'll be out at the movies that night, ...
This is the first weekend in ages where I really don't have a pile of plans. Given that it's absolutely horrible outside, I think I'm going to get some groceries, make some coffee, and watch movies on the couch most of the weekend.
If I do watch a movie, I'll probably pop in the extended edition of the Fellowship Of The Ring, since I haven't watched it in ages. What better way to spend your weekend than going on a 12 hour journey into the heart of Middle Earth?
Right now I'm working from home, waiting patiently for the guys at Pender Auto Body to come grab me so I can pick up my car. They pulled ...
I'll let it speak for itself.
[easyvideo video="http://blip.tv/play/AdGkV4qSew"]
Great work guys. Check out more of their stuff at GiantAntMedia.com. ...
I'm just heading out the door to take my car in to get looked at. There's nothing wrong mechanically with it, but Mazda called me out of the blue last week and asked me to swing by so they can look at my stereo. Apparently they might have put in the wrong one when I had it replaced about a month ago (which is strange, because it works and fits fine). I suspect there's some recall they aren't telling me about.
But anyways, they are going to replace the CD player I imagine, and they also offered to detail my car for me in exchange for the hassle.
It's supposed to be a nice sunny day out in Vancouver ...
On Tuesday night I had the privilege of attending a private party at the Molson brewery put on by Molson. Molson decided to have a little get together with some of the local social media individuals and bloggers, and while pounding back a few beers. The event was called Brew 2.0, and it took place down on Burrard Street at the big brewery.
I've actually never been inside a brewery before, and it was a really cool experience. It's amazing how many beers Canadians are consuming every minute, something you get a sense of as the machines pump out cans of Rickard's Red and Molson Canadian.
I met a ...
I recently had the priviledge of attending WordCamp San Francisco, a conference dedicated to WordPress enthusiasts in the Bay Area. It was a great time, and I met a lot of great people.
Next month, Rebecca Bollwitt and I are organizing the WordCamp Vancouver event to coincide with BarCamp on Sept 27th. For those of you who are unfamiliar with BarCamp, it's a day long conference where the participants, first thing in the morning, decide the format and the topics for the rest of the day. Everyone who attends has the potential to be a speaker, and it's a lot of fun.
This year, the event is over ...
I've been toying with this rather amazing idea for the last few years. I'm going to toss this out there, because I'm rather fond of it.
The Vancouver technology scene is rather impressive. Almost every week there's a really awesome event taking place that brings together some great minds. I can't tell you how much I've learned from my peers in the last few years.
Given that we all take time out to get together and discuss technology, I always thought it would be fun to all go somewhere all together. Sort of like a less formal SxSW, but with more of an unconference component.
So here's what I imagine. ...
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 ...