Vancouver Special

Translink Sucks

Where I work...

Still Doing Breakfast...

Yummy, expensive food

El Dorado

Weekend on The Island

Why Downloading is Okay

Weekend in West Van

Cynical about being Cynical

House Sitting

Because I call other peoples' blogs stale...

Saving me the time...

RIP?

At The Gathering

Shotgun Hippies @ Cafe Deux Soleils

The Luminaries Commeth

World Cup Crazy

Fifa Commercial

Three Stars Today!

Harbour Cruises

Photo Album: Working Downtown

Photo Album: Stella's Breakfast

Photo Album: Trout Lake Farmer's Market

Photo Album: Alex's Island Wedding

Photo Album: Labour Day Weekend

Photo Album: Company Weekend

Photo Album: Frenchies and Sash

Photo Album: Pre-Lantern Festival

Photo Album: Applekore/Shotgun Hippies

Photo Album: Italy World Cup Winners

Photo Album: Indian Arm Cruise

Photo Album: Trip to Calgary

Photo Album: Edmonton vs. Carolina

Photo Album: Commercial Drive Community Festival 2006

Photo Album: San Francisco May 2006

Photo Album: Friday @ Toby's ...

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 01:41:51 GMT

Okay, this was a really good day for me - so might expect that my first blog entry in MONTHS is going to be about that. Well, bad news: it's not. Today it's about the Lower Mainland transit system, run by Translink.

In the past few months of winter, I have seen so many Skytrain distruptions that this last one has me completely at my witt's end.

What happened? As I entered Granville station today at 4pm, I was greeted with an announcement that, due to a power issue, the line between Metrotown and Edmonds was shut down, so the line would terminate at Metrotown. That's no big deal to me, so I kept walking.

The eastbound train was full. No, not usual full, but "I've been here for 15 minutes and starting to be claustrophobic" full. The only time I saw worse was on the first snowfall, when people would not even clear the doors.

Keep in mind here, that I have taken my car on three days this year to avoid having to deal with the Skytrain being overtaxed. That's $12 per day! I also took cabs twice due to interuptions (such as the first snowfall), which cost about the same amount.

I've lost my track now. (har har). I realised that today was really the first realization that passengers are getting used to it! Everyone avoided crowding the doors, foots were avoided and those who wanted to get off, did. A spot became available during the 10 minute wait at Granville where I was allowed to enter the train. I had let the first spot go to an older Chinese lady - not because I was trying to be nice (don't want to sound like I'm bragging here) but because she appeared to want to get on more.

Anyways, during the eventual trip to Broadway station, which proceeded smoothly and without any pushing, one lady from Maple Ridge told a small group of us a story of how she used to pay $45/day to bring her whole family into the city on the West Coast Express. Now, she HAS to drive to the end of the Skytrain line because it is cheaper. I suggested that she could buy a house in the city for the extra money and she told me about her massive two lot plot. Hmmm... $45x20... what does another $900/month add to your maximum mortgage amount? I bet she could get a comfortable space between Rupert and Renfrew close to the B-Line.

A second lady got off the train with me at Commercial and phoned her partner to say she was meeting another friend to go for dinner due to the Skytrain delay and would see him later on. Oh yea, I remember doing that myself one time when I was caught in North Van by a blocked Lions Gate Bridge. That was in a car though - and so much of a waste of fuel!

What's the point to this rant?

Vancouver is going to grow like mad for the next 20 years (at least) no matter how much people try to force business suburbanisation onto the Lower Mainland, the city core will still be the hub of commerce. Our system is well designed, but requires a minimum doubling in capacity by whatever means necessary (can we vertically twin the lines? I suppose making another new generation of trains that push the boundaries. Can we have asyemetrical trains?). While you're running the new lines, add power redundancy for both lines and new generators.

Where does this money come from? Well, if people are used to paying $900 a month to commute, increase the pass prices. But, keep the company fare packages at the same price, so there is a real benefit ($9/month?? are you kidding?) to committing to a year of service.

I sure don't appreciate commiting to it at its current level.

And to start talking about how the Lions Gate Bridge is a joke because no NDP get voted into West Van... that's a different story.

Wow.. I'm back :) I'll try to get back into this writing groove!

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 17:32:17 GMT

I've always loved building custom computers and optimizing my operating systems, so when I went for a tech interview and was asked if I wanted to be in their sales force instead, I was a little hesitant.

For Shortline, my role was half-tech half-sales and support. Therefore, I had five years of experience doing something I never thought too highly off - but was moderately okay at it. I did not like trying to cold-call up business, or pushing customers to buying things that I didn't think they needed. Well, call me an ethical salesman.

I talked with a few of my friends, and they all supported the idea, so I decided to give it a try.

Now, I sit in front of a computer, on the 14th floor of an office tower, talking to people on the phone all day. I call them to remind them to pay their yearly maintenance fee. I call them to ask them to buy the software we sell. In fact, I make about 30 calls a day - including COLD CALLS.

The question is: Why can I do it now?

The answer is two things:

1. I changed my attitude about calling, like I did about public speaking when I started teaching.

2. I think the software is AWESOME!

So, what is this software that is so great? I've been working on computers for 26 years and when I found out about it I thought, "Why the hell didn't I hear about his before???"

The program is called Deep Freeze, which does "reboot to restore." What does this mean? It means that you set up your machine exactly the way you want it, then "FREEZE" it. Now, you can use the machine, doing whatever, BUT when you reboot, it goes back to the original state you froze it at. Any changes to the frozen space are gone! Why is this cool? Get a virus... reboot and it's gone. Deleted the registry? Reboot and it's back. Delete Windows? Reboot! Yep, it DOES work.

If you want to install software, you can temporarily "THAW" the drive, install, then freeze again and you're on your way. Of course, you can even install to the frozen drive to test the software first... if you like it, reinstall in thawed. If you don't, then reboot and it's 100% gone.

You can get a 60 day evaluation at www.faronics.com . If you're a friend of mine and like it, let me know and I can get you a friends and family discount. If you don't know me, don't bother to ask :)

REMEMBER: There is NO way to get your password back if you forget it (Except expiring the evaluation edition by going into the bios and moving your clock ahead), so be sure to back up your important data.

NEVER HAVE TO REINSTALL YOUR COMPUTER. What???? YUP.

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 02:08:08 GMT

Yes, it's still happening -- Sunday Drive breakfast parties! These days, we go to Stella's.

Saturday was my birthday, so Sunday was hangover recovery day at Stella's. It was great to have some new faces - Kevin, my cousin from Winnipeg (sorry for telling) and olden days friend Erin with her daughter Raina and another Drive local, Christina. Erin will be heading back to Japan in the near future, but hopefully we'll see more of Christina (who has no excuse).

Link & Em and Simon & Aline couldn't make it because the ladies were selling Girl Guide cookies (???) but I hear they'll be out next weekend.

Remember, it's 11am EVERY Sunday - and I'll post here if we are going to move the location. If you read this, you're invited!

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 00:21:07 GMT

Apparently, the Trout Laker Farmer's Market has been going on every weekend, all summer, but this is the first time that I have heard of it. It should be going on next weekend too, so if you see anything you like... check it out! My favourite: cheese curds!

Can you find the Government MP in the photos? Email me and win a prize :)

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 13:56:22 GMT

Did you know that the El Dorado, the classic biker bar at Nanaimo and Kingsway, is being replaced by apartment towers?

That may not be too disappointing, unless you know the details.

1. There will be TWO towers

2. The first tower will be 22 stories tall, and the second will be 15.

These will be the twin towers of an area where most of the buildings are a maximum of 3 or 4 stories tall!

Well, it won't change my area directly, but I can imagine it will change the view of many others...

Also, did you know that Wal Mart re-petitioned to put a store in South Vancouver, and this time it was approved? Yuck.

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 18:50:25 GMT

Alex got married this weekend!

Ray, Raine, Kat, Arran and I went to Vancouver Island for the event, which was attended by the usual suspects. It was hosted at Alex's brother, Jason's, farm. Thanks for the food and entertainment, I had a great time.

We also hit a cool restaurant in Victoria TWICE, which I am in love it. It reminds me of home :)

Don't mind the shitty quality of pictures.. I took a TON of them with Paulo's wife Paulina's SLR camera, so hopefully I can get them shortly to post.

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 15:50:42 GMT

If you've ever had the notion that buying a CD is supporting the artist, and no stealing.. it's time you started reading the blog of the industry's biggest critic.. Bob Leftsetz... He has had a "newsletter" (that what the used to be called in the old days before blogs) for the past 20 years, but now he does regular posting on line at http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php

Sometimes he writes about other stuff in his life (like skiing) but don't get lost in that, look back into his archives and you'll be sure to find out plenty.

Is downloading stealing? Well, are the music industry business managers stealing from the artist revenues when they sell CD's?

Buy a T-Shirt. Go to a live show. Then, you will be supporting the artists.

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 16:29:22 GMT

Finally, activity! Over the past few days, the company I work for had their employee .. events? I don't know exactly what to call it, but on Thursday we all went out for dinner. On Friday, we played Golf (I haven't played in 20 years.. phew...) On Saturday, we had a get together and dinner at the owner's place - and all of the events were awesome! Sorry, this was all in WEST Vancouver though, which is nowhere near EAST Vancouver!

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 00:34:41 GMT

You Are 72% Cynical

You're a full blown cynic... and probably even skeptical of these results.
You have your optimistic moments, but most likely you keep them to yourself.

How Cynical Are You?

So, is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 15:34:50 GMT

In The House has another show.. in a house.. this time it is "folk music with a West Coast flair." I have no idea what that means. Has anyone attended one of these events yet? I'd like to hear your comments about them!

In The House

Fri, 04 Aug 2006 16:33:33 GMT

This year, I missed the Lantern Festival! For those of you wondering where the heck my usual collection of pictures went - there was a slight hitch. I do actually have some, but they are from the pre-festival party at Link and Em's place. I haven't even taken them off the camera yet! In fact, I completely forgot about them until right now. I'll get them up tout de suite ;)

So, why did I not go? Well, there are two reasons behind this:

1. I am now doing a blog for work, on VOX (gasp! sacriledge!). This is not particularly content you would be interested in reading, IMHO, but if you want to check it out anyways, it's at http://seanthelinguist.vox.com/ . Get it? No? Then forget it :)

2. ANOTHER blog, but this one is for a new family member. Yup, I've got a baby boy now. He is cute as a button but "trouble with a capital T." He takes after me completely. You can visit his site at http://www.sibbet.com/

So, my blogosphere (?) has moved from one to three sites, plus having a baby around means less roving around through the bars and streets of East Vancouver. That said, I will get my butt back in gear soon enough.

In the meantime, download some free classical literature from http://www.gutenberg.org/

Fri, 28 Jul 2006 18:36:41 GMT

I was looking for a menu for Ho Ho Fast Food and came across a site for restaurant reviews... It just so happens that there is a page for Commercial Drive!

http://www.dinehere.ca/results.asp?l=5

Enjoy!

Wed, 26 Jul 2006 22:39:47 GMT

"Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated!"

In fact, yes, I am still alive in spite of not posting here for 9 days. That's what happens when I don't get out anywhere on the weekend. I know there are the In The House gigs coming up this weekend, but I have no idea if I'll get there or not.

Anyways, you should be out enjoying this insanely beautiful weather, or taking in a movie at the new Rio theatre.

I can't say I haven't been on the computer all the time, but I've been wasting my life reading about the new middle east media extravaganza.. or is that called War? Yea, that's right...

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 22:38:43 GMT

In The House has just announced another show - this time it's African Music. Here's a direct link:

Padare

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 06:29:06 GMT

Long time friends Ray, Kinji and Kevin play together in a band, "Shotgun Hippies." Tonight, they played at Cafe Deux Soleils on The Drive, which is about ..um... 1 block.. from my place, so I had no excuse but to go! Kevin also has his main project (he's the drummer), Applekore, which did a cool cover-medley including some classic Pink Floyd. Yet another reason to hang out on Commercial Drive on Friday night!

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 23:45:12 GMT

For those of you have not prepared yet, the Lantern Festival at Trout Lake is being held on the 29th of July this year. Come early, stay late. If you haven't been before - this is more fun than the Symphony of Fire! (who needs those silly fireworks anyways har har)

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 02:10:43 GMT

Here's my first YouTube video! The quality is so-so, as I took it with my still camera... Crazy Italians!

Sun, 09 Jul 2006 22:47:46 GMT

Commercial Drive is the "little Italy" of Vancouver, so when Italy took the World Cup today, it was mayhem. Of course, I had to go out and take a look. Enjoy the photos!

Congratulations Italy!

Sun, 09 Jul 2006 04:13:22 GMT

Video blogging is the new thing?

Sigh... text blogging is soooo LAST MONTH!

It makes me think about the transition from radio to black and white TV, and then to colour TV. Each of these "quantum leaps" in entertainment resulted in many years of the new medium's dominance. Now, a new technology arrives, courtesy of the Internet, every few days.

Are you on Skype and wish you could do long distance worldwide for free? No problem, there's something to do that (forget it, you find it). There's a new "3D immersive world" that promises to be the next big thing, every six months. Guess what? They are all garbage. I can spend days playing Sims, but 5 minutes dealing with "real" people is exhausting. It's like being locked in a cage of screaming monkies - everyone trying to make their voice heard.

How can I make my voice heard? Do I really want it to be?

Sat, 08 Jul 2006 23:59:46 GMT

A sunny summer in Vancouver is not complete without a boat cruise! There are some that travel around the harbour, but this trip with www.boatcruises.com instead ran from Coal Harbour to the end of Indian Arm. The four hour trip, at about $63 per person, included a wonderous salmon lunch and cheap bar!

The boat and crew were top notch - I'd recommend this to anyone interested in taking a short cruise.

I've been on a night cruise before, where everyone gets hammered. This one was more fun for the simple reason that you can see all the beautiful mountains, houses and waterfall!

But boy, am I beat now. Gotta take a nap from that heat!

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 05:31:05 GMT

Working Downtown

More Photos...

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 02:03:55 GMT

Stella's Breakfast

Kevin, Kat and Arran(baby)

James, Tara and Me

Me in back, Kat, Kevin

James, Tara, Me

Ray and Dillon

Linda

Erin and Raina (from Japan)

Christina, Erin and Raina

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 00:19:39 GMT

Trout Lake Farmer's Market

More Photos...

Mon, 11 Sep 2006 18:46:50 GMT

Alex's Island Wedding

Ray on the Ferry

Raine on the ferry

Leaving Tswassen

More crazy Raine

Is that an aircraft carrier?

Front of the boat

The Parking Deck

Link at breakfast

Breakfast place in Victoria

Attack of the fish

More Photos...

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 19:32:15 GMT

Labour Day Weekend

View from Prado

Prado Coffee Shop

Upstreet

Prado again

2006-09-04b 007

2006-09-04b 009

2006-09-04b 011

2006-09-04b 013

2006-09-04b 015

2006-09-04b 016

More Photos...

Sun, 27 Aug 2006 16:13:11 GMT

Company Weekend

Steve and Chris

Outlook

West Van Water

Tired tire

That's not Java

Chris and Kate

Kate, Mark, Mike and Steve

Eagle Habour

Sails and more sails

THE BIG HOUSE

More Photos...

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 05:41:28 GMT

Frenchies and Sash

From inside Frenchies

50's Style

Out the front!

woo-hoo waitress ;)

what???

classic cars

Kat and Arran

Marc and Andre

Jenn and Edmontonians

Aaron from Edmonton

More Photos...

Sat, 05 Aug 2006 06:00:13 GMT

Pre-Lantern Festival

Aline

ummm and Michelle

Michelle and Michelle

Ms. umm and Link

Simon and Colin

Sat, 15 Jul 2006 06:26:12 GMT

Applekore/Shotgun Hippies

More Photos...

Sun, 09 Jul 2006 22:45:31 GMT

Italy World Cup Winners

More Photos...

Sun, 09 Jul 2006 00:01:58 GMT

Indian Arm Cruise

More Photos...

Sun, 02 Jul 2006 04:13:29 GMT

Trip to Calgary

26L out of YVR

Steep ascent

Look ma, I'm flying.

Who's driving to Seattle today?

Mount Whatever

The Calgary Boner

Beads, anyone?

Great Perogies at Nellies

Organised partiers

In Calgary, they use phones, not shoes

More Photos...

Tue, 20 Jun 2006 04:30:11 GMT

Edmonton vs. Carolina

Toby's

shhh the game's on!!

Standing room only

Go SimHL!

I SCREAM LOUDLY!!!

It's a game called hockey

Googly Eyes

I'm coming back on Monday

Intense

2 - 1 ???

More Photos...

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 05:41:39 GMT

Commercial Drive Community Festival 2006

More Photos...

Wed, 31 May 2006 00:28:10 GMT

San Francisco May 2006

Jerome in Oregon

Truck City

Matte painting Mountain?

Sleeper

Entering Bay Area...

Nerd Alert

I'm serious.

John and Michael

...still serious.

The Valencia, right?

More Photos...

Simon's hall

Link and Simon

Sat, 20 May 2006 03:42:26 GMT

Friday @ Toby's ...

Nerds

Out of Orders

Angela chatting up Jerome, Kat and Erin (inside)

Nerds & Megan

Meganansaurus

Megan & girl from other day's blog story (name!!)

Jerome Air

OMG

Dallas

Waveywalk

More Photos...