Friday, August 21, 2009

Vancouver the End

So its Friday. I will be leaving town tomorrow and will not have the chance to blog from the big city again. When I do return to town I will have a full time table and will not have the luxury to blog or explore town as much. This images came from my walk down West Broadway after a good and productive meeting. So the things include. A book called Tartan Romancing the Plaid, also, the old London Drugs as a anti bird device made out of old dropper bottle droppers. Lastly a exit sign for the new Canada line, sky train very much making me think of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure,Way out, Dude.



Thursday, August 20, 2009

Random Tidbit

After having, a good meeting, a long hot walk and doing some laundry I did some surfing. I came across this on critter names.
Cool Criters From i09

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Food Play

I was hungy I wanted something to go with the Wanton,
I cooked up some sweet and lime Cabbage. Very good. Methode, thing slice cabbage, with or with out onion, add 1 teaspoon is of brown sugar, when mostly cooked add juice of one lime. Very tasty.

More Vancouver Again

Greetings Bloggies

Yesterday was a good day. I had an informative networking meeting, followed by a long day at a beach ending at a pub full of nerds. Some where between the beach and the nerds I walked from Kits, beach to down town over the Burrard st Bridge. This got me some good photos. Its a shame I dont have a better camera, but I have motivation to gain the means.

Enjoy the city.




Monday, August 17, 2009

Vancouver Week 2

Greetings Bloggies

An other adventure of sorts. After missing a bus on friday trying to get to a near by movie theatre to go see District 9, I went and got me self out to see it last night. It turned out the theatre I was trying to reach while is physically closer to where I am currently staying is actually harder to get to then one that was farther away. This is due to to the fact I can get to the huge metro town complex on one Skytrain, where as the closer Coquitlam theatre needs a buss that runs less often then the train.

I get to metro town, I know it was big but I did not stop and find out how big. It is a mall built at the root of an tower complex, the mall has three stories and feels like it is 1km by 1km. I must have arrived at both closing time for the shops and the ending of a movie because there was no room to move in the crowd. I got my ticket early, but wandered the mostly closed mall looking for some where to get a cool drink before finding the Chapters and its associated starbucks. That killed a little time.

When I did check into the movie house, it was packed, it was about 10 to 7 and the movie started at 25, only seats nearest the front were free. If I had not finished the book I was reading earlier that evening I could have had a better seat and just read while waiting. As it was it was still a good movie watching experience.

In this day and age, it seems rare to go to a theatre and have every one watching the film, this was the exceptional time, I heard virtually no chatter, and seemingly no cell phones went off. I can't say if people were texting or not, because 90% of the house was behind me. Being that close made it hard to see all of the screen at once, with the subtitles at times that was a pain. The film was good, perhaps not as revolutionary as some of the hype made it out to be. It did a good job on moral grey areas, there were some big jumps in film style as I think Peter Jackson wanted to have a bigger hand in how it felt then perhaps he should.

Prior to the film I checked out the Dinosaur displays, I had seen adds for it on the trains or at skytrain stations. My favorate was the T-Rex model standing ontop of the sign on the floor saying Food Court.







Them Bones Them Bones
Them Dry Bones

Saturday, August 15, 2009

More Vancouver

Greetings Bloggies

Today I went exploring. I got a day pass on translink and just went where I wished. I headed to waterfront station where on a whim I took the sea bus to North Van. Having seen a sign for the Capilano Suspension bridge, an ad that clearly named the needed bus I figured that would be a thing to do. I got as far as standing in line but when overhearing some others mention the cost of admission I said the hell with it. I skipped out of line and got on the bus I had just left, it having finished its loop

I had a better time once I got back to down town. It turned out that this was every thing happening at once day. I missed the best of the happenings. So here is a listing of the things that were happening, on my quest to find a beach and track down a specific eatery I, first came a cross 1 zombie, several annoying packs of pink shirts, people on the run for the cure. Later I would find out I could not get away from those pink shirts.

I took the bus to Kitsalano, and walked away from the pink horde which had followed me that way. I worked my way to 4th where I knew some good places. I made the turn on to the avenue and was greeted with loudness. It turns out today or this weekend was there '60's revival day. Bands were playing generally good music on sever stages along the road which was blocked off for quite a few blocks. I walked took some photos of the classic cars and found the eatery.

The eatery Sophie's Cosmic Cafe, was packed but then nothing with food was slow at that point. It being 2pm and I not having eaten since a late breakfast did not hesitate to order a large rich meal. The Oyster burger was filling, and the pint of Dead Frog Honey Ale topped me up the rest of the way. I have felt hungry since.

I walked through the rest of the street party and headed up and over to where I know the beaches would be. It was a pleasant walk along the Point Grey for shore. I nibbled a few black berries, waded in the surf but did not swim. I stopped and read for a while before heading to Granville island. Where I could take the ferry for I did not feel like looping out to get on the Borrard or Granville St bridges.

Lastly as I approached down town again I started to see more zombies, and well I did not start looking for a Cricket bat I was getting confused. As I took the last leg of the voyage home, the skytrain M Line from Broadway to Lougheed, I met some Zombies. It turns out today was the somethings annual Zombie walk. And I had missed it, some where need 3000 zombies took to the streets and I missed it. Thankfully the zombies are not trying to raise money for any thing, Raising the dead well thats a different matter.

Bits about the photos below. There was a Viking Long boat out in the waters, it had come to steal our Spam.

I liked the railing next to to my table the divider was held up of old Coke bottles.

I liked the cruse ship it had interesting pods mounted on the upper most area of the supper structure.

Some random black berries and flowers.

A plant near Granville island that looks for all the world like decorative Devils Club.

The Vertigo inducing escalator at Granville skytrain station which is Ironically under ground

And a Gull that looks like its drinking form the juice box.













Friday, August 14, 2009

Freud's Mellon

Greetings Bloggies.

I had gone to Safeway yesterday to get some grub. They were fresh out of insect larva so I had to get some fruits and veggies instead. In an effort to have some change in my diet I picked up a Huney Dew mellon rather then the usual cantelope. For fun I got one that was more irregular in shape, all the other ones were too round. Later did I realize that this fruit was very much a mellon. I am sure old Sigmund would say something about my mother with regard to this but some times a fruit is just a fruit.

Vancouver Continued

Greetings Bloggies.

Well I am still in Vancouver, its rained some more. It gets muggy here but at least its been cool at night. I have some random tidbits to go over.

I went to the BCIT campus where I will be studying and living for the better part of the next year. The place looks functional, its drab grey cement buildings. It lacks any real charm, but its not for a long time. It needs to the job and I have to do mine and I am determined to get the good out comes.



Also I was down town after having had a productive meeting with a firm. I went for a good walk, and visited what if I had more money could be a favourate store, Leo's camera ect, on Granville street, where after looking a reasonably priced cameras, and gaining some more information, have opened my self up to considering some other brands, beyond Nikon and Canon, when it comes to my eventual DSL buy. Just out side the door and being photographed by some tourists was this odd creation. Some old wreck of a bike with small gas engine grafted on. I am sure it was breaking 3 bilaws at once just by existing.



And lastly earlier on the same walk a nice slice of city scape near the shore of False Creek, roughly opposite Granville island.

Caprica City Before the fall

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Vancouver Day 4,

Greetings Bloggies

I am in Vancouver right now. This is my prelude to the longer stay starting next month when I will be actively in the GIS program. This visit is both a favor and a business venture. The goal of this trip is to meet up with firms that have active GIS departments and areas of operations that are of interest to me.

Without going into specifics I have had a few solid visits and a dialog has been started that is strongly heading where I might want things to go.

I also found out just after I thought it my self, that my camera and sun glasses are in the car I rode down here in. Its no big but a bit of a pain.

In other news the cats which I am here to keep alive and happy are , certainly alive, happy is hard to tell. The one is constantly whining and speaks in a tone that makes you think you have offended her. The other is well, shy.


Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Death of bird

Greetings bloggies

This morning I was brushing my teeth as I do with the help of the hose outside the log cabin I have made a home for much of the last year. I heard a trrrrrrrrrrr splat, trrrrrrrrrrr splot, trrrrrrrrrrr plop. After the first time I heard it I looked up. A grouse was trying unsuccessfully to fly over the chicken wire mesh that defines the top half of our anti deer garden fence.
At first I thought there was only one bird but a second smaller bird made the same attempt twice, the larger bird tried it only once.

I went in to take a look. They had moved to the south side of the garden and were near the gate but in the tall ferns that mark the used out edge of the garden. As I got closer the larger bird flew away, parallel to the fence not in to it. The smaller bird I could hear in the grass. I gave chase. It did not run fast or far. I managed after a short while to pick it up, with both hands in case it wanted to get defensive.

The poor thing was weak its neck was at an odd angle, not quite holding up its head at the right angle. This closer look told me it was likely this years hatch. It was 90% into its adult plumage but was still scruffy and incomplete looking. I took it down to the house for show and tell, where I noticed that when it did fight back it was only kicking with one leg. It was a hurt bad.

It was suggested that we let it go into the ferns and let nature take its coarse. So I carried it to the edge of the lawn and put it done. It did not move, or run it just flopped weakly. I could not let it die that slowly so I did the better but harder thing.

Knowing that it was doomed, and not wanting to think about the slow suffering I conferred with one of the folks. I looked away and put my hand over its head making sure to close the beak so I could not snap at me and twisted. It was not a pretty feeling. I felt its last twitches which lasted the better part of a minuet. At least it would not suffer any more. Is a bit saddening, but at the same time they are one of natures prey species.

I have to say this, if it was the fully grown bird, or even if it was a little larger I would considered butchering it. It was a healthy young bird, some what like a chicken. Only its size prevented my considering its food value.

Before I relieved it I took some so so photos with my phone.





When I had taken these photos we had not yet decided to terminate the poor thing but I would say my thoughts were heading there.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Science Toads

Greetings Bloggies

As any of you who read this, who know me know that I am a nerd. A bit of a fan of science. So yesterday I tripped across some science by accident. Some time after I realized the last thing I ate was some gummy bears at 2pm and some toast at 11:30m and it was 5:30pm. So Went for some fast food and headed off to summit lake to escape the heat.

I did not end up swimming but the spot was in the shade and the water made for a cool retreat from the blasting heat of the summer. As I was wading to cool off I noticed the mini toads that populate that lake. The populate the shores of that lake in great multitudes the vast majority barely 1cm long, most greyish brown and some yellowie green. I noticed something sciencey after watching them for a while. Surface Tension.

It turns out that the little fellows are so small that like a water-strider or any thing small enough they stick to the surface of the water. So here were these little toads their legs kicking just like you would expect but the tops of there bodies were dry and the water around them was dented in just like the area around a water-striders foot. What stuck me as interesting was that the toads seemed to be right at the upper end of the size range where that kind of interaction is possible. They live at the upper limit of where surface forces dominate.


Saturday, August 1, 2009

Silly Politics

I usually reserve this blog for original content but I like Friday's XKCD too much too leave alone.