Fairchild TV Interview about the Vancouver Tech Scene

I was recently interviewed by Fairchild TV (a national Chinese language station) for a segment about the Vancouver tech scene.

If you’re interested in the story, here are links to the video. Note that it’s a Cantonese language station.

(You can download the video if you find it's playing too slowly on the site.)
Part 1:
http://www.fairchildtv.com/newsarchive_detail.php?n=27&topic=375&episode=690
Part 2:
http://www.fairchildtv.com/newsarchive_detail.php?n=27&topic=375&episode=691

Halifax SharePint Tomorrow

There will be a SharePint tomorrow in Halifax, Canada!

Wednesday, June 16th at Durty Nelly's Irish Pub. 6pm

For future events, follow @HUGSharePoint on Twitter and check out http://www.hugsharepoint.org.

Hail UBC Fight Song

My alma mater has a new fight song. From the UBC grad gazette:

New UBC Pep Song Something to Cheer About

“That UBC even has a pep song – let alone a newly recorded one – may prompt some surprise. University fight songs are rare in Canada, where the tradition isn’t held as dear as in the United States.

 

 

 

 

At UBC, an older version of Hail UBC that’s been kicking around since the 1930s wasn’t even suitable to be played over the loudspeakers at games.

This proved troubling to UBC associate athletic director Steve Tuckwood and former athletic director Bob Hindmarch, who last year began asking around for a new version of ‘Hail UBC.’” [more]

Listen to the new Pep Song

- UBC’s Cecil Green Park House – where I was lucky enough to get married

uniquely Canadian stocking stuffer

if someone can find a more Canadian stocking stuffer, I'd like to see it. the only issue I have with this advertising is that they show a losing cup in their demo.



the Lee Valley Rimroller™

"This product makes it easy to check for prize statements hidden under the rims of paper coffee cups in various contests... Push, pull and you’re done...

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, 'Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.'...

When we were first shown the Rimroller many months ago, we recognized immediately that this was an elegant, well-designed, and well-manufactured product at a very reasonable price. It was one of those products that just delighted people when they used it...

Invented and manufactured in Ottawa, Canada, it makes a great stocking stuffer."


- DOH!

Dal Water Polo Chocolate Lake

these weekend the Dalhousie Water Polo team borrowed some water from the ducks as we had a BBQ and game in Chocolate Lake (in Halifax). I've posted many photos on my live space.


- warm-up has a whole new meaning...


- game on!


- why are three people checking me? I hope we scored on this play.


- out of Chocolate Lake towards the hot chocolate


- here's your new facebook pic John


- good day...

Dalhousie Water Polo web monkey

it looks like I'll be taking over as the web monkey for the Dalhousie Water Polo team. if anyone out there wants to send me their 2c regarding possible improvements, please feel free.



this is also a good excuse to use my jenn animation again...


- I really should create another one like this. I have shots of her doing the same thing

X-Canada Newfoundland

to complete my journey across all of the Canadian provinces, I made it to Newfoundland this summer. here are some highlight reel shots...



- the Bonavista lighthouse. you have to take a picture of a lighthouse or you're not allowed to leave "the rock."


- some great "flower pot" scenery


-hmm, what was this formation called again?


- this is what puffins look like when your telephoto lens is broken. as it turns out, they're quite small.


- Cape Spear, the easternmost point in Canada. it's closer to Europe from this point than Vancouver.


- there aren't any any snakes or skunks on the rock, but there are spiders.


- the village of Quidi Vidi


- the legend goes that Newfoundland fishermen received cheap paint from the government to paint their boats. some wily soul decided that he would save some money by using the brightly coloured paint on his home and the practise caught on.


- looking down at the Atlantic Ocean from Signal Hill in St John's

'Canada's Best' books

has anyone else seen the "Canada's Best" list that Chapters compiled?

they asked 150,000 irewards members to list their favourite Canadian books of all time (both fiction and non-fiction). however, this is a bit misleading since they don't actually say what the resultant sample size was.

it's clear to me that the entries are heavily biased towards books that were published in the last few years. for example, jPod (#11) is listed ahead of Microserfs (#58). I have a hard time seeing how that could happen unless the people who voted for jPod haven't read Microserfs.


also, some of the best books are clearly missing from the list. for example, Whale Music by Paul Quarrington should obviously be included.

BTW - two authors have ten books each in the list of 100 books: Atwood and Coupland.

here are my favourite book lists:
favourite geek books
favourite fiction books

truly canadian road sign

this sign is in fredericton, new brunswick. it must be the most canadian sign on the planet.



- no left turn to tims

Halifax's meteorological bomb

yesterday, maritime Canada was treated to a storm described on the news as a "meteorological bomb." it brought along a decent sized snowfall, some impressive winds and - the always enjoyable - high storm surge. this winter has been incredibly mild so this storm was fun. after hearing so many stories about Halifax snowstorms, I felt as though I would have to see one before I could call myself a local.


- the street outside my house

BTW - one of the reasons that these cars are so badly buried is that they aren't supposed to be there. Halifax has strict parking rules precisely because the snowplows need to be able to do their work. I've been sick so I was awake at 3am when the plow came by and piled up the snow behind the rear car. I think that the plow drivers enjoy doing their best to impart the value of obeying the parking regulations.

X-Canada Wrap-Up

now that the trip is complete, I thought that I'd post some more information about our route. most of these places are stops that we made over the 18-day journey. some were brief, some were a few days.

the final odometer reading was 5515 miles (8875 kilometers). obviously, we didn't take the most direct route. :)


- click the image for a larger view

Vancouver, BC
Kamloops, BC
Jasper, Alta
Edmonton, Alta
Red Deer, Alta
Drumheller, Alta
Calgary, Alta
Strathmore, Alta
Medicine Hat, Alta
Moosejaw, Sask
Regina, Sask
Brandon, Man
Wnnipeg, Man
Rennie, Man
Dryden, Ont
Kakabeka Falls, Ont
Eagle Canyon, Ont
Marathon, Ont
Wawa, Ont
Pancake Bay, Ont
Sault St. Marie, Ont
Massey, Ont
Little Current, Ont
South Baymouth, Ont
Tobermory, Ont
St. Mary's, Ont
Hamilton, Ont
Toronto, Ont
Belleville, Ont
Ottawa, Ont
Montreal, Que
Quebec City, Que
Montmagny, Que
St-Jean-Port-Joli, Que
Rivière-du-Loup, Que
Hartland, NB
Fredericton, NB
Moncton (Magnetic Hill), NB
Cornwall, PEI
Charlottetown, PEI
North Rustica Harbour, PEI
Green Gables, PEI
North Cover, PEI
West Point, PEI
Summerside, PEI
Charlottetown, PEI
Wood Islands, PEI
Pictou, NS
Antigonish, NS
Salmon River Bridge, NS
Dartmouth, NS
Halifax, NS

Update: Newfoundland


- the Halifax public garden

X-Canada Day 18 Halifax - Last Day

cross canada wrap-up

this morning we'll be checking out some beaches around Antagonish (Dunns beach) and then we'll be driving the final 2.5 hours to Halifax. we haven't seen much of Nova Scotia yet so this will be a very interesting day.

Update: after stopping for a lobster dinner at Salmon River Bridge (on the way down the East coast), we actually made it to Halifax! I opted out of the 15lb lobster option


- a 15lb lobster named 'Tiny'

the final odometer reading was 5515 miles (8875 kilometers). obviously, we didn't take the most direct route. :)


- a sign that you'll only see in the maritimes


- looking over Halifax


- Halifax jellyfish


- Halifax harbour


- "what are you looking at tourist?"

X-Canada Day 17 PEI,NS

cross canada wrap-up

we'll be taking the ferry from Prince Edward Island to Nova Scotia and then drive to Halifax. I cannot say enough about PEI. it's an amazingly scenic province.


- PEI potato field

PEI is the setting of the internationally famous L.M. Montgomery stories. the most popular being the Anne of Green Gables books.


- "Green Gables" national park

the house pictured above was originally owned by a relative of L.M. Montgomery and it inspired descriptions that you'll find in her books.

Update: a last minute change of plans has us in a small town called Antagonish. tomorrow we'll make another effort to get to Halifax.

we went for a sunset stroll on a nearby beach. as we were leaving, we noticed that some idiots hadn't put out their beach fire - we toasted some marshmallows before we covered it with sand.


- the last thing a lobster wants to see

update: we recently made it to the Nova Scotia side of the bay of fundy. it's quite a striking place. the beach sand is red and the shoreline is lined with high bluffs. and then there's the tides; the bay experiences the greatest tidal change in the world (about 28 feet). this photo of a Cape Split dock nicely illustrates the difference between the high and low tides.


- Bay of Fundy, the world's highest tides

X-Canada Day 16 PEI

cross canada wrap-up

we're spending today on Prince Edward Island.

PEI is amazing! today was the first day that my wife and I had to break out the backup flash card for our camera. we started joking about how many photos we'd be taking of the view over each new hill or corner.


- PEI is famous for its red dirt


- some subtle horses by North Cape


- the Province Building was the location of the planning for the confederation of Canada


aerial photos of PEI.

X-Canada Day 15 Quebec,NB, PEI

cross canada wrap-up

today we will be heading towards PEI. hopefully, we'll have access to the net so that we can upload some photos.

this sign is in fredericton, new brunswick. it must be the most canadian sign on the planet.


- no left turn to tim hortons



- Confederation Bridge stretches for 12.9 kilometres and connects PEI to New Brunswick

X-Canada Day 14 Quebec

cross canada wrap-up

we'll be heading to Montreal this morning and then we're going to see how far across New Brunswick we can get.

we went to Mont Royal and looked over the city. after we saw a woman attempt to kick a squirrel, she told us that they are "méchant" ('mean').


- cet écureuil parle seulement le francais

Update: we stopped in Montreal long enough that we decided to spend the night in Riviere-du-Loup (Quebec).

X-Canada Day 13 Ottawa,Ont

cross canada wrap-up

today we're in our nation's capital. we went on a tour of the parliament building and drove by the Prime Minister's residence.


- the Canadian house of Parliament

X-Canada Day 12 Hamilton,Ont

cross canada wrap-up

today we may just take it easy and visit with friends in Hamilton,Ontario. soon we'll be back on the road - off to Toronto and Ottawa.


- Dundurn Castle (photo from http://www.hamilton.ca)

X-Canada Day 11 St. Mary's,Ont

cross canada wrap-up

yes, Ontario is a big province - we're still here. today we'll be visiting St. Mary's, Niagra Falls and then visiting friends in Hamilton.

St. Mary's is a beautiful small town in Ontario - and it's also the home of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.


- the St. Mary's town hall

Niagra Falls was fun. we went on the famous "Maid of the Mist" boat ride which gets you right next to the falls. they should call it 'Maid of the Shower' though. there was so much water that I used the raincoat to protect my camera and I got soaked. but it was a sunny day so it was great being cool.


- Niagra Falls (Canadian side)

X-Canada Day 10 Tobermory,Ont

cross canada wrap-up

thanks to unprotected wireless networks, we're blogging from Tobormory, Ont. our goal today is to do some sight seeing and then make it to a small town called St. Mary's where we will be visiting with family.


- what would a cross Canada trip be without Canada geese?


- lake Huron sunset


- lake Huron glass bottom boat view of a shipwreck