How’s That Sweet Mustache Coming?

I’m growing it out as a full beard and will shave it down into a mustache near the end of the month. If I had my way I’d have shaved the whole thing clean off by now. Eating yogurt has never been so difficult (and messy) for me!

The good news is our team has already raised $365 for prostate cancer research and the month isn’t over yet! If you want to donate, you can find all the information on my previous post. 

In weekend news I checked out some local bands last night with Josh and Liam (one of the New Zealanders who accompanied us to Tofino). The band we went to see, Hefe, was quite good. The headlining band was terrible though. We fled after a couple of songs and headed home. 

This morning I hit up the Locus Cafe for breakfast with a friend of mine. I love the Locus. It’s probably my favorite breakfast place in all of Vancouver. The food is amazing and the place has the funkiest decor. 

Now I’ve just made a snap decision to go see the new Bond film at the Rio Theatre on Broadway. It’s a great little movie theatre just off Commercial Drive that originally started in 1938. A couple of years ago it was renovated and I think it’s one of the best places to see a film in the city. So I’ve gotta run…

Voting… Done

In 2005 I didn’t do my due diligence in selecting the mayoral candidate for Vancouver. I was too busy, so I said, and on voting morning turned to the Georgia Straight to see what their recommendations were. The Straight didn’t like either Sam Sullivan or Jim Green but gave their recommendation to Sam Sullivan because he was, “far more likely than Green to vote to save downtown Vancouver’s major hospital from the wrecking ball.”

In hindsight I would rather have taken my chances with Jim Green.

This year I did my homework and ended up voting contrary to the Georgia Straight’s recommendation. In a few hours we’ll know who won this contest.

Tonight I’ll be hitting up a new place called the Royal Unicorn to catch a friend of a friend’s band play and in the morning I’ll check the election results. Voting is over for the year. Yay!

The 2005 Georgia Straight article recommending Sam Sullivan:
http://www.straight.com/article/voters-face-tricky-choice

Letters to the editor slamming the Georgia Straight for their recommendation of Sam Sullivan:
http://www.straight.com/article/straight-slammed-over-election-recommendations

Mayor Races

I’m watching Wednesday’s mayoral debate so I can decide who to vote for later today.

When I watch Peter Ladner, he clearly states the facts and isn’t afraid to point out when an issue falls under provincial or federal jurisdiction. Gregor Robertson’s speeches sound good but tend to lack concrete action plans. My vote’s going towards Ladner, even though I prefer Robertson’s more aggressive stance on homelessness and transit. The bottom line is I have more faith in Ladner to get things done during his term in office.

One thing that’s become painfully clear is how dependent we are on the provincial government to solve the transit and homeless problems that Vancouver faces. The real place to effect change will be at the provincial level because they control translink and transit service funding. In addition, the provincial government, through BC Housing, is a large part of the social housing picture in Vancouver.

So I’m looking forward to the provincial election next year. At least we’ll have a break from voting for a while. I’m getting a little burned out from going to the ballot box every month.

Home Again

Yesterday was a pretty chill day in Tofino. Half our group went out kayaking and Reilly, Miranda, and myself went up to the old radar station site to check things out. I got a heap of photos, especially with all the bright foliage in the area.

R&M decided to head out for a nap after our wander so I got them to drop me off on the way into town so I could walk around and check things out. Found some interesting sights (which you can see on Flickr) and an awesome bookstore that stocked an impressive selection of books. It wasn’t a big place but all the books were well-chosen so you didn’t have to wade through masses of mediocre books like you do at Chapters. The lady working also had a cute dog named “Chewbacca” who was keeping an eye on the scene.

I hit up an art gallery after picking up a couple of books (Rum Diaries and a cookbook) that featured the artwork of Roy Henry Vickers, a native artist who’s made a name for himself on the coast.

That evening was mellow. We hit the Weigh West for their burger specials, had a couple pints of Winter Ale, and retired to the cabin to chitchat into the night.

The drive home today was fairly laid back and uneventful. We tried to go down a 4×4 road that shortcuts the highway but found ourselves at a dead end. Fun ride though. The river crossings were particularly exciting as was Reilly’s flat tire. The Nissan Xterras have a sensor that will light up on the dash when your tire pressure’s uneven which helps catch flats before the tire deflates and wrecks your rim.

We also stopped at Cathedral Grove to check out the old growth forest before the last bit of daylight disappeared. Neat place! Lots of big mossy trees to investigate.

I had an awesome time with everyone! The New Zealanders were especially fun to hang out with. We learned loads about their corner of the world, especially as they just went through an election and it gave us a chance to compare our different political systems. There was also much exchanging of music. I’ve promised to make a mixtape of Canadian bands like the Hip, Sam Roberts, Arcade Fire, and the like. They’re going to send along a recommended list of bands for us to check out.

Was great to hang out with Reilly and Miranda too. They’re at the tail end of their wedding season (they’re amazing wedding photographers) so they’ve been busy these past few months. Dave and Amelia were also out for beers after work and it was great to catch up on all their news.

I’ll be back out in Tofino at the beginning of December for some more adventures with Dave. Now it is time for some sleep. Can’t wait to get back out there. Tofino is fantastic! Ironically Vancouver was a monsoon when we returned so we timed the weather perfectly.

Tofino - Day 2

Yesterday was really fun in Tofino. The weather held out pretty well. A little wet, but some sun came out later on in the day while we parked at Schooner Cove and wandered along the shore to Long Beach. The views are stunning!

Then we did a little forestry road exploring (our friends drive 4×4 vehicles) and discovered some dense forest in the wilds behind the town. The trees were so thick that the sun was nearly blotted out and we were in near darkness. 

All the outdoor adventures made us hungry so we hit up the Wildside Grill situated in this cluster of small wooden buildings that house all sorts of neat shops. The New Zealanders popped into the chocolatiers and then we poked around the “Groovy Movie” store for a couple of videos for the evening. We picked out a copy of Where the Buffalo Roam, a film about Hunter S. Thompson, and The Royal Tanembaums. Both great films and we had a blast watching them that night. 

Our cabin overlooks the ocean so after the movies were done we turned out the lights and gazed over the moonlit ocean view outside our front windows. Beautiful! I think Tofino is one of the most amazing places ever.

Now we’re chilling at the cabin after a hearty breakfast and listening to all kinds of cool New Zealand bands. I love meeting people from other parts of the world and being introduced to new music. Not sure what the plan is for today. There’s talk of kayaking and wandering around. Not sure if I’m up for kayaking (what!?! I never miss kayaking!) and we might wander around the townsite for a while and take some more photos.

New Zealand Muppetry

Yesterday we picked up a pair of New Zealanders and headed for Tofino. Along the way we hit up Horn Lake to check out some caves. Ended up in one really cool cave that had a stream flowing through it and a zillion Daddy Longlegs spiders on the roof. 

En route we saw packs of eagles near a wildlife conservation area before Port Alberni. It was weird because there weren’t any signs, just heaps of eagles in the trees. Once we stopped we discovered a pack of raccoons in the tree checking us out. Then a deer wandered by! We had no idea we were in a conservation area until Miranda checked it out on her map. Pretty cool to see so many animals in one spot.

After the zoo it was time for some random side roads for 4×4ing which was fun. Finally we finished up the trek to Tofino and piled into the small cabin we’d rented for the next couple of days. Dave and Amelia showed up for a beer and we learned all sorts of cool things about New Zealand that night. My favorite phrase: “budgie smuggler.” A budgie smuggler is slang for a pair of speedo swimming shorts. 

This morning we made a huge fruit salad and found the one place in the cabin where we could get wireless internet. So now we’re gearing up to check out the area.

I’ve Got My Heart On for Tofino

Tomorrow I leave with a pack of friends for Tofino. Getting out of town for a few days is going to be awesome. We’re not coming back until Tuesday so we’ll have time to sit back and chill out on the wet west coast. The forecast says sun for Sunday and I’m hoping we’ve missed any monsoons.

Last Sunday night I hit the Commodore for the Eagles of Death Metal, who aren’t really as heavy as their name sounds. Great show! Lead singer Jesse “the Devil” Hughes made a big deal out of his superior mustache and even took time out between songs to make a show of grooming it. The band played a solid rock set and hit all my favorite songs so I was pretty happy at the end of it, despite being out late on a work night.

What else? I hit the Agile Vancouver Conference this week. It’s a software developer conference and had a good mix of people. Only a few geeky neck beards were in attendance. Learned loads and our whole team benefited from seeing what other people were doing in their companies. The biggest change was in the conversations our team was having today, after the conference. Much more focus on best practices and getting our development process streamlined using the different techniques we’d discovered.

Now I’m going to pack for Tofino!

Help Me Fight Prostate Cancer!

Last year my Dad contracted cancer and subsequently passed away. He had just retired and was looking forward to several years of travelling, playing golf, and heli-skiing when he got the news. Six months later he was gone.

I heard a statistic yesterday that 2 in 5 Canadians will contract cancer at some point which means that even if I don’t get it then several of my friends and family will.

We’re doing something about it. Movember is a mustache growing charity event during the month of November and some friends and I have formed a Movember team to grow mustaches. Now I’m asking you to donate to the cause!

To donate, you can either click this link https://www.movember.com/ca/donate/donate-details.php?action=sponsorlink&rego=1810296&country=ca and donate online using your credit card or a PayPal account.

Alternatively, you can write a cheque payable to the “Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada”, referencing my Registration Number 1810296 and mailing it to:

Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada
Attn: Movember
145 Front Street East
Suite 306
Toronto Ontario M5A 1E3

We’ll get some pictures of this fine ’stache up in early December so everyone can see how I stack up next to Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck.

Thanks for your support!

I am Iron Man!

I nearly forgot about the bizarre thing we witnessed last night! This guy was running around the Frog dressed in an Iron Man costume and when he left, he decided he was going to climb up the fire esape of the building across the street. He made it all the way up and then climbed up onto the roof! Eventually he made it back down without incident and did a backflip on the sidewalk to celebrate his accomplishment.

This was the most ridiculous thing we saw last night.

What Would Jebus Do?

Saw a great little play last night called Jesus Christ: The Lost Years which fictionalized Jesus’s life between the ages of 13 and 30. Turns out he made it into outer space and did all kinds of cool stuff! Reilly and Miranda are into the independent theatre scene which is great because I love seeing cool plays put on by small theatre companies. Last night’s production was put on by Monster Theatre who I think are a gem in the indie theatre world.

So with the religious studies under our belt we retired to the Black Frog for a couple of beers and some chatter. Nothing too crazy to report from there other than to say they play the best music of any place I’ve been. Ever. The dude who runs the joint plugs his IPod into the PA and throws it on shuffle. His IPod is almost an exact duplicate of my music library with all sorts of great indie rock stuff like Frank Black, Built To Spill, Band of Horses, the Supersuckers, Eagles of Death Metal, Queens of the Stone Age, the Breeders, and so on. You *never* hear this music anywhere else.

Not sure about the rest of this weekend. We’re hitting up the Alibi Room for breakfast on Sunday. Today I’m getting my hair chopped and renewing my insurance. Sunday night the Eagles of Death Metal are going to rock the Commodore and I’m looking forward to finally seeing them.

Oh, and Green River is playing the Showbox in Seattle on Nov 29 as part of the Supersuckers 20th anniversary performance. I’ve got to make a decision about going down there that weekend for the show. I’m always in for spending time in Seattle and given that Green River is unlikely to do any more shows then I’d better take advantage of the chance to see them again.

Who are Green River you ask? It’s the band that the guys in Pearl Jam and Mudhoney formed in the mid-80’s and are widely acknowleged as the first “grunge” band. Out of the band’s breakup in 1988 came Mudhoney and Mother Love Bone. Mother Love Bone managed to get one album out before the singer died of a heroin overdose which led to the remaining members forming Pearl Jam.

So seeing Green River is a piece of rock history for me. It’s also great to see some of the Pearl Jam guys in a small venue instead of the stadiums they usually play. More importantly, the show I saw at the Sub Pop 20th anniversary festival this summer was one of the best shows I’ve seen. Now that these guys are all seasoned musicians they can take these songs and play them far better than they could back when they were a bunch of young punks in the 80’s. As one reviewer noted, “if they were that good back then, they never would have broken up.”

Final decision on the Green River show will be made before Sunday night. I’m pretty sure I’m going to go though.