Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Ode to Kazakhstan
I had the distinct pleasure of catching the Canada vs Kazakhstan World Junior Hockey game on the 28th out at Scotiabank Place (does anyone else still call it the Corel Centre?).
It's been a number of years since I caught a real hockey game (good luck getting seats for a Leafs game for less than $100 a pop, even for the nosebleeds). I'd forgotten how big SBP is, but also how close the ice feels, even from the 200 level.
Canada romped all over Kazakhstan, 15-0. Oddly, I didn't think Canada looked particularly impressive -- most of their goals were scrappy whack-at-the-rebound affairs in front of the net, rather than nice set plays or big shots.
After the game, the Roderick's were all on the "What do you expect from some small, poor nothing of a country" boat. Out of curiosity I looked up Kazakhstan on Wikipedia, and was quite surprised by all the juicy tidbits on there!
- Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world (seriously!)
- Next to Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan nearish to the Caspian Sea.
- Population of roughly 15 million
- Declared independence from Russia in 1991
- Actually relatively well off, with huge oil and natural gas reserves (top 10 in the world), as well as being one of the largest producers of uranium, chromium, zinc.....gold and diamonds!
- Has won a decent number of Olympic gold medals in boxing and speed skating in particular. Kazakhs have also fared very well in the Tour de France!
- Home of famed television celebrity, Borat
Just goes to show you how little I know about other parts of the world!
It's been a number of years since I caught a real hockey game (good luck getting seats for a Leafs game for less than $100 a pop, even for the nosebleeds). I'd forgotten how big SBP is, but also how close the ice feels, even from the 200 level.
Canada romped all over Kazakhstan, 15-0. Oddly, I didn't think Canada looked particularly impressive -- most of their goals were scrappy whack-at-the-rebound affairs in front of the net, rather than nice set plays or big shots.
After the game, the Roderick's were all on the "What do you expect from some small, poor nothing of a country" boat. Out of curiosity I looked up Kazakhstan on Wikipedia, and was quite surprised by all the juicy tidbits on there!
- Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country in the world (seriously!)
- Next to Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan nearish to the Caspian Sea.
- Population of roughly 15 million
- Declared independence from Russia in 1991
- Actually relatively well off, with huge oil and natural gas reserves (top 10 in the world), as well as being one of the largest producers of uranium, chromium, zinc.....gold and diamonds!
- Has won a decent number of Olympic gold medals in boxing and speed skating in particular. Kazakhs have also fared very well in the Tour de France!
- Home of famed television celebrity, Borat
Just goes to show you how little I know about other parts of the world!
Labels: Kazakhstan
Saturday, December 27, 2008
What next?
One of the questions I've thought a lot about on and off over the past year if "what next?".
I think Laura and I are both pretty happy where we are, with what we're doing short term, but atleast for me I definitely don't want to live in Toronto long term, particularly in terms of raising kids.
There's nothing *wrong* with Toronto, it's just not my gig - I'm much happier when I can be outside biking, canoeing, hiking, skiing, etc most weekends and even during the week. I'm sure there's some great stuff an hour outside of Toronto, but that's not quite what I have in mind. I'm also not keen on the eventual reality of owning a home -- either paying $1M+ for a 3 bedroom tiny townhouse "downtown" or $1M+ for a house a 45 minute trainride away - either in Burlington, Oakville, Pickering, etc.
The reason why we haven't moved yet is that we're both very happy with our jobs. I love the work I do and the people I work with....plus, I make very good money and have a pretty serious amount of seniority in the company, which I definitely wouldn't have, atleast to start with, elsewhere.
It would all be much easier if I really KNEW what I wanted. If I'd been hugely impressed with Vancouver and really thought I'd fit in there, it'd be easy to justify moving there -- it would definitely have the outdoorsy stuff, but I just didn't feel like I fit in when I was out there, plus it's so far from "home".
I guess for not atleast, it's just "business as usual" and "let's play it by ear".
I think Laura and I are both pretty happy where we are, with what we're doing short term, but atleast for me I definitely don't want to live in Toronto long term, particularly in terms of raising kids.
There's nothing *wrong* with Toronto, it's just not my gig - I'm much happier when I can be outside biking, canoeing, hiking, skiing, etc most weekends and even during the week. I'm sure there's some great stuff an hour outside of Toronto, but that's not quite what I have in mind. I'm also not keen on the eventual reality of owning a home -- either paying $1M+ for a 3 bedroom tiny townhouse "downtown" or $1M+ for a house a 45 minute trainride away - either in Burlington, Oakville, Pickering, etc.
The reason why we haven't moved yet is that we're both very happy with our jobs. I love the work I do and the people I work with....plus, I make very good money and have a pretty serious amount of seniority in the company, which I definitely wouldn't have, atleast to start with, elsewhere.
It would all be much easier if I really KNEW what I wanted. If I'd been hugely impressed with Vancouver and really thought I'd fit in there, it'd be easy to justify moving there -- it would definitely have the outdoorsy stuff, but I just didn't feel like I fit in when I was out there, plus it's so far from "home".
I guess for not atleast, it's just "business as usual" and "let's play it by ear".
Friday, December 26, 2008
Boxing Day Madness!
That's right folks, as per tradition, I was knee deep in boxing day madness today. Woke up around 6:30, perused some flyers, read my new John Grisham book until about 9:30, popped over to Canadian Tire with my mom....fought off the one other car vying for the parking spot closest to the door, held the door open on the way in for a nice old lady.
We picked up 2 super nice lagostina frying pans for $15 each, pondered over a hand-held / immersion mixer( there was a kitchenaid for 40% offto 49.99 which had 9 speeds, and a metal blender/plastic handle, but not additional attachements, or a 69.99 cuisinart full metal one which only has one speed, but has a whisk attachment and a chopper/grinder attachment bowl thing), and grabbed a $20 dvd player for the cottage. In and out in under 20 minutes.
Anyone else do any super exciting shopping?
We picked up 2 super nice lagostina frying pans for $15 each, pondered over a hand-held / immersion mixer( there was a kitchenaid for 40% offto 49.99 which had 9 speeds, and a metal blender/plastic handle, but not additional attachements, or a 69.99 cuisinart full metal one which only has one speed, but has a whisk attachment and a chopper/grinder attachment bowl thing), and grabbed a $20 dvd player for the cottage. In and out in under 20 minutes.
Anyone else do any super exciting shopping?
Labels: Boxing Day Madness
Thursday, December 11, 2008
London: Day Two!
I'm getting more used to the timezone difference and have been waking up at more normal hours the past two days - managed to get up at "8am" today, and out of the hotel by 9. Hit up:
Tower Of London: Basically an oldschool fortress / castle that was used both for housing royalty / royal ceremonies / crown jewels and housing "traitors" / executions etc. What a pleasant rosy history! Pretty impressive from the outside - didn't want to pay the 20 pounds (close on the $40!?) to go in for a tour.
Tower Bridge: This is the bridge that most people think is London Bridge. In reality, London Bridge is a pretty small, plain / boring bridge a bit further down the river. Tower Bridge is the big impressive one with the 2 big towers, and the lift bridge that can open in the middle.
St Pauls: This is a friggin big ass cathedral. They also charge 10 pounds to get in, so I once again just mostly checked around from outside, although you could wander a bit inside for free.
Tate Modern: I'm really not much of an art person in general, and modern art is definitely the weirdest of them all. Lots of big canvasses of solid red with a blue stripe type stuff. However, they had a few cool and noteworthy items -- including the massive spider sculpture and a few Picassos, etc. Free is my favourite price.
Borough Market: By London bridge, really nice market. Got some fantastic fancy turkish delite. Also got some nice grilled sausages and a really good chicken burger for lunch.
Tower Of London: Basically an oldschool fortress / castle that was used both for housing royalty / royal ceremonies / crown jewels and housing "traitors" / executions etc. What a pleasant rosy history! Pretty impressive from the outside - didn't want to pay the 20 pounds (close on the $40!?) to go in for a tour.
Tower Bridge: This is the bridge that most people think is London Bridge. In reality, London Bridge is a pretty small, plain / boring bridge a bit further down the river. Tower Bridge is the big impressive one with the 2 big towers, and the lift bridge that can open in the middle.
St Pauls: This is a friggin big ass cathedral. They also charge 10 pounds to get in, so I once again just mostly checked around from outside, although you could wander a bit inside for free.
Tate Modern: I'm really not much of an art person in general, and modern art is definitely the weirdest of them all. Lots of big canvasses of solid red with a blue stripe type stuff. However, they had a few cool and noteworthy items -- including the massive spider sculpture and a few Picassos, etc. Free is my favourite price.
Borough Market: By London bridge, really nice market. Got some fantastic fancy turkish delite. Also got some nice grilled sausages and a really good chicken burger for lunch.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
London: Day One!
My morning didn't exactly go off according to plan -- I didn't wake up until around 11am local time (really, not BAD considering that's 6am Toronto time). Put a bit of a damper on my plans to get out an explore the town this morning.
I tried to hit the hotel gym, but my room key didn't seem to work, so I ended up running the staircase instead. I'll do better tomorrow.
I then tried to iron my new shirt with the hotel room iron. Ya, either I'm no good, or the iron is no good, because the damned thing spilled water all over my shirt...so after I ironed the shirt, I had to blowdry the shirt with the hairdryer, which wrinkled it up again!
Anyways, worked out of the office for the rest of the afternoon, then went out for dinner with a few folks I've worked with previously. Went to a place in the "O2" (kinda like the corel centre, but with restaurants all around the outside) for bangers and mash...decent, but really, it's sausage and mashed potatoes, what do you expect. Followed it up with a few pints at a pub by the london bridge.
Hopefully I'll get out in the morning ON TIME tomorrow and be able to really do some sightseeing during the daylight -- that's the downside of winter, it's only bright from 9am-5pm : (
London - so far so good, but nothing exceptional to write home about.
I tried to hit the hotel gym, but my room key didn't seem to work, so I ended up running the staircase instead. I'll do better tomorrow.
I then tried to iron my new shirt with the hotel room iron. Ya, either I'm no good, or the iron is no good, because the damned thing spilled water all over my shirt...so after I ironed the shirt, I had to blowdry the shirt with the hairdryer, which wrinkled it up again!
Anyways, worked out of the office for the rest of the afternoon, then went out for dinner with a few folks I've worked with previously. Went to a place in the "O2" (kinda like the corel centre, but with restaurants all around the outside) for bangers and mash...decent, but really, it's sausage and mashed potatoes, what do you expect. Followed it up with a few pints at a pub by the london bridge.
Hopefully I'll get out in the morning ON TIME tomorrow and be able to really do some sightseeing during the daylight -- that's the downside of winter, it's only bright from 9am-5pm : (
London - so far so good, but nothing exceptional to write home about.
Labels: London
Monday, December 08, 2008
London!
Oh. Heck. Yah!
So I made it over all in one piece -- the new air canada planes with the in-seat on demand movies are the best thing EVER! (although, I noticed that they now make you watch 4 or 5 ads before your movie starts, which is new). I had a seat to myself which was nice - there's even power outlets for your laptop, so I got a bit of work done between watching XFiles (baaaaad movie) and Batman: Dark Knight(wiiicked movie).
So far things are pretty "normal" except the accents....mind you, my flight got in at 9:30pm London time, so I haven't exactly seen much / done much outside of my hotel room - sadly ended up getting a hamburger from the hotel restaurant for dinner since everything else around here was closed by the time I dropped my stuff off in my room.
I'm excited for the week and can't wait to get out and about in the morning! I also am sporting an entirely new, ritzy / fashion chic wardrobe. I think I bought more (atleast SPENT more) on Saturday than I have in years. 5 new shirts and 2 new pairs of pants. Mexx was a "new" store for me...pretty sweet stuff, but all super expensive. However managed to get a few things from the 50% off rack. Got a new coat thing from Bluenotes too.
Hopefully I'll be able to take some pictures to share and will keep you posted!
So I made it over all in one piece -- the new air canada planes with the in-seat on demand movies are the best thing EVER! (although, I noticed that they now make you watch 4 or 5 ads before your movie starts, which is new). I had a seat to myself which was nice - there's even power outlets for your laptop, so I got a bit of work done between watching XFiles (baaaaad movie) and Batman: Dark Knight(wiiicked movie).
So far things are pretty "normal" except the accents....mind you, my flight got in at 9:30pm London time, so I haven't exactly seen much / done much outside of my hotel room - sadly ended up getting a hamburger from the hotel restaurant for dinner since everything else around here was closed by the time I dropped my stuff off in my room.
I'm excited for the week and can't wait to get out and about in the morning! I also am sporting an entirely new, ritzy / fashion chic wardrobe. I think I bought more (atleast SPENT more) on Saturday than I have in years. 5 new shirts and 2 new pairs of pants. Mexx was a "new" store for me...pretty sweet stuff, but all super expensive. However managed to get a few things from the 50% off rack. Got a new coat thing from Bluenotes too.
Hopefully I'll be able to take some pictures to share and will keep you posted!
Labels: London
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Choosing an officiant
One of the challenges for us in terms of wedding planning has been thinking about the ceremony itself and what we'd like in terms of an officiant. Neither one of us is super religious, but we're both generally christianish, and would there to be a bit of religion, but not a bunch of bible thumpin'.
Since we don't go to church here in TO, we don't really have any "ins" with any priests. So...as always, we've turned to the internet.
We've come up with a shortlist, and want your vote.
Officiant by day, mad scientist by night
She offers free counselling as part of the package
The dog can be the ring bearer
He also does magic
She was the prom queen at her high school prom in 1988
She looks kinda like Luba Goy from Air Farce
This one looks like he'd be a bit naughty
Since we don't go to church here in TO, we don't really have any "ins" with any priests. So...as always, we've turned to the internet.
We've come up with a shortlist, and want your vote.
Officiant by day, mad scientist by night
She offers free counselling as part of the package
The dog can be the ring bearer
He also does magic
She was the prom queen at her high school prom in 1988
She looks kinda like Luba Goy from Air Farce
This one looks like he'd be a bit naughtyLabels: Wedding
Yay for the Interweb
I really do enjoy the internet.
Fazed and Fark keep me busy with cool and fun links. Yesterday was a particularly bountiful day.
Carrotmob: Harness the power of group buying to convince stores to make socially beneficial decisions. Check out the video at the top of the page. Basically, ask a number of companies in a specific "industry" to compete against each other for the business of the mob by agreeing to make the most significant socially beneficial change. The mob then buys stuff from that company.
Their first "mob" was to liquor / convenience stores in San Fran. Of the 20 they initially checked out, the highest "bidder" agreed to direct 22% of revenue to retrofiting the store to increase energy efficiency. Literally hundreds of people showed up on the day to buy from the store - more than $10k of purchases translating to > $2k of retrofits.
So far it's pretty grassroots and small, but several gloabl carrotmob groups have sprung up, and there's lots of potential for this to be a really cool global trend.
Meat Art: Seriously, you gotta check these out...and click in to view atleast one or two at higher res. All these landscapes are made entirely from real actual food. My favourite is the one with prosciutto trees / deli meat sky.
Storm pictures: I've seen lots of storm cloud pictures in my day, but these are BY far the coolest / freakiest I've ever seen. Hard to believe it's real...
Fazed and Fark keep me busy with cool and fun links. Yesterday was a particularly bountiful day.
Carrotmob: Harness the power of group buying to convince stores to make socially beneficial decisions. Check out the video at the top of the page. Basically, ask a number of companies in a specific "industry" to compete against each other for the business of the mob by agreeing to make the most significant socially beneficial change. The mob then buys stuff from that company.
Their first "mob" was to liquor / convenience stores in San Fran. Of the 20 they initially checked out, the highest "bidder" agreed to direct 22% of revenue to retrofiting the store to increase energy efficiency. Literally hundreds of people showed up on the day to buy from the store - more than $10k of purchases translating to > $2k of retrofits.
So far it's pretty grassroots and small, but several gloabl carrotmob groups have sprung up, and there's lots of potential for this to be a really cool global trend.
Meat Art: Seriously, you gotta check these out...and click in to view atleast one or two at higher res. All these landscapes are made entirely from real actual food. My favourite is the one with prosciutto trees / deli meat sky.
Storm pictures: I've seen lots of storm cloud pictures in my day, but these are BY far the coolest / freakiest I've ever seen. Hard to believe it's real...
Labels: I Love the Internet
