Crappy cold and New Photos

I've been feeling under the weather the past few days. I think it's allergy or sinus related. I've been keeping active and sleeping/eating lots to try and get back to full health. Here's an interesting link that shows the national flu activity in the USA. Hope this post finds you all in better health than I. I've also posted new pics in the gallery from Dan's bday and other activities over the past few weekends.

Fossil fuels for breakfast

I was pointed to an interesting write-up called My Saudi Arabian Breakfast. This article is a good read and points out some things to think about when purchasing the food you eat. I buy organic quite often and think it's good for the Earth. However, this article points out that buying organic is not necessarily helping to conserve energy. It points out how the packaging, transportation and processing of these foods consumes energy too. The article is pretty fun to read, here's an excerpt:

Coming from another hemisphere, my raspberries take an even longer fossil-fueled journey to my neighborhood. Though packaged in a plastic bag labeled Cascadian Farms ... the small print on the back, stamped "A Product of Chile," tells all -- and what it speaks of is a 5,800-mile journey to Northern California.

Once again, it's really up to us to find ways to conserve energy and use less fossil-fuels. This article renews my interest in buying locally grown and processed foods.

I'm still alive

Wow... has it really been almost a month since my last post!? I guess so. I've been pretty busy with some things: A last minute drive to Prince George, BC to visit family. Work has been busy with the planning for Visual Studio V.next. We've had a few sunny days and Thursday Cam and I jumped into the lake for lake mission 2! If you want to stay informed of dock missions this summer join myspace and get in on our Juanita group.

On the weekends I've been keeping productive by working on my vehicles and helping out my buddy Dan with his project car: 1986 Nissan 300Z. I'm currently waiting for parts to finish the level 2 service on my BMW. The shop charges about $500+ for the the service but Dan and I should get it done for less than $100. It involves things like replacing spark plugs, differential fluid, cabin filter, and lubricating some things. I'm also working on the tune-up of the motorcycle. I've flushed the coolant and done an oil/filter change. I've ordered a new rear-stand and next up is plugs, cleaning the air-filter and a new chain + sprockets.

**UPDATE** Yesterday Dan and I dropped the rear-end out of his car. That includes the rear sub-frame, suspension and differential. Here's a pic.

I have a bunch of new pictures to share and WILL get them up someday. A friend gave me a copy of Photoshop Elements and it seems to work pretty well. Also, mad props to Tom for getting his SECOND house into shape for renters to take over. In one month he's completely renovated the entire thing. It's pretty amazing.

Engagement Party With New Pictures

Last weekend was epic... so epic indeed that I was busy catching up on work all week and couldn't time to post until now. Here's a breakdown of the craziness last weekend.
Friday I chaperoned Amanda's entire dental hygeine class to Fado in Pike Square. Tom and George were called in for backup and everyone got a little crazy.

Saturday Amanda and I partied for our engagement and invited everyone to dress-up and enjoy wine, cheese and photos from our trip to Europe. The ladies looks beautiful and the men were debonair. Octavia and Peter made a grand entrance dressed in bright yellow rain-gear. Their sailboat was parked offshore in Juanita Bay and they took the dingy to our back-yard. They quickly changed, Peter unzipping his gear to reveal a suit just like 007. The night was great and Tom played some piano for everyone. A rousing success... high-fives all around.

Also Saturday Tom and 7 of his closets buds attacked his new house with crowbars, hammers and determination. The place is already starting to shape up. His truck is pretty pretty sweet at making dump-runs and driving over stuff.

Congratulations to Dayna and Mottie. They're engaged! He proposed down in South Africa on TableTop mountain. Read about it here.

Tomorrow I'm roadtriping to Prince George BC with my dad for a trip to visit his family. I'll be back early next week after a total of 1200 miles of travel. Hopefully I'll get some interesting pictures from the trip.

Here are the new photos. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

PS Checkout this comic strip blog... it's by some guy at MS (MSNBC now) and some of them are pretty good.

Loonie up to 90 cents US

I'm both happy and sad to see the loonie breach the 90 cent US mark (story on CBC). I remember the day when the American greenback would give 1.55 cents Canadian. I could buy a chocolate bar, pay with a dollar US, and get over a loonie back! Gone are those days... maybe forever. The rising Canadian dollar is making it harder for me to repay student loans in Canada.
On the plus side, the Americans who sneer at the Canadian dollar may finally realize that it's worth real money. I've had cashiers in the US pick a Canadian nickel out of a stack of change with a look that says: 'Are you trying to rip me off?'. Also, my Canadian friends and family will be able to visit more easily with their stronger dollar.
Either way I'll continue to receive the benefit of less taxes. Moving to the US still looks pretty good income wise. If you're interested in learning about why the Canadian dollar is rising than here's a good read.