A Vancouver Summer (Video)

We’ve had a great summer here in Vancouver. But, of course, the day I decide to take my handycam and show you around our fair city, the clouds roll in. Oh well.

The video starts out with my daughter showing our Japanese visitor the way to the Skytrain. The Skytrain connects four cities of the Lower Mainland (Surrey, New Westminster, Burnaby and Vancouver) and is pretty much the quickest way to get around. It’s also the cheapest – you only need one ticket to get on the Skytrain, bus, or Sea Bus. Luckily, it wasn’t rush hour so we had plenty of room to sit.

We zoom by Science World (big silver ball), BC Place (white dome), and finally get to the Waterfront station which is in downtown Vancouver. We then hop aboard the Sea Bus (notice the Cruise ship docked alongside the sails – Vancouver Convention Centre) which takes us to North Vancouver. It’s just a short boat ride across the Georgia Strait.

The Lonsdale Quay (pronounced “Key”) gives us a great vantage point to see the skyline of Vancouver. To the right of the tall buildings you can see some of the trees of Stanley Park, one of the biggest urban forests in North America. The quay itself has a market where you can buy fresh seafood, such as the huge halibut you see on the video. You can also buy souvenir items from the very quaint shops.

When you get hungry, there are restaurants all around – Japanese, Greek, Canadian, etc. We, however, found good ole’ McDonalds. To our surprise, it had the best view of the water and the silhouetted Vancouver skyline. Nice.

Props to Five for Fighting (100 years) and some HSM song (Everyday) my daughter forced me to include for the music background. Thank you, Michelle, for helping me put this together.

Admittedly, here’s an even better YouTube video of Vancouver: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm05r2Bq7P0

Relay for Life

Cancer touches everyone. This is a sobering fact. Canadian statistics reveal that you have 45% chance of getting cancer in your lifetime (male), 39% if you are female. These are the latest stats from the Canadian Cancer Society.

The odds are certainly against us; all the more reason to fight back. Last weekend, my wife did just that as she joined thousands across BC in the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. It was a fund raising event to benefit cancer research and also a way to remember loved ones lost to cancer. My wife lost her dad to esophageal cancer about two years ago. Another reason for the relay was to celebrate cancer survivors. They came in yellow t-shirts and ran ahead of the relay held at Bear Creek Park, a stone’s throw away from our house. They are living proof that cancer can be beaten.

Living a healthy, well-balanced lifestyle will go a long way to ward off cancer and a host of other maladies. More recently, taking vitamin D supplements has been found to reduce the risk of many types of cancer. Regular exposure to the sun enables the body to produce vitamin D naturally. However, in places where you see more clouds than sun, it is recommended to take 1,000 IU of Vitamin D. This simple, inexpensive pill surprised researchers when it reduced the risk of cancer in half for one trial group comprised of 1,000 women.

So, there you have it. Support your local cancer organization, live a healthy lifestyle, and take your vitamin D pills. (If you’re like me, you may have to take your Ginkgo pills first so you won’t forget about taking your vitamins. Now, where was I? Oh yes.) That’s how you fight back against cancer.

A Walk for Kibaale

Every year for the past 15 years, my kids’ school has held a fund raising campaign for the orphans of Kibaale, Uganda. This year the need is for a new medical clinic and the sponsorship of several new orphans. You may wonder why there are so many orphans in Uganda. I did too. A little research led me to find out that the Uganda is a veritable “Ground Zero” for the AIDS pandemic in Africa. Many of these kids have been orphaned by AIDS.

The school’s heart and soul is poured out during this campaign. The goal this year: $100,000. Everyone is excited. For two weeks before the Walk, every student from Kindergarten to Grade 12 goes door-to-door or Grandpa to Grandma, asking for donations. Many give their birthday money. Some do chores to earn money. My kids went around the neighborhood, asked friends at church, phoned Aunts who may be able to give.

The big day came on the first of May and the goal was surpassed by a mile: $160,000 raised. Every penny of it is going towards building a medical clinic in Kibaale and to support the orphans there. Imagine – every dollar was raised by a child (ok, some were teens) who believed in the cause. Their hard work means many orphans will be fed, sheltered and schooled for the coming year.

2008 Vancouver Sun Run Post Mortem

Since you’re reading this blurb of mine, you can safely assume that I survived the 2008 Vancouver Sun Run. Yes, all 10 K of black asphalt, blood, sweat and tears. Actually, it wasn’t that bad. Other than my thighs being a little sore today I am fine. My son (my running partner), however, had to be pried out of his bed this morning with a crowbar.

Earlier today, I eagerly opened up my Vancouver Sun and looked up the race results. There it was – my son and I finishing the race in exactly the same time – 1:26:32. Good enough to place 30,494 and 30,495th overall. If my math is right, that places us right smack in the middle of the pack. More or less. I’m proud of my son. I’m happy that we ran (more like jogged) this race together.

It turns out that this year’s run (our first) broke a few records. The 59,179 entrants was the highest ever. With the temperature hovering around 2 or 3 Celsius on race day, it was the coldest one on record as well. I’m glad it didn’t rain or snow; the cold was bearable and it didn’t really feel that cold once the race was underway.

My previous post on the Vancouver Sun Run and the Reluctant Runner got a mention in a respectable looking athlete-blog site. The site is called Trainharder.com. Hmm. I wonder if they’re trying to tell me something. Oh well, see you next year at the 25th Vancouver Sun Run.

Note: Thanks to pageextent for the beautiful shots (public) of the race above. Digitalanimal took a very nice shot of the runners and mountains as well.

Vancouver Sun Run and the Reluctant Runner

Here I go again. I have long ago established with deathly certainty that I am not a runner but when my son asked me to run with him in the Vancouver Sun Run this year, of course, I couldn’t say no.

So here I am on the eve of the run, thankful that I have remained healthy (one year I had signed up and trained for the Run, but got a dastardly lung infection and had to bail out – got the t-shirt and everything), fully aware that I haven’t trained enough, hoping that I would at least survive the 10 K run or that I wouldn’t terribly embarrass my son who has followed the training regimen of running several Ks three times a week. Did I mention to you he’s only 10?

So here’s my plan. Show up early. Race starts at 9 am, but we’ll be there at 8. Do some stretches. Act like I’m raring to go. Take our place at the starting line (somewhere near the Vancouver Art Gallery), and let the mass of 55,785 runners carry us to the finish line. See above photo. Yes, that’s it. With that number of people mashing together shoulder to shoulder no one would notice. It’ll be akin to the crowd surfing that happens at concerts. Wait, Matt would notice. Scrap that.

10 Kilometers? Do I have to run the whole thing? Yes, the whole route. I hear there will be volunteers splashing you with water as you run. At least we’d be running through scenic spots that may well help me forget the throbbing in my feet as I pound the pavement. Actually I’ll be focusing on the free hotdogs available at the BC Place Stadium where the finishers go. Umm hotdogs.

Wait, what’s the forecast for tomorrow? Is there a chance 2 feet of snow would fall and the whole thing would have to be called off? The reluctant runner can only hope.

The Joy of Wii

Who would’ve thought a little white box could bring so much joy?

First, the anticipation of its arrival was killing us (figuratively, of course). Matt was promised a Wii by his generous Aunt Jocelyn for his birthday. Soon after he would eagerly check the mailbox each morning. Each time he would come back into the house a bit disappointed. Finally, a package arrived two days ago. In it were clothes and a small box with 3 letters: Wii.

We set it up, popped in the disc and batteries for the remote (also called Wiimote) and started playing. In no time, everyone was having a blast. Bowling was an instant favourite. Matt started sweating after playing Boxing using the remote and Nunchuk to “box”. Tennis and baseball were the two other games included in the box. A quick trip to Walmart netted two more games: Wii Play (9 mini games plus an extra Wiimote) and Super Smash Bros Brawl.

The motion-sensing Wiimote makes the gameplay realistic and fun. No longer are you just mashing buttons as in other game systems. In Tennis, for instance, you actually swing the remote in anticipation of the ball. In bowling, you actually make a bowling motion (and let go of the ball by pressing B – take note Ma). The Wiimote is definitely what makes the Wii fun. It’s Nintendo’s leg up on the competition – PS3 and Xbox360.

All in all the Wii is a really fun toy – not just for kids but for the entire family. Just ask my wife, she’s waiting to challenge you on Billiards.

Bill Gates’ Last Day at Microsoft

Bill Gates is retiring from Microsoft in July. What would his last day at Microsoft be like?

I Want to go to MIT

… or I can just let MIT come to me.

 For several years now, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has opened up a world of learning through Open Courseware (read: free online courses).  This, I think, is the wave of the future. Soon, all learning will be at your fingertips (as if Google and Wikipedia were not at your beckon already), and schools will be relegated to the backburner. Unless, they too, do an MIT.

The most effective manner of learning has always been when one decides to take responsibility for their own education.  No one textbook, teacher, or school has all the answers. You and you alone must search out the light of knowledge and become a self-learner. What better time to do it than now when the world wide web can take you to places of learning that only a few years ago were reserved for the very privileged few.  You don’t need to dole up $27,000 a year to learn the very same things that an MIT freshman learns anymore.

Right now I’m watching a lecture on Electricity and Magnetism.  A video of an MIT professor streams to my PC. I detect a slight German accent. He looks a bit like Einstein or perhaps Dr. Emmet Brown, the mad scientist from ”Back to the Future”.  I am enthralled.

Vancouver Olympics Mascots Unveiled

A Thunderbird with the legs of a black bear, a Sasquatch, and a cross between a killer whale and a Spirit (white) bear. These are the recently unveiled mascots of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

My first reaction was – why didn’t they just make it simple? Perhaps the olympic gods just had too many West Coast icons to choose from and could not really decide and so thought that merging some mythical creatures with actual animals was the best way to represent Vancouver/Whistler. Methinks someone had way too much eggnog, and it’s barely December.

Let’s examine the mascots one by one and see what the brilliant minds at VanOC came up with.

First on the block is Sumi. Sumi is the Thunderbird slash black bear who has been forced to wear the ridiculous three-pointed hat. Sumi, of course, is the native word for “sue me”. Kidding. It’s actually from “Sumesh” meaning Guardian Spirit. And what in the world is a Thunderbird? Well, it is a mythical giant bird from native North American lore. This bird is said to be so big that when it flaps its wings, it thunders. Sumi should have just been a Thunderbird, with thunderbird legs not bear ones. And yes, lose the hat.

Second, Quatchi, the Sasquatch or Big Foot. Now, I don’t know about you, but if you had one chance to broadcast to the world a reason to come to Vancouver in 2010 or any other year, for that matter, would you pick a hairy ape to be your spokesperson/ape? Well, yes, in fact I would. Of the three mascots, this is the one that’s growing on me. Quatchi is cute and huggably loveable. He also lives where we usually go for holidays – Harrison Hot Springs. [Note to self: next time, stay inside the resort, unless you want an unscheduled meet-and-greet with Mr. Kokanee] Now, if he could just lose his posse.

Third up to bat is Miga. Now, Miga is the weirdest one and the most anime-looking. Her name also sounds more Latino than anything. Miga is, get this – half killer whale and half Kermode bear (Spirit Bear). She lives on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, on the wind-beaten shores of Tofino. She rises from the waves and as soon as she lands on terra firma, she loses her fins and walks like a bear. Now, as if the Spirit Bear didn’t evoke enough mystic. Doesn’t the native lore narrate that the Spirit bear were actually Black Bears that the spirits turned white to remind everyone of the ice age? Well, since I am the only one in the room, I’ll answer: yes.

Now, there is actually a fourth mascot (as if we weren’t confused enough already), Mukmuk. Mukmuk isn’t a chimeric combination of a myth and an animal, it is in fact a caricature from a real animal: the Vancouver Island marmot. This small mammal (a rodent) did the impossible, beating back prospects of extinction (they were down to the last 25 in the world a few years ago). But do you see Mukmuk prancing around with the others at the Bell Centre for the unveiling? No. Their press release says that Mukmuk won’t ever be seen in the flesh (unless you go looking for her in the island). She will only be seen on the Vancouver 2010 website.

Too bad, Mukmuk would have been the perfect mascot. Cute and cuddly, and a real survivor at that. Now, we’re stuck with a flying bear, Big Foot, and a penguin-looking “sea-bear” as mascot-wannabees. Good grief. Oh well, let the games begin.

Glory of it All

Clips from the movie “The Passion of the Christ” with the new song from the David Crowder Band.

Wonderful visual and sound for a movie that vividly portrays the cruelty of man towards the sinless Lamb of God. He did not deserve any of it – talk about a miscarriage of justice. Yet, that is the price of our sins. “..without the shedding of blood, there is no remission.” Hebrews 9:22

His life, for my sins. I think He got a raw deal. I suppose that’s why it’s called “grace”, because I surely do not deserve it.

Reading recently from Oswald Chambers’ “My Utmost for His Highest”, I gleaned this truth:

“The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy. The New Testament view is that He bore our sin not by sympathy, but by identification. He was made to be sin. Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the explanation of His death is His obedience to His Father, not
His sympathy with us. “

Paul said it himself, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Christ’s obedient sacrifice made us acceptable to a Holy and Righteous God.