Link: podcast90.mp3 (22:34, 10.3Mb)

In this episode:

• Doing it with new equipment
• Deal or No Deal
• Celebrity Apprentice
• Dark chocolate mini eggs
• My first parking ticket (in Canada)
• Movies
• The Gizmodo CES prank

iTunes: If you like the My World Podcast, you can subscribe in iTunes for quick and easy access to new episodes as soon as they’re ready! Click here for details.

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..and here’s how it looked at 10am when I got up this morning. The continuous rain and grey skies of the past 342 days gave way to mostly clear blue skies and a healthy dose of sunshine - NICE!

Not much else to report.. Having a low key Christmas, I’m staying in Vancouver and not going back home to the UK this year. Hanging out with David today and tomorrow, and I’m cooking - chicken curry with pasta and garlic bread, very non-traditional! :-)

Today also saw my return to podcasting.. well.. sort of - not quite a regular thing just yet, more like a one-off, but after a 20 week absence from the podcasting scene, I stormed through a new episode of the My World Podcast like I’d never really stopped. Check it out in my previous blog post, or search for it in iTunes (and subscribe - you know you waaaaannnaa!)

Merry Christmas to you all.. feel free to comment, call, or sit there and roll your eyes at me - all options are fine by me!

Link: podcast89.mp3 (31:54, 14.6Mb)

In this episode:

• A Christmas message from Jake Cordova (www.notrightpodcast.com)
• New car update
• A promotion at work
• Christmas rants
• New audio equipment = new podcast in the new year?

Here’s wishing you and yours a very merry Christmas and all the best for 2008! I’ll be back in the new year, podcasting again, so watch this space - or subscribe in iTunes for quick and easy access to new episodes as soon as they’re ready! Click here for details.

Frappr Map: If you listen to the My World Podcast on a regular basis, you should add yourself to our Frappr map! Check it out at www.frappr.com/myworldpodcast.

Rob pointed me at this earlier.. dead funny - it’s how 24 would be if it was made in the 90s! Check out what’s on Nina’s screen, as well as a bunch of other obscure geeky references to a bygone era..

Proof that it doesn’t rain ALL the time in Vancouver.. although that said, it has been pretty shitty this week. A quick update cos I haven’t blogged in ages.. been a manic week so I figure a quick update here then off to do some work, leaving me free to have a nice chilled evening..

Food Discoveries: Went to a place in White Rock last weekend, called Charlie Don’t Surf. Had an awesome chicken curry with penne, nice ambience, cool location - I’m a fan! Looking online, it’s got really mixed reviews, but I’d definitely go again. In home cooking news, who knew Costco had decent lasagna for one? Cook two of ‘em and you’ve got a decent enough quick’n'easy dinner for two - sorted!

Xbox 360 Love: I bought an Xbox 360 on Friday. While I wouldn’t necessarily categorize myself as “a games player”, I do enjoy the games in Xbox Live Arcade.. currently vying for top position are Puzzle Fighter HD and Lumines Live, both of which I purchased the full versions of after playing the demo versions. If you’ve got an Xbox and fancy playing against me sometime, drop me a line - I’m not bad at Lumines but still seem to get my ass kicked pretty well on Puzzle Fighter.

Halloween: Came and went and I hardly batted an eyelid.. Went out on Wednesday night for a couple of beers with David and Natasha, saw a bunch of people in costume.. always impresses me when people really make the effort.. people at work got right into it, mainly in the call centre and marketing - the “fun” departments.. in technology, the only person who really did anything was Pam.. fair play to her though - she did it well!

Home Buying: I’m not quite there yet.. but I did go to this seminar at Langara College on Thursday to learn about mortgage brokers, realtors, and the importance of a good home inspection. I’m better informed and have some food for thought. I’ve been in my current place 6.5 years and definitely wouldn’t mind a change.. especially after comments made by my landlady on the phone today with regards to paying for the mirror that fell off the wall in my bathroom (see my previous blog entry for the history). Apparently these things don’t “just happen” so someone must have broken it. Uh.. well, they didn’t - it did just break.. 10 year old adhesive that lost its holding power over time perhaps? So I’m meant to replace it? Not sure I fancy the like-for-like option that runs $350 to $400ish.. she made a comment about “paying too much for appliances”.. what, because you had to replace the dishwasher that was leaking and it came to $650 with delivery, installation, and taking the old one away? Considering the only other thing that’s been paid for in the past 6 years was $120 for a replacement thermostat, and that I did all the leg work with getting a replacement dishwasher, I think it’s been a pretty easy ride with a low maintenance tenant thus far..

Oops.. apparently that turned in to a bit of a rant.. It just bugs me that given the general low maintenance nature of my tenancy, we’re going to split hairs over $350 worth of what I’d call “fixtures and fittings”. And to say that it couldn’t have just happened, someone must have done it.. uh.. yeah, right - that’s why the pictures clearly show the adhesive still on the wall - if I’d done it deliberately you’d have thought all of that would have been wrenched off and/or the plasterboard damaged? When renting a property out, there’s this little thing called “upkeep” - maintaining the value of your investment property. Could be as simple as replacing a basic fixture, could be as involved as ripping out the manky old carpet and putting nice value-boosting hardwood flooring in. Oh well - do it once I’ve moved out.. and no doubt haggle with me over my damage deposit in the process.. Moving swiftly on then..

Humour: James sent this to me on MSN today. It’s funnier if you’re from Jersey and get the “in” jokes, but even if you’re not, hopefully it makes you laugh too. The accent is a thick Jersey accent - it makes me want to talk in one all day, just for shits and giggles. Let me know what you think!

There’s nothing better than getting up on a Monday morning to a pissing wet mardy Vancouver day. Now far be it for me to moan (my previous 2 blog entries excepted) but “fuck, honestly!” - this weather really IS getting a bit boring now.. I’m not asking for blue skies and sunshine with a temperature in the high 20s (although that would be nice!) but I’d definitely settle for a dry day or two.. or even three..

So, long time no blog, what’s new? Hmm.. my parents came to visit for 2 weeks.. work’s been hectic and busy, but in a good way.. I still love my car.. Natasha’s left The Pub That Shall Not Be Named and it’s sad.. I’m still not podcasting.. 95 Crave finally have people doing evenings and weekends.. I’m half thinking I should be looking at buying a place somewhere..

I think that’s about it for now.. don’t really have anything majorly exciting to say or update you with, but thanks for checking in and I’ll try and get back in to the groove and write something mildly entertaining RealSoonNow(tm) mmkay? Cheers then, thanks, bye..

Reason for reserving? My mum’s birthday. My parents are in town, as are relatives from Ontario, and family from deepest darkest Surrey are also coming out to celebrate. Can I book a table for 8? Apparently not.

First up - The Keg. They are unable to take a booking as it’s first come first served. It’d be really nice in an ideal world to head to Granville Island where you have a table booked around 7ish, have a wicked good steak, probably some desert, let the booze flow, then head to Theatre Sports for some comedy afterwards. But no, they don’t take reservations. And after explaining the situation, people flying in from everywhere etc, hoping to maybe, just maybe, score a bit of sympathy (and a table), I get told that no, people would be screaming if that happened. Uh.. why? Why can’t you manage your place well enough to reserve a couple of tables at a given time? A short (5 to 10 minute) wait would be acceptable, but turning up with 8 people at once, anyone want to take bets on how long it would take to get a table? In fact, if anyone wants to be part of a scientific experiment where we test this out, drop me a line and we’ll do it!

Second up - Moxies. The one on Bute at Robson. They don’t take reservations on Fridays or Saturdays. Despite having “The Boardroom” - a nice little private room that would be perfect for our group, it’s a no go. The girl helpfully advises me to try Broadway or West Georgia. Gee thanks, love.. much obliged..

The girl at Moxies on West Georgia sorted me out properly.. I have a reservation, they’ll probably call me on the day or the day before to confirm, they have my mobile number, it’s all good.. So that’s nice.. it’s just a bit of a hike from my place. The alternative would be a table at Earls which is round the corner from my place. Might still be worth checking out. But “Fuck, Honestly!” - it shouldn’t be this hard. What’s wrong with these places that they can’t manage their tables, deal with reservations etc? And I’d be fine with a “if you’re not here within 15 minutes of the booked time, your table’s gone” policy - it would seem only fair.

So.. dinner for 8, some time towards the end of the month.. who’s in?

Here’s my feedback:

How does a $23.50 ticket end up costing $37.30? Almost 60% more than face value? Well let’s see.. there’s the $1.50 Building Facility Charge (dealable), a $6.30 “Convenience” charge (please justify it?), a $3.50 “Order Processing” charge (which is different to “Convenience” HOW exactly?), then to add insult to injury, you want to charge ME for using MY printer instead of getting one of your tickets? $2.50 for that too? Wow.. $13.80 charges on a $23.50 ticket! Yeah - you’ve got yourself a nice little earner there haven’t you?

Here’s hoping the concert is worth it.. that “20 to 30 dollar” ticket ends up being closer to 40.. fucksake!

Take a dirty grill in the middle of a tunnel.. and clean it.. but only in places.. the clean bits are the “graffiti”

It’s a cool video.. and the ending demonstrates the irony of it all..

I’m lying on the sofa, exhausted. It’s been a weekend full of stress and hassle, trying to sort out a working installation of Linux and Asterisk on a server that’s so bleeding edge the heart’s still pulsating.. well.. sort of.. but I can honestly said I’ve never had so much hassle installing Linux on a server.

I’m reading stuff on digg.com and watching Big Brother, and came across this article. It’s not rocket science, but it’s an interesting read, especially in these days of social networking and online connected-ness. Check it out and see what you think.. and feel free to comment if you like too? ;-)