Marware Sportsuit™ Sensor+ for iPod nano

Why did I cut a huge hole in my Nike Free runners? My original line of
thought was that I wanted to test the Nike+ iPod transmitter and I
thought that $40 was a reasonable investment, $170 (transmitter plus
special runners) was too much. I wish I had seen this before I cut up my $100 shoes, this little gadget is perfect!

http://www.marware.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Marware.woa/7/wa/selectedCategory?catalogCatID=226&wosid=kxlqEUCNP9brr43xQsxABg

How smart is this? A little pocket that you can tuck your Nike+
transmitter into and attach to your shoelaces...
...instead of cutting a hole in the insole of your expensive runner.

F@#!^& Winter!

Seriously check out this webcam, it's still snapshots but it's live. It updates every 5 or 10 minutes.
And go to Jennifer's Vancouver, a good friend of mine, Jennifer Jones, has tons of beautiful mountain photos.

What the "h" "e" double-hockey-sticks is going on?

Last week people were fighting over bottled water, this week it's snow tires. What's next? I'm not sure but I think Vancouver might fall into the ocean ane we'll be fighting over kayaks or something.

Meanwhile our backyard is filling up with snow, it's so beautiful, I love it. But no one loves it more than Bubba.

I'm worried about the new evergreen Magnolia we planted at the end of October. We checked it every hour on Sunday and we shook the snow off every 2 or 3 hours. I keep thinking the branches are getting too heavy with snow and they're going to break off. I can't believe it's holding up as well as it is.

Since I wasn't able to get out and take my own pics of the mountains today I found some photos other people have taken. Click on the links below to see them.

abnormal... but beautiful by Judy B
Winter Wonderland by mountainhiker
IMGP4058 c by tim_flickr
Snow in Vancouver by L_Barnes
43rd Ave by rinlee

The best underwater photos this side of National Geographic

Click on photo to see slideshow.
CJ has taken many beautiful photos over the last 3 or 4 years. I've saved everything she's sent me. All of these photos were taken while she was diving in our local British Columbia waters, colder than... From Part Hardy to Sechelt, she's been everywhere. I truly admire her stamina and her beautiful photos. To think she started out 4 years ago taking swimming lessons and now she's accumulated over 300 dives and even more beautiful photos. Bravo CJ, you're a star!

When will the dog ever figure it out?

This is a message to Bubba, these are not your chew toys!
Eating money is not a laughing matter, Bubba. it's bad enough we have to buy all your food and pay for babysitting. Do you really have to eat our money?

As it turns out Bubba, you did me a favour when you chomped on these puppies. Just the day before I was telling my co-workers how much I hate these boots and I don't even know why I bought them or even wore them, they're so completely ugly. I especially don't like the colour. They're seriously ugly, boring and uncomfortable. Good riddence!

Why the toe Bubba? And why only one side of one toe of one shoe? Did Kevin catch you in mid-chomp? How were you going to finish these off? I need to know!

This still works believe it or not. You're lucky, this time Bubba.

Who's in the doghouse?

This is Stellans latest thing, crawling into Bubba's crate with him and inviting Uncle Kevin to join the party.


Can you believe the nerve of this dog? Chewing on the insoles right in front of us! Yes, these are the insoles from the shoes/boots he chewed. He's been punished. Do you think he's getting the message? Aaargh!

Random Thoughts

It is important to recognize the power of our emotions--and to take responsibility for them by creating a light and positive atmosphere around ourselves. This attitude of joy that we create helps alleviate states of hopelessness, loneliness, and despair. Our relationships with others thus naturally improve, and little by little the whole of society becomes more positive and balanced. - Tarthang Tulku

Vancouver Webcams

Check out this cool movie of the fog rolling in and out of English Bay in September, this is part of bigger site, Kat Kam. HINT: right-click on the photo and select "Play" to start the movie. I like to look at Kat Kam every once in a while, especially at sunset time, today was 5:22 PST.

I found the link on a Vancouver Webcams website. HINT: scroll down to Kat Kams to see a live view of English Bay. It's a beauty!

Ole Hallow's Eve

CLick on picture to go to slideshow.

Lot's of fun was had by all. There were plenty of firsts on Tuesday night: my first pumpkin carving (looks good from a distance, at night), Stellan's first "tick o teat", Katherine and Brian's first trick or treat with their son. There were a couple of seconds too: my second time dressing as an ostrich jockey (the kids love it, so do I), and Bubba's second Halloween without a costume (he's too big to be Batubba this year). I'm looking for some spandex for him to wear when we go running together.

We actually ran out of candy at, not a catastrophe, we just starved the kids who their own candy. Check out the slide show to see Stellan in his Funky Chicken costume. He's never gonna live this one down. I think if he has a little brother, he'll probably use this against him at his wedding. I'm thinking of Blake burning his brother Ryan about his funky hair dos, specifically, the Vanilla Ice do, at his own wedding in front of their closest friends and family. Yup, I'm saving these pictures.

What did you have for dinner last night?

I made a pretty good-looking, Rachel Ray 30-minute Shepard's Pie last night. Since Kevin's been sick I decided I'd attempt to cook a dinner for him. It's been a long time, I'm a bit rusty but the grocery delivery helped. SPUD.ca, it's the shit! It involves some pre-planning which is hard to adjust to at first. Delivery is once a week on Thursdays so we have to know what we want for the week and order it before 9 AM Tuesday. I think it's worth going through this adjustment to not have to go to the grocery store every week. I despise grocery stores and shopping! I don't even want to start trying to explain how much I hate it cuz I'm afraid I'll waste all my blog space on this negative thing. I'd rather use SPUD. SPUD makes me happy!

Moving on... What made this dinner extra special was I used Kevin's new favourite cook, Rachel Ray's, cookbook, Comfort Foods. We first saw her on the Food Network in St. Lucia, on our hangover day when we sat and watched TV all day, guilt-free. Her methods are fabulous, the recipes need some spicing up. I was impressed with the 45-minute preparation and cooking time, not so impressed with the lack of flavour. Next time I'll add some chilis or Frank's Red Hot and more Worcestershire to the gravy.

If you don't know Rachel yet you will soon, the big news on the radio this morning was that Martha Stewart did her part to shine the limelight Rachel's way this week. It's a funny story. Martha was actually dissin' her cuz she stole her guest star and aired it the same day. Poor Martha, she's not her regular, organized self since she's been to prison and back. Rachel must be famous though, there's a "Rachel Ray Sucks Community" blog going strong. The thing that surprises me it 's 3 years old! What dedication!

I couldn't find anything online about who the guest was (I wonder if it was Barry Manilow?). If I was Martha I'd fight for him too. Anyway, I copied this bit below from a New York Daily News article for your (and my) amusement.

Two household names
Rachael Ray has been called the next Martha Stewart. But are they really that alike? We hash out the kitchen queens.
By JOE DZIEMIANOWICZ, New York Daily News

Martha Stewart
Food career start: Caterer
Philosophy in a nutshell: Aspirational - your dish-soap container should be a work of art
Signature saying: "It's a good thing!"
Cheesecake recipe: Bakes a mean raspberry-swirl cheesecake
Pictures of self in current issue: 6
Accessories: Recently ditched ankle bracelet

Rachael Ray
Food career start: Waitress
Philosophy in a nutshell: Accessible - who has time for measuring cups? Half a palmful will do
Signature saying: "Yum-O!," "Oh my gravy!"
Cheesecake recipe: Hates baking, but posed in skimpy outfits in the October 2003 issue of lad mag FHM
Pictures of self in current issue: 15
Accessories: Recently donned wedding ring

Ooops, I've run out of time. Halloween will have to wait 'til another day.