STOP THE SEAL HUNT!!!

In just a few weeks, the largest commercial slaughter of marine mammals is set to begin on the ice off Canada's East Coast. By the end of the hunt, it's predicted that more than 300,000 seals will be clubbed or shot to death by Canadian fishermen seeking to pick up a few extra dollars by selling their fur. Almost all of these seals will be babies - some as young as 12 days old.Take action!

Polls consistently show that most Canadians oppose the hunt, but still the Canadian government and fishing industry refuse to end it. But there is new hope on the ice. Canada has a new Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, and a new party in power. With enough public support, they may consider ending this terrible hunt forever. Sign this petition now and send it to anyone who cares about protecting the lives of Canada's seals.

SIGN THE PETITION... STOP THE SEAL HUNT

AUTISTIC BASKETBALL SUPERSTAR

This is something you have to see to believe, one of those feel good stories that will have you smiling all day. Honest... this is great!

AMAZING B-BALL

SEVEN DAYS...

Have you ever seen THE RING?

Well, in the film, once someone has seen a horrid video tape, they are told that they have seven days to live and during those seven days... weird things start to happen. Weird things like, you could never take a clear picure of that person.

Anyway, I tried taking a picture of Lesley the other day and I was laughing while doing it, then I tried again and again and each time the pics came out blurry. It made me think of the Ring... I'm a good friend.

If you look closely at Lesley's expression, she gets less and less impressed with me with each picture I take! GOOD TIMES!!!

THE BIG MOVE

Finally… after a two year wait, Michelle and I have moved into our new apartment in Deep Cove. Yes... it’s been two years!!!

I bought it on February 10th 2004 and we moved in February 11th 2006. Once we got possession, we painted (thanks to Chad, Lorissa and Todd for all the help), we moved (thanks to Chad, Lorissa, Ali, Todd, Beadle, Buckley and Gong Show for the help) we cleaned the old Basement Suite before vacating (thanks to Teri and Laura for the assist) and unpacked (thanks to Michelle for the organizational help). Now it’s a matter of figuring out what goes in storage and what stays in the apartment but the important thing is that we are here… and we love it!!!

PAINTING THE APARTMENT... TRADING SPACES STYLE!!!


A LOOK AT OUR BUILDING!


THE VIEW FROM OUR BUILDING!

SPINOSAURUS: KING OF THE DINOSAURS

It's funny you know? While headlines (and blogs for that matter) focus on the issues at hand (Politics, Environment, World Events, Sports etc.), I wanted to give the spotlight to an important issue... The Spinosaurus.

What the hell is a Spinosaurus you ask? Well, it was that sail-backed Dino that beat the hell out of the T-Rex in Jurassic Park III! yes my friends, that giant weird lookin' thing is a real dino.

Spinosaurus fossils have been rediscovered since the original 1912 fossils were bombed to bits in WWII by the Allies. At 55 feet in length, the Spinosaurus is--by far--the largest predatory theropod to have existed. T-rex was a distant third at 42 feet, behind second-place Giganatosaurus (45 feet).

Sounds pretty cool eh? Click on the link below for more information!

SPINOSAURUS TOWERS OVER T-REX

DINE OUT RESULTS

Well our DINE OUT adventure has come to an end, three restaurants, three dinners, one clear winner.

Our first meal was at OUISI BISTRO, a cajun/creole spot on Granville. First thing we noticed is that none of the dishes were spicy... at all, disappointing considering we were all looking forward to some tingling taste buds. Secondly, the "Seafood Gumbo traditional New Orleans dark roux seafood stew" should have been called the Oyster Gumbo as that was the only thing you could taste. The staff won major props though for replacing Michelle's Gumbo for the "Peppered Chicken Breast served under fresh spinach, roasted garlic & brie with red beans, paprika rice and sauteed vegetables", without question and free of charge. Nice touch! Overall, the meals were a bit bland and nowhere near as exciting as they sounded on the menu but the clear favorite was the "Blue Cheese Spinach Salad".

OUISI BISTRO DINE OUT MENU

Our second meal was at the historic RAINCITY GRILL in the West End. While this meal over all was better than our first Dine Out meal yet truthfully I again found each dish bland and lacking punch. Overall, the menu was more exciting with favorites like "Grilled Albacore Tuna, manilla clam & minted wheat salad, eggplant, cold pressed canola oil, yogurt" and "White Bean Soup garlic chili oil, truffle cream" but here the clear winner was dessert featuring a tasty "Vanilla Creme Brule" and an amazingly dense "Bittersweet Chocolate & Hazelnut Terrine". This is an extremely popular restaurant that we were looking forward to, only to walk away a little deflated, perhaps a regular dining visit is in order to see what Raincity Grill truly has to offer.

RAINCITY GRILL DINE OUT MENU

Our final meal and hands down favorite was at Yaletown's CIRCOLO, one of Umberto's Italian restaurants. There were eight of us for dinner and everyone of us had a fantastic meal. Some of the clear favorites were the "Prime cut New York Steak, Yukon Gold potato gnocchi, horseradish foam and balsamic reduction", the "Lemon cured lean Beef Carpaccio, with acacia honey and truffle oil", the "Agnolotti, with roasted winter squash, brunoise of vegetables, pan seared mushroom medley, finished with a Chardonnay beurre blanc" and ofcourse the "Creme Brulee, infused with Citrus zest, accompanied with almond biscotti". The wine was flowing, the laughs were a plenty and a good time was had by all, so much so, Michelle and I will come back for a regular dinner in the future. Circolo was the perfect restaurant to end our DINE OUT adventure!

CIRCOLO DINE OUT MENU

Well that's it for this year! I can't wait for next year and to try a whole slew of other places. Take it from me, get in on this DINE OUT experience, it's well worth the time and the money!!!