As an example of a blog contest that requires a post, I’m presenting the newest contest I have come across. Why the newest, and not one from my backlog? Because this contest is being run in celebration of a milestone that deserves a post even if there was no contest involved.
Netchick, aka Tanya, is celebrating her 10 year anniversary of blogging next month!
That’s right, 10 years! When I reached the 10 year mark of just being connected to the internet, that made me an uber-geek. To have actually been blogging for that length of time is truly something special.
To celebrate, Tanya is holding a contest to give away a Nintendo Wii. You can enter one of two ways, the first being to post the above banner on your blog from now until the anniversary date of September 30th; the other is to make a comment on her contest post that meets certain criteria. As always, visit the blog itself for the exact rules; you can click on the banner above to get to her contest details.
I doubt that Tanya even knows I am a reader of her site; but she holds a spot in my Local Blogs folder in Google Reader, one of the few folders I regularly check out even when life is too busy and I shouldn’t be. As I’ve mentioned before, if I am aware of a Vancouver area blog, I will be checking it out; but it has to be a good local blog to keep me reading. Tanya’s content is a well written collection of local events, personal events and dating stories. What sets her apart from other personal blogs is that even when she is complaining about life events or being single, she manages to come across as a happy person. Hopefully my impression is correct.
So pop on over to enter her blog contest, but do return to read what is going on in this net chick’s life.
Oh, and this would also be a Rebuilding My Blogroll post.
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]]>So life through another curve ball that has kept me from posting for a couple of days. I’ll blog about it this morning, and those who subscribe to my feed already have a hint from the photos that will have appeared already, but I did want to mention before it became too late that you should head over to read and support Rebecca Bollwitt (aka Miss604) on her Blogathon 2007 quest to blog for charity.
I am doing a Blog-a-thon today for the Surrey Food Bank. Every 30 minutes for 24 hours I will be publishing a blog post with the hopes that people will sponsor me to keep going.
It’s for a great cause, and you have to admire someone that can produce 48 posts in a day. Head on over and support her.
]]>Sorry for the spotty updates, but school took over completely. Maybe taking three courses over the summer was not such a good idea; but I figured it was better than taking them in the fall semester when we have our plans to go to Mexico.
There were several contests that I wanted to make posts about in order that people might enter, but most have ended now. This is fine, however, as more have started and I’ll post some soon.
Additionally, I still need to work on my blogroll. Regular readers will know that in rebuilding my blogroll, I am currently adding the local blogs to which I subscribe, starting with my post about Darren Barefoot. The next blog I had planned on writing about was Michael Kwan’s blog, entitled Beyond the Rhetoric. Michael’s blog focuses largely on making money online, which is the theme of a number of bloggers in Vancouver. Many bloggers around the world seem to be making (or trying to make) their money online by simply writing blogs about online money generation, relying on advertising in their blog to generate revenue. They then visit each other’s blogs in the niche; which creates a giant cycle that I think advertisers will not fuel too much longer. To me it makes about as much sense as buying a “How to make money in Real Estate” course off of someone who makes their millions not by buying real estate, but rather by selling real estate courses.
In contrast, the top “how to” bloggers in the making money niche usually have proven their skills elsewhere online; and their blogs are now just an additional source of income. Michael is one such blogger in that he earns much of his online income through freelance writing. He is paid to guest blog on some major blogs, write articles for various websites, and write copy for projects; among other things. If I am going to take advise from someone as to how to make money online, I’ll take it from someone who does rather than teaches. Michael has the potential to become one of the top bloggers in his niche.
I tell you this as a description of the major focus of this blog; but of course this makes little difference to me as I am not attempting to make money with this blog. I follow Michael’s blog for the same reason I follow other local blogs; I was attracted to check him out because he was local, and then stayed because of the good writing and interesting articles. He includes local events and geeky items in his blog, both of which will keep me around.
While Michael was sure to be mentioned within my next few posts since I am now covering the local blogs, he was being pushed to the front because of a contest he was running to win a USB TV Tuner. Unfortunately his contest ended while I was too swamped to blog.
Unfortunate for you, that is. I’m fine with it, because I was the winner!
A few months ago I won a Canucks jersey, and now I have won again. That is pretty good, considering I have not entered that many contests. I am motivated to seek out contest blogs to pass along for my readers to enter, because they seem to have great odds. Perhaps I’ll even have to start a contest page to keep track of them all.
I’ve been so busy that I haven’t even been able to send Michael my address so he can send my prize out to me. I had hoped to save him the cost of shipping, but it looks like it will be a while before I’m in Vancouver, and so I will have to get him shipping info this weekend. Once I collect it, I’ll have to check out it capabilities. I already have a TV tuner card in my ancient computer, and Karin has been jealous and would probably like this prize. However, we also will both need to replace our beasts in the near future and had planned to both get internal TV tuner cards at that time. So after I check out my prize’s capabilities versus what we had already planned, I’ll see if we’ll be keeping it or if I might run my own contest!
]]>Many of the blogs I read are by local authors. The niche each blog fits can be wide ranging and might not even be something I would read normally; but I don’t read just any local blog. Instead, the fact that they are local causes me to check them out the first time, but it is the style of writing and interest factor that will gain them a place in my Google Reader.
Darren Barefoot is a Vancouver blogger who I would follow even if he was not local. In fact, he’s quite famous on the internet, and has one of the top 2000 blogs according to Technorati. This is an impressive number alone when you realize that Technorati tracks 86.8 million blogs; but even more impressive when you consider that Darren writes simply because he wants to, and does not actively promote his blog like most of the others holding the top spots. His own description of himself on Technorati is:
The personal weblog of Darren Barefoot, concerned with technology, pop culture, marketing and PR, science and whatever floats Darren’s boat.
The description alone should explain why I read him, he is what the modern geek is about; interested in technology, science and the traditional geeky items, but an not introverted dweeb unaware of the world around him. A successful technologist and owner of his own company, he still finds time to find many different interesting items in the news and on the internet; more than I ever find. His posts are brief but informative, and can be quite intellectual without offsetting those looking for an interesting read, a tricky balance that he does quite well.
Darren and his wife recently sold almost everything they had in Vancouver and moved to Malta for six months, and will begin again anew when they return to build a house on Pender Island. Current postings include accounts of travels around Malta and Europe, with a similar interest in the cultures he encounters. He is also an avid photographer, which is a passion of my own in which I hope to soon re-indulge. I have therefore added him as a contact in Flickr in order to both appreciate his creations and to travel vicariously. A geek who is into travel and photography will always peak my interest.
An additional attraction that applies to all locals who stay in my reader is one that likely appeals to all of us; when he writes about the local park’s storm damage, his favorite hockey team, or his issues with a local credit union; we all connect better with someone who is writing about something with which we are familiar. Combine this familiarity with a casual writing style that flows well, and it feels as if you are reading something from a good friend. But in reality, the relationship is more the one has with a celebrity, in that he wouldn’t know me if I walked right up to him, but if I recognized across the room while out at a local establishment, I’d feel like he was a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time and would want to buy him a beer.
Edit: I almost forgot that it is through him that I discovered and won the Canuck’s Jersey contest, and so I already owe him a beer.
Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite]]>Once again I have fallen greatly behind. I guess most would just abandon blogging, but I do enjoy it and do want to work on improving my writing skills, so I won’t. I’m also surprised by the number of people that have discovered my blog on their own and either return or subscribe to the feed, and I appreciate their interest and don’t want to disappoint. There isn’t a huge number of such people, but just one or two is enough to appreciate, and it is more than that.
What is up in my life that has me so busy? Well, let’s just look at what I’m looking at right now:
- There is my full time job, of course.
- The summer semester of school has started, as books arrived yesterday for two out of three of my courses, and I actually read one for 20 minutes in bed last night until sleepiness made it incomprehensible. The first weekly assignment isn’t due for a while, but I need to get ahead now if I’m going to do 3 courses in the shortest semester.
- I have a spring semester course for which I need to schedule the exam, which will depend on when I figure I can fit in studying for it.
- I still haven’t squeezed in finishing the taxes. Ours are complicated by the fact that we have enough medical expenses to qualify for the deduction every year except last year, and you can make your “medical expenses year” be any 365 consecutive days that end in 2006. I have to figure out the best 365 days between Jan 2, 2005 and Dec 31, 2006; looking for the maximum deduction while at the same time leaving the maximum I can for next year. I found an extra couple of receipts from 2005, so I might have qualified for the deduction after all and might be refiling my 2005 return.
- In the meantime, Matthew has given me his paperwork to do his taxes and my dad is bringing his by today. We all have refunds coming, in which case the April 30th filing deadline in Canada doesn’t apply. The government is nice enough to give you unlimited time to file if they owe you.
- I also am behind on keeping our Quicken files up to date and either filing or shredding paperwork and receipts.
- Karin’s brother Carlos’ computer is having software issues again, and they will be dropping it by today or tomorrow. I think they are hoping for a speedy turn around.
- My dad and I are going to Vancouver today to get the parts for me to build him a computer. I’ve planned it out already, and will be very jealous of his machine until we finally get now ones here. I’ll therefore be spending this weekend and probably my evenings all week assembling and setting up his computer. I need to also pick up some parts for Rudy, another of Karin’s brothers, and find time to swing by his place and install them.
- The Canucks continue their playoff run, and I am watching those games out of the side of my eyes while doing other stuff. This is my one “luxury”, but even then I am multitasking because of all the other items I have going on.
- Matthew is living with us right now, and in addition to his taxes, I need to get him properly tracking his expenses in Quicken, help him prepare for his driver’s test next week, and other little things. I think I’ve got our wireless internet situation properly set up, so that is one less thing to work on.
- Sorting through all our old computer parts and either junking or selling what is not needed has ended up on the back burner each week; but needs to be finished as we don’t have the room for extra parts right now.
- It’s spring, so we need to clean up and organize our deck soon.
I know that almost everyone has a busy life, but mine was busy enough with just work and school. I have a little too much going on right now, and things like a social life just don’t fit into my days right now.
I have numerous posts that I have started, but due to all the other pressing items I still need to finish them. Some I will just have to abandon, they are simply too old. I see that a number of people end up on my blog doing Google searches from far off lands for Canucks playoffs information; so I won’t abandon those posts, but will combine them into just a few posts and then I’ve resolved to be good about posting after each game going forward. I can understand that if a fan is stuck on the other side of the world, reading blog posts about a game would make one fell the excitement a lot more than news articles. I plan to be living in Mexico one day, and while I can probably go to a sports bar there to watch a game, I’ll likely be reading blogs also since I won’t have friends, family and co-workers saying “How about those Canucks?” all day.
Also on my “Do Not Abandon” list will be restaurant reviews, as my feeling that there are not enough unbiased information about local eateries has been largely proven by the number of people that come to my blog through Google searches for information on specific restaurants that I have reviewed. Many of those people might never return to my blog, but I know I appreciate when I can find information ahead of time as to where to go and where to avoid. There are several places that we have stopped at this year that I have yet to post about, and so I will finish those up. After all, what does it matter to if I ate there yesterday or last month, a review is a review.
This has turned into a lot bigger post than I intended, but I think that is partially why I am so far behind; I leave things too long and what could have been some quick, short posts get combined into one long post quite often. So I apologize for once again getting so far behind, and I also apologize that there will be some dated posts coming up; but I will be keeping more up to date by posting more frequently from now on.
After the low level of excitement I felt during Game 2, I was afraid that this might be in large part due to my need to multi-task while the games are on. Since my life is just too busy at the moment to let me sit down and watch each game, this would be the game that let me know if I was doomed to not be able to enjoy with the rest of the city.
I spent all day Sunday setting up by brother-in-law Rudy’s computer, which had not been done in a while and was suffering some major issues. I was hoping to get to his house before the game started, but had some issues and did not arrive until after the second period. I watched the first two out of the side of my eye at home while finishing off his computer, and found that once again I wasn’t feeling that level of excitement. There was definitely a level of tension thanks to the close defensive styles of the two teams, as you realized that a single goal was more important than in most games; but that lack of scoring also kept the excitement level down. I couldn’t help but to get caught up in the wonderment of who would score. Unfortunately, it was Dallas that scored near the end of the second period.
During the intermission I headed over to Rudy’s house and began setting up his computer and installing such items as his printer software. This is not as bad as it sounds, as his computer sits next to his 70 inch widescreen TV. There was more tension now, as we need to come from behind, and we were rewarded when Jan Bulis pounced on a rare rebound by Dallas goalie Marty Turco. Finally, some excitement! The initial shot was by Jannik Hansen, the first Dane to play in the playoffs when the Canucks called him up from the farm team after several injuries in Game 1. Hansen is looking impressive, and I look forward to seeing him improve in the future.
I finished with the computer just in time to settle down and watch the overtime. Rudy was already groaning, as it was his bedtime and he was recalling the 4 overtimes in the first game; but we were rewarded at 7:47 of the first overtime when Taylor Pyatt scored on a quick one timer. You can watch the winning goal below.
And so in the end this was a more exciting game, but the beginning was slow. And because of the circumstances, I can’t tell you if that lack of excitement was the defensive style of play these two teams are following, or the difference between watching alone while multitasking as opposed to watching with another fan on a huge screen. I guess I’ll have to wait for Game 4.
Update – It turns out that Pyatt both won the game and won a jersey for me.
It turns out that when one is really behind on their blog posts and is publishing a post that they started a few days beforehand, one should recheck their links in the post. If I had done so when I posted last night about the contest at GoCanucks.ca, I would have discovered that they had already made a post to say that my name had been drawn as the person who would receive a replica Canucks jersey if they won Game 3. And since Game 3 was already over by then, I would have realized even before I read the next post that I was a winner!
I received an email last night informing me of my win, and I need to reply with my info so they can send me my jersey. To add to the woes of getting behind on posting, the sponsor of my jersey is Doolin’s Irish Pub, an establishment that my dad, Karin and I visited for the first last week and where I had the best lasagna I’ve ever had in while out, and which I still plan to blog about in the next few days.
So thanks to DarrenBarefoot.com for mentioning the contest (I guess I owe him a beer should we ever meet after his Malta adventures), Doolin’s Irish Pub for sponsoring Game 3, and GoCanucks.ca for a great contest! Enter soon for your chance to win, and good luck to tonight’s contestant,Craig MacKenzie, though I’ll be rooting more for the Canucks and he’s welcome to the jersey when we win!
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After appetizers downtown at the SIP a few weeks ago, Karin and I headed towards Vancouver General Hospital to find a full meal before her 6:30 appointment for an MRI. We wanted to park nearby and walk if possible to the hospital, and so I pulled into the parking lot of the former Chevy’s restaurant on Broadway at Oak. Chevy’s used to be one of my favorite spots in Vancouver, but when I had attempted to take Karin there previously we had found it had closed. A new establishment has opened in it’s place and we decided to try them.
Upon entering the Rugby Beach Club Grille, I was greeted with a familiar room. The restaurant has been renovated to give it an oceanside feel, but the layout has not been changed, largely I believe because it has always been comfortable and works well. Formerly TVs hung from the ceiling throughout the room so that every table would have a view of the sporting event; these have been removed and the ceiling is now covered with large large bamboo stalks. The large TV covering one wall of the lounge remains, and many people were sitting in the bar area awaiting the Canucks game. The built in tables remained as before, as well as the bar and open kitchen kitchen; with everything having been refinished.
The decor did have me worried a bit, as there was a nautical theme and we are not big fish fans; but we did not have to worry as the menu was extensive. In addition to numerous salads, the appetizer menu had nine seafood items, but then had eight non-seafood items. We started with an appetizer of Ribs, Ribs, Ribs. As the name and picture implies, there is three flavours of ribs in this starter; Mesquite Rye BBQ, Caramelized oy and demerarra sugar, and Cajun dry rub. I think we might have been cheating a bit on Karin’s diet, as vinegar is something she must avoid right now; but a little shouldn’t hurt too much. Each of the ribs was meaty and flavourful, and we gladly licked our fingers afterward. I would definitely try this again, which could be a problem as there were many other tasty items from which to choose.
Looking at the main menu, it seemed that everything was extremely reasonably priced, even priced too low to believe. It took a little to realize the reason; all items on the menu come unaccompanied. If you order a steak, that is all you get on your plate. Vegetables and carbs are ordered separately, and the portions for these sides are enough for two people. As Karin and I are both watching the number of calories we stuff down our gullet, eating out has been a nemesis as almost any plate is almost half carbohydrates. Too top it off, we have had even more trouble eating out as of late due to Karin’s need to avoid the foods to which she is allergic. We had stumbled upon the perfect restaurant for us completely by luck!
Just like the appetizer menu, there were numerous choices when we choose our main course. In addition to the seafood section of the menu, there was a separate sections for shell (shellfish are fine by us, and I think I’ll try the prawns next time), chicken, vegetarian, turf (lamb), steak, ribs and surf & turf. Within each section there is numerous choices. I suspect that the separation of the sides from has allowed a much more extensive range of choices, as the chef did not then feel the need to have a unique starch and vegetable combination with each choice. With such a wide range of choices, you would think we would have had different things, but we were both attracted to the filet mignon, though I had mine with blue cheese topper. Without the sides, each filet cost $11.95! When was the last time you had filet mignon for that price?
Skipping the carbs, we had roasted asparagus with balsamic drizzle. Again, this was a bit of a cheat for Karin due to the vinegar. We had not been steered wrong, there was definitely enough vegetable for the both of us. The portions were just right, but had we not stopped at SIP earlier in the afternoon for an appetizer, we might have had two vegetables dishes, thereby having a filling meal without the starches and still at a very reasonable price.
While the ability to make your own main and side dish choices did fit our dietary needs perfectly, I also liked the idea purely from the point of view of being able to pick what you enjoy eating. Many a time I have been out and have seen something that seemed quite tasty, only to realize that the accompaniments were not something that I would enjoy at all. The Rugby Beach Club would also be the perfect place to go when some have a limited diet and others do not.
As we left, the crowd watching the Canucks game was just beginning to get into the game, and it was only Karin’s appointment that kept me from proposing we stay a while. This will definitely be a stop again in the near future. Overall, I’ll give the Rugby Beach Club Grille a 7.5 out of 10.
For more pictures, click on any of the above and explore the others on our Flickr site.
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Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite]]>Since I forgot to pass along the last contest I came across until it was almost too late to enter, I’m trying to do better this time. I found this one at DarrenBarefoot.com. If you go to GoCanucks.ca, you can sign up to win a Canucks Jersey. They are giving away one Jersey each time the Canucks win a playoff game. Sign up soon, there is only fourteen more wins until the Stanley Cup!
As of late, I’m seemingly permanently behind, with several half finished blog posts sitting in draft mode and ideas for more, but no time to finish the already existing ones. So while I treated myself to watching the entire length of Game 1 of the Canucks’ playoff run, I will now have to force myself to only watch while doing other things. Thus I watched Game 2 while at the same time as updating my Quicken files and I’m writing this just before Game 3. However, I won’t be able to proof read and post it until after that game as I’m headed out the door to bring my brother-in-law his computer on which I was working. I’ll have to finish installing some items at his place, but that’s not as bad as it sounds as his computer desk sits next to his 60 inch TV.
There was not too much to say about Game 2. The defensive match that had been expected showed itself, and I was hard pressed to get my own excitement up. I’m hoping this was just due to a lack of excitement in the game and not due to my multitasking. While the Stars had spent almost all of Game 1 playing catch-up to the Canucks; in Game 2 Dallas scored on the opening shift and it was Vancouver’s turn to chase the lead. This is not a good position to be in a battle of defensive teams, and Vancouver was destined to never overcome this early lead.
Roberto Luongo played well and had little chance on the opening goal. The opening shift of the second period was almost a replay, with the same line scoring again. In the end, Luongo blocked 25 shots and could not be faulted for the two that got by him, but this does little good when your teammates cannot find the opposing goal.
We’ll all leave that game behind us and hope for much more tonight.