Bundt Cake Follies

Anyone who's seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding can never forget the hilarious scene surrounding the infamous "Bundt Cake". Well, my good friend, Ravena, worked long & hard to prepare a birthday cake for her sister-in-law but alas it was not meant to be. Something went wrong and it ... well ... got a tad deformed. Apparently still tasted great but she was upset with the end result. So a replacement was quickly obtained from Goldilocks.


This sort of reminds me of the time I prepared my "world famous" curried shrimp for some friends in Sudbury, Ontario. To thicken it I usually use cornstarch. They didn't have any so I substituted Cream of Tartar. Little did I know that the moment that touches milk, it goes sour! All that work and all for naught!

New Low-Cost Airline For Vancouverites

Citizens of Vancouver (and Seattle) will soon have a new low-cost airline available to them. SkyBus is a brand new airline modeled after Irish discount carrier RyanAir. I just checked their website and found return flights for as low as US$60 ($50 + $10 taxes) each way. That's the good news. Here's the rest of the story:

• Flights are out of Bellingham. You can either drive down and park for $6/day, get a friend to drive you down, or take a shuttle bus.
• All flights go through Columbus, Ohio.
• The first 2 checked bags cost $5 each. Subsequent bags cost $50 each.

But still, non-business travelers, especially students, will probably make good use of the service to travel around the U.S. for much less than any other airline.

Overcrowded Turtle Island

I must admit that I've never seen turtles crawling on top of other turtles before. But a turtle's gotta do what a turtle's gotta do!

Spring Has Arrived!

I went for a walk down to Kits Beach today. There were hundreds of people out enjoying the lovely weather.

Canucks Fever!

Most everyone in Vancouver had their eyes closely focused on the community of Anaheim, California last night and were overjoyed to see Jeff Cowan fire in the winning goal after a glorious under the leg pass from Trevor Linden. This tied up the second round NHL series against the mighty Anaheim Ducks.

All over the city today Canucks flags were flying aplenty, shouting out in every direction: "Go Canucks! Go Canucks!! Go Canucks!!!"

What A Beautiful Day!

It has been raining miserably for days (weeks?) here in Vancouver. Finally today we had a bright, beautiful, sunny day! When it nice here, it's REALLY nice!

New British Columbia License Plate

I walked by this car today and, at first glance, assumed it was from a U.S. State. I did a double-take when I discovered it was from BC!!! I must have been out of town when these new plates were announced. I think they look great!

The Dennis Miller Radio Show

One of my favourite comedians, Dennis Miller, started appearing on his own radio show on Monday, March 26, 2007. I've listened to the podcast of the program every single day since it began.

Critics dismiss Miller has right-wing conservative. A completely unfounded accusation. He's very middle of the road, much like the Pragmatic Libertarian that I am. What I especially like about the show is that he truly, truly listens to what people have to say and challenge them, in a polite way, to support their views. So, for example, when one caller stated the other day that he was convinced that 9/11 was a conspiracy of the American Government, rather than just dismissing him as a conspiracy nutcase, he sincerely asked him whether he really believed this or was just saying it for effect.

You can check out the show here: www.DennisMillerRadio.com It's absolutely the hippest thing on radio these days! P.S. His wife is a beautiful Vancouver gal named Ali Epsley.

It's Critical That We Not Forget The Past

I received this from fellow blogger, Nachtwache:

Please click on the little cartoon and read carefully. It's powerful. Then read the comments at the end. We cannot, we must not, ever forget what happened in Europe over 60 years ago, because it could happen again. Anyone, any group, could be the target. It has been said that those who refuse to study history are doomed to repeat it. In this case, those who are attempting to rewrite history are probably planning to repeat it! The hatred is already there, in place, taught to the children from infancy, with promises of glory and honor to those who carry out the plans. Forewarned is forearmed!

It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. This cartoon was written in memory of the 6 million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians and 1,900 Catholic priests who were murdered, massacred, raped, burned, starved and humiliated while the German and Russian people looked the other way.

Now, more than ever, with Iran, among others, claiming the Holocaust to be "a myth", it is imperative to make sure the world never forgets.

PelaLusa: Sadly, I have little doubt that in this new age of "moral equivalency", such a message will have little effect on many people reading this. For these people, America is the great evil in the world, with Israel not far behind. Certainly not every American or Israeli is a good person and not every Muslim is a bad person. The problem lies with the leadership in all cases. It just galls me though how certain leaders are blamed for everything and others are given a "pass" on everything they do.

Friday Colour Burst

I've been really busy with work these past few days so blogging has had to take a secondary priority. These little chocolate Easter eggs were intended for a special lady, but when she disappeared I was still left with the chocolate. Why let a good thing go to waste?! :-)

Thunderbird Version 2.0

The ever popular free e-mail software, Thunderbird, just had version 2.0 released. Other than a slightly sharper interface, I don't see any other big changes. But I do like the software and have been using it for a few years.

There's been a persistent bug though, which I only resolved today. When the Address Book is first opened or the first e-mail is sent, the software hangs for a few minutes. I just found the solution here. A minor victory!

A Quick Primer on Digital Video Cables

I just purchased a beautiful 22" LG LCD Monitor. The prices have come down tremendously and I thought it was long overdue to get one. The fact that I can now work from two screens (my laptop's native one and this one as well) has improved my productivity a great deal.


On the back of the monitor is the standard 15 pin VGA port that has long been on computers. But now there's a new one as well called "DVI", short for Digital Visual Interface. I don't have this on my computer but a friend of mine does, so I got to wondering what differences one might expect to see with it.

As I often do in such matters, I turned to my good friend & colleague, Geoff Meredith, who is the guru of gurus for anything related to computer hardware or software. As one past programmer in my company once said about him, "He answers questions you're thinking of before you even ask them!" Here's what Geoff had to say about digital video cables:

It's quite possible that the VGA cable is good enough. The issue is that VGA is analog and DVI is digital. The DVI cable will give you perfect signal reproduction and VGA will be degraded to some extent but if the VGA cable is good and the environment is not too electrically noisy, you are not likely to see a difference. Also, as the frequencies go up, as they do with increased resolution, the chance that VGA signal will degrade goes up. So as your monitor size gets bigger, DVI becomes more important.

The degradation that I've seen in VGA signals seems to come from capacitance issues that affect harmonics of the signal. For instance this rounds off the edges of a square wave. In the analog world this give you ghost signals that you see as slight shadows or ghost lines at high contrast vertical edges such as next to the letter "I" when it's black on white (or even more, white on black). If you can see ghosts of letters slightly offset, then you are seeing VGA cable degradation. If not, you are likely getting as good a signal as you are likely to get.

While there is a theoretical possibility of colour reproduction degradation with VGA, the colour reproduction on LCD panels are so bad that you wouldn't notice any issue introduced by a VGA cable.

As an example, my 22" is running on DVI and my 19" is running VGA. I can't see a difference in image sharpness between the two although the colour reproduction is radically different. I had meant to run my 19" on DVI but at the time that I bought it, my video card did not have dual DVI outputs and such a card was quite expensive so I decided to wait. It turns out that I really didn't need it.

As for VGA cable quality, one indicator is the thickness of the cable. The thicker the better. Also the shorter the better. As an example of the extremes, we use a 50' VGA cable to connect from our media center to our projector. It's a very thick, and seemingly high quality cable and it does a great job on the 800x600 signal that our projector needs. It will be interesting to see when we move up to 1280x1024 if that cable will still perform well. We paid a ridiculously low price of $28 from NCIX for this cable. Others I was looking at wanted about $150.

New Vancouver Business Writer

Having been away from Vancouver for awhile, I just learned that a good friend & colleague of mine, Fiona Walsh, is now writing a bi-monthly column for Vancouver's Office Journal newspaper. Her first article is called "Sales Pitch : A car dealership for women? It’s about time".

Fiona's a really smart person and so dedicated to the art of selling & marketing. If you'd like to learn more about her, just click here.

Sheryl Crow: Shut Up & Sing!

From the first time I heard her, I loved Sheryl Crow's music. From the first time I saw her, I thought she was a beautiful woman.

But now she's talking and I'm thinking she's an idiot, a hypocrite, or perhaps both. Ms. Crow is recommending that each of us use only one square sheet of toilet paper each time we visit the bathroom. Think I'm kidding? Read this.

What is it with these celebrities? Do they only have "Yes Men" around them 24/7 who agree to everything they say? Why can't the singers of the lot just shut up & sing? And in her case, she make look like a goddess but I wouldn't want to get too close to her if she's following her own prescription to save the environment!

I Believe, I Believe, I Believe ! ! !

The Vancouver Canucks just won Game #7 a few minutes ago! I must confess that I had been reluctant to let myself believe that they could pull a victory out of this series. And Period #1 didn't help on the optimism front. But they pulled it off, with a decisive 4 - 1 victory against Dallas, in no small part due to the amazing play of goalkeeper, Roberto Luongo, pictured here on the right with my friend, Palm Beach Post hockey writer, Brian Biggane.

May the citizens of Vancouver shout in unison: "We Believe, We Believe, We Believe ! ! !"

Chicago Taxi Dispute - A Shimmer of Light?

Back in early February, when my mom & I were departing Chicago for Miami, the Chicago Carriage & Cab Company refused to pick us up from the home of our friends. Why is not certain but their proximity to Midway Airport was likely the prime factor.

I complained to the taxi company, twice actually, but received no response. I also complained to the City of Chicago. Lo and behold I just received a response from the latter, only two and a half months later:

Dear Mr. Werner:

Thank you for informing us of your extremely troubling cab experience. On behalf of the City of Chicago, I offer my deepest apologies. I do hope that this unfortunate incident will not dissuade you from continuing to visit Chicago in the future, as we have many enjoyable sights and activities to offer! I have forwarded your information to the supervisor of the Chicago Carriage & Cab Company’s dispatch office, who will be contacting you about your ordeal. Once again, please accept my apologies for your inconvenience, and please feel free to contact me if I can assist you in any other way.

Sincerely,
Kate Francis

Interesting New Development on Google

A friend of mine in Chicago is flying out to L.A. in a few days and will be trying a famous hot dog place called "Pink's". I decided to check it out on the Internet. So I went to Google and found myself here.

You'll notice that something looks a bit different from a normal search. Underneath the link is another one that reads "This site may harm your computer." I'd never seen this before. If you try going to the actual website, instead you're taken to a special page that provides a pretty severe warning. You're instead encouraged to visit StopBadware.org.

This is a very interesting development. Companies like Pink's Hotdogs are legit but there's something embedded in their website that is clearly frowned upon. Google isn't preventing you from going there but is raising alarm bells and making it much more difficult. With Google's market dominance, only a foolish website owner wouldn't change whatever is required to remove themselves from the blacklist.

I wonder if there'll be an uproar about this.

See The End: A Campaign to Fund Cancer Research

I want to remind everyone that my friend, Rich Ralph, a Vancouverite transplanted from Toronto & Kingston a few years ago, is about to embark on a rollerblade across Canada to raise money for Cancer Research. He'll be skating from East to West, covering 10,070 km. No easy feat, but I'm convinced he will complete the task!

If you can make an individual donation, great. If you can get your company to make a larger donation, even better. If you're in the media or have media contacts, any press Rich can receive will drum up many more donations. It's not about him, it about the cause.

The best way to contact Rich is just to e-mail him: info@seetheend.com

Or just go directly to the donation form.

Please do help if you can!!

Destino: A Magnificent Musical Treat!

I got invited to a concert tonight, of which I did not know a thing about. What an unexpected treat! Destino is a group of four 20-something Canadian fellows who sing unlike anything you've likely heard live before.

Their musical is so very different from the standard formulaic schlock that passes for music these days. Powerful voices all, singing some familiar songs, though many in Italian. An absolutely stunning melodic treat for the ears.

A special treat was their performance with 10 year-old Michaela Slinger, who may very well be the next Celine Dion!

If you ever get a chance to see Destino in concert, don't hesitate, just go, go, go! You won't be disappointed!!

Peggy Noonan on the VA Tech Massacre

One of the best writers alive today is Peggy Noonan. She wrote speeches for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. She's the one who came up with the brilliant "thousand points of light" term.

Nowadays she writes a weekly column for the Wall Street Journal. Her thoughts this week about the recent massacre in Virginia are simply brilliant. You can read them here. You can also hear her talking more about this on Dennis Miller's April 20th show.

Her major themes are ones of political correctness run amuck and psychobabble overriding all other voices after a tragedy. In such circumstances, when you start hearing someone frequently using phrases like 'we need more' :

• Dialogue
• Support services
• Sensitivity training
• Anger management workshops
  
• Understanding of the challenges of the mentally ill

then you know you're being spun. The coldness and insincerity of such talking heads becomes crystal clear.

For a long time I bought into the notion that all problems could (and should) be solved by the psychology and pharmaceutical industries. And why shouldn't I? This view is supported by countless news broadcasts, TV talk shows, and newspaper & magazine articles.

Certainly these two industries have their place but it has become clear in recent decades that they're each now trying to grab a larger market share by inventing diseases and ailments that never existed before. For example, suppose Little Johnny in Grade One is found to have problems sharing things with his fellow classmates. In today's environment he would typically be found to "need professional counseling" or "deemed to require medication to control his mood disorders". Maybe. Sometimes. Perhaps. But might it also be possible that he's just a spoiled brat who is allowed to do whatever he wants at home?

It was actually longtime radio talkshow host and fellow blogger, David Berner, who first clued me in to the over clinicalization of our society. He talked a lot about the over prescription of Ritalin and the lack of effective rehabilitation for Vancouver's drug addicts. What's funny is that David would describe himself as "leftie", yet it's generally those on the political left that support these very viewpoints he detests. I keep on trying to convince him that he's a Pragmatic Libertarian at heart but he doesn't believe me ... yet!! :-)

Getting back to the VA Tech massacre, Noonan points out that there were obvious signs long ago that the killer should have been locked up in a mental institution, so he wasn't able to harm others. He briefly went through officialdom but slipped on through and out. In most modern countries today common sense is being supplanted by official policy and expensive programs which, sadly, rarely solve anyone's problems ... oh, except for those who are employed by them!

Friday Afternoon Round-up

A number of things occurred in the last 24 hours that I'd like to share:

1. Last night I met up with a pretty lady for a drink. It wasn't so much a date as a long conversation with an old friend who I was meeting for the first time. We talked about a lot of things but what I got out of it more than anything was a reassurance that there are women out there who are hip & cool and not emotionally unbalanced. This was a necessary thing after the proverbial rug got suddenly yanked out from underneath me.
2. I received an e-mail from a German friend who I hadn't heard from in some time. We only met once, in October 1994, when I was making a major transition in my life. He asked me to catch him up on the past 12.5 years. It's sort of weird to look at things from that perspective; almost like a movie. I started wondering if my life is about to make another major transaction.
3. This same German friend mentioned that Germany is currently seeing the largest departure of its citizens since World War 2. I don't know all the reasons for this but have asked him to further explain it to me. I think this will be an interesting development both for Germany and for Europe; and not a positive one in either case!
   
4. Anyone who knows me, knows how important BC Digital Divide has become in my life. It's an important and rewarding activity, even if I and my fellow volunteers make absolutely no $$$ from it. But once in a while we get some scamsters that lie through their teeth to get a computer, ignoring our "warnings" that the machines are only intended for those who truly can't afford them. It's still a rare thing but it happened twice this past week and it tends to make one disillusioned. But this afternoon I hand delivered a computer to a nice old gent in the West End. To say that he was profusely grateful would be the understatement of the century. This, combined with my walk home through gloriously sunny Vancouver, put me into the greatest mood!
   



5. Does this box look familiar? Girl Guide Cookies were a wonderful treat, only once a year, when I was growing up. I received these as a present from a friend for fixing her computer. Yummy!
   
   

Wouldn't It Be Nice?

Oh how I wish this was true more often!!!

Dear Prudence, Off Base?

Every week I get sent this advice column. I don't know why but I find the stories quirky and yet compelling. Often I agree with the columnist, but not this time:

Dear Prudence,
I have been dating this guy for about three months. When we first met, I was struck by his gentleness and kindness. The sex is great. I can express myself, all my quirky idiosyncrasies included, and not fear judgment or ridicule. He understands me and accepts me as I am. Which is why I'm having such a hard time with this dilemma: I've never dated anyone so sensitive before. He has his bad days, as we all do, but his bad days make him cry. His mood spirals down into an abyss of self-hatred and emotional despair. I try to talk him out of it, and often I'm successful. He says that just seeing me and holding me boosts his mood considerably. I've tried to help him figure out how something like a tiff with his boss can make him feel like the world is ending. I've suggested therapy, but he gets defensive, and I don't want to shatter the tiny bit of ego he has. The other (bigger) part of me just wants to yell, "For God's sake, grow some balls!" When we started dating, I had the "wow, he could be the one" thoughts. Now, I can't imagine spending my life with this man, having kids, etc., because I feel he's weak and it disgusts me. It's infuriating because the rest of him is so great. I love him and want to see where this can possibly go, but if I can't find a way to overcome this, then I may as well end it now.

—Distressed

Dear Distressed,
Talk about spiraling down. You start your letter rhapsodizing about this wonderful new guy and end it describing your fury and disgust. You love that you've found someone so sensitive to you, but can't stand that he's so sensitive. Your guy already has balls—as you note in your third sentence. Being supported and understood, and giving that in return, is the magical part of a relationship, but I agree that feeling you also need to be your partner's therapist isn't. Your boyfriend needs a therapist, because what he's experiencing is crippling emotional distress. I've recommended it before, but he sounds as if cognitive behavioral therapy could help him to reorder his reactions to the world and give him some much-needed ballast. It could also be that he could benefit from short- or even long-term medication for relief from his frequent downward spirals. You say you love him, so when you talk to him about this, be gentle, but don't dance around it. There's nothing embarrassing or ego-shattering about needing help to make your life function better. Explain to him that you want to be the love in his life, but you can't be his doctor. If he refuses to get help, then your relationship is doomed—feelings of contempt will poison even the best sex life. But if he does get help, then you have to see if you can get past your own restrictive notions of masculinity so that you can fully understand and accept him.

—Prudie

In my twenties I tried to fit into the mold of what many women said they wanted in a man: A Sensitive New Age Guy. Then I learned, for the first of many times, that women often lie! Okay, I'll be more politically correct: Some women periodically misconstrue what they're actually looking for with what they think they're looking for.

It finally took a few more direct women - one ex-girlfriend and one adopted sister - to point out to me that no woman I'd ever want to be with wants a guy who cries or is too sensitive or generally isn't someone that she can depend on when she needs support.

The columnist here just take the standard New Age approach of saying that he needs medication and/or therapy. Maybe he just needs a swift kick in the ass by the woman in his life or a male figure he respects and told to buck up and act more like a cowboy from an old Western than one from Brokeback Mountain!

P.S. I realize that this entire posting may offend some. Not my deliberate intention but do try removing your PC blinders for a second and take some time to think about how the real world works.

Pavlov's Son

My mom is getting funnier as she gets older. I don't mean "more odd", I mean FUNNIER, as in a greater sense of humour. Here's a perfect example. Back in mid-February our friend in Boynton Beach, Florida, Maria, took us for a tour of a nature preserve. On it, we drove right up beside this VERY LARGE alligator. Maria & my mom were insistent that I step outside to get a closer photo. Yeah, right!

Fast forward to this morning. I was "doing my business" and catching up on some newspapers my mom had given me. I turned the page and saw that she had written the following: "Remind you of something, Robert?" I looked down and there was a photo of an Asian man in a dentist's chair. No reminder there. I looked further down the page. There was a photo of a large alligator!!! Yikes, I almost jumped off the toilet in fright!

Undoubtedly she would be most pleased with herself to get this reaction out of me!!!

The Landlord

A friend & I are strongly considering making a 15 minute video about something (we don't yet know what) this summer. He just sent me some of the competition we'll be facing:

Downtown Stroll

I had a chance to go downtown today and took several photos:

This is the much talked about Convention Centre under construction. It's much larger than I had envisioned. And here's a video of the same:




Inside the Sinclair Centre

A trio of buildings

Looking toward the North Shore Mountains. The patch of snow is on "The Cut" on Grouse Mountain.

The Virginia Tech Massacre

Like the rest of you, I'm still sorting out in my own mind all of my feelings about the tragedy that recently occurred in Blacksburg, Virginia. However the hairs on the back of my neck go up when I hear the same old chorus of:

• We must stop such a thing from ever happening again. Really, how?
  
• The murderer, Cho, was a victim too. Sorry, I just can't feel sorry for him.
• All guns must be banned. This is a very complex issue and isn't quite so simple.
• Much more sensitivity training would have prevented this. Really, how?

I realize that people need to express their grief in different ways but it's very uncouth when different groups immediately use a tragedy to support their own agenda.
Mark Steyn makes some excellent points here. And David Berner does the same here

Funky VW Beetle

I came across this car and was just glad I had my camera with me! Note the water fountain on the front hood. It was operating even though the car was turned off!

Published!

A highly edited previous posting of mine was published in the Vancouver Sun today. They captured the gist of it except that they didn't clearly define "DEPI" = Downtown Eastside Poverty Industry. Hopefully people can infer it!

Spring Is On Its Way

I've never hid the fact that I HATE the grayness of Vancouver from about November through April. I'd honestly welcome snow and colder weather over endless gray days (or is that a "gray daze"?!?) A wonderful treat for all Vancouverites these days are the gloriously colourful flowers now sprouting up all over the place. I hope you enjoy these images as much as I do!

Various Scenes Around South Granville

The past few days have been very similar: Miserable in the morning and then sunny and bright in the afternoon and early evening. I went out for a walk later on and captured these images:

Young Brilliance: You Just Never Know Where It Might Lead

This is the current image on the Microsoft home page. It reminded me of the young fellow from Somalia who my organization gave a computer to the other day. How many people thought young Bill Gates would accomplish what he did and literally change the daily activities of billions of people. No, not all on his own, but great things often come from just one or a small handful of people. Gates has proved that intelligence, perseverance, determination, and lots of hard work can accomplish great things.

The Goal That Wasn't Meant To Be!

I interrupted my regular scheduled programming to watch the Vancouver Canucks play the Dallas Stars this evening. Vancouver won 2 - 1 but the Stars came close ... so incredibly close to tying the score late in the 3rd period. As soon as I saw this image from the instant replay I exclaimed to my friend, "That photo is going to be front & centre on many newspapers tomorrow!!!"

I was reluctant to start believing in my hometown team a few days ago but now I just have one thing to say: "Go Canucks, Go!!!"

52.6% of Americans Receive "Significant" Government Income

This article boggles my mind. It makes me wonder what percentage of Canadians are receiving similar significant amounts of income. I have to believe there'll be a tipping point beyond which those paying will refuse to any longer.

Some Tips on Creating a Great Resume

In my career I've had the opportunity to review hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes (also known as "CVs"). I'm convinced that a lot of job seekers don't really understand what goes on in the mind of those reviewing a resume. When a job is posted by any company, often dozens or hundreds of people apply for it. The company can't possibly interview every single person so they have to find a way to narrow down the list of applicants.

To this end there are a few simple things you can do to heighten your chances of getting into the "We want to meet this person!" pile. Similarly, there are a few obvious things that will almost certainly get you into the "Rejected" pile. I offer the following, not so much as the definitive guide to applying for a job, but more of an initial primer, which will hopefully get discussed and improved over time.

General Tips

• Ensure there are NO spelling mistakes and no grammatical errors. If you're not a good writer then pay someone else to help you! However you create your resume and cover letter, get someone else to carefully proofread them. Make no mistake that an application full of careless errors just tells the employer what you'll be like working for them; actually, they assume you'll be worse because when you're applying for a job you should be on your very best, most diligent behaviour!
  
• Every application needs a personalized cover letter. You can write a generic one first and then customize it for each job you're applying for but if you don't bother with a cover letter applicable to the job at hand then you're telling the employer that you're really not that serious about working there.
• Many people I know have several different resumes, each designed to reflect their professional histories in a different way. For example, my background includes both mining engineering and software development and so I'm qualified to apply for both professions. But the resumes for each would be completely different.
  
• Since most jobs are applied for via e-mail these days, help out the employer by using a simple naming convention as shown below. They will appreciate this and it can only help your chances:
• Smith, John - Resume.doc
• Smith, John - Cover Letter.doc
• Your resume should be straightforward, well organized, and concise. More than anything, the person reading your resume doesn't have a lot of free time. So don't make their job more difficult. Your cover letter can be more "flowery" than the resume. More than anything it should explain why you would be an excellent candidate for the job and possibly better than any other applicant. Be careful with the latter approach though because no one thinks fondly of an arrogant person, especially one they don't know.

Resume Format
There's no "one" best way to put together a resume but here are some suggestions to create a good one. Incidentally, some say that every resume must be just 1 page long. I don't agree with this. As long as the experience is relevant to the job at hand then it likely should be included. I'm comfortable reading resumes 1 to 3 pages long.

• Introduction
  
• Your Name
• Contact Info including your E-mail address (If you don't have one, get one!)
  
• Photo (optional, but generally a good idea, especially if you're photogenic)
• Occupation or Objective
• Specialization (optional)
• Professional Profile (optional)
• Personal Profile (optional)
• Work Experience (one section for each relevant job)
  
• Dates
• Company
• Location(s)
• Description
• Related Experience (optional)
• Education & Training (one section for each relevant item)
  
• Dates
• School
• Minor Description of Accomplishments
• Volunteer Work (optional)
  
• Other Skills
• Languages
• Computer Skills
• Other
• Memberships (optional)
• Personal Interests (optional)

I hope this helps. Please do leave any comments and questions. I'll improve what I've written here if any good gems are provided! And for a more humorous look at reviewing applications, read this!

Those Darn Accurate Horoscopes!

Just when I'm ready to dismiss horoscopes entirely, I read this pair in the weekend Vancouver Sun for Virgos:

Saturday, April 14th
The story that's told by appearances isn't the whole truth. The one who looks like a past love sure doesn't act the same!

Sunday, April 15th
The emotional reverberations you're feeling aren't all in your head. Take all the time you need to process. The satisfaction you get from deeply listening to yourself is invaluable.


If you knew all that's gone on in my life this past week, you'd exclaim, "Wow, that's spooky!" But alas, not everything is fit to print.

Average Canadian family spends more on taxes than life's necessities

Monday, April 16, 2007 - Canadian Press

VANCOUVER

Taxes are taking a bigger chunk out of the average Canadian family income than food, clothing and housing combined, a new survey suggests.

The Fraser Institute says the Canadian Consumer Tax Index is up significantly in the past 45 years.

The average Canadian family earned $63,000 in 2006, with nearly 45 per cent of that going to taxes.

Just over 35 per cent was spent on food, clothing and housing.

In 1961, the institute says just 33.5 per cent of income went to taxes.

The tax index includes direct taxation, such as income taxes, sales taxes, Employment Insurance and Canadian Pension Plan contributions, as well as hidden taxes, such as import duties, gas taxes and excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol.


You can read the full report here.

Taxi Racism: Alive & Well in Vancouver

An interesting little event just occurred. A young man, originally from Somalia, just came by to pick up his computer. He's in Grade 12 in a Burnaby high school, getting great marks, and looking forward to a Computer Science education at university.

But when I called Yellow Cab to drive him back home with his new computer, the taxi driver did a double-take when he saw who was getting in his car. The driver asked me, "Is he a good guy?" You & I both know what that's code for.

Ironically, the driver's skin colour was only a few shades lighter than the student's.

I've never driven a cab in this city so I don't know what the drivers face but I would have hoped that such events no longer occurred in 2007. This was a vivid wake-up call for me about things I never have to worry about.

Birds at Rest

Back in Miami I frequently saw large pelicans perched on various structures by the water. While I've never seen any such birds in Vancouver, I did find these guys near the north bank of False Creek today. Note: The structure they're on is a piece of art that I believe was originally supposed to have a laser on it that was supposed to "paint the sky".

Memories of Expo 86

Were you in Vancouver for Expo 86? It was a fabulous time and somehow the entire city felt newer, better, funner. Is "funner" even a word?! But it really was a great event. One of the architectural highlights of the exposition was a glass-roofed Plaza of Nations. Now 21 years later it's all coming down. Sad, but perhaps inevitable, as most man-made structures on this continent don't seem built to last.

A Digital Divide Kind of Day

As indicated previously, I held a BCDD distribution day out of my apartment. As always, a diverse and interesting set of people came by. We had 4 deliveries and about a dozen people pick up their computers from my place. Very rewarding!

Everything I Do . . .

I heard this song on the radio today and realized I hadn't heard it in a while. Okay, maybe it's sappy but I've always liked it. Here are 3 versions for your listening enjoyment:

The Chicago Spire

I just learned about an amazing new building that is being built in Chicago and will be completed in 2010. The 150-storey, 610 metre tall tower will be the tallest building in North America.


You can read more about it here, here, and here.

Vancouver's Downtown Eastside: Same Old Spin, Same Old Inaction

Vancouver Sun columnist Pete McMartin wrote a brilliant, cynical piece which you can read here. Fellow blogger and the best talkshow host in Canada, David Berner, beat me to the punch with this witty commentary. But I couldn't resist send this letter into the Vancouver Sun:

Pete McMartin's insightful column about the Downtown Eastside Poverty Industry (DEPI) hit so many chords that my head felt like a church bell tower on a Sunday morning! When exactly did it become acceptable for endless amounts of public money to be spent with absolutely no meaningful, helpful results being achieved? It seems that actually helping the less fortunate has been replaced with feeling good about dialoguing and conferencing with other like-minded holier-than-thou souls. With all this hot air being generated, Stephane Dion and Al Gore should declare this area an environmental hotspot!

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at a meeting of one of these DEPI groups. I'm convinced that the sentiment around the room would be that if we feel good about doing something then that's more important than actually accomplishing anything. Don't worry about the fact that drug use and poverty is actually increasing. That's just a minor technicality.

At the end of the day, everything looks pretty rosy for everyone employed by the poverty industry. Their bills are paid and since things are only getting worse, they have guaranteed job security for life. They've guilted large corporations into making donations, which in turn makes them feel better on the PR front. Nobody loses, right? Well, except for the thousands of people on the Downtown Eastside who are struggling to overcome their addictions and squalid surroundings. As a recovered heroin addict once told me, "I was never able to get myself better until I hit rock bottom." That's a sad fact that no one in DEPI wants to admit.

On a personal note, hearing about more public money being wasted like this especially galls me. Contrast this with the completely volunteer organization I'm involved with, BC Digital Divide. We allow anyone to apply for a computer but are careful that we're not just giving them out to be sold on the street or replace one they've received from us before. Just today I gave out two computers, to two lower income ladies. Indeed, it cost them nothing but I'm fairly confident that they will treat them with great respect and take good care of them. Our efforts are modeled on "a hand up". It seems that all of DEPI programs are based on "a hand out". And anyone who knows they can continually receive a hand out will generally keep on taking it forever.

Fresh Sushi

One of my favourite sushi restaurants is also very close to me. It's called Opera Sushi and is run by an actual Japanese family. The husband is an opera buff and the walls are covered with old opera records. They play a mixture of music though. Here are a few photos I took of their delicious food.

BCDD Distribution Day

Generally once a month BC Digital Divide distributes a large number of computers out of the home of one of our techs. But he's away in Hawaii right now so I agreed to take on the responsibility this month, even if it did temporarily consume my living space. The first photo shows that my place is not always an electronic junkyard!

Mother Nature, The Artist

I snapped this photo at the Vancouver School Board building at 10th & Fir in Vancouver. Much of the year they have an elaborate array of beautiful flowers such as these. Click on the thumbnail and you'll see something quite majestic.

It's Playoff Time!

Many foreigners I meet think that Canadians are pretty much the same as Americans. Perhaps so, until it comes to the NHL Playoffs! The Vancouver Canucks are one of only three teams in the playoffs this year. Here's a small sampling from some very dedicated Canucks fans:

The First Day of the Rest of My Life

While the subject line is indeed true, it's a bit misleading because each new day is the first day of the rest of our lives! In any case, this is a pivotal day for me. My time in Miami gave me much time to think, rest, and regroup. When I got home early Wednesday morning I was both exhilarated and exhausted. This past weekend was one of the very best times in my entire life (for reasons I may elaborate on in the future!) and now today, after the holiday weekend, I'm easing back into "real life", so to speak.

I've committed to myself to start each day with an hour long walk. Today I started with what I call "The Million Dollar Walk". It starts at Granville Island, heads west through Vanier Park, past the doggie beach, along the shores of Kitsilano Beach, up the steep hill of Yew Street, and then back through the pleasant residential neighbourhood of Kitsilano. This is one of my favourite walks anywhere and here are the photos to show you why:

A Little FYI on Consumer LaserJets

I recently started looking into replacing my HP 932C inkjet printer with a colour laserjet instead. Two models at a local Staples caught my attention so I asked a local printer expert for his opinion. Here's what he had to say:

The HP 2600N is a good price but is an entry level machine which means they've scrimped a bit on some parts of the printer. It uses 4 toner cartridges (black @$89 and prints up to 2500 pages) (Colors run $97 each and produce up to 2000 pages) The machine prints well but if you don't use the colors much users are surprised to find out the machine will force you to have to install new color carts or stops printing unless you do and this is because the image drum on the machine rotates, wipes and cleans the color cartridges on every print run whether toner is used
or not and so the color carts become "worn out" even though still containing toner. Not a good printer option if not printing "color" as much as black.

The Samsung 300 is okay if you didn't get one of the "Monday lemons" which many people have and getting satisfaction thru Samsung Canada warranty is turning out to be "legend" for user dissatisfaction. I helped a client try to get warranty on a cartridge which took nearly 2 months of correspondance and in the end we left a code letter off the end of the printer models name and were rejected on claim even though every Samsung printer uses that code letter. They are that picky even though every other number, letter, description and RMA information were included all in original packaging. Doh! Also the Samsung cartridges are expensive compared to the HP's. (Samsung Black is $64 but prints half as many pages as the HP black) and the colors are $54 but also only print half as many pages.

Consumer color lasers are very poor performers per page cost. Once you go up a few hundred dollars the performance and cost per page is quite a bit better but expect to pay $450 plus the cartridges are proportionately more money (but print more).

Auto Co-ops in Vancouver

For some time now I've lived in Vancouver without a car. I work out of my home office, am just 4 blocks from a major transit intersection, and just haven't felt the need to have a car.

But I have been long aware of the Co-operative Auto Network. With them, you pay an initial up front fee of $500 (which is fully refundable if you leave the program) and then can pay to use various cars which are parked around the city.

There's new competition in town in the form of ZipCar. I haven't investigated either much but may very well do so soon.

Update: Commenter "HMS Victory" referred me to this great video about a similar service in London, England:

Easter Sunday Breakfast

My friend and I had grown increasingly skeptical about the quality of service at Paul's Place Omelettery. But his wife convinced us to go. I'm glad we did. As always, there was a bit of a wait, but the food and the service was very good this time.

Canada Line Construction

Here's a shot from 19th & Cambie, looking south. It's part of the massive Canada Line construction project that will see a mostly underground rapid transit line running from downtown Vancouver to the airport. Many people are against this project because of the cost but it'll only keep on increasing in price if not done now. And traffic will also continue to grow worse as well.

Easter Humour

Beautiful Nature

I just had to post this photo, which I took Tuesday evening as my first plane was descending into Houston, Texas. Click on this thumbnail and you will see a magnificent swath of colours!

Back in Vancouver!

Hello All! I've been completely exhausted ever since returning home. But slowly I'm getting my sleep patterns back in sync and rediscovering my hometown again. Here are some recent photos:
NE Corner of 6th & Granville

Entrance to Granville Island

Looking east from the eastern edge of Granville Island

Fish, fish, fish!

Accidentally ran into Jennifer Burke (nee Mather), host of Living in Vancouver.

Wait, am I in Vancouver or still in Miami?!?

I just had to get my Dim Sum fix, after 2 months away from Vancouver!!

Make your own jokes!

Delicious Tarama at a Greek restaurant on West 4th Avenue


I saw all kinds of eccentric things in Miami but was pleasantly surprised to see that Vancouverites are trying hard in this regard too!

Leaving On A Jet Plane . . .

Two versions for your enjoyment:


Peter, Paul, & Mary - 1969


Chantal Kreviazuk - 1998

For those so interested, you can track my progress home here, on Continental flights 249 & 289.

Thank You, America!

I had an amazing time here in Miami and in Chicago & Seattle as well. I am eternally grateful!

Monument to Cuban Refugees Arriving in America

A Few Final Photos From Miami

Final stages of demolition

A clear view of the Bank of America Building

Bayside Marketplace

Tourist do what tourist do! (They're pretending to be driving the boat they're about to get on.)

Bayside Marina nestled up against downtown

Livin' the good life!

Out front of the Intercontinental Hotel

Final glance at the eastern edge of downtown

No this isn't a long haired dog. Let's just say that girls just want to have fun!

Looking West into the downtown core.

Two of the taller buildings in Miami. My friend, Kelsey, works in the left one.

Interesting fellow. Do click on the photo to read more about him.

Special shot just for Vince T.!!!

A long shot of Brickell, the neighbourhood that has been my home for the past 6 weeks!

Some Truisms

• Anyone who calls themselves an "intellectual" clearly isn't one.
  
  
• Anyone who says they're "open minded" almost always is not.
  
  
• Anyone who refers to themselves as a "progressive" is more likely regressive.

Know some more? Do share them!

Human Rights Discussion (CBC Style)

On the recent edition of CBC radio's Sunday Edition program there was a long discussion about "Human Rights". I felt compelled to send them this letter:

While I found the thoughts of your two guests informative, it wasn't a very balanced discussion. Adding someone like Mark Steyn onto your panel would have made it a lot more interesting.

The basic flaw with the arguments your guests put forward is that they assume that the major human rights violators are just "friends waiting for their grievances to be resolved".

Does anyone REALLY think that dialogue and offers of friendship will ever resolve things with al Qaeda, Kim Jong-il in North Korea, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran, or Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe?

The truth is that in most cases these men must be imprisoned or killed before anything can actually change. Denying this basic fact has provided gainful lifetime employment for thousands in the UN but has also DIRECTLY resulted in the murders of millions of people and the ongoing oppression of millions of others.


Update: I just received this response from to my e-mail:

Thank you for your comments. They have been received by the program.

Reynold Gonsalves
Associate Producer
CBC Radio One, The Sunday Edition

Please note that emails sent to the program may be read onair as part of our Mail segment.

For more information about the program, you can check our website at:

http://cbc.ca/thesundayedition

And to it I responded with this:

Dear Reynold,

I certainly hope that letters such as mine will be read on-air. Being immersed in the trees of the CBC, as you are, I wonder if you're able to fully appreciate the forest that constitutes all Canadians in 2007. When right-of-centre people, even mildly right-of-centre people like me hear discussions on CBC Radio, you have no idea how many times we feel like pulling our hair out, frustrated that there's most often no one in the discussion that remotely represents anything other than a left or ultra-left viewpoint. If you were a private broadcaster then it's no one's business what's heard on-air but you are a public broadcaster, on-air through the tax dollars of everyone, and thus clearly should represent the public at large.

I'd love to be a a fly on the wall if you were to read my previous paragraph to your colleagues at the CBC. My guess is that many would laugh or scoff at it. This would speak volumes of exactly what I'm talking about.

Crappy Customer Service in Canada

Do you have stories - funny or just plain rants - about poor customer service you've received in Canada? David Berner wants to hear them, possibly to be added to a future book. Post your stories here.

Mark Steyn on the Iranian Hostage Taking

Further to what I just wrote about the CBC human rights discussion, Mark Steyn writes a brilliant article supporting exactly what I said. Yes, of course give peace & negotiations a chance. But the Iranians know that Britain, the EU, and the UN are unlikely to do anything more than mildly protest what's going on. What a pathetic way for Tony Blair to finish up his term as prime minister.

Also, could someone please send me links to articles on how the left-wing press, so quick to condemn the U.S. for everything, is condemning Iran for this? Their silence speaks volumes.

Update: Another interesting perspective from Victor Davis Hanson.