Afternoon Walk

I worked hard this morning and my brain felt like putty so I decided to go on a walk on this beautiful day in Vancouver. Here are some photos I captured.









This is a neighbourhood cat, shared by its owner for all residents to give a good scratch to every so often.

A Walk Back from Chinatown

With just a few days left on my trip, I thought it was due time to partake in some Dim Sum! So I took a bus over to Chinatown. I looked at a few places I had recorded the names of but chose to go to Mei Sum, the same place I had gone last year. It was very good and comparable in taste to what one can get back in Vancouver.

My bus transfer was still good for several hours but it being a nice day, I decided to walk back to Waikiki - a distance of 4 miles.
Here's the famous Iolani Palace, home to some of Hawaii's royalty and fictional home to Steve McGarrett and his colleagues on Hawaii Five-O.
This is a look back at the downtown business sector.


I tried to give this stray cat a good scratch but he wasn't having any of it!
This is the capitol building of the 50th State of America.





These are the satellite dishes of KGMB, the local CBS affiliate.
I've never been inside the Convention Center but love the glass architecture.
IMHO this is the coolest new building in all of Honolulu. I don't know its name but on my next trip need to find a way to get up top to photograph it!


I *believe* this mural was painted by Robert Wyland.

Rainy Day Traffic in Metro Vancouver

I took my dad out for lunch and caught this video before we left.

Thoughts about the Port Mann Bridge

A few years ago Kevin Falcon spoke to a professional group I belong to. He explained that the main purpose of the bridge was to facilitate truck traffic leaving the Port of Vancouver and venture out to the rest of North America. This is not a "sexy" issue that most British Columbians care much about though . . . no matter how much new income it might bring into the province.

As for the toll, it is just sooooo typical of Canadians to want something for nothing, isn't it? Falcon also said to our group that the primary reason for the toll is to lengthen the usable time of the bridge before congestion clogs it up too. This fact of life is yet something else that the average person does not appreciate.

To make everyone happy though, I have a suggestion: A 10 lane bridge will mean 5 lanes each way. Make 3 of them Express, which will be electronically tolled, and 2 of them will be free. Allow people access to the Express lanes several kilometres back in both directions. Provide angled cut-ins - only from the free lanes to the toll ones - every 500 metres or so. If people still want to wait 30 or 60 or more minutes for the free crossing, that's their prerogative.

Adventures in Time-Lapse Photography

I've owned my Canon G9 camera for almost a year but only now discovered its time-lapse capability - Duhh!

I don't know yet know any practical application to this feature, other than perhaps watching a flower or a building grow, but it does offer a neat effect nonetheless!

Yaletown

Water Balloon Transportation Vehicle

Moments after Danny and I got into our Toyota RAV 4 rental vehicle, he discovered the very unique and well engineering glove compartment. The next day he discovered a new use for the space inside!

Buster's: A key part of Vancouver's tow truck fleet

General Motors -> Colonel Motors?

John Batchelor has a fascinating column about the ongoing woes of GM. Is there any hope for this once great company? Not with the current [lack of] leadership, it seems.

It's a fascinated read and highly recommended!

Driving an SUV in London

Do you think it's expensive to drive where you live? In London, England the daily fee for SUVs driving in the central part of the city will rise from £8 to £25 in late October. That works out to about US$48.75 per day. And the fee applies even if you live in that part of the city!!!

Just a Typical Sedan in Miami :-)