Saturday, January 30, 2010

Goodbye Vancouver (and most of Richmond)

No, I'm not moving out of town (unless I win the lottery and move to a remote island in the South Pacific where I can eat coconuts and....oh but I digress), but now that the road closures have started, I'm going to limit (and eventually stop) my driving into Vancouver (well downtown for sure) until the hell known as the Olympics are over. It's bad enough now and we're not even close yet. The city will survive without me. It will be hard enough getting to work.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

News

I'm not trying to make a joke out of a tragic situation, but I was just wondering. If Michael Jackson had died on the same day that Haiti's earthquake hit, what would the networks be showing?

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Yuk

Yesterday my morning drive from my girlfriend's place (near Metrotown) back home (Garden City and Francis) --which normally takes 30 minutes-- took 65 minutes. I didn't see an accident anywhere. I believe No. 3 Road in Richmond will be closed for the Olympics. That means Garden City will become the new No. 3 Road, which means traffic will be horrible (and that's assuming the traffic lights are working). Maybe I can go the long way and take No. 4 Road. Maybe I should rent a bike or scooter. The Skytrain I can forget because it will be packed with rude people. I'm so NOT looking forward to the next month and a half.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Screw CBC

It was bad enough early last year when CBC decided to give up the Hockey Night in Canada theme to TSN, angering hockey fans everywhere. And now what happenened on the weekend and turned me away from the station forever.

What gives Ron MacLean the right to give the most one-sided "report" in recent memory? It's a shame that Colin Campbell gets to sit beside him looking like an idiot. He's a joke, the whole Burrows-Auger situation has become a joke. Isn't it a shame that players and coaches have to shut their mouths for fear of fines, but the officials can say whatever they want? And it's not just Burrows, the bad officiating is everywhere. There, I've said it. Does Colin Campbell and the other loser Gary Bettman want to fine me too?

In the meantime, I hereby swear that I will not watch CBC for any hockey games and Coach's Corner until further notice.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Richmond Drivers

Ever get into an accident at a Tim Horton's parking lot before? I guess I've joined an exclusive club.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Late Night Wars

There was a time when my blog title would refer to the rivalry between Jay Leno and David Letterman. Back and forth they went, and both developed their fanbase. Now my blog title refers to people from the same station! It looks like Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien and even Jimmy Fallon are part of some big fight.

Basically NBC made a huge mistake by moving Jay Leno to primetime. It was an experiment that obviously didn't work. But how do they fix the mistake? Conan was signed as the TONIGHT SHOW host. Now the idea is to start Jay's "new" half-hour show at 11:35pm (as his show once was) and then start the Tonight Show at 12:05AM followed by Jimmy Fallon at 1:05am. That's silly. And poor Carson Daly loses his show altogether. It looks like Conan is going to leave NBC, and he should. Jay Leno is starting to look like the Brett Favre of late night (and that's a negative connotation). Silly people.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Hockey Refs

Isn't it unfortunate that no matter how bad the refereeing is in a sporting event, whether it's hockey or football or baseball (not that anybody watches that). The players and coaches are not allowed to say anything or they get fined.

But this whole Burrows-Auger situation has nothing to do with the bad refereeing. That will happen. Calls are made for the home team, calls are made against the home team. Calls are missed and maybe even they didn't see exactly what happened. My problem (and I don't know why they don't concentrate more on this) is this whole "vendetta" thing. Did the referee go up to Burrows and say "I'm gonna get you" at the beginning of the game? Why is this being swept under the rug? I'm not defending Burrows, he's always been known as a diver and nuisance. But if the referee did say what is alleged, then he has every right to have said what he said in defence.

That being said, who's looking forward to the next time Auger refs at GM Place?

Olympics

No umbrellas allowed in the O-zone (in Richmond and I assume also at the Olympics Village). That's funny especially for this city.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Airport Security

"September 11" was a sad day in the world. Sure, you can talk about all the conspiracy theories but it was a day that got everyone to wake up and realize how unsafe the world can be. That being said, this "fear" and "paranoia" have gotten out of hand.

When I go on trips, I like to avoid checking in luggage as much as possible. This allows me to get off the plane and go directly to my destination. My past trips to Vegas have allowed me to bring a small carry on. Now things have changed (yet again). I haven't read the rules in detail but suffice to say there's almost nothing I can bring other than a "small bag". Is it true I can't even bring a book? Huh? My crossword puzzle magazine is a weapon of mass destruction?

I remember last summer when Joe and I went to Vegas. While there he had bought some refill blades for his razor. Coming back he was afraid that they wouldn't be allowed on the flight. He also had brought a bottle of mouthwash. Guess which one was confiscated? Stupid.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Cell Phone Ban

Granted, texting while driving is dumb and dangerous. I've done it in the past and granted I'm taking a big chance. But why is it that I don't think the cell phone ban (while driving) will make any difference? Whether you are talking on a handsfree or talking with the phone in your left (or right) hand, it's equally dangerous. If you're going to ban cell phone use while driving, then ban ALL cell phone use. It's not the cell phone that causes accidents, it's bad driving that causes accidents. Why don't they ban all stereos from cars or make it compulsory to have voice-activated controls? Why don't they ban babies from front seats because they are often a big distraction? And gee, all these SUV's with DVD players installed, um, why are they there?

Bad driving is bad driving, laws like this will do nothing for safety. The bad drivers will always be there.

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Restaurant Manners

I like to eat in peace. If I am having a meal by myself I would like to eat without having people blabber at Volume 11. If I am on a date, I would like to be able to talk to her without having to raise my voice.

I'm not asking other patrons to be quiet. They are of course more than entitled to talk. And if I am a bar or pub then I expect there to be more noise than usual. Even at a casual restaurant, I expect laughing and chatting. But I find it rude that people decide that they have to talk especially loud, without respect for their neighboring patrons. It seems that a lot of times there is always one person who has to be the center of attention, so he/she finds it necessary to talk louder than anyone else.