Spotted heading up Howe Sound this evening – beautiful night so I guess they thought they’d go for a nice little dinner cruise.

I’m working with DigiBC during the games, and many of their members provided the content and technology for the gallery.  And friend  Sara Bailey, is the curator.   Sara worked on some of the earliest CBC Radio 3 designs back in 1999 (prototypes actually) and she and I worked together as consultants for a number of years.

On Wednesday, she offered photographer Kris Krug and I a preview of the gallery (it opened on Friday).

I shot a full ‘tour’ with Sara guiding us through – that will be online in a few days.  But I also put together this little piece for Kris.

He and I first met ten years ago when he was publisher of one of Vancouver’s first online magazines and we were just starting to put some definition on what CBC Radio would be.

There’s a higher quality version online here , on YouTube here, on Vimeo here

You can also see a longer, full video tour of the gallery with Sara Bailey here.

Even here in sleepy North Vancouver.

It’s true, we’re essentially just a pass-through community as people head either to Whistler or Cypress Mountain or Vancouver or Richmond for events, but still, we’re  jazzed.

I first noticed it on my first stop of the day for coffee.

And right up there on display with the commuter mugs, those red Olympic mittens – perfect for handling those hot beverages.

In my local ‘hood -  Edgemont Village -  all the merchants are sporting these  Go Canada Go posters.

And really, there’s no better way to welcome the torch than with a quick haircut…

Or even better, a bottle of wine…

Lots of people are making a fuss about the crass commercialization of the games.

But darn it, why didn’t I think of this.

Chocolate covered sea foam Inuksuit (that’s plural for Inuksuk by the way).

Truth be told, I prefer my Inukshuk with dark chocolate, but that’s just me…

Here’s a basket full of mascots.  And I mean full of mascots. There are 4 official mascots, not just one.

This one’s  Quatchi.

The other three are Sumi, Migi and Muk Muk.

Given the lack of snow at Cypress Mountain and the financial mess the ski resort at Whistler is in, they really get a fifth mascot.

One who can jury rig a fix up just in time for the games – might I suggest  MacGyver

By far the sleeper of all this Olympic merch (and there is plenty of it).

‘Cause nothing is more indicative of  winter sports in the lower mainland.

The Official Umbrella of the 2010 Games.

Finally, my favourite.

While organizers have been focusing on getting volunteers and community support for the games, they missed the obvious.

These guys at Contact Printing nailed it.

And just to bring the point home.

Let’s pull back a bit  so we can see those fantastic snow covered North Shore mountains.

I’ve been asked by BBM Canada to remove the data I had presented on this page, since it is copyrighted.

My apologies for any inconvenience for those of you looking for ratings info.

A bit of serendipity was involved with this one.

While on their way to interview Cam MacDonald in Mt. Pleasant, they passed a small corner store. Taking a peak inside they discovered a very unusual city corner store – packed with local products and oozing country charm.

It’s called the Home Grow-in Grocer, and it’s a place where trust trumps the credit card…

Runs 10:28

Podcast ISBN: 978-1-926758-01-5

photos and podcast © Robert Ouimet & Bigsnit Media 2009

The Home Grow-In Grocer is at 196 West 18th in Vancouver.
The owner Colleen refers to in the interview is Deb Reynolds.

cross posted to VanGoGreen

I was stealthy, but to no avail.

I thought I’d sneak up and get some photos, and even though I was all silent-running-like, the ducks were on to me.

The day threatened to turn from grey to drizzle, but never did. Madsu hummed along on a steady outflow in Howe Sound.

It’s always a delight to balance the boat – then set the tiller extender into the lock box and head up to the foredeck while Madsu sails herself

Sitting on the foredeck, I’m quickly reminded that it’s April. The wind blowing down from the local mountains, through Howe Sound, is chilly. It’s not surprising considering how much snow is still up there. Even in the height of summer, the catabatic winds in Howe Sound can be cold. I’m in shorts but I wish I’d brought my toque.

The new rope clutches and deck organizers I installed have worked out even better than I’d hope for. The double Spinlock clutches fit the cabin top just right. (Oddly, even though they are doubles, the drill template that came with them was for a single – and useless)

I like their size and mechanism, and Steveston Marine gave me a better than advertised price on them after I did some comparison shopping online.

The line organizers were a bit of a struggle. Almost everything I looked at was much too big to fit just forward of the pop-top. I finally settled on some simple aluminum doubles from Barton. I made a bit of a mess with the sealant when I installed them, but I should be able to clean it up ok.

It may not be warm, but it’s not raining. BC’s got some mighty impressive shades of grey when the sun isn’t shining.

Madsu’s sailing herself nicely on a close reach.

It’s great to be out sailing again.

Even if I didn’t have much luck with the ducks.

What was throwing me off is that they aren’t distinct, discreet seasons like elsewhere in the country.

They’re mellow, they over-lap, and there are some wildcards.

Today, in a moment of clarity like I’ve never had before, it all came to me.

The seasons here go like this:

• Mostly Snowboarding
• Mostly Gardening
• Mostly Sailing

Oh, we also have a season called Hawaii.

To help keep it all clear, I’ve put together a little chart – click for a larger version – print it up and stick in on the bulletin board.

cross posted to VanGoGreen.com

A quick stroll around Steveston today with camera in hand.

The sun was doing its best attempt at showing up, but couldn’t quite manage it.

My friend Luyen Dao is organizing a unique fund raiser later this month.

For five days, from Feb 24-28, a group of Tibetan monks will create a Sand Mandala at Dr. Sun-Yat Sen Gardens in Vancouver.

It’s incredibly intricate work, and this is a chance to see first hand how it is done by masters of the technique who are visiting Vancouver from the Dzongkar Choede Monastery.

I got Luyen to tell me a bit more about it when I visited with him at the gardens…

A $10 tickets gets you admission to the gardens for the entire five days, and $2 from every ticket goes to help support the young monks, many of whom are orphaned or come from poor Tibetan families.

You can get more information and updates on the event on the fund raiser web site.

Here’s the link to the Dr. Sun-Yat Sen Gardens web site.

You can also grab this invitation and pass it along to a friend.

Here’s a YouTube video of a sand mandala being made.