Veering off the Vancouver-topic path and onto a more personal note this is simply to express my own sentiments and feelings on a topic. Continue reading this post ⟩⟩

It’s been almost two months now and I’ve been able to learn more each day about my trusty iPhone. Wrapped in its sleek pink silicone cover, we’re still getting to know each other but I think we’re still pretty much in a honeymoon phase.

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I am not using a Rogers plan for the internet, so I simply have to rely on WIFI, when it’s available – here’s what I’ve experienced downtown so far:

A few more options that I kinda sorta wish the iPhone had:

Bonus: Thanks to some super great people, ie. John Biehler, I was able to get a converter for headphones – as iPhones will usually only work with standard-issue white Apple ear buds.

Also, when I went down to Bellingham on Saturday I didn’t get the standard, “Welcome to the USA” text message I normally receive but the Rogers icon on my phone did turn to an AT&T/Apple logo. I’m hoping something switched over somewhere otherwise I do dread my next statement. However, I’m not even certain that’s my actual phone’s doing.

Regardless, I’m still super happy, despite the tiny annoyances, I ain’t ready to trade it in for quite a while.

“The Medium is the Message”, coined by Marshall McLuhan was a question tonight as we played Trivial Pursuit 80s edition with the Carlsons. It sparked a brief discussion about Canadian Heritage Minutes that used to play during commercial breaks when we were in high school, as there was a feature on McLuhan. A friend of mine had the one about Emily Murphy down to a tee so I rattled off a few lines from memory, which immediately took me back to the hallways of West Whalley High.

Of course I knew when I got home I would be able to do a YouTube search and find them all, but they’re also listed (and searchable) on the Heritage Minute website. Here are a few gems you might remember from growing up with Canadian television in the 90’s.

I recently received an email from Malcolm, a teacher and volunteer who is also a participant in the annual Canuck Place Adventure Challenge. He informed me about this event that place in the fall (going on 3 years now) that involves performing various physical tasks while raising funds for Canuck Place Childrens Hospice.

Canuck Place Children’s Hospice provides palliative and respite care services for sick children in BC Canada

Photo Credit: Dan Lilly on Flickr

On Saturday September 6th, 2008 over a hundred participants will gather in Panorama Park in Deep Cove, North Vancouver. Leading up to the event they will be collecting pledges and as for Malcolm, he’s also been blogging about the whole thing, every step of the way.

[In 2007] “The run was uphill in both directions, or so it appeared …5 hours and 17 minutes of being in one of the most beautiful areas of the world was a great way to spend a Saturday despite the number of bike riders swearing their way through the boulders and hills of Mt. Seymour.” [Adventure Challenge – Blog]

Best of luck to Malcolm doing the 6km kayak plus 32km bike plus the 8km run for such a great cause. If you’d like to support him he has his personal online pledge link listed on his blog.

Canuck Place Children’s Hospice opened its doors in 1995, offering specialized care for children with progressive life-threatening illnesses and for their families. Thanks to funding support from individuals, organizations and corporations, hundreds of families from across B.C. have access to Canuck Place’s services, at no cost to them.

Canuck Place was the first free-standing hospice for children in North America and its model of care has been used for many hospices recently established… …The goal of this specialized care, known as pediatric palliative care, is to enhance the comfort and quality of life for both the child and their family. [Canuck Place – About]

More information about the event is available on the Adventure Challenge or Canuck Place website.

You may have caught Andrew Morrison’s Waiter Blog in the Westender or even seen his name while paging through an issue of EAT or Vancouver Magazine. Now Morrison’s latest creation, Urban Diner, has become a staple of restaurant listings and reviews in this city.

As such, they will be presenting the first ever Urban Diner Restaurant Industry Awards this coming Monday at Nu Restaurant. The voting has been taking place since January in the UD forum in the following categories: The “News”, The “Regional”, The “Industry”, The “Media” (including Best Food Blog, excluding UD of course), The “Dining”, and The “Retail”.

If you’re not already an UD forum member it’s too late to join up and cast your vote as the cutoff was Feb. 11th. However if you’re an existing member you have until midnight tonight to stuff those ballot boxes.

With some awards being presented by famed local chefs like John Bishop [of Bishop’s], and Vikram Vij [of Vij’s], it seems like Monday should be quite an entertaining evening (especially now that I’ve been added to the guest list).

Update: Feb 18, 2008: The winners have now been announced. Congrats to the So.Cial Custom Butcher Shop & Deli as the “Best Bargain”.