At the gym this morning – yes I’ve started going to the gym – I had my ipod on random and came across a song I haven’t heard in a very long time. It was by a band called Less Than Jake that I made a website for in 1996. It grew pretty quickly and included a fantastic scrolling marquee, concert pics, bio, discography and of course, and insanely long url. It was hosted by ‘Rogers@Home’ and later edited with Netscape Communicator.
This was around the time where you could right click and “save as” mp3s off of private geocities-style websites. Before Limewire, Napster, even predating Audiogalaxy (where I also hosted an mp3 ftp site with a bitchin ascii character welcoming you when upon login). The first song I ever grabbed from a website was “Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts” by Less Than Jake and listening to it always makes me envision the little equalizer knobs bouncing away on my Winamp.
At work today someone mentioned that they still had the actual file of the first mp3 they ever downloaded. Since I was living with my parents when I was 16 and using a Windows machine you can imagine that my files are long gone. However, I still have an “archive mp3” CD that I burnt and often grab songs off of for nostalgia’s sake. Feel free to share your first mp3 story, in the meantime I have some NOFX, Gob, and Face to Face to go rock out to.
Update: I should mention that LTJ is still around and their latest studio album “In With the Out Crowd” was released last May.
We went for a walk this evening and ended up in English Bay. With our bellies running on empty and not wanting to wait in line for a spot on the Milestone’s patio to enjoy some unimpressive spinach dip, we hopped into the Denman Street Free House. Aside from them not having the wine that was listed in the menu and the bill which was a bottle of wine over our total, it was pretty enjoyable. The establishment itself is in a narrow space, which sent me spinning into a Boston Flashback. It’s surprising that I haven’t blogged more about my East Coast experience but I suppose now’s as good a time as any to start.
When I moved to Boston I was living at an extended stay executive hotel, which was basically fancy talk for a motel room with a mini kitchenette with broken burners about 30 minutes out of town in Waltham. Since I was given a living allowance for the first few months, finding a place to rent was a top priority since all costs would be footed by the company.
So there I was, the fall of 2002, hitting Craigslist Boston to find someone to live with. The person I ended up meeting and becoming great friends with was Jason – an Omaha boy who had just finished up at Boston University and was working downtown with all the other “blue shirt + khaki” Boston grads. There in that 2 family home in Watertown, MA on Aberdeen Avenue I had a spacious room, hardwood floors, and instant friendship with my new roommate. One of the best things about Jason was Ia, his adorably sweet girlfriend who was originally from Arkansas. It was thanks to them that I got to explore most of the city, take trips to the beach, and eat at interesting places that I wouldn’t have otherwise discovered.
It soon became “our thing” to meet up for bowling nights. Now this isn’t something that’s caught on in Vancouver, and I’m not sure it will – but the idea of a pool hall/pub/music lounge/bowling alley is amazingly fun, and soon Jason, Ia and I would spend entire afternoons (and evenings) at Kings.
If it wasn’t a Sunday night roommate bowling challenge, then I would meet Ia after work at Bukowski’s in Back Bay – the bar that originally got me on this tangent in relation to the Denman Street Free House. It was located near King’s and was a slender building with wicked beer (over 120 int’l brews), hot dog combos and dollar burgers on the menu – not to mention the veritable shrine to the man himself on the wall. Unlike the Free House this evening, it was definitely a dive bar, but a fantastic one at that. We’d meet make the trip into the downtown core to have said hotdogs, meetup, and get our bowling faces on.
At King’s we’d watch Red Sox games on big screens that were hanging in between the lanes, and drink Sam Adams’ seasonal brew. Ia and I would kick Jason’s butt (contrary to any rumours he’s spread) and oggle the hipster boy in the pompadour that worked behind the counter.
For a post-bowl meal within the same vicinity, we once headed to the Summer Shack. I believe I still have a book of matches from the place because I wanted something to remember it by as when I asked the waiter what the difference was between the Atlantic salmon and the PEI salmon on the menu, he proceeded to tell me that Prince Edward Island was on the West Coast of Canada, hence the difference. I giggled and ordered something completely different.
To this day I still covet a girl’s pink and black King’s bowling shirt, they were always ridiculously overpriced but now that I think about it, it would totally be worth it since it’s taken me 4 years to conjure up these memories and put them in a post.
After work today I met up with John and headed over to 1 Alexander to join in the SuperHappyDevHouse hijinx. Most were there to brainstorm and come up with fun, neat little ways to geek, hack and play with the weebernet but some are here simply to eat, drink, and be geeky – ourselves included.
Introductions were made and topics were rattled off, it’s a test-tube environment with creative juices flowing like the beer from the Keg. I’ve decided that I’m done for work for the day so the blogging shall begin. I’m taking camera phone pics of the event and they’re all posted on my Flickr tag: shdh. There’s also a live UStream that you can watch below. Check back here for updates and photos throughout the evening.
17:15
We have discovered that it takes 4 people to light a BBQ, and it will take 4 bratwursts an eon to cook, especially when you haven’t had lunch yet and you already have a beer in ‘ya.
17:23
Work is done for the day, focusing on the live blog. Most people are split up into groups, discussing very productive things, I however have been sent downstairs to get John’s sunglasses. Oh well, time to schmooze!
18:14 Boris‘ kielbasa is very tasty – and huge! I’ve been wandering around with Duane‘s camera for a little while, snapping pics and trying to handle it’s hugeness (that’s the camera lens, not the kielbasa). I’ve been getting some flack for not promoting John’s employment abilities so here’s a shout out – if you’re in need of a website, audio, radio, av, mac, drupal, kinda guy, hit up his site for more information and please contribute to making us a dual income household.
19:02 Dave has arrived! It’s the first time John and I have seen him since the “loss” of the season. We’re talking Ottawa/Buffalo and also looking ahead to next season. We’re also having some great chats with John Biehler and Richard Eriksson.
20:40
People are leaving and the crowds are thinning. Just spent some quality time chatting to Ivan and talking about more geekery. I think John and I will be leaving soon, we’re out of beer… that’s the tell-tale sign…
I was walking to work this morning, being very careful not to slip on the wet brick sidewalk when passing the man power washing the a dead bird into the gutter, and something completely random popped into my head; “Stella”.
When I was young, little girls would gather in the school yard and play clapping games. You’ve got your “May Sue”, “Double Double” and “McDonalds” then if you were in French Immersion like I was maybe even a little “Meunier tu dors Ton moulin va trop vite Meunier, tu dors Ton moulin va trop fort.” But the best was always the multi-player “Stella”. It’s a little-known fact that in my room at the church about 10 minute before getting married I played a round of Stella with all the nieces and nephews, it was a great way to pass the time and keep Cameron occupied so that he didn’t lose the rings…again.
So being nimble in my stilettos I avoided the sidewalk sludge earlier today and got the tune to Stella stuck in my head. Of course since this is *me* we’re talking about, I came home and Googled the game. Honestly, I have never truly known what the words are, you just kind sound them out and giggle and clap, but what are the real lyrics?
Stella ella ola, clap clap clap
Say yes, chicko, chicko, chicko chicko chak
Say yes, chicko, chicko, allo, allo
Allo allo allo!
Say one, two, three, four, five
Thanks wiki! Although, even the wiki doesn’t really explain what the words actually mean and I can seriously find about 10 different variations online including that words “quack”, “chigo”, “tigo tigo tap” and “vallo vallo the toilet overflows”. I suppose I shouldn’t have expected much from an childhood entertainment medium that also makes you sit in a circle, clapping hands with others (and yourself) while singing about hanky panky, windmills, and boy germs.
Before moving downtown a few years ago I had only ever been to Gastown [wiki] a couple of times. Aside from being a usual destination for out-of-towners the majority of my experience included hitting dank ol’ pubs for nights of sticky shoes and Irish music. Times have changed and there’s more life in that corner of downtown, no longer is it solely for tourists and the downtrodden, although the combination of the two is a little perplexing. You have geeks and hipsters toting their Macs to the cafe, passing by trendy restaurants while BMW’s breeze through spewing the essence of Yaletown egos from their tailpipes.
The neighbourhood has character, I’ll give it that, and the history is beyond compare [Gastown.org][Warehouse Studio]. I’m looking forward to exploring more facets of Gastown – starting with the food.
One thing that I’m still searching for is a great lunchtime eatery since I’m now working a fancy new job on Water Street. I put the call out on Twitter the other day and Roland [RolandTanglao.com] [Twitter] was gracious enough to share some knowledge, which of course I have to pass on.
There’s Blake’s Coffee Parlour (221 Carrall St), Salty Tongue (213 Carrall St), and Fetch’s Hotdog Cart which can be found at the corner of Water St and Abbott. At Brioche (401 West Cordova) you can get pastries, coffee and soup and Roland recommends Jules Bistro (216 Abbott St) for great steak fries. There are even more choices when you take a short walk into Chinatown, such as Newtown bakery (John‘s personal favourite is the spicy steamed pork buns).
I have yet to try any of the above, except for Newtown, but I’m looking forward to all the possibilities. I’m used to being within close proximity of a food court and I’d be pretty happy not to see another for a very long time. Above all I’m pretty stoked about exploring a part of town that is less than familiar, be it for the food, the history, the people, or the blog fuel.
But the best was always the multi-player “Stella”. It’s a little-known fact that in my room at the church about 10 minute before getting married I played a round of Stella with all the nieces and nephews, it was a great way to pass the time and keep Cameron occupied so that he didn’t lose the rings…again.