Elite Restaurant

If you are in Penticton, head downtown to check out Elite.  If I lived there, I'd go all the time.

Battle of the Year - Another reason to love Japan

I am still in awe

I am still recovering from Election42/Election2015...I can't say it was my dream come true, but it's way better than I imagined.  I am immensely relieved - there is no other word for it.

I am also proud that voter turnout reached 68%; 17 million people voted, and it made a huge difference.  Thanks, Canada.  Life on theBside is looking brighter.

Conversations Curly-Haired People Have

D:  Did you get a haircut?

Me:  No, it’s just wet.

D:  So as it dries it gains volume?

Me:  You could say that…, or you could just say it gets messier.

D:  Hmmm.

Election Reminders to My Dear Fellow Canadians

My dear fellow Canadians,

One of the most important elections in our history is on Monday.  Please remember the following things...

• This is our chance to change the direction of our country and get rid of Stephen Harper.
• If you are not registered, you can still vote.  You can register and vote at the polls.
• You don't need a voting card!!
• You do need ID that proves your address.  This could be one thing (like a driver's licence) or two things like a credit card AND a bank statement or prescription.  Elections Canada will help you with that at their website or by calling 1.800.463.6868.
• You cannot vote wherever you want.  Go to elections.ca to find your polling place.  This is one of the hardest parts of our electoral system.
• If the system does not give you your polling place, it's not a conspiracy.  It means that the database just didn't match your postal code properly (very common when new buildings are going up all the time in big cities and new postal codes are being created as result).
• If the system does not give you your polling place, call Elections Canada at 1.800.463.6868. They will help you figure out where to vote.
• The election is more important than the Blue Jays game.  Yes, it really is.

Finally, please remember that Elections Canada workers are bound by the Elections Act (passed by the Harper government).  They have no interest in making it harder for you to vote (and most are likely quite passionate in wanting you to vote), but they are limited by the law. 

If you are wondering about that, just remember that Elections Canada is no longer allowed to promote voting.  

Is My Spam Folder Telling Me That I'm Getting Old?

Like most people, I get spam emails.  Like most people, I have a vague idea how spam works. Someone, somewhere sold my email address to some spam service and they then passed it on to countless others who then send me permutations of the same emails.  Over the years, there have been some common themes in the spam receive.  These include:

• Porn - I'm not sure why this happens.  Neither of us watches porn or visits porn sites.  Really.  I've seen it before, don't get me wrong, but I'm not a viewer.  I have some personal objections to it and also find it quite boring.  It's something like watching Gilligan's Island; it's essentially the same episode each time.  I can imagine Dante today working porn into one of his circles of hell. 
• Gambling - Again, I'm not sure why this one happens either as neither of us gambles.  I've been to some big casinos and gambling cities, but the most I have done is risked $10 worth of quarters on the slot machines.  And that was after I turned 35 and had a real career.
• Scams - These seem to have died down a bit, but I still get them occasionally.  Someone somewhere promises to share huge piles of money with me if I will just help them do something or other.  If I am just greedy enough, I can get suckered. 
• Erectile dysfunction - This is a popular one.  I believe that one started just after Viagra hit the market.  Some of these have great subject lines.  'Hard wood' always makes me laugh.
• Canadian pharmacies - Ironically I still get these even though I now live in Canada.  Apparently Canadian pharmacies have all kinds of drugs to sell super cheap.  

But recently I started getting a new type of spam, and it made me worry.  Now, I seem to be getting all these messages about 20/20 vision and ditching my glasses forever.  To be honest, I find it kind of offensive.  Is my spam folder telling me that I am somehow to old for all those vices I don't indulge in?  

Since, I'm not buying Viagra, does that mean I'm too old to get it up while not watching porn?  

Am I so worried about my fixed income retirement that I wouldn't blow it all on a crazy gambling site?

Do I not want to buy prescription grade pharmaceuticals to abuse because I just want to go to bed early?

Do they think I'm so old and blind that I can't read the offers of easy riches from Nigeria?

What is this world coming to?  

The Cut by Shane Koyczan - Another thing to show your undecided friends

It's our future.

Advantages to Life on theBside

We made some radical changes to our lives this year, returning to Canada and beginning to focus on creative professional projects that we have always wanted to pursue.  We have not had as much time as we originally imagined for the creative projects (because we voluntarily took on some interesting and exciting new commitments for a short term project), but we have been making steady headway nonetheless.

The other benefits to this switch to theBside (the term we have applied to this new phase of our lives) have been unbelievable.  Seriously...I sometimes have difficulty believing they are real.  Whether it's the views on our hikes, or the creative events that we have been able to participate in, our lives are radically different.

And healthier.  Upon arriving here in Vancouver, I was a bit out of shape after a summer of travelling and another month before that of getting ready to depart Bangkok.  I started a running program that culminated in yesterday's 5K of 19:40, the best I have run in a very long time.  The time I have, the food I cook, the outdoor exploration...they have all helped make this transition a turning point, a path in a new and exciting direction.

On the way to Mount Hollyburn