A golden Olympic moment

The cauldron on Coal Harbor.

The Olympic rings on the water. Every day that Canada wins a gold medal, the rings change from blue to gold. At midnight, they revert to blue. Click on the bottom pic to see it bigger.

Vancouver Olympics, day 3

It's an amazing and overwhelming energy in the city. Frenzy. Pride. Joy. Everyone knows the whole thing ends tomorrow with the rematch between the US and Canada mens hockey teams. After that, closing ceremonies.

Today we hit some "cultural" events. The CocaCola tent, Samsung pavillion, and Quebec house. Tonight is dinner with friends, then the last fireworks over Fakse Creek. From what I hear, they have some spare cans if fireworks and they firing them all tonight. Nothing held back!

I've lost my voice. Tomorrow will be off the hook.

Vancouver Olympic pics, day 2

This pace is exhausting. So much to shop for. A nail-biter of a hockey game. The fever is getting to me!

Vancouver pics, day 01

You have received new photos from Jim Kehl.

-- Email sent with the "Multi-Photo Email" iPhone application --

Olympic Fever hits home

I've got my team outfit on, these white pants are horrible to keep clean in the rain and snow!
(psssstttt, that's me on the left!)

You've probably noticed I've been not here lately. I've been watching TV. SPORTS on TV to be more specific. I'm getting an average of 12 hours of Olympic coverage recorded to my DVR every single day. NBC has cleverly mixed the things I want to see with things I don't want to see. Even to fast forward through every single hour of recorded events would take an hour or more just to get through 12 hours of broadcast coverage.

But I manage. I just don't have time for anything else, like writing a blog, reading a blog, cooking a meal, or doing any work.

Mikka represents, G-Oh Canada!

I've even gone so far as to go out in public and watch a sporting event in a bar. Canada vs. USA Men's hockey, at a British pub in Santa Monica. Hunkered down with 30+ rabid Canadian sports fans. I had the fish & chips, they were delicious.

Lyle and I have watched as the world turns the focus on Vancouver and I have been very sad that I am not there taking part in all the festivities. I feel a proprietary ownership over Vancouver. I grew up an hour south of Vancouver, just inside the American side of the border. I spent the summer of 1986 at the Vancouver Expo and we lived there for year in the middle of our California lives. Every time they show a street, a landmark, an aerial shot from the Goodyear Blimp, I go, "I should be there! I know that street! I used to have coffee there!" and I get crazy in my head.

My dad has a phrase, "Everybody complains about the weather, but no one ever does anything about it." So I'm doing it. I'm changing the weather.

By the time you are reading this, I WILL BE IN VANCOUVER.

I found a cheap flight. I bought my ticket. I've got a place to stay. And I've got friends willing to sell me their tickets to the CLOSING CEREMONIES. Look for me on the television, I'll be in row, "Holycrapthatsclosetothecieling, Section J, seatZZZ"!!!

All potatoes, no meat

So I've got nothing going on here. I mean, I always have 10,000 things going on, but nothing on a grand scale worthy of blah-blah-blogging about.

The weather is nice. It's been almost 80 for a few days. The forecast is for rain to come again on the weekend.

Work is busy. Either because I've left a bunch of stuff to pile up, or because other people waited and dumped it all on me at the last minute. Either way, its nice to have work to do.

The house is out of control and needs that "clean slate" clean post Christmas re-do. You know, the one where all the tchotchkes move to the dining room table and get re-placed about the house, or into storage while other things come out of storage.

I need to fold my sweaters.

The Winter Olympics in Vancouver are taking over my life. I've got almost 9 hours of coverage to fast forward through every night to find the nuggets I want to watch. I am continually two days behind on all events.

So you can see I am just as dull as my neighbors without a blog and still, I got nothing to write about over here.

Ham bones are the best!

Cooper and Lola agree, "Ham bones are the best!". Possibley the best ten minutes of their weekend!

(please note the completely different backgrounds of the photos; two dogs, 20 feet apart, with me in between.)

OLYMPIC FEVER!

Though we had planned on being in Vancouver for these Winter Olympics with our friends Robb & Lewis, alas, we are not. As gracious and giving friends, they have launched a limited blog to take us all along for the ride of a lifetime. I am going out on a limb and recommending Robb & Lewis In The Olympics!

As Robb emailed me last night:

I figure you'll be hearing so much about Vancouver that you'll be thinking of us constantly! Or maybe you forgot altogether that the Olympics are in Vancouver starting in a few days... So in case you want to follow us through the Olympics I've created a blog (I think I can manage a two week blog). Now you can get the real on the ground story. And please, I won't be offended if this is the last time you look at it - it may be the last time we update it!

So, get it while it's hot!

Also, another friend of mine who regularly blogs, will be attending the Olympics and sharing her experiences, check out Haute Today. She should be arriving in Vancouver in the next day or two.

Via my friend Derek Morrison (another Vancouver Local), come these photos (I stole off his facebook page)

Inside BC Place where the opening ceremonies will soon begin.

Derek and a friend who ran part of the torch relay. He tells me that for $400, you get to keep the torch after. It's like going to A&W and paying extra to keep the mug, only better.

As for my Olympic viewing plans, I will sitting in front of my TiVo watching every night suffering through the NBC coverage with far too much talking, and far too many "human interest" stories interrupting the coverage. What other choice do I have? Oh, and I ill be rooting for my favorite figure skater, Johnny Weir.

Weekend in the desert, part 2

My favorite literal store name: HUH? The help you hear center.

Cocktails and dinner with borrowed aunts and uncles.

The outlet mall. The outlet mall. The outlet mall. Uh, yeah, I got a pair of shoes.

A weekend in the desert, pt 1

Five days in Palm Springs apparently requires more stuff than a two week cruise. Dog bag, ice chest, 2 bags for clothes (that's one for each of us), toiletries, food to eat, pillows and on and on....

The Palmelo is like a giant lemon. Actually, the fruit inside is the same size, it seems to be all a big rind.

The cinnamon rolls at Koffi in Palm Springs are OUT OF THIS WORLD! I can't live here, I'd eat one every day!

Fun with puppies and phones

I got an application for my phone that mimics the look of an old photobooth. Then I went looking for test victims, I mean subjects.