Archive for category The Weekend Report
Sad state of health care
Posted by barista in Interweeb!, The Weekend Report on 08/30/2009
And “they” say that Canadian Healthcare is something the US should aspire to…
Well, Jeremy has a story to share about it. I acknowledge it.
Can someone please fix Canadian Health Care please ? Could we have perhaps a federal standard on health care ? Oh yeah, right, Provincial Purview. Frak.
I just hope we deal with the Swine Flu better this fall …
The Weekend Report – May 16-18
Posted by barista in Bike, The Weekend Report, WoWcrack on 05/19/2009
May 24 Edition!
Unless you are from English speaking Canada, that exclamation makes no sense. The local slang for Victoria Day is actually double-entendre, a “Two-Four” referring to a 24 case beer and the fact that in 1834, parliament of the Province of Canada to officially recognize 24 May as the Queen’s birthday.
Naturally, this weekend shed it’s Royalist naming in Quebec, morphing into “National Patriots’ Day” from Fête de Dollard, as in Adam Dollard des Ormeaux.
Long weekend spent in T.O. :
Resting, recuperating, putting frakin’ servers into Production. Played some WoWcrack, enjoyed some silly and mindless fun. Went to see Trek again, in IMAX this time. Slept.
Then on holiday Monday, I pushed my bike’s pedals for 4 1/2 hours. This morning, my legs were like steel girders. Oh well, it doesn’t start easy.
The plan is to bike to work tomorrow…
The Weekend Report – May 9-10
Posted by barista in The Weekend Report on 05/11/2009
Star Trek was very entertaining. It neatly sidesteps the original series’ baggage in storyline and acting, by simply declaring itself as an “alternate reality”. That shouldn’t be a spoiler …
The city was covered by one nasty and destructive storm. Trees lost limbs, sky tuned black as ink and people stayed indoors. Perfect excuse to sleep!
The Weekend Report – May 1-3
Posted by barista in The Weekend Report on 05/04/2009
Wonderful time in Montreal! Had a nice “Chinese” Dim-Sum breakfast with friends, then roamed the city; in the evening had spent time with friends and some Suchi for dinner.
Food & Friends.
The Weekend Report – Apr 25-26
Posted by barista in BoobTube, The Weekend Report on 04/27/2009
What is there to report, besides being no longer sleep deprived ? Ah yes, the weekend … time to bike ? No, afraid not.
Saturday was a right off, sleep and attendant drowsiness keeping me indoors. Used the opportunity to catch-up on my PVRs contents, watching episodes of The Mentalist, Doll House and finally taking the time to see the season finale of Burn Notice. These shows all remind me a bit of the mood of Moonlighting, Remington Steele and such. Not very serious. Almost pure “brain candy”.
Sunday I went condo hunting. Yes, it’s time to begin the big game hunt: find a nice place to live.
I heard of an open-house in “Davisville”, and so began there. I knew a little the area due to my bike hunt, a nearby store being a Trek dealer. I had spotted a non-chain coffee shop with nice pastries and croissant …
315K$ buys you just shy of 650 square feet, underground parking spot, all appliances including in-suite washer/dryer. The layout was nice, but space was obviously at a super premium. The building, built in 2007, is a double tower with common amenities, security guard, doorman, sauna, pool. Basically, things I have never needed but wouldn’t scoff at. I must see more places to form a more educated opinion.
Bits that are nice in the vicinity: Kung Fu school, veterinarian, and parks.
The Weekend Report – Apr 18-19
Posted by barista in Beer, The Weekend Report on 04/20/2009
Ah the weekend!
Got up early and purchased my bike, ending weeks of speculation and research. I was taking possession Monday night, so I decided to meander down King street. To my surprise, the Bier Markt has a location on the corner of King and Portland.
The terrace was open and empty, the sun playing hide-and-go-seek with clouds. I was hungry, but what really got me to walk up and as for a table ? Bolleke !
Antwerp is home to Brouwerij De Koninck, makers of the mothers-milk-goodness amber ale simply called Bolleke by locals. The nickname comes from the name of the “bowl shaped” drinking glass, which is code to mean “breast shaped”. Indeed!
I found myself explaining this information to the staff, who mistook me for a photographer?! I ordered the Markt burger with “frites” and the amber ale of goodness. Other folks began to stop and read the posted menu and shortly I was no longer the only patron on the terrace. I really didn’t notice that much, the food was just to my taste and I felt pretty good. My waitress and I chatted about the amount of appreciation this ale gets, and she provided a sampler of another for my opinion. The other bier left so little in positive impression, I have even failed to note it’s name.
After this nice meal, I proceeded to walk home, familiarizing myself with the path I would take if biking. A prudent scouting maneuver, given the Monday deluge. But that was the future.
Along the way I spotted the most obvious reason all squirrels are hyper… coffee!
The Weekend Report – Apr 10-12
Posted by barista in Bike, Me myself and I, The Weekend Report, Vroom vroom on 04/13/2009
Long Easter weekend in Montreal!
It was a last minute bookings to Montreal by train, as I completely forgot about the statutory holiday. Figures, I’m so in tune with such things (not!). Because it was last minute, I had to leave with an earlier train and return with a later one. Overall, the negative aspect is that these trains stop more, but the positive one is that these older trains aren’t the frozen commuter-not-for-long-distance-with-broken-washrooms crap the “Express” is these days.
It was cool weather, but pleasant too. Dad and I spent much time looking at various things that keep our brains diverted these days: cars & bikes. Who knew 
We spent time “cooking” easter standards, some time watching “Good Eats” season 1, and hunting via the Internet for “just-the-right-spot” of land we could call “The Weekend Retreat” in Ontario. It’s not easy pickings and distance matters a lot. Thankfully, we aren’t in a hurry to change. ‘cept I could really use a plan/place by Nov 1st here … hmm …
On the car front, we visited a dealer that had a really well priced Toyota FJ, something on Dad’s “A-list” for driving/towing. I keep reminding him he doesn’t actually want a manual transmission anymore, or so he claimed for the last 10 years, but that doesn’t stop him making “big eyes” toward the Tonka Toy in question. I’m all for the manual tranny, but it wouldn’t be my car, though if it were diesel, I’d lobby to buy it immediately. Rumors of this models’ cancellation by Toyota are rampant, though unsubstantiated. If Toyota had sense enough to bring it Diesel, we most likely even pony up to buy it new.
On the bike front, I toured some shops with dad to get his opinion. We agreed that I’m a) picky and b) almost as well served by a single speed bike as anything else. So instead of reducing the list … I just added “single speed” models to it. Denier’s going to go all “foam-at-the-mouth” rabid on me for not choosing already. LOL
I had the pleasure to briefly road-test our “Garage Sale Peugeot”, a mint 1983 Canadian made U09 SuperSport. This thing is genuinely beautiful with gobs of “retro style”. Maybe I’ll bring it here as my steed, until the “ultimate city bike” shows up. It would need a good tune-up, especially the front brakes and the 27″ tyre may not hold up to abuse anymore. Thinking out loud, it would also need a set of fenders and a rear rack, so it’s not “ready to commute” just yet. Included below is an “identical” Peugeot and link to some details about these bikes.
Fine weekend also included a Saturday brunch crew get-together, a late Saturday coffee and pastry session with Typo Lou and Ricki. All good!
Now I just lack a little sleep, the later train put my arrival to my door at midnight. /yawn
The Weekend Report – Apr 4-5
Posted by barista in Bike, BoobTube, The Weekend Report, WoWcrack on 04/06/2009
Lazy Saturday, slept in. Then slept some more.
The plan was originally to devote the majority of the weekend to push through the level 79-80 gap and be done with levellin’, but mood and sleepiness contributed to instead focus on watching all the PVRed episodes of “Dollhouse” instead. The weekend yielded only a 33% towards 80 … I guess WoWcrack isn’t as addictive as some thought.
Speaking of Dollhouse, seeing 8 episodes in quick succession, yielded a rather positive view of the whole. I like it when a series moves forward more then a single/simple storyline, and so far, the setup is adequate for more challenging future episodes. We’ll see.
Trek Soho in Rainy Gray
Specialized Vienna Deluxe 3
Sunday morning I spent on the road, breakfast at Ikea (2$!) and then bike shops. I was looking to see the Specialized Vienna Deluxe 3 and the Trek Soho. No luck on either. Seems to me like the 2009 models aren’t in stores …
The Trek Soho is the bike that started the whole “get a new bike for the city.” It’s belt driven, hub geared, hub braked, fully sealed and painted to be “anti-bling”.
The Specialized Vienna Deluxe 3 on the other hand reminds me of a modern interpretation of a Dutch city bike. Both handle the same problem form a different angle. And neither is in shops …
The walking and driving around town, unhurried, got me to enjoy the sights and sounds of a sunny day. Saw some really cozy neighborhoods, houses for sale, but a quick check on the prices … and yeah, 1 million $+
The Weekend Report – Mar 27-28
Posted by barista in The Weekend Report on 03/30/2009
Even though I was under the weather, small fever and some coughing, I had a planned visit in Montreal with my father. I took the opportunity to bring along his Mac Mini and setup the router for remote support. I was also able to hookup with Typo Lou and Ricky, fixing up her router for remote support of her Mac Mini. The plan was to head to the Old Dublin Pub afterward with them and my dad. Upon arrival, we discovered the Fire Alarm shrieking madly and the barmaid informed us “Sorry, I cannot take more patrons while the alarm is going”. WTH?!
We headed to Les Trois Brasseurs on St Kat, enjoyed a good meal and plenty of chatting. Afterward, on our way to the car, we noticed that the ‘Dub was closed for the evening. That’s plenty sad, given that it was a Hockey Night in Montreal.
The Weekend Report – Mar 21-22
Posted by barista in The Weekend Report on 03/23/2009
Cats. Lots of cats.
I drove to Ottawa for a visit with my friends and I was surrounded by cats wherever I went. I didn’t remember to carry with me the SLR to each “den of evil cats” and take pictures. But I do have some to post soon.
Friends. Lots of friends. Lots of food.
A significant change in eating habits takes hold whenever my friends visit or I visit them. We simply eat way too much. I spent the better part of the weekend fighting off the effects of food coma.
The item that held the most attention this weekend was my Sony PRS-505 e-book reader. Everyone who came into contact with it had eyes that sparkled in curiosity and desire. Nice to see that books hold such a strong attraction. For me, the reader is a constant travel companion, making subway and train rides especially pleasant.
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