Photo #275

It's New Year's Eve!!! Party responsibly...

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Photo #274

I got a pair of Chucks this week - part of the Boxing Week shopping spree my wife and I went on. I've always liked the cool, nostalgic look of All Stars, but I don't recall ever owning a pair before now. Maybe when I was a kid but, really, who can remember every pair of shoes in one's lifetime? I went with the low cut oxfords instead of the hi-tops.

I haven't had too many great photo opportunities lately, so in times like this everything becomes blog worthy.

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Photo #273

This little box set I got for the Holiday made for some excellent house cleaning music this afternoon...

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Photo #272

It's always cool to watch a moment of history on live TV. In this case my favorite hockey team the Vancouver Canucks made a little history tonight by finally defeating the visiting Philadelphia Flyers on home ice for the first time since 1989! That's right, for the last 21 years every time the Flyers played in Vancouver they've beat the Canucks. But that finally came to an end tonight. And what a victory! The Canucks ended the evening 6-2 over the Flyers.
Nicely done, boys...

A cousin-in-law of mine was actually at this game tonight, somewhere just above where the TSN name is shown at the top of the screen. Awesome seats!

Players celebrating a well earned victory. Sorry about the flash blob on the screen. I only had a second to get this shot.

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Photo #271

Megan and I didn't do a traditional gift exchange for Christmas this year, though there were stocking-stuffers marked "From Santa" to open on Dec 25th. Instead we both agreed to take each other shopping this week and take advantage of Boxing Day bargains. I'd say we did pretty well when it came to finding some new clothes. That's my pile on the left, and hers on the right. You can tell because hers is bigger...

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Photo # 270

Boxing Day shoppers weren't the only crowds we encountered today...

Megan and I went for a little walk after shopping today to get away from people. We brought a few pieces of dried bread to feed the ducks. At first there were only 3 ducks, but that quickly changed! These ducks are pretty used to handouts from people, so they get close enough to touch. One even walked over my foot! I have a 30 second video of this little encounter, during which you can hear an excited Megan say "I touched one!". Maybe I'll post it on Facebook.

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Photo #269

The view from my window on Christmas morning...

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Photo #268

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through my house, the only thing that was stirring was Santa rocking out....

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Photo #267

There are too many cards to fit on our mantle, so I hung the majority of them up above the balcony door...

It feels so nice to have such a great family and so many wonderful friends!

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Photo #266

A handmade decoration from one of Megan's coworkers. I actually like it. The person did a good job!

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Photo #265

I got an early Christmas gift for myself and Megan today...

The box is really shiny, so it was tough to get a good photo without a glare or too much of my own reflection. You can sort of see me in Stewie Vader's helmet.

I can't wait until Megan gets home from work so we can watch all 3 parts back-to-back-to-back. The 3rd part, "It's A Trap!", was just released today so we haven't seen it yet! I really like that the producers packaged the trilogy like this. We held off on buying the first 2 chapters individually because we had a feeling they'd do this, just like the original Star Wars Trilogy (parts IV to VI).

Side note: After today's post I have 100 left to go! I guess the Force is strong in this one!

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Photo #264

Mossy boulders somewhere around Swan Lake...

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Photo #263

One finished gingerbread house...

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Photo #262

I saw my first 3D movie lst night...

The movie was good! I don't have anything bad to say about it! I thought the 3D effects were cool, but I'm not sure I'd want to see every movie in 3D.

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Photo #261

I'd say The Zone's Toy Drive this morning was a success. Their goal was to fill that Chevy Cruze and, well, as you can see...

I actually had to step back pretty far to get the whole pile in frame! Way to go Victoria! There are going to be a lot of happy kids on Christmas morning! The teddy bears I donated (see yesterday's post) are somewhere up on the roof of the car with the other bears.

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Photo # 260

Teddy Bears for kids...

Tomorrow morning (Friday Dec. 17) local radio station The Zone is hosting a big toy drive for underprivileged children here in Victoria. My wife and I have decided that we want to participate, so I went to a toy store this afternoon and found these four cute and cuddly bears. When I was young there were a few Christmases that would not have happened without the charitable donations of strangers, so I know what a difference just one toy could make for a child in a struggling family. I've decided to make it a holiday tradition from this year onward to try to pay that generosity forward by donating to toy drives like this one whenever I can.

I went with teddy bears because I know just how quickly a stuffed animal can become a best friend to a kid, a friend who will always be there to play with and talk to and share adventures with (think Calvin & Hobbes). They got a huge "Awwwww! They're adorable!" from my wife when she first saw them, and if whoever gets them has the same reaction then that's all I need this holiday.

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Photo #259

An ornament hanging in my home. I like how the flash darkened everything else in the background.

It's actually an inexpensive plastic ornament that came with some gifts Megan received at work, but I kind of liked the way the glitter was picking up the light from the living room. I also couldn't think of anything better to take a picture of today.

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Photo #258

We've had so much rain lately that the little patch of lawn below my balcony is flooded! It was POURING when I took this photo earlier this afternoon. Look close and you can see the streaking rain drops...

I'm sure glad I don't live on the ground floor!

Brightness and contrast were enhanced before posting.

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Photo #257

Megan and I were inspired to make a gingerbread house this year, something we haven't done in years. This should be fun! And, no, we're not going to decorate it like the picture on the box. We'll customize it...

I hate how they spelled quick as "kwik". As if society isn't dumb enough.

I'll be sure to post a photo of the finished product later this week.

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Photo #256

More small parts. The primed propeller shafts get their first coat of Hull Red (which looks orange in this photo, but trust me it's a nice rusty red). Look close and you can also see the edges of the bronze propellers (or screws) at the top edge of the photo...

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Photo #255

Another thing I did during yesterday's break in the rain was take a brisk walk around Swan Lake, which is just down the road from my home. The water was as smooth as glass and I really like how my pictures turned out like paintings. This one is my favorite and I didn't do any editing...

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Photo #254

It finally stopped raining long enough today for me to put up our Christmas lights along the balcony rail...

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Photo #253

Mmmmm, Hedgehogs....

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Photo #252

Outbound cards on my kitchen table this morning...

I'm hoping they reach their destinations on time.

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Photo #251

December 7, 1941. "A date which will live in infamy..."

I took this photo when I visited the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in November, 2008 and it has appeared on my Facebook page. I don't know the kids in the photo.

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Photo # 250

This isn't something I see every day, a ship full of boats...

I look at this big ship and I think of one of those trucks that deliver cars to the dealerships. I like the boat perched right there on that platform near the forward crane. I'll take that one.

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Photo #249

Megan made an awesome vegetable spice soup today. Here it is early in the cooking stage as it was just coming to a boil. If only you could smell this...

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Photo #248

We received our first holiday card of the season earlier this week...

We'll be sending out our cards soon.

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Photo #247

I was playing my guitar this afternoon and my little roadie Merlin was on hand to make sure my pedal board was running smoothly...

I probably should have gotten the microphone line out of the way.

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Photo #246

Part D-43 (Docking bridge) painted and ready for installation...

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Photo #245

For lack of a better idea today, here's a photo of the Draceana plant my mother in law gave us a few weeks ago (clay pot and all!). I like it...

So far the plant seems pretty happy in it's new home and is doing great. The little plastic grids are over the soil to keep the cat from digging in it.

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Photo #244

The flagship of Canada's Pacific Fleet, HMCS Algonquin (DDG 283) performing a rescue drill. She was actually pretty far out off the shore this morning, and the zoom on my camera wasn't getting a good enough look, so I thought to try pointing the lens through the eyepiece of my binoculars and this is what I got...

I like this shot because it's similar to what you'd see looking through the periscope of a submarine. "Destroyer on the horizon!"
Brightness and contrast were adjusted before posting.

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Photo #243

By our very last day on Oahu most of us had had our fill of all the touristy destinations, and the crowds, so we decided to pile into our rented SUV and get out of the city to really see the beauty of the island. Most of the photos from that day have already appeared on my facebook page, but here's a scenic shot I took as we were driving down the Kalanianaole Highway...

Photo taken Nov. 29, 2008

After this, we headed to the airport to catch a late night flight back home to Canada. I'd go back to Hawaii in a heartbeat. I hope you all enjoyed my trip down memory lane.

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Photo #242

If you visit Hawaii, one of the things you must do is go to a Luau. We did that on our 6th night...

Photo taken by me Nov. 28, 2008.

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Photo #241

You can't visit a tropical destination without seeing some of the colourful sea life. Megan and I had our 5th day in Honolulu all to ourselves, so we decided to visit the local aquarium...

We found Nemo!

All photos taken by me Nov. 27, 2008.

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Photo # 240

Twisted trees and eroded cliffs. Hanauma Bay, Hawaii. This is where we spent our 4th day...

Photo taken by me on Nov. 26, 2008.

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Photo #239

During our 2008 trip to Hawaii we visited Pearl Harbor, and while I could post a picture of the Battleship Missouri or the USS Arizona Memorial, I've decided to share a couple of photos of a friend we made while having lunch...

It's a zebra dove, and yes he has a deformed foot, but he's adapted and was very social.

Or perhaps he just wanted our Doritos...

Photos taken by me on Nov. 25, 2008.

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Photo #238

Two years ago today I married my best friend and high school sweetheart on this beach near the Northwestern tip of Oahu. It was the happiest day of my life so far...

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Photo #237

My friends, I'm going to do something a little different here this week. For the rest of this week I've decided to post some previously unpublished photos from my trip to Hawaii 2 years ago.

There are two reasons I'm doing this: The first is to mark the second anniversary of the day I married my best friend Megan (Nov. 24, 2008); and the second is because I'm a little tired of the snow and ice we've been getting here in Victoria this week, so I like to look back at these photos and dream of warmer places.

Again, these photos were never posted anywhere before now, not even on facebook, so this will be a nice treat.

We'll start with the view from our 17th floor hotel room on our first day there, Nov. 23, 2008...

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Photo #236

There is one thing I like about snow, and that's photographing it...

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Photo #235

I spotted this little bandit around 1:00 this morning on my way home from a friend's house...

I know it's not the best photo, but the little guy and his buddies were moving pretty quickly. This was the best shot I could get.

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Photo #234

Well, rest of Canada, Victoria, BC gets snow and ice too...

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Photo #233

Too much text messaging...

This photo was not staged. Megan and I were watching TV last night and Merlin jumped up onto the coffee table and just flopped down by my phone. Our camera just happened to be within arm's reach. :)

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Photo #232

There are a lot of really small pieces to paint on the model I'm building! Fortunately I have a parts holder with a built in magnifying glass...

*Please note: The paint job is still in the early stages and will be touched up.

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