Author: dave Page 24 of 75

Congratulations to my brother-in-law Darryl Condon, a principal in the architectural firm, Hughes Condon Marler, whose latest building project is the Vancouver Olympic Centre/Vancouver Paralympic Centre. The facility hosted its grand opening this evening in Vancouver.

I’m in Vancouver to attend Northern Voice 2009, so Heather (who is hosting a midwifery workshop at UBC this weekend) and I were able to go and visit the facility this evening, along with what appeared to be thousands of other folks. It will be the curling venue during the 2010 Olympics but more importantly, it’s going to be a tremendous addition to the local sports scene for years to come.

If you only listened to the news these days, you’d think that everyone in Vancouver was angry and upset about the Olympics. But judging from the huge public turnouts at these venues when they are officially unveiled, I’d say that the Olympic spirit if alive and well with the populace.

The Olympic Centre is an impressive structure, incorporating a hockey rink, a curling venue, a huge aquatic centre and plenty of other interesting places. Remarkably, despite its size, it fits into the other facilities in the area really well, which, as Darryl told me, was exactly what it was designed to do (obviously!) Darryl’s firm has designed some impressive facilities over the years (The Whistler Library is one of my favourites) but the scale of this facility is unlike anything I’ve seen before. It feels huge and intimate at the same time. I’m looking forward to seeing it when it’s completely finished, especially the aquatic area, which is still under construction.

I can’t find any recent pics of the event tonight, but the Vancouver Parks Board website has a good information page about the facility, including some videos and maps and a good write-up about the details of the facility.

But you know what? I’m admittedly biased, but I’m frustrated that I couldn’t find a mention of Darryl’s firm anywhere in the facility itself tonight. Even the architect’s model on display didn’t have the firm’s name on it, and I know they were the ones that built it.

It’s a funny thing about these public spaces. We admire the structures and marvel at the details but we seem more interested in noting the names of the politicians who approved the place, instead of the men and women who designed and built it.

That’s frustrating for me. And it’s got to be even more so for Darryl and his colleagues.

Congratulations Darryl. It’s a beautiful building and a true legacy for the city.

Quick now – without opening up Google – who played in Super Bowl XVIII? (That’s 18, in non-NFL-speak.)

Congratulations! If you said the Raiders and the Redskins, you win a prize. In fact, the Raiders (once of Oakland, then of Los Angeles and now back in Oakland) upset the favoured Washington Redskins 38-9. The game was not one to remember – but something happened at the half that was a real game changer.

The date was Sunday, January 22, 1984. And at halftime, a 1-minute commercial by acclaimed director Ridley Scott announced the launch the following Tuesday of Apple’s Macintosh computer. If you’ve never seen this iconic ad, based on George Orwell’s 1984, head on over to YouTube and take a look. Although the ad only ran once it ranks as one of the best-known commercials ever made – proof that there’s never really been anything like the Mac.

It’s hard to believe a quarter-century has passed since the Macintosh changed the way we think of computers. Our younger members (we do have some, right?) might not realize how much the world has changed. Sometimes I forget myself. When the Mac was released, I was still writing my newspaper stories on an old manual typewriter.

I didn’t get a Macintosh right away, but I wanted one. The wonders of the graphical interface, the mouse, the fonts, WYSIWYG – it was amazing. Even then, the Macs had the coolest bags. You could get one that let you slide the Mac and the keyboard in and sling it across your shoulder – not something I was likely to do with my IBM XT (complete with 10 MB hard drive!).

As the Mac’s 25th anniversary arrives, I wonder if we are seeing the end of an era, with news that Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, has taken a medical leave from the company he founded, left and resurrected. I hope that Jobs returns. But even if he doesn’t, we still have the Mac and the world is a bit better because of it.

(Note: This post was original written on Jan 24, 2009, for my column with the Victoria Mac Users’ Group (VMUG). I’m the president this year. I mean to post it here, but forgot about it. Better late than never, right?)

Yesterday, I listened and watched, like most of the world, it seemed, as Barack Obama was sworn in as US President.

Then today, I read about it in the morning papers and on blogs and websites everywhere. Then I found this site, The Big Picture, which pulls together the best news photographs of the event from all over the world.

It’s an amazing collection of photos and if you’re enjoying this moment in history as much as I am, you’ll want to take a look at some of these.

The site is worth bookmarking or adding to your RSS feed.

– AP Photo/Nathan Bilow

It’s Christmas day here in Victoria and it was a glorious, sunny day. I was glad to be safe and sound here at home, surrounded by our family. I hope your day was a good one as well.

According to a story in yesterday’s paper, Victoria has the distinction of being the “snow capital” of Canada, thanks to the 41 cm of white stuff that’s accumulated here this month. That’s even more snow than the North Pole! Not a position this city is used to at this time of the year – or any time, for that matter.

It’s just the latest in a string of weird weather events that have hit this winter. And the season has just begun. Holiday travel has been a nightmare across Canada — my sister-in-law and her family are hung up tonight in Calgary, trying to get to Regina from their home in Vancouver. But like thousands of others, they couldn’t make their air connections.

It’s enough to make you wonder just what the heck is happening? Is this extreme weather a sign of climate change or just a blip in the long-term? It sure seems like weather patterns are changing and that extreme weather is more common than it used to be.

While I was mulling over thoughts like that, I came across an article about Carl Sagan’s famous photo of our planet, called “Pale Blue Dot.” I remember reading about it at the time, but I’d forgotten the story. Here’s a short excerpt from a Wikipedia article about it:

The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of planet Earth taken by Voyager 1 from a record distance, showing it against the vastness of space. Both the idea for taking the distant photo, and the title came from scientist and astronomer Carl Sagan, who also wrote the 1994 book of the same name. In 2001, it was selected by Space.com as one of the top ten space science photos.

On February 14, 1990, NASA commanded the Voyager 1 spacecraft, having completed its primary mission, to turn around to photograph the planets of the Solar System. One image Voyager returned was of Earth, showing up as a “pale blue dot” in the grainy photo.

Sagan elaborated on his thoughts about our world in a commencement speech in 1996. In the video I’ve linked to below, you can hear his address, while images from decades of Hollywood movies flash by. It’s an intriguing mix and a clever way of presenting some of Sagan’s profound comments.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of us on this pale blue dot.