Hollyburn Ridge at Night

Instead of sitting in rush hour traffic after work today I borrowed a head lamp and hiked up Hollyburn ridge to watch the sun set. The first picture is of Vancouver with Boundary bay with the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island in the background similar to the view from Brocton Point on Seymour but with downtown and Stanley Park in the foreground.



This is a shot of the Olympic venue on Cypress from Hollyburn ridge today showing there is some snow. This is a shot of the Lions on the left, back country and Grouse on the right from Hollyburn ridge:

There wasn't much of a sunset because it was cloudy but as I waited for it to get dark the city lights looked amazing. My camera can't take very good pictures at night. From Hollyburn ridge the city lights looked bigger and brighter than they did half way up or from the view point you can drive to. It was magnificent.

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Climbing down in the dark with a headlamp was awesome. They have bamboo poles with reflective tape marking the trail. At night headlamps reflect on the tape and they glow in a line marking the trail.

Sunrise

Sunrise this morning on the way to work.
Red sky at morning, sailor take warning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eF0GxA9bd8

Brockton Point

There are two Brockton Points in Vancouver. One in Stanley Park with the lighthouse and the other on Mount Seymour above and beside the Mystery Peak Chair. This is the view from Brockton Point on Mount Seymour.

Ya kind of power past it on your way up to First, Second and third Pump on Mount Seymour. I had a late start today and I had to be back for a Vanoc meeting so I stopped here and had some hot chocolate.

If you click on the picture and look carefully you can see the Fraser River winding around Richmond to it's mouth. Just past that you can see the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. In the middle you can see Boundary Bay as well as Crescent Beach and Whiterock Beach in the centre.

On the far left you can make out the Blaine harbour as well as Birch Bay. Once again you can see the mountains on the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island in the distance. Something I've always took for granted rushing past. Now it's a nice place to stop and enjoy.

Vancouver's Cove

Yesterday morning's sunrise. Obviously, east of Ambleside and the Lion's Gate bridge is the Burrard Inlet which leads to Deep Cove and Bella Carra. Great places to kayak. Yet I've always thought of Vancouver being a coastal city with the beaches bordering the vast pacific ocean with Japan in the far distance. Although this image is true, between us and Japan is Vancouver Island.

When you watch the sunset at Whitecliff you see it set behind Bowen Island. From Ambleside you look across the Burrard Inlet to Stanley Park. Yet there is another place in West Van that has a small seawall just west of Ambleside. From here Vancouver looks like a small cove. You can see the mountains on Vancouver Island in the distance. This is the view west of Stanley Park from Cypress lookout:



This is the same view a bit further up from Brockton Point on Mount Seymour:



This is another view from Brockton Point zooming in over Vancouver clearly showing the Mountains on the Gulf Islands and on Vancouver Island in the Background:



I never clued in before but even the view of the ocean from Whiterock. You can clearly see the mountains on the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Islands. The same with Birch Bay in the States. This coast is protected by Vancouver Island.

Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth

Richard Gage joins the drive for a real inquiry into 911 based on scientific evidence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssuAMNas1us

Dan Rather, Rosy O'Donnell and the Dixie Chicks

What do Dan Rather, Rosy O'Donnell and the Dixie Chicks have in common? There we all persecuted for expressing an opinion. Rosy O'Donnell lost her spot on the View after expressing her opinion about the 911 Towers not falling without help. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT9fPdwxXuo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwPh0aS86wc

The Dixie Chicks received violent opposition including death threats when they simply said they were ashamed George Bush was from Texas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Olqn-gVz5K8

Dan Rather lost his job after airing a documentary exposing the fact that George Bush's military record was flawed. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-rather13-2010jan13,0,5131506.story

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyFdZqWDn3c

So what happened to free speech? What happened to the Constitution? It hangs by a thread as we speak.

Earthquake in Haiti

Earthquakes are horrible things. Reading about people being buried in rubble for days is almost incomprehensible. Philippians, China, now Haiti. http://www.theprovince.com/news/story.html?id=2437153

Haiti just can't get a break. Hurricanes, violence, earthquakes, http://www.theprovince.com/news/Earthquake+latest+disaster+plague+Haiti/2437894/story.html
Here we are crying about no snow on the local mountains for the Olympics and the economy while others struggle with real problems. Gob bless Haiti and the people there. Enough is enough.

Relief efforts can be sent through the Red Cross: http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=28833&tid=001

Or the United Church: http://www.united-church.ca/communications/news/response/100113

The Canadian government is matching contributions: http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/cbc-article.aspx?cp-documentid=23252738

Relief is coming in: http://news.ca.msn.com/photogallery.aspx?cp-documentid=23253966

Pirates Vs Ninjas

To commemorate five years of Pirates vs Ninjas I present you with My Darren Entwistle: http://www.mydarrenentwistle.com

Darren's Ninja has been doing a pretty amazing job of censoring the Internet. Clearly Stalin would be proud. Free speech is an important thing and it's being stolen from us as we sleep. Never fear, Jack Sparrow is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PetrAmq9fcw



Oh and by the way, I took that picture of Ken Birzneck with his kids. TELUS does NOT own the copyright to that photo so Fuck off! And linking isn't defamation thanks to p2pnet: http://www.p2pnet.net/story/17395
Bitch: http://www.p2pnet.net/story/14102
Win or lose we will rock you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrENw_6te78

Ireland's Blasphemy Law

Well it seems that Ireland has taken three steps back and passed a blasphemy bill that ends free speech: http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2009/07/11/ireland-passes-blasphemy-law-the-end-of-free-speech/

Making a law that forbids free speech in my opinion is a violation of the Irish Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

Think about it, this law would have convicted Christ for calling the religious leaders of the time liars, hypocrites and extortionists: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2023:13-39&version=KJV

From a Distance

From a distance, the world doesn't look so bad so it doesn't. Mother Teresa was right. Behind the dark clouds, the sun is still shining. Today's sunrise over Vancouver with Mount Baker in the background.



Below is the view of Vancouver and Black Mountain from Mount Strachan on Cypress tonight. Shortly before I crash landed on my head in the ice as I tripped when I hit a patch of slow snow. It's all good so it is.

The New World

When I was in high school there was a guy who everyone thought would go on to university. Instead he got a job at Save on Foods, got married and bought a house. Everything has changed now.

Wages have been rolled back and capped. Not only do people in the Unionized grocery industry start off at $9.00 and hour, their top wage is capped at $14.00 an hour. Feed a family on that. Somewhat difficult when everyone obsesses over part time hours to save on benefits.

Clearly the world has changed. Housing has skyrocketed and wages have been rolled back. What was affordable for a single income family one generation ago is completely out of reach today. CEO's get paid obscene amounts of money to roll back family wages. Children suffer as a result. Employers constantly expect more and more production for less and less money and bread winners are stressed.