Birthday for Takaki-san

I had lunch with Kevin and Behzad today, celebrating Kevin's birthday. It seems that we tend to get together as a group of three these days, which is somehow appropriate. You see, I have worked with Kevin and Behzad, but at different times and for different companies. Further, Kevin has also worked with Behzad independent of me. It's an interesting intersection of circles that makes for fun conversations where sometimes only two of the three participants really knows what is going on.

Okay, I'll be honest - I'm the one usually in the dark.

It's ok though. We are three guys who really have very little in common other than a shared work experience and possibly a common interest in video games. Yet I count both of them as more than just casual friends. Maybe it's because while we were working together we ended up chatting about whatever was going on in our lives so we just got to know each other well. Who knows? However it happened, I'm happy.

End Credits

The other day I completed Far Cry 2. At the end of the game, the credits roll. While this used to be just an afterthought, if at all, I've noticed that it is becoming a much bigger deal for a lot of games. Last year I played Portal, a much shorter game and got a huge payoff with the ending credits. They had put together one of the most memorable endings to date, complete with a catchy tune and retro ascii art. While the end credit sequence for Far Cry 2 wasn't as original as Portal's, it was still polished and did include a separate musical score. I did find it was a bit long though.

The other thing about ending credits is that often, they aren't interruptable. You have to let it play through. This is in contrast to say, a movie, where you usually stop watching. I think it is why some films started putting in out takes and using better music - most people just aren't there to read the fine print.

Another game that handles end credits well is Left 4 Dead but in that case the credits are just a fun way of displaying player stats for the round. But then, you can complete one of the campaigns in that game in a little more than an hour, far shorter than a typical computer game.

Of all the games I have played, I probably only finished about half at best. In all cases, they are my favorite games. I guess this makes sense as I wouldn't continue playing a game I didn't really enjoy.

As usual, I've put up photos taken from around Vancouver. Also as usual, they have nothing to do with what I'm talking about. But I figure every story ought to have some pictures.

Not Selected

Jury Selection. I was actually excited about participating in this process until I learned that it also meant going a month without pay. When faced with that reality it became clear that I needed to prepare my reasons to beg off, at least for this trial.

Still, on the morning of, I arrived at the courthouse with the excitement of a kid on a factory tour. Okay, a factory that produces something the kid is at least somewhat interested in. It was a new experience.

Just because it was a new experience did not mean I was to arrive unprepared. As luck would have it I recently purchased a paperback novel and was careful to make sure my ipod had the most recent podcasts and a fresh charge. This was court afterall and if one trial was estimated to take four weeks, then the selection process was likely to go all day.

I could not have been more right.

It took hours just to get inside a courtroom, where the selection process still would not happen. This was just a holding tank. I made myself comfortable and settled in to read my book as this wasn't going to be quick. Coffee was provided to keep the mob from getting unruly.

Eventually some lawyers showed up and so did a few more baliffs (ie. cops). They brought in the accused and a hush filled the room. A hush that lasted about three minutes before people resumed chatting among themselves. I continued reading until eventually a judge arrived. Charges were read, the plaintiff plead not guilty, a list of witnesses was read and then they ushered out the man who now faced a murder charge. The judge stayed a little longer to explain the rest of the process to us potential jurors.

The basic idea was that they would randomly select about twenty people at a time to take into another courtroom to undergo the selection process. This was where the lawyers could challenge or accept a juror as well as the one time we would have the chance to plead hardship, play the senior card or give whatever other excuse for why we could not be a juror. In other words, so long as I stayed in this room, things would work out okay for me and they would end up selecting twenty OTHER people to serve on the jury. Given that there were over two hundred of us, my odds of being selected were a mere one in ten. I could live with those odds.

So the process took all day but I was one of the 'lucky ones' who was not called. I didn't even have to plead my case, which is kind of too bad because I had this fantastic story about the judge who stole Christmas all worked up and ready but whatever. The verdict is in, and I get a paycheque this December.

It's the Olympics! Welcome?

This shot was taken at the Downtown campus for UBC. This secluded little rink is hidden underneath Robson street and is right in front of the main campus entrance. I am fortunate enough to be taking a course there over the next few weeks for work. I have walked past this campus hundreds of times without ever having a reason to go in and explore so it was nice to finally check it out.

There has been a lot of activity around Vancouver in preparation for the Olympics. We have had police drills lately where officers were climbing Science World and helicopters were flying around at low altitudes. At this early stage it is all a novelty. I'm curious to see how novel it all is two weeks prior to the main event. I fear the world may be introduced to some grumpy Vancouverites who are near the end of their collective rope.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

Ever since I hurt my back last, I have stopped shaving. While the natural result was that I was sporting a full beard, it was also driving me crazy. My facial hair tends to be very coarse and somewhat curly which means that if I manage to get past the first 'itchy phase', I have the pleasure of going through it again usually a few days later.

It also didn't help that the beard wasn't very popular at home. My wife put up with it at first, but after a few weeks started to protest. From then it was really only a matter of time before I was to shave again.

Anyway, at this point I am once again clean shaven. It took me two days to get the beard off but the job is done. Normally the first shave after a while is extra smooth, but this one was very difficult. I was just happy to get the job done without too much discomfort.

My first taste of Durian (gelato)

It was done on a whim, but I must admit I have had an odd fascination over the durian fruit for a long time now. Greg and I decided to try durian flavoured gelato today.

Luckily it is only a block away - this is the kind of distance I can still hobble without too much worry. Yes, the back still hurts when I move wrong, but the doctor does say I should try to keep moving as it's the fastest way to recovery. But back to durian gelato - we wander into Amato Gelato, which is conveniently empty due to the construction on their street - they face the Olympic Village site and their block is being resurfaced. This is a store that takes their gelato seriously. There must be over fifty different flavours on display - durian is the only flavour they keep covered up. (The lady behind the counter doesn't like the smell.)

I ask about the durian gelato and she offers to let me taste it first. She is expecting that like so many other customers, I will try it and then move on to a different flavour. My first reaction to the taste is to comment 'Wow, I can see why so many people hate this.' Our server was surprised when we proceeded anyway to get an order of durian gelato.

We took a minute to sit outside where we could eat our gelato and contemplate this strange flavour. Later I was asked if it was 'good' and it wasn't an easy question to answer. My guess is that there is not much of a market for artificial durian flavouring, so this stuff is probably made with real durian fruit. It was not overly sweet - in fact, I do not remember much sweetness at all. I do remember the taste, which is not nearly as strong as the aroma.

I'll leave it to others to describe the taste and aroma of durian. The net result of my gastronomical taste test is that now I am less intimidated by the real thing. Gelato is already creamy and the thing people always talk about with durian is the creamy texture. Now that I understand the flavour, I'm game to try it.

Not a good start to the week

Warning, this is a whiny, complaining post. I pulled a muscle in my back again this morning - not nearly as bad as the last time, but enough to remind me that things aren't well with my back. I was swimming this morning and then later pulled it while lifting the dog into her stroller.

I'm beginning to wonder if the stroller is a good thing or not.

I know that I am supposed to bend my knees and stuff when picking up the dog, but there are times when I have to act quickly, like to prevent her from getting into something she shouldn't. Today was one of those days and I knew immediately that I had hurt myself again.

Mostly I'm just grumpy because someone switched the coffee beans at work and now I can't (or don't dare) have coffee anymore. I didn't realize I was drinking caffeinated coffee and had a couple cups on Monday morning. By the afternoon I had the usual chest pains that I get when I over caffeinate, and Tuesday had the withdrawl headaches. I really don't want to wake up on Thursday now.

High Speed Adventure

Friday was the last day for Greg's car to be insured. We also weren't sure how much gas was left in it. The second statement is pretty much normal as the gas gauge hasn't worked in quite a while. Naturally, it was a good day for him to bring his car to work, which inspired the Quality Assurance Lunch Drive 3000. (I don't know where I am going with this, Tommy made that last bit up.)

Anyway, Greg, Tommy and I left the office for lunch and all piled into the Charger. I managed to call shotgun, so all was good in the world. At least, if I was going to die in a head on collision, I'd see it coming. Here's a photo of Greg in action - as you can see, I had every reason to fear for my life. The next is a self portrait of me, doing the aforementioned life-fearing. You can just see the raw terror in my face. Look hard, you will see it.

We had only travelled about five hundred yards when Greg stopped the car abruptly. Standing on the street corner was a former co-worker of ours, Phil. No wait, this was clearly Phil's evil twin brother, as you can see by the fu man chu he was sporting. Since Phil's evil twin is even cooler than Phil, we stopped to let him in and he joined us for lunch. Tommy was not dismayed.

Once underway, we were in search of some open road - not an easy feat in Vancouver. We settled for a bridge, where Greg could stomp on the gas for a minute at a time. We enjoyed the note of the exhaust, all noted the strong presence of gas fumes (this was reassuring, as it meant the car wasn't yet empty) and enjoyed the ride with all the windows down. I do believe that Tommy enjoyed this part of the trip.

The plan was to meet up with another couple ex-co-workers at H-Mart for some Korean food. Andy and Neil eventually arrived and from that point on my little story gets boring. I'll understand if you stop reading here. See this picture of Tommy? Even he was losing interest by then.

We made it back to the office without running out of gas, although I don't remember the fumes being as strong as when we set out. I do hope Greg made it home later that night without incident. I guess we will have to hop over to his blog to find out.