Friday was one of the nicest snow days that I have seen in Vancouver, as you have read about in my post on my morning snow run, we had a few inches in downtown overnight. First thing in the morning was so beautiful before the pristine snow had been unsettled by morning commuters. I really wanted to ride to work for my last day, but with my skinny road tires on, I decided it was prudent to take public transport. As always on a snow day, Vancouver goes into shambles. It doesn't snow this much often in Vancouver, so well over half the cars are not equipped for the conditions and as you can expect, total shambles ensues.
Based on past experience I rushed breakfast and got out the door early. This was a good move as the busses were already behind schedule, and the line ups at the bus stops were growing. That being said, we got to work quickly because we left early. I don't think I can say the same for people who left at their normal time.
I decided to get off the skytrain one stop later today, so that I could walk back to work through the suburbs and take some photos of the Mt Pleasant area covered in snow. 3 years ago when I had my interview with Image Engine, I walked almost the exact same route, on a snow day too. SO it almost seemed fitting being my last day, and retracing the steps I took to my interview that landed me on this life changing path. I made sure I photographed all my favourite areas. It is so nice to have all these images captured in all the different seasons.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Friday, December 20, 2013
Early Morning Snow Run
I woke up this morning, looked out the window and saw shitloads of snow. My first thought was no way am I running this morning. Too slippery, back to bed you go, whilst I'm pulling on my running tights! I decide against it and jump back into warm bed. I lay in bed for a few minutes with that early morning want to keep sleeping battling my obsessive nature that wanted to go running. Finally I think, this is probably the last time you will get to run in the snow in Vancouver, don't be a wuss, get out there!
Back out of bed! Gear on! Out the door. Five mins of warm up on Pendrell St the off I go. I headed down Pendrell towards Stanley Park, left at the Sylvia, then right onto Beach along the Southern Sidewalk. Here I keep running into Stanley Park and to Second Beach Pool.
I was the first person to run many of these trails. A few inches of pristine snow covered everything. The city was still sleeping, and the Park had that beautiful muffled sound you get when it snows. It was so beautiful and peaceful. From Second Beach I headed North to Lost Lagoon then around the Lagoon trail. The snow here was deep, a few inches at least. No one else was around, it was so peaceful.
After my loop of the Lagoon I was heading South again, back to Second Beach Pool and onto the seawall, to head East back to the West End. The sea wall had a good inch or two of snow covering it, and all the rocks in the water were covered in snow, making for beautiful abstract art with with white mushrooms dotting the inky black water; it was still dark at about 7:20am. I continue my run along the sea wall, hook a left up to Bidwell St, Right onto Harwood, left onto Cardero, across Davie and back down Pendrell. Home.
The run was one of the nicest runs I have ever done. It was a moment to be calm and to think. To immerse myself within such a beautiful environment. It was a similar experience to my early morning run at Cape Disappointment, Washington. These are the experiences that I will carry with me forever and I am really trying to make the most of while I am in Vancouver.
Back out of bed! Gear on! Out the door. Five mins of warm up on Pendrell St the off I go. I headed down Pendrell towards Stanley Park, left at the Sylvia, then right onto Beach along the Southern Sidewalk. Here I keep running into Stanley Park and to Second Beach Pool.
I was the first person to run many of these trails. A few inches of pristine snow covered everything. The city was still sleeping, and the Park had that beautiful muffled sound you get when it snows. It was so beautiful and peaceful. From Second Beach I headed North to Lost Lagoon then around the Lagoon trail. The snow here was deep, a few inches at least. No one else was around, it was so peaceful.
After my loop of the Lagoon I was heading South again, back to Second Beach Pool and onto the seawall, to head East back to the West End. The sea wall had a good inch or two of snow covering it, and all the rocks in the water were covered in snow, making for beautiful abstract art with with white mushrooms dotting the inky black water; it was still dark at about 7:20am. I continue my run along the sea wall, hook a left up to Bidwell St, Right onto Harwood, left onto Cardero, across Davie and back down Pendrell. Home.
The run was one of the nicest runs I have ever done. It was a moment to be calm and to think. To immerse myself within such a beautiful environment. It was a similar experience to my early morning run at Cape Disappointment, Washington. These are the experiences that I will carry with me forever and I am really trying to make the most of while I am in Vancouver.
Lady On The Bus
It was my last day of work, one of the deepest Vancouver snow days I've seen, and I end up on the C21 instead of the C23 after getting off the Skytrain. I was feeling a bit humbled. A lot of people had said a lot of nice words to me at end of year drinks, and I had had some great conversations with some great work colleagues.
I sat down in the C21 next to a middle aged lady, maybe mid 50s. After a few minutes she starts talking about the snow and how it was meant to be melted by afternoon, but there was no chance at all of that! I agreed and then we started talking about the chaos of the public transport system that morning. It sounded like I had left for work a bit earlier than her, and needing to get out to Burnaby, she had felt the brunt of the snow. Apparently the bus up Robson had not been working as it couldn't negotiate the slippery hill, the Skytrain had been working intermittently, and hearing all this I was stoked I made an effort to get out the door early today!
We continued talking, and a few words I uttered gave way to me being an Aussie. She asks where I'm from, and then she starts telling me that she had lived in Darwin in 82 for a year, and then Sydney for a few months. Darwin had been a pretty wild town back then she said, especially for two young Canadian girls who turned up in Darwin as they didn't have enough money to get any further than that after time in South East Asia.
She commented on all the kind people she met in Australia, and I likened the Australian people to Canadians and why I had found it so easy to settle in over here. This got us to talking about life experience and how it is such an experience to go and totally immerse yourself within a culture, and to not try and impose your culture, but to absorb theirs. Even if you don't agree with it or enjoy your experience, you are in a foreign culture, you put yourself there, and that is what is the fun part of that experience. Make the most of it! Immerse yourself within it and understand that you put yourself there so make the most of it.
I got off that bus at Beach and Bidwell. I asked the lady to pull the bus stop cable for me so I didn't have to be rude and reach over her. I bid her a great evening, thanked her for the conversation and walked out into the snowy cold, quite likely that I will never see her again, yet we shared such an intimate conversation.
I sat down in the C21 next to a middle aged lady, maybe mid 50s. After a few minutes she starts talking about the snow and how it was meant to be melted by afternoon, but there was no chance at all of that! I agreed and then we started talking about the chaos of the public transport system that morning. It sounded like I had left for work a bit earlier than her, and needing to get out to Burnaby, she had felt the brunt of the snow. Apparently the bus up Robson had not been working as it couldn't negotiate the slippery hill, the Skytrain had been working intermittently, and hearing all this I was stoked I made an effort to get out the door early today!
We continued talking, and a few words I uttered gave way to me being an Aussie. She asks where I'm from, and then she starts telling me that she had lived in Darwin in 82 for a year, and then Sydney for a few months. Darwin had been a pretty wild town back then she said, especially for two young Canadian girls who turned up in Darwin as they didn't have enough money to get any further than that after time in South East Asia.
She commented on all the kind people she met in Australia, and I likened the Australian people to Canadians and why I had found it so easy to settle in over here. This got us to talking about life experience and how it is such an experience to go and totally immerse yourself within a culture, and to not try and impose your culture, but to absorb theirs. Even if you don't agree with it or enjoy your experience, you are in a foreign culture, you put yourself there, and that is what is the fun part of that experience. Make the most of it! Immerse yourself within it and understand that you put yourself there so make the most of it.
I got off that bus at Beach and Bidwell. I asked the lady to pull the bus stop cable for me so I didn't have to be rude and reach over her. I bid her a great evening, thanked her for the conversation and walked out into the snowy cold, quite likely that I will never see her again, yet we shared such an intimate conversation.
Last Day At Image Engine
What a bitter sweet day. The prospects of moving home and continuing my life with my wife in Adelaide are so near; albeit I never saw myself leaving Image Engine. I have always felt so comfortable here; a very integral part of the team. I am going to miss IE a lot, it has been a fantastic place to work, full of amazing people and great ideas. The work that comes out of Image Engine is second to none. The opportunities here and the knowledge that I have picked up has been amazing.
Elysium was such an amazing experience, and to be offered an opportunity like that with only a year of film experience is absolutely amazing and very flattering. I have made such a good group of friends here, which is one thing that makes the place unique. Everyone here is so friendly and they have a great core team which ensure that the place keeps developing and evolving to produce amazing work more efficiently. Not only have I made great work friends here, but also great friends out of work. I find that most of the people that work here have such interesting lives outside of work, and there is always an excuse to catch up for sport, a nice meal, a film or coffee.
The knowledge that I have picked up here will serve me well for my career in the future. It has set me up with a profound knowledge of how a VFX pipeline works and a great thought process to deal with solving problems, not only in VFX, but in any industry. I know that IE will keep producing amazing work and I can't wait to see what looms on their horizon.
The photos below are from my last day lunch at Chutney Villa. Pretty much everyone in the photo is from IE :-)
Elysium was such an amazing experience, and to be offered an opportunity like that with only a year of film experience is absolutely amazing and very flattering. I have made such a good group of friends here, which is one thing that makes the place unique. Everyone here is so friendly and they have a great core team which ensure that the place keeps developing and evolving to produce amazing work more efficiently. Not only have I made great work friends here, but also great friends out of work. I find that most of the people that work here have such interesting lives outside of work, and there is always an excuse to catch up for sport, a nice meal, a film or coffee.
The knowledge that I have picked up here will serve me well for my career in the future. It has set me up with a profound knowledge of how a VFX pipeline works and a great thought process to deal with solving problems, not only in VFX, but in any industry. I know that IE will keep producing amazing work and I can't wait to see what looms on their horizon.
The photos below are from my last day lunch at Chutney Villa. Pretty much everyone in the photo is from IE :-)
Little Old Lady
On Wednesday I needed to go for a walk at lunch to get out of the office for some fresh air, and I decided to head to my favourite community garden to just sit and contemplate.
After a few minutes this nice old lady walked by and made a comment about how I was game to be sitting in the garden on a cold day like that day was. I made a bit of small talk and that was it.
I noticed that she was preparing to do some gardening so I asked her which plot was her's and how long she had had it for. She has been gardening at that plot for 15 years, originally from the praries, she moved to Vancouver because her sister lived here.
She told me stories of wading through waste deep snow to school, and how their parents property was on a big hill that they would toboggan down in winter. However now, her parents house is right in the middle of downtown, and all that land is no longer free, but instead covered with city blocks.
We discussed gardening in Canada versus Australia, and its differences. She explained the way they plough in the winter so all the snow fills the plough tracks and melts in the spring, soaking the ground and making it the most ideal growing conditions.
Finally she expressed her dismay at the state of the food we eat and how it is so hard for the youth of today to be able to easily make healthy choices. The idea of genetically modified foods scared her. We had an interesting discussion on this, it must be hard for someone like her, now at, I'm guessing, 80 years old, to look back and see the differences in society and the way we consume. From having had the freshest most delicious produce, to now having unknown chemicals and who knows what else applied to our food. Not to mention all the processed food that is pushed at everyone.
It was a very wholesome lunch, and it shows that next time you have the opportunity, start up a conversation with a stranger - you never know how rewarding it will be.
After a few minutes this nice old lady walked by and made a comment about how I was game to be sitting in the garden on a cold day like that day was. I made a bit of small talk and that was it.
I noticed that she was preparing to do some gardening so I asked her which plot was her's and how long she had had it for. She has been gardening at that plot for 15 years, originally from the praries, she moved to Vancouver because her sister lived here.
She told me stories of wading through waste deep snow to school, and how their parents property was on a big hill that they would toboggan down in winter. However now, her parents house is right in the middle of downtown, and all that land is no longer free, but instead covered with city blocks.
We discussed gardening in Canada versus Australia, and its differences. She explained the way they plough in the winter so all the snow fills the plough tracks and melts in the spring, soaking the ground and making it the most ideal growing conditions.
Finally she expressed her dismay at the state of the food we eat and how it is so hard for the youth of today to be able to easily make healthy choices. The idea of genetically modified foods scared her. We had an interesting discussion on this, it must be hard for someone like her, now at, I'm guessing, 80 years old, to look back and see the differences in society and the way we consume. From having had the freshest most delicious produce, to now having unknown chemicals and who knows what else applied to our food. Not to mention all the processed food that is pushed at everyone.
It was a very wholesome lunch, and it shows that next time you have the opportunity, start up a conversation with a stranger - you never know how rewarding it will be.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Walk and Reminiscing
I decided to go for a long wander around downtown Vancouver on Saturday. It's funny when you start walking aimlessly, taking in your surroundings and taking photos along the way, that you find that you don't get far that quickly. Or maybe time kinda disappears cos you become so absent minded that when you realise how long you have been wandering, and realise where you are, you are amazed that you didn't get farther. What I'm trying to say is that when I aimed to walk all of downtown, I quickly ran out of time without realising it, and only made it to Coal Harbour.
I love going on aimless walks, and especially right now as we are nearing our departure as I reminisce on the fun times that Kate and I have had in Vancouver. We have spent so much time in the city that most parts of downtown have some memory attached to them. Wandering around Coal Harbour, there is the restaurant that we went to with my mum and dad on their last night in Vancouver, Carderos. There are the Harbour Air Sea Planes which we flew back from Victoria in. Then there is the Pan Pacific that we stayed in on our first night in Vancouver over 3 years ago.
All these little things cross my mind when I am wandering. It is also a time to try and clear the mind, relax and not think about work, training or having to converse with anyone. It's like my zen time, just me and the camera to zone out and not care about anything else. It's free time to be creative and see what I can come up with; to see if something I have photographed many times before can be made more interesting from a different angle, or with a different light.
You really see a place when you go on aimless walks like this; maybe stop at a new corner cafe and find that the barrista there makes an awesome latte, then just chill and watch the world go by for a while. It was a great day, and with my time off coming up I'm sure there are going to be a lot more aimless walks and aimless blog posts.
I love going on aimless walks, and especially right now as we are nearing our departure as I reminisce on the fun times that Kate and I have had in Vancouver. We have spent so much time in the city that most parts of downtown have some memory attached to them. Wandering around Coal Harbour, there is the restaurant that we went to with my mum and dad on their last night in Vancouver, Carderos. There are the Harbour Air Sea Planes which we flew back from Victoria in. Then there is the Pan Pacific that we stayed in on our first night in Vancouver over 3 years ago.
All these little things cross my mind when I am wandering. It is also a time to try and clear the mind, relax and not think about work, training or having to converse with anyone. It's like my zen time, just me and the camera to zone out and not care about anything else. It's free time to be creative and see what I can come up with; to see if something I have photographed many times before can be made more interesting from a different angle, or with a different light.
You really see a place when you go on aimless walks like this; maybe stop at a new corner cafe and find that the barrista there makes an awesome latte, then just chill and watch the world go by for a while. It was a great day, and with my time off coming up I'm sure there are going to be a lot more aimless walks and aimless blog posts.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Jantastic
So Marathon talk is hosting Jantastic, starting Jan 6th 2014, and running for 3 months, with the idea of kick starting every ones new year of running. I have just signed up and it is exciting to be a part of the Marathon Talk community. They always have an amazing podcast and it has always been fun listening to their different events, so to be involved this time around is great :-) Can't wait to see what it entails. My goal for January is to run 3 times a week, which is a good amount to be starting to increase too after returning from injury.
Just an update that now Kate has too joined Jantastic and we will be repping a team as hubby and wife called "The Forbsies". It's gonna be such a fun way to get out running together.
http://www.jantastic.me/ The Rules
Just an update that now Kate has too joined Jantastic and we will be repping a team as hubby and wife called "The Forbsies". It's gonna be such a fun way to get out running together.
http://www.jantastic.me/ The Rules
Jody Wisternoff
What a beautiful set! Great progressive tunes. I love the way that the electronic music genre is headed these days, and this set is a nice intertwined selection of house, electonica, progressive and mellow trance. I could listen to this all day.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
365 Project #2 Ideas
I am currently brainstorming for my second 365 project. I have come up with my first set of rules. I decided to go for a different rule each day of the week, then this is repeated 52 times. I thought it would give an interesting challenge to have rules to abide by, but it wasn't as limiting as one rule for the whole project. Also over the whole duration I hope that I can see obvious differences in the sequence of the photos from day to day.
monday
foresight, an image exploring the coming week. What do I want to get out of the coming week? What changes do I want to make? What will the week hold?
tuesday
patterns, an image exploring patterns, natural and man made.
wednesday
colors, an image exploring the amazing world of colour.
thursday
still life and details, an image exploring the stationary world and all of it's details.
friday
motion, an image exploring the moving world.
saturday
vibrance, an image exploring the vibrance of the world we live in. This is a very broad topic but great for a Saturday as it is an easy day to get out and about.
sunday
reflection, an image exploring the week just passed. How did the week go? What would I have done differently?
monday
foresight, an image exploring the coming week. What do I want to get out of the coming week? What changes do I want to make? What will the week hold?
tuesday
patterns, an image exploring patterns, natural and man made.
wednesday
colors, an image exploring the amazing world of colour.
thursday
still life and details, an image exploring the stationary world and all of it's details.
friday
motion, an image exploring the moving world.
saturday
vibrance, an image exploring the vibrance of the world we live in. This is a very broad topic but great for a Saturday as it is an easy day to get out and about.
sunday
reflection, an image exploring the week just passed. How did the week go? What would I have done differently?
Rocanini Coffee Roasters
This is hands down my favourite coffee in Vancouver! They have a lot of different varietals, and roast right there in the shop, so when you buy a bag of coffee it is so fresh. The guys that work there are also super helpful and are so particular about how they make coffee - you can tell they have a passion for it - and thats why I have never had a bad coffee there. They are also super happy to talk coffee and impart some knowledge about the world of coffee! I have been loving their recent Rawandan and Panama coffees, brewing them at home with a simple pour over setup. I wanted to take some pics of Rocaninis as it is a place that I will miss when I leave Vancouver, I will be taking a few bags with me for sure.
First Snow
Yesterday saw our first snowfall for the year in Vancouver. It's always an exciting day, although it does make the ride to work a little sketchy! It is amazing what a little snow does to make it really start to feel like Christmas, with out Christmas tree and poinsettia now decorating our apartment we are well in the mood.
It is funny though seeing Vancouver drivers transform from shit and fast to shit, slow and overly cautious the second there is a slight dusting of snow!
It is funny though seeing Vancouver drivers transform from shit and fast to shit, slow and overly cautious the second there is a slight dusting of snow!
Monday, December 9, 2013
Canadian Forex
I can't believe that there are not more reviews on this company online! Hand's down they have saved me so much money vs a bank wire transfer. They conduct their services in the most professional manner and are so onto it with keeping you informed that you never once are concerned about your transaction.
If you need to transfer savings between countries for relocation, as I know a lot of young professionals do these days, definitely do not hesitate to use these guys, Canadian Forex. You will be absolutely stoked with the rates they offer, it makes me laugh at what the banks offer their "Valued customers".
If you need to transfer savings between countries for relocation, as I know a lot of young professionals do these days, definitely do not hesitate to use these guys, Canadian Forex. You will be absolutely stoked with the rates they offer, it makes me laugh at what the banks offer their "Valued customers".
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Green Smoothie
I made an epic green smoothie this morning. After an hour of core and leg work, and a hour long run, I felt like making something super healthy and nourishing. The following resulted:
Icicles
It has been really cold in Vancouver over the last week. So much so that ground water running out of the cliff faces around Stanley Park has frozen as the most beautiful icicles. I saw these this morning on my run, and managed to walk back out this afternoon to take some photos. I thought is was too nice of a scene to not make the effort to take some photos.
Anyways, it was spectacular to see these up close unlike today when I was quickly running by. Hope you like.
Anyways, it was spectacular to see these up close unlike today when I was quickly running by. Hope you like.
Sunday Morning Run
Wow. What a morning for a run! I got out for another easy run - walk session. Still being very cautious and easing back into running to make sure I don't flare this injury up again. 3min run, 1min walk repeated for almost a hour. It's good incorporating the walk as it forces you to take it easy and to pause and get your body in check to make sure you don't do anything dumb like run through the pain that you are trying to fix, and just make it worse again.
Just as I headed out this morning the sun popped through the clouds to make for the most picturesque morning on the sea wall. It was ridiculously cold, but finally I have my winter attire dialled in so I was toasty. The most amazing thing was a beautiful display of icicles hanging off the cliffs around Stanley Park. They were just beautiful and very Christmassy. I hope to get out later to take some photos if they haven't melted, but otherwise it is just a really nice memory.
The sun is out....gonna get outside.
Just as I headed out this morning the sun popped through the clouds to make for the most picturesque morning on the sea wall. It was ridiculously cold, but finally I have my winter attire dialled in so I was toasty. The most amazing thing was a beautiful display of icicles hanging off the cliffs around Stanley Park. They were just beautiful and very Christmassy. I hope to get out later to take some photos if they haven't melted, but otherwise it is just a really nice memory.
The sun is out....gonna get outside.
Jacobs Bucks Show @ Bitter Tasting Room
Last night was Jacobs bucks show at Bitter Tasting Room. What an awesome night, nice and chilled, great group of people and Jacob was well and truly sloshed in his pretty pink princess crown and bachelorette sash!
The server at Bitter was a gun dealing with all our orders, and the food was wicked - we ate a lot of scotch and deviled eggs! There is loads of beer to choose from there and a great range of draught beer as well as bottled.
No pics this time, but good memories.
The server at Bitter was a gun dealing with all our orders, and the food was wicked - we ate a lot of scotch and deviled eggs! There is loads of beer to choose from there and a great range of draught beer as well as bottled.
No pics this time, but good memories.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Elysium
This is a reel of the awesome work that Image Engine did on Elysium. You can see a lot of my rigging work in this reel. All of the droids and any vehicle was rigged and seen through the pipeline by me. Enjoy :-)
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Out and about on Sunday
Today was a day of varying and amazing atmospheric conditions. Some nice moody fog over Lost Lagoon provided for a beautiful black and white landscape with Vancouver West End in the distance. Whereas a few hours earlier the sun came out and I snapped a shot of the West End at English Bay, just a 2 min walk from where we live. Such an amazing city.
Wildlife Day in Stanley Park
We went for a walk today in Stanley Park. It was meant to rain all day, but when the sun came out we decided the opportunity was too good to miss. We had finished baking and our daily chores, so we headed for the park to enjoy what may be the last sunshine we see for a while. It was beautiful out with an amazing contrast between the warming sun and these dark menacing storm clouds.
Anyway, the wildlife in Stanley Park decided to put a show on for us. Raccoons, playful Piver Otters in Lost Lagoon which we watched for a good half hour as they caught and ate fish. We also saw some graceful Herrons and inquisitive squirrels. Did not imagine such an interesting walk when we left.
Anyway, the wildlife in Stanley Park decided to put a show on for us. Raccoons, playful Piver Otters in Lost Lagoon which we watched for a good half hour as they caught and ate fish. We also saw some graceful Herrons and inquisitive squirrels. Did not imagine such an interesting walk when we left.
Thanksgiving Bread
Yesterday was a day of baking. Doing two different loaves in one day takes a bit of management with different rising, folding, shaping and baking times. The two different breads I made were a Pain au Levain, a classic French Levain white loaf, made using a stiff levain sourdough as the basis. The second loaf I baked was a Hazelnut, Fig and Fennel seed loaf, also baked using a stiff levain sourdough.
It was a bit of a nightmare as I ran out of white flour right at the crucial time of shaping, so the dough was fairly sticky and it became a nightmare to control so some of my loaves don't look as nice as I hoped, but I guess you can say I was going for the rough and rustic look. But all in all, I think they turned out pretty well, the scoring could have been better though.
As of now I haven't tasted them, but will post back once I have news to report on the crumb and flavour.
It was a bit of a nightmare as I ran out of white flour right at the crucial time of shaping, so the dough was fairly sticky and it became a nightmare to control so some of my loaves don't look as nice as I hoped, but I guess you can say I was going for the rough and rustic look. But all in all, I think they turned out pretty well, the scoring could have been better though.
As of now I haven't tasted them, but will post back once I have news to report on the crumb and flavour.
Shot Management Tool Development
I have got around to continuing some work on my asset management tool. I am breaking it down into modular pieces of code so that I can work on one part at a time. It makes the task a lot easier to manage and makes it seem like a smaller task than it really is. Also it makes it very easy to adapt, as in adding in new functions, removing old functions or really altering the way the code works.
For the moment I am still nailing down the project and folder structure that I want to have for me project scenes. I have something that I like for now that is building nicely. This morning I tightened up this code, reducing my line count by probably a hundred lines, and then implemented custom scene saving with versioning. The next step is to save out an image on scene save so the the management tool will display an image of the scene, and then following that I will enable the UI to read all the versions and display them so you can choose to open which ever version you require.
Slowly but surely this is coming along. I hope it will only be a week or so until I can start using the first rudimentary release to manage my own personal and freelance shots.
Images/Video to come once it is all wrapped up a bit nicer.
For the moment I am still nailing down the project and folder structure that I want to have for me project scenes. I have something that I like for now that is building nicely. This morning I tightened up this code, reducing my line count by probably a hundred lines, and then implemented custom scene saving with versioning. The next step is to save out an image on scene save so the the management tool will display an image of the scene, and then following that I will enable the UI to read all the versions and display them so you can choose to open which ever version you require.
Slowly but surely this is coming along. I hope it will only be a week or so until I can start using the first rudimentary release to manage my own personal and freelance shots.
Images/Video to come once it is all wrapped up a bit nicer.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Modern Day Customer Service
So I go to London Drugs, Olympic Village Store at lunch to get this smoothie maker, it's like a drink bottle, but there are blades in it so you just shake and can make a smoothie where ever you are. Great for healthy snacks when traveling. Anyways, I can't find it with the other shakes and drink bottles, but that store is a freaking maze so I seek help.
I finally pull a guy aside and ask him if they have it in stock - he's nice and polite, although was definitely not going to go out of his way to offer help until I interrupted him to ask for it. He doesn't know about this shake, so he goes to find someone to help. That's cool with me. THANKYOU.
Right then a chick that works there walks past and he asks her if she knew about this fabled item and if she could help out. She immediately gives so much attitude asking "IS IT ELECTRONIC OR NOT" and looking at me and him like we are retarded for asking such a question.
So I respond, no, like he said you just shake it and the blade is inside it and that does the chopping for you. I should have then gone to say "sorry for asking and wanting to buy something from a store that you work in in which it is your job to help customers". But I didn't.
I don't get it, you ask for help and get attitude. That's why they work and are paid in CUSTOMER SERVICE. To serve customers - what a novel freaking idea.
Anyways, she abruptly tells me that all the other london drugs have them, except for the particular one I'm in. Oh, gee thanks, plus she gave the response in such a way I'm sure she knew what I was asking for all along, but just wanted to give some attitude.
Anyways, rant over. It just boggles my mind how often you get service like this. What is the world coming to?
I finally pull a guy aside and ask him if they have it in stock - he's nice and polite, although was definitely not going to go out of his way to offer help until I interrupted him to ask for it. He doesn't know about this shake, so he goes to find someone to help. That's cool with me. THANKYOU.
Right then a chick that works there walks past and he asks her if she knew about this fabled item and if she could help out. She immediately gives so much attitude asking "IS IT ELECTRONIC OR NOT" and looking at me and him like we are retarded for asking such a question.
So I respond, no, like he said you just shake it and the blade is inside it and that does the chopping for you. I should have then gone to say "sorry for asking and wanting to buy something from a store that you work in in which it is your job to help customers". But I didn't.
I don't get it, you ask for help and get attitude. That's why they work and are paid in CUSTOMER SERVICE. To serve customers - what a novel freaking idea.
Anyways, she abruptly tells me that all the other london drugs have them, except for the particular one I'm in. Oh, gee thanks, plus she gave the response in such a way I'm sure she knew what I was asking for all along, but just wanted to give some attitude.
Anyways, rant over. It just boggles my mind how often you get service like this. What is the world coming to?
Friday, November 29, 2013
Building a Stiff Levain
Up until this point in time I have only been working with a liquid levain sourdough when baking. This weekend however, the bread I'm baking requires a stiff levain. To fast track this I converted a postion of my liquid levain into a stiff levain by calculating the correct amount of flour I needed to add to bring the ratios from 100% hydration, down to 60%. Initially I was super dubious as to whether this would actually work. 60% hydration felt really dry and I wondered whether the levain would have enough "breathing room" to actually live. It proved me wrong and went mad. It has been growing way more actively than the liquid levain, it's quite exciting. Last night I fed it again, and this morning it was bursting at the glad wrap seams, so I broke some off to store in the fridge for next time, and fed it up again to incorporate into my build tonight for my Fig and Hazlenut Sourdough for thanksgiving.
Countdown Stop # 7 - Forage
Today is another day for a conut down stop. We have wanted to check out Forage for some time now and decided that it would be a great breakfast stop. Forage is a really nice looking restaurant, albeit a little cliched in terms of it's decor choices. First up we got some coffee, Kate got filter and I got an espresso. The espresso sucked. The guy couldn't make a good coffee to save himself. Seriosly why offer to do espresso if you cant make a good one. So immediately this got me off to a bad start as for me, when I'm going out for breakfast, the coffee is as important as the food. The espresso shot was watery and astringent. Not the thick sweet espresso shot with rich crema that you should get. Anyways, I got over this and moved onto the food.
The food was great, and fairly generous. Everything appeared to have been made / baked fresh right then and there which was nice. I got hot steel cut oat porridge with foamed milk and cinnamon, blueberries and apples. Kate got eggs benedict and a honey butter scone, which was nice and fresh. The steel cut oats was a very generous serve, the fruit was nice and over all it was exactly what I was after. Kates benny looked amazing and was cooked perfectly, from the reports the hollandaise sauce was bang on, and the scone was amazing and fresh.
It's amazing that this is the only place that we could find to go out for a breakfast other than a shitty diner. I wish more cafes would open early for those of us that like to get the day underway nice and early. This was a thoroughly enjoyable morning watching the city awake and the traffic on Robson St. We had to take a nice stroll through the West End to get to and from Forage, which made for such a enjoyable start to the day with Kate.
The food was great, and fairly generous. Everything appeared to have been made / baked fresh right then and there which was nice. I got hot steel cut oat porridge with foamed milk and cinnamon, blueberries and apples. Kate got eggs benedict and a honey butter scone, which was nice and fresh. The steel cut oats was a very generous serve, the fruit was nice and over all it was exactly what I was after. Kates benny looked amazing and was cooked perfectly, from the reports the hollandaise sauce was bang on, and the scone was amazing and fresh.
It's amazing that this is the only place that we could find to go out for a breakfast other than a shitty diner. I wish more cafes would open early for those of us that like to get the day underway nice and early. This was a thoroughly enjoyable morning watching the city awake and the traffic on Robson St. We had to take a nice stroll through the West End to get to and from Forage, which made for such a enjoyable start to the day with Kate.
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Christmas Pudding
My Christmas pudding project is coming along nicely, and I figured it was time to cook one of the mini puddings up so that I could check that they were working correctly. ie not going mouldy or tasting terrible. However I couldn't just cook the pudding, I had to do the whole setup with custard, and not having brandy I made a bourbon custard, and it was amazing.
The pudding turned out so well, the home dried variety of oranges and tangerines made such a broad citrus flavour, an then all the extra fruit and nuts just made it so Christmassy. I was totally stoked at how well it turned out. Big reps to the Maggie Beer recipe.
The pudding turned out so well, the home dried variety of oranges and tangerines made such a broad citrus flavour, an then all the extra fruit and nuts just made it so Christmassy. I was totally stoked at how well it turned out. Big reps to the Maggie Beer recipe.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
365 Project - Take 2
The question that has been churning over in my mind recently is whether to do another 365 project. I am so stoked that I did my first one, it was a great learning experience and in hindsight I now have an amazing photo journal of that year.
The reason I was thinking it may be time to do another one, is that this year is a year of change. It will be a year of a lot of exciting moments in our lives, but a year with a lot of unknowns, and I think it will be fantastic to document these moments with photography.
The one question I am having though is should I set a theme. I didn't have a theme last time I did this project, and at the time, I would have found a theme very limiting and it would have possibly removed some of my creativity that was found due to the freedom of the project. However, this time around, I don't want to end up with the same project, just in different locations and of different events. I want the whole project to have a different feel, and maybe by setting a specific theme or rule to base my photos on, I will be forced to be creative in situations where the rule is hard to adhere to.
Next is coming up with a good theme or rule. My first idea was one colour per month, and maybe this could cycle, so red, green, blue, repeated four times? maybe each photo has to be of an activity that I am partaking in each day, so there is a very good visual representation of what I was doing every day of the year.
I'll keep coming up with ideas and post back here once I have a final theme for the project. Stay tuned, but for the time being, here's my original project.
The reason I was thinking it may be time to do another one, is that this year is a year of change. It will be a year of a lot of exciting moments in our lives, but a year with a lot of unknowns, and I think it will be fantastic to document these moments with photography.
The one question I am having though is should I set a theme. I didn't have a theme last time I did this project, and at the time, I would have found a theme very limiting and it would have possibly removed some of my creativity that was found due to the freedom of the project. However, this time around, I don't want to end up with the same project, just in different locations and of different events. I want the whole project to have a different feel, and maybe by setting a specific theme or rule to base my photos on, I will be forced to be creative in situations where the rule is hard to adhere to.
Next is coming up with a good theme or rule. My first idea was one colour per month, and maybe this could cycle, so red, green, blue, repeated four times? maybe each photo has to be of an activity that I am partaking in each day, so there is a very good visual representation of what I was doing every day of the year.
I'll keep coming up with ideas and post back here once I have a final theme for the project. Stay tuned, but for the time being, here's my original project.
0 mm Heel To Toe Running Shoes
I have been using the same running shoes now for a few years, and just recently Asics changed something with them and they went from being my favourite shoes, to sucking miserably. I blame my injuries partly on this change mid marathon training. This shoe was the Asics Gel DS Trainer. They are so uncomfortable. I have also in recent reading realised the detriment of having a large heel to toe drop, but this is obviously not something that I wanted to mess with in Marathon training, however now that I am slowly getting back into runing after injury, now is the best time to make this adjustment.
After reading a few reviews I settled on a pair of shoes that I ws keen to try. The thing that attracted me the most was that this shoe was super light like a minimalist show, but provided a bit more padding under foot than a minimalist shoe, and had the 0mm drop. This sounded perfect as I don't want to go down the whole barefoot runing route. I still want to be comfortable, and p[referably wanted a marathon racing shoe. So the Saucony Verrata sounded perfect.
Immediately when I tried them on my foot felt really balanced under the ball, and it felt like this was where the shoe was allowing my to naturally strike. The shoe was feather light and looked nice too.
After the my first run I love them. They feel so natural on; to be fair I am only running short distances, but I don't want to go out in new running shoes and run long distances straight up anyways. I think this will be a great move to developing a more efficient running stride, lets hope anyways.
After reading a few reviews I settled on a pair of shoes that I ws keen to try. The thing that attracted me the most was that this shoe was super light like a minimalist show, but provided a bit more padding under foot than a minimalist shoe, and had the 0mm drop. This sounded perfect as I don't want to go down the whole barefoot runing route. I still want to be comfortable, and p[referably wanted a marathon racing shoe. So the Saucony Verrata sounded perfect.
Immediately when I tried them on my foot felt really balanced under the ball, and it felt like this was where the shoe was allowing my to naturally strike. The shoe was feather light and looked nice too.
After the my first run I love them. They feel so natural on; to be fair I am only running short distances, but I don't want to go out in new running shoes and run long distances straight up anyways. I think this will be a great move to developing a more efficient running stride, lets hope anyways.
Run Coaching
On the weekend Kate and I got some professional run coaching, just to do a check over to see if our gait was looking ok. Seeming we have never had any professional run coaching before, this could have been interesting.
So generally both of us looked good. Kate killed it. Her form is very balanced and looks like she is at easy. Myself on the other hand, I have some work to do, and from what he noticed I think this gait problem could be what caused my last injury. Something is causing me to twist more from right to left each time my right foot strikes, causing a large amount of twisting on my planted left leg but also causing my right foot to land in front of (ish) my left foot. I can't believe I never noticed it before, but it must have been going on for a while as trying to alter it feels super weird. So for me it's back to the drawing board, but it's a perfect time for this as I slowly build up from injury so I should hopefully be able to make some adjustments during this time.
My goal is to get this sorted and on the road so I can enjoy some pain and injury free running for Adelaide Marathon next year. It gives me a good goal to work towards at least. Along with this analysis we got some good pointers for form coaching and refining, including the running ABC's warmup drill, some of which I already did, some which I didn't.
So generally both of us looked good. Kate killed it. Her form is very balanced and looks like she is at easy. Myself on the other hand, I have some work to do, and from what he noticed I think this gait problem could be what caused my last injury. Something is causing me to twist more from right to left each time my right foot strikes, causing a large amount of twisting on my planted left leg but also causing my right foot to land in front of (ish) my left foot. I can't believe I never noticed it before, but it must have been going on for a while as trying to alter it feels super weird. So for me it's back to the drawing board, but it's a perfect time for this as I slowly build up from injury so I should hopefully be able to make some adjustments during this time.
My goal is to get this sorted and on the road so I can enjoy some pain and injury free running for Adelaide Marathon next year. It gives me a good goal to work towards at least. Along with this analysis we got some good pointers for form coaching and refining, including the running ABC's warmup drill, some of which I already did, some which I didn't.
November 2013, bike riding and reminiscing
On average November is the wettest month in Vancouver. Not this year. We ahve been treated to the nicest autumn days, and only one or two days of rain. It's been amazing for bike riding. I think I have got more riding in the dry done this fall than I did all summer!!
The last week has been pretty chilly, with nights going below freezing, thus making the roads a bit sketchy, however I have still managed to get some nice rides in around Stanley Park and UBC, and haven't encountered any black ice yet. Fingers crossed, touch wood etc.
All of this beautiful weather has led to some amazing sunrises. I know this as I am up ridiculously early each day, but it is great as I have had the opportunity to be outside riding my bike and immersing myself within the beautiful scenery around Vancouver, or I ahve been out on our balcony taking photos. I hope you like. I can't believe we have been lucky enough to have a view like this for the last two and a half years. We'll look back on this apartment and time of our life with fond memories.
The last week has been pretty chilly, with nights going below freezing, thus making the roads a bit sketchy, however I have still managed to get some nice rides in around Stanley Park and UBC, and haven't encountered any black ice yet. Fingers crossed, touch wood etc.
All of this beautiful weather has led to some amazing sunrises. I know this as I am up ridiculously early each day, but it is great as I have had the opportunity to be outside riding my bike and immersing myself within the beautiful scenery around Vancouver, or I ahve been out on our balcony taking photos. I hope you like. I can't believe we have been lucky enough to have a view like this for the last two and a half years. We'll look back on this apartment and time of our life with fond memories.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Asset Management Tool
I have been starting to prepare for some downtime once I wrap up at Image Engine and return to Australia. I am really hoping that I can sort out a new position, but in the case that I don't I want to be ready for some freelance work. SO I have started developing my own asset management software. I have got some cool ideas about what I want to do, and have been recently cleaning up my pose manages tool, and realised that it wouldn't take "too much" work to convert it to the basis of an asset management tool.
The code is coming along pretty quick, and currently I am at the point of developing my default folders and shot structure, methods to add new shots, add new assets and tie all this into the pose manager too.
Versioning will be the next pass which should be pretty easy. It's been cool as I have had to learn some new python which is always interesting, and I am getting to develop on my rigging pipeline too so that I can develop how my assets tie into this tool correctly.
It's going to be a great tool to have as it should make my asset tracking at home so much cleaner and more manageable, but also it's going to be a great tool to demonstrate my pipeline ideas to potential employers. Screen shots and working videos to come.
The code is coming along pretty quick, and currently I am at the point of developing my default folders and shot structure, methods to add new shots, add new assets and tie all this into the pose manager too.
Versioning will be the next pass which should be pretty easy. It's been cool as I have had to learn some new python which is always interesting, and I am getting to develop on my rigging pipeline too so that I can develop how my assets tie into this tool correctly.
It's going to be a great tool to have as it should make my asset tracking at home so much cleaner and more manageable, but also it's going to be a great tool to demonstrate my pipeline ideas to potential employers. Screen shots and working videos to come.
Suit Shopping
I have a wedding to attend in a few months, and given that I have two suits in Australia that I never wear, and that I very rarely wear neat clothes I decided I didn't want a new suit, or expensive neat clothes. Also with moving back to Australia on the horizon, I didn't want anything bulky, or worst case, I didn't want aything so expensive that i wouldn't want to part ways with it if we couldn't fit it in for the move home.
The brief: Spend less than $200 on some clothes neat enough to pass at a wedding, but that I could also wear in a semi casual situation so that i will actually get use of them again, and maybe add to my wardrobe so that I can start building some nicer clothes than just t shirts and hoodies. It also has to work with my light violet shirt so I don't need to buy another shirt.
First stop, Top Shop. Yes these guys had some really nice looking clothes, but nothing that came all together just right, and it was too expensive. Left feeling bummed out as I had just wasted a hour trying clothes on and got nowhere.
Weekend two and shopping day two. Inquired about suit hire - too expensive. Pretty much blew my budget. Second stop I begrudgingly tried H & M. I always diss this place about being cheap and shitty. Funnily enough this day, there was so much stuff that worked for me. Yess cheap, but shitty; it probably wont last for ages, but I found some clothes that fit me really well and the price was right. $150 for a pair of pants, vest, and blazer / jacket. Super stoked and it looks pretty good, totally wedding worthy, but I can also dress it down to work with jeans. The best bit is that the whole outfit works with my Adidas kicks so no need to buy new shoes :-)
The brief: Spend less than $200 on some clothes neat enough to pass at a wedding, but that I could also wear in a semi casual situation so that i will actually get use of them again, and maybe add to my wardrobe so that I can start building some nicer clothes than just t shirts and hoodies. It also has to work with my light violet shirt so I don't need to buy another shirt.
First stop, Top Shop. Yes these guys had some really nice looking clothes, but nothing that came all together just right, and it was too expensive. Left feeling bummed out as I had just wasted a hour trying clothes on and got nowhere.
Weekend two and shopping day two. Inquired about suit hire - too expensive. Pretty much blew my budget. Second stop I begrudgingly tried H & M. I always diss this place about being cheap and shitty. Funnily enough this day, there was so much stuff that worked for me. Yess cheap, but shitty; it probably wont last for ages, but I found some clothes that fit me really well and the price was right. $150 for a pair of pants, vest, and blazer / jacket. Super stoked and it looks pretty good, totally wedding worthy, but I can also dress it down to work with jeans. The best bit is that the whole outfit works with my Adidas kicks so no need to buy new shoes :-)
Sourdough
Yay. It was finally time to bake some more bread. A friend was having us over for dinner so I wanted to cook an epic loaf of bread. I made another sourdough using my three month old culture. I matured the culture over 3 days, mixed the dough with the levain culture on Saturday morning, folded and fermented for 2.5 hrs, then shaped and let rise for a final fermentation of 2.5 hours and then baked the whole dough as one massive loaf.
This was a big loaf as it was meant to be shaped into two loaves, but like I said, I wanted to make an epic loaf. Unfortunately this huge loaf extended cooking time, and I ended up with a slightly too hard of a crust. I'll know for next time. However, there was a beautiful sourdough flavour and it raised really nicely, with some beautiful little air holes and a really nicely textured crumb. The crust was nicely coloured and the score marks worked really well, creating a very nice looking loaf of bread.
Next weekend I'm excited as I'm going to be baking a fig and hazlenut levain.
This was a big loaf as it was meant to be shaped into two loaves, but like I said, I wanted to make an epic loaf. Unfortunately this huge loaf extended cooking time, and I ended up with a slightly too hard of a crust. I'll know for next time. However, there was a beautiful sourdough flavour and it raised really nicely, with some beautiful little air holes and a really nicely textured crumb. The crust was nicely coloured and the score marks worked really well, creating a very nice looking loaf of bread.
Next weekend I'm excited as I'm going to be baking a fig and hazlenut levain.
Countdown Stop # 6 - Vij's Rangoli
We have wanted to Vij's Rangoli this place for a while, and were craving Indian as we haven't had it for a long time. We headed here with our friend Fred, who has spent some time living inn India so is a good critique.
So the menu wasn't traditional by any means. I had been craving Palak Paneer, which they had, but called slightly differently, and tandoori chicken, which they didn't have, which I was a bit bummed out about. You also couldn't order sides of rice or Naam bread which was a bit strange, and I would have really appreciated this to just pad the meal out a bit. The staff were also useless, and it was obvious that they had some feud going on cos the tension between some staff was totally noticeable.
This aside, the food was really great, a nice modern interpretation of Indian food. A classic situation of the wait staff totally letting the kitchen down. The chai tea was also delicious.
Overall, I wouldn't go back. I am a sucker for the traditional dishes, and the large servings that come with the traditional dishes. THis experience was tasty, but small and expensive, and just not quite Indian enough for me.
So the menu wasn't traditional by any means. I had been craving Palak Paneer, which they had, but called slightly differently, and tandoori chicken, which they didn't have, which I was a bit bummed out about. You also couldn't order sides of rice or Naam bread which was a bit strange, and I would have really appreciated this to just pad the meal out a bit. The staff were also useless, and it was obvious that they had some feud going on cos the tension between some staff was totally noticeable.
This aside, the food was really great, a nice modern interpretation of Indian food. A classic situation of the wait staff totally letting the kitchen down. The chai tea was also delicious.
Overall, I wouldn't go back. I am a sucker for the traditional dishes, and the large servings that come with the traditional dishes. THis experience was tasty, but small and expensive, and just not quite Indian enough for me.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
New Coffee - Rwandan roasted by Rocanini
Rocanini has got a bunch of new coffee in recently, and I just picked up a bag of their new Rwandan varietal. It is delicious. We first brewed it this morning, using a pour over setup, and wow, so good. I found it to not be a very fruity coffee. It's what I would call a classic coffee. Milk chocolate, caramel and toffee flavours. No bitterness, a nice lingering sweet finish. Needless to say I hope Rocanini keeps this one on the menu for a while!
Running - On the road back from injury
Today was a big day! My first run since the Victoria Marathon. I have had the last 5 weeks off repairing an injury and focusing on functional strength building. Finally my leg was feeling strong enough for a test run. Unlike my usual self I am going to take it very easy and build up to training, hence this mornings run was only 10mins. I figured just go for a tiny run and make sure that there are no unforeseen niggling pains during the run, or afterwards. The verdict, the leg still doesn't feel 100%, but it is the best it has felt for a long time, so my goal is to run twice a week, slowly ramping up intensity and distance with the goal of a marathon mid next year and iron man in Feb 2015.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Revolver Coffee
I tried out a new coffee shop on the weekend. Revolver Coffee in Gastown. Wow, they can make a kick ass latte. So that is awesome. What is not awesome. It is way to hipster. Dammit isn't everyont sick of this hipster thing yet? It's super expensive and they dont roast their own coffee. Would I go again, yes. But I wouldn't go out of my way to go there, I would go out of my way top go to Rocaninis instead.
Elysian Coffee
I love this place. They make delicious coffee, and roast their own beans so you can take a bag home with you. It is situated right between my work and Kates work so it makes a good morning or lunch break meet up place. If you like coffee and are in Vancouver, it's only one of the few places I know of that makes consistently great coffee.
Countdown Stop # 5 - Naam
We were cheeky this weekend and took the opportunity to get a few of our countdown restaurants off our list. It was also a good opportunity to catch up with our good buddy Ed. This time we headed to the Naam, well and truly a staple in Vancouver food culture, as well as being one of my favorite restaurants hands down. The Naam would be my most visited restaurant in Vancouver, it is always delicious and healthy if you choose the right thing :-) For me, a wicked Mexican Dragon Bowl. Pretty much rice, vegan cheese, steamed veg and fresh grated veg with guacamole, salsa and miso gravy with a side of tempeh. YES! So amazing. Then to top of this feast I got a little Vegan date slice for take out, so we could eat it down at Kits Beach as we watched the sun set and the city lights turn on. As always the Naam rocked and served up some delicious massive servings :-) !
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Countdown Stop # 4 - Meat & Bread
So time is flying, and we are at countdown stop #4. Next on the list was Meat and Bread in Gastown. Pretty much it is just amazingly roasted meat, on bread. The best pork crackling since getting to Vancouver. The only disappointment is that they don't bake their own bread? What, you don't bake your own bread but it is a main part of your name? Anyways, super tasty lunch treat, and although it was super crowded they had a great way to deal with everyone very quickly and everyone got a seat easily :-) Another one off the list.
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