Monday, December 31, 2012

2012 Homemade Christmas Card

Here's what I did this year for homemade Christmas cards that I gave to local friends.



MERRY CHRISTMAS,
[name of friend]!

12 DON’TS for this Christmas: Don’t…
  1. Open fire on someone for saying Happy Holidays/ Happy Hannukah/Happy Life Day instead of Merry Christmas
  2. Run over people during Christmas shopping (no longer necessary with online shopping)
  3. Assume that everyone will agree that Die Hard is a Christmas movie just because it’s set at Christmas
  4. Make people watch Frosty the Snowman for the ninth year in a row if they threaten to jump out a window
  5. Play your five favourite Christmas songs in an endless loop
  6. Get upset that the book you ordered from Australia December 21 didn’t arrive in time for Christmas
  7. Get drunk at a Christmas party and tell your boss what they can do with that Christmas bonus
  8. Unfriend someone on Facebook upon opening their gift (unless it’s in extremely poor taste)
  9. Give someone a gift in poor taste, like a kidney stone
  10. Tell everyone why 2013’s Christmas shopping season should start Easter Monday
  11. Make your parents spend Xmas Day in the kitchen
  12. Ask for the receipt immediately upon opening a gift.



But do have a great day and get well rested. You’ll need all your energy for Boxing Day!  Take care!


From,
Andy
 

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Disneyland Trip 2008 Retro-Itinerary



I unearthed the itinerary I wrote for my dad for our Disneyland trip and thought it would be fun to share. The reason why specific rides aren`t mentioned is that this was usually decided together the night before and not done up on computer. If I can unearth those plans I might post them later. I`ve added in notes of where we ended up actually going that day.

Tues Sept 9: Travel

ACTUAL: Travel. I took a bus from downtown Victoria to the airport in North Saanich and a plane from there to Richmond. My dad took a bus I think from Vernon to Kelowna and from there also flew to Richmond. From there we flew to Los Angeles and took a bus to Anaheim.

Wed Sept. 10: Disneyland Park
Rationale: since we’re going to be staying really close, there will be a strong temptation to visit there first

ACTUAL: Disneyland Park

Thurs Sept. 11: Knott’s Berry Farm
Rationale: It’s probably wise to alternate Disney and non-Disney days to give a bit of a variety.  Knott’s has the most roller coasters of places we’re likely to visit, thus likely one of the more tiring days for me.  Best to do that early on while I have the energy

ACTUAL: Disney’s California Adventure

Fri Sept. 12: Disney’s California Adventure
Rationale: again, alternating.  Might be wise to spend a busier day in the smaller park, though we can do both (the main park closes 2 hours later and the ticket’s good at both).

ACTUAL: Knott’s Berry Farm

Sat Sept 13: San Diego Wild Animal Park (or Zoo or SeaWorld)
Rationale: We can’t avoid crowds entirely on a Sat, but this should be less of a, er, zoo than the amusement parks.  Also, by this point we’ll probably want to recharge with something more relaxing

ACTUAL: SeaWorld. We both would have preferred the San Diego Wild Animal Park but we were unable to find any efficient transportation there.

Sun Sept. 14: Disneyland Park
Rationale: still alternating

ACUTAL: Universal Studios

Mon Sept 15: Universal Studios
Rationale: A little more energetic than the park, but lots of live shows.  Fun place to visit.  Also, shuttle is free

ACTUAL: Disneyland Park

Tue Sept 16: Flexible day
Rationale: Depending on what we feel like doing and what deals we choose it might be nice to have a more spontaneous day.

ACTUAL: Disneyland Park for me only; shopping for both

Wed Sept. 17: Disneyland Park
Rationale: I moved one of the flexible days here because we have a 5-day ticket and I thought it would be nice to spend our last day in Anaheim there.

ACTUAL: Universal Studios

Thurs: Homeward bound

ACTUAL: Home

Saturday, December 29, 2012

My Five Favourite Movies Released in the Theatres in 2012 - UPDATED


I ruled out movies I saw on DVDs and blu-ray simply because I can’t recall which were actually released in 2012. This list does tend to skew towards action oriented movies simply because I generally see quieter movies on DVD and blu-ray where a smaller image is less of an issue. I was going to call this thread “Seen in Theatres” but switched to “Released” to be faithful to the spirit of the thread: I saw the excellent Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in January but it was released in December 2011 (the Norwegian version is better still).

First off movies that I want to see but haven’t and that might have made this list had I seen them: Wreck It Ralph, Flight, Dredd.

List is in order of quality

  1. Cabin in the Woods: Very funny horror movie that sends up the stalking monster movies in a very unique fashion. Go see this knowing as little as possible.
  2. Django Unchained: Ironically, I ended up seeing this later in the day after I originally posted this blog entry, forcing a bit of a rewrite. A German bounty hunter in the US two years before the Civil War befriends a slave he frees. The two go to rescue the slave’s wife. A Quentin Tarantino movie, so lots of fun dialogue and action.
  3. The Amazing Spider-Man: Was it too soon for a reboot? Not if the result is the most unexpected happy surprise of this year’s superhero movies. Spider-Man’s character flaws and sympathetic aspects are on display here.
  4. Skyfall: One of the best movies in the Bond franchise, featuring a very vulnerable bond in a movie that touches upon themes such as loyalty and forgiveness and even the relevance of the Bond series.. When Bond is on top form, as Carly Simon once sang about him, “Nobody does it better”
  5. The Avengers: no relation to the British show, circumstances force the heroes of many of the Marvel movies of the past few years to join together against a common foe. Fun character interplay

If you think Dragon Tattoo should count despite the release date, I’d put it at #4.

Other movies seem this year: Looper (I wanted to like this time travel movie but there were too many elements I didn’t buy), The Dark Knight Rises (I liked this Batman movie up to a point but too many plot holes make this a lesser recommendation), Lockout (action movie in space with some moments but too contrived to be said to be more than okay), Hit and Run (hit any miss reformed criminal on the run movie; the humour doesn’t always work).

Safe was originally on ths list at number 5 but then I ended up unexpectedly seeing Django Unchained on the very day I first posted this, knocking all but Cabin down one. Here’s what I wrote when it still occupied the #5 spot: “Okay, I put this on the list simply because four seemed too few and I can’t in good conscience put the other movies I saw in the theatre this year on this list. In many ways it’s your typical Jason Statham popcorn flick, but it’s fun on that level. An ex-cop has to protect a young girl who has information many factions want.”

Friday, December 28, 2012

Seattle Trip 2012 Retro Itinerary



This is the itinerary I used for my July 2009 trip to Seattle.  Abbreviations as per the original itinerary for historical reasons.  See the links for the trip reports posted to see how the itinerary compared to the actual day.  While the timings are relatively recent as I post this, there may be some changes and over time the timings will be more and more outdated.  NOW in brackets is present day notes. 

Books/Booklets Needed:  Metro Transit (MT A,B,1,4,5,8,11,13,18,19,26,27,28,30,33,39,44,49,54,56,66,72,140,150,182,187,224,236,255,372,773,775) Sound Transit (ST) Pierce Transit (PT) Jefferson Transit (JT) Clallum Transit (ClT) Kitsap Transit (KT): 90 Olympia Transit (OT) Everett Transit (ET) Community Transit (CT) Island Transit (IT) Washington State Ferry (WSF) Thomas Guide: Snohomish, King, Pierce (SKP) Thomas Guide: Pacific Northwest (NW) Not for Tourists Guide to Seattle (NFT) ,CH=City Hostel IF=International Fountain TP=Torchlight Parade McD=McDonald’s ()-Bay/Zone Dtn=Downtown FT=Ferry Terminal Always: 1+  memory cards, 6+ batteries, VISA, US$, cameras,ORCA, keycard

Sun July 22 Port Angeles
Coho Black Ball FT Victoria 6:10/10:30/3 -->same Port Angeles 8/12:30/5
Odyssey, Movie House, Peninsula, E-Z, Port, Angeles, Rocktopus, Hostel

[NOW: The Movie House has closed down once again.]

Mon July 23 Arrival /Federal Way/Burien/Tukwila
ClT,JT,KT90,WSF,PT,ST,MT A,18,24,140,150
30 Gateway TC 6:00-->7th/Washington 6:28-->McDonald’s, Seal St Park
8 Sequim TC 6:55 --> Haines P&R 7:42 --> Dtn and back
7 same 9:30 --> Poulsbo TC 10:45 --> 90 same 10:50 --> Bainbridge FT 11:15  
WSF same 11:30 --> Seattle FT 12:05
18 3rd Ave & Columbia 12:21 --> 3rd Ave & Bell St 12:30 --> CH, IF
578 2nd & Pike 2:30 --> Federal Way TC (2) 3:06
182 same (3) 3:16 --> S 336th St/ Pacific Hwy S 3:23 --> Fantasium
501 S 336th St & 20th Ave S 3:48-->23rd Ave S & S 319th Pl 3:55-->Al’s,Action
A Federal Way TC (8) 4:41 --> Tukwila International Blvd Stn (1) 5:24
140 same (3) 5:33 --> 4th Ave SW/SW 152nd St 5:44 --> Platinum, Burien Books
140 Burien TC (6) 6:30 --> Andover Park W/Baker Blvd 6:50 --> FYE,Pond,Half
150 Andover Park W/Strander Blvd 7:33 --> University Stn (A) 8:09
24 4th Ave/University 8:19 --> Denny Way/Broad St 8:26 --> IF, CH
Tues Jul 24 Bellevue, Duvall, Redmond, Woodinville, Kirkland
PACK:ST,SKP,MT: B, 4, 8, 224, 236, 255, 931
4 3rd Ave/Bell St 8:10 --> 3rd Ave/Pike St 8:13
550 Westlake Stn (D) 8:22 --> Bellevue Way NE/Main St 8:54 -->Dtn Park, BN
B Bellevue TC (3) 9:36 --> 156th Ave NE & NE 10th St 9:48 -->Half, Barn, SilvPl B NE 8th St & 156th Ave NE 10:47 --> Redmond TC (1) 11:13
224 same 11:19 --> SR 203 & NE 145th St 11:46 --> DVD Now, Duvall Books
224 SR 203 & Stewart 1:00 --> Redmond TC (5) 1:38 --> Half Price, Redm Town
931 same 2:11  --> 138th Pl NE & NE 175th St 2:38 --> Sneak
236 SR 202 & 131st Ave NE 2:59-->124th Ave NE & NE 124th St 3:30-->Cor,Bel
236 NE 116th St & 120th Ave NE 4:32 --> Kirkland TC (4) 4:46
255 same (3) 4:54 --> Stewart St & Yale Ave 5:29
8 Denny Way & Stewart 5:37 --> Denny Way & Broad 5:50 --> IF, CH
Wed July 25 Marysville/Everett/Lynnwood/North Seattle
PACK: ST,CT,ET,SKP,NFT,MT:5,19,66,73,372
19 2nd Ave & Bell St 8:06  --> 2nd Ave & Pike St 8:08
510 4th Ave & Union St 8:25 --> Everett Stn (A4) 9:09
201 same (C3) 9:20 --> State Ave/100th St NE 9:40 -->McDonald’s, Kmart
201 same 10:07 --> Broadway & 14th St 10:22 --> Pawn Xc, Buy & Sell, Bargain
Walk/201 Broadway & Wall 11:09 --> Everett Stn (B2) 11:10
701 same (I2) 11:18 --> Everett Mall 11:28 --> Half Price Books
17 same 11:50 --> Wetmore/Hewitt 12:10 --> Everett Comics
CSwift Wetmore SB Stn 12:27 --> Crossroads SB Stn 1:00 --> Half Price
196 196th St SW/Hwy 99 1:19 --> Alderwood Mall 1:30 --> FYE, lunch
535 Alderwood Pkwy & 186th St SW 1:56 --> UW Bothell & Cascadia 2:11
372 same 2:18 --> Lake City Wy & NE 145th St 2:38 --> Video Factory
73 15th Ave NE & NE 145th St 3:12 -->15th Ave NE & NE 89th St 3:24-->Reckless
Walk/66 5th Ave NE & NE 90th St 3:56 --> 5th Ave NE & NE 95th St 3:57 --> Silv
5 1st Ave NE & NE 95th St 4:15 --> Greenwood Ave N/N 85th St 4:35
Blockbuster, Dreamstrands, Squirrel’s, Santoro’s, Couth,Greenwood Parade
5 Greenwood Ave N/N 80th St 8:05 --> Wall St/5th Ave 8:23 --> IF, CH
Thur July 26 Olympia/Lacey/Tumwater PACK: ST, OT, NW, MT: 18, Mason
590 2nd Ave/Lenora St 6:34 --> Tacoma Dome Stn (E) 7:29
603 same (C) 7:35 --> Capitol Wy & 11th 8:40--> Capitol, Subway, Heritage Fn
48 Olympia TC 9:45 --> Westfield Mall 9:58 --> Blockbuster, Barnes?
48 Westfield Mall 10:28 --> Olympia TC 10:40
66 same 10:45 --> Lacey TC (J) 11:05 --> Olympic, Boomerang
66 Lacey TC (D) 12:20 --> Olympia TC 12:40 --> Star Wars, Phantom City, De Colores, Fireside, Browsers, Danger Room, Rainy Day, Last Word
6 Olympia TC 3:45 --> 5th & Cota Credit Union 4:35
1 Civic Center 4:45-->Bill Hunter Park 5:45-->3 same 5:55 --> Bremerton FT 6:30
WSF same 6:45 --> Seattle FT 7:45
18 3rd Ave & Columbia St 7:56 --> Broad St & 2nd Ave 8:08 --> IF, CH

[NOW: Fireside Books is now defunct.]

Fri July 27 Vachon/Tacoma/Puyallup/Seatac
PACK: MT: A, 1, 33, 39bhh, 118, PT, WSF, Towel,
54 3rd Ave & Bell St 6:03 --> Fauntleroy Way & SW Barton St 6:33
WSF Fauntleroy FT 6:45 --> Vashon FT 7:05
118 same 7:15 --> SW Tahlequah Rd/SR 163 7:45
WSF Tahlequah FT 8:00 --> Point Defiance FT 8:15
10 5810 N Pearl St/Pt Defiance 8:45 --> TCC TC (E) 9:10
52 same (K) 9:15 --> Tacoma Mall TC (E) 9:40 --> FYE, Half
3 Tacoma Mall (F) 10:45 --> S 9th St & Fawcett Ave 11:05 --> King’s
Walk/13 N Tacoma Ave/N 1st St 11:46-->Pacific Ave/S 14th St 11:56-->UB,Glass
TacomaLink randomly
400 Pacific Ave & S 17th St 1:21 --> Puyallup Sounder Stn (3) 1:44 --> Dtn Puy
402 same 3:36 --> Federal Way TC (1) 4:09
A same (8) 4:21 --> International Blvd/S 195th St 4:52 --> Angle Lake Park
A same 5:30 --> International Blvd/S 176th St 5:35
599 Seatac Station 5:42 --> Columbia City Station 6:01
39 S Alaska St/S Alaska Pl 6:09 --> S Orca St/55th Ave S 6:19 --> Seward Park
39/33 Seward Ave S/S Orca St 8:04 --> Denny Way/Broad St 8:40 --> IF, CH
Sat July 28 Dtn/Alki/Torchlight Parade    PACK: NFT MT: 54, 56, 773, 775
TP set-up, Dtn inc Pike Place Market
54 3rd Ave/Pike St 12:00-->Alaska Jn (3) 12:21--> Pegasus, Leisure, Easy, Rubato
773/775 Alaska Jn (2) 1:02 --> Alki Av SW/53rd Av SW 1:26
Alki/Birthplace/Art/Liberty/Pepperdock
56 Alki Ave SW/61st Ave SW 3:12--> 3rd/Pike 3:45-->TP set-up,IF,dinner (4:45ish),TP,CH

[NOW: Rubato Records is now defunct.]

Sun July 29 Ballard/Fremont/Gas Works  PACK: NFT MT: 18, 26, 28, 44, Towel
TP aftermath
18 3rd Ave/Bell St 8:34 --> NW Market St/Ballard Ave NW 8:56
Walk/44 8:58 same 8:58-->32nd Ave NW/NW Market St 9:01-->Locks/fish ladder
Walk/44 NW 54th St/30th Ave NW 10:05-->NW Market/Ballard NW 10:07-->SBm,Moviecy
Walk/44 same 10:22 --> NW Market St/15th Ave NW --> Arcane 10:25
44 NW Market St/15th  Ave 10:55 --> MW Market St/8th Ave 10:57
28 8th Ave NW/NW Market St 11:19 --> N 36th St/Phinney Ave N 11:28
Dinosaurs, Rocket, Lenin, lunch, Opheila’s, Jive, Rapunzel, JP, Troll
26 N 35th St/Troll Ave N 1:10 --> Wallingford Ave N/N 35th St 1:12 --> Gas Wks 26 N 35th St/Wallingford Ave N 4:07  --> Dexter Ave/Denny Wy 4:21 --> IF,CH

[NOW: Moviecycle is now defunct.]

Mon July 30 Portland  PACK: Portland map, Bus tickets, MT: 13, 27, 66, ST
27 3rd Ave & Bell St 7:12 --> 3rd Ave & Pine St 7:14
545 4th Ave & Pike St --> Olive Way & 8th Ave 7:25 --> Greyhound depot 811 Stewart
Greyhound Seattle Bus Depot 8:00 --> Portland Bus Depot 12:05 550 NW 6th Ave
9 NW Broadway & Hoyt 1:08 --> SW 5th & Taylor 1:15
Green Union Stn/NW 6th & Hoyt St MAX 1:11-->Convention Ctr MAX 1:18 -->Vacuum
6 SE Grand & E Burnside 1:40 --> NE M L King & Knott 1:47 --> Title Wave
6 NE M L King & Knott 2:02 --> NE M L King & E Burnside 2:10
20 E Burnside & NE Grand 2:27 --> E Burnside & SE 44th 2:38 --> Movie Madness
15 SE Belmont & 43rd 2:58 --> SW Washington & 5th 3:16
35 Macadam to Oregon City TC 3:26 --> SW Moody & Whitaker 3:37 --> Tram
35 SW Macadam & Curry 4:28 --> SW 6th & Salmon 4:38 --> Mill Ends Park
51 SW 2nd & Taylor 5:07 --> SW Washington & 9th 5:11 --> Powell’s, etc.
Greyhound Portland  Bus Depot 6:50 --> Seattle Bus Depot 10:55
66 Stewart St & 7th Ave 11:02 --> 3rd Ave  & Pine St 11:03
13 3rd Ave & Pike St 11:15 --> 3rd Ave & Bell St 11:18 --> CH
Tues July 31 U District/Magnuson    NFT MT:8, 30, 49, 72,Towel
72 Westlake Stn (A) 8:33 --> University Way & NE 41st St 8:44 -->  maybe U, U Village
Bulldog,U Bk,Wall,Half,Cinema,Magus,Neptune,Comic Stop,Al’s,Scarecrow,Dreaming?
30 NE 50th St/University Wy NE 11:28-->Sand Point Wy NE/NE 65th St 11:41-->Magnuson
30 Sand Point Wy NE/NE 65th St 2:56 --> NE Campus Pkwy/12th Ave NE (4) 3:15
49 same 3:21 --> Broadway Ave E/E Republican St 3:37
Pop, Broadway Video, Jimi, Elliot Bay, Everyday, Twice, Half
8 E Olive Way/Summit Ave E 5:04 --> Denny Way/Broad St 5:20 --> IF, CH
Wed Aug 1 Magnolia, Ballard, Gas Works PACK: 26, 30, 33, 44, NFT
33 Denny Way & Broad St 11:52 --> W Government Way & 36th Ave W 12:09
Discovery Park, then walk to Ballard Locks again
44 NW 54th St/30th Ave NW --> NE 45th St/Thackeray Pl NE 3:29
26 Thackeray Pl NE/N 35th St & Wallingford Ave N 3:52 --> Gas Works Park
30 N 35th St/Stone Way N 4:25 --> Denny Wy/Broad St 4:38 --> IF, CH   OR
26 N 35th St/Wallingford Ave/Dexter Ave/Denny Way 4:43 --> IF, CH
Thur Aug 2 Capitol Hill    PACK: NFT MT: 8, 11
Walk/8 Denny Way/Dexter Ave 9:34 --> E Olive Way/Broadway Ave 9:42
Pop, Broadway Video, Jimi, Elliot Bay, Everyday, Twice, Half, Sonic Boom,3rd Man
Walk/11 E Pine St/Belmont Ave 12:14 --> Pine St/5th Ave 12:20-->Dtn,IF,CH

[NOW: Third Man Video is now defunct.]

Fri Aug 3 Home    HANDY: KT 90, JT, Cl, WSF, Victoria bus, Gray’s
132 2nd Ave/Bell 5:27 --> 2nd Ave/Marion St 5:32
WSF Seattle FT 5:30 or 6:10 --> Bainbridge Island FT 6:05 or 6:45
90 same 6:15 or 6:57 --> Poulsbo TC 6:35 or 7:20
7 same 7:35 --> SR-20/4-Corners 8:27 --> 8 same 8:45 --> Sequim TC 9:21
30 same 9:45 -->Gateway TC 10:20--> as July 22
Coho Black Ball FT 12:45 --> Victoria Black Ball FT around 2:30 OR
590 2nd Ave/Lenora St 6:34 --> Tacoma Dome Stn (E) 7:29
603 same (C) 7:35 --> Capitol Wy & 11th 8:40--> Capitol, Subway, Heritage Fn
40 7th/Capitol 9:30 --> Aberdeen Station (Wishkah/G) 11:00
60 same 11:30 -->Amanda Park Merc 12:40
Olympic Connection same 12:53 --> Forks TC 2:24
14 same 3:05 --> Gateway TC 10:20--> as July 22
Coho Black Ball FT 5:20 --> Victoria Black Ball FT around 7:30 OR
27 3rd Ave/Bell 7:12 --> 3rd Ave/Union 7:15
510 4th Ave/Union 7:25 --> Everett Station (A4) 8:09
90X same (?) 8:35 --> Skagit Station 9:20 -->411W same 12:50 --> March’s Point P&R 1:10
410 same 1:35 --> Anacortes FT 1:57 --> WSF same 2:50 --> Sidney FT 5:00
70 Fifth/Beacon 5:39 --> Government/Superior 6:22
As time permits: Silver Platters, Easy St, Olympic, Kerry, Hing Pay Park, Uwajimaya, South Lake Union’s streetcar, Freeway Park