Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

I recently checked out the Edgeworth Properties "EMIC" -- Edgeworth Mortgage Investment Corporation -- offering. The bottom line: 12.5% annual return on investment. Although it's got the word "mortgage" in it, it's really about land banking . Minimum investment $10,000. Offering closes once they get $50 million. As I was feeling anxious about investing with line of credit monies, I pumped them for how they were doing it. Here's the summary, in crude layman's terms. Contact them for the official scoop. This blog is not affiliated with Edgeworth Properites or any other kind of investment you can possibly think of. We make no money off Edgeworth or anyone else for writing this. Consider this all opinion. To cover my ass, why don't I just say this is all utter rubbish for feeble comedic entertainment value only . Research. Find out where there will be strong need for construction. Where will there be expansion? Where will the government want t...

Spagnuolo & Company Real Estate Lawyers called me today to set up an appointment for finalizing my mortgage, which is up for renewal. The final amount I needed to cough up was just over $2000. The appointment was for 9am the next day, and it wasn't even 9am when I left the house. I had it in the bank, so I figured, no problem, even though my account is with the online bank, President's Choice Financial (you know, the one that gives you free groceries ). There were two banks side-by-side: CIBC and BMO . They both indicated branch opening times of 9:30am, but at 9:30am, only BMO was open. So, I go into the Bank of Montreal. Can I get a money order or certified cheque? No. Cash, or I had to have an account with them. Huh. Looks like they don't have an Interac machine, which every two-bit vendor and their dog has to get a cash-equivalent payment from any bank. Why is it actually harder at a bank? Can I pay with cash? Oops -- My daily ATM withdrawal limit is $1000. S...

Got my Shaw modem swapped with their swanky new model this afternoon at Shaw Tower downtown. Now that I've got it, I've been told it allows me to sign up for their Shaw High Speed Xtreme-I , which goes up to 15Mbps, or twice as fast as what I've been using. The introductory cost (only until May 31st) to get you spoiled on higher speed is an $4.95 per month over what I'm paying now, for the first three months. After that, the regular additional charge of $10 starts. So what can surfing at double speed let me do? Discover Twitter is over-capacity twice as quickly? For now I'm going to decline, I think. There's "faster", but for average schmoes, there's also "fast enough". Just as someone who only needs word processing really could do just fine with an old IBM AT Compatible and Windows 3.1.

Ducked out for a walk in the late evening from Stanley Park following the Sea Wall to Vancouver Convention Centre and it's wonky lights, then on a whim headed to Commercial Drive for dinner before my graveyard shift at the Crisis Centre . I'd been to the Reef on Commercial Drive (1018 Commercial Drive, 604.568.JERK) a long time ago, for the Jamaican national dish, Ackee and Salt Fish (which is interesting food if you've never tried it, but nothing so tasty you absolutely have to have it). This time I just sort of eyeballed the menu and chose the Trini Roti. On a Wednesday night, past 8:30pm, the patio was pretty packed, but the inside was deserted -- a plus if you want to cool down from the still-hot summer day , as you had the pick of seating and could choose to be more or less right under a fan. The Trini Roti for $10 was about the size of two fists put together. I had the one with Jerk Goat, and the curried meat was moist but not gooey wet, very tasty, spicy ...

Went out to the Hamilton Street Grill for a lovely dinner last night with my wonderful friend Jennifer! In case you still haven't heard, all through June they are celebrating their 12th anniversary with a $12 steak (8 oz) special! You get a moderately sized steak, mashed potatoes, brussel sprouts, and a long, skinny, baby carrot for colour. (While you're on their website, be 'warned' -- clicking the links about menus or events initiates a PDF download. Harmless, but unexpected). Do remember to try their ultra-delicious Gingerbread Pudding if you've never had it before (recipe here courtesy of CityTV ). It's changed a bit from years past, no longer drenched in gooey sweet sauce that may have been a bit sweet for some palates.

Once upon a time, I listed my Fantasy Art Blog with Bloggapedia , and more or less forgot about it. Today, I got an e-mail from same... When I signed up for it, there was this blurb further explaining the process: What is syndication and what does it mean for me and my blog? Essentially, it means there are websites out there that would like to offer your blog content for download on devices like smartphones and e-readers, for a small fee. Because these websites are looking for the best of the best in blog content, they've partnered with Bloggapedia If you choose to allow us to syndicate your blog you'll receive a 30% royalty on the profit from the syndication of your blog once the submission of your blog listing is approved. Whenever someone downloads your blog content onto their device via Bloggapedia's syndication service, we'll pass on 30% of Bloggapedia's revenue from that sale to you! Payments are made quarterly; minimum payout $25. Funds will accrue...

Following Saturday's tragic news of Vendors Bludgeoned to Death over Happy Song , I of course immediately rushed over to the gory aftermath of the Texas Scottish Festival (which will stoically continue, as the festival is scheduled over June 5th to 7th -- the show must go on!). After exhaustively interviewing the key more-or-less reliable witnesses Christine R. and Ethan R. , I am pleased to present this public service announcement positively identifying the dangerous suspects involved in Saturday's bloodbath! Suspect #1 - "C. Rose" The first suspect is known to frequent seedy karaoke dives, and we expect she can be easily apprehended there. She can be positively identified by her (1) Bad Pasty Makeup, (2) Alluring Dark Eyes (unconfirmed sources say she is some sort of evil hypnotist who can mesmerize unsuspecting persons into appearing on YouTube ), and her (3) Tight Ass... about inane children's songs -- which triggered the outrageous fit of violence ending...

Amazon.com Widgets Amazon.com Widgets Okay, sorry for the rant, but here goes: I haven't had my Canon iP1600 for very long. Less than a year, I think. I got the cartridges refilled once, and it seemed to work fine. Until today. The black cartridge still felt heavy with ink, but the printer said it was empty. I couldn't get it to try printing anyway. So I take it to Cyto-Ink refill near Metrotown, and the guy says he didn't know of this printer model locking out refilled cartridges. He didn't think refilling it would work again, and he tested the cartridges for ink by pressing the nozzles to a piece of absorbent paper. Yup, there's ink. So he sells me a refurbished black cartridge. I plod home in the sweltering heat and put it in the printer. Now, the printer says it detects the cartridge as a previously used one, and it won't detect ink levels, but I can press RESUME to print anyway. Only there's no RESUME button. I click okay. The message pop...

Thursday's my day off, and I decided I'd duck out before the evening rush to try that poutine from the Templeton ) ( huh? ). If you do go either don't order any other entree, or bring a friend, because for a measly $7, you do get a full meal worth of poutine. It didn't taste particularly mushroomy, but it was savory, spiced, fries started off crispy, and there was a generous amount of gravy (so eat the soggy fries first, and save the crispy ones for scooping up leftover gravy). The gravy's a bit salty on its own, so water's recommended. The server initially asked if I wanted tomato sauce on my fries -- I didn't try this, but you may want to. I don't know if I'll get in enough Grouse Grind time (now Smoke-Free , by the way) to justify another serving of so much poutine. So, was it "addictive" as reviewed by Vancouver Magazine's October 2008 issue ( 101 Things to Taste Before You Die )? Nah. If anything, perhaps they could make it ...

I have no idea how I ever survived living close to the equator in Singapore when I was a kid. It's sooo hot these days. I, for one, never complained about the extended winter we had this year. I had fancied going to the Templeton (1087 Granville Street - 604.685-4612) this evening for their supposedly famous vegetarian poutine, said to be so wonderful it received a mention in Vancouver Magazine's October 2008 issue where they recommended " 101 Things to Taste Before You Die ": Herbivores rejoice! The meatless mushroom gravy, generously poured over crispy fries and chunks of white cheddar cheese, doesn't make for a traditional poutine (not a cheese curd in sight), but it's highly addictive. If you're dropping by their website , here's a tip: DON'T use the menu links on the right to look at the menu. It adds irritating "#links" bookmarks and at least the Side Orders menu link is broken. Instead, keep scrolling down on the main page t...