The Secrets Of Vancouver BC, Canada

Towed In Vancouver? Blame The Folk Festival.

photo credit: dan taylor

From Now Public…

“Several irate American tourists with whom I spoke with, were waiting to be shuttled to the Busters Towing yard under the Granville Street Bridge for over an hour; most of them had a wonderful day at the festivities only to be dumbfounded later finding out their vehicles had been towed, and no arrangements had been made to communicate with the Folk Festival organizers on behalf of the city that such a vast number of cars were to be towed, nor were any announcements made inside the festival to alert those parked there!”

The worst part is that they were ok’d to park on the lawns of the Jericho Hill Community Centre. If you’ve been to the area, there isn’t enough parking for residents let alone a festival. Maybe they could have talked to transit and asked them to keep the buses running for an extra hour?

If you were on of the unlucky ones, you can apply to the Vancouver Folk Music Festival Society for your money back at http://thefestival.bc.ca/

I wouldn’t hold my breath on a refund for the City of Vancouver traffic violation ticket.

The Okanagan – Vancouver’s Playground

photo credit: palestrina55

We haven’t been to the Okanagan for a long time and decided to visit this weekend. Went to the in-laws in Penticton. Great drive from Vancouver (once you get out of the city..).

The area is as beautiful as ever, and I was really surprised by the growth of the wine country there. The mountains are desert-like and you’ll see strips of grapes everywhere.

The wines coming from the area rival California now. The wineries have great restaurants and I can see spending a week there exploring.

Here’s a couple of reasons for you to getaway to the Okanagon area:

1) Mission Hill Family Estate – Summer Concert & Movie Series – Jul 25, 2008

Beautiful spot at the Mission Hill Family Estate’s Outdoor Amphitheatre. You’ll enjoy wine, food and great entertainment all in one of the most stunning settings high atop Mission Hill overlooking Lake Okanagan.

2) South Okanagan Winery Tour with Lunch – Aug 31, 2008

Great value, and you get to eat and drink. It begins in Penticton heading south to four wineries in Okanagan Falls; Wild Goose Vineyards, Stag’s Hollow Winery, Blue Mountain Vineyards and Hawthorne Mountain Estate Winery. From there, meander along the east shore of Okanagan Lake and discover 18 more wineries operating along or just off the Naramata Road. Remember Naramata Road- you cover as many wineries with as little time spent driving.

3) Penticton Peach Festival – August 5th – August 10th

Music, The Canadian Snowbird Air Show, parades, music and all the other things you’d expect. Kid friendly.

Enjoy the are if you can.

photo credit: palestrina55

photo credit: jconybeer

photo credit: kelownabc

There’s Bears In Them Hills

photo credit: wildphotons

For two weeks in a row our neighbor has put out his garbage the night before. Seems the bears notice this and invite themselves to a free snack.

It’s probably against the law to put out garbage at night, but I can’t seem to tell him this. He doesn’t speak english.

Other than having our dog eaten, the thing that gets me is that the bear chooses to take the trash down a hill next door and enjoy his feast. I can live with that.

But the people who own the yard are probably scared sh*tless… they have left the garbage there for 8 days now.

This would be OK in Sunnyvale trailer park. But it isn’t in the type of area we live in.

I’m not one to call the city… I’ll count the days and see how long it takes for them to clean it up.

Oh yeah, Vancouver has big black flies too.

Bad Way To Get Lucky In Vancouver

photo credit: vern.

From the Vancouver Sun:
Metro Vancouver police issue date-rape drug warning
Tim Lai, Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER – Vancouver Police are issuing a warning to women about date-rape drugs and to use extra caution at bars after 11 women reported sexual assaults in the Downtown Eastside and Surrey.

Const. Tim Fanning said that a man who works in the Downtown Eastside came forward last week to report these incidents after 11 women shared their stories of meeting a man in a bar and then getting raped.

“We can’t confirm at this whether it’s one suspect or a number of suspects because we have second-hand information,” said Fanning.

Fanning noted that the VPD gets a report of a sexual assault of this nature about once per week, but proving the use of date-rate drugs has been very difficult.

“By the time they report to us, if they do report to us, it’s often too late to see if drugs have been used in the sexual assault because it leaves the system fairly quickly,” he said.

Fanning wants to remind women to watch their drinks at the bar and to watch out for each other. If a sexual assault of this nature occurs, report it immediately, so the police can starting piecing the case together by reviewing security footage from the bar or talking to other patrons.

Be careful out there… Vancouver’s drugs have hit a new low.

Beat The Heat In Vancouver

Summer in Vancouver is worth waiting 9 months for. When we get to 90 degrees (I think that’s 30 something Celsius)…

… the lack of air conditioning becomes a sore point on those hot nights.

Being that I am slowly becoming carbon neutered, this video helped me beat the heat.

Enjoy…

Don’t Buy A Strata In Vancouver

photo credit: penmachine

If you decide to buy (?) think twice of the property is a strata. A strata is basically a political board – and we all know how politics work in BC.

Some of the fun things you’ll get if you do buy a strata include:

* There’s no source of legislation interpretation to let you in on the operation of strata corporations according to law (search Google and let me know if you find anything),
* They do not need to inform owners and purchasers of the financial implications of the condition of common property,
* No need for an audit of strata finances even where the strata corporation has hundreds of thousands of dollars in a reserve fund, and
* The lack of prosecution of developers operating contrary to strata legislation.

In other words, the strata typically becomes a group of self-serving busy bodies, with the ability to harass, ignoring problems with common areas, and getting away with it.

The lack of audited financial leaves the system wide open for misappropriation of funds.

A neighbor of mine has been fighting with his strata for over a year, as they will not fix the exterior of his condo. They won’t let him do it himself and have made his life hell. His property has taken a hit and he has nowhere to turn.

His only option is to sue, and the cost is very high. And the strata board knows it.

Look out for buildings where there are foreign investors also. They won’t vote or participate in the strata’s decisions. This can create a lot of problems.

The “leaky condos” mess should have brought radical changes to stratas, but I guess legislators were too busy passing lifestyle laws and finding new sneaky ways to tax us, to really care about condo owners financial security.

What Would You Do With $170,000 Worth of Butter?

photo credit: sugarfreak

Police puzzled by $170,000 Vancouver butter theft
Mary Frances Hill, Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER — A theft of a semi-trailer carrying $170,000 worth of butter has Vancouver and Delta police baffled.

The semi-trailer truck was found in the 8200-block of River Road in Delta, near an industrial park. It had been emptied of its contents.

The truck was stolen Monday around 9 a.m. from the 300-block of Southeast Marine Drive in Vancouver.

“Semi-trailers do go missing on a regular basis, but butter’s not a typical product that’s stolen,” said Const. Paul Eisenzimmer of the Delta Police Department.

“The average corner store that might be interested in buying stolen cigarettes wouldn’t likely be interested in butter. Getting rid of $170,000 worth of butter would be pretty hard.”

Crime is getting out of hand…

How A Politician Can Help Bring Down A Bank

From the Wall Street Journal:

The director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, John Reich, blamed IndyMac’s failure on comments made in late June by Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.), who sent a letter to the regulator raising concerns about the bank’s solvency. In the following 11 days, spooked depositors withdrew a total of $1.3 billion.

Mr. Reich said Sen. Schumer gave the bank a “heart attack.”

“Would the institution have failed without the deposit run?” Mr. Reich asked reporters. “We’ll never know the answer to that question.”

photo credit: yanec

This demonstrates how one voice, or dumb politician, can start a stampede when it comes to banking or real estate. IndyMac Bank suffered one of the biggest bank closures in US history.

In Vancouver the media works in harmony to turn bad news into good. Especially when it comes to real estate. As they get a lot of their profit from real estate ads, so don’t hold your breath you’ll get any warning until after the spiral begins.

The announcement of a tightening on 40 year mortgages is a good sign there is trouble ahead. The Bank of Montreal said on Friday that it will stop offering 40-year mortgages… 3 months ahead of the rule change. Considering that 63% of home buyers take these mortgages, just to be able to afford the payments, it will have an immediate impact on home sales and prices.

Say good-bye to liar loans (no proof of a borrower’s ability to repay) and hello to a max of 45% for a borrower’s debt-service ratio.

This is not good news in Vancouver, where people fork over 70% of their income for the privilege of living in a “hot” housing market.

Take a Hike

photo credit: LabGP & SigOther

We lucked out when we moved to Port Moody.

We have 3 lakes within 5 minutes and they all have great hiking paths, as well as beaches.

You need to arrive early if you want a parking spot, as the weekends bring a lt f people from the area.

Here are some more pictures of the lakes:

photo credit: iwona_kellie

photo credit: LabGP & SigOther

photo credit: fwb

photo credit: Mussels