Not more than four days after I wrote about BC Ferries raising fares, they prove yet again how well they are making use of our money.

At about 8:00pm tonight (technically last night now), one of the smaller ferries that makes runs to the gulf islands broke down just outside the Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal and could not be started again.

I caught this story on Global TV News just a few hours ago and it turns out the ferries engine broke down, couldn’t be started again and, though no other damage was reported, 50+ passengers were stranded on the boat for a number of hours as the ferry had to remain anchored in Horseshoe Bay. As of the 11:00pm news report, the ferry, along with all its passengers, were still floating in Horseshoe Bay.

Thanks again to the good people at BC Ferries for proving my point once more. Keep raising your fares and lowering your quality of service, it really is a pleasure to be able to help line your pockets and cover the cost of your new Mercedes. I hope you enjoy it!

Image Source: Canada.com

Well, BC Ferries is at is again and is taking full advantage of their monopoly by jacking up ticket prices… again.

At the moment, the cost of a 1-way walk on ticket from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo is $10.55 + $0.80 Fuel Surcharge, and the cost for average length car (not including driver or passengers) is $35.00 on weekends and $33.00 on weekdays + $2.85 Fuel Surcharge. As of 12:00 Noon, November 10th, the price for a 1-way walk on ticket will go up to $11.15 + $0.80 Fuel Charge, and the price for an average size car (not including driver or passenger), will go up to $39.00 on weekends and $36.75 on weekdays + $2.85 Fuel Surcharge. That’s an increase of $0.60 per walk on, $4.00 per car on weekends and $3.75 per car on weekdays.

Continue Reading: (”BC Ferries Jacks Up Their Prices… Again”)

Gunther von Hagens, creator and genius behind the body preservation technique known as plastination, has taken on a new project.

Plastination is a preservation technique developed by Gunther von Hagens that is used to preserve human “specimens” (”see also: bodies”) in their entirety, by replacing all bodily fluids with plastics. Hagens is world renowned for his innovated methods of preservation and is know for his Body Worlds exhibit. Hagens most recent exhibit, Body Worlds 3, is currently in Vancouver BC at Science World, where it will remain until next year.

Continue Reading: (”Bond Poker Scene to be Imortalized by Dead Bodies”)

Happy Halloween Everybody!

Enjoy the fireworks, candy, costumes and alcohol, and have a great night!Don’t forget the two most important parts of Halloween in Vancouver:

- It either rains or is freezing cold every Vancouver Halloween, so be ready for both occasions! Though it looks tonight like we’re more in for the blood freezing cold than the rain.

- Only take Apples from strangers, and double check to be sure they come with a special prize in the middle!

Here’s hoping everyone has a fun and safe Halloween!

This has to be one of the weirdest stories I have read in a long time. The City of Richmond quite literally wants to get into Firefighters pants.

Apparently Richmonds firefighers are a tad on the neolithic side and have been under some scrutiny as a result of allegations of sexual harassment coming from female firefighters. In the hopes of curbing any sexual harassment allegations, the City of Richmond has decided to waste $16,000 of tax payers money to buy 6 pairs of new boxer-style underwear for all of its firefighters.

How is this going to curb sexual harassment allegations you ask? Why it will make the firehalls more gender neutral of course! Yeah… right. Those must be some pretty fancy boxers to make a firehall gender neutral. I watch Rescue Me, I know what firehalls are like, and no underwear, no matter how fancy, can make that kind of place gender neutral.

“We supply firefighters with various pieces of gear such as gloves, now it’s underwear,” city official Ted Townsend told the Vancouver Sun, saying it was part of the “integration of the sexes in the workplace.”
Source

I’m sorry, but I’m still just not getting it. How the hell are making firefighters wear boxers going to make the firehall any more of less gender neutral? Excuse my stupidity, but I’m just not seeing it.

Firefighters strip off most of their clothes in order to don protective gear when responding to fire alarms, although Townsend said the city is considering buying gear that can be put on over regular uniforms.
Source

Have you ever tried to put any kind of protective gear or suit on over top of regular clothes? It doesn’t work very well and it’s uncomfortable as hell. You always get one pant leg and one shirt arm that rolls up funny and gets super annoying.

Personally, I could think of better things to spend $16,000 of the tax payers money on. To bad Richmond can’t seem to figure that out.

A few weeks ago, before Chrys left for Nebraska, we took a trip to Granville Island to get a haircut and look around and we came across a fantastic new booth. We had never seen this booth in particular there before, so we had to stop and check it out, and it turned out that they were selling any and all forms of Bison you could think of.

The couple running the booth are the owners of the Hanson Bison Ranch in Valhalla Centre, Alberta, where they raise herds of these mamoth creatures.

Chrys and I, being big fans of Buffalo meat, had to pick up some Bison and give it a try, so we picked up a 6 pack of Bison hamburger patties, and let me tell you, they are some of the best damn hamburgers I have ever had. Plain and naked or as a cheese burger with all the fixin’s, these patties make for one heck of a burger. While we were there we also sampled the Bison pepperoni, which was to die for.

Since Bison is obviously a bit of a specialty item, the folks from the Hanson Bison Ranch charge a bit more than you would usually pay for the garden variety beef equivalent, but for meat of this quality and flavor, and born and raised naturally in Canada, its well worth the extra cost. Not to mention Bison is incredibly good for you. I never would have guessed it and we were both taken aback by the information, but Bison is such a lean meat that it has a substantially lower fat and calorie content than hamburger and a much higher amount of protein. Believe it or not, Bison meat has even less fat and calories than chicken! I couldn’t believe that a red meat could be so healthy.

One thing is for sure, I’ll certainly be heading back to Granville Island and the Hanson Bison Ranch to pick up some more Bison.

You can find the Hanson Bison Ranch booth in Granville Island next on October 27th, 28th or 29th from 9:00am - 7:00pm. Or you can order some Bison by visiting their website at: www.hansonbisonranch.com

I found this video posted over at TheVancouverite.com and thought it was really cool. I remember reading a little while ago about the updates made to GM Place as far as their LCD (I think?) displays go and this video is a really cool way of showcasing the new updates. I guess every Vancouver Canucks game is going to come with a complementary rave now.

The Win a Coffin Contest

The blackest, spookiest, most pumpkin carving-est day of the year is fast approaching! All Hallow’s Eve (aka Devil’s Night, Hell’s Night, Samhain, All Hallowtide, The Feast of All Soula, The Feast of All Saints’, All Saints’ Day and, of course, Halloween) is fast approaching, and what better way to get prepared for Devil’s Night then to win yourself a nice, shiney new coffin.

VancouverHalloween.com has a number of contest’s this year in preparation for the Samhain celebration. By far the coolest of the list is the chance to Win a Coffin. As is stated on their website, the coffin is for prop use only (awwww, lame!) and is worth $150. The winner will be randomly selected via email and will be announced on October 20th, 2006.

To enter the VancouverHalloween.com Win a Coffin contest, simply send an email to contest@vancouverhalloween.com explaining exactly what you’d do with a shiney, new coffin.

Best of luck to everyone! I hope the winner comes up with an interesting use for their new coffin.

To learn more about VancouverHalloween.com, go to: http://www.vancouverhalloween.com/

To see what other VancouverHalloween Contests are available, go to: http://www.vancouverhalloween.com/2005vh_contests.html

To all you folks out there that are still in school (high school, that is), be sure to take advantage of a new offer Translink has running until Friday, October 6th, 2006.

For all students between Kindergarten and Grade 12, transit of all forms is completely FREE until October 6th, 2006, as long as you have a student ID to prove you’re a student.

Translink is offering the free ride to all school students to promote international “walk to school week”, if such a thing really exists, and in the hopes of making kids “think outside the car” when it comes to transportation.

From October 2 through 6, students from kindergarten through Grade 12 are being encouraged to walk or take alternate modes of transportation to get to school. TransLink will make transit an easier choice by providing free rides for students on Coast Mountain and West Vancouver buses, SeaBus, SkyTrain and West Coast Express during that time.

Translink

This is a great way to get from A to B if you qualify and can save you some cash. Naturally it’s only running during the week, so if you’re skipping school to hit the mall, take the bus and save some cash. Oh, and they don’t stipulate any times anywhere, they don’t say is has to be during school hours, to take full advantage and ride for free at night too. Taking advantage of Translink is like taking advantage of Starbucks, only less free starbucks coffee and more stinky people.

Being the cheap bastard that I am, when Chrys and I were thinking about going out for dinner and the various other things we might do over the weekend, I hit the interweb and started to deal search. After all, what sense is there in paying full price if you don’t have to, right? Right.

We ended up going to Original Joe’s on Broadway and Cambie for dinner, which I didn’t find any coupons for, but is well worth paying full price for anyhow. It’s been over a year now since we’ve been to Original Joe’s, the last time we were there was when Chrys & I went to pick up her wedding dress. It is a bar, but there is just something about it that has a homey, relaxing feeling to it. We always both feel really comfortable when eating there and, the best part, the food is always really good and a good price. They also have beer special everyday and are one of the few places in Vancouver that sells Russel’s Cream Ale, which, if you haven’t tried it yet, just so happens to be the best beer on the face of the earth, and it’s made by a local Vancouver brewery. Yay, local! Original Joe’s is well worth giving a shot if you’re looking for a yummy meal of comfort food and a good beer. I highly recommend the Montreal Smoked Meat Sandwich, very tastey.

Anyways, back to the good deals in Vancouver portion of the post. I was originally on the search for an illusive 2 for 1 Vancouver Aquarium coupon from the newest Yellow Pages or this years Entertainment book, but alas, I couldn’t manage to find one. Speaking of which, anyone know where I can get a Vancouver Entertainment Book? Anyhow, on my search I found a few websites with some good coupons and deals on restaurants and various other things around Vancouver. Check them out before heading out for a night on the city and you could just save yourself a few bucks.

DatersCorner.com
FoodVancouver.com
VancouverAttractions.com
PriceNetwork.ca
PriceGrabber.ca

Enjoy! And please, let me know if you have any sites you use for coupons and various other good deals in Vancouver.