Ride to Conquer Cancer

On Saturday, we headed over to Guilford Mall to see two very good friends off on the Ride to Conquer Cancer.  Over 1,700 rider participated, raising over $6.9 million in total!

After stretching and opening ceremonies, participants commenced their two day journey to Seattle, Washington.  I bet that kept the border guards busy!

Donations are still being accepted online and, if you’re really feeling ambitious, you can find information on the 2010 Ride there as well (shudder!).

Postscript

This was an odd site.  On our way over to the mall, we saw this fellow riding a zamboni-like gizmo, picking up litter with a stick.  It was kind of like a post-modern game of polo, but all by himself…

Attack of the Android!

I was perusing the Vancouver Sun on my commute home today, and an article in the business section caught my eye.  Acer, the world’s third largest computer manufacturer, announced the release of inexpensive laptops that use Google’s Android operating system in place of Microsoft’s operating systems.  That’s a whole lot of market share!

Courtesy of friprog, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0

My brother initially recommended Acer’s Aspire One Netbook, and it definitely scores high points for both portability and usability.  The marriage of Acer’s products with an operating system that is largely open source and specifically designed for portable devices would seem to be a brilliant business move.  This will quite likely allow Acer to further reduce the price point on its products.   

Have you tried Android?  I would be curious to know how it rates in terms of its own usability and performance.

Red Egg and Ginger Banquet

A friend of ours recently had a baby, and my wife and I were invited to a Red Egg and Ginger Banquet to officially welcome the little one.  We had given the parents a gift shortly after the birth, but I did some research online to find out if there were any customary gifts or tokens that one brings to such a celebration.  It turns out that lycee, the little red envelopes of lucky money aren’t just for Chinese New Year!

We arrived at the restaurant a little early.  Because we were the only people there who weren’t Chinese Canadian and who didn’t speak Cantonese, our friend took care to ensure that we sat with some of her friends who spoke English.  We recognized one woman from our friend’s wedding a few years back, and got to know the other couples at our table.  Then the food began.

We started with the aforementioned red eggs and ginger.  The red colour obviously symbolizes good fortune, but I learned from one of the people at the table that the egg represents harmony and the ginger is intended to bring balance.  These offerings were followed by no fewer than eight to ten courses, including such luxuries as barbecued duck, lobster, a fish I could not identify, and goose feet (anything once!).  We finished it all off with steaming bowls of red bean soup.

Beverage wise, we had our choice of green tea or a floral tea that was incredibly soothing.  I was also offered a clear, grain liqueur that one of our companions told me was the finest that China had to offer.  It was powerful stuff, and most probably flammable!  After my glass was filled up for the third time in spite of my protests, I decided to let it sit full so that it could not be refilled yet again.

Throughout the evening, the proud parents brought their new baby around to say hello to each and every guest.  I am sure they barely had a moment to sit down at all!  The whole event was slightly more casual than I had expected, but better to be over rather than underdressed.  All in all, the banquet was an excellent opportunity for cultural learning and a great way to celebrate the next adventure in the life of a family.