ThoughtBoarder Kicking Horse

ThoughtWorks had its annual snowboarding trip at Kicking Horse again this year. We had four condo units for three nights. It was great to sleep in, play Xbox 360, and spend some time on the hills with my co-workers.





There were so many cameras around this time that I barely took any pictures. Check out these huge icicles just outside the front door of our "party house"!



Or how about this amazing view from the top -- mountain peaks jutting out of a sea of clouds!

Photos from Johnson's Birthday

Johnson and Erin celebrated their birthdays at the Toad and Turtle. Here're some pictures from that night!

Zoolights

Every year, the Calgary Zoo is decorated with Christmas lights. This year, Kevin invited me to check them out with his family and Sylvia, and I got to take some photos. Since they're all night shots, lots of them turned out too fuzzy, but one of them turned out pretty well.

Nutella Hot Chocolate

I have half a tub of Nutella left and wanted to make something with it (other than eating it straight... yum!). A quick recipe search turned up instructions for making hot chocolate out of it (recipes like this one).

Finally tried out the recipe today. It isn't bad at all, but is somewhat too sweet (or maybe I just prefer a Mocha to hot chocolate now). Actually, it reminded me of the hot chocolate I had at Max Brenner back in New York.

BlockBuster Not Renting Out New Gaming Systems

While renting a couple of movies from BlockBuster, I asked the clerk when the Nintendo Wii would be available for rental. He told me that because many people don't treat rental systems well, BlockBuster is not going to make the new generation of systems (I guess that means Wii, PS3, Xbox 360) available for rental.

This is bad news for me. As gaming systems get more expensive, renting a system would be a great way to do a test-drive before making a big investment. That's how I decided to get a PlayStation way back when (rented the system and Final Fantasy VII from BlockBuster).

What does that mean? I guess you better make sure you have friends who are willing to splurge on new systems when they come out! :-)

Stumbling Across Music

It's strange -- I don't have a favourite artist or genre. It's pretty rare when I hear music that I actually like. That's probably why I only own 15 or so music CD's, which I've been told, is a low number.

It's not all one type either -- I've got lounge, ballads, soundtracks, ambience, etc...

It's also interesting how I stumble across music. Just a few weeks ago, my friends mentioned a new game coming out called Gears of War. I watched the TV commercial and got hooked on the song that plays throughout (seriously, it played in my head any chance it got during the day). I found out that it's a version of Mad World featuring Gary Jules, so I now have a copy of the Donnie Darko soundtrack, a movie which I haven't even seen yet.

The Internet is Awesome for Travelers

I'm staying at a hotel near New York's JFK airport tonight. There's a restaurant here, but I felt like taking a walk and getting a deli sandwich. The hotel's located in some sort of a residential neighbourhood though, so it wasn't obvious where I could find a deli.

The hotel comes with free wireless internet, so I whipped out the laptop and fired up Google Maps. I punched in the address of the hotel, clicked on Find Businesses, typed in deli, and bam! -- there's Annie Mini Deli about five blocks away. Now, I'm back in the hotel room with a delicious roast beef sub and coffee!

What did we do before free internet access and online services? I guess one would have gone down to the lobby to ask the concierge. I wonder if such a request would have yielded directions to the same little neighbourhood deli though. Hmm...