chemical_echo

The Pile of Photographs sounds exactly like the short story "The Sun Dog" by Stephen King...except it's a dog in the picture, not a human.

I just got back from 2 days in Vegas, staying at Excalibur. Room was cheap and wasn't too bad; best part was being on the 19th floor and never having to wait for an elevator (the elevators for 1-18 always had a line). We got the $30 all day all-you-can-eat pass at the Exclaibur buffet for our second day there. Food wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either; best thing was their bacon at breakfast and their desserts all other times. Didn't gamble much (one bet on the World Cup, one on the Stanley cup, and a couple bucks on Monopoly penny slots). We got half price tickets to MGM Grand's Crazy Horse show the night before we left and were pleased with the show; very small theater, comfy seats, and lots of showcasing the female form...along with a midget tribute to MJ. We were hoping to see Peepshow, but it's on break until the end of the month. Word of warning, DO NOT, under any circumstances, eat the $2 foot long hot dog at Casino Royale. I'm really surprised I didn't throw up afterward.

Obviously the IOC didn't have a problem with Vancouver holding them indoors. They could have easily said "no, build a new stadium, or take of the venue's roof," but they allowed it, and people were generally impressed. Oh, and once Toronto hosts the PanAm games in 2015, we'll bid for the summer games again, and we'll get them this time.

1. Canadians rock. 2. Why build a new stadium and waste tax payers dollars for something that is just going to be used for the Olympics when the current one has everything they needed? The Canucks already have an arena, and BC place is already slated to the get the new roof posted on the other page. I honestly don't see the big deal with holding it inside or out.

People also need to remember Beijing had a $100million budget for their opening ceremonies while Vancouver only has $25million. They knew they couldn't compete, and I really don't think they're trying to. They're putting on the best show they can while celebrating our culture. I don't think any country would have been able to compete, including the US. But then again, the Opening Ceremonies aren't a judged competition, so there really is no need to compete and try to outdo each other.

That new roof wont be in place until after the games.

Yes, they are indoors; Vancouver doesn't have a large enough outdoor stadium for it. It's the first Opening Ceremonies to be held indoors, so that's pretty impressive in itself.

Watching the opening ceremonies is bringing out a huge rush of Canadian pride...much more than my usual amount of national pride.

The Vancouver Olympics just suffered their first fatality. A luge athlete from Georgia (country, not state) was going for a test run on the course and hit a turn too fast, launching him over the wall and into a steel poll. There is video on Youtube, but it was taken down pretty quickly. Story here: http://olympics.thestar.com/2010/article/764626--luger-from-georgia-dead-after-high-speed-crash. Be warned though, there are graphic images. A horrible tragedy to start the games.

^^Does the guy in the 2nd picture have a gas container in his hand? Bon fire, anyone?

I think I spent about an hour and a half just walking through the first two levels of Bioshock 2. The environment is amazing and so far the game is shaping up to be really good. The first (short) fight against a Big Sister is intense. It's almost a shame I'm going away for reading week, I would have been just as happy to sit in front of my TV playing this for a week. It's also the first PS3 game I got made in full 1080p HD...it's beautiful on my TV.

As a penguins fan, shouldn't you be cheering for Crosby, and therefore Canada? Hockey final is going to be Canada Vs. Russia

I can't wait to watch the opening ceremonies. Especially with all the talk and speculation over who is going to light the torch; people think Gretzky, but a lot people want the mother of Terry Fox. It'll also be interesting to see how the weather plays out since it's been warmer than usual in Vancouver and surrounding areas. It's been all over the news that they've had some trouble with keeping snow on the grounds.

You can do anythin' but lay off of my blue suede shoes

The random group I got placed in for Mechanical Vibrations lab has not contacted me at all about the report due tomorrow. They asked for my e-mail so we could split up the work and never gave me theirs. Now I'm stuck doing the entire lab by myself since they never contacted me and I don't want a zero. I tried contacting the prof about it, but was pretty much told "tough luck, you're all getting the same grade." I realize team work is something important to learn since it will be in the workplace, but being put into an already made group that probably didn't want someone helping them isn't going to work. This is complete BS.

To anyone in the Montreal area, Start looking for pieces of T2 in LaRonde's parking lot. Why have 2 inverted coasters, when you can have 3?

I went with Carnival last year (Sensation) and had a great time. Granted, it was my first cruise and I didn't know what to expect, but it was a lot of fun. I think the worst part was that the hot tubs were always filled with pre teens and my girlfriend and I never got a chance to use them. (We could have used the adult area ones, but being in our early 20s (older than 21 still), we felt young and out of place there). They offered the best value at the time we booked, and we got pretty much got more than we expected with the value. Next time we want to try a Royal Caribbean, or even that Epic looks pretty sweet.

The Maldives look amazing. I've always seen pictures of the place and keep telling myself I have to go there one day...hopefully soon with some people thinking the islands wont be above water much longer.

6 more days and I'll be playing this

^^It looked more like they were just using the dragon's breath as the track more than an indication of the ride's colour.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. I've unlocked pretty much all the characters except 2 or 3 (I know Hulk is one of them), right now my team consists of Spiderman, Wolverine, Mrs. Marvel, and Jean Grey. I want to add Venom or Green Goblin in there somewhere, but my team is pretty powerful as is and can clear rooms pretty fast. Not sure where I am in the game, but the boss I'm at right now is pretty damn powerful.

I kinda like it. I have an old iPod Nano that is starting to go down the crapper and have been looking at buying either an iPhone or an iPod Touch. If I'm able to hold on to my iPod for another 1.5 to 2 years when the price drops a little and they add new features to it, I'll probably look more into buying one. Or maybe I'll just wait for the ultra thin coloured iPad Nanos that will be released in a few years.

I once had someone say she was going to watch me work the entire day to make sure I height checked and removed all kids that were too short. It lasted about 5min, when my manager showed up, re-checked her kid, told her I was right and asked her to leave. I would have just taken the $20, have another crew member tell the child she can't ride, split the money with the rest of the crew, and then we all deny everything.

That cannon ball thing looks awesome. Can you imagine a water park, or at least a kiddie area of a water with 3 or 4 of tracks above your head with different coloured cannon balls all leading to different pools? The ride house also looks awesome. If there's no inner tubs involved, the tornado is going to be a pretty cool experience as a body slide.

I'm going for two days next month after visiting my Dad in San Fransisco. I got a great deal at Excalibur from following them on twitter ($65 for Saturday night, $33 for Sunday night). It'll be my third time going in the past two years. I was really hoping I'd have an extra $180 to spend by cashing in my Superbowl bet, but looks like I'll just have to spend my own money. I'm not a huge club person, but last time I was there (end of August - beginning of September) my cousin and I went to Coyote Ugly. Incredibly, because he's in a wheelchair, we got front of the line and no cover. Next time we're going to see if it works at Pure.