Blog update…stay tuned

Hi all,

I’m not sure if anyone reads this blog anymore, and if anyone does please leave a comment so I know you are there.  I haven’t been posting anything for a while as things have been a little busy but as of next week I am off work for the holidays.  I hope to be posting a bit more then and more often.

It would really help me develop this blog if you would let me know what kind of content you would like to see here.  Please keep in mind my areas of interest (gaming, food, tech, or a personal-type blog of whatever pops into my head).

White Rock Farmer’s Market

I have been meaning to check out the White Rock Farmer’s Market for quite some time.  Living in White Rock I feel bad that it has taken me this long to finally get there.  I am glad I did.

I have been to other farmer’s markets on Pender Island and Ladner, to name a few and both are excellent.  I had high expectations based on the other two for the White Rock market, and it really didn’t disappoint.

The weather was great that morning so as expected the crowds were a decent size.  It was great to see so many people supporting local farmers, artists, musicians, and the like.  What really surprised me at first was the size of the market.  It was much larger than I was expecting.  As we walked by the stalls we were hit with the usual smells of popcorn, fresh vegetables of every kind, and the perfumed scents of the various handmade soaps and lotions.  The market is very kid and pet friendly. 

We bought a few fruits and vegetables but found that we had to watch the prices as we could do a bit better at local roadside fruit/veggie stands.  I think the lure of the market is more the atmosphere and experience than going for “deals”.  It is a great way to spend a morning and you are also supporting local farmers, artists and other small businesses.

The White Rock Farmer’s Market has a decent web site, though a bit dated, at www.whiterockfarmersmarket.ca this lists not only the times and dates of the market but you can also see the schedule of entertainment that will be playing on a given day.  You can also follow them on Twitter @wrfms.

 

Spam, the good kind.

I like Spam.  Spam the “meat-like” product.

I recently received a gift of spam flavoured macadamia nuts.  As odd as it may sound, they were really good.  It reminded me of Spam Musubi that I had while in Hawaii almost two years ago.  For those who don’t know what Spam Musubi is, its sushi rice formed into a small rectangle with a slice of Spam on top held together with a piece of nori (seaweed).  I found them in almost all the conviniece stores and supermarkets, displayed just like hot dogs at a 7-11.

While I rarely eat it here at home, I have on occasion BBQ’d it and it was really nice.  A little crunchy on the outside and nice and soft on the inside.  Worth a try for all you Spam people out there.  Not that there are people made of Spam, because that would be weird, don’t BBQ Spam people.

Has customer service disappeared?

Recently I have been either a run of bad luck or I am getting old, maybe a bit of both.  It seems to me that the term “customer service” has been lost on businesses these days.  From rude and indiferent staff to the “if you don’t like it go somewhere else” attitude.  Maybe its since I have hit the big 4-0 and I am now getting crotchety in my old age.

I will say though that one person that seems to have it right is our real estate agent.  We bought our house with her (on another person’s recommendation) and have recommended her to other people.  Her office is just down the street from our house and every year we get a visit from her with a pointsettia at Christmas.  When our son was born she dropped by a very nice children’s book (which he still loves to have us read to him almost every night).  My parents just recently bought their house using her and to our surprise in the mail was $250 gift certificate!  If you are looking for someone in the South Surrey White Rock area please let me know and I would be only too happy to pass on her details.

On the flip side when I tried to inform my cable company that I found a better deal with another carrier and I was considering changing, they basically told me to “go ahead” with the new carrier.  There was no attempt on thier part to even try to keep me as a customer, or find out what the new company was offering.

A simillar issue we had with a certain mobile phone company, when we questioned some billing issues, were told “its your problem, not ours”.  How does a company expect to keep customers with service like that?  Sometimes its worth it to eat a few dollars to make your loyal customers happy instead of getting them into a contract and treating them like dirt until its contract renewal time.

Well enough of my old codger ranting and raving.

Have a great day everyone!

Pork Roast marinade

I made a great pork roast last night with the simplest of marinades. The original recipie says to let it sit between two hours and overnight, but I was pressed for time and only had it in for two hours. It would have been much better letting it sit overnight, but I will definately be using this one again. The marinade is:

2 tbsp. steak spice (I just used seasoning salt but you could use whatever you have on hand)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil

Mix the three ingredients above until the steak spice is disolved and pour over roast in a zploc bag. When ready just put it in the oven at 350 degrees for about an hour and three quarters.

Albums

Recently I heard a song somewhere that I hadn’t heard in a very long time. When I got home I pulled out the CD and had a listen. I realized that this was one CD that brings back such great personal memories and such joy, just for some reason I can’t get enough of, even now. What is the band and album you say? Well for me its 54.40′s Dear Dear. At the time I listened to that over and over again and to this day I still love listening to it over and over again.

Does anyone have an album, CD, whatever you want to call it, that brings those kind of personal emotions and/or memories for you?

I was also wondering if people listen to complete albums anymore? With the popularity of iTunes and iPods do people acutally listen to albums from beginning to end or just download certain tracks that they like?

Please let me know what you think!

New iTouch?

I currently have a 1st generation iTouch and I use it daily.  I don’t think I ever go anywhere without it and have had it about three years.  The reason I mention it is because the new iTouch was announced today (4th generation). 

It has some of the features that I really like; a camera that shoots HD video, but only .6 megapixel stills (really, .6 mp?!?) with a front facing camera for video chatting, which is nice, though I don’t know how often I would actually use that; the amazing screen that the iPhone 4 features which would be great on the iTouch; a faster proccessor which wouldn’t make that much of a difference for me; and better battery life which is always good.  The price tag is still up there with the 8 GB at $229 (up from $199), 16 GB at $299, and 32 GB at $399.  Of course it has the speakers and mic that the other generations had but the 1st didn’t.

Since purchasing my HTC Hero a few months ago I find myself using that much more than my iTouch, especially for things like scheduling, tasks, texting, tweeting, facebook, etc.  So I think for the time being I am going to stay with my 1st gen until it really packs it in and then consider the 4th.  Not a bad little upgrade if you are going from 1st gen to the new 4th gen.