The joy of the Slingbox: Being in Montréal by proxy !

Greetings from Seattle! It's about 9AM Pacific time when I'm typing these lines. We're having a mix of sun and clouds (not bad, considering they usually have lots of rain!)

For about a month, I have a Slingbox. What it is? well you can watch TV... on your computer. Any computer that is plugged to your internet router. A router with Wi-FI, it will make a laptop shine.

To keep an ear on Keith Olberman's Countdown when I'm doing my dishes, it's kind of cool. :)

But it can also work... over the internet. I had to fumble a little bit, as it was the first attempt to do so... 5000km away from home... and Bingo! Of course, the images aren't as sharp as at home, but who cares! I'm in my hotel room in Seattle, and I had Montréal on my laptop!

(I think that I'll repeat that stunt in January when I'll be in Paris with my family. I'm the computer geek, so a computer geek has to impress his host with geeky stuff. Right? Right. :)

Here are some computer screen snapshots, as they appeared on my laptop. I'm watching MétéoMédia (The French-speaking side of the Weather Network).

I was there, watching their images in complete disbeliefs. 40cm up to 50cm of snow for today, Sunday (that's 14 inches to a 16 inches of new snow on top of what we already have!).

One word:

WHAT ?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

(Sound of jaws being dropped here!)

Gee whiz, great timing for leaving Montréal! Supposedly, Seattle is extremely rainy at this time of the year. So far, it has rained a bit, but we had a bit of sunshine too!

Temps are in the mid 40s, (between 6 and 8 Celsius) and of course no snow on the ground. Heh!

Look at the screen shot on the left. Hint: -12 Celsius is in mid 10s Fahrenheit.

All in all... I maintain my words:

Ahhhh!!!! Balmy Seattle!!! :)

(At the blogfest, one asked me: You must had quite a dose of special brownies to utter Balmy Seattle. Gee whiz, our winter has been so crazy so far, I wish I had those brownies!!! That's the point!)

Cheers!

-E

Is it bad, is it good? A matter of opportunities...

At the workplace, some colleagues were teasing me today.

A year ago, about on this day... this was the scene on my arrival in Vancouver. A big snowstorm, followed the next day by bitterly cold temperatures followed by the next day by 100 km/h winds and followed by another snowstorm. Whoopy!

A place not used to see a real "Canadian-strength" winter... and a guy from the east coast (moi!) who said foolishly: "I wonder how Vancouver looks like in winter time".

Well... I came, I saw... I froze. :)

And back home, I got plenty of "friends" and colleagues giggling. Today, they were reminding of that. OK, I'm sport. :)

Beyond the giggles, people were really sorry for me, as if my trip was completely ruined. To them, this was sheer... bad luck.

To me, this has been a good thing. This has been sheer LUCK.

Sure, my plans were trashed by this incredible weather. (but not completely trashed. I could make it to Victoria, as planned) .

However... have you ever seen Vancouver under the snow? It's rather rare. I was there. :)

A walk in Stanley Park?

It felt like a walk in winter's wonderland.

Photos don't do justice.

Snow covered trees. Big big BIG trees, all dwarfing you. I really felt like a kid.

The seawall anyone who has taken a walk... The Pacific Ocean on side, Stanley Park on the other side, and in a distance the mountains, and as always, stunning sunsets.

It inspires serenity, it inspires peace.

Add snow... it's even better.

So... is this really bad luck? is this all that bad? Of course not!

This trip to the west coast last year was memorable... and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I'm thinking of several things that happened in my life which obviously bad things turned out otherwise.

It was up to me to adapt, up to me to seize opportunity...

However, if I kept complaining and sat idle, none of that would happen.

Cheers,

-E

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Photos
1) Downtown Vancouver, from the Metropolitan Hotel, where I stayed last year. In the forefront, Howe & Georgia streets. On the left, the entrance to the Pacific Centre Mall.

2) One of my favourite photos! Snow covered benches at English Bay Beach, near the end of Davie Street.

3) A walk in Stanley Park

4) Seawall, somethere near the Lions Gate bridge

Day #4: I'm doing fine. :) - Luck and bad luck...

(This is a short hand version of something I posted on my now "invisible" blog at FC this morning)
Day 4... (of having an invisible blog upthere, and FC technicians working on my case. I'm a case! :) )

(...)

About the photos on the left... Those are rare photos of Vancouver (and Stanley Park)... under the snow.

And I was there. My luck.

Funny how people react.

Oh, I'm sensible to the massive irony that a place known... for *NOT* having a winter... I arrived there and WHAM! First class Canadian winter storm! Snow, hurricane-class winds and bitterly cold temperatures,.

It says something that on my arrival in Vancouver, I had to make some emergency shoppings. Boots, scarf, hat, gloves. All those wintry things... I left back home !!!

It also says something to see Vancouverites walking in the snow in ordinary shoes, even in SANDALS! That kind of weather is just foreign to them. I also have to say that they're brave, or insane... or both. :)

Some say that this was terribly BAD luck for me...

Personally, I'm saying this is luck nonetheless.

The odds that a winter storm would happen, and it would happen at the precise time I'd be in Vancouver...

Look at these photos.

You call that... *BAD* luck?

Now you see my point.

Cheers,

-E