I Went on URL Shopping Spree

I bought 20!!

I’ve been keeping a list for a few years, and an eye on whom to register with.

I like Hover for several reasons… they’re since 1999, they’re 100% Canadian, and when I call for help someone picks up in downtown Toronto. If you’re lucky, Mike picks up (he looks like this).

Starting at $15/year, privacy included!, and their interface is slick and easy.

 

Kay, ready for what I bought??

I made them into a beautiful Wordle…

There’s more not listed here, but that’s another Wordle for another time.

Full Disclosure – You bet I got a great deal, how else could I get so many? Thanks, Hover!

(this is the internet in an image)

 

Remember the Olympics? Van2010

Last week, South Korea was awarded the Games in 2018. Good luck to them.

Let’s take a look back at ours last year. Many of these photos you’ve not seen, I’ll throw in a couple episodes, too.

The photo text is true; there’s almost no point to posting that photo. H U G E.

‘Irish House’ was out my window, where I lived.

Right in the middle of everything. Irish House was THE place, not being dramatic. They were collecting noise violation fines before the Games even started.

We’d hear ‘I Would Walk 500 Miles’, and ‘Small Town Girl’, three times a night minimum. Fortunately, by day 10 neither Mary or I could hear it anymore… that thing that humans have kicked in and tuned it out.  Like the people who live beside train tracks.

Mary and me.

We’re at a club, my editor gave me tickets and said, take the night off.

Thanks to Mary is why my Olympics was as great as it was. I went out there, without a place to stay (no really – there was talk at my newspaper of some empty moved-out apartment, I had a towel with me, just figured I’d wing it all).

Mary offered her couch, I crashed onto it three days into the Games, then never left.

I thanked her by leaving a bunch of swag hidden around her house, including a cowbell in her freezer. Which she recently moved to her freezer … 5 provinces away, see it here.

I had this great morning routine going by the end… wake up, walk down to my coffee spot, pick up a paper along the way, read my article and eat a gingersnap cookie, back home and get online, and start working.

I was there representing Canoe.ca and, in addition to producing videos, I wrote for Vancouver 24 Hours.  Read them all here.  Third largest newspaper in BC!

“Social Keri”; I had not input there.

That backpack, my mobile studio – 22 pounds.

I was the only person at the paper, left to her own devices, not tasked with a story. Instead, I was expected to chase down and produce my own. Proud of that.

I met Carol Huynh on the Alberta Train. She’s our first ever Gold Medalist for Women’s Wrestling (2008).  Click here for her podium moment when our anthem plays, very cute.

I don’t remember this photo being taken… at this point, I’ve been awake for 36 hours, filmed and produced two videos, and was en route to film a third.

This is Exploring Whistler Village, shot that day, I really like this episode.

I squished so much into three weeks, I didn’t stop.

There’s so many stories and behind-the-scenes stuff I could tell you, cue up another video series.

I’ll leave you with this: the spirit I went into this all with.

This was taken right downtown, after the men won a hockey game.

And here’s me, taken minutes after the above (my camera is on a garbage can).

It’s from this episode, What Happened After Our Hockey Win

GO CANADA GO!

 

 

 

Meet My Cycling Team

If we recently met, it’s my 4th season of being President of a Cycling Team, so there will be summer braggy posts like this, and overly-dramatic capitlaizing of words like President.

My team is awesome, and we win a lot.

Technically they are riding for my show, The Canadian Explorer.

This is Episode #30 from said show – Exploring Cycling.

I should record a Twitvid of the audio when the peloton goes by. A peloton is a pack of cyclists.

Racing is brutally hard, like, see top right above? If you had that much lactic acid in your body right now, you wouldn’t be able to finish reading this post, you’d be so sick.  Beasts.

Couple that with how I rule with my little iron fist, and you get wins.

Last week we placed first in the KW Classic 2011 Road Race, YES Nick!!  The year before that we took second, YES Gary!!  As in, the best in all Ontario YES.

Nationals are coming up, and then the Canada Day Chin Picnic, which we dominated last year.

Sometimes, not gonna lie, in between laps can be a bit dull.

Good thing I am excellent at amusing myself.  Here’s how I sometimes cheer.  And look, it’s just my size.

One time though I was too good at it, and missed the finish to the above 1st/2nd win, because I was picking flowers in the park.

Some weekend ago was freezing and I had only sandals. I tried putting hot balm on my feet (it works), then hiked around the track.

It’s weird to look down and have someone else’s feet be there.

Here’s my favoruite parts about the sport of cycling.

I filmed this ages ago, when I was testing doing videos on a time-limit, which became my mini-video-series – Just a Minute.

They’re all one minute long, a variety of topics, click here, watch just one, thanks!

Kay one more dramatic photo.

All KeriBlog cycling posts found here.

All Canadian Explorer cycling posts here

PS – to my older readers thanks, I know you’ve seen some of the above before, but now I have a solid cycling-themed post to use as an introduction and sales too ;)

Let's Have a Party with Stella Artois Légère

THIS IS EXCITING!

Okay so!

Here’s what’s happening:

Stella Artois Légère has embarked on a Summer Sampling Program. Keep an eye out around Toronto, they’ve been known to pop up here and there, and they like to share (get it? Wink!)

Even better, they asked me if I would like a chance at hosting a giant Block Party in the downtown area?? Yes please!

How it works:

Toronto has been divided into chunks (Downtown, WestEnd, Yorkville/Annex, the Beach / Leslieville / Danforth, Scarbourough/Don Mills, Etobicoke/Yorkdale), and based on which area gets the most votes, that’s where they’ll throw their Block Party.

I’m representing Downtown:

1 – Liberty Village 2 – University Ave 3 – Front Street 4 – Queens Quay 5 – King Street 6 – Blue Jays Way

What we have to do to get the party downtown:

Vote on Facebook for the party to be held Downtown. Vote for “Downtown” here: Facebook.com/StellaArtoisCanada

How to vote:

STEP 1 – Go to Facebook.com/StellaArtoisCanada and click “Stella Artois Légère”

STEP 2 – Now you’ll see a voting screen.  Scroll down for the vote box on the left

STEP 3 – Choose ‘Downtown’ and tada!  Thank you!

This is NOT a contest, it’s all done by votes (because you can imagine the legal stuff surrounding a beer company throwing contests and hosting sampling sessions. Big props to @StellaArtoisCan for figuring out how ;) )

The party will be August 13 2011, and I’ll have 4 tickets to give away closer to the date.

Please vote! Wouldn’t this just be the best time?  I’d love to be able to throw a big party as a thanks for your continued reading and blog support, and I actually love Stella – we will all be winning with this.

Lastly, keep an eye out for cars and bikes like this around town, Stella Artois Légère Summer Sampling FTW!

FULL DISCLAIMER – I am being paid to promote this contest. I want you to know that. But remember when I told you about being for sale? I genuinely drink Stella, which is what I said when they approached me, so it all fits.

Did You Know the Planets Aligned?

I’m not being dramatic like, “ooooo the planets must’ve aligned, Billy, you’re on time”.

They physcially actually did.

In May 2011, six of them lined up, visible from Earth with a naked eye, look:

(image via BestSyndication.net)

Do you even know how rare this is?

For most of May they stayed in line along the path the sun travels each day.

Why is this so interesting?

Because this planet configuration was predicted by the Mayans to occur… December 21 2012.

Yup, the infamous 2012 theory.  Astronomers say no such alignment will occur next year.

Basically the Mayans were 19 months off in their calculations, but when considering they did them thousands of years ago, I’d call that pretty close.

Think this news is all fringe, and maybe you’re rolling your eyes?  Time Magazine wrote about it.

I’ll leave you with this:

My 2012 Prediction – Thought Controlled Computing Begins (Declared Feb 1 2011)

PS – Want more proof I’m not alone? InterXon, the world’s leader in thought-controlled computing (and a Canadian company), is a headline keynote at Canada’s largest media conference this week, the Banff World Media Festival.

PPS