Riding the zipline at Calgary Olympic Park

There’s a tall structure that most Calgarians are familiar with in the northwest corner of the city, and that’s the ski jump at Calgary Olympic Park. Used for the 1988 Winter Olympics, one would imagine that a ski jump doesn’t have a whole lot of use during the summer. As it turns out, there’s a zip line that starts at the top of the jump. That zipline happens to be the fastest in North America.

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Independent Record Stores in Calgary

If you happen to be in Calgary and need a vinyl record fix, don’t bother with HMV’s sad collection - go to these independent record stores instead! I’ve gathered all the information about the stores into this one handy page that you can print out in case you are planning a record-buying binge. Sloth Records Website: www.myspace.com/slothrecords Phone: 403-265-6585 Address: 736b 17th Avenue, SW Comments: Primarily stock new vinyl Has a listening station Staff is polite and knowledgeable Also sell turntables and DJ equipment

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Memorizing a deck of cards using the Farmer's Mnemonic System

For fun I’ve been learning to memorize a deck of randomly shuffled playing cards. Sounds difficult? Nope! You can use mnemonics to make the memorization process easier, and with the table in this post you should be ready to go! While surfing around I found this well-written Grey Matters article about Bob Farmer’s Playing Card Mnemonic System, which is a bit of a variation of pegwords. This method has been much more effective than some of the other card memorization techniques I’ve found, and I’m sure I should be up to a full deck soon at the current rate (I can memorize up to 15 cards as of this writing).

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Brewsters has gotten a facelift

After a short period of being closed, Brewster’s on 11th Ave SW has just recently finished renovations, and the dark cavernous atmosphere has been replaced with a brighter motif. The bar has been replaced, and natural light now flows in to much of the dining area. The menu is the same as it was before the renovations, although I’ll get to why that’s good and bad in a moment. The black leather chairs next to cozy fireplaces have been replaced by booths and open windows.

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LinuxCon talk August 17th, 2011

I gave a talk at LinuxCon 2011 in Vancouver this year with the topic “The Rise, Fall, and Rethinking of Linux User Groups.” My experience is on my programming blog dafyddcrosby.com

Major League Women's Fastpitch Softball at Foothills Stadium

Game 1 of the three game series between the NPF Diamonds and the USSSA Pride finished this evening at Foothills Stadium with the Pride taking the win 6-5. With the Diamonds being a traveling team it has given the chance for Calgary to witness the National Pro Fastpitch league (formerly the Women’s Pro Softball League) up close. The evening attendance was 1,048 fans, well beyond the anticipated turnout. Given the action of the game and the stellar performance by both teams (several of the players also play on the US and Canadian Olympic teams), I wouldn’t be surprised if the next couple nights have similar crowds.

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Interview with Doug Hoyer (with video!)

I was able to catch up with Doug Hoyer after the July 18, 2011 show at Local Library in Calgary. He’ll be back in town August 24, 2011 at Broken City. Interview is below, as well as a previously unseen video of Doug playing ukulele! Your browser does not support the audio element in HTML 5. Click here to hear the audio

Interview with The Joe

Currently ripping through Canada on tour this summer, I had a chance to quickly chat with The Joe (AKA Joe Gurba) after his recent performance at the Local Library. Your browser does not support the audio element in HTML 5. Click here to hear the audio The Joe will be back in Calgary on August 24th at Broken City. Here’s more of The Joe’s performance at Local Library:

The Joe and Doug Hoyer's Cross-Canada Tour Plays Local Library

Joe Gurba‘s shows in Calgary have yet to disappoint (even in old and ugly places like the defunct Comrad Sound), and tonight was no different. Playing at the Local Library (the all-ages venue operating out of the Central United Church on 7th Ave.), The Joe rocked the young crowd along with cohort Doug Hoyer, whose latest album Walks with the Tender & Growing Night is already generating buzz and excitement.

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