I gave my parents a Makita 18V LXT Vacuum Cleaner.
It works well for small, fast clean-ups.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
You need clean it frequently.
3 Ah is the best battery.
If you don’t already have a Makita battery or charger, the whole set-up will cost about C$200.
Thanks Markos and Keith for the idea.
My favourite cookies are most often called Sultana Biscuits.
In Vancouver you can find them in speciality Asian food stores.
Superstore no longer stocks them. Walmart no longer stocks them.
Update. Superstore in Calgary had them in the foreign food speciality aisle December 2018.
You can buy Sultanas online from Amazon.com. But not Amazon.ca.
I’m super happy with my new MEC 40L Rolling Continent Carry-On which fits the overhead compartment of even the crappiest Bombardier jets.
Click PLAY or watch a video on the same pack in 60L on YouTube.
My last two similar bags were both Samsonite MVS Spinners. Durability was poor, especially the wheels.
I’ll be spending time here.
Lots of wood. Natural light. A relaxed and inspiring space. Perfect for kids on a cold winter day.
The indigenous touches are nice.
With a FREE library card you can print up to $5 / month.
Click PLAY or watch an introduction on YouTube.
Click PLAY or see the weird and wonderful architecture on YouTube.
Click PLAY or watch the construction on YouTube.
I was only 70% if favour of spending tax dollars on a future Olympics. But I’m 100% for opening my wallet for the new library. It’s all good. I particularly like public transit train access on site.
CAD $245 million project was on time and on budget.
The Calgary Public Library (CPL) is the second most used system in Canada (after the Toronto Public Library) and the sixth most used library system in North America.
… one of the lowest per capita funding in the country, receiving as little as half the money of other Canadian public libraries …
Nexen, a Chinese government company, donated 1.5M dollars. If this is part of their Belt and Road initiative, I’ll take it. 🙂
It’s not all good.
related – ‘Spectacular’: A look inside Calgary’s new Central Library on opening day
I’ve stayed in many hundreds of different hostels around the world. I like them much better than hotels.
Cost in 2018 runs about $15 / night for a bunkbed. $35 / night for a private room.
Most of the best I can recall were in New Zealand. The worst in North America.
One of the new upscale chains is called Clink. I recently tried to book at Clink London but it was booked out for weeks.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Happily we are soon to have more and better hostels. Companies like the Hilton chain are getting into the low end market.
… Private rooms are much more common than they once were and some of the properties are starting to mirror the design-led approach of boutique hotels. …
There’s even a debate about using the word hostel itself with many of those making the most noise preferring to use terms such as “hybrid,” “open house” or poshtel instead. …
Hostels or youth hostels aren’t a new phenomenon. The movement goes back to Richard Schirrmann, a German teacher who founded the first one in 1912. …
“We see a massive demand in America and there is no supply, actually… and this is why we also, absolutely, think it’s the right time to step into the U.S. market,” Spanring said. …
Best of the best for me are bunk beds … but bunk beds that are privacy pods.
I finally got around to getting my eyes checked. And I did have a new prescription.
The specs are fantastically better than those I bought only 3 years ago.
Lesson learned – get my eyes checked annually.
