hexstatik

starting with killing napster and ever since, the RIAA has done everything in it’s power to squash any sort of innovative service or method of discovering new music, making it quite difficult to find out about new music and up and coming artists.

well, a new service is fighting back. taking us all the way back to the time before napster (or even the internet for that matter) to a time when the best way to profess your love for a girl was to make her a mix tape and the walkman was the device to have, is muxtape.

muxtape has been around for a while now (at least in internet terms), but today, i really came to appreciate it when i stumbled upon thegetupkid’s mix at http://thegetupkid.muxtape.com/. i thouroughly enjoy the completely random nature of “popping in” a new mixtape and being surprised. i’m also digging the super simple interface and simplicity of using the site - it’s as easy as a tape deck in your car, but without all the rewinding.

try it out, i’m sure you’ll like it too.

my love for wordpress increases the more i use it. i’ve just upgraded to 2.5.1. the upgrade couldn’t possibly go any smoother. it also helps that our web host uses a nifty little utility called fantastico De Luxe to manage all the typical apps that webmasters would want to host to make upgrading as simple as clicking one link and confirming that you really want to upgrade.

this morning, crystal and i got up early (7:45am) to go the annual vancouver police auction held by able auctions in coquitlam. it’s a two day event, with the first day dedicated to auctioning over 600 bikes, and the second day for everything else.

we arrived before 9:30am with just enough time to register and do a complete once over of the catalogue before the 10am start. the auction room was filling up fast and the action got off to a quick start.

the 2^nd lot was for a huge downhill bike that sold eventually for $1750. i missed the showing of 3^rd lot because i was explaining to the nice people behind me that it was indeed $1750, and not $17.50. i finished in time to turn back around and see the gentleman standing right in front of me win the bidding for the 3^rd lot with a bid $250. as he left, i stepped up into his position and took a look at the 4^th lot of the day.

i was prepared to spend up to $300, and the bike that was lot 4 was a decent looking bike made by brodie, a local company i knew and recognized. bidding started at $200; i raised my paddle. at this point, i’m guessing that the auctioneer didn’t see or hear the ring man call out my bid, because he then proceeded to start dropping the price.

“175, 175, 75, 75, do i hear 175.” he called out at light speed.

no takers.

“150, 150, 150, 50, 50…” he continued. “150 over here!, 175, 175…”

i raised my paddle again, this time making sure to make clear eye contact with my ring man.

“over here, 175. 200, 200, do i hear 200?”

again, no taker at $200.

“sold for 175!”

i had just bought a new bike.

after taxes and a 15% auction fee, the total came up to $211. i paid for my purchase and went to pick it up outside. it had two flat tires and needed some work on the brakes, but nothing that a simple tune up wouldn’t be able to fix.

on our way home, we picked up crystal’s bike and took them both to the bike doctor for a tune up and have mine “ghetto-ized” (lose the quick release skewers in favour of a secure type and buy a new kryptonite lock) and “urban-ized” (adding some fenders, a riser handle bar and a carrier).

can’t wait to pick it up on wednesday. :)

we have been avoiding trips to the grocery store for weeks now, which has resulted in far too many trips to local restaurants and lackluster lunches at work. so, after a recommendation from a friend, crystal and i decided to sign up for home delivery of organic fruits, veggies and other organic foods from green earth organics.  every week, they create a basket of fruits and vegetables, choosing local produce whenever possible. clients then have a chance to customize their box (individual, regular or family) by substituting up to 4 items before their order is delivered on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

we received our first order last night and so far have been extremely impressed. the delivery was on time, without hassle and the quality of the produce has been excellent. i also really enjoy the fact that we don’t pick what goes into our box and that the resulting variety can bring a new surprise and challenge every week.

with our continued commitment to reducing our impact on the environment, eating organic, having a delivery service come to us (and others on the route), and not a single shred of plastic in our order is a great way to do this. it also means that we have more free time to hit up the local stores by foot for the rest of our grocery order, which is great for local merchants and stimulates the economy in our neighbourhood.