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Apr 17
   Vintage! This is a random post. The year was 2009...

Grind in the City 2009 - Running up that staircase

The 2009 Grind in the City charity stair climb was held today at Harbour Centre. Starting at street level and ending up at the Vancouver Lookout, the 700 step or almost 500 vertical feet run has become a classic in downtown Vancouver.

There are two kinds of participants: the open, general-public category of braves wearing shorts and running shoes, and the firefighters from municipalities as remote as Whistler who race up in full gear.

OK, you want numbers? I’ll have to confirm these times but I believe the record in the open category was a little over three minutes (!) and then the fastest firefighter did it in a little more than... 4 minutes!!! 

Now, that’s quite... impressive. I am no firefighter myself, not by a long shot, but I did have the opportunity to wear - and train in - full firefighting gear while onboard Club Med 2, since dive instructors were typically assigned to the Fire Teams. I clearly remember the sobering effect of a dreadful combination of heat and weight. Our training sessions were short and involved no more than a couple of decks worth of stair climbing, but I did on various occasions come very, very close to throwing up in my mask from exhaustion.

And these guys, they rush up over 30 storeys (the literature says 47, but it’s a matter of building blue prints vs popular belief), wearing heavy boots, a full fire suit, mask, helmet, Fenzy (sorry, old habit, theirs were Scott’s) and breathing through a mechanical device that always leaves you wanting more air, and then they go on about their business. There are very few people in life I truly admire but firefighters are among those.

Kudos, to everyone who participated.




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2009-04-17 23:42 • Posted in Blogging: & Vancouver:

2 Comments

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  • 1 - Anonymous says:

    « Those firefighters are the best.
    They are the real heroes of modern times. »

    Date of comment: 2009-04-19 18:22 •
  • 1.1 - Vince answers:

    « Yes! Them and Obama. »

    Date of comment: 2009-04-19 18:44 •

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Aug 6

Better World Books - The plug

Once in a while I run into something I really like, a service, a product, a piece of software, a recipe, a movie, something. And then I plug it. Not for the rewards, not for the fame, not for attention but just because I think a compliment costs me nothing and goes a long way. So the opinions expressed hereby are mine solely and most likely biased. After all, I’m from the south of France where objectivity is often replaced by passionate enthusiasm and colorful language. ;-)

A few weeks ago, my sister sent me the link to BetterWorld.com, an online used book reseller with a conscience. I visited them, did a few searches, found an old book I hadn’t seen on any shelf in years and years, and ordered it. It was cheap. Used books should be. They shipped cheap too. Free in the US, $2.97 worldwide. My book took a while to arrive, maybe 10 days. So what, I was in no hurry.

Then a few days ago, their follow up email arrived. I read it and smiled. Well done, I thought. Some humour, some shameless self-promotion, nothing out of this world, just a nice touch. I have bought very expensive stuff on the internet for substantial sums, and rarely does the seller bother with following up. Better World Books did, even for the $3.98 purchase I honored them with. That’s what I call good business. I will buy again.

« Hey Vincent,

We’re just checking in to see if you received your order from Better World Books. If your order hasn’t blessed your mailbox just yet, heads are gonna roll in the Mishawaka warehouse! Seriously though, if you haven’t received your order or are less than 108.8% satisfied, please reply to this message. Let us know what we can do to flabbergast you with service.
Before you resume watching cats playing piano (or books discussing their love lives) on Youtube, we’d really appreciate your help with something. We have one question that we’d like to ask: Would you recommend us to a friend? It will take less than one minute, we promise. Please click here for the survey.
If you’ve really got some gumption, there’s one other thing you can do to help. Become our fan on Facebook by clicking this link. It’s the easiest way to let your friends know that you’re part of our movement to fund literacy by buying books.
Humbly Yours,

The Better World Books Automatically Generated E-mailing Robot
email: help@betterworld.com

Order Number: [removed]

Fund literacy, care for the environment, and get a fair price on the books you want.
BetterWorld.com (http://www.BetterWorld.com/)
2 Million Used Books. Free shipping in the USA, $2.97 worldwide.  »

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2008-08-06 15:39 • Posted in Reviews:

5 Comments

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  • 1 - Josette says:

    « Hi there, I just ordered a book from Better World too. I’m from Malaysia and was pleasantly surprised to find that it’s cheaper to buy the book from them than from local bookstores! But they could send me an e-mail to notify me that my book’s already been shipped. I had to keep checking back their site to see if it’s sent out or not. »

    Date of comment: 2008-08-06 21:47 •
  • 1.1 - Vince answers:

    « Strange, I did get an email to notify me the book had been shipped. Maybe you’ll get yours a little later. After all we’re not talking super-expedited shipping here... ;-) »

    Date of comment: 2008-08-06 22:07 •
  • 1.1.1 - Josette answers:

    « Hi! I got the e-mail from them telling me that my order’s been shipped already! You’re right, mine came later. Thanks. :D »

    Date of comment: 2008-08-08 00:26 •
  • 2 - Sigrid says:

    « I’m sort of a regular by now and I can confirm that shipping is pretty mellow time wise. But I don’t care!! It does arrive eventually. And since they have a lot of old library books, that often have not been republished and can’t be found otherwise, there are some real finds.
    Glad you endorse it Vinny vidi vici! »

    Date of comment: 2008-08-07 11:20 •
  • 2.1 - Vince answers:

    « Ouais, I found a book I had been looking for since 1996-ish... :-) »

    Date of comment: 2008-08-07 20:44 •

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