And then we came back to Edmonton, and this happened.
We managed to squeeze in some of this.
Before officially getting this.
And now, we are dealing with some form of this.
And that's what's happened in the last 2 weeks.
Monday, November 25, 2013
What happened since our last post?
First off, we went back to Ontario, and this happened.
And then we came back to Edmonton, and this happened.
We managed to squeeze in some of this.
Before officially getting this.
And now, we are dealing with some form of this.
And that's what's happened in the last 2 weeks.
And then we came back to Edmonton, and this happened.
We managed to squeeze in some of this.
Before officially getting this.
And now, we are dealing with some form of this.
And that's what's happened in the last 2 weeks.
Friday, November 8, 2013
Light the Bridge
I stumbled on this through those ads on the side on Facebook that no one ever looks at, but I'm happy I did
cause it's a really cool thing.
A small geography lesson before we delve in: Edmonton is divided into the north and south sides by the North Saskatchewan River. Actually, the city kind of looks like a no smoking sign, with the Anthony Henday ring road around the city and then the river cutting diagonally through. There are 19 bridges or crossings that allow you to walk, bike, drive or LRT from one side of the river to the other. One of these is the High Level Bridge.
During our first trip out here in July, we walked over the High Level Bridge from Garneau (south side) to the north side of the city, which I believe is considered the downtown core or CBD (central business district) if you're from outside of North America. This southbound-only bridge made up of "steel trusses on concrete piers" (à la Wiki) turns into 109 Street on either side of the river, is 777m long, and was opened exactly 100 years ago this year. Still a young buck. Not just a bridge for vehicles, there are pedestrian walkways on either side of the lane ways, which double as 2-way bike lanes, and the upper deck is where the High Level Streetcar runs along in the summer.
While walking on the bridge that first time, we thought: wouldn't it be cool if this thing lit up? Actually, we had heard from someone somewhere that they do light the bridge and that there might even be a waterfall-type fountain off the bridge at some point. We had never actually found evidence of either, but always the engineer, David actually looked for the lights and only found some pipes where water may have potentially spouted out from.
And then today, I find this. Which then leads me to this: http://www.lightthebridge.ca.
Basically, Light the Bridge is a completely donation-based initiative to outfit the High Level Bridge in thousands of smart, programmable LEDs. This will not only literally make the city a little brighter, but also bring together Edmontonians to support their city one bulb at a time. What a cool concept. What's more is that they're encouraging people to donate a bulb in memory or on behalf of someone who has lit up their lives in some way. Those should be reasons enough. But if you needed another: they will also be able to tell you where to locate your exact light bulb once it's completed. Umm, that's pretty freakin' cool.
Wouldn't it be awesome to see this thing lit up at night?! Ya, it would.
So like it. Share it. Donate.
Now if only it had a fountain...
A small geography lesson before we delve in: Edmonton is divided into the north and south sides by the North Saskatchewan River. Actually, the city kind of looks like a no smoking sign, with the Anthony Henday ring road around the city and then the river cutting diagonally through. There are 19 bridges or crossings that allow you to walk, bike, drive or LRT from one side of the river to the other. One of these is the High Level Bridge.
During our first trip out here in July, we walked over the High Level Bridge from Garneau (south side) to the north side of the city, which I believe is considered the downtown core or CBD (central business district) if you're from outside of North America. This southbound-only bridge made up of "steel trusses on concrete piers" (à la Wiki) turns into 109 Street on either side of the river, is 777m long, and was opened exactly 100 years ago this year. Still a young buck. Not just a bridge for vehicles, there are pedestrian walkways on either side of the lane ways, which double as 2-way bike lanes, and the upper deck is where the High Level Streetcar runs along in the summer.
While walking on the bridge that first time, we thought: wouldn't it be cool if this thing lit up? Actually, we had heard from someone somewhere that they do light the bridge and that there might even be a waterfall-type fountain off the bridge at some point. We had never actually found evidence of either, but always the engineer, David actually looked for the lights and only found some pipes where water may have potentially spouted out from.
 |
| Spouties where we think water for a fountain would come from. |
And then today, I find this. Which then leads me to this: http://www.lightthebridge.ca.
Basically, Light the Bridge is a completely donation-based initiative to outfit the High Level Bridge in thousands of smart, programmable LEDs. This will not only literally make the city a little brighter, but also bring together Edmontonians to support their city one bulb at a time. What a cool concept. What's more is that they're encouraging people to donate a bulb in memory or on behalf of someone who has lit up their lives in some way. Those should be reasons enough. But if you needed another: they will also be able to tell you where to locate your exact light bulb once it's completed. Umm, that's pretty freakin' cool.
Wouldn't it be awesome to see this thing lit up at night?! Ya, it would.
So like it. Share it. Donate.
Now if only it had a fountain...
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Reasons the rest of Canada should be super jealous of Alberta
 |
| He's riding a stick horse for God's sake. How can you not like this guy? Image taken from The Edmonton Journal. |
Read this: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/10/22/calgary-election-edmonton-alberta-2013_n_4142715.html
I think that title is pretty self explanatory. Seriously, our new mayor is 12. We couldn't have timed our move from Toronto to Edmonton any better. I think part of why I like Iveson is cause he's so much like David. It's actually uncanny.
Check it:
- Both into politics.
- He looks 12 but is really over 30.
- A Star Trek/Wars nerd.
- His wife is Asian and named Sarah.
- (and the kicker) from Reddit:
 |
| From Iveson's Reddit AMA. |
Speaking of which, Iveson's AMA on Reddit is also worth a skim though. Besides the fun city stuff like the LRT expansion, there are bits on Star Trek, the Oilers and who would play him in a TV movie.
Also noteworthy is the slideshow at the end of Huffpost article of the Silliest Questions Tourists Ask in Alberta. My favourite may be "At what elevation does an elk become a moose?" Made even more absurd by trying to sound academic and posing it like an exam question.
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