Haven4GamerZ.com

With the new laws coming into effect on January 1, 2010, we’re on the hunt for a good bluetooth handsfree preferably no headset just mic setup for our cars.

Anyone try the BlueAnt brands?

Went to Momo on a recommendation from a friend.  Almost walked right by it because from the outside it just likes like a small hole in the wall.  Anyway, went in and it had it’s charm in atmosphere.  Chefs and waitresses seemed very friendly and actually Japanese.  The place was packed with people at the tables and with people waiting for takeout orders (this was about 12:05pm on a Friday).  We had to wait about 15 minutes to get a seat.  I think you should go at 11:45am if you want to get seated without waiting.

Anyway, sat down and ordered Box C and my friends ordered the Special A’s.  What value!  The Box C was $10 and the Special A was $7 I think.  They both came with miso soups and salads.  The quality of the food was great and value for sushi downtown ~ Amazing!  Definitely recommend going there.  One of my friends hurt us though in ordering a spicey scallop roll.  Presentation and quality was nice, but wow! the spiciness will OWN YOUR SOUL! Be Warned!

Overall rating: 9/10 (If the seating area was more spacious and a bit nicer in decor it would get 10/10)

Address and phone information:

6-375 Water Street, Vancouver, BC

(604)-683-7632

I haven’t tried making reservations but just looking at the way the restaurant is so busy and small I’m sure they don’t take them so go early.

Profile: Office worker / Gamer

Problems:  Wake up sometimes with lower back pain, sometimes just standing around get lower back stiffnes

Location: Vancouver, Canada

So I was up late one night watching infomercials and ended up ordering the Back2Life machine. I was suffering from not major but minor back pain.   I was afraid of it getting worse though so decided to try this machine.  I ordered it on January 9/09 and received it on January 14/09.  I chose the regular Canada shipping option and surprisingly didn’t have to pay custom and duties when it arrived.  Unless there’s a bill still to come in the mail for that but I don’t think so usually it’s COD.  I ordered it from the official website: http://www.getback2life.com

So I’ve been using it as instructed -  at least 2 times a day (morning and night) since I’ve received it so that’s 4 days now.  I can’t conclude whether it’s working or not yet as it could just be my frame of mind.  I did notice that the first time I used it my back did feel a little less stiff and I ‘think’ my back is feeling less sore in the mornings, but I won’t say that this thing has worked until all my back pain is gone which it isn’t yet.  The manual does mention to use it for a few weeks so I won’t give up on it yet.

In terms of the machine itself, it’s fairly well built…I’m sure it only cost them $20 to manufacture though so they marked it up like 10 times.  The two things that bother me about this machine is that while in use it squeaks a bit and it makes your calf muscles and feet get all tingly and sometimes even numb.

Anyway, I’ll come back and update this post every week to let you know how it’s progressing.  Of course if you have experiences with the machine then feel free to comment or if you have questions let me know.

Update – January 24, 2009 – 10 days of regular use:

I’ve been using the machine at least twice a day since receiving it. After about a week it was strange my back muscles were a different type of sore almost like the machine was working out muscles in my back! After a few days of that type of soreness I’m happy to report my back is feeling pretty good. Not totally free from soreness but doing a lot better than what it was before I started using the machine. I hope that it’s not all psychological but anyway things are going good so far. I’ll continue to use it and report back next weekend.

Update #2 – February 1, 2009 – 18 days of regular use.

My back is doing alright, sometimes it’s a bit sore but overall it’s doing pretty good.  I’m continuing to use the machine regularly and decided to continue using it until further notice.

Source: Canucks.com

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) – The Canucks’ top line of Daniel and Henrik Sedin and Steve Bernier each scored a power-play goal, lifting Vancouver to a 3-2 preseason victory over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.

Backup goalie Curtis Sanford made 31 saves as the Canucks improved to 6-0 in the preseason.

“For sure it’s fun to win,” said Bernier, who will almost certainly line up with the Twins to start the regular season. “We play hockey to win, even if those points don’t mean anything. For us it’s big points for our confidence.

“I feel like this team is a very good team and I feel like we’re supposed to win. It’s great to see that we’ve got those 6 wins in a row.”

The Canucks are undefeated through six games, but not for the expected reasons. All-star goaltender Roberto Luongo has certainly pulled his weight, as have a few veteran defencemen, but it’s been timely scoring that’s done the trick.

On Thursday it was Henrik Sedin who corralled a deflection off the end boards with the game knotted 2-2 early in the third and slipped it behind Evgeni Nabokov on the power play to give Vancouver a 3-2 lead they wouldn’t surrender.

“It was nice to get the win there,” said Henrik. “We’re trying to get wins here in the preseason, but it’s not about the wins, it’s about the way we play, and we’ve got a lot of lines rolling right now. We’re scoring a lot of goals, so it’s a good feeling in the dressing room.”

The Canucks have scored 21 goals to be exact, including nine in the past two games – a far cry from a season ago when the team struggled for offence.

“I think we’re getting ready for the season,” said Alain Vigneault. “We’re working on situations – whether it be five on five, whether it be on power play, or penalty killing – we’re working on some specific things and we’re utilizing players to see what they can do in those areas.”

The most effective area, aside from goaltending, has to be special teams. The Canucks once again won the power-play battle scoring twice on six chances while blanking the Sharks on all seven of their chances.

Rick Rypien , who won a spirited first-period decision off San Jose rearguard Mike Moore, says it’s a different feeling in the room.

“I think with the new guys coming in here I definitely notice a difference. The atmosphere feels different, not taking anything away from the guys last year, but there’s definitely a good vibe going on right now.”

The Sharks, led by perennial Vezina nominee Evgeni Nabokov, certainly proved Vancouver’s stiffest competition of the preseason matching Vancouver’s energy and physical play. They took an early lead when rookie Riley Armstrong beat Sanford out of a scramble.

“It’s a tough team to see shots against,” said Sanford. “They put a lot of traffic in front of the net but our guys were strong in front and pushed them out of the way. I was able to see the puck out there.”

Bernier and Daniel Sedin scored three minutes apart in the second to give the Canucks a 2-1 lead before Joe Pavelski tied it on the power play sneaking a bounce off the end boards behind Sanford.

The Sharks failed to convert a short 5-on-3 advantage late in the second period and Henrik Sedin scored the Canucks’ final goal just 39 seconds into the third, Vancouver’s second power-play marker of the night.

“We’ve been working at our power play lately,” said Vigneault. “I thought Pavol [Demitra’s] unit was good yesterday, and today it was the Twins and Steve [Bernier]. And our penalty killing was pretty good again tonight.”

Nabokov made 17 saves for San Jose (2-4), but more important was the absence of Sharks star center Joe Thornton, who didn’t take a shift after the second period. There was no obvious injury and no immediate update.

Both teams dressed most of their top players, with the notable exception of new Canucks captain Luongo, who watched from the bench after making 35 saves in a 6-1 win over Calgary on Wednesday night.

After being named the first goalie to captain an NHL team in 61 seasons, Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks had one thought in mind.

“(Luongo) asked me if he needed to work on his faceoff skills for times of special events at the arena,’’ said Canucks coach Alain Vigneault.

“We might be a little outside of box here (naming Luongo captain), but there’s only two things that, as captain, Roberto can’t do and that’s wear the ‘C’ on his jersey or take faceoffs,’’ Vigneault said.

Luongo, who is in the third year of a four-year deal with the Canucks, was named captain Tuesday along with alternates Willie Mitchell , Mattias Ohlund and Ryan Kesler . For Vigneault, naming the three-time NHL All-Star team captain was an obvious choice.

“One characteristic of being a successful captain was being able to make your peers better, and Roberto is exceptional at that,’’ Canucks GM Mike Gillis said. “He’s a tremendously hard worker, diligent and cares very deeply about how he performs and how the team performs. On top of that, he wanted this title (captain).

“Over the summer, I talked to him about leadership and how this should become his team and, notwithstanding the position he plays, how he should be the person that leads this team. Alain came up with this idea on his own and the people we mentioned it to were thrilled with it. We’re very pleased with the decision.’’

By League rules, Luongo cannot wear the ‘C,’ but he can be named captain. Mitchell will deal with officials on a nightly basis and as the longest-serving Canuck. Ohlund, who is entering his 11th NHL season, will deal with any ceremonial aspects of the position such as faceoffs.

The 29-year-old Luongo, however, will be the voice of reason in the dressing room and, perhaps, during critical moments of each game.

Last season, Luongo finished 35-29-9 with a 2.38 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and six shutouts in 73 appearances. The Canucks’ captaincy had been vacated by Markus Naslund, who signed with the New York Rangers in the offseason. Naslund had been the club’s captain since 2000.

“I went back East for about 10 days and came back and gave this captaincy issue a lot of thought,’’ Vigneault said. “I had a meeting with (Gillis) on the first day I came back and we discussed the captaincy and I talked about the different characteristics that all captains have. As I was going through my list, I noticed Mike had opened to a page in his book of notes and thoughts that had all the reasons I had written down as well.

“I then told him that, while I felt we had quite a few players on our team that possessed these characteristics to a certain degree, there was just one individual who had all these characteristics to a very high degree and that was Roberto. That’s why I felt we should name him captain.’’

“It began when we hired Ryan Walter (as assistant coach June 17),’’ Gillis said. “He brought in all these books on leadership and as I looked through them, I learned that it didn’t really matter if you worked for General Motors or were the general manager of the New York Yankees or the San Francisco 49ers of years’ past. Great leaders exhibited consistent traits.’’

Luongo is not the first goalie to be named captain of his team. Hall of Fame goalie Charlie Gardiner was captain of the Chicago Blackhawks when they won the Stanley Cup in 1934. Prior to Luongo, the last NHL goaltender who served as team captain was Bill Durnan of the Montreal Canadiens during the 1947-48 season.

“We’re happy Roberto’s the leader of this of this organization and the leader of this group of players,’’ Vigneault said. “He’s the right choice.’’

Press conference:

Did they make the right choice?

The concept of drive-in movie theatres goes way way back and if you ever wanted to go to one there’s still hope for you.  In Langley, BC, Twilight Drive-In is still alive and kicking.  We checked it out tonight to watch Batman – The Dark Knight and it was pretty cool.  It was definitely an experience that you should try out.  Just remember to dress in layers if you plan to sit outside of your car and bring a radio if you don’t want to blast the sound from your car.  Check out the official site for what’s playing, prices, faq’s and directions.

Official website: Twilight Drive-In

Address:

260th Street & Fraser Highway, Langley, BC

Phone:

604-856-5063

The 2008 Vancouver Sun Run starts tomorrow at 9am at Burrard and Georgia in downtown Vancouver. Are you ready? Here’s some tips before the race:

1. Eat some nice high carb food the night before like a big plate of spaghetti (whole wheat preferably)
2. Get a good night’s rest
3. Drink plenty of fluids
4. Arrive early to stretch before the run and to get settled…soak in that atmosphere baby!

See you at the Run tomorrow!  Good Luck!

You can click here for official race details.

I’m a CBC (Chinese Born Canadian) and lived my whole life in Vancouver.  I’m a ‘banana’ – yellow on the outside but white inside i.e. I’ve been pretty Canadianized, I don’t know a lot of the Chinese traditions and I don’t speak Chinese.  I’m opening up this series to share experiences of banana-hood, banana-eens and then finally banada-life.  I’m sure these experiences have been felt by the countless other banana’s across the lower mainland and the country.

So here we go, from the distance or up close, I look pretty Chinese.  I have throughout my life been questioned “You really don’t speak Chinese?” many many times…really I can only recognize hearing the common names of popular dimsum, it’s quite sad.  You’ll find that with the older Chinese ladies that they won’t believe you when you tell them you don’t speak Chinese so they’ll just keep throwing Chinese phrases at you and when you nod by accident and it actually answers something correctly they’ll go “Aha..you do speak Chinese! I knew it!” Over time this really wears on you, it’s actually driven me to try to learn Chinese.  It’s going very slowly and even when I do learn I’ll sound funny when I’ll try to speak it and then they’ll think there’s something wrong with me, but let’s deal with that when the times comes.