Victoria realty expressions explained · Wednesday December 19, 2007 by colin newell
Notorious for some of the most expensive houses in North America, our Victoria area realtor’s pride themselves in their colorful, yet somehow cryptic use of the English language.
Well – here at the CoffeeCrew blog, we love to help out by making sense of the confusing. So here are some examples and the appropriate translation:
Great starter home – Has rats, lethal mold and is not fit for human habitation.
Good location close to transportation – One block from the airport runway… and has rats.
Walking distance to the Jubilee Hospital – Has mold and rats. You will be hospitalized if you buy this house.
Amazing privacy – Has Big scary rats.
Priced to Sell! – Next door to a grow-op.
Delightful backyard – playful rats
A piece of heaven – At these prices you can own the promised land… and has Norway rats.
Comment [1]
Save the World buy a cosy · Tuesday October 9, 2007 by colin newell
Ever notice that while you are driving hundreds of miles from civilization that there is coffee detritus everywhere you go? I mean, why did I see a paper coffee cup wrapper out on a rural highway miles from anywhere?
Fact is, people pitch waste from their cars because they are lazy and need a great big wake up call. Hello – the World around you is not your personal dumping ground – that is what your house or apartment is for.
Here is the solution – invest a few coins in a re-usable and environmentally friendly coffee cozy cup wrapper.
Stop with the pollution. Stop with the corporate shill. Do the planet a favor and buy one of my friends hand knitted coffee cozies.
Please.
Comment [2]
Illegal search and seizure · Thursday July 19, 2007 by colin newell
Let me just start with…
I would rather a guilty drug dealer go free than have 10 innocent civilians hassled by Canadian Customs officers.
I mean, who hasn’t heard the tale of families crossing back into Canada from the U.S.A. and have the zealots in the blue uniforms tear their car apart on a whim only to have the bewildered family members left to put the car back together?
It’s nazism. It’s fascism. It’s a violation of our charter rights and it needs to stop.
Yea. I used to be intimidated by border guards – but not anymore. To be fair, most of them are decent people on the front line of defense of our nations security and integrity. But there needs to be a line drawn somewhere.
And in a recent case, a B.C. Provincial court judge has thrown out a case of a drug dealer who was detained while trying to import 50 kilos of cocaine into Canada.
Yes – he is a drug dealer and obviously guilty as can be.
The law states that you can not just detain someone on the grounds that something fishy might be going on.
And yea, drilling holes in a free citizens car and tearing it apart it pretty uncool too.
And before you call me a bleeding heart liberal (citing as many of my neo-con friends do: “If ya got nothing to hide you shouldn’t mind a little gloved hand up your wazoo!” nonsense…) – Searching someone without a warrant and detaining them without legal representation is illegal in this country.
And to the additional naysayers I offer: It takes minutes to obtain a warrant in most cases. A phone call.
As Canadians we have the responsibility to be on guard against those who would quickly strip away our rights in the name of whatever cause they are hugging.
Be aware. Be diligent. Know your rights.
Cafe review - Stick in the Mud · Saturday July 7, 2007 by colin newell
There is still a pleasant buzz when great specialty coffee comes to a city the size of Victoria B.C. (200,000).
So, you can imagine the palpable excitement when better than average coffee came to Sooke B.C. Canada.
Some 25 miles down a windy West Coast highway, Sooke is a town with about 9700 souls. From personal observation, there is not a lot of great coffee to rave about. That changed today as the Stick in the Mud cafe opened for their first full day.
Photo at right: David Evans enjoys the first-day energy at “the Stick in the Mud” Cafe – click photo for larger view
Stick in the Mud is the pipe-dream of one very youthful David Evans. At 39 years of age, David has been drinking coffee for about 4 years. And although he did not just wake up one morning deciding to bring fantastic specialty coffee to this small town, he did have some help from some talented foodie friends.
None other than Markus of Sooke’s own Markus Wharfside Grill took David to Discovery Coffee 6 months ago. For David it was a defining moment.
Within 4 months, the Stick quite literally rose from the mud on the quiet Eustace Avenue, one block away from Sooke’s downtown junction of West Coast road and Otter Point Road. And however out-of-the-way this caffeinated alcove might be, the Stick offers its guests the options of a colorful interior or 3 or 4 outdoor patio tables to enjoy their brew.
And wonderful brew it is! Powered by beans from Discovery, Hines of Vancouver and (soon) Coffee Warbler of Vancouver, David holds court behind his La Marzocco espresso machine. He managed to keep up a lively patter with a near endless series of patrons and at the same time pulling flawless beverages.
We had iced de-caf lattes and soy macchiato – and they were spot on.
The Stick in the Mud cafe joins an impressive (and growing) pack of fine specialty coffee outlets (all independents of course) on Southern Vancouver Island – our initial impression is that it has quickly moved up the ranks to destination cafe on day-one… based on my first taste impressions that is. Few can claim that; Discovery, the Habit, and Coyote Coffee to name a few.
The Stick is in good company.
Colin Newell lives in Victoria B.C. Canada and spends a lot of time in coffee shops – some of them great coffee shops!
Comment [8]
