I have so many mini topics to cover that if I were to write a blog post for each people would get annoyed about how I’m too prolific and my feed would swamp their readers and it would just be a mess. On that note, if you’d like to simply get my feed (without Flickr photos too) you can grab it here, or stay with the main feed, cause it’s pretty fun.

Photo Credit: PatZ on Flickr

Photo: John Bollwitt

That’s it for now, happy (sunny) Thursday everyone!

Aside from Raul, who is finishing up his doctorate in environmental studies, and DaveO who works for happyfrog and was there at Clayoquot, I’d have to say Keira’s one of my most eco-conscious friends.

A few weeks ago she wrote a blog post inspired by words printed on the side of a Starbucks cup. As a result, she was asked why she gets the paper cups in the first place, and was told she should be using a travel mug. Her explanation to me was that her coffees just don’t taste the same coming out of a travel mug.

Talking with John yesterday, he said he’s the only person in his department at work that actually recycles his paper coffee cups. He said he’d try a travel mug if it didn’t insulate so well - as in, it still allowed for a slow cooling of the coffee so it becomes a drinkable heat by the time you get it back to your desk.

As for me? I try travel mugs but I always end up forgetting them at work. I need to make sure nothing will spill out the top on my way in, and then remember to wash them out when I’m done. If I don’t wash it out I won’t put it in my purse to cart home for the next morning cause it’ll be dirty and drippy. It soon becomes a part of the dish washing machine at work that I perpetually forget to recover.

I suppose save for my general laziness when it comes to the travel mugs, I could spare some lovely trees from a venti-sized doom if I simply found an ideal cup. Let’s put it to a Miss604 poll (since coffee and Miss604 polls seem to be a trend [1][2]) although unfortunately is the only one now in existence since the others got nuked when I upgraded my WP and changed hosts.

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If you don’t use either or have a reusable cup of choice, leave a comment below. Also, Salt Spring Organic Coffee…. is amazingly tasty.

To me, the most satisfying cup of coffee is served in a diner where the waitress fills it up at least 6 times (without asking) before you get your two eggs over medium with bacon and hashbrowns. Other than that, at any specialty coffee shop on any street corner I’m usually a dark roast girl.

Photo Credit: Cosmo on Flickr

The other morning John overheard someone ask for a dark roast coffee because they needed the extra caffeine in their system. The barista replied that dark roasts actually have less caffeine since they’re toasted longer and that drains it out. Of course when he told me this I had to do some internet-sleuthing to confirm or bust this dark roast caffeine myth.

Generally, dark-roast coffee has less caffeine than lighter roasts because the roasting process reduces the bean’s caffeine content. [Caffeine - Wiki]

Drinking a darker roast will decrease your caffeine intake as the higher roasting temperatures eliminate more of the caffeine in the bean. [Sally's Place]

There are also several forums where others have asked the very same question and the resounding response seems to be that caffeine comes out in the roasting process. However, this lovely Drupal site below suggests the opposite:

It really depends on how you measure the caffeine.
If you measure by weight you actually have more caffeine in dark roast because the water loss is faster than the caffeine loss. If you measure by volume you have less caffeine because the beans expand as they roast. [Coffee and Caffeine FAQ]

It’s also been suggested that if you want a dark roast taste with all the caffeine of a light roast, try ordering an Americano. However, if it’s just the pure caffeine you’re worried about, consult Vancouver Coffee’s post about ingesting specific amounts to increase your hyperactivity.

In the end, I’m not quite sure what the actual answer is without getting into some serious mathematical and scientific molecular breakdown calculations. I’ll just sit back now with my warm beverage of choice until the shakes inevitably arrive by the next coffee run at 3:00pm.

You may have caught Andrew Morrison’s Waiter Blog in the Westender or even seen his name while paging through an issue of EAT or Vancouver Magazine. Now Morrison’s latest creation, Urban Diner, has become a staple of restaurant listings and reviews in this city.

As such, they will be presenting the first ever Urban Diner Restaurant Industry Awards this coming Monday at Nu Restaurant. The voting has been taking place since January in the UD forum in the following categories: The “News”, The “Regional”, The “Industry”, The “Media” (including Best Food Blog, excluding UD of course), The “Dining”, and The “Retail”.

If you’re not already an UD forum member it’s too late to join up and cast your vote as the cutoff was Feb. 11th. However if you’re an existing member you have until midnight tonight to stuff those ballot boxes.

With some awards being presented by famed local chefs like John Bishop [of Bishop's], and Vikram Vij [of Vij's], it seems like Monday should be quite an entertaining evening (especially now that I’ve been added to the guest list).

Update: Feb 18, 2008: The winners have now been announced. Congrats to the So.Cial Custom Butcher Shop & Deli as the “Best Bargain”.

I just caught this on TV. I know I’ve had a few glasses of wine (blame the Canucks shootout loss), but it seriously took me a couple looks to “get it”.

Diamond Shreddies - Experience the Diamondness!

No, this isn’t another report on Pimma, this is far more nauseating. As a person who eats at “Rotten Ronny’s” maybe once a year, this seriously turns my stomach but also makes me drop my head and giggle.

The last time John ate at McDonald’s he was violently ill for a few days. He then did some research and discovered that the McNuggets he ingested contained dimethypolysiloxane, which can also be found in things like sunscreen.

A former co-worker sent this link my way. It’s a pizza, covered entirely with ingredients from McDonalds.

Photo credit: Chinese_Fashion on Flickr (original source)

The thing is, I would totally eat it. You would, too, stop lying. The cheeseburger parts, the McNuggets — you know that’d be tasty. The fries might be the sleeper hit. If this thing were in my house, I’d totally roll my eyes and groan and make a big stink. Then my curiosity would get the better of me and I’d sneak a bite when nobody was around. And I mean, you can tell it tastes pretty good. [AndIAmNotLying]

The post is by someone who was passed the photos online, not the original creator of the “masterpiece”. You can view all of the original photos on Flickr and as Keira would say, “I think I just thew up a little in my mouth.”

The smell of roasted nuts and hot chocolate mixed with exhaust is what I would experience every morning at Harvard Square T station. Sweetness combined with mechanics mmmm good morning!. A friend of ours who just recently moved to Canada from England pointed something out on her blog:

One thing we have noticed, bus stations and sky train stations don’t have any shops or news agents. [MapleMole]

I assume this is what you can find at Tube stations in London. However, as you head out into the suburbs, Skytrain stations like King George and Scott Road do have little shops where you can get a bottle of water, a pack of gum, and a daily read down on the street. But the thing I know for sure about Harvard Square, Downtown Center or Gov’t Center stations in Boston was that on track-level there was usually a Dunkin Donuts kiosk. Just grab your coffee and a paper and jump on the train.

Photo credit: kingdafy on Flickr

I’ve always wondered, in this caffeine-crazy city where you can’t go half a block without bumping into a cafe, why don’t we have a mini Starbucks say… at the bottom of the escalators on Burrard? Is there some type of by-law that prevents it? Vancouverites love their coffee, but would something like that just get in the way?

The Empire Landmark is the tallest building in downtown Vancouver’s West End and its view are beyond compare. 42 storeys up, Cloud 9 restaurant serves up delicious dinners while revolving 360 degrees, offering up sights this Vancouverite has never seen before.

First impressions threw me back to that lunch I once had at Toronto’s CN Tower, I suppose the concept and layout for most revolving restaurants is the similar. The decor was seriously lacking but with the restaurant making a full rotation over the course of an hour, I really wasn’t looking anywhere except out the windows.

My sister and I had the prix fixe 3 course menu for $35. The salad was a basic caesar came complete with croutons fresh out of the box and my pinot grigio was $10/glass. I had the stuffed chicken for dinner which was actually really tasty and the cheesecake for dessert was probably some of the best I’ve ever had.

If you can overlook the lack of decor, the cheesy black ceiling with tiny lightbulbs that look like stars, and the dent in your pocket book, it was a very pleasant dining experience. I recommend it for anyone to try, at least once, because of the breathtaking views.