The other night I was randomly barking commands at Siri on my iPhone 4S when I landed on the phrase: “Show me bears”. Instead of pulling up a search window and finding an image of a bear, Siri showed me the current roster of the Chicago Bears football team.
I tried something else: “Show me Canucks”. Siri popped up the latest Canucks roster and did it again when I said “Show me Whitecaps“, “Show me Lions”, and “Show me Giants”. The latter two came up with mixed results from Detroit, New York and San Francisco but it was great to stumble upon the MLS and NHL options.
It turns out that Siri is quite the sports fan if you have upgraded to iOS6 last fall (and perhaps you’ve already noticed this). You can use any of the following commands to get information on the go, adding in the name of your favourite professional sports team:
“Show me hockey scores from yesterday”
“When do the Whitecaps play next?”
“Which Major League Soccer team won the championship?”
“Show me statistics for David Booth”
For more information, you can click on the “i” in the bottom right corner of the search results and that will prompt you to open (or download) the Yahoo! Sportacular app. There you can select your favourite sports teams – including everything from NASCAR to women’s basketball to the English Premier League – setup alerts for specific events, and more. Yahoo! Sportacular is also available for Android, although Siri is not.
Despite the fog and rain, Vancouver Farmers Markets are still going strong this winter as they setup every Saturday outside Nat Bailey Stadium. For the month of February they’ll be trying something new by adding a Food Truck Festival – doubling their regular number of food trucks.
Visitors are invited to vote on their favourite “new recruit” food trucks and the top selections will be invited to join the roster as regulars at the busy summer markets. There will also be live music, covered seating, and the usual fresh, local offerings that you can find at the market each week.
Food Truck Festival: New Recruits
- Ze Bite: Ze bite is Vancouver’s premier French cuisine food truck featuring delicious stews and speciality sandwiches made from scratch with locally sourced ingredients.
- JJ’s Trucketeria: The brightest yellow food truck you’ve seen yet, serving seasonal creations made from scratch with a unique cultural mix of flavours.
- Slavic Rolls: Slavic Rolls offers a great tasting pastry, made fresh in front of customers.
- Feastro The Rolling Bistro: Feastro is the famous purple truck with the fabulous and award winning seafood tacos, fish and chips, salads, chowders and daily specials.
- Old Country Pierogi: Old Country Pierogi brings to market homemade pierogies (regular and gluten-free) with sweet and savoury fillings.
Food Truck Festival: Market Regulars
Blue Smoke BBQ, Chilitank, Crêperie La Bohème, Eli’s Serious Sausage, Vij’s Railway Express, Le Tigre, Pig on the Street, Taser Grilled Cheese, The Kaboom Box, Transylvania Fresh.
Stop by the Vancouver Farmers Market (winter market until April 27, 2013) at Nat Bailey Stadium, 4601 Ontario Street. The new food trucks will be there starting Saturday, February 2, 2013. Follow the market on Facebook and Twitter for market information and updates throughout the year.
The Vancouver International Tequila Expo returns for a second year this May and tickets have gone on sale today. Sponsored by First Majestic, Tourism Mexico, ProMexico, and the Consulate General of Mexico in Vancouver, the Vancouver International Tequila Expo will take place at the Vancouver Hyatt Regency Hotel on Friday, May 24, 2013 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm.
Raising $5,000 last year, proceeds from the event will once again benefit the British Columbia Hospitality Foundation. Organizers say that this year’s event will be larger, with more tasting booths, more food, off-site agave spirits tasting seminars and pairing dinners for Vancouver Agave Week (May 20th to 24th, 2013).
Several local restaurants will gather in the restaurant area to offer up tequila-inspired cuisine as well. Additional exhibitors, sponsors, seminars, and participating restaurants will be announced as they join the event.
The expo includes a public vote on the top three tequilas and prize giveaways including a Mexican getaway. Ticket prices have decreased this year with a $40 early-bird option in effect right now (increasing to $50 and $60 closer to the event date).
Follow the Vancouver International Tequila Expo on Facebook and Twitter for more information about the event.
The Canadian Space Agency is celebrating astronaut Chris Hadfield, commander of the International Space Station, with a world tour photo challenge. While Hadfield has been posting amazing images from his orbit of Earth, they are inviting young and old to submit photos for the chance to win some very unique prizes.
How to Enter
1. You can enter by adding a 2D Chris Hadfield to your photo using the CSA’s digital editing system.
2. You can visit a partner venue across Canada to snap a photo with a 2D cutout. Partner venues in Vancouver are the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre and Science World.
3. Download and print your own 2D Chris Hadfield (scroll to bottom of this page for file options) and take a photo with it.
Prizes
The three pictures with the most online votes will win a mission t-shirt signed by Chris Hadfield. The big winner will have the chance to virtually meet Chris Hadfield during a private discussion via Webcast after the mission (arrangements to be made in accordance with astronaut’s schedule).
The contest has been live since the summer and it will end May 16, 2013. You can upload as many images as you like or click to vote on any of the photos that have already been submitted.
On this day in 1939, two lions created by sculptor Charles Marega were placed at the south entrance of the Lions Gate Bridge. They were the last commissioned work for this prominent yet struggling Vancouver artist.
To quote my blog post on this day last year: “Over the years the lions have been a sign of ‘quitting time’ for North Shore commuters, the focus of tourist photos, brought awareness to causes and campaigns through their mysterious get-ups, and provided support for our home teams.” Frequently photographed by park explorers and passers-by, today’s Vancouver Icon photo collection features the Lions Gate Bridge lions.
Other Vancouver Icons posts include: LightShed, Granville Bridge, 217.5 Arc x 13′, Canoe Bridge, Vancouver Block, Bloedel Conservatory, Centennial Rocket, Canada Place, Old Courthouse/Vancouver Art Gallery, Dominion Building, Science World, Gastown Steam Clock, SFU Burnaby, Commodore Lanes, Siwash Rock, Kitsilano Pool, White Rock Pier, Main Post Office, Planetarium Building, Lord Stanley Statue, Vancouver Library Central Branch, Victory Square, Digital Orca, The Crab Sculpture, Girl in Wetsuit, The Sun Tower, The Hotel Vancouver, The Gassy Jack Statue, The Marine Building, and The Angel of Victory. Should you have a suggestion for the Vancouver Icons series please feel free to leave a note in the comments. It should be a thing, statue, or place that is very visible and recognizable to the public.
