周一：维多利亚

一周的旅游结束了，每天都尽兴的玩儿，以至于我都没有精力熬夜（哈哈）。我这儿积了一堆照片需要整理，这周的周一回顾上周的周一：第一站是位于北美西海岸太平洋的最大岛屿之一温哥华岛，说了那么长是想强调温哥华岛，不是维多利亚岛。维多利亚是温哥华岛尖尖上的人口密集城市，由于太过著名很多人以为维多利亚是整个岛屿（比如说我）。另一个容易产生误解的地方是British Columbia的首府是维多利亚而非温哥华。加拿大和美国划分国界时国界线刚好劈开温哥华岛，岛上矿物资源丰富又是军事要地，加拿大倍感窝心不愿割肉，玩臭把省府临时迁至维多利亚，然后义正词严的通知美国：我们总不能把重要的首府划给你们吧？“首府岛”总算不用分尸了。



乘坐一个半小时的渡轮沿着西南方向从大温直下，一路山啊水啊的，由于前阶段去Bowen岛才坐过一次渡轮，这次便少了几分激动。我们在甲板上兜了一圈被冷风吹成两条冰棍，不得不回到温暖的内舱慢慢化冻，化到一半在嘈杂的人声和窗外闪烁的阳光下泛起睡意。有人以佛的姿势面朝太平洋在风中一路盘坐，我们一觉醒来看见她盘坐的手中多了一杯Starbucks。



上了岸首先去市中心和唐人街。唐人街门口的狮子雕像是苏州市捐赠的，导游这么一说我才猛的想起苏州和维多利亚已经“友好”很久了。政府大楼非常气派，但不让进，我们就走马观花从不同角度瞄了一眼这幢极为对称的碉堡。大楼对面便是港湾，私家船艇在这里簇拥停泊。我向往有水的城市，水让人平和，文化在水源处繁衍滋生。海风吹向城市的每个角落，滋润着生活的心态，就连水鸟也异常肥硕。

下午来到Butchart Garden，原本是个生钱的矿地，开采完了被Butchart一家人改建成花园。这家人不仅环保懂得回收再生，还有绝好的商业头脑。园内分好几个特色园，最大也是最先培育的是Sunken Garden，大拼盘一个，可谓百花齐放。除此之外还有日本花园、玫瑰园、意大利园等。我手头有一本Flower & Plant Guide，对了老半天终于把花脸和名安在一块儿了。这个俗名叫“苏格兰人的钱包”的毛绒球很能调起食欲呢！官网上有春夏秋冬几组照片，比我照的强多多多了。



出来前不忘摸一把野猪鼻子，听说能带来好运。



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更多照片：Monday: Victoria

Break time

Blog will be idle for the week.
regional travel schedule
Mon: Victoria
Tue - Fri: Banff
Sat: Downtown Vancouver

8 days a week

Dream recording, early morning of a Saturday

I had a long, tedious dream which was abruptly cut by my bladder outburst. I vaguely reasoned if I don't go washroom, all the poisons in my pent-up urinaries will inevitably invade the blood stream. After emptying the load, I started to recall the bizarre mental states.

It started with Darren Hayes appearing on prime time news. His caretaker (who doesn't resemble Richard I'm afraid) died from fatigue and Darren was very upset. Then they started showing a trailer of his upcoming movie, a suspense thriller. 'Isn't it weird the trailer's already out while the movie's still shooting?' After a few mental jumps we concluded Darren murdered his caretaker to get the publicity.We immediately formed a private investigation team on the spot. The team consists of, as I dutifully recall, two guys who resemble my dinner partners last night, Esther sama, my supervisor and myself. Those two guys do little but quarrel while Es works quietly in front of a table in a crowded attic. She's forever bending over and busy taking notes. We call out to her 'Esther' upon entering the room - she replies 'Smith' without turning back or looking over her shoulder. After a few rounds we decided we must change the secret code on a frequent basis. 'Smith' is no doubt, too simplistic and insecure. An atmosphere of distrust is brewing among our partnerships and we started to pick on each other.

Here comes the climax. After an information exchange session, my supervisor added 'I work on Thaisday.' We were silenced. Before anybody questioned the word 'Thaisday', I jeered at him 'Ha, so you're secretly working another day between Tuesday and Wednesday.' An uproar followed on heel.

And in brand new daylight, I started to wonder if I have been missing Thai food lately or am I suffering from idleness craving for work and a few extra bucks? And there in my busy dream state, I was tremendously contented that I was able to figure out Thaisday, the hidden 8th day of the week like a bonus track on a limited edition CD.

Firefox

Out of nowhere my nerves sparked a reminder: I haven't downloaded Firefox 3. I'm yet to test out improved features to give further feedback.

Here's a Wall street journal article on the (little) effect of the Tuesday download buzz on Firefox's market share: Firefox Wins the Battle, But the Browser War Still Wages

I'm wondering if the growth rate of Firefox users is tailing towards the middle or late stage of the exponential curve? To wage a 50:50 war against IE seems a far fetched dream.

幼小的阴影

读书的时候看到“电话粥”这个词皮肉都跳了一下。人生第一次“公众演讲”是初一语文课的课前五分钟说话，按学号排一个个说，一天一个。这还不似击鼓传花，逃都逃不掉，而且我的学号还是3。所以我早早上了斩头台，拿到的话题是“煲电话粥”。我是有切身体验的，不就是拿起话筒“哈哈，你在干麻啊？”由此开始的漫天散谈，可惜我要把这么无聊的事扩充至5分钟。课前我把原稿来回背了几遍（不记得具体内容了，但肯定谈到电话费了），但站在50多人的班级讲台前就开始紧张，拉肚子般的紧张，中间还疙瘩了几处，外加面无表情缺乏生动，结果当然异常灰暗......

没想到现在看到这个词还有阴影，真他妈的根深蒂固野草除不尽。