When summertime rolls around I always get a hankering to go sailing again and borderfilm's Climb photo takes me straight back to my days tooling around Strawberry Lake in college. This shot, taken on the English Bay in Vancouver, perfectly lines up the trailing edge of the sail with the edge of the photo creating a false border, as the lines from the sand and skyline head towards each other in a slanted distance. A great shot.


***To have your photo considered for the Gadling Photo of the Day, go over to the Gadling Flickr Pool and post it. Make sure it is not copyrighted, otherwise we can't post it here.***

I'm still trying to get my head around how this was possible: a couple and two grandparents FORGOT their 2-year old whilst trying to catch a flight from Vancouver to Winniepeg in Canada.

With only 10-minutes left for boarding, the family was running towards the gate, and apparently each of the 4 adults thought that the baby was with one of the other three.

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? Were they running so far from each other not to notice the absence a child? Also, their child is 2-years old, if you are adults running to catch a flight, surely you'd take him in your arms -- couldn't they see that no-one was running with a baby!? AND, even if you are not sitting together on the flight, how can you not realize that one of you is missing!? What world are you in!? This stuff is only allowed to happen in movies!

Anyway, the good news is that Air Canada took control of the situation well: they found the child, figured out who he belonged to, and put him onto another flight to regroup him with his family.

I think this is inexcusable and such families shouldn't have children at all.

If you thought, "How cool is that?" when reading Jerry's post on stopping time in Grand Central Station and wish you had been involved, it is possible to get in on some improv action yourself. Improv Everywhere, the New York City-based group that pulls off these clever pranks has spin-off groups in other cities.

Global Improv Everywhere is found across the United States, as well as, Vancouver, Toronto, London and the Netherlands with membership in each chapter ranging from 50+ to over 100. Anyone can join in the creating public "joy" and "chaos" efforts--the aim of Improv Everywhere missions. Currently there is a plan to do a nationwide freeze on February 23. Check out the Web site for details and also to find out how to join up with a chapter in your city if there is one or start one yourself. You can also hook up with the New York City version by registering online. You can also get an Improv Everwhere T-shirt with this logo on it..

Being in an Improve Everywhere stunt seems a bit less intimidating than being in a Spencer Tunick nude photo shoot.

A Vancouver, Canada-based company, Eqo ("echo"), has developed a new technology that may ease the financial pain of international phone calls. Their model is similar to Skype, the free software that allows users to make calls over the Internet from their computers. When downloaded to a cellphone, Eqo's software uses the Internet to make cheap calls locally or abroad.

Here's how it works: First, a user downloads Eqo's software to the phone. Next, the software automatically organizes existing contacts into the Eqo application.Then, the phone owner can call any Eqo users for free, no matter where they live. But callers won't only save by calling other Eqo users. The best part about the technology is that calling someone who doesn't have Eqo is super cheap -- around 2 cents per minute. Not a bad deal.

Unfortunately, it takes time to download and figure out how to use the software, so callers might continue to rely on phone cards. Nevertheless, Eqo is available through Europe and the Middle East, with plans to be available in 60 countries by the end of 2008.

Check out the whole article at the Discovery Channel's website.

Ember Swift, Canadian musician and touring performer, will be keeping us up-to-date on what it's like to tour a band throughout North America. Having just arrived back from Beijing where she spent three months (check out her "Canadian in Beijing" series), she offers a musician's perspective on road life. Enjoy!


Last week, I had the pleasure of an extra day in Vancouver. The festival we performed at in Grand Forks, BC didn't program events on the Sunday. As a result, we headed back to Vancouver on Sunday rather than on our flight day, which was Monday. This gave me a chance to catch up with a friend in Vancouver and take in a very Vancouver-specific experience:

The SkyTrain.

I was staying out in Surrey, an outlying suburb of Vancouver. My friend lives on the opposite side of the city and so we agreed to meet up downtown. I headed to King George SkyTrain station and felt like a tourist all over again, even though this is definitely not my first time in this city.

I love wandering cities alone, even the occasionally seedy ones.

Neighborhood shots are some of the best! This one of a local grocery store is located in Vancouver's West End neighborhood on Barclay Street. Ohad* is the photographer behind this particular shot and in his notes he states that a skunk almost got in the way of this well-lit scene. Now that is pretty random.

If you're a runner and you find yourself in a different city, what do you do? You could map out your own route. You could ask someone if there are any good trails nearby. Or -- if you're headed to the Vancouver area -- you could hook up with Pacific Running Guides, which offers guided running tours to local and visiting runners.

You can choose among three different options:

• Scenic City: run through scenic and/or historic sections of town.
• Energizer: new runners can team up with a personal trainer in Vancouver's outdoor "gym" to help create their exercise program.
• Off Road Adventure: trail runners rejoice! The area boasts over 20 miles of off-road goodness.
  

Afraid you may slow the pack? Don't worry, the guides are experienced at dealing with runners of different fitness levels and paces. Happily, PRG supplies towels, bottled water, sports drinks, energy snacks, (and transportation if needed) for your tour. Happy trails!

Oops, looks like we missed this one for 2007, but that gives you plenty of time to make it to Vancouver Island, Canada in time for Wild Play's 2008 Naked Bungy Jumping event.

Claiming it's a "very old and established tradition," Wild Play only allows naked Bungy Jumps one weekend every February to raise money for the BC Schizophrenia Society. The registration fee for naked bungy jumpers is heavily discounted; in 2001, it was only $10. Fully-clothed jumpers are charged regular price, and prurient spectators are charged an "entry fee." Don't know if free-falling while free-balling is for you? Check out Cale Burr's 30-second video of his jump and decide.

Interested? You can jump singly or tandem (like this couple), if you register online the month prior to the event.

Snow days have arrived and in full force for certain areas. In this neighborhood-street shot taken in Vancouver B.C. by borderfilms (Doug) I get the impression no one was in any mood to rush out and take the cars on a snowy spin. Or maybe Doug just couldn't resist saving the memory of this rare snow dumped day with his Nikon D70 before pulling out the scrapper to remove nature's wintry blanket. (Sings: "The weather outside is frightful...")

Now that the wedding is over, time for the real adventure to kick in - the honeymoon. While I'm as far away from honeymooning as can be, a girl's still got her dreams and those dreams are what lead me to bring you these deliciously romantic honeymoon hideouts from DailyCandy. Tahiti, Mexico's Riviera, Vancouver Island and the Greek island of Santorini easily make the cut and offer something different for all types of couples. If love is in the air, the cards or in your pocket starting planning now to take your love and loved one to Tahiti. Go to the DailyCandy for extra details on great honeymoon resorts.