Ukulele + "Bohemian Rhapsody" = Fun Stuff

Jake Shimabukuro is a virtuoso ukulele ( pronounced oo-koo-leh-lee) player who's coming to Arts Common in Calgary on March 9th. Check out this little video and see just what a master can do with only 4 strings.

Smart Phone Your Home

This day and age, everyone seems to have a smart phone or iPhone, and everyone is using it daily to snap a photo or video for their Facebook page, or for Instagram, SnapChat, or whatever other social media outlet on which they like to post. However, how many of those people use their phone to do this simple task that may help them in the event of a 'loss'? The loss I'm talking about is related to something like a fire or burglary and the task is the simple act of walking through your home and garage, as well as around your property, taking a video or photos of your assets.
Since I work in this industry with BlueCircle Insurance Brokers, a lot of information comes my way in regard to insurance products and services, as well as statistics on accidents, losses, and claims. Too many people out there have no real record of what they own, which certainly adds complications to an event that is already traumatizing enough on it's own, such as the aforementioned burglary or fire.
So, take a few minutes and do a video and photo tour of your home ( or even your business), get a record of your assets and put it on 'The Cloud' or e-mail it to yourself or a family member so it's stored somewhere that can be accessed in the event of an incident resulting in a loss. That 10 minutes of your time may save you many hours of frustration and stress down the road.
Here's a bit of a guide to helping you get it organized, keeping in mind the purpose of this photographic inventory is to ensure that you are adequately compensated for any loss, and that proper documentation will also speed up your claim through the insurance process.
Also, client or not, to help you get everything properly recorded and valued check out the handy fill-able checklist located in the bottom right corner of the page through this link to "My Personal Items Checklist".

• Take a photo of every room, including the garage and storage shed.

• Take a photo of the exterior of your home (including landscaping).

• Take a new picture each time you renovate.

 • Take individual photos of specific items, ie. TV, DVD, appliances, china cabinets and contents,      clothes closets etc. Read the checklist in the link to help guide your inventory.

• Take photos of the contents of your fridge and freezer.

• Take close up pictures of antiques, artwork, collectibles etc.

• Get an appraisal for jewelry, furs, antiques and get additional coverage if necessary.

• Take a picture of your garage’s contents.

• Record make, model and serial numbers.

• Photograph or list the titles of your CD’s, DVD’s, videos and computer games.

• Print duplicate copies and store one set off-site.

• Keep major purchase receipts with inventory list.

• Keep inventory list current.

Some people engrave their possessions with an identifier, like their Drivers Licence Number

If you don't use the list we've provided, remember that The Home Photo Inventory Record for your home, contents, valuables and personal effects should include the following information…

Name:

Date:

Insurance Company:

Insurance Brokers:

Address:

Tel. Number:

Policy Number(s):

Take photos of exterior view of property

Property Address:

Legal Description:

Date Purchased:

Cost:

Appraised Value:

Date:

Appraised Value:

Repeat for additional properties

Outside Possessions  

Take photos of items and landscaping and include this info for the items…

Description:

Value:

Year Purchased:

Household Contents, Personal Effects, Major Items

Take photos of home room by room, and photos of individual items, and include the following info for each item…

Description:

Value:

Year Purchased:

Vehicle Information (Auto/Trucks/RV/Boat etc.)

Take photos and include this info for each vehicle…

Description:

Value:

Year Purchased: 

Miscellaneous Items

Lights Are On But No-One's Home!

Even though my blog posts are pretty varied and general in nature, there are quite a few that are meant to deal with some of the day to day dealings of life, many relating to the insurance industry in which I am employed. 

It seems that there are many aspects of the latter that people don't fully understand or don't know, as well as things that slip people's minds since they're not dealing with them on a daily basis like we are at BlueCircle Insurance.

In light of that, we've been striving to do some 'educational pieces' and 'friendly reminder' posts about a whole variety of items we think may be helpful, including this current post about things you should do when you're planning to be away on a holiday. 

In regards to insurance, you are required to have someone check up on your home and property on a regular basis, generally every 72 hours, though rules are different for each insurer and some require daily checks. If you're not sure, just ask your broker or insurance agent and make sure you know what they require, since non-compliance could result in a claim being denied if some thing were to happen.

 And, just so you know, the reason for having regular checks on your home is fairly simple. If you read my previous posts about water leaks (April 12th 2016 "Water Escape Damage And Mitigation" ) you'll know that a fully burst washing machine water hose can leak as much as 64,000 litres of water in a 24 hour period!! Obviously, the sooner a 'house sitter' notices an issue like this, the less damage caused and the less cost involved in mitigation.

Cartoon by Fiverr

8 tips to protect your home while away on vacation

1. Get a 'House Sitter'. This can be a family member, friend or neighbour but there are also professional service providers who can be hired to do the job. This person can shovel your sidewalk or cut your grass, bring in the mail, maybe feed your cat or dog if required and, of course, do a walk through the house and garage to ensure there's no issues (like that blown washing machine hose!) 
2. Notify a trusted neighbour. Regardless of who's doing the house-sitting it's a good idea to let a neighbour you trust know you're away, since they'll have eyes on your place daily and at various times of the day too. And, of course, let the neighbour know if you've asked or hired someone to look after your place, since they'll likely notice this person on the premises.
3. Don't advertise your absence! Of course you'll let your trusted friends and neighbours that you're away for a vacation but keep it to that small circle. This is especially critical when considering how most people are actively involved in daily social media and doing shout outs about their vacation on Facebook or SnapChat. This may be passing this information on to people you don't know, and who you may not want to know your house is unoccupied during your vacation.
4. Notify the police. Perhaps it won't change a thing but at least if the police know, they may be better prepared for a reaction to a call about suspicious activity or they may just do a drive by once in awhile, perhaps at night, when things are slow.
5. Don't close your curtains. Yes, open curtains allow people to see in but closed curtains in daytime hours are an obvious indicator that something is unusual in the home and signal that the owners may be away. Also, closed curtains keep neighbours for noticing unusual activity inside the house and provide a burglar some cover under which to work.
6. Don't leave the lights on. Just like closed curtains, lights left on means they'll be on all night and this is another signal to everyone that the home is unoccupied. Consider getting a few timers to place on specific lights that will come on and then go off at times that are similar to your normal routine. And, of course, notify the neighbours or house sitter that you've done this too, so they're aware and won't report what may look like suspicious activity to the police.
7.  Consider your electrical. Unplug things like chargers and other such devices that have a reputation for possibly overheating and potentially causing a fire. Some people like to unplug all their appliances and electronics too, to protect against power surges.
8. Consider the Winter weather. Again, a good reason to have that house-sitter coming in for a walk through on a regular basis , since our cold climate means the potential for freezing pipes and burst water lines, should there ever be a power failure or a problem with a homeowners furnace.

GLOW

GLOW!! The Light show!! This is an interactive light festival sponsored by Downtown Calgary that took place on the weekend, with a dozen separate installations spread throughout the downtown area, free to the public and an appealing to all ages. There were quite a few local artists involved in this exhibit but also pieces from  other Canadian cities like Vancouver and Toronto and a couple of International entries too, such as Estonia, Spain and Australia. All of the pieces were quite varied in their approach to using light as a medium, everything from the very large ("TropiCalgary", a projected architectural mapping piece cast against the entire side of the old Calgary courthouse building) to the small ("The Door", a framed door that acts as a gateway and reveals an ever changing light-scape with each opening).
Though best viewed in person, at night, here's a few photos of many of the sculptures and art work, plus a few of some of the other sights we took in while strolling throughout the core.

"Prismatica" was a set of revolving prisms that changed colour as they spun

Plenty of people at Olympic Plaza, skating and checking out the GLOW installations that were located at that venue

Stephen Avenue is still all lit up from the seasonal Christmas decorations

"Smile" would light up when you placed your face in the stand and smiled

The Calgary Tower was lit up too

"Wonderland" wasn't part of the GLOW event but still a great piece to visit

I took this shot from inside, giving the sculpture what might be called the  Hollow Face Illusion ( the features appear to be looking inward, no outward) 

Tree well sculpture titled "Alberta's Dream" was done by Jaume Plensa, the same artist who created "Wonderland"

"Alberta's Dream" bears the names of many of Alberta's significant cites and towns

"Chopsticks = Chandelier" is a piece made entirely of illuminated chopsticks and chopstick holders

We spoke with artist Jeremy Tsang, who explained the significance of the piece, including the connection to the many Chinese migrant workers who built the railroad

An interactive piece titled "Pulse Quasar", changed as viewers moved on the touch pads located underneath.

"Nibbles' was created by Australian artist Amanda Parer

A snapshot of "TropiCalgary", though the video below is much better to see the real effect.

 

Heading back down Stephen Avenue, we passed the "Galleria Trees", sculptures that also break up the wind gusts that happen along the Avenue because of  all the buildings 

Dive

I work out a  the Repsol Centre in Calgary, a world class facility which has just about everything one could want for their fitness regime. And, as such, there are quite a few high end athletes that work out at the Centre and quite a few competitions too. This past weekend was no exception, as Diving Canada held their 2017 Winter National Diving Competition. 

It's fascinating to watch and between dives there was a bit of time to check out some facts on my mobile device, which added to the admiration. did you know that all the energy created by a diver in order to perform the various spins, twists and tucks necessary to pull off a specific dive is generated on the platform or diving board. This is why they are so physically fit, requiring all that muscular strength to propel them into their dive, since once they leave the board or platform, they are free falling. Speaking of which, divers travel at approximately 10 metres per second and hit speeds up to 55 kmph, so hitting the water at that speed can be tricky to say the least. Again, a reason for divers to have strong shoulders, arms and triceps, not to mention some good technique to prevent arm and wrist injuries. Sometimes divers will tape their wrists to help but even still they can have their hands crash into their heads if not perfectly placed at entry.

Then there's the judging of the dives, which I had a hard time differentiating except for some obvious things, like the entry ( that nice clean rip into the water is easy to see!)

Here's the basics of scoring...

Execution Score:

Completely failed = 0 pts

Unsatisfactory+ .5 to 2 pts

Deficient = 2.5 - 4.5 pts 

Satisfactory= 5 - 6 pts

Good = 6.5 - 8 pts

Very good = 8.5 - 10 pts

The aspects of the dive considered by the judge is the run-up, the take-off, the execution of maneuvers, grace, and the entry into the water.

For the Approach, the diver must be fully erect, relaxed and confident with arms straight forward, to the sides or over the head. In the Approach, they must be smooth, straight, forceful and leading into the hurdle, which is the springing action on the platform or board, gaining upward propulsion.

For Take-Off, divers need to show control and balance while being bold, and divers must clear the board or platform by an ample safety margin (sometimes I feared they would hit the board, they were that close!!) FYI: Spring board take offs can propel a diver up to 2.5 metres above the board!!

Elevation is just that...the amount of spring or lift from the take-off. More height equals more time for maneuvers and greater accuracy and smoothness.

For Execution, all the components must be performed crisply, with flair and control and held long enough in flight to clearly be identified i.e. tuck, straight, pike or free positions.

Entry may be fairly easy and quite significant too, since it's the last thing seen by a judge. As close to vertical as possible, body straight, feet together and pointed. Though diving still considers a feet first entry as a dive, I didn't see any and nor can I say I've ever seen any at an official diving event. 

I never realized that divers were so fit and muscular....

....and so difficult to photograph properly :)

Always a moment of extreme concentration before the execution of a dive

I believe this spin was 4 1/2 rotations

Jumping from a 10 metre platform and doing multiple spins before  hitting the water at 56 kmph

Family Day

There are 4 provinces that officially celebrate Family Day, typically held the third Monday in February in Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan, while British Columbia celebrates their Family Day on the second Monday of the month. No other provinces hold to this holiday though Manitoba does also have a civic holiday on the third Monday of this month, though this is Louis Riel Day, which is another story unto itself.
Alberta was the first province to introduce this holiday back in 1990, in observance of the importance of family and community, but it is significant to note that until this time, there were no civic holidays between New Year's Day and Easter, a long stretch of about 15 weeks and mostly cold and snowy days with short daylight hours. Certainly an official day off in the middle of that never hurts when considering that combination of dreary things that can affect your wellness.
Of course, as with anything on the internet these days, when you search for information you always get the stuff that you never really wanted to get, some creepy, some funny and some both!! haha! For a chuckle, here's an interesting selection of awkward family photos of which there were literally thousands in which to choose.

Might be fine if it wasn't for the hovering Pug heads

Not sure why they all had to be topless, well, all but the totally disinterested and seemingly irrelevant child in front

Maybe the mask was the only way to get this kid to cooperate

Hmmm...mullets, acid wash denim, laser beams and that awesome facial expression!

The kid in the back looks a bit wooden 

When you see it!

Yes, nothing like a family underwear shot

This family likes to monkey around

There's a lot going on here, but the chicken is a nice touch.

Christmas is always good for some creative family pix

A family that smokes together, dies together

Isla Art And Culture

Just took a trip down into Mexico recently and these are a few images taken while wandering around  a little island where we stayed for a couple of weeks.

Decaying building

Shuttered and lit

Mural in the town square

Lots of street musicians

Some really interesting and colourful hand made critters

A typical shrine inside someone's courtyard

More murals

Dia De Los Muertos theme in this mural

A lot of history in this window

Painted on the wall of a local restaurant 

Isla Brewing Company goes mobile and sets up at the artist's fair

Isla Brewing gets around the island in this cool little trike

Custom jewelry at the artist's fair

Mayan motifs influenced this mural

Free diving at the underwater museum

I love all the unique doors and the scooter and golf cart are a true indicator of transportation on the island

This shuttered window was pretty funky

El Ojo talisman

Another interesting mural

I just liked the riot of colour pictured here