Pioneer on the Internet – Sean Gursky

Same team. Out in the same number of games. Shaving the beard on the same day. I thought the lessons that were learned on May 11, 2009 would have helped the Canucks and I. However, history repeats itself and now there are a summer of questions.

This year the beard lasted 27 days, April 15 – May 11, before the dream died. This year felt different, the team was a year older, Henrik Sedin had a phenomenal year, the Canucks had a stellar home record and we were going to go far. After a few shaky performances against Los Angeles we were lined up for a round against Chicago, something the team wanted when the regular season ended.

Where is the problem? What is preventing us from going to the next round? San Jose has been a constant threat to win the Cup, but would always fall short, and after years of criticism finally proved themselves and are positioned to give their fans something they have been expecting for years. Will Vancouver go through the same lackluster performance in the playoffs like San Jose did? Or will the team fall short of expectations and eventually go through a rebuilding phase?

All these questions and all I have is the aftermath of a month of not shaving and the hope that next year will be different. Perhaps these beard posts will become a yearly tradition where everything falls just short of winning it all.

Enough speculation, one thing that we do know is that my beard didn’t grow properly this season. I still have a French look, my cheeks were bare and smooth and the goatee looked faint from a distance. Here are two photos a day for 27 days combined into an animation. There are two sizes available, one is 300×305 (3MB) and the other is 500×508 (7.8MB).

Maybe next year it will be different…maybe

Day two of the playoffs mean day one of the playoff beard. Vancouver starts their series against sixth seed Los Angeles tonight and I am hoping this will be the start of a beautiful thing and by June I will have a disgusting and shameful beard.

Again, the word ‘beard’ is used loosely, I don’t know if I will be able to better the growth I did last May. Perhaps I can last more than 27 days? Time, and my face, will tell.

I had a dream.

A dream that would have taken the Canucks all the way to the Stanley Cup finals. This year felt different, it felt like we had a chance. We came off an amazing second half and went into the first round of the playoffs with a full roster.

To celebrate the occasion I decided to grow a playoff beard. No razor would touch my face as long as the Canucks were still in the post season. I have neglected to shave before, usually over a weekend, but the only area that would see growth was a perfectly formed goatee. I felt that this challenge would be a good way to find out what can grow where, and how much.

I was one day shy of going four full weeks without shaving, almost went the duration of Survivor, and then the Chicago Blackhawks came along and outgunned my team in a thrilling sixth, and deciding, game. I held a moment of silence for my team and my recently crushed hopes and shaved off the beard.

The aftermath wasn’t pretty but the end result was a smooth face I had not felt in a long time. When I was all done I realized how much I licked my upper lip because I never quite got used to the feeling of the bristly mustache. Most people said I looked very French, not sure if that was a compliment or an insult. Either way, it was a sight to behold as it grew in a very sleazy way.

Forty-nine photos were used in the animated image of the playoff beard, but if you want to see it a little better you can see it in 334×338 (2.8MB) or the larger version of 556×553 (7.2MB).

Thanks for the season Canucks, one day we will reach our dream together.

The Vancouver Canucks live to see another round. It may have been over in four games but it was anything but a lopsided series. St. Louis fought extremely hard and played an aggressive series. Had it not been for Luongo’s goal tending performance and the lackluster Power Play from the Blues this could have easily been a seven games series.

Which leads me to an interesting fact about the Canucks series victory. In addition to being their first series sweep in franchise history, it is also the first time the Canucks have won a series in under seven games since 1994. And the memories of 1994 are still very real to me. I am not one to get wrapped up in stats or history, but if this playoff run is going to be different from ones before it then it certainly is off to a good start.

The advancement to the second round also means by playoff beard will be around for another week or two. However the results have been less than impressive but it amuses everyone who sees it. I can only hope that if Vancouver goes deep into the playoffs that my beard doesn’t become the source of great shame while I support my team.

Tube Steak Challenge

When does a hot dog cease to become a hot dog? What constitutes a hot dog for this Tube Steak Challenge? Last night there were four buns and four hot dogs but they were the least enjoyable hot dogs I have consumed since I started keeping track. The buns were freezer burnt and the top half was too hard while the bottoms were thin and unable to maintain the buns integrity.
 
The hot dogs were well enough, except one side was burnt more than I would have liked. I feel like I am dishonoring the other 41 hot dogs before them by adding these four to this batch but there are expected highs and lows in any challenge and this was a definite low point. I will have to do right by them and make sure the next hot dogs have fresh buns from the bakery and complete with all of the fixings.

NHL Shield (v2)Hockey is back! And in addition to new jerseys for all 30 NHL teams the latest installment of NHL 08 was released for consoles and PC this week.

I prefer to do my NHL gaming on XBOX so when I was looking up information on the cost of the game for XBOX I was surprised to see that it was not being released for that platform.

EA Sports LogoPC, XBOX 360, PS3 and even PS2 were getting the next EA Sports game.

Why not XBOX? EA developed for the one year older PS2 but not the XBOX. An interesting move. I found this pretty unusual but at least I can get my NHL fix with a PS2.

Although if I am feeling nostalgic and want to do more work in my NHL 07 Dyntasty following a game of NHL 08 it will require a little bit of effort.

I have played NHL 07 on the 360 and it was a different experience all together. Once I get the PS2 back together (it has been having some disc read errors) I will try out NHL 08 and wish that Canucks I cheer for were doing as good as my Dyntasty team.

History
Bure Penalty ShotThirteen years ago Vancouver made it to the Cup Finals.

I was a fan before this time but their trip to the Finals sealed the deal as a fan for life.

Unfortunately I was quite young when this happened and I have forgot what it felt like being down 3-1 in a series or winning a game and series in double overtime.

That is why I was so excited when I came across this site. There are series breakdowns, audio clips from interviews and a few images from that magical summer.

Some moments I do remember. For example, the double overtime game seven against Calgary.

…Jeff Brown made a pass from his blueline up to the far blueline onto the stick of Bure, who was in full flight. In all alone, Bure faked to his backhand and pulled the puck to his forehand, wrapping the puck around the outstretched pad of Vernon and into the net for the series-winning goal.

I remember being home alone watching the game and when Bure scored I tore off through the house yelling and showing my excitement. I even fell down some stairs I was so elated.

Since then my celebrations have been toned down but a big goal can still get me running around the house.

Yes, hockey season is back and I am ready for it again.

Today has been one of those days where it clicked. Allow me to recap the last six hours of it.

In the afternoon the new song from The White Stripes Icky Thump was released to the airwaves and I was able to get my hand on a digital copy where I listened to it over and over again.

It took a few listens but I got into it and the return of guitars have be excited for this record.

As I got in my car Sonic started playing Icky Thump and I rolled the windows down and enjoyed a beautiful drive home with a fantastic song.

While waiting for an early release of Lost to finish download I checked a White Stripes message board for details on their Canadian tour and there were dates posted!

Obviously traveling to Yukon or Northwest Territories is not feasible but the local ones are. To see the whole tour click here. But the following is what I have in mind.

June 29, 2007
The Pengrowth Saddledome
Calgary, AB

June 30, 2007
Shaw Convention Center
Edmonton, AB

July 1, 2007
TCU Place
Saskatoon, SK

July 2, 2007
MTS Centre
Winnipeg, MB

Obviously I will be going Calgary and Edmonton, but Saskatoon and Winnipeg are tempting. If you are going to Saskatchewan, you might as well go to Manitoba, right?

I am filled with utter excitement. And in an hour Vancouver starts their series against Anaheim. I don’t care what they say Wednesday, you do rule!

Tony Hawk did one back in 1999. And now in 2006 I have joined his ranks.

When Aaron and I went to Banff last month I wanted to go there and back on a single tank of diesel. Sadly it was not in the cards and had to put some extra fuel in close to home. Last night, however, was an unexpected stress test for the fuel consumption of the Jetta.

My readings for mileage left in the tank showed that I had nothing to worry about. My round trip to work was 130km, and it showed 150km remaining. But as I merged onto the Whitemud heading to work the readings dropped dramatically. I played it safe. No major accelerations, did the speed limit and let off the gas where I could.

I got to work no problem, but I was 20km away from my regular gas station and the mileage left in the tank said I had 50km to go before the car became a huge obstacle on the road. I start driving away from work in the evening, on way to begin my expedition and the mileage remaining drops to 40. I hold my breath and continue to do the speed limit on Whitemud. 30. Oh dear, I’m about 8km away, I am sure I can make it.

I roll into Petro-Canada on the south side of Edmonton with over 900km on my trip meter and mileage remaining showing at 20. Just in time!

After I fill up, I am ready to push the limits again:



In other news, the Vancouver/Edmonton game was on CBC last night. I am still avoiding all Canuck broadcasts because of my curse but I decided to tune in before I went to bed, just to check the score. 2-0 Edmonton. Nuts! Wait, Canucks break out, Sedin passes in front’Daniel scores, 2-1 Edmonton. Hmm, interesting development. Before risking anything I decided it best not to watch the third period and hope for the best.

When I awoke I checked the score and it was 3-1 Edmonton. I am not sure what to make of this curse I have with Vancouver, or if Edmonton just has their number but I hope it ends soon because I can’t miss a playoff game.