Oct 10 2012
proudly presents
Saturday, October 20th
Esquimalt Recreation Centre
10:00AM TO 4:00PM
For more information please visit www.vncs.ca and www.facebook.com/vncs.ca.
Oct 9 2012
Homeschool = School at Home
9月に新学期が始まるカナダのスクールシステム。この9月から結晶はgrade2、日本で言う小学校2年生になりました。ただ、他と少し違うのは、結晶は小学校へ通っていないということ。幼稚園、grade1, そしてgrade2となる今年で3年目、うちはホームスクール、つまり自宅で私たち両親が子供にその年齢で必要な学習、運動をさせる方法をとっているのです。
日本ではまず学校へ通うのが当たり前な中（厳密に言うと、ホームスクーリングは違法ではないようです）、北米ではホームスクールを選択する家庭が少なくありません。(Wikipediaによると、北米人口の1-2％、つまりカナダでは約6万人がホームスクーラーなのだとか。）特に、私たちの住むカナダのBC州はホームスクーラーに対するサポート体制もとてもしっかりしています。
More
Apr 22 2012
April 22, 2012. 70 years ago today the Japanese-Canadian population of Victoria was exiled from Victoria. None of them ever returned…
Today, Kana, the kids and I were at Victoria city hall for the book launch of “Gateway to Promise: Canada’s First Japanese Community”. Gateway to Promise written by Ann-Lee and Gordon Switzer chronicles the first Japanese community in Canada…right here in lil ole Victoria. It was fitting that the history of these wonderful pioneers was launched on such an auspicious day….keep up the good work Victoria!
The book is available through Ti-Jean Press at http://www.tijeanpress.ca.
Dec 28 2011
Doctor Yellow. A fine addition to the Mercer family collection.
Name: Doctor Yellow
Takara Tomy Name: S-12 ドクターイエロー
Power Source: 1xC Alkaline Battery
Manufacturer Number: 4904810635390
Release Date: 2002-07-06
Features: detachable cars
Service Type: Highspeed Diagnostic
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Yellow
Doctor Yellow is the nickname for the high-speed test trains that are used on the Japanese Shinkansen (“Bullet Train”) dedicated express passenger train routes. The trains have special equipment on board to monitor the condition of the track and overhead wire, including special instrumented bogies and observation blisters.
The ‘Doctor’ part of the name is obvious from their test and diagnostic function, and the ‘Yellow’ part comes from the bright yellow color they are all painted. Some have a blue waistline stripe, some a green one. The original color scheme of yellow with a blue stripe (applied to the Class 921 track-recording cars) was created by reversing the colors (blue with yellow stripe) used on 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow-gauge track-recording cars.
In build and appearance, they are very similar to production, passenger carrying Shinkansen trains, and line inspection is carried out at full line speed (i.e. up to 270 km/h/168 mph on the Tōkaidō Shinkansen).
Oct 23 2012
Craig’s Westcoast Chili
Craig’s recipe for Westcoast Chili
Serves 8 / Prep 30 minutes / Cooking 90 Minutes
.675kg [1.5 lbs] Ground Beef or Steak (cut into bite size chunks)
1 medium to large onion
3 cloves fresh garlic
1 420gm can of tomatoes (plumb)
1 420gm can of tomato sauce
2 420gm cans of red kidney beans
1 420gm can of pinto (chili) beans
1 420gm can of corn
1 230gm (8 oz) of water chestnuts (in Japan I substitute chopped renkon)
2 potatoes (sliced into bite size chunks)
2 to 3 carrots (sliced diagonally)
1 yellow pepper (sliced into bite size chunks)
1 orange pepper (sliced into bite size chunks)
1 red pepper (sliced into bite size chunks)
1 beef bouillon packet
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp rosemary rosemary
1 tbsp brown sugar
More
By Craig "hachiroku" Mercer • Recipes •