The wildfire smoke cleared on the morning of our family wedding, just in time for the bride and groom to say their vows overlooking coal harbour. We took this as a sign that we needed to book our Vancouver seaplane flight, to really explore the azure harbour waters and take in an eagle-eyed view of this city. I suppose it was ok oh, who am I kidding, the harbour is spectacular. Let me also point out that none of these images are touched by editing. Like 99% of my images in this blog (the other 1% is cropping and making slight adjustments), these are entirely un-doctored. We began as all good things do, by hanging out in their airport lounge, offered a mini-pastry and a hot beverage I adventurously went for an 'English Mist', an Earl-Grey Latte to make myself feel a little more soothed boarding a tiny propeller plane (note: it didn't work.) With a slightly chaotic boarding process (more noticeable after such a serene start) we were too busy sorting out the seats to realise that we had hopped on board, and within in seconds it seemed, our pilot had lifted off smoothly in a flurry of water foam. As we began to watch the world turn into a Lilliput version of itself, we barely blinked for watching beautiful vistas unfold. From tiny little islands (the above Passage Island technically belongs to West Vancouver, known as the Hollywood suburb of the city, and a couple of the homes are allegedly owned by celebrities) where the residents enjoy views of downtown Vancouver, the University of British Columbia campus, Vancouver Island, and the snow-capped mountains of Howe Sound to the fjords all the way along the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler. They just scatter along the horizon, like a giant has skittered his toys along an azure sheet of silk. We looped around, looking back over the stunning Stanley Park and towering grid of Vancouver downtown buildings. From prehistoric forests, to gleaming silver confections of modernity. According to the above context, choose the correct option to answer the following question. Question: The seaplane excursion probably lasted: Options: A. Five minutes. B. One hour. C. Two days. D. not enough information
B

Just a quick review today to talk about these haircare and bodycare products from Yes to Regular readers of Beauty Best Friend will know that I'm always looking out for new natural skincare and bodycare ranges as I'm passionate about products that don't contain lots of nasty chemicals. Yes to is one of these natural brands, based in California their products are always made from at least 95% natural ingredients, are free of parabens, phthalates and SLS, and made with recyclable materials. There are 6 collections, each involves saying 'Yes to' a different fruit or vegetable. The products I've been trying out are Yes to Grapefruit Rejuvenating Body Wash* and Yes to Carrots Nourishing Shampoo and Pampering Conditioner*. Yes to Grapefruit Rejuvenating Body Wash the grapefruit range is aimed at those with uneven or dull skintone. This pearlised white shower gel has a gentle zingy grapefruit scent to wake you up in the morning and exfoliating fruit acids help to remove dead skin cells leaving your skin glowing and smooth. The ingredients are 98% natural and the body wash gives a light foam in the shower. I really like it, grapefruit is one of my favourite fruity scents and the large 280ml tube will last me for ages. Yes to Carrots Nourishing Shampoo & Pampering Conditioner I always avoid sodium laureth sulphate (SLS) in my haircare products as I have a very sensitive scalp and SLS makes it really itchy and sore, so I was really pleased to read that this shampoo and conditioner are SLS free. Made from 97% and 95% natural ingredients respectively this shampoo and conditioner have been formulated for those with a dry scalp and contain carrot seed oil. Both products have a pleasant sweet scent although I wouldn't say they smell of carrots! My thick hair feels clean and soft after using this duo and my favourite thing is that the conditioner totally prevents my hair from tangling in the shower leaving it manageable afterwards. I can run a brush straight through it when drying without having to get all the knots out first! According to the above context, choose the correct option to answer the following question. Question: How long did it probably take to test the products? Options: A. not enough information B. 1 day C. several hours D. 3 days
C

Recently the news broke that Microsoft are acquiring GitHub. Effusive opinions flowed from all directions: some saw the acquisition as a sensible fit for Microsoft to better support developers, and some saw it as a tyrant getting their grubby fingers on open source's ecosystem. I am thrilled for Microsoft and GitHub for many reasons, and there will be a bright future ahead because of it, but I have been thinking more about the reaction some of the critics have had to this, and why. I find it fascinating that there still seems to be a deep-seated discomfort in some about Microsoft and their involvement in open source. I understand that this is for historical reasons, and many moons ago Microsoft were definitely on the offensive against open source. I too was critical of Microsoft and their approach back in those days. I may have even said 'M$' instead of 'MS' (ugh.) Things have changed though. Satya Nadella, their CEO, has had a profound impact on the company: they are a significant investor and participant in open source across a multitude of open source projects, they hire many open source developers, run their own open source projects (e.g. VSCode), and actively sponsor and support many open source conferences, events, and initiatives. I know many people who work at Microsoft and they love the company and their work there. These are not microserfs: they are people like you and me. Things have changed, and I have literally never drunk Kool-aid; this or any other type. Are they perfect? No, but they don't claim to be. But is the Microsoft of today a radically different company to the Microsoft of the late nineties. No doubt. Still though, this cynicism exists in some. Some see them as a trojan horse and ask if we can really trust them? A little while ago I had a discussion with someone who was grumbling about Microsoft. After poking around his opinion, what shook out was that his real issue was not with Microsoft's open source work (he was supportive of this), but it was with the fact that they still produce... According to the above context, choose the correct option to answer the following question. Question: Satya Nadella, Microsoft's CEO probably lasted: Options: A. not enough information B. since 2010 C. since 1995 D. since 2014
D