[UPDATE 03/09/10] — For those of you interested in purchasing this beast of an HD cam to capture your home videos, you’ll have to prioritize your purchases… If you’re into nice cars, don’t buy one, you’ll need your $118K for this Phantom HD camera. If you want some kick-ass HD capabilities in a smaller form factor and smaller budget, I would check out the RED Scarlet -- here.

For those interested in high-speed filmography, check this video out, too -- also shot with the Phantom:

Without a doubt, seeing Jenn Heil rip down the Cypress mogul course for a silver medal on day two of the Games was a highlight:

Perhaps the most exciting events in the Winter Games is the men’s 5000m short track speed skating relay. The result did not disappoint:

The winner of the men’s 500m (that is SHORT and FAST!) short track speed skating final crossed the line BACKWARDS! Check it out:

During an “intimate” concert at Molson Canadian Hockey House, Sam Roberts was joined onstage by none other than the Canadian and his-great-quirkiness Shaun Majumder. He is quickly dragged offstage until he probably says something to stay and dance as a true Canada hockey superfan:

Check out our other Olympics videos here!

Some pictures from NorthGeek’s adventures. The morning after the Opening Ceremonies, here’s the torch at Canada Place:

A view of the Olympic torch and Vancouver skyline from Stanley Park — what a photogenic city:

Day 1 of the Olympics, here’s Daniel and Noah at the women’s moguls, getting slightly wet but not distressed:

NorthGeek with Canadian darling Jenn Heil:

NorthGeek at men’s moguls for Alex Bilodeau gold, Canada’s first gold on Canadian soil!

Sam Roberts Band covered in Canada:

Noah with Canadian skeleton golden boy Jon Montgomery. What a phenomenal guy:

A wet Jet with fireworks at the Whistler Celebration site:

The short track women’s relay team from Canada jumps for silver:

The Robson street crowd after Canada hockey gold:

Here are more photos our Flickr Olympics set.

Noah’s personal Facebook photo album is here.

Contest #1 details:
What: the most imaginative photo posted online (err perhaps on Twitpic or Flickr or Facebook) of you with this sign declaring our win at Nesters

Who: anyone willing to collect your prize around Nesters in Gastown Vancouver
When: we’ll decide on the best entry by Monday March 15 5pm PST
How: share it with NorthGeek’s Facebook page, post the link as a comment below, hashtag it with #whatyoutweat, or @reply @NorthGeek

The prize: a dozen St Patrick’s Day themed cupcakes (or equivalent).

Come out and win some CAKE!

My Dad invited me to join him for a trip to Vancouver to watch the tail end of the Olympic games. Sure, one might say, that sounds like an amazing opportunity and a splendid father-son trip. Fact is, joining him out West not an easy decision. There was a lot of important work to be done back home in Montreal. Besides my laundry piling up, there was the matter of my hyper-stressful day job, which involves helping rurally located, plus-sized clothing shoppers ensure they are receiving the best possible customer service experience – all I‘m saying is air traffic controllers and hostage negotiators should spend a day in my shoes.

I had also been putting off teaching myself the entire Lynyrd Skynyrd song catalogue on my acoustic guitar, and felt that the time had come to pick up my dusty “axe” and make good on this commitment. Bode Miller might have been lying in agonizing wait for 4 years for his elusive gold medal, but I would not watch him compete until I had mastered the guitar solo on “Free Bird.”

Finally, I had just purchased my first set of cross country skis, and before Pops presented me with the offer to join him in Vancouver, I had every intention of using the days of late February to break in my skis, perfect a decent waxing technique, work on my upper-body form, etc., etc.

Sure, one might argue, cross country skiing is an enjoyable hobby, but it pales in comparison to watching Olympic-level cross country skiers battling out on the world stage. For most people, yeah, I guess so. Not for this guy. So it was with a heavy heart that I begrudgingly accepted the offer to go see the Olympics.

Of course, I’m kidding. The Olympics were incredible. That they were in our home country and in beautiful Vancouver made it a truly unforgettable experience. On top of that, we were invited there as VIP guests of a big Canadian company, who had pulled out all the stops for us, putting us up in a swank hotel, feeding us food and drink at every turn, and affording us special access to meet various athletes, celebrities, luminaries of Canadian business, and, of course, tickets to see the events themselves.

Indeed, what I learned about corporate-sponsored events is this: if viewing a concert given by a c-list Canadian pop star is merely bearable, then viewing said concert whilst downing free cocktails and edible-by-hand lamb chops, all served by pretty waitresses who are forced to banter with you, makes the concert amazing. Really amazing. But more on that later.

The next few days, I’ll be describing to you the highlights of what I saw, who I met, what I ate, and where I went. If at any time you find this dull and not entertaining, feel free to log out and not read anything I write ever again – honestly, I won’t be upset: I saw the Gold medal hockey game and watched Canada win in overtime – I’m not going to be upset about anything for a long, long time.

Stay tuned, amigos.

Sam Roberts Band played at the Molson Canadian Hockey House on Tuesday night to an impassioned Canadian crowd, fresh from cheering for Olympic hockey.

During “Brother Down,” he was joined onstage by Canadian comedian Shaun Majumder, seemingly just another Canadian superfan.

1. Go to the Events Calendar by True North Media House. I submitted most of the events there myself, and people may continue to add more.
2. Click at the bottom on “+ Google Calendar”
3. Click on “Calendar Settings”
4. Export the calendar to your local iCal
5. Sync with iPhone

Yes, this is Mac/iPhone centric, but as an open Google calendar, you should be able to do this with any smart device.

1. Honour the memory of 21 year old Georgian luge competitor Nodar Kumaritashvili
2. Be there in person for Canadian Olympic gold
3. Meet the lovely and blisteringly fast Chandra Crawford
4. Sneak some words with the little pepper Jenn Heil, Canada bump skier extraordinaire
5. Rate the best free event
6. Interview with the hottest live band
7. Track down the Snow Leopard (Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong)
8. Wave a Canadian flag wildly as Canada wins gold, wherever we may be
9. Have our adoring fans Twitpic photos with the NorthGeek crew
10. Convince the world that the best way to experience the Olympics is not from the official media partners, but from locals and passionate non-accredited sources

Updates:

1. Update: drinks were raised on Friday night, February 12. RIP Nodar
2. NorthGeek was there for Alex Bilodeau’s gold medal. And our commitment stands
3. n/a
4. See Flickr
5. tbd
6. Kinda got snubbed, still working on it
7. still looking
8. Done, see YouTube
9. Oh countless times
10. Getting there. Make #tnmh trending

The best part of all was that we got to be among an elite group of reporters who enjoyed, first-hand, this new 3D entertainment experience. We started in a theater, similar to a movie theater, only a bit smaller -- then we got to see it in “real-life” in a typical home theater set-up. Both were equally as impressive.

We had a chance to interview Panasonic North America Chief Technology Officer Eisuke Tsuyuzaki -- here’s what he had to say about their exciting new 3D technology (the video will soon become available in HD if it hasn’t yet -- YouTube needs to finish processing):

The first demo (which happened before the above interview) was on an extremely impressive, 103″ Plasma 3D television. I tried to take it home, they didn’t let. It was, as Borat would say, VERY NIIICE!!

Next up, we witnessed what our homes could look like as soon as April 2010 and for (apparently, still not clear) as little as $3,000 -- equipped with a 3D-ready Panasonic TV, Blu-Ray player, 3D Blu-Ray media, and spiffy (battery-powered) 3D glasses.

The demos of 3D content included a bunch of winter Olympic sports, summer Olympic sports, clips from the movie Avatar, and a recently released music video featuring Soprano sensation Sarah Brightman. The sports (especially basketball, track, gymnastics, skiing, and cycling) were, in my opinion, the most impressive in 3D. The music video and movie just don’t look “real” enough for me to truly appreciate, whereas seeing a basketball net in the foreground and fans in the background looked really, really cool.

I should note, that what impressed me as much as anything else, was the lineup of (what I assume were) Viera Neo Plasma TVs, all color and temperature synched with each other, it was true perfection. I’d love to have that guy come to my home and calibrate my TV!

Leaving the venue, we had a chance to appreciate what LiveCity Yaletown actually looks like, without the zillions of international Olympic fans that are soon to cover each and every recently installed fake brick: