Another bit of the urban landscape that'll soon be gone. The street these buildings face runs along underneath a parkade, so it's got a touch of the catacomb about it. The street itself is mainly a by-pass for large trucks trying to avoid the main street that's just up the hill. Running beside the trucks are railroad tracks. And, beside these, eventually, is the Fraser River. So, what you're looking at here is the old waterfront part of a small town (now just another part of Vancouver) called New Westminster. People gave optimistic names to their new towns 'way back when, didn't they?

Speaking of things that will soon (with any luck) disappear, here's one of the niftiest uses of DNA profiling. Maybe it won't be too long before no one ever has to hear anything as stupid as, "Oh, your skin colour is _____, you must ________". I don't know about you, but I can't wait.

Meanwhile, if you're looking for something to read, go get "On Beauty" by Zadie Smith. Yeah, the title's a little "precious", but the book is very, very good.