Rebecca Bollwitt on plugins for bloggers

(05/15/2010)

  

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2:00	I want to test if my liveblog is live Saturday May 15, 2010 2:00

2:00	And apparently, it is!  Saturday May 15, 2010 2:00

2:00	Rebecca Bollwitt http://www.miss604.com Saturday May 15, 2010 2:00

2:01	Plugins to Make Your Blogging Life Easier Saturday May 15, 2010 2:01

2:02	Selecting a plugin – Plugin Directory – for the best service, more secure and verified, you want to go to the plugins directory. You want to look for the last updated. Make sure that your plugin is up-to-date and plugin ratings. What other people are saying.  Saturday May 15, 2010 2:02

2:03	Akismet - Helps you block spammers . WPBackup   –  Allows you to backup tables (comments, polls, tables).  Saturday May 15, 2010 2:03

2:06	- All In One SEO – Improves your SEO Search Engine Optimization — also use keywords in your posts. You can use plugins, but also some simple things.  - WPTouch – To make your website accessible via mobile. Saturday May 15, 2010 2:06

2:08	Front End Flickr plugin  - Flickr sets – Flickr Gallery Back End Flickr plugin – Use lots of photos into your WordPress website – Flickr Photo Album Saturday May 15, 2010 2:08

2:10	AddQuicktag - WP QuickTags – one-button elements   Saturday May 15, 2010 2:10

2:13

SOCIAL PLUGINS WordTwit - Promote on Twitter your post  - particularly great if you are scheduling blog entries.  TweetMeme Button - Shows you how many retweets do you have on any particular post.   WP Facebook Like Button - Shows you how many people are liking your posts on Facebook. ShareThis Buttons – Share on other social networks. Saturday May 15, 2010 2:13

2:14	Ad-Minister – Great to manage the ads on your website. WP-Polls –  Great to manage polls. Saturday May 15, 2010 2:14

2:14	Show some love, provide reviews and ratings for feedback. Nothing says “I love you” like cash. Saturday May 15, 2010 2:14

2:16	The rest of Rebecca’s talk I think is going to be pretty much a Q/A – I’ll leave it up to people who want to comment on my post. Saturday May 15, 2010 2:16

2:16

 

 

Related posts:

1. Which are your favorite WordPress plugins?
2. A 90 second interview with @miss604 (Rebecca Bollwitt)
3. Thank a WordPress Plugin Developer Day (Jan 28th)

As it happens with anything, I got very used to Cover It Live at the beginning simply because it was the first tool I tested. I like the fact that Cover It Live gives me an iFrame to insert. This past week was the first time that I had tested ScribbleLive and I had a few glitches (that I have to say, the folks of SL were there to help me with as my liveblog went by). I know that both tools allow for importing Twitter feeds, although I frankly like the SL presentation better than the CiL display of Twitter feeds.

TechVibes compared SL and CiL recently, but I’m not sure if they’ve tested the tools. However, I do know that both Rebecca and I have tested both tools. (Update – Via Twitter Rebecca just confirmed that Canucks Fan Zone uses CiL for liveblogs). I know that AgendaCamp Waterloo is using SL for their liveblogging

Bottom line – for me, both tools are useful and I plan to use them both on different occasions and seeing how things go. I believe in co-opetition (if you need to know the background, read the Brandenburger book). At any rate, I think both tools are very useful and look forward to using them further down the road.

Related posts:

1. Review – CoverItLive as a tool for liveblogging
2. Net Tuesday Live blog/live tweeting (using ScribbleLive)
3. The Convergence ’09 aftermath – liveblogging/streaming speakers #cvg09

The event took place last night, with a showing of a video that WaterDrop created, a screening of the movie/documentary “Flow” and two talks, one by the folks of Run for Water (I’ll write more about them in the next few days) and my own. I’ll have my slides up on my research site in the next couple of days. On the way back, we were talking about the event and I mentioned that they should be proud, because bringing 70 people to Langley (at Trinity Western University) on a Saturday night to talk water, is not an easy task, and the participants stayed for much longer to talk to the folks who had exhibits at the event (the Township of Langley, Oxfam, the Council of Canadians). They did an amazing job and they also had several people who helped make the event successful, and I personally had a great time.

Water and energy are considered two of the most important and pressing environmental issues in the next 50 years. Unfortunately, so much emphasis is placed on the need for energy resources that not enough attention is paid to the myriad of issues surrounding water. Who has the right to access water? How can we make this access equitable? Is privatization the right way pathway for water conservation? What can we do to re-purpose wastewater and how safe is the technology? There are many, many questions regarding water that are still not answered. My research on water governance aims to tackle just a few of this questions.

Only 3% of the world’s water supply is freshwater (the rest is salt water). This fact comes as a good reminder that today, March 22nd, 2009 is not only the second day of spring, but also the celebration of World Water Day. The theme for 2008 was Sanitation (where my main focus of water research is) and for 2009 is Transboundary Water.

Over the last 60 years there have been more than 200 international water agreements and only 37 cases of reported violence between states over water. We need to continue to nurture the opportunities for cooperation that transboundary water management can provide. [World Water Day UN Site]

In my research, I have examined the way in which wastewater policy is created within a river basin that encompasses territory of five Mexican states (the equivalent of provinces in Canada). The 2009 theme of Transboundary Waters is very timely, because (as I found while conducting fieldwork for this project) water can be used not only as a natural resource but also as a political resource. When water bodies (aquifers or lakes or rivers) are shared amongst two political entities, conflicts about jurisdiction over the water bodies may potentially ensue. Right now, we don’t have water wars, but given the irresponsible consumption patterns that many individuals have, we may see real water fights in the near future.

How many transboundary river basins are there?

There are 263 transboundary river basins. Over 45 percent of the land surface of the world is covered by river basins that are shared by more than one country. Over 75 percent of all countries, 145 in total, have within their boundaries shared river basins. And 33 nations have over 95 percent of their territory within international river basins.

While most transboundary river basins are shared between just two countries, there are many river basins where this number is much higher. There are 13 basins worldwide that are shared between 5 to 8 countries. Five river basins, the Congo, Niger, Nile, Rhine and Zambezi, are shared between 9 to 11 countries. The river that flows through the most countries is the Danube, which passes through the territory of 18 countries.[UN World Water Day]

On this World Water Day, I encourage all my readers to re-think their consumption patterns, to think of ways to conserve and recycle water, to ponder how can each one of us contribute to the work of non-governmental organizations that are fighting tirelessly to provide safe drinking water to the many people in developing nations that don’t have access to clean water. Happy World Water Day.

Related posts:

1. Water Drop: The Global Water Crisis on March 21st, 2009 – I’m speaking
2. World Water Day 2010 – Clean Water for a Healthy World
3. World Water Day 2007 – Coping with water scarcity

While many excellent bloggers take a substantial amount of time to customize their sites with relative frequency, I am going to admit that I am, for the most part, somewhat reluctant to go into the techie parts of my site. Uploading plugins, activating them, customizing them, changing the theme, personalizing the site, etc. I know that all of these are things we need to do in order to facilitate and maintain good interaction between me as the blog writer and my readers, and amongst the people who read my blog.

The past couple of days, I decided to do some upgrading, and I’ve enhanced the blog with a couple of plugins. First, now all my comments are CommentLuv-enabled. This means that every time you drop a comment on my blog, this WordPress plugin will try and parse your latest post for display. How is this relevant? Well, it gives you as a commentator exposure as the title and link of your most recent blog entry will show directly underneath your comment (therefore creating link-love).

Second, I have enabled a handy contact form so that you don’t have to use your email client to send me a message. The contact form is in my About Me page. Third, I enabled “Subscribe to Comments” which will allow you as the reader to track the conversation that is occurring on the comments section. Finally, I have managed to install a stats package (not that I care that much about stats per se, but they do give me some sense of what people are reading).

Feel free to drop a comment (I am particularly testing these two plugins) on the blog post, and I hope it is useful for you as a reader!

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Well, another set of startups to launch, another fantastic Launch Party Vancouver. Last Thursday, February 26th, 2009, I had the pleasure of attending the superbly organized LPV6 (thanks a million to Danny Robinson and Maura Rodgers for amazing organizational and warm-welcoming skills, and the rest of the crew at Strutta for making me feel so welcome – Jordan, Mike, Steve, Ross – you guys rock).

Launch Party Vancouver is much more than just a showcase of the amazing Vancouver-based tech startups. It’s a tradition and an event that demonstrates that we geeks are social beings who love to have a good time, and we certainly know how to show that we *know* how to have a great time Good times indeed.

I’d also like to commend Danny and Maura – I know that they had to field some criticisms regarding how quickly the registration closed, and stuff like that. The event is free, folks (with the exception of a few tickets that were sold at a ridiculously inexpensive price $ 5.00). Not even your first beer is that cheap. I know how hard it is to organize an event of this magnitude (and I am already embarked on yet another event organizational process, with Mental Health Camp).

I have a huge appreciation for what LPV6 is, and quite honestly, I had a fantastic time, and I know that lots of other folks in the Vancouver tech community did as well. After closing down the Landing we ended up at the BootUp Labs/Strutta/AdHack quarters where we played Rock Band (Jules, Jules, Jules – you are SUCH a glorious and fantastic partner-in-crime – Greg and Steve, Rock Band FTW!). Boris, as always, great advice and thank you my friend.

I also launched my Crowd profile, so feel free to friend me there (and also, if you think I should add some stuff to my profile, feel free to provide input). You can read more on the startups that were launched here (LPV site) and Rebecca’s post on the topic here (Miss604)

Related posts:

1. Launch Party Vancouver 5 at UnWine’d coming up
2. Launch Party Vancouver 9
3. Launch Party 9 is on June 17th #lpv9

Beyond the fact that Airdrie, Tod, and Isabella (who were the speakers at the Coping Digitally panel) are all very good friends of mine, I have had a brush with depression not only through my shared experiences with several of my friends (including Tris, who is a dear friend), but also through the very common Seasonal Affective Disorder. During periods of rain (not infrequent in Vancouver), I sometimes (not very often) get all down. And, in case you wanted to know, yes – I have been heartbroken and during that time, I really felt very, very depressed. I came out of it quite quickly, though.

One Thursday last year (November of 2008), I recall being awake at 3 am and feeling incredibly down. I was looking at everything from the perspective of someone who had failed at everything. This, coming from someone who actually has had as much success as I have. But the weather, the fact that it was late at night and the feeling of loneliness all worked me up and I felt like crap. I have thanked Lorraine several times for talking me through and help me break out of it that one time and I will thank her again here. I am grateful that whenever I have felt down, I’ve had my friends there to support me and help me through.

It is rare, very rare that I feel down, but when I do, I am always surrounded by loving people who talk me through it. And therefore, I do have a personal stake in making Mental Health Camp a reality. Not only because several people I love are afflicted with mental illnesses, but also because I am a firm believer that we need to break down the stigma. I admire the bravery and strength of people who speak out about their illness, and I want to help many others speak out.

I am not a mental health professional at all (but Isabella is), but I am a very loving individual and I am good at organizing events, so that’s why I’ve decided to help in any way I can. If you want to jot down ideas and thoughts on the Wiki Page (thanks Isabella for initiating it), please feel free to do so.

Isabella‘s idea of Mental Health Camp is to have a very fluid, organic event. My thought is to have a one day (perhaps on a Saturday) event. I am more than happy to speak to people about sponsorship (mostly food and refreshment sponsorships – I already have an idea of where I would like to hold it). I’ll need volunteers to work the door (registration), help with food set up and stuff like that, but I have learned (from my experience at BarCamp) that the best way to do this is to divide the tasks amongst a LOT of people. Contact me over Twitter or leave a comment or send me an email.

The technical details will be handled by Isabella (e.g. which topics, and so on) – there is a very fertile discussion on her blog already, and on the Wiki page. Add your thoughts too. And if you’d like to volunteer to help with organizing, do let me know!

Related posts:

1. Mental Health Camp Vancouver 2009
2. Mental Health Camp Vancouver 2011: Diversity in Mental Health
3. After a successful Mental Health Camp Vancouver ’09, towards a MHC ’10

When I get bored of learning about tech issues, social media and blogging, you can rest assured of one thing: I’ll quit. Yes, I will. Why? Because as many people have always recommended, I should do this because I am passionate about it. And I’m passionate about learning about social media and about making new friends. THAT is what I love doing. The rest, is just icing in the cake.

Technorati doesn’t help me make new friends, of course. But it provides me a barometer against which to assess how my content is being read. Still, as I mentioned in the previous post (the one I linked just above), it’s the learning that makes it all worth it. So imagine my surprise when I was exploring my new Dashboard (WP.com and WP.org have slightly different Dashboards) and OH SURPRISE…. I had the option of having a semi-private blog ticked! When I moved over to my new host, I didn’t even think about the implications. Well, it turns out that my blog hasn’t been indexed by Google nor Technorati for the past two weeks.

So the question I posed on Twitter the other day (why isn’t my authority increasing when I’m clearly being linked by new blogs?) loses all value because, well, I wasn’t letting Technorati OR Google index my blog. Which actually might also provide an explanation to why my page views on UrbanSpoon have decreased. Since my blog isn’t being indexed, my restaurant reviews don’t appear in the first few pages of Google.

And if my thoughts are true, as of today, you should be see changes about that right about now. No, I haven’t fixed my stats package yet. But that’s something I’ll deal with after fixing a few other things that aren’t blogging related. Like, you know, spending time with a civilian friend.

[UPDATE - Yes, I was right. I am now being indexed by Google AND Technorati. And my Technorati authority went up to what I thought it would. I *love* being right about something techie!]

Related posts:

1. Google Page Rank, Technorati and the like
2. Google Transit – Vancouver – link love
3. More on Google Transit and Vancouverisms

With the outstanding and very capable help of my friend J. Karen Parker, who did the customization of the theme, taught me how to do the FTP’ing and stuff, and helped me fix a number of issues with the self-hosted WP install (otherwise I would have been stuck in .htaccess hell!), I am now able to do way more than I could before (including CSS editing and theme customization, plugins, etc.)

As you may notice, the DevArt theme has been customized to better fit my blog. The hummingbird604 logo that Rebecca kindly customized for my previous theme remains instact. Luckily, this WP.org install allows me to use Javascript, plugins and do a number of things that I wanted to do but was unable to, for a long while.

Thanks a million to Karen for all her help, to everyone who encouraged me to go self-hosted and I hope you enjoy the new layout! Feedback, of course, is always appreciated.

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1. Redesigning Hummingbird604.com
2. Which are your favorite WordPress plugins?
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Before I engaged fully in social media, I wouldn’t even have thought about it and would have accumulated yet another printed copy of a paper. But thanks to Web 2.0 tools, I’ve become more and more efficient. Shane Gibson gave yet another example last night at the Vancouver Sales Performance Meetup with LinkedIn. All great tools for me, as a professional of environmental issues. Good times!

Related posts:

1. On the relationship between mainsteam media, social media and academia 1: Mainstream media and social media’s complex relationship
2. Authenticity, social media and Malcolm Gladwell
3. Testing new geeky tools

Credit: Filmoculous on Flickr.

I’ve also noticed that when I attend a tech/PR/social media event, I get all giddy at the mention of the words/phrases that most civilian people wouldn’t really “get”. For example, I was having a conversation about the Ormiston Online coverage of Twitter with my good friends B, H and C, all of them who have at least a Masters (and two of them a PhD degree), last week when we were enroute to the Vancouver Public Library, and we were talking about Web 2.0 and Twitter and all that jazz, and it was SO MUCH FUN to describe to them (another brand/type of geek/nerd) what has now become an integral part of my life.

So, yeah – I am a nerd/geek. I love this kind of talk, in any of my realms. Be it environment, public policy, social media, or Heroes, Star Trek, Smallville, superhero-thingies, I DO like it when you talk nerdy to me

EDIT – And the source and inspiration of the “Talk Nerdy to Me” phrase is a T-shirt that I’ve seen on Rebecca‘s blog/Flickr at some point. I *love* that t-shirt!

Related posts:

1. When is the right age to talk to your kids about sex?
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3. Accessorize Your Blog: Top Ten Ways to Maximize Reader Experience (WCFV talk)

A couple of months back, I was talking with someone (can’t recall exactly who it was) and with Rebecca, and I praised said person “you ARE a geek“. Rebecca was very quick to explain “to Raul, that is actually a compliment, so you should take it that way“. It’s true. If I ever tell you that you ARE a geek, I am complimenting you.

The nouns “nerd“, “geek” and “dork” have been ostracized for so long that, for many people, they have negative and derogatory connotations.

Not for me. I am actually proud of my geekification. Before I started using WordPress, and before I started blogging, I knew nothing about RSS feeds, Web 2.0, domain propagation, clean URLs, hashtags, Twitter, and all that jazz. I now feel comfortable even speaking about cloud computing!

(Hat tips to Anthony Nicalo who just tweeted about how he was trying to gain geek credibility – Anthony, I think you’re pretty geeky alright!).

Related posts:

1. Geek-wear: Funky t-shirts for your inner geek
2. I’m the Geek of the Week (The Georgia Straight)
3. The clash of two worlds: Enviro-geek or social media geek?

I’ve heard several elements that are supposed to be part of Web 3.0. Unfortunately, I’d lie if I said I do remember exactly who said it but some people have mentioned that perhaps the future of Web 2.0 lies with video (vlogging). Some others have implied that we should look at mobile web 2.0 (e.g. everyone jump on their iPhones or equivalent now). If Web 2.0 was all about dynamic interaction between user and content generator, then maybe Web 3.0 adds a third dimension (mobility).

Obviously, we all go at some point to the Wikipedia page, so the entry for Web 3.0 does mention stuff about mobile web, etc. The question I have now is — what do YOU think or understand by the idea of Web 3.0?

Related posts:

1. Safari, Internet Explorer and Firefox
2. A bunch of geeks at the Future Shop Park Royal opening
3. How much of your professional life depends an internet connection?

Related posts:

1. Happy Anniversary, Alex and Rob!
2. Happy birthday, Airdrie!
3. More happy anniversaries! and a Happy Anniversary Registry

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Why do you do it then, Raul? … you might ask. Well, there are several reasons. The first one is that I don’t actually know much about these figures. For all the blogging I’ve done, I read about a gazillion other things other than tech/blogging. Yeah, time to come out of the closet. I very rarely read about tech issues. Most of the knowledge I get is from people talking about something on Twitter or on their blog or when we have beers or go for lunch, or play Rock Band. I learn about social media by virtue of being IN social media. If I find something that piques my interest, then off I go and examine that particular issue (and read like crazy – just ask me anything about the Emily Gould debacle).

I know, shame on me. Up until earlier last year, I didn’t know how to find people’s RSS feeds, nor did I know that you could use a RSS reader client. Up until earlier the past month, I didn’t know that you could click on the RSS icon on FireFox and you’d get the RSS feed URL. Yep, a lot of things I didn’t know. I’ve learned them by asking, or by sitting side-by-side with people and doing them. As a matter of fact, I learned how to do side-bar widgets by virtue of sitting with Rebecca at the Blackwater Cafe. She patiently walked me through the process. Had she not shown me, I probably would have never gone and checked the WP Codex. Or maybe I would have. Well, actually no. I like it better when people show me how to do things rather than read about them. And Rebecca is a great and patient teacher.

Most of my geeky friends laugh when they see how gleefully I play with their iPhones and how proud I feel when I know how to take a photo. The truth is, bear in mind that, regardless of the fact that I’ve been blogging for 2.5 years, I am still a newbie. And I get excited whenever I accomplish something new on my blog. I am thrilled when I learn something new. Remember, I’m an expert in environmental issues, not a tech geek.

I am thrilled by all this new knowledge. Things that may be completely irrelevant to you (like finding out what Technorati does) are actually exciting to me. Why? Not because I want to boost my Page Rank. No, it’s because just the mere fact that I now know what Technorati does or what Google Juice is, makes me excited. It’s the learning process in and of itself that makes me happy.

When I get bored of learning about tech issues, social media and blogging, you can rest assured of one thing: I’ll quit. Yes, I will. Why? Because as many people have always recommended, I should do this because I am passionate about it. And I’m passionate about learning about social media and about making new friends. THAT is what I love doing. The rest, is just icing in the cake.

The best part of being a blogger for me is that I can still get excited by learning about something I didn’t know very much. It’s also exciting to see how fast-paced the tech world is. Environment still amazes me, but the speed of change is completely different. I know ten different methods to treat wastewater. These methods have been used for 50 years and entire municipalities still don’t treat their water (*cough* Victoria, B.C. *cough*).

My stats, Technorati and Google PR are really irrelevant for what I do, since as I have told my friends, I blog for myself. I don’t get business out of blogging. I won’t get a job as an assistant professor at a university because I am a blogger. I *might* get freelance writing work because people read my blog. But right now, I don’t get any $$$ out of it. But I want to be able to have the right tools SHOULD I WANT TO monetize my blog or use what I’ve learned in a professional environment, or become a professional blogger. And THEN, I will actually care about my stats, Technorati and Google Page Rank. Until then, I just want to know what they are and how they work.

And this was a really long winded post to explain something really minor

Related posts:

1. Technorati indexing, Google searching and self-hosting
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After the Future Shop Park Royal re-opening, a bunch of us went to Browns Social House for dinner (I think the original thought was just a drink, but we ended up eating there). I am glad we did. It was really good fun (as you can see from my videos!)

On to the food – their menu is really good and the prices are affordable. I ordered a Carbonara Linguini (Arieanna ordered the same thing) which was REALLY good. I have no complaints. The service was excellent, and if I hadn’t been that full, I would probably have ordered dessert.

So, Browns Social House (the West Vancouver location) is definitely in my good books. The best part was hanging out with my friends, as I knew that I would be leaving for Mexico and it wouldn’t be in the best of circumstances. I always try to live my life as normally as I can, so this was a great chance. I should thank Darren for organizing the field trip to Future Shop, and also Derek as I think he was the instigator of drinks after the FSPR opening.

UPDATE – Since I now can insert the videos I record using my Flip camera, here is a quick view of the Village at Park Royal in West Vancouver.

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1. Restaurant review – Browns Social House
2. Restaurant review – Sha Lin Noodle House
3. Roedde House Museum (West End)

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2. Restaurant review – Browns Social House
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I think TV shows are adopting a lot of information technology ideas. For example, the main character in Gossip Girl is a blogger. Now, CSI:NY uses Second Life to capture a criminal. Nice! I even wrote about Twitter on an episode of CSI (the original one). YOWZA!

[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZbxwtEKpEL4]

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But I digress… so the point is, even though I’ve already written my presentation, I would like to ask – if you are considering WordPress as a blogging platform, and/or are considering a switch from Blogger or (dare I say) Movable Type to WP – what kind of things would YOU be interested in hearing about?

In my presentation, basically, I’m going to tell you how I switched from Blogger to WordPress (after MUCH peer pressure) and the results I got from the platform switch-over. But I’m sure you have LOTS of questions that could help me prepare (this is like preparing for a final exam!), and I’d love to hear from you.

I have a standing bet with Jodi, and I have promised her that I will buy her a Dr. Pepper if, after hearing all the presentations at WordCamp, she is not convinced of switching from Movable Type to WordPress. I’m bringing the Dr. Pepper just in case. I have faith in my abilities and those of the fabulous team of bloggers and techies who will be presenting tomorrow, but JUST in case, I’m going to err on the side of caution

Related posts:

1. The WordPress Codex – Refusing to read :-)
2. The move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org and self-hosting
3. I want to convert you… to WordPress!

The Eco-Shield for iPhone (Image source: Apple Store)

EcoShield is made of a hard-plastic derived from recycled plastic bottles, even the package is made of recycled paper and easily recyclable plastic. And though the EcoShield is one of the thinnest cases around, it offers protection second to none. With interior pads to protect the iPhone 3G, this case is the perfect choice for life on the go. It also includes an Agent 18 dock adapter, so you can dock your iPhone in any Universal Docking device without taking it out of the case.[Apple Store]

Duane and I have lots in common, we’ve both had some brushes with the academic life, and we are very open in regards to what we discuss in our blogs. And we both love nachos and geekery (although truth be told, I don’t think I could ever reach his Geek Master level – he could write the entire WordPress platform if he wanted to!)

One of the many things that I appreciate in Duane that I don’t think I tell him often enough is his interest in environmental issues. Just browse through his environment category and you’ll find a lot of awesome tidbits. And he’s implemented lots of energy-saving features in his own home. As I told him in a recent tweet, he just got himself 500 Green Points

And if Duane decides to blog about the Eco-Shield, you’ll find a link back to his blog here. Hat tips to Duane for getting an Eco-Shield for his iPhone and for providing me with fertile ground for yet another blog post

EDIT – Rebecca reminded me of her post in her comment below, a post that I actually had read, but overlooked the bit on the Eco-Shield…. oopsies Nevertheless, just look at the Juicy Couture case for the iPhone and you’ll fall in love … And while I’m going back on posts, Tanya had done a review of BodyGuardz too]

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1. I will NOT be buying an iPhone
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At my current writing rate, I estimate that’s going to fall somewhere around the week of Blogathon, so I might have a middle of the week RaulCamp (or simply combine it with the Vancouver Bloggers Meetup!) because, after all, it’s all about me (inside joke, you’ll have to see the t-shirt to know what I’m talking about).

So, I’m opening the floor for suggestions for my 1000th post. I was actually thinking of holding it at a wifi-enabled site (like the Blackwater Cafe) or a bar so that we can celebrate the actual moment of pushing the “Publish” button on my WordPress Dashboard. Any interest in joining for said RaulCamp?

Related posts:

1. My 1000th post – How Web 2.0 has changed my life
2. I need a new cell phone, so I’m accepting suggestions
3. The WordPress Codex – Refusing to read :-)

I have been recently told about the positive reputation that my blog has been building (thanks for the positive feedback, by the way – I am glad that whomever reads my blog find it appealing), and I’m grateful for that. I like having people recognize that I have worked very hard to bring my blog to where it is and bring my tech expertise up (a goal I have not achieved all on my own, but with the help of many good friends – you know who you are, since we’ve talked about this at length).

But there is a part of me that sometimes thinks I should write more enviro-focused stuff, because that’s the industry within which I would like to be immersed. I am part of the Vancouver environmental community as I do have connections with environmental non-government organizations, consulting firms, some of my friends work for the BC and Canadian governments, etc.

However, I am also part of the social media/tech community, whether I admit it or not. I’ve been immersing so much in the technical and social aspects of Web 2.0 that it will be hard to extricate myself (and even then, I don’t WANT to extricate myself – I’ve met too many wonderful people to say now “oh sorry you’re not an enviro-geek, we can’t be friends anymore” – they never said “hey you’re not a social media/tech geek, so get out of our hair”, right?).

Nevertheless, I think I will need to go back to writing more environmental focus, more posts where my actual knowledge of the subject matter is perceived, and thus build a different sort of reputation. However, I am somewhat afraid that, by virtue of doing that, it would somehow preclude me from learning more about stuff that I find exciting, and also, would basically throw away everything I have achieved so far in social media.

*sigh* And then there’s the personal side of my blog. I wonder if that would affect any potential employers. Because, let’s face it, it probably would sound a bit self-absorbed to tell employers (potential) “hey i have a blog, and it’s basically my random thoughts“. Moreover, since I am planning to work in academia (if I can get a job as a professor, otherwise I’m happy to go to consulting), there’s also the conflict – “do I let my students read my personal blog?” (some of my former students actually do, and they have told me that they love it because it gives them a refreshing perspective on their professor).

So the thing is – I kind of want my cake and eat it. I want the professional (environmental expert, academic) reputation AND I want the social media (which can also be a career in-and-of-itself) reputation too. I want people to know that the Raul they read here is the Raul they’ve become friends with or the Raul who has given dozens of academic talks and published tonnes of academic papers. That, as Boris Mann put it very elegantly, I am the whole package. This blog, in many ways is the full me. And I want it to reflect also my academic side and my enviro-geek side.

There are several angles to examine this issue through. One is – what exactly does Raul want to do (since I didn’t undertake a PhD just to throw it away – I kind of want to use my training!). That’s a discussion for later. But one thing is for sure – if given the chance, I’d become an instructor/professor at a local university. No doubt.

The next issue that would need to be examined is – How would being an academic/professor/instructor affect my blogging? Good question. Haven’t thought about the answer yet. But some people over at the Chronicle of Higher Education have. And I have local friends who are academics and who have thought about the implications of their blogging for their academic careers.

I guess it comes down to yet again, a future that (while it looks promising) may be a challenge. But I have faith in my broad skills and portfolio. I think I can do a lot with what I have done. The mere blogging and learning more about social media will help me with enhancing my tools to disseminate the scholarly knowledge I develop. Of course, there’s the other side – if I go to consulting, I think I can apply my social media skills into developing new business and attracting new contracts given that I now have some sort of idea of how to put myself out there (the whole SEO, Google Page Rankand Technorati talks have crystalized, haven’t they! )

My scholarship is fairly decently recognized, I think. I have lots of research colleagues around the globe that I am sure enjoy the kind of research I do, and have some degree of faith in my ability to complete research projects and publish the results. However, I am also aware of the limited possibilities for academic jobs within the Metro Vancouver area (I would move to Victoria, but it would be SO hard… my life here is so good, and I’m 100% in love with my life as is here!).

At any rate, I recognize that this is quite a personal reflection, but also one that I don’t think I mind sharing with the blogosphere. Of course, feedback, comments and other reflections are most welcome.

Related posts:

1. Developing thicker skin in academia and in blogging
2. The slow merging of my two worlds (academia and blogging)
3. Different models of feedback: Academia and the blogosphere

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Ryan Nadel, who works in the journalism/film/media industry, at a lovely party hosted by Candice Faktor, of OurFaves.com. This small gathering of good friends proved a great laboratory to have actually good conversations, and Ryan and I engaged on a discussion of Tumblr. Ryan does have a Tumblr account, and (to my surprise I might admit) I have found at least two other friends of mine who do.

Remember – I am not in media, nor journalism, nor public relations, nor tech per-se. I am a specialist in environmental studies who loves blogging. So, for me to hear about Tumblr, it was a bit like “this is the new Twitter or the new Plurk“. It would seem to me as though Tumblr.com would be the place where I could synthesize all my online stuff (portfolio) and go from there. My friend Andy calls his Tumblr “his brain dump“.

My question is – is that the direction in which Web 2.0 is going? I am having a hard enough time with FriendFeed, BrightKite, and all that jazz. Not sure about how to feel about Tumblr. Any thoughts? Do I really want to get yet another Web 2.0 application? Particularly, can I hear some thoughts from those of you who actually have Tumblr.com accounts? Thanks.

Related posts:

1. Not a supercrucial post, but need to ask the question nonetheless
2. Public policy, budget prioritization and the money question
3. QUESTION PERIOD: How has Citizenship and Immigration Canada touched your life?

While it remains true that I blog primarily for myself and for my own entertainment. I blog sometimes to provide entertainment to others (my friends, on and off the blogosphere, and in general, my readers). But mostly (and I am now more and more convinced after having immersed myself in the blogging for social change and sustainability sub-community), I think that my blog can be a tool for social change. I also believe that I can be an agent of change. That’s one of the things I aspire to do. I told this to Tom at SteakCamp, being able to unleash the power of Web 2.0 and help enhance the reputation of a tiny little East Side restaurant was one of the primary reasons why I answered Buzz’s challenge.

Isabella and I had a really nice and long discussion on our roles as superhero bloggers, and our mission to help the society in which we are immersed. Along the same lines, we all have our superhero weakness, our kryptonite. In my case, the same thing that makes me powerful (my inner drive, my enthusiasm and energy, the speed at which I read, type, learn and understand) is what makes me weak (when I over-extend and push myself beyond my limits). It’s all about the balance, I think. I work hard and play hard.

This is partially a serious reflection and a funny tidbit that should tide me over to the next reflective post about myself. I also would like to follow up on the geek t-shirts and show you the one I found reflects exactly how I see myself as a blogger.

Photo credit: All rights reserved by Think Geek

.

Now, if YOU were to think of yourself as a superhero, who would you be or what would you say is your superpower? Bear in mind that not only bloggers could be superheroes, civilians can also have their secret identity

Related posts:

1. Of bloggers, geeks and other musings
2. Bloggers are people, we do what we do, and then we blog about it
3. The intermediaries: Talking geekspeak to non-geeks

This week (probably Thursday or Friday, as I want to stay away from the computer for a while), I am buying the CSS customization option for WordPress as I want to be able to tinker with the layout and the theme color scheme. Since I’ve been previously known to avoid the WordPress Codex, I figured this time I would follow the rules and go and read the Codex before I ask my friends “how do I go about this…”

Both Rebecca and Andy wrote recently about themes, and Rebecca unveiled her awesome new theme just this week. But to be quite honest, I still had one question in my mind – what IS a theme?

A WordPress Theme is a collection of files that work together to produce a graphical interface with an underlying unifying design for a weblog.[WP Codex-Themes]

Yeah. RIIIIIGHT. The preceding paragraph proceeded to explain what a theme is in WPGeekSpeak. That’s the point where I realized one of the things that I hadn’t done (shame on me) ever – CHECK THE GLOSSARY. So I went to the Codex WordPress lesson semantics. Are themes the same as CSS? I have discovered that no, they’re not. I roamed around the glossary and semantics site for a while, and now I understand that by customizing the CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), I will be able to define colors, layouts, etc. The theme is more overarching, then…

I may request help to customize my CSS, but I also want to learn how to change it myself, because I don’t want to be a fake geek. I like being a true geek, and I like to do my own stunts. I am well aware that asking for help is one of my challenges, but thankfully, being a computer geek is complicated enough that I am always willing to ask someone to give me a hand. So, I hope that soon enough, you’ll see a different color scheme, although it may be a while for a change in theme!

Related posts:

1. The WordPress Codex – Refusing to read :-)
2. Redesigning Hummingbird604.com
3. Accepting suggestions for my 1000th post

Now, you know you want to tell me – how nerdy are you?

Related posts:

1. Talk nerdy to me
2. Being a superhero/comic nerd :) – Guest post by Jeffery Simpson
3. The Walk Score

I started reading blogs because my friends used them to keep me up to date on what was going on in my life. I started blogging first because my brother did it. I blog because I love writing. I still do like my academic work, and I am passionate about environmental issues, about research, and about teaching. However, I also love social media and the new word that has opened to me. From new friends to attending events to getting swag to simply being recognized (someone recognized me at the Car Free Festival on Main Street – “OH, so YOU are Hummingbird604! I do read your blog“). Quite endearing, really.

But the truth of the matter is that, beyond that, I may seem like a blogaholic but I have never done things any other way. If I am going to take something on, I do it to the fullest. When I learned to play volleyball, I became passionate about it and tried to get as good and competitive as possible. When I learned to dance, I immersed myself in the salsa culture and danced until my feet hurt. When my father said that I needed to find out what exactly made me happy I embarked in a test-drive of many different careers. That has been both my philosophy and my way of going about things. DO THINGS TO THE MAX.

I thought to myself…”well, if I am going to be in the social media , I am going to learn how to do my own HTML tags. I want to be able to modify my own CSS. I want to learn how to increase my Google Page Rank, understand SEO, and more than anything, be able to use social media and the technology to bridge the chasm between audience and data source… As a researcher, I want to be able to understand the why. As a blogger interested in social media, I want to understand the the how.

I have found that when a topic touches an issue that I am interested in, I research and read about it obsessively. The Sarah Lacy/Mark Zuckerberg interview fiasco. The Emily Gould – Gawker blogging debacle. The whole issue with AP and charging for quotations. Bill C-61 and the lack of transparency of governmental policy decisions. The list goes on, and on, and on. It’s almost 2 AM on a Saturday night (when normal people are either asleep or getting home from the bar) and I am at my office working, and blogging.

So the questions that are currently on my mind are … what is it that drives people to be workaholics (or blogaholics – or in my case, both)? What drives your inner competitive spirit? And what kind of trade-offs do we need to take into account before we dive in head on? I’d like to hear your thoughts.

[UPDATE - Having published the post, I almost forgot to mention that my friends Ianiv and Arieanna own the Blogaholics.ca domain - go check it out!]

Related posts:

1. Being a workaholic AND a blogaholic…
2. Congratulations to Ianiv and Arieanna! Anniversary and a new little Blogaholic coming! :)
3. To Tumblr or not to Tumblr? That is the question…

If you have been reading my blog say, for the past year, you’ll know that I have learned a lot from scratch and I don’t like anybody to do things for me, I prefer to learn how to do them. I appreciate the help of my geek friends but I like to do my own stunts. I want to be semi-geeky, if you might. Don’t change my CSS, teach me how to do it. That kind of stuff.

I can’t recall if it was Rebecca who commented that there might be a geek t-shirt that I could find for the phrase “I do my own stunts” but I couldn’t find it. Nevertheless, let me tell you what I DID find: a geek t-shirt that seems custom made for me (in case you didn’t know, my first degree is in chemical engineering).

Photo credit: Think Geek.

[SIDE NOTE - The molecular structure shown is that of caffeine]

[SIDE NOTE - To prove that I do my own stunts, instead of downloading the image to my Flickr and then linking to it, I found the image location myself and inserted all the appropriate tags to have the photo link back directly to ThinkGeek's website - how's that for geekifying myself!]

So now, the question is on to YOU. What are your favorite geek t-shirts? Do you own any geek t-shirts?

Related posts:

1. Geek as a compliment
2. Wear Pink Shirt Day Vancouver 2011 (Feb 23rd)
3. BarCamp Vancouver 2008 t-shirts!

The discussion has been around with some of my geeky friends (of which, as Tyler Ingram very properly said, I now have A LOT) and Karen Parker suggested that I ask around all of you geeks who read my blog (particularly those who are self-hosted and/or WordPress Jedi Masters) about suggestions for self-hosting. With the new theme re-design, the increase in readership, my interest in being able to manipulate my own CSS, use plug-ins, customize my side-bars, etc., it appears as though the move to self-hosted would seem rather imminent. Which is kind of too bad since I already paid for the domain mapping. But whatever.

In the mean-time, while I decide what to do for self-hosting, etc., I’ve decided that I am going “self-hosting light” (as aptly named by Rebecca). I am going to buy the customization of my CSS. It’s been decided. That’s the only way I can change the color scheme in my blog.

To be quite honest, I am really enjoying the process of re-designing my blog and having a lot of fun while sharing it with the blogosphere, particularly because I have found that geeks are such a friendly bunch (of which I am now a part of, at least as a partial-geek – because, please do remember – I DO MY OWN STUNTS), and everyone is always offering to help. I am very grateful and very blessed.

And now on to the question…suggestions on the move? I know that everyone (and I’m not mentioning you by name because you know who YOU are) has been gently pushing me towards self-hosting, and giving me advice on the matter. I still have a myriad of questions – suggest providers/hosts? 2.6? *HELP!* Or maybe I should just wait until WordCamp Fraser Valley and have this conversation after the event? At any rate, do feel free to drop a comment.

Related posts:

1. The potential move from Blogger to WordPress
2. I want to convert you… to WordPress!
3. Switching to WordPress from another platform: What do you want to hear?

Or at least, I was… until I found out that… FireFox 3.0 and del.icio.us 1.2.1 are INCOMPATIBLE. [UPDATE - Hat tips to Rebecca for the link to the proper site to download the del.icio.us extension - But I still want to rant about how I wasted time on this! -- hehehe ]

FAIL. Despite the fact that, as Arieanna and others have properly pointed out, I am in virtually every Web 2.0 (sorry Trevor, I know you hate the phrase!) application, I didn’t have a del.icio.us account. So I couldn’t carry my bookmarks anywhere. This morning, I was going to bookmark the CIRA WHO-IS Privacy Policy website, and I thought to myself “this is stupid. I should just get myself a del.icio.us account and tag this stuff and have my bookmarks be portable” .

Well, as it turns out, the most recent version of FireFox and del.icio.us are incompatible, at least the latest versions. Oh, goodie! Now I have to bookmark my stuff manually. Of course, you could tell me “hey just install the bookmarklets“. True that, I can do that, but what’s the purpose of having an extension that doesn’t work? GRRRR. I’m annoyed.

Ok. [/end rant]

Related posts:

1. Safari, Internet Explorer and Firefox
2. The ecological way to blog: Flock Eco-Edition

I read blogs/news/books/journal articles/papers in a large, overview kind of approach, to help me understand the world. But if I want to use a piece of software, or a platform, my brain kind of shuts-off. It took me all of ten minutes to absorb what Rebecca did for my new theme (e.g. changing the header image, which is as far as WordPress.com will let you go). She showed me how to add text on my sidebar. Visually, it was a piece of cake. Andy helped me fix the centering problem I was having with my photos. It took me all of ten minutes to understand what exactly he had done to help me with a theme that overrides the center tags. Piece of cake. Show me once, I can do it myself. Kulpreet has also been always very helpful on Twitter giving me small bits of advice here and there.

However, the problem with me is that I am very visual when it comes to computers. I don’t like having to read to learn how to use a program or a platform. Show me how to do it. Don’t do it for me, let me do it myself. Do it along with me. So, if I could find someone who has digested the WordPress Codex and just sit down with him or her and get a tutorial (or two or three, however many I needed), then I’d be in WordPress bliss. But I am sure I am not going to get that pipe dream, so I am writing this post to encourage those of you who use WordPress and are in what I call the “intermediate” stages of geekification, to check the Codex.

And to my geeky friends whom I frequently ask questions re: WP – apologies in advance, but I’ll still keep asking you random questions about how to do this or that in WordPress. Hope you don’t mind

Related posts:

1. The CSS customization and going self-hosted “light”
2. Switching to WordPress from another platform: What do you want to hear?
3. The move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org and self-hosting

I was invited by David Gratton to come by and visit The Donat Group. I had met Rochelle Grayson at a Tweetup and I read both David’s and Rochelle’s personal blogs, so it was a great chance to come by and see the kind of work that they do. I was shown a number of fun tools they develop, including SnipDev (for someone who is geekifying himself, there is no better fun than finding new ways to use technology to bring people together, which is one of the things that David, Rochelle and their group do). Good times.

Rebecca and I have been on a Mexican food roll, so we agreed to meet for lunch at La Casita in Gastown. Restaurant review forthcoming. I did miss a chance to hang out with Karen as our schedules didn’t match up, but I’m sure we’ll hang out soon enough. Since Rebecca and I were both invited to the Strutta party we ended up going there for a couple of beers (free booze – who can refuse that?). I had a chance to bug Jordan Behan about not following me on Twitter (jokingly), but now Boris Mann has created a mantra for me. See photo below (if you can’t read what the plastic glass says, it says “Follow Me on Twitter – hummingbird604). I took the joke in jest. As usual, I have LOTS of photos of the evening on my Flickr. It was good to see a lot of my fellow bloggers/twitterers/friends from the tech community.

Unfortunately I had to leave early as I was meeting with AF, NM and RO for Rock Band. I am in love with this thing. Hat tips and thanks to Tanya for those Rock Band invites with a bunch of friends, because I am now totally hooked. Usually when I hang out with Tanya and friends, I do a lot of vocals but I’ve begun to be more comfortable with bass (although I only play as high as medium). I got home at 4 am. Great times! NM and RO are always really fun to hang out with.

And to close off, here is one of my favorite songs from the many that we played last night: Wave of Mutilation. Hope you guys are having a great weekend, because mine is really busy (as always!). Darn. And I thought I was going to be non-booked. OOOPS.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U88t0JgawfY&hl=en]

Related posts:

1. Green Thursday, Raul time Friday and easy weekend
2. Spreading the link love on a rainy Friday
3. Upcoming environmental events in Vancouver – September 2008

I have a LOT of posts for your reading entertainment, but at the same time, I also would like to pause for a moment and listen to feedback from all of you, readers, fellow bloggers, random visitors… what do you guys think of my blog’s re-design? Rebecca was kind enough to spend time changing the theme of my site as I told her that I wanted a change (thanks Rebecca!).

Here are the changes if you want them in a summary, point-form (e.g. the elements I told Rebecca that were important to me in the re-design):
- Narrower column for the text. Sometimes I write A LOT, and I don’t even realize it. I think that sometimes, readers may get tired from reading and that might not be a good idea. Yes, I know that content is everything and sometimes I need more space to develop an idea, but I think this looks crisper, cleaner.
- Cleaner layout and top, header-type page alignment. That is, the pages (my “About Me” page and the “Some of my most popular posts” should be on the top, right below the header.
- The header needs to have the hummingbird symbol that Rebecca kindly adapted for me.
- I wanted the header image to look ‘geeky‘ (although this element has already sparked controversy).
- I wanted to include the badge for WordCamp FraserValley 2008 on the side bar.

So, any thoughts on the theme re-design? Suggestions always welcome. Drop a comment. Thanks!

Related posts:

1. My new header, with thanks to Miss604 :-)
2. The move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org and self-hosting
3. Design Currency Design Week (April 26th to 30th)

I guess that comes from my recent increased coverage of tech events, including VIDFEST 2008, Cossette Convergence 2008, Launch Party IV. Even the PR events (if you consider Third Tuesday a PR event) have a tekkie component! Thus, I’ve come to accept that yeah, maybe I am in tech.

Moreover, this only comes to confirm what my friend HZ has told me all along: every time I launch a new endeavour, I follow through fully! And again, a substantial hat tip and thanks should be given to ALL MY BLOGOSPHERE friends, but especially Miss604 – Rebecca Bollwitt, for helping me with my blog, for guiding me through a lot of stuff and simply, for her friendship. Thank you Rebecca.

Related posts:

1. Out and about with Raul on a Friday
2. GMail is down… again! On the dependency on tech tools
3. Vancouver Young Professionals and Real Estate Tech Meetup recap

On another side note, I need to really get myself organized. I know that I’m on lots of things, but I haven’t managed to really organize all the online stuff I have. So I am …

On Twitter: @hummingbird604
On Flickr: Rolex-PV (Raul)t
On YouTube: drhummingbird604
On Vimeo: hummingbird604
On Facebook: NOPE – I am NOT on Facebook.
On Pownce: hummingbird604
On Plurk: NOPE – I am NOT on Plurk.
On Meetup.com: Raul’s profile.

I have an invite to Jaiku that I haven’t activated, and an invite to FriendFeed that I haven’t activated either. Am I missing something?

Related posts:

1. The offline life of an online geek
2. Geek-wear: Funky t-shirts for your inner geek
3. The clash of two worlds: Enviro-geek or social media geek?

Matt Mullenweg in WordPress gear. Photo credit: Niallkennedy on Flickr.

The following is an abstract of the talk I’m going to give, hoping that it will be useful. I know for a fact that John Chow and Rebecca Bollwitt (aka Miss604) will be speaking too. This will be SO MUCH FUN!

Here’s the abstract of my talk:“I Switched to WordPress, and So Can You”

I started blogging on the Blogger platform for ease of use (and because several friends of mine were using it too!). On March 23rd, 2008, I took one of the best decisions in my burgeoning blogging career: I moved my blog entirely from Blogger to WordPress. Many bloggers seem afraid of taking the plunge and switching to WP. Currently, I blog primarily on the WordPress.com platform, and have enjoyed an increase in readership of over 300%. In this presentation, I will talk about my experience switching platforms, outline the advantages that I see in WordPress, and speak about the next steps I plan to take in the process of becoming a WP geek.

I am, of course, open to any questions or comments you might want to include. I am sure that some of you might want me to post some video, being the owner of a Flip and having attended a Reachd.com awesome seminar. I will try to do at least some vlogging – most likely, I’ll be live-vlogging Rebecca‘s as she will be too busy giving her own talk to be able to vlog it!!! (but knowing Rebecca, she might even be able to live-blog/vlog her own part of the WordCamp!)

Related posts:

1. WordCamp Fraser Valley and coffee/snack sponsorship
2. WordCamp San Francisco 2008
3. WordCamp Fraser Valley – The aftermath

Afterwards, Duane suggested to mosey over to the Apple store in Pacific Centre. I have to say that, given that I am not an Apple/Mac user, it is kind of hard for me to understand the hype. However, since I have lots of geeky Mac friends, I wanted to check it out. Pleasantly impressed with the knowledge of the staff. This particular customer service representative spent a solid 30 minutes talking to us about Mac, and he seemed very knowledgeable. How would I know that? Well, because Duane (who IS very knowledgeable) and this guy chatted about all sorts of geeky stuff. I listened intently and learned a lot from this conversation.

Admittedly, if you are in it for the hottie factor, yes, the customer representatives are pretty hot… but they’re also very geeky… which only comes to demonstrate that geek is chic

Photo credit: John Biehler on Flickr. John has a great post on the Apple Store here.

Related posts:

1. The excitement about the Apple Tablet
2. HP TouchPad Launch at Hewlett Packard Vancouver Store
3. Eco-Shield for the iPhone

The first set is from brunch at Deep Cove’s Arm Reach Bistro with JT.

The view from the parking lot of Panorama. Photo credit: JT.

Martinis @ Arms Reach Bistro, FTW! Photo credit: JT.

The second set is from brunch at The Nice Cafe and a long walk around the False Creek seawall, from the bridge crossing into Charleson Park to Granville Island and back (a walk I did with C and B).

The view of Yaletown from False Creek. Photo credit: Me.

I rarely use the visual editor because I find it annoying, but I wanted to see if I could adjust the code for photo alignment and size. And yes, I’m doing much better (physically and in the process of geekification). Going to take it easy this weekend anyways.

EDIT – Hat tips to Andy for fixing the code. I’m such a non geek

Related posts:

1. Best friends always stay best friends
2. Updates to “About Me” page
3. New friends online: Adapting to the “new normal”

I had the best time ever with Phaedra at Boneta, the food is simply excellent. I had never been and she had never been for lunch. The service was great, but the company was simply stellar. Photos are available on my Flickr account (she looks SO hot!)

Dinner with DA and his parents was also great, I had to switch my schedule around as they are only in town for a few days, but that worked out perfectly. Dessert at True Confections, it was simply a great evening.

Feeling slightly weird about the fact that I did not go to VIDFEST on Friday, but I really needed some time off. Plus, I happened to be downtown, so had a chance to hang out with Rebecca for a bit, and meet Mom604 (who is as sweet in person as I imagined her).

Geeky notes – Apple store opening in Vancouver’s Pacific Centre. I am pretty sure many of my friends are going to show up at the launch, including (but not limited to) John Biehler, Ianiv and Arieanna, and several others (you can @ or DM on Twitter to let me know if you’re going). I am not feeling 100% energetic, but I want to hang out with John, Arieanna and Ianiv… what to do?

Related posts:

1. Vancouver Folk Festival highlights for this coming weekend
2. Another great weekend in Vancouver
3. Rounding up a great weekend :)