The first time I came to The Network Hub was at my first Third Tuesday event. I was positively impressed. The place is simply outstanding. Ever since I’ve wanted to become a consultant I’ve wanted to have a workspace that provides me with freedom and also positive entrepreneurial energy around me. The Network Hub answers those needs.
A view of The Network Hub’s open space office concept. Photo credit: Raul on Flickr.
So, what is exactly The Network Hub and why does it play an important role in Vancouver’s burgeoning entrepreneurial sphere?
The Network Hub was established 2006 after observations of first time entrepreneurs struggling to find fundings from angel investors and venture capital companies. The Network Hub is a special kind of venture capital firm and incubator that care more about your idea than your age, resume and your business plan.[The Network Hub website]
Another view of The Network Hub. Photo credit: Raul on Flickr
So how *exactly* does The Network Hub help entrepreneurs?
Ideas are important but we also look for motivation, passion and brains. The ideal companies we are looking for usually has two or more founders. We provide micro-loans and resources to help you get started on your ideas in exchange for 5%-10% equity.
We provide to all our startups:
* “Micro” capital
* Infrastructure (office space, legal, accounting, human resources, etc.)
* Product development, management, sales and marketing resources
* Connecting you to potential investors
* Expertise through business partners [The Network Hub benefits page]
When the time comes for me to start up my business, I will seriously consider coming down to The Network Hub. The concept is somewhat similar to that of WorkSpace, and I think that there should be more of these “shared office space” concepts. I also plan to write a featurette of WorkSpace soon. Stay tuned!
In the mean time, I’d like to thank The Network Hub and their team (especially Minna and Robert) for all their support with the Third Tuesdays, Net Tuesdays AND with last night’s WordCamp.
This was my dinner tonight. Well, two bowlfuls of this. Almost three, but I was too full. I was going to insert my recipe but frankly, I think I’ve written enough content. And I kind of hate the visual editor, but now I know the codes I need to align my photos to the center, right and left. WOWZA.
UPDATE – I am now upset. Why isn’t WordPress respecting my “ALIGNCENTER” code? I demand an explanation!
Slightly hidden in the main gateway of Gastown (162 Water), Flux Bistro is a perfect example of where I’d definitely go for drinks (haven’t managed to eat dinner yet there, but Rebecca did, and she seemed to enjoy her salmon!). After Tazzu’s very successful WordCamp, we went for a round of drinks at Flux Bistro, generously sponsored by Automattic (creators of WordPress). Big shout-out and high-fives to Automattic!
So, what is Flux Bistro, you ask?
flux bistro is all about change, while remaining true to the best of the past. chef/owner vincent wong has developed a creative west coast menu rooted in classic cooking techniques, a perfect foundation for the best in global cuisine. A friendly team of knowledgeable servers offer guests a relaxed, enjoyable dining experience.
the restaurant’s décor deftly encompasses the history of gastown and the evolving nature of a diverse vancouver. warm brick and original beams reflect the building’s heritage status while the dynamic lighting design, sleek bar and splashes of red throughout, mirror the energy of this young coastal city.[Flux Bistro’s About Page]
Photo credit: Rebecca (Miss604) on Flickr.
I found Flux’s menu fairly good, and not unreasonably priced (particularly for this part of town – Gastown tends to be a bit on the pricey side). But what really attracted me to Flux Bistro in the sense that I will most definitely come back for either dinner or just drinks with friends was the drinks menu. Even though I consumed local (and organic!) beer, I found their cocktails menu varied and solid.
Duane seemed to enjoy his burgers, so if he drops by here, perhaps he could leave a comment and indicate whether he liked them. They seemed fairly good burgers! As for the drinks, I thoroughly enjoyed mine, and the folks from WordCamp seemed to have had a great time. Kudos to Rastin and Jenny for choosing Flux Bistro, it gave me a chance to have yet another bar review on my blog!
Photo credit: Ianiv and Arieanna on Flickr.
May 1st, 2008 in
blogosphere,
dining out,
drinks,
friends,
Gastown,
social networking,
tazzu,
tazzuwordpresscamp,
Vancouver,
WordCamp,
wordpress |
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Everyone who know me a little bit knows that I’m very capable of poking fun at myself. So, while I was catching up with my blog reading, I just went to check who had read my blog. For some reason, even if I move the time settings (GMT-7), it always cuts off the unique visits count by 5pm Pacific Standard Time. This is an annoyance as I never know exactly how many people read my blog a day, so I always round up (about 300-450 unique visits a day, roughly). Anyhow, I just checked how many visits I had right after 5pm… see the results for yourselves.
There are many reasons to celebrate this particular achievement (mainly because I don’t review restaurants for a living or anything like that). The first one is that while not all of my posts are linked back to UrbanSpoon, the 44 reviews that are got 2,468 views in April 2008 alone.
The second reason is the fact that I wasn’t looking for that “leadership” position. It’s all come from people who Google a certain restaurant and land on my blog or on my UrbanSpoon page.
And the third reason is that all of those times dining out have been with good friends, and that’s the primary reason why I am so happy. It is sharing a meal with good friends that makes it all worth it! Same as with last night’s WordCamp. I really enjoyed the presentations, but it was actually the chance to meet this folks in person, to make new friends and spend some time with my blogging folks that makes it all worth it.
While it hasn’t translated into “free meals” or any invitations to come by a certain restaurant, it’s always nice to be recognized, and most importantly, to not seek the recognition and achieve it. Finally, thanks to everyone who has read my restaurant reviews, shared a meal with me or taken me out for lunch or dinner, as that’s allowed me to increase the number of restaurant reviews!
Also, Flux Bar review coming soon 🙂 Stay tuned!
Still relishing the positive energy of the first-ever WordCamp Vancouver (WordPress Camp for the uninitiated), here’s some link love… just ’cause I felt like it.
* One of the funniest people I’ve ever read – Mostly Lisa. Had a chance to meet her in real life and she’s as awesome as she appears on her blog. And so down-to-earth! Check her blog, very much worth a read!
* One of the cutest geeky couples (in addition to The Carlsons and The Bollwitts and Rastin and Teresa) out there is Ianiv and Arieanna. Here are some awesome photographs by Ianiv on Flickr.
* Having lived in Europe, I can’t help but enjoy colognes. Want to learn about manscaping? Head over to Tris Hussey’s Manscaping 101. And if you want to learn about the process I took to arrive to my favorite cologne, you can read about that later (and if you were wondering what cologne I was wearing last night, it’s Envy by Gucci). But overall, my favorite cologne is Herrera for Men.
* And while we’re on the topic of cosmetics and grooming, have you checked the latest installment of Lipgloss and Laptops? No? What are you waiting for, then? Head over there NOW. Then come back and drop me a comment 🙂 This week they discuss drugstore brands and… Madonna! 🙂
Ok, back to work for me. Will be dropping some more link love in the next few days, and while I am super busy with my own stuff, I plan to maintain the content. There is not a cloud out there, my apartment is filled with the sun rays and I’m happily working away, so I hope you are all having a great week!
First of all, kudos to the Tazzu creators, Rastin, Jenny and Ash (and Teresa) for a phenomenal first WordCamp Vancouver.
Secondly, a big shout out and standing ovation to Rebecca (aka Miss604) for live-blogging (I would’ve live-blogged your segment, just so that you know, hehehe). I’ve inserted my notes on her talk here, she’ll update her liveblog with this quick summary of Rebecca’s presentation. I wouldn’t want to go into a full recap of the evening, and instead would just like to point out my overall assessment of the WordCamp.
Summary of Rebecca’s presentation: INSERTING PHOTOS INTO WORDPRESS.
Rebecca’s presentation (Photo credit: Raul on Flickr)
Two main elements of Rebecca’s presentation.
First, the insertion of photos into WordPress, when it is self-hosted (e.g. WordPress.org). There is a very neat plug-in from TanTan Noodles (linked here) that allows you to insert photos into your WordPress post. The advantage of using PhotoAlbum is that you can use it in a synchronous mode with WP-AddQuickTags (also linked here). If you use them both simultaneously, you can quickly select from your Flickr account any photo you want to insert and using the QuickTags, you can easily insert the caption AND link back to Flickr.
However, for those of us who aren’t hosting our own blogs, Rebecca did also a demo of how to insert photos into Flickr. You can see a teaser of the screencast here on her Blip.tv stream and also the full screencast that she did as a response of one of my requests on how to insert the photos.
Rebecca also showed the Flickr RSS feed that showcases a certain number of your recent photos on the sidebar (or as a widget). I am not 100% sure if this is just WordPress.org or my WordPress.com version can also do it, haven’t tried it yet.
Photo credit: Retrocactus on Flickr.
[As you can see, I inserted the photo location using the IMG button, and then I linked back to John Biehler’s photograph, using exactly the method described by Rebecca]
Finally, Rebecca pointed out to the concept of Creative Commons and indicated several suggestions on how to credit (and/or ask the photographers). This is a pretty important pet-peeve of mine, as I am the son of two lawyers (one of them who actually has a very strong understanding of intellectual property law), so I seriously dislike when people don’t link back to a certain Flickr photo, and don’t provide attribution.
Rebecca’s photos (like mine) are licensed under Creative Commons as Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike (which means, if you want to use one of my Flickr photos, you should link back to me, DON’T download the photo AND DON’T insert it in your server, instead copy the photo location AND link back to it using the codes for link). In the screencasts (and while she did her presentation) Rebecca showed how to find the photo location AND how to link back using the Link button on WordPress.
This part of the WordCamp was very lively because everyone wanted to ask questions related to copyright AND photo attribution. Kudos to Rebecca for opening up the discussion, and to everyone who presented. All of you guys did a WONDERFUL job.
WHY WAS IT A SUCCESS?
Some of the crowd at The Network Hub. (Photo credit: Raul on Flickr)
I attribute it to several factors:
a). Social media interconnectedness – Even though I’m not on Facebook, I *am* on Twitter (@hummingbird604). Therefore, I knew about WordPress Camp Vancouver almost the day that it was conceived as an idea. Facebook helped spread the word, and many other bloggers took it upon themselves to invite more people and/or just disseminate information related to WordCamp 2008.
b). Superb organization skills – I got to The Network Hub (on which I’m writing a featurette, upcoming later tomorrow) very early, close to 4.30pm. Rastin, Jenny, Ash, Teresa and the folks at The Network Hub were already setting up, and fixing things, organizing the audiovisual and getting the coffee and donuts. They were SO synchronized it was almost unbelievable. If I were to hire these folks to organize an event for me, I’d do it in a second. They were right on the money, seriously.
c). Excellent location – Again, I’ll be writing about The Network Hub later, but even though the space was reduced for >80 people who actually ended up showing up, it *is* an amazing concept. People work at The Network Hub because it provides a one-stop-shop for everything they need. I took a few photographs of the offices and open spaces and I was positively impressed. Besides, it’s so close to so many transit routes AND Skytrain.
d). Outstanding list of speakers – Everyone who spoke knew their topic inside-out. It was clear that they were very prepared. Nobody could find any gaps in the presenters’ slide shows. The most important thing – they kept a really strict time-keeping register. And the presenters didn’t go over their time limit. That was, simply outstanding. I’ve been to so many academic conferences and *this* kind of excellent time-keeping, free-flowing conference doesn’t happen often.
e). Phenomenal bunch of attendees – Everyone who went there was hungry for knowledge. The questions were very good (even though a couple were slightly offensive, in my own personal view) and I would say that the interactions between presenters and listeners were very pleasant.
f). Great outline of presenters’ design – The break in the middle of the presentations was excellent. Gave an opportunity for people to socialize, get to know each other and exchange ideas and tips, seek clarification, etc.
g). Outstanding choice of bar for afterwards drinks – Flux is *the* bar where we should all go and get a drink. Spacious, nice staff, great drinks. I think this was excellent. And thanks to Automattic for sponsoring the one round of drinks afterwards! UPDATE – Andy (who works for Automattic) was there too, socializing and handing out WordPress stickers.
h). Unparalleled list of sponsors, both financial, location, food and media sponsors. I don’t have the whole list with me, but I could recognize Phillip Jeffrey, Lisa Bettany and of course, Rebecca Bollwitt. I was also a media sponsor (last minute kinda thing, but hey here is my analysis of the evening!). Some outstanding photographers, including Amanda Abrams and Ianiv (from Ianiv and Arieanna). And of course, it was great to see Stephen Rees, John Biehler, Erika Rathje, and a lot whom I probably will miss!
WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENT NEXT TIME
As I told Rastin, this is an excellent precursor to what can be the next series of Vancouver WordCamp’s. These are my suggestions for the next WordCamp (or series thereof).
1). Divide in tiers – There are the recreational bloggers, the self-hosted WordPress.org and the non-self-hosted WordPress.com kind of users. It was hard for some of us who are not coders to keep our eyes on some of the presentations. For the people who code, it was kind of difficult to remain focused when talks were discussing basics.
2). Charge, even if it is a nominal amount – Hello? This was a three-hour, totally free event where people got coffee, donuts, even a free drink AND lots of good insights from fellow bloggers and developers. Even if there was a minimal cover charge (say $ 3.00) it would help offset some of the costs. I am just saying (if you’ve got anything to say against this, that’s where the comments section comes).
3). Make it a series of events – Maybe one monthly. It would be great. The format is excellent as it leaves time for socialization.
Big shout-outs to everyone who was there, I could attempt and wave hi to everyone whom I saw, but honestly, it’s late, I’m past my degree of consciousness here and I’d like to get some sleep, maybe grab a sandwich. I can comment tomorrow on how nice it was to see everyone, and to meet some of the folks I had just met through their blogs (like Lisa, or Phillip Jeffrey, or Ianiv and Arieanna). But that’ll come tomorrow. For now, I leave you with this. And of course, lots of pretty pictures. Just ’cause.
Photo credit: Pshab on Flickr.
I have been having a wonderful discussion with Beth Snow about the “BC colleges becoming universities” story that has been recently in the news. Beth put it in her Facebook updates (using Twitter to update her Status as she tweets). In just one day, I’ve already had more than 58 views today and about 45 yesterday (some can be due to Twitter, and some can be due to her FB page).
But as we were talking over email, there might be benefits to joining Facebook. So it seems, my dear readers, that after all these years of fighting the Zuckerberg empire, I *might* join Facebook. Possibly. Potentially. And maybe the only FB I will create will be my blogger FB (e.g. not my civilian identity, just the bloggerian one). I haven’t caved just yet for all of you who are right now laughing with evil voice “he finally caved, hahahaha”
In addition to the wonderful Pondcast by DaveO and the excellent preview from Jonathon Narvey, I just wanted to add my two cents. I had a chance to meet with Simon Jackson at EPIC and, although I am sure he would have not minded to give me an interview, I saw a lot of people surrounding him and trying to get some face time and thus I didn’t want to bother him. But of course, I asked him to take a photograph with me. Who wouldn’t want to have his photo taken with a conservation leader?
Simon Jackson speaking at Epic ’08. Photo credit: Raul on Flickr.
I had a chance to ask him just one question and to observe his behavior towards other people. I was very positively impressed that he was so down-to-earth. A number of friends of him came by to say hi, and he was actually very cordial and not even the slightest snobby. He was actually talking to them about when they’d meet, or whether they’d do lunch.
Considering how famous he is now, it’s kind of refreshing to see that he is still so down-to-Earth. That’s also one of the top qualities for any sustainability leader: Being able to just be the same person you always were, regardless of how much success you have achieved. Simon Jackson is actually that kind of person. When I asked him if he really stuttered, he was very charming and upfront: “yes I did!”. WOW.
Simon – if you ever read this, I am glad that you have managed to stay grounded and be down-to-Earth. Potential future sustainability leaders can now look to you for advice and guidance. Well done! (and by the way, if you want the photo I took of us, send me an e-mail 🙂 I didn’t post it on to Flickr!)
Actually there’s nothing to review here. The song is very well known and the group is totally teenager-target market, but my 17 year old niece would probably like this song, so it’s basically for her. You guys can just enjoy collaterally 😉
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yycghdQLbBo&hl=en]
April 29th, 2008 in
Uncategorized | tags:
music |
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]
BC Liquor Stores go green. Photo credit: Raul on Flickr.
While recently shopping for a bottle of wine in one of Vancouver’s BC Liquor stores, I found out that they are implementing greening measures. They gave me a free bag with my purchase (which I’ll include in a further post, for sure), and the bag actually is designed in such a way that your bottles can be safely carried away. The bag is of course, recycled and can be reused many a time. Good for BC Liquor Stores. And while we are on the topic…
I still have LOTS of material from my stint with the HappyFrog FrogSquad and thus I want to put it out there while the echoes from EPIC 2008, The Vancouver Sun Sustainable Living Expo are still rippling. I had previously blogged about eco-vodka, which is not available yet in Canada. However, a booth at EPIC ’08 was offering samples of this eco-vodka.
Vodka 360, an eco-friendly liquor … at last! Photo credit: Raul on Flickr.
The makers of Vodka 360 indicate that:
360 Vodka is crafted from eco-awareness and corporate responsibility. This ideology is then manifested throughout our greener processes and greener products.[360 Vodka]
It is, undoubtedly, a bit surprising (but not VERY surprising) that even the liquor industry is joining the organic wine industry in working towards sustainability. However, I have to praise the makers of Vodka 360, because I for one do enjoy a vodka tonic every so often, and now I can feel a little less guilty knowing that there are eco-friendly vodkas out there. It will take some time for it to come to Canada, but in the mean time, if any of you readers happen to come across one of those bottles… maybe you could get one for me, hehe 🙂 Just kidding!
The Rose Garden at UBC. Photo credit: Raul on Flickr.
Recent news in British Columbia have indicated that Capilano College, along with Kwantlen University College, Malaspina University College and the University College of the Fraser Valley are on their way to becoming full universities. That should be (in theory) good news, both for incoming students AND for newly minted PhDs who would then become faculty members. Kwantlen, for example, will become Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
As some of you know, particularly those of you who have gone through Canada’s post-secondary educational system, there has been traditionally a distinction between a college and a university (I am using Wikipedia definitions even though I’m a critic of Wikipedia myself, just for the sake of argument). While in the United States, colleges frequently grant university degrees, in Canada this is not always the case, and more often than not, colleges are seen as a stepping-stone towards university degrees (bachelors of arts, or bachelor of science, for example). Some colleges in Canada and other parts of the world are designated university colleges to indicate that they haven’t achieved full university status.
Until a few years ago, only two universities in the Greater Vancouver Regional District were broadly recognized: Simon Fraser University and The University of British Columbia. Some tend to also include Trinity Western University (located in Langley). More recently, with the release of Geoff Plant’s report on the future of post-secondary education in BC, the idea of granting full university status to some of the local colleges has been discussed in higher education circles. The report can be found here.
Interestingly enough, this evolutionary process of shifting from college to university has been taken with political undertones. Instead of being happy with the fact that there will be more universities, the rumor mill in the university academic circles seems to fuel the notion that there is competition for undergraduate enrollment. And that’s a point I want to make clear – it’s the rumor mill. Nobody has said it in writing, yet lots of people discussing the issue in the corridors of academic circles seem to be concerned about issues of quality control, although it appears more like a process of protecting their sacred academic territory.
There are many reasons why the Metro Vancouver needs more universities, some of them are outlined in the Plant report, but one that may not have been considered is the rate at which universities are producing PhDs. Will these recent PhDs be able to gain meaningful employment in academia or will they have to resort to finding jobs in other circles? Where do their many years of training go? And what to do with the increased demand for post-secondary education?
Luckily, if you want to know more, you can always look at the Canadian Information Centre for Academic Credentials‘ website. From their Overview page, I found something *really* interesting… if the issue at stake is “quality assurance”, just read below (quoted from their site):
There is no national accrediting body in Canada to evaluate the quality of degree programs, although a number of agencies and professional bodies perform this function for professional programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels at some institutions.
In the absence of a national accrediting body, university membership in the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) is generally taken as evidence that an institution is providing university-level programs of acceptable standards. Degree programs at university colleges, colleges, and institutes are subject to internal quality assurance processes similar to processes used for university programs. For more information on quality assurance mechanisms in Canada’s postsecondary institutions, refer to the CICIC document Quality Assurance Practices for Postsecondary Institutions in Canada (2004).
[CICIC website]
Interesting… so the idea that some colleges may not be of the same quality as universities may actually be somewhat misled? What do you, dear readers, think about this issue? Does British Columbia, and specifically, Metro Vancouver need more universities? Feel free to leave a comment.
EDIT – Hat tips to Tyler Ingram for suggesting the topic!
EDIT 2 – Emily Carr just became a University yesterday!Thanks to Erika and Tyler for pointing this out to me.
XTra West, the queer newspaper with branches in Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, is again calling for votes for the Xtra West Heroes of the Year 2008 award. While I wholeheartedly endorse them all, my heart is torn here between Rhizome and Vancity in the Business Citizen (I have not been to The Majestic, though I think it’s a really cool place nonetheless, from what my friends tell me). It is well known that Vancity is a very progressive bank, and Rhizome has been always a queer-friendly haven for LGBQTT youth and adults. That’s the only problem I have with voting systems. Someone ends up winning an award and other worthy candidates don’t. But anyways… congratulations to both Vancity and Rhizome (and all other candidates) for their nominations!
April 29th, 2008 in
Uncategorized |
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I have only been on Twitter for a *very* short period of time, and I’ve already been followed and un-followed, both by simple strangers *and* people I know. Strange world we live in. Anyways, I was going to write a primer on Twitter etiquette, but realized that it would be such a useless waste of my time, I just decided to read, think and reflect on it.
For me, at the beginning, Twitter was a way to broadcast my newest posts. You follow me? Neat! I can reach you instantaneously (but chances are, you already read my blog through your RSS feed, so maybe I’m Twitter-spam to you). Then, numerous people followed me who I consider friends or with whom I want to become friends in real life. Even more neat! I began following them. We can now have Twitter conversations.
Then two weird phenomena happened. First, I got random people who started following me to un-follow me. Since I didn’t know them at all, I didn’t care all that much. Then I got people whom I actually know and like personally (and whose blogs I read) to follow me AND THEN un-follow me. So what am I now, chopped liver? Hehehe. Admittedly, it did sting for all of 24 seconds. But then I realized that they might have had their reasons to un-follow me, and that un-following me didn’t mean that (a) they liked me any less as a person (b) they liked my blog any less or (c) they thought I was Twitter-spam. Maybe they needed to pare-down their tweets, and I wasn’t part of the Twitterers whom they needed/wanted to read. Maybe they needed a break from my tweets. The reasons are countless, and most likely, nothing to do with me.
I have read all sorts of descriptions by other bloggers of the rules they have for following and un-following, for reading blogs and for commenting on blogs. I don’t really want to have any steadfast rules. Quite frankly, I’ve decided that, since my blog is about my random thoughts, my follows and unfollows should be just as random. One thing though – IF I follow you reciprocally, THEN it means that I DO want to have a conversation with you. So that means, if we are reciprocal in our follows, then I do expect to be able to engage with you in a meaningful way. If for some reason the conversation isn’t going the way we both would like to, then we ought to talk about it 😉
If there is no symmetry in our follows, (e.g. if I only follow you), then the conversation on Twitter isn’t all that relevant to me. Maybe we already talk over email, or comment on each other’s blogs. Or maybe we don’t even know each other! For example, there are a very small handful of people whom I follow and they don’t follow me. I haven’t unfollowed them because I think they got stuff I want to hear about. There are like four people who follow me and whom I don’t follow back. I just don’t know them well enough to reciprocate just yet. The rest, happily for me, is reciprocal follows, so all is good in the universe.
So, regardless of whether or not you follow me or I follow you, if I find what you read in your blog interesting, I’ll continue reading. And if you find mine interesting, I hope you will continue reading. That’s the nature of the beast. Adapting one of the best lines in the movie “Gossip”… “people are people, we do what we do… and then we Tweet about it“.
I rarely use the Visual Editor because, ever since I swore my soul to Geekhood, I decided that I was going to do my own stunts. However, even though on Wednesday, the lovely Rebecca is going to show how to insert photos in your WordPress site, I’ve decided to tinker with my own using the Visual Editor AND since I am 100% sure I’m going to FAIL, I’ll have an interesting question for her come the time for her presentation.
BUT you probably did already know about WordPressCamp. No? Geez. It wasn’t my fault, it was broadly blogged about. And you better get there early because the event is packed. You know, I’m hating the Visual Editor already. Let’s practice with inserting a photo, here we go.
This is what my dinner tonight *might* lo
ok like. It’s an easy dish whose recipe I’m going to blog sometime tonight. Basically, includes mushrooms, chicken bits if you’re non-vegetarian (if you *are* vegetarian, then skip on the chicken) and lots of tikka masala. And sea shells. Just ’cause. Great, I think I screwed up my blog by trying to insert a photo.
So, really, the visual editor doesn’t help me all that much. As you can see, you can’t click on the photo to go back to Flickr. Great. Just what I needed. Also, you can’t insert a caption that indicates that people should credit you for linking to this. And I’m running out of witty remarks to fill the damn column. Probably should have made the photo smaller. Let’s try that.
Ok, so now let’s see. I can’t caption the photo. The post looks kinda funny because I don’t have captions in my photos. I’m not all that happy about it. Scratch that. I need to see what the code looks like for when you scratch a phrase. There we go, I found it. Now, I just shudder to think what my blog is going to look like. And I feel really annoyed at the fact that I’m using the visual editor.
Ok, so I was going to use some link love. But before, I have another question. Why do I have the “Add media” AND the “Insert image”. What’s up with that?
Oh, found a good reason why I like the visual editor. Love doing itemized lists, in bullet point format.
- Can’t think of a good post to write about.
- Now I can see how this works.
- Ok, third part… crazy… I rarely use the Visual Editor
But I *love* using the HTML. I just switched to HTML format. NOW we’re talking… ok, so let’s say I want to insert just the pure image. Ok, never mind, enough experimenting, I’m hungry. I’m going to post it and see how it goes.
First of all, a disclaimer. I am not American, and thus I do not get to vote in the US elections. I have had a couple of conversations about this with friends of mine who are American, and I just thought I’d share my opinion on my blog. I *very rarely* talk about politics on my blog, let alone US politics.
I can’t negate the fact that I do like them both, for different reasons. I’ve seen them talk both. I like their ideas, and their platforms. What I find unfortunate is that the battle is amongst two candidates who represent a phenomenal change in the way politics is done (anywhere in the world). The choice is between having a female president of the United States vis-a-vis an African-American president of the United States. Why make this difficult choice?
Both candidates (were they to win) would have broken hundreds of years of stigma. But the problem is, only one of the two is going to actually go on to the big battle. I would hope that in the future, an openly gay candidate and a hispanic candidate participates (so that the whole slew of stigmas can be broken – gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation).
I know that there are many people who don’t like Hillary, many people who don’t like Barack. That is irrelevant to me. The thing that bothers me is, despite the fact that both candidates are breaking ground, they are threading uncharted waters, only one is going to win. However, the positive spin is that by just participating in the race, they are already pushing the boundaries of the stigmas that are still prevalent (there are still people who say “a female President? no way!” or “an African-American President? no way!”)
A recent post by the always lovely Keira-Anne reminded me of this song. I ended up finding a song that actually sounds much more my style (I do like the original version, but this remix actually makes me want to be dancing at … I dunno… say Bar None or Honey/Milk/The Lotus?)… I know I said Bar None … ooopsies. Blame it on having had many a good time there 🙂 E-mail me for gossip on the details 😉
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwnrhkPsAWE&hl=en]
In previous posts, I had discussed my ideas on the notion of “the new normal” as defined by Dr. Michael Geist and how I was adapting to living this ‘new normal’. The more I think about it, the more I am able to grasp and assimilate the concept.
I’ve been recently hanging out with much more with new people whom I have met through my blog, and it is through contact in real life that we have had a chance to enjoy each other’s company, grow closer and develop a stronger friendship bond. In an interesting twist of fate, the discussions at these social events have involved the topic of how we have met, and my blogosphere friends aren’t ever reluctant to answer directly “online”. I have to confess that the whole idea did make me uneasy a few years ago. And I have now come to realize that I had no reason for that. Here’s why…
One of my closest friends, whom actually I *did* meet online, was asking me whether I had stigmatized the idea of meeting people online. Years ago, it seemed that if people wanted to meet other people (be it for romantic relationship, friendship or whatever purpose), they had to go to bars, join sports teams, take a class, etc. I met many of my closest friends through school or through friends of friends. That seemed to be “the normal” way of meeting people.
With the emergence of social media and new forms of communication (particularly the explosion of Internet-based dating services, Facebook, MySpace, etc.), people have gained access to numerous avenues to meet new people and make either friends, acquaintances, teammates or potential romantic relationships. This seems to be the new normal: meeting people online. Some local bloggers that I know have met each other through their blogs and ended up either married or on the way to get married. Some people have met their significant others through online dating services, and they are super happy. To the eyes of some people, this may be a bit weird. But maybe, and this is one of the insights I recently gained, maybe *this* is the new normal.
While having dinner tonight at the Red Sea Cafe, we seemed to agree on the idea that creating new meaningful, real-life relationships through initial online contact may be the way in which we are now engaging with each other. I am, however, not sure why I was so surprised about this realization, considering that my academic networks have actually arisen as a result of this! I have never been one to be shy about e-mailing a professor and say “hey, you know, my name is Raul and I’m studying this and that and the other thing, and I love your research and I think it’s so cool and can I drop by Simon Fraser and visit you and chat with you … oh yes thank you will see you next week”.
So, just wanted to share with the blogosphere and my readers the fact that, while I have been doing this for SO long, it has only recently dawned on me that I was one of the people who was meeting other people online. Tonight was one of those “uh huh!” or “Eureka!” moments, that has allowed me to realize how much I love blogging as part of my “new normal”: it gives me a chance to reach people who like my ideas or my writing and whose writing and ideas I like, and to explore the possibilities of creating friendships. These friendships are just as normal as those that have arisen from playing volleyball with local teams, teaching salsa dancing or participating in certain evening courses. *This* new normal is exciting, and I like it!
God, how time flies! Just on Wednesday I was thinking my paper was going to be done and it’s May next week! Don’t know why, but April was a very intense and tiring month. I *seriously* need a holiday. And this weekend is definitely NOT the holiday weekend. Thursday night, I went to Cafe Deux Soleils with H, C, M, I, H and little L. Friday night is my usual night out with C and B who had just returned from a short but fun holiday Europe (I mean, who doesn’t have fun in Paris and Germany?).
J, L and I went over our separate ways to C and B’s place (my Friday nights are usually spent in Richmond, although we manage to go and eat out every so often), but J drove both of us back home. It was sort of a bittersweet evening as I had to say goodbye to him for the summer. Same thing with H, I and L to whom I said bye for maybe a bit longer. I am starting to hate saying goodbyes. Why do I say this? Well, because tonight I also said “goodbye for the summer” to another blogosphere friend, PatZ, who is leaving for Bangladesh.
I again crammed a lot in the same weekend, but really, there was NO WAY I was going to miss wine and cheese at Matt and Maktaaq‘s house. I really enjoy their company, we really don’t hang out nearly as much as we all would like to. They both are outstanding writers, really funny, and very pleasant to spend time with. I hope that the next few months will bring more opportunities to get together. Had a chance to *finally* meet Ryan Cousineau and TLO (who is absolutely adorable by the way), and also always the pleasure of seeing David Drucker and Pam. Also met MaikoPunk, though I didn’t get really much of a chance to chat with her.
Although I teased him incessantly with his comment “you’re not that famous Raul”, Ryan was a really good sport and meeting him along with many other bloggers in Vancouver has come to demonstrate that blogging was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. I wouldn’t have met Matt, Maktaaq, Ryan, David, Pat or any of the other bloggers I’ve met had it not been for engaging in what David calls, the “loud murmurs” (hence the title of his blog).
I had to stay for a fairly short time at Matt and Maktaaqs as I had to head to The Cambie for PatZ’s going away, where I met other bloggers (Chad and Danielle) – surprisingly, we read some of the same blogs (at least from what I could see from Danielle’s site). I say surprisingly because, after 2 years of blogging, it took me THIS LONG to meet them! Anyways, I am tired, a bit hungry and really should be asleep instead of trying to blog.
One last thing. The photos will be coming later either tomorrow or Monday. I have got a gazillion things to do and not enough time to do them. As for The Cambie… it has cheap beer, awesome music and lots of eye candy for all of you boys and girls out there. Not exactly my demographic but most definitely had a chance to see LOTS of eye-candy. But then again, not everything is looks, as I’ve repeatedly said on my blog. It was strange to be again at The Cambie. I hadn’t been there since my MBA years. Time flies!
Ok, off to sleep for me. Got volleyball tournament tomorrow all day. Hope you are all enjoying the sun. Surprisingly, even though I brought a jacket with me, I pretty much walked around Vancouver with my long-sleeve shirt and that was that. Finally, it appears as though Spring is here.
Thanks to Darren, I stumbled upon (literally, so I didn’t actually use StumpleUpon) a recent interview with Derek K. Miller by CBC Radio Spark’s host Nora Young. Of course, it goes without saying that I did enjoy listening to Derek‘s thoughts on the concept of a digital legacy. However, instead of focusing on the idea of a digital legacy (I have a somewhat-related blog post saved which I’d probably post next week), I would like to comment on the technicalities of the podcast.
I loved the way their voices sound in the podcast. Nora Young’s voice is outstanding. Her pronunciation is impeccable, and her questions were insightful. When I listened to the podcast, it kind of dawned on me that, of course, Derek is a great podcaster amongst other reasons, because he also has a great voice. His voice is quite clear and strong and articulate. So one of the things that made the interview great was that both voices were very crisp and clear. As I recently did my very first podcast interview with Adria Vasil at EPIC ’08, I was a bit worried about my pronunciation (not so much about the questioning style).
Even for a non-native English speaker, this interview is very accessible. The style of questioning and the candor of Derek’s responses they both used made the podcast like a great, in-house, Nora-having-a-coffee-with-Derek type of conversation, almost like a fireside chat.
I also loved the fact that the full, unedited interview was posted online *before* the edited version (which airs April 30th and May 3rd on CBC Radio). And of course, as a non-techie, I loved the fact that they embedded the podcast on the CBC Radio Spark website – which allowed me to post a comment on the site without losing the podcast. Great interview, you should really check it out.
I bought a Pro account with Flickr to be able to post photos on my blog and share my pictures with the world. I educated myself on Creative Commons and how to license my photos (which currently are Attribution-Share Alike-Non Commercial). But I’ve been running into this problem a lot – I am looking for a photo to make my post a little prettier AND all I find is “All Rights Reserved” photos. Being as I am a respectful follower of intellectual property law (my Dad would smother me if I wasn’t), I don’t use the photo even with full attribution (that is, including the copyright symbol). But that leaves me with pretty much either using my own photos OR try to scour my friends’ photo-streams to find one. Not an easy task. GRRRR. Anyone can offer advice?
(SIDE NOTE – I was looking for a photo to showcase Cafe Deux Soleils and ghastly, I didn’t get any on Flickr. So you’ll have to just be happy to see a photo of some food on here to make the post pretty, hehehe – I’ll have a full-blown rant about Flickr a bit later).
I am a fan of Commercial Drive, anybody who knows me even a little will know this for sure. I am, after all, an East Van boy. Since my groups of friends span all areas of the Greater Vancouver area, I decided on a relatively central spot to say farewell to my friends H, I and their newborn L. They are flying back to Europe this weekend and we wanted to say goodbye before they left. Unfortunately A couldn’t make it, but M, H, C and I went to meet them, and since H is a vegetarian AND a Mom, I suggested the most family-friendly place I could find that would serve vegetarian dishes: Cafe Deux Soleils.
Now, since I speak French, it’s not difficult for me to know the difference between Deux and Du. The problem is that sometimes I get confused on which one is the right one. So, for all of you who have the same problem – Cafe Du Soleil is near Hastings on Commercial, so in the Northern part of The Drive, and Cafe Deux Soleils is in the Southern part, closer to the post office and the Skytrain. The vegetarian one is Deux Soleils. The little hidden gem is Du Soleil. Confused enough? Ok, good.
Since they seem to offer a fairly good selection of vegetarian burgers, most of us tried different versions. I tried their basic burger and I have to say that while the burger itself was tasty, I was pretty disappointed with the fries. The fries were cut in a strange manner, and they were also under-cooked. Although I have to say, the staff were VERY friendly and VERY patient.
NOTE TO SELF – Don’t organize an intimate friends’ dinner on Open Mic night at Cafe Deux Soleils – it gets LOUD. But on the other hand, another NOTE TO SELF – Lots of eye-candy on Open Mic Night. So, I’ll have to organize a Vancouver Bloggers Meetup here or a simple gathering on a Thursday 🙂
While we all had a really great time, and I am grateful that I got to see little L and H and I, I found myself again seeing close friends of mine going away. This has become a recurring pattern, which of course has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with this city’s multicultural, transient population. Last night, as J was driving L and me home from dinner with C and B, we were talking about how much we dislike the fact that this city doesn’t provide stability. Your friends can just as easily move to another country or city or region in a whim. This doesn’t allow us to create long-lasting bonds that easily.
So, back to the restaurant review – I have been a devout patron of Cafe Deux Soleils even though I’m not strictly a vegetarian (I do eat organic meat), and their brunch menu is also really good. I do have some minor negative associations with the fact that my ex was a vegetarian and a fan of this place so we came here for brunch all the time, but that’s why I always organize new gatherings with close friends, to erase whatever minor reminiscences I have from past lives.
I would seriously recommend Cafe Deux Soleils for a laid-back, family-friendly (or singleton-friendly) brunch or dinner with friends. I for one will make sure to organize a meeting with a few local bloggers here for dinner sometime.
Photo credit: Raul on Flickr.
The celebrations for Earth Day are underway at Jericho Beach, and you can rest assured that the HappyFrog FrogSquadders will most certainly be there (I’ll be making an appearance but will probably not stay for long). You can check the HappyFrog site or you can also check the event listing on Evergreen.ca
Music and dancing always lure me to events, so even if I wasn’t an environmentalist (which is not the case, because I am one) I would totally attend. All performances look very exciting but there are a few that I’d like to highlight, including Timothy Wisdom who will be DJ’ing, and Tambura Rasa who will perform a unique and eclectic mix of flamenco, African percussions and Middle-Eastern sounds.
Despite the fact that I really don’t drink Starbucks (with the mere exception of the cold capuccino in a bottle), I am very appreciative of the fact that they provided free drip-coffee on Earth Day and will do so again today, Saturday at Jericho Beach from 11am to 5pm, but YOU HAVE TO BRING YOUR OWN REUSABLE MUG.
Make sure to also check the 30 Days of Sustainability website (this month-long event was launched this past Earth Day, April 22nd) for more information. I will also be posting a couple of post-EPIC 2008 summaries both here and on the HappyFrog FrogBlog.
A spoonful of cajeta quemada. Photo credit: Raul on Flickr.
One of the things I hate is to not be inspired about what to write, either for my blog or for my own research. I have always thought of myself as a decent writer with a good imagination. But today, I was entirely out of it. No inspiration whatsoever. Whenever I feel that I am down with my luck, or I need a pick-me-up, I generally go for grape-flavored Jell-O. It reminds me of everyone in my family and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.
But I didn’t have Jell-O at home right now (I’m heading to the store right after I publish this post), so I was in dire need of some candy. I ran out of chocolate last week and haven’t re-stocked, and my late nights trying to finish the stupid paper I’m writing have resulted in the demise of my Twizzlers bags. So, I thought I was pretty much SOL.
However, thankfully, AF had just recently given me a bottle of “cajeta“, a thick, syrup-like confection made of sweetened milk that (for all of you chemical engineers and mechanical engineers out there) behaves rheologically pretty much like a non-Newtonian fluid, thixotropic, also often called ‘Bingham’s plastic fluid’). Anyways, leaving the fluid mechanics geekery behind, let me explain to you what I meant by “Cajeta by the spoonful”.
I recognize that eating that much sweetened milk can be detrimental to my weight, and that it may not be the best idea for healthy eating, but sometimes, you just need a “pick-me-up”. Mine today was cajeta by the spoonful and I am NOT ashamed to admit it. Cajeta reminds me of my parents, of my very happy childhood, of everything that is nice and means something to me in this world. So, in spite of however many calories I’ve ingested, today all I needed was cajeta by the spoonful.
UPDATE – You can buy cajeta through Amazon. Go figure. And here I thought it was only books.
I was going to write a scathing review of the Metro Vancouver Regional Strategy for Liquid and Solid Waste Management Plan discussions held at the Vancouver Public Library, but quite honestly (a) chances are if I actually say what I think, I’ll hinder my chances of ever getting a job with them or doing a project or a contract or serving in one of their advisory technical committees and (b) I’d rather focus on positive energy, and this meeting didn’t have it.
Photo credit: Raul on Flickr.
The day started good, I did some actual work on a paper I’m writing, managed to eat properly, and wrote a couple of posts, so not too too bad. Spent a substantial amount of time on Twitter and checking nice sweet comments celebrating my 2 year blogiversary. It was very heartwarming. I also broke my record for individual visits, yet again. So YAY for high traffic! I think that Twitter is actually helping me reach out more readers.
So I was settling down with a nice bowl of pasta and trying to finish off the paper I mentioned, even going as far as to turn off MSN, Twitter, GTalk and everything else and just focus on the paper when… my Google Calendar reminder pops up and says “you have a meeting downtown“. Crap. I didn’t even finish my dinner properly and ran off to the VPL. Worst use of two hours of my life. With the exception of a nice chat with one of Metro Vancouver’s liquid and solid waste management senior engineers. And a couple of small chats with other folks who, like me, thought that this meeting could have been done better. I could basically shred it to pieces but instead I’ll be a good boy and e-mail them my comments in a diplomatic and civil way.
Walked off to Milestone’s Yaletown to meet with the Tazzu crowd (Rastin, his girlfriend Teresa and Rastin’s business partner along with Ash), as well as a few other friends of mine like Monica Hamburg, Nadia, Dario, Jenn. I also got to meet Rastin’s parents, which was very heartwarming, and John Chow and I think his wife. Hat tips to Gary Jones who kindly reminded me of the meeting (I was Twittering desperately “SOMEONE SAVE ME FROM THIS BOREDOM!” and he came to the rescue with this great suggestion to reach out to the Tazzu folks).
Spent about an hour or so there (nice chat with Rastin, Monica Hamburg, Teresa on dancing and Nadia and Jenn re: Twittequette… I’ll have to think about that one). While on my way home, I bumped into my friend JH who was headed to a great concert. I feel SO bad for not having agreed to join her and her friends, but honestly, I am not into progressive/trance music and I wasn’t really feeling it. But I did see the fact that I bumped into her as a sign. A sign of how fortunate I am to have great friends all over Vancouver. What are the odds? What are the odds of bumping into one of my best friends at the intersection of Georgia and Hamilton? On a Thursday night? Thank you Powers-That-Be for sending these kinds of signals.
I’ve been Twittering for a bit with my Twittercrowd, but I really should just focus on this paper and get it done and over with. So that was my blogiversary. Felt great though, so many sweet comments from lots of blogo-friends. Looking forward to many more…
