Recently the City of Surrey launched a series of webcams, embedded through a Google Map on their site, that take you from the Patullo Bridge down to Serpentine Fen.
It’s unfortunate that they didn’t supply the map in an embeddable form or link back to its source on Google Maps however with images updated every minute this could be a great resource for commuters. There are over 15 cameras alone placed along King George Highway, which runs from the very North end of Surrey all the way down where it merges with Highway 99 just before the border.
After packing up the last of the leftover meat & cheese platters I waved to Marc, I drove home from YVRTwestival in the rain. I had just hosted an event for 250 people that raised over $9,000 for Concern Worldwide.
My automatic windshield wipers began to sway back and forth as I thought about all the people who helped make this happen. Melissa, Azita, Kim, Sonia, Kirsten, Marc and Vivian are the reason that my third Twestival in Vancouver doubled last February’s numbers and tripled September’s. Then help on the spot from Justin, Melissa, Tarlan, Kimli and Miranda as impromptu volunteers allowed my exhausted team to make it through the night.
Photo by Jeremy Lim on Flickr.com
I turned down 100.5 on the car stereo and thought about Mojave, Patrick and Jeremy who provided the awesome music for the evening. The light changed from amber to red as an SUV breezed past me. I thought of Rob Cottingham‘s comedy and giggled.
The light turned green as an umbrella-toting pedestrian skips across the street in front of me. I wish I could have had more of that MichiSushi as my tummy grumbled when I popped out the clutch and changed gears.
Pulling into my parking space I thought about how Nordica Photography probably already had their photos up from the evening.
I check my phone and Kemp Edmonds tweets that #YVRTwestival was the number one trending topic on Twitter in Canada that night. I smile as I scoop up the meat & cheese platter, which managed to stay intact during the ride.
Heading upstairs and through the door to greet John I didn’t collapse from H1N1 like I did after the last Twestival, leaving me out of commission for two weeks. I breathed a sigh of relief and got to work helping him fix a hack on my site that’s crippled it in search engines over the last few days. Nothing had sunk in quite yet. It still hasn’t.
Vancouverites got together last night to get out from behind their social networks and meet their contacts in person, face to face. We had people from Victoria, Australia, Port Coquitlam and Cloverdale who came out to enjoy the evening. Every single person there that evening contributed to our fundraising total. Every single person was also on Twitter. If this doesn’t say something about the power of social media for social good, I’m not sure what does.
Thank you Vancouver Twittersphere for showing that you care and that you are an extremely friendly and fun bunch of people. I look forward to following you, meeting you, and working with you again in the future – you are all truly amazing people.
Update: I will add more links & photos as soon as I can, I need to rush out and continue damage control on my site
All then photos are courtesy of the Vancouver Archives. Should you have a theme idea for the next Then and Now installment please feel free to submit your suggestion in the comments.
The Union Gospel Mission is presenting their 2nd annual Orange Day happening April 2nd, 2010. Orange Day is actually a multi-day campaign to raise funds for the UGM’s Easter dinner, served to over 3,000 men, women and children in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
The concept is simple, think about the activities you normally do that cost money and instead of doing them, put that money away for one day and donate it to the Union Gospel Mission. This could be your $3.75 latte, a $2.50 bus commute, $12 for a movie or $50 for a dinner out with a friend. Instead, go for a walk, drink a glass or water, or stay home and have a movie night.
It’s called Orange Day because $0.32 is the price of an orange, which makes a nutritious and valuable addition to the UGM’s Easter meals. If you save $32.90 in one day by being frugal and enjoying free activities, the UGM can use that donation to prepare 10 full Easter dinners.
To get everyone in the spirit, the UGM has organized two events that don’t cost a thing:
Orange Day Campaign Kickoff: Gastown Photowalk
To kick off the week, you’re invited to a Gastown Photowalk. UGM’s own Leah Gregg will guide you as you get to know this part of the city with new eyes and through your camera lens.
When: Saturday, March 27, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Where: Meet at the Gassy Jack statue at the intersection of Carrall, Powell, and Water Streets.
Orange Day Tweetup
Join Vancouver bloggers and UGM staff and volunteers as we chill together and get the word out online about the Orange Day campaign. Then, weather permitting, we’ll walk over to Crab Park to have some fun Orange Day activities and create bright, fresh “analog tweets” to spread the love and encourage homeless in our city and guests at the UGM meal.
When: Monday, March 29, 6:00pm (Chill Winston meetup); 7:00pm (Orange fun at Crab Park)
Where: Meet at Chill Winston, at the intersection of Carrall, Powell, and Water Streets.
You can follow the UGM on Twitter @UGM tag #OrangeDay, add orange-flavoured photos to their Flickr Group, or add them on Facebook for updates and info.
Last night the Skytrax World Airport Awards were announced in a live ceremony in Brussels, Belgium. Although their website hasn’t been updated yet, I found out on Twitter that Vancouver International Airport (YVR) was crowned as the Best Airport in North America (and 11th overall).
The award is based on 9.8 million passenger surveys conducted in airports around the world and measures the results from 39 criteria that include comfort, efficiency, signage, transportation availability, passenger amenities and friendliness.
I had the chance to learn quite a bit about the airport’s art and history when I profiled the YVR Observation Area a few months ago and am glad they received this recognition. The free wifi, free Smarte Cartes, rushing waterfalls, First Nations art, and not having to walk or transfer 35 minutes to your next departure gate are just some of my favourite features. Having traveled through at least a dozen airports this past year, YVR always makes me feel welcome upon my return.
