I found an incoming link on my WordPress dashboard this evening from Vancouvergo.com. Now I’ve seen these types of sites before, sometimes the just look for syndicated blog posts or news articles about a certain topic, in this case “Vancouver”, and conglomerate that information onto one big website or source.

That’s all fine and dandy because most sites like that use the original post and link directly to the original entry on the author’s site.

However, in the case of Vancouvergo.com they have completely copied/pasted the html from my blog post and created their very own hyperlink for the article. The only link back to my site was actually something I linked to in the body of my posts – hence my WordPress notification. Other than that, there is not one hyperlink to my actual story, only plain text at the very end saying: “From
https://www.miss604.com/2007/07/vancouver-summer-events-guide-pt-3.html” (no link).

There is no comments section or contact form on the site so if you or someone you know is an editor of Vancouvergo.com I would simply ask that you do not copy and paste my story and create your own hyperlink for my article, soaking up my google juice and reproducing my original content without permission. I’m happy to be included as a source for Vancouver info and feel free to syndicate my posts on your site as long as you fully link back to the source with credit. At the very least state “By Rebecca Bollwitt” or I’ll even settle for “By Miss604” at the top of the article. [view this site’s Creative Commons license].

I’m growing tired of seeing inbound links to my blog from news aggregators. If I felt these aggregators were around to provide a relatively cohesive website for a particular topic, I might support them. But most of the ones that link to me are simply trying to make a profit on advertising, and that bothers me that other people are using my work to try and make money. To counter that, I have explicitly stated on the bottom of my blog (in the footer) that the works on this website are protected under a CC non-commercial license. I don’t mind other people cutting pieces out of my articles to support intellectual blog entries of their own, even if they have adsense (because I have some here on my buried pages), but I’m going to deliberately clamp down on aggregators, or people who I feel are lifting blog entries of mine. [Duane Storey]

If you are a blogger, photo sharer or user of the web, please take some time to educate yourself about Creative Commons licensing and attribution on the CC site wiki or read Duane’s post regarding photos.

I’ve been through garbage strikes in this town before, and they’re not pretty as no one would expect they would be. I’ve also been to Toronto during a heat wave AND a garbage strike in the middle of August and well, I think it actually made the town smell a little better.

All joking aside city workers in Vancouver, who are an integral part of the maintenance and upkeep of our tourist-attracting streets and dispose of our household waste, could be going on strike very soon.

Take full advantage if it’s your day to drag those garbage cans to the curb because it could be your last chance for a long time… Last-ditch talks aimed at averting a strike by outside workers in Vancouver have broken off, and there’s still no deal in sight. They started hopefully, but ended abruptly yesterday, with what is being described as a “significant distance” between the two sides. [News1130]

Photo Credit: Famewhore on Flickr

Vancouver’s 1,800 outside workers, including garbage collectors, will refuse to work overtime as of 11 a.m. Thursday, while 375 district and recreational staff in North Vancouver will ban overtime and will work to rule… Mike Jackson, President of CUPE Local 1004, said garbage collection likely wouldn’t be affected by an overtime ban. “It’s only if pickets go up, that’s when garbage is affected.” [Vancouver Sun]

That isn’t very good news, which only makes me think of the upcoming fireworks, the Celebration of Light, that attract millions of spectators to the downtown core and surrounding beaches over several nights. I see how the trash cans along Robson get stuffed just by the end of the day (side note: the tray in front of the trash cans is for recyclables, not frappucinno and slurpee cups).

If the photo above is any indication it can get really messy, and with no one to clean it up do you suppose they’ll just find volunteers? Cancel the event altogether? We’ll find out more tomorrow as negotiations are still underway.

retrocactus on Flickr

The whole gang is back and Episode #38 of The Crazy Canucks podcast is now available for your listening pleasure – that’s right folks, even in the off season we’re still alive and kickin’.

…[we] go over the recent moves by the Canucks on the free agency deadline. We also look around the league and examine what other teams are doing, not to mention who is left that we wouldn’t mind getting our hands on. We talk a little bit about BC Floorball, the 2007-2008 schedule, some listener feedback on U.S. television coverage, and the future home for Nashville [TCC Episode 38]

In honour of summer hockey talk, here’s another Miss604 Poll:

Every single workday I walk through hoards of tourists all crowded around the steamclock in Gastown. On the 15’s, 30’s and 45’s it lets out a little toot and on the hour it plays its little steamy whistles for about a minute. Now, I’ve unveiled the “true” steamclock in a previous post and I for one know of at least a dozen locals who can’t stand the sight of the thing:

I enjoy the coffee, I enjoy the coffee often. In order to get to my green logo’d dealer I must bob and weave through this sadly miss led crowd of photographers whom appear to be awaiting a press conference from the next alleged father of Anna Nicole’s baby. Does it anger me, well…yes! After all I’m Jonesing for my caffeine fix and tripods and the likes slow me up which increases my withdrawal headache to the point of having irrational thoughts about loading up a golf cart up with screechers and bottle rockets and driving it through the clock to put and end to the madness. Daddy needs to feed the addiction, damn it!
[Rod Bruno on MatthewGood.org]

This weekend Keira and I decided to be tourists in our own town, checking out all the tacky tourist shops along Water Street. We got out alive although we narrowly averted purchasing some maple syrup in a can. We decided a pretty fun thing to do would be to take our picture with the locally-despised clock on the corner of Cambie and Water. As we stood there, posing like so many visitors to our city do every second of every day, we giggled. Many times have we walked by this cursed landmark from the days of disco and scoffed at those taking photos, and now here we are, posing all cheeky-like and doing the same.

Photo credit: Keira on Flickr

I think the best part was, while we were posing facetiously a couple walked by us and snidely remarked, “… Seems like everyone is taking photos of that clock pfffft!” I had to laugh because they did what we do pretty much every day. Oh well, it was a good time to hang out and be silly in Gastown and our photo is, as Keira fittingly deemed it, dedicated to Merle and all those who just can’t comprehend why a faux-steam clock would attract so much attention in this fair city.

Thanks to Translink, I found out about several community happenings next weekend and even though the public transit beast may just be trying to get into our good books, the redeeming part is… they’re absolutely free. If you’re a frequent reader of the blog you’ll notice the “cheap fun” and “cheap things to do” category for several posts I have here. We’re proud supporters of low-dough festivities in the GVRD and Saturday July 21 there is a plethora of good times happening around town.

The Heineken Yaletown Street Party is Vancouver’s Best Free Day of the Summer! Don’t miss live music all day, dj’s and street dancing, a hot rod show, celebrity chef chili cook-off battle of the bartenders, a dog agility show and BMX bike show.

Dining Zone with tables, chairs, and live jazz by Kostas Roumeliotis Jazz Quartet, DaDeO Chili Tasting, Capers BBQ, Capers First Year Birthday Celebration, Poema Flamenco guitar and dancers at noon, Fashion show by Shop Cocoon at 2pm, Percussion music by Kutapira at 3pm, Kid Zone sponsored by Choices, face painting, craft tables, balloon animal, clowns, popcorn and balloons, ice-cream, drinks, and more.

Entertainment, food, fashion and hopefully sun! Dance alongside the Cuban band, Miguel Valdes y Puro Son, and Julio Montero and his Cuban Salsa Dancers, performing on stage from 1:00 to 3:00pm. Enjoy roving entertainers, a chili cook off, children’s activities, and much more. All activities will take place outside in the Oakridge Plaza at Cambie and 41st from noon to 4:00pm.

I can’t find more info about this event at the url given but I’m sure it will have more of the same… food, music etc. Although you can read about even more events throughout the rest of year at this portion of the DowntownVancouver.net website.

There will be FREE shuttles between all of these events, and if you’re not going to be in or around the downtown core, Cambie Village or Oakridge, you may want to take in Gay Day at Playland, also happening July 21st.

Wear a RED SHIRT and stand out from the crowd! Support the VPS and show your Pride! Drag out all your favourite family, friends and, yes, even the kids, to this unique event at Playland. Spend the day @ Playland, and when the clock strikes four, come to the Queer-coustic stage and enjoy the live entertainment that’s being DRAAAGGED out just for you.

If you’re still looking for something to do, try heading out to Swangard for some Women’s White Caps action that evening when our championship ladies play the Real Colorado Cougars – tickets starting at $16 or check out Tourism Vancouver’s 100 Days of Summer guide for more festivities of all kinds throughout the season.

Update: Another cool, free event happening before next weekend is the Tour de Gastown, Wednesday July 18th. Aside from the men’s and women’s races there is also BMX demos, kids play areas and obstacle courses, and various other activities. You can read more about these bicycle racing and festival-style events on Ryan’s Metroblogging entry or visit TourdeGastown.com.