VancouverGo.com - your Vancouver BC Canada online information hub

Thermography is available in Vancouver at:

Finlandia Pharmacy - http://www.finlandiapharmacy.com/

and

Yaletown Holistics - http://yaletownholistics.com/

http://www.nowbc.ca/

Neighbours Organic Weekly Buying Clubs is a network of clubs. Each club has a member’s home or common room designated as a pickup point. Each member orders for themselves on this website.

By joining Neighbours Organic Weekly Buying Clubs you agree to our guiding principles, which are:

• buy from local, socially conscious farmers and processors
• support our local economy
• work with our neighbours to strengthen our community

ComFree Private Sales is Canada’s leading private sale real estate company serving the real estate home resale and for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) markets, including homes and condominiums in the Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Okanagan, Prince George, Brandon, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Grande Prairie, and Fort McMurray.

ComFree has been helping private sale, FSBO real estate home sellers sell their own home with its commission-free system for 11 years in Manitoba, Alberta and B.C., saving For Sale By Owner clients thousands of dollars in real estate commissions on the private sale of their house or condominium. Private house sellers succeed because ComFree is the only private sale, FSBO home marketing company that has ever taken a significant amount of market share away from the real estate agents’ extremely expensive, and no more successful, house listing service.

A 33-year-old Vancouverite has downloaded what appears to be about 60 per cent of the seventh and final Harry Potter book - even though the children’s novel isn’t officially supposed to be released until midnight Saturday.

The apparent discovery of major portions of the novel on a European website is part of the continuing Harry Potter hype over the imminent release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

It also follows on the heels of the recent release of the fifth movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Byron Ng said he started on his search for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Monday after reading a newspaper account of the heightened security around release of the book - including using measures such as global positioning technology to track the trucks delivering the books to retailers.

Oddly enough, Ng doesn’t consider himself a big Harry Potter fan. “I know the basics and I’ve watched some of the movies but I don’t really pay attention to it,” he said in an interview.

“This is a high-value release so I looked at it for fun.” Ng said he went online and found what appear to be the novel’s first few paragraphs mentioned in an article that appeared Sunday in The Guardian, based in the U.K. He used that information to Google to find the rest of the novel.

On a peer-to-peer-sharing website where directions to pirated movies and other material are located he found that someone had posted what purported to be the first 495 pages of the 794-page book.

So he downloaded it too.

“It is not an E-book or Word file, which is what people would normally do” he said.
“What some guy did was take pictures of it, 500 little files, each with a picture of a page. Someone took the trouble to do that.”

Read more - http://www.canada.com/

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/moustacheman/821229342

event takes place at the Lumbermans arch/ kids waterpark in Stanley Park.

OK so they are doing this in London, and we are going to try to beat the record attempt for largest water fight, July 14th @ 1:00pm at the lawn by lumbermans arch, just accross the street from the kids water park, don’t worry if you can’t find it just ask one of the other 1000+ people with bright coloured water pistols.Oh and make sure to tell all your friends, and your friends, friends, and so on…….

Code of Conduct:

1) This is a water fight - don’t bring any other weapons apart from water pistols, WATER BOMBS ARE MESSY SO CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF - littering is a crime and we love out planet.

2) We are not going to be your parents, nor are we going to be the police, if you see some one doing something stupid tell them to stop - if your doing something stupid - don’t, your going to ruin it and this has the potential to be a massive laugh

3) Dress for the occasion, your going to get WET !
shorts, bikinis, flippers, floaty arm bands, whatever ?

4) Don’t terrorise the public - if they want to get involved let them . THIS IS AN OPEN INVITATION

5) Don’t bring camera’s. They’re going to get wet and DON’T come complaining when they don’t work. There will be plenty of othere people involved devoted to taking pictures.

6) This is a LAUGH, don’t take it too seriously, and don’t beat each other up over it (close up shooting and all that).

7) Don’t leave any mess behind!!! We come and then go (the place looks the same as it does when we came, that inlcudes plastic bottles e.t.c)

DON’T GET THE ARMED POLICE DEPLOYED BY BRINGING WATER PISTOLS THAT LOOK LIKE REAL GUNS!!!!!!!!!

9) Please try not to use more water than you have to - preserve your supplies…… REMEMBER there could be a water ban this summer.

10) If anyone asks whos organised it - we all happened to be in the same place at the same time. amazing isn’t it ?

11) No one get naked in the fountain - you could be arrested

12) No dyed water - it stains cloths AND it could stain the pavements….. Not good its vandalism

13) SPREAD THE WORD !!!!

14) OK, get naked, but I can’t promise there will be a fountian……

vancouver’s largest water fight group (facebook)
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2236325047

Flash mob group on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2232134968

http://flashmob.com/

Do you know about Pillow Fight Mob - it’s fun

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/ardenstreet/433046564/

http://www.alpineglacierwater.net/

Alpineglacierwater.net’s $30 US-a-bottle water a winner in international ritzy ‘water bar’ market - rhere is huge demand for luxury water

A Westbank couple is cashing in on the lucrative American luxury market — with high-end Canadian glacial water selling for $30 US a bottle.

Tim and Andrea Bates, of Alpine Glacier Water Inc., launched their 10 Thousand BC water — drawn from the Coast Glacier Range 320 kilometres north of Vancouver — in January.

Now, six months later, it’s one of the most prestigious and expensive bottles among the 76 varieties on sale at a just established “water bar” in Bill and Hillary Clinton’s adopted hometown of Chappaqua, N.Y.

The converted Via Genova cafe in the ritzy community about 90 minutes’ drive north of New York City sells 10 Thousand BC for $30 US a bottle.

At $55 US, a bottle of Tennessee-sourced Bling H2O will set you back the most. As the name suggests, it comes with Swarovski crystals attached.

“The 10 Thousand BC is my most luxurious water,” says Via Genova owner Diane Felicissimo.

“If you’re talking about just water, that’s my most elite bottle, and people love it with a salad.”

Tim Bates said he always knew there would be a huge demand for luxury water.

He and his partners stumbled upon the glacier nine years ago, he said, and bought the rights in 1999, waiting for the luxury market to emerge. They chose the name, 10 Thousand BC, to honour the age of the glacier.

“We believed in big things for this water and we just took a leap of faith to make it happen,” Bates said.

“If you had to jump in your car and a plane to try and find a glacier source, that would cost you a lot of money; we bring that source to you in a high-end package.”

The company pumps about 453,600 litres at a time, shipping it by barge to the Alpine Glacier’s bottling plant in Westbank, near Kelowna.

It’s then distributed to the U.S., Germany and Eastern Canada.

The high-class water has become so popular, the company has been invited to showcase the product in gift bags at the Academy Awards, the Cannes Film Festival and the Las Vegas Real Estate Awards.

From http://www.canada.com 

http://www.oddsquad.com

THE BEGINNING
In March 1998, seven Vancouver City Police Officers, all working the Downtown Eastside beat, an area with an international reputation for its street open drug scene, decided to embark on an educational video for youth on drug abuse. With a common agreement that there was a paucity of reality-based educational videos available for youth, Odd Squad created a Mission Statement: to ‘educate the public on issues affecting the community’. Odd Squad Productions was registered as a non-profit society and each member contributed money to help fund the purchase of a video camera. Camera in hand, the officers then secured permission from the Vancouver Police Department to film while on duty. With the willing participation of the individuals profiled, they immediately began video taping the disturbing lives of this core group of street-entrenched drug addicts on their beat. Little did they know it, but this work was to later become the National Film Board of Canada’s most successful documentary since its inception in 1939.

After a significant amount of video footage had been gathered, a trailer was put together and independent film director Veronica Mannix pitched the project to the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). The NFB supported the endeavour, agreeing to produce the educational video Flipping The World that the Odd Squad members desired for schools, as well as the completion of a one-hour documentary profiling the unique relationship that the police have with the addicts. In return for their footage and assistance, Odd Squad members were able to upgrade their video camera and partake in several workshops on filming. Work on the first documentary, Through A Blue Lens continued for almost two years, as the officers tracked the lives of their film subjects.

http://www.actnowbc.gov.bc.ca/EN/families

Bringing Your Family Back to the Table

Studies show that children who eat with their families have healthier diets with more fruits and vegetables, more fibre and micronutrients, fewer fried foods, less pop, and less saturated and trans fats.   

Other studies have found that teens who eat dinner with their families five times a week are twice as likely to get A’s in school and half as likely to abuse substances as teens who eat with their families less than twice per week.

Here are some ideas to get your family back to the table:

• Start with one meal a week and add more as you can. It can take some time but most of us enjoy family meals after we try them for a while. Setting a regular mealtime routine helps everyone know what to expect. And it’s a great time to slow down and get back in touch.
  
• Parents should talk with the family about the best times for meals, what to talk and not talk about and what behaviour is ok. After the discussion it’s the parent’s responsibility to make family meals a priority, setting the rules of conversation and behaviour, what food is served and when the family will eat. It’s important for parents to treat children with the respect and good manners that they expect children to show.
  
• The most important part of the meal is getting together as a family. Serving simple foods and taking time to enjoy your family will win out over gourmet meals every time. Pizza or tuna sandwiches with milk and fruit for dessert can make a fine family meal – it’s the family that’s important.
  
• Cook one meal that everyone eats. Always include fruits and vegetables. Children will accept them as a part of everyday meals and snacks and are more likely to eat them when they see you eat them.
  
• Involve children in making meals, setting tables and cleaning up. This makes the whole meal process family time, and children are more likely to eat the meals they’re involved in making. If time is an issue, try preparing a meal on the weekend and setting aside a portion for later. Or prepare something for the next day after tonight’s meal.
  
• Keep mealtimes pleasant. Remember the golden rule of eating – parents decide what’s served, and children decide whether and how much to eat. Keep the conversation positive and make sure everyone has the chance to talk and be heard.
  
• Focus on the meal and your family. Don’t answer the phone. Turn off the TV.
• A family meal doesn’t have to be dinner. For many families, morning is the only time they can get together. Set the alarm so everyone is up and make it as special as possible. Remember, breakfast is when you eat not what you eat. Keep the food simple and enjoy!

http://theqinstitute.com

The Art of Real Wealth orientation is at the Vancouver Airport Marriott Hotel on Tuesday, June 19 from 7 to 9 pm.

Seating is lomited. To register or for more information visit  http://theqinstitute.com

Happy Father’s Day from http://vancouverdad.com

Statistics Canada reported this week that the number of Canadian fathers taking leaves from work to spend quality time with their wee ones increased from 38 per cent in 2001 to 55 per cent in 2006.

Among them was Clint Lalonde in Victoria.

His daughter was born three years ago when Lalonde, 40, was at the end of a contract with Camosun College. Instead of looking for new work, Lalonde threw himself into daddyhood full-time for 18 months.

Along the way, he launched dadventure.ca — a blog of his musings and research about fatherhood, one of a growing number of domestic-dad web diaries.

The postings were initially Lalonde’s way of documenting his experiences as a father, but they fast became a springboard out of the social isolation of the nursery.

“Now it’s much more about a community,” Lalonde says. “I didn’t realize [other stay-at-home dads] were out there when I started.”

Lalonde says he often went to parent gatherings with kids and would be the only adult male in attendance. Interaction was limited.

Dadventure allowed him to share ideas, experiences and tips with fathers like himself, and to link with a growing list of “dad” blogs from around the world.

Dads like Lalonde aren’t waiting for a world accustomed to working fathers to catch up. They’re doing it for themselves, he says.

“There’s enough of us out there now. Because of the Internet, we’re able to connect,” Lalonde says.

“Society is accepting [stay-at-home dads] more — and dads are realizing there’s more to life than climbing the corporate ladder.

“Plus, it’s fun.”

Across Georgia Strait in Vancouver live Todd Martin, his wife Anne and 10-month-old son Alexander.

Todd is the brains behind vancouverdad.com, another daddy blog that mirrors the daddy of them all: U.S.-based rebeldad.com.

Todd, a political and economic analyst for the Thai government in Vancouver, is not a stay-at-home dad. He just blogs to help himself and others.

“The world’s kind of changed since my father brought me up. There’s more expected of 21st century dads,” says Todd, 31. “I’ve got to get up to speed quickly. The first place I look to is the Internet.”