The BC Children’s Hospital Foundation is an organization that works to improve the lives of every child who enters and leaves the BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. For many families, the BC Children’s Hospital becomes a second home for a period time, often while they are helping a child of theirs get back to help: BC Children’s Hospital Foundation (BCCHF) supports the people, places and things required to ensure BC’s kids have access to outstanding pediatric care. Since 1982, BC Children’s Hospital Foundation has worked with children, families, caregivers and hundreds of thousands ...

I ran across this article this morning about credit card debt, and started trying to figure out what it meant in terms of numbers. Nearly 80 percent of American families have at least one credit card, 44 percent of families carry a balance on their credit cards, and Americans pay about $15 billion a year in penalty fees, according to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s office. The current population in the US is around 305 million (2008 census). I don’t know how many families are in the US, but let’s take a rough stab and there are about three people per family, or around 100 million families. ...

I’ve been lying in bed for about 20 minutes now, trying to slow my brain down enough so that I can finally catch up on sleep. Unfortunately, my mind has been racing ever since blogathon, and it’s been rather difficult to shut it off. While in bed tonight, I started thinking about the day I had today, the people I spent it with, and the events of this past weekend. Like a hiker nearing the end of a long trek, I forced myself to stop and survey the trail from which I’ve come; the moments of exhaustion, the long rainy nights, the hills and the valleys, and the painful blisters that may never ...

Well, there’s only five hours left in my first blogathon. It’s actually been a pile of fun, even though I’m fairly exhausted. I want to give a big round of applause to everyone that’s been a part of this event, especially those that are also nearing the end (and thankfully, get to go to bed soon). There’s a third shift starting tonight at 10pm, so there will be plenty to read tonight. And while the blog entries and those who pen them are obviously to be commended, I think we need to all remember our respective charities, and remember the causes we are all fighting for. While I spent ...

Duane invited me to guest post on an environmental topic, and since I had already been mulling over the question of privatization of water, I figured I’d do some quick research. Since this is an on-the-fly post and we are both exhausted after more than 22 hours worth of Blogathon, I am not going to do my usual super awesome in-depth research, and I’m just going to point you out to a quick reference page I found. Credit: Tskdesign The notion that water is a commodity kind of bugs me because I don’t think we can put an actual price on natural resources. Of course, there is the theory of payment ...

This is it folks — only two more entries to go after this one. I have, for the most part, been awake since yesterday at 9am. I hit a pretty rough patch this afternoon, but thankfully managed to get through it. It’s been a really great experience, and it’s been a privilege helping bring some awareness to the issues the homeless face in Vancouver. Without a doubt, I’m pretty beat. My supper tonight consisted of peanuts purchased from the little store downstairs. Rebecca and John ordered Greek, but I’ve had so much caffeine that the thought of food basically repulses me at this point. ...

As you can tell, this is my last entry. For the last 24 hours, I have essentially been in front of a computer, blogging about various topics that have interested me, and attempting to bring exposure to the realities that the homeless face in Vancouver. Rebecca and I joined forces this year to support the Union Gospel Mission, an organization in Vancouver that helps the homeless and the less fortunate in this city. First, I want to thank the Union Gospel Mission for nearly 70 years of effort with regards to helping others. By comparison, the little that most of us get to do for charity in our ...

San Francisco is without a doubt one of my favourite cities in the world. It’s situated right on the Pacific Ocean, nestled snugly between Marin Country and Oakland. While Napa Valley is usually extremely hot, San Francisco boasts a fairly moderate climate, with sunshine occurring on most days of the year. In August, there’s going to be a WordCamp session down in San Francisco. Given that I’m a huge WordPress advocate, and that I love the Bay Area, I registered today and made the quick, impromptu decision to attend. Flights out of Vancouver are around $400, but are only around $250 return ...

Well, ladies and gents, we just passed the halfway mark over here. I have to say, writing 24 blog entries has turned out to be more difficult than I imagined. I managed to close my eyes for a few minutes there are recharge my batteries slightly, but I’m currently in this weird groggy limbo that is making it hard to write anything. For those of you arriving here on the day shift, welcome. Please browse the pages and visit all 24 entries so far. As you know, I am doing this 24 blogging marathon to support the Union Gospel Mission. If you are a reader and wouldn’t mind supporting their cause, ...

Well, I imagine by now many of the early morning shift people are in full swing. It seems like so long ago I wrote my first entry, and here I am at number 28. It sure is getting difficult finding content on short notice, but I’m managing to stay ahead of the curve somehow. My Blogathon Setup Rebecca did a quick tally on her blog, and I think between all the participants we are up to around $500 so far. That number doesn’t include people who have gone directly to their charity’s website and donated directly, so ultimately the number will be a bit higher. In terms of people on this blog, ...

As you well know by now, I am supporting the Union Gospel Mission for Blogathon. The Union Gospel Mission provides assistance to the homeless people in Vancouver, and those who are in the most need. At last count, this blog has raised at least $320 or so towards the charity, and I’m hoping to bring it closer to $1000 as the event continues. As I mentioned in my last two posts, anyone that donates at least $50 to the United Gospel Mission will receive a free 8×12 print from my HDR gallery. It can be a permanent reminder for you of the contribution you made to help some of the less fortunate ...

The Tyee had an interesting piece last year where they detailed seven different ways the city could potentially help the homeless. These seven items apparently were based on real-world examples of efforts in other cities that ultimately helped. I encourage everyone to head over to The Tyee and read the original article, but I’ll give a short list here. Idea One: Trade Fairs for the Homeless Idea Two: Raise the Welfare Rates Idea Three: Train Young Workers Idea Four: Spread the Love Around Idea Five: Buy a Few Hotel Idea Six: Give Addicts Time to Heal Idea Seven: Bring Governments Together The ...

A big thanks to the following people who recently pledged support for the Union Gospel Mission - Cullen Jennings Wow. To say I am completely exhausted at this point would be an understatement. I’ve essentially been awake since yesterday at 9am. That means I’ve been awake for around 30 hours now. Blogathon ends for me at 10pm tonight, which means I still have nearly eight hours left to go. I’m really not entirely sure how I’m going to make it, but hopefully I get my third or fourth wind soon. This Is Me When I’m Tired I’ve been listening to music rather loudly in my living room, hoping ...

Most compact cameras that you pick up from Future Shop only have one built in lens. In most cases, it’s a zoom lens, capable of giving you moderate wideangle coverage upwards to a decent telephoto lens. Most people probably don’t know the difference between those two, so I thought I’ll give a brief tutorial. The most well known lens is probably the 50mm prime. 50mm refers to the focal length of the lens, and prime refers to the fact that it’s a fixed focal length lens (i.e. not a zoom lens). In photography, the 50mm lens is also called a “standard” lens because it almost exactly matches ...

I did a quick tally of all the emails pledge I’ve received from Rebecca’s site, and we’re sitting at around the $400 $450 mark, which is great. Thanks to everyone who has pledged so far. My own personal goal was to try and hit $1000, and we’re doing pretty good so far. There are only about ten entries left, so if you’ve been sitting on the fences waiting to potentially donate, now’s your chance. As I mentioned in my last entry, Matthew Good has also generously donated a signed copy of his last album, Hospital Music, which hit #1 in Canada when it was released last year. Anyone who ...

Rebecca fired me off a link this morning asking if I’d like to be a part of Team Blogging for a big bowling charity fundraiser. Since I like bowling and I like blogging, I figured it would be a cool idea. You can read more about the details over on Rebecca’s blog. I’m trying to raise $150 to go towards the event, so if you can help out by sponsoring me, I would really appreciate it. You can sponsor me by visiting this page. ...

This Thursday, I’ll be photographing a charity fundraiser down at the Sanafir Restaurant & Lounge in Vancouver. The event is put on by local fashion designer Roberta Cheema from Tush, and will consist of swimwear and lingeree. Lingerie by Tush, photographed during Vancouver Fashion WeekI’ve spent a bit of time hanging out and getting to know Roberta, and she’s really a dedicated person with a real passion for design. It’s what underneath that counts – hot spot’s upscale swimwear and undergarment fashion show fundraiser – February 7 Join host MC Musician and Funny Man Rick Baker ...

Rebecca is only a few hours away from crossing the half-way point for blogathon. 100% of the contributions she receives will be going to the Surrey Food Bank — it’s not too late to head over to her site and drop a few dollars to support a good cause. I contributed a guest post on her website for the 3pm blog entry — you can check it out here. ...

Rebecca (aka Miss604) is participating in a blogathon tomorrow to support a local Surrey charity.. So, I’d appreciate it if you spend tomorrow over on her site, reading her posts (one every 30 minutes for 24 hours straight), and hopefully dropping a small contribution her way. I plan to submit an entry or two during the day to help her out, so please drop by and give her some moral support! Thanks! ...

Today after work I dropped off my first roll of film to be developed. It was a 36 shot roll of Ilford XP2, and it’s probably the only black and white roll I’ve ever shot in my entire life, now that I think about it. The neat thing about this roll is that you can develop it in C41 chemistry (used for colour print film), which means you can basically get it developed anywhere in the city for next to nothing. I also have a few rolls of pure black and white to shoot, so I think it will be a useful comparison. I asked the ladies down at Custom Colour if the XP2 was noticeably different than the ...