Tag: Charity & Fundraising Posts

Entry #2 – BC Children's Hospital Foundation

 Journal

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 of British Columbians to give Children’s Hospital, […]

Some Simple Math

 Journal

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 […]

Thank You

 Journal

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 […]

Entry #49 – Blogathon 2008, Now Finished

 Journal

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 […]

Entry #47: The End Is Near

 Journal

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 […]

Entry #45: Guest Post By Raul Pacheco

 Journal

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. The notion that water is a commodity kind of bugs me because I don’t think we can put an actual price on natural […]

Entry #39: Five More Hours To Go

 Journal

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 […]

Entry #38 – Charity Update

 Journal

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 […]

Entry #36: Choosing A Lens

Photography

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 […]

Entry #34: Ok It's Official, I'm Tired

 Journal

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 […]