This water pump at Watch Lake took some muscle.

I’ve been writing safety stories for SpeakingOfSafety and getting started on a new homeschool year with the SelfDesign program, which has a big online component. I’m using LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Basecamp, Action Method Online, and Google Docs for my work and play communications.

Ideas are called for. Lots of them. So I’m pumping them out of my brain when I have the chance. I do some of my best work in the car on my laptop tethered to my iphone outside a skateboard park. I have a portable Ikea umbrella I prop in my car window to save me from screen glare. I keep a lawn chair in my trunk if it seems too sketchy in the park to let my son be alone, with no other skaters.

Then I sit beside the skate bowls, on the grass, trying to work, but today it was hard because a guy was sleeping nearby on the lawn, with a boom box beside him playing loud C-Fox-ish music (presumably to drown out the urban sounds so he could get some rest). He had a shopping cart full of stuff with a bicycle on top.

Toby often says “Watch this!” and shows me new moves at the skate park.

Working and watching my boy from the car at the skate park

My home office desk is not working for me. It’s because I switched desks with my kid and no longer have leg room under the keyboard tray. Now the PC computer tower and the printer and a drawer are where my legroom once was.

In fact, I’m going to keep this post short. I am dealing with the desk situation tonight because I can barely stand it any more. Read back a couple of posts about my back pain. Well it went to my chest and lingers there still. I need a solution – so I will review this PDF from WorkSafeBC (one of my long-time clients) How to Make Your Computer Workstation Fit You.

A bed in the bushes of East Van

Sleeping on Commercial Drive

Vancouver’s Frances Bula reported in the Globe and Mail today that 400 people were sleeping outside in Vancouver, with another 1,400 in homeless shelters. This is the lowest number of people sleeping on the streets since 2002 – because there are more spaces in shelters set up by the provincial government during the Olympics.

However, the number of people who need housing (1,800 people) has gone up 12 percent in the past two years. Now the City of Vancouver is hoping the B.C. government will continue to provide housing support for all these folks. Frances reported these initial findings from the Vancouver Homeless Count 2010 last month.

“The city will use those numbers in the next 21 days in an attempt to persuade the province to come up with money to move all 1,800 homeless to interim housing or at least continue paying for the operation of some of the seven emergency winter shelters the province agreed to fund during the Olympics. Those shelters housed an additional 600 people on top of the 800 shelter beds that operate permanently in Vancouver,” reads the story by Frances, who also has a great blog on the issues of Vancouver she has covered for many years: The State of Vancouver.

This outdoor bed is a little more out in the open – right on Commercial Drive, over a vent that blows warm air. This is one of many storefront nooks in which people camp for the night. Some stay outside because they have dogs that aren’t allowed in shelters.

Guacira Naves liveblogging panel discussion at Social Media Club's inaugural event

The point of the discussion was to “review expectations vs outcomes in the context of social and traditional media coverage of a large, high-profile, complex, and geographically dispersed event,” according to the event invite.

But oh my goodness! The discussion went all over the place, from digression to digression, with all kinds of knowledge claims that made very little sense. For example, one audience member said she was disappointed mainstream media hadn’t covered the annual march in honour of missing and murdered women on February 14 – and that’s just not true, as panelist Kirk LaPointe, the Sun’s managing editor (who blogs at themediamanager.com) pointed out. Indeed a quick Google search shows this event was well-covered by The Vancouver Sun, The Province, and Global TV – just to name a few.

Moderator Colleen Coplick tried her best to keep things on track, but it was very challenging and unfortunately many legitimate questions were left unanswered. Several audience members were more interested in getting on their soapbox and making statements – not taking the opportunity to ask questions of the panelists.

But there were a few reasonable moments amidst the chaos, and – throughout it all – there was Guacira typing her heart out!

Selling a good book for a good cause

All too often, especially during the Olympics, we hear stories from media outsiders who visit the neighbourhood for a short tour and then report all the bad things they see. While many journalists come looking for sensational stories of crime and addiction, some have good intentions. Of course, it’s important to shed light on problems to raise awareness in society at large, but too often reporters miss the stories of spirit and community in this neighbourhood. That’s why Hope in Shadows is such an important project.

It all started in 2003 with a photography contest for locals that published winning images in an annual calendar. Today the project also includes cards and this new book that has sold more than 5,000 copies. Hope in Shadows is a registered charity that works in partnership with Pivot Legal Society, and 50 percent of street sales go to the vendors.

“Pivot makes this product so people can earn some extra money from it,” said Vincent, who I spoke with today on Commercial Drive. “I believe in Pivot. I like the work they do and not only am I making a few extra dollars, but I’m also contributing to the cause.”

Vincent said he has been without a home in the past, but today he has a place to live and is working with The Open Door Group to find a new career. Years ago, he studied English and History and came within two courses of completing a degree, but severe depression and the pressures of life threw him off track. Now he’s planning to forge a new career in counselling, helping homeless folks find housing and a better quality of life.

Hope in Shadows book editors Brad Cran and Gillian Jerome were nominated in 2009 for the B.C. Book Prize: Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize. This prize is “awarded to the author(s) of the book which contributes most to the enjoyment and understanding of British Columbia. The book may deal with any aspect of the province (people, history, geography, oceanography, etc.) and must be original,” says the B.C. Book Prizes website.

A drawing by "BRIH" photographed by my son Toby Main at JJ Bean on Commercial Drive.

I never know what I’ll see on my iPhone camera after my son’s been using it. Yesterday I found this super-cool drawing on it after our trip to JJ Bean. He’s also taken some interesting shots of the painting on the south wall of Continental Cafe (which is worth a look-see next time you’re in there).

Inside the dryer, inside the toilet, street corners, random people on the airplane – all are images I find on my camera. I’ve only “banned” a few things – and I’m reluctant to tell you what they are, but here goes. I had to say: “No private parts, no poo and no pee” pictures on my iPhone. Otherwise, privilege to use it is lost. Anything else goes!

Pass the camera to the kid

Point-and-shoot technology makes it easy for little kids to take pictures. You may not want to risk your new iPhone to small hands, so acquire a cheap camera you won’t worry about. However, I risk my iPhone all the time – letting wee ones look at our photos and take their own. I take lots of pictures of flowers, dogs, cats, birds, beams of sun, and other things that kids have checked out on my camera. Then, if they seem interested, I show them how to take their own photos. “Just look in here, see the picture, and touch the camera button!”

Yesterday my three year old friend took many blurry photos of feet and a dog under a table at the cafe’s outdoor patio. It’s interesting to see what’s at her 3-year-old eye level. She seemed so happy to look through the collection again and see her own shots added to the randomness.

Musicians John Tanner and Rachael Chatoor entertained the crowd of about 200 bloggers, writers, web designers, and others. Some guests were from the Vancouver Bloggers Meetup.

“This city has so much going on in it – so many brilliant people, and the more the better,” Linda said. “We need thoughtful articles written by thoughtful people who develop a subject enough to help ordinary people make decisions about things that affect their lives.”

The cover story of the re-launched VO tells the story of Vancouver blogger Chris Shaw.

“Chris is being harassed a lot by security forces for his anti-Olympics work,” Linda said. “He has a really important voice – as do the people who are for the Olympics.”

Chris, and others, oppose the City of Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Games By-law (No. 9908) put in place July 23, 2009. They are filing a law suit against the the City and the Vancouver Olympics Committee, saying the new bylaw stops free speech.

Support from The Tyee

David Beers spoke at the party to share his support and encouragement. David launched The Tyee in 2003 to cover B.C news not found in corporate media. Some of the province’s top writers have contributed.

On the day of the VO’s re-launch party, Canwest filed for bankruptcy. Beers noted the irony.

“Let’s help build the next wave of media in the crumbling wreckage of the last one,” Beers said, encouraging us to support Linda and the VO by emailing, tweeting, and posting links on Facebook. “Spread all the really great things the Observer is going to find out – all the great ideas she’s going to uncover. Spread these far and wide in our community.”

Linda thanked web development consultant David Egan who directed the VO’s redesign and upgrade using Drupal.

“Dave has a vision and really knows how to take a project from start to finish in an amazing way. He is more than a Drupal developer,” Linda said. “After all this I still don’t know what the hell Drupal is. Dave, what is Drupal?”

Drupal is – according to its about page: “A free software package that allows an individual or a community of users to easily publish, manage and organize a wide variety of content on a website. Tens of thousands of people and organizations are using Drupal to power scores of different web sites.”

Dave also developed Geist and Modern Dog magazines.