Green Biz Review contest

I’ve found myself a day job with BC eco-business and org directory - happyfrog.ca.  To generate some reviews,  my colleagues and I fired up a contest to encourage you to share your ideas by submitting reviews of green businesses and organizations in Vancouver and throughout BC.

Deadline: Dec. 20th the clock stops and we draw a random winner for a $500 gift credit to use at any one happyfrog.ca listed business or organization.

Each qualifying review you leave (make them worthwhile eh, don’t spoil the pond) counts as another entry. This means the more you help others with your tips, the more chances to score the frogbucks for whatever reason you choose (well almost anyhow).

I have a few ideas (buy a goat for an African village, massage gift certificates, donation to a non-profit group, or perhaps a weekend at a Sunshine Coast B&B), but we happyfroggers also want to hear where you like to shop and what you are buying with sustainability in mind.

More discourse at the frogblog: Review a happyfrog Listing and Win a Prize! on the pros and cons of festive purchases and how to get creative for whatever holiday you are celebrating (or not).

Vancouver web biz Raincity Studios Acquires Drupal host Bryght

I rarely mention the tasks i do to pay the bills however, that will change a wee bit as i am involved in a couple of noteworthy projects in that whole “new media, social networking, community building, web biz” scene.

Today’s announcement is big fun since I’ve been apart as an observer, friend, participant and now employee for some time and dig working with folks who are determined to do it with their values intact.

(in this photo i am clearly miffed that boris planned the same outfit and hair-do)

I won’t repost the whole spiel but instead invite you to read my post at Raincity blog Raincity Studios’ Forecast is Bryght or peruse the press release Raincity Studios Acquires Bryght.

Here’s just a tast of me gushing on the Bryght crew from the aforementioned blog post:

Aside from the actual billable client work, these guys (yes, twas all gents at Bryght) are individually remarkable. I am saying this as a co-worker but also as someone who has reaped knowledge, friends and goodtimes (and even a job) through “hanging out,” participating in their events and “getting in where i can fit in” here in tech-groovy Vancouver.

Bonus:

Roland Tanglao, Bryght’s Chief Blogging Officer writes about Raincity Acquiring Bryght

CBC etc.’s Tod Maffin posts an EXCLUSIVE: Bryght aquired by Raincity Studios

Bryght’s Boris Mann tells the Drupal world Bryght and Raincity are joining forces ditto at BmannConsulting

The noted Mr. Barefoot offers up Bryght Shiny Day for Raincity

The charming super-blogger Miss 604 chimes (from Iowa no less) with Raincity Studios Acquires Bryght

Digg Raincity Studios acquires Bryght and Vancouver Web 2.0 Companies Join Forces

(first kk shot eva’ - within half-second of meeting him)

Another Choogle out the Door - This one with Vaporizers

Condition Green! High likelihood of vaporization in Choogle on #43 Happy Sunday with the Vappy Man - Choogle on #43 featuring a visit to Happy Vappy’s designer and entrepreneur Ferdinand at his workshop in commercial East Vancouver to discuss reasons for using a herbal vaporizer for enjoy ganja as well as his inspiration for his business, new improvements to the Happy Vappy, why the Vappy is handy for medical patients, what’s up with convection and temperature control plus useful Vaporizer use and maintenance tips.

HappyVappy Vaporizer Traveller Kit

HappyVappy Vaporizer Ultimate Traveller Kit

HAPPYVAPPY IS…

Smoke-free
The medicinal qualities of herbs can be released without burning. This means that you can avoid the carcinogenic tars and noxious gases found in smoke. Using patent pending Tempest Core Technology, HappyVappy brings your herb to optimal vaporization temperature, providing you with all the positive effect of herbal therapy, without the negative effects of smoking.

Efficient
HappyVappy uses less herb than traditional means of consumption. You get bigger breath for your buck as it’s not going up in smoke.

Discreet
HappyVappy has streamlined styling, a simple interface and fits into your lifestyle. Because it’s a vaporizer, it’s also virtually odorless.

Effective
It reaches operating temperature in 3 minutes, with no bag or dome to fill. HappyVappy is designed to stay at optimal temperature, so you don’t have to worry about dials or overheating or anything other than kicking back and relaxing.

Oly’s Last Word Books kicking down the rare goods

Wise book enthusiasts are advised to visit Last Word Books in OlyWa. Check the tasty stash including the thick stack from the legendary counter-culture publisher Loompanics plus Evergreen College library books - cheap out the backdoor. The rag-tag group is even MySpaced and erstswhile curators of the Oly Zine Library and un-secretly Pirates and Honky Tonk Dragons .

Last Word Books - and their stablemate Rec the Place Fantastic Records - are worker owned collectives specializing in hard to find media of all sorts and providing a comfortable and welcoming space for the free exchange of ideas and they are a Zhonka Surfbreak location - kicking down the free wi-fi for the people! What’s more, they tend the Uncle Weed collection of cannabis related books and magazines for professional use only).  Here’s a map to Last Word Books in downtown Olympia.  To get to Olympia better, be sure to examine the Oly Poster Project & listen to the Clubside Breakfast Time podcast

LWB is a frequent stop for me whenst sojourned in Wa’s capitol city - where everyone brings a half dozen friends to college with them and stay on to starta rock band or non-profit group (well not all, some start worker’s owned collectives).

Here’s what Evergreen had to say about LWB:

Last Word Books emerged from the storefronts of downtown Oly on May 2002, opened by four ambitious then-sophomore Evergreen students. Six Greeners and alumni now run this cooperative. All but 2 percent of the books are used; even the new ones make use of recycled material. The inspiration for this used-book store came from co-owner Sky Cosby, whose father owns Walla Walla’s Earth Light.

Photos by Cynthia Miller