Please donate to your Local Food Banks in BC

Hey Everyone,

Our company, NewspaperDirect, like many other good companies all over, is having a canned food drive for the local food bank, in our case the Richmond Food Bank.

At this time of year, especially this year due to the economic crisis, many people are depending on the Food Bank and less people are able to make donations.

Some Food Banks are hit particularly hard by things like vandalism and robberies. In December, the Surrey Food Bank was robbed 5 times in 6 days – no food was taken but other things like computers and equipment, without which it becomes difficult for the staff and volunteers to get their work done.

For those who can afford a little more, you could help make this cold winter and tough economic time a little easier for a struggling family out there.

Please donate to your Local Food Banks in BC (list of all of them!).

This is the list from the Richmond Food Bank of items they are most in need of – your local food bank might have a list like this as well:

* peanut butter, especially small sizes
* macaroni & cheese dinners
* rice and pasta
* canned milk
* sugar
* feminine hygiene and other personal care product
* large diapers
* iron fortified formula (we have an abundance of baby food jars currently)
* juices
* tinned beans
* tinned fruits & vegetables
* soups, chunky soups
* cleaning supplies
* office supplies
* plastic grocery bags (used OK)
* a source for paper bags – #60-6 Checkstand or similar (about 12×23+7)

-k.s.

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VANCOUVER, B.C. — The new mayor to play host to the world during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games is Gregor Robertson.

He was elected Saturday night by almost 19,000 votes more than his opponent Peter Ladner in one of the most bitter election contests in recent Vancouver history. “I accept this enormous responsibility with humility, with concern for a troubled economy, but also with great deal of hope and optimism,” Robertson told hundreds of supporters in his victory speech. Source: Canadian Press

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Take Note:

Total Mayors: 141
Mayors Elected by Gender: 30 Females, 110 Males
Mayors Winning by Acclamation (no opponent): 32

Change Factor:
128 Old (Incumbent Mayor, Councillor or Past Political Involvement), 13 New

Mayors of Largest Cities:
Vancouver – Gregor Robertson
Surrey – Dianne Watts
Burnaby – Derek Corrigan
Richmond – Malcolm Brodie
Abbotsford – George Peary

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Detailed Results:

http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/election2008/Reports/whoisin.asp

http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/election2008/reports/turnout.asp

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An opinion on the results from Stephen Hammond:

Some staff and management graciously volunteered and organized an Employee Appreciation Luncheon today at our company NewspaperDirect, where I’m celebrating the end of my “3 month probation” tomorrow (now I can get my eyes checked!), and in the raffle I won a pair of tickets to this Saturday’s Canucks game!

Rebecca Bollwitt (Miss604) is helping me make better use of the free prize by holding a silent auction tomorrow at Third Tuesday for the tickets. Proceeds will go to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society.

If you want two lower-bowl Canucks tickets for this Saturday, contact Rebecca or drop in at Third Tuesday tomorrow and make a bid for a good time and a good cause :)

-k.s.

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Followup: Rebecca’s Food Drive was a great success with over 12 boxes and some bags of food items donated, and $245 raised in cash for the Food Bank.

For those of you living in BC, imagine the population of Ladner or Tswassen or Port Moody completely vanish. In Burma, more than 22,500 people are confirmed dead by the military regime, but tens of thousands more are missing. There are estimates from other agencies of much larger numbers. I have been looking for agencies we can get in touch with that will provide emergency medical assistance, food, etc. to the victims and have lower administrative costs. If you know of any in particular, please post them in the comments.

The only thing that’s kind of annoying me (about the Burma government, not the agencies) is that so many agencies have on their websites “we are now mapping, planning, strategizing, etc. etc.” What I think that means is that the relief agencies don’t have the access they need, due to the government and army restrictions, so they can’t get to the victims as soon as they could in another situation. I hope that’s not the case.

UNITED SIKHS is an international UN-affiliated non-profit organization that is working to provide relief to the victims. You can learn more about their efforts and support them on their website.

You can also check out Direct Relief. They seem to be a very efficient relief organization:

-k.s.

If you know about any other reliable relief agencies that will not misuse the funds and will only use the funds to provide direct aid to the victims, please post them in the comments.

Tazzu is hosting its first WordPress Camp on Wednesday, from 5:30 to 8:30pm at the Network Hub and I’m very happy to say I’ll be presenting on how to build a catalog or mashup site with WordPress. There are a variety of cool presentations including blogging, website development, typography, photo management, social media, and how to make money – all using WordPress.

I was very happy to see that so many people jumped on board and started to support the event with their sponsorships and promotions. I hope this is a first of many WordPress events.

stay in high spirits,

-k.s.

This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve said “Hello World,” though. In fact, my first blog post was in 2004. I started when Blogger was the new, hip thing and WordPress hadn’t yet become the mainstream. I think I left the blog at that time because it was becoming too personal and I became too busy with other things, which is a common theme with many bloggers. In any case, I’ve decided to get back into it.

So right now this is just a blog, but in the coming weeks I’ll be working to grow the site and share my crazy opinions and enlightening insights.

stay in high spirits,

-k.s.

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Invocation:

Salok:

The Divine Guru is my mother, the Divine Guru is my father;
the Divine Guru is my Transcendent Lord and Master.

The Divine Guru is my companion, the Destroyer of ignorance;
the Divine Guru is my relative and brother.

The Divine Guru is the Giver, the Teacher of the Lord’s Name.
The Divine Guru is the Mantra which never fails.

The Divine Guru is the Image of peace, truth and wisdom.
The Divine Guru is the Philosopher’s Stone – touching it, one is transformed.

The Divine Guru is the sacred shrine of pilgrimage, and the pool of divine ambrosia;
bathing in the Guru’s wisdom, one experiences the Infinite.

The Divine Guru is the Creator, and the Destroyer of all sins;
the Divine Guru is the Purifier of sinners.

The Divine Guru existed at the primal beginning, throughout the ages, in each and every age.
The Divine Guru is the Mantra of the Lord’s Name; chanting it, one is saved.

O God, please be merciful to me, that I may be with the Divine Guru;
I am a foolish sinner, but holding onto Him, I am carried across.

The Divine Guru is the True Guru, the Supreme Lord God, the Transcendent Lord;
Nanak bows in humble reverence to the Lord, the Divine Guru. ||1||

- Gaurree Mahalla 5 Baavan Akhree, 250, Guru Granth Sahib