Thanks to a conversation with Janice M and Maryanne C, a couple of Victoria’s food experts and friends, I was pointed to a list of all of the fresh produce that is available in the 250 area code. See the Island Farm Fresh website for the list.
22 Mar
What would a useful local neighbourhood-based web portal look like?
Last night Rob Wipond asked at an Ideas Vic meeting, What would a useful local neighbourhood-based web portal look like?
A lot of discussion ensued, including note of Seattle’s Neighbourhoods on the ‘Net project. We decided whatever the solution is, it needs to be easy to access. As such, I’ve created Facebook groups for most neighbourhoods in Victoria. Feel free to join them, and start productive discussions on how to make your community more vibrant and sustainable:
- Harris Green, Victoria
- Burnside George, Victoria
- Jubilee, Victoria
- Fairfield, Victoria
- North Park, Victoria
- Cook St Village, Victoria
- Fernwood, Victoria
- Downtown, Victoria
- Oaklands, Victoria
- James Bay, Victoria
- Hillside, Victoria
- Vic West, Victoria
(contact me if I’ve missed yours)
A few other URLs were mentioned in the discussion, that might be of interest:
- Our services (Created by Kevin and the OpenData BC hackathon team)
- Craigslist foundation perhaps ask them to create smaller community portals?
- Dynaportal
- Capstone
- Openblock Project
- Transition Victoria
19 Mar
Hidden gems in Victoria
Couchsurfing has a list of the top 50 “Best of Victoria” list. I also have a Facebook group called Victoria’s Secrets to discuss these hidden gems. Are there any you’re willing to add?
16 Mar
Welcome to the New Amsterdam
Victoria has always been a tourist city, but for the first time in a long time, that is going to hit new heights. We have a new city council, lead once again by a progressive mayor who isn’t afraid to lead the way with positive change.
On March 12, 2012, councillor Ben Isitt proposed a motion to the Governance and Priorities Committee entitled, “Support a Regulatory Approach to Cannabis Control”. On Thursday, March, 15th, the motion was passed. On March 22nd at 7:30pm, this vote will go in front of the entire city council.
This signals a proactive change in the community; it will instantly affect organized crime in the area, who until now have been in an unregulated industry. Now, cannabis will be regulated in the same way it is for medicinal usage; but now you’ll have to be of age, know that it’s not been laced with drugs, and the province will profit. Perhaps we can put a percentage of that profit into mental health research.
I’m not sure Victoria is ready for a tourism boost of this scale; we’ll once again be a glimmer in the eye of the globe trotters who are looking for a place that prioritizes on health, safety and leisure. According to those to study the new economic order (NEO), the most money is spent by people who focus on travel and tourism around experience, pleasure, wine, and food.
On March 22nd, when this vote happens in city council, unless you support organized crime and the unregulated, violent distribution of cannabis, get every business professional in the community you know to endorse this motion. We’re about to once again become world leaders, and watch the rest of our jurisdictional neighbours follow our lead.
If you’d like to send the mayor an email in support of this motion, fill out this form and send it on to your friends and family!
22 Feb
Feeling blue, at the end of an era…
After ~87 years, the Johnson street bridge in Victoria, also known as the blue bridge, is being dismantled. You can read the details on the city of Victoria website. Click on the following picture at any time to see the latest, the picture updates every two minutes:
31 Jan
Atagamaton
If you’ve done anything in the digital interactive media circuit in Victoria, you’ve crossed paths with the talented David Parfit and/or Scott Amos. On Friday I had the opportunity to witness the launch of their latest art project, Atagamaton which is currently on interactive display at G++.
One of the city’s newest videographers to watch out for, Cassie O’Neil, filmed the launch party which I was fortunate enough to attend:
Next time you’re walking by 1119 Fort Street, don’t hesitate to give a try. There are many easter eggs hidden in the exhibit, that would taken an open mind and some experimentation to discover. Enjoy!
29 Jan
Innovation month in Victoria
I declare February as Innovation Month. If you’ve had a really good idea for years you’ve been sitting on, or just had an epiphany now, there is no better time than now to write it down.
It all starts February 6th and 9th, with a two round version of Awesome Shit Club, where one winner will take over $3,500 in cash for their idea. All it takes is to fill out the submission form which mostly consists of a 200 word abstract about your idea. Once you submit it, all 20 of the Awesomites (judges) will get a chance to vote on it. The top 10 submissions will be invited to the pitch stage, on February 6th. The deadline is tomorrow for submissions, so submit something after reading this!
TIPS: Most of the ASC winners seem to have 3 common traits, but note just because this was the case historically doesn’t mean it always will be, as the judges are always different!
- Most of the ideas seem to offer some social good, for example the last winner built a braille reader for the blind. How does your idea benefit the community?
- The pot was all the submitter needed to make the project happen. As the post it usually between $500-1000, the winners usually claim the exact amount of the pot is what needed to make or break the project. If your idea will take $500,000 to take off, people are unlikely to vote for you to win, as your winnings would only be a small dent in what you need.
- The pitch was powerful. You can clearly see who is prepared and engaging, and who could benefit from something like Toastmasters. If you make it to the final 10, polish your pitch!
- They often offer something back to Awesome Shit Club. For example, the Victoria Spoken Word Festival now has “Awesome Shit Showcase” as part of their show, get on the doc bus is painting Awesome Shit Club on their bus that’s going to travel across the country…
Only a couple weeks later is IdeaWave, an affordable ideas conference that was conceived here in Victoria and is about to host it’s third event. If you’re one of the 50 speakers at this conference, which sold out last year with speakers and attendees from all over North America, the talks are also recorded and posted online. The submission process is almost identical to that of ASC, requiring a 200 word abstract clearly defining your idea.
TIPS: When an idea is submitted, it’s sent to 5 reviewers, who are looking for two things:
- Relative uniqueness of the idea. Truly unique ideas are really rare, clearly define why yours is unique.
- Is your idea engaging? This is the most important, you want to make your abstract compelling, so when the reviewer reads it they wouldn’t want to dare miss the opportunity to hear you speak more on this idea.
Once 4 out of 5 reviewers approve your talk, you’ll be notified before your talk is announced on the website. The submission process is open until 50 talks have been published on the conference website. In the time you spent reading this article, you could have drafted your idea, and got the ball rolling to take your idea to the next level.
Submit to Awesome Shut Club here
Submit to IdeaWave here
8 Jan
Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gunna do…
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a radio scanner enthusiast. Although when I moved to Victoria, I knew they had adopted CREST which uses talk groups, which my radios don’t do. As such, I’ve not been able to listen to most emergency services, until now. I see that the good folks at Scanbc.com have posted a huge list of scanners in British Columbia online, including CREST of greater Victoria’s live feed (if your audio player doesn’t play it, try VLC). Enjoy!
Update: If you’re on twitter, you can follow ScanBC
9 Dec
Makerspace classes
Makerspace is offering classes now in various subjects. They are quite popular, and most of them sell out, so sign up today for any that interest you! As of writing this, there are classes for the metal forge, using the laser cutter, and how to make beer from scratch!
6 Dec
Victoria co-working space
Over the years, we’ve seen several co-working spaces come and go. We’ve not seen a model yet that we thought would survive, even from the beginning. Over 2 years of planning, which started with the Ideas – Victoria group, we’ve been slowly building a model that not only do we think would sustain, but one that many of our members would want to participate in. Here is how we see it happening:
- Needs to accessible to down-town Victoria by walking or bicycle
- $400/month all inclusive (this gets you a regular desk, day in and day out, with broadband internet access; utilities, lease, insurance)
- You pay 6 months up front, with a 2 year lease commitment
- Access to regular learning and mentor sessions with industry experts
- A vetting system — all members should offer complementary services
It appears as though I’ve found a space, and a landlord who understands our needs and is willing to work with us to meet these goals. If you or anyone you know would be interested in a space like this, please have them contact Kris at kris@onedaywebsite.ca.
