Country 107.1 is presenting a concert benefitting Abbotsford’s Canuck Place Children’s Hospice. It features Aaron Pritchett, Gord Bamford, AJ Woodworth and Jesse Burch & the Derailers on stage. 100% of the proceeds from tickets go to Canuck Place. The concert takes place in the Rodeo Ring at Abbotsford Exhibition Park (enter grounds at Gate 2)! Doors @ 6pm, Show @ 7pm
Joy Richardson has made many contributions to the horse community in Langley. One of the best known is the Spirit of the Horse Garden in Campbell Valley Park. She was the driving force in cooperation with the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the Township of Langley, Horse Council BC and the Langley Horse Federation.
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Friday is often thought of as a goof-off day. Casual Friday. Jeans day. Kick back after a hard week. That’s certainly the spirit behind an initiative of some of my favourite SEO people, Search Engine People of Toronto, with their TGIF – :=)
As they wrote in one edition:
Welcome to another edition of TGIF. I hope that you have all had a good, happy, productive week and that the weekend is like the cherry on the cake. Here the weather is getting warmer as we move into spring, and many of you will be moving towards autumn. Regardless, make sure you have a wonderful time seeing friends, family and getting out and about. Fresh air is underrated I tell you, so get as much of it as possible. Think "mmmmmm fresh air. Goodbye computer".
That’s all very well. After a hard week’s work, why not take a little time off for yourself.
The only question you might ask is what will make you the most happy. Is self-indulgence the answer?
In a caring society, perhaps there’s a better answer. After all if you do a kind act for others, it gives them a warm glow and surprise, surprise – you feel a glow too.
That’s the thought behind the DAB day initiative of Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association. Of course Do A Bit makes sense if you’re dealing with horses, but it’s a message that can work in any situation. Each Friday, instead of goofing off, why not see how you can Do A Bit to help someone else. You won’t regret it.
The Langley Horse Federation is taking on a new lease of life as a vehicle to boost the horse industry in Langley. In this it is supported by the Township of Langley and by its Mayor, Rick Green, who is a well-known horseman.
Its most visible and well-known presence up till now has been the "Spirit Of The Horse Memorial Garden", which is situated in Campbell Valley Park at 1200 208th Avenue, Langley, B.C. That was started by Joy Richardson, one of the key movers and shakers on the Langley horse scene.
Now the Langley Horse Federation will be holding a “Team Up For Success” workshop from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm on Saturday September 18th, 2010 in the Banquet Room at the Langley Events Centre. It puts forward the following challenge:
Langley, “the Horse Capital of British Columbia”. Factual statement or idle boast? With approximately 6000 horses and an estimated $125 Million annually in direct, indirect and imputed economic benefit, great credence can be attributed to that statement. Almost every sector of the economy is impacted: tourism; retail; hospitality; horse facilities; agriculture; and the list goes on. What would you like to see happening in the horse community in Langley?
The workshop will suggest a number of initiatives for the horse industry to consider and encourages members of the horse community to get involved. Two in particular caught my eye.
Public relations and marketing initiatives
Can we raise the public and political profile of the horse industry by:
Educational initiatives
Can we educate members of the horse community by encouraging the development of:
Can we educate members of our community about horses by:
One sector of the industry that can play an important role in both of these initiatives is that of therapeutic horseback riding. There are several fine centres offering such services in Langley including VTEA and PRDA. As an example, VTEA is hosting a free horsemanship demonstration by Jay O Jay on Saturday August 28 that will help on both of these initiatives. (Details are on the VTEA website.)
Connecting with others is a key priority in these stressful times. Despite the frenetic pace of life for most people, they will still set aside some time to be in touch with their loved ones and with their friends, colleagues and acquaintances.
Writing letters used to be the way, but few now do that. For most the short message (or even a tweet) that Facebook or Twitter make so easy is a great way of saying ‘I’m here’.
Many horse owners find a particularly important connection is the one they have with their horse. If you want to understand more on that, there are lots of resources on the Internet to explore what can be involved in that. Connecting With Horses on the VTEA website (more on them below) is a good compendium of some of the ‘movers and shakers’ in this rapidly developing field.
Langley is often said to be the Horse Capital of BC so it is not surprising that you will find some shining examples here of how people are connecting with their horses. The relationship between a horse owner and his or her horse is complex when the best possible connection is being achieved. After all, the horse is a prey animal, fearing constantly about attacks by predators, while we humans are by nature predators. Overcoming that barrier is something that requires the right attitude and gentle persistence.
If you want to see connections between horses and their riders that work, there is nothing better than visiting one of the establishments that provides therapeutic horseback riding programs to special needs children. One such in Langley is VTEA (Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association) at 3330 256th Street, Aldergrove in Langley, BC. You can read much more on what they do at their website at http://www.vtea.ca/
Perhaps you have not caught up with the latest news but a celebrated expert on You and Your Horse: Connections is now resident in Langley. That’s my way of explaining what he does, not his. He believes that the nature of the relationship between the owner and the horse is critical and in some cases may present serious challenges. However, rarely do you have problem horses. All that is missing is that the owner and the horse have not yet developed a mutually-satisfying relationship. You can read more on his thinking and what he does at his website at http://www.jayojay.com/
If you want to see Connections with Horses in practice, rather than just reading about them, then two events are coming up very shortly that are ideal opportunities.
Jay O’Jay will be holding an Open House where you can see him in action demonstrating how you make connections. It’s free, refreshments will be available and it is taking place on Sunday 20th June at 1:00 pm. You can find that at 8575 240th Street, Langley BC. Just park carefully along the roadside and wander in. Sorry but you should leave your dog(s) in your car (with the window slightly down) or at home, since those predators can be distracting.
A week later on Saturday June 26th, VTEA is holding its annual Horse Show. It runs from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm or later so there’s lots of opportunities for you and your children to pop in. You will see how the special needs children have developed the connections with their horses and a fun time is guaranteed.
Members of the BC Hot Rod Association will also be present with some of their cars so there’s something for anyone. You can even become a member or renew your membership for the coming year. It’s only $5 but that and your involvement in whatever way you can will help strengthen some of the very best connections with horses you will ever see.
Video games are big business on the Internet. That is not just the blockbusters like Modern Warfare 2 or World of Warcraft. There is a vast array of video and computer games if you search around. There will even be a Doctor Who video game to be released on June 5 by the BBC for Dr. Who enthusiasts.
Two recent events made me think more seriously about video games. The first was a TED talk by Charles Leadbeater on innovation, which is well worth watching to bring you new insights. Leadbeater has remarked on the rise of “pro-ams” — passionate amateurs who act like professionals, making breakthrough discoveries in many fields, from software to astronomy to kite-surfing. He enthusiastically explores how this emerging culture of mass creativity and participation could reshape companies and governments.
In the talk, he mentions Timothy Chen:
Chen runs a company called Shanda, which is the largest computer games company in China. It has 9,000 servers all over China and 250 million subscribers. At any one time, there are 4 million people playing one of his games.
He gives subscribers a platform, he gives them some rules, he gives them the tools and then he kind of orchestrates the conversation; he orchestrates the action. But actually, a lot of the content is created by the users themselves. And it creates a kind of stickiness between the community and the company which is really, really powerful. … (It’s one example of) companies built on communities, that provide communities with tools, resources, platforms in which they can share. He’s not open source, but it’s very, very powerful
It is an incredible example of some of the kinds of communities that can arise on the Internet. My thoughts were pushed in this direction by a discussion on my favourite online venue, Cre8asite Forums.
It was triggered by a blog post written by the owner, Kim Krause-Berg, titled Where Are Skilled, Generous SEO’s? She was lamenting the apparent paucity of new generation SEO experts who were willing to get involved in SEO Forums to provide advice and counsel to the newcomers to Internet marketing. This apparently irked some in the SEO community, with Lisa Barone being one of the most vigorous protagonists in an article she wrote, Who’s Responsible for Teaching, Protecting SEO?
As a result there is now a discussion in the Forums entitled Time To Close Forums. New Gen Has No Need For Them. There is a suggestion that the new generation is more into the instant gratification world spawned by Facebook and Twitter. Writing blogs and having instant comments gives them more visibility and feedback.
What was not discussed was the part that video games may play in creating communities. Conceivably the new generation are all interacting in the virtual communities created through their video and computer games. If so, that does not leave much time for real conversations with real people. Perhaps it is true then that Forums are on a slow slide to oblivion.
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This is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, which started in Ohio and has now spread around the world. President Obama’s Earth Day message emphasizes that it is not about laws, it is about every individual.
President Obama issued an Earth Day message with a challenge: He wants you to take action. While Washington has its place, Obama argues that the environmental movement is not about the laws that are passed, but about citizens coming together to make demands for the Earth. It can be as simple as riding the bus or the subway to work, making your home more energy efficient, or organizing your neighbors to clean up a nearby park.
You can see this message in the following video:
Americans are encouraged to sign the Earth Day 2010 Climate Declaration to demand a comprehensive climate bill from Congress. Arts for the Earth is reaching out to artists worldwide to raise environmental awareness through the medium of art.
Earth Day Canada is a national environmental communications organization mandated to improve the state of the environment by empowering Canadians to achieve local solutions. Local organizers are provided with resources to help arrange activities and events that will raise awareness.
One local activity that will use the medium of art to heighten environmental awareness is a poetry reading on earth goddesses and climate change that will take place on Earth Day itself, that’s Thursday April 22.
Local poet Susan McCaslin and Ontario poet Penn Kemp will be giving readings to celebrate Earth Day and National Poetry Month. This will be held in the Fort Gallery, 9048 Glover Rd., Fort Langley, from 7 to 9 pm.
The artist, Susan J. Falk, whose exhibition, Equine Persuasion, continues at the Fort Gallery until April 25, will also be present. Posters of the exhibition are on sale and partial proceeds of the exhibition are being donated to Valley Therapeutic Equestrian Association, a local charity that provides therapeutic riding to special needs children. It should be an evening not to be missed.
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Unfortunately there is still no satisfactory answer for those UK State pensioners whose pensions are frozen despite the inequity of this situation.
As the BBC reported on 16 March 2010, some UK expat pensioners lost their pension freeze appeal in the European Court of Human Right in Strasbourg. The rejection considering only the legal aspects of the case was by an 11 to 6 majority.
As might be expected, the Department for Work and Pensions welcomed the ruling and said the department’s first responsibility was to support pensioners in the UK. Despite this clear dereliction of duty, the Department in fact treats half of all expat pensioners in exactly the same way as it does those in the UK. Emigrate to Spain and you’ll even receive a fuel supplement even though the climate would not justify that. Only when pensioners have emigrated to the Commonwealth countries (Canada, Australia, etc) and a few others does the Department stick to the terms of an unjust and inequitable set of legal agreements.
All UK State pensioners have by law paid in during their working lives in order to receive a pension. There are certainly no moral arguments that would support withholding from some of these pensioners what is their rightful due.
Given that morality and equity are on their side, these unfairly treated pensioners will continue the fight. There are a considerable number of supporters both within the UK and in the rest of the world who want to see fair play. The International Consortium of British Pensioners is dug in for a fight particularly as all the political parties wish to be the winners in the next election.
The Department for Work and Pensions’ own figures show that every UK resident over the age of 60 costs the UK taxpayer annually £7,000 in their share of NHS costs and benefits over and above basic and additional pensions. By providing pension parity to all, at an average annual cost per capita of £1,000, there are potential savings of billions by making emigration easier and more appealing.
The UK is the only OECD country that does not provide equal pension portability rights to all of its citizens regardless of where they decide to live in their retirement. This is not a question of cost. It is a question of modernity, logic, and above all justice. People around the world continue to wonder that British standards of morality and fair play have fallen so far.
If you want to help, then join one of the groups around the world that is fighting for equity. You can also sign an online petition demanding parity for British pensioners abroad. You don’t have to be an expat or a pensioner to sign the petition. If you are concerned about this callous treatment of its own pensioners by the UK government, then please sign on.
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The excitement is building here in British Columbia as the Olympic torch heads towards its final destination in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. The Olympic Flame was lit in Olympia, Greece on October 22 and is now in British Columbia.
Nevertheless we should not forget that others around the world have their own celebrations at this time of the year. On Tuesday all the Australians are celebrating Australia Day.
As the Daily Telegraph put it, Seriously, it’s all about fun.
It’s the legacy of 22 years in which we have become increasingly comfortable with our national identity, ever since the Bicentennial celebrations of 1988 when Sydney Harbour was full of tall ships in glorious full sail, the Mint was issuing commemorative medals, the Queen came to open our new Parliament House, and everyone rushed to Brisbane for Expo 88.
At the same time, the Hawke government insisted Australia Day be celebrated on the day itself, January 26, not the nearest Monday to create a long weekend for a long weekend’s sake. This also enabled Australians to embrace the day properly.
Thanks to the patriotic revival inspired by 1988 and invigorated by the 2000 Olympics, Australians are now confident in their sense of themselves, enthusiastic about the symbols of nationhood and more than happy to celebrate a bit of national pride with a steak sandwich and a beer.
You can find out more about Australia Day in several official sites. Here’s to a great Australia Day to all our Aussie friends.
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One aspect of the Internet that is somewhat mind-boggling is that every moment 24/7 there are other people out there with whom you may share some common interests. There are a variety of ways by which you can find kindred spirits. It may be something as simple as Twitter or a little more complex with say Facebook. Such meeting places are profilerating all the time. In some ways it’s a little like that space that the Greeks called ‘agora’ or market place. There is lots of noise and chatter and people meeting up with people to discuss the issues of the day and to transact all manner of business activities.
Sometimes you may have some task that you want done and you are just a little over-loaded at the moment. In a physical agora, you might just raise your hand and your voice to get a little attention and then in a loud voice proclaim what help you need. Online you can do the equivalent even using Twitter or Facebook or perhaps more appropriately some free ad service such as Craigs List. If you make the right connection, then someone who can work from home can complete the task for you. Since such online vehicles are just to help communication, it is up to you to create all the arrangements such that you get satisfactory work done and the helper gets paid for his or her efforts. An important issue here of course is how to establish mutual trust between the two parties so that both can know they will achieve satisfaction in their transaction.
Payment is less of an issue now since reputable services such as PayPal or Google Checkout exist to make sure that payments are made with full security.
Now a new online ‘agora’ has been created by ShortTask.com that handles all the mechanics of ensuring that the work to be done is handled in a trust-worthy way to the satisfaction of both the Seeker of help and the person who will provide the solution.
If you wish to Work at Home then on the ShortTask website you can do a Short Task Review to make sure that what is required in the task is what you might wish to deliver. If you wish to offer yourself as a Solver on some task that some Seeker has posted, then ShortTask provides the framework within which you can complete the task and receive appropriate renmeration. The mechanics can handle a wide variety of tasks so this should have an appeal as a one-stop place to get the help you need.
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