jcvdude: June 2010

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Palancar Reef - Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park

Palancar Reef is a large coral reef located on the southwest side of the island of Cozumel and is part of the Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park.

Huge plumes of oil and chemical dispersant's are adrift in the Gulf of Mexico, scientists worry that due to lack of oxygen dead zones are being formed.

There are upwards of 500 million who people rely on coral reefs for their food and livelihoods. Coral reefs form natural barriers that protect nearby shorelines from the eroding forces of the sea, thereby protecting coastal dwellings, agricultural land and beaches.

Music: 'An Epic Theme' by Matt Milne also on Twitter @filmscorematt

Posted via email from JCVdude's posterous

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Rare Himalayan Masked Chinchilla Honey Badger

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Friday, June 18, 2010

Social Media Strategies And Your #1 Goal

When I first became involved in 'Social Media', I fell into joining every free channel I could find. More is better right? I subscribed to Google Reader and scoured the latest blogs that offered any number of ways to propel oneself in all of these new platforms I had taken on. I was given the following choices and it was a difficult choice to make.

There were:
3 ways . . .7 Ways . . .4 tips to . . .11 tips . . .10 ways . . .
20 ways . . .5 types . . .50 ways. . .15 facts . . .22 reasons . . .
11 reasons . . .top 10 tips . . .top 32 tips . . .6 tips . . .5 trends . . .
And I did read them all.

What did I learn? Notwithstanding 3 ways or 55 ways, the most important element of existing in social media, is remembering we are still meeting and conversing with others, and helping when we can. We are still developing relationships with others and this takes passion, time and commitment.

So, nothing has really changed from the days when customer service what the #1 goal of any business. Experts can outline any number of strategies for success, but of utmost importance is still relations & service which need to consist at the very least of; manners, caring, concern, empathy, listening, integrity and honesty.

As for ‘more is better’? - it’s better to be reliable, consistent, available and helpful on 2-3 channels than basically invisible on 20.

JCVdude

Joe Vass

Freelance Videographer/Citizen Journalist

( No.1 Most Viewed Video in Canada)

(17th Most Viewed All Time in Canada)
http://www.youtube.com/JCVdude

http://twitter.com/JCVdude

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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Mr. Obama & the Addiction of the Nation. I have a solution!!! Call me!

The American Society of Addiction Medicine has this definition for Addiction:

Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry. Dysfunction in these circuits leads to characteristic biological, psychological, social and spiritual manifestations. This is reflected in the individual pursuing reward and/or relief by substance use and other behaviors.

Addiction is characterized by impairment in behavioral control, craving, inability to consistently abstain, and diminished recognition of significant problems with one’s behaviors and interpersonal relationships. Without treatment or engagement in recovery activities, addiction is progressive and can result in disability or premature death.

I hear the President of the United States along with others continually referring to this Nation’s “addition to fossil fuels”.

Really President Obama??

I don’t see the American people, or at least not many of them, experiencing chronic brain disease with the associated behavioral manifestations from fossil fuels (those were the UK people weren’t they?) And I’m almost positive, if an American citizen was not permitted to use fossil fuels, their behaviour would certainly not deteriorate to point that would result in their death.

Successful programs dedicated to helping folks with addiction hinge on that first step of admitting one has a problem. Well, you have admitted this Mr. President, over and over and over and over and over again. And you utter the words “we need to tackle this”. Yet you consistently neglect to be specific about actions that you will take.

So in keeping with the chronic brain dysfunction apparently inherent in the ‘Nation’ as a result of the ‘disease of addiction’, the action steps need to be simple for those who ‘can’ still participate. I suggest the following:

Fossil Fuels Anonymous
A RED pill
Cold Dinosaur
Arrange Guest appearance/consult on the Dr. Spill Show
Phone your friend Oprah Spillfrey

Call me if you need more help Mr. President.
Cindy, the 'C' of JCVdude :)

JCVdude

Joe Vass

Freelance Videographer/Citizen Journalist

( No.1 Most Viewed Video in Canada)

(17th Most Viewed All Time in Canada)http://www.youtube.com/JCVdude

http://twitter.com/JCVdude

Posted via email from JCVdude's posterous

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Are we the weeds? Let's help the honey bees

We have plunked ourselves into ecosystems and rather than care for them in order to retain them and protect them, we intrude and introduce new vocabulary in order to manage, manipulate and profit from them and ultimately destroy them.

The word 'Weed'.
It is "considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-made settings like gardens, parks, etc." (Wikipedia). In fact, these plants are valuable. The Queen Bee Breeder we interviewed, who is also researching the decline of bees gave us some valuable information about a number of plants we call 'weeds'.

One plant Liz emphasized in the clip is the Knapweed and it's value not only to bees, but to birds and butterflies and moths. Interestingly, upon doing a Google Search for the correct spelling, I came upon an article Knapweed - Its cost to British Columbia published by the Government of British Columbia promoting the eradication of the Knapweed.

It's cost to British Columbia?
Eradication of weeds could very well be contributing to the end of our bees and pollinators and therefore, our food production. The honey bee is responsible for every 1 out of 3 bites of food. I would hope in the light of knowledge and research readily available about the importance of our flora, the Government of British Columbia would rethink this position.

So what are the weeds? Are we truly the weeds? Some of us are . . .
Take action: leave the dandelions leave the knapweeds

JCVdude

Joe Vass

Freelance Videographer/Citizen Journalist

( No.1 Most Viewed Video in Canada)

(17th Most Viewed All Time in Canada)http://www.youtube.com/JCVdude

http://twitter.com/JCVdude

Posted via email from JCVdude's posterous

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Myra Canyon & the Kettle Valley Railway ~ Cycling Trail

The Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) is an easy cycling trail with no more that a 2-3 degree grade at any time. The views are amazing; wildlife, historical artifacts & vistas of the Okanagan Valley. The Myra Section leads you through tunnels in the mountain and over 18 trestles spanning incredibly deep, steep & wide canyons.

The KVR section of the trail actually starts at Midway in the West Kootenays and goes as far as Hope; 450 km through tunnels, mountains, forests, grasslands, and orchards. (Map). The KVR ride has been listed by the Bicycling Magazine as one of the top 50 rides of the world.
NB. Bike rentals are NOT available at trail entrances

Recent History:
In September of 2003 the disaster of the Okanagan Park forest fires destroyed 12 of these historic trestles (which date back to 1914) as well as thousands of hectares of the surrounding forest. The blackened trees are still there but the trestles have been rebuilt and plant life and wildlife have returned!

Thanks to Matt Milne for his music 'An Epic Theme'’. Find Matt Milne on Twitter @filmscorematt or http://www.soundclick.com/mattmilne

JCVdude

Joe Vass

Freelance Videographer/Citizen Journalist

( No.1 Most Viewed Video in Canada)

(17th Most Viewed All Time in Canada)http://www.youtube.com/JCVdude

http://twitter.com/JCVdude

Posted via email from JCVdude's posterous

Friday, June 4, 2010

Cutest Little Chipmunk Video Ever

JCVdude

Joe Vass

Freelance Videographer/Citizen Journalist

( No.1 Most Viewed Video in Canada)

(17th Most Viewed All Time in Canada)
http://www.youtube.com/JCVdude

http://twitter.com/JCVdude

Posted via email from JCVdude's posterous

Humpback Whales ~ whales songs to water ballet!

Humpback whales are found in oceans and seas around the world. Once hunted to near extinction, today, there are at least 80,000 humpback whales worldwide. Today they are followed by whale-watchers; off parts of Australia, Canada, Dominican Republic, Mexico and the United States.

Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters where their diet consists mostly of krill and small fish. In the winter the Humpbacks migrate to tropical or sub-tropical waters to court, breed and give birth. During this time, they fast and live off their fat reserves. The Females, because of the gestation period of 11.5 months, typically breed every two or three years.

Courtship competition is fierce. Groups of two to twenty males will gather around a single female or mother-calf dyad and exhibit a variety of behaviors over several hours to establish dominance. This male group size will change as unsuccessful males retreat and others arrive to compete. The behaviors these aggressive males display include breaching, spy-hopping, lob-tailing, tail-slapping, fin-slapping, peduncle throws, charging and parrying.

Both male and female humpback whales vocalize, however it is only the males that produce the ‘whale songs’ for which the species is famous. These beautiful & almost haunting songs can last from 10 to 20 minutes and the Humpbacks may sing continuously for more than 24 hours. As they have no vocal cords, they generate their song by forcing air through their massive nasal cavities.

We have watched the Humpback courtship in Mexico and our bucket list includes swimming with these majestic animals in the Silver Banks in Dominican Republic. The Humpbacks are in Dominican Republic in January to March. We can't wait. In the meantime, we'd like to thank Aquatic Adventures for allowing us to use their amazing footage included here today.