At the risk of missing on a few details and publishing an incomplete list of conversations, anecdotes and contacts ... suffice to say that Launch Party 3 was a raging success full of new faces and the best and brightest Vangroovy hopes as listed in Techvibes Techies to Watch list and Raincity's Tech Women to Watch lists.

A contingent of Vancouver Tech Women to Watch 2008 gather round the pool table

Part of my job is to outreach to communities - both local and international - and I regularly stroll through Gastown to visit other tech hives and attend (too) many events, yet I still meet new people with great startups here in Vancouver which I had no idea about.

Ring a ding! The deserving women of the Vancouver Tech Women to Watch in 2008 are invited to a presser and photo op before Launch Party episode 3, on January 25th at 5:30 at the (suddenly controversial) Lamplighter Pub on Water St. here in Gastown.

The stunningly productive Maura Rodgers of Strutta rallied up this plan to acknowledge the ladies of the RCS list along with the fellas on the Techvibes Vancouver tech-industry insiders to watch in 2008.

Noted Vancouver photographer-blogger-partier Duane Storey will coax the best shot ever out from the assembled luminaries before getting appetizer bit stuck in their teeth ;-).

As a parting shot to the festive period, I'll leave the tinsel behind with one last missive to recount the wintery wander I undertook with Father John's winter ale and worked our way on the rounds to interrupt the workflow of some of Vancouver's smartest and funnest folks.

KK+ pulled out the big lens to take some snaps of the smiling mugs diligently toiling on clever new web tools.

Vancouver is getting a bit more attention about the innovative tech activity frothing around the community - this time the kudos come from The Intelligent Community Forum.

This nonprofit think tank explores economic development and job creation in the "broadband economy." To accomplish their goals, the ICF publish reports, organize conferences and present award campaigns with a few categories, most notably the Intelligent Community award.

In Sept., our neighbors and friends at WorkSpace unintentionally got caught up in an Interweb maelstrom when the iMac which graces the coffee bar was stolen mere days before their first anniversary.

The computer was sold and ended up in Victoria where the new "owner" inadvertently self-published a photo of his mug and tattoos to WorkSpace's Flickr photostream.