[Update: All systems restored, status upgraded to normal]

Raincity Studios' Vancouver team is working decentralized today as much of Vancouver's downtown core is still without power since an underground utility explosion yesterday (July 14th) afternoon near Richards and Pender/Dunsmuir St.

Despite the diligent efforts of the utility workers, power remains out at the office so the team are working from cafes and homes until restored.

As such, your calls may go unanswered but we are available to assist you via email or other contact methods.

This outage has no effect on web servers or other services so we anticipate no problems beyond larger than usual coffee bills.

Here's more:
Electrical Fire Knocks out Power Downtown Vancouver on Now Public

BC Hydro (utility company)

Power Outage Causes Chaos Downtown in the Vancouver Sun

Vancouver peaceful as blackout continues in the National Post

Power, traffic disrupted in downtown Vancouver via CTV.ca

Twice a year, the Raincity Studios Vancouver team turn off their laptops, relax their weary fingers, and refresh their brains with a week away from the bustle of the Gastown studio. Our next sojourn occurs from June 28 to July 6.

If there are urgent items on your agenda, please let us know promptly so we can serve you best before the break as your phone calls will likely go unanswered and emails will pile up a bit during this time.

Our colleagues at the Raincity Studios Shanghai office will still be working (don't worry they gets breaks too!) and tending to the needs of our beloved clients so fear not.

The Bryght hosting support staff will still feed and water the servers and monitor urgent support requests so you can pack your worries away while the Vancouver squad replenish ourselves with intellectual and recreation pursuits.

Question, comments, concerns? Drop us a note via the contact centre.

Thank you for your support!

Robert Scales, Kris Krug, and the Raincity Studios team ...

PS Will you miss us? Consider exploring the Raincity Studios blog and podcasts archive, or signing up to your local Drupal Group to get your fill of geekery in our absence.

Here's the crib notes of the first 1.5 days of VIDfest. {Links coming at some point ...}

Wednesday night

Kick off party at the Vancouver art Gallery with the Krazy exhibit. This will take another look to digest the walls of graphic art and manga mania but the free drink ticket and VIP pass helped kick start the conversations on the busy night of Vancouver techie-related events (Launch Party 4 sounds like another noteworthy fest of interconnectivity). Krug and I represented at the party and chilled with presenters Darren Barefoot and Rebecca Bollwitt among other social media super-heros.

Thursday morning

Every year during the Vancouver International Digital Festival (VIDFEST) the POPVOX awards are handed out to the winners selected by the Voice of the People! The POPVOX awards celebrate and recognize all the fields of digital media in a variety of categories. The winners are annunced at the Gala event scheduled May 23rd (pretty soon) so buy your tickets.

Nominees submit their projects and the masses then vote for their favorites online (that's why they are the people's voice awards right).

The Vancouver International Digital Festival is an event for the top creative minds working in digital media. Attracting visionaries from games and digital entertainment, Web 2.0, interactive design, animation and mobile applications, it is an annual ‘must-attend’ in Vancouver, Canada.

I posted a big Drupal Camp Vancouver 08 Wrap-up but am adding a bit here to offer bonus kudos to my Raincity Studios colleagues for top-notch presentations and participation.

It was really great meeting more Drupal enthusiasts from companies who would normally be classified as "our competition" yet, in the spirit of translucency, we openly shared techniques, knowledge, anecdotes and (what other companies would call) trade secrets. Big ups to our new friends, folks from out of town, helpers, fun-loving coders, sprinters, old pals, usual suspects, and everyone else.