torontopia

Community Garden in NYC

2007-05-20T10:11:00.000-04:00

The East Village is nestled in lower Manhattan, around 12th and Avenue A. Tightly clustered brownstones have folding doors covering up secret stairways leading to the basement. Tiny shops and cafes with metal trash cans outside. Fenced off little parks have play areas for kids. It looks a little like Sesame Street.

That's where I found this public garden; a gated but unlocked community garden where people grow a few vegetables and flowers.

Spring is Here

2007-05-07T23:33:00.000-04:00

Spring finally arrived here in Toronto.

We celebrated by installing a new fence in our yard in April. Hum. I'm ambivalent about the new fence. The old fence had character; it sagged crazily from side to side. It was intertwined with trees growing in the fence, and it was unabashedly rusty. The new fence has the charm of an East German passport control zone. Perhaps we will install a guard tower and patrol the bare earth strip with guard dogs and AK 47s.

Removing the old fence was extremely challenging since a number of small to medium Manitoba maples had grown along the fence line. The old timers recommend the following method of stump removal:
1. Drill holes in stump
2. Pour gasoline into stump and let liquid seep into the stump
3. Light stump on fire

Or not. I don't want my lettuce to taste like an Esso station. So I dug around the roots and hacked away with a hatchet and a pruning saw. It took about a day per 6-inch tree trunk. Hard work, indeed.

American Airlines

2007-04-21T11:13:00.000-04:00

American Airlines has a new website for the ladies.

No need to tax your poor lady brain with those complicated search options, girls.

KC II

2007-04-20T01:12:00.000-04:00

Well the tap water was tasty but I saw a total of 2 fountains and one was in my hotel. City of Fountains, my ass. I did see an art gallery and a couple of downtown eateries. Spring is here in the Midwest and I was pleased to sit on the patio and sample a local brew or two after work.

The urban renaissance in KC is occurring at a rapid pace. The Federal Reserve Bank and H&R Block are both building large headquarters buildings.

But the most interesting redevelopment is the recycling of old factories and warehouses into downtown residential and commercial real estate spaces. No need for fake loft buildings here.

A new Roy Thomsonesque arenacalled the Sprint Center is also under construction.

KC

2007-04-12T10:33:00.000-04:00

I'm travelling to Kansas for work. I'm looking forward to drinking the cleanest tap water in the US, seeing historical archictecture (KC is known as the City of Fountains). KC straddles the Missouri-Kansas border, and as such it was the location of Civil War battles. The state of Kansas was part of the Union (the good guys) and repelled incursions from Missouri from the Confederates (the bad guys).

Kansas was a participant in the City Beautiful movement of North American architecture from the 1890s-1900s; an attempt to use city beautification to fight moral decay allegedly caused by urban environments.

Post World War II, KC was the site of considerable urban sprawl enabled by tax policies and free roads built by local governments. According to Wikepedia the formerly blighted downtown has undergone a revival in urban planning.

Strange that the only local highlights mentioned by my downtown hotel are proximity to malls and casinos:

Located downtown, the Kansas City - City Center Hotel is close to a variety
of major attractions and adjacent to Bartle Hall KC Convention Center.
Shoppers can catch the MAX (Metro Area Express) transient [sic] system across the street from the hotel for transportation to Country Club Plaza and Crown Center
Shopping. Worlds of Fun & Oceans of Fun located 10 miles from the hotel.
Gamblers will appreciate the quick 10 minute drive to 4 world class casinos.

Vegan Porn

2007-04-06T23:38:00.000-04:00

Vegan Porn is a site with resources for vegans and vegetarians. They have good recipies and lively discussions.

Horse Chestnuts

2007-04-06T19:16:00.000-04:00

I dug up a horse chestnut tree from our front yard because
(a) my wife doesn't like horse chestnuts and;
(b) it was growing out from under the porch and would eventually damage our house

The horse chestnut is actually native to Europe and was a popular tree in the 19th century in Toronto. The horsechestnut was for sale at Dundas and York as early as 1827. Due to a supply glut, George Leslie a local nursery owner, sold many horse chestnuts to the city at a reduced rate, and this accounts for the high number of horse chestnuts on downtown streets. I wonder if the friendly tree on my lawn was a descendant of those early trees...

Artichokes

2007-04-01T11:37:00.000-04:00

Artichokes are in season and arrived in our food box. My wife consulted her colleague on how to cook them since we've never cooked this particular veggie before. Eating them is fun; a little extra work, sort of like eating a crab or lobster.

The leaves are quite tasty and once boiled the artichoke, the leaves can be peeled off. Dip the leaf in a dipping sauce (mayo or vinegar and oil). Squeeze each leaf with your teeth - the meat of the leaf will slide out. Once all of the leaves are gone, the artichoke heart is edible too.

Winter's Last Gasp

2007-04-01T11:19:00.000-04:00

Lake Ontario, by Ontario Place in March.

100 Mile Diet and No Garbage

2007-04-01T10:33:00.000-04:00

James MacKinnon and Alison Smith have published their account of a 100-mile diet. For one year they only ate food produced within 100 miles of their home, a staggering feat of will power and innovation. Their first meal was spring salmon with sage, organic egg fritters, and grated potatoes and turnips. The cost of that food was a whopping $128.87. MacKinnon describes a visit to the grocery store, where he came to a realization that it was all unavailable:

There was nothing there for us. Nothing. All of that plenty vanished in an
instant of cockneyed imaginatino. it would be a year without ice cream. A year
without salad dressing. A year without all-purpose flour, olives, olive oill.
Without Cheerios, Peek Freans, Fruit Cremes, Rip-L-Chips, High Liner Multigrain
Tilapia Fillets.

In Toronto, Sarah McGaughey and Kyle Glover are trying to generate zero trash. In 2005 they generated one garbage bag of trash over the entire year(!) and have vowed to beat that target. Their blog documents their struggles.

The other day, I took my family, including my Mom, who is visiting from Edmonton, to a dance performance at the Textile museum. Afterward, we looked for somewhere to have dinner (with two babies) and decided upon Tim Hortons. They are the worst for anything other than the status quo. They don’t know what is in anything so if you have allergies or are vegetarian, you are SOL. Also, they can’t seem to grasp the idea of not giving any packaging. Once, at the Tim Hortons in Lawrence Square I managed to get a bagel straight on a plate, and it was a victory! I also got a smile. There were no smiles for us this time though and the bagels came wrapped,on the plate and Kyle’s coffee came in a disposable cup,even after we asked for a mug. I hate roll up the rim to win.

So true. I am struggling just to get coffee in a travel mug, mainly because of my own forgetfulness and propensity to lose the refillable mugs. Also the local coffee shop in my neighborhood has stupid coffee machines that can't accomodate tall coffee mugs. So if I visit with my travel mug, they get out a paper cup, fill up the paper cup, POUR the paper cup into my travel mug, and then THROW AWAY THE PAPER CUP. Aaah! Also I remember visiting a Wal Mart where I was informed that I HAD to have my purchased socks in a shopping bag, it was "store policy". So I took the bag, and stuck it on the nearest mannequin and walked out with just the socks.

One Nation Under God

2007-03-18T21:57:00.000-04:00

Camp counselors rally the children around a cardboard cutout of George W Bush. Scary

Environment still top of mind

2007-03-10T19:33:00.000-05:00

Europe continues to lead the fight against climate change while North American, Indian, and Chinese government and business leaders are asleep at the switch.

Already on track to reduce the emission of global-warming gases by an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012, the EU has now committed to a 20-percent and possibly as much as 30% reduction below 1990 levels by 2020.

One area that would certainly help is by increasing taxes on jet fuel. Taxing airplane fuel for international flights is prohibited by an archaic international agreement. I personally am required to travel at my office a fair bit. The current cheap price of these flights acts as an incentive for businesses to demand face to face meetings wherever possible. Many of these trips are unnecessary and would be avoided if the true costs of this harmful travel were reflected in the price of the ticket

Queen St. Shopping

2007-03-03T18:30:00.000-05:00

Cute robots

2007-03-03T00:17:00.000-05:00

Hmm. corporate greenwashing or ecobunk? Triton Logging is trumpeting its patented Sawfish™ technology. According to a news release, Triton wood has been selected for a list of top 10 green building products.

"With an estimated 300 million trees submerged worldwide, flooded forests represent a significant resource."

I don't know. There's something about hydro electric dams, flooded forests, and sustainability that just doesn't sit right with me. Maybe I'm too old-fashioned... But the little robot is so cute! But dams are bad! But the robot is cute! Oh the cognitive dissonance.

Environmentalism is very trendy right now. Maybe it's the dying planet. Even the US Army is getting into the game.

Bukowski + Memphis

2007-03-01T23:03:00.000-05:00

“Some people never go crazy, What truly horrible lives they must live”

I'm reading Charles Bukowski in Memphis. His prose about living on the edge seems appropriate here, even though there's no indication that Bukowski ever lived in Tennessee.

Bukowski wrote gritty fiction about Henry Chinaski, a largely autobiographical character. Chinaski smokes, drinks, and screws his way through the 50s, 60s and 70s. And Memphis is a gritty, gritty town on the banks of the Misssissipi river.

The building across the street is burned out, and a large number of for sale and for lease signs dot the storefronts of the central business district. The park across the street commemorates a forgotton hero: Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederate States of America. Around here, the Civil War is "The War", and the Confederates are the "good guys". And Martin Luther King was assasinated at 450 Mulberry St on April 4, 1968 .

But Memphis has a rich musical past too. In the 1950's Johnny Cash lived here and sold appliances while playing in a band called the Tennessee Two with Luther Perkins. Indeed, Johnny Cash and a number of other artists got their first big break at Sun Records, including Elvis and Roy Orbison. Elvis made his home here until August 16, 1977 where he met his untimely death.

The Nature Challenge

2007-02-23T22:36:00.000-05:00

If I had to list my most respected role model it would be David Suzuki. He's an environmentalist, but not a screaming roadblock-chaining type. The 'Suze is direct about what he expects people to do, but not nasty or vindictive. Overall a pretty friendly guy, but up-front and direct about what he thinks people should do.

So I try to make a substantial contribution every year to The David Suzuki Foundation because I think they do very good work. This enviro group has a few interesting initiatives. One of them is the Nature Challenge, which over 250,000 people have signed up for. The Nature Challenge is a set of ten steps that individuals can take.

These are my new year's resolutions so to speak. Ok, let's review see how I currently stack up. I am going to comment on each goal, and whether it is SMART (Specific Measurable Attainable R-something and Time Bounded)

1. Reduce home energy by 10%

This is an expensive and time consuming goal. We've been working on this since 2003 and have

invested substantially in houshold energy efficiency. But the truth is I don't know what the results are. Need to check the actual change in energy consumption

2. Eat meat-free meals once a week

Already doing it. This is dead simple Get some frozen wild salmon and throw it in the oven once a week. It's also inherently in one's self interest to not eat too much red meat.

3. Buy a fuel efficient, low-polluting car

This is pretty straightforward. If you are buying a new car, SUV's generally suck. The hard data for fuel efficiency is at fuelefficency.org. After reviewing the data, our car, a 1993 Saturn, supposedly gets 28 mpg city/ 36 mpg highway driving.

4. Choose an energy efficient home and appliances.

When we buy an appliance, we generally fork over a little extra cash to buy more efficient appliances. We have a BigWash Samsung washing machine and two efficient new Energuide appliances.

5. Stop using pesticides

Dead simple. I am inherently lazy, so not doing something is pretty easy. "Honey did you spray the weeds". "No, I am taking the Nature Challenge"

6. Walk, bike or take transit to regular destinations
Transit yes. Bike, mm not so much currently. We still end up using our car too much. I would like to get rid of it and switch to Zipcar.

7. Prepare your meals with locally produced food

This is quite difficult. I would rewrite the goal to say "Select Ontario or Canadian fruit wherever available. Avoid food from faraway places: kiwis from New Zealand, grapes from Chile, etc."

In Toronto and Vancouver there are agencies like Green Earth Organics that deliver organic, produce items. We are a GEO customer, and I am curious about where GEO gets its food and have put in an enquiry.

8. Choose a home close to regular destinations

Done. Though I burn a lot of fossil fuels getting to my Ultimate games in the summer.

9. Support alternatives to the car

Hmm, difficult to measure. This goal should be chartered to be more specific and measurable . E.g write one letter to an elected representative pushing for better transit funding.

10. Get involved, stay informed

This goal should be more specific and measurable.

Top NASA scientist speaks out

2007-02-20T20:56:00.000-05:00

Dr. James Hansen from the Goddard Institute of Space Studies spoke in a webcast today that was watched by 500,000 plus viewers. The webcast is part of an emergency teach-in, designed to alert teachers, scientists, and other professionals of the necessity to act on global climate change by 2010.

My partner's architecture office sent two people to watch the webcast at a local engineering office. The entire engineering office was watching the webcast. The great news is that obviously climate change is taken seriously by teachers, scientists, engineers, and architects. Now it needs to be taken seriously by federal governments and business.

Hansen outlined some basic truths that are clear to most informed observers not on the payroll of the fossil fuel industry

1. Nuclear power is useful but not the only answer.

2. Technologies for fossil fuel reduction are already available. Political will is needed.

3. Regulation and taxation of fossil fuels is necessary to effect change.

In an ABC news story, Dr. Hansen says the U.S. federal government is attempting to silence him and other scientists that speak out on global warming issues.

Meanest Book Club

2007-02-18T22:31:00.000-05:00

I've been searching for a book club. Here's one that I won't be joining, or trying to join any time soon. The Book You Crew on Livejournal.com; quite possibly the meanest book club in existence. Think Jack Black in High Fidelity. Think English Lit majors with a God complex and constipation. Anyone applying to the Book You Crew must submit their top 20 favorite books, and then face a merciless barrage of questions. Over 80% of applicants are banned.

"...If your list reads like the most recent NY Times Bestseller list, reads like
your high school summer reading list, reads like the front table at
Borders/B&N, or includes anything by John Grisham, you're deluding yourself
that you're qualified to be here. Make like a tree and branch out."

Trash

2007-02-18T22:15:00.000-05:00

I plan to consume, read, and eventually dispose of this collection of essays from MIT press. The book explores the meaning and psychology of garbage. From a typology of dust bunnies to an essay on brownfields redevelopment. In a consumptive society, our trash defines us to a large extent. So a study of the ethics and significance of trash is appropriate.

Frigid Times in the Annex

2007-02-17T22:46:00.000-05:00

The mercury finally dipped to normal February temperatures in Toronto. What a relief. I was worried Vancouverites would start moving here.

Live

2007-02-17T22:08:00.000-05:00

At my sister-in-law's behest we went to Live, the new raw vegan restaurant on Dupont Ave. And when I say raw vegan, I don't just mean 'animal products bad'. I don't mean just the 'milk is evil' vegan type. I mean mouth foaming, Fire-is-a-misguided technology-baking-is-bad-we-don't-serve-bread here (infidel) raw vegan.

Now I was a little skeptical, because while I sympathize with vegetarians and other mildly subversive types, I am of the conviction that that you know, 'fire' and 'cooking' technology were basically good inventions.

It turns out they have one or two cooked items. I had an excellent hot (cooked) soup and a (not cooked) salad. The cafe is beautiful and cheerful. Food was a little pricey, and there was an awkward moment when I tried to order a steak, medium rare. Steak is not funny. Not. funny.

Frigid February

2007-02-10T15:12:00.000-05:00

Politicians looked up this week and saw the storm over climate change brewing. Conservatives and conservative pundits, who until recently spent much of their efforts denying the problem existed, now shifted their efforts to painting the issue as hopeless. As in: there's nothing we can do about this, so might as well get really, really rich.

Capitalism - As it was meant to be

2007-01-27T21:25:00.000-05:00

I spent an enjoyable hour browsing the antique shops of West-west-Queen West near Roncesvalles. We're looking for a piano bench to replace the crappy factory piece that came with our Yamaha and is now disintegrating.

The antique stores in this area are basically capitalism in its purest form. The marketplace matching goods and services with demand. I need something; I go out to a number of shops, compare prices and service, and then find what I need. It's too bad we can't distill more of our economic activity down to the antique store model. Cut out all that corporate bullshit - overmarketed, overfranchised, centrally controlled, coercive, monopolistic rapaciousness.

Income Trust Anger II

2007-01-24T19:30:00.000-05:00

Income trust investors are taking their case for special tax breaks to Parliament Hill this week. Expect to hear about lots of sob stories about the poor little energy trusts that could no longer meet ends meet when their favored tax status was eliminated. All those impoverished international investors who are pulling their money out of Canadian income trusts and putting them into Australia and the United S- oops those countries eliminated their income trusts a long time ago. Never mind.

Saturday night cookery

2007-01-21T11:38:00.000-05:00

On the menu, quick black bean soup from epicurious. Black beans, tomatoes, red peppers, and celery(my addition).

Gates of TBP

2007-01-21T11:25:00.000-05:00

The gates of Trinity Bellwoods Park, have finally been restored. Construction had been halted temporarily last year when the fire marshal realized that the restoration impacted a fire route to an institutional building backing on the park. The gates were previously the gates of Trinity College, until 1925 when the college moved to its current location at the University of Toronto.

Urban Adventuring

2007-01-18T23:32:00.000-05:00

This is fascinating. Teams of urban adventurers illegally and dangerously exploring Southern Ontario's deepest urban caves. Read dsank's account of a spelunking expedition in the gigantic century old tunnel deep below an abandoned power station in Niagara Falls.

Vanishing point has more accounts and descriptions of urban adventures in Toronto and upstate New York.

Christmas Skating

2007-01-12T23:59:00.000-05:00

Families at Nathan Phillips Square enjoy a post-Christmas outing.

New Sheriff in Town

2007-01-07T12:52:00.000-05:00

Nancy Pelosi, the 52nd Speaker of the House of Representatives takes her seat earlier this week. Early indications are that the Democratic majority plans to hold the Bush administration accountable for its disgrace and failure in Iraq, and to provide oversight going forward.

From Face the Nation on Sunday morning:

If the president chooses to escalate the war, in his budget request we want to
see a distinction between what is there to support the troops who are there now.
The American people and the Congress support those troops. We will not abandon
them.

But if the president wants to add to this mission, he is going to have
to justify it. And this is new for him because up until now the Republican
Congress has given him a blank check with no oversight, no standards, no
conditions. And we’ve gone into this situation, which is a war without end,
which the American people have rejected.

Compost

2007-01-06T23:21:00.000-05:00

I've managed our family's compost heap for a few years now. It's one of my favorite jobs; part science project, part animal care, part good deed I suppose. The idea that you can take garbage and turn it into clean earth in a few months has a powerful appeal. A couple of years ago we seeded our compost bin with some red worms and the bin has taken off since. As a Christmas present to myself I purchased the Rodale Book of Composting from Lee Valley. Rodale publishes Organic Gardening magazine and this 1992 book is the bible of composting. It covers the basics, and then delves into all sorts of obscure and highly technical details about composting: ideal temperatures, green-brown mixes, alternative techniques such as 'compost in a bag', and even how to set up a farm-scale compost operation. I have no doubt that my efforts are low on the skill scale, but I'm having fun nonetheless.

toy factory

2007-01-03T23:03:00.000-05:00

The loft go up in Liberty village, the old Massey-Ferguson lands. These photos taken only one year ago and the place was all but deserted. See the present day slick marketing at toyfactorylofts.ca and Liberty Market. This location is a media and design hub (and was also named Toronto's "Internet Porn Alley in a 2005 broadcast of Dateline NBC.)

Read: Fiasco

2007-01-01T22:23:00.000-05:00

Just finished Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq. This book is difficult to put down; a devastating critique of the Bush administration and senior military establishment from a star journalist at the Wall Street Journal. The book adds substantially to the debate on Iraq: it is not simply a rehash of available public information. As the Pentagon correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, Ricks has filled the book with candid interviews and research from inside the military.

Fiasco describes the disgraceful history of the invasion of Iraq, from 2002-2006. He briefly covers the false premises that led to war: the bogus linkage between Saddam and al-Qaeda; the false claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, which was cooked up by pressuring the intelligence community for worst case scenarios. However most of the book is devoted to the occupation.

Ricks describes in riveting detail the results of an administration of incompetent neocons. Having sold the war as a cakewalk, the Bushies and their pets in the military establishment then proceeded to hamfistedly botch the occupation: by wasting piles of money and time looking for nonexistent WMDs, by not providing sufficient troops on the ground to prevent the country from slipping into looting and chaos; by appointing an incompetent civilian administration of Republican loyalists; and by enraging Iraqis with a brutal, torture filled occupation.

This book is important because it shows that elections do matter, even if you don't like both choices. This should put to bed the conventional wisdom that generally conservatives are generally hard headed, whereas liberals are pie in the sky idealists. Republicans and Democrats are not the same, despite the fact that they both slosh in massive donations and are both beholden to moneyed special interests. An Al Gore administration most definitely would not have disgraced and endangered the United States with this trillion dollar quagmire.

Toronto Bird Observatory

2006-12-28T23:16:00.000-05:00

The Toronto Bird Observatory has a great site with lots of cute bird pictures, birds that are visible right here in the city if you know where to look. Their birding news feed on the right hand side of the blog is depressing. Items like "Global warming could wipe out most birds". That is fucking scary.

VIA

2006-12-28T22:14:00.000-05:00

Last week we travelled to London on VIA rail for an overnight visit. The cost was about $180 for two persons which at first glance is substantially higher than the cost of gas for the same trip (say $60). However, the $60 does not take into account vehicle maintenance, insurance, etc. for two people, which is comparable to the 50c/km mileage reimbursement I would get for driving the same distance. That is to say, the cost is approximately what a corporate accountant believes is the cost of driving the same distance, when all factors are taken into account.

More importantly, the VIA trip supports a public rail infrastructure which our country badly needs. The service was efficient, though not as good as European rail service. On all the European trains I've taken, you can simply walk on the train without lining up and getting herded like cattle onto the train.

London has a very attractive train station; if only it was used to greater capacity. I hope our governments invest more in rail service and a little less in free highways for car drivers.

Waterfront Airport

2006-12-25T23:52:00.000-05:00

The Toronto City Centre Airport on a blustery December day. The island airport remains controversial following an aborted attempt to construct a bridge across the 100 metre span between the island and the mainland. After a fierce election campaign on the issue, city council voted in 2003 to withdraw its support for the bridge. However, the airline, Porter Airlines was launched anyway, and the federal government awarded the Toronto Port Authority a $35 million legal settlement, some of which was funnelled into the new airline.

Grizzly Man

2006-12-23T21:54:00.000-05:00

I highly recommend the 2005 documentary, Grizzly Man which chronicles the life and death of filmmaker and environmentalist Timothy Treadwell. makes use of Treadwell's amazing footage of grizzlies and foxes, taken during his thirteen summers camping among the grizzlies. Treadwell believed that he had figured out how to live among these dangerous animals without harm, and was tragically proven wrong. The film is touching and chilling at times, as Werner Herzog methodically documents Timothy's spiral into delusions and anthromorphism.

Dempsters

2006-12-17T22:55:00.000-05:00

Dempsters landed themselves in hot water with a lot of unwanted media attention this month when Morwenna White received an excessively packaged bagel and started an online petition to reduce packaging. Check out the comments section of this particular blog; it looks like Dempsters responded to the blogger.

Crazy!

2006-12-17T22:47:00.000-05:00

Crazed Monkey has built a clickable TTC map on top of Google Maps technology. The lengths some TTC fans will go to is mind blowing.

Drake Hotel

2006-12-17T22:26:00.000-05:00

Bicycle frames line the ceiling of the cafe at the Drake Hotel. Drake lattes are smooth and strong.

uTOpia volume 2

2006-12-17T11:34:00.000-05:00

I'm slowly chewing my way through uTOpia volume 2. It includes essays from Christopher Hume, architecture critic for the Toronto Star and Adam Vaughan, formerly of CITY-TV and newly-elected councillor for a downtown ward.

Damian Rogers has an enjoyable article on fashion in Toronto. She starts by describing the vintage shops of Kensington Market, such as Courage My Love. From there In the more upscale Queen West district, shops like Peach Berserk, Comrags, and Fashion Crimes showcase local Toronto talent.

In the online world, local writer Russell Smith has his own website, xxyz.ca, which gives fashion advice to men. If you can sift through the pile of ads, the site has some engaging columns. (Also, just to geek out for a minute, Smith needs to work out the bugs in his content-management software; some of the articles are full of little   symbols which indicate unprintable characters.)

I'm surprised Rogers neglects to mention the Fresh Collective, a designer run collective started in 2003 by Laura-Jean "The Knitting Queen." Every two weeks a different designer takes over the front window and you can literally see the jewelry and clothing being made in the back of the shop.

But you know, he made the trains run on time.

2006-12-17T09:53:00.000-05:00

The National Post and cronies displayed their fondness for authoritarianism this week, in the aftermath of Augusto Pinochet's death.

Pinochet seized power with the help of the CIA on September 11, 1973 and overthrew the elected president Salvador Allende. What followed was a 17-year orgy of violence which resulted in 3,000 deaths, and 30,000 people tortured and murdered for their political beliefs. He died on December 10 under indictment for his crimes.

In an editorial titled "Pinochet's mixed legacy", the Post credits him for "deregulating and privatizing much of the Chilean economy, thereby allowing the nation to become one of South America’s rare economic success stories."

Said David Frum, failed Bush speechwriter, and ex-National Post columnist in his National Review diary (Dec 11):

"Pinochet and his generals unleashed a spasm of cruelty and violence
unprecedented in the country's history. As it happened, they also instituted
some sensible economic policies. For that reason, many conservatives hesitate
today to criticize Pinochet personally or the Pinochet regime."

How nice. What's next, an article on Pol Pot: Brutal Dictator, but he made excellent brownies.

This love-in is not limited to Canadian conservatives, though. In 1999 while Pinochet was under arrest in Britain and facing extradition to Spain, Margaret Thatcher visited her old friend and thanked him for "bringing democracy to Chile".

holiday madness

2006-12-10T22:53:00.000-05:00

We're trying to keep the holiday madness under control. Our plan is:

1. No tree. Instead we have a christmas twig

2. One present per spouse

3. No shopping for other grownups.

4. avoiding the christmas parties

I'd much rather sleep in on my December weekends then brave the malls.

Dick Cheney's Google Searches

2006-12-09T13:04:00.000-05:00

Vanity Fair has posted a history of Dick Cheney's Google searches

Here's a sample
...
birdshot pellet removal
quail hunting "involuntary manslaughter"
hunting accident manslaughter
hunting accident manslaughter pleas
firearms disposal
..

The apple harvest

2006-12-08T22:33:00.000-05:00

The harvest is plentiful (at the supermarket anyhow). Ontario's apple growing region produces fine russet apples. Russets have been popular since Victorian times, when they were called 'leathercoats'. In the Shakespeare play Henry IV, part 2, Davy says to Bardolph, "there's a dish of leathercoats for you"

We've been drinking Bennet's apple cider (944 Garner Rd E Ancaster, ON) this fall. The Straight Dope has an opinionated article on the difference between cider and juice. There is no difference legally speaking between the two; but marketers have seized on cider as a more marketable term.

There's nothing quite like a rich mug of Ontario cider on a cold winter night.

Westin Harbour Castle

2006-12-03T20:16:00.000-05:00

The Westin Harbour Castle rises 38 stories above Lake Ontario on prime harbourfront real estate. With its concrete, glass, concrete, and stained concrete, this building is typical of the late 20th Century architecture (I guess that would be the popular Screw You school of design?). It boasts 70,000 square feet of meeting space and a heckuva view.

The Next Prime Minister of Canada

2006-12-03T18:51:00.000-05:00

Stephane Dion surged from fourth place to become leader of the Liberal Party of Canada yesterday in a stunning win. Dion listed environmental sustainability as the most important issue facing Canada. And as former environment minister he is familiar with the climate crisis. Stephane is a highly intelligent leader. Will he make a difference?

Realistically, Jack Layton will not become PM. And anybody has to be better than the current government which is led by nutbar oil patchers who believe climate change is a leftist plot to steal Alberta's oil wealth. Harper's government has blatantly reneged on Canada's Kyoto commitments and slashed funding for Kyoto programs. and now promises to do something about climate change ... by the year 2050.

The rise of climate change as a campaign-defining issue is encouraging. Sites such as climateliberal.ca show that Liberals get the message that Canadians are very concerned about the climate crisis. Unfortunately there is an elephant in the room. A big nasty, CO2 farting elephant. Liberals did not make a significant dent in the problem during their three consecutive majority governments. So it begs the question: Is the new-found enthusiasm for sustainability merely another Liberal ploy for votes, or a sign that they are taking the issue seriously?

Words to Live by

2006-12-02T01:15:00.000-05:00

Found on an overpass on the Martin Goodman Trail, near the Palais Royale.

From the No-Big-Surprise-There-Dept.

2006-12-02T00:30:00.000-05:00

Christopher Lohse, a MSW student at Connecticut State University, published a study showing a direct correlation between psychosis and support for President Bush. Lohse interviewed psychiatric outpatients during the 2004 election. The more psychotic the patient, the higher the support for Bush.

uTOpia

2006-11-27T23:20:00.000-05:00

Sunday was Coach House Books' launch of their new book State of the Arts: Living with Culture in Toronto.

I attended the Unofficial Culture panel discussion. oof. Panel discussions can be heavy stuff; even with the great moderator the material can be a bit dry. Luckily I liquored up a little bit at the Gladstone's fabulous new bar at the corner of Gladstone and Queen.

Waterfront in November

2006-11-25T18:54:00.000-05:00

It was a beautiful crisp autumn day in Toronto. The western waterfront was our backdrop for a bike ride today.

Liberty Grand, CNE. This Beaux-Arts building was constructed in 1926 as the Government of Ontario building. The Liberty Grand is an events hall now. Beaux-Arts is a style of architecture derived from Imperial Roman styles, involving elements such as heavy use of sculptural elements, symmetry, and grand entrances.

Windshare ExPlace Turbine. The ExPlace Turbine is the first urban-sited wind turbine in North America and generates 1,000 MWh of power per year.

New landscaping along western waterfront

Humber Bay Arch Bridge. The bridge is an abstracted rendition of a Thunderbird, designed by Montgomery Sisam Architects.

Humber Bay Butterfly Habitat

Spirit Ravens at HBBH

Domestic Affair

2006-11-21T22:15:00.000-05:00

Jae Steele has an article explaining the reasoning behind eating whole grains. A whole grain food has its bran, germ, and endosperm intact. (white flour includes only the endosperm). Most of the fibre and vitamins are contained in the germ and bran layers of the grain.

Steele is a registereded holistic nutritionist and writer of vegetarian cookzines. Her weblog can be found at domesticaffair.ca.

Blame Canada

2006-11-18T08:50:00.000-05:00

Canada's Conservative government continued its tradition of environmental disgrace and incompetence by opposing a ban on high-seas bottom trawling. Bottom-trawling is the so-called 'clear cutting of the oceans' method of fishing that is devastating the world's oceans. The UN proposal would ban bottom trawling in currently unregulated international waters.

Greenpeace has put together a South Park themed-video urging people to Blame Canada.

Last Days of the Garden

2006-11-18T06:59:00.000-05:00

As the days get shorter the garden wilts. The bulbs go into the ground for next year: garlic, daffodils, and snowdrops.

Stones II

2006-11-14T23:01:00.000-05:00

Finally we got the last stones into our front yard and completed the retaining wall.

It was important to us to get a regional material, and the color of stone fits well with the surroundings. The stone is Georgian Bay limestone from Beaver Valley Stone.

Landscaping is a tricky business. In order to prevent frost heaving, the stones are surrounded by gravel wrapped in filter fabric. The gravel allows water to seep away from the stone and the filter fabric keeps dirt particles from mixing with the gravel. In between the gravel and the stones is a layer of limestone fines for precise levelling.

Our friend the stone mason gave us a hand with two stones that required cutting. His diamond-tipped chainsaws cut through limestone like butter

The levelling went well but the stones are not quite in a straight line. They run flush with the sidewalk edge which is not straight. Next time I will follow the string line more closely. But we are very happy with the results; our motto is: perfection is not an option

Income Trust Anger

2006-11-07T18:47:00.000-05:00

Income trust investors expressed disappointment after Jim Flaherty lowered the boom on income trusts by announcing new tax measures. The income trust boom started to get out of control in the past few years, as corporations exploited an obscure loophole to avoid paying corporate tax.

A number of 45-year olds with million dollar portfolios will now have to work for a living instead of retiring at 50. One alternative to income trusts is known as a 'job'. It pays distributions every two weeks.

Stone placing

2006-11-06T22:48:00.000-05:00

Saturday was stone day for us. At 8:30am the flat bed truck arrived, complete with hydraulic legs and a crane with a ten-foot boom. The crane easily handled the two tonnes of limestone that we ordered, and dropped it in our front yard

We dug a deep trench, taking care not to sever the gas main and cause a blinding explosion. In order to provide proper drainage, it is necessary to line the site with gravel wrapped in filter fabric. The gravel is topped with limestone powder which is used to adjust the level of the stone.

Drop 400 pound rock into place. Measure. Pull 400 pound rock out. Add limestone. Repeat

Slurp. ahhh. Coffee helps the job go smoother.

Silver Creek

2006-10-28T19:18:00.000-04:00

If you drive several miles up highway 31 out past the sprawl you come to 27th side road in the Town of Halton Hills. There, by the fields and forests is one of the most spectacular sections of the Bruce Trail, the Silver Creek Conservation Area.

My lovely spouse organized a trip with some friends to that section of the Bruce Trail. Spent the whole day walking fields and forests. Then we had a beer and some soup at a pub called the Copper Kettle in Glen Williams where the surly service did not ruin what was an otherwise great day.

Flâneur

2006-10-23T21:35:00.000-04:00

fla·neur
Variant(s): also flâ·neur /flä-'n&r/
Function: noun
Etymology: French flâneur: an idle man-about-town

funkaoshi's pictography of his idle afternoon in the west end of toronto.

Scorched Earth

2006-10-22T18:40:00.000-04:00

At long last, on Saturday I destroyed our front lawn. I have secretly despised our lawn since moving in with my girlfriend in 2003. Over the years, I have patiently worn her down with hints, suggestions, sexual favors even. Until finally I obtained permission to put my plan into action.

The turf based lawn uses a plant that evolved in humid climates of Northern Europe. The stately lawn was a symbol of wealth and prestige in England - a person with a manicured lawn was demonstrating that he had the staff to maintain the lawn and didn't have to use his land for crops. In the New World, this romantic notion of the stately English manor house has led to an obsession with this plant. Americans are so obsessed with the turf lawn that an estimated 44,000 square miles are covered with the stuff, an area the size of Pennsylvania. Basically the reasons why lawns suck are

1. They require vast amounts of water to keep looking green, unless you live in a humid rainy climate similar to England's. In the summer, people pour vast amounts of water to keep the grass from turning brown.
2. Generally people apply herbicides and fertilizer to have the lawn look clean and neat. These chemicals run off the lawn into aquifiers and lakes, damaging the localecosystem.
3. Lawn mowers contribute to pollution. Due to poor efficiency standards and the realities of two-stroke engines, a gas powered lawn mower spews as much pollution as 40 idling automobiles.

Replacing the lawn will be a multi step process. For now we will put down mulch to cover the soil over the winter. My lovely wife has been engaged to help plan out the trees, shrubs, and natural grasses that will replace it.

The Land Stewardship Letter has a good outline on the hows and whys of lawn replacement.

Burdock day

2006-10-18T22:33:00.000-04:00

Saturday was the Friends of Trinity Bellwoods Park's second Park Day. This event is a popular way to meet your neighbors, have a snack, plant some plants together. We ate hot dogs and biennial thistles.

The ravine slopes of the park are being invaded by an invasive plant called Burdock. The Friends of Dufferin Grove Park assisted with this problem. They pulled a bunch of Burdock out of the ground and cooked them up on a campfire and served them with bread. Cool, huh? A wild plant cook out in the middle of the city.

I took some invasive plant home to make a stir fry, which my wife will not touch. Luckily there are a number of recipes on how to cook this plant on the Internet. Thanks 'Wild Man', for your help. 'Wild Man' has written a book called Shoots and Greens of Early Spring in Eastern North America.

Joe Pantalone, local councillor, gave up part of his Sunday to give a tour of the park. Trinity Bellwoods used to be the site of Trinity College, and the old gates of the college now sit at the park entrance, where they are under restoration.

Your Secrets Should Stay with You

2006-10-08T22:23:00.000-04:00

Last weekend at Type, I picked up a copy of Darren O'Donnel's new book Your Secrets Sleep With Me. Ugh. I got to page 33 before terminating the read with extreme prejudice. I'm just not into surrealist postmodern fiction.

This is the page that got me:

"The centre, Kaliope knows, extracts blood from the periphery to make up for the lost knowledge traded for the gained privilege.
Kaliope pukes again, the pit of her stomach squeezing her pubic bone out of her mouth. Ruth hops up and down, the need to pee unbearable. The rain buffets the house and a flash of lightning leaves behind an explosion that feels like it happene4d exactly between Kaliope and Ruth, two girls who generally walk around with a sense of impending doom, different for each, but similarly hollowing - if you listen carefully at their chests you can sometimes hear strands snapping like the pulled innards of a pumpkin."

What. The. Heck. Is. That. Supposed. To. Mean. Sigh. Norr am I going to spend two more hours finishing the book to find out. Life is too short for critically-acclaimed but opaque CanLit.

Nuit Blanche

2006-10-08T10:22:00.000-04:00

Wow, I wish I had been at Toronto's first Nuit Blanche. This arts festival took place on Sept 30 from 7pm to 7am, and featured 130 night-time-themed art installations and performances in the downtown area. Trinity Recreation Centre had a night swim with underwater lights and a DJ. Over 400,000 people attended the inaugural Nuit Blanche

The city government has figured out that arts and cultural events are more interesting, more natural, and ultimately a more successful way to attract tourists and residents. Imagine if we could have the billions back that were poured into the SkyDome years ago by the Ontario government, and we could put that into successful cultural events like Nuit Blanche

Overheard at Nuit Blanche (from Torontoist)

"It was kinda like being in the trenches in World War 1"
-Mud-covered folk in line for poutine after walking through Fujiko Nakaya's disorienting fog sculpture on Philospher's Walk

"'Let me be your teddy bear', let me touch your Punani--can we go now?"
-Hipster girl at Chris Curreri's Neon text installation on Baldwin St.

"Stay close. Form a human wall. Nothing can touch us then."
-Adam Brodie, Adam's The Real Totally Toronto Special Guided Tours (Note: This was the superior tour despite what Mr. Kumar says).

"Excuse me ma'am, the pool is at capacity, you can't come in. Ma'am, we can't let any more people in you'll have to get out. You have to get out. Thank you." (Woman walks down to the other end of the pool and gets in) "Ma'am, I just said...Okay, everybody out. This pool is now closed."
Lifeguard (to very stoned woman in underwear), Caldarium at Trinity Bellwoods Pool.

"I wish I was drunker."
Drunk guy in Trinity Bellwoods park, 3am

"Well, that's the end of art."
Sober guy walking behind him

bleah

2006-10-03T23:19:00.000-04:00

As I was hurling into a paper bag last night and I decided that air travel is not my favorite way to get around. The puddle jumper commuter plane aborted its wind sheared landing at the last minute to circle round for another try

There must be a better way to get around. Like trains for example. Nice European trains with fast efficient service.

competitiveness and climate change

2006-10-01T20:28:00.000-04:00

The latest Global Competitiveness report from the World Economic Forum shows that you can sign the Kyoto accord, make progress towards greenhouse gas emissions reductions and still remain economically competitive.

Out of the top 10 only the U.S. is not a Kyoto member. The U.S. signed it and later reneged on their committment under the Bush administration. The other countries in the top ten are: Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the United Kingdom; all Kyoto signatories

"The top rankings of Switzerland and the Nordic countries show that good institutions and competent macroeconomic management, coupled with world-class educational attainment and a focus on technology and innovation, are a successful strategy for boosting competitiveness in an increasingly complex global economy."Augusto Lopez-Claros, Chief Economist; Director, Global Competitiveness Network

C.J. Strikes again

2006-09-30T00:58:00.000-04:00

Calamity Jane is scrabbling at straws again. Thin straws. This week, Jane appointed herself "Defender of the Gardiner Expressway" This will prove to be a big wasted effort on her part, sadly. Aside from the idiocy of making your campaign hinge on being the defender of a big ugly elevated expressway, there are no credible plans in motion to tear it up. It would cost billions, and if the money were found tomorrow, it would still take probably ten years with all the planning and environmental assessments that are necessary with a project that size. So it's a non issue.

And let's add in the fact that 90% of people in Toronto don't depend on the Gardiner. Anyone north of Bloor Street is unlikely to depend on the expressway, and anyone close to it would presumably be happy for the large jump in property values that accompanies destruction of ugly elevated expressways.

Did nobody mention to C.J. that the thousands of people who would have their driving time increased (roughly four minutes from the studies that have been done) are mostly suburbanites? So yes, Jane, this may be a polarizing election issue where a large number of people feel strongly for your point of view. However, the issue is primarily a wedge issue between people in Toronto and people who aren't voting in the Toronto election.

Bricks

2006-09-26T20:01:00.000-04:00

On the to-do list: re-use these historic bricks from our roof ina tasteful landscape feature. They are too old to use in any critical structure, but perhaps a nice garden wall would do. There's something warm and comforting about a nice brick structure. A connection to the land perhaps. Across the city another project on a much larger scale is reviving interest in Toronto's brick building heritage.

Toronto's Brickworks are under redevelopment. From 1889 to 1984 the The Don Valley Pressed Brick Works Company in the Don Valley producd bricks for a growing city. The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority are the stewards of the upcoming redevelopment which will include a farmer's market, offices, a park, and artist spaces.

With all the nasty environmental issues happening these days it's easy to fall into the trap of bashing our industrial heritage; the companies that built this city. However there is much to celebrate in our past. The Brickworks is one of those sites.

Calamity Jane

2006-09-23T09:36:00.000-04:00

Calamity Jane Pitfield illustrated again why she doesn't deserve to be mayor. On Tuesday the bumbling councillor from Leaside inadvertently voted for the Miller trash disposal solution which she vigorously opposes. Oops.

"I regret it, but it was human error," said Ms. Pitfield, who confessed to being distracted during the vote.

Hmm. The garbage disposal issue is pretty much the biggest issue of the campaign. If Toronto doesn't figure out how to divert and dispose of its trash, pronto, we will be drowning in the stuff. So Jane can't vote correctly on yes-no question on a critical municipal issue. But she wants to be mayor. What's wrong with this picture>?

Queen West Art Crawl

2006-09-22T22:55:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday was the Queen West art crawl held in Trinity-Bellwoods Park. The park was full of booths with everything from glass art to T-shirts showcased.

Carol Currie from Midland, ON does some amazing work on sandblasted wood. Her paintings are three dimensional works, mainly landscapes of Georgian bay and they really jump out at you.

Local artist Hoi-An Tang, an OCAD graduate, had a number of her works on display: cards, buttons, and magnets. Her work has been showcased at the designer shop Magic Pony.

Dawson College

2006-09-14T09:17:00.000-04:00

Charming fellow. The shooter who went on a rampage yesterday in downtown Montreal is the portrait of a troubled teenager. Self-obsessed, angry, obsessed with violent culture and guns. His profile at a Goth website includes the picture above.

Now, I realize that rural gun owners find it inconvenient and expensive to register their guns. However, "tougher sentencing for gun crimes" doesn't appear to have deterred the shooter yesterday. Not much of a deterrent if you plan to be dead, is it?

The Conservative governmnent has made it a primary plank of their platform to make it easier for people to purchase and own guns. I hope the Liberals point this out and beat the crap out of them in the next election.

Abba Gold

2006-09-09T21:48:00.000-04:00

Today I found a pile of CDs in a box on someone's front lawn. This is the international signal for - we don't want this crap, help yourself.

I scored some obscure electronica music of as-yet-undetermined quality and some Abba Gold. I cannot believe that, incredibly, someone threw out the 1992 classic. Released at a time when Abba had been out of the mainstream for a few years, the album rocketed to the top of the UK charts in 1992 and three times in 1999.

The album is cleverly arranged in descending order of quality. It starts out with the ubiquitous Dancing Queen, then rocks through Mamma Mia, SOS, and begins its obscure descent into Chiquitta, Does Your Mother Know, and the little-known "Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)"

The spouse and I are bopping to the more well known hits from the album tonight... According to Wikipedia, the band ABBA is named after a well-known Swedish fish canning company. Rock on Andersson, Ulvaeus, Lyngstad, and Fältskog, may your keyboards never grow dusty, and your poppy 70's vibe never grow old.

OneZone

2006-09-08T01:42:00.000-04:00

Toronto's publicly owned wireless network is reportedly going live today. This is the largest WiFi hotspot in Canada and is free until March 2007. After that, it will be $29 per month.

Taking Stock

2006-09-04T12:57:00.000-04:00

It's time to review the successes and failures of this year's garden

Runaway Success:

Tomatoes - yellow pear tomatoes grown from seed. Prolific, tasty, and juicy
Squash - Didn't even plant the squash, but we got some kind of squash/zucchini hybrid. Call it a squiccini. Our soil handles both squash and zuccini very well.
Strawberries and raspberries - the production rate of these perennial bushes is enough to keep us with fresh berries on our cereal throughout late summer and early fall
Basil - the only problem we have is what to do with all our basil. Maybe make some pesto in a couple of weeks...

Dismal Results

Peppers - This is the last time I try to grow peppers. They are high maintenance. If I don't surround them with little cardboard walls, the cutworms get the early shoots. If I don't put nylon net over them, the animals eat them. The shrimpy green peppers that result from all this work are not worth the intensive effort.
Broccoli - Impressive foliage, but no flower. No edible broccoli. This plant is worth a second try.

Next Year's List

Tomatoes - Ontario's dependable crop. Impress your neighbors! Burn your tongue with the acid.
Onions & garlic - my elderly neighbor grows them with great success
Jerusalem artichokes - an experimental - for me - native plant
Broccoli, attempt no. 2
Squash & zucchini
Beans
Corn
Berries (which don't actually require much effort.)

Tasty Weeds

2006-09-03T17:20:00.000-04:00

We have been cultivating a native Ontario plant called Jerusalem Artichoke, a member of the sunflower family. It grows along the eastern seabord from Georgia to Nova Scotia. American Indians called them sun roots and introduced them to early North American settlers. The explorer Samuel de Champlain named them artichokes and sent some of them back to France where they were highly prized.

In modern Ontario, alas this plant is disliked by Ontario farmers as a weed. Agriculture Ontario recommends the herbicide Kilmor® at 1.0 litres per hectare, or Roundup® at 6.5-9.0 L/ha.

I recommend StirFry® with black bean sauce on rice.

WTC

2006-09-01T22:20:00.000-04:00

Ground Zero is under reconstruction after years of squabbling over the appropriate replacement for the Twin Towers. In June the revised design for the Freedom Tower was unveiled, with construction of the foundation already underway. A WTC memorial costing an estimated $500 million is also planned.

7 World Trade Center is visible behind the construction fences. This building was the last to fall during the WTC attacks and the first to be rebuilt.

The firemen of Ladder & Engine Company No. 10 watch over the site of the WTC disaster. Ten House lost six firefighters on Sept. 11. Overall, the FDNY lost 343 firefighters in the twin towers. The stories of courage by the first responders on Sept. 11 are riveting and shocking.

Ward Hunt ice shelf breaks up

2006-08-27T11:21:00.000-04:00

The Ward Hunt ice shelf on Ellesmere Island has broken after 3,000 years of undisturbed existence. NASA scientists attribute this change to human-caused climate change.

The breakup of the ice shelf is a loss to biodiversity since the shelf contained a rare microclimate known as an epishelf lake. An epishelf lake is a particular climate consisting of fresh, brackish, and salt water in a rare combination similar to that found in George Bush's brain.

Yellowknife Golf

2006-08-19T15:54:00.000-04:00

In Yellowknife golf has a few additional rules. The course is mostly sand; so you have to take a little artificial grass mat around with you and hit the ball off the artificial grass. Secondly, you have to watch out for the ravens which are likely to carry off your ball. The course even has a special rule posted for that situation.

Indy Bookstores

2006-08-16T21:41:00.000-04:00

If you are in NYC I recommend the following

1. Get off the subway in SoHo, e.g. Prince St. Station

2. Browse the stacks at Housing Works Used Bookstore (126 Crosby St, Soho). They have a marvelous selection with catwalks and a classic dark wood style. Their profits provide housing and healthcare for homeless New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS.

For other NYC bookstores check out Chekovsmistress.com

3. Dinner at the Hampton Chutney Co. Avocado and spinach dosa, plus mango lassi: $14

Yellow Alert

2006-08-12T13:07:00.000-04:00

The Department Of Homeland Security has raised the terror alert level to orange for commercial aviation, yellow for everything else. This follows the arrests of people in Britain for plotting to blow up airliners.

How about an advisory level for climate change? Do Americans even recognize a threat that doesn't affect the next fiscal quarter? or the next five years? Climate change will affect more people than the worst-case scenario from last week. It may not be as dramatic or imminent but it is a threat that needs to be taken seriously.

Mailbox

2006-08-12T08:43:00.000-04:00

Number twelve Beatrice street has a secret. There are two mailboxes at this house, and one of them is a mini art gallery called the Lower Mailbox Gallery. They reportedly hold art openings on the front porch, where wine is served in extra small glasses. Cute

Squash

2006-08-06T13:31:00.000-04:00

Cooked. The first spaghetti squash from the garden on Sunday. Here it is. Squash is a native North American plant; one of the so-called Three Sisters of agriculture which included also maize and beans. The following recipe from epicurious works well:

Ingredients

a 2- to 2 1/2-pound spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise, reserving 1 half for another use
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions
Wrap the squash half in microwave-safe plastic wrap and microwave it, cut side up, at high power (100%) for 10 to 12 minutes, or until it feels soft when pressed. Let the squash stand for 5 minutes.

In a small microwave-safe dish combine the butter, the onion, and the mushroom and microwave the mixture at high power (100%), stirring once, for 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are tender. Discard the squash seeds, scrape the flesh with a fork into a bowl, and toss it with the mushroom mixture, the parsley, the chives, the Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste.

Jump Up

2006-08-05T17:23:00.000-04:00

I went to the Caribana Festival of Bands parade. Caribana is Toronto's annual Carribbean festival modelled onTrinida & Tobago's carnival. The music was loud, the sun was hot. The crowd was enthusiastic. Alas no batteries for the camera so I couldn't take any photos.

Tips for next year's parade:
Bring a bike. Get onto Lakeshore at Strachan Ave. and then walk your bike westbound, moving up the parade from back to front. The parade is slow enough that you can overtake it, and that way you don't have to sit around all day waiting for it.

Yay Long Weekend - Simcoe Day

2006-08-04T21:12:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday Mr. John Graves Simcoe

go

2006-08-04T19:15:00.000-04:00

This week I began taking GO Transit to a customer site. GO allows bikes except through Union at rush hour.

Trains rock my world. Maybe it's the European in me. The ride is comfortable, fast, and productive if you have a laptop or a crackberry.

A two way ticket is $14 by GO, and over $50 by car (the mileage charged by my company for the same trip)

I get a thrill every time a train blasts through the station at 100 km/h.

Big Three Take a Hit

2006-08-02T22:13:00.000-04:00

Detroit's Big Three automakers have taken a hit. Toyota now has a greater market share in the U.S. than Ford does.

Ford: sales down 43.9% in July with July being Ford's 6th consecutive monthly sales decline
DaimlerChrysler: sales down 35%
GM: down 19% with July theirFord's 6th consecutive monthly sales decline

Time to stop selling inefficient vehicles boys. Wake up, or die Detroit automakers.

Giant Mine

2006-07-28T22:36:00.000-04:00

We visited the Giant Mine, defunct since 1999. The Giant Mine has a toxic legacy: 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide dust remains following half a century of mining. Said one of our Yellowknife hosts: Why not solve the problem by getting everyone to return their gold and mix it with the arsenic?

The Giant Mine does not like visitors. Below are some photos taken from the parking lot of the Giant Mine and the unmarked road across the highway. Shortly after taking these images we were approached by security and asked to leave.

Prelude Lake

2006-07-26T20:47:00.000-04:00

A road winds its way east for 62 km out of Yellowknife. Originally, the Diefenbaker government had proposed building a road all the way around Great Slave Lake. It was part of the Diefenbaker government's program of 'Roads To Resources'.

The road was never completed and now it dead ends at a lake. This road is called the Ingraham Trail and we visited one of the stops along the way, a park called Prelude Lake. The hiking was moderately difficult and the trail includes a very well designed set of interpretive plaques outlining the flora and fauna in the area.

Below is a foliose lichen, a food normally enjoyed only by caribou but also the explorer Sir John Franklin during his hapless 1821 expedition in the Canadian Arctic. The members of his expedition called the lichens Tripe de Roche and even tried to eat their own boots.

We also found this cool flower. Don't know what it is.

YK Dump

2006-07-23T23:01:00.000-04:00

The Yellowknife dump is famous for its scavengers and is known as the "IKEA of dumps." The town's landfill has been featured in The Walrus and the International Herald Tribune. The site is unusual among North American dumps because it allows people to scavenge (although this is not advertised on the city's web site) From 3:30-5pm people can visit to scrounge through boxes left carefully and also not so carefully. We also saw people looking for spare parts for cars, and a helpful sign saying "help yourself to paint".

Scavenging was an eye-opening experience, or shall I say, nostril constricting-experience. As you might expect. Since the town doesn't have green bins like Toronto, the wet rotting garbage is mixed in with the dry, potentially useful garbage. And there are thousands of seagulls crapping everywhere.

Let's just say the reality of scavenging is much less pleasant than the idea of scavenging - reuse of items. I guess you could get used to the smell and the mess, and it would have helped to be properly dressed for scavenging. But it makes you think about all the things we throw away; how un-reusable and unrecyclable so much of our trash is, and how important it is to divert waste into multiple streams: wet waste, compost, recyclables, toxic waste, before it ends up here.

LOHAS

2006-07-22T12:01:00.000-04:00

Conservative newsmagazine Newsweek has a good article on the Greening of America in their recent issue (July 17, 2006)

Gallup polling data shows that the number of Americans who say they worry about the environment has increased from 62 to 77 percent between 2004 and 2006. This data was gathered before the release of Al Gore's film on climate change, An Inconvenient Truth

Marketers have a term called LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) to describe eco-conscious consumers.

It's good to see the message is sinking in among the conservative media, though the article does peddle a fair share of despair over climate change: "In the face of the coming onslaught of pollutants from a rapidly urbanizing China and India, the task of avoiding ecological disaster may seem hopeless, and some environmental scientists have, quietly, concluded that it is" (p. 43)

Al Gore documents this trend "from denial to despair", in his movie An Inconvenient Truth. Having delayed, denied, obfuscated, and lied about climate change for decades, conservative politicians and media pundits have now completely flip-flopped. Climate change is real and serious, they say, but now it's far too late and too difficult to do anything about it. Whoops, we were wrong. Too bad it's too late.

Lite Ride 2

2006-07-21T01:40:00.000-04:00

The Lite Ride from Goods-2-Go has proven to be an invaluable part of our urban vacation. Although not usable for mountain biking or long distance riding, for trips under 20km it is perfect. The unusual appearance of this bike got a lot of people interested.

Alaskan Huskies

2006-07-21T01:02:00.000-04:00

Today we visited a professional sled dog racer, Kate Palfrey and her kennel of 54 Alaskan Huskies. Kate and her husband Warren recently competed in the Iditarod, an 1,100 mile sled race in Alaska. Pictured above is a month-old litter of Husky puppies. The dogs are clumsy and curious and you can already see their individual personalities starting to develop. Pictured below: the kennels where the adult teams live.

Green Issues in the North

2006-07-20T11:07:00.000-04:00

Northerners are struggling with a number of political issues this summer

In Yellowknife the Arctic Energy Alliance and Aurora Research Institute have set up a wind monitoring station to determine if wind power is viable for Yellowknife. Although Yellowknife currently uses hydro-electric power generation, many smaller NWT communities get their power from burning nasty diesel fuel.

In Wood Buffalo National Park on the southern border of the NWT, two forest fires are currently burning out of control. In Fort Smith, a plan to conduct a controlled forest burn to protect the town was deep-sixed after residents vigorously opposed it. "It's the oddest friggin' thing I've ever heard of," said Ken Hudson, calling the plan "stupid." (News/North July 17, 2006) Ken Hudson is the president of the Fort Smith Metis Council.

Indeed. I hope that Mr. Hudson won't be looking for government compensation when the forest fire sweeps through his town, now that a large supply of flammable material has been assured.

In Yellowknife, MLA Bill Braden pushed for adoption of a report recommending one more MLA each for Yellowknife and Behchoko. Bill Braden notes that Yellowknife has half the population of the NWT but only 38% of the representation in the Legislative Assembly.

Wild urban plants

2006-07-16T01:07:00.000-04:00

On Friday we went bird-watching at Niven Lake in the heart of Yellowknife. This urban lake used to be a sewage lagoon and is now a thriving wetland and is home to beaver, muskrat, and many species of birds and wild plants.

Pictured above (foreground) is foxtail barley The BC government lists it as a 'noxious weed'. I like to call it a 'native plant'. In the background, the red flower is fireweed.

Folk on the Rocks

2006-07-16T00:22:00.000-04:00

We had a fabulous day at Folk on the Rocks. Not only did we see some quality artists but the organizers put the artists together in mash-ups. Bands that don't normally play together were paired off on some of the smaller stages during the afternoon shows. Brodie Dawson, local Yelloknife artist was matched with two seperate Ontario bands: Serena Ryder and The Marigolds. Whitehorse musician Indio Saravanja was paired with Petunia, an artist from New Brunswick. The result was a happy mix of compatible but different artists - a sound that we would not otherwise get to hear.

The food today: caribou burger on re-usable camping plate. Instead of generating massive quantities of paper plates, the festival has a deposit/return system which allows you to borrow a plate for your meal. Sweet.

Giant Mine

2006-07-14T20:04:00.000-04:00

The front page story of the Yellowknifer the day we arrived had a story about the threat posed by the Giant Mine.

The Giant Mine has been open since 1948 in Yellowknife and was a major employer for a long time. However, it seems that the mining companies who cashed in on the gold rush didn't take care of something. 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide, to be precise. It's actually quite a common problem in resource based economies. Wealth gets privatized. Costs get socialized. Now the government is on the hook for a 200 million dollar cleanup while the former private sector managers are nowhere to be found. How can this be? I thought government was incompetent and the private sector efficient...

The latest problem making headlines is that a creek is threatening to flood the arsenic trioxide storage areas and spew deadly poison into Yellowknife Bay.

The US Center for Disease Control website lists the threat from ingested arsenic trioxide as "extremely hazardous. " Symptoms for poisoning include hemorrage, cerebral edema, and coma. The site indicates that 'small amounts of arsenic trioxide can lead to multiple organ damage and death' (source: CDC medical management guidelines )

In addition the EPA has classified arsenic trioxide as a human carcinogen: "Arsenic trioxide causes skin and lung cancer and may cause internal cancers such as liver, bladder, kidney, colon, and prostate cancers."

Sleep well kiddies.

Lite Ride

2006-07-14T11:29:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was our first full day in Yellowknife, NT. We toured around on our new LiteRide folding bikes from goods-2-go. These Canadian-designed (alas not Canadian built) bikes weigh a mere 12.5 kg and they fold into a duffel bag. At the airport check-in, the large bags provoked suspicion and comments about 'not exactly travelling light are we?' but we were able to evade the usual $50 per bike handling fee that is normally charged. (Nothing suspicious here. Just two spouses and a whole lot of luggage. We definitely don't have any bikes or other luggage that would trigger extra fees. May I have my boarding pass please)

The bikes were invaluable yesterday; you get a huge amount of freedom when riding a bike that you don't otherwise. We were able to zip to the grocery store and tour different parts of the city without getting tired from walking or spending a fortune on cabs.

Sadly we saw a small boy who had just been hit by a car lying on the sidewalk. His BMX bike was under the wheels of a Jeep and he was surrounded by passers-by as the emergency services raced to the scene.

For lunch we rode our bikes to the Frame Lake Trail and sat on the rocks and ate bologna sandwiches and vegetables with hummus. It was a sunny day, and it was great.

YK

2006-07-12T00:27:00.000-04:00

And we're off. Yellowknife, NWT here we come. Most people go south for the winter but we're going north for the summer.

Yellowknife has a friendly urban community with close proximity to the great outdoors. Folk on the Rocks is the biggest community event of the year, and we're looking forward to seeing the bands on the playlist.

Snappo

2006-07-08T07:58:00.000-04:00

Two visits to the ER in the past two months. Last month it was for a tetanus shot after I stepped on a rusty construction staple. Remember, get your tetanus shot if you are doing any renovation work.

On Tuesday I damaged my rotator cuff playing Ultimate. Made a fantastic flying catch and landed on my shoulder to hear a loud cr-ack. All of a sudden my joint was not in the right place, and so I floundered a little bit on the ground in shock.

The Ultimate crowd gathered around knowledgeably as I was squirming on the field. This injury happens a lot in this sport. They said "Hmmm, is your shoulder out? Yes, pretty common. Don't worry it will probably just slide back on its own."

And it did - oozing back into place as suddenly as it popped out.

Anyhow I don't recommend this particular injury. I visited our fine socialized medical system (my co-workers hate Medicare with a passion but it seems to work rather well) and got X-rayed after a reasonably short time. But it was rather unpleasant all in all. Not necessary painful, just an intense feeling of disbelief that you get when your body is mangled in some way. You look down at a limb that's always been a certain way but now it's not, and your mind does a double take, like "this is not really happening".

Joy on Canada Day

2006-07-03T23:47:00.000-04:00

Portuguese fans go wild on Canada Day at a local pub as Portugal beats England in penalty kicks in a quarter-final match. You have to love a sport that can make large burly men embrace each other.

Soccer is the world's #1 sport in terms of popularity. Probably because you don't need a pile of expensive hockey or football gear to play it. And you can play it practically anywhere.

Bullfrog Power

2006-06-25T12:45:00.000-04:00

We're considering switching over to Bullfrog Power.

Bullfrog Power is one of Ontario's green electricity retailers. Their power is sourced from wind farms and low-impact hydroelectric. No physical change to your power supply is needed; you access power through the local electricity grid, but you get billed from Bullfrog instead of Toronto Hydro. It's a little more that you pay 9.1 c / kWh for power with Bullfrog. This is higher than the 5.8-6.1 c / kWh from Toronto hydro.

I like this new company but at the same time I'm a little frustrated by the implication that enviros should be paying double for their power. Sustainable development is not an obscure hobby or a luxury for righteous celebrities like Margaret Atwood. It's a huge problem that needs to be addressed through stronger mechanisms.

For example, let's take an analagous situation. Say we have a problem with stereos being stolen in our city. Let's say a lot of stereos are being stolen, and we want to fight this problem in some way. So, option A would be to solve it through economic choice. Call it the free market approach. We'd simply let people choose what kind of stereo to buy. According to economic theory, as long as there is enough demand for non-stolen stereos, the market will supply them. Under the free market approach, government will do nothing and it will get out of the way of the marketplace. Well, the only thing it might do is to facilitate things a little bit.. To help stereo purchasing do-gooders make choices, we might set up little government approved badges, that certify stereos as 'Certified Non-Stolen Stereo Equipment' or 'TheftStar' or something like that.

So what's the problem here? Why is this not a good solution? The do-gooders can buy their certified used stereos from the specialty shops, and other people can buy the cheap stereos from the shady pawn shops. Everybody's happy because they made their choice right?

Well, there are two problems with that solution. First of all, this is actually a very weak and ineffective way of addressing the problem. There is no economic incentive to buy non-stolen property. Stolen property will generally be cheaper because it is stolen property. That's why it's cheap! So if you want to actually reduce stealing, you need something a little more nippy than making sure that the choice of non-stolen things is available. You need a more effective way of dealing with it other than persuasion and market choice and certifications and badges.

The second problem with the market mechanism solution, is that well, bluntly put, stealing stereos is wrong. People who deliberately buy stolen stereos are assholes. Why should my neighbor have the right to buy things that were taken by a thief from my house?

The good news is that we've actually addressed the problem of stolen stereos in a rather effective way in the past. We call this the government regulation approach. We simply define the purchase of stolen stereos as an unacceptable market choice. You want to buy some stolen stereos? Too bad. You don't have the right to buy stolen stereos.

And it turns out that it actually is not too hard to prevent people from buying stolen stereos. And it actually doesn't involve a huge cost or a lot of heavy handed intrusion by government into the average person's life, because it mainly involves regulating people who are in the stereo business. The police visit pawn shops which sell stolen stereos and if they find any stolen stereos, they simply take them away and give them back to their owners. The people who make their living supplying pawn shops with stolen stereos sooner or later get arrested and they are prevented from conducting their business.

So basically that's what I don't like about Bullfrog Power. As a temporary solution, a way to promote sustainable development, yippee it's great. I will happily jump on the bandwagon.

But as a long term solution it's a bad idea, because it's inffective. Most people don't know about Bullfrog, and if they do know about it they may not pay extra for it, because there is no economic incentive. And because it's a moral issue. Pollution affects everybody; we need a more effective solution than some people paying double the price for power, and most people blasting their A/C and paying the subsidized rate for power.

Saturday morning, 8AM

2006-06-25T12:27:00.000-04:00

Wow, I don't usually get up at the crack of 7 on a Saturday (or any other day) but there I was on Saturday morning in the garden. There's a whole different world out there on an early weekday morning. The city is much less crowded, and the streets very quiet.

I was trying to figure out what this plant is in our garden. It is most likely astilbe (false spirea). We tried to plant astilbes this year but the seeds didn't sprout, so we dumped the seeds earth in this location, and this new plant has sprouted from the same location.