MEC's green roof

Mountain Equipment Co-op, Canada's outdoor gear cooperative, displayed their fabulous green roof on Doors Open. Doors Open was held on May 27-28 this year. We got to climb a ladder from the upper floor of MEC to the roof and check out their two types of green roofs. The section of roof pictured here is the original green roof, and they also are testing a newer type of green roof which is lighter and cheaper to maintain. The outdoor stores are clearly committed to sustainability and their web site has extensive articles describing the green features of the Toronto store, and other stores.

The Sky is Falling

wvs has some good photos of Toronto, including this one of a bike crushed by a falling tree. Check out his photos of the Brickworks too.

Holy F****** Shit

Just checked the news. Terrorism suspects have been arrested in Toronto with THREE TONNES of ammonium nitrate. That is a scary thought. That would make the Timothy McVeigh bombing look like a love tap.

Air Quality Backlash

Well, I faced a minor backlash from my Ultimate team after suggesting that we cancel our game due to Tuesday's poor air quality. I was informed that the TUC league policy does not allow for cancellation due to air quality or heat. So I declined to attend. And later the same day, a whiny email from the captain went out about how we lost because of a short bench and how we 'ran out of steam'.

That is a short-sighted and foolish policy. We would not play if the field is full of broken glass, or in a lighting storm. Why play when your lungs may be damaged? It's not simply a matter of comfort or convenience, but a matter of health.

Externalities

Toronto's air quality index hits 50 + yesterday, and it's only May.

An economist calls this situation an externality, that is the economic decision maker does not bear the costs from his or her action. Simply put, the car drivers and heavy hydro users in Ontario and the U.S. are getting a free good - the right to pollute the air.

PFOS

A new study in the Arctic is encouraging; it shows that stopping production of dangerous chemicals can have rapid and effective results. In 2000, the 3M corporation voluntarily agreed to stop producing the chemical PFOS (perfluorooctane sulphonate). The new University of Toronto study found reductions in PFOS contamination levels in Arctic seals ranging from 67-80% among various populations

This is good news for humans too - PFOS has been detected in humans across North America and it has also been linked to bladder and liver cancer.

Once environmentalists convince the public of an environmental threat, industry officials and conservative politicians often switch tactics and claim that action will have no noticeable effect, or that taking action is too difficult. This study is encouraging because it undermines those claims.

Yard Sale

A street wide yard sale in Toronto, May 28. There's something exhilirating about getting rid of your old furniture and junk for money. You feel as though your life is open to new possibilities, new configurations.

A new building pierces the Toronto skyline

Daniel Libeskind's hallucinatory construction takes shape on Bloor Street. The crystal made of steel is one of the most challenging structures built by Canadian ironworkers. Libeskind's original design called for a crystal structure made out of glass, but later it was discovered that in winter this design would cause ice to form and then slide off the building, raining death on passers-by. The revised design includes special surfaces on the steel crystal to inhibit such ice formation.

A new vegetable pierces the Toronto skyline

On Thursday we cooked these fabulous organic asparagus spears. The Dominion usually has asparagus from Peru or somewhere extremely far away, which is pure madness. The Welsh Family Organics asparagus are tastier and thicker, and produced in Simcoe County. I was able to pick them up in Kensington Market.

Plant Day, May 13

Toronto's non-profit food sharing and healthy food distributor, Food Share, had their annual general meeting and plant sale on May 13. It was a beautiful Saturday morning and we picked up some promising heritage plant varieties, including

• broccoli
• parsley
• basil
• Swiss chard
• zucchini

Since our soil is fairly acidic, I went out and got some dolomitic lime to sweeten the soil in our vegetable patch. Unfortunately I applied the lime without paying enough attention to the dosage instructions. Apparently I exceeded the recommended dose by a factor of 4x. Hmm. We shall see what grows in that particular patch this year.

The Current talks the green talk

The Current, Radio One's current affairs show, had an excellent show this morning on environmental technologies, specifically around climate change. The panel discussion included Beatrice Olivastri from Friends of the Earth Canada and David Keith from the University of Calgary. This discussion covered a number of key points including some discussion of 'tech fixes' and the popular belief that a magical future tech fix will solve our climate change crisis. The reality is that Canadians have access to technologies that allow a 50% or more reduction in CO2 emissions; it's a matter of political will and social attitudes that need to change.

One guest commented that while it's true that some technologies will not affect lifestyles (e.g energy efficient refrigerators), other aspects of lifestyle will require changes (commuting long distances in 3,000 kg vehicles). It's good to see an informed debate on this critical issue

Resign, Ambrose

It's time for Rona Ambrose, Canada's disgraceful excuse for an environment minister, to resign. Her performance in the last 3 months is unacceptable, culminating in an announcement that the Harper government intents to renege on Canada's Kyoto committments. What's more, Ambrose plans to go ahead and chair a United Nations meeting on Kyoto in Bonn later this year, despite the Harper government's anti-Kyoto shenanigans. Talk about the foxes guarding the henhouse. The foxes have eaten the chickens and are pouring gasoline all over the henhouse at the moment

Bernard Bigras was interviewed on As it Happens tonight. The Bloc Quebecois environment critic is mobilizing the opposition to force the government to meet its Kyoto committments. Bigras called on the government to formulate a plan by October 15, 2006 to. Ambrose is following the Bush approach - delay, obfuscate, and dither.

"The big polluters must reduce their emissions. The Bush administration did not choose to fight climate change emissions. The big polluters must step up to the table, " said Bigras.

Pear Tree blossoms

Our pear tree has blossomed. It looks to be a good year for pears.

megabin

A Megabin rears its head on Queen West, near Shaw. The megabin pilot project has garnered controversy ever since it was proposed. The debate pits spacing, a local Toronto advocacy group, versus EUCAN, the megabin contractor. According to spacing's last update on this issue, the megabins are toast, and no more bins will be deployed.

This has been a difficult issue for the city to sort through. Clearly the existing garbage cans are inadequate - they often overflow and as a result litter piles up, and recyclables end up in the land fill. And it's absolutely necessary that Toronto reduces the nearly 100 garbage trucks per day that are sent to far-away Michigan. But does that mean we need six-foot tall "solar-powered garbage cans."

Check out the product specs for the Megabin at EUCAN's site, where they list "City Domination Opportunities." as a key feature. The environmental claims made on EUCAN's web site ring hollow. Why does a trash can need power at all?

Yellow Pear Tomatoes

Every year we buy tomato starter plants from Foodshare's Plant Day, but this year we're trying something new. We are trying to grow yellow pear tomatoes from seed. Our favorite variety is a heritage variety called Yellow Pear tomatoes. The plants produce masses of tiny yellow pear-shaped tomatoes.I have never grown anything from seed before; it is pretty exciting.

Get Lululost

I noticed this annoying display in a Toronto location of lululemon: a semi-political display about why lululemon is manufacturing in Asia. After researching the issue it seems that lululemon which previously manufactured locally only, is shifting its production from Canada to Asia. The reasons they list for the manufacturing shift include "an overabundance of skilled seamstresses", and "proximity to our offshore retail stores".

Yeah right. The reason lululemon is manufacturing in Sri Lanka is because of the enormous popularity of the brand in Sri Lanka. We just can't ship our finished goods to Sri Lanka fast enough, so we built a factory there. It has nothing to do with lower wages in these countries. Their web site echoes this statement, saying they are shifting "a percentage of our production" so that it is "closer to our offshore retail stores."

Anyhow, every time I walked by that window, that pompous, patronizing bit of corporate nonsense was bugging me. People weren't born yesterday; they know that offshoring is happening. Lululemon may not be able to compete without Asian labor, but at least call a spade a spade and tell us how your Asian sweatshops are better than the other ones, etc. etc. Anything's better than this intelligence-insulting happy face corporate crap. I may never buy lululemon again

Magic Pony, April 27

Team Macho opened their second exhibition at Magic Pony tonight. It's on until May 30.
Magic Pony is a Japano-centric concept shop that moved recently into their new ground-floor digs at 694 Queen West. If you like graphic novels, Team macho will turn your crank. There were lots of budding young artists with purple hair in attendance.

The Team Macho exhibit is not my cup of tea. Magic Pony baffles me, truth be told. Why would anyone pay $300 for a clock. The only item I would consider buying from Magic Pony is the series of Toronto attacks postcards, by Seth Scriver, pictured above.

the fix is in

We were able to get our battered 11 year old dishwasher fixed today for $127. Oh how I wallow in the cheapness of it all. The penny pinching. The resource saving. We bought the dishwasher used in 2001, and are still using it. Muhuhahahahha. It may seem like a small thing to be proud of, but I hate to throw out useful items.

It's a bit of a Russian roulette really. The repair company charges an $80 minimum to visit, so if they show up and the appliance is not fixable, you are out $80 plus the price of a new appliance. The technician who showed up was quite sharp, he was able to isolate a difficult problem and fix it quickly.

I highly recommend the company we used:
Factory Appliance
t 416 789 0649

Bleeding Pump Conservatives

Once again the rise of gas prices brings forth a stream of invective from bleeding-pump conservatives. The same people who think that homeless shelters are a waste of money are now screaming for government help because their trips to the mall cost more. Of course, they don't say they are asking for a subsidy. Instead, they will claim that the government should cut its 'unfair' taxes on gasoline (federally, 10c per liter plus 7% GST). Frankly the taxes on gas have not changed in decades, and a directed tax cut like this is the same as a subsidy.

Today's broadcast of the CBC program Cross Country Checkup on was filled with sob stories from people demanding that the government fix the high price of gasoline: truckers, business professors, and rural dwellers. Spare us the sob stories please. If you live in the country and work in the city, you made a bad choice. Find another job or move closer to work. It's not the government's fault. If you own a business and your costs are up, raise your prices or find another business. It's not the government's fault. If you live in the city and bought an SUV, you made a bad choice. It's not the government's fault.

A common theme on the program tonight was the 'high costs of gas' compared to the U.S. Why not compare our gas prices to other countries, nearly all of which have higher gas prices? Interesting that in the United States they have the same debate. The debate simply shifts - gas price complainers will complain that the taxes in their state are higher than other states.

For a refreshing counterpoint, the Edmonton Journal has a clear-thinking article on high gas prices from Paula Simons. Says Simons:

If you don't like paying so much for gasoline, well, don't use so much.
Take the bus or LRT to work more often. Car-pool. Ride your bike or walk to the
store. Instead of using the drive-thru lane at the bank or Tim Hortons or
Wendy's, just park and go inside.[...]
So much of our economy is predicated on cheap fuel. It's been our invisible
subsidy for decades. But we've crashed head-on into a rude new reality, one we
can't just curse away. We won't find a long-term solution to high gasoline
prices in a tax cut or a government cheque.

Amen to that. Wonder if Stephen Harper reads the Edmonton Journal?

A Little History

The current book on my night table is A Little History of Canada, by H.V. Nelles, the well known Canadian historian (hmm isn't that an oxymoron?). Covering the early migrations of the indigenous people up to present-day politics, it was published in 2004. The one complaint I have is the lack of graphics and pictures in this work. If the goal is to present Canadian history in a pleasant and readable way, why not spent the extra effort on graphs and images that are appropriate. That would help break up the miles and miles of text streaming across the page. So instead of modeling production values from a PhD thesis, use the production values of a modern text book or technical manual. You know, lots of whitespace, pictures, and so on. Little call outs and sidebars too.

Rainy Saturday

It is cold out. Colder than Stephen Harper at a climate change conference. After being cooped up in the house this week I resolved to go on a bike ride rain or shine. Unfortunately I couldn't find one glove, nor my hat, nor my cycling pants. So I was completely soaked from the waist down within five minutes and riding with one hand because it was too cold for the other one. Despite this unpleasant weather, I was able to accomplish my two goals for the morning ( I use the term 'morning' liberally, for me, morning indicates the time from when I get up until about 2 hours after my first coffee):

1. Trying Kensington's (181 Baldwin St.) coffee and breakfast. They claim to have the best coffee in town and are located in a pseudo-Commercial Drive left wing bastion called Kensington Market. The short answer is: Coffee good. Breakfast not good. If you want a coffee, and a place to hole up with your copy of The Nation on a rainy Sunday, it's worthwhile. Otherwise forget it.Never mind the food. I had their breakfast special; the potatoes were stone cold

2. Going rechargeable. Canadian Tire has a good selection of battery rechargers and batteries. For approximately a hundred dollars I was able to replace all our electronic gadget batteries with rechargeables and a charger that only takes 15 minutes. I can't believe we didn't do this sooner.

Expenses

Yeesh. Been crazy busy over the last few weeks. Lots of work to do at work. It's hard not to be submerged with stuff when you are a perfectionist. I'm learning to say no to people. Anyway, one of my ongoing projects is to track the spousal expenses. Every cup of coffee, every bill, etc. gets entered into an Excel spreadsheet. The goal is to get an idea of our monthly spend, and where it goes. So if we have to cut back we at least have some idea where that needs to be.

Sharp Centre for Design

The Ontario College of Art and Design's flagship building on a Sunday afternoon. Will Alsopp's innovative work has provoked much controversy. Frankly I think that we need more creative buildings such as this one. The Sharp Centre exudes a sense of passion for ideas, a certain expansiveness that reflects well on an art school.

Massey Hall, April 8

Massey hall is a room steeped in history. In 1908, Robert Peary spoke here about his plan to journey to the North Pole. Oscar Petersen, George Gershwin, and Dizzy Gillespie played here at various times. In 1965 Bob Dylan enraged music purists by 'going electric' with his guitar performance. More recently, Gordon Lightfoot has the record for most solo appearances at the hall.

On Saturday, Ron Sexsmith cemented his place in Canadian music history by headlining for the first time at Massey Hall, a gig he had been dreaming about for years. The concert featured special guest Andy Kim, and a visit from Gordon Lightfoot, who had a seat in the audience in row J or so. It was a friendly affair with joking catcalls from the audience and a strong performance by folk singer Kathleen Edwards.

At one point Sexsmith and a guitarist stepped forward, disconnected their amps and played an acoustic guitar solo before the packed house, "just like in the seventies."

"Welcome back," cheered an audience member.

"I never left," replied Ron.

Blue Monster

Well, I got rid of my 400 lb couch. It took three people to wrestle it into the truck helpfully sent by Treasure Land, an estate sales place which sent someone to pick this heavy-assed blue-upholstered item. This thing was so heavy it fell off the dolly and into the flower bed on the way out. The new owner of my couch figures he can get $500 for it after re-covering it. What's that? Re-cover it? Why would you want to recover a shiny blue couch with only a bit of topsoil stuck to it?? I thought the 80s were back in style

Me, I was glad to get it out of the house and somewhere other than the landfill. There's something honourable about taking an old item and renewing it into something better.

New Stairs

Here's a couple of photos of our new Douglas Fir stairs. I'm very pleased with our carpenter's work; they are beautiful and rock solid. I put in the trim which is made of MDF and carefully cut and coped around each of the risers and treads and then painted white. We finished the stairs with a Benjamin Moore acryclic finish which is an effectiv water based alternative to nasty toxic urethane, but quite expensive.

Zappo

Well, things have returned to normal. Writing lousy code. Saying unprofessional things at work. The usual.

The latest book on my night table is Electrical Code Simplified by P.S. Knight. I find strange comfort in long passages of technical and detail-oriented mundania. The auther is an Ontario Hydro inspector who seems to have retired on the Sunshine Coast of BC and now writes books on how to rewire your house.

It looks like PS. Knight got his grandson to make his website (in 1994 or so) But I love it. Why shouldn't people write books after 40 years of work.

The Long Long Run

After 565 days of renovation, we have moved into our new space. We popped open a bottle of champagne and celebrated the end of an era. As a fitting tribute I read the Key Porter novel, The Long Run. This book is a Canadian gem, and has nothing overt to do with renovations. It's a bittersweet tale of growing up male and orphaned in 1960's Newfoundland at a Catholic orphanage. The characters are real and hard-edged, but it's mainly about sticking together in the face of adversity.

taped and mudded

My first effort at drywalling a ceiling. My wife's cousin helped me put up 5/8'' drywall in our future office. Wow, talk about heavy work. 5/8 drywall is bulky, akward, and very heavy. You need two people, each of whom stand on a ladder. Then you position the drywall in place and then hold it with your head while you put the first screws in. Then the drywall punches through the screws because there aren't enough holding it up. This task is quite frustrating and challenging at first. It requires a lot of patience and skill.

In this photo the drywall has been taped and drywall compound applied. We hired a pro to do the taping because it is quite time consuming and difficult. Fun stuff 

Casa Decrepit

The New York Times Magazine had a great piece on Sunday about Casa Decrepit, a houseblog in California. The writer describes her horrible experiences at the hands of shady contractors and shifting soil. Truly terrifying for any person who is considering a basement renovation.

Our reno has been nothing like that but we did have our fair share of surprises, for example:

• the dead rats I pulled out of the ceiling


• the furnace that suddenly needed replacing

One of the most difficult issues that we face is where to draw the line when renovating. Is it better to do as much as possible, "while we have the contractors onsite", or is it better to keep a tight scope and do nothing more than necessary. I favor the latter, my wife the former. The short answer is both answers are right.

Good Corp

Airbus has announced the creation of a recycling facility for aircraft, the first of its kind in the world. The facility is targeted to achieve an 85-95% recycling rate for aircraft components and will even accept aircraft from rival aircraft manufacturers.

Bad Corp

Royal-Dutch Shell appeals a $1.5 billion fine imposed by a Nigerian court for polluting the Niger river delta. In 2005 Shell posted a profit of $22.9 billion, the highest full-year profit in British history.

Smiling Buddha

On Saturday I visited the Smiling Buddha Bar at 961 College St (@ Dovercourt).

A lot of small bars downtown are long and narrow, making it hard to see the stage, and this one is no exception. But the service was friendly and we squeezed into a booth eventually.

They are an unpretentious neighborhood pub - a welcome contrast to the glitzy boom-boom of bars on College St further east. Buddha Bar's calendar is online at Local Calendar and they evidently host a full roster of live music.

Awad for the masses

Michael Awad's exhibit at the AGO is an intriguing look at the city and its inhabitants. With his custom 60 mm camera equipment and specialized dollies he creates long images that reflect space and time. Familiar objects such as cars are compressed and stretched by the motion of the lens. But the distortion is mild; the environment and the subjects remain familiar and clear: people on an escalator; grocery items on a shelf.

The Henry Moore Sculpture Centre, Art Gallery of Ontario is a linearized image of a three-dimensional sculpture gallery of the same name. This representation of the gallery makes the space look larger and more impressive; it has an otherworldly quality in the photo.

Queen Street, North Side is a new view of a familiar subject. This work is a panoramic image of Queen St., roughly the entire length of Queen Street East and West, from the bridge over the Don River, all the way past St Joseph's Health Sciences Centre in the west. That is to say, this work is effectively a 6km wide panorama shot at a range of less than 100m!

This exhibit is what contemporary art should be. Accessible but layered. Artsy but not too clever.

Insulation Upgrade 2

This weekend I installed Rocksul fiberglass insulation underneath our flat roof. The vapor barrier was tricky; this is my first time installing a VB. Next time I will install larger pieces of VB to avoid seams, and also I will get the correct size of bats. The insulation comes in 24'' and 16'' bats and if you get the wrong size, you have to chop the bats up into smaller pieces and jam them together between the beams.

Nobody

Mr. Nobody is a cartoon character created by local artist Tanya Read. Nobody shows his friendly face now and then at local galleries. Read is the co-owner of the Fly Gallery at 1172 Queen St. West.

Ezekiel 4:9

I picked up a box of Ezekiel 4:9 cereal (almond flavor) yesterday. The cereal from Food For Life bills itself as the "staff of life." Ezekiel 4:9 was inspired by the verse of the same name: "Take also unto thee Wheat and Barley and Beans and Lentils and Millet and Spelt and put them in one vessel and make bread of it."

Comparing the nutrion facts to Kellogg's Muslix, it has a higher amount of protein per serving, and less calories. Cereal is one of my favorite foods. This one tastes rather Old Testamenty: harsh, crunchy, and uncompromising. Believe me, you are going to need some extra sugar on your Ezekiel 4:9.

Ezekiel is well known as the prophet who filled the Gospel with bizarre and vicious rants. Be glad there's no cereal based on Ezekiel 4:15: "Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith." or Ezekiel 5:10: "Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers."

Queen St. West, 14:48

Two dogs greet passers-by on a cold sunny day.

Day 519

Today is Day 519 of the Attic to Loft Conversion. That's sobering. And to think that we thought it would take 2-4 months. Yes, it's been a year and a half since we packed up our living room and signed the first cheque to a contractor. Some of the highlights

Framing

• Removed plaster ceiling in living room
• Installed LVL's to reinforce the new floor
• Installed plywood subfloor
• Replaced plaster common wall with double 5/8'' drywall and insulation
• Straightened roof and opened up false dormer and dormer window
• Reroofed half the roof
• Installed new posts all the way to the basement
• New roof windows in loft
• New stairs to loft

HVAC

• Replaced furnace and routed ducts to every room on second and third floor
• New heating duct in 1st floor room
• New A/C unit in loft room

Electrical

• Rewired second floor hallway
• New pot lights in LR
• New circuits and lighting in loft

Finishing

• General drywall and taping
• Installation of specialized trim in loft and on stairs
• Recycled hardwood floor and finishing in loft

Insulation Upgrade

  

On Sunday I ripped into my bedroom ceiling with a knife and crowbar. Old plaster is unstable and you can't just pry it loose. The technique I used was: score the plaster with a mallet and utility knife and then pry chunks loose with the crowbar.

It wasn't long before I got a nasty surprise. Halfway through the job, I pulled a large dead rat (all rats look large when they are in your hand) out of the ceiling. It was flat and leathery, sort of a rat shoe. If another one turns up I will have to make some slippers!

Energy Efficient Stove

I noticed my spanking new Fridgidaire stove has a high Energuide rating.

Well, I was interested - so what makes it an energy efficient stove?

The rating is based on a comparative analysis of appliances in different categories. In my case there are only three ranges in the class (24 inch smooth top, electrical range), so it turns out the high rating is not especially relevant.

The National Research Council has an excellent site where you can compare appliances based on their expected power consumption. The site has a lot of interesting data about stoves

• Between 1984 and 2002 the average consumption of stoves decreased by about 6%
• During the same time period the avereage consumption of refrigerators decreased by about 119%

I suppose there is not too much you can do to increase a stove's efficiency. My new oven has some cool looking insulation.

This must be where the 6% improvement comes from

Telecommuting

So this year my company is saving money by closing their Toronto office. All Toronto employees are now required to work from home. This is not so great. Frankly, being stuck in my house all the time sounds like a nightmare.

But there's no arguing about it; I will have to make the best of it for now. Free high speed Internet, a nice T2200 which allows me to write off certain costs related to the house as business expenses. Thank God the renovation is almost over.

Direct Marketing

Well, the Spouse and I are registered to not be contacted. The Canadian Direct Marketing Association offers a service for registering on their Do Not Call, Do Not Fax, and Do Not Send lists for three years. We'll see how effective this service is. Telemarketers are mildly annoying, but it's the junk mail that really irritates me. All that wasted paper.

We'll still get the flyers though. It's especially irritating when the dumbass that delivers the flyers is too lazy to put them in the mail box, and just tosses them on the porch or shoves them in the railing.

Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility also has an article on how to avoid unwanted mailings. It seems that warranty registration cards are an important source of mailing lists for direct marketing companies.

The dangerous fantasy of decadent power needs

John Barber has a great column in today's Globe and Mail on the $500 million Portlands Energy Centre proposed for the Toronto waterfront. Barber skewers the sky-is-falling claim by the McGuinty government that opposition to the plant is dangerous. In fact, there is a broad consensus that a plant needs to be built in the Portlands, but a number of people would like the province to build a smaller plant and use conservation measures to make up the difference

Far from being dream-world stuff, such strategies have proven effective in many
U.S. jurisdictions with hotter climates than ours. Using similar approaches,
Toronto Hydro "delivered" 134 megawatts of conservation savings last year. The
utility recently introduced a program that automatically slows down air
conditioners in peak periods, which is expected to save at least another 100
megawatts by 2008. Careful use of existing standby generators could be
worth another 300 megawatts, according to Toronto Hydro vice-president Blair
Peberdy. (p. A12)

I always look for Barber's grumpy little picture in the Globe. It's the best part of the paper.

Coal Troubles

The Globe's Saturday editorial is way off base:

To avoid putting the system at risk the government should stop talking of deadlines and ensure an indefinite lease on life for the two plants the IESO wants available as insurance: Nanticoke and the Lambton operation near Sarnia. [...] The coal plans are a crucial cushion and the government can keep them in a state of readiness by remembering that one simple phrase: Be prudent. (p. A22, Feb 4 2006)

There's nothing prudent about damaged lungs. Massive smog, which is killing over a thousand people a year in Toronto, is not an acceptable backup plan. Ontario needs a deadline; three years to close the biggest point source of pollution is more than enough warning. It's enough time to focus on conservation measures during peak times.

Nanticoke does not need a new lease on life; it needs a 'Closed for Business' sign and a team of bulldozers.

Spinning Sarah

Sarah Slean played at the Spin Gallery tonight. It's a treat to hear live music that is unmediated by recording equipment and time - the little asides, the keyboard flourishes connect you powerfully to the artist. Her voice is bold and lovely, and I shall be checking out her work. Sounds like a good idea for a Valentine's present

Sarah finished off with Edelweiss, the German folk song and some people sang along, including me. (This drew some warning stares from the spouse) Spin is showcasing her artwork as well, which is unfortunately not as interesting.

Day in Court

The Spouse and I were in court today, testifying against the man who tried to break into our house. As a result, while waiting to be called as a witness, I spent the day in the company of several of Toronto's finest. Not a bad way to spend your day; I got an earful of interesting stories, some of which are far too libellous to print here.

PS

1. Cops don't like firefighters ("hose monkeys"). The joke is that the police graduate with a gun and a badge, and the firefighters graduate with a pillow and a spatula.

2. Old cops are bitter. They really don't like lawyers and judges.

Motorist Rage

Nasty confrontation between a motorist and cyclist yesterday
1. Man throws garbage out of van onto street
2. Cyclist throws garbage back in van
3. In a fit of rage, man attacks cyclist and bike and anyone in flailing distance

Full set of photos on CityNoise who have reportedly garnered 100,000 hits for the article in the last few days.