So, I'm back home in Ottawa, after 6 days in Vancouver.
It's a nice, compact city (where we were, anyway - in the West End, near the water), with good cycle lanes (and more hills than Ottawa), lots of nice restaurants (we had Italian, Kenyan, Japanese and Ukrainian). It's more expensive than here, especially to buy housing.
I was working at the convention centre there, which is plush, modern, and generally a good place to have an exhibition - from my point of view.
The nicest bit, actually, was leaving - taking the skytrain (which is mostly underground) out to the airport I could see rivers, and huge amounts of lumber floating. Then on the aeroplane flying home, the view of the city, the mountains, and then the abrupt end as the mountains became the prairies were all amazing. The mountains - snow capped, as far as the eye could see for a long time - were beautiful. I was listening to and half watching "This Movie is Broken" and really enjoying the music at the time.
Ottawa seems very bland in comparison. Is the concrete somehow more concretey? Or is it just.. the sea, the beautiful sea?
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
11,000 days
I am a little over 11,000 days old.
Quite what this milestone means I don't know. This morning I woke up in a city on the other side of the planet from the one I was born in, cycled to work in the early morning light, and drank a gooood cup of coffee.
I'm sitting at registration for an exhibition, looking at banks of printers and PCs, badge stock and shiny metal. People are making connections, making deals. There are thousands of other souls nearby.
The seagulls tidy up the streets, but also mess them up. Seaplanes come and go from the harbour.
What is life?
Quite what this milestone means I don't know. This morning I woke up in a city on the other side of the planet from the one I was born in, cycled to work in the early morning light, and drank a gooood cup of coffee.
I'm sitting at registration for an exhibition, looking at banks of printers and PCs, badge stock and shiny metal. People are making connections, making deals. There are thousands of other souls nearby.
The seagulls tidy up the streets, but also mess them up. Seaplanes come and go from the harbour.
What is life?
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Dave's World
Dave's World is very simple.
If I'm tired I sleep, if I'm awake I lie in bed warm and cosy then get up.
If I'm hungry, I eat, if I'm not engrossed in something else. If I get really hungry, then I eat.
I think about things a lot, and try to do things that make sense. I want chickens not because chickens are cool (though, they are), but because they fertilise the soil and lay beautiful eggs.
If life were simple, would it be no fun?
If I'm tired I sleep, if I'm awake I lie in bed warm and cosy then get up.
If I'm hungry, I eat, if I'm not engrossed in something else. If I get really hungry, then I eat.
I think about things a lot, and try to do things that make sense. I want chickens not because chickens are cool (though, they are), but because they fertilise the soil and lay beautiful eggs.
If life were simple, would it be no fun?
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Obsolete
Yesterday I sold a computer.
An "old" computer - about 8 years, give or take. A Pentium 4 1.8 Ghz with half a gigabyte of RAM, etc, etc. It would probably have cost $750.
It still works. I installed Linux on it, and it boots, runs the latest version of Firefox - no problem.
But it was only "worth" $50 yesterday.
Hardware sales drive software sales; software sales drive hardware sales. It is in the interests of those writing software to keep bringing out new releases with more "features" (bloat), and those making hardware to make things faster to keep that bloat at bay.
It's not that easy, of course. Most users can do as much today with an iPhone, for example, as with that PC. Miniaturisation is amazing.
And in technology, a lot of things simply are *better* now - there is a lot of plastic junk, for sure, but Windows 7 is much better than XP, and the newest Ubuntu is very usable (at least, it was for me on the older hardware I installed it on - the Open Source folks have had time to get all the drivers in place so it just worked from the install CD..).
8 years ago, where were we? Well, a Pentium 4 1.8 - pretty inefficient. In 2001 I got an iBook G3/700MHz which was kinda cool, but kinda slow. The following year I got a Toshiba Satellite laptop with a 1.6GHz Celeron-M processor that was much faster. I guess I was just getting in to iTunes.
The web had intellitext pop-up advertising, but it was much leaner than today - broadband was available, but I didn't get it at home until 2003.
The truth is that, if you are just wanting to browse the web and send emails, you can use a Pentium 3 or original Athlon processor and be just fine (if your computer is not bogged down with bloat). My mother uses a Pentium 3/1.4GHz (which ironically is probably faster than the P4/1.8 I sold yesterday...).
And the crazy thing is that you can buy a Netbook for a couple of hundred dollars - that is, a small laptop. How can the used value of a desktop hold up, when you can get something that weighs a tenth as much, with screen, battery, warranty for so little?
It's a conundrum for me. I know the current model (make money; make more stuff, sell more stuff, make more money) promotes consumerism. I suppose this is where "real cost of" comes in - the cost of the $50 desktop to the environment is net $0 - it's already been made. Yes, it will need recycling, but of course it is better for it to be used than for a new netbook to be built.
I bought a printer last week, and paid a $5 recycling tax on it. I wonder how much relation that bears to the cost of recycling, or if it is just a flat percentage of the purchase cost? The printer was on sale ($70 or so for a printer/scanner... with wireless connectivity), does that mean the cost of recycling is also on sale? I guess it would be "too expensive" to do a proper analysis to see what the true cost of recycling would be for each product. I should research this.
An "old" computer - about 8 years, give or take. A Pentium 4 1.8 Ghz with half a gigabyte of RAM, etc, etc. It would probably have cost $750.
It still works. I installed Linux on it, and it boots, runs the latest version of Firefox - no problem.
But it was only "worth" $50 yesterday.
Hardware sales drive software sales; software sales drive hardware sales. It is in the interests of those writing software to keep bringing out new releases with more "features" (bloat), and those making hardware to make things faster to keep that bloat at bay.
It's not that easy, of course. Most users can do as much today with an iPhone, for example, as with that PC. Miniaturisation is amazing.
And in technology, a lot of things simply are *better* now - there is a lot of plastic junk, for sure, but Windows 7 is much better than XP, and the newest Ubuntu is very usable (at least, it was for me on the older hardware I installed it on - the Open Source folks have had time to get all the drivers in place so it just worked from the install CD..).
8 years ago, where were we? Well, a Pentium 4 1.8 - pretty inefficient. In 2001 I got an iBook G3/700MHz which was kinda cool, but kinda slow. The following year I got a Toshiba Satellite laptop with a 1.6GHz Celeron-M processor that was much faster. I guess I was just getting in to iTunes.
The web had intellitext pop-up advertising, but it was much leaner than today - broadband was available, but I didn't get it at home until 2003.
The truth is that, if you are just wanting to browse the web and send emails, you can use a Pentium 3 or original Athlon processor and be just fine (if your computer is not bogged down with bloat). My mother uses a Pentium 3/1.4GHz (which ironically is probably faster than the P4/1.8 I sold yesterday...).
And the crazy thing is that you can buy a Netbook for a couple of hundred dollars - that is, a small laptop. How can the used value of a desktop hold up, when you can get something that weighs a tenth as much, with screen, battery, warranty for so little?
It's a conundrum for me. I know the current model (make money; make more stuff, sell more stuff, make more money) promotes consumerism. I suppose this is where "real cost of" comes in - the cost of the $50 desktop to the environment is net $0 - it's already been made. Yes, it will need recycling, but of course it is better for it to be used than for a new netbook to be built.
I bought a printer last week, and paid a $5 recycling tax on it. I wonder how much relation that bears to the cost of recycling, or if it is just a flat percentage of the purchase cost? The printer was on sale ($70 or so for a printer/scanner... with wireless connectivity), does that mean the cost of recycling is also on sale? I guess it would be "too expensive" to do a proper analysis to see what the true cost of recycling would be for each product. I should research this.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Round and Red
Seed saving. What a magical thing.
Tomatoes. Also magical.
Aha! I have a plan! I'll save seed from this lovely delicious heirloom tomato!
Firstly... get seeds out of tomato. Ok.
Put them in a glass or jar bowl or something, add some water and cover with something porous. Leave for 3-4 days until the seeds have dropped to the bottom, there is mold on top.
Skim off the gunk, and add water; decant off more gunk until there are just seeds left.
Rinse the seeds in a fine sieve.
Dry the seeds for 1-3 days in a bowl or plate; move the seeds twice a day so they don't stick together and dry evenly.
Put them in an envelope in a jar until the time comes to plant some more!
I've just put the seeds into a glass and covered with scrap paper. I'll let you know how it goes!!
Tomatoes. Also magical.
Aha! I have a plan! I'll save seed from this lovely delicious heirloom tomato!
Firstly... get seeds out of tomato. Ok.
Put them in a glass or jar bowl or something, add some water and cover with something porous. Leave for 3-4 days until the seeds have dropped to the bottom, there is mold on top.
Skim off the gunk, and add water; decant off more gunk until there are just seeds left.
Rinse the seeds in a fine sieve.
Dry the seeds for 1-3 days in a bowl or plate; move the seeds twice a day so they don't stick together and dry evenly.
Put them in an envelope in a jar until the time comes to plant some more!
I've just put the seeds into a glass and covered with scrap paper. I'll let you know how it goes!!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
City bliss?
I've been off the farm for 2 1/2 weeks now. Initially "condo-sitting" with no internet access, leading to many trips to Timothy's Coffee on Laurier Avenue East, but now in a house share - just me, my wife (oh yeah, I got married too..!), and a friend of my wife who owns the house.
I have luxury. I have a desk, and a chair, and the internet on tap. Water, as well, is on tap. As I don't have to go out so much, I don't have to see all the cars and trucks round town, but I get the benefit of nice roads to run or cycle on. We're not quite sure how long we'll be here, but hopefully I'll get some spinach growing soon. Kara can cycle to work. I can walk to the sandwich shop or cycle to the supermarket (but I *really* need to get to the market on Saturday, which is a little further away, I think).
We're broke, and paying a city-rate rental price is painful until we both have incomes, but... I can see why many many people think city living is more sustainable than rural. We could sell the car and be fine - car insurance is excruciatingly expensive here compared to the UK.
It's the end of August and the sun is still out for much of the time (except on our honeymoon weekend, when it rained constantly... but it's ok, that was only wedding 1 of 3, where wedding 3 is actually a honeymoon to the UK...).
Life is good!
I have luxury. I have a desk, and a chair, and the internet on tap. Water, as well, is on tap. As I don't have to go out so much, I don't have to see all the cars and trucks round town, but I get the benefit of nice roads to run or cycle on. We're not quite sure how long we'll be here, but hopefully I'll get some spinach growing soon. Kara can cycle to work. I can walk to the sandwich shop or cycle to the supermarket (but I *really* need to get to the market on Saturday, which is a little further away, I think).
We're broke, and paying a city-rate rental price is painful until we both have incomes, but... I can see why many many people think city living is more sustainable than rural. We could sell the car and be fine - car insurance is excruciatingly expensive here compared to the UK.
It's the end of August and the sun is still out for much of the time (except on our honeymoon weekend, when it rained constantly... but it's ok, that was only wedding 1 of 3, where wedding 3 is actually a honeymoon to the UK...).
Life is good!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Biodynamics
I found this interesting reading, from my old Permaculture teacher in Ireland. I don't do with Graham to the limit of his beliefs, but I certainly like that he questions things that many eco folks accept apparently unquestioningly.
In many ways, it's a hard call. Many people "need" religion or structure or something in their life to make the infinity of the universe managable. And certainly, treating the land with respect is better than monoculture. Is it "wrong" to believe in something false if little or no harm comes of it?
When does that belief become a Holy War?
For me, the simple truth is that we are finite, limited - we cannot understand everything. We should be careful in what we do, what we change, what we espouse. We don't have the knowledge to know the outcomes of our actions. So perhaps our actions should be limited - do the necessary, and no more.
But where then is the meaning to our lives - to express, to make art, to grow?
It's a paradox. For me, it is simple - find small joys, and be humble. In that, it is not my right to "change society".
Will this lead to the end of life as we know it? Seeing that end in sight, should I try to avert it? Or just live each day in beauty and peace, enjoying life, light, the breeze?
If the fact is that, if everyone lived as I do, the environment would be in little or no danger, do I stay as I am and be content, or try and take a message "out there" - changing myself in the attempt to change the world?
Being aware of this question, I suspect the only true answer (for me) is the former - to accept, and be, rather than to rail.
In many ways, it's a hard call. Many people "need" religion or structure or something in their life to make the infinity of the universe managable. And certainly, treating the land with respect is better than monoculture. Is it "wrong" to believe in something false if little or no harm comes of it?
When does that belief become a Holy War?
For me, the simple truth is that we are finite, limited - we cannot understand everything. We should be careful in what we do, what we change, what we espouse. We don't have the knowledge to know the outcomes of our actions. So perhaps our actions should be limited - do the necessary, and no more.
But where then is the meaning to our lives - to express, to make art, to grow?
It's a paradox. For me, it is simple - find small joys, and be humble. In that, it is not my right to "change society".
Will this lead to the end of life as we know it? Seeing that end in sight, should I try to avert it? Or just live each day in beauty and peace, enjoying life, light, the breeze?
If the fact is that, if everyone lived as I do, the environment would be in little or no danger, do I stay as I am and be content, or try and take a message "out there" - changing myself in the attempt to change the world?
Being aware of this question, I suspect the only true answer (for me) is the former - to accept, and be, rather than to rail.
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