FW: Good one to think about

Where our money goes before we fill our municipal dumps:

A MESSAGE TO THE PUBLIC OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

The provincial government is sending each and every one of us a $100
rebate for the carbon tax.

If we spend that money at WalMart, the money will go to the U.S.

If we spend it on gas, it will go to the Arabs or Alberta.

If we purchase a computer, it will go to Taiwan.

If we purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico, Honduras, and
Guatemala.

If we purchase a good car, it will go to Japan or Korea or Europe.

If we purchase useless junk, it will go to China and none of it will
help the B.C. economy.

The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it on
prostitutes and marijuana, since these are the only products still
produced here in B.C.

Thank you for your help and support,

Gordon Campbell
Premier of British Columbia

misc notes

busy lately.
things i've been wanting to post but haven't gotten around to:
-stephane dion's announcement of shifting the taxebase to polluters: awesome. in fact, i'm pretty sure i blogged FOR exactly that a long time ago.
-city of ottawa and garbage gasification: glad to see there are people raising a stink about the destruction of garbage to extract energy. my best guess is that it only recovers about 5% of the energy that was invested in the production of that garbage. would make a whole lot more sense to divert and reuse it to save 100% energy required, wouldn't it? (ok, maybe 90% to account for the handling and redistribution - but still, way worth it)
-bottled water: a freshwater specialist observed that canadians buying drinking water in a bottle is like eqyptians buying sand in a bucket. time to reverse that unjustified waste of resources (making plastic bottles, distributing water) and source of pollution (where do most of those bottles end up? you got it, in the trash, mostly - the rest collect in hedges, in ravines, etc. oh and a few lucky ones are also collected for recycling). see www.insidethebottle.org
-shade: never noticed how much (a) the house was poorly insulated and (b) trees just outside the house provided so much shade, until I cut them down (were too big too close). Now i'm looking for awnings and such to block the sun on the southwest wall.

there's a number of other things meandering in my brain but I think they're mired in my subconscious at the moment. stay tuned, maybe they'll surface again next time I have a few minutes to post (in a week or so, maybe!).

"i made this"

I'd like to think I'm the proponent of the following amendments:
http://www.ottawa.ca/calendar/ottawa/citycouncil/occ/2007/10-10/pec/ACS2007-PTE-POL-0052%20ENGLISH.htm

I researched and campaigned strongly to change the policy affecting the Chimo area to allow residents to select from "special areas, appendix B1" in addition to the generic "all other areas." I am also pleased to see they noted my points about maintaining the character of the neighborhood in the "whereas" section.

Final Draft policy (prior to this amendment): http://www.ottawastreetlighting.ca/PDF%20Doc/RLP%20Final%20Draft%2009-12-07%20EN.pdf

Thanks, councillor Feltmate!

World's Most Bizarre Statues

http://www.oddee.com/item_89236.aspx
There's a fine line between being imaginative/spurring public creativity, and insolent/generating public distrust and resentment.
This is probably why public art is too often perceived as unjustifiable in Canada, but there are some organizations trying to change that. One particularly impressive example is Maman, the giant spider with marble eggs. I'd like to commend the National Gallery of Canada for their acquisition and choice of location.

Louise Bourgeois's sculpture Maman (1999, cast 2003 © Louise Bourgeois), in front of the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Photo from National Gallery of Canada.

know your limits

"Kicking the addiction isn't pleasant - headaches, fatigue, negative mood."

Who'da guessed (other than my wife...) they were talking about caffeine?

Avoiding the question - or Ignoring basic indicators

Wouldn't it be even more feasible to drop the penny altogether?

28 May, 2008
Dear Sir or Madam,

I acknowledge your email of March 19, 2008, regarding the one-cent coin. I apologize for the undue delay in responding to your query; it was an unfortunate oversight on our part.
First, I would like to thank you for taking the time to share your comments with us.
No decision has been taken on the future of the penny. The Government of Canada's objective is to serve the currency needs of Canadians and any decision would take the potential impact on consumers and businesses into consideration.
Unfortunately, the Mint does not provide the total cost to produce coins as this information is considered commercially sensitive because we bid on foreign coin contracts. However, the metal cost associated with the production of a one-cent coin is eight tenths of a cent.
Regarding our Coinstar recycling service, we are encouraging Canadians to recycle their coins regardless of their denomination, as this is more feasible than the Mint having to produce new ones.
--------Original Message--------

From: mg labreche
Sent: 19/03/2008
To: Royal Canadian Mint

thanks for posting the report of consumer and retailer attitudes toward the 1c piece. Where can i find out more on the costs of its raw materials, processing, minting, distribution, and recovery? Finally, if 70% of coins processed in your Coinstar machines are pennies, and people are willing to pay nearly 10% to get rid of
them, isn't that an indication that they are highly undesirable?

civilizational exhaustion

indeed...
http://www.nationalpost.com/most_popular/story.html?id=563845

reasonable accommodations

Un CPE l'emporte contre un père musulman

sanity 1 - religion, well, already too high to count.

Headrush

The World is Upside Down, NYT Op-Ed
A shift in economic power is under way to which the developed world has not yet adjusted. Of course the G-8 and the permanent membership of the U.N. Security Council need to be expanded to reflect this change. The 21st century can’t be handled with 20th-century institutions.

This is the kind of thing I'm talking about. Glad to see that Harper has been emphasizing less on trying to implement failed American policies of 20 years ago. Have I just stopped paying attention to him, or could it actually be he's finally coming around?