8000km
8000km. As of next Friday, that’s how far I’ll have driven since August 22nd. I purchased a car in September in order to make a number of trips around the maritimes, and stuck reasonably well to my vow to continue commuting by bike. There are no good car rental options for long distance travelling, but perhaps the cost would be cheaper. Perhaps I leapt in to the car buying too quickly. In any case, I don’t enjoy driving, and 8000km of highway driving is 1/2 week behind the wheel. 3.5 days spent doing things other than reading the paper, running, cycling, learning, or resting. When I look at it that way it takes even more joy out of car ownership.
Living in Saint John is tough when one doesn’t own a car. Plus, once I’m back in Halifax I have class on Fridays until after the busses leave. Driving is the only way to make weekend trips home, something I value quite highly. It’s hard -if not impolite – to put a price on spending time with my parents and girlfriend.
Does anyone else have a similar experience with car ownership?
Let’s bring re-usable beer cases to North America
Last weekend I drove my friend to the liquor store to pick up some beer. As he was removing the case from the cooler, an all too familiar situation occured: the bottom of the case broke apart and beer went cascading everywhere, an unpleasant situation, and an easily avoidable one.
In Europe, beer is sold almost exclusively in plastic crates. Crates usually contain 16 x 500mL bottles for a perfect 8L, but there are other sizes too. They’re stackable, re-usable, very difficult to break, and all around better for the end user. The only two downsides are that they are slightly heavier than cardboard and breweries can’t brand them differently for each promotion they put on. There are, however, some dead simple ways to solve the latter, such as using a plastic wrapped seal during promotions.
According to Wikipedia, Canadians drink 2,183,000,000 litres of beer every year. Assuming 70% of that is in bottles, that works out to nearly 180 million cases. I couldn’t find stats on the inputs required to produce one case, but overall we’re probably looking at a significant energy saving.
For each case of beer purchased a deposit is paid on the case as well as on the bottles. In Germany it is around €3 ($4.20). I couldn’t find any life-cycle data on cases, but from personal experience I know that many cases from long ago are still in circulation in Germany.
While doing some research for this, I found a neat building made from beer cases. Try doing that with cardboard.
I think that this idea is past-due in North America. Beer spillage, ripped cardboard cases, and the general wastefulness of single-use containers should be things of the past. How do we convince beer companies that this is the right way to do things?
Grab things, make noise with them, record
Nothing in the recording below resembles the structure expected in western music: precise timing and tuning, a coherent sound. It’s just me making noise with things close by. Including my phone receiving a kik message. Enjoy.
It’s time for options for residential waste removal
Residential waste removal in Canada currently comes in three flavours: one, two, or three stream. You either have the ability to compost and/or recycle, or you don’t. One is required to pay a flat fee for whatever one’s city offers. The concept of composting is also far from universal – the major centres, such as Toronto and Ottawa, have barely implemented it, if at all. Saint John lacks curbside recycling, instead requiring residents to lug recyclables to far-off centralized depots, located in mall parking lots.
It’s time for fundamental change in how waste removal is handled across our country. I believe that we are near the limit for incremental improvements to the quality of service we receive, and our landfills are filling up almost as quickly as ever. No matter one’s opinion on environmental and social implications of landfills, wouldn’t it be nice if we could just get rid of them forever?
When I lived in Germany I became accustomed to a vastly different system, one which inspired PEI to become the first province to implement three-stream waste removal in the early 1990s (province-wide rollout came later, but PEI was the first province or state in North America to go jurisdiction-wide). In Germany, all houses and businesses are required to compost. Recycling is done in neighbourhood bins, similar to those in Saint John, but located every few blocks, no more three or four minute walk from anywhere I lived, and always on the way to the park – perfect when walking the dog or going for a stroll.
The fundamental difference in the German system is that of providing options to the consumer. Carts came in two sizes and had a variety of lid colours. A family of six or more (or a smaller, but more wasteful one) could opt for the full sized bins, the same size as are used in Nova Scotia for composting and PEI for both compost and waste. Small families, single people, retirees, or very environmentally conscious families could pick a half-sized bin, similar to the compost bins used in Ontario. Another layer of choice was added to each bin: weekly or bi-weekly pickup. Pricing varied according to bin size and collection frequency. The lid colour was the cue for collection frequency. This allows retirees or environmentally-friendly individuals to save money, and bringing the system close to charging the true cost of waste removal.
The reality of this structure is that it’s not too far from our current system in many cities. Some municipalities provide weekly collection, which means there would be little change in their overall plan, though trucks may be able to cover longer routes, depending on operational requirements.
Critics of such a pricing scheme would argue that it hurts families. This fear is not entirely correct, as consumption has more to do with income than family size – a large family who monitors consumption could very well end up with no waste, or so little that only a small, bi-weekly bin will be required. The inverse is also true, as I am familiar with many two-person households who fill both the black and green carts on a bi-weekly basis.
The other principal criticism of such schemes is that people will purchase the smallest bin in order to save money, then dump trash illegally. I believe that our police do a reasonably good job of finding and stopping illegal waste sites, so I find this to be a minor concern at worst.
Another idea that should be implemented at the same time is the ability for houses to opt for single-cart waste removal. Rather than having a compost cart and a waste cart, houses who choose to do their own composting should be allowed to opt out of compost collection. Garbage crews already audit bins to ensure only the correct products are in each, so fraud should be difficult.
Through a series of reforms, we could achieve such a system, providing options for small households who generate little waste. The lower prices will provide a financial incentive to houses to make the effort to curb their waste-generating consumption. Simply put, the time has come for subsidized waste removal to end.
Refinishing my bed frame
When I first moved in to a place of my “own” (rented with roommates), my parents were kind enough to purchase a mattress and box spring, figuring that getting a good quality mattress would pay dividends in terms of health and well-being. This mattress was purchased during a promotion that included a cheap metal frame on which to place the bed. For approximately three years, this frame endured a few different conditions, namely a basement apartment that was a tad too humid, rendering it somewhat rusty. Finally, upon arriving in Saint John, I vowed I would restore the frame to a rust free state. Today was the day I finally got around to the project.
I picked up some red Tremclad paint from my parents’ basement, as red was the only colour they had. This included spray-on primer and brush-on paint. I also scavenged for some 100-grit sandpaper, as they had nothing more coarse. I used the sandpaper to remove the rust from the frame, which was a long, slow task given that it was the wrong tool for the job. Eventually, I finished that and went outside to the parking lot to apply the primer, which ran out less than 1/3 the way through the job, so off I went to Kent building supplies way out in the east end.
This is where the project took a turn for the worst: since my parents bought that paint years ago, Tremclad had improved their products by going primer-free. Since I was looking for something similar to the primer I’d started with, I opted for the spray can of red paint. Getting home, I started painting, but there was a light wind, and it didn’t work very well & a fair bit of paint was consumed, making an awful mess of everything. Why I didn’t stick to my original plan and use brush on paint is beyond me.
Oh well, here’s a look at the finished product, one of the few red bed frames you’ll ever see. Having completed it, I realize I have possibly freed myself from the Wedge Family Curse: a renowned inability to finish any projects.
A different way of visualizing SQL databases
A friend asked me this weekend to help him understand SQL databases for a course in which he’s enrolled. The general structure of a relational database seemed straightforward to him – creating a new row for each entry, linking one-to-one relationships directly, and creating a gerund for one-to-many and many-to-many relationships. The question was really one of “when should I write data to the database?” Some would argue that the answer is to always write data. I’m not of this camp. Writing to a database should only be done in two primary cases: where the data cannot be found by querying and performing calculations on other fields, and where the frequency of the more complex query is so great that it has an effect on performance.
When compared to reading from a database, writing comes with a high computational cost. It simply does not make sense to write everything. Since the above criteria are sometimes difficult to visualize, I had to find a better approach to convey it. I was inspired by an old example used in computer science to describe memory allocation. In the example, an operator (or robot) has pieces of information (mail) and sorts them in to pigeonholes and remembers the address of the information for retrieval. This helps some students visualize the allocation of memory.
My second inspiration was an article on early childhood education and the best methods to teach multiplication tables. It was then that I had the “A-ha!” moment, and was able to formulate the necessary example. Why is it that we memorize multiplication tables? It’s because the benefit gained from being able to instantly recall that 6×7=42 is much greater than the the benefit gained from calculating it at each turn. In order to memorize relatively simple calculations, we must repeat them over and over – equivalent to the computational cost of writing to an SQL database.
The correlation then is simple: we should only memorize something if there’s no way of retrieving the information again when it’s actually needed, or if we must recall it so frequently that repeating the steps to get to the information each time would be detrimental to our performance. The same is definitely true for databases: minimize the information written to improve your overall performance, but write when calculations would slow your performance.
I hope this analogy will help at least one other person visualize when we should write and when we should simply read and calculate.
The best chicken wings ever
Occasionally I test my chops by not writing about engineering, student life, or politics, though one could argue that this post is about student life. Tonight I managed to make the most delicious chicken wings to have ever entered my mouth. Now, I’m sure there’s at least one person out there upset with my assertion that these are the best wings ever, but let’s move past that and talk about why.
I received some inspiration for these wings from another blog, but largely took it my own way.
First, let’s start with the wings. I picked up a little over a pound of fresh chicken wings from the Saint John City Market. 1.5 pounds for $6. Not a bad deal, but there are probably better deals out there for farm fresh chicken wings. After preheating the oven to 375 degrees, I washed them to ensure there’s no dirt on the surface, and inspected them for any unplucked feathers. At this point, some people cut the thin side of the wing off, but I prefer to leave it on.
Make sure there is no dirt or feathers left on the wings.
Second is the dry-rub. You can use anything you want to rub the wings, it’s really whatever you prefer. I used fresh garlic, chili powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. I’m curious to experiment with a variety of other flavours too. Mix the dry rub in a bowl, then toss the wings in, mix it around, and look to ensure an even coating. Once this is done, pour a bit of olive oil on top and rub that around too, to ensure an even coating.
Use any spices you want, and ensure an even coating.
Now it’s time to lay the wings out on a baking sheet, ensuring they aren’t layered. They can touch, but layering them is a bad idea. Once they’ve been arranged, send them straight in to the oven and wait for 50 minutes, or until skin is crispy. Once you’ve achieved crispy skin, remove them, pick your favourite sauces, and dig in!
With the spices rubbed, place them on the sheet and make sure they aren
Dig in.
Stop eating when the pile looks like this.
There you have it. Delicious wings, with moderate spice and great flavour, for a low price and very little effort. This is something that you can try at home. Safely.
Playing with mom’s camera
My next purchase (after a kettle for brewing) will be an SLR camera. I’m going to get a used rig, likely a Nikon due to a long-standing admiration of their products, and then build a lens collection on top of the initial buy. Since I can’t get that now, as a student (but maybe this fall? Who knows?) I decided to take mom’s camera for a spin. Mom received a Nikon D40 nearly 5 years ago for Christmas. Unfortunately, she never cared nor had the desire to care for the capabilities for her camera, and my attempts to swap her camera for my point and shoot never panned out. While the D40 is no superb camera, it does have some neat capabilities. (The camera I used is a D40X, the as the D40 was removed from our possession along with our other electronics in September 2007).
To make a long story short, mom lost the box for her camera which included a viewfinder cover, and we don’t have a remote trigger. Despite these shortcomings, I attempted some long-exposure shots of Summerside Harbour under our full moon. The shot linked below was taken around 11:15PM on Friday night, and is full of artefacts due to shakiness of covering the back and pressing the trigger. It’s a start.
Musings: Cappuccino Coffee Food Hipster New PEI Samuel's Starbucks Summerside
by Ben
2 comments
Samuel’s: It’s definitely not Starbucks
Summerside finally has good coffee. Not great coffee, mind you, but very good coffee. Samuel’s has been open in the old Moving Designz space at Queen St and Water St (the Journal-Pioneer building) for about a week now. While the title of this post cheekily compares it to Starbucks, that’s just not fair to Seattle’s pride. Samuel’s is better. The barista who served me seemed green – his customer service was a tad underdeveloped, and his coffee needed finesse, but it was certainly one of the better cappuccinos I’ve had on PEI – if not the best.
The space has a simple decor, with brick walls painted white (a holdover from Moving Designz, if I recall correctly), comfortable black chairs, and plenty of light. One of the neatest parts of the space is the vault, which is tucked away, providing a seating for four, in two distinct sections. If you want a quiet conversation, the vault is probably your best bet. Half of the space had yet to be fitted out, and I’m unsure as to whether they plan to expand the seating into the side room. The wifi at Samuel’s was relatively snappy. I’m a bit more of a fan of bare-brick and more wood, but I did enjoy the location.
If my espresso machine were on the fritz or if I absolutely needed a coffee downtown I’d be there in a heartbeat, but it’s hard to justify paying for a cuppa when comparable quality can be produced at home. The shop was bustling, however, with a few seemingly retired couples, a young family on vacation, and a middle aged woman working on her computer. For a Thursday afternoon I was quite impressed. I’m sure I’ll be back at least once more before my vacation is over.
I’m quite confident Samuel’s will be around for a while, and that’s great for this town. Now my focus must shift: getting a good bar with freshly prepared food and impeccable beer. Once we have that, my love affair with Halifax may finally be severed.
Musings: customer relations garrison nova scotia power propeller rob batherson
by Ben
2 comments
It’s all about relationships
Today I noticed a tweet by a public relations worker at a local creative firm, Rob Batherson, who was pleased with the way an employee at the Hilton Fashion District Hotel in New York had dealt with an issue he was having. Obviously we all prefer when a company solves our problems, but I do want to elaborate a bit on this thought.
My beer habits have changed dramatically in the past year. I’ve always been a lover of quirky, bold beers, and have never been a big fan of the mass-market swill that one can find at most bars. My conversion to nearly 100% craft beer consumption, from perhaps 50% previously, was quick, and largely thanks to a tweet that I spotted by Bobby O’Keefe last August which introduced me to the Brewnosers Club. In the same period, my brand loyalty switched dramatically.
In my first year at Dal, I lived at Howe Hall, and when I wanted to fill my growler (perhaps 10% of my beer consumption at the time, maybe less), I’d trek out to Propeller. I really love Propeller’s beer, I find they have great quality, flavour, and consistency. The following year, I was living close to the North End (depends on who you ask) and was even closer to their brewery. However, every time I went to Propeller, I didn’t feel accepted as a customer. By that I mean the employees made no attempt to reach out, and rarely said more than a forceful “Hello.” Growler fills and purchasing bottles directly from the brewery had probably hit 50% of my consumption (excluding bars). This year, I once again moved downtown, and when the farmer’s market moved across the street from Garrison I started to check Garrison’s brews out when in the area.
Garrison provided a wildly different customer experience. Their staff seemed friendlier from day one, and when I go to purchase or sample their products they are always friendly and helpful. A few have started to recognize me, which is nice considering my visits are infrequent. One employee, however, has stood out. Garrison’s marketing and social media is handled by a young woman named Meg. Meg is great because she answers any query rapidly and thoroughly. If a product is not as expected, she moves quickly to rectify the situation. Meg goes above and beyond to ensure Garrison’s customers are satisfied, and it’s something I’ve noticed on multiple occasions. Whether an individual says something about Garrison in a public forum, whether positive or negative, Meg is quick to respond, thank the person if it’s positive, or see what can be done to correct the problem if it’s not.
The customer service displayed by the entire team at Garrison is something that motivates me to consume more of their beer, even though I don’t like it to the same extent as Propeller. Sadly, Propeller suffered a big loss in my eyes when brewmaster Don Harms returned to Ontario this spring. I sat next to him on a flight to Ottawa last December, and he was very friendly and encouraged me to come to the brewery so he could run some quality tests on my homebrew. Sadly, I was not able to take him up on the offer before he left a few months later.
Breweries aren’t the only companies that work to establish solid relationships with their customers. Public utilities seem to be much-maligned organizations. Relatively isolated from the threat of competition, they have little incentive to work harder on their product and their relationships. Aaron, who handles social media for Nova Scotia Power is another great example. He keeps their Twitter account up to date, lighthearted, and proactive. He works hard to answer questions thoroughly (I’ve asked questions about corona discharge sounding louder than normal, emissions at generating stations, charts for power usage by time of day. I’ve also pointed out issues with the website’s usability). Every time, Aaron is quick and thorough to respond. His proficiency is especially unexpected given my preconceptions of public utilities.
As Rob pointed out in his tweet, it’s all about creating positive relationships with customers and solving their problems. That’ll beat any advertising campaign.
