Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
It is with great dismay that I have been reading news reports that the recession in Canada has been over for many months, yet I still cannot find work. I consider myself to be an intelligent fellow, very well educated with work experience to match, but somehow I’ve lost my golden touch. Really, that is putting it mildly. Logically speaking if I had not been fortuitous enough to live a frugal and stable life in the past, today I should be in bankruptcy, living off food banks and be a beggar in the street. Smart strategies and a whole lot of luck in the past have saved me this fate. Or was it typical Chinese values. One will never know.
Tags: 99 weeks, Canada, comments, Globe and Mail, recession, Toronto, unemployment, US, work
Posted in Environment, Learn, Nonsense, Retail | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010
Jamie Kennedy french fries served at the ACC look great. Do not ask if this dish is healthy. It is not. $6.50CAD per serving.
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Intriguing, this. If there ever was an oxymoron, haute cuisine french fries is it. Still, I remain open minded. Our family loves home cut french fries, which gives us a warm and friendly feeling in our house. There’s nothing “haute” cuisine about them; maybe “moyennes” but not “haute”. Still, when Jamie Kennedy, whom I now know is a chef, serves his french fries at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, I wanted to learn more. I think the ACC is where they have sporting events such as baseball, and hockey. The skinny: organically grown yellow potatoes from Ontario fried in sunflower oil, with two types of sea salt and a dash of thyme. Cider or chili mayonnaise sauce on the side. $6.50CAD a serving.
Tags: ACC, french fries, Jamie Oliver, oidized table salt, organic, potatoes, sea salt, sunflower oil, thyme, yellow
Posted in Environment, food, Retail | 2 Comments »
Thursday, September 30th, 2010
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Heat rash or miliaria is a bit odd in that you get small bumps (~ 2mm) or papules that are elevated but do not break the skin surface. A few seem to have a clear centre (vesicle). After a while they subside and then eventually go away on their own, but then patches may appear in other areas, randomly bilateral. They may be itchy but not overly, and not painful. These cases are so personal it’s hard to generalize.
I found it difficult to find great macro photos on the web in order to properly identify the bumps. Quickstep had 2 such photos, thanks to Google Search.
Tags: Benadryl, corticosteroid, cream, diphenhydramine, Elocom, heat rash, miliaria, mometasone furoate, papules, prickly heat
Posted in Environment, Learn, Nonsense | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, September 21st, 2010
Jiucai (garlic chives) in bloom, growing at our front doorstep, Sony H4, macro 4x zoom
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This hardy Chinese herb seems to grow everywhere near our house in Toronto, Canada, self seeding without assistance. Jiucai is also called garlic chives. Put it into soup, stews, omelets, and jiaozi. You chop it down but leave the roots and it will grow back, multiple times in a season. Somehow this dainty little plant has moved to many sections of our backyard and have proliferated, but the most convenient is a clump near our front door. So handy yet tasty.
Permanent link to this post (97 words, 1 image, estimated 23 secs reading time)
Tags: bloom, Canada, China, chinese, garlic chives, herb, jiaozi, jiucai, omelet, soup, stew, Toronto
Posted in China, Environment, food, Nonsense | No Comments »
Sunday, September 19th, 2010
Crime, especially juvenile crime, is widespread throughout Toronto, Canada. A swarming, while somewhat uncommon in my area of Toronto, does occur. This morning while at the local park for preschool kids, I talked to a ~70 year old Grandmother who was looking after her five year old grandson. She told me that yesterday September 18 2010 at around 7:30pm she was at the local park for older kids, some 50 meters away and was swarmed by a group of 6 Black kids, ranging from 6 to 14 years old. The incident left her feeling vulnerable, afraid and unsafe in her Glendower neighbourhood, where she has lived for the last 20 years. When I explained to her that I was also a victim of swarming by local Black kids, she was also surprised. Her reaction and remorse did not surprise me because I had the same feelings after my swarming.
Tags: black, Canada, children, Glendower, juvenile crime, Kids, punching, swarming, swearing, Toronto
Posted in Environment, Kids, Learn | No Comments »
Friday, September 10th, 2010
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Speeding through school zones is an ongoing and madening traffic issue in Toronto, Canada. Every year the police, accompanied by children stop speeders near their schools, but it seems nothing changes. Everyone agrees that speeding through a school zone in very dangerous for kids, but drivers are too self absorbed and arrogant to change their behaviour. Preventable.ca is running a small test in West Vancouver where they adhere a sticker of a child on the road. From far away the sticker looks like a little girl fetching a ball. This is to remind drivers in a school zone to pay attention to the road in order to keep kids safe. It is a small test, but well worth trying. I think preventable.ca for their effort in improving road safety for children in BC, but hope that they will also reach out to Toronto.
Tags: ball, BC, Canada, car, distraction, girl, image, inattentional blindness, Ontario, pedestrian, Preventable.ca, road, safety, school, school zone, speeding, Vancouver
Posted in Environment, Kids, Learn | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
If you have not heard about a Doju, this is unsurprising. This small creature roams through China and Asia, aimlessly walking in no certain direction, and getting into trouble as he goes. The Doju walks at different speeds, contemplating life as he goes. Small and hairless, people and other animals, for some reason, do not bother it and certainly would not try to eat it. This is a good thing for the defencless Doju is actually quite tasty.
Tags: China, Doju, walk
Posted in China, Environment, food, Kids, Learn | No Comments »
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
Bicycling instead of driving a car is not only healthy but is great for the environment. Unfortunately here in North America, specifically in Toronto, Canada, bicycling is relegated to tree kissing environmentalists and kids. This is too bad for everyone. An excellent video by Clarence Eckerson, Jr. shows what is working in Copenhagen, and what could work here in North America.
I have lived in Beijing, China for a couple of years and the bike culture there is pretty safe. This has degraded somewhat now as more people become wealthier and can afford cars. It’s sad to see China go backward on bicycles, but such us progress in the People’s Republic of China.
Tags: bicycle, Clarence Eckerson, Copenhagen, culture, Jr., Toronto, video
Posted in bicycle, China, Environment | 1 Comment »
Friday, July 2nd, 2010
Honey Bee feeding on echinacea, Toronto, Canada
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Canada Day, July 01, 2010, Toronto, Canada
Permanent link to this post (15 words, 1 image, estimated 4 secs reading time)
Tags: Canada, echinacea, honey bee, Purple Coneflower, Toronto
Posted in Environment, Nonsense | No Comments »
Friday, July 2nd, 2010
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Honey Bee feeding on Shasta daisy 2, Toronto, Canada
Honey Bee on Shasta daisy 1, Toronto, Canada
Honey Bee on Shasta daisy 3, Toronto, Canada
Honey Bee on Shasta daisy 4, Toronto, Canada
Canada Day, July 01, 2010, Honey Bee feeds on a Shasta daisy in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Permanent link to this post (50 words, 4 images, estimated 12 secs reading time)
Tags: bee, Canada, Canada Day, honey bee, Ontario, shasta daisy, Toronto
Posted in Environment, Nonsense | No Comments »
