*sigh*

Dear President's Choice Blue Menu,

I buy your fish for two reasons:

1. I like eating fish.

2. I would like to continue eating fish in the future, and your fish has the sustainability logo on it.

However, I am single. Thus, when I buy your package of two fillets, I intend to eat each fillet at a different time. Eating two fillets at once is both too much food, and dramatically raises the cost of the meal.

My mother taught me that re-freezing fish is not safe food handling practice. Thus, when you package your fillets together in such a way that the two are solidly fused together in a single block of ice... well... I regret having purchased your product.

I suspect you chose your packaging because it reduces freezer-burn. (Unless you didn't want to buy equipment to flash-freeze the individual fillets?) However, I would rather risk a little freezer burn, and be able to choose my portion size. Please consider changing your packaging methods.

Thank you.

Evolution of CFLs

The package on the left I bought around three years ago (the two bulbs are dead ones that I need to dispose of properly), the package on the right I bought last weekend.

The package on the left claims the bulbs last seven years (8000 hours). Of the package of four, I've had to replace two, and one just went in a month or two ago. It's not doing well on it's seven year claim. The new bulbs claim to last nine years (10000 hours). So... do you think they'll actually last nine years (as claimed), five years (two more than the old bulbs), four years (20% more), or three years (exactly the same)?

The old lightbulbs have 850 lumens flux, the new ones have 800. (It's daytime right now, so I haven't turned them on for a light output test... I'm not sure how I'd do that without equipment anyway.) They both use 13W.

The old bulbs are "Daylight Extra... Colour temperature is 3500K. Does not comply with ANSI specification C78.376-2001 for Daylight colour temperature (6500K)." New bulbs actually do claim to be 6500K, and are a noticeably different colour than the old ones when I flicked them on briefly to check. (Old one is yellow-white, new one is blue-white.)

The old bulbs came in an excessively large clam-shell package made from non-renewable petrochemicals, with no recycling symbol. The new ones come in more compact, recyclable cardboard.

Regular lightbulbs are being phased out all over, in favour of CFLs. I have two concerns about that:

1. What do you use for your porch light? CFLs turn off when the temperature drops too low. (Not a problem in NC, but does happen regularly in Winnipeg.)

2. Many CFL packages still say not to use the bulbs in enclosed fixtures, or in a sideways or upside-down position. What are you supposed to do for overhead lighting if you don't want a chandelier? (As is the case in my apartment? Is that why they don't last as long as they should? Or take so long to come to full brightness? ...Although I have those same problems with the tri-light in the living room, and it's upright and unenclosed.)

Even ignoring the concerns migraine sufferers have, they still have some issues to resolve.

Update: If I had to make a guess, I'd say the new bulb is brighter. It certainly comes on faster. The blueish light is going to take some getting used to, though.

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day! I love my country. It's not perfect, but it's my favourite place to live.

To those along the Souris River, or being swamped by Lake Manitoba, my thoughts are with you.

This climate change shit is scary... more people need to start doing more to slow it down & hopefully get things under control! I try to do what I can. (What are you doing?)

Why is it when DDT was killing birds, it got banned? How did the government get CFCs phased out, to try to save the ozone? What's different now, that our government is not being proactive when it comes to climate change? Does it not see the million tiny things pointing to something being wrong? Three million acres of Manitoba farmland went unseeded this year due to flooding. The entire state of Texas has been declared a natural disaster due to drought. Storms are more severe, and more often. Oceans are facing mass extinction.

When you're out celebrating today, please think of a way you can help keep this country (and the world) a great place to live.

Two small things I did recently:

1. I made a reusable shopping bag out of fabric that was rescued from the trash:

(It was formerly part of a camping item which was wearing out and no longer wanted.)

2. I repaired a reusable bag for a friend, so that it can keep on chugging:


One thing I'm not happy about:

That seemingly sturdy bag my tooth-care items came in?

Is "degradable", which means that if I try to reuse it, it will fall apart on me. The product's web site makes it sound nice, but I don't trust so-called (bio)degradable plastics: see this, this, and this. Ever hear of "greenwashing"? :(

I'm not perfect either, but I do what I can.

Reusable Shopping Bags

My uncle was throwing out an old camping thingy recently, and I rescued it for the fabric. Since we were also celebrating my uncle's birthday this past Monday, I decided (at least) one of the grocery bags I made should be for him.

Somehow, I still ended up sewing it at 2 am the night before the party. (What is it with me, and getting things done late at night?!?) The first bag was meant to be a prototype, but, since it was about 2 am when I was finishing it, it became the present.

I added a fun bike machine embroidery to the front:


(I like going bike riding with my uncle!)

Of course, the bobbin had to screw up, and make a mess of one of my seams:

Yes, I'm a slow learner... not only am I sewing at 2 am the night before the party, but I'm using a contrasting colour thread. (This time on purpose, even!)

With the long handles, I could use the bag itself as the wrapping and bow:

(Extra environmentally friendly! No packaging! We've definitely got reduce and reuse going on here!)

I love the bag I made for my uncle! Using some more of the fabric, I made another bag for myself last night:

Go figure... this time the bobbin didn't mess up, and all my seams look much better. (Not perfect, but not hideous either.)

The applique is a bit of an experiment... I'm not sure how it's going to look once the edges start to fray. (I love how it looks right now, though!)

And, while I'm on the subject of bags, I repaired one that I gave a friend previously. She's been getting a lot of use out of them, and it shows:


Repaired and reinforced:

Somehow I'm not surprised...

...that an owner of a chain store linked to puppy mills also drives a Hummer... known for conspicuous consumption and gas guzzling.

I'm also amused by the juxtaposition of the shiny black Hummer with the well-used pink bicycle. ;)

A Good News Story

I've been hearing so many horrible things in the news, that it was a relief to hear a good news story on The Bottom Line. (Thank you, David Suzuki, for giving hope along with the bad facts.)

Self-described 'radical' farmer Joel Salatin shares his ideas on how to revolutionize the global food system.

I googled the name, and came up with this website about his farm. Happy cows, happy chickens, etc, all being rotated around a small parcel of land in a way that makes use of nature. Cows eat perennial grasses. When the section they're eating gets mowed, they get moved onto the next section. Three days later, the chickens are sent in to eat the maggots that are living in the cow patties, before they can hatch into flies and cause a fly problem. The chickens scatter the cow patties, helping to fertilize the grasses. A couple of weeks later, the cows are back in that chunk of lush field, and the circle of life continues.

On The Main Ingredient, an interview with someone developing a way to grow veggies and fish in the same tank... in a "back yard" sort of way.

Happy thoughts!

Monarch Butterfly

This afternoon I saw a monarch butterfly! (I'm pretty sure it's a monarch, rather than the other kind that I confuse with monarchs sometimes.) It was pretty skittish, but eventually settled. I got one reasonably close photo:

then crept closer. I was about to get a fabulously close photo when... a car drove down the lane and startled it. I decided against waiting for it to settle again. (I waited a bit, just in case, but didn't wait too long.)

Happy butterfly day to you!

No Win?

Sometimes it's really hard to make the correct choice for the environment. For example:

Looks good, right? It's made from recycled paper (a large portion is post-consumer), and there's even a message on the front of the packaging along the lines of how you're thinking. Turn it over, though:

...and you discover that it's made in France, and assembled and packaged in China.

1. How can it possibly be economical to manufacture something in France, assemble and package in China, and then sell in Canada? (Aren't these assembled and packaged by machine anyway? How can the machines be cheaper in China, unless it's because they don't have to follow as many safety and environmental regulations there?)

2. Which is better for the environment? Buying the non-recycled content post-its that are made in the USA (another option I had), or the recycled content ones that have made a round-the-world trip before you buy them? Which uses less oil and other non-renewable resources? Is it better to consume non-renewable resources to reduce trash and save trees?

Frustrating.

(Unless someone has a better suggestion, I think next time I'll go the tree-killing method... assuming it's still an option to buy relatively locally the next time I'm running low on post-its.)

Things That Make You Go "Hmmmm..."

A few days ago, Dad sent me a link to this video on how basa (catfish) is farmed in Vietnam. Some parts didn't really faze me, but other parts... ew.

Tonight I decided to have fish for dinner, and guess what was in my freezer? Basa. From Vietnam. I was going to eat it anyway, and just not buy any more... but I couldn't.

Then, in tonight's depressing TV, I watched The End Of The Line on CBC's The Passionate Eye. It's about the fish stocks... those that have already collapsed, and those that are about to collapse. It was pretty grim.

Resolutions:
1. Stop buying basa from Vietnam.
2. Avoid buying fish from countries who likely have dubious fishing or fish farming practices.
3. Buy fish with the sustainability logo, rather than "what's cheap".
4. Never buy bluefin tuna. (Figures I remember: 10 units would allow stocks to recover, 15 units is sustainable, the international consortium put quotas at 29.5 units, fisherman are ignoring the quotas and fishing 60 units. I can't remember what the specific units are... I think it's 1000 tons... but at any rate, we're about to lose the bluefin tuna.)

Another thing

Another thing I keep forgetting to blog: apparently someone wanted to know how well birds survived after being caught in the oil spill, cleaned, and released. Most died within 7 days. (Likely due to oil that was ingested before they were cleaned.) I think I heard this on CBC's "As It Happens"... yup, looks like it was the June 21 episode.

Cleaning oiled birds: good PR for the oil companies, not necessarily a good thing for the birds.

Deja-Vu-Land

Oh, look, it's 1979 all over again: That was Then, This is Then (The Rachel Maddow Show). Top kill, top hat, junk shot... it's all there. Heck, there's even an Alaskan pipeline burst. (Why aren't we hearing about that on the news? Is there a reason why oil spilling in pristine wilderness isn't "news"? Perhaps because it's "business as usual"?) Apparently the only thing that's changed is that now we're drilling in deeper places, with no better technology to stop spills.

Why, oh why, won't the Harper government stop the drilling in the arctic? I shudder at the thought of what will happen when (not "if", "when") a blow-out happens there.

I saw a program ("H2Oil") the other night on TV, about the Alberta tar sands.

It feels like the world is going to hell in a hand-basket.

WTF?!?

It's *raining*! In *Winnipeg*, in *January*!?!?! I think this makes three years in a row! Climate change sure is effing up the weather.

Harper: get off you butt, and do something!!!

Stinky

The organic gardening place recommended neem oil to get rid of pests on my plants. After doing some research online, I found out that neem oil works by making bugs not want to eat. They say it's because it messes with the bugs' hormones, making them forget to eat.

After smelling that stuff, I think the bugs are too nauseous to eat. :P

However, if it kills the bugs on my bay tree without making the bay leaves kill me, I'll put up with a temporary stink. (And if I have my appetite suppressed by the smell, well, I could afford to lose a few pounds. I don't think it worked tonight, though.)

I put it on the mango tree too. I have no intention of eating the mango plant (I highly doubt it will ever fruit), but I'm not fond of breathing in insecticide... which inevitably happens whenever I try using the stuff.

Office Progress

Yay! More progress made in tidying my office! Some things put away, some things sorted and closer to away, pile-o-paper recycled, and a few things tossed. :)

However, it's after midnight now, and in my quest to get back on a more normal schedule, I should pack it in for the night.

For now, I leave you with some bad poetry, written when I was a teenager, discovered tonight. (Dated, of course, because you should always know when you wrote your bad poetry. For the record, this one is from January 27, 1995.) By the lack of capital letters, I'd say we had been studying e. e. cummings in school around then. Wait a sec... January 1995 would put me in first year university, and I didn't study e. e. cummings then. I guess he had just made a big impression on me earlier.

these giants. (I think this is the title.)
great grean hulking (I misspelled *green*?!?)
breathing beasts.
rough skin
green hair
cascading
down
down
down.
down beneath
the surface
these giants
their toes dig
dig deep
deep
into the earth
where water flows
blood of the earth
blood
sticky sap crawls
crawls
sluggish.
blood of beasts.
Look up. (A capital letter?? For emphasis, or out of habit?)
see the pattern.
lattice leaves.
leaves breathless beholders
beholden
for the gift of breath
breath of life
Look up. (Capitalized again... must have been on purpose.)
compared to
these giants
we are small.

(This is copyright me... don't steal my bad poetry. Write your own.)

So... when you were a teenager, did you write bad poetry and hide it in secret places? I did. (This was found in an under-bed box that got left behind at my mom's when I went off to grad school.) Back when I wrote it, the thought of someone else reading my poetry was painfully embarrassing... but for some reason, I wrote it down anyway. (At this point, I'm far enough removed from that "me" to look back and laugh. Mostly.)

Water Bottle Annoyance

The majority of my water bottles leak. (Why is it they can make pop bottles that don't leak, but seem incapable of doing the same for reusable bottles?) Early on in my bus ride, I noticed my leg was a bit damp from my water bottle, but didn't worry too much about it. Then I fell asleep. When I woke at the university, I discovered that the front half of one leg of my shorts was drenched... there's a dinner plate sized soggy area. *sigh* The stupid water bottle was basically upright! How did it leak so much?!?

Sheesh! I just noticed that it leaked all over my back pocket too!!! And I *know* it was upright while I was walking!

Sunset

Sunset

There was a spectacular sunset tonight. The view was really beautiful as I came over the bridge, but I didn't have time to grab my camera... I thought about getting off and walking back, but sunsets change so quickly, I figured it wouldn't be worth it. This was looking down the street as I walked home.

Cloth Shopping Bag

Ta da:

Check out the quality seams:

No fraying here! I did the types of seams found on jeans for the side and bottom, and for the corners, I zig-zagged the cut edge. The handles are also padded!

Question #1: If I were to sell these (say, to raise money to replace my worn out sandals guilt-free during a period of low income), how much do you think I could sell these for? (I have enough fabric to make more than I need for myself.) I estimate it takes me at least two hours per bag, even though I tried to "assembly line" the ones made from the blue fabric. Do you think $15 would be out of line? Would people pay that? Another reference point: those nylon ones have been selling for $5, and nothing has been done to reinforce their seams or to prevent fraying.

Question #2: If you're local, would you be interested in buying one? ;) I'd give a discount for friends, of course... a steal at $10!

Crafting with dead umbrellas

Cool! Here's a tutorial for making bags out of dead umbrellas! I just happen to have some rather dead ones kicking around... I wonder if it would be possible to make a swift out of the struts and other pieces? (I already have a swift, but I know people who don't...)

Odd Detrius

River Trash

I was walking over the bridge (to get to Pollock's), when I noticed something that looks like a tanned cow hide. (I think it's in two pieces... either that, or there's more than one hide down there.) I wonder how it got there? (Well, I know the river washed it up, but what was a tanned hide doing in the river?!?)

I'd recommend not clicking through for biggie view if you're squeamish. It's not too disgusting, but it's not really a pleasant sight.

E is for Earth

Climbing Tree

E is for Earth, my favourite planet. Let's not mess it up, okay?

I did F last time, since I couldn't think of a good photo for the E I wanted. I ended up just going through my past photos. This is the "climbing tree" near my family's cabin that my grandpa cut and debarked branches a long time ago so that you could climb up higher for a better view.

Posting this E today seems extra nice, since Earth Hour was today. (Not that I remembered until after Earth Hour was over... and well before it started. *sigh*)