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Topic: thesniffer
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MondoBondo
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 10611
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posted 17 October 2005 09:09 PM
Welcome Babblers! thesniffer is totally jazzed and thrilled about becoming a member of the RPN. We'd like to hear your questions, comments, observations and criticisms (not really, but we thought we should say that). We're especially interested in any new places we should be sniffing. Are there any stories you'd like us track down? Nora and Cathi [ 17 October 2005: Message edited by: MondoBondo ]
From: Ayr | Registered: Oct 2005
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Reality. Bites.
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 6718
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posted 18 October 2005 11:15 AM
quote: Originally posted by Wayne MacPhail: I've started to hear the phrase "tastes like ass" a lot, as in. "Man, this coffee tastes like ass". I think it's a derivative of "tastes like sh*t" but it's well, an odd derivative. Have you heard it too.
The first time I noticed "like ass" used where "like shit" would seem more logical was on Survivor II, taped in fall 2000. The purist in me feels compelled to point out that an ass doesn't have any inherent smell or taste, it only picks that up from what is on it, while shit always smells (and presumably tastes) like shit. It's also cruel to dogs. Whenever my dog hears someone say something tastes like ass he thinks he's finally found a human of discerning taste with interesting hobbies he can relate to.
From: Gone for good | Registered: Aug 2004
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MondoBondo
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 10611
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posted 18 October 2005 04:56 PM
Tastes like ass? I live at Church and Wellesely. I've been hearing tastes like ass for the last 10 years of my life. Sarah, thanks for the nice words about Peak Oil. It's my total favourite thing to obsess about. Much more interesting than freaking about bird flu. If we all get the bird flu, pfffft, it's curtains. But no oil, now that's when things'll get really twisted. There are a lot of possible alternatives out there. I hope to get into them in future podcasts if only Nora will let me talk about something other than women peeing standing up. And Nora, you should see *your* face when you're talking about the shopping culture. Maybe we should have a camera up and running. Nah, on second thought I don't think so.
From: Ayr | Registered: Oct 2005
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deBeauxOs
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 10099
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posted 18 October 2005 05:28 PM
quote: posted by MondoBondo: Oh yeah, MondoBondo is me, Cathi Bond.
Welcome, new babbler.Map of M4Y 1B2, CA It would appear from the map that you live in a garret, above "Buddies in Bad Times" [ 18 October 2005: Message edited by: deBeauxOs ]
From: missing in action | Registered: Aug 2005
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MondoBondo
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 10611
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posted 19 October 2005 01:06 PM
Hey man that's sweet. Glad you liked it. Now who was asking about the location of my digs? Right now indeed I can see Buddies in Bad Times. Does anyone ever go there? I went to see Judith Thompson's adaptation of Hedda Gabler this summber. ON the celebrity sighting side it was great. I was sitting right beside Michael Ondaatje (ohmygawd ohmygawd) and the playwright herself was sitting directly in front of me. ON the adaptation side, I think I like her original stuff better. Nora and I are frequently bellyaching about adaptations. I guess I should be happy it's Ibsen and not Grease the opera. Cath
From: Ayr | Registered: Oct 2005
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Wayne MacPhail
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 119
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posted 19 October 2005 01:41 PM
Or, worse, Grease by Ibsen.SANDY: I'm hopelessly devoted to you! DANNY: Everything is hopeless. What is hope but dust in a cup, the last dregs of a poor vintage, the dream of a fool lost in the cold grey dawn. SANDY: You're right. I see now what a sham happiness is! Happiness ha! Grief is the word.
From: Hamilton | Registered: Apr 2001
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Wayne MacPhail
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 119
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posted 19 October 2005 02:34 PM
Thanks Michelle. I listened to the clip. The scientist is right, we have been remarkably inventive when it comes to energy extraction. Unfortunately, we've also been remarkable profligate with the energy we've extracted, so much so that we've probably run out of time and resources to come up with the new technology he speaks of. Some folks feel that we've passed the peak (or will in the next five years). That means the economy will begin to stagnate and the resources that can devoted to cheap tar sands extraction will be competing with the resources needed to feed suburbanites stranded in zero-resource ghettos. And, anyway, coming up with new ways to get oil from tar sands is like being inventive about compost bin licking techniques. If you have to get that imaginative to eat, you should be paying attention to the state of your diet.
From: Hamilton | Registered: Apr 2001
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MondoBondo
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 10611
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posted 19 October 2005 04:34 PM
Hey thanks for the clip Michelle. I have heard this same theory from many other sources during my research and I think that it's true. The question is, how long will it take to run the sands dry? Did you hear about that Governor of Utah calling us the Saudi Arabia of the north? I was talking to my cousin about this. He's an engineer and works for the government developing alternate energies. A lot around biomass which is really incredible. He was quite pragmatic about the whole thing. Essentially, and I paraphrase "We're just going to have to learn to live more like Europeans." Meaning gas will be twice to three times as expensive and no more frolicking around the farmhouse in my tee and boxers in the dead of winter. Drat! Actually I hate being cold but it sounds like Chinese silk long johns will be de rigeur in the future. I've got a lot more to say about this topic. Some positive stuff as well as some worrisome. Or at the very least thought provoking. Maybe Nora and I should revisit it next week or the following week. What do you all think? Nora?
From: Ayr | Registered: Oct 2005
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MondoBondo
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 10611
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posted 19 October 2005 05:35 PM
Hey Wayne,What about this? Since India is bound to become a huge energy sucker with their growing economy and middle class, what if they operate their cars on ethanol from sugar cane? India produces I think 60 percent of the world's sugar and it's meant to be a very clean burning fuel. Can you heat a home on ethanol? I dunno. So much to learn, so little time before niblets in the dark.
From: Ayr | Registered: Oct 2005
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MondoBondo
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 10611
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posted 21 October 2005 05:20 PM
While I concede that the VKB has a way to go before becoming a Best Buy Christmas stocking stuffer, I firmly believe this is an important step. Unless our oil situation turns us all into housebound farmers, we will continue to want to be more and more mobile don't you think? (Great article in rabble on peak oil btw)Isn't that the whole point of the mobile revoltion? (Well maybe it's just to make money but we've been brainwashed into believing in tech to go.) This is a piece of technology that actually could perform a much needed *function.* Those litte keyboards totally suck. The VKB could go anywhere, even offices and be of great help to folks who've got Carpal Tunnel etc. Ergonomically they could be fantastic. And if the app grew into a screen it would fabulous in a world where space is shrinking. And remember friends, don't stamp on the nose of thesniffer. We just go forth and sniff. We never said everyone would like the smell. Cathi
From: Ayr | Registered: Oct 2005
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MondoBondo
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 10611
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posted 22 October 2005 02:26 PM
What's neat is up at my farm a lot of farmers are applying for new zoning to their property to allow for retail sales area. It's very kewl and we buy all of our meat and eggs from the lady down the road. It's all organic and way cheaper than what you'd get at any supermarket. There's also something really sexy about buying local. PS What's also interesting is that some of the local powerbrokers are trying to stop it. I wonder if they've got Sobey or Foodland stock.
From: Ayr | Registered: Oct 2005
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Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560
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posted 23 October 2005 11:11 AM
quote: Originally posted by Wayne MacPhail: Good story Sharon. Thank you. I'm hoping we can launch a "Living Locally" podcast to help folks get ready for the oil-starved days ahead.
I would love to hear that. My mother was just asking me yesterday, "Have you heard of the "local diet" thing that's happening? Where you try to restrict your diet to only food that is produced within 100 km of your home?" I kind of laughed, because I've been reading about that sort of thing for a few years now, due to my participation on babble, and thus learning a lot from the internet about slow food, the organics movement, and the push by environmentalists and lefty-types to eat locally as much as possible. And of course, "living locally" is an extension of that. Cathi, I noticed in Prince Edward County that a few of the places that used to just have little roadside stands have now got you-name-it tourist trap stores on their land, from which they sell not only produce, but other resale items like pottery, maple syrup, etc. Which kind of makes my reaction to your post mixed. I love the idea of farmers selling their produce on their own property for less, especially organic farmers. However, a couple of the places I visited on my travels around PEC were obnoxiously commercial now, to the point where there is a lot of shopfront and not a lot of produce, if you know what I mean. This one place we went to used to be a really amazing place to buy produce, and they still have lots of great apples. But they've turned it into a total tourist trap, with a store full of overpriced country crap and delicacies (like maple syrup, cheese, etc.) that cost more than they would in a grocery store. I don't have a problem with them making a go of it, of course, but I think that it's sad when you get some places going from what you describe in your post, Cathi (the "farmer's market" on your own farm kind of set-up), to just another tourist trap trying to sell the country to the cityslickersonvacation type of consumer, taking a ride into the country in their SUV.
From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001
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Wayne MacPhail
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 119
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posted 26 October 2005 04:17 PM
Hey Sniffer Fans, here's a cool way to show us where you hang out. Become an rpn pushpin pal.http://www.frappr.com/rabblepodcastnetwork It's a new Google Maps application that lets us collectively build a pushpin map that shows how far rpn love has spread. Join us. See ya, Wayne
From: Hamilton | Registered: Apr 2001
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MondoBondo
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 10611
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posted 27 October 2005 12:03 PM
Speaking of farm sexy. I'm off to talk to some alternative energy farming folks about whether or not they're happy with their solar panels. Plus the return of the woodstove. Anybody out there have one or the solar panels? And are you happy with them? I'm especially intrigued by the outdoor woodstove that acts as a boiler.Later Cath
From: Ayr | Registered: Oct 2005
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Crippled_Newsie
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 7024
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posted 27 October 2005 12:25 PM
quote: Originally posted by Michelle: Pretty cool, huh? Solar-powered parking meters
Ah. Never mind. Your link clarifies. [ 27 October 2005: Message edited by: Tape_342 ]
From: It's all about the thumpa thumpa. | Registered: Oct 2004
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Wayne MacPhail
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 119
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posted 27 October 2005 02:36 PM
Solar power doesn't have a great net energy ratio (amount of energy out relative to energy put into creation/extraction). And, right now, as I understand it, lead/acid batteries - which require ph level checks, wear out etc. - are still the best storage medium, because solar panels are collectors, not storage units.Plus, of course, they can't replace the non-energy aspects of oil. I mean, it's tough to make a pair of Sans-a-belt slacks from a sunbeam. Okay, really, it's impossible.
From: Hamilton | Registered: Apr 2001
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MondoBondo
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 10611
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posted 30 October 2005 03:47 PM
So on my energy adventures I saw this outdoor woodstove, which boils water and sends the hot air under the ground and through the existing ductwork in the house, the barn AND the hot tub. You can burn anything in one of those suckers. I saw one I could have crawled into. In fact I did. THought it would be good tape. When I got out there were some cows and horses in the pasture. I wasn't wearing my prescription glasses, but I thought I saw a dead horse near the stove. I almost said "Hey what's that?" But my spidey sense I could potentially end up after the horse. We all remember the wood chipper in Fargo. Later my uncle said the farmer was probably going to pitch it in and burn it. ewwwwwww..... I can still see that horse is my mind's eye. Or maybe it was just a pile of dirt that looked like a horse? Yeah...That's it.....
From: Ayr | Registered: Oct 2005
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Wayne MacPhail
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 119
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posted 09 November 2005 09:41 PM
That's Hrothan the Eldest! Hrothon the Elder! Ha and ha again! He is but a vain pretender to my might. Oft have we gone sinew on sinew, iron to iron in the Circle of Contest, and always have I HROTHAN, bested him. Many seasons have I hated his vile name, and soon I shall deliver him todengift, the mortal poison of Shindran, the Snake of Deat ... oh, crap sorry, did I type that outloud? ... boy, that's embarrassing. Wayne here. Ah, good comment Nora. Shit.
From: Hamilton | Registered: Apr 2001
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MondoBondo
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 10611
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posted 12 November 2005 04:42 PM
This is in regards to Nora's post about solar. I just did a column for CBC on the dollars and cents of solar for regular citizens. To put 12 panels on a house costs $14,500 and that would provide 25-30 percent of your electricity needs. That's pretty much the standard package. Most companies also recommend that you have a battery plus grid tie in. That way even when your batteries run down, after about 5 days, you go straight to the grid.Right now in Ontario it takes about 25 years for the investment to pay off. That said, most solar panels are guaranteed for 40 years, and will actually likely do 50. BC, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and NB all pay people for the juice they generate. In this case if you were selling your solar all summer, it would pay for itself a lot sooner. It's a great cottage industry and going gangbusters in Germany and Japan. I think solar is a terrific local energy augmentation, like wind. Just imagine if you will, every home in Canada with solar panels. We'd all be part of the energy equation and save a crapload of money as well. I get so sick of the Henny Pennys running around "We're all fucked. We're all fucked!" If everyone took that energy and put up even a single solar panel on their roof they might feel better. To give you an idea of what one panel would power. Six compact fluorescent lightbulbs. I think that's pretty impressive. If you were energy efficient, that one panel would handle all of your lighting needs.
From: Ayr | Registered: Oct 2005
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MondoBondo
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 10611
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posted 12 November 2005 09:59 PM
Hmmmmm. Good questions. From what I learned they're made primarily from silicon chips encased in an aluminum frame. There's a black plastic conductor on the back of the panel that feed the DC into a line that runs into the house and is converted at an inverter near the hydro box into AC DC. Quite an elegantly simple technology.As far as living solely off solar. Please anyone jump in and correct me as I'm no expert, but solar panels are really a secondary source of power. I think that in Ontario at least, we simply don't have enough sun to power an entire home year round. And if you think of how many you'd need and the cost....If 12 panels, roughly 36 inches by 24 inches (that need to optiminally (spelling sorry) be situated on the south side of a house) generate 30 percent of the power you'd need, well I don't know if you'd really have the roof top real estate you'd require. Yeah you could place them out in the yard and then have the power lines trenched into your home, but it really isn't practical. Then there's the simple matter of heat. The expert I spoke with, who lives in a solar home, doesn't heat with solar. If he could he would. He's the president of Solarus. Leonard Allen. A very kewl dude who is SO into living off the grid and being self sufficient. That said, as a complimentary system they're great. I'm going to look into the practicality of them for the rooftop of the co-op I live in part time in Toronto. Hope that helps muddy the waters.
From: Ayr | Registered: Oct 2005
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scott
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 637
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posted 13 November 2005 12:34 AM
quote: Originally posted by MondoBondo: [...]is micro hydro when you harnass the juice from your own waterways?
It usually means small "run of river" (no dams) setups. Micro Hydro You can't do it just anywhere - you have to be at an appropriate site, but if you are, it's the way to go. Unlike solar, micro hydro usually produces the most power in the winter when you need more power. quote: Does micro hydro contribute a fair bit of local power?
Not really. It was mostly used just to power remote homesteads off the grid. When it became possible to sell excess power TO the grid there was a bit of a boom in new systems but they are mostly small and don't amount to a large proportion of the supply. There are some community based proposals which may allow some more power to be sold and more community independance.
From: Kootenays BC | Registered: May 2001
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MondoBondo
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 10611
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posted 06 December 2005 12:40 PM
Now I'd like some feedback from y'all. Just finished doing some mixing and I'm wondering if thesniffer is getting too serious?I can honestly say that Cranky George did get under my skin a bit. (I also know that I've got no business letting this sort of thing bug me, but at the CBC there are people who protect you from this sort of thing and here the emails just pop up on your home computer making you feel somewhat vulnerable.) So back to my content question. What do you think? Too serious or just fine? Curious in Cowtown
From: Ayr | Registered: Oct 2005
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MondoBondo
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 10611
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posted 07 December 2005 06:18 PM
Sounds like that movie with Al Pacino Insomnia. Have you seen it? Robin Williams is brilliant as a psychopath. THis would be a good one for anybody living in the far north. Completely different inquiry. Does anybody know how late you can plan winter wheat? I was out walking in the fields and it looks like there are new depressions in the earth from the way the new snow has fallen. But I can't imagine anything germinating when it's this cold. I know that when you plant grass in the fall, you want at least 5 nights of 10 degree temp minimum. Any smart farmers out there?
From: Ayr | Registered: Oct 2005
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