Category: Ottawa

Posts about Canada’s capital city, and the experience of living there

Killing watts in Ottawa

For a while, I have been thinking about buying a Kill-a-Watt electrical meter, in order to test how much is used by various household appliances and electronics. The problem is, it doesn’t make hugely much sense to spend $30 to $50 on a device that you only really need to use once. As such, I was happy to discover that the Ottawa Public Library system actually has 142 of them available to be borrowed for free. There seem to be at least a few at every branch.

I plan to pick one up sometime this week and test the power usage of my computer, stereo, microwave, etc. I don’t think it will work with my washer or dryer, unfortunately.

[Update: 6 May 2009] I picked up a library Kill-a-Watt tonight, one week loan, no fuss, no deposit. I will post data when I have collected it.

Furniture donations for refugees in Ottawa

Helping with Furniture is a group of Ottawa volunteers who collect gently used furniture that is unwanted and deliver it to refugees living in the Ottawa area. They provide a pick up service every Wednesday night, funded entirely out of the pockets of the people running the program.

Those who have unwanted or unneeded items in their basements or garages should consider making some donations using the form on their website.

I found out about this via Green Living Ottawa.

[Update: 19 July 2009] Let me stress one thing: posting a comment on this post will not lead to your furniture being picked up. I have no affiliation with Helping with Furniture. If you want them to collect something from you, phone them directly at 613-745-1348.

Chinatown remixed

Tomorrow, Ottawa residents should consider checking out the Chinatown remixed art event, on Somerset. It will feature the work of fifty artists in a number of unconventional venues. According to the organizers, it is partially inspired by the Nuit Blanche community art events in Montreal and Toronto.

The event runs from 2:00pm to 5:00pm. Participating venues include the Mekong Restaurant, Raw Sugar, the Shanghai Restaurant, the So Good Restaurant, and the Umi Cafe. Basically, just head to that section of Somerset and you should be able to see what’s going on.

A new stadium for Ottawa?

Tangle of small bikes

Ottawa is currently considering two options for a new stadium: one in the middle of town, the other farther out. Personally, I see no value whatsoever in sports facilities. If private companies want to build them, in keeping with zoning and planning laws, I have no real objection. I do disagree with the notion that they provide benefits to the community sufficient to justify government assistance: whether in the form of direct payments, low-interest loans, etc. The Ottawa Citizen estimates that demolishing the existing structure at Landsdowne and building a new one would cost $185 million, while it would cost about $31 million to retain the existing structure for thirty more years.

While there is a weak case that might be made for professional sports encouraging athleticism, it is an awfully roundabout way for a city government to try to do so. They would be much better off giving children and young people grants for participation in sports, building and maintaining bike paths, or running public sports leagues.

In short, I hope the stadium plan never comes to fruition, at least not with any taxpayer backing.

Wet, wet cycling

Anyone who has even seen a film version of Macbeth can pretty easily imagine what it was like to cycle around in Ottawa’s cold and driving rain today. That being said, cycling in the kind of weather that provides an appropriate atmosphere for the covens of witches is definitely preferable to snow- and ice-enforced bicycle abstinence.

Between cycling, photographic projects, and work, I am going to be pretty occupied for the next while. It’s a safe bet I will be posting more photos and fewer long discussions of geoengineering or renewable power sources.

Spring cycling

Shamrock leaves

Today was an example of the best cycling weather Ottawa provides: bright and a bit cool. With a light jacket, slow periods in the shade were comfortable. With more ventilation, hard runs out in the sunshine were.

Crisscrossing the city, I managed to pick up one of my favourite mushrooms (Pleurotus eryngii) for dinner. They aren’t terribly flavourful, but I like the texture and they fry up most enjoyably with butter and garlic. I also got fancy bread in the Glebe and black bean dip for it in the Byward Market. I got a good bit of reading done, and I got some of my first real cardiovascular exercise since fall. Cycling along the canal provides a nice illustration of the power of sunlight. The areas that get sun for a fair period each day are entirely clear, while areas of northern exposure still have nearly a metre of snow and ice piled upon them.

Spring is certainly a dramatic transition in Ottawa. Judging by the number of square centimetres of exposed skin getting exposed to sunlight today, as much vitamin D was probably produced in the last 12 hours as in the preceding 12 weeks.

OC Transpo bus pass refunds

If anyone needs yet another reason to dislike OC Transpo (after this and this), it seems that they are trying to minimize the number of people who bought bus passes for December and who get the promised refunds:

Until Feb. 21, riders could bring their December passes to a kiosk and receive a full cash refund. But now that the deadline has passed, those still holding those passes must mail them to OC Transpo by Saturday and they will then receive a cheque in the mail — which may help those who gave up on the long line-ups at kiosks this past Saturday.

If riders miss the Feb. 28th deadline, they can exchange their December pass for a discount on a March pass.

The situation for those of us with annual passes remains ambiguous. We were being charged during the span when there was no bus service, and I don’t yet know what remedy (if any) will be offered.

Anyhow, those who bought monthly passes for December should mail them off as soon as possible.

OC Transpo and atheism

In case anyone needed yet another reason to dislike OC Transpo, it seems they have decided not to allow a group of atheists to run the same bus ads that have been displayed in London and elsewhere. The ads read: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”

The ads will be running in Toronto and Calgary, though they have been rejected in Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna, Halifax, and London.

Naturally, it would be unthinkable for bus companies to refuse a similarly innocuous banner promoting a particular religious organization.