Ottawa – Page 16 – a sibilant intake of breath

Obama visiting Canada

President Barack Obama will be visiting Canada on February 19th. Presumably, that will include some sort of large public gathering, hopefully with an appearance from the man himself. In preparation, it seems fitting to contemplate what sort of message it would be most valuable to convey to the new president.

With that aim in mind, I propose that people submit their best ideas for a message that could be put on a placard for the media (and maybe even the President) to catch a glimpse of. Text versions and images would both be welcome. The former can be posted as simple comments. In the latter case, people can email images to me for possible posting. My immediate idea would be something along the lines of:

The oil sands are a trap!
Choose zero-carbon energy!

These days, it seems that the best hope for an aggressive shift towards decarbonizing the global economy comes from the possibility of new US leadership and the destruction of the reckless approach to energy the world is using at present. The challenge of expressing that general necessity in a compact statement is a considerable one.

Ice and solar power

Indirectly, Ottawa winters provide a good demonstration of just how immense a quantity of solar energy there really is on this planet. Consider the fact that the Earth’s axial tilt produces thirty degree weather here in the summer and negative thirty degree weather here in the winter. Walk out onto the frozen surface of Dow’s Lake and think about how the only reason the lake is ever liquid is because of the massive amount of solar energy striking it in the spring and summer. Then, recall that all the lakes and seas everywhere on Earth would freeze solid without the constant solar influx. This is well illustrated by the frozen moons in the outer portion of our solar system.

Burning all the world’s fossil fuels wouldn’t let us keep oceans liquid, in the absence of solar assistance. Moving to an energy system that relies directly (solar photovoltaic and concentrating solar) or indirectly (wind, hydroelectricity, biomass) on the sun is an overwhelmingly important part of creating a sustainable society. The amount of energy available to harness vastly exceeds the amount we can drill or dig up out of the ground.

Studio experimentation I

The photography class I was hoping to take at the Ottawa School of Art got canceled, due to lack of enrollments. Probably, that has a fair bit to do with the ongoing transit strike.

Nevermind. I can learn photographic lighting without the benefit of a class. I shot these on my dining room table. I used some tracing paper and my ironing board to set up a crude seamless backdrop (something more opaque would be better). For illumination, I used a hotshoe mounted flash. For light modification, I used a big round reflector: white on one side, soft gold on the other.

Because I have neither a wireless cable release (what a bizarre anachronism that term is!) nor an assistant, my basic approach was to turn the dining room lights on, focus manually, turn the lights out, point and set the flash, push the shutter (on two second delay), then dash into the right spot while holding my reflector.

These are all the original files, straight from the camera with no Photoshop tomfoolery.

Large-flaked snowfall

Lately, Ottawa has seen a bit of my favourite kind of snow: the sort where the flakes are large, slow to fall, and capable of being pushed and spun around by the wind. It is especially pretty to watch from inside a high tower, since the different air currents outside give the impression that as much of it is floating upwards as is falling down.

Despite the lengthening days, the good people of Ottawa still have a few more months in which to sample the many kinds of snow available, as well as the various winds that contribute to the mood of a snowstorm.

Television shows to borrow

Buying television programs on DVD or renting them disc-by-disc often costs about the same amount, and the latter leaves you with discs to lend to others. If someone I know in Ottawa wants to borrow one of these, they should let me know:

Blue Planet
House, Season I
House, Season II
House, Season III
Invader Zim, Season I
Invader Zim, Season II
Planet Earth
The Sopranos, Season I
The Sopranos, Season II
The Wire, Season I

I would be especially keen to make a temporary exchange with someone who has the second season of Rome, or any subsequent season of The Wire or The Sopranos.

The science section at the Rideau Chapters

The science section at the Rideau Centre Chapters always depresses me. It is often the most disorganized section of the store – tucked, as it is, in the very back corner. Books have frequently been relocated by customers and not re-shelved by staff, and the organizational system is deeply flawed even when properly implemented. For one thing, it has too many confusing sub-sections. It hardly makes sense to have a single shelf set aside for ‘physics’ books, when it is almost impossible to guess whether a specific tome will be in ‘physics,’ ‘mathematics,’ or the catch-all ‘science’ category. To top it all off, the catch-all category has been alphabetized in a bewildering serpent pattern, twisted back against itself and interrupted with random intrusions.

My two final gripes are that the science section is mysteriously co-mingled with the section on pet care (our most sophisticated form of understanding about the universe, lumped in with poodle grooming) and that the science section contains so many books of very dubious scientific merit, such as paranoid and groundless exposes on how MMR vaccines supposedly cause autism (they don’t, though they have saved countless infant lives).

While commercial pressures may legitimately dictate that the pilates section be more accessible, better organized, and more well-trafficked than the physics or biology sections, it is nonetheless saddening.

Winter moods

Today’s sharp, dry cold makes for a nice contrast to yesterday’s Slowly Melting City. As much as you might think a brief return to fall weather, in the midst of winter, might be pleasant, it seems to be the case that once this city is well frozen, it does best to remain that way.

The special hazards of the melting city are the combination of speeding cars with deep, slush-filled pools, as well as wind-blown tiny droplets of water that threaten any lenses or electronic equipment not well stowed in bags. Taking photos in wind-blasted rain or wet snow is nearly impossible, provided you don’t have an assistant to carry around a beach umbrella for you. Walking to work yesterday, there were three points where I had to choose between wading through a sidewalk submerged in ten centimetres of muddy slush water, or jumping the barrier onto the roadway and making a mad dash around the pool while the flow of cars was interrupted by a red light. Each time, I decided to take the rapid roadway approach – a series of decisions which left me with dry feet and a bit more aerobic exercise.

One effect of the bus strike has been to make me much more aware of the weather. Essentially, that is on account of having to spend longer spans outside, and having no transport alternatives to walking when the weather suddenly changes. As such, I have been lugging around enough wool at most points in time that, should the need arise to re-clothe a sheared sheep, I would probably be able to do so.

Bluegrass at Raw Sugar

Residents of Centretown should consider attending the beer and bluegrass evening taking place tonight at Raw Sugar (692 Somerset W). The event will run between 8:00pm and 10:00pm.

While I cannot recall the name of the band that will be performing, I am told their last session was enjoyable and well received.

[Update] The lead performer is Miles Howe, and he will be bringing along a number of other singers and musicians.

OC Transpo strike looming

At the very point where Ottawa’s winter is unleashing its cold fury upon we hapless inhabitants (-11°C and snowing heavily), the bus system is about to be shut down by a strike.

In response, I humbly propose that all senior people involved in the negotiations between the city and the union have their cars impounded for the duration of the strike. If the city and union representatives had to walk through the freezing landscape to the negotiating table, they might be a bit quicker to resolve the outstanding issues they have about the allocation of sick days and their scheduling arrangements.

[Update: 5 January 2009] On Thursday, the union will be voting on an offer from the city. If it is accepted, buses should start rolling five or six days later, once mechanics have serviced them.

[Update: 8 January 2009] The union rejected the offer. The strike will continue for some unknown span of time.

[Update: 28 January 2009] On the 50th day of the strike, the Canada Industrial Relations Board has ruled that transit is not an ‘essential service.’ Both the city and the union argued in favour of such a ruling.

[Update: 29 January 2009] Threatened with back-to-work legislation, the city and union have reached a deal, ending the strike. Some bus service should resume as of Monday.

Ottawa, plans, and families

Ottawa in general, and the federal civil service in particular, seem ideally suited to those who want to get a mortgage, buy a house, and start having children. The benefits associated with government jobs are most valuable for those who have these kinds of plans; the same is true for the strong job security and minimal requirements for overtime hours or late evenings.

Personally, I feel like I have more in common with undergraduate students than with people who are at that stage of their lives. I don’t see my present situation as the base of a hill to be slowly climbed over the course of decades. I see it as another interim stage, albeit one from which it is hard to anticipate the character of the stage that will succeed it.