Reusable bags and useable customers

I’ve been using PC Green Bags a lot over the last year.  In fact I use these bags most places I shop – not just Superstore.  While I like “doing my part” for the environment, I wonder how genuine the environmental efforts of Loblaws are. 

Local fruit and veggie vendor Pete’s Fruitique has been charging for the use of plastic bags for a while now.  This seems like a genuine effort from a small shop in the City Market.  Of course their produce is shipped in from distance places – but still a small local business such as this can reduce waste and get brownie points from me.

Now Superstore has joined the pay-for-plastic segment of green-washed marketing.  I’m not sure if Superstore means it.  They are certainly reducing bag usage; last night I saw several people leaving the store carrying groceries stacked precariously in hand with no bags.

Still, I don’t know if I can respect this “green initiative” from a company that’s business model is to have multiple stores in the city with huge parking lots, high ceilings and every double-packaged food item the market requests.

I’m not the only cynic – Treehugger has an article with lines such as:

Selling a bag for 99 cents doesn't make you green; selling decent food at the peak of our short season to fill it does.

[ED: Interestingly the bags were half off this week making them unavailable for the new pay-for-plastic launch.

Lemon Dill Salmon

I cooked some salmon last night with dill, lemon, salt, pepper and olive oil and served it with wax beans.

Maritime Beef: unique brand and product

I was listening to a discussion on the CBC about the need for a maritime beef brand. The beef industry in this region is suffering from being to small to compete with western Canadian producers and has had limited success emulating the western practices of grain feeding and using hormones to make big cows.

The proposal discussed on the CBC to help the ailing industry is to move away from trying to bulk up cattle and aim to create an organic or at least more natural beef product that would be branded as such. This beef could then be sold into markets looking for this type of product, including large European and east-coast US markets.

If the industry can afford to make the switch, this seems like it could be a good way for them to become more profitable in the future.

Cuts to civil service: editors say yes, advertisers say no

I find it interesting that the editorial board of the Telegraph Journal is calling for cuts to the provincial civil service, and is running on its website these huge ads for the NB Union Syndicate's critism of such cuts.

More fun in the kitchen

My fiance brought home a nice cut of beef from Cochran's Country Market, so we decided to do it justice and put some effort into preparation. I seared the meat on the stove top and cooked it with a sauce made of onions, hot sauce, mustard and some spices. Thinking highly of myself I made mashed potatoes with a similar mix of flavours. Thinking of myself higher still I photographed the meal and posted it on this rarely viewed blog.

Flushing trees

I read an interesting article in The Guardian about American (and presumably Canadian) bathroom habits. The article explained that the desire to have thick soft toilet paper has the consequence of more trees being cut down. According to the article and Green Peace fluffy toilet paper requires virgin pulp, as recycled fibres don't provide as soft a product.

Facebook Privacy Tips

A link from Lifehacker.com provides 10 suggestions on how to make your Facebook Life more private. I used several of these.

Pad Thai

I made me fiancé Pad Thai this evening for Valentine's Day based on this recipe. I made a few substitutions and opted for no tofu, and it turned out very well.

O Canada

On his blog (http://www.jarche.com/2009/02/o-canada/) Harold Jarche wrote an interesting commentary on the issue of "patriotism" in schools. It is worth a read.

Snow Ban - January 19, 2009

Temporary Overnight Snow Ban Declared for the South/Central Peninsula
01/19/09

For Immediate Release
January 19, 2009
Temporary Overnight Snow Ban Declared for the South/Central Peninsula

An overnight snow parking ban has been declared for the South/Central Peninsula effective 11pm this evening through to 7am tomorrow morning. This means there is no on-street parking allowed anywhere in the South/Central Peninsula area. Any vehicles remaining on-street after 11 p.m. when a snow ban has been declared WILL BE TOWED at the owner's risk and expense.

Five Parking Commission snow ban parking lots have been cleared for use by on-street parking residents beginning at 6 pm tonight at:

• the corner of Princess Street and Charlotte Street

• King Street East

• Peters Street

• Carmarthen Street/Vineyard Church and

• Mecklenburg Street at Wentworth Street

Vehicles must be removed from all snow ban parking lots by 7 am Monday through Friday and by noon on weekends. Vehicles remaining in the lots after these times may be towed at the owner's risk and expense.

Great Pizza Dough Recipe

I made a great pizza dough last night. The only alteration to the recipe from RecipePizza.com I made is that I added some tomato juice from a can of whole tomatoes in place of some of the water.

The homemade dough was topped with a similar sauce I made with a 16 ounce can of whole tomatoes that I blended with a clove of garlic, salt and pepper.

On top of the dough and sauce (there was sauce left over), I put some chopped canned artichokes, some diced red onion, a fist full of baby spinach, 4 thin slices of prosciutto, six slices of hot salami, a cup or so of grated farmer's cheese, some pan-fried chicken breast and a little more cheese.

I was pleased with the result and will be cooking my pizza HOT from now on - I was impressed with the golden crust that resulted from the 450 F baking temperature.

Wall Street Journal's Best and Worst ads of 2008

The Wall Street Journal online has put together a list of best and worst ads of 2008. No surprise the worst list included the Bill Gates Jerry Seinfeld microsoft ads that talked about did not talk of product features or create a strong brand image. One of the best ads was the E*Trade baby ad, that showed Superbowl fans that the stock trading service was easy.

Stuff I like

I enjoy satire that points out the predictability of people like: people who think themselves to be unique, quirky and individualist.

One website that really captures the tastes of left-leaning university educated middle to upper class North Americans is Stuff White People Like. The site, which I've been reading for some time since learning about it on a local forum, is written as a guidebook for those trying to befriend people in "white" culture. One can gather from the blog that "white" culture, which is defined as the "unique tastes of millions," can be a little shallow as it pursues hip lifestyle.

My favorite posts are: #107 Self Aware Hip Hop References, #102 Children’s Games as Adults and #73 Gentrification.

I imagine blogging posts to Stuff White People Like might show up on the list soon.

Change update

So I wasn't a very good citizen last night. I laid down for a nap after work and neglected to move my car to the alternate side of the street as south end Saint Johners must to celebrate the coming of the 16th of any month.

Now I have a $15 dollar parking ticket to pay.

I plan on paying with some rolled change.

Should be fun.

Deep Thoughts

If you like humorous pop-philosophy check out Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey. The thoughts used to appear on Saturday Night Live. The pieces of quasi-wisdom are online at http://www.deepthoughtsbyjackhandey.com/.

Here's a recent Deep Thought:

The greatest medicine in the world is human laughter and the
worst medicine is zombie laughter.

Coin Bank Machine deposits

I have a problem. It's not a big problem. More of an issue.

I have a lot of coins (about $64 dollars of rolled coin) and a PC Financial Bank account. The problem is that while PC Financial offers free bank accounts, they do not offer teller service.

I wish a local bank or store had a Coinstar, or similar machine, that would allow me to convert coin into paper money for a small fee.

Better yet, I wish there was a bank machines in town that was equipped with coin counters, for ease of deposit.

Being that it is Christmas time, I was thinking I could donate some of the cash, but I will feel a little foolish bringing a first full of rolled coins to a charity's administration desk.

When I was in university I enjoyed using our Canon Rebel DSLR when volunteering for the student paper. That was in the early 2000's. I want to have a DSLR to play with again. I'm considering the following:

• Canon EOS 1000D / Digital Rebel XS
• Canon EOS 450D / Digital Rebel XSi
• Nikon D60
• Sony Alpha DSLR-A350

Price is a factor as are reviews. I'm partial to the reviews at dpreview.com but am willing to take anonymous advice from commenters.

I was impressed with what could be done with the 2003 generation Canon Rebel, and surely would be pleased with any of the above.

As much as I hate to admit, my desire to get a new camera was reignited in part by the recent Avril Lavigne ads for the Rebel XSi.

Thanksgiving gets Rickrolled

A float at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade was Rickrolled this year (though it is pretty apparent that the Rickrolled float was in on the joke). All the same it is a little funny. Read about it on NME. Video below:

For good measure here's the best Rickrolling themed video I've seen. The Barack Roll:

Mr. T endorsed cooking product

I caught the end of an informercial for the Flavorwave Turbo. A cooking product has to be good when it's endorsed by Mr. T.

Gas Prices going down, already less than much of the world

Portfolio.com has a really cool interactive map where you can compare the average gas prices in different countries of the world. One can easily see that we in Canada have a lower prices than much of Europe and Africa and parts of Asia and South America.

According to the CBC gas guru gasoline in New Brunswick should be going down another $0.03 per litre tonight.