daveb: general

jane's walk May 3rd and 4th · May 2, 01:48 pm

after the late, very great – jane jacobs

jane jacobs should be a familiar name to ever city planner and urban enthusiast. she reshaped the landscape of urban planning and how we understand our cities. instead of textbook theory, now many planners try to understand their cities from the streets and sidewalks.

“Jane’s Walk is a coordinated series of free neighbourhood walking tours given by locals who care passionately about where they live, work and play. Jane’s Walk is about raising urban literacy by offering a pedestrian focused event that combines insights into urban history, planning, design and civic engagement with the simple act of walking and observing. So far, Jane’s Walk has happened in Toronto and New York in 2007, with plans to expand it to Ottawa, Calgary, Winnipeg and Vancouver in May 2008.” jane’s walk

NYT remembers jane jacobs

if you’d like a little read of her writings online…

or grab one of her books

otherwise, get out on your streets and walk around. think about how your city could be better.

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laptop.org - mongolia · Feb 3, 10:40 am

kids in mongolia get some donated laptops.

the teachers learn how to use them.

laptop.org 1

laptop.org 2

laptop.org 3

laptop.org 4

laptop.org 5

laptop.org 6

ways to give

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alex murdoch · Nov 16, 09:07 am

i went to see alex murdoch’s cd release party last night. it was a great show. alex is a talented musician, and he had a great band with him. the horn section was great and lane on bass was really tight considering it was his first time playing with the band.

you should check out his new album.

http://www.jamesmurdochband.com/

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i (heart) my mower · Apr 25, 01:11 pm

Electric Mower

last year i was mowing my front lawn and some guy in a minivan stopped in front of my house – rolled down his window and shouted “DON’T YOU KNOW THAT’S BAD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT?!?”

i had a moment’s pause where i considered – is this guy just driving around the neighbourhood shouting at people mowing their lawns? has he just watched “an inconvenient truth” and while driving by – was seized with the impulse to stop his van and speak out?

i’m not sure what his deal was, but i noticed after a moment that his teenage daughter was in the passenger seat trying to slink as low as she could to avoid detection from the outside world next to her loud-shirt-wearing-loud-mouth-splurting father. his intentions were good, but a little over zealous in execution.

as those thoughts ran though my head i responded – taken a bit aback.

me – what?

loud shirt wearing dad – mowing your lawn, all that gas, it’s bad for the environment!

m – this is an electric mower.

lswd – oh yeah, well where’s the cord? (perhaps suspecting i would lie to a stranger driving by who questioned my environmental ethics)

m – it’s battery powered.

lswd – (honestly shocked, and turning to interest) oh yeah? does it run out of juice?

m – nope, does a great job.

lswd – where did you get it?

m – canadian tire.

this man stopped his van to shout at me, and as soon as my response interested him he switched his tone to “we’re hanging out in the garage comparing power tools.” it was very odd.

his daughter continued to slink lower, and i noticed more movement in the back through the tinted windows. i think this man had his whole family with him while he drove around IN HIS MINIVAN! saving the planet.

i bought this battery-powered mower last year expecting it to be another failed experiment in alternative energy consumption, but it’s great. it’s quiet, it’s convenient, and i only have to charge it every other mow. oh – and it’s much lighter than a regular mower.

i’ve got an average sized lawn, and it does a great job. the one complaint is that it has a very small bag. if i didn’t mulch – that would probably get to me.

if you’re looking for a mower – you should seriously consider this thing. i’ve got the 14” one, so if you’ve got a very large lawn (over 5000sq ft) or if you bag your grass check out the 20”.

check out all the mowers

or the cordless weed wackers

i love my weed wacker too, but i don’t have a story to go with that.

Categories: frivolity / general | comments?

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musical trees · Apr 16, 09:30 am

yesterday i walked to the grocery store. it was gorgeous, sunny day, and i had my wife by my side, and my son in the stroller in front of me. it was a good day. one of those days you feel there could be a soundtrack playing – it feels like you’re enacting a scene from a movie in your daily life.

oddly enough, as we tramped along on our return journey i started to hear music playing. for those of you that know the hood, i was in front of the end zone pub when i first heard a bit of music. i assumed it was leaking from the pub, but it was bob marley and the wailers, so didn’t seem like sports pub tunes.

as we continued down the sidewalk i realized that the music was coming from a house just up the street. i was surprised at the volume that was emanating, as it was quite loud to be leaking from inside a house. the closer we got the more confusing it was – until we were right in front of the house.

that’s when i realized that the music wasn’t coming from inside the house, but from two 40 inch speakers that were strapped to the spruce tree in front of the house. there was yellow speaker wire coming from inside the house going directly to the tree. the sort of thing i would have noticed on my walk to the store.

so during my time at the grocery store, someone climbed about 15 feet up the massive spruce tree in front of their house to lash large speakers to the trunk. i guess they figured since it was a nice summer day more people needed to enjoy the wailers.

it’s a good sign spring is here, and summer is around the corner.

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