This is the ultimate stress relieving song. Soak it up and finish whatever you're stressing about.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Friday, August 9, 2013
I'M A COMIC! (sort of)
How amazing is this? I am currently involved in a volume waste audit and this comic was drawn up for a Guelph newspaper of the work that I've been doing over the past month. Waste, being a male dominated profession, must of course have a man doing the job; the reality however is that two girls have been carrying out the research. Girl power, baby!
Sunday, August 4, 2013
John K. Samson - "When I Write My Master's Thesis"
As time runs out, I'm feeling pressured to finish up my Master's Thesis. I'm trying to remind myself that this is an amazing opportunity and feeling.
Thank goodness, the Weakerthans frontman John K Sampson knows exactly where I'm coming from:
"No more marking, first year papers. No more citing sources."
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Weighing Guelph's Waste: You, your waste, and I.
I woke up bright and early Monday of this week to weight the waste of 100 residential homes in the City of Guelph. Based on the completely inspiring studies of Robin Nagle, I've had the slight interest to try my hand a collecting waste.
A month ago, my Advisor approached me to let me know that a research position became available for a new project studying food waste. I jumped at the opportunity and the pretty penny that accompanied the work. I signed on to two weeks of weighing work.
The reality, six early mornings over three weeks, picking up, weighing, and recording. I was surprised to find that people didn't seem to mind the fact that we were handling their refuse. Most even welcomed us.
The area that we weighed Monday use the bag system, which upholds the city-wide three-stream system, collecting mixed recycling, organic waste, and solid waste. Guelph is dynamic because curbside waste is required to be put in a transparent, coloured bag, based on the type of waste being disposed of. Organics are green, recyclables are blue, and garbage is clear. There are many arguments against this transparent approach to accountability, but I am a wholehearted fan. I strongly believe that transparency will lead to accountability and honesty. At least I hope.
In this project, we planned to get weights for all three streams. The garbage is only collected every other week, so things disposed of in this stream are pretty mucky and have potentially been kept out for 2 weeks, or more if the household failed to put out their trash two weeks prior. I've done it before, it happens.
I was surprised to find just how much people were throwing out, and just how fast bugs accumulate... Maggots and maggot seeds became no stranger to the work we were doing.
I wrote with my right and lifted with my left. Probably not the best strategy... I will have to revise before my 5am work call tomorrow morning. Yipee.
Here's a bit more on the project we're doing. Word's getting out!
A month ago, my Advisor approached me to let me know that a research position became available for a new project studying food waste. I jumped at the opportunity and the pretty penny that accompanied the work. I signed on to two weeks of weighing work.
The reality, six early mornings over three weeks, picking up, weighing, and recording. I was surprised to find that people didn't seem to mind the fact that we were handling their refuse. Most even welcomed us.
The area that we weighed Monday use the bag system, which upholds the city-wide three-stream system, collecting mixed recycling, organic waste, and solid waste. Guelph is dynamic because curbside waste is required to be put in a transparent, coloured bag, based on the type of waste being disposed of. Organics are green, recyclables are blue, and garbage is clear. There are many arguments against this transparent approach to accountability, but I am a wholehearted fan. I strongly believe that transparency will lead to accountability and honesty. At least I hope.
In this project, we planned to get weights for all three streams. The garbage is only collected every other week, so things disposed of in this stream are pretty mucky and have potentially been kept out for 2 weeks, or more if the household failed to put out their trash two weeks prior. I've done it before, it happens.
I was surprised to find just how much people were throwing out, and just how fast bugs accumulate... Maggots and maggot seeds became no stranger to the work we were doing.
I wrote with my right and lifted with my left. Probably not the best strategy... I will have to revise before my 5am work call tomorrow morning. Yipee.
Here's a bit more on the project we're doing. Word's getting out!
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Keeping Fit and Finishing my Master's Degree
Being a graduate student has served as a "get out of jail free pass" in terms of working out, or runner's guilt. I stumbled upon this darling little article that reads all too true, a bit spooky...
Starting Monday, I'm training for a Half-Marathon in October.
Here's to killing my Thesis and staying fit!
Starting Monday, I'm training for a Half-Marathon in October.
Here's to killing my Thesis and staying fit!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Toronto garbage: Rob Ford's interest in shifting towards incineration
I find it absolutely astounding that after the hefty purchase of Green Lane Landfill, Toronto Mayor, Rob Ford, expresses keen interest in shifting towards waste-to-energy methods of waste disposal:
“But as you know, 70
per cent of the world already has some sort of method in place that they
turn their garbage into energy. They make money on their garbage.
“I’ve always said that
garbage is money: when you see truckloads of garbage going down the
401, it’s like truckloads of $100 bills. We have to turn that garbage
into money.”
source
source
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