The New matthewmiddleton.ca…

I’ve been reading a lot lately about the whole “Climate-gate” story that broke a couple of weeks ago, and I’m getting a little tired of the people saying “See, see! You guys lied!” I expect that this won’t change any minds – those who believe that human beings are affecting the global temperatures will still believe that, and those that don’t will continue to not believe. I happen to be part of the first camp – living in a cold climate like Canada, I’ve seen the changes happening. Anyone in Toronto remember last winter? However, regardless of which camp you belong to, our species’ behaviour towards our home is still very important.

Global Warming isn’t the only reason we should be very concerned about humanity’s impact on its environment. Even our CO2 output isn’t heating up the earth, the vast majority of the activities which cause that output – Coal Power Plants, Gas-powered vehicles, etc. – do all sorts of other horrible things to our environment:

To me, these seem like pretty damn good reasons to be working our collective butts off to come up with a better solution. Even if we don’t cook ourselves, or drown ourselves by melting the polar ice caps, or completely bugger up the weather patterns, we can still very easily poison ourselves. Heck, we’ve been doing it for a while now!

So before you use this recent “scandal” as an excuse to go out and buy that Land Rover to drive to the grocery store a block away, consider that we have all sorts of other impacts on our environment.

Tags: Environmentalism, Global Warming, Pollution
Posted in Green | | 1 Comment »

In the beginning…

Originally uploaded by matthew_middleton_dot_ca

I recently received my official permit from the City of Toronto for a plot at the Silverthorne allotment garden. I haven’t started gardening there, but I have gathered some pictures and measurements. The allotment is about 24′ X 33′, which gives me almost 800 square feet to work with.

The plan for the allotment is coming together; I’ve decided what types of plants I want, and where they should go, but I’m leaving the specific varieties up in the air for now. I’ve found that making a garden plan too specific requires too much time, and isn’t always feasible when you don’t know what specific varieties will be available at the garden centre.

Tags: Allotment Garden
Posted in Food, Gardening, Green | | No Comments »

I’m officially off the “wounded” list for this economy. Yesterday, I turned in my acceptance of a job offer! It’s a good feeling to be working again – I’ve enjoyed my time off, but it really is time to go back to work. I’ll be doing tech support, as well as providing them with some assistance on the testing side of things. It’s a small company, so everyone tends to do a lot of different things – I think that will work well for me. They also seem very interested in virtualization, which I just happen to have some experience in.

In garden news: Today, I confirmed my choice of plot at the Silverthorne Allotment Garden. Starting May 1, a small chunk of City land will be mine to grow what I see fit. Since it gets no shade, I’m figuring my tomatoes would do best there.

In computer news: Just finished loading the Netbook remix of Ubuntu 9.04 to my USB flash drive, so I can install it on my eeePC. The Xandros install that Asus shipped with the netbook isn’t bad, but there are some annoying quirks that I think the Ubuntu install will take care of.

Update to computer news: The install to the flash drive, and subsequent install of Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook Remix to my eeePC 701 has gone very well so far.  The only real snags have been related to the odd screen dimensions, which is listed as a known issue on this model (let’s face it – 800 X 480 is a bit odd).  Oh, and can someone make a Twitter app for Linux that is at least as functional as TweetDeck, and publish it to Ubuntu’s list of apps?  That’d be awesome.

Tags: Allotment Garden, Job Hunting, Ubuntu
Posted in Gardening, Green, Job Hunt, Linux, Politics, Software Testing, Virtualization | | No Comments »

Wow! My mind is swimming with all of the info I picked up at the Seeds of Diversity 25th Anniversary event at the Toronto Botanical Gardens. The speakers they had were fantastic, and I’m still processing everything they talked about. One of the founding members was there (can’t remember the gentleman’s name), and spoke about how the organization got started as well as his vision of its future.

I tweeted during the event, and here’s a list of my posts:

* En route to the Seeds of Diversity 25th anniversary at the Toronto Botanical Gardens. #Gardening #SeedsOfDiversity
* Just finished listening to a fascinating talk about the origins of Seeds of Diversity. #SeedsOfDiversity
* Cool project on the go called the seed library. Great concept! #SeedsOfDiversity
* OMG, bought $5 of garlic for planting, got enough extra seed to start a small garlic farm! LOL #SeedsOfDiversity
*Just finished listening to Gayla Trail from YouGrowGirl.com talk about all sorts of different gardens and gardeners. #SeedsOfDiversity

As you may have noticed in my tweets, I mentioned some garlic. The gentleman who was selling the garlic had a variety he called “Nono”, since his grandfather brought it over with him from Italy about 60 years ago. The cool thing was, he was including a small pack of garlic seeds with each of the bulbs. Now, I figured when I bought 6 bulbs, I’d get one or two packs at the most. Instead, I ended up with six!! To be honest, I don’t know what I’m going to do with all that garlic seed – probably offer some up for swaps, and maybe give some to relatives and friends. I also picked up some other seeds, to help round out my current stocks, including a resupply of carrots (I was running a bit low).

The first speaker was Collete Murphy, of Urban Harvest, who spoke on a variety of topics around the Slow Food conferences, which she attended as a delegate in 2006 and 2008. She had a great deal to say, and it was all really interesting, but it was also a bit disorganized – there wasn’t much structure to the whole thing.

The second speaker was one of the founders of the organization, whose name I didn’t get down unfortunately. The focus of his talk was about the origins and future of the organization, and why it had been successful. His oratory approach was to frame it like a discussion between a parent and a grown child, with a bit of sexual innuendo. I really enjoyed the points he made about the organization not being centred around a person, but rather around a great many people, and that even if the executive committee walked away today, the organization would be able to continue.

The third speaker was Bob Wildfong, who is the executive director of Seeds of Diversity. His topic was their atest project: the Seed Library. As I understand it, this project is intended to address the gap between the seed sellers, and the seed banks. On the one hand, seed sellers get a lot of seed out there and growing, which means that the varieties are adapting to the specific conditions where they are growing. The problem there is, they can only sell about 10% of the varieties needed to sustain biodiversity. On the other hand, seed banks can help retain huge swaths of biodiversity, but because they aren’t “in the field”, they are static, and thus when planted out in 10-30 years, they will not have had a chance to gradually adapt to the environmental changes that have occured over time. The Seed Library project will allow people to donate seeds, as well as donate money to help ensure that varieites are “backed up” in seed banks, as well as kept in circulation to keep the vareity alive and adapting. It’s a pretty complicated project, and I don’t see anything on their website yet, but I’d definitely suggest keeping an eye out for it.

The fourth speaker was Mary Brittain, who owns the Cottage Garden Seed Company. Her talk was an introduction to some of the interesting stories and myths behind the names of heirloom varieties. I knew that there had to be reasons for the names, but hearing the stories really helped me to better understand the origins of some of the plants and varieties out there.

The final speaker of the day was Gayla Trail, of YouGrowGirl.com fame. She talked about her experiences documenting all sorts of different gardens and gardeners, mainly the less “mainstream” ones. I really enjoyed her talk, because it reminded me that gardening is something that a wide swath of people interpret in a lot of different ways, and that it can be a good way to manage one’s own biases.

Tags: SeedsOfDiversity
Posted in Gardening, Green, Uncategorized | | 1 Comment »

There’s an increasing amount of chatter on the various major daily newspapers in Toronto about food shortages around the world. Some blame biofuels (especially ethanol), and they’re probably right on – it strikes me that we should worry about keeping our bellies full before worrying about keeping the gas tank full. Some of it also has to do with agricultural issues, like a grain blight that I’ve heard has hit Africa and spread into Iran, which is wiping out grain crops. Now the IMF is getting antsy, saying that it is already leading to instability in shaky economies, and could even lead to war at some point.

Now, I’m not prone to panic over some vauge warnings by “experts”, but I do see the following problems:

The usual response to such a crisis is to demand that governements & world orgs (like the IMF, WTO, or UN) step in to save us. While I do think they have an important role to play, I think we’ve forgotten a lesson that the Depression generation learned – a degree of self-sufficiency can help weather shortages.

I’m talking about Victory gardens – people growing vegetable crops at home during World Wars I and II, to supplement their rations. At the time, rationing was enforced by the US and UK, to ensure that the troops were fed. Naturally, this meant that people at home weren’t getting access to as much food as they might want (or even need). So, Victory Gardens were promoted as a way to help reduce the load civilians put on the food supply, which in turn reduced the load on the military to try and ration out sometimes-scarce food supplies. As well, it gave people the opportunity to feel like they were contributing to the war effort, which was viewed as being highly patriotic.

The reality is, worst-case scenarios do occur. A prime example is the Irish potato famine – a blight swept through a monocultured crop, which in turn lead to massive starvation. Another example is the drought that happened right around the Depression, which decimated grain crops in Western Canada and the US. By growing at least some of our own food, we can ensure that we won’t starve, or pay insane prices for poor quality food.

There are several environmental benefits to this mode of gardening as well: Biodiversity (especially if you grow heirloom and/or rare varieties), soil improvement (especially if you’re using sustainable and organic methods), and overall improvement of your local biosphere.

It doesn’t take much – a full-on garden doesn’t have to be a huge amount of labour! Even growing a small container of salad greens or garden cress to add to your food can help.

So, get out there and plant a Victory Garden! Do Your Part to Save Yourself!

Posted in Food, Gardening, Green, Politics, Social | | 1 Comment »

And there’s no update from me. I sincerely apologize to anyone who might’ve been expecting a post sooner (and more substantial) than this, especially since I was doing so well with updating over the last couple of months. It’s not like I haven’t had some really interesting ideas on my mind to blog about:

- I met Gordon Ramsay (albiet very briefly) at the Eaton Centre Indigo
- I’ve been mulling about the recent panic in the media about food shortages (about time IMO)
- A post on last month’s TASSQ meeting (which I found immensely entertaining for reasons that I will go in to another day)
- My trip to Montreal
- Doors Open Toronto 2008
- Recent gardening exploits

The truth is, I’ve been in a bit of a writing rut. Some great ideas, and even a few posts started, but I just can’t seem to get them to gel into something worth posting. So, for the moment, this will have to suffice. I’m hoping to break out of the rut soon and give you all something at least marginally interesting to read.

In the mean time, I’ve been interviewed for Assistive Technology, a really interesting mind-mapping blog. Check out the interview here.

Posted in Food, Gardening, General Geekiness, Green, Mind Mapping | | No Comments »

The Toronto Star recently ran an article on how some people are feeling guilty over their “failure to achieve (the) eco-ideal.” While there are definitely some people who deserve to feel guilty, I think that for the most part, it’s not a helpful feeling, and I avoid it whenever possible.

When it comes to being green, I’m no saint, but I do what I can to reduce my impact when and where I can. My wife and I don’t own a car, but we occasionally rent for those occasions when we need to get out of the city. I’ve resumed gardening this year after a hiatus, but I don’t really compost. The fact is, we can always do better, and we should strive for that goal, but just like we shouldn’t sprain our arms patting ourselves on the back for being eco-friendly by occasionally walking to the corner store instead of driving, we shouldn’t drown ourselves in guilt for tossing away the odd pop can.

For example: Not everyone can garden. I know people who should be banned from ever owning so much as a houseplant, as they seem to do them in with frightening speed. Sure, it sounds like a great idea for all of us to be growing our own food, and it would seem like a great thing for the environment, but the fact is that some people just won’t do well growing things. Should they feel bad because they’re “not doing their part?”

No, but that doesn’t mean their off the hook either. Just because you can’t contribute in one way, doesn’t mean you can’t work in other ways to help.

There are people out there who appear to take no responsibility for their impact on their surroundings – people who drive honkin’ SUVs in the middle of downtown Toronto, people who toss cigarette butts and other garbage on the ground, and then there are corporations who REALLY push the envelope. Maybe a little eco-guilt would do these people some good…perhaps the equivalent of the Christmas Spirits from “A Christmas Carol”. The ghosts of Nature Past, Nature Present, and Nature To Come, haunting those who ignore the damage that they do to the world around them.

Anyone know any ghosts looking for a new gig?

Posted in Green, Politics, Social | | No Comments »

Over the weekend, I got my garden started. It’s not huge, but I think I should be able to get a fair bit growing in there.

Last year, I tried to observe as much as possible where the light hits, and when, so that this year my garden plan will take full advantage of the lighting conditions. As well, I’ve been monitoring closely what I can plant in the ground, so that I can get things in there as soon as it’s reasonable.

While I certainly devote a fair bit of thought to my garden and the tasks that surround it, the actual investment of time working on the garden (tilling the soil, spreading compost, seeding, etc.) is surprisingly low. It kind of stumps me why more people don’t do this, especially when the price of food is going up (which is a complex issue on its own, and may be covered in a future post).

I admit, I probably went overboard on my seed buying (spent about the same as 2 weeks worth of groceries for me and my wife), but now I’ve got enough seeds for about 2 seasons I suspect. So, let’s say for this year, I’ve spent as much as I would on a week’s groceries. While I don’t have hard numbers yet as to how much food this year’s garden will produce, I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up with the equivalent value of 3-4 weeks worth of groceries by the end of the season. This is partly because I’m growing organically, and leaning towards unusual and/or heirloom varieties, which tend to be more expensive. So, if my estimate is correct, I’ve gained a substantial amount over my initial investment. In addition, I don’t have to go anywhere to get the veggies themselves, nor did they have to get trucked in from anywhere.

This, to me, is a winning equation.

Posted in Food, Gardening, Green, Politics | | No Comments »

The title for this is a gag that’s been going all day as I’m writing this, so I figured why not “borrow” it?

Today, I indulged my inner hippie, and went to Seedy Saturday, a seed exchange/sale in Toronto. It was CRAZY busy there (as you can see HERE), but well worth dealing with the crowds, as I was able to pick up some really interesting seeds. For those who may be interested (and to give the fine folks selling the seeds some extra Google juice), here’s the breakdown:

I’ve also got some seeds on order, courtesy of one of the podcasts I listen to pretty regularly, The Gastrocast, but I won’t go into that list here.

Nearly all the seeds are organic, but the big thing for me is that they’re open pollinated. Essentially, this means that when the plants grow from the seeds I have now, and start to themselves go to seed, I can gather up those seeds and plant them. In theory, they should be just as viable as their parents.

So, the question now is, what to do with all these seeds? My apartment doesn’t have a balcony, and the windows don’t get enough direct sun to grow things in a pot much bigger than a couple of fists. I’m looking into the possibility of getting in on a community garden, but I don’t know whether they are open to the public or not. Stay tuned for more info on that one.

Even if I can’t plant any of these seeds this year, I’m glad I bought them. Seeds will usually keep for a couple of years if kept away from moisture, so as long as I don’t get these packets wet, I should be able to figure out some way to make good use of these seeds.

Posted in Gardening, Green | | No Comments »

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Growing up, I remember this mantra being drilled into my brain at school, and demonstrated in very real ways at home by my parents. Lately, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the second “R”, specifically reusing old computer hardware.

Up until fairly recently, I had a big pile of old servers (we’re talking Pentium Pro and early Pentium 2 boxes) that I disposed of, since they were just gathering dust in my friend’s basement (so much for my dreams of building a poor man’s linux cluster to help my friend with his video rendering). Now that all that’s gone, I still have a lot of bits and pieces kicking around my own place, and I’m thinking now’s the time to start gathering it all together and figure out what the heck to do with it all.
(more…)

Posted in Green, Internet, Linux, Windows | | 1 Comment »