tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-298319032024-03-13T15:51:06.001-07:00Appendix DA blog by Duncan WilcockDW - Old Profilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05456056277402472048noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-22497903902748091882023-12-02T17:45:00.000-08:002023-12-02T17:58:17.062-08:00e-Bikes: No Traffic. Easy Parking. Join the fun!I am so grateful I have found an alternative to sitting in traffic - for most of my trips.<div><br /><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFb9KOAA4PFUErXzema4D7sR4AZ47WNIItLEgDobcinJ2qlsm9UFM3vsUBOzEZpgvTw__ZxCOtyYSmBBITUcOG52eH_65gRHKfiTMkDUbghW-gZV-xBT8I1jhL_bq8-ruQOJ_6FkXEk5bLxGL2cIqq9xUggLfdU8A7E155NUZsWorveQbea94a/s4032/eBike%20with%20Crhistmas%20Lights.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="eBike with Basket, Kid Seat, and Christmas Lights" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFb9KOAA4PFUErXzema4D7sR4AZ47WNIItLEgDobcinJ2qlsm9UFM3vsUBOzEZpgvTw__ZxCOtyYSmBBITUcOG52eH_65gRHKfiTMkDUbghW-gZV-xBT8I1jhL_bq8-ruQOJ_6FkXEk5bLxGL2cIqq9xUggLfdU8A7E155NUZsWorveQbea94a/w400-h300/eBike%20with%20Crhistmas%20Lights.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>Like most people, I don’t like traffic. I don’t like sitting in traffic, I don’t like knowing that <b><i>I am traffic</i></b> - when I'm driving a car. I see a lot of belly-aching about traffic in our local newspapers & social media. I fully agree that we in North Vancouver do have an epic problem of vehicle traffic.<br /><br />We spent ~$300 million on the new interchange at 2nd Narrows ($70 million from the DNV's coffers*), and the delays are unchanged. This was predictable - the same things has happened with highway "upgrades" since the 1960s - add more lanes, and the numbers of cars using the roadway increase - so that the wait time is about the same. This is called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_demand">induced demand.</a> That's why the wait time is the same - people are willing to "pay" in the amount-of-time waiting.<div><br /></div><div><i>* This article originally written to our local newspaper the <a href="https://www.nsnews.com/local-news" target="_blank">North Shore News</a></i><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">Most Trips are Short</h4></div><div>So I’ll say again - I am so grateful I have found an alternative to sitting in traffic - for most of my trips. <a href="https://micromobility.io/news/what-is-micromobility">Most trips are short - less than 10km</a> and so most of my trips are short, and I have found joy on an eBike - and because I take up so much less space - I am no longer part of traffic. I whizz by gleefully with a smile on my face, knowing I'm getting some exercise, but also not so sweaty I can't do what I need to do when I get there.</div><div> <h4 style="text-align: left;">Twice as Fast, Twice as Far</h4>My ebike takes me about 2x as fast as when I tried the same trips on an "acoustic" old-fashioned pedal bike. This means I can go twice as far with it. I use my acoustic bike around Lynn Valley, but for trips to the Shipyards, to Delbrook swimming pool to get my 5yo to swimming lessons, to his soccer practice - it's the best. So liberating, so joyful.</div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Saving you Money & Time</h4><div>I also know I am saving society money by looking after my own health - by building exercise into my everyday activity = "active transportation." The Dutch spend $0.75 billion on cycling infrastructure every year - <a href="https://twitter.com/brenttoderian/status/1109828570740711424?s=46&t=qUISebDlV8Q1ImJa3az2Zw">because they know it will save them $27 billion in healthcare costs</a>. Far from "not paying my way" quite the opposite - I am :<ol style="text-align: left;"><li>One less car in front of you in traffic</li><li><a href="http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/138376/7/138376.pdf">Saving you money by being healthier</a></li></ol><h4 style="text-align: left;">Sometimes I drive</h4>There are times when I’ll use our car. I prefer not to, but there are times when we do. It’s not about one or the other - that’s too simplistic. It’s about choosing to do something different so as not to wait in traffic. If we reduce the number of vehicles on the road - the roads are nicer for everyone - including those who need to drive.</div><div>I’m not a cyclist; I’m a person who drives a car at times. A person who walks at times. A person who rides a bike at times.</div><div><br /><div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Some reasons not to bike:</h4><span id="docs-internal-guid-164531a0-7fff-2130-5d67-64aa422188a8"><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>It rains here. A lot. <a href="https://www.wilcock.ca/2022/09/rain-gear-for-biking-in-vancouver.html"> I didn’t think I would ride in the rain</a>. But I’ve found that I prefer it to being stuck in traffic. That link above has some of my tips.</li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Our roads sometimes don’t feel safe. That isn’t because being on a bike is inherently unsafe. It’s because we are sharing the road with machines 100x heavier. Yes - we need to <a href="https://www.wilcock.ca/2023/07/making-change-in-northvan-for-people-on.html" target="_blank">improve our streets for bikes</a>, and with the growing wave of people getting around on bikes & ebikes - we will. Faster improvements would be better, but we will. </li></ul><a href="https://www.itf-oecd.org/monitoring-progress-urban-road-safety-2022-update">Riding a bike also is factually more safe</a> than you might think it is.</span></div><div><span><br /></span><h4 style="text-align: left;">eBikes For the Win</h4>eBikes really are a game changer - a technological change that makes a 10x improvement to getting around on a bike compared to how things used to be - especially for the Northshore. You’ve seen how many more ebikes there are out there - it’s a growing wave. Give one a try - you won't regret it.<span id="docs-internal-guid-164531a0-7fff-2130-5d67-64aa422188a8"><br /><br /><br /></span><h4 style="text-align: left;">On my eBike: </h4><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><i>I never worry about traffic. I never worry about parking. </i></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><i>Smiles, not miles. Join the fun! </i></p></div></div></div></div>Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-61981776829778700332023-11-13T13:44:00.000-08:002023-11-18T05:18:02.311-08:00 Biking with Kids - 0 to 5+ and Beyond<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBuL7GjeVeNFJy0hBsaxSKstjCEGu07Qjvptx_9zB7iB8r1tRd5snL2sJSHIU-k8teeb60OQt5A5VrgoyLq72K1nBqh0ThYzxws-vMUKVuB2ysgWr1XMPS__VosYgJ52QYc4QyZLNqB0nuyB69LzFzfC-cC-mvd0XFkMYl0hewBhqcK7puxAZS/s1955/IMG_4893.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1955" data-original-width="1879" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBuL7GjeVeNFJy0hBsaxSKstjCEGu07Qjvptx_9zB7iB8r1tRd5snL2sJSHIU-k8teeb60OQt5A5VrgoyLq72K1nBqh0ThYzxws-vMUKVuB2ysgWr1XMPS__VosYgJ52QYc4QyZLNqB0nuyB69LzFzfC-cC-mvd0XFkMYl0hewBhqcK7puxAZS/s320/IMG_4893.jpeg" width="308" /></a></div>Getting around town with your kid on a bike is so magical. <p></p><p>I believe my son knows his neighbourhood, all the many interconnections in our city - North Vancouver- much better for having gotten around on the back of my eBike for the past 5 years. I love that we can stop in an instant to take a closer look at something if he asks about it - pulling the bike up on the sidewalk to look & talk. And there is no better way to see construction sites with a little boy, than to walk or position the bike in the perfect position right up against a construction fence. </p><p> <b>eBikes: No traffic. Easy Parking. Join the fun!</b></p><p>I wrote this up for a friend, and thought it was of enough general interest to publish a public version here. Ride with your kids - it's so joyful. I wish you as much joy as we've had on the back of my bike - and him on his own bike. Sun, Rain, and everything in between.</p><p>My goal of writing this is to share a a lot of my learning and experimenting over the past 5 years to:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>a) get around North Vancouver with my now nearly 6 year old by bike as much as possible.</li><li>b) helping him to learn to ride & to love biking around town, and beyond.</li></ul><p></p><p>Here we go:</p><div><b>1. I mostly accepted not biking with my kid until 1 year old. </b><br />Their neck muscles are not strong enough younger than this age. I did not try a "sling" or hammock type thing that can go in a bike trailer. I have no experience or opinion of if they work well less than 1 year old.</div><div><br /><br /><b>2. A seat on your bike is way more fun & feels safer than a chariot.</b><br />I found the trailer behind my bike felt less agile & I didn't feel as in control. It would be fine for biking on trails with a kiddo, but for biking around town - having him on the bike feels way more solid to me. A box-bike cargo bike could be ideal, but I also like the agility of a standard size bike & ebike. I found a rear "<a href="https://www.thule.com/en-ca/child-bike-seats/rear-mounted-child-bike-seats/thule-yepp-nexxt-2-maxi-_-12080231">Thule Yepp Maxi</a>" worked well from age 1 to 5.75. (40lbs). <br /><br /><br /><b>3. Details on the Thule Yepp Maxi Kids Bike Seat</b><br />There is a rack mount version of this seat - which I used and linked to above - and I found it to be great. Another choice is a a "frame mount" that could also work well, and doesn't require as a strong a rear rack. My ebike had a built in rack that was part of the frame and could take 100+lbs of weight, so the rack mount was a good choice, and I see rack-mount seats on most of the long-tail cargo bikes I see around. </div><div><br /></div><div>Also: I only just found a month or so ago that there is a "Thule store" at Park Royal (West Vancouver, BC) that could be a great place to visit and see their many options in person, rather than only online.<br /><br /><b>4. Run Bikes: </b> </div><div>For learning to ride - run bikes are amazing. Consider a Strider with the pedals that can be added later. This reduces the transition to a different bike when it comes time to have pedals. The transition & change was a barrier for us. </div><div><br /></div><div>There was a young girl in our alley who learned to pedal before she was three on a <a href="https://striderbikes.com/buy/shop-all/accessories/strider-14x-easy-ride-pedal-kit/" target="_blank">Strider made with the added pedals</a>. An alternative is to get the new bike and remove the pedals. Let them use it as a run bike for a few weeks before adding on the pedals. <br /><br /><b>5. Learning to ride expectations.</b><br />I've seen kids doing amazing things on run bikes at 18 months. Run-bikes are definitely something many kids can learn by/at age 2. <br />For pedalling - as I mentioned in point 4, I've seen happen at or even a bit before age 3. My kid was riding several kilometers on his own at age 3 three. ( I was/am very proud 🙃). When I was a kid - I didn't learn to ride until I was 5 or so. Not doing training wheels moves things way forward.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also: In 2022 or 2023 I've started to see mini-electric bikes for 18 month-olds that might be a terrible idea. They might also be amazing! We missed that boat and we didn't try them. I have an open mind to the idea.<br /><br /><b>6. Bike-Trailers:</b><br />I have had good luck with the Thule trailer. We rarely used it for biking, although he loved the idea of it. It was more fun for us doing XC skiing. We went with the 1-kid size, which was nicer to have a lighter load to tow for XC. </div><div><br /></div><div>We have had more use out of the trailer by using it as a cargo bike to haul stuff. For that I would have liked the 2-kid size. Now it's become useful as a "cargo bike" when I combine my ebike and the trailer, and I find I can't fit a garbage can of compost in my trailer - it's a bit too narrow - so in some ways I'd like a wider one.<br /><br /><b>7. Cargo bikes</b><br /><a href="https://na.urbanarrow.com/family-bikes/" target="_blank">Box bikes</a> are the best - to my mind at least. Seeing your kind in front of you, and you can loading up a lot of stuff! But on the down-side, they do feel like driving a pick-up truck on the bike path. You have to ride slower and defer more than on other bikes, because you are so big. They are also very pricey, and you might need a garage to store it in. I don't have a garage, unfortunately.<br />Long tail cargo bikes are very popular, less expensive, and I think also very useful. I haven't ridden many, but I think they are a great option right now.</div><div>A bike/electric bike + a trailer IS a cargo bike - so consider that. We hauled our paddle board to Deep Cove in our bike trailer & back. It was a bit of a trek from Lynn Valley - but when you make the journey there & back part of the outing - it's all part of the fun. </div><div><br /><b>8. Mac-Ride for Mountain Bikes</b></div><div>If you mountain bike - get a <a href="https://ca.mac-ride.com/">Mac-ride</a> (or shotgun seat) and enjoy. It's SO MUCH FUN!. We could have started a little earlier with ours - at age 2. He used it through age 5.5</div><div><br /><b>9. Towing at age 4-5 with a "Tow-Whee"</b></div><div> A "<a href="https://towwhee.com/">tow-whee</a>" is a great tool for mountain biking, and for when your kid rides on their own around town. I tow my kid on his 20" bike up steep north van hills using my ebike. It's worth having.<br /><br /><b>10. Getting Helmet fit Right</b></div><div><i>Helmets may be worth getting fitted at the store with your child</i>. I've bought at least 2 helmets the wrong size & wrong fit. 100% worth buying at a shop with him/her with you to ensure a good fit. Obsession bikes in North Van was particularly good at helping us.<br /><br /><b>11. Bike Seats for Bigger Kids: Quibbel</b></div><div> Beyond age 5, I want my kid to be able to ride on the back of my bike - I have friends where kids rode back there to age 8 or even 10. The RadRunner by Radpower has a nice setup for it, but for me - I have a standard length ebike with a solid, but standard rear-rack. (<a href="https://www.surface604bikes.ca/products/2022-v-shape-rook">My ebike, FWIW</a>). I've found and have a <a href="https://www.qibbel.nl/en/assortment/product/jump-on-behind">kid bike seat by Quibbel</a>: I think it's amazing and from the Netherlands. Thule/Yepp makes a similar one, but it is not offered for sale in Canada at the time of this writing. I've seen them in person in NorthVan when someone picked on up in Europe.</div><div><br /></div><div>The only place in Canada I could find the Quibbel for sale was in Victoria, BC at <a href="https://www.familycycles.ca/">Bishops Family cycles</a> It seems like a great store, and I have not yet checked the store out in person. <br />They won't ship this seat to you, but will do online purchase and you can arrange your own shipping. I found I was able to do so for $70 with UPS - not cheap, but less than a special trip. I was able to have family on the island pick it up, and my kindergarten kid is loving it so far. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Not so nice parts</b></div><div><br /></div><div>From #2 above about the bike seat - I have in fact dropped the bike with him in it a handful of times. I know - awful - but I think the truth is important to out, to both reduce fear and guilt - we parents have plenty of both. I've been lucky - he didn't have an arm out in a way that he got very hurt. I think part of that is good seat design, but a lot of it is good luck.</div><div><br /></div><div>More than once there were no tears at all. I can think of 2 times where there were some tears, but I felt much worse than he actually wound up feeling. If my bike had better, more stable kick-stands - like a long tail or box-bike cargo bikes - I don't think it would have happened. My bike has <b>a side-kick-stand, which is not ideal for kids in a bike seat. </b> For the most part I always had a hand on the bike when he was in the seat, and this is an advisable rule.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>In Summary:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Wow - long post. It's been a journey, and continues to be a fun one!<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>So - get out on your bike & enjoy! <a href="https://www.wilcock.ca/2022/09/rain-gear-for-biking-in-vancouver.html" target="_blank">If you need tips on rain gear, I have some here.</a></li><li>If you find yourself wanting to <a href="https://www.wilcock.ca/2023/07/making-change-in-northvan-for-people-on.html" target="_blank">help make our roads safer for people on foot and on bike feel free to join me</a>.</li></ul><div>Happy Riding! 🙃⚡️🚲💪</div></div><div><br /></div>Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-73083722154029295492023-09-16T21:59:00.003-07:002023-09-16T22:04:11.509-07:00Bike Lanes are Good for Business in North Van: Lynn Valley Road, and everywhere<div style="text-align: left;">In early June, at Lynn Valley Road & Dempsey, I chatted with a group of about 10–12 retirees on ebikes about the planned bike lane, and I was surprised they were not in favour of the second phase of the mobility lane on Lynn Valley Road.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-865a6f7a-7fff-1ab0-61e9-978284ff8889"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUEmOtJUQ9Q_wjBsBjdELp-D2JdIjt3EapdqPe0IPaVuInX-k0PzDkAKRCReeE5X1L_UDYQCqk9NFzC_SMlo66DdE25BI4S_9m-H70rZV2llI8SmCCkIwwVvpa6XXfwZLWBRd6BsBnnd_vnJV54MgKPdO9ApjAwzvsjhzFjTzYsGSEkO4_YdB/s1174/Two%20boys%20biking.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Two boys biking - The're not in the way of you driving, you're not in the way of them living" border="0" data-original-height="1174" data-original-width="978" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUEmOtJUQ9Q_wjBsBjdELp-D2JdIjt3EapdqPe0IPaVuInX-k0PzDkAKRCReeE5X1L_UDYQCqk9NFzC_SMlo66DdE25BI4S_9m-H70rZV2llI8SmCCkIwwVvpa6XXfwZLWBRd6BsBnnd_vnJV54MgKPdO9ApjAwzvsjhzFjTzYsGSEkO4_YdB/w334-h400/Two%20boys%20biking.JPG" width="334" /></a></div><br /><p></p>In fact - only one person spoke - but she expressed concern about <i>The End of the Line </i>store & café – “I want that store to remain open” – or something similar, that others in the group didn't contradict. And I thought:</span><div><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b><span style="color: #ffa400;">Wait: don’t you know bikes are good for business?</span> </b> I guess she didn’t.</li></ul></div><div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span>Why bikes are good for business - this is well established:</span></h4><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;">Improving access</span></b> to people on bikes, people on transit, and people walking <span style="color: #ffa400;"><b>is good for business</b>.</span> This has been proven many times locally and globally, including by the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/downtown-bia-moves-from-disapproving-to-supporting-cycling-1.4173921">Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA)</a> - who initially opposed bike lanes a couple of decades ago, and have since become strong advocates in favour of mobility lanes – because <b>they increase foot-traffic, and result in healthier retail business.</b><br /><br />Here are some of the facts, as I see them:</p><b><span style="color: #ffa400;">1.</span> <span style="color: #ffa400;">End of the line is not sustained by a few parking spots.</span></b> It’s <i>people</i> - not cars - that go to the shop. The more people that go there - the better the business will do - which is obvious, but in our car-centric world it clearly needs underlining. Specifically - many more people who come in cars park in:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Kilmer parking lot</li><li>Dempsey Road</li><li>spots at Lynn Headwaters.</li><li>and more </li></ul><b><span style="color: #ffa400;">2.</span></b> However,<b> <span style="color: #ffa400;">there is only so-much space</span> </b>on any road and two or three spots for cars aren’t going to move the needle. <b><span style="color: #ffa400;">What will move the needle for this store is enabling more people to come.</span></b> The only ways to do that are: </div><blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div> a. <b><span style="color: #ffa400;">Better Access via Transit = Buses </span></b></div><div> b.<b> <span style="color: #ffa400;">Better mobility lanes,</span></b><span style="color: #ffa400;"> </span>so that: </div></blockquote><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>More people can <b><span style="color: #ffa400;">feel safe</span> </b>travelling there by bike - especially those who are not yet biking</li><li>More people <b><span style="color: #ffa400;">know</span></b> there is a safe bike route so that they feel safe biking there</li></ul></ul><p style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p>This is why <b><span style="color: #ffa400;">mobility lanes that are obvious, simple, and “feel safe”</span></b> are so important. The mobility lanes aren’t for me - <span style="color: #ffa400;"><b>they are most important for the people who are not yet biking there</b>,</span> so that they feel safe to start. Moreover, so they are safe for all the 15 to 25 year olds on Lime bikes -<b> <span style="color: #ffa400;">our kids! </span></b>that are already using so many Lime bikes. That is why great mobility lanes, and more frequent bus-service - will bring more people, and be better for businesses across North Vancouver. Even better, they will help reduce our infamous traffic-jams.<br /><br /><br />____<br /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">Too Many People?</h4>Now if you feel “there are already too many people there” - that’s another topic. I suggest you spend some time reflecting on equality. <b><span style="color: #ffa400;">Specifically: Why are you so special </span></b>you deserve to access all that nature, when another person travelling there by bus, bike or otherwise doesn’t deserve the same access and privilege you enjoy? A topic for another day.</div><div><br />____<br /><br /><br /><b>The bottom line for End of the Line: Better mobility lanes are not going to cause it to close - quite the opposite!</b><br /><br />The most surprising thing about the interaction to me was to find a group of people like me - who just enjoy getting around on their bike and ebike, and - whose leader at least - didn’t understand how good mobility lanes are for all road users:<br /><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>people who walk</li><li>people who take transit</li><li>people who roll in other ways (eg. 4-wheel mobility scooters)</li><li>people who bike</li><li>yes - even people who use cars & trucks (less cars on the road, because of the above!)</li></ul><div><br /></div>If you don’t believe me that mobility lanes are good for business, here are three other sources:<br /><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>The downtown <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/downtown-bia-moves-from-disapproving-to-supporting-cycling-1.4173921">Vancouver business association figured out mobility lanes were good for business</a></li><li>This Canadian YouTube guy (@NotJustBikes) will help you <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWsGBRdK2N0">see our urban & suburban choices differently</a>.</li><li>It’s not just Canada. Here is a 2023 Wired article recapping that “<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/the-battle-over-bike-lanes-needs-a-mindset-shift/">...installing bike lanes and making streets more pedestrian-friendly boosts the economic fortunes of a place.</a>”</li></ol><br />My family & I love End of the Line. The coffee & treats are great, and the gift section is simply amazing for all kinds of occasions. We often show up there on our bikes, and I look forward to seeing you there soon.<br /><br /><br /><b><span style="color: #ffa400;">Duncan Wilcock</span></b><br />Lynn Valley<br />I ride & love my e-bike to get around town. <b><span style="color: #ffa400;">No traffic & no trouble parking – join the fun!</span></b><br /></div>Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-69038777587505175812023-07-15T21:32:00.018-07:002024-03-05T12:17:37.882-08:00Making Change in NorthVan - for People on Bikes<div class="separator">I didn't think I would become a cycling advocate.</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNxn4z13XbBqG3WmpaL8c987BGPqJCXGoD8IT1mCUiFVOixnr5u-N3pAm9hTPOEsbcUiWBNHXxR5NxLusEWm00UKUYa-curWMN98gX-5gaJK53NqIkU_2ZD1Nogva_QstNo-WLLmLLJ_YmBEGhcQLtJL1pzkqHrDMPq78ZLwKMI3_DWnujSznv" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="148" data-original-width="286" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgNxn4z13XbBqG3WmpaL8c987BGPqJCXGoD8IT1mCUiFVOixnr5u-N3pAm9hTPOEsbcUiWBNHXxR5NxLusEWm00UKUYa-curWMN98gX-5gaJK53NqIkU_2ZD1Nogva_QstNo-WLLmLLJ_YmBEGhcQLtJL1pzkqHrDMPq78ZLwKMI3_DWnujSznv" width="320" /></a></div>However, it doesn't take a lot of riding a bike on the roads of any North American city to have some conflict and frightening experiences that can leave you feeling angry. (To be clear - I do believe it is safe to ride bikes in Metrovancouver see footnote 1 below.)<p></p><p>I got into advocacy to channel that anger into something productive. We're lucky in Metrovancouver in that a structure is already in place to work through as part of team - it's called HUB Cycling. This link is the <a href="https://bikehub.ca/north-shore-north-vancouver-west-vancouver-bowen-island-lions-bay" target="_blank">NorthShore HUB group</a>. </p><p>I'm writing this as a "<b>how-to"</b> get more involved, with my suggestions for getting started, as well as how I have learned to use the the tools to make it fit in my life, and not be too overwhelming or time consuming. I'm likely to have shared this with you as a link & as summary. I hope it's helpful.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">1. Facebook Group</h3><p>The easiest way to start getting involved is join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/hubnorthshore/ " target="_blank">North Shore People on Bikes </a>Facebook Group. As of July 2023, it gets about a post per week on average I'd say, and is a good place for some discussion in public. I visit and post from time to time, and think it's great.</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">2. Groups.io</h3><p>Aside from coming to meetings & volunteering, <b><a href="https://hubcycling.groups.io/g/NorthShore/topics" target="_blank">groups.io is one of the best ways engage</a></b> with other people on bikes in North Van. I had a tough start with it, and wanting to share how I use it is one of the primary reasons I am writing this post. </p><p> It's a group email list, and <b><span style="color: #01ffff;">m</span><span style="color: #01ffff;">y key learning to make it work for me is to access it on the web, and to only get a 1 per-day email-digest. </span></b> </p><p>By using group.io on the web, it's more like a "message board" or "forum" for me. When I first signed up for it I think I ignored it for literally years due to too many emails. You-do-you, but I get a lot of emails in my day job, and I work at keeping the inflow to my personal email inbox to only a handful of emails per day. </p><p>Once I changed to the once-per-day digest, and access it on the web, as well as through their <a href="https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/groups-io-app/id1553820507" target="_blank">dedicated iPhone & iPad apps</a> - it changed my relationship to groups.io and it became much more effective, as well as sometimes even fun.</p><p>The setting to change to "once-per-day digest" is in <i>Subscriptions->Email Delivery->Daily Digest.</i> See this screen snip of that setting:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_jppxNICZCTsKt9R_-P_u9COgebZSwYAI31SwWh2fWkZClRRlCncQ1h459ymAFuX61avxgZ-6XB3ubEvyQSIKaG_YE2UaMkUQ1p5XMh6barbd0DSSW5ly2HibyJIwDUpPMqQ9r_NtqEu5cgcE43b6b5Zgc9vVgsdQiLN9AgZAGWt1H1vIGK0w" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Screenshot of setting" data-original-height="970" data-original-width="2026" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_jppxNICZCTsKt9R_-P_u9COgebZSwYAI31SwWh2fWkZClRRlCncQ1h459ymAFuX61avxgZ-6XB3ubEvyQSIKaG_YE2UaMkUQ1p5XMh6barbd0DSSW5ly2HibyJIwDUpPMqQ9r_NtqEu5cgcE43b6b5Zgc9vVgsdQiLN9AgZAGWt1H1vIGK0w=w400-h191" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><b><i>Also, hot tip:</i></b> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEht2kusXWUib6C4Y8xVuxGCRMg5R0qr947OfoowEi1eqZWqvy5kev8UMnzENm_uiUEk9lrCchc__mmaMQH4IgAKS78eE4h35ztAQZHXfgKUUPyUV-lWi7XoQ7uGXm5CN8DMlGUrwYOxXSmJNohTgygETBWJm8LCW1ieqmZmSp-P3rvGbym53H4g" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="58" data-original-width="298" height="62" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEht2kusXWUib6C4Y8xVuxGCRMg5R0qr947OfoowEi1eqZWqvy5kev8UMnzENm_uiUEk9lrCchc__mmaMQH4IgAKS78eE4h35ztAQZHXfgKUUPyUV-lWi7XoQ7uGXm5CN8DMlGUrwYOxXSmJNohTgygETBWJm8LCW1ieqmZmSp-P3rvGbym53H4g" width="320" /></a></div><br />You can permalink (permanently-link) discussions from <a href="https://hubcycling.groups.io/g/NorthShore/topics" target="_blank">groups.io</a> with the little chain icon in the top left (and message number). For example #3480 in this image, that <a href="https://hubcycling.groups.io/g/NorthShore/message/3480" target="_blank">links to this example message</a>. So if there is a good discussion you want to share on social media, or link back to in a past discussion, you can use that to do so. <div><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">3. Attend a HUB meeting</h3><p>No pressure. If you start with some facebook and/or groups.io - excellent. </p><p>After a time however, I found I wanted to meet some people in person, and have some more full conversations. The meetings are a great way to dig in a bit deeper, and also to relieve your family & friends from hearing you talk about bikes-bikes-bikes, as I confess has happened in my family...</p><p>Since the pandemic, online participation is way more feasible, and a part of every meeting - so if you're a busy parent and evenings out are precious, or for whatever reason - this lowers the barrier to trying it out.. I have a 5 year old, and I was able to start in with online attendance when he was younger.</p><p>In person is even better of course, <b>because we often go for beer after</b>. </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Time: </b> First Thursday of every month</li><li><b>Location: </b>CNV Library, off Lonsdale. </li><li><a href="https://bikehub.ca/north-shore-north-vancouver-west-vancouver-bowen-island-lions-bay" target="_blank">Full details linked here</a>, including online meeting link.</li></ul><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">4. Volunteer, and perhaps attend some City Council Meetings</h3><p>Again - no pressure. Doing 1 or 2, and maybe 3 can be enough.</p><p>It took me a year of attending meetings before deciding to take on some greater responsibility. I was attending some of the DNV council meetings already, and it wasn't much added time. I haven't had to attend every council meeting, and many parts can be viewed online either live, or later as recorded video - so the work on council meetings is more doable than it was a decade or more ago. </p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">5. Consider joining my email list</h3><p>Only if you are a DNV resident (District of North Vancouver) - I'm starting now on an email list for the electiions in 2026. Local government can have some of the greatest impacts on your daily lives, but only around 20% of people voted in October 2022. I am gathering emails now looking to unite progressive minded folks like me and you. Have a look here and consider adding your email to the list. </p><p><a href="https://bit.ly/betternorthshore">bit.ly/betternorthshore</a></p><p>Thanks for reading! I hope we can work together to make NorthVan safer and better for everyone by prioritizing safe ways for all ages to get around by walking & biking - ride safe!</p><p><br /></p><p>_____</p><p><b><i>Footnote 1:</i></b> Here is a study that convinced a very stats & logic focused friend of mine that <a href="https://www.itf-oecd.org/monitoring-progress-urban-road-safety-2022-update" target="_blank">biking in Vancouver is safe</a>! Perhaps safer than walking. In fact, <a href="http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/138376/7/138376.pdf" target="_blank"><b>not biking </b>is hazardous to your health</a> if you consider in-active transportation in cars. Anyway - I digress (welcome to my blog). </p></div>Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-5266603892019009422023-02-22T18:40:00.018-08:002023-03-17T18:17:56.565-07:00Why I am Passionate About Micromobility<div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34A1Q2GNvMgKVaDxjaqgC0-F-5rnmnRavuATDsJDcVLw6gCXCMLX9H4ONjXyS_D2yqP75ATNCNE8jRSjIBDmK855n_3ZaWHYJY4N2A5bQljfaHQHaUQrBZF1BvuCTcIwZOl6MAOGVNihHUHu85-TOoKI6rI7cpgRP-zh-l7lXqaEiekhEVQ/s3437/Duncan%20&%20Ebike.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg34A1Q2GNvMgKVaDxjaqgC0-F-5rnmnRavuATDsJDcVLw6gCXCMLX9H4ONjXyS_D2yqP75ATNCNE8jRSjIBDmK855n_3ZaWHYJY4N2A5bQljfaHQHaUQrBZF1BvuCTcIwZOl6MAOGVNihHUHu85-TOoKI6rI7cpgRP-zh-l7lXqaEiekhEVQ/w400-h353/Duncan%20&%20Ebike.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Climate Impact is a Huge Motivator</h3>I am strongly motivated by climate change. My day job is with British Columbia's leading <a href="https://www.prismengineering.com" target="_blank">sustainability focused engineering firm</a>, and I am passionate about working to reduce the scale of climate change. Here in BC, 40% of our provincial emissions are transportation related, and 1/2 of that is private car/truck use. Many find it surprising that<b> about 70% of of all private car trips are 15km or less </b>(see the chart below). Distances of 15km or less are the the sweet spot of <a href="https://micromobility.io/news/what-is-micromobility" target="_blank">micromoblity</a>, meaning personal electric vehicles, weighing 30 to 60lbs - very commonly <b>electric bikes (ebikes) and scooters.</b><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1u_ajTy4F9kaCzBKdsn9Ce2PSdjqGFaCfNb0-q10LUa_Npvf6FTawM-bGpICMgo0WmSGJTm1cpJsOWIeXwzSjRp2M_DEaeoTfeU6wNP1aJDf5-769q7AYti7XFjJFIb0dcScIplrS1kGAgq7JzuMjemlSE2ra8hhi4JmZ5JhF240ULliHw/s1172/Most%20Trips%20are%20Short%20-%20log-normal%20distribution-2.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Most Trips are Short - log-normal distribution" border="0" data-original-height="1172" data-original-width="1119" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY1u_ajTy4F9kaCzBKdsn9Ce2PSdjqGFaCfNb0-q10LUa_Npvf6FTawM-bGpICMgo0WmSGJTm1cpJsOWIeXwzSjRp2M_DEaeoTfeU6wNP1aJDf5-769q7AYti7XFjJFIb0dcScIplrS1kGAgq7JzuMjemlSE2ra8hhi4JmZ5JhF240ULliHw/w383-h400/Most%20Trips%20are%20Short%20-%20log-normal%20distribution-2.png" title="Most Trips are Short - log-normal distribution" width="383" /></a><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;">Win-win-win-win...</h3>My passion for reducing my carbon footprint has led me to the electric bike pictured above. There are many types - including <a href="https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-electric-cargo-bikes/" target="_blank">cargo ebikes</a>, and that is part of the magic of micromoblity; what I like best is that micromobility is a rare <i>win-win-win-win </i>- in that I believe greater use of micromoblity will result in:<br /><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><b>reduce</b> our individual and collective <b>climate impact</b></li><li><b>improve health outcomes</b> for individuals and collectively by re-embedding light exercise in our day-to-day activities</li><li><b>improve our societal cohesion and interpersonal trust</b> - by promoting quieter, calmer streets with fewer cars by reducing car dependence - <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Study-of-neighbourhoods-interactions-in-relation-to-traffic-Source-Appleyard-1981_fig3_269114334" target="_blank">resulting in greater connectivity within neighbourhoods</a></li><li><b><a href="https://humantransit.org/basics-access-or-the-wall-around-your-life" target="_blank">Access to more equitable transportation options </a></b>(in terms of the poverty/wealth divide) than the current car-dependent culture so dominant in North America and much of the western world. In a nut: A car is a financial barrier to freedom and access to opportunity, and for practical purposes, to fully participate in modern life in the western world - most people feel they need to own a car.</li><li><b>result in cleaner local air quality and quieter cities </b>- places that people will enjoy lingering more of the time</li><li><b>result in safer streets</b> by right-sizing a vehicle (30lb to 200lb) to transport 150lb to 300lb humans - instead of the status quo of using a 5000lb+ metal box to move 1.25 humans. (Most cars move 1 person almost all the time - <a href="https://www.translink.ca/-/media/translink/documents/about-translink/customer-service/trip-diary/2011-screenline-survey-report.pdf" target="_blank">the average over time is ~1.25</a>)</li><li><b>improve outcomes for our kids</b> - <a href="https://www.john-adams.nl/the-child-friendly-city/" target="_blank">key outcomes such as autonomy and independence</a>. By making it possible to use fewer cars in our lives, our streets will be safer, and we will be able to permit our kids more freedom of movement - rather than being effectively imprisoned in suburban homes - dependent on someone to drive them to most activities and friends.</li><li><b>increase the number of <a href="https://micromobility.io/news/a-market-for-smiles" target="_blank">smiles-per-mile</a> for many</b> - honestly - it's just way more fun getting around this way! 🙃</li></ol><h3 style="text-align: left;">An Exciting Future</h3>A lot of my enthusiasm for micromobility starts with the person who coined the word in 2017 - <a href="https://mastodon.social/@asymco" target="_blank">Horace Dediu</a>. He is an outstanding thinker, shared through podcasts and writing. He describes micromobility as a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_innovation" target="_blank">disruptive innovation</a> - in the business sense - meaning "a worse car," that will eventually supplant and obsolete cars/trucks for most short distance journeys. He speaks about "what is fast is slow" meaning that cars typically take 5 years+ to design and produce a new model at volume - where a new version of an electric bike can be designed and built at scale in 6 months. <div><br /></div><div> This faster pace of innovation is likely to result in vehicle that solves the "jobs-to-be-done" better and better than the one-size fits all choice of travelling in a (ie car/truck). Fast iterations allow products (and biology) to evolve much more quickly. <b>This is exciting! I can't wait to see what we will come up with next!</b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I truly believe the innovation of micromobility is a wave of technological change, that on balance is going to make our cities a LOT better. It will add mobility choices, increase equity, and I hope help rebalance a century of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_dependency" target="_blank">car-dependence</a>. In doing so we will move forward into a better future together.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b>So let's get on our ebikes! Let's re-make our cities for the 21st century and beyond </b>to be more walkable, bikeable, and friendlier for all of us. </div><div><br /></div></div>Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-35041120338140922442022-09-29T07:47:00.005-07:002024-01-17T21:43:00.213-08:00Rain Gear for Biking in Vancouver<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVmD_QjQ1acyTmGMDmOimMBLyYY61z5oG5lxQt_mXjOvTJ-dcHHDVt_TZIEXmKxrhEPz_aJFj2uK72plQScYw18s6KJnC7Ak9XPAlQ4i-3OshZIlYcjbirckF11MXNQGQ96lyM84Rw3fQi4XNX9X0QofdXuZ1Xby1sC8HBizjlFwnFPlsEg/s4032/Biking%20Raingear%20Vancouver.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Father and 3 year old son in full rain gear with ski googles riding in a rain storm in North Vancouver. No bad weather, just bad clothing!" border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwVmD_QjQ1acyTmGMDmOimMBLyYY61z5oG5lxQt_mXjOvTJ-dcHHDVt_TZIEXmKxrhEPz_aJFj2uK72plQScYw18s6KJnC7Ak9XPAlQ4i-3OshZIlYcjbirckF11MXNQGQ96lyM84Rw3fQi4XNX9X0QofdXuZ1Xby1sC8HBizjlFwnFPlsEg/w400-h300/Biking%20Raingear%20Vancouver.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">I didn't think I would ride in the rain. </h4><p>Four years ago, when I got my ebike, I was excited by the potential for avoiding bridge traffic, reducing my climate impact, and helping my son and I move around North Vancouver by bike. I didn't think I would ride in the rain much, and I certainly didn't expect to find myself riding in almost all weather. </p><p>Gradually - after trying to drive home from work in the pouring rain, having cars whizzing past with poor visibility, spray, and feeling less safe on Highway 1, or at busy car intersections - than when I'm on my bike and able to position myself with agility in safer places - I found I kept wanting to be on my bike - and gradually I began to experiment with biking in the rain. </p><p>These days I ride in some serious deluges, all winter long - and as you can see - my little guy enjoys coming along too (3 yo in that photo). I'm not intimidated by almost any rain storm. Mostly it's just frost and ice that I avoid riding in, and I might take the bus to work once or twice per winter for that reason.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">It rains less than you think it does.</h4><p>I live in Lynn Valley, North Vancouver. We are one of THE rainiest places in Metro-Vancouver. Not infrequently, it's cloudy here, while sunny in Richmond or Point Grey. However, I found that when I rode less than perfect weather it's often - "a bit grey," or "light mist," or "marine rain" - that doesn't get me that wet. Moreover, on "a rainy day" - it's often only raining for an hour or two - a lot of the rest of the day it's perhaps misty, or just grey. In short - it rains less than you think.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">On eBikes, you don't sweat</h4><p>You'll notice I wear rubber boots and non-breathable stuff. I find this is a-ok because I'm not sweating under my clothing from exertion. This is why ebike rain gear is different - and less fancy - than fanatical cyclist rain gear. I tried those rain galoshes many bikers wear - yuck & what a pain. <b>Half-height rubber boots for the win!</b></p><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">On to the Gear:</h4><p>You're reading this for the photo and the gear list, here it is:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://amzn.to/423bO9m" target="_blank">Half-height rubber boots</a></li><li><a href="https://www.mec.ca/en/product/6003-648/transit-waterproof-pants?colour=Black" target="_blank">100% waterproof Rain Pants</a> - Showers Pass</li><li><a href="https://www.provizsports.com/ca/reflect360-plus-mens-cycling-jacket.html" target="_blank">Fully reflective rain coat </a>- ProViz Reflect360</li><li>Great, warm dry gloves - <a href="https://corazzo.com/products/enzo-gloves" target="_blank">mine not waterproof, but great</a>. (Urban scooter chic)</li><li><a href="https://na.pocsports.com/collections/snow-helmets-kids/products/pocito-auric-cut-mips?variant=41439445811366" target="_blank">Ski Helmet</a>. We call them <b>"Winter helmets"</b> - keeps you dry and warm</li><li>Clear (very important to have clear!!) <br /><a href="https://amzn.to/3O8YUAO" target="_blank">Clear ski googles</a> for the serious rain days. </li><ul><li>For only light rain, <a href="https://amzn.to/3O4ijD2">clear glasses</a></li><li><i>But in serious rain - definitely the clear ski goggles for visibility</i></li></ul><li>Also great - <a href="https://lumoshelmet.co/products/lumos-kickstart" target="_blank">Lumos blinking helmet</a> - with blinking turn signals (wow!)</li><ul><li>with a <a href="https://www.sealskinz.ca/products/waterproof-cold-weather-roll-cuff-beanie-hat?variant=36597668610216&gclid=CjwKCAjwm8WZBhBUEiwA178UnLd0PAUHp9bxDrx8t0eXA3QjOYaiP_0JPQzSjU3nGqC2488FZ0R8yxoC18UQAvD_BwE" target="_blank">waterproof toque</a>. (must wear under helmet so the lights can be seen - geeky, but dry)</li></ul></ul><p>I wrote more about my rain pants and boots in <a href="https://www.wilcock.ca/2022/04/get-rain-pants.html" target="_blank">this blog post about Rain pants</a></p><p>You don't have to buy all this stuff to get started. This is what I found myself working up to over time. I didn't expect to be a rainy rider - and you can see my son (3 yo in that photo) loves it too. (We have adventures. 🙃)</p><p>I would <b>start with waterproof: rain pants, rain coat, rubber boots, gloves, and at least the glasses to start.</b> See how it goes for you, and if you find yourself liking it more - those are some more options of things we have found work well.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">It's Kinda like Skiing</h4><p>I love skiing. We love skiing as a family. I love #stormdays on the mountain. The fun part of biking in the rain, is it has started to feel like that for me. I have my swishy pants on, my warm dry helmet and googles. I move at a similar speed biking and skiing. The cool air on my face. It feels not unlike skiing.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Cautions</h4><p>Wet leaves. In fall, when the leaves are wet - watch out for wet leaves, and even for a few hundred meters after riding over a patch of wet leaves. I think there are oils or debris that can stick to your tires for a bit and make them slippy. I did have a scare on my own once, and am now very mindful of wet leaves.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Final thoughts </h4><p>1. There is no bad weather, just bad clothing.</p><p>2. You're not made of sugar</p><p>I hope this inspires you to explore what your comfort level is. Enjoy! 🚲🙃</p><p><br /></p><p>___</p><p><i>Update 31-Aug-2023:</i></p><p>1. <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/vancouvercycling/comments/163bpzy/i_didnt_think_i_would_ride_in_the_rain/" target="_blank">On a reddit thread I where I shared this</a>, a few people have commented on the importance of fenders. 100% - its so foundational to me I didn't think to mention it. For me - as a person who bikes for utility (ie getting around town) - having fenders on my bike all year round is how I roll, and I definitely recommend it. There are also great options for temporary fenders - check your bike shop or MEC.</p><p>2. Proud dad here: Here is my little dude biking to his daycare at 5 years old a couple days ago - on a rain day, as he has done for years. No bad weather, just bad clothing! </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4ZkuhpKTezMZSQ4ehorSBeJIzmwmzg0CqQsEf6Mm_Z4ogejjZqh_GLdC0Xsj6KKUeXKoOqlf_30oofnnPEiAWOQXXhAB9AMYFmlyhmQoTaT6XQ99uSR20j7YCq-ok4C1-7E42IU9uygrfpwMsChIrwnVg0Dk7FGUVJmcNHsnf_sZIBf77GT8S" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Five year old biking in the rain in full rain gear" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4ZkuhpKTezMZSQ4ehorSBeJIzmwmzg0CqQsEf6Mm_Z4ogejjZqh_GLdC0Xsj6KKUeXKoOqlf_30oofnnPEiAWOQXXhAB9AMYFmlyhmQoTaT6XQ99uSR20j7YCq-ok4C1-7E42IU9uygrfpwMsChIrwnVg0Dk7FGUVJmcNHsnf_sZIBf77GT8S=w400-h300" width="400" /></a></div><p></p>Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-9849248124743119392022-09-28T23:17:00.010-07:002022-09-29T22:35:41.903-07:00Who to Vote for in North Van & Rest of BC - 15-Oct-2022<h4 style="text-align: left;">Why Vote on 15-Oct-2022</h4><p> BC municipal politics matter to me because they can have a big impact on decisions that affect:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>More Housing Options</b></li><ul><li>Land-use Policy and zoning, which are huge drivers of the housing crisis</li><li>Think "six floors and a corner store" </li></ul></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><b>Active Transportation Networks</b> (Walkable Cities, Transit, Bike Lanes)</li><ul><li>Have you tried an electric bike yet? Game changing. Ask me sometime.</li></ul></ul><p></p><p>These are two big issues that can have a direct impact on my quality of life. Even more important, my north-star is climate change, and these are also key building blocks for making a difference to climate change.</p><p>I live in North Vancouver, and I'm going to focus this article on our candidates. I'll also include some links at the bottom for help identifying who to vote for in your municipality. In my day job I'm lucky enough to do work having a positive impact on climate change. Being focused on climate change a long time, I know politics has an outsize role to play, and local governments can lead faster and better than other governments on these key issues.</p><p>So:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li> <b>Please vote on 15-Oct-2022</b> in your local government elections.</li><li>I'm hoping to make this easy for you - <b>here is who I plan to vote for & why.</b></li></ol><p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Who to Vote For: DNV</h4><p>In the DNV (District of North Van) staff have been bound by a split council this past 4 years. Three councillors fairly in favour of active transport (Mathew Bond, Jordan Back, Megan Curren), Two mostly opposed = Mayor Mike Little, Betty (Pigeon) Forbes, and also not reliably in favour = Lisa Muri and Jim Hanson.</p><p>The choices on Oct 15 really matter in terms of how fast housing policy and bike infrastructure can move. Do get out to vote, and encourage your friends and neighbours to do so too. Both for CNV and DNV. <br />The younger (50 & under - especially 18-35 vote) are especially important to try to get out to vote.<br /><br />For what it's worth, my voting dance card for DNV so far looks like this:<br /><br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Mayor: Matthew Bond</li></ul><p></p><p>Council:<br /></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Jordan Back</li><li>Greg Robins</li><li>Elison Mallin</li><li>Catherine Pope</li></ul>You need 1 mayor vote, and up to 6 council votes. People tell me better to only vote for 4 if you're not sure about the other 2<br /><br /> This is my current list. I may add to this list as we get closer to 15-Oct. <br /><br />Here is the full list of <a href="https://www.dnv.org/government-administration/see-who-running" target="_blank">DNV candidates in 2022</a><p></p><br />Don't just trust me. In prior years I've used the <a href="https://bikehub.ca/municipal-elections/2022-municipal-election-platform" target="_blank">HUB cycling advocacy candidate list</a>, and found that the people that are in favour of their policies, are progressive and usually in favour of more housing options as well.<div><div><br /></div><div><i>Last note:</i> Incumbent mayor Mike Little says "thoughtful growth and some transport options" - but his record that I've observed is of minutia, status quo, and <b>not</b> rapid improvements.</div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Who to Vote For: CNV</h4><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">If I lived in CNV (City of North Van) my dance card would be:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Mayor: Linda Buchanan</li></ul>Councillor:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Tony Valente</li><li>Jessica McIlroy</li><li>Angela Girard</li><li>Holly Back</li><li>Don Bell</li><li>Kathy McGrenera</li></ul><br /><br />There may be another candidate or two aligned fairly directly with Linda Buchanan. I'm sure she's not perfect, but I definitely want more of the "walkable city" and bike priority work that has been happening for the past 4 years.<br />Our family goes to the CNV by bike routinely. The destinations are great (Shipyards, Moodyville Park, Grand Boulevard), and the routes are palpably better when we cross the DNV/CNV border. I want more like them in the DNV too!<br /><br />Here is the list of <a href="https://www.cnv.org/Your-Government/Election/Election-2022" target="_blank">CNV candidates in 2022</a><br style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" /><br /><h4 style="text-align: left;">Who to vote for - other Municipalities in BC</h4><i>If you live in the Lower Mainland,</i> <a href="https://bikehub.ca/municipal-elections/2022-municipal-election-platform" target="_blank">HUB Cycling has put together lists of candidates</a> who have endorsed their platform. (Same link shared above) As I said above, I have found that the people that are in favour of their policies, are progressive and usually in favour of more housing options as well.</div><div><br /></div><i>Outside the Lower Mainland of BC,</i> I haven't yet found as good a resource. Please send it along do duncan@wilcock.ca if you find one. I've asked the <a href="https://bccycling.ca" target="_blank">BC Cycling Coalition </a>if they have a similar list, but they have not responded after a few days. Feel free to ask them on twitter at @bccycle :) </div><div><br /></div><div>Ride on! 🙃🚲</div>Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-15145682514453189852022-08-18T20:36:00.000-07:002022-08-23T21:50:51.344-07:00Cars Dehumanize Us<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: right;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSJG2mUz62PcXZuyj8Jw01a9eEwtvOtSNQrpHgCDLgSF7Y5PQ18lp8aorwJGj-TOJeMtyeg83RBuJU3e2vQIImj3dxcfMjZdf-fZK9mZ5AdxBII7QHdWnAE8quP5FydEhCkO1TLKypo5rkNwz2g0m3W9xXu1sTXVrlojECLcy-4XOyxEHlg/s640/evil%20car.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSJG2mUz62PcXZuyj8Jw01a9eEwtvOtSNQrpHgCDLgSF7Y5PQ18lp8aorwJGj-TOJeMtyeg83RBuJU3e2vQIImj3dxcfMjZdf-fZK9mZ5AdxBII7QHdWnAE8quP5FydEhCkO1TLKypo5rkNwz2g0m3W9xXu1sTXVrlojECLcy-4XOyxEHlg/w400-h268/evil%20car.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />I don't love cars. I drive one fairly often, and have since I was 16. So I'm a driver too, and not always an angel behind the wheel.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">With a long time passion for sustainability, that was a key reason I bought an eBike 4 years ago. I quickly started to notice however how much more engaged I can be with the people I see biking or walking when I'm on my eBike. Also how much more engaged my 4 year old son is with the world around him. Not to mention healthier, more fun, and in most cases faster - yes, faster door-to-door than driving! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A quite complete vision of "more livable" cities is outlined in this book I highly recommend: <a href="http://www.modacitylife.com/curbing-traffic" target="_blank">Curbing Traffic</a>. Here I<b>'ll focus on one aspect of a more livable city life: communication, and how we treat each other on our streets</b>. As both person riding a bike, and a person driving a car - I've observed how hard it can be to communicate - both for conflict, and even for pleasant/friendly interaction - through the walls of the metal-boxes we use to cart ourselves around our cities.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Communication is our Super Power</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The complex and nuanced communication we have evolved is one of the most defining features of being a human, and therefore surrendering our ability to communicate effectively - makes us something less than we are - it dehumanizes us.</div><div><p>Some specific examples, of typical (ineffective) communication in a car:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Communication is reduced to honking, or gesticulating - rudely or otherwise. Consider the attempt to "beep" vs. HOONNNK - it's absurd!</li><li>Eye contact is hard at best, often impossible due to glare and speed</li><li>You are reduced to "body language" of "inching forward," or moving the vehicle aggressively (or if you are kind - perhaps allowing someone to pass)</li><li>You often only have fleeting moments for that communication because:</li></ol><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;">a. You are likely travelling at some speed so only are close enough for audible or visual communication very briefly</p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;">b. The press of the queue behind you, including the large amount of space your vehicle blocks in the road way, and the willingness (as well as cultural acceptedness) of blaring horns behind you, doesn't permit you to stop and communicate more clearly.</p></blockquote></blockquote><p>No wonder many drivers seem frustrated and inconsiderate! Compare that to walking on the sidewalk, or biking at lower speeds (10km/h to 20km/h):</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>You can speak to someone - in a friendly voice, or urgently, sharply, etc - the full-range of human vocal communication & nuance</li><li>You can clearly make eye-contact, and any body language you want to communciate - the full range of human gestures & body language. Perhaps a bit less if your hands are steering a bike.</li><li>You can stop, and engage in a fuller communication - either friendly or to express your discontent. Assert yourself. Even if the person walks away - you have a much more innate sense of whether you were heard.</li></ol><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_k2-V99y7j7dyc_nIuhLg-O_f4aVUMIaZjpSa7Yi5eWIRaA3fX-OHFFqflMVzLJ0JYavehz0g1wGEOPhoZr822aFV_bBiGjrlereJ8GQ1peV_Hz5KKVa39IZHsgtK7pT7ZL85CuM-hpvzIdZB5d8oUmj_z50hH1qZUmdC16fbbFIoL0bYA/s1560/Biking%20and%20Talking.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1556" data-original-width="1560" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii_k2-V99y7j7dyc_nIuhLg-O_f4aVUMIaZjpSa7Yi5eWIRaA3fX-OHFFqflMVzLJ0JYavehz0g1wGEOPhoZr822aFV_bBiGjrlereJ8GQ1peV_Hz5KKVa39IZHsgtK7pT7ZL85CuM-hpvzIdZB5d8oUmj_z50hH1qZUmdC16fbbFIoL0bYA/w400-h399/Biking%20and%20Talking.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More effective communication potential</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I'm writing this from a place of self-reflection. I drive a lot at times, and do try to ride my bike a lot, as well as transit, but I'm very much pointing the finger at myself too. I'm not always a friendly driver.<p></p><p>Cars are great at times. They are useful for medium to longer trips. However <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-theory/wp/2016/03/02/buses-and-trains-thats-what-will-solve-congestion/" target="_blank">the more people populate a given city, the bigger problem they become</a>. Cities get less pleasant to be in. More space, bollards, sidewalks, and infrastructure needs to be built to keep the rest of us safe from the cars & trucks. If you think about it - bollards, sidewalks, "pedestrian overpasses" are all car infrastructure. We wouldn't need them if we didn't have the cars & trucks there!</p><p>The reason we have that infrastructure is to protect the <b>people</b> <i>who aren't in cars</i>, <b>from people </b><i>who are in cars </i>- <b>behaving badly. </b></p><p><b><span style="color: #ffa400;">Why are the people drive cars & trucks behaving badly?</span> Because we have become less human.</b></p><p>So walk more. Take transit more. Get a bike, or an eBike, and be the change you want to see in the world.</p><p>I'm trying. ✌️</p></div>Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-79127304309781343542022-07-07T19:48:00.005-07:002022-07-09T12:59:37.387-07:00Rapidly Digitize 35mm Slides: My Workflow<p>I've recently taken on digitizing 35mm slides taken by my prolific-photographer of a father - Ross Wilcock. It's a quite a job, I estimate about 25,000 photographs. I'll share a photo of the storage drawers later in the post.</p><p>I've worked out a process that is proving much faster than I initially imagined, and I'm now optimistic it's a job I could complete in the next 12 months. It might be 100 hours of work, or perhaps a lot less, as I've been getting faster.</p><p>This post is to document the tools and a few tips I've learned so far. The short version is to buy A & B below & off you go!</p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">A. Capture Device: Wolverine Titan 8-in-1 High Resolution Film to Digital Converter </h3><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MqvxD-6zzjSbqNpU_jr6ipzvB1sO_hOh6a-8f9Mk9ZduMOxpnw9q0mEuWHTh71_XvE9lDO-BUeZm1tUGTEw2BXRX7qWZqTa1Jfbyued5m2fpOrCSa_g1gSJBJ1BmkWpWCaJ5h7JKcmBWMoq5CGTMnKjjsuMhNAXn0dt0HLQrShU7rD1iJw/s854/Wolverine%20slide%20scanner.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="854" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8MqvxD-6zzjSbqNpU_jr6ipzvB1sO_hOh6a-8f9Mk9ZduMOxpnw9q0mEuWHTh71_XvE9lDO-BUeZm1tUGTEw2BXRX7qWZqTa1Jfbyued5m2fpOrCSa_g1gSJBJ1BmkWpWCaJ5h7JKcmBWMoq5CGTMnKjjsuMhNAXn0dt0HLQrShU7rD1iJw/s320/Wolverine%20slide%20scanner.png" width="320" /></a><div><br /></div><div>Here is a <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Wolverine-Resolution-Digital-Converter-Screen/dp/B01MRCNSJT" target="_blank">link to buy this on amazon.ca</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Quick Review and Disclaimer:</b></div><div><br /></div><div>This Wolverine product is, I would say: so-so. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Pros:</b></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><i>The resolution is high</i> at close to 6000 pixels on the longest side (quoted as 20 megapixels...)</li><li><i>The workflow is relatively quick </i>(although my slides don't slide through the feeder properly, so I'm putting them into it one by one.) In all, it's still quite a fast workflow. </li><li><i>Seeing them on the screen immediately </i>allows some adjustment and framing. It also means that the device is stand alone, so I can work without a laptop. Combined these two things are nice for my mom and my 4 year old son, so we can also set up and do it in different places, and they get to see the slides as we scan them. It's also useful for a quick close up, if I can't see details from the light table. (see next major heading)</li></ol></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Cons:</b> Criticisms are mostly about photo quality. </div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><i>The digital photos have "digital noise" in them. </i> This is a technical way of saying that the scan quality could be better. Lots of pixels, but unfortunately close-up the images aren't as good as I think they could be. Alternative #1 below might do better, but would add time & expense - so much that I wouldn't actually get the job done. I'm setting aside the best of the photos, and at a future time I may find a way to do them at even higher quality, but - we'll see. I'm choosing to decide this process is <b>good enough. </b> They are very much better than not being scanned at all.</li><li><i>The above mentioned slide feeding not working</i> for me is disappointing. It might work better with thinner slides, perhaps if they were mounted in paper, rather than the plastic mounts my father used.</li></ol></div><div><b>Alternatives:</b></div><div><br /></div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>A <a href="https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/hands-review/franken-scanner-slide-and-negative-digitizer" target="_blank">fancier rig</a> I've seen, but I've decided I don't currently have the patience or time for is <a href="https://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/photography/hands-review/franken-scanner-slide-and-negative-digitizer" target="_blank">linked here</a>.</li><li>I had <a href="https://photolab.londondrugs.com" target="_blank">London Drugs</a> scan some for me a few years ago, and the quality was also not good. Much lower resolution, and I don't recall being impressed by how they turned out. It was also relatively expensive, and the lack of control in the process I found frustrating.</li></ol><div><br /></div><div><h3 style="text-align: left;">B. Inexpensive Light Table</h3><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Sk-bEki2xAOjZU5N3rcgEbj6xyQdHUGbl3d9ZwMqDuayMyKsUxOqXue5N1ojn9En_xWzAznshIvVwF5TtnDyZVFwNPE-3xfSC9XDsA3ZctXTviro-hVz0_yLCS6Iru_9hH3AVOHBNvaHBmm_wwGbfxEGbPSWRAqa_UJ8enXAM96Ee6VqPQ/s788/Light%20Table%20for%20Slides.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="788" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Sk-bEki2xAOjZU5N3rcgEbj6xyQdHUGbl3d9ZwMqDuayMyKsUxOqXue5N1ojn9En_xWzAznshIvVwF5TtnDyZVFwNPE-3xfSC9XDsA3ZctXTviro-hVz0_yLCS6Iru_9hH3AVOHBNvaHBmm_wwGbfxEGbPSWRAqa_UJ8enXAM96Ee6VqPQ/s320/Light%20Table%20for%20Slides.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Here is a <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0755C2CBF">link to buy this on amazon.ca</a></p><p>I've only had it a few days, but so far it's been cheap & cheerful. I bought the A4 size and it was $30, delivered the next day. Amazon is amazing (and also crazy.)</p><p><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Some of the Results</h3><div>My father, my mother and brothers, beside the Bow River in BC, Canada - in summer 1976. New Canadians at the time!</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtygh6dQ8Jq8nYQCQr1jcw8apSIFE9gt8ri4Z3dKauU1ogXcXM8r-OldZQ5iC7ApZebqIbAlBi2bbg2zb6phTOza1w6Hb-rsT-LxFoq3TtpurxdTJF_CNLsfB9ckr1ac7zyo7w8N3Ccc4Jn-dH7z8F_k1VzYfTfgy5_x3UDpx7lo88g6v9w/s5472/Wilcock%20Family.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYtygh6dQ8Jq8nYQCQr1jcw8apSIFE9gt8ri4Z3dKauU1ogXcXM8r-OldZQ5iC7ApZebqIbAlBi2bbg2zb6phTOza1w6Hb-rsT-LxFoq3TtpurxdTJF_CNLsfB9ckr1ac7zyo7w8N3Ccc4Jn-dH7z8F_k1VzYfTfgy5_x3UDpx7lo88g6v9w/s320/Wilcock%20Family.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Us with our "yellow submarine" - a VW camper my parents were thrilled to be able to drive off the lot in Vernon, BC (8 month waitlist in England at the time!). All five of us lived in it, our first few months living in Canada.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicR6AVsxiGZGqDFi8U5j4wD60cnPBIzV2BHp9HMtnAeP0h9Q8_x_jftvizLpx05aoUegJKG-AwleSAncxeIiAylqJFvcGh8rVVlfmjTXPCKjjOpGv0X5-jg3qs9mfzE0fBcZWGiy8-Jy8Yp7oyWb15a4aIdPiju8w1iS_Rh1l0VLQSQhzPdg/s5472/Wilcock%20Family%20camping%20June%201976.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3648" data-original-width="5472" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicR6AVsxiGZGqDFi8U5j4wD60cnPBIzV2BHp9HMtnAeP0h9Q8_x_jftvizLpx05aoUegJKG-AwleSAncxeIiAylqJFvcGh8rVVlfmjTXPCKjjOpGv0X5-jg3qs9mfzE0fBcZWGiy8-Jy8Yp7oyWb15a4aIdPiju8w1iS_Rh1l0VLQSQhzPdg/s320/Wilcock%20Family%20camping%20June%201976.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Overall Slide Capture Commentary</h3><p>I promised a photo of the job ahead, and here it is: 32 drawers, I think about 800 photos in each, for a total of 25,000 photos. One thing that is speeding it up, is that so far about 90% of the photos I'm finding are not worth scanning. They're still fun to look at, and see what drew his attention at the time (he passed in 2008, so I can't ask him). It's a fun way to connect with him and what was in his mind at these ages. My 4 year old is enjoying the process, and including my mother is really nice for her too.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsc1oTH2IWeQqrfM4lUGFP7MC8_i7gHUyWryK9GPXMB7EwM5Vy0PBfeNOoe8I1-mH2mH-wtjhpQjP-8rA-dxSnHgXZjcXTEVP3-ZiTntkcwyM_W8EOFbj6LI9jQ7-lnAxtlOVKFgTazJFxYbWFFKbtNdCjR4mcUbDjloFfMMOxNYfYYYknUQ/s4032/IMG_2543.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsc1oTH2IWeQqrfM4lUGFP7MC8_i7gHUyWryK9GPXMB7EwM5Vy0PBfeNOoe8I1-mH2mH-wtjhpQjP-8rA-dxSnHgXZjcXTEVP3-ZiTntkcwyM_W8EOFbj6LI9jQ7-lnAxtlOVKFgTazJFxYbWFFKbtNdCjR4mcUbDjloFfMMOxNYfYYYknUQ/s320/IMG_2543.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p style="text-align: start;">The job: About 25,000 slides. I'm hoping to complete this in 100 hours or less. Ask me in about it in 2023......!! (Note: this photo taken with iPhone - not with the slide converter, much less digital noise.)</p><div><br /></div></div>Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-4027647108010411082022-04-15T08:29:00.013-07:002024-01-17T21:43:50.344-08:00Get Rain Pants<p>In recent years, I've embraced rain pants. 🌧🙃</p><p>Nearing 50 years old, I'm not sure why I resisted them. Mostly a mix of these reasons:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Too much hassle to put on</li><li>Kind of ugly/not fashionable</li><li>Makes swishing sound</li></ul><div><br /></div><div>Now that I have a 4 year old, and life goes much more smoothly outside, I've taught myself that wearing them is so much more easy, freeing, and in fact - fun. I wish I'd gotten over myself earlier in life and worn them more often. Here are some reasons it's great to have them on. In summary, FREEDOM:</div><div><br /></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Sitting on wet benches or anything wet is not longer a barrier</li><li>It rains here. A LOT. My legs stay dry. (Wow - who woulda thunk it). "There is no bad weather, just bad clothing"</li><li>Overall I'm just more free to be out in whatever weather.</li><li>A wet bicycle seat isn't a barrier. No need to wrap it in an ugly pastic bag.</li></ul><div>Simple enough, and admittedly I sometimes hesitate whether to put them on or not. I've taught myself to just put them on most of the time whenever there is dew on the grass, or anytime it isn't summer (so Oct to Apr pretty much)</div><div><br /></div><div>Throw in a pair of more comfortable rubber boots, (and of course a rain coat) and rain is no longer a barrier. I'm more free to be out in it & simple as that sounds - it's wonderful.</div><div><br /></div><div>Below are some recommendations for rainpants, and a bonus link to the low-cut rubber boots I have found fantastic for almost all weather, and for biking long distances on my ebike.</div><div><br /></div><div>In summary: <b>Get Rain Pants! </b>🌧🙃</div><div><br /></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Note: I live in North Vancouver, BC - and so am used to a LOT of rain each year. Even places where it snows more than rains, I think rainpants will still deliver a lot of freedom in the shoulder seasons - Oct to Dec, and Mar to May (for the northern hemisphere)</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Also - these are <b>not</b> affiliate links. (Maybe I should work on that...!)</i></div><div><br /></div><div>_______</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /><a href="https://www.hellyhansen.com/en_ca/moss-pant-53268?color=290002" target="_blank">Helly Hansen - Moss Rain Pants </a></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyZmYGcs2lKDekhdkV3VGUhKQ2xRDS4P-nMBd114Ebst7huuB4MwNb8-Y61PuNLz5ioAR5h14qyArbmSvnXAL4kKJCO7rke4Uk2WHDD-Xe4xQ2HV2Tce9bRrPGCjH4OM7m6g5LCjlaAxbXMuji6VAZugcMbOjf5ISKBa4sJHdWZ7_RrMXdrQ" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Helly Hansen - Moss Rain Pants" data-original-height="1108" data-original-width="734" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyZmYGcs2lKDekhdkV3VGUhKQ2xRDS4P-nMBd114Ebst7huuB4MwNb8-Y61PuNLz5ioAR5h14qyArbmSvnXAL4kKJCO7rke4Uk2WHDD-Xe4xQ2HV2Tce9bRrPGCjH4OM7m6g5LCjlaAxbXMuji6VAZugcMbOjf5ISKBa4sJHdWZ7_RrMXdrQ=w133-h200" width="133" /></a>$50 CAD. </div><div>Solid, effective, fully waterproof. <br />Not always flattering.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOFddPw62JBX_xBg9MTXpnCJmgEER5wk6qdfWa9vxLGhLYrS761BfuyrAKhVVN9tHA20urHgYep5i-ajdD81mbuJBPgiEIeRVowpFNa0u2NxmnxJuhRJo-TqOJaOx2A28kUJ35GncGsTiRwpd6O3qwQq1ipgONJcxCFLRpk9R0GCqrzAqVbQ" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="MEC Drencher Rain-Pants" data-original-height="1070" data-original-width="692" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOFddPw62JBX_xBg9MTXpnCJmgEER5wk6qdfWa9vxLGhLYrS761BfuyrAKhVVN9tHA20urHgYep5i-ajdD81mbuJBPgiEIeRVowpFNa0u2NxmnxJuhRJo-TqOJaOx2A28kUJ35GncGsTiRwpd6O3qwQq1ipgONJcxCFLRpk9R0GCqrzAqVbQ=w129-h200" width="129" /></a><a href="https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5024-812/Drencher-Pants?colour=BK000" target="_blank">MEC Drencher Rain-Pants</a> <br />($50 to $90 CAD)<br />The ones I use for everyday wear & ebiking in serious rain.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><a href="https://www.tretorncanada.com/tretorn-chelsea-classic-mens-black-rain-boots-jwcnda397-p-37.html" target="_blank"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.tretorncanada.com/tretorn-chelsea-classic-mens-black-rain-boots-jwcnda397-p-37.html" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFEqpw9gxCBFtW3_T3Rl3j70AexfhC_8W4NhXSLPmxVBn2mxITUUukCtKieT3eo6kE-CY3hxK8y1zs3XCipxEJOaY2-vY9ixhXfUb2XHCeffZdouw1cvbzFmo8NluVE-xz5gwNnM3VZnp9dr5-6fARfWYCONLZgUo-61LJCU9R5Y8qWiOhsQ" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Tretorn Half-Height Rubber Boots" data-original-height="1274" data-original-width="1400" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhFEqpw9gxCBFtW3_T3Rl3j70AexfhC_8W4NhXSLPmxVBn2mxITUUukCtKieT3eo6kE-CY3hxK8y1zs3XCipxEJOaY2-vY9ixhXfUb2XHCeffZdouw1cvbzFmo8NluVE-xz5gwNnM3VZnp9dr5-6fARfWYCONLZgUo-61LJCU9R5Y8qWiOhsQ=w200-h182" width="200" /></a></div><div><a href="https://www.tretorncanada.com/tretorn-chelsea-classic-mens-black-rain-boots-jwcnda397-p-37.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></div><a href="https://amzn.to/423bO9m" target="_blank">Tretorn Half-Height <br /><b>Rubber</b> Boots</a> </div><div>($80 to $160 CAD)</div><div>A $30 version is available at Mark's Work wearhouse, but I prefer the look & grip on these.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><p></p>Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comNorth Vancouver, BC, Canada49.3199816 -123.072413921.009747763821153 -158.22866390000002 77.630215436178844 -87.9161639tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-847186949607005862021-04-02T20:39:00.017-07:002021-04-12T06:19:00.381-07:00Combine Hundreds of Video Clips into One Long Video using Apple Photos and iMovie<p>This post is to help others who want to combine a whole lot of short video clips into one long video, with all the clips in time-order, with a bare minimum of editing and fuss. It's to document a workflow to do specific thing I want to do, which is to export my videos from Apple Photos and then put them in time order in a multi-hour video.</p><p><b>Here is my job-to-be-done:</b></p><p>I have a little guy, who is super adorable. He's a bit more than 3 years old, and I have been capturing videos on my iPhone and collecting a lot of video in my Apple Photos library over the years so far. I want to enjoy those clips on my AppleTV in the living room, in a big long video - of his first year, his second year, and so on - rather than having to keep picking individual clips. </p><p>I will watch this in the evenings with my wife "in the background" as we read our iPads or chat, or perhaps with friends or family, and with my little guy - as at times he finds it engaging to see himself when he was younger.</p><p>Also - I'm a busy guy, I don't want to spend hours editing and curating, because that drastically decreases the chance it will get done. Instead, I want to take advantage of the computer - let it do all the exporting work, keeping them in date order, and building a long video - with a minimum amount of direct editing time by me. </p><p>If I don't like the end result, and if the computer is doing most of the work, I can restart the process without feeling like it's a lot of work for me to do - just the computer, which can do the work while I sleep.</p><p><b>Why I'm Writing this Up</b></p><p>These instructions are relatively quick and easy, which is what I wanted. It took me quite a long time to get here, which is why I'm writing them up. I didn't find good guidance on the internet when I searched for it in the last few months, and I hope this helps some others who want to do the same thing. I found quite a few others on Apple's help forums and elsewhere. I even had <a href="https://overcast.fm/+R7DU5Avss" target="_blank">a question answered on a popular Tech Podcast ATP</a> - which unfortunately didn't help, but I had already found the below workflow before they responded. The whole key was the image below, and finding that from Apple Photos export, there is an option to set the Filename: to "Sequential"</p><p><b>The Workflow:</b></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>Make an album in photos and fill it with the videos. (copying from Smart Albums can be helpful.) </li><li>Organize the videos in the order I want (ie use "sort by date")</li><li>Use Menu Command: File->Export. (Shift + Cmd + E)</li><ul><li>Chose <b>Sequential</b> as shown below. This was the key trick.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcnZ_252Lup1OUCwUFxgzRPJrc61sy0Uum-IpJddmzLN0tSKW0t4f2IONOtUsfPmLvvDVEpXbL15gjXDofAHrDwuLWzdSolXh-Fj0gSko8ouS6YekvmuBKMZZqkNaBvNYbdYp/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="632" data-original-width="1072" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibcnZ_252Lup1OUCwUFxgzRPJrc61sy0Uum-IpJddmzLN0tSKW0t4f2IONOtUsfPmLvvDVEpXbL15gjXDofAHrDwuLWzdSolXh-Fj0gSko8ouS6YekvmuBKMZZqkNaBvNYbdYp/" width="320" /></a></li></ul><li>Drag into iMovie event Library, and then into the timeline there, then export as 4k, 60fps etc.</li><ul><li>Tip - adding cross fade with "Select All" and CMD + T, as well as a single title to the beginning were worthwhile quick edits. Otherwise, I did no further editing in iMovie.</li><li>Another tip - <a href="https://tidbits.com/2018/08/16/tipbits-make-imovie-output-full-resolution-video/" target="_blank">the first clip has to be 4k for that export option to show</a>. </li></ul><li>Iterate 1 or 2 times: </li></ol><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>When watching, if there is a clip I don't want in the big video, I just skip over it while watching it on the TV. I may delete it from the Apple Photos album and re-export a couple times before I decide these long videos are "done enough." I used Airplay from Quicktime on the Mac to the AppleTV to start, and these are working well enough I am now using <a href="https://www.plex.tv" target="_blank">Plex</a> on the AppleTV, which is a worthy improvement.</li></ul></ul><br /><br /><b>Things I Tried That Didn't Work:</b><br /><br /><p>1. Exporting as unmodified originals from Apple Photos</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li> Date stamps were preserved, but key edits like rotations weren't perserved, and other edits I had done that improved the videos, like trimming boring parts in the library. Where I had corrected dates & times in the Apple Photos Library, those were lost too.</li></ul><p></p><p>2. Exporting as "filename" from Apple Photos</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Videos don't have built in EXIF data that stores date formats, so programs often have to use the Date Stamp or the filename to sort. This was leading to videos imported into iMovie in random, non-sequential order - which was the whole problem. </li></ul><p></p><p>3. Apple Photos Slideshow</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Max resolution is 1080p and 30fps. It also was really choppy - worse than you'd expect from 30fps. For a while I was considering tolerating it, but it was just terrible - it didn't work for me.</li></ul><p></p>4. I had ffmpeg and Permute recommended to me, but didn't try them. <div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I didn't try either of these, and ffmpeg seems very fiddly to me. I'm sure I could get it to work, but once I figured out that sequencing the files solved the problem, then iMovie was the natural choice. I realized I had not been stating the problem well - but don't think I could have stated it clearly until I figured out the solution. The problem turned out to be: <i>"Exporting from Apple Photos in a way that preserves edits and date order."</i> Once I had that solved, iMovie worked well for me, and gives me capability I can apply quickly like cross-fades, and I could later add music underlay if I felt so inclined.</li></ul></div><div><br /><br /><b>Something else I learned:</b><br /><br />Video files apparently don't really have integrated EXIF data the way photos do. Similar functionality to EXIF is usually accomplished with an external file often called an .XMP that has that same data in it, but because it's a separate file, it's not as good as jpegs with EXIF data embedded. Often the file date created is the only thing a program can use to guess when the video was created. <br /><p>From Apple Photos exporting unmodified originals preserves those date stamps, but if you simply "Export..." - the videos, then for many files with edits - new files are created with date stamp of the date they were exported, which wasn't working - see #1 & #2 above. The key was exporting as "Filename: Sequential."</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Last Tip</b></p><p>I also found that 4 to 8 hour movies were a bit too long in practice. We didn't get to the end of them often, so I wound up dividing the Apple Photos albums into multiple parts, and going with 2 to 3 hours of video in each part. The workflow still applies, just a practical learning item worth sharing.</p></div></div>Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-10801151038195412932020-10-14T23:01:00.007-07:002020-10-14T23:04:51.073-07:00Parenting: Podcasts are Great for Learning<div class="separator"><p style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img class="img-responsive" height="200" src="https://d3tkwokssgv28o.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/15063638/Respectful-Parenting-Podcasts-Janet-Lansbury-Unruffled.jpg" width="200" /></p></div><p>Long time readers will know I'm a huge fan of podcasts. I devour them, especially when washing dishes, doing laundry, or any of the things in life I don't enjoy, but by "temptation bundling" I make getting them done more tolerable - sometimes even pleasurable.</p><p>But I digress - I am writing this post to strongly endorse a specific parenting podcast: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/respectful-parenting-janet-lansbury-unruffled/id1030050704" target="_blank">Respectful Parenting:</a><br /><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/respectful-parenting-janet-lansbury-unruffled/id1030050704" target="_blank">Janet Lansbury <b>Unruffled</b></a></li></ul><p></p>I 110% love this podcast, and find that the format is so helpful. She models the words and intonation she would use, and I find I can reproduce those same sounds myself- and even better - they often work! <br /><br />I've been finding some amazing learning for myself through this podcast by switching my perspective to a "coaching mindset" - which is seeing that my kid wants to do the right thing and needs my help to get there. (ie, coaching)<br /><br />Coaching is often talking and guiding him to "good behaviour" - but a good coach also configures the environment such that my little guy is "setup for success." So it is my responsibility to be attuned to his needs and his state of mind such that when we need to exit a situation, or better yet not get into it in the first place. A good coach decides where the playing field is, how often practice will happen, and what we practice - it's the same with a good parent.<br /><br />I've found searching through the Unruffled back catalog is great for individual challenges we find ourselves facing (defiance, setting limits, and so much more). She mostly uses listener questions and works through them. Initially I found her sounding "a bit lacking-in-confidence" - but later grew to appreciate that none of us really know what we're doing - and her humility is a strength.<br /><br />Anyway - as you can tell, I am a huge fan of Janet Lansbury and her podcast:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Link to <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/respectful-parenting-janet-lansbury-unruffled/id1030050704" target="_blank">subscribe in Apple Podcasts</a> </li></ul><br />A few of my favourite episodes to get you started:<br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">When Children are Defiant and "Disobedient"</a> </li><li><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">No Bad Kids: Questions about Tantrums, Mealtimes, and Cleaning Up</a></li><li><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Is it To Late to Set Limits with my Strong-Willed Child</a></li></ul>Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comNorth Vancouver, BC, Canada49.3199816 -123.072413919.598736726495922 -158.22866390000002 79.041226473504082 -87.9161639tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-23627038205774356922020-04-04T12:06:00.001-07:002020-04-04T12:35:18.151-07:00Bail out Transit, Not AirlinesTransit - including buses & subways - is an essential service.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://i.cbc.ca/1.5417080.1578359132!/cumulusImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/rapidbus-launch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="225" sizes="" src="https://i.cbc.ca/1.5417080.1578359132!/cumulusImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/rapidbus-launch.jpg" srcset="" width="400" /></a></div>
Translink (Vancouver), TTC (Toronto), and STM (Montreal) - are all getting nurses and grocery store clerks to work day in & day out. They have always been doing this, but COVID-19 reminded us of just how important (foundational!) front line workers are to our lives. That means boring old city-buses as well as subways and the like here in Canada.<br />
<br />
Air Canada and Westjet are more top of mind to the white collar workers who make bail out decisions, but transit serves more people day in day out.<br />
<br />
Transit is not just a business that takes fare revenue. It also serves the public good - enabling transportation of people who don't drive (perhaps they are very young, very old, or otherwise don't have a car). On some level we keep bus routes with not-so-full buses, because we want to ensure coverage to less busy areas of the urban and suburban landscape. <br />
<br />
We are being shown they must serve the public good when governments ask transit agencies to have buses ride mostly empty - to both maintain coverage for essential workers, and so that physical distancing can be maintained. It was never just about riders and fare collection - transit has always had a public-service role that was part of it's mandate.<br />
<br />
I'm not fully opposed to bailouts for airlines. Such precise decisions are mercifully above my pay-grade. I do think we don't see in-plain-sight the key role transit plays in our lives, and so want to help draw attention to that story. I would also keep in mind that Airlines do pollute a lot, so let's make sure their fares are priced to capture all negative-externalities, like greenhouse gas emissions and noise pollution. The important thing is that we prioritize. A more accurate headline for this post might be: "Bail out Transit first, and then Maybe Airlines"<br />
<br />
Let's make sure that thanks to COVID-19 that we prioritize any bail-out funding according to our values, to doing the greatest good - that helps the most people, because it is now crystal clear how critical transit is as a public service, and as public infrastructure.<br />
<br />
_____<br />
<br />
More resources if you want to dive deeper:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Great interview with a leading transit practitioner <br />Jarrett Walker - on youtube so <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2dqChOOF1k" target="_blank">watch, or just listen like a podcast</a>.</li>
<li>Bus drivers - frontline workers providing essential service - are dying around the world <br />from COVID-19. This article highlights <a href="https://www.fox5ny.com/news/second-mta-employee-a-bus-driver-dies-of-coronavirus" target="_blank">two recent deaths in New York</a>.</li>
<li>Great, delightful article in Wired on Cities <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/cities-without-cars-san-francisco-jeff-tumlin/" target="_blank">prioritizing Walking, Bikes, then Cars</a> - in that order.</li>
</ol>
Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-70050976664512269322019-11-21T21:59:00.000-08:002019-11-21T22:12:13.614-08:00My Favourite Books in 2019Inspired a bit by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/barackobama/posts/as-2018-draws-to-a-close-im-continuing-a-favorite-tradition-of-mine-and-sharing-/10156393283416749/" target="_blank">Barack Obama's annual lists</a>, here is a list of my favourite books I have read in 2019, with a little summary of what I found most compelling about them:<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Wealthy Renter</h3>
by Alex Avery<br />
<a href="https://www.dundurn.com/books/Wealthy-Renter" target="_blank">Link to more info about the book</a><br />
<br />
I live in Vancouver, Canada's most expensive housing market, and a city that ranks high on the global list of expensive cities to live in. My wife and I have a young son, and we rent. We are both masters educated professionals, earning pretty solid incomes, decent savings, and no debt. I have felt a lot of pressure to buy a house, and until I read this book had felt a lot like: "well it's too bad we rent, but we missed the boat and it's ok." This has shifted my thinking to being quite thrilled that we rent, and that in itself is a huge burden lifted.<br />
<br />
I was thrilled to find this a solid book with an analytical approach to home-ownership, and written about the Canadian housing market. At the end it has analyses for the major cities in Canada, including Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, and more. It didn't take a lot of extra analysis to make it apply directly to me.<br />
<br />
Some key points I took away from it:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>A clear framework for understanding that real-estate values is about the land appreciating, while all aspects of the building depreciate. </li>
<li>Spending on the building is consumption, and some wealthy people rent to help keep that boundary clear.</li>
<li>Over-housing - a new term to me, that is well explained here - is incentivized under the ownership model.</li>
<li>About 70% of Canadians own houses, so no wonder the rental stock is woefully undersupplied, and of inadequate quality in a lot of cases.</li>
<li>Between about 1992 and 2017 - an unprecedented run-up in house prices in Canada - the same amount of money invested in index funds would have <b><i>still </i></b>outperformed the housing market in most housing markets in Canada.</li>
<li>Approaches for making upgrades to my rental unit that are creative, potentially appealing to the landlord, and freeing from the feeling of "well, no point in making it nicer - we rent"</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbZHgoMJZxmeCHKxWwUkiT6ay3GbOXEVoFyNwlkXU-UASwpx2JNTDqEOLlJ5RLow0CCQ3r12vvMc_lmOVzhucUlW9XVzlnSv3m6ctXXD2awFUV8Rt6yixxk9QVDe3swgx8zm_/s1600/Human-Transit-The-Book-Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbZHgoMJZxmeCHKxWwUkiT6ay3GbOXEVoFyNwlkXU-UASwpx2JNTDqEOLlJ5RLow0CCQ3r12vvMc_lmOVzhucUlW9XVzlnSv3m6ctXXD2awFUV8Rt6yixxk9QVDe3swgx8zm_/s200/Human-Transit-The-Book-Cover.jpg" width="132" /></a>
Human Transit</h3>
Human Transit: How clearer thinking about public transit can enrich our communities and our lives<br />
by Jarret Walker<br />
<a href="https://humantransit.org/book" target="_blank">Link to more info about the book</a><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Jarret Walker is a Transit planner. This book is written in clear, simple, human language and is intended for the lay-person who is interested in how transit networks are built and operated within their city.<br />
<br />
Transit networks are the most effective way to move <b>people</b> around cities. Like most systems, there are some fundamental tensions in their design.<br />
<br />
<b>Coverage vs. Ridership: </b> A system optimize so that everyone has an opportunity to get on it, but this results in a network spread thin, and service that is not as frequent than if the system is optimized to move the most people - which means frequent service on the most ridden corridors.<br />
<br />
Many of us in North America, brought up in a car-culture that assumes that to move is to use a car,<br />
<br />
My interest in this book evolved from my interest in Micromobility over the last few years, and learning more about how with a limited amount of street-space, we can choose the travel modes (car, bike, bus) that move the most number of people per hour. You guessed it, the car moves the least people in any given lane, bikes more, walking more, and the bus the most for any given street). <br />
<br />
Fundamentally - cities, streets, and moving people within the city is a problem of geometry. Cars occupy a lot of physical space. If we shift the focus to moving people rather than cars, we see that there are ways to move people that occupy less physical space. Simple Geometry. :)<br />
<br />
The following graphic sums up some of the key points very well. <a href="https://humantransit.org/" target="_blank">The Human Transit blog</a> is a wealth of even deeper information.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9g3andA6zqMBPV86-nE4niAdmTIdUznq-rHR3cyYdH8ukQcJyd0k4lG5hBTm5fQo_y8wRSsRAgpBTDh6lHJGax_jSvQE-xDSD74HlhCL3hdV1YsbzUmGzFby1LA9TQO_ruwb/s1600/GusTransporte_2019-Nov-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-9g3andA6zqMBPV86-nE4niAdmTIdUznq-rHR3cyYdH8ukQcJyd0k4lG5hBTm5fQo_y8wRSsRAgpBTDh6lHJGax_jSvQE-xDSD74HlhCL3hdV1YsbzUmGzFby1LA9TQO_ruwb/s400/GusTransporte_2019-Nov-19.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
The Thinking Ladder</h3>
by Tim Urban, Wait but Why?<br />
<a href="https://waitbutwhy.com/2019/08/story-of-us.html" target="_blank">Link to the series of posts</a><br />
<br />
This is not yet a book, but I think it should be soon. It's certainly book length, and includes some great thinking about thinking. <br />
<br />
I found it at the <a href="https://twitter.com/tobi/status/1178336074155876352">recommendation</a> of a business leader I'm currently quite a fan of - <a href="https://twitter.com/tobi" target="_blank">Tobi Lutke - CEO of Shopify</a> - an important Canadian tech company based in Ottawa. <br />
<br />
In part it "is a new language we can use to think and talk about our societies and the people inside of them." (<a href="https://waitbutwhy.com/2019/08/story-intro.html">Tim Urban</a>)<br />
<br />
Go read it, and then let's talk!Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-57968088872893381112017-06-11T21:05:00.000-07:002017-06-11T21:36:50.431-07:00Mazda CX-5: Mounting a Thule Ski BoxWe bought a 2013 Mazda CX-5 in October, and we're excited to use our new 4WD vehicles to head up skiing.<br />
<br />
I got the factory roof rack installed and put on my Thule box, and was dismayed to find that the rear hatch wouldn't open. It was a bit of a shocking discovery for a 4WD vehicle.<br />
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWaRWf0FZIBBlxu7VHl9uj8JpddhUY8TL_69qmmp11zMbJboCHMbleaQ75Ynih1wFVTlIgR4YIi7qxMtSMO17yR6w0PMBqe2dlrxZTWWkwT3tnWPHTAjACKNBLtfO0Yh7TSvxl/s1600/IMG_0306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWaRWf0FZIBBlxu7VHl9uj8JpddhUY8TL_69qmmp11zMbJboCHMbleaQ75Ynih1wFVTlIgR4YIi7qxMtSMO17yR6w0PMBqe2dlrxZTWWkwT3tnWPHTAjACKNBLtfO0Yh7TSvxl/s400/IMG_0306.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Fortunately, my wife's engineer father Ralph had a great idea once I had dug into the issue. The front bar of the rack is the limiting factor, so we made and added these extensions from</div>
<div>
aluminum stock I picked up at our local Rona hardware store.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6DnmDEmlZqctKNDHMgyXUPtLVjdsnKEnRHS_sty7yoKGmK7M1W1uMISQUea1Q-mgnwJ78eZ6KOvwOCnmMGfxRguH3TeGzJggOtFIQe2xkMBP7PUJRNgI6IcMaA4Thnb5t8wd3/s1600/IMG_0297.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6DnmDEmlZqctKNDHMgyXUPtLVjdsnKEnRHS_sty7yoKGmK7M1W1uMISQUea1Q-mgnwJ78eZ6KOvwOCnmMGfxRguH3TeGzJggOtFIQe2xkMBP7PUJRNgI6IcMaA4Thnb5t8wd3/s320/IMG_0297.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The bolts & washers are all stainless steel from Canadian tire. The ones you can't see are about 1" diameter inside the channels of the rack. </div>
<div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8bARp6YKl69VHVhUupuKh0c1IYAzNHpTxSCWRZzhLvdT5fZ6ExG6okV9nWkOAhvDVuuj5Z39cqOtnnAxL-k3JvGhxxkWOrhD1Umnze1Oi_Qjxg30llJq4xJ6upZHgZ6_oTm9/s1600/IMG_0299.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8bARp6YKl69VHVhUupuKh0c1IYAzNHpTxSCWRZzhLvdT5fZ6ExG6okV9nWkOAhvDVuuj5Z39cqOtnnAxL-k3JvGhxxkWOrhD1Umnze1Oi_Qjxg30llJq4xJ6upZHgZ6_oTm9/s320/IMG_0299.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div>
I hope this helps you or others to be able to use your ski boxes more effectively too.<br />
<br />
The end result:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhB5W1Cv5swbSGpOgZAOJVlxrJ5VuQygEcsmxabKdp14XCwikzNqyZMTNk7UMD38HmtDF1VlX_7-ReDVDHaJt8vCzjoryyG-Zq9Rtd8Vb5pgVQV165yCd7rTD6b0t3JbL2MLW9/s1600/IMG_0308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhB5W1Cv5swbSGpOgZAOJVlxrJ5VuQygEcsmxabKdp14XCwikzNqyZMTNk7UMD38HmtDF1VlX_7-ReDVDHaJt8vCzjoryyG-Zq9Rtd8Vb5pgVQV165yCd7rTD6b0t3JbL2MLW9/s200/IMG_0308.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdjJq-09TOmOsNjAgCULY1S488nyvuwwoH63ojJWuWG7F2IE-mA5puaCZDZCJOA2DkZ6BaTdeeFrGwNnaP_etEzOxVh5r_Ztr7sAq-ihU3OhEe8esMLvgBVgH4Fm3IsyZ189Q4/s1600/IMG_0307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdjJq-09TOmOsNjAgCULY1S488nyvuwwoH63ojJWuWG7F2IE-mA5puaCZDZCJOA2DkZ6BaTdeeFrGwNnaP_etEzOxVh5r_Ztr7sAq-ihU3OhEe8esMLvgBVgH4Fm3IsyZ189Q4/s200/IMG_0307.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-75891214144723624702016-10-01T06:01:00.000-07:002017-08-24T11:39:44.895-07:00Bluetooth Headphones & Earbuds: My Recommendation After Trying 7 PairsI started this post several months ago, and hadn't finished it. With announcement of of <a href="http://www.apple.com/ca/airpods/" target="_blank">Apple's new Airpods</a>, I'm getting asked more about wireless headphones, and this will serve to summarize my experiences and recommendations. I hope it helps you!<br />
<br />
<h4>
Wireless Headphones are Great</h4>
The first question is of course "Why?" Why bother with wireless headphones when there are plenty of serviceable, inexpensive wired ones?<br />
<br />
I was surprised just how freeing going wireless was, and for me - it's worth the added hassle of having to keep them charged. It feels significantly <b>faster</b> and more <b>convenient</b> because:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li> fewer wires to untangle when I get them out</li>
<li> no wire to snake through my clothing and have in my pocket</li>
<li> nothing poking out of the bottom of my phone making it larger in pockets</li>
<li> nothing to unplug or get tangled when removing my phone from my pocket</li>
</ul>
<br />
<h4>
My Two Favourite Types</h4>
I find these two types very useful:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>over the head "studio style" headphones</li>
<li>two-earbuds-on-a-wire style earbuds.</li>
</ul>
<br />
The headphones style are great for throwing on quickly, and their size means battery life is great - 5 hours to 30 hours of playback on pairs I've tried. Controls on the ear piece, which is large enough to operate easily.<br />
<br />
I find the two earbuds style vastly superior to the single earbud "cyborg-style" that have been popular with real-estate agents and the upwardly mobile for making calls for years. The two earbuds hangs easily around my neck, so I can use them and remove them without having to stuff them in a pocket. This means I always have them with me - my first wearable device.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8x7tbtoEFzIuE5Sg2aOLUh2EWVFQ1fj43rgSMrbS_tsFhqGlP2M_yWkQoBuIiGn6VZD-br0Lvp0HOzsfyzHbxZoN4gJ3d5XEEySl-Vi0OSsOFXPbLTAt1QokmPq5gRYTCbb0E/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-10-01+at+5.43.24+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8x7tbtoEFzIuE5Sg2aOLUh2EWVFQ1fj43rgSMrbS_tsFhqGlP2M_yWkQoBuIiGn6VZD-br0Lvp0HOzsfyzHbxZoN4gJ3d5XEEySl-Vi0OSsOFXPbLTAt1QokmPq5gRYTCbb0E/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-10-01+at+5.43.24+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>Things to look for:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Full iPhone support - I've found battery status is not always supported, and it's a great feature to have. To be able to just look at your phone and know how charged your earbuds are.</li>
<li>Standardized forward & back controls.</li>
<li>Standardized call button controls to trigger Siri.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<b>Downsides:</b><br />
<br />
As anyone who follows tech closely will tell you - Bluetooth isn't the greatest of wireless technologies. Even the Apple watch and iPhone have connection glitches, and they're made by the same company. I'm hoping Airpods will improve on this, but we'll see. ( I also think I will prefer the 2-earbuds-on-a-wire style, but again - we'll see when they come out...)<br />
<br />
<h4>
Recommendation</h4>
The ones I recommend are the <a href="http://www.jaybirdsport.com/shop/x2-product/" target="_blank">Jaybird X2</a>. Although they are pricey (about $200 Canadian), the 8 hour battery life is unmatched, the sound quality is good for music as well as talking & podcasts, and the controls are consistent and well built. Other cheaper versions I tested (about 5 pairs!) were just not as good on all these dimensions.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Update, 24-Aug-2017:</b><br />
<br />
<b>Jaybird X3</b>: I have also now tried the Jaybird X3, and immediately returned them. The have a proprietary connector that attaches to the microphone & volume adjustment. If you lose the adaptor or are not where you have the adaptor, you can't charge them. This was a show-stopper for me.<br />
They also made the microphone & volume buttons larger and heavier - which seemed significantly inferior to me.<br />
<br />
<b>Apple Airpods:</b> I have also got a pair of the Apple Airpods now too. I've had them for about 6 months, and the are very good. The easy use & switching between mac, iPhone, and iPad due to their "W1 Chip" is a huge win, and while I can quibble about how well it works a bit, it's really great. <br />
<br />
The lack of wire to connect the two is an issue for me, as described above. It's a win for simplicity, and makes the case possible, which is also a hugely important win/part of the product.<br />
That said, the lack of joining-wre also takes away from the jobs it does for me. One key place is on my bike. I find that my helmet straps knocks them out of my ears, and they fall off - a show stopper for biking, so I don't use them for that case.<br />
<br />
I also choose the Jaybird X2 for my every day use at work, due the joining-wire that means I can more quickly pop them out of my ears, let them dangle, and then tuck them into my shirt.<br />
<br />
I know, I know - first-world problems - but these are the details of my everyday experience with the various types. Thanks for reading & my best to you!<br />
<br />Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-49252500436773779792016-04-09T19:17:00.000-07:002016-04-19T11:40:39.942-07:00My Achalasia Story<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirBdJtTvlwm7ADet63ZtW5nnobCEq9HPVrk3XjLsh4UYn4fXHaU9t8crN6PDR0ZicwS5jgDtzRvyEIUflxzHHrxGcVMCfA0sjf2ibPoy6dkPuAlGsNWky2sc3-G-3Xyd3iMGo-/s1600/IMG_0158+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirBdJtTvlwm7ADet63ZtW5nnobCEq9HPVrk3XjLsh4UYn4fXHaU9t8crN6PDR0ZicwS5jgDtzRvyEIUflxzHHrxGcVMCfA0sjf2ibPoy6dkPuAlGsNWky2sc3-G-3Xyd3iMGo-/s320/IMG_0158+%25281%2529.jpg" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manometry charts showing Achalasia subtypes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Achalasia is a disease of the esophagus, which attaches between your voicebox and your stomach. Normally food is pushed through the esophagus with involuntary muscle contractions called peristalsis. In rare cases, this behaviour fails for unknown reasons. The result is difficulty swallowing food, and eventually liquids. Patients with Achalasia usually experience significant weight loss, a lot of discomfort while trying to swallow, and must adapt their diet to softer and softer foods like soup and mashed potatoes.<br />
<br />
I started experiencing Achalasia symptoms in May or June of 2015. They progressively got worse, to the point that I couldn't drink fluids in March of 2016. I had lost 25lbs, and had become dehydrated and malnourished by the time I was admitted to hospital for surgery that would mitigate the problem.<br />
<br />
<b>What I hope to Achieve with this Post</b><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Summarize what happened for interested friends and family</li>
<li>Help increase awareness about this disease, as it is frequently mis-diagnosed </li>
<li>Hopefully help others with Achalasia by sharing how my story unfolded</li>
</ol>
<br />
<b>Beginnings</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achalasia" target="_blank">Achalasia</a> has an incidence of about 1 per 100,000 per year, and a prevalence (how many people are living with it) of about 1 in 10,000. <br />
<br />
Mine started in June of 2015 with the experience of being at a conference dinner table, and not being able to get food to go down properly. This discomfort persisted for a couple weeks and I went to see my family doctor about it. I had been experiencing pretty severe heartburn for about 6 months prior to this, or certainly chest pain that I interpreted as heartburn.<br />
<br />
I was sent for a couple of tests over the summer - a Barium Swallow/Xray which showed "esophageal spasms" and not much reflux from my stomach. The next test was to send a Endoscope (camera) down my throat, for which I was mercifully sedated, and it showed nothing out of the ordinary. I was seeing a Gastroenterologist by this point and he was convinced it was acid reflux - often clinically called GERD. We managed to get these tests done relatively quickly by being available at short-notice for cancellations.<br />
<br />
My wife and I were of course doing our own research, as it was persistently uncomfortable, and I had been limiting my diet to try to get relief from the reflux and discomfort. Achalasia is rare enough that it is often misdiagnosed as GERD, and this happened in my case as well. Thanks to the help of <a href="http://adaming.com/blog/index.php/archive/category/achalasia/" target="_blank">this great blog by an engineer in Ontario</a>, my wife identified correctly that my symptoms sounded a lot more like Achalasia than GERD.<br />
<br />
This was in August. The most frustrating part of this whole experience was the waiting for further tests, appointments and stages. For example - we were sure it was Achalasia in August, and it took until the end of February for my turn to get the definitive test that would confirm Achalasia: esophageal Manometry (examples of the results pictured above). During that time I had gone from discomfort - eating softer foods over the course of an hour - to being reduced to 3 to 4 boost-type drinks per day with hopefully some soup and/or well-mashed potatoes with gravy.<br />
<br />
<b>Diagnosis</b><br />
<br />
At the end of February, the Manometry test confirmed what Lauren and I were already certain of: Achalasia. Fortunately we had done our advanced reading and so were aware of the options and ready to go to the current best practice treatment which is a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heller_myotomy" target="_blank">Heller Myotomy, with a Dor Fundoplication</a>.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, there was more waiting (and corresponding suffering for myself, my wife, and my extended family) in the non-urgent stream of the Canadian medical system. I'm a fan of our system in general, but waiting at sometimes becomes unbearable. By this point many in my family were getting quite worried, as I was now down 25lbs, and at times unable to eat even soup.<br />
<br />
<b>Surgery</b><br />
<br />
My surgery consult took a couple of weeks to be scheduled, this initial appointment to discuss options with the surgeon was 5 weeks after the manometry test, with the prospect of having the surgery 5 to 8 weeks after that. Unfortunately my ability to take in fluids and nutrients had continued to deteriorate, to the point that I went to emergency in later March, as I was unable to take in fluids and had become both dehydrated and deficient in nutrition (as well as sleep). <br />
<br />
I was not sleeping several nights a week because food that had not gone down would come up in the middle of the night, waking me up to choking on it every 20 minutes or so.<br />
<br />
I was admitted as an emergency patient because I was no longer able to get enough nourishment down, and put on an internal hospital waitlist for the surgery. After another 5 days of eating & drinking absolutely nothing except for IV fluids, I had the surgery in time for Easter. <br />
<br />
<b>Current Situation</b><br />
<br />
I'm currently 2 weeks post operation, and already feel significant improvement. I'm able to eat soft foods, including one of my favourites - Shepherd's Pie - as long as the quantities are kept small. I look forward to returning to a mostly normal diet.Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-36306506002177933072014-12-10T20:03:00.000-08:002014-12-11T22:44:28.267-08:00HeadsUp Drive: New Website!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio9pAy7JIYW4S2eIRBflbTQRT2zaFSd9oCmtXsTc0OcmaFMoZajwL-YyRGJeJodd6TSdsRZw51-utHgxdJqQWG5w7orpX_k6mxuz323KDKMvYQPJE8lqvk-SL8YORTHQUs_96F/s1600/HeadsUp+V6+200x200-corners.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="HeadsUp Drive" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio9pAy7JIYW4S2eIRBflbTQRT2zaFSd9oCmtXsTc0OcmaFMoZajwL-YyRGJeJodd6TSdsRZw51-utHgxdJqQWG5w7orpX_k6mxuz323KDKMvYQPJE8lqvk-SL8YORTHQUs_96F/s1600/HeadsUp+V6+200x200-corners.png" height="150" title="HeadsUp Drive" /></a></div>
HeadsUp Drive - <a href="http://www.headsupdrive.com/" target="_blank">the simple driving app</a> - has a new website - <a href="http://www.headsupdrive.com/">www.headsupdrive.com</a><br />
<br />
Check it out for all you want to know about HeadsUp Drive (and perhaps a bit more.)<br />
<br />
There are details on <a href="http://www.headsupdrive.com/windscreen-mounts" target="_blank">my favourite Windscreen Mount</a>, a <a href="http://www.headsupdrive.com/video" target="_blank">video of the app in action</a>, and an explanation of <a href="http://www.headsupdrive.com/isnt-it-just-google-maps" target="_blank">why it is Google Maps, but better.</a><br />
<br />
I made HeadsUp Drive because I found Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze, and the rest of the competition I tested to be to cluttered for everyday use. <br />
<br />
You can <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/headsup-drive-traffic-road/id909702597" target="_blank">download HeadsUp Drive here now</a> - I hope you enjoy it & please recommend it to your friends!<br />
<br />
<br />Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-28770470762977783132014-10-07T20:21:00.000-07:002014-10-20T21:59:37.506-07:00Airplay DelayInspired by Allan Pike's naming and describing of <a href="http://www.allenpike.com/2014/schrodingers-shift-key/" target="_blank">Schrodinger's Shift Key</a>, I'm writing this is to document my second most disliked change in iOS7 that regrettably has not improved in iOS8.<br />
<br />
In a nut: It used to be a lot quicker to flip music to Airplay speakers. Prior to iOS7, Airplay used to engage with 2 quick taps. Now it takes a full 5 taps & swipes to achieve the same result.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Two Taps on iOS6</h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi41KI4GZdk-p-weIYy-d7Yd7jccp0n7joY1ZwV8KMbMae1Lkho5mKqlZ26_oJ9sYZttDFkHspb_XkThcRxA0Eqjjw9t8wPMfo9sVhTXvvPe6enz3dYhqki6EnAUdGzN7koy2d0/s1600/photo+1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi41KI4GZdk-p-weIYy-d7Yd7jccp0n7joY1ZwV8KMbMae1Lkho5mKqlZ26_oJ9sYZttDFkHspb_XkThcRxA0Eqjjw9t8wPMfo9sVhTXvvPe6enz3dYhqki6EnAUdGzN7koy2d0/s1600/photo+1.PNG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2SVeA0p1WvehFNt_J_qehWbr9uTuLQ3sbnC5reThUTPMpU9nE-h_QMMSN2AbX_d_wLhdsz989oyeNdkOFgD22WAT5SdlovMXVrJZtoEx5Pfqvws75ZhJ3jc_26o1jB0dPdhg6/s1600/photo+2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2SVeA0p1WvehFNt_J_qehWbr9uTuLQ3sbnC5reThUTPMpU9nE-h_QMMSN2AbX_d_wLhdsz989oyeNdkOFgD22WAT5SdlovMXVrJZtoEx5Pfqvws75ZhJ3jc_26o1jB0dPdhg6/s1600/photo+2.PNG" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
Remember these two screens?<br />
<br />
The airplay button automatically appeared if airplay speakers were available.<br />
<br />
1. Tap the Airplay Button<br />
2. Tap the Output you want<br />
<br />
The screen dismissed automatically & you were on your way.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Five Taps on iOS7 and iOS8 </h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
These three screenshots depict the five taps & swipe process of getting music to airplay speakers since iOS7. The steps are:<br />
<br />
1. Swipe up to access the <i>Control Center.</i><br />
2. Look for Airplay button and Tap<br />
3. Tap the Output (<i>Apple TV</i>)<br />
4. Tap <i>Done</i> (and wait...)<br />
5. Tap the top of the screen to dismiss <i>Control Center</i>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVyq1_dP86SldPknbpLU186RCjkEbShkxt8aR7uyYeHECJ0v-Gd5VAup09jqItoexp7NIyduooiopkZZLcM9orjOYm0GgKkAO7uxa-5qJIRm5bAAjC47akWyV1VWvGLJb8opH/s1600/IMG_6521.PNG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXVyq1_dP86SldPknbpLU186RCjkEbShkxt8aR7uyYeHECJ0v-Gd5VAup09jqItoexp7NIyduooiopkZZLcM9orjOYm0GgKkAO7uxa-5qJIRm5bAAjC47akWyV1VWvGLJb8opH/s1600/IMG_6521.PNG" width="150" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjwkfOEE_U0WRtqN6sO1gmvPdfVswhpy1AS3QNOu9V_8YB5nFrTd-U6vfuXIFrfY9Of6Z68wp685GNY8BuiyPDdSKJP9c7GD6oZe7XUkiCi87V0V4Abn0AGztRUFGFCvqfyF2/s1600/IMG_6522.PNG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjwkfOEE_U0WRtqN6sO1gmvPdfVswhpy1AS3QNOu9V_8YB5nFrTd-U6vfuXIFrfY9Of6Z68wp685GNY8BuiyPDdSKJP9c7GD6oZe7XUkiCi87V0V4Abn0AGztRUFGFCvqfyF2/s1600/IMG_6522.PNG" width="150" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvU6rcBLMdqGEHOd_GCyliJw_Xrk03vG4KrYW5hojyTMJTFTjQLTqvAgcl-ymZq_I5jaIh1aTSVSpemRV4biyNw4S_76IN6sYET53LfEOi5Zsgk7HGn_1C9GsneeOHXEixmPR6/s1600/IMG_6523.PNG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvU6rcBLMdqGEHOd_GCyliJw_Xrk03vG4KrYW5hojyTMJTFTjQLTqvAgcl-ymZq_I5jaIh1aTSVSpemRV4biyNw4S_76IN6sYET53LfEOi5Zsgk7HGn_1C9GsneeOHXEixmPR6/s1600/IMG_6523.PNG" width="150" /></a>
</div>
<br />
<br />
It's substantially slower, and I'm disappointed they didn't improve this on iOS 8. I have submitted this feedback to Apple through <a href="https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html" target="_blank">iPhone Feedback</a>, and I encourage you to do the same.Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-34238249868625465122014-10-06T20:25:00.000-07:002014-12-11T22:36:48.358-08:00HeadsUp Drive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio9pAy7JIYW4S2eIRBflbTQRT2zaFSd9oCmtXsTc0OcmaFMoZajwL-YyRGJeJodd6TSdsRZw51-utHgxdJqQWG5w7orpX_k6mxuz323KDKMvYQPJE8lqvk-SL8YORTHQUs_96F/s1600/HeadsUp+V6+200x200-corners.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio9pAy7JIYW4S2eIRBflbTQRT2zaFSd9oCmtXsTc0OcmaFMoZajwL-YyRGJeJodd6TSdsRZw51-utHgxdJqQWG5w7orpX_k6mxuz323KDKMvYQPJE8lqvk-SL8YORTHQUs_96F/s1600/HeadsUp+V6+200x200-corners.png" height="150" /></a></div>
HeadsUp Drive is the driving companion app that I have been wanting, and have now successfully made for myself. If you are looking for a simple, minimally distracting app to use on your daily commute or on roads where you don't need a route calculated for you - I think you will like it. Want to try it out? You can <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/headsup-drive-traffic-road/id909702597" target="_blank">download it from the app store for iPhone & iPad</a>.<br />
<br />
On first launch, most people notice that it's not very complicated. That is entirely on purpose. I have been wanting a simple app that I can just launch as I leave work and not have to do too much to use it. <br />
<br />
I've tried <a href="https://www.apple.com/ca/ios/maps/" target="_blank">Apple Maps</a>, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/google-maps/id585027354?mt=8" target="_blank">Google Maps</a>, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/waze-social-gps-maps-traffic/id323229106?mt=8" target="_blank">Waze</a>, and a few others. My principal complaint with them all is that they take too much fiddling to use them day in & day out. Often with those apps, they require adjusting the view so that I can see the sections I need to (the same ones every day) and Waze too often prompts me for input, when all I want to do is just drive home efficiently.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEVOCijgV6KkFyfI-pbmqLrxzauJz5BFOCdD4yuPFGIgAaDusOhe862IeTOVy9gYebQuEqCoEMiTi0MuARqRaevGhBynPWT-tLR7wf39EALHz4W_j_weSdwa03aOlC8TT34jV/s1600/HeadsUp+SS+1136.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEVOCijgV6KkFyfI-pbmqLrxzauJz5BFOCdD4yuPFGIgAaDusOhe862IeTOVy9gYebQuEqCoEMiTi0MuARqRaevGhBynPWT-tLR7wf39EALHz4W_j_weSdwa03aOlC8TT34jV/s1600/HeadsUp+SS+1136.png" height="400" width="225" /></a><br />
HeadsUp Drive is a simple driving companion, designed to let you see the road ahead. I think it's the the best, simplest app for everyday commuting. It shows you Google Maps traffic and a chase-plane view so you can see what's coming, and plan ahead to avoid traffic jams.<br />
<br />
There is very little interaction, and that's on purpose, because we should all keep our eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. The view adjusts automatically to show the traffic and roads in your direction of travel.<br />
<br />
+ and - to zoom in and out, and a "?" button to remind you why the app is so simple. It's designed to be simple!<br />
<br />
<br />
I use it daily on my commute to & from work. Below is a picture of it in action. I hope you find it useful too.<br />
<br />
Feedback and comments are welcome at: duncan@wilcock.ca<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8HC5IB8oPuIcDIUHBJo7JJRLDlxJA8TIRBNb72Gi2JVh1eHpma25HSQNHlurJZTehWS8wLhjQDuv-denpTP-rh0KGmKU1sj0VDEfmj06O_RPHB-XAC3JRzyXNrSvRQUqgP3k/s1600/DSC03575.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8HC5IB8oPuIcDIUHBJo7JJRLDlxJA8TIRBNb72Gi2JVh1eHpma25HSQNHlurJZTehWS8wLhjQDuv-denpTP-rh0KGmKU1sj0VDEfmj06O_RPHB-XAC3JRzyXNrSvRQUqgP3k/s1600/DSC03575.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-55026488744905041782014-04-08T06:49:00.000-07:002014-12-11T23:06:25.996-08:00A Better Bike Computer: My Ideal Biking App & Sensor System<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1cCVo4H6EE1hLkrBx3IWNaLRDUSxi9ZgNOPBGqQHEcR1QRlWUtmU7woLEQNdiIB04-ugFJT9e6qNMMvnXjO8AfQOklr6eoOchRbLQRRSGkNrWvWPaKjAU-fLYjoU2d62b4wL/s1600/bike-computer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN1cCVo4H6EE1hLkrBx3IWNaLRDUSxi9ZgNOPBGqQHEcR1QRlWUtmU7woLEQNdiIB04-ugFJT9e6qNMMvnXjO8AfQOklr6eoOchRbLQRRSGkNrWvWPaKjAU-fLYjoU2d62b4wL/s1600/bike-computer.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
I bike a fair bit around Vancouver. I'm not in to wearing spandex, and would classify myself as somewhere around the casual-commuter biker. I don't really care about all my speed, cadence, and heart-rate stats, although that could be interesting, and I refrain from thumping the hoods of cars in anger - except maybe if I was actually hit by one.<br />
<br />
I am however a bit of a geek - especially when it comes to my iPhone & tracking things in general. Unfortunately my many attempts at using XCode to write iPhone apps have not been very successful, and I find myself being able to conceive of what I want, but unable to implement it. (Update: I spoke too soon, and have now built an app that is on the app store - <a href="http://www.wilcock.ca/2014/10/headsup-drive.html" target="_blank">HeadsUp Drive</a>)<br />
<br />
Since I believe that ideas themselves are not worth nearly as much as good execution, I've decided to offer these ideas to the inter-tubes and hope that if anyone finds them of benefit, they let me know (<a href="mailto:duncan@wilcock.ca">duncan@wilcock.ca</a>) - especially if this biking device & app I want to buy ever gets made - by you or anyone else.<br />
<br />
With that pre-amble, I'm going to launch into what I'm looking for.<br />
<br />
<h4>
A Better Bike Computer</h4>
<br />
Principally, I'm looking for a better bike computer. A hardware device that is quite simplistic. It can look similar to the $30 one I bought from MEC. In fact, it should cost much more than between $50 to $100, because anything that I am going to strap to my handlebars can't be worth much more than that or it becomes more & more of a problem when I wipe-out and it gets damaged, or forget to remove it when I nip into a coffee shop and it gets nicked.<br />
<br />
So that's price. I'll leave promotion to you, place is clearly where I live (Canada please!) and now on to product. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_mix" target="_blank">Four Ps of marketing</a> reference for all you geeky business-school types)<br />
<br />
<h4>
Interactionless Tracking</h4>
<br />
The key attribute I'm looking for is Bluetooth LE connectivity to talk to my iPhone. For inspiration, I'm looking at <a href="http://www.automatic.com/" target="_blank">Automatic</a> - a simple device that plugs into your car, and an app that doesn't need launching, but that tracks your driving for you whenever you start driving. It has other features and looks like a very cool product that I would already have if it were available in Canada.<br />
<br />
That's it in a nut. I don't want to have my iPhone attached to my handlebars, it's too expensive to put there, and more importantly - too much trouble to do every time. Even launching an app is too much trouble to do every time - I just want to get on my bike and get to work, or wherever else I'm going. But if the data was collected automatically - how far I went, what routes, and how fast. It would be fun to sit down in the evening and look at it from time to time. <br />
<br />
I think this is the key for tracking apps. I'm interested to record & look at the information, but as soon as it becomes an additional thing to remember to do, the likely hood of me (or many others) using it regularly falls off a cliff.<br />
<br />
Yes - I've seen the <a href="http://store.apple.com/ca/product/HA248ZM/B/wahoo-fitness-rflkt-bike-computer-powered-by-iphone?" target="_blank">Wahoo Fitness Computer</a>, but it gets the solution backwards, to my taste. The data is collected by your phone first, and this Wahoo display is more like a second screen for the app, and I believe the app has to be actually running. I'm saying that the bike-computer should record the information and be the principal interface with the sensors, and the app should connect to the bike computer automatically (<a href="http://www.automatic.com/" target="_blank">Automatic</a> uses iBeacon for this) & store the information long term for later review. For the record - I don't care about wireless sensors (wired are cheaper & in general more reliable), and reliability is key. If it adds a bit of weight or wind resistance - so be it, I'll get more exercise. <br />
<br />
<br />
<h4>
Bonus - Power my Lights</h4>
A great added value or upsell feature for the commuter like me, would be some extra battery capacity and wiring to power my bike lights. Then I would only have one thing to remove from my bike, take inside and charge up from time to time. <br />
<br />
<br />
So that's it - my wishlist, the product I would like to buy, but have not yet seen on the market. If you like the idea, and want to make it real - please do so. I'd be more than happy to help. I've got circuit-card layout skills, basic app making skills, and marketing skills - here's an example: <a href="http://www.headsupdrive.com/">www.headsupdrive.com</a>Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-22358133115534014802013-11-20T21:29:00.001-08:002013-11-20T21:53:16.815-08:00Taking a Guess at Worldwide Energy Savings from Apple's new Mac OS X - MavericksApple's newest operating system increases battery life by 25% to 30% with a simple software update. Rolled out to around 50 million Mac computers, this increase in energy efficiency is going to add up to a lot of reduced energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. I'm going to try to calculate just how much.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-MieBz6oq7onbvOvMR3gWmEGeNLvwop5iSwzUhcklseA8rzuVfa975Qq-MGlJO8uNZkGinSZGlUkx2IaQAnH6fw_7h_b6DcVgmkQUGexST0dIizmGDpYuu05nYExDyKjrTEma/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+6.59.24+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-MieBz6oq7onbvOvMR3gWmEGeNLvwop5iSwzUhcklseA8rzuVfa975Qq-MGlJO8uNZkGinSZGlUkx2IaQAnH6fw_7h_b6DcVgmkQUGexST0dIizmGDpYuu05nYExDyKjrTEma/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-11-08+at+6.59.24+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
It was the above graphic from John Siracusa's <a href="http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10/os-x-10-9/18/#energy-summary" target="_blank">excellent review</a> of the newest Mac Operating System <a href="http://www.apple.com/ca/osx/" target="_blank">OS X Mavericks</a>, that really grabbed my attention. To increase the battery life by between 25% to 30% as John measured, the system must use power more efficiently - 25% more battery life means 1/1.25 = 20% more efficient. <br />
<br />
I'm going to walk through a few more back-of-the-envelope calculations and to take a guess at how much electricity and green-house gas emissions that will add up to in the next year.<br />
<br />
According to <a href="http://www.asymco.com/2012/02/16/ios-devices-in-2011-vs-macs-sold-it-in-28-years/" target="_blank">Horace Dedieu of Asymco</a> Apple had sold 122 million macs in all time in February of 2012. Let's conservatively estimate that those sold in the last 5 years are still in use - this equates to about 50 million - a few more may have sold since then, but it's a nice round number, that I used in my opening paragraph, and as I said in the title - this whole article is a big guess.<br />
<br />
Another big guess is the adoption rate of Mavericks. This year the upgrade is free, and adoption is expected to be unprecedented for a desktop OS. One source is <a href="https://www.gosquared.com/mavericks/" target="_blank">currently quoting 17% </a>in under a month from Maverick's release date. I'm going to pick 20% as a nice round number for the first 2 months after it's release.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Moving on to GHGs</h4>
<br />
It's at this point, that I realize I don't have a good figure for average energy use for a laptop during it's lifetime. I could assume 8 hours per day, 50 weeks per year, for a lifetime of five years, but I think usage of computers varies widely, and the people who probably know best how much an average person uses their Mac is probably Apple.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqDqZ2Q2B4a7s_xf4jnu5WQrlKiRKHcu-VzpAKbKVsPFRhmK-zOLINuXT91-7xt4dz6cSO0oYZ3_Pv36Z0p8QoFbTfuKmiLYIGhqpoDhWu40xjKv2bvPvCMqtvZumlYZCQNaDa/s1600/9306000+tonnes.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqDqZ2Q2B4a7s_xf4jnu5WQrlKiRKHcu-VzpAKbKVsPFRhmK-zOLINuXT91-7xt4dz6cSO0oYZ3_Pv36Z0p8QoFbTfuKmiLYIGhqpoDhWu40xjKv2bvPvCMqtvZumlYZCQNaDa/s1600/9306000+tonnes.png" /></a>Then I remembered that Apple provides some first class sustainability and environmental impact reports on it's website. There are <a href="http://www.apple.com/environment/reports/" target="_blank">impact statements for all it's products</a>, as well as the environmental impact of the organization - <a href="http://www.apple.com/environment/our-footprint/#product" target="_blank">including the life-cycle of it's products including use.</a> They chalk-up 30% of their carbon-footprint as due to product use - and they even provide the figure of "9,306,000 metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions."<br />
<br />
Digging a little deeper into those product impact statements. I see the most popular Mac Laptops at 350kg of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide_equivalent" target="_blank">CO2e</a> for each computer and between 17% to 33% of that due to customer use (electricity). A recent iMac is put at 1000kg of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide_equivalent" target="_blank">CO2e</a> - 50% for customer use, and an iPhone 4s at 55kg and 25% of that for customer use.<br />
<br />
Apple sells an overwhelmingly large number of iPhones as compared to the number of Macs sold, but from the impact statements we can see that the Mac Laptops use 6 times as much energy as iPhones.<br />
<br />
It's hard to be precise on this, so I'll make another guess that Mac Laptops are responsible for about 50% of Apple's product use GHG emissions, or 4,653,000 tonnes of GHGs.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately for me, since I'm most interested in energy savings in kWh (<a href="http://www.prismengineering.com/" target="_blank">saving energy is what I do for a living</a>) I don't know the conversion factors and assumptions Apple made in determining these GHG totals. Still, estimating how many GHGs will be saved is an equally interesting figure to me, so I will continue.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Putting the Guess Together</h4>
<br />
Going with my 20% adoption rate by the end of 2013, the computers that will now have Mavericks on them would have been responsible for 930,600 tonnes of GHGs.<br />
<br />
In 2014, but using power more efficiently, these machines will only generate 744,480 tonnes of GHGs for a savings of about 186,120 tonnes.<br />
<br />
There we did it - a back-of-the-envelope guess, but it could be in the ballpark. With one software update, <a href="http://www.apple.com/ca/osx/advanced-technologies/" target="_blank">by providing better battery life and making it's operating system more responsive</a>, Apple has also eliminated 186,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.<br />
<br />
<h4>
Perspective on 186,000 tonnes</h4>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvMBJ6QvLniuETBw37HbIc-vUM6ZnAQhsw9ZEtq-PNkArxCk_Bc5FAtovg3F0bHOcnqmvJg11VAZGu0fvYxMvOteqT-N2Ok0VmYTo8s6vmNxVrifhU_yIWk6CFfrdFEU7Obl9/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-20+at+9.19.06+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvMBJ6QvLniuETBw37HbIc-vUM6ZnAQhsw9ZEtq-PNkArxCk_Bc5FAtovg3F0bHOcnqmvJg11VAZGu0fvYxMvOteqT-N2Ok0VmYTo8s6vmNxVrifhU_yIWk6CFfrdFEU7Obl9/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-20+at+9.19.06+PM.png" /></a>To put this in perspective, a person living in British Columbia, Canada generates on average 5 tonnes of GHG emissions each after all the driving, keeping our houses warm, and sending things to the landfill we do each year. So that's the carbon footprint of a small city of 37,000 people.<br />
<br />
Here's another datapoint for comparison: the BC government tracks it's greenhouse gas emissions and offsets them for carbon neutrality. In 2012 all the provincial government, schools, advanced educational institutions, and health-authorities reported <a href="http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/cas/mitigation/cnar.html#2012" target="_blank">using a total of 845,212 tonnes</a>. <br />
<br />
So one software update that saves 186,000 tonnes per year is as significant as it is impressive.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-16772510983817948632013-08-11T22:34:00.004-07:002014-07-22T12:48:33.053-07:00Amazing Tech in America's CupAs a lover of amazing tech, I have been quite smitten by the America's Cup coverage. There is of course lots of great new tech used in the boats like carbon-fibre hydrofoils and faster-than-the-wind speeds that I'll elaborate on in a future post, but first I want to highlight the tech I've noticed in the video coverage, onboard the boats, and the interactive spectator apps.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Like so many things - it's best to start with a picture:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78q4bNe-bBRdG8jqZzBJ-PsAK2kCFFWDwcMfnCCMKmmnjHgD4l_wemj4H4MAfJmWiOLYSsstKcvCxnKyVFQX8dAZvNpeA7X9ehe58Qnw12M9mj-wVd_dMIysMUDsu91agUebM/s1600/IMG_0234.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78q4bNe-bBRdG8jqZzBJ-PsAK2kCFFWDwcMfnCCMKmmnjHgD4l_wemj4H4MAfJmWiOLYSsstKcvCxnKyVFQX8dAZvNpeA7X9ehe58Qnw12M9mj-wVd_dMIysMUDsu91agUebM/s400/IMG_0234.PNG" height="224" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span id="goog_1875810164"></span><span id="goog_1875810165"></span><br /></div>
<div>
The lines on the water aren't there in the real world of course, but in the video feed they are overlaid & updated live. This makes watching so much more interactive - for instance the speed of each boat is shown, and if you look closely there is a faint track that shows where the Italian boat has just been. <br />
<br />
The significant lines for the course are shown to make it easy to understand where the course is - details like the circles around the marks/buoys, the distance lines, and faintly to the right of the screen is a wide line that indicates the course boundary. Obtaining all this information in real time and then plotting it on the screen in a way that is unobtrusive, informative, and tasteful is amazing to see so well done.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Dirty Wind</h3>
<br />
The green lines are implemented with GPS transponders on the boats that relay the exact position, boat speed, and many other parameters back to the central race-control and television computers.<br />
<br />
An example of an additional parameter the race-control & television computers have at their disposal is the wind speed and direction. Combined with computer models of how the wind flows around the sails results in the amazing visualization of 'dirty-wind' shown below. Dirty wind is air flow that is disturbed by the upwind sail and as a result will transfer less power to a boat downwind of the disturbances. Here is how it looks in the video coverage with the blue enhancements from the Italian boat that are close to disturbing the Swedish boat.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZ6ONoSUhWOHGDxG-nhYi61x4sLPTwbV8UDNntnSaDRCH3X-90aSIoTFb9-uaDwQZRfMdbLWhFxjrSrvwLiqEkm-r1j0ivb-N6iQd5J0VAAQE_x8OTGb1oYsab_1eKPBeapHi/s1600/IMG_0230.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZ6ONoSUhWOHGDxG-nhYi61x4sLPTwbV8UDNntnSaDRCH3X-90aSIoTFb9-uaDwQZRfMdbLWhFxjrSrvwLiqEkm-r1j0ivb-N6iQd5J0VAAQE_x8OTGb1oYsab_1eKPBeapHi/s400/IMG_0230.PNG" height="221" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Live On-board Cameras</h3>
</div>
<div>
Not content to watch from the many helicopters that are circling the boats, there are several onboard cameras (with windshield wipers) to give great shots of the action up close. Audio from the crew communication systems (essential at the 80km/h speeds they are travelling) is patched in to the coverage, which brings us even closer to the action. Here is a great shot of the Italian team flying on their foils on a downwind leg:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1G_EroD69-Tz6EHMog1nLNWZDQbC_iC5n_cMvS-4jOwWsZjX3oNe17srMUsmzPkEoSHaHNLgFZHqd9N2B2PySF4-z8TdymXaJpuIb1sqEgsuwNMUWY0KzAMJiDdbgM-qNYmxc/s1600/IMG_0252.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1G_EroD69-Tz6EHMog1nLNWZDQbC_iC5n_cMvS-4jOwWsZjX3oNe17srMUsmzPkEoSHaHNLgFZHqd9N2B2PySF4-z8TdymXaJpuIb1sqEgsuwNMUWY0KzAMJiDdbgM-qNYmxc/s400/IMG_0252.PNG" height="222" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Companion iPad App</h3>
<br />
I mentioned spectator apps. As you might expect from San Francisco & the Silicon Valley Tech Titan - Larry Ellison - who deserves credit for the vision and funding of so much of this year's America's Cup, there are companion iPhone & iPad apps for spectators. They are useful as aggregators of news, video footage, schedules, and results. <br />
<br />
Not content with just those functions, the telemetry of each race is used to create a video-game like representation of the actual race that you can follow along with live, or once the races have been uploaded to youtube. They call it 'Virtual Eye', and you can see how much it looks like exactly like the overlays in the television coverage. The side bar at left allows you to add additional information that they don't normally complicate the television coverage with.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2i4lmOfFbmksTnDwAWWydSbmiJefiu0ofyFat3j9_U3tm3F5J6wxGd9hfBLei8ISlB2BR5HD50Rq8mUUz3KIW_qPprB6dfldlSyyFS8UrM9Jg-vUlG8gE5aNgdVX6qf4puuv4/s1600/IMG_0256.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2i4lmOfFbmksTnDwAWWydSbmiJefiu0ofyFat3j9_U3tm3F5J6wxGd9hfBLei8ISlB2BR5HD50Rq8mUUz3KIW_qPprB6dfldlSyyFS8UrM9Jg-vUlG8gE5aNgdVX6qf4puuv4/s400/IMG_0256.PNG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It's amazing, a real, usable example of interactive, second-screen television that adds to the experience of watching the event.<br />
<br />
If you haven't seen one of the races yet - <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/americas-cup-hd/id536459168?mt=8" target="_blank">download the iPad app</a> & follow along, or <a href="http://youtu.be/_Ns6Dxkkf6M" target="_blank">watch this recent race between Italy & Sweden</a> I'm not regularly a sports-fan, but I've sure been enjoying the America's Cup this year.<br />
<br /></div>
Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-13344523591142881952013-06-26T21:54:00.000-07:002013-07-10T14:40:08.462-07:00My First Ride in a Tesla Model S<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNpxvR6hlnDuUwqw02n7NU_A1_G83gT_LxV1rLpNNLeO58srOvVEEZQd-qmaLn0bTgufSxjonwPurEOYFPYKxspqrpqqT4Agbx_6vipDFKpEtRfgf9tAG3GjcHPECgoqVN1BHT/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-06-25+at+9.03.34+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNpxvR6hlnDuUwqw02n7NU_A1_G83gT_LxV1rLpNNLeO58srOvVEEZQd-qmaLn0bTgufSxjonwPurEOYFPYKxspqrpqqT4Agbx_6vipDFKpEtRfgf9tAG3GjcHPECgoqVN1BHT/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-06-25+at+9.03.34+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Had my first ride in a Tesla a few days ago, and as you might expect - I was pretty thrilled. So much so that I thought I would capture a few of the aspects that impressed me most.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Amazing Screens & Software</h3>
<br />
You might expect from my post about <a href="http://www.wilcock.ca/2013/03/car-dashboard-wishlist-standard.html" target="_blank">the cons of dashboard screens in cars</a> that this wouldn't be at the top of my list. I maintain that these screens will be obsolete before the car has served it's useful life of 10 years or so, but I was definitely marvelled by these beauties. <br />
<br />
The centre screen is a 17" glass covered touch screen that looks, feels, and responds iPad like (in my brief experience) The resolution is excellent, and the software finely crafted. The most quintessential wow moment? Opening the sunroof by swiping a picture of it in the desired opening direction, and having it animate along with the physical roof. Intuitive, effective, and well executed.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Swappable Batteries</h3>
This is my favourite new fact about the Model S. Announced last week, the battery can be swapped out by an automated system in 90 seconds - faster than it takes to fill a gas tank. The video below shows it in action. <br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HlaQuKk9bFg" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
I think this is exciting because without swappable batteries, electric cars will only be suitable as a second car for around town for the foreseeable future.<br />
<br />
Gasoline is very energy dense, much more so than batteries. For example:<br />
<br />
Smallish Gas Tank = 50 Litres of gasoline = 1.7 GigaJoules = 472 kWh <br />
This is about how much your clothes dryer uses in a year.<br />
<br />
For comparison - a small Tesla S battery = 60 kWh. <br />
<br />
To charge the small Tesla S battery in 1 hour would take 100 Amps at 600 Volts. This is quite a draw - a significant industrial machine with big throw switches uses this sort of power. <br />
<br />
To charge it in 5 minutes would require:<br />
100 Amps at 7200 Volts = 720 kW<br />
This is the kind of wallop you get when a lightning strike hits, or is drawn daily by a pretty large office building. <br />
<br />
There are plenty of chemical reasons why current battery technologies don't charge that fast, but you can imagine it will be quite a while before the electrical grid is able to deliver this type of capacity.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Smooth & Quiet</h3>
I'm sure it has been written more eloquently elsewhere just how smooth and quiet the ride is in the Tesla S, but it's one of those experience-it-to-understand it things. No gears to switch through, no electric whine, just a smooth, solid ride.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Trunk and Bonnet Space Galore</h3>
The electric motor is compactly positioned in the rear of the car. That leaves all the space the engine used to take up under the hood and plenty of space in the rear as well. You might have imagined this would be the case, but it really is amazing to see.<br />
<br />
The engine, the radiator & cooling system, exhaust system, and especially the transmission take up a lot of room in a combustion-engined car. With these systems gone, there is all the room in the front of the car for storage, and inside the car where the hump from the transmission is usually - is eerily, but pleasantly empty.<br />
<br />
<br />Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29831903.post-4815635593937133992013-06-13T06:36:00.001-07:002013-06-16T18:24:52.341-07:00Apple's Social NetworkPing - Apple's first Music focused social network - didn't work out so well, but slides and features of iOS7 announced at WWDC 2013 are demonstrating that Apple is stealthily building it's own social network - one that perhaps does everything most people want, and a lot less that many don't want.<br />
<br />
<h3>
300 Million Accounts</h3>
<div>
<br />
A slide Tim Cook splashed up on screen at WWDC - and the bold statement he made - faster than Facebook to reach it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEr2ijo-KdsbAsoxWT03mqeMfjJNgJTmz_Qy32pje5A0DD1SoY6vEBrU6RL3E1Y4Hbp0L7owixjnunJHnkK_4IIYBus6h_mHavjhHSJtT4p8huKSKPxJhzrPOEA57C6CwNUJXN/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-06-13+at+6.19.56+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEr2ijo-KdsbAsoxWT03mqeMfjJNgJTmz_Qy32pje5A0DD1SoY6vEBrU6RL3E1Y4Hbp0L7owixjnunJHnkK_4IIYBus6h_mHavjhHSJtT4p8huKSKPxJhzrPOEA57C6CwNUJXN/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-06-13+at+6.19.56+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<h3>
iMessage & Game Centre</h3>
<br />
Tim Cook talked about these two things that Apple does "that are social" at All Things D a couple of weeks prior to WWDC. He may have said that <a href="http://www.slashgear.com/apples-cook-ive-never-felt-like-weve-needed-a-social-network-28283997/" target="_blank">he never felt Apple needed a social network,</a> but I think Apple is hedging it's bets by building one anyway.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Find my Friends</h3>
<br />
A super useful app that let's you see where your friends with iDevices are on a temporary or permanent basis. This location sharing is a great application, and something that Google, Facebook, Foursquare & others have been trying to crack for a few years. I know I haven't been able to get my friends interested in the services of the other guys, but I have been able to get groups of 5 to 10 to sign on to use Find my Friends. This is an example of an <a href="http://www.macworld.com/article/1151235/apple_rolls.html" target="_blank">Ad-hoc Social Network</a> - an interesting, and useable evolution of the social networking phenomenon.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Shared Photostreams</h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
Sharing photos is a major application of social networking. One of the main things people do on Facebook, and one key reason Facebook bought Instagram. Photostreams are much more private though - which a lot of users will find more appealing- certainly members of my own social circle that decidedly don't use Facebook are enjoying posting and commenting on Photostream photos. Shared Photostreams - where multiple users will be able to add photos to the same album in iOS7 is a new & better experience than single person albums. Using Photostreams with my friends the past year many asked this same question - "Oh - can we just add them all do the same Album?" - It's an obvious & desirable use case. Even better, it makes it easy to then save full resolution copies of the photos direct to your iPad or iPhoto on your Mac.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
No Wall, Intrusive Games, Facebook Apps, or Advertising</h3>
<br />
I like Facebook for the most part, but frankly - it's a bit noisy. In fact taking over the photosharing will make the chatter stand out that much more. Social networking may segregate into chatty places & quieter - more private places. Places for photosharing, for location sharing, and for less intrusive gaming. It's already a little narcissistic when we post our photos on Facebook, it may begin to appear even more so in future.<br />
<br />
<h3>
iTunes Radio</h3>
<br />
Photos are a big social sharing application, and music is too as were seeing lately with Songza, Pandora, Rdio, and Twitter Music. Ping didn't work out so well, and I haven't had my hands on iTunes Radio yet to see for myself, but I'll bet that there will be social features baked into iRadio that continue to expand Apple's social relevance.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Hiding in Plain Sight</h3>
<br />
Put all this together and I see that like so many times before, <a href="http://www.macworld.com/article/1151235/apple_rolls.html" target="_blank">Apple is rolling</a> - quietly working away on something very big - almost unnoticed in plain sight.<br />
<br />Duncan Wilcockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521691879155179106noreply@blogger.com