Rotten Rebates. When a Rebate isn't a Rebate

I've had some bad experiences with "rebates" lately.  They have left me irritated, disappointed and basically wishing they didn't exist.  As I think about it, I think my disappointment boils down to 3 things;

• Companies are complicating the customer experience.
• The hassle of getting what you've been promised.
• Broken promises

Lets start with a basic definition of "Rebate" from the free dictionary

re·bate ¹ 

n.

A deduction from an amount to be paid or a return of part of an amount given in payment.

tr.v.  re·bat·ed, re·bat·ing, re·bates

1. To deduct or return (an amount) from a payment or bill.

Complicating the Customer Experience
Back in college, I remember my first accounting professor making us repeat back to him in the manner of a rally slogan.  "WHAT DO WE WANT?"  "CASH"  "WHEN DO WE WANT IT?" "NOW!"  The point of the exercise was that anything less than cash wasn't as good. (less flexibility) and anything other than now, brought all kinds of constraints in terms of timing etc.  So the point was that not all payment is equal.  With cash you can purchase anything anywhere, with a cheque, you can put it in the bank and hopefully there is money to cover the cheque, with credit card, there are processing charges and delays in payment. With gift cards, you are constrained to purchase in only one location.

By the same token not all "discounts" are created equal.  Remember the accounting rally slogan?  Lets modify it a bit. "What kind of discount do you want?" "CASH!" "When do you want it?" "NOW!".  So the best discount is the one you don't have to pay for in the first place.  Instead of the price being $150, its $100, you only pay $100 and thats the end of the story.
What about those offers where you spend $150 and they'll give you a $50 Gift card?  Well it fails the "cash test".  You can't buy gas for your car or food for your family with that, or make a charitable donation, you have to spend it at that store.  Sure if it's a store that stocks necessities you would otherwise use a grocery store etc. That might be fine, but chances are its a store that stocks some luxury item you wouldn't buy otherwise, and now you've got your choice of stores limited to 1.
Several years ago one of the local electronics retailers switched form mail-in rebates (we'll discuss those in a minute) to "instant rebates" these were processed at the till and got the customer the discount right then.  Well, is it cash? (did it reduce the price you paid out of your pocket?) YES,  did you get it right away? YES.  Good deal.  Those rebates sound OK.  We've seen store rebates, manufacturer's rebates, and the similarity to "coupons" is pretty minor at that point, apart from perhaps filling in all kinds of personal information to get yourself on junk-mail lists...  Make sure you NEVER SHARE PERSONAL INFORMATION.  They don't need it.  Make stuff up, skip the question, whatever.

flickr credit: philosophygeek

The hassle of getting what you've been promised.
Normally the hassle of getting what you've been promised in a rebate is related to you taking some action "after the sale" to get your discount.  It might be "providing a valid product UPC"   (ever seen a product with multiple UPC codes?  which one did they want???)  It might be "providing an original sales receipt", it might be "including the rebate form".  Essentially you gave your money away, (the money you are going to have them send back to you).  Now you spend your time (your employer pays you money for your time...) and you use an envelope and postage to send papers to the "rebate company".  They say it will take 6-8 weeks (8+)  And after 8 weeks you inevitably dig up their contact information and ask them about the status of your rebate.  They will say one of the following;

• It's in the mail (hmm...)
• What was your rebate tracking number? (huh?) 
• Oh yes, I see here you were missing your;
• original receipt
• UPC code
• Rebate form or rebate form details
• Your product doesn't qualify.  You bought model ABCDEFG-1  not ABCDEFG-2
• (sometimes retailers play with model numbers so they don't have to match competitor prices, so sometimes the retailer advertising the rebate is actually complicating your rebate collection process).
• The offer has expired
• "Sorry this rebate processing center has gone out of business. (they got arrested for fraud)

flickr credit: Brendan Shigeta

You will re-send (because you did everything right the first time) whatever they ask for and they will tell you it will take another 6-8 (8+) weeks.  Assuming you have an above par experience you'll get your rebate as promised on a cheque that mispells your name, but your bank will allow you to deposit it because they probably don't actually look at the names on the cheques you deposit ;-)

So the "rebate processing center" had your rebate money for 16 weeks.  They couldn't spend your money (unlike the rebate guys who got arrested for fraud above) because they had to pay you eventually, unless you gave up on your rebate and let them keep the money...  Its not like the retailer actually checks to make sure you got your money.  If they cared about you getting your rebate that much, they'd just do it themselves.  As far as they are concerned, as soon as you leave the store your rebate is someone else's problem.  The rebate processing center can collect interest on your money until you cash the misspelled cheque they send you at the end of your ordeal.

Broken promises
Companies sometimes offer rebates to get you to sign up for their programs (contracts).  Contracts are always written to favour the company, not to protect you.  So read that fine print and don't believe Xavier the sales guy who tells you he can waive a clause for you. He won't record it and you'll be on the hook when the foreign call centre doesn't have a record of Xavier's promise to you.
Watch out for "conditional rebates"  These are the rebates they want back from you if you decide to cancel their service, or similar evil.  Sure if you dig through the fine print, there will be some mention of this, but the sales person won't draw it to your attention.  It's a trick, don't feel bad, just get angry.  Remember you are the customer, you are the person making their job possible, and you should not be tricked, you should be honoured and treated with appropriate respect.

There was one deal where there was a rebate for some VOIP phone equipment that enabled me to become a customer of a popular VOIP phone company.  Essentially they wanted me on the monthly payment plan (which is reasonable if there is good service)  I had to purchase this overpriced piece of electronics which was designed to only work with their service, and then to make me willing to pay for this I was offered a "rebate".
 I was all excited about becoming a part of the "experience" and tried it out.  Most of the time it was great, but sometimes just really poor quality.  Not suitable for the way I use phones, so I cancelled the service.  While cancelling, Von... oops, the VOIP company told me I was going to have to pay them $150.  A cancellation fee and a "REBATE RECOVERY FEE".  After wasting a hour of my life arguing with the guy on the phone I had the cancellation charges reduced to $33, but not without a fight.  Funny enough I probably would have blogged on how that company had really good service (except when talking to people on cell phones).  But in their corporate greed they turned an optimistic potential spokesperson who might once again have become a future customer, into someone who will speak out about their greed, service failures and absolute disrespect for their customers.

Free Advice
Let me encourage you to memorize the "Accounting Rally Slogan"  "What kind of discount do we want?" "CASH" "When do we want it?" "NOW".  Don't go into these "offers" blindly.  Don't settle for "gift cards" if you can get cash.  Don't settle for "Later" if you can get it "now".  And maybe most important, don't buy it because of the rebate.  Buy it because you need it.

I'm a big fan of customer rights.  I think it boils down to honesty, to respect and honour, to treating your customers the way you would want to be treated.  Unfortunately people may have consciences but corporations, outsourced divisions and shareholder meetings do not necessarily have a conscience. As we introduce greater layers of separation between customer, decision maker and employee, we create the potential for great injustice.

Cheers, I hope what I've written here saves your bacon, and protects you from the "headaches" of Rotten Rebates.
Greg.

More Real-Time Traffic from Google with Google Maps

You  probably know by now that I'm a fan of Google Maps Traffic, and I've been putting it to the test every day with the carpool.  I think it is nothing short of amazing that by merging 2 apps data (latitude and google maps), Google has effectively provided basic coast to coast traffic for the US and some major cities in Canada, some major cities in China, most of the UK, France and Finland.  Check these screenshots out;

Now there is a social good that Google is offering to me.  I think its great.  Certainly the price seems lower than the alternative methods of providing this (roadside radar infrastructure coast to coast / in-road induction loops measuring traffic speed)  Google gets a ton of good will from people like me.

Predict traffic before it happens

A little while back, Google Maps for desktop started sharing historic average traffic information.  You can access this by clicking on traffic, and then click on "change". (no, sorry it doesn't do what it says, it doesn't actually "change" the traffic). Then play with the controls to see what traffic will probably be like.

Below you can see the variation in traffic approaching the Port Mann Bridge in Surrey BC that occurs at the same time on a Monday, and on a Friday.

I'm not sure if they are doing it yet, but the potential for this technology becomes apparent as you consider routing people through an urban center with a known departure time, known historic traffic on alternate routes, at different points of time throughout that journey.  So if someone were driving from Vancouver BC to Portland Oregon, perhaps with a 7 am departure they'd get routed via the I-405, but if they left at 8am perhaps they'd get routed via the I-5 instead because an hour later, they'd save 10 minutes on the I-5 vs the 405.  In the right hands, this technology has potential uses in focusing infrastructure improvements as well.  I mean really, getting that old rubber hose stretched across the road for a week and then going and collecting the counter at the end of the week only to get a total axle count?  Come on.  Traffic speed in 15 minute increments whenever there was enough traffic to count?  Fantastic.

Avoiding Congestion with Google Maps Mobile Traffic Information

Google Mobile Traffic has saved us from a couple really bad traffic Jams.  One case in Langley essentially had the freeway backed up for 6 miles, but because of the heads up Google Maps Mobile provided, we saw the yellow heading into the solid red that stretched down the freeway.  We got off and detoured through some rural routes until we could return to the freeway 8 miles later.  It was interesting to note that as we detoured around the congestion, we could see the congestion starting to shrink in size, and we could also see that it was moving Eastward down the freeway.  So by the time we got back to the freeway, the front of that congestion was just starting to hit that entrance.  With 4 people in our carpool (which is saving us $1000s per year) if we can avoid sitting in traffic for an hour (like the example above) that is saving us 4 hours that we'd rather spend at home with our families.  Thanks Google!  If you need a carpool to test out fancy Android GPS Navigation prototypes we're your carpool, call me baby, we'll hook you up with some tech savvy feedback and real-world testing.

Using Google Maps Mobile safely while commuting

Generally we frown on the drive using Google Mobile applications unless it is during a red light.  Passengers can of course use Google Mobile safely throughout the journey.  We have a bit of a ritual, when we leave for work, and leave work at the end of the day, we load up a google maps mobile view of our entire route, and assess the colour.  All Green,   All Green with some Yellow, or Red somewhere on our route.  If its anything but red, we stick to the plan following our normal (highly optimized) routes.  It it's red, we turn on the 24 hour traffic radio station to get a "second opinion".

Accuracy?
For the cost ($0.00) its really quite good.  Much better than the lack of realtime traffic we've had before.  We understand that Google requires a certain number of drivers to be travelling with GPS down a road, before they will publish the traffic speed. (which explains the spots on the commute that are missing traffic.)  Sometimes we have seen Google drawing the traffic on the map right behind us as we drive.  We don't trust it 100% because of a few things we've observed.  Sometimes we see Red on the map, but when we get there things seem slow but not bad enough for "red"...  Other times it has been very accurate, as we drive in to the "yellow" from the "green" we see the traffic slow and become congested...

Since the data for the real-time traffic comes from GPS in mobile phones that are running Google location service "latitude"...  You can improve the quality of traffic information, by enabling latitude.  Google knows where your phone is, and so do the friends you share your location with.  (I share with only 5 people)  I really don't mind Google seeing my route back and forth to work.  I turn Latitude off sometimes, and turn it back on in traffic.

Feature Request:
Google, it would be great if we could have Latitude turn off and on either based on Location (always turn off when I drive home, always turn on when I get on the Freeway)  or based on time.  Share location between 7AM and 5PM.

We have observed a strange behaviour on google maps mobile traffic.  Sometimes one zoom level of the map with traffic will show a road as green, while a different zoom level of the same section of map with traffic shows as  yellow.  Presumably the act of zooming in and out on the map doesn't actually speed up or slow down traffic. (If it does, we've accidentally invented something much more powerful here).  So there is apparently some lag issue there.  Is it a bug? or are we just hitting different copies of the data on different servers as the different zoom levels are updated on a slightly different schedule?  Sometimes its actually wrong, (really wrong).  But generally Google Mobile Maps Traffic gives a reasonable overview of traffic conditions.

Also interesting, I've noticed on the desktop version of Google maps, that I can see more or less traffic detail depending on which browser I use.  See below;

Above in Chrome, no red traffic below the "Burnaby" label, also no traffic North of the river North of the Knight St. bridge. (but below in Firefox I see these 2 details).  So with both pages loaded at the same time, why is Google serving different traffic data?  Am I missing something here?

Above in IE we see green traffic North/South on 176th street, but below in Firefox, we don't see that traffic.

Google Mobile does offer a bit of online help to explain traffic here;
http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=61455

Traffic color descriptions
If available in your area, real-time traffic conditions will be displayed over the highway as color coded lines. Each color represents how fast the traffic is moving:

• Green: more than 50 miles per hour
• Yellow: 25 - 50 miles per hour
• Red: less than 25 miles per hour
• Gray: no data currently available

I wonder if these legend numbers are truly accurate.  Often there are smaller roads that are flowing smoothly, represented in green which have posted speed limits of 60KM/h or 37MPH (as you can see from the above legend, that should be Yellow because it is below 50MPH.  So my point is that Google maps is putting reasonable colours on the maps, but the reality doesn't reflect these numbers in the legend.   I suspect that Google is using algorithms to ignore / accommodate traffic lights of normal duration (1 min?), and also that with the historic average speed data they are gathering, that we will see the "green" / "yellow" / "red" coding for the traffic reflect how the traffic deviates from the norm as well as matching an absolute speed.  (of course absolute speeds in a legend are simpler to explain).

Availability of real-time traffic

Real-time traffic data is available in major cities in the United States, France, Britain, Australia, and Canada, with new cities and new countries frequently added. To see if real-time traffic is available in your area, simple focus the map on your area of interest and look for the "Traffic" button in the upper-right corner of your screen. Note that traffic conditions are shown based on data availability -- if we don't have enough data to calculate accurate traffic speeds for a road, then we won't show traffic conditions for that road. This is the reason why you may see more real-time traffic results at certain times of the day. 

New "Colour" for Google Maps Traffic (via gpslodge)

Google Maps has recently updated its traffic flow representations to show not only the regular Red-Yellow-Green format, but a Red/Black hashing that shows super slow traffic at <10 MPH.
Can I get that on my GPS? Red goes up to 25MPH, and there is a huge difference between essentially stop and go at under 10 MPH and putting along at 25 MPH when you need to get home. One, I might try to plow through if it's short; the other I would avoid like the plague.
(from http://www.gpslodge.com/archives/019842.php)

Prediction:  Google is going to be able to effectively identify where roads are, and how they connect.  Google is going to be able to see which roads only flow in one direction, which lanes are alternating "counterflow" lanes which switch direction during rush hour.  They aren't going to have to wait for Tele-Atlas or others to "update" their maps, or "correct" their errors.  The GPS in your phone is going to map the roads, and don't worry about the people walking with a cell...  generally people don't walk or hike at 50km/h etc so with some intelligently designed algorithms, Google will know before the planners release the updates.)  If  you've ever noticed problems with Google maps such as the $800,000,000 "Golden Ears Bridge" missing in the Lower mainland of BC, and tried to report them, you will have been sent to the map providers website to submit an "issue" and well supposedly something happens after that...

Feature request:
Google for the desktop edition, please give me a "refresh" button.  If I'm watching traffic, but I'm not moving the map, from a normal browser I'd hit F5, but when I try that with maps.google.com I end up looking at a map of North America. Effectively I get to start all over which is irritating.  Hitting "back" at that point doesn't help because I was already in the correct location in the browser history.  Ajax is getting there...

Other features noted
One nice feature I've noticed is that google maps mobile seems to have an intelligent "timeout" on map data.  This means that 8 hours after your morning commute, you'll likely have to tell Google Maps on your Blackberry to "show traffic".  I don't mind because if I didn't want traffic I'd be waiting for that to load, and I'd rather "ask" for a feature to run on my phone, than have that feature just assume it should present itself (like a certain operating system developed near Seattle does).

In Google Maps for desktop you can't save a link to a map with traffic data.  If you turn off the traffic information, then Google will happily provide you with a link. (the link button is at the top right of the map.  try it).  I'm wondering if this is to help Google control who could re-sell that data via approved API access or whether there is just complexity to the Ajax magic being pulled off.  My bet is it's to assure appropriate control.

So all in all, the Traffic Information service provided by Google through Google Maps is phenomenal.  Well worth the price of admission. Very usable and something that is effectively mapping the developed world automatically.  Very smart guys... Very smart...  Thanks Google.

Cheers,
Greg.

The problem with bottled water

It's been a slow month or so for me blogging. This is really just a re-print, but its something I've been wanting to say. Enjoy this excellent infographic about bottled water.

Click below to view the infographic.

Cheers,
Greg.

Presented by Online Education

Pedestrians and Cyclists Need to wear Reflective Clothing

Pedestrian Struck in Crosswalk
Monday night as I drove home after dropping off the carpool I was stopped at a read light.  I saw 2 girls crossing in the crosswalk and I watched in shock as a blue car drove into one of the girls, tossing her body like a rag doll as her head seemed to hit the windshield before she was thrown to the pavement where she lay.  All of this was about 15ft from where I sat in my car.  Her friend had fortunately noticed at the last second, shouted out and taken a step back.  I called 911 (accidentally hanging up on them in the process), asked for an ambulance, put my winter vest from my car's trunk over the victim, and got down on the rain soaked road in my dress shirt/pants to hold her head and neck steady for the 10 minutes or so it took for help to arrive.  





Poor Visibility during the "rainy season"
It had been raining pretty much constantly for a week, and rush hour that evening was no exception.  Rain covered everyone's car windows, and the weary windshield wipers worked tirelessly to push it aside. The glaring traffic lights, street lights, head lights, and illuminated signs for the businesses at the corner all refracted through the drops making visibility absolutely pathetic.  Not only did I have sympathy for this 17 year old girl who lay shivering on the road under a pile of strangers' jackets, I had sympathy for the driver who apparently hadn't seen the girl and (as if in slow motion in my mind) ran into her with the car.  In the lower mainland of BC, we have some of the most ridiculously poor driving conditions.  I don't need to exaggerate at all about it raining every day for a week straight.  In fact when we were looking at houses before moving here, it had rained 21 days straight.  





With the roads wet, they seem to simply suck up the light (or reflect it into your eyes).  There is a lot of glare, between the wet roads, the wet windshields, and the lights themselves.  I lament that the cities and municipalities here are still treating "low glare" street lights like a novelty, and not moving en-masse to replace the high glare lights with safer low glare lights that put the light where it belongs; on the street and not in your eyes.  At any rate, its hard for drivers to see pedestrians, and it is easy even for a cautious driver to miss a pedestrian in the shadows.  
In addition to the glare, and the rain, and the light sucking wet streets, it is DARK here.  Not only do we have the sunsetting earlier this time of year.  Today the sun set at 4:16 PM according to "Weather Underground" (a fabulous weather website)





Most pedestrians (and I am one too) seem to be pretty clueless, at least judging by what they typically wear.  They think that motorists in cars travelling 50 KM/H down a road in the rain, with glaring headlights shining in their eyes can see a person in a black jacket, black pants and black shoes.  The other day I saw a guy dressed head to toe in black (it was cold) jogging on the road (not the sidewalk) towards traffic. Cmon people, give yourself a fighting chance.  Oh, and remember when you were kids and there were those halloween safety rules about wearing light colours so you would be more visible?... well.  In the late fall and winter in BC, your light colours really aren't going to save your bacon.  I mean certainly white and yellow are better choices than brown and black, but in the dark with the rain and glare, you are still really hard to see.


I'm not really talking about the careless people here, like the 3 boys in dark clothing riding long-boards down the road the other day or other people being foolish and darting out in front of traffic.  I'm talking about regular pedestrians, the kind who walk in crosswalks, or cross at the corner, or the cyclists who are riding along the road minding their own business.  This is for "normal" people. 





Wear Reflective Clothing
The only thing I've seen that works is REFLECTIVE material.  You know the kind you find on quality cycling jackets, or that crossing guards wear, or that you see on fire-fighters' uniforms.  That is the ONLY thing that makes pedestrians visible in really bad visibility.  And for bikes, which move faster and are in places you wouldn't expect a "pedestrian" to be.  Lights are necessary.  Blinking lights, bright lights.  Those pathetic little reflectors on your pedal aren't going to get noticed against the glare of on-coming traffic's headlights.  I recommend getting yourself a REAL "Rear Bike Light" like the one from planet bike, which "strobes" a 1 Watt LED as well as blinking normally.  





ICBC the local government insurance company says; 
"With 2,700 pedestrians injured and 71 fatalities every year in B.C. as a result of a crash, ICBC is also reminding pedestrians to remember some key road safety tips" 

Be alert: Remove your headphones and put away your cellphone when crossing the street - focus your attention fully on what's happening around you.
Make eye contact: It's vitally important that you make eye contact with drivers when crossing the roads in bad visibility, so you both know you see each other.
Stay visible: Wear bright or light-coloured clothing, with reflective materials if possible. 
Maybe they'll save a life.

So Please do yourself and your family a favour.  Use reflective gear if you are going to be outside along the roads in bad weather. Stay healthy and alive, not shivering on your back on the road in the rain with an ambulance speeding towards you.  

Cheers!

Greg.

ICBC Source for pedestrian accidents

Google Maps provides Free Real-Time Traffic Information in Canada

I assume you are already familiar with Google Maps. You have probably stared at satellite images of your house from space, planned the best route from your current location to a street address, and looked at maps to measure distances. Maybe you've even tried Google Building Maker to create photo-realistic 3d buildings in your city.  Possibly you've noticed the upgraded appearance of road-maps lately, but there is more... Google is now giving you more

Previously only available in the United States, Google Maps has released Real-time traffic information for Google Maps in Canada. I'm happy to say that I saw this one coming, requested it from the Google Maps team, and watched with interest as it was launched in Seattle and featured on the Google Maps blog.

Today I noticed my colleague had Google Maps open in Greater Vancouver WITH traffic information!!! Apparently it launched at about the same time as Google StreetView.

Here's how it works...

To see Real-Time traffic in Google Maps, open up maps.google.com and after the map loads, zoom in a bit and choose the "traffic" button. A legend will appear. Green=good Yellow=ok Red/Maroon=Bad Black=ReallyBad. On the map coloured lines will appear on top of the routes, showing you where the slowdowns are and which roads are flowing smoothly. Experiment with zooming in and out to see traffic for larger or smaller roadways.

Google Mobile Users can also access this information from their Blackberry or other compatible device. From the Menu in Google Maps Mobile, choose "show traffic", let it load and voila, colours on the roads. My favourite feature of Google Maps Mobile is "hitting zero" and having the application guess my location and center me in the middle of the map. Originally this feature used cell phone tower information to triangulate my approximate location and I would see a nice blue circle around me (your position within 1300 meters) as Google did it's best to guess where I was. Usually pretty good, but switching to a phone with GPS brought the guess to withing 3 meters. (9 feet for my friends in the USA). Now if I hit "zero" I can watch myself cruising down the road colour coded for the kind of traffic I'm about to drive into. Google Maps Mobile users can also contribute real-time traffic information from their cell phones by signing up for and logging into Google Latitude.

So where is Google getting all this real time traffic data, did they really dig up all the roads and put sensors in? or are they tracking us with real time military satellites?... no. Google's "Latitude" service allows you to share your location with friends (and Google) using your mobile phone. If you don't have a GPS in your phone you'll still get the triangulation data for your location to share with your friends, but it may not be good enough for contributing to traffic... So anyways, your GPS information is shared with Google whenever you are logged in that will definitely put some "mileage" on your cell phone's data plan. I'm just saying be aware of it if you pay per MB/GB. If the Google traffic robot sees one phone going down the road, it has an idea of speed, but if it sees a whole bunch, it can start being confident of the road's speed. Freeways/Interstates have higher speed limits than arterial roads etc. A little bit of algorithm work to allow stoplights to function without making the whole city look like a traffic jam... and voila.

Today i had the distinct pleasure of watching myself drive down the road, and seeing the traffic information being drawn on behind me as I went. I guess I was the Latitude user with the GPS equipped phone that tipped the scales and gave Google the confidence to draw the traffic on the map. It feels good! Now we have an option to "flipping on the radio" and weathering the annoying advertisements when we see the freeway crawling to a halt.


Cheers, I hope this saves you and your friends a TON of traffic headaches!

I can't wait to see what Google Maps does next...
Greg.

Backyard Vegetable Gardens & Michael Pollan's 20 Food Rules for more Healthy Eating

Growing up we had a vegetable garden, Mom speaks of the vegetable garden her family had growing up, Grandma tended it and took after the example of her Mom, Grandma May, who was a pioneer crossing the prairies in one of those red river carts.  Those folks knew how to avoid wasting food, probably because they also knew what real hunger felt like. They knew about picking high-bush cranberries, about making jam and preserves, and of course making home-made bread.  Many of the necessary ingredients came straight from the garden, whether it was cukes for pickling or raspberries growing on canes in the garden, or tomatoes, carrots and other veggies amply supplied by the ground.  How natural is that?  Somehow after my family moved to BC in the late 80s we never gave a vegetable garden a second thought.  (Despite more favourable growing conditions.)  For almost 20 years I have been falling under the delusion that vegetables come from the produce section and not from the dirt.  Recent documentaries like super-size me the "Meatrix" and others have raised some significant questions for me about where my food comes from and how healthy it is.

So...

Today I started digging my garden.  It is another in a series of small steps I'm taking to eat food that is more healthy and more socially responsible.  I'm tired of eating without thinking as if in a waking sleep.  I want to put good foods in my body, and foods that have been produced, prepared and transported in a responsible manner. Some of you have heard of the 100 mile diet (now a book The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating) in which people attempt to only eat food that has traveled less than 100 miles to their plate.  To me the backyard garden is about as close as you can get in transportation cost and processing. With my recent rain-barrel project, I have 200L of (non-chlorinated) rainwater available to water the garden.

For me I can't get it "perfect" it isn't about perfection, its about direction.  Am I moving towards health or away from it?  For this reason I really enjoyed reading Michael Polland's collection of "food rules" that his readers sent in. Michael Polland has authored books like; The Omnivore's Dilemma, The Botany of Desire, and Second Nature: A Gardener's Education.  The list reads like a "Cole's Notes" of collective food wisdom served in bite sized chunks.

I absolutely love this kind of reading, discovering what has worked for others outside of my experience, beyond my culture.  I was taught to "clean my plate" to not waste food.  I was more recently taught to eat until I was full.  The idea expressed above of stopping when 7/10ths full was full is brand new to me, but judging from my wasteline, this might be the best advice to date!  (We'll see how I do with the application of this rule).

Check out Food Rules: Your Dietary Dos and Don'ts (via Lifehacker)

Cheers,

Greg.

Hypermiling - A beginner's guide to eco-driving

Hyper-miling is the North American version of Eco-driving, which essentially involves driving better to use less fuel.  It is a practice where car owners can routinely exceed their vehicles rated fuel economy through the use of their skill and common techniques.  These techniques can be employed safely to effectively reduce the cost and environmental impact of driving while still allowing the driver to travel effectively.


Hyper-miling acknowledges a spectrum of driving ability, attitudes, conditions and vehicles.  The people involved vary from folks who don't want to pay more than they have to for gas, to hyper milers who modify their vehicles, route, habits, and fuel in order to achieve astounding mileages like 100 mpg, all the way to irresponsible idiots who tailgate big rigs and drive dangerously while inconveniencing other drivers.

It not only involves using less fuel, it can also involve driving less, and even transforming the traffic around you using techniques like traffic smoothing, wave cancellation, and defusing aggressive driving.  It all depends how seriously you want to be about your driving.


Maintenance:

• Use a lower viscosity engine oil like a 5W30 (or 0W30)  instead of a 10W30
• Inflate your tires to the recommended inflation (or a tiny bit more)
• Consider purchasing harder tires when replacing them.
• Remove dead weight from your car's trunk. (golf clubs, sand bags, lumber)
• Clean air filter
• Clean spark plugs
• Use a fuel additive to clean your car's fuel injectors (read the ingredients, the less expensive and more expensive additives may be the same)
• (Some additives may also help improve your car's combustion efficiency)

Aerodynamics
Reduce your vehicles drag so it slips through the air more smoothly.  The more "slippery" your vehicle is, the less energy you will spend "fighting the wind"

• Keep windows up
• Remove roof rack, roof top carrier and bike racks when not in use
• Reduce your top speed to reduce wind resistance. 

Strategy
It is a game, a puzzle, a challenge.  Information can give you an advantage.  Thinking about your approach and keeping your goal in mind can help you do better.

• Avoid unnecessary elevation gain
• Parking with Potential   (park facing downhill where you can take advantage of any elevation gain in the parking lot to get going.
• Parking to pull-through  (reversing out of parking spots, braking and pulling forward wastes more energy)
• Avoiding unnecessary traffic lights and other "stops". (fewest number of traffic lights, less populated areas)
• Using routing software like maps.google.com to confirm the most direct route
• Purchase a real-time fuel economy gauge so you can "see" how well you are driving.
• Combine errands to reduce unnecessary driving around town.
• Create a carpool that works for you.

Driving skill and style
By consciously altering your driving style and building skill, you will reduce your fuel costs through;

• Do not accelerate quickly or brake heavily: This reduces fuel economy by as much as 33 percent at highway speeds and 5 percent around town
• Anticipate what is coming.  Be looking ahead to watch traffic, pedestrians, traffic lights.
• Timing lights and smart braking (continue slowing before you actually stop until the light changes to green and you can re-accelerate without having to do so from a stop.)
• Using the Pulse and glide technique
• Driving with buffers (driving without brakes)
• Coasting in neutral (While coasting you might get as high as 131 MPG (US) )
• Idling in Neutral (You idle anyways, why not idle so you use less gas?)
• Avoiding Idling (At gas station line-ups, drive-thrus, train crossings and long lights you will use more fuel idling than you will turning your car off and re-starting)
• Minimizing AC use (A car idling with AC on will use 1.7 Litres per hour, but a car idling with no AC will only use 1.2 Litres per hour)
• Maintaining (more) speed in corners.
• Driving with Load (rather than focusing on maintaining a constant speed, maintain a constant load on your car.  As you climb a hill, you lose some speed but keep the engine at a constant load)
• Smoothing out stop and go traffic (act as a shock absorber in rough traffic to improve safety, traffic flow and fuel economy).
• Do not use 4-wheel drive if it is not needed. 4-Wheel drive reduces fuel economy.
• Driving without shoes (to get a better feel for your throttle)
• Invest in a real-time mileage gauge like a ScanGauge II
  (shop around for the best price)

Here is a Link to Amazon where you can purchase the ScanGaugeII if you are looking for one.

So this is really more of an appetizer plate to whet your appetite, to peak your curiosity, and to extend an initial invitation to the world of hyper-miling.  Come, join me.  I pay slightly less for gas but still get where I'm going in the same amount of time.  Got some questions?  Check out the links above, and post your questions in the comments below where everybody can benefit from the answers.

Happy Hyper-miling,

Greg.

Google Cyber Security Awareness Channel on YouTube offers helpful tips.

From the official Google blog  a couple days ago...

Google has a cyber security awareness channel on YouTube. with topics like;

• cyber bullying
• knowing who you are talking to
• keeping computer software patched
• choosing strong passwords
• malware
• avoiding phishing
• tips for parents

It appears to be the result of a contest where contestants prepared videos.  So the quality varies quite a bit, and technically savvy computer users won't learn anything new, but if you have friends and family who are new to this whole "Interweb thing" (sic) then it is a nice light intro in a very approachable format.

Hope that helps keep your friends and family safe(r).
Greg.

Corporate Greed and Upselling - Trialware On Your Computer

None of us has made it this far in life without hearing McDonald's famous "would you like fries with that?" upsell.  Whether its the "extended warranties" that put electronics retailers in the dubious position of convincing us that their products are subject to highly likely and frequent failures, or the person in the restaurant asking "did you want cheese with that?" or "anything to drink", we are constantly surrounded by upselling.  It is the corporation's attempt to extract more money from our wallets than we have decided to give them.  They have a captive audience and are greedy for a little more of our after-tax money.  Sometimes its sneaky like a well placed food-bar at the exit of a big box retailer, other times it is more overtly evil like additional charges on your restaurant bill for items you thought were included in the posted price.  Sometimes it is putting the customer in a situation where they have to work hard and spend their time to avoid paying money.  I have been seeing the same thing happening on the last few computers I have purchased.

When purchasing computers in the last couple years, it has become difficult to ignore the seriously large amount of  CRAP software that is loaded onto the desktop.  It is software loaded onto the computers that promises to disappoint in one of the following ways.  The software;

• will stop working after a time period
• will allow you to create documents in a proprietary format before locking up.
• will offer a narrow range of functionality with enough limitation or irritation that upgrading seems like the only way to make the pain stop.
• offers a service you never would have sought out on your own.
• is ad supported and to make the annoying ads stop you must pay.
• (mcafee) is stuck in a half installed state that is only solved by creating an account on their website.

When did it become OK for some corporation to put something on our computers without our permission, particularly something that advertises at us, or promises to frustrate, or slows the computer to a crawl by starting when the computer starts...  For example there was some DVD software that came installed on a net-book that ran 2 executables at boot time, each of which used several Megs of RAM (you caught that it was a netbook and had no DVD drive right?...

My best guess is that companies like HP and Acer are being paid to install this software on your computer. ($15/computer etc) knowing that a certain percentage of suckers will simply obey the computer and type in their credit card number to continue.

So I am technically savvy and have no problem recognizing these "special offers", but I truly pity the older generations and the less astute who may not understand their computer software is going to "stop working" in 60 days.  To prey on the ignorance of the ill-informed is reprehensible behaviour.  These corporations seem to think nothing of taking actions that will lead to confusion and frustration and disappointment on the part of their customers, as long as they get their $15 per computer sold.  Ok, so they make money by making their customers experience frustrating while bloating their computer's RAM and cluttering the start menu and desktop.   I would suggest that the term "free-trial" is the other meaning of "trial"  the one that means the same as "ordeal" and not a "test-drive".  There is an arrogance with these software manufacturers in that they seem to believe the following about their software;

• that it is so important it should take up space on my desktop where I will see it constantly
• that it is ok to use up your RAM on startup to keep "helpers" and "startup assistants" in memory even if you don't use their software that day.
• that it is OK to hijack file associations and make themselves the default software for use with files of those types
• that your data (audio/text etc) should be stored in a proprietary format that only their software reads/writes

When we recently purchased a computer for my parents, we uninstalled (or modified the behaviour of) the following crap trial-ware; Adobe Reader (does not need to load on start), cyberlink DVD software (does not need to load, this is a netbook), Microsoft Works (ad supported? really Microsoft you are sounding more desperate each year), 15 time limited games, Mcafee antivirus software (60 days).

MS Office student edition 60 day trial, carbonite online storage.

There are lots of excellent and free software packages out there that surpass those listed above, so I've loaded these onto the computers to replace the advertising, crippled trial-ware and deceptive marketing.

Many of these were in my list of free software earlier this year.

Hey Manufacturers....  My next computer will be Linux or Google-OS.  Stop treating your customers like a "market to be exploited" and start putting yourself in their shoes and asking "how would I like to be treated?"

Software vendors.... Your software isn't as good as you think it is.  People aren't delighted to "TRY" your software "FOR FREE".  Get out of the 80s.  Deliver real value to people with no strings attached and you will have a loyal following (anyone heard of Google or open source software).  Stop trying to trap the customer into your profit center.

People...  Use free open source software.  It works, its better, its less of a headache, it costs less.  Be free.

Cheers,

Greg

P.S.  Acer you owe me 8 hours of my life back.  I bill at $60/hour, I think you owe me a laptop.  Email me to arrange delivery.

Only YOU can stop Bad Copyright Law

Much of life doesn't involve seeking perfection, but rather avoiding two opposite and equally bad errors.  Much like while driving down the road you want to avoid driving off of it into either the ditch on the left or the ditch on the right.  I think the current copyright "debate/issues" fall into this category.

flickr credit: ritchielee

The cultural value of the arts can't be sacrificed for corporate greed.
I remember being absolutely disgusted to learn that the song "Happy Birthday" was copyrighted and that any time a movie chose to use the song, had to pay a royalty of $20,000. (I believe that is the figure I heard in the documentary "The Corporation").  To me that is a song I learned from my family during my childhood.  We didn't get "Happy Birthday to you" on a CD in shrink wrap from a store, we didn't get sheet music from the book store and sit there reading it.  We have passed that song on from parent to child for several generations.  It is a part of our culture, a part of our history.  So I'm not sure my family should have to pay to sing that song.  Or to sing that song in a video, or to pay to sing that song on a tape or CD that we record for each other, or to pay to sing that song in a video or on a CD that we sell to raise money for a charity, or pay to sing that song in a video or on a CD that we are selling for money.


It isn't one size fits all
OK, so there is a big difference between singing the "happy birthday song" with your friends and family and downloading movies, burning them to DVD and selling them on craigslist.  I want to be clear that while some copying and sharing and repeating or borrowing music and other content seems reasonable and fair, clearly some forms of copying are not appropriate.  It isn't all or nothing, there has to be room for reasonable interpretation and fair use.


Artists should benefit from their work
I think it makes sense for an artist who writes music (or a movie) to be paid for their work.  I also think that the musicians, producers, (and if they are necessary) manufacturers and distributors should be paid for the work that they do.  But I don't think that a song or a movie or any other piece of art should remain locked up forever.  If an artist owns a song and receives royalties for 50 years and then dies, I think the song should then be free.  The idea of the "rights" to a song living on in the hands of some faceless corporation after the death of that artist mocks the idea of an artist benefiting from their work.  At this point it isn't at all about fairness to that artist.  In our culture, for the most part we believe that people should benefit from their work and that they should be able to use the proceeds of their work for their own benefit.  Our society violates this principle on occasion such as in situations of underemployment where "the system" underpays people out of greed and traps them in low paying jobs.  The issue gets much greyer when most artists make some money and others make $Millions.  Is the quality of Madonna's music really that much better than Jack Johnson or Chris Janzen or Kevin Prosch?  Should a pop star make Millions?  Some say yes, some say thats unreasonable.  Whatever just so long as I can establish that our society as a whole hasn't come to a single understanding.


The changing landscape of music distribution
Now there are crazy things going on out there. Times are changing and the rules and realities of music distribution are very different today than they were 15-10 or even 5 years ago. Today software loaded onto your computer is crippled to only play the music certain organizations say you have a license for (Windows Media Player / itunes).  Many of these schemes do not recognize legitimate license or legitimate use. (try ripping your CD and storing the MP3s on your hard-drive...)  So without your consent all these restrictions get put in place, which limit how you can use what you legitimately have a right to.  Lets say your CD gets scratched...  You have a license, but lack the physical media.  How do you get that back?  Or stolen CDs, or crashed hard drives.  There are lots of cases where something that  you legitimately aquired is easily lost to you.  (Or you are using a different computer today and your software hasn't decided it is alright for you to "authorize" your computer to use that media...)  There are even plans to prevent your computer and stereo speakers from playing music that doesn't have licensing keys embedded in the file.  Now is that too much control or what?  There is an alternative, and it is one that many people are choosing.

Opting out of the current music distribution scheme.  
Rather than traveling in a car to a brick and mortar store to buy a shrink wrapped plastic disk with music. Many are choosing to purchase their music online, effectively bypassing the entire manufacturing and distribution piece of the music industry.  THAT is a disruptive behaviour but a good one.  The cost of Selling, Stocking, Shipping, Printing, Manufacturing... all evaporates.  So that $17 CD which costs only $1 to "press" now costs the music companies substantially less.  And they can pass the savings on to their electronic customers....  OR they can be greedy and insist that a $17 CD on the shelf is the same cost as an online album which costs mere pennies to transmit to your computer.
Now, you can just purchase the GOOD SONGS and leave the fluffy filler crap there on the Internet.  THAT is a disruptive behaviour because suddenly you only bought 4 tracks from i-tunes and not the 12 tracks you would have been obligated to take home from the brick and mortar store.
Things are changing and the music industry is largely losing control, so they had better pay attention and adapt to serve the customer, or the customer will go elsewhere. (when was the last time the music industry made you think of "customer service"?)  In a restaurant if the food is horrible you send it back to the kitchen.  If you buy a CD and don't like it, too bad you broke the shrink wrap.  Now there is an industry that is overdue for an attitude adjustment.
There are other methods as well.  Many artists distribute directly on the Internet intentionally, allowing fans to listen and "try out" their music.  For example, I heard "MOBY" first on a streaming radio station on the net, and decided I really liked his music and as I read more, many of the things he stood for.  I purchased Moby's album "Play" because I liked the sounds and wanted to legitimately own some of his music and support him in his work.  If artists attract a following online, they can sell direct to the public, without all the lawyers and other unnecessary machinery of the big corporate music machine.  For over 20 years now, software distribution has legitimized this method of selling through shareware, limited versions, completely open versions etc.  But there is something even more revolutionary on the horizon, and that is perhaps the first glimmers of what truly may become a "gift economy".  Open source, creative commons and copyLeft have become household terms when discussing software.  These legitimate models of doing business and licensing digital media have themselves been a very disruptive force for good.  Giving people free high quality software they would in many cases never be possible otherwise, but I digress, we are talking about bad copyright law and focusing on music.

Litigation and the insanity of greedy music corporations

Even more recently these music corporations (paralleling this with the movie industry is left as a mental exercise for the reader) have taken to the unprecedented act of suing their customers for making copies of copyrighted music that is.  (ok I confess I'm having trouble with versions of the word copyright, copywritten, copywrited) Ridiculous fines like $80,000 USD per CD copied are being levied at folks who don't have the means to pay those fines. (recently a woman was fined something like $640,000 for 8 copied CDs in the US).  The article went on to explain that this was intended to "send a message".  So clearly fear control and greed are on the agenda of the corporate music giants and the self appointed policing agencies like MPAA that claim to represent the artists ("artists really means greedy corporations").  That they would bankrupt a woman over 8 CDs is satire when you listen to them speak about justice.  In the Old Testament of the Bible there is a rule that was meant to stop this kind of escalating evil. "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth".  That rule limits retaliation and evil to equal pain.  That lady should have had to pay for her CDs.  If they were $20 and she "stole/copied" 8 of them, then she should have paid $160 with interest to make it right.  Don't be fooled by the talk about justice and "upholding the law".  Any law that allows a $160 theft to be brought to justice with a $640,000 fine is not a just law.  That is 4000 times the value of the CDs.  It may be that these companies in their intense greed have decided that suing their customers is more profitable than selling to them.



Copyright is restricted by country
Copyright law is based on property law, and is different in every country.  For example in the United States of America, I understand that it would be against the law to copy a music CD you had purchased and give that copy to a friend.  While in Canada, the same act is legal.  I can share the music I have purchased with friends in Canada without any fear of the RIAA or the DMCA or the FBI or the MPAA or any other 4 letter accronym knocking on my door.  In Canada, sharing is good.  Now I could not SELL that copied music.  Selling the music is reserved for the artist or other rights holders.  Additionally in Canada, I pay a levy on all blank media that I purchase.  Every blank CD, Every blank tape.   I pay a tax that has been earmarked for the artists.  Even if I use that CD for non-copyright music.  Even if I burn my own photos to that CD, I pay a levy that goes to musicians and other artists.  So lets understand together that what is illegal in the USA may be legal in Italy, Canada, France or any other country.  It is also clear that the sovereign nation of France has no right to tell "Americans" what they can and can't do in the privacy of their own houses, so lets not be ignorant and pretend that "American" organizations can do the same to individuals in other countries.  For "American" companies, it would be nice to have the whole world play by the rules with which they are familiar, so there is pressure on the US government to pressure other nations to adopt the rules of the USA.


Currently I understand that "American" corporations and their Canadian subsidiaries are trying to force a corporate USA version of copyright on Canadians.  The corporate giants are insisting that their version is good and any other (Canadian) version of copyright is evil.

You can say no to this.

Do some reading, become better informed.
Video with a powerpoint from Michael Geist "5 Myths on Canadian Copyright"  

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6315846683

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/4005/125/

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/08/11/1534224/CRIA-MPAA-Demand-Expanded-DMCA-For-Canada?art_pos=5

http://ansak.blogspot.com/2009/08/dmca-is-back-in-commons.html

So... I figured I'd better walk the talk.  This blog content is NOW creative commons licensed (details at the bottom).  Lets keep paying it forward and fixing the greed problem in this world eh?

Add your comments below.
Greg.

Rain Barrel Construction made easy.

Thanks guys for your inquiries and encouragement to write some more. I had a nice break this summer. I think I'm back.

In my city this summer we had to endure the most strict "water use" restrictions I have ever encountered. Part of my response to this is to set up a "rain-barrel" so that I have an increased ability to water plants without using "city water".

Here in the lower mainland of BC we have the privilege of some of the cleanest water in the world, and since we only have a potable water system, that means that this very clean water is used for;

• drinking
• washing
• flushing toilets
• watering plants and lawns
• washing cars
• water fights

If we did have a system of "non-potable" water, there are many uses that the alternate water supply could meat without consuming our supply of "potable water".

Where we live, it seems as if it rains for about 6 months out of the year, so water restrictions feel "wrong" and leave people wondering where all that rain went to. In our city water is metered, and we pay for our consumption on our taxes. The price is very reasonable, so the rain barrel is not intended to be a money saving device, just a tool to help with my responsible water use.

Our roof has an area of about 800sq ft, so it can catch a significant about of rain which drains down 4 downspouts. If drainage is even (not likely) then each could gather from about 200sq ft. The other day it rained quite hard and the rainbarrel was filled, so I think this will be effective.

I'm thankful to my neighbour Wayne for donating a discarded plastic barrel that has a capacity 100L. After rinsing out this barrel I was able to make some simple changes so it could catch water. I am really thankful for the post on www.iwilltry.org that showed instructions for how someone in a neighbouring community built a similar rainwater collection system.

Platform

First I cut an 8' 4x4 made of pressure treated wood into four 2' sections to make a platform to raise the rainwater barrel. I just place 2 pieces in one direction and 2 in the other (like a log cabin). The barrel balances on top, and the 100KG it weighs when full keeps everything in place.

"drain tap"

Next I got a boiler faucet (cheaper than a normal garden tap) for about $5 and some o-rings that would fit, and some of the "nuts" used to fasten threaded electrical conduit (add $3 for those). I wrapped the threads on the faucet with teflon tape, added the "nut" and the o-rings and that completed the assembly for the "drain tap"

I drilled out a hole in the barrel for the tap, making sure the tap would not extend below the bottom of the barrel (and twist if weight was put on it.) after some sloppy "widening" with my largest bit, the hole was just large enough for me to thread in the faucet. I was surprised by the thickness of the barrel and it seemed that threading in the faucet would be sufficient without needing additional "nuts" on the inside of the barrel (my arms aren't that skinny.)

Collection

Now I had a tap, but no collection. One challenge was that the openings for the barrel had threaded openings that were above the surface of the barrel allowing for 3/4 inches of water to accumulate before any would enter the barrel. I didn't want standing water to allow mosquitos to breed, so noticing a lip on the top of the barrel I drilled 2 3/4 inch holes to force water to drain from the top (towards the faucet which would be slightly downhill).

To get the rainwater to collect over the threaded opening, I found a small round plastic "grate" ($1.5) fit the hole on the top of the barrel perfectly, and a child's plastic "sand-pail" with the bottom cut out served as a good "funnel" for holding the rain water over the "grate". 5 wraps of electrical tape to secure the "sand-pail" stopped leaks from getting past the grate/bucket. Some more 3/4 inch holes on the back of the "sand-pail" near the top assured any overflow would be directed onto the top of the barrel where it could be drained out the holes I had previously drilled. I added some rocks on top of the grate to keep it in place and to prevent leaves from completely blocking the grate.

At the hardware store I spotted a flexible plastic pipe (3 ft long, that was designed to fit a downspout, and which would keep its shape. After measuring the height required to allow this flexible pipe to drain downhill into the "sand-pail", I cut the downspout with a hacksaw, re-fastened the bottom of the downspout to the wall with plumber's tape and 2-1/4" screws, and attached the flexible pipe to the downspout using sheet metal screws. A few bends later and the barrel was ready to recieve rain.

A couple days later, all-day rain rewarded me with 100L of rainwater ready for the garden.

It happilly ran a soaker hose for about 4 hours, so presumably we could water a garden for most of a week with 1 barrel of water. Hmm now I'm getting tempted to add another...

I'll post some pictures shortly.

Next year when we grow our vegetable garden we'll have soft rainwater (free from chlorine) to give to our tomatoes and zuchinis and other leafy friends.

Cheers,

Greg.

Why I like FailBlog - 9 kinds of "FAIL"

I just finished reading all 267 pages of failblog and for the most part really enjoyed the experience. It only took me half a dozen evenings to make it all the way through.

Truly there are some amazing videos, images and screenshots there.

typically a "Fail" isn't just something going wrong. It is something going wrong in complete opposition to its intended purpose. (The fire exit with the do not block signs blocked by the dumpsters.)

I think Failblog contributions fall into 9 categories.

People getting hurt (skateboarders cats and bikers falling and failing). Like slapstick humour, I sometimes like to laugh at the misfortune of others although I'm thankful all the while that it isn't me "failing".

Mockery. Often people solving problems in ways we hadn't expected. This category bugged me. The guy who turned a coffee maker into a hot water supply for a sink that had none... I think some of these are genius, not failures... Perhaps we as a society are becoming elitist.

Vulgar words and shapes. Truly the cheap jokes of the bunch, there seems a limitless ability for people to fail to recognize vulgarity in the objects they make, or to recognize it in things others have made. Some were unfortunate and funny, but many seemed intentional and therefore just rude.

Strange and unexpected juxtapositions. e.g. the frog in the package of salad / the mouse in sushi promo photo.

People in embarassing circumstances. I could have done without this category. There are a lot of unfortunate photos out there and I don't think they all constitute "failure"

Unintended signs and statements like the UN soldier's helmet labelled "UN" right infront of the "involved in africa" message contradicts the intent of the message.

Disasters. I feel sympathy for those in losing circumstances like; The firemen losing the battle to extinguish their firetruck.

My 2 favourite categories...

Really bad design. Useless design, items designed for failure, form and function not meeting in the middle. It seems to me that there are many lessons to be learned here because in most cases there has been a significant investment in the design and yet... I'm intrigued, fascinated by the morbid failures these designs.

Really bad signs. I find these so funny because of the cost and effort generally involved in producing a sign. If we can see it right away, why couldn't the guy ordering / building / delivering / installing / accepting the sign see it.

So there you go. Failblog.... Thanks for exposing an interesting perspective on life.

Cheers,

Greg.

12 Home Safety & Security tips

This compilation of home safety tips is offered in the hopes that it will help protect you and your family. There are a number of the "security" tips which came from Blockwatch. If you have more you'd like to share, share in the comments below. If you'd like to learn more about any of the ideas, let me know and I can post more detail in the future.

The old joke goes;
Q: "What is a shin?"
A: "A device for detecting furniture in the dark"

Socks prevent broken toes
This is my favourite safety tip. Because I have broken toes on my stupid metal bedframe, and because now I only "nearly break my toes" on my stupid metal bedframe/casters. Put thick wool socks over the legs of your bed to avoid breaking a toe on the metal legs/bed frame when moving around in the dark. It really

Take the saw to your coffee table
Cut sharp corners off of coffee table (leaving rounded corners or corners that are more blunt). It started with my knees. I kept hurting my knees on the coffee table, then our toddler was putting himself in danger by falling near the coffee table. (God saved his bacon so many times). I looked at those finely chiselled corners on the ikea coffee table and thought... Hey, if I cut those at a 45 degree angle the corners will be half as sharp. Enough said, we've had several events were the children's injuries were less sever because the scary corners got recycled years ago.

Tie down your TV
Anchor your TV to the wall or cabinet to prevent children from pulling it off the shelf when they inevitably attempt to climb up the TV. The idea isn't to hold the entire weight of the TV, but to simply prevent it from tipping or moving in the first place. Large eyelets which screw into your furniture and TV (make sure to avoid all electronics and related shock hazards) make the task easy. Insert these before positioning the TV. Then use Wire (electrical wire of sufficient thickness) to secure the eyelets to each other ensuring the ends are well secure by winding many times.

Anchor your Bookshelves
Anchor tall bookshelves to the wall to protect against toppling. Emergency preparedness recommends anchoring tall furniture with the potential to topple in and earthquake. Much more common is the scenario where children decide to climb the tall furniture to reach something interesting on the top shelf. Do yourself and the kids a favour and anchor that furniture. I recommend using webbing (commonly used for rock climbing) Cut a piece 4 inches longer than you need. Fold the end over so you have 2 inches of overlap, put a screw through a washer into the webbing and into a solid piece of wood on your furniture. Then repeat the same for the other end of the webbing into the wall. Make sure that the screw you are putting into the wall penetrates a wall stud or your anchor is useless.

Laminate entryway windows
Consider laminated glass for entryway windows if you are replacing your windows. In addition to providing some protection from shattered glass in the event of earthquake, they make these windows much harder for a thief to break. Generally it is thought that a thief will not stick around and fight with your window while making more and more noise. If your house is not an easy target the thief is likely to think twice and move on.

Don't obscure doors and windows with plants
When planning landscaping, think about keeping an open line of site. lattice fences, well placed shrubs, low fencing. Blockwatch advises that homeowners and renters keep plants well trimmed so they don't obscure the view of your houses entrances and windows. By keeping these entry points exposed, thieves are less likely to try to use them.

Motion detecting floodlights light your way
Use motion detection to activate floodlights around your entry ways. Less as a paranoid security measure, and more as a convenience to your family. How many times have you had to go back in the house, run up the stairs, through the kitchen and throw the switch to turn on the back light. If your house doesn't have motion detecting floodlights, get with the program and install some. Installation is easy if you are the least bit handy.

Secure your gear to deny thieves tools
Secure ladders tools, lawnmowers and bikes with a cable and padlock. Blockwatch warns that ladders and tools left outside a home provide a would-be thief with more tools for breaking into your home. Make the theif miserable by securing your gear with a braided metal "aircraft cable". Purchased from your local hardware store, the aircraft cable can be looped and secured to something that won't move (like your house or your strongbox). The free end can be looped and secured and is easy to thread through / around your gear. After threading the cable through the lawnmowers bikes, weed-eaters and tool handles, loop it back around something large and lock it to itself with a padlock.

Secure flamables in a firebox
Build a firebox to secure flamables. Arsons are rare. Accidents are more common. Children and carcinogenic flamable explosives do not mix well. Keep your kids safe by building a box for your gass / oil / propane / white gas and other flamables. Make sure to leave enough room so jerry cans and other containers can sit level. Making the box lock with a padlock is inexpensive and effective. Lining the inside of the box with tin can be easy with tin-snips and metal screws. You might find it effective to purchase air vents and open them up rather than trying to find sheet metal.

Secure outdoor gear with a strongbox
Build a strong-box for secure outdoor storage. Thieves don't normally want to work too hard to steal, otherwise they would just go work. They don't usually have a lot of time, but you can take time at your leisure to build a strong-box for outdoor storage that slows thieves down, making your secured stuff a much less tempting target. If you make it large enough it will be practically impossible to be moved (i.e. 2 people required to move it empty) If you use weather-stripping and silicon caulking in cracks and opening, you can practically eliminate the possibility of spiders or other insects getting into your gear. If you use haspes and padlocks, you can construct it in such a way that removing your locks is difficult. We built our when we were renting a small suite and simply didn't have the storage space, yet didn't feel the neighbourhood was safe enough for us to leave our gear outside.

Cultivate a culture of safety
Employee safety rules to help children learn. "If you trip on it, stop and pick it up". In addition to preventing a second accident with a particular object, it also helps bring order to your world by engaging your children in making an house more safe and orderly. Other rules could include; children may not touch tools unless they get permission from an adult. Carry sharp and pointy things with the point facing down away from your body and many more...

Then it hit me... like a hollow core interior door right between the eyes
Fix doors so they don't stay "half open". Doors are useful when they are closed, and when they are open. They are next to useless when they are half open because you are then forced to move them. Some evil doors have a tendancy to make themselves 1/2 open, where they wait for you to walk into them. This usually happens in the dark. Hinge springs or pulleys and weights can keep your doors where they are supposed to be.

There you go. That is the list of home safety tips I have for you today. I hope some of them help keep you and your family safe. pass them on if you know someone who would like them. Add your own safety tips below in the comments.