purple potatoes and herring

cities

2012-01-02T10:25:00.000Z

The outside world (including most of England, I'm led to believe) imagines Scotland as a mystical wilderness full of beautiful serene glens and quietly grazing sheep. Perhaps there's a highlander afar off playing the bagpipes?

To be fair, Scotland plc, is happy to promote this image and why not? It sells a lot of shortbread. However, for most people living in Scotland, this is not reality. Twenty-first century Scots (as well as twentieth and nineteenth century ones) are mostly city dwellers. The glens are lovely, but if you do venture out, you'll be more likely to see a German tourist or a middle-aged English hill walkers than an 'average' Scot.

So, what of these cities?

Well, as a Canadian, there are certain qualities possessed by all Scottish cities have that I find desirable. Firstly, they are typically pedestrian/public transport friendly. Despite having a very strong car culture, you are still able to get in and out of every city in Scotland quickest by train. No worries about getting lost or stuck in traffic, once you get off the train you can relax and start enjoying the place.

Also, unlike Canada, Scotland has held on to its low-rise city scape. There are tall buildings, but the distinctive nature of a city's architecture here is best appreciated up close rather than far away.

So, these things being equal, I nominate Glasgow as my favourite city!

Aside from being the largest metropolitan area in the country by far, Glasgow is easily the friendliest and most vibrant of Scottish cities. Yes, Edinburgh is charming, but beyond the looks it lacks something that Glasgow has. As a post-industrial city, one can see how the great engineering works drew people to Glasgow from across Scotland and the world. Coming out of a period of decline in the late 20th century, the city has kept apace through it's own merits and people. If you were looking for a good restaurant in Scotland, it would be in Glasgow. Music gig - Glasgow; specialist shop - Glasgow; rare car part - Glasgow; subway system - Glasgow; intraurban rail network - Glasgow; great airport - Glasgow... the list goes on.

I should end this post by saying that this could easily turn into an ugly game of Edinburgh-trashing. It is also a fine city and a certain destination for tourists (for good reason). I have worked in Edinburgh and seeing the view as I walk out of the Waverley train station does brighten my day and make me think - THIS is town planning at its finest. But, if I were to choose a city to live in, it would be Glasgow.

the best of scotland

2011-12-22T11:22:00.000Z

I've been thinking that it might be fun to do a little series of blog entries over the holidays and perhaps beyond (while I still have free time) about my experience living here in Scotland.

One of the challenges of blogging is trying to keep your posts (relatively) interesting. Since starting this blog, I've taken a fairly relaxed approach since I understand I have a relatively limited audience. An audience who, more than likely, knows me personally and will tolerate a less engaging read. However, that's no reason to be dull.

With that sentiment in mind, I've decided to do a few 'best of Scotland' entries that will expose my own tastes and reflect a few of my (mostly positive) opinions on my life here.

Irish Oatmeal

2011-10-17T11:01:00.003Z

To continue the breakfast theme around here... I've had a request for the slow cooker steel cut oats that are a feature in our breakfast rotation. As it's getting colder around here, it's perfect timing. The recipe comes from one of my favourite cookbooks of late Slow Cooker Revolution, from my heroes at ATK/Cook's Illustrated.

As a very oaty household, we typically have a few types of oats about - jumbo rolled oat (our standard porridge oat), quick rolled oats (for mixing in raw to yoghurt) and pinhead, also called steel cut (for a different type of porridge).

I need to preface this with the fact that in my mind, oatmeal porridge ought to be a mostly savoury dish. I don't normally like anything sweet in mine, bar dried fruit. Although I do like cold evaporated milk. So this recipe is a bit off the norm for me.

Steel cut oats are delicious and have a great texture, but are a bit of a pain to prepare, compared to rolled oats. This slow-cooker method makes it a snap and the leftovers are easily reheated. Since we have a very basic slow cooker (sans timer) I just plug ours into one of those timer socket thingies to get the right cooking time for it to be ready at breakfast. If you leave it cook too long, it's all ballooned out.

Irish Oatmeal

2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I've used salted and just back on the salt)
2 cups steel-cut oats
8 cups water
1 teaspoon salt

Method
Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat, add the oats in and toast. You need to make sure to stir this well as they can get dark quickly. You want them to be a golden colour and smell quite nice. Transfer over to the slow cooker and add the water and salt, cook on LOW setting for 4-6 hours. Our slow cooker tends to run hot, so they're done in 4, easily. Stir the porridge well and let it sit for about 10 min before serving, it just evens out a bit and is less hot.

The book provides a few options to this recipe - Cinnamon & Raisins, Bananas & Walnuts and Apples & Raisins. We've tried the first option, in which you simply add 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1 tsp of cinnamon and 1 cup of raisins. I love it! I'm hoping to try the banana one soon... For it you reduce the water to 7.5 cups and add 4 mashed bananas, 1 cup of toasted walnuts, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 tsp of cinnamon.

The real efficiency from this recipe is the leftover factor. It makes quite a lot and reheats as new. Just need to add a bit of water to get the right texture, although I prefer it solid.

Pikelets

2011-10-04T14:51:00.003Z

This last recipe is fantastic. In some ways it is more than just a variation on a theme, which so many pancake recipes are. Although the ingredient list is similar to normal pancakes, it has different DNA, so to speak. The secret ingredient - yeast! Don't worry though, it's not nearly as finicky as bread. In fact it's the easiest yeast-raised thing you'll ever make.

This recipe comes from "The Classic 1000 Cake & Bake Recipes", by Wendy Hobson. This is a very unassuming book, unfortunate graphic design. I was given this book with a pile of other cookbooks that a friend was wanting rid of, either they went to me or to a charity shop. I must admit that I nearly passed this one along to the charity shop when we did a book clear out. I'm glad I didn't, even if it were for this one recipe (truth be told it's full of good ones).

One of the quirks of this book is it's metric/imperial/US measurement layout. It's a pain to read, but it does allow me to present it in both systems here. I'm told pikelets are an Aussie thing, but as far as I can tell, it's really just their word for a raised pancake. This recipe appears to have rather ancient origins, what with the yeast and all.

Pikelets

1 teaspoon dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1-1/4 cups milk (300 ml)
1 egg
2 cups flour (225 g)
1 teaspoon salt

Warm the milk in the microwave so it is lukewarm and add the sugar and yeast. Allow the yeast to proof (it will float to the top and be bubbly)*. In larger bowl (I use a pitcher) add the flour and salt. Now add the egg to the milk mixture and beat, finally adding it to the dry ingredients; mix well into a thin batter (I use a hand blender or just do the whole thing in a regular blender). Unlike regular pancake batter, this stuff has to be lump-free. Cover and leave somewhere warm until double in size (no more than 30 min usually). Fry as you would normal pancakes, but be warned the mixture tends to pour gloppy.

*The original recipe tells you to make a paste with the dry yeast, sugar and some of the milk, then mix it into everything else. This does work, but it makes the rise time a lot slower - it will take 30 - 40 min at least depending on where you leave it to rise.

This recipe makes the most wonderful, doughy and fragrant pancakes. I eat them with just butter. If you have really active yeast, or a longer rise time, you will have very, very light thick pancakes, shorter rise times or less exuberant yeast yield shorter more bread like pancakes. I once made this with some very perky yeast and the batter kept growing to fill my pitcher, like a bottomless cup!

This is such a wonder, easy and unique recipe that you MUST try it at least once (but if you do, I promise it won't be a one-time-only thing).

Cornmeal Griddlecakes

2011-10-04T14:26:00.003Z

In case I get accused of pancake nationalism, I shall now introduce the pancake we eat the most often, which is an American recipe (that is not, as MBC would point out, overly large or tasteless). The best way to describe these is in terms of cornbread: Hot out of the oven with butter, yum! But just a few hours later, meh. The next day, yuck. This recipe is like eating hot-out-of-the-oven cornbread, except small, flat and in series (the better to soak up butter).

This recipe comes from the "The Cornbread Book" by Jeremy Jackson, which I urge you to buy if you like cornmeal in any of its forms - it's witty, charming and full of great recipes. Actually just buy it for the read even if you don't like cornmeal.

Griddlecakes

2/3 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, slightly cooled

Add the dry ingredients into a bowl, add the milk, egg and butter then stir it all until everything is just combined.

I make this in a plastic pitcher for easy pouring. It is delightfully easy and is delicious with a variety of toppings like honey. For UK readers, you can get cornmeal easily at any Indian, Afro-Carribean grocery or health food store where they will call it maize meal (get course ground).

Oatmeal Pancakes

2011-10-04T14:12:00.002Z

This is one of my grandmother's recipes, of which I am very fond. Like most of Grammie's recipes I can never get these to turn out as good as hers. This is likely due to the fact that my grandmother NEVER used recipes so every recipe we do have from her is sort of like a jotted-down transcript. Similarly, when we did copy a recipe out of her book, we got the original inspiration for what she actually made (never as good).

So in memory of Grammie (the late Kaye Smith), here it is:

Oatmeal Pancakes

3/4 cup rolled oats
1 cup buttermilk (or sour regular milk with some vinegar)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg (separated)

Put the oats in the buttermilk and let soak at least 15 minutes (if you are using the large flake oats, go a bit longer). Beat egg yolk and stir into mushy oats then add sugar, baking soda and flour; mix together. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into mixture. Fry as smallish pancakes on a lower heat than normal as they'll be pretty thick.

As much as I love this recipe, it doesn't get made as often because I always have a problem getting the the egg white beaten stiff (I don't have electric beaters). This recipe makes enough for two people and no more. It easily doubles and in fact the egg whites are easier to beat with twice as much.

Riverside Pancakes

2011-10-04T13:32:00.004Z

This is an old family standby, which makes a traditional Nova Scotian pancake - it is not a big, fluffy, syrup-absorbing sponge that falls apart on your plate (ie: a mix pancake). MBC and I have this discussion now and then about what I think an American pancake is. I have always thought of them as being massive and really fluffy, I suppose mostly based on restaurant fare in my travels down there. She rightly points out that you would get this sort of pancake at any restaurant in Canada as well. At any rate, these pancakes are not thus. They are, however, just like what is referred to as a 'scotch pancake' here in the UK, but minus the fruit.

The recipe comes from the North Cumberland Memorial Hospital Lady's Auxiliary Cookbook, Pugwash, NS (1970s vintage), which tells us that it was submitted by Barb MacKay.

Riverside Pancakes

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup white vinegar*
2 cups milk

Measure out the milk and pour vinegar in to sour. Add eggs and beat. Mix dry ingredients separately and add the wet in with a whisk. (My mother does the whole thing in a blender, also works well for pouring that way) Cook on a well greased griddle or frying pan until most of the bubbles burst, then flip (if it's too hot you'll know because it'll be burnt when you flip over).

*If you have it or feel so inclined you may just use 2-1/4 cups of buttermilk or milk that's gone sour in the fridge rather than the vinegar/milk combo. Important note here for those of you in the UK. White vinegar in Canada is a spirit vinegar, completely distilled. If you try to use UK-style vinegar it will taste awful. Just use buttermilk or, if you know where to get it, Polish white vinegar.

These are our all-around everyday pancake, be warned though, it makes a lot. The recipe does halve perfectly though.

pregnancy pancakes

2011-10-04T12:55:00.004Z

It's been a busy few months since the last post - hence the lack of posts. We've sold the old house, moved into a tiny flat and downsized our belongings in anticipation of moving back to Canada. And, of course, the thesis (which is what I've been doing every day since the beginning of July).

As anyone who reads this and knows us knows, MBC is pregnant with our first baby, which I'm reiterating here as this post is related to that very condition. In the first few months of her pregnancy MBC was off just about every kind of food I would call 'delicious'. The main exception was pancakes - which were on the menu in a big way. I soon got sick of the 'standard fare' and we experimented with a few new-to-us options.

I've decided to present a few of the best recipes here. Both for sharing and so they can be accessed on the internet any time I might need them. Rather than make one massive post, I'll break them up - which should also make for easier searching. Some day I may even append photos, but... that's not too likely.

I put the lime in the coconut

2011-04-09T17:35:00.004Z

Look what I've invented!

Coconut Lime Icing

100 g instant coconut milk powder

100 g butter

150 g icing sugar

lime juice to taste

Use as you would icing.

a place to live

2011-03-14T10:43:00.002Z

I've been worried about where we're going to live for a while now.

The past 16 years have been quite transient for me. The flat where we are living now has been my home for nearly four years, the longest I've lived anywhere since 1995. We're now hoping to sell it and move on.

The long-term plan is to get in to eco-building, but not in the sense that we'd be builders working for developers. I'd like to work with people to build their own homes.

I found this great video this morning as I was recovering from my morning swim:

SHELTER from jason sussberg on Vimeo.

tuna noodle fish casserole

2011-01-08T16:13:00.003Z

One of the small food drawbacks in the UK is the lack of Campbell's soup. I know it's strange that I say this, firstly because Campbell's soup isn't that fantastic as far as soup goes. Secondly, I usually poo-poo any recipe that has "...and now add a CAN of cream of BLANK soup". The soup is typically high in sodium and low in flavour.

However...

There are some times when you really want to slap together a quick little casserole or make a special recipe from your childhood that is of that 'can of soup' vintage and nothing really works in those recipes except Campbell's. I've learned this by sad experience. And I'll tell you what that's sad:

This past summer my sister left me some groceries that they weren't able to take back to Alberta with them (when we were all in NS). Included were two cans of Campbell's Chunky Soup (recall the 'Fork!'/'Spoon!' ads of the late 80s?). At the end of our stay we decided to eat one for lunch. I put it on the table and after taking a few slurps asked MBC if it was condensed soup. She didn't know, so I checked the tin: No, it wasn't. Holy salt! I mean, it was Fran-and-Gordon-salty-ham salty! It was like mechanically separated meat and vegetables in a light brine.

So, yeah, Campbell's... not really that fab.

On the positive side of things, if you must buy canned soup in the UK, Baxters (made up in Fochabers) is great (I also approve of their crinkle cut beets). However, their soup tastes too much like soup you might make yourself to be right as an ingredient. I'm afraid their cream of mushroom soup tastes too strongly of mushrooms to be right for tuna casserole. Sorry Baxter's. but you are just too good.

So, what are you to do? Well, I prefer to do it better. At this point, I'd like to welcome Mr Christopher Kimball in (although only metaphorically, as in real life I'd be too afraid to speak to him because he's so amazing).

Last year, the March & April Cook's Illustrated had a great method for Stroganoff and I plundered a small portion of it for my very own Tuna Noodle Fish Casserole. Campbell's soup be gone!

Here is the recipe, the way I do it, apologies to the slight changes and entirely different application from the Cook's Illustrated one.

Tuna Noodle Fish Casserole

1 can tuna (drained)

3ish cups of macaroni

1/2 cup peas

1 lb white mushrooms

1 Tbsp dijon mustard (a good French kind)

1 tsp sugar

ground black pepper

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 large shallots, minced (or a small onion if you aren't cooking for MBC)

salt

4 tsp flour

1/3 cup dry vermouth (or white wine, but vermouth is way better)

1-1/2 cups vegetable stock (we use Marigold Swiss Style)

1/2 cup creme fraiche (or sour cream if that's all you can get)

1 Tbsp of fresh dill

Method:

1. Get macaroni cooked as you are doing the rest.

2. After rubbing clean, chop up mushrooms to a reasonable size and put in the microwave on High for about 4-5 minutes (till they've decreased to half the bulk). Drain mushroom water and discard. Mix up sugar, mustard and about 1/2 tsp of ground pepper in a small bowl and set aside.

3. Heat up oil in skillet until just smoking and add mushrooms, onion and 1/2 tsp of salt. Cook until the vegetables are brown and starting to form dark bits on the bottom of the pan (6-8 min). Add tomato paste and flour, stirring constantly, until everything is well coated (about a minute). Add the vermouth and vegetable stock de-glazing the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the mustard paste and tuna. Reduce to medium heat and let thicken (about 5 min).

4. Once sauce is reduced sufficiently, add creme fraiche, peas and dill. Make any final seasoning adjustments (with salt and pepper if needed) and mix the whole lot with the cooked macaroni in a casserole dish.

5. Top with crunched up crisps (potato chips), or crackers or panko or whatever you fancy. and cook at 350 F for about 30-40 minutes (or until the top is nice and brown). I'm not too sure about this final bit as we use our Remoska and it takes about 25 minutes.

So that's how to beat 'the man' and not have to use canned soup. Of course it takes about 20 minutes more and uses a bunch of things, but it does taste about 37 thousand times better.

Yum.

breakfast

2011-01-01T19:54:00.002Z

Since getting married last year (yes, it was last year now), I've been enjoying breakfast a lot more. I've always been a staunch breakfast eater, but often forfeited quality for time. My wife has re-introduced porridge to our routine and through several tweaks I've now converted to eating it without sugar. One small change which makes a big overall difference. A good theme for the new year I think.

Here are a few hacks for 'regular' breakfast items that push them over the top:

Porridge

We are big oatmeal fans of whatever type (rolled, ground or steel cut) but I must say it's well worth paying a little extra for a good quality brand. My favourite in the UK is the Oatmeal of Alford, which has a lovely nutty flavour. Cheap oatmeal tends to have a slightly 'off' taste and it's worth paying a bit more considering even the expensive type is extremely cheap by comparison to other breakfast options.

We follow the old Scottish tradition of soaking the oats overnight (as we usually cook them in our Remoska). It reduces cooking time and I think it keeps the porridge from turning to complete goo.

We add dry fruit (raisins, dates, figs, apricots) for flavour and a bit of milk to cool. I've adopted the Cox tradition of using evaporated milk, which is nice and creamy without being too fatty or sweet.

We usually eat oatmeal at least four days a week, depending on the season and because it is a low GI food it gives you a good dose of energy to get you through until lunch. We might periodically sub in Cream of Wheat or when available Waitrose Four Grain Porridge. The latter being one of the best hot breakfast cereals known to man.

Eggs

I've recently discovered the Mr Breakfast method for scrambling eggs. It's nothing particularly fancy, but it works - perfect fluffy eggs each time that aren't runny, watery or rubbery. It's all in the method really, click on the link and read. Delicious if served over toast.

Runner up is poached eggs on toast.

French Toast

MBC isn't a big French Toast fan, sadly. In fact, early on in our marriage she won't eat it at all. After some intense parallel research into steamed puddings, I discovered one of the reasons why French Toast often fails - incorrect egg to milk ratio! Most recipes assume that all eggs are the same size and some, I believe, assume incorrectly that people enjoy soggy bread. The secret ratio is.... 1:1! Yep, just crack as many eggs as you want in to a bowl on your kitchen scale and note the weight. Then pour that same weight of milk in. Done... perfect French Toast every time.

Yoghurt

Store bought yoghurt is the yuck! It is full of starch, sweeteners and non-dairy-gum-based nonsense. There are a few brands that are alright, but nothing beats home made... which is easier than making French Toast (that is unless you live in Sweden and have access to A-Fil). Serve with home made compote/fresh fruit and/or dry cereal.

So, those are our breakfasts of choice... now a word about cereals. Cereals, as in that food product that you buy from the long aisle at the grocery store with the brightly coloured boxes. I happen to kinda love breakfast cereals. They are the easiest food to prepare and have such dashing spokesmonsters as Count Chocula. How could you resist?

Well, cereal is pretty much entirely highly processed carbs. Probably the worst thing to start your day off with. However, as a snack they are pretty awesome, considering they are FAR better for you than just about any other thing you'd be tempted to eat during the mid afternoon or just before bed. In fact the journal of the American College of Nutrition says this exact thing.

I'm allowed to have Chocolatey Checkers, which is pretty amazing because it's filled with chocolate hazelnut spread (aka Nutella) and has more fibre than raisin bran and few calories.

So anyway, how's that for a New Year's blog post! So remember kids, it's best to enjoy your cereal as part of a complete bed time snack and enjoy a low-GI protein rich breakfast.

design methods

2010-10-05T10:51:00.004Z

Recently, I've been trying to re-program my brain back in to my thesis work. It has come time to seriously combine all of my readings, discussions and experiments in to one large, coherent mass. I've always had the feeling that my research in to the area of design methods and how designers actually think and work has been too light. I feel like I've taken for granted that how they are doing it is wrong and that I need to forge ahead with a new way. But then at the same time I've known that really isn't true and that might eventually come to weaken the overall argument of my work. I decided that I aught to re-investigate the area of design methods by starting back with Chris Jones, the father of the subject, so to speak.

I've been pursuing a quick review of 'Essays in Design' to get me thinking. On page 47 we find a very interesting quote (in Jones' unique style):

"sometimes I have a dream...
its so annoying that most of the people you meet
they don't know about any of the new things
so you can't talk about them with them
It's irritating if you're keen on new things.
But then I go to a place where there are
where there are people who ONLY think of new things
and there's something missing
the ordinary life life isn't there
what they call the real world's gone.
And then I walk down the street
I see all sorts of people who've never heard of any ideas
and its much much more stimulating to me
in a way
because that is the real thing happening
you know
So if we go to the ordinary life
which we all live
even avant guardists are ordinary people
we look at our own ordinary life
that's the true inspiration
I think
and that's always there."

This is one of the problems I face with the practical application of my research. I feel as though the University provides a 'new idea' friendly environment for me, but lacks a type of stimulating legitimacy that is found in practise.

Just something to think about for now - until I get figure out how to reconcile this caveat.

Summer

2010-09-01T21:34:00.003Z

I thought I'd better take a moment before we leave North America to pop up a small blog post.

We've been here since June, it's now September and we'll be leaving next week. I'm torn between wanting to stay and wanting to get back to Dundee, but such is life.

I've been meaning to post this little recipe for a while, it's become a standard in our house, especially over summer when I felt the hot cereal was a bit much. It's from 'Everyday Food', published by Martha Stewart, who also brought me my favourite waffle recipe. It's from the May 2010 issue, page 76.

Tropical Muesli

In a small bowl stir together:
2/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup yoghurt
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp chopped dried pineapple
1 Tbsp golden raisins
1 Tbsp chopped natural almonds
1 Tbsp lemon juice [we used orange or sometimes skipped it altogether]

Cover and let sit overnight or at least an hour. The next morning add 1/2 cup of yoghurt and mix in well and divide between two bowls. Top each bowl with:
1-1/2 tsp of chopped dried pineapple
1-1/2 tsp of golden raisins
1 Tbsp of chopped natural almonds

This is, of course, one of those recipes that you can easily make without exact measurements, but it is a good place to start. It makes just enough for a large Steve-sized bowl and a small Mary Beth-sized bowl. I eventually got in the habit of making up a larger batch and just leaving it in the fridge for the next day of a later snack. I think the only health warning I'd add is that you should make sure to use a good PLAIN yoghurt and don't use salted or roasted almonds. Mary Beth doesn't fancy 'normal' raisins, so this works well for us - I also like the light flavour of the golden ones.

Maker's Bill of Rights

2010-04-07T09:26:00.002Z

A little blog post which articulates something that I've felt for a very long time.

I really don't like any piece of technology which assumes that you are an idiot. It assumes that you have no idea what goes on behind the 'magic curtain'. It does not want you to repair, modify or improve it in any way.

I could list many examples, but I will expand one that is quite familiar to me: cars. In North America there is a large community of 'hot rodders' who enjoy tinkering and modifying their old cars. At the very core of this technology you have the Small Block Chevrolet or SBC engine. This is the Lego of the hot rod world. You can put it in just about any rear wheel drive car made between 1930 through 1990. It is simply because General Motors had a sort of design inertia when it came to engines. They made one and kept making it for over 40 years.

Or is it?

The way in which a SBC interfaces with the rest of the car is very basic and clear - two motor mounts, simple transmission bolt pattern. You can even drop it in to a Ford or Dodge with an adaptor plate and a bit of welding the mounts. I don't suspect this was ever intentional, but it becomes possible by virtue of its adaptability. The systems are compatiable.

I can only think of one other engine with such a long lifespan - the horizontally opposed VW air-cooled engine of VW Bug fame. This was a bit of a different case, as its native application was a little more restrictive. However, it found it's way in to the VW Bus, early Porche, test plot combines, dune buggies, and numerous other small-power applications.

What would happen if all 4 cylinder engines had the same mounts, the same rear main bolt pattern, and the same electrics hookup? Might be a good inducement to competition and innovation with today's small cars.

Anyway, this is all a very elaborate preamble to what I wanted to post, from Make:

Owner's Manifesto

from MAKE: 04: Music and Kits for the Holidays, Page 154.

If you can't open it, you don't own it: a Maker's Bill of Rights to accessible, extensive, and repairable hardware.

By Mister Jalopy

The Maker's Bill of Rights

* Meaningful and specific parts lists shall be included.
* Cases shall be easy to open.
* Batteries should be replaceable.
* Special tools are allowed only for darn good reasons.
* Profiting by selling expensive special tools is wrong and not making special tools available is even worse.
* Torx is OK; tamperproof is rarely OK.
* Components, not entire sub-assemblies, shall be replaceable.
* Consumables, like fuses and filters, shall be easy to access.
* Circuit boards shall be commented.
* Power from USB is good; power from proprietary power adapters is bad.
* Standard connecters shall have pinouts defined.
* If it snaps shut, it shall snap open.
* Screws better than glues.
* Docs and drivers shall have permalinks and shall reside for all perpetuity at archive.org.
* Ease of repair shall be a design ideal, not an afterthought.
* Metric or standard, not both.
* Schematics shall be included.

I love this... When do you think we can get this passed as law?

composting, as requested

2010-03-31T12:29:00.003Z

So, since we got the allotment, I have had to dig out my composting knowledge. The previous lot holder has left us with a small mountain of biosolids in various states of decay.

It's a good thing that I have a degree in Ag/Bio Engineering and have studied composting intensively, thanks to a certain Terry Fonstad. Also, I might add here, just to continue the name dropping that I know Joy Agnew, discoverer of the Agnew Coefficient - of much use if you need to calculate the bulk density of a large pile of 'who know's what'. So yes, composting is something I know about.

Anyway, here's the science bit: Everything that was once living can be composted, from bones to soild waste to phone books. There are millions of wee creatures from several animal and plant kingdoms that will eagerly help this process along. Fungi, molds, bacterium and even small mites. The good news is that they are pretty much everywhere and there is NO NEED to add any sort of 'innoculant' - eg: magic potion from the garden centre to 'start' your compost.

This little army of microorganisms is all set and ready - they just need the right conditions to grow and work. There are three biggies - air, water and nutrients, and one smallie - temperature (although that usually sorts it self out).

Let's look at each of them:

1. Air - most of these bugs need to breathe, so they need air. This means no completely sealed buckets and the pile must be porous enough to let air in. Alternatively, and this is often the case with your home compost, you must turn it. Your compost will still break down without air, that's called anaerobic digestion, but it will stink like rotten eggs or various other nastiness.

2. Water - Your compost needs to be damp. How damp? Probably damper than you think it aught to be. It should have enough water than when you squeeze it, a tiny bit of water comes out, but not so much that when you pick it up, it drips. Think - wet sponge. This is very often a problem if you live in a dry climate - such as the Canadian praries, so you will need to add water, and keep adding it as it will dry out. Remember, some things come with water in them already - manures and a lot of food wates. Getting this right is really key.

3. Nutrients - These little guys need Nitrogen, but not too much. Ideally you want 30 parts of Carbon to 1 part of Nitrogen. Pretty much everything you put in the pile will have Nitrogen in it, but not often at the ideal 30:1 ratio. You can fix this by adding a bit of high Nitrogen things in - grass clippings or pine needles being common things. If you are really stuck, you can cheat by putting a tiny bit of Nitrogen fertiliser in. Too much nitrogen is also bad and will slow the bugs down.

4. Temperature - The great thing about these little bugs is that when they work they make their own heat. When they are working very hard, they get very hot. If your pile is smoking (literally) hot that's means they are working. Some of the bugs will not like insane heat levels, the normal temp is between 50 and 60 degrees C. In the summer, turning will help keep it from getting too hot. In the winter/spring/fall, not turning it as much might help - usually just keeping the right balance going of nutrients and water will be enough.

Some other notes - mix well and make sure you don't have bits that are too huge. I've composted whole chickens before and they will go right down to nothing, but that was a BIG pile. For household piles, keep it smallish. Another thing is meat - they always say not to, but this isn't because you can't, it's just because rotting meat tends to attract rats, cats, dogs and bears. Use your own discretion there.

As for commercially available composters - I pick the rotary composter. I like that fact you don't have to dig and move all the compost. It also keeps things neat and tidy and pest free. The round black ones work okay, but the idea that you just pull 'finished' compost from the bottom... I've never seen that work super well. There are always bits that need more time.

Anyway, that's all really. Enjoy.

Flock and Zotero

2010-03-19T15:57:00.001Z

So....

One of the many perks of being married to a fully qualified librarian is access to knowledge. I love knowledge.

This morning I set off to school to look after some dreadful thesis tasks. My plan for today was to start integrating my transfer report in to the outline I've developed for my thesis. It's a big step and fraught with technical problems. The main problem was trying to figure out how to migrate my references, which were all done in EndNote, over to some sort of system that would work with OpenOffice on the Ubuntu operating system I have on my laptop. I mentioned this to Mary Beth as I was leaving and shortly after arriving at school, she sent me an email suggesting I try Zotero.

Zotero is amazing. In under 10 minutes I transferred all of my old references and began adding more. It is such a good tool.

Being the person I am, I decided to watch all of the tutorial videos. I also did this with EndNote, it was painful and took over 90 minutes. These lovely little videos introduced me to Flock, a browser based on Firefox which bring together all sorts of our favourite Web 2.0 applications - YouTube, Blogger, Facebook and of course - Zotero.

Anyway, I'm trying this post out via Flock.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

an update

2010-03-08T09:46:00.002Z

Blogging.

Blogging is one of a multitude of things I am not nearly as proficient at as my wife. You see, I looked at my blog today and realised that I haven't updated it since October, when I was single and not even engaged.

I shall refer you to my wife, MBC's blog:

www.librarianpants.blogspot.com

It contains all the information you might find interesting.

This morning I've found myself sitting in the office feeling that I should be at home with my new bride and coming to the realisation that work and school must go on. My task for today is to prepare a comprehensive outline for my thesis (MARK I). I feel like I probably should have done this some time ago, but have been dallying for whatever reason.

The title of my thesis is Design and Salutogenic Food Systems. I have decided to start with a series of questions which help refine my overall research question. I am going to prepare a mind-map, a la Tony Buzan, to help clarify my position and organise my argument. Tom once told me Tony Buzan owns a small island and presumably sips cocktails all day. I also presume his shoe laces are made from £20 notes.

Oh Tony Buzan, help me with just a sprinkle of your success...

Right, I'm off to make a mind map using this fab software I got from Davin called Smart Ideas, insert plug for Smart right here.

Right, off to work.

kids these days

2009-10-18T22:30:00.002Z

For something a little lighter, please enjoy my niece:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D-5s7z-h5M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1H05qfDcwA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFA8hTVr-v0

I'd like to point out her excellent pronunciation skills, as she's only 2.5. With another one on the way soon, I'll continue to brush up on the Uncling skills.

finally it is done

2009-09-22T13:28:00.002Z

Alright, I've done it. The transcription of my hand-written travel journal from Cuba is complete. I know it seems a bit late and a bit pointless by now, but I know there are some people out there who are interested and were given a link to this blog from SEDA.

If you are keen on looking at them, just do a search on here for Cuba, as all of entries are back dated and will appear in 2008, which is when I was there.

In other Cuba-related news, I just found out that Radio Enciclopeia has a website:

http://www.radioenciclopedia.cu/

I'd suggest listening for it just to hear the woman say: Raaaadio Enciiilopeeedi-ahh, Habanaa, Coooba. Just imagine that over some 1970s sounding tropical-ish jingle. Then straight back in to what I'd call Cuban communist elevator music.

It might not be the same not coming out of a 1950s vintage wood floor-model radio/phonograph.

book tokens and croatia

2009-09-15T12:30:00.004Z

So, last year I was asked to give a lecture to the first year design students. I quite enjoyed this experience overall and nearly forgot that I had been paid for it.

Initially I was to be paid cash-money, but later due to financial constraints at DoJ I was told I'd be receiving book tokens. Not a problem.

So, after nearly year of forgetting to drop by Christine's office, I finally picked them up - sixty pounds!! Now add on the £20 in book tokens I have left over from Christmas, that's £80. Time to get myself some free books.

In other news, I'm working on a paper for a design conference in Croatia. It will be on food orbits. I think I'm going to write something on here about my thoughts on visual thinking - to be a bit of teaser for the paper.

Because papers need teasers.

Goodness, papers need a free toy or sweet inside them.

I often wonder if there is an in-built catharsis with academic papers - I am going to sit in my academic dungeon of torture for days concocting this rancid elixir of poison so that those few people determined enough to read it will then feel the pain I had in its preparation. The conference being the ultimate showcase of tragedies - the cathartic event. We all walk away cleansed.

...but I'll get to go to Croatia. So it'll be fun. Plus Seaton will be coming and possibly on the Orient Express. I'll be arriving on RyanAir or EasyJet, so my sins will be atoned for before the conference.

Right, must get on to work. The submission date is in December, full papers only.

hi, is english your first language?

2009-09-01T14:22:00.003Z

Then I don't want to eat your bread.

Well, okay there are a few exceptions, but as a general rule our bread is awful. Bread in the UK is awful, bread in Canada is awful, bread in the USA is awful. I don't really think it's a big stretch to say Aussie and Kiwi bread is terrible either.

Coming from the world's greatest wheat growing nation, you'd think I'd be a bit of a bread buff. Sadly, it's just not the case. There are small exceptions, I'm thinking specifically of Winnipeg -where the standard bread is rye. Canadians haven't exactly led the charge when it comes to baking, although we do control a massive bit of the industry - not just on the supply side. I'm talking to you members of the Weston family (who I'm sure are['t] frequent readers of this blog). I will not be too harsh because I do love the almost all the PC products, especially the Memories Of sauces, and Wagon Wheels (but only really because I had to trade my home made lunch things for them, which in retrospect seems idiotic).

This little tirade has been brought to you because of my trip to the local Russian shop. Dundee has a Russian Shop, yes - who knew? They have all sorts of odd things and a lot of vodka, but they also have Russian bread. Lovely Russian bread that is probably a month old and smuggled via mafia connections in sea containers full of feau-lex watches and trafficked persons. Each bite has so much flavour. I ate it today for lunch with some herring - fantastic.

Now a little dip back in to history tells me that us Britons were once making such bread, simply because we didn't have the climate to grow wheat. All we could grow was oats, barley and rye. It took many years of selective breeding to develop a wheat variety suitable for our cool and damp climate.

I should have really written this a while back after I went to Andrew Whitley's seminar. I shall now plug Mr Whitley and his website which is far more interesting than my rant:

http://www.breadmatters.com/

Also, does anyone know what is up with the large eared bear cub that seems to proliferate Russian stuff? I just drank some juice with him on it. The shop lady tells me he's the bear who likes kindness and drinking milk.

critical and functional

2009-08-20T19:48:00.003Z

Here goes my first design-y post in a while. It's good to get back in to the swing of things, especially the mindset.

Just a health warning, it's a bit of a design rant.

I found myself at DoJ's 'PhD Summer School 2009' this week. Now before I start, I must note that it was organised by my second supervisor, Jeanette Paul, and she may very well be reading this... But when first presented with the idea of a Summer School I must confess I was less than excited. As I recall, Summer School was generall for the kids who didn't pass their maths exam or something... not to mention the words 'summer' and 'school' just don't don't feel right together.

But...

I must say that it was a very worth-while experience. Mainly because it never hurts to get a bit of a spur now and then, but moreso because it got be talking about and thinking about my research, and ultimately a bit excited about it!

The main point I'd like to write about is Stuart Walker's presenation, but first I'll need to give credit to Mike. I've heard his presentation a few times, but I must say this time I quite enjoyed a little piece he added - a video clip of John Cleese speaking about how to write. Tortoise enclosure... brilliant. Although it was pointed out that he did go WAY over time, which I do believe was one of his own rules.

Anyway, Stuart Walker spoke about his work that explores the concept of functional clarity through his designs of everyday objects. I just tried googling for some images of his work, but no dice, as I think an image would explain this succinctly. Imagine a flashlight made from two batteries taped together and crudely wired to a light bulb; a telephone which is simply a circuit board, speaker and mic glued to a piece of painted plywood. These artefacts are designed to give emphasis to the function of a product as a way to critise convention design which often seeks to hide the working parts with a facade. Indeed product design is very concerned with enclosures *cough* apple *cough*. Since the early 1900s we have separated form and function and assigned them to different corners of the design world. What I think Walker is suggesting from this is that function aught to be enbodied by form.

(Noise of a car screeching to a halt)

Whilst I agree with the above completely, I find the form-function debate a little tiresome. Nature doesn't have this debate. I found it very revealing that someone later pointed out that it is quite 'right brain-left brain'. I think I must now quote another Mr Walker - Fergus Walker, who once remarked "The Enlightenment has a lot to answer for". That it does, when it comes to the way of thinking it has precipitated. Form and function cannot be viewed like two sides of a river - with the person on the form side saying: "Oh goodness it's awfully pretty over here, but look at the function side, it seems all harsh and edgey, actually there's something cool about that..." Meanwhile, the function side is saying "What's old formy up to again, he never gets anything done". It seems like that's how it might be, but really, an object - artefact - design must be thought of as one. There are no sides... hmm, running out of analogies, it's a SPHERE! Yes, there are no sides, it is all one thing.

But anyway, I liked Stuart Walkers presentation. I agreed with it all, but I guess I'm a hard line holist. It did also gave me some ideas about critical design.

I was thinking that perhaps what I am doing at Belmont is an excercise in critical design. It is design that is meant to inspire though, not neccessarily just critise... But I like the idea that the process or act of designing should be part of research. Maybe the artefact isn't as important as the design. That's a good idea, as we don't seem to have a lot of money for artefacts!

Also, I liked - local manufacture of products with mass produced parts. Lots to talk about there... later.

Right, so there is my completely half, no, quarter-baked ideas about Wednesday. I don't think I even properly expressed them, but I'm glad they are down. I also came up with a brilliant idea for a paper. So brilliant I may have to keep hold of it and not tell anyone, lest someone steals it. Probably won't happen though... I can give you a hint - it involves Mark Newhall. If you know who he is, then your name is probably Roddie Fraser.

How I spent my summer holidays

2009-08-15T19:48:00.003Z

Despite rumours to the contrary, I am still alive and living in Scotland. I would like to excuse my several month absence with the following lines stolen from my favourite band, The Weakerthans:

'I have a headache. I have a sore back. I have a letter I can't send. I have desire, it falters and falls down, it calls you up drunk at three or four a.m. to wonder when...'

Well, I wasn't drunk, but I did have a sore back and was off work (with doctor's note and everything) for a couple of months. If I appeared to be drunk, it was just the painkillers. That's been all sorted though, since about June.

What's my excuse since then? Well...

I was away for about 6 weeks, 4 to Canada and the 2 prior to various places around Scotland with my friends Daniel and Ben, brothers to Theresa of http://fenomenalarecept.blogspot.com/ fame.

So, here are photos for your pure enjoyment - Steve and Sandy's Cross-Canada Tour 2009:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=285824&id=608190647&l=e9f54f65aa

For those people interested - tour t-shirts will be available at a modest cost.

I promise to get right back to everyone with more important food and salutogensis-type stuff right as soon as I: finish compiling all the data from the spring field trials, writing a journal paper and catching up on all my fun APEGM stuff.

Cheerio!

The dirty dozen and the clean fifteen

2009-04-16T12:39:00.003Z

Breaking with tradition, I am about to write something slightly useful. If you know me, you'll know that I am quite critical of 'organic food'... especially as as brand. You might as well just say organic=gentrified, there are exceptions however and it is the classic confused issue.

For those of you un-initiated, organic food is food grown without the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilisers. How this is defined is very broad and as such I believe it is a fallacy to say it is always a better choice. A very obvious example: Tayside strawberries (conventional) vs organic strawberries from California. You may be faced with this choice at Tesco. Clearly the local berries will taste better and given good managment might also be better for the environment than ones grown under organic husbandry with irrigation in 45 degree heat somewhere in California.

It gets more complicated, I could go on.

Anyway, I found a nice little summary, American, but could likely be applied to the UK and elsewhere.

http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/Dirty-Dozen-Foods

I'll summarise [my notes in square brackets]:

12 Foods You Should Probably Buy Organic

1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Sweet Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale [umm, who eats this stuff?]
9. Leafy Greens
10. Grapes
11. Carrots [not sure if applies as much in the UK]
12. Pears
[13. Bananas - this should be number 1]

[Having applied many a pesticide myself, I would think most of these are obvious. Fruit and veg that come in to contact with the spray itself and have a porous skin are going to be most likely to absorb the chemical.]

15 Foods You Can Probably Buy Normal

1. Onion
2. Avocado
3. Sweet Corn
4. Pineapple
5. Mango
6. Asparagus
7. Peas
8. Kiwi
9. Cabbage
10. Eggplant [Aubergine]
11. Papaya
12. Watermelon [wow, water in melon form!]
13. Broccoli
14. Tomato [aside from the fact it'll probably taste awful]
15. Sweet Potato

Well, there you go... if you are concered about pesticide residues, that's some good advice. However, I think that you would do far better to just educate yourself and think a bit. A good clue is often place of origin. If they come from a country where bribes form a substantial part of the GDP, you might want to think twice (okay, well we have to exclude Italy, where even the mafia wouldn't accept a bribe to allow bad food). Also, think about where you are getting the food. Really great food often goes bad quickly, so learn how to bottle!

USA-miable

2009-04-16T12:05:00.003Z

I've always had a pleasant ambivalence with respect to the nuts-and-bolts details of American politics. That is except when their system generates something interesting to me, the past eight years offering a notable gap.

Given my chronic scepticism toward spin-related politicking, I find myself being mildly impressed on at least a fortnightly basis with the new President. Even on issues where his decisions may not be in line with my views, it seems that there is surprisingly fresh level of thoughtfulness exhibited.

Anyway, on to what matters: food. This blog has details Mr Obama's interactions with food on many levels. It even has recipes!!

http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/

This sums it up

2008-12-10T10:39:00.003Z

I was reading today and this quote caught my eye. It basically sums up what my research is all about. Michael Pollan is the author of several food related books and I admire his holistic take on the problems of the western diet and the world's focus on 'Nutrition-ism'.

This quote is from 'In Defence of Food' (Penguin Books, 2008):

"...I no longer think it is possible to separate our bodily health from the health of the environment from which we eat or the environment in which we eat or, for that matter, from the health of our general outlook about food (and health). If my explorations of the food chain have taught me anything, it's that it is a food chain, and all the links in it are in fact linked: the health of the soil to the health of the food culture in which we eat them to the health of the eater, in body as well as mind.

He goes on to say:

"Food consists not just of piles of chemicals; it also compromises a set of social and ecological relationships, reaching back to the land and outward to other people."

I couldn't have said it better myself!

The interest to me, as a designer, are those connections that tie it all together and how to design for them (or with them if they are existing).

Anyway, I highly recommend the book as well as Omnivores Dilemma and The Botany of Desire (although not as food related, it is a great read).

SEDA Event at Strathclyde Uni

2008-10-17T10:02:00.003Z

This just in, hot of the SEDA presses. Please come along, especially if you missed Roberto in Dundee. I won't claim to be nearly as good as him, but given the lineup for the evening, it will be worth it.

MAKING SPACE FOR PEOPLE AND FOOD:

meeting the challenge of climate change and resolving conflicts over land

Wed 29 Oct at 5.30 pm for 6.00 start
Lecture Theatre G4, Department of Architecture
Strathclyde University

The talks this evening will show how different communities in Cuba and the UK have come up with their own solutions to the need to create and use space to good effect and in less energy-intensive ways. We will hear about enlightened approaches which resolve contradictions between the desire for green space and the demand for development and shelter; and the need to produce food with fewer demands on resources and on the energy used.

The evening will start with the announcement of this year’s winner of the Krystyna Johnson Student Travel Award: James Henderson, graduate in building design engineering at Strathclyde University, who is researching the viability of introducing Brettstapel timber construction into Scotland, and will use his award to visit Austria, Switzerland and Germany to learn more about the manufacturing processes involved.

Growing Power: Cuba, post peak oil urban agriculture & use of green space - last year’s winner, Steve Brogan from the Centre of Natural Design, Dundee University, will be giving a presentation on his study of successful responses to Cuba’s need to create a low-energy, self-sufficient and sustainable society following their loss of access to oil and the crumbling of the socialist trade bloc in 1990. The presentation will focus on their development of permaculture as a means to transform food production - especially in urban areas where Havana, for example, now produces 60% of it's food requirements from within the city limits. Steve’s trip to Cuba was funded by the 2007 Student Travel Award.

Plotting the Future - Chris Coates is a green builder and author of “Utopia Britannica”, on the Offshoots project, Burnley a UK project with which he was involved and which combines many of the issues that Steve will be discussing - exemplifying community engagement in food production as well as the use of natural materials and alternative energy use in the provision of buildings.

Edinburgh Havana Initiative - looking at Architecture and Planning questions common to both Edinburgh and Havana, architect and SEDA member Ian Parson will focus on the experiences of both places as World Heritage Cities and look at how they can exchange ideas and innovations and reduce their carbon emissions - from the provision and repair of buildings to the innovative use of green space.

There will be opportunities for questions and the talks will be followed by wine and nibbles and the chance to meet and chat. The evening will close at 9pm.

For more information and to book your place please contact Mary Kelly mary@segalselfbuild.co.uk. Visitors welcome.

You can download a programme from the SEDA web site: http://www.seda2.org/future/future.htm

Roberto Perez in Dundee!

2008-09-10T08:57:00.001Z

Hi Everyone, here are the official details on Roberto's talk at Dundee Uni:

Roberto Perez
The Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill, University of Dundee
Saturday 27th September - 6pm
Drinks reception to follow

When Cuba lost access to Soviet oil, fertilizers, and export trade market in the early 1990s, the country faced virtual overnight economic collapse and an immediate crisis - feeding the population.

The story of how Cuba successfully developed permaculture in response to this crisis will be outlined in a thought-provoking lecture by renowned Cuban permaculturalist Roberto Perez in a major lecture at the University of Dundee.

Cuba has in the past 18 years transformed its food production using organic agriculture and Havana produces over 60% of its food requirements from within the city limits. The Cuban people’s hardship, ingenuity, and triumph over sudden adversity, through cooperation, conservation, and community, to create a low energy society is a truly inspirational story as evidenced in the documentary, The Power of Community in which Roberto features.

This lecture is being held in celebration of the University of Dundee being awarded Fair Trade Status earlier this summer.

The lecture is free and tickets can be obtained from the Tower Building Reception,

or from the online store at:
https://www.buyat.dundee.ac.uk/catalogue/products.asp?deptid=7&catID=&hasClicked=0

or by emailing: events@dundee.ac.uk

Hope to see you all there!

Cubans in Dundee

2008-07-28T14:19:00.003Z

On Sunday I participated in the Big Tent Festival in Falkland, Fife. What an excellent event!

I had bit of a technical breakdown, so unfortunately my presentation was cut short, so I invited those present to check out my blog. Looks I need to finish the transcription of my handwritten diaries! Will have to do it this week.

Also, further to my Cuba trip, I have received word that Roberto Perez from FANJ will be coming to Dundee on Saturday the 27th of September! Venue information to follow.

I will also be giving a public lecture on Cuba, Food and Design with SEDA sometime in October.

a bit of new life for my blog

2008-01-24T10:44:00.001Z

It seems like my blog has become like that proverbial telescope or remote control airplane that you got for Christmas when you were ten. So desireable when you opened it with dreams of becoming a great astronomer gazing at the stars on cool summer nights or impressing your friends with the coolness of flying a wee plane... By the time summer arrives with its biting insects and mini-aircraft-destroying winds, it seems that those ideals seem to find their way to basements and storage closets. I mean, who really becomes an astronomer or a pilot anyway? No one I have ever heard of, umm, wait... Well not too many people.

Now I have a reason to blog, at least for a short while.

Sandra, One of my colleagues here at Duncan of Jordanstone suggested to me a while back that I should start a blog on food related issues. I immediately thought about this blog, which has been languishing. So here we go.

I am going to start off this year's posts with my handwritten (yes, it is still done) and transcribed travel journal from my study trip to Cuba. I am going to backdate them from the actual day I wrote it and tag them with Cuba for SEDA members that might be visiting the site. Pictures to follow.

Cheers for now.

vilda

2008-01-16T13:16:00.001Z

I was extremely pleased with my visit to Vilda's project. It is excellent in every respect. Once again we are thinking along the same lines in so many ways. I think that what she is doing could have a great application at Belmont. The official name is: The Community Project for Food Preservation of Condiments and Medicinal Plants has been running since 1991. Its main aim is to promote health through better preservation and preparation of food, this also includes growing food and nutritional plants. Vilda did postgraduate work at the Rowatt Institute in Aberdeen in 1966 (good old Abz).

The centre has a staff of just 3 people and receives no government money other than indirect support of the programmes and access to resources. One of the most important resources is the state-owned ratio and TV stations. Vilda and her husband Jose present regular TV and Radio shows. With this outreach they can contact many thousands of people. They have two small gardens on site which basically look like this:

[A hand drawing which you can't see here, sorry]

The layout isn't as critical as the work which is being done [see, told you it wasn't that important]. Vilda uses principles of Permaculture, but is not as concerned with the gardening aspect as with food preparation and storage (although seeing the gardens you might think otherwise, they are spectacular). Near the building a small area is used for upstanding pipes filled with soil and trickle irrigated. I think that this sort of system may work very well for Belmont, with rainwater collection systems on S facing walls near the buildings. The permaculture garden may be a good idea for the open area, with small buildings (straw?) to be used for demonstration, preparation and drying. [note to self cut out]

We only had an hour to talk but it was well worth the time. I bought several of her books, all in Spanish less one in English which was a partial translation of the original Spanish version. They are currently looking for a partner to help with translation and publication in English. I do believe Vilda is an excellent person to work with - she is a pillar of knowledge. Her work is very Cuba-specific, but i believe the approach maybe transferable. I will have to look for these types of 'canning' manuals in the UK. I know many of them exist in Nova Scotia, mostly from the 70s and 80s when there was an Extension HE system which existed as a branch of the NSDAM. Sadly, it is mostly all gone.

raining

2008-01-15T12:51:00.000Z

It's raining today. A very rare event this time of year. I should've expected there'd be some colder weather to usher me back to Britain. In fact I am quite happy about it. The last few nights of 25 degree weather has made sleep quite unpleasant, if I slept at all.

A little rant about money.

So here are some equations:

In Cuba...

1 USD = 0.89 CUC
1 CAD = 1.14 CUC
1 GBP = 1.79 CUC

(where USD is US dollar, CAD is Canadian Dollar, GBP is UK Pound and CUC is Cuban Converable Peso)

Now on international markets...

1 USD = 0.98 CAD
1 CAD = 1 CAD
1 GBP = 2.03 CAD

Cuba blocks the use of US Dollars, for obvious reasons (thank you George W Juice). So if you use a USD you will get charged 10 cents on the dollar as a fine. Not a problem, I don't need US dollars. When I came here I was told to bring pounds. Why? I should have brought CAD because in fact CAD to CUC is favourable, in fact like 20% more valuable than the USD and like for like 15% more valuable than the pound.

Clearly the exchange rates here are based on the fact that almost all goods here come out of Canada so Fidel likes to stockpile CAD.

All of this seems reasonable, except for when you try to get money off your UK or Canadian credit card. You get charged a 10% fine. Why you might ask? Because the credit card magically turns your Canadian or British money in to American money THEN in to CUC.

Why? I am not sure as US banks do not operate in Cuba. Oh, but wait, they own the VISA name and force all international transactions to operate through their highly overvalued currency.

I can easily see why: a) the entire world hates America and b) why you would easily go bonkers living in Cuba because of such things and the heavy handed communist bureaucracy.

a leisurely day

2008-01-14T13:13:00.000Z

I took a leisure day today with Julio and Dale. Early in the day I went to the 13th Street market. I didn't buy anything, but I did have a good look at what was being offered, which was EVERYTHING! There were mostly fruit and veg a good selection of meat being sold out of the boots of old cars. There were also goods such as children's clothes, pots and pans and some prepared food like fried chicken and sandwiches. The regular juice wagon was not in use but a few similar ones were were operating along the strip. This market takes place weekly and is governed by two main principles: buyer beware and first come, first serve. Sellers arrive to claim their spots early, about 4 am. Wise buyers arrive early to get their pick at about 7 am. Julio says after 9:30 am it gets too packed and the best produce is gone. The market ends at 3 pm and all the rubbish is cleared from the street by 5 pm. Each municipality in Havana has a similar market, with quality, quantity and price varying. These markets started spontaneously and eventually gained the blessing of the government. Stores here have rigid price controls and have a serious lack of variety. The markets have neither. It would appear to be a cradle of capitalism in a sea of socialism. I would say that this type of affair is where capitalism does shine over the rigid controls of socialism. The reason why it does work so well is that these 'players' are all very evenly matched and create a very stable and competitive market. I would suspect that there is room in the market for operations such as this in the UK, but it would need to be protected from predatory monopolies. I should note that there is a very different feeling from the farmers markets that we have in the UK. The target for these markets are much more expansive.

I think that what Roberto said makes good sense. There is always room in the market for urban agriculture, local markets, etc... I keep this in the back of my mind in the case of the Whitfield Shops back in Dundee. Here is a basically unused building, in an area that needs a market. The income level is below average. The people are bargain hunters. I think that a small market would do wonders for the economy of the other shops there. A 24-hour grocery or even a 24 hour newsagent would also be a good asset.

In the afternoon I checked my email at Dale and Lisa's, then we went to the Marnia Hemmingway. The same band that we (me and Julio) saw play last night was also playing tonight, 'Vertical Dimension'. Mostly covers of 1970s songs. They were better tonight. The atmosphere was much nicer as well. Open air so not as noisy and smokey. I should also write a wee bit on Paladars. These are 'small' restaurants located in personal homes. The two I have frequented are the 'Din-Don' and 'Bon Appitite'. Both are very good hand serve at a reasonable price. They are also from the 'Special Period'. Much like the market they started spontaneously and eventually gained the approval of the government. Even up until quite recently they were not allowed to advertise with a sign. Even know the 'Din Don' does not have a sign. They have excellent food probably because they rely strictly on word of mouth. Service is slow by UK standards, count on at least an hour and a half for a nice meal. Once again these operate within a system of state-controlled food outlets called Cafeterias. These cafeterias have mediocre food at fairly high prices - like most fast food places in the UK. They are however, quick. Paladars are licenced so hygiene standards are in place t a much greater extent than seen at the street markets [I will note in here I did watch the chef cook my meal with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth]. Once again we see the blending of commercial/residential in a very smooth manner. Often this type of footfall near a paladar gives the neighbourhood a lively character and the parking attendant/doorman adds a higher level of security to the neighbours for free.

Application of this practise in the UK would not be 'cut and paste', but it goes to strengthen the argument for mixed-use planning [and an argument against planning itself]. It also adds some 'spruce' to the local economic landscape, which seems to be increasingly bland. There are certainly parallels to be drawn with the bland state-controlled market of the pre-1990s Cuba [and the monopolised food market in the UK]. Two different political/economic systems suffering from similar problems of concentration of power and centralisation in the name of efficiencies.

Efficiencies of scale need to be re-though in terms of a sustainable economy. Efficiencies of networks may be a concept worth delving in to. In fact I need to look at this as another evaluative tool for my kit - regarding systems. there needs to be a way of measuring the interconnectedness of a system, but not just the number of connections but in what sense the units are connected. Parallels needs to be made with natural systems. Cells in an organism are nearly automatons but yet rely heavily on the network they are part of on both micro and macro levels. Something else to think about...

Destructive networks also exist. There needs to be differentiation. I would think that salutogenic systems are not destructive [at least not at macro level]. What is a pathogenic systems?

at FANJ again

2008-01-14T12:29:00.000Z

Our meeting today was quite good as I discovered that, in essence, Roberto has been on the same track as us when it comes to design. He as been involved in FANJ since the early days. Likewise he also was at the airport when the first permaculture expert came from Australia in September of 1993. The Aussie's were invited as an 'educated' what to tackle the food and urban agriculture problem. For many years the programme was sponsored so training was free of charge. The group from FANJ absorbed as much as possible and now trains many others. To date they have trained more than 500 people in Permaculture techniques.

It should be mentioned that Permaculture has not been a cut-and-paste solution to th food problem, nor to and of the other associated problems. One example that Roberto gave me was of mulch. One of the permaculture long standing traditions is deep mulching. Early work here found that in a tropical climate the mulch started to break down so quickly that the N was actually being used up and made unavailable as it leached away and therefore was NEVER available. A good study of the workings showed that plant mulch would have to be extremely deep to be effective. So deep that plants would not be able to grown up through it. It was found that a simple thin layer of cardboard with holes punched through it for the plants to grow would actually work best. A solution that is not elegant, but yet very effective and making use of a excess cardboard. Roberto emphasized several times how PRINCIPLES are transferable, but exact solutions are not always.

One other topic that we spoke about was the status of Permaculture itself. For Roberto there is no question about its efficacy no its base principles, but it does often have its share of hippies and strange-os. Working in Cuba, Roberto was unaware of this bias. He applied for funding from OXFAM Canada to do work in another country (possibly Haiti). The OXFAM people balked at ths word Permaculture. They would be happy with Organic, Biodynamic, intensive, or urban, but they had done some independent checks on Permaculture and were scared off by some of the people who were associated with it. The movement in Canada is yet very small and I would imagine mostly made up of 'back to the landers' left over from the 1960s and 70s. Roberto pointed out that permaculture has had a very different status in Cuba, as association with established designers and planner from the very start. It was also a very urban and design associated craft, with the first rural project only starting just 3 years ago.

[Left out a bit here for privacy sake]

The details of Permaculture aside, there lies the big issue of DESIGN. Roberto called design the 3rd dimension that was missing and that Permaculture has helped fill this gap.

The special period magnified the existing un-sustainability in Cuban society. Resourcefulness began to close the gap but design was needed to see the picture. The 'Vertical Dimension' if you will (stolen from the cover band). One of the challenges that faces and frustrates designers is working with existing conditions. He says a major flaw with designers is the desire to start with a clean, white, sheet of paper or a well drained site with a nice south-facing view. Sometimes we have to deal with the 'ugly' remnants of past designers. Sometimes these are beautiful but painfully un-sustainable. Sometimes nature gives us a swamp or a productive apple orchard/onion field. One is easy to build on, but an important source of food, the other is hard to build on and an important wildlife area. Economics side with the cheap. Who knows what planners say? A designer needs to be able to look at the situation and ask some important questions. The first one might be 'Why?'. Can the development be done within existing structures? Why do brown fields exist?

ANYWAY... A few other good points Roberto touched on were how designers must be adaptive, especially in considering what is there. Also, as in sustainable, natural system, change is cumulative not dramatic. Dramatic change is usually a sign of instability.

viva la revolución, maybe

2008-01-11T13:24:00.000Z

[Warning, this is a fairly political post. Visiting Cuba, it cannot be avoided.]

I decided to visit the museum of the revolution today. It is located in one of the lavish buildings of the Batista era. I thought it would provide a good context for my research, it has.

Having grown up in Canada during the winding down of the cold war, I was eager to hear the Cuban side of the story. Canadians are usually very sympathetic to the Cuban experience, both trying to forge our own way on the doorstep of the world's last standing superpower (both of us having aligned ourselves with 'competing' powers in the past, Canada with Britain and Cuba with the USSR). That being said, Canada, like most western democracies, is an unashamedly capitalist country, with some social democracy leanings (a thousand miles left of America and a couple hundred kilometres right of Sweden).

Not surprisingly the display in the museum was characteristic of what I would expect in Latin America. Due to poor English signage I went through the museum backwards. Starting with the Post-Revolution and building a Socialist Society then to the 1959 revolution and finishing up with a floor dedicated to Batista and prior revolutions, including the overthrow of Spanish rule and a small display showing the slave revolt and some interesting information on the indigenous peoples and the early colonial period.

The museum itself presents a very interesting aesthetic. The building is very 'bourgeois' (I imagine this is why it was abandoned), the old rooms are essentially left as they were... paint is peeling and flaking and all the old shuttered windows are open to a very 'naked' Havana. The displays house fascinating and some very moving relics, but have the feel of a small-town museum with cracked perspex boxes, and yellowed newspaper clippings. Some of the translations are also a little lacking. Despite those shortcomings you can see the touch of the 'people'. My feelings about Cuban Socialism are thus: At the time it was a reaction to a nasty oppressive regime. The socialist concept offered not only a way for the average person to get their 'dues' back from the capitalists, but a supposedly bright and equitable future. When the initial 'payback' was sorted, through a mass re-distribution of wealth, the people found themselves having still a very small share of the 'wealth'. Cuba today is probably more equitable than many other countries. Leaps and bounds beyond other Latin American countries. It is, however, missing the engine that generates 'wealth' (I use this term quite differently than pure economic growth). Maybe this is because it is an island of socialism in a sea of capitalism, or maybe the great socialist economists were wrong. We know that so many of their capitalists counterparts were. The system has seemed to curb some social ills like 'rampant want-itis'. People still acquire things, but they take greater care with what they have. There are, however, greater limits to what you can own here. You can, in theory, own up to a few acres of land, a decent house, the newest Nash Rambler, maybe even 4 Nash Ramblers... but cannot be a 'millionaire'. The system does not allow it, therefore the population adapts. I have not met anyone here who yearns for the same type of boundless power, fame and wealth. That isn't the driving force in Cuba. That isn't to say that people don't collect useless junk and aspirational goods. Believe me, there is a black market and it is saturated.

I consider values of popular representation and property rights to be central to the British way of life (and many other associated cultures). However, I feel that what these rights actually mean is a lot different than what people (esp popular opinion) think they mean. To own something in some sense, I think, really means means to exclude or control other's use of that thing. Under simple circumstances this makes sense. However, large corporations have skewed these rights to the point where ownership and control of most things has once again been put in the hands of a few. There are a lot of things wrong with society, but I suppose not enough wrong to want a revolution. One thing is certain, there is a great need for honesty and integrity.

The Americans' dealing with Cuba are a good example of 'ends justifying the means' tactics. [For an amusing look at this, check out this film.] The ends in the Americans' case were entirely selfish (although they'd clearly dispute that assertion). Today, in the museum, I saw some of their acts of terrorism toward Cuba. Releasing swine fever on pigs, tobacco viruses, leaf rot, assassination attempts, blowing up ships and aeroplanes, etc... Outright attacks to 'get back' at the Cubans for 'stealing' American property.

It is interesting how the Cubans have not bowed to American pressure in the last 50 years. It is likely that if the Americans had been a little less harsh initially, they could have used Cuba as a bridge to the Soviets, rather than building their own 'iron curtain' around the country. I mean, in the same 50 years they have extended their global business influence deep in to the Canadian economy, rigged the 1963 election, negotiated a free trade system gets turned off when it suits them and a laundry list of other minor atrocities. Lest I sound too negative, their copious capital has helped employ many a Canadian, but it always comes at a price, which is usually not in the favour of the 'client nation'.

I would assert that international relations in the future might be best based upon fair deals rather than thinly veiled self interest.

an interview with Roberto Perez the permaculturalist

2008-01-10T11:51:00.000Z

I decided that it might be a good idea to come up with a few specific questions for Roberto Perez of FANJ. I know I have a habit of leading conversations off track a bit. We'll see how it goes! [As you will read, I did lead the conversation off quite a bit, Roberto and I stayed talking from 2pm until we were kicked out of the office at closing time].

To give a bit of background... Roberto Perez was trained as a biologist and came to work with FANJ very early on in his career. He was involved in the Cuban urban agriculture movement from its beginnings. In fact, he was at the airport when the first permaculture designers came from Australia in the early 1990s. He was taught permaculture design from the Australians (along with English and an Aussie accent which has since become diluted). Since then, he has helped design and build demonstration gardens throughout Havana and trained hundreds of others in Permaculture design methods. He has also travelled extensively (rare for a Cuban) to see similar projects in other countries, especially Canada. He did a Postgraduate Diploma at St. FX in Antigonish, just 2 hours from my home!

Here goes my preposed questions:

[I only transcribed notes of Roberto's responses, a transcript would be pages long.]

"As a designer from a different culture, different climate and different economy, what would you say are the most precious 'jems of knowledge' that I should take back with me? I will be presenting my findings to a groups of ecological designers."

FLEXABLE POLITICAL WILL

The biggest enabling factor for the success and eventual integration of the work was flexable political will. This is especially true when it comes to land-use policy. Support for sustainable food systems came direct from the top (Fidel) and laws were altered and practises adapted that suited the development of urban agriculture. Roberto noted that this type of change is not so easy in a capitalist system where land has, what he described as, 'different value'. A good example of this flexability is the clearing and cleaning of vacant lots in Havana. As is common in Britian, vacacnt city lots in Havana gathered rubbish and debris (especially in the 1980s). Masses of red tape and petty quarrels between neighbours often kept these lots in a state of dis-repair. Changes in policy allowed these lots to be cleared and used for gardens. Roberto says that in other countries this would probably never happen. In other countries we often see vacant lots gathering rubbish with chain link fences around them preventing any useful use! In Cuba land only has value related to its usefulness, rather than speculative value.

MARKET FLEXABILITY

The socialist collective supply market was just as rigid [perhaps even moreso] as western capitalist markets. The political will that allowed changes in how food was marketed in Cuba found this truth: 'there is always space in the market for a variety of services'. For instance, there are rules that prevent small allotment gardeners in Britian from selling their produce. These rules are meant to protect farmers, who make their only livelihood from selling food. Cuban officials feared failure of the large collective farms and state price controls by allowing an alternative market. In reality, the state supplied food still plays a large part in the Cuban diet and will continue to do so. [At this point I added the comment that TESCO or Sainsbury's has nothing to fear from market gardeners. They are well suited to adapt and by no means fill all the 'needs' of the market.] Market regulators need to adjust rules to scale. The many food safety and tracability laws do help protect us from poor quality food, but do not make sense applied to a small vendor selling bottles of home made jam.

FOOD INDUSTRY LABOUR MARKET

Working in food production in Cuba pays well. This attracts innovative, intelligent and industrious workers. This isn't the same in other countries for many reasons. In order for the system to be sustainable something needs to be done to change this.

PLANNING AND DESIGN OF PUBLIC SPACES

Designers and planners have to rethink public spaces, especially parks and green spaces. There exists an absurd distinction between ornimental and productive horticulture. Edible plants need to be given a greater emphasis in public areas. This is still forthcoming in Cuba and a current FANJ project is dealing with this. Standard architectural rendering show shrubs and trees outside buildings, sometimes even inside. Why not apple or pear trees, berry hedges?

PLANNING OF GARDEN SPACE

There are physical limits with plants and space. There are also relationships to efficiency and size, labour requirements and economic sense when it comes to gardens. This is what has been discovered in Havana. In order of least productive to most productive: Home Garden, Allotment, Collective, and Community. This is also connected to size. However, we must not simply interpret this as 'bigger is better'. There are appropriate uses for each. That being said, it must be understood that the scale of productivity is not completely linear. When thinking of planning, a collective garden that supplies 5 families is probably a little smaller in total size than 5 family sized allotments. Efficiencies are gained in the layout and sharing of things like shed space, which makes sense but actual productivity is much much higher than an allotment and labour requirements per person are lower. The problem then becomes a social one. Cubans have developed various and flexable social system to suit collectives. They are usually based simply on labour. All production is based on number of hours worked in the garden.

CHEAP, HEALTHY AND FRESH

Locally grown food is cheap, healthy and fresh. Probably the most important one is cheap, in Cuba the farmer's markets are much much cheaper than the supermarkets. It is also much fresher. Farmer's markets in northern countries are expensive and thus limit their market.

"In Britian we faced a food crisis from 1939 to well into the 1950s. As an island nation that was highly dependant on trade, the war had a dramatic impact on daily life and people's perceptions of food. This response, however, was seen more as a 'war measure' that was quickly abandoned than a long term solution. As Cuba emerged from the 'Special Period', what has made these measures, such as urban agriculture, become long term solutions?"

The answer is basically twofold:
-Political will... see answer from above.
-It makes economic sense, urban farmers in Cuba tap in to a very lucritive market economy earning more than they would doing other jobs.

I concluded my conversation with Roberto speaking about possible collaborations with my contacts in Scotland and arranged a second meeting as it was time to go.

first time at FANJ

2008-01-08T11:28:00.000Z

I was able to have a brief meeting with Roberto Sanchez of FANJ. He operates the 'Programa de Desarrado Local Sustentable' (excuse my horrid transcription of the Spanish) or PRODUS. Roberto isn't quite as fluent in English as Miguel or Julio, but was quite good compared to the average Cuban.

I was able to buy a copy of his book, co-authored by Carrie Cruz, whom I also met and shook hands with but does not speak English. I was told Carrie has a wealth of experience and would be essential to speak with, if I wanted to learn even more about the programme. Once again... I really wish I spoke Spanish.

The book, entitled 'Agriculture in the City: A Key to Sustainability in Havana, Cuba" was published in English as it was part of an IDRC research project. [For my non-Canadian readers, IDRC is the International Development Research Centre, a Canadian Crown Corporation, owned and operated by the Crown (government). They aid research in developing countries to help people there apply technology appropriately.] I was able to purchase a copy of the book for just $5 CUC. It is a very good read.

The unfortunate part of our conversation was that I found out I could not actually visit many of the places I would like to see as my tourist visa restricted my access. In order to visit any 'official place of business' ie: anything that gets money from the Cuban state, I would need to have a research visa. Frusteratingly, this visa is not difficult to get, it just requires time, approximately 6-8 weeks. Had I known this, I would have made the appropriate preparations before I came.

I made arrangements to come back and meet Roberto Perez, an international programme co-ordinator with FANJ. Roberto Sanchez says he speaks much better English, although I could easily understand Roberto S!

meeting a Cuban architect

2008-01-04T12:25:00.000Z

I was extremely please to meet Mr Miguel Coyula, architect. Having just returned from a meeting with him I will endeavour to summarise our converstaion whilst I prepare lunch.

I chanced to meet Miguel simply by showing up at the Havana City Model that his group developed. I felt bad that I wasn't able to call ahead for an appointment, but nevertheless I proceeded and it provided to be a most fruitful conversation, I'll summarise, topically, below.

LIVING CITIES OR CITIES TO LIVE IN?

Miguel showed me on the model how the city of Havana has developed over time. Different coloured buildings are shown based on their time of construction: Colonial (1500-1899), Pre-Revolution (1900-1958) and Revolution (1959-onwards). It is clear to see that most buildings in Havana are 1900-1958, when there was a building boom. The major influence on these buildings was the from private developers building for the market economy. Much of this development is analogous to American cities f that period and is quite functional to this day. The colonial-era buildings are everyone's favourite. They have an enduring functionality and beauty. The layout of these buildings are appropriate for the climate, built with narrow streets that provide shade and inner atriums that allow for ventilation. After the revolution there was an 'explosion' of change which was reflected in the architecture. Early revolution architecture was bold, innovative, and functional. As time progressed the Soviet influence gave rise to long narrow and compact concrete, flat-roofed buildings. These buildings were built to provide a stanard level of housing fo people, many of whom fomerly lived in inner-city slums or in under-developed rural areas. One wuch development can be seen in Alamar on the east side of the city. Residents of this area refer to it as 'Siberia' beacuse of its distance from the city centre, lack of amenities and stark, cold, appearence. Miguel points to this as a good example of design influencing people's thoughts and lifestyle (in a negative fashion).

Some of his most recent work has been to work opposite of this... Community-based design and planning forums. A group of professionals from all areas, sociologists, architexts, psychologists, engineers, etc... all work to provide the community residents with a 'toolbox' of experts to help them achieve what they want. Making people the subject of the design rather than the object of it. A recently project with a group of Afro-Cubans in a certain area of Havana had the perspective home occupiers given a piece of paper to draw their 'dream home' on. The resultant designs caried somewhat, but many of them included a small room which seemed to have no function. When asked of the purpose of this room, it was identified as a place for their gods. Something that would have easily been left out by an architect, but is central to many Afro-Cuban's life and happiness.

Miguel once told the city planners that the measure of succes in buildings was not in the construction of x housing units for y price in z time, but happy families. He got some 'frusterated looks' from the planners. He says that in this, he is preaching a new faith of widening our view as designers, being more comprehensive.

THE SPECIAL PEROID

Miguel remembers well the special period. He says that it was very catastrophic. I would personally draw a comparison with war and post-war years in Britain (1939-1955). People felt the need to change their ways of live very deeply. Like Britons, Cubans were well equipted to compensate for the lack of food and oil by good education and stong support from the state. The dramatic change in the food system can be used as an example of something good and long-lasting that came from this period.

Miguel offered me an example of something that did not 'stick', as it were. With a two-thirds drop in oil imports, most cars were parked. The city buses went from 1500 down to 400. The drop in car travel was very noticable with cleaner air and quiet streets. Visitors claimed that Havana was the 'Caribean Amsterdam'. Bicycles were brought in from China and made available to purchase through work-places at a cost of about $1. Nearly everyone bought a bicycle and used it regularly. Many people thought that this would be a perminant feature of Havana. However, as soon as fuel became available at a reasonable price from Venuseula, this practice ended. Cars are now just as popular (if not moreso) than before. Miguel says this is a good example of how the bicycles were not seen as a 'solution' by the Cubans, merely a 'band-aid' treatment or stop-gap measure. The change was not cutural, more reactionary.

Contrasting this with changes in the food system, one of the possible reasons for success if the fact that the 'new food system' has put more control in the hands of both the producer and the consumer. Previously the food system was cenralised, there were more imports and choices, but prices were controlled and quality was not always a factor. Small, de-centralised market gardens and street markets allow direct contact between producers and consumers, as well as greater feedback. The prices at markets are also cheaper, because there is competition and de-regulation. This sustem has in-turn affected the diets of the Cuban people as they nor eat more 'whole' foods and make do with what is available at the markets.

CUBAN PARADOXES

Ninety percent of Cubans own their own homes, basically mortgage free. After the revolution they were able to buy their own homes with a 0% mortgage. However, there is currently little to no money available to repair or renovate them. If the average salary is less than $20 a month, and one gallon of paint is $5 you can understand why this is.

Another paradox is the system of earnings and housing. Socialism is supposed to allow for payment of wages based on contribution to society. However, in practise this does not always work.

[Postscript... My meeting with Miguel was not nearly long enough. He is planning on coming to the UK at some point, and I hope to meet him again. In the mean time I am looking for some of his academic publications in English).]

First tatse of Cuban life...

2008-01-03T15:40:00.000Z

[A little addition... to understand the following post I should introduce everyone to the Cuban monetary system. There are two currencies: convertable pesos (CUC) and national pesos. Convertable pesos are used mostly by tourists and used to be pegged to the US dollar, but are now worth a bit more £1 GBP = $1.75 CUC. National pesos are used by most Cubans for everything, they are paid in this currency $1 CUC = 26 National Pesos or £1 GBP = 45.5 National Pesos. Takes a bit of getting used to.]

Had a fairly busy day yesterday, all things considered, however it was still fairly slack considering my normal pace. I went over to Dale's house to check my email and his wife took me shopping at the grocery store (Palco, the posh store for overseas people). Food was fairly expensive, the prices varied widely from item to item. You would find UK prices on some things and extremely high prices on others. For instance, a bag of Nestle mini chocolate bars were $15 CUC. Oddly enough, most of the food in Palco were 'Our Compliments', which is an in-store brand for a large Canadian supermarket called Sobey's. Reminded me of the close ties that Canada has developed with Cuba.

The remainder of the day I spent cooking in the flat and repairing the cooker which had a problem with the gas igniter.

Julio came over in the evening and explained more to be about the money and day-to-day life in Cuba. I have also had a similar conversation with Dale and his wife, giving me 'a well experienced outsiders' perspective. It is interesting to see the contrast. There is certainly no comparison between Cuba and Canada. In Cuba, visiting a store would give you the impression that there has recently been a natural disaster. Not much selection and usually just 'bare essentials' on the shelves as compared what seems like an un-ending selection in most grocery stores in Canada or the UK. That being said, no one seems to be lacking for the essentials. Julio explained why.

He and his wife both have good jobs. They make their pay in National Pesos. He explained that a few things are provided to everyone by the state for free. The first big one is housing, which costs nothing. Nearly everyone in Cuba owns their own home, about 90%. If you wish to move house, you can trade your house with someone else. Otherwise it is difficult to move, as there is a dearth of new build homes. Even if you inherit a home, you may not be able to keep it, as the old adage of posession being nine-tenths of the law is very nearly the law in Cuba. If you aren't living in a house, you probably don't have much chance at owning it.

All utilities are owned by the state, so it is very cheap. Giving prices in CUC, a good estimate for a month might be $0.60 for gas, $3.00 for electricity, $3.50 for water and $0.50 for the telephone. That is less than $10 CUC for all the utilities for the average family with two teenage children.

As for food... Every person is allotted a basket of food per month for free. It isn't really 'enough', but is sufficient to stave off hunger, should that be the case. It is mostly beans, pulses, and rice with a small amount of chicken, meat and fish. Other food you would have to buy, most likely at the street markets. Food at the markets is much cheaper than at the stores. All food in the store is price controlled. Street markets operate on a 'free market' system, more or less. About $5 CUC can feed a person for two weeks on market food.

That brings us to wages. Being a socialist country, the wages are all set by the government and there is not a lot of spread between the lowest wage and the highest. $10 - $30 CUC month per person is about it. A doctor makes about $30 CUC and an unskilled worker probably makes $10. This means the average family brings in $20 to $40 CUC, roughly speaking. Given this and the cost of living, there is enough left over for a few odds and ends, but not enough to save. Saving money is not something Cubans usually do. Hence no Credit cards or bank accounts.

The disposable income left over after utilities and food would most likely be spent on transport and consumables like tobacco, alcohol or petrol.

Speaking of tobacco, Cubans smoke a lot of the stuff. Nearly everyone smokes and nerely everyone smokes cigars. Julio often said I am missing the two most imortant things in Cuba, rum and cigars. I would wager that there are other, less expensive, pleasures... namely music. It would seem that there is music everywhere, even as I sit and write this, I can hear music playing. In old Havana, live bands are everywhere. It makes for a very nice atmosphere. I should also be said that with the exception of a weekends the music usually dies down by 9 pm and doesn't cause any loss of sleep.

Other noise obervations... there are a lot of stray dogs about. It would seem that they probably have owners, but they aren't confined to their home lots. They are usually small dogs that keep to themselves with humans but like chasing other stay dogs and the odd cat. It would also seem many people have roosters, as they usually do a good job of waking me up in the morning. The electrical power also doesn't stay on very consistantly. It flickers now and then and seems to go out most every night for a minute or two.

I think Julio summed up life in Cuba. It is very day-to-day. You know that you have a certain things provided for, but you do not have credit or bank accounts. If you have money it is to provide for the next day. All Cubans seem to have relatives in Miami... Julio got a text message at Christmas time from a friend in Miami saying: "Lots of presents this year, but not much fun". He sent one back: "In Cuba, not many presents, but LOTS of fun." I am going to see if I can visit the Museum of the Revolution tomorrow to see if I can learn more about the socialist way of life here.

London for Havana

2008-01-02T14:42:00.001Z

[As this entry is backdated, I wanted to just add a little intro to the following posts. Whilst I was in Cuba I kept a paper journal of my travels. I thought it might be useful and sort of an informal resource for some the presentations I have been asked to make on the trip.

It is important for me to gratefully acknowledge the Scottish Ecological Design Association for awarding me the 2007 Krystyna Johnson Student Travel Award, without which I could not have made this journey.

The purpose of these entries is not to be a completely technical report nor is it purely a personal journal. I hope that it comes across as a bit of both.]

I left London in the very early hours from Sara's (my friend Yanos' sister from Newcastle) flat near Canary Wharf and caught the night bus to Trafalgar Square at 3:30 am. Despite lots of planning the day before, I had forgot to get enough change for the two bus journies. Hence, when I arrived at Trafalgar Square I didn't have change for the bus I was planning on taking to Victoria Station. The 24 hour TESCO Express was closed for renovations so I was forced to walk. Despite the setback, I still arrived at Victoria in enough time to catch the 5:00 am Gatwick Express. Arriving at Gatwick at 5:30 am, I still had to wait over an hour as there was only one person working the checkin desk for Cubana. The long queues and rediciously security measures always remind me of how much I hate air travel.

The flight to Havana seemed extremely long compared to other transatlantic crossings I have made. The plane was an older Boeing 767, chartered from a Spanish company, was a bit clunky, but suitable.

A mistake on the Cubana website showed my flight arrive an hour late, when in fact it had arrived about fifteen minutes early. This resulted in Dale (my aunt's newphew who lives in Havana) arriving at the airport a bit late. I'm glad he was early, as I was beginning to become a bit nervous given the general lack of English speakers I envisioned trying to explain my story to.

Dale had arranged for me to stay at his friend Juilo's, house. After getting settled in Julio showed me and three other Canadians around Old Havana. It is an amazing city, reminds me of where one might picture pirates, very Spanish colonial, preserved in a different way than is found in California or Mexico.

The flat where I am staying is lovely. It has three bedrooms with large kitchen, living room and dining room. Julio also has a very nice 1956 Chevy, which currently has carb problems, typical single bbl Rochester. It is a shame that he can't even pick up a two bbl Rochester, much better performance. I am going to give him a hand fixing it on Saturday.

Summer

2007-08-31T09:27:00.001Z

Well, summer, summer, summer....

So much happening, so little time to write about it just now.

Check out my friend's David and Theresa's wedding photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/s.k.brogan/DavidAndTheresaSWeddingSverige

Yeah, sorry I can't rss it properly from here... grr.

Will post again sooner rather than later. Promise.

A Vat of Burning

2007-03-18T01:06:00.000Z

Been quite busy lately! But not manic busy, just pleasantly busy.

I finally feel like I have something blog-worthy. Despite being hyphenated, I still like that word, probably because it sounds like someone's surname. Phineas J. Blogworthy. Actually it sounds like a surname of some girl my mother tried to set me up with when I was 16.

Burn 'o Vat is an interesting place within the Cairngorms National Park. It is a sort-of deep 100 ft diameter hole in the ground that has a stream running through it. It has been used over the years as a hide-out for the criminal element.

Very worth while trip.

Burn o Vat

There is a place back home in Nova Scotia that reminds me a lot of this spot. Its call, of all things, The Falls, just past Tatamagouche, near Balforn. I found a video that someone shot there on the internet. It shows pretty much what goes on there:

I realise that this sort of thing was one of the big things I was missing in my life when I lived in Winnipeg and Saskatoon. Whilst those are both nice places, they just don't have the cool stuff out in nature close by to go see. Granted, yes, they do have lots of cool stuff, but a lot of it is a ways to drive.

This is what one should be doing every Saturday they can, get out in the country and enjoy life.

A Bit o' Research

2007-03-03T01:12:00.001Z

So, everyone asks me about my research. I've learned that a wiley acedemic does not give away his golden truths... at least until they've been published in a peer reviewed journal (that has an ISBN number). But at this point I think it is safe to say its okay.

As many of you know my current working title is "The Design of Salutogenic Food Systems". As this is quite broad I have decided to narrow it down. My supervisor has been most helpful with inspiration as usual.

What I would like as a finished product is not so much a paper which discusses the topics, but a distilled design methodology for salutogenic food systems. I am shying away from a method, although it is liable for one to emerge from my work regardless. I like the idea of methodology as it digs one step deeper than most have gone thus far.

I have always been a fan of Mollison's work, and have no intention of redoing any of it, but I feel that I want approach the 'problem', if you will, from a professional designer's standpoint. As a holistic thinker I hate to use words like 'professional designer', but the case is that such professions do exist and rightly so. It is professional designers that are positioned to take the lead.

Anyways, its way late and I'm not thinking properly, horrible time to talk about this... Will have to continue later. I just felt like it's been a long time since I updated...

This 'sucks'!

2007-01-28T15:55:00.000Z

I have a good story to tell from yesterday...

I've needed a vacuum cleaner for a while, my flatmate's unit is broke. I've looked around quite a bit and I've found that a good vacuum cleaner is hard to find here in the UK. Everything seems to be those cheap plastic bagless ones. You can tell right away that they won't work. So I decided to do a bit of research. I googled "vacuum dundee" and it gave me one hit. A small shop just across from my flat. I had walked by it before and hadn't noticed it even being there.

I decided it would be worth the jaunt, since its barely even 100 feet away. I went in and found that it was only a repair shop, which was okay, because I figured that he would be able to tell me which brands and units are the best. He suggested that I just by the cheapest one because they are all rubbish nowadays. How true, I thought.

As usual, I got in to a good conversation with him about things and his dogs (he had 2 huge dogs there). After a bit he said... hey you know what, I have an old vacuum that I was just going to throw away. He said I could have it for free! I couldn't believe it, it was just what I was looking for, its old and sturdy and works! For his kindness, I figured that I'd buy £5 worth of filter bags...

I took it home and ripped it apart, cleaned all the gaskets and internal filters, wiped it out with a warm soap and water and put it back together. It works dandy!

From Misc Dundee

Just in case you missed it the first time.

2007-01-16T22:36:00.000Z

Here are my random snapshots from around Dundee.

Me and Dundee

Trip to Sweden

2007-01-09T23:01:00.000Z

Despite the general fun-ness of life in Dundee, things did get rather dull and boring around here over the holidays. Everyone had things to do and family to visit, so I was suck sitting around doing nothing. I even tried to go to school, but actually got locked in the DCA! My key fits all the doors except the upper dead bolts. I was pretty sad really, so I decided that was an omen, to not go in to school for the rest of the week.

I was fortunate to have a standing invitation to go to Sweden to visit my friend Theresa and he family. It turned out to be the best holiday I've had in years. She has a marvellous family and cool friends.

Anyways here are some photos of the trip:

New Years in Sweden

Here is a list of things I did in Sweden that were great:
-Ate some pickled herring (in a sweet mustrd sauce no less)
-Ringhals Nuclear Power Plant
-Gothenburg City Museum
-Gothenburg New Years Fireworks
-Ate some yummy Swedish cheese
-Heard "Take a Chance on Me" performed live (thanks Eva and Sophia)
-Volvo Museum
-Learned about Swedish music (other than ABBA)
-Went to the grocery store
-Went to church
-Met new friends
-Read some Kalle Anka and Bamse
-Ate awful candies
-Travelled on the commuter train
-Walked around downtown Gothenburg
-Julmust, lots of Julmust

Initial Entry

2007-01-09T21:05:00.000Z

Ahoy everyone, and welcome to my weblog. Created especially for my friends and family.

My goal is to let everyone know what I'm up to in life and perhaps sprinkle in a wee bit of my research.