A coarsening of Canadian culture

Back when I was a boy in the '50s, I cannot imagine a restaurant chain promoting a name containing the words "Fat Bastard". Not so today. Apparently this restaurant chain was born in Canada; it's a Canadian concept. And it's a Canadian concept the many of us find exceedingly offensive.

Researching this, I came across an article in Now magazine: Fat Bastard Burrito's racy hustle. It said about the company logo at that time:
"Its logo trades on the worst stereotypes about Mexicans. It features a fat man with a mustache and a gold tooth. He's wearing a poncho and a sombrero. And he's riding a donkey while eating a burrito which, for the record, is Tex-Mex cuisine as popularized in North America, not Mexican."

As I write this, I wondered if I was being overly sensitive. I googled it and discovered: research shows that the word "bastard" is generally deemed to be offensive. Criticizing the use of bastard appears to be a safe, conservative position.

OFCOM, the Office of Communications in the U,K. warns regulated broadcasters to stay aware of the 'cumulative effect' of casual swearing. But, you may ask, what is the 'cumulative effect'? These are just words goes the defence.

Casual profanity is rude, its use coarsens society and culture, while the flip side of the coin is that it even ruins the usefulness of swearing itself. A lose-lose proposition.

I still call these 25-cent car washes. Not!

It was when I was a teen that these types of do-it-yourself car washes began appearing. At that time, the mid '60s, these cost 25-cents for five minutes. A friend's father had a car rental business and during the winter we took the rental cars to these to be washed. Working together we would wash each of the small cars within the five minute limit.

These car washes today may look the same as those of old but there are some important differences.

For one thing the dirty water from the washing of cars no longer goes down a storm sewer as it would if you washed your car at home. Using these for washing one's car is easier on the environment.

And today there is not just one hose delivering either a harsh blast of water or soapy water. Today there is also a second hose with a brush at the end. Using the brush dislodges the dirt on a car's finish much better than the hard spray alone. At the end some booths now have a separate third hose to finish the  cleaning.

One other thing has changed as well: the cost. It now costs $3 for five minutes. Pop in five bucks, many booths accept bills, doubles the time.

Icy sidewalks: a winter hazard

A common winter complaint in London is the condition of the sidewalks in the city. It is not uncommon to find a sidewalk unshoveled and lacking both salt and sand. Under the bright fall sunshine, snow melts and then the water freezes. The sidewalks become a threat.

Will the problems clear up as the winter progresses? I wouldn't count on it.

A Beetle facing extinction

It was back in early July when the last of the recent run of VW Beetles rolled off the line in Mexico. Born in 1938, the People's Car may officially be declared dead in 2019. But one never knows the future. Who knows? Maybe it can be brought back from the dead one more time; this time as an electric car. But, don't hold your breath.

The nearby VW dealership, there are two in London, Ontario, has about five Beetles still in stock. One is a convertible. They are all expensive, at least they are expensive to my way of thinking. More than $31,000 for a small, four seater when a much larger Jetta with room for five passengers is thousands less.

My wife loved this little car. She didn't love its big price tag. We drive a Jetta. Bigger, more luggage capacity, even better gas mileage. It's not surprising that many thought of the Beetle as the little car that couldn't, didn't and now is fittingly gone.

Where do businesses locate? Inside or outside the city they serve?

My home was built in the mid 1980s. My wife and I have kept our garage door operating by calling Stewart Overhead Door each time it failed. The repairs were excellent. But after 35 years our door-lift motor finally failed. The bearings were shot and replacement parts no longer available. We had Stewart install a new unit.

What I find most interesting in this story is that we live in the far southwest, right on the edge of the city. Yet the Stewart company is located some kilometres west of our home. Originally the Stewart building was surrounded by farmland and I'm sure there were cost savings linked to locating there. For instance, property taxes were most likely much lower for companies serving city residences but locating outside the city.

The other story I find interesting is how the location of the Stewart building has changed over the years, and all without moving the building one inch. Look carefully at the top left of the posted image. You will see a home. The farmland that once surrounded the company building is disappearing. The city is coming.

Getting cirrus about weather

There are some things that I've learned from the other images submitted to this group; all cities enjoy beautiful clouds. Clouds, such as the cirrus shown, are both unique and found everywhere.

Before posting this I looked up clouds using Google. I'd heard of cirrus clouds but it was only a name to me. No longer. A cirrus cloud is a type of cloud characterized by thin, wispy strands. The name, cirrus, comes from the Latin word meaning ringlet or curling lock of hair.

Cirrus clouds develop above 20,000 feet (6,100 m)—an altitude where low temperatures encourage the forming of tiny ice crystals rather than water droplets.

Typically, the weather is fair when one spots cirrus cloud formations. But one shouldn't count on the fair weather lasting. As sailors often warn, "Mares' tails (cirrus) and mackerel scales (altocumulus) make lofty ships to carry low sails."

I checked the forecast for Sunday: sunny. Hmmm. Makes me wonder what do sailors really know about the weather. In my personal life, I have often found sailors to be nothing more than weather worry-warts.

It's location, location, location.

Clearly this is an old picture. It's not that old, a couple of weeks or so, but I didn't have time to post it earlier. But, I think this is an important post and interesting to folk who love cities. Why? Read on.

The home above is in Old North London. My guess is that it sold for more than a million dollars, much more. It is a fine home. It's a classic and in London in that neighbourhood it is easily worth every penny the buyer paid. But, the important information here is that this home is in London, Ontario, and that it is in the Old North neighbourhood.

If you head south about two hours to the Boston Edison Heritage District in Detroit, you can find comparable homes for much less—15% or more less.

The heritage property shown on the left has gone up in value over the last few years as the City of Detroit has taken steps towards recovery. Yet, this home is still priced less than the home in London.

And it may be location, location, location but the next word is time. The London home has always attracted a good price. Over the past six decades it has steadily appreciated in value. The London home has been not just a fine place to live, to raise a family, it's been a great investment.

Fifty or sixty years ago my guess is the Detroit home was a true bargain. Time has been kind to the Detroit home and its heritage neighbourhood. Both survived a very difficult time for the City of Detroit. A lot of properties didn't.

When I went to art school and university in Detroit many of the vacant lots of today held fine homes that proved to be very poor places to raise a family and were also very poor investments.

When someone tells you that one never loses money buying a home, don't believe 'em.