Hey folks,
In the last couple weeks, a public consultation forum on uranium development in Saskatchewan has been traveling the province, gathering input from citizens on the further development of the uranium value chain in the province. This discussion is looking at the Uranium Development Partnership's (UDP) report and recommendations to the province on what should be done. The trigger for this process is the strong growth our province has seen in recent years, and the forecasted future growth. With growth in the economy and population comes increased power demands. On June 15th, I attended the forum in Saskatoon.
SaskPower is a part of this process, because by 2020 between economic growth and retired assets they need to come up with an additional 1700 MegaWatts (MW) of generating capacity. A nuclear reactor can make up 1000 MW of this gap, which is why this discussion is happening right now.
I'll come out and state where I'm coming from. In the decade that I've been working in professional jobs, 6 years have been spent in the nuclear industry in Saskatoon. I believe that while the industry did not perform well in the 50s and 60s with regards to the environment, the necessary environmental and regulatory framework is in place to ensure these types of projects show the utmost care for the environment. The industry has numerous professionals that work with regulators on environment assessments and licensing.
That being said, I'm not completely sold on the idea of building of a reactor based PURELY on the economics. Nuclear reactors are big and expensive, and I'm not sure with all the associated upgrades required to our grid we can afford it. That being said, the forum was interesting, although the "anti-nuke" crowd was there in full force. A lot of what was said was informed dissent and gave me some pause for thought, and a lot was based on misguided assumptions or simply fear mongering. My favourite example was the idea that nuclear material is altering our DNA through soldier's semen. Not an exaggeration.
Here are a few discussion points I'd like to make about this:
1. Many people at the forum seemed to think this was a choice between nuclear and other cleaner power options such as wind, solar, and hydro. That is not the case. There is still 700 MW of capacity that SaskPower needs to come up with, and renewables will be part of that mix. Wind and solar are social no-brainers, which is why large public forums like this one are not required for renewables.
2. Many people also had the impression we are not looking at solar and wind as options, and that is not the case. The province currently has 170MW of wind turbines scattered around the Swift Current area. As a former resident of Swift Current, I can't think of a better place for wind power in our province. SaskPower is looking at expanding this capacity all the time.
3. Some folks in attendance are convinced that wind, hydro and solar power can replace our fossil fuel generation completely. Unfortunatly, with current technology this is not the case (unless we use nuclear as well). The technological issue with wind and solar right now is energy storage, and I'll outline why this is important. As I'm writing, the temperature today is forecasted to approach 30 degrees. When the hottest part fo the day hits, air conditioners in homes and offices will be working the hardest and consuming the most power. To manage this, power plant operators forecast this and will bring increased capacity online to cover the spike in demand. This is done by consuming more natural gas or coal to run additional turbines in a power plant. Right now, this demand management is not possible with wind or solar. If we have a windy day of 80km/hr but the additional power generated is not required it can not be saved for the calm hot day. Operators can not turn on the wind or the sun to meet increased demand. Can wind and solar be an integral part of our energy mix? Absolutely, but natural gas, coal, or nuclear must also be part of our mix for the purposes of demand management.
4. Nuclear is often touted as a clean energy source, and compared to fossil fuels it is. However, a good point is raised that the mining, transport and construction processes use a lot of fossil fuels (namely diesel). This is true, and is a valid argument. However, one must remember that solar panels do not magically appear, they have to be manufactured. Components in photovoltaic solar panels use precious metals (such as cobalt, cesium, and platinum) in their manufacture. These metals are mined, just like uranium, and most of it comes from areas such as South America and Africa. So, once the product is mined and refined, it has to be transported to the United States, Mexico and SouthEast Asia where it is a raw material in the manufacturing of solar panels. A lot of fossil fuels are consumed in this process as well. This is not saying that solar is not a viable option, but it is a comment that the manufacture of most products has an extraction and transportation component to it that uses fossil fuels.
Thats all for today,
Cheers.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Facebook musings and observations...
Hi folks,
As with the majority of the people I know that around my age or younger, I am on facebook. Have been for at least a couple years now. As far as how much I use it? I'm still checking it daily, and it has replaced email and MSN as my primary way to electronically talk to friends. I don't need to discuss in detail how facebook has been ingrained in modern pop culture, but there are two major indications. One, most people know that the abbreviation "fb" stands for "facebook". Second, facebook has now been turned into a verb as well as a noun. I can go on facebook and facebook someone and it makes sense.
Ultimately, facebook is a tool for marketing. What company is it marketing? "Me, Inc." Every person on facebook (including yours truly) uses the tool to market themselves to varying degrees. Since most people are facebook friends with people from high school and college, there is also an element of competition and a touch of spite involved. Let me be clear though, this marketing is not strictly about finding a mate. People who are married and engaged use facebook to market themselves as much as single people do. What I'm going to talk about are the various ways people do this on facebook, and some suggestions. I do, or have done these types of things to some degree. Again, I'm not going to talk about finding a mate specifically, as my buddy Switzer does this specifically in one of his posts (and I'm not really a good source on that topic anyways).
The primary method people use on facebook is the status update, or the "what's on your mind" as it is called now. A typical theme in all of these categories is simply "don't overdo it". Facebook now allows you to block status updates from friends from appearing in your "news section". And yes, I have done this. Largely because someone has overdid it on all of these categories (except the last one I mention). Keep in mind when updating, as it is tough to market yourself if everyone has your updates blocked.
Here are the various types of status updates I notice...
a. The generic update of what is up. This is the "x is at work", "x is hangin with the family", "x is watching hockey". Pretty basic and innocuous. Just don't update it 14 times a day.
b. The vacation post. At some point, at least a dozen of your friends (or you) are on vacation somewhere. This is one of the most easiest marketing updates. It is an easy way of saying "Check me out, I travel to broaden my horizons and be more worldly". Typically, the more exotic the place, the more frequent the posts. Have I done this? Absolutely. The trick is to find that appropriate amount of times to update without annoying people. I'll use a personal example of when I was in Europe three years ago. In general, your friends are interested in where your travels are taking you, but only at a high level. For example, if my updates looked like this, I am sure it would get old very quickly:
1. Shane is at the Eiffel Tower 5:50pm
2. Shane is strolling the Champ d'Elyesse
3. Shane is at the Arc de Triumphe 8:00pm
4. Shane is at a lovely Paris bakery getting some breakfast 9:00am
5. Shane is on his way to Notre Dame 10:00am
6. Shane is at Notre Dame 10:15am
That is as annoying as those long winded bulk emails people send when they are on those 6 month travel vacations. Only your mom wants to know your every movements. For vacation updates, keep it to:
1. Shane is in Paris
2. Shane is in Brugge
3. Shane is in Amsterdam
and then write some type of comment afterwards to make it interesting and unique to yourself.
If you want to share intricate details your vacation on facebook, do it through the photos section. Give people the choice of checking out the vacation or not.
3. The baby post
I'm almost frightened to write this section. Almost. Yes, I know the birth of a child is a reason for the new parents to celebrate. And yes your friends all want to know the basics - is baby healthy, is momma healthy, what is the new addition's name, time of birth, gender. I know it's tough to fathom, but the majority of people aren't interested past the basics. For example "baby X looks so cute in her new sleeper". Thanks for the info, but it comes off as trying to hard. Again, for the proud momma, post a photo album and give your friends the option of checking the baby out. The new grandmother wants to here everything I'm sure, but facebook is not the place.
4. The achievement post
This is the post that people share where they have reached a goal that they are proud of, and they share it through facebook. Naturally, this is pure personal marketing designed to get a "Good Job!" response from your friends. These posts are very effective, but must be used sparingly to avoid looking like a braggart. Big occasions like graduations, completing a running race, new jobs, and promotions are occasions that should be shared with your friends.
5. The drama post
My favourite types of posts. Sharing to everyone about relationship troubles, family troubles, etc... is not a good reflection on yourself, and I have seen posts that are even spiteful or hateful. Ultimately, if your girlfriend, boyfriend, or mother is giving you trouble it is really none of my business. And I don't want it to be. There is really no good drama post. Period.
6. The humour post
This has become more and more prevalent as facebook evolves, which is a good thing. The funny status update, or joke. These are the posts that keep people interested if done properly. A good humourous facebook status is slightly self-deprecating (shows people you can laugh at yourself) and is a means to provide entertainment to your friends. The humour post can be combined with the vacation or baby posts to make them entertaining even if the updates are more frequent then they should be. For example, instead of saying you are in you say "X is in Amsterdam" say "X is in Amsterdam. Something smells like the art teachers' lounge". These are the types of posts are difficult to overdo, if you are good at it. If you aren't sure, update occasionally and see what the responses are, then update more often.
Those are the big five, and of course I am simplifying a little bit.
Cheers.
As with the majority of the people I know that around my age or younger, I am on facebook. Have been for at least a couple years now. As far as how much I use it? I'm still checking it daily, and it has replaced email and MSN as my primary way to electronically talk to friends. I don't need to discuss in detail how facebook has been ingrained in modern pop culture, but there are two major indications. One, most people know that the abbreviation "fb" stands for "facebook". Second, facebook has now been turned into a verb as well as a noun. I can go on facebook and facebook someone and it makes sense.
Ultimately, facebook is a tool for marketing. What company is it marketing? "Me, Inc." Every person on facebook (including yours truly) uses the tool to market themselves to varying degrees. Since most people are facebook friends with people from high school and college, there is also an element of competition and a touch of spite involved. Let me be clear though, this marketing is not strictly about finding a mate. People who are married and engaged use facebook to market themselves as much as single people do. What I'm going to talk about are the various ways people do this on facebook, and some suggestions. I do, or have done these types of things to some degree. Again, I'm not going to talk about finding a mate specifically, as my buddy Switzer does this specifically in one of his posts (and I'm not really a good source on that topic anyways).
The primary method people use on facebook is the status update, or the "what's on your mind" as it is called now. A typical theme in all of these categories is simply "don't overdo it". Facebook now allows you to block status updates from friends from appearing in your "news section". And yes, I have done this. Largely because someone has overdid it on all of these categories (except the last one I mention). Keep in mind when updating, as it is tough to market yourself if everyone has your updates blocked.
Here are the various types of status updates I notice...
a. The generic update of what is up. This is the "x is at work", "x is hangin with the family", "x is watching hockey". Pretty basic and innocuous. Just don't update it 14 times a day.
b. The vacation post. At some point, at least a dozen of your friends (or you) are on vacation somewhere. This is one of the most easiest marketing updates. It is an easy way of saying "Check me out, I travel to broaden my horizons and be more worldly". Typically, the more exotic the place, the more frequent the posts. Have I done this? Absolutely. The trick is to find that appropriate amount of times to update without annoying people. I'll use a personal example of when I was in Europe three years ago. In general, your friends are interested in where your travels are taking you, but only at a high level. For example, if my updates looked like this, I am sure it would get old very quickly:
1. Shane is at the Eiffel Tower 5:50pm
2. Shane is strolling the Champ d'Elyesse
3. Shane is at the Arc de Triumphe 8:00pm
4. Shane is at a lovely Paris bakery getting some breakfast 9:00am
5. Shane is on his way to Notre Dame 10:00am
6. Shane is at Notre Dame 10:15am
That is as annoying as those long winded bulk emails people send when they are on those 6 month travel vacations. Only your mom wants to know your every movements. For vacation updates, keep it to:
1. Shane is in Paris
2. Shane is in Brugge
3. Shane is in Amsterdam
and then write some type of comment afterwards to make it interesting and unique to yourself.
If you want to share intricate details your vacation on facebook, do it through the photos section. Give people the choice of checking out the vacation or not.
3. The baby post
I'm almost frightened to write this section. Almost. Yes, I know the birth of a child is a reason for the new parents to celebrate. And yes your friends all want to know the basics - is baby healthy, is momma healthy, what is the new addition's name, time of birth, gender. I know it's tough to fathom, but the majority of people aren't interested past the basics. For example "baby X looks so cute in her new sleeper". Thanks for the info, but it comes off as trying to hard. Again, for the proud momma, post a photo album and give your friends the option of checking the baby out. The new grandmother wants to here everything I'm sure, but facebook is not the place.
4. The achievement post
This is the post that people share where they have reached a goal that they are proud of, and they share it through facebook. Naturally, this is pure personal marketing designed to get a "Good Job!" response from your friends. These posts are very effective, but must be used sparingly to avoid looking like a braggart. Big occasions like graduations, completing a running race, new jobs, and promotions are occasions that should be shared with your friends.
5. The drama post
My favourite types of posts. Sharing to everyone about relationship troubles, family troubles, etc... is not a good reflection on yourself, and I have seen posts that are even spiteful or hateful. Ultimately, if your girlfriend, boyfriend, or mother is giving you trouble it is really none of my business. And I don't want it to be. There is really no good drama post. Period.
6. The humour post
This has become more and more prevalent as facebook evolves, which is a good thing. The funny status update, or joke. These are the posts that keep people interested if done properly. A good humourous facebook status is slightly self-deprecating (shows people you can laugh at yourself) and is a means to provide entertainment to your friends. The humour post can be combined with the vacation or baby posts to make them entertaining even if the updates are more frequent then they should be. For example, instead of saying you are in you say "X is in Amsterdam" say "X is in Amsterdam. Something smells like the art teachers' lounge". These are the types of posts are difficult to overdo, if you are good at it. If you aren't sure, update occasionally and see what the responses are, then update more often.
Those are the big five, and of course I am simplifying a little bit.
Cheers.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Book Review...
Hey folks,
I recently read an interesting book called "The Sexual Paradox". I can't remember the author, but it's a very interesting read. No, it's not a book about relationships and intimacy, it's a look at women in the workforce and the decisions they make, in comparison to men. I have been long been fascinated with this topic since I was in the seventh grade (I actually did a Science Fair project on this issue).
To really understand the point this book is trying to say, you have to look at the feminism movement that took place in the 60's and 70's. This movement is largely responsible for the increased role women have in the workplace, politics, and decision making that we see in the 21st century. Change for the better, to be sure. However, what has troubled researchers that look at trends is that despite the increased role of women there is still a significant gap at the top of organizations, and in certain professions. The point that is consistently being made is that these gaps are not closing as fast as they should be. The book I read takes a close look at some of the reasons why.
What the 60-70s brand of feminism did was say that Women and Men are not only equal, but alike. That essentially said that women and men can do the exact same tasks equally well which was an effort to attract women outside of traditional female professions such as education and nursing. While it has worked to a certain extent, as there are more women accountants, lawyers, and doctors than ever, there are still significant gaps in some areas. A side effect of this "alike" concept was that it has become taboo to imply that women are wired different then men and therefore, in general, are not attracted to the same professions.
Two main areas of concern are engineering and the computer sciences. Both are lucrative, well respected professions that are still dominated by men. Less than 20% of University Grads in these areas are women. The book explores why this gap does not seem to be closing. A knee jerk response may be to say that "Men are traditionally better at Math and Science". This is actually not the case. A study that was cited in the book indicated that men and women's performance in Science are equal, and men scored marginally better in math. Looking at these stats, one would think the gap should be closing. It isn't, it is actually widening.
With that, there has to be another reason. What the book seems to indicate is that, in general, women don't enter these professions because they aren't as interesting to women as they are to men. Women tend to gravitate towards professions that allow them to assist or help people in some fashion. It comes from the biological maternal instinct and empathy. The book indicates that women tend to get frustrated in their professions if they don't see themselves as makign a difference in other people's lives.
To show this, case studies of the legal profession were looked at. Right now, more women graduate law school then men. And the same proportion end up working at big law firms right out of University. Law firms are not discriminatory these days, they covet brilliant women as much as brilliant men. However, what is startling is the number of women that LEAVE the legal profession after 10-20 years. This number is much more then men, and the "family" argument only explains some of it.
What seems to be happening is that women join the legal profession to make a difference and help people. After several years, they discover that their current path is not taking them to the end goal, and they leave the profession or leave the big money in corporate law to work in the public defender's office. One can imagine a corporate lawyer dealing with corporate taxes, big lawsuits, and endless paperwork could get jaded. Not saying that men do not have that same goal for getting into law, but as a trend they are able to adjust their expectations to fit the reality of the legal profession and overall find compensation as more of a motivator then women do.
There is a lot more in this book, but this is a summary of the main thesis.
Cheers.
I recently read an interesting book called "The Sexual Paradox". I can't remember the author, but it's a very interesting read. No, it's not a book about relationships and intimacy, it's a look at women in the workforce and the decisions they make, in comparison to men. I have been long been fascinated with this topic since I was in the seventh grade (I actually did a Science Fair project on this issue).
To really understand the point this book is trying to say, you have to look at the feminism movement that took place in the 60's and 70's. This movement is largely responsible for the increased role women have in the workplace, politics, and decision making that we see in the 21st century. Change for the better, to be sure. However, what has troubled researchers that look at trends is that despite the increased role of women there is still a significant gap at the top of organizations, and in certain professions. The point that is consistently being made is that these gaps are not closing as fast as they should be. The book I read takes a close look at some of the reasons why.
What the 60-70s brand of feminism did was say that Women and Men are not only equal, but alike. That essentially said that women and men can do the exact same tasks equally well which was an effort to attract women outside of traditional female professions such as education and nursing. While it has worked to a certain extent, as there are more women accountants, lawyers, and doctors than ever, there are still significant gaps in some areas. A side effect of this "alike" concept was that it has become taboo to imply that women are wired different then men and therefore, in general, are not attracted to the same professions.
Two main areas of concern are engineering and the computer sciences. Both are lucrative, well respected professions that are still dominated by men. Less than 20% of University Grads in these areas are women. The book explores why this gap does not seem to be closing. A knee jerk response may be to say that "Men are traditionally better at Math and Science". This is actually not the case. A study that was cited in the book indicated that men and women's performance in Science are equal, and men scored marginally better in math. Looking at these stats, one would think the gap should be closing. It isn't, it is actually widening.
With that, there has to be another reason. What the book seems to indicate is that, in general, women don't enter these professions because they aren't as interesting to women as they are to men. Women tend to gravitate towards professions that allow them to assist or help people in some fashion. It comes from the biological maternal instinct and empathy. The book indicates that women tend to get frustrated in their professions if they don't see themselves as makign a difference in other people's lives.
To show this, case studies of the legal profession were looked at. Right now, more women graduate law school then men. And the same proportion end up working at big law firms right out of University. Law firms are not discriminatory these days, they covet brilliant women as much as brilliant men. However, what is startling is the number of women that LEAVE the legal profession after 10-20 years. This number is much more then men, and the "family" argument only explains some of it.
What seems to be happening is that women join the legal profession to make a difference and help people. After several years, they discover that their current path is not taking them to the end goal, and they leave the profession or leave the big money in corporate law to work in the public defender's office. One can imagine a corporate lawyer dealing with corporate taxes, big lawsuits, and endless paperwork could get jaded. Not saying that men do not have that same goal for getting into law, but as a trend they are able to adjust their expectations to fit the reality of the legal profession and overall find compensation as more of a motivator then women do.
There is a lot more in this book, but this is a summary of the main thesis.
Cheers.
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