Gabriola’s strangest trike?
This trike is at GIRO right now. Have you ever seen an odder trike?
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Archive for August, 2011
Gabriola ferry service: back to normal on September 1st
Looks like Gabriola ferry service will be back to normal in a couple of days. Here’s BC Ferries’ news release on the topic: Regular ferry service between Nanaimo Harbour and Gabriola Island will resume in the morning of Thursday, September 1, following the re-opening of Nanaimo Harbour terminal. The terminal was temporarily closed on August [...]
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My Big Fat Diet
A while ago I came across the term diseases of civilization: those diseases that were not present in aboriginal populations before the arrival of European settlers and the introduction of European foods like flour and sugar. That got me thinking about the traditional diet of BC’s coastal First Nations — a diet that included fish [...]
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Dodd Narrows scouted for tidal power project
From the Nanaimo News Bulletin: Dodd Narrows scouted for tidal power project. Sitting on a park bench overlooking Dodd Narrows waiting for a call to come through on his iPhone, Tony Irwin noticed considerable tidal energy was moving through the narrow channel. Not far from where he was sitting, he looked up to see 138 [...]
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Where’d that caterpillar go?
A couple of years ago I found a whole bunch of Cinnabar moth caterpillars on Gabriola. They were eating the tansy ragwort, and I noticed them in several locations. This year I haven’t seen any of these caterpillars. Have you?
Filed in Gabriola Island,insects,invasive plants 6 Comments so far
Finland’s schools
Thinking about school? If you teach, if you’ve got kids in school, or if you’re just interested in education, you’re likely to find this article fascinating. From the Smithsonian Magazine: Why are Finland’s Schools Successful? If you know the staff at the Gabriola Elementary School, perhaps you might point the article out to them; maybe [...]
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Burdock on Gabriola
A few days ago I found one burdock plant. After Karen and skadhu identified it, I figured I should go back and get rid of the plant, since it’s a nasty invasive thing. I set off with the proper Instruments of Death, and figured I’d have the problem dealt with in a few minutes. Was [...]
Monster face in the Gabriola woods
If you hike in the Gabriola woods, you might see a number of faces… but who would expect this one? Yet there it is, just off the trail, waiting to give hikers something to wonder about. I don’t know what it is, but was amused that my camera’s facial recognition software immediately classified this as [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island 6 Comments so far
The table
This sign appeared a while ago on North Road. You didn’t steal any tables, did you?
Filed in Gabriola Island 4 Comments so far
Gabriola mystery plant
Well, it’s a mystery to me, and maybe you’ve wondered about it, too. This plant is growing at the side of North Road, and it doesn’t look like any of the Gabriola native plants I’ve met. Do you know what this thing is? It’s about four feet tall.
Wikihouse
Need to build anything, Gabriola? This Wikihouse thing sounds like fun. WikiHouse is an Open Community Construction Set. Its am is to make it possible for almost anyone, regardless of their formal skills, to freely download and build structures which are affordable and suited to their needs. Download houses and components which are created and [...]
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Portable washing machine
I once blogged about a hand-powered washing machine, because I thought it might be a good thing for people who are short of water in the middle of a Gabriola summer. Well. That washer may not be the ticket, but how about this one? The photo here shows the tiny washing machine that a Gabriola [...]
Filed in Gabriola Island 7 Comments so far
Painless dentistry?
I’m posting this for my Silva Bay friend, who is scared of dentists. From Science Daily: Filling Without Drilling: Pain-Free Way of Tackling Dental Decay Reverses Acid Damage and Re-Builds Teeth. Sounds good, hmmm?
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Lancaster’s critters
Some of you will think this guy lacks respect for dead animals. Others will imagine what his creations would look like if he were working with animals native to Gabriola. Which camp are you in? From stuff.co.nz: Lancaster’s critters: Dead animals turned to art. Andrew Lancaster has taken the art of skinning, preserving and stuffing [...]
Filed in assorted 2 Comments so far
Evening at Brickyard Beach
Gabriola’s brickyard was quite the industry in its day. Here’s a fragment of what’s left: a piece of Gabriola brick, soon to be swamped by the rising tide.
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How do you feel about salal pickers on Gabriola?
I’m talking about people who come over on the Quinsam in the morning, pick a huge amount of salal in the Gabriola forest, load it all into a truck, and take it back to Nanaimo at the end of the day. They’re after the money, because they can sell salal to the floral industry. How [...]
Filed in environment,Gabriola Island 14 Comments so far
Gabriola ferry: busy this weekend?
Here’s something to consider if you plan on taking the ferry between Nanaimo and Gabriola this weekend. BC Ferries says: Please be advised that high traffic volumes are expected between Nanaimo and Gabriola Island due to the Gabriola Theatre Festival held on the island from August 19 to 21. Customers are encouraged to travel to [...]
From cows to plastic car parts
Oh my, Gabriola. Did you see this? From canada.com: From cows to plastic car parts. Using steam and pressure, a U of A research lab is extracting protein material from waste animal carcasses that is eventually converted into a variety of plastics. While a mooving car may sound like science fiction, David Bressler and his [...]
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