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A few updates
May. 26th, 2014 08:08 pmToday I want to revisit a few things I've dealt with in earlier entries.
Back in November, I asked "Can this Pantry be saved?" Word was that The Pantry, a (mostly) vegetarian lunch place operating weekdays during the school year out of the Glebe Community Centre, would be forced to close permanently at the end of June because the Centre needed the space for its activities.
I'm pleased to report that the answer seems to be, "Yes, it likely CAN be saved, at least for a couple more years." We went back there a few weeks ago, wanting to at least enjoy one more family lunch there before the bitter end, and I asked about its status. Already they have made some modest changes such as putting casters on their tables to facilitate quick rearrangements at the beginning and end of their stints there each day to accommodate other groups that use the space. Dare I speculate that the petition we signed actually made a difference?
We haven't seen too much media coverage of it since the initial threat of closure so I guess talks are still ongoing and its future is still uncertain. But I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed!
Then there's the continuing saga of my PRESTO card. Again, the news I'm reporting today is mostly positive or hopeful. I haven't had any problems using it in Ottawa since I got my new PRESTO card. I also managed to use it successfully inToronto earlier this month - at Queen's Park station. There's still the problem that many Toronto subway stations simply aren't equipped with PRESTO readers at all. According to the Toronto edition of Metro (the newspaper), many won't be before some time in 2016.
Finally, today marks a sad anniversary. An Ottawa high school student was killed three years ago after a metal drum he was cutting through for shops class exploded, critically injuring him. The inquest into his death was only recently concluded and hopefully school officials will henceforth be extra careful to avoid another (presumably preventable) tragedy like this in the future. I was in Halifax at the time of the incident, attending a conference of the Canadian Library Association, but it was reported on the Halifax TV news and in their paper.
Back in 2011, it was reported that the drum (acquired second-hand for the project) had previously contained peppermint oil which (or so it was reported at the time) was a highly volatile and dangerous substance. Again, I remember that well because we had recently been advised to spray peppermint oil in our car to deter mice, which had been gnawing at some of the innards and shorting out the wiring.
Well, guess what? In the news reports of the inquest earlier this year, no further mention was made of any peppermint oil - instead, it was reported that the drum had previously contained a toxic cleaning solution (possibly involving lye?) Moreover, just a week or two ago, domestic mavens Steven and Chris were waxing eloquent over how fabulous peppermint oil could be in the kitchen, to deter ants!
So is peppermint oil safe? Who knows?
Back in November, I asked "Can this Pantry be saved?" Word was that The Pantry, a (mostly) vegetarian lunch place operating weekdays during the school year out of the Glebe Community Centre, would be forced to close permanently at the end of June because the Centre needed the space for its activities.
I'm pleased to report that the answer seems to be, "Yes, it likely CAN be saved, at least for a couple more years." We went back there a few weeks ago, wanting to at least enjoy one more family lunch there before the bitter end, and I asked about its status. Already they have made some modest changes such as putting casters on their tables to facilitate quick rearrangements at the beginning and end of their stints there each day to accommodate other groups that use the space. Dare I speculate that the petition we signed actually made a difference?
We haven't seen too much media coverage of it since the initial threat of closure so I guess talks are still ongoing and its future is still uncertain. But I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed!
Then there's the continuing saga of my PRESTO card. Again, the news I'm reporting today is mostly positive or hopeful. I haven't had any problems using it in Ottawa since I got my new PRESTO card. I also managed to use it successfully inToronto earlier this month - at Queen's Park station. There's still the problem that many Toronto subway stations simply aren't equipped with PRESTO readers at all. According to the Toronto edition of Metro (the newspaper), many won't be before some time in 2016.
Finally, today marks a sad anniversary. An Ottawa high school student was killed three years ago after a metal drum he was cutting through for shops class exploded, critically injuring him. The inquest into his death was only recently concluded and hopefully school officials will henceforth be extra careful to avoid another (presumably preventable) tragedy like this in the future. I was in Halifax at the time of the incident, attending a conference of the Canadian Library Association, but it was reported on the Halifax TV news and in their paper.
Back in 2011, it was reported that the drum (acquired second-hand for the project) had previously contained peppermint oil which (or so it was reported at the time) was a highly volatile and dangerous substance. Again, I remember that well because we had recently been advised to spray peppermint oil in our car to deter mice, which had been gnawing at some of the innards and shorting out the wiring.
Well, guess what? In the news reports of the inquest earlier this year, no further mention was made of any peppermint oil - instead, it was reported that the drum had previously contained a toxic cleaning solution (possibly involving lye?) Moreover, just a week or two ago, domestic mavens Steven and Chris were waxing eloquent over how fabulous peppermint oil could be in the kitchen, to deter ants!
So is peppermint oil safe? Who knows?
