This was likely their way of addressing the rather dramatic deflation of that facility in the winter of 2007, when the ceiling literally collapsed during a storm.   This sounded like a good idea — it was anchored on attracting a Major League Soccer franchise to the city and for PavCo was designed to foil proposals for a ~$70M, 20,000 seat shoreline stadium fronted by Greg Kerfoot et al, owners of that MLS franchise (the Whitecaps). BC Place opened in 1984 and has never once turned a profit.  Presently it loses approximately $6.3M per year of taxpayer dollars.  It was built for Expo ’86 and was designed as a modernist building in an era when the city around it was humble and underdeveloped — a shining example of the future, or what we thought it might hold architecturally, way back in 1980.

In the intervening 30 years, the City of Vancouver has very much grown up around it, both physically and spiritually.  Many glass and brick (honouring Yaletown’s storied history) buildings have grown up around it, and as a result BC Place now stands as an architectural anachronism casting its giant hulking bare concrete mass amidst what might otherwise be termed a neighbourhood.

I think I am not speaking out of turn when I suggest that it is objectively, fundamentally, and irreparably ugly. At $150M though, retrofitting this beast with a retractable roof (which it always should have had) seemed more sensible than a new stadium which we were told could cost 3x-4x as much — of taxpayer dollars, of course.  So there we set the course.  Fund it.  Build it.  Move on.

Had this been any other city, any other country, or any other province it might have ended there.   But of course it hasn’t. By January 2009, this $150M price tag was inflated to $365M.   Construction costs for the roof and supporting structure were attributed to “seismic upgrades”, “plumbing”, and other euphemisms to mask the fact that the project began experiencing overruns even prior to commencement.   Then by the end of 2009 it was announced that the official budget was now $458M… with no mention made of earthquakes or plumbing. This now exceeded the cost of the proposed Whitecaps stadium (which was also to have a retractable roof) by 650%.

… and now rivalled the cost of building brand new structures around the world with retractable roof capabilities and much, much more.   Munich’s Allianz Arena, which I toured just after it opened, was completed in 2006 for a cost of €286M and seats 60,000.   That stadium houses two Futbol teams and is near capacity for every event.   In a disastrous project gone wrong, the good citizens of Indianapolis still ended up with a massive 70,000 seat stadium and conference centre for the bargain price of $700M (and which actually looks like it might fit in nicely in Yaletown).  By comparison, BC Place has 50,000+ seats — but it has almost never been full in 25 years of operational history.

Kerfoot’s earlier proposal highlighted the fact that Vancouver doesn’t need a 50,000 seat stadium.   So to get to a stadium of the size we really need?

An example might be Seattle’s SafeCo Field, which seats 30,000 for football, at a price tag of about $516M 10 years ago. But not us.   We didn’t need a huge stadium but we’ve got one, and now we’re doubling down on a 30-year-old bad bet by Bill Bennett which, it was revealed today, doesn’t even work in the rain.   That’s right.   We live in the rainiest big city in North America, and the retractable roof cannot retract in the rain. So… let’s see.   We’re spending more than the cost of building a brand new stadium that could be designed to fit into the neighbourhood around it.

And as the curtain is lifted on the publicly-funded project it’s becoming quite clear that the finished product is doomed to cast a huge, ugly shadow over the entire city, doesn’t function as promised, and has a capacity hugely in excess of that which we need.   Have I got everything correct? Thought so.

** UPDATE Nov. 5/2010 – Bob Mackin reveals the new price tag is now an unconfirmed $563M.

Falling Apart?

This just in:  Vancouver has been ranked fourth on the world’s list of least affordable cities.  This is well ahead of cities like Manhattan, San Francisco, London, Paris, and Hong Kong.  As most rational people know, the city’s thundering real estate market has been bolstered by rampant speculation and constant construction of new condominiums.. but salaries, and the city’s economic development, have not kept pace.

The survey quoted in the article cites research indicating that the cost of housing in Vancouver is massively disproportionate to median salaries earned by its residents, specifically when compared to other cities around the world.  The median house price in Vancouver as of the time of the survey is 8.4 times the median income — 8.4 years’ average income to purchase a house, compared to the average median in Canada: 3.5.

What this tells you is that the fundamentals that support high real-estate prices are simply not there in Vancouver.  People just don’t earn enough income to sustain this market at such lofty prices whereas in cities like New York and San Francisco, where real estate prices are indeed higher, median incomes are substantially higher and thus can support high prices.

Vancouver is plagued by a number of problems that keep the salaries of its citizens low:

1. Affordable commerical real estate is hard to come by in the city — leading in some cases to a perverse reverse-commute where urbanites must schlep out to the suburbs to their workplaces — but more importantly this discourages companies from locating here.
2. Most large cities with expensive downtown cores operate as financial centres — the aforementioned London, Hong Kong, and New York spring to mind.  Vancouver does not, except for our storied love affair with ponzi schemes.  Without the sustaining flow of capital through our city there is highly limited opportunity for local investment.
3. We’re still a bunch of tree-cutting, pickaxe-wielding hicks.  And BC’s resource industries, the bread and butter of Vancouver for more than 150 years, are weak thanks to everything from the US softwood lumber tarriffs to Kyoto to a number of key mining company collapses.  Our province has failed to diversify its economic base substantially away from resource businesses.
4. The advanced industries like software and aerospace that keep California sizzlin’ have failed to grow in scale in this city.  Investment in this area is weak, with very little private investment and weak government support (nearly all of the Venture Capital in Vancouver is government-derived).  We did however blow >$500 million on a handful of useless fast ferries, though.  Two notable exceptions are alternative energy and biotech.  For now, at least, they are humming along.
5. The film industry, which we in BC have courted for decades, is a fickle bride.  Since productions are built for each project and torn down when completed with little long-term planning, unfavourable economic winds mean that producers can pull up stakes and shoot in South Carolina, Mexico, or wherever they can cost-optimize.  In any case, the profits are retained in New York and LA… like a Mumbai call centre, we’re just an outsourcer.
6. Drugs, and by “drugs” I mean the cultivation and distribution of marijuana, constitutes probably the largest industry in BC and it flies completely under the regulatory / taxation radar.  Conservative estimates peg this at between $5Bn and $7Bn per year.  These people have a hard time getting mortgages.  They also tend to be undesireable tenants, since they tend to get arrested/shot at/sent into hiding — that is if they don’t blow up their penthouse with a meth lab.
7. Our transportation infrastructure is pathetic, particularly when compared with major metropolitan areas (of which Vancouver is now one) such as Boston, Montreal, Toronto, New York, London, Tokyo, and others.  If we wish to become a center of commerce then we need to be able to move people around better.  Skytrain is a laughing stock and the West Coast Express, which goes to a handful of proximate suburbs from the downtown core twice a day each way, doesn’t even merit comparison with the British Urban Railway system.  Our highways (such as they are) subject people to multi-hour commutes to travel 20km.  We have failed, failed, FAILED to build infrastructure and it will continue to haunt the city for decades to come.

For those of us in the technology industry, certainly during this housing price spike, Vancouver seems an illogical place to locate our startups or ply our trades in information technology.  While the average condo price can be as high as 2x-2.5x the price of a comparable condo in Toronto or Montreal, our salary variance is just 103.5% the national average, versus 104.2% for Toronto and 103.9% for Montreal (this according to the 2009 Robert Half Salary Guide for Technology Professionals).  While we spend more to live here in Lotus Land, we sure don’t make up for it in income.

Comparing Income to Housing Prices

So how high is too high?  Right now we are finding out.

If you were blindsided by the Vancouver Real Estate crash then you were clearly in a profound state of self-delusion.  Evidently that list of deluded fools includes our civic leaders who played russian roulette with the city’s finances, underwriting the now disastrous Olympic Village project in which the taxpayers stand to lose as much as $750 Million.  Still, even amid the free-falling values, Realtors and Developers are outright lying to you… inviting you to join in their deathmatch with catch phrases like “don’t wait too long” and “strong fundamentals“.  Where have we heard that before?  Oh right, it was John McCain, about the US Economy in September – days before it collapsed.  Oops.

UPDATE: In a passionate article, former mayor Sam Sullivan says the Olympic Village is not a clusterf*ck.

Speculators and developers will beg to differ (they’re invested in fostering positive vibes) but remember:  they’re betting with your money, not their own.  Condos down the street from ours were forced into liquidation at 40% off, and there have been stories of other developers dumping their inventory at similar price cuts.  This is the beginning of a trend, not a sign of the bottom, so if you’re foolishly lining up to jump in at this point, you get what you deserve.

Not until a software engineer making $60K-$70K per year can buy a 1-Bedroom apartment in the city will the fundamentals be aligned and the market be stabilized.  This means mortgage + maintenance of less than $1500 per month using the 30% rule.  On a 25-year mortgage that probably means this 1BR apartment has to be less than $200K.  If the research that started this article can be believed, we should expect an adjustment of as much as 60% across the board to bring Vancouver back to the Canadian mean.

So in other words, wait ’til the bottom really drops out, Vancouverites..

And then we can start figuring out why no one in this city (not even the property developers, after 2007) makes any real money.

-Ian.

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Arlene Ami
> Date: Tue May 6, 2003 9:14:04 PM US/Pacific
> Subject: “SAY I DO” NATIONAL PREMIERE ON CTV, ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH
> SCREENING
>
>
> RED STORM PRODUCTIONS proudly presents:
>
> SAY I DO – Unveiling the Stories of Mail-Order Brides
> A one-hour documentary by Arlene Ami
>
> NATIONAL BROADCAST PREMIERE ON CTV
> Friday May 9 at 8:00 pm (check local listings)
> Repeats Sunday May 11 at 1:00 pm
>
> ASIAN HERITAGE MONTH SCREENING AT VIDEO-IN STUDIOS
> Thursday, May 22 at 7:30 pm $10 admission. 1965 Main Street.
> Followed by a panel discussion. All proceeds to the Purple Rose
> Campaign.
>
> Dreams and harsh realities clash when young mail-order brides escaping
> the
> poverty of the Philippines find themselves isolated in the small towns
> and
> rural areas of British Columbia, dependent on the whims of their new
> Canadian husbands. Through intimate and astonishingly frank interviews
> with
> both husbands and wives, Arlene Ami brings us fully into the
> complexities
> and underlying power relations of three couples, and exposes the very
> real
> dangers women risk in leaving their families and culture to marry
> strangers.
> The lush tropical landscapes of the Philippines and the rugged
> landscapes of
> rural B.C. act as insistent metaphors for the immense chasm between
> cultures. Say I Do is a powerful indictment of a growing mail-order
> bride
> industry that results from the economic consequences of globalization
> for
> developing countries and the proliferation of websites that ‘traffic in
> women.’
> Lynne Fernie, Hot Docs
>
> SAY I DO was recently screened in Toronto at the Hot Docs Canadian
> International Documentary Festival. It was voted one of the most
> popular
> Canadian films at last year’s Vancouver International Film Festival.
> It
> premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival where it was chosen as a
> “pick
> of the festival” by both the Montreal Gazette and the Mirror.
>
> Produced by Erik Paulsson and Arlene Ami
> Written and Directed by Arlene Ami
> Executive Producer – Betsy Carson
> Editor – Tina Reilhan
> Director of Photography – Kim Derko
> Sound Design – Miguel Nunes
> Original Music Composer – Don MacDonald
>
> For more info, check out www.redstorm.ca
>
>
>
>
>
>

Date: Thu, 05 Sep 2002 14:35:36 -0400 New American Time

The popular radio talk show, the Savage Nation, has proposed that it is not enough for the US to squander most of the earth’s resources, bully the rest of the world, and invade any country that disagrees with it. A superpower should actually be the center of the universe.

Even the Savage Nation would not recommend we turn Newtonian physics on its head and put the earth at the center of the solar system. Even right wing talk radio wouldn’t go that far. But host Michael Savage does recommend that, given the power, money, and supremacy of the US, we need another concept of time that celebrates American dominance.

Savage argues that it makes sense that America should bring sense and order to time, the most metaphysical of notions. When the world was Christ-centric, the calendar started with the birth of Christ. This was all very good while Christianity was in flower. But even then, Moslem, Hebrews, Chinese, and Buddhists were following different calendars The Moslem calendar begins in 622 with the flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina and this is the beginning of the age of Hizdra for Moslems. Emperor Constantine pronounced that the world began in 5508 BC and that is good enough for the Greek Orthodox Church which follows that calendar.

For Savage all this is mumbo jumbo, relative, and confusing. “Wars have been fought over religious calendars and millions of people have been killed. We need a bona fide secular calendar, devoid of all religious impulses. We need to bring an antiquated world into real time. We need to bury much of the chronological past that really is no more than a celebration of mayhem. We need modern measures and tools. We need a concept of time that is no longer subjective. We need an American time. After all, America is the center of the universe. We hold the power. Why not put the world on the American clock.”

Savage does not suggest we rewrite history as we invent new timepieces. On the contrary, he suggests we “by and large ignore history, especially involving the effeminate French and English kings. Keep Shakespeare and a few noisy Germany composers but the rest should go in the box with old Swiss watches.”

For all the hyperbole this is offered as a serious proposal. The first suggestion is to change the Prime Meridian. “After all”, Savage asks, “why should Greenwich, England any longer be the prime meridian. That was ok as long as England was a global power and the sun never set on the British Empire. Now it never even comes up in Greenwich.

“I recommend that the Prime Meridian be moved to New York. Let’s put it right down the middle of Ground Zero so all our enemies will know where our time begins. Instead of a polite English voice announcing the hour, we will use voices of the survivors of the terrorist attack. And every year, on the precise anniversary of the attack, we will stop time for a few minutes to honor the dead and force the whole world to mourn with us, whether they like it or not.

“Sure the cartographers will be busy drawing new maps which, to emphasize our relative power, will show the US in the center of the chart and the other countries, especially those where Muslims and other terrorists live, appropriately small. Countries belonging to the Axis of Evil will be colored Black, while the America will be colored Green and White, symbolizing our hope and optimism. We will leave out countries we don’t recognize or those that annoy us. If countries are not on the map, their representatives will not be allowed to attend United Nations functions in New York. No country, no visa, no speeches. This will keep a lot of freeloaders, who park illegally, out of the US.”

According to Savage, other activities will naturally follow. “American Time (AT) will begin September 11, 2001. Everything before that will be considered Before American Time (BAT). American Time will start with Year One. There will be no zero as that is negative and America should not associate itself with the term. Before American Time will extend to 1776, the start of the American experience. American textbooks should not find it necessary to deal with events before this date.

“America should not give aid to countries that do not accept the concept of American Time. This includes Israel. Evangelical Americans should not have difficult with this idea as it is generally recognized that god created America and has a covenant with this great nation. America will still be a place of religious tolerance as long as the various sects throw out their dangerous and musty religious calendars and accept this country as the center of the universe.”

Savage realizes there is considerable subtlety to establishing a New World order of American Time. He notes that “any changes must include changes in how time is perceived; that is the psychology of time. In order for the rest of the world to think like us, they have to be on our clock and our time. In other words we want the world awake when we are awake, and sleep when we are asleep. Obviously, this arrangement will require some adjustments in sleeping habits but world peace is well worth this effort and deprivation. It is important that we are able to keep an eye on these people.

“We are particularly interested in the rest of the world, including Europeans, getting on our work schedule. This means they will have to get used to longer working days and fewer vacations. If Europe doesn’t like it, we will import Disneyworld to the entire European Union.”

“America has the technology and know-how to actually intervene in Nature. Scientists are actually examining ways to slow down the earth’s rotation around the sun, this giving the US the option of creating longer working days or shorter winters. We will probably be able to stop the sun over certain countries-such as Iraqand raise the ambient temperature to 150F, which is even too for desert rats. That will take the mustard out of the Elite Republican Guard.

President Bush is scheduled to address the nation shortly about rewriting American time, history, and ontology.

The idea came to him while on holiday in Texas.

———–

November 25, 2002 Top SciTech Gifts 2002

Still haven’t found presents for the science fans on your list? Before you brave the cold and the holiday crowds again, take a look at our favorite geek gifts to give and get this year.

That time has come once again when Scientific American editors wrap up their holiday shopping. Okay, actually we’re far from done. We admit it. But in our annual mad dash for this season’s best science and technology presents, we have turned up quite a few terrific gifts–from pet tornadoes and weather stations to million-year-old fossils and ancient pyramid kits.

Grouped into five categories below–wearables, novelties, toys, gizmos and other stuff–this collection has something for the geek in all of us. How would Dad like a watch with a built-in universal remote control? How about a chemistry set of delicious bath soaps for Mom? Have a nutty relative who, so far as you can tell, lives in a cave? Give him a bona fide bat detector. Or a lump of coal–from the Titanic. Happy browsing! –the Editors

Wearables

Tied to Science When you have to tie one on, it might as well be scientifically stylish. Josh Bach offers several options among its offerings of colorful silk ties for $39 apiece, including cartoons of atoms, moon phases and rocket ships. http://www.joshbach.com

Double Helix Bracelet Wear your feelings about science on your sleeve–and at the same time commemorate the upcoming (March 2003) 50th anniversary of the discovery of the structure of DNA by Watson and Crick. The bracelets are fashioned from spring steel and then silver plated. They come in three sizes and prices ($6, $10 or $15). There are also “hematite” and multi-color finishes available. http://www.carolynforsman.com/product.cfm?item_id

Smart (Alec) T-shirts Want to advertise your smarts before you even open your mouth? Some of these T-shirts should do the trick. The Bell Curve shirt shows the simple graph used so often for grading—and nicely points out the wearer’s superior spot at the far end of the scale. Another T, in a lovely shade of turquoise, conveniently shows more digits of Pi than you will ever need. http://store.thecoop.com/cgi-bin/coopstore.storefront /3dde42fa048dda74273fc0a814660702/Catalog/1343

Space Station Crew Cap Is someone on your gift list out of this world in one way or another? Give them this black baseball cap, identifying them as a crew member on the space station. The back of the hat features the IMAX logo. http://store.thetech.org/spacstatcrew.html

Midas Remote Controlled Watch Think of it—a universal remote control attached to your wrist at all times. No TV will ever again escape your will, at least not if it’s within 20 feet. This watch’s database covers every make/model of TV and cable receiver imaginable. What does such power cost, you ask? Only $39.99. http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/watches/5a7b/ Novelties

Aged Well Fossils, skulls, and large insects are among the offerings at Maxilla and Mandible online. When we looked, for instance, the 350 million-year-old fossil trilobite was a steal at $56. Also available was a modern wildebeast skull with graceful black horns ($360), and an impressive specimen of a giant scorpion ($100). Prices and offerings vary. http://www.maxillaandmandible.com/

Titanic Coal Need to fill stockings for bad children, large and small? Well, for a mere $21.95 you can give them a piece of coal from the engine room of the most famous shipwreck, the sinking of the Titanic. Each lump comes with a certificate of authenticity. http://shop.store.yahoo.com/scimall-usa/titaniccoal.html

Test-tube Spice Rack For the chemist-cum-cook, this set of glass test tubes in a matching silver rack makes it easy to brew up just about anything in the kitchen. Cork stoppers keep spices fresh. http://www.gourmetbistro.com/glastestubsp.html

Bath Science Fill your tub with a variety of potions and lotions from chemistryset.net this season and keep the beakers and vials for later use. The delicious soaps, bath bombs, mineral salts, aromatherapy beads and candles from this site are all you need to dissolve holiday stress. http://www.chemistryset.net/

MC2 Frame Hand-made, hand-painted and cast in bonded porcelain, this beautiful frame is a nice way to display your photos of Einstein—or anyone else you hold near and dear. http://store.yahoo.com/msichicago/16-538.html

Surveyors’ Bearings Antique scientific instruments can be very pricey. But there are some high quality, accurate reproductions available that will put less of a dent in the pocketbook. The classic surveying compass, for example, was patented by Colorado mining engineer D.W Brunton in 1894. It quickly became the standard instrument for explorers mapping new lands and territories and charting coastlines. This faithful replica has a solid polished brass casing that opens to reveal folding peep sights; on the inside of the lid is a mirror with a centre line. The case is heavily constructed from a machined casting, with brass screws and hinges. It comes in a leather case with stitched seams and brass strap fastening. www.simplysuperbgifts.com

Signed by Chuck Yeager In 1947, Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager, flew into history when he became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound. The Bell X-1 Rocket Research plane he piloted. You can’t give someone the original X-1–its at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum but you can give them a 1:32 scale model autographed by Yeager. The model is handcrafted of mahogany and presented on a wooden display stand. www.smithsonianstore.com

Astronaut Autographs The moonwalker astronauts are now in their 60s and 70s–and most will likely be gone before humans return to the moon. But space buffs can still get the gift of a living remembrance of those heroic journeys in the form of NASA photographs autographed by the astronauts. For example, a signed and authenticated 16-by-20 copy of the famous photo of Neil Armstrong reflected in the faceplate of Buzz Aldrin’s helmet can be purchased for $299; framed for $459. www.novaspace.com Toys

Rocket Car Forget the run-of-the-mill remote-controlled models from Radio Shack. This two-foot long speed machine runs on pure vinegar and baking soda. You might want to send Fido outside before you fire ‘er up. http://store.thecoop.com/cgi-bin/coopstore.storefront/ 3dde42fa048dda74273fc0a814660702/Product/View/5029

Pet Tornado Speaking of pets, why not keep your very own storm around for a, well, sunny day? No need for walks, bones, scratching posts, flea collars or pigs ears. Just spin the cage and watch a baby tornado form. At $4.50, it makes a great stocking stuffer. http://store.yahoo.com/msichicago/pettornado.html

Cat-A-Pults Watch mechanics in action as Newton the foam cat flies from one catapult to the next. This set contains five catapults, each with 25 adjustment settings to control the cat’s trajectory up to distances of eight feet, and 10 actual Newtons, for a total of 90 feline lives. http://store.yahoo.com/ explo/catapults.html

Pyramid Building Blocks Reconstruct Tut’s tomb with this 67-piece block set. These hardwood blocks come in 18 different shapes, making it far easier for you to engineer a pyramid than it was for the ancient Egyptians. http://www.smithsonianstore.com/ product_detail.asp?styleg301&catid001814&dptidP2

Talking Globe Learn geography plus national anthems and songs. This globe asks more than 10,000 questions and grades your answers. You can create custom quizzes at different skill levels and track scores for up to four players. http://www.smithsonianstore.com/ product_detail.asp?style`26&catid#9&dptid#5

Ant-omology Like chemistry sets, the holidays wouldn’t be the same without some budding entomologist getting an ant farm. This escape-proof set up allows kids to watch these industrious arthropods through the walls of a round-walled clear container with a snap on magnifier for closer viewing. “Sugar Cement” puts nutrients into the sand while making it cave-in resistant and spurs the ants to greater activity. A mail-in coupon brings the ants to their new abode within 2 to 4 weeks. It also gives parents a chance to reconsider. www.scientificsonline.com

Designer Molecules Molecular models may be the Tinker Toys of the 21st century. Here’s a kit that contains an extensive assortment of 480 atoms molded in polypropylene. Three hundred flexible vinyl connectors represent the bond “linkages.” Double and triple bonds are easily constructed. Anything from an acid to an enzyme is easily fabricated. And even if its not the next blockbuster designer drug, the models are nice to look at. gallery.bcentral.com

Unraveling DNA It’s been 50 years since Watson and Crick figured out that the DNA packed in all living cells was coiled in the form of a double helix. But few people have actually seen this stuff of life. Here’s a kit that can give amateur experimenters a look by extracting the DNA from onion cells. By following simple instructions users can see the DNA precipitate from solution and lift it out of the test tube. In the process, they learn about cell lysis, denaturation, precipitation, super coiling, high molecular mass, and the double stranded helix. www.books4kids.com Gadgets

Portable Solar Array If the batteries in your CD player or cell phone run dry on a clear, sunny day, just plug the little gadget into iSun, a portable solar charger offered by ICP Global Technologies. The size of a small book, one iSun generates about two Watts of electricity, enough to power a Walkman, cell phone or PD. Each unit costs $79.99 a piece, and they can be linked together like a daisy chain to power hungrier devices. www.icpglobal.com

Backyard Weather Station Dreaming of a white Christmas? Go one step farther and make your own forecast. These professional weather stations feature anemometers to measure wind speed and direction, rain collectors to track daily and accumulated rainfall amounts, temperature and humidity sensors and much more. They transmit their readings to remote LCD console/receivers that can be placed up to 400 feet away. http://www.weathershop.com/davis_wireless.htm

Bat Detectors No, this isn’t a giant bat-shaped spotlight you project into the night sky. This palm-held gizmo is the bat-hunter’s equivalent to a fish finder. For beginners, Bat Conservation International, Inc., which brings you the Swedish-made devices, suggests the E-5 Microbat model, with high/low frequency capabilities for detecting most bats through a speaker or headphones. For around $89, it comes with belt clip, battery and instructions. http://www.batcon.org/catalog/catp3.html

Time Flows By Here’s new twist on the time-honored hourglass egg timer. The Bubble Timer is a polished two-inch acrylic cube that reckons the minutes by the lazy ascent of a bubble through a tube. Depending on the face the cube is set on, the tube has three inclinations–and hence counts out three different times: ten seconds, one minute or five minutes. Invert the cube to repeat the measurement. bubbletimer.com/

Don’t Party Without It No need to fear the consequences of overzealous holiday celebrating is you are carrying this Digital Alcohol Detector. This compact personal breathalyzer uses advanced semiconductor gas sensor technology to approximate the percent of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) from your breath. Blow into the mouth vent and within 10 seconds a precise reading, in increments of 0.01 percent, ranging from 0.00 to 0.19 percent BAC.appears on the LCD display. www.scientificsonline.com

Atomic Time With the ExactSet clock there is no reason to call the phone company for the correct time. This compact travel clock sets itself automatically to the radio signal from the US Atomic Clock in Colorado. In addition, the clock incorporates two alarms, time/day/date display, indoor temperature, and low battery indicator. It even has an eight minute snooze for an indisputable wakeup call. www.weathertools.com

Solar Observer Here’s a safe way to look at the surface of the sun. The Sunspotter is a wooden, folded-Keplerian telescope that uses a system of mirrors and a powerful 62millimeter objective lens to project a brilliant three-inch solar image onto a white viewing screen. Sunspots can be easily tracked as they appear and move across the solar disk. Tracing the images provides an hour-by-hour or day-by-day record of the solar cycle. www.scientificsonline.com

Bright Beam Almost everyone has a flashlight–or too many–but the X5 LED Long Distance Flashlight adds a new dimension. Its powerful beam reaches 120 feet but, unlike conventional flashlights, it illuminates that darkness in full spectrum color by combining the light from five LED bulbs. The distinctive blue beam can be seen more than two miles away at dusk or dark. Its aircraft-grade aluminum case is virtually unbreakable, completely waterproof (up to 150 feet), and shock proof. shopping.discovery.com

Digital Microscope Another old standby children’s gift–the optical microscope–is going digital. The C2D Microscope connects to a PC and can magnify objects up to 220 times their actual size. The software can record both stills and video. Like its mechanical forebears, the kit also contains dissecting tools and prepared slides. store.yahoo.com Other

Adopt a Whale For only $54 dollars, you can help support research on killer whales and claim one for your very own or for a friend. The killer whale adoption program from the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Center sends you an ID photo and biography of your whale, an adoption certificate, a CD featuring the sounds of British Columbia’s killer whales and newsletter about the research program. You choose your whale from a pull-down menu: Balaklava, Clio, Echo, Izumi, Nimpkish, Whisky and pals are waiting. http://www.clamshell.org/

Sponsor a Big Cat For only $25, you can sponsor a jaguar, snow leopard or Siberian Tiger and get a bunch of great goodies as well. The Wildlife Conservation Society will send you a limited edition T-shirt, one year of their magazine, a brief history of your cat and information about what WCS is doing in its habitat to help protect wildlife. For $35 or more, you’ll also receive a quarterly newsletter. http://wcs.org/bigcats/#whichcat

Blue Planet This hauntingly beautiful journey beneath the sea made documentary history. From giant whales to tiny coral polyps and the strange organisms that live in the abyssal deep, it contains scenes never before captured on camera. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, it stands as a definitive exploration of the ocean’s most breathtaking habitats, from its deepest recesses to its frozen deserts. The entire series is available in a boxed gift set of four DVDs. DVD extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews, photo galleries, fact files and a Blue Planet music video. shopping.discovery.com

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On Monday, July 8, 2002, at 04:37 PM, David Riley wrote:

> HTML mail bad.
>
> —
> David Riley
> driley [at] moonfall [dot] com – Moonfall (Vancouver, B.C.)

“>http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd”> date-sent 1026171519 flags 33815681 original-mailbox local:///Import/foib sender Ian Andrew Bell <hello [at] ianbell [dot] com> subject Re: HTML mail to David Riley <foib [at] driley.moonfall [dot] com> ]]> 3858 https://ianbell.com/2002/05/02/fw-sell-me-a-class-5-voip-switch/ Fri, 03 May 2002 02:54:00 +0000 https://ianbell.com/2002/05/02/fw-sell-me-a-class-5-voip-switch/ —— Forwarded Message From: Ian Andrew Bell Date: Thu, 2 May 2002 17:30:17 -0700 To: PULVER-RPT [at] LISTSERV.PULVER [dot] COM Subject: Sell Me a Class 5 VoIP Switch

Back in 1997, while I was working at Canada’s 2nd Largest local phone company (now TELUS), an SE from Cisco made me fall in love with Voice Over IP. I had just read “Rise of the Stupid Network” and I too believed that Voice was simply a payload for data (but then again, I was a data guy).

Fast Forward three years: It took a long time, but Cisco and others in the VoIP space, including some guy named Jeff Pulver, ultimately managed to mount a successful jihad to convince the entire telecom industry that TDM, as a technology for the transport of Voice, was dead. By 2000, most major telecom companies had announced that they intended to make no further investment in TDM switching equipment.

During those three years I fell in love with Cisco and went to work for them. When I arrived, I was dismayed to find out that there was no ongoing work to replace the venerable Class 5 switch.

Now, when I say Class 5 switch I am not simply referring to a feature group — a true Class 5 switch obviously does a whole lot more. It sits in a squat concrete building and aggregates tens of thousands of individual wires delivers power, dial-tone, and features to those lines. It also connects them to the world via trunks that are aggregated and peered elsewhere in the network. This is obviously a really important point in the communications network. Practically every single phone call today is made or received across one of these aging behemoths, quietly collecting dust as fans whirr away shunting calls all over the world.

We’re now 7 years from when the holy war to kick out TDM began, we’re 5 years from when I fell in love with VoIP, and we’re at least two years away from when it became boldly apparent that the entire telecommunications industry validated that love.

But still they keep whirring away. You can even go to some remote regions of places like British Columbia and stand outside rental trailers, listening to the “click, slide, click” of the old mechanical switches that were mostly phased out by the dawn of the 1980’s and heralded the new era of DTMF.

Meanwhile the venerable TDM switch has been completely devalued. You can buy a used DMS 100 at auction for less than the cost of moving it out of the building. Usually these are shipped to developing countries where they become the basis for TDM deployments there.

ILECs and RBOCs almost certainly agree that their TDM switching is too costly, too difficult, and too cumbersome to build out any further in the context of approaching technology which promises to ease their pain. So the technology is most certainly gone. In the interim, as they wait for new technology, they build loop extensions or repurpose old equipment, or they concoct other creative machinations to bridge the gap.

Ironically, this may be the first time in technological history, and certainly in my feeble memory, when a technology has been obsoleted before there was any technology to replace it.

So I ask you this: Why can the humble, profitable ILEC not go out and buy a VoIP-centric Class 5 switch to service a neighbourhood? Why can they not take all of those wires, make a very satisfying “cut” with their wire snips, and plug those wires back into a device that makes an analog telephone line into the world’s cheapest SIP agent?

That cable that has powered the telecommunications industry for over 80 years is already there, ripe for the taking. It’s already been dug into the ground, strung from poles, and weaved lovingly into the riser blocks. Yet we in the VoIP industry espouse metropolitan ethernet, fixed wireless, and (shudder) 3G as the last mile strategy as we positively stifle the market by trying to sell them $700.00 telephones.

We’re selling to CLECs: a market that for all practical purposes no longer exists. And we’re trying to convince companies and individuals, in the worst economy that the world has seen since the last Republican regime, that they need to spend $700.00 for a phone that does almost exactly what a $20.00 phone does.

It’s not going to work!

[AHEM]

That said, this is an earnest question:

Who is addressing the replacement of those old, dusty, oddly-coloured — but venerable — Class 5 switches? I think I know some folks who would line up to buy.

-Ian.

—— End of Forwarded Message

2001 a roller coaster for telecoms Sector remains a big driver in B.C. high tech even after a rough year

by Glen Korstrom

A turbulent telecommunications sector has changed the face of this year’s list of B.C.’s 100 biggest high-tech employers.

While former market darlings have fallen on tough times and off the list, perennial chart-topper Telus Corp. remains at the head of the pack, new players have arrived and several upstarts have jumped a few rungs. (See page 18 for the full 2002 list of biggest high-tech companies in B.C.)

Newcomer Bell West, created April 11 from the merger of the former Bell Intrigna and Bell Nexxia, has burst onto BIV’s list at number 39, with 175 local employees.

Bell will likely make further inroads in BIV’s tech list in coming years, as its divisions with B.C. employees include:

cell phone provider Bell Mobility;

home satellite group Bell ExpressVu;

media division Bell Globemedia (which includes employees at CTV and the Globe and Mail);

retail stores under the Bell World banner; and

Web portal VancouverPlus.ca.

In total, Bell’s parent company BCE has more than 700 employees in B.C., said Bell West sales director Garrett Ungaro.

Bell West’s Vancouver-based general manager John Stoddart said the merger eliminates some duplication in the two Bell arms, which provide services in the voice and data sectors, including high-speed Internet.

But he does not expect layoffs to result from the merger because growth will be sufficient to keep everybody busy.

While much has been made of Bell’s foray into Telus’s backyard, telecom analyst Eamon Hoey of Toronto’s Hoey and Associates said B.C.’s largest high tech company has no reason to shake in its boots now that its prime competition has restructured.

Although Hoey praised Bell West’s management as having “more juice” than the previous team at the two former divisions, he sees the emergence of Bell West as healthy for Telus because it forces Telus to provide good service for low cost.

“There’s nothing worse than having inferior competition,” said Hoey.

Telus has no intention of relinquishing its top spot among B.C. technology employers anytime soon. Past growth in the province has come from acquiring Vancouver companies such as Web design firm Columbus Group, and Telus spokesperson Doug Strachan said that growth strategy is likely to continue in the future. “We made it clear from the beginning that we intend to defend and grow our home markets,” Strachan said.

Other recent successes include Alcatel, a telecom equipment giant with 99,000 employees globally. It makes its debut appearance on BIV’s tech list this year, at number 22. Although the company is based in France, it has 270 B.C. employees, engaged mainly in research and development. Its latest product, the 7670 RSP media gateway, was developed jointly by Alcatel’s Ottawa and Burnaby staff. That product expands the delivery of data services to businesses and consumers, providing video-on-demand and online business transactions among other services.

Alcatel Canada’s ceo Hubert de Pesquidoux explained that much of his company’s B.C. growth can be attributed to the fact that this is where Alcatel employees want to live. “People love B.C. and Vancouver.”

He said he had tried to promote some top performers in the Burnaby office by offering them stints in Europe, but they turned him down because they didn’t want to leave B.C.

Alcatel is new to BIV’s list because the company declined to provide staff numbers in 2001. Telecom equipment provider Glentel Inc. similarly provided numbers for the first time this year and jumped onto BIV’s 2002 list at No. 17.

Other telecoms provided figures previously, but declined to get specific this time around. 360networks, which has had to scale back its ambitious plans to build a worldwide fibreoptic network, said it had 200 local staff last year and 1,500 worldwide. The company, now under creditor protection as it tries to restructure, would not provide figures this year, but in a recent court filing said it now has 172 workers in its Canadian and Atlantic offices.

Similarly, Redback Networks refused to provide updated figures after telling BIV that it had 230 employees in Burnaby last year.

The U.S.-based manufacturer of broadband communications systems has suffered job cuts and a steep revenue drop over the past year.

Embattled telecom Nortel Networks Corp. had 270 staff in Richmond in September 2000. For the past two years, the company, which has also cut jobs, refused to provide local employee figures.

Meanwhile, Convedia Corp., a local developer of Internet voice and video technology, has jumped 16 spots in the list, moving to 82 from 98 last year. That company netted US$20 million in venture funding in September 2001, and soon after hired 13 additional staff. It now has 70 employees. Convedia CEO Peter Briscoe added that he intends to hire more technical and business development employees.

Motorola Canada Ltd. jumped three spots to take the number 17 position.

Other local players in the telecom sector have felt the impact of a global slowdown in telecom spending. Argus Technologies, GT Group Telecom, Rogers AT&T Wireless and Microcell Telecommunications (branded as Fido) all dropped down the list.

Telecom turmoil spurs movement

B.C.’s biggest telecom firms ranked by number of employees..

Company 2002 2001 Local employees Telus 1 1 13,154 PMC Sierra 8 5 600 MDSI Mobile Data Solutions 13 12 360 Glentel Inc. 17 NR 300 Motorola Canada Ltd. 17 20 300 Alcatel 22 NR 270 Rogers AT&T Wireless 22 19 270 Argus Technologies 32 27 215 Alpha Technologies Ltd. 34 43 202 AT&T Canada Corp. 35 38 200 GT Group Telecom 39 28 175 Bell West 39 NR 175 Microcell Telecommunications 41 40 172 Spectrum Signal Processing 44 48 158 Radiant Communication Services 61 NR 110 Convedia Corp. 82 98 70 Sprint Canada Inc. 82 82 70 Norsat Int’l 82 NR 70 NR = Not Ranked

Source: BIV TOP 100 LIST

 

-Ian.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020422/od_nm/osama_dc_1

Osama Bin Laden Stealing Gasoline in Canada? Mon Apr 22, 6:45 AM ET

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) – Police in a Vancouver suburb are searching for Osama bin Laden (news – web sites) — or at least a man who last week used the name of the Saudi-born militant to steal some gasoline.

The suspect drove up in a luxury Jaguar car and used a credit card on a gasoline pump in Port Moody, British Columbia, but the station attendant became suspicious after the man had left.

The fake credit card had a stolen account number and listed the customer’s name as Osama bin Laden.

“I guess that shows the guy’s sense of humor,” Port Moody police spokesman Brian Soles said Friday.

The suspect was described as a Middle Eastern male in his mid-30s and 5’7″ tall.

“He’s bit young and short to be the real thing,” said Soles, noting the man also lacked bin Laden’s beard.

The incident occurred on April 12, but Soles said witnesses have reported seeing the man’s car in Port Moody since then. “It looks like he’s still in the area,” he said.