W00t! My letter to the WFP about Jim Rondeau’s comments on the ZENN and hydrogen fuel cells got printed in Saturday’s Free Press, and as the “Letter Of The Day”, no less:

Go electric

Re: Province looks at more fuel efficiency rebates, March 5.

Minister Jim Rondeau needs to look beyond the “hydrogen fuel cell” sound bite for tractable solutions that can succeed in reducing emissions and non-renewable energy consumption in our province. However, he need not look very far.

Manitoba, with our wealth of relatively clean hydroelectric energy, is well poised to use electricity as a clean, renewable energy source for our vehicles. Researchers at Manitoba Hydro and the University of Manitoba have been studying plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) that are charged via the power grid like electric vehicles, but have added range provided by a gasoline hybrid engine. Further, while the ZENN electric vehicle may not be an ideal car for all Manitobans, the introduction of these vehicles in Manitoba would be an important first step in changing public perceptions of electric vehicles.

If our province wishes to “See Green” and take a leadership role in promoting low- and no-emission vehicles, it does not have to rely on exotic and inefficient technologies like hydrogen. The products and technologies necessary to take an important first step in improving vehicle emissions in Manitoba are close at hand. What we need now is the political will of Minister Rondeau and our government to see such initiatives through.

STEPHEN WOODROW
Winnipeg

Matt Good wrote a song back in 2003 called 21st Century Living. He included some lyrics on ambition:

Ambition.
Ambition’s a tricky thing.
It’s like riding a unicycle on a dental floss tightrope over a wilderness of razor blades.
Ambition can backfire.

After watching the primaries yesterday, with John McCain solidifying his nomination and ready to focus on the presidential campaign, the Democratic candidates ought to reconsider their personal ambition for the good of their country.

The current “civil war” between Democrats, without an end in sight, is surely the GOP’s dream come true. After all, the longer the Democratic Party remains fractured, the longer that McCain will have time to slag both candidates and strengthen his own party.

In an election where so many claim to want change, personal ambition will need to be set aside sooner than later, lest the unthinkable occur — another Republican president.

Around here, our ambition hurts more than it helps.

And in case you’re wondering, I know which candidate I’m hoping will concede and pledge their support.

CBC reports that only ~41% of Albertans voted in their provincial election yesterday. While Manitoba’s arguably not any better at 56.75% in our last election, it’s a little sad that such a low turnout gives a mandate to those who govern the economically-powerful, environmentally-careless, and growing-too-quickly Alberta.

Perhaps the problem is the Elections Alberta slogan:
“Vote… it’s inexcusably easy!”

I’ve become frustrated at the apparent lack of shops in Winnipeg that are passionate about their coffee (and especially espresso). Vancouver and Seattle have many of these so called “Third Wave” coffee shops, and Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal have a few as well. Heck, even Saskatoon has two or three good coffee places to our zero.

Don’t just take my word for it either — we got skipped in a recent trans-Canada coffee adventure by some professionals.

Now, before you say “Who cares what this coffee snob has to say. I’m headed to Timmy’s/Starbucks/The Second Cup/whatever.”, let me explain why these third wave coffee places are important:

I’m sure many of you have had a bitter or sour shot of espresso before, only to say “Who would ever drink this stuff straight?”. This leads to the Starbucks phenomenon where most people only find espresso palatable as a smidgen of espresso (both in volume and flavor) with loads of steamed milk and flavored syrup. But coffee doesn’t have to be this way.

Just like fine restaurants, third wave coffee shops care about the sources, quality and freshness of their ingredients, have great equipment and well-trained staff, and are passionate about technique to deliver the best possible product to their clientèle. Espressos made at these places are not overly bitter or sour, and taste a lot like the smell of fresh ground coffee. Lattés are a more even balance of espresso and milk, where the sweetness of the milk is kept in check with the slight bitterness of the coffee, and they are typically crowned with latté art by a skilled barista.

Given the sad state of affairs in Winnipeg, I plan to embark on an evaluation of the reasonable coffee joints in our fair city to determine who’s got the best espresso skills and drinks. I’m not expecting to find a true “third wave” shop here, nor am I expecting latté art on my lattés. I simply hope to identify the best places for Winnipeg espresso lovers to indulge in their espresso beverage of choice, and maybe a few pleasant surprises about the espresso shops in our town.

The review plan may change, but I hope to try the two cornerstone espresso drinks at each shop: straight espresso shots and lattés.

Finally, here’s the list of places I hope to check out as this adventure continues (feel free to offer additional suggestions in the comments):

• Starbucks
• The Second Cup
• The Fyxx
• S-Cues
• Espresso Junction
• Nucci’s Gelati
• Eva’s Gelato
• Roca Jack’s
• Mondragon
• Pastry Castle
• The Black Pearl
• Crazy Water (in St. Malo)
• The Edge Cafe (in Selkirk)
• DeLuca’s
• Tim Hortons — yes, they do technically serve espressos & lattes

Hopefully I won’t be too jittery by the time this is all said and done.

Friend and 2003-04 UMSU VP candidate Dana Gregoire is guest blogging for The Manitoban during the UMSU Election. I’m so excited — I love witty analysis of sketch-tacular student politics.

MIT Admissions Letter (by sτενεωooδroω)

When I first received this, I wasn’t going to mention anything online as I thought it might seem pretentious. Perhaps it still does seem pretentious, but:

1) This is too exciting not to mention, and

2) This is probably the easiest way to let everyone who is interested know.

So that’s all for now. The next big thing will be finding a research assistantship to cover tuition and living expenses, but I’m quite hopeful that I will be able to find something suitable. And then I will be in Boston next fall.

Too funny:

Source: churchsigngenerator.com; copied from this URL (I could not link to it directly, but believe this constitutes fair dealing).

I especially like the “scar-shaped” crack in the jug…