FLASHBACK: Geothermal conversion 43 Bessborough Dr.

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A home at 43 Bessborough Dr. is being converted to geothermal heating, a technique which uses the earth’s heat to heat and cool the building. It would seem to be a fairly rare project. The home is undergoing a renovation and with it, workmen are drilling down an unknown distance to tap the heat of the earth. As one worker at the site said, “This house is going to be completely disconnected from natural gas.” At the left, a bin containing mud from drilling is being evacuated. At right, shots of the drilling equipment.

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Geothermal heating relies on an energy exchange between the air within the building being heated and the ground. Below ten feet the earth’s temperature is fairly constant (generally between 50º-56°F). During the summer when the ambient temperature of the building exceeds that of the ground heat pumps are used to pump heat from the building into the transfer medium (typically water with small amounts of ethanol or glycol) and is subsequently pumped through narrow pipes into the ground so that the heat can be dissipated in the earth. When the ambient temperature falls below the ground temperature the process works in reverse. Heat pumps extract heat from the ground and use it to heat the building. Wikipedia

Laugh out Loud event a great success

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Civic luminaries and hard-working local residents helped raise more than $40,000 last Friday at the “Laugh out Loud in Leaside” comedy event in aid of construction of an additional ice pad at Leaside Arena. Left, Mayor Ford and organizer Charlene Kalia, centre Leaside resident and AM640 Talk Radio host John Oakley and right, Actor/Comedian David Sparrow. The two men are seen conducting a dynamic live auction at the On the Park Events and Conference Centre. Comedians from Yuk Yuk’s entertained the capacity crowd. The arena expansion is a $9.5 million project of which $7 million is a recoverable loan undertaken by the city and $2.5 million is to be raised by the user groups and the community. The project will come before council as part of the 2011 capital plan in February.

Super Bowl ads will tickle millions

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Excellent National Public Radio roundup of Super Bowl advertising to be seen this Sunday. Stills provided by the advertisers are a nice tease. Above left is something called “One Epic Ride” in which Poseidon looks favorably on the KIA Optima. Right, out to excel over the 2010 Betty White and Abe Vigoda entry, Richard Lewis and Roseanne Barr will reprise the Snickers theme that “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry”. Here’s another look at the 2010 Snickers ad with White and Vigoda And thanks to Oh you for catchung our error on Abe’s name.

Local cell phone robberies a worry

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Parents are rightly concerned about the wave of cell phone robberies. Another was reported Tuesday when a 16-year-old was accosted at the Lawrence West station and intimidated into giving up his phone. Very recently two teens were robbed of a cell phone on Bessborough Drive. What to do. Of course, if threatened, the victim should give over the phone. Don’t risk harm. But many young people are careless about using their phone in a way that makes them targets. Don’t flash the phone around. Parents should make sure that records are kept of all phones and that a report is made to the police immediately. That should help to limit your liability. Finally, try to encourage kids not to put too much personal information in the phone. We all know that it can be used to defraud and impersonate .

Visa, MasterCard “premium” cards

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Retailers know how Visa and MasterCard fees cut into revenue. But now Visa and MasterCard are taking a cue from American Express. Amex has for years persuaded card holders that they get tangibly more (so-called rewards) for using American Express. You know who pays for the rewards. Until now merchants have been able to avoid such charges by simply refusing to accept American Express cards. In the end, they lose no business because, after all, everyone has a Visa or a MasterCard. And that’s where these two card companies see an opportunity to increase fees. They want to offer Amex-like cards which carry much highers costs paid for by the merchant. The kicker is that Visa and Mastercard are insisting on an all or nothing deal for the right to swipe any Visa or Mastercard. A retailer would not be able to accept any Visa card without accepting the premium cards. Thus they would be forced to endure charges similar to those levied by American Express. The battle rages between the Federal Competition Bureau, which opposes this, and the card companies. The Canadian Federation of Indepdeent Business has had the courage to organize a campaign asking retailers to ask for payment by cash or debit.

Racing to beat the big snowstorm

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These carpenters were racing to beat the snowstorm late Tuesday as they closed in the roof of this Rumsey Road renovation. While most people were well on their way home, these men were up in the bitter cold, hammers ringing. At right, carefully tethered, one man climbs down the mansard with an automatic nailer to secure the sheet of wood. The latest forecast is for up to 15 cm overnight, with an additional 15 cm Wednesday morning. The snow is expected to taper off in the afternoon.

A&W features self-serve kiosks

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It’s been a long time since girls on roller skates balanced burgers and root beer as they served up A&W fare to patrons. Now perhaps the ultimate opposite to that. A&W is rolling out automatic kiosks where you can order your lunch without speaking to anyone. It’s one of the features of A&W’s thrust into the busy and affluent business districts of our big cities. They’ve opened them in Vancouver and Calgary. Last Friday they opened one on Yonge Street north of College in Toronto, a so-called urban concept place designed to catch downtown burger diners. In fact, these restaurants serve a variety of dishes and also offer conventional counter service.