Epidemic of Minutes, Birds Mar 5, 2020

Dan Kennelly – started with a shout out to Barbecues Galore. He went in to get one stupid plastic push button and then was happily led down the rabbit hole of exploring fireplaces, other barbecues, etc. The staff person who toured him around was very knowledgeable and pleasant. Left him with a great impression.

Dave Hicks – came across another electrician and they discussed electric vehicles (EV’s). Their conversation revolved around how people charged them.

For example, the biggest charger that Tesla sells is a 50 amp charger. The average residential service is 100 amps. The existing service is based on load balances through your home as it exists. If you throw a “spare” 50 amp charge at the system overtop of your dryer, your fridge and goodness knows what else, you’ll overload a conventional 100 amp service.

The options at that point include upgrading the service to 200 amps (easier with a new build, obviously). Another option is a manual isolation switch and choosing to run your dryer OR charging your EV.

There’s also a company building something called an EVEM; it’s an energy management system. It intelligently senses the load use day and night and will prioritize different things. For example, after everyone’s gone to bed and the only thing on is the dishwasher, it’ll direct power to your EV charger. The EVEM device goes for about $800.

Dave and this other electrician figure most new homes will evolve to have 200 amp panel rather than 100 amp to accommodate these vehicles.

All of this before you take into account the technical challenges of integrating any solar power you may have in the mix. Dave brought up the possibility of charging the car exclusively with solar power. That also allows the car to act as a “battery” and possibly feed power back into the house.

George Doherty chimed in with a note from a friend who figured that in 5 years, EVs would be the only thing you could buy.

To which Brett Bain said – uh-uh. Not until they extend the range beyond 300-400km. He also mentioned that until you can get stuck in an avalanche in Rogers Pass or on the Coquihalla and idle for a few hours…or longer and keep warm, it’ll be a no-go in places like Canada.

Dan Kennelly chipped in that he’d heard the news that several EV models were being cancelled by major carmakers. With subsidies being cancelled, they’re suddenly not *quite* as attractive – even for the Thunberg eco-warrior crowd.

I couldn’t find independent confirmation of models being cancelled – but I *did* find two interesting articles down the rabbit hole:

Mike Mikkelson – no tips but another shout out to Ross and great Barbecues Galore service.

The other note of interest from Mike was about his son and the marketing program he’s in at MRU (Mount Royal University). The program had organized a focus group at MRU. It was the first time Mike had ever taken part in one and he found it genuinely interesting. He learned a lot. It was on sports-based activities in the city/market.

The group’s goal is to gather data on younger demographic groups to try to figure out how to interest them and get them involved. ( *Ed. note: They could, for example, make a single ticket less than a car payment. That might help.). Anyway, the focus group took place at the new MRU Riddell Library and Learning Center – one of a suite of beautiful new facilities on the MRU campus. Mike recommends the focus group experience if you’re ever invited to take part in one.

This is a shot of the new library.

From treadmill desks to 360 cameras, 5 of the coolest tech features at MRU’s new library: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/mru-library-treadmill-desk-maker-space-1.4277319

George Doherty – continued his quest toward his second career as a Personal Library Curator. Last week it was Bill Bryson’s fabulous book The Body. This week, firmly occupying George’s start on #MeToo shelf is the Ronan Farrow book Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators. It’s the book that is held up as a contributing factor in the investigation that brought down Harvey Weinstein.

George offered the book up with the caveat that Ronan is an “interesting guy”. No takers at Birds – but you can read more about the book here: https://www.amazon.ca/Catch-Kill-Conspiracy-Protect-Predators-ebook/dp/B07TD413RV/ref=sr_1_1?crid=37EOLGC54G007&keywords=catch+and+kill+ronan+farrow&qid=1583465195&sprefix=catch+and+%2Caps%2C261&sr=8-1

Then Andy popped in to quickly recommend another Bill Bryson book: At Home: A Short History of Private Life – essentially a wonderfully written history of the concept of a “house” and every room in it in the past 150 years.

Like everything else Bryson’s done, it’s eminently readable and Andy said it’s one of the VERY few books that he remembers reading twice . You can take a sneak peek at a couple of chapters and some of the home photos on the Amazon page for the book here: https://www.amazon.ca/At-Home-Short-History-Private/dp/0385661649/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1TH421J92L32S&keywords=at+home+bill+bryson&qid=1583465985&sprefix=At+Home+bi%2Caps%2C188&sr=8-1

A final note from George was about a disagreement he was having with his son (I believe) over the impact of COVID-19 compared to the flu. His son quoted a statistic that George doubted – but I found the source. The quote was:

Jim Bladon – hoped we were all enjoying the nice weather since it’s supposed to be -17 this Saturday.

Jim enjoyed working in Edmonton because it also coincided with being able to watch his son playing hockey as the AHA moves toward playoffs.

Jim also noted the interest rate drop in both the US and Canada coming on the heels of a poor Q1 forecast. There are a lot of factors in play convincing the feds to act including an oil supply glut affecting both Canada and the US, agricultural issues getting grain to market in Canada, and geopolitics in general.

Not surprisingly, in light of the interest rates dropping Jim’s phone has been ringing off the hook with people wanting to renegotiate their agreements.

To which Andy chimed in with the old golf saying: “All bets are made on the first tee.”

In any case, Jim is definitely curious to see how everything will play out.

Bob Wiggins – was back after 3 weeks trying to get over a nasty cold. For the record, despite being in pretty fine fettle, he still sounded like an actor in a sinus medication commercial. ????

He’s been living the Birds vicariously through the minutes and recounted how the minutes have at times in the past read like an advance edition of the Herald. 30 days in advance with the level of connected knowledge the Birds brought to the table.

Bob also brought an image of a traffic ticket. A friend of his had run a red light in San Luis Obispo and thought: “…alright, well, $95.”

The ticket wound up being more after the policeman added various “line items: administrative fees, state fees, etc. In the end, the ticket added up to $499. See below.

Bob’s final note was a comment on a little known chapter during this whole blockade “episode”. Apparently our fearless “leader”, Trudeau, personally brokered a backroom deal between the railways so they could run on each other’s tracks to help get around blockades. It’ll be interesting to see how much of a positive or mitigating impact the deal had, or if it will ever be accounted for publicly.

Ross Mikkelsen – loves that Pharmacist show on Netflix. In case you missed it in last week’s minutes, the trailer is below:

Then Ross, adding to the EV conversation wondered what percentage of people with EV’s park on the street. In his part of Mt. Pleasant, when he walks and runs in the ‘hood, a LOT of people park on the street. That means cords hung up at head height in bushes and trees, across the sidewalk, whatever. How long before THAT becomes a problem.

Then – Jim Bladon interjected with a quick question for Ross about how things were shaping up for Barbecues Galore in Q1 because of the impact of Kung Flu ? ????

After the laughter died down, Ross explained that he figures the impact will REALLY be felt in Q2 for most people and retailers. Summer is when you’re really going to notice stuff missing from shelves – other than the toilet paper shortage right now of course. For example, they have 3 containers “on the way” from China. Normally, they’d have them by the end of March. He’s anticipating JUNE at the earliest.

Brett Bain – has naturally been reading about the virus and wondering if the press exaggerates (whaaaat?!). Brett is bravely heading out into the wild desert sands of Arizona….without a mask. OK, he’s headed to Phoenix.

Tony Fisher – had this information to add to the virus conversation. His contacts at the Calgary Airport Authority shared that flight cancellations are causing all sorts of problems, in particular with RETURN time from vacations and business trips. Due to multiple flight cancellations, people are literally returning days later than they anticipated, and sometimes forking over amounts like $1700 for flight changes. This is especially affecting travel from Asia, but his tip was to keep an eye on flights as you plan.

JD MacDonald – mentioned it had been a reasonable week in business if a bit up and down.

JD was at the Home Show last weekend and at least anecdotally, attendance *felt* lower. He was busy though as the “Plumber In Residence” at the booth for a company called “Nurture My Home”. They’re a company that teaches people how to maintain their own homes. Their target is younger buyers from Gen X, down through Millenials and the Gen Z kids now wandering into home or condo ownership. He found it fascinating to see who came up and asked questions.

One of the ways they engaged with the crowd was with a game called Wheel of Misfortune. You spun the wheel, and sometimes you won a gift, but sometimes you’d land on a possible crisis in the home, and there was someone on hand to explain who you fixed that problem.

Next week, JD is off doing something similar to what Dave Hicks has been doing a lot of: taking courses and upgrading his knowledge on the new building code.

Dwayne Vinck – was hoarse from cheering from the Flames at the Columbus games on Wednesday night. It was definitely a character builder and an indication fo character for the team. It bodes well for their aspirations heading into the home stretch.

Dwayne also mentioned that he has a client who’s a palette manufacturer looking to diversify. So, if you’re planning a protest…

Dwayne was also in Toronto and was remembering the Kids Help Phone national meetings. He couldn’t get over what a different world they live in in Ontario. Dwayne brought up the possibility of investing funds in the energy industry. The reaction was basically: ????

They quite seriously spoke about it in roughly the same terms as “unethical investments”. Everyone around the table from Ontario just ate that up. More than a little crazy.

As Dwayne was traveling, he couldn’t help pondering the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the trade show industry. SO MANY of them have been cancelled at the last moment leaving some pretty negative economic consequences in their wake. He figured the impact would be felt for at least 6 months.

While he was in Toronto, he attended a Mining Trade show. He heard about (but didn’t see) Trudeau’s speech to the industry about the environment and industry just “getting along”. It was all Kumbaya. Honestly, it just again, starkly highlighted the differences between commodity-producing provinces and how the power brokers out east are disconnected from them.

Brad Pachal – added this note into the virus conversation: the studio producing the next James Bond movie has delayed the release of the film from April to November. You can find one version of that story here: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-51744374

In other Brad news, he attended a retirement party at Rotary house on the Stampede grounds. There were about 50-60 people there. Brad’s not sure what the venue cost, but thought it was a hidden gem. He felt it was a great venue.

Paul Boucher – mentioned that he’d met the founders of the Caravel brewery which is located north of Airport Trail. Co-founder Vladislav Covali indicated to Paul that he’s looking for a new equity partner to help him continue to move forward in 2020. He’d enjoy showing Caravel off in a lunch style event. Stay tuned for more information.

Next week, Paul is starting work narrating the next audiobook project he was hired for: Appel: A Canadian in the French Foreign Legion .

Mel Gibson – opened with a fascinating bit of information: the Better Business Bureau’s list of Top 10 scams. Mel’s office was the target of a scam that claimed to be from Microsoft. It looked very legitimate. It even had Microsoft in the domain name of the email address. It claimed that the user was over his email quota and had to click a link. It’s definitely a phishing scam trying to compromise people’s computers.

Wondering what the top 10 scams of 2019 were? You can download the PDF by clicking on the title: Top Ten riskiest Scams in Canada.

Also, if you’d like a PDF quick-view infographic to share, you can download the document directly from the Birds site by clicking on the Download button for the ScamTracker Infographic just below.

2019-bbbscamtracker-riskreport-infographic

Download

Mel also warned that one of the conversation topics in the business right now is a rash of break-ins on Canada Post pods. People are breaking into them to steal social security numbers from mailed out cheques, tax slips, etc. Make sure you pick up your mail regularly. Don’t leave anything lingering for longer than it has to.

On a lighter note, Mel loved a recent tour they took of the Studio Bell complex downtown. Recommended. amazing architecture, amazing display of musical instruments and more.

Andy Lockhart – is having a good week. He’s been doing a lot of volunteer work with SAWS (Southern Alberta Woodworking Society), including the work at CRA to officially have the organization recognized as a charitable organization. The lawyers signed off on the application Wednesday.

The group is looking to start a big-name speaker series to showcase the organization and woodworking to the community and anyone else interested. They’re looking for speakers of a certain stature/status. They’ve identified the Cardel Theatre in Quarry Park as a perfect venue.

The first speaker they have lined up sounds impressive. His name is Derek Jones and he made a name for himself as a cabinet maker and in antique restoration. He’s also the editor of Furniture and Cabinet Making magazine in the UK and runs his own school. The magazine even has an iPhone app: https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/furniture-cabinetmaking/id437194402.

You can also read a good interview with him, and perhaps just as importantly see some beautiful photos of his work at this link: https://cncking.com/derek-jones-editor-furniture-cabinetmaking-magazine-uk/.

And finally, George Doherty had a question for Brett related to leaving computers on. So we’ll end today’s minutes with this TECH TIP: Should You Turn Your Computer Off At Night? And the answer is….here: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/should-you-turn-off-your-computer-at-night/