Seeking solutions to the housing crisis

Streetscape from Hong Kong shows dense residential does not have to be boring.

 
This is an intro to a link to a New York Times piece on the housing crisis facing cities around the globe. I really liked some of the stuff the writer said.

As someone who attended many of the ReThink London meetings, I believe cities may well lack  the fortitude to deal head-on with the numerous problems encountered trying to supply decent, while also affordable, housing.

Housing policy can be very tricky to get right. “Success is going to be in the eye of the beholder,” says Eric Belsky, the managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard. “If success means building more homes at greater densities, you’ll end up with some neighbors not happy . .  .

Personally, I find the London, Ontario, solution of embracing sprawl to be totally unacceptable. That said, I feel quite alone in my opposition. Oh, lots of folk talk the end-the-sprawl talk but they fail to walk the end-the-sprawl walk.

Here is the link to Rent Too High? Move to Singapore. Read it, let it make you think and don't get hung up on statements like the following: "It seems the only solution would be to level all of, say, North Brooklyn and put up monolithic prefab tower blocks. But New Yorkers don’t want to live in Singapore." (And there is no demand to emulate Singapore housing in either London, Ontario, or New York, New York.)

When it comes to housing, Singapore and Hong Kong are guideposts and not final destinations.

Eating healthy despite being miles from home

Lunch in St. Jacobs: A delicious stir-fry on a bed of Basmati rice.

Today was a meatless day. No beef, no chicken, no fish -- nothing but veggies. Today was also escape-to-St. Jacobs day. St. Jacobs is a small town about an hour from London. At one time, it was famous for its Mennonite shops.

Then a couple of small malls moved to town and it became a shopping magnet. The town paved the land behind main street and put in parking for the tour buses filled with visiting shoppers. But times have changed. Many of the once popular mall shops have disappeared. For instance, Dansk -- a once popular retail destination -- has closed all its factory outlet stores.

With the downtown mall emptying of stores, the small mall has now been converted to another use. But the town still has Mennonites and, even without the presence of lots of out-of-town retail, it may be able to return to its small town retail roots.

The little stores my wife and I visited were filled with great stuff, much of it locally made. We picked up a loaf of freshly baked sour dough bread in the local bakery and for lunch we enjoyed a non-chain restaurant meal.

I must confess, I miss the Dansk store. But I don't miss McDonald's, Wendy's, et al. My meatless day lunch was great. So far, Dr. Spence has been right: Meatless days can be absolutely delightful.

Leftovers

Leftovers don't have to be second best. Tonight we had left over ratatouille. Judy punched it up with, what else, some other leftovers.

She added roasted red peppers and canned artichoke hearts. It was delicious. (Before Judy served this, she added a sprinkle of Parmesan but it hid the look of the dish. You will have to use your imagination.)

For a ratatouille recipe, just cruise the Internet. There are lots of recipes posted. And if you make too much, punch it up the next day and enjoy it all over again. Weight Watchers rates this dinner as a five and my heart doctor would call this a wonderful Mediterranean dish. Lose weight and possibly arterial plaque all at the same time.

What a great idea. Pass the red wine, please.

Is the CPP Investment Portfolio Struggling?

Maybe my headline is a little too strong -- and maybe not. A financial expert by the name of Mark McQueen has strong feelings about the running of our Canada Pension Plan (CPP). His feelings are not good.

I started thinking about how the CPP is managed after hearing some comments made on the CBC morning news show with Heather Hiscox. The comments seemed to be throw-away filler and not thoughtful insights.

I've followed McQueen online as well as on BNN and he makes a good case for concern. I decided to see if he has published anything recently on the CPP. I found an online post from February of this year (2014): CPP Investment Board’s External Private Equity Managers Continue to Drag Returns.

McQueen tells us: "The CPP Investment Board reports that our hand-picked team produced $1.8 billion of negative value add over four fiscal years . . . " Go to McQueen's post on his Wellington Financial blog for the whole story or at least as much of the story as McQueen is able to report. You see the CPP Investment Board is terribly secretive about its investments and returns. Much of the financial date provided to the Canadian public is intentionally useless, according to McQueen.

CBC's Hiscox needs to widen her reach when it comes to connecting with folk in the business world and in the financial arena. She should stop with the almost daily fawning over Kevin O'Leary and move on. I nominate Mark McQueen as an on-air financial expert willing, and more than able, to point the news organization in the direction of some newsworthy stuff.

Random testing vs. fasting for cholesterol tests

I got a call this afternoon. It was the nurse at my family doctor's office. She told me my doctor wanted me to have some blood work done and soon. No need to fast, I was told, just get to the lab for some cholesterol tests and others. I went immediately.

In the past, I've puzzled over the fasting instructions that have always been part of having these tests. Would there be any to be gained in having test numbers reflective of cholesterol levels occurring after a meal rather than after 8 to 12 hours of fasting? Once I mistakenly had a little coffee before going to the lab. The lab staff insisted I put the test off for a day. Just how damaging can a few sips of coffee be to one's numbers, I wondered.

Today at the lab, I asked a technician about the change from fasting to random testing. She told me she could see advantages and disadvantages in both. She thought it best not to adhere to either approach in all situations. She herself has cholesterol problems she confessed. In her case, it was genetically caused. For her, she knew it was best to have both fasting and random testing done.

I googled the question and learned:

If nonfasting lipid profiles for cardiovascular risk prediction were used, it would simplify clinical care for patients worldwide. Because only minimal, and clinically unimportant, changes in levels of lipids, lipoproteins, and apolipoproteins have been noted in response to normal food intake in the general population and because nonfasting levels predict cardiovascular events, fasting may not be necessary before determining lipid profiles for predicting cardiovascular risk.

For more on this, read: Fasting and Nonfasting Lipid Levels in the American Heart Association publication Circulation.

Personally, I feel more comfortable having my cardiovascular risks calculated from random tests. First, I am not part of the general populace. I have known cardiovascular problems. The average person doesn't have an ICD hidden in their chest and hardwired to their heart. The average person doesn't have a history of relatively frequent TIAs. The average person doesn't have plaque building up in the carotid artery. How the average person's lipid profile changes, or doesn't, after a meal may not be relevant in my case. I'll leave that to my doctors.

My lipid profile, created from years of blood work done in the morning after a night of fasting, has developed some solid numbers. It will be interesting to see what profile modifications will ensue now that my tests are being based on blood work taken randomly.

Whole Wheat Fusilli with Roasted Red Peppers, Turkey and Goat Cheese

This past weekend was Easter. My wife made a large Easter dinner but she made concessions based on the recent advice I received from my London doctor. As red meat is now just about out, Judy made her stuffing using locally-make low fat turkey sausage. Her potato and leek soup was lighter this year as it contained no heavy cream. Judy took advantage of every opportunity to lighten up on animal fats. The dinner was large but not ridiculously large and we'll work through the leftovers in just a few days.

Today, I uses some of the leftover turkey in a whole wheat fusilli with roasted red peppers, turkey and soft goat cheese concoction. I like the fusilli shape as it offers sauces a surface with good grip. Sauces easily slip free from the twirling fusilli shape.

I served broccoli as the side vegetable. I like the way trimmed broccoli curves along the edge of a pasta bowl. It's too bad I didn't include the broccoli in the picture. It would have added a nice splash of green.

Whole Wheat Fusilli with Roasted Red Peppers, Turkey and Goat Cheese

Serves 2

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or canola oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove chopped
• 8 oz. of roasted red peppers*
• ¼ cup vegetable broth
• 3-4 oz. roast turkey
• 200g of whole-wheat fusilli
• 3 oz. soft goat cheese
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 3/4 oz. grated Parmesan cheese 

* My wife bought local, fresh red peppers last fall, blackened them on the barbecue, stripped off the darkened skins and frozen them in freezer bags. If you don't want to roast your own red peppers, jars of roasted red peppers are available at the grocery store. I believe they come packed in both oil and in water.

Directions

Heat oil in heavy, deep skillet over medium heat. Fry onion and garlic until translucent. Add roasted peppers, vegetable broth, roast turkey and freshly ground pepper. Heat through, simmering until sauce thickens.

Cook pasta and drain. Remember to reserve 2 oz. of pasta water. Toss pasta with sauce and half the soft goat cheese. (I actually topped the pasta with the mixture but next time I may remember to toss with the pasta.) Add some pasta water if needed. Serve in pasta bowls with sprinkle of parsley, the remaining goat cheese and a little grated Parmesan.

Enjoy!

And if you're curious as to what, other than turkey, was on my wife's Easter menu, think memories. She made a beautiful bunny cake that simply delighted our two oldest granddaughters. They will always remember the Easter dinner at which grandma Judy served bunny cake. The cake, by the way, was somewhat heart healthy. The recipe called for egg whites only. No yokes.

Computers can be good for kids

Why a black flower, Fiona? It's a drawing, Gug. It can be any colour I want.

I've read articles claiming that young children should not be allowed to use computers. One story said "technology is damaging young children whose brains are not yet fully formed."

Not true, at least not in my experience. My granddaughter, Fiona, will not be five for months but already she knows how to turn on the computer, find her icon and open the paint program. The other day my wife asked, "What is Fiona doing? She is awfully quiet."

I found her sitting at the computer making art. It was clear that the computer in no way is damaging her ability to concentrate. She watches what happens when clicking on this icon or that icon and she learns. She knows more about the paint program than I do.

She loves to experiment with colour and form. The computer is perfect for doing this. If one doesn't like the result created by one colour, erase it and try another. Do you like to experiment with geometric forms? It's easy with a computer but almost impossible for a four-year-old using paint, brush and paper.

I've noticed her work with traditional paints often resembles the stuff she creates on the computer.
Many times there is no big divide between her work on the computer and her work done on paper.

Fiona's mother used a computer at a very young age. Not as young as Fiona, but under ten. I had one of the first Macs and I bought a typing program for the little computer. Her mother would sit in front of the little black and white screen blasting words tumbling down the monitor. To type faster, she learned where to place her hands to best use all her fingers. She was typing more than 60 words per minute while still in grade three or four.

Using computers to do dumb stuff is not a temptation unique to children. Maybe learning to ignore such temptations at an early age is an advantage of early computer use.