Organic Vegetable farming in Hong-couver

I have been learning a little about organic vegetable farming from two young farmers who have recently moved to Vancouver from Hong Kong.  There are so many HongKongers here that some have started calling it Hong-couver.  One estimate says that there were 500,000 ethnic Chinese here, among a population of 2.5 million in 2016.  The number has certainly risen since then. 

Despite the heavy presence of the Chinese, Vancouver is not Hong Kong.  The weather, soil, economy, social customs, even the way people shop for groceries are all different.  Hence the farming experience from Hong Kong cannot simply be transported here.  Which can be good or bad.  

One of the biggest challenges that farmers of organic produce face in Hong Kong is distribution.  The organic vegetables are typically grown on small plots in the New Territories, in Sheung Shui, Fan Ling, Yuen Long, etc.  But the consumers live in the city and shop for groceries in the supermarkets and wet markets near their homes.  Various schemes to bring the vegetables to the consumers have been tried, and continue to be tried.  But the costs in terms of time and transportation prove to be difficult. 

Here the situation is quite different.  Vegetables familiar to the Chinese dinner table are available from supermarkets.  But mass produced Chinese vegetables are typically inferior in quality, taste, sustainability and other aspects.  There are small shops selling organic produce. 

Organic vegetables seem more popular here.  Most people have their own cars, and are used to driving around the city and beyond.  They probably wouldn’t mind to drive a reasonable distance to buy attractive organic Chinese produce. 

Organic vegetable can be grown in backyard gardens, and  plots of various sizes all over the city.  Farmers’ markets, which brings farmers and consumers together, are also popular.  But a cursory glance at a farmer’s market found few, if any, organic Chinese vegetables.  Perhaps there is a window of opportunities?  A farmer’s market that specialises in Chinese vegetables?  Perhaps some other innovative methods to connect the farmer with the consumer?  I have to confess I know very little.  But there is a sense that opportunities are available.  

  

Quarantine World

Day 6 of quarantine.  This is not a posh hotel room, but reasonable in price, size, setup, management, and food.  On the hotel and room itself we have no complaints.  

It is the nature of the quarantine that is the problem.  The first and undergirding thought is that it is so unnecessary and futile.  We have had three shots of vaccination for the virus.  We have been tested in Hong Kong, in Toronto, in Vancouver, in Hong Kong again, so many times, via PCR, rapid antigen tests, …   Many people who test positive for the virus  and actually have fairly serious symptoms stay home until they are cleared.  Why is that I, who have been tested as negative so many times have to be quarantined in a hotel, instead of my own home?  Is quarantine in this situation really necessary to start with?

Then there is the routine: eat - test - sleep - eat - test - sleep - … - ad nauseam. My bed is three feet from the desk.  It feels I eat, sleep, read, computer-act without moving.  After a while, the acts seem to merge together.  Sometimes I do read and eat in bed, and doze off at the desk.  What is the difference?  I realize I can gt a bigger room and a better view if I am willing to pay more.  But money is money.  And why do I have to throw more of my money after something I am forced to undertake?  It just seems wrong.  

The food is not too bad. But the presentation, and the taste is pretty much the same every meal.  After a while, it does get repetitive.  

We can see a slice of the world: road, people, vehicles, mountain and trees, sky, clouds and sometimes, sun.  It is better than staring at windows across the street only, or worse, the back of a wet market, …  

I do get connected with the world through TV, Internet, …, my phone.  But interactions through the screen is two-dimensional, not three.  There is also no touch.  I do have my wife with me - it makes a big difference.  But still, …   I did plough through two very interesting books.  But eyes tire after staring at pages for a long time.  

The worse is that all these are so unnecessary.  What purpose does it achieve?  Except that the government can appear to be doing something pleasing in certain eyes, that some businesses make some good money?  Does anyone care that real people are being put through the ordeal?  

Just another case of man-made misery without (good) meaning and purpose?

  

My Father’s Sharks

My father was a master craftsman.  He works wonders with machines.  He can fix almost anything mechanical.  And he can make wonderful objects out of things that other people throw away. 

One of his specialties is making beautiful objects using cows’ horns.  He has made vases, sail boats, three-mast multi-sail ships, and more.  One of the most striking are his sharks.  Most of which he gave away to relatives and friends.  

I took one of the most beautiful sharks.  The body, the dorsal fin, the pectoral fins, the anal fin, the big tail, are all made of parts of horns - shaped, polished, and fitted.  I remember helping him with some of the pieces, mainly in polishing them.  

This one must be at least 50 years old now.  But as lively as ever.  

Frames/Perspectives

When one has been stuck in a depressing environment for too long, when things keep turning worse and worse, when established authority keep behaving more and more autocratically, one cannot help feeling trapped in a losing battle, with no reason for optimism in any direction.   

One may not be completely unaware that there are other places one can escape to.  But those alternatives sound remote, alien, …, an admission of defeat, even abandonment of one’s friends and principles. Hence unattractive. 

At this point, spending some time in an alternate community may offer fresh perspectives.  Suddenly, or gradually, alternate communities and issues do not sound so distant or alien anymore.  The world seems bigger, or more connected than before.  The timeframe may become longer.  Instead of months and years, one ay start to consider history in terms of decades and centuries.  Instead of an eye-level perspective, one may see things from above, way above.  Human pettiness may really appear to be just that - pettiness, and no longer worthy of wasting too much of one’s time and attention on it.  

In a way, it is a matter of how one “frames” an issue or situation.  What are the important values?  What are the relevant constraints?  What are the major cause-and-effect relationships?  What is the most useful mental model for imagining alternative actions and consequences?   

Switching places and communities for a while may help one select a different and more effective frame/mental model for the same issue.  One may end up truly moving away.  Or one may choose to return, but with a new perspective, a new frame to tackle the same issues with.  The suffering may acquire a new meaning and engender new determination.  New insights and innovative actions may materialise and offer new hope.  

Canadian Politics

The province of Ontario, where Toronto is located, is having elections for the provincial government.  The Progressive Conservatives are currently n power. They are being challenged by the New Democrats (NDP), the Liberals, and the Greens.  There are many debates, on the environment, carbon tax, highways, endangered species, electric vehicles, mining, the budget, the power of Toronto versus the north, …

People talk about whether their members of parliament represent their interest, or only that of the party that they belong to. The track record of the ruling party.  Promises by the competing parties.  The personality of the party leaders. The plight and the right of the First Nations, indigenous people. Legalisation of marijuana. LBGTQ+. Abortion.  Anti-Semitism.  Islamophobia. High prices of houses.  Taxes.  Many very different opinions and positions, heated debates. 

At the national level, Quebec threatens to separate from the rest of Canada periodically.  They even have a party that advocates separation, and hold referendums to let the people in the province decide.  Mostly, the struggle is peaceful, even though it can be passionate, heated and fierce.  Canadian in the other provinces generally do not like the idea.  But they seem willing to consider the possibility.  

A common assumption seemingly taken for granted by all is that one can speak one’s mind and engage in debates, without fear.  One may win an argument and be happy, or lose it and be frustrated.  But one does not have to fear getting into trouble.  A politician may lose an election and got sent to the political wilderness.  But one will not be arrested for advocating certain policies and positions. Unless one becomes violent. One might use the opponent’s weaknesses, indiscretions, and outrageous behaviour to attack.  It might look ugly, vulgar, low blow.  But one does not usually get into more trouble than being criticised verbally.  Nobody seems to be accused of being unpatriotic (certainly not for being a traitor) for referencing foreign events, opinions, or precedences.  

It is a much more civilised way of playing politics.  Perhaps not very efficient.  But much safer. In the long run, much more sustainable.  

Vancouver

Among Canada’s major cities, we usually think of Toronto as much colder in winter and Vancouver as having much milder weather.  Both being popular among Chinese immigrants, with Toronto being better for finding jobs, doing business, and in general being more expensive, while Vancouver is better for living.  

On this trip at this time of the year, however, we have found that Toronto tend to  be warmer than Vancouver, while things seem to be more expensive in Vancouver - including food, gasoline and houses.  If you wish to buy a house, you might have to be prepared to pay half a million Canadian dollars above the asking price, because many other people may be bidding against you. 

We have only arrived in Vancouver half a day ago, and out on the streets of Richmond and Burnaby for a couple of hours.  Yet, at least some parts of Vancouver, feels very Chinese - with restaurants, supermarkets, churches, businesses, …, and, of course, Chinese-looking people everywhere.  Many people live here for years without having to know English.  In this respect it is very much like Toronto.  And Vancouver seems to have better public transport. 

I learned two new words on this trip: Hong-couver and Kong-ronto.

Furniture for Free

We had several big pieces of furniture in storage in Toronto, which simply cannot stay there any longer.  They included a dresser with 6 drawers and a big mirror, a box spring + mattress set,  a futon bed, and a big set of sofas (long 3 seater plus 2 seater).  They are all in good, working conditions - we take good care of our stuff.  We asked around, but none of our immediate relatives and friends in the city could use them.   We are staying for only a few days and are quite eager to dispose of them.  But they seem too good to be dumped as garbage.  

A relative suggested that we put them on the curbside outside the house - he thought it is highly likely that someone will pick them up. Since we have been away for a long time, we are not quite familiar with the practices here, and we were a little unsure. But we cold think of no better options.  On Sunday morning we moved them out.  

By mid-afternoon, there was still no movement.  My wife and I were debating whether we should cover them up at night in case it rains.   When we looked out the window the next time, there was a vehicle in the driveway and the dresser was gone, and someone was taking the mirror into the vehicle!  

Later in the afternoon a relative came to visit.  He took away the set of box spring and mattress, and the futon bed. By then only the sofas remain.  

By Monday afternoon the sofas were still there.  We were a little concerned that the sofas might be too big, and our beloved sofas might end up becoming garbage.   The next time we looked outside, however, there was a U-Haul truck in the driveway, and the sofas were gone.  Someone had to rent a U-Haul truck to take our sofas because they are so big. 

In two days, all the big pieces of furniture were gone.  In one way, we missed them.  We really like them and were reluctant to give them away.  But we simply could not keep them in storage any longer, and we don’d know whether and when we will return to Toronto.  But we are also glad that they seem to have found new homes.  

Markham Run

It is a balmy 18 degrees Celsius, sunny with little wind, here.  

Perfect weather for running.  

In Hong Kong one would be hard pressed to find even one dandelion.  Here glorious dandelions are everywhere, dense almost as a carpet, even on the roadside.   They are, however, home owners’ nightmare.  

Many trees, including everyone’s favourite - cherry, are flowering, making we pretty sights.

Pine cones shedded by the trees in winter, laid buried under the snow.  Now they are re-appearing.  

I felt a slight twitch at my left knee mid-way through the run.  I slowed to a walk for a while.  Surprising, I found that I could run again, without real discomfort.  But felt awkward when I walked.  

In any case, I was able to finish the run.  It feels so good. 

Rochester and Mother’s Day

My wife and I met on the beautiful campus of the University of Rochester, upstate New York, when we were both undergraduates there.  Later we got married while we were both graduate students there.  We spent roughly a decade together in Rochester and have very fond memories.  

Our three daughters were born later, in Ottawa and Hong Kong.  But it all started in Rochester. 

Happy Mother’s Day!

30 year time capsule

In 1993 our family moved to Hong Kong from Canada.  We took only the necessities with us and put most of our household stuff in storage.  Now we are sorting out the stuff and disposing of most of them.  It is literally opening up a 30 year old time capsule.  

There is this wall-mounted telephone on which you actually dial the number, rather than punching it or tapping it with your finger, or even speaking it with your voice. Sadly, it does not work anymore.  Not because the phone is broken.  But telephone companies no longer support the technology.  

A calculator for the geek, using the “reverse Polish” notation.  Instead of “1+2+3”, you tap “12+3+”.  The battery cannot be charged anymore.  Otherwise it might still work.  But how many people know how to use it?

8 inch and 5-1/4 floppy diskettes.  

They pre-date the 3-1/2 inch which is still being used in some places.  

Big reels of magnetic storage tapes.  Anyone remember the VAX/VMS?

Cassette tapes.  Still playable.  

A slide rule. Perhaps some people still know how to use them, but surely very few.  But it is still as good as new.  I have owned it since around 1970.  

And a lot more. …

Much of these were way older than 1993. But it is fun poring over them, and seeing whether they can still be used. 

Not surprisingly, mechanical equipment such as the slide rule tend to be more durable. What lesson does that teach us?