the reality is that the american auto sector is reliant on these giant gas guzzling vehicles - suvs, trucks. they cram these devices down people's throats because they're profitable. this way of life is dying, and has to die. it would be justified to fight a war to shut this industry down forever.

banning the chinese evs is not what it looks like on the surface. it's not about protecting jobs. it's about protecting an absurd industry, and the profits it generates, on the back of the planet's sustainability.

separating ourselves from this destructive industry and this nonsensical business model should be a national priority. we shouldn't be kicking and screaming about this and trying to stop it, we should be taking the initiative in trying to get out.

the asian vehicle makers from japan, korea and now china give consumers what they want and give the planet what it needs to survive - compact vehicles designed for inner city use with good fuel economy. that's the future; that's the present.

by tying ourselves to an increasingly backwards american business model, we risk falling even further behind.

i was making different arguments two years ago, but trump has shown us the worst possible outcome of american decline, domestically. we need to move on.

if canada had elected stephane dion, and taken serious steps to build an ev industry 20 years ago, it might be in a better position to compete in the ev market, today.

we didn't do that.

we elected stephen harper, who wanted canada to be a petrostate. trudeau was really harper in disguise, and carney just ripped the mask off to expose harper redux.

this boat has sailed. we're way too late.

if our idea is to stay linked to nafta auto integration, and the americans are abandoning evs, we need to go with them. that's a shitty deal - it's a bad idea. worse, they're trying to cut us out, anyways. we can obfuscate and slow the process down, but maybe we should get the hint and pull out.

we're probably better off abandoning the auto pact and inviting the chinese to help us assemble evs in canada for the canadian market, in exchange for lifting the tariffs on our produce. if the americans want to keep buying our oil to fuel their dirty cars, there's not much else we can do but get up and move on and hope they call us to reconcile some time later in the future.

if the americans want out of the auto pact, they'll get out. we're not helping ourselves hanging on to a broken marriage, or putting up obstacles to finish the divorce. we need to walk away with our heads up and move on. if they want to call us, they have our number.

the right reason to put tariffs on chinese evs would be to help protect a developing canadian ev industry. unfortunately, from what i can gather, china has an absolute advantage on canada in this sector, and no amount of tariffs will ever make canadian evs competitive with chinese evs outside of canada. we would only ever be producing for domestic markets. so, we'd have to determine whether we think the consequences - tariffs on canola - outweigh the benefits. that would be choosing jobs in ontario over jobs in saskatchewan. can farmers produce something else? can ontario manufacture something else? or is this even suggestive of a failed state?

that's not why we're doing it.

the reason we're doing it is to align with american policy. 

why are the americans doing it? because they want americans to continue to use carbon-emitting vehicles, which canada also benefits from financially, at the expense of the world's climate. as such, we're essentially aligning with a pro-carbon policy, in an attempt to save our automotive sector, which is moving in the opposite direction.

the gamble is that trump will be replaced by somebody less pro-carbon, and that wants to align the americans with a reasonable economic and climate policy. however, that doesn't really resolve the issue. the americans will likely still maintain tariffs against the chinese evs, and we're tied to them when they do. saskatchewan will have to take the hit, at an unclear benefit to ontario workers.

the optimal outcome from canada's perspective would be to convince chinese companies to assemble their vehicles in canada. this would be a break from the americans, but likely in the direction they're eventually heading in.

it is difficult to argue in favour of the utility of blindly holding to american policy with no clear benefit to ontario manufacturing, at the expense of the country's farmers.

avocado's mole.

i am currently finally eating the last pieces of bread from the july food bank run.

i will be eating the tomato sandwiches with prepared chinese noodles. do kids still eat this stuff raw? that was never my thing. i am making my chinese noodles the same way i made the other prepared noodle and rice packages:

- fresh dill

- five slices of cheddar (sliced)

- one tbsp of nutritional yeast, hemp seeds

- caesar, franks

- the olive oil margarine and bacon grease left in the pan (from the tomato sandwich)

this was stirred so that the cheese melted and is kind of like a chicken soup. however, i used too much water the first time. there are three more packages to get this right with.

i was able to eat the first of many avocados yesterday. they were on sale. they're always on sale. the price is not too onerous, really. the right is exaggerating this. i need the b5.

i have made a few cups of coffee with the espresso grounds, and i have to point out that the single use coffee machine by black and decker actually works better with espresso than regular coffee. when you put regular coffee in it, it always makes a mess inside the machine, and the grounds always end up in the cup. i have to use a basket from a broken machine to strain the grounds out. however, when you use espresso grounds, it actually works cleanly - no mess in the machine, and no grounds in the cup.

the reason it makes such a mess is that the machine operates at a higher pressure than a normal full pot coffee machine, partly because it's smaller. i suppose this is an engineering mistake. they probably used parts meant for regular coffee machines, and didn't bother adjusting. so, i guess it's actually the same pressure, when it should have been adjusted down, making it a higher relative pressure. is relative pressure a defined scientific idea? putting espresso grounds in instead is in some ways taking advantage of this. it's not as intense as an espresso machine, but it's more intense than a regular coffee machine. there's not a full foam, but there's bubbles on the top.

i use an ice cream scoop to get the grounds into the machine. for regular coffee, i fill it up, which is three scoops, but it doesn't pack as densely as the espresso. i tried it with one scoop of espresso and it was too watery for me. i've tried it a couple of times with two scoops now and it's actually pretty good. it kept me awake. i would need four scoops to fill the bowl up (because it packs more densely), so i'm going to try it with three. maybe i'll try four after for fun and see how many days i'm awake for, or how many heart attacks it gives me. i usually use chocolate soy, but they didn't have any, so i bought vanilla soy instead, so these are chocolate or vanilla soy lattes, with the ratio inverted. 

we shall call them ettals.

the difference in weight also means that a scoop of espresso weighs less than a scoop of coffee, so you can't really do a direct comparison. you'd have to do some kind of molar mass calculation to do an accurate comparison. what is the molar mass of espresso grounds compared to the molar mass of coffee grounds? don't bother - have an avocado, not an avogadro. the fridge is full of them. that beady-eyed motherfucker looked like his head was an avocado, anyways. poetic binomial nomenclature. let's change it to avocado's number. after doing an ad hoc compensation for weight without doing the organic chemistry analysis, i'd guess that 2 scoops of espresso is roughly half the weight of three scoops of coffee. i could weigh it directly, but i don't have any coffee (that was the point).

if that actually works out, i'm getting twice as many cups from 250 g of espresso as i would from 250 g of coffee, so buying 250 g of espresso is like buying 500 g of coffee; or, 500 g of espresso is equivalent to a kg of coffee. that would mean that $10 of espresso is equivalent to $10 of coffee, under pre-tariff pricing.

canadians should brace for the hard truth that prices might never return to pre-tariff norms. so this might be cheaper in the long run.

i could potentially get used to this, but it is reliant on having this weird coffee maker that was engineered wrong, and accidentally works well with espresso grounds. 

- june 16th: doubled up salsa with chick peas, cheese, spices and vitamins.

- june 17th: onion soup bacon poutine

- june 18th: basic doritos nachos and french onon soup with bacon

- june 19th: doubled up salsa reprise

- june 20th: caesar salad without subs

- june 21st: 2nd onion soup poutine with onion soup and last chance salad

- june 22rd: 3rd onion soup poutine with onion soup with beets

- june 23rd: caesar salad without subs

- june 24th: caesar salad without subs

- june 25th: bacon and eggs without subs, no salsa

- june 26th: bacon and eggs without subs, no salsa

- june 27th: ad hoc pad thai

- june 28th: broccoli soup

- june 29th: fridge-clearing meal (oranges & garlic bread)

- june 30th: kd + chick peas + fridge clearing exercise

- july 1st:    kd + chick peas + fridge clearing exercise

- july 2nd:  kd + chick peas + fridge clearing exercise

- july 3rd:  10 packages of instant oatmeal, in 5 installments. spaghetti-os + spices & vitamins (cumin, cayenne, pepper, oregano, paprika, sunflower seed, hemp seed, nutritional yeast, frank's).

- july 4th:  a can of stew and a can of corn, plus spices & vitamins.

- july 5th: a package of jasmine rice i had put aside as a quinoa sub (it probably isn't), with a can of peas and a can of tomato soup, plus spices and vitamins.

- july 6th: a can of beans cooked in a can of vegetable soup, plus spices and vitamins.

- july 7th:  two cans of chicken noodle soup, plus spices and vitamins. tim's xl double-double coffee in morning. two builders protein mini bars in evening. 7-11 coffee with jalapeno taquito late at night.

- july 8th: food bank junk food eat through - two bags of "real vegetable chips" (one big, one small), a bag of goldfish crackers, one mini crispy crunch, some strawberry licorice, prime energy drink, two tim horton's donuts, little ceasar's pepperoni pizza with unlabelled chocolate milk product.

- july 9th: another prime energy drink with another unlabelled chocolate milk product, unlabelled food bank ginger bread (two loaves)

- july 10th: pasta with minor subs (1), third energy drink, sour cream n cheddar chips

- july 11th: sour cream 'n' bacon, sour cream 'n' onion chips

- july 12th: more licorice, pasta with minor subs (2)

- july 13th: jalapeno cheddar chips, pasta with minor subs (3)

- july 14th: 10 baby cookies, pasta with minor subs (4)

- july 15th: i ate most of the 14th pasta on the 15th and followed it with the remaining baby cookies (which are actually french butter cookies, not baby cookies. they look like baby cookies). i did not make pasta for the 15th.

- july 16th:.  pasta with minor subs (5)

- july 17th:  pasta with minor subs (6)

- july 18th (on the 19th):  pasta with minor subs (7)

- july 19th (on the 20th): cereal (one bowl of vector and all bran with paprika, flax, nutritional yeast, hemp seeds and soy, as per my normal diet and one bowl of instant oatmeal with a little real milk and an apple)

- july 20th (on the 21st): pasta with minor subs (8)

- july 21st (on the 22nd): pasta with minor subs (9)

- july 22nd: cereal day 2 in cycle 2 (final cycle 2 cereal day): one bowl of vector and all bran with paprika, flax, nutritional yeast, hemp seeds and soy, as per my normal diet and one bowl of instant oatmeal with a little real milk and two apples, one in the oatmeal and one standalone.

- july 23rd: cereal day 1 in cycle 3

- july 24: pasta with minor subs (10)

- july 25: cereal day 2 in cycle 3, same as 22 and 23, with the addition of 6 mini apple sauce containers.

- july 26: pasta with minor subs (11)

- july 27th - guac with white rice and canned corn. two pieces of white bread with plum better.

- july 28th: pasta with minor subs (12)

- july 29th: guac with white rice and canned corn. two pieces of white toast with olive oil margarine, and then two pieces of white bread with plum butter after. four more pieces of white bread, with plum butter and strawberry jam. 

- july 30th: pasta with minor subs (13), including fried chicken for salami.

- july 31st: a larger piece of fried chicken alone. pasta with minor subs (14), including a mix of buffalo and chicken for salami. six pieces of white bread for peanut butter and strawberry jam.

- aug 1st: four pieces of white bread and the rest of the peanut butter. quinoa without subs (on aug 3rd).

- aug 2nd: four marshmallows, two bananas and a chocolate bar. quinoa without subs (on aug 3rd).

- aug 3rd: pasta with minor subs (15), including the buffalo/chicken mix for salami (on aug 4th). two pieces of toasted italian bread.

- aug 4th: bacon and eggs (no salsa) (on aug 5th)

- aug 5th: pasta with minor subs (16), including the buffalo/chicken mix for salami. two pieces of toasted italian bread. (on aug 6th)

- aug 6th: guac with yellow pepper, homemade hot sauce and canned corn (on aug 7th).

- aug 7th: monterrey jack tuna salad melt with bowl of cilantro lime monterrey jack rice (on aug 8th).

- aug 8th: pasta with minor subs (17), homemade hot sauce and bacon for salami (on aug 9th). . two pieces of toasted italian bread.

- aug 9th: guac with yellow pepper, homemade hot sauce and canned corn wth cilantro lime monterrey jack rice (on aug 10th).

- aug 10th: bacon and eggs (no salsa) (on aug 11th)

- aug 11th: pasta with minor subs (18), homemade hot sauce and bacon for salami (early on aug 12th). two pieces of toasted italian bread.

- aug 12th: bacon and eggs (no salsa) (at midnight on aug 13th)

- aug 13th: pasta with minor subs (19), homemade hot sauce and bacon for salami (early on aug 14th). . two pieces of toasted italian bread.

- aug 14th: potatoes with gravy, cheese, sour cream, bacon and dill (early on aug 15th). no av.

- aug 15th: onion soup + side salad (as posted) (late on aug 15th). no av.

- aug 16th: potatoes with gravy, cheese, sour cream, bacon and dill (early on aug 17th). no av.

- aug 17th: onion soup (mid day on aug 17th) and side salad (as posted) with two pieces of toast (early on aug 18th). no av.

- aug 18th: pasta with minor subs (20), including bacon for salami (early on aug 19th). no av. no juice. no hot sauce. two pieces of toasted italian bread.

- aug 19th: pasta with minor subs (21), including orange/lime for pineapple and bacon for salami (early on aug 20th). no av. no juice. no hot sauce. two pieces of toasted italian bread.

- aug 20th & 21st: cereal day 1 & 2 from cycle 4 together in one big bowl. (mid-day on aug 20th)

- aug 22nd: pasta with minor subs (22), including orange/lime for pineapple and chicken for salami (early on aug 21st). no av. no juice. no broc. no hot sauce. two pieces of toasted italian bread.

- aug 23rd: pasta with minor subs (23), including orange/lime for pineapple and chicken for salami (early on aug 22nd). no av. no juice. no broc. no red pepper. no hot sauce. i had the rest of the italian bread, and four extra pieces of brown bread with cheddar cheese, on the morning of aug 23rd and otherwise didn't eat on the 23rd. this is the bread for use with cycle 7, eaten early. 

- aug 24th: pasta with minor subs (24) (early on the 24th). this was the last of the penne and shifted the pasta source to a box of kd, for now. no av. no juice. no broc. no red pepper. no hot sauce. no pineapple. no salami. no caesar. no dill. two pieces of toasted brown bread with margarine. one xl tim's double double.

- aug 25th: (early on the 25th) is going to be a tomato sandwich one from cycle 2 and an instant meal chicken "sidekick". no av, as it's not ripe yet.

- aug 26th: pasta with minor subs (25). pasta source is a box of kd. bacon subbed for salami. two pieces of toasted brown bread with margarine. no av. no broc (forgot).

- aug 27th: second tomato sandwich meal from cycle 2 with a package of (cooked) chinese noodles.

- aug 28th: pasta with minor subs (26). pasta source is a box of kd. bacon subbed for salami. two pieces of toasted brown bread with margarine.  two avs.

- aug 29th: doubled up salsa with kidney beans, cheese, spices and vitamins. cycle 2 salsa. two avs. juice. broccoli.

- aug 30th: pasta with minor subs (27). pasta source is a box of kd. bacon subbed for salami. two pieces of toasted brown bread with margarine. two avs.

- aug 31st: first cycle 2 quinoa, with lentils subbed for quinoa and a can of kidney beans. two avs.

- sept 1st: pasta with minor subs (28). pasta source is a box of kd. bacon subbed for salami. two pieces of toasted brown bread with margarine. two avs.

i will need to do some more groceries at this point, if i haven't moved yet. 

missing items to be distributed through meals in the next two weeks: 

- 11 avs (4 poutine onion soups, 6 pastas, one tomato sandwich), but reduced back to 10 after aug 28th pasta meal uses two.

- 150 g of pineapple to be used in upcoming meal, as required

-  6 glasses of juice - 4 used in unlisted meals (two poutines, two cilantro rices) = 2 glasses of juice

- 2*0.5 = 1 red pepper

- 3*25 = 75 g of broccoli - 50 g of broccoli for guac last cycle (as accident) + 25 g after skipping on 26th (forgot) = 50 g of broccoli