Tag Archives: climate catastrophe

An octagonal blue plastic stop sign bisected with a plastic hourglass. The top half says, in white letters, STOP IN TIME. The bottom half has the Region of Waterloo crest.

Stop: Shower Time!

This water timer on my shower wall was given to me by a friendly young volunteer at the Waterloo Region Water Conservation tent at my local farmer’s market this past summer. It’s a simple blue octagon bisected with a small hourglass; the top reads STOP IN TIME in white block letters, and the bottom features the Region’s brand image. It came with a rubber suction cup so I could stick it to the wall of my shower, able to view it easily when showering.

I thought it would be a good idea – and it is. It’s a great idea, actually. I assume that whoever developed this little timer thingy measured how much water goes down the drain from the showerhead in roughly 4.5 minutes, the amount of time precisely that the hourglass measures and, in order to curb excessive water use, the Region hands these out free to citizens.

It’s very nifty: it saves the environment and on my water bill, and I take very brief showers as it is. What’s not to like?

An octagonal blue plastic stop sign bisected with a plastic hourglass. The top half says, in white letters, STOP IN TIME. The bottom half has the Region of Waterloo crest.
It mocks me.
Continue reading Stop: Shower Time!

The new hawtness

Listening to the latest “What on Earth?” podcast episode from CBC and, among other things, they are discussing the heat dome that killed upwards of 600 people in British Columbia in summer 2021.

The heat dome also extended east over Alberta, and amiskwaciwâskahikan (where I was living at the time) was in its grips for about five days, give or take. My partner and I were living on the eleventh floor of an older apartment building, which had no air conditioning.* It was a corner apartment, so the breeze coming through was enough to cool us on the hottest days up until that point; we had a fan to aid air circulation, and so we were mostly fine. Or so we thought.

Continue reading The new hawtness