Day: November 30, 2007

Yesterday I was looking at the recycling bin at work and noticed a Tim Horton’s cup which was there to collect pop can tabs.

I thought back to the concept of collecting pop can tabs. The aluminum from the tabs are used to make wheelchairs for the needy. So you need a lot of them. A LOT OF THEM.

Then I put my critical thinking cap on and thought about it. If the pop can tab can be used for the wheelchair, then why can’t the entire can be used for it? It’s all aluminum. Who collects these pop cans tabs? Who creates these wheelchairs from this aluminum?

I pondered this and remembered to research it (thanks to my handy dandy mental note reminder – the voice recorder). Here’s the scoop and it’s an interesting story.

The collection of pop can tabs which are transformed into a wheelchair is as mythical as the concept of alchemy – turning metal into gold. It’s an urban legend within North America (if not the world? Unsure.) It just wasn’t real.

This is what Ray Pearse and Jack Baumber of Elora, Ontario found out. They are members of the Royal Canadian Legion and heard about this rumour back in 1990 and began to collect pop tabs only to find out that there was no truth to the legend. So he sought to change put some truth into the legend.

Nowadays, he sells the pop tabs to Alcan. Here’s a quote (courtesy of an Ottawa Sun article here)

“I called Alcan here in Guelph and asked if I could bring in some aluminum tabs. The fellow told me no, not unless I had over a hundred pounds. I told him, `I got about a ton.’ So, he told me to come right down. We weighed it and it was 1930 pounds. I got about 47 cents a pound.'”

In 2002, this article indicates that “in the past four years they’ve collected enough aluminum from pull tabs to purchase wheelchairs for 24 people.”

Also, look at this stat from 1992. “Here’s the most amazing fact. Ray has collected about 80 million tabs over the past three years, and it’s getting bigger as more people find out about it. He tells us, “What used to take a year to collect now takes a month.”

That was fifteen years ago! I wonder what they are doing now?

So there you have it. The pop can tab legend. It’s a feel-good story. I’m proud of these gentlemen.

You can definitely find more on the subject on the Internet if you want to read about this fascinating tale.

iplaying: Headlights – Snow Patrol (Eyes Open)

A few days ago I was looking for something totally unrelated to the Shure SM58 microphone on Steve’s Music website and stumbled upon the deal of the century – a Shure SM58 microphone for $100! Also, a $10 gift card for Steve’s Music!

I contacted Troy to determine if this was in fact a good deal and he confirmed it and ordered me to pick it up right there and then.

The Shure SM58 is a high end microphone used for recording vocals. Troy has a couple of them and has raved about them.

So it usually goes for $150 so it was surprising to such a great deal on it. The unfortunate part about it is the fact that the sale was potentially ending by November 30 so I weighed the options of asking for it for Christmas vs. missing out on the great deal and bit the bullet.

Steve’s Music is pretty slick. I ordered it online, got free shipping, received a $10 gift card and they had attempted to deliver it by 11 the next day! Incredible! I was very impressed at how fast it got to my door.

So now all I have to do is pick up a cable for the mic and give it a try this weekend on the recording equipment. Kind of excited! I have all sorts of ideas running around my head in terms of recording…there’s too many to sift through which is hampering my productivity. It’s like I’m scared of recording right now because I foresee a very daunting task ahead. But I want to throw away those thoughts and just have fun with my equipment again…where I get a good riff and hit the record button.

I think it’s the environment I have set up right now. It’s in the basement. It’s not too conducive to musical inspiration. I think I shall move it up to my bedroom and see how that treats me. Maybe seeing some sunlight (who am I kidding? Sunlight is gone by the time I get home!) will bring everything into focus.

iplaying: You Oughta Know (Acoustic) – Alanis Morissette (Jagged Little Pill – Acoustic)

I loathe how they start airing these things a month before Christmas and then by the time I`m on holidays, they are nowhere to be found.

The Globe and Mail has provided you with a schedule of all your favourite specials here.

Here’s some of my faves:

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer – We’re talking about the original claymation one, not those cheap animated knockoffs! Here we see the star of the show…Hermey the Elf who saves the day because of his dentist skills.

Frosty the Snowman – Hey, where’s Frosty Returns? That’s right…it’s not there for a reason (it was horrible). HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

How The Grinch Stole Christmas – If the Grinch came out nowadays, would anyone watch this insane story? A Grinch? Whoville? Wha??? Either way, you can’t get around that this is a classic holiday tale.

A Charlie Brown Christmas – While I prefer the Great Pumpkin over this one, I must admit that it has left some pop culture references in our household…especially how every year SOMEONE comments to Dad that he picked a Charlie Brown tree from the forest.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – “Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say, on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day…”how I love this film. I can’t get enough. It pains me to wait until the Christmas season to watch it again. Let us not forget how at last year’s Christmas party I invited everyone to the basement to watch the film and ended up passed out in the chair while everyone told me that I never invited them in the first place.

A Christmas Story – “RALPHIE! You’re going to shoot your eye out with that BB Gun!“. How I love how TBS has 24 hours of A Christmas Story. That’s what Christmas specials are supposed to be like – airing on Christmas Day while Dad and I munch on peanuts and fight off slumber. My favourite memory of this film was last year when I was watching it on Christmas Day, fell asleep and when I awoke, I was at the same exact part I left at 2 hours earlier!

iplaying: So-Called Chaos – Alanis Morissette (So-Called Chaos)