I used to fish a lot. But through all my fishing excursions, I never, EVER, touched a catfish. Call me squeamish, but those guys have nasty whiskers and are bottom feeders. I won’t eat them, touch them, and heck, I would rather not even think about them. It’s just one of those things. So, whenever I caught one I would just cut line and let it go. 
This had me wondering things like what happens when the fish tries to eat? Would the hook rust? Would other fish look at mine and laugh? Or is that hook sticking out of his lip going to set a trend followed by the youth of today?
Well a young boy was wondering the same thing and asked his dad the same questions…..sort of. The father and son were so touched by this thought that they worked and developed a dissolving fish hook. And now we have law mandating this.
Well today I was reading about the Pothole problem that has afflicted Ottawa, most likely due to the January thaw we have had, and I got hit with deja vu. This has tricked our asphalt into thinking spring has sprung early. Let’s hope Wiarton Willy is tricked as easily.
| The city is filling as many of the nasty road holes as possible.
“We have 20 crews out day and night,” said John Manconi, the city’s acting director of surface operations. They’re also contracting out the job to keep up with the number of potholes. Manconi blames the early arrival of potholes on the extreme variation in temperatures. |
The reason I bring this up is because I saw a show years ago with a young lady named Gina Gallant, who started a science project to use plastic we put in landfills in our asphalt, instead of burying it all. As it turns out, her roads are outlasting even the best road scientists approach.
| Gina’s new paving material is called “PolyAggreRoad,” or “PAR.” After much experimentation, it was determined that an optimal mix consists of 6% plastic, 6% asphalt, and 88% aggregate (crushed rocks).
Engineers expect that PAR will be able to withstand more movement than regular road surfaces without cracking. Pavement should last longer and require less maintenance since there will be less opportunity for destructive freeze-thaw cycles that occur when water gets into cracks. Gina approached Prince George Mayor Colin Kinsley with a plan to use her system to pave local roads. The Mayor was impressed. The project moved forward. |
You can read all about Gina here.
Stories like Gina’s give me great hope for our future.
In a weird twist the research that had me talking to officials at one of the biggest construction companies in Eastern Ontario, and three or four people at the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, led me to the location of the MTO test road (500M stretches of various aggregate mixes) which is nearby in Petawawa. I think I may be taking a short drive in the near future to take a peek and some photos. (It’s near the military base so I hope I am not arrested or anything snapping shots of the salty highway.)
Stay tuned