Notices by Strange Attractor (strangeattractor@refactorcamp.org), page 22

For some reason the Africa For Norway song is in my head
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJLqyuxm96k

@Zim

I know people who have gone through training for being on the board of a non-profit organization. They said it was helpful.

There's are non-profit organizations that arrange such training sessions. For example, Capacity Canada has Board Governance Boot Camps.
https://capacitycanada.ca/programs/board-governance-bootcamps/

@riga

Yes, in Toronto. No, for Canada as a whole. Real estate transaction fees are usually 6% of the sale price. The average Toronto house price has gone up 17% since last year. The average increase in house price across Canada is 2.5%.

Capital gains are not included in GDP. People tend not to sell their house every year, so year-over-year house prices give a ballpark idea, but are not super accurate.

Some stats here: http://creastats.crea.ca/natl/index.html

@riga

Yeah it's messed up. Last year, real estate transaction fees accounted for 1.9 percent of Canada's GDP, more than all of Canadian agriculture. Just the fees.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/real-estate-fees-home-sales-1.4226630

@mchapiro

My favourite book on this topic is "The Nature of Technology" by Brian Arthur of the Santa Fe Institute.

http://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/The-Nature-of-Technology/W-Brian-Arthur/9781416544067

The book's premise is simple - technology involves the capture of a natural phenomenon, used for a purpose.

As he studied technology, he was surprised to find out that a lot of advancements happen through "regular engineering" involving combining already available components.

The book is more subtle than my first impression of it - much food for thought

@ye

Where do the local software developers and people studying machine learning hang out?

If you're in a place that has an active enough tech scene, you can find them. If you're in a small town far away from any cities with tech companies or universities, it would be harder.

There might be meetups, or business associations, unconferences, pub nights, grad seminars, that kind of thing.

@rustyswarf

Thanks for the feedback. It has helped me think through the question a bit more than I had, and what the contractor's perspective might be.

@rustyswarf

I would like to know how people know what they know. I would like to have something better than a salesperson's handwavy assurance to go on. I would be happy to read scientific papers about the topics.

@rustyswarf

There's a design decision - do we use those pipes or not? If the decision is to use them, how could I know that that's going to be ok?

@rustyswarf

I have some reasons to think well of him, and that the problem might be at least somewhat due to communication issues.

But I also have concerns about the quote he gave me. It doesn't include why he made various decisions - it doesn't even include enough information on what he's planning to do. No specifications for the membrane or filtration system, just a picture of it - and a price tag with components that are 7x and 2x what I paid for a similar components, retail.

@rustyswarf

I asked, given that his proposal included a plan to run reverse osmosis or nanofiltrated water through copper pipe, how I could be assured that the copper pipes would not deteriorate or leak, and what tests could be done to monitor the situation after installation. He said the thing to do would be a visual inspection of the pipe.

Most of the pipes are behind walls, and have been for decades. I think that visual inspection is not a satisfactory answer to this concern.

Could hiring a contractor who gives bullshit answers to simple questions turn out well? If so, how? What are some steps to suss out why the bullshit is there and get to something better?

Or are bullshit answers a bad enough warning sign that it's best to walk away?

And if the answer is "It depends," on what does it depend?

A lack of information problem can hide like a master of disguise. Sometimes it presents as feeling directionless or uninspired.

#heyfeedfox