Architecture Wednesday: Monument Channel Cottage

Last week was all about an ancient house of rocks stones, so this week we’ll do a 180 and go to a very modern home on the rocks and stones.

And though this house is located in Monument Channel Georgian Bay it was designed to be used year-round. The house is primarily built of Douglas Fir in a celebration of centuries old post and beam construction, with columns, beams and purlins; the wood — sometimes massive timbers and sometimes rather efficient and delicate — is either solid sawn or milled to a profile.

But all the timbers were prefabricated, drilled for connections, in the factory because they, along with all the building materials — cedar shingles, Ipe decking, windows, concrete, etc — had to be barged in to the site given the remote location.

But remote as it is, the home also produces all its own electricity from solar panels and treats its own wastewater with a bio-filter septic system.

So, yeah, live there year-round in rustic luxury and gorgeous views without needing anybody for anything.

HomeDSGN

CORE Architects

Can I Get An Amen: Professor Coupland Has Been Fired

I love teachers; my father was a teacher, and a darn good one if I do say so myself, and I do because this is my blog. But, one thing, of many, that I learned from my Dad is that we are all teachers; we can all educate someone, just by imparting information or opinions or ideas.

Sadly, though, there are times when I think some people should not teach, anywhere, anytime, ever, and Rick Coupland is a prime example.

Coupland, a former St. Lawrence College professor, is out of a job because of a Facebook post. 

Yes, a Facebook post. It all began when Coupland apparently posted something to Facebook — and then removed it sometime later; but, as happens with social media, there are things called screenshots, and when someone takes a screenshot of a post, and then you delete, it, they still have it. No matter how many times you try to delete it, and it disappears from your Tweet, Status Update, Instagram, whatever, if I have a screenshot, it still exists. It.Cannot.Be.Erased.

And that’s what happened when Rick Coupland shared a link to a Facebook story about a rainbow flag being raised in St. Petersburg, Florida, and added this commented:

"It's the queers they should be hanging, not the flag."

I think the minute he shared and commented, Coupland knew he was done; he tried to delete it — again, not before screen garbs were taken — and then even deleted his Facebook account, but the damage was done. It was out there.

St. Lawrence College began receiving complaint after complaint about this professor, and, well, quicker than you can say, “Asshats stay off Facebook,” Rick Coupland was fired.

Good.

And, real quickly, before anyone spouts that Freedom of Speech argument, let me say, Yes, we have Freedom of Speech, and we also have consequences when we exercise that freedom.

Freedom of Speech does not mean Freedom from Consequences. And let's not even go into his Free Speech suggested that gay people should be hanged. 

CBC