REMEMBER THIS?

Who you gonna call?

By Kerry Turner

On a recent business trip, I was surprised to see that the hotel room’s bathroom amenities still included a wall phone, right next to the toilet. Is it just me or do others agree that this was never a good idea? It is particularly perplexing in an era when virtually everyone has cell phones and sanitizing things we touch has become the norm. So, why do we have these legacy phones in upscale hotels? Well, up until 2018, bathroom telephones were a requirement for a 4-Diamond or 5-Diamond rating from the AAA Five Diamond Award, an independent hotel appraisal system rewarded by the AAA (American Automobile Association) to hotels in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the www.tacocomfortsolutions.com

Caribbean. Aside from that, there could be some argument people travelling alone might appreciate having a means to reach out for help if they fell or became incapacitated in the bathroom. But even that assertion is weak considering most falls occur when getting out of the tub and and it could be a long crawl to the phone, if one could even reach up to it.

So, why is the phone most often next to the toilet? And why are they still there when they might only be useful if the toilet paper roll was empty (a quick call to housekeeping and the problem would be solved). It doesn’t bear thinking about, doing business while doing your business.

If you tote your own cell into the loo, consider shelving it.

2023 Calendar Of Event S

National Backflow Prevention Day

August 16 Online watts.com/backflow-prevention-day

NADCA Fall Technical Conference

Sept. 7 – 9 Grapevine, TX nadca.com

ASHRAE Building Performance Analysis Conference

September 11 – 13 Austin, TX ashrae.org/conferences

RE+ 2023

September 11 - 14

Las Vegas, NV re-plus.com

AIM/R Annual Conference

September 12 – 15

Miramar Beach, FL aimr.net

CHES National Conference

September 17 – 19

Winnipeg, MB ches.org

HRAI Annual Conference

September 17 – 19 Montreal, QC hrai.ca

CIPHEX West October 18-19 Calgary, AB ciphexwest.ca

One Giant Leap For Mankind

Number of crew members on Apollo 11, the first spacecraft to land on the moon 54 years ago on July 20, 1969.

650 million

Estimated number of viewers watching the historic landing on TV.

238,855

Distance in miles between the Earth and the moon.

16,000

Honeywell parts that made up the stabilization and control systems on the Apollo 11 mission.

Salary Decline Due To Covid

50,080

Median annual salary in dollars of journeypersons who were newly certified in 2020, according to Statistics Canada, a 5.2per cent drop from 2019.

66,540

Median annual salary of new journeypersons in the territories in 2020, the highest of all regions of Canada that year.

-16.3

Percentage decline of new journeypersons in Newfoundland and Labrador in 2020, the largest drop from 2019 of any region.

-8.2

Median percentage decline of all journeypeople certified in 2020, compared to 2019.

Sun Protection

1992

Year the UV Index was launched by three Environment and Climate Change Canada scientists. It measures the strength of the sun’s ultraviolet rays.

0 to 11+

The UV Index range in Canada, with 11+ indicating extremely high UV rays. Although 11 is rare in Canada, with most occurrences happening in Southern Ontario, tropical locations can reach a UV Index of 14 and higher.

30

Better Home Heating

53

Percentage of annual energy savings that can be achieved by switching from a mid-efficiency electric furnace to central heat pump in a single-family home, according to FortisBC.

52

Percentage of annual energy savings FortisBC says can be achieved by switching from an electric baseboard to mini split heat pump.

7,000 – 12,000

Cost in dollars of replacing a gas furnace with a central heat pump, according to FortisBC.

7.6

SPF (sun protection factor) recommended by Environment and Climate Change Canada when the UV Index is three or higher.

Tech Trends From The Uk

44

Percentage of UK construction firms which will introduce construction management platforms into their business over the next year, according to the Procure report “How We Build Now: Technology and Industry Trends Shaping UK and Irish Construction in 2023.”

62

Per cent of companies polled for the study which are planning to manage and track carbon emissions within the next two years.

Degrees in Celsius of the average annual temperature in Victoria, BC, Canada’s warmest major city. The average annual temperature in Osoyoos, BC is 10.7°C, making it Canada’s warmest town overall.