At the moment, I’m reading The Wisdom of Crowds
Cate
12 May at 16:06
So for this Friday I’m wondering if people are up for hot pot in China town?Other suggestions welcome 🙂
hmmmm thinking of ideas…..
hmm. good idea but I am not sure if i am in town!
S
There’s only one place to have Hot Pot in China Down. That’s Yantzee and I’ll be up for it..
D, you know you want in for Hot Pot! It is good…
I will probably be missing in action until at least next weekend. Pray for mojo
A
Yeah, I’m up for Hot Pot
Just and FYI for everyone I ran Yangtze in the food inspection reports. It was found NOT to be in compliance with the health regulations.Including:Critical Issue:
-Food protected from potential contamination and adulteration
->Store food 15 cm off the floor to prevent contaminationAnd non-critical issues:
-Floors, walls, and ceilings clean and in good repair
->Ensure floors are kept clean and in good repair-Mechanical ventilation operable where required
->Maintain ventilation system in manner not permitting health hazard
aah D why would you do that, i always assumed no restaurant followed code ever
i am not in town this weekend!
There are plenty of places that pass inspections. 🙂
why would one want to go there? gotta have some risque in life bratha
Seriously man they failed “don’t store food on the floor”
yaa that was the best part of the deal..i am surprised it didnt say store food in containers
OK that’s a veto on Yangtze. New location, anyone?
Well you can go have a meal there then.
ooh cmon cate
They failed at don’t store food on the floor AND the floor was dirty! A refuses to eat there too and we all know that adorable creature though he is his standards are quite low. New location!
LOL – this conversation is hillarious
NEW LOCATION!!!!!
Okay, after that D no more Yantzee. Even my low standards are failed by that. How about Mongolian Hotpot? They’re by Bank/Billing Bridge area?
Hey D, how did Maru do?
Mongolian is ok but hard to get to?
Maru has not be inspected since the new system was launched.As for Mongolian Hotpot it has been inspected 3 times in the last few weeks (they come back if there are major problems)On April 28th they were cited for nine things (3 critical, 3 non critical):
-Separate raw foods from ready-to-eat foods during storage and handling
* Store raw foods separate and below cooked / ready-to-eat foods
(apparently they corrected this one during the inspection)
-Food protected from potential contamination and adulteration
* Cover all food in storage
* Store food 15 cm off the floor to prevent contamination
* Store foods in containers that can be readily cleaned and sanitized-Toxic / poisonous substances (chemicals/pesticides) to be stored separately from food
* Store all toxic / poisonous substances below / separate from food
[and the non critical ones]
Food contact surfaces properly designed, constructed, installed and maintained
* Ensure equipment / utensil(s) / dishware are readily cleanable and in good repair
–Equipment, non-food contact surfaces and linen are maintained, designed, constructed, installed and accessible for cleaning
* Ensure all surfaces are clean and maintained in good repair
Food contact surfaces washed / rinsed / sanitized after each use and following any operations when contamination may have occurred
-Frequency of garbage removal adequate to maintain the premises in a sanitary condition
* Provide sufficient garbage containers of durable / leak proof / non-absorbent material
* Remove and store garbage as necessary to maintain sanitary conditions-Floors, walls, and ceilings clean and in good repair
* Cleaning required around, under, and behind kitchen equipment, counters, and baseboards
* Ensure walls are kept clean and in good repair-General housekeeping is satisfactory
* Maintain the premises in a clean and sanitary condition
[so the inspector came back the very next day!]
and found 2 criticals and 1 non-critical
Food protected from potential contamination and adulteration
* Cover all food in storage
* Store food 15 cm off the floor to prevent contamination
* Store foods in containers that can be readily cleaned and sanitizedToxic / poisonous substances (chemicals/pesticides) to be stored separately from food
* Store all toxic / poisonous substances below / separate from food
[they corrected that during the inspection..]
[and the non critical]
Floors, walls, and ceilings clean and in good repair
* Cleaning required around, under, and behind kitchen equipment, counters, and baseboards
* Ensure walls are kept clean and in good repair[and the inspector came back May 4th for another go at this mess]
This premise was found to be in compliance with the Ontario Food Premises Regulation.
Ok veto. Jadeland in Chinatown?
Jadeland is somewhat better…although it did not pass eitherCritical:Separate raw foods from ready-to-eat foods during storage and handling
* Store raw foods separate and below cooked / ready-to-eat foods
(corrected during inspection)
Non-Critical:
Mechanical ventilation operable where required
* Ventilation system requires thorough cleaning
where do you get these info?
S just tried to hit me over the head with a conference phone box and then proceed to explain that me an Cate are going to be the first to die in a super bug outbreak.
I did try to hit D. But I did not say Cater and D are going to die with the superbug. I just say that these places help boost your immune system and make you stronger in case of the Beef Flu.
Boys, play nice!!D can you search for places that got good assessments?
Btw does this service have an api?
hahaa…aah what an optimistic bunch looking for a restaurant in china town that passes health inspection..
Ha ha ha. I think we have the winner of the thread! :p
How about just in Ottawa?
I don’t know restaurants in Chinatown…But it is really easy to search *all* the restaurants in a particular city ward.FYI there are a number around the uni such as father and sons, Royal Oak etc…that seem to pass.
OK… not wild about pub food but if that’s all that’s safe to eat in town…
And here my restaurant choices usually involve walking past a place and saying oh I’d like to try that. 😮
Seriously… many of us has eaten at Chinatown for months/years now without contracting serious illness like food poisoning or herpes, it should be safe.
Yep and I spent nearly 3 months in china and didn’t die. But I didn’t *know* what was going on!
exactly, lets just do it.. what’s the worst? food poisoning or herpes..
Tell ya what S, you can go if you like. I won’t be there! Who’s with me?
I don’t want herpes so I won’t go. We’re with ya Cate. Just tell us where to go….
and I’m with Cate…
I’ll suggest Koreana, I’ve checked and nothing bad…
OK!
You guys are impressive!!!
I got tons of emails for a day, BUT seems got a place to eat at the end.
A suggestion: Don’t think and research much before you go a restuarant, especially Asian ones. This will hep you enjoy the food 🙂
i suggest sterling in hull or foundation in the market ! i am quite confident there shouldnt be a problem with inspection with either of these two
Hull is annoying to get to and from and foundation is a bit pricey IMHO…this is why I was suggesting something a bit simpler and more conventional such as a pub or simple restaurant.
Now I found the reason why I always feel sick for 2 days after I go to a restaurant in chinatown! lol
hahahaha don’t you wish you didn’t know? 😉
Right to resolve this situation I’m going to cook tomorrow night. You’re all welcome but please I need to know numbers and any dietary requirements. Food will not be gourmet but I can assure you that anything below 15 cms from the floor invariably goes in the bin.
Cate, you shouldn’t cook for all of us. I’m sure we can find a decent restaurant in Ottawa.
No it’s fine I’ve decided. Dinner will be ready a bit after 7 but feel free to be early.If you feel really bad, I like tulips 🙂
You know what…why don’t we just pick a pub?It is simple, easy, cheap, laid back, fun, and we might even be able to sit on a patio since it is a nice day tomorrow (depending on time as well).Plus we don’t all feel guilty about Cate doing all the work.
Cate: I’ll be there, and I feel bad now 🙁
Cate: Tulips or Vitamin Water?
Seriously Cate, we can find a resturant. Next time be dictatorial and say X is final!
Father and Sons
The Royal Oak
The elephant and castle
The highlander
The Pour House
The Hard Rock Cafe
Darcy McGees
Cock and LionI can keep going….
My place is final.Tulips and vitamin water are both fine. S, I expect both from you :-p hahaha
14 replies on “The Indecision of Crowds”
Wisdom of Crowds: I’ve not read it, but don’t crowds / the masses also make bad decisions and automatically follow the stonger few. Hitler’s rallies, for example.
Wisdom of Crowds: I’ve not read it, but don’t crowds / the masses also make bad decisions and automatically follow the stonger few. Hitler’s rallies, for example.
One of the things the book explores is what makes a crowd stupid and what makes one wise. There are conditions that will lead to that kind of behavior, for sure, but wikipedia is created by the crowd and it’s hard to argue that crowd is stupid although people have tried.
One of the things the book explores is what makes a crowd stupid and what makes one wise. There are conditions that will lead to that kind of behavior, for sure, but wikipedia is created by the crowd and it’s hard to argue that crowd is stupid although people have tried.
Using Wikipedia as an example as a creation of a “crowd” is, if I may say, somewhat naive. It is highly selective in it’s users / audience. They are people who are curious, interested and looking to expand their education. What proportion of people do that? A small minority. In my experience the masses follow, they don’t lead. I’d guess that less than 1% of the masses would use Wikipedia or any other source of extensive educational material. It’s taken me many years to realise this.
Perhaps social media changes what constitutes a crowd, or just allows crowds to form in new ways (where they are less prone to being destructive). A crowd can have a leader, and in terms of wikipedia an interesting point is that although activity follows a power-law curve – a very small minority make many of the edits, and then there a people who just make one edit etc, this imbalance does not cause problems the way it would if you ran a company like that. No doubt crowds can be stupid, but especially in terms of the new web 2.0 paradigm, if we approach it differently, crowd-sourcing can be a useful tool.
Perhaps social media changes what constitutes a crowd, or just allows crowds to form in new ways (where they are less prone to being destructive). A crowd can have a leader, and in terms of wikipedia an interesting point is that although activity follows a power-law curve – a very small minority make many of the edits, and then there a people who just make one edit etc, this imbalance does not cause problems the way it would if you ran a company like that. No doubt crowds can be stupid, but especially in terms of the new web 2.0 paradigm, if we approach it differently, crowd-sourcing can be a useful tool.
The new(ish) pattern of thinking as exemplified by your example of the web 2.0 does not mean anything to the masses. I refer you to the crowd-popular newspapers. The crowd read the “Sun” and the “Mirror”. Those papers influence the crowd with such things a the celebrity culture. An example is the Sun’s coverage of the sad story of the death of a so-called celbrity Jane Goody. The paper devoted 16 full pages when she sadly died, at the exclusion of much more important matters.
The new(ish) pattern of thinking as exemplified by your example of the web 2.0 does not mean anything to the masses. I refer you to the crowd-popular newspapers. The crowd read the “Sun” and the “Mirror”. Those papers influence the crowd with such things a the celebrity culture. An example is the Sun’s coverage of the sad story of the death of a so-called celbrity Jane Goody. The paper devoted 16 full pages when she sadly died, at the exclusion of much more important matters.
I think we’re using a different definition of “crowd”. But a big proportion of people (particularly younger people) get a large proportion of their news online. The traditional newspaper is dying, because new interactive media is that much more engaging. Take Google’s news timeline: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/apr/21/google-newspapers
If you read the book, he uses a different definition of crowd which encompasses crowds that form “virtually” on social media. You do have some of the same problems online, such as flame wars. But anyway, even if it’s not the majority of people forming crowds online I don’t see that this means they are not forming. The majority of people don’t form flashmobs, but we can’t deny their existence.
I think we’re using a different definition of “crowd”. But a big proportion of people (particularly younger people) get a large proportion of their news online. The traditional newspaper is dying, because new interactive media is that much more engaging. Take Google’s news timeline: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/apr/21/google-newspapers
If you read the book, he uses a different definition of crowd which encompasses crowds that form “virtually” on social media. You do have some of the same problems online, such as flame wars. But anyway, even if it’s not the majority of people forming crowds online I don’t see that this means they are not forming. The majority of people don’t form flashmobs, but we can’t deny their existence.
I accept that younger people get most of their news online, rather than newspapers. My point is that the majority do not get important information. I suggest that a minority of young people use the internet for games and if interacting, gossiping about celebrities. Just look at Twitter and you’ll see it’s mainly about “Britain’s Go Talent”, “Big Brother”, “Apprentice” etc.
I also accept that we may have a different definition of crowd, I’d better read the book.
Regards
I accept that younger people get most of their news online, rather than newspapers. My point is that the majority do not get important information. I suggest that a minority of young people use the internet for games and if interacting, gossiping about celebrities. Just look at Twitter and you’ll see it’s mainly about “Britain’s Go Talent”, “Big Brother”, “Apprentice” etc.
I also accept that we may have a different definition of crowd, I’d better read the book.
Regards