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Toronto-Age |OT2|

U

ussjme

Member
EvilMario said:
I'd refer to the News & Politics section of the OP.

I read BlogTO for brief morning news (and snarky comments), the major papers (The Star, Metro, G&M, NP, even The Sun), CBC, Torontoist, Spacing Toronto, and Urban Toronto forums.
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thanks
 
L

lunarworks

Member
BladeWorker said:
Many municipalities in Canada have privatized their garbage collection without issue.
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Halton Region's waste pickup seems to be fine. Although, they can come from anywhere between 7 am and 3 pm. Plus, actual garbage pickup is every two weeks, and only recycling is weekly.

ConvenientBox said:
Rob ford is coming to my work tomorrow AM, uh oh...
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Hide whatever snacks you have.
 
B

BladeWorker

Member
ConvenientBox said:
Rob ford is coming to my work tomorrow AM, uh oh...
Click to expand...
The classy thing to do would be to shake his hand and have a reasoned discussion about one issue or another that you're interested in.

The smartass thing to do would be to take a toy train carting gravy bowls into the office and decorate your workspace with it. Also: bring fries.
 
E

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
BladeWorker said:
The classy thing to do would be to shake his hand and have a reasoned discussion about one issue or another that you're interested in.

The smartass thing to do would be to take a toy train carting gravy bowls into the office and decorate your workspace with it. Also: bring fries.
Click to expand...

But which would Ford prefer?
 
B

BladeWorker

Member
lunarworks said:
Halton Region's waste pickup seems to be fine. Although, they can come from anywhere between 7 am and 3 pm. Plus, actual garbage pickup is every two weeks, and only recycling is weekly.
Click to expand...

Standard fare. The decision to limit waste removal in favour of recycling was a decision of government in favour of the environment - not of the company doing the waste removal. And, frankly, given the geography and population of Halton Region, that's GOOD. Hard to reach 180,000 households in a three-hour window.
 
L

lunarworks

Member
BladeWorker said:
Standard fare. The decision to limit waste removal in favour of recycling was a decision of government in favour of the environment - not of the company doing the waste removal. And, frankly, given the geography and population of Halton Region, that's GOOD. Hard to reach 180,000 households in a three-hour window.
Click to expand...
Oh, I'm not complaining. I think bi-weekly pickup is a good thing. My dad still won't use the green bin, though. Just stating how it all works.
 
F

Fuzzy

I would bang a hot farmer!
lunarworks said:
Halton Region's waste pickup seems to be fine. Although, they can come from anywhere between 7 am and 3 pm. Plus, actual garbage pickup is every two weeks, and only recycling is weekly.
Click to expand...
That's what it is in Scarborough right now. Food every week and alternating weeks of garbage and recycling.
 
E

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
I'm not sure what the City's schedule is for picking up their own trash bins at street corners, etc, but they always seem to be overflowing in my neighborhood. And of course people just keep stuffing them until there's crap everywhere.

Our apartment has a private company do the garbage and recycling for us. I 'believe' they come by once per week.
 
F

Fuzzy

I would bang a hot farmer!
EvilMario said:
I'm not sure what the City's schedule is for picking up their own trash bins at street corners, etc, but they always seem to be overflowing in my neighborhood. And of course people just keep stuffing them until there's crap everywhere.
Click to expand...
With the city charging more for larger garbage cans I'm seeing this more and more in Scarborough. The basic can which is included with property taxes is pretty small if there's more than just a couple of people in a house.
 
D

Divvy

Canadians burned my passport
http://www.techvibes.com/blog/rogers-is-officially-the-worlds-worst-internet-throttler-2011-10-22

Rogers is Officially the World's Worst Internet Throttler

The notion of telcos throttling internet speeds of users has come to the forefront in Canada recently as the CRTC and organizations like OpenMedia battle for internet openness and fairness to consumers.
Bell recently announced it was cutting back on its throttling practices, but the real target in Canada of late is Rogers.
And as it turns out, Rogers is indeed the worst throttler in Canada. In fact, it is the worst in the world.
Researchers leveraged Google's M-Labs technology to determine the percentage of users who are having their internet speeds throttled by ISPs around the world. And according to the results, Rogers throttles more of its users than any other ISP on earth.
In 2010, Shaw throttled 14% of users and Bell throttled 16% of users. Rogers? The Toronto-based telco throttled a startling 78% of users, and this number has surpassed 90% during some quarters since 2008. Meanwhile, other Canadian ISPs like Telus, Sasktel, and MTS throttle just 6% or less. And Rogers has one of the largest sample sizes in this study, making its data among the most accurate, thus leaving little room to negotiate even the most theoretical of errors on the researchers' part.
So when people complain that their internet with Rogers isn't performing up to par, chances are they're not lying. Problem is, they have the world's worst internet service provider controlling their experience.
Click to expand...
 
E

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
Fuzzy said:
With the city charging more for larger garbage cans I'm seeing this more and more in Scarborough. The basic can which is included with property taxes is pretty small if there's more than just a couple of people in a house.
Click to expand...

Oh, I mean this is what I'm seeing:

UBOoA.jpg



Divvy said:
http://www.techvibes.com/blog/rogers-is-officially-the-worlds-worst-internet-throttler-2011-10-22
Click to expand...

Don't worry, Tony Clement promised to save us during the election! Although he sure has been quiet on his 'net neutrality' stance since the elections ended..
 
F

Fuzzy

I would bang a hot farmer!
BladeWorker said:
Yes, I see that a lot too. That's cutbacks in the city Works staff.

It's also lazy residents disposing of their household garbage in municipal containers.
Click to expand...
It's not lazy residents, it's cheap ones who don't want to pay the city for larger residential garbage bins.
 
L

lunarworks

Member
whitehawk said:
Okay that's it, I NEED to get my parents to switch to TekSavvy.

Is TekSavvy safe for now? I remember a while ago there was talk about them being forced to have low bandwith caps. Has that been resolved?
Click to expand...
Going to TekSavvy will escape the awful bandwidth caps, but it may not escape the throttling. It all depends on where Rogers' system (which it piggybacks on) ends and TekSavvy's begins.
 
W

whitehawk

Banned
lunarworks said:
Going to TekSavvy will escape the awful bandwidth caps, but it may not escape the throttling. It all depends on where Rogers' system (which it piggybacks on) ends and TekSavvy's begins.
Click to expand...
:(
 
H

Home

Member
So Ford called the police on This hour has 22 minutes

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/toronto/article2212079.ece

This story has 365 days, 22 Hours and three telephone digits.

It began early Monday morning when Mayor Rob Ford emerged from his Etobicoke home, six-year-old daughter in tow, and noticed two odd-looking reporters pacing up his driveway.

The press gallery at City Hall has often grumbled about their lack of access to the mayor and this was setting up to be a big week. Not only would it mark the one-year anniversary of Mr. Ford's landslide election win but City Council was also scheduled to vote on a private garbage contract covering a large swath of the city, a key plank of Mr. Ford's election platform.

“There was a lady dressed up and she was screaming my name ‘We got you Rob Ford, we got you,’” Mr. Ford said, recounting the incident that would end with a call to police. “And my daughter, she was scared so she went back in.”

The mayor says he stepped into his van only to be hemmed in by the television crew. “I couldn’t get out of my car,” he said.

Eventually, the burly mayor heaved open the door and retreated into his house where he called 9-1-1.

“I didn’t know who they were. Obviously I’ve had death threats.”

The crew made haste before the police could question them.

And if Mr. Ford remains mystified by the whole encounter, he might want to click on CBC Television Tuesday night to clear things up. The network acknowledged Monday afternoon that a crew from the news parody show This Hour Had 22 Minutes waylaid the mayor early Monday morning just as they have done with Canadian politicians of every stripe over the past 18 years. That screaming woman was actually actress Mary Walsh reprising her role as Marg Delahunty, Princess Warrior. According to a press release, she was in Toronto to offer Mr. Ford some advice on reversing his sinking poll numbers.

“Many politicians have participated in these kinds of interviews,” CBC spokesman Chris Ball said. “They have become a part of public life in Canada.”

Politicians make frequent appearances on the show, generally playing along with the joke.

In 2008, 22 Minutes comedienne Geri Hall was handcuffed and detained by police when she professed her love for Prime Minister Stephen Harper during a press conference. Mr. Harper later granted her a one-on-one interview in which he slyly asked “Do you like handcuffs?”

A year later, late NDP leader Jack Layton played a drinking game on air with 22 Minutes host Mark Critch.

Mr. Ball told The Globe and Mail the crew also wanted to ask the mayor a few questions about Movember, the annual event that encourages month-long mustache growth in support of men's health issues. Mr. Ball said the segment should air Tuesday night.

But even after he was informed of the light-hearted nature of the confrontation, Mr. Ford wasn’t laughing.

“I’m open to games,” he said. “But come to my private house early in the morning and ambush me? I think that crosses a line.”

Mr. Ball noted that the program has blindsided numerous politicians over the years but couldn’t say if its stable of comedians has ever cornered anyone outside their home.

And lest any other reporters get any ideas, Mr. Ford, in moment of simultaneous tenderness and menace, put other would-be comedy correspondents on notice.

“My kids and my wife are the closest things to me and I’ll do anything to protect them. So I just hope someone else doesn’t do that again because I don’t want anything serious to happen."
Click to expand...

Sorry for the crappy bolds.

whitehawk said:
Okay that's it, I NEED to get my parents to switch to TekSavvy.

Is TekSavvy safe for now? I remember a while ago there was talk about them being forced to have low bandwith caps. Has that been resolved?
Click to expand...

If you go with Rogers cable via teksavvy you may still be throttled. Another option is Teksavvy DSL which is on Bell DSL lines. They offer higher speeds for DSL with the GTA now. Bell can throttle you if you are on Teksavvy, but personally I haven't been throttled in atleast a year, so YMMV.
 
H

Hieberrr

Member
lunarworks said:
Going to TekSavvy will escape the awful bandwidth caps, but it may not escape the throttling. It all depends on where Rogers' system (which it piggybacks on) ends and TekSavvy's begins.
Click to expand...

Personally, with TekSavvy, I'm able to download torrents at like 1MBs per second on a regular basis. On Rogers, I was getting maybe 100kbps :lol

I live in Bloordale, so iono... but it's a lot faster, cheaper, and has no cap.
 
A

a176

Banned
lunarworks said:
Going to TekSavvy will escape the awful bandwidth caps, but it may not escape the throttling. It all depends on where Rogers' system (which it piggybacks on) ends and TekSavvy's begins.
Click to expand...

the article is misleading. rogers does throttlebut its nowhere near the levels of bell. if you've ever had bell dsl then you are very aware of their throttling, reducing you to 120kb/s or lower (from 4-2am iirc). when i was on rogers i was looking at 800~kb/s for 'throttling'.

teksavvy cable isn't throttled, but dsl is, because its a direct resell of bell dsl.
 
H

Home

Member
a176 said:
the article is misleading. rogers does throttlebut its nowhere near the levels of bell. if you've ever had bell dsl then you are very aware of their throttling, reducing you to 120kb/s or lower (from 4-2am iirc). when i was on rogers i was looking at 800~kb/s for 'throttling'.

teksavvy cable isn't throttled, but dsl is, because its a direct resell of bell dsl.
Click to expand...

A story actually came out recently that Bell will stop throttling customers of companies like Teksavvy who are on Bell's network:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/10/19/traffic-throttling-bell-canada_n_1020131.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13073450@N07/6260089815/

Plus a nice 1Mbps upgrade for me. :O
 
B

Blackface

Banned
Stet said:
From a much smaller number of sharks? You can get several steaks from a single shark. You can get one fin.

Fins are much more expensive than steaks due to the "tradition" of Chinese Wedding soup, which makes it a much more lucrative market. Fishermen in China have the option of: taking whole sharks and using a large amount of storage space for a small profit or finning the shark and throwing the still living body in the water to die and packing hundreds of fins in their hold for a huge profit.
Click to expand...

Not only this, but the Shark Fin HAS NO TASTE. It adds NO TASTE TO THE SOUP AT ALL. If you eat the soup with shark fin, and without shark fin, IT TASTES THE SAME.

I think Gordon Ramsay sums it up best http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r65FgUYdBOc

Go try it for yourself, with and without it. Most Chinese people I know have never tasted the soup without the fin, and don't realize it adds nothing at all.
 
A

Acheron

Banned
Anyone a regular at Ronnie's Local 069. Probably one of my favorite bars in the city, purely due to the nice atmosphere and friendly clientele, despite me not being close to a hipster. Great craft beer selection, nice patio and excellent "dive-y" feel.

What does GAF say are its favourite TO bars?

I'd say. Ronnie's, Irish Embassy, Sin & Redemption, Victory Cafe and Mill Street. Really not a fan of C'est What and Bar Volo.
 
Z

Zzoram

Member
Shark fin has no taste, it's just a texture thing. Sharks will be extinct pretty soon anyways, so whoever comes up with the best substitute first is going to make serious bank.
 
Z

Zombie James

Banned
Rob Ford calls 911... over This Hour Has 22 Minutes:

“There was a lady dressed up and she was screaming my name ‘We got you Rob Ford, we got you,’” Mr. Ford said, recounting the incident that would end with a call to police. “And my daughter, she was scared so she went back in.”

The mayor says he stepped into his van only to be hemmed in by the television crew. “I couldn’t get out of my car,” he said.

Eventually, the burly mayor heaved open the door and retreated into his house where he called 9-1-1.

“I didn’t know who they were. Obviously I’ve had death threats.”

The crew made haste before the police could question them.

And if Mr. Ford remains mystified by the whole encounter, he might want to click on CBC Television Tuesday night to clear things up. The network acknowledged Monday afternoon that a crew from the news parody show This Hour Had 22 Minutes waylaid the mayor early Monday morning just as they have done with Canadian politicians of every stripe over the past 18 years. That screaming woman was actually actress Mary Walsh reprising her role as Marg Delahunty, Princess Warrior. According to a press release, she was in Toronto to offer Mr. Ford some advice on reversing his sinking poll numbers.

“Many politicians have participated in these kinds of interviews,” CBC spokesman Chris Ball said. “They have become a part of public life in Canada.”
Click to expand...

9b5pf.jpg
 
Q

Quick

Banned
Foxy Fox 39 said:
Have any of you been to the TIFF? I really want to go next year.
Click to expand...

Good way to see some movies before they're released, or your only chance to see a particular movie (still crossing my fingers for a Violet and Daisy wide release or DVD/Blu-ray release). I was fortunate enough to score a couple of free tickets, one being a world premiere.

The only shitty part is lining up, really.
 
P

ProfessorMoran

Member
BigJonsson said:
They don't talk about it at Timmies
Click to expand...

Shit, maybe Ford should be sampling gourmet coffee every morning at marche richtree so he gets a chance to hear about shitty CBC shows, maybe he should wear a monacle while he's at it.

It's the CBC, nobody watch their shows other than election coverage and hockey night in canada.
 
G

G17

Member
ProfessorMoran said:
Shit, maybe Ford should be sampling gourmet coffee every morning at marche richtree so he gets a chance to hear about shitty CBC shows, maybe he should wear a monacle while he's at it.

It's the CBC, nobody watch their shows other than election coverage and hockey night in canada.
Click to expand...

Do you really think it is "shitty" programming? I think you should give a lot of the old and new shows a watch.

The National which is the best Canadian news broadcast, Canada: A People's History, the recent Sir John A Macdonald movie, the Nature of Things, Royal Canadian Air Farce, Republic or Doyle, the various Ron James Specials, and the Rick Mercer Report, the Rene Levesque/Pierre Elliot Trudeau movies and just hundreds of other great programming throughout it's history.. I mean I could go on and on. Even CBC radio is fantastic with unique Canadians shows like Vinyl Cafe.

In my opinion, it's far better than most of the channels on TV.
 
C

crazy monkey

Banned
whitehawk said:
Okay that's it, I NEED to get my parents to switch to TekSavvy.

Is TekSavvy safe for now? I remember a while ago there was talk about them being forced to have low bandwith caps. Has that been resolved?
Click to expand...


I have been using TEk SAvvy for while now IT is amazing and feels billion times better that I am not with rogers and its contract any more. Switch it like right now.
 
R

Roto13

Member
Republic of Doyle is awesome.

And holy crap, I love that 22 Minutes story. Even Harper knows to play along with 22 Minutes and Harper doesn't have a soul.
 
S

Stet

Banned
ProfessorMoran said:
Shit, maybe Ford should be sampling gourmet coffee every morning at marche richtree so he gets a chance to hear about shitty CBC shows, maybe he should wear a monacle while he's at it.

It's the CBC, nobody watch their shows other than election coverage and hockey night in canada.
Click to expand...
Well okay, but regardless what you think of the show, Kenny vs. Spenny is one of the highest watched television shows in Canadian history and spawned a half-dozen licensed versions around the world.

And that's just one example.
 
K

Kuro Madoushi

Unconfirmed Member
ProfessorMoran said:
It's the CBC, nobody watch their shows other than election coverage and hockey night in canada.
Click to expand...

Pretty much this for me. I don't watch many shows nowadays on TV; I usually watch sports...and even then that's through streaming. The majority of the shows on CBC are garbage, and yes, I have watched the old shows.
 
A

added_time

Member
Acheron said:
What does GAF say are its favourite TO bars?
Click to expand...

Victory Cafe, Granite Brewery, Mill Street Brew Pub, Cloak & Dagger, Grapefruit Moon, Kilgours and Disgraceland.

I love all the great Ontario beers that are out these days so I try to pick bars that have local craft brews on tap.
 
K

Kabuki Quantum Lover

Member
National Post said:
Lorne Bozinoff, president of Forum Research, said while it might not be entirely surprising to see Toronto’s “stop the gravy train” mayor near the bottom, Mr. Ford’s decline is noteworthy mostly for its persistence. Mr. Ford’s approval rating has dwindled in every Forum poll since the beginning of this year, falling from 60% in February, to 57% in June, to 42% in September, to 37% in this latest survey.

“The fairy-tale he offered during the election is not playing out in real life,” Prof. Siemiatycki said. “The reality is that he’s wielding an axe to programs — not just stopping the gravy train — and people feel they were deceived.”
Click to expand...

Source

Not surprising in the least.
 
Z

Zombie James

Banned
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/10/25/ford-mayor-first-year.html

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford believes he and his supporters in council would be re-elected if another municipal vote were held today.

Ford made the comments at a news conference Tuesday in which he extolled council's accomplishments since the municipal election last Oct. 25.

"This is a phenomenal team and I can proudly say we have done more in one year than any administration ever has," said Ford, who was flanked by the chairs of the council boards and committees he appointed.

Ford also brushed aside suggestions that his administration did not provide the change people wanted.

"Everywhere I go, people say 'stay the course,'" he said, referencing encounters he had with people earlier in the morning.

"And I go get my coffee at Tim Hortons and people say, 'Stay the course, Rob, you are doing a fantastic job.' It is working. And I know if there was an election today, we would all be re-elected."
Click to expand...

jn92n.jpg
 
B

BigJonsson

Member
See, its a Tim Horton administration!



Oh and in Provincial news

Frank Klees wants to be speaker, if the Liberals and NDP support him we pretty much get a Liberal majority...........Hudak and other Tories are PISSED :)
 
E

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
Statistics and approval ratings = Left wing sensationalistic propaganda.
Tim Horton's and McDonalds = Accurate representation of people in Toronto.
 
D

Divvy

Canadians burned my passport
BigJonsson said:
See, its a Tim Horton administration!



Oh and in Provincial news

Frank Klees wants to be speaker, if the Liberals and NDP support him we pretty much get a Liberal majority...........Hudak and other Tories are PISSED :)
Click to expand...

HUAHUAHAHAHAHHAAH
 
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