Eric Limeback breaks Rubik record, still going

Eric  Limeback (left)

At this hour (10.50 ET) Eric Limeback continues to solve Rubiks’ Cubes after having broken the 24-hour record of 4786 as authenticated by Guinness Records for such feats. He is in the cafeteria of Laurier University with his Cube Club buddies having broken the record with  a startling 5040 solves in a 24-hour period. His dad, Leaside’s Rudy Limeback, says that Eric is tired but forging on, apparently determined to set a record that will be hard for anyone to beat. His father says Eric started out with a solve every 14 seconds but has slowed down a bit. His proud father says he is “well chuffed” by the accomplishments of his fourth child. 

Grotesque $500,000 giveaway to MLSE

The habit of frivolous spending is so deeply set in the culture of the Ontario government that it beggars the imagination how it might ever be dug out and eliminated. Earlier this week the Premier herself was denouncing the head of the Pan American Games for carelessly charging a cup of coffee to his expense account. No kidding. Today it’s revealed that the Tourism and Sports Ministry has given half a million dollars to Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to help stage the 2016 NBA All-Star Game. This reckless giveaway makes people gag. The enormously privileged and wealthy MLSE taking $500,000 from a province that hardly knows where the next nickel is coming from is grotesque. The sense of entitlement that the never-ending stream of tax dollars has created in government is an insult — and no small threat — to democracy itself. The bureaucrats figure the government will never go broke. It may chase you into the poor house but it will get what you’ve got before you slam the door. Can anyone see what the voters want above everything? The City of Toronto endures living with a mayor who is uncultured, inarticulate  and hopelessly confused about many things. But Mr. Ford’s popularity defies his behavior because he is trusted by hundreds of thousands of people to be careful with their money.  

LHS alumnus Will Arnett plays young man again

It’s been a while but Leaside High School alumni who remember may want to spend a minute or two (or more) in front of the television tonight at 8.30 when Will Arnett’s new sitcom The Millers debuts. Arnett is still young-looking enough to play a Miller offspring to his TV father (Beau Bridges) and mother (Margo Martindale). Actually, the former LHS and Sunnybrook Plaza habitue was born in May 1970, so they’re pushing it. 

YouTube creative festival here November 8

The first ever so-called Buffer Festival will be held in Toronto on the weekend beginning Friday, November 8, 2013. It’s dedicated to the movers of  YouTube and their rising breed. The name (Buffer) is sort of intuitive but streaming wonks may better get it. As noted, it will be the inaugural Buffer Festival, and will highlight top creators on Google’s 21st Century video website. It sounds like it might be fun. 

Unsafe girders — how the heck did that happen?

An expert panel has concluded the girders used in building Windsor’s Herb Gray Parkway are unsafe. The Independent Expert Review was convened over the summer, after concerns were raised that the support beams used in the $1.4-billion parkway project were not manufactured to code. Their conclusions were made public Wednesday. “With various violations in the design and construction requirements and the uncertainties in the construction of these girders, the IER can not unequivocally opine that the girders are safe and durable,” said the report. “In fact, there is evidence that safety and durability of the girders have been compromised.”   Independent Expert Review

September home sales up 30% year to year

The sale of existing homes in the Toronto area rose 30 percent last month from a year earlier to 7,411 units, the Toronto Real Estate Board reported today. Vancouver existing home sales rose 64 percent, that city’s real estate board said yesterday. Toronto and Vancouver are the two largest markets by the value of transactions this year. Housing-market data are showing few signs of a hard landing after warnings from economists and policy makers that a bubble may have been forming. Buyers have been returning to the market after tighter mortgage rules imposed last year kept some households from purchasing new homes. Bloomberg

Balcony drama at Moore and Bayview Aves.

There was considerable drama at the corner of Moore Ave. and Bayview Ave Wednesday night  as a man had climbed onto a ledge outside the balcony railing on the sixth floor of the building on the southwest corner. This all occurred beginning sometime around  9 p.m. and as witnesses report continued on for more than two hours. It had a peaceful resolution however by all indications. Traffic on Moore and Bayview was stopped for quite a  period of time. Photo: rudy.ca 

Yonge watermain job brings 6-months of closures

Yonge St. north of the 401 will be a place to avoid for the next six months. Work to replace the watermain will cause closures and narrowing of the street from now until next May (2014). The zone is roughly between Sheppard Ave. and Finch Ave. and it starts tomorrow (Friday, October 4, 2013). The City says crews will be working daily from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Work at intersections with traffic signals and on most water service connections will be done between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. If you travel up there, check the City’s website.

Rogers commercial produced on Bessborough

There were many welcome visitors (one is seen here) picking their way over the cabled sidewalks of Bessborough Drive today in the vicinity of No. 146. It appears that Rogers Communications is making a commercial here. Like so many businesses seeking to hit the right note with consumers, they chose to make it in this favoured upper middle class corner of town. The address is owned by Patrick Rocca who called this one in to the South Bayview Bulldog offering it as a “slow news day” possibility. But we have few slow days here at the Bulldog.  What that means is that most things are grist for our mill. Now, as for all those trucks and vans,  they are with the street for another day as the production is expected to wrap up Thursday night. The producer must be skilled at horseshoes because Thursday is looking like another fine and mostly clear day with a high of 20 degrees in the afternoon.