Toronto Deputy Mayor Douglas Holyday will run for the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party in the by-election in Etobicoke-Lakeshore on Thursday, August 1, 2013. This election and four others in Ontario falls on the day before the beginning of the Civic Holiday weekend. It will be interesting to see if voters actually notice there’s an election. PC Leader Tim Hudak was, he said, “delighted” with Mr. Holyday’s decision. Mr. Holyday, the last mayor of the former City of Etobicoke, placed second as the PC candidate in the old riding of Etobicoke-West during the 1987 provincial election. Hudak said Steve Ryan, who won the Conservative nomination in Etobicoke-Lakeshore last December, was injured at work and will not be able to run in the by-election.
Inventor of computer mouse dead at age 88
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| Douglas Engelbart and his odd mouse contraption |
Douglas Engelbart, the man who invented the computer mouse, has died at the age of 88 in Mountain View California. In the 1950s and 60s, when mainframes took up entire rooms and were fed data on punch cards, Engelbart was envisioning a world in which people used computers to share ideas about solving problems. One of the biggest advances was the mouse, which he developed in the 1960s and patented in 1970. The contraption is made from a block of wood, a couple of gear wheels and a shiny, candy-like red light/button that just begs to be pushed. By December of 1968, Mr. Englebart had cobbled up a three-button mouse suitable for demonstration before a bemused audience at the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco. The notion of operating the inside of a computer with a tool on the outside was way ahead of its time. The mouse wasn’t commercially available until 1984, with Apple’s new Macintosh. In fact, Engelbart’s invention was so early that he and his colleagues didn’t profit much from it. The mouse patent had a 17-year life span, and in 1987 the technology fell into the public domain – meaning Engelbart couldn’t collect royalties on the mouse when it was in its widest use. At least 1 billion have been sold since the mid-1980s.
Two youths mugged near Bayview and Eglinton
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Toronto Police Service report: Two males ages 17 years report that on July 1, 2013 at approximately 1110 hours, they were in the area of Bayview Avenue and Eglinton Avenue East when they were approached by eight male suspects. The suspects removed property from one of the victims while the second victim was punched in the mouth. The victims made good their escape and the suspects fled the scene in an unknown direction. No injuries were sustained by the first victim. Minor injuries were sustained by the second victim. Police are requesting the assistance of the public in identifying the following described persons in connection with this offence. Description of Suspect #1: Male, white, 18 to 19 years, 6’ to 6’1”, 150 pounds, thin build. Suspect #2: Male, black, 17 years, 6’, 169 to 174 pounds, short black hair, medium build. Suspects #3 to #8: Male. No other description.
Egyptian army forms “technocrat government”
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The generals have taken over in Egypt. They have declared a “transitional technocrat government” will take charge in the country. Tahrir Square has erupted in wild celebrations of flag waving and fireworks. The constitution has been suspended as of today. Abdul Fatah Khalil al-Sisi, head of the Egyptian armed forces delivered a speech on TV.. He says that the army is only responding to the calls of the Egyptian people. The Telegraph.
60 year old subway signals stall trains 90 minutes
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| Brad Ross TTC |
Yonge subway commuters had what the TTC is calling an “horrendous” passage into downtown Wednesday with some riders being delayed for up to 90 minutes. Brad Ross was on television and elsewhere apologizing “unreservedly” for the delay. He said the 60-year-old signal system in the subway tunnel at Bloor Street failed in the “fail-safe mode.” This means all lights were red, a measure which stops all trains and thus prevents rear-end collisions. To clear this mess the TCC had flag men in the tunnel controlling the movement of trains manually, Mr Ross explained. But by about 3 pm. the signal system was said to to be repaired and trains were travelling more or less normally. Mr. Ross predicted a normal home bound rush.
Army is taking over Egypt as Morsi decries “coup”
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The Egyptian Army is apparently taking over control of the country. Troops in armoured vehicles have deployed around Cairo. It is said the military has also banned any movement around the country by the President Mohammed Morsi. One of his advistors says Egypt is “experiencing a military coup.” CTV
Child care firm purchases Leaside Town Hall
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Leaside’s old Town Hall has been purchased by ABC Academy Child Care, the South Bayview Bulldog has learned. Sale of the heritage building was known but the name of its new owners was not. Not until the dynamic child care firm contacted the Bulldog with the news. The company will open a child car centre in the Town Hall building at 235 McRae Drive at Randolph Rd. The location will not be operational until the fall of 2014 because the transaction to purchase the building from the design firm of Kelley McTernan Lavoie will not close until May 4, 2014. The new owners appreciate both the suitability of the old Town Hall itself and the central location. It will be easy for parents to drop off and pick up children at the wide parking lanes on McRae. At present, ABC Academy has two operating locations. One is the former commercial site at 1432 Bayview Ave. at Balliol Street across from St. Cuthburt’s Anglican Church. This building was renovated a couple of years ago by ABC Academy and it has been turned into a solid, good-looking asset to the community. The original ABC Academy is on Melrose Ave. near Yonge Street. Also at present, the company is renovating premises at 1923-1925 Queen Street E in the Beach. This location will be operational in Fall 2013. Wendy Arnold List, president of ABC Academy told the South Bayview Bulldog that she is particularly excited about the McRae Drive building. She says ABC Academy is a premium daycare service for children 3 months to 4 years of age. “We focus on readiness for kindergarten, healthy lifestyle choices and instilling the importance of philanthropy and community in the little ones under our care. We are very excited to have purchased such a beautiful building and look forward to welcoming kids there in September 2014.” said Ms List.
World Vision’s whopper of a guilt trip
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World Vision Canada’s “No Child Should Ever be for Sale” fundraising campaign is unfortunate. It is a simple-minded appeal that employs maximum guilt and zero context. Judge for yourself. Give them a donation. It may make a child’s life nicer. But it won’t change tribal conduct and endemic corruption. Above all, this whopper of a guilt trip is a terrible way for Canadians to relate to the issues of the undeveloped world. And it makes people think that the TV spot is all about getting the donation.
Planters come in two and three tree sizes
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Work continues on the in-ground tree planters along the east side of Bayview Ave. Today workmen were installing dividers and supports for metal grating which, it is said, will surround the tree trunks and permit people passage across the planter. If this is the ultimate design, South Bayviewites may be well pleased. The shorter rectangles like the one pictured in front of De La Mer will take two trees The longer type such as the one in front of Passion Fruit will take three. This design, as it is described, is certainly much more attractive than the tree planters on Yonge Street north of Eglinton which have curbs and are easy to trip on. We shall see. Poll shows 30 percent prefer burning garbage
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There appears to be a growing acceptance to the modern concept of the Waste to Energy (WtoE) method of dealing with our garbage. Questions asked of Torontonians in a poll done by Forum Research indicate that more than one-third of respondents think this is the best way to get rid of garbage. WtoE is a widely accepted method of garbage treatment around the world. Garbage is incinerated, creating heat and energy all at once. Modern filters make the incineration process cleaner than driving trucks to land fill. The poll suggests that this is more than three times the number who would continue to truck our refuse to land fill sites and bury it there. A revealing insight into this thorny issue is shown by the 30 percent of respondents who said the city should do “something else” with its garbage. This of course is no answer at all. Another 23 percent admitted they had no answer to this important challenge. All in all, the question of what to do with our garbage seems far more important than whether there should be a Walmart near Kensington Market. That matter is the focus of all the news coverage today. The Walmart question is bone simple to answer, we note. Clearly, the garbage question is not bone simple. But it is a lot more important.
Rolling Stones triumph: “Night of Living Dead”
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Mick looked ready for more, Keith looked in need of a warm malt drink: Glastonbury’s night of the living dead as Rolling Stones rock the festival — Mailonline
The Rolling Stones were wildly successful as they played the original British baby-boom festival at Glastonbury for the first time Saturday night. The Twitter joke about the aging hipsters was that the last time they wowed a English country gig was at Stonehenge in 2300 BC. The Mailonline devilishly called their performance The Night of the Living Dead, a reference to the age of the pushing 70s Mick Jagger and his getting-on-in-years band mates.
All 19 elite firefighters perish in galloping wildfire
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They are all gone. All 19 members of the a specially trained “hotshot” crew who were trying to stop a galloping wildfire threatening the town of Yarnell, Arizona have died. The men had apparently been digging a fire line to try and halt the spread of the fire but found themselves trapped. They were forced to deploy their fire shelters – tent-like structures meant to shield them from flames and heat – but were nevertheless consumed by the blaze. It is the worst loss of life among firefighters battling a wildfire in the U.S. in decades