Very simple My Dear Watson. The awkward traffic between Bessborough Drive and Bayview Ave on Millwood Rd. Monday was caused by workmen planting magnesium anodes in the curbside pavement. Magnesium anodes, when connected to metal water mains by a simple weld, are very effective at stopping corrosion of the water conduit. It is a relatively old technology, according to the foreman on this job. Magnesium anodes have been around about 30 years. Long may they resist the rusting of water mains.

Magnesium anodes look explosive in nature — but they’re not

The Legislature will vote on a private member’s bill to make it illegal for employers to take the tip jar instead of giving its contents to employees. The bill was introduced by Arthur Potts (Liberal Beaches East York). It is no doubt true that some smaller employers pull this mean trick. Most larger firms which pay hourly wages aggregate the tips and split them among all employees.

City of Toronto

CBC

Justin Bieber will be at the Danforth Music Hall tonight (it is sold out) to promote his come-back album Purpose.  At #PurposeinToronto it is said you can watch the concert stream live.

TDSB Chair Robin Pilkey is interviewed by the CBC. She is pretty level-headed from her remarks here. She says that the threatening “Culture of Fear” report produced by Barbara Hall is out of date given conditions at the board now.

CBC

Aslan

As part of its 125th anniversary celebrations, St. Cuthberts Anglican Church will host a concert next Sunday, December 13, 2015. It will feature the Aslan Boys Choir (Thomas Bell Artistic Director) with the Canadian Men’s Chorus as additional guests.  The concert will feature Aslan readings and Carols. Aslan is the main character of C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia series. He is “the great Lion” of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and his role in Narnia is developed in remaining books by the author. He is also the only character to appear in all seven books of the series. Aslan is Turkish for “lion”. Lewis often capitalizes the word lion in reference to Aslan, since, at least partially, he represents Christ.  The concert is at 4 p.m. December 13 and tickets may be had at the door or by phone for $15 and $5 for children. (416) 859-7464. (with Wikipedia)

Happy motoring

Transportation Minister Steven Del Duca has a creepy way announcing things. Today he tweeted a video in which his caricature is seen as a bobble head racing back and forth across a background that says HOT Lanes (inset). It is his way of saying that tomorrow he will give details on high occupancy toll lanes for Ontario highways and roads. There has been talk of letting well-heeled drivers with zero passengers buy into the HOT concept. The idea is instinctively unpopular. An online poll on the CP24 website shows 75 percent of respondents give it a thumbs down. It is a safe guess that we would never had heard of HOT lanes if the provincial debt were not nearing $300 billion, the highest per capita of any non-sovereign jurisdiction in the world, including cash-strapped California  Happy motoring. Jonathon Goldsbie  

Allen Gardens opened its annual floral display today. There are as many as 40 types of poinsettia to be seen and many other exotic plants. It runs daily until January 10, 2016. A popular feature today was the wagon ride around the park at Carlton and Sherbourne Sts.