The South Bayview Bulldog

Elmer Lach, centre for the Montreal Canadians and linchpin of the Punch Line, has died at 97. Wikipedia tells the story: The Punch line was a famous ice hockey line for the Montreal Canadiens in the 1940s. It consisted of Elmer Lach at center, Toe Blake on left wing, and Maurice Richard on the right side. During their time together, they led the Canadiens to two Stanley Cup victories. During the 1944–45 NHL season, the three finished first (Lach), second (Richard), and third (Blake) in scoring for the league. They would also form the forward line for the first all-star team in that same season. Richard would be the first team all-star right wing for all but one year while with Blake and Lach.

This story starts slow with CNN not wanting to be as blunt as some public comments (below) But finally the skepticism comes out. He seems to be in very condition for such an ordeal. Can you really catch fish by dangling laundry in the sea? Now it develops that the Coast Guard is wondering too. They say the time line doesn’t quite hang together. On YouTube, the comments are poisonous. He is a liar say many and most add he could not be in such good shape after what he claims to have been through.

Final score in later post above.

A San Diego man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for operating a “revenge porn” website and charging victims $350 to remove the images. Ex-boyfriends were encouraged to send in their compromising pictures of former girlfriends to the website You Got Posted. It is a statement  — a terrible one — about our time when so many men would do such a thing, but also about the delusional female culture that a woman can carelessly be photographed naked or something like it and never have to deal with the consequences of it becoming public. Naughty pictures online? It’s Mom’s rule vs the United Nations. (Mom is better). 

How many? It may be judged a trick question because there’s no way of knowing whether seven cruisers were needed or two might have done the job. It depends on positioning. As these things go, this chase in Virginia was more harrowing than most. Good thing that guy didn’t hurt anyone in his dangerous attempt to get away.

It has been an unseasonably chilly Good Friday and wet as well all across South Bayview. Many residents will have spent time with family or perhaps making a visit to church on this holiest day in the Christian calendar. On South Bayview most shops were closed, indeed they were forbidden from opening under Toronto’s odd and inequitable arrangement of holiday business hours. See our earlier post on grocery stores. But the Starbucks at Bayview Ave. and Belsize Dr. experienced what one employee called “maybe the busiest day I’ve ever seen.” Well, going to Starbucks is part of life too. The William Lea Room at Leaside arena saw a busy Good Friday evening as a very large congregation of Toronto Jehovah Witnesses held a service to mark the day on which Christ died. These congenial and courteous people were eager to have anyone in the area attend their event and offered invitations to all within ear shot. Elsewhere in Toronto, the annual St. Francis of Assisi Parade was held. This classic parade of Roman Catholic origins and culture portrays the passion of Christ and proceeds through Little Italy. Mayor Tory walked in it and is seen with other participants and officials.

Later post above with final score.

The Delphi Automotive driverless car has successfully completed a cross-country drive from San Francisco to New York with very little help from the humans aboard. It apparently needed a hand on certain roads without proper marking and on some highway ramps. Nonetheless, it is being hailed as a success. The CBC report embedded here contains interesting information about the computer’s tendency to do some of the defensive things done by drivers. Engineers made hundreds of notes throughout the drive, as the autonomous car covered 3,400 miles through 15 states en route to a showcase near the New York Auto Show. Overall, company officials said the car performed better than anticipated in a variety of road and weather conditions.