Is it war? Beck and Halo taxis trade complaints

by  • 

According to the Toronto Star there is something of a taxi war going on between Beck Taxi and a newly  formed company which uses smartphone applications to get customers. The dispute is out in the open because the new firm, Halo, with its business based solely on a smartphone application, says Beck is breaking city bylaws by  threatening to discipline drivers that use the upstart Halo’s app to find fares. Toronto Star. 

You have 70 seconds to unlock the 007 in you

by  • 

This one may be old news for some. It’s been viewed five million times at least. But’ it’s fun. Coca Cola sets up a Coke machine in Antwerp Central Station in Belgium and attempts to unlock the 007 inside each of its users. The machine asks its users ‘Want the chance to win exclusive tickets to Skyfall?’, after entering their name the machine gives the user 70 seconds to win movie tickets at another machine on platform 6. Little do they know they have to unlock the James Bond inside them to reach the machine and win the tickets. Skyfall releases in theaters October 26th, 2012 in the UK, and November 9th in the US and Canada.

LRT deal with Metrolinx a disaster says Councillor

by  • 

One City Councillor is raising the spectre of an Eglinton LRT that has its stations so far apart the TTC will still have to run buses on the street to move the people who live there. Gord Perks sees that possibility because the master agreement between the TTC and Metrolinx, the Ontario planning arm, gives the final say in the location and number of stations to Metrolinx. Perks calls the agreement “a disaster for Torontonians”. He predicted a move at Council to order the City Manager not to sign the agreement between the City and Metrolinx if it gives the provincial transit agency the final say over how the transit lines are built in the City. Parks told the Toronto Sun that the agreement  gives Metrolinx sole authority to remove stations, remove stops, change the distance between stations and stops and decide what goes above and below ground,  It will mean we have a line (on Eglinton) with very few stops, that is more oriented towards regional transit and that we will still have to run a bus every 30 seconds on Eglinton to pick people up that actually live in these neighbourhoods, Perks is said to have told the Sun. “We will wind up in a circumstance where we will have to operate a regional rail line and a local collector line — one on top of the other — and pay for both.”  Perks he is quoted by the Sun.  Metrolinx has responded that it is  the owner, the builder and the funder of the projects. Toronto Sun

Davisville artist exhibiting at Autism Symposium

by  • 

The Geneva Centre for Autism is holding its International Symposium at the Toronto Convention Centre tonight and tomorrow (Friday, October 26, 2012) . It’s a wonderful opportunity to support Richard, a Davisville Village artist whose work has been shown as the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). His exhibit is on the lower level of of the Convention Centre. Please give him a visit. Richard was born in Burlington Ontario in October 1973. Shortly after turning four Richard received a diagnosis of autism. During his early years Richard was the recipient of enriched programming from many different sources. These interventions greatly enhanced the development of both his verbal communication and social skills. Richard took instruction in art with a group under the tutelage of Isabel Page. Later he took private lessons with her. For several years before Christmas with Isabel’s guidance Richard would produce many personal hand-painted cards which he delighted in sending to family and friends. Richard’s new original paintings, new greeting cards and seasonal cards are on exhibit.

Giant home, contents auction in Bridle Path

by  • 

Toronto Star business reporter Susan Pigg has a good one today from the refined neighborhood of the Bridle Path. Seems that Dental Specialist Natalie Wong and her husband, a Paediatrician, are going auction off their multi-million dollar home and all its contents. Ms Pigg calls the forthcoming event a “circus of sorts”  According to the report, a big white tent will be erected at 6 Park Lane Circle — “in a sprawling back yard that looks more public park than private property — and Ritchies (the auction house) will auction off art, jewelry and Hermes purses under police guard. With any luck, it will also auction off the house.” Toronto Star

2 “after school” incidents near Eglinton/Bayview

by  • 

There have been two incidents of swarming on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 near Eglinton Ave. East and Bayview Ave. They occurred over the late afternoon-early evening period abut 45 minutes apart. Police report them separately however and there is no suggestion they are connected.  Two 18 year old youths reported that  about 5.30 pm. they were in the area of Bayview and Eglinton  when they were approached by four male suspects. The suspects made a demand for the victims’ cellular phones. The victims complied. The suspects then fled. No injuries were sustained by the victims.  In an earlier incident, which occurred about 4.45 pm, a 13 year old and a 14 year old boy said they were in the area of Eglinton  and Bayview when they were approached by five male suspects. The suspects made a demand for the victim’s property. The victims complied and the suspects fled the scene in an unknown direction with the victim’s cellular phones and a necklace. The victims did not sustain  

Ban Ki-Moon learns Gangnam Style at the UN

by  • 

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is jealous of South Korean rapper Psy. The UN chief joked during a meeting with the rapper that he felt overshadowed by the star, whose video has scored over half a billion views on YouTube. “I’m a bit jealous. Until two days ago someone told me I am the most famous Korean in the world. Now I have to relinquish. I have no regrets,” Mr Ban said.

Duncan will support Pupatello for Ontario leader

by  • 

Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan has decided against running for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party and will also not seek re-election in his Windsor-Tecumseh riding. Duncan announced his decision at a Wednesday morning news conference. He said he will support his friend and former Windsor West MPP Sandra Pupatello if she chooses to seek the leadership. Pupatello, a 16-year member of the legislature who retired in 2011 before taking a job with PricewaterhouseCoopers earlier this year.  CBC.ca

ALSO

Limit interaction with casino lobbyists: Mammoliti
Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn the latest to check out Toronto
Andy Byford gives TTC energy it desperately needed

Creepy Peter Pencil Eater finally dispatched by deadly lead

by  • 

pencil-560
A highly imaginative Halloween display on the lawn at 384 Belsize Drive recounts the evils of chewing your pencil. Left, Creepy Peter Pencil Eater is portrayed dead (see below) while (centre) kids peek into his wretched house in terror. Right, the hoard of pencils which finally dispatched Peter. This front yard fun comes with a carefully inscribed warning sign as follows:

Pencils were his favorite lunch,
top to bottom he would crunch
At first just one — or may be two
Then he bit off more to chew
Hoarding pencils in his desk,
His workplace was a horrid mess
His boss said “Go! You filthy louse”
And move these pencils to your house
His life turned dark his only light
Was pencil chewing day and night
His hair fell out, his skin turned grey
— then horror on that fateful day 
On a chair they found him dead
Poisoned by the pencil lead 

Harper stops to congratulate newlyweds

by  • 

A wedding day extra for Jocelyne Potvin and Patrick Sullivan on Saturday when Prime Minister Harper stopped his car in Ottawa’s Rockcliffe Park to offer the couple congratulations. The socializing carried on and photographer Laura Kelly took Harper up on a thought that he might pose with Jocelyne and Patrick. The PM went on to have pictures taken with the entire wedding party and with the photographer too. http://www.laurakellyphotospot.blogspot.ca/

Clark Kent quits Planet to become a blogger

by  • 

Even Clark Kent can see through the writing on the wall when it comes to the newspaper industry. In the next issue of DC comics’ “Superman,” due out on Wednesday, the superhero’s alter ego will eschew being a mild-mannered reporter, presumably to become a snarky blogger, when he quits his post at the Daily Planet. “This is really what happens when a 27-year-old guy is behind a desk and he has to take instruction from a larger conglomerate with concerns that aren’t really his own,” Superman writer Scott Lobdell said to USA Today. “Superman is arguably the most powerful person on the planet, but how long can he sit at his desk with someone breathing down his neck and treating him like the least important person in the world?” Lobdell said. In the comic’s current story line, the Daily Planet’s editor-in-chief has soured on Kent because he is not getting enough front page scoops on his beat of covering all things Superman. To make matters worse, head honcho Morgan Edge has been giving Kent a hard time, which causes him to go from mild-to-wild-mannered, quitting on the spot in the middle of the newsroom before launching into a diatribe about the state of journalism. “This is not the first time in DC Comics history that Clark Kent has left the Planet, and this time the resignation reflects present-day issues – the balance of journalism vs. entertainment, the role of new media, the rise of the citizen journalist, etc.,” DC Comics said in a written statement to FoxNews.com. “Over the next several issues, readers will enjoy the many surprises in store for Clark, as the ‘H’el on Earth’ storyline unfolds.” From Fox News