A fatal accident on Highway 27 today has replayed a little known dangers for pedestrians trying to slip across the street between stopped cars in a funeral procession. Today, as was nearly the case last year on Mt Pleasant Rd., the pedestrian is hit by a speeding police cruiser rushing to leap-frog another cruiser controlling traffic at the intersection just ahead. The police cars have to speed to get ahead of the funeral to be able to stop traffic at lights further up the road. Witnesses say the victim in this case was crossing from east to west while looking for oncoming cars from the opposite direction.. She was blind-sided by the speeding cruiser heading the same way as the funeral in the outside lane. Previous post on Mt Pleasant incident on 2011
Flirty virtual assistants in U.S. airports
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U.S. airports are being taken over by good-looking, flirty young women who aren’t real. They’re video-projected “virtual assistants” who help passengers at various posts in the airport. Above is Libby, recently installed at Newark’s Liberty Airport. As the television story from which these frames are taken said, she looks great but she’s rather shallow (about three inches) and two-faced (one on each side).
Social media “bubble” troubles analysts
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Social media companies, once hailed by their Silicon Valley boosters as world-changing businesses with limitless potential, are instead proving a sobering reminder of how investors can be seduced by Internet hype. Reuters
Queen did James Bond skit “in one take”
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Her Majesty has said via a spokesperson that she greatly enjoyed her little joke about arriving at the Olympics yesterday by parachuting out of James Bond’s helicopter. Buckingham Palace officials said the Queen did her part in the skit “in one take.” Video of the skit which had been posted on YouTube has since been taken down. One British newspaper called the Queen’s participation in the film her debut as “a Bond girl”. Billions watched worldwide as James Bond, played by actor Daniel Craig, was summoned to Buckingham Palace to accept his latest mission to take the Queen to the Olympic stadium. The two are seen leaving the palace and boarding a helicopter. It makes a picturesque flight over London to patriotic music and then, as it hovers over the stadium, stunt doubles playing the Queen and Craig, leap from the chopper (right). The short film is called Happy and Glorious.
Highway 61 fans singing the Blues
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Many fans are singing a sad, bluesy kind of song with the closing of the Highway 61 restaurant and bar at 1620 Bayview Ave. next to The Trend Shoppe women’s wear. Highway 61 vacated a couple of weeks ago and the premises is being renovated to house a Chinese food restaurant, we’re told. Highway 61 had what many say was a pretty good clientele for its regular presentation of Blues music, all reminiscent of that heard along U.S. Route 61 which originates in New Orleans.
When Heath Street was known as Clarence Ave.
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Residents of Moore Park will be amused, and maybe befuddled, by an early survey of their neighborhood. Here. It appears to have been done about the time the Belt Line Railway was going through and shows a Moore Park without a Mt. Pleasant Rd. Many of the street names are foreign. Indeed, streets shown on the survey no longer exist by any name. Heath Street East was once known, at least on paper, as Clarence Avenue.
Queen and country showcased in ceremony
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Globe and Mail reporters on Friday’s opening of the Olympic Games in London. Review
Olympics opening ceremonies fireworks
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Queen and James Bond “parachute” into games
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The 2012 Olympic opening ceremonies are underway in London and the television show has been highly entertaining. It continues at this hour (5.12 p.m. EDT). British notables from all walks of life have been recruited to play their part — one recorded skit involved her Majesty heading off in a chopper with James Bond (or Daniel Wroughton Craig, if you prefer). They make a fictitious arrival at the Olympic site by parachuting out of the helicopter (inset). Famous authors, musicians and comedians are all finding their way into the extravaganza. Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) was drafted into the London Symphony Orchestra for a magic blend of laughs and artistry. National Post running blog
Ford F-150 to be made of aluminum, not steel
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Ford Motor Company is going to start making its iconic F-150 truck out of aluminum to lose some 700 pounds of weight. It’s about mileage and increasingly tough efficiency standards. The niggling concern for buyers is the question of whether the aluminum truck will be as strong as the steel F-150s. It’s a big gamble because the F-150 is one of Ford’s biggest sellers and a profitable one too. Along with the aluminum makeover, the new F-150 also is getting a more muscular look, according to one Ford designer.
Old red and white health cards are still good
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The health minister, Deb Matthews, is hurrying this morning to reassure those who hold the old red and white Ontario health cards. She says the cards are good and that they can still be used and that legitimate residents who still have the cards will not be denied medical care. Period. The semi-crisis in public understanding flows from an announcement yesterday that suggested the cards were about to be eliminated in a relatively brief phase-out period in which a user would get three notices. After that, no health care. Today however the minister says that while the government wants people to move to the photo ID card, the old ones will still be honoured The new cards came into use in 1995. There is an impression among some that only seniors still have the red and white cards. But kids who were born in, say, 1985, who got their cards when they were five or six, frequently still have them. Those people are now in their 20s and 30s. There are more than three million of the old red and white plastic pieces still out there. Only clearly fraudulent cards will be arbitrarily cancelled.
Five Guys, CIBC at Leaside Village
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The Five Guys burger hype rolls on and while it may be somewhat justified, it’s hard to imagine what inspires the hymns of praise. Here is the latest from Toronto Life. This one has more than passing interest because as we posted recently Five Guys will open in Leaside Village in a few months. And speaking of Leaside Village, there is just one month to August 27, 2012, the date that the CIBC at Laird and McRae is supposed to move to its new location in LV. It will be the first business in there. They must be packing up right now at the bank.