Swiss Chalet selling “dipping sauce” Lays potato chips

Swiss Chalet is selling Lay’s potato chips flavoured to match the narcotic appeal of its signature dipping sauce. The chips are only available at Swiss Chalet restaurants. Who knows if that will change. “This uniquely Canadian potato chip was the perfect way to bring two iconic Canadian flavours to the masses in a new and exciting way,” Lindsay Robison, Swiss Chalet’s director of marketing, said in a news release. Swiss Chalet says its sauce as a “staple with Canadian families since 1954.”

What is the MPP for Don Valley West planning for herself?

Premier Wynne is proroguing the Legislature so her government can deliver a new throne speech. But the real question is: What does the Premier have in mind for herself? It’s less than two years to the next provincial election. A speech from the throne offers the voting public a chance to see the government differently. The Premier knows that she is unpopular in a political sense. So is her party. The challenges facing Ontario are enormous — starting with its elephant-sized $300 billion debt.  Politics is knowing how to win. Does the Premier still have a belief that she can do that?

Toronto hotter than bamboo steamer on record Sept. 7

Toronto was hotter than a bamboo steamer yesterday. The mercury registered the hottest September 7 ever with a daytime high of 34.5 C. That broke the previous record of 33.9 C, which was set in 1969. Weather forecasters note that this is 38th time the City has exceeded the 30 C mark this year, compared to only 14 times last year and seven the year before.

Who has it right about effectiveness of “flu mist” vaccine?

Somebody is wrong when it comes to the effectiveness of nasal spray flu vaccine for children. The Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta is telling U.S. doctors the spray is only “three per cent effective” in the annual defense against flu. That is said to compare with 63 percent effectiveness, on average, for the old-fashioned injection. But here in Ontario, Health Minister Eric Hoskins says the province will continue to offer the spray, pointing to a study by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research that found flu mist “as effective as the injectable version.” All of this is separate from the annual guessing game required by scientists to foresee just what strains of flu are going show up as influenza hits each fall. CBC

Woman seriously hurt in fire on Donlands near Cosburn

An early morning fire Thursday in an apartment on Donlands Ave. at Cosburn Avenue has seriously injured a woman occupant. She is said to be burned on possibly 30 percent of her body. Fire officials are looking at a possible cause of careless smoking. The victim is about 60.

Summerhill Market buys assets of All The Best Foods

Summerhill Market has acquired the assets of All The Best Fine Foods, the legendary grocery outlet on Yonge Street at the corner of Price Street. That store, at 1101 Yonge, is closing because of redevelopment. A notice on the Summerhill Facebook page notes the acquisition of the All The Best Fine Foods at  483 Church Street and a “commissary kitchen” at 105 Vanderhoof Ave. It notes that ATBFF owners Jane Rodmell and  Sue Merry will join the Summerhill staff for a “transitional period.” The five businesses originally located on this old corner have been known affectionately as the Five Thieves for many generations

Any way you cut it, iPhone 7 is gong to cost you money

What we’ve learned so far about the iPhone 7:

  • Colours: High gloss stainless finish called Jet Black, a second black, we call it simply: black. Gold, silver, rose gold as well.
  • Home button reengineerd to be non-mechanical, force sensitive solid state, with a Taptic Engine.
  • The new enclosure is water and dust resistant.
  • New camera system is a huge advancement. Everything is new: optical stabilization, f1.8 aperture lens, new six-element lens.
  • New TrueTone flash with four LEDs that has a flicker sensor to make photos in artificial lighting look better.
  • Front-facing camera is now 7 megapixels with auto image stabilization.
  • 2 x 12-megapixel cameras on the Plus. One is a telephoto. Real zooming.
  • 2x optical zoom. Up to 10x with software zoom.
  • Bokeh! The dual cameras create a depth map to find the subjects of a photo and blur the background.
  • 25 percent brighter, wide color gamut, color management, 3D Touch.
  • Stereo speakers!  twice the volume as the 6S, with increased dynamic range.
  • Earpods. Now connecting over Lightning. Yep, no headphone jack.
Images: TheVerge.com

Get paid for a selfie? Your world beyond South Bayview

In your world beyond South Bayview this Wednesday, American and Russian astronauts return home after six months aboard the International space station. In Rio, the Paralymic Games are about to begin. And selfie addicts can tantalize themselves with thoughts of fame by trying to sell their snapshots with apps that pay — maybe — a dollar or five a photo.