Month: April 2013

Government Ugly: Gugly for short.
This laughable infographic illustrates the idea. The Daily Egg spotted it and said, “Do you know what this infographic is really telling me? That I won’t be getting my license to drive in Ontario. The process it lays out is so complicated, I don’t want to try to figure it out.”
Of course, gugly work can be done intentionally, to drive people away, but it’s more likely the result of a committee approval process. “I”s all dotted, “T”s all crossed, butts all covered. End user? Who cares?

The recent discovery of dozens of paintings thought to have been lost has inspired renewed interest in the body of Helen Andersen’s life work. I hope to create an online database of as many pieces as possible, not just the newly found ones but others, too.

To help start things off, Sarah Thompson of Kelowna, BC has provided this photo of an oil painting she owns. It depicts two young girls playing cards. One of the girls is my sister Joni, the other is her friend Theresa Sneed. Theresa was the daughter of our piano teacher Ruby Sneed.
The painting measures 36 inches by 24 inches and it was painted in 1963. Thank you for your information and photo, Sarah.

Allen’s, the Irish pub on the Danforth, has no public wi-fi service at the moment. It’s not working and there’s no information about when it might be restored.

A week ago, I posted about a deal I got, doubling my DSL internet speed from 4+ Mbps (real) to 8+ Mbps. My $30/month charge only went up to $33, so I was quite happy.
Then I learned that Teksavvy would do even better for that same $33. I have no idea why their 10 Mbps service costs the same as their 15 Mbps service, but I wanted the faster one, obviously. I called and Teksavvy support helpfully made the adustment. Today, speedtest.net shows that my real life download speed is more than triple what it was originally… all for a mere $3/month increase. I am delighted.

Some of us remember the old cliché “Don’t take any wooden nickels.” Today’s wooden nickel is the bitcoin.

Ranked ballots look like a simple way to give voters more say over who gets elected. The advantages are all listed clearly on this site.
Now, what can we do about having NOBODY on the ballot we can stand? That happened last time we voted for mayor. There was no way I could vote for George Smitherman with his track record. Rob Ford? You’re joking. Rocco Rossi turned out to be a political dud who dropped out. And then there were also-rans. Sadly, we know what happened.

Entrepreneur/adventurer Peter Sever had an interesting career even before he invented Canada’s first Mac Store, built high-end yachts and rode around the world on a motorcycle. He was one of the first-ever graduates to earn an MBA in entertainment.
Peter’s admiration and respect for the work of violinist Andrew Dawes goes back to the days when Peter managed Andrew’s celebrated Orford String Quartet. Here’s Peter’s well-written, very readable PDF.

Let’s show the casino pushers that Torontonians aren’t suckers. Our mayor will be of no use, but he has only one vote. Councillors’ votes are the ones that matter. My councillor, Mary-Margaret McMahon is already on record as opposed. Is yours?

My brother Jack and his wife Penny are back home after a 10 day holiday on the Baja. Jack writes, “Penny jumped in and swam with a whale shark while we were out watching blue whales. Whale sharks aren’t biters. See the attachment with our friend Harvey patting the thing. I did too but, I didn’t jump in.”
Oh. Not biters. Well OK, then.
Below is a Wikipedia picture of one in an aquarium. They may be docile but they are also HUGE.

The inconvenient Indian : a curious account of Native People in North America
by Thomas King
Good book. Easy and entertaining to read, filled with fascinating facts. Best of all, it’s right up to date, covering issues as recent as the Keystone XL and Northern Gateway pipeline controversies.
If you’d like to get a good handle on where we are with relations between native and non-native people in Canada and the U.S. (Turtle Island), grab a copy.
In it you’ll find humour, irony, history and current affairs. You won’t find easy answers, but you’ll probably learn how complex cultural issues can be. Beware, though. It might change your point of view on a few things.