All too often these days I open the newspaper and become quickly convinced that the world is going to hell in a handbasket. But this little snippet (April 14, a Bloomberg story) really got my goat:
The University of North Carolina (which was a reputable institution, the last I checked) has accepted a $1 million donation from BB&T Corporation (an investment bank), that came with one tiny strong attached:
The University must agree that Ayn Rand's libertarian novel, Atlas Shrugged, will be required reading for UNC business students. Apparently two other universities (Marshall University in WV and Johnson C. Smith University, also in NC) signed similar deals.Corporate funding of universities is lamentable and insidious, and always carries an implied sacrifice of true independence. But this is nauseating.
Worse yet, the Bloomberg story on this hardly even touched the tip of the ethical iceberg that this type of arrangement creates. The main debate is over whether or not Rand's writing is truly worthy of unversity-level inquiry ("Rand could not write her way out of a paper bag," scofs one English prof contacted by the reporter for comment). No-one even asks if it's appropriate for corporations to be dictating curriculum on the basis of their paltry, incomplete donations.What billionaire will endow a university to teach business students Marx, Keynes, Kalecki, or Minsky? (Some might actually want to learn about Minsky, I suppose — to guide their short trading strategies.)
Excuse me now while I go and throw up.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Corporatization of Universities, Gone Berserk
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Way to go, Rami
Good for the illegalsigns.ca group and by extension, a much needed slap on the wrist for the city and for the City Clerk. What on earth were they thinking?
The province has ordered the City of Toronto to stop stonewalling in the face of freedom of information requests about allegedly illegal billboards. IllegalSigns.ca—"our hobby is destroying illegal billboards through the rule of law"—submitted a series of requests asking the City to release information about certain billboards.
The City's Corporate Access and Privacy Unit balked. After receiving over 600 requests from the group in 2006—12% of all requests filed in the City—and after processing over half of them, it decided that the latest batch of requests were "frivolous or vexatious" and could thus be disregarded.
Among the reasons for the City's decision? Illegal Signs was using the information in order to criticize the City for its lax enforcement of existing billboard laws. The City's argument, if accepted, would have set a disastrous precedent for journalists, bloggers, and ordinary citizens throughout Toronto: is criticism of public officials grounds for being deemed frivolous or vexatious? All of a sudden, this became much bigger than billboards.
Illegal Signs appealed the City's decision to Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner. It won—and deservedly so. Our point-by-point analysis of the ruling continues below the fold.
The law states that a public institution must grant a freedom of information request unless an exception can be shown. And, when you think about it, that's the way it should be: public information should generally be accessible to interested parties upon request unless there are compelling reasons to withhold it—personal privacy, national security, and so on.
The exception that the City tried to argue was that the requests were frivolous or vexatious. Again, it's a pretty reasonable exception. There are people out there who file nonsensical complaints about all sorts of things, and public institutions have to be able to focus on what's important while filtering out the stuff that's absurd.
Where it gets murky is where an institution deems a valid request to be frivolous or vexatious. The law states that a request is frivolous or vexatious if it:
(1) is part of a pattern of conduct that amounts to an abuse of the right of access;
(2) is part of a pattern of conduct that would interfere with the operations of the institution;
(3) is made in bad faith; or
(4) is made for a purpose other than to obtain access.
In its ruling [PDF], the IPC held that the City failed to demonstrate that any of these grounds existed with respect to the requests by Illegal Signs. Here's our point-by-point recap:
(1) Whether the request was part of a pattern of conduct that amounts to an abuse of the right of access
There are two legs to this test. The first leg wasn't really in question. Illegal Signs engages in a "pattern of conduct." That's what the group (like most activist groups) does—it requests information about billboards that it deems to be questionable, assesses it, and asks the City to investigate where appropriate.
The second leg was the key battlefield. To find that conduct rises to the level of "abuse," four factors need to be weighed: the number of requests; the nature and scope of the requests; the timing of the requests; and the purpose of the requests. Of these four factors, the only one where the City eked out a victory was in the number of requests. The IPC agreed with the City that Illegal Signs had filed a lot of requests (600+), although it acknowledged the viewpoint that there were over 4,000 billboards in the City and that approximately 2,000 might be illegal. The City lost on all three other factors.
With respect to the nature and scope of the requests, the IPC ruled that the requests were neither "broad and varied in nature" (i.e. Illegal Signs was not conducting a fishing expedition) nor "unusually detailed or comprehensive" (i.e. Illegal Signs was not asking the City to go into too much detail). In other words, like Goldilocks, the requests of Illegal Signs were just right.
With respect to the timing of the requests, the IPC heard no evidence that Illegal Signs had timed its requests in such a way as to abuse the access to information system. With respect to the purpose of the requests, the IPC accepted that Illegal Signs had reasonable and legitimate reasons for requesting the information that it was seeking to access, namely to assess the possible illegality of billboards in Toronto and to file complaints accordingly.
The IPC concluded its analysis of this part of its ruling by finding that only the number of requests might be just cause for deciding that Illegal Signs was acting a frivolous or vexatious way, by weighing that against the countervailing factors, and by concluding that, on balance, Illegal Signs was not acting in a frivolous or vexatious way.
(2) Whether the requests were part of a pattern of conduct that would interfere with the operations of the institution
Again, two legs to the test, and again, the first leg—that Illegal Signs engages in a "pattern of conduct"—isn't really in dispute. The second leg was considered but rejected. The IPC acknowledged that the number of requests was significant but doubted that they interfered with the City's operations, noting that Toronto was a large city with a large government (and thus was expected to be able to deal with a higher volume of requests than a small town) and that the City has been able to fulfill almost all requests to date promptly and within budget. The IPC also noted that the City could access various cost recovery mechanisms, as allowed under law, to help it mitigate or even avoid the administrative burden of fulfilling these requests.
(3) Whether the requests were made in bad faith
The IPC considered this argument because it thought that the City implicitly alleged bad faith on the part of Illegal Signs, even if the City did not say so outright. Accepting that "bad faith" means acting dishonestly, with furtive design, or with ill will, the IPC rejected any notion that Illegal Signs was acting in bad faith, noting that it had a genuine purpose in making the information requests. As for the suggestion that "bad faith" encompassed public criticism, the IPC completely rejected the link between the two. In a section of the ruling worth repeating:
In my view ... the requests made by the appellant [Rami Tabello on behalf of Illegal Signs] were made for a genuine purpose. The appellant is involved in an organization that investigates whether certain billboards posted in the City are illegal. Only by examining City records obtained through access to information procedures can the appellant determine whether or not a billboard is illegal and, if so, subsequently file a legitimate complaint. I cannot agree that the appellant's reasons for seeking access to the information he requests or the uses to which he puts that information once he receives it are either illegitimate or dishonest, however disadvantageous they may appear to the City.
(4) Whether the requests were made for a purpose other than to obtain access
Finally, the IPC turned its attention to whether Illegal Signs was making information requests for a purpose other than to obtain access. Here, it borrowed from earlier administrative rulings, which distinguished between, on the one hand, making a request for the purpose of obtaining access (e.g. "tell me about this possibly illegal sign") and, on the other hand, intending to assess the information so received for another purpose (e.g. "the existence of this illegal sign suggests that the City isn't enforcing its sign by-law").
A common-sense analysis suggests that this is distinction is correctly made: the ideal of government accountability would be frustrated if people could only ask for information that they promised to do nothing further with. Provided that your purpose in making an information request is reasonable and legitimate, what you do with it afterwards is not truly relevant to the legal analysis of "frivolous or vexatious."
Conclusion
In many ways, this ruling is less about billboards and more about freedom of information—and specifically, whether public criticism is grounds for rejecting someone who acts in good faith to request public information.
And so the victory of Illegal Signs over the City is a good one for those concerned about freedom of information and government accountability. Illegal Signs is free to continue its assessment of the illegality of some of Toronto's billboards, and we—all of us: journalists, bloggers, and ordinary citizens alike—are free to request information, secure in the knowledge that we won't be denied it on the basis that we might use it to criticize the powers that be.
With additional reporting from Jonathan Goldsbie.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Friday, April 04, 2008
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Help StarWatch
StarWatch is a Canada-wide experiment in which citizens measure night sky brightness levels during the Earth Hour lights out event, and then shortly after the lights are turned back on.
The Question:
Will Earth Hour help you see more stars?
The Experiment:
Volunteers count stars they can see in the Little Dipper during Earth Hour and again when the lights come on.
When: 8:45 and 9:15, Saturday March 29th.
The times need to be as close together as possible so the only variable, or thing that changes, is the lights.
Where: Your yard, the sidewalk, a playing field… wherever, as long as you have a postal code.
Why: Change in sky brightness is an indicator of the amount energy wasted through light pollution.
Your data makes a difference. Here’s how to participate.
http://www.redshiftnow.ca/starwatch/howto.aspx
On March 29th, you can help. It's easy. Print out one of our star charts for the Little Dipper and record which stars are visible in your night sky during Earth Hour and then again once the lights are back on. Submit your results online and see your data appear on our night sky map of Canada!
What you'll need:
- a view to the North
- a printout of this Little Dipper star chart (You'll need the free Acrobat Reader to view or print the document.)
- a pencil
Instructions:
- Turn out your lights at 8 p.m., it’s Earth Hour!
- Head outside with your Little Dipper star chart and pencil. (You'll need the free Acrobat Reader to view or print the document.)
- Find an unobstructed view of the sky to the North.
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- Return to www.RedShiftNow.ca/starwatch/ and submit your data online.
Observing tips and tricks
- Optimize your night vision by allowing your eyes 15 minutes to adjust to the dark. Use this time to get yourself oriented by finding the Little Dipper.
- Shield your eyes from any direct light sources—bright lights will spoil your night vision.
- If you need a flashlight, tape a piece of brown paper bag or red tissue paper across the lens of a regular flashlight. This will dim the light and preserve your night vision.
Earth Hour events
- Ontario Science Centre celebrates Earth Hour with free activities: environmentally themed storytelling; music and art; telescopic observations of Mars and Saturn; dancing to the stars with an Earth Hour DJ set and more. Mar. 29 from 8 p.m. 770 Don Mills Rd. 416-696-3127 or OntarioScienceCentre.ca.
Bystanders are also welcome to do the "Twist" and produce enough human-generated power to light up CFL and LED lights, and even transistor radios, using "disco-generators." Brothers Lorrie and Lloyd Matchett will be demonstrating the invention starting at 5:30 p.m. and all evening outside the Science Centre.
- Earth Hour at the Observatory features astrophysicist Tom Bolton's lecture "Light Pollution — How Richmond Hill Tamed the Light Bulb" at 7 p.m., plus a tour of the facility's Administrative Building. That's followed at 8 p.m. with some outdoor telescopic viewing and tours of the night sky, and a sacred aboriginal ceremony with David Grey Eagle and his People. David Dunlap Observatory, 123 Hillsview Dr. Richmond Hill. savetheddo.org.
- Light your house with clear Christmas LED energy-efficient lights all year long.
- Put air in your tires. Well-inflated tires save gas and stay in good shape for a longer period.
- Make fewer left turns. You'll spend less time idling in the turn lane.
- Don't limit yourself to a green bin in your kitchen. Keep one in your bathroom and recycle used tissues, toenail clippings, etc.
- Get in shape and run your electronics at the same time. Hook up a generator to your exercise bike (Google it to get instructions) and power things like computers, toasters and blenders.
- Avoid washing some of your clothing altogether – really. Do this with jeans; you'll run your washer and dryer less, and it will mean expensive jeans will mould to your body and take longer to fade.
- Buy a smaller home. They require less energy to heat and cool.
or live in Copenhagen:
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Food: Organic vs. Genetic Manipulation
2. And 10 reasons GM won't
NOTE: The following articles come from the SPECIAL REPORT: 'The death of food as we know it' in the current issue of The Ecologist magazine."
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
How Serious People Do Jobs Like Mine
Linking hands and minds
"My real concern here is not with the economics of skilled manual work, but rather with its intrinsic satisfactions."
"...There is pride in meeting the aesthetic demands of a workmanlike installation. Maybe another electrician will see it someday. Even if not, one feels responsible to one’s better self. Or rather, to the thing itself—craftsmanship might be defined simply as the desire to do something well, for its own sake. If the primary satisfaction is intrinsic and private in this way, there is nonetheless a sort of self-disclosing that takes place. As Alexandre Kojève writes:The man who works recognizes his own product in the World that has actually been transformed by his work: he recognizes himself in it, he sees in it his own human reality, in it he discovers and reveals to others the objective reality of his humanity, of the originally abstract and purely subjective idea he has of himself.
The satisfactions of manifesting oneself concretely in the world through manual competence have been known to make a man quiet and easy. They seem to relieve him of the felt need to offer chattering interpretations of himself to vindicate his worth. He can simply point: the building stands, the car now runs, the lights are on. Boasting is what a boy does, who has no real effect in the world. But craftsmanship must reckon with the infallible judgment of reality, where one’s failures or shortcomings cannot be interpreted away."
"
Skilled manual labor entails a systematic encounter with the material world, precisely the kind of encounter that gives rise to natural science. From its earliest practice, craft knowledge has entailed knowledge of the “ways” of one’s materials—that is, knowledge of their nature, acquired through disciplined perception and a systematic approach to problems. And in fact, in areas of well-developed craft, technological developments typically preceded and gave rise to advances in scientific understanding, not vice versa. The steam engine is a good example. It was developed by mechanics who observed the relations between volume, pressure, and temperature. This at a time when theoretical scientists were tied to the caloric theory of heat, which later turned out to be a conceptual dead end. The success of the steam engine contributed to the development of what we now call classical thermodynamics. This history provides a nice illustration of a point made by Aristotle:
Lack of experience diminishes our power of taking a comprehensive view of the admitted facts. Hence those who dwell in intimate association with nature and its phenomena are more able to lay down principles such as to admit of a wide and coherent development; while those whom devotion to abstract discussions has rendered unobservant of facts are too ready to dogmatize on the basis of a few observations...
"So what advice should one give to a young person? By all means, go to college. In fact, approach college in the spirit of craftsmanship, going deep into liberal arts and sciences. In the summers, learn a manual trade. You’re likely to be less damaged, and quite possibly better paid, as an independent tradesman than as a cubicle-dwelling tender of information systems. To heed such advice would require a certain contrarian streak, as it entails rejecting a life course mapped out by others as obligatory and inevitable."
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
Random Links that I was Interested in
Checking out the Personality Profile of Prospective Presidents. This would be fun to do for the next Canadian election. Or for your own personality...
The seven words of eating right guy in town, but sold out. The words? "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." More details here - which is the precis of his book.
Toronto's future. Well, one possibility for Toronto's future that will be partially, and badly implemented.
Toronto's Past. Well, fictional past and how it intersects with the real past. The TPL has done a great job of thinking about the book and how it impacts Toronto. See here for all sorts of cool toys, incl. an annotated chapter, a guided walking tour both by map and speaking tour (via mp3), a map of the old city, etc. Spacing Wire is getting in on this too. The role of cemeteries in the book, riverdale, old buildings, Toronto Islands, etc.
Loss of Toronto's Past in the Present. Bye Bye Duke's.
Cool Art on Ugly Road. Great explanation of the Harbour Commission building as well
Spying on Toronto's Rivers.
Roomie in Europe (and no Interpol calls so far)
Recent Eclipse
Cool talks at TED Conference
CIS Volleyball Live Webcast
Here's the schedule:
Friday, February 29:
1:00 pm, 3:00 pm, 6:00 pm, 8:00 pm: 1st round
Saturday, March 1st:
1 :00 pm – consolation
3 :00 pm – consolation
6 :00 pm – semi-final
8 :00 pm – semi-final
Sunday, March 2nd :
11 :00 am – 5th and 6th position *
1 :00 pm – 3rd position (Bronze) *
4 :30 pm – Final (Gold) *
* TBD : depending of TV broadcast
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Google's Data Centres
Friday, February 22, 2008
Billy Bee flies south
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The True Price of SMS Messages
Soros is gloomy
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
All of 2007 Lists
Ads / Architecture / Art / Autos / Books / Business / Comics / Design / DVDs / Fashion / Film / Food & Drink / Gadgets / Games / Ideas / Media / Music / People / Sports / Science / Technology / Theatre / Travel / TV / Videos / Words
Why I Retired From Telecom
Most of the profitable niches in telecom are now gone. Home phone service, long distance, small business phone service, conference calling, mobile — all have become low-margin commodity markets dominated by established companies. The capital costs of prototyping new phone services have declined, but not nearly as much as retail pricing, and hence, the margins are near zero. The liquidity and exit opportunities for small telecom companies are also not good. You either need massive amounts of capital, or you need to be bought by a phone company (the stereotypes about phone companies exist for a reason). There are exceptions, of course, but they are rare.
Mobile should be a huge opportunity for developers, but unless and until the carriers open their platforms and create something like Ad Sense for developers, it’s a rotten business to be in. The mobile operators micromanage application developers, and they do not share revenue freely. They often charge for network access when they should be rewarding you for stimulating usage.
What’s the message in all of this for entrepreneurs? Telecom seems like a great industry. After all, billions of people use cell phones. The problem is that there is nothing like the web for mobile, and by that I mean the entire set of standards and business practices that have grown around it. It’s hard to see this changing significantly in the near future.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
Happy Christmas to you all
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!
"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.
His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Friday, December 07, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
First Sign of Winter
Snow mixed with freezing rain created slippery driving conditions this morning, with the weather causing as many as 200 crashes in the GTA since rush hour Wednesday. Most of the collisions were single vehicles sliding into ditches, hitting guardrails, and spinning off the highways.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
Saturday, November 10, 2007
In Flanders Fields
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead.
Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Monday, November 05, 2007
Toronto Airports
[quote="rob in angus"] Another airport in Toronto area is somewhat needed.Are there any neutral studies showing this? The GTAA master proposal is based on forecasted passenger levels from 1999. Given that's pre-9.11, I imagine things have changed (see here).
[quote]would reduce congestion around Pearson. Congestion means increased CO2 emmisions1) Presumably opening a new airport would shift the traffic volume to the new airport.from idling traffic[/quote]
2) people should turn their engines off instead of idling - as the City bylaw requests
3) Congestion around YYZ is not driven by the airport's presence. YYZ is immediately adjacent to the 401/427/27/409/Eglinton interchange as well just west of the 401/400/Black Creek Drive interchange. That particular section of the 401 is among the highest volume arteries in the world, averaging average annual daily traffic of 607,800 cars. Pointing to the airport as the sole cause, or establishing a new airport won't help. Reducing congestion driven by visits to YYZ requires a mass transit link to the airport. One effort to do just that was Blue 22 (about which see here and here, but but it appeared to be killed by the McGuinty's pre-election MoveOntario 2020 announcement. If you're interested in reading about efforts to incorporate mass transit access to YYZ, try Steve Munro's website, especially this post.
[quote]If not Pickering then where? Is there a better spot to build?[/quote]How about improving trains? That might move a high % of the short-haul flights to a different mode of transport, which concomitant environmental benefits. One of the most striking parts of Monbiot's book Heat was on the impact of flying. His blog has some analysis on it here, here and the UK government's Royal Commission here. Short recap for the 99% of people who don't wish to read all of that - aviation is a remarkably awful contributor to global warming, not just from the physics of flying (burning a lot of extremely high octane gas to keep aloft) but also from impact of contrails, etc.
Anyway, I would be extremely curious to find out what % of YYZ and YTZ's flights are w/in the Windsor/Quebec City corridor. I would prefer to use better (read: faster & more reliable) train service as in France to visit my Montreal/Ottawa-based clients - especially b/c it cuts out the commute, boarding & security hassles on both ends.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
When Will the West Run Out of Water
Actually, there's a series of Canadian implications that aren't spelled out here (well, duh, it's the NYT, why would they...)
1) Water diversion. The "Great Lakes" looks like a huge pool of fresh water. But it's not actually self-replenishing, meaning that it's not actuall a renewable resource, meaning that any sensible public policy action is to ban water exports. Chicago has already messed with Lake Michigan. the St. Clair river drain hole (explained here) . Water levels are shrinking across the Great Lakes - adding exports will mess with the ecosystems (and boating, cottaging, fishing, the St Mary's River, the Soo Locks, etc.). Martin Mittelstaedt of The Globe had a great series on this... In fact, I'll steal a graphic from it below.
Actually, the CBC has a solid page on this as well.
And here.
2) Western Canada itself. Professor Schindler has written in the past of consequences to the West of the shrinking glaciers. As they continue to retreat, the western rivers become shallower - meaning warmer and lower in volume - and less reliable for drinking water, irrigation, or other industrial uses. This leads into the kinds of issues being confronted by the US states profiled in the NYT article above. In fact, the simple way of putting it is here. More here
2a) Energy patch vs. water. Some of the issue in the oilsands are spelled out in a report by U of A and U of T which can be found here.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Local Farmer's Markets
DUFFERIN GROVE ORGANIC FARMERS' MARKET, 875 Dufferin, south of Bloor, 416-392-0913 Toronto's largest organic market is open from 3 to 7 pm year round in the park.
METRO HALL FARMERS' MARKET, 55 John, at Wellington, 416-338-0338 8 am to 2:30 pm through October 25.
BIRCHCLIFF VILLAGE FARMERS' MARKET, 1512 Kingston Road, at Manderlay, 416-686-6528 Next to St. Nicholas Church, from 2 to 7 pm till October 19.
HIGH PARK FARMERS' MARKET, beside Grenadier Restaurant, south of Bloor, 416-882-5140 Noon to 7 pm, plus Saturday and Sunday 9 am to 6 pm, till November 25.
BRICK WORKS FARMERS' MARKET, 550 Bayview, south of Pottery, 416-596-1495 In the Don Valley eco centre 8 am to 1 pm till December 1.
FARMERS' ORGANIC MARKET, St. George the Martyr Church, John and Stephanie, 647-226-2418 Toronto's oldest organic gathering takes place from 9 am to 3 pm in south Grange Park year round.
ST. LAWRENCE FARMERS' MARKET, 92 Jarvis, at Front East, 416-392-7219 In the North Market from 5 am to 5 pm year round.
VILLAGE MARKET, 9100 Bathurst, at Rutherford, 905-707-5771 Suburban organics at the Toronto Waldorf School from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm year round.
WITHROW PARK FARMERS' MARKET, 725 Logan, at McConnell 9 am to 1 pm till October 27.
WYCHWOOD BARNS FARMERS' MARKET, Church of St. Michael and All Angels, 611 St. Clair West, at Wychwood, 416-653-8546 2 to 5 pm till October 27.
LIBERTY VILLAGE FARMERS' MARKET, 34 Hannah, at East Liberty In the parking lot from 9 am to 2 pm till October 28.
SUNSHINE GARDEN ORGANIC MARKET, CAMH Grounds, 1001 Queen West, at Ossington, 416-363-6441 10 to 11:30 am Mondays and Thursdays through October 18 .
RIVERDALE FARM FARMERS' MARKET , Riverdale Park West, Winchester at Sumach, 416-961-8787 3 to 7 pm till November 27.
TRINITY BELLWOODS FARMERS' MARKET, Dundas at Crawford, 416-350-9694 3 to 7 pm till October 30.
TORONTO CITY HALL FARMERS' MARKET, Nathan Phillips Square, Bay at Queen, 416-338-0338 Same vendors as Metro Hall's, through October 17, 10 am to 2:30 pm.
PLAN B ORGANIC FARM, 905-659-2572, www.planborganicfarms.ca Drop points throughout Toronto; winter and summer shares.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
10 things I learned during this election • Spacing Votes • blogging Ontario’s 2007 provincial election
Modelling MMP in Prior Elections
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Tories Against MMP
So, if you're a Tory, then for purely partisan reasons, I can't think of any reason to endorse any sort of PR system - even the mixed version proposed here.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
WCA has Acquired the MyCCR
Well, the good news is that it is not folding! Not sure if there is any bad news.
Certainly still the first and last word in backcountry canoeing (and often winter camping) online.
All credit to Richard Munn for founding and establishing the site over the years - must have been tough but my gratitude at least.
Monday, September 17, 2007
WooHoo!
Can't wait for Algonquin.
Speaking of which... Look for the next post
Return of the Colour Report
Friday, September 07, 2007
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Frappuccinos: summer's liquid cheeseburger!
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
The Polish John Cleese
"However, Ms Merkel views Poland, rather than Britain, as the main opponent of a deal and the hardest nut to crack. Such perceptions were confirmed when Warsaw raised old grievances about Germany to try to bolster its case for a "fairer" voting system in running the EU. Under current arrangements dating from 2000, Germany has 29 votes to Poland's 27 in EU councils. The new system, based on population sizes, will give Germany more than double the Polish vote. The Poles are demanding a new way of calculating votes that would diminish German "hegemony."Well. Seeing as the founding principle of the EU is "Don't Mention The War!" it seems to me that the only possible response would be repeated viewings of this classic Fawlty Towers sketch. However, the Poles had a different response - thinking out of the box as it were and I have to say, I didn't see this coming:
Under the nationalist Kaczynski brothers, prime minister and president of Poland, it seemed Poland was bent on refighting the second world war against Germany in the bunkers of Brussels.
"If Poland had not had to live through the years 1939-45, Poland would be today looking at the demographics of a country of 66 million", rather than 38 million, and would warrant a much higher quota of votes in the EU, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the prime minister, told Polish radio.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Luminato is over
This is my awful snapshot of PulseFront. You can find much, much better ones in places like this such as this one.
There were lots of other public art things around, such as Union Station's horses.
