Bob and Doug Ford do the Waterfront

After decades of excruciating negotiations planning and getting three levels of government to commit to a plan the vision of a world class waterfront for Toronto has been advancing and all the ducks are a row to finish the project over another 20 years. Doug after watching the Simpsons scribbles on his napkin and comes up with a better plan, a shopping mall with a Monorail and Hotel on the waterfront. I support this urban planning wunderkind, who needs all that education planning and consulting, go Dougie.

Top ten reasons to build shopping mall on the lake

1)No waterfront city in the world including Hong Kong has done it.

2)When the international car thief’s steal your car its way more green to load it directly from the parking lot.

3)All the runoff from rain can do directly into the lake, do you have any idea how much it costs to process all the runoff from other shopping malls.

4)It will be a world class destination for RV drivers. No other city in the world has this kind of infrastructure for them to utilize. Direct access to water, and a place for those who are libertarians to dump organic waste.

5) The wind from the lake will blow away any trash, operating cost for this mall will be world class.

6)The Don Valley Parkway and Gardner expressway are infrastructure treasures, a mall will fully utilize this resource.

7)People shopping don’t care about the noise from the airport, killing two birds with one stone.

8)It will have a monorail, and monorail was the best Simpsons ever.

9)The West Edmonton mall is only on a river.

10)Ford nation will be able to view the waterfront from a drive through.

NPR list of top 100 Sci Fi and Fantasy

Cover art from Peter F Hamilton Reality Dysfunction by Jim Burns

Of the top 100 I have read 49(80finalist). IMHO too much fantasy, but a great list. I would add some Greg Bear, Peter F Hamilton and David Birn and take out some fantasy writers. Margret Atwood’s Ornyx and Crate should have made the list as well.
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/139085843/your-picks-top-100-science-fiction-fantasy-books
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/07/138938145/science-fiction-and-fantasy-finalists
John Birmingham has some terrific movie worth works.
http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dca-books-english-tree&field-keywords=+John+Birmingham&x=13&y=15
http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/8/2011/09/sfsignalnpr100flowchart.jpg

RIP Jack Layton

A great Canadian who will be missed dearly. Condolences to his immediate family and his family of millions of Canadians.

Top Ten Reasons Canadians Should celebrate Castro's Birthday

Photo by (Podknox)

Top ten reasons Canadians should celebrate Castro’s 85^th Birthday

1) Over the years we have made a bundle selling Cuban cigars to Americans

2) Gives Canadians a safe place to go south in the winter.

3) Provides an answer to the question how are Canadians different from Americans?

4) The iconic photo of Che looks great in your dorm or on a T-shirt.

6) Even when he had the chance he did not nuke America

7) Keeps Giorgio Mammoliti busy plotting his overthrow.

8) Gives Canada breathing room otherwise we would be the “socialist menace less than a meter from the border”

9) If not for Cuba, Canada would be the star in every Michael Moore documentary.

10) We can all wear sandals in the summer now because PET wore them once in Cuba.

Controlling the Narrative

Do you want sulphur with your gas

Falling over the Falls

I feel terrible for the family of the young woman who fell off the railing and was swept over the falls. The British call it death by misadventure. I live near the falls and was shocked to learn it is common for people to stand on the stone blocks that make up the barrier. I hope her death revives common sense.

Bicycle

Chris Hume in the Toronto Star is spot on with his examination of Toronto's dysfunctional culture.

The wars on the bicycle and muddleheaded worship of the car are perfect symbols for Toronto’s ennui with progress.

Cure for Cancer

A quick google looking for links between HIV virus and cancer cures pulls up this 2005 story from Austraila. The only story linking the University of Pensylania cancer cure to HIV is here.. Is the HIV aspect of this discovery buried because of fears the public will not understand that HIV can cure as well as kill, or is it a fear that many will think it is proof HIV was a man made  virus?

Stupid on purpose

Someday I will add always on appliance to my list of stupid things we used to do. In Europe the boxes have a sleep mode, but in North America, ohh no, I might have to wait a second for it to come on and we can’t have that. So 9 coal fired plants run full time costing $2 Billion in wasted energy to power set top boxes that are not being used. These vampires are using more energy than the refrigerator. If you have one you can save a bundle just by putting them on a power bar and shutting them off when you go to bed.

Littoral Ships Fail

I support a reasonable military, and weapons to support a supportable strategy. The US has long lost the forest for the trees. The air force is doomed with the F35 and the Navy has lost it with the Littoral ships, a horror story beyond belief.