Don Tai (Canada) Blog

Major transit upgrades at the Toronto Transit Commission have been rare in the last 20 years, but this is changing. First in the pipe is the Sheppard East Light Rapid Transit line, in Scarborough. At approximately $1.43B CAD it will run 15km east from Don Mills Station to Morningside Ave. The line is scheduled for completion in Fall 2013, ready for the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto. The project manager in me is trying to keep track of which parts of Sheppard Avenue will be chewed up when and for how long. The short term pain for residents and business owners will be severe. I hope they add bicycle lanes while they are planning.

Sunforce 12v Power Sports Charger 50014 is but a battery maintainer, not a charger

Solar power has always been enticing idea. You point a panel to the lovely sun and it returns usable power. With few exceptions the sun rises each and every day, so theoretically you have unlimited access to power. Unfortunately the reality of economics creeps into the equation, initially taking the shine off solar power. Wanting to play with the technology, a Canadian Tire sale on small solar panels allowed me to try it out.

LCD TV Wall Mount Bracket, probably Made in China. It's cheap at $21US from Amazon.

Some day I will buy a flat panel LCD TV and will need a wall mount. The wall mount will probably be made in China. I do care about the safety of the employees that make my purchases, wherever they may me. They are just like the rest of us, working to squirrel away enough cash to put their kids to school. Particularly galling are safety conditions in China’s factories. The fact of the matter is that the lives of people in a far off land are not front and centre for us. While we give the proper lip service to be socially acceptable, they work in unsafe conditions so we can buy products at a cheaper price. We should care about how the products we buy affect workers in China.

Air quality is something one personally cannot control. I suppose you could rent an oxygen tank and wear a medical mask 7/24 but realistically, few people could do this. Having lived in Beijing and have recently returned for a visit, the bottom line is that Beijing air is hazardous to all living beings in the area. For me it does not matter that the Chinese government says it’s Ok, and that there are places with worse air quality, some of them in China. All the proof you need will be provided by living in Beijing for only a couple of days.

A +4C snowfall followed by a -4C overnight freeze turns heavy, wet snow into ice that has the consistency of concrete.

We are from Toronto, Canada, and most of Canada regularly gets snow during the winter. As the snow falls from the sky it accumulates. This accumulation must be removed from the streets, sidewalks and private driveways in order for cars to safely drive on the street and for people to be able to safely walk on the sidewalk. There are times when you can leave the snow on your driveway and clear it away some time later, but in some specific conditions, waiting even 6 hours can make the job multiple times more difficult. These conditions include above freezing temperatures while the snow falls, followed by a quick below 0C freeze overnight, turning wet, heavy snow into a large block of ice.

Screwed up royally, sums up the TTC fair increase situation, where riders cannot buy tokens or tickets. The TTC issued short term adult fare tickets, good until January 2, 2009, available November 24, 2009 (yesterday). This is supposedly to eliminate hording of tokens. Tokens are no longer being sold. Unfortunately we also cannot find tickets to purchase anywhere, leaving us once again stuck.

The ritual of Walk to School is an important one, long unappreciated.

Neither difficult nor excessively long, the walk to school has always been an excellent way to start learning for the day. In a way I am thankful I am able to participate and guide. We neither rush nor dally, allocating sufficient time to allow for the mind to wander at will. The environment, grass, trees, the weather and sky are our teaching aids. There is the important skill of safely crossing the street to learn, one which needs to be learned well. Handling vehicular traffic is also covered. There is the final wave. I then return, thinking of how to plan my day.

Three Five brand v-belt should fit my snowblower, and surprise, Canadian made!

My Canadian Tire snowblower was getting tired, so late last winter I decided to see if I could spruce her up. The v-belt that connects the 2T engine to the auger was worn, but still connected and therefore workable. Today I tried to find a replacement v-belt. It turns out that my belt is 1/2″ x 35″ and found a machine v-belt replacement for $6.

White potatoes, 1kg, 1st fry for 15 mins, second fry for 4 mins, done to perfection and kid approved

I too did not think there was much to say about advanced french fry technique, but you do enough batches and you learn a thing or two. Kids love french fries, and adults love kids. Therefore by triangular logic it is unsurprising that adults should also love french fries, just not as much as kids.

The standard recipe for home made french fries is to: