Craigslist is much better than competitor Kijiji. Craigslist.org CEO Jim Buckmaster, left, and founder Craig Newmark
Shopping for used items instead of paying for the same new item can save you a lot of money. Two popular online resources here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada are Craigslist and Kijiji. Though I peruse specific sections of both I prefer Craigslist. Both Craigslist and Kijiji allow sellers to advertise goods and for buyers to contact sellers. I have bought goods from both sites. I find that Craigslist is so much more aligned with social media, and Kijiji is more traditional seller pushed want ads. The difference might be subtle but enough to add its own flavour.
Marketing Gimmick: Not From Concentrate (NFC) orange juice does not mean fresher than concentrated OJ
We live in Toronto, Canada, so do not have the luxury of going to our backyard, picking fresh oranges and juicing them. Still we love to drink orange juice, a call which is answered by a trip to the local big box grocery store. Orange Juice can be expensive, so I have done several blind taste tests on the family to see if they can tell the difference between types. In summary, there is no difference in taste between concentrate and “not from concentrate” (NFC) types. Canada Grade “A” No Name brands taste the same as good as the name brands. Added calcium does not change the taste of OJ. Chinese orange juice is discernibly tarter and therefore easy to identify. If you can buy orange juice for $1CAD/litre, this is good economy.
Swagman 3 bike rack installs 11.5 inches from my bumper, not a good fit
I have been meaning to get a bike rack for quite a number of years. When the kids were small this was not an issue because they could not ride far anyway, but they are growing. We don’t have a large car, so a bike rack is now a necessity. The Swagman 3 bike hitch bike rack seemed to be the strongest and lightest but well made bike rack I could find. It works very well but the experience of installing it provided some interesting surprises.
The inevitable demise of a Mary's Good Eats apple pie. Delicious.
Quirky and a little remote, the pies from Mary’s Good Eats, Toronto (Scarborough), Canada, are certainly great. The place is on the Pickering Town Line, north of Old Finch Avenue, and south of Steeles Avenue East. They have cherry, blueberry, apple, and I bought a blueberry peach yesterday. $8 per pie. If you need change you go up to the house and knock on the door.
I found this place from a chance conversation with Dale Reesor, owner of the Sweet Ridge Farms, who sells delicious corn. Thanks again, Dale!
This Sweet Ridge Farm corn is sweet. Unlike big box grocer corn it is fresh and flavourful.
In my eternal quest to feed my family fresher and better food, my search for fresh corn stops at Sweet Ridge Farms, Toronto, Canada, located at the extreme north-east corner of Toronto, 8327 Steeles East and Beare Road, just east of the Pickering Town Line. 12 corn for $5. Open every day except Sunday.
While on the weekends the farm does dispatch a small fleet of pickup trucks to Birchmount/Sheppard, Sheppard/Morningside, and I am sure there are other locations, The best selection of corn is available only at the farm.
Coors Canada pulls beer ad that mocked ‘cold’ Toronto
I‘ve lived in Toronto most of my life. Toronto is my home and I really like the city. Each city I’ve visited or lived has advantages and disadvantages. The recent British Columbia Coors Canada ad pokes fun at Toronto’s expense. There were complaints to Coors Canada, who decided to remove the ads. Ironically I interpret this as conclusive proof that Torontonians need to stop being so arrogant and laugh a little at themselves.
We are, thankfully, not very close to a Walmart Super Centre, but on the rare occasion, we do visit. The Supercentre is 9 km away. Yesterday, Wednesday midday, was such a day. . In summary, the Super Centre is larger with very slightly more variety, their food section is quite good, but their checkout process tortuous. Store location: Walmart Supercentre, Eglington/Warden, Toronto, Canada.
I'll never buy this Old South tetra pack top again. It's messy and tastes awful.
I usually have no issues with orange juice packaging, and as such take it for granted. This is not so for “Old South” orange juice with tetra top packaging. I will never again purchase any product with this type of packaging, no matter how much they go on sale.
Firstly, “Old South”, run by McCain Foods, decided their new packaging should contain less orange juice, so they cut their volume from 355 ml to 330 ml, a reduction of 7%. Because this orange juice is in concentrate, you also add 7% less water, resulting in 100 ml less overall orange juice. Why then is there no 7% reduction in the price of the product?
A bicycle rack that uses a trailer hitch keeps the bikes off your car's paint
I have been wanting to add a bicycle carrier to my 1997 Nissan Altima car for the longest time. A bike carrier that goes into a trailer hitch receiver allows the bikes to not contact the car, reducing fears of scratched paint and dents. While shopping around for hitch receivers I found the U-Haul hitch receiver (#24999) for $130CAD, cheaper by $40-$50CAD than other brand names. U-Haul wanted an extra $40 for installation, which I could save if I did it myself. There would be unforeseen trade-offs which I will explain.
Toronto is in the midst of a municipal worker’s strike. We’re coming up to almost one month without city services such as garbage and recycling pickup. To tell you the truth, though I would like to take the kids to the swimming pool on a hot day, the lack of garbage pickup has not bothered me much. Then again we do live in the suburbs. Yesterday a new temporary garbage dump has opened less than a kilometer from my house, so maybe I’ll change my mind within the next month or so.
