City of Toronto potential flood area, for a 50 foot or 15.25m rise in water level from Lake Ontario, which occurred in Houston 2017 hurricane Harvey. Map changes by Don Tai
I was wondering, I am sure like many others, what would happen if the City of Toronto had a flood similar in height to Houston 2017 caused by Hurricane Harvey. Who would get flooded and who would remain dry? Is the City of Toronto largely at risk? Are we ready? Unlike Houston, Toronto is not flat. We also do not have hurricanes or tropical storms. That being said, let us try to analyze a topological map of Toronto and see how we would fare. As I live in Scarborough note that Scarborough has the Scarborough bluffs. My area of Scarborough is 235m above sea level. As Lake Ontario is 75m above sea level, we have a buffer of 160m or 525′. I think we are safe from a flood risk.
Toronto Public Library has 3d printing for a very reasonable price. So innovative!
Yesterday I attended a course at the Toronto Public Library (TPL) called Introduction to 3D Design. The topic is broad, so we did not cover much in the 1.5 hour class. Still, it was a good introduction, enough to get me going on research on the topic.
The TPL has created Digital Innovation Hubs within their libraries, one of which is near my house. These are special rooms within the library that house specialized computers, 3d printers, Arduino units and much more. I was especially interested in the 3D Design & Printing. There are 2 classes to take, one of which I did yesterday, and another which I am booked in late August.
City of Toronto uses a specialty sewer sucking truck to clean the sewers. Worker uses a pick axe to remove the grate, plunges the crevice tool down the hole, sucks the garbage out. It takes only about 2 minutes max. Toronto, Canada. Photo 1 by Don Tai
What is that high pitched sound on the street? It sounds like a large vacuum cleaner, and it was. The City of Toronto sewers were being cleaned by the sewer cleaning truck.
This rabbit was outside my front door, munching on some weeds. As I prepared my camera its ears were alert to any nearby sound. We are in the suburbs of Toronto, so there is a lot of wildlife around the neighbourhood.
Wild rabbit by my door, 14:00, Toronto, Canada. Photo by Don Tai
Skunk in my front yard, Toronto, Canada. He’s pretty young. Photo 5 by Don Tai
Skunks live in my neighbourhood, Toronto, Canada, though are not a common sight. We usually smell them first. Mostly blind, if they come close, just freeze and wait until they walk away. There’s really nothing to fear from skunks.
Due to their natural aroma, skunks have no natural enemies. They wander around at will, eating insects and plants, minding their own business. There is really no reason to kill one.
Pink crabapple tree in bloom, 2017, Toronto, Canada. Photo by Don Tai
Our male crabapple tree blooms almost every year. It is a somewhat late bloomer, but reliable. The male tree does not produce apples, so the mess is much less. The blooms only last 4 days or so, maybe a week at the most, after which our whole back yard becomes a lake of pink leaves.
The reflection from the tree casts our rear rooms into a lovely shade of pink.
Pink crabapple tree in bloom, macro, 2017, Toronto, Canada. Photo 2 by Don Tai
Marisa Lazo sits atop a crane hook, 45m up a construction crane, awaiting rescue. Why, Marisa, why? Toronto, Canada
Amazed, I am, that she did this, and was so calm when getting rescued. Marisa Lazo, you are both crazy and brave, but do not do this again. 27 firefighters were called, excluding police and other emergency services. Up so high, 45m in the sky, but why?
Personal protective equipment: none. She is wearing high heels, jeans and a particularly clean jean jacket. No phone. No gloves. This is very odd.
Upset I was, about the state of my orange juice. We buy cartoned Minute Maid orange juice, an the carton I bought was short 100 – 120ml. I sent them an email, provided the necessary info they asked for, and a long two weeks later, they sent me coupons for orange juice. Thanks for that, though there was no communications for two weeks, during which I thought that the company was ignoring me.
I bought Minute Maid orange juice 1.75L, poured the contents into a 1.75L Simply Orange container and found I was short 100-120ml. I do hate getting ripped off by manufacturers. Toronto, Canada. Photo by Don Tai
I bought a bag of Naturally Imperfect potatoes from NoFrills, and out popped potato animals of all sorts! They are so cute that I had to share them with you.
Hippopotamus potato. This creature came out of a bag of naturally imperfect potatoes, bought at NoFrills. Toronto, Canada. Photo by Don Tai
Hippopotamus potato. This creature came out of a bag of naturally imperfect potatoes, bought at NoFrills. Toronto, Canada. Photo by Don Tai
