Tag: Toronto

China vs Democratic Countries: Attitude Differences

Lai Jeng-jer, a gay rights activist from Taiwan, at his Beijing cafe, Two Cities, 2012

Yes, I have lived in China for a number of years. There are quite a number of situations that completely shocked me, coming from Toronto, Canada, a democratic country. While people in China and Canada are people, people who eat, who work, who play, there are subtle differences in society that only hit home when you are in China, experience it, and think to yourself “What just happened”?

This is a preview of China vs Democratic Countries: Attitude Differences. Read the full post (931 words, 2 images, estimated 3:43 mins reading time)

Can you Blow up Your House using a Gas Stove?

Kenmore®/MD 30” Freestanding Self-Clean Gas Range in White, from Sears. It works very well.

Two years ago I was thinking about buying my first gas stove. A question we had was “How likely is it that we could blow up our house using a gas stove?” I asked a friend if it was possible to blow up your house using a gas stove. He said it was possible, but highly unlikely.

Indeed, we did buy a Sears gas stove and have been happy with its performance. The stove can get your pot really hot, but with lots of control. I doubt we would go back to an electric stove.

This is a preview of Can you Blow up Your House using a Gas Stove?. Read the full post (367 words, 1 image, estimated 1:28 mins reading time)

Air Quality PM2.5 Levels: Toronto vs Beijing

Woe is Beijing, China’s air pollution reading. Here is the PM2.5 pollution levels between Toronto and Beijing this morning, ~9:00 EST. Beijing is truly shocking.

The PM 2.5 level of pollution measures air pollution particles that are 2.5 microns or less, or called fine particulate. This particle size will get inhaled and trapped in the lungs. In comparison a human hair is 100 microns in diameter.

Air quality PM2.5 pollution levels, Toronto vs Beijing, 2016 Dec 04, 09:00 EST. Toronto is less than 10% of Bejing’s PM2.5 level air pollution.

This cannot be good for anyone living in Beijing or North-East China.

This is a preview of Air Quality PM2.5 Levels: Toronto vs Beijing. Read the full post (317 words, 9 images, estimated 1:16 mins reading time)

Burnbrae Farms 30 Eggs: Inferior Packaging

Burnbrae 30 large egg flatpack does not provide support for the top of the egg, resulting in breakage. The flimsy outer cardboard shell is not thick or sturdy enough for sufficient protection. Toronto, Canada. Photo4 by Don Tai

Eat we do, eggs, all the time, especially Little Weed. He likes the one a day first thing. Eggs are a really concentrated burst of energy that I gladly provide him. Thusly, we go through a lot of eggs each week. NoFrills had a 30 flat pack on sale, but after checking the eggs for damage found that most of them had at least 1 cracked egg. The packaging is not a good design. I prefer the old style. Who wishes to buy cracked or crushed eggs? Not I.

This is a preview of Burnbrae Farms 30 Eggs: Inferior Packaging. Read the full post (877 words, 8 images, estimated 3:30 mins reading time)

Bell Canada Fibe to the Side of My House = No Service Upgrade

I have Bell Fibe 15/10 on twisted pair into my house, Toronto, Ontario, but the upload speed is .67mbps of the advertised 10mbps. This summer Bell trenched my street to install fiber optic cable. They left the fiber optic cable zip tied to the side of my house. After 2 months wait I am trying to find out when Bell will install fiber optic into my house so I can get 10mbps upload, but they cannot give me an answer. photo by Don Tai

This is a preview of Bell Canada Fibe to the Side of My House = No Service Upgrade. Read the full post (869 words, 4 images, estimated 3:29 mins reading time)

Recycled Soap Looks like White Chocolate

Recycled soap looks like white chocolate with nougat. Yummy it is not. Clean, it is. Macro shot of a cake of soap. Photo by Don Tai

Looks are deceiving, here in Toronto, Canada. This is recycled soap that I partially melted in a double boiler, cooled, then let sit for a couple of months to get nice and dry. It does look like white milk chocolate with nougat bits, but one bite would tell you otherwise. Most of it is made from Ivory soap!

This is a preview of Recycled Soap Looks like White Chocolate. Read the full post (297 words, 3 images, estimated 1:11 mins reading time)

Bell Internet Bandwidth Gauge Not Accurate

Our home internet service provider here in Toronto, Canada, is Bell Canada. I received an email from Bell at 10:01 telling me we are at 90% of our limit, and have 8.2G left. This email is not uncommon and I expect it on heavy months. Usually 8.2G should last us at least 2 days. At 12:30 I receive another email stating that we are now 350M over our limit.

What the hell!?! During that time I was having lunch and not even on the computer, and there is no one else in the house. This sounds fraudulent.

This is a preview of Bell Internet Bandwidth Gauge Not Accurate. Read the full post (165 words, 2 images, estimated 40 secs reading time)

Birch Tree in Autumn, Leaves Turning Yellow

My Birch tree has turned its leaves yellow already. We have had a couple of nights of near zero degree temperatures, signaling to the birch that it is time to go dormant. The cycle of life continues.

秋天桦树的叶子变成黄。

Birch Tree in Autumn, leaves turned yellow. Toronto, Canada

Permanent link to this post (48 words, 1 image, estimated 12 secs reading time)

Boulevard Repaving in Toronto, Canada

Boulevard repaving, Toronto, Canada. The boulevard asphalt on my neighbours house is compressed by a roller machine. Photo8 by Don Tai

Toronto Hydro had dug up a section of my neighbour’s boulevard when Bell Canada came in to install their fiber optic cables. Hydro dug up a section of asphalt, did the repair, poured gravel down the hole, then repaved with asphalt. A month later the gravel and asphalt has settled. The City of Toronto then dug up the complete boulevard and repaved the bottom layer with asphalt. They will later return to complete the top layer with a finer asphalt.

This is a preview of Boulevard Repaving in Toronto, Canada. Read the full post (572 words, 10 images, estimated 2:17 mins reading time)

Cucumber Beetle in our Jiecai: Macro Photo

Spotted Cucumber Beetle, Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi, found on our jiecai, from our local Chinese store. I believe there is poo coming out of its butt. Toronto, Canada. Photo by Don Tai

Icky maybe, but if insects are eating your vegetables, then it must be healthy to eat. These are photos the Spotted Cucumber Beetle, Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi, spotted on our Chinese vegetables, jiecai, a leafy green, from the local Chinese store. It was dead.

This is a preview of Cucumber Beetle in our Jiecai: Macro Photo. Read the full post (224 words, 3 images, estimated 54 secs reading time)