Category: Kids

Toronto Bicycle Bylaw, Riding on the Sidewalk

Bicycle riding prohibited in certain parks in Toronto. The bylaw 319-69 was repealed in 1997.

Sometimes finding certain information on the internet is much more difficult than it should be. I was looking for the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada bylaw that allows bicycles with less than 24″ tires to ride on the sidewalk. I could not find it. I emailed the city clerk about the bylaw but got no response. This bylaw is heavily mentioned but almost never referenced. After about two years of searching the web, I finally found it.

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L’Amoreaux Collegiate Summer Camp 2011 Registration Issues

This will be the third year my Little Weed will be attending the Boys 2 Men Institute Summer Sports Camp, here in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Overall the camp has been very well run and my Little Weed has had loads of fun. While the last 2 years the camp was held at Stephen Leacock Collegiate, this year the camp was moved to L’Amoreaux Collegiate Institute, which is still close to our house. The worst part of this camp has always been the first day, when the kids need to be registered. Happily, today’s registration for the 2011 camp was relatively painless. Three cheers for the organizer, Hugh Keane.

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Water Purification vs Watermelon in China

Eating watermelon while in China might cause you diarrhea

Your relatives sit you down on their stools in the doorway of their rural Chinese farmhouse. The doorway is the only large shaded area, and there is the bonus cross draft that, in your mind, seems to lower the 30°C temperature. Watermelon slices comes out and you are thankful for their hospitality, but you know that despite your vigilance against waterborne bacteria, you will get the runs. Do not eat watermelon while traveling in China.

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Rocker RA-200 Acoustic Guitar Review

Rocker RA-200 dreadnought acoustic guitar, Made in China, surprisingly good quality

My friend bought this guitar and, due to lack of time, gave it to me. This acoustic guitar is a low end “Made in China” acoustic dreadnought, purchased here in Toronto, Canada. For the low price of $60CAD, this guitar is surprisingly high quality. It says in tune, sounds very good, is well finished and looks great. The neck is straight and intonation perfect. The action is high but can be somewhat lowered. I do hate the “Rocker” brand name. Whomever chose this name should be shot.

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Chinese Drivers are Bad in China and Toronto

Ten bad driving habits, by Chen Xin, People Daily, equally applicable here in Toronto, Canada

As a lifelong resident of Toronto I can attest that many fellow Torontonians wonder out loud why Chinese drivers are so terrible. I am one of them. As I live in Scarborough, a heavily Chinese area of Toronto, there are certain major intersections that I avoid due to a very high proportion of Chinese drivers that approach 100%. As my ethnic background is Chinese, I have ruled out genetics. Moreover I know many Canadian born Chinese, or Huayi, that are excellent drivers. Further, anyone from Hong Kong can attest to the prowess of their local driving skill. So why are Chinese drivers so terrible?

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Chung Hing Chinese Grocery store Held up At Gunpoint

My local grocery store Chung Hing at Kennedy Road and Finch Avenue in Scarborough/Toronto, Canada was held up by gunpoint yesterday, Saturday February 20, 2011 at around 16:10 in the afternoon. Five black guys, faces hidden behind bandanas and guns drawn, marched into the store and demanded cash. The cash registers were locked. While these thieves would rather steal for a living, they also risk the lives of those that shop and work at this store. For me, my wife and two kids had just checked out. They were petrified. A single police car with one officer arrived just as my wife left the store. An hour later a neighbour reported that there were 12 police cars at the store, now long closed for the day.

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Fender Fuse Software Review

Fender Mustang I guitar amp is a modeling amp with 24 presets. Installing the Fender Fuse software is difficult but worthwhile because it allows you to change your preset amps

Growing pains, I say. It will get better, surely. This review will cover the Fender Fuse software package (v2.1.0.8) that is used with Fender Mustang and G-Dec guitar amplifiers. I have installed the Fender Fuse on my PC in order to configure a family friend’s Fender Mustang I. The Mustang is a versatile amp, but came too heavily rock for her tastes. She wanted some acoustic. The Good: After considerable toil I was able to install the software, download different amps to my PC and then store them on the Mustang. The bad: The software install process is overly onerous, required me to download a couple of other Microsoft packages, and is prone to crash. Summary: A very versatile software package and amp, but needs more stability.

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Misrepresenting a Guitar and Amp for Sale in Whitby, ON, Canada

Sometimes you meet a person that you feel is so out of touch with the world, you wonder how they live. This is what I feel about Tommy, whom I met yesterday. Tommy advertised a guitar and an amp on Kijiji in Toronto, Canada, so I went to take a look. When I got to his door, he wanted to hand me the guitar and amp and take my money, transaction completed. His Dad seemed to not want to let me into his house to test the guitar and amp. The guitar was severely damaged in multiple ways, not disclosed in the ad. The amp he handed me was not remotely close to the brand name amp shown in his Kijiji ad photo. On top of that he cussed off his Mom when I was there, and his Dad was swearing like a drunken sailor in a nearby room. Misrepresentation of the ad shows you are a real douchbag, Tommy.

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Searching for GUM Red-cote Disclosing Tablets

GUM Red-cote disclosing tablets tint plaque bright red, showing your kids where they missed brushing. I want to buy some.

My little weed, when it comes to brushing his teeth, is really lazy. Other more interesting pastimes attract his attention, such as watching tv, fighting with his older sister, playing with whatever, anything is more interesting than properly brushing his teeth. Our dentist can attest to his lack of vigilance, which also reflects on the parent’s vigilance. That would be me. Disclosing tablets are chewed and use a red dye to colour plaque a brilliant red, showing my little weed where he was hasty. Recommended both by my family dentist as well as orthodontist, I cannot seem to find GUM Red-cote disclosing tablets here in Toronto, Canada.

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Listerine Agent Cool Blue is Ineffective

It is not too often that I feel a North American “off the shelf” health product in Canada is fraudulent. Bending the truth, some may be, but for true lying through your teeth, snake oil-type fraud, no, I have come across few. At a recent trip to my dentist with my little weed I discussed diagnostic aids with my dentist. If there were only some way I could highlight his bad technique I could help him brush better. I recalled in my youth some red tablets that you can chew. My dentist said these “disclosing tablets” are still available, and still used on kids. Newer disclosing solutions were now available from drug stores, much easier to use and fun for kids. I found Listerine Agent Cool Blue at Pharmaplus for $5.50CAD, “tints plaque for better brushing” it says right on the bottle, in glacier mint. I have found this solution to be not only ineffective, but fraudulent. It does not tint sufficiently to actually allow you to see plaque. For helping me improve my son’s brushing technique it is useless. Please do not purchase this product, as it is useless for highlighting plaque.

Listerine, made by Johnston & Johnston Inc. are a reputable brand and company, so I was surprised at the fraudulent nature of their claim. Note that packaging and claims on the bottle in Canada are different from the USA. On the back of the bottle it claims:

“LISTERINE AGENT COOL BLUE Plaque Detecting Rinse is effective in highlighting plaque to improve tooth brushing effectiveness in children.” CANADIAN DENTAL ASSOCIATION

Directions: Children age 6 years and older: Rinse twice daily before brushing showing you where to brush!

While the solution lightly tints the teeth and mouth, it insufficiently tints plaque and food buildup so that you see no difference between teeth that have no buildup and teeth that need to be brushed. If one looks incredibly hard with a magnifying glass, at the right angle of light I can see a shading difference between clean and dirty surfaces of the teeth, but I can do this without the solution as well. After two mouthfuls of rinse the tint is gone, or so light as to be indiscernible.

Listerine Agent Cool Blue does not tint sufficiently to identify plaque. It is totally ineffective and fraudulent as a dental diagnostic tool.

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