My librarian, it was, that brought the issue to my attention: Your driver’s license needs renewal. This occurs every 5 years, so not very top of mind. But hey, it is 5 years later, and there is a Government of Ontario, Canada, web site that I can use to renew my drivers license, print a temporary one, and the valid license will be mailed to me in 4 to 6 weeks. Unfortunately for me all did not go so well. The Service Ontario server seemed to have some problem, leaving me with no temporary drivers license, and unsure if my credit card transaction actually went through. In the end I had to personally go to the local Service Ontario office in order to get my temporary drivers license. Service Ontario’s web service really does not work.
Want you do, to go to a concert, but just after the supposed start time for ticket sales, all the tickets are gone. You, again, have lucked out. Minutes later these tickets are all available on reseller sites for double the price. It really does sound like a scam. While the US just enacted a federal law, here in Ontario we are just starting the investigation phase. I hope that we can adopt something as strong as the US in order to keep an even keel with bot technology and online shopping safe.
Toronto parking ticket: Code No. 406, Park – vehicle without valid Ontario number plate properly displayed, Toronto, Canada
No, this is not my ticket. I was on a run and found it on the ground, stuck to some ice. Thankfully it is a plasticized paper, so when I ripped it off the ice it did not rip. In fact, it was in perfect shape. Here in Ontario for a vehicle you need to buy a vehicle number plate, and then yearly also purchase a validation sticker. Apparently you cannot park your vehicle on the street without the validation sticker. I have removed the street name.
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.
Interested, I was, when I read a G&M article, written more like advertising copy, about Virgin Mobile offering home internet service, 300MB for $50/mo.
I went to their web site, input my address, which it acknowledged, but the lookup feature was not working. I therefore phoned and they confirmed that home internet is not yet available for me but is in the works.
They also confirmed that they will use Bell fiber optic lines, which were recently installed on my street, 300G bandwidth, 25mbps download, 15mbps upload. That is a lot cheaper than Bell is offering today.
This year, 2016, is a an excellent year for my crab apple tree. The blossoms are really pretty, and the weather has cooperated. They will stay fresh for only 5 days max, and then will die. For now we can enjoy them, as they splash their pink hue from outside into our house. The tree is male, so bears no apples.
2016 Crab Apple Tree, male, a couple of days before full bloom. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo by Don Tai
2016 Crab Apple Tree bloom, a couple of days before full bloom. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo 1 by Don Tai
Worried, I was, when I heard news that the older red and white OHIP cards are now invalid. This is not true. If you received a notice from OHIP that you need to renew, then do so. Otherwise there are no worries.
If you are not sure, then call the ServiceOntario INFOline at 1-866-532-3161 and ask. You may have to wait a bit, so use your phone’s headset. They will search your card number and tell you. Red and white cards are still valid.
We are looking for witnesses who saw a car crash in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Saturday August 16 2014 at around 2:30pm. The crash occurred on Sheppard Avenue East, eastbound between Birchmount Avenue and Kennedy Road, right in front of the Walmart.
A lady in a dark coloured Honda ran a red light and hit another car.
These are telemarketers who consistently call my house here in Toronto and refuse to cease. Few of these have call display info, so I need to research them on the internet. Still, many have no information. The CRTC should regulate this better, as it is very annoying. The “Do Not Call” law should be upgraded to be more all encompassing.
In the mean time I use my Panasonic phone, which has a ban list, but I still get a single ring. My phone keeps track of all our incoming calls, and I track unknown phone numbers. There is some work involved to keep this list current, but the payoff is that you reduce, to a bare minimum, the number of repeat telemarketers.
Saw it coming, I did, through my incessant weather forecast watching here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Warned, we were, by the sages of climate. Still we really did not know the gravity of the situation, nor that we were to lose power for 18 hours. As we are always prepared, this matters little, because we know where everything necessary is located and we have done this before. It is worthwhile reflecting on what worked and what needs improvement, so that the next one, an inevitable event, really, will be that much more fulfilling.
