Monday 17 October 2016

How to fill water bottle

How to properly refill water bottle

Water Hygiene

I have a compromised immune system due to a drug I take for psoriasis. It is a minor inconvenience because the benefits far outweigh the troubles. I have been getting the sniffles lately and I think I know why.

Some of my co-workers have trouble with water hygiene practises. This is a common issue at many workplaces. Some people fill their water bottles by inserting the water bottle fully over the water dispenser spout. This is unhygienic,

As a public service I am showing some people how it should be done.
In the interim I will be purchasing water bottles to avoid the transmission of germs.

Shoelace Troubles

One of 3 times shoelace became un-tied during walkabout Sunday

Saturday 15 October 2016

Tie My Shoelaces

Let me tell a story before I confess an inability to perform a basic everyday task. A clue would be in the  title of the post.

I worked as a part-time security guard when I left the military and returned to school. The security company asked the supervisor to administer a test of basic security guard knowledge. A week before the test he gave a classroom session on what we would be tested on. There were 3 of us in the class. The youngest guy in our class was incredulous that it took me so long to pick up basic terms and tasks. A week later I scored close to 100% on the test and the other two barely passed. The guy couldn't believe I scored so well. I did not consider him to be very bright, even during training.

There was a lesson in that story that people learn at a different pace and some people retain the information better than others. I have never been the guy that asks a million questions while in a classroom. I take the info away and learn on my own. It is why I prefer online, or video training.

When you are a small child you learn to tie your shoelaces. It is as basic a lesson as walking and talking. I have to confess an embarrassing fact that I am having trouble with this basic task. It doesn't matter if I'm wearing dress, casual, sneakers or golf shoes, I can't keep my laces tied. It takes me 35 minutes to walk to work and I have to re-tie my shoes at least 3 times.  I have some concept of initially tying a shoelace, but not keeping them tied. I have even tried to double tie the laces to limited effect. I think I'm doing it wrong.

I will be searching YouTube videos to see if I can learn a proper method.
I suspect that as a youngster I learnt the task at the same pace as everyone else did and took for granted that I mastered the method. I did not and decades later I need to relearn to tie my laces.

In the Navy and more recently while taking lessons to operate my powerboat, I have never been able to figure out basic nautical knots. I have 3 iPad apps on knot making and I can't figure them out. I just can't follow the method. Even if you spent an hour with me to teach me a basic nautical knot, I would forget it the next day. There must be a connection here.

Saturday 1 October 2016

Toronto Waterfront

I finally figured it out. I have lived in downtown Toronto for decades. There are miles of public access to the waterfront, from boardwalks to sand beaches. All easily accessible from the downtown core. New boardwalks, parks and public access added yearly. Even more planned in the eastern area of downtown.

I was driving southbound on the Don Valley Parkway onto the Gardiner Expressway when it became obvious what the critics were talking about. Condos and elevated expressway do block off the waterfront, to people in their cars.

Here is an idea to the critics. Get out of your car and walk to the waterfront. I took photos below but there are miles of waterfront access. Maybe as many as 40 km in the city when you include the island.

People that only see the waterfront from their cars can stare at condos. But your criticism is not valid.

The Bond October 2016

Reception Area of The Bond


D'Arcy Suite



Harbourfront






Sunday 11 September 2016

Sept.2016 photos

The Bond Sept 2016

Finally adding drywall to Reception Area



Will Add Hospital Green Walls When I Move In

City Hall Sign Most Photographed in City

Wednesday 7 September 2016

This and That

Why can't you buy decent shoelaces in Toronto?

In Canada they repeated the endless loop of Fabreze air freshener commercials on TV where the Mom tells her teenage son to clean up his room before girls arrive. The kid was annoying. I have noticed newer versions of the commercial have replaced the Mom, the kid and the girls. Unsettling!

The installation of no Doggy Doo signs on my condo lawn have decreased, but not ended the practise of strangers having their animals relieve themselves on my lawn.

I want the City of Toronto to require cyclists and dog owners to tattoo "Asshole" on their foreheads so we can identify them when they are walking around without their bike, or dogs.

The next time I see a cyclist stop at a stop sign will be the first time. Rules of the road do not apply to cyclists in the city. But they are the first to be outraged when a car violates a rule.

I was checking out a YouTube video of Harbour City proposal in 1970 to start a water based neighbourhood near Ontario Place. Jane Jacobs was a consultant and supporter of the plan. Fascinating and forgotten proposal. It would have changed the course of history of the city.

They are proposing a park on the deck of railway lands near Rogers Centre. Great idea but the city spends zero money and effort maintaining the parks that we already have.

I'm normally a Liberal supporter but the endless scandals and incompetence of the Wynne government is astonishing. They have so badly fumbled the ball on the power generation front that impeaching/recalling Wynne should be an option. The combination of McGuinty and Wynne have set the Ontario economy back 50-years. I'm not sure how we recover. I suspect a strong private sector may allow us to muddle through. It is much the same with the City of Toronto. It is run by an idiot government but a strong economy allows us to make progress regardless.

Probably the two most disappointing Conservatives in Harper's government were Kellie Leitch and Chris Alexander. Alexander was rightly defeated by his constituents. Leitch has doubled down on her bigoted "cultural practises" lunacy. We thought she took the fall for Harper, but she is proving to be a redneck on her own terms.