…the great white north. And when I mean north, I mean, like, way the hell north. The north where rocks are extracted from big bouldery hills and where bodies are easy to dispose of.
This is not Toronto – a rarity, so don’t get used to it!
It is a sort of sub-alpine town (if the hills were only bigger), situated somewhere in that vast swath of land called Northern Ontario.
Getting my pre-holidays sickness out of the way (surprised if I wasn’t snotting up right now, to be honest), and not really into “Four Eyed Monsters” at the moment.
Just for the record, I don’t think the Toronto Star is a rag just because it chooses to indulge in some fluffy writing. But when I saw this posted a few days ago I felt a deep need to open it up to some criticism:
…what crime these three are accused of committing?
Hint: Others rounded up in the police sweep included a priest and a scout leader.
Here’s the answer: http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/article/903516–7-gta-men-arrested-in-international-child-porn-probe
And there you have it; stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason.
Mayor not being taken seriously? Local politicians not getting the respect they deserve? City Hall not classy enough?
It’s the WikiLeaks of Toronto!
Well, almost. Kinda. Not really. But still neat.
The Open Data (http://www.toronto.ca/open/), project recently announced that it was putting raw data sets online so you can check the veracity of City Hall’s statistics for yourself.
From my very quick and cursory looksee, it’s chockfull of the daily drudgery of running the city, so I don’t see it being turned into a movie anytime soon. But who knows what interesting factoids some dedicated analysis might turn up.
I should mention that this data appears to be a direct database dump, meaning it doesn’t come with any nice viewing / searching interface – it’s just raw data. There’s a brief explanation of all the possible formats here: http://www.toronto.ca/open/glossary.htm
Some of it is XML-formatted which means you can open it with anything that edits basic text (Microsoft Word, OpenOffice Writer, Windows Notepad, Mac TextEdit, etc.), as well as most modern web browsers (just drag the XML file into an open browser window). Also, you should be able to import XML data into spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc which should make it easier to read.
However, despite looking complex, XML data (especially the Open Data ones), is actually pretty simple to understand in its raw state.
The Open Data site also offers alternate data sets like JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), and CSV (Comma-Separated Values) – it’s the same information that should be in the XML files, just in a denser and less human-friendly format.
I haven’t had much success with ESRI Shapefiles, a common informational map format found on the Open Data (and other sites), but I’m sure you can dig up something to view them if you’re determined.
Besides this, the site offers web services which are essentially the same data that’s available for download, but for web applications through a special URL like “http://map.toronto.ca/servlet/com.esri.wms.Esrimap?ServiceName=CityGeoSpatial”. Kinda fun for web developers, for building things like blog widgets, but not terribly useful if you’re just browsing.
Currently available for Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton, and Vancouver.
Funny how you forget the little things year after year.
Like the gusts that tear at your exposed flesh at every opportunity, completely oblivious to what the weather report said. And how at -1° Celsius (30° Fahrenheit), you’re allowed to say that the air is literally freezing.
But there you have it, eh? Winter.
Froz’n Motion / Cameron MacMaster has added a photo to the pool:
Looking up between the Royal Bank Plaza South Tower and the Canada Trust Tower during the Great Fog Storm of November 2010.
Become a fan of the cool Froz’n Motion Facebook page at FACEBOOK or visit www.froznmotion.com
Froz’n Motion / Cameron MacMaster has added a photo to the pool:
Looking up outside Toronto’s Old City Hall during the Great Fog Storm of November 2010.
Become a fan of the cool Froz’n Motion Facebook page at FACEBOOK or visit www.froznmotion.com
I tried to warn my sis. I referred her to last year’s experience. I told her this was no place for impressionable young kids. Did she listen? Did she do the responsible thing and not accept my invitation to the Santa Claus Parade? Am I wallowing in rhetoric just to fill up a few sentences?
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