I’ve created a few new BLOGS … but this is where I started.

My take on everything

Many more links there. Got my start here and learned a lot from my experience but have moved onto other sites, check them out using the links.

Daniel .. Toronto, CANADA

You can even Follow ME on TWITTER

@dandmb50

And then once you get on Twitter check out my hashTAG - #dandmb50

TORONTO - December 13/2010 - “The Leafs won tonight” (Saturday) against Montreal Canadiens, said one excited hockey fan as they walked out of the Air Canada Centre (ACC) and his friend said “Maybe it’s because it was in 3D” as they beat Canadiens 3-1 in the first ever NHL 3D game across Canada on CBC.
There was a big hype as it was announced recently that the game would be in 3D (and broadcast on several networks, but you needed a 3D television and glasses) and the Leafs didn’t disappoint the fans. There were six 3D “camera rigs” stationed around the ACC sponsored by Panasonic Canada and CBC which gave it extra special feeling for those able to watch the upgrade for the first time from their homes. The second game in 3D will be the outdoor Heritage Classic in Calgary on February 20th when the Flames host the Montreal Canadiens at McMahon Stadium.

If you didn’t have a 3D set for Saturdays game you still have a chance to get one by February and they start at around $2000 and can be used as an HD TV as well when 3D is not available, and Panasonic sells the plasma TV in 46 or 50 inch sizes.
Panasonic Canada General Manager Ian Kilvert was in attendance and offered some technical information about the whole process for 3D delivery.

“The nice thing about it is not just for 3D it’s just that the small percentage of the time you are watching a 3D program whether it’s a blue ray 3D movie or a sporting event like hockey you just switch it with the remote control to 2D and watch high definition it’s the best high definition set we’ve ever made.

All images are © COPYRIGHT - All rights reserved - with “DMB” Watermark.
Some concerns have been studied and questioned that the 3D signal can effect some people with headaches and vertigo after watching a full show. Kilvert mentioned, “I read something early on that said about 5% of the population isn’t comfortable watching 3D, so I look at it and say that 95% is, so there is a market there and I feel it’s unfortunate for those 5% who are watching it that can’t, and may get vertigo but it is a very small minority.” It has been reported that the way 3D works is it tricks the brain with the double image which gives the full impact of 3D.

Read More

Well it’s not real news, but it will lighten your day, while you go through the lineup scans at the airport.

TORONTO - It has been brought to our attention at First City Bank of Toronto that banking customers have been sneaking into the bank with suspected explosive devices and with this, we felt it necessary to bring in a new screening procedure for all banking customers and start full body scans and pat-downs.

We got the idea from the TSA in the USA.

Toronto, CANADA - November 24/2010 - We realize we have bullet proof glass around the tellers, but it was discovered this may not withstand the explosive nature of an explosive device, so we felt it necessary to institute these new procedures. Please be patient and understanding as we will be as discreet as possible, although we may have to “grope” some persons who we feel are concealing any kind of contraband (ie. bombs)

You will have the option of going through our full body scan which is “allegedly” safe, and the radiation is very minimal (so we say,) and if we don’t find the suspected explosive we will do a public, full body pat-down, if you don’t comply, we will freeze all your funds in all your bank accounts, and if you were to die in an explosion, we have the right to your full estate if you die while being a customer of  First City Bank of Toronto.
It has also been brought to our attention that the full body scan does not detect explosive materials, we feel it is then necessary to do a very thorough pat-down checking all “junk” on all passengers, I mean customers.

This is not a joke, since we do not conduct such stringent policies unless it is absolutely necessary and although we are not any part of the Federal Government we feel it is appropriate to conduct these new security measures.

If you fail to comply after entering the lobby of the Bank, the armed security staff, with the full force of the Federal Government will wrestle you to the ground and if need be, they will “taze you man,” and you will have no recourse but to comply.

I’m sorry, but because of this new ruling by our head office, we cannot provide private pat-downs (we never even thought of that) and they will be conducted right in front of the other customers lined up as they enter the banking tellers area.

We realize this may seem to some to be a little extreme, we just can’t take the chance of someone blowing up our bank with the fact that we have so much cash on hand (mostly $100 bills.)

Please understand, it was not our idea to bring in these new rules and we do admit that this new procedure may not be able to detect any kind of explosives, but we feel this will make everyone else entering the bank “FEEL” much safer, and that is one of our most important customer service features to make our customers, “FEEL SAFE.”
If you start going through the scanning or pat-down procedure, you are agreeing to all the terms and if at any point you decide to change your mind and want to leave the bank, that will NOT be allowed, on instructions from our HEAD OFFICE. Please do not get upset at our rank and file employees, as they do not set the company policy, they are only following instructions from our head office, and they are just being paid minimum wage. Employees will be supplied with sterile gloves (this is for the employees protection, not yours) to conduct the pat-downs and they are instructed to be as thorough as possible, so be informed and cooperate. (or else)

We’re trying to institute the $10,000 fine that the TSA is threatening if you don’t comply, but we need Federal approval, and you know how long that could take. (Even longer in CANADA.)

(disclaimer) None of these Bank pictures are NOT of our Bank, who is creating these new policies, we just don’t have any pictures of our (brick and mortar,) Banks yet, as we’re just setting new procedures.

Company President & CEO
First City Bank of Toronto (Not a “real” Bank) so stop googleing.

Oscar Bulkimeyer CEO, , D.V.M., PhD, DDS, LLB TSA - opps sorry. Huh …

(occasionally I will be on the front lines doing the pat-downs)

We got the idea from TSA in the United States of America, thank you, we want our customers to “feel safe.”

Tongue in cheek, on my FACE.

Daniel .. Toronto, CANADA

UPDATE - November 11/2010 - The original date of this BLOG posting is documented as Monday, November 8/2010, at 10:25am and was first posted on my OPERA BLOG and then posted here this week….

NOTICE - Visitez mon BLOG opera complet en francais.

UPDATE - November 29/2010

It’s almost a month since I had Bell Fibe TV/internet installed and I must say I am very impressed by Bell Canada, and especially Ryan the techie who dropped by on Sunday and did a thorough and excellent job fixing my TV signal.

I have had some complaints and they have finally addressed them, however I am still annoyed with the sales practices of the in-lobby sales people. But with that put aside, after talking with the Bell Executive Team in Montreal (they called me) my pixillating and sound problems have been resolved. The picture quality is absolutely excellent, no pixallating (where the picture takes a burp,) or sound outs.

My next question is, will this corrective measure be addressed to “everyone” that has problems? I hope so, and suspect it is in Bell’s best interest to do so, and will people just give up and switch back after the first few weeks of pixillating picture.

On another happy note another service techie called and was able to fix the Bell anti-virus software that I was told was a “known issue and would not be resolved for a few months.” The internet side was not a problem other that the anti-virus situation since it was excellent speed since the beginning.

                    ——————————————————————————-

Have you had PROBLEMS since you signed up for the new Bell FibeTV (Internet Protocol television-IPTV) service which allows you to get TV through the internet? One of the first things someone does when they get an internet service provider (ISP) is to load, download, a virus protection software usually provided by the ISP. If you click this link on the picture it will take you to FibeTV’s help centre, and I had great difficulty in finding out how to download the virus protection, and I’ve been using the internet for about 30 years or whenever it was introduced to the public.

At least I now know, that I am not the only one having PROBLEMS with this, I just think they launched it too soon, before they got all the bugs worked out and you can see the comments HERE at dslreports. Did they even have anyone try it, that watches TV, that might ask some tough and honest questions?

Click here to “read more” about “Bell FibeTV” “opens new window”

Daniel … Toronto, CANADA
VISIT my FULL Opera BLOG - HERE

Called today Sunday, November 7/2010 at about 7am to Bell FibeTV support and spoke with Stephane who was the first person I have talked to that had any real answers since I have made many calls to support about the service.

Read More

Recently Toronto Police Force (TPS) has been underfire for not paying taxes with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) ….

for their parking privileges (prime downtown locations) at police stations.What I have heard officers, off duty are allowed to park in the police stations downtown when they visit the city for unrelated police events, for free. They also do it at Toronto Fire stations.

Flickriver my PHOTOS

Click the bottom right corner of photos in flickriver for info about photo. The letter “i” will give you more info on each picture.

This is explained further in this Globe & Mail  article last week.

Daniel .. Toronto CANADA - Visit my Full Opera BLOG

Read More

It’s actually a real butterfly. (It was moving) I was walking along the Danforth while I was at the Taste of the Dandorth recently and all of a sudden several people started to take pictures from behind me and they were pointing at my backpack. I handed my camera to someone I was talking with and they snapped this picture of the butterfly who was on my back for about seven/eight minutes. UPDATE - August 9/2010 - I just found out, it’s a “Question Mark” (Polygonia interrogationis) butterfly. Daniel .. Toronto, CANADA …. http://bit.ly/bKGa13

After all the talk in the last few days, I suspect no-one really cares, but I often wonder what many of these young officers from small towns across Ontario and CANADA are coping with being in Toronto for this G20 summit. What would they say about Torontonomo Bay (Detention Centre)

I never noticed it before but this RCMP officer does not have any name tag on his uniform, it was brought to my attention by an article in the Toronto Star.

Some of them I saw from Kitchener/Waterloo-York-Durham-Halton-Peel Regional Services, Barrie, London, Newfoundland, Cape Breton and several Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) looked like they were in their early 20’s and amazed by what they had got involved in.

If any of them were able to answer, would they say that the treatment of the public was a little heavy handed? I’m sure they were told by their superior officers when to rush the crowd, when to assault the people and I doubt they wanted to do it.

Read more G20 summit
Daniel … Toronto, CANADA
My FULL Opera BLOG

Read More

“The world was watching”

UPDATE June 29/2010 - Toronto Star - Legal “Charter Challenge.”

Sadly this is not over yet, about 1000 citizens gathered at a peaceful demonstration in front of Police Headquarters last night chanting and protesting the arrest of many innocent people who were caught up in the sweep.

Check out this YouTube video of the rioting on Saturday during the G20 Summit in Toronto, you’ll have a better idea of what I’m talking about.

Hope this is the last G20 summit we have in Toronto for a long time. As of Sunday morning almost 1000 people had been arrested/detained and put through the Toronto Police Service (TPS) holding/processing centre in the makeshift jail at the Toronto Film Studios - dubbed Torontonomo Bay  near Lake Ontario.
Just clowning it up two feet from the police line at Richmond/Bay on Saturday night. I did see one female officer crack a smile but most were stone cold.

Daniel … Toronto, CANADA
VISIT my FULL Opera BLOG - HERE

These police lines (on the right) were all over the downtown core well away from the “red zone” fence and it was just a cat/mouse situation where the riot squad moved from place to place all weekend, and it didn’t appear they had any rhyme or reason. They will say it was all carefully planned.

Local residents of the Queen/Pape area where the Film Studio Detention Centre “Torontonomo Bay” was built were not happy. I spoke to several area residents the they said “they were not notified by the city of the erection of this Detention/processing centre.”(dubbed by locals as Torontonomo Bay) Toronto is one of the top five populated cities in North America and we have never used tear gas before, but they did Saturday and hopefully never again.

Many said they heard about it on the local news but after Sundays use of tear gas for the first time in Toronto’s history they were even more upset.

Read More

Visit my OPERA BLOG - Here - many more pics and stories, Daniel.

They haven’t played hockey there for about 10-15 years, but yes it is still standing. About five years ago Loblaw grocery chain bought the old historic building and were planning on changing it to a grocery store but never got around to it. It was just announced a few weeks ago that they finally made a decision to go ahead with their plan since they got money from the government. Over 2 million dollars and does anyone remember the capacity of the Gardens? 16,485 ?

***PLEASE NOTE ***

If anyone is seeing this page scrunched over to the left side let me know because I have noticed on some browsers it is currently pushed over and lined up to the left side rather than in the middle of the page, and not sure why. It depends on which computer I use for some unknown reason. This BLOG is best viewed using Mozilla Firefox or Opera browser which are both free and Opera is very fast.

UPDATE - May 13/2010 - Pittsburgh just lost to Montreal Canadiens last night in the Stanley Cup finals and a little trivia I just found out, was that the Canadiens were the first team to play in the Pittsburg arena about 40 years ago and now they are the last ones to play there also, since Pittsburgh is moving into a new stadium which opens sometime in August this summer, Huh, that’s interesting.

Read More

UPDATE - June 3/2010 - Day 46 - Is this a man made disaster, YES, it’s the worst environmental catastrophe in modern history!

“What are we doing?” Will the hole ever get plugged? Lost 11 workers, what about them? I comment on all of these issues and more. We need something now to help the people of the Gulf Coast as well, do it now!

UPDATE - June 14/2010 - Day 56 
One of the real heroes of this terrible, man made disaster has to be Parish President Billy Nungesser, (below right) of the Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana. You are representing/fighting for your people in the area and we commend you for your service, well done and best of luck. We have been very touched by your reports nightly on Anderson Cooper (CNN) and you seem to be the only voice of reason. Don’t let them wear you down, keep fighting.
We shall again, say prayers for you all tonight.

Plaquemines Parish President and HERO

“read more” CLICK HERE to read the full story on the Gulf Oil spill BLOG. More innocent casualties.

     Daniel … Toronto, CANADA

     CLICK HERE My BLOG

Parish President Billy Nungesser

The real tragedy of the Gulf Coast Oil spill is nature and the innocent wildlife it affects.

It doesn’t seem we have learned from previous tragedies and we all remember the Exxon Valdez decades ago. We didn’t stop transporting oil or drilling, but maybe they will now? I doubt it, and more of nature will suffer the consequences. This is only the beginning, what is going to happen in the next month, year, decade? Even worse, 11 workers were killed in this tragedy. (see below)

Will we ever learn?
“What are we doing?”

Read More

I see a lot more of these electric bikes (scooters)  out in full force the last week or so. They are inexpensive (no insurance required) and as the rider told me “they go about 60-80 km per charge” which isn’t too bad for scooting around town.

Get my take on biking in Toronto < —— Click HERE

They don’t even need a license plate but I’m sure the insurance and licensing will change in the near future. At first they were not required to wear a full motorcycle helmet but now they require some kind of helmet and most are wearing bicycle helmets. I’m sure we will see more as the warmer weather arrives.

Daniel … Toronto, CANADA

Visit my OPERA BLOG <—- CLICK HERE

Also visit my FULL  Tumblr BLOG < —- Click HERE

Yes our Canadian Hockey team won the GOLD over USA at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics but the US have nothing to be ashamed of they played one of the best games I have ever seen. It could have never been scripted better and I said when USA tied up the game with 20 seconds remaining in the game, not disappointment but glee since this was going to overtime.

Canada won the most GOLD medals ever in it’s history for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and although we didn’t win the most medals overall we did win the most GOLD. So there, the USA was the overall medal winner and I think we came third.

Daniel … Toronto, CANADA

Visit my other blog … CLICK HERE

Also visit my complete Tumblr BLOG < — Click HERE

This is the young man from Republic of Georgia that died on the first day of the Vancouver Olympics 2010 when he dies on the luge track when he was thrown in the steel beams that were unprotected with any kind of foam protection. The IOC say that the track is safe but them why did they modify the rack with a wall being added to the track and extra padding added to “some” of the steel beams?

UPDATE - Feb 20/2010

I was watching the small track speed skating tonight and they said the side of the arena is covered with protective padding about one to two feet thick which moves if an athlete falls and runs into it. But no padding/protection on the luge track and the skaters are not going at 140 km/h.

The IOC is still saying the luge track is safe, but if it is safe why did they modify the track with an extra barrier and some padding on “some” of the steel beams?

Daniel ………… Toronto, Canada

Come visit my newest blog …….

http://my.opera.com/dandmb50toronto/blog/

I was down by the Union Station/Royal York Hotel and was taking pictures in the area. I snapped this picture of this very interesting lady.

Daniel … Toronto, CANADA

Visit my Opera BLOG - CLICK HERE

Also visit my FULL Tumblr BLOG < —— Click HERE

This is the Don Jail in downtown Toronto and this section is actually closed now but still standing. They did hang prisoners here back in the 1950’s but not anymore. I think it is called a historic site now but not sure why.

Daniel .. Toronto, CANADA

Visit my FULL OPERA BLOG - CLICK HERE