Friday, October 15, 2010
Funny time!
Funny stand-up Comedy about Canada by Jim Carrey. Although its true.. Polar Bears do roam our streets! I wonder if this is before his addiction to Prozac.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Smoke More!
Hey guys, I've been busy the past couple of days so I haven't had much time to whip out an article or a sweet list but I have a video for you instead! I thought the numbers were surprising... Only 17%?
As for tomorrow, I promise to lighten up the mood of this blog and post some funny pictures!
As for tomorrow, I promise to lighten up the mood of this blog and post some funny pictures!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Canada's Top Six Disasters
1998 Ice Storm
I live here in Ontario and we get our fair share of cold weather with ice rain, snow and so on but on Jan 5, 1998, ice rain had started to pour down on pretty much of all of Ontario. Rain constantly fell for three to four days, almost 80 hours worth of rain had fallen by the time it was done. Once the rain stopped, all saw the true measure of damage. Everything was covered in ice and power lines where down everywhere. Over 4 million people went without power for weeks and some went with out it for months depending the area they were in. 25 people had died due to the ice storm and problems caused by it and another 12 died in flooding. The Ontario Municipalities declared a state of emergency. The freezing rain front that had hit Ontario had also affected Northern New York, New England, Vermont, New Hampshire and even Maine. Weeks after the storm governments had estimated there was hundred’s of millions of dollars in flooding damage and the overall damage altogether came in around 6 billion dollars U.S. Even to this day, there is still evidence in some areas how bad the ice storm was with hundred-year-old trees snapped like toothpicks in many places.
1987 Edmonton Tornado
Calgary is a big province with many people living within its many cities and Edmonton just happens to be one of those cities. Calgary has also had its share of bad weather before but I do not think anyone living within Edmonton city was expecting what was about to happen to them. On July 31, 1987 at 3:00pm Edmonton city residents, where horrified to learn that a tornado had just touched down in their beloved city with a population at the time of 730,372 people. The tornado roared on for about 15 minutes depending who you ask and touched down in four different areas. By the time, it ended the residents started to come out of their hiding places and seen then horrific damage the tornado had caused. Governments estimated the damage to be $300 million in the four different areas, 27 people had died, and another 300 people suffered injuries. Scientist and weather specialists say the tornado had registered an F4 on the Fujita Scale. Even to this day, the Edmonton tornado still stands as one of the worst tornados in Canadian history.
1985 Air Flight 1285
December 12, 1985 in the early morning flight 1285 departed from an airport in Newfoundland. Shortly after taking off, no more then half a mile away from the runway the plane mysteriously crashed. There were 256 people a board, eight of which were the flight crew and the other 248 were U.S service men. They all died. A day after the crash Canadian government and U.S government received messages from a terrorist group called “Islamic Jihad” claiming responsibility for the crash. After extensive investigations, the Canadian and American governments had proved that ice build up on the wings was to blame for the crash and nothing else. A memorial to the victims of this disaster has been set up overlooking the crash site on Gander Lake in Newfoundland. This death toll constituted to be the deadliest plane crash in Canada and remains so to this date.
1956 Mount Slesse Plane Crash
It was a late and cold winter night on December 9, 1956 when Trans Canada Flight 810 left an airport in British Columbia. Shortly after take off the radio tower had lost all contact with the flight, which had seem to totally disappear. There were 62 people aboard and six of them of which were CFL players back from an All-Star Game, and a mystery man known only as “Kwan Song” who was supposedly carrying a very large amount of cash. All had vanished without a trace or even a word. No one knew where the flight could be and the Canadian government looked for months but with no success. 5 months later on May 10, 1957 while hiking in the mountains near Chilliwack British Columbia, “Elfrida Pigou” found the remains of a plane. After contacting the Canadian authorities about what she found, they launched an investigation and concluded the plane remains were that of Trans Canada Flight 810. On May 25, 1995, British Columbia government declared the crash site as a “Heritage Wreck Site”. No reason was ever given for the crash but even today; this is still known as Western Canada’s worst aviation disaster. Some people to this day believe mystery passenger “Kwan Songs” money is still up in the mountains somewhere.
1917 Halifax Explosion
On Dec 6, 1917 in a Halifax harbour, a French cargo ship carrying a full load of wartime ammo and explosives collided with a Norwegian ship called “The Narrows” that was anchored. At 9:03am, a massive explosion had obliterated all structures and buildings within 2 kilometres of the shoreline and causing tsunami because the explosion was so large. This explosion was the largest artificial explosion in history until the atomic bomb testing in 1945. Once the chaos of the explosion was over the survivors started looking for others who had survived the blast as well. It was a grim site with over 9,000 people lying injured in the streets and another 2,000 Canadians lying dead all over. Many died from debris, fires and collapsed buildings. Following the day of the blast, the survivors were then faced with a blizzard that dumped over 40 centimetres of snow. In 1917, the damage figures where 35 million dollars U.S and that is not counting the surrounding towns that were levelled but in today’s figures, it would more be like $500 million in damage. Even to date this is still known as one of the world’s largest artificial non-nuclear explosions.
1914 Hillcrest Mining Disaster
Its was Friday June 19, 1914, the new mining shift workers had just shown up for work a half an hour before. Sometime after 9:30am, a gas explosion outside of the mineshaft had triggered 3-4 other explosions within the mine. Methane gas was to blame for the explosion. It was a horrible explosion, which trapped 189 miners in the shafts. Rescue operations started right away with every available person grabbing a shovel to dig. Only 46 people survived and where rescued and only 26 of the 189 bodies could be brought up that day. By Saturday afternoon, the coroner had viewed 162 bodies. There was 377 men total at the mines that day, and 189 of them died with most of them only being in their early 20’s and 30’s. Within minutes, 130 women were left widowed and 400 children were left fatherless. One poor soul’s body was never found and to this day still lies buried in the mine.
I live here in Ontario and we get our fair share of cold weather with ice rain, snow and so on but on Jan 5, 1998, ice rain had started to pour down on pretty much of all of Ontario. Rain constantly fell for three to four days, almost 80 hours worth of rain had fallen by the time it was done. Once the rain stopped, all saw the true measure of damage. Everything was covered in ice and power lines where down everywhere. Over 4 million people went without power for weeks and some went with out it for months depending the area they were in. 25 people had died due to the ice storm and problems caused by it and another 12 died in flooding. The Ontario Municipalities declared a state of emergency. The freezing rain front that had hit Ontario had also affected Northern New York, New England, Vermont, New Hampshire and even Maine. Weeks after the storm governments had estimated there was hundred’s of millions of dollars in flooding damage and the overall damage altogether came in around 6 billion dollars U.S. Even to this day, there is still evidence in some areas how bad the ice storm was with hundred-year-old trees snapped like toothpicks in many places.
1987 Edmonton Tornado
Calgary is a big province with many people living within its many cities and Edmonton just happens to be one of those cities. Calgary has also had its share of bad weather before but I do not think anyone living within Edmonton city was expecting what was about to happen to them. On July 31, 1987 at 3:00pm Edmonton city residents, where horrified to learn that a tornado had just touched down in their beloved city with a population at the time of 730,372 people. The tornado roared on for about 15 minutes depending who you ask and touched down in four different areas. By the time, it ended the residents started to come out of their hiding places and seen then horrific damage the tornado had caused. Governments estimated the damage to be $300 million in the four different areas, 27 people had died, and another 300 people suffered injuries. Scientist and weather specialists say the tornado had registered an F4 on the Fujita Scale. Even to this day, the Edmonton tornado still stands as one of the worst tornados in Canadian history.
1985 Air Flight 1285
December 12, 1985 in the early morning flight 1285 departed from an airport in Newfoundland. Shortly after taking off, no more then half a mile away from the runway the plane mysteriously crashed. There were 256 people a board, eight of which were the flight crew and the other 248 were U.S service men. They all died. A day after the crash Canadian government and U.S government received messages from a terrorist group called “Islamic Jihad” claiming responsibility for the crash. After extensive investigations, the Canadian and American governments had proved that ice build up on the wings was to blame for the crash and nothing else. A memorial to the victims of this disaster has been set up overlooking the crash site on Gander Lake in Newfoundland. This death toll constituted to be the deadliest plane crash in Canada and remains so to this date.
1956 Mount Slesse Plane Crash
It was a late and cold winter night on December 9, 1956 when Trans Canada Flight 810 left an airport in British Columbia. Shortly after take off the radio tower had lost all contact with the flight, which had seem to totally disappear. There were 62 people aboard and six of them of which were CFL players back from an All-Star Game, and a mystery man known only as “Kwan Song” who was supposedly carrying a very large amount of cash. All had vanished without a trace or even a word. No one knew where the flight could be and the Canadian government looked for months but with no success. 5 months later on May 10, 1957 while hiking in the mountains near Chilliwack British Columbia, “Elfrida Pigou” found the remains of a plane. After contacting the Canadian authorities about what she found, they launched an investigation and concluded the plane remains were that of Trans Canada Flight 810. On May 25, 1995, British Columbia government declared the crash site as a “Heritage Wreck Site”. No reason was ever given for the crash but even today; this is still known as Western Canada’s worst aviation disaster. Some people to this day believe mystery passenger “Kwan Songs” money is still up in the mountains somewhere.
1917 Halifax Explosion
On Dec 6, 1917 in a Halifax harbour, a French cargo ship carrying a full load of wartime ammo and explosives collided with a Norwegian ship called “The Narrows” that was anchored. At 9:03am, a massive explosion had obliterated all structures and buildings within 2 kilometres of the shoreline and causing tsunami because the explosion was so large. This explosion was the largest artificial explosion in history until the atomic bomb testing in 1945. Once the chaos of the explosion was over the survivors started looking for others who had survived the blast as well. It was a grim site with over 9,000 people lying injured in the streets and another 2,000 Canadians lying dead all over. Many died from debris, fires and collapsed buildings. Following the day of the blast, the survivors were then faced with a blizzard that dumped over 40 centimetres of snow. In 1917, the damage figures where 35 million dollars U.S and that is not counting the surrounding towns that were levelled but in today’s figures, it would more be like $500 million in damage. Even to date this is still known as one of the world’s largest artificial non-nuclear explosions.
1914 Hillcrest Mining Disaster
Its was Friday June 19, 1914, the new mining shift workers had just shown up for work a half an hour before. Sometime after 9:30am, a gas explosion outside of the mineshaft had triggered 3-4 other explosions within the mine. Methane gas was to blame for the explosion. It was a horrible explosion, which trapped 189 miners in the shafts. Rescue operations started right away with every available person grabbing a shovel to dig. Only 46 people survived and where rescued and only 26 of the 189 bodies could be brought up that day. By Saturday afternoon, the coroner had viewed 162 bodies. There was 377 men total at the mines that day, and 189 of them died with most of them only being in their early 20’s and 30’s. Within minutes, 130 women were left widowed and 400 children were left fatherless. One poor soul’s body was never found and to this day still lies buried in the mine.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving/Columbus Day!
The origins of Canadian Thanksgiving are more closely connected to the traditions of Europe than of the United States. Long before Europeans settled in North America, festivals of thanks and celebrations of harvest took place in Europe in the month of October. The very first Thanksgiving celebration in North America took place in Canada when Martin Frobisher, an explorer from England, arrived in Newfoundland in 1578. He wanted to give thanks for his safe arrival to the New World.
For a few hundred years, Thanksgiving was celebrated in either late October or early November, before it was declared a national holiday in 1879. It was then, that November 6th was set aside as the official Thanksgiving holiday. But then on January 31, 1957, Canadian Parliament announced that on the second Monday in October, Thanksgiving would be "a day of general thanksgiving to almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed." Thanksgiving was moved to the second Monday in October because after the World Wars, Remembrance Day (November 11th) and Thanksgiving kept falling in the same week.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
RCMP Bobblehead!
Isn't this neat? What's more Canadian than a freakin' Royal Canadian Mountain Police Bobblehead? I provided the link for anyone who is interested in buying it. :P
https://www.themountieshop.ca/store/products/3698_RCMPOfficerBobblehead.jpg
Friday, October 8, 2010
Weird Canadian Restaurants
Whether you’re a visitor to Canada or a local looking for someplace new and different to go out for dinner, check out some of these new and unique options for a dinner you won’t soon forget! Behold the craziest Canadian restaurants.
O.NOIR Restaurant (Montreal, Que.)
O.NOIR is Canada’s first restaurant to invite you to dine in the dark! With not a ray gone astray, your visual sense essentially shuts down, heightening your other senses. Notable beneficiaries? Your taste buds. The blind staff will keep you safe and savouring all evening long.
Garlic’s of London (London, Ont.)
Try some garlic martinis, cream of garlic soup, garlic ice-cream, even garlic cloves dipped in chocolate. Garlic’s of London reflects the widespread appeal of garlic dishes with its range of international cuisine. Bring mints.
The Haunted House (Montreal, Que.)
Situated roughly 25 minutes from the west island of Montreal, this creepy Victorian house offers a wealth of entertainment with your meal. A spirit welcomes you to this unforgettable dinner theatre experience.
The Salt Tasting Room (Gastown, B.C.)
The Salt Tasting Room is a restaurant with no chef. Nestled in cobbled streets, this restaurant casually offers a selection of cold plates. Guests assemble a tasting plate from a selection of 10 cheeses, 10 meats, and 10 condiments. The selections are regularly rotated so regulars never get bored.
Le Spirite Lounge (Montreal, Que.)
Le Spirite Lounge is a vegan restaurant with rules: everyone who crosses the threshold must:
* Finish their meal to get dessert
* Finish dessert, or they can never go back.
O.NOIR Restaurant (Montreal, Que.)
O.NOIR is Canada’s first restaurant to invite you to dine in the dark! With not a ray gone astray, your visual sense essentially shuts down, heightening your other senses. Notable beneficiaries? Your taste buds. The blind staff will keep you safe and savouring all evening long.
Garlic’s of London (London, Ont.)
Try some garlic martinis, cream of garlic soup, garlic ice-cream, even garlic cloves dipped in chocolate. Garlic’s of London reflects the widespread appeal of garlic dishes with its range of international cuisine. Bring mints.
The Haunted House (Montreal, Que.)
Situated roughly 25 minutes from the west island of Montreal, this creepy Victorian house offers a wealth of entertainment with your meal. A spirit welcomes you to this unforgettable dinner theatre experience.
The Salt Tasting Room (Gastown, B.C.)
The Salt Tasting Room is a restaurant with no chef. Nestled in cobbled streets, this restaurant casually offers a selection of cold plates. Guests assemble a tasting plate from a selection of 10 cheeses, 10 meats, and 10 condiments. The selections are regularly rotated so regulars never get bored.
Le Spirite Lounge (Montreal, Que.)
Le Spirite Lounge is a vegan restaurant with rules: everyone who crosses the threshold must:
* Finish their meal to get dessert
* Finish dessert, or they can never go back.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Rogers conducts first '4G' testing in Ottawa
Rogers Communications Inc. said Wednesday that it will test advanced wireless technology in Ottawa that moves wireless traffic up to seven times faster.
It said it already working on Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless technology with Ericsson at the former Nortel labs in Ottawa and will expand the test across the region. Rogers said it will be the first test in Canada of its "fourth generation," or 4G, of wireless technology.
This is a technical trial and Rogers customers won't notice any differences until the technology is proven and it has more spectrum to deliver it.
A government auction is expected next year.
Telephone and cable companies in Canada and around the world are rapidly embracing LTE to handle a wave of traffic generated by texting, online search, video, gaming, banking and voice communications.
LTE is already in service in the U.S. in Las Vegas with a small regional carrier. Verizon will offer it in New York, Chicago and as well as 36 other cities by the end of the year.
In addition to more speed, Rogers said LTE technology, breaks barriers between wireless, traditional phones, laptops and other devices.
"Our customers increasingly want anywhere, anytime access to information, communications, entertainment and transactional experiences on their device of choice," said Rogers CEO Nadir Mohamed.
It said it already working on Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless technology with Ericsson at the former Nortel labs in Ottawa and will expand the test across the region. Rogers said it will be the first test in Canada of its "fourth generation," or 4G, of wireless technology.
This is a technical trial and Rogers customers won't notice any differences until the technology is proven and it has more spectrum to deliver it.
A government auction is expected next year.
Telephone and cable companies in Canada and around the world are rapidly embracing LTE to handle a wave of traffic generated by texting, online search, video, gaming, banking and voice communications.
LTE is already in service in the U.S. in Las Vegas with a small regional carrier. Verizon will offer it in New York, Chicago and as well as 36 other cities by the end of the year.
In addition to more speed, Rogers said LTE technology, breaks barriers between wireless, traditional phones, laptops and other devices.
"Our customers increasingly want anywhere, anytime access to information, communications, entertainment and transactional experiences on their device of choice," said Rogers CEO Nadir Mohamed.
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