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Don Cherry has an Opinion, Toronto Teen has a Space Orbitor, Someone has PIN Numbers

Posted by Jerrold Litwinenko / May 8, 2009

dupont ossington storePhoto: "they didn't have what I was looking for...go figure" by dave_in_t_o, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

What's happening in the GTA (and sometimes beyond):

Several GTA residents have been charged after allegedly tricking hundreds of Americans out of some $5 million over the phone. Strategies ranged from fraudulent prize claims to mass-marketing cons. This reminds me... I haven't gotten a car warranty expiry call (from the US) in quite a while now.

On a more local level, an ATM PIN number harvesting scam has lots of people in downtown Toronto on the phone with their banks.

Don Cherry likes the idea of an NHL team coming to Hamilton, but doesn't like Balsillie's bully approach to achieving the move. It's hard to put much stock in a guy's opinion when he talks out of his ass most of the time, while wearing a suit made out of curtain fabric.

The Toronto Reference Library is poised to get a $34 million in renovations. What's the deal with the popularity of giant, glass facades? And I really do hope that the design doesn't incorporate the ugly signage depicted in the sketch.

A 17 year old from Toronto has beat out hundreds of other contestants and won an international space colony design contest sponsored by NASA. Check out Eric Yam's orbiting colony concept.

Ontario's highest court has ruled that health care workers and others who contracted SARS back in 2003 are not able to sue the provincial government for essentially failing to prevent the spread of the virus. Perhaps this will get them off the hook in the future too, when swine flu sweeps through.

Discussion

14 Comments

jameasmallon / May 8, 2009 at 08:46 am
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I am with you on stunt architecture in this town. It seems to me that given the state of this planet that all new public buildings and renos should be judged for reaching the Zero Point: not taking more from the environment than we put in.
A|Layton / May 8, 2009 at 08:47 am
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Glass is cheap and relatively easy to install compared to brick and stone. Oh...and 'greener'...somehow.
Ratpick / May 8, 2009 at 08:57 am
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Yuck -- I wish they'd live the Brutalism of the reference library alone, rather than try to soften it with huggy touches like that glass addition.

That building was MEANT to be ugly.

What's next? Pink stucco covering for Robarts?
Bart / May 8, 2009 at 09:26 am
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i'm a big fan of the reference library and i like the glass cube addition. i think it'll open up the entrance and give it more of a street presence. currently the exterior of the library is kind of bland compared to the inside. i just hope that the new reno brings with it more useful space versus just aesthetic.
Heather / May 8, 2009 at 09:33 am
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"PIN numbers"... a bit redundant don't you think??
Ryan / May 8, 2009 at 11:03 am
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I was initially defensive about your comments about Cherry, but realized that he's probably better off talking about hockey (the on ice game, not the surrounding politics), a subject he is qualified to talk about. Otherwise, he just sounds like Damien Cox.
Hailey / May 8, 2009 at 11:27 am
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Grapes is King!
However I don't know that Balsillie really bullied his way in. What else can you do when Bettman is ruining hockey and refuses to appease Canadian fans? Someone has to take a stand, no?
Reality Check / May 8, 2009 at 12:05 pm
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C'mon, you go after Cherry for his clothing, but you don't note the incongruity of Mr. "no pansies in hockey" thinking that Ballsillie's being a bit mean? Rock'em Sock'em is great on the ice but one has to tread softly softly in the boardroom? That a former accountant and tech geek is intimidating Gary Bettman??

If we're going to go for cheap shots, at least go for the good ones. Making fun of Cherry's suits is what everyone does every time they mention the guy. Y'all are slipping.

On the redundant department of redundancies front, practically any banking related acronym has to be. "PIN number", "ATM machine", etc. It actually does make sense, especially for PIN, for a non-text media provider (or a multi-format media provider) to give additional cues so that viewers or listeners know that you're not discussing small, sharp pieces of metal. No good explanation for ATM but...
handfed / May 8, 2009 at 01:05 pm
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"I'm Max Cherry, Cherry bail bonds" -- who remembers that!!??
Justin / May 8, 2009 at 01:49 pm
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Looks like the latest ATM-skimming craze I've been reading about on tech sites has hit T.O., and at a couple of supposedly "secure" locations too.

So what are ATM skimmers and how can you spot them? This video might give you an idea... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOiCufYGH9I
juepucta replying to a comment from handfed / May 8, 2009 at 03:22 pm
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Max Cherry Bonds comes from the last good Tarantino movie.

-G.
badbhoy replying to a comment from Reality Check / May 8, 2009 at 05:05 pm
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Congratulations Reality Check! This is first time I have read one of your posts that didn't spawn the urge for me to give you a virtual punch in the face.
Bubba / May 8, 2009 at 09:12 pm
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i got hit by the ATM scam last weekend and had $500 bucks stolen,
the bank did not tell me that this was happening and told me that
I had to ask them to investigate the problem. The thing is I only use my bank's ATM's, I do not use other banks or the private ATM's.
Randy replying to a comment from Hailey / May 9, 2009 at 09:58 am
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Grapes is a xenophobic ass.

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