Joel Klebanoff: Stuff and Nonsense

A Strong Mandate

Joel Klebanoff — Wed, 09 May 2012 18:56:56 +0000

Stephen Harper, his caucus and, more broadly, the Conservative Party of Canada must think that Canadians are complete idiots. I live in a funny old country. Well, actually, compared to most countries in Europe and Asia it’s a rather new country. But it is a funny country and “funny new country” doesn’t roll as comfortably [...]

Titanic Reenactment

Joel Klebanoff — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:52:32 +0000

Here’s an frightening headline that accompanied a news story on the Toronto Star’s website: “Titanic replica to re-enact namesake’s ill-fated voyage in 2016, says Australian owner.” The thought of cruising has never appealed to me—I don’t want to go on any vacation that I can’t easily abandon if I’m not enjoying it—but that’s one cruise [...]

Ford’s Nuts

Joel Klebanoff — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 18:31:21 +0000

Toronto’s chief medical officer recently recommended that the city reduce speed limits on Toronto’s streets. I haven’t read the report containing that proposal, but my understanding is that it suggested that lower speed limits would reduce the number and severity of car-versus-pedestrian accidents. And, in turn, that would reduce the number of deaths from such [...]

Spam, Inglorious Spam

Joel Klebanoff — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 23:03:26 +0000

One of the great many things in this world that baffles me is why some types of spam still exist. I’m not talking about spam coming almost continuously from legitimate companies offering genuine products and services. That junk is grossly annoying and a horrible time-waster, but at least it’s honest. I’m also not talking about [...]

Food Rules

Joel Klebanoff — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:00:25 +0000

I don’t know about you, but I find food labels to be useless when it comes to making healthy choices. It’s never straightforward, is it? What if one product contains a lot of the stuff you want—fiber, proteins, and vitamins, for example—but also has a lot of the things you want to avoid such as [...]

No Hand Towels

Joel Klebanoff — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 20:52:07 +0000

I’m on a Via Rail Canada train. In the washroom, on the wall behind the toilet and immediately above the toilet, there is a sign that reads, “No hand towels.” Is that really necessary? I mean, how may people look in the toilet for the hand towels? Most people probably already know that they won’t [...]

Subway Envy

Joel Klebanoff — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:46:56 +0000

Rob Ford, the mayor of my hometown, Toronto, wants all new public transit projects to go underground. He campaigned on that promise. Some members of city council are pushing back on that, saying that we can’t afford all of those subways. Rather than burying the new Eglinton “Crosstown” light rail line for its full length as Mayor [...]

Scum Phenomenon

Joel Klebanoff — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:32:05 +0000

To say the least, the universe is unimaginably large and complex. One of the least consequential of the astronomically large number of its phenomena that I don’t understand is soap scum. What’s the point of soap if we have to clean up after it? Possibly Related Posts:EvolutionIn the Worst WayNEWSFLASH: Economists Dramatically Revise GDP NumbersA [...]

Sitting Pretty

Joel Klebanoff — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 22:30:26 +0000

One of the many things that I’ve been worrying about recently is, in the off-chance that at some point in what’s left of my life I should somehow manage to find myself to be “sitting pretty,” will I turn ugly again if I stand up? And, in case that is how it works, should I [...]

Watching Stuff

Joel Klebanoff — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:44:24 +0000

Have you ever been sitting somewhere—a coffee shop, waiting room, or any other public space—when someone you’ve never seen before in your life asked you if you would mind watching their stuff while they went to the bathroom, up to the counter around the corner to place an order, outside to try to find their [...]