Product Reviews Canada

Made in Canada = Hard to Find

2012-02-29T09:54:00.000-08:00

Ever noticed how difficult it can be to find products which are "Made in Canada"... which are ACTUALLY made in Canada?

They do exist. They are hard to find these days, but not impossible to find.

TIP #1. Look for local manufacturers. If they're manufactured within 40 km of your home they might even offer free shipping.

TIP #2. Check the labels. It might say Made in Canada, but that might only be 'packaged in Canada' and manufactured overseas. Make sure.

TIP #3. Make a List of Canadian companies that manufacture in Canada. Organize the list by category or topic. ie. cosmetics, toiletries and local fashion such as Cake and Fresh Collective.

TIP #4. Research! There are several websites devoted to “Made in Canada” products. ie. buycanadianfirst.ca has consumer goods made in Canada, covering all segments of the market from clothing to furniture to sports equipment (Woot! Hockey sticks!). The website's goal is to “educate consumers on the availability of products made in Canada.”

ie. reallymadeincanada.com is also helpful, but you need to use the directory if you are looking for a particular topic.

TIP #5. Use Google Maps! You can use this for finding services too. ie. "Website Design near Isabella Street and Sherbourne Street, Toronto, ON, Canada".

And lets not forget the benefits of buying Canadian!

BENEFIT #1. Local manufacturers have more pride in their work and it shows in the quality of their craftsmanship. No plastic stuff from overseas or cheap wood that you have to assemble yourself from IKEA!

BENEFIT #2. Even the delivery men treat the objects you buy with more respect when its a local company.

BENEFIT #3. You are boosting the local economy by buying Canadian.

For more fun try reading the Competition Bureau’s regulations for “Product of Canada”.

Chinese Rip Offs: Good or Bad???

2012-02-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

I love China. Wo ai Zhongguo.

But one of the fun things about China is how they copy everything from Gucci bags to specific brands of cars. Where else can you get:

#1. A rip off of the famous "In-N-Out" burgers from California at a restaurant called "CaliBurger".

#2. Fake Apple products from a fake Apple store in southern Yunnan province.

#3. Dairy Fairy (Dairy Queen)

#4. Pizza Huh (Pizza Hut)

#5. Jambo Juice (Jamba Juice)

#6. Obama Fried Chicken (Kentucky Fried Chicken)

#7. Fake Dior sunglasses.

#8. Fake Armani jackets.

#9. Fake Gucci bags.

#10. Fake Apple iPads.

And so forth... basically any big brand name you can think of there is a fake or ripped off version of it in China.

Including cars! Check out the following videos with clips from Top Gear's trip to China.

So... coming back to the title of this blog post, is all this ripping off of products a good thing?

Well... if you're just looking to get a Gucci bag and can't afford one, absolutely. Ripped off fashion is no big deal.

If you're looking for a cheap car, yes, by 2020 you should be able to buy a pretty good Chinese rip off. Right now they suck, but in 8 years they should be pretty decent.

Even the fake electronics is getting to be pretty good.

As long as you aren't buying fake birth control pills or fake medicine, you should be fine.

Just remember you get what you pay for. Cheap junk is more likely to break, but for certain items it won't be that big of a deal. Real Levis Jeans still rip anyway, so don't be surprised if the fake Levis rip too.

The Simpsons: Blah, keep going downhill

2012-02-23T08:18:00.000-08:00

ENTERTAINMENT - I have a strange feeling that the Simpsons is one of those TV shows that will never be canceled.

The Simpsons recently celebrated their 500th episode (130 less than the record-holder: Gunsmoke), but don't think for a second that its because the Simpsons is quality television or animation. It isn't.

On the scale of animation the Simpsons is as crude as it gets. And the plots keep rehashing the same ideas over and over again, each time with a different pop culture twist.

In the beginnings the Simpsons was meant as a show for adults only. There was an early episode where Homer and Marge run around naked for half the episode looking for places to have sex.

Also gone is the social commentary. Its rare these days that the Simpsons make any effort to talk about environmentalism, equal rights or the religious right-wing (the mockery of the Christian Flanders next door has been toned down dramatically).

In 22 seasons it really is no surprise that the Simpsons is now a watered down show filled with pop culture references. Just look at the list of celebrities that have been on the show...

Just to name a few: Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Liam Neeson, Reese Witherspoon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Glenn Close, Woody Harrelson, Susan Sarandon, Donald Sutherland, Kiefer Sutherland, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Richard Gere, Bette Midler, Elizabeth Taylor, Kirk Douglas, Paul Newman, Mickey Rooney, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Lemmon, Rod Steiger, Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Jerry Springer, Steve Allen, Dick Cavett, Dick Clark, Regis Philbin, Dan Rather, Charlie Rose, Bob Hope, Steve Martin, Jackie Mason, George Carlin, Cheech & Chong, the Smothers Brothers, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Michael Jackson, U2, Aerosmith, The Who, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the White Stripes, 50 Cent, Sting, Katy Perry, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Dixie Chicks, James Taylor, James Brown, Little Richard, Barry White, Robert Goulet, Britney Spears, David Byrne, Mel Brooks, Rob Reiner, Ron Howard, Penny Marshall, Garry Marshall, Albert Brooks, John Waters, Christopher Guest, Robert Evans, Jim Jarmusch, Stephen King, John Updike, Stephen Hawking, Stephen Sondheim, David Mamet, Gore Vidal...

In the beginning the Simpsons was raunchy and controversial. It upset the right-wing with its flagrant disregard and even mockery of social conventions. There was no celebrity guest voices either.

Today there is rarely a new episode that doesn't have a celebrity as a guest star or at least a pop culture reference to a celebrity. (Family Guy is also guilty of this.)

And since pop culture is POPULAR it pretty much guarantees that the Simpsons will be around forever simply as a staple of modern television... until something better comes along and people eventually get bored of the Simpsons.

Speaking for myself I only watch the Simpsons once per year. I download all the episodes of the new season, watch them all at once, and then delete them. I delete them because frankly they're not that good.

Its reached a point where I now procrastinate about downloading and watching them because I know I will just be disappointed.

Its all a very bad joke and the 500th episode is no less of a sad joke.

SPOILER ALERT!

During the 500th episode the Simpsons get kicked out of Springfield. Fed up with Homer's drunkenness and Bart's destructiveness the townsfolk kick the Simpsons into exile. By the end of the episode the entire population of Springfield misses them and runs off to join them. Throw in a cameo by Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and you've got the 500th episode.

END OF SPOILER ALERT!

If you are disappointed by the episode you are not alone. For a 500th episode its pretty blah. It was an extremely typical episode. The only real difference was the family couch montage at the end of the episode...

Which has been done before, many times.

They also had a Chuck Lorre style card at the end reading: “Thanks for 500 shows. All we ask is that you go out and get some fresh air before logging onto the Internet and saying how much this sucked.”

And it did suck. And I did get fresh air.

The Simpsons is a bit like a pop culture time capsule. You pick a year, watch a few episodes from that year, and you get an idea of what was popular at the time. (Or not popular, depending on what they're making fun of.)

They will just keep making Simpsons episodes until the end of time (or until the ratings eventually drop low enough that they stop making the show, in which case they might try to change the plots and writers instead in a last ditch attempt to make the show more interesting).

And to all you people who don't like this review, don't have a cow man! Just leave a comment and say Doh!

Garage Door Openers and Industrial Doors

2012-02-23T06:03:00.002-08:00

TECHNOLOGY - I think garage door openers are one of the kewlest inventions to come out of the 1980s. I think they were first introduced in the 1980s, I cannot be certain, I just remember the ads for them on TV during the mid-1980s and I presume they were invented shortly before that time. (It is entirely possible they were invented before then.)

New technology was a big thing in the 1980s. It influenced the movies and TV shows. Shows like Airwolf (a supersonic helicopter that could do over Mach 1), MacGyver (a scientist / sleuth), Knight Rider (a car that can think and talk) and movies like TRON or the one Superman movie where the real danger ends up being an intelligent super computer. If you lived through the 1980s you can probably think of more.

Watching TV in the 1980s the wealthy people always had phones in their cars, garage doors that opened automatically and gadgets that the average person simply could not afford.

But now you can. Three decades later such things have become a lot cheaper (you can get a new cellphone for free, just sign your soul away on a contract) and gadgets like garage door openers are now easy to get.

In the industry of selling these things they're not even called garage door openers either. They're called Industrial Door Operators and the name to me sounds almost clinical and mechanical. I guess they called it an operator because it doesn't just open the door, it also closes it. Ah.

The only trick is that they really only work on one style of doors. Industrial Doors. So I really need to talk about that first. When looking to get a garage door make sure its compatible with the garage door opener you intend to use. (I think that is rather important, don't you?)

Companies like MICANON sell everything you need for your garage door. If you browse micanan.com you will see their broad range of services and products. The door itself and also:

Jackshaft Operators
Trolley Operators
Sliding Door Operators
Gate Operators (for those really rich people who have a walled estate and a gate blocking the driveway)

What I like about MICANON is that it is a Canadian company based in St-Regis Dorval, Quebec. Huzzah for Canadians!

They also have offices Phoenix, Arizona and also Atlanta, Georgia, which allows them to service basically anywhere in Canada or the USA.

Garage Door Openers I think is one of those conveniences we don't really think about much in the 2010s. Its old tech from decades ago. Its a gadget. Its really not that impressive in a world where we've become used to seeing Aston Martin convertibles with folding roofs that fold automatically in 10 to 15 seconds at the touch of button.

Or compared to robotic vacuum cleaners, webcams, tablet computers, smartphones with video cameras built in, eBook Readers. A simple trip to Future Shop or Best Buy will give you an idea of the mass market electronic marvels we now have... giant flat screen TVs with 3D glasses for your home entertainment system.

It really makes you realize how attached to our technology we now are... people addicted to Twitter and Facebook... and comparatively few people going outside and enjoying nature and life as it was meant to be.

So if you have a car here's an idea: Go take a drive in the country. Pick a lake on a map and go drive there to have a look. Take your camera with you if you must have a gadget.

Just remember to close the garage door on your way out.

Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake

2012-02-22T19:42:00.000-08:00

I loooooooove cake.

And I love cake mixes even more.

Add 3 eggs, some water and vegetable oil, mix in a bowl, pour in a pan or muffin tins... and voila cake and cupcakes!

However I want to point out that while Duncan Hines cake mixes are very good (my personal favourite is Devil's Food Cake) there is also the No Name brand cake mixes... which are really surprisingly good too.

The only advantage to Duncan Hines is that they have more variety of flavours to choose from. (No Name = just Chocolate and Vanilla.) Specifically I am using the "Moist Deluxe" mixes.

The flavours include:

Banana Supreme
Butter Golden
Fudge
Caramel
Classic White
Classic Yellow
Coconut Supreme
Confetti
Dark Chocolate Fudge
French Vanilla
Fudge Marble
German Chocolate
Lemon Supreme
Orange Supreme
Pineapple Supreme
Spice
Strawberry Supreme
Swiss Chocolate

I've had the Fudge, Fudge Marble, French Vanilla and earlier today I purchased the Devil's Food Cake and it is baking in the oven right now.

Goes well with icing or whip cream, either is good.

Mmmmmm mmmmm tasty!

NOTE: Given an option I would still prefer homemade pie over cake any day. Especially raspberry pie, apple pie or pecan pie.

Bannock Restaurant = Rude Staff, not sure why...

2012-02-22T18:59:00.000-08:00

Ever gone to a cafe or restaurant and the staff behaved rudely and you can't figure out WHY they are rude?

Last week I went to Bannock for Valentines...

Bannock
401 Bay Street Toronto
M5H 2Y4

Phone: 416-861-6996

Bannock is a restaurant / cafe. You step inside and you see a restaurant on the left and a cafe to the right. My Valentine and I opted for the cafe.

We waited 5 minutes for the servers to get us a seat. When we did get a seat nobody came to take our order...

So we went up to the cafe bar and ordered teas, went back to our seats and waited for someone to take our order.

Time ticks by. We discuss our romantic prospects.

Finally a server comes by... but instead of asking to take our order she asks us to leave, saying that if we're only drinking tea then they would prefer to give the cafe table to different customers.

I am tempted to tell the server off for not bringing us a drink menu but quietly bite my tongue instead. I look around at the other customers in the cafe section. Some of them drinking tea, wine or beer.

I was wanting to order a Guinness but apparently the staff was so rude (or just plain stupid) that it had never occurred to them to ASK if we wanted a menu.

I mean we were in the cafe section. Everyone else was drinking some kind of fluid. I saw one person who had a plate of what looked to be pasta, but otherwise everything was either tea or alcohol.

The server didn't even give us the option of ordering alcohol. She just asked us to leave and didn't even bother to ask if we wanted to order anything or if we needed a menu.

I even vaguely wonder if the staff were being racist since my Valentine and I are an interracial couple. I am Scottish and my date was originally from Uganda. Possible racism aside it was a very rude opening to our Valentine's date.

So... my thoughts as we took our time and eventually left? A scathing review was in order.

So here it is: Bannock, rude staff, horrible service, good tea. Sorry, I didn't get a chance to review their alcoholic beverages, but since I love Guinness I am sure it would have been just as good at a different restaurant down the street.

I am also posting this review on the Google Maps / Business Locations directory. Bannock deserves a bad reputation.

PLUS I am even going to phone Bannock using the phone number listed above and complain to the manager and mention this review. (Sadly all I got was the manager's voicemail, but it will do.) I think that should get my point across that I am a very unhappy customer.

Dempster's Bagels

2012-02-21T11:19:00.000-08:00

Today I went to the post office to pick up a package (yeah, more free stuff from WebRing.com!) and on the way back I passed by a Dempster's Bagels van (sort of like an ice cream van) giving away free bagels...

So I had a sesame seed bagel with peanut butter. Free.

Can't beat that.

However I want to point something out...

Whether you buy a fresh bagel from Great Canadian Bagel or even Tim Horton's... they all taste the same. I don't notice any difference in the quality of the bagels. (And I ate a lot of bagels back when I was in university.)

What I do notice is the difference between fresh bagels from shops... vs store bought bagels from the grocery store. Fresh bagels are awesome!

But store bought bagels... yuck. They're too hard and don't taste that great, and that is likely because they're not fresh.

Note:

Dempster's doesn't have any bagel shops. They're wholly store bought bagels... so while the bagel van with the free bagels today may have had fresh bagels and they did taste good... I wouldn't recommend buying bagels in a grocery store. Who knows how long they have been sitting there on the shelf???

And a package of 8 bagels? Unless you are having friends over are you really going to eat that many bagels in a hurry before they go bad?

Nutritional Note:

Bagels are VERY HIGH in carbs. Its the equivalent of eating four pieces of bread (and bread is already super fattening because of all the carbs).

Its no wonder I put on so much weight during university... I had 2 bagels for breakfast 3 - 5 times per week. Approx. 8 bagels per week is a lot of carbs.

Renewable Energy Products

2012-02-17T07:32:00.000-08:00

I found this interesting website which sells renewable energy products (mostly solar and wind). I do however think they could have designed their website better, but that is unrelated to the products themselves.

They sell a variety of emergency safety products like radios, lanterns, etc ideal for camping or some sort of emergency (earthquake, zombie apocalypse, etc).

They also sell a variety of solar powered items for "personal charging" that can be attached to briefcases, backpacks, laptops, etc and battery packs which are compatible with solar energy sources.

I personally prefer to do my camping au naturel (no tech toys whatsoever), but I can definitely still see uses for these products.

So for any survivalists out there these are products you may want to have... although frankly, if the zombies do rise up, listening to the radio may be lower on your list of concerns...

And bullets will eventually run out, so I recommend a nice axe. Want to know where to find the nicest axes during the zombie uprising?

The Fire Station. Firemans' axes are the best. :)

D'Angelo Brand Apple Juice Tastes Like P*ss

2012-02-05T16:57:00.000-08:00

Seriously.

It looks like p*ss. And it tastes like cr*p. (Or more specifically it tastes like pesticides.)

D'Angelo Brand products are in the El Cheapo section of the aisle so I guess you get what you pay for. Junk filled with pesticides from what was apparently diseased or dying apple trees with very little nutritional content.

If you want good quality apple juice I recommend the following companies:

Alibaba

Apple and Eve

Dewlands

Eden Organic

No Name

President's Choice

Simply Apple

Snapple

TrueBlue

NOTE: I drink a lot of apple juice, especially when sick. Whenever I get sick one of the first things I do is buy 4 litres of apple juice.

2ND NOTE: Some cheap brands of apple juice have been caught with arsenic in their ingredients. Definitely recommend avoiding El Cheapo apple juice.

Edgar Rice Burroughs - John Carter of Mars

2012-02-05T06:46:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago I saw the movie trailer for the new John Carter movie coming out in March 2012 (Disney purchased the rights).

After seeing it I decided to read the John Carter series (11 books total) by Edgar Rice Burroughs and I am now on book 4. What I've discovered however is that while Carter's Mars setting is interesting, by the 4th book he becomes really repetitive. He basically keeps reusing the same plot (rescue the girl) again and again which is really disappointing.

I will admit the first 2 books by Edgar Rice Burroughs were quite good, but by book 3 I was getting bored. And by the 4th book John Carter's son basically starts rehashing the same basic plots his father did. Yawn.

I think what happened was Burroughs realized he had a real money maker on his hands to sell lots of books, but sadly the quality of his plots went down dramatically. Hopefully Disney changes the movie plots a bit to keep things interesting for the film franchise.

Disposable Razors Review

2012-02-05T06:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was standing in the Shoppers Drug Mart looking at the lineup of razor blades. I was looking for razor blades for a Gillette Mach3 but they didn't have any.

Instead they were all disposable razorblades. (Maybe I was in the wrong aisle.)

I had a choice between:

Gillette Mach3 Disposable Razorblades
BIC Flex4 Disposable Razorblades
Schick Xtreme3 Disposable Razorblades

I have already tried the Mach3 disposables before (and frankly wasn't happy because they're not as good as the regular razors. Thus I opted to buy both the 3-pack of BIC Flex4 (on sale for $5.99) and the 4-pack of Schick Xtreme3 (on sale for $6.99)

When I got home I tried the BIC Flex4 to see what it was like... and it was possibly one of the best, most comfortable shaves I've ever had. At $2 per razor I guess I shouldn't be surprised that it was that good.

I shall try the Schick Xtreme3 sometime soon and post an update to this blogpost after I know just how well it performs.

Kasamile Maltese Puppies in Toronto

2012-02-03T08:52:00.000-08:00

Look at the photos to the right and tell me they aren't cute and adorable?

This is what you can expect if you purchase puppies from Kasamile Maltese of Toronto. A cute fluffy Maltese puppy who has been bred, raised, pampered, had all their vet shots and treated with love.

They're just plain adorable.

They are not cheap however. Kasamile imports their breeding parents from South Korea and goes the whole nine yards when it comes to pampering. Their Maltese puppies cost approx. $3,000 per puppy and are pampered in the extreme.

As a breeder Kasamile Maltese has set themselves apart from the competition. They are the BEST when it comes to raising Maltese puppies, pampering them, training them and so forth.

It is really no wonder their puppies are so adorable. They are loved. The breeder really cares about them and she doesn't just sell to just anyone. There is a whole screening process before you can get a Kasamile puppy.

But if you have the dog for 10 to 15 years the $3,000 you paid will seem really worth it. The better the breeder the less likely the dog will have congenital problems and there is zero risk of the dog having a bad temperament due to bad treatment. (Less quality breeders often have dogs that get frightened or violent easily because the dog has been mistreated in the past.)

And when it comes to man's best friend shouldn't you get a friend who is absolutely loyal and will love you unconditionally?

The No Name Brand

2012-01-23T15:30:00.000-08:00

I really like the No Name brand.

No Name is a generic brand of grocery and household products sold by Loblaws, no frills, Real Canadian Superstore, Your Independent Grocer, Valu-Mart, Zehrs, Fortinos, Provigo, Extra Foods, Super-Valu, Maxi, SaveEasy, and Atlantic Superstore.

You will recognize them due to their yellow packaging and plain black lettering.

What I like about the company is the following:

#1. No jazzy packaging. They're not trying to sell you with fancy graphics.

#2. The description of the product inside is just that. "Cola", "Mayonnaise", "Pure Olive Oil", etc.

#3. The quality of the product is above par. It may say No Name on the outside, but the inside is better than some brand name companies I've tried. I think its because No Name is a brand name and put effort into making a quality product and completely ignore the need to advertise. They don't need to advertise because Loblaws owns the brand and its just there in the store, giving you the choice between brands such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi, President's Choice and No Name Cola. (All colas rot your teeth, make you fat on the sugar and use vanilla for the flavour so it doesn't really matter which one you choose.)

#4. Often the product is exactly the same, just different packaging. Lets take an example like Marshmallows. Now you could choose to buy Kraft Marshmallows or No Name Marshmallows. But its the same recipe. You look at the ingredients and the nutritional info and what you learn is that its the same stuff inside the marshmallows. One brand doesn't taste any better than the other. The same is true for many other No Name products. Rice is rice. Cheddar Cheese is Cheddar Cheese. Chocolate Cake Mix is Chocolate Cake Mix. Makes no difference.

#5. Price. You can't beat the No Name prices. They're guaranteed to be the lowest because they spend nothing on advertising or fancy packaging.

Conclusions? Why pay more for a product just for the packaging? To impress someone? Pfff. Fine, buy the brand name stuff when you have guests over. But don't tell the rice was No Name. They will never know the difference.

No name companies (not just the "No Name" brand") often produce very good products and when put to the test are sometimes even better than the brand name product. Check out the video review below for "Sunny Baby" cloth diapers vs a no name cloth diaper. They make look the same, but the mother finds many faults in the design of the Sunny Baby diapers.

Men's Underwear

2012-01-23T13:21:00.000-08:00

By C. Moffat.

FASHION - Here is a fun fact... men in a relationship don't buy new underwear. Their wives or girlfriends do that for them most of the time.

It is difficult to estimate just often women buy men's underwear, but I would estimate it to be somewhere in the range of 90%.

Speaking for myself, I buy new underwear once a year... and I have big drawer fills with Dockers boxer briefs, boxer shorts of various types and so forth. I really probably should throw some out.

Eventually the elastics wear out and you have to throw some of them out anyway. It happens.

Some of them I can even tell you which ex-girlfriend bought them for me. Some of them Santa Claus and reindeer on them so that gives you an idea of what time of year they were given too.

The thing about underwear for men is that most men really couldn't care what underwear they wear. Its not high on our priority list.

When you consider quite a few men in North America are freeballing [walking around with no underwear at all] then you start to realize that men simply don't care that much about their underwear. But women care. Women care a lot evidently.

It all reminds of several clips from Seinfeld. For example the clip of Kramer below wearing Calvin Klein underwear. Does Kramer care what brand he is wearing? No. The guy is clueless. There is other clips of Kramer too walking around in just his underwear, and in one incident freeballing, but my point is made. Men just don't care.

Part of it I think is because the male body (on average) is NOT a work of art. True, male supermodels often market underwear, but its not the men they're marketing towards its the women who secretly wish their boyfriends or husbands looked like a male supermodel.

As a man who buys underwear once per year I will admit I go for quantity, preferably a brand that is also quality at the same time. Thus a brand which sells a 5-pack of underwear automatically gets ranked higher on my priority list.

Vegan-Friendly Hair and Body Products + Aveda Institute

2012-01-23T07:17:00.000-08:00

FASHION - Okay now I am not a Vegan myself, but I can at least appreciate the concept of a company that goes out of their way to make products with zero animal biproducts in it.

Frankly the idea of putting dead animals in my hair is rather gross.

Thus hair and skincare products made purely from plants and flowers is rather kewl. Much better than petro-chemicals too.

So I say KUDOS to any company that goes all natural with their ingredients.

The silly thing is that soap is soap. If it gets you clean (as per the Kermit the Frog video below) it has done its job. Also for the prices being charged for shampoos and other soaps paying the tiny bit extra for one that doesn't contain animal biproducts sounds like a pretty good deal.

In other news...

The Aveda Institute of Canada is offering five full hair school scholarships to their hair schools in five different cities across Canada (Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto).

To win, a contestant must submit an amazing video explaining why they are "Born to Style". Winners will be selected by a panel of celebrity judges. The Aveda Institute is a top hair school that trains hair stylists for films and the fashion industry.

These pros do the best work that graces the covers and editorial pages of the world's biggest and best fashion magazines. See the Aveda Institute Flickr page to see more of what they do.

And even if you don't win the contest, just think. If you are looking for a hair school in Vancouver or a hair school in Winnipeg then why not go for the best?

Fun Winter Activities in Toronto

2012-01-08T12:10:00.000-08:00

Looking for something fun to do this Winter?

#1. Go outside and exercise. Try meeting other people via Meetup.com to go on skiing, ice fishing and snowboarding trips.

#2. Look for other activities to do this Winter, like joining the Toronto Poetry Association (it is basically a club for poets) or the Writers Work Group. An excellent way to meet new people.

#3. Explore one of your hobbies and meet other people interested in the same hobby. Depending on whether you prefer spending the winter indoors or outdoors you can choose hobbies that don't require being outside much.

#4. Find ways to mock Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.

#5. Join a travel group and go south for the Winter! :)

Air Conditioners II - The Design Element

2012-01-03T09:48:00.000-08:00

TECHNOLOGY - Please check out our older air conditioning post too.

Air conditioning isn't something that Canadians often think about (certainly not in the winter), but it is certainly something we want during the May to September period of the year, whether its for our homes, apartments, work or inside a sweaty car. It still gets really hot here.

And with global warming its even hotter. Today is January 3rd 2012... and there is no snow in Toronto. Its the middle of winter and there is no snow. THAT is global warming for you. When you consider that 15 of the hottest years in recorded history have all been in the last 20 years you realize something is dreadfully wrong.

And air conditioning at least will keep us cool while the rest of the planet melts.

When it comes to air conditioners however there is a strong tendency of the lowest bidder approach. People buy a cheap air conditioner because its what they can afford. Buying an air conditioner which is quality made, looks beautiful, is designed well, will last a long time... well, people don't usually do that.

If you go to an Italian air conditioning website for example you might notice that their air conditioners are designed to look good in addition to functioning well. But it comes with a hefty price tag. Expect to pay anywhere from $1000 to $3000 for a high end air conditioner.

The difference however is that it will come with a list of computerized options (which thanks Italian designers will be easy to understand and use) which lets you more accurately control the temperature, have built in timers, different settings for different times of day, automatic shut off, and so forth. A bit like programming the VCR back in the 1980s, but with the added benefit that your little sister won't mess up the settings just by changing the channel to watch cartoons.

Design features with respect to aesthetics is different... its a bit like buying a fancy car. Yes, when you buy a sports car you expect it to go fast, but you also want it to be comfortable and look REALLY good.

With an air conditioner you are looking for something that will match the decor of your home. A clunky white or grey air conditioner might look out of place in your floral pink decor and it will be tricky to find something which matches.

I am reminded of an essay written back in the 1900s about a man who bought a new evening gown... he bought the gown but soon realized it didn't match his sheets or his bed. So he bought a new bed and sheets. Then he redecorated his entire bedroom to match his new bed... then he realized the rest of his home didn't suit the bedroom, so he redecorated and bought all new things for his entire house. Eventually he ran out of money and didn't feel very happy anyway because his lavish house didn't feel a home any more. He couldn't have guests over for fear they might spill drinks on his new sofa. He felt like a stranger in his house.

So I guess my advice here is to know your limits. Yes, buy a good quality air conditioner. But don't let it control your life. In a world where you get what you pay for sometimes its necessary to spend a little more.

Toronto glass condos not as great as you think

2011-11-15T15:52:00.000-08:00

CANADA - Greg Kuenzig, an urban planner in Toronto, warned years ago that all the glass condos Toronto was building would someday come back to haunt buyers.

At the time his colleagues thought he was daft, but he who laughs last laughs best.

According to industry experts many of the glass condominium towers filling up the Toronto skyline will fail 15 to 25 years after they’re built, perhaps earlier, and will need retrofits costing millions of dollars. Why?

The buildings in question (while made of pretty glass and steel) are grappling with nightmarish problems due to shoddy workmanship:

Insulation failures.
Skyrocketing energy and maintenance costs.
Water leaks.
Declining resale potential.

One Toronto developer calls glass-walled condos “throw-away buildings” because of their short lifespan relative to buildings with walls made of concrete or brick.

Toronto mortgage brokers are also shying away from such buildings, warning owners they would be better getting an older building which has passed the test of time. Glass condos are riskier investments.

No other city in North America is building as many condo towers as Toronto. Toronto has reshaped the skyline, blocked Lake Ontario from view. Even now there is 130 new towers are under construction.

Glass walls have been popular among developers and consumers alike because they’re cheaper than more traditional materials and make a good first impression. Builders worried about construction costs, production planning, inventory management, materials and delivering the finished condos on time aren't so worried about what happens down the road. They're primary goal is profits now. Such buildings aren’t energy-efficient and come with a hidden price tag that can soar down the road if built shoddily (and developers are more shoddy than not)

HOT TIP: Ask developers/builders about previous condos they've built, then go to those builders and ask the residents about the quality of the building and what they are paying for maintenance.

Floor-to-ceiling glass walls heat up and swell in the summer, freeze and contract in winter, and shift with the wind. The insulating argon gas between the glass panes escapes, the seals are breached and the windows are rendered useless against the city’s weather. Glass condos work well if you live in California and other locations where its basically summer all year around, but in a city with seasons like Toronto it is folly.

Eventually, the glass walls — the skin of these condo high rises — might have to be replaced entirely, with condo owners picking up their share of the multimillion-dollar costs.

Any of the glass condos built int he 1990s are encountering these problems now. Some of the buildings are even newer. The glass fogs up, the rubber gaskets and sealants starting to fail, and then complaints and lawsuits are launched. Lawyers start practicing their whipping with a reed switch.

Condo owners in a tower off Front Street are suing the developer, Concord, claiming the window-wall system in the nine-year-old building near the Rogers Centre has defects and water is seeping through. Other developers are facing similar lawsuits.

The high cost of retrofitting a highrise is also startling. At First Canadian Place, a retrofit will take three years and $130 million to complete. More money for the construction workers, but the building owners will be made to suffer.

Most condo owners have no idea about the expenses they’re in for and don’t ask the right questions. The buildings don't appreciate in value over time. They depreciate and become cheaper because of the maintenance costs.

Greg Kuenzig, the urban planner I mentioned earlier, calls such buildings "the future slums of Toronto". And he is absolutely right. Eventually the buildings will be used as rental units, and renters are harder on buildings because they don't care, causing them to wear down faster.

Buyers are looking at the glass walls with rosy tinted glasses. They are imagining romantic dinners, parties with friends in their ritzy condo... they have no clue that the glass walls undermine a condo’s durability and energy efficiency in a northern city like Toronto.

Glass-walled condos meet the requirements of the Toronto building code, although the code does not specify how long a building should last. Energy-efficiency is also a fuzzy area, since condos aren’t rated that way.

And what about the developers?

Well if the worst happens the developers can sell or split up their business. Declare bankruptcy or at least file for bankruptcy protection. They're not worried about energy efficiency or the long term wishes of the buyer.

"We don’t have energy-efficiency ratings on condominiums and that’s too bad, because we get them on dishwashers, refrigerators, and they only cost a few hundred dollars,” said Ted Kesik, a professor of building science at the John H. Daniels faculty of architecture, landscape and design at the University of Toronto.

Janice Pynn, president of the Canadian Condo Institute, isn’t sure energy efficiency is a big factor for condo buyers — even for buyers who care about not wasting energy. “People talk that they want it, but when it comes down to what it's going to cost them, it doesn't even come into the equation,” says Pynn, whose Simerra Property Management company manages 250 condos across the GTA.

“It really is ‘Can I afford to buy this?’ not 'What am I willing to pay to have a green building, or a building in the long term, that will be far more economical, and cost-saving and for the environment?' They're just not asking those questions.”

The end result? Glass condos in Canada are not worth the money you pay for them.

Check out other Canadian real estate oriented posts at My Search for a Home.

Smarties!!!

2011-08-31T11:58:00.000-07:00

I love Smarties...

They're like the Lego of junk food.

Bright colours, chocolate...

Now what if Smarties made Lego-shaped edible candies?

Bubblegum Review

2011-08-31T11:55:00.000-07:00

I am a big fan of all dental products... Scope, Crest / Colgate / Aquafresh...

But what I love most is the following dental bubblegums:

Dentyne

Trident

...

However dental hygiene aside I also like Big Red (cinnamon, woohoo!) and a variety of Korean bubblegum companies whom I cannot remember their names. (They have a much greater variety of flavours in South Korea, including apricot and mango.)

Mountain Equipment Co-op Sucks, Overpriced + Poor Selection

2011-08-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

If you've ever been inside MEC (Mountain Equipment Co-op) you know they have no shortage of overpriced clothing and backpacks...

But when it comes to camping, cycling or climbing equipment what you quickly realize is that they only sell the bare necessities... at overpriced rates. Crappy selection (especially for cycling equipment), worse prices.

I know (FOR A FACT) that I can buy the same or better equipment at other stores for less.

And on top of that you can't buy anything at MEC unless you pay for a membership. Even if you're just buying something small, they won't sell it to you unless you buy a membership. (Waste of freaking time in my opinion.)

Thus for all you non-membership people you make the trek to MEC only to discover you can't find what you are looking for or feel like you would be getting ripped off by buying a membership there is an alternative...

Across the street and further to the west there is a smaller store called Europe Bound which is crammed full of cycling gear, camping equipment, climbing equipment, etc. The guy behind the counter is helpful and you can even special order items.

ie. I was looking for a grappling hook, but apparently you need a license to get one because its considered a restricted item. (The lady in the MEC store didn't even have a clue and had no power to special order items.)

Europe Bound has two locations in downtown Toronto:

47 Front St E, Toronto - (416) 601-1990

383 King Street West, Toronto - (416) 205-9992

:)

The hunt for the $99 TouchPad

2011-08-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

By Stas Holodnak, Ukrainian writer in Brooklyn, New York.

It’s not that you have to wait in line it’s how you spend your time waiting.

At first I planned for a Netbook to do my writing on the go. Keyboard, long battery life and reasonable price were the enticing factors. I checked out a Netbook on display inside the Staples store on 6th Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan. It exuded heat like Arizona desert on the hot summer day while a nearby HP Touch Pad, a tablet similar to the iPad but with more functions, felt only slightly warmer than room temperature. The price tag for the Touch Pad screamed $99 but hastily handwritten text in small letters below whispered sold out.

After Hewlett Packard announced the fire sale of discontinued Touch Pads, $99 apiece, the TouchPad rush commenced on the web and its surroundings. I decided for once not to miss out on the bonanza. My next stop was Office Depot down the block. “Do you sell tablets?” I asked two Office Depot employees, the tall, muscular men leisurely conversing in the empty store. Unsure what I was inquiring about computers or medicine one of them said reluctantly - “Check downstairs” - a vague reply worthy of my vague question. Instead I went to Best Buy located on 5th Avenue and 44th street. “If you want $99 HP tablet, come tomorrow at 9 AM,” the Best Buy employee assured me, “Best Buy will have 250 of them.”

9:30 AM the next morning I was there, eager as a boy scout on a treasure hunt. The line spanned about 300 feet, from the Best Buy’s front door to the corner of the block. Most people in the line looked young (below 40) and relaxed. They were peering into their smart phones and simultaneously talking to people next to them. It looked like a friendly meeting of like minded people preferring for some reason to stand in line instead of a circle. Words like Android, WebOS and WiFi were passed along like salt and pepper at a dinner table. People here owned more than enough of computer equipment. Some of them hoped to make a quick dollar but most, it seemed to me, came to buy something that was slated to become an instant antic.

Waiting in line I could not take my mind away from the diminishing supply of the Touch Pads but soon the serenity of the crowd overtook me. With a friendly smile I was passing along words like Facebook, Ubuntu and Open Source. I befriended a young man, a Help Desk team leader at the MBC who arrived here at 7:30 AM. He was seventh in line when the store opened. He got his first TouchPad and now was back in the line hoping for one more catch.

Tourists glanced at us and some stopped to inquire what was happening. A tourist with an Israeli accent would not believe that anything with the plug would sell for less than 100 dollars. “99 dollars, 99 dollars,” he repeated in disbelieve. “Join us friend, Empire State building will not run away,” I felt like saying to him.

My biggest surprise was how efficiently the Best Buy people were managing the waiting line. Patrons could get into the store without waiting but the path to the coveted TouchPad led exclusively through our line. The Best Buy man at the door let people from the waiting line inside the store in groups of five. “Go to the man in the yellow shirt." He guided aspiring TouchPad owners in the commanding voice, “Don’t deviate.” Someone tried offering a bribe for the TouchPad to a Best Buy employee who flatly declined. Another employee stopped a teenager who tried to cut into my group of five. The group of five’s idea was a stroke of the Best Buy genius. You may swallow an offense if someone cuts in line in front of you, but the party of five together as a group will not tolerate a 6th intruder.

I ended up spending over $200. I bought more memory (you always end up spending more on memory), a wireless keyboard and the docking station for the Touchpad. Still it was a good deal considering it costs HP more than $300 to make one.
At work colleagues looked at my TouchPad with envy. Rapid mouse clickers they ordered TouchPads from different websites. As of now they are still waiting for vendors’ assurances to ship a discounted TouchPad.

It is the 21st century but at times there is no alternative to a good old legwork.

Editor's Note: Its unclear why HP discontinued the TouchPad. Some people believe its due to patent lawsuits from Samsung and/or Apple (Apple doesn't actually build many of its products, much of the important work is outsourced to Samsung). A superior product washed down the drain by greedy lawyers.

The $99 pricetag is evidently meant to spit in the eye of Apple.

6 Reasons Why Han Solo Molds Are Awesome

2011-08-23T18:12:00.000-07:00

By Nick S.

Remember that scene in Empire where Han Solo is encased in carbonite? That iconic image is now a mold that you can use to create lots of cool products. From chocolate bars to soap, here are my 6 favourite items in the shape of Han Solo.

With FanExpo approaching, I'm reminded of convention vendors and their ridiculously marked-up prices. I usually try to resist any impulse purchases, but there's one novelty item this year that has caught my eye: Han Solo carbonite molds.

Fans will no doubt remember the scene of Han being encased in carbonite at the hands of Vader. Sure the amount of Star Wars merchandise is approaching infinity, but I think we can let the following products slide. Without further ado, here are 6 things made from Han Solo molds that make me yell "shut up and take my money!"

1) Soap

If you've been out of the loop, Han Solo soap become an insanely popular item last year. Just look at the pic to see the amount of detail that goes into each bar. Actually, it's the most detailed item on the list.

The downside? Well, the manufacturer could hardly keep up with orders last year, and disappointed a lot of people. The cost is also a big issue. It's on sale right now for $2.99, although the regular price is a whopping $12.50. Even worse, the minimum cost to ship a single bar is $5.50.

With that said, the novelty factor is really high. And think about it: will giving someone a bar of soap ever be less offensive?

2) Chocolate bars

Women will love this one: It's Han and chocolate combined. This chocolate bar puts the carb in carbonite, so make sure to enjoy it in moderation.

As far as I know, these bars aren't being sold by a manufacturer. Don't let that stop you from making your own, though! Here's a handy guide for anyone who is interested in doing so.

3) Cakes

What's better than a Han chocolate bar? An entire cake! Once again, this product has no dedicated manufacturer. It's safe to say you'll be flying solo on this one. (Please don't hurt me.)

Making your own Han cake isn't too hard, though. Cakes are easier to detail than chocolate bars simply because they're larger. And if you're too lazy, you can get a cake decorator to do all the hard work.

The only thing that could possibly make your event less cool is having someone say "the cake is a lie." Please, can we agree to let that meme rest in peace?*

(*I realize the hypocrisy of writing that while referencing a 30 year old movie.)

4) Desks

Fire your employees in style with this unique product by Tom Spina Designs. The desk is hand-made, which unfortunately means only one was ever released.

But that doesn't rule out the possibility of having your own—just be prepared to drop some serious cash. For reference, the desk went for over $10 000 at a charity event. (We can only hope it was bought by a villainous boss somewhere.)

5) Ice cube trays

Say you get the hang of making Han products and it becomes some sort of freakish hobby. Well, then you'd want to buy some Han ice cube trays.

Aside from making ice, they can be used to make all of the edible products above. The best part is that they contain multiple slots, so you can churn out your creations much faster. If you're hosting a party, these are the molds you're looking for.

Don't want to spring for a mold? Here's how to make your own, ya cheap bastard.

And now time for the honourable mention:

6) Your own freakin' face

For some people, having a candy bar simply isn't enough. Why not sully this iconic scene by replacing Han's face with your own? Bonus points if you look like a carbuncular Napoleon Dynamite.

Or perhaps George Lucas sullied the movies for you. In that case, pick up the following one on the right.

All of these creations have made their rounds on the Internet, but you can bet most of your friends don't know about them. So, the next time there's a Star Wars TV marathon (which, according to my calculations, should be in 1.3 minutes), make sure to have some Han Solo products ready!

By the way, anyone thinking of ordering their own custom-made mold should think twice. The first mold isn't part of a lean manufacturing chain, meaning it is very expensive to make.

Conan = FIVE STARS, Totally Bad A$$

2011-08-20T13:47:00.000-07:00

Want to see a movie which has violence, breasts and is accurate to Robert E. Howard's original Conan stories?

Go see the new Conan the Barbarian movie.

I saw it yesterday and give it 5 stars. It was totally bad a$$! :)

Chocolate Milk

2011-08-13T17:50:00.000-07:00

I LOVE CHOCOLATE MILK!

But I want to point out an interesting fact about chocolate milk... and is roughly true for milk in general.

1 cup of chocolate milk has 9 grams of protein in it.

So much protein in fact that it makes the calcium in the milk moot. (If you drink protein and calcium together, your body can only absorb so much of the calcium because the protein acts a blocker.)

So you really aren't getting much calcium when you drink milk. There's too much protein in it.

Same goes when you any meal containing decent amounts of protein in it (ie. a bacon cheeseburger)... if you eat something with calcium in it you really aren't absorbing the calcium. Thus in the case of a bacon cheeseburger you end up absorbing the fat from the cheese, but almost none of the calcium.

Food for thought!