Toronto Mike's Blog

Get Your Goddamn Flu Shot, Fred

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:41:35 -0500

A little over a week ago, I suggested your personal decision to not get the H1N1 vaccination was selfish.

That's right. I think those who reject science and prefer to buy into silly conspiracy theories and urban legends and reject the free H1N1 flu shot are selfish. They're selfish because getting immunized means a person does not spread the illness to others. That's one less carrier walking around, shaking hands, touching public door knobs and TTC poles and spreading the virus.

With 54 comments, that entry seemed to strike a nerve with people, especially my pal Freddie P from Canadian Thinker. He wrote an entry about my stance in which he said he was "amazed" by what I had wrote. Freddie didn't hold back and let me have it.

It's a personal decision and certainly not something that should be criticized or lead to insults from people who are willing to buy into every flavour of the month.

If you want to throw the word selfish around, how about those bastards who showed up even though they knew they weren't eligible. And I wonder how many healthy people have actually contracted something while standing in one of those pathetic lineups.

If you're that worried about the virus put your house in lock-down or wear a flippin' mask when you leave the house.

There are 47 more comments over there. Hector wrote, "Well said Fred! I couldn't believe Mike's stance on this issue." Argie wrote, "I totally agree Freddie. Mike, I'm afraid, has a case of Torontoitis. This sickness is diagnosed as any person who follows, like a blind sheep, whatever the Toronto media preaches." And James Edgar wrote, "I usually side with Mike but this time he's off base."

I value Fred's opinion, as I do Hector's, Argie's and James Edgar's, but I stand by what I wrote. The more people who get the H1N1 flu shot, the less dead bodies there will be.

As I read the dead tree version of today's Globe, I couldn't help but notice a full-page letter to Canadians from Dr. David Butler-Jones, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada. Dr. Butler-Jones outlines the government's plan to protect Canadians against the H1N1 flu virus.

There was one line that spoke to my point about how not getting the vaccine is selfish. "The more Canadians who get vaccinated, the better we all are protected against the H1N1 flu virus".

Without actually printing the word "selfish", Dr. David Butler-Jones, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, has my back. It's a simple numbers game. The less people carrying the virus, the less people contracting the virus, the less deaths there will be.

Get your goddamn flu shot, Fred.

Maple Leafs 3, Hurricanes 2

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:14:35 -0500

Billed as The Battle For The Basement, the Leafs finally secured their second win of the season in their 14th game. As bad as that sounds, there's a sliver of hope. We've earned points in our past five games.

While we're on the subject of hope, isn't it great having a decent goaltender between the pipes? The Monster is living up to the hype and the team plays with a great deal more confidence when he's back there.

One more interesting footnote before I end this recap. I've caught parts of every Leafs game this season. I can only remember missing the 3rd period of two games, and those are our two wins. Last night, I was on the ice playing my own game when Blake scored the winner. I'm tempted to turn off the TV tonight after the second period, just to see what happens...

We're #29! We're #29!

Toronto Radio Ratings (Now with PPM!)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:27:27 -0500

Now that we have Portable People Meter (PPM) technology, we have a better grasp of true Toronto radio ratings. Mondoville just tipped me off that David Bray has published the latest Toronto PPM figures for September 2009.

Toronto
% Share of Hours Tuned
(Mon.-Sun, 5a-1a)

Station A12+ W25-54 M25-54

PPM
Oct ‘09 PPM
Oct ‘09 PPM
Oct ‘09

CBC Radio Two 1.8 1.1 0.9

CBC Radio One 9.6 7.5 6.2

AM 640 Toronto 2.6 1.1 5.3

Classical 96.3 FM 4.2 1.6 1.2

102.1 The Edge 5.3 5.9 9.3

News Talk 1010 CFRB 4.4 1.4 4

680 News 8.4 6.9 7.9

Flow 93.5 1.7 1.2 3.3

AM 740 Prime Time Radio 2.8 0.2 0.3

98.1 CHFI-FM 12.1 14.2 7.4

CP24 Radio 1050 0 0.1 0

104.5 CHUM-FM 12.8 20.4 11.8

Z103.5 2.7 4 3.5

Q107 8.6 8.1 13.8

New Country 95.3 1.1 1.1 1.5

The FAN 590 2.9 1 5.7

97.3 EZ Rock 6.3 7.7 6.8

Jazz FM 91 1.7 0.7 0.7

88.5 The Jewel 1.2 0.7 0.2

Virgin Radio 99.9 6.7 11.6 7.1

KISS 92.5 1.8 2.1 2.1

Here are a few of my thoughts as I take in the numbers. David Bray has a nice September vs. October chart, btw.

102.1 The Edge is down a full point since September, from 6.3 to 5.3
Chicks love 104.5 CHUM-FM
The 0.1 score amongst women for CP24 Radio 1050 suggests they are in fact being measured
The FAN 590 beats both AM 640 Toronto and News Talk 1010 CFRB
KISS 92.5 is off to a rough start

What do you guys think?

Globe Interview About Raymi and Remembering Toronto 1

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:05:19 -0500

The Globe and Mail is writing an article about fellow Toronto blogger Raymi and they had a few questions for me about her and her recent breakup. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it's true. The article should appear in tomorrow's Globe and we'll see if any of my quotes made the final cut. I got a juicy quote last time a Globe reporter chatted me up.

Coincidentally, exactly six years ago today, I wrote about my big break. A producer with Toronto 1 wanted me to appear on a Toronto Tonight panel regarding someone who believed Star Wars was their religion.

Remember Toronto 1? It's now SUN TV and it's still horrible.

Big League Chew

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:07:51 -0500

YouTube user Retrontario frequently uploads fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips never fail to bring back a ton of memories for me, so I feature them from time to time.

We chewed Big League Chew gum because it looked like chewing tobacco. In the early 80s, when I enjoyed Big League Chew, several ball players chewed tobacco and nothing was cooler than mimicking that awful, cancer causing habit.

A perfect complement to Popeye Cigarettes, another personal favourite as a young lad.

Leafs and Raptors Pregnant

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:38:18 -0500

Congratulations are in order for the members of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors. They're all expecting!

I assume they're pregnant, because I know they're over the age of five, and they've all received their H1N1 vaccinations while the shots are reserved for high-priority groups. It's miraculous to consider one man becoming pregnant. Over 30 men becoming pregnant is something else entirely.

I want to be vaccinated as well, but as a healthy non-pregnant adult I'm not in the high-priority group so I have to patiently wait my turn. Ontario health minister Deb Matthews says we'll run out of the H1N1 vaccine before school-age children like my very own can be vaccinated.

But at least pregnant folks, like members of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors, can jump the line before the province’s supply dwindles. Good on them.

Hoop Dreams Fifteen Years Later

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:29:26 -0500

Hoop Dreams is one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. I first saw it fifteen years ago after seeing it reviewed on Siskel & Ebert.

Here's the review that got me to invest 3 hours in Hoop Dreams, one of the best investments I've made.

Roger Ebert looks back upon Hoop Dreams on his blog. Here's an amazing detail I did not know until today. I still can't believe it.

The way seemed clear for an Academy Award as best documentary. Then a shameful thing happened. It wasn't even nominated by the Academy's documentary committee. We learned, through very reliable sources, that the members of the committee had a system. They carried little flashlights. When one gave up on a film, he waved a light on the screen. When a majority of flashlights had voted, the film was switched off. "Hoop Dreams" was stopped after 15 minutes.

If you've never seen Hoop Dreams, do yourself a favour and get a copy. Like Roger said, you owe it to yourself.

You Know That Part of the Movie, Where they Say the Name of the Movie?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:29:03 -0500

Sometimes they say the name of the movie in the movie. Here's a nice montage of such moments in several films you know and love.

[via Videogum]

And the Yardworks Lawn Vacuum Goes To...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:35:57 -0500

Canadian Tire is giving one of you a $199.99 Yardwords Lawn Vacuum. The winner was randomly selected from the 68 comments left on this entry.

The winner is Alex with comment #6. After all, Ace Bailey's #6 jersey was the first ever to be retired by an NHL team.

Alex, I just sent you an email to get your shipping information. Congrats!

I Was Sure HyperLists Would Take Off

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:56:40 -0500

About ten years ago, while learning HTML and practising the trade with a couple of websites, I had an idea. I called this idea "HyperLists" and I was sure it would take off.

HyperLists were simply "Top 10" lists in which each item on the list linked to the most relevant site on the web. Ten years ago there was no Google, no Wikipedia and no blogs. We had search engines, but they weren't quite as relevant as they are today. HyperLists weren't just interesting and fun (everyone loves lists!) but they served a purpose and I thought they'd make for a very interesting site.

I gave up on HyperLists around the time I changed this site into a blog about 7 years ago. There's very little evidence of my early efforts left on the web, but thanks to the Internet Archive, you can see a sample HyperLists page from early 2001.

Not everything got archived correctly, the page's images didn't make it, but that's a taste of what could have been the next big web sensation.

Mississauga Retailers Pray for Toronto Sales Tax

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:05:23 -0500

You've likely heard that Toronto city hall officials are considering a new Toronto Sales Tax. Why shouldn't the most expensive city in Canada gouge us a little more?

The new city sales tax, which would be applied to anything bought in Toronto, would be on top of provincial and federal taxes, and would need provincial approval. As a resident of Toronto, I promise we won't stand for a Toronto sales tax. It's not going to happen and it's a terrible idea.

I would do all of my shopping in Mississauga.

Nobody's Comparing Phil Kessel to Ovechkin or Crosby

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:48:06 -0500

Open letter to Bob McCown: Nobody is comparing Phil Kessel to Alexander Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby.

This morning I heard a promo for Bob McCown's Prime Time Sports on The Fan 590 in which he belittled Leafs fans for comparing Kessel to Ovechkin and Crosby. I chat up several Leaf fans a day, follow several more on Twitter and dive into the Barilkosphere frequently to read what's on the minds of fellow Maple Leaf fans, and I've never heard this once.

We're not stupid, Bobcat. We're hopeful, but not stupid.

My Thoughts on Google Wave: It's Complicated

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:23:26 -0500

I've been beta testing Google Wave for about a month now, and... well... it's complicated.

I want to love Google Wave, because it's a bloody seductive premise, but it's just not intuitive enough for mass appeal. I'm one of those bleeding edge guys when it comes to web apps and I have a very hard time wrapping my feeble brain around Google Wave's advantage. I can't tell you how many folks I've been waving with who just throw up their arms and exclaim "I don't get it!". It's so hard to figure out, and life is so short...

And chatting via Wave is dangerous. Unlike every other IM that sends your message when you press "Enter", Wave sends each character over in real-time. Typos, mistakes and awkward pauses while you check your thesaurus or Wikipedia are fully exposed. It makes you not want to chat. How's that for improved communication?

Wave is supposed to be email were email invented today. It's very ambitious, but possibly too smart for its own good. Besides, Google has already re-invented email for the better. It's called Gmail.

Fu-Schnickens - Ring The Alarm

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:51:21 -0500

I share an MP3 from my collection every Wednesday. You have seven days to grab this week's MP3. Please right-click your mouse and select "Save Link As..." or "Save target as..." so you can download it to your PC before playing.

Fu-Schnickens - Ring The Alarm
Yes, I owned F.U. Don't Take It Personal. That was the Fu-Schnickens' debut album.

If you ever want a good laugh, ask me to drop you some true Fuschnick rhymes.

Raised on Sesame Street

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:37:01 -0500

I grew up on Sesame Street. I watched it daily as a toddler. In the mid-70s, it was the show for us kids.

I recently revisited the late-70s Sesame Street episodes that included Eleven Twelve, one of my favourite bits. Sesame Street became common ground for my kids and I, even though I continuously booed Elmo and Zooey when they appeared on the screen and openly complained that Snuffleupagus could now be seen by everyone, not just Big Bird.

My personal favourite memories of Sesame Street include that wonderful Camping in Canada cassette and my very favourite bit of all time, Cookie Monster as Casey McPhee getting that train through.

Happy 40th Birthday, Sesame Street. Thanks to Google for tipping me off.

Station	A12+	W25-54	M25-54
	PPM Oct ‘09	PPM Oct ‘09	PPM Oct ‘09
CBC Radio Two	1.8	1.1	0.9
CBC Radio One	9.6	7.5	6.2
AM 640 Toronto	2.6	1.1	5.3
Classical 96.3 FM	4.2	1.6	1.2
102.1 The Edge	5.3	5.9	9.3
News Talk 1010 CFRB	4.4	1.4	4
680 News	8.4	6.9	7.9
Flow 93.5	1.7	1.2	3.3
AM 740 Prime Time Radio	2.8	0.2	0.3
98.1 CHFI-FM	12.1	14.2	7.4
CP24 Radio 1050	0	0.1	0
104.5 CHUM-FM	12.8	20.4	11.8
Z103.5	2.7	4	3.5
Q107	8.6	8.1	13.8
New Country 95.3	1.1	1.1	1.5
The FAN 590	2.9	1	5.7
97.3 EZ Rock	6.3	7.7	6.8
Jazz FM 91	1.7	0.7	0.7
88.5 The Jewel	1.2	0.7	0.2
Virgin Radio 99.9	6.7	11.6	7.1
KISS 92.5	1.8	2.1	2.1