Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:57:51 GMT

The Best Ethiopian Restaurants in Toronto

Toronto may not be known for its Ethiopian restaurants, but few meals delight like the sharable injera, tibs and kifto served on Bloor, Queen and Danforth. Everything served here is undeniably authentic. Just don"t forget to wash your hands "cause you"re not getting forks or chopsticks.

Don"t expect much menu variation, although M&B Yummy is a notable exception. Most restaurants win points for location, service or atmosphere. All are vegetarian friendly but be warned - veg and meat dishes will be served on one injera unless requested otherwise. Posted by: Joshua      Read more     Source

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:33:47 GMT

Morning Brew

Photo: "Toronto in wide angles 3" by gingerbugjones, member of the blogTO Flickr pool.

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

And so it begins. As the clock struck 12 and we rang in 2009 the homicide counts in the region mercifully reset. But in Peel, it didn"t stay at zero for long as a woman was found dead, possibly stabbed to death, near the airport. Not to be outdone, Toronto featured two people shot on the Danforth following a botched robbery, leaving one man in critical condition (and the other basically fine). At this rate, Peel"s homicide tally is on pace to hit 365, and "beat" Toronto"s total for the first time.

Three babies vying for the ultimate prize - first born in 2009, in the GTA - may never know for certain who gets top honours. Mere seconds separate the births of Nyla, Martin and Chantal Milana, born at three different area hospitals. It"s also not clear what being the first baby of 2009 would actually get you, given that the 15 minutes of fame would expire years ahead of the baby"s first memories.

Least shocking economic news in 2008 for those with Canadian investments: the TSX was down 35% overall in 2008 (which represents about $700 billion). The composite index closed at 13,833.06 a year ago and at a mere 8,987.7 two days ago. Experts are predicting more turbulence in 2009 (how did they come up with that one?!?). I thought I was buying low a couple months ago and have watched that investment drop 20% so I look forward to the upward momentum, even if I won"t be holding my breath. Posted by: Joshua      Read more     Source

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:27:49 GMT

Grecian Holiday

My brother and sister-in-law just celebrated their one-year anniversary by taking a weekend holiday to Santorini, Greece. (They live in London, so weekend trips to Greece are relatively easy, damn them.)
My sister-in-law is so cute I had to post pictures of her, but also, because I"m beginning to pack my suitcase for Mexico, I"m taking warm-weather-wear tips from her Grecian holiday attire.Apparently Santorini is known for its sunsets. Posted by: Uptown Girl      Read more     Source

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 19:21:00 GMT

Race To Dubai Slowing Down?

More signs of the times point to an ominous future for professional golf tours around the world in 2009.

This past week, Honda announced its withdrawal from Formula One auto racing. The company's team budget ran at more than 290 million dollars per season.

Honda simply can't afford to continue spending that money when its car sales are being slammed around the world.

Other car makers with F1 teams can't be far behind; in fact, there are strong rumors that Renault will abandon the sport.

More than 1 and a half billion dollars is spent in Formula One each year and, as FIA president Max Mosley said, it's not sustainable.

Now, what does this mean for professional golf?

Simply this: F1 races draw a television audience of well over a billion viewers per season (granted, that includes repeat viewers). Team sponsors are truly global companies with operations worldwide and they're willing to spend the enormous money charged by the teams to put their corporate logos on the cars.

With a TV audience that big, it pays to shell out the huge money.

Golf tours DO NOT draw a fraction of that globally.

It's simple economics. If car makers are beginning to abandon autosports, sponsors are right behind them. And since golf isn't anywhere near as popular globally, do you really think tournament sponsors are going to stick around?

Now let's take a look at what could happen to one tour in particular - the European PGA Tour.

When the world was awash in money, during the final, heady days of a global stock market and real estate boom, Dubai was raking it in and spending it lavishly.

It became a magnet for the rich and even more money flowed in. Of course, when a region has that kind of wealth, it begins to indulge in some fun and so, Dubai began to throw money at various sports.

Golf was high on its list and Tiger Woods was paid an enormous fee to design his first of several courses there.

Dubai pushed harder and wooed the European PGA Tour to actually move its headquarters to the Emirate (last time I checked, Dubai was not part of Europe).

The carrot, of course. was a huge purse to fund the Race To Dubai, the Euro Tour's answer to the FedEx Cup - whose days are likely numbered, too.

A season-long tournament with a total value of some 10 million dollars.

But wait - what's happening now in Dubai? The real estate bubble has burst, tight global credit is bringing the Emirate's massive construction projects to a halt. Oil revenue, which admittedly is not a big part of Dubai's wealth, has shrunk drastically with falling oil prices.

Worst of all for Dubai, which relies on its massive transportation and port ownership around the world, global trade is drying up.

This spells, I predict, a much cheaper Race To Dubai with tournament purses smaller than anticipated. And that doesn't account for tournaments that will go by the board, either.

Can you say "re-trench"? Posted by: Chris Henry      Read more     Source

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:12:07 GMT

Booking Hotels on a Budget

Few things feel better than staying in a four star hotel at a two star price.

AP Travel Editor Beth J. Harpaz has a good piece online on how to book hotels on a budget. Some of her tips are obvious - but easy to forget when you start planning a few days away from home. For example:

• It's generally cheaper to stay in major cities on weekends because the business travellers have all gone home.
• It a lot cheaper to visit popular spots (she uses Miami Beach) during down times than during peak holidays. You can stay the whole first week of December for the price of a single night between Christmas and New Years Eve.
• During hard economic times it pays to look for good deals - because the resorts are hurting too.

Those are just a few of her ideas. You can read the whole article here.


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Tim Kiusalaas Posted by: Greg Cruey      Read more     Source

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 20:33:06 GMT

Fountain Bridge

Fountain Bridge.Banpo bridge has been remodeled into a huge and beautiful fountain. 380 nozzles on both sides of the bridge pump out 60 tons of water 20 meters down to the river per minute. The water fountain extends a combined length of 1.2 kilometers along the sides of the bridge. The water for the fountain is pumped up from the river below which is again returned to the river. This is one unique fountain which pumps water down and not up; the water from the fountain falls gracefully from the bridge into the river, much like a waterfall. Apart from this, the water sprays also "dance" to music in 100 different configurations and what makes it even more special is the special lighting at evenings.

Watch the "Fountain Bridge" Video on Youtube Posted by: Venus       Read more     Source

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:33:15 GMT

Jasper National Park

A reflection, for a day of reflection and remembrance. Posted by: Daniel Mosquin      Read more     Source

November 23, 2008, 7:42 AM CT

Most Spectacular Train Journeys in the World

Taking almost eight hours to complete its journey, the Glacier Express has a reputation for being the slowest 'express' in the world - but it's also one of the most beautiful. Linking the two mountain resorts of St. Moritz and Zermatt in the Swiss Alps, the journey covers 291 bridges and 91 tunnels.

At its highest point, the Glacier Express reaches 2,033 meters (6,670 feet) in altitude at the Oberalp Pass as it travel through some of the most stunning mountain scenery Europe has to offer: alpine meadows, mountain streams, snow peaked mountains and glacial valleys.

Read more........ Posted by: JoAnn      Read more         Source

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:16:13 GMT

Is Your Life Awesome?

How awesome is your life?


Photo courtesy of iStockphoto, Rich Legg The Zen Habits blog has a listing of 11 refreshing ways in order to make your life more awesome.

Especially for those of us who are at the beginning stages of starting a business, often times you get so caught up in trying to build your business you forget the other important aspects of your life.

If you add your time with networking groups and other attempts to improve yourself it seems as though you never stop running. I feel that I have not stopped in the last two weeks. As an Area Governor for Toastmasters I had to hold an area speech contest, plus do my normal every day work, plus my wife and I had a yard sale this week to gradually get rid of furniture my parents had when the passed away.

The 11 ways from the Zen Habits blog got me thinking on how important it is for me to take a break and enjoy time to myself.

Right now I need to use this list and make my life more awesome, how about you? Posted by: John Dornoff      Read more     Source

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:57:29 GMT

Egyptology Online

The Egyptian civilisation was one of the greatest and longest lived in the ancient world, lasting for over three thousand years. Now, thousands of years later, this civilisation still continues to fascinate and captivate the imagination, and the popular images of the pyramids, the sphinx, the great temples and the Nile are familiar the world over.

Egyptology Online provides news, study aids, recommended book lists, and a wealth of interesting and factual information concerning this unique and fascinating subject. Posted by: Gerard      Read more     Source