They want it.

This video is why Toronto is awesome and I love it. There’s an awful lot of hating on Toronto that happens on the Internet (and I imagine also probably off it, or what the kids are calling ‘In Real Life,’) so, don’t worry, you don’t have to go to the trouble of disagreeing with me in the comments about the fact that Toronto Is Super Awesome. I feel like the war is won here: you can’t argue with a city that makes these kinds of ads. Nor should you. (Argue, that is. Nor should you argue with a city that makes these kinds of ads. We’re clear?)

Protip: The City of Toronto official version of this same video left out the ‘pretty blonde lady’ comment. Which is too bad, I think, but also so conscientious that it’s adorable. Oh Toronto, I could just pinch your cheeks.

[thedailywh.at]

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Earthquake in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Epicentre near Ottawa (just above centre on this map)

Ontario experienced an earthquake today at around 1:42 pm. My house (downtown Toronto, near College and Spadina) just shook for about 10 seconds.

I won’t lie, at first I thought my neighbours were indulging in a particularly vigorous bout of afternoon delight, but then I realized could feel and hear the whole house shaking, not to mention my own intestines. And my cats looked like their little eyes were gonna bug out. Woulda had to be a pretty mighty performance from Mr. Neighbour. So, earthquake. CRAZY!

More crazy? I decided blogging and twittering about it was more important than leaving the house.

This post got 1400 pageviews in under 10 minutes- clearly y’all felt it too.

UPDATE: I did some research for you!

The Canadian quake we just had affected Southern Ontario, parts of Quebec, and parts of New York State and Michigan. The epicentre seems to have been near Ottawa.

It registered about a 5.5 on the Richter scale, which ranks it as “moderate”. According to Wikipedia, this means it would be capable of causing major damage to poorly constructed buildings over small regions, but would cause only slight damage, if any, to well-designed buildings.

For comparison, the Nagasaki atom bomb caused a 5.0 quake (plus a buttload of radiation fallout and etc), and this year’s Haitian quake was a 7.0, which is fifty times stronger than what just totally made my guts crawl into my throat. (Here’s the Wikipedia page on the Richter scale).

WHAT TO DO IF IT COMES BACK:

Inside, crouch under a table or in a corner- away from exterior walls and windows. Cover your head with your arms. Wait.
Outside, go to open ground and hang out. Stay away from trees, buildings, streetlights, and electrical wires.
In a car, pull over and stay in the car. Try not to stop under overpasses, wires, buildings, trees, or utility poles.
Drink a stiff scotch, if available.

Lost camera at the Olympics

This video is adorable. Two Canadian guys found a lost camera at the Olympics, and made a YouTube video to try to find its rightful owner, an American named Bill or Will who travels in a car full of senior citizens.

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR
Thanks to Jess for the tip.

UPDATE:
The owner of the camera turned up! He saw the story on the news, then Skyped with Josh and Craig to prove he was the real guy (I love living in the future). He said he’d already given the camera up for lost, so he let them keep it! His only request was that they mail him the tape, since it had the last video footage of his father who had recently passed away. So they did, and they got to keep the camera, and the man had a nice family video to cherish! Everybody wins! The end!