Hogtown

[eyeball]

Well, it's been a slice but it's back to the left coast for me tomorrow. It's been great to see the family but I'm sure looking forward to the peace and quiet of my home in the rain-forest.

I can't believe how complacent Torontonians are about noise, especially in the morning. I've been subjected to a noisy crew that's been clearing brush in a ravine to allow an excavator access to a concrete culvert that seems plugged with sediment. The chainsaws and brush chipper have fired up at 7 o'clock sharp the last few mornings below the seniors home my Mom lives in and today the excavator beep beep beeped its way down into the ravine at 6AM. Last night they had some horribly loud vacuum truck sucking away at a manhole above the culvert outlet until near midnight. Is it just complacency or resignation that keeps people from lining up in their balconies and screaming they're mad as hell and not going to take it anymore? I guess it's just so quiet where I live I wouldn't dream of shattering the peace until a more decent hour. That said, Mom laughed it off and told me about the time the cops showed up to shut down some hip hop musicians that were making a bit of noise when practicing their music in the middle of the day right at the same spot this summer.

Driving around TO especially at rush hour, which seems to last for hours, was sure a hoot. Speaking of hooting, complacency sure goes out the window awfully fast if you're not awfully quick on the gas pedal when the red light turns green. People are sure funny that way. I guess I can relate, I must have seemed like an Albertan behind the wheel. The closest traffic light to my place is a hundred km away.

Arrivederci and smell ya later Toronto.

[Michael Hardner]

Interesting note. One of the things I do love when I leave town is the quiet. And the stars. We don't see them too often.

[guyser]

Well, it's been a slice but it's back to the left coast for me tomorrow. It's been great to see the family but I'm sure looking forward to the peace and quiet of my home in the rain-forest.

And lucky you !

I can't believe how complacent Torontonians are about noise, especially in the morning. I've been subjected to a noisy crew that's been clearing brush in a ravine to allow an excavator access to a concrete culvert that seems plugged with sediment. The chainsaws and brush chipper have fired up at 7 o'clock sharp the last few mornings below the seniors home my Mom lives in and today the excavator beep beep beeped its way down into the ravine at 6AM. Last night they had some horribly loud vacuum truck sucking away at a manhole above the culvert outlet until near midnight. Is it just complacency or resignation that keeps people from lining up in their balconies and screaming they're mad as hell and not going to take it anymore? I guess it's just so quiet where I live I wouldn't dream of shattering the peace until a more decent hour. That said, Mom laughed it off and told me about the time the cops showed up to shut down some hip hop musicians that were making a bit of noise when practicing their music in the middle of the day right at the same spot this summer.

A lot of people who live here dont hear the noise after awhile. It never is as loud as when one returns from a quiet trip away.

Driving around TO especially at rush hour, which seems to last for hours, was sure a hoot. Speaking of hooting, complacency sure goes out the window awfully fast if you're not awfully quick on the gas pedal when the red light turns green. People are sure funny that way. I guess I can relate, I must have seemed like an Albertan behind the wheel. The closest traffic light to my place is a hundred km away.

Arrivederci and smell ya later Toronto.

Rush hour begins just before 7AM and tapers off at 10 (if you can call it a taper) and then from 2:30-3PM right up to 8PM.

I frequently leave the office at 7 or later and can be ion traffic jams galore on the 401.

Traffic light +100k away?....again lucky you.

Hope you spent lots of money and thanks for visiting . Hurry back, its quite beautiful in late January.

Edited November 21, 2010 by guyser

[eyeball]

Interesting note. One of the things I do love when I leave town is the quiet.

My Dad found the silence so unnerving when he visited us he had a hard time getting to sleep. A cacophony of emergency vehicle sirens near my brother's place early one morning had me out on his balcony half expecting to see alien ships descending from the clouds.

And the stars. We don't see them too often.

You can just about see all of them here sometimes. Last night on the last leg home I had a full moon and fresh snow covered mountains and everything was lit up like the city.

[eyeball]

And lucky you !

It must be true. I've been told I also have the best job in the world by lots of the people I show around the area.

A lot of people who live here dont hear the noise after awhile. It never is as loud as when one returns from a quiet trip away.

I recall the odd startlingly quiet time when I lived in TO especially after a heavy snowfall.

Rush hour begins just before 7AM and tapers off at 10 (if you can call it a taper) and then from 2:30-3PM right up to 8PM.

I frequently leave the office at 7 or later and can be ion traffic jams galore on the 401.

Traffic light +100k away?....again lucky you.

We get our traffic here at times. The 20 odd thousand visitors we can get day after day during the peak season can sure fill up the roads relative to what it was like last night where I could practically count all the cars I saw once I got past Port Alberni on one hand.

Hope you spent lots of money and thanks for visiting . Hurry back, its quite beautiful in late January.

You're welcome, but I still managed to come under budget I'm afraid to say.

[guyser]

You're welcome, but I still managed to come under budget I'm afraid to say.

Ya cheap bugger !

Oh well, a hundred bucks spent is better than none.

How does one wind up where you did if from here?

[eyeball]

How does one wind up where you did if from here?

An old Dodge van. I went north and turned left at Sudbury.

It was what and who that compelled me to wind up staying.

[guyser]

An old Dodge van. I went north and turned left at Sudbury.

It was what and who that compelled me to wind up staying.

She was cute huh?

[bill_barilko]

We get our traffic here at times. The 20 odd thousand visitors we can get day after day during the peak season can sure fill up the roads

I was surprised how much traffic there was on the main drag in Ukee this past summer even @ 06:00 hrs.

Of course that didn't stop three juvenile Deer from feeding along the verge right downtown in the middle of the day.

[nicky10013]

I can't believe how complacent Torontonians are about noise, especially in the morning. I've been subjected to a noisy crew that's been clearing brush in a ravine to allow an excavator access to a concrete culvert that seems plugged with sediment. The chainsaws and brush chipper have fired up at 7 o'clock sharp the last few mornings below the seniors home my Mom lives in and today the excavator beep beep beeped its way down into the ravine at 6AM. Last night they had some horribly loud vacuum truck sucking away at a manhole above the culvert outlet until near midnight. Is it just complacency or resignation that keeps people from lining up in their balconies and screaming they're mad as hell and not going to take it anymore? I guess it's just so quiet where I live I wouldn't dream of shattering the peace until a more decent hour. That said, Mom laughed it off and told me about the time the cops showed up to shut down some hip hop musicians that were making a bit of noise when practicing their music in the middle of the day right at the same spot this summer.

I can't say I really notice noise. Though I live a fair clip north of the city proper in the Northern GTA, I've lived in the city before and have spent lots of time downtown at U of T. You really do get used to it.

Driving around TO especially at rush hour, which seems to last for hours, was sure a hoot. Speaking of hooting, complacency sure goes out the window awfully fast if you're not awfully quick on the gas pedal when the red light turns green. People are sure funny that way. I guess I can relate, I must have seemed like an Albertan behind the wheel. The closest traffic light to my place is a hundred km away.

Arrivederci and smell ya later Toronto.

You can get caught in a traffic jam at any time of the day on any day of the week. We were going to pick up my grandmother in Etobicoke. We went across the 401 at noon on a Saturday and it was bumper to bumper. No accidents, no construction, no weather. Just volume.

I had a job interview earlier today, actually. It took me 2 hours exactly to get down when it should only take 40 minutes to an hour. I've been out of school for only a little while and since I've stopped regularly heading downtown, I've noticed traffic getting worse and worse. Not a lot of people feel this way, but I just love the bus and the subway. I can just sit, listen to my ipod and get there when I get there. No worrying about traffic, or people cutting me off, or finding a parking spot. Much less stressed on public transit.

You also get used to the city smell of stale air with a hint of exhaust fumes. I'm used to it, though. When I was out in Alberta, all I could smell was cow shit depending on how the wind was blowing that day. I'd much rather be in the city .