Where: Monsoon
100 Simcoe St, 416-979-3239

I went to this restaurant yesterday and was blown away by the food!

“Sophisticated palates are familiar with Thai, Chinese, Japanese, and Indian flavors, but it’s unusual to find them so seductively intertwined with North American staples” (1)

The best thing from the appetizer and desert menus were the samplers. A ‘chef’s choice’ between 3 different trays. Everything is presented so beautifully that you almost don’t want to eat it. Watching the food, (or your neighbours) approach the table is actually exciting. Now, let me say that I don’t usually go to these types of restaurants and it was my father who took me here. Nonetheless, it was an amazing experience in a lounge environment with amazing waiters who went out of their way to answer our questions and tell us about each piece. This wasn’t just food, this was a fun experience!

ps. The Yam Fries and Kobe Beef dish are also too yummy to miss!

Took me a goodish ten minutes to come up with a headline and even then I just stuck with the obvious. I’m presuming by now many of you have heard of the shooting on Monday and the death of the 15 year old girl. 6 people were also wounded. Gist being there was gun battle between two rival groups around 5:30 p.m. on the 26th at Yonge/Gould. Surprisingly I heard nothing about it until I came into work today. Shocked. One just doesnt expect this to happen right in the middle of downtown.

Toronto Star Link

Oops – looks like I’ve been gone again for some time. Lots happening in the personal life so you’ll have to forgive me! I’d love to tell you that I’ve been on vacation somewhere exotically tropical…but it just wouldn’t be true.

Hope you’re all enjoying the holiday season and kudos to those of you who braved the Boxing Day crowds and the malls. With 2006 just around the corner, I would like to take the opportunity to wish the bloggers (and our dear readers) good health, peace, and prosperity in the coming year.

Boxing Day! Known for it’s over-hyped sales and packed malls.. it has been a day I generally avoid doing any shopping on. Personally, I went to my father’s house on boxing day and we noticed the 401 backed WAY up for those exiting for Yorkdale. (The mall that contains the most evil in my opinion) Cars were parked on the side of the ramp and people were streaming into this consumer haven.

However, at the smaller East York Town Centre my gf finally found the proof I needed to expose the “scam of Boxing Day.” This mall offered many discounts but has so few stores and therefore fewer customers. This I believed prompted Stitches to employ some devious tricks to get quick, final sales. My girlfriend has been looking for some cords for a little bit and noticed them there for 29.99 last month. Deciding to go on boxing day she saw a big sign on the cord rack stating: “BOXING DAY SALE! 29.99!” To compound this B.S. all sales are final, no returns of any kind and for some reason (hmm…I wonder why) all the change rooms were locked and would not be opened for this day.

I don’t care how pro-business you are this is underhanded and dirty. Then again it didn’t seem to affect their sales as people just bought anyway…but I finally found my proof. 29.99 the month before, 29.99 ON SALE TODAY ONLY! So what happens after the sale? Do they get to raise the prices to 34.99 and people lament that they didn’t purchase it on Boxing Day? “Oh no! If only….!!”

I’m sure more of you have this sort of “proof” or some few may even defend what the store is doing from the POV of “If the customer doesn’t know and doesn’t complain, too bad for them.” I myself don’t buy that argument for a minute but would still love to see your comment!

It’s been a trying few weeks. No Internet and a lost cell phone. Well my “analog” Christmas had me working a little bit less (though I still got a phone call from my boss Christmas Eve!!!).

Working another stat holiday today…Aaaah. Well this pays the bills. If I can make through the Year End, into mid-Jan I’m laughing. No way will I be getting my vacation paid out next year. My “resolution” is to actually TAKE a serious trip…

LONDON, PARIS, LA…

a dream for now… Holiday OT sux…

This one will be easy for those living around the area… and may be tough for other Torontorians.

For myself, I didn’t even know it existed until I went there for a wedding recently (and there’s your freebie hint).

Please welcome our 39th city to the great network that is Metroblogging. Singapore is on the map. Any bets on the 40th city?

TORONTO (AP) — Phyllis Gretzky, the mother of hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, died Monday night, the Phoenix Coyotes said. She was 64.

She was diagnosed with lung cancer late in 2004 and died two nights after her son took an indefinite leave of absence as coach of the Coyotes to return home to Ontario to be with her.

“Throughout my career, she was in the background but she was the glue,” Wayne Gretzky said at the time of his mother’s diagnosis. “She’s always been the toughest in the family.”

The 43-year-old Gretzky, the NHL’s career leading scorer, left the Coyotes on Saturday night in Los Angeles.

He also is the executive director of Canada’s Olympic hockey team, which is expected to announce its roster for the Turin Games on Wednesday.

It is not known when or if he will return to those jobs.

The down-to-earth mother of five was perhaps the least known of the Gretzky family as she tried to maintain privacy for her children amid the spotlight of Wayne’s celebrity status.

Wayne Gretzky’s phenomenal success created much curiosity about the family. His father was comfortable in the public eye, while his mother preferred to keep a low profile. She sought to maintain a normal lifestyle, and the community around her respected that.

Phyllis Hockin was born and raised in Paris, Ontario, of British ancestry. She was a descendant of Isaac Brock, a general with British forces during the War of 1812.

She met her future husband when she was 15, and the couple was married three years later in 1960. Wayne was her first-born child, and he learned how to play hockey on a backyard rink. She would drive her children to early-morning hockey practices. Her husband, Walter, would go to games after work in the evenings.

She is survived by her husband, all five children and 12 grandchildren.

Where in Toronto? I may give a hint in a day or two if nobody figures it out. Image courtesy of “steffiejupe” on Flickr.

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So Rogers is back on the blog.

So we all read about Rogers giving me a hard time with the bullshit spam they kept sending me.

Seems like someone else is in my shoes, a whole lot worse. From security guru, Bruce Schneier this time.

This is a fascinating story of cell phone fraud, security, economics, and externalities. Its moral is obvious, and demonstrates how economic considerations drive security decisions.

Susan Drummond was a customer of Rogers Wireless, a large Canadaian cell phone company. Her phone was cloned while she was on vacation, and she got a $12,237.60 phone bill (her typical bill was $75). Rogers maintains that there is nothing to be done, and that Drummond has to pay.

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