Turns out our solar system is actually pretty boring. Find out where the cool parts of the universe are at U of T tonight

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4:07 pm

On the first Thursday of each month, Astronomy and Astrophysics graduate students at the University of Toronto give you a free opportunity to expand your horizons and realize how just how small we really are. Tonight, it’s PhD candidate Nick Tacik’s turn. He’ll be talking about the extreme parts of the universe, none of which are in our solar system, by the way.

Afterwards, attendees get the choice to peer through one of the four of telescopes on the 15^th floor of the McLennan Physical Labs Building at U of T. (Tacik says with some luck, you can see as far as the Andromeda Galaxy.)

If Andromeda isn’t far enough, the lab’s new inflatable planetarium has space for 25 to virtually fly around the universe via live presentation software.

When it’s all done, Tacik says not to feel too badly about our mundane planet, solar system and subsequent existence.

“I’ve come to embrace the insignificance that I feel,” Tacik says. “I see it more about how amazing the universe is.”

Good words of wisdom.

Here are some things you’ll find out about how extreme the universe can get.

1. Cosmic rays

As these particles come in from deep space, they shed their electrons. And they do it with feeling. The Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland is our world’s highest energy particle accelerator. These rays have 50 billion times that amount of energy.

2. Stars, beautiful shining stars

We think the sun is big, but it’s not. When stars exhaust all of their fuel, they cool down and expand. VY Canis Majoris, the biggest star we know, is two thousand times as big as the sun. And if you were to replace it with the sun, it would reach past Saturn. Meanwhile, our sun will exhaust its fuel in five billion years or so, so we’ll see what happens to Mister then.

3. Neutron (Super) Stars

These things are super, duper dense. Tacik says the typical neutron star weighs about one and a half times as much as the sun, but its radius is only 10 km. It means if you dropped a marshmallow on the surface of one of these things, it would have the same affect as an atom bomb. It’d just be a lot fluffier on the way down.

4. Round, round get around

Tacik says there are lots of cool things about neutron stars. Not only are they heavy, they rotate super fast. As in, 700 times per second fast. Which is faster than any kitchen blender Tacik could find (which is apparently what PhD candidates in Astronomy do).

5. Magnetism

As if heavy and super-spinning weren’t enough, neutron stars have scary strong magnetic fields of approximately a quadrillion times what we have on Earth. To put it in perspective: if one of them were where the moon is, it would wipe out all of our credit card information, Takic says. Or, if a person were to venture within 1,000 km of one of these things, the slight magnetism of the water in their body would rip apart, and they would, ahem, explode.

Now that’s what we call extreme.

The Guinness Book of Universe Records: The Most Extreme Objects and Environments in Astronomy, McLennan Physical Labs Building, Dec 1., 8 p.m.

A by-the-numbers chronicle of Leslie Feist’s ascent to international stardom

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Toronto’s own Leslie Feist takes to the stage at the venerable Massey Hall tonight in support of her new album, Metals. Bry Webb will be providing support services as the opening act. Although born in Nova Scotia and raised in Regina and Calgary, Feist’s career blossomed upon her arrival in Toronto. Herewith, a numerical look at Feist’s brilliant career.

1,000: The number of dancers who performed in the opening ceremony of the Calgary Olympics in 1988. Yes, a young Leslie Feist was one of them.

Five: The number of years Feist toured Canada as the lead singer of punk rock band Placebo, severely damaging her vocal chords in the process. They played their first gig opening for the Ramones in 1991. Check out Leslie going all punk-goth, along with slick dance moves from concertgoers here:

Four: the number of tire tubes used for a By Divine Right video for their killer song “Come For A Ride,” where we can see their guitar player, Leslie Feist, tobogganing on one of said tubes. Trivia bonus: By Divine Right with Leslie Feist were the first band to ever play at the Air Canada Centre when they opened up for the Tragically Hip in 1999.

1999: The year Feist shacked up with Merrill Nisker, a.k.a recording artist Peaches. Feist would work backstage at Peaches shows, calling herself Bitch Lap Lap while using a sock puppet. Chilly Gonzales was also part of the crew, before the more radical elements (namely Peaches and Chilly) headed to Europe. This was also the year of Feist’s solo debut album, Monarch: Lay Down Your Jeweled Head. Check out this insane hipster-gasmic performance with all three.

2002: Feist was part of the original lineup of hipsters known as Broken Social Scene, which released their iconic album You Forgot it in People in 2002. The band literally revolutionized the Toronto music scene making their rag-tag group of indie-bearded musicians (excluding Feist, of course) the talk of the world. Here they are grooving at Harbourfront.

33: the number of months Feist spent on the road promoting her breakthrough album Let it Die (2004), according to an interview in Paste magazine. The album, which was recorded while Feist was living in Paris, garnered Feist two Juno Awards, Best Alternative Album and Best New Artist. One of the songs, “Mushaboom,” was used in a Lacoste commercial.

1 million+: album sales for Feist’s third studio album, The Reminder.

4,161: Feist contributed to the big, whizzing number "Life’s a Happy Song" for the soundtrack of the hit movie The Muppets, but we all know her love affair and partnership with fuzzy-headed puppets includes her über-cute appearance in Sesame Street (episode number 4,161, according to the eerily-detailed Muppet Wiki) where she sang “1234” with Elmo and company. How can you not love this person?

18: the number of months Feist took off of the music scene after the colossal success of The Reminder.

$250: The going rate for floor seats at stubhub.com for Feist’s sold-out Dec. 1 concert at Massey Hall. Video from her show in Los Angeles on Nov. 12:

Feist, Massey Hall, Dec. 1

Grab of the Week: a reversible silk dress by Rodebjer

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11:50 am

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It’s the first of December, and you know what that means: your social schedule is going to be jam-packed with holiday parties for the next two months. If you haven’t already begun adding a bit of razzle-dazzle and jewel tones to your wardrobe, we suggest you begin now. Of course we could tell you to go buy another little black dress, or even a red-satin showstopper, jazzed up with some “holiday” accessories — but then you would end up looking like everyone else, and we wouldn’t want that.

Instead, we’ve found the ultimate holiday dress – a reversible, colourful, galaxy-printed silk dress by Rodebjer. Wear it loose and draped, belted, with a jacket, or layered with a tee underneath – any which way you decide, you will be making the right kind of statement this party season.

$585. Available at Fawn Boutique, 967 Queen St. W., 647-344-4703

Can this restaurant discount card make Tuesday the new Friday in Toronto?

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10:23 am

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For the next 13 weeks, Toronto’s gourmands will have the opportunity to dine out at various Toronto restaurants sans the hefty bill. The catch? Dinner on a Tuesday night and a $60 down payment. But with a 30 per cent discount at places like Burger Bar and The Bowery, we'll skip the latest installments of Glee and Dancing With the Stars (don't judge!) and instead opt for a cheap-ish night out.

Tuesday Foodie, launched after only a month of planning, is a discount card tempting foodies to “experience the best in Toronto dining.” Starting Jan. 3 and running up until Mar. 27, a total of 21 restaurants across the city will knock 30 per cent off your lunch or dinner bill on Tuesdays.

The card, available for $60, aims to push Torontonians to venture into new territory and treat their taste buds to exotic flavours, like The Royal Elephant's green curry or Mangia Cake's aptly-named signature dish, the mangia cake. Even Blue Plate is on board, boasting updated comfort food such as bison meatloaf wrapped in bacon (which immediately and involuntarily prompts a Homer Simpson-esque drool).

It almost makes KFC's “Toonie Tuesdays” seem like a distant, greasy, deep-fried thing of the past. Savour the savings, fellow gastronomists.

UPDATE: Tuesday Foodie has expanded and the card will now last for the duration of 2012.

Toy company agrees to pay $1.3 mil civil penalty

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9:02 am

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Toy manufacturing company Spin Master has reached a settlement with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1.3 million after the sale of a hazardous toy that reportedly put children into comas. The settlement also resolves staff allegations that Spin Master knowingly failed to report the defect and hazard associated with Aqua Dots to the CPSC immediately, said a CPSC statement.

“We agreed to pay $1.3 million,” said Spin Master’s spokesperson, Harold Chizick. “And through that settlement, we do deny any wrongdoing in the matter.”

The Aqua Dots craft kit, recalled in the fall of 2007, contained a substance which, after ingested, metabolized to gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB), more commonly known as the date rape drug. According to a statement from the CPSC, staff received reports of two children who had fallen into comas after ingesting the product and required hospitalization.

“Children’s safety is our number one priority. We’re in the toy business,” Chizick said. “We applaud the work the CPSC does and what it stands for and the protection of consumers. So for us, it’s closure.”

Council approves off-leash dog park

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9:02 am

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Richmond Hill councillors have approved a new off-leash dog park and have commissioned a study into the existing pilot project park, putting an end to the ongoing battle between concerned residents and dog owners.

Tower Hill Park, located near Yonge Street and Tower Hill Road, began as a pilot off-leash dog park but soon had neighbouring residents raise safety and noise concerns. Plans to decommission the park were put to rest last month after Richmond Hill Council approved a 12-month study to address their concerns.

Alongside the Richmond Hill K9 Klub, which operates the park in conjunction with the town, concerned residents and town staff will meet to determine strategies to mitigate noise and improve safety.

“It’s been a victim of it’s own success,” said David Walker, co-chair of the K9 Klub. “But we’re willing to meet to see if we can mitigate the concerns of the neighbours.”

In an effort to curb usage of the Tower Hill Park, council also gave the go-ahead for a second location in Phyllis Rawlinson Park. As for the funds originally budgeted to decommission Tower Hill, that will now be used to create noise buffers, such as trees, between the park and surrounding neighbourhoods.

After the designated 12-month period, staff will determine whether or not the park will remain open to off-leash dogs.

Parents pull kids from wireless-based schools

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9:02 am

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Parents in York Region are calling upon the school board to remove wireless devices from the classroom and, in one case, have plans to pull their children from schools, citing potential health concerns from the World Health Organization.

Parent groups held a protest event outside York Regional District School Board’s (YRDSB) offices late last month.

“Even on Health Canada’s website, it says long-term studies need to be done to prove the effects of the exposure [of wireless devices],” said Lynette Haralampopoulos, an MRI technologist and organizer of the protest. “But those have not been done. So now, our kids are pretty much the study.”

Reports from the World Health Organization say radio frequencies emitted from wireless signals exist in a grey area and that, whereas they pose a potential health risk, more research is required to determine whether they are hazardous or not.

According to the YRDSB, until there is evidence to prove otherwise, wireless devices will remain in their schools.

“We look to public health authorities to get advice on these issues,” said Ross Virgo, senior manager of public affairs and communications at YRDSB. “None of these bodies agree that Wi-Fi poses a risk to human health.”

As part of their list of demands, Haralampopoulos said parents want transparency from the school board, which refused to meet with her, she added.

But according to Virgo, his staff has responded to parents who have called and e-mailed the board with concerns.

Haralampopoulos also said she intends to pull her three children from school because they have been experiencing pressure headaches. “We’re going to pull our kids,” she said. “At this point, it doesn’t really matter what [the YRDSB] does. We know it’s harmful. My sons … are experiencing tinnitus and pressure headaches. Every night, when they go to sleep, it’s annoying for them.”

With two boys in Grades 4 and 6 at Oak Ridges Public School and a daughter in Grade 1 at Windham Ridge Public School, Haralampopoulos said they will be put at a disadvantage.

Virgo agreed and said, “We would hope that parents exercise good judgment around the importance of having their children remain in school and the importance of remaining connected to the curriculum.”

Local museum runs out of options as deadline looms

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9:01 am

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With a Dec. 21 deadline looming, the fight to save the Canadian Air and Space Museum continues to be an uphill battle.

Since being served an eviction notice on Sept. 20, museum staff has been unsuccessful in appealing the decision to the municipal and federal governments.

Although the museum’s CEO, Robert Cohen, insists that the hangar, which was the Canadian home of de Havilland Aircraft during the Second World War, is a heritage site, the building’s documentation could not be found.

Downsview Park Inc., the museum’s landlord, is going forward with plans to tear down the hangar and put up a four-pad hockey arena in its place.

David Soknacki, chair of Downsview Park’s board, said that the hangar is in need of more than $130,000 worth of repairs.

“This is a very large building,” Soknacki said, “faced with rising costs, there was no way of keeping the building, because it was in a bad state of disrepair.”

He added that the company would rather focus on maintaining their smaller “more manageable” buildings.

Cohen does not accept this explanation.

“They have programs running in buildings like ours,” he said. “When it comes to the integrity of what Downsview represents, there is no respect for history.”

City to designate historic Yonge & York Mills area site

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9:01 am

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Toronto City Council recently voted to designate Loretto Abbey as a heritage site in spite of the Toronto Catholic District School Board’s (TCDSB) concerns about how the designation will increase the cost of renovating the building.

Local councillor Karen Stintz initially brought forward the motion after the Catholic school board purchased the remaining portion of the nearly 100-year-old abbey from the Sisters of Loretto. Stintz said it was important to have the designation in place in case the site was ever resold.

The property, located at 101 Mason Blvd., was built in 1928 in the neo-Gothic style, with the addition of a chapel in the 1950s. According to the staff report, this is one of few examples in the city of this style of architecture.

“When it was originally built, the cross was the highest peak in the area, so wherever you were, you could look and see the cross,” Stintz said.

The heritage designation will empower the city to preserve the site’s heritage features and reject demolition applications.

Andy Stephenson, president of the York Mills Heights Residents’ Association, said his group approached the councillor about moving forward on the designation because of the site’s significance.

“It’s certainly an icon in the neighbourhood in terms of the building and the architecture,” Stephenson said.

In advance of the motion, the Catholic school board sent a letter to the city, expressing its concerns about how the heritage designation would affect its operations.

“TCDSB objects to the designation of Loretto Abbey Secondary School at 101 Mason Boulevard, Toronto, to the extent that such designation would prevent or hinder TCDSB from using the property as a secondary school,” it stated.

It did, however, go on to acknowledge that any changes should not alter the site’s heritage attributes.

Since 1986, the TCDSB has run a girls’ high school on a portion of the site. The recent purchase will allow it to move into the other portion of the building in 2015 or sooner.

Angelo Sangiorgio, associate director of planning and facilities at the TCDSB, said the board intends to be there long-term.

“The designation is going to pose some challenges in terms of the cost to upgrade the building to current school standards, but it’s something that we’re going to have to deal with,” Sangiorgio said.

The Breakfast Hub: the pink slip bonanza, fighting the Ford Freeze, the Maple Leafs are the highest valued NHL franchise

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The Ford administration’s budget plan calls for up to 1,190 pink slips to be handed out as part of cost-cutting measures. Around 643 vacant jobs are also on the chopping block.
[Globe and Mail]

The Toronto Star is planning on filing a formal complaint with the city’s integrity commissioner about the “Ford Freeze.” Since he was elected, Rob Ford has ordered that official notices and announcements from his office not be provided to the paper.
[Toronto Star]

Forbes magazine lists the Toronto Maple Leafs as the highest valued NHL franchise, at $521 million. Following the Leafs are two other original six teams: New York and Montreal.
[CBC]

The library chair is demanding that Budget Chief Mike Del Grande apologize for comments made regarding the amount of ethnic and non-english materials in Toronto libraries.
[Globe and Mail]

Should the feds do away with the gun registry, don’t look for the province to fill the void.
[Toronto Sun]

Talking traffic before Eglinton LRT work begins

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8:55 am

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With the construction of the Eglinton Avenue light rail transit (LRT) on the horizon, public meetings will soon be held to discuss station design and traffic management.

Coun. Joe Mihevc noted that it’s a vital but complicated project. Mihevc said area residents ought to be prepared to deal with the “day-to-day havoc” this will cause.

“I think we should be as honest and clear as possible with good communication,” he said. “This is a big project, and it will have a lot of impact on the neighbourhood.”

The disruptions will come in the beginning and end months of construction of the stations, as the rest of the work will mostly happen underground, Mihevc explained. Bathurst station is being designed first, with the others following closely behind.

Mihevc said developing a traffic management plan will be paramount. One question that will need to be answered is whether the Allen Road will be closed at Lawrence Avenue or that some traffic can be let through.

In the meantime, east of Yonge Street, the steep slopes of the Don Valley may pose a challenge to Mayor Rob Ford’s wishes to bury that stretch of the LRT.

According to a spokesperson for provincial transportation co-ordinating body Metrolinx, this was factored into its plans. With a number of above- and below-ground options under consideration, he indicated that the results of his agency’s technical evaluation would be presented to the public early next year.

Coun. John Parker supports the Eglinton LRT, but he’s not convinced that it’s necessary to bury this segment.

“It will add substantially to the cost, no matter what challenges we face, just the mere premium it’ll cost to put the line through a tunnel rather than on the surface,” he said.

The Metrolinx spokesperson said the $8.4 million estimate includes the projected increase in cost.

Zoning study to tackle west Village’s ‘monster’ homes

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8:55 am

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City of Toronto staff has produced a preliminary report on the West Forest Hill zoning study, aimed at tackling the proliferation of ‘monster’ homes.

The study looks at the area that falls between Eglinton Avenue and Richview Avenue and Spadina Road and Cedarvale ravine.

Recommendations include increasing the permitted densities modestly, based on a review of the 128 variances that have been allowed in the area. Staff believes this would set a more realistic standard, reduce non-compliance and make it easier for homeowners to add appropriate density. It would further signal to the committee of adjustment and Ontario Municipal Board the intent of the bylaw.

“The intent of the zoning bylaw would be to limit the size of dwellings in the study area so that they are in conformance with the physical character of the neighbourhood,” it stated.

Specific to Old Forest Hill Road and Rosemary Lane is a recommendation to decrease permitted densities slightly.

Coun. Joe Mihevc requested the study in response to a trend he’s noticed over the last five years.

“It’s when some developers try to squeeze in a Richmond Hill–sized house into a Forest Hill–sized lot that we get into trouble” he said. “The side yard setbacks, the height and the density number have to work as a package to govern how big the box is and how it presents itself on the street.”

Local resident Mary Spring is upset about the impact these homes are having on the character of the neighbourhood. But Spring said she doesn’t know what it will take to prevent them from being built in light of some of the tactics that are used to get around zoning bylaws, such as creating voids for density calculations and later attempting to fill them in.

“I think that the zoning bylaws do have to change,” she said.