TOP 10 - Best Places To Live in CANADA

According to MoneySense, Canada’s Best Places to Live 2012 compiles, weighs and ranks 190 cities and towns in Canada by 22 separate categories - walk/bike to work, air quality, weather, population growth, unemployment, affordable housing, crime rate etc.

While they claim that they can’t gauge many of the elements that people enjoy in their cities, the nearness of family, the friendliness of neighbours or even great sunsets, they have measured what can be measured and compared what can be compared from towns and cities across our provinces and territories.

Below are the TOP 10 BEST Places To Live in CANADA starting from #10:

10.  Winnipeg, MANITOBA

Assiniboine Park - Winnipeg, MANITOBA
Photo source

9.  Red Deer, ALBERTA

Douglas Cardinal - St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church - Red Deer, Alberta
Photo by Flickr user  arhitrav

8.  Edmonton, ALBERTA

Edmonton's River Valley - Edmonton, ALBERTA
Photo by Flickr user  protophotogsl

At 7,400 hectares, Edmonton's North Saskatchewan River valley is the largest stretch of urban parkland in North America. There are 22 major parks and over 150 kilometres of trails on which you can enjoy walks, bike rides, picnics, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and more. - Source

7.   Fredericton, NEW BRUNSWICK

View of the city - Fredericton, NEW BRUNSWICK

Photo by Flickr user Susan Hancox Reid

6.  Brandon, MANITOBA

 

Central Fire Station - Brandon, MANITOBA
Photo source

5.  Regina, SASKATCHEWAN

The skyline of downtown Regina - Regina, SASKATCHEWAN
Photo by Flickr user  Edward Willett

4.  Halifax, NOVA SCOTIA

Halifax, NOVA SCOTIA
Photo by Flickr user Hobolens

3.  Kingston, ONTARIO

Kingston, ONTARIO
Photo by Flickr user Dougtone

2.  Burlington, ONTARIO

Royal Botanical Gardens - Burlington, ONTARIO
Photo by Flickr user cseeman

1.  Ottawa, ONTARIO

The Black Tomato Restaurant - Ottawa, ONTARIO
Photo by Flickr user  Hobolens

The 2011 census had the city's population as 883,391, and the metropolitan population as 1,236,324. Mercer ranks Ottawa with the second highest quality of living of any large city in the Americas, and 14th highest in the world. It is also rated the second cleanest city in Canada, and third cleanest city in the world. In 2012, the city was ranked for the third consecutive year as the best community in Canada to live in by MoneySense.

Ottawa, ONTARIO
Photo by Flickr user Hobolens

Can We Say "HeatWave?" - Hot Weather Alert for Southern Ontarians

With the Humid Index, Right Now it Feels Like:

43°C

August 4, 2012 — The Ontario Ministry of the Environment has issued a smog advisory for multiple communities in southern Ontario. 

The first day of the long weekend is forecast to be a steamy one for much of southern Ontario.

Environment Canada says that with high humidity added in, the region from Sarnia to Ottawa will bake in temperatures hovering near the 40° C mark.



Photo by Mona Billard
Source

"It's so freakin' hot even our new Canadian dollar bills are melting." 

"Just kiddin', but to read more about our melting dollar bills - go here."

 

█ ♥ █ Canadian Bands: Bachman Turner Overdrive (BTO)

B & T Bellville, ON - Photo by Carol Skinner

Bachman–Turner Overdrive is a Canadian rock group from Winnipeg, Manitoba, that had a series of hit albums and singles in the 1970s, selling over 7 million albums in that decade alone. Their 1970s catalog included five Top 40 albums and six Top 40 singles. The band has sold nearly 30 million albums worldwide, and has fans affectionately known as "gearheads" (derived from the band's gear-shaped logo). Many of their songs, including "Let It Ride", "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet", "Takin' Care of Business", "Hey You" and "Roll On Down the Highway", still receive play on FM classic rock stations.

After the band went into a hiatus in 2005, Randy Bachman and Fred Turner reunited in 2010 for a tour and collaboration on a new album. In 2010, they played the halftime show at the Grey Cup in Edmonton, AB.

The duo and their top-notch band have released their first new single in two decades, "Rollin' Along," which is currently available for streaming at their website bachmanandturner.com and for sale at iTunes. The track offers fans a long-awaited glimpse into Bachman & Turner's self-titled, brand new album currently set for a September 7th release on E1 Music (Canada), and RBE Music/Fontana (U.S.). Bachman & Turner's upcoming studio album will be stocked with all original new tracks penned by the pair; in addition to "Rollin' Along," the album's anthems include "Rock and Roll Is the Only Way Out" and "Slave To the Rhythm," which have a sound that seamlessly fits alongside Bachman-Turner Overdrive classics "Takin' Care of Business" and "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet."

"I'm thrilled to be working on new music with Fred, and I feel a sense of excitement and anticipation," says Randy Bachman. "I feel like I'm coming full circle, with a completeness that I never ever thought I'd feel again."

Fred in Kettering, ON - Photo by Jared B.

In the mid-'70s, Randy Bachman earned his first colossal success with Winnipeg rock band The Guess Who, when their hit "American Woman" scored the #1 spot on the Billboard charts, a first for any Canadian act. He soared even further with Fred Turner in Bachman-Turner Overdrive, which became a musical phenomenon with extraordinary global success. At the pinnacle of their career, the band's distinctive brand of stripped-down, blue collar, meat 'n' potatoes rock headlined some of the biggest arenas in the world- from New York's Madison Square Garden and London's Hammersmith Odeon, to Hamburg's Congress Centrum and the Falkoner Centret in Copenhagen.

Over the course of a four-year run, Bachman-Turner Overdrive sold in excess of 30 million records, earning a staggering 120 platinum, gold and silver discs, and notching up hits in more than 20 countries. The band reached #1 on Billboard's singles chart ("You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet") and album chart (Not Fragile), as well as scoring another handful of hits including "Taking Care of Business," "Hey You," "My Wheels Won't Turn" and "Looking Out for #1."

When the two stars went their separate ways in 1977, Randy Bachman continued to pursue his unwavering love for music as a solo artist, as well as being part of the much-celebrated Guess Who reunion, then Bachman-Cummings, and subsequently establishing himself as a jazz artist and host of the CBC/Sirius radio show, "Vinyl Tap." Meanwhile, Fred Turner carried on with the other members of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, before retiring from music at the end of the '90s to indulge his passion for cars.

But the two had lingering feelings, which persisted for over a decade, that they weren't done just yet. Then last year, Bachman was working on a solo album, for which he intended to invite different vocalists. He first asked Turner to sing on a track called "Rock 'n' Roll is the Only Way Out." "It was perfect for his gritty, refrigerator-sized voice," explains Bachman. "It turned out so incredible, that I asked if he wanted to sing on a few more. He sent me some of his original material, and from that it morphed into a Bachman & Turner project."

With the two singers sharing lead vocal duties, the album features smoking mid-tempo anthems such as "Rock 'N' Roll is the Only Way Out" and "Rollin' Along," as well as the funky riff of "Moonlight Rider" and a slow-burning blues shuffle, "Waiting Game." In addition, tracks like "Slave to the Rhythm" offer a gratifying fusion of chords with catchy choruses, not to mention the distinctive growling vocals familiar to fans from Bachman-Turner Overdrive classics such as "Let it Ride" and "Roll on Down the Highway."

The Garage in London - Photo by Peter Allies

Bachman & Turner will soon hit the road together, performing their vast catalogue of hits and previewing a selection of the new songs from the upcoming album. After all, the latter tunes were ultimately all Fred Turner needed to come out of retirement. "If I have a chance to go out and play new things and grow, then I'll really be offering people something," explains Fred Turner. "It's all about the music, the creative process, the collaboration and teamwork of two old friends and partners."
  
Bachman & Turners world debut occurred in June 2010 at the Sweden Rock Festival alongside some of their contemporaries including Aerosmith, Guns N' Roses and Billy Idol. The band is currently playing select shows in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, and they are backed by journeymen musicians Brent Howard, Marc LaFrance and Mick Dalla-Vee, who themselves have been performing together for more than 20 years.




Source | Source

Forest Fungi Research: Fighting a Hidden Enemy

By Carolyn Grey
March 2011

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Internal butt rot of pre-commercially
thinned balsam fir

Hidden beneath seemingly healthy balsam fir stands, forest fungi launch an attack on the trees’ base and roots, causing slow and silent damage. What is this pest that is wreaking such devastating damage — known as root and butt rot — among balsam fir, as well black and white spruce?

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) researchers with the Canadian Forest Service’s (CFS’s) Canadian Wood Fibre Centre (CWFC) in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, are studying the possible causes and effects of root and butt rots in pre-commercially thinned balsam fir stands.


Detecting the Enemy
Part of the challenge in studying these fungi is their ability to go undetected, with no external signs that they are already causing tree damage.

“It used to be a long, tedious process just to isolate and identify these fungi,” says Gary Warren, Forest Pathologist at the CWFC. “Today, new tools using DNA molecular techniques have lead to a much more efficient process that greatly increases the speed and accuracy of fungal identification.”




Root of the Problem

Vials containing Coniophora puteana
(brown rot fungus).

Studies have shown that many factors play significant roles in the presence and severity of root and butt rot, such as tree species, the age of the stand, both at the time of thinning and at present; the intensity of thinning; and site conditions such as soil type, moisture, fertility, location and other factors currently being investigated.

“Our research is trying to identify the various factors responsible for the increase in root and butt rots and how these factors may affect the fungi responsible for the problem,” says Gary. “The aim is to reduce the loss of tree wood volume and to improve fibre quality.”


Yielding Interesting Results

Windthrow caused by butt rot in a balsam fir
spacing trial in north-western N.B.

Sites that are over-stocked with young balsam fir are sometimes thinned to encourage the trees to grow faster with less branches and straighter stems. But scientists have long wondered whether pre-commercial thinning increases the incidence of root and butt rot.

Early results show that, although thinning reduces competition and allows for better initial growth and form in balsam fir trees, the damage from root and butt rot is happening earlier. Accordingly, in order for forest managers to maximize the amount and quality of the fibre, trees may need to be harvested at an earlier age than originally planned.

An important part of this research involves determining current levels of fibre loss and assessing the future impacts of forest fungi. Although many of the major root and butt rot fungi have been identified, there are still many more unknown to forest science.

“With this research, the ultimate goal is to assist forest managers to get the best yield possible from this forest fibre resource,” concludes Gary.



Source

Weird Museums of Canada - P.E.I. Potato Museum

Ok, so apparently there are alot of Potato Museums around the world - Belgium, Denmark, Germany - and of course, the great U.S. of A.  But none can claim to have the world's largest collection of potato artifacts or be home to a Potato Hall of Fame like the Potato Museum in O'Leary, Prince Edward Island.

**Sidenote**
O'Leary (2001 population: 860) is a Canadian village in Prince County, Prince Edward Island.  The community's economy is tied to the potato farming industry.

The Canadian Potato Museum is located in the community of O'Leary in the western part of Canada's smallest province and is surrounded by fertile potato growing fields. The museum depicts an interesting display of the potato industry, and houses a large collection of farm implements and machinery related to the growing and harvesting of potatoes.

In 1999 a major expansion was constructed to accommodate their Potato Hall of Fame, the extraordinary national Amazing Potato Exhibit, and incorporates the Community Museum. The building now covers over 7000 square feet and is air conditioned for your comfort. 

There has even been a recently added giant sculptured potato (made out of fibreglass and standing 14ft. tall), at the entrance to the museum. The complex includes other attractions on site such as the Heritage Chapel, the Log Barn and the Little Red Schoolhouse.