Dave Ings

Retired IBM software development professional. Cycling, disc golf, hiking, squash, tennis and transit enthusiast.

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@privacylawyer For fun, I once searched the historical record trying to figure out who invented license plates and why. (After all, there is also a visible VIN.) Was hard to find a crisp answer, although the current reason seems to be for the convenience of law enforcement (and toll roads?)

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@IanRunkle AirTags! (And/or whatever the Android equivalent is.)

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@charlesarthur @zaneccampbell ... or WhatsApp on iPadOS and macOS ... both of which Meta dragged their feet for literally years on releasing.

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@stevegoldca @TheophanesRex @cassko @fordnation @SylviaJonesMPP Yes. And IIRC annual exams have been contraindicated since the 80s or 90s. But they live on in the popular imagination for some reason.

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@JoshMatlow Thank you.

I've recently spent time in Munich, Vienna and Budapest, all of which have lively pedestrian zones which put Toronto to shame.

However we'll likely study and discuss your motion for years rather than actually doing anything - sadly this has become the Toronto norm.

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@charlesarthur @WhatTheBit 🤣 Probably true! Spoken as a 60 something who had to give up squash years ago, and who mostly plays doubles now on wonky knees. I did try Padel recently and it was a lot of fun.

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@PlannerSean Have you walked over the Hudson River on the old railway bridge (nearby) that was pedestrianized 10-15 years ago? Spectacular views from it.

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@kidwunderMV @JoshMatlow I understand. As a transit enthusiast I find Canada’s inability to build transit at costs even close to international norms deeply frustrating.

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@kidwunderMV @JoshMatlow Quick answer: Google “anglosphere cost disease” as it relates to transit.

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@Pagmenzies @stephen_taylor Surely the CRTC has a choice regarding x in the x% tax. Are you not are letting the bureaucrats off the hook?

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@EricDLombardi IMO it's less about high marginal rates per se, and more that the higher rates kick in at relatively low incomes (compared to the US).

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@Pagmenzies @paulvieira @RobynUrback A quibble: I find Calgary to be the most nation's most American city. Reminds me strongly of Texas, which I've been to dozens of times ... perhaps not surprising, given the oil industry connection. YMMV.

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@StephenWickens1 @TorontoStar I think it's a tossup whether this subway extension or the Waterfront East LRT will exceed the NYC 2nd Ave subway for the most expensive urban transit line ever built.

And no one aspiring to government seems to know or care, except for @EricDLombardi, who does highlight this.

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@mgeist Thank you for this detailed post. Some publications (including the Toronto Star today) have been writing (to paraphrase) "but other the Five Eyes do it" which as you carefully demonstrate mischaracterizes matters.

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@privacylawyer @TorontoPolice I am skeptical of the trustworthiness of Canadian law enforcement. So no, I don't think the government should have these powers. It's pretty much guaranteed they will be regularly abused.

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@cselley @johnbknechtel Three friends and I have been going mid-week for about 30 years. George Jonas (RIP) once wrote in the NP it was his favourite restaurant. I saw him dining there with Conrad Black one evening. Most of the staff have been there “forever”.

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@TheDHTaylor 😀 As they say, a weed is just a plant growing in the wrong place.

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@JoshMatlow @nytimes Am I the only one who finds it troubling that taxes are paying for municipal enforcement officers to enforce FIFA's copyright? Whose bright idea was that?

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@cselley Reading the replies, it seems most are unaware that the CPP Investment Board owns ~44% of Highway 407 (reduced from the 50% stake it once had).

[Dave Ings @dave_ings]

@GraphicMatt @TorontoStar Thanks for highlighting this disturbing trend. However the article wasn't clear about exactly who is responsible for it. Chow alone? Chow with allies? Others? The answer will likely affect my vote.

Can you elaborate?