If you’re a car enthusiast, chances are you’ve already gone to the Autoshow, one of the largest car shows in the world. For the rest of you, especially the techies, there are actually several cool things on display at the show even if you’re not that excited about seeing and sitting in shiny new cars. The big tech trends at this year’s Autoshow are a strong push for eco-conscious fuel and power for and bringing the information and entertainment capabilities of your computer and smartphone into your car.

Alternative Fuel Source and Powertrain

Nissan Leaf

The technology for car engines powered by electricity or alternative fuels has existed for decades, but it has only been in the past several years that electric and hybrid cars are finally being sold and bought in the mainstream. At this year’s Autoshow, there’s special floor space dedicated to alternative fuel and powertrain: the CAA Eco-Drive Showcase. Besides showing off models by Toyota, Chevrolet, Nissan, and luxury brands such as Infiniti, the Eco-Drive Showcase also introduces the latest fuel-efficient technologies, as well as imparting eco-conscious driving practices to attendees. There will be battery-charging stations and a kiosk organized by the Ministry of Transportation on Ontario’s Electric Vehicle Incentive Program. If you’re shopping for a greener car after having had enough of gas prices, or if you want to learn the difference between all-electric, conventional hybrid, and plug-in hybrid cars, this is the place to be.

Automotive Infotainment

Many car companies are striving to bring communication, information, and entertainment in one combined package onto the dashboard. Questions about real-world use abound (i.e. is this tech trend a time-saving convenience or a dangerous distraction?), but the potential that these developments have in evolving driving experience are promising.

Starting at the lighter end, the upcoming Dodge Dart will offer a cordless cellphone recharger. Taking it further, Ford is showing its impressive MyFord Touch system, which is based on the popular Ford Sync voice-command system. With it, you can connect your mobile devices via Bluetooth so you can take and dial calls via the dashboard central touch screen or voice commands. The system can also receive text messages and read them aloud to you. There’s navigational information so you can follow directions to a destination or find traffic detours. You can play music from your mp3 player via USB and stream Internet radio stations as well. You can even control air conditioning by voice, get personalized news, and play videos on the touch screen when the car is in Park.

BMW ConnectedDrive

Honda and Cadillac both offer similar infotainment packages named i-MID (Intelligent Multi-Information Display) and CUE (Cadillac User Experience), respectively. They also use Bluetooth connectivity, touch screen, and voice commands to control phone, navigation, audio, and climate functions. Perhaps most ambitious of all is BMW. The German brand’s ConnectedDrive package offers many helpful features in addition to the infotainment capabilities already mentioned. It boasts a 3-D virtual display projected in the driver’s line of vision, showing pertinent information such as vehicle speed, upcoming street names, GPS directions, and tailgating alerts without requiring the driver to take their eyes off the road. It can also show the driver a 270-degree view of the surrounding space of the car on the central LCD screen via cameras in the centre and side mirrors; this makes backing out of a tight parking spot easier than ever. Want more features? How about Google Maps integration, night vision display of the road ahead on the LCD screen, and live agent assistance with directions, making
restaurant or hotel reservations, and making emergency calls?

Whether you’re crazy about cars, shopping for a new car, or just interested in what cars are capable of these days, the Canadian International Autoshow is definitely worth a visit.

Show Dates and Hours

February 17-26
10:30 A.M.-10:00 P.M. (February 17-25)
10:30 A.M.-6:00 P.M. (February 26)

Show Location

Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North and South Buildings
North Building: 255 Front Street West
South Building: 222 Bremner Blvd.

Tickets

If you can, buy tickets online at autoshow.ca since there’s a discount. The following are online prices:
Adult Tickets: $18.00
Children Tickets (ages 7-12): $6.30
Two-Day Pass: $27.00
Family Pass (includes two adults and two children ages 7-12): $36.00

Contact Info

905.940.2800
www.autoshow.ca
cias@autoshow.ca

There have been lots of discussions about the causes of the financial crisis, the most controversial economic topic of the last decade. One of the main aspects of the financial crisis is the housing bubble. The housing bubble in the U.S. developed alongside the stock bubble in the mid ’90s. Housing prices began to inflate and then popped in the second quarter of 2006. The burst of the U.S. housing market was followed by the outbreak of a global financial crisis on August 9, 2007.

Significant credit losses in highly rated RMBS and CMOs caused investors to lose confidence in the accuracy of credit ratings. Banks began to be uncertain about the credit risk in lending to other banks, and the performance of real estate loans rapidly became weaker. In many theories and speculations, real estate agents received much of the blame for playing an important part in causing the financial crisis. There’s no doubt that real estate agents were a part of the problem; however, they definitely weren’t themselves the cause.

What caused the crisis?

A number of factors contributed to the housing market crash before the country went into recession. The unsustainable price hike was a result of easy access to loans for unqualified buyers and record-high levels of speculation. Banks and financial institutions were providing mortgages at five to ten times people’s annual incomes, which highly exceeded the safe value of three to four times. These institutions underestimated the importance of making an investigation before providing a mortgage. This resulted in an easy cashflow in the market that boosted housing prices.

After the first housing crashes in markets such as Florida, California, Nevada, and Arizona, the economy itself went into a recession. After falling into recession, the combination of ill-conceived loans and an increasing rate of unemployment made the high standing inventory of housing and an enormously high level of foreclosure activity unmanageable.

A well known real estate expert, Lewis M. Goodkin, says that it was obvious:

The long-extended weak economy and lender resistance to providing new home loans has precluded any real recovery. It is important to note that if it were not for the very high level of investors buying foreclosures, short sales and distressed merchandise and renting the homes/condominiums out, the problems would be even more severe than they are. Also, do not forget that we also had record high refinancing and home equity financing that placed many homeowners who had bought at the right price under water when they borrowed to the max and prices began to dive.

Realtors and the Crisis

Property Market by Alan Cleaver

We have already mentioned how easy access to loans for unqualified buyers affected the overall market situation. This is the part for which real estate agents receive most of the blame, since they knew that their home buyers could get a loan that they wouldn’t be able to pay. Mr. Dworkin and other experts point out that this was also true of homebuilders and of course mortgage brokers and their sources of financing.

Real estate agents played only one part of the whole story. However, it’s unacceptable to excuse their conduct by saying that they weren’t the only ones. A huge number of new home buyers were encouraged to buy more expensive houses than they could afford. We should also keep in mind that the economists in the National Association of REALTORS and the National Association of Home Builders failed to release any preventive warnings.

Overall, the crucial mistake of the smartest financial figures around the world was supporting the falling market with immense mortgage packaging flow. Neither realtors nor homebuilders nor mortgage brokers were motivated to caution buyers on the risk. “They drank the same cool-aid as the rest of the players but in reality were the first people that buyers work with and thus were in the best position to curtail the abuse," explains Goodkin.

Is there a risk of a housing bubble in Canada?

The possibility that a similar scenario could happen in Canada is higher than we think. Canada relies on a more conservative attitude among realtors, builders, and lenders. who are more cautious when qualifying buyers, trying to limit speculation and to be realistic about supply and demand.

To evade a similar catastrophe, we should continue in the cautious approach and perhaps introduce heavy penalties for those that misrepresent purchasers in the process. Furthermore, people should be more realistic and aware of their possibilities. Prevention and early response are the key if we want to avoid a housing bubble.

Another month has passed and the Greater Toronto REALTORS® have released their housing market figures for January 2012. According to the report, there were 4,567 sales through the TorontoMLS® system in the first month of 2012. This represents an 8.8 per cent increase compared to January 2011, when the number of sales reached 4,199. Moreover, the steepest increase of sales was recorded in low-rise home types in the regions surrounding the City of Toronto.

“A favourable affordability picture bolstered by very low posted fixed mortgage rates has kept home buyers confident in their ability to achieve the Canadian goal of home ownership,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Richard Silver. He adds that there’s huge diversity in the composition of buyers with strong interest in home types across the pricing spectrum.

The average selling price through the Toronto MLS® system for January 2012 recorded a 9 per cent year-over-year increase settling at $463,534.

Competition between buyers remains tight due to low inventory levels, resulting in robust annual rates of price growth over the last year. "Strong price growth is expected to attract more listings. A better supplied market should result in a slower rate of price growth, especially in the second half of 2012,” said Jason Mercer, the Toronto Real Estate Board’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada. Thanks Jose for this beautiful black and white photo!

If you were thinking of redecorating your home and you were looking for ideas, the first thing you’d probably do is search online for inspiration — be it for colour palettes, furniture styles, or room rearrangements. In your search for the perfect new design, you’d probably end up bookmarking or saving images from many different sites and would need to go back and forth between them, perhaps even printing the pictures out in expensive colour. Now, wouldn’t it be nice if you had one central site where you can collect all the images you like and post them onto a board layout so you can compare all the palettes that caught your eye, for example, or see which chair looks best by comparing them side-by-side? Well, with Pinterest, you can.

What Is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a new, photo-based social networking site that’s growing fast and gaining new users by the millions. The site is made up of user pinboards, which are online versions of bulletin boards or scrapbook pages. On these pinboards you pin photos; these photos can come from anywhere on the Web (search engines, blogs, or websites) or from other pinboards on the Pinterest site. You can then categorize your pinboards by theme, so you can pin all your photos for bookshelves on one pinboard, and use another board for tiles, for example.

To understand how Pinterest works, follow this scenario: let’s say you’re thinking of redecorating your bedroom. While clicking through an interior designer’s blog, you come across a beautiful photo of a bedroom that not only has the wall colour you’re looking for, but also gorgeous bed sheets, a cute nightstand, and lovely curtains. Using Pinterest, you can ‘pin’ this photo from the blog to your pinboard. Then, you can carry on browsing the Web and repeat the procedure whenever you come across a great new bedroom design. When you have several photos on your pinboard, you can share it with your friends and family who are helping you choose a design or who are perhaps also looking for interior decorating ideas.

Pinterest

Another great way to search is simply staying on the Pinterest site and browsing the pinboards of other users. In effect, this is like having access to a free online catalogue of great home decorating ideas compiled by people who love interior design. You can browse pinboards dedicated to tables, wood finishes, linens… the list goes on. Whatever you’re looking for in home décor, there’s probably a pinboard for it. In fact, you could probably get all the decorating ideas you’d ever need just by browsing through pinboards.

Here are a few worth checking out:

• Joy Cho’s “For the Home” pinboard

• The “For our new loft” pinboard by Hijiri Shepherd

• Bonnie Tsang’s “Living Spaces” pinboard

• Ana White’s pinboard

In addition to home decorating, Pinterest has really caught on in several other uses:

• Wedding planning, where you browse the Web or other pinboards for the perfect dress and flower arrangements to pin and share.

• Recipe collecting, where you pin a photo of a delicious new dish and follow the link beside the photo to view its recipe.

• Personal style, where you pin photos of the latest seasonal looks from the runway or a fashion magazine and build up a pinboard of outfit ideas.

Finally, Pinterest is great because it’s just pure fun to use. Firstly, the site is very easy to navigate, with big buttons that are clearly labelled, as demonstrated by this tutorial video.

Secondly, like any social networking site, it allows you to build an online identity and express your interests. Thirdly, it’s really cool when you start getting followers and ‘repins’ (when a user pins a photo of yours to their own pinboard); that’s when you feel like your taste is acknowledged and you’re starting a new trend. Fourthly, as you find users and pinboards with similar interests as you, you start to build an online community and bond with people who like what you like.

Currently, Pinterest has limited membership. To join the site, you need to either be invited by an existing Pinterest user or request an invite and get your spot on the waiting list. The good thing is that it usually only takes a day or two to gain access to the site. Sign up now and start pinning ideas for your next great home project!

This excellent photo was taken somewhere over Newfoundland on Antony's flight from London to Toronto. Thanks for it!

There is a new, easier way to get dinner on the table, and it is called Supperworks. Their slogan is “taking the work out of supper,” and they do just that! But we are not talking about MSG filled TV suppers or nutrient-lacking pots of Kraft Dinner. Supperworks makes it easier for you to have healthy, home-cooked meals ready for your family in minutes rather than hours. There is no planning, shopping, washing, chopping, or elaborate clean-up because that has already all been done for you.

How Does It Work?

When you walk into a Supperworks store, you will see a series of stations. Each station has a food fridge similar to what you would see in a Subway Sandwiches or Quiznos store. The vegetables in there are already chopped, and there are the appropriately sized measuring scoops to go with them. Above the fridge are all the spices you will need as well as the simple instructions that you need to follow. Each station is different, but for the majority, you end up combining all the necessary spices, vegetables, and meat in a Ziploc bag. You seal the bag, label it with the cooking instructions, place it in a labeled bin and move on to the next station. You continue in this manner until you have made all the meals you signed up for. Then you take your bin to the front. The staff will make sure that nothing is missing – because there is nothing like preparing a cranberry & BBQ pot chicken only to discover you forgot the rice – and then you are good to go!

Stations

Upon getting home, you simply toss all your prepared meals in the freezer. When you come across a day where you know you will have no time to get dinner on the table, you defrost the meal of your choosing the night before and then heat it up according to the easy cooking instructions when you return from your busy day.

Alternatively, if you don’t think you have time to put the meals together in the store, you can pay a little extra and have the staff prepare them for you. Then all you have to do is pick them up and go!

In addition, Supperworks has a deal for new parents. They understand that the first few months with a baby can be exhausting and time-consuming. So for the first two months of new parenthood, they will make up your meals absolutely free!

Cook It By Yourself!

But if you have an hour to spare, I would definitely recommend making the meals up yourself, as it certainly does not feel like work. If you come in during the day, there is coffee and tea to be had, as well as cookies for the kids. For the night-time sessions, the wine is flowing, and some delicious hors d’oeuvres are served. You are also allowed to bring a helper, so you and a friend could make a night of it and then split your creations. Or you can have one of your children come along and learn all about how things work in the kitchen.

Personalize Your Recipe

Supperworks Meal

It is also interesting to note that whether you put it together yourself or have it made up for you, there is no other prepared meal system that allows you to customize your meal exactly how you want it. You can see just what is going into your meal and tailor it to your likes and dislikes. Sure, there are instructions, but if you don’t enjoy garlic, you don’t have to put it in, or you can request that the staff leave it out. If you are a vegetarian and want Tofu Tenders instead of Chicken Tenders – not a problem! However you want your meal done is just how it will be.

Menu

The menu changes every month, and there are always fourteen meals to choose from. They offer several vegetarian options and even offer a “Naturally Raised” session the second Tuesday of each month.

Some of their meals, like the ratatouille provençal, are suppers all in themselves, but some, such as the herbed pork loin, could use a side dish or two. Not to worry: they have those as well! Their side dishes come already put together, so all you have to do is cook them alongside your main dish. You can pick from such options as creamy peas and orzo, sweet potato fries with chipotle mayo, and many more! And to finish everything off, they have some delicious dessert options, such as chocolate chip cookies and brownies.

They also understand that families come in all shapes and sizes. That is why they offer two options for the size of your meal. When you order your meals, you can either do them in “Fulls” for four to six people or “Splits” for two to three people.

Reservations

Forest Hill Centre
with Customers

All you have to do to take part in this wonderful service is give them a call or go online a few days before you want to come in. The reason you need to give them notice is that they order all their meat in fresh. Then you select whether you would like to make up six, nine, or twelve meals. Although, if you are a first-time visitor, they will happily let you make up just three so you can see whether you like it. The meals range in prices for “fulls” like this:

$180 for six ($4.67 per serving)
$265 for nine ($4.67 per serving)
$333 for twelve ($4.29 per serving)

There is a small added charge for “splits” as the full size is split and prepared in two portions, so they therefore require more packaging. If you would prefer to pick up your order instead of putting it together yourself in-store, there is an added fee of $25 for six, $35 for nine, and $45 for twelve. But if you order in store or online, you get a $5 discount!

Locations

There are three easily accessible locations in Toronto. One is down in the Beaches on Queen near Woodbine. There is another up by the Leaside Centre at Eglinton and Laird. And there is also one on Eglinton just West of Avenue Road.

The staff at these locations are knowledgeable and friendly, so feel free to give them a call or stop in for a tour of the store!

The Forest Hill Location:

497 Eglinton Avenue West
Toronto, ON
(416) 481-2778

The Leaside Location:

105 Vanderhoof Avenue #18
Toronto, Ontario
(416) 913-2881

The Beaches Location:

1733 Queen Street East
Toronto, ON
(416) 690-3535

All photos courtesy of Supperworks.

Whether you’re looking to savour pure installation art, or you’re interested in renovating your home, the 14th annual Interior Design Show will inspire you to see living spaces in a different way, and give you exciting new possibilities for your home reno project.

Taking place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the Interior Design Show opens on Thursday, January 26 with a special opening night party. The scheduled events include opening remarks by International Guest of Honour Piero Lissoni, famed Italian architect and designer whose many accolades include being inducted into the New York Hall of Fame of Interior Design; a charity auction where attendees bid on 20 designer versions of the classic Magis Julian chair, with proceeds going to non-profit children’s charity ONEXONE; a live musical performance by Rob James (formerly of McMaster & James) and dancers from Stomp and So You Think You Can Dance; a DJ set by interior designer Karim Rashid; and an after-party at the Thompson Hotel.

After the opening night party, general admission to the show starts on Saturday, January 28 and runs to Sunday, January 29. Some 300 exhibitors are showcasing a wide range of products, including appliances, furniture, kitchen & bath, lighting, paint & wallpaper, window & door, and landscaping; you’re sure to find great pieces and ideas for your home project. In addition to the product exhibits, a plethora of special displays and events await design-savvy visitors:

• 

  What’s Your Design Dilemma?, where attendees can get free 15-minute design consultations with professional interior designers.

• How Do You Live?, a conceptual “multi-dwelling living space” designed to comment on the condo boom in the city; in this display, a 2-storey building contains 6 different rooms, each designed by a Toronto-based design firm.

• Studio North, an exhibit of custom and one-of-a-kind furniture, lighting, glass, ceramics, and textiles.

• Prototype, featuring concept model works by independent designers.

• Collaborations, where two teams of architectural firms produce 200-square-foot installations based on a single material.

• DesignGenNext, a showcase of student works from Toronto’s top design schools—OCAD, Ryerson University, George Brown College, Humber College, and Sheridan College.

• Offsite/Onsite, a 10,000-square-foot space filled with experimental installations from North American designers.

• Design Icons, a large-scale exhibit on Front Street where classic design pieces like the Panton Chair are recreated in gigantic ice sculptures.

Piero Lissoni

• Celebrity and influential speakers, such as William Yeoward (crystal glass supplier to Prince of Wales), Brad Ford, Aaron Hoey (General Merchandise Manager of Anthropologie), Lynda Reeves (founder of House & Home Magazine), broadcasting personality Marilyn Denis, and Brian Gluckstein of Gluckstein Design.

If you’re craving even more design events, fear not! On Thursday, January 26, the Conversations in Design conference hosts talks by designers, curators, and consultants in the interior design industry. There’s also Design Docs, a film festival comprised of new and noteworthy international design documentaries. Finally, all over Toronto, you can catch City Culture events starting from January 24 at locales such as AGO, OCAD, and Design Exchange.

Get tickets to the Interior Design Show and related events online, and get ready to feast your eyes on both edgy concepts and must-have pieces for your home!

Ryan found this remarkable still life somewhere in Downtown Toronto. I appreciate the interesting color composition. Thanks!

There are many affluent residential neighbourhoods that can be recognized at first sight by big houses and luxurious cars in Toronto. They are filled with luxurious restaurants, high-end social clubs, prestigious schools, and expensive boutiques. Sure, there are similar neighbourhoods in all other cities in Canada, but have you ever wondered if they are the richest neighbourhoods in the whole country or whether there are even more opulent residential areas somewhere else?

Canadian Business created a list of the ten wealthiest neighbourhoods/postal codes in each province of the country and afterwards put together an ultimate top-ten list of the richest neighbourhoods in the whole country. The richest neighbourhoods were identified according to the data of Environics Analytics by Forward Sortation Area (the first three letters in your postal code) based on the most recent average net worth of the residents. It’s no surprise that the top ten was dominated by Ontario, since it’s the province with the largest population and the country’s most significant economic centre. According to Canadian Business, six out of ten of the richest Canadian neighbourhoods are located in Ontario.

Canadas Richest Postal Codes - Click to Enlarge

The title of the richest neighbourhood in Canada belongs to Lawrence Park, with an average net worth of $3.824 million in 2010. Bordered by Yonge Street and Lawrence Avenue to the northwest and Bayview to the east, Lawrence Park preserves its charisma and atmosphere and is considered the most family-friendly neighbourhood in Toronto. Moreover, it’s located near high-end amenities such as fine boutiques, social clubs, great schools, exclusive restaurants, and beautiful parks.

Westmount by Gilles Douaire

Lawrence Park was closely followed by Montreal’s Westmount with an average net worth of $3.693 million and another Torontonian neighbourhood, Rosedale, with $3.642 million. Other Ontario neighbourhood that made it to the top ten are St. Andrew-Windfields East ($3,447), St. Andrew-Windfields West ($2,740), Forest Hill South ($2,546) and Kleinburg ($2,512).

The top ten list is composed of a wide variety of neighbourhoods, including the quaint and tiny ravine-crossed area of Rosedale, Westmount located in the busy centre of Montreal, Springbank, which nestles in the foothills of the Rockies, and a huge Toronto rural suburb, Kleinburg. If you want to find out more information about the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Canada, have a look at these statistics.