People using their mobile phonesEntertainment used to depend much more heavily on where somebody happened to be. Watching shows meant sitting near a television. Console gaming normally meant being at home. Audio entertainment often involved carrying a separate device (remember the Walkman?) Mobile technology has scrambled that arrangement. A modern

I came in by train. Bridgeport is the last Canada Line station before the airport branch splits off, and the covered walkway from the platform drops you at the resort in about two minutes. There are stairs, escalators and an elevator on that stretch. With a rolling bag, I used

If you drive in Toronto, chances are you've passed through a RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) checkpoint at some point — especially around holidays, long weekends, or late at night downtown. Most stops take a minute and end with a friendly wave-through. But if you don't know what's actually happening at

If you've lived in Toronto for a while, or anywhere else in Canada really, you've likely seen gambling become more prevalent than it was. Even if you're not a gambler yourself. There was a time having a gamble meant finding a poker game, buying a lottery ticket, or going to

Image by Rick Whittle via Unsplash There was a time when Saturday morning in the suburbs had a distinct soundtrack. Garage doors rolled open, sprinklers clicked across front yards, and lawnmowers started up one after another. Cutting the grass was part chore, part neighbourhood ritual. Today, that familiar routine is

April 2022. Ontario opened its online gambling market, and within about a fortnight you could not listen to a Leafs broadcast without hearing the same four voices telling you about a risk-free first bet. It was not your imagination and it was not gradual. Before that month, one Crown corporation

Rearing children requires parents to choose between enjoying current moments and preparing for future needs. Activities like vacations, outings and celebrations create memories that remain in the mind for a long time but these events are costly without careful planning. Parents are also responsible for savings, education, housing, retirement and

Walk the Danforth from Broadview to Pape and count the cannabis stores. Do the same along Queen West and the number climbs again. Eight years ago the count was zero everywhere in this city. Few retail changes have rewritten a Toronto street this quickly. Photo by Kyle Hinkson on Unsplash

Image by zinkevych on Magnific Something has shifted in how Canadians think about furniture. For a long stretch of the housing boom years, the logic was to keep furniture spending modest because the home itself was the asset and moving was likely. Upgrade the kitchen, invest in the neighbourhood, save

A radiator showed up at a shop I know last spring. Right box, right branding, right part number on the label. The price was about forty percent under what everyone else was quoting, which the buyer took as a win. It lasted nine days on the road before it let

Every August, Exhibition Place transforms, and for a short period, feels like a separate city. The midway appears seemingly overnight, a vibrant, chaotic setup of games and rides supported by walls of prizes, and backed by the shouts of game attendants who have perfected a knack for identifying potential customers

The stall happens at the same point for most men. A friend offers to introduce you to someone, you agree in principle, and then six weeks pass without a plan being made, because agreeing to meet means finding out where you stand. Bad timing and a heavy work quarter are