Joiner's Musings

More Toronto photos. You only have to stand in one spot at Dundas Square to see all kinds of people - it is entertainment in and of itself.

CN Tower  This past weekend we traveled to Toronto to attend a wedding. We were lucky enough to have perfect weather for the occasion and managed to do a little sightseeing. I have been in downtown Toronto a number of times so there was nothing new for me. However it always presents an opportunity to take photos and take photos I did. New Condo near Lake Ontario  This a new Condo and I think a very intriguing design. There are many such examples of condominium construction in Toronto and it is starling to see new dwellings pop up everywhere. I would imagine there are many buyers but one would assume that unabated construction will eventually lead to a glut on the market. The peculiar at Young and Dundas  I always love Dundas Square. There is the strange and the peculiar along with the interesting and Victoria Day weekend was no exception. Street vendor near CN Tower I noticed more street vendors than I have seen in the past. Perhaps Toronto is loosening...

A few months ago I purchased an EPL-5 which has the same sensor as the OMD. Now the sensor in the EP5 which was just introduced this week is the same sensor in the other two cameras I mentioned. Will I buy it - no! It has plenty of enticing new technology, such as focus peaking, two wheel controllers, Wifi, solid build and so on but things I really don't need at this point. I have always thought it wise to wait a generation or two before plunging into a new camera purchase. I had the EPL-2 for a couple of years having skipped the EPL-3. My newly acquired EPL-5 is leaps ahead of both those cameras. I am going to see what the new OMD-E6(??) offers  and if it offers phase detection I think I might be tempted to buy it. Anyway I just ordered an external stereo mic today for the EPL-5 which really interests me because I want to expand my experimentation with video.

 It is nice to see a little economic activity in Halifax. A new building is going up. This time it is an office tower. This 10 story structure is located on Hollis near the Baton Rouge. I would think that the condominium boom has passed and it is time to look to the downtown core for more office building construction. The Historic properties are looking good but March is not a tourist time in Halifax and people were few and far between. Still a little quiet is good sometimes.

I know that I am on a bit of a military kick this past week but I thought I would share the occasion of my son's commissioning as an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces this past weekend. Here is standing beside his older sister.

Okay, we actually have a navy. Pictured above is the Halifax frigate class HMCS Halifax. Yes the first of a fleet of frigates. Not a large fleet mind you but enough to protect this country. The Halifax was berthed near the Maritime museum is conjunction with the Battle of the Atlantic this past weekend (May 5th). It was not open for tours but it was a pretty imposing site on the waterfront nonetheless. It is actually bigger than you might imagine but certainly not near as large as some American warships. Still, it is imposing enough and its crew of 350 are ready for any task presented to them.

It always amazes me that we have no qualms about slowly erasing our history. I was at a seminar in Cornwallis the last few days and parked on the former base is the last Canadian Armed Forces Voodoo ever flown, Voodoo 101006 which was flown into CFB Chatham in 1987 and then brought to Cornwallis for permanent ground display in front of the present museum.  The Voodoo represents an illustrious period for the Canadian Air force as the Voodoo replaced the aging CF 100 Canuck. The CF-101 Voodoo was an all-weather interceptor aircraft and was said to perform its role admirably though its effective service life was limited. It is a shame to 101006 in its present condition having obviously been vandalized and neglected to the point where it would be very costly to bring her into any kind of presentable condition. This is  a brief account of her  accounts of her last day. "It was a beautiful sunny morning when she departed, running afterburners and then later the familiar ...