Rob Ford's Toronto

[44 North]

I thought something interesting about where Ford was ticketed...maybe it's been brought up already. But the area where he jaywalked is literally below Vancouver's Skytrain system - almost identical to the system for Scarboro he rallied against because it 'tears up the street and blocks traffic'.

 

[blackballed]

blackballed, can you provide us with the raw numbers, so that I can calculate the regression (and some other statistics)?

Johnny,

I have written to UT to ask for the data, but I had to put this together by literally going through every page to find the number for the first comment of every month. Doesn't actually take as long as you might think, but it's obviously rudimentary.

I'd be interested to see something like reaction after MetroMan's posts, and there are many possible regressions. I'll let you know if/when I hear back from UT administrators.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Isn't it odd (okay, not really) that Steak Queen is not on the list of Winterlicious? Guess they are not a "top" restaurant.

 

[Mongo]

UD is not here for serious debate, he's here to provoke a response and see how far he can go with it. You guys/gals haven't figured that out yet?

Oh, I've had UD pegged as a troll for years. He's not a troll all the time -- he does make a valuable contribution to UT with much of his photography -- but when he starts deliberately stirring up controversy by spouting some bizarre opinion, he's definitely acting as a troll.

 

[inyyz]

^fantasy renderings

An appropriate hobby for one living in a fantasy world.

 

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

Between the BC analysis, the rosacea diagnosis and trolling, things are moving pretty fast here these days!

I just want to say maybe we should let this one slide. I mean, who among us has not taken a trip across the continent to go to his brother's drug enforcer's mother's funeral and, yeah, wanted to blow off a bit of late night steam in the clubs during the downtime? It's perfectly normal behaviour though I guess some people here would have spent the whole funeral trip consoling their brother's drug enforcer in his time of need, hunkering down out of the spotlight and drinking lattes. But some of us are only human. Some of us like to have a "Diet Coke" and "hang out with the taxpayers," eh?

(Somewhat more seriously....given all the stuff hanging over Ford's head, WTF is wrong with him that - jaywalking aside - he'd go all the way over there and then get himself all over Instagram and Twitter again? I know there's some people who don't care and the rest of us have long since thrown up our hands, but it really goes to show how narcissistic and delusional he is, that such a thing - on a FUNERAL trip - would just be water off a duck's back, right up until he got a criminal charge. I mean, I know that the man has no shame or sense or reality, generally, but a week after falling off the wagon he doesn't care or thinks no one will notice that he goes partying the second he leaves town? At the risk of being too serious, is there anyone left watching to help this guy before he hits rock bottom?)

 

[FromTheHammer]

Who goes around secretly recording conversations? People looking to gain something from them, that's who. Scott MacIntyre would certainly fit that bill.
edit: I wonder if Renata did find out later that she was recorded. Certainly explains why Ford has been paranoid about visitors recording conversations in his office.

It certainly fits with his later behaviour of threatening Ford with exposure of Ford's drug abuse and criminal connections; also, it would make sense that he would be Renata's confidant, as a spouse (albeit common law) of a Ford sibling who also has substance abuse problems. I'm guessing there is some sort of co-dependent bond formed there.

 

[pw20]

It certainly fits with his later behaviour of threatening Ford with exposure of Ford's drug abuse and criminal connections; also, it would make sense that he would be Renata's confidant, as a spouse (albeit common law) of a Ford sibling who also has substance abuse problems. I'm guessing there is some sort of co-dependent bond formed there.

I don't think we're really dealing with the realm of "normal" relationships or people. A year ago who would have thought it "normal" for a mayor to have been taped smoking crack cocaine.

The more I read about the Fords the more I understand that they live outside the law. They have been low life criminals for years and subscribe not the same moral code that you and I subscribe too. Its thug life. And that thug is our mayor...

 

[euler]

Johnny,

I have written to UT to ask for the data, but I had to put this together by literally going through every page to find the number for the first comment of every month. Doesn't actually take as long as you might think, but it's obviously rudimentary.

I'd be interested to see something like reaction after MetroMan's posts, and there are many possible regressions. I'll let you know if/when I hear back from UT administrators.

I think all he wanted was the # of posts per month, the data you used to make the graph.

If you wanted more detailed data though it would be somewhat trivial to write a script to scrape the whole thread. Might take me 30m to 1h, then each run of the script would take a bit of time so as to not hammer the server (gotta be a good netizen). Depends on what kind of data you want.

 

[Mo-tage]

I thought something interesting about where Ford was ticketed...maybe it's been brought up already. But the area where he jaywalked is literally below Vancouver's Skytrain system - almost identical to the system for Scarboro he rallied against because it 'tears up the street and blocks traffic'.

Maybe he was stumbling across the street to urinate on one of the pillars.

 

[OSS 117]

^I have never listened to Sarah Palin speak nor do I watch television or read any MSM. In fact really the only "news" I read is related to architecture and to a degree, development. Mostly European architects unveiling their next hot rendering or a tech firm unveiling a new Galaxy Note 7 or something.

I intentionally decided to tune out of the "lamestream" and tune into creating art--fantasy renderings --and focusing on being the world's snobbiest architecture critic.

Then why do you think you have something to contribute to a conversation about Rob Ford?

 

[OSS 117]

Maybe Sarah Palin stole it from me?! It's like how I was the first person to call the King & Portland area Freedville and suddenly the "lamestream" media started using the term and feigned disbelief that it was I--the urbandreamer--who coined the term. This is one reason I am so cynical about them.

I was the first one to start using the catchphrase "Would you believe?" but Get Smart went and stole it from me five years before I was born.

 

[Johnny Au]

I think all he wanted was the # of posts per month, the data you used to make the graph.

If you wanted more detailed data though it would be somewhat trivial to write a script to scrape the whole thread. Might take me 30m to 1h, then each run of the script would take a bit of time so as to not hammer the server (gotta be a good netizen). Depends on what kind of data you want.

Yes, I just wanted the number of posts per month. I don't need to know exactly when the post was made, since I am not going to do precise calculus with them.

 

[W. K. Lis]

1. "Ford had said he is visiting Vancouver for the funeral of a friend's mother; he told Warmington that the friend is his former aide David Price, who worked for him from April until November. He arrived at Vancouver's airport on Friday morning with his children.
2. It was "reported that he had been at a pub in the area earlier, with a flood of photos later being posted on social media of Ford dancing and posing for pictures with revellers.
3. He was "ticketed for jaywalking Friday night in Coquitlam."

Who goes to another city for a funeral, but then goes out partying in a pub, and then gets a ticket for jaywalking and maybe something else?

Sounds like that uncle you wish you were not related to.

Note to self: do not invite this "uncle" to weddings, funerals, first communions, confirmations, bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, graduations, batisms, circumcisms, banquets, etc..

 

[dforthandbview]

Joe Warmington, who spoke to Ford on the phone, had said that Ford was "shaken up" by what happened. It's odd that someone who has a long history with the police (having been arrested, been involved in multiple domestic disturbances, a home invasion, etc) would feel "shaken up" by a simple jaywalking citation. I wonder why. Is it because he is out of his buddy Ron Taverner's jurisdiction and therefore has no get out of jail free card? But why would that "shake him up"? Maybe he had drugs on him? It's not illogical that Ford would have a toot and go party.