Observations – Page 3

2020-09-192020-09-30

Walking in the City and Suburbs

Looking south from Queen’s Park during lunch in 2018
@2018 Charles Dunlevy

I love to walk. I literally walked off over 40 pounds in 2016. I walked every day during lunch break and again after work. I work downtown and live in the inner suburbs. Going for walks is different depending on whether you are in the city of suburbs. Both are great options, but different experiences.

The thing that I love most about walking in the suburbs is the peace and quiet. I love trees and my community is pretty much situated in a forest (when viewed from above). I love to listen to music while walking, but sometimes I just listen to the birds.

When listening to music while walking, I walk to the beat of the music… mostly house music in the 118-125 bpm range.

I find that is it far easier to walk long distances downtown than in the suburbs. There are so many shops and people and places to see that you do not notice how far you have walked.

Walking in the suburbs is great for peace and quiet, but can get boring especially if you are in a relatively new area where there is nothing but cookie-cutter subdivisions.

Walking in Willowdale (c) 2020 Charles Dunlevy

North York Centre is a great place for walking. This community contains a busy downtown-style Yonge street corridor flanked by serene suburban-style residential streets on either side. High rise buildings are concentrated along Yonge Street. This area is situated in the middle of both branches of the Don River.

Don Mills holds the distinction of being the first master-planned community in North America. It consists of winding streets and cul-de-sacs with a network of walking paths and trails interspersed throughout the community. The community is situated around a major intersection and contains 4 quadrants with the intersection at the centre. Retail is concentrated at the south-east corner in a nice outdoor plaza which was previously an indoor shopping mall which before that, was an outdoor shopping centre.

No matter which environment, walking is great for the body and mind. I am able to brainstorm and make plans while walking by myself. Some of my best ideas have come up during long walks.

As an avid lover of music, I find my walks are the best time to just enjoy the music. I create playlists or record my own mix set and enjoy the true experience while walking.

So what are you waiting for? Put down that smart phone and go out for a walk… Or better yet, carry it with you so that you may listen to music and take photographs. Have a great time walking!

2020-09-122023-05-21

The Transition to a Virtual World

What strange times we are living in. During the lockdown, many of us were forced to transition to a pretty much virtual world. Some of us had the privilege to be able to work from home. During the height of the lockdown, it was advised to avoid close contact with people outside of your household. For those of us who live alone, that meant an extended period of mind-destroying isolation.

I am blessed to be able to work from home. I often say this is the only good that came out of the pandemic for me. I shudder at the thought of isolation without work. I worried so much about those who could not work from home and were effectively laid off. Spending up to 6 weeks at home alone must have driven thousands of people to the edge of the cliff.

During this period, I began living in a virtual world. I did my work via remote connection to a virtual desktop. I participated in team meetings via virtual meeting software such as Teams or Webex. As of publication, I am still doing these things at home.

Outside of work, I socialized with friends via social media by way of text, voice, or video calls on KakaoTalk, Line, Facebook, or Instagram. I was entertained by virtual music festivals held online by Defected Records and many other outlets. I also found time to play video games.

When I look at my Steam gaming library, I see that all of my games are simulation games. I also have one adventure game which is like living in a virtual world. During the height of isolation, I found great joy driving transport trucks around Europe and the United States via simulation games. I also enjoyed driving trains throughout Europe, North America, and Asia.

Those games and the ability to socialize and work online enabled me to get through the isolation period while living in a virtual world.

Euro Truck Simulator enabled me to take virtual trips throughout Europe while performing the various tasks related to driving a transport truck. I was able to drive through Italy and board a ferry to Sardinia and continue my journey through the island to drop off the cargo. This is probably the most fun game I have ever played.

Anybody who knows me knows that I am a big rail fan. I absolutely love trains. While travelling throughout Asia, I like to spend my free time riding the trains. Japan is a country that I consider a mecca for trains. Trains quite literally hold that country together.

Train Sim World 2 by DoveTail Games is a visually stunning train simulation. Not only can you sit in the cab and drive trains, you may get up, walk around, and even interact by performing tasks such as adding fuel, operating switches, etc. You may also play as a rail fan taking photographs, riding trains, or just walking around the station or one of the sprawling yards.

Infinite Flight truly amazes me… this is a fully-fledged flight simulator made for mobile phones and tablets! Before playing this game, I knew nothing about how to fly an airplane. When I got into this game, I found myself reading their guides, forums, and watching videos from real pilots in order to learn how to fly.

This simulation has a large following from around the world. Many pilots actually use this application and are active in the forums. They have a live feature where players can either fly or operate Air Traffic Control.

Taking off is the easiest part of the flight, just like in real life. Landing is the most difficult. It took me quite some time to be able to successfully land an airplane in Infinite Flight. My first successful flight was with my favourite plane, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. I was playing this game pre-pandemic while at my bar after work on a quiet evening. I was so happy I just had to order another drink and tell my friends and staff.

Train Simulator 2020 is the original simulator also by DoveTail games. This tried and trusted simulator has a large online community who create several mods and custom routes from around the world. It may not be as visually stunning as Train Sim World, but it is a more well-rounded system, popular with the most die-hard train enthusiasts.

This franchise is known for its massive collection of add-on routes and locomotives of which there are over 500 on the Steam store. This does not include the hundreds if not thousands of downloadable content created by enthusiasts and third-party developers. I have amassed quite a collection of routes and locomotives over the two years I have been playing.

Conclusion
Although many of us felt isolated and lonely during the lockdown, I was able to enjoy a virtual life by playing these incredible games.

Games Played during Lockdown
Euro Truck Simulator
American Truck Simulator
Train Simulator
Train Sim World
Elder Scrolls
X-Plane
Infinite Flight

2020-07-022020-09-12

The End of Retail Part 2

Back in February, I wrote a piece detailing my observations surrounding the state of retail in this city. Little did I know that within two weeks the nation would go into lockdown due to an evil virus pandemic.

Unfortunately, my predictions about the future of bricks and mortar retail have come true but at a far quicker pace. Several businesses in the city have closed permanently and others are not expected to survive the pandemic.

Toronto and Peel Region entered phase 2 of the province’s pandemic recovery plan. This allows businesses to reopen under strict conditions. Bars and restaurants are not allowed to host dine-in customers. They are allowed to open patios, but with restricted seating. Phase 3 is expected to allow dining indoors, but again, seating will be restricted.

Many establishments simply will not survive under this setup. Unfortunately allowing them to reopen fully without restrictions would simply excacerbate the spread of this deadly virus.

I have heard estimates that up to 30% of businesses in the city will be closed in the coming months. This is awful.

All we can do at this point is pray. Pray that the world gets out of this latest predicament. Pray that a viable and effective vaccine is found and made available to all. We would like our lives back.