This week on DineSafe, city inspectors shut down Templeton's in Kensington Market citing failure to provide adequate pest control and crucial failure to prevent gross unsanitary conditions. Magic Oven in Corktown is back with its second conditional pass since last week. And, deep breath, Medieval Times somehow got pinched. The horror...

See which other offenders were caught by the food police this week.

Freshslice (619 College Street)
Inspected on: November 9, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 3 (Minor: 1, Significant: 2)
Crucial infractions include: N/A

King Palace (820 Church Street)
Inspected on: November 9, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 6 (Minor: 3, Significant: 2, Crucial: 1)
Crucial infractions include: Operator fail to ensure food is not contaminated/adulterated.

Magic Oven (360 Queen Street East)
Inspected on: November 9, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 3 (Significant: 3)
Crucial infractions include: N/A

Mucho Burrito (181 Bay Street)
Inspected on: November 10, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 3 (Minor: 1, Significant: 2)
Crucial infractions include: N/A

Home of Hot Taste (710 Yonge Street)
Inspected on: November 12, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 3 (Minor: 2, Significant: 1)
Crucial infractions include: N/A

Templeton's (319 Augusta Ave.)
Inspected on: November 12, 2015
Inspection finding: Red (Closed)
Number of infractions: 7 (Minor: 2, Significant: 4, Crucial: 1)
Crucial infractions include: Operator fail to prevent gross unsanitary conditions.

Medieval Times (10 Dufferin Street)
Inspected on: November 13, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 3 (Minor: 1, Significant: 2)
Crucial infractions include: N/A

Morning Glory (457 King Street East)
Inspected on: November 13, 2015
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional)
Number of infractions: 3 (Minor: 2, Significant: 1)
Crucial infractions include: N/A

Note: The above businesses each received infractions from DineSafe as originally reported on the DineSafe site. This does not imply that any of these businesses have not subsequently corrected the issue and received a passing grade by DineSafe inspectors. For the latest status for each of the mentioned businesses, including details on any subsequent inspections, please be sure to check the DineSafe site.

The first time to market in over 30 years, the queen of Lowther Avenue makes her mark at $9,495,000. 36 Lowther Ave., a four bedroom majestic property in the Annex, is a must-see, even at the hefty asking price.

Owned by a local artist, the entire 5,000 square foot space is enchanting and romantic with pastel ceilings and wood carvings. The whimsical home is what you'd imagine the inside of a gingerbread house to look like.

The historic homes on Lowther Ave. were built in the late 1800s, and number 36 was first occupied by the prominent Baldwin family. The red-brick facade and some of the interior still resemble its original self, like a well-preserved nineteenth century time capsule.

It's a well-loved home, no doubt. There's a grand mahogany multi-level staircase and classic powder rooms instead of modern bathrooms. The original fireplaces, stained glass windows and vaulted ceilings have been maintained over the years, and the third floor loft features wrap-around windows and a balcony.

SPECS

• Address: 36 Lowther Avenue
• Price: $9,495,000
• Lot Size: 61 x 138 ft.
• Bedrooms: 4
• Bathrooms: 4
• Parking: 3
• Taxes: $30,385.06
• Walk Score: 98
• Listing Agent: Eileen Farrow, Chestnut Park

NOTABLE FEATURES

• Approx. 5,000 square feet
• Carved woodwork
• Mahogany staircase
• Stained glass windows
• Fireplace
• Third floor loft
• Private driveway with garage

GOOD FOR

Eclectic art collectors or a very wealthy family. It's pricier than other homes on the street, and requires a buyer or family -- there's plenty of room --with money and adventurous taste.

MOVE ON IF

You need additional bedrooms. Even a sprawling house like this one, you might expect more than four beds and baths. While the rooms are impressive, a few upgrades might be required, even after shelling out almost $9.5 million.

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS
Do you love the queen of Lowther? Let us know in the comments section.

Thanks to Bosley Real Estate Ltd, Brokerage for sponsoring our House of the Week. All content and editorial selected and written by blogTO.

The menu at this new snack bar is ever changing, but can be counted on for $5 and $10 dishes. Highlights include sizzling skillets of pizza fries, and over-the-top desserts. Stop in for dinner and drinks most nights of the week from 6 p.m. or make it a destination for day drinking and dancing on Sunday afternoons.

Read my profile of PO Box 1192 in the restaurant section.

Brandon Olsen, the mastermind chef behind Brando's fried chicken, has opened up a poultry-focused pop-up shop at 610 College Street, right next to the Royal Cinema.

You may have tried Olsen's chicken at Bar Isabel (he's the restaurant's ex-chef de cuisine) or at Cask Days. Now, you can indulge in your craving anytime between now and November 28. And if you're craving a late night snack, Olsen will be staying open until 3 a.m. this Friday and Saturday.

As Post City Magazine notes, two pieces of chicken will set you back $7. Or, you can choose to grab a sandwich for $5. Everything comes served with buttermilk sauce, Frank's red hot and slaw.

Will you visit Brando's pop-up? Let us know in the comments.

Photo of Brando's Fried Chicken at 2015 Cask Days by Natta Summerky

Toronto is home to plenty of chicken wing night deals. Few restaurants, however, offer all-you-can-eat specials.

If you're looking for an option outside of the breastaurant scene, you can now head to Toronto's other owl-themed eatery for wings galore on Wednesday nights.

Night Owl - Little Italy's bar, restaurant and arcade hybrid - is offering up all-you-can-eat wings for $14.99. You'll also have to order a beverage if you want to gorge on wings. And it's not a veritable free-for-all; you will have a two hour time limit.

You won't have to wait too long to pig out because Night Owl will start offering its AYCE special tomorrow.

What's your favourite wing night deal? Let us know in the comments.

Have you ever been waiting for a bus or streetcar for so long that you started wondering what was up with the TTC's weird numbering system for its routes? You'd think that there would be a more easy to discern logic behind numbers like 501 (Queen), 29 (Dufferin), and 196 (York University Rocket).

Well, if you have ever wondered about such things, there's good news. Despite some anomalies and exceptions, the TTC's route numbers aren't entirely arbitrary. On the contrary, in 1956 the Commission did its best to put a logical and predictable route numbering system into place. Prior to that, routes were merely named for their streets.

If you're curious about pretty much anything TTC-related, Transit Toronto's James Brow is one of the first people you want to talk to. His site is an encyclopedia of TTC tidbits and history, including a chart of all the route numbers the TTC has used over the years. After an inquiry from one of our readers, I asked Brow about how the numbering system works.

"The current TTC numbering system is a kludge of several numbering schemes that were added to or replaced elements of the original scheme, with many elements grandfathered in," he explained via email. "As a result, there's very little rhyme or reason."

There was some purpose at the beginning, though. "Initially, the route numbers were assigned in alphabetical order," Brow notes. Odd numbers [were] assigned to routes which operated primarily north-south, and even numbers assigned to routes that were primarily east-west."

That sounded good on paper, but it was actually difficult to implement given that the system was always growing at the time. "They tried leaving gaps between some of the numbers in order to allow new routes to fill in alphabetically, but very soon, this became impossible, and anomalies started to appear," Brow tells me.

"Pretty soon, the TTC dumped the idea of keeping the routes alphabetical, or even the odd-even NS/EW designations... The other problem was that, very soon, the route numbers exceeded the 99 spaces available, and we started breaking into 100 series."

"The TTC made a few attempts to clean things up and apply order in the years that followed, but they never followed through with a coherent system covering all of the routes, primarily for fear that people would be attached to their old route numbers, and confused if, say, 32 Eglinton West suddenly transformed to 78 Eglinton West."

In other words, the route numbering system has never been particularly coherent, but there are systematic elements to it, going back to the early attempt at alphabetization. Case in point, when route numbers were introduced on streetcars in 1980 with the arrival of the CLRV cars, they took the 500 series to separate them from bus routes.

Blue night buses are also given distinct status by being numbered in the 300s, while Rocket buses are labeled between 190 and 199. As one of the initiatives of the Andy Byford era, subway routes have also been given official numeric designations, which will necessitate the renaming of the lower numbered bus routes like the 5 Avenue Rd.

So there you have it. There's purpose without purposiveness. By way of a general scheme, Brow provided the following breakdown. It's probably the best you can do when dealing with a system that has so many anomalies.

1-9 - Subway and LRT routes
10-139 - Regular bus routes, assigned willy-nilly
140-159 - Premium express services
160-189 - Regular bus routes, assigned willy-nilly (180-189 may be new "Rocket" routes)
190-199 - Regular fare "Rocket" express routes
200-299 - Routes that primarily serve areas outside the City of Toronto
300-399 - Night services
400-499 - Accessible Community Bus services
500-599 - Streetcar routes.

Photo by Hamish Grant in the blogTO Flickr pool.

One of the most popular stalls at the Bloor-Borden Market this summer, this bread maker has expanded with a brick and mortar shop and kitchen in order to churn out batches of its various slow fermented creations. The bread had already attracted a cult-like following, but now the production has been ramped up to meet the demand.

Read my review of Prairie Boy Bread in the bakeries section.

Today in Toronto English indie sensation James Bay returns to Toronto. His Sound Academy show may be sold out, but there are still a few tickets up for grabs on StubHub. Rather catch a movie? Head to the Regent Park Film Festival for its opening night. Or, if you prefer comedies, there will be a screening of Wayne's World at the Carlton Cinema hosted by The MUFF Society. Party Time, Excellent.

For more events, click on over to our events section.

• FUZZ (The Hoxton)
• James Bay (Sound Academy)
• Judah Friedlander - Stand up & Book Event (Comedy Bar)
• The MUFF Society TO: Wayne's World (Carlton Cinema)
• European Union Film Festival (The Royal Cinema)
• Regent Park Film Festival (Daniels Spectrum)
• Pomegranate Film Festival (Hamazkayin Theatre)
• Dinner and a Movie with Vincent Price feat. Victoria Price (Gladstone Hotel)

Have an event you'd like to plug? Submit your own listing to the blogTO Toronto events section.

The top brow bars in Toronto will manicure your eyebrows to Cara Delevingne status. Whether your brows are in need of a bit of colour or are too wild to tame with tweezers, the experts at these specialty grooming shops can help you out. They thread, tweeze, and tint - helping you reach your brow goals in only an appointment or two.

Here are my picks for the top brow bars in Toronto.

The Brow House
Though the beloved Leslieville edition of the Brow House has shuttered, the deluxe salon in Yorkville lives on. Before he/she starts plucking, your consultant will take you through a Q&A so that he/she knows your brows to the fullest. Then it's down to business.

Benefit Boutique
Benefit Cosmetics is a well known name in the world of beauty. The range of products has long been a saviour of brows, offering all the powders, pencils, and gels one needs to turn them from scruffy to sleek. Makeup can't, however, remedy stray hairs or crooked arches - and that's where the brow bar comes in handy. The shop offers tweezing, tinting, waxing, and threading options.

Fifty Little Secrets
Leslieville has no shortage of wax bars with the Ten Spot, Fuzz Wax Bar, and Waxon Waxbar offering top notch hair removal services. But if you want your aesthetician to be brow-oriented, head to Fifty Little Secrets. The specialty shop offers consultations, full and partial tinting, and a bevy of brow design options.

MYNC Lash Lounge & Brow Bar
If you need a speedy but spectacular brow job, head to MYNC. The shop offers all the staple services (shaping, tinting and lightening) and can manicure eyebrows to perfection in around 20 minutes, making it ideal for those who don't have the time to go through lengthy consultations. The groomers here also offer "Bro Jobs" for all guys with unruly facial hair.

Eye Love Brow and Beauty Bar
Eye Love occupies a light-filled loft space on West Queen West. Though the shop offers a few services, its speciality (as the name suggests) is brows. The service menu includes work for both guys and gals, ranging from consultations to quick fix ups. They also offer brow-rescue packages for clients that have been a little too tweezer-happy in the past.

What did I miss? Add your favourite brow bar to the comments.

Photo of Eye Love Brow and Beauty Bar.

This cozy, two-chair barbershop is located beside Sam James Coffee Bar on Harbord St. With only two chairs, you might encounter a wait, but the quality and care put into the cuts here is first-rate. Owner Edison Vargas is one of the most passionate barbers you'll find in Toronto.

Read my review of Mi Hermano Barbershop in the fashion section.

The days of DIY chalkboard art in Toronto are over. Chalkboard artists with a flair for fancy typography and hand-drawn design are in rising demand. From sidewalk signs to large-scale treatments, these burgeoning artists are transforming the city's signs one chalkboard at a time.

Here are my picks for the top chalkboard artists in Toronto.

Elise Goodhoofd
This artist has transformed the chalkboards of iQ Foods, Farmacia, and The Raw Chemist. Beyond her impressive in-store menus, Elise has designed corporate chalkboard art for the head offices of LinkedIn, Facebook and Kraft Foods.

Adrienne Chalaturnyk
David's Tea is notorious for its chalkboard puns (e.g. the Teavil Dead, Bauteasta, Guns in Roses' Sweet Chai of Mine, and so many more). Brought to life by Adrienne Chalaturnyk, this elusive and visionary artist is better recognized by her hashtag #AnnexAdrun.

Madison van Rijn
Spot Madison's handwriting showcased in the storefront of Grow Op on Ossington. With a portfolio that includes the 50-foot mural on Bar Isabel, the Drake Hotel's Valentine's display and a large scale chalk treatment at Bellwood's Brewery, Madison's leaving her mark on the city's most beloved west-end restaurants.

Jenna Lynn Anderson
Anderson is the artist responsible for the geometric ping pong tables in the VIP lounge of SPiN Toronto. A trusted artist on the chalk scene, Jenna offers custom chalk solutions for businesses looking for standalone fonts and design. Admire her latest artwork at The Old Laurel and Black Cat Gallery.

Jenna Chadwick
From the Candy Factory Lofts and Jimmy's Coffee to The Carbon Bar, Jenna Chadwick is the go-to visual artist for complex typography and eye-catching calligraphy. Her wide-ranging portfolio includes murals, menu boards, displays, drawings, and prints.

Ilona Fiddy
A multi-disciplinary craftswoman, Ilona Fiddy of No Cent Jokes is a conceptual artist with a flair for chalkboard art and murals. Find her hand drawn designs in Clockwork Coffee and large-scale murals at pop-ups around the city.

Mitchell Stern
With a steady hand in typography, Mitchell Stern has an eye for marketing. A creative entrepreneur and chalkboard artist, his chalk menus occupy Station Cold Brew, Rock Lobster, and Kan Pai Snack Bar.

Who did I miss? Add your favourite chalkboard artists in the comments.

Photo by Georgette in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Great barbecue in Toronto is never too far away. The craving might strike in an instance, but the pit masters at these fine establishments have been crafting these meals for days - brining, dry-rubbing, low and slow smoking.

Here's where to get the top peel-off the bone ribs, smoke-infused chicken thighs, and saucy pulled pork sandwiches in Toronto by neighbourhood.

ANNEX
Big Crow is like one big backyard barbecue complete with smoked baby back ribs paired with sage-pear pesto and frito pie loaded with ancho beef chili and cheddar cheese.

BABY POINT
The menu at Marky's BBQ Smokehouse encompasses all manners of meat from pulled pork and ribs to chicken and brisket. Order the samplers for a taste of everything or fill up on your favourites in sandwich and poutine form.

BEACHES
Smoked chicken, wings, brisket and ribs are all accounted for on the menu at Hogtown Smoke. Bring reinforcements before ordering the platters or stick to the crave-worthy sandwiches like the burnt ends on a bun.

BLOORCOURT
The Piston serves southern styled BBQ that'll satiate any size appetite. Riblets are a beer-worthy pairing for the snackish while the truly hungry can get down with platters packed with a chef's selection of smoke-infused meats.

CABBAGETOWN
420 Smokehouse on Parliament offers an eclectic menu of low and slow cooking. The menu boasts smokehouse faves like dry rubbed ribs alongside deli-style smoked meat sandwiches.

CORKTOWN
Carbon Bar gets fancy with its selection of pit-smoked specialties. The menu opens with chilled seafood and ceviches and then gets down with St. Louis cut ribs and prime beef brisket.

THE DANFORTH
Greenwood Smokehouse deals in slow smoked Southern staples on platters or by the pound. Order pulled pork, ribs, brisket or wings accompanied by traditional sides like smoked beans, collard greens and slaw.

DUNDAS WEST
Oh my Lard slings praise-worthy pulled pork sammiches, beef ribs, and smoked jerk chicken out of an upcycled shipping container in Market 707.

EAST YORK
Rally Sports Bar & Smokehouse scores big points for its menu featuring a lineup of smoked wings, pulled pork nachos and sandwiches piled with brisket.

ETOBICOKE
Appalachia Smokehouse & BBQ is a top destination on the Queensway for tender smoked brisket sandwiches, back ribs painted red sauce, and pulled chicken sliders paired with baked beans.

THE JUNCTION
The menu at Indie Alehouse covers a broad range of beer friendly pub foods, but dishes like the BBQ mahogany ribs finished with scallions and cilantro and spring rolls stuffed with pulled pork are standouts.

KENSINGTON MARKET
Fancy Pig is a walk-up sandwich counter on Oxford Street that doesn't seem very fancy at first glance though the BBQ joint employs made-from-scratch, farm-to-table philosophies. The Cluck Norris is a good example, it's made from the moist pulled meat of King Capon birds that are smoked then confit'd in pork drippings before being dressed with pesto mayo, arugula and sweet peppers.

KING EAST
Central Texas style BBQ is the specialty of Triple A Bar. Here the kitchen nails all the essentials of the Lone Star State including brisket, chili and spicy smoked sausages.

LESLIEVILLE
Leslieville Pumps is a gas station and general store that also serves up some surprisingly excellent smoked sandwiches. Fuel up on saucy smoked brisket on a bun crowned with crispy fried onions.

LITTLE ITALY
Buster Rhino's is the place to feast on customizable combos piled high with an array of dry-rubbed ribs and finger licking wings slathered in competition-grade BBQ sauces.

MARKHAM
Ribs and wings are the forte at Big Bone BBQ & Wicked Wings. Order rib dinners with all the fixins or try the signature smoked wings in over two dozen flavours.

MISSISSAUGA
Holy Smokez is a no frills take-out joint where smoked meats on a bun are the specialty. Opt to double or even triple up on multiple selections of smoked chicken, pork, brisket, or sausage on one bun.

PARKDALE
Ribs, links, pork rinds and bourbon cocktails are among the many reasons why Electric Mud is always a fun boozy time.

RIVERSIDE
Mac n' cheese piled with smoked duck and brisket sandwiches are highlights on the menu week round at Aft Kitchen but on weekends, the east side eatery is devoted entirely to meaty feasts featuring country sausage, side ribs, and barbecued chicken.

RONCESVALLES
The sweet smokey scent emanating from Barque Smokehouse is all it takes to seduce diners. Smoked duck tacos, herb crusted racks of ribs, and competition worthy chicken thighs are the major draw, Not to mention an always rotating selection of seasonal sides.

ST. CLAIR WEST
Beer brisket and pulled pork sandwiches are staples on the menu at The Stockyards Smokehouse & Larder but real BBQ enthusiasts know that the good stuff: ribs and chicken are only available on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

WEST QUEEN WEST
Smoque N Bones offers peppercorn beef, brisket, ribs, pork and chicken from the cooker along with a vast array fixin's including homestyle sides like collard greens, candied yams, sweet potato waffle fries, and cornbread.

WOODBRIDGE
Memphis BBQ on Islington is exactly the type of divey, line-up plagued roadhouse that the very idea of good BBQ conjures up. Peel off the bone ribs brushed with a molasses-based BBQ sauce are a must.

YONGE & DUNDAS
Lou Dawgs specializes in Southern style brisket sandwiches, poutines smothered in smoked chicken gravy, and nachos piled with pulled pork. Best of all they're open ultra late on weekends for when you need to crush hunger pangs after the bar.

YONGE & LAWRENCE
Stack Restaurant pays great reverence to regional BBQ styles of the South. Pulled pork can be had Carolina- or Lexington style, while brisket channels Texas and the baby back ribs look to Memphis.

Thanks to Just Eat for sponsoring this post.

Toronto's pizza delivery options just got a little richer with this new addition operating out of a massive kitchen on a sleepy residential street next to Chinatown. Chef Matty Matheson consulted on the opening menu creating honey drizzled pies and hot Italian sandwiches that'll taste just as good when they arrive as they do straight from the oven.

Read my profile of Maker Pizza in the restaurant section.

For some lucky Torontonians, it soon might be a little easier to stock up on holiday essentials. That's because the province has confirmed that 25 Toronto-area grocery should be carrying beer before the end of the year.

So far, 60 stores across Ontario - including chains such as Sobeys, Metro, Loblaws, Walmart and Longos - have won bids to sell beer, reports the Toronto Star today. Although, it's still unclear which locations will actually start carrying six packs by next month.

As the Star notes, each store will have to get a license from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission before they can start stocking your favourite brews. And as we previously reported, 20 percent of shelf space will be devoted to Ontario craft beer.

By May 2017, 150 grocery stores across the province will carry beer. Other GTA retailers that might start selling it sooner include Starsky Fine Foods, Hanahreuem Mart, Michael-Angelos Market Place, Coppa's Fresh Market, Farm Boy, Pino's Get Fresh, La Mantia's Country Market, and Galleria Supermarket.

Determining what the oldest street is in Toronto is no easy task. The problem, of course, is that settlements tend to grow organically before any major planning is done. Such is the case in Toronto, which has roots that date back to the late 18th century when the town of York was first established.

While there were numerous Native trails around the Toronto area at the time that York was settled -- most notably the Carrying Place portage route -- as far as streets go, Yonge St. is the most likely candidate for the title of oldest in the city.

"Yonge Street probably deserves pride of place, having been begun by the Queen's Rangers at John Graves Simcoe's direction in 1794," explains historian Stephen Otto. You might make the argument that a Native trail-turned-street like Davenport is older, but not as a built road. Because the city expanded north from the lake, it didn't become a road until the 19th century.

It's interesting to note that early maps of York aren't particularly helpful when trying to assigned the title of first street in the city. Most of the earliest surveys of Toronto include the original grid of streets that was planned in the Market district. While they came after Yonge St., it's worth noting that they were foundational to settlement in this area.

In the same vein, one might be surprised to know that streets like Dundas and Kingston Rd. date back to the early 19th century. They appear on some of the oldest maps of York. Lot Street (current day Queen St.) was planed in 1793, but didn't start to take shape until at least 1796. As such, it doesn't appear on maps until the 1800s.

Even if the history is a little murky, it seems fitting that Yonge St. would take the title as Toronto's oldest. It still serves as the dividing line between east and west in this city, is home to our busiest subway line, and many of our most important hub intersections.

Photo of Yonge St. from the Toronto Archives. Historical Maps via Nathan Ng's Historical Maps of Toronto.

Plenty of areas are home to grassroots, Free Little Libraries that let neighbours share books with one another. But one Toronto-based architectural firm has taken these temporary, mobile libraries to the next level.

Atelier Kastelic Buffey (AKB) created the Story Pod, which is located in Newmarket. The wooden structure is shaped almost like a book and includes wooden benches and shelves.

While it's locked up at night, solar panels power LED lights, enabling it to glow like a "lantern, providing ambience for night markets or community events," explains AKB on its website.

This was a one-time project commissioned by the Town of Newmarket, says architect Aaron Finbow via email. He and his team worked on it pro bono and aimed to create a public gathering space in the town's Riverwalk Commons, or downtown, area.

According to the Toronto Star, the Story Pod was accessible until October and it'll return come spring.

Images via Atelier Kastelic Buffey

Toronto's first Saks Fifth Avenue will be opening up at the Eaton Centre on February 18, 2016. This massive, 163,000 square foot store will not only include a plethora of high fashion clothing, shoes and accessories, but also plenty of food options for nearby office workers and students.

Pusateri's will be running the 21,000 square foot Saks Food Hall, according to a news release for the project. We previously wrote about how the luxury department store would include a three-storey eatery of sorts. And, it now looks like it's going to be an Oliver and Bonacini "concept restaurant."

Like the Queen Street Hudson's Bay, Saks will be filled with designer goods; its mannequins are pretty much guaranteed to give you extreme outfit envy.

For those outside of Toronto, Sherway Gardens will be getting its own Saks. This location will open on February 25, 2016.

Are you looking forward to visiting Toronto's first Saks Fifth Avenue? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by Dominic Bugatto in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Mapmaker Archie Archambault believes that the proliferation of GPS devices is "hindering our ability to create mental maps of our surroundings." Because we're so often being directed where to go, we tend to lose sight of the geography on the way. By way of an antidote to this, he's created a series of mind maps for major cities all around the world, of which Toronto is one.

They're not the most graphically remarkable creations, but on a conceptual level, they're fascinating. While there's a street grid in place, the map is mostly composed of a series of circles that represent landmarks and neighbourhoods. The key to these maps is Archambault's own explorations of a given city. He jots down information as he travels around, surveying by experience.

The result is a map that distills the city down into its constituent parts. Unlike conventional maps, places like Casa Loma, Dovercourt Park, and Upper Canada College are given significant status as landmarks that underwrite the areas in which they're located. The more obvious neighbourhoods are also represented, but in a way that's so simplified, it's unfamiliar.

And that's the idea, to a certain extent. When we allow ourselves to be exposed to the unfamiliar, Archambault argues that we're naturally very resourceful and good at getting around. In other words, when we turn off the GPS, our experience of the city is far richer.

Toronto is debuting a forward-thinking, two-year pilot project today to store excess energy in giant air bags (balloons) around 55 metres below the surface of Lake Ontario. It's run by local startup Hydrostor and is connected to the power grid by Toronto Hydro. And, according to a Toronto Hydro promotional video, they're working to "test the world's first underwater compressed energy storage system."

So just how does this work? Hydrostor founder Cameron Lewis gives a pretty succinct explanation in the aforementioned YouTube clip.

"We take electricity from the grid, we run a compressor, convert that energy into compressed air, store that air under water and when we need that electricity back, the water pushes that air back to surface, we run a wheel and convert it back into electricity," he says.

"So basically, we are a very cool, underwater air battery," he continues. The balloons store energy for when we need it, during an extremely hot day for instance. Currently, the system can power approximately 300 homes. According to the Toronto Star, the six balloons are three storeys tall.

As the Globe and Mail notes, Hydrostor will likely bring its pioneering system to Aruba next and is looking to work with other countries in the Caribbean as well.

What do you think about this energy pilot project? Let us know in the comments.

A 21-year-old man is suing the Toronto police for $5 million after being beaten during what the police now say was a mistaken arrest.

A bystander caught the entire November 1 arrest on video. The disturbing, nearly three minute clip shows Santokh Bola, of Woodbridge, screaming as police try to subdue him behind his grandfather's store in Rexdale. He and his family say he received serious injuries, reports the Canadian Press, in his statement of claim, which has yet to be proven.

According to the Toronto Star, Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash admits that the arrest was a mistake. However, he says that minutes earlier, police had received a call about a man with a knife who matched Bola's description. Bola was held for a few minutes but was never charged.