Condo Reno (3rd in a series)

Artists conception of our new kitchen

Design by Boris of Dekla

STATUS UPDATE

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In previous posts in this series on our condo reno project, I have commented on the scope of the work we hope to undertake and on the supplier and material selection options we are trying to make.

Last Wednesday night we went out to meet (for the second time) with Jennie the kitchen designer at Raywal (@ Allstate Parkway in Markham (Hwy 7 & 404 area). She presented us with two alternate kitchen designs. Both had the sink moved off of the peninsula. One had the sink located in the south-west corner and the other had the sink located along the south wall. One design had the cooktop centred on the west wall with the vent-hood revealed above and the other had the cooktop a bit more off-centre with the vent-hood concealed behind cabinetry. She had retained an angle on the peninsula (which is what we have now). Her designs were generally much more angular than the streamlined design (see pic at the top of this post) we have from Dekla. The design also did not have as much of a sleek contemporary look as most of the cabinetry was vertically (rather than horizontally) oriented. We asked Jennie to re-design the peninsula, straightening it out. We also picked a drawer finishing style. She has committed to get back to us with pricing. Unless the pricing comes in significantly below Dekla (and her ballpark WAG suggests it may not) our inclination would be to favour Dekla

After leaving the Raywal showroom, we drove over along Hwy 7 East to Markham Rd and turned north onto Main St. One of our shortlisted contractors (Chuck of Celcon) lives on this street in a historical home that his company completely renovated and Chuck wanted to show us his work in person and also show us pics of some of his other work. We were very impressed with his home. In spite of some technical glitches with his laptop, we also got a good sense of the wide cross section of projects his team have worked on. He showed us some pics from a project they did on Britain St and another on River St that were especially impressive. That being said, he admitted to having had only limited experience working as a general contractor in a condo setting (although he has done some sub-trade work on Queens Quay and is currently working in that capacity in a project up on Cumberland in Yorkville). We discussed project timing with him and it appeared that he could make his team available to start the teardown in late September, when we are expecting to be away on our Med cruise) and proceed to start the re-built immediately thereafter. So we retain hope of completing our project before the holidays. He agreed with us that his quote on floor installation was not competitive with what we got from The Floor Shop and explained that was because his quote was at a carpenter's labour rate and that a carpenter is over-experienced for a floor installation task. So we agreed that we would delete that from his contract. We also posed questions re the concern surfaced by a poster to this blog with respect to the suitability of slate in a water area. Chuck committed to discuss this with his tile-setter and get back to us with feedback.

We are still also hoping to receive a competitive estimate from Trevor at Bryant. We also have references from both Bryant and Celcon to check out. Following that, we expect to sign a contract before we go away on our Bermuda cruise at the end of this month. Celcon uses a standard form contract (which I have a copy of to review)

Today (Saturday) we headed out to Bamco Custom Woodwork in Guelph to meet with Doreen, the kitchen designer there. This is the first time we had been to this showroom or met Doreen (they have been on a plant shutdown. We made our appointment two weeks ago.) Banco manufactures their cabinetry in a Gueph facility adjacent to the showroom. They had one kitchen design (inspired by DolceMano) that they had built for Dynamic Space by Blum in a recent homeshow that we were particular partial towards. It is very sleek. We also liked their dark chocolate brown finished wood panels. Doreen was very thorough in asking questions to determine our preferences and has committed to get back to us with design preferences in short order. It sounds like the pricing could actually come in below Dekla and that they will be able to duplicate the Scavolini European look. Doreen is based in Port Credit and proposed dropping by our house before a photo shoot on Monday afternoon, but that timing did not work for us. In any case we are now looking forward to getting her pricing and cost estimate.

Dorren also gave us a lead on a cabinet supplier in Oakville called Euroline appliances. It is at 2278 Speers Rd. (off Bronte, just south of the QEW) in Oakville. Unfortunately the showroom is not open on Saturdays

Kathy Griffin at Massey Hall in Toronto

I attended Kathy Griffin's sold out stand-up comedy performance at Massey Hall in Toronto yesterday night (Friday August 8). I was seated in the right centre floor section near aisle 3 toward the back of the orchestra level under the balcony overhang, which (given the box shape of the theatre) afforded an excellent sight line to the stage. This was Kathy's first live appearance in Toronto. The show started promptly after its advertised early (7 PM) start-time with a video clip montage of Kathy's many TV appearances-- on the talk show circuit, on reality TV, as well as on her sitcom guest starring appearances (Seinfeld, Drew Carey, Suddenly Susan). The clip of her movie appearance in Pulp Fiction seem to catch many in the audience off guard. As the montage wrapped up with a clip of her accepting her recent Emmy award, she bounded out onto the stage, to a standing ovation.

She opened her set with some topical local references featuring Iggy Pop (who had performed at the venue a few nights prior, Prime Minister Stephen Harper (or "R"purrr as she heard him referred to in her recent visit to Montreal) whom she lambasted for his boredom, socialized medicine ("don't you have to run out for a free doctor's appointment or something?") and Canadian Idol. Dispensing with the "local colour", she then moved on to launch into her well-honed comic attack targeting her usual list of major Hollywood celebrity victims, including Britney and Jamie-Lynn Spears, the Lohans, Tomkat, The Jacksons, Madonna, Oprah, Kirsty Alley, Paula Abdul, Miley (and Billy Ray) Cyrus, Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban. Her attacks on Nancy Grace and Pam Anderson (with whom she recently shared a dressing room with on a USO tour) were especially well targeted. As were her attacks on celebrity baby names (Sunday and Suri) and white-boy rappers hangin' with the home-boys (Eminem and Justin Timberlake). Her attacks on the inexplicably popular and entirely vacuous tv series The Hills resonated especially well with me.

At one point in the act a technical glitch caused the spotlight on her to dim for several minutes. She used that element to good effect to improv by dissing her stage manager and kibitzing with the audience. The burly security guard seated at stage front was also targeted for a good taunting earlier in the evening.

The audience certainly got its money's worth in terms of set length, although some of the material (particularly the references to her (wine in a box loving) mother and being fired over her irreverence (joking about Dakota Fanning entering rehab hosting a red carpet show) came off as a bit stale and could have been skipped over in favour of fresher material.

She received a (second) standing O at the end of her set. Overall I found her supremely entertaining in her own patently offensive unPC style. I will look forward to her return to Toronto.

Here's another view on Kathy's show (from another fan I attended the concert with)

Apple itunes continues to hold music retail lead

A recent NPD research group market survey confirms that iTunes ascendancy to the top of the musical retail pyramid was not a seasonal fluke. NPD’s survey reflects the ongoing consumer shift from physical CDs to digital music and away from brick-and-mortar stores. NPD expects Apple to consolidate its market leadership position.

The top 5 music retailers in the US are:

1. iTunes
2. Wal-Mart (Walmart, Walmart.com, Walmart Music Downloads)
3. Best Buy (Best Buy, Bestbuy.com, Best Buy Digital Music Store)
4. Amazon (Amazon.com, AmazonMP3.com)
5. Target (Target and Target.com)

How dependable is your car?

JD Power & Associates have released their annual vehicle dependability survey ("VDS") results. Each year they survey owners of three-year-old vehicles seeking their reports on the types of problems they’ve experienced with their vehicle during the preceding 12 months. The 2008 VDS results are based on survey responses from over 52,000 original owners of 2005 model-year vehicles. According to the 2008 VDS, the overall quality of three-year-old vehicles improved by five percent, compared to last year, continuing a trend of three-year-old vehicle quality improvement over the last six years

Here is how the nameplates included in the study ranked in overall dependability:

1 Lexus
2 Mercury
3 Cadillac
4 Toyota
5 Acura
6 Buick
7 BMW
8 Lincoln
9 Honda
10 Jaguar
11 Porsche
12 Mitsubishi
13 Hyundai
14 Ford
15 Infiniti
16 Audi
17 Mercedes-Benz
18 Nissan
19 Pontiac
20 GMC
21 Mazda
22 Subaru
23 Chrysler
24 MINI
25 Dodge
26 Chevrolet
27 HUMMER
28 Scion
29 Volvo
30 Saturn
31 Jeep
32Volkswagen
33 SAAB
34 Isuzu
35 Kia
36 Suzuki
37 Land Rover

Reality TV Update

ABC’s competition series "Wipeout", the top-rated new series this summer, has been renewed for a second season. The air date for the new episodes has not been set or announced. Starting this Fall, ABC has scheduled another new reality series “Opportunity Knocks” (from executive producer Ashton Kutcher) in the Tuesday @ 8 time slot that Wipeout aired in this Summer. If Opportunity Knocks falters, ABC could be quick to pull the plug with Wipeout waiting in reserve.

Meanwhile FOX will be attempting to capitalize on the Japanese import appeal of "Wipeout" by scheduling a new series entitled "Hole in the Wall" in the Thursday @ 8 anchor position, starting this Fall. Hole, also based on a Japanese concept, will feature two teams competing against each other as they face barrier walls speeding towards them with unusual cut-out-shapes. If the team cannot contort their bodies to fit the shapes, they are released into a pool of water. Brooke Burns ("Dog Eat Dog") and Mark Thompson have been named as co-hosts. Hole will displace The Moment of Truth, which was originally scheduled in the time slot. Truth’s ratings fell significantly in its most recent Spring-Summer airings from its original (American Idol coattails influenced) Winter debut peaks. The Mark L. Wahlberg hosted series has not been cancelled and will return to FOX's schedule after a hiatus.

Fox has also extended the order for its quiz show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” from 13 to 22 episodes in 2008-09. 5th Grader kicks off its third season with a two-hour installment on Thursday, Sept. 5 (before moving to Fridays). It was also recently announced that 5th Grader will be offered in a half hour syndicated strip version beginning in September 2009, also with Jeff Foxworthy hosting.

Metro supermarket rebranding to start in Toronto: Dominion name to disappear

Supermarket retailer Metro Inc. has announced that it will invest $200 million to consolidate the five conventional food store banners it currently operates in Ontario under the Metro brand name over a 15 month period, beginning next month. The change will impact all current Dominion, A&P, Loeb, The Barn and Ultra bannered stores. Food Basics stores will continue to operate under the existing banner.

The change to the Metro name will begin in Toronto next month with the conversion of the city’s Dominion stores, followed by the rollout of the Metro brand across the rest of Ontario. When the banner consolidation program is complete, the new Metro chain will consist of 158 stores in Ontario, ranking it as Ontario’s largest single-brand grocery chain, ahead of Loblaws which also operates in the market under multiple banners (Loblaws, Zehrs, Provigo, The Independent, Valu-Mart and the Real Canadian).

Part of the $200 million investment will be used to fund remodelling Metro stores and to upgrade food offerings to serve current lifestyle preferences. Metro will also unveil a new unified corporate logo to enhance its public brand awareness.

Bob Barker's retirement gig

Retired Price Is Right host Bob Barker will serve as spokesman in a series of public service (PSA) spot ads to promote the national switch to all-digital television (DTV) in the USA. The USA's national switchover date is Feb. 18 2009. Barker was recruited for the role by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). The first ad featuring Barker to hit the air was a market-specific spot for Wilmington, N.C., where stations will make the transition Sept. 8, five months ahead of the national switchover. Barker is also featured in a national PSA that started airing earlier this month. NAB vice president for DTV Jonathan Collegio observed "Bob Barker is an American icon who is instantly recognizable to generations both young and old, although it is the older generation that is at higher risk of losing TV reception."

Obama's lead still secure: new poll

UPDATE: Two other new polls (CBS and Time) confirms the AP poll results claiming Obama continues to lead McCain by at least 5 points in popular support.


An Associated Press-Ipsos poll released today shows Obama ahead of McCain by 6 points -- 47 percent to 41 percent. This conflicts with two other recently published polls that suggested the race was tightening.

The new poll shows Obama continuing to attract large pluralities among women, ethnic minorities and younger voters. Obama leads McCain by 13 percentage points among women, by 30 points among voters younger than 34 and by 55 points among blacks, Hispanics and other minorities.

Summer Reality TV Ratings: 07/28/08 - 08/03/08

In Summer the major US TV networks to air original non-fiction reality and game shows in place of re-runs of their Fall-Winter fictional series.

Below is a list of where the major original Summer reality series placed in last week's US prime time TV ratings. The first number is the placement out of the 97 programs that aired on the 5 major US TV networks last week. The column after the show name shows total viewers (2 years and older) and the column after that is the rating. For benchmarking purposes, the average program airing in US prime time last week drew 4.9 million viewers and the average rating was 1.7.

FROM 07/28/08 THROUGH 08/03/08

1 AMERICA'S GOT TALENT 13850 4.8
2 WIPEOUT 9700 3.4
4 SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-WED 8840 3.1
6 SO YOU THINK CN DANCE-THU 8690 3.0
14 CELEBRITY FAMILY FEUD 7530 2.6
19 BIG BROTHER 10-SUN 6610 2.3
20 BIG BROTHER 10-THU 6390 2.2
24 NASHVILLE STAR 6100 2.1
25 BIG BROTHER 10-TUE 6080 2.1
27 DON'T FORGET LYRICS 5890 2.1
30 I SURVIVED-JAPANESE GM SHOW 5660 2.0
34T AMERICAN GLADIATORS 5410 1.9
34T BABY BORROWERS 5410 1.9
43 LAST COMIC STANDING 6 5020 1.8
69 HSM-PICTURE MON 3490 1.2
71 WANNA BET 3410 1.2
75 HSM-PICTURE SUN 3020 1.1
76 THE MOLE 3000 1.0

Mamma Mia vs Hairspray

The movie musical has returned with a vengeance to demonstrate box office clout and critical acclaim in the last half decade. Although there have been some obvious misfires (The Producers and Phantom of the Opera), there have also been several big successes (like Chicago, Dreamgirls and Hairspray).

The current Summer movie season featured the release of the ABBA inspired musical Mamma Mia on film three weekends ago. Interestingly, Mamma Mia was released on the same weekend this year as Hairspray was last Summer. I have been following the box office results for Mamma Mia and benchmarking against Hairspray closely. Mamma Mia narrowly edged Hairspray in their first weekend of release but Mamma Mia has been trending out higher ever since.

Here is a weekend by weekend North American box office tally of the two musicals head to head (in millions)

Mamma Hairspray
Mia

Weekend 1 $27.751 $27.477
Weekend 2 $16.747 $15.9
Weekend 3 $12.617 $ 9.225

Cumulatively, Mamma Mia has made $89.6 million year-to-date compared to $118.9 million for Hairspray. Mamma Mia is almost certain to break thru the $100 million threshold well before Labour Day

Mamma Mia is the far bigger success internationally, having already made $230 million to Hairspray's $201 million overseas. (When you combine Sweden with the Greek Isles, its hard for Cleveland to compete!)

Meanwhile, in other box office news, The Dark Knight has accumulated $400 million at the North American box office in a mere 18 days (smashing Shrek II's record pace).