okansas.blogspot.com

okansas.blogspot.com
Occassional thoughts about orienteering

Wednesday, June 18, 2003

A few words about Toronto

I'm home after a few days in Toronto. Instead of writing about orienteering, I'll say a few words about Toronto.

I didn't have much time to explore Toronto. I managed to spend some time on the Toronto Islands and took in a baseball game at the Skydome. I also spent a bit of time walking and jogging around the center of the city (including a bit of wandering in the underground shopping areas). From what I saw of Toronto it is a nice place.

SARS must have hit Toronto hard. My original return flight was cancelled, probably because they couldn't sell enough tickets. The flights I was on were less than half-full. The city didn't feel crowded and I saw few people who looked like tourists.

The Torontonians (?) who spoke at the conference made a point of thanking us for not canceling the conference (I was at the annual conference of the National Association of Local Government Auditors). Even thought the conference wasn't cancelled, attendance was down from the last couple of years and one of the conference sponsors pulled out.

I wasn't really worried about SARS. I stayed out of hospitals, and the odds of getting exposed to SARS are quite low (especially if you stay out of hospitals). Still, SARS is a bit scary. The thought sits in the back of your mind. It comes to the front of your mind when you're in a crowd and someone starts hacking and coughing.

On flights to Toronto you get a yellow SARS form. On flights out you get a pink SARS form. They make good souvenirs.

A few weeks ago I wrote a bit about baseball and identifying players who are going to be good performers, and that book (Moneyball) came up during one of the presentations at the conference. One of our speakers was the president of the Toronto Blue Jays, one of three teams trying to follow the model described in Moneyball.

I did very little running in Toronto. I haven't run since Sunday evening. Now and then a few days off feels good.

posted by Michael | 7:38 PM

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