The Best Dentist in Toronto - Part One

Back in September I decided to go on a quest to find The Best Dentist in Toronto.

Now granted, Toronto has over 1000 dentists according to Yelp (or 800+ dentists according to Google) which means I could go to a new dentist every day for 2 to 3 years and still not try every dentist in Toronto. So trying each and every dentist in Toronto is impractical.

So instead what I have decided to do is to start at the top of the list.

When you Google 'toronto dentist' the first page comes up with a list of map locations of dentists, followed by 4 pages that are directories for dentists. The first dental practice listed is "Archer Dental".

(Plus my friend Robert recommended the place, so that is another reason.)

Archer Dental, according to my research, was listed as the Best Dentist in Toronto by NOW Magazine in 2013, so I think it is a good place to begin my series of dentist reviews. However let me backtrack a bit here and take us back to 2003 so I can review a different dental practice for comparison purposes.

In June 2003 I had was getting read to leave Canada and go overseas to South Korea. Since I didn't know what the dentists would be like in South Korea I opted to have a visit to the dentist before I left and hopefully I could forego visiting any dentists for the year I was in SK.

The dental office I went to was the dental office at York University's York Lanes, now known as York Lanes Dental Office.

I had already been to the York Lanes Dental Office several times before - without incident - but during that final trip I was given a deep cleaning by a new dental hygienist who - as best as I can tell was just fresh out of dental school or was still a student. What followed was the most painful experience of my entire life. It was absolute torture. It went on for what felt like hours.

When the dental hygienist was done I was missing part of my gums. They had literally torn my gums to pieces and one of the pieces was missing, completely cut out.

Thus began a very long period in my life in which I swore I would never go to another dentist again. Ever. Instead I embarked on a daily brushing / mouthwash ritual that sometimes included me taking a toothbrush with me to events so I could immediately brush my teeth after eating.

And believe me when I say I was paranoid about my teeth. I would brush too hard, I use mouthwash a lot (I have become a bit of an expert on mouthwashes and really should post a detailed review on them sometime), and I am a big fan of using sugarfree gum when I am outdoors so I clean my teeth using the gum.

It was 11 years and 3 months before I finally went to see another dentist, in September 2014.

When I finally made the decision to visit a dentist it was because I thought I had a chip in my tooth. But what I thought was a chip was actually a build up of 11 years worth of "calculus". It was not the tooth which had chipped, it was the calculus build up which had chipped. (Calculus chipping off is actually a good thing, but to my tongue it felt like a chip in my tooth.)

Despite all of my paranoid brushing time had still built up a layer of calculus on one small section of my teeth I wasn't brushing properly. My bad. Need to brush there more often.

So let us go back to the present.

I arrived at Archer Dental slightly early (about 9:50 or so AM, for a 10 AM appointment) on September 25th. I was given a very comprehensive form to fill out, covering everything from whether I was diabetic to what kind of medications I was on.

Once that was done I sat there and waited, playing with my phone because the choices of reading material available in the waiting room was limited to women's magazines and National Geographic. Oh what I would give for a Lee Valley catalogue for men to read... Seriously, they should add that to the pile of magazines on the shelf. Lee Valley catalogues are free and men LOVE reading anything that has tools or tech items in them. Add a Wired magazine subscription, plus a Lee Valley catalogue subscription and any man visiting their waiting room would be quite happy. I think I will bring along a Lee Valley catalogue during my next visit and surreptitiously leave it behind for other men to read. (I think the reason why it was mostly women's magazines because it is usually mothers who end up taking the kids to the dentist instead of fathers.)

Fortunately I did not have to wait that long. You know how most dentists make you wait FOREVER before you actually get to see them? Well my wait really was not that long. I was early after all, but I do believe my appointment actually started on schedule.

I was introduced to my dental hygienist for the day, Mary, who was extremely polite, considerate and willing to explain everything as we went along. I met Dr Archer later on, who likewise exemplified those values I find to be so important in a dentist. It was Mary however who ended up cleaning and also deep cleaning my teeth - and removing 11 years worth of calculus from my teeth, making me feel like I had a brand new set of teeth. And she did it while being as gentle and as understanding as possible. (That doesn't mean I wasn't in pain during the deep cleaning, that stuff is still painful - but at least she didn't rip my gums to pieces like that dental hygienist at York Dental.)

Afterwards I felt like I had been given a brand new lease on life. Like I was suddenly going to live long and have a fuller life. I was so happy with the results I promised to bring flowers the next time I visit, which will likely include a thank you note too.

When was the last time you went to a dentist and was so happy with the results you wanted to bring them flowers?

I am visiting Archer Dental again in a few weeks for a 2nd deep cleaning. After that I may end up becoming a regular visitor, but I also will be continuing my search for The Best Dentist in Toronto - which means I will need to explore and experiment with other dentists in Toronto and see how they stack up and compare with Archer Dental for their level of quality service.

Subscribe to Product Reviews Canada and read more reviews of dentists in Toronto in the future as I explore other dentists and try to determine which is the best. For now, the best dentist office in Toronto is Archer Dental.

Sometimes the customer is a moron

Ever heard the phrase "The customer is always right."

You know who invented that phrased? Customers that complain a lot and always try to get their way. (And then whine about it when they don't get their way.)

Truth be told, if you've ever worked in the service industry (doesn't matter what sector, any kind of service will do) you eventually meet a customer who starts demanding freebies, exceptions to the rule, and complains very loudly.

We all do it sometimes, especially when the situation warrants it.

But when you are on the receiving end of a customer who is verbally abusive (and I would argue "crazy") and thinks that they are entitled to an exception to your company policy, well then you have one solution.

Tell the customer to leave and take their business elsewhere.

Why? Because sometimes dealing with crazy customers just isn't worth it.

True, bending over backwards for customers makes for great customer service relationships. But sometimes customers are just demanding things that they have no entitlement for.

Take for example a dentist who receives people on an appointment basis. What happens when you don't show up for your appointment?

Well, the dentist charges you a fee because you missed your appointment and didn't show up. (And this fee is not covered by insurance by the way. YOU pay the fee if you miss the appointment.)

So imagine for example if the dentist gets a crazy person who refuses to pay the fee for missing their appointment, what do you think the dentist will do?

Answer - Refuse to serve that person until they agree to pay the fee. Why? Because they have Term of Service agreement wherein if you agree to schedule a cleaning for your teeth, then you are automatically agreeing to a ToS that says you also agree to pay any fees if you miss your appointment.

And such Terms of Service are normal for many industries. Dentists, personal trainers, massage therapists, basically anyone who works on an appointment basis.

On the other hand some businesses are more products based - and products come with warranties.

So for example if you go to an Audiologist in Mississauga and you purchase a Clarity XL-30 Amplified Telephone (a special telephone for people who have hearing difficulties), well then it comes with an one year warranty from the manufacturer.

Which means as long as the warranty is still good, you're fine. The manufacturer covers the cost of replacing or fixing your telephone. Which means the hearing clinic in Mississauga will be fine with providing you with full service to help you to fix or replace your phone. If however your warranty has expired, then they just have to point to the warranty and give you two options:

1. Pay to have it sent to the manufacturer and have it repaired.

2. Buy a new telephone with a new warranty.

Places like the above mentioned audiologist / hearing clinic always have great records for customer service - largely because they have warranties, receipts, records of clients, and they don't work on an appointment basis. If someone is late for showing up to purchase hearing aids or special telephones for the hearing impaired, or if they forget to show up, do you know what happens? The customer shows up later eventually anyway and it changes nothing for the audiologist working there.

But for the poor dentist or anyone working on a strict appointment based schedule, they don't just have appointments - they have a freaking WAITING ROOM with magazines and other things to keep you occupied. So you go there for your appointment, and then you WAIT for the dentist to be ready for you.

And if you don't show up, well then you get charged a fee.

At which point you have to wonder, what percentage of dentist customers complain about the extra fee for missing their cleaning, because the vast majority of people just nod, realize they are in the wrong, and then pay the fee.

It is really just the 1% of customers out there who want to be "squeaky wheels who get the grease" who would refuse to pay the fee.

At which point the dentist - or more precisely, the secretary working for the dentist - points to the Terms of Service agreement in the Fine Print.

At which point only a very small percentage of crazy / cheap people will complain about it. The chances of meeting one of these people is multiplied by the number of cheap people out there, multiplied by the percentage of people who feel they are entitled, and multiplied again by the number of people who like to argue and complain loudly until they are blue in the face.

In other words (since we are dealing with small percentages) the final number is pretty small and very rare.

But when you meet one of those crazy customers you understand and realize the same thing:

Those people are freaking lunatics.

Essay Writing Companies in Toronto

Essay writing companies are not illegal - which I find funny, because they are promoting academic dishonesty. Because cheating in school is really only an academic problem...

What is also funny is how they are a dime a dozen. Here are the names of just a few of the local companies, some of which even have offices within walking distance of the University of Toronto campus.

Organized Alphabetically

canada.customessaywritingservices.com

customessay.com

essayexperts.ca

mastersessay.com

toronto.universitytutor.com

ultimateessays.com

And many more are out there. These are just a few of the essay writing companies in Toronto that I found by browsing a single Google search.

The companies in question also legitimize themselves by offering other services, like resume writing, CV writing, cover letter writing, editing and proofreading services, course work and research papers.

They can even make Power Point Presentations and Multi Media Projects.

So yeah, there is really no limit to academic dishonesty.

If you asked the student to write poetry or a simple fictional short story, they could probably take it to an essay writing company and they would get poetry and short stories easily.

I have no idea what the prices are for poetry or short stories, but I imagine it is something quite expensive. Creativity and quality writing takes time and effort. The higher quality companies no doubt charge more. Browsing prices on an essay writing website makes for some interesting reading.

For example MastersEssay.com has a form you can plug in your desired requirements for your project and then it gives you a chart that shows the prices for what you are looking for. (And also three levels of quality, so you can choose how good you want your essay to be.)

And you can rush order essays to be done in 3, 6 or 12 hours.

Although I do wonder what crazy person is writing a 10 page art essay in 3 hours... and how much is the writer's cut after the company takes their share?

Evidently a cheating young student would save a lot of money simply by ordering their fake essay at least 10 days in advance.

What I am seeing here is that these companies have become very sophisticated and now offer a huge range of services.

Everything from editing to research to writing the entire thing for you.

In browsing MastersEssay.com's services they even list solving math problems as part of their services.

MATH!

Wow.

Now I feel really smart because all my life I wrote all my own essays, did all my own math homework, and I won both literary and math awards back in the 1980s and 1990s.

I find it funny that people are hiring other people to do their own math problems.

What happens when they get out into the real world, are hired as an economist for a big bank... and they cannot do simple math problems??? Are they going to hire someone else to do all their math for them???

I can just imagine the homeless person on the street holding up a sign that says "I have a Masters Degree in Economics but got fired because I cannot do math..."

Sheesh.

Archery Lessons in Toronto

Some people call it the Katniss effect.

Whatever the reason, the Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Avengers, Arrow (Green Arrow), The Walking Dead, Revolution, Reign and every other recent movie and TV which has archery of some form in it is promoting archery as the hottest growing sport in North America.

Young girls and boys are keen to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow and the shortage of archery schools in Toronto has never been so apparent - with waiting lists for people looking for archery lessons in Spring and Summer 2014.

The sudden surge in archery's popularity has been connected to the Hunger Games book and movie franchise, with Jennifer Lawrence topping the current box office as ace archer Katniss Everdeen in the recent film Catching Fire. But it isn't just the movies and TV shows that is fueling the archery movement. Some argue it is because some people want more personalized sports and have lost interest in team sports like baseball, hockey and football.

“Without a doubt it’s because of the movie. It’s the only thing we can account the huge increase in numbers we have,” says veteran archer Joan McDonald, who coaches the Canadian Olympic team and teaches students interested in Olympic recurve archery. Note - Getting into Olympic recurve archery is really expensive! It is about $2,000 for the equipment and another $20,000 per year for an Olympic coach.

“We certainly have more girls sign up than I’ve had for years and years,” says Joan McDonald, adding that enrolment in an all-girls Olympic recurve class tripled in just three years. She now operates a waiting list of people wanting to get into her classes - and the waiting list is over 30 people waiting for their turn to have the former Olympian coach them in archery.

“I keep turning people away, which I have to tell you hurts my soul,” says Joan McDonald, who keeps an eye peeled for Olympic talent. “Maybe I’m missing someone that could be really good.”

But thankfully there are other archery coaches in Toronto.

#1. Cardio Trek Archery Lessons

One such coach is Charles Moffat from Cardio Trek, who is a sports trainer / personal trainer who has been featured on the CBC, TSN and writes articles about archery accuracy for magazines. Cardio Trek offers archery lessons in Toronto where you can get 10 two-hour lessons for $520. Or you can sign up for a single lesson for $60 to see if you like it. All equipment is provided by the trainer.

Note - For special events like Halloween, Cardio Trek also offers zombie archery targets and similar "for fun" archery targets for a variety of events. The poor zombie on the right side here got what was coming to him. :)

#2. Elite Archery Lessons Toronto

Another company available is run by Micah of Elite Archery Lessons Toronto, which offers 20 three-hour archery lessons for $2,000 and *gives* you $500 worth of archery equipment as a signing bonus. So you get the lessons PLUS you get to keep the equipment.

#3. The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre

The JCCC offers kyudo lessons, beginner and intermediate. But they only offer the lessons on Saturday mornings and admittedly kyudo is probably NOT what you are looking for. Kyudo is more like Japanese tea ceremony and is a very slow methodical process - and if you lack patience you are more likely to fall asleep during a kyudo class. The equipment is provided in the beginner class, but for the intermediate class you need to buy your own equipment.

#4. You Could Teach Yourself

Yes you could even take the DIY Approach to Learning Archery, in which case you should read the Canadian Daily article written by Charles Moffat of Cardio Trek. So this is a real possibility. You could buy your own archery equipment (costs you about $350 for all the equipment, $1,000+ if you want to learn compound bow instead, or $2,000+ if you want to do Olympic recurve). Thus you can learn archery by yourself, but if you discover it is harder than you were expecting then you might want to hire one of the above coaches to teach you archery the proper way.

Learn more about archery in Toronto by visiting the Archery Toronto website.

Quadra Bike School

So you like to fix bicycles eh?

Do you live in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan or the North Western United States?

Well then the BEST bicycle mechanic school in the region is the Quadra Bike School located on Quadra Island in British Columbia.

I know because I also know the guy who runs the place. An old bicycle mechanic by the name of Smokey Dymny. His name even suits him, due to his "smoke grey" handlebar mustaches.

He's been fixing bicycles for 40 or so years. The exact number, I can't tell you. I can only tell you that he is really good at teaching how to fix bicycles of all shapes and sizes.

Really knows his stuff.

You might own lots of tools, you might even have some experience fixing bicycles. But chances are likely you haven't been trained in the proper ways to fix a bicycle - how to fix it faster, more efficiently, with less hassle along the way.

And lets face it. When you are looking to get hired by someone to work in a bicycle shop, they are looking for someone who doesn't just know how to fix the bicycle - they want to hire someone who can fix it quickly and properly so that they are getting the most out of you on an hourly basis.

And the more experience and training you have on your resume the more likely you are to get hired.

A Trip to the Post Office

Yesterday I got a note from the post office in my mailbox informing me that a package had arrived.

I had no idea what was in the package - as I had neither ordered anything recently and was not expecting any products being sent for me to review. (If you want a product reviewed, contact me and I shall give you my mailing address.)

On Tuesday I received a free wedding dress from simplybridal.com, which will be used for my sister's upcoming wedding in 2014, so I wasn't expecting anything else to show up in the near future.

When I went to the female clerk in the post office I also spied a series of Zodiac based stamps for sale. The Sagittarius stamps especially caught my attention (because I like archery).

So on a whim I purchased some stamps. I can use them for snail mailing relatives.

The clerk came back with my package, which turned out to be a package of underwear and socks from "MeUndies"... I had previously reviewed MeUndies on the Fashion Salon website.

The package included a letter which said:

"Hi Charles!

Here are some samples from the brand new men's and women's product line we've put together at MeUndies. It includes some awesome patterned socks, newly designed and super comfy Lenzing Modal undies, and some of the best fitting basic tees around.

We would love to get your feedback!

Best,
Greg Fass
Head of Marketing"

Now when I received the package I was really only expecting a rather delayed package of women's underwear which was supposed to be sent back in Mid September 2012 - and is now 6 months late being delivered. I had already reviewed the men's underwear for the Fashion Salon website, but I was going to give the ladies underwear to a female friend so she could review it also. Except it never arrived.

And now, 6 months later, a package does arrive... and it does contain...

4 samples of women's underwear
1 pair of red socks with black dots
1 pair of boxer briefs with a water tower pattern on it
1 white shirt, size medium
1 black shirt, size large

Which is all really wonderful - and they do look really comfortable. But I am left wondering... what happened to the women's underwear for my friend which was supposed to be delivered 6 months ago???

And then I look at the package... USPS (United States Postal Service) and then Canada Post.

If the package from 6 months ago was sent... did it get lost in the mail? Or was it never sent?

Luckily, Greg Fass included his email in the letter so I will be emailing him soon in an effort to discover if the older package was ever sent.

Maybe they simply ran out of "Briefs, Medium, White"...? Which I doubted until I checked their website (which has been updated recently) and it no longer lists white briefs as something they sell, so maybe they really did run out of them...

FedEx (which delivered the wedding dress on Tuesday) never had any problems with that showing up. But things do sometimes get lost in the mail...

eg. When I was 18 I ordered a package of music CDs from Columbia House... and then they never arrived. So I had to ask them to resend them.

And it really isn't so much that things get "lost" in the mail. Nobody "loses" a package of things like that. Its simply that sometimes postal workers realize what is in a package and just steal it for themselves.

Which is why I NEVER send large important packages via regular post. I always pay extra for courier because the rate at which packages are not delivered is significantly lowered. That doesn't mean FedEx, UPS, etc doesn't steal stuff too... it simple means they don't do it as often because they know the packages are being tracked electronically.

Which begs the question, since the postal service is evolving anyway due to the internet / email / text messaging / etc... maybe its time they also evolve to add electronic tracking to all their parcels too? Just slap a barcode sticker (stamp???) on each package, scan it, and then track the package from being sent to the place it is delivered.

Yes, over time that means that prices will go up - but the prices at the post office are going up anyway!

Those Sagittarius stamps I purchased? $7.12 for the package of 10. $0.712 each.

If I wanted to send a small package by courier I might be spending $10 to $20 on it, depending on the weight. If I try to send the same package using nothing but stamps... It might take all 10 stamps to do it... and it might get lost in the mail. So it is worth spending a little extra so you can track its progress and make sure it doesn't get lost. Especially if its something valuable.

Thus stamps are really only good for sending small items - letters to relatives, friends, etc.

Rogers Internet goes down again and again and again

Rogers internet service has gone down 3 times in the last week.

That is really pathetic.

I am tempted to switch service companies.

Travel Insurance

 I must admit that travel insurance is one of the few types of insurance I agree with.

Health insurance, very good.

Accident / liability / theft insurance for your car, very good.

Life insurance... kind of pointless after you are dead. Really only useful if you have family to worry about and haven't already arranged your funeral.

But travel insurance is basically health insurance for when traveling in other countries. Its also supposed to cover financial default of travel suppliers (eg. if they suddenly declared bankruptcy and no longer honoured prepaid tickets), and other losses incurred while traveling. But most of the "other losses" are pretty vague and not used very often so its really just health insurance for tourists.

Standard travel insurance is supposed to cover:

• Medical emergency (accident or sickness)
• Emergency evacuation (volcano, earthquake, tsunami, hurricane, war-zone, etc)
• Repatriation of remains
• Return of a minor
• Trip cancellation
• Trip interruption
• Accidental death, injury or disablement benefit
• Overseas funeral expenses
• Lost, stolen or damaged baggage, personal effects or travel documents
• Delayed baggage (and emergency replacement of essential items)
• Flight connection was missed due to airline schedule
• Travel delays due to weather

Thanks to the internet (Huzzah!) you can now buy travel insurance online very easily. You can even buy travel insurance on your iPhone in roughly the same time it takes you do download an app.

So lets pretend you go to Mexico... and you get sick from drinking the water... or shot by kidnappers... or robbed by bandits... injured during a hurricane... fall in a sink hole and break your leg... Seriously, every year there is some problem with Canadian tourists stuck in Mexico and there has been some kind of catastrophe, murder, kidnapping or whatever.

I know Mexico is really cheap (and fascinating if you love pyramids like I do), but its really got a bad reputation to stuff happening. Having travel insurance when traveling to Mexico should be pretty much mandatory.

So yeah, if you are traveling to a dangerous part of the world like Mexico is, you really should get travel insurance. Mexico is like a jaguar... beautiful, but dangerous.

I remember when I was in South Korea (a country that is still technically at war with North Korea... and the North has nuclear missiles) I got travel insurance. Mostly to cover my health costs in case I ever needed a hospital.

One time I got sick and did need to see a doctor and get antibiotics.

Another time I was mountain climbing (freehand) and nearly fell. Thankfully I did not fall. But if I had fallen I would have either been:

1. Dead, in which case who really cares if I have travel insurance.

2. Very injured, in which case that insurance probably would have been used quite a bit.

That is really the point of travel insurance I guess. When traveling you are more likely to be doing new things - including mountain climbing, horseback riding, deep sea diving, swimming with sharks, dolphins, jellyfish, piranhas, and eating new foods that you could be allergic to. Or drinking water that might not be safe.

Thus travel insurance, even if not traveling to a dangerous part of the world, is still a wise precaution.

Rogers Internet Outage

On January 9th 2013 Rogers Internet went down all across Ontario for over 5 hours.

No warning. No explanation why it happened after the fact. No refunds either to compensate people who lost productivity for their work or leisure.

The fact that Rogers Internet doesn't have any backup systems in place suggests to me that they're really running a shoestring budget operation - and overcharging customers for shoddy service.

There are OTHER companies available. Including faster companies. If you know of any in Ontario please leave a comment below about which internet providers you think are more worthy.

What does it take to become a personal trainer?

By Greg Lewis of ELITE Trainers

You actually don't need anything to become a personal trainer.

But being certified really helps when it comes to proving you know what you are doing. If you have ever thought about becoming a personal trainer then I should let you know that it is a highly competitive field and that while some personal trainers train people privately and charge a fair bit per hour, most personal trainers work in gyms can get paid less than $20 per hour.

So right away I must warn you that you probably won't get rich by becoming a personal trainer. It really is more about the lifestyle. Most personal trainers are great one on one, but don't expect them to have any skill with memorizing lines or acting ability to get in front of a camera and have their own exercise TV show. (Not saying you can't attempt to do that, just saying that most people lack the necessary skills.)

For many years now my job has been to teach personal trainer certification workshops. I have done this for as part of several organizations, including the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America and the American College of Sports Medicine. I must have certified hundreds of people as personal trainers over the years, teaching classes from New York to Las Vegas, and I must have taught dozens of personal training workships both in the USA and Canada. I even traveled overseas in 2007 to Japan and South Korea to teach sport conditioning classes*, and the highlight of my trip was a class I taught to the Japanese Olympic soccer team.

*Sport conditioning classes are very similar to a personal training class, except that it was tailored more specifically to highly trained athletes looking to get an extra edge on the competition.

So lets “shine some light” on what skills it takes to be a personal trainer for those of you who might be interested in this exciting but not universally well paid profession.

#1. A key attribute of any good personal trainer is to have a good knowledge of how the body works.

For example, human anatomy teaches us without a doubt that leg raises are not done by the abdominal muscles; all you have to do is look at the muscles and bones and it is clear that the abdominals do not attach to the legs, therefore it is impossible for the abs to lift your legs. Hip flexor muscles do this motion. Once you know basic anatomy you can plan an efficient exercise program. Do leg raises for hip flexor work, not for ab strengthening. A good personal trainer knows how to prescribe an effective exercise program for specific goals.

#2. Another key attribute for a good personal trainer is to be a good communicator.

Having a lot of knowledge won't be very useful if you can't explain it to clients in an easy to understand way. A good personal trainer should be able to share this info effectively with others easily and in a friendly manner.

#3. Demonstrate your Knowledge via Writing.

To get certified as a personal trainer with a reputable organization, you will need to pass a test which verifies that you have a certain knowledge level in one or more of these areas: exercise physiology, human anatomy, kinesiology (study of how the body moves), nutrition, exercise program development and prescription, stress control and fitness testing.

Being able to pass the test is a big deal. Some certification companies (and they are definitely for-profit companies) basically just take your money and hand you your diploma. Ideally what you want is to get certified with a respected personal trainer organization that does a really good job of testing you. There are some out there who aren’t worth your time and money because their testing process and reputation is rather weak.

That is why I started my own company when I decided to move to Canada: ELITE Trainers. I checked out the competition here in Canada and noticed that Canadian companies like CanFitPro were basically overcharging people, providing workshops, but not really testing them properly because almost no one going through their testing process fails the test.

Thus with ELITE Trainers my goal was to make a test so difficult that people would fail it regularly - thus confirming that my company is only certifying the best of the best. To do this I crafted 100 essay questions for each test and set the passing grade at 86%. If you score an 85% or lower, you failed the test.

Furthermore I wanted to make certain that people recognized that some personal trainers have more experience than others. Thus I created a ranking system, whereby every new personal trainer I certify is granted a Rank of 1. And they have to complete a higher ranking and more difficult test in the same field to get a Rank of 2, and so forth, all the way up to 10.

Thus we cream away the best people worthy of being certified and people who lack the necessary skills are rejected. Yes, I admit, its a great money making scheme for me if people come back and try to retake the test, but at least I am honest about it.

I should add that a person’s life experience in the fitness field can add greatly to being a good personal trainer. Yes, you can take workshops and get certified by a variety of companies, but quite frankly, I know some people who don’t have a any formal certification or a college degree in a field such as exercise science, but they know a great deal through self education, and I would still highly recommend them if someone asked me whom to refer. For example one of the people I have certified in the past now runs a personal training company here in Toronto and while I realize he mostly sticks to sports instruction, I know for a fact that is highly skilled at helping people lose weight. Having his certification is really just a way for him to prove he knows what he is doing.

In the past many people have pointed out that personal trainer certifications is basically just a big money-making scam. Even personal trainers and myself will admit to this. However it does serve a purpose.

Having the certification process in place protects the fitness industry from having too many trainers out there that don’t know their biceps from their buttocks!

Many companies out there operate three to five day workshop that you will need to attend. Study materials will be sent to you hopefully before the workshop or provided at the workshop. Most organizations will require both a written exam and a practical exam, with a passing rate of 60 percent or higher. Some places are lower and basically don't even grade you. A few reputable companies similar to ELITE expects a final grade of 80% or higher. The exact amount differs among certifying agencies, but the practical exam will consist of individuals actually demonstrating exercises, administering fitness tests, and answering questions orally. Sometimes this aspect of certification creates some stage fright, as you have to “think on your feet”.

Prices vary for these workshops, but you will pay around $400 to $600 for the three to five days of classes. But that is an investment that can easily be recouped in a short time once you are out there training your clients. (Assuming you get clients - Some people get their certification and then have trouble attracting their first clients.)

If you are thinking about becoming a personal trainer, there are many aspects to consider. Talk to people who are already working as personal trainers, study websites pertaining to personal training, and of course, consider getting your certification from ELITE if you think you have the skills to pass a really difficult test. Personal training is an exciting profession, can pay well if you manage to find a niche market, and can be very rewarding because you are helping others to lose weight, gain muscle and live healthier lives.

Toronto Spas Suck

From a male perspective, spas suck in general.

How I came to this conclusion was I bored one day and thought hey, why don't I go to a spa?

Not for a manicure or a pedicure... or a body scrub or a facial. Just go there and relax, swim in the hot spa baths.

After all, that is where the word "spa" comes from. The baths. They're really more like small pools, but with nice hot water and a relaxing atmosphere.

But the baths isn't how spas make their money. Its their cosmetics services like facials/etc that they make lots of money off of. And they also have food, juice bars, massage, and if you want you can basically get any kind of food scrubbed on your body - including chocolate - supposedly for its therapeutic benefits.

Except most of that junk - with the exception of the massages - most manly men have zero interest in. We are not going to pay $60 for someone else to trim our toenails and scrub our feet.

The photos above and below are from one of the best spas you can find in Toronto, the Elmwood Spa, but their list of services don't really appeal to men very much. At most I could see myself going there to lounge around in the spa, soaking in the heat and then get a massage. I don't think I would even try the food because frankly the food they serve at these places are both overpriced and what Vernon Dursley would correctly describe as "bird food".

I've had better meals at the Hare Krishna temple and that is Vegan food. But at least its hearty food and made with love, as opposed to the overpriced garbage you'd get at a spa.

Plus here is another draw back. You can't just randomly decide to go to a spa one day... Because they're booked up days or even weeks in advance. That to me is a huge draw back.

Really what I need is something akin to a Japanese style bath house or Japanese hot springs. But in Toronto, of course. So in theory what would be nice is if someone built and opened up an artificial hot springs, made with stone and designed to look completely natural, decorate it with Japanese flora, the interior architecture is all authentic (but not overdone), all in the effort to capture the feeling of going to a real hot springs in Japan.

But since nobody has done that, I shall try for a bath house instead... So I google Japanese bath house Toronto... and there isn't any. Instead it shows results for spas in Yorkville - which are not Japanese and the same thing I am trying to get away from because they are so gawdawful.

Conclusions? Toronto Spas Suck Donkey Balls. Zero Stars out of Five.

They're basically catering to one segment of society - wealthy yuppie women who apparently too lazy to scrub their own feet and trim their own toenails. There is basically nothing out there for a man who wants to go to a spa / bath house and relax.

I will admit they do look pretty - and they should. But they're a huge waste of time and space since they only serve a tiny portion of society who apparently are just really lazy.

How to Use Personal Training Services in Toronto

Personal training services can be used in a variety of ways and customized to suit your goals and lifestyle:

1. Use Personal Training Services in Toronto for Accountability

The most popular reason people hire a Certified Personal Trainer in Toronto is to purchase a block of sessions to guarantee that you exercise/train two or three times a week. If you know that a trainer will arrive at your house or condo as scheduled, there's no excuse to not exercise!

So for example Cardio Trek offers 40 Hourly Sessions for $1,050. Over a 2 month period that is 20 sessions per month and a guarantee that you are exercising, losing weight and gaining muscle (depending on what your goals are).

Some personal trainers are very expensive. $50 to $90 per hour. If you do the math the Cardio Trek offer is $26.25 per hour. That is an amazing price compared to what some other personal trainers are charging.

2. Use Personal Training Services from Anywhere in the World

Customized fitness programs are a way to get the benefits and expertise of a trainer without in-person sessions. This is ideal for someone who prefers to exercise on their own and doesn't want a trainer looking over their shoulder all the time, or perhaps they have no problem establishing a routine but would like a more technical or advanced program so they can challenge themselves more.

3. Use a Combination of In-Home and Online Personal Training Services

A certified personal trainer can customize a program and then come to your home to show you how to use it. This will include form and intensity. Follow-up sessions to re-vamp the program or to monitor progress are also recommended so you don't stagnate/slack off and are always challenging yourself.

Personal training is a fantastic way to reach goals and to learn the correct form to make the most out of every workout.

The certified personal trainer we recommend in Toronto is Charles from Cardio Trek, but you can certainly shop around if that is your desire.

You could hire someone more expensive, or if you're on a budget hire someone who isn't certified. Regardless if you're paying for someone to come to your house or condo and help you exercise, it is going to be more expensive than going to the gym or engaging in frugal exercises to save money.

Regardless of your goals or reasons for wanting to exercise having a personal trainer will help you to achieve those goals faster with much better results.

Private Cooking Lessons in Toronto

Meet Luca. (Note to self, find a photo of him.)

He is a professional Italian chef. He caters private functions and dinner parties.

But what I really want to talk about is his Italian cooking lessons in Toronto. Basically, if you want to learn how make really great tasting Italian food, you give him a call and book some lessons.

Which is funny because he charges less for his private cooking lessons than he does for his catering service. Just check out his prices.

Private cooking service catering is: Starting by $35/person + cost of food & wine.

Private Cooking Lesson: Starting at $25/person + cost of food & wine.

Full prices depends on menu, but basically he charges $10 less if he is teaching you instead of just serving and catering you.

So it is actually a pretty good deal if you want cooking lessons in Toronto and he teaches a variety of different recipes, not just Italian recipes.

Check out the recipes he has on his website.

Orata + Sea Bream

Lasagne + Eggplant and Tomatoes

And my favourite: Potato Pie

Professional Moving and Storage in Montreal

When living in Canada there are several things you learn to expect.

#1. Sometimes websites (especially if you live in or near Quebec) will be in French.

#2. If the website is really professional they will have an English version of the website. In this example Déménagement Montréal is a moving and storage company in Montreal, and surprise surprise, they have an English version of their website.

C'est magnifique!

#3. If the website is really good they may even have videos showing what they do. Often the videos will be amateurish but they get the point across.

#4. If they're REALLY REALLY GOOD they will even have a professionally made video like the one below (which frankly really impressed me). So for those of you looking for "déménageur Montréal" (whatever that means...) you get sold on the quality of their service pretty quickly when you see how much quality their video has.



#5. I also really like it when people shown on their website dress professionally. Not necessarily suits and ties, but crisp clean clothing, well groomed people always makes a good impression on me.

#6. No annoying music. Call it a major turnoff but when a website has auto music on then its automatically annoying. However for the website in question, adtmoving.com, I like the fact that the only possible source of music is the video and its actually well chosen music (with no distracting lyrics).

#7. A well designed website always impresses me. Especially when its easy to contact the company. What does annoy me about the adtmoving.com site is that they don't list their email address and use a form mail instead. Form mails are ANNOYING to fill out (and often have errors in them). Plus you send the message and you have no idea if they actually received it and no record of what you asked them. It is my opinion that it is ALWAYS better to have a direct email to contact the company. Having a phone number helps too, but if I only have a question sometimes its better to just send a quick email. Having to fill out a form mail just doesn't cut it.

PET PEEVE: Websites which ONLY have form mail. SUPER ANNOYING!

#8. I also like it when companies have 1-800 numbers. Always handy.

So in summation I give adtmoving.com 4 stars out of 5, but it could have been better if they didn't have that annoying form mail on their website. I have never used their service but their video really impressed me.

When it comes to moving companies I have NEVER actually used any. Myself, family and friends have always just come together for a big move and had a BBQ or pizza party after the move is done.

ie. This past weekend I helped a friend in North York carry over 100 bags of dirt from a truck to the backyard for landscaping, +8 pieces of drywall and 6 huge things of insulation up to the 3rd floor where some repairs were being done. After we had a BBQ of hamburgers and beef hot dogs / sausages.

And don't forget free beer! And then the group of us hung out for a couple hours and relaxed.

So in my mind if moving things is an excuse to have a party, then why would anyone bother with a moving company unless they didn't have any friends? In which case sucks to be you.

Ambrosia Holistic Health Centre

The Ambrosia Holistic Health Centre is in the heart of Montreal and before you get caught up with all their harmony and serenity consider this...

When you first enter their website everything is in French.

Oh sure its in Canada, a bilingual country, and its in Montreal the most bilingual country in the world, but their Montreal massage / massage Montréal website is only in French.

Its only after a while of searching around do you notice a tiny link in the upper right that says English.

Its good that they have it there, but its very difficult to notice.

Beyond that Ambrosia offers everything you can expect from a health and beauty spa: massage therapy services, expensive skin care products, Feng Shui decor, osteopathy, yoga, meditation, life coaching, saunas, aroma therapy, kinesitherapy, body wraps, exfoliation, nutritional advice and stress management coaching.

But like all such health spas don't expect any of this to be cheap. Its $40 to get a facial, $125 for a Siamese Herbal Massage and $255 for the "Complete Royal Treatment" (a process which takes 3.5 hours to complete). And this is just a few of their services.

Having belonged to a gym and a yoga studio in the past I've become aware that such places charge an arm and a leg for any special services. A personal trainer at one such gym is $90 per hour.

So maybe I am just cheap. Maybe I think its overpriced to pay someone $90 / hour for exercise advice (I can get free exercise advice from YouTube or many other websites).

But you can't get a massage from the internet... or a sauna (unless you buy one for yourself). You could give yourself a facial if you know how, but I guess it all comes back to that idea of luxury.

Luxury.

Its the reason we go out to restaurants and pay other people to make food for us and serve it to us. A health spa is all about paying other people to perform a service you are too lazy to do yourself and to enjoy the luxury of it, assuming you can afford their ridiculously high prices.

Garbage and Junk Removal in Edmonton

Do you know what I really love?

Websites that give you a discount just for mentioning their website or where you saw their ad.

ie. Lets say you are Googling the terms Garbage Collection Edmonton or Junk Removal Edmonton and find the website vanishsiteremoval.ca. They offer free estimates and a $15 discount when mentioning their website.

True, they're not the only website that does this, but its a very good practice. The business learns more about which of their advertising methods is working and you save some cash.

More examples:

designSEO.ca offers a variety of discounts via Facebook if you mention how you find their website. (Mention this blog post and you can get 10% off website design work before December 31st 2012.)

hometex.ca offers a a 5% discount coupon off ALL purchases in exchange for you linking to their website. (No link here, since I am not buying anything from them.)

evenbetterhealth.com readers get a discount of $500.00 off the regular retail price of any Thermal Life® sauna from High Tech Health.

Another thing I like is when websites have VIDEOS. vanishsiteremoval.ca's video below is also a good example of this in action.



Promotional videos for websites don't have to be complicated. Some times making a simple video is just as good because it concisely gets the job done. No extra fuss hiring actors or wasting people's time with a phony script. You get the point across, explain your service, how to contact you and you're done.

So for a service like garbage removal its really a no brainer. Its not like the service requires a huge amount of skill or trained expertise. Any idiot with a truck can remove garbage. The bigger issue is how cheaply it can be done and what happens to the garbage after its removed (recycling, land fill, incinerator, etc), and does the garbage contain any bio-hazards/chemicals that will have to be dealt with properly (this latter part may require some expertise).

Another thing I like is when companies / websites make a genuine effort to make a nice looking logo. Shows a degree of professionalism some websites / companies lack. If the logo looks spiffy I find I trust the company more even if I've never dealt with them.

Its a bit like buying a car. Would you rather buy a GMC (with its classic GMC logo) or a car made overseas with a badge that looks poorly made? The answer is obvious. Everyone buys the more professional product or service if they can afford to do so.

The one thing I don't like is Vanish's contact page at http://vanishsiteremoval.ca/contact-us/. Why? Because they use a form mailer and don't even give the option to email them directly.

What if I wanted their email address to write down and use later? What if their form mail script is broken (this happens sometimes with websites and your carefully written letter goes into oblivion)?

Is it too much to ask that a website have a proper contact email you can send to directly without using idiotic form mail? (Makes me want to whack their website designer over the head.)

I also despise websites which use WordPress. Yuck. Badly done.

But I guess that is what you get sometimes when people spend all their money on a good logo and leave a few peanuts left over for website design. vanishsiteremoval.ca probably offers a good quality service, but they should fire their website designer.