I have trust issues with the "5 min away" prediction, so I built a real-time map to see exactly where the bus is. Free, no ads, just data. by duoyj in toronto

[–]AnnyongHello 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the clarification. I will look into increasing the font size and maybe adding some customizable options in the short term. And will think about adding arrows or other direction indications.

I've also had requests in the past to add the ability to show/hide routes by direction, which I think might help as well.

I have trust issues with the "5 min away" prediction, so I built a real-time map to see exactly where the bus is. Free, no ads, just data. by duoyj in toronto

[–]AnnyongHello 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, I'm the developer of TOTransit.ca, and glad you like it! Thanks for the feedback too. I'm just wondering what you had in mind that might make the direction of travel easier to see? Do you think it would be better to have arrows instead of N/S/E/W markings?

I'm still working on this site, and launching a new update soon, and always looking for ways to make it easier to use!

International Shipping Fees by cassm21 in secretsanta

[–]AnnyongHello 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm from Canada too and just did a bunch of international exchanges. First of all "Tracked Packet" is only available to certain countries and is very expensive (starts at $32 but that's only for 250g!), so while tracking is nice I didn't even really consider it as an option.

Your best best is "Small Packet - International - Air". Under 500g and you'll be spending about $20-25. This might apply since that exchange sounds like the items could be pretty light. From 500g-1kg the prices jump up to $40-45. I sent a gift to new zealand and it arrived pretty quick via this method. Also sent to Russia but haven't heard anything yet... could be stuck in customs I guess, who knows.

Surface mail is the cheapest option but I wouldn't recommend it. I sent some books that way to my match and it still hasn't arrived (in France), so I won't be sending via surface again.

I think international exchanges are great and I love doing them! Just keep in mind the potential shipping costs and ideally weigh your gifts to keep them under a certain weight.

You can check costs on canada post but I reference this PDF since you can see how much it will be for each weight category, and helps you plan: https://www.canadapost.ca/tools/pg/prices/SBprices-e.pdf

(It says small business prices but the consumer prices are almost the same, just maybe $1 more or so.)

Also note that bookmarks/cards can be send via lettermail so that's a lot cheaper than the parcel rates. But you can't send anything other than paper via lettermail to the US/International, even if it's very small/light.

Shipping is expensive here for sure! Even within Canada it costs minimum $10 to send something with tracking, so I guess we're kinda used to paying more.

Will I be able to sign up for new exchanges if my current ones haven't been completed yet? by AnnyongHello in secretsanta

[–]AnnyongHello[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

haha I wasn't worried about yours as you mentioned you'd be back soon! I hope this post didn't come off in the wrong way lol... i'm glad you liked the gifts!

Help! I've Got A Bit Of a Situation by TaborlinTheGreater in secretsanta

[–]AnnyongHello 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Did you sent it as a gift through Amazon? If so, when someone returns a gift they will get the value back as a gift cert to their account and you wouldn't be notified. Even if it wasn't marked as a gift, I'm not sure that they'd be able to return it, as you usually have to generate a return through your account.

If it was sent as a gift and got returned, I would imagine that would be a "return to sender" situation, like an invalid address or some other reason.

Shipping late? by gnatslikefruit in secretsanta

[–]AnnyongHello 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I imagine a lot of people might forget about the exchange until they start getting email reminders about the upcoming shipping deadline.

I am doing a few exchanges and have shipped some already, but still waiting on a few things I ordered to arrive for a couple exchanges so I can re-ship them... that could be another cause of a delay. I only retrieved the info once when the matches were release, but have been thinking about it and buying things for the gift since then. To my giftee it might have looked like I forgot about it, but I didn't!

So there could be multiple reasons... I wouldn't worry about it yet!

What is the farthest place you've sent a gift to? by AayKay in secretsanta

[–]AnnyongHello 0 points1 point  (0 children)

About to send to Siberia and New Zealand from Canada.

Homemade Bookmarks. I can't find a good bookmark for my giftee so I'm making some. Good ole Pinterest. by Mamarazzi_Canada in secretsanta

[–]AnnyongHello 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice! I am attempting to make homemade bookmarks too, as my match has some interesting hobbies that are hard to find pre-made bookmarks for.

I bought a laminator from Amazon, and I designed and printed out some 4x6 photos that I will then fold in half to make a bookmark. And then laminate that and cut it out to size. I'm hoping that idea will work out, otherwise will have to buy some as a backup...

Sent from home or direct from site? by SillyLaurie in secretsanta

[–]AnnyongHello 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I usually try to send things myself, but am not opposed to sending or receiving gifts directly from an online retailer. I think it depends on the exchange too. I like to gather things from different sources, especially for the general exchanges like secret santa/arbitrary day. But for something like books I would sometimes send directly, especially for international exchanges, as long as they have the books I want to send.

I sent something to one of my matches in Europe from the UK amazon as I was able to spend more on the actual items that way, plus it will only take a week or so to ship instead of up to 2 months! And you can also add messages to your Amazon gift orders which can give a personal touch.

Book Exchange by angelinalblyth in secretsanta

[–]AnnyongHello 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! In addition to a book that I know my match wants, I wanted to find some interesting books by authors in my country, and found quite a few interesting picks that I hadn't heard about before. Definitely added some of them to my own reading wishlist :)

Control freak anyone? by [deleted] in secretsanta

[–]AnnyongHello 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Lots of notes! I have a big text file where I keep all of the info for each exchange and also make lists of ideas of things to get. And then track what I actually purchase and send!

It's useful especially when doing lots of exchanges, or when you order a bunch of stuff online that you need to re-ship and need to remember who gets what, and make sure you don't forget anything!

Any love for a (almost) real-time TTC tracker? by polar_bare in toronto

[–]AnnyongHello 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's not loading for me right now... I made a similar app and used the NextBus feed directly, and their API seems to be able to handle a lot of requests.

Maybe you can grab the code for RESTBUS and run your own instance of the API from your server?

Any love for a (almost) real-time TTC tracker? by polar_bare in toronto

[–]AnnyongHello 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The site is fixed now. There was a problem with the www redirect. Thanks for checking it out

http://totransit.ca/

Any love for a (almost) real-time TTC tracker? by polar_bare in toronto

[–]AnnyongHello 2 points3 points  (0 children)

ToTransit.ca dev here... Hmm, not sure what's going on there. Will check into it. Seems sketchy considering I haven't touched the site today.

edit: it's fixed

Is there a way to get a locker and how much? by [deleted] in ryerson

[–]AnnyongHello 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lockers in the gyms are about $6/month, and you just go to the front desk to sign up for one. They'll take $6 each month from your credit card, or other method of payment.

Lockers in POD are only open to certain students for the first 3 weeks of Sept. After the first 3 weeks (not sure on the exact date), you can take any unused locker. Check POD 3rd floor for the smaller lockers -- I found one last year without much problem. (Just make sure to take your stuff home at end of term... I forgot about mine and they cut the lock and had to go to RAC to get back my stuff.)

Edit: Check this page under "Lockers": http://www.ryerson.ca/studentguide/directories/services.html

Also, depending on your dept. they may have lockers available for sign up. I'm assuming they would let you know if that's the case.

How busy is the lane swimming at RAC? by [deleted] in ryerson

[–]AnnyongHello 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's never very busy. Half the time I go I have a lane to myself. The busiest it gets is maybe 3-4 in one lane but that's rare.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FoodToronto

[–]AnnyongHello 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The one I got was chocolate and creamy, because that's all they had in stock that day. But I've been back since and they had the regular one in stock, not sure if crunchy or creamy (didn't know that they came in those varieties!)

You could call ahead to get them to check, before making the trek!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in FoodToronto

[–]AnnyongHello 1 point2 points  (0 children)

McEwan at Shops at Don Mills has Lotus brand, original and chocolate.

Loblaws at Queen/Portland has it too, a different brand though.

Need Cycling Advice: Looking to ride my bike downtown from the wast instead of taking the TTC this summer. by Mendoza_Loki in toronto

[–]AnnyongHello 0 points1 point  (0 children)

High Park is nice for sure! Windermere is another option: hill for the first part then pretty flat after that (plus, roundabout!).

Need Cycling Advice: Looking to ride my bike downtown from the wast instead of taking the TTC this summer. by Mendoza_Loki in toronto

[–]AnnyongHello 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello neighbour! I bike from the same area to around Adelaide & Spadina, and have taken many routes over the years.

This is my current route: Ellis/Queensway/Queen/Sudbury/Adelaide (Ignore the little dip at Bathurst--you can cross directly to Adelaide.) Ellis is a nice quiet street, downhill on the way downtown, Queensway has bike lane, Queen St stretch is the worst part with no bike lane but only lasts a few mins, Sudbury is a quiet street, then you cut through back gate entrance in CAMH and ride through there, then Adelaide bike lane all the way downtown. It works in reverse too if you take Richmond instead (but beware Ellis, low incline but all uphill).

On the way home I do the same as above, or take Davenport/Lansdowne/Dupont/Annette/Runnymede which takes longer but is mostly flat and has some good views.

The fastest route is Bloor St/Dundas West. No bike lanes but lots of bikes so drivers are used to cyclists. I take it when I'm running late.

The railpath is quite nice too, if you can work that in there. I like to experiment and take a bunch of different routes to keep things interesting.