407 ETR – Toll highway surrounding Toronto (ETR stands for “Electronic Toll Road”). The 407 has no tollbooths – subscribers have electronic transponders that log their entry and exit from the highway, while non-subscribers have their license plates read by cameras, with a bill sent every month. (There is an additional fee for not having a transponder). Its toll status means that it is less crowded than the other roads surrounding Toronto, but the tolls are extremely expensive relative to other toll roads. The 407 is owned by the Province of Ontario, but is leased to a private corporation for 99 years in a sweetheart deal concocted by a previous government. (The terms of the deal remain a closely guarded secret).
The 407 corporation is generally hated by Ontario residents because of the high tolls, and also because of frequent incorrect billing that is very difficult to correct (forcing people to pay for trips they never made if they want to renew their drivers licenses), leading to the ETR being known as the “Express Toll Ripoff”. Ontario residents use many creative methods to obscure license plates so that the cameras can’t read your plates to send them a bill. Some out-of-province drivers who use the 407 will get a bill in the mail, but (unlike Ontario residents) they can't threaten not to renew your plates to force you to pay it.
The 407 corporation is generally hated by Ontario residents because of the high tolls, and also because of frequent incorrect billing that is very difficult to correct (forcing people to pay for trips they never made if they want to renew their drivers licenses), leading to the ETR being known as the “Express Toll Ripoff”. Ontario residents use many creative methods to obscure license plates so that the cameras can’t read your plates to send them a bill. Some out-of-province drivers who use the 407 will get a bill in the mail, but (unlike Ontario residents) they can't threaten not to renew your plates to force you to pay it.
by avgfhadsfkjbvhadsfjhbv February 28, 2007
Get the 407mug. British/French supersonic airliner, designed in the sixties and entered commercial service in 1976. A supreme technological success (and the only successful supersonic airliner), but catastrophic from a business point of view.
Concorde was designed when fuel was cheap, and when it didn't seem like there would be any objection to generating sonic booms over populated areas. By the time it was ready to go into commercial service, environmental concerns and fuel costs eroded most of the potential market. In the end, Concorde served only with Air France and British Airways, mostly flying on the New York - Paris and New York - London routes.
After the first fatal Concorde accident in 2000, the fleet was grounded for over a year. The decision was finally made to retire the two Concorde fleets in 2003, and the survivors were retired to museums in Germany, France, Britain, the United States, and Barbados. No supersonic successor appears likely
Concorde was designed when fuel was cheap, and when it didn't seem like there would be any objection to generating sonic booms over populated areas. By the time it was ready to go into commercial service, environmental concerns and fuel costs eroded most of the potential market. In the end, Concorde served only with Air France and British Airways, mostly flying on the New York - Paris and New York - London routes.
After the first fatal Concorde accident in 2000, the fleet was grounded for over a year. The decision was finally made to retire the two Concorde fleets in 2003, and the survivors were retired to museums in Germany, France, Britain, the United States, and Barbados. No supersonic successor appears likely
by avgfhadsfkjbvhadsfjhbv September 12, 2006
Get the concordemug. Former political organization in the Canadian province of Quebec that advocated Quebec becoming the 51st state of the United States. They thought that it might be possible to arrange for Quebec to have only one official language more easily than if they remained part of Canada. This was probably true, except that the one official language wouldn't have been Français. The organization's policies don't appear to have been well thought-out.
Mouvement 51 wanted to ensure a French-speaking Quebec by becoming part of the United States. C'est fou!
by avgfhadsfkjbvhadsfjhbv September 08, 2006
Get the Mouvement 51mug. 1. A very popular BBC radio series written by Douglas Adams, originally broadcast in 1978, with new episodes broadcast in 1980, 2004 and 2005.
2. A book released in 1979 by Douglas Adams, derived from the first series of 1. Also the blanket title for a series of four further books by Adams set in the same universe. Sometimes known as “a trilogy in five parts”.
3. 1979 stage show derived from the first series of 1.
4. 1979 LP recording derived from the first series of 1.
5. 1981 BBC television series derived partially from the first series of 1., with some material from 2. and additional original material.
6. A 1984 computer text adventure game by Infocom, freely adapted from the beginning of the first series of 1.
7. A 2005 film from Disney, very loosely derived from the first series of 1. Widely felt to have lost most of the humor and pacing of the original in the process of adapting the material to an American audience. The death of Douglas Adams (and subsequent editing of the script by others) may have played a part in this.
2. A book released in 1979 by Douglas Adams, derived from the first series of 1. Also the blanket title for a series of four further books by Adams set in the same universe. Sometimes known as “a trilogy in five parts”.
3. 1979 stage show derived from the first series of 1.
4. 1979 LP recording derived from the first series of 1.
5. 1981 BBC television series derived partially from the first series of 1., with some material from 2. and additional original material.
6. A 1984 computer text adventure game by Infocom, freely adapted from the beginning of the first series of 1.
7. A 2005 film from Disney, very loosely derived from the first series of 1. Widely felt to have lost most of the humor and pacing of the original in the process of adapting the material to an American audience. The death of Douglas Adams (and subsequent editing of the script by others) may have played a part in this.
by avgfhadsfkjbvhadsfjhbv September 19, 2006
Get the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxymug. by avgfhadsfkjbvhadsfjhbv September 02, 2006
Get the celine dionmug. Suburban house that is actually a concealed indoor marijuana plantation. Grow-ops are usually loaded with high intensity lights for the crop, and often have illegally bypassed electrical meters, both to reduce costs and to prevent their detection by electrical consumption. They are often detected because of their heat -- either via infra-red thermography, or in colder climates, because snow melts on the roof faster than on other houses in the neighborhood. Some larger scale grow ops are installed in larger industrial buildings, rather than in residential areas.
The term is in common use in suburban Canada,
The term is in common use in suburban Canada,
by avgfhadsfkjbvhadsfjhbv September 08, 2006
Get the grow opmug.