August 2017

2017 Social Calendar

Joint Directors’ BBQ, Wed Aug 16, 6 pm with dinner at 6:30 pm

Monthly Golf TournamentWednesdays, Aug 23, Sep 13, Oct 11 at Humber Valley. Contact: Joe Fazari

Cornroast Festival, Sun Sep 10, 1 pm

Crafts for Charity, Sat Oct 14, 10 am

Shaw Festival Bus TripSun Sep 17, 1:30 pm departure.

Octoberfest/Halloween, Sat Oct 28, 7:30 pm

Christmas Carol Evening, Fri Dec 01, 7:30pm

Check bulletin boards for any last minute changes in times.

2000/2010 Islington celebrates 150th Anniversary of Canada

The weather threatened to interfere with our Canada Day party this year. But we were not discouraged. We had a perfectly marvellous event to celebrate Canada 150. Nothing was forgotten from decorations, amazing food, music and a definitely upbeat atmosphere. Red and white as far as the eye could see!Fireworks completed the evening spectacularly.

Thank you to all the many volunteers. You outdid yourselves this time.

Windows and the threat of ‘WannaCry’Around Islington 2000 there has been no shortage of talk about windows but this is NOT more about that. The topic here is Windows, the operating system that is found on most personal computers.

In the past few years we have all heard scary news stories about ransomware infecting computers. A recent ver-sion called WannaCry, was notorious for taking down whole hospital systems. Though not quite so dramatic, it also infected and shut down home computers. Within a few days thousands of computers were affected. Wanna-Cry was spread by a bit of sneaky computer code which made the computers inoperable, and left a message on the computer screens demanding payment.

In case you ever find yourself in this situation, which is the lowest depth of computer misery, police advise you to NEVER make payment to the hackers. Payment only gives them encouragement, and it’s not likely that the hackers will be inclined to restore your computer after you’ve paid them. You will end up repairing your com-puter anyway.

Ransomware has so far been limited to computers us-ing the Windows operating system. But users of Apple, Android and other operating systems shouldn’t be complacent as malicious hackers are always looking for new challenges. Everyone should make a routine of good computer hygiene:• Makesureyoursoftwareisup-to-date.Useanew-er version of Windows that is fully supported with the latest security patches, and turn your settings to update automatically. • Installanduseanup-to-dateantivirussolution(such as Microsoft Security Essentials) and set it to up-date automatically. • Regularlybackupyourimportantfilesandstorethem separately from your computer, on a detachable storage device or the cloud; should your computer be infected you’ll have uninfected backup copies. • Setupyourinternetbrowsertoblockpop-upsandalso to indicate sites that have been identified as housing malware. • Avoidclickingonlinksoropeningattachmentsor emails from people you don’t know or companies you don’t do business with.

If you stop to think about all the many essential files that are now on your computer, it just makes sense to do what you can to prevent their inadvertent loss.

New Assistant Property Manager joins usWe have a new face in the management office. Our new Assistant Manager is Libera (Libby) Giacchetta. Libby has spent most of her career in the financial industry, working as a Financial Analyst for an Actuarial Consulting Firm. She also worked for Toronto Life, managing Wedding BellsmagazinesforCanadaandUSEditionsasBillingandAccounts Receivable Manager.

About three years ago, she transitioned into property management. Since then she has successfully managed a two-building complex at Lakeshore & Park Lawn, consisting of 240 UnitsaswellasSharedFacilities.She also managed another prop-erty at Bathurst & Steeles consist-ing of 180 units. Libby is very happy to have found her way to Islington 2000.

In her personal life, Libby has two grown children, a son and a daughter, and four grandchildren. When she’s away from work and family, you will find her at the gym. If you haven’t done so already, please welcome Libby to Islington 2000.

Food and FriendsDoes anyone remember when the Singles Supper evenings began at Islington 2000? This activity has been a fixture for many years, and for good reason. Who doesn’t enjoy the occasional mealtime with friends, along with the possibil-ity of making new friends?

Participation in Single Supper is as simple as can be. Just show up around 6 pm and bring your own supper. In good weather it can be at the picnic area. Otherwise people meet in the party room. Single Supper runs every other

Thursday. Check the calendar.

Another food and friends opportunity is the Tuesday “lunch bunch”. Here again, you can simply show up on any Tuesday that you like, bringing your own lunch. As with Single Supper, you’ll find it either at the picnic area or the party room. Attendance is flexible, so the size of the group can fluctuate from one week to the next. The Tues-day lunch is open to all and is held every week around 12:30. Consider yourself invited!

Can it happen here?Why did the London Grenfell Tower fire engulf the build-ing? Fire safety experts have said that the building’s new

external cladding was a possible cause of the rapid spread of the fire. Experts said the gap between the cladding and the insulation worked like a chimney to spread the fire. The cladding could be seen burning and melting, causing additional speculation that it was not made of fire-resistant mate-

rial. The fire engulfed the outside of the building because material under the cladding was flamable and burned intensely spreading fire from the outside of the building to apartments.

Do our building exteriors pose a similar fire risk?No. Our buildings have a brick exterior so there is nothing on the exterior to burn and cause the build-ing exterior to be engulfed in fire. However, cigarette butts thrown off a balcony often land on a lower balcony and can cause a fire if they land on furniture. There are many incidents in Toronto condos where this has hap-pened.Sosmokersbeware,DONOTTHROWYOURBUTTSOFFYOURBALCONIES.USEANASH-TRAY!!

What do I do when our fire alarms sound? DO NOT CALL the Management Office Or The Gate-house when you hear the fire alarm. The phone lines need to be open so the office and the gatehouse can make and receive necessary calls with emergency responders. Information and instructions will be provided through the P.A. system. You should WAIT for announcements... they may take some time. As soon as the fire department determines what the situation is, an announcement will be made.

The alarms may seem to ring for a long time. We are not allowed to turn them off, nor make any announce-ment until the fire department gives us permission. Fire Alarm Procedures’ Information is contained in Schedule “H”OCCUPANTFIREPROCEDUREoftheRulesPack-age.

Disconnecting ensuite fire alarms, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, fire prevention equipment, annunciation speakers, window latches, automatic door

closers or any other safety devices designated by the Board from time to time, is strictly prohibited and sub-ject to fines pursuant to the Fire Code.To go or to stay? The decision is yours. In either case, you must act quickly and you must protect yourself from smoke.What about door closers?

The door closer is a Fire Safety apparatus and must be opera-tional to close your suite door by itself. It is not there for your convenience or inconvenience. Owners that remove them are

no longer in compliance with Fire Regulations. This is a common element and must not be removed.

What happens in the hallways, elevators and stairwells during a fire alarm? 1) The fans that blow makeup air in our hallways will stop. 2) Pressurization fans come on automatically to blow air into the stairwells from the top of the stairwell. 3) The door at the bottom of the stairwell is auto-matically opened. 4) The air blows from the top of the stairwell down and out the open door on the bottom, clearing any smoke that does enter the stairwell and prevents any smoke from building up at the top of the stairwell. 5) The elevators all go to ground and can only be activated by the firemen who respond to the alarm. 6) Pressurization fans come on in the elevator shafts in order to stop any smoke from entering the shaft.

Movie nights relaunchedThis summer has seen the launch of a monthly movie night in the fireside lounge where videos can be project-ed onto the large screen. The first Movie Tuesday fea-tured a comedy, The Grand Budapest Hotel (see bulletin boards for notices). It was shown on August 8th at 7:30. There is no need to sign up for this event. Just bring yourself, take a seat and prepare to be entertained.

This is being organized by a small group of owners and is coordinated by Marian Leslie. Have you suggestions for future movies? Send them to 4suitetalk@gmailcom or phone Marian at 416 578 1893. There is a small commit-tee of 4 or 5 residents who have volunteered so far. This month Shirley Langstaff took care of the treats and Mar-ian was in charge of the technical details. If you wish to be part of the committee, let Marian know.

Could body posture during sleep affect how our brain clears waste?

Recent research published in the Journal of Neurosci-ences indicates that sleeping in the lateral, or side posi-tion, as compared to sleeping on one’s back or stomach, may more effectively remove brain waste and prove to be an important practice to help reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neuro-logical diseases.

The glymphatic system in the brain clears wastes and other harmful chemical solutes from the brain during sleep, similar to the way the body’s lymphatic system clears waste from our organs. Brain waste includes amyloid β (amyloid) and tau proteins, chemicals that negatively affect brain processes if they build up. It is during sleep especially in the lateral position that the glymphatic pathway is most efficient. In humans and many animals the lateral sleeping position is the most common one.

Many types of dementia are linked to sleep disturbanc-es, including difficulties in falling asleep. It is increas-ingly acknowledged that these sleep disturbances may accelerate memory loss in Alzheimer’s disease. This finding shows it is also important what position you sleep in.

New owners’ meeting with the BoardsThe past year has seen a significant turnover in sales of units in both towers. MTCC-570 now has 23 new owners and YCC-531 14 new owners. The two Boards decided to hold a joint new residents’ meeting on the evening of July 26th to brief new owners on the ins-and-outs of condo life at 2000/2010 Islington, on the functions of both Boards and the Joint Operational Committee, and the rationale behind the Rules and Regulations.

The meeting was very well attended with over 55% of new owners present. The formal question and answer part of the meeting was followed by a mixer with wine and cheese and more wine.

Annual Directors’ BBQWednesday, August 16 for 6pm with dinner at

6:30pm

This year, both of our Boards discussed the merits of holding the individual annual BBQ’s together to promote a greater community spirit and give all own-ers an opportunity to get together. Because over 300 attendees are expected, the BBQ will be held on our old tennis court 4 just beside the south tower.

To eliminate the risk of rain post-ponements, there will be a large circus tent (no elephants) to shelter us from any inclement weather. This event is for residents only but single residents may bring a companion.

Check the bulletin boards for further information. Forms confirming your attendance must be received by the Management Office no later than Aug. 9, 2017.

Check out the website for our condo atwww.islington2000condo.com

It was designed by one of our owners, Marian Leslie, and at the present time, Marian Leslie is responsible for producing and maintaining the website, having taken over from the last voluntary webmaster several years ago. It is a treasure trove of relevant information for our owners.

It contains current and past copies of Suite Talk and reports on condo events, both recreational and busi-ness-related. It has loads of information on amenities, gallery, resident’s essentials, Board of Directors, recre-ational activities, dreaded rules and regulations, ‘find a form’, and FAQ’s. There are Event Calendars shown by month.Usefullinksarealsoincludedoncondominiumlaw and other condo-related matters.

Suite Talk Editorial Board

Peter Bahry, Joe Fazari, Marian Leslie, Manny Radomski

E-mail address: 4SuiteTalk@gmail.com