This is your chance to show off your cleverness and creativity. Halifax Transit is asking Haligonians to submit names for its newest ferry, which will start operating in 2016. 

Apple is a company that knows how to sell small shiny objects to its many devoted fans.

It only makes sense, then, that they’re using this expertise to sell the Apple Watch Edition, which sells for $13,000 to $22,000 in Canada, to the company’s fans who enjoy the finer things in life.

Good news, Ontario drivers: you’ll soon get a discount on your car insurance in Ontario.

Starting January 1, 2016, Ontario has mandated insurers to give discounts to drivers who install winter tires on their vehicles when they start or renew a policy.

When you live in a city, you don’t tend to visit the tourist-friendly attractions unless you have visitors from away.

For Torontonians with guests from Nova Scotia, those destinations include the CN Tower, the Hockey Hall of Fame and Ikea. (Many Nova Scotian’s bitterly rue the day Ikea left while simultaneously hoping it comes back).

Finally, there’s a way to wear a poppy, the international symbol of Remembrance, to honour Canadian veterans without stabbing yourself on the pin.

Legion branches in Calgary are selling little black pins which have a clasp on the back that will safely attach the poppy to your clothing. Great, right?

What could possibly be new about water, the number one natural capital resource in the world?

Plenty.

“Water in the global business culture is pretty new,” says Elizabeth Hendriks

Sometimes writers share an anecdote about their own life to add a bit of colour to a feature story. This is not one of those times. Photos of yours truly as a toddler in horrible plaid overalls, or the grade one school photo with my hair sticking up —and especially that ill-advised perm —will not be forthcoming.

What do you do when you don’t know if you can trust someone in your life?

The wayward spouse is by far the most obvious and cliché example —for good reason. But there are also business associates, a new boyfriend, employees and even childcare workers who might raise your hackles.

Anxious parents may not care, but the other children might laugh at your kid for carrying this phone. 

The KidsConnect GPS Tracker lets parents track their kids’ every movement, review three days of location history, and have parental control of all incoming and outgoing numbers. It will even let parents eavesdrop on the child’s surroundings.

Don’t anger a woman with a mommy blog.

 That could be the modern equivalent to the old adage of “never pick a fight with a man who buys ink by the barrel.” It’s origins are murky —no, not Mark Twain —but the message is clear: don’t mess with the press.

For most of us, garbage goes down the chute or on the curb, and that’s the last we think of it. Easy, right? Well, not so fast. Somebody has to figure out where to take your unwanted stuff.

Thanksgiving is a time for considering the good things in your life while simultaneously stuffing yourself with turkey and pie and dodging political discussions with relatives.

Most of us have a roof over our heads and food in our bellies, but for a few Canadians, those essentials aren’t a given. For those people, every day can be a struggle, especially if poverty has long been the norm in their family.

Canada shares the longest international border with the United States, and like the tag-along little sibling, we spend a lot of time comparing ourselves to our much bigger neighbour. Do they care as much about us? Nope. A glance at a U.S. newspaper or the evening news will show that we rarely rate a mention.

Cue the comparisons:

As a parent I like the new toys. Even though they’re doing it to boost their bottom line, these companies are responding to parents who would rather have their girls play with toys that focus on girl power and athleticism rather than skimpy clothes, sparkly bras and hooker heels.

“I'll eat my desk if a Canadian government adopts a maximum six hour day.”

That’s Dr. David J. Doorey’s unambiguous opinion on the shortened work day that some Swedish employers are using in their workplaces.

Everybody wants to be special. Each person who dreams of climbing Everest has their own motivation, but the typical answers will be to test their limits, appreciate Mother Nature’s extreme beauty, bragging rights (they may not admit that one), personal growth, and “because it’s there.” 

Celebrating your twenty-ninth birthday over and over isn’t cheap. If your face is showing the effects of worrying about your kids, your job, your parents and your mortgage, it will set you back plenty to fix it - and that fix is only temporary.

Dr. Dimitri Nakassis, 40, a professor at the University of Toronto, is one of 24 people to receive a “genius grant”this year.

More accurately known as a fellowship of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the honour comes with a no-strings-attached stipend of $625,000 (U.S.) paid over five years. The foundation avoids the term genius, saying that their awards go to people with many impressive qualities beyond intellectual prowess.

Hipster, hipster, hipster. You hear this term over and over in magazines, newspapers and online. It’s used either as shorthand for stylish twenty-somethings, or as a cheap shot at young guys with an affected style that’s not nearly as unique as they’d like to think. (No, you didn’t invent plaid shirts).

I’m a native Haligonian and I have a confession to make: I do not eat donairs. No way, no how, not gonna happen. No mystery meat for me, thank you very much.

While I’m not a vegetarian, I haven’t eaten red meat in almost 20 years and the smell of donair meat turns my stomach when I walk past a fast food joint.