Not only can you claim the Home Renovation Tax Credit, but condo owners can claim their share of renovations done to the building that were paid for with the condo maintenance fees. There are some caveats, the renovations must be of the same nature that would qualify in a home (e.g. furniture and appliances do not count) and there must be proper documentation by the condo corporation.

The documentation is the hard part. I would encourage you to print out this article from the Toronto Star and show it to the board, and let them determine if they can provide the documentation.

This article from MSN Careers shows answers given to top hiring managers that are amusing, shocking and sad all at the same time.

Why did you leave your last job?

• “I have a problem with authority.” – Carrie Rocha, chief operating officer, HousingLink

Tell us about a problem you had with a co-worker and how you resolved it

• “The resolution was we were both fired.” – Jason Shindler, CEO, Curvine Web Solutions

What kind of computer software have you used?

• “Computers? Are those the black boxes that sit on the floor next to the desks? My boss has one of those. He uses it. I don’t have one. He just gives me my schedule and I follow it.” – Greg Szymanski, director of human resources, Geonerco Management Inc.

What are your hobbies and interests?

• “[He said] ‘Well, as you can see, I’m a young, virile man and I’m single — if you ladies know what I’m saying.’ Then he looked at one of the fair-haired board members and said, ‘I particularly like blondes.’” – Petri R.J. Darby, president, darbyDarnit Public Relations

Why should we hire you?

• “I would be a great asset to the events team because I party all the time.” – Bill McGowan, founder, Clarity Media Group

Do you have any questions?

• “Cross-dressing isn’t a problem is it?” – Barry Maher, Barry Maher & Associates
• “If you were a fruit, what fruit would you be?” – Megan Garnett, Articulate Leadership Team, Articulate Communications Inc.
• “What do you want me to do if I cannot walk to work if it’s raining? Can you pick me up?” – Christine Pechstein, career coach
• “I was a chamber of commerce executive once hiring a secretary. [The candidate asked] ‘What does a chamber of commerce do?’” – Mary Kurek, Mary Kurek Inc. Visibility Consulting
• “Can we wrap this up fairly quickly?  I have someplace I have to go.” – Bruce Campbell, vice president of marketing, Clare Computer Solutions
• “What is your company’s policy on Monday absences?” – Campbell
• “If this doesn’t work out can I call you to go out sometime?” – Christine Bolzan, founder of Graduate Career Coaching
• “How big do the bonuses really get once you make associate? I hear it’s some serious cash.” – Bolzan
• “[The candidate asked,] ‘Can my dad call you to talk about the job and the training program?  He is really upset I’m not going to medical school and wants someone to explain the Wall Street path to him.’ The dad did call. Then that dad’s friends called and I ended up doing a conference call with a group of concerned parents … long story.” – Bolzan
• “If I get an offer, how long do I have before I have to take the drug test?” – Bolzan
• “When you do background checks on candidates, do things like public drunkenness arrests come up?” – Bolzan
• “Can I get a tour of the breast pumping room?  I heard you have a great one here and while I don’t plan on having children for at least 10 or 12 years, I will definitely breast-feed and would want to use that room.”- Bolzan
• “So, how much do they pay you for doing these interviews?” – Jodi R.R. Smith, Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting

Why are you leaving your current job?

• “Because I (expletive) my pants every time I enter the building.” – Abbe Mortimore, human resources manager, True Textiles Inc.
• “I was fired from my last job because they were forcing me to attend anger management classes.” – Smith

Why are you looking for a job?

• “Cigarettes are getting more expensive, so I need another job.” – Pechstein
• “My parents told me I need to get a job so that is why I’m here.” – McGowan

Why do you want to work for us?

• “Just for the benefits.” – Jennifer Juergens, JJ Communications
• “My old boss didn’t like me, so one day, I just left and never came back. And here I am!” – Matt Cowall, communications manager, Appia Communications
• “I saw the job posted on Twitter and thought, why not?” – Rebecca Gertsmark Oren, communications director at The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity

What are your assets? (as in strengths)

• “Well, I do own a bike.” – Pam Venné, principal, The Venné Group

What are your weaknesses?

• “I get angry easily and I went to jail for domestic violence. But I won’t get mad at you.” – Pechstein
• “I had a job candidate tell me that she often oversleeps and has trouble getting out of bed in the morning.” – Linda Yaffe, certified executive coach
• “I am an alcoholic and do not deserve this job.” – Deb Bailey, owner, Power Women Magazine & Radio Show
• “I’m really not a big learner. You know … some people love learning and are always picking up new things, but that’s just not me. I’d much rather work at a place where the job is pretty stagnant and doesn’t change a lot.” – Michaele Charles, Voice Communications

When have you demonstrated leadership skills?

• “Well my best example would be in the world of online video gaming. I pretty much run the show; it takes a lot to do that.”  - Rachel Croce

Is there anything else I should know about you?

• “You should probably know I mud wrestle on the weekends.” – Venné

When can you start?

• “I need to check with my mom on that one.” – Bolzan

Use three adjectives to describe yourself

• “I hate questions like this.” – Katrina Meistering

Tell of a time you made a mistake and how you dealt with it

• “I stole some equipment from my old job, and I had to pay for its replacement.” – Meistering

Have you submitted your two weeks’ notice to your current employer?

• “What is two weeks’ notice?  I’ve never quit a job before, I’ve always been fired.” - Meistering

Random responses

• “One guy [said] ‘it would probably be best’ if I didn’t run a background check on him. Of course, I did, and learned all about his long, sordid past of law-breaking. Our client actually offered him a job as a staff accountant, but quickly retracted the offer when I had to tell them all about his recent arrest for a meth lab in his basement.” – Charles

• “[A] guy said he did not have a mailing address, as he was living in a gypsy camp at the airport.” – Sandra L. Flippo, SPHR
• “I went into the lobby to pick up a candidate. As he stood up, his trousers fell to the floor! [He said] ‘Oh, my gosh — they told me I needed a suit for the interview. I’ve got no money — so I borrowed this thing. It’s too big!’” – Beth Ross, executive and career coach
• “Wow — I’m not used to wearing dress shoes! My feet are killing me. Can I show you these bloody blisters?” – Bolzan
• “May I have a cup of coffee?  I think I may still be a little drunk from last night.” – Smith
• (During a telephone call to schedule the interview) “Can we meet next month?  I am currently incarcerated.” – Smith
• “[A candidate] was asked whether he could advocate impartially on behalf of the various universities he would be representing since he had attended one of them. He responded, ‘Well, I don’t like to poop where I eat, but I thought my education sucked, so I certainly wouldn’t put that school above the others.’” – Darby

The Toronto Star continues to have a great set of Google Map mashups produced each week. Over the past two weeks they’ve produced maps of the admissions into GTA universities by area – presumeably by postal code information provided by the university. Check out the maps below:

University of Toronto: St. George

University of Toronto: Scarborough

University of Toronto: Mississauga

York University: Keele

York Unversity: Glendon

Ryerson University

A friend posted this link on Facebook. This article from the BBC highlights the impressions of a teen when he trades in his iPod for a Walkman for one week. It’s pretty funny to read for anyone that grew up with these in the 80s.

The New York Times ran an article today about taking photos of pets. Although primarily aimed at photographers using an SLR, it has some specific advice for point-and-shoot cameras as well. The article is a Q&A with Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studios.

Find out how “walkable” your neighborhood is. Walk Score calculates a score based how easy it would be to walk to do all your errands instead of taking the car. The higher the walk score, the more walkable your neighborhood is. They describe the score below:

The Walk Score^TM Algorithm

Walk Score uses a patent-pending system to measure the walkability of an address. The Walk Score algorithm awards points based on the distance to the closest amenity in each category. If the closest amenity in a category is within .25 miles (or .4 km), we assign the maximum number of points. The number of points declines as the distance approaches 1 mile (or 1.6 km)-no points are awarded for amenities further than 1 mile. Each category is weighted equally and the points are summed and normalized to yield a score from 0-100. The number of nearby amenities is the leading predictor of whether people walk.1

My neighborhood scored 98! I guess I really shouldn’t drive everywhere.

The best place for flowers in the city is this row of flower shops at Avenue and Davenport. I don’t know how all of these places compete with essentially the same product and still survive, but somehow they all manage. Spring is here! Buy someone flowers:

The Toronto Star has been running a series of online maps on their website in a column titled Map of the Week. From mapping crime and accidents, to health and STDs, these maps mashup data with the tracts that make up Toronto. The latest map is about neighborhoods – they’ve been asking for input into what are the boundaries of all the neighborhoods people use in the city. Names like “Rosedale”, “East York” and “The Annex” these neighborhoods make up the fabric of the city. Curiously, where my condo is an area without a neighborhood name at all. Apparently, we don’t qualify under for titles of our neighbor neighborhoods.

The Toronto Star has created a few new “children” sites dedicated to specific topics such as automotive, parenting and health. Healthzone.ca is their health care offering and recently they’ve added a tool that will allow you to find a clinic or find a drug store in your area.

What happened to Facebook Poke? Noone uses it anymore. Did it really have any purpose but to remind people to check Facebook in it’s infancy?