Has anyone else noticed that the number of car rental places in Toronto has gone from dozens to practically nothing in the last six months?

This is basically old news by now, but I had to post something since there doesn’t seem to be any information online about what happened. All I know is that last summer I had a lot of options when I wanted to rent a car, I could go to National Car Rental, my favorite, or check out Hertz, or Avis. It was just a matter of which location was closer, or who had the best deal.

Then, next thing I know, I’m doing a search for a car with National at their Islington and Bloor location, and poof, no results. I thought it was a mistake so I searched their location page – surprise, that location doesn’t exist any more.

That happened during the summer last year, and since then nearly every National Car location in Toronto has closed shop. The map above will give you a little idea about that – the company went from ten locations within the city, to three, and as far as I can tell all of the other locations in the GTA have closed too.

From that point on I started renting cars, when I needed one, with Hertz or Avis, but those companies have closed a lot of stores too. Now, I don’t rent that often, but I am really surprised that I only have one or two locations to choose from now, and that includes the National location at the airport.

So, does anyone know what happened? I’m guessing the rough financial times have affected all the car rental companies, and National was just the most noticeable for me, but I really have no clue. All I know is that I went from always renting from National, to not really even having one company I can consistently deal with.

As a side note, the map came from the National at the airport this past weekend. Not sure if the company even realizes these are still out there, but it’s odd to look at this map and realize in six months it’s become completely out of date, at least in terms of company locations.

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It’s been well over a week now since Mass Effect 2 came out and I still don’t have my copy yet, and as you may have guessed, it’s killing me. I loved the first title and I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel, but a little snafu has kept a review copy out of my hands, at least for now.

I’ve even purposefully kept my eyes off of reviews and articles about the game so I can face it fresh when it finally arrives, but it’s starting to make me a little crazy!

Looking back, I’d love to know how many hours I put into the last game. Probably something I don’t even want to think about, but I’m sure, like a lot of gamers, it would be well over 100 hours since I’ve played through it twice.

The non-gamers out there are probably thinking, ‘What, 100 hours? Are you crazy?’, but there is nothing like a smartly written, brilliantly designed game, and Mass Effect was all that, in spades.

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Disney has released a new photo from Tron: Legacy, giving fans another peek at Jeff Bridges’ role in the upcoming sequel.

While no new details have emerged about the film, it’s interesting to note that Bridges’ is wearing an “Identity Disc”.

Here’s the official caption for the photo, just for kicks:

Jeff Bridges, winner of both a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award—and now an Oscar nominee—for his performance in Crazy Heart, stars in Tron: Legacy, a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that’s unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (Bridges), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the digital world of Tron where his father has been living for 25 years. Together, they embark on a life-and-death journey of escape across a visually-stunning and exceedingly dangerous cyber universe.

Tron: Legacy is set for release on December 17, 2010.

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Much like a good pair of jeans, there comes a point every couple of years where you’re better off replacing your computer rather than trying to make it work any longer. Maybe if you’re careful you can hold out a few extra months, but while I’ve had one pair of jeans for close to five years, it’s always a matter of a couple of years for me and my laptops, which get the brunt of my worst computer habits.

I’m currently running my 10″ laptop into the ground, after more than four years of use (epic longevity, by my standards), but I’m long overdue for a replacement. When using the internet is even starting to get slow, you know it’s time.

Considering how many amazing little netbooks there are now, I’m seriously considering picking up something small so I can just write on the go and post anywhere. I’m wondering though if anyone can recommend a system they’ve been using? I have some favorites out there, but I’d really like a few suggestions for people who have actually used some of the new netbooks or small laptops. Only musts for me are that it’s a PC, cheap and cheerful, has a decent battery life for its size, and won’t freeze if I’m multitasking.

Any thoughts?

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Alright, Lost fans, another interesting video leading into the sixth and final season. Producer Damon Lindelof tweeted the link to this video today, and it’s well worth a watch.

Some fan spliced-together footage, 24-style, showing the the events that led up to the crash of Flight 815 on the Island.

No, you won’t learn anything new about the show, but it’s still crazy cool.

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Had to pass one photo on, for now, to the Lost fans. Michael Emerson, who of course plays Ben Linus in the show, was in attendence for his nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a television series. He posed on the carpet with actress Carrie Preston.

More photos from the Golden Globes coming soon.

Photo © HFPA.

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The night is almost over for this year’s Golden Globes, and I have to give praise where praise is due: Ricky Gervais has been an awesome host. Sure, he’s been drinking on-stage, but he’s been on the ball with the jokes.

“Let’s get on with it,” he said at the start of the night, “before NBC replaces me with Jay Leno.”

The real burn of the night came much later in the night though. “I enjoy a drink as much as the next man,” Gervais quipped, “unless that next man is Mel Gibson”

Still a bit to go, but otherwise the Golden Globes have been odd, and awkward. On the odd side of things, the winners have been a bit out in left field. Not bad, by any means, but definitely a little strange. And on the awkward side, the production team has been sleeping on the job, with a lot of screwups throughout the night.

The results are really making me wonder how much of this will translate into Oscar gold as well. For instance, is James Cameron’s win for Best Director telling? We’ll see in a few weeks, but it certainly looks good for Avatar…

Photo © HFPA.

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