Canadian News

HecticArt

Administrator
Oct 19, 2008
49,832
17,485
168
Toledo, Ohio
Holy shit! I was just looking at my Flightradar24 app, and I saw a plane coming from the Toronto Airport, which has airport code YYZ. This is the basis for the Rush song of the same name. In fact, the morse code for YYZ is used as the opening rhythm of the song. I never knew this.
It's probably no surprise that I knew the story a long time ago.
I may have known before they taught IRBS in grade school.
 
  • Like
Reactions: scotchandcigar

IdRatherBeSkiing

Sherbet is NOT and NEVER WILL BE ice cream.
Oct 11, 2008
27,230
13,833
168
Toronto, ON
Holy shit! I was just looking at my Flightradar24 app, and I saw a plane coming from the Toronto Airport, which has airport code YYZ. This is the basis for the Rush song of the same name. In fact, the morse code for YYZ is used as the opening rhythm of the song. I never knew this.
I didn't know about the Morse code, but the YYZ part was pretty obvious to us Canadians particularly those from Toronto.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HecticArt

scotchandcigar

All I wanted was some steak
Feb 13, 2009
23,407
18,657
168
Vacationland
I didn't know about the Morse code, but the YYZ part was pretty obvious to us Canadians particularly those from Toronto.
Moving Pictures was huge for me. But in '81/'82, we barely had computers, let alone internet. So amongst my friends, we all just rocked to the music - none of us knew what YYZ meant, and unless Geddy Lee announced it, we'd never find out. And since we've had internet, it hadn't occurred to me to look into it.

I've been to Toronto a couple of times, but only by car. I've never flown there.
 

scotchandcigar

All I wanted was some steak
Feb 13, 2009
23,407
18,657
168
Vacationland
Here, each member of the band, the producer, and engineer talk about the making of YYZ (as they say, WHY-WHY-ZED), followed by a studio "performance" (actually simulated playing over the album track). Listen for this

1700585646143.png

Rush - The Making of YYZ
 
  • Like
Reactions: IdRatherBeSkiing

scotchandcigar

All I wanted was some steak
Feb 13, 2009
23,407
18,657
168
Vacationland
Of course it's ZED. They aren't Americans who mispronounce the 26th letter of the alphabet.
Watching F1, with the commentators mostly being British, I'm fairly accustomed to words like "zed", "aluminium", "having a shunt" (a crash), "box" (pitting), and "petrol". The other day, there was a Jeopardy clue about the word for a car sliding on a wet road, and I yelled out "what is aquaplaning". Of course, the answer was hydroplaning, but I'm turning British.
 

scotchandcigar

All I wanted was some steak
Feb 13, 2009
23,407
18,657
168
Vacationland
I like to track flights too. Most of the planes flying overhead here are going East-West, Houston to Orlando, Miami to Los Angeles, that kind of thing.
We're in the path of the big international flights from Europe to JFK. They come over at 40,000 feet from France, Germany, Athens, Portugal, Istanbul, and the Middle East. It's neat to use the app to see where they're coming from.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aaron