There are some sure signs spring has arrived – the changing of the clocks, the longer days, the melting of snow and ice, buds appearing on trees and flowers ready to sprout.
But one sure sign spring is here, is when it is warm enough outside to breakout the lawn chairs, and sit on my balcony and enjoy the warm sunshine.
Today was the first day where it was warm enough to go outside without a heavy winter coat – even warm enough to go outside without a spring jacket!
With the sunny skies, and the warm weather, I took out the lawn chairs and spent a nice lazy evening, enjoying something we Canadians don’t get enough in the winter – fresh air.
I know the weather forecasters are predicting wetter and colder conditions later in the week – but today was a the first time this year to be enjoyed outside.
Must be a Canadian thing to have to wait a whole six-months or more before you can venture outside sans coat to enjoy a nice day. There are those days in the winter, when the wind is howling and the snow is drilling into your face so hard, you run as fast as you can to get into the protective shelter of the great indoors.
But the great indoors can only be great for so long. After a while, it begins to start to feel like a cage. The air becomes stale, and there is always this longing for sunny skies and fresh natural air.
I still do many of the things I do in the summer. I still BBQ in the winter, but I need to wear my bulky heavy winter coat, gloves, scarf and toque. I don’t sit out on the balcony in the winter, usually for fear of blowing away.
But on days like this, it is nice to just relax, with a cold beer, on the balcony, watching some raw meat turn nice and golden brown.
I’m looking forward to more days like these as the warm weather approaches.
Back to the balcony – can’t spend too long in front of the computer on a day like today!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Free Protein Shake = Telemarketing Sales Lead?
I’m a workout-a-holic – I hit the gym at least three-times or more per week. And I really go to workout. A lot of people sign up at a gym thinking it will be the instant answer to dropping a few pounds. Some go as a form of social networking to meet people. Others – like me – go to really pump weights, get our heart rates up, and watch as our muscles get bulgier and bulgier.
For the past couple of weeks, there have been posters promoting all the latest events at the gym. They are having this open house at the end of the month, with draws and prizes, a live disc jockey and other things.
Today, being Easter Monday, they had the whole place decked out in the spirit of Easter. There were baskets everywhere, cardboard eggs and other decorations hanging on all the walls, and the receptionists were walking around, offering free protein shakes.
I enjoy a good protein shake as much as any other muscle-building person does. Protein is the fundamental basic ingredient needed to build muscle. Within two-hours of working out, your body is starving for protein.
So, when I was offered a free protein shake, I took it. I politely said thank you and the two receptionists started talking about the big event at the end of the month. I said it sounds great – which it did. Then they started to ask me for names and numbers of people I’d bring to the open house.
“For every guest you bring, you get another chance to win in the draw for a free year-long membership,” they told me repeatedly.
I told them that’s a great prize, but I don’t know who I can bring, or even if I’ll bring anyone. I really felt pressure to bring a guest.
I know they want us paying members to bring guests so that they can sign more people up. And it’s not a completely bad idea, because if I bring in people I know to my gym, it makes it more of a social thing for me.
But, asking for names and numbers of people that I haven’t even asked to this event yet, is pestering and pushy salespersonship.
Sure, I was enjoying my free protein shake, but they didn’t have a sign up saying you had to give names and numbers of your friends, family, neighbours and anyone else you can think of, to have one. They were offering them free – to open up a dialogue with members and talk about the event.
It is one thing to talk about an event, it is more than another thing to force someone to go, and to list those they are bringing. It is like sending out wedding invitations, only to call everyone up and force them to go, and bring lots and lots of people.
I’ll still hit the gym as often as I can. I love to workout, the equipment is well maintained, and the atmosphere is up-beat and friendly. But from now on, when someone offers me a free protein shake, I’ll politely decline.
For the past couple of weeks, there have been posters promoting all the latest events at the gym. They are having this open house at the end of the month, with draws and prizes, a live disc jockey and other things.
Today, being Easter Monday, they had the whole place decked out in the spirit of Easter. There were baskets everywhere, cardboard eggs and other decorations hanging on all the walls, and the receptionists were walking around, offering free protein shakes.
I enjoy a good protein shake as much as any other muscle-building person does. Protein is the fundamental basic ingredient needed to build muscle. Within two-hours of working out, your body is starving for protein.
So, when I was offered a free protein shake, I took it. I politely said thank you and the two receptionists started talking about the big event at the end of the month. I said it sounds great – which it did. Then they started to ask me for names and numbers of people I’d bring to the open house.
“For every guest you bring, you get another chance to win in the draw for a free year-long membership,” they told me repeatedly.
I told them that’s a great prize, but I don’t know who I can bring, or even if I’ll bring anyone. I really felt pressure to bring a guest.
I know they want us paying members to bring guests so that they can sign more people up. And it’s not a completely bad idea, because if I bring in people I know to my gym, it makes it more of a social thing for me.
But, asking for names and numbers of people that I haven’t even asked to this event yet, is pestering and pushy salespersonship.
Sure, I was enjoying my free protein shake, but they didn’t have a sign up saying you had to give names and numbers of your friends, family, neighbours and anyone else you can think of, to have one. They were offering them free – to open up a dialogue with members and talk about the event.
It is one thing to talk about an event, it is more than another thing to force someone to go, and to list those they are bringing. It is like sending out wedding invitations, only to call everyone up and force them to go, and bring lots and lots of people.
I’ll still hit the gym as often as I can. I love to workout, the equipment is well maintained, and the atmosphere is up-beat and friendly. But from now on, when someone offers me a free protein shake, I’ll politely decline.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
The Stick of Everlasting Will
We’ve all heard the saying that absolute power corrupts absolutely – but maybe the mayor of Canada’s largest city has forgotten this saying.
Toronto Mayor David Miller has already secured more power than most mayors from his political bosses at the provincial levels, yet he’s determined to grab even more power.
Miller, has put forward a request to the province of Ontario to allow him even more powers than he currently has. He has already managed to manipulate the province into allowing him to add additional taxes, to cover city run services, through the recent City of Toronto Act. Miller’s logic here, was because the province took away funding through the so-called downloading of provincially financed services to the municipalities, municipalities required more methods of generating revenue to pay for these services.
However, other municipalities seem to be doing fine – and they haven’t created any new taxes to fund similar services in their backyards.
Now, Miller is asking for amendments to this act, which will essentially create a two-tired political system at the municipal level. He’s asking the creation of two levels of power in city hall – the executive branch and the regular branch. The executive branch would have complete say in all rulings at council. This would ensure that no matter what the other members of council say or do, Miller’s word would be the final say.
Well, not exactly. It would be Miller’s word and those few individual councillors he personally chooses to join him on the executive branch of council.
This two-tired level of council smells of a power grab from an already highly empowered mayor.
We’ve all wanted our own way – be it at work, at home, or in various other activities. Sometimes we get what we want, sometimes we don’t. That is life. But Mayor Miller wants to ensure that no matter what others think, his way will always prevail.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought Canada was a democracy, where politicians did what was best for their constituents and not just for themselves? Don’t we the people matter?
If Miller gets his way – again – then this paves the way down a dangerous road towards divided city councils, run by totalitarian dictator-like mayors across the province. Once the precedent has been set, other towns, villages and cities across the province no doubt will jump at the chance. Wouldn’t you?
If someone gave you a magic stick, and said if you waved it three-times while recanting a magical phrase, you’d be guaranteed to always get your way – wouldn’t you take the stick?
Mayor Miller has the stick, and he’s asking the province to give him the okay to recant that magical phrase. For the sake of democracy everywhere, let’s hope the province doesn’t.
Toronto Mayor David Miller has already secured more power than most mayors from his political bosses at the provincial levels, yet he’s determined to grab even more power.
Miller, has put forward a request to the province of Ontario to allow him even more powers than he currently has. He has already managed to manipulate the province into allowing him to add additional taxes, to cover city run services, through the recent City of Toronto Act. Miller’s logic here, was because the province took away funding through the so-called downloading of provincially financed services to the municipalities, municipalities required more methods of generating revenue to pay for these services.
However, other municipalities seem to be doing fine – and they haven’t created any new taxes to fund similar services in their backyards.
Now, Miller is asking for amendments to this act, which will essentially create a two-tired political system at the municipal level. He’s asking the creation of two levels of power in city hall – the executive branch and the regular branch. The executive branch would have complete say in all rulings at council. This would ensure that no matter what the other members of council say or do, Miller’s word would be the final say.
Well, not exactly. It would be Miller’s word and those few individual councillors he personally chooses to join him on the executive branch of council.
This two-tired level of council smells of a power grab from an already highly empowered mayor.
We’ve all wanted our own way – be it at work, at home, or in various other activities. Sometimes we get what we want, sometimes we don’t. That is life. But Mayor Miller wants to ensure that no matter what others think, his way will always prevail.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought Canada was a democracy, where politicians did what was best for their constituents and not just for themselves? Don’t we the people matter?
If Miller gets his way – again – then this paves the way down a dangerous road towards divided city councils, run by totalitarian dictator-like mayors across the province. Once the precedent has been set, other towns, villages and cities across the province no doubt will jump at the chance. Wouldn’t you?
If someone gave you a magic stick, and said if you waved it three-times while recanting a magical phrase, you’d be guaranteed to always get your way – wouldn’t you take the stick?
Mayor Miller has the stick, and he’s asking the province to give him the okay to recant that magical phrase. For the sake of democracy everywhere, let’s hope the province doesn’t.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Interviewing for Dummies – Common Sense Should Prevail
I’m doing the interview circuit to find my next client. As a contractor, I do this all the time – sometimes I think I do it more than actual work!
We’ve all heard from employment experts that you should never say anything bad about your current employer. But what about when the tables are turned, and a potential employer bad mouths a current client?
Common sense should be used on both sides of an interview – and just as a potential employee should never say anything bad about their current boss, it also holds true that a potential employer should never say anything bad about a current employee.
But this happened just last week! There I was, meeting with a vice-president – no less, a VICE-PRESIDENT, AKA a SENIOR member of the company – and when I asked why they had an opening, she went off on a tangent, almost relishing the opportunity to say nasty things about the current person in that role.
I was shocked, horrified, and quite appalled. I always ask why a potential client is looking for another body. Most are professional enough to answer honestly – but professionally.
“Oh, the current person has found another job and is leaving us, we wish her well,” is an acceptable answer.
“It’s a newly created role, we’ve never had anyone who actually specializes in this position in the role,” is another often used answer.
Or even, if the person isn’t doing the best role, an acceptable response is “we’re looking for a more senior person in the role, someone who can take on more assignments.”
None of the above answers violates the sacred oath of honesty, trust and mutual respect employers and employees should always share.
But the answer I received from this senior member of the “team” was hardly in keeping with the mutual respect and trust between her staff:
“The current writer just isn’t cutting it anymore, so we’re looking to replace her with someone more experienced.”
This may be true, but it is so riddled with negativity that my immediate thought upon hearing this was: if I worked at this company, is that how my boss would talk about me with complete strangers she’d just met?
I followed-up with a quick question, thinking the current writer must be new to the company and things just weren’t what either party had expected.
The current writer has been there for over five-years!
Again, I was shocked and horrified! People don’t generally stay in the same role at the same company if things aren’t working out for more than a few weeks, or even a few months tops. We’re talking five-years here – which isn’t exactly a blink of an eye.
Obviously, there are some highly politicized issues between the current employee and the Vice-President. But during an initial meeting such as the one I was in, both parties should be up-beat and pro-active at all times – not negative and re-active.
Would you want to work for someone who’s initial meeting left you with a negative work environment, and a highly politicized relationship structure with your boss?
Neither would I!
There is no letter “I” in “team” but obviously there are a lot of highly strung individuals at this company, that are more concerned with working in a collective and collaborative team.
No one works alone in an office, there are always others on the team that make things happen. If the most senior managers can’t work well with those on the team, than nothing will get done – or things won’t get done well – because people will work as individuals, instead of working together for the greater good of the company.
If this company calls me back to discuss terms, I’ll just ignore them. They certainly aren’t going to be on any team of mine – because their team is f*cked up.
We’ve all heard from employment experts that you should never say anything bad about your current employer. But what about when the tables are turned, and a potential employer bad mouths a current client?
Common sense should be used on both sides of an interview – and just as a potential employee should never say anything bad about their current boss, it also holds true that a potential employer should never say anything bad about a current employee.
But this happened just last week! There I was, meeting with a vice-president – no less, a VICE-PRESIDENT, AKA a SENIOR member of the company – and when I asked why they had an opening, she went off on a tangent, almost relishing the opportunity to say nasty things about the current person in that role.
I was shocked, horrified, and quite appalled. I always ask why a potential client is looking for another body. Most are professional enough to answer honestly – but professionally.
“Oh, the current person has found another job and is leaving us, we wish her well,” is an acceptable answer.
“It’s a newly created role, we’ve never had anyone who actually specializes in this position in the role,” is another often used answer.
Or even, if the person isn’t doing the best role, an acceptable response is “we’re looking for a more senior person in the role, someone who can take on more assignments.”
None of the above answers violates the sacred oath of honesty, trust and mutual respect employers and employees should always share.
But the answer I received from this senior member of the “team” was hardly in keeping with the mutual respect and trust between her staff:
“The current writer just isn’t cutting it anymore, so we’re looking to replace her with someone more experienced.”
This may be true, but it is so riddled with negativity that my immediate thought upon hearing this was: if I worked at this company, is that how my boss would talk about me with complete strangers she’d just met?
I followed-up with a quick question, thinking the current writer must be new to the company and things just weren’t what either party had expected.
The current writer has been there for over five-years!
Again, I was shocked and horrified! People don’t generally stay in the same role at the same company if things aren’t working out for more than a few weeks, or even a few months tops. We’re talking five-years here – which isn’t exactly a blink of an eye.
Obviously, there are some highly politicized issues between the current employee and the Vice-President. But during an initial meeting such as the one I was in, both parties should be up-beat and pro-active at all times – not negative and re-active.
Would you want to work for someone who’s initial meeting left you with a negative work environment, and a highly politicized relationship structure with your boss?
Neither would I!
There is no letter “I” in “team” but obviously there are a lot of highly strung individuals at this company, that are more concerned with working in a collective and collaborative team.
No one works alone in an office, there are always others on the team that make things happen. If the most senior managers can’t work well with those on the team, than nothing will get done – or things won’t get done well – because people will work as individuals, instead of working together for the greater good of the company.
If this company calls me back to discuss terms, I’ll just ignore them. They certainly aren’t going to be on any team of mine – because their team is f*cked up.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Windows Vista – Worst Operating System EVER!
About a month ago, I bought a slick swanky new laptop. It’s a ‘real beaut’ – a Hewlett Packard Pavilion dv9000 dual core processor. Aside from being of the latest and greatest technology, it is also pretty big.
It’s a 17-inch widescreen laptop. Most laptops these days are 15.4 inches widescreen. So, what’s the big deal over an extra 1.6 inches? Size matters – and it actually really does when it comes down to monitors, televisions or any other sort of video display. Even a few extra inches makes a big difference in terms of the overall image quality, the smoothness of on-screen movement, and the speed at which the display updates.
Also, 17-inch widescreen laptops enjoy another benefit which smaller laptops miss out on – full keyboards. Because of that extra 1.6 inches, my new laptop has a full keyboard, including the numerical keypad on the right-hand side. All laptops smaller than 17-inches replace the numerical keypad with condensed function key combinations.
There are bigger laptops, believe it or not! When I was shopping around, I saw laptops with 22-inch and 24-inch widescreens! The downside to the bigger laptops, aside from the obvious price increase, is weight and battery longevity. The bigger the laptop, the heavier it is, and the less time it will run on batteries.
Still, when I brought home my new laptop, I was like a kid in a toy store. It was exciting, and although I spent a whole day installing software, it was an enjoyable experience.
My new laptop came with Microsoft’s latest incarnation of the Windows Operating system – Windows Vista Home Premium Edition.
I was hesitant at first when it came to buying a computer with the new operating system. I had no experience with Windows Vista, and from all the people I’ve talked to, including those in technical support and IT roles, most agree that Vista is not a good product.
But, almost all the Windows-based machines these days come with Vista pre-loaded. It is actually hard to find a decent Windows XP system – most are usually slower, and older technology which the stores are trying to sell off.
So, I got my first computer with Windows Vista, and at first I was okay with it. I wasn’t impressed. I’ve been around the technological block many times over, and I’ve seen real improvements over the years with real advances in software.
I remember back to the early years of personal computers, to an IBM PCjr running on MS-DOS 2.10. When we upgraded to MS-DOS 3.11, and then eventually up to MS-DOS 5.0 – now there were some real improvements.
Then Windows 3.0 and eventually Windows 3.10 came out, and it was like moving from a black and white television, to a high definition full color flat panel screen. That was a major improvement in technology.
Windows95 made significant advances to the Windows operating system, and was the first version of the current Windows XP and Vista versions we have today.
In between Windows 95/98 came Windows ME (for Millennium Edition as it was supposed to be released on the eve of the new millennium, but it was late). Windows ME was a disaster – it was released late because it wasn’t ready to go on time. Then, they rushed it out the door – even though it was already late – still full of major bugs.
History has a tendency to repeat itself, and unfortunately, Windows Vista is another Windows ME with a few fancy bells and whistles to disguise the fatal flaws.
Within the first few days of using my new laptop, I start receiving DLL file not found errors upon booting! One of the cool bells and whistles of Windows Vista is that, upon detecting an error, it will automatically try to self-diagnose and heal the problem. But as with Windows ME, many of the bells and whistles sounded cool – but never actually worked. I managed to fix the errors myself, using my own solutions – which often took weeks to resolve, through trial and error.
Also, Windows Vista has some serious issues with its own drivers. I am using a brand new, Vista-ready, wireless mouse made by Microsoft – the one and same company that makes Vista. Yet, one day, I was surprised to find Vista searching for the driver for my wireless mouse, which had been installed previously, and was working just fine the previous day. I hadn’t even unplugged any of the cables, I just shut-down my computer as per normal at the end of the day – yet Vista thought it had discovered new hardware and re-installed the driver.
This problem also happened with my Lexmark inkjet printer – which was even stranger, because the printer wasn’t on when Vista suddenly decided it found new hardware, which again had already been installed!
The real kick in the groin came exactly one-month to the day after I had bought my new Vista-invested machine. I received a DLL file not found boot-up error, and figured it was Vista, just being Vista. But this one had something to do with the display. Everytime I ran a program, it would open and run, but then the whole display would go blank! I couldn’t use my computer.
One of the main reasons I use laptops, is to cart my work to important meetings. Well, I had one of those important meetings in just a couple of hours, which I had planned to get ready for. Instead, I spent two-painfully fruitless hours trying to figure out what was going on – because Vista’s self diagnosing program didn’t even notice anything was wrong!
In the end, I just powered down my new laptop, grabbed a printed backup of other materials I could use in place of my PowerPoints and other cool computer-based demos, and I ran out of my apartment making it to my meeting just in time.
Yet, a month after getting a brand new computer, essentially that new computer was nothing more than an expensive doormat.
When I got home, I looked at my new computer with shock, horror and anger. It was as if my best friend had let me down just when I most needed my best friend. My meeting went surprisingly well, considering I had to improvise at the last minute. Years of experience have done me well. It pays to not only backup important files, but to have hard copies printed, in case you get stuck like I did – sans computer.
I spent an hour trying to fix another Windows Vista “feature” – but couldn’t resolve it. It’s pretty hard to figure out what you can’t see – and my laptop’s monitor mechanically was working – it was Vista that kept clearing the screen!
So, I formatted my hard drive, and re-installed the system to its factory settings. Then I spent a whole night working until 3am re-installing all my software!
It isn’t uncommon to wipe a Windows-based machine and re-install everything. Over time, the Windows registry and system files get cluttered, and need to be re-initialized. I’ve done this before on systems that were running the same Windows for several YEARS – not a matter of one MONTH!
Today, Vista through me another curve ball. I was running Norton’s Anti-Virus on my system since getting it – but today, it stopped all incoming mail. I could send emails no problem, but anything coming in was blocked. Funny, it was just working last night!
So, I’ve spent a couple hours uninstalling and re-installing anti-virus software. . .
Windows Vista is a great operating system, if you have nothing better to do with your life than constantly fix it!
Good thing I live on the upper levels of a very high, high-rise building – I’m thinking I may be tossing this new computer off the balcony sooner than later. (More likely, I’ll wipe the hard drive and “upgrade” to my previous, and stable operating system – Windows XP.)
It’s a 17-inch widescreen laptop. Most laptops these days are 15.4 inches widescreen. So, what’s the big deal over an extra 1.6 inches? Size matters – and it actually really does when it comes down to monitors, televisions or any other sort of video display. Even a few extra inches makes a big difference in terms of the overall image quality, the smoothness of on-screen movement, and the speed at which the display updates.
Also, 17-inch widescreen laptops enjoy another benefit which smaller laptops miss out on – full keyboards. Because of that extra 1.6 inches, my new laptop has a full keyboard, including the numerical keypad on the right-hand side. All laptops smaller than 17-inches replace the numerical keypad with condensed function key combinations.
There are bigger laptops, believe it or not! When I was shopping around, I saw laptops with 22-inch and 24-inch widescreens! The downside to the bigger laptops, aside from the obvious price increase, is weight and battery longevity. The bigger the laptop, the heavier it is, and the less time it will run on batteries.
Still, when I brought home my new laptop, I was like a kid in a toy store. It was exciting, and although I spent a whole day installing software, it was an enjoyable experience.
My new laptop came with Microsoft’s latest incarnation of the Windows Operating system – Windows Vista Home Premium Edition.
I was hesitant at first when it came to buying a computer with the new operating system. I had no experience with Windows Vista, and from all the people I’ve talked to, including those in technical support and IT roles, most agree that Vista is not a good product.
But, almost all the Windows-based machines these days come with Vista pre-loaded. It is actually hard to find a decent Windows XP system – most are usually slower, and older technology which the stores are trying to sell off.
So, I got my first computer with Windows Vista, and at first I was okay with it. I wasn’t impressed. I’ve been around the technological block many times over, and I’ve seen real improvements over the years with real advances in software.
I remember back to the early years of personal computers, to an IBM PCjr running on MS-DOS 2.10. When we upgraded to MS-DOS 3.11, and then eventually up to MS-DOS 5.0 – now there were some real improvements.
Then Windows 3.0 and eventually Windows 3.10 came out, and it was like moving from a black and white television, to a high definition full color flat panel screen. That was a major improvement in technology.
Windows95 made significant advances to the Windows operating system, and was the first version of the current Windows XP and Vista versions we have today.
In between Windows 95/98 came Windows ME (for Millennium Edition as it was supposed to be released on the eve of the new millennium, but it was late). Windows ME was a disaster – it was released late because it wasn’t ready to go on time. Then, they rushed it out the door – even though it was already late – still full of major bugs.
History has a tendency to repeat itself, and unfortunately, Windows Vista is another Windows ME with a few fancy bells and whistles to disguise the fatal flaws.
Within the first few days of using my new laptop, I start receiving DLL file not found errors upon booting! One of the cool bells and whistles of Windows Vista is that, upon detecting an error, it will automatically try to self-diagnose and heal the problem. But as with Windows ME, many of the bells and whistles sounded cool – but never actually worked. I managed to fix the errors myself, using my own solutions – which often took weeks to resolve, through trial and error.
Also, Windows Vista has some serious issues with its own drivers. I am using a brand new, Vista-ready, wireless mouse made by Microsoft – the one and same company that makes Vista. Yet, one day, I was surprised to find Vista searching for the driver for my wireless mouse, which had been installed previously, and was working just fine the previous day. I hadn’t even unplugged any of the cables, I just shut-down my computer as per normal at the end of the day – yet Vista thought it had discovered new hardware and re-installed the driver.
This problem also happened with my Lexmark inkjet printer – which was even stranger, because the printer wasn’t on when Vista suddenly decided it found new hardware, which again had already been installed!
The real kick in the groin came exactly one-month to the day after I had bought my new Vista-invested machine. I received a DLL file not found boot-up error, and figured it was Vista, just being Vista. But this one had something to do with the display. Everytime I ran a program, it would open and run, but then the whole display would go blank! I couldn’t use my computer.
One of the main reasons I use laptops, is to cart my work to important meetings. Well, I had one of those important meetings in just a couple of hours, which I had planned to get ready for. Instead, I spent two-painfully fruitless hours trying to figure out what was going on – because Vista’s self diagnosing program didn’t even notice anything was wrong!
In the end, I just powered down my new laptop, grabbed a printed backup of other materials I could use in place of my PowerPoints and other cool computer-based demos, and I ran out of my apartment making it to my meeting just in time.
Yet, a month after getting a brand new computer, essentially that new computer was nothing more than an expensive doormat.
When I got home, I looked at my new computer with shock, horror and anger. It was as if my best friend had let me down just when I most needed my best friend. My meeting went surprisingly well, considering I had to improvise at the last minute. Years of experience have done me well. It pays to not only backup important files, but to have hard copies printed, in case you get stuck like I did – sans computer.
I spent an hour trying to fix another Windows Vista “feature” – but couldn’t resolve it. It’s pretty hard to figure out what you can’t see – and my laptop’s monitor mechanically was working – it was Vista that kept clearing the screen!
So, I formatted my hard drive, and re-installed the system to its factory settings. Then I spent a whole night working until 3am re-installing all my software!
It isn’t uncommon to wipe a Windows-based machine and re-install everything. Over time, the Windows registry and system files get cluttered, and need to be re-initialized. I’ve done this before on systems that were running the same Windows for several YEARS – not a matter of one MONTH!
Today, Vista through me another curve ball. I was running Norton’s Anti-Virus on my system since getting it – but today, it stopped all incoming mail. I could send emails no problem, but anything coming in was blocked. Funny, it was just working last night!
So, I’ve spent a couple hours uninstalling and re-installing anti-virus software. . .
Windows Vista is a great operating system, if you have nothing better to do with your life than constantly fix it!
Good thing I live on the upper levels of a very high, high-rise building – I’m thinking I may be tossing this new computer off the balcony sooner than later. (More likely, I’ll wipe the hard drive and “upgrade” to my previous, and stable operating system – Windows XP.)
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Social Networking Sites My Ass
Myspace, Facebook and their like have become so hip and trendy, they even have their own category in the vast array of useless titles: social networking sites.
Social networking sites are, according to Wikipedia:
Social networking sites are a great idea, but unless they involve actual face-to-face networking in real-time, what good are they?
Isn’t the whole point of these sites to be social? Staring off into a computer monitor, while typing messages back and forth hardly seems all that social. It certainly isn’t as productive as sitting across from someone in a cozy coffee shop, sipping hot chocolates and sharing real thoughts, feelings, and real life experiences in real-time.
Some of these so-called “social” networking sites even allow you to post the minute-by-minute play-by-play of your life online, so that you can pretend everyone in the world is actually there with you.
Twitter allows you to – well – twitter your online “friends.” Twitter is simply a website, where you can post what it is you are doing at that point in time – so that everyone interested in everything you do can see it.
You can post cool things on Twitter.
“Woke up, brushing teeth, and then going to eat breakfast.”
Like I really care?
“Going to work now, back later.”
Okay, good for you.
Social networking sites are a great escape for people that don’t like people. They allow those uncomfortable around other human beings, to “live” a life surrounded by other human beings.
Problem with this, what kind of life is it, when the closest thing to a friend you have, is someone called “SkinnySexxyGrl78?”
People actually think they have a lot of real friends, and seem mighty proud of themselves with the massive number of friends they think they have from these social networking sites.
I was checking out Twitter, to see what it was all about, and found several people on there bragging about how many “Followers” they have. A “Follower” is someone who has happened on your profile, and decided to follow your short updates about what you are doing right now. Anyone can follow anyone else, you don’t have to have anything in common to do so, and you don’t need permission or approval from the person you want to follow.
I think social networking in the real world is important, as it is always a good idea to be social. To interact with friends, family and colleagues is just part of being alive. It gives you a place to share and to vent, and this encourages personal and professional growth.
But most people these days only engage in social networking online, and that’s not healthy. For one thing, you never really know the people you are telling your deepest desires too, and for another, well, it isn’t very social at all.
If anything, participating solely on Internet-based social networking sites is anti-social, as it prevents you from really interacting with other people. For all you know, SkinnySexxyGrl78 is just an eight-year-old child posing as someone much older and wiser, and you’ve just asked her how to handle a major life decision about your work, your family or your real friends in real-time.
That’s another thing about these social networking sites – posing. People have and do take on different personalities online. Some even see it as a game, as a challenge to the status quo. They feel they aren’t accepted or taken seriously for who they really are, so online, they become who or what they’ve always wanted to be. There’s no real way to prevent this, or to tell if the people you are telling your most intimate life moments to are who they really claim to be.
Most of these social networking sites have large legal disclaimers advising that you must be a certain age to join -- but all you need is to have an email address to join. And so young kids pretending to be a lot older join, just as those who are mentally unbalanced join too. And you’ll never know if the person you are “talking” to is just a kid, or worse – an axe murderer.
Share your life with strangers at your own risk.
Social networking sites are, according to Wikipedia:
A social network service uses software to build online social networks for communities of people who share interests and activities or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others.Wikipedia even has a list of the “notable” social networking sites, which defines what these sites are for, what countries they are most popular with, and roughly how many users they have.
Most services are primarily web based and provide a collection of various ways for users to interact, such as chat, messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, discussion groups, and so on.
Social networking sites are a great idea, but unless they involve actual face-to-face networking in real-time, what good are they?
Isn’t the whole point of these sites to be social? Staring off into a computer monitor, while typing messages back and forth hardly seems all that social. It certainly isn’t as productive as sitting across from someone in a cozy coffee shop, sipping hot chocolates and sharing real thoughts, feelings, and real life experiences in real-time.
Some of these so-called “social” networking sites even allow you to post the minute-by-minute play-by-play of your life online, so that you can pretend everyone in the world is actually there with you.
Twitter allows you to – well – twitter your online “friends.” Twitter is simply a website, where you can post what it is you are doing at that point in time – so that everyone interested in everything you do can see it.
You can post cool things on Twitter.
“Woke up, brushing teeth, and then going to eat breakfast.”
Like I really care?
“Going to work now, back later.”
Okay, good for you.
Social networking sites are a great escape for people that don’t like people. They allow those uncomfortable around other human beings, to “live” a life surrounded by other human beings.
Problem with this, what kind of life is it, when the closest thing to a friend you have, is someone called “SkinnySexxyGrl78?”
People actually think they have a lot of real friends, and seem mighty proud of themselves with the massive number of friends they think they have from these social networking sites.
I was checking out Twitter, to see what it was all about, and found several people on there bragging about how many “Followers” they have. A “Follower” is someone who has happened on your profile, and decided to follow your short updates about what you are doing right now. Anyone can follow anyone else, you don’t have to have anything in common to do so, and you don’t need permission or approval from the person you want to follow.
I think social networking in the real world is important, as it is always a good idea to be social. To interact with friends, family and colleagues is just part of being alive. It gives you a place to share and to vent, and this encourages personal and professional growth.
But most people these days only engage in social networking online, and that’s not healthy. For one thing, you never really know the people you are telling your deepest desires too, and for another, well, it isn’t very social at all.
If anything, participating solely on Internet-based social networking sites is anti-social, as it prevents you from really interacting with other people. For all you know, SkinnySexxyGrl78 is just an eight-year-old child posing as someone much older and wiser, and you’ve just asked her how to handle a major life decision about your work, your family or your real friends in real-time.
That’s another thing about these social networking sites – posing. People have and do take on different personalities online. Some even see it as a game, as a challenge to the status quo. They feel they aren’t accepted or taken seriously for who they really are, so online, they become who or what they’ve always wanted to be. There’s no real way to prevent this, or to tell if the people you are telling your most intimate life moments to are who they really claim to be.
Most of these social networking sites have large legal disclaimers advising that you must be a certain age to join -- but all you need is to have an email address to join. And so young kids pretending to be a lot older join, just as those who are mentally unbalanced join too. And you’ll never know if the person you are “talking” to is just a kid, or worse – an axe murderer.
Share your life with strangers at your own risk.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
The Weirdness of Nothingness
Being the workout nut that I am, I enjoy going to the gym to workout on weekends. Weekends are a great time to go to the gym, as the gym is deathly quiet. Most people go to workout right after work, so the weekend is pretty empty.
When the gym is empty, there are no line ups for machines, I can always find a large locker, and the steam room isn’t crowded.
But today, aside from the usual quietness from it being the weekend, there was a certain weirdness too.
It took me a few minutes to figure out what was wrong, as everything seemed to be in the right place – all the machines were there. The free weights were where they should be, even all the floor mats were stacked in perfect order.
There was no music pounding through the speakers! Usually the speakers are blaring music to workout too. Not today though, and it really made for an eerie silence.
I asked one of the receptionists if they were closing early. She said they weren’t, just the satellite was down, that’s why there wasn’t any music.
The previous night we had a major snow storm – got over 30cm of snow. It probably knocked out their satellite dish, or the master control dish which feeds out the signals.
I don’t always agree with the gym’s choice for music. Sometimes they play tunes which I enjoy, other times I shake my head and wonder what that noise is?
But working out without any music was very different. I heard things which I guess I hear all the time, but they are muffled with the music, so they don’t stand out quite so much.
Sounds of people working out – grunting, grimacing, and those types of noises really stood out today, because there was no music. With music, these noises are usually background sound, but today, they were definitely in the forefront.
There was a boxing class today too. I’ve been in some of the boxing classes, they are a lot of fun. But you don’t really think about how much noise you make hitting the bag, until you are running on the treadmill, only to hear the walloping yourself. Music also helps drown out this sound too.
I’ve been going to gyms now for many years, and I guess the regular routine is to listen to the music while working out. So it felt strange working out hearing all the noises of the gym, without any music.
Maybe I should invest in a good MP3 player, so next time the satellite goes down, I’ll still have some good tunes to listen too.
When the gym is empty, there are no line ups for machines, I can always find a large locker, and the steam room isn’t crowded.
But today, aside from the usual quietness from it being the weekend, there was a certain weirdness too.
It took me a few minutes to figure out what was wrong, as everything seemed to be in the right place – all the machines were there. The free weights were where they should be, even all the floor mats were stacked in perfect order.
There was no music pounding through the speakers! Usually the speakers are blaring music to workout too. Not today though, and it really made for an eerie silence.
I asked one of the receptionists if they were closing early. She said they weren’t, just the satellite was down, that’s why there wasn’t any music.
The previous night we had a major snow storm – got over 30cm of snow. It probably knocked out their satellite dish, or the master control dish which feeds out the signals.
I don’t always agree with the gym’s choice for music. Sometimes they play tunes which I enjoy, other times I shake my head and wonder what that noise is?
But working out without any music was very different. I heard things which I guess I hear all the time, but they are muffled with the music, so they don’t stand out quite so much.
Sounds of people working out – grunting, grimacing, and those types of noises really stood out today, because there was no music. With music, these noises are usually background sound, but today, they were definitely in the forefront.
There was a boxing class today too. I’ve been in some of the boxing classes, they are a lot of fun. But you don’t really think about how much noise you make hitting the bag, until you are running on the treadmill, only to hear the walloping yourself. Music also helps drown out this sound too.
I’ve been going to gyms now for many years, and I guess the regular routine is to listen to the music while working out. So it felt strange working out hearing all the noises of the gym, without any music.
Maybe I should invest in a good MP3 player, so next time the satellite goes down, I’ll still have some good tunes to listen too.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Banning Government Indoors – Step 1
The provincial government here is looking at making it illegal to smoke inside your car, if you happen to have kids inside the car.
Now, I don’t smoke, but sometimes even the government can get carried away with it’s initiatives. Former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau once said, “the government has no business inside the bedrooms of the nation.”
Trudeau was talking about proposed laws controlling how people have sex, which thankfully he and the rest of the government at the time were against.
But Trudeau had a solid point – the government doesn’t have a right to control how we do some things, when those things are in our own nesting grounds. Be it inside our bedrooms, our kitchens, our bathrooms, or even our cars.
Everyone knows smoking kills. Smoking is the leading cause of Cancer period – more so than genetic links, and even more so than other environmental factors. Smoking is an awfully addictive, dangerous, and dirty habit.
Because smoking is so wrong, those with children should quit smoking – for their own health and for the lives of those they are bringing into existence.
But quitting smoking isn’t easy. The tobacco companies have made it their mission to make a product which is so full of highly addictive drugs, that once you get hooked, it is almost impossible to stop. Most people require several attempts before finally kicking the habit for good.
Still, despite the dangerous nature of second hand smoke to young developing children, no government has a right to legislate what happens in a person’s own car – even if that means allowing people to smoke in a car with kids.
Good parents will know better than to smoke in close proximity to their kids. Great parents will attempt to quit smoking long before they become parents, so that by the time they have kids, they no longer are putting themselves and their newborns in danger.
If we allow governments to control what happens in personal occupant vehicles, what is next? Where will government controls end and our private personal lives begin? First comes rules for inside the car, then it can move inside our homes.
Then the government may in deed control the bedrooms of the nation – and that is wrong.
Now, I don’t smoke, but sometimes even the government can get carried away with it’s initiatives. Former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau once said, “the government has no business inside the bedrooms of the nation.”
Trudeau was talking about proposed laws controlling how people have sex, which thankfully he and the rest of the government at the time were against.
But Trudeau had a solid point – the government doesn’t have a right to control how we do some things, when those things are in our own nesting grounds. Be it inside our bedrooms, our kitchens, our bathrooms, or even our cars.
Everyone knows smoking kills. Smoking is the leading cause of Cancer period – more so than genetic links, and even more so than other environmental factors. Smoking is an awfully addictive, dangerous, and dirty habit.
Because smoking is so wrong, those with children should quit smoking – for their own health and for the lives of those they are bringing into existence.
But quitting smoking isn’t easy. The tobacco companies have made it their mission to make a product which is so full of highly addictive drugs, that once you get hooked, it is almost impossible to stop. Most people require several attempts before finally kicking the habit for good.
Still, despite the dangerous nature of second hand smoke to young developing children, no government has a right to legislate what happens in a person’s own car – even if that means allowing people to smoke in a car with kids.
Good parents will know better than to smoke in close proximity to their kids. Great parents will attempt to quit smoking long before they become parents, so that by the time they have kids, they no longer are putting themselves and their newborns in danger.
If we allow governments to control what happens in personal occupant vehicles, what is next? Where will government controls end and our private personal lives begin? First comes rules for inside the car, then it can move inside our homes.
Then the government may in deed control the bedrooms of the nation – and that is wrong.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Media Hype Is Just That and Nothing Else
Often I skim the headlines, focusing in on the news stories which I feel really impact me and my life. Most of us do – and then there are those stories which really don’t affect us, but the headline is so catchy, we just have to read further.
I saw a headline recently on one of the news websites I frequent often, for a local 24-hour news station which remain anonymous -- but trust me, it isn’t some mom and pop outfit based in some cramped garage. Though it might as well be from the shoddy journalism they practice.
The headline was the usual you see around the switch from and to daylight savings time. The headline read: “When You Change Your Clocks, Check Your Smoke Detector.”
For as many years as I can remember, whenever it is time to spring forward or fall back, the media does a great job of reminding us to also check the batteries in our smoke alarms. Batteries don’t last forever, and it is important to always make sure these things are working.
I thought to myself – time to change the clocks already?!?! When is this?
So, naturally, I clicked on the headline mentioned above, thinking that some smart reporter-type would have included the day when we change our clocks, in a story about changing our clocks.
There was no day mentioned – none whatsoever!
I’ve been a journalist – spent eight-years of my life working in the news media. I know there is a lot of pressure to meet insane daily deadlines. But leaving out basic facts is just sloppy, and shows how far our media has come from actually providing useful information.
Why the news media is sure to let us know about Britney Spears and her battles with drugs, her ex-hubby and gaining custody rights for to see her kids, they fail to inform us about the things which really matter.
It is nice that they let us know we should check our smoke alarms when we spring forward this year. But doesn’t it make even more sense to remind us exactly WHEN we are to do this in the first place?
If we forget to set our clocks correctly, we’ll be late for meetings, work, school, sporting events and outings with family and friends. Our whole lives can be turned topsy-turvy, simply by having our clocks wrong.
But the news media doesn’t care – so long as you are well aware of Britney Spears and her self-brought-upon problems.
Maybe Britney Spears can have some new scandal involving daylight savings time – then we’d all be better off, because we’d be able to actually learn something from the news media that we can actually put to use.
I saw a headline recently on one of the news websites I frequent often, for a local 24-hour news station which remain anonymous -- but trust me, it isn’t some mom and pop outfit based in some cramped garage. Though it might as well be from the shoddy journalism they practice.
The headline was the usual you see around the switch from and to daylight savings time. The headline read: “When You Change Your Clocks, Check Your Smoke Detector.”
For as many years as I can remember, whenever it is time to spring forward or fall back, the media does a great job of reminding us to also check the batteries in our smoke alarms. Batteries don’t last forever, and it is important to always make sure these things are working.
I thought to myself – time to change the clocks already?!?! When is this?
So, naturally, I clicked on the headline mentioned above, thinking that some smart reporter-type would have included the day when we change our clocks, in a story about changing our clocks.
There was no day mentioned – none whatsoever!
I’ve been a journalist – spent eight-years of my life working in the news media. I know there is a lot of pressure to meet insane daily deadlines. But leaving out basic facts is just sloppy, and shows how far our media has come from actually providing useful information.
Why the news media is sure to let us know about Britney Spears and her battles with drugs, her ex-hubby and gaining custody rights for to see her kids, they fail to inform us about the things which really matter.
It is nice that they let us know we should check our smoke alarms when we spring forward this year. But doesn’t it make even more sense to remind us exactly WHEN we are to do this in the first place?
If we forget to set our clocks correctly, we’ll be late for meetings, work, school, sporting events and outings with family and friends. Our whole lives can be turned topsy-turvy, simply by having our clocks wrong.
But the news media doesn’t care – so long as you are well aware of Britney Spears and her self-brought-upon problems.
Maybe Britney Spears can have some new scandal involving daylight savings time – then we’d all be better off, because we’d be able to actually learn something from the news media that we can actually put to use.
Monday, March 03, 2008
Young, Foolish and Free
While at the gym today, I noticed something disturbing – teenagers working out. There were several teenagers working out – something which I haven’t seen in the past.
Usually, anyone under 18 is accompanied by their parents – that’s the rule at the gym. And these kids clearly weren’t 18. Some looked like 14-year-olds, if that.
I asked one of the club’s managers what was going on. He tells me that they really don’t have time to enforce the parents with kids rule, and so long as they don’t cause any trouble, they usually don’t.
I’ve been at this gym now over a year, and I asked him how come there are so many so suddenly?
He told me they probably are all friends and came together.
GREAT!
Just what I need – a bunch of kids tying up the machines. Though these kid’s parents are members, I doubt the kids are full members.
Also I question the club’s lack of enforcement on the parental policy. Sure, today the kids are behaving, but kids will be kids. Not every day will be like today. And one day, when some kid seriously injures himself or someone else because he or she was horsing around, that’s when things go bad.
But I guess things have to get worse before they get better – that’s the natural cycle of life in our demented society. Seatbelts were not voluntarily placed into cars and trucks by the automakers, until governments did studies proving they saved lives. And still, it wasn’t until governments made laws forcing people to wear seatbelts which naturally forced automakers to include them in cars and trucks at no additional cost.
The same holds true for airbags, daytime running lights and many other safety related things we find on cars and trucks today. Most of these things would not be on our vehicles today, had it not been for those who died in horrible wrecks, and then having those wrecks studied by scholars and governments.
I’m somewhat pissed that I may have to wait until some kid is done showing off for his girlfriend for a treadmill at the gym. But, I’m more concerned that the kid showing off, will hurt himself, or worse, someone else, because the gym isn’t forcing parents to be parents.
Good thing I know first aid.
Usually, anyone under 18 is accompanied by their parents – that’s the rule at the gym. And these kids clearly weren’t 18. Some looked like 14-year-olds, if that.
I asked one of the club’s managers what was going on. He tells me that they really don’t have time to enforce the parents with kids rule, and so long as they don’t cause any trouble, they usually don’t.
I’ve been at this gym now over a year, and I asked him how come there are so many so suddenly?
He told me they probably are all friends and came together.
GREAT!
Just what I need – a bunch of kids tying up the machines. Though these kid’s parents are members, I doubt the kids are full members.
Also I question the club’s lack of enforcement on the parental policy. Sure, today the kids are behaving, but kids will be kids. Not every day will be like today. And one day, when some kid seriously injures himself or someone else because he or she was horsing around, that’s when things go bad.
But I guess things have to get worse before they get better – that’s the natural cycle of life in our demented society. Seatbelts were not voluntarily placed into cars and trucks by the automakers, until governments did studies proving they saved lives. And still, it wasn’t until governments made laws forcing people to wear seatbelts which naturally forced automakers to include them in cars and trucks at no additional cost.
The same holds true for airbags, daytime running lights and many other safety related things we find on cars and trucks today. Most of these things would not be on our vehicles today, had it not been for those who died in horrible wrecks, and then having those wrecks studied by scholars and governments.
I’m somewhat pissed that I may have to wait until some kid is done showing off for his girlfriend for a treadmill at the gym. But, I’m more concerned that the kid showing off, will hurt himself, or worse, someone else, because the gym isn’t forcing parents to be parents.
Good thing I know first aid.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Jumping Through Hoops – Or Fishing for The Right Name?
Recently I sent in an application for a potential client’s contract bid. Typically this involves sending a covering letter, along with other supporting documentation.
A week after I sent in my application, I receive an email back, from the editor of the publication, informing me that although the parent company was mentioned in the initial posting, the actual name of the publication wasn’t.
Furthermore, this editor says, after mentioning who and what this publication is, she says if I’m still interested, to please re-write another cover letter, explaining my continued interest.
The whole gist of her email was offensive. Not only is she asking me to jump through hoops for a contract which I may or may not actually take, she’s fishing for something more.
The publication, as it turns out, caters to recent Canadian immigrants. By the tone of her email, I’m thinking she’s fishing for specific people only to fill her writing needs – immigrant writers.
Now, I’m not an immigrant – I’m a proud Canadian. But as far as I can tell from the initial posting for this gig, anyone with a solid background in writing, and the experience to back them up, should be able to excel in this role.
The publication is published in English, so it isn’t as if I’d need to have a specific language under my belt to do the job. But I guess I just don’t have an immigrant enough sounding name, so she sent me this email, asking me to justify my desire to work with her.
I bet if my last name was Mohammad, Chan, or Szabutuko I wouldn’t have received such an unusual request – the email was sent directly to me. And that’s where I take exceptional offense to being singled out – for being a Canadian.
When Canadian’s can’t get work in this country because we aren’t the right skin color, or we just don’t have the right last name, then we might as well pack our bags and move someplace else. We aren’t wanted anymore. Maybe we should go to another country, that values our skills and abilities, our education and our values?
Wait a sec . . .
Why the hell should I be forced out of my country, so that someone else from someplace else can take all that I have worked for in the past?
Why indeed?
We’ve reached a tragic point in our history, where those who are born here are now second-class citizens. Discrimination against anyone is wrong, but to specifically target people of a different background and exclude those who were born here, because they were born here, is far more dangerous a crime against humanity.
When we turn the tide on racial discrimination towards the original offenders of that discrimination, it is no better than sinking to the original repressors level.
In other words, long ago, generations ago, we did live in a more culturally repressive state – where those who weren’t born here were discriminated against. Times have changed, and we no longer discriminate against people because of their ethnic backgrounds. But, there are some sadistic people, influencing those same ethnic backgrounds to now discriminate against those who were born here.
What goes around may come around – so this tide of reverse racial prejudice will probably reverse itself once again. And we’ll all suffer because of it.
A week after I sent in my application, I receive an email back, from the editor of the publication, informing me that although the parent company was mentioned in the initial posting, the actual name of the publication wasn’t.
Furthermore, this editor says, after mentioning who and what this publication is, she says if I’m still interested, to please re-write another cover letter, explaining my continued interest.
The whole gist of her email was offensive. Not only is she asking me to jump through hoops for a contract which I may or may not actually take, she’s fishing for something more.
The publication, as it turns out, caters to recent Canadian immigrants. By the tone of her email, I’m thinking she’s fishing for specific people only to fill her writing needs – immigrant writers.
Now, I’m not an immigrant – I’m a proud Canadian. But as far as I can tell from the initial posting for this gig, anyone with a solid background in writing, and the experience to back them up, should be able to excel in this role.
The publication is published in English, so it isn’t as if I’d need to have a specific language under my belt to do the job. But I guess I just don’t have an immigrant enough sounding name, so she sent me this email, asking me to justify my desire to work with her.
I bet if my last name was Mohammad, Chan, or Szabutuko I wouldn’t have received such an unusual request – the email was sent directly to me. And that’s where I take exceptional offense to being singled out – for being a Canadian.
When Canadian’s can’t get work in this country because we aren’t the right skin color, or we just don’t have the right last name, then we might as well pack our bags and move someplace else. We aren’t wanted anymore. Maybe we should go to another country, that values our skills and abilities, our education and our values?
Wait a sec . . .
Why the hell should I be forced out of my country, so that someone else from someplace else can take all that I have worked for in the past?
Why indeed?
We’ve reached a tragic point in our history, where those who are born here are now second-class citizens. Discrimination against anyone is wrong, but to specifically target people of a different background and exclude those who were born here, because they were born here, is far more dangerous a crime against humanity.
When we turn the tide on racial discrimination towards the original offenders of that discrimination, it is no better than sinking to the original repressors level.
In other words, long ago, generations ago, we did live in a more culturally repressive state – where those who weren’t born here were discriminated against. Times have changed, and we no longer discriminate against people because of their ethnic backgrounds. But, there are some sadistic people, influencing those same ethnic backgrounds to now discriminate against those who were born here.
What goes around may come around – so this tide of reverse racial prejudice will probably reverse itself once again. And we’ll all suffer because of it.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
BBQing During A Blizzard
The other night I enjoyed making a nice BBQed dinner. I tossed on the grill a chicken breast, and a hot Italian sausage.
All around me, it the winds were howling and the snow was falling.
I was BBQing in a blizzard!
I enjoy high-rise living, and with my westerly facing covered balcony, I rarely get the elements on my balcony. Instead, as I was grilling up a storm, I was watching Mother Nature’s storm unfold.
It was an interesting experience. I have BBQed while it was raining out, again, protected from the elements on my balcony. But this was different. Usually from my balcony, I can see the whole city. But with this heavy snowfall, I couldn’t see anything around me.
It was as if I was BBQing in the middle of a haze of nothing but white.
I could see the lights from the highway and cars below, but that was about it. It was a very peaceful evening, even though a winter storm was blowing up all around.
As I grilled my food, I heard the occasional honking of horns, the scraping of snow blows, and the constant hiss of the wind.
But other than those few sounds, all was quiet.
Snow is a natural insulator, dampening out sounds. It is usually quieter when it snows, because the snow falling from the sky is cancelling out the noise from the ground below. And the freshly fallen snow is insulating the sound from the ground, making the whole world around the snow vastly silent.
Still, the thrill for me wasn’t the quiet, the occasional muffled sounds, or even the snow. It was being able to BBQ in the midst of it all – that’s the real key.
BBQing is typically associated with summer-time activities, not winter ones. But thanks to my lofty high-rise, hidden from Mother Nature, I get to BBQ all year around.
Maybe next time I’ll BBQ during a lightening storm, and see if the sparks really fly?
All around me, it the winds were howling and the snow was falling.
I was BBQing in a blizzard!
I enjoy high-rise living, and with my westerly facing covered balcony, I rarely get the elements on my balcony. Instead, as I was grilling up a storm, I was watching Mother Nature’s storm unfold.
It was an interesting experience. I have BBQed while it was raining out, again, protected from the elements on my balcony. But this was different. Usually from my balcony, I can see the whole city. But with this heavy snowfall, I couldn’t see anything around me.
It was as if I was BBQing in the middle of a haze of nothing but white.
I could see the lights from the highway and cars below, but that was about it. It was a very peaceful evening, even though a winter storm was blowing up all around.
As I grilled my food, I heard the occasional honking of horns, the scraping of snow blows, and the constant hiss of the wind.
But other than those few sounds, all was quiet.
Snow is a natural insulator, dampening out sounds. It is usually quieter when it snows, because the snow falling from the sky is cancelling out the noise from the ground below. And the freshly fallen snow is insulating the sound from the ground, making the whole world around the snow vastly silent.
Still, the thrill for me wasn’t the quiet, the occasional muffled sounds, or even the snow. It was being able to BBQ in the midst of it all – that’s the real key.
BBQing is typically associated with summer-time activities, not winter ones. But thanks to my lofty high-rise, hidden from Mother Nature, I get to BBQ all year around.
Maybe next time I’ll BBQ during a lightening storm, and see if the sparks really fly?
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
When I Grow Up, I Want to Be Cool
We all look back on our youth and can recount warm and fuzzy memories. For me, I can remember things as simple as waking up early on a Saturday morning, grabbing my Lego building blocks, and planting myself in front of the TV. I’d spend all day watching cartoons, while creating all sorts of things with my Lego blocks.
Childhood is supposed to be a time of innocence, a time to make mistakes, and a time to just do nothing but play.
Kids these days spend far too much time worrying about being cool, hip or trendy, to really just be kids.
When I was a kid, a faded t-shirt, blue jeans and an old beat-up gym bag was my style. It wasn’t much of a style, but I was just being a kid.
These days, I see kids getting on and off the bus dressed in expensive designer labels, sporting IPods, Blackberries, cell phones, and other high-end items. These kids make it their whole point to show off their high-end gear. They blast their music as they pass by, or worse, while you’re stuck sitting in the same subway car on your way downtown.
Kids are so caught up in being cool, they actually are being far from it. Instead, often they annoy and alienate people not by being cool, but by being loud, obnoxious, and spoiled.
Granted, when I was a kid, cell IPods, BlackBerries and cell phones didn’t exist. But there were lots of expensive things out there when I was young, and I never had those things.
I never wore expensive designer labels to school, I didn’t have my real teeth taken out, and replaced with gold teeth, and I always respected those around me. I’d never blast music, put my feet up on other seats in the bus, and I’d even give up my seat for a senior or disabled person.
These days, parents give their kids the resources to go out and have all the cool toys, but in so doing, they neglect a very basic principal of good parenting. They don’t teach their kids to respect others.
Actually, I wonder if perhaps this is a societal problem, where parents – and other adults – don’t care about others enough to afford them the basic humanity with which they themselves want to be offered. Maybe that’s why parents don’t teach their kids manners and respect?
Regardless of where the problem lies, the problem is growing. Just today, a 16-year-old child robbed a bank. He was arrested and taken into custody by the police, but he was only 16!
When I was 16, I was begging and pleading with my parents to let me take driving lessons (and then later, begging and pleading to be allowed to take the car out).
This 16-year-old child actually went into a major financial institution’s branch, and demanded $150,000 in cash!
Driving lessons must have gone up in price – but not that much! Somewhere out there, this kid’s parents are sitting there wondering where they went wrong. Or far worse, and possibly more likely to be the case, the kid’s parent’s just don’t give a damn. And people wonder why society isn’t what it used to be?
Childhood is supposed to be a time of innocence, a time to make mistakes, and a time to just do nothing but play.
Kids these days spend far too much time worrying about being cool, hip or trendy, to really just be kids.
When I was a kid, a faded t-shirt, blue jeans and an old beat-up gym bag was my style. It wasn’t much of a style, but I was just being a kid.
These days, I see kids getting on and off the bus dressed in expensive designer labels, sporting IPods, Blackberries, cell phones, and other high-end items. These kids make it their whole point to show off their high-end gear. They blast their music as they pass by, or worse, while you’re stuck sitting in the same subway car on your way downtown.
Kids are so caught up in being cool, they actually are being far from it. Instead, often they annoy and alienate people not by being cool, but by being loud, obnoxious, and spoiled.
Granted, when I was a kid, cell IPods, BlackBerries and cell phones didn’t exist. But there were lots of expensive things out there when I was young, and I never had those things.
I never wore expensive designer labels to school, I didn’t have my real teeth taken out, and replaced with gold teeth, and I always respected those around me. I’d never blast music, put my feet up on other seats in the bus, and I’d even give up my seat for a senior or disabled person.
These days, parents give their kids the resources to go out and have all the cool toys, but in so doing, they neglect a very basic principal of good parenting. They don’t teach their kids to respect others.
Actually, I wonder if perhaps this is a societal problem, where parents – and other adults – don’t care about others enough to afford them the basic humanity with which they themselves want to be offered. Maybe that’s why parents don’t teach their kids manners and respect?
Regardless of where the problem lies, the problem is growing. Just today, a 16-year-old child robbed a bank. He was arrested and taken into custody by the police, but he was only 16!
When I was 16, I was begging and pleading with my parents to let me take driving lessons (and then later, begging and pleading to be allowed to take the car out).
This 16-year-old child actually went into a major financial institution’s branch, and demanded $150,000 in cash!
Driving lessons must have gone up in price – but not that much! Somewhere out there, this kid’s parents are sitting there wondering where they went wrong. Or far worse, and possibly more likely to be the case, the kid’s parent’s just don’t give a damn. And people wonder why society isn’t what it used to be?
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Fairness in Business – Unheard Of
Recently I turned down a contract from a client, and I have been thinking about this based on a meeting I had recently with a potential client.
The potential client was reacted with shock, that I would turn down a contract from a current client. I suppose her logic was, if they are good enough to be a current client, then why turn down anything they send my way.
When asked I why I turned them down, she reacted with just as much shock – which shocked me, as this person has a background in human resources management, so I thought my reaction was fair.
I told this potential client the primary reason for me turning down a current client’s contract – they didn’t give me enough time to seriously consider their new contract.
For those of you following this blog, you’ll know I typically require no less than two-weeks to consider a contract. Two-weeks is the bare minimum afforded to pretty much all professionals in terms of starting and leaving their current jobs. Actually, it isn’t all that uncommon for people in management and higher level roles to provide far more than two-weeks written notice, of any changes to their contracts.
So when a company, as my previous client did, comes to me within a couple of days of my contract ending, with a new contract in it’s place, I typically will turn them down.
I was shocked when the potential client was just as shocked that I would enforce such a basic requirement. Having her human resources background, I’m sure if an employee of hers just walked out of a job, without providing at least two-weeks notice, she wouldn’t exactly be all too thrilled.
Just as I wasn’t all too thrilled to be given pretty much the exact same contract I had signed a year ago, for a contract which was to end in a few days. This previous client had informed me they were considering me for a far greater role within the organization, based on my performance, and I had indicated I’d consider that role, so long as I had enough time to do so.
But not only did they fail to provide that role, they left it to the last minute and didn’t provide me with sufficient time to consider what they were offering.
So I turned them down, and moved on, as many professionals would.
Though from the reaction of the potential client, you’d think I had broken some sort of sacred trust set in stone.
Fairness in business must be a new concept, if it even exists. All the contracts I get are typically one-sided, leaving me to clean them up and make them more fair, by balancing out the client’s needs with my own. When it comes to negotiating these contracts, most companies expect and anticipate there will be some negotiations. They are often amazed that all I did was make it a fair and balanced contract – they were expecting I’d change the scales of balance to favour me.
So I suppose this should tell me that fairness doesn’t exist in the business world. People just care about their own skins, and not those of whom they have to actually work with.
That’s a sad and pathetic methodology in today’s high-tech world, where being fair is often no harder than simply re-writing a contract on your computer, or in the case of providing a reasonable, and professional amount of time to negotiate changes to a contract, no harder than setting a reminder in your Outlook (or whatever online calendar you use).
The wheels of the economy seem to continually go ‘round and ‘round, but those wheels must be square, because no one has realized the benefits of being fair in business.
Until the business world learns that the best business relationships are forged on trust, equality, fairness and balance, then the wheel really hasn’t been invented yet, as those wheels may spin, but a square wheel just won’t get you very far.
The potential client was reacted with shock, that I would turn down a contract from a current client. I suppose her logic was, if they are good enough to be a current client, then why turn down anything they send my way.
When asked I why I turned them down, she reacted with just as much shock – which shocked me, as this person has a background in human resources management, so I thought my reaction was fair.
I told this potential client the primary reason for me turning down a current client’s contract – they didn’t give me enough time to seriously consider their new contract.
For those of you following this blog, you’ll know I typically require no less than two-weeks to consider a contract. Two-weeks is the bare minimum afforded to pretty much all professionals in terms of starting and leaving their current jobs. Actually, it isn’t all that uncommon for people in management and higher level roles to provide far more than two-weeks written notice, of any changes to their contracts.
So when a company, as my previous client did, comes to me within a couple of days of my contract ending, with a new contract in it’s place, I typically will turn them down.
I was shocked when the potential client was just as shocked that I would enforce such a basic requirement. Having her human resources background, I’m sure if an employee of hers just walked out of a job, without providing at least two-weeks notice, she wouldn’t exactly be all too thrilled.
Just as I wasn’t all too thrilled to be given pretty much the exact same contract I had signed a year ago, for a contract which was to end in a few days. This previous client had informed me they were considering me for a far greater role within the organization, based on my performance, and I had indicated I’d consider that role, so long as I had enough time to do so.
But not only did they fail to provide that role, they left it to the last minute and didn’t provide me with sufficient time to consider what they were offering.
So I turned them down, and moved on, as many professionals would.
Though from the reaction of the potential client, you’d think I had broken some sort of sacred trust set in stone.
Fairness in business must be a new concept, if it even exists. All the contracts I get are typically one-sided, leaving me to clean them up and make them more fair, by balancing out the client’s needs with my own. When it comes to negotiating these contracts, most companies expect and anticipate there will be some negotiations. They are often amazed that all I did was make it a fair and balanced contract – they were expecting I’d change the scales of balance to favour me.
So I suppose this should tell me that fairness doesn’t exist in the business world. People just care about their own skins, and not those of whom they have to actually work with.
That’s a sad and pathetic methodology in today’s high-tech world, where being fair is often no harder than simply re-writing a contract on your computer, or in the case of providing a reasonable, and professional amount of time to negotiate changes to a contract, no harder than setting a reminder in your Outlook (or whatever online calendar you use).
The wheels of the economy seem to continually go ‘round and ‘round, but those wheels must be square, because no one has realized the benefits of being fair in business.
Until the business world learns that the best business relationships are forged on trust, equality, fairness and balance, then the wheel really hasn’t been invented yet, as those wheels may spin, but a square wheel just won’t get you very far.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Fonts, Fonts, Fonts, Too Many Freakin’ Fonts
We live in a world of words. Wherever we go, we are surrounded by words.
On television, we are bombarded with slogans, pitches, jingles, animated words wiping across the screen, words on items on the screen and more.
Even when we go to that one sacred place where everyone is entitled to be alone, words still hound us. I was a the gym recently, and they now have ads on the bathroom stalls. While I’m – ahem – doing my business, I can read up on the latest cars from General Motors.
Naturally, our wordy society requires ways to differentiate all these messages to us. Fonts tell us a lot about the person or company which created the words.
Big sweeping fonts often indicate openness, creativeness, even slightly off the beaten path. Closed fonts may indicate a more formal, logical and closed minded thought process.
However the fonts were used, one thing is for certain – there are just too many freakin’ fonts out there!
From the classics like Times New Roman, Arial, and Verdana, to new wave fonts like Acme Secret Agent, Balloon and Checkers, to silly fonts like the dingbats, there are thousands of font faces available to choose from.
There are also just as many countless font styles – many fonts come in different font types, from wide, narrow, compressed, expanded, outline, bold, extra bold, extra fine, thin, bold italic and more.
I’ve been exploring the fonts on my system and found there are just too many to categorize. I have my favourite fonts which I use often, but occasionally it is nice to play with fonts, to change things up.
But changing things up is time consuming, simply because there are so many fonts. You can even buy more fonts – why anyone in their right mind would want MORE fonts is beyond me.
And, when you embed fonts into some documents, you actually give the font to anyone who opens that document. This way, they too have new fonts on their computers.
I sometimes wonder if one day, I’ll turn on my computer and it will bury me in a sea of fonts.
In the old days, well before computers existed, typographers were professional fontsmisths. They carefully and painfully created complete font sets on huge chunks of metal and wood, for installation in gigantic printing presses.
These printing presses would literally hammer out each letter like a typewriter, to create the words on the page. As a block of wood or metal had to be created for every character conceivable, naturally there weren’t that many fonts to choose from.
Technology has ended those days of single use fonts, and replaced it with so many different fonts, it can take hours and in some cases days, to find just the right font for the job.
How easy it must have been in the old days to simply go to press, knowing the font was pretty much set in stone.
Oh well – back to searching for just the right font. . .
On television, we are bombarded with slogans, pitches, jingles, animated words wiping across the screen, words on items on the screen and more.
Even when we go to that one sacred place where everyone is entitled to be alone, words still hound us. I was a the gym recently, and they now have ads on the bathroom stalls. While I’m – ahem – doing my business, I can read up on the latest cars from General Motors.
Naturally, our wordy society requires ways to differentiate all these messages to us. Fonts tell us a lot about the person or company which created the words.
Big sweeping fonts often indicate openness, creativeness, even slightly off the beaten path. Closed fonts may indicate a more formal, logical and closed minded thought process.
However the fonts were used, one thing is for certain – there are just too many freakin’ fonts out there!
From the classics like Times New Roman, Arial, and Verdana, to new wave fonts like Acme Secret Agent, Balloon and Checkers, to silly fonts like the dingbats, there are thousands of font faces available to choose from.
There are also just as many countless font styles – many fonts come in different font types, from wide, narrow, compressed, expanded, outline, bold, extra bold, extra fine, thin, bold italic and more.
I’ve been exploring the fonts on my system and found there are just too many to categorize. I have my favourite fonts which I use often, but occasionally it is nice to play with fonts, to change things up.
But changing things up is time consuming, simply because there are so many fonts. You can even buy more fonts – why anyone in their right mind would want MORE fonts is beyond me.
And, when you embed fonts into some documents, you actually give the font to anyone who opens that document. This way, they too have new fonts on their computers.
I sometimes wonder if one day, I’ll turn on my computer and it will bury me in a sea of fonts.
In the old days, well before computers existed, typographers were professional fontsmisths. They carefully and painfully created complete font sets on huge chunks of metal and wood, for installation in gigantic printing presses.
These printing presses would literally hammer out each letter like a typewriter, to create the words on the page. As a block of wood or metal had to be created for every character conceivable, naturally there weren’t that many fonts to choose from.
Technology has ended those days of single use fonts, and replaced it with so many different fonts, it can take hours and in some cases days, to find just the right font for the job.
How easy it must have been in the old days to simply go to press, knowing the font was pretty much set in stone.
Oh well – back to searching for just the right font. . .
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Web TV’s Infancy
Admit it – will all do it. Yes we do. NO! Not that!
I’m talking about surfing the net. Most of us at some point in our busy lives will eventually just surf.
Maybe you overhear some gossip, and want to look it up, or maybe you see a flyer promising the best price, and want to see if it really is the best price.
Sometimes, those annoying ads that scream at you from the top of the search engines actually make you think, and surf too.
That’s what happened to me a week or so ago. I saw an ad for some new website which allows anyone to become a web TV broadcaster.
The website is BlogTV --- www.blogtv.com – and the concept it pretty cool. Using nothing more than your webcam, you too can broadcast live on the Internet to millions of people, just surfing the net.
Most television shows involve lavish sets, shot in big studios with hundreds of bright studio lights, expensive broadcast quality cameras and lenses, staffed by professionals from the lonely gaffer (the guy that runs the cables from the cameras to the truck or studio) to the camera operators, all the way up to the directors, producers, and all the other people that make a television show work.
Imagine being able to create your own television show, without all the fuss of a professional production?
Naturally, I watched a few live shows to see what all the hype was about. When you first go into a virtual studio room, you are entering essentially a chat forum. You can register for free, and chat in the chatroom by typing on your keyboard, while the person on their webcam responds.
Those in the chatroom can be promoted to co-host, and if they have a camera, can share in the on-camera spotlight too. A second window video window opens, showing the co-host.
If both the host and the co-host have microphones, you can hear both of them too – though there are still some technical things to work out, as the audio from one person gets fed into the audio from the other person’s sound. This causes an echo effect, which is quite annoying.
All this high-tech broadcasting was very cool, so I registered to participate in the chats, and even possibly host my own show. I’ve worked in television before, both in front of and behind the camera, so I figure my professional experiences would work well on BlogTV.
Sadly, that was the end of the road to cool.
BlogTV turned into what many online communities sadly have become – places where the lonely, the depressed and the frustrated people in our society go to vent their frustrations on the world.
Most of the shows involved hosts shooting from their living rooms, bedrooms, or other household rooms, and most were quite abusive to those watching. If you said anything, even if it was simply “hi” often it was welcomed with some comment about how “gay” your alias was, or you were berated for being intruding on their discussions.
Also, I noticed although it clearly states that you must be 18 or older to broadcast from your webcam, many of the hosts didn’t look like they had passed the decade mark, let alone hit puberty.
Some of the highest rated shows, involved young teenage girls in skimpy outfits, doing nothing but blasting music. And when I say nothing – I mean nothing. There were times when different teenage girls were talking on the phone, while their webcam was broadcasting just that – them on the phone, listening to music.
Sadly, when I tried to host a show, few entered my room. I had on a nice clean white shirt, and had created the topic “Customer Service Horror Stories” as I’m sure we all have had one or more of those. But after 10-minutes of broadcasting, only a couple of guests had entered my video chatroom. I then captured a still shot of a half-naked woman from a porno video, and within minutes, I had almost 40 people.
This speaks volumes about the nature of BlogTV, and sadly of the Internet as a whole. People that go onto BlogTV don’t want quality, they want to see hot babes. They are voyeurs looking for another source to entertain their addiction.
BlogTV has the potential to be something of value in our society – but I don’t think our society is really ready for it.
We as a society have not evolved to the point where intelligent, thoughtful, well-spoken ideas can be broadcast online by just anyone. If those intelligent, thoughtful and well-spoken ideas are broadcast by a bimbo, showing a lot of cleavage and maybe some thigh, they stand a better chance of being received.
Now, I am by no means an ugly person, but I’m also not a high grade model. And even if I had the chiselled chin, was tall dark and handsome, sadly, I still would have faltered in my broadcast on BlogTV. I lack the boobs to make it work.
Most people on BlogTV, just as most people on the online chats and other so-called “social networking sites” are men. And most of these men lack the interest in seeing another man discuss anything, even sports. Most of these men are thinking with their penises and are only looking for one thing – some old fashioned tits and ass.
As many of the hosts on BlogTV are extremely young kids, obviously younger than 18, and probably broadcasting from their bedroom in their parent’s home without mom and dad’s knowledge, most of those men are actually encouraging illegal and immoral behaviour.
There are moderators that “wander” around the various video chatrooms, looking out for inappropriate behaviour. And there is a button which anyone entering these rooms can press, to alert one of these moderators about such things – but it appears few push that button.
Then again, it isn’t always easy to tell when these kids are or are not underage – I asked a few how old they were. They all responded “I’m 18.”
But anyone can say or do anything online. Just like those sad, lonely and depressed men, watching those young girls in barely anything can too.
Though parents need to know what their kids are doing online. I think giving a kid access to a computer is great. But placing that computer in a bedroom, or anywhere where the kid can be by themselves is just asking for trouble.
But that’s another blog on parenting.
As for BlogTV – I think it is a great idea, and they could have some pretty cool shows. If only there was a way to attract people to your show, other than having a pretty, underage face on it.
I’m talking about surfing the net. Most of us at some point in our busy lives will eventually just surf.
Maybe you overhear some gossip, and want to look it up, or maybe you see a flyer promising the best price, and want to see if it really is the best price.
Sometimes, those annoying ads that scream at you from the top of the search engines actually make you think, and surf too.
That’s what happened to me a week or so ago. I saw an ad for some new website which allows anyone to become a web TV broadcaster.
The website is BlogTV --- www.blogtv.com – and the concept it pretty cool. Using nothing more than your webcam, you too can broadcast live on the Internet to millions of people, just surfing the net.
Most television shows involve lavish sets, shot in big studios with hundreds of bright studio lights, expensive broadcast quality cameras and lenses, staffed by professionals from the lonely gaffer (the guy that runs the cables from the cameras to the truck or studio) to the camera operators, all the way up to the directors, producers, and all the other people that make a television show work.
Imagine being able to create your own television show, without all the fuss of a professional production?
Naturally, I watched a few live shows to see what all the hype was about. When you first go into a virtual studio room, you are entering essentially a chat forum. You can register for free, and chat in the chatroom by typing on your keyboard, while the person on their webcam responds.
Those in the chatroom can be promoted to co-host, and if they have a camera, can share in the on-camera spotlight too. A second window video window opens, showing the co-host.
If both the host and the co-host have microphones, you can hear both of them too – though there are still some technical things to work out, as the audio from one person gets fed into the audio from the other person’s sound. This causes an echo effect, which is quite annoying.
All this high-tech broadcasting was very cool, so I registered to participate in the chats, and even possibly host my own show. I’ve worked in television before, both in front of and behind the camera, so I figure my professional experiences would work well on BlogTV.
Sadly, that was the end of the road to cool.
BlogTV turned into what many online communities sadly have become – places where the lonely, the depressed and the frustrated people in our society go to vent their frustrations on the world.
Most of the shows involved hosts shooting from their living rooms, bedrooms, or other household rooms, and most were quite abusive to those watching. If you said anything, even if it was simply “hi” often it was welcomed with some comment about how “gay” your alias was, or you were berated for being intruding on their discussions.
Also, I noticed although it clearly states that you must be 18 or older to broadcast from your webcam, many of the hosts didn’t look like they had passed the decade mark, let alone hit puberty.
Some of the highest rated shows, involved young teenage girls in skimpy outfits, doing nothing but blasting music. And when I say nothing – I mean nothing. There were times when different teenage girls were talking on the phone, while their webcam was broadcasting just that – them on the phone, listening to music.
Sadly, when I tried to host a show, few entered my room. I had on a nice clean white shirt, and had created the topic “Customer Service Horror Stories” as I’m sure we all have had one or more of those. But after 10-minutes of broadcasting, only a couple of guests had entered my video chatroom. I then captured a still shot of a half-naked woman from a porno video, and within minutes, I had almost 40 people.
This speaks volumes about the nature of BlogTV, and sadly of the Internet as a whole. People that go onto BlogTV don’t want quality, they want to see hot babes. They are voyeurs looking for another source to entertain their addiction.
BlogTV has the potential to be something of value in our society – but I don’t think our society is really ready for it.
We as a society have not evolved to the point where intelligent, thoughtful, well-spoken ideas can be broadcast online by just anyone. If those intelligent, thoughtful and well-spoken ideas are broadcast by a bimbo, showing a lot of cleavage and maybe some thigh, they stand a better chance of being received.
Now, I am by no means an ugly person, but I’m also not a high grade model. And even if I had the chiselled chin, was tall dark and handsome, sadly, I still would have faltered in my broadcast on BlogTV. I lack the boobs to make it work.
Most people on BlogTV, just as most people on the online chats and other so-called “social networking sites” are men. And most of these men lack the interest in seeing another man discuss anything, even sports. Most of these men are thinking with their penises and are only looking for one thing – some old fashioned tits and ass.
As many of the hosts on BlogTV are extremely young kids, obviously younger than 18, and probably broadcasting from their bedroom in their parent’s home without mom and dad’s knowledge, most of those men are actually encouraging illegal and immoral behaviour.
There are moderators that “wander” around the various video chatrooms, looking out for inappropriate behaviour. And there is a button which anyone entering these rooms can press, to alert one of these moderators about such things – but it appears few push that button.
Then again, it isn’t always easy to tell when these kids are or are not underage – I asked a few how old they were. They all responded “I’m 18.”
But anyone can say or do anything online. Just like those sad, lonely and depressed men, watching those young girls in barely anything can too.
Though parents need to know what their kids are doing online. I think giving a kid access to a computer is great. But placing that computer in a bedroom, or anywhere where the kid can be by themselves is just asking for trouble.
But that’s another blog on parenting.
As for BlogTV – I think it is a great idea, and they could have some pretty cool shows. If only there was a way to attract people to your show, other than having a pretty, underage face on it.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
The Great Pizza Rip-Off Artist
I love to cook, but occasionally I just don’t have the time or energy. That’s when I’ll order in.
The other day, I ordered in pizza for me and my girlfriend from Pizza Pizza, one of our usual fast-food pizza places.
We usually get a medium pizza or two, and maybe a salad, garlic bread, stuff like that. I ordered a medium pizza, 10-chicken wings, and a Greek salad.
When the delivery guy arrived with our food, he made a special point to mention that there was no salad dressing, as there wasn’t any on the order.
I thought this very odd, as we’ve ordered many salads from them in the past, and they always include the salad dressing. And it says on their website that the salad comes with an Italian dressing. Besides, who has salad without dressing?
I was mad, and questioned the driver, but didn’t blame him – he’s just the guy who delivers the pizzas. Though he did make a special point to mention there was no dressing – which indicated he knew something was wrong.
Also the medium pizza was incredibly small – in fact it looked like a small pizza. I questioned the driver again, and he verified that was the correct size. I’m guessing Pizza Pizza recently changed their pizza sizes, because I’ve had medium pizzas from them before and they were quite a bit bigger.
I paid the driver, and took the food in. But I was angry, the pizza was smaller than I’ve had in the past, and I didn’t get the salad dressing which is supposed to come with my pizza.
So, I called Pizza Pizza’s customer service number. I told them that I didn’t receive a dressing for my salad, as indicated on their website. I didn’t mention anything about the size of the pizza, as that really was a moot point.
They asked me if I specified a dressing when I ordered. I explained that I’ve never had to specify one before, and that it clearly shows on their website that the particular salad I ordered comes with a specific dressing.
Then the customer service representative on the other end did what I thought all customer service representatives were told never to do – blame the customer.
She said it was my fault for not specifying a salad dressing, their order takers cannot simply decide which dressing to include with the salad.
I explained that I’ve ordered salads from them before, and I’ve always received the salad dressing which is included with the salad, without having to specify anything – all their salads are linked to a specific dressing on their menus.
The customer service representative just continued to blame me – me the customer – claiming next time I should specify which dressing I want.
I said I wasn’t going to argue, please just send us the salad dressing which goes with the Greek salad, as on your menu.
She continued along the same line of thought, telling me about next time, and how now I’ll know not to make the same mistake.
I couldn’t believe her rudeness and lack of respect towards a paying customer. So I hung up, and immediately wiped clean Pizza Pizza’s number from my phone’s directory.
I ended up making my own dressing, with olive oil and some spices, which turned out great. But I was really upset – not only did I pay for something which I didn’t get, I was blamed for not getting what I paid for by the very company which I had paid for the product I didn’t receive.
Pizza Pizza lost a long-time valuable customer that day. I have been ordering food from them on a somewhat regular basis for well over a decade. I’ve enjoyed going into their stores when hungry, to grab a slice of pizza.
But no more – it’s bad enough paying for something and getting lesser value. It is quite another to be treated so unprofessionally and poorly by one of their customer service representatives.
With all the pizza places around, I’m sure I won’t have any trouble replacing them with company that actually respects their customers enough to treat them with no less dignity than they themselves wish to be treated.
When I’m at work, a friends place, or with others, and we decide to order pizza – I’ll always make sure to recite this horrid tale if Pizza Pizza’s name is spoken.
Pizza Pizza’s been around a long time – but they still have a long way to go before they learn how to retain their most important asset – their customers.
The other day, I ordered in pizza for me and my girlfriend from Pizza Pizza, one of our usual fast-food pizza places.
We usually get a medium pizza or two, and maybe a salad, garlic bread, stuff like that. I ordered a medium pizza, 10-chicken wings, and a Greek salad.
When the delivery guy arrived with our food, he made a special point to mention that there was no salad dressing, as there wasn’t any on the order.
I thought this very odd, as we’ve ordered many salads from them in the past, and they always include the salad dressing. And it says on their website that the salad comes with an Italian dressing. Besides, who has salad without dressing?
I was mad, and questioned the driver, but didn’t blame him – he’s just the guy who delivers the pizzas. Though he did make a special point to mention there was no dressing – which indicated he knew something was wrong.
Also the medium pizza was incredibly small – in fact it looked like a small pizza. I questioned the driver again, and he verified that was the correct size. I’m guessing Pizza Pizza recently changed their pizza sizes, because I’ve had medium pizzas from them before and they were quite a bit bigger.
I paid the driver, and took the food in. But I was angry, the pizza was smaller than I’ve had in the past, and I didn’t get the salad dressing which is supposed to come with my pizza.
So, I called Pizza Pizza’s customer service number. I told them that I didn’t receive a dressing for my salad, as indicated on their website. I didn’t mention anything about the size of the pizza, as that really was a moot point.
They asked me if I specified a dressing when I ordered. I explained that I’ve never had to specify one before, and that it clearly shows on their website that the particular salad I ordered comes with a specific dressing.
Then the customer service representative on the other end did what I thought all customer service representatives were told never to do – blame the customer.
She said it was my fault for not specifying a salad dressing, their order takers cannot simply decide which dressing to include with the salad.
I explained that I’ve ordered salads from them before, and I’ve always received the salad dressing which is included with the salad, without having to specify anything – all their salads are linked to a specific dressing on their menus.
The customer service representative just continued to blame me – me the customer – claiming next time I should specify which dressing I want.
I said I wasn’t going to argue, please just send us the salad dressing which goes with the Greek salad, as on your menu.
She continued along the same line of thought, telling me about next time, and how now I’ll know not to make the same mistake.
I couldn’t believe her rudeness and lack of respect towards a paying customer. So I hung up, and immediately wiped clean Pizza Pizza’s number from my phone’s directory.
I ended up making my own dressing, with olive oil and some spices, which turned out great. But I was really upset – not only did I pay for something which I didn’t get, I was blamed for not getting what I paid for by the very company which I had paid for the product I didn’t receive.
Pizza Pizza lost a long-time valuable customer that day. I have been ordering food from them on a somewhat regular basis for well over a decade. I’ve enjoyed going into their stores when hungry, to grab a slice of pizza.
But no more – it’s bad enough paying for something and getting lesser value. It is quite another to be treated so unprofessionally and poorly by one of their customer service representatives.
With all the pizza places around, I’m sure I won’t have any trouble replacing them with company that actually respects their customers enough to treat them with no less dignity than they themselves wish to be treated.
When I’m at work, a friends place, or with others, and we decide to order pizza – I’ll always make sure to recite this horrid tale if Pizza Pizza’s name is spoken.
Pizza Pizza’s been around a long time – but they still have a long way to go before they learn how to retain their most important asset – their customers.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Snowfalls from the Past
While I was walking with my girlfriend today, I couldn’t help but talk about how high the snow banks were.
We had another major blast of winter yesterday – getting 15cm of snow in total. We’ve had a number of big snow storms recently, so much so, it appears as if we’re having a major snow storm a week.
My comment to my girlfriend speaks to just how much snow we’ve had this winter – so far. I said: “I haven’t seen snow banks that high since I was a kid, and we were up at the cottage.”
I remember when I was a kid, we’d sometimes go up north to the family cottage. Up in cottage country, where the ski hills are, they tend to get a lot of snow every winter. So much snow in fact, that many have to go up on their roofs to shovel it off so they don’t have a cave in.
Up in cottage country, getting snow squalls off the lake is a common cause for the major snow storms. The wicked winter weather we’re having here is due to the increase in the earth’s temperatures – global warming.
Because the world is warmer, more moist air is being picked up by the clouds. This moist air gets carried away by the clouds, which turns to ice and snow as the clouds move over cooler landmasses. Once the ice and snow are too heavy for the clouds to contain, it all comes back down to us. Though all that moist air has done other things too – mainly fuelling the storm cells.
Moist air is energy to a storm cell. Hurricanes typically start off as tropical storms, but only turn into violent and deadly storms once they travel over a warm body of water.
So, not only are we getting clouds with more “stuff” in them, we’re getting more active weather patterns. These highly active weather patterns mean the snow falls are heavier, the winds are stronger, and occasionally we get other things typical of strong storms.
Just last week we had rare winter lightening with the snow and wind storm. At least, this winter the winter lightening is rare, with global warming, that too may be a more common affair.
Winter lightening is just what it sounds like – it is lightening during the winter. We usually only get lightening during summer storms, but last week, there were quite a few bright bolts screaming through the sky.
I don’t mind snow, I actually think freshly fallen snow is pretty. But the consequences of all this snow down the road are going to be disastrous. When it melts, we’re in for a major flooding. Streets and sidewalks will be mini-rivers and streams, basements will become indoor cess pools, water mains will burst under the added strain and pressure.
Good thing I live way up in a high-rise. But even I have to go out and will have to splash my way through it to get to where I am going.
All this water could be a problem for food crops too. Farmers often complain that there isn’t enough snow in the winter, to keep the water tables at a high enough level during the dry summer growing season.
But too much water can wash away the good growing soil (which is lighter) leaving in it’s place, the heavier clays and other dirt and rocks which you just can’t grow good things in.
Farmers can always purchase good growing soil, but that’s a cost that will come back to haunt us at the grocery store.
Maybe it’s just that I’m a typical Canadian – never happy with the weather?
We had another major blast of winter yesterday – getting 15cm of snow in total. We’ve had a number of big snow storms recently, so much so, it appears as if we’re having a major snow storm a week.
My comment to my girlfriend speaks to just how much snow we’ve had this winter – so far. I said: “I haven’t seen snow banks that high since I was a kid, and we were up at the cottage.”
I remember when I was a kid, we’d sometimes go up north to the family cottage. Up in cottage country, where the ski hills are, they tend to get a lot of snow every winter. So much snow in fact, that many have to go up on their roofs to shovel it off so they don’t have a cave in.
Up in cottage country, getting snow squalls off the lake is a common cause for the major snow storms. The wicked winter weather we’re having here is due to the increase in the earth’s temperatures – global warming.
Because the world is warmer, more moist air is being picked up by the clouds. This moist air gets carried away by the clouds, which turns to ice and snow as the clouds move over cooler landmasses. Once the ice and snow are too heavy for the clouds to contain, it all comes back down to us. Though all that moist air has done other things too – mainly fuelling the storm cells.
Moist air is energy to a storm cell. Hurricanes typically start off as tropical storms, but only turn into violent and deadly storms once they travel over a warm body of water.
So, not only are we getting clouds with more “stuff” in them, we’re getting more active weather patterns. These highly active weather patterns mean the snow falls are heavier, the winds are stronger, and occasionally we get other things typical of strong storms.
Just last week we had rare winter lightening with the snow and wind storm. At least, this winter the winter lightening is rare, with global warming, that too may be a more common affair.
Winter lightening is just what it sounds like – it is lightening during the winter. We usually only get lightening during summer storms, but last week, there were quite a few bright bolts screaming through the sky.
I don’t mind snow, I actually think freshly fallen snow is pretty. But the consequences of all this snow down the road are going to be disastrous. When it melts, we’re in for a major flooding. Streets and sidewalks will be mini-rivers and streams, basements will become indoor cess pools, water mains will burst under the added strain and pressure.
Good thing I live way up in a high-rise. But even I have to go out and will have to splash my way through it to get to where I am going.
All this water could be a problem for food crops too. Farmers often complain that there isn’t enough snow in the winter, to keep the water tables at a high enough level during the dry summer growing season.
But too much water can wash away the good growing soil (which is lighter) leaving in it’s place, the heavier clays and other dirt and rocks which you just can’t grow good things in.
Farmers can always purchase good growing soil, but that’s a cost that will come back to haunt us at the grocery store.
Maybe it’s just that I’m a typical Canadian – never happy with the weather?
Friday, February 08, 2008
Searching for the Right Fit
I just wrapped-up a contract and so starts the time consuming and often educational process of looking for my next ‘gig.’
Actually, my previous client offered me another 12-month contract – with a mere three-days until my current contract ended. Originally, they told me they were going to extend to me a full-time permanent position. I said I’d be happy to consider this full-time offer – so long as I had sufficient time to consider it. To me, as I should suspect to most professionals, two-weeks notice is standard. Anything less, is just unacceptable.
I was actually quite shocked and somewhat disappointed that my previous client not only changed the offer from permanent to another contract (without even asking my thoughts on this), but also that they left it for so long. Their reasoning was, I was an excellent worker, and they didn’t want to lose me, but they hadn’t finalized their head-count for their fiscal year-end yet.
Their fiscal year-end by the way is October 31, and this was just last week, well into their so-called ‘fiscal year.’ I knew from discussions with senior management, that they still hadn’t completed their plans for the new fiscal year, which they already were in. Perhaps they’ll have a plan for this fiscal year just in time for the next fiscal year?
What it really comes down to is finding the right fit. Finding that perfect job is like slipping into your favourite pair of blue jeans.
That favourite pair of blue jeans didn’t just happen. You scoured through numerous clothing stores, trying on many pairs, until you found that perfect pair of blue jeans that just felt right – almost like a second skin.
Finding the perfect employer takes time too. You have to go through countless interviews, being asked the same questions repeatedly. You to ask the same questions over and over again, only to find six-months to a year later, you’re back out there, on the interview circuit.
Or at least, that’s the way it should be. Sometimes it is pretty easy and quick to find out just who is NOT the right fit, and eliminate them from contention.
Today for example, I went to an interview where I had my doubts. There was a little voice inside my head telling me after the initial phone call that this wouldn’t be the right place for me, but I decided to go forward with the interview to see how things panned out.
Turns out that little voice was right.
An interview should be a private affair, with only those directly involved in the hiring process, meeting with potential candidates one-on-one. It is an opportunity for these individuals to assess whether or not there is a good fit.
Today’s interview was done as a group, with four candidates at once. And there were no questions allowed on either side. Instead, we were herded like cattle into a big boardroom, and given a writing test.
“We were told to bring our portfolios so you could look at them,” I said.
“Oh, don’t worry, we’ll look at those if we call you back for another round,” said the dubiously deceptive interrogator.
I had lugged my laptop to this interview, as I do all interviews. This way, I can show off all my work, paying special attention to the pieces which most resemble the type of work for which I’m interviewing. I was pretty peeved that I not only was asked to bring my portfolio, but that it wouldn’t even be looked at today.
The others in the “interview” were pretty young, they looked like college kids. They probably just graduated from school. I’ve been around the block, so-to-speak, so I not only felt out of place, but really uncomfortable.
I’m way to “senior” a person to be compared to a bunch of recent graduates. That’s like comparing apples to oranges – both are fruits, both are good for you, but both are completely different.
I have mentored junior writers in the past, and I enjoy it. I even learn things from the “kids” too – but to compare someone with over a decade’s worth of real-world experience to some fresh and raw meat “kid” out of school, just doesn’t make any sense.
I knew this place wasn’t for me – not only by their hiring process, but by their lack of process.
Their writing test consisted of two parts – first to write a letter answering the question – and I kid you not, this is the interrogator’s own words: “Why Should We Hire You?”
Very arrogant and sadistic to have to write a begging and pleading letter for a job, for which you have already supposedly been chosen as a potential candidate, from your already submitted resume and cover letter.
The second part, was to write a promotional marketing piece for the company’s products and services.
I started to ask some standard questions about who the intended audience was, and which products and services they wanted us to focus on, as the company had several.
My interrogator said, anyone and anything – you choose.
One thing you learn very quickly in this writing business, is you always need to know who your audience is and what it is you are trying to say. I could roughly guess who this company’s audience was, and magically through mental deduction pick what I thought would be one of their better products to write about. However, the point of this “writing test” wasn’t to see how good we were at guessing – it was – as far as I was told – to see how well we write.
The fact that they are asking everyone to write this “test” without even asking them any preliminary questions says to me that they themselves don’t really know what they are looking for. And by them not allowing those in the running to ask any questions, prohibits people from figuring out if this is the right fit for the candidates too.
Normally, if I’m placed in such a situation, I usually find an out and leave politely. But I don’t know, maybe I was mesmerized by the interrogator’s full head of hair, his shiny smile, or the spot on his tie, because I stayed right through. I even wrote their stupid fishing experimental “writing test.” Though I was very generic, as I wasn’t on the payroll, and giving away free marketing information just doesn’t pay the bills.
Don’t get me wrong, often I am asked to write a writing test. I even get asked to write the odd grammar test too. However, usually this is a last stage in the process, after all the questions have been asked on both sides, and both parties feel confident and comfortable moving forward towards the next and final stages.
To ask someone to write a test within 10-seconds or less of meeting them, is no better than having a current client turn-around less than two-weeks before my contract ends, and offer me a mediocre continuation, when originally they had told me they were leaning towards something more substantial.
Neither “process” is professional or courteous, and it is certainly not well thought out.
It just goes to show how challenging it is to find the right fit. One may actually have a better chance of winning the lottery, being struck by lightening, or inheriting a fortune from some long lost relative. But the main thing is to keep trying, because if you don’t try, you’ll never know.
Now, where’d I place that perfect pair of blue jeans . . .
Actually, my previous client offered me another 12-month contract – with a mere three-days until my current contract ended. Originally, they told me they were going to extend to me a full-time permanent position. I said I’d be happy to consider this full-time offer – so long as I had sufficient time to consider it. To me, as I should suspect to most professionals, two-weeks notice is standard. Anything less, is just unacceptable.
I was actually quite shocked and somewhat disappointed that my previous client not only changed the offer from permanent to another contract (without even asking my thoughts on this), but also that they left it for so long. Their reasoning was, I was an excellent worker, and they didn’t want to lose me, but they hadn’t finalized their head-count for their fiscal year-end yet.
Their fiscal year-end by the way is October 31, and this was just last week, well into their so-called ‘fiscal year.’ I knew from discussions with senior management, that they still hadn’t completed their plans for the new fiscal year, which they already were in. Perhaps they’ll have a plan for this fiscal year just in time for the next fiscal year?
What it really comes down to is finding the right fit. Finding that perfect job is like slipping into your favourite pair of blue jeans.
That favourite pair of blue jeans didn’t just happen. You scoured through numerous clothing stores, trying on many pairs, until you found that perfect pair of blue jeans that just felt right – almost like a second skin.
Finding the perfect employer takes time too. You have to go through countless interviews, being asked the same questions repeatedly. You to ask the same questions over and over again, only to find six-months to a year later, you’re back out there, on the interview circuit.
Or at least, that’s the way it should be. Sometimes it is pretty easy and quick to find out just who is NOT the right fit, and eliminate them from contention.
Today for example, I went to an interview where I had my doubts. There was a little voice inside my head telling me after the initial phone call that this wouldn’t be the right place for me, but I decided to go forward with the interview to see how things panned out.
Turns out that little voice was right.
An interview should be a private affair, with only those directly involved in the hiring process, meeting with potential candidates one-on-one. It is an opportunity for these individuals to assess whether or not there is a good fit.
Today’s interview was done as a group, with four candidates at once. And there were no questions allowed on either side. Instead, we were herded like cattle into a big boardroom, and given a writing test.
“We were told to bring our portfolios so you could look at them,” I said.
“Oh, don’t worry, we’ll look at those if we call you back for another round,” said the dubiously deceptive interrogator.
I had lugged my laptop to this interview, as I do all interviews. This way, I can show off all my work, paying special attention to the pieces which most resemble the type of work for which I’m interviewing. I was pretty peeved that I not only was asked to bring my portfolio, but that it wouldn’t even be looked at today.
The others in the “interview” were pretty young, they looked like college kids. They probably just graduated from school. I’ve been around the block, so-to-speak, so I not only felt out of place, but really uncomfortable.
I’m way to “senior” a person to be compared to a bunch of recent graduates. That’s like comparing apples to oranges – both are fruits, both are good for you, but both are completely different.
I have mentored junior writers in the past, and I enjoy it. I even learn things from the “kids” too – but to compare someone with over a decade’s worth of real-world experience to some fresh and raw meat “kid” out of school, just doesn’t make any sense.
I knew this place wasn’t for me – not only by their hiring process, but by their lack of process.
Their writing test consisted of two parts – first to write a letter answering the question – and I kid you not, this is the interrogator’s own words: “Why Should We Hire You?”
Very arrogant and sadistic to have to write a begging and pleading letter for a job, for which you have already supposedly been chosen as a potential candidate, from your already submitted resume and cover letter.
The second part, was to write a promotional marketing piece for the company’s products and services.
I started to ask some standard questions about who the intended audience was, and which products and services they wanted us to focus on, as the company had several.
My interrogator said, anyone and anything – you choose.
One thing you learn very quickly in this writing business, is you always need to know who your audience is and what it is you are trying to say. I could roughly guess who this company’s audience was, and magically through mental deduction pick what I thought would be one of their better products to write about. However, the point of this “writing test” wasn’t to see how good we were at guessing – it was – as far as I was told – to see how well we write.
The fact that they are asking everyone to write this “test” without even asking them any preliminary questions says to me that they themselves don’t really know what they are looking for. And by them not allowing those in the running to ask any questions, prohibits people from figuring out if this is the right fit for the candidates too.
Normally, if I’m placed in such a situation, I usually find an out and leave politely. But I don’t know, maybe I was mesmerized by the interrogator’s full head of hair, his shiny smile, or the spot on his tie, because I stayed right through. I even wrote their stupid fishing experimental “writing test.” Though I was very generic, as I wasn’t on the payroll, and giving away free marketing information just doesn’t pay the bills.
Don’t get me wrong, often I am asked to write a writing test. I even get asked to write the odd grammar test too. However, usually this is a last stage in the process, after all the questions have been asked on both sides, and both parties feel confident and comfortable moving forward towards the next and final stages.
To ask someone to write a test within 10-seconds or less of meeting them, is no better than having a current client turn-around less than two-weeks before my contract ends, and offer me a mediocre continuation, when originally they had told me they were leaning towards something more substantial.
Neither “process” is professional or courteous, and it is certainly not well thought out.
It just goes to show how challenging it is to find the right fit. One may actually have a better chance of winning the lottery, being struck by lightening, or inheriting a fortune from some long lost relative. But the main thing is to keep trying, because if you don’t try, you’ll never know.
Now, where’d I place that perfect pair of blue jeans . . .
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Stranded in the Snow
Last night I went out with my girlfriend to one of our regular hotspots. Every Wednesday they have all-you-can-eat ribs, and this being Wednesday, I went for the ribfest.
My girlfriend, like a lot of women for some reason, doesn’t eat ribs. Must be something in the male chromosomes that gives us men the desire to eat ooey, sticky and messy ribs. Or anything messy – my girlfriend won’t eat anything messy in public, but that’s another story.
It was starting to really snow as we left for the restaurant. And there was a snow storm warning for the area – with snowfalls expected to be around 15 or more centimetres.
We took the bus, and managed to catch our buses without any problems getting there. Coming back was another story.
We didn’t wait to long for the first of two buses, probably less than 15-minutes. But by now, the snow was really coming down hard. It was a near white-out, and the snow was really pounding us, and piling up everywhere. It was a blizzard.
We waited for our second bus to get us home. And there were already a number of people at the bus stop, which usually indicates the bus was just about to come. But not tonight. Not under all the snow falling.
We kept seeing buses go the other way, but none were coming our way. We waited for about 30-minutes and then figured they were probably being turned around. There is a big hill a little way before us, and chances are the buses were not getting up the hill in the snow and ice.
So, we decided to walk – a walk which took probably 30-45-minutes or more. Not only that, it was almost all up hill, and we were walking into the wind – so snow and ice was continually pelting our faces.
We’re Canadians, so we were dressed for the weather. We’re used to lots of snow in the winter. We were bundled up well in our winter coats, gloves, toques, and boots and scarves.
But even with all those layers of protective clothing, it was still a challenge walking through all that snow. We were passing all the cars getting stuck on the hill – it was like walking through a parking lot, only this parking lot had a lot of angry drivers desperate to get moving.
We had to stop about halfway up the hill to breath – and pat off the snow. We were both covered in the white stuff.
Then we began our journey and we finally reached our destination – home. But it was quite an experience to walk through a blizzard, up hill, wind and snow in your face!
Maybe next time there is a blizzard on the way, we’ll order in.
My girlfriend, like a lot of women for some reason, doesn’t eat ribs. Must be something in the male chromosomes that gives us men the desire to eat ooey, sticky and messy ribs. Or anything messy – my girlfriend won’t eat anything messy in public, but that’s another story.
It was starting to really snow as we left for the restaurant. And there was a snow storm warning for the area – with snowfalls expected to be around 15 or more centimetres.
We took the bus, and managed to catch our buses without any problems getting there. Coming back was another story.
We didn’t wait to long for the first of two buses, probably less than 15-minutes. But by now, the snow was really coming down hard. It was a near white-out, and the snow was really pounding us, and piling up everywhere. It was a blizzard.
We waited for our second bus to get us home. And there were already a number of people at the bus stop, which usually indicates the bus was just about to come. But not tonight. Not under all the snow falling.
We kept seeing buses go the other way, but none were coming our way. We waited for about 30-minutes and then figured they were probably being turned around. There is a big hill a little way before us, and chances are the buses were not getting up the hill in the snow and ice.
So, we decided to walk – a walk which took probably 30-45-minutes or more. Not only that, it was almost all up hill, and we were walking into the wind – so snow and ice was continually pelting our faces.
We’re Canadians, so we were dressed for the weather. We’re used to lots of snow in the winter. We were bundled up well in our winter coats, gloves, toques, and boots and scarves.
But even with all those layers of protective clothing, it was still a challenge walking through all that snow. We were passing all the cars getting stuck on the hill – it was like walking through a parking lot, only this parking lot had a lot of angry drivers desperate to get moving.
We had to stop about halfway up the hill to breath – and pat off the snow. We were both covered in the white stuff.
Then we began our journey and we finally reached our destination – home. But it was quite an experience to walk through a blizzard, up hill, wind and snow in your face!
Maybe next time there is a blizzard on the way, we’ll order in.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Why Writing Just Comes Easy -- To Me
Writing is easy for me. I can write a two-page blog in under twenty minutes. The one you’re reading right now only took me fifteen.
Why is writing easy to me, but hard for others?
Once a wordsmith, always a wordsmith.
I love to write and I supposed that is part of it. Because if you enjoy something, you not only tend to do it well, but you tend to do it fast and effortlessly.
But I also have a lot on my mind, most of the time. So there again, I have lots of ideas of what to write about.
Funny thing though, I can start hammering out a blog, or anything once in front of a computer. But put me in front of a piece of paper and pen, and I instantly get writer’s block.
I guess I am so used to writing on a computer, the very thought of writing without a computer just blows my mind. I will eventually be able to write something down on that paper, but it’ll take longer to come by than had I been placed in front of a computer.
I never really knew I was a writer-type until I started volunteering for the campus paper way back in my university days. One long lazy summer, I ventured into the campus paper’s offices and inquired how to get involved. I wrote for every issue until my graduation after that day – and I really enjoyed it.
It was a lot of fun digging up information, interviewing people, taking photos, and then seeing my byline in the paper – usually throughout the paper on several stories.
I still wonder what would have happened, had I never taken the initiative to explore the school paper? I’d never know that I enjoyed writing, and I’d probably be working some joe-job at McDonald’s or something.
Then again, maybe I would have ended up the next Ron Jeremy, pursuing that porn career. . .
Yeah, right.
Though kudos to Ron Jeremy – he’s every man’s man. He proved that you don’t have to be tall, dark, handsome and nicely waxed to get the hot babes into bed.
I still would have probably stumbled into my writing ways somehow. Maybe if it wasn’t for the campus paper, it would have eventually been something else. Maybe all those essays I wrote while in university?
Once bitten by the writing bug, it is hard to let go. So the porn industry loses a potential talent, but the world has gained another writer!
Some people are good at math, some science, some drawing and painting. I’m not good at any of those things – though I can blow stuff up real well – does that count as science?
We take our strengths and build on them, to develop meaningful lives in work and play. Those that are good in math do math-related things, those in science do science-related things, and those good at art, usually sell their art door-to-door. . .
Well not really. Not all. Just some.
I’m a writer, and I peddle words for sale.
Wanna buy a vowel?
Why is writing easy to me, but hard for others?
Once a wordsmith, always a wordsmith.
I love to write and I supposed that is part of it. Because if you enjoy something, you not only tend to do it well, but you tend to do it fast and effortlessly.
But I also have a lot on my mind, most of the time. So there again, I have lots of ideas of what to write about.
Funny thing though, I can start hammering out a blog, or anything once in front of a computer. But put me in front of a piece of paper and pen, and I instantly get writer’s block.
I guess I am so used to writing on a computer, the very thought of writing without a computer just blows my mind. I will eventually be able to write something down on that paper, but it’ll take longer to come by than had I been placed in front of a computer.
I never really knew I was a writer-type until I started volunteering for the campus paper way back in my university days. One long lazy summer, I ventured into the campus paper’s offices and inquired how to get involved. I wrote for every issue until my graduation after that day – and I really enjoyed it.
It was a lot of fun digging up information, interviewing people, taking photos, and then seeing my byline in the paper – usually throughout the paper on several stories.
I still wonder what would have happened, had I never taken the initiative to explore the school paper? I’d never know that I enjoyed writing, and I’d probably be working some joe-job at McDonald’s or something.
Then again, maybe I would have ended up the next Ron Jeremy, pursuing that porn career. . .
Yeah, right.
Though kudos to Ron Jeremy – he’s every man’s man. He proved that you don’t have to be tall, dark, handsome and nicely waxed to get the hot babes into bed.
I still would have probably stumbled into my writing ways somehow. Maybe if it wasn’t for the campus paper, it would have eventually been something else. Maybe all those essays I wrote while in university?
Once bitten by the writing bug, it is hard to let go. So the porn industry loses a potential talent, but the world has gained another writer!
Some people are good at math, some science, some drawing and painting. I’m not good at any of those things – though I can blow stuff up real well – does that count as science?
We take our strengths and build on them, to develop meaningful lives in work and play. Those that are good in math do math-related things, those in science do science-related things, and those good at art, usually sell their art door-to-door. . .
Well not really. Not all. Just some.
I’m a writer, and I peddle words for sale.
Wanna buy a vowel?
Monday, February 04, 2008
Groundhog Green
Recently all the media hooted and hollered about Groundhog Day.
There is a great movie with Bill Murray called Groundhog Day. It is one of those stupid but funny movies, where Bill Murray’s character keeps reliving the same day, every day, until that one faithful day, when he finally gets it right.
The recent hype wasn’t over this comedy. It was over a bunch of nuts, that put their trust in predicting the weather, into a furry creature that is a member of the rat family. Groundhogs are actually members of the rodent world, and rats are certainly part of their kin.
Up here in Canada, the groundhogs predicted an early spring thaw. In the States, the groundhogs had mixed views – some predicted more winter, while others ‘claim’ spring is just around the corner.
I don’t believe either larger-than-life rat.
Actually, I don’t buy into the weather forecaster’s either – who aren’t nearly as vane as to predict an early spring or a longer than normal winter.
I think the only way to see what will happen is to wait it out. The whole planet’s ecosystem has gone all funny, thanks to global warming.
We’re seeing more severe weather in all seasons, because of the earth’s temperature continuing to climb. In the summer, we get more severe lightening storms, which cause severe flooding, produce damaging winds, and wreak havoc with power systems. In the fall, we see more rain and high winds. While now in winter, we see more severe snow storms which shut down major metropolitan areas – though who doesn’t want a snow day every so often?
It wasn’t all that long ago, when I can remember we’d only get maybe one or two severe storms per year. Now we’re averaging at least four or five severe storms per year, and that number is on the rise.
Maybe the groundhogs are closer to Mother Nature than we are, so they really can predict when spring will come. But I’d bet easy money that the groundhogs are just as shaken up by the chaotic weather we’ve been experiencing.
Groundhogs, and all the other plants and animals which we share the world with, don’t have the luxury have being able to sit on the couch, sipping a hot chocolate, while watching the storm on the weather network – all safe under the protection of four walls and a roof.
Aside from us humans, all other forms of life have to – pardon the pun – weather the storm.
Which is really ironic when you think about it, as global warming has been caused largely due to human activity. There are some elements of global warming which are natural – but for the most part our reliance on fossil fuels, are disposable society, our use of various products which have increased ozone, and various other things, have all been the key factors creating the increase in the severity and length of wicked weather.
If I was a groundhog, I’d probably go on strike – work for humans which have torn up MY once comfy existence! Never!
However, groundhogs lack the intelligence to communicate such thoughts. Though those that trust their weather predictions may say otherwise.
We are getting better at reducing the human footprint we’ve left on this planet, through recycling programs, more efficient vehicles, and substituting older products with newer, non-environmentally threatening ones.
But it may be too little, too late, at least for you, me and the groundhog.
It took Mother Nature millions of years to balance out the environment after the last ice age, and it will no doubt take her just as long, if not longer, to bring balance once again to the human-damaged environment.
Think you’ll be around in a million years? Ask the groundhog for a prediction on that one.
There is a great movie with Bill Murray called Groundhog Day. It is one of those stupid but funny movies, where Bill Murray’s character keeps reliving the same day, every day, until that one faithful day, when he finally gets it right.
The recent hype wasn’t over this comedy. It was over a bunch of nuts, that put their trust in predicting the weather, into a furry creature that is a member of the rat family. Groundhogs are actually members of the rodent world, and rats are certainly part of their kin.
Up here in Canada, the groundhogs predicted an early spring thaw. In the States, the groundhogs had mixed views – some predicted more winter, while others ‘claim’ spring is just around the corner.
I don’t believe either larger-than-life rat.
Actually, I don’t buy into the weather forecaster’s either – who aren’t nearly as vane as to predict an early spring or a longer than normal winter.
I think the only way to see what will happen is to wait it out. The whole planet’s ecosystem has gone all funny, thanks to global warming.
We’re seeing more severe weather in all seasons, because of the earth’s temperature continuing to climb. In the summer, we get more severe lightening storms, which cause severe flooding, produce damaging winds, and wreak havoc with power systems. In the fall, we see more rain and high winds. While now in winter, we see more severe snow storms which shut down major metropolitan areas – though who doesn’t want a snow day every so often?
It wasn’t all that long ago, when I can remember we’d only get maybe one or two severe storms per year. Now we’re averaging at least four or five severe storms per year, and that number is on the rise.
Maybe the groundhogs are closer to Mother Nature than we are, so they really can predict when spring will come. But I’d bet easy money that the groundhogs are just as shaken up by the chaotic weather we’ve been experiencing.
Groundhogs, and all the other plants and animals which we share the world with, don’t have the luxury have being able to sit on the couch, sipping a hot chocolate, while watching the storm on the weather network – all safe under the protection of four walls and a roof.
Aside from us humans, all other forms of life have to – pardon the pun – weather the storm.
Which is really ironic when you think about it, as global warming has been caused largely due to human activity. There are some elements of global warming which are natural – but for the most part our reliance on fossil fuels, are disposable society, our use of various products which have increased ozone, and various other things, have all been the key factors creating the increase in the severity and length of wicked weather.
If I was a groundhog, I’d probably go on strike – work for humans which have torn up MY once comfy existence! Never!
However, groundhogs lack the intelligence to communicate such thoughts. Though those that trust their weather predictions may say otherwise.
We are getting better at reducing the human footprint we’ve left on this planet, through recycling programs, more efficient vehicles, and substituting older products with newer, non-environmentally threatening ones.
But it may be too little, too late, at least for you, me and the groundhog.
It took Mother Nature millions of years to balance out the environment after the last ice age, and it will no doubt take her just as long, if not longer, to bring balance once again to the human-damaged environment.
Think you’ll be around in a million years? Ask the groundhog for a prediction on that one.
Saturday, February 02, 2008
Transition Lenses Really Work
I recently got new glasses – same prescription, just new lenses and frames.
I went all out and got everything imaginable on two pair of glasses. These lenses have everything – anti-glare, anti-scratch, anti-dust, extra thin and my favourite feature of all – Crizal Transitions from Essilor.
These lenses are clear indoors, but when I go out into the sun, they automatically darken to a full dark grey lens.
When I first experienced the actual transition, I kept taking off my glasses to see how dark they got. They get to a full sun-glass dark tint.
This is awesome as one of my pet peeves – as many eye glass wearers probably experience – is the constant changing of glasses. Every time I go from the outside in, there is always a delay, as I have to fumble with putting my sun glasses away, and taking my regular glasses out.
No more fumbling – my glasses automatically change back to clear lenses when I go inside. This is not only a real time saver, but better for the glasses. It lessens the chance that I will drop or scratch a lens as I fiddle with putting one pair away, and taking the other pair out.
I remember years ago, I had a girlfriend that had these transition type lenses. They always seemed to go dark in the wrong places. And sometimes outside, they wouldn’t get dark enough.
The technology has improved a lot since then – these new transition lenses go from clear to dark fairly quickly, and they go to the right levels of tint for the conditions.
I’m really happy with my new transition lenses, and I highly recommend them to anyone getting new glasses. It is easier and cheaper to get transition lenses, than opting for a pair of sun glasses and a pair of regular glasses.
Though I did get two pairs of glasses, both pairs have exactly the same type of lenses – they are both transition lenses. I needed a backup pair as my older backup pair was getting warn. It is always a good idea to have a backup pair of glasses, because you never know when something may happen to the ones you wear every day.
Though one of my new pair of glasses also has a flexible frame! It actually is designed to absorb some of the shock of an impact. This is great for someone like me, with a fairly active life style.
My other pair of glasses are titanium – they aren’t flexible, but they are very strong. So, if my regular glasses break, I have a strong titanium backup – with all the other features of the lenses as my regular pair.
Now, if only they can create an eye glass with a built in television and DVD player . . .
I went all out and got everything imaginable on two pair of glasses. These lenses have everything – anti-glare, anti-scratch, anti-dust, extra thin and my favourite feature of all – Crizal Transitions from Essilor.
These lenses are clear indoors, but when I go out into the sun, they automatically darken to a full dark grey lens.
When I first experienced the actual transition, I kept taking off my glasses to see how dark they got. They get to a full sun-glass dark tint.
This is awesome as one of my pet peeves – as many eye glass wearers probably experience – is the constant changing of glasses. Every time I go from the outside in, there is always a delay, as I have to fumble with putting my sun glasses away, and taking my regular glasses out.
No more fumbling – my glasses automatically change back to clear lenses when I go inside. This is not only a real time saver, but better for the glasses. It lessens the chance that I will drop or scratch a lens as I fiddle with putting one pair away, and taking the other pair out.
I remember years ago, I had a girlfriend that had these transition type lenses. They always seemed to go dark in the wrong places. And sometimes outside, they wouldn’t get dark enough.
The technology has improved a lot since then – these new transition lenses go from clear to dark fairly quickly, and they go to the right levels of tint for the conditions.
I’m really happy with my new transition lenses, and I highly recommend them to anyone getting new glasses. It is easier and cheaper to get transition lenses, than opting for a pair of sun glasses and a pair of regular glasses.
Though I did get two pairs of glasses, both pairs have exactly the same type of lenses – they are both transition lenses. I needed a backup pair as my older backup pair was getting warn. It is always a good idea to have a backup pair of glasses, because you never know when something may happen to the ones you wear every day.
Though one of my new pair of glasses also has a flexible frame! It actually is designed to absorb some of the shock of an impact. This is great for someone like me, with a fairly active life style.
My other pair of glasses are titanium – they aren’t flexible, but they are very strong. So, if my regular glasses break, I have a strong titanium backup – with all the other features of the lenses as my regular pair.
Now, if only they can create an eye glass with a built in television and DVD player . . .
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Are You Smarter Than an American?
I’ve seen the ads on television for the FOX show Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader. The show’s concept never really caught my eye, so I never intentionally watched.
However, with over 500-channels, I sometimes catch things. As in last Sunday night, when I was flipping around and happened on this show.
So I figured, I had some time to kill before The Simpson’s was on, so I’d watch.
WOW! I know American’s lag behind us Canadians in terms of educational standards, and the costs are far greater there than here.
But every contestant they had on the show was just plain dumb. Far greater than dumb, born without a brain perhaps?
Maybe they intentionally pick stupid people to go up against the kids on this show, so the kids don’t look so bad. Then again, if these people represent a cross-section of American’s in general, then no wonder they are in an economic downturn.
One of the contestants said a Pocola was part of the percussion family, because they both started with “P!” (It is actually a woodwind instrument, because it has a reed.)
I was amazed at just how dumb the contestants were.
Granted, its been a while since these people were in school – but still!?!?!
I know not everyone can qualify to be on Jeopardy, but to have shows that showcase the common person in the United States, when compared to kids, and have the kids come across as being far smarter – sheesh.
We live in quite a sad society when adults just don’t have any sense and sensibilities anymore. And it appears Who’s Smarter Than an American might be a good show for up here in Canada.
If you can win a million or more – count me in!
However, with over 500-channels, I sometimes catch things. As in last Sunday night, when I was flipping around and happened on this show.
So I figured, I had some time to kill before The Simpson’s was on, so I’d watch.
WOW! I know American’s lag behind us Canadians in terms of educational standards, and the costs are far greater there than here.
But every contestant they had on the show was just plain dumb. Far greater than dumb, born without a brain perhaps?
Maybe they intentionally pick stupid people to go up against the kids on this show, so the kids don’t look so bad. Then again, if these people represent a cross-section of American’s in general, then no wonder they are in an economic downturn.
One of the contestants said a Pocola was part of the percussion family, because they both started with “P!” (It is actually a woodwind instrument, because it has a reed.)
I was amazed at just how dumb the contestants were.
Granted, its been a while since these people were in school – but still!?!?!
I know not everyone can qualify to be on Jeopardy, but to have shows that showcase the common person in the United States, when compared to kids, and have the kids come across as being far smarter – sheesh.
We live in quite a sad society when adults just don’t have any sense and sensibilities anymore. And it appears Who’s Smarter Than an American might be a good show for up here in Canada.
If you can win a million or more – count me in!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
January Diet Dilemmas
Every January, people tell me they are on a diet.
“This is it, this is the year I’m going to drop 10-pounds,” some say.
My dad is on the Scarsdale Diet, which he’s been on before. He says he has lost 10-pounds in four-weeks.
From Weight Watchers to Jenny Craig, to all the other fad diets – that’s all they really are.
Whenever someone tells me they are on a diet, I always ask them the all important question – have you taken up working out too?
The answer is almost always “no.”
This tells me that although they may drop those pounds while on the diet, as soon as they go off the diet, they will quickly gain all that weight back.
Diets don’t work. They really don’t. Not at all.
The only real way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat healthy, and to exercise. This is what the experts have been telling us for years, and it is true.
I workout hard, hitting the gym usually three or four-times per week. When I’m at the gym, I usually workout for about two-hours.
I’m a workout freak – I love to workout. I enjoy the feeling of my muscles getting a good, healthy workout. I enjoy the burn of weight lifting, the strain my legs get while on the treadmill, and I like watching the heart-rate monitor rise, telling me I’m working out my heart.
You don’t have to workout like I do to be in shape. All you really need to exercise your body, is to workout for at least 30-minutes, three-times a week. You have to workout at an intensity that you break a sweat – or else all you are doing is tiring your muscles.
But still, people buy into the crap that some miracle diet will change their lives. I see the ads on late night television for diet pills, diet massagers, and of course, Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig.
None of these really work – and you don’t need to spend money on them. It is money wasted.
If you’re going to invest in your health – which is a wise investment – don’t spend it on some miracle diet or fad. Spend it on buying healthy fruits, vegetables and other low-fat foods. Spend it on an exercise or sport which you will ENJOY doing.
So many people join the gym in January with plans to lose weight. Gyms count on this – they force you into a one-year contract. So, when you realize that the gym isn’t for you, and you stop going after a couple of months, you still end up paying for the year-long membership.
I go to the gym, because I ENJOY it.
There are lots of fun things you can do to lose weight. You just have to figure out what it is that YOU enjoy.
Walking, running, riding a bike, playing tennis, even swimming and skating are all excellent exercises.
So, to lose weight, eat right, and find something active which you enjoy – and spend money on that.
Now leave Jenny Craig alone!
“This is it, this is the year I’m going to drop 10-pounds,” some say.
My dad is on the Scarsdale Diet, which he’s been on before. He says he has lost 10-pounds in four-weeks.
From Weight Watchers to Jenny Craig, to all the other fad diets – that’s all they really are.
Whenever someone tells me they are on a diet, I always ask them the all important question – have you taken up working out too?
The answer is almost always “no.”
This tells me that although they may drop those pounds while on the diet, as soon as they go off the diet, they will quickly gain all that weight back.
Diets don’t work. They really don’t. Not at all.
The only real way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat healthy, and to exercise. This is what the experts have been telling us for years, and it is true.
I workout hard, hitting the gym usually three or four-times per week. When I’m at the gym, I usually workout for about two-hours.
I’m a workout freak – I love to workout. I enjoy the feeling of my muscles getting a good, healthy workout. I enjoy the burn of weight lifting, the strain my legs get while on the treadmill, and I like watching the heart-rate monitor rise, telling me I’m working out my heart.
You don’t have to workout like I do to be in shape. All you really need to exercise your body, is to workout for at least 30-minutes, three-times a week. You have to workout at an intensity that you break a sweat – or else all you are doing is tiring your muscles.
But still, people buy into the crap that some miracle diet will change their lives. I see the ads on late night television for diet pills, diet massagers, and of course, Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig.
None of these really work – and you don’t need to spend money on them. It is money wasted.
If you’re going to invest in your health – which is a wise investment – don’t spend it on some miracle diet or fad. Spend it on buying healthy fruits, vegetables and other low-fat foods. Spend it on an exercise or sport which you will ENJOY doing.
So many people join the gym in January with plans to lose weight. Gyms count on this – they force you into a one-year contract. So, when you realize that the gym isn’t for you, and you stop going after a couple of months, you still end up paying for the year-long membership.
I go to the gym, because I ENJOY it.
There are lots of fun things you can do to lose weight. You just have to figure out what it is that YOU enjoy.
Walking, running, riding a bike, playing tennis, even swimming and skating are all excellent exercises.
So, to lose weight, eat right, and find something active which you enjoy – and spend money on that.
Now leave Jenny Craig alone!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Could It Be the End of Crazy Neighbour?
My crazy creepy neighbour from across the hall was up to no good again last night.
Well – from his perspective he was having a blast. Apparently it was his birthday, and he had a big birthday bash.
From everyone on my floor, and a couple floors above and below, it was a lot of loud pounding, and chaotic confusion.
I was doing my laundry in the evening, and as I walked by his door, I noticed it was being propped open with a shoe. I thought that odd, as although this is a high security high-rise, we don’t live in a college dorm. You don’t want just any stranger walking into your private home.
There were doors slamming all night too, which I wondered about. I thought maybe someone was having a big fight, so I just kept to my own pad. And when I turned off the television, I noticed a thumping that I had never heard before. It was loud music pounding away.
I opened my front door and peaked out. Sure enough it was coming from the crazy creepy neighbour from down the hall.
This morning, when I went out to do my groceries, I ran into two other neighbours in my hall. One of them had a letter of disturbance and was taking it down to the property management office. The other, was laughing about it, thinking it must be fun to be young.
I just shook my head in disgust. How can anyone be so thoughtless about those that share their surroundings with others. I’ve been in the same place now for four-years, and usually it is a joy to be here. I hardly hear anyone or anything.
My crazy creepy neighbour must have been making a hell of a disturbance last night. According to my neighbour across the hall (who happens to be right next-door to the crazy creepy neighbour) people were pounding on her ceiling from upstairs, and on her floor from below, in protest to the noise. They thought it was coming from her place.
This building is very well maintained, but old – over forty-years-old. So between all the floors is a layer of thick solid concrete. I know – when I put up my drapes I had to get the super to do it for me, because it had the high-powered drill and special drill bits to go through the extra thick ceiling.
So, to be making such a racket that those above, below and next-door can hear you, it must have been quite the party.
Maybe though, this will be the end of my crazy creepy neighbour. He’s had a few notices given to him over the years, and I’m sure property management will only tolerate so much before they tell him to scram.
When I went to take out my trash this morning, I noticed a stack of empty cartons of pop and beer. No doubt from my crazy creepy neighbour’s party. Those shouldn’t be stacked in the garbage shoot room, they should be taken down to the big blue bins for recycling. He’s stacked things there before which he shouldn’t, and received warnings about it.
Now, if I can figure out where they came from, so can property management. That’ll be two infractions in one weekend – onto of the handful he’s already had for being a menace.
Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll finally serve him with notice to get out, for failing to abide by the rules. And there aren’t many rules here really, none that you wouldn’t expect in any high-rise.
All they really want is for you to respect your neighbours right to the same freedoms as you want, and to put garbage and recyclables in the right spots. But some people, like my crazy creepy neighbour across the hall, just don’t have the intelligence to figure that out.
So out is where he may be going.
Well – from his perspective he was having a blast. Apparently it was his birthday, and he had a big birthday bash.
From everyone on my floor, and a couple floors above and below, it was a lot of loud pounding, and chaotic confusion.
I was doing my laundry in the evening, and as I walked by his door, I noticed it was being propped open with a shoe. I thought that odd, as although this is a high security high-rise, we don’t live in a college dorm. You don’t want just any stranger walking into your private home.
There were doors slamming all night too, which I wondered about. I thought maybe someone was having a big fight, so I just kept to my own pad. And when I turned off the television, I noticed a thumping that I had never heard before. It was loud music pounding away.
I opened my front door and peaked out. Sure enough it was coming from the crazy creepy neighbour from down the hall.
This morning, when I went out to do my groceries, I ran into two other neighbours in my hall. One of them had a letter of disturbance and was taking it down to the property management office. The other, was laughing about it, thinking it must be fun to be young.
I just shook my head in disgust. How can anyone be so thoughtless about those that share their surroundings with others. I’ve been in the same place now for four-years, and usually it is a joy to be here. I hardly hear anyone or anything.
My crazy creepy neighbour must have been making a hell of a disturbance last night. According to my neighbour across the hall (who happens to be right next-door to the crazy creepy neighbour) people were pounding on her ceiling from upstairs, and on her floor from below, in protest to the noise. They thought it was coming from her place.
This building is very well maintained, but old – over forty-years-old. So between all the floors is a layer of thick solid concrete. I know – when I put up my drapes I had to get the super to do it for me, because it had the high-powered drill and special drill bits to go through the extra thick ceiling.
So, to be making such a racket that those above, below and next-door can hear you, it must have been quite the party.
Maybe though, this will be the end of my crazy creepy neighbour. He’s had a few notices given to him over the years, and I’m sure property management will only tolerate so much before they tell him to scram.
When I went to take out my trash this morning, I noticed a stack of empty cartons of pop and beer. No doubt from my crazy creepy neighbour’s party. Those shouldn’t be stacked in the garbage shoot room, they should be taken down to the big blue bins for recycling. He’s stacked things there before which he shouldn’t, and received warnings about it.
Now, if I can figure out where they came from, so can property management. That’ll be two infractions in one weekend – onto of the handful he’s already had for being a menace.
Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll finally serve him with notice to get out, for failing to abide by the rules. And there aren’t many rules here really, none that you wouldn’t expect in any high-rise.
All they really want is for you to respect your neighbours right to the same freedoms as you want, and to put garbage and recyclables in the right spots. But some people, like my crazy creepy neighbour across the hall, just don’t have the intelligence to figure that out.
So out is where he may be going.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Have You Heard Anything Yet?
When I talk to my friends and family, and some of my co-workers, they always start off with “have you heard anything yet?”
They are referring to my contract ending in under a week’s time, yet I haven’t heard anything from my manager or human resources as to what will happen when it does end.
About six-months into my contract, my manager told me she didn’t want to lose me, and said she’d like to keep me on past my contract.
A couple of months later, she verbally asked me if I’d consider a full-time permanent staff position. I told her I’d consider it – I didn’t say I’d accept, but I am open to the possibility.
Or at least, way back then I was. I figured someone would have told me something at least two-week’s prior to my contract ending.
“We’re sorry, we just don’t have the budget right now, so we can’t keep you on past your contract.”
“We’re happy to offer you full-time permanent, with all the benefits.”
Or even, “we don’t want to lose you, and I know we were talking about permanent staff, but at this point and time, we still haven’t finalized our headcounts and budget for the year. Would you be interested in a short-term 30-day, 60-day, or even a 90-day contract, until we figure things out?”
All three scenarios would have been acceptable. WOULD HAVE BEEN.
With five days remaining until my contract ends, and still not a peep as to where the company sees me after those five days, I am a little more than peeved.
It is not only rude, but exceptionally irritating to disregard a person who has received nothing but excellent reviews from his manager, and is always receiving compliments for a job well done by other higher-ups.
Just last Friday, I got an email from the president and CEO of the company, telling me that I did an excellent job on our weekly newsletter. Moments after, my manager comes to me and tells me one of the directors said that same newsletter was “awesome.” And one of the other directors who I was working with in putting together this newsletter, emailed both my manager and my vice-president, saying how wonderful a job I did.
I’ve been getting feedback like this all year long – yet my contract ends in five short days, and I still haven’t heard anything about my status after it ends.
“Have you heard anything yet?”
“Nope,” is my usual response, and the person asking usually follows up with a look of understanding my frustration, and disbelief in this unusual predicament.
What exactly is one to do in such a predicament?
You can’t exactly go to your boss and say, “oh, I’m going to be late today, because I have a job interview.”
I’ve already asked my manager if they were still interested in my services after my contract ends – three-weeks prior to it ending.
My manager did talk to human resources, and they apparently were going to make me an offer a week prior to my contract ending.
A week prior to my contract ending isn’t really all that professional, but I accepted it at the time.
But that week came and went – last Friday was exactly one-week prior to my contract ending.
So, when and if they do come to me – what then?
They are referring to my contract ending in under a week’s time, yet I haven’t heard anything from my manager or human resources as to what will happen when it does end.
About six-months into my contract, my manager told me she didn’t want to lose me, and said she’d like to keep me on past my contract.
A couple of months later, she verbally asked me if I’d consider a full-time permanent staff position. I told her I’d consider it – I didn’t say I’d accept, but I am open to the possibility.
Or at least, way back then I was. I figured someone would have told me something at least two-week’s prior to my contract ending.
“We’re sorry, we just don’t have the budget right now, so we can’t keep you on past your contract.”
“We’re happy to offer you full-time permanent, with all the benefits.”
Or even, “we don’t want to lose you, and I know we were talking about permanent staff, but at this point and time, we still haven’t finalized our headcounts and budget for the year. Would you be interested in a short-term 30-day, 60-day, or even a 90-day contract, until we figure things out?”
All three scenarios would have been acceptable. WOULD HAVE BEEN.
With five days remaining until my contract ends, and still not a peep as to where the company sees me after those five days, I am a little more than peeved.
It is not only rude, but exceptionally irritating to disregard a person who has received nothing but excellent reviews from his manager, and is always receiving compliments for a job well done by other higher-ups.
Just last Friday, I got an email from the president and CEO of the company, telling me that I did an excellent job on our weekly newsletter. Moments after, my manager comes to me and tells me one of the directors said that same newsletter was “awesome.” And one of the other directors who I was working with in putting together this newsletter, emailed both my manager and my vice-president, saying how wonderful a job I did.
I’ve been getting feedback like this all year long – yet my contract ends in five short days, and I still haven’t heard anything about my status after it ends.
“Have you heard anything yet?”
“Nope,” is my usual response, and the person asking usually follows up with a look of understanding my frustration, and disbelief in this unusual predicament.
What exactly is one to do in such a predicament?
You can’t exactly go to your boss and say, “oh, I’m going to be late today, because I have a job interview.”
I’ve already asked my manager if they were still interested in my services after my contract ends – three-weeks prior to it ending.
My manager did talk to human resources, and they apparently were going to make me an offer a week prior to my contract ending.
A week prior to my contract ending isn’t really all that professional, but I accepted it at the time.
But that week came and went – last Friday was exactly one-week prior to my contract ending.
So, when and if they do come to me – what then?
Friday, January 25, 2008
Is America Ready for a Black Woman President?
I don’t spend much time worrying about our American neighbours to the south. Being Canadian, I tend to focus on matters of interest to us northern folks.
But the American election in the US of Eh is raising some interesting questions.
Is America ready for a black president?
Is America ready for a woman president?
I think the answer to both is no.
If you have to ask such questions in the first place, then the answer is a definite no. When American society elects a woman or a black person to the oval office, and there is no fan fare, no pomp and circumstance, and no one has raised either of these questions, then, and only then will America be ready for either – or both.
Though if a either Obama or Clinton wins the election, it wouldn’t surprise me either.
WHa?
How can I go out and say that America isn’t ready for a woman or a black person as president, and then say they could easily win?
Easy – they’d be the fall presidents.
America is in the middle of a recession. They have actually been in recession for a couple of months now, but the American Federal Reserve won’t make any announcements until the country has been in recession for at least two-consecutive quarters – that is the “official” designation of what a recession is.
And the so-called “war on terror” which the current bimbo – whoops – I mean current president George W. Bush has been leading, has been causing major problems for him and his government. They have spent billions more than they can afford on this war, and continue to spend billions more than they have on it. They have lost far too many soldiers in a conflict which is all about control over oil – and not terror. And the international opinion of America as a whole has hit rock bottom, because of this war, and what it has done to the innocent citizens of the countries the American’s have destroyed – all in the name of power.
SO, whoever wins the current American presidential elections will be the fall person for all the crap left over by the bimbo leader of today. No one can possibly solve these issues in one, or even a couple terms in office. Experts believe Iraq will take decades to clean up alone.
And these problems don’t include the issues which are local to the American people – education, healthcare, jobs – all the standard issues which all political campaigns eventually raise.
So, America may not be ready for a black female president, but they will elect someone who they know probably won’t last in office for very long. They can’t – they have too much to deal with, and too little to support them.
Give the new president a year at best.
Good luck Oprah – she’ll probably be the first female black president – when the time is right.
But the American election in the US of Eh is raising some interesting questions.
Is America ready for a black president?
Is America ready for a woman president?
I think the answer to both is no.
If you have to ask such questions in the first place, then the answer is a definite no. When American society elects a woman or a black person to the oval office, and there is no fan fare, no pomp and circumstance, and no one has raised either of these questions, then, and only then will America be ready for either – or both.
Though if a either Obama or Clinton wins the election, it wouldn’t surprise me either.
WHa?
How can I go out and say that America isn’t ready for a woman or a black person as president, and then say they could easily win?
Easy – they’d be the fall presidents.
America is in the middle of a recession. They have actually been in recession for a couple of months now, but the American Federal Reserve won’t make any announcements until the country has been in recession for at least two-consecutive quarters – that is the “official” designation of what a recession is.
And the so-called “war on terror” which the current bimbo – whoops – I mean current president George W. Bush has been leading, has been causing major problems for him and his government. They have spent billions more than they can afford on this war, and continue to spend billions more than they have on it. They have lost far too many soldiers in a conflict which is all about control over oil – and not terror. And the international opinion of America as a whole has hit rock bottom, because of this war, and what it has done to the innocent citizens of the countries the American’s have destroyed – all in the name of power.
SO, whoever wins the current American presidential elections will be the fall person for all the crap left over by the bimbo leader of today. No one can possibly solve these issues in one, or even a couple terms in office. Experts believe Iraq will take decades to clean up alone.
And these problems don’t include the issues which are local to the American people – education, healthcare, jobs – all the standard issues which all political campaigns eventually raise.
So, America may not be ready for a black female president, but they will elect someone who they know probably won’t last in office for very long. They can’t – they have too much to deal with, and too little to support them.
Give the new president a year at best.
Good luck Oprah – she’ll probably be the first female black president – when the time is right.
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