Ideeahs

Over the last few weeks I have noticed many bus drivers either talking on a mobile phone or with music player earbuds in their ears while driving me, and my thirty or so fellow passengers, around town.  To see what Translink had to say about this I sent a note to their complaints department to see what they thought.  This was about a week ago.  Before writing this entry I wanted to give them the chance to let me know what their thoughts were on this kind of behaviour by their employees.  Well, a week has come and gone and, being an impatient sort, I tired of waiting.  I can only assume that they either are overwhelmed by complaints, that they are understaffed, or simply don't care what their customers are saying. I doubt I need to explain the dangers of driving a bus with one hand.  The massive steering wheel must not be very easy to turn with one hand.  In fact it would appear that even with two available hands it is still an effort.  The drivers seem to have to lean forward and p...

My bare cheeks feel the swish of water below them.  Flush.  I try to sit still to avoid the eye's attention.  But boy is it sensitive to movement.  I barely move and, swish, another flush.  Gosh.  How can I be statue-like while doing my "business"?  The final, and expected, final movement occurs as I stand. Looking back and down at the green lettering on the back of the white porcelain seat, below the eye, I see a marking - 6 LPF.  This would make it a newer model loo as it only uses six litres per flush (LPF).  The problem is that at every visit you actually end up using a minimum of eighteen litres.  So much for efficiency. I head back to my desk, relieved to be out of the eye's gaze.  An email appears in my inbox.  It is an article from Scientific American, dated April 22, 2009 and entitled "Could Food Shortages Bring Down Civilization".  In it there is a section on water shortages.  Fossil aquifers that do not get replenished and are vital to agricultur...

What is it that makes a city a great place to live?  It all really depends on what you consider to be the most important influencers on your life.  It could be crime, weather, cost of living or something that MoneySense Magazine calls "Buzz".  Or it could be something all together different. In the last month or so two different city rankings have come out.  One is a listing of Canadian cities in MoneySense magazine.  The other is Mercer's annual ranking of world cities.  These are the kinds of lists that sell magazines because they satisfy the logic and organization that all of us left-brained, A-type personalities (that have dominated the world recently) have. But really what makes a place better than another?  Can you truly be objective?  Or does it always end up being in one's mind and therefore excruciatingly subjective.   The reason this is coming up as an ideeah is my pending move back to Montreal.  According to MoneySense I will be moving from the 5th placed...

Over the last seven days I devoured a book entitled "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin.  It recounts the story of an American man and the work he is doing in the most remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is the story about a man on a mission.  A man with a belief.  A stubborn and fixated individual.  A man convinced of what he is here to do. Against many odds he has done more to help the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan than most (or maybe any) organization be they charitable, private, not-for-profit, governmental, religious. In a time when many westerners are brainwashed into thinking that anyone from the "-stans" is a radical terrorist, this book once again uncovers the truth we all know deep down in our hearts.  The truth that seeps out when we put aside our religious, political, biased views.  It being that all human beings want is peace and freedom.  To live as they wish, to learn.  To be free to express themselves and to rai...

To my readers, Yesterday I registered to run the 5K HSBC 2009 Childrun.  This is an event that is being held June 7, 2009 for the 24th year.  It raises funds to help provide care and treatment to children who suffer from cancer.  I consider it a worthwhile cause and I am therefore asking you to donate whatever you can.  Here is a link to my personal web page where you can make a donation.  Thanks in advance for your support. Olivier Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!

This memory came to a little while back while riding my number 25 bus to work.  I was thinking about human behaviour.  Our prejudgements, stereotypes.  How all of this affects our comfort level around others - for better or worse. Back in 1988 my wife worked at the Ramada Renaissance Hotel on avenue du Parc in Montreal.  She worked at the front desk.  Working at the front desk you pretty much get to see all the guests of the hotel and you end up engaging in some level of conversation - even if it is only to give them their room number and key. This particular night a man came around with his wife.  He strolled up to the front desk and asked for restaurant recommendations.  They were looking for a nice place to go for vegetarian cuisine.  My wife gave it some thought and recommended two different restaurants - one was Le Commensal, the other was Cafe Santropol.  The former she suggested was a little on the expensive side and so she leaned them towards Cafe Santropol. Le Commensal is not...

A few days ago I wrote an entry about my annoyance at an advert run by du MAURIER a cigarette brand here in Canada. There is so much more that pisses me off about this topic that I had to let go of more steam again today.  In that entry I wrote about how to view the marketing BS of this company you had to register and give out a lot of private information.  Social Insurance Number (roughly similar to the Social Security Number in the United States), Drivers License number, home number and address, telephone number etc.  This is all information that then gets sent electronically to Equifax and compared to your consumer credit report. This is, just about, all the information that some untrustworthy thief would need to steal your identity.  So we are supposed to give all of this wonderful information to a company that has lied for decades, that continues to not say that its products kill (the WHO and governments state it, we don't), that continues to sell their cancer sticks.  We are...

"We have updated our packaging to help reduce its impact on the environment.  Small steps make the difference." The foil has been replaced by recyclable paper.  The cardboard packaging meets standards supporting sustainable forest management. "new look.  new approach." This sounds great doesn't it?  Another company deciding to finally change its ways and start realizing that there may actually be some profit in going green and in taking small steps to help the environment and consequently the health of our planet. FULL STOP I saw the advert for this product on page 58 of the May 7-14, 2009 Georgia Straight.  What product and which company?  Let me give you another hint.  The advert also had the words below splattered across the bottom 20% of the page.  These letters were not stylized.  They were black on white.  There was no marketing message.  They did however have an even more compelling message than the fancy words in the top 80%. "Cigarettes are highly ...

This idea came to me today as I was riding the bus.  We were stuck in traffic and the streets were gridlocked.  All side streets were backed up.  My mind drifted to those useless conversations that commuters have about the route they take to work.  Everyone has the best, quickest, most efficient way to get from home to work and avoiding all the traffic.  Ya, whatever. My mind also drifted to how superstars are asked to vary the routes they take to their studio, favourite hair salon, restaurant, dog groomer.  They are asked to do this not to avoid traffic but rather to avoid being shot at - by paparazzi or by some freak with a weapon. On April 3 there was a terrible murder in a Vancouver park.  For the one or two weeks after there was a lot of press about the murder.  The police came out with some tips for joggers - never jog alone, don't jog while listening to music, have a mobile phone with you.  They also suggested that joggers alter their jogging routes and times in the park.  T...

This week I returned to work after a 374 day absence.  It took more than a day to reactivate my email account.  I spent a total of ninety minutes over four different calls with the internal help desk in India.  Between calls there was a lot of waiting.  Finally, the level two team got a hold of me and the problem was fixed within the hour.  If only I could have avoided the day-and-a-half it took to get my problem routed to level two.  Anyhow....that is not the reason for this entry. I now had a reactivated email account and so I retrieved my emails.  There were 3047.  Since I was not at work none of them were intended for me to action.  They were all informational.  Some from the project team that I last worked with, some from corporate communications, others from employees organizing events, etc. Let's assume that I was at work and had read them all.  I would have spent an average of maybe a minute reading each one of those.  Over the year I therefore would have spent 3047 minutes...

Dunbar Street, Vancouver.  5:50 PM. I am riding the No. 25.  Bose headphones on, iPod in my pant pocket.  8 GB of music to entertain me for hours if needed.  I am having a hard time keeping my head straight as my brain's messages to my neck muscles start lapsing.  My eyelids are also losing their communication with Brain and are no longer staying open for long periods.  Long enough to notice a cloud of pink outside.  The sky is dark, the wind has picked up.  Humid.  The pink flakes are accumulating on the road's edge, near the curb and sidewalks.  Flakes speed in the wake of cars whizzing by and become airborne.  A cloud of pink in the windshields of the following vehicles. It reminds me of another bus ride. Sherbrooke Street, Montreal.  3:50 PM. I am riding the No. 24.  Sony F1 Walkman clipped on my belt.  Foam, over the ears headphones on.  Real to Real Cacophony cassette playing.  Wide awake and looking outside.  It is cold and dry.  A fine snow is falling - chalk dust.  I...