So I was typing up an article for a local paper the other night at 3 in the morning, when suddenly my internet goes out.
Having had this happen a couple times before, and called Rogers tech support only to find out that I hadn't turned enough devices off and back on again, I did this repeatedly, and checked my computer's settings, all to no avail.
So I called Rogers tech support. After getting through the security questions (Which was a challenge, as I use neither the phone nor the mailing address at my place, and the bill is in another roommate's name), the tech guy told me nonchalantly, "oh, the connection is down in your area from 2am to 6am for scheduled maintenance."
So I asked him why I wasn't warned of this beforehand, as I was working on some vital documents (okay, they weren't vital, but I didn't know when I'd wake up and be able to send them. Best to exaggerate the extent of problems big companies cause you). He said that "notice of the outage is available on the [something rogers-tech-supportish] website."
First, I tried explaining to him the irony of posting this announcement on a website, where people won't be able to access it when their internet is down due to the very maintenance it is meant to announce. He didn't seem to understand or care.
Then, I tried explaining to him that the average internet user's morning routine isn't "wake up, eat breakfast, check e-mail, brush teeth, check Rogers tech support website for upcoming internet outages" (particularly since this routine doesn't involve porn).
I think it might have been clearer for him if I had put it that way; what I actually said was "well by that logic, I should go to the airport right now in case there's somebody waiting for me!" Still, he didn't quite understand why it should matter to him.
So I explained to him that he should pass it up the ladder as a suggestion. I told him that when the City recently had to do some maintenance on our water pipes, they didn't just do it and expect people to go to City Hall to find the explanation on display there. (Again, it was only afterwards that I figured I should have been more clear by adding, "in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying Beware of the Leopard.") What the City did do was pass flyers to the doors of residents that would be affected; I suggested that Rogers should send e-mails to those of its customers who will be affected by scheduled outages (I did not mention that I wouldn't have gotten such a message anyway, as I don't have an e-mail addresss tied to that particular account).
Many times as I tried to explain to him the stupidity of what Rogers had done, he kept saying "I don't want to get into an argument with you," and I kept thinking, "good, just understand what I'm saying and you won't have to."
I also forgot to tell him that I was moving soon, and if it is at all possible, I will try to get an internet connection from someone that is not Rogers. [Edit: mission accomplished.]
In other news, I'm not having any problems with my Bell cellphone (other than the 5 voicemail limit, but hey, they're free).
- RG>
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Sunday, June 04, 2006
The Charity Rant
Every weekend during the summer, there is at least one large fundraiser ride, run, telethon, or other event raising funds for this charity, or that hospital (the Ottawa marathon being an exception, as it has no charitable beneficiary). Every single one whores itself out to a barrage of corporate sponsors, and plasters its sponsors' names across the city.
These rides have turned into a ruse for Corporate [North] America to play nice guy and encourage average citizens to donate their own money to these dilapidated causes, because the Big Boys want to keep their dandy profits.
It occurred to me at this year's Tour Nortel ride. It probably came to me at the same ride in previous years, but this year I simply couldn't bear it. If I heard "McDonald's Dream Team" one more time, I'd simply lose it.
If you visit www.tournortel.com, you'll notice two things. First, "McDonald's" appears more times in the website's opening text than the names of any of the ride's beneficiaries (CHEO being the chief among them). Second, you'll note that the website is designed to showcase front-and-centre the many corporate sponsors of the ride.
For me, the epiphany was when I heard Max Keeping's voice call out the "Esso 12K cycle and In-line Skate". Excuse me, but what have Esso and McDonald's done for children's health? Much less, I'd posit to say, than they've done to it. All five of the rides have sponsors, and only one of them is not a large corporation. Active Ottawa Actif ran a very poorly designed campaign for the City of Ottawa's Public Health department.
Allow me an aside to share with you the gist of their campaign. In order to encourage kids to get the flu shot, they have devised a theme character: Gerry the Giraffe. However, as with any other marketing blunder, the majority of their effort is spent trying to woo kids to pay attention to their Giraffe--by handing out stickers that say "Gerry" and have the giraffe's picture on it. These stickers have no text that identifies the nature of Gerry's campaign, and the picture is merely that of a cartoon giraffe. Even if this campaign gets kids to recognize Jer--er, Gerry, it will have failed at encouraging kids to get inoculated. Of course, what child is going to go to their parent and say "Mom! Mom! I wanna get a flu shot, because Gerry told me to!"
At least the dalmation wore a firefighter's hat.
Anyway, getting back to how corporations are destroying the social system...
There are at least two reasons for Esso to sponsor this corporate challenge, aside from the obvious PR boost. First, most people who ride their bikes in the Tour Nortel drive them to the suburban Nortel campus in their cars and SUVs. They have to get their gas somewhere.
Since Esso charges the same as other fuel companies, but spends less than any other on reducing its products' toxicity, or on developing alternative fuels, or on protecting the inhabitants it displaces in developing countries, it has more money to burn on PR stunts like this ride.
It also has more money to burn on lawyers and lobbyists, who encourage governments not to raise corporate taxes to pay for our overworked health care system. What does this have to do with a fundraising ride? Because the over $600,000 raised by this year's ride is simply life-support for our local hospitals. Every year, the amount of money raised by private individuals in this ride and in the CHEO telethon, which is on this weekend, is higher than the previous year. This money is not used by hospitals for extracurricular things like research (which also lacks sufficient government support). Instead, institutional charity recipients depend on this as a source of regular income.
In the event of a recession, people would no longer be able to give so much money in telethons, and our hospitals and school boards (who are required by law to have balanced budgets) would suffer tremendously. Oil companies, fast food companies, and other Big Businesses, however, would still reap large profits.
If these charity fundraisers didn't exist, we'd be able to see exactly how badly our social institutions (health, educational, and community) are doing. Then we'd see that tax cuts (be they for the rich or for the middle class) are a luxury that we as a society simply cannot afford. Instead, not only do we have to put up with the press releases of how many pennies McDonald's customers donated to this-or-that cause, but we have to shoulder--through fundraisers--the increased costs of institutions that seek to heal the very problems that are caused by these tax-evading corporations.
On a more local level, the alumni association for my alma mater is very active, and is a large source of revenue for the school's projects. This is all fine and dandy for Lisgar, but what about the many schools that don't have the advantage of rich kids attending? Most of the people who graduate from Lisgar rise to the top of society and reinvest their wealth in the school's next generation. Students and parents are thus somewhat insulated from the effects of the funding crunch, and they--the ones who will go on to lead the country--may see no need to increase school funding.
If you have the money, it's not so bad. You can give a couple dozen bucks to the ride if you're feeling generous, and you can pay the $80 surcharge on your next hospital visit, or $50 for your kid's textbook.
However, if you can't afford this, the McDonald's Dream Team isn't going to comp your hopsital trip.
Now do you want fries with that?
- RG>
These rides have turned into a ruse for Corporate [North] America to play nice guy and encourage average citizens to donate their own money to these dilapidated causes, because the Big Boys want to keep their dandy profits.
It occurred to me at this year's Tour Nortel ride. It probably came to me at the same ride in previous years, but this year I simply couldn't bear it. If I heard "McDonald's Dream Team" one more time, I'd simply lose it.
If you visit www.tournortel.com, you'll notice two things. First, "McDonald's" appears more times in the website's opening text than the names of any of the ride's beneficiaries (CHEO being the chief among them). Second, you'll note that the website is designed to showcase front-and-centre the many corporate sponsors of the ride.
For me, the epiphany was when I heard Max Keeping's voice call out the "Esso 12K cycle and In-line Skate". Excuse me, but what have Esso and McDonald's done for children's health? Much less, I'd posit to say, than they've done to it. All five of the rides have sponsors, and only one of them is not a large corporation. Active Ottawa Actif ran a very poorly designed campaign for the City of Ottawa's Public Health department.
Allow me an aside to share with you the gist of their campaign. In order to encourage kids to get the flu shot, they have devised a theme character: Gerry the Giraffe. However, as with any other marketing blunder, the majority of their effort is spent trying to woo kids to pay attention to their Giraffe--by handing out stickers that say "Gerry" and have the giraffe's picture on it. These stickers have no text that identifies the nature of Gerry's campaign, and the picture is merely that of a cartoon giraffe. Even if this campaign gets kids to recognize Jer--er, Gerry, it will have failed at encouraging kids to get inoculated. Of course, what child is going to go to their parent and say "Mom! Mom! I wanna get a flu shot, because Gerry told me to!"
At least the dalmation wore a firefighter's hat.
Anyway, getting back to how corporations are destroying the social system...
There are at least two reasons for Esso to sponsor this corporate challenge, aside from the obvious PR boost. First, most people who ride their bikes in the Tour Nortel drive them to the suburban Nortel campus in their cars and SUVs. They have to get their gas somewhere.
Since Esso charges the same as other fuel companies, but spends less than any other on reducing its products' toxicity, or on developing alternative fuels, or on protecting the inhabitants it displaces in developing countries, it has more money to burn on PR stunts like this ride.
It also has more money to burn on lawyers and lobbyists, who encourage governments not to raise corporate taxes to pay for our overworked health care system. What does this have to do with a fundraising ride? Because the over $600,000 raised by this year's ride is simply life-support for our local hospitals. Every year, the amount of money raised by private individuals in this ride and in the CHEO telethon, which is on this weekend, is higher than the previous year. This money is not used by hospitals for extracurricular things like research (which also lacks sufficient government support). Instead, institutional charity recipients depend on this as a source of regular income.
In the event of a recession, people would no longer be able to give so much money in telethons, and our hospitals and school boards (who are required by law to have balanced budgets) would suffer tremendously. Oil companies, fast food companies, and other Big Businesses, however, would still reap large profits.
If these charity fundraisers didn't exist, we'd be able to see exactly how badly our social institutions (health, educational, and community) are doing. Then we'd see that tax cuts (be they for the rich or for the middle class) are a luxury that we as a society simply cannot afford. Instead, not only do we have to put up with the press releases of how many pennies McDonald's customers donated to this-or-that cause, but we have to shoulder--through fundraisers--the increased costs of institutions that seek to heal the very problems that are caused by these tax-evading corporations.
On a more local level, the alumni association for my alma mater is very active, and is a large source of revenue for the school's projects. This is all fine and dandy for Lisgar, but what about the many schools that don't have the advantage of rich kids attending? Most of the people who graduate from Lisgar rise to the top of society and reinvest their wealth in the school's next generation. Students and parents are thus somewhat insulated from the effects of the funding crunch, and they--the ones who will go on to lead the country--may see no need to increase school funding.
If you have the money, it's not so bad. You can give a couple dozen bucks to the ride if you're feeling generous, and you can pay the $80 surcharge on your next hospital visit, or $50 for your kid's textbook.
However, if you can't afford this, the McDonald's Dream Team isn't going to comp your hopsital trip.
Now do you want fries with that?
- RG>
Saturday, June 03, 2006
100 things about me
In about every other entry, I've been talking about writing a "100 things about me" entry. I'm always thinking of things to put in it. Enough talk. I'm starting it now.
- I hate it when people send me text files in .doc format, or when they don't use styles to format it.
- Although I'll buy food that isn't certified organic at my local grocer because it's an independent business, I draw the line there. I won't buy Kraft products, even from them.
- When I want a water bottle, I'll buy a bottle of cola, drink it, then re-use it. Usually this will take me longer to drink than when I crave a bottle of cola, because I really wanted water.
- I only call it "cola" when it goes into print.
- I believe that "suburb" is a four-letter-word.
- I use a can opener on average about once a month. Usually for baked beans.
- I hate Rogers.
- I realize this list doesn't have 100 entries.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Let's hope I don't get sick
So today I started making a stir-fry, and didn't realize until I had already started that the only meat I had was this clump of stewing beef that's been in the freezer for as long as I can remember.
I took it out, defrosted it, and was disgusted by how much it smelled like dog food. Nevertheless, it was the only meat I had, so I cut it up. I tried discarding some of the less appetizing bits.
As I was cooking it, my roommate came in and assumed the dogfood smell was her cat, who had just gone for a bath in the toilet. I assured her that it was, in fact, my beef.
So I cooked it, and ate a portion. I couldn't bring myself to eat all of the meat I had served myself, as some of it tasted just too raunchy.
When I went back and took the lid off the wok, I detected the unmistakable smell of dog food. Not wanting to waste the vegetables that I had cooked, I threw out the remaining beef in the mix, at put the veggies in a plastic container for later consumption (or disposal, as necessary).
Anyway, I really hope that it doesn't make me sick before my 4pm shift.
- RG>
I took it out, defrosted it, and was disgusted by how much it smelled like dog food. Nevertheless, it was the only meat I had, so I cut it up. I tried discarding some of the less appetizing bits.
As I was cooking it, my roommate came in and assumed the dogfood smell was her cat, who had just gone for a bath in the toilet. I assured her that it was, in fact, my beef.
So I cooked it, and ate a portion. I couldn't bring myself to eat all of the meat I had served myself, as some of it tasted just too raunchy.
When I went back and took the lid off the wok, I detected the unmistakable smell of dog food. Not wanting to waste the vegetables that I had cooked, I threw out the remaining beef in the mix, at put the veggies in a plastic container for later consumption (or disposal, as necessary).
Anyway, I really hope that it doesn't make me sick before my 4pm shift.
- RG>
Sunday, May 28, 2006
It's been a while. Fuck you!
Heh heh. The "fuck you" is just for fun.
A lot has happened in the last week, much less since whenever I last posted.
I had my first meal at an Indian restaurant. I had originally planned on eating somewhere before meeting my friend there--an idea I got that last time I was at an Indian restaurant and couldn't get past the spicy bread--but I was actually quite satisfied with it. With encouragement, I could be pushed to go to another one.
I also got my very first full-time, permanent job this month. It ain't excactly CEO of MegaSuperCorp, but it's alright. Working the night shift sorta screws with my sleep (or rather, trying to juggle sleep and doing things while the rest of the world is running 9 to 5). I've been eating a lot at the nearby 24-hour diner.
Yesterday was the Great Glebe Garage Sale. After going through the entire Glebe and picking up only one thing (as well as stopping by the bike shop to get some work done), I ended up back at the very first place I had visited, to pick up the iron I had looked at, and the very second place to pick up the mixmaster (I had neglected to ask if it worked--the beaters don't stay in the holes).
Interestingly, nobody who was selling their ironing board was willing to part with only the cover, something which I had been seeking for a couple of weeks. I also wasn't willing to try to bring home an ironing board on my bike.
This morning, I had planned on going to Zellers to get one, but after visiting their website to get their hours, I was totally put off by the audio/video advertisement that didn't seem to have an STFU button. I e-mailed them to say that I would instead be purchasing my merchandise elsewhere, and I stopped short at saying that "elsewhere" was the Bay--Zellers' upscale corporate sibling.
Since I last blogged, I think I've been interviewed on the TV news twice, and been printed in the paper (in articles, letters to the editor, and media releases) a good handful of times. Since it's no longer a secret who I am, I may end up back-posting those letters and articles, as well as the ones that didn't make it in. [Edit: I think I'll use a separate blog for that, as Keith Lowell Jensen does]
I've also been thinking more about writing that "100 things about me" post. I've also noticed that I can save as a different time and date from when I actually post, so there are a few posts on here that are really quite useless.
Anyway, that's it.
- RG>
A lot has happened in the last week, much less since whenever I last posted.
I had my first meal at an Indian restaurant. I had originally planned on eating somewhere before meeting my friend there--an idea I got that last time I was at an Indian restaurant and couldn't get past the spicy bread--but I was actually quite satisfied with it. With encouragement, I could be pushed to go to another one.
I also got my very first full-time, permanent job this month. It ain't excactly CEO of MegaSuperCorp, but it's alright. Working the night shift sorta screws with my sleep (or rather, trying to juggle sleep and doing things while the rest of the world is running 9 to 5). I've been eating a lot at the nearby 24-hour diner.
Yesterday was the Great Glebe Garage Sale. After going through the entire Glebe and picking up only one thing (as well as stopping by the bike shop to get some work done), I ended up back at the very first place I had visited, to pick up the iron I had looked at, and the very second place to pick up the mixmaster (I had neglected to ask if it worked--the beaters don't stay in the holes).
Interestingly, nobody who was selling their ironing board was willing to part with only the cover, something which I had been seeking for a couple of weeks. I also wasn't willing to try to bring home an ironing board on my bike.
This morning, I had planned on going to Zellers to get one, but after visiting their website to get their hours, I was totally put off by the audio/video advertisement that didn't seem to have an STFU button. I e-mailed them to say that I would instead be purchasing my merchandise elsewhere, and I stopped short at saying that "elsewhere" was the Bay--Zellers' upscale corporate sibling.
Since I last blogged, I think I've been interviewed on the TV news twice, and been printed in the paper (in articles, letters to the editor, and media releases) a good handful of times. Since it's no longer a secret who I am, I may end up back-posting those letters and articles, as well as the ones that didn't make it in. [Edit: I think I'll use a separate blog for that, as Keith Lowell Jensen does]
I've also been thinking more about writing that "100 things about me" post. I've also noticed that I can save as a different time and date from when I actually post, so there are a few posts on here that are really quite useless.
Anyway, that's it.
- RG>
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Say no to two-tier justice!
Cheney shot a man while hunting. Now, it seems, that the man suffered a heart attack.
The government prosecutor should sic the extremely harsh laws on Cheney and stick him in jail for the mandatory minimum sentence.
Why don't they?
Well for one, the laws are stupid. Clearly harsh punishments don't work at preventing criminal behaviour or rehabilitating offenders; they merely seek vengeance to satisfy our sadistic society.
So why should he be jailed anyway?
Because stupid as they are, they laws are still there! And they're still used, but they're used to oppress those who threaten the ruling class, not society's upper-crust!
It's precisely like when that Canadian diplomat's car in Baghdad was shot at recently: fine when it happens to locals or unimportant people, but all hell breaks loose if we try to apply the same standards to the social elite.
The media keep us blind by not reminding us that the rhetoric used to justify laws is that they are supposed to be applied equally. Because if the media did force the government to apply the law equally, it would mean Cheney going to jail for many years because of a hunting "accident".
That would lead to people realizing that the entire justice system is fucked up and doesn't work. Ninety-five percent of people are in jail for drug offenses. In Canada, only 2% of prisoners are classified as "dangerous". The other 98% are in jail because the media has made crime all fun and glitzy to report, thereby spreading fear, and pandering to poiticians who say they'll be tough on crime. Being tough is all fine and dandy if that's what you want to vote for, but it doesn't actually prevent crime, it just wastes our tax dollars and strips people of their rights!
Incarceration rates in the US are highest in the Western world. They're five times higher than Canada and Mexico, and higher than Russia (though just by a bit). And they're going up FAST.
Media should treat Cheney's shooting as an opportunity to show the way that lower-class people are marginalized by the system, while upper-class people get off scott-free for the exact same things, and while running on "tough on crime" platforms that increase the penalties for the very things they do, because they know that they'll never get charged!
- RG>
The government prosecutor should sic the extremely harsh laws on Cheney and stick him in jail for the mandatory minimum sentence.
Why don't they?
Well for one, the laws are stupid. Clearly harsh punishments don't work at preventing criminal behaviour or rehabilitating offenders; they merely seek vengeance to satisfy our sadistic society.
So why should he be jailed anyway?
Because stupid as they are, they laws are still there! And they're still used, but they're used to oppress those who threaten the ruling class, not society's upper-crust!
It's precisely like when that Canadian diplomat's car in Baghdad was shot at recently: fine when it happens to locals or unimportant people, but all hell breaks loose if we try to apply the same standards to the social elite.
The media keep us blind by not reminding us that the rhetoric used to justify laws is that they are supposed to be applied equally. Because if the media did force the government to apply the law equally, it would mean Cheney going to jail for many years because of a hunting "accident".
That would lead to people realizing that the entire justice system is fucked up and doesn't work. Ninety-five percent of people are in jail for drug offenses. In Canada, only 2% of prisoners are classified as "dangerous". The other 98% are in jail because the media has made crime all fun and glitzy to report, thereby spreading fear, and pandering to poiticians who say they'll be tough on crime. Being tough is all fine and dandy if that's what you want to vote for, but it doesn't actually prevent crime, it just wastes our tax dollars and strips people of their rights!
Incarceration rates in the US are highest in the Western world. They're five times higher than Canada and Mexico, and higher than Russia (though just by a bit). And they're going up FAST.
Media should treat Cheney's shooting as an opportunity to show the way that lower-class people are marginalized by the system, while upper-class people get off scott-free for the exact same things, and while running on "tough on crime" platforms that increase the penalties for the very things they do, because they know that they'll never get charged!
- RG>
Monday, February 06, 2006
Bad ideas made worse
I was at a grocery store (a bigger one than I usually go to), when I saw the most terrible thing being offered in those stupid toy-dispensers....
The two in the middle there are little rubber bracelets, like the ones originally put out by Lance Armstrong. But these are much much worse.
First, let me explain why the bracelet idea was a terrible one to begin with (The Asylum Street Spankers have a very good song and dance on a similar topic: "Support our Troops" car magnets):
These piles of plastic paraphernalia being pushed in the supermarket also serve no function, and are also individually wrapped. However, they come further packaged in hard plastic bubbles (which, whether or not they are recyclable, you know the kid's just going to toss it in the trash).
They also cost a dollar, only the proceeds of this go to the company that you bought it from. Not that it will stop others who see your status icon from thinking that the money went to charity.
They are a complete bastardization of this concept. It's exactly like Christmas. Christmas was originally (never mind the pagan/Christian roots) supposed to be a way of celebrating charity and humanity (giving money to charity, in this case). Then, this charity took the form of giving gifts--material objects that represnt charity (the original wristbands). Now, the entire Christmas industrial engine is about getting, and about having, and the ties to humanity are lost (the grocery store wristbands).
If you look closer, you'll see the one on the left actually is a children's bracelet. Exactly like Christmas I say! Hook 'em in as consumers as early as you can!
I'll be writing a letter to the manager.... [Edit: I didn't.]
- RG>
The two in the middle there are little rubber bracelets, like the ones originally put out by Lance Armstrong. But these are much much worse.
First, let me explain why the bracelet idea was a terrible one to begin with (The Asylum Street Spankers have a very good song and dance on a similar topic: "Support our Troops" car magnets):
- They serve no function; and are therefore a waste of resources (I suspect they're also not recyclable);
- They come individually wrapped in plastic packaging, and these are further packaged in packs of ten;
- They represent that you bought them for $1, ONE FREAKIN' DOLLAR, the proceeds of which will go to (in Armstrong's case) the (US?) Cancer Society. The amount you spent on shipping went to USPS and, if you live outside the US, your local government customs bureau.
- They are used as a status icon. People even collect these bracelets to get the different colours! It doesn't even matter that some measly part of the money you spent on them actually went to a good cause!
These piles of plastic paraphernalia being pushed in the supermarket also serve no function, and are also individually wrapped. However, they come further packaged in hard plastic bubbles (which, whether or not they are recyclable, you know the kid's just going to toss it in the trash).
They also cost a dollar, only the proceeds of this go to the company that you bought it from. Not that it will stop others who see your status icon from thinking that the money went to charity.
They are a complete bastardization of this concept. It's exactly like Christmas. Christmas was originally (never mind the pagan/Christian roots) supposed to be a way of celebrating charity and humanity (giving money to charity, in this case). Then, this charity took the form of giving gifts--material objects that represnt charity (the original wristbands). Now, the entire Christmas industrial engine is about getting, and about having, and the ties to humanity are lost (the grocery store wristbands).
If you look closer, you'll see the one on the left actually is a children's bracelet. Exactly like Christmas I say! Hook 'em in as consumers as early as you can!
I'll be writing a letter to the manager.... [Edit: I didn't.]
- RG>
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