Blog Entry 2008-07-14

I forgot when I was writing my last entry to comment on the actor who stars in Children of Dune. Those outside the Sci Fi world know James McAvoy from the movie Atonement but seeing him in this mini-series I was hard-pressed to distinguish which of the above actors was which. The one on the right is Gregory Smith of TV’s Everwood fame.

As I begin my last week of employment at Canada Post my feelings are mixed. I am not accustomed to being treated with so much deference and respect. Not that I don’t feel I merit it; just that I don’t normally receive it.

After work I went shopping and again I am hit by the monopoly wholesalers have over the marketplace. Why is it that California strawberries manage to look bigger, brighter and fresher than local ones grown a few miles from the store? The local ones were puny and over-ripe. My grandparents bought a hundredweight of flour and sugar, salt and tea for a dollar; I, on the other hand was able to carry $150 worth of groceries up to my apartment in one load.

Weekly Rant 2008-07-12.doc

Saturday, July 12^th

Lately this is becoming more like the weekly whine. Learned yesterday what I had already suspected, that my RV will be late arriving. I'll hold off writing about it until my system has had more of an opportunity to digest these details; there being too much vitriol in my present thoughts.

The weather is out as a topic of discussion. Suffice it to say that things are unsettled and camping is likely to be a washout. Given the weather we’ve had to this point I somehow doubt we’ll notice the arrival of the dog days of summer. The news is best avoided being filled with man’s inhumanity to man, murder, mayhem on the roads and waterways, financial chaos, and rising fuel costs. Theologically I’m not certain whether there is a lack of faith on man’s part or God has ceased believing in mankind. Outside my windows the world is lost in grey fog and the diesel engine of some heavy truck disturbs my peace though the trees block any view without doing much to muffle the noise. On the plus side I just noticed that finally the last of the colony of fruit flies I’ve been battling finally died out—it’s easier to avoid them than eradicate them once they move in. My neighbour seems to have gone off somewhere with her dogs and peace reigns supreme on that side of my dwelling; if the new neighbours have arrived on the other side I have not seen or heard them.

Tried several alternatives to begin this entry and ended up back working in Word despite its drawbacks—the devil you know, so to speak. The monthly update for Windows this Tuesday was 68 MB nearly half the size of Service Pack 1 for Vista—nothing broken there? Whether the two are connected I couldn’t say but last night I encountered glitches everywhere I turned including new configurations for the latest iTunes update for which there were no warnings. I detest it when I have to spend more time working on computer systems than actually using them—I decided that hate was too strong a word using more energy than I’m presently willing to commit.

One of the joys of the internet experience is the ability to research almost anything you want to know about movies on the Internet Movie Data Base

http://www.imdb.com/

One of my guilty pleasures is the 1991 teen movie Toy Soldiers. One of its lesser stars Shawn Phelan has always appealed to me and when I decided to see what he’d done in later years I was saddened to read that just four years after he made this movie he was injured in a car accident and died without regaining consciousness 4 years later. Truly a sad end to a promising career.

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Sunday, July 13^th

Returning to watch movies you’ve seen before is always instructive; but then it is with that joy in mind that one purchases the DVD’s in the first place. Rewatched the mini-series Frank Herbert’s Dune and its sequel Children of Dune in the past few days—5 disks worth. It’s been five years since the second series so it would seem that the franchise has come to an end. After watching Dune twice when I received it in the mail; the second time almost immediately I found Children of Dune to be a disappointment. Upon due consideration and the passage of time “Children” appears to be a more intellectual pursuit with less action and more introspection.

Tonight I’ve dug out the VHS version of Robert Redford’s The Milagro Beanfield War. Redford’s second directorial outing; it unfolds at a leisurely pace and despite some serious undertones manages to inject humour, never taking itself too seriously. Coming from a small village myself I can understand living in a community in which everyone knows everyone else’s business, everyone is related, and news travels faster than the speed of light. Redford is an actor’s director and in this movie along with Ordinary People and A River Runs Through It, the actors respond to their audience of one in very personal ways.

Time on My Hands

Discovered a National Film Board opus which was presented during the Toronto International Film Festival this morning called, Late Fragment. It is being launched on DVD come Tuesday with a release party at a Toronto Tatto Parlour, of all places. The hook is the fact that this is an interactive movie billed as having 380 clickable selections. Don’t expect I’ll be braving the expressways for a party in Toronto that runs to 2:00 AM on a work night but I may actually invest in the DVD. Details here:

http://www.latefragment.com/

When I’ve watched it I’ll review it on my sister blog. Sounds to me like a project for a rainy day.

In other news there is a grass-roots movement in San Francisco to name their new sewage treatment plant after George Bush in a definite left-handed compliment to his presidency. Finally an American Movement I could actually subscribe to.

http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/07/02/bush_sewage/

My Way or the Highway

The president of a large corporation opened his directors meeting by announcing, "All those who are opposed to the plan I am about to propose will reply by saying, 'I resign'."

Some people don’t handle rejection well.

Finally a take on the good life, fame and fortune; apparently it is not all that kind to those who attain it. Those old enough to remember will recall the decline of Chet Baker from former matine idol good looks to the ravaged druggie with the missing front teeth who fell out of a hotel window in Amsterdam:






Or James Taylor--who is that old bald geezer:






Or Chris Isaak--actually he’s aged better than most:







When I had a regular subscription to the TSO it was always a game to see if the press photo from the concert program was recognizable as the stooped, pot-bellied gray beard who stumbled out on stage.

Retirement--Stressful?

The best-laid plans of mice and men gang aft agley.

­­--Robert Burns

Efficiency is intelligent laziness.

Anonymous

If a train station is where the train stops and a bus station is where the bus stops, what is a work station?

Finally, a forecast with four days of yellow suns in it; as long as the threat of thunderstorms stays south of the Great Lakes.

Retirement is rated as second only in stress level to the death of a spouse. I wonder why? Plan for your retirement they say? I gave my employer over seven month’s notice of my wish to terminate my employment and they waited six months to send me the first shred of paper. I planned a retirement that involved travel and the price of gasoline increased by 50%. I gave the dealership six months notice to supply my RV—3 months more than they said they needed—and four days before I’m supposed to be taking delivery they can’t even supply me with a Vehicle Identification Number so that I can insure it. Do I have any reason to go postal?

If Santa Claus lives at the North Pole he’d better invest in a houseboat or he’s going to be treading water. In an article entitled Santa’s Pool Party it is announced that for the first time in millennia there is every possibility of the Polar Sea becoming open ocean this summer. Archaeologists have proven that during geologic time there were periods when Canada’s high arctic enjoyed equatorial climates. Whether this summer’s melt is part of a natural phenomena or the result of Global Warming brought on man’s intervention our polar bears are going to be sweltering onshore while they starve because there are no ice pans from which to hunt for seals. While Bush fiddles the ice cap burns.

Riffing on Jane Jacobs

Suburban sprawl with its emphasis on the automobile has an isolating and alienating effect on those who dwell there. Getting almost anywhere requires transport of one sort or another. For the young that means Mother’s taxi and for the elderly, losing the right to own a drivers license is not only a blow to one’s ego but means the loss of mobility. For the elderly this usually results in forced residence in a senior’s home. With homes built on postage stamp-sized lots young people have no place to play but the street. The few available public spaces become gathering places for teens to ‘hang out’ and boredom and lack of direction tend to lead to delinquency.

Petroleum being a finite resource shortages are inevitable. Whether the present spike in gas prices is opportunism on the part of the industry or the result of the law of supply and demand is immaterial; sooner or later the world is going to run out of oil. Given this inevitability city planners will need to return to a more self-sufficient community model in which residents can walk or bike to the local mall, students can walk to school, and recreational opportunities can be accessed locally. Although alternate sources of energy may become available once necessity forces the automobile industry to actually commit to research and development practical results are decades down the road and alternate fuels are not likely to be either as efficient or economical. Already school bus companies are attempting to renegotiate contracts with school boards as rising fuel prices make their operations unprofitable, taxi drivers agitate for higher fares, and airlines lay off staff, reduce speeds, and cut schedules. Given this scenario the concept of bussing children long distances to schools becomes impractical, hopping in the car at the drop of a hat unaffordable, and commuting to work a luxury.

Whereas the suburbs of the past were an impersonal blob those of the future are going to have to place more emphasis on community. Schools, shopping, and recreational opportunities will need to accessible on foot. As people get out of their automobiles and meet face to face a greater sense of community will naturally result. Regions where residents actually know their neighbours will become safer communities where greater pedestrian traffic will give ownership of the streetscape to those who live there. The opportunity to walk to work or work from home will have a premium attached to it. This essay has emphasized the socio-economic results of an apprehended fuel shortage; the environmental effects of our dependency on fossil fuels are yet another compelling argument for future change.

Comments on the World at Large

Finally some commentary on events in the world at large so in no particular order here goes:

Toronto Libraries have quietly rescinded the ban on drinks and food in their buildings—Chapters/Indigo has a lot to answer for. Ironically that latter establishment allows people to litter their stacks with coffee cups but bans books and magazines from their in-house coffee shops. My first paying job having been shelving books in a college library you may imagine for yourself my take on the matter.

The US Supreme Court has struck down the District of Columbia’s Gun Ban as being unconstitutional under the 2^nd Amendment. Charlton Heston may be resting more securely in his grave after that landmark decision which is more than can be said for the rest of us. That city sees a gun-related murder nearly every two days hence America’s Law Makers pay a hefty price for the right to bear arms. Perhaps if one of those august justices were gunned down or a prominent Senator opinions might change. Here’s a gallows humour joke that paints yet another picture:

St. Peter is at the Pearly Gates checking up on the people waiting

to enter Heaven.

He asks the next one in line, "So, who are you, and what did you do

on Earth?"

The fellow says, "I'm Barack Obama, and I was the first black to be

elected President of the United States"

St. Peter says, "The U.S.? A black President? You gotta be kidding

me! When did this happen?"

Obama says, "About twenty minutes ago."

Toronto City Police did a Road Safety Blitz recently pulling over tractor trailers and moving vans. Four out of five trucks examined had safety issues including unsafe loads, insufficient breaking power, and steering wheel play. A quarter of the trucks were pulled off the road on the spot. The next time you feel dwarfed by one of those behemoths you may feel just a mite queasy. Think twice before you pull in front of one. Rising fuel prices can only have served to exacerbate an already tenuous situation. Filling out a pre-trip inspection form may seem tedious bureaucracy but it at least holds the driver responsible for having checked his vehicle and its load. In a related story School Bus Companies are attempting to re-open School Board Contracts due to rising fuel prices. School Boards already strapped for cash are reluctant to oblige. Remember the Toronto School Board is closing the city swimming pools they are responsible for in protest. Wealthy taxpayers who already finance their own backyard pools may be resistant to being taxed for public pools but will pay the price in civil unrest due to lack of services for the less well-heeled.

Mini-Me sues over Sex Tape.

Which begs the question, if he didn’t want it to become public fodder why did he make it in the first place? Sounds like a publicity stunt to me. For some there is no such thing as bad press.

Finally a good news story. Those who live in cottage country may have encountered the phenomenon that is an osprey nest. These fishing eagles prefer an eyrie plunked on top of the tallest freestanding structure they can find that affords a 360º view of their territory. In Nova Scotia this often places them in conflict with Nova Scotia Power’s transmission towers. In response to the challenge this utility has found unique solutions including the addition of a platform raised a safe distance above the wires. The Osprey being the Province’s Official Bird Nova Scotia Power has dedicated significant resources to its preservation. Moving a three hundred pound loosely thrown together aggregation of sticks and grass is not a minor undertaking. To eaves drop on a nesting pair and their chick as well as watch a relocation video follow the link below. For those who notice such things the environmental officer is a cute pie.

http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/osprey/index.asp

Now for the sake of the author’s ego if you are reading this blog leave some constructive comments. Here’s your opportunity Giuseppe.

Weekly Rant for Week of June 22-28

Finally I’ve caught up to the present. This morning I’m plugging away at my editorial duties with past episodes of Pipe Dreams streamed from NPR as a backdrop. The idea of listening to hand-built instruments valued at up to $50,000,000 capable of tones from 16 to 25,000 hertz streamed electronically on $350 speakers leaves something to be desired but lacking the opportunity to drop in on Notre Dame de Paris, Chatres, the Washington Monument, St. Paul’s Cathedral and other far flung locations this will have to do.

To begin lets get the weather out of the way:

As the above aptly illustrates our weather has been unsettled at best for the past month. Thankfully Oakville has been spared major flooding, major lighting strikes save for the one that put a quarter of the town in the dark, or tornados though thirty miles away in Toronto’s East End is close enough.

Now for some aphorisms:

An intellectual is a person who has discovered something more interesting than sex.

Aldous Huxley (1894 - 1963)

He is one of those people who would be enormously improved by death.

Saki

He's simply got the instinct for being unhappy highly developed.

Saki

The young have aspirations that never come to pass, the old have reminiscences of what never happened.

Saki

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for an evening. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

What's the difference between a boyfriend and a husband? About 30 pounds.

Cindy Gardner

And finally three for someone who will recognize himself:

Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.

Thomas Jones (1892 - 1969)

"Who is more busy than he who hath least to do?"

-- John Clarke

You can only be young once. But you can always be immature.

Dave Barry (1947 - )

This supervisor has been bucking for recognition in my blog so here goes: What if you made the class clown a boss? Hope that Sicilian is happy now and that my kneecaps survive the vendetta.

Last Saturday, June 21^st, I got out of my apartment to make the trip to Burlington to help a ‘friend’ move his computer. These days getting somewhere in Southern Ontario is not about finding the shortest route but the one least likely to find one in stop and go traffic. The drive took longer than the actual task. I should have billed for my fuel mind you.

Back to work on Monday. Had the technicians in to repair the office photocopier—the task took 2 days. Miscreants with too much time on their hands torched a Community Mailbox. Lighting an incendiary device in the outgoing mailbox is one things, getting the resulting mess doused by the fire department is another—thankfully they showed restraint this time. Only two badly soaked letters. Made it home early on Tuesday to make necessary arrangements for my planned odyssey. On Wednesday I got to ride along with the single rural route driver in our office. The last time I did that it was as a child with my Mother’s cousin in rural Nova Scotia, this time the driver was over half my age and North Oakville can hardly be accounted rural. Being complimented on my delivery skills left me slightly bemused after 37 years experience. I really am preparing to retire. This week I cleaned out my locker, wiped the Kingston Traveler—flash drive—I’ve been using the past few years, and went through the traveling office cum leather case I’ve been using—it was my high school book bag so it’s over 45 years old. Went into work early on Friday and encountered the myriad road closures and detours necessitated by over-night construction. Arriving at the railroad tracks just as the barrier came down was the final straw. Went on a tour of West Oakville despite the heat and marveled at how the trees have grown over my tenure in the area, the shade was a welcome respite.

Weekly Rant for Week of June 15-21

Catching up

 

Regular readers may remember that I’ve been adjusting to the joys of Windows Vista on my HP Laptop.  Aside from the beloved programs it steadfastly refuses to run my principal complaints surrounding the OS revolve around its infamous resource hogging proclivities, its refusal to remember even the most basic GUI settings, and the glacial pace at which it accomplishes even the most basic tasks.  If you decide to reboot the system you’ve time to go take a shower. 

 

On Monday the sixteenth I dropped into East Side Mario’s for supper.  Took advantage of a freebie to have Boci Ball Crab Cakes as an appetizer.  I was nonplused upon being served three tiny puffed up balls lost on a large plate with a dollop of pesto sauce and some decorative layering—I would not lay out $10 for that morsel.  Generally I find the eatery welcoming and homey but by no means gourmet fare. 

 

My attention this week and for the past month has been taken up with preparations for our office’s send-off for our fearless leader—Dennis Williams-Yeagers.  Since the demise of the position of Postmaster we now enjoy a Superintendent of Delivery Services and ours just retired.  Wouldn’t you know that just when I’m planning such an event Carlton Cards chooses to do inventory and be out of appropriate cards?  After I’d used my computer skills to create my own someone suggested I should have visited Indigo-Chapters but I’d already committed too much effort to the enterprise.  The final card assembled in an appropriate binder ‘borrowed’ from the stock room contained greetings, office snap shots, a glossy group foto, and a Henry’s Gift Certificate.  Getting 100 people to sign greetings is no small undertaking.  Eliciting donations for salads, desserts, and pop to feed 130 was no minor task either.  On the day our boss was given greetings, a celebrity roast, gag gifts, the card and a serenade by the ladies appropriate to his womanizing ways.  I would account the afternoon BBQ a success in that no one complained; actual thank yous being few and far between.  Thankfully I bear no responsibility for my own retirement sendoff.    

Belated Weekly Rant for June 8-14

Sorry for the break in service here, I’ve been pre-occupied. This entry covers the week of June 8-14:

I like children if they’re cooked properly.

--W. C. Fields

When did it become socially acceptable for the parents of unruly brats to inflict their squalling, squealing infants upon an entire restaurant of patrons? I may be becoming a misanthropic old curmudgeon but I begin to understand why English Men’s Clubs barred women and children. Since the day twenty years ago when a young miss was allowed to peer over the edge of a partition in St. Hubert’s Chicken and watch every bite I took I’ve become mindful of where I sit and on more than one occasion asked to be moved. I don’t pay good money to eat out while my nerves are shattered by a misbehaving imp. In my opinion parents should keep their offspring home until they’re civilized enough to behave in public; what else is take out for?

The weather? It’s forecasts like this one that leave one feeling unsettled:

Text Forecast: Issued at 3.30 PM EDT Wednesday 18 June 2008

Tonight.. Cloudy periods. 70 percent chance of showers early this evening. Wind northwest 20 km/h becoming light this evening. Low 9. Thursday.. A mix of sun and cloud. 30 percent chance of showers in the afternoon. Wind becoming west 20 km/h in the morning. High 21. UV index 8 or very high.

Thursday night.. Cloudy. 30 percent chance of showers in the evening. Wind west 20 km/h becoming light in the evening. Low 13.

Friday.. A mix of sun and cloud with 40 percent chance of showers. High 23.

Saturday.. A mix of sun and cloud with 40 percent chance of showers. Low 11. High 25.

Sunday.. A mix of sun and cloud with 40 percent chance of showers. Low 13. High 25.

Normals for the period.. Low 14. High 25.

At least I haven’t heard of any tornado watches lately.

Last Tuesday, the tenth lightnig struck anelectrical sub-station plunging the entire south-west-end of Oakville including our office into black-out. Letter carriers do not work well in the dark. Never mind some customers seem to think we’re in the dark at the best of times.

On Wednesday I accompanied a pair whose mission was to assess the viability of delivering mail to a rural mail box on one of our urban highways. Political correctness trumps common sense every time. Since when does a rural area have 3 traffic lights within one quarter mile, curbs, and traffic whizzing by at the rate of one vehicle every 3 seconds at 60 miles-per-hour. Anyone who would stop in that traffic to visit a rural mail box with a cement truck bearing down on their tail has a death wish.

Friday of this week was one of those banes of triskaidekaphobics—Friday the Thirteenth. It has also brought notoriety to the small fishing/resort town of Port Dover on the North Shore of Lake Erie ever since a local biker gang member invited his buddies to drop in for a visit back in 1981. Word has spread and that small gathering has swelled to over 150,000 closely monitored by the OPP and the media every Friday that lands on the thirteenth. Just where 150,00 HOGS find a place to park in that small village I can’t imagine but the media had a bit of fun this time round when one of my supervisors and his girlfriend arrived on their mopeds. Somehow I expect serious bikers slouching on their choppers laughed them off the streets but it’s one way to make the news.

Weekly Rant 2008-06-07

In one day the overnight low has exceeded the daily high which yesterday reached a record 33º C. Anyone who didn’t have to work outside can be thankful and those of us inside were thankful for Air Conditioning. Things have taken a turn for the hot and humid, a distinct contrast from the cold and chilblains of earlier this week.

The rest of the week was equally frustrating. Despite the looming deadline I’m still waiting for Mothercorp to even acknowledge my request for retirement—the only sign I have that they know is the reduction in my annual leave credits online. Next week I’m going to have to shake the corporate tree and see what falls out—not too hard mind you as it’s a fragile structure. The fire drill I planned came off after a few minor glitches. I was bemused when a superior suggested cancellation due to rain wandering just how he thought his employees deliver mail.

Tuesday I attended the last meeting at which I’ll have to act as secretary. Unfortunately one of the discussion points was the bar across the road from me whose application for an outdoor beer garden I’ve been busy organizing opposition. The sour taste that session left in my mouth blighted the going-away send off gifts and celebration that followed. I might as well use this forum to pass on some tips from our Police Service:

• If you park a high-end car in a movie parking lot be prepared to make alternate arrangements for your trip home. By the time you get out of the theatre your car has the likelihood of either being loaded into a container bound off-shore or in the process of being broken down in a chop shop north of Toronto.

• If you absolutely must leave valuables in your car lock them securely in the trunk. Don’t leave them in sight in the passenger compartment, always lock your vehicle, and never leave the keys in it.

• At home lock your vehicle in the garage and keep the garage door closed and locked. If you insist on using your garage to store goods other than your car keep the garage door closed and locked. Don’t provide thieves with the opportunity to “window shop”.

• The tools in your garage and backyard shed are a popular target for thieves; keep them secured.

• As warmer weather arrives bicycles again are popular targets.

• Graffiti continues to be the bane of our urban environment. Report it when it appears on public property and eradicate it promptly on your own. If we allow vandals to believe we find it acceptable they are likely to move on to ever more destructive activities.

All of these security measures have an element of good old common sense but it is a testament to the lack thereof that 40% of all break and entries are thefts from garages attached to homes most of which were open at the time.

Working late on Tuesday and an evening meeting did not predispose me to evince a cheery aspect the following day. At long last someone showed up with a computer that will allow us to do route updates for letter carrier routes. I’ve completed work on our RSMC Mobile routes. Just as one new computer arrived another crashed. Eight consecutive Blue Screens of Death are not a good sign. More calls ensued.

Thursday arrived early to create a list of delivery blocks that need to be checked. Then the computer tech arrived to re-image the computer that crashed the day before. I ended up babysitting that gentleman to ensure he got the computer set up to work with its printers and configured the E-mails that need to be accessed on it. By 5:00 he still didn’t have Active Sync working so we all went home and left the machine to its online updates. On the way home gave my car a $56.00 drink of gasoline after hearing that fuel would take a 3.5¢ a litre hit at midnight—all too accurate a prediction as it turned out.

If I arrived at work ill-humoured Wednesday I was a lamb that day compared to the grump who hit the office Friday. Did what had to be done and got myself out of there early before I caused any more emotional upset. And that is the week that was. They don’t pay me enough!

I cringe to think of the paperwork, calls and arrangements I need to make in the next 6 weeks but unfortunately most of it has to be done at the last minute. Somehow I need to detach myself from work-related activities to leave myself enough energy to attack them all but it just doesn’t seem to be in my nature. At least I go a good eight hours rest overnight last night.