Are We Really Better Off (100th Blog Post)

Many times in this blog I have made complaints about the service industry. I have picked on un-educated people and old people in particular and the frustration they cause me when I am being served by them. There is no excuse for their failure to provide me with good service, but the reason we have to put up with it is because of the good economy we are experiencing here in Newfoundland.

With the economy booming and good paying jobs being somewhat plentiful (depending on the industry), people with any level of education are no longer settling for service jobs that pay minimum wage or only a little bit above. They are going on to other jobs that do not necessarily require any formal education but are paying good wages because the company is experiencing a boom. This leaves the low paying service industries desperate for employees just to meet staffing requirements, and as a result you get people filling these jobs that have absolutely no concept of customer service or responsibility. This explains the un-educated section of the job market.

The good economy has also caused older people, who either never worked before or were supposed to be retired, to enter/re-enter the work force. The inflationary effects of the economy are very obvious. Just go to the grocery store and you'll notice it. What this does is puts an enormous amount of pressure on people on fixed incomes and they need to supplement that income somehow. They do this by filling the vacant jobs in the service industry and when they get their they are over their heads because they are not familiar with the processes. Being older they are also less receptive to training and tend to learn at a slower rate (yes there are lots of exceptions). Another major issue is they are extremely unmotivated. If I was 60 years old and working at Tim Hortons, my motivation level would also be in the shitter, that's for sure.

So are we really any better off with this economy? Not to jump on a bandwagon with all the "occupy" movements, but have we just created a place where the really rich get richer and the really poor get poorer? Or am I reading into this way too much? I guess with the good you have to take the bad, but either way I'm still not happy with the service I've been receiving!

Bad First Impressions (Guest Blog by Kim Mattsson)

Seriously? Get some common sense people!

Working in the restaurant industry I’ve seen people do some pretty stupid things, things that the average person would think are common sense aren’t necessarily common sense for everyone.

Take for example applying for a job. I’ve seen people come in at lunch or supper (which I will cut them some slack cause even though it’s the worse time for us it may be the only chance they had to drop one off), but there is NO EXCUSE for coming in to drop off a resume in your pyjamas! Really, do people not realize that this is their chance to make a good first impression?

Let’s move on to the people that drop off their resumes in pairs. Yes that’s right, some people come in with a friend or boyfriend/girlfriend and BOTH hand in a resume. Seriously, do you want the job? Usually we are filling one position at a time, so don’t bring the competition with you. Also do you think we want to hire people in a relationship? Trust me, from experience no one wants to be around that drama!

Can’t forget to mention the girls that come in with a “body guard”, by this I mean 2 people walk in the door, the guy stands off to the side and looks intimidating while the girls drops off her resume, then they both leave, or sometimes get a table and stay for something to eat, which is even more awkward.

Also, can we suggest you get a professional e-mail address? No one is going to take you serious when your email address is itsallgood@cyberdude.com. Okay that one is an inside joke, but people seriously have no clue. I’ve seen cookielover@hotmail.com, djspinsalot@hotmail.com, and the list goes on, doesn’t take much to get a proper email address I suggest everyone gets one that isn’t so embarrassing.

Also, spell check never hurt anyone. Seriously, whatever word processing program you’re using most likely underlines words that are misspelled. So again no excuse. While you’re at it, no one really cares about your hobbies section. You’re applying to work in a restaurant that gives people sombreros and a lame song for your birthday, no one cares if you like star gazing, or taking pictures, or martial arts. If it’s not applicable to the job don’t waste your time telling us about it.

Finally, don’t tell the people you are giving your resume to that you really want the job because you hate your current job and then go on to bash your employer, this will get your resume straight to the garbage.

Paul’s word of Advice: get someone who has a better job than you to proofread your resume.

U-Haul Making it Right (Power of Social Media)

I blogged a couple of weeks ago about a bad customer service experience I had with U-Haul. I had sent them a letter only to receive no reply, which was more frustrating. After I had posted my blog with my letter, I received a Tweet from U-Haul Customer Service apologizing and asking me to contact them so they could "make it right", so I decided to do just that.

I want to commend them for their effort. Not only did I receive a refund of $50, but I also received a transferable credit of $45.00 off my next U-Haul purchase, which was smart on them because it ensures I, or someone I know will use U-Haul for their next move, and it will give U-Haul a chance to redeem themselves and get me back on their side as a customer.

This whole experience just goes to show the power of social media. It was through these channels, and not the regular ones, that I was able to get some satisfaction out of a company. It really shows how things are changing in B2C enterprises, and I think its for the better.

A Congregation of Assholes

I took an alternate route to work this morning, and therefore ended up at Tim Hortons on my way. This isn't me bashing Tim Horton's service this time, but it seems like whenever you go to a coffee shop there is always a congregation of assholes.

Of course, asshole is in the eye of the beholder, and I think that's what is funny about it. Everyone in a coffee shop, especiallly early in the morning, thinks everyone else there is a total asshole. Its a rushed place, people are cranky in the morning, so every little thing tends to piss people off and I assume everyone hates each other in these scenarios. Here's a few examples:

-Guy in drive thru ordering food and not just a beverage - asshole
-Guy who can't get his Tim's Card or Debit Card to work - asshole
-Woman who is a regular and slows down the line by chatting with the employees - asshole
-Chick who keeps looking back in line like she's afraid someone is gonna shank her form behind - asshole
-Staff who are incompetent or just standing around doing nothing - assholes
-Overly chipper guy who is super happy about the morning - asshole
-Dude who keeps sighing in line because its taking a while even though sighing won't help - asshole

Basically the point is, in this type of environment, every little thing a person does seems bigger than it actually is and its seems like a coffee shop is just a congretation of assholes.

Agree? Disagree?

My Letter to U-Haul

I wanted to express my frustration with my U-Haul experience on September 17th, 2011. I booked my truck online and was told to arrive at the location in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland at 9:00 am to pick up my truck. Upon arriving at the building, it was not open and nobody was there. I wait until 9:05 am and then call the local number I was provided. Somebody finally answers and I am asked to wait another 20 minutes until he arrives at the location.

When the agent arrives, he informs me that U-Haul did not contact him to let him know about the reservation, and he was about to leave town and was lucky I caught him before he left.
The lack of communication between U-Haul and its agent is ridiculous and almost resulted in me not getting a truck for my move. I am very disappointed in the service I received because somebody neglected to perform the due diligence necessary to ensure I was able to pick up my truck at the time and place it was GUARANTEED to me.

This carelessness on the part of U-Haul has made me quite bitter and as a result, the next time I am in need of rental equipment to help me move, or am in need of storage I will be looking to other companies to provide me with these services.

I hope this e-mail reaches the appropriate party so that future customers will not experience such a lack in customer service.
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I received a quick automated e-mail reply from U-Haul which linked me to the exact place I just entered this feedback. So I guess that's as far as it goes!

Sit Com Idea!

Wanted to pitch a quick idea I had for a hilarious Three's Company type sit com to appeal to some college kids:

There is a 3rd year College Student who's just been kicked out of his dorm on campus because of academic probation, who now needs a place to live. The only problem is, the vacancy rate in the city is pretty much 0% and without any good references, he has very few options...until he comes across an ad at the University Centre which says roommate wanted to share a house with 3 girls. Only problem is, only females can apply!

Our main character decides to go for it and goes in drag to the interview for the apartment and ends up fooling the landlord and the other girl's parents enough that they all approve and he gets to move in. Upon moving in, the other 3 girls (who will be hot), figure out the hoax, but not being as uptight as their parents and landlord embrace the idea of living with this guy. However, just like Jack Tripper having to pretend he is gay whenever Mr. Furley/Roper were around, this guy has to try to pull off being a chick when other people are around. This leads to lots of awkwardly hilarious moments in this guys life and all sorts of hijinx.

Now for someone to steal this idea on me! Leave good ideas for a title in the comments section!

Beer While You BBQ?

Why do men feel the need to drink a beer while barbequing? You wouldn’t be drinking that beer if someone else was cooking for you instead. You’d be off doing something else. And men always drink ONE beer while BBQing. No more, no less.

Don’t spout off bullshit like “well I’f I’m BBQing, it’s nice out so I got to have a beer.”

I am fully supportive of a beer on a nice, hot, sunny day.  But men bbq in bad weather, and still drink a beer.

What the fuck is up with that man? It’s just to try to be cool in front of your friends while you BBQ.

And what’s that? Keith is outside now, by himself, having a beer and bbqing. So it isn’t to be cool either…because you MEN have done this 1 beer while BBQing thing so often now that it has become HABIT for you and you do it even when BBQing alone!

That, my friends, is a sign of alcoholism.

-Guest blog by Kara Barrett

Berry Pickin'

Whenever I drive across the province lately I notice a trend. There are always people parked on the side of the road selling some form of berries. The Bakeapple being very popular around this time of year. People sit in their car all day, homemade signs placed on the side of the road and their mason jar full of berries laid out on the hood of their car just hoping someone will come by and give them $10 for a bottle. A few things about this make me scratch my head and bother me. The first is how many people are doing this. When I drove to St. John's last Friday I saw at least 7 people between Clarenville and Whitbourne  selling berries. Why is there so much competition in this "business"? Don't these people have better things to do? That's the second thing that boggles my mind. How do these people sit in a car all day on a (normally) hot day and just wait for people to come by? Do they spend all this time listening to the radio? Do they drain their batteries doing so? These are questions I want answered.

Another thing that bothers me is these people are cheating some sort of government system for sure, whether it be the Employment Insurance system or the Social Assistance program. I assume most of these people are getting some sort of government subsidy, and if they are on EI I guarantee they are not reporting their cash only income to the government. If they're on "welfare" or workers compensation, I damn well guarantee they are cheating those systems too because there is an awkwardly large amount of effort needed to climb through the woods and bogs to pick a lot of berries. If they're capable of doing this, they're capable of doing some form of labour intensive work.

Before I end the rant, just wanted to tell you what started this. When I was passing by Norris Arm I saw a straggly man and woman just standing on the road with a white bucket full of berries. No sign, no mason jar, nothing, just an open bucket showing off the berries to passing by cars in hopes someone would stop and want to by them. Why would anyone stop? For all I know there could be cigarette butts mixed in with those berries or anything at all. Why would someone think this approach would work? It just boggled my mind.

I know this was all over the place but yeah I'm not down with the berry picking community.

Urinal Etiquette

Not sure if this is relevant to any of my readers, hopefully they are aware of the protocol, but obviously some people aren't and they have no urinal etiquette.

There aren't a lot of rules for going to the bathroom. If you're at a party, leave the seat down when you leave, always change the toilet paper roll if it runs out while you're in there, and don't pee on the floor. When you're in a single gendered public bathroom, there are even fewer rules, but you need to respect the urinal etiquette, and really there are only two things you need to know.

The first is, conversation is NOT necessary. When you're standing next to another dude and you're just peeing, there is no need to talk to each other. Especially if it is something dumb like "nice day today". No need to force an awkward conversation in this situation. I'm not there to socialize, I'm there to empty the bladder, give it a few shakes, wash my hands and leave again. If someone makes conversation, what do you do? Do you turn your head to make eye contact? Do you just keep looking forward? I take the looking forward option when it happens, but its just socially wrong either way.

The second is more crucial to follow. You ALWAYS leave at least one urinal in between you and the other guy peeing when possible. Yes in some scenarios the bathroom is busy and you have to stand next to each other, for those scenarios you hope the urinals have a divider between them, but nothing is worse than when there is an opportunity for distance between you and the other guy, but he opts to go in the urinal right next to you! Well its worse when he does that AND talks to you, but you get my point. You need to leave that buffer zone! Then of course there is always the really awkward guy who sees a line of 3 urinals, all vacant and opts to go in the middle one, leaving you no choice but to stand next to him. Obviously the guy either wants to see some bird or he has issues and needs to be close to somebody at all times.

Also, what's the deal with drunk guys? I'm sure all us dudes have been to a bar or a trough at a concert at some point and noticed that some of the drunk guys just like to stare at your junk while you're peeing. It's really unsettling, but it happens!

So if you read this and do not have urinal etiquette, please start exercising some. If you do have good pee manners, keep up the good work and spread the word so one day we can finally rid ourselves of this problem!

Listen to the Cone

This is NOT a picture of my cone or hand

I decided to treat myself to some soft serve tonight, and it made me think way more than any dairy based food is supposed to make you think. The conclusion I came to is that all the little decisions we make in the run of a day really define who we are as people, and if you really want to know someone for who they truly are, you need to pay attention to the small and sometimes stupid things.

For example, whenever I go get soft serve, if the option is available I always get a twist, or zebra as I used to call it growing up. The chocolate and vanilla swirl. While eating this cone I began thinking, why do I always get the twist? Most of the time when I'm eating it the taste of the vanilla is far superior to the chocolate, yet I never get just the vanilla. Because I'm in Grand Falls-Windsor and bored, I let me mind jump deeper into the issue and looked within me to see what the ice cream was telling me. What I figured out was a couple of things. When I listened to the cone I discovered that me always getting the twist can mean that maybe I like equality. I like to give each flavour a fair chance and I'm not opposed to compromise. Another possibility is that I'm very selfish. I could just have one falvour, but why settle for one flavour when I can have two? Or perhaps I'm very indecisive. Even when making a decision about what flavour ice cream to get I can't come to a solid conclusion because of my fear or apprehension about making the wrong choice and regretting it later.

Maybe this ice cream cone was a microcosm of my life, or maybe I'm just looking for things that aren't there because I'm bored and its actually just an ice cream cone. Either way I'm gonna start trying to pay attention to the little things from now on and seeing what I can detect, until someone tells me its annoying the bejesus out of them anyway!

Another Not Fit for TV Commercial

Remember how awhile ago I blogged about an Axe commercial that wasn't suitable for TV and how it was a good use of advertising through social media...well Skittles apparently went one further. I'm not even actually convinced this is was really done by Skittles because it is so over the top. Check it out:

Just Put on a Shirt

So its no secret that the Summer so far in Newfoundland has been less than Summery. We have only had a scattered few days where the temperature was above 20C which makes outdoor activities less fun to do. However in one area this piss poor weather is actually a blessing in disguise.

It never fails that every summer when the sun comes out and the temperature starts rising that you see shirtless douchebags walking or jogging around the streets, no matter where you go. With seasonally low temperatures however there seems to be less of this happening which is always a good thing.

People just need to learn to have decency. Just because you're warm doesn't give you the right to go around without a shirt on. Most of us do not want to see it, whether you're in shape or not. Are you really going to be that much cooler with the sun beaming straight down onto your skin as opposed to if you were wearing a light colored t-shirt or sleeveless shirt? Chances are you're not and you're just doing it because you think you're hot shit when you're shirtless or you want to prove that you're comfortable with your body. And if its for the second reason, chances are most other people are not comfortable with your body so you should keep your shirt on!

A prime example of the ultimate shirtless douchebaggery happened during Salmonfest weekend. I wasn't at the concert, and I can only imagine how many topless dudes there were, but the incident I want to refer to happened at a gas bar in Clarenville. I was waiting in line to get a bottle of drink when some tool walks into a public store without a shirt on! Like what the hell? I don't know why this guy thought he could walk into an enclosed area that serves and prepares food without a shirt but it was totally uncalled for. That guy should be pinned down and tattooed with the word "DOUCHE" written on his chest. In fact most people that walk around the roads shirtless should have the same punishment and maybe it will deter them from taking their shirts off next time. There are only a few public places where it's acceptable to go shirtless in my opinion. Beaches and swimming areas qualify as these types of areas, but as far as your trip to or from the beach, shirt should be required!, or else face the punishment of "DOUCHE"!

Finger Nail Clippers

Someone should put a silencer on those things

It's a problem faced in offices everywhere. It's not one a lot of people like to talk about, but its there...almost every day, and it needs to stop. I'm talking about people who clip their finger nails while at work!

How many times have I been working at my desk only to hear the faint clicking noise of someone cutting their fingernails in a nearby office space? A lot is the answer, and it's very irritating. It happened yesterday afternoon as a matter of fact. And I simply ask, why can't this activity wait until you get home?

I know people should feel comfortable at work, but it's still work, not your home. Just because you have an office or a desk to work at doesn't mean its yours. You wouldn't sit in that office or behind the desk with no pants on would you? So why do you think its ok to do other activities that normally should be done at home while at work? There is nothing worse then sitting down at a desk with someone and finding a stray finger nail clipping there. It's just disgusting.

So I say we ban nail clippers from the office environment and try to get rid of this problem once and for all! And if anyone clips their toenails at work, it should be grounds for immediate dismissal!

Memorials on the Highway

This keeps popping into my head when I drive across the province, but I keep forgetting to put it into a blog, and it could be a bit of a touchy subject in a way, but screw it I haven't written anything in 12 days so might as well get a post in.

I think that memorials to people on the side of the highway should be banned. I think they are distracting and as a result are potentially dangerous. Along the TCH you can find headstones, creepy white bicycles and various other monuments that are there to act as memorials to people who lost their life in those spots through some sort of accident. The concept of that is all well and good. If it helps bring peace to people who have lost a love one then great, and if it acts to serve as a reminder to all of us other drivers that tragedy can occur at anytime then also great, but the moment it becomes a distraction, it can cause another tragedy to occur.

About a year ago I was on the Outer Ring Road heading west when randomly this white object on the side of the road comes appears in the corner of my eye, I slammed on my breaks not having a clue what it was, but instinct was to slam on the breaks when I saw an unfamiliar object on the side of the road. This was at night so it wasn't noticeable from a distance, but turns out it was a bicycle chained to the guardrail painted white as a monument to someone who had been hit by a car while riding their bike. When I slammed on my breaks a number of things could have happened. I could have been rear ended for example or worse if it was raining I could have hydroplaned and ended up with a memorial to me at the very same spot. For me, as a person who drives a lot, I don't pay any attention to these monuments anymore, well not as much as I used to, but to a person unfamiliar with them, it might be enough of a distraction that they do not see the moose rapidly coming up from the bank on the side of the road in time to avoid hitting it. Honouring and remembering one tragedy is just not worth the risk of causing another.

So yes I understand why people put them there, I really do, but in my opinion they have to go. All of them. They've just got too much potential for something bad to happen.

Seriously Satellite Radio...

One of my Christmas gifts last year was a satellite radio. It came with the radio, the car hook-up and a docking station for at home, and I was pretty excited about this. The reason I was excited was because in Newfoundland we have a piss-poor selection of radio stations and they tend to cut in and out in certain parts of the province so this seemed like a wonderful gift to have...until I started to use it.

You cannot get constant reception in Newfoundland on this radio. When you're driving across the highway it is not too bad, but when you get to an actual community the reception sucks. In St. John's/Mount Pearl it always cuts out in certain areas, even when you aren't next to any high buildings or anything and its even worse in Grand Falls-Windsor. It pretty much never works here, which made my docking station completely useless as well. When I attempt to use that I don't get any signal at all.

I do get some use out of the internet channel when at work, but that alone cannot justify the money I spent to subscribe to this radio for a 2 year term. When that 2 year term is up, so will be my time using satellite radio. It's a shame that in a place that really needs satellite radio that it completely blows, but that's just how it is.

So if any of you don't have a satellite radio and you're thinking about getting one, don't. Unless you're planning to move to the mainland. Seriously satellite radio...you're terrible!

Thong Generation

Nice Touch With The Silver Hair "Dru Hill"

I was having a discussion with a friend last week and somehow the topic of underwear came up - thongs in particular. This friend, who has a lot of older male co-workers was talking about how all of them were obsessed with thongs and thought they were the best thing ever, whereas for me, the thong just doesn't really do it, and I think it is because I have been de-sensitized to it.

People from generations older than myself always find it taboo or something sexy, because they weren't exposed to the thong in the same way I have been. I'm from the thong generation (hell we even had a song about it - fuck you Sisqo). Going up through high school and all throughout university, thongs seemed to be the popular choice for girls. If a girls pants were riding down low (intentionally or unintentionally) and you caught a glimpse, chances are she was wearing a thong as her underwear of choice. When you're exposed to a lot of thongs in your life, they just don't seem like much of a big deal to you. So if a girl was all like "oh hey I'm wearing a thong for you", I'd be all like, "awesome", but in reality I would be thinking "so what"?

How about my readers? Am I the only one who doesn't think of a thong as a big deal or is it a generational thing like I suspect? I'm interested in your thoughts on this one.

Non-Angry Blog

Not a normal pee'd off blog, just wanted to write and mention that I'm one team closer to the dream of seeing all the Major League Baseball teams play in their home stadiums...only 25 to go!

Actually, while I'm here I might as well make a brief comment on something I observed. While driving on the Outer Ring Road everyday, just before the Thorburn Road turnoff heading East there is always a traffic jam, and I think I know the reason. There are traffic cameras set up there and for some reason people get the impression that they are radar guns or police cameras and if you go fast you'll get a ticket. This is not the case people, so please drive at least 100 km/h in this area instead of creating a backlog of traffic every morning!

I thank you for your time.

Modern Paving

I was in bed this morning in the wee hours, enjoying a good dream, when suddenly someone starts ringing our doorbell frantically and knocking on it as well. I have no idea what time it is at this point, but the way they were doing it made it seem like the friggin' Nazi Zombie Apocalypse was happening. I looked at my phone and it was 7 am. By this time William had gone downstairs to answer the door and it was Modern Paving saying we needed to move our cars because they were going to start the curb soon. Not only did we have to unexpectedly get out of bed to move them, we had to move them off the cul de sac entirely!

A nice letter saying they were going to be back on Monday to finish the job would have been nice. They were able to leave a notice that the power was going to be off last Monday when they started the job. The time gap in itself is frustrating. They dug up the entire cul de sac last Monday and left the equipment there. When I woke up on Tuesday and it was a bright sunny day I assumed they were going to finish the job, but nope they came and picked up the equipment and left the road in shambles for an entire week.

The whole experience has me hating on Modern Paving right now. It would have made such a smaller impact to just dig it one day, fill it the next, but nope they had to drag it out and then abruptly wake up the entire neighbourhood today - so I'm pretty sure everyone is cursing on them today, it's just that I'm doing it publically!

Why the Canada Post Strike Doesn't Impact Me

Some people are definitely going to be impacted by the Canada Post strike that is currently happening. Some people still rely on them to deliver cheques, bills, and other important pieces of mail. Me on the other hand? I've embraced and submersed myself into the digital age and basically I have very little need for Canada Post. All my bank statements are online, all my utility bills are online and I receive my paychecks through direct deposit. Basically all Canada Post delivers to me is junk mail from credit card companies and flyers from stores that I never look through because they are also available online!

Canada Post needs to be careful though. If this strike goes on too long, they have the potential to lose a lot of business. All those people who are currently depending on them are going to NEED to find other options. They're going to start signing up to receive their bills online and start requesting direct deposits, because they will have no other way of getting their essential information. And if they want to send a parcel or package, well they're going to start using the other courier companies such as Fed-Ex or UPS.

Because of this blog, I'm expecting that Canada Post is going to abduct me ala Kramer on Seinfeld when he refused to accept his mail and Wilford Brimley threatened him. So if you don't hear from me after this, you know where I am - at the bottom of Lake Ontario in a mail bag - or have been brainwashed and am now working for Canada Post (without the cushy pension though).

In summary while I am in no way impacted by the Canada Post strike it would certainly be in their best interest to end it quickly, before people start realizing they have no need for it either!

Rap When It Makes No Sense

I once again apologize for the lack of blogging, but I am hoping to pick it up again relatively soon, perhaps after I get back from Toronto.

I was watching MuchMoreMusic the other night because it seems to be the only music station left that actually spends any time showcasing music videos, and Katy Perry's E.T. came on. I had heard this song on the radio many times, and it was kind of catchy and I'm ridiculously hot for Katy Perry so I kept it on. While I should have been focusing on how she even looks attractive as an alien, I was frustrated by other things in the video...namely Kayne West's part.

In the radio version there is no Kayne, and I personally have nothing against Kayne (except that he's a gay fish), but what I do have issue with is when random rap parts get thrown into songs for no reason. I have attached the link below for you to watch and judge for yourself, but it's not the right fit at all. He is just randomly floating through space and his part really doesn't gel well with the rest of the song. It's like it was never planned but they just said at the last minute "hey maybe we should get some Kayne in this video to make it more culturally diverse".

It annoys me to no end when I see things like this. It really ruined the whole Katy Perry video experience for me...which is extremely difficult to do. For anyone who reads this and shares my opinion I ask that you leave some more examples of songs where this has happened if you can think of them!

All For Not

I've been finding it hard lately to come up with topics I want to blog about, which explains why I haven't written in almost a month, but I figure the election results require some commentary.

I don't want to take anything away from the accomplishment of Jack Layton and his NDP party, because we witnessed an impressive piece of history on Monday night, however as the expression goes, it is all for not.

Layton became the official opposition which means he gets access to extra resources, however he still has absolutely no power or influence. With Stephen Harper getting a majority government, the opposition has no power, so those 103 seats the NDP have in the House of Commons are impressive, but do not mean anything in the grand scheme of things.

I feel bad for them too, because without an opportunity to show what they can do, they will lose their momentum. We will not have another election for 4, possibly even 5 years and by that time the NDP will be back to their "normal" status. They had 60 seats in Quebec, they will not repeat that effort, especially since the Parti Quebecois (a separatist party) is supposed to take Provincial power again soon, therefore the separatist movement may return, much to the dismay of the 3 major Canadian federal parties. So basically what I'm saying is that Jack Layton's 100+ seats are going to be wasted. He needed a Conservative minority in order to have any influence and be able to continue to build his momentum. But his momentum is what caused the Conservative majority.

I often said throughout the election that the NDP is surging by stealing voters from the Liberal Party. It is too big of an ideological shift to go from voting Conservative in one election to voting NDP in another, therefore people who usually voted Liberal, myself included, voted NDP. This split in the "left-wing" vote allowed the Conservatives to pick up many seats in Ontario, which helped win them the election.

The Liberals and NDP can stay their separate ways, or they can join forces. The Conservatives are a conglomerate of several right-wing parties and perhaps the Liberals and NDP should do the same sort of thing. The Liberal Democrats has a decent ring to it. However if the NDP make the mistake of thinking they can sustain this popularity on a go forward basis then they are mistaken, and it will lead to the resurgence of the Liberals. Politics works in cycles, and once we are out of this economic downturn people will not be jumping all over the Conservative bandwagon, and the Liberals, possibly under the leadership of Justin Trudeau will regain stature. I predict by 2020 the Liberals will lead the Government of Canada.

So great accomplishment Jack Layton, it really was. But its also a great shame that it probably won't last, and I am sincere in saying that.

Right Man, Wrong Colour

It was inevitable that politicians would try to use the internet to promote themselves more this year than before, but even on the internet Jack Layton does a better job. The twitter accounts of the Liberal and Conservative leaders are so mundane and boring, meanwhile Jack Layton is holding online rally's almost every week. It just shows a different kind of thinking and someone who is in tune with where society is going.

9 Ball, Corner Pocket, Eyes Closed

Jack Layton is a down to earth charismatic guy. It seems everybody loves him, but he will never even come close to being Prime Minister and that's a shame. The guy really gets it. People talk about how they don't trust Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff and half the reason is because they seem so fake. The photo opportunities they do (i.e. Stephen Harper watching cricket with an east Indian family) just add to their problem. They look so out of place and when they try to do "fun things" that just do not match their personality. Layton on the other hand could be seen in a Toronto bar with the common folk celebrating with a beer when Canada won Olympic Gold in hockey in 2010 - he just seems like the common man.

It's too bad he is a New Democrat. The NDP has a lot of good ideas, but also a lot of wild ideas that will be almost impossible to fund, and people realize and are afraid of this. Most people are afraid of change, and while I am skeptical that they can deliver on most of these promises, I wouldn't mind giving them the chance, but not enough people agree with me. If Jack Layton were a Liberal, then I believe he would almost certainly be Prime Minister. But at the same time, good for him for sticking with his principals and sticking by the party he believes in, but he will never lead Canada as the head of the NDP.

So while this blog supported Jack Layton, I will still be voting Liberal - mostly as a strategic move to try to avoid the Conservatives taking the seat in my district, but also because I do agree with most of the Liberal platform.

On the Roids

First of all let me clarify that I do not condone cheating in sports. Whether it's performance enhancing drugs, illegal equipment or bribery, I think it is wrong and should be banished from all sports. However what is currently happening to former Major League Baseball stars such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens is ridiculous.

These two men are currently in trouble for perjuring themselves in court about lying about their use of steroids. It was stupid of them to lie under oath, but they never should have been put into a situation where they would have to lie. For one, the government has no business getting involved with Major League Baseball (MLB) and its players and making it a government issue, because it simply isn't one. Secondly, MLB and Bud Selig especially should be ashamed for letting it happen.

There was no doubt that steroids in the late 90's/early 00's was a problem in baseball. People were bulking up to sizes not before seen and were hitting more homeruns than ever before. People who work in baseball HAD to know this was happening but they didn't do anything about it. Why? Because they were making too much damn money on these juice heads who were hitting 60+ home runs per year.

Baseball suffered major attendance drops after the 1994 work stoppage and it took the home run race between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire to get the fans to come back and to spawn a whole new generation of fans. So while it was obvious when these two were hitting a ridiculous amount of home runs per year that something fishy was going on, absolutely nothing was done about it. Same scenario for Barry Bonds. He was on the 'roids and that helped him to break the all time home run record from Hank Aaron, but the chase got a lot of press and popularity so baseball didn't care...until after it was broken. Now all of a sudden they show a deep concern for the integrity of the game and the safety of the players because they already got what they needed from the steroid era.

To rub salt in the wounds, MLB isn't even standing behind its players. They are distancing themselves as much as they can and even chastising the players of the steroid era. There is talk that Barry Bonds, the all time home run leader will not get into the hall of fame and I cannot understand why. People let it happen so they could make money off it, but now they want nothing to do with it. Major League Baseball and Bud Selig should be ashamed - I stress that point again.

So while I do not condone cheating, it is not fair that these players were put into this situation when the league they worked for did nothing to prevent them from doing it, all for the sake of revenue. It's ridiculous. Put McGwire, Sosa, Bonds and Clemens in the Hall of Fame because they deserve to be there (well maybe not Sosa). Their morale fibre might be questionable but their numbers are not. They played in the steroid era and we have to accept that. It's not entirely their fault.

P.S. Put Pete Rose in there too!

Federal Election

With the toppling of the government this week it means we are going to be facing another election in May. I'm not here to tell you who to vote for, but politics in itself is kind of ridiculous when you think about it.

The decisions made by are politicians have a tremendous impact on all of our lives from what kind of education we get, the quality of health care we receive and even what we're legally allowed to do, yet when election time comes around, these things get toyed with.

For example, if you look at the Conservative's proposed budget for this year, it was very political. Offering a little something for everyone, but not enough to make the other parties happy. Why was this done? Because the Conservatives are currently ranking 43% in the polls which means they have a good shot at a majority. Any undecided voters can easily be swayed now by reference to the proposed budget. For example they put something in for seniors, corporate tax cuts and something for home renovations just to name a few. They cover off a lot of areas and can draw on these things from the budget during the campaign and say they are trying to help various groups and the budget is the proof.

The problem I see in that is that something as important as a budget should not be used as a political tool. They were pretty confident it was not going to pass so they were able to manipulate it so that it looked at least a little bit good to everyone, however if the budget had actually passed, then what? It just really irks me to see people playing politics with something so important, but unfortunately it happens all the time. And it's not just Stephen Harper, every politician in his position would have done it as well.

But since there is going to be election what do I think is gonna happen? Based on very little research, mostly what I remember from voting trends I learned way back, I think the seats will break down like this:

Conservative: 153
Liberal: 74
Bloc: 51
NDP: 28
Independent: 2

That would mean just shy of a majority government for the Conservatives, but would mean if they could sway the 2 independents I'm predicting to be in there then they could form a majority. And an offer for a nice cabinet position can be a good sway tactic!

Get Yourself Spayed or Neutered

All the natural disasters in the last couple of years really got me thinking about the impact we are having on the environment, and that perhaps we are becoming the cause of them. The earth operates in equilibirum, so when you start removing things from it naturally things are going to start going awry. Think about all the barrels of oil we are pumping out of the earth each day, or the amount of trees that are being cut down, or the change in climate due to a depletion of the ozone layer. These things take the Earth out of equilibrium and the result is probably what we are seeing lately with all these disasters (earthquakes, flash fires, hurricanes, tornoados, etc) happening.

So how do we stop it? We don't necessarily take these things from the Earth out of greed, we take them because they have become essential to the way that we live life - and I don't picture us regressing in terms of our technology of the things we depend on. So the only answer may be to attempt to control the population so things don't get further out of hand. There are now over 7 billion people on earth and with people living longer than ever, perhaps it is time to do something as radical as restricting the amount of offspring people can have, to say 2 per family. Maybe you could use it like a carbon tax and people could sell off their unused offspring tickets to other people who want more kids, but it may be something that needs to be looked into not too far into the future because the Earth is not going to be able to keep up with what we're doing to it. This planet has never had a species advanced as homo sapiens in its history, and we are certainly using it unlike any other species ever has. This of course may all be futile though is the things we're taking such as oil which is a non-renewable resource are what's causing the planet to rebel.

Then again the opposite side of the argument could be that maybe we're in the process of an extinction period where the Earth gets wiped clean and things get rebuilt like has happened several times, in which case people should start producing more so that the human race can survive it and keep going. But chances are I'm wrong on both accounts.

These are the things that keep me up at night and busy at work.

Download:
Do You Feel The Same - silverchair

PG Ratings Suck

Let me start by coming out and saying, yes, I am a wrestling fan. I'll admit it. Not as much of a fan as I used to be as a teenager when myself and two un-named people delved deep into the world of fantasy wrestling, but I still watch the occasional program and I realized a "PG" rating does not work for professional wrestling anymore.

The reason it worked back in the 80's was due to all the outlandish and colorful characters such as Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Jake "the Snake" Roberts. You also had clear lines between the good guys and the bad guys. You knew that the Ultimate Warrior was good and would ultimately triumph over the evil "Ravishing" Rick Rude and his dirty tactics. It was these things that attracted a young audience, however they no longer exist. The supposed bad guys became well liked by fans and things totally changed. 

The Internet has made everyone aware of how scripted wrestling is and as a result the characters were transformed to more believable and "real-life like" so people could relate to them. 10 year olds however cannot relate to grown men so trying to tailor the product to that age group doesn't work, so why keep trying? Let's not forget that the peak of wrestling popularity came with an influx of beer drinking, boob showing and blood fests, so why not go back to that and make the product better suited to an older audience? Cause let's face it, the world loves cleavage and curse words!

Download:
Changes - 3 Doors Down

Crazy People

I heard about a story while listening to Open Line yesterday about a 15 year old boy who got his ass whooped by a cab driver after he hit the cabbie's car with a snowball. A very dangerous activity that could easily cause an accident or damage to the car, but the Cab Driver's reaction was a little over the top. I'm sure we would all LOVE to beat the crap out of anyone who hits our car with a snowball, but to actually do it is a little on the crazy side.

Obviously you pull over, try to get a look at the kid and give a description to the cops, or if you approach him do so in a non-violent manner rather than doing what the cabbie allegedly did, pinning him against the car and repeatedly punching him in the head until he was out cold. Now that's some vigilante justice.

This type of behaviour isn't acceptable anywhere, but to do it to a 15 year old kid takes it to a whole new level. So yes while I'm sure we all can relate to the frustration the cab driver was experiencing, that guy really needs to relax, and some slammer time might help him do that. I just wonder what runs through your head after that initial adrenaline rush goes away and you realized you just beat the crap out of a 15 year old? I bet your first thought is "oh shit".

Download:
Angry - Matchbox Twenty

Bucket List

After giving it some consideration, I decided to make a Bucket list. I know I'm only 25 so hopefully I got a lot of years ahead of me but its good to have planned out goals and a reasonable amount of time to accomplish them! (This list includes things I've already done that I wanted to do and is in no particular order)

Bucket List:
1) See a baseball game in every Major League City
2) See a live game in the MLB, NHL, NBA and NFL
3) Get a Bubblebath in a Jacuzzi tub
4) See the Goo Goo Dolls, Bon Jovi, Foo Fighters and Matchbox Twenty (or Rob Thomas) live.
5) Own a dog
6) Buy a house.
7) Get married.
8) Have children.
9) Win annual horseshoe tournament.
10) Go on an all-inclusive vacation (somewhere tropical).
11) Go on a cruise.
12) Run for public office at some level.
13) Get a University Degree
14) Get a Master’s Degree
15) Witness a live taping of Saturday Night Live
16) Build a sand castle
17) Swim with dolphins
18) Travel to Las Vegas
10) Go to DisneyLand
20) Play a game of ice hockey.
21) See a live Pro Tennis match
22) Visit Gross Morne National Park
23) Own a cabin.
24) Go to the Super Bowl
25) Visit the Hockey Hall of Fame
26) Watch the sunrise and set on the same day
27) Write a script and film a short crappy homemade movie
28) Be best man at a wedding.
29) Ride in a limousine
30) Eat at Hooters
31) Ride a Mechanical Bull
32) Ride a roller coaster

Download:
The Good Life - Three Days Grace

Importance of Team Work

I'm staying in Marystown this evening because I'm doing a presentation in Grand Bank, and I stumbled upon the softball fields where I played in the All Newfoundland Slow Pitch Tournament back when I was 14, which brought back the memories of how we only won a single game, the last one we played.

The reason we did so crappy wasn't because of a lack of individual talent, because we had a lot of good players, but a blatant lack of team chemistry, mostly brought on by the actions and words of one person caused us to fail as a unit. Even in an individually focused sport like softball, a lack of team unity can cause complete failure You no longer care about the team result, rather you are only worried about your own results. And not only is winning important, but having fun is as well, especially at the age of 14, and I don't recall a whole lot of fun happening on that trip, possibly because the team was divided into so many sub-groups that we just didn't gel with each other well. The only game we managed to win was when people were having fun because we knew the result didn't matter and instead of pointing the finger of blame at other people, it was just a fun game like it was meant to be. Although i gotta admit despite all the negativity surrounding those games it was awesome to hear someone over a speaker announce "now coming to the plate, #6 Keith Barrett". Made me feel like a pro!

As I get ready to interview for a supervisory position tomorrow I thought it was interesting to be able to look back on a lesson I learned almost 12 years ago and think about how it can certainly apply today. I have a feeling I may end up using this story in my interview tomorrow if asked to demonstrate the importance of team work and cohesiveness.

Also, Hotel Marystown hasn't changed in the 12 years I've been away - well except it smells like a hangover. Of course it probably did back then too, just I wasn't aware of what a night after drinking smelled like then!

Download:
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum

Oscars

I was flicking back and forth to the Oscars last night when the basketball game was on commercial (of course I caught all the crappy awards like "best short film" and "best foreign language film" when I did), and I noticed that something just didn't seem to mesh well. This could be a totally misguided blog as I didn't watch the whole thing but the whole layout just didn't seem to go with the hosts.

Anne Hathaway and James Franco hosted and are both very funny people, or at least I think so. But the type of humour they were portraying just didn't seem to be received well and seemed out of place for an event that appears ridiculously formal. The layout, the outfits, the insanely boring speeches all reek of formality and I think some of the jokes they were laying on the crowd just didn't get appreciated. I very rarely heard laughter from the audience and from what I saw a lot of it was just awkward.

I don't think they did a bad job in any way, just that the venue didn't seem right, and I blame that on the "Academy". The whole event is painful to watch from the awards that nobody cares about, to the crappy musical performances (Randy Newman) and again the whole thank you speeches that drag on too long and have no character. It's way too serious of an event for my liking, which is why I'm more likely to watch the MTV movie awards than the Academy Awards, at least they attempt to have fun with it.

But maybe that's the way they want to keep it, more rigid and bureaucratic. In that case they should find different hosts next year. I hear Billy Crystal wants back in!

Download:
Pyro - Kings of Leon

Addict

Short entry, but just wanted to let you know that I'm currently facing a dilemma. My hatred for Tim Horton's is well documented, however they have Roll Up the Rim back, and I've been breaking my boycott as a result. The past two days I have had Tim Hortons and all because of my love of gambling on roll up the rim. Sadly however I lost yesterday and today I forgot to check the cup before I threw it out. If a car goes unclaimed I'm gonna be mad at myself. However the experience wasn't too bad. The line wasn't long when I got there, they didn't screw up my order and the Bagel BELT is a great breakfast sandwich.

I'm going to try to fight off the temptation to try to win on Roll Up, but I don't know if I can. I need an intervention.

Download:
Superman Tonight - Bon Jovi

Babe, Pig in the City

I uncharacteristically decided to take a trip to Toronto by myself to fulfill one of my life's goals, to see a live Bon Jovi concert, and I have no regrets as I was able to break out of my shell in a couple of areas.

The first was on the flight to Toronto. I actually initiated and prolonged a conversation with a total stranger from St. John's to Ottawa. Well she did most of the talking cause the chick could gab, which I guess was alright because there was less awkward silence to fill, but I actually used my Dale Carnegie training which is good!

The second breakthrough was kind of already in motion when I got there. I went to the Raptors game with a friend I hadn't see since probably high school, so it certainly had the potential to be awkward, and I always try to avoid potentially awkward situations, but I went through with it which proved to be a fantastic idea. It was like I hadn't seen her for 8 days rather than 8 years so I was really glad for breakthrough #2.

In addition to these personal breakthroughs, there was a lot of cool stuff going on:

1) Bon Jovi with Beth -> Great concert. They played for 2.5 hours including a 5 song encore. They didn't play "Always" or anything from the "These Days" album which was kind of disappointing, but I got to see "I'll Be There For You" and "Bed of Roses", and hey I got to see Bon Jovi live, so I'm not going to complain!

2) Raptors game with Steph -> They won! This rarely happens. Also I got to see upcoming superstar Blake Griffin play and see some cool dunks and a super freak mini Raptors robot. Also this means I've officially seen a live game from the 4 major North American Sporting Leagues, the MLB, NHL, NFL and NBA! (Another life goal accomplished).

3) Eaton Centre -> I didn't spend any money there surprisingly enough, but it was crazy to see how huge the place is. Take that Avalon Mall.

4) Hockey Hall of Fame -> Picture taken with the Stanley Cup (lookout for it to be a profile pic on Facebook soon), played the interactive shooter and goalie games and bought some souvenirs.

5) Flew on Porter Airlines -> Comfortable seats and great customer service but way too many stop overs for a guy who is nervous about flying. If I'm ever going from St. John's to Halifax I will definitely fly with them, but if going anywhere else I would have to choose an airline with a direct flight if possible.

6) Homeless People -> Saw some sleeping on the side of the road on top of the subway vents, also say one eating someone's leftovers at the food court in the Eaton Centre, which grossed me out.

7) Hooker -> Walking back to the hotel Monday night, in -15 C weather, we saw a hooker beating the streets with a short skirt and tank top on cracked out. Big knockers though.

8) Subway -> Travelled on the subway for a short distance, neat experience.

Summary: It's good to try new things.

Download:
As I Am - Goo Goo Dolls

Sexes with Exes

What I'm gonna write about may not always be the case (nor would anyone be able to admit to it being the case), but unjustified generalizations are what I'm all about so here goes...

Chances are when a man marries a woman, she isn't the best sex partner he has had, and my logic behind this is as follows. He is agreeing to marry the woman because he is in love with her, they have a lot in common and he enjoys spending time with her. That's not to say they don't have a good sex life, but chances are that before he met or hooked up with his current wife, he was with another girl strictly for sex, which is probably an indication that the girl was pretty good at it. If a man is willing to put up with a girl that he is totally incompatible with or who has lots of Mother Hens surrounding her, chances are she's good in bed, probably better than the person he is now with.

So that's my reasoning for why sex with your wife would generally not be as good as sex you've had with an ex. This basically just solidified me as a single man for the rest of my life cause if any woman reads this she would not want to marry me, unless she respects a man with an offensive opinion!

Download:
You and Me - Dave Matthews Band

Colorblind

I was contemplating whether or not I wanted to make any commentary on the Brad Cabana switching parties fiasco, because well everyone seems to have an opinion on it and those aren't usually the things I blog about, however I did it once before and well the political science degree in my peripheral is kind of making me want to weigh in.

There are so many things that just do not add up in this scenario. Part of the reasoning given for this switch to the Liberal party after running for the LEADER of the Conservative party was due to the Auditor General's report which outlined various "questionable" spending tactics by the Conservative government which made Mr. Cabana look at them in a different light. So are we to believe that if he had won his appeal and was eligible to run for the leadership that he would have suddenly pulled out of the race when this report came out? I find that HIGHLY unlikely. At the end of this blog there will be a link to a CBC story and audio clip of an interview with Mr. Cabana conducted by David Cochrane, who makes reference to various Auditor General's reports in which the LIBERAL governments of the past have been caught doing much worse things with their money than the current PC government has been caught doing, and the answer Mr. Cabana gives seems generic and rehearsed and it doesn't really add up.



Don't Fret Steve, Brad
Still Loves Ya!



If Mr. Cabana wanted to "make a difference" in Newfoundland politics (despite the fact that we've done better than we ever have in the last ten years - so I'm not sure how he was going to bring improvements), and he doesn't really agree with the PC philosophy anymore, then why not run as an independent rather than a Liberal? Cabana is a supposed Conservative for life and even claims to support the Federal Conservatives still, yet due to the convenience of it all he is now suddenly a Newfoundland Liberal, which as David Cochrane points out in the interview, has very different beliefs than the Federal Conservative Party.

In my opinion this also makes the Liberal Party look weak by "accepting him with open arms". I'm glad to hear that they are not just going to hand him the reigns in his territory and he has to win the right to the seat, but I would be VERY shocked if the party doesn't select him to run for his riding just based on his popularity alone. However letting someone run for your party who's mandate last week was to ensure that you didn't get many, if any seats in the House of Assembly reeks of desperation!

So while Mr. Cabana may be Red/Blue colorblind I guess it could have been worse. He could have attempted to pull a Joey Smallwood from the early 70's and tried to split the PC party in two. For those who are not familiar, Mr. Smallwood lost a leadership race to lead the Liberals in that election and rather than just bowing out he decided to start his own "Liberal Reform Party" and ended up splitting the Liberal party voters in the election allowing the PC's to waltz into power. Of course Mr. Cabana doesn't quite have the same influence that Joey did, but it would have been fun to see history repeat itself, and let's face it, it would have made much more since ideologically than switching to a completely different party!

It really makes you consider what Mr. Cabana's end game is. Based on all the media attention he has been given and putting his face in the limelight for the past month, I don't think he is going to be content with being elected and being a backbencher in the Liberal party. If elected he will become a critic of one of the PC Ministers, but not out of choice, out of necessity because the Liberals will have no more than 10 people in the House after this election and well they'll need people to review the PC mandates. However I don't think this is what he is after. I think it would be too brash for him to try to take the leadership from an unhealthy Yvonne Jones but I predict that in 4 years Mr. Cabana decides to either try to run for a position in Ottawa with the Conservatives (another party jump), or that he attempts to go after the leadership of the Liberal party...and if both of those fail he might even try the provincial NDP under the reasoning that he likes the color orange better than blue or red.

This jump to the Liberal Party can go one of two ways. It will either lead to a landslide victory for him in the election or a complete and utter failure/landslide defeat. I have no doubt in my mind that he will win the right to represent the Liberals in his constituency, but my gut tells me that he will lose badly, especially since his riding (Trinity North) is currently held by Ross Wiseman. His only hope is that they switch him to a weakly held riding and he wins there, which they may do because they really need seats wherever they can get them. Either way, you know what they say, there is no such thing as bad publicity, and if nothing else I'm sure his blog hits have increased!

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2011/01/31/nl-cabana-court-131.html

Download:
Make Up Your Mind - Theory of a Deadman