Double dipping is never acceptable in life, especially in the chip-dip bowl, but when I read about the "doubling dipping" that teacher's are doing in the Auditor General's report [okay I actually read it on a news website, not in the report] it really irked me.
What irked me more than a blatant violation of rules and policies regarding the hiring of these people is that they are stealing jobs from younger people who desperately need the hours and the experience in order to get anywhere in their profession. If a teacher wants to stay until they are 70 before they retire, then that is fine, that is their right to do, but to retire, draw a pension and still take jobs from others just isn't right. As a younger worker who knows how difficult it can be to find a meaningful job in the labour market I can relate to the young teachers. Employers are always saying "you need more experience", yet when crap like this is happening it's near impossible for young people to gain that experience.
People put themselves or their parents financially behind for 4-5 years in order to get a University Degree and then when they graduate they can't put it to use or recoup those costs because of the difficulty finding employment. I really hope now that light has been shed on this issue that the Department of Education will put a stop to it, so that young professionals can at least get a chance to prove themselves, in the education sector anyway.
Download:
Daughtry - September
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
What's the Point of Appointments?
This is a very general commentary, but one that everyone can probably relate to. What's the point of an appointment with a doctor or dentist, if they don't ever keep them in a timely fashion? I mean really, who has ever gotten into an appointment early or on time? But isn't that the idea behind scheduling an appointment? You agree to meet at a certain time because it is convenient to BOTH of you, however it quickly becomes an inconvenience when that appointment is not kept.
Part of the problem is that they overbook. If you know you can only see a patient every 20 minutes then why do you book them in for every 15 minutes? You create an unnecessary backlog and a lot of frustration with that. But just think about if you didn't uphold your end of the bargain. If a Doctor calls your name and you're not there because you're running late, then you don't get to go see the Doctor whenever you're ready. No you get pushed back. It's an unbalanced relationship. They know we NEED to see them, they don't NEED to see us and they exploit it to the fullest. Maybe it gives them a power trip or something and makes them feel special. Being needed is a nice feeling after all, but not cool Doctors, not cool.
People always complain about this type of stuff, much like I'm doing now, but we also easily forget. If you're sitting in the dentist office for 45 minutes waiting to be called you're very annoyed and antsy, but I guarantee that the moment your name is called, you forget about how long the wait was and it isn't an issue for you anymore, until 6 months later when you incur the same problem. It's funny how that works. People hate waiting, but when the wait is over it always seems worth it...well unless you're waiting in the emergency room to get that finger reattached and they can't do it anymore because it took too long for the Doctor to see you...
Download:
Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand - Primitive Radio Gods
Part of the problem is that they overbook. If you know you can only see a patient every 20 minutes then why do you book them in for every 15 minutes? You create an unnecessary backlog and a lot of frustration with that. But just think about if you didn't uphold your end of the bargain. If a Doctor calls your name and you're not there because you're running late, then you don't get to go see the Doctor whenever you're ready. No you get pushed back. It's an unbalanced relationship. They know we NEED to see them, they don't NEED to see us and they exploit it to the fullest. Maybe it gives them a power trip or something and makes them feel special. Being needed is a nice feeling after all, but not cool Doctors, not cool.
People always complain about this type of stuff, much like I'm doing now, but we also easily forget. If you're sitting in the dentist office for 45 minutes waiting to be called you're very annoyed and antsy, but I guarantee that the moment your name is called, you forget about how long the wait was and it isn't an issue for you anymore, until 6 months later when you incur the same problem. It's funny how that works. People hate waiting, but when the wait is over it always seems worth it...well unless you're waiting in the emergency room to get that finger reattached and they can't do it anymore because it took too long for the Doctor to see you...
Download:
Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand - Primitive Radio Gods
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The Apocalypse
I read somewhere a few days ago that people are predicting the Apocalypse and the second coming of Jesus on May 21, 2011. Not sure where this date comes from, but let's just assume that it is going to happen.
When it does, apparently Jesus is going to save all the true believers. I think this means he is going to have them killed, but that they will have an eternal place in Heaven where the going is good apparently. Everyone else will be left to suffer and be tortured for six months before we are eventually wiped out, by the Horseman I assume. They're like the hired goons of Heaven from what I can tell.
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| Yeah, They Look Pretty Bad Ass |
As someone who is not a strong believer in religion I should probably be worried, but here are two reasons why I'm not.
1) Other religions - I may not be a practicing Christian, but fortunately I was baptized one! There are 7 billion people on the planet and a majority of them are not Christians. Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, etc. make up a vast majority of the World's population, so before Jesus comes to get us non practicing Christians he was to deal with all these other people first - so that buys me enough time to repent my sins I figure. And well we all know what the Jews did to the poor guy, so he's probably going to want to spend a bit of extra time on them, cause really who ACTUALLY forgives someone for crucifying them?
2) Technology - I'm sure the Horsemen are pretty bad ass. I mean the wrestling group named after them were pretty cool (minus the Mongo days), so the real deal can probably whoop a lot of ass, however Jesus and God couldn't have possibly predicted the boom in technology we've seen over the past 2000+ years, so are they really prepared to take on a war against earth? Even if these Horsemen are Superman-like, I'm sure one of our wicked ass military scientists will come up with something to take them out. And let's face it, wars have been started over much less than a Saviour coming to wipe us out cause we've all been douches, so they're gonna have a bit of a fight on their hands.
Another thing is, if this is true, Jesus sounds an awful lot like a dictator who uses fear mongering to get us to love/worship him. Shouldn't the fact that the dude walked on water, turned water into wine and performed miracles all over the place be enough for us to love the guy? If it isn't, you might wanna give up JC, but getting people to worship you through fear and torture seems very Un-Christian to me...just saying!
So if the Apocalypse is coming, here's to hoping Jesus doesn't read my blog!
Download:
Secrets - OneRepublic
Monday, January 17, 2011
Nice Idea, Bad Implementation
As a way of easing the financial burden on its regular customers, Metrobus is offering half priced taxi fares to people to make it a little more affordable. It's a great idea and really good for publicity, but the way they have gone about administering it is going to cost them a lot of money and result in them not reaching their target audience.
Instead of having people show their most recently purchased bus pass (which would act as good proof of their ridership) in order to get these "taxi chits", people just have to call in or go online to purchase them. So basically what is going to happen is that people who regularly use taxis or who predict they will need these vouchers in the future (for ventures downtown for example), are going to swoon in and buy all these 1/2 priced taxi fares. So what's going to happen is that Metrobus is going to end up spending a lot of money on this and getting very little in return in terms of satisfying their customers. Not to mention this is probably going to piss off the union more since Metrobus is giving money to taxi companies, but refusing to spend extra money to fully fund pension plans! This can't possibly help with the negotiating process, but then again it probably couldn't get any worse.
Download:
Something for the Rest of Us - Goo Goo Dolls
Download:
Something for the Rest of Us - Goo Goo Dolls
Friday, January 14, 2011
Democracy, for a Fee
This whole PC Party Leadership fiasco with Brad Cabana (who I think is a total douche) really got me thinking about how unfair the process to run for a leadership race it. The concept that you need $5,000 just to enter your name in the leadership race is kind of mind boggling. It really limits the talent pool to people with high incomes who can just afford to potentially throw away $5,000 with very limited chance that you will get that money back through earning the salary of being a leader of a political party. Maybe it is a good thing, so that you don't just have random people who's education levels limit them from having low disposable income from running, but it seem inherently undemocratic to do so.
The other part of the equation is needing 50 signatures from party members. Why do you need support just to run? If you don't have support, this will come out during the convention when nobody votes for you to win. Needing support just to enter doesn't have much merit in my mind either. You have to go through the expense of a convention either way, so why not have people vote while they are there?
While perhaps all of this is for the best and it results in the most talented candidates running for office, it doesn't seem fair in a democratic society where everyone (above the age of 18) is supposed to be able to engage in politics and have the right to run for office. I'm pretty sure a lot of war veterans died to give us such rights, basically paid for it so later generations wouldn't have to, yet here we are still charging 5 grand to run for the leadership of a party...lest we forget!
Download:
Now I Hear - Goo Goo Dolls
The other part of the equation is needing 50 signatures from party members. Why do you need support just to run? If you don't have support, this will come out during the convention when nobody votes for you to win. Needing support just to enter doesn't have much merit in my mind either. You have to go through the expense of a convention either way, so why not have people vote while they are there?
While perhaps all of this is for the best and it results in the most talented candidates running for office, it doesn't seem fair in a democratic society where everyone (above the age of 18) is supposed to be able to engage in politics and have the right to run for office. I'm pretty sure a lot of war veterans died to give us such rights, basically paid for it so later generations wouldn't have to, yet here we are still charging 5 grand to run for the leadership of a party...lest we forget!
Download:
Now I Hear - Goo Goo Dolls
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Commitment Breakers!
I don't want to cite any specific examples, but don't you just hate it when people are constantly breaking commitments at the last minute, or they always talk about how they wanna do something, but then they never do it?
If only Seinfeld was still around to do an episode on the commitment breaker!
It could be because I'm a proponent of being honest, even if that honesty is brutal to hear, but if you don't want to do something, or don't want to hang out with someone, just say so, so that person can stop asking. The worst is the person who says they are gonna do something, so then you go ahead and make plans and pass other opportunities by and then boom the person writes you and is like, "can't make it".
Another bad one is the lame excuser. "Oh I can't do something because I'm waiting on a phone call tonight". a) Who calls people anymore? b) Don't you have a mobile phone. The key word being mobile. You can take calls anywhere you can get cell phone range...which is pretty much everywhere. Other bad excuses include "I'm tired", "I'm sick....again", "there is a good show on TV"...(any you can think of, please add to the comments section).
So to the world I beg of you. Just be honest. If you don't wanna do something just say so, because people see through excuses, so stop being a douche!
Once again, this really isn't cited at anyone specifically, its just a random observation.
Download:
Asshole - Dennis Leary
If only Seinfeld was still around to do an episode on the commitment breaker!
It could be because I'm a proponent of being honest, even if that honesty is brutal to hear, but if you don't want to do something, or don't want to hang out with someone, just say so, so that person can stop asking. The worst is the person who says they are gonna do something, so then you go ahead and make plans and pass other opportunities by and then boom the person writes you and is like, "can't make it".
Another bad one is the lame excuser. "Oh I can't do something because I'm waiting on a phone call tonight". a) Who calls people anymore? b) Don't you have a mobile phone. The key word being mobile. You can take calls anywhere you can get cell phone range...which is pretty much everywhere. Other bad excuses include "I'm tired", "I'm sick....again", "there is a good show on TV"...(any you can think of, please add to the comments section).
So to the world I beg of you. Just be honest. If you don't wanna do something just say so, because people see through excuses, so stop being a douche!
Once again, this really isn't cited at anyone specifically, its just a random observation.
Download:
Asshole - Dennis Leary
Friday, January 7, 2011
Hi, My Name is John
For some reason the other day the topic of prostitution came up in one of my conversations, and after thinking about it, every man who has ever had sex has paid for it. Perhaps not in the traditional way where you hand over cash to a woman in return for sex, but in most instances you are always spending money on the path to sleeping with a woman.
Between gifts, buying dinners, gas money, flowers, drinks, etc., a guy always pays out money in order to sleep with a woman. I don't think there has ever been an instance where a guy didn't have to spend ANY money on a girl before sleeping with her. Even those random downtown hookups, chances are you're paying for a drink or two that night or you are paying for the cab ride home, or maybe breakfast the next morning if you wake up feeling guilty. And it's no difference whether you've known the girl for 2 hours or 2 years, you're still ultimately dishing out money in order to "get it in". The only difference is you enjoy spending time with the person afterwards, but that doesn't mean it costs you any less.
Women are expensive and men are willing to pay the price. Maybe prostitution should be legal after all, cause hell we're all sort of doing it anyway but we just like to call it something else so it doesn't seem as bad.
Download:
Mo' Money, Mo' Problems - Notorious B.I.G feat. Puff Daddy & Mase
Between gifts, buying dinners, gas money, flowers, drinks, etc., a guy always pays out money in order to sleep with a woman. I don't think there has ever been an instance where a guy didn't have to spend ANY money on a girl before sleeping with her. Even those random downtown hookups, chances are you're paying for a drink or two that night or you are paying for the cab ride home, or maybe breakfast the next morning if you wake up feeling guilty. And it's no difference whether you've known the girl for 2 hours or 2 years, you're still ultimately dishing out money in order to "get it in". The only difference is you enjoy spending time with the person afterwards, but that doesn't mean it costs you any less.
Women are expensive and men are willing to pay the price. Maybe prostitution should be legal after all, cause hell we're all sort of doing it anyway but we just like to call it something else so it doesn't seem as bad.
Download:
Mo' Money, Mo' Problems - Notorious B.I.G feat. Puff Daddy & Mase
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Time For Change in Ottawa (Hockey Blog)
It is never fun to admit that your favorite team sucks and that they need to change the direction they are going , especially when that direction probably means missing the playoffs for the next few years, but the Ottawa Senators need to start making changes and revamping themselves for the future. This is the strategy they took when they had that long run of playoff streaks, when they built themselves up through the draft and trades with players like Redden, Chara, Hossa, Havlat, Alfredsson, Emery, etc., and it's time to do that again.
The problem is though that they do not have a supportive fan base, so if they start losing games they start losing revenue. This makes it hard for management to waive the white flag because profits will start rapidly dropping, however they are not currently winning anyway so really, what is there to lose?
The Senators have a lot of people on their team capable of playing good hockey, but just not doing it. Is it a coaching issue? Perhaps, but then again these players have gone through 3 coaches in the last 3 years and have not performed particularly well for any of them. Therefore while a coaching and GM change may be required, so is a change in player personnel. A change that makes the team much younger and stocks them with draft picks (for 2011 or 2012 preferably). Here are a few trades that I would like to see happen:
1) Daniel Alfredsson to Los Angeles for Jonathan Bernier, Trevor Lewis and a 2nd Round Draft Pick.
I really like Alfredsson and appreciate all he has done for the team, and while it would be great to have him retire as a Senator, he still has value for a team heading to the playoffs and you need to use that to get a return on him, and a young goaltender to partner with Robin Lehner would be good.
2) Alex Kovalev to Washington for a 4th round draft pick.
I really dislike Kovalev, and I think you'd be lucky to get anything for him at this point, so I'd take a 4th round draft pick or later for him. Who knows maybe he can start scoring in Washington when you pair him with someone like Backstrom and put them over the top.
3) Jason Spezza to Atlanta for either: 1st rd Pick, Niclas Bergfors and Patrice Cormier, or a 2nd rd Pick, Niclas Bergfors and Brian Little.
When healthy Spezza can still perform, but I think you can get more depth by trading him. You won't get as much talent back right away, but players like Bergfors and Little certainly have the potential to become big time players, and with Atlanta in the playoff picture and needing to make it for the revenue stream it will bring in, it makes sense to ship Spezza here.
4) Chris Phillips and Milan Michalek to Nashville for Cody Franson and a 3rd rd pick.
Neither Phillips nor Michalek are going to improve over the next few years. What they are now is as good as its going to get, and that isn't a good thing. They have both gone downhill recently, but a team on the bubble for the playoffs may be able to draw on these veterans for an extra push. Getting Franson in return starts to rebuild a defence that is very porous for Ottawa.
The only people I would not consider trading at this point are Mike Fisher (make him your new captain) and Erik Karlsson. Anyone else on the roster is certainly expendable as long as it leads to opportunity for improvement in the future. Here's to hoping that the Senators management is on the same page as me.
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Download:
If I Could - State of Shock
The problem is though that they do not have a supportive fan base, so if they start losing games they start losing revenue. This makes it hard for management to waive the white flag because profits will start rapidly dropping, however they are not currently winning anyway so really, what is there to lose?
The Senators have a lot of people on their team capable of playing good hockey, but just not doing it. Is it a coaching issue? Perhaps, but then again these players have gone through 3 coaches in the last 3 years and have not performed particularly well for any of them. Therefore while a coaching and GM change may be required, so is a change in player personnel. A change that makes the team much younger and stocks them with draft picks (for 2011 or 2012 preferably). Here are a few trades that I would like to see happen:
1) Daniel Alfredsson to Los Angeles for Jonathan Bernier, Trevor Lewis and a 2nd Round Draft Pick.
I really like Alfredsson and appreciate all he has done for the team, and while it would be great to have him retire as a Senator, he still has value for a team heading to the playoffs and you need to use that to get a return on him, and a young goaltender to partner with Robin Lehner would be good.
2) Alex Kovalev to Washington for a 4th round draft pick.
I really dislike Kovalev, and I think you'd be lucky to get anything for him at this point, so I'd take a 4th round draft pick or later for him. Who knows maybe he can start scoring in Washington when you pair him with someone like Backstrom and put them over the top.
3) Jason Spezza to Atlanta for either: 1st rd Pick, Niclas Bergfors and Patrice Cormier, or a 2nd rd Pick, Niclas Bergfors and Brian Little.
When healthy Spezza can still perform, but I think you can get more depth by trading him. You won't get as much talent back right away, but players like Bergfors and Little certainly have the potential to become big time players, and with Atlanta in the playoff picture and needing to make it for the revenue stream it will bring in, it makes sense to ship Spezza here.
4) Chris Phillips and Milan Michalek to Nashville for Cody Franson and a 3rd rd pick.
Neither Phillips nor Michalek are going to improve over the next few years. What they are now is as good as its going to get, and that isn't a good thing. They have both gone downhill recently, but a team on the bubble for the playoffs may be able to draw on these veterans for an extra push. Getting Franson in return starts to rebuild a defence that is very porous for Ottawa.
The only people I would not consider trading at this point are Mike Fisher (make him your new captain) and Erik Karlsson. Anyone else on the roster is certainly expendable as long as it leads to opportunity for improvement in the future. Here's to hoping that the Senators management is on the same page as me.
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Download:
If I Could - State of Shock
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Lame Excuse For A Holiday
I'm not really complaining that New Year's Day is considered a Statutory Holiday, because I will accept as many paid days off as possible, however it does seem like a lame excuse for a holiday. Most other holidays have some sort of religious or historic event that inspires them like Christmas or Remembrance Day, but this is just because we have to pin a new calendar on our walls.
I don't really understand the significance I guess. People make kind of a big deal out of it, but it's just really another day. Nothing drastically changes because it is now 2011 instead of 2010. There are no fresh starts just because it is a new year. If you did something terrible in 2010, people aren't just going to randomly forget about it because it is now 2011.
But while it is good to get that extra day off around the holiday season it also brings on the reality that there are no more Stat holidays until Good Friday, which I believe is in late April this year (unless you work in government and you get St. Patrick's Day off). That's a pretty long time to go without a holiday, therefore I'm assuming most people use at least one vacation day between January and April to get them through. I feel bad for people who do not get vacation. A 4% vacation pay just doesn't compare to being able to take time off.
Anyway, Happy New Year, I guess...
Download:
Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart - Stone Temple Pilots
I don't really understand the significance I guess. People make kind of a big deal out of it, but it's just really another day. Nothing drastically changes because it is now 2011 instead of 2010. There are no fresh starts just because it is a new year. If you did something terrible in 2010, people aren't just going to randomly forget about it because it is now 2011.
But while it is good to get that extra day off around the holiday season it also brings on the reality that there are no more Stat holidays until Good Friday, which I believe is in late April this year (unless you work in government and you get St. Patrick's Day off). That's a pretty long time to go without a holiday, therefore I'm assuming most people use at least one vacation day between January and April to get them through. I feel bad for people who do not get vacation. A 4% vacation pay just doesn't compare to being able to take time off.
Anyway, Happy New Year, I guess...
Download:
Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart - Stone Temple Pilots
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