Yes CJ, its story time with Gerry yet again.
“I’m French! Why do you think I have the outrageous accent!!!”
(John Cleese as the French Taunter, “Month Python and the Holy Grail”)
I am a coffee nut. I love my Second Cup. We buy our coffee beans from Second Cup. We have a very fancy coffee maker; water goes in here, new filter in the basket, coffee beans go in there, and when you press the start button, the beans are ground, funneled into the waiting filter basket, and let the brewing begin!
The smell of grinding beans for the coffee enthusiast is ambrosia to the nose. It really does start the experience off right. My wife Nita always says that first cup of coffee is the best, and starting it off with that wonderful bouquet has become a ritual in our kitchen.
Once when I was in Second Cup a few years ago picking up some coffee beans, there was a gentleman in front of me buying some cherry vanilla black tea. Actually, what I saw was “Thé noir au vanilla et cerise”. This being bilingual Canada, I was looking at the French side of the package.
I commented to the dude buying the tea that cherry vanilla black tea was a pretty specific taste. The young guy serving me looked at the package from my point of view and asked me how I knew it cherry vanilla black tea; I told him I was French. The guy buying the tea very deliberately looked me top to bottom, and said; “That’s funny, you don’t look French”.
I was somewhat puzzled; how does one look French? I was not wearing a beret; the last time I wore a beret, I was 12 and was an Army Cadet. At the time, my brother was dabbling in photography, and he’d set up his own darkroom in the basement. He took a few snap shots, and made his own black & white photos.
When my Dad, Bid Al, came home that day, he asked who had found pictures of him before he went overseas for the 2nd World War. My Mom has, among her great wall of memories, a collage of all of us when we graduated from high school, including herself, and one of Big Al when he joined the army in 1939. We were all about 16 in the photos, and you can tell we are all related. Depending on your viewpoint, it’s either eerie or quite cool.
But I digress. I was not wearing a Habs jacket, nor reading Le Journal de Montréal. I was not eating poutine, nor did I have a Mae West & Diet Pepsi. How could I look French? If there was a secret handshake, I would know it. If there was supposed to be a dress code, I would have known it as well. Neither Nita or I could figure it out.
The next day at work, I was regaling people with the story of the guy who said I looked French. There was general amusement all around. On the 3rd retelling, Maria was one of the group being entertained. Maria was a really good kid, but she was young and not quite worldly in her knowledge. Maria was a 1st generation Canadian; she spoke fluent Italian.
Previously, I was discussing with Pauline, who worked for me, her connection with Nita. They were both born in Nairobi, and I was relating to Pauline how Nita’s parents both still spoke Swahili, but Nita only spoke English, French, Hindi, Punjabi, and a little Spanish.
Maria came and asked me afterwards if she’d heard right when I said Nita was born in Nairobi. Once she confirmed that Nairobi is in Kenya and Africa, she asked if Nita spoke African. I asked her if she spoke European. When she looked at me like I was an idiot, I realized she wasn’t kidding. So I did what I always do in these situations; I explained to her, without being condescending, that there are a multitude of languages in Africa, as there are in Europe.
But back once again to the story at hand. When I finished my storytime in the lunchroom, and pondered how one looked French, Maria perked up and told that I did look French. ”What do you mean I look French? What does French look like? It’s not like I walk around with a baguette under my arm!” Wrong joke, because I had to explain what a baguette was to someone else listening in.
Maria then went on to explain to me that Italians are hairy, and since France is beside Italy, Frenchmen are also hairy. So since I was hairy, I could be either an Italian or a Frenchman, but for some reason which I can’t recall, I didn’t look like an Italian, so therefore, I looked like a Frenchman.
I looked around for Alan Funt again.
Salute!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Olympic Spirits
Yes CJ, its story time with Gerry again.
Vancouver has often made me wonder about its low tolerance and non-acceptance of alcohol, specifically in public. The Police are quite proud of their tactics of dealing with dinking in public; they try to convince people to pour out their open liquor or face a fine. In a city whose cultural make-up leads one to assume that it should be more cosmopolitan and less prudish, the opposite seems to be true.
While we hosted the Olympics, we were treated to all kinds of quirky stories. One of my favourite topics was the New Amsterdam Café. The New Amsterdam is a store that sells paraphernalia for pot smokers. They have a lounge in which patrons can partake of their own stash; no weed for sale inside. 3000 plus reporters generate a lot of fluff stories. Converseley, the pot culture seems more palatable to police and public officials.
But back to our topic; there have long been concerns, from the police and the media, about yahoos coming into the big city from the surrounding cities, drinking themselves into a state of stupid, and then behaving badly. The police in downtown Vancouver are concerned about the young adults coming in from Moody, Surrey, Delta and getting into major piss-ups.
It’s a little odd for someone like me to understand. My parents were fairly European in bringing us up. We had wine with Sunday dinner in our teens, and they did not stigmatize drinking. Although Montréal does tolerate drinking in public, they do not have gangs of roving yahoos from the south shore destroying the downtown core every weekend.
We weren’t yahoos, but we also were not angels. There was some drunkenness happening, but taking a page from a previous blog, we did not forget our ethics. I don’t think drunkenness overcomes people’s ethics. After all, the saying is:”In vino, veritas”, not “In vino, stupid ass!”
When someone is tipsy they are liable to become goofy, silly, or even unable to speak without causing laughter all around them. But if they are not quick to overreacting when sober, they should be the same when they’re getting bagged.
What the police, I think, are basing their fear on, is that stupid will win out on the scale of Stanley Cup riots; 1993 in Montréal and 1994 in Vancouver. I believe what the Vancouver Police have attempted to do, in our very best Canadian-navel-gazing, is to prevent a repeat of these events. And it’s not just the VPD; for the Olympics, there is an Integrated Security Unit, with a large contingent of RCMP. Fortunately for the visiting public, the RCMP's mommy took away their Tasers.
Save for the opening weekend, the Police have closed all downtown liquor stores on the Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00 PM, during the Olympics. On closing ceremony day, they closed the liquor stores at 2:00 PM. Someone somewhere has decided that the yahoos only drink from liquor store purchases. Or perhaps the reasoning is that the purchases from the liquor stores, pushes people over the yahoo threshold.
Because there were only 22 arrests for public embarrassment, sorry drunkenness, they believe they were right in stopping liquor sales, in the downtown core. I don’t think so. After all, these are the same people who thought that sending Wayne Gretzky in the back of a pick-me-up-truck would not gather a crowd. Were these the drunken yahoos from Coquitlam, Langley, Burnaby…?
But don’t despair; when you think you have witnessed the epitome of anal retentiveness, along comes the IOC and VANOC. They have sent a letter to Hockey Canada to protest a major transgression. Gold medal women’s hockey champions, Team Canada, after having performed their entire medal and picture taking duties, and retiring to their dressing room to celebrate, were asked to return to the ice for a few more photos.
So back out they come grinning, wearing their Gold Medals, and bringing their champagne and beer. According to the Canadian Press, the “image that raised most eyebrows” was the sight of 18-year-old Marie-Philip Poulin with a beer.
Never mind that they train in Alberta, where the age of majority is 18, or that Marie-Philip is from Québec where the age of majority is never really even discussed; this is Vancouver, governed by King John of Furlong from VANOC, and we will not tolerate this kind of behaviour, even if you do score ALL the goals in the gold medal game.
Perhaps a trip to the New Amsterdam Café might mellow out some of VANOC and VPD/ISU. After all, it’s safe inside; you won’t have to worry about yahoos, with the liquor stores closed, and the 18-year-old women hockey players are getting sauced at Pacific Coliseum.
Maybe you should bring a snack!
Skål!
Vancouver has often made me wonder about its low tolerance and non-acceptance of alcohol, specifically in public. The Police are quite proud of their tactics of dealing with dinking in public; they try to convince people to pour out their open liquor or face a fine. In a city whose cultural make-up leads one to assume that it should be more cosmopolitan and less prudish, the opposite seems to be true.
While we hosted the Olympics, we were treated to all kinds of quirky stories. One of my favourite topics was the New Amsterdam Café. The New Amsterdam is a store that sells paraphernalia for pot smokers. They have a lounge in which patrons can partake of their own stash; no weed for sale inside. 3000 plus reporters generate a lot of fluff stories. Converseley, the pot culture seems more palatable to police and public officials.
But back to our topic; there have long been concerns, from the police and the media, about yahoos coming into the big city from the surrounding cities, drinking themselves into a state of stupid, and then behaving badly. The police in downtown Vancouver are concerned about the young adults coming in from Moody, Surrey, Delta and getting into major piss-ups.
It’s a little odd for someone like me to understand. My parents were fairly European in bringing us up. We had wine with Sunday dinner in our teens, and they did not stigmatize drinking. Although Montréal does tolerate drinking in public, they do not have gangs of roving yahoos from the south shore destroying the downtown core every weekend.
We weren’t yahoos, but we also were not angels. There was some drunkenness happening, but taking a page from a previous blog, we did not forget our ethics. I don’t think drunkenness overcomes people’s ethics. After all, the saying is:”In vino, veritas”, not “In vino, stupid ass!”
When someone is tipsy they are liable to become goofy, silly, or even unable to speak without causing laughter all around them. But if they are not quick to overreacting when sober, they should be the same when they’re getting bagged.
What the police, I think, are basing their fear on, is that stupid will win out on the scale of Stanley Cup riots; 1993 in Montréal and 1994 in Vancouver. I believe what the Vancouver Police have attempted to do, in our very best Canadian-navel-gazing, is to prevent a repeat of these events. And it’s not just the VPD; for the Olympics, there is an Integrated Security Unit, with a large contingent of RCMP. Fortunately for the visiting public, the RCMP's mommy took away their Tasers.
Save for the opening weekend, the Police have closed all downtown liquor stores on the Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00 PM, during the Olympics. On closing ceremony day, they closed the liquor stores at 2:00 PM. Someone somewhere has decided that the yahoos only drink from liquor store purchases. Or perhaps the reasoning is that the purchases from the liquor stores, pushes people over the yahoo threshold.
Because there were only 22 arrests for public embarrassment, sorry drunkenness, they believe they were right in stopping liquor sales, in the downtown core. I don’t think so. After all, these are the same people who thought that sending Wayne Gretzky in the back of a pick-me-up-truck would not gather a crowd. Were these the drunken yahoos from Coquitlam, Langley, Burnaby…?
But don’t despair; when you think you have witnessed the epitome of anal retentiveness, along comes the IOC and VANOC. They have sent a letter to Hockey Canada to protest a major transgression. Gold medal women’s hockey champions, Team Canada, after having performed their entire medal and picture taking duties, and retiring to their dressing room to celebrate, were asked to return to the ice for a few more photos.
So back out they come grinning, wearing their Gold Medals, and bringing their champagne and beer. According to the Canadian Press, the “image that raised most eyebrows” was the sight of 18-year-old Marie-Philip Poulin with a beer.
Never mind that they train in Alberta, where the age of majority is 18, or that Marie-Philip is from Québec where the age of majority is never really even discussed; this is Vancouver, governed by King John of Furlong from VANOC, and we will not tolerate this kind of behaviour, even if you do score ALL the goals in the gold medal game.
Perhaps a trip to the New Amsterdam Café might mellow out some of VANOC and VPD/ISU. After all, it’s safe inside; you won’t have to worry about yahoos, with the liquor stores closed, and the 18-year-old women hockey players are getting sauced at Pacific Coliseum.
Maybe you should bring a snack!
Skål!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Paralympics
Yes CJ its story time with Gerry once more; actually, more of an open letter.
Dear Dr. Rogge,
I would like to open my letter to you congratulating you on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. As I read up on you I have discovered that our Olympic paths have crossed for a second time. I hope you enjoyed the yachting venue in 1976.
Over the years, I have been exposed to many positive things and many negative things about the Olympics. The original design of the Montréal Olympic Stadium, designed by a Parisian architect, was not good.
I am not insinuating that the French are dumb, after all I am part French, but his ignorance of Canada and its climate were to blame. You see, he had originally designed the Big O with only 2 expansion joints.
Expansion joints are the points on any structure there is metal interleaving. When the surrounding air is hot, the structure will expand into the metal interleaving, closing the gap, which is the expansion joint. Conversely, when it is cold, the joint separates, opening up a wider gap.
As described at the time in the newspapers, with only 2 expansion joints in the Big O structure, the gaps would have been almost 3 meters across; enough space to drop a car through. I believe in response to this original design flaw, the stadium sought retribution by dropping pieces of itself on an auto show in 1999. As a result, the 2 went their separate ways.
I believe myself to be a glass-half-full type, so I will move on to the positives. I remember doing “Breakfast with Nagano” every morning with my daughters in 1998, while they ate breakfast and prepared for school. I have discovered in recent months that this is a stronger memory for me than it is for them, but it’s all good!
In researching for this letter, I have discovered that the Special Olympics are completely separate and different from the Paralympics. And even though I would like to address the Paralympics, I think it polite and diplomatic to acknowledge and recognize the fantastic work of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and all those who followed her in promoting these special events for very special people.
I believe one of the primary reasons for the Paralympics is to allow the participating athletes to be able to represent their countries on the world stage, and this is admirable. Unfortunately when the Paralympics are held a few weeks after the Olympics, they are always treated like the lesser sibling.
The Olympic Torch Relay was carried by 12,000 runners over 106 days. The Paralympic Torch Relay will be carried by 600 runners over 10 days. The broadcast rights for both games were bundled together and rightfully so; without the bundling, I don’t believe there would have been many bidders for the Paralympics.
As the lesser sibling, the Paralympics are usually 2 weeks after the closing of the favored sibling. At this point in time, the hoopla is over, most of the crowds and the media have returned home, and only those specifically interested in the Paralympics are tuned in.
I think this does a disservice to the Paralympians. Do you think that they feel part of the rest of us when we segregate their Olympics from ours? Does this tell them that they are as normal as able bodied athletes? Are these not feelings we should be trying to give to the Paralympians?
In order to tell our Paralympians that they are in fact Olympians, and equal to their able-bodied compatriots, I propose that you hold 1 Olympic Games, for all athletes. I do not think we are paying these brave athletes the respect they are due. Having Paralympic events mixed in with the schedule of able-bodied events tells these people that they are in fact equal.
On the economic front, combining the events together would be advantageous to all save the consumers. Using Vancouver as a model, the Paralympics will take place over a 10 day period, and by my estimate will earn about 1.2 truckloads of money a day. The Olympic Games lasted for 17 days and took in about 33.7 truckloads of money a day.
If combined, the games would have lasted about 25 days, taking in about 32 truckloads of money a day. This is 215.1 more truckloads of money; that’s a lot of money.
In closing Count Rogge, as the head of our Olympic movement, with all your strength, please act swiftly to raise the Paralympians to the status of their able brethren by allowing them to compete in the same games, at the same time, in the same venues.
If you had been a Paralympian, you would have wanted it done for you.
Schol!
Dear Dr. Rogge,
I would like to open my letter to you congratulating you on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. As I read up on you I have discovered that our Olympic paths have crossed for a second time. I hope you enjoyed the yachting venue in 1976.
Over the years, I have been exposed to many positive things and many negative things about the Olympics. The original design of the Montréal Olympic Stadium, designed by a Parisian architect, was not good.
I am not insinuating that the French are dumb, after all I am part French, but his ignorance of Canada and its climate were to blame. You see, he had originally designed the Big O with only 2 expansion joints.
Expansion joints are the points on any structure there is metal interleaving. When the surrounding air is hot, the structure will expand into the metal interleaving, closing the gap, which is the expansion joint. Conversely, when it is cold, the joint separates, opening up a wider gap.
As described at the time in the newspapers, with only 2 expansion joints in the Big O structure, the gaps would have been almost 3 meters across; enough space to drop a car through. I believe in response to this original design flaw, the stadium sought retribution by dropping pieces of itself on an auto show in 1999. As a result, the 2 went their separate ways.
I believe myself to be a glass-half-full type, so I will move on to the positives. I remember doing “Breakfast with Nagano” every morning with my daughters in 1998, while they ate breakfast and prepared for school. I have discovered in recent months that this is a stronger memory for me than it is for them, but it’s all good!
In researching for this letter, I have discovered that the Special Olympics are completely separate and different from the Paralympics. And even though I would like to address the Paralympics, I think it polite and diplomatic to acknowledge and recognize the fantastic work of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and all those who followed her in promoting these special events for very special people.
I believe one of the primary reasons for the Paralympics is to allow the participating athletes to be able to represent their countries on the world stage, and this is admirable. Unfortunately when the Paralympics are held a few weeks after the Olympics, they are always treated like the lesser sibling.
The Olympic Torch Relay was carried by 12,000 runners over 106 days. The Paralympic Torch Relay will be carried by 600 runners over 10 days. The broadcast rights for both games were bundled together and rightfully so; without the bundling, I don’t believe there would have been many bidders for the Paralympics.
As the lesser sibling, the Paralympics are usually 2 weeks after the closing of the favored sibling. At this point in time, the hoopla is over, most of the crowds and the media have returned home, and only those specifically interested in the Paralympics are tuned in.
I think this does a disservice to the Paralympians. Do you think that they feel part of the rest of us when we segregate their Olympics from ours? Does this tell them that they are as normal as able bodied athletes? Are these not feelings we should be trying to give to the Paralympians?
In order to tell our Paralympians that they are in fact Olympians, and equal to their able-bodied compatriots, I propose that you hold 1 Olympic Games, for all athletes. I do not think we are paying these brave athletes the respect they are due. Having Paralympic events mixed in with the schedule of able-bodied events tells these people that they are in fact equal.
On the economic front, combining the events together would be advantageous to all save the consumers. Using Vancouver as a model, the Paralympics will take place over a 10 day period, and by my estimate will earn about 1.2 truckloads of money a day. The Olympic Games lasted for 17 days and took in about 33.7 truckloads of money a day.
If combined, the games would have lasted about 25 days, taking in about 32 truckloads of money a day. This is 215.1 more truckloads of money; that’s a lot of money.
In closing Count Rogge, as the head of our Olympic movement, with all your strength, please act swiftly to raise the Paralympians to the status of their able brethren by allowing them to compete in the same games, at the same time, in the same venues.
If you had been a Paralympian, you would have wanted it done for you.
Schol!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Olympic Spirit
Yes CJ, its story time with Gerry once more.
There was a story on the CBC morning radio program this morning about David Eby, executive director of the BC Civil Liberties Association, being ‘pie-ed” last week.
Although no one publicly aligned with the loose Olympic protests will speak about it, we have been led to believe that this is probably in retaliation for Mr. Eby’s non-support of the protests which took place Saturday February13 along Granville street in the Vancouver downtown.
Apparently the Civil Liberties Association was asked to not send down observers to the event. We in the non-protester world would call this a warning signal. David Eby has voiced the opinion that the protesters, on that day, were out of control, and had no explanation why his association would not see the warning signal. It appears that payback indeed is a… pie.
On the day in question, a group of protesters closed down everything around Granville & Georgia to protest, um, wait now, um…. I’m not quite sure. Hooded, with only their eyes visible, and clothed in black (Ninjas?), a number of protesters spray-painted cars, destroyed property, and finally smashed windows at the Bay and London Drugs.
As near as anyone can tell, the issues the protesters have is that there is poverty in Vancouver while we are hosting the Olympics, some of the Olympic events are being held on First Nations disputed lands, and there is too much commercialization of the Olympics.
So, were they blaming The Bay for poverty in Beijing 2 years ago? Will The Bay be responsible for the poor in London in 2 years? The Bay is an official Olympic sponsor, but London Drugs? An innocent bystander?
And what of the First Nations issues. Yes the games are taking place on some areas that are being disputed by claims. I remember reading that 250% to 300% of BC land is under various claims from various First Nations bands. This is a very serious issue and, can be addressed by all the First Nations peoples associated with these protests. Anyone?… Bueller?... Bueller?...
There was, I believe on the previous evening, a bit on the radio (CKNW) about one of their reporters asking someone, a Ninja perhaps, protesting the commercialization of the games, about the Nike’s they were wearing. Since this is a radio reporter, who I am assuming had a microphone and a recording device, and we did get audio of the Q & A, the response was probably unsuitable for polite company. Do you talk to your momma with that mouth?
I try not to believe everything I hear on the radio, or read in the papers. But without any news to contradict them, it is hard not to believe the various reports postulating that we are dealing with a central core of “professional” protesters. According to the media, APEC in Vancouver in 1997, through the 1999 Seattle WTO riots, and various other protests since were the breading grounds for this group. They supposedly thrive on the juice of the confrontation; it can’t be the publicity because the Ninja uniforms hide their faces.
As I write this, 11 people have been arrested in connection to these protests. The supposed ringleader, Guillaume Beaulieu, has previously been arrested for throwing water on a Philadelphia cop, who then died of a heart attack. They tried charging him with murder, but settled for aggravated assault. I believe some of the conditions of his current release include not gathering in groups and to not conceal his face. I bet his family is proud of him. Or perhaps they would prefer he hide his face.
On Friday February 12, the tactic was to taunt and swear at the police in order to provoke a confrontation. On Saturday February 13, the tactic escalated to throwing pieces of wood, traffic cones, and garbage in order to provoke a reaction from the cops. Fortunately, or unfortunaterly if you are a Ninja, the police did not react to the provocations.
I opined above that London Drugs was probably an innocent bystander. The protesters seem to not care about innocent bystanders, including everybody else in Vancouver. This is an excellent way to garner support for their cause.
The real question I would like answered by these people is this: Does your mother know what you’re doing? How does she feel about it? Do you think she’d be proud that you are making your point about the poor of Vancouver by launching Vancouver Sun vending machines through the windows of The Bay and London Drugs?
And to those upset about the commercialization of the games, when your children ask for their own Nikes, will you also conveniently suspend your beliefs, for them as you have for yourself? After all, Nike is Nike. One can’t look good without that swoosh!
I wonder, when launching items at the police, if the protesters were channeling Pierre de Coubertin; “Swifter, Higher, Stronger”?
L’Chayim
There was a story on the CBC morning radio program this morning about David Eby, executive director of the BC Civil Liberties Association, being ‘pie-ed” last week.
Although no one publicly aligned with the loose Olympic protests will speak about it, we have been led to believe that this is probably in retaliation for Mr. Eby’s non-support of the protests which took place Saturday February13 along Granville street in the Vancouver downtown.
Apparently the Civil Liberties Association was asked to not send down observers to the event. We in the non-protester world would call this a warning signal. David Eby has voiced the opinion that the protesters, on that day, were out of control, and had no explanation why his association would not see the warning signal. It appears that payback indeed is a… pie.
On the day in question, a group of protesters closed down everything around Granville & Georgia to protest, um, wait now, um…. I’m not quite sure. Hooded, with only their eyes visible, and clothed in black (Ninjas?), a number of protesters spray-painted cars, destroyed property, and finally smashed windows at the Bay and London Drugs.
As near as anyone can tell, the issues the protesters have is that there is poverty in Vancouver while we are hosting the Olympics, some of the Olympic events are being held on First Nations disputed lands, and there is too much commercialization of the Olympics.
So, were they blaming The Bay for poverty in Beijing 2 years ago? Will The Bay be responsible for the poor in London in 2 years? The Bay is an official Olympic sponsor, but London Drugs? An innocent bystander?
And what of the First Nations issues. Yes the games are taking place on some areas that are being disputed by claims. I remember reading that 250% to 300% of BC land is under various claims from various First Nations bands. This is a very serious issue and, can be addressed by all the First Nations peoples associated with these protests. Anyone?… Bueller?... Bueller?...
There was, I believe on the previous evening, a bit on the radio (CKNW) about one of their reporters asking someone, a Ninja perhaps, protesting the commercialization of the games, about the Nike’s they were wearing. Since this is a radio reporter, who I am assuming had a microphone and a recording device, and we did get audio of the Q & A, the response was probably unsuitable for polite company. Do you talk to your momma with that mouth?
I try not to believe everything I hear on the radio, or read in the papers. But without any news to contradict them, it is hard not to believe the various reports postulating that we are dealing with a central core of “professional” protesters. According to the media, APEC in Vancouver in 1997, through the 1999 Seattle WTO riots, and various other protests since were the breading grounds for this group. They supposedly thrive on the juice of the confrontation; it can’t be the publicity because the Ninja uniforms hide their faces.
As I write this, 11 people have been arrested in connection to these protests. The supposed ringleader, Guillaume Beaulieu, has previously been arrested for throwing water on a Philadelphia cop, who then died of a heart attack. They tried charging him with murder, but settled for aggravated assault. I believe some of the conditions of his current release include not gathering in groups and to not conceal his face. I bet his family is proud of him. Or perhaps they would prefer he hide his face.
On Friday February 12, the tactic was to taunt and swear at the police in order to provoke a confrontation. On Saturday February 13, the tactic escalated to throwing pieces of wood, traffic cones, and garbage in order to provoke a reaction from the cops. Fortunately, or unfortunaterly if you are a Ninja, the police did not react to the provocations.
I opined above that London Drugs was probably an innocent bystander. The protesters seem to not care about innocent bystanders, including everybody else in Vancouver. This is an excellent way to garner support for their cause.
The real question I would like answered by these people is this: Does your mother know what you’re doing? How does she feel about it? Do you think she’d be proud that you are making your point about the poor of Vancouver by launching Vancouver Sun vending machines through the windows of The Bay and London Drugs?
And to those upset about the commercialization of the games, when your children ask for their own Nikes, will you also conveniently suspend your beliefs, for them as you have for yourself? After all, Nike is Nike. One can’t look good without that swoosh!
I wonder, when launching items at the police, if the protesters were channeling Pierre de Coubertin; “Swifter, Higher, Stronger”?
L’Chayim
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Greed
Yes CJ, its story time with Gerry again.
A number of months ago, some of my old chums suggested I write about greed, after my post on the HST. One really can’t discuss greed without quoting from “Wall Street” the immortal words of Michael Douglas’s character Gordon Gecko;
“The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.”
Johnny Silver (Hood) started the conversation saying he would love to see something about corporate greed. Jim Grant followed that comment with the opinion that there is no corporate greed, only greedy people within these corporations.
Although it may seem like I disagree with my buddies, I am taking their point and moving it along further, much like Jim did with John’s original thought. I do agree with Jim that only persons can be possessed of human foibles or virtues, but I think he would initially disagree with my postulating that basic greed, wanting, is a virtue.
Wanting to be swifter, higher, stronger is good. It was good enough for Pierre de Coubertin. You see, this is the Olympic motto, proposed by de Coubertin in 1894 and adopted for the Paris games in 1924.
One can also make the argument that fame is also a good motivator. Wanting to be famous has given us some great politicians; Obama, Trudeau, Lougheed, Bourassa. Unfortunately, with politics some bad comes with the good. It hurts not to, but I won’t delve into the bad politicians list. I do not, and will not, ever say that fame is the only motivator for those who attain fame, but it is one of them.
Wanting becomes greed when it becomes an obsession. Greed is one of the 7 deadly sins when it is blind or uncontained wanting. When our ethics (knowing and choosing between good and bad) are overcome by our wanting, you have greed.
My experiences that have left their mark and have me made what I am because I have responded to them. These choices now shape me and allow me to demonstrate to my staff what I think is the right way to behave. As well, my superiors are afforded the opportunity to reward or recognize behaviors they approve of, or conversely admonish me for behaviors they do not support. Not all of these signals are overt; body language and intonation are a large part of how we communicate.
So John & Jim, Enron was not greedy, but Kenneth Lay et al were. Enron, its board of directors, and its management were responsible for fomenting bad corporate ethics, and promoting to their upper management levels, people whose judgment allowed their wanting to become greed; Ken Lay et al.
Ethics, or the lack thereof was responsible for the fall of Enron. And it was infectious because it spread to their audit firm , Arthur Anderson, at the time one of the top 5 audit firms in the US. Once exposed to the light of public scrutiny, neither could survive. There are many other examples, even some north of the 49th parallel, but I only need one to make my point.
The US sub-prime mortgage was/is rife with thousands of other examples to make my argument, but boiled down to the catalysts, we have greedy bankers, credit rating agents, investment advisors, and legislators. All these greedy individuals directed their companies, and their lobbyists to change the rules. Unfortunately, Alan Greenspan, George W Bush, and their administrations allowed themselves to be duped. Greed? Pride? Who knows.
In recent weeks, Canada’s banks were concerned that we might experience our own bubble in real estate. Although none were brave enough to be seen as the voice of reason, and thus the decliner of mortgages, they implored the Minister of Finance to change the rules, and be the bad guy.
This resulted in a win-win-win situation. We have reasonable qualifications for a mortgage for both down payments and interest rates. The banks are not seen as the bad guy because they manipulated the government into enacting the changes. And finally, the Minister of Finance gets to appear ministerial by doing exactly what the banks told him to.
Bloody good thing our bankers’ ethics more closely match our own, instead of the ethics of the bankers south of the border. Pity that our politicians are so easily manipulated on either side of the border.
So Mr. Gecko, greed is not good. Wanting is good, but needs to be guided and marshaled by our ethics. Our ethics are only of use if we are capable of knowing the difference between good and bad AND do not cross that line. Then we are in company of Abraham Lincoln and not Kenneth Lay. Right Tiger?
Cheers folks!
A number of months ago, some of my old chums suggested I write about greed, after my post on the HST. One really can’t discuss greed without quoting from “Wall Street” the immortal words of Michael Douglas’s character Gordon Gecko;
“The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind.”
Johnny Silver (Hood) started the conversation saying he would love to see something about corporate greed. Jim Grant followed that comment with the opinion that there is no corporate greed, only greedy people within these corporations.
Although it may seem like I disagree with my buddies, I am taking their point and moving it along further, much like Jim did with John’s original thought. I do agree with Jim that only persons can be possessed of human foibles or virtues, but I think he would initially disagree with my postulating that basic greed, wanting, is a virtue.
Wanting to be swifter, higher, stronger is good. It was good enough for Pierre de Coubertin. You see, this is the Olympic motto, proposed by de Coubertin in 1894 and adopted for the Paris games in 1924.
One can also make the argument that fame is also a good motivator. Wanting to be famous has given us some great politicians; Obama, Trudeau, Lougheed, Bourassa. Unfortunately, with politics some bad comes with the good. It hurts not to, but I won’t delve into the bad politicians list. I do not, and will not, ever say that fame is the only motivator for those who attain fame, but it is one of them.
Wanting becomes greed when it becomes an obsession. Greed is one of the 7 deadly sins when it is blind or uncontained wanting. When our ethics (knowing and choosing between good and bad) are overcome by our wanting, you have greed.
My experiences that have left their mark and have me made what I am because I have responded to them. These choices now shape me and allow me to demonstrate to my staff what I think is the right way to behave. As well, my superiors are afforded the opportunity to reward or recognize behaviors they approve of, or conversely admonish me for behaviors they do not support. Not all of these signals are overt; body language and intonation are a large part of how we communicate.
So John & Jim, Enron was not greedy, but Kenneth Lay et al were. Enron, its board of directors, and its management were responsible for fomenting bad corporate ethics, and promoting to their upper management levels, people whose judgment allowed their wanting to become greed; Ken Lay et al.
Ethics, or the lack thereof was responsible for the fall of Enron. And it was infectious because it spread to their audit firm , Arthur Anderson, at the time one of the top 5 audit firms in the US. Once exposed to the light of public scrutiny, neither could survive. There are many other examples, even some north of the 49th parallel, but I only need one to make my point.
The US sub-prime mortgage was/is rife with thousands of other examples to make my argument, but boiled down to the catalysts, we have greedy bankers, credit rating agents, investment advisors, and legislators. All these greedy individuals directed their companies, and their lobbyists to change the rules. Unfortunately, Alan Greenspan, George W Bush, and their administrations allowed themselves to be duped. Greed? Pride? Who knows.
In recent weeks, Canada’s banks were concerned that we might experience our own bubble in real estate. Although none were brave enough to be seen as the voice of reason, and thus the decliner of mortgages, they implored the Minister of Finance to change the rules, and be the bad guy.
This resulted in a win-win-win situation. We have reasonable qualifications for a mortgage for both down payments and interest rates. The banks are not seen as the bad guy because they manipulated the government into enacting the changes. And finally, the Minister of Finance gets to appear ministerial by doing exactly what the banks told him to.
Bloody good thing our bankers’ ethics more closely match our own, instead of the ethics of the bankers south of the border. Pity that our politicians are so easily manipulated on either side of the border.
So Mr. Gecko, greed is not good. Wanting is good, but needs to be guided and marshaled by our ethics. Our ethics are only of use if we are capable of knowing the difference between good and bad AND do not cross that line. Then we are in company of Abraham Lincoln and not Kenneth Lay. Right Tiger?
Cheers folks!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Les Olympiques
Yes CJ, its story time with Gerry once more.
As I have stated in previous posts, I am very pan-Canadian. There are 3 Canadian Olympic cities, and I have lived in all 3. I was born in Montréal and used to walk to school, through 3 feet of snow, uphill both ways… Sorry, wrong story.
I was 17 when the Olympics happened in Montréal. It was a very special time. There were all kinds of events happening throughout the city, but what I remember most was all the tourists. Montréal is a very tourist friendly city and it wasn’t a shock to see tourists, but the volume and the influx were astounding.
I do remember running into a multitude of accents, in both languages, and I think my knack for identifying them was honed during the 1976 Olympics. Some were easy; French from Germans versus Moroccans, or English from Scots or South Africans. Some were very hard; English speaking Finns and Swedes.
As far as getting into the Olympics, I was 17, so I did not have the wherewithal to buy tickets. I do remember asking a scalper in front of the Forum, with a pair of tickets in the reds, how much he wanted for tickets to see Nadia Comaneci, 2 nights after she received her first perfect 10’s. He told me $5000, and when I commented that $2500 was a little steep for a ticket, he told me it was $10,000 for the pair. I turned around a relayed the story to my friends, and at story’s end, he had already sold them.
I lived in Calgary, just not in 1988. I was living in Ottawa, so I did not have much of a connection to the games, save for what CBC brought into my home. The legacy in Calgary includes Olympic Plaza in the downtown, the Olympic Park (which figures into directions into anywhere in the North West), and world class sledding and ski jump runs. (I purposefully did not mention Montréal’s legacy because I’m writing a blog, not a book)
Living in Vancouver, we have been bombarded by any and every story anyone could possibly write about the Olympics. I have no idea how many times I have read, seen, and heard stories about Canada being the only host nation to have never earned a gold medal on their soil. Blah, blah, blah…
A Canadian gold in Canada is not the most important thing about the Olympics, but it is nice. Yes, this is written in the present tense. As I write this, I have just finished watching Alexandre Bilodeau collect his gold medal. It was very inspiring and moving. I think the whole country was cheering for him yesterday.
Almost as inspiring as Shane Koyczan’s “We are More”. Nita & I were incredibly moved by his performance, and awed by his words. I spent the weekend trying to figure out who he was, and if I could locate a book written by him. Chapters lists “Visiting Hours” at $17.05, but “Temporarily Unavailable to Order New”. They do have 5 copies in their used and rare section, but they range in price from $50.46 to $105.11. I wonder how much they listed for last month?
As far as I am concerned, the Olympics are about events that touch us and the memories we carry from these great parties. Once everything is said and done, and after all the taxes are paid (I think Québec finally paid off 1976 a few years back), what is most lasting is what we take away in our memories.
I will always remember being thrilled that Greg Joy received a silver medal in Montréal for the high jump. You see, at the time, our expectations were to host an excellent event and party. Getting a medal was just icing on the cake. I’m fairly certain Greg Joy wasn’t disappointed about not getting the first gold medal for Canada on Canadian soil. And I remember the media at the time being overjoyed that we had actually received a medal.
In 1988, Elizabeth Manley, the darling of Ottawa, was awarded the silver medal. Figure Skating judging at the time, at the Olympic level, was almost always decided beforehand. The favorites, Katarina Witt and Debi Thomas both performed poorly, but the judges somehow managed to still give Witt the gold. We knew Manley was cheated by rigged judging, but she put in a gold medal performance in our hearts.
And lastly, I think Alexandre put in a phenomenal run which was thrilling to watch. But my memory of the race will always be Frédéric’s reaction at the end of the race. He knew his brother had put in a gold medal performance, and you could see it on his face and in his reaction.
So my Olympic memories will always be that lanky guy in those embarrassing red short-shorts missing the bar 3 times at 2.25 meters, the little blond who burst into tears because she knew she skated her perfect program, and the slam poet who almost made me cry. But I know that I will always remember the love and devotion of the brother who couldn’t, and how it inspired the brother who could, to do it.
Go Canada, Allons-y!
For a different version of Shane's "We are More", please see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsq68qRexFc
As I have stated in previous posts, I am very pan-Canadian. There are 3 Canadian Olympic cities, and I have lived in all 3. I was born in Montréal and used to walk to school, through 3 feet of snow, uphill both ways… Sorry, wrong story.
I was 17 when the Olympics happened in Montréal. It was a very special time. There were all kinds of events happening throughout the city, but what I remember most was all the tourists. Montréal is a very tourist friendly city and it wasn’t a shock to see tourists, but the volume and the influx were astounding.
I do remember running into a multitude of accents, in both languages, and I think my knack for identifying them was honed during the 1976 Olympics. Some were easy; French from Germans versus Moroccans, or English from Scots or South Africans. Some were very hard; English speaking Finns and Swedes.
As far as getting into the Olympics, I was 17, so I did not have the wherewithal to buy tickets. I do remember asking a scalper in front of the Forum, with a pair of tickets in the reds, how much he wanted for tickets to see Nadia Comaneci, 2 nights after she received her first perfect 10’s. He told me $5000, and when I commented that $2500 was a little steep for a ticket, he told me it was $10,000 for the pair. I turned around a relayed the story to my friends, and at story’s end, he had already sold them.
I lived in Calgary, just not in 1988. I was living in Ottawa, so I did not have much of a connection to the games, save for what CBC brought into my home. The legacy in Calgary includes Olympic Plaza in the downtown, the Olympic Park (which figures into directions into anywhere in the North West), and world class sledding and ski jump runs. (I purposefully did not mention Montréal’s legacy because I’m writing a blog, not a book)
Living in Vancouver, we have been bombarded by any and every story anyone could possibly write about the Olympics. I have no idea how many times I have read, seen, and heard stories about Canada being the only host nation to have never earned a gold medal on their soil. Blah, blah, blah…
A Canadian gold in Canada is not the most important thing about the Olympics, but it is nice. Yes, this is written in the present tense. As I write this, I have just finished watching Alexandre Bilodeau collect his gold medal. It was very inspiring and moving. I think the whole country was cheering for him yesterday.
Almost as inspiring as Shane Koyczan’s “We are More”. Nita & I were incredibly moved by his performance, and awed by his words. I spent the weekend trying to figure out who he was, and if I could locate a book written by him. Chapters lists “Visiting Hours” at $17.05, but “Temporarily Unavailable to Order New”. They do have 5 copies in their used and rare section, but they range in price from $50.46 to $105.11. I wonder how much they listed for last month?
As far as I am concerned, the Olympics are about events that touch us and the memories we carry from these great parties. Once everything is said and done, and after all the taxes are paid (I think Québec finally paid off 1976 a few years back), what is most lasting is what we take away in our memories.
I will always remember being thrilled that Greg Joy received a silver medal in Montréal for the high jump. You see, at the time, our expectations were to host an excellent event and party. Getting a medal was just icing on the cake. I’m fairly certain Greg Joy wasn’t disappointed about not getting the first gold medal for Canada on Canadian soil. And I remember the media at the time being overjoyed that we had actually received a medal.
In 1988, Elizabeth Manley, the darling of Ottawa, was awarded the silver medal. Figure Skating judging at the time, at the Olympic level, was almost always decided beforehand. The favorites, Katarina Witt and Debi Thomas both performed poorly, but the judges somehow managed to still give Witt the gold. We knew Manley was cheated by rigged judging, but she put in a gold medal performance in our hearts.
And lastly, I think Alexandre put in a phenomenal run which was thrilling to watch. But my memory of the race will always be Frédéric’s reaction at the end of the race. He knew his brother had put in a gold medal performance, and you could see it on his face and in his reaction.
So my Olympic memories will always be that lanky guy in those embarrassing red short-shorts missing the bar 3 times at 2.25 meters, the little blond who burst into tears because she knew she skated her perfect program, and the slam poet who almost made me cry. But I know that I will always remember the love and devotion of the brother who couldn’t, and how it inspired the brother who could, to do it.
Go Canada, Allons-y!
For a different version of Shane's "We are More", please see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsq68qRexFc
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Movies
Yes CJ, its story time with Gerry once more.
I would like to open with an apology; it has been quite a while since I have posted, and common courtesy demands I apologize to my loyal follower. Sorry Mom.
I have been a movie buff for a long, long time. I love movies. At one point, my wife Nita was given a courtesy card to an un-named chain from her sister. We have seen many movies together. Some really good, some really bad, and many in the middle. We only ever walked out of 1; “The Story of us”.
When we lived in Toronto, we attempted to discover a movie reviewer we could rely on. We found the best we could get was about 50%, so we saw quite a few movies in the 2nd and 3rd criteria listed above.
Getting to the end of the available reviewers, I came across this dude in the Star who was brutal; we agreed with him less than 20% of time. I was inspired and threw inverse logic into the calculation, and he became my Bizzaro reviewer; if he hated it, we usually liked it, and if he loved something, we would save our money. It worked quite well.
A few years ago, when I purchased my first iPod, I was trolling iTunes and discovered podcasts. It was wonderful; here were audio, and sometimes video, snippets of people’s shows or ramblings, and they wouldn’t cost a cent. I also discovered that sometimes the snippets were entire programs, like the audio from “60 Minutes”.
One of my first discoveries was “Filmspotting”. This is a wonderful reposting of a Chicago public radio broadcast. These guys are great. I have been listening to them since late 2007. The podcast is simply a couple of guys intelligently and astutely discussing movies. I don’t always agree with them, and they don’t always agree with each other, but it is always very entertaining.
Adam and Matty are somewhat director-centric in their views, but they do not fill their time with technical-ese. They are also responsible for 2 of my favorite new sayings. “Getting dusty” is a term they use when a movie plays to your emotions. Their second is something that many people I know think about me; “I hear what you’re saying, but you’re completely wrong”.
I’m hitting about .700 with these guys, so I think I’ll stick with them. And yes I used the baseball analogy for Matty “Ballgame” Robinson, who refers to “Major League” as his favorite movie. Nita is not so enamored with some of my recent rental choices, with good reason.
These guys have however turned me onto a web site called “Flickchart”, which is fun, free, and addictive for all you movie lovers. Once you have signed up, you are presented with 2 movies, and you simply select which one you liked better, and the site tracks all your answers. I have been wasting time on the site for a few months now, and my statistics show that I have ranked over 3300 times on 600 movies. My top 5 movies are an eclectic mix; “X-Men”, “Ray”, “Slumdog Millionaire”, “Little Miss Sunshine”, & “Snatch”.
This is usually fun and you sometimes end up having to make odd and challenging choices. Just look above; choose between “A Clockwork Orange” and “The Godfather”??? Really? What about choosing between “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Goodfellas”.
When it comes to movies, however, my favorite stories are centered on movie critics and reviewers. All too often, we are presented with the views of someone who has grown into an aficionado, or perhaps a critic who has discovered he gets more feedback when he mercilessly tears a movie to pieces. Either one of these 2 scenarios are also self fulfilling scenarios. The more movies you see, the more you know, or the more you ravage movies, the more you want to.
In 1939, 2 movies were almost universally panned; the critics at the time hated them for various reasons. In my lifetime, one of the worst reviews I read was in 1977 was peppered with words like schlock , gimmicky, and too loud.
The reviewer at the time, and probably also those in 1939, forgot one of the basic rules about movies. Movies are made to entertain us. Not every movie needs to be a statement or teach us about our world. Sometimes movies just need to make us laugh or get a little dusty. This is good; even more so when that was the film makers intention.
In closing, I do love my movies, and probably always will. I will not regale you with my favorites, because I am neither an authority nor an expert. But when next you see me, I would be more than happy to share my views on what I have seen recently; I always have and always will.
For those of you paying attention, the 1939 movies were “Gone with the wind” & “The Wizard of Oz”, and the 1977 bomb was “Star Wars”. Fortunately, Hollywood producers don’t always listen to the critics.
Cheers folks!
www.filmspotting.net (Also see iTunes for their podcasts)
www.flickchart.com
www.imdb.com (The Internet Movie DataBase)
I would like to open with an apology; it has been quite a while since I have posted, and common courtesy demands I apologize to my loyal follower. Sorry Mom.
I have been a movie buff for a long, long time. I love movies. At one point, my wife Nita was given a courtesy card to an un-named chain from her sister. We have seen many movies together. Some really good, some really bad, and many in the middle. We only ever walked out of 1; “The Story of us”.
When we lived in Toronto, we attempted to discover a movie reviewer we could rely on. We found the best we could get was about 50%, so we saw quite a few movies in the 2nd and 3rd criteria listed above.
Getting to the end of the available reviewers, I came across this dude in the Star who was brutal; we agreed with him less than 20% of time. I was inspired and threw inverse logic into the calculation, and he became my Bizzaro reviewer; if he hated it, we usually liked it, and if he loved something, we would save our money. It worked quite well.
A few years ago, when I purchased my first iPod, I was trolling iTunes and discovered podcasts. It was wonderful; here were audio, and sometimes video, snippets of people’s shows or ramblings, and they wouldn’t cost a cent. I also discovered that sometimes the snippets were entire programs, like the audio from “60 Minutes”.
One of my first discoveries was “Filmspotting”. This is a wonderful reposting of a Chicago public radio broadcast. These guys are great. I have been listening to them since late 2007. The podcast is simply a couple of guys intelligently and astutely discussing movies. I don’t always agree with them, and they don’t always agree with each other, but it is always very entertaining.
Adam and Matty are somewhat director-centric in their views, but they do not fill their time with technical-ese. They are also responsible for 2 of my favorite new sayings. “Getting dusty” is a term they use when a movie plays to your emotions. Their second is something that many people I know think about me; “I hear what you’re saying, but you’re completely wrong”.
I’m hitting about .700 with these guys, so I think I’ll stick with them. And yes I used the baseball analogy for Matty “Ballgame” Robinson, who refers to “Major League” as his favorite movie. Nita is not so enamored with some of my recent rental choices, with good reason.
These guys have however turned me onto a web site called “Flickchart”, which is fun, free, and addictive for all you movie lovers. Once you have signed up, you are presented with 2 movies, and you simply select which one you liked better, and the site tracks all your answers. I have been wasting time on the site for a few months now, and my statistics show that I have ranked over 3300 times on 600 movies. My top 5 movies are an eclectic mix; “X-Men”, “Ray”, “Slumdog Millionaire”, “Little Miss Sunshine”, & “Snatch”.
This is usually fun and you sometimes end up having to make odd and challenging choices. Just look above; choose between “A Clockwork Orange” and “The Godfather”??? Really? What about choosing between “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Goodfellas”.
When it comes to movies, however, my favorite stories are centered on movie critics and reviewers. All too often, we are presented with the views of someone who has grown into an aficionado, or perhaps a critic who has discovered he gets more feedback when he mercilessly tears a movie to pieces. Either one of these 2 scenarios are also self fulfilling scenarios. The more movies you see, the more you know, or the more you ravage movies, the more you want to.
In 1939, 2 movies were almost universally panned; the critics at the time hated them for various reasons. In my lifetime, one of the worst reviews I read was in 1977 was peppered with words like schlock , gimmicky, and too loud.
The reviewer at the time, and probably also those in 1939, forgot one of the basic rules about movies. Movies are made to entertain us. Not every movie needs to be a statement or teach us about our world. Sometimes movies just need to make us laugh or get a little dusty. This is good; even more so when that was the film makers intention.
In closing, I do love my movies, and probably always will. I will not regale you with my favorites, because I am neither an authority nor an expert. But when next you see me, I would be more than happy to share my views on what I have seen recently; I always have and always will.
For those of you paying attention, the 1939 movies were “Gone with the wind” & “The Wizard of Oz”, and the 1977 bomb was “Star Wars”. Fortunately, Hollywood producers don’t always listen to the critics.
Cheers folks!
www.filmspotting.net (Also see iTunes for their podcasts)
www.flickchart.com
www.imdb.com (The Internet Movie DataBase)
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Microsoft
Image from; http://www.designswan.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/windows/window3.jpg
Yes CJ, its story time with Gerry again.
I have had a long, and sometimes frustrating, relationship over the years with Mr. Gates and his main products. I have used, in order, Windows 3.0, 3.1, 95, 98, ME, NT, XP, VISTA, and finally Windows 7. I currently have a work laptop, using Windows XP and Office 2003. Our desktop and home laptop are Windows 7 and Office 2007.
I grew up as a tinkerer. I would look at things trying to figure out how they worked. I always thought my nascent skill to be numbers; apparently I resemble Dustin Hoffman, my wife Nita calls me Rain Man. I am a human calculator. This is probably why my first real foray into the working world was as a teller with the Bank of Montréal.
While I was with the bank, a friend of mine suggested I apply for a job as a copier technician. I thought he was a few spoons short of a full drawer, but applied anyhow. The process was to consist of a mechanical test, an electronic test, and an interview. I had 30 minutes to do the mechanical test, and needed to get 28 out of 36 questions right to be considered for the job. I was done in 20 minutes, and only minutes into the electronic test, I was interrupted by a job offer. You see, I answered 35 of the questions correctly.
In the intervening years, I have used Lotus 123, but moved on to Excel. I am considered the Excel expert at my workplace. I used WordPerfect, liked it, but Word dominates the marketplace. I like Office and its components, and have used quite a few of the satellite programs as well. Once again, dating myself, I have been known to brag that the only computer course I have ever taken was DOS, and I still remember some of the commands.
Over the years, we have had quite a few computers, but our current unit is a Dell we purchased in February 2007, and it arrived with a big surprise, Vista. As I said above, I am a tinkerer, not a geek or nerd. Microsoft over the years has concentrated on putting in code more to control, monitor, and restrict what you do, and less to make it better for you. You see, I was able to install my Windows 95 into 2 computers, and they took this possibility away over the years.
In January 2008, we were moving to Vancouver, and I found I would need a laptop, so I did some research (poorly), and bought a refurbished no-name laptop for personal use. I had, a few months earlier, bought Office Home & Student, and was saying to the dude at the used laptop place that I would have to get another copy of Office. Fortunately, he explained that you usually get 3 licenses with Office, and he was right.
For $150 sometime in 2007, I was able to legally install Office on our desktop, our laptop, and Nita’s Dad’s desktop. This was very cool, and legal, because they all registered on line.
I had been listening to all the hype about Windows 7 and was ambivalent; the same people who were cheering on 7 had done the same for Vista, until after it launched. So I waited for a few months after they launched Windows 7, and went out and bought one. $150; seeing a pricing pattern?
I was hoping it would speed up my own laptop, so I could watch streaming video without the chop/stop effect. No luck. This had annoyed me so much that I had even attempted to downgrade to XP, but since Everex, the remanufacturer, had gone under, I was unable to locate XP drivers for the wireless card and the sound card.
I successfully installed WIN 7 in both my laptop and desktop. After almost a month, I did not see any difference in performance, and I still had my choppy video streaming on the laptop.
But then I received a Christmas gift from Microsoft; my desktop (installed 2nd) has an illegal copy of Windows 7, and I either have to enter a valid product key or purchase an on-line copy Windows 7.
I was actually ready to pay for a 2nd copy of Office, but didn’t have to. I was trapped in Vista for almost 2 years; I should have been recompensed for this, but instead I need to pay for each copy of the OS, which has no visible improvements. Geeks make up less then 5% of the consuming public. If a tinkerer like me can’t discern a difference, then this is a very narrow target market for Windows 7; geeks only? And I’m not even sure they can see a difference.
Sorry folks, but keeping rants internalized can be dangerous to one’s health.
Happy New Year & Cheers!
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