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Vancouver SpecialJanuary 16 Translink SucksOkay, this was a really good day for me - so might expect that my first blog entry in MONTHS is going to be about that. Well, bad news: it's not. Today it's about the Lower Mainland transit system, run by Translink. In the past few months of winter, I have seen so many Skytrain distruptions that this last one has me completely at my witt's end.
What happened? As I entered Granville station today at 4pm, I was greeted with an announcement that, due to a power issue, the line between Metrotown and Edmonds was shut down, so the line would terminate at Metrotown. That's no big deal to me, so I kept walking.
The eastbound train was full. No, not usual full, but "I've been here for 15 minutes and starting to be claustrophobic" full. The only time I saw worse was on the first snowfall, when people would not even clear the doors.
Keep in mind here, that I have taken my car on three days this year to avoid having to deal with the Skytrain being overtaxed. That's $12 per day! I also took cabs twice due to interuptions (such as the first snowfall), which cost about the same amount.
I've lost my track now. (har har). I realised that today was really the first realization that passengers are getting used to it! Everyone avoided crowding the doors, foots were avoided and those who wanted to get off, did. A spot became available during the 10 minute wait at Granville where I was allowed to enter the train. I had let the first spot go to an older Chinese lady - not because I was trying to be nice (don't want to sound like I'm bragging here) but because she appeared to want to get on more.
Anyways, during the eventual trip to Broadway station, which proceeded smoothly and without any pushing, one lady from Maple Ridge told a small group of us a story of how she used to pay $45/day to bring her whole family into the city on the West Coast Express. Now, she HAS to drive to the end of the Skytrain line because it is cheaper. I suggested that she could buy a house in the city for the extra money and she told me about her massive two lot plot. Hmmm... $45x20... what does another $900/month add to your maximum mortgage amount? I bet she could get a comfortable space between Rupert and Renfrew close to the B-Line.
A second lady got off the train with me at Commercial and phoned her partner to say she was meeting another friend to go for dinner due to the Skytrain delay and would see him later on. Oh yea, I remember doing that myself one time when I was caught in North Van by a blocked Lions Gate Bridge. That was in a car though - and so much of a waste of fuel!
What's the point to this rant?
Vancouver is going to grow like mad for the next 20 years (at least) no matter how much people try to force business suburbanisation onto the Lower Mainland, the city core will still be the hub of commerce. Our system is well designed, but requires a minimum doubling in capacity by whatever means necessary (can we vertically twin the lines? I suppose making another new generation of trains that push the boundaries. Can we have asyemetrical trains?). While you're running the new lines, add power redundancy for both lines and new generators.
Where does this money come from? Well, if people are used to paying $900 a month to commute, increase the pass prices. But, keep the company fare packages at the same price, so there is a real benefit ($9/month?? are you kidding?) to committing to a year of service.
I sure don't appreciate commiting to it at its current level.
And to start talking about how the Lions Gate Bridge is a joke because no NDP get voted into West Van... that's a different story.
Wow.. I'm back :) I'll try to get back into this writing groove!
November 05 Where I work...I've always loved building custom computers and optimizing my operating systems, so when I went for a tech interview and was asked if I wanted to be in their sales force instead, I was a little hesitant.
For Shortline, my role was half-tech half-sales and support. Therefore, I had five years of experience doing something I never thought too highly off - but was moderately okay at it. I did not like trying to cold-call up business, or pushing customers to buying things that I didn't think they needed. Well, call me an ethical salesman.
I talked with a few of my friends, and they all supported the idea, so I decided to give it a try.
Now, I sit in front of a computer, on the 14th floor of an office tower, talking to people on the phone all day. I call them to remind them to pay their yearly maintenance fee. I call them to ask them to buy the software we sell. In fact, I make about 30 calls a day - including COLD CALLS.
The question is: Why can I do it now?
The answer is two things:
1. I changed my attitude about calling, like I did about public speaking when I started teaching.
2. I think the software is AWESOME!
So, what is this software that is so great? I've been working on computers for 26 years and when I found out about it I thought, "Why the hell didn't I hear about his before???"
The program is called Deep Freeze, which does "reboot to restore." What does this mean? It means that you set up your machine exactly the way you want it, then "FREEZE" it. Now, you can use the machine, doing whatever, BUT when you reboot, it goes back to the original state you froze it at. Any changes to the frozen space are gone! Why is this cool? Get a virus... reboot and it's gone. Deleted the registry? Reboot and it's back. Delete Windows? Reboot! Yep, it DOES work.
If you want to install software, you can temporarily "THAW" the drive, install, then freeze again and you're on your way. Of course, you can even install to the frozen drive to test the software first... if you like it, reinstall in thawed. If you don't, then reboot and it's 100% gone.
You can get a 60 day evaluation at www.faronics.com . If you're a friend of mine and like it, let me know and I can get you a friends and family discount. If you don't know me, don't bother to ask :)
REMEMBER: There is NO way to get your password back if you forget it (Except expiring the evaluation edition by going into the bios and moving your clock ahead), so be sure to back up your important data.
NEVER HAVE TO REINSTALL YOUR COMPUTER. What???? YUP. October 02 Still Doing Breakfast...Yes, it's still happening -- Sunday Drive breakfast parties! These days, we go to Stella's. Saturday was my birthday, so Sunday was hangover recovery day at Stella's. It was great to have some new faces - Kevin, my cousin from Winnipeg (sorry for telling) and olden days friend Erin with her daughter Raina and another Drive local, Christina. Erin will be heading back to Japan in the near future, but hopefully we'll see more of Christina (who has no excuse). Link & Em and Simon & Aline couldn't make it because the ladies were selling Girl Guide cookies (???) but I hear they'll be out next weekend. Remember, it's 11am EVERY Sunday - and I'll post here if we are going to move the location. If you read this, you're invited! September 17 Yummy, expensive foodApparently, the Trout Laker Farmer's Market has been going on every weekend, all summer, but this is the first time that I have heard of it. It should be going on next weekend too, so if you see anything you like... check it out! My favourite: cheese curds!
Can you find the Government MP in the photos? Email me and win a prize :) September 14 El DoradoDid you know that the El Dorado, the classic biker bar at Nanaimo and Kingsway, is being replaced by apartment towers?
That may not be too disappointing, unless you know the details.
1. There will be TWO towers
2. The first tower will be 22 stories tall, and the second will be 15.
These will be the twin towers of an area where most of the buildings are a maximum of 3 or 4 stories tall!
Well, it won't change my area directly, but I can imagine it will change the view of many others...
Also, did you know that Wal Mart re-petitioned to put a store in South Vancouver, and this time it was approved? Yuck. September 11 Weekend on The IslandAlex got married this weekend!
Ray, Raine, Kat, Arran and I went to Vancouver Island for the event, which was attended by the usual suspects. It was hosted at Alex's brother, Jason's, farm. Thanks for the food and entertainment, I had a great time.
We also hit a cool restaurant in Victoria TWICE, which I am in love it. It reminds me of home :)
Don't mind the shitty quality of pictures.. I took a TON of them with Paulo's wife Paulina's SLR camera, so hopefully I can get them shortly to post. September 01 Why Downloading is OkayIf you've ever had the notion that buying a CD is supporting the artist, and no stealing.. it's time you started reading the blog of the industry's biggest critic.. Bob Leftsetz... He has had a "newsletter" (that what the used to be called in the old days before blogs) for the past 20 years, but now he does regular posting on line at http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php
Sometimes he writes about other stuff in his life (like skiing) but don't get lost in that, look back into his archives and you'll be sure to find out plenty.
Is downloading stealing? Well, are the music industry business managers stealing from the artist revenues when they sell CD's?
Buy a T-Shirt. Go to a live show. Then, you will be supporting the artists. August 27 Weekend in West VanFinally, activity! Over the past few days, the company I work for had their employee .. events? I don't know exactly what to call it, but on Thursday we all went out for dinner. On Friday, we played Golf (I haven't played in 20 years.. phew...) On Saturday, we had a get together and dinner at the owner's place - and all of the events were awesome! Sorry, this was all in WEST Vancouver though, which is nowhere near EAST Vancouver! August 16 Cynical about being Cynical
So, is this a good thing or a bad thing? August 11 House SittingIn The House has another show.. in a house.. this time it is "folk music with a West Coast flair." I have no idea what that means. Has anyone attended one of these events yet? I'd like to hear your comments about them!
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