Mousky V1.0

My Singapore Concierge

2009-08-30T09:36:00.000-04:00

Concierge services produce a win-win scenario for both the employer and employee.

The employer is able to acknowledge the demand for better balance, they enhance company image, promote well-being with their staff, attract and retain quality personnel, increase company engagement, fine tune their corporate values and commitment to their workforce, increase productivity and efficiency levels, which all revert to a stronger foundation, and an increased bottom line.

The employee increases the on the job effectiveness, efficiency, productivity, and loyalty to their firm. They are more content with their balance, have happier and healthier home lives and relationships, decreased stress, and a stronger performance desire. The employee knows that their company is aware of the difficulties and strains of meeting the balance of both personal and professional lifestyles. Their company is interested, is concerned, and is meeting the challenge.

Indra Brooks, Vice President of the International Concierge and Errand Industry believes, "The benefits of a concierge service accrue not just to the employees, but to the employer as well. In fact, evidence suggests that concierge services contribute to increased worker productivity, improved morale, and a hiring advantage in a tight job market. For an employer hiring competent people who want to stay, you need to offer something more than a 401(k) and health and dental. Those things are now standard, so what can you offer your employees above and beyond that to show them this is the place they want to work? A concierge service is an inexpensive way to do that."

I know of a good concierge service, you can find out more here at My Singapore Concierge located at http://www.mysingaporeconcierge.com/

Trip Toll Charge

2009-07-21T12:08:00.003-04:00

Having to take my youngest to camp near Gravenhurst, I decided to use Highway 407 to bypass the mayhem of the Toronto and Mississauga area.

I don't mind paying the per kilometre toll. The video toll charge is largely a scam but I'm willing to pay it since I use the 407 less than four round trips a year. But now there is an additional fee: a Trip Toll Charge of 25 cents per trip. What the? Now the 407 ETR is charging me for taking a trip on the 407? I thought that per km toll covered that.

I'm not surprised. It's common in many regulated or non-competitive sectors for various "fees" to sprout up.

The cell phone industry is well known for it's fees. The one-time account set up fee. Network access fee. 911 fee. Hardware upgrade fee. Overage charges. Suddenly that $20 a month plan becomes $30 dollars.

Only decreasing or stagnant traffic volumes and/or increasing fixed costs could explain the need to add a 25 cent toll to each trip. Gee, it's not like they couldn't increase the per km toll by tenth of a cent or so.

Alternate Reality Known as CUPEland

2009-07-18T22:27:00.004-04:00

In CUPEland, workers that have been out on strike for 14 weeks do not want their vacation days to be pro-rated. Yes, while the majority of working Ontarians get either 2 weeks off or the cash equivalent, CUPE believes that not working entitles them to vacation time.

In CUPEland, said workers also want two of those vacation weeks paid out. I guess this is one way of having all the strikers not taking a bunch of time off for the remainder of the year to avoid staff shortages and overtime. It sure is nice for CUPE to be so considerate that they get a pay out.

In CUPEland, said workers also want the employer to cover the employers share of pension buy back for time on the picket line. At OMERS, when you buy-back previous time, the employee is responsible for both their share and the employers share. Again, CUPE believes that withholding services for 14 weeks entitles them to a pension.

In CUPEland, with the summer almost half over and with services not expected to return to normal two to three weeks after returning to work, the union believes that seasonal and temporary employees should be guaranteed a job. Most families have found alternatives to City programs for their kids. I don't expect many of them to return. We just don't need those seasonal and temporary employees. But CUPE being CUPE, believes that we do need them. Even if they are sitting around doing nothing (save for filling union coffers with dues).

And, in a classic example of CUPEland thinking, the union wants a guarantee that no returning employee will be disciplined for picket line infractions. Yes, while the majority of picketers were polite and respectful, CUPE must resort to protecting the stupid. Why can't unions just say "you fucked up on the picket line, and we don't want to associate ourselves with your kind. See ya"? And unions wonder why people don't have much love for them.

Wake Up Blogger

2009-07-07T13:18:00.004-04:00

When the date is listed as "07/07/09" how the fuck am I supposed to which 7 is for what?

How hard is it for Blogger to add a real calendar when selecting a date for a post? Heck, how hard is it for them to indicate below the date format a key "DD/MM/YY" or whatever?

I'll probably be switching this blog to WordPress over the summer. Why? Because it is more intuitive. You can change the size of the editing window. Ever tried moving around images in a Blogger edit window? Not very easy. Blogger needs some serious updating. Not much has changed with the interface.

Political Correctness Gone Awry

2009-06-28T14:06:00.001-04:00

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005

One requirement of the AODA is that anyone working in a customer service aspect must take training in how to provide customer service to people with disabilities.

My training consisted watching an online video about providing customer service to people with disabilities. Can I please have that one hour of my life back?

Yet another common sense thing has to be turned into a mandated issue. Hey, my kid has a disability. My wife worked with families that have children with disabilities. So, I probably have a little more experience dealing with people with disabilities then most of my fellow workers.

Have we become so tame, so whipped, that we need the government telling us how to deal people, disability or no disability? Whatever happened to personal responsibility?

Intimidation

2009-06-11T13:37:00.004-04:00

What kind of message do you send to the public when you hold an individual for three hours at the exit of a facility?

Yes, CUPE Locals 82 and 543 were holding people for up to three hours at the Central Avenue waste and recycling transfer facility on their way out. You see, the City has an injunction that limits pickets to five minutes. Now, in the wacky world of unions, that means each person that arrives at the entrance or exit will be held for five minutes. Well, if you are the 12th vehicle waiting to leave, you may have spent 60 minutes waiting.

How CUPE does not see this as intimidation is beyond me? Holding an elderly diabetic man for three hours is not going to win over people. You are angering the wrong people.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Spoiler Alert)

2009-05-14T14:28:00.003-04:00

Saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine with my oldest son last night. Not a bad movie. Not a great movie. My son liked it, and that is all that really matters.

That said, one thing in the movie bothered me.

Before Logan's skeletal system was reinforced with adamantium, a near indestructible metal, he would grow bone claws out of hands. Yet, after the adamantium reinforcement, Logan now grows sharp blades (that were also much duller in this movie).

Shouldn't he be growing adamantium-reinforced bone claws?

"Jerk"

2009-05-13T08:09:00.003-04:00

One way of not winning support during a strike is to call people a jerk.

You want me to wait for five minutes? Ask me, politely. That is all it would take. Really.

Demanding that I wait five minutes or that you WILL hold me for five minutes is not going to win me over.

Since when do you get to decide what I can and cannot do? I always find it amusing how the 'right to strike' and the 'right to picket' trumps my 'right to work' and my 'right to enter a building'.

Also, standing off to the side and yelling out demands doesn't sit well with me. Since when did sitting and/or standing around a picnic table equal picketing?

CUPE locals 82 and 543, you are losing the public. Do yourself a favour. Face reality and get back to the negotiating table. The majority of Canadians do not get post-retirement benefits for life. Heck, the majority of Canadians don't get post-retirement benefits period. What makes you so special?

Eliza Dushku

2009-05-08T17:56:00.003-04:00

Beautiful

The Mayor's Arrogance

2009-05-04T07:12:00.002-04:00

Make sure you watch the video, email a link to your friends and family, post it on your Facebook page and if you have a blog, embed a copy for everyone to see.

This is what Windsor City Council has become. Last minute meetings. The Mayor not providing information to Councillors to make an informed decision. The sad part: Only one Councillor has the guts to stand up to King Francis.

To MP Jeff Watson: How can your government support the funding of a canal while City streets, sidewalks, sewers and water mains crumble?

Strike Update - Week 2

2009-04-28T08:19:00.001-04:00

The inside workers have been on the strike for a measly 10 calendar days and the snide comments are already being made. Nice. I guess you really don't want my support?

Hey CUPE, go talk to your CAW brothers and sisters who are losing their jobs and giving concessions to keep the possibility of employment alive. Time for a reality check. Let me reiterate that once more: People are losing their jobs and you don't think you should have to give up anything? Even Ken Lewenza had to face reality.

Honeywell 7-Day Programmable Thermostate RTH8500D - Initial Impression

2009-04-23T09:01:00.005-04:00

Last Saturday, I purchased a new Honeywell 7-Day Touchscreen Universal Programmable Low Volt Thermostat at Canadian Tire. It was on sale for CDN$95.99. This replaced an existing Honeywell 5-2-Day programmable thermostat that my wife and I found had too high of a temperature swing - some people like that, but we found it annoying.

The box says it takes 15 minutes or less to install. My experience confirms that. I labelled the wires, removed the old thermostat and bracket, marked the holes with the new bracket, drilled the holes, installed the anchors, attached the bracket and attached the wires to the connectors on the bracket - a nice feature since the old thermostat had the wire directly connected to the thermostat. That took about 5 or so minutes.

I inserted the batteries. One thing: the packaging says 2 AAA batteries are required and not included. You need 3 AAA batteries. The system came to life.

Programming was straightforward. The touch screen is easy to use. One thing I like about the schedule mode is that you can select multiple days and you program from the cool and heat schedules at the same times.

If you touch the corners the backlight comes on. The thermostat has a filter reminder and even a button that freezes the screen so that it can be cleaned. Not a bad investment.

City Hall On Strike

2009-04-20T08:59:00.004-04:00

No, I'm not on strike. I'm a non-union professional employee, so I get to come into work, but not before crossing a picket line or two.

Striking in this current economic climate is not the logical thing to do. People are losing their jobs, and those that still have them have received no increases, or worse, had to take pay cuts.

A major issue in this strike is post-retirement benefits. I'm not talking about pensions - those are handled separately and are not an issue. Post-retirement benefits are the benefits (medical, dental, drugs) that you received while working and will keep receiving when you retire. The cost of such benefits is borne by the employer.

Most municipalities in Ontario limit post-retirement benefits till age 65. Others have a 10-year limit. Some do not provide post-retirement benefits at all. Windsor is the exception. The municipality provides lifetime post-retirement benefits. That is an expensive proposition.

The City is willing to keep lifetime post-retirement benefits for existing employees. For new hires, the City wants post-retirement benefits to be limited to 65 at which point the provincial plan kicks (it is not as generous as the municipal plan). Non-union employees are already subject to a similar arrangement.

The union argues that in the future, the new employees will have minimal interest in keeping lifetime post-retirement benefits and may be willing to scrap it in favour of wage increases or other negotiated items. Now, this could be true, but with over 1,600 employees, it will take some time for new hires to dominate the union. One would think that over this time, union officers could indoctrinate the new hires.

Then again, unions are supposed to be democratic institutions. If the majority of employees want to scrap lifetime post-retirement benefits, then so be it.

Right now, I'm still working at my usual job. That could change in the coming weeks. I'm sure that certain people will be 'protected' because they are better at kissing ass than I am. Oh well. Time will tell.

At A Crossroad in Land Use Planing

2009-03-24T17:22:00.005-04:00

Over the past 10 years, land use planning in the Province of Ontario has become more and more complex, more so under the Liberal government. I'm sure the lawyers and consultants appreciate the business (and to all the consultants and lawyers I know - it's not personal).

But what exactly has all this complexity accomplished? How are 40-day Ontario Municipal Board hearings, reports that are 10, 20 or 30 pages long, Official Plans that have more and more polices in them, and reams of 'supporting documentation' that sits under my desk gathering dust.

An OMB hearing shouldn't take 2 or 3 years to plan and it shouldn't take 40 days to 'hear everyone' out. It shouldn't take a team of lawyers and a team of experts to figure out what is an acceptable land use. People have become so focused on process, so focused on details that the big picture is mostly forgotten.

Reports are becoming unnecessarily long because people fear of 'missing' something and being dragged through the mud at the OMB. All the information is included. Technology has enabled us to easily update documents and add all sorts of maps, attachments and appendixes. No one asks if we need all that stuff. We can do it, so why not? Besides people like pretty images.

Official Plans are supposed to be long term guiding documents, but now often have policies that a contradictory to each other. Wonderful. Can we choose to ignore the contradictions in the name of 'general intent'? No because that will be 'used' against us at Council or the OMB.

And what about all those documents (and multiple copies thereof) we ask for? So much for protecting the environment as the Official Plan recommends we do.

Sometimes, I think we would be better off spinning a wheel and living with that decision. Quick. Cheap. Arbitrary.

Of course, when the Province finds that all this complexity is too much, they simply create legislation to bypass it (Green Energy Act anyone?)

So much for community based land use planning. So much for have straightforward discussions. So much for simplifying things.

Pissed

2009-03-24T10:39:00.002-04:00

The morning started off okay.

Then I got in the office. And all hell broke lose.

A report that I had been working on for about two months, that I thought was finished, went south quickly.

I was frustrated. I was angry. I was pissed.

It was a file I inherited. I knew that it had a long history. But no one ever told me that the issue discussed today would become a major headache.

Sometimes, Urban Planning is a pain in the ass. This is one of those times.

Rush Retrospective 3 (1998-2008)

2009-03-06T21:08:00.002-05:00

Just purchased the latest Rush anthology, Retrospective 3.

Yes, I have all the Rush studio albums, but this anthology includes remixes of One Little Victory and Earthshine from the Vapor Trails album.

Richard Chycki (engineer on recent Rush albums) remixed the two songs bringing out instruments and subtleties that were lost in the poor mix of the original album. The songs come to life with a broad sonic quality (not loud just full). Guitar parts that were lost came to the front. Geddy's vocals have a better presence. And Neil's drumming sounds much more intense.

I hope that Rush remixes the rest of the Vapor Trails album. It would be a worthwhile project.

I Don't Get It

2009-02-27T11:08:00.002-05:00

At a staff meeting yesterday, a colleague mentioned that another municipal department will be experimenting with creating a Facebook page to communicate with residents. Twitter is also being considered.

Great. Wonderful. It's about time. Welcome to the 21st century.

Thing is, my employer ("the City") blocks Facebook on the corporate intranet. Yes, those outside the corporation will be able to access the City's Facebook page, I will not be able to.

So on one hand, someone somewhere sees the value in Facebook in disseminating information. On the other hand, someone somewhere sees no value in allowing employees access to that information.

So much for 'empowering employees'.

Let The Market Decide

2009-02-26T10:21:00.003-05:00

Today, CTV Inc. announced that it will not be renewing the licence of TV stations in Windsor and Wingham. The Globe and Mail story notes includes the following quote from Paul Sparkes, CTVglobe's executive vice-president of corporate affairs:

"The traditional economic model for Canadian television is broken"

The traditional economic model is not broken. It's dead. Instead of innovating and moving forward, old media wants to sit on their laurels and have the government 'save' their business model - or at least change it in a way that creates by force a new stream of revenue.

Interestingly, the consumer is completely ignored. Why does the CRTC exist?

Battlestar Galactica

2009-02-23T18:32:00.000-05:00

Four more episodes left.

On one hand, I'm happy with the fact that the show is coming to an end on its own terms. Nothing like a show hanging on (ER, X-Files) with no end in sight. Coronation Street is one thing, but most shows need to have a beginning, a middle and an end.

On the other hand, once Battlestar Galactica is over, I'll have to find a new show to replace it. I'll have to check out some of the TV series available via TMN On Demand and HBO On Demand. I just finished watching the third (and hopefully final) season of Brotherhood. Maybe I'll watch Oz again. Who knows?

Snowblowers and Lawnmowers

2009-02-03T19:50:00.003-05:00

Okay, I have to admit that the volume of snow this season has pushed me to buy a snowblower. I've done the research and picked the Toro Power Clear 421Q single stage snowblower.

Think I could find one in the past two months in Southern Ontario? Not one. We don't have any direct sell retailers in Canada. I may have to rely on contacts in the US to find one.

Walk into Home Depot, Lowes, Canadian Tire or Home Hardware and you will likely see a growing display of lawnmowers. Lawnmowers? Who is buying lawnmowers in February when there is still a foot or two of snow? Do people get the urge to buy a lawnmower when the snow is falling? And if they do buy one, it's just going to sit there for two or more months.

One a random online forum, I read someone who was also looking for the 421Q. Seems some retailers in the Toronto area sold out in August. Do they mean August as is in hot, hazy and humid summer month August? This reminds of the receiving the Sears winter catalog in June.

I just don't get it. Why can't I buy a snowblower during the seasons known as Fall and Winter? And who would be buying a lawnmower in February?

Sheryl Crow

2009-02-02T19:32:00.002-05:00

What was Lance Armstrong thinking?

Hectic Month

2009-01-31T19:20:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a hectic month.

I had some time off at New Year's. That was a much needed break. Then it was to work for a week before heading to Orlando to Walt Disney World with the family.

That was followed by a week of getting things back in order before preparing for wife's crazy work week (fortunately her mom came down to help).

I can't believe January is over. Time to start making a list of projects that need to be done around the house. I really need to start crossing things off this year.

Confused

2009-01-28T08:56:00.001-05:00

I don't get it. In response to President Obama's stimulus package, the Republicans are ranting and raving about 'bigger government' and 'more spending'. What the?

These are the same Republicans that created one of the biggest expansions of government by creating the Department of Homeland Security and nationalizing airport security (TSA).

Now they are selling themselves as small-government spend-thrift conservatives?

Unbelievable.

Sara Rue

2009-01-04T19:48:00.004-05:00

Sensuality and sexuality all rolled up in one amazing body

Megan Fox

2008-12-29T19:10:00.003-05:00

I can't wait for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen