May 13, 2011
Shop local....
I want to shop local. It's especially important in the NT where without local support, many businesses can't manage to stick around long. I draw the line when chains are charging more just cause of location or because they know that the average person might not recognize a bad price.
I have been wanting to upgrade a few of the components in my brake system as I'm replacing the brake lines and when you've got the brake fluid drained you might as well do the lot. I got some quotes for parts but thought all the prices seemed a little inflated. I checked this out at several major parts supplier chains in Darwin and found the same disparity in prices. I then compared these to ebay and found much better prices.
Now I realize that ebay does allow some stores to offer better prices as they can be purely a warehouse with no physical store presence and that can cut costs on their part. In terms of car parts suppliers, most of their physical stores are giant warehouses with only the most basic sort of storefront anyways so this argument has less of an effect.
I was in Melbourne recently, so I decided to check prices there to see if shipping to the NT might have been a factor but alas the prices were the same.
In the end, I went with ebay cause it was $70 cheaper on a $170 bill which included shipping and I was also able to get a 54mm socket for use in replacing the front end bearings this season.
A much closer gap in prices and local would take it...but maybe shopping local through national chains is a waste of time....
Posted by Dr.Unk at 1:07 PM | Comments (0)
December 9, 2010
I hate frakkin scrivets!
I chose to use the old Battlestar Galactica curse to describe the passion to which I hate scrivets. It's funny how a sci-fi series can curse using a word of their own creation (possibly stolen from the oil and gas industry) and remain PG-13 or whatever rating when the word it can be assumed to replace shares so many common phonetics that even a 6 year old might draw the parallels between the two.
As usual, I start on one subject and digress quickly to another rant. Back to the topic at hand - Scrivets.
Didn't know they existed several hours ago, and now I can't stand'em.
A scrivet is, as some have already guessed, a cross between a screw and a rivet. A good idea but like communism, it fails in its application. They seem to be used extensively in plastic format to hold on more plastic pieces on modern vehicles.
My fight with them is on two grounds. Number one - they are rarely able to be extracted as they were designed. More often than not, a screwdriver is required, not to undo them nicely, but to pry them out of their holes viciously. A little bit of dirt is often the cause, with the result being thousands of bits of plastic shrapnel covering the workshop floor and mental fuse shortened further.
My second beef with these little fasteners is the idea they represent. Use lots of platic on vehicles and connect it all with even more plastic and more disposable parts. Now, don't get me wrong, the weight saved by using plastic has its advantages, but I just prefer something a little more old fashioned - like nuts and bolts. I enjoy taking apart pieces of a vehicle for a project and putting them back together...without having to go shopping to replace half the fasteners.
Modern vehicles are getting worse and worse to work on. A couple months ago, we replaced the OEM stereo in Nat's commodore. Took us a whole afternoon of cursing as everything required just the right amount of force to convince it to fit as it should. Force that was constantly balanced by the fear of braking some critical tab or plastic fitting. I replaced my radio in the landcruiser (a sony with a newer sony) and all it required was undoing 6 screws and 3 bolts and swapping the radio in and it was done. Might have taken 20 minutes. That's the difference between the practical metal technology of the past and modern plastic styling was of things.
As a t-shirt my Aunt used to wear in the 80's said: "You can take this job and screw it!"
Posted by Dr.Unk at 4:24 PM | Comments (0)
July 31, 2009
Recession blues
Here is a great example of how the economy works. People feel the pressure from this "global recession" we are having and spend less money. That means that they may order less food or eat out less times, or as I have noticed in my line of work (hospitality) - tipping less.
I realize this is a touchy subject, so I won't get into huge details or even come close to the 'autograt' debate. Instead, I'll just go over the basics again. From my experiences, it is safe to say that given an exceptional level of service provided by a server (meeting and exceeding your every needs, tailoring the dining/drinking experience to your tastes) a gratuity of 15% is average. Sometimes this varies and may settle anywhere in the 10-20% range.
It seems that 'recession' is a code word for 'only tip 10%'. Given the recent news that the 'recession' is over or close to it but that recovery will be slow, I propose a solution:
With exceptional service, show that you appreciate it. There's a good chance that that extra little bit of income will encourage a server to go out and spend that money, perhaps at a business that you work at. Maybe that increase will encourage your boss to stop cutting back your hours, or maybe to hire someone back part-time. When money is continually spent, it has a profound effect on the economy known as the money multiplier or maybe something else. I can get things confused - like things that I learned in an economics degree....or maybe just a quote from the movie Cocktail. Either way, when we spend money it has following on effects, where it continues to be spent by those down the supply/service line. This is why they say saving during a recession continues to hurt the economy and why banks are sorta screwing us over when they get government money as stimulus but then refuse to lend it out.
I will promise this, you spend more money on your server (again, assuming they deserve it through great customer service) and we will do our best to turn around and spend that money to stimulate our economy.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 1:19 PM | Comments (0)
February 1, 2009
Why DIY is so popular
With the weather in Jasper dipping to a bone chilling -35 degrees on some nights, we decided to look into a block heater for the Tacoma. Why it wasn't fitted with one to start with I cannot understand but that was something I should have thought of before leaving Ontario.
It would have been a better idea in Ontario, as our home dealership in Renfrew, George Jackson Toyota, quoted me a price of $85 plus a half hour labour for the install. Unfortunately, I was calling from Jasper to get the quote so it was really only a research exercise. When I called dealerships in Edmonton, they quoted the same price for the part but were asking for an hour's worth of labour for the install.
In the past, I might have paid this and just chalked up the extra cost to bad consumer research on my part. Luckily, in my travels and adventures around Australia, I spent a fair amount of time working on and learning about vehicles and basic mechanics. For a few minutes spent online I was able to find someone else who had done a self install on their own Tacoma and provided a few pictures.
To sum things up, I was able to install the block heater myself and save all the labour charges. That and I was able to do it in 35 minutes...and that's by crawling underneath the truck, lieing on a tarp in the middle of a nice, warm January day to do it. To think that with a garage, a hoist and prior knowledge of the details of installation, it would take anyone an hour to do the job is a little outrageous. I'm also a little peeved with how dealerships/garages charge a flat rate typically associated with a master mechanic's wages, even for jobs that are guaranteed to be passed on to the apprentice making less than a third of his wages.
And that's why I reckon that Do It Yourself is as popular as it is these days. Everyday, people are encountering ridiculous prices for things that most people can accomplish themselves.
Empower yourself and save a bit of cash. That's my tip for the global recession.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 12:52 AM | Comments (0)
January 4, 2009
How can banks ever complain?
I remember as a child being taught the principles of banking. If you wanted to save money you could give your coins and bills to the bank and they would use your money to lend to others to keep the economy expanding. In return, they usually would pay you interest for that privilege.
In university, I learned the more complicated version, which I eventually forgot as I travelled and worked in environments largely unrelated to macroeconomics.
Either way, looking back at the progression from my childhood innocence to my current level of semi-maturity, there have been many changes in the way people interact with banks. The first change was of course, the introduction of the automated teller. This allowed people to make quick transactions without having to wait in lineups for the tellers. This, in theory, should have freed up the tellers to deal with more complicated customer service issues. We next had the introduction of the Interac (EFTPOS for any Aussie readers) system. You could carry less cash and in theory this would make it even easier for banks and tellers as the transactions involved computers more and people less. Finally, we have the internet and access to your accounts around the clock. All this, from my limited memory of my education, would in theory reduce a lot of costs for the banks as their staff are less involved in day to day transactions. I seem to remember that that was one of the selling points of the first generation of ATM's.
Of course, before this recent economic slowdown, we witnessed banks achieving record profits and doing quite well for themselves. Now how has the average customer been rewarded?....with ever shrinking interest rates paid on savings accounts (I may not be able to substantiate this claim), ever increasing costs of transactions and more red tape than a Red Army parade in Moscow.
I would love to know how the banks can justify charging the monthly rates that they demand for having an everyday chequing account. Even a basic plan that provides only the minimum amount of transactions/privileges is typically $7 a month. If you were lucky enough to have a savings account that paid 2% annual interest, you'd have to maintain a $4200 balance just to pay for that chequing account. And if you spend an extra $5 a month they'll give you so many more transactions without fees. Do you think that it costs an extra $5 every month per customer to enable those computers to handle your extra transactions? Not really sure about that.....
And why am I ranting like this? I recently closed down a CIBC account (which we had to open cause there's still companies in Jasper that are stuck in the last millenium/last decade and using paycheques as opposed to direct deposit) and found out that there's a fee for closing before three months has expired. I left it for a while and was busy with holiday preparations and work. When I went back to close it, I'd been charged for another month's fees and it ended up costing me $25 to close down our account. Not only that, because I'd forgot to have some cash on me, I had to use their ATM (which cost me an extra $1.50 service charge) to take money from my original bank just to stop using CIBC.
I will admit that some of the blame in all this fiasco is my own. I'm sure had I read through the tons of fine print I would have realized the extra costs of leaving the bank early or cancelling my business with them. I'm more writing of this to hopefully encourage others to pay much more attention to how the banks are using or misusing your money. It is really something that you have to stay on top of at all times.
Beware the bank!!
Posted by Dr.Unk at 12:37 PM | Comments (0)
November 18, 2008
How can this be constitutional???
So the Ontario government has taken it upon itself to protect the youth of Ontario. They are attempting to pass legislation that would prevent teenage drivers from having more than one teenage passenger in the vehicle. In addition, drivers under the age of 22 would also have a zero tolerance for alcohol. Now, don't get me wrong, I think that drinking and driving is a serious matter but I think that the government is going a little far with these propsosals.
Ontario already has a drinking age of 19. You are tried as an adult for any crimes that commit after the age of 18 (or earlier). You can express your right to vote and have a say in the direction of our great country at the age of 18. You can join the Canadian Forces and be sent to represent our country in some of the most dangerous warzones in the world...yet on the eve of deployment you would not be able to legally have a drink (possibly for the last time ever...) with your mates.
Now, the government is proposing a law that wouldn't let three 19 year olds drive anywhere together...wouldn't let a 21 year old have a beer (responsibly) and then drive. Of course, maybe I'm just ranting a little much...after all, who'd possibly trust someone studying in their 3rd year of university to understand how to responsibly enjoy some alcohol.
And just one more thought - can a 19 year old in the military drive an armoured personnel carrier if more than one other soldier in his unit is also a 19 year old willing to die for his country?
Posted by Dr.Unk at 8:49 PM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2008
Headphones...or the iPod revolution
Alright, I just gotta say this:
Having an iPod or mp3 player or any other portable music is NOT a license to karaoke anywhere...
Posted by Dr.Unk at 10:14 AM | Comments (0)
March 31, 2008
Fuel prices skyrocket in Alice
So in the past 2-3 weeks, I've seen the price of diesel go up roughly 10%!
WTF mate!!!!!
We're now paying roughly $1.749 for a single litre of diesel. You can save another $0.08/L if you shop at certain grocery stores and spend $30 or something.
Has this put a dampen on my outback adventures? Just a weee bit. Less steaks and more 2 minutes noodles once you get there. I know that oil is a commodity that is ever decreasing in supply, but shocks in price like that are ridiculous.
I'm now going to reminisce (sp?) warmly about driving in high school when I could get a litre of petrol(oz)/gas(cdn) for $0.47/L. Ahhhhhhhh, those were the days.
Cheap fuel came in handy back then cause everywhere you drove was uphill and through a meter of snow....technically it was probably three feet of snow.... you know, back in tha day and all.
Peace in the middle east.... may arrive once the oil has left us.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 4:22 AM | Comments (0)
January 23, 2007
There is no honour among thieves...
The movies we watch (the Sting, the Score, Ocean's whatever, Catch Me if You Can, etc) portray some thieves as being noble people and their careers as romantic and only slightly perpendicular to the law. But these are not the criminals who will most likely, at some point influence our lives. You don't ever hear about someone throwing a rock through your car window and leaving a polite note apologizing that they would normally have picked the lock to steal the bag inside but they were late for dinner and had to pick the kids up from soccer practice. Nothing like that happens. Criminals have absolutely no morals. An example being:
"THIEVES broke into the cars of firefighters who were busy battling a blaze in Sydney's north.
Several items were stolen from the cars of two Rural Fire Service personnel on Sunday and Monday at Berowra Waters ferry wharf, police said.
The owners of the vehicles were understood to be fighting a fire at Mt Kuring-gai at the time."
-- courtesy of the Courier Mail via News.com.au
These are firefighters - men and women doing a job that helps protect and save people's lives. And what are they rewarded with? Some little insignificant pricks, whose only noticeable contribution to the world is negative, taking their belongings while they work.
I really hope that when these criminals return home after their 'day of work' they find their homes and everything they own burnt to the ground...or better yet, the fire occurs after they get home and it takes the firefighters a few too many minutes extra to get to the scene as they couldn't find the maps that had been stolen from their vehicles...
If only that type of irony existed in real life. Too bad that it has been relegated to the movies just like the honourable thief.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 4:52 PM | Comments (0)
June 28, 2006
Shsssssshh, keep this shit quiet!
"Most Americans don't know Canada is their biggest oil supplier"
If you don't wanna read the article or it's gone, don't worry, it's basically just saying that some poll showed only 4% of Americans realized that Canada was the largest foreign supplier of oil to the States.
You know what? For once I'm happy with this American ignorance. Don't let the bastards know that we're the ones boiling their 'Texas tea'. Gulf War? How about Great Lakes war...not that it would last at all. We're far too civilized for that, and by 'civilized' I mean we're already so intertwined economically with the States that a war for one commodity just wouldn't be in their interest. And besides that, there's a good majority of Canadians who've got that 'good ole fashioned christian mentality'. They've got the same thing in the States, 'cept their definition of 'good ole' is closer to that of good ole Crusades...
So let's keep this whole thing on the down-lo just to be safe. We're lucky it was reported on the CBC...no way any Americans will have read it.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 12:41 AM | Comments (0)
May 21, 2006
Worst bit of television ever...EV-RRRRR!
So I laid low last night cause until I start work I'm broke. Not sure how or why I started watching it but the Eurovision 2006 Song Contest was on. I think it was some other guy in our room watching it and no one had enough energy to change the channel.
I'm not sure what the exact premise of the contest was but a bunch of european countries presented songs, all with bad lyrics, poor beats and dancing presentations reminiscent of a 7 year olds impression of the crap that is typically only found in commonwealth games opening ceremonies. Actually, scratch that. Involving a dancing 7 year old would have given the show a little bit of credit and imagination.
After all the countries presented their songs, we next had to sit through a larger number of european countries voting for their favourites. This was especially dragged out and horrible as they gave out a list of points from 1-7, then had the big point nominees for 8, 10, and 12 points. When the 12 point nominee was named they would cut to a camera covering the performing act happy backstage. This went on for every bloody country in Europe. I'm not really sure how accurate this contest could be, as most of the countries took time to blow their neighbours a 'kiss' and nominate them for the big points. All the former Yugoslav republics hugged each other and the former Russians did the same. The only fresh act was the winner, Finland, who dressed as crazy monsters of rock. I missed the song the first time they played it so I was pulling for them just because they didn't do any ballroom dancing or artistic crap that every other song touted.
But when they did win and took the stage for an encor, they did not play an energy packed Rammstein-esque kickass rock ballad, but a piece of crap rock song that would have been hard pressed to win at a highschool talent show.
It was such a bad show that I had to write about it. It is also a confession, in that I am admitting that I watched it. But let it be known, that had I had more energy, and not napped through most of it, I would have changed the channel or left the room. Maybe.
Or maybe it was one of those 'it's so bad it's funny moments'...
Posted by Dr.Unk at 11:00 PM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2006
What's with the world today...
I was watching the news this morning and there was a story about the Da Vinci Code. Surprising, eh? Well, I forget the exact details but there was a large group of Catholics going on a hunger strike to protest the release of the movie in India.
To protest the opening of a movie.
Sure, the book and movie don't portray hard-core Catholicism in the greatest way but I'm not sure if it's really gonna cast huge doubts in people's minds about the deity of Jesus Christ. It's got about the same chance of doing that as The Day After Tomorrow has in convincing Americans in signing the Kyoto Accord. Catholics are not going to change their faith because of a movie. They haven't changed in centuries, even with the whole lack of condoned birth control and the numerous priest/little boy scandals. If anything, this book/movie is one giant marketing tool that's sending tons of attention towards the Catholic faith. If anyone should really be worried, it's more Opus Dei, who don't come off very well considering one of the main villains belongs to their ranks (solely in the fictional sense).
Less rambling though. These people are willing to organize a hunger strike cause "It's a more Christian way of doing things rather than pulling down things and tearing them up," said the group's general secretary Joseph Dias.
How about doing the Christian thing and organizing a hunger strike to bring attention to the famines in Africa or maybe the genocides!? Or maybe the problems in the Middle East or for victims of the Tsunami? Maybe they did and I just didn't hear about it, cause it wasn't catchy enough to make the news. It's too bad all the attention from a book and movie is being directed at an argument of facts/myths/legend that happened 2000 years ago.
Maybe it's just my take on Christianity, but it seems like no matter what the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdelene was, we'd all be better off spending our time and money helping others less fortunate rather than protesting a movie that has not even been released yet.
Come on, it's directed by Ron Howard and stars Tom Hanks. How controversial could it be?
Posted by Dr.Unk at 9:05 PM | Comments (0)
August 19, 2005
A letter to my hero...
Dear gym guy,
I hope you somehow receive this letter of appreciation. I couldn't help but notice you in the gym the other day. You were so much larger than life, doing that standing/lunging military press with 50lb dumbbells. And the way that you dropped them after each excruciating set, sending a loud echoing thunder across the gym floor was inspiring. And who could forget the icing on the cake - you strutting around the CIF feeling all jacked up and walking laps, eyeing everyone up like you wanted to fight. So intimidating....I almost pissed myself. I truly wish that I could pack so much dramatic presence into a 5'7, 145lb frame....you sir, are my new hero!
Posted by Dr.Unk at 12:40 PM | Comments (1)
July 4, 2005
Shot down in flames.....
So I got stuck in bad traffic on the 401 coming home from Canada Day celebrations in the Ottawa Valley. I really don't think I'll ever understand how traffic works...I mean, one minute you're cruising nicely and the next it's stop and go. There was no visible cause for the slowdown but there it was. I will go on record as saying that rubbernecking should be an offence punishable by 9 lashes. There is no reason that traffic on the 401 should suddenly slow to 20km/h just cause some dumbasses are curious as to why a towtruck is pulling some idiot out of the ditch.
Enough rant, back to the point. What I was thinking (which actually relates to the title) was the various times my offers of a romantic evening were turned down by members of the fairer sex. Yes, that's right, even someone as suave and good-looking as myself gets shot down....(if there were HTML coding for sarcasm, it would have been invented for that last line). The thing I found funny though was that most times these girls/ladies/women/broads/chicks/whatever term you would politely use to describe the female sex in the 19-25 range, apologized saying that they had a boyfriend. Looking back, there was no way that that many g/l/w/b/c/etc actually had boyfriends. This led me to the epiphany on the 401 - the nicer and more polite you are, the more likely it is that when you're shot down in flames (for whatever reason) it will be by a fictious boyfriend....I will name him the Dread Baron. I sorta picture him like Snoopy in his WWI goggles, but evil.
I welcome any women to attest to the validity of my theory
Posted by Dr.Unk at 5:54 PM | Comments (0)
June 27, 2005
Transportation costs are unavoidable
I hate the act of transportation. I love travelling but I hate getting there. It always seems to cost more than it should. Gas prices are skyrocketing...as they should. You can't deny it, a non-renewable resource that is becoming scarce. Basic economics, dwindling supply and increasing demand. I do remember in grade 12, on March break filling up my truck at $0.472/L, and I miss that. I do try to drive as little as possible. As soon as it's nice out and the roads are dry I rollerblade as much as possible. It's nice, relaxing, good exercise and relatively cheap...at least I thought so.
I bought rollerblades in 2nd year after trying my roommates. I immediately fell in love with the sport. I'd go blading at midnight for an hour to clear my mind when bogged down with homework or women or anything else. I try and keep my blades in good working condition; I rotate my wheels every couple months to even out the wear and I clean and lubricate my bearings when the dirt builds up. But I blade a lot and so the wear and tear can get extreme. For instance, I'm on my second set of wheels and bearings...which is reasonable cause I'm sure I've put at least a thousand klicks on my blades. Except now, I'm gonna be on my third set of wheels. The last set I bought were the hardest durability available, 80A I think. This apparently means nothing though as they've worn down in only 1.5 seasons. How worn down? Well take a look.
 |  |  |
Yeah, how much does that suck?
Oh, did I fail to mention that I have to take my car into the shop this week cause I'm pretty sure that my brakes are fucked? Yeah, transportation costs are inevitable....and so is me bitching about them.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 11:50 AM | Comments (0)
May 7, 2005
Geeks at the gym...
I realize that UW is an academic institution and therefore there will be many students whose sole focus is schooling. Seeing people like this at the gym is not what I'm complaining about....that's great for them to get out of the classroom and exercise more than just there minds.
What I'm peeving about are guys wearing weightlifting gloves to the gym. This in itself would not be strange if I were talking about large guys doing superheavy free weights where they might need the extra support and protection. I work out at the Icefields, CIF....where there is really nothing but machines. Why are regular little dweebs walking around this gym with gloves on? Are they afraid to get a callus on their palms? Honestly, what advantage do these gloves provide someone lifting 75lbs on a machine? If there is someone out there that can provide this answer I would love to hear it.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 4:42 PM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2005
Gettin' Old...start lookin at her hands
So I hit on a married chick last night (ironically our conversation involved discussion that girls/woman would rather be called chicks than broads...hey Thudds, apparently it's a bad thing).
I sorta realized that I was getting old when it was a lot later in the afternoon that I woke up after a big night of drinking. In first year, a big night out meant the next day consisted of getting up around noon and makin my way to the caf to get some soup and a sandwich to ease the stomach and get back into the swing of things. Nowadays, if I've really ripped into 'er, it's waking up at 2-3pm and the rest of the day is spent on the couch with a caesar and movies on the tube. But I've been ignoring this for a while...
I've now hit that point in my life where I can no longer be naive. I don't like the fact that if I go out now I have to worry about women that don't just have boyfriends but husbands. It's like comparing a speed bump to a brick wall.
I don't think I'm gonna like this whole screening process that now has to be incorporated into nights out. I mean, come one, it's hard enough to find a good lookin gal who isn't annoying, or high maintenance, etc.. now I have to make sure that some lucky clutz didn't get aquainted first? These are the burdens of getting old. Now I see why shit like Temptation Island was popular.
So it's official....I'm old. It won't really sink in until that first birthday where I'm no longer in school...up to that point I may try and deny it but the married chick incident has opened my eyes. I guess my only hope is to embrace it and see where it takes me....my guess is, it'll be off-campus, that's for sure!
Posted by Dr.Unk at 1:44 AM | Comments (0)
January 24, 2005
Slow-walkers...hate'em
If you've ever walked with me, you'll know that I'm a fast walker. I'm not sure how I became one, but it may be because:
a) I'm from the country
b) I usually rollerblade or drive
c) I'm just impatient
Either way, I can't stand slow-walking people. They usually don't bother me for most of the year cause it's easier to pass by them and the scenery is nicer....
Which is why the winter cold makes me hate them more. It just seems like more people huddle together in slow walking packs when the temperature drops. This kills me cause it's harder to walk by these packs of slower-movers destined to be eaten by wolves should civilization ever fall. It's also damn cold out! Why would anyone want to doddle along outside in the crazy cold, Waterloo wind? I'm surprised there aren't more slow-walkers frozen in drifts out there! I can see it now, archaeologists from this summer unearth scores of the slow-walking variety of homo sapiens on campus. Think of the scientific research!
I know we can all get along (at least until the wolves come) so stick with the rules of the road - slower traffic stays right. This way I won't have to run you over.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)
December 15, 2004
Jehova's Witnesses
So I was sitting in the apartment watching TV - Starship Troopers II to be exact. Noticeably more low-budget than the first and not in a good way, however it did contain elements of the book that weren't explored in the first. In my opinion, it had the potential to be a great set of movies but was lost after people couldn't take the first one seriously... which is sort of ironic, cause it was meant to be cheesy. Again, I digress....
Oh yeah, the door. It was one of those knocks that I'll normally avoid. The type where it's 10am and you know it's just someone at the door trying to harass you. Either a person from Bell wanting you to switch your internet or some guy trying to guarantee you low gas prices (on a side note, a buddy is doing this and making tons of cash).
For some reason I went against my better intuition and opened the door... I don't know why, it's Christmas time and I thought it might be something surprising... like a free massage from a supermodel... or Girls Gone Wild does apartment #5, (hey I can dream). But of course, as you've already guessed from the title, it was Jehova's Witnesses.
Now I have no problem with different religions. I, myself share Christian beliefs (most of them) and plan to look into other faiths and come up with something I can live with or to. It's just something about people who are trying to force their beliefs or information upon me that is really annoying. It's like Bell coming to my door...if I wanted to switch from Rogers because they had a better deal, I would have learned about it myself and a door-to-door annoyance wouldn't be necessary.
But back to the Witnesses. I'm always polite with anyone at the door which is probably why they come and hang around so long. He was quoting bible references concerning the Saviour and such and how most people only associate Christmas with the baby Jesus and not how he was born to be our Saviour. He then followed this up with another quote about the tumult among nations and how that was what is going on right now. I forgot what he said next exactly but it was something about how this could be helped because of our Saviour...which I found a little self-absorbed. Here this man has just made this analogy when most of the conflict in the world today is between the ultra-conservative mid-western christian Americans and essentially everyone else.
I had a few minutes to comtemplate this while he continued to ramble on. Even if Jesus could return and save all the christian believers.. and forgive their sins (he'd be busy) - there's still half the world who'd look up for a second, be like "WTF", and then go back to plotting the destruction of the US for stealing their oil or trying to stage a coup in their government or something else.
And then, I realized that I really didn't want to be thinking about all of that shit cause it's the holidays. It's a time to be thankful for what you have - family, friends, etc. It's time to pass that along to those who aren't as lucky.
In this lengthy (hadn't planned it to be long) discussion of annoying door knocks and my faith, I've come to the conclusion that wherever it takes you or me, start with understanding and the Golden Rule and things will work out..... and don't knock on my door, please.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 10:19 AM | Comments (0)
December 2, 2004
Clueless Bar Patrons
Quick rant about stupid-ass bar patrons. I realize that working at the Bomber means 99% of our patrons are students and that the majority of them are on tight budgets. As well, the Bomber represents the first bar experience for a lot of people. This contributes to many students not knowing how to tip or simply not having the funds to tip extroardinarily. This is fine. I appreciate any tips that are given. I have told many patrons and friends that at no point will I refuse service to someone who does not tip. My job is to provide the service of alcohol in a safe environment following the regulations of the liquour license act. Every patron I serve receives the same basic level of service - however, those people who go above and beyond to demonstrate their appreciation for my efforts (ie. good tippers) will receive improved service. Servers make $6.20/h - less than minimum wage. We depend on tips to make up the difference. In the bar industry, TIPS stands for To Insure Prompt Service. I realize that insure should actually read ensure, but that doesn't fit... and besides, we're bartenders, who cares. If I have someone who is tipping well, it serves my interests and theirs to serve them before someone who is not. It is guaranteed money for me (ie. helps to pay the rent) and shows that I appreciate that they appreciate my work. I will then serve other patrons in order that they appear as best I can remember or distinguish.
This is losing focus so I will wrap it up with an example. I had some people come in and wanted to pay with credit card and debit at Satellite bar. We do not have a machine over at that bar so I explained that we deal with cash only unless they'd like to run a tab and pay at the end of the night when we're less busy and I can spare the time to take them to Main bar and process their tabs. They then ran tabs. One person bought a round and wanted to pay with debit. I had a break cause we weren't very busy so I took the time to pay off her bill on debit. This takes at least 5-7 minutes as myself and the patron had to go over to Main bar and run through her card. This person tipped $0.11 on a bill of $12.25. I was not impressed. I could have served many more drinks in that 5-7 minutes and guaranteed myself more than eleven fucking cents. The other patron I mentioned wanted two pitchers of Keiths for her and her friends. Wanted to pay Visa, I explained she'd have to run a tab. Eventually she clued in and ran a tab on her card. She came back later (not at the end of the night) and wanted to close her tab. Luckily, the runner was available to cover my section of the bar while I closed her tab. Another 5-7 minutes involved... and she has the audacity to circle the total of $27.01 on the Visa slip and then sign it and walk away. Quelle bitch! I have no problem with people and tabs, as long as remember to pay them and wait until we have time to close them. I went above and beyond a basic level of service for these two patrons. We are not required to accept anything but cash over at Satellite bar. My reward for the 10-15 minutes I spent for the two bills totalling $39? Eleven fucking cents....
Coming soon I'll write about ways to ensure that you can get good service and avoid being that patron that every bartender hates.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 6:13 PM | Comments (1)
November 18, 2004
More frustrating than a Chinese finger puzzle
....what is Andrew's social life of late, Alex?
You are absolutely correct!
Why would I decide to write about my love life ‹insert or-lack-there-of joke here› when I hate to share that info normally? I guess it's just that the frustration is boiling over and I'm looking for advice or to see if I'm alone in this soggy-bottom boat.
My current viewpoint is approaching that of Adam Sandler in the song he sings in Wedding Singer just before getting knocked out by the bride's father:
You love her
But she loves him
And he loves somebody else
You just can't win
And so it goes
Till the day you die
This thing they call love
It's gonna make you cry
I've had the blues
The reds and the pinks
One thing for sure
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
Which I just found out is originally performed by the J.Geils Band.... who knew? That's only the first couple of lines though; there's actually more to it.
It seems that for the past little while my experiences with girls/ladies/women/broads (choose your preferred label) has amounted to the following:
a) asking a lady out and being politely refused due to a current relationship.
b) girl agreeing to a date and then either before or after the date having excuses about boyfriend/ ex-boyfriend/ some other guy (who's managed to fuck her up in the head) essentially killing any progress we'd made.
c) nice girl being interested in me when (unfortunately) I share no chemistry with her.
Is it that rare for two people (one of them being me!) to actually be interested in each other! Until that discovery I guess I'll just sit around trying to get my fingers apart...
Posted by Dr.Unk at 4:59 AM | Comments (1)
October 15, 2004
DJ Jazzy Jeff is off the hook..
I saw DJ Jazzy Jeff (yes, as in Fresh Prince and) spin at Fed Hall last night and it was the sickest (not sure if I'm 'hip enough' to use this word, but I'm going to anyways) show I've ever seen. I'm not a big hiphop fan and the only DJ's I know are the ones that work in this town, but this was a fucking kickass show that should have been packed. As you can tell this is where the pet peeve part begins. A lot of people worked really hard to bring this show to UW at a decent cost. It's true that Oktoberfest was on, but that wouldn't necessarily steal that much of Jazzy Jeff's crowd. There should have been at least twice as many people out to see the man who I believe shares a grammy with Will Smith from back in tha day. My point, although brief, is that there is no support from student's at UW for incredible acts and concerts that are being brought in. If it doesn't develop soon, people are forever going to be stuck having to check out big bands and acts at shitty places like K-town or paying even more to go to T.O.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 7:26 AM | Comments (0)
October 1, 2004
Dante's journey into customer service at Union Gas
So the gas bill at my previous house was in my name.
BIG FUCKING MISTAKE!!!
I moved out in the middle of August but had to wait for September for my other roommates to leave before I could cancel my account. The end of August I was busy working at Bomber so it wasn't until a couple of days into September that I managed to cancel the account. I did this over the internet (the convenience and lack of interaction with a customer service waiting line appealed to me). I didn't receive the email confirmation that I was supposed to get so I braved customer service the next business day.
This was the first call I had made to hell. I waited on hold for a while and finally talked to a representative who informed me that the web request had gone through and that it would take two days for the account to be shut down and that there was about $35 remaining to be paid. Mistaking this as actual closure to my relation with Union Gas, I went back to my normal routines (or lack there of).
About the third week of September I receive a bill in the mail for $122 from Union Gas. This amount represented the Equal Billing Payment (an option to sort of average out your gas usage so bills in the winter aren't so shocking) for the month of September. This amount was to be taken from my bank account at the end of September. Curious as to how I should be responsible for a bill when my account was closed I made my second call to hell (they've got a 888 number). I asked why I received this bill when I was told that I'd managed to close the account earlier. I was told that it was a mistake and that there was only a balance of ~$35 remaining and that it would be deducted at the end of the month. I felt somewhat satisfied. Free again.
Now it comes to the end of the month and lo and behold I notice $122 goes missing from my bank account!!!! I call in for the third time to hell... I should've asked to talk to Lucifer the first fucking time to make sure something got done. I inform the rep of my situation and decide to add some urgency to the situation by explaining that with the extra deduction on the bill, I may bounce my rent cheque..... Union Gas cares not whether I get evicted of course, I'm in an apartment now... no longer a customer. Digging into the matter further, the rep explains that yes, my account was closed on the 9th of September. The problem was that no one at Union Gas associated my closed fucking account with money no longer coming from my account. Apparently, if I say I no longer want a service, I should be more specific and say, I NO LONGER WANT TO PAY FOR THE SERVICE AS WELL. She then has the cajones to ask what I want her to do?! I say I want my money back (biatch). She says she can't do that. So I ask what the hell is going to happen. She says that on my next billing the account will be closed and that the remainder of what I owe (~$35, as stated many times before) will be deducted from the credit of $122 I have on my account. Again, where's my fucking money... oh yeah, when I receive the bill I can then request a cheque for the credit that remains on my account.
I can honestly say that this was the worst breakup I've ever had. It seemed to be going well, but then Union got weird. They appeared to take it well; then it was like they took my favourite sweater when they moved out. It's over, don't you get it? I don't want to call you anymore, just give me back my sweater you psycho-hose-beast!!
Posted by Dr.Unk at 9:50 AM | Comments (1)
September 22, 2004
DJ Club on Bomber Wednesdays
So I've come to the conclusion that I hate the DJ club playing at the Bomber before the Wed night DJ's come in. Now, I should say that I have nothing against the DJ club in general, I think it's a great idea and gives people somewhere to start building skills and share ideas.
I do, however, think that they are COMPLETELY wrong for Wednesdays. It seems that whenever I come in to work and all I here are scratches and beats I feel the urge to kill rising.... On my way to work tonight I listened to some Jet to get pumped up for the night to come, only to have my mood killed by the DJ club.
Whatever happened to the days when the early birds could listen to some good rock and alternative while priming for the night to come. I realize the importance of changing the music throughout the night as the demand for something to dance to appears... but I still miss the rockin tunes that used to get the bar bumpin early on.
Long live Rock an' fuckin' Roll!
Posted by Dr.Unk at 7:18 PM | Comments (1)
September 20, 2004
Why Parking Services needs a labotomy....
Ok, so I've been relatively patient with this new parking setup at UW. I assumed that the initial problems would work themselves out and that Parking Services had indeed done some research to support their decision to reduce the number of lots available to students and to open them up giving us access (theoretically) to all four lots. I now conclude that they are clinically insane and need a labotomy to prevent any further hair-brained money grabbing schemes from screwing over the students.
I drove to school today because I forgot my blades at the Bomber and it's difficult to carry my gym bag and schoolbag at the same time. Now by this point I've also given up trying to park at Lot N, which must fill up before 8am. Aside: One student was quoted in the Imprint as saying that when he/she got to school at 8am there were still lots of spots available. Who the fuck gets to school at 8am? Even if I had an 8:30 class (which I don't, cause I'm not fuckin crazy, or unfortunate enough to be in a program where the profs are) I wouldn't ever be on campus a half hour before class. I bought a parking pass so if I was late waking up I wouldn't be late for class. But I've since learned that arriving on campus any later than 9:30am means no parking.
But back to the story of today.....oh yeah, not even bothering to check out Lot N. I drive straight to Lot W, in front of CIF, cause it's near the gym in case I get time to hit that up today. There are no fucking spots open... which leaves X lot as my last resort. But of course, with the new two lanes leading to the tech park the only way I would be able to get to X lot would be to pull a U-turn on campus or Columbia St. A better solution, I decided, was to go down Columbia St to the athletic fields. The entrance of this gravel lot has been blocked off for a while but with some keen off-roading skills I was able to back my VW Golf around a hydro pole and down into some free parking. At this point I realized that this spot was probably about the same distance to campus as X lot, and completely free.
My next debate is whether to bomb all the parking lots or demand a refund for a pass that doesn't seem to help me park. Of course, with the stubborness of Parking Services I may need to attach the bombs to myself when I go in for the refund to ensure success
Posted by Dr.Unk at 9:59 AM | Comments (1)
September 17, 2004
Cell phone at the gym
Ok, so I was in the gym at CIF the other day (yes, I'm actually trying to get back into a work-out routine) and while I was benching an inordinately large weight I noticed this guy was talking on a cell phone while doing his stretches! I couldn't believe it.
Now why the hell would anyone need to be on the phone while at the gym? I have a cell phone and it's a big convenience, but I'm not one of those people who seem to spend half their life talking on it. I mean, come on, what could possibly be so important that you can't spend an hour exercising without your phone.
The phone also meant that that person had to carry it around with them for their whole routine. Which means having a pocket and an annoying weight in that pocket. Not very conducive to working out. This is different from those people who carry around mp3 players or discmans (discmen?); quite understandable considering the crappy-ass dance music usually playing at CIF.
This brings me to another quick pet peeve. People not dressing appropriately at the gym. It doesn't bother me as much as the cell phone thing but how truly effective can a workout in jeans be? To the idiot in the muscle shirt and jeans at the gym, invest in some shorts or some dick pants - it'll be more comfortable. Of course, if you're just there to be seen, go find a beach or something.
Posted by Dr.Unk at 3:10 PM | Comments (3)