Archive - 2008

We have officially lost our minds.  We have a new pug.  Over the past weekend, I was visiting my parents when we got "the call" from the breeder: Serendipity's new little sister was ready for pick up.  This time around we had already chosen a name: Faith.  A couple of days later, I was back in Vancouver introducing Serendipity to Faith.  (Snicker.)  But, let me back up a little bit and fill you in on how this all came to be.

Almost three years ago, we got a puppy.  We named her Serendipity and everything was awesome.  She was healthy, excited, happy, cute, and full of beans.  Unfortunately, about five months later, she got sick.  It was horrible and stressful and it took major surgery to correct her illness.  (You can read more about that here.)  She is now almost three years old and pulled through with flying bells, whistles, and other things that may fly if you do something amazing without too many problems.  She is still cute, happy, and full of beans. 

So, what happened for us to get a new pug?  The breeder called us up about a year after Serendipity's surgery and commented that if we wanted another pug, she would provide us one for free.  We instantly jumped at the chance to have another pug.  A year went by and now we have another cute little puggy.

I will take a few more pictures and some video in the next couple of days and give you an update on her cuteness.

Technorati Tags: serendipity the pug, faith the pug, pug, dog

I have a hard decision ahead of me.  It shouldn't be a hard decision.  It should be an easy decision.  It should be a question like: what shirt am I going to wear today? or should I watch three Star Trek movies this week?  But, I am forced to seek advice.  If you read my post about my Vancouver bootcamp exercise program (which rules, by the way) a few weeks ago, you may be aware that I am trying to get into a shape that doesn't resemble overweight and blob-like.  It is going well and I am starting to feel a whole lot healthier.  I haven't really "lost weight" yet since I am bulking up in the muscle department and someone mentioned that I am looking "thinner".  I don't see it, but hey, you need to start somewhere.

This brings me to the beer question.  I have been doing a little reading on exercise and how to make it pay off and I found some literature about alcohol and how it keeps your body from exercising successfully.  According to what I was reading, drinking two drinks effectively prevents your body from burning fat for up to 48 hours.

This discovery has horrified me!  So, if I have a couple of beers on Saturday night, my exercise on Monday won't do very much.  Yikes!  So, I have been tinkering with the idea of stopping my consumption of beer and wine.  I think I can do this successfully but I was taking stock of a lot of the social gatherings I attend and many of them are booze-centric.  I suppose I hadn't realized the extent as to how much liquor is central to socializing in this town.

I think I have made my decision to cut booze out of my diet (yes, I reallllly like my beer) and I think I can stick to it but it will be hard.  What do you all think?

Technorati Tags: beer, alcohol, stop

I was reminded this morning via my Facebook account of a personal experience that I try to forget.  The incident is known (at least, to myself) as the rubber egg incident.  It has not been forgotten by those involved nor has it been forgotten by me.  Who was involved?  My entire family with a possible exception to my mother.  Actually, scratch that, she didn't put a stop to the rubber egg incident, so, she doesn't get by on her motherly virtues this time.  To give you an idea of how deep this event scarred me, let me just say that, I will never enjoy the love of a rubber egg ever again.  Never.  Again.

It all started at a family party.  I don't recall what the party was celebrating (probably Christmas or some such holiday) but I do remember there were a sizable number of people in attendance.  The evening was quite happy.  Wonderful food and delicious dessert was served.  Coffee, beer, and harder liqour was in abundance and, I remember, I was having a good time.  You can't put a price on the happiness that you may feel at a family gathering but, in retrospect, perhaps I was merely lulled into a false sense of security for their simple need for cheap laughs at my expense.

This brings me to the egg in question.   The egg was made of rubber.  This much was established that evening but I know there was more to it.  I had found the egg earlier and it was revealed to me to be a trinket of one of my cousins.  (When I say cousins, I mean, evil doers.)  The egg was white and it was indecipherable from a real egg.  This fact will come into play a little while later but, for now, let's all picture the image of a rubber egg.  The egg you've now pictured in mind's eye is evil.  Evil drips from the egg you are now thinking of.  It seethes with evil thoughts, pulsates with slimy puss, and smells much like you would imagine an evil egg would smell like.  Let's just say, and I may be jaded in my memory, but I know, deep down, that rubber was indeed evil - pure, condensed evil.

We come to the incident.  The evening progressed as my family gatherings normally progressed and I was able to wander their home, full of all kinds of scrumptious food, to my heart's content.  But then, without warning, my typical family supper experience changed.  As I made my way down the hallway from the family room to the living room (yes, I don't know the difference either) I was caught unaware that I was being stalked.  From what I could only assume was a secret hidden room complete with arrow firing slits, a rubber egg, seemingly harmless, bounced off of my forehead.  I fell down or, as what I like to recall, ducked for my life.  It was like slow motion.  My life, as short as it was then, flashed before my eyes.  The time I bruised by spleen after running into a baserunner during a baseball game (or he ran into me, we were never really sure) was, up until that time, the most horrible event in my life.  But the egg changed all that.  I hit the ground and laughter ensued as my cousins, who shall remain nameless in this retelling but you know who you are, fell about themselves as they witnessed the hilarity of my reaction.  The rubber egg bounced along the floor where it was retrevied by one of my evil doer cousins.  I regained my composure (as much as a young child can) and proceeded to go about my business.  I think "about my business" may be roughly translated as I ran for my life into an adjoining room.  I believe this was the kitchen.  But, the kitchen held no comfort as, from the door opposite to the one I had just entered, a small rubber egg flew with precision and impacted itself upon the side of my head once again.

It wasn't long before my head met with the rubber egg again. 

More laughter. 

And, as I am sure you may have already guessed, the egg bounced off my head again.

And again. 

And, I believe, again.

Several egg beatings later, the egg assault wained.  I would like to think the egg attacks were just getting old.  But, alas, it was not to be.  The weapon was changing as was the intended target.

You see, since the rubber egg was just that - rubber - someone thought it would be a good idea to use a real egg.  Fortunately, for me, the real eggs were not to be used on my person and I was spared.  These newly acquired eggs were hollowed out with some magic that I don't remember (something to do with a pin and sucking the yolk out) was used and they were substituted for the rubber egg.  Several were thrown, a few were mashed, and the evening escalated until a fully armed and operational egg was used upon my uncle's head.  His unhappy response ended the egg invasion and, I hoped, it was over.  Fun had been had.  People had laughed and a few experienced real egg on their faces.  But, what I can only was two or three moments, it happened again.  Sitting on a black couch with an orange floural motif, I had cuddled into my mother.  I thought, for some reason, that my mother would protect me from the rubber egg.  Sadly, no, this was not to be.  The rubber egg, again, found my forehead.  More laughter was had.  This new barrage of rubber eggs continued for some minutes ending with my uncle squatting over my face as I lay on the couch (in a futile attempt to evade flying rubber eggs) and letting out a trumpeting fart.  Additional laughter.

Over the years, I have looked back upon this event as a character building exercise.  I thought I was over it.  I thought I had put it all behind me.  But, today, I realize, this is not so.  I have never sought revenge for this egging but, now, all these years later, I shall have it.  I am reminded of Shylock, the persecuted Jew from Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice.  He was assaulted by uncaring Christians and picked upon.  I am sure you may remember his speech to Salarino:

If you prick me, do I not bleed?
If you tickle me, do I not laugh?
If you poison me, do I not die?
And if you bounce a rubber egg off of my head a hundred times in an evening, shall I not revenge?

I did take a few liberties, of course, but I will have my pound of flesh!  I will revenge!  Or they can buy me a beer and call it even.  I make myself laugh sometimes, I hope I was able to entertain you as well.  Damn those rubber eggs.

Technorati Tags: rubber eggs, memories, family, evil doers

For the last few days, I have been asking some people to see if they may be interested in live blogging the Creative City Cabaret.  I realized I hadn't posted anything here about it.

So, what do I want?  I want bloggers to cover this event that Left Right Minds is presenting at the Roundhouse in Yaletown this coming Saturday, November 8th, 2008 at 9pm onward.  I am looking for bloggers, photographers, and even some audio and video bloggers.  If you are interested in politics, love to blog, like to take photographs - drop me an e-mail.

The goal is to talk about how Vancouver is now a "creative city" and what this means for the arts in this town and arts in Canada.

Technorati Tags: creative city cabaret, left right minds, live blogging

I need help and I know you will want to help me!  A friend of mine sent me an e-mail today asking if I could send a postcard to her daughter.  Why?  It is a grade three class project and she asked if I would send a postcard so that her daughter can see where they are coming from.  I think this is such a great idea and I want to see if I can get cards from all over the world.

So, I am asking if everyone would be able to help me make her smile and send her a postcard.  I am not going to give out the address here as I want to make sure that all volunteers sending postcards are serious and understand I don't want cards inappropriate to a grade three student.

If you want to help out and want to send card, drop me an e-mail and I will get in touch with you and provide you with the address where you can send your card.

Technorati Tags: postcard, mail, project

This is something that I posted on the Left Right Minds blog.  I thought it was important to let everyone know as it will be very cool.

If you haven't figured it out already, we've been busy.  I suppose you could look at our blog and make such a conclusion but, I assure you, our silence has been worth it.  One of the cool things we have working on is the Creative City Cabaret!  A few weeks ago, we were all sitting around discussing what could the Vancouver arts scene do for the mayoral election coming up this November.  The arts in Canada have been a hot topic recently and we wanted to do our part and promote the arts in Vancouver and prove that the arts are not just a "niche" issue.  Then the idea hit us.  Vancouver had been branded the "creative city" only a short time before we started chatting about an event like this and we thought it
would be a great idea to feature those individuals running for mayor and for council in a way that was fun and creative. 

Here is the press release we've been sending around. 

Mayoral Hopefuls Get Creative

Candidates Perform at Creative City Cabaret Vancouver, BC - October 28, 2008 - We've been dubbed the "Creative City" and on November 8th at the Roundhouse Community Centre, Vancouver's mayoral candidates will jump on stage and show off their creative chops at the first "Creative City Cabaret", presented by Left Right Minds Initiatives.

Candidates will have three minutes to perform on stage in any manner they wish. From playing an instrument to telling a joke to reciting a poem to tap dancing, this year's mayoral hopefuls will get the chance to showcase their artistic talents for an enthusiastic audience. Independent mayoral candidates, including Marc Emery, Scott Yee, Leon Kaplan and Gölök Buday will be strutting their stuff along with Betty Krawczyk (Work Less Party) and Patrick Britten (Nude Garden Party). The NPA and Vision Vancouver parties have also committed candidates to perform, including the NPA's Sean Bickerton.

"This evening is about having fun, being creative, and showing a different side of the candidates," said Chris May, Touring/Production Manager for Left Right Minds. "Vancouver has branded itself the "Creative City"- they want to run the city, they can prove it!"

The evening will begin at 9 pm on Saturday, November 8th with the candidates performing followed by two questions being taken from the audience for each candidate. After the show, audience members will be able to meet and greet the candidates in the Cabaret's backstage lounge. Admission is by donation with proceeds benefitting the creation of a shared theatre production centre in Vancouver spearheaded by NERB (Neworld Theatre, Electric Company, Rumble Theatre and Boca del Lupo).

Left Right Minds is a creative solutions company based in Vancouver, BC offering full arts management services, project-based support and business consultations. Left Right Minds also provides comprehensive web services including design, development, hosting and skills training. It is our goal to connect arts, business and the web.

Does it sound like fun?  It should be!  We will be live blogging the event, taking and posting photographs during the evening and getting some videos up as soon as we can.  It should be a positive and fun night for everyone who attends.  Go join our Facebook group for the event and keep checking back here for additional details as they come in.  And, please, come on out on November 8th and check out what those at city hall can really do!  We expect this event to get busy, so, come early and bring your friends.

[Cross Posted on Left Right Minds]

Technorati Tags: creative city cabaret, vancouver, election, left right minds

Web Serve Canada, you are on the receiving end of my wrath and I have one thing to say to you - your customer support system sucks worse than a rancid Tiberian bat with an infected toenail trying to screw in a flaming light bulb while encased within fifty tonnes of concrete.  It sounds like that sucks, doesn't it?  It makes as much sense as your support department's availability.  It also makes as much sense as why it takes them forever to respond to anyone they actually need to talk to: like customers.  Do I hear you asking "why"?  This can't come as a surprise, Web Serve Canada. I am here to tell you exactly why:

Live Chat System Free From Pesky Live Chat

I want to comment on your 24/7 live chat support system.  Of course, I think you need to remove the "live" and "chat" portion in that statement as there is never anyone there.  Thus, it becomes a "chat window" with no response or communication.  You should replace it with one of those madlib auto-complete systems that provide auto-responses to questions. 

Question: "My web site is down!"

Response: "I am down with potato-stuffed chicken."

It is important that you actually have someone there to chat with.  I have posted (and left messages) on your chat system and have never once heard back from anyone.  If you advertise it, why not have some people there?  Otherwise, I suggest you drop the chat support.  It feels like you're trying to be something you are most definitely not.

Support Phone System That Forwards to People Who Sound Like They Are Driving Down Back Country Roads While Speaking Through A Garden Hose

Now, I am sure you are saving money by farming this service out to another company (at least, this appears to be the case) but why not choose a company that has a decent phone system?  The phone quality of the support group has got to be one of the worst I have ever encountered. 

Question: "Hi, my web site is down and I want to know why I haven't heard back from tech support since I called last week?"

Reponse: "(static) I can't (static) beer (static and some dude asking about stock tips) whales and corn (static with a rendition of a tune from the 1980s I'd rather forget) your phone connection is terrible (static with the wooblies)."

This usually leads to the eventual hang up.

I have called support using Skype, my cellular phone and two different land lines.  But the quality is always the same.  What is really funny is the tech support people blame not their phone system but our phones.  Don't they realize their phone system is pitiful and horrible?  No matter from which phone or communication technology I call with the person on the other end sounds like they are sitting inside a tin can placed in an empty hockey rink at three in the morning.  The phone system you use for your technical support team sucks anal hairs of a rabid goat.

Support Ticketing System Treated Like An Ex-Girlfriend

The people on the other end of the phone (the three I have talked to) know there a ticketing system, right?  I provide them with ticket ID numbers from the online ticket system and they sound stunned or confused like the number I read out was spoken backwards and I threw in a few random click noises as I spoke (probably the crappy connection).  Actually, I wonder if you really use this system.  The only response from one of the tickets I posted was for a different client about a domain I have never heard of.  Let me repeat: I got a single response for a different client for a domain I do not have.  How screwed up is that?

And Just Who The Hell Is Level Two Support?

I know, I know.  I understand the joke.  They don't exist!  Is level two support meant to placate me until I just give up all together?  I have been escalated to level two twice (and now a third time) and I have never heard anything back.  Nothing.  Not even a "piss off" letter.  I would appreciate any communication.

Suggestion for a Solution

I really don't care if you don't want to talk to people (you know, those pesky clients?) but, please, at least fake it that you care during office hours.  If you need to drop the 24/7 support to do this, fine.  I don't care.  You don't need to remain open that length of time to please me.  Just be there during the day.  I don't care what my web site is doing at four in the morning.  I need to sleep.  You need to sleep.  Any horrible down time isn't going to spontaneously set people on fire.  But, you are not going to maintain any sort of customer base with support that appears to be on line and available all the time.

What I suggest is that you hire some more staff or find a new support provider.  (I am still running on the assumption that you farm support outside of the company.)  If you really want to run a company like yours, I am sure you have enough money to hire some staff to take on support responsibilities.  It isn't hard.  They don't need to be paid a whole lot.  Just, please, get some that aren't unhappy to help.

I also didn't do this review lightly.  I did check the company out to see if my experience was unique.  Sadly, it wasn't.  Read this site for more people complaining about Web Serve Canada.  (There are some decent reviews in there as well, but they are written in a similar fashion and I am a little suspicious.  You be the judge....)

This is for you, Web Serve Canada.

Technorati Tags: web serve canada, sucks, technical support