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

I begin this post with a warning: first off, you naysayers, go hump a disease-infested yak's uncle's next-door-neighbour's milk man's wife's physical trainer's dentist's mother-in-law's handbag.  What I am about to discuss is a sensitive topic to me and I am always made the butt of some joke when I attempt to get into "shape".  This warning ends - now.  (Klingon logo.)

I am getting into shape.  But not a pear kind of shape - real, man-like, not-so-much of the fat shape.  A couple of weeks ago, I became very tired of the "stop and start" method of exercising (with the exception of swimming which, until the summer was very regular, stupid pool renovations).  I was feeling a little bloated or fatter than usual and decided I needed some professional help.

Around the same time, some friends of mine in Victoria were reporting they had found boot camps to be the cat's ass for getting into shape.  My friends continually filled me in on their progress and I was quickly being swayed that they had found something better than "going to the gym".  I was also convinced that forcing myself out of my bubble and doing something crazy would kick start me back into regular exercise.  I decided it was my time to sign myself up for something absolutely out of character - a 7:00am boot camp, three days a week, for a six week stint.

What I found to be disappointing about my decision was that boot camps appear to be dime a dozen in this Vancouver town I live in.  They are everywhere.  Yet, they appear to lack any kind of "standard" with which I could compare them.  How am I to know what the better exercise methods are?

I searched around the web (when am I not searching the web) looking for some type of boot camp that appeared to fit with my requirements.  I decided that the company had to:

1. Look friendly.
   
2. Write friendly.
3. Be encouraging.
   
4. Not appear to be a bunch of exercise wankers.  (You know the type.)
   
5. Not be an excuse to get me to run.  I can run on my own.  (Thanks, for demonstrating that one, Jen!  You rock!)
   
6. Be unique in some way, like, oh - being reasonably active bloggers or contribute to the community.
   
7. Must look professional in their web appearance.
   
8. Be close by and accessible.

After evaluating a couple of companies, only one boot camp really caught my eye - Mike Roulston of Mode Athletics.  Mike shared the most information on line.  He talks about who he was, what his philosophy is, posts a few photos, has an encouraging tone that is written in a more personal tone, and he also has a blog (which he needs to write more in but I didn't see any other blogs from any of the other companies, so, he is ahead of the game).  Most of the other companies were "okay" but dates were not current, the information looked "tossed up" on the web, and there wasn't anything that screamed at me to come play with them.  I am not saying that the other companies were not as good, but they didn't appear to me to take the time to work on their site enough to make me go "wow".

Sure, this may sound like I am tooting a few too many horns, but when you are fighting weight with a side order of gennetics - you may get to the point too where you need to fight with a little crazy on the side.  I will keep you posted on my progress.  That is if I don't die first.  (UPDATE: I have been to two sessions now and I haven't died yet.  I will post a few more details once I have a week under my belt.)

Technorati Tags: mode athletics, vancouver bootcamp, exercise

This is kind of a follow up to my post yesterday.  Sort of.  What popped into my head after I wrote that blog post was this.  If you blog for long enough, one of the things blogging may reveal about a person is how much of a social butterfly they are (or are not).  I tend to be less of a social kind of guy and, as I am sure many who know me can attest, it is like pulling teeth to get me to go out.  But I also have an incredibly social streak in me.  The streak just requires the right triggers to set it off.  What are those streaks?  It normally involves a stage, lights, and a few other cool people who are as insane as I am.  What gets me "hot and bothered" is improv comedy.

Let me first go into a list of my improv comedy credentials:

• 1990 - Discovered improvisational comedy.
• 1991-1996 - Join Impromaniacs and perform a few months later.
• 1996-2000 - Join and perform with ACT! Improv in Victoria.
• 2002 - Attempt to get Ian Loves Bob off the ground.  Dies a quick death.

You see, there is a great difference between my life in Victoria and my life in Vancouver.  In Victoria, I was doing a regular improv show at least once a week.  It got my blood revving and was a central part of my life.  I did this for just over ten years and, from time to time, I was doing about four shows a week.  Then, I moved to Vancouver and my improvsational life died.  I tried out for a few groups but I kept running into the "doing improv to improve my acting skills" crowd.  And I loathe the "doing anything and not have any fun while doing it" kind of people.  They just turn me off in a huge way and it just sucks my energy away and I end up leaving early or just never returning to the organized groups.  Hell, I even helped out starting a group but it never went anywhere.  Too many things were going on in each of the people's lives and the energy wasn't there to make a go of it.

I then find myself here - locked in a cycle.  Every year or so, I bitch, whine, and moan about how I don't do improv any more.  I have been struggling the last couple of years with a lack of performing.  The people are great but the chemistry never seems to "ping" with the right, uh, "pingingness".

This is my annual bitching about a lack of venue for me to act like a goof.  If you have any leads, let me know.

Technorati Tags: improvisational comedy, impromaniacs, act! improv

Travis invited me yesterday to come out and volunteer for Northern Voice this year.  I attended their latest meeting and was thrilled to see so many familiar faces and I met a few people in the Northern Voice community that I haven't had a chance to get to know all that well.  I think they are called "faces in a crowd".  You see them from time to time but never really know who they are, what they do, or why they attend the same events you do.  I hope in the coming months, I can get to know them better because I think I need to branch out and meet and greet a few more people.  I think I am becoming a little too "homebodyish".

This is my official notice to bloggers out there: Northern Voice is coming.  If you want to attend an all ages, everyone welcome, nothing is too advanced here, kind of conference, Northern Voice 2009 is your chance.  This event fills up quickly and is celebrating its fifth year - so, you know it is going to be ultra cool.

If you have any suggestions, questions, requests - let me know and I will bring them to the planning group and let them know.

Technorati Tags: northern voice, nv09

We were invited out last night to attend a turkey dinner at a friend's place in New Westminster.  It was one the largest piles of turkey I have ever seen.  We had a lot of great food, amazing coffee drinks, and good chatter about life, liberty, and the pursuit of hot women.  Or something like that.  It was a fun time and a well needed break before returning to the spice mines of Kessel.

However, tonight, the election is on. The polls are closed and, according to relatives back east, the media has already called the election: a Conservative minority government.  I don't think this is a surprise.

I don't really know what kind of government Canada should have yet.  I don't think the people of Canada know.  Since the world started the "war on terror" people have been scared into believing that the world is going to end in the near future and the North American way of life is going to fall to some "terrorist" group located half way across the globe.  This kind of feeling is going to make our voting efforts a complete mess until we wise up or just get on with our lives.  This, of course, is not news to any of the people I know but, hey, if I can change one mind from someone reading this...etc, etc, etc.

I suppose we have a number of years to go before we will feel safe again. Well, I feel safe, but a lot of people don't.  It is sad.  In either case, we have Harper again for another few years.  How about we just fight for the arts until the next election.  Off to watch some final numbers.

Technorati Tags: canada, election, 2008