Will this fall on deaf ears?

As an addendum to this post, and no, not a response to the brain-dead rants of Kabbalahjourney, but rather, my local Tim Horton’s has drawn the last straw.

Here’s the correspondence that has just been sent:

To whom it may concern:

Before I get into my poor experience today, I would like to share with you a simple observation. Having travelled across most of the Canadian landscape, and having had coffee and food at a great many different Tim Horton’s locations, there has been a certain operational pattern of service. One person takes the order at the till, and another actually prepares it, in order to effect a quick progression of the line and having wait times for customers at a minimum. I have found this to be the case in all but one of your locations. The anomaly being your location at Byrne Rd. and Marine Dr., in Burnaby, BC.

Many a morning have I driven into the plaza to pick up a cup of black coffee to help kickstart my day. Now driving a 3-Ton transportation truck unfortunately hinders my ability to use the drive through, so I must enter the location. Now I can understand that due to a high drive through traffic volume that much resource must be devoted to such. What I do find rather shocking is that with a queue that can consistently reach the door (maybe 6-10 customers, even more in certain cases) that only one employee not only takes the orders at the cash, BUT ALSO SERVES THE ORDERS. But what really takes the piss is there’s usually 3 or 4 employees behind the counter doing absolutely nothing but standing around in a panicked daze.

Sadly though, this complaint is NOT about any of the above, but rather the evolution of the problem of the aforementioned complete lack of common sense.

This afternoon I had the severe disrespect delivered upon me as at about 3:05 PM PDT, I was in a small queue at yet the very same again Tim Horton’s location. The person ahead of me in line was served. Then I stood as the cashiers once again served their customers, and two managers and about eight other staff were all scurrying around. Five minutes elapsed in which NOBODY on staff approached a till. I can honestly say I have never been insulted nor treated with such disrespect at a Tim Horton’s location in my life. I did my best to leave the location as calmly as possible, and progressed to Starbucks to get my afternoon beverage fill.

I am not only disappointed with the service I recieved today, but can honestly say I have no desire to ever return to that location, be it for coffee or for food. I have seriously lost my respect for your franchise, as there must be some obstensive training program for each location, and as the saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Now I do understand that my business won’t make or break the bank, but I do know many of my co-workers and peers share the same feelings toward this location.

If someone reading this actually has the respect and professionalism to respond, please respond via email or snail mail to the following:

[contact censored]

Regards
Jeff Vickers

I just wonder if I get a response.

That is all.

The poor fashion sense of Pacific Northwestern hockey

Whatever happened to just sticking with what works? Montreal, Detroit, Chicago have had roughly the same look of their uniforms for DECADES, and they still work for the fans, and the jerseys still sell year after year. Sadly, this is concept lost on the Canucks. While starting their NHL existence with a timeless classic that worked

someone within the organization who makes decisions decided to fuck with a classic. To wit, we were given the ‘Flying V’

and then the skate going downhill.

Now we Vancouverites have bashed these designs, we also recognize they represent the pinnacle of our playoff success. Two times in the Stanley Cup final. And hey, two more than Toronto has gotten in my lifetime :P. I just wonder how moot the point may be as to whether or not the uniforms actually blinded their opponents to give the Canucks an unfair edge?

But in the short-lived Messier captaincy, we inheritied the orca

which has extended to the current day. Well, until today. Vancouver has officially unveiled their new look (as the NHL has revamped the overall style of the uniforms, not just the jerseys). And they gave us

Combining a little of old and new. And once again, mixed reaction. Now, I know, it’s the team on the ice that matters, but we do also pine to the symbols. I personally don’t mind them. The blue and green colour scheme really works, and though there’s not so much support, I do like the orca logo. I would have used the rink logo for home and the orca for away, if it were my choice, but it isn’t. Meh. Though the Vancouver text, an obvious tribute to pre-NHL Vancouver hockey, just takes the piss for me. Unless they replace the name and number on the back, and replace it with a map of North America, with an obvious marker as to where Vancouver is, so to give a road map for our differently brained neighbours down south.

That is all.

How Battlestar Galactica just keeps reflecting my life…

Today, just this quote. Stirring too deep in me today.

“Cain: (to Starbuck after she has been ordered by Adama to assassinate Cain) Inevitably, each and every one of us will have to face a moment where we have to commit that horrible sin and if we flinch in that moment, if we hesitate for one second, if we let our conscience get in the way, do you know what happens? There are more of those kids in those body bags, more kids floating out the airlock. Now, I don’t know why, but I have a lot of faith in you, and I want you to promise me that when the moment comes you won’t flinch. Do not flinch.”

Maybe, just maybe, art does imitate life.

That is all.

A conversation I’ve been having too much lately…

And it begins, not even at the counter, but upon initial approach.

Them: “For here or to go?”

Me: [shows travelling coffee mug]

“For here or to go?”

[Waves travelling mug again, this time in the air in front of their eyes]

“Sir, please, for here or to go?”

“What does it look like?” [Now tapping mug]

“You could be ordering food.”

“I’m not.”

“For here or to go?”

[Knowing I really want a coffee now, I just pick the opposite of what I want to expedite my order while fulfilling my urge to fuck with the server] “For here.” [I'm actually refilling my mug before I head into town with my truck]

[Grabbing a porcelain mug] “How would you like your coffee?”

[Showing my travel mug, again, with disgust in my face] “Black. And in this.”

“Oh. Sorry. Would you like cream and sugar?”

“No. Coffee. Black. Hot. Wet.”

“Any sugar in that?”

“No. Black coffee, no sugar, preferably fresh and hot.”

“Our coffee is always fresh.”

“Not at the rate this conversation is going.”

I could go on, but I figure most with some level of grey matter will begin to see the point. Now granted, Tim Horton’s employees may not have the deepest resume requirements in order to be hired, but this is taking the fucking piss. One would think that a simple “is there anything else” AFTER the order, let alone guessing that people ordering to refill a travel mug might be ordering to go? Maybe this is too much to ask, maybe employees should be programmed to only execute task. But to wit, I submit the other following brain drains:

Students nowadays cut and paste essays from articles online, instead of researching via reading ACTUAL BOOKS and considering what they think about it.

People actually believe government propaganda that (a) lowering taxes has the most significant benefit to low income people., (b) Iraq was always part of Al-Qaeda, (c) socialized medicine is the stepping stone to Communism (only in America), and (d) Stephen Harper cares about the environment.

People actually fight against the messages in Super Size Me, saying the film is anti-McDonald’s propaganda and that their ‘product’ is in fact healthy.

Most recently, in my work sphere, a computer system is being introduced into our logistics cycle that is touted to do all the thinking for us. Management seems to love the idea. Machines thinking and people not. Sad.

But back to basics, I’d still rather my coffee from Tim Horton’s rather than Starbucks. I prefer my coffee inexpensive and delicious, rather than expensive and shit. That and there’s a Tim Horton’s finally to compete with the local Starbucks where I live. Hopefully they will master the system of one on cash, one pouring coffee, rather than eight people doing nothing and one person on cash and preparing orders that exists at my current Tim Horton’s of choice (choice via geography).

That is all.

Nearly Daily Trivia v1.8 - The truly impossible edition

Congrats to Peter, who was first to respond that, in the last trivia edition, that failing to outdrive the lady’s tee involves a rather severe humiliation. Check the post for details.

As for this edition’s virtually unGoogleable^TM question, I have to hat tip Neil Morrison (yes, Neil Morrison) for the inspiration.

This edition’s question:

Name at least three Western Canadian Rock bands from the flat province of Saskatchewan.

That is all.

MCF’s COMMON 2 - with reciprocal results

Yes, reciprocal results. I will post my answer for the common bond, then give a quartet somewhat related of my own.

To wit (original post from MCF here):

GROUP 1
(A) Eject.
(B) Rewind.
(C) Steeljaw.
(D) Ramhorn.

Purely simple. I too watched Transformers as a pre-teen (well, okay, and as a teen). These to me are very plainly ‘cassette’ Autobots. Though I did like the cartoon in my youth, sadly watching the repeats it looks more like toy ads. However, based on the cartoon theme, here is my reciprocating quartet.

i. Rick
ii. Roy
iii. Lisa
iv. Max

GROUP 2
(A) “Porch”.
(B) “Garden”.
(C) “Deep”.
(D) “Release”.

Too easy. The last four songs of Pearl Jam’s debut studio album, Ten. For my reciprocal quartet, I give

i. Brian Wilson
ii. King of Spain
iii. Toy Train
iv. Shine

GROUP 3
(A) William.
(B) Patrick.
(C) Avery.
(D) Kate.

All too easy. Perhaps you are not as powerful as the Emperor thought. Oops. Wrong ‘Star’ franchise. This list, addended by Shatner, Stewart, Brooks, and Mulgrew would give actors who played Captains (well, Brooks’ Sisko started as a Commander, but meh) in four of the five Star Trek series. Yup, I’m too much of a geek not to know that one. For my reciprocal:

i. Lorne
ii. Edward
iii. Michelle
iv. Jamie

GROUP 4
(A) House Painter.
(B) Gas Station Attendant.
(C) Student Teacher.
(D) Art Director.

Based on the last of the four, the only guess I can wager would be jobs MCF has had. For my reciprocal

i. Solids
ii. Linkage
iii. Cinematography
iv. Editing

GROUP 5
(A) Danny.
(B) Peter.
(C) Logan.
(D) Bruce.

Ghost Rider, Spider-Man, Wolverine, Batman? The first names to their alter-ego’s? For my reciprocal

i. Le Capitaine Souche
ii. Bloc-man
iii. The Northern Magus
iv. Power Chin.

That is all.

Our best interests at heart… socialized medicine addendum

Bring in Lenin! Bring in the red fields! Bring in the hammer and sickle! Here in BC, it is now being shown that evil, heathenistic, third world (well, according to Dubya in the third Presidential debate against John Kerry) health care has a infinitely stronger basis in reality as opposed to a privatized system.

Now for one second, fuck politics, fuck religion, fuck economics. Scientifically and medically speaking, the foundation of health care should be prevention and early detection. Keeping that in mind, look at how BC is spending $22 million in funds (you have to click the link, I’m not going to cut and paste for you).

As for my 2 cents to ‘New’ Minister of Defence Peter McKay, plug up the border. Prepare for a full assault. Providing health care to everyone is a blow that American culture cannot take. The poor won’t be so trampled on. Big, faceless insurance companies won’t profit much. But most outrageously, Americans will whine and moan that the extra few dollars a year in taxation is too much of a brunt to bear to ensure proper health care for all.

Hey, the Yanks have gone to war for less…

That is all.

Our best interests at heart

Nothing like starting a Friday off with a bang. Aside from being my busiest day of the week, I drove into downtown Vancouver to the tone of my favourite morning radio crew at CFOX bringing up a prominent story in the local papers. ICBC, our ‘beloved’ licensing and sole automotive insurance company, has recorded record profits over the first half of this year. Yet the kicker? Our insurance premiums have, YET AGAIN, increased by 3%.

The ‘reason’ given to us? With the great number of claims from British Columbia (and that is a statement I can get behind, BC drivers are idiots), claims actually run at a loss. Thus, the explaination for the profit is that it is derived from ICBC’s investment income. But I do have to ask this. Don’t you have to have money for that money to make money? Something seems askew in their accounting. And they, being a client of my slave driving organization employer, I can reasonably ascertain they are not the most efficient spenders of green.

Still, ICBC is a business, and as long as they have no major ethical mispractices and stay within legal limits, they can do whatever the frak they want. I just want to highlight that businesses far from have any person’s best interests at heart.

So later that Friday (okay, this past Friday, if your into semantics), Dawn and I finally saw Sicko. Yet another genius film by Michael Moore. And now that I’ve brought that up, I’m sure Todd will now have enough impetus to fully immigrate to the USA as his contradictory to Moore slant will convince him that socialized medicine is now bad. Yes, it took forever to be played at a cinema convenient enough not for Dawn and I to spend $50 to see the film (in total costs). Actually, we payed a measley $8.00 for the two of us. Woo hoo.

I was shocked watching this film. First, I went in anticipating the obvious. A lot of context around Americans who can’t afford health care. Boy was I wrong. Rather, it was more an expose of people who actually have health care, but their HMO’s reneg on their treatment, finding loopholes to save HMO’s billions of dollars annually. To this I have one question:

Don’t American doctors have to take the Hipocratic Oath? The oath that puts primary emphasis on the saving and maintainance of human life, not letting people die to save an HMO an insurance payment of $60,000?

Now I am certain Moore did pick the most severe, the most drastic examples he could to drive his point home. US health care is much more about economics than it is about the health of a person. Now whether these cases represent 1% of claims, 0.1%, or even 0.01% of all health claims, they are all too much. Health care should be about prevention and early detection first, and should exclude NO ONE.

It is sad that one of the feelings I have after watching Sicko is that I’m once again glad to be Canadian. But, as to those who live south and actually SUPPORT a system that would allow even one person to be refused life saving health care in exchange for a higher profit margin, I give you

I think it’s safe to say that US HMO’s are another example of how corporations far from have any of our personal interests at heart.

That is all.

MCF’s COMMON I or: Filler because doing someone else’s job on top of my own kills my creativity

Or maybe just ‘filler’ because I haven’t been a ‘winner’.

Maybe.

Still, the base concept of this was finding the common thread of a list of four items. As such: (original post here)

GROUP 1
(A) O’Neill.
(B) Tigh.
(C) Sanders.
(D) Klink.

Easy one. Colonels. Col. Jack O’Neill from Stargate, Col. Tigh/Saul Tigh from Orignial/Re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, Col. Harlan Sanders from KFC (or Kentucky Fried Mutated Chicken by-product), and Col. Klink from Hogan’s Heroes.

GROUP 2
(A) Cindy.
(B) Peter.
(C) Samson.
(D) Munchkin.

A bit trickier. I get the Brady Bunch feel from the first two, and with Munchkin at the end, size comes up for me. Sadly, Bobby was the youngest male Brady, so as such, it’s not the smallest. Samson is a biblical figure, so as such I have no clue about it. Well, I do, but still. Not my thing. A Google search gives it as a lot of puppy names, so I guess pet names.

GROUP 3
(A) Sushi.
(B) Cauliflower.
(C) Calamari.
(D) Escargot.

All foods. Three seafood, one land vegetable. Drawing a blank. Oh wait, I’ve got it. What are four food items NOT in my kitchen! (Hat tip Cheers writers for Cliff Claven).

GROUP 4
(A) Liquidator.
(B) Junkyard.
(C) Brain.
(D) Miss Lion.

Oooh. Perhaps four animated characters voice by Maurice LaMarche?

GROUP 5
(A) House.
(B) Clock.
(C) Romano.
(D) Chandler.

Seeing Romano, my initial impulse is cheese. But I can’t fathom Clock cheese. Or Chandler cheese. But television creeps back in. House, MD. 24 (being 24 hours on a clock). Ray Romano. Chandler Bing. Maybe four things in MCF’s typical after prime-time lineup?

Definitely tougher than the which one is different (sadly I missed it).

That is all. Maybe some ideas tomorrow. ICBC is pissing me off.

Arrrr!

You know, nothing beats the sheer joy of playing Red Rover on a weekend while shopping in hell. Though with this past long weekend notwithstanding, I do realize where the entire Lower Mainland disappeared to. Yup, instead of hitting the beach, mountains, et al, they decided to plug up all the supermarket aisles for a consecutive 72 hour period. Frakking gits.

But nothing gives me greater glee than to either be blunt with, or give my Gordie Howe impression to, the twats who just HAPPEN to block my way, cut me off, or try to force me to turn around even though it should be them who should yield right of way to me. Coming a close second though, is my blatant mispronunciation of words, just to be obtuse. Quay, pedometer, and crouton come to mind. But the best is when I really kick into some English pronunciations. And the one coming up most recently: Derby. Yes, with Derby’s football team making it to the Premiership this year, Derby is on the brain. But back on the pronunciation thing… how on Earth is the letters er pronounced ARR!?!?

Think of other words with er somehwere in them? Pronounced phonetically based on Derby being the rule, not the exception, I offer the following:

Pokarr
Nevarr
Rivarr
Suparrman
Ordarr
Trailarr
VickARRs!!!

Arr! You call that an anchor. Arr! I feel like this guy…

Now to listen to sixty of my favourite sea chanties, all on Compact Disc.

That is all.