I'm sure this is somehow Jean Chretien's fault

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

There is no doubt in my mind that ePass, the Government of Canada’s online services website, is the worst online application ever constructed. I am willing to bet that it cost millions of dollars to build and has never once been glanced at by anyone with even a passing interest in usability. I am by any measure a very proficient online user, but this web site simply confounds me with its dysfunction. On top of all the circular navigation and absurdly verbose pages, I cannot sign in because, even answering half a dozen security questions, I have to wait for a piece of paper to show up in the mail with an access code. Only then can I sign in, and change my address, so that I may NetFile my taxes.

So fuck you, ePass. You are the most ridiculous waste of my tax dollars that ever there was.

[tags]epass, netfile[/tags]

One more reason to switch

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Well, that was good timing. The reservation desk at Porter called me today to suggest I catch an earlier flight back to Toronto because of the impending storm. They changed my flight over the phone, and I left about an hour an a half before my original flight time. The weather was fine for the entire flight, if quite windy in Toronto which made for a bumpy landing. I hopped in a cab and arrived home around 7:30. Ten minutes later I looked outside: snowstorm. 10-15 cm tonight, supposedly.

Would Air Canada have called me to reschedule because I might have weather problems later on that evening? I think not.

.:.

A study in duality: Starbucks vs Wal-Mart. [via Richard Florida]

[tags]porter air, air canada, starbucks, wal-mart[/tags]

What I've learned today

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

1) I like Montreal (of course, I already knew this, I’m just reminded of it whenever I visit);

2) After flying Porter, I’ll never voluntarily fly out of Pearson (to a Porter-served destination, anyway) again. It was fast, simple, comfortable and easy;

3) Being a kinda-vegetarian and sitting across from someone eating a Kobe beef burger sucks.
[tags]montreal, porter air, vegetarian, kobe beef[/tags]

Rockies redux

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

18 months ago, after our trip to the Rockies, I uploaded a ton of pictures to my Flickr account. Probably around a thousand, in fact, because…well, it’s the Rockies and you take pictures. However, I knew that most sane people wouldn’t look at 1,000 pictures taken by someone else, so I always planned to create a “best pictures” Flickr set. I used that approach when we came back from France.

Today, in between work and school and knocking items off the to-do list, I finally picked my favourite 27 pictures and put them in a new set. View the slideshow here to see the ones that really stuck with me.

[tags]rockies, flickr[/tags]

Unmarked helicopters? Somebody call Mulder.

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

This helicopter’s been hovering around just to the east of my building for most of the morning. Not sure what’s going on. Nellie says that if we see guys with rifles start sliding down any ziplines, we’re locking the door.

.:.

I forgot to post about the Flickr song chart pool last week when I saw it. I lost a good hour one night going through it. Enjoy!

(by the way, this one should make any Buffy fans out there extremely happy)

.:.

I have to fly to Montreal tomorrow, and back Tuesday night. It’ll be my first time flying off the island airport with Porter Air, so I’m looking forward to it. Actually, what I’m looking forward to is to not have to go all the way out to Pearson.

If it’s as good an experience as I’ve heard, I can see us using them for flights to New York, Montreal and even Halifax.

.:.

We have a new picture in the dictionary next to the word “ironic”: the logo of film production company Genius Products, who are responsible for The Hottie And The Nottie. Well done, gentlemen.

[tags]helicopter, toronto, flickr song chart pool, buffy, once more with feeling, porter air, irony, geniuss products, the hottie and the nottie[/tags]

A confederacy of dunces

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Had dinner and a quick drink with CBGB last night at Volo. I needed to unwind after a long week at work (which isn’t done yet…see below) and a quiet, snowy evening with some friends and tasty beer was a proper way to do it.

.:.

Before I sacrifice what’s left of this weekend on the altar of work and the MBA, I thought I’d throw up a couple of thoughts. It may be the last you hear from me for a few days.

  • This just in: Toronto city councilor Rob Ford is a screaming idiot. Not just for this latest nonsense, which shows that his approach to debate is roughly that of a six year old. The man is in the hall of fame for terrible elected officials. It’s embarrassing to live in a city where people continually vote for him.
  • Holy crap…my Canadiens are leading their division! Meanwhile, here in the land of altered reality, people are still talking about the Leafs making the playoffs.
  • I find this map of religious majorities in America very interesting. Anyone know of a Canadian version? [via Richard Florida]
  • I’d used Bloomex a few times for flower delivery and thought they were ok, but they messed up my most recent order — and the customer service followup — something fierce. Luckily Nellie’s an understanding wife who doesn’t demand flowers on/near Valentine’s Day, and so she just laughed it off. I won’t bother going through all the details; I’ll just leave it at this: do not, under any circumstances, use Bloomex. The service they gave me was truly one of the worst customer experiences of my life, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. It didn’t cause me harm or anguish or anything…it was just staggeringly, monumentally incompetent. Avoid them at all costs. Warn your friends.

.:.

Guns scare me. Texas has adopted the “castle doctrine,” which means you’re now justified in shooting someone if you feel threatened in your home; there’s no longer much expectation that you take reasonable measures to avoid the threat. You can just shoot it. Some have gone vigilante and extended this to their neighbourhood, like this guy who shot two men in the back because they robbed the house next door, despite the imminent arrival of police and the pleas of a 911 dispatcher.

Militarism scares me. When the Chief of Defence Staff says democratic debate on Canada’s involvement in Afghanistan is emboldening the terrorists to attack our troops, it reeks of the same low scare tactics we’ve heard from the United States in recent years. As POGGE put it when this story came out last week, “I think we’ve just been told to shut up and salute.”

American military integration scares me. While a recent deal struck between Canada and the US is intended to let troops from either country cross the border in case of a civil emergency, the potential ramifications of misuse are staggering. There was also no debate on the topic — the deal was signed a week before the story broke — which strikes me as unusual and troubling. This could be a very big help in an actual emergency, or a very ugly tool used for political/military purposes.

[tags]bar volo, rob ford, montreal canadiens, toronto maple leafs, bloomex, castle doctrine, joe horn, rick hillier, american military integration[/tags]

No wonder every smart person I know would like to work there

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Via Beyond Robson (the Vancouver equivalent of BlogTO) I read this story today:

Google Gives All SF Homeless Free Voicemail

Google has made an announcement that could help hundreds of homeless people in San Francisco get back on their feet. Every single homeless person in the city will be given a life-long phone number and voicemail, should they choose to accept it, NBC11’s Lisa Bernard said.

More details here at Google’s blog. Google does this using GrandCentral, a technology they acquired a while back. I’ve played around with it some, and my brother’s a big fan.

Anyway, I’m sure some people will read this and laugh/sneer, saying “Don’t you think there’re things that homeless people need more than voicemail?” Well, yeah, of course there are, but Google can’t provide those things directly, so it’s doing this. Good for them.

By the way, $5 says this came out of a 20% time idea.

[tags]google, grandcentral, homeless, san francisco, project homeless connect[/tags]

"Make art…make art."

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

BlogTO is single-handedly trying to kill me, listing the best places to buy chocolate in Toronto. Of course, I was already aware of them, especially JS Bonbons and Soma, but those pictures are making me hungry.

.:.

Quick thoughts on the Oscars: for the first time in quite a while I have no problem with any of the winners (or rather, with who didn’t win). Also, it’s a good thing “Falling Slowly” won best original song, ’cause if it’d lost to one of those Disney songs from Enchanted I’d have flown to L.A. and burned the Kodak theatre to the motherfucking ground.

Watch the performance (and acceptance speeches) here at Cinematical.

.:.

I just finished reading Incendiary (indigo) and need a new book. Fortunately I own about 60 that I haven’t read yet.

[tags]blogto, chocolate, soma, js bonbons, oscars, falling slowly, once, incendiary[/tags]

Bling When You're Minging

Dan DickinsonLeave a comment

Definitely the most confusing headline I’ve read all day: Dustin the Turkey plucked to represent Ireland at Eurovision. OK then.

.:.

Today’s been a great Sunday, for one simple reason: I have done dick all. Having finished my marketing assignment yesterday, I decided today would be a rest & mental health day. I took it easy all morning and watched a movie (After The Wedding, a pretty good Danish drama) while Nellie slept, then went to have some brunch at a nearby pub. Brunch turned into a veggie burger and three beers each, and now we’re home finishing up the last little errands before Nellie starts her annual Oscar freak-out. I had a nap (this is a freakish occurrence; I never nap) on the couch before we called my niece for her birthday. I ate some ice cream. That’s as exciting as it got today.

Lazy Sunday = awesome.

[tags]dustin the turkey, eurovision, oscars, academy awards, after the wedding[/tags]