It’s official.
I’m DONE with the online AND paper versions of the Vancouver Sun and The Province.
Well, I never really read the Province because it reads like the Enquirer to me, but the Sun had me for Thursdays edition,as well as the weekend one. The online versions provided me with updated local news bits to blog about. However, the recent changes to the Suns paper edition are atrocious to say the least. Unreadable. And now, the online sites of both have been re-hashed into generic news sites that appear as if they could be from any city in Canada. Cluttered and erratic in design,the worst of it seems to be that local stories are often passed over for crap from places I don’t even care about. The related links to stories that are featured bring you to links that are old and out of date and a ton of what appears to be syndicated content – a money saver for any large news chain. ICK ICK ICK.
I hope you will enjoy the CBC links I will be using from now on in reference to stories making headlines, and their site is much better to navigate. As well, for my readers across the country, you can set the news settings to your local area – a handy feature. www.cbc.ca – check it out. Not to mention CBC has that REALLY excellent show- Dragons Den. I’m so addicted to it. This season is the best with the addition of W.Brett Wilson. What a true Renaissance man he is; a humanist whose wallet is big and heart is bigger. Killer business instinct mixed with the desire to make a difference makes for an excellent foil to fellow Dragon Kevin O’ Leary, who rarely shows his softer side on air.Next favorite would have to be Boston Pizza Czar, Jim Treliving- Ex-RCMP turned businessman who calls it like he sees it, with a funny comment everytime. If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching everyone from total nutbar idiots, to astute but underfunded entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to the Dragons in hopes of snagging an investment deal, you must give it a try. http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/
I have a couple of things for you to think about today…The family that steals together, stays together…. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/12/04/bc-father-son-burglaries.html . A 37 year old man and his 21 year old son were both arrested during a recent crime spree in the valley. (Wow, what a bonding experience, sitting in a jail cell together!! ) And so this circle of life continues, one generation of uselessness passing on his defective behavior to their offspring. What ever happened to wanting better things for your children?
It reminded me of the newest trend in thievery, or at least one that retailers are onto now: mothers shoplifting with babies as their cover. To be specific, mothers use their baby strollers as a hiding place for items stolen while “browsing” through the store. I clued into this one day while being followed by a not so subtle undercover store detective. ( So,does this mean I look suspicious or something?) He was pretty much on my ass everywhere I went through Zellers, even in the lingerie department! When I went to the till to pay for my purchases and mentioned it to the clerk, she told me that it is because they catch a lot of women shoplifting with their babies in the stroller, and they put the items in the basket in the bottom, or behind the baby!! Classy, really classy.
And if you didn’t have enough reason to question the priorities of Gordon Campbells government, here’s another one for you. Seismic upgrading isn’t happening fast enough, and there may not be enough money to make it all happen. That is from the Auditor General, John Doyle. It seems that the Premier has plenty of excuses along with Education Minister, Shirley bond, who told CBC news : “We literally cannot predict what’s going to happen next month with a great degree of certainty or accuracy, depending on the global economic circumstances.” http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/12/04/bc-school-seismic-upgrades.html
Let me get this right… it is perfectly acceptable to throw money out there to fund a grossly over budget convention centre, to enhance the ‘ sea to SLY’ highway that just happens to pass by all of the premiers friends highly lucrative property ventures, (http://www.straight.com/article-93176/developers-are-the-games-real-winners) and yet our children sit in risk of being crushed should an earthquake occur while they are at school… Is that how it is? Come on now Premier, just because you and the other old cronies don’t have kids in school anymore doesn’t mean you should neglect ours…. they are future voters after all.
With the economy tanking ,one would think customer service would be important for a retailer to attract and retain customers.Real Canadian Superstore however, has taken it to a ‘Real Canadian’ low with recent renovations at the Surrey store on King George highway, with the removal of the ’12 items or less’ express lanes. Yes, you heard me right- they are gone. It’s bad enough we have to bag our own to get cheaper prices, but this is a bit much. Now, people with three items must often wait behind several families with hundreds of items, making for extremely long waits of up to 45 minutes!! The store has recently undergone massive renovations to revamp the look and self-serve check-outs were installed. Shortly thereafter, the express lanes were removed and the result has been horribly long lines of increasingly angry customers. Recently after waiting for nearly 25 minutes to pay for a couple items , I complained to the manager on duty, who told me that they wanted customers like me to use the self-checkout lanes. But they only allow credit or debit card payments, and there are still shoppers with full carts using them too. They really aren’t faster at all, not to mention that I prefer to use cash to avoid excessive fees, in particular for small purchases. He really didn’t seem to care if I took my business somewhere else, so I took the complaint to the main office for review, who claimed ignorance of the decision. I await a response, but I’m not holding my breathe. Customer satisfaction seems to mean nothing to the Loblaws giant whose third quarter profits jumped 32.5%….
Last, but not least, I would like to thank everyone who gave me feedback on what they would like to see here, and it seems video blogs are a bit winner. Look for this feature in the new year ! As for Christmas decorating… it’s taken about a week but I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Next weekend will be the Annual Christmas Tree Hunt, followed by the obligatory cursing and whatnot as we try to load it on the cartop,and level the damn thing when we get it home… ahhh holiday bliss. Bring on the rumspiked eggnog please.
It seems so nice this year with the baby around, and he is obviously in awe at all the lights twinkling in our home. He becomes so excited when I’m holding him near the decorations, that he ends up whirling around, grabbing two handfuls of my cheeks or hair, and smashing an openmouthed,drooly kiss on my face with such force it leaves a red mark when he is done.I relish every moment this year, while the baby is at this stage, because he is my last and when it’s over , it’s REALLY over this time. A little melancholy,but in a sweet way this beginning and ending at the same time. Do fathers go through this too? Here’s a pic to show the chubby little cheeks of Rowan,coming up to 6 months old.
Not so 'wee' anymore -Rowan...
Gazing at the lights
Posted in crime, Laila Yuile Tagged: 2010 olympics, babies, bc liberals, boston pizza, cbc, christmas stories, cknw talk idol, crime, customer service, decorations, dragons den, education, families, Gordon Campbell, government waste, jim treliving, kevin o'leary, Laila Yuile, loblaws, love, online media, politics, real canadian superstore, sea to sky highway, shirley bond, the province, Vancouver Sun, w.brett wilson, waste, zellers
