43 Replies to “Reader Tips”

  3. I’m curious how you all feel about this. I just inquired with my provider, Shaw, asking them how I’m supposed to monitor my bandwidth consumption when their only tool to do this is currently not working.
    I feel this is a cash grab by a few companies that are part of an oligopoly. I don’t think a true competitive market has existed in this area for years. At least not in Vancouver.

  4. Patsy sure had that yodelling thing down didn’t she. A modern version of Patsy is Devon Dawson out of TX. Check her out on You Tube. She’s great.

  9. Robert
    I’m surprised…..
    Do you want a free market, or government control?
    Being in the telecom world, I can give perspective….

  10. Has anyone noticed the high number of roof collapses in Alberta lately? Edmonton has had quite a number, including a seniors center. Medicine Hat lost a building that housed at least four youth activity clubs. There’s plenty more snow on the way, according to the forecast.

  12. Well,that was an interesting little ditty.However, the best song about Montana,is Frank Zappa’s ‘Montana’,which includes the memorable lyric,”With a
    Pair of heavy-duty
    Zircon-encrusted tweezers in my hand
    Every other wrangler would say
    I was mighty grand”.

    An interesting video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smXctlhgcHk

  13. Dan, the two choices you gave me are not accurate as to what’s available to us. First off, Shaw & Telus have created an oligopoly where real competition simply doesn’t exist. Secondly, the main thing I want from my current provider, Shaw, is a simple way for me to monitor my online usage. Is that too much to ask? It’s like a car company selling vehicles without a fuel gauge and saying to you, “just make sure you don’t drive too much”.
    Here’s the last e-mail I just sent to them:
    Dear ######,
    I appreciate your candor. As for the online monitoring tool, I spoke with a colleague a few hours ago and he said that this tool on your website has not been working for several years. I’m skeptical if your technical staff will suddenly have it working soon.
    Anyhow, when you sent me the usage numbers, I had NO IDEA that I was so far over my limit. If I had easy access to my usage numbers then I would ensure I never went over.
    I’ve already investigated the offerings from Telus. It appears their High Speed Turbo plan is cheaper (just $45/month) and offers a higher monthly limit (125 GB). I’m going to find out if they have a monitoring tool for their customers.
    I could be wrong, but I think there is going to be a HUGE backlash against Shaw for what appears to be simply a cash grab. Several years back, Rogers here in Vancouver got the shock of their life when they tried to implement a surcharge that would only be canceled if customers proactively called in to do so. This is what forced them out of the province (as a cable operator) and Shaw effectively took over their customer base. We’ll see what happens now.
    Anyhow, I mean nothing negative towards you personally whatsoever. At the the end of the day, all I’m looking for is a simple usage monitoring tool that I can consult whenever I want in the month. In the year 2011 it seems beyond ridiculous to me that I have to e-mail a company each time I want to get this information. If Shaw is unable to provide this tool prior to penalizing me with surcharges then moving to Telus will no longer be a difficult choice.
    Sincerely,
    Robert W.

  17. The aim of blood libels
    For Israelis, the American Left’s assault on Sarah Palin and the conservative movement in the wake of Jared Loughner’s murderous attack in Tucson, Arizona was disturbingly familiar.
    http://www.carolineglick.com/e/

  18. PET Cemetery’s Free Advice to Scream Dean Iggy:
    Don’t pick yer nose and don’t screw up.
    …-
    “And speaking of screw-ups …”
    “bryn.weese – January 27th, 2011
    Following on the heels of Defence Minister Peter MacKay’s geography gaffe, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff himself slipped up Thursday while talking about the United States’ Secretary of Defence and the F-35 stealth fighter jet.
    US Defence Secretary ROBERT Gates was in Ottawa Thursday for a bilateral meeting with MacKay, but Ignatieff thought MacKay was meeting with the billionaire of Microsoft fame BILL Gates. (My bad. I previously wrote IBM fame. Whoops!)
    “We think that Bill Gates, the Secretary of Defence, knows full well the problems with the F-35,” Ignatieff said in Montreal. “This thing (F-35) is late, it’s over budget. You may notice Mr. MacKay said we might take delivery in 2017. That’s already slipped a year, right?
    Ignatieff’s gaffe, though, may serve to shut up his critics that he’s “only visiting” Canada from his adopted home to the south.
    After all, if he were really an American in disguise, you’d think he would know the name of his Defence Secretary!”
    http://blogs.canoe.ca/eyeonthehill/liberals/and-speaking-of-screw-ups/
    http://www.bluelikeyou.com/2011/01/28/more-evidence-ctv-is-shilling-for-the-liberals/#comment-59877

  19. AGW Progress Report:
    Goreacle screwed up again.
    …-
    “Global Warming Meeting Cancelled Due to Snow”
    “The Al Gore Effect is still at work:
    Inclement weather has canceled a community workshop focusing on the local climate action planning process and energy conservation and sustainability.
    “Carbon, Our Energy Future and You,” a joint conference planned by the University of Virginia, Charlottesville and Albemarle County, will be rescheduled for another date, as yet to be announced, officials said.
    The workshop, originally scheduled for 6 p.m., is being postponed in the face of a predicted winter storm that could drop between 4 and 8 inches on Central Virginia, with the heaviest snowfall between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.”
    “Full story here.”
    http://meteorologicalmusings.blogspot.com/2011/01/global-warming-meeting-cancelled-due-to.html

  20. It was a dark and stormy night, and Choo-Choo Pachauri, had just slipped into his sari, when the Moon ……..
    PM Harper has been vindicated.
    A victory to PM Harper.
    Well done.
    Canada owns the podium. Again.
    “”It is very evident that there will not be a single grand deal at any point in the near future,” said Robert Orr, UN assistant secretary general for strategic planning and a key adviser to Ban.”
    …-
    “[United Nations] Ban Ki-moon ends hands-on involvement in climate change talks”
    “UN secretary general will redirect efforts to making more immediate gains in clean energy and sustainable development”
    “Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations secretary general who made global warming his personal mission, is ending his hands-on involvement with international climate change negotiations, the Guardian has learned.
    In a strategic shift, Ban will redirect his efforts from trying to encourage movement in the international climate change negotiations to a broader agenda of promoting clean energy and sustainable development, senior UN officials said.
    The officials said the change in focus reflected Ban’s realisation, after his deep involvement with the failed Copenhagen summit in 2009, that world leaders are not prepared to come together in a sweeping agreement on global warming – at least not for the next few years.
    “It is very evident that there will not be a single grand deal at any point in the near future,” said Robert Orr, UN assistant secretary general for strategic planning and a key adviser to Ban.”
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jan/27/ban-ki-moon-un-climate-change-talks
    http://www.bluelikeyou.com/2011/01/28/more-evidence-ctv-is-shilling-for-the-liberals/#comment-59878

  21. I don’t understand the fuss over paying extra for extra use of an internet pipe. Heavy users should pay more . . . like electricity or gas or water. Seems the people who are leading the fight for unlimited all you can eat service are younger set who feel it is their right to free everything over the internet, including stealing other peoples’ music and entertainment . . . a new ‘entitled to their entitlements” crew.
    Of course, everyone wants someone else to pay for their ‘free’ stuff. Such a Progressive idea.
    Robert . . if you can get service from Novuscom . . . do it. Wayyyyyyyyyyyy better than Shaw/Bell.
    reliable, great service – the longest I have ever waited on a service call is maybe one minute, usually I get a direct link.
    You can check at their website to see if your Van area is covered . . . .
    http://www.novusnow.ca/print/building_status/full_list.php

  22. That Patsy Montana is quite the entertainer. I too can yodel. The last time I did, I had just dropped a section of stable cleaner chain on my toe. My effort wasn’t quite as harmonious as Patsy’s version. The words weren’t the same either.

  25. Mohammedanism is collapsing/imploding?
    Sure. Yup. It’s a fact.
    Whoa, AlMoh …. don’t go >>>>> gO with O’narcissist.
    >>> “For years I have heard the lament, “Islam needs reformation”. Well, Islam is reforming: it is returning to its ancient roots of theocratic militancy.
    38. allen”.
    …-
    “The Christian Science Monitor says that “at his third YouTube forum, President Obama spoke for the first time about the anti-government protests in Egypt, and finally gave a detailed answer to legalizing marijuana.” Before he addressed the issue of legalizing marijuana the President said:
    “I’ve always said to him that making sure that they are moving forward on reform – political reform, economic reform – is absolutely critical to the long-term well-being of Egypt,” Obama said. “And you can see these pent-up frustrations that are being displayed on the streets.
    Obama prefaced his remarks by noting Egypt’s role as a US ally, and its peace with Israel, but then used the YouTube forum to offer some encouragement to the youth-driven uprising that began this week against Mubarak’s nearly 30 years of rule. He stressed the importance of free speech, including access to social networking tools.
    “That, I think, is no less true in the Arab world than it is here in the United States,” Obama said. By speaking up, the president added weight to the comments of other administration officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose statements have grown increasingly sympathetic to the protesters with each day.”
    “Between the Lines”
    http://pajamasmedia.com/richardfernandez/2011/01/27/between-the-lines/#more-12350

  27. Okay the Ki-moon thingie made me think. UN leader, son involved in scam. Africa has no infrastructure hence the solar-wind emphasis.
    Supply and demand..force the developed countries to pay for the research and development of a technology they don’t require. When it is proven up and billions have been pithed away give it away.
    Works in a twisted way. Rely on Western greed to get something for nothing. Suzuki, Gore, Mann are the useful dross.

  29. Robert
    A usage monitor is an excellent idea to monitor one’s usage, and should be a tool available to all, no matter who your provider is. Have you tried to look for a third party app to use?
    As for the oligopoly? I don’t have 30 minutes to explain it, but this is the world we are in. The companies -do- compete with each other, trust me, the battle is getting pretty nasty now that Telus is pushing back hard against Shaw with their (superior) IPTV product.
    Why aren’t there more companies? Again, costs are mandated by the CRTC, as is the CRTC’s form of competition. If the third party companies do not like those rental agreements, for bandwidth, they can build their own structure on the incumbent’s poles or underground duct systems, or rent space from the power line companies. Costly? Yes, but that is competition, and that’s why they rent bandwidth.
    As stated previous, I wish I could pay $40/month for nat gas, and leave the thermostat at 70, 24/7. But it’s usage based. Hasn’t been a problem until widespread services like Netflix came along, which requires a lot of bandwidth. It’s not an unlimited pipeline.

  34. This is a few days old already, but it deserves to appear in Kate’s “What we need is a good famine” series under the heading “What we need is another Mongol horde”.

  36. Fred & Dan, I don’t fundamentally have a problem with paying for what I use. My main problem is my inability to monitor my usage. I think the Car Without a Fuel Gauge comparison I provided was bang on.
    On my network I have several computers running off of one Linksys router. I know of no 3rd Party app than can monitor it all. If you do, please let me know.

  41. Aaron,
    Yes, I believe the primary schools are segregated, and “Catholic-only” (despite McGuinty’s vehement opposition to “religious” schools), but when full funding was extended into high school, it was with the proviso that ANYONE could attend…..ahhh the irony…..

  42. Felis at 1:43pm,
    Yeah, I noticed that…I fully support cutting them loose as their own jurisdiction/province….maybe with a nice big wall all around…

  43. Aaron I don’t know anything about Ontario schools but most Muslim children here in Alberta attend the Catholic schools from kindergarten on up. There are some Muslim students who attend the local Muslim schools but such schools are not all that popular amongst Muslim parents.

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