Frustrated.tv

Not that this is a surprise. Most cities have political representation that is about as accurate (and competent) as 1000 monkeys with typewriters working on the screenplay for MacBeth. Something always gets produced, but rarely is it what you want.

These three stories show just how inept our city council is.

Proposed fee could add to some Ottawa water bills
So the City pushes the residents of Ottawa for the past 5 years to “reduce water waste and water consumption”. As good citizens, we comply. First our water rates go up annual due to “service and delivery fees”. Now they propose that “customers with low consumption — about 20% of residential customers — could see about $5 more on their bills.” Let me see if I get this. I use less water, so you want to charge me extra? These people are insane….fix the sewage problem so the city stops getting fined by Environment Canada for its incompetency, then maybe you’d have the money to rebuild our water infrastructure…

Pathway takes councillors by surprise
The Light Rail Transportation (LRT) System has been a boondoggle from the beginning. We (the taxpayers) have already paid millions in fines and fees for the councils inability to read a simple contract, the NCC has already kaiboshed the original pathway for the light rail track (nobody on the council bothered to check with the NCC if they minded if we plunked a rail line right through their property) and now this. Somehow (again) the council was unaware (again) of the goings on within their own bailiwick. The LRT track is once again in jeopardy and this “…has shocked some councillors who didn’t know the path was to be directly on the rail bed.”

If I went to work and sat there for two weeks then went to the client and became shocked that they actually wanted me to work for my money. I’d be fired. Keep in mind these councillors have all been “on the job (and I use that term loosely) for over 8 years) How come these people still have jobs? Because other like-minded idiots out there keep voting them in….not my fault, but I have to suck it up as a tax payer

Missing the busker debate
And my favorite…this is the city that fun forgot, and apparently it now costs to stand on the sidewalk and play your instrument for either entertainment or cash donations. The council already implemented a permit system for the buskers (up to $150/day) and now they’ve proposed an actual license for each busker. The shocking part? Nobody on the council knew (remembered?) that there was already a permit fee in place. ““Why do we have to control this? Who asked us to? Did the people in Ottawa? I certainly missed the debate on this, way too much going on I guess,” she (the inept Councilwoman Jan Harder) said.

Again – how do these people keep their jobs…or better yet how do I get a job that lets me be incompetent and still collect a paycheque. If the idiots out there in other wards want to keep voting their mental midget councillor into the same seat again – they can. I’m not.

Vote for this guy: http://www.mike-kennedy.ca

Maybe things’ll change. Maybe not. But at least it’ll be a different pile of sh…errr…polititians.

Wow – its been a loooong time since I had one of these.

Our lovely city has a very management heavy, process restrictive and unionized public transportation system. Recently we went through a 52 day strike which ground the city to a halt and resulted in the unionized drivers getting nothing they wanted. A large waste of time and money, and a pain in the arse to everyone who lives in this city, whether you take the bus or not. Today I had yet another lovely experience with our over-priced under serviced system

7:38 – call the info service and find out I have a bus leaving in 6 minutes and 16 minutes (they dream)

7:46 – I am 30 meters from the bus stop and I see a Bus go by (this happens every other day now). I figured this was the 7:44 bus coming by 2 minutes late. No. This was the 7:54 bus coming by early. I knew this because at the stop light at the end of the street was the 7:44 bus…waiting for the light to turn green.

8:07 – The 8:04 bus shows up, packed to the teeth because the previous bus came by early….no room to sit, and barely enough room to stand. And To top it all off we have Mario Andretti on speed as a driver and people are leaning twisting and hanging on for dear life as we go around each corner.

8:10 – I get to the Next stop, exit the bus and grab a Timmy’s to wait to transfer onto another bus that takes me downtown. They cancelled the downtown service from my first stop in order to save on cost (Yay Transportation committee)…completely ignoring the fact that a full bus left our community/subdivision and went directly downtown – every 10 minutes between 6:10am and 8:04 am. Now 100-140 people have to transfer onto an already overcrowded central run (the 95) that feeds from the communities.

8:14 – After getting my coffee and paper I step out to the bus stop, waiting with about 25 other people, only to watch the 95 show up, packed to the hilt, no room for anyone to get on. I’m pretty sure someone had intended to get off, but couldn’t make it to the door.

8:20 – (Keep in mind these buses are supposed to run every 10 minutes) Another 95 shows up, with a 2nd one immediately behind it…neither one stops….because they are both packed…to the hilt.

8:35 – Another packed 95 shows up (note the 10 minute interval? NOT), keeps going, so I get on another feeder bus and head to Baseline Station (West End central depot) where I wait another 5 minutes.

8:40 – finally get onto a bus. Arrive downtown @ 9:16 after stopping at every single stop picking people up. Efficient use of the public transportation system? For them – yes. For the public, not very convenient.

Normally the bus ride downtown is smooth and uneventful. Its these types of days that make you scratch your head and say “What the hell are these transportation committee planners smoking?”

The city council (and environmentalists) all push everyone to take public transit. The unfortunate part they don’t take into account is the cost to an individual on days like this. That’s an hour of billable time that I’ll never get back. From a cost breakdown, assuming I make $20/hr (I don’t but that’s twice minimum wage here in Ontario).

Bus – $26.50

Pro’s – Environmentally friendly? I still question that because diesel fuel pumps much dirtier pollution into the air.

Con’s – Can’t leave when you want, exposure to viral and bacterial infection in a small space with no air, can’t depend on actually getting where you want when you want. They just promise to get there eventually.

Car – $19.10

Pro’s – I can leave when I want, and get back when I want, and get to where I’m going when I want. No screaming teens and no viral/bacterial exposure.

Con’s – I have yet to find any.

So – will I continue using public transportation? Yes. Will I call OC transpo and complain everytime this happens? Yes.

We’re a one car family. That’s our environmental contribution.

Not quite the same when you’re in between contracts, but I still hates them.  I still can’t sleep in..unless I go to bed a 4:00am, then I sleep til 10:00. Ooooo.

So the teachers Union have given their strike edict and now nobody knows what’s going on.  My professor had no clue if part time/evening courses were even going to be affected…guess I’ll wait and find out tomorrow.  Not like the school is communicating to the students…

I hate Mondays

On a positive note, Monday 9:30 and I have 2 interviews lined up this week already.  No word on last week’s.  One was a complete waste of time and the other I kinda hope I get, and kinda hope not.  Perm position with benefits and vacation that allows me to do at least some work from home…but the pay is nothing like consultant pay.

Ahhhh…Mondays.

I Don't Like Mondays

Hope y’all have a good week.

Gotta Hate ‘em.

They served a purpose in the 1930’s when work gangs consisted of 8-22 year old men/boys working 16 hour days in unmanageable conditions. Wages were harmonized and a standard work day was more or less established. People doing the same job now get “relatively” the same pay (not going down that rat-hole), and there are at least some standards across North America as to what you can and cannot do to your employees.

But now, with the Unions having taken over education and every manufacturing and trade industry, we have people working in manual labour positions getting paid $27.59 an hour to put 5 bolts on a wheel for 8 hours a day, and apparently Teachers at the college level who still haven’t learned that in the 21st century there is no guaranteed job, nor is there a guaranteed raise. In my opinion if you do a good job, better than Sally or Joe beside you, your pay should reflect that. If they don’t like it, then find another job work or work harder.

My Mixology course? Yeah – not so much. The teachers won’t sign a contract because they want a guaranteed 2.5% increase over the next two years. Never mind all the laid off and unemployed people out there who can’t go to school to reducate themselves because they cannot afford it…My contract is up at the end of the month – can I go on strike and ask employers for guaranteed income? No. So why does a Union get to?

My last class will likely be next week and the week after that the Teachers have voted to go on strike. Will I be signing up again if they do? Not likely.

Happy Thursday all. At least tomorrow’s Friday.