With the night’s darkness holding the morning sun hostage a little longer every day, everybody is ready to give up on summer. For a season that a lot of people claim is their favourite, they sure are eager to see it leave. The autumnal equinox, and hence the end of summer or, more appropriately, the beginning of autumn (fall for those laypeople out there), is still almost a month away. September 23, 2007 is the day of reckoning for summer, not September 1. Quit your whining and get outside and enjoy the summer season in its entirety. Once summer is over it won’t be back for another 272 days (give or take).Thursday, August 30, 2007
Summer's End?
With the night’s darkness holding the morning sun hostage a little longer every day, everybody is ready to give up on summer. For a season that a lot of people claim is their favourite, they sure are eager to see it leave. The autumnal equinox, and hence the end of summer or, more appropriately, the beginning of autumn (fall for those laypeople out there), is still almost a month away. September 23, 2007 is the day of reckoning for summer, not September 1. Quit your whining and get outside and enjoy the summer season in its entirety. Once summer is over it won’t be back for another 272 days (give or take).
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Castle Shuster is now Complete!
Some roadwork began on my street a few days ago and the road, or more specifically, some curbs and part of some driveways has been dug up. Of course, my house was one of the lucky ones. About a foot of my driveway and my adjoining neighbours driveways have been ripped up leaving a big trench stretching across the front of my house.
This has been a nightmare as my driveway is unusable, along with several other driveways on my street and the surrounding streets, so trying to find parking is a challenge to say the least. Not to mention trying to drive down the street, avoiding not only cars on the side of the road but pylons and in some areas even trenches. I guess this is a small price to pay when owning a house. At least the City is doing something with my tax dollars.
Anyhow, this morning the skies opened up and unleashed a flurry of rain amid cracks and flashes of lightening and booming thunder. Since I am inside and have no place to go, it was a nice sight. I don’t mind a little storm every now and then and God knows the unpaved desert like ground in front and behind my house desperately needs some moisture (although I am not going to ask for any because then we will get more than can be handled and my basement might turn into a swimming pool).
As the rain subsided, at least for a brief period, I looked out the window to see if the rain had merely slowed or if it had stopped altogether. As I watched the river flow down my driveway, I noticed the trenches had gathered the rain nicely and instead of an ugly eye sore, the absence of ground became a protecting moat. Sure, it is only about two feet across but that is enough protection in times without horses, including the fabled Trojan horse. My little residence has transformed into a stunning, well-fortified castle in the matter of a couple days. Now if I could just get some crocodiles or alligators I would really have no worries. I hope the City is not going to charge me for the added security they have unknowingly provided.
This has been a nightmare as my driveway is unusable, along with several other driveways on my street and the surrounding streets, so trying to find parking is a challenge to say the least. Not to mention trying to drive down the street, avoiding not only cars on the side of the road but pylons and in some areas even trenches. I guess this is a small price to pay when owning a house. At least the City is doing something with my tax dollars.
Anyhow, this morning the skies opened up and unleashed a flurry of rain amid cracks and flashes of lightening and booming thunder. Since I am inside and have no place to go, it was a nice sight. I don’t mind a little storm every now and then and God knows the unpaved desert like ground in front and behind my house desperately needs some moisture (although I am not going to ask for any because then we will get more than can be handled and my basement might turn into a swimming pool).
As the rain subsided, at least for a brief period, I looked out the window to see if the rain had merely slowed or if it had stopped altogether. As I watched the river flow down my driveway, I noticed the trenches had gathered the rain nicely and instead of an ugly eye sore, the absence of ground became a protecting moat. Sure, it is only about two feet across but that is enough protection in times without horses, including the fabled Trojan horse. My little residence has transformed into a stunning, well-fortified castle in the matter of a couple days. Now if I could just get some crocodiles or alligators I would really have no worries. I hope the City is not going to charge me for the added security they have unknowingly provided.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Letter re GO Transit
I have yet to actually send this letter to anyone and chances are good that I will never actually send this but here it is for your enjoyment anyhow. Feel free to recommend any changes and hopefully I will find someone to send this letter to and get it done. Once again I have proved that I am a thinker not a doer. I get these great(?) ideas but never act on them. Maybe someday I will change this but I won't be holding my breath for this to occur.
For years it has been the government’s objective to reduce carbon monoxide emissions from vehicles by promoting car pooling and public transportation. The Federal government has even gone so far as to give monthly commuters a tax break for their part in reducing harmful emissions (and as an incentive for others to start commuting). In the greater Toronto area, a lot of people work in downtown Toronto and rely heavily on GO Transit to get to and from work. For many of these commuters, any service disruption is not just an inconvenience but it results in lost income or added expenses to them while GO Transit escapes without having to reimburse these riders for the lack of service.
Infrequent delays are understandable and can be overlooked but riders should not have to accept frequent service disruptions like the ones during the period of June 4, 2007 to June 15, 2007. During that brief period there were daily delays and even some cancellations affecting almost all rail corridors GO Transit services. I understand that some of these disruptions were caused by events for which GO Transit had no control over (i.e. police investigations and inclement weather) but other disruptions were caused by events that GO Transit referred to as “equipment problems” (see attached email). GO Transit needs to be held accountable for service disruptions caused by the inadequate maintenance of their trains.
As much as public transit needs to be extended, the need to improve the services currently offered is greater. More needs to be done to try to ensure service schedules are followed and disruptions are kept to a minimum. I am asking you to investigate this situation and bring this topic to the attention of all others who can help. GO Transit riders are supporting the government’s green initiative and do not deserve to be taken advantage of. Please do what you can to ensure GO Transit is held accountable for avoidable service disruptions.
For years it has been the government’s objective to reduce carbon monoxide emissions from vehicles by promoting car pooling and public transportation. The Federal government has even gone so far as to give monthly commuters a tax break for their part in reducing harmful emissions (and as an incentive for others to start commuting). In the greater Toronto area, a lot of people work in downtown Toronto and rely heavily on GO Transit to get to and from work. For many of these commuters, any service disruption is not just an inconvenience but it results in lost income or added expenses to them while GO Transit escapes without having to reimburse these riders for the lack of service.
Infrequent delays are understandable and can be overlooked but riders should not have to accept frequent service disruptions like the ones during the period of June 4, 2007 to June 15, 2007. During that brief period there were daily delays and even some cancellations affecting almost all rail corridors GO Transit services. I understand that some of these disruptions were caused by events for which GO Transit had no control over (i.e. police investigations and inclement weather) but other disruptions were caused by events that GO Transit referred to as “equipment problems” (see attached email). GO Transit needs to be held accountable for service disruptions caused by the inadequate maintenance of their trains.
As much as public transit needs to be extended, the need to improve the services currently offered is greater. More needs to be done to try to ensure service schedules are followed and disruptions are kept to a minimum. I am asking you to investigate this situation and bring this topic to the attention of all others who can help. GO Transit riders are supporting the government’s green initiative and do not deserve to be taken advantage of. Please do what you can to ensure GO Transit is held accountable for avoidable service disruptions.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
New Feature
I just wanted to announce that I have added a new aspect to my blog. I am sure you have noticed it already but if not, look above this post to see my 'Quote of the Day' section. I doubt I will update it everyday like the title suggests but we will see. This section will reflect one of several things, 1. how I feel that day, 2. song lyrics that catch my mind on the ride to work, or 3. bits of speeches that are humourous, serious or stupid. I hope you enjoy this new 'feature'.
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