Karen posted a bit about the Patullo Bridge fire in her 'blog - entitled "The Times and Life". That's the title of the 'blog...not the article.
I posted a comment to the effect that the whole affair was somewhat "suspicious". Or perhaps it's just my paranoia talking.
Consider:
The Patullo Bridge catches fire. More specifically: the only remaining timber support structure on the Surrey side of the bridge that hasn't yet been replaced was destroyed in a fire which was at first thought to be accidental. Some homeless individuals trying to stay warm. A day or so later, the RCMP spokessuit stated that they had found that the homeless person's campfire could not have been the cause of all the damage, and they were pursuing an arson investigation.
In the meantime, it was announced that the Patullo bridge would be closed for "four to six weeks" while the burnt timbers were demolished and hauled away, and suitable replacement materials were located and put in place.
Four days later...the homeless were again the cause of the "accident" and no mention of any arson investigation is to be found in the local papers.
And then: Fortunate Happenstance!
A steel bracing structure that had been used a few years back as part of the construction of the Canada Line commuter rail was located at a storage yard in rural Langley. A "turnkey" deal was instantly inked to allow the steel structure to be purchased and used as a suitable replacement for the destroyed timber supports on the bridge. The good fortune keeps on rolling as this lucky find just happens to be the right size to replace the timber structure and just happens to be certified by the city engineers to last for the next six to ten years; that being the window those same engineers are looking at as being the best time to replace, twin, or upgrade (or possibly some combination of the three) the Patullo.
The bridge re-opens in two weeks, instead of six. Celebration and accolades all around. Additionally, the project comes in well under it's 10 million dollar budget. Woweee...under budget AND ahead of schedule.
Ignoring the fact, of course, that neither the expenditure or inconvenience would have been necessary if someone hadn't lit the bridge on fire in the first place!
I don't know...but it sounds suspiciously to me like someone used a judicious spot of freelance arson to do an end run around a budget committee somewhere.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Okay, forget what I said about our seasonal slow-down being not happening.
It's happening now.
Should only last for this week, tho' - our trailer traffic for the month of February is nearly 300 units and most of it will be patio furniture. Why patio furniture? Because for some reason people keep buying it...
HBC goes with what sells...last year.
Don't know if we'll have a repeat of previous years' sales. I do know that HBC introduced a number of new product lines and we seem to be seeing a lot of returns from the stores of these items. I really hope my employers aren't being foolish.
For example: electric bicycles.
We bought these (I presume) as gasoline prices were heading into the 1.00$ per litre range. By the time they arrived, gas was at 1.50$ per litre and it looked like a WIZARD time to be selling cheap, enviro-concious electric bicycles.
At the onset of winter...
Priced at about 700$ each, they were put on sale for the MOONLITE MADNESS!!! event...and didn't sell.
Now we've brought all the unsold units back into the warehouse and stored them, presumably so we can again attempt to sell them later. I'm thinking a summertime sales event next time; how does that sound?
Massage chairs, popcorn wagons, hotdog stands, dollar store trinkets, plush winter olympic mascots - all new product items HBC must have got a really good deal on...but does not appear to have made a profit from. Those are just the few I can remember.
On the upside, our "25/24" program to expedite the re-stock of perishable and everyday-use household products seems to be a resounding success. The new pick module we're having installed is dedicated to increasing the efficiency of shipping these "priority" items.
Speaking of work: let's talk about my commute.
Somebody lit the Patullo Bridge on fire. The bridge will be closed for at least the next four weeks.
This has made it necessary to roll my usual morning commute clock backward about thirty minutes. I must now leave at least 20 minutes earlier in the morning to match my typical arrival time, and I now arrive at least 10 minutes later coming home.
At least no-one is being stupid and causing major traffic accidents...so far.
The ideal solution would be to ride my bike to work. But I cannot; for that would leave my carpool in the lurch. I am amazed that so many people depend on me and my junker to get them to and from work. Share the blessing.
It's happening now.
Should only last for this week, tho' - our trailer traffic for the month of February is nearly 300 units and most of it will be patio furniture. Why patio furniture? Because for some reason people keep buying it...
HBC goes with what sells...last year.
Don't know if we'll have a repeat of previous years' sales. I do know that HBC introduced a number of new product lines and we seem to be seeing a lot of returns from the stores of these items. I really hope my employers aren't being foolish.
For example: electric bicycles.
We bought these (I presume) as gasoline prices were heading into the 1.00$ per litre range. By the time they arrived, gas was at 1.50$ per litre and it looked like a WIZARD time to be selling cheap, enviro-concious electric bicycles.
At the onset of winter...
Priced at about 700$ each, they were put on sale for the MOONLITE MADNESS!!! event...and didn't sell.
Now we've brought all the unsold units back into the warehouse and stored them, presumably so we can again attempt to sell them later. I'm thinking a summertime sales event next time; how does that sound?
Massage chairs, popcorn wagons, hotdog stands, dollar store trinkets, plush winter olympic mascots - all new product items HBC must have got a really good deal on...but does not appear to have made a profit from. Those are just the few I can remember.
On the upside, our "25/24" program to expedite the re-stock of perishable and everyday-use household products seems to be a resounding success. The new pick module we're having installed is dedicated to increasing the efficiency of shipping these "priority" items.
Speaking of work: let's talk about my commute.
Somebody lit the Patullo Bridge on fire. The bridge will be closed for at least the next four weeks.
This has made it necessary to roll my usual morning commute clock backward about thirty minutes. I must now leave at least 20 minutes earlier in the morning to match my typical arrival time, and I now arrive at least 10 minutes later coming home.
At least no-one is being stupid and causing major traffic accidents...so far.
The ideal solution would be to ride my bike to work. But I cannot; for that would leave my carpool in the lurch. I am amazed that so many people depend on me and my junker to get them to and from work. Share the blessing.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Ever felt like you had words pent up inside you and you didn't know which to let out first?
Yeah, that...
And - I'm feeling a little frustrated at work.
We are in the midst of what would be our annual slowdown.
Except we didn't slow down...but management cut staffing levels over the holidays anyways. We are now about 7 days behind on our regular central stock replenishment picks, and almost TWENTY days behind on central stock product that is in storage trailers out in the yard.
I did try to stay on top of this situation...but I am only one man, after all.
I had to point out to Mr. Goodall that every hour I spend doing something other than those "trailer picks" puts the current backlog yet another day behind. I am getting thru all these...but it is taking wayyyyyyy longer than it should. I need help, and I'm not getting it...may have to go see Jeff or Amir.
Of course, the heavy snowfall we've had these past few weeks was no help at all. I'm relieved that it's mostly gone now.
I have discovered a trend. This trend coincides with one of my personal pleasures.
Choral music.
The old College Glee Club is making a comeback. Given that this is the age of YouTube, most of them have posted videos of their performances. Some of them sound excellent, despite the generally poor sound quality of YouTube's user-generated content. A few of the groups are leading the way and using YouTube as a promotional tool. They're selling albums...
If you want to see what I mean, use this search on YouTube's page: How to Save a Life a capella.
A couple of years ago, someone arranged The Fray's "how to save a life" for an a capella chorus. I don't know who did the original arrangement, but by now everyone has performed it. I like the Vassar Devil's version best; despite the poor audio, they do a decent rendition. I also like the Devil's version because they're one of the few groups that keeps the tempo of the original Fray single...most groups slow it down somewhat.
The Umass Dynamics (dyna-mikes?) don't have "how to save a life" in their repetoire. They did "cablecar (in over my head)" instead. I love listening to that number.
YouTube is user generated...and consumer driven.
Anything you want is on there...and some Artists have started to take advantage.
Take Jeff Dunham, for example; his second HBO Comedy Central special "Spark of Insanity" is available in its entirety (nearly) on YouTube - all for free! - divided into 10 minute clips.
Of course, if you'd like to watch the whole performance without interruption (and with bonus features) you could, say, buy the DVD... It's available at Amazon.com for about 10 bucks.
Jeff has sold a whooooole lotta copies of that DVD.
Even more surprising (and amusing) is Moosebutter...
Moosebutter?
They're a little comedy troupe from Provo,(?)Utah. They do "a capella comedy"...they do it at business seminars, mall openings, and county fairs...
They released a CD a few years back with a "Star Wars tribute to John Williams". A young aspiring videographer named Corey Vidal loved the tune when he heard it and contacted the group to ask if he could do a video for it.
They said "sure".
3.95 million hits later (as of Jan 12, 2009), the video got nominated for "best user-generated video" at the People's Choice Awards. Moosebutter got Corey to produce their own version of the video...featuring the current members of the group singing the song using the same layout - as opposed to Corey's version, in which he is lip-synching to all four parts of the album single.
Moosebutter's version of the video has been up about a month now...and has 210,000+ hits of its own. People outside of Utah actually know who Moosebutter is now...and they've only just begun.
Speaking of do-it yourself...
I found an air-hockey table on Craigslist for free. It works just fine but one of the legs is broken. I've been pondering for the past week how to fix that leg, or make up a new set of legs that won't break. I came up with a solution...now I need to put it into action. The table itself is plywood and plastic, but the legs were made of cardboard - no lie! - and I thought to myself; "I can do much better than that". The real problem has been the kids: they CAN'T WAIT...literally. I'm surprised they haven't broken it by now!
Yeah, that...
And - I'm feeling a little frustrated at work.
We are in the midst of what would be our annual slowdown.
Except we didn't slow down...but management cut staffing levels over the holidays anyways. We are now about 7 days behind on our regular central stock replenishment picks, and almost TWENTY days behind on central stock product that is in storage trailers out in the yard.
I did try to stay on top of this situation...but I am only one man, after all.
I had to point out to Mr. Goodall that every hour I spend doing something other than those "trailer picks" puts the current backlog yet another day behind. I am getting thru all these...but it is taking wayyyyyyy longer than it should. I need help, and I'm not getting it...may have to go see Jeff or Amir.
Of course, the heavy snowfall we've had these past few weeks was no help at all. I'm relieved that it's mostly gone now.
I have discovered a trend. This trend coincides with one of my personal pleasures.
Choral music.
The old College Glee Club is making a comeback. Given that this is the age of YouTube, most of them have posted videos of their performances. Some of them sound excellent, despite the generally poor sound quality of YouTube's user-generated content. A few of the groups are leading the way and using YouTube as a promotional tool. They're selling albums...
If you want to see what I mean, use this search on YouTube's page: How to Save a Life a capella.
A couple of years ago, someone arranged The Fray's "how to save a life" for an a capella chorus. I don't know who did the original arrangement, but by now everyone has performed it. I like the Vassar Devil's version best; despite the poor audio, they do a decent rendition. I also like the Devil's version because they're one of the few groups that keeps the tempo of the original Fray single...most groups slow it down somewhat.
The Umass Dynamics (dyna-mikes?) don't have "how to save a life" in their repetoire. They did "cablecar (in over my head)" instead. I love listening to that number.
YouTube is user generated...and consumer driven.
Anything you want is on there...and some Artists have started to take advantage.
Take Jeff Dunham, for example; his second HBO Comedy Central special "Spark of Insanity" is available in its entirety (nearly) on YouTube - all for free! - divided into 10 minute clips.
Of course, if you'd like to watch the whole performance without interruption (and with bonus features) you could, say, buy the DVD... It's available at Amazon.com for about 10 bucks.
Jeff has sold a whooooole lotta copies of that DVD.
Even more surprising (and amusing) is Moosebutter...
Moosebutter?
They're a little comedy troupe from Provo,(?)Utah. They do "a capella comedy"...they do it at business seminars, mall openings, and county fairs...
They released a CD a few years back with a "Star Wars tribute to John Williams". A young aspiring videographer named Corey Vidal loved the tune when he heard it and contacted the group to ask if he could do a video for it.
They said "sure".
3.95 million hits later (as of Jan 12, 2009), the video got nominated for "best user-generated video" at the People's Choice Awards. Moosebutter got Corey to produce their own version of the video...featuring the current members of the group singing the song using the same layout - as opposed to Corey's version, in which he is lip-synching to all four parts of the album single.
Moosebutter's version of the video has been up about a month now...and has 210,000+ hits of its own. People outside of Utah actually know who Moosebutter is now...and they've only just begun.
Speaking of do-it yourself...
I found an air-hockey table on Craigslist for free. It works just fine but one of the legs is broken. I've been pondering for the past week how to fix that leg, or make up a new set of legs that won't break. I came up with a solution...now I need to put it into action. The table itself is plywood and plastic, but the legs were made of cardboard - no lie! - and I thought to myself; "I can do much better than that". The real problem has been the kids: they CAN'T WAIT...literally. I'm surprised they haven't broken it by now!
Sunday, January 04, 2009
My, how time flies when you're having fun...
What's new?
Vancouver is enjoying it's wettest winter on record. Lots of rainfall, with snow a'plenty at the higher elevations.
I live in one of those "higher elevations".
Exhibit A: our front yard from last week:
Now, if anything, we have much more snow in the yard and drive this week...it's been fun fun fun shoveling all this stuff over and over and over. Snow load on the roof is becoming a concern.
Xmas was good. I bought gifts for the kiddies, and their cousins. Went to Kathy's for Xmas day and had a wonderful day visiting with her family and Mom and Dad as well. Sent a package to Estevan with a long letter. Sent a gift card to Karen's family. It has yet to get there....may have to send another. Birthdays for the kiddies are upcoming and Coral has already got hers. Colin's I may have to travel far and wide to find. He wants (groan) another Hot Wheels widget for his computer.
I want a new laptop. Prices have dropped and they may not drop again this decade. Thank you, rampant inflation... In the meantime, I may have to bite down and get this one's display fixed.
I am Delta Ward Sunday School President. Again. We haven't had one, apparently, since the last time I was Sunday School President. I guess I'm being given another opportunity here. I have to order up supplies, make certain the teachers we have aren't getting burned out, call some more teachers, and call some counsellors. Been there, done that, gonna do it again - only better. Delta Ward is on the cusp of being a functioning congregation again. I'll do what I can to move that forward - or at least not hinder it any.
It's now Divorce Time. I have my offer in order and now it remains to present it to Laurie and see if we can, in fact, reach a settlement. If we can, next move is to file. I am willing to make several concessions...I hope she is as well. We shall see.
Finally, we have heard nothing from Tae Kwon Do about Coral not passing her black belt testing. No news is good news, so I guess she made it. We find out for certain tomorrow.
What's new?
Vancouver is enjoying it's wettest winter on record. Lots of rainfall, with snow a'plenty at the higher elevations.
I live in one of those "higher elevations".
Exhibit A: our front yard from last week:
Now, if anything, we have much more snow in the yard and drive this week...it's been fun fun fun shoveling all this stuff over and over and over. Snow load on the roof is becoming a concern.Xmas was good. I bought gifts for the kiddies, and their cousins. Went to Kathy's for Xmas day and had a wonderful day visiting with her family and Mom and Dad as well. Sent a package to Estevan with a long letter. Sent a gift card to Karen's family. It has yet to get there....may have to send another. Birthdays for the kiddies are upcoming and Coral has already got hers. Colin's I may have to travel far and wide to find. He wants (groan) another Hot Wheels widget for his computer.
I want a new laptop. Prices have dropped and they may not drop again this decade. Thank you, rampant inflation... In the meantime, I may have to bite down and get this one's display fixed.
I am Delta Ward Sunday School President. Again. We haven't had one, apparently, since the last time I was Sunday School President. I guess I'm being given another opportunity here. I have to order up supplies, make certain the teachers we have aren't getting burned out, call some more teachers, and call some counsellors. Been there, done that, gonna do it again - only better. Delta Ward is on the cusp of being a functioning congregation again. I'll do what I can to move that forward - or at least not hinder it any.
It's now Divorce Time. I have my offer in order and now it remains to present it to Laurie and see if we can, in fact, reach a settlement. If we can, next move is to file. I am willing to make several concessions...I hope she is as well. We shall see.
Finally, we have heard nothing from Tae Kwon Do about Coral not passing her black belt testing. No news is good news, so I guess she made it. We find out for certain tomorrow.