The Bane Of Technology

This morning I got out of bed
      (clean sheets, room warmed by natural gas)
I went to the bathroom and had a shower
      (hot water heated by electricity)
I got dressed
      (clothes cleaned in the washing machine by my wife yesterday)
I was hungry so I went into the kitchen and had breakfast
     (food kept fresh in the refrigerator, cooked food on electric stove,
      put dirty dishes in the dishwasher)
I needed to go down to the military base to check on my job application
    (a half hour walk but it is raining today so I drove my car, powered by gasoline from the US)
On the way home I stop by the local hardware store to get supplies to fix the leak in my garage
    (flashlight  made in China, tarp made in Ontario, rope made in Mexico)
After picking up the supplies I stopped by the library to check my email and post this blog entry
    (computer made in Taiwan, internet services provided by Shaw in Alberta)

My life is pretty easy.
I need something, there it is.
Someone, somewhere has produced it for me and managed to get it to where I can access it.

Tomorrow, that could all change.

Kicking it Old School

Last night was the first night driving shift I have taken in ages. To be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to it but the realities of the budget demanded I get my butt out there and hustle up some cash.

I got into my car, hit the power buttont ( it was a Prius, I love driving Prius as a taxi), flashed up the engine, turned on the radio and then hit the switch for the dispatch computer. The computer refused to connect so I turned it off and back on again. Still no joy. I turned both it and the radio off, counted to 10 and then turned them both back on again. Damn, what the $#%@ is wrong with the damn thing. It is pissing rain, getting dark and I want to be paying the mortgage. I pulled out my cell and called up the office and was told the computer was down - dispatch was by voice tonight. Sweet.

Okay, turn the radio to channel 2, and log myself in

"Car 4, 10-8, 83" (that would be my car, starting shift in zone 83)

"Rodger 4, you are #2"

Screw that, I am not sitting #2 up here, time to go to the busiest zone in the city - right beside the Walmart. I pull into zone 68, check in and park the car to wait to be called. Two  minutes later the sweet voice called out (dispatch was a lady tonight)

"Car 4, 1180 Lovat #20"

"1180 Lovat, #20, thank you " and away I went. 5 minutes later, I realize the address given was incorrect and called it in.

"Sorry 4, go to Starbucks at Mayfaire for Alex."

"Starbucks, thank you". Dang, I hate that mall spot, a real pain to get into. Not withstanding that, with it being rush hour all of the roads surrounding the mall are packed with cars. Ah well, my first trip of the shift is always the best part of the shift so away I went.

I pulled into the mall and up to the Starbucks, listening to dispatch ask a couple of cars to go up to St Margarets School to clear up a back log. Two drivers respond and dispatch asks them to report how many other trips are up there. St Margarets is a private girls school we have exclusive rights to, generally a very good trip to and or from.  I stop my car and see two teens in short skirts approach my car. Hmmm, I am guessing St Margarets girls. Sure enough, they get in and say "St Margarets please. And please, as fast as you can."

 I turn back and looked at these two over privileged teeny preppies and say "Ladies, it is dark, raining cats and dogs and rush hour. I promise to get you there as soon as I can." What I didn't say was "did you really need to tell me to hurry you stunned #$%^*? I make a whole lot more money getting you to where you need to be faster than if I take my sweet time. Oh, by the way, in case you had your heads so far up your @$$*$ and didn't notice, the streets are clogged with rush hour traffic and its pissing rain. Sit down, shut the (#%) up, enjoy the ride and I will do my damndest not get you to your nice little escape from reality." I have learned that sometimes it is best to say some things out loud and some things to yourself.

The trip to the school took about 15 minutes, not too bad all things considered  By the time I got there, I passed 4 of my wingers coming back from the school and there was another one at the school when I arrived. It was busy time for us at St Margarets.

The rest of the shift went well, other than the occasional whine from someone who didn't get a trip because of an error at dispatch. Gee guys, get a life, grow up and stop with the crap. Dispatch is only human and errors happen - get over it.  Someone fixed the computer about 1 hour before my shift ended and then I stopped getting trips, go figure. Ah well, I got home with $70 to my name so I was happy.

And that was a night shift, in the rain, using the radio.

Time to get myself attending to life again
TTFN

Time

Tick Tock and Tock Tick

The hourglass is full

Your new life begins



Tick Tock and Tock Tick

Your life grows and matures

Creates life again


Tick Tock and Tock Tick

The sands have drained down the glass

Tired and must sleep


Tick Tock and Tock Tick

He comes to take you onward

Death is but a guide


Tick Tock and Tock Tick

Weary eyes close and at rest

Tick Tock tic tock tic......

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Many miles driven

Tasks given and completed

Two dogs at rest

The Australian Navy

In my travels with the RCN, I have had the pleasure to work with the Royal Australian Navy. These sailors are cut from the same cloth that we in the RCN, that is to say, we work hard, we play hard, and our ships are wet (meaning are permitted to drink on board).

The first time I did the RIMPAC exercise (off of Hawaii) I got to meet my first Auzzies. My ship had just docked in Pearl Harbour (another great story will ensue from this event). Once we had cleared customs, landed the garbage and made the ship nice and neat, we were permitted to go ashore. Sweet, my first look and feel of a US naval base. It was (and still is) huge and very well put together. After wandering around for an hour, I found myself at the Enlisted Members club, another very large and well put together outfit. I made my way to bar at the back of the complex and sat down in the dark (a movie was being shown on the far wall). I got myself a pitcher of beer, sat down and enjoyed the cool darkness.

Red Light, Green Light

Within each driver is the desire to see a green light and a clear intersection. During one night shift I had the blessing to see an unbroken string of them, for 30 kilometres. To give you a bit of geography, to leave the city of Victoria BC by plane or ferry, you have one 1 direction you can go, and that is North, up the number 17 highway. This highway begins right down town and extents all the way up the Sannich  Peninsula. There are about 15 light controlled intersections along the 40 km length of it and this particular stretch of road is a favourite for the local law enforcement to get their daily quota of speeders.

It was about 8:25pm one Wednesday evening when I was trolling the streets down town, waiting to be dispatched or to have someone flag me down. There at the corner, arms waving frantically, were two young adults with back packs. I pulled up to the curb and they piled in and said "Ferry, please. Can you get us there in time?"

Two thoughts immediately came to mind. $60 and Damn, it will be right close.

Okay folks, buckle up and lets do this. I clicked the meter on and away we went. 2 minutes later we were on the right road, pointed the right direction and faced with those 15 lights and the police. I crossed my fingers, said a brief prayer to the Gods of taxi drivers and went for it.

Every light went green, I didn't stop once for a light, someone being stupid in front of me or a cop. As we closed in to the ferry terminal, one of my passengers sais they needed to pay by credit card. No problem, I reached for the terminal and handed it back to them. I told them the meter would read $60 when we got there and I talked them through processing the payment.

At 8:50 pm, I pulled up to the terminal, and saw that they were still selling tickets. They jumped out of the cab, handed me the credit card payment ($70), they both kissed me and ran to the ticket counter. As there were no other cabs or busses left there, I decided to hang around just in case they weren't allowed to by a ticket. I watched as they got to the counter, paid for a ticket, run through the gate an onto the ferry.

Good trip, got them where they wanted to be and got a pretty penny for it. Not a bad way spend the middle of a shift. Of course, there was a price to pay for it.

Every light I hit for the rest of the night was red.

Unemployed? Not for much longer

Well, it looks as if my days being a bum are about to end. The place I was working for as a civilian has finally gotten around to making it know that they require a Master Seaman who knows computer stuff. Hmmm, I seem to remember a bit of computer stuff, not only that, I am still a MS in the reserve world.
The last time this position was announced to the reserve world no one applied for it.
I am feeling pretty confident that I stand a better than average chance at landing this one.

Fingers and toes crossed

Cheers

Another blockade running attempt

And it happens again, some activist group makes a big media storm by trying to run the blockade of the Gaza strip. Time and time again people are sticking their noses into places they have no right to be in - do they really think that they are doing something useful, or is it that they are just doing it to make themselves look more important than they really are.

What is happening over there, does anyone really know? Does anyone really care or are they just looking for their 15 minutes in the spot light? There are enough horrible things happening on both sides of the border to say that neither side has the moral high ground.

For sake of argument, here is what I see as having happened.

From the Jewish side of the line. There have been many instances of Jewish settlers moving into areas controlled by the Palestinians, effectively pushing them out. Extremist groups of Jewish folks have been working to have their government take all of the Palestinian lands.

Since the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, there has been a continuous state of unrest in that region of the world. Israel was created by the League of Nations, in an attempt to give the Jewish people a place to call home, where they would not be persecuted for being jewish. The country that was Palestine was divided in 2, half to the Jewish people, half to the Palestinians. Was it the right thing to do? Was the division of land equitable? No one can make that judgement.

Almost immediately after the creation of Israel, the Arab world that surrounded the new country, declared that the jews where to be destroyed.  The jewish state fought back and parts of what was in Palestinian control was now under the control of Israel. There were 7 more wars launched against Isreal by various parts of the Arab world. After each war, Israel grew in size and Palestine shrank.

Since the creation of Israel, there have been numerous attempts by world powers to cause harm or destruction to the jewish homeland and each time, Israel has responded with quick and decisive force. Iran has consistantly called Israel a place of evil and has vowed to wipe it from the earth, by any means possible. Of all the threats that have been lobbied at Israel, this one is the most credible. Iran has and has used weapons of mass destruction - against its own people.

I am not saying that all that Israel has done in response to what has happened in right. As I mentioned earlier, there are things that have happened that do not paint a good picture of Israel. Be that as it may be, Israel is not raining rockets on children going to school, nor is it sending suicide bombers into public places. Israel is not working to destroy an entire nation, nor is it threatening other nations.

Israel is trying to survive, just as every other group of people out there. For all of you activists out there, stop with this trying to get the spotlight crap and keep your noses out of other peoples business - all you are doing is prolonging the problem and making it worse, for both Israel and Palestine.

Ready Aye Ready

Hatches battened down

All made secure for the sea

Calm before the storm

Disaster

Cold hard rain

Flows across the landscape

Flooding ensues