Taxi Cab Drivers Have it Rough

As the cabbies protested to city hall for shields from crazy and dangerous passengers, it raises an interesting issue of who will pay for it and how bad could it be?

Lem'me remember off the top of my head the incidents I've heard from cabbies... This isn't even news as I found another article from a few years ago with robberies and violence -- not fun stuff.

Both from taking the cab before I got my own wheels in Calgary and from working a few night jobs at front desks of hotel & dorm.... Those guys are really hardcore and worthy of a bit more respect.

Wasn't at dorm for two weeks when I heard about a guy getting punched in the cab - picture smashed window in face - by an angry guy outside the cab. I bet neither party paid for the broken window. I also bet to avoid a fight and avoid the nightly fight club style brawls outside cowboy bars.

Unfortunately, that's not the worst I've heard. Another cabbie told me about his car getting written off when he hit a crack-user who ran into the street suddenly and got nailed going 50km/h. Dude dented the hood in a serious way, totaled windshield and then rolled over car roof. He picked himself up, swore at the jaw-dropped cabbie and ran off half athletically. Junkies are hardcore like that.

The number of nearly passed-out people are basically dragged out of cabs is regularity every weekend and half the week-days too. After the few times I've driven drunk people home, I'm impressed with cabbies' skills. Drunk, passengers are prone to be very sensitive to sudden stops and sharp turns. Imaginable that cabbies don't want to be constantly hosing down seats and outsides of doors.

Being a journalism student, I've had some great informal cabbie interviews for practice. Incidentally I gained more respect from learning how hard cabbies work; dusk til dawn and everywhere in between.

One guy was a former software engineer who had been through the recession in the 80's and 90's. Told me some of Calgary's history and the typical cab-driver stories. About how couples made out in the back of his cab, stampede cowboys,  and how some bride-to-be asked him to be her last stand. Also about how some people puked in the back and then refused to contribute to the cleaning bill. He had a huge sense of humour to put up with it all.

Another was an immigrant who was doing time while he was upgrading to be recognized as a nuclear engineer. What struck me was how he had perfect English and commentary on building standards compared to India.

Having studied civil engineering first, this cabbie noted that they have to be creative about being able to recycle site materials -- where it's only recently fashionable or LEED worthy to do so in North America.

Absolutely astute about how general business practices and high standards Canadians have here. Thought some of it didn't make sense but he was glad to upgrade his knowledge. It didn't make sense to me that he could probably come up with some amazing solutions for low-cost housing.

A third cabbie who I had a great conversation with was from Kenya and filled me on how much influence the Chinese and Arabs had economically affected Africa, long before it was common knowledge.

He had been an anti-poacher in his homeland, no kidding, which was basically shooting down and capturing poachers. Had to thank him for that black irony of a job.

Talked about elections comparisons and about how much of a joke NATO and the G8 were for trying to do anything down there. Talked about the Somalian pirates too, all business and support for freedom fighters. Couldn't agree with him on that subject but interesting to get the opinion.

Talking to cab drivers who picked up people from the hotel I worked at for international flights, doctors' appointments and Sunday morning church are incredibly patient, sometimes waiting for 10-15minutes. And they are not running the meter until the traveler got to the lobby or out of their house usually.

Often cabbies would come in towards the end of the shift after 4AM and just chat at the lobby. They had a crazy mix of clubbers, hookers and rhinestone cowboys to deal with every night. Not my idea of employment but I get the impression there's not much choice. At least I had a 4' high desk between me and the crazy people.

Don't remember any particular cabbie who had a knife drawn on him, or worse, but sadly plenty of threats, initial refusals to pay fares and racism.

If cabbies are demanding more safety on the job, who's going to do something about it? There has to be some kind of standards made, and unfortunately, they all own/lease their vehicles from the taxi companies. So it's not something city hall make a quick fix.

--PLR--

image from CBC.ca

trying to unplug from internets?

Development of paper-thin digital technology by people at University of Waterloo claim will become a cellphone. It likely will make it simpler to stay in touch. While I'm excited to see what newspaper will become, I hesitate about thoughts of a cellphone being so ingrained and small -- like a mp3 player can be shoved into the sleeve of a jacket.

Marketing competes with cellphones capable of Skype cameras, social networking and now even portable video game playing ability. Get it now fresh out of the box.... Hey wait, are we that bored without electronics?

Before I even get started, I have to admit, I play video games on occasion. A laptop is absolutely brilliant invention for me to be writing at a coffee shop or especially when doing interviews.

However, it's becoming the norm to be always connected. Why? It's easier to email details or proposal to read later; text instead because someone doesn't do phone calls. So what if it's urgent or an emergency? Voicemail?

To the point where people seem hard pressed not to compulsively check their email, facebook, twitter and everything else digital. Starbucks, hotels and everywhere else with free wifi are winning customers. I check my mailbox attached to my house a few times a day, email can wait too.

Some claim an iPad is essential for business clientele files and communication. Books and newspapers will never be the same if simply downloadable. Still wonder what will happen when batteries run out or if an electronic gets wrecked in rain?

Will business-people and everyone else be able to exist without their electronics? I was really apprehensive to completely rely on my work and appointment schedule being purely on my cellphone. Still have a paper day-timer and wall calendar. Am I becoming rare soon for thinking so?

Many people plug into their earbuds world and text message on their cellphones when they are done work or on the bus, and everywhere else - it's hard to have a conversation in the real with them sometimes.

It feels like a conversation lasting over five minutes is becoming a lost art. I couldn't start conversations on the bus anymore when I used to do that daily in college, mostly to practice my interviewing skills, but meeting really cool people. Not anymore for the past three years, even when I commuted daily to work.

Heard a recent survey of high-schoolers were unable to deal with not using electronic devices for just one day. One day only and they were overly lonely, depressed, anxious, absolutely bored and listless without their connections; some broke down halfway through the day.

Most probably even got all the homework finished and talked to their parents and friends in the real for the first time in ages. I didn't have a cellphone until the end of high-school. Only because I was training on a bike and out most nights with friends and I liked to check in with my parents. I doubt kids do that now unless forced.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I can check my email on my phone away from the house. It's convenient to text message someone for a few bits of info when I can't talk for long.

There's also an updated law in Alberta being passed for distracted driving -- with a $172 fine for grooming, eating and especially texting while driving. While driving? Is texting more important than safety? This is ridiculous that we're so multi-tasking in life. Can it not wait until a red light? Or ten minutes later when arriving, safely.... it's nuts. I admit I had to drop the habit of occasionally doing that stuff, but amazing to need pass a law.

It sounds dire and maybe I'm over-reacting, but it's becoming harder to stay in touch without computer and e-communication in this future now e-connectivity.

People will learn and adapt. Still, it's nice to actually talk in the real, use a land-line telephone or write a honest to goodness paper and pen letter. I keep meaning to dig out my film camera and shoot through a few rolls for old times sake.

Please do a favour and unplug from the internet and turn off the cellphone and texting once in a while. You never know what may happen or who you might meet. Then again, I guess my blogging would be unreadable, so come back occasionally ^_^

--PLR--

ps... want to hear the irony of the graphic? I found it on google images from a site called hackaday.com in a blog entry called cellphone jamming. apparently illegal and good to know....

Portfolio Slideshow Test

Testing the easily added embedded slideshow feature from Picasa ^_^ This kills two angry electronic birds with one stone to deal with the decidedly lack of photos on my blog thus far. So easy that there will definitely be more to come ^_^ Might as well showcase my portfolio from second year of journalism so enjoy!

--PLR--

Roomates.... tales from past adventures

As my roomate recently acquired only one new kitty from the SPCA where she volunteered and wanted to adopt the rest that come through there, I'm relearning to change a few things. I remembered yet again, how it can be hard to adjust to others' habits and oddities at times.

An old writer friend listened to my complaints of not having peace and quiet to write up assignments and burst out laughing. I apparently have a book's worth of some of the most ridiculous stuff ever. For the sake of lawyers not getting excited, the guilty shall remain nameless and though it seems exaggerated, I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

Dorm provided more than a few eccentric moments in my life regarding roomates and their friends who hang out too often. When life resolves largely around work or school, it can become rather nifty to meet a couple of people now and again.

From convincing my girlfriend after New Year's Eve not to murder her roomate for a huge mess from a party. Remembering my own gong-show of flipping every bit of furniture upside down with my roomate, I had to grin.

Walking in and my roomates are screaming at CNN and throwing carrot sticks at the TV, I never knew what was in store for me when I woke up. Oh waking up and finding random people who passed out on the couch....

Biblical debates, 6AM group runs, late night pancake meals or playing video games at random hours to avoid homework together, I've had good memories.

Without much stereotyping: anime-fans, mooches, the emo side of 5AM, dish-hoarders, stoners, international students, drunken gamers, anti-social ghosts, bookworms, goody two-shoes, neat-freaks, techies, wino arts students... the list goes on.

All some of the most memorable wonderful people I've met and learned to live within close quarters were all more than stereotypes. So stay posted and see what unravels.

--PLR--

Rocket Fuel for the Mind

Barely awake some mornings, everyone seems to have their favourite reboot. Not for one for routine, I decided to see which wake-ups worked best for comparison. As I work in customer service, I need to hit the floor running and thinking.

Usually my brain protests until 10AM so I tend to resort to some conventional and unorthodox methods if I need to get up earlier.

Matcha green tea - epic brain spark-plug ignition... Ten minutes later I'm running top-speed mentally. In fact anything exotic from Tea-opia is amazing but I can't really afford their stuff yet. Weirdly de-caffeinated green tea is absolutely amazing for the long haul I've found but other stuff works too.

Shot of Cappuccino - cherished  hang-over remedy. Takes a little longer to kick in but erases it better than Gatorade. Thank-you Italian barristers.

Water - un-spectacular, but effective too. Moistens up the vocal chords and splashes the face mentally. H2O simplicity.

Sparkling or non-alcoholic orange or cranberry juice - something in it just sparkles and wakes things up so fast. Yay for citrus.

Cookies! okay so not the best thing for breakfast, but in a rush, nothing wrong with a shot of chocolate and sugary fun.

Hemp seeds - high in protein and omega oils. No, they're not going to get you high so don't even imagine trying to smoke the non-bud. Hemp seeds sure have a lot of energy in them though.

Exercise - gets the blood and adrenalin flowing, Sit-ups, push-ups, or yoga stretches, it's awesome. Commuting in traffic on a bike is a whole other story for another day.

Orange Pekoe / English Breakfast / Oolong Tea - if it's black, it's stronger than some coffee. Irish blends are still my favourite.

Oddly after finding out how much sugar there was in an energy drink, Coke, Jolt, Red Bull, Mountain Dew, Monster, Rock-Star, stuff with straight B12 and Yerba in it... etc. I haven't really drank many more. They got me through long days of college assignments and photography, yet for what it does to the body, not worth it afterwards for the delayed burn-out.

Coffee - Timmy's sets a standard, but I cannot imagine the XL amount; Star Bucks is yummy; Second Cup has some really nice blends too. Even McDonalds is surprisingly good; Mac's 7-11 and Denny's are engine de-greaser but keeps the mind going.

Currently, Kicking Horse and Good Earth win with me. Forget triple espresso, there's a Good Earth drink called a High Test. Take an Americano and throw a couple of shots of espresso in it. EPIC but I don't drink them often. Making double shot of Kicking Horse at home is amazing.

Which is where this really is heading. Apparently even a new study found out people who are up later and sleep in later are more at risk of heart disease, obesity and not having any fun later in life or somewhat grumpier than early birds.

So other than long haul truck drivers, business-people, and students, it's all in moderation. Apparently guidelines of 3-4 cups of coffee or 6-7 cups of tea or something are the max a person should drink as I remember it. Those ruddy energy drinks are recommended to not be more than one per day but I've seen jittery friends on their 2-3 shots. Either way, caffeinated stuff is diuretic in a bad way aka dehydration so add a liter or two to your intake of simple H2O so necessary to survival.

Whatever the rocket fuel ignition.... take care of the body by getting enough sleep in the first place and getting stuff done before it's late at night. On that note, I'm off to sleep.

--PLR--

Old Skool Movie Magic

It's May the Fourth (a Star Wars geek-out pun), so I'm watching Star Wars!!!

Laser-brain, scruffy looking nerf-herder, some-day you'll screw up and I don't want to be around to see it. So romantic.

Watching Star Wars, I'm feeling completely nostalgic to enjoying the movies with my parents who had gone to the originals when they were young.

Please proceed to your polling station

Having worked long 13 hour days for Elections Canada at polling stations, I've had a front row seat to democracy for the past few elections.

Canadian citizen? 18 years of age or older? Driver's license, photo ID or government issued ID and official document or utility bill or even your renter's lease with current address?  That's all you need to vote.

You can proceed to the polling station and cast your ballot. It's that simple, yet a near-myth in many countries around the world where threats of who to vote for are issued and democracy slowly spreads.

While I'm legally sworn to to not share any details that would disclose anyone's privacy, I had lots of time to observe. Makes you feel all patriotic seeing a vote in action.

From trades-workers to moms with little'uns in tow. Punks with mo-hawks and chain wallets to business-people in suits and blue-tooth head-sets. Cyclists in spandex and helmets, eccentrically dressed hippies, old couples in matching jackets or hats. First timers to proudly voting at elections for decades. Reluctant, rushed, excited, bitter, optimistic, confused. It was quite the wide spectrum of who is interested in voting.

From people's comments, there seemed to be different types of voters -- ranging from first timers to newly sworn in immigrants to cynical older experiences.

From questions about voting from those who recently turned 18, it was neat to be able to explain it to them. Although some weren't sure what was the point of even voting, some of them were actually pretty excited to excise their right to vote. Their parents were trying to be good examples and proud their children being  responsible.

Others had become citizens recently were much more quiet but just as excited and appreciative from the shy grins on their faces. At first they still asked hesitantly if they were allowed to vote. Their eyes seemed to give it away of how appreciative they with becoming a Canadian citizen and registering to be on the national elector's list.

The older voters who either see it as a faint hope that their vote will impact anything; or who have seen many other leaders and competitions amount to corrupt scandal or great progressive results. Those citizens come with mixed hope and sense of duty, no matter how few politicians are worth voting for in their opinion.

Yet there was over 60% voter turn-out opposed to down to 40-50% in the past few elections. As was said by all leaders, both elected and un-seated, the people had spoken. Citizens want stability and a majority government will help with that over the next few years.

As an exercise of democracy, Canadians still showing examples of peace and order where elsewhere in the world, rebels must fight to change government. Hopefully they can win the day and install a better way of governing.

--PLR--