Thursday, October 16, 2008

Did Rogers Get a Bum Rap?


I can recall the events so clearly. Rogers makes a major announcement that they are poised to roll out the much anticipated iPhone 3G. Then the nation lets fly with the rumours on what the dataplans would be. They ranged from $30 for unlimited data, all the way to $120 for a single GB. The nation held its breath. Then the announcement was made.

Rogers initial offering was paltry, sad, pathetic, you get the idea. But the offering was deliberate. The Rogers boardroom sat back and waited for the hue and cry, the gnashing of teeth, and the deluge of petitions. The lemmings all lined up, each with their own "me too" pot-shot at Rogers.

Then Rogers, donning their white hats, came to the rescue. They tell Canada that they have heard the voices, and that they have reconsidered. Now its a 6 GB dataplan for $35. The public utters a collective "WTF?". They wonder why its not unlimited. After all, no one could use 6 GB of data, so why not make it unlimited? What's the big deal? Why?

Here's why.

Beginning in October, Rogers has said that they will allow for iPhone tethering, which would allow you to legally attach your iPhone with a USB umbilical cord to your laptop and surf away. Rogers will be the first iPhone telecom company to allow this. AT&T does not allow this. Accounts discovered to be tethering would reportedly be cancelled, and the customer blacklisted. The unlimited dataplan, a good idea at the time, is now an albatross. How the hell do they allow tethering with an unlimited dataplan?

So, clearly, Rogers had a plan all along. That nonsensical 6 GB dataplan now makes sense. Rogers now perfectly rides the line between supplying customers with the convenience of generous amounts of data through tethering, while not allowing the iPhone to be your sole source of home Internet. Its a smart move.

Now, don't get me wrong. I think the rates are still sky high, and the reception needs work. On the whole, I give Rogers a marginal passing grade. I give them a "C". This is based on 2 months of being a Rogers' customer.

But every dog has his day, credit should be given where due. This was a good move by Rogers.

Now, about my shoddy reception .....

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

City Workers To Shell Out Serious Dough


You won't read this story in the Herald.

City Hall definitely does this one right. Around this time every year, the City of Calgary starts a fundraising blitz with her own City Workers right in her cross-hairs. It's the same thing every year: a financial goal is announced, City Workers dole out, the goal is reached, press conference held with big cheque.

You would think that City Hall people would roll their eyes or collectively wince at the thought of yet another United Way campaign. But here's where City workers thumb their nose at the popular belief that Calgary is all about tight-fisted greed. Here's where City Hall puts on its thinking cap and organizes a whole bunch of fun little events, each with its own subtle little fee.

There's bake sales, raffles, pot-luck lunches, tickets which allow you to wear blue jeans to work, and an array of other crafty strategies to have you cheerfully part with your dough. Surprisingly, there's no pressure to donate a cent, since you're donating by buying a thing or a service, but people at City Hall will stubbornly give anyway.

To be honest, I have no idea what the financial goal is, where my money goes, or what the United Way's mission statement is. I merely like the cookies at the bake sale, the potluck lunches, and the blue-jean badge. I'm probably good for about $60 - $80, and I'm just one guy. There's probably 2,300 or so more just like me.

But as I say, you won't read about this in the Herald.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Dexter's Nuts!!

"I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts. "
- John Steinbeck

Speaking of nuts, a very sad event happened over the weekend. Our faithful companion, our guardian of our domain, our little buddy, well, he sort of got himself neutered. Here he gives us unconditional love and acceptance, and this is how we repay him?

One thing I learned from this was that I always thought that the neutering process was basically a modified vasectomy for animals. I could not have been more wrong. It is a full on castration. An incision is made and out come the stones in their entirety. When I found this out, I really felt bad for little Dexter. He really enjoyed sleeping on his doggy bed on his back, legs spread, proudly displaying his package in all its glory.

Now there is only emptiness. They don't even offer a prosthetic. Just gone!

However, in spite of all this, Dexter seems to be doing fine. He's running, bounding, and doing normal puppy things again.

Still a shame to do that to the poor fella.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Wisdom from Winnipeg

The Winnipeg Free Press had an online poll which caught my eye. The three options to select from are three very clear approaches to the upcoming elections. The Canadian debate will feature a bland chat session about platform and policies, maybe the occassional jab. The American VP debate , with the VP position being largely inert and ceremonial, will mainly be a popularity contest, who can come up with the cleverest catch-phrase ("I knew Jack Kennedy. You, sir, are no Jack Kennedy"). Then there's the third option, "CSI".

I should mention that that this poll appeared in a non-political article, one about the "Do Not Call list".

Anyhow, there may be more polls out there with similar questions, but I thought it was pretty ingenious. Do you want to hear about issues that affect Canada? Do you want to see a cat-fight which will be a huge media event? Or do you not care, preferring to get your political info from other sources?

Incidentally, I clicked the "View Results" link. This is what I saw:



To be honest, not what I expected. I thought either the "American VP" or "CSI" options would win out. Is Winnipeg the new hub of Canadian political discourse? Is Winnipeg the political epi-centre of this country? Are they being modest with their intellectual might, choosing not to flex their cerebral muscle so not to embarrass their Canadian brethren?

Maybe so. But, Winnipeg, if you're so smart, how come you don't have an NHL team, eh? So THERE !!