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map[]Consumers are using the internet for an ever-increasing range of activities. This has meant that home internet data usage has also increased at a rapid pace. Unfortunately, most home internet connections these days are limited by usage caps. The customers are given a basic allotment of data usage, with any usage over that amount subject to additional charges at exorbitant “overage fee” rates. So while these plans my not technically be capped, the practical usage of them means that customers are limited to the original usage allotment of their plan. map[]Moving to BC came with a number of cultural adjustments compared to living in Ontario. One of these differences is the way that drivers are able to pay for gasoline at a filling station. In Ontario, along with most other provinces, drivers have a wide range of options when it comes to how they want to pay for gasoline. Unfortunately, in BC, since February 2008, drivers have been limited to pre-paying for gas either at the pump or inside the store. map[]“Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society” – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
And in a modern society there are many different forms of taxation, each with their own rationale and purpose. While it would be impractical to address all the concerns with taxation, one that stands out is excise taxation of items deemed harmful to society.
The claim is that this tax is levied to pay for the damage caused to society as well as used as a way to raise prices in an effort to reduce use. map[]With a saturated market of available credit cards, offerings need to provide increasingly more value-added features with their cards to differentiate themselves from the similar basic functionality offered by all credit cards. But with so many added features being offered in such a wide range of forms it is hard to know if these features are really adding any practical value to the user.
One of the most popular added features offered to customers is rewards points based on a percentage of the value of purchases made. map[]According to the Oxford English Dictionary a sport is classified as “An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment”, and “An occasion on which people compete in various athletic activities”.
SportAccord, the international sports federation association, determines what should be considered as sport based on the following criteria:
The sport proposed should include an element of competition. The sport should not rely on any element of “luck” specifically integrated into the sport. map[]When Top Gear came to an abrupt halt in March of 2015 there was much speculation about the future of the show and its presenters. A return to the BBC was eventually ruled out for the presenters, leaving the world to speculate on where they would move to. The top contenders to pick up the trio of presenters included rival British TV station Channel 5, big name US networks, and Netflix. map[]On January 26th the two competing bits for the redevelopment of the Lebreton Flats area of Ottawa finally revealed their proposals. Both groups have plans for extensive retail, residential, and green space, as well as an arena. The mention of an arena in both proposals is a surprise as while the “Rendez Vous LeBreton Group” is affiliated with the Ottawa Senators current ownership the competing “DCDLS Group” has no affiliation with the team or its owners. map[]Few things are more infuriating to see than a new or well paved road being torn up and improperly repaired. Unfortunately this tends to happen quite frequently where new houses are built in the place of older existing ones.
These repair jobs are often done with little regard for the longevity and quality of the fix, or any consideration for what it’s like to drive on. Many of these excavations are just filled with gravel and then covered in a thin veneer of tar. map[]Whenever the topic of re-evaluating the minimum wage is mentioned the issue, so to is criticism of the minimum wage for wait-staff brought up.
An ideal situation would obviously be where there is only one minimum wage for every person regardless of what job they work (ignoring that a reverse income tax is a superior alternative to a minimum wage). What needs to be considered here though is whether the minimum wage for Liquor Servers is actually too low. map[]The concept of freedom of religion is fundamental to a free society’s acceptance of religious pluralism. The idea that citizens can practice and express their faith of any and all religions is an empowering aspect of modern society. This advancement in society has created a situation where different peoples are able to coexist.
However, true religious freedom also includes the freedom from religion. This means that as well as a persons right to choose from any established religion, or anything they make up themselves and choose to call a religion, they also have the right to practice no religion at all. map[]Every modern democratic society strives to achieve equality across every measurable ethnic, gender, or socio-economic demographic.
Equality breaks down when different interested parties misunderstand what societal equality actually means. Issues arise related to a misunderstanding as to the extent that equality can be regulated.
Equality can be approached from either a legal or experiential standpoint.
Equality from an experiential standpoint looks at the outcome individuals experience within society. This perspective takes that experience and attempts to change the legal and regulatory climate to produce an environment where any two individuals will see the same outcome from a set activity. map[]With the Ontario budget scheduled to be release on April 23rd there are expected to be radical change to the way alcohol is sold in Ontario. Unfortunately the changes that are speculated to be in the pipeline may not be enough.
There is going to be no immediate change to the way that wine is sold as there are multiple international agreements that need to be consulted and considered in order for the province to make changes while still maintaining their protectionist policies. map[]On January 15th Target Canada announced that they would be closing down all their Canadian stores. After initially buying the majority of Zellers’ retail locations in 2011, Target had only been operational in Canada for three years before their shutdown.
Target has been plagued with a series of unfortunate issues since they opened operations in Canada. The well-publicised supply chain issues leaving store shelves empty, and management structure issues are only two of the more tangible problems. map[]Listening to the radio recently one is bound to hear the ad for the new TV streaming service Shomi. What you realize is that the ad is a hilariously hypocritical critique of their own historical practices.
You see, Showmi is owned by Rogers. Back in the days of old, when people actually went to video stores to rent movies (yes, that long ago), Rogers was one of the main operators of video stores though their Rogers Video and Rogers Plus outlets. map[]The internet is a constant source of debate and discussion providing advancement in many subject areas. There are also subjects that will make no meaningful progress regardless of how much debate is conducted
Among these topics is the debate over the proper pronunciation of the image format GIF. Some choose to pronounce it /ˈdʒɪf/, which sounds like jif, while others choose to use the pronunciation /ˈɡɪf/, with a hard ‘g’ like in gate. map[]With airlines continuously looking for ways to maximize profit, seat sizes are becoming an increasingly popular target. While seats are getting smaller the average person is getting fatter and fatter. This will, and in some cases has, reached an impasse.
There are many overweight people who are no longer are able to fit into airline seats. The airline is then blamed for making the seats too small for the people to fit in, and the other passengers have to deal with being seated next too (and often underneath overflowing parts of) these obese people. map[]During the CFL’s first game back in Ottawa on July 18th there was much news about how well the stadium and facilities were coping with the return of Canadian Football to Ottawa.
What many people failed to notice in the coverage was the actions of the City of Ottawa By-law officers. Among the common incidents of parking for too long, or blocking entranceway’s, there was one case that stood out. Someone was ticketed for parking a car on their own property. map[]Walking through the aisles of an Ontario grocery store you are bound to come across cases of beer. You are impressed right up until the point where you realize that the “beer” is actually de-alcolized, and has an ABV of only 0.5%. What makes this deal just that much worse is that the price of a 24 pack of cans is about$16, much less that what you would pay for a 24 pack of alcoholic beer. map[]With many in Canada looking for ways to stay active and keep cool during the surprisingly hot summer, sailing fills that roll for many. Sailing schools across the country run programs for children as young as 6, all the way up to teenagers on the race team, many who look forward to taking part on a variety of regattas both at their home club and across the country.
Unfortunately, the sense of competition, sportsmanship, and fun being fostered by sailing schools does’t always carry over to events at the national level. map[]Over the past month, while trying to purchase a variety of obscure items (security nuts and marine VHF cable connectors) I experienced for the first time the outdated nature of many small businesses on the internet.
While the likes of Amazon and The Source have an extensive online presence, where browsing and purchasing their products is a breeze, there are thousands of other, mainly smaller businesses that have little to no online presence. map[]Recently, while shopping around for a series of new pairs of shoes, I came to a few conclusions. Firstly, while the selection at traditional Canadian shoes retailers is often on par with that of the US, the prices tend to be significantly higher. Secondly, when it comes to Canadian online shoe retailers you are stuck choosing from a select few terrible options. Online outlets for traditional retailers tend to have the same high prices as their physical counterparts, smaller Canadian online shoe retailers (the ones who actually ship to Canada) have an extremely limited selections, and Amazon. map[]Next to tuition, textbooks have always been one of the most expensive aspects of attending university. The biggest complaint from publishers is students buying and selling used books instead of purchasing new copies. In recent years though, publishers have started integrating online content with their book publishings as a way to augment the physical offerings. These online resources, made available through access codes provided with new books, means each student has to come back to the publisher whether they bought a new or used book. map[]With the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games having finished on February 23rd, now is a good opportunity to analyse some of the results and highlights from the games.
Medal Count While something like the final medal count should be a simple matter, it seems the USA has once again managed to complicate matters. Taking a look at the official IOC standing, those published by a variety of countries, and what was published by the USA, you notice that everyone except the USA is using the same version of the results. map[]When it comes to hospitals and health care in Ontario one of the most widely compared statistics are those of emergency room wait times. While wait times in Ontario for “Minor or uncomplicated conditions” have dropped from 4.8 hours to 4 hours, these patients account for nearly a third of all ER patients in the province.
I have only ever needed some form of professional medical care 4 times in my life. map[]It was announced recently that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would be lifting their long-running, controversial restriction on the use of electronic devices during take-off and landing on US flights. The lifting of this ban has been hailed as major victory for passengers who can now use their smartphones, tablets, and laptops during all aspects of air travel. Unfortunately, many cannot recognise the indirect implications of lifting this ban and why it should stay in effect. map[]In the past 20 years the population of Ottawa has increased at an explosive rate. In those days Kanata, Orleans, and Barrhaven were just small collections of houses tucked away outside the greenbelt. Today those areas are huge sprawling suburban neighbourhoods which have shown some of the fastest growth in the city. With new expansions being added every day these areas are indicative of the urban sprawl problems faced in Ottawa and many other cities. map[]As the development of the Ottawa Light Rail network continues the transit commission continues to make decisions about details of the Confederation Line. One of these decisions is the renaming of the LeBreton Transitway Station to Pimisi Station. This name, meaning eel in Algonquin, is supposed to pay tribute to the Algonquin tribe who once inhabited the area and relied on the now endangered eel for sustenance.
Unfortunately the name Pimisi is a terrible idea on the part of the city transit commission for many reasons, none of which are considered when guilt-driven pity decisions are made by governmental organization in Canada on issues relating to native Indians. map[]The CBC Marketplace episode Framed takes a very interesting look into the world of prescriptions and eyeglasses through their regulation and sale. This is an area of particular interest to me as I myself wear glasses and am forced to pay into this restrictive retail market.
I would like to start off by pointing out that the intent of this piece is not to make a summary of the video, something you should do on your own time, but instead focus on connections that the CBC failed to make in the episode. map[]On June 13th the City of Ottawa released an update to the Ottawa Western (Light Rail Transit) LRT plan. This update was meant to address the concerns of local Westboro residents (with opinions voiced mainly by those living along Skead St.) who complained that the original plan (to have the LRT in a semi-submersed trench, hidden by a berm, between Skead St. and the parkway) hindered visibility of, and access to, the parkway and river front. map[]There is something liberating about using an operation system that not only is free, but completely open source. You have the option to take this operation system and modify it in any way you want, for free, as long as you too publish the source code to any changes you made to the Linux kernel. This is one of the most powerful assets for Linux, and is the driving force behind adoption. map[]With the plans for the down-town and east-side Ottawa light rail corridor complete, and beginning construction, the eyes of the city have turned to the west end for the next phase of the Ottawa light rail plan. In this piece I plan to outline the current state of rapid transit in Ottawa, the proposed Light Rail Transit (LRT) route (specifically the western section), and then identify and support a superior alternative route along Carling Ave. map[]When you look at the current diversity in the smart phone market, statistics show, as you would expect, that Android is at the top, followed by iOS, then BB OS, then Windows Phone. When looking at the tablet market you get quite a different picture. With tablets, unlike phones, iOS is the predominant player with over 60% of the tablet market share.
Now one could attribute this discrepancy to the fundamental difference between the beginnings of the smart phone market compared to that of the tablet market. map[]Golf is not a sport.
Golf is not a sport, shooting is not a sport, and Chess And StarCraft are not a sports either.
To understand why I am saying golf is not a sport you have to understand the way I classify what a sport is.
A sport, in my mind, needs to contain two components: a physical one and a skill aspect.
There are many activities that have only one of those two aspects, either requiring skill to do well, or requiring some form of physical talent, but fewer of which fall into both. map[]Car insurance, and all insurance for that mater, is bad for everybody but the the insurance companies themselves. Insurance costs too much, is too restrictive on who can qualify, everything causes ones premiums to increase, and most of all, even if you have insurance, when it you have a legitimate claim it will be rejected based on some legal loophole.
Unfortunately the market and business practices used by insurance companies are such that they would ideally only ever collect premiums and never pay out for claims of any kind. map[]When it comes to computers now-a-days the reality is not many people are choosing to buy a desktop. And why wouldn’t you? You can get an almost limitless variety of laptops which cater to all needs, thus rendering a desktop obsolete for almost all but the most demanding of users.
So with the majority of users using laptops, this begs the question: what are they running on these laptops?
The reality is this, those who choose to buy a Mac almost always run Mac OS (obviously) with the occasionally user choosing to also run windows along side it. map[]Over the past two summers I have taught Sailing at Nepean Sailing Club. First in White Sail, then in Bronze. The following is an account of why I don’t think teaching sailing is a good summer job (unless of course you are going into education and are really just looking for something to put ion your resume). The biggest issue with teaching sailing really two-fold. First there is a very high initial investment of time and money required to get to the point where you can even teach sailing.