The Future of the Travel Industry

They say do not say the details of your daily lives as criminals monitor people's actions to find an opportunity to benefit from them but I'm writing from YVR after clearing from US Customs and Border Protection. The whole section has been changed, physically, from the last time I was flying to the US from YVR which I don't know when it was. The entire process took a little more than 1 minute. No issues at all. What was very annoying and frustrating was the online check-in with Air Canada, when I got home, after work, yesterday. I had not slept well the night before and the work was as tiring as almost every day is. I was very hungry too. I made a sandwich and after the first bite I realized the check-in process has become lengthier and they need more information and I made a mistake that cost me more than $36! I have a big backpack which I have taken to the cabin as a carry-on. I've taken it to Germany, the US, you name it. I thought they would not allow that in. So I check that in for the amount mentioned above! I was tired the entire afternoon and finally finished the process. I set up the alarm clock for 04:30 to be able to get everything done before leaving. Time was spent to get some gasoline and then fetch something from home. Then I drove to the airport and parked and walked to the gate. That was when I realized I was late! I thought I'd not be able to make it on time, just like last year that I missed my WestJet flight but luckily everything went well and I was able to reach the gate shortly, perhaps 5 minute, prior to the boarding for my zone. I then realized that I had baggage check-in. The funny thing is the lady told me she would check it in for me because I had a small briefcase of laptop and technically I'm not allowed to have two. She said she would do it for free and ignored that I told her that I had already paid!

The other thing I realized is I have nearly 5 hours of layover! It's insane! Right? I don't know if they changed the flight because I can't remember the time indicated when I booked. On the way to YVR they didn't even have coffee onboard! So I thought I shall have one as soon as I pass the security booths. Here we have the same issue that you see in almost every airport and YVR could be the worst: A large cup of coffee and not a great quality for $4.20, not that I'm excessively surprised! I, however, will ask this question: What would happen to the future of the travel industry with all the prices going up with no cap! There were small sandwiches for $16 and by the look of them you could say that they have been made at least the day before, if not before that. What does the business do? They will donate it to the food banks or toss them. It's just the amount of money that the airports charge for allowing businesses to operate. Add to that the increasing cost of labour. I have another 3 hours to spend before boarding. Perhaps I shall take a break and then do some studies since I have time. Unlike what they were saying there was nothing concerning at the time of the trip from American authorities. We will see what happens when I land there and spend a little time.

(Photo: The control tower and Air Canada hanger shortly before the taxi starts)

Memory Altering Drug

I was listening to the news sometime back in 2019(!) and I was going to post this but there has been a 6-year delay! I heard that a memory altering drug is now available! It immediately reminded me of the great movie that I have seen: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Although I don't remember much of the story but it was about erasing memory, something that I really am interested in!

Bad memories come to mind frequently especially when you're lonely which is the case with me when I'm not at work. I don't have much social work because the handful of friends I have are either too far away or married and busy with their own lives. I try to keep myself busy with my home chores but that's not enough. I waste a tremendous amount of time on the net watching clips or reading things but then again when I have nothing to do, sometimes, not all the times I must insist, bad memories come to mind. The good thing is many times good memories come as well. Therefore if the medicine is erasing everything, it's not all for benefit! Once I read that taking pictures diminishes the capability of the brain to remember the memories but it does not seem to be valid, especially if that is all I have to resort to when I am on that drug. Is it?

(Photo: Jim C. and Kate W., are holding the kids who played them in the scenes of the movie)

An Uneducated Rube becomes the President

When it comes to politics, many leaders of the nations are ridiculed because of their appearance, their background and their behaviours. Look at the number of criticism, ridicule and curse that is directed at Trump everyday both by Americans and others.

The filthy and nasty sewer rat that I hate the most, in the entire world is the Ukrainian clown, the pet of the West. The animal who forgot who he was and where he came from. The ignoramus ugly rat who thinks turning his back to his origin and barking stupid English phrases give him a lift! 

Destruction in a capital's neighbourhood 

This is what you have after more than 3 years now: Towns turned to rubble. Soldiers fleeing. People are dead. This, I'm sure seems like a dream many and are happy! The ones who are going to benefit from millions of dollars of arms sale. The hungry Ukrainian villagers who never had any comfort in their lives and now live in modern European, American and Canadian cities, receiving thousands of dollars of aid every year!  

(Photo: A banner hung next to the American flag, pointing at the Western pet from Ukraine!) 

A Huge Help

One of the most annoying and dissatisfying experiences as a car owner is when you need a service or repair, especially these past few years. For me the Oil Change has always been the problem. I tried many different service providers but mostly have been to the dealerships simply because I thought I could trust them but the wait and the cost has been too much: Nearly $120! 

This, somehow, was discussed during work and one colleague suggested to help. I thought he was joking but he was serious. So one day after work we went and bought what we needed. We then went to his home where he had a couple of ramps. The process is easy unless you need to change the filter as well for which you need to purchase a special wrench. The other issue would be recycling the old oil but it seems many mechanic shops and recycling centers accept that. I don't exactly know because he did another favour and kept the old oil for later recycling!

The entire process does not take more than 20 minutes even for the least experienced and someone who is not a jack of all trades. He, I believe, is! There was a problem though that made us all and especially him, baffled: The engine uses more than 4 L but we only drained less than 2!! 

I checked the level the next two days and it was sufficient. The colour also indicated that it was freshly added oil. What added more to the already strange situation is that neither Oil Level or Check Engine lights went on! I will check again tomorrow just to make sure everything is normal and then I will have to plan for the next time an oil change is needed. I'm not going to take it to any of these fraudulent service providers. 

(Photo: Using a jack does not seem to be a very safe practice but some do. I plan not to!)

The Cockroaches of the Neighbourhood

I got into an agreement with one of the major banks to semi-possess a small property, during the COVID-19 pandemic, 5 years ago. It was a good time to buy. There were many properties available, not many buyers and I did have a job. Now five years later I'm looking to move to a bigger place in a better neighbourhood. Not easy. Prices are very high. If you're looking for a nice place, and not in a major city, don't look at anything less than $500 K! It would not be so hard for couples, if they both make reasonably well. It's hard for single people like me. One source of income and I've already cut down on many costs, as much as I could. But why would I want to move to a different place? The answer is simple: If I can reach the age of retirement, I don't want to live in this small place. I, also, would not like to live with all these cockroaches around me! They're very annoying, particularly during the summer when you need to leave the windows open. The last reason, which is as important as the other two is the lack of privacy! The neighbours eyeball you all the time, particularly if you're a foreign single in a house. My plan is to buy a house with two doors, at each end, just like our old and good house in the old country so all my coming and goings are not spied on! Here's what I have in this little sad street:

1) Fat Slob and Skinny B-tch: Interesting couple in the neighbourhood. They used to sit on folding chairs in their driveway and talk, some days until midnight, last summer. One week they had some guests, lowlife, drunkard, animals, just like themselves, of course and they sat outside and talked until 04:00! The next day I confronted the slob and asked him to quiet down. He complained. There's barely a day that I get home or leave home and I don't smell Marijuana. How much of this crap can you smoke? What percentage of your income is spent on this? These are the questions that came to my ind. One thing I like about this couple is the way they cough! It's almost non-stop and they respond to one another! It means when he coughs, she responds with a cough and when she coughs, he approves with his own! Despite all the above, I must say that these are not bad people. They're just idiots who, most likely, never had good directions in their lives and ended up like this. I think either of them has kids from their previous relationships, like many Canadians do. This summer they never showed themselves outside. Not even once. The woman sometimes waters the lawn or the vases. The man can only be heard by his coughing, from time to time! Much better for me! These couple are so inconsiderate and stupid that sometime I can hear their TV on the street!

2) Grandpa and Grandma, the big losers. We all know that most of the elderly are forgotten by their children here in Canada. Most of them are put in home care and never are visited. When I lived in White Rock with my ex-wife, we lived in a tiny apartment in Fir St. Now that I think of that type of living, I'm more thankful of my current situation. Nevertheless, there was this old lady next to us whom we never met but we knew she lived there. Her son would visit her once a week. The poor woman was all alone by herself in the small apartment and one day she passed. The son gave us some of her belongings that he had no intention to take and we accepted: Bed, TV Stand and a few more things, I guess. I distinctly remember these two because we used both and the TV stand or table is used to this date by my own Mom! 

These couple here spend most of their times inside the house and if the weather permits they, mostly the man, spend their time in their little front yard and the back yard that I can't see: Mowing the lawn, building little things, cleaning, you name it. I only saw they were visited by a bunch of people and that was during COVID-19 when people would go to their relatives to say Happy Birthday or something. The woman comes out and starts yelling hellos and having conversations with different neighbours! Sometimes she stands in the middle of the street! The man is too old to do that. He walks, or perhaps I shall say, slags and tries to find someone to talk to! It's interesting that the woman, at times, smokes at that age. 

3) The South Indian family: There's a family of four. I can tell from the colour of their skins. They're usually well-behaved, unless most of (East) Indians but considering their origin, stupid things happens being done by them at time. One of them was at my door one day! I think the boy was playing with his friends and had to hide or something! I told him he couldn't do that. He left and never saw him doing it. When there's one of these Indian festivals, usually people gather in their house or they cook and go to the other people's house. One night they were very loud and I asked them to go back in front of their house and yell! There's usually not much of a problem with these people. 

CAF peacekeepers in former Yugoslavia. Photo courtesy of Government of Canada

4) The other Indian family: There's another family of four with much younger kids. These guys, obviously, are from a different part of India which has some hostility towards the above family! I've never seen these two even say hello to each other but considering the status of Indian society, I don't think it's odd! There's a huge gap within different ethnic groups and people of different backgrounds in India. Remember the Balkan War when Yugoslavia was torn apart? One of my trainers when I was in CFLRS told us that he had not seen so much brutality and hostility anywhere else. Indian people hate each other so much with this difference that they have no guts to get really violent! It's not that they don't attack each other or they don't burn other people's houses and businesses. It's just the fact that they haven't gone that violent except the Sikhs whose stories have been told a few times. 

This guy is a true asshole and a bully. He drives in fast and makes noises. His kids scream and yell on the street and cry! What can I expect? Lowlife rubes have been given the opportunity to live in Canada and they do everything to do so. 

There're other neighbours in this little community, of course, but they're mostly okay. I, nevertheless, am planning to move out and get a bigger place but first I have to see what happens to my mortgage. I'd like to move to a better and bigger place so I can stay there as long as I'm alive. At least that's the plan. Whether it can be materialized or not is another question. 
(Photo: No! This is not my neighbourhood but it'd nice. Would it not?)

Capitalism finally digs himself in (5): The Issue with Canola

There are a few undeniably good facts about the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. I am not for them and am aware of their crimes to the people of the country and the region but can't close my eyes to some of the good plans they had and unfortunately didn't materialize. 

I remember working for this company called Takestan Industrial Group as a Q. C. Supervisor, we had a sort of a little crazy boss (I hope he reads this) who once asked me to an office of the Ministry of Commerce. The company was using Pressure Gauges and since the Government had implemented the " Use the domestically made product in your Manufacturing " policy, he wanted to bribe(!) some officials to be able to import pressure gauges. Stupid idea. He handed me a paper, I think, and a small box of key chains with the company logo, as the bribe(!) and asked me to go see this specific person in the office and give him the purchase request. I was a young guy and new to the job in those days, not knowing that he probably had already paid the guy a considerable amount as no one is so cheap to do anything for a bunch of cheap and ugly key chains! Nevertheless, when I went there, and I don't remember what happened as it was nearly 30 years ago, I hesitated, at first and didn't give, at the end, the ridiculous key chains! Not to mention that at that young age I knew both purchasing foreign made products and bribery are not good deeds and I was proud of myself that I didn't do the stupid and unethical things he had asked me to do. The guy was a crook and had done many other evil things. I would like just to give an example to some people who blame the Government for everything in their lives. He once said, in response to a customer's complaint regarding the delay in receiving the products that he had ordered, that he had used all the money he had received from them on a trip to Malaysia! 

All in all what I wanted to say is that the " Use domestically made products in your Manufacturing " policy which was introduced by the Government of Islamic Republic of Iran nearly 30 years was a very good policy which intended to help and encourage people but I do not think it was successful considering all the crooks who had money and were in business. Now the same people complain about the same Government and want to topple it! The issue is mainly in you and you don't see it. The Government was going to boost manufacturing and increase employment, something that Trump, now after 30 years has decided to do by introducing the " Buy American " policy. 

Why am I telling this story? It's because the " Use domestically made products in your Manufacturing " policy is a great plan. An example of that in a capitalist society is that Canada has introduced 100% tariff on Chinese EVs, way before even any of those vehicles even come in. China in retaliation has introduced a 75% tariff on Canadian Canola right at the time that we had a great season here in Alberta and the crop is ready to be harvested and this is after, at least, two years of lack of enough moisture. Who suffers now? The poor farmer who finally sees a good year! Had the Canadian market's door not been open like a public toilet, to let every garbage in, in the first place, and for decades now, this issue would not have been considered at all and farmers could simply focus on their work rather than being stressed as how to deal with this crap now.

(Photo: A small Canola field and silos in front)