A Good Tool

This telephone that the employer has given to me is really good. It has features that my own telephone doesn't including this sort of pathfinder, if I can call it, which shows all of the lights and cameras on my way! In addition to that it gives warning way ahead so I can reduce my speed, if necessary. That's probably something that the Government of Alberta wouldn't like but there're even signs which shows there's a camera ahead and when I'm listening to the news on my way to work every morning, they even mention if there's a police car with camera at a side of a road. I don't really know how it works! You put someone and pay him and for vehicle to catch the offenders and then some else tells them you're doing that! The who scenario seems stupid! 

(Photo: A screenshot from the phone while I was driving in Downtown Calgary. Speed limit is shown as well, at time. I don't know why not here!)

Dumb and Dumber Organizations!

I had a number of issues when I worked for that German company for almost 5 years. Now I can see that those, could not even be considered an issue compared to what I have seen so far here, only after 2 months! I've seriously thought of quitting a few times and then I collected myself together and decided not to do that. It's not just the fact that there're not many good positions available out there but the thing that the industry has now great stress on the sort of knowledge and experience that a few years ago could barely be seen. Not to mention that I wasted a great deal of time, practically from early 2016 to early 2022, 5 freaking years, switching from this stupid job to that silly one! So technically I'm behind everyone who had a position same as mine in 2015, almost 10 years, if they continued their career without much obstacle and haven't made the same stupid mistakes that I've! 

With that said, here's a list of strange, unusual, stupid and unprofessional things that I've seen in this past 2-month period on this job (position!) and within the company:

1- Two months has passed since the project has started and we still don't have a so-called IFC drawings! The pieces of shit that we have, under the name of drawing(!), are not even good for warping meat like butchers used to do back in the day! I brought that to the attention of both The Boss and The Tout Lover. The first once went berserk and the latter said this word would not get out of his room! Then there was a major installment issue at the site! Who is ti blame?! The installation contractor? QC? Site supervisor?

2- The crew consists of a bunch of kids, from different backgrounds, including many of them being refugees, not that it's an issue who are basically doing simple labour jobs, such as moving stuff, fastening them, finishing the concrete, you name it. These idiots have been given company vehicles for their transportation and work within the site. One vehicle almost ran out fuel as a result of idling for too long! What these rubs do is they idle the vehicle for the entire shit which is almost 9 hours at times, put the air conditioning all the way up, which we all know consumes a lot of fuel and put the stereo up as well! No one tells nothing to them because, apparently, if they didn't like it and got upset, they would quit and it's next to impossible to replace them!

3- The Boss likes to hold meetings in regards to different topics which no one, basically, cares about, particularly in regards to his input! He invites his favorite people from all across Canada to weigh in while he's the sole speaker most of the time and doesn't allow others to talk! There are people from British Columbia to Manitoba and Ontario and then of course us, in Alberta! None of them are directly involved in this project and I have no clue why they should weigh in, in the first place because I know they are other projects' team members! I have never seen things like that. This last time was very funny, as usual! He kept talking and in between his words, and I have to add that he was trying really hard to be Canadian(!), people would say a word or two and then he offered hours, as he likes to call it, of overtime this weekend and asked if anyone wants to work, budget is available! No one, of course, is crazy enough to ruin a weekend sitting at the damn computer desk with a maniac such as him to add a few bucks to their pay-stub. So he said he would do it himself and would make it ready by Tue.!

The Silk road from eastern China to Sassanid Empire, Persia, today's Iran and to the eastern and central Europe which was ruled by Roman Empire at the time

4- The company, in general, reminds me of a Carvansara, one of the best features of Iranian culture but in a bit lower quality, perhaps I should say! Let's go through the word Carvansara and what it means quickly: Carvansara was a sort of public hotel in ancient Persian Empire, now Iran which covered parts of western and central Asia. Caravans (not the trailer attached to a vehicle but the word probably stems from there) would travel all across Asia for centuries. They consist of a row of domesticated animals, mostly camels who would carry merchandise and people. The Silk road was one of their major routes which extended from eastern China to Europe. Numbers of Caravansara or Caravan-Sara were build on their way so they could rest. There was no admission or time limit like today's hotel where they say, for instance, check-in is at 16:00 and check-out at 11:00. And there was no limitation for the number of people, perhaps because they would never stay for more than a nigh or until a storms is calm or the bandits are gone or defeated. With that in mind, there's still this expression in Persian which refers to a lawless place as Caravan-Sara! Sara basically means a hall, a place of staying and gathering for people and this company exactly resembles what a Caravansara used to be in ancient Asia: People come to work any time they want, they leave any time they desire. People hang out, talk and laugh. There's no control, of course for a poor new employee such as me who always have to make sure doesn't say or do anything that triggers others to report!  

5- The project is loaded with odd people. Here is the number of people we have on the project as far as I know:

a) Two Project Managers(!). One is usually not in the office. It is said he work from home and the other one starts at, around 10:00 AM and finishes after 20:00 and guess what? None have a degree and not probably more than 38 and 30 (the late guy). So no wonder why there's so much problem in the project despite having two(!) Project Manager! The Project Manager who deals with contractors and plays with Excel all they long, produces nothing better than this chaos that we have at the moment!

b) The useless Safety Rep. There's this idiot who I cannot tell where he's from and is supposed to be a safety rep. He usually sits in his cars for hours and does something with the laptop he has. He, at times, gets out and engages in conversation. He has asked me at least three time what he has to do! I told him that I was not the safety rep. and he has to do what is part of his job.

c) With all the documents circulating and would be all needed at the end of the project, there's still no document control. Perhaps the company has the budget to hire two Project Managers, one useless and ignorant Safety Rep., two Surveyor who each have a big truck and many more but a Document Control is  out of question! 

If I continue, the list goes on and on and that's just tip of the iceberg. I think I've made my point.

(Photo, top: The remaining of a Caravansara in Iran. This is rare although many should still be there. I should consider finding them when I go for a visit)

An Unusual Encounter

We had test planned at work a few days ago and it was assigned to a third part although that is the same which I and The Tout Lover have recently been certified to. His idea was that it'd better if we see it done once by an experienced professional before we start doing it ourselves. Not such a bad idea but in fact I believe it stems from his stupidity and laziness. Not to mention that he's old, sick and have limited mobility. Don't get me wrong I'm not making fun of him. These are all true. I even realized that he has a bit of shaking in his hands. Overall I have mixed feelings towards him. One part of me dislikes him very much because he's an obnoxious, I-know-it-all, fat-fuck, belligerent, idiot. The other part doesn't mind him and tries to work with him because I need money and experience and he has helped me at time. 

So we go to the testing place, next to the site and we see a tall, skinny and pretty girl. She's even taller than me. She performs the tests and after all the talks with everyone and recording the results, they all leave. Now it's me and her only. I start asking questions and its all about the test, work, education and such and she answers them all patiently and nicely. She's so young that if I had married when most of my friends from the high school did, I would have had a daughter her age now! Based on that I don't make any stupid move to ask her out but it seemed that she didn't want to leave. She kept talking! We finally shake hands and she gets into her work vehicle and I walk to other guys to get ready to leave at the same time. One thing, though, showed differently: When I asked for her card, she handed me her boss's and that was when I realized that even if she had been at the right age, it would have been a mistake asking her out.

We had the same test two days after that and everyone was asking about her. It was then that something came to my mind about this strange meeting: She could've been a transgender! You know there're many transgenders in this country and everywhere now! I think people get tired of what they are and say: I'd like to get fucked in the ass! A tall, skinny, girl who does what mostly men do! She even had man-hands which reminds me of another Seinfeld episode. Perhaps that's why she was not leaving. Maybe she was waiting for me to ask her out. Otherwise why a 25-year-old (that's as old as she could have been) wants to go out with some old guy like me!

(Photo: Jerry dates this woman who has big hands in this episode. In this scene, I think, They're at the dinner table in a restaurant. That girl didn't have big hand like this but sure it looked like a man's hand more than a woman's!) 

I've become George

 

I cut my tie with The Chef almost a year ago. I got tired of his stupidity, his lack of understanding and recklessness. I tried to help him a few times and he never listened and messed up his life. I don't have even near a ideal life myself as a result of big mistakes I've done in the pat 5 years or so but I've not fallen as deep as he has. 

With that in mind, I remember him going to a nearby Safeway everyday after work. Why? You don't need groceries every day but when you're alone stepping in a store and just seeing people and having a exchange of words with a cashier helps you and that is why he went to a supermarket every day after work! He also tried to connect everyone available! That's how desperate he was! He had a friend(!) who was homeless or had become homeless and would spend his nights in DI (Drop-in Center) until they gave the poor guy an apartment and he turned it to a dump. Stories of such, about The Chef, who claims that he is a political refugee, is a lot but I don't think anyone would be interested! 

Now I think I have become like him! Remember that episode of Seinfeld that Elaine gets into trouble and gets kicked out of her apartment and then loses her job? George, at the same time meets a woman and after starting a relationship with her gets a good job at NY Yankees through the woman's family. So while George is going up the ladder of life, Elaine is falling off of the ladder! in the final scene of the episode (which a still of that is seen above), Elaine is sitting with Jerry and are having a chat. Elaine is telling him that what has been going on with her life and then she goes: I've become George! 

I do have a job now and although it's not an ideal one, I'm surviving but I can see that there's a very little chance to stay employed after these couple of projects are finished. I have kept the previous job as a part-time one, based on the story that I've made up and sold but that's hell. That's not a way of living. As per the Seinfeld story here, I noticed just last week that when I finish work, I'd like to stop by a supermarket and go in! Despite the fact that I was neither hungry nor needed something! I talk to people at work and sometime we joke and laugh and fortunately they're mostly pleasant people but still there're days that I'd like to call someone and talk to them or just go to a public place and see people! 

First I thought it was a problem and then I realized that is why the idea of pub came out in the first place! That's why many people go to a pub or bar right after work: To see someone or hang out with friends and colleagues! Since I'm a foriegner and not welcomed in most of the bar and pubs, I've never tried that. Beside I can drink Beer, which is the most popular drink, because of Gout. So that's another reason I can't go to bars! For that I've become The Chef! I go to supermarkets! At times I waste money on thing that I don't need and some other times I just come out after a little walk inside! Pathetic! Isn't it?

(Photo: The final moments of the episode that I referred to: Elaine is sitting with Jerry and goes: I've become George! And then George walks in while has a very nice suit one and greats everyone!)

iPhone needs to Cool Down!

I've never been a die hard fan of Apple. I was amogst the very first ones who purchased an iPod and then I exchanged that with an iPod Nano. I got 10% off and everyone at the damn Apple store was surprised by what they saw! Morons! That was it. My cellphones have so far been Alcatel, Nokia and the most recent one, a beautiful, reliable and nice Blackberry. However I have been given an iPhone for communications by my new employer. It's okay. Lots of thing that I'm not familiar with but learning. 

Now, In July, we have had a few heat warning by Environment Canada, so far. I believe the warning is issued once the temperature passes 30 ℃. I was on my way back home one day and had a quick look at my phone while driving and this message that you see was on the screen! 

I also saw a similar message when I was at site yesterday, just a bit different. The phone was looked by itself and none of the keys or the screen would work. I had to keep it in shade for a few minutes to cool dawn and be useful again! I've never had this issue with my Blackberry. I still cannot believe that Canadians change a pride of the country with an American product.

(Photo: Message on the iPhone screen) 

Rogers' Silence over the possible Cyber Attack

My phone was down this past Fri., from the early morning, when I was leaving for work, until I came home and after that. It was fixed the next morning. It was said in the news that nearly 10,000,000 cellphone customers and almost 2,000,000 internet users had been affected. The problem was later fixed in  the early hours of Sat.
How has the power to cripple one of the largest communication systems in North America? It can't be a lone guy sitting at his desk in a small town the US or alike. I'd say that was a planned Cyber Attack. Rogers called it Downtime for Maintenance and Repair! Who are you fooling? Canadians?! Yes! You can do it! After all as long as their cellphone and service is back on, they don't even care what happened since they can update their profile status and post more photos of themselves!

Fancy cars are part of Stampede. You can see really nice cars in Downtown Calgary. I think the rich collectors just brings them out during this time of the year! Not entirely true! This one, which I don't even know what it is was parked on 17th Ave., SW also called the Red Mile. There are so many beautiful girls that you can't even believe your eyes but I don't have any photos to post. I certainly don't post any photos without any consent but taking it first is a challenge. I certainly believe that you can find a quite number of the most beautiful women in the world during Stampede. 

The reality is Americans and Canadians, following them, think they can fight everyone in the world, defeat them and rule! That's not how it is! Many nations fight back. The Chinese now are so powerful that they simply parlays  the entire North America by stopping the supply. Iranians, despite a number of gaffs have become experts in many fields. Remember the American drone that was flying over Iran a few years ago? They got the control of it and landed it in their own airport! Russians are strong too. They would have captured the entire Ukraine, if dogs such as busted Boris Johnson and fools such as Joe Biden had not sent millions of dollars of weapons and ammunition to them, instead of takings care of the problems of their own countries! 
I understand that Rogers doesn't want their customer to panic but they could ease into it and be honest. But the fact that cuber attacks occur every 3 seconds in our daily lives now and that's not what I'm saying. It was a radio interview yesterday at the time that everyone was enjoying themselves during Stampede!

(Photo, top: People are walking to Stampede Park near Downtown Calgary for the first time in the past 2 years. All the restrictions are lifted and people seem to be having a good time. Who do you think even care about the source of downtime!? They are all happy that their phones are working. That's what matters. And they don't care about the $80 and something or $100 and change that they pay! The last time I participated in Stampede was 2015 and it most likely be the last time of my lifetime!)

Two Tests for the Job

I was told that there would be tests which I would have to pass, when I first had my interview with The Boss-to-be. I didn't mind. For that job, I would have written as many job as they wanted me to! Not that it's something significant with a high salary! I just wanted to get the hell out of the shit-hole I was in and I still go to once a week! It reminds me of that episode of Seinfeld named The Chinese Restaurant:
Jerry, George and Elaine have a plan to catch a movie but want to grab a bite before that. They go to a Chinese restaurant and wait to be seated. The wait is unusually long. While they're waiting Jerry turns to Elaine and goes: You see that table over there? There's a $50 here for you, if you walk up to their table, say nothing, grab an Egg-roll and walk back here! Elaine goes: Are you serious? And Jerry says: $50! Elaine this time turns to George and goes: What do you think George? And George (Jason Alexander) is as awesome as always! He goes: For $50? I'd put my face in the soup and blow! 
So my situation was quite similar! When he said I would have to write do a test, I was going to say: Sign me up for as many tests as you want! So we practiced a bit, I and The Tot Lover, and it came the test day. The boss sent me a message on Teams and said that he wanted to see if it worked! I didn't understand what it had to do with the damn tests! It didn't anyway and he was not happy! We contacted the IT and they were able to quickly resolve the issue. I was very eager to see what Teams would have to do with the tests. We, I, The Tote Lover and the boss all moved to a big room and prepared to do the closed book written exam. The exam was administrated by a lady from another province and she was watching us throughout the lens of the boss's telephone camera and there would be no way to switch to another tab while doing the test on our laptops. Fine. What was the role of Teams here? Nothing!
We started the test and we had 40 minutes for 40 questions, If I'm not wrong. I almost finished while I had about 25 minutes left and I decided to go back and review all of the questions. That was when The Tote Lover turned to me and said he had finished! He got 87% which was pass but because he got lower than what we were supposed to get in one section, out of the five, he had to re-write that section! I finished my review and got 90% without any re-write! The boss was really happy at this point and teased The Tote Lover! He eventually finished that part and we both entered(!) a break based on the boss's instruction! I really don't know why we needed a break! We were sitting on our butts for nearly 4 hours without doing anything rather than moving a computer mouse and now we needed a break and and lunch! No wonder why these two freaking morons are fat as f*ck! Lunch comprised of a number of small Subway submarines, bottled water and Bubly! I had a few and saved a few for later(!) and then after one hour of well-deserved break(!) we went to the work-shop to do the test. 
The Tote Lover went first while he was being filmed by the boss, for the administrator and he passed despite a few mistake he had and we pointed at them, secretly! Then it was my turn! I had two mistakes! One was blamed on the boss by himself and I really appreciated that although I don't think it was such a big deal and then the second one was pointed at by the boss again and the lady administrator said that I was allowed one mistake! It was something minor in regards to the number of times that one specific action should take place. I passed as well and despite those mistakes I believe I did much better than The Tote Lover. The boss was very happy at the time and kept saying that we had done a good job although he was a bit angry about my mistakes! Then he e-mailed a number of people in the company and that was it. We cleaned up and said goodbye to the boss. We are ready to perform the test the minute the company requires them now that we're certified. If there is anything interesting about the field tests, I'll post them. For me, apart from the unnecessary pressure from the boss, the practical tests were very easy! I have done more difficult than that but I had to prove that I'm okay with this one as well.   

(Photo: Elaine, George and Jerry in The Chinese Restaurant episode of Seinfeld. Kramer [Michael Richards] was upset that he had been put aside and had no role in this episode)

Deerfoot Hotel & Casino

The Boss-to-be, now the actual boss was here this past two days to make sure that we were doing fine and were ready for our tests! I had studied a bit but in comparison with The Tote Lover who sits on his ass all they long, in the office, I didn't have much time. The two which seem to be buds(!) had gone to purchase different tolls for our practical test. We did a couple of mock tests and then, as usual, the boss suggested to go for lunch! Who doesn't like a free lunch particularly when he is driven to a restaurant but I'm a picky eater and that's why I barely eat out. In this case I have no say! 
We went to Deerfoot Hotel & Casino, a huge building with several entrances. It reminded me of the one night that I stayed at Southpoint in Las Vegas. A cute, petite waitress, who looked like Oriental served us. The Tote Lover, despite his huge belly order a big Jambalaya dish! The boss went with a nice Stake with sides of vegetable, which actually looked very nice and I ordered a cheapest meal, amongst the three of us: A Pulled Pork Sandwich with Yam Fries at the side. The food came in a robotic waitress, alongside the cute one! It was interesting to see, although I was not much impressed and am not a big fan. The size of sandwich was very small and thanks that I was not very hungry. Beside I try to stay away from White Bread. Overall the food, was just barely okay. Being with two crazy guys who have no control over their desires and for that they look like 7-month pregnant women but in men's look was not very pleasant! However that's what I like about the boss. He intends to take care of his employees and makes sure they're okay so they can focus on their jobs! This post, in no way is a review of the casino because I've been there only once and with prices going all up, I understand how difficult it is to run a business. I just wanted to give a hint. The inside decoration was nice and I usually take a lots of photos but again we were heading back to the office and I didn't wanna make them anything to me. Perhaps there'll be another chance to give the business a try, later.

(Photo: You can clearly see that my review about the food is real and I have no intention to advertise against[!] this business)

Stupid McDonald's vs Nice McDonald's

I don't eat at McDonald's but there was a time I would go for their breakfast, not regularly, of course. I stop even getting that and now I'm limited to Coffee and at time a Fruit & Fiber Muffin. Today was one of those days. I stopped for my breakfast, before going to the office and got the above.

When I opened my bag, I was surprised and happy. I found a wooden knife in my bag, to rub the jam on the muffin, instead of the plastic knife in a plastic bag that I used to receive. While it might not be as clean and sanitized as it used to be, the positive side of that there's less garbage ending in landfills. Yes! After decades of destroying planet earth by cutting trees, injecting chemicals to ground, drying out lakes and river and many other damages, a multi-billion dollar company has decided to be environmentally-friendly! May be it is the first step! We should give them time to do more good.

In the meantime it was in the news a few months ago that McDonald's has closed its restaurants(!) in Russia! So?! Are the Russians going to starve to death!? This is the stupidest thing that a corporation could do! People are still going for Hamburgers, if they like. The employees are going to stay employed with at the same location or somewhere else and the only loser and the one who looks stupid is the executives of McDonald's! 

(Photo: My breakfast at the desk, before I start work. The wooden knife is very nicely designed!)

The Nonsense behind the concept of EV

EVs are quickly spreading all around North America and perhaps Europe. The most popular of them is of course Tesla and the most popular of Tesla is Model 3 which can be seen on the roads almost every day. It is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful exteriors ever designed! And the motor and interior is fine as well. I just know very limited about them but there's one fact about the EVs which cannot be forgotten: They're not as environmentally clean as they claim to be. You need to charge the battery and where does the battery get the power from? From a charging station or your home outlet. And where is that power come from? In many countries from burning fossil fuels and coal! 

When you by an EV you don't have to go through the hassle of oil change and some other mechanical repairs that an internal combustion engine requires but it still is a vehicle! You need many routine checks and repairs. Besides what do you do with the battery? It is said that the battery should be changed after about 150,000 Km or so. That is another waste. Let's not to forget that if you don't have enough charge and for some reason you get stuck, you're mostly likely done! You'd need a tow truck because you cannot buy gasoline or any other fuel in a container and feed your tank! So pretty much you're screwed! I'm not saying all these because I can't afford one! In fact I'm planning to finance one in 2023 and hopefully I receive it by the end of the year and that is despite the fact that their interest rate has gone up to 5.25%! That's why I am considering all of the issues and thinking ahead.  

The really funny part about this company is the saving that they claim you have over gasoline! How the website states that you'd save roughly $12,000, for not buying gasoline but doesn't say that you'd have to pay more between $8,000 and $12,000 on a new battery after a number of kilometres that has been stated above! Not to mention that in a province such as Alberta you'd not only have problem with charging, at least half of the year, but also because most of the electricity in Alberta is produced by burning coal, you contribute more than anyone to environmental damages! 

(Photo: Tesla Model 3. One of the issues it is said it have is the problem with its battery in cold climate such as Canada. It is said that the battery never gets fully charged and discharges fast. I cannot approve that until I buy the damn car!)