Organic Foods (2)

Today I noticed another proof that organic foods are no better than non-organic. The first time I realized that was the time that I watched a type of documentary on CBC, possibly in 2003. Jackasses like A. J. always claim that they can afford organic food and they're really proud of it! Now it's proved that it doesn't make any sense. No need to mention that organic produce and everything else, including meat it more expensive. Fore more information refer to: http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/090729/science/science_us_food_organic. Hope that makes people awake! Also refer to this and this for more on foods.

(Photo: This salad is made of lettuce, radish, carrot, asparagus, broccoli, tomato and green onion and none of them are organic!)

Recycling (2)

I bought my first iPod in 2005. That was just the time iPod emerged. I guess I paid a much as $400 for a 20 GB Classic and that was just to play songs. Then it just got broken and never played a song again! I guess it was infected by viruses because I never bought a song from iTunes! I always downloaded it from free sites and transferred it to the iPod and that was the result! Then I called Apple Canada and asked if there was any chance it could be fixed. The guy in Ontario told me that it might but it would cost as much as $150! He suggested me to buy a new one and said that I will be eligible for a 10% discount if I present the old iPod.

Then we went to the only Apple store in Brit"Shit" Columbia in Pacific Centre and told what we had been earlier advised.

The guys in there were all surprised seeing the old iPod in it's box. I bet none of them had seen it before or owned it at the time. They all admitted that. They got the old iPod from me but left the earphone, the USP cables and chargers and gave me a 10% discount on an iPod Nano 8 GB which not only plays music but also displays photos and plays videos. I have tested it with songs and photos but not videos as the common formats don't fit in it.

(Photo: The box of my Classic iPod is going to be kept as a memorabilia)

Shocking Unemployment News

I received an e-mail response from Kevin today indicating he was unemployed! My first reaction was that it was a joke! That's what I wrote him back! But he's not kind of a guy who lies or jokes about these stuff. You never know, though. People change.

Kevin was amongst the top students in the school, always busy with his courses. He never was to any activity or program. His only hobby was masturbation!

He joined a well-known engineering company and worked there for almost 10 years. He came to Canada almost at the same time I did but left shortly after because he didn't want to do anything rather than his professional filed. Then he came back in 2005 and stayed; joined an engineering company and then moved to a very famous one who has offices almost everywhere and is involved in energy and infrastructure projects in Canada and abroad. He bought a small apartment and financed a nice car just a year after his employment. Then he got married last year. I have no idea if his spouse works or not but will find out and post. This is all good to know. We all will learn a lot from other's experiences.

Important Questions

Preface:

I would like to stress that the main goal of this weblog is to keep the things I like untouched for future reference. This is not being written to satisfy anybody but me. At the same time if there's anything that could be helpful to people or if there's any question that I'm able to answer, I''l be more than happy to do that. This little note is for the sole asshole who comes to this weblog at times and bullshits; also for such other guys.

Here, I'm bringing up part of the questions I had to answer in my last interview and I failed! I was so close but I missed. This is to remind me and help me as well for the next possible opportunity. You, as a reader, if there's any, focus as well and I hope it helps you too. Every one is aware of these questions, though. This is no secret. You can find them in any interview preparation book. Something that I didn't and led to my failure(!):

1- Give an example of how you create an encouraging environment at work.

2- Tell me about strength and weaknesses.

3- Give an example of a time that you were able to persuade someone at work.

4- Give an example of a time that it was necessary to change your action under circumstances.

5- Give an example of a time that you made a mistake. How did you handle that? What was the result?

6- How did you provide leadership in the past positions you held?

7- What are the ingredients for a successful business leadership?

8- How would you deal with an under-performing employee?

9- How would you deal with people from different backgrounds at work?

10- Provide an example of an evaluation technique you implemented.

11- Provide an example of a time that you motivated a colleague.

12- Describe a situation in which your manager/supervisor was not available and you had to deal with a problem. You were not sure what the best action was to take.

13- Describe a time that you were not satisfied with the job you had done or the service you had provided.

Now think of the answers!

Canada's Seven Wonders, Number 1: Health Care(!!)

This damn gout attack has been disturbing me for over 2 weeks now and finally today morning I said: enough is enough! I decided to see a physician. F. F. was insisting too. So I was searching and searching for the damn Health Card and eventually found it in the storage! Actually F. F. did! I've been living in B. C. for over 2 years and today was the first time I used that damn card! I really didn't want to go because I hate waiting in the lines. I rather die! We got on a bus and just 2 stops later we got off and walked to the clinic. Not to mention that I was walking like a snail, if you could call it walking!

We stepped in and gave the information to the receptionist. There was only one man in the waiting room. We sat and in less than 4 min. I was called to the doctor!

Unbelievable! That almost never happens!

Canada and the US, both, have a bad reputation for long waiting in the emergency rooms, clinics and for operations. I have no experience over the US and the only time I had an operation in Canada and that was in Calgary I had a very good service. Ellen once told me the time that she had to go to an emergency room for her arm or something like that and that was shortly before my nasal operation. She said that she was screaming and yelling from pain but had to wait. It scared me but I knew that I should not have believed the stupid ugly bitch!

This time I personally witnessed one of the Canada's seven wonders with my own feelings! Hope you witness that too in case you need medical attention. I hope you never need one, though!

The Hat Story

S. T. is one of my colleagues. He's originally from England, somewhere in northwest, with strong British accent, has been living in Canada since early 80s. He once told me a story of the hat he wore in the school when he was only a kid. I find it quite amusing although it's short. Here it is:

My father was serving the British Forces during the WWII. He was in the battlefields but he never shot a fire. He once brought an SS hat, like a tuque from German fields. He took the SS logo off and gave the hat to me and I wore it. I went to the school (I was in elementary at the time) and here it's me in the class wearing the hat. The teacher turns to me and goes: Where did you get this hat? I respond: My dad gave it to me. He asks: Do you know what kind of hat it is? I say: Yes! I do! Then he says: Why are you wearing that then? I reply: It's comfortable! That was the end of the conversation!

Do you think you could talk to your teacher like that in the old country, in that time which was late 40s, early 50s? I don't think so!

(Note: If you look at the British Forces website, you'll find it as Ministry of Defence but all I've read in the history, have been invasions not protection or guarding! Don't say that the best defence is an offence!)

(Photo: Nazi Germany SS Forces logo)