Phil R. Ollenberg | Blog

Are U of R Students Getting Fucked?

2011-12-09T19:10:00.001-06:00

CORRECTION: According to this Leader-Post article, the disparity works out slightly less awful than I initially concluded here. In 2009-10, the University of Regina recieved $9,377 per student after adjustments, versus over $13,000 for a student at the University of Saskatchewan.

I'd like to thank Kent Peterson, University of Regina Students' Union President for peaking my interest on this one.

There's been talk, for years, of a disparity between provincial government funding for the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan. I was not aware just how grave the problem was until I did a little sleuthing. It didn't take long until it felt like I was getting fucked by the Province of Saskatchewan. Not the nice kind of getting fucked, either.

I'm open to someone fact-checking this in case I've missed any grant funds or important data in either direction.

Let's look at some numbers:

University of Regina
2010-11 Provincial Operating Grant: $89,629,000.00 (Source)
2010-11 Fall Enrolment: 12,267 students (Source)

University of Saskatchewan
2010-11 Provincial Operating Grant: $261,885,000.00 (Source)
2010-11 Fall Enrolment: 19,918 students (Source)

Provincial Funding Per Student
University of Regina: $7,306.51
University of Saskatchewan: $13,148.16

The University of Saskatchewan appears to be receiving nearly double the provincial operating grant funds versus the University of Regina. For every $1.00 the province feeds the Cougars, it's giving $1.80 to the Huskies.

No wonder they call themselves 'Huskie.'

Where the F*** Have You Been!?

2011-12-03T23:36:00.000-06:00

Still, some people don't seem to understand this concept:

I travel for work.
I travel for work a lot.

So, without detailing my stops for coffee, gas, or snacks, what communities across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario have I been to this year?

I'm back now, bitches. For a little while, at least.

Environmental Impact & Public Funds

2011-12-01T00:01:00.000-06:00

As an employee of a university, my salary is ultimately paid by students and taxpayers. We are responsible, as a unit and as an organisation, to use our funds in a manner that is prudent and respectable, and I'm proud of knowing that we are successful in doing just that.

I got to thinking about this topic after a couple of conversations about my job, what I do, and what I spend. In the interest of transparency, when I am travelling on University business, my food, lodging and fuel are all paid for by the University. I use a company charge card for these purposes, and we have a very well-defined system for reporting and being individually responsible for the decisions we make. There are reasonable and prudent thresholds set for meals and lodging, costs when I am proud to say we normally stay well-below. Unlike others in similar job roles for competing institutions, we don't simply claim daily per diem amounts for our meals - if I don't eat a lunch, I'm not reimbursed for that non-expense; if my breakfast is included in my hotel stay, I also don't get reimbursed for that prepaid expense.

The returns on investment for the jobs done by myself and my trusted colleagues go beyond numbers. If each of us attracts just few new students each year (and we do far better), the new funds we attract to the University will more than pay for our costs. Such increases in enrolment attract new investments of public and private research and endowment funds to our University, further benefiting the students studying there and in turn making the University an even-more enticing destination for the next generation of students. It's a win all-around.

The other cost of what I do is environmental. My job involves driving and flying and driving - activities which cost money, burn fossil fuels, and emit greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. This is an issue we're fully aware of, and we do take steps to reduce our impact. Unlike many of our competitors, we stick to driving intermediate and mid-size cars, rather than SUVs, for as long as the weather and road conditions permit. We also strive to plan our travel in the most effective manners possible - visiting the greatest number of schools possible in one region in a period to reduce back-and-forth trips to-and-from Regina. I also endeavour to use the most fuel-efficient driving routes possible, thanks to an "Eco-Route" feature built into my navigational system.

I am proud to do a job which I enjoy, which benefits people, and which I can do efficiently and effectively. Best of all, I get to do it with a fantastic group of people I call my colleagues and my friends.

Canada's Public Broadcaster

2011-11-27T10:41:00.001-06:00

Although not uncommon at any time, recently we have seen extraordinary amounts of criticism being levelled at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - the CBC. People are criticising the corporation's costs, cultural merits, political leanings, and journalistic standards.

The CBC receives $1.1 billion in annual public funds (Ottawa Sun). Considering there are 34 million taxpayers in Canada (CTF), this works out to an average cost of roughly $35 per person per year, or under three dollars per month. I pay more than than monthly just to get one cable channel, never mind three national radio services, the main CBC Television network, Radio Canada, CBC News Network, and all of CBC's outstanding online services. I would be happy to pay double to maintain the same quality and calibre of programming I receive from the CBC.

Canada's public broadcaster employs over nine thousand individuals from coast-to-coast and around the world. The CBC has been a starting point for many of my friends in their journalism and broadcasting careers, and adds in immeasurable value to the cultural, artistic, and social fabric of our country. In my opinion, the CBC takes on challenges in producing brilliant Canadian content that most for-profit broadcasters wouldn't dare touch, it grows the careers of Canadian journalists, artists, actors, producers and writers, and it is a company which reinvests the public funds it receives to the public benefit.

The CBC has become an integral part of Canadian culture and identity, it reflects who we are as a nation, it tells our stories and in turn we influence and shape the CBC. I am proud to know we have such a brilliant cultural entity and I would be devastated to lose our public broadcaster or see it slowly dismantled.

To inspect how the CBC invests its public/advertiser funds, see this document: cbc.radio-canada.ca/about/pdf/who.pdf

Stop. Fucking. Driving.

2011-11-26T16:55:00.000-06:00

The other day, I was driving behind a very old man in an old car. The roads were clear, as was the weather. He was stopping to pull into the casino. To do this, he started braking two blocks ahead of the casino. The braking pattern - watching his brake lamps - went something like this:

Tappa-tap. Tap-tap-tap. Tappa-tappa-tap-tap. Tap-tap.
Tap-tappa-tap. Tap-tappa-tap. Tap-tap. Tap-tap.

I playfully imagined he was transmitting a Morse Code message to the world. Again, the roads and conditions were clear... So that can only lead me to one of two presumptions:

a.) His driving skills are awful and he knows it.
b.) This car's brakes are awful and he knows it.

The only conclusion I can ascertain from both of these is:

Stop. Fucking. Driving.

You don't need to go to the casino. If the issue is your car's brakes, invest the money in car repairs rather dumping it at the casino. If your driving skills are awful, you need to pull over, throw your car keys and license in the garbage and walk away. You are a danger to other drivers, you are a danger to children, you are a danger to pedestrians, you are a danger to animals, you are a danger to property. Stop driving.

Housekeeping

2011-11-23T17:28:00.001-06:00

I sleep in a lot of hotels, for a big chunk of the year. Earnestly, I do not get the complete differences, in the same hotel, one housekeeper will have over another. It's like they do two completely different jobs. I appreciate it's a tedious occupation, but there are a few things which just confuse me.

Toss Your Soaps: This is the housekeeper who takes the soap, shampoo, or conditioner you've only just started to use, and which is still 75%+ full, and throws it out. You come back to brand new ones, but the old ones are already on their way to the rubbish.

Odd Numbers: One day, you get four towels, the next there's six, then we're back to four. Four coffee cups but only two single-serve pods of coffee. The next day, there are three coffee pods and still four cups.

Plug All the Drains: Why do you close all the drains? It's completely weird to be surprised by water (or the coffee I'm pouring out) pooling in the sink.

Switch All Your Towels: Most hotels now have a little placard which indicates the hotel will only change your bath linens every few days. I am totally a fan of this - save water, energy and detergent. I re-fold them and hang them all up neatly per the placard; however, I've never had the same towels two days in a row. They are always completely replaced every day.

Move Your Stuff: Possibly the worst offender, I don't like when my stuff is re-arranged. I leave my hotel room reasonably neat each day. Most of my stuff is placed quite deliberately in certain places. There's no need for you to move all my stuff off of chairs and rearrange my desk... I like my things where they are, and I look for them where they are placed.

UR Guarantee: Liberal Arts Friend or Foe?

2011-11-19T15:48:00.001-06:00

I might take on a contentious issue in this blog entry, but fuck it, here I go.

There is some debate about what the UR Guarantee Program, a academic/career success program offered by the University of Regina means for the job market and the direction students pursue when entering the University. One point of view is that the UR Guarantee does nothing more than drive the misconception that university is job training, and will only drive students in to "professional" fields such as business or engineering. I'd argue that this program doesn't do that, but rather opens the door to liberate the career-minded to pursue their academic passions within the liberal and fine arts by helping assuage the fear of failure.

Every week in my job, I work with students who are exploring their options for post-secondary education. Some of these students are completely certain what they want to study and where they see themselves. Others have no idea what they want to study, or even if there is anything in a university to strike their interest. I also meet many students who are under pressure from their parents to choose a "career minded" academic program: one that may make them financially prosperous, not one that will make them happy, engaged and passionate for the world around them. The conversations typically begin something like this:

Parent: Benji is interested in anthropology, but that's not going to get him anywhere, so he wants to apply to business.
Cue Phil looking Benji square in the eye to ascertain who actually wants him to choose Business.
Phil: That's actually a common concern. I think I can help us meet somewhere in the middle. Are you familiar with our UR Guarantee Program?

It's at this point that that I go on to (a.) explain the purpose of the UR Guarantee Program, and (b.) explain the value of a liberal arts education. My persuasive powers have, in almost all instances, won the parent over to see that their child can both develop the critical/analytical/communication skills needed for career success while pursuing their academic passions without judgement.

The fundamental theoretical framework that informs most professional programs: business, engineering, education, healthcare, etc draws directly from the sciences and arts. In business, where did the core of consumer behaviour theory originate from? Psychology, history and sociology, of course. Consumer behaviour theory is at the core of advertising and marketing. From that marketing research, a decision may be made on mechanical refinements to be made by an engineer to a product which will increase sales. The impact of those increased sales will touch the company's finance department, which engages a number of economists, each with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics hanging on their walls.

Let's play out another scenario of whimsy. A prison is dealing with issues of overcrowding, rioting and inmate disobedience. While engineers and architects may be able to refine space usage to overcome issues of crowding and to reduce the potential of a riot breaking out, it's the pragmatists of social research, psychology, sociology and other liberal arts area who will be called on to innovate and propose solutions for treatment and rehabilitation.

More examples abound us every day, from the journalists who write and research our news to our politicians, authors of public policy, and many leaders of major organisations. Their business savvy, their communication skills, and their drive came from the liberal arts.The arts inform and shape our world around us, they inform other professional and academic disciplines, and they are at the core of most that we see and do each day. It's high time we re-prioritise the liberal arts and recognise the economic impact that they have on our world.

Occupy

2011-11-13T12:46:00.000-06:00

Fundamentally, I agree with the principle of the Occupy movement: Drawing attention to an unfair distribution of wealth worldwide. There are certain unfortunate facets of the Occupy movement, however, which are damning to its core causes and its validity, problematising the whole system.

Freeloaders: It's one thing to protest in a public space. It's visible, it is public, and it's a completely acceptable exercising of your rights. It's another thing to monopolise a space, causing it to be devalued, making it inaccessible to the public, and turning it into your rent-free home.

Idiots/Hypocrites: Every person in the Occupy movement who is clueless or ill-informed about what s/he is talking about is a liability to the movement. Worse are the ones who are adimently stupid. Among the statements which I am compelled to ridicule:

Don't let corporations donate to political parties! Specifically noted in a context of Canadian protests. Corporations haven't been allowed to donate for years. Get informed!
Public oversight of government! That's called an election. And Freedom of Information requests. Get informed!
Don't waste taxpayer money! Like the added costs of policing and maintaining the public spaces being occupied?
Save the planet! First: when it's being said by people who have perfectly good homes going unused while still remaining heated and using electricity and natural gas. Since you're living in a public park, why not sell, sublet or lend-out your residence to someone else? That's a redistribution of wealth right there. Second: there have been reputable reports that some "Occupy" camps are damaging the trees and flowerbeds in some of the parks they are occupying.

The Occupy'ers who have atrocious grammar and spelling when posting on public forums also upset me. It's hard to take someone seriously when they can't handle capital letters, punctuation, or homonyms. Do you want us to believe you're making a serious arguement, or are you a child having a YouTube rant because your mother took away your iPhone?

Continuing to occupy a public venue does send a message... But a group of people who have the strength of character to disassemble each night and reappear each and every morning send an even stronger message: We're coming back, day after day, growing stronger, growing smarter. Members could take advantage of their home time to develop tactics for the coming days, communicate, design campaigns, and spread their message (articulately) online.

And let the public enjoy their public parks. We're all paying for them.

A time to reflect

2011-11-11T08:30:00.000-06:00

Yes, today is Remembrance Day; the eleventh day of November. This is the day when we pause to reflect on sacrifices made and battles fought for our liberties and for the liberties of others.

I am grateful to live in a country where movements like Occupy Regina can take place and we are able to speak freely, to disagree publicly with the state, and to arrange in peaceful protest. Across the world, people have lost their homes, their families, their lives for the freedoms that we benefit from and take for granted each day. I reflect on the "Arab Spring" movement that spread across Tunisia, Egypt and Libya as I think about the battles fought for freedom and a more just society.

Canada has a proud history of peacekeeping and of fighting for freedom and justice. As Canada's mission in Afghanistan winds down, I am looking forward to seeing, on the road, two of my recruitment colleagues from the Canadian Forces returning home from Afghanistan, one from his third tour of duty. I am looking foward to hearing stories of families reunited and stories of the positive impact the mission has had for the Afghan people.

Likely, I will never know what it is like to serve in the Canadian Forces. I can only imagine the challenge, the stress, the fear and the reward for serving one's country in the way our uniformed women and men do each day. I am grateful for their service to our country, and I am honoured to call myself a Canadian.

So, this day, I will wear a poppy with respect and with honour. I never forget what it means to be a Canadian and to live in a free and just society where I may have my voice and my liberties.

The Writ'n'Shit

2011-10-15T16:11:00.000-06:00

The next Saskatchewan election will be on November 7. As someone who's politically-minded, nothing, provincially, has yet turned me on.

The Saskatchewan Party, which currently governs this province, have not done a bad job, but I also cannot laurel them with any great successes. The New Democrats, which I believe helped develop a sustainable and healthy economy during their tenure (1991-2007), haven't shown any bright shining reasons to be elected either. I believe there's a clearcut choice, but that's based on my own experiences.

I feel as though the Saskatchewan Party's approach to this province involves the expedited liquidation of our natural resources for the fastest "bang for your buck," a reduction to the holdings of public/crown services, and virtually no broad-based support for post-secondary education delivery/affordability in this province. At a time when tuition costs are rising faster than inflation, student housing is filled, and Regina overall has few vacancies, we haven't seen any real movement to support accessibility for higher education in Saskatchewan. Sustainable management of natural resources and a more clear commitment to public service are, I feel, traits more in line with the Saskatchewan New Democrats.

This election, I'm voting as our system intended: for my elected representative. In this case, I have a choice between NDP incumbent Trent Wotherspoon or Saskatchewan Party candidate Tony Fiacco. I've seen Trent at work in our riding, I've seen him at local events. He's a man who can speak about the issues on his feet, and who instantly connects with people in person, in correspondence, and online. Plus, an academic background in education and business are a good combination.

Unfortunately, not all Trent's compatriots at NDP HQ are the same way. Sandra Morin, the New Democrat incumbent just north of my riding, appears a bit dead in the water. One of my friends who lives in her riding says Sandra hasn't been seen at local events or out doorknocking. A quick drive counting lawn signs will show that the Saskatchewan Party challenger Warren Steinley has a good foothold on her territory. Perhaps an indicator of her inaccessibility, Sandra's Twitter feed (which has fewer followers than mine at the time of publishing) is simply a mouthpiece and doesn't engage in dialogue per the Twitter model.

A few friends have mentioned they see no key issues, no motivators, no standout personalities in this election. That may be the case, but I hope everyone remembers the essentiality of voting to the democratic process. If you're undecided who should represent you, contact their offices, look at their websites, and ask the questions. The choice if yours November 7.

Return To Sender

2011-08-04T11:30:00.000-06:00

This week’s essay takes the form of an open letter to Canada Post, which seems to find the concept of “Return to Sender” extremely puzzling.

Dear Canada Post:

Thank you for successfully, and repeatedly, delivering mail to my house that I’ve already indicated is “Return to Sender.” It’s fascinating to receive a piece of mail in my mailbox that I’ve previously stamped “Return to Sender” on and marked a stroke through the addressee.

Perhaps the large, bold red stamp across the white envelope bearing the words “Return to Sender” is ambiguous. Paired with the fact that the addressee is stroked out, I can only imagine how this must be puzzling your sorters, staff and automated systems. Perhaps it requires post-doctoral research to look at an envelope and understand what the words “Return to Sender” mean.

Canada Post, had this been a one-off issue, I’d completely understand. Sometimes things slip through the cracks. When I receive multiple pieces back in a week that all bear the bold red “Return to Sender” stamp on them, we know someone simply isn’t pulling their weight. Further, this has been going on for almost a year.

Any fathomable shreds of me which sympathised with Canada Post employees being legislated back to work die each time I receive one of these letters. It demonstrates that at multiple steps through the process, employees simply said “I don’t fucking care” about their work. The more they don’t care, the more I won’t care either.

So I’m sorry, Canada Post, that incompetence appears to be reigning supreme in your ranks. I cannot fathom an easy solution for you.

Coffee Snob: Really?

2011-07-21T23:36:00.004-06:00

This week’s rant/essay touches on the subject of what defines a coffee snob. I’ve been called one at times, and I cannot understand why: I just like a good cup of coffee. Thanks to my very good friend Logan Gamble for giving me a starting point for this essay.

Tim Hortons is regarded an essential symbol of Canada, and I know many people who “can’t start a day without my Timmy’s.” You’ll hear fans often degree that TH’s coffee is the height of a delicious cup of java... But when you stop and taste it for a minute, how much does it actually resemble coffee proper? It’s lacking the essential sharpness of coffee, its taste is smoothed-over and muted, and the flavour turns further south if it’s allowed to cool. It may bear a pleasing taste to the palate, but the taste is barely coffee.

I’ve had TH aficionados insist that I overpay for the coffee I home with fresh, Fair Trade, often locally-roasted, beans. Let’s do some math:

I win on cost and quality. Plus, I don’t have to make the coffee: my fiancée awesomely does that for me. I don’t have to queue up or put in an order: it’s right every time.

This isn't an attack against Tim Hortons as a corporation, or against its customers. Many simply enjoy a stop there from time to time and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm talking about the folks who create a false essentiality to their daily TH run, dramatising it as though it's on the same level as insulin to a Diabetic. I'm sick and tired of it, frankly.

I’d like to wrap up this essay by pointing out that there are folks who might call me a coffee snob for my preferences and in the next breath say: “I only drink Timmy’s.” If I drink different roasts and beans from all over the world and you only drink a single brand, who’s the real snob?

Making Traffic Fair for Everyone

2011-07-14T18:43:00.001-06:00

There are two very specific issues which have been grating on me lately. They both have to do with driving: the flow of traffic and keeping everyone safe and moving along properly. What I want to discuss is too verbose for Twitter, as I want to clearly state the cases, the rationale, and the effect.

First one out the gate I need to address are bicyclists using controlled or uncontrolled pedestrian crosswalks. For these terms:

A "pedestrian" as it is considered under the Traffic Safety Act of Saskatchewan includes only pedestrians and those in specific assistance/power chairs. Further, the Act clearly defines a "vehicle" in such a way that includes bicycles.
A "bicycle," as defined by The Regina Traffic Bylaw, is a vehicle.

I appreciate cyclists - they're getting more exercise than me, impacting the environment less, and generally being healthier. I endeavour to share the road with them: treating them as another (delicate) vehicle, keeping an eye out for them, and trying to keep a reasonable distance from them so they have some space to maneuver. I even try to stay the hell out of bike lanes and fully endorse adding more. I hear from some cyclists that this isn't common, and obviously we need to fundamentally change some behaviour on the road. I want to believe that most cyclists are fantastic. There are some that are complete dicks.

These "complete dicks" are the ones who opt to switch between using roadways and sidewalk as they feel appropriate. I'm not allowed to drive my car (which is as much a pedestrian as the bike) on the sidewalk, please don't ride your bike there (kids excluded). They decide to casually pedal into an uncontrolled crosswalk and expect people to stop. I'm not going to. You're not a pedestrian and I have the right of way.

The batch gets worse by those who activate pedestrian crosswalk signals. The definition of who the signal is for is right in the name: pedestrian crosswalk. Not "bicycle bypass signals." These cyclists activate the signals and pedal on through expecting everyone to stop. At these crosswalks, I am required by Part III, Section 22 of the Bylaw to stop, ensure that all pedestrians have cleared my half of the lane, and then I may continue. If I stop, check twice and see zero pedestrians and one bicycle (a vehicle), then there are zero pedestrians. I am fully in my right to continue. It would be the cyclist's fault if his/her vehicle should collide with mine.

As soon as the operator dismounts the bicycle and stands beside it ("walking the bike"), s/he becomes a pedestrian, and I will go out of my way to yield to her/him at designated pedestrian walkways, both marked and unmarked.

To silence some moron who's going to contest this, Part VIII of the Bylaw clearly states:

"Every cyclist shall operate a bicycle in accordance with the applicable rules of the road as set out in The Traffic Safety Act."
"No person shall operate a bicycle with a wheel diameter of 40 centimetres or more on any sidewalk or boulevard, except where permitted by an appropriate sign."

Except when they have the right of way as a vehicle (stop signs, intersections, etc.), I don't stop for your bicycle. I'm through with this game.

Barry & Stewart: White Noise Video (BBC3)

2011-02-04T20:36:00.000-06:00

Tounge-in-Cheek Video

2011-01-17T09:50:00.001-06:00

Stumbled upon this one. Take it with a sense of humour, as, obviously, the original artist did:

Sopping wet little guilt trip

2011-01-07T19:01:00.000-06:00

Anyone else feel like residents were being shamed and admonished for our failure to meet the City of Regina's request to reduce our water usage by one-half in the past 48 hours? That makes two of us. It seems like the media and the City's outlets were taking any opportunity to remind us we'd only reduced water usage by 18%.

Quick backgrounder: A component failure at the water treatment plant in Buffalo Pound, which supplies domestic water to Regina and area, occured early on Thursday morning. This shut down the plant, shifting service to limited resevoir water until the Buffalo Pound plant was due to come online sometime Friday.

The first notice I see of the warning about reducing water comes from the City of Regina's Twitter feed at 11:52AM. By that time, the vast majority of folks have already awoken, showered, perhaps set the dishwasher, completed some other activities, and are now at work. At work, I don't religiously check my personal Twitter feed, I don't read news sites, and I don't have the radio on. I'm sure this is typical for a lot of City of Regina residents - we're immersed in our work environment (please excuse the water pun). We're not going to get the message. Most of all, by 11:52AM, 50% of the day has gone by (and presumably 50% of the day's water used), so to reduce water usage by 50% for the eitre day, we - all of Regina and area - would have needed to completely stop consuming water after 12:00 noon. And I'm not even a math major.

To me, this seems like it's a failure in creating an effective communication plan, which, in part, is due to the shift in how we receive urgent news. If this is a critical matter that needs to be brought to the awareness of all residents, employing existing networks seems like a novel solution. Heard of text messaging? Establish an agreement with wireless carriers to quickly diseeminate emergency info via text message to subscribers within certain geographic areas. The majority of Canadians carry mobile phones these days. Rapid communications you can engage in urgent situations.

For the record, oh mighty City of Shamegina, once we found out, too little too late to be of much use, the boy and I tried to drop our domestic water use to minimal levels... On top of already having a low-flow toilet, high-efficiency washer, and other water-saving devices. I'm sure a lot of people who did know about it also tried their best. Stop shaming us, city officials. This was our first serious dress rehearsal at a water shortage.

Hawksley Workman

2011-01-03T18:33:00.002-06:00

I'd just like to share this treasure with you.

Happy new year!

That don't impress me much

2010-12-28T10:20:00.000-06:00

http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/archives/2010/Dec/

Journey to the Northwest of the Province

2010-11-20T15:27:00.000-06:00

Alright, my little puppies... This past week, I've had my butt up in the Northwest School Division visiting some amazing schools and students in Lloydminster, St. Walburg, Paradise Hill, Hillmond, Maidstone, Edam, Glaslyn, Turtleford, Loon Lake, and Lashburn. I love this job, and it's taking me all over the prairies.

What made this visit extra great? For the past couple of years, we've missed visiting these schools due to a lack of people resources. For most of these communities, this is the first time we've reached them in many, many months. The students I'm seeing have amazing goals, and when they set their feet on the U of R campus next year or the year after, they're going to totally unlock the potential of their careers and opportunities. Great questions, great conversations started, and great students who are going to become great U of R alumni.

If you know me, you my have noticed this: I have a bad habit of biting my nails. It's a bit of a nuisance and something I've been committing to stop in the past few months. After having done it for years, it's hard to overcome, but a fight I've been willing to take on. Buying nice manicure tools and cuticle oil (some of my female colleagues taught me the importance of this one) are starting to give me an advantage against the habit.

Are you following @PhilOllenberg on Twitter yet? It takes only a minute and you get my loving/absurd stream of consciousness right in your hand! Big fun!

That's my update for the moment darlings. Talk again soon.

Big Updates

2010-10-30T13:32:00.000-06:00

Wow, it was over a week ago that UR Connected! 2010 wrapped up. This event was the biggest-ever and we played host to over 1,000 parents, students, and educators who experienced a full day on campus - it even made headlines as far as Canada.com. Having been the event coordinator, I am really pleased by the turnout and loved seenig so many friendly faces on campus.

This week was also my first significant week of travel in the 2010-2011 travel season. Lethbridge and Medicine Hat, two Alberta cities I'd never been to before, were my first stops, and I had a great time! Meeting recruiters from all over Alberta, and the highlight were the hundreds of students I met, and who were excited about finding their futures at the University of Regina. A surprising number of questions about Engineering & Applied Science, and the one closest to my heart, Fine Arts. I suspect there are going to be a major number of students coming to visit us in the coming months from Alberta, so Wanneta, our Tour Goddess, will be busy making great one-on-one visits happen!

Get home from Medicine Hat on Friday to find that Regina has turned into a sloppy, snowy, wet, icky danger zone... Gross! What happened? It's rare for me to say "I miss Alberta," but considering it was moderate and sunny there, I MISS ALBERTA!

Thankfully, I'm headed back next week to Red Deer and Lloydminster, which should be a lot of fun. This time on the road goes quite quickly and I'm looking forward to it. The best part is the banked time I get to take off after the fact. Wahoo! Will be massive drive time getting back, though. Oh, well, they've got me a sexy car on rent.

Alrighty, beautiful people. Bidding you adieu for a while. See you on the road. Don't forget to check out my travel exploits on Twitter @PhilOllenberg. Bye bitches!

Rob Ford and his new friend Carol Off

2010-10-27T00:39:00.000-06:00

I haven't forgotten about you!

2010-10-17T14:06:00.000-06:00

Hello my beautiful blog readers!

Don't worry, I promise, I haven't forgotten about you... I do look at the traffic stats and see you're still visiting! I've been hard at work planning UR Connected!, our annual event for future students coming up this Thursday and Friday (Oct. 21 & 22). It's an amazing day-long event where students will both have some great fun, learn about their future university, and win some great prizes. Registration is going up-up-up and I am excited!

The boy and I are settled nicely into the new house. Coming from a townhouse, I did forget, a little bit, how nice it is to totally have a space of one's own. We've re-painted every frickin' room, redecorated on the cheap, and are very proud to have a great-looking house. The Lady Sasha is also very happy to have her own back yard to frolic and play in.

Renos were fun. Yeah. Super fun. Simple things like painting and switching out door hardware. Then, more fun things like replacing a bathroom sink - woo-hoo! I actually feel a bit like a king of renos after getting the stuff done that I did... Particularly after dealing with the hack-job that was done with the old pipes and faucets, and the joy of replacing all the dodgy work. Perhaps most fulfilling was when we abolished the bright-frickin'-pink kid's room into a more modest, warm straw tone. Yay guest room!

For the last month, I feel like my thesis has just been a corpse floating face-down in a swimming pool. I haven't had a heartbeat to touch it between house maintenance, working late, and anticipating my recruitment travel for the fall semester. After this week, Alberta will be my home-base for the next two. I am at once excited and a bit nervous, as this will be the start of my "serious" recruitment travel (as opposed to the more "fill-in" role I took when I was in my Coordinator role). I know what to do, I know how to do it, and I know I'll do it well, but it's the fact that days will be much longer and I'll have far less personal time.

What the hell is up with the new iPod nano G6? Super tiny. No frickin' wheel. No frickin' video playback (although, admittedly, nor did my G1 have video...). My old nano was dead-or-dying (akin to my thesis), so I just got a new one. 8GB instead of a measly old 1GB means my whole music collection fits on it - a massive blessing for taking it on the road in a week's time. I love CBC Radio, but there is a limit how much of it I can listen to (you hear me, "Vinyl Cafe?").

Okay, time for me to shut this post down and get the house cleaned. Love to you all!

Ellen on Bullying

2010-10-03T11:24:00.000-06:00

Please share this message with others. As someone who connects with high school age students from all over Saskatchewan, I couldn't agree with Ellen's statement more. As Canadians, we may be seen as progressive, forward-thinking, and open-minded, but there is still a great deal of work to be done.

NB: Waner Bros. has senselessly blocked this YouTube video from being shown outside of the US. Thankfully, others have re-posted the video, such as the content above. I suppose WB wants to surpress their talent from showing their thoughtful, human side.

Denver Experience

2010-09-11T12:43:00.001-06:00

I forgot to mention my "Denver Experience," eh?

Walking between luggage re-check and US Homeland Security, I found a wallet. I took the wallet to the Lost & Found Counter. I turn it in, and, seriously, the clerk complained: "why did you bring it here!?" Grumpy face. Sigh. Seriously, dude, you work at the damn Lost & Found Counter, it's your job to deal with lost things and found things. He actually makes you not want to be an honest, decent human being.

Thankfully, I heard the gent's name paged over the aiport PA a few minutes after I cleared Homeland Security... So I am hoping he didn't get out of the airport without his wallet!

For the record, yet again, very positive experience with US Homeland Security and Border Control agents. It seems that if you're polite with them, they can be the same with you. Sheesh, amazing how that works, eh?

London Day 3 / A Denver Experience

2010-09-11T12:37:00.001-06:00

First, Day 3 in London: I saw: Big Ben, The London Eye, National Theatre, Westminster Abbey, G-A-Y, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, The Supreme Court, The National Gallery, National Film Museum, 10 Downing Street, and a big walk along the South Bank.

I touched a Dalek, I gazed at a TARDIS, I saw Monets, Manets, van Goghs, and Seraults. I heard Big Ben chime (thrice) and even relaxed on the lawn in the great shadow of the Palace of Westminster (the British Houses of Parliament). Gosh. Goodness gosh.

Thought I'd throw along a couple of photos to tide you over. The sun is setting, one last day here... Still gonna try and book it down to the Tate Modern yet tonight! It's 7:34p London time right now.

One more thing

2010-09-09T16:36:00.001-06:00

My goodness, I love being a Canadian citizen. I went through the U.S. and U.K. border check-ins so easily. Of course, being honest, presentable, and personable also help that process. I watched other people get "interviewed" at U.K. border control for several minutes. Mine was pretty much:

How are you? Canadian? Okay. How long are you going to be with us? Sounds good, welcome to the United Kingdom.

God save the Queen (no, really, I'm a big fan)!

London Day 1

2010-09-09T16:32:00.001-06:00

Hey beautiful blog readers!

After almost a full day in airports, airplanes, and customs halls (inside airports), I just finished my first part-day in London. Holy crap, I already love it so much, want to go everywhere, and don't want to leave. I can't believe I will only be here a few short days.

I'm throwing a few relatively-interesting shots from my first quick day onto the blog for you all to view. Tomorrow (as it's 11:28pm when I type this), I will be presenting my paper at the International Arts, Heritage, Non-Profit and Social Marketing Colloquium at King's College (Waterloo). Therefore, I've also been madly editing speaking notes, practicing, timing, and practicing again.

All-in-all, either I am not experiencing jet-lag, or it hasn't caught up with me yet. I'm sure we will find out which one it is in the next 24 hours. I also watched Robin Hood, The Karate Kid, and Iron Man II on the trans-Atlantic flight, so I have now watched more new-release movies in the last 48 hours than I did in the past 48 weeks. Yowch.

Alright, just a quick check-in. Lots of love to all of you, check out the photos, comment if you like, and I will talk to you all tomorrow.

Cheers!

Gaybies

2010-08-30T21:49:00.000-06:00

So, I might get in shit for this one, but I just realized how tedious the line of gaybies question is when you're in a queerlationship. It's not uncommon to encounter this conversation with any batch of people I know:

Are you and DeRay gonna have babies?
Will you adopt?
Would you have a surrogate?
Get Haitian babies! Or maybe Chinese ones!
No, really, get Haitian babies!!!
Haitian babies need adopting, it's like Bulk Barn for Babies!
Or do you want a surrogate mother?
I bet a surrogate mother would be better.
Would you be there during her birth?
Would you look at her vajeene?
When are you gonna get the babies?
You should acquire babies.

Now, this is a little lopsided. Just because it's two dudes doesn't make our entire, prospective, speculated, hypothetical baby procurement effort public conversation; it's a matter for the two of us to deal with, ourselves. My brain composed a hilarious line of questions it would be funny to fire back with:

Are you gonna get preggers soon?
What's that gonna do to your figure?
Have you thought of a brand of pregnancy test yet?
What positions have you tried to get pregnant?
How many times do you do it?
What lotions are you going to use to reduce stretch marks?
You should really do it more. That's how you get babies.
No, really, do it more. Get on it!
Why aren't you pregnant yet?

This would likely have me firmly slapped across the face by the prospective mother at this point, even if Conversation B came directly after Conversation A. Just slightly biased.

Home Inspection

2010-08-25T21:27:00.026-06:00

Today was the home inspection. Apparently, despite what all the professionals, including the company doing our inspection, recommend, the client is rarely there during the actual inspection. To me, that seems a little ridiculous. Wouldn't you want to know what's going on in the house that you're buying?

Having grown up in a family where construction and trades were the most common vocation, I've participated in my fair share of plumbing, carpentry, drywalling, flooring, roofing, and other construction. I actually have a reasonable grasp of what's going on in and around a house - holy shit, eh? The queer dude can swing a hammer (and do electricals, and plumb some things, and even frame a wall in a crunch). Therefore, I was hot on our inspector's tail the whole time, generally the quiet observer, but asking questions or making my own notes as we went along.

I am a "first:" The first client to actually accompany the inspector onto the roof of the house. You'd think this is something that would have happened at least a few times before, but NO! Normally, I would do this in boots, t-shirt, and jeans; not in dress slacks, a pressed/starched dress shirt, and tie. When push comes to shove, however, you have dressed-up Phil on a roof that is freshly-shingled, with a well-maintained chimney and firm structure. Hip-hip horray, something I won't have to deal with.

Now, I could go through the whole house in detail, but you don't want to read that, and I don't want to type that. Suffice to say, aside from a few concerns which we can append to the offer, I'm pleased with the knowledge gained overall. Our inspection was attentive and reasonably thorough considering the price and duration.

Nobody in their right mind...

2010-08-23T21:38:00.000-06:00

Nobody in their right mind should work on a Master's thesis while house shopping and dealing with a full-time professional career with so much mental commitment. My brain just keeps saying: I hate my thesis, I hate my thesis, I hate my thesis, I hate my thesis... The concept of simply withdrawing has come to mind, but I've come too far to stop now.

There is so much fucking stuff going on right now that I just can't focus on my thesis, and it's certainly not for the efforts of my supervisors, who have been faboolush. I'm not even getting decent sleep because my mind is just busy running lists, or evaluating things, or being worried about things.

No, I'm not saying life sucks or anything like that, my damn brain just can't click into "Thesis Mode." There's no button. No switch. Nothing to just clunk over there. On top of that, it's the stats chapter of my thesis, which is my arch-freakin'-nemesis. It's Lex Luthor to my Superman (well, maybe I'm Lex Luthor...). I will literally stare at the Word document for an hour, poking around, making arbitrary edits and not know where to dive in hardcore.

Maybe, I am telling myself, if I just take a tiny nap and then try to start again on this chapter's revisions, maybe, maybe I'll get somewhere.

Yeah right. But here's to trying!

Conditional Offertopia!

2010-08-20T17:23:00.002-06:00

So, the house is "kinda ours," "in a way," "sorta." We've reached a conditional offer that was amenable to all parties and still well below our maximum. Yay - sparkles and unicorns!

DeRay has already setup the appointment for the mortgage (well, he does work at a bank after all), and I have to arrange a lawyer among other things. I am quite excited that we're buying a house, although it does seem rather appropriate at this stage in life.

I'll keep you all appraised as we go along. Exciting times in store!

The One!

2010-08-19T23:17:00.001-06:00

So, we think we've found the house for us. Bungalow, Mount Royal, about 900 square feet, bit yard, really nice main floor layout. We put in an offer.

This is kind of exciting and totally ridiculous at the same time. We're spending heaps of money on something which we'll be repaying over the a period that's roughly equal to the amount of time I've been alive so far. That's a little crazy, no way around it.

We offered low - as one does - but this house has also been sitting on the market for a while, so they may take us at our low-ball offer. It's a fair bit below our budgeted amount, so we're in a very good safety margin, and even if they negotiate up, we have the room to budge. :) It's gonna be a very sleepless night as we see what the sellers do with our offer. Gonna be watching my email and faxes like a hawk!!

House Shopping

2010-08-17T22:07:00.013-06:00

For the past little bit, DeRay and I have been house-hunting for something that will fit us nicely. First, it was fairly casual: looking on the MLS site, calling up the occasional Realtor to see a house, etc. This week, with my prompting, DeRay upped the game and we got a Realtor of our own.

Tonight we did our first batch of house viewings. We went through the MLS listings with her, and picked out some houses that interested us. Karen, our Realtor, was quite direct in saying things like "seen this one, you don't want it..." or "ooh, I remember this one - yuck!" We picked out a Top 10 that we wanted to see, and were able to plan for 5 of them tonight. She zoomed us around from house to house, and we got to see a few different options. Some interesting stuff, but nothing really struck our fancy. Means we want it out and check the inventory on another night this week.

We'll see what happens next. It could take a couple weeks or a bit longer. I know I'm sure as hell not moving in the winter, though!!

Neglectful Me

2010-08-16T21:20:00.000-06:00

Wow, I've got nearly a whole week without posting. Well, it was a damn busy week. Let me fill you in:

Per the post below, Access finished their work very quickly. Horray, I'm a happy monkey there.

We've been house shopping. The hubby dragged (not really) me out to two houses last week. One was nice, and we wanted to put in an offer, but we were 24 hours late. The other was a total drag, and I even said to the Realtor that we were wasting our time. Bust.

Was plowing through on thesis work, busting my ass to meet a deadline when Lisa's plane was landing from Australia. I'd been falling a little slow, and needed to make some serious groundwork quickly before she landed. Nothing like drop-dead-deadlines to make me work my butt off. It's also, oddly, when I produce better work. It seems like when I pre-plan, meticulously, I get too verbose and fluffy.

Also, I finally get to share that DeRay and I are going to be uncles! Chad and Gayla are going to have a baby, and it's going to come out of Gayla's tummy and then it'll be all existy and stuff. Babies are intense, and they kinda really freak me out. Hopefully I'll have a change of heart and this little goomer will melt my heart. Or it'll puke on me. A or B. Take your pick.

Well, kids, I have had four ounces of delicious 12 year Glenlivet (thanks to Logan) and am now working on a bottle of Trad. Yum yum, but posting while in a blurry state means I'm bound to find a lot of typos the next morning. Oh, well. I'm going to go waste a little time now reading other people's blogs, finish the Trad, and eventually walk Miss Doggy then go to bed. Love to you all!

Slacktivism

2010-08-02T09:49:00.000-06:00

Over the past few years, I have become rather unimpressed by rampant slacktivism and people who believe that they're doing something important and essential by barely lifting a hand.

A big bitch-out goes to online petitions, in particular those that are addressed to a government. Rarely are they clearly articulated, often simply complaining about a problem and not providing a solution or a call-to-action. On top of this, such petitions often allow anonymous signing, have no ability to validate the "signatures," and are generally useless by Canadian standards.

There are rules about petitions; which, properly presented to a federal MP, Minister, or the House of Commons, must receive a response from the Government within a finite period. Of course, these petitions must be on paper, have verifiable signatures and addresses, and follow a specific format which requires a succinct and articulate concern and request. The Parliamentary website even gives easy instructions.

I looked up a couple of online petitions that had to do with the federal government. In both cases, addresses and names were completely optional. Further, non-residents/non-citizens of Canada could sign the petition... People with no right to vote in Canada anyways. The written request on one petition was riddled with factual and grammatical errors. Further, it used a photo of the U.S. Constitution. You can tell this petition was thoroughly thought through.

Online petitions, email forwards, and activist Facebook groups are enablers of slactivism. People feel as though by simply forwarding a message or joining a group, they are actively championing a cause... A cause they feel passionately about for 45 to 60 seconds before moving onto a YouTube video of kittens or an online game. We are enabling an apathetic society where we feel simply clicking a button is enough to affect change.

I'm certain politicians must get tired of me. I've written to MLAs, MPs, city councillors, senators, and cabinet ministers since I was old enough to vote. The letters I write are my own - not downloaded from a website or copied from an email. Even crazier, they're often printed on paper and mailed in envelopes. Lo and behold, I've received a written response to virtually every one. In many cases, I've affected minor activity - queries to deputy ministers, my letter being discussed in committee, even a presentation in the legislative assembly. No shit, seriously. Giving your own thoughts to your elected representatives is a lot more powerful than clicking a damn "Sign Anonymously" button.

Remember that government is there to work for you. When you cast your ballot on election day, that's your voice. Whomever is elected to be your representative is your public servant. They have an important job, and are responsible to you. Write them a letter or send them an email. Use your voice. Use it articulately, succinctly, and argue soundly. I'm darn confident they'll reply, and even if they don't agree, they will try articulate their point with respect to your original concern.

Warranties, etc.

2010-08-01T11:32:00.002-06:00

Now, I'm not writing this post to sound all high-and-mighty that I have lots of money and only buy the highest-end stuff. Quite the contrary - we buy many store-brand or modestly-priced items for our home. However, with some items, we are particular about buying a superior brand and product particularly because we know we'll enjoy the end result. Here's what I've noticed about the warranty documents between these two types of products:

Superior Quality Brands

Everything Else

If you have a problem, return the device to us. We will give you a
new one.

If you have a problem, which we determine to be a result of poor manufacturing, at our sole discretion, we will repair your device or replace it with a refurbished device. You shall pay for shipping to us, and you may have to pay for shipping back. Most common problems are excluded. Many restrictions apply. Call our outsourced, understaffed call centre for more information, although you may never be able to get through to a human.

It's as though the superior brands realize you have spent good money and aren't going to be bullshitted around by super-limited warranties with tiny fine print and a dozen footnotes.

In other news, super hot days with no air conditioning, sitting in home office, working on thesis revisions equals Phil gets frequent headaches or bouts of lightheadedness. The end is in sight, though; I plan to have a proper draft finished by the end of this month, dammit! If only my eyesight wouldn't go blurry or my head start to pound from the heat. Even talking about warmth is making me feel warmer, so I'm going to change the subject.

There's a faux-pas I want to mention that drives me a little batty: Students who flood inboxes with simple queries. I'm not talking about current students who are running into problems, I'm talking about prospective students from far away, who send the same email to me, all the other recruiters, my manager, our general inbox, and the admissions inbox. We can see these things in the To: and CC: list; and it's not the way to start on a good note with an institution, especially if the language is something abrupt like: Mail me absolutely all information you have so you will admit me and give me a full scholarship.

We actually get emails with that ~~demand~~ request a few times each year.

The Manager of Admissions has invested a great deal of time developing an admissions site that's pretty darn awesome. Believe me, I refer to it every day when I'm finding answers for students or pointing them to a specific page. It's pretty much a step-by-step walkthrough of what to do from starting the application form to walking onto the campus for the first day of classes. Given the urgency our Director has given to a huge retooling of our E.S. pages, I can only foresee it getting even better!

There is an email that makes me even more uncomfortable, and that's the sexist email. It's not uncommon for an email to be sent only to myself and Mike, my other male colleague. There's a page on our website that shows all the recruitment staff and our photos. Mike, alphabetically, is near the top of the page, and I'm way down at the bottom. What this means is that students are looking at the photos, and deciding only to email the two men - not the women - to ask a question. That grinds me considerably. It's not as though Mike or I look comparably more friendly than anyone else, either!

Alright, morning bitchfest said and done. Going to go back to edits, rewrites, more edits, more fun. Horray!

Wotherspoon

2010-07-30T01:50:00.009-06:00

I just want to give a quick shout-out to my MLA, Trent Wotherspoon. I recently contacted his office with a concern I had about the under-enforcement of a recently passed amendment that I am in favour of. Dude gave me a phone call and actually discussed the concern with me for a good 15 minutes, person to person. There's an MLA who is working for his constituents, even those who carry the card of another party.

Hyperbole and a Half

2010-07-25T21:38:00.001-06:00

Thanks, Aaron, thanks for introducing me to this blog. Now in addition to Natalie Dee, Toothpaste For Dinner, Superpoop, Married to the Sea, Questionable Content, and xkcd, I have one more thing to follow.

hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com

London!

2010-07-22T17:16:00.006-06:00

Well, ladies and gents, I have been waiting for this news for several weeks, and I just got it:

I'm going to freakin' London!

An abstract I wrote with my supervisors has been accepted to be presented at the 9th International Colloquium on Arts, Heritage, Non-Profit and Social Marketing. Both Kathleen and Lisa will be tied to teaching duties, so I get to go and present the work myself at King's College. Wahoo!

I actually got the news while having lunch with my colleague Wanneta. She got up to grab a napkin, took a peek at my phone

Of course, I'm going to make the most of this venture: See the city, experience the sights and sounds, eat and drink, discover and be merry! It will be interesting, as I'm flying solo for the whole voyage. Just me, running around and seeing everything. Little Canuck boy, big London, four days. I think I'm up the challenge.

The most absurd part will be that I'll arrive home from Pearson International, plow through a day on campus working First Year Orientation, then hop back on a plane to Heathrow! One whole night in my own bed.

This is a massive opportunity to get out and present my research, which is heavily invested in the state of Saskatchewan theatre, to the greater scholarly community. It's also a big notch on my publishing/presenting list which is important to advancing my career.

If you can't tell, I'm super excited. I welcome any suggestions you have on what I should see, do, eat, or explore in London and the surrounding area. Please be aware I'll be powered by my two feet, so don't suggest I travel massive distances or spend buckets of money.

On the same notion, if you have any suggestions for funding opportunities I have not yet identified, I'd welcome your ideas there, too!

Watson

2010-07-19T20:37:00.000-06:00

DeepQA, part of IBM's Watson Research Center is a fascinating new initiative to create a computer that comprehends, researches, evaluates, decides, and communites knowledge in real language. An exciting proposal, but something I can imagine is within the reach for the folks at IBM.

As an example of what "Watson" is partially designed to do, let's say I'm searching the web for the original artist who sang "The Locomotion." Using Google, I may put in the query: original artist the locomotion. In response, the search engine provides links to key pages it believes to be relevant - in this case, the Wikipedia article, a page on Little Eva, and Yahoo! Answers.

Watson would take the query "Who is the original artist for 'The Locomotion?,'" process and evaluate it, and answer the query with, presumably, "Little Eva."

Of course, if you view the deeper content, IBM's researchers suggest a system that synthesises and draws conclusions from data, not just to find simple facts, but to make critical, informed choices when providing data. Extrapolating from their example, it is like the computer in Star Trek, an artifically intelligent system that provides human-like answers.

I find technology fascinating and exciting, especially when it can be used for the wellness of our world culture - technology which can benefit all of us, in ways we, as a general populus, find beneficial.

Student Financial Assistance

2010-07-18T12:28:00.000-06:00

AEEL Student Financial Assistance has started running a new ad campaign which talks about the convenience, practicality, and sensibility of using government student loans to fund your education. As a student who used them myself, I am thrilled to endorse the relative ease of applying for and accessing Saskatchewan Student Financial Assistance.

Check out www.student-loans.sk.ca. On there, you'll find details on applying for assistance, graduate retention tax credits, and details on how student loans work. Plus, you can do nearly the entire application online, which is a great time-saver for our generation of connected millenials!

Student Financial Assistance has made significant changes to their rules which have made accessing funds easier and more straightforward. Further, my interactions with the provincial staff over the years has been helpful and relatively quick, considering the number of clients they serve.

If you're a Saskatchewan resident and you're going to be attending the U of Regina in the fall but are still finding the way to fund your education, please visit www.student-loans.sk.ca to see how this government program can help you out. If you think you want to attend the U of R this fall, but aren't sure what to study, drop me a line, and I can help you find a program that will let you realize your goals.

StarTrek.com

2010-07-16T12:18:00.001-06:00

www.StarTrek.com launched a BRAND new site yesterday, and after the rubbish digs they had for the last few years this is a vast improvement.

Although still in beta, it's a much tighter, prettier-looking site, though still with a couple minor (severe) glitches like multiple missing pages.

Glad to see Paramount hasn't forgotten this franchise entirely. Looking forward to buying some geeking Trekware when we go to Canada's Wonderland later this summer.

Merging Lane

2010-07-15T17:18:00.000-06:00

Many years ago, with the advent of highways, expressways, and motor vehicles came this novel concept of a merging lane: a lane designed to merge one lane of traffic into another, often to accelerate from a slower speed of traffic, into a faster speed of traffic.

Why, then, do I frequently get stuck behind morons who believe they should drive 50-60km/h in a merging lane approaching an expressway driving 100-110km/h, all the way up to the end of the merging lane? Why, further, do these morons then feel they should come to a complete stop, signal, and shoulder-check for a time to merge in?

Goodness, gracious, I experience these folks too often to be humorous anymore. The risk they cause to other drivers is shocking, the inconvenience they cause to those around them is immense, and their driving skill level is slightly poorer than when I was six years old with a red Power Wheels car.

I thought about this blog entry on my entire drive home, and then got home, and was greeted by a happy, excited, doggy who has been recovering from an ear infection. After the day by herself, she's always happy when one of her humans gets home. She's even more excited demonstrating that she has been a good girl and has earned herself a treat. Once all that is done, it always takes a few minutes to get her calmed down from her high. When we buy a house, we've agreed we're going to get her a doggy buddy so she doesn't have to spend the day alone.

Hip hip horray, it's almost Friday! This means, of course, that it's almost the weekend! Why I'm excited eludes me, as I'll still be spending it indoors, working on my thesis, looking at the world from my 2nd floor office window. Perhaps I'll get to spend a few minutes enjoying the wonderful outdoors. I know I won't be going to Craven - drunken sexploits, country music, mud, and huge arrays of SUVs and trucks just don't do it for me. I do know a lot of folks have fun and enjoy it, so rock on for each and every one of them.

Shout out to all you regular readers, and thanks for sticking with me for neary 2 years. Have a great weekend if I don't post anything before it's over!

Sad News, Happy News!

2010-07-11T22:10:00.001-06:00

Sad News: The bottle of whiskey that lived on my desk is now empty and done as of this moment.

Happy News: I have a brand new bottle of The Glenlivet (12 Year) at my desk. Yum yum! Thanks, Logan!

How bad is it that my most productive periods working on my thesis involve modest inebriation?

Some of the best lyrics

2010-07-10T10:58:00.000-06:00

From their Night Work album, the beautiful Scissor Sisters crew have given us some of the best discreetly-naughty lyrics I've heard in a long time:

So when everyone's gone home
I've got your tail between my legs
We can talk about relationships
But there's better things to fill your head with
('Whole New Way' Sellards/Hoffman/Price)

Of course, that whole darn album is a big slice of naughty.

'Questionable Content'

2010-07-09T21:58:00.002-06:00

I have become hooked on a "new to me" webcomic, Questionable Content. Without a doubt, it's smartly written, its characters are engaging, and I like the story arcs.

The worst part about is that I started out roughly 1,700 comics behind, and to make sure I got inaugurated properly, I started at comic #1, and I've been working my way, slowy, forward. It's distracting enough it's pulling me away from serious deadlines I want to keep on with my thesis.

I had to post right now, in part because of the graphic attached to this post. The main character's robot buddy found his way into a suitcase of bondage gear. Just for the record, that's about the most obscene the comic gets; which is still far cleaner than most network television shows. It alludes, and tends to stop there.

Alright, mini post down. Lisa, if you read this, by any chance, I'm getting my non-air-conditioned butt right back to work!

Frosty. Tasty.

2010-07-09T19:30:00.000-06:00

Thanks, luv, for bringing home chocolate milkshakes just now. A hot, bright day, all cooped up editing thesis content. Greatly appreciate your bringing the bacon (erm -- chocolate tastiness) home!

It's great to be commonlawgaymarried. ;)

Hair Dressers

2010-07-08T15:42:00.000-06:00

Hello beautiful readers - I have a question for you today! My old hairdresser moved to a new shop that has basically dropped off the face of the planet. After chasing her through three different salons, it appears she has gone M.I.A. Therefore...!

I am looking for recommendations on a good salon that does a good job with mens' hair, at a reasonable ($30.00) cost. I'd like to know the salon and a specific hairdresser. Heck, if you are a hairdresser, throw a comment up here and recommend yourself.

As my hair is long overdue for a cut and style, it's turning into a hard-to-manage shaggola. Help rescue my hair from this oncoming hairtastrophe!

New Conservatripe

2010-07-08T14:37:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I get very tired of the bullshit that the Conservative Party throws our way (and distraught by how so many people lap it up mindlessly). Today's new mailer from my glamorous, gay slammin' MP Tom Lukiwski talks about how the Conservative Party is on track to restore a balanced budget.

Now, it may just be me (oh, no, wait, it's not), but I am pretty sure it is the Conservative Government that let us into the deficit two years ago by cutting the GST, slashing other taxes, misprojecting income, and increasing government spending to historic levels. All this after a lovely decade of balanced budgets at the hands of Liberal Finance Ministers Paul Martin and Ralph Goodale.

No, Mr. Lukiwski and Mr. Harper, your government isn't taking proper action to balance Canada's budget. You got us into this mess in the first place! How dare you even try and mislead Canadians into thinking your party has the right plan for our country. It's a damn shame is what it is.

That, my friends, is my left-wing rant for this afternoon. The sun is shining, I'm going to walk the dog, have a drink, and get to work on my beloved thesis.

Access Comm Update

2010-07-07T18:01:00.000-06:00

As an update to my posting on 29/06, still, dangling loose, uncovered coaxial cable box at the back of my house. Useless, useless putzes. I am tempted to mail next month's bill back with a letter saying "will pay upon completion of labour." Would that be sufficiently retallitory of me?

Humorously, I've seen the original post trending highly for readership, which means someone, somewhere, is passing that link around. Maybe it's someone at SaskTel laughing at the crappy work Access is doing on retaining customers. I may just have to phone up SaskTel and see what kinds of promos are available for Max right now... If it wasn't for the fact that Max is still kind of rubbish, and we do not want to rent three TV boxes just to get the signal distributed.

Seriously, it's time someone got their shit together over there. I've bitched them out enough times.

Album Review: Aphrodite (Kylie Minogue, rel. Jul. 6, 2010)

2010-07-06T19:29:00.040-06:00

Alright, beautiful people. Today, I'm reviewing Kylie Minogue's newest album, Aphrodite. With expert co-writing from Minogue, Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters), and Kish Mauve among others and executive production by Stuart Price (who also lends his co-writing talents on several tracks), this album has been branded a return to Kylie's dance-pop roots.

Now, let's start off by saying that I like this album. I like it, but I cannot foresee it being on heavy rotation in its entirity. I fell in love, near-instantly, with "All the Lovers," which served as the lead single for the album. Another memorable track to me is "Better Than Today," which Kylie leaked during her For You, For Me tour.

Overall, the album has a fun, relaxed, and very electro-synth feel, which is true to Kylie's roots. Unfortunately, few of the tracks leap off the collection as explicitly catchy. Many of the tracks seem unintentionally over-produced, even more so than certain tracks from back in her Fever days - they lose the talented voice that Kylie has invested many years in developing. After hearing how she can sing live, it's ridiculous to cover her voice up with extensive processing and layering.

I've explored the album in my car, in my home office, and a little bit around the house as well. Overall, the album is enjoyable enough to play under the radar, but nothing screams "play me!" - an extreme change from the catchiness that was X (her previous album). Aphrodite seems to be a little forgettable, like much of the Body Language album.

Album Review: Night Work (Scissor Sisters; 29/06/10)

2010-06-29T23:38:00.031-06:00

I'm going to try something new here - the occasional album review. What's funny is that it will be very intermittent, because I'm quite fussy on my choices of music. Goodness, am I ever.

Let's start with Night Work, the latest album from the Scissor Sisters. This foursome of beauitful people presents an album that fans have been waiting years for, and I think the wait was worth it. I really enjoy this album.

The album is loaded with sexy, naughty language. It's obvious that these are some horny musicians - heck, look at that cover artwork. 'Night Work,' the title track, is a good starting point, and it gets (mostly) better from there. I've gotten through this whole album a couple of times now, and I've picked out some favourites. 'Whole New Way,' 'Any Which Way' and the lead single 'Fire With Fire' are hot, hot tracks. I enjoy them, and already have them stuck in my head. These boys (and girl) are clever songwriters and great artists.

As expected with the Scissor Sisters, there's some quirky tracks that don't really click with me, but that's part of their charm. Guests on the album include the gorgeous Ms. Kylie Minogue, and Sir Ian McKellan. Oh yes. All in all, it's a fun album, and I'm probably going to be stuck playing it a fair bit. Sheesh!

A job poorly done

2010-06-29T22:18:00.005-06:00

For the past three weeks, I've been dancing with Access Communications trying to get some incomplete work completed. The original problem isn't directly their fault, but rather a third-party contractor they hired. However, since the work is being done on Accesscomm's behalf, and they are the point-of-contact, they get to deal with it. Let me give you the succinct version:

Wednesday, 16 June

Come home. See cover to cable connector panel wide open on back of house. See 15' of coaxial cable coming out of the ground and wrapped casually around natural gas meter. Call Accesscomm to report some work isn't done. The helpful, polite support rep, after talking to their tech side, says that the contractor had to cut work short because of the rain (which makes sense), and would be back by Friday. Alrighty.

Friday, 18 June

Well, there goes Friday. Work wasn't done.

Thursday, 24 June

Now it's been more than a week, I've been patient. I send a scathing email to Accesscomm using the address posted in their website. Comes back as not working. Double-check, try it again. Totally not working. Call up telephone support, ask to speak to a Manager. Manager's not in, but I can leave a message, and she will call back as soon as possible.

The Manager does call back promptly, and I explain the situation. Apparently the work order was marked as completed on the previous Monday, which is not the case. She gets some detailed notes and promises followup with me both from their end and from their third-party contractor.

I also explain I couldn't send an email using the address on the website. Where she was great at resolving one problem, she was now creating another - questioning my competence navigating the Internet. I explain I am looking at their page, looking directly at the email address, and it is not matching what she's telling me it should be. She's implies I'm making up the problem, or that I can't read the address properly. Finally, after much coaxing and curtness on my part, she navigates to the same page I'm on. Holy crap! It's wrong after all. She ppoints out that nobody has emailed to mention this problem. Well of course not, the email address is fucking wrong.

An Installation Supervisor calls me back that night, but I left my Treo upstairs, so missed the call. My bad, I've caused at least a one-day extension to the hilarity.

Friday, 25 June

Call their Installation Supervisor back and leave a message.

Tuesday, 28 June

Get a call back from their Installation Supervisor. Another round of people questioning my intelligence and ability to identify equipment. I re-explain: Cable panel open, 15' of coax cable wrapped around natural gas meter. This dude asks me if I'm sure it's not another utility. I fire back saying, "well unless natural gas now comes through an uncapped coax cable, yeah, it's definitely the cable." Also insists that I am connected to their network aerially, so nothing should be coming out of the ground. Then he realizes he's looking at the wrong file and says "oh, yeah, on that side of the street you are underground..." Shining star employees!

Thankfully, my patient cruelty shakes him back into his problem solving, and he'll send someone out to take a look.

This afternoon, someone did indeed come in an Accesscomm truck, deal with the 15' of coax cable, and start some work fixing this issue. Cable panel is still open, but it's a start.

I'm a big fan of Access Communications; there's even a glowing endorsement from me on Page 16 of their 2008 Annual Report - really. I'm intolerant of routinely daft or arrogant employees, especially in an industry with heavy competition from SaskTel and satellite providers. I'm not married to my accesscomm.ca email address anymore, so there's one incentive to stick around.

Finally, I want to point out that during all these phone calls, I never raised my voice, I never swore, I was never rude beyond strongly trying to make a point. I know things can go wrong, and I'm fine with infrequent mistakes. I'm not fine with frequent bouts of dumb.

If you liked this bitter rant, go back and read my May 2010 rip about awful service hours provided by another contractor hired by Accesscomm.

Photo Shootastic

2010-06-28T17:24:00.040-06:00

Not a super huge fan of getting my photo taken, but when that work is being done by the skillful, respected hands of Don Hall, whose works are in the Saskatchewan Arts Board permanent collection, well, that's a different matter.

Today I was in a shoot for the 2010-2011 Viewbook, telling students to come and visit our campus. The photo isn't saying that, but rather my quote beside it is.That's right mama, I'm gonna be forever embedded in the glossy pages of our promotional literature.

We're often asked, on the road, if we hire models for our photos or buy stock photos of people - the answer is, of course, no (I posted on this way back in March 2009). Our students are just naturally radiant and beautiful. Some have even built a legacy of being in our publications for multiple years. What is really great is being able to open up the Viewbook and say "this is So-and-So, she's a third year Engineering & Applied Science student who..." We actually get to know the students we photograph, especially those who are active for us as Ambassadors and volunteers all over campus.

Weird experience: Today, someone who works in the same building as me, is a graduate of our university, and has been around campus for at least a few years, did not know that Student Recruitment & Admissions was in our building. The person even tried to debate it with me a little bit. There are only three* offices on the main floor of our building: Printing Services, School of Journalism, and us. We've all got big, big spaces, with big, pretty, glass entryways. One would nearly have to keep one's eyes closed while walking through the building not to know.

*IT Support Centre AH 106 is also on this floor, but the connection is in the Archer Library. Long story.

Time for me to row-row-row my boat out of blogging world. Have a glamorous night all!

Go Home!!

2010-06-25T16:35:00.001-06:00

Hmm... A Director who shoos me out the door right at 4:30p. I could get used to this "not working late" thing haha!!

Yum yum yum

2010-06-24T21:38:00.000-06:00

Wrapping up the night with some tasty piña coladas while chilling out on the sofa. Tomorrow we're doggysitting again, then working on my thesis for the weekend.

One small step

2010-06-24T16:21:00.001-06:00

Here's my commitment; one small step to be more sustainable: I'm gonna give up my plastic-bottled fat-free Creama dairy creamer. It's just not environmentally responsible to be tossing a white plastic bottle into the recycling every week.

It occurred to me that thousands of folks are like me, going through bottle after bottle of coffee whitener every week, probably tossing 'em into the refuse (mum!!). Holy shit!

DeRay, by the time you get home, I'm gonna have my clothes all ironed and put away (not in the laundry room) -- I know that's your pet peeve!

Actually so convincing!

2010-06-23T18:43:00.000-06:00

Have you ever heard Dr. Shauneen Pete, President of First Nations University of Canada, speak? Wow, what an influential, passionate speaker! Wow - seriously - wow!

Amazing sense of humour, so obviously personable! Goodness, I want to meet her now, and I'm sure I'll get a chance to.

So convincing!

2010-06-23T16:31:00.000-06:00

How could I not believe this?

Hello -

We are not sure you received our previous letter wherein we expressed our grave concerns about an estate of a member of your family lineage who died intestate. As stated in our previous letter, the bank is at the verge of closing the account of high value which is now dormant belonging apparently to one of your family members who reportedly died intestates five years ago leaving behind a substantial amount of money in a bank account here in Spain.

A member of my family? Who? Oh, that one? Really? A high value account? Wow, that's amazingly specific too! In Spain? I have no Spanish lineage, so that's even more amazing! It must be very urgent, because you didn't even have the time to address me by name!

Weeeeaaaak!

Slow Posting!

2010-06-23T12:52:00.001-06:00

Well crumb, I really haven't posted anything in some time, have I? I've had quite a busy week.

Got the abstract for the conference in London, England submitted on Thursday, they've confirmed receipt and now it's just a waiting game until mid-July.

Celebrated National Aboriginal Day on the academic green - I think the event is getting bigger and better every year. Just want to mention that I saw the federal Liberals represented at the event by Hon. Mr. Goodale, but not a single Conservative MP (and we have lots of them) bothered to show their face. Provincially, both the Sask Party and the NDP made a fair showing at the event. Also, not a single rep from city council - weird!

Finally got an update that I indeed do have a job (nothing had been updated on my HR Self-Serve, so I was worried I was in employment limbo), hip-hip-horray there! Also got an update on my APEA, so I have some funding to get supplies.

Also, I finally made a trip up to Yorkton to visit DeRay's family. They've been down to visit us many times, and finally, finally, I made the trek up. Yorkton's bigger than I expected, and it was great to finally get up there. Sheesh, future in-laws, hey? We actually get along swimmingly. The spooky grandkids conversation came up - yikes!

Is it just me, or despite the "no handheld cell phones" law, are there still hundreds of people cruising along yapping on their phones? I sat at the intersection of Victoria Ave. and Broad St. last week and watched at least four people drive by with phone in hand - just in the direction that I could see. Last night, a lady kept swerving lanes because she was having a heated conversation with someone on her handheld phone. How is this law not a goldmine for revenue? I'm a big endorser of heavy enforcement to scare people into compliance. I don't need swervy-lady or some dumb phone-yapper driving into my car. Raise our taxes a little bit to increase the police presence: you're going to make the money back in fines anyways, and then that tax money can go somewhere else important.

Alright, my tummy tells me I need some lunch. Should skee-daddle right away here. Next Wednesday I have a photo shoot as I'm going to be the smiling face telling all the students to come visit our campus in the 2010-2011 Viewbook. I sure hope they go heavy with the retouching. ;)

All for the Unknown

2010-06-13T21:03:00.000-06:00

7 hours co-authoring an abstract that may get accepted or may not... And still another round of revisions to go probably!

Joyous!

2010-06-11T20:44:00.000-06:00

Sitting at Bitten on Broad right now, ordered the chocolate macaroon sandwiches. SO good. Absolute yums! Would post a photo but lighting is too dim.

Kenosee Inn

2010-06-11T12:01:00.001-06:00

I'm planning my fall travel for South East Cornerstone School Division. In searching places to stay, I found there might be something a little off with the address for the Kenosee Inn. I am really hoping Stree View is wrong, given that this is the location it showed me:

Benefits Meeting

2010-06-10T16:31:00.000-06:00

Finished my benefits meeting for my new job. Learned I'm still worth more dead than alive. Yay Life Insurance.

Also, I made the crappiest joke to Laura today right after that meeting:
Life insurance is something to die for!

New Jurb

2010-06-01T21:46:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm now a U of R Recruiter - pay raise, more responsibility, bit of a tougher job... But something I really welcome. New desk as well, at the back office, had to move all my stuff today, which was a hilarious conveyor belt of me moving box after box from the front office to the back. I now have a nice corner spot close to an (interior) window with my own little closet and a lot of storage to cram stuff in (or, to be organised and not cram stuff into).

In some ways, I miss being at the front office, but the back brings me closer to my teammates so we can collaborate. I also have a new phone number I have to get through my head... 585.5254.

For the next month, we will have to forge ahead without a Coordinator who heads most of our daily administrative duties, but we've become practiced in filling in some of the gaps in the interim. But hey, everything should work out great, and our Coordinator will be back soon!

Sun, sun, what a jerk

2010-05-30T20:15:00.009-06:00

12 hours before I go back to work from three weeks vacation, and the sun finally opts to peek its head out. How considerate as I sit here working on editing the analysis and lit. review sections of my thesis.

Pleasantly, I am looking forward to going back to work. It provides some stability, sanity, and challenge to my day. Vacay is nice and all, but for me it's been three weeks if kicking it around the house, playing with the dog, and working on thesis writing - not very exciting.

Speaking of, it's time for me to get back to explaining factor analyses, correlation matricies, and Crobach alpha coefficients. Sexy!

No Phone For You!

2010-05-25T14:04:00.001-06:00

So, I called up Access Communications, and I said "hey guys, I'd like to spend some money today by adding Access Home Phone to my current plan." The customer service rep, who was super friendly, was more than happy to do this, but then came the crap news: They use a third-party supplier for the installation, and that third-party supplier works only "business" hours (read as: 9:00a to 5:00p). You can tell she's delivered this bullet so many times, she was anticipating that it was a dealbreaker. Poor her!

What nonthinking manager decided this was a great contract to sign? I imagine the decision came down to lowest bid, coupled with: Who cares if a huge proportion of our clients also have 9:00a to 5:00p jobs? It's not like we want to them to patronize us more.

If a company says they're only going to install during business hours (bad idea), you find another supplier, strongarm them into changing their approach, or learn to do it yourselves. The third party installers want your money, Access Communications. They'll bend. Clients would like to not have to book a day off work simply so they can watch the installer hook up their telephone.

So, tonight, after getting my analyses into my thesis supervisor, I'll be writing a disappointed letter to Access Communications. What fun.

It's Screened. It's Moderated. It's Stephen Harper.

2010-05-19T18:33:00.001-06:00

Jane Taber's recent Globe & Mail article indicates that at a recent townhall event, the event moderator screened public questions asked of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Of course, when you've been negligent at the helm of the country and have a lot of opponents, you'll want to play it safe, have questions filtered, and only deal with what you're there to promote, nothing about what could be scandalous.

You know who else does that? Celebrities when they do the talk show circuit. Their staff gives the talk show a list of suggestions: Talk about the new CD, don't talk about accusations of lip-syncing. Talk about the new endorsement deal with the car company, not about the pending assault charges.

It's just another sign of the reigns of control Harper must have at all times, in far-reaching directions, over what he does. The scary thing is, people are lapping it up like there's no tomorrow. Just like they lap up that celebrity with the new CD, despite the front page articles about her lip-syncing through an entire tour. We've become a culture of fluff. Harper's only real motive was to answer questions about Canada's Economic Action Plan, to plug it, to get public buy-in to it. What was filtered out were questions about international relations and the environment - areas that the Harper government has never shown clear direction on.

I remember a recent townhall event with Michael Ignatieff. This event was a by no means a filtered, fluff event. Anyone could get up and ask their own questions, no filter, to Ignatieff. And he addressed each one of them, and follow-up questions, even responding to criticism. Questions were broad-ranging issues from childcare to the environment, the economy, education, and much more. This shows the difference when you have a politician comfortable with what he represents ideologically, how he understands it fundamentally, and how he can address it publicly.

There are a great many times I fear for this country, its future, and our people. We have a wonderful national identity that seems to be slipping away. Of course, there was that one statement that when a certain someone is done with Canada, nobody will recognise it. Scary.

(Picture unrelated - for cuteness purposes only.)

Multiple Standards Mean Increased Risk

2010-05-18T15:45:00.001-06:00

Recently, the government of Saskatchewan has entered into an agreement with the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia to "improve" labour portability within the three provinces. Connected to that agreement is a proposal to change - and I believe lower - the standards of safety when swimming in pools across our province.

This document from the provincial government proposes that, in addition to accepting the National Lifeguard Service Award, a nationally-recognised standard, for qualification as a lifeguard, the regulations be broadened to also accept a similar award offered by the Red Cross. The Red Cross award is not nationally-recognised, and in fact, has been described by a team of experts as not providing essential skills and lacking in depth by a report to Ontario's Ministry of Health.

By accepting multiple standards, we risk an increased cost of administration by provincial and municipal governments, and pool operators, resulting from needing to track multiple standards and multiple awards from more than one agency. These public costs will result in increased user fees, a need for more tax revenue, or a drop in service offerings.

By choosing to recognise a program that is considered deficient, pool operators will face an increased risk of serious injury, drowning, or death occuring in their facility. A lifeguard whose training is considered lacking in the "required depth of knowledge" for the position (Report, p. 2) may be more likely to make a misjudgement, evaluate incorrectly, or fail to respond to a situation in time.

Labour portability isn't worth the risk of a child drowning or someone becoming seriously injured. If others believe that it may be, I am concerned about their ethics and moral standings.

FNUniv Recruitment Video

2010-05-14T12:00:00.000-06:00

This is a hot recruitment video. Makes me a little bit jealous. Check it out!

This isn't daycare anymore, kiddo!

2010-05-13T09:57:00.002-06:00

Alright, enough is enough. If you’re a public servant, you shut up and do your job. Leave your personal baggage at the door, because you’re on the company’s time, not your own.

This week, a discussion has been opened (again) as to whether or not Marriage Commissioners have the right to refuse serving queer couples on the basis of their own, personal, religious beliefs. My answer: they don’t. Queer people pay the same taxes, are subject to the same laws, and live in the same world as everyone else. All things being equal, queer folks are entitled to equal service from public employees. This is not a private service.

Religious freedom? If you’re a priest, a rabbi, a reverend, etc., yes, your beliefs should allow you to make that decision. You’re not on the public payroll, and you clearly represent a religious vantage. Don’t want to marry us queer folks? That’s totally fine by me, because that’s your right.

I work as a public employee serving a diverse group. Could you imagine if a racist employee at a university was allowed to arbitrarily “not admit certain ethnicities” because s/he didn’t agree with their attaining higher education? Wait, we shouldn’t call them racist. Let’s call it “personal beliefs.” What if I said I was only going to recruit queer students, because I hypothetically didn’t agree with heteronormative culture? Wait, those are both stupid ideas. And so is the idea of allowing any public employee to discriminate against members of the public they serve.

Equal marriage has been a right in Saskatchewan since 2004. I thought we were well-past these petty squabbles. Just let the gays get married. It hasn’t caused the planet to explode so far, and it seems to be the narrow-minded folks, not the gays, who are causing all the controversy!

Any of my superiors who read this!

2010-05-12T14:50:00.000-06:00

Ack! It appears SIAST is kicking our ass in web advertising. The SIAST ads are now appearing in my blog. Big, tall, 60 x 200 pixel ones. This isn't a stab at SIAST (who are out-performing us in brand visibility and supporting my blogging habit appearing in the rotating ads), it's rather a big alert to our teams that even on my uRegina-centric, other-institution-bashing, degree-promoting blog, we're maybe getting our bums handed to us a little bit.

No. Coast Coffee House

2010-05-12T14:44:00.000-06:00

Finally tried out the new coffee shop a few blocks from my house. Nice atmosphere, coffee is pretty good. Odd points: the service was friendly and quick, but a bit disorganized and didn't seem comfortable being there; the clientele was a little different - a couple who came in after me crowded the "pickup/fixings" area, both before ordering and after ordering... So I had to shuffle around them twice.

I'd tried this place once before, but when I pulled up, just before 9:00pm, it was already closed. Seemed a little odd to me.

The seating area is nice enough, though perhaps too many tables for too little space. Some of the seating gets awkwardly close to the service counter, just asking for spills, bumped-into tables, and generally awkward situations. The shop smelled of an aroma which was not coffee (think: Glade Plug-In). When I come into a coffee shop, I want to smell coffee. The owners did an excellent job converting the space to something a bit more upscale "coffee shop." With a bit more experience and some diversifying of the menu (which is rather succinct given current tastes), I hope it becomes a more popular venue.

Swiffer scares me

2010-05-10T00:30:00.001-06:00

So, in an age where we're raping the planet's resources and are worried about our species' future, along comes Swiffer.

Brooms are bad! Mops are bad! Instead, clean with single-use, dispoable, resource-consuming wet and dry Swiffer pads. Sweep and mop a few square metres, dispose, repeat. That crap is going straight into the damn landfill and is sucked forever out of the Earth.

Once again, I'm going to sound all old-folky, but it's really just a sensibility any moron should have. We only have one planet. We shouldn't be sucking it dry. Maybe using all these effing disposable pads, wipes, cloths is a bad idea. We've survived for decades with the current broom-and-mop lineup, houses got clean, things were reasonably sanitary, we seemed happy.

My late-night rants are perhaps my pissiest times. I simply, honestly, can't believe some of the stuidity that is embedded in running our planet. Consume! Consume! Consume until the Earth is barren!

Holy crap, in the process of typing this, a Swiffer ad is on at the moment I type this paragraph. Frick!! Time for Philly to STFU and grumble off to bed.

Too Many!

2010-05-09T22:12:00.001-06:00

You know when you inadvertently buy too much of some grocery item? Just did that tonight with lettuce. It's always worse when it's a perishable item. Two heads of lettuce in the fridge, and I just brought home three more. We'd best be looking forward to a lot of salads this week.

Speaking of salads, is there some world shortage on Litehouse Caesar Dressing? Co-op was out last week, and not a trace at Sobey's tonight. I dislike most other acidic, fake-tasting and eerily shelf-stable bottle salad dressing. Won't name any brands, but let's just say the "leading brand" is one of the worst offenders on my palate. Yuck!

Ahoy Prince Albert!

2010-05-07T22:39:00.001-06:00

I recall a story President Timmons recounted to a group of donors and alumni in Prince Albert, about her car's GPS advising they take an unmarked dirt road part of the way to P.A.

I recall this because my TomTom suggested the same thing to me at about 5:00a today. Just like the President, I too was confident TomTom was a bit I thought WrongWrong. Thankfully, I found my own way to P.A. Quite adeptly.

At today's career fair, I chatted with a great many students, gave out hundreds of Viewbooks and brochures, and even saw a few of our newly-admitted Class of 2014! Welcome, all of you, to the University of Regina family.

From P.A., I hopped the highway to Saskatoon. A great chance to visit my parents for a couple of days, and really focus on some of the things that are important in my personal life... Even if they don't let you pickup the tab for supper.

Alrighty, this seems like a good time to get to bed. Betty White on SNL tomorrow, plus a new episode of Doctor Who. Life is nice.

Kinda leaving for holidays

2010-05-06T16:17:00.001-06:00

It's so strange. I have just "kinda" left for 3 wees of holidays, but not really. Tomorrow I still have a big trip to PA and back for a career fair. To leave for that career fair, I still have to go back to the office to pickup equipment. All so wacky.

Oh we'll, a job with a proper vacation. No complaints there!

That moment just before work...

2010-05-06T08:01:00.001-06:00

Blissful! Listening to the Kylie: Live in New York album, and getting a total throwback to one of the most fun moments of the entire concert. Entire crowd was up dancing, truly a party atmosphere. Nice little bit to remember before sauntering into work!

Cheers to the last day in the office before I head up to P.A., then Saskatoon, then... Well, who knows!

Test and Taste

2010-05-02T18:00:00.001-06:00

I certainly don't qualify as an alcoholic or someone with a problem... I am, however afflicted with a weakness for sampling and tasting new beers. I just can't "do" the cheap, commercial beers - there's just no taste.

This weekend, I picked up a case of Okanagan Spring Craft Beer and a small case of a Regina-brewed Brecknock Brewing Organic Pale Ale. Have given them both a taste over the last couple days. Fairly yummy!

Why wouldn't I choose SIAST?

2010-05-01T14:06:00.004-06:00

Saw this one on Facebook this afternoon...
This ad might be one of the reasons why I would not. What is wrong with that photo!? Whether it was bad direction by the photographer or an error in retouching, they've made this girl look like a little lost.

Oh, wait, SIAST cut their photography program. I guess they don't have anyone to teach them anymore. Should have gone to the U of R for Media Production, haha.

All the world's problems

2010-05-01T13:56:00.015-06:00

If my dog had to solve all the world's problems, I can envision she would have one of two solutions:

1.) Tumble onto my back, wait for my tummy to be rubbed please. All the bad things will go away.

2.) Howl (pathetically) at it. The more intense stare given while doing this, the better.

Recently, we got a free two month preview of all the available extended cable line up (read as: everything except the naughty channels). We're about two weeks into it, and realise there's nothing on them that strikes us as worthwhile. Although I'd enjoy keeping BBC World News and Bold, I simply don't watch enough TV: two or three hours a week, one of which is Doctor Who. There's just no point. Sorry, TV, you're boring.

It's the funny.

2010-04-30T21:18:00.003-06:00

Sounds like a way for a girl to lure her guy to go see a movie with her. "We'll both like it!"

Click for larger. My blog is a skinny bitch.

Kylie - All The Lovers

2010-04-22T08:55:00.005-06:00

Anticipation, thy name is Kylie's 11th Album!

Fresh Rain and BnL

2010-04-13T23:26:00.000-06:00

Do you smell that? I do. It’s that beautiful smell of the first proper rain in the city. I stepped out of the car after attending the Barenaked Ladies concert to arrive home and take in the clean, heart-warming smell of fresh rain.

This is the kind of rain that washes away the remains of winter’s dirt and grey gloom, refreshing the wonderful colours that make up our province. The green prairie grasses, the budding trees, the colours of the flowers that are just starting to peek out. Even the lovely new and historic buildings downtown and every car looks a little nicer after a fresh rain. This is a feeling I want to hang onto until I’m 80 years old – the ability to take pleasure in such simple miracles.

Going back to the Barenaked Ladies concert tonight: what an excellent show. This is my first BnL show, and they definitely delivered. It was a great blend of their old hits and work from their new All in Good Time album. It was certainly a party atmosphere, and they are the kind of band that never stops looking like they’re best friends.

Alright, it’s creeping close to midnight. While I have the week off, DeRay doesn’t, and it means I should be a good boy and get to bed after walking the small doggy. Goodnight, Blogspot folks!

CBC Radio... Again

2010-04-12T20:08:00.003-06:00

How much do I blog about CBC Radio? No, really... Someone go ahead and comment on this if you've noticed.

I love listening to The Age of Persuasion. Since I've transitioned into studying marketing and consumer behaviour, I've fallen this radio show put together by Terry O'Reilly and Pirate Radio. One of those things I can listen to in the background of working on a paper, dawdling around, or doing just about whatever.

This whole concept of having a week off is a little freaky to me. I actually feel a little tied to my work, because I like it! Alright, to any of my bosses who read my blog, I'm not sucking up, either. Ask DeRay, I'm a bit of a dork that way.

Okay, the radio show is getting interesting now. Phil signing off!

Winnipeg Day #2

2010-04-08T11:45:00.000-06:00

We've already seen hundreds of students, and today is an awesome second day! We're ready and set to impess with our cool booth. UR Going Places. Guaranteed.

Hello WINNIPEG!

2010-04-06T14:23:00.001-06:00

Schoff and I are here in Winnipeg for the Rotary Career Symposium Wednesday Apr. 7th and Thursday Apr. 8th. Stop by and visit us at the Winnipeg Convention Centre (www.career-symposium.org). We're at Booth 88, located perfectly in the south centre of Exhibition Hall A.

Sale at Candian Tire

2010-04-03T09:52:00.001-06:00

All items at Canadian Tire are now $9.99.

A response from Mr. Lukiwski

2010-04-02T18:45:00.000-06:00

It's only fair to acknowledge my MP doing is job reasonably well. Recently, you may recall I sent a letter to Mr. Tom Lukiwski about my concerns with respect to First Nations University. He responded in kind with a polite letter discussing my position and that of his party. Although the two don't agree, I must say I appreciate that I did get a proper response back from my Member of Parliament.

Thank you, Mr. Lukiwski. I do appreciate your reply, and for clarifying your party's position on the matter.

Evian Rollerskating Babies Ad

2010-04-02T10:39:00.000-06:00

I hate that Evian TV ad wth the rollerskating babies. Absolutely hate it.

Why? First, those CG babies are dwelling within the uncanny valley. They're almost convincing, but just eerie enough that they don't quite pass.

Second, if we're all drinking Evian in those disposable plastic bottles - so many of them winding up in landfills rather than recycling - there's gonna be very little of a planet left for those babies to "live young" in. We're gonna be killing our planet one bottle of Evian at a time.

Kudos to those universities in Canada who have banned plastic water bottles. I am optimistically hoping uRegina will be following suit sometime soon.

Liz Claman = Madonna?

2010-04-02T10:23:00.000-06:00

Liz Claman from Fox Business was on The Daily Show on Apr. 1. Holy crap, she looked strikingly like Madonna from the "Confessions" album cover. Hair colour/style and dress. Weird. Freaky weird.

Sons of Tuscon

2010-03-28T19:32:00.001-06:00

Man, when "Sons of Tuscon" comes on after "Family Guy" both DeRay and I reach for the remote in a panic so we don't have to see it.

Deliberately Ambiguous

2010-03-27T12:44:00.004-06:00

Oh, if only sixteen people knew how much their embaressing words coming from an exceptionally priviliged position have caused hardship to thousands of others who must live and work in the same environment as them.

FNUniv: Letter to my MP - Tom Lukiwski

2010-03-21T16:04:00.004-06:00

This letter will be on its way to my MP Monday morning:

Mr. Lukiwski,
As an alumnus of the U of R and current postgraduate student at the institution, I am writing to you today to insist your party reverse its decision to cancel funding to the First Nations University.

I will not dispute that there have been concerns over the administration of the FNUniv in the past. Under pressure of governments, academic bodies, and students, the FNUniv’s board was dissolved and sweeping changes put into action. We are seeing positive change for the future success of its students. Unfortunately, a short-sighted choice by your party will cause the face of that institution to be a barren building and quashed dreams for hundreds of students.

There are exceptional students and staff concerned for the future. Some of them are at the height of their careers as researchers, contributing to the sum of our knowledge. Some are future leaders in industries we cannot even begin to imagine, because it is their ingenuity that will create it. The Conservative’s slogan is “Stand Up for Canada.” Mr. Lukiwski, these are Canada’s First People, and right now they have thousands of Canadians from coast to cast standing up for them. It is time to do what’s right for students and academics and restore funding to First Nations University now.

This is a shortened version of my full letter. To see the full text, go to philollenberg.ca.

First Nations University

2010-03-21T15:25:00.002-06:00

A campaign from students of the First Nations University of Canada

2010-03-20T13:07:00.007-06:00

After listening to CBC Radio's The Age of Persuasion, I looked up this video on YouTube:

Honestly, hilarious. I love it, because I really like Method's products, too. It's a fairly blunt commercial that I hope hits a chord with chemical cleaner fetishists.

A cheque from GE

2010-03-19T07:35:00.003-06:00

So, I have an HBC Card, which is managed by GE Money. Yesterday, I received a refund cheque from them for a credit balance I have on my account. Here's what the cheque said:

Dear Sir or Madam:

Your satisfaction is very important to us. Therefore, attached please find the credit balance refund cheque from your account. Thank you for your business.

Sincerely,
Customer Service

The cheque value? 1¢. I paid my bill off and exceeded the payment by 1¢, so they wrote a cheque to pay me back for it. Honestly, I am not making this stuff up, so I'll attach a scanned copy of the cheque for you to see. Click the image to make it bigger.

Liberal Town Hall

2010-03-16T21:43:00.002-06:00

Had the great opportunity to hear Michael Ignatieff speak at the Town Hall meeting this evening at the Royal Canadian Legion. Special thanks to the folks from FNUniv who brought up the cuts in federal funding and Kyle Addison for asking about student debt loads. I think a lot of great questions were asked tonight, and Mr. Ignatieff had all the right answers, showing how we have a brighter future ahead.

Paralympic Gold

2010-03-15T12:27:00.003-06:00

Olympic/Paralympic superhotty/athlete Brian McKeever - who both DeRay and I have a crush on after his profile in Maclean's magazine - won Canada's first Paralympic gold medal... So a huge congratulations to him and all our Paralympic athletes for already being the best in Canada at their sport. I wish you all you men and women the best of success.

Song Stuck In Head

2010-03-11T19:20:00.003-06:00

My brain comes with a built-in jukebox. Throughout the day, seemingly random songs pop into my head without rhyme or reason. Right now, Scooch - Flying the Flag is playing in my head. Heck, I was even singing it aloud when I went downstairs to make coffee. The funniest part - DeRay jumped in on backing vocals. Lucky this wasn't Eurovision, or someone might have a panic attack.

I'm sure all my colleagues are used to me breaking into song here and there. I know Leah's commented on it once or twice at a minimum. It's not a bad thing, I particularly like it.

Just want to mention that for the upcoming Creating Community Consciousness conference at uRegina this weekend, I got unexpected top billing in the news release that went up on the website. Hey, I won't complain, that's damn cool to get the top spot there. Hopefully it doesn't put undue pressure on my session, though. It's my first time. ;)

Okay, time for Phil to shut up and start working on his PowerPoint!