Pointless Posts

(as idea'd way back here.... you have to scroll down a bit)

Pointless Posts are little thought-bits of Tim. Sometimes a random thought, idea, or musing that has popped into Tim's mind. Perhaps philosophical, perhaps non-sensical, but hopefully amusing, and funny. Most importantly, Pointless Posts are pointless, Tim's bits (as opposed to tidbits) that will most likely not add any value to your life.

Current thoughts about TransLink

(From my initial post about TransLink’s Clean Air Day promotion, now comes a follow-up post that touches on it, plus more, with BONUS: it may be difficult to follow with my scatter brain thoughts!)

I became a regular user of TransLink when I started uni at SFU. As an everyday user, I have made observations, kept up on most news, and discussed casually with friends about TransLink services. Lately, the thing that has ticked me off about TransLink are their poor choices.

But before I do list my negative opinions, I must first commend TransLink for its service as a whole. As a public service that runs and serves the greater population of Greater Vancouver (I don't care much for the new "Metro Vancouver" thing) it has done just that. I can't imagine how difficult the logistics is to manage everything, as well as managing employees, then managing customers, and then managing toolshed customers who try to abuse other customers and/or employees, etc. It must be increasingly frustrating, as rider ship increases, as the population increases, yadda yadda… So kudos for that.

Also, more recently, I must commend the fact that on most buses, they've updated the dinging light thingy where it says "Next Stop" or "Stop Requested" when you pull the cord for your stop. It'll now show the name of the street you're on (or the street you've passed, or nearby - its not perfect yet) and it will say the name of the stop/street too over the bus speakers, which is very handy. This is a cool and beneficial feature for bus riders.

However, there are some serious negativities that I must address.

To start off, the SkyTrain stations are missing key important elements. The first things I noticed are maps and relevant signs. There should be SkyTrain maps, something similar to that link, but with every stop clearly labeled, with what area of town its in. Also, the signs at all Millennium Line stations should have "Westbound" and Eastbound" signs just as the Expo Line stations do. It is extremely confusing for new riders to figure out which train goes which way when you don't know which platform you're on in the first place. To be blunt, it is plain stupidity, because it's not consistent with its predecessors (the Expo Line stations).

A more important and controversial (as shown on recent newscasts because of swarmings/beatings) element missing is personnel/security person(s) at EVERY station. You would think that at a terminal where at times hundreds of people flow through simultaneously, there would be at least one employee at hand in case of emergency or even to answer a question, but no. Most of the time, there are none to be found. Sometimes (I repeat, sometimes) there are a few in one place. But where there is variability, some stations being more busier than others, the former is what I have observed and heard to be true. I have tried to think it through, and my conclusions is that the problem comes down to money.

There are 33 SkyTrain stations. Multiply that by 18 hours of work (I’m averaging SkyTrain hours run 18 out of 24 hours) at a pay rate of $15/hour (I chose that number as an estimate). The pay would be hourly assuming no one would want to do this fulltime, and therefore there would be three 6-hour shifts to attend a SkyTrain station each day. Now multiply that by the days of the year and we’re at about $3.2 million. This is a good starting estimate to work with because firstly, I’m just estimating with random numbers, and secondly, I have not taken into account unions, holiday pay, overtime, benefits, etc and thirdly, I’m not a math/finance expert (up yours BUS 312, I passed but barely!). Then if this were to happen, I think it can be assumed that the public would probably push to have attendants at all bus loops as well so they can feel even safer there as well and of course, the dollar amount just skyrockets.

Now, this leads me into a new area, a more “fun” area – poor choices related to money. Money is a big problem because of poor choices such as the TransLink Board pay raise groin-kick, and from my initial post, useless Clean Air Day buttons. I call the pay raise a groin-kick (I could have used more vulgar language) because this new TransLink board recently gave themselves a pay raise behind closed door meetings, after it recently decided they would from then on hold meetings behind closed doors, barring public accountability. (In case you’re wondering, my thought process is this: Hold meetings behind closed doors = lets knock people over. Give yourself a gigantic pay raise behind your closed door meeting = lets kick the knocked down people in the groin). Maybe if we took the boards pay raise money, and used it to pay for new signs and security personnel at SkyTrain stations… No, too unrealistic…

I wonder how often the TransLink board members, Dale Parker, James Bruce, Cindy Chan Piper, R. W. (Bob) Garnett, Sarah Goodman, Nancy Olewiler, Robert Tribe, Leslie (Skip) Triplett, and David Unruh use public transit everyday anyways. It’s stated “Ms. Chan Piper is a long-time transit user,” but she’s 1 out of 9 people, and you have to wonder how often/long does she ride now, and how valid that statement is too.

Wow I’ve rambled/ranted a lot.

Time to get into the real meat: Clean Air Day buttons.
This was a waste of TransLink money because it is a tacky idea. I’m sorry to whoever it was who thought this up, but it’s tacky. The design of the button is tacky. The message, noble, but tacky. As a shallow human being, the last thing I want to do on an early Wednesday morning (when I’m not fully awake), is to get handed a button, wear it, and then have my fellow bus riders laugh at me for wearing a tacky button like a toolshed (thanks for the free coffee though McDonalds). I didn’t see one person put it on, or wear it the remaining Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Except me. I wore it those days… to prove a point. I reluctantly put it on Wednesday afternoon when I was returning home from school, and Thursday, and Friday. I didn’t win anything. Bus drivers ignored me. I took it off Friday afternoon and now it sits on my desk, waiting to be recycled. Interestingly enough, I saw a guy on Tuesday, June 17 (and this ended 10 days ago) wearing the button. I secretly laughed inside at him, like the shallow little human being I am.

TransLink should have just handed out their prizes randomly (randomly to ME [giggle]), without the buttons, and then used the money that was intended to make the buttons, to buy some trees, and then plant them. Or to buy some Super Soakers (Lonnie Johnson, you brilliant man) to spray toolshed smokers at bus stops).

Ugh, I’ve had enough. I started this post more than 2 hours ago…

Seacrest out.
(Lame, I know, but still somewhat funny!)

xkcd is funny - (aka. temporarily no new posts)

xkcd, despite some crudeness (which seems difficult to get away from when in search of quality humour), is trés drôle.

But before we get to the two illustrations that made me laugh heartily, I would like to say that while flipping through channels, I saw a clip of Joel Osteen on 60 Minutes. After watching him, I am certain that I want to punch him in the face. This is a bad, because it would not be biblical for me to do so. I feel this way, because his theology, (if you can even call it that) itself is not biblical, and he made no attempt to hide that during his interview (see the links gUmmI posted here). And he did some fake crying as well, which to me, is just asking for it. It'll probably be up on YouTube in a few days. [gritting teeth] Bam.

EDIT: June 11, 2008 - added link to YouTube and what do you know, I was watching a re-run...

Also saw gas for $146.8¢/litre...

And now the xkcd funny:

"Fans "

"Delicious"

"Clean Air Day - June 4, 2008!" says TransLink!

While transferring buses this morning, I received a coupon for a free cup of coffee at McDonalds (not pictured) and this card (see pictured) with a little button attached to it. My assumption is that the free coffe coupon was used to lure people into accepting the card and button as well. My intial thoughts in receiving said items were not very optimistic at first. In fact they are still not optimistic.

Front of card and button:

Back:

I'lll write more about Translink and these buttons some other time. So many assignments and readings. Week 5. Bleagh....
Also, Clean Air Day? Bleaaaagh...

Israel is "60" years old....

.....so Happy Birthday Israel! Boo-yeah! Genesis 12:3!!!
BAM!

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And in semi-related news, Krav Maga is exponentially awesome, brutal, effective, and efficient!

EDIT: May 18, 2008 ----- AND scary...

Let's play Spot-the-Difference: Iron Man Version

TV Spot (first aired during the Superbowl, I think- Click to enlarge)

Trailer (the nice long one- Click to enlarge

The scenery used in the trailer is also the same version that was used in the movie.
Speaking of the movie, I'm still quite content and happy. For the first time ever in my life, I've seen a movie the day it opened (although technically, there were screenings last night...). Ha, take that you high school fanboys who have to stay in school at 1:00pm! Nyah, nyah, nyah! Ahhhh.... leg, elbow, and head room in a theatre seat. Nice!
And before we forget, hey Mr. Favreau, why the change in background scenery?

And, yes, I am a nerd. That's what this post is about. Iron Man! *drool*
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Saw gas for as high as 131.9¢/litre and low as 126.9¢/litre.

Equality on the mind

Recently, for some reason I've been thinking about equality a lot- about the equality of mankind, people of all races, nationalities, etc. I've just been reasoning out in my head, whether if all people are really equal, or whether they're not, or whether we're equal in some areas, but not other ways, or that maybe some inequalities balance out within individuals so that everyone has the same "handicap."

I've also been thinking about social justice. And when I say "social justice," I mean justice, fairness, equality, general rights and freedoms in all of society (the world) for all people. Sometimes it seems there is none. For example, right now, I can sit at my computer under a warm roof, but meanwhile someone my age is mourning the loss of his entire family because while they were out trying to make the day's wages to pay for his school fees, a plane plowed through the market they were in and killed them. Or perhaps as I go out tomorrow and meet various people, I have good assurance that I will not be mistreated or killed based on my gender, faith, race, or nationality, but meanwhile someone, somewhere has to live in an environment where that is a real threat everyday.

Do I deserve the goodness in my life? Not one bit. Yet God, in His unfathomable mercy, continues to bless me with daily provisions, plus more than I can imagine, and despite me failing Him again and again, He always forgives. Maybe it evens out for me versus someone else, because of Luke 12:48 - much will be expected of me to give and "invest" back into God and His work, because of what God has and is giving me.

EDIT - March 15, 2010 - I just found a link to the entire film on the National Film Board of Canada's website: http://nfb.ca/film/they_chose_china/

I just watched a documentary I recorded that aired on CBC Newsworld on April 7th entitled "They Chose China." It was a fascinating work that gave a glimpse of some American POWs who were captured after the Korean War and instead of returning to the US to face extradition, they chose to stay and lead their free ("free?") lives in China. One man in particular, Clarence C. Adams of Memphis, Tennessee, captivated me.

As a young black man, he enlisted in the army to avoid getting lynched, because if he was in the army, he could be shipped away to fight a war in Korea, away from the white supremacists in his hometown. During training, American soldiers were told that they would be killed if they were captured by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. Instead, long-story short, he was captured and then given opportunity to pursue a higher education in China (if he was still in the US south, he probably would have had great hurdles because he came from a working class family) and basically he had opportunity to pursue a better life, without all the racial oppression he would face in the US. Unfortunately, times changed (I gather that this was because of the Cultural Revolution) and Clarence decided to take his family back to the US with him (he had married a Chinese girl). He had problems getting work when he returned, the media painted him as a red communist "turncoat," and was even subpoenaed to be tried for treason. In the words of his daughter Della Adams, "He wanted knowledge, he wanted education, he wanted opportunity. And that's what he told those people...who subpoenaed him. 'Why? Because I'm a black man, I don't have a right to make a life for myself [if I live in the US]' ...[but] he had every right."

I am absolutely fascinated by how people treat other people. And I am also disgusted and sickened by what a person can do to another person. As a result, I must admit, that I am absolutely ashamed about how I have treated other people in the past. Yet, despite my own actions, I am still left confused when I observe what others have done, and I wonder what the logic behind their actions is. Perhaps it is twisted and defiled logic that lies behind the reason of unjust actions.Clarence Adams and 20 other of his fellow soldiers decided to stay in China, because they thought it was better than returning home and facing a government and country that was fighting an unjust war overseas, while social injustice (racism, xenophobia, etc) was rampant on their home soil. They looked at the communist values and ideas that were behind the social structure of the government in China- everyone helping each other, for the overall betterment of all lives. And they thought, if this is true, than they should choose to stay, because in the end, who wants to fight? Who in their right mind desires conflict and struggle, when if everyone just stopped and helped everyone else, than everything would work out perfectly?

According to life, they had every right to do that. To seek out something better, or as the American constitution says, the "pursuit of happiness." And if a favourable choice is given, why not take it? Just as Clarence Adams had done, I agree that yes, he had every right to seek out something better than what he already knew.

The sad thing about all of this is that, for one, we know that communism will never work because people are born selfish. It must have been really nice at first, but all good things come to an end (Heaven is only after we die). Also, there is a great flaw in looking for answers and solutions to problems by means of people (eg. communism-everyone looking out for each other) because people are always failing each other despite good intentions. And no matter how much something may be a good idea and desired for, the practicality to carry it out is unfeasible with human people who have very physical, emotional, and spiritual limits.

I'm probably missing something, but in my amateur philosophizing I have pretty much concluded that in all people in all nations, there is no physical equality. But the equality that God has given to each individual person is spiritual and mental; they are allowed to choose to live their free life and have a power of choice to seek out the best in life. They can choose to seek out if there is something greater that what they can see with their eyes. And hopefully, they will ultimately find and continually seek that the greatest in life is knowing and being with Jesus, and He is the one who has made and given everyone an equal chance of doing that.

I’ll end here for now. I went off on slight tangents in my above writing because they are so many perspectives and so many dots that I tried to connect... anyways, I will still continue to ponder about all this equality stuff.
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In other news, I thought I was 60% Calvinist, 40% Arminian, especially after listening to Driscoll on Predestination... well, I just discovered I'm a pretty solid Arminian!

A fascinating post!

I started to write a really long, fascinating, and deep (in my opinion) post about equality yesterday night, but it was so deep, fascinating, and long, that I told myself I would finish and post it today. Well, I lied to myself... actually it's more of an unbroken promise that I didn't even make, but anyways, I hope I will put it up tomorrow.

In other new, I really, really, really want a punching bag. I think eating big dinners to make up for small meals during the normal day is not good, especially if I just lounge around in front of the TV or in front of the computer right after I eat the big dinner. To be fair, I am tired from work, but I really shouldn't let all that food just sit and digest by couch potatoing and I should exercise a bit to get the blood flowing... exercise by beating something! It probably doesn't help that I've recently discovered Fight Quest, which probably has fueled my desires to beat on something... I mean exercise. Aaaaah, Doug and Jimmy....8^D.

Who has it worst?

I just saw a news clip about some people protesting Scientology (yeah, I capitalized that... not too sure why I did though- on another note, the news clip made me giggle, because... hehehe, Scientology!) and with the whole polygamist colony raid in Texas recently fresh in mind, it has caused me to think, who do people/the world think are crazier? True, godly, Bible-believing Christians or people involved in cults?

I'm just rambling off the top of my head, but I think cults gets more attention in the media, just because they're so fascinating (for lack of a better word) whereas the name "Christian" tends to get used as a general term to describe a bunch of different people, often with true, godly, Bible-believing Christians getting mixed together with other groups such as Catholics and even those nut-job fundamentalist "Christians." And when that happens, that just causes confusion and incorrect assumptions to be made, which sometimes causes incorrect assumptions to be made about Jesus.

In the end, it doesn't really matter (why, hello there Linkin Park) too much what the world thinks of Christians, because of what this verse says. I was just wondering out loud that's all.
And I also thought it'd be good to get in a post on the Terriblelands. It's getting kind of quiet around here.... and that's all my lazy buttocks' fault.

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Saw gas for 125.9¢/litre.

I cut my lip

I just cut my lip. I was licking an envelope to seal it and my hand slipped and the edge of the envelope cut my upper lip. As a result, I have a strong urge to kill someone. Technically, it's all my fault, but I feel like someone should feel my wrath. Like the makers of the envelope.

Ouch, it's starting to really sting.

I bought a car!

As my co-op finishes and my commute to school will be significantly longer, I've decided to buy a car! It's a used car, but it only has ~300,000km on it! I saw an ad for a 1985 white Toyota Camry (I know, one year off, so close though!) on Craigslist and after some long checkups at a mechanic and negotiations with the seller, I got it on Monday! I was going to post this yesterday, but I didn’t get the chance (was busy cleaning/vacuuming the insides). It has a tape deck too! BAM!

Edit: Ok, so I’m a day late, but its sort of believable.

Post-Edit: The only real thing I bought recently was a Twix. First time in years….mmmm.... Twix. Man, what weird name!

...one year later - Register for school.

Last Wednesday, I had the most stress-free registration appointment for registering for classes for the Summer 2008 SFU semester. Man alive, it was also the FASTEST.

My appointment time was for 12:30pm, but when I started, the clock on my computer showed 12:28pm, so I started earlier! I had planned the night before of what classes I wanted and made a pseudo-schedule of those classes. It took me around 15 minutes total to finish getting all four classes I was aiming for. I actually spent more time copying/pasting/colouring my timetable grid in an MSWord document, of what my final weekly class schedule would look like (it helps me see my week better).

Now, I must compare this to my very first registration appointment, as a freshly graduated highschooler. I remember distinctly that that was such a miserable day (July something) because I didn't fully understand how classes/tutorials worked and the registration system was a bit more confusing than it is now. I spent hours, no joke, HOURS trying to figure it all out, planning for a reasonable schedule and trying to comprehend it all. I skipped lunch that day. Ugh that was horrible.

I guess in comparison, it was so easy for me last Wednesday because the registration system is updated and slightly more user-friendly, its the summer semester so there's fewer people, I have more credits which means I get priority choice over those who's registration time is yet to come, and dare I say it... I was smart and relaxed about the whole process.

The only bummers I have is that they weren't offering a bunch of courses I was hoping to take, and for the first time ever in my university life, I will have classes 5 days a week, from Monday to Friday ---AAAAGGGH SOHCAHTOA THE HORROR!!! Oh well, tradeoffs. Simplicity for suffering? Shrug. And sigh (and sob, sob sob....sniffle).

But I am sort of looking forward of going back to school. And sort of dreading it too.
This was a selfish post. If you've made it this far, good for you! Enjoy this emoticon: 8^D

Windows 2000 Server Fun... or is it?

This is a thick book. Its "The Complete Guide to Enterprise Networking with Windows 2000 Server." Hey, if it's by the publisher Sybex, who have "25 Years of Publishing Excellence" and has over 1800 pages, you can't go wrong can you?

Here's a size comparison of the thickness of the book with my hand, and a floppy disk. The disk was nearby so I grabbed it out of convenience.

You can't see it on the back cover because the picture is too small, but it says, "Featured on the CD: On the enclosed CD, you'll find a fully searchable electronic copy of the book- complete, convenient, and easy-to-use."

Hey look, there's the CD! Ohhh, never been opened too... pretty. I guess that should leave me free to...........

....make a book safe out of it! Wa-ha! Check out those 5.25" floppy disks! This is just the back compartment.  Here's the front compartment (much deeper). Hey look, a Colt 25! Relax, it shoots BBs... and annoying people.

 Hurrah for books!

In case you're wondering, I cut out 20-30 pages out at a time (not like this guy, his way is better...more efficient.... sigh), recycled the cut out paper, and instead of making one big compartment, I made one semi-big compartment and one small one. Then I glue-gunned some scrap cloth from the prom dress I was making onto the sides to act as a lining and to keep the pages together. Ta-da.

And before anyone says it, no, I do not have too much time on my hands, I did this over a period of a few weeks. While watching TV. Hmmm, that kinda contradicts what I just said because TV isn't a necessity. Meh.
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Errrgh, hardly online anymore. Still post-poning reading emails as well as reading people's blogs' feeds. I'll get to it. Forgive me, I really do want to, but I see some posts in my RSS viewer are sooooo long and I put off reading them!
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Saw gas for 115.9¢/litre.