… OC Transpo #40!

Yeah, I’m just a kid at heart!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… in like a lion edition…

I have, so far, stayed away from saying a lot about the ongoing car accident going by the name of Robo-gate, phonescam, etc. Final determinations of blame and guilt have yet to happen. Here is what we do know.

• Something did happen in Guelph. The RCMP and Elections Canada are formally investigating and they would not be doing so without cause.

• It is known that at least one CPC operative was behind the misdirecting calls.

• What is not known is from what level of the organisation did the command to carry out the fraudulent calls.

• Misdirecting and annoying or rude calls also occurred in dozens of other ridings. The overwhelming majority of these ridings were CPC / Grit contests.

• The contention by the CPC that the Liberals made these calls themselves is beyond ludicrous.

My conclusion this far is that something fishy and likely illegal went down last spring. And in at least one case the CPC is culpable at some level of the organisation. As for the other cases, this will unfold as it will… too soon to make a judgment.

Yet….

Elections Canada has been deluged by 31,000 complaints in relation to last year’s ballot, focused mainly on robo-calls and other harassing phone calls.

The non-partisan agency received 500 complaints in relation to the previous election in 2008, and 329 in relation to the 2006 ballot.

The explosion in complaints is related in large part to widespread media coverage of alleged fraudulent robo-calls in the Ontario riding of Guelph, as well as other alleged irregularities in dozens of other ridings.

Wow. 31,000.

What the CPC should be very concerned about is that IF there was knowledge of or overt support for these acts and IF foot soldiers are tagged by the Mounties or Elections Canada, then they may make a deal to avoid lengthy jail time. And names will be named.

In the meantime, this makes for fun times for those of us who would like to see King Harper dethroned.

And don’t preach to me all holier-than-thou-like that I and other progressives shouldn’t make political hay out of this! Think back to feeding frenzy at the beginning of the sponsorship scandal, my conservative friends…

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OC Transpo? Tell me something. What are there far fewer buses stopping at Hurdman on Friday mornings? And why do some buses, like the 94 (bus number 6492) I just saw, pull up to either far end of the platform, unload, and get away ASAP even though you see customers running up to your doors? Hmm?

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Lego profits are going through a block-constructed roof? Really? This is so old school, one might find it hard to believe this market is growing. But a cursory scan of the net shows a HUGE following out there. Go figger.

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Hey! Davey Jones! My Monkees lunchbox was always my fave! Just so ya know.

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So Sears is closing their store in the Rideau Centre! Wow! This will apparently open the way for something called Nordstrom  – whatever that is…

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Sigh…

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Finally – Happy Birthday Dr. Suess!

My Mom subscribed to a kid’s book club pretty much since I was born and well into the ’70′s where a new hardcover Dr. Suess or Berenstain Bears books was delivered once every month or so. I can clearly remember my brother and I excitingly crossing the highway to our mailbox to see if the new, cardboard encased, book had arrived!

My fave? Green Eggs and Ham. Hands down,

And these books are still around after having survived me and my three siblings plus my kids and those of my brothers…

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

…hasn’t happened before.

Sightline-wise, it’s a helluva bad spot for buses coming on to the westbound Transitway. They do have to nose out to see if the way is clear in both directions if intending to get to the eastbound lanes of the Transitway.  Add this to the high rate of speed of some busses going westbound through the station and you have a recipe for disaster.

This could have been much, much worse…

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

…but seeing that there is so much empty ad space on OC Transpo busses, why doesn’t the City offer the space to charities, community associations and not for profits to advertise their services or fundraisers?

These are group that normally would not be able to afford this primo ad space and could certainly benefit from such exposure. The group would be responsible for the design and of the ads. Plus, they could be removed with advance notice if paying customers needed the space. The ads could even be targeted to specific routes!

I’m sure there are a gazillion reasons why this couldn’t work, but, as the post title says…

Just a thought…

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

So Harper is acting all smug and tough in Davos, isn’t he?

Although short on details, Mr. Harper’s speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday made clear the sweep of his ambition. He will change how Canadians finance their retirement. He will overhaul the immigration system. He will make oil and gas exports to Asia a “national priority” and aggressively pursue free trade in India and Europe.

Sigh. I agree with most of that but too bad no one in Davos is calling him on the G8 slush fund, the In and Out scandal, abandoning the environment to oil companies, corporate welfare enhancements, etc., etc.

Message to the Cons – the pendulum will swing back one day – and it will smack you right in the forehead!

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It’s All Star weekend in Ottawa! So why aren’t I smitten? I dunno, but I guess I’m getting more cynical as I get older and see these things more as money-making circuses and less like celebrations of the game.

Am I becoming a curmudgeon?

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Good to see that the OC Trashpo head, Alain Mercier has backed down from his “you’ll get GPS data when I say you can” stance -,albeit under enormous political pressure from both some Transit Commissioners (thank you Councillor Tierney!) and the public at large.

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Hens in the backyard? Why not, as long as there are strict controls in place and enforced. I grew up on a hobby farm where we had fresh eggs every day. Nothing like them.

There is a movement building in O Town to convince Council into changing the City Bylaw that prohibits the keeping of backyard hens. Keeping hens in an urban setting is not exactly an unusual practice and provides food for a household and education for the little ones. If done properly, there is little noise and no smell.

Check out this link to see how a successful urban hen policy can work.

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So, O Canada ranked 4th out of 6 national anthems examined in a British study…. in terms of sing-along-ablily, that is…

I’m not surprised at all… The ol’ Soviet National Anthem rocked… didn’t understand a freakin’ word, of course.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

…and its indefensible position on the use of bus GPS data is getting more print space.

Good article.

If there’s any light at the end of this tunnel, it’s that others at City Hall are starting to speak out. A number of transit commissioners made it very clear they were not on board with OC Transpo’s protectionist views of the transit data. Kudos to councillors Marianne Wilkinson and Tim Tierney, among those who took transit management to task. Indeed, it took this issue to spur civilian-commissioner Emily Rahn to make her very first public statement.

As residents of Ottawa, we shouldn’t have to beg for access to officials, nor for the data that’s collected on our behalf with our money. On the other hand, as taxpayers we also have to be willing to pay for that access, whether it’s footing the bill for proper public consultations or forgoing a little cash in the name of open data.

C’mon Mercier! Get with the program!

And double kudos to Councillors Tierney and Wilkinson!

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

OC  Transpo wants to keep the GPS data all to themselves – it’s all about the money!

The head of OC Transpo told Ottawa’s transit commission the transit provider didn’t want to make information about bus locations and other data open to the public until it could determine how much money could be made using the data.

OC Transpo general manager Alain Mercier had told the transit commission the data would be made available in keeping with the city’s push to become a municipality that shares its data openly.

Um. Not meaning to be picky or anything, but… don’t we – the taxpayers and riders – pay for the operation of OC Transpo – GPS data and all?

Whatta crock. Improved location data accessed and used by an app developed by a third-party is the best and fastest way to go on this. Service improvement would be the result.

But no one can really claim Ottawa’s transit system to be the best or the fastest, have they?

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So Rick Perry is out of the GOP race in the States and he has thrown his support behind the Newt-meister…

Personally, I have been cheering hard and madly for Perry, and Bachmann, Santorum, et al. All complete kooks that Obama could easily swipe aside in the upcoming election. I mean, these boneheads make even Jason Kenney look normal!

Check this out. There was a CNN hosted debate last night where the moderator asked Newt about some extramarital boo-yaws that might have been going down. Immediately,they go after the moderator.

In his opening question, King asked Gingrich whether he wanted to respond to allegations by an ex-wife that he had asked her for an “open marriage” that would allow him to continue an affair he was having with a staffer.

“I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for office, and I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that,” the former House speaker replied icily amid cheers from the audience at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Gingrich, describing the story as false, said he was “tired of the elite media protecting Barack Obama” by attacking potential Republican opponents. That won a standing ovation — though it was hard to judge whether he had succeeded in defusing the issue among the Palmetto State’s conservative voters.

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, said he was grateful for God’s forgiveness but indicated the topic was legitimate. “What we did in our lives are issues of character for people to consider,” he said.

Yup. The wahoos are handing Obama this election on a platter! Or, as Kinsella put it this morn’:

The Winner?

You could not do better than this if you planned it: no clear winner in the Republican field, with assorted extremists doing well, and the one moderate doing badly.

And this all happens without you lifting a finger. Not bad.

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Wow! There are/were Russian spies in Canada??? Ain’t that outlandish!

Not.

C’mon. Let’s be realistic. The Superpowers like Russia, the U.S. and China have never, ever left espionage behind in spite of the collapse of the Soviet Union and all of the other geopolitical changes that have taken place in the past couple of decades. So this should not shock too many people. I’m actually surprised that this doesn’t happen more often!

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Sarah Burke’s untimely demise is a sad story. But she lived on the edge and the edge bit back.

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There’s a great idea! Make Canada’s already sparse rail service even sparser (sp?). Who needs a passenger train service anyways? What with air travel so convenient and cheap and gasoline prices at such affordable levels – who needs trains???

I’m betting they will go ahead with these cuts – or privatization. It would not be out of line with the normal, short-sighted CPC thinking…

“”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"”"

Sooo… why is the OCDSB blocking this? And classifying atheism as a cult? Just a oversight, I’m sure… but one that should be fixed.

Tx to @onegoodpicture for this

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Lastly, one of my baseball heroes isn’t doing so well. Cancer is getting the best of former Expos catcher, Gary Carter. I was an Expos fan before the Blue Jays came along and remained one. But there were two Expos that I admired the most, Steve Rogers and Gary Carter.

Sending some positive mojo your way, Mr. Carter.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

What a great idea!

As reported by the O dot, Ottawa’s bus service will soon included an executive fleet!

I’ll like not having to step over the vomit while exiting the 95 at Hurdman!

OC Transpo President Gilles DuMont hails the new transit option as a breakthrough in city transit service, and hopes people will enjoy the increased commitment to comfort and superior customer satisfaction within the new buses. “The new OC1 option will give riders a chance to actually get to their destination on time and without the inconveniences of regular route service, such as staring through a window covered in head grease or side stepping over a pool of vomit.” DuMont explained. The OC1 bus service will utilize a fleet of 10 new ultra-luxurious coach class buses imported from Switzerland and feature bone china and silverware meal service, beverage options and hot towel service from a tuxedo clad OC Transpo service attendant.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

… is why OC Transpo just doesn’t “get” why it has an image problem.

Put aside singing drivers, yelling drivers, drivers on phones, etc. for a sec and just consider scheduling. This should be fairly simple. After thousands of runs, you’d think that the gurus who work for Mr. Mercier should have a handle on the number of buses needed on a certain route at a certain time of the day. Furthermore, one would assume that when these same gurus alter a route that has the effect of removing about 50 percent of the buses along a given stretch, that they would increase the frequency of the remaining route to make up for the loss.

But no, I am writing this post on a jam-packed 148. Been jam-packed since the middle of Kilborn, in fact. Standing room only and yes, some have been left at the curb.

This should have been foreseen.

We can only hope that when the gurus go back to their data in planning the winter route changes that it will dawn on them that adding a run or two might go a bit of a way in keeping we paying riders a bit happier.

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario

…sucketh so mightily?

I have been keeping a log of OC Transpo misfires over the past little while. And I guess it’s time to publish them.

For the record, I didn’t log those trips that were only a minute or two late… no need to be THAT fussy, but still, the 148 is the local run through Alta Vista. Aside from the odd wheelchair and stroller, there really shouldn’t be much of a delay to Hurdman to make the 15:23 run back to Elmvale.

So, for what it’s worth:

Sept 22 Hurdman 148, 15:38 bus…driver laid up until 15:45 for no reason apparent reason. He seemed to be reading the Ottawa Sun.

Sept 27. 15:22 148 showed up at Hurdman at 15:32

Sept 29 Hurdman 148, 15:38 bus arrived at 15:48

Oct 13 14:23 148 7 minutes late.149
at 15:21 was a no show

Oct 13 8:15 149 at Haig and Pleasant Park was a no show.

Nov 4 – Hurdman 15:23 148 arrived at 15:29

Nov 7 – Hurdman 15:23 148 arrived at 15:30

Nov 8 – Hurdman 16:38 148 arrived at 16:43

Nov 15- Hurdman 15:23 148 arrived at 15:33

Not pretty, is it?

Trashy,
Ottawa, Ontario