Putting the Blog Up on the Pedestal-Social Networking and My New Employer

July 25th, 2010 Thomasso

Graduation is less than twenty weeks away, and the countdown between no more classes and the search and choice of who my future employer are starting to gain momentum. Time is flying by now. At last check, I have three weeks left this term and 14 for the next, plus the couple of weeks in between semesters called the breaks and finals. I am writing this post to tell you all that I have embarked on a huge social Networking plan, at the request of a few agencies who are very interested in having me on board their teams. That last phrase was code for employers are asking me to come in for job interviews and a job market looks very promising with them–but they want more.

This networking blitz gives me a chance to show off my technical skills and all the lovely education that I have amassed over the last six years. Added to this that I have a fully functional web site and active social networking do-dads all over it now, I think I am on the right path.

With over 1250 posts to view, anyone who reads this will see that I am very active in the community and with networking.

This is a graphical representation of what I think the shiny new blog looks like now, the golden “T” is the new look behind the scenes.

Posted in General, Photographs, University classes | No Comments »

Is It Time to Revamp the Vancouver Police Department?

July 25th, 2010 Thomasso

Lets start off with a woman named Sandy. When we talked about this after class on back Thursday, which was fittingly a class about human rights, I was applauded, shocked and embarrassed from both watching and hearing the news about the women in the Vancouver Downtown East Side who was pushed to the ground by a Vancouver Police Officer because she walked into him. The embarrassment escalated when it was discovered that the women has cerebral palsy, and because of this she has difficulty walking at the best of times.

The British Columbia Civil Liberties (BCCL) are an organization of lawyers who volunteer their time that fight for the rights of those who otherwise could not, or challenges our legal and moral values that have being corrupted and that treat people unfairly. They released the video from a street cam that takes video for the purposes of surveillance along Hastings Street where there is no doubt a high concentration of the poor and homeless, and where drug addicts and malcontents gather. Ironically, that same video is what brought justice, the public’s view as in this case, to the forefront.

The public outcry has been deafening in my circles of friends. I have not heard so much outrage about the police since the Robert Dziekanski Tasering murder at the Vancouver Airport back in October 14, 2007 by four RCMP Officers.

The impact that video has is immediate and stands on it own in the public’s mind. Unlike paper that can be censored by government, special organizations and the courts, or testimony that is based on memory that is tainted with objective spin and well rehearsed lines, video is the ultimate eye witness, even when there is no audio to accompany it. It is very difficult for the pubic to see the extenuating circumstances, and to allow legal ambiguous speak to interfere with the actors’ case who is trying to change public’s opinion as the legal system is constantly under attack by the public from all angles.

Does the moral compass of the VPD and other police forces need to be fixed? This was one of the questions that we debated back on Thursday. With the riggers of police training, one would assume that police would be more attuned to the area that they are serving. As one colleague put it, “all it takes is one bad apple…”

Here is the email I sent after class:

Things That Make Canada Questionable in its Stance on Human Rights and the treatment of the Weak and Disabled.

Last night in one of my classes we debated the aspects of what transpired from an incident that occurred along Hasting street in Vancouver, BC on about July 1st 2010. We focused on the communication by the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), not what the media is saying. At present, the VPD is saying very little as it seems that the department is still reviewing the case; however, they are satisfied that the officer did apologies, but the three officers have not comment on their conduct before, during and after the incident occurred.

Have an opened mind when viewing this video. Reflect upon it, and then ask yourself these questions, what would you do if you were the police officer, and the person with the disability? How would you react? If you were a bystander, what would you do? There were Good Samaritan’s along the sidewalk, but would you look the other way, or would intervene regardless that it was police offers who started the action?

Courtesy of CBC NEWS

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/07/22/bc-civil-liberties-police-push-ms-woman-video.html

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/07/22/bc-woman-shoved-sandy-police-downtown-eastside.html

Just blowing off of some steam when I see imbalances in power and misuses of authority.

Please go to these links:

CBC New Website -

“Police Shoving Woman On Video Raises Questions.”

“Woman Shoved By Police Says, ‘He Has No Right.‘”

You can watch the video for yourself, and you be the judge, “was it provoked, or a bad move on the officer’s part?”

Sincerly

Posted in Criminology, Diatribe, General, Law, Law and Order, Social Justice, University classes, Video | No Comments »

Papers, Presentations and Paperclips – Intellectual Lingo

July 22nd, 2010 Thomasso

As the weirdness scale climbs for this semester, so to does my enthusiasm as the calendar starts to count down to the last days of my undergraduate status. I am writing this in the C2801 room with just one other person who is doing some casual studying, but she is not in my next class. On the whiteboard, printed in blue lettering is, “Eschew Obfuscation,” which is Latin for “avoid confusion,” do not use big words when a little ones will do, a very fitting statement for most students who are asked to write papers that are in a mandatory length format.

Last week it was my group’s turn to present, and we did, but it was a disaster. I met with the next presenting group on my way up to the class room, and it appears that the same thing happened to them as it did with us. They looked totally lost, tired, as we did. I felt sorry for them, but at same time I felt like they are going through a rite of passage as we did when it was our turn. I laughed, but only as a sign of respect because I know the pain that they are going through, and about to endure.

Nothing is as it seems when doing these presentations. You can plan every minute detail, but nothing can prepare you for the unknown. We like to think that we can predict every possible problem and build contingency plans for each predicted disaster scenario. But the truth is, you cannot.  From the heckling voyeur to the meddling professor, there are forces that you cannot control.

I was given our copy of the group’s manifesto, with notes and remarks that were made by each of us from just after the presentation last week. The cover page only had a few hand written notes on it, nothing too terribly important, but what got me was the paperclip that held all the documents together. It was a bright yellow thick plastic clip with two orange stripes down each side of the length of wire. At one end of the clip was a rhinestone flower with a happy face in its centre. A fitting gesture for such a dramatic event for the five of us. How such a symbol for joy and happiness could be placed along side a document of terror and disbelief. But of course, I have a tendency of putting way too much emotion into insignificant events such as a botched presentation. I will never forget the paperclip.

Now that I am seeing this in hindsight, the vision is in 20/20. There was nothing that we could have done. The deck was stacked, and this was the test, it was not the content but a lesson on listening and following orders and instructions. We would have paid dearly for our efforts it they were based on anarchy and radical concepts. Perhaps what the good professor really taught us was that if you want the good grade, then you follow like the sheep; do as the Roman’s do when in Rome, but if you decide to travel the path least taken, then you will pay a hefty price.

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Now I Can Say, “I Told You So, So Take Your Credit and…”

July 17th, 2010 Thomasso

As you have read if you are frequent visitor to my blog, then you know my stance on the Banking industry, and how much I think they are bunch of parasites, and that they have lost their one primary function which is help you store your money – and even that is something to question. Well, from an unlikely source, I was given an email last night that came from my University. What was interesting was the direct comment they used on spelling out the high cost of a service called a merchant’s account. The email said that after August of 2010 they will no longer take payments for tuition by domestic credit cards, and that you now must pay in other ways. I personally like cash, but that is me.

A merchant’s account is the credit card user account that a business must have to use and process credit cards from customers who enjoy spending on credit. The customer then pays later on to the credit card company to settle their debt. This is based on the rule of convenience whereby the customer does not have to carry around large sums of money, and has some form of security when being robbed. However, the card holder is “dinged” twice by the credit company for the use of this plastic instrument of debt. First, by an interest rate applied to the balance if you carry the debt over a certain period of time, and second, and service charge for the point-to-point transaction. Some accounts work differently, but this is the basic charge that the customer gets. The Merchant gets a charge also for using the card. It is like a back-end fee for taking the card as payment—and the Merchant is not allowed to pass that fee back to the customer! Funny, eh, how both the user and end user are charged a fee?

Sadly, the credit card, or merchant’s account user has depended on the “card” as a lifeline when faced with limited income, and who wishes to make a purchase that is well beyond the means of their income. This is where the term credit debt, or personal debts comes in. So credit cards are believed to have caused of the super fast and high economy leading up to 2008, and the consumer side of the of the 2009 downfall with massive credit debt.

Here is a copy of the email I received last night:

Kwantlen Polytechnic University will no longer accept credit cards for domestic registration fees and tuition payments starting for the Fall 2010 semester.

If you planned to pay your domestic student registration fees and tuition by credit card, you’ll need to do so before August 3rd or choose one of the many other available payment options we offer.  We will continue to accept credit card payments for many other fees and purchases.

Each year Kwantlen pays a significant amount in transaction fees to credit card companies. The change is aimed at reducing operational costs at Kwantlen without cutting services or programs for students. In fact, $250,000 expected from the savings will be put towards additional scholarships and bursaries for students this year.

For more details, other payment options, and Q&As, visit: Kwantlen.ca/creditcard

Some final words.

I have no idea how much this will effect some students. I know for myself this will have little effect as I have never paid using credit. But this story speaks volumes as I see it as the writing on the wall and the state of our economy. Not only has this card made monsters of debt out of all of Canadians, but it is also part of the cost of business that is sucking all of us in like a black hole.

I applaud the University for taking this initiative and mandating this tough decision. I know many businesses who are very reluctant to give up their merchant’s account because that is all the disposable income that their patrons have to buy with. They would go under if it were not for the credit card industry. But some day everyone will have to pay that

Posted in Diatribe, General, Photographs, Social economics, University classes | 1 Comment »

My Home Made Mess

July 16th, 2010 Thomasso

OK, I feel better today. After last night, I am still a little shaky, but tired. I will survive.

My place is a mess. I mean, I have neglected it for so long that if I needed to find something, it would take a whole day just to find it, and I may not guarantee that I could. I have books, papers and stationary laying around everywhere. This is all from jumping from one major project to another and only focusing on work with little time for general duties of home care. Between classes, taking on legal work and doing research, my neglect has created a total chaotic mess in my kitchen living room and bedroom. You cannot see my table, couch and living room floor from all the books scattered around and laying on them.

If I were married, I would probably be in Divorce Court right now due to this mess and neglect, thus the reason why I do not have a partner, I am saving myself until my grueling quest of graduating is completed. (That just does not sound right for a male)? And not to many people could live with my routine and demanding schedule. Heck, even my beloved government, big brother, is feeling the neglect from my absents from the real world—but that is another story for another time.

I have a research paper due in two weeks, which is plenty of time to clean up my mega-mess. Also, there is another group project from my communications class, which is far less demanding compared to yesterday’s group effort. So, A whole day should do it if nothing else pops up that will take me away from it. I need to see my couch again.

And you are probably thinking, “you lazy guy—just get off your butt and do some cleaning…”   Well, if you seen how many books I own, you will probably declare my living room as a disaster area. In my jurisdiction there is probably a By-Law which lists how many book one can own? (That was a joke, OK, please do not take the By-Law remark seriously).

The purpose of this post is simple: part venting, and part complaining. Maybe they, venting and complaining, are the same thing? I am still tired from last night and getting the day going is a challenge. I am typing because that is the only part of my body that still works – the fingers and brain.  I need a life.

Posted in Diatribe, General, Humour, University classes | No Comments »

The Savage Life Style of a Student in University

July 15th, 2010 Thomasso

Dear blog, sometimes I use this little corner of cyberspace to vent and air my thoughts, and other times, just to show off my inner side of life which includes some art, images and diatribes. I think the theme of today’s entry will be on communication.

First let me paint the background for you. Over the last five weeks I have been part of a group that presented in my human rights class, lovingly called CRIM4301. Today we had to teach the class on a assigned topic, in this case, on the International Criminal Court. There are five of us, so lots of room for each of us to present for the whole three hour block. Five weeks ago we planned our subject matter, set goals and worked on our own to make our parts well rehearsed and polished. In fact we met more times than what was required because we all wanted the obtain the goal of “A,” or higher.

Forty-eight hours ago two of the group members approached the prof and asked him some question on why we got such a weak mark on our group proposal. It was a low “B,” and that hurt. He replied that we need to change our thesis, and eliminate half of our topics, and keep everything to a bear minimum.

Last night I got the email with the header, “Urgent, urgent, urgent,” across it and a cryptic note that read, “wrong everything, here is our new thesis, start over again….”

Everything we had worked on was thrown out the window. We had to start from scratch, and salvage what we could from our original plan.

With little sleep, we made it through, but with a pissed off attitude as we marched on blindly with our talk.

I was so glad that it that is was over and done. Although, personally, I feel that this was way too much, and that our effort was substandard, there is a part of me that is angered at the whole situation. We felt that communication was not given on what the prof asked for, but on the other hand, we should have kept asking and asking for his opinion and checked in to see if we were on the right track.

It is over now and I can sit back and lick my wounds. I look out at the wonderful clear blue sky and wonder why I am inside with the window opened and my computer and monitor blasting heat at me. Then that old saying popped into my head, and it goes, “You can loose the battle, but still win the war.” Perhaps that is so true in this case?

Well, there is about four weeks left in this term, and still lots of work to do. I must love punishment.

Posted in Criminology, Diatribe, General, University classes | No Comments »

The Black Mark of a Credit Stain of a Corporate Shame

July 13th, 2010 Thomasso

This morning, as I was driving into work, I heard on the radio, CBC, that a couple had their credit history ruined by a black mark from the TELUS corporation from a bill that was never paid. This story intrigued me because I went through this exact same situation over fifteenth years ago from a couple called City Tell, from up in Prince Rupert.

What was so intriguing was the attitude from the customers, who obviously valued their credit rating, were out raged that something from so long ago was biting them in the butt now. From what I understand, when an account goes delinquent it is automatic for a company to put it into arrears, then  onto collections. I mean, I do this on a weekly bases at my second job, as I deal with delinquent accounts when searching for information on people who have moved, or for those do not want to be found: the Skip-Tracer. What I have found is that communications is the primary reason for ninety percent of all issues that I come across.

The fault of two fold. First, companies are lazy. It is easy to set up the billing account and have it sent off through the post office, email, or what ever other form of billing there is. There is usually a different department for each process of services; for example, the government, which is the worst for having multiple departments running the same account. Then if the account changes, there is most always a lag in the chain of command before the action is finished. I found in my little world that forty percent of my cases the fault started with the company and its inefficiencies on handling account. This is where the customer has given the correct information and followed through with the proper legal steps to change the status of the account. Also, most customers actually have over paid at this point. The remaining case the customer simply allows the count to go delinquent, mostly in protest.  Second, and the larger slice of the pie chart, the customer simply vanishes, and what information the company has, goes towards that customer’s credit information. The recovery rate, in my cases, are about seventy percent. So here you have total communication breakdown.

My advice to this couple would have being simply to implement legal action against the corporation, and then start the negotiations. I mean, only if their credit rating with worth that much to them would this have been worth the effort and cost. You must use justice in business as it was intended for – to fight a wrong and seek damages.  Of course, a $200.00 bill it a tough case to consider going to court over, but I have seen this done.

I also believe the couple has put too much into their financial institution for going public against TELUS like this. It is obvious that they use credit, and have a lot at stake with their money. Perhaps they should consider becoming rebels and start dealing with cash only instead and not ever have to worry about the credit scores again? Just a thought.

But I applaud these people for the guts it took to stand up and go public with this.  Bravo for them!

Here is the story: Credit ruined over unknown Telus bill: Company says privacy concerns prevented search for couple

Posted in Diatribe, General, Social Justice, Social economics | No Comments »

The Weirdest Sleep Last Night – It Was Too Real

July 10th, 2010 Thomasso

I do not know if it was the heat, or the supper amount of stress I am going through with classes right now, or the exotic food I ate for dinner, but man, did I ever have a weird sleep. Right now it is 5:30am and I am looking outside at the first bit of sun light hitting the horizon and my body feels like a million dollars: unbelievably great. My brain, on the other hand, feels like a water balloon full of thick gooey sludge. I think I might have a head cold that is going around?

It was a welcomed sight seeing the high clouds roll in last night. I know the heat was killer, and everyone was feeling it, but we only had three days of it. According to Environment Canada’s definition of a “Heat Wave,” you need to have three consecutive days of 32C, or hotter, weather to constitute that title. We only broke that temperature for two days, so we can not use the term Heat Wave until the next high pressure weather system moves in.

So far, the heat seems to be trapped under the clouds and it does not appear to any threat of rain, but the clouds are moving away as I can see clear patchy skies. The night was warm, which is unusual from the last few days where the temperature dropped to 15C at night. We had our share of rain for far too long, so I think we might be back to some more glorious sun shine which I am looking forward too.

Well, I think I might throw on some coffee and start preparing for the first of two papers due this week. I hope you like my Sun Shine Man drawn on InkScape.

Posted in Art, Bitching about weather, Diatribe, General, Humour, Photographs, University classes | No Comments »

Overload Circuit 17B: Total Denial

July 9th, 2010 Thomasso

Tonight I am taking it off. I am just going to sit around and rest, have some dinner and not think about anything academic. It has been a week of extremes for me. With a presentation that was delivered on Tuesday, that also involved a day of Hell, not baring the heat wave but a shorting out of an electric forklift, the day ended with myself wanting to hide underneath a rock for the rest of the day. That feeling of loss of control was overwhelming, yet I was in the driver’s seat, and it made no sense to me as I tried to navigate home with only one headlight that was dimmed by a faulty module switch under the hood of a newly acquired Pathfinder SUV.

This week I managed to block most of the daily events of work. The highlight was the rush of last minute requests that came from all directions. Other than the Tuesday forklift indecent, the rush and amplitude of demands were unfathomable. I learned how people change on a moments notice when extreme pressure is applied. I also learned that people developed extremely interesting coping mechanisms when dealing with pressure, stress and fatigue. If the heat did not get you, then the chain of command did. The best anyone could was the best they could under the circumstances.

The “Smother With Kindness Rule,” (SMKR) was used extensively during the peak demands periods at work too. I have blogged about this before, where the more angry you get with someone, the more SMKR you apply to them. One person I remark to when the SMKR counts of the synonym “awesome” hit four words per minutes, I humbly asked if I had done something wrong. The reply was more synonyms of the word “greatness.” I now know that person was pissed!

The presentation from Tuesday was, in my mind, an almost complete disaster. I took the hit on the loss of one complete letter grade because I could not get permission on a graphic I wanted to use in the power-point because of possible legal issues. The graphic had a corporate logo in it, and after I was reassured that it was going to be all right, no permission was ever given, so I took it out of the power-point. Yes, I should have had a back-up plan, but I was given the word on faith that it would be all right. (Never bet on faith alone – it will bite you in the ass.) The requirement of the graphic was a pivotal element in my power-point. Even the most trusted and responsible people you know can leave you high and dry out of the water during your moment of need. For that person, it was not a matter that warranted any concerns because of the philosophy that that person lived by: “if it is not profitable, then my time is not here.”  I guess it was charity to that person? Too bad, I will treat in kind when my time is needed.

Next week will be the homeworkicicus maximus of the semester. Three major assignments are due then.  Tonight I rest, tomorrow and for the next five days I work on assignments for my courses. Two are papers, and the other assignment is my big presentation with a group lasting three hours. This is where taking summer classes hurts the ego; you will be outside enjoying your summer days and I will be inside banging away on this keyboard hoping to create the perfect paper and writing the ultimate theses.

Posted in Bitching about work, Diatribe, General, University classes | No Comments »

Butterflies and Sweat – The Three Minute Presentation

July 6th, 2010 Thomasso

Tonight I have to give a presentation as part of my professional communication class . I got the sweat and butterflies going inside my head and stomach as I prepare for the three minute presentation.  Sure, I have done lots of these presentations in the past, and I should be darn good at these, but this one is different. It is not the content that I will be graded on, but the way in which I present myself and the quality of the presentation that will be critiqued.

Some call this torture, while others can deal with this without batting an eyebrow, but I fall somewhere in the middle emotionally with this. I know that I should not put too much into this, but I cannot help it, as it is for marks after all. And marks are what I need; really good marks, as I feel I have being slacking off in the last week or two. I got to see some of the other students do their presentations already, so that helped, but they got the better pick as their talks were allowed to run up to a minute longer than what I have to do today. The extra few minutes is better when you have a lot of information to spew out in just three minutes.

The content is just as weird as the time limit. We have to do what are called action analysis where you identify a problem at your work, or a situation that you deal with on a daily bases and you try to improve it. First you have to pitch it, then create the action analysis report by identifying that there is a problem, then later on you proceed with two additional steps where you find a remedy, and then you fix it, or try to fix it. I am talking, or presenting on, the action analysis tonight and I feel totally unprepared for it.

Posted in Criminology, General, University classes | No Comments »