The Maple Leaf Lounge

[DEWLine]

Since we're in a rail service restoration/expansion frame of mind at the moment, I'll note the work currently in progress to extend the O-Train lines here in Ottawa. I've been keeping an eye on the construction process as it plays out in the east end where I live. It feels as if the service to/from Orléans is going to be ready before the extensions to the airport, Algonquin College and Moodie Drive. It could be that I'm tunnel-visioned on this point.

In a way, the eastern end is echoing older train services that used to exist in the region: the line from just after the Montréal Road interchange out to Trim Road uses the median of Ottawa Road 174 (as presently designated by the Ontario government) a multi-lane highway that was built upon a former CNR railbed.

 

[wayoung]

So, is anyone's Christmas not being affected by the storms this weekend?

I had been hoping to do a 7 hour drive down the 401 up into Bruce County on Sat and for awhile it looked like I might get away with it, with the storms being worse Thur and Fri, but then last night Environment Canada pushed them back to Fri & Sat.

Canada wide warnings are from time of posting. Provincial are from last night. Report is getting even worse.

Guess this will be my 4th Christmas in a row alone. First two I was alone by choice as I was in a bad place. Last year was because of Covid when I'd planned to go home. This year I went home in November in case of bad weather this December but my Uncle who is on his 80's had covid so I couldn't see him. I can't go home again until Easter due to international travel I have planned. The last time I saw him was last March. That's my big regret. Otherwise, honestly, I could use a few days off to myself. Works been nuts and I still am waiting for insurance to approve my purchases for my house burning down (and it's soon the point where it might be too late to return them if they are refused!) and I've fallen behind on both chores and just relaxation. 5 days of reorganizing and relaxing sounds decent.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Yes, I was planning to drive out of town to visit family on Friday, but the expected weather has put a stop to that. I'll go out to see them sometime between Christmas and New Years instead.

On the plus side, more time at home for pre-Christmas prep!

 

[Marc]

So, is anyone's Christmas not being affected by the storms this weekend?

I had been hoping to do a 7 hour drive down the 401 up into Bruce County on Sat and for awhile it looked like I might get away with it, with the storms being worse Thur and Fri, but then last night Environment Canada pushed them back to Fri & Sat.

puts up hand.

Cheating a bit. The wife finished work today so her dad came and picked us up and we go out of dodge and we're camped at the in-laws until the new year.

The worry is for my sister-in-law and niece who have to come up from Kingston and Trenton.

My wife's boss has also been O/S as part of a parliamentary delegation. They're due to arrive back Saturday and he's then gotta drive home (2hrs). I wouldn't want to be making that drive after a long flight and in crappy weather and then he's gotta people over for Xmas Day.

The bit that gets me worried is if there are any power disruption. Our fridge is playing up (freezer won't stay on temperature - around -9 when it should be -18) so it could thaw quicker if the power is out.

scumlord building owners aren't doing anything about it for as long as they can get away it. When we get back I'm going to explore the nuclear option - they either fix or I got to landlord and tenent and seek rent relief until the repairs are made.

 

[DEWLine]

I've held off for two days, gotten four job applications in. One even got a callback to follow up within two hours yesterday.

Today, I'm going to try to visit my mother again at her care facility. Winter storm warning or not. (It's barely an hour away by public transit, and that's within the same neighbourhood as me.)

 

[Timewalker]

And it seems that the United (?) Conservative Party of Alberta has taken some of the worst lessons possible from the Parti Québecois of late, in my opinion.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/alberta-sovereignty-act-analysis-wherry-1.6671036

Ford thinks of such places as he thinks of Toronto and Ottawa...as places to be seen and never heard from.

And then, I see this from Alberta in today's news, and I think of provincial governments - as we presently know them - as being a plague upon Canadians and Canadian-adjacent peoples.

Okay, guys, the fact is that my province of Alberta is being run by a BS!C, certifiable nutcase who fancies herself the next (female) version of Donald Trump. She cares nothing about federal law; if Danielle Smith decides a federal law isn't in the "best interests of Alberta", she wants the power to ignore it or change how it applies to us. Some of us in the Reboot Alberta FB group have realized that she could decide that the Elections Act isn't in the best interests of Alberta, and there goes what ability we'd have to boot her out of office. Of course denying our right to vote is unconstitutional and illegal, but she honestly doesn't give a damn about what's constitutional or even just plain moral or common sense.

I'm really hoping the Lieutenant-Governor refuses to give royal assent to this travesty. She's indicated that she will not rubber-stamp it; she intends to consult constitutional experts and get their input.

So, is anyone's Christmas not being affected by the storms this weekend?

I never leave this building except for medical appointments and banking I can't do online. So not really, other than it being damn cold at times in the room I'm in right now, due to ill-fitting windows. I can't afford to run a space heater, so it's just a matter of adding layers. Chocolate seems to help as well.

 

[HotRod]

So, is anyone's Christmas not being affected by the storms this weekend?



I had been hoping to do a 7 hour drive down the 401 up into Bruce County on Sat and for awhile it looked like I might get away with it, with the storms being worse Thur and Fri, but then last night Environment Canada pushed them back to Fri & Sat.



Canada wide warnings are from time of posting. Provincial are from last night. Report is getting even worse.













Guess this will be my 4th Christmas in a row alone. First two I was alone by choice as I was in a bad place. Last year was because of Covid when I'd planned to go home. This year I went home in November in case of bad weather this December but my Uncle who is on his 80's had covid so I couldn't see him. I can't go home again until Easter due to international travel I have planned. The last time I saw him was last March. That's my big regret. Otherwise, honestly, I could use a few days off to myself. Works been nuts and I still am waiting for insurance to approve my purchases for my house burning down (and it's soon the point where it might be too late to return them if they are refused!) and I've fallen behind on both chores and just relaxation. 5 days of reorganizing and relaxing sounds decent.

Speaking as someone in Bruce County, you made the right choice. It's a full blown blizzard up here. Something not seen in decades!

 

[Avro Arrow]

Happy holidays to all of you, and merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate. I hope none of you were caught up in any of the VIA issues, or were forced to endure Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day without power.

Best wishes, and with whatever might be going on in your part of Canada, please stay safe.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Merry Christmas to all! I hope everyone's stayed safe and has had a good time! We celebrated with family in Ottawa, and the roads weren't all that bad on Christmas Eve, aside from a few very windy spots. They were mostly snow-free.

 

[Timewalker]

I spent the last couple of days feasting on pizza and pasta and reading some excellent Merlin fanfiction.

A friend sent a link for some cat-themed games on sale at Steam (might get a couple).

It's snowing, but not bad. The temperature's eased up some now.

 

[Timewalker]

Rest in peace, Ian Tyson.

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[Avro Arrow]

Competition Tribunal clears the way for Rogers-Shaw merger to go ahead



Competition Tribunal’s decision on Rogers-Shaw merger ‘rushed,’ ‘disappointing,’ say critics

This article says that the Competition Bureau could still appeal the Tribunal's decision to the Federal Court of Appeal. I certainly hope they go that route.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

don't suppose it would be realistic to hope that the Cinesphere will be open (apparently it's closed for renovations now ) by the time I get to Toronto next summer? He said, knowing it probably won't be.

 

[Marc]

Competition Tribunal clears the way for Rogers-Shaw merger to go ahead



Competition Tribunal’s decision on Rogers-Shaw merger ‘rushed,’ ‘disappointing,’ say critics

This article says that the Competition Bureau could still appeal the Tribunal's decision to the Federal Court of Appeal. I certainly hope they go that route.

no evidence prices would rise?

On what planet are those fuckwits living?

Would like the federal government to block the merge but the relevant minister (chamagne) is doing a very good pontius pilate impersonation.

 

[DEWLine]

I doubt that the people running the Tribunal care that we can see which way it's going to go once the merger's done.

 

[Marc]

I doubt that the people running the Tribunal care that we can see which way it's going to go once the merger's done.

time it and the ctrc were reformed - too often they completely an utterly fail to do their job properly (comment once on the crtc that what bell wants it gets - just look at the backflip on rates for 3rd party providers).

the trudeau goverment has talked about bring down prices for cellphone and internet/tv but like so often it's just bloody talk because they won't do anything in situations like this.

 

[Owain Taggart]

This article says that the Competition Bureau could still appeal the Tribunal's decision to the Federal Court of Appeal. I certainly hope they go that route.

Yeah, I certainly hope so. It's not like we have much competition or choice with these companies, and a merger certainly wouldn't be better from a consumer standpoint. In fact, I think customer support often gets worse after a merger, often the result of kludge.

We've had our service from the same company since the early 90's, and it's had several mergers over the decades. At one point, we had direct communication with the owner, who would be able to listen and figure out what needed to be done to solve issues. It was great and very hands-on. But as the company got gobbled up it became less and less customer-oriented, eventually hiring off-shore tech support that has just become a frustrating experience that I wouldn't wish on anyone. Nothing's worse than having to try to explain to someone who's using a script that a problem may need more personal attention. The last time we went through that, we were both exasperated, client and tech support, because of something that wasn't working as intended on their own website, yet with no way to effectively communicate it. In the end we gave up because they were getting frustrated with us not being able to follow their script.

We're just a number to them, despite being with them for over 30 years.

 

[Marc]

Yeah, I certainly hope so. It's not like we have much competition or choice with these companies, and a merger certainly wouldn't be better from a consumer standpoint. In fact, I think customer support often gets worse after a merger, often the result of kludge.

from personal experience I can tell you that the customers get worse in line with support (10 months care billing for rogers).

my worry about all this is what happens with freedom unless it's a coverage issue - their prices are so much better than rogers (and bell) but don't have the coverage (though my plan gives me unlimited Canada wide calls will roaming but only have 1GB of fullspeed data when off network) and no 5G.

 

[Marc]

The Competition Bureau has lodges an appeal over the tribuneral's running on the rogers-shaw merger and has been granted an emergency stay so the merge is on ice until the appeal is heard.

https://www.thestar.com/business/20...f-tribunal-decision-on-roger-shaw-merger.html

 

[Avro Arrow]

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-competition-tribunal-rogers-shaw-decision/

Shaw urged Matthew Boswell, the Commissioner of Competition, to withdraw his appeal, which was launched before the tribunal had published its detailed reasons on Monday.

“It is now clear that the tribunal rejected the evidence of the most important witnesses of the Commissioner, as well as all of his key complaints and theories. In the circumstances, Shaw urges the Commissioner to reconsider his decision to pursue an appeal,” the company said in a statement Monday evening.

I'm not sure that "the tribunal decided to ignore the testimony of the commission's expert witnesses" is really the compelling argument that Shaw seems to think it is.

“We are confident that these pro-competitive transactions will bring more choice, more affordability, more innovation and more connectivity to Canadians, and that the Competition Tribunal’s decision was the right one.”

Of course Shaw would say that. But when has a merger ever done that in Canadian history?

Rogers and Shaw are aiming to close their deal by Jan. 31, with counsel for Rogers telling the tribunal during its hearing that there is a “very, very, very grave or substantial risk that the transaction will fall apart” if that deadline is not met.

Well, what a shame that would be...