Random As Rhyme

Having worked in a retail environment for about three years I thought moving into an office environment would mean that I no longer had to endure the pain of listening to music I could not control. I figured I had left the weekly top 40 and the monotony of seasonal music behind me. Fat chance.

At my first job one of the big wigs had a decent computer speaker setup that I assume lacked a headphone jack since I don’t recall him ever using headphones. He had quite an eclectic taste in music, one day Jack Johnson, another Alanis Morissette, and on Fridays Cypress Hill.

On the other side of the Office another big wig would crank the free Jazz music which meant us grunts stuck in the middle got a weird sonic mish mash of music that didn’t really match nor did we like. It was terrible, listening to a mix of two types of music you don’t want to hear when ie6 is being an incompetent bastard is a great way to become red in the face.

At my new job I briefly sat near the accounting department that loved to listen to Easy Rock or something of the like… I LOATHE Easy Rock. I will probably do so until I am 65 and my hearing is so muffled and brain so frazzled that I have the radio on to keep me company.

While some of the problem is they type of music conflicting with my own personal preferences the bigger issue is that I have no control over the volume or content of what’s being played.

If someone was playing my itunes library aloud it would annoy me just the same because I might not want to be listening to the song that is currently playing at that time of the day, or maybe I don’t want to listen to any music at all, few things are worse than taking off your headphones and being greeted with this.

I am all for music at the workplace but I wish people would purchase and wear headphones. I wear headphones 90% of the day, heck they are on right now and nothing is playing, as a courtesy to my fellow employees and as a way to tune them out. I encourage you to do the same.

If you are in a position of power at your workplace and you can play your music out loud without any one complaining please, please, please at least have the decency to turn it off when you leave the office leaving it on is a serious dick move. I already know you make more than me, that is evident by your car, condo, hot wife.

I bought a McDonald’s combo for the first time since high school yesterday and realized that my memories of Mcdonalds over the years have not aged gracefully.

I swore off McDonalds some years ago due in part to it being terrible for me and in part to throwing it all up after a touch night with Bacardi but when I did go to McDonalds often I used to always get quarter pounder with cheese combos. It was my go to menu item for being a cheap ass. It was $5.75 of great bang for the buck.

Now some 6/7 years later the combo price is over 6.50! I have had to replace my go to combo with a double cheese burger ($5.05) which isn’t nearly as impressive to say or eat. I was hungry again in about 3 hours.

The double cheese burger sandwich is also 35% of my recommended daily fat intake THIRTY FIVE PERCENT just the damn sandwich. The sandwich and fries total to 60% of my daily fat intake, leaving only 40% for the rest of my day.

Whats worse (or better) is that they put the nutritional value not only on the back of the tray mat but on each individual item so you know just how much this meal is screwing up your plans for healthy eating or healthy living.

With Pizza Pizza having a much better 5 dollar combo (Any Slice + Pop or Water and your ANY 2 sides:
chips, fries, onion rings, or dipping sauce) I can’t see myself going back to McDonalds anytime soon for a quick fatty terrible for me long term meal.

The one saving grace was that the fries still taste good with BBQ sauce any time I go to McDonalds I think of the lovable purple being that is (was?) Grimace.

Oddly enough Grimace was voiced in commercials by Frank Welker, aka, Megatron from The Transformers. Now that’s random.

Yesterday I spent about 2 hours with my girlfriend purchasing her new car (2010 Kia Soul 2u). She had her old car for 9 years and it was looking a little tired and beat up. It was also coming up on needing a few bucks thrown at it for maintenance.

A step into a new vehicle, no matter how inferior it would make me feel owning the older car again, was a wise option to consider. However while zoning in and out of paying attention to the salesman’s pitch I realized something. We work so hard to make our money but work even harder to let ourselves spend it.

My girlfriend could afford the car, my girlfriend liked the car, the car had everything she needed in a new vehicle. But she was still hesitant to buy it.

Most of us have this problem, no matter how much we need or want something we think that the money could be better spent on something else even though  we don’t  have anything else in mind. Keeping our money is better than spending it, rainy days are coming (what up recession).

Personally I a pretty terrible at spending my money, worse than my gf in fact. Big purchases and me don’t get a long, I start to get headaches and break out in cold sweats.

For example I himmed and hawed about purchasing my playstation3 for about a year before actually pulling the trigger and now I wish I had done it sooner. Sure money was ‘tight’ for a little bit but in the end I got through it and quickly got over the guilty pains I had the day of purchase.

I’m not saying we should all go blow our wads on piles of blow, luxury cars and high priced hookers ala Scott  Storch, but if we are just going to sit on our money for a rainy day why the hell do we work so hard?

How have we allowed tiny pieces of  paper to dictate our mood and decisions so much? Whoever figured out this whole monetary system screwed up. Everyone is either in debt or deathly afraid of it (I am the latter) and no matter which side of the fence we are on we all live in prisons constructed of dollar signs, decimal points,  and smelly paper with old people on it.

I am going to multi task and pay off my visa on work time everything should balance out that way.

Shout out to Lil Zanye for helping me pick the tittle for this.

Lil Zanye – Money stretch

It’s been a while since I have written about a car trend, or a particular car, I did not like but while on my trip to whistler I noticed a few cars rolling around on reasonable sized rims which got me thinking that those cars look 1000 times better than a Donk Box or Bubble ever could or ever will. Sure Donks have been around for at least two years now, but I didn’t have this virtual soap box to blast off from the first time I saw them.

A Donk by definition is an American sedan (Caddillacs, Malibus, Chevelles, etc) with large aftermarket wheels, elaborate paint and sound systems, and modified suspension. Normally these (and some motor mods) are the ingredients for a decent enough looking whip however with Donks the cook has no idea what he is doing and cooks up something worthy of thisiswhyyourfat.

In an attempt to portray the drivers swagger the front end of a Donk is raised higher than the rear (ie head held high) and since excess = respect/riches/big dick the wheels are often comically large. The end result is something that leaves something that is grossly mis-proportioned and painful to the eyes.

See what I mean?

Looking at the car above the only thing that screams back at me louder than the power steering pump screaming at trying to turn those monster wheels, is impracticality.

I am not sure how one gets in and out of a donk while still maintaining any sort of ’swagger’ and I can’t imagine those big wheels aid in the motors ability to get this car going, or the brakes ability to get it stopped. Meaning once this slow slab gets a rollin look out because its more likely to place it’s front bumper through your rear window than it is to stop on a dime.

However the saddest part about that Donk is that it is on the tamer side of the Donk spectrum. For reasons unbeknown to me and probably to the bane of many a successful food brand Donk owners like to proudly display their love for certain types of foods or brands on their cars.

I like skittles and I think they are deserving of free promotion but you could never catch me doing this:

I have never had (or perhaps seen) a bottle of Yoo-hoo

and have sworn off McDonalds.

Call me old fashioned, or just old, but I really do not understand the appeal of these vehicles over doing them up in a more tasteful fashion.

When Donks designed strictly for show started to pop up things got downright messy.

of course not to be out done clear rims were soon popped off as well…

For now I have yet to see a Donk in person, which is a good thing since I really hope this trend just fades into the wind like 70s vans. One can only hope right?

A few days ago a pretty controversial and sneaky undercover cop car was posted on local GTA automotive forums.  Now GTA cops have been using undercover vehicles for awhile, they have/had  Dodge Intrepids, Honda civcs,  Ford Expeditions, and Nissan Altimas just to name a few, however this recent under cover vehicle might be taking things to far.

The above car looks really similar to a cab, however it is infact a Police car. Sure with the lights on it is pretty easy to spot but without the lights would you know it was there? The number on top is actually for a local Halton Region Police Station.

Now I understand the need for less conspicuous, ‘unmarked’ (they are normally subtly marked.) Police cars, and I understand that the GTA is not the first to employ a method such as this.

I also get the fact that the Police are also playing off my preconceived notions as to what a cab actually looks like, however is it really justifiable?

I am making what I believe is a logical assumption (I acknowledge that by assuming I am making an ass out of you and me) that this vehicle is most likley used mainly to enforce moving violations. The ‘cab’ sits at the side of the road, waits for speeders to go by then ‘woop woop’ suddenly it’s a Police Officer and you are getting a ticket.

I have a few issues with this new ’safety enforcement device’.

The first is that the current speed trap safety blitz methods work out pretty well. Personally I have been caught twice and have witnessed countless others get caught at traps I now have a heightened awareness of.

Statistically the current methods are also proving effective. In the most recent back to school traffic safety initiative the city issued over 20, 000 tickets with 8,857 for speeding offenses. These numbers certainly portray a successful effor, how many more are necessary?

How many more disputed traffic tickets can our court system take?

Are the rumored monthly traffic ticket quotas that hard to reach?

My second issue with this is had I not seen the image of the ‘cop cab’ I am not sure I would pull over if this vehicle was behind me.

If I was in an area I didn’t know out in Georgetown late at night would it be unreasonable for me to continue driving to a well lit area before I stopped? Would this get me into further trouble? Who knows.

Is crime prevention ‘weapon’ such as this really necessary for use on the general public? I really doubt this vehicle is used for undercover gang/drug sting operations since two people sitting side by side in the front of a cab is fairly uncommon and one police Officer going into a dangerous situation is also fairly uncommon.

Regardless of it’s intended use, or even how often it is used from this point on I am going to have to assume that any and every Crown Victoria is a Police car just for my own sake.

I think there are going to be quite a few surprised Crown Vic owners in the GTA wondering why every time they drive people are pulling off to the shoulder.

I am the owner of a 2004 Mazda 3 and while I am mostly happy about my purchase there is one issue with the car that bothers the hell out of me and that is the fact that my 5 year old car is developing what could turn into a serious rust problem. At first I thought it was just my car, but bit by bit I noticed more owners were complaining about this problem.

When I was researched this car I put Mazda 3 rust, Mazda 3 rust problems, etc into google and I didn’t really find much information. With this post I hope to be able to be a resource potential buyers and current owners can use to tackle this issue.

Which years are affected?
04-06 Mazda3 hatch’s and Sedans have been confirmed as being susceptible to premature rusting.

The hatchbacks rust in the following places:

Near the rear doors above the side skirt (stone chips start the process)

The front facing surface of the rear arches near the side skirt.

The rear bumper seems at the fender arch’s

The sedans rust in the following places:

The rear bumper seams

Around the third brake light

The forward facing rear fender arches near the side skirt (same spot as the hatches)

Rocker panels

For more info on what spots to check and pictures of other vehicles:
http://www.mazda3forums.com/index.php?topic=107859.0
http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=25439

I rustproofed my car do I still have to worry?
Yes.

I rust proofed my car with Krown upon taking ownership and it only slowed the rust down, how much I can’t say. I do not believe the previous owner rust proofed the vehicle however other owners have reported rust proofing their vehicle and the rust continuing anyway.

Whats the cause?
This is still up in the air but here are a few things I have read:

“The problems your having are as result of Mazda Developing the World’s First Environmentally Friendly Coating Technology back in 02.

The Protege5’s were the first to get it, thus resulting in thinner paint and rusting issues. Obviously Mazda 3’s are suffering as well.

Mazda has successfully developed a new environmentally friendly coating technology. It reduces the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC) to the same level of VOC regulation in Europe where waterborne paints are mainly used, while achieving reduction of CO2 discharge and better coating quality. This significant technology has been launched at its Hofu Plant 1 in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The new technology is called “Three Layer Wet Paint System.” Primer coating process is combined into the top coating process aiming to reduce environmental impact comprehensively.
”
“I sent pictures to the dealership, to Mazda Canada, to Mazda HQ in Japan with no results. They will not respond.
The best body shop in our area figures its likely recycled steel and poor paint/rust inhibitor application. They don’t want to touch it as they can’t guarantee the job.
His advice was ‘pretty it up and unload it’.”

“According to the TSB, “Some vehicles may exhibit a bubbling or blistering under the paint on aluminum body parts. This is due to iron contamination of the aluminum panel. . . . Ford’s Scientific Research Laboratory has performed a number of tests on vehicle body parts returned for corrosion related concerns. Testing has revealed that the aluminum corrosion was caused by iron particles working their way into the aluminum body part, prior to it being painted.”

CAS Executive Director Clarence Ditlow said:
“This is a very expensive defect to remedy. The TSB requires “extreme care to be taken” including special tools and segregated work areas to remove the corrosion by blasting, re-priming and repainting. This repair is so difficult that CAS recommends the best fix is to replace the corroded part with a primed steel part and paint it. Ford cannot guarantee this repair will eliminate all the iron corrosion or prevent other areas from bubbling or blistering in the future.””

I have rust what can I do?
First of all, if you live in Canada tell them that you are on a list submitted by Lynne M. Witty and have been contacted by Mazda about having your rust repaired under warranty.

Do NOT let them turn you away and say that there is no such warranty or you are ineligible for service. This is flat out wrong my 04 with 138 xxx km was approved by Mazda Canada and cars with higher mileage than mine have also been approved. Early on Mazda was turning people away now however they know it is a problem and do not want it getting out of hand however there is an open ticket with the Automobile Protection Agency regarding this issue.

Be kind and courteous but also firm, you have a problem you know it’s not just your problem and they need to fix it.

Here are some links to success stories in getting the rust fixed via the dealer:
http://www.canadiandriver.com/forum/index.php/topic,61821.0.html
http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=26095&page=2
http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=31905
http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=392234&postcount=87

How did you handle your car?

I went in to Erin Mills Mazda 3 weeks ago to see if I could have my rear fender arch rust repaired under warranty from Mazda Canada.

I never purchased a warranty through Mazda and had no paper work to show, and my car is a 2004 with 134 xxx km.

I went in and spoke with service adviser Ignatius Xavier and he made an appointment for me to meet with the body shop representative take pictures and have my claim submitted to Mazda of Canada.

My estimate was about 1300 worth of work and was approved withing 3 days of submission by John Riexinger the district parts and service Manager.

I dropped my car off last Thursday and drove it home complete today. The work was done by Oakville Honda and looks great.

The hardest thing I had to deal with was driving my girlfriends Civic. This was the most painless warranty claim I have ever done.

I recommend anyone who is having issues getting their rust repair authorized try this dealership.

Should I still consider a Mazda 3?

That is up to you. Rust aside I am very happy with my car, it’s been the most reliable car I have owned, however I do not think I could own it as long as I owned my first car (7 years) and expect the body to hold up as well as it did, which is a shame. This problem may have been remedied in later models or it might just not be present yet. In the end the choice is yours.

Yesterday I saw an article with the headline:

“Ride Stats shoot up. Cops Don’t Get it: Why are more people drinking and driving?”

“We talk to people all the time about how bad drinking and driving is, but it seems some just keep on making bad decisions,” Haines said.

The answer, to me is quite simple. Less talk more action.

The existing punishments are not see as strict enough, so they need to be toughened up.

“The 12-hour suspensions jumped from 97 in the 2007 RIDE program to 208 in the most recent campaign — a hike of 114%.”

The 12 hour suspension charge is a wrist slapper for something as dangerous as drinking and driving.

One could go home, drink to the point of oblivion, sleep off the entire next day, then wake up the day after with their license back like nothing ever happened.

When I got my first car, in around 2002 or so I wanted to see how fast it went, so I went on a 400 series highway late one night and dropped the hammer. I got it up to around 180 before its brick aerodynamics wouldn’t let it go anymore. My current car however has not seen over 140.

Why, Did I get smarter?
No, not really.
Did speeding fines get harsher?
You bet.

Anything over 150 these days warrants a possible ’street racing’ charge which comes with a large fine, the loss of my car for 7 days, 7 days worth of impound fees, and absorbing any damage my car receives during the tow and storage. Not to mention the amount my insurance would spike (if I was not dropped) after they caught wind of the incident.

It’s simply not worth it to me to go over 140 because of the penalties associated with it.

If the punishment associated with being over the legal limit (an argument for another day or another person) was not worth it to do so logic dictates the amount of people doing so would decrease.

While everything is not black entirely black and white, and some people would continue their actions regardless of any new laws or punishments it would at least be a step in the right direction.

Unfortunately for whatever reason the government is still not ready to REALLY put a stop to drinking and driving, and thus it shall continue.

This video which I wish I could embed, has nothing to do with drinking and driving but has to do with dangerous driving, but I have been holding onto it for awhile. It’s worth a watch if you can handle graphic imagery.

This is not what I planned on writing today, but what the hell.

I walk from Union station to King and Spadina and back everyday and everyday I see the same bums/homeless/street person/whatever the politically correct term is for people who want my change. 98% of the time they get nothing from me and that will probably continue but here are some tips if you do want money from me and live on the streets.

Don’t Be Fat
One dude I see sits on a milk crate in front of East Side Marios on Front St and he is pretty fat, I on the other hand am pretty skinny. I eat a lot and I don’t get fat, in theory this guy can barley afford to eat and yet his gut is often hanging out of his clothes. I suspect this dude goes in for the all you can eat salad and bread with his pasta at east side every day after he’s done making a killing off people on the street.

Don’t Disappear on rainy days
Rainy days all the beggars disappear. I can’t call in rain to my job, how come you get too? Sit under an over hang or buy an umbrella I am pretty sure they can be had for a dollar.

Don’t have one of those ‘why lie I need beer’ signs
I saw that shit for the first time on the Internet. Where did you see it the hobonet? Either way I am not giving you money to get drunk, and it was only funny the first time I saw it. This brings me to my next one.

Kick your habbit
I catch you slipping up and see you sneaking a swig of Crown Royal or puffin a cancer stick while asking for my money you are not getting shit. Dick.

Don’t let me catch you hiding your money
I see this a lot, they empty their cup so they look more desperate, ok, fine. You could at least show some discretion don’t just do it in front of me and give me a look like “what fill it back up bitch”.

Don’t wait outside a bank
You think I am going to give you a $20? Better go down the street with that bulllllshit.

Don’t have a pet
Cant stress this one enough. Your animal does not deserve life on the street, I will accept no excuses for this.

Every time I see a street person with a pet I assume one of two things; you stole it from home when you took off, or you stole it from someone else, either way sucker move.

Toronto is not Mexico, stray dogs are not abundant, if you have a pet and come up on hard times don’t be selfish let the pet have a better life and give it up for adoption.

Don’t hold the door for me
I got it thanks.

Do do something cool
Get a talent and put it to use. Art, juggling, flaming yo-yos, do something that amuses me and I will actually give you money (ie work for it). Actually the first bum street person that can legitimately make the transformers noise I will give 10 bucks.

Public Service Announcement: I am not a dick I just play one on the internet.

Seriously though, if I offended you because someone you know is on hard times and on the street I am sorry, go help them get off it. I donate to the united way and the salvation army so my karma is good enough to write things like this.

I hope… or my car will get broken into again. Time will tell.

I went to the dentist today, the same dentist I have been going to my whole life, the checkups are basically the same but I seem to be handling them differently.

Growing up I never really hated going to the dentist, especially compared to other kids I knew, I mean it wasn’t a big deal you go there sit in a fancy laz-e-boy and the dude in the white coat goes to town. Sure the fluoride never tasted like root beer and got all over the place but, it helped keep my teeth in my face so I saw it as a positive trade off. I also always came home with ‘great patient’ stickers (although now that I think about it I never saw little brat stickers so maybe every kid got the good ones) and despite my Skittle addiction I did not get my first cavity until 2 days before my 18th birthday.

Fast forward a few years and a few thousand dollars worth of money and countless hours invested in my grill (8 teeth removed, front cap and orthodontic work) I have made it a point to protect my investment as best I can by continuing to get my checkups every 6-8.

However now for some reason the checkups are pure torture.

The scraping at my teeth near my gum’s isn’t even this issue, the whining noise and all that jazz isn’t a problem for me. The problem is I just can’t keep my mouth open long enough or wide enough for the whole appointment without my jaw feeling like its going to explode.

I consider  myself to have a decent tolerance for pain, I mean I got a tattoo, ride BMX, and got hit by a friggen car and brushed that shit off, but throw me in a chair with my mouth open for 30 minutes and I am thanking god its over and wiping sweat of  my brow.

Today I finally decided to ask my dentist if this issue was normal and of course he said no, I can’t remember the last time I had a normal issue, bummer.

Apparently, this is a symptom teeth clenching which is something I have caught myself doing more and more as I get older so by my calculations I won’t be able to open my mouth by age 35.

Good thing I am already a quiet guy right?

Here’s some Seinfeld for making it all the way down here