Leamington Tornado

This week I've been surveying people riding the ferries to and from Pelee Island. I've been staying in Leamington this weekend, because one of the ferries begins and end its trips here. Last night a (suspected) tornado ripped through town, mostly along the lake. There are trees down everywhere and roads are closed. So far, I haven't heard of any reports of injuries, just lots and lots of property damage. Locals are all walking around where they can taking pictures... and I decided to join them. If I can get my hands on a USB cable, I'll upload the couple of shots I took to my flickr page.

The ferry service was cancelled this morning, so I got the morning off. It may run later, but out of Kingsville maybe. I still have to call the ferry service to find out.

Maybe I can get some danger pay out of this.

CYQG-CYPT-CYQG-CYPT-CYQG and so on

I've been working in a new office since last Thursday.

It's the inside of a Cessna 208 (I think that's what kind of plane it is). I've been doing travel survey interviews (boo!) for people travelling to and from Pelee Island (which, at this time of year is by air). And since it's much easier to get people to participate before they take off, I've been flying in the plane as part of the job (yay!). It's about a 20 minute flight and it doesn't get too high, so you get to see Essex County from a nice aerial perspective. Here's a shot I took of Point Pelee:

The people have been warming up to me as I've spent a couple days there now (everyone knows everyone else on that island, it seems), and the pilot has been super-cool... even letting me sit up front on a couple trips:

Anyway, I'm really glad I like to fly, because it's been a really nice perk of a crappy, crappy job. It almost makes me want to learn to fly myself... but I know that takes a lot of time and money. I'm here for instant gratification, people.

Need Some Extra Cash? Want To Survey?

Hey everyone,

We're doing travel surveys on Highway 26 up in and around Collingwood for the next couple weeks here at work. As usual, we're tight on staff (tight as in we're short). So anyone who want to spend a few (around 6 or 7) hours doing some short travel survey/interviews and make $15/hour doing so, let me know and I'll get you in touch with the appropriate people. Gord, I think, can vouch to how easy and straightforward the interviewing is. There are, however, a couple catches... First, we need people for the morning shifts (5:30am start on weekdays, 8:00am start on Sundays). Second, you'd be responsible to getting yourself to the sites, so it'd be a bit of a drive. The surveys will run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays for 2 weeks and then just Sundays after that. If it sounds like something you'd like to do, like I said, let me know.

Before Friday.

My Experience With Internet Telephony

Right now, for work, we're doing telephone travel surveys for Stratford. Because Stratford is long distance from Waterloo, I had to look into options to keep calling costs down. Travelling to Stratford every night wasn't an option (milage would add up), and I didn't want our surveyor names to show up on call id. So, the best option seemed to be using the internet.

I first looked at Skype, since they're the best-known service, but they charge a connection fee of 6 cents each time you call a real number on top of the 2.9 cents per minute. Bell Internet Talk is the service that I ended up using, which uses Windows Live Messenger. As a service by itself, it worked decently. Quality was good and it was also 2.9 cents per minute without the connection charge per call. The problem arose when I tried to create 5 new hotmail accounts for my 5 surveyors. After 2, Microsoft blocked my IP from creating more hotmail accounts (presumably to prevent spammers), so I had to create them from other people's houses.

Once I got the accounts created, I tried to put money on the accounts (since it's pre-paid). After the first 2 accounts worked fine, I was unable to add money with my credit card anymore. I did manage to get around that (through endless chat sessions with customer service) and set up the accounts with money and set to automatically recharge to my credit card.

Well, as soon as the auto-recharges started happening, my accounts kept getting locked, and no amount of unlocking the accounts and chat sessions with customer service would help. I think that my credit card was raising red flags, since I've never used this type of service before. But even when I tried other cards, my account would still get locked.

So, my conclusion is that phone calls over the internet aren't a bad way to go... just don't try and get 5 accounts going at once.

Matt Needs Your Help

Hey everyone. Can you do me a favour? Can you test out a web-based survey I created for a work project and see if it's worded clearly and the options make sense? The survey was here.

What we're doing is asking people about their travel habits to get an idea of demand around the city. The survey isn't live yet, so responses you give now won't be included in our data and won't skew our results, so go nuts.

Thanks for your help, if you did it.

Update: I took the link down because the survey will be going live soon. I made a few changes based on your comments... thanks.

And I've Never Been To Boston In The Fall

I'm having way too much fun with that lyric.

Anyway, here I am in Boston to do a training course for work. I'm here all week, so I have to figure out something to do to stave off the boredom. Where I'm staying is not quite in Boston, per se, but just outside of it in Newton, MA.

What's the deal with Air Canada Jazz? Why does it even exist? They use the same website to buy a ticket as Air Canada... They use the same gates at the same terminals as Air Canada. And, for the most part, they fly the same routes as Air Canada. Why not just have everything as Air Canada? For example, I booked a flight to Boston from Toronto on aircanada.com, and the flight time that I liked happened to be a Jazz flight. Nothing different than booking a regular Air Canada flight, just in name. Anyway, when I check-in at the airport, I was informed that my flight had been cancelled and replaced with another leaving at the same time. The only difference... this flight is regular Air Canada, instead of Jazz. Same price, same terminal, same departure time, same nifty touchscreen on-board video... just a different name. Again... what's the point in Jazz? Even if there are some routes that are only served by Jazz, why not just call them Air Canada?

A Lot Can Change In 5 Years, But Not Necessarily

Today, October 6th marks exactly five years since I started working here at Paradigm Transportation Solutions. Think about that time frame... five years. In five years, I started and finished University... also high school, for that matter. Comparing those different periods, it's amazing how little things have changed in the past five years. I know that I'm fortunate to have such a stable career situation, and as far as I can tell, I should be here for the foreseeable future. Anyway, it's a day of celebration (by buying my own lunch out) and of reflection...

Matt Brouwer, P.Eng.

Today I got notification that my application for Professional Engineer status has been approved! Now I can stamp your passport applications... oh wait, they got rid of that rule. Well, at least I can legally call myself an Engineer now, well... at least I can when my "first invoice is paid and processed".

Anyway, this is a pretty big deal for me. I have the P.Eng designation now, and I don't have to do anything more to keep it (except for paying the man)... no more exams or experience summaries, etc. I'm in the clear... unless I end up in the blue pages.

Cleaning Out My Closet

So, I've found some resolve within myself to start straightening up my apartment. Not just cleaning, but organizing and/or getting rid of junk. My task started in my bedroom, where I've piled boxes of stuff in the closet... interesting stuff that does not have much use. I was surprised at some of the things stored within the boxes... a lot of school items, not just from University, but from High School as well. There were some notes, some group photographs from residence and from camp (both Hermosa and IMC), and things from the computer/internet guy job I had at the Mallroad Library in Sarnia back in the summer of 1998. But I think the most interesting thing I came across is the Vocational Interest Survey I did back when I was in OAC, right before deciding on what programs to apply to for University. Want to know what the computer said I'd be good at?

Out of 27 occupations, I ranked highest in Performing Arts, Physical Science and Teaching with scores of 93, 93, and 92, respectively out of 100. Where did Engineering rank? Sixth, with a score of 76 behind Mathematics and Human Relations. You want to know what I ranked lowest on? Social Services with a score of 5 out of 100. I just found it fascinating and a little nostalgic.

It's Unsolicited Survey Time Again!

The last two weeks have been really fun. I've been working down in Niagara Region doing supervision of a travel survey at the bridges to the USA. Once again, we were pulling people over, and asking them where they're coming from and going to, etc. The difference between this job and others like it, is that this one runs 24 hours a day in each location (instead of just the afternoon peak period). We had 3 8-hour shifts each day, but us lucky supervisors did 12-hour shifts. I suppose I shouldn't complain too much, as being a supervisor, I didn't actually have to ask the survey questions. Most people were very accommodating, but there's still a too large segment of the population who are just... angry. Seriously, you didn't expect any delays to happen at the border? Just chill out, politely refuse, and then wait until the person in front of you is done their survey because no, you can't drive through the coned off area where my surveyors are standing.

Oh and by the way, in case you angry drivers are wondering, yes we do have the authority to pull you over to ask you to participate in a survey according to Section 26.1 of the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act.

Atlanta: Day 2

Current Status: Being killed... with kindness

This morning I got up after not sleeping very much. I don't know why exactly, but I never can seem to get to sleep the day before I do something that's out of my routine... especially when it involves being on time for something. Anyway, the hotel provides a free shuttle service, so I went down to the lobby with lots of time to spare until the 8am shuttle left. The lady at the reception desk said that the driver will come into the lobby and see who needs a ride. Well, I waited until 8 in the lobby, and then decided to check out front... and sure enough, the shuttle was about to leave without checking in the lobby. Oh well, I made it on time.

The course itself is nothing much special. It's just learning a new kind of traffic simulation software. However, it's needed as this software is quite complicated to operate.

After getting back to the hotel after class, I went out to look for a restaurant for dinner and I came across Fuddruckers, which is next door to the hotel. They advertise the world's best burger, and to tell the truth it was quite good. The setup is a little weird though... kind of a cross between fast food and a casual restaurant. You order your burger like you would at a fast food joint, but then you have a seat in the dining room while they cook it up. Then they call your name and you pick it up and put your toppings on yourself. Then you go back and eat in the restaurant style dining room. Interesting to say the least.

Then I went to the Best Buy next door, just to see what was there. Not any different from our Best Buy in Canada. But this is where I discovered that the people down here are the some of the friendliest y'all will ever meet. First, this guy asks me a question... but I have no idea what he's saying. I think he thought that he knew me from university. So I said "no", and when I told him I was from Canada, he toned down the accent for me. Then another guy struck up a conversation with me while looking at the PS2 game and we chatted it up for a good 10 minutes. Turns out he was an engineer as well, so it's not surprising that he was a good guy. But anyway, we're a friendly and polite people in Canada, but in a different way. These people are freakishly outgoingly friendly. It's nice, but I'm sure it'd wear on me after a little while.

Oh yeah, it was 21° and sunny today, and tommorrow, it's supposed to be pretty much the same. The weather break is well worth the price of the plane ticket and hotel... that work paid for me.

Atlanta: Day 1

Current status: Not mugged

Well, here I am in Atlanta. I was picked up at 1:30 this afternoon and driven to the airport in Toronto. The driver was informed that the 401 was slow, so we took back ways until Guelph Line. I think the guy is a little high strung as a driver. He was shaking his head and muttering at everything he saw on the road (even if it didn't involve him) and at everything he heard on his radio. Just riding with him was putting me on edge.

But we got there eventually, and I got to look clueless searching for the check-in for US flights. Oh well, this is the first time I've flown solo. The flight was nice on Air Canada. Each seat had a touchscreen television with on-demand programming. I watched Eragon and an episode of the Twilight Zone.

Then I rode the subway clear across the city. It took about 45 minutes in all. After I got to the right station, it was dark out and I had to walk to the hotel. It wasn't far... about 5 minutes, but still, I had to find my way out of a parking garage at a mall and walk down a street that was under repair (ie. no sidewalks) and not many streetlights. The area is like a technology park/hotel district/shopping area, so it wasn't that shady... but still.

Back To A Student's Life

I went back to school today... Just for a day though. Everyone from work came to Waterloo today to learn a different software package. I sat in a classroom in E2 and was taught by a former prof of mine. It's was kind of a cool feeling really. I haven't walked through my old school much since graduating, even though I live just around the corner. I even saw a classmate of mine. I felt kinda bad because I didn't stop to chat... I just said hi because we were walking in different directions, but still, I never see people from class. There are a few new buildings and additions since I was there, but essentially it's still the same. One thing that surprised me was that today was the last day of the term, so it was kinda quiet in the halls. Doesn't April 3rd seem early for the last day of term? Especially since the winter term has reading week. And apparently, engineers get a whole week for reading week now, not just reading two-days. It'd be nice if they did that four years ago. YIPES! Four years?!? Oh well. Bonus: Had lunch at Mongolian Grill.

Money Making Opprotunity

Here we go again! I'm looking for two people to do a follow up study for the Uptown Waterloo Parking project. It's not as bad as last time, believe me. This time, you'll be in pairs and in cars driving around surveying instead of walking. The study will be happening from 8am until 8pm on Thursday, October 19... That's this Thursday for those without a calendar. Email me at mbrouwer@ptsl.com if interested. $15 per hour.

Third Time = Officially Selling Out

Hey! Have you heard this one before? Who wants to make some money?

We have yet another short-notice count to do. This one is a solo effort though. We require one person to count the ins and outs at a bank in Kitchener (Forest Glen Plaza on Greenbrook Drive between Fischer-Hallman and Westmount). We need someone to count for 3 hour (3:00pm - 6:00pm) tomorrow (October 3).

Interested? Email: mbrouwer@ptsl.com

PS - Yes, I am getting pretty disgusted with having to soil my blog like this so much lately. Work sucks, what are ya gonna do?

Another Opprotunity To Make Some Money

Alright, my company needs some more people who want earn $15 an hour. This is different than the last one... it's a traffic count.

The job entails counting either the entrance (ins and outs) of one of two sites (either Cambridge Bingo on Elgin St or Krug Street Shopping Centre on... well, Krug Street) or one of three intersections (near Krug St Centre).

The hours would be 4pm - 9pm on Friday and 11am - 3pm on Saturday. That's this Friday and Saturday.

Email me at mbrouwer@ptsl.com if you're interested asap.

Update (10:15am Thurs) - We're full up for Saturday, but still need people for Friday. Email me if interested.

Update 2 (Thurs @ 3:50pm) - Applications are now closed. Thanks for your interest.

Does Anyone Need Some Money?

At work, we have a job that requires some temporary staffing. If you or someone you know needs or wants some extra money and is available to be in Waterloo on Thursday, September 7 or Saturday, September 9 (or both), let me know by emailing my work address...

mbrouwer(at)ptsl.com

What the job entails is counting the number of vehicles parked in Uptown Waterloo. It'll be an all-day job, and it'll require a lot of walking. We'll be surveying from 8am until 8pm (there'll be breaks though). Our rate of pay is $15 per hour.

If you're interested or want more information email me at

mbrouwer(at)ptsl.com (of course, replace the (at) with an @)

It Was A Good Day Today

First of all, I finished my Christmas shopping. HAHA... I win again Christmas, better luck next year!

In other news, my office chair busted last Friday. Well, actually it was over the course of the past year or so as it had been leaning a bit, but Friday was the day where I said it's leaning too much. I looked underneath and discovered that metal fatigue had taken it's toll, and it would give out at any time. So, for the last few days I've been using one of my cheap Ikea dining room chairs to work on... not cool. But tonight I went out and purchased a brand new office chair with a grant from my bosses. Boo-Yeah.

But the day seems to be winding down and it looks like I'm developing a sore throat.

Can't have it all.

Just when you thought it was over...

So, yesterday I wrote an exam. You say, "an exam? But Matt, you graduated school over a year ago!" And I say, "I know, just let me finish and I'll explain". The exam was the Professional Pracice Exam for PEO (Professional Engineers Ontario). To be a fully licenced professional engineer in Ontario, you have to have four years of relevant experience after you graduate, and pass this exam. So anyway, it's divied into two halves, ethics and law. I did pretty good on ethics... law, on the other hand, could go either way. Which is surprising because I had a law class in University, but not an ethics class. But seriously I can't imagine a more boring topic than Law. It is truly awful. The worst part of this whole thing is that I won't find out until February if I passed or not. They certainly take their sweet time. All in all, that's two weeks of doing nothing fun and studying that I'd like to forget.

Cracked up to be?

So, as most of you know, I work from home. Pretty sweet deal, you may say. I would, of course, agree. However, it's not all it's cracked up to be. Sure, I get to sleep in right up until the time I have to be at work... Sure, I get to work in my pajamas... Sure, I got a sweet computer setup from my company. But there are some days that working like this really remind me of being in school. Except that there's no classes, just a never ending supply of homework. And that's the point I'm getting at... there's always something to do... and even though I may be at home, that means, I'm also always at work at the same time. So, if I tend to goof off during the day (which tends to happen from *ahem* time to time), I feel like I should be working in the evenings. And if I don't, I always have the nagging feeling in the back of my head saying "you have work to do". Therefore, I can never leave stuff "at the office" like normal folk do at 5:00 everyday. Now, of course, it may be different if I actually had things to do in the evening, and I could go somewhere and forget about work, but that's more of an exception than a rule.

And another thing... I made the mistake of going to the mall on Saturday afternoon. That was stupid. It was like it was the official opening weekend of Christmas shopping season. It was Santa's first day and Christmas music was being played in the mall. Not even halfway through November! Forget that!

hmmm... I guess I was overly negative today. sorry. I told myself that this blog wouldn't be anything serious and I wouldn't write real thoughts in it. Guess I blew that one. But I just had some things to get off my chest.