All posts by steve@kerrzone.com

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Alberta Government Financial Consultation

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I generally believe governments are a necessary evil and it is hard for them to impress me. Within that context here is a stunning revelation, at least coming from me.

The Alberta provincial government is holding fiscal 2025 budget consultations and I was randomly selected to participate. Unfortunately I had a prior engagement at the time of the call so not sure what it entailed.

I am impressed ( that is the stunning revalation).

Impressive Feedback Survey (take it)

I am impressed overall because associated with the consultation call (not sure how that would work) was a very well thought out and constructed survey opportunity.

The survey is located here and I strongly encourage all my readers to  take it.  Actually designed with limited bias ( obviously zero bias would be asking the impossible) the topics and content are simple, straight forward and really pertinent,

At Least Trying

Will my, or even your voice have any effect, I am pretty skeptical about that, however, I do rate the government on “A” for effort.

I am pretty sure the responses will be all over the map and doubt this will drive the budget planning or ultimate end product in a way that provides me with personal satisfaction,

Trying to get a feel for the majority opinion of the approximately 5 million adults living in Alberta is a daunting task, focusing the consultation on randomly selected individuals rather then self seeking interest groups is an admirable approach.

Is the governments recent action on budget 2025 consultation something I am surprised to see, absolutely.  Good on ya.

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Canada Post RIP

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Today’s post is  just a rare rant by me, hope you enjoy it. (Yes,I do rant occasionally .)

I just shipped a Christmas parcel by fedex from Edmonton to Vancouver and it will arrive in two days. No signature , no hold so basic ground shipment. I will get an email when it is delivered.

Fedex drop office is closer to us than the nearest post office and cost was only $9.00 more than closest post mail, ($45 vs $36) and delivers two days faster, with notification.

Mail has dropped in the last 8 years from 6 billion pieces to 2 billion (66%) At this rate CP will be out of business in 4 years.

Tax Payers Lament

Canada post is a crown Corporation so we the taxpayers own them.

If I include the Canada post annual losses the cost of my parcel through them is actually way more expensive.  The last 6 years they have lost 2.994 billion or about $75 per Canadian.

Here’s hoping the over a billion dollar money losing Canada post strike leads to them going out of business so we don’t need to wait 4 years and start cost recovery right away (we own the Corporation so their loss is our loss.)

What the Corporation Predicts

My predictions do seem dire however to put it in real context here is a quote from the crown Corporation themselves:

“Without additional borrowing and refinancing, we expect to fall below our required operating and reserve cash requirements by early 2025”

Basically, a clear message to shareholders (all Canadians) there is a real possibility of bankruptcy.  This company will unlikely continue as a going concern, it is not competitive.

Clearly the need for this service no longer exists, competitors can provide at much less cost to the public.  Now is the time to let it go, the longer we continue to own this company, the more it will cost us

 

 

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Congratulations President Trump

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With Tuesday’s overwhelming election of Donald Trump as President of the United States I decided to contemplate my own dissatisfaction with this choice.

Firstly, having had a number of arguments with pro-Trump individuals I now understand my-own feelings are not politically driven but rather based on personal behaviours and the values they represent.

Loud, Outspoken and Self Centred

For me, Presidents Trumps policies are not an issue.  Some I buy into, some I don’t, which is very similar to my views on most politicians.

Trump has a very strong personality and in that sense it is polarizing.  You either support him or you don’t but there is very little middle ground.

The foundations of this polarization most likely derive to a large extent from his brash behaviours.  Two of my own core personal values – everyone is important and say what you do and do what you say, don’t align with Trumps behaviours, by and large.

More than Politics

While I might be on-board (to some extent)with Republican policies my dislike of their current leaders public personality is intense. Unfortunately, I just don’t like him because of his personality and associated behaviours.

So, will he be a good leader of the United States for the next four years.  Possibly.  Will he be a great leader, I doubt it, simply because of his lack of empathy and humility.

Personally I have worked closely with many leaders over the years that displayed a lot of similar traits to President Trump and on the plus side, they accomplished many things – some good, some bad but shit got done.  And then it was over.

On the other hand I have also worked for leaders with high levels of empathy and humility.  They were largely trusted by the majority.  They always got things done but in a collaborative way and their accomplishments live on.

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Canadian Passport Renewal Process – Really, seriously, Yikes

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My last post was about Service Canada performance relative to it’s passport renewal service. This post is a different perspective on the service.

I really wonder why  it is such a complex service even as Service Canada labels it as a simplified process.

As far as I can tell, if you are renewing an active passport before expiry, in addition to updated photos, which makes sense, you also need to provide references and submit in person which does not make sense.

References Required/In Person Application

I have had an active passport for over 45 years, renewing as required before expiry.  It has always puzzled me the hoops needed to renew.

The core purpose of the passport is to prove Canadian citizenship.  I did that when I got my first one.  Thereafter unless my citizenship had been revoked  (due to false representation, fraud, knowingly concealing material circumstances) I am entitled to a Canadian passport.

Requiring two personal references (which cannot be family) proves nothing and is a waste of time, both for the applicant and service Canada.

We already know the passport holder is Canadian (based on the initial application) so renewal should be automatic with only submission of updated photos and personal characteristics needed (hair color, weight, height.). This can be done online with fees paid online as well.

There is no need for an application or rigorous form checking in person coupled with an archaic operational process. Just submit online with previous valid passport number and voila renewed passport is reissued.

Enormous Cost Savings

This small change would drastically reduce labour associated with renewals and could easily be automated to a large degree.

The beauty of this is the irrelevant in person application and reference checks are eliminated resulting in a much faster turn around and does nothing to impact the integrity of the passport.

The document attests that I am Canadian, which would be cancelled if my citizenship had been revoked, and for me a cumbersome waste of time on 5 or 10 year renewal is eliminated.

Not to mention the cost savings to all taxpayers.

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Service Canada Setting Expectations – Surprise

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I just renewed my Canadian passport.  Service Canada is the agency handling the passport renewals process on behalf of Immigrations, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

On Sept 11th I downloaded the application, filled it in including confirming with my two references they were okay with me using their name and addresses.  Next day I got my photos.

Instead of mailing the application I decided to present it in person, so made an appointment using the online interface.  The first available appointment at a location acceptable to me was Oct 15th, over a month but I was not in a hurry.

Setting Exceptions/ Creating Confusion/ Results

The standard for delivering a passport renewal is listed on Service Canada website as 10 business days.

I arrived for my appointment, was checked in immediately, that is I avoided a line which was obviously well over an hour long just to get checked in.  That was good.

At check-in I was told the renewal passport would arrive on about Nov 20, well over the 10 business days and I was sent to the waiting area to await my name being called submit for processing and payment.  It would be about an hour she said.

Surprise, my wait was  only 10 minutes and the total time to submit the application only 20 minutes (which is what I expected given I had an appointment).

Surprise again, renewed passport arrived Oct 28th by express post, the tenth business day after application.

Under Commit Over-perform

Overall this was a bizarre and inexplicable experience.

Initial expectations were set as ten business days and 15 to 20 minute appointment.

At time of actual in person application the expectations were reset, 20 business days and 1 hour appointment.

The initial expectations were met so why the change?  What a lack of confidence was demonstrated here.

More to come

Today post explored service levels but tomorrow I will post some questions about the process itself and its underlying inefficiencies.

 

 

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Canadian Immigration Conumdrum

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There has been a lot of press recently about the need to limit immigration to Canada.

Canada’s population has grown in recent years, reaching 41 million in April 2024. Immigration accounted for almost 98% of this growth in 2023, 60% of which can be attributed to temporary residents.

This has resulted in an over-reaction.  High housing costs, both purchase and rent are blamed on this population increase. Additionally there is much speculation the quality of the immigrants is low.

Preparing for the Future

Based on an aging population and current birth rates, it is easy to forecast future issues relating to labour shortages and associated economic impacts, however, due to the current pain these are being largely ignored.

Not withstanding the obvious the growing impacts of a larger population has led to a major political issue and the populous is rebelling.

Our politicians are reacting to this and plans to curtail immigration by lowering limits and raising eligibility requirements are being implemented.

Sort Term Gain – Long Term Pain

Unfortunately like the anecdote about the frog that does not jump out of the water as it begins to boil, until it is too late, Canadians have become short sighted and insular about the need to grow our population.

Today’s problems are real but pale in comparison to the economic turmoil and impact on our service infrastructure in the future if we do not act now..

By reacting today, limiting immigration, rather than building capabilities to support a larger population we are simply positioning ourselves for future failure.

The larger our population, given our geographic capability to support it, is the road to future success.  I am saddened by the short-sited views focusing just on today.

 

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Tell All

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Building on my last post about SiriusXM and my recent experience with their customer service apparatus I can now say, although the service is polite and efficient clear communication is not a forte.

My ability to stream SiriusXM music (or anything on the service) was locked in error (by the ) with the latest version of the SiriusXM app.  This was confirmed by customer support.

I was told fixing it was a priority so naturally when it was not resolved by bedtime yesterday I assumed I would wake up to an operational service.

Third Follow up

You guessed it,  this was not the case leading me to a third interaction with customer service in the morning.  This time the cause of the problem was not acknowledged and I was told technical support would contact me within 24 to 48 hours.

This change in the story was not impressive.  I received no follow-up but the issue was fixed in the mid-afternoon shortly after I submitted feedback complaining about how the service was down for over a day,  Not sure if this had an effect.

I noted in my feedback how the support was inconsistent, initially seeming open and upfront slowly reverting to the more typically – know nothing, can’t help

Using the Opportunity to Build Customer Loyalty

Mistakes happen, problems are a great opportunity to prove to your customers that you care.  Resolution may take time but clearly telling all you know continuously until it is resolved works almost every time relative to avoiding frustration.

Everyone accepts the world is not perfect.  Getting straight forward responses that ring true obviously is not the same as having problems fully solved however it does go a long to reducing anger and frustration.

Based on my first contact with Sirius I sensed they understood this, and did care.  Todays follow-ups, not so much.

 

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A tale about SiriusXM

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About 15 years ago I elected to take a lifetime subscription to Sirius satellite radio.   It has since merged with XM satellite radio becoming, you guessed it, SiriusXM.

The cost was about $500 versus an annual cost of about $180 at that time.  Today it costs about $275/ yr.  In 15 years, based on$180 a year, I would have paid $2700 to date and with the cost rising as it has probably much more.

The Value Equation

I use SiriusXM both in my car, great for long trips, and for streaming.  Streaming wise it is very similar to most streaming apps with a wide variety of play-listed channels as well as , of course radio channels.

Given I listen. every day, either streaming or on a drive, I am clearly on the positive side of the value equation and getting better everyday.

Unlike regular radio stations, distance limited, there are no commercials as well.  So I am basically getting the station commercial free at this point without any cost.

The Service Test

Periodically SiriusXM releases a new app for streaming their content.  Today’s update locked streaming on all channels for lifetime subscribers.

You can access your account, view your favorites and music library, but thats it.  Nothing plays.

There support is reasonable, first I tried phone but there wasa wait so I switched to chat.  Of course they went through all the standard checks, a waste of time for me as I had already tried their suggestions.

Ultimately they took my suggestion that the update was at issue, escalated and told me it was a known issue and they were “on it” as my brother often says.

What’s Next

The problem persists, this the point where you subscribe to my blog and wait with bated breath for the next instalment.

Will they fix it as promised?  How long will it take?

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Technologic Change is Good

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We live in a time when our technical infrastructure is being constantly enhanced.  I am very puzzled by the resistance by some to these improvements.

Although to be honest, updates do affect me significantly given my complex home network and associated self-maintained infrastructure and often much work is required to integrate the changes.

Logical Approach

On the whole though, muttering and complaining aside, once I have adapted and received the benefits, you would be hard pressed to convince me to go back.

Some though refuse to accept the improved processes, ie., more productive or secure and resist adoption as long as they can.  Even when logic dictates the change has more pro’s than ons.

Over 80 countries around the world have a Real Time Payments (RTP) system.  Not Canada yet, although we have been working on it for over 5 years.  I suspect the big banks in Canada don’t want to let go of the current ‘float” based system.

Online Billing

RTP will greatly advance the productivity gains associated with our current on-line billing systems which have been eagerly adopted by most of the population.

Although some of the older generation still illogically resist these enhancements it is mainly an emotional response.  Personally I look forward to the continued enhancements, they do contribute to making my life easier once I overcome my natural initial resistance to change.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Computer Technology: Art or Science

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Over the last week or so I have been troubleshooting some problems within my home network.  As a result I have come to wonder how much managing computers software and hardware is an art versus a science

Tools and Usage

I have come to realize the tools themselves are exact and follow  a systematic methodology.  In that sense they are exact, for example, either on or off, do this or do that.  

I found though how you use them has many variations and subtle nuances where emotions (the artsy side) can play a role as much as logic (the science side).

Background

My web sites have be set up to use encryption via secure socket layer (SSL) with authentication provided by an independent Certificate Authority.

Basically content exchanges between someones computer and mine (both to and from) is encrypted so it can only be read by the intended recipient.

Also through the use of a certificate granted by a trusted source called a certificate authority (CA)  the sender can be sure the computer they are connecting to is mine. The CA is Let’s Encrypt in my case.

If the certificate is not valid your browser will warn you about the potential perils of proceeding – i.e, the target computer might not belong to who you think it does.

The certificate authority has a process I must follow every 90 days  so they can be confident I own the domain name and associated compute.

What Happened

Although my certificates have been in place for over 4 years (renewing every 90 days as required) something went wrong recently and my websites and servers were shown as unsafe.  (That is I had no valid certificate).

Without going into great detail, which would bore the majority of my audience, the point of the story is my troubleshooting which lasted over a week was fraught with many illogical, but perhaps artful steps.

In the end, I did it.  I finally got a solution. What interested me most though was the fact I needed to really dance around to get what I wanted (A valid certificate installed on my server).

It turns out this was not just a do this/do that type of recipe with straightforward repeatable instructions, which technically is what you would expect.

Artificial Intelligense

This experience has given me a better understanding of some of the pitfalls of artificial intelligence.   As computers think more like humans the art of behavior (emotional motivation) versus the scientific ways of acting will come out more and more.