Turn down the heat
When youre dressed for outdoors, theres nothing worse than riding a transit vehicle with the heat cranked up. I usually open a window to let some air in, providing the window isnt stuck closed (20-21 C is an ideal indoor temperature, yet it can feel like 25 C and up when youre wearing your coat). Same applies to malls and retailers. If I feel uncomfortably hot in your business, then I probably wont stick around to spend my money. In the long run, youll save so much money on your heat and fuel costs during the cooler seasons of the year. So, please give us a break and turn down the heat. Now that summer is upon us, I only have to put up with the heat outdoors. Yay!
Chris
Renters digs
I live, like thousands of others, in a basement suite in an antiquated house. I am one of the Mould People. I pay $510 a month as a solitary artist living on the edge and I am very lucky. In the winter it gets chilly because of the cement floor. In the summer, its best because its cool, not hot and I can also open the windows and hear screams of joy from Playland. Ive lived here six years me and the spiders and get along well with the family above me as well as the rental agency. The neighborhood is mixed ethnicity and quiet except when its PNE time and game day for the Whitecaps which I dont mind. This is as good as it gets in high-priced Vancouver, where shelter is not a right but a privilege given to those who have the money. Market rental is way beyond my budget. The people you feature in WE in My Digs are living in a world unattainable for most of us commoners. We live without any sense of security. We are the renters surviving in Vancouver where there hasnt been any new rental housing to speak of for more than two decades.
Stewart
Renting reality
In Renters roundtable (June 2), housing advocate Fraser Stuart lamented that he cant rent a two bedroom apartment with utilities for $640, as he did in Montreal. In Vancouver, he pays $425 for a tiny room. As Vancouver evolves into a first-rate city, everybody who wants to live here will need to get used to living in smaller, more expensive spaces. The year is 2011, not 1978 or 1992. The city has changed. Heres the bottom line: If this area holds enough interest for you to pay high 2011 rents and costs, then feel free to stay; but if the costs cause you nothing but misery, do us all a favour and live somewhere you can afford. In cities like New York, people have learned how to live in very small spaces and they approach the challenges with enthusiasm because they think living in NYC is worth the trade off. If you dont think Vancouver is worth the price, pack up your angst and leave.
Mark
Road rage
This is to the cyclist that cut me off this morning as I was crossing the street. I was two steps away from the sidewalk and you decided to just plow through just barely missing me. Its not like I ran out into the street I was almost across the street! Its ignorant people like you that give a bad name to cyclists in this city. The car that was just beside you stopped. What makes you think the road rules do not apply to you?
Charleen G
Darwin award goes to...
Thursday morning, May 31. This Rant is to the waste of skin on a bicycle, no helmet of course, who cut in front of me across four lanes of traffic on Nanaimo street, almost causing a head-on collision as I swerved to avoid hitting you. You grinned stupidly as you thought it was pretty funny. Well I hope you remove yourself from the gene pool really soon. I expect you will. One more Darwin award winner exits the planet. Gregor Robertson, are you listening?
Shaken
End of the world
Now excuse me, but if the planet ended on May 21 then the next day must be Day 1, right? Are we supposed to change our calendars at this point? Sorry, I just had to comment on the end of the world, OK? Im 63 and this is about the 10th time the world has ended and I just wanted to let you know its funny all the time.
Anonymous Rantline caller
Smokers: stop littering
What is it with smokers who assume throwing butts into the street is not littering.
Almost every other day I see kitchen staff from places on Mainland, Hamilton and Homer streets grabbing a quick smoke break and then flicking the butt into the street. Can we assume all of these individuals wash their hands before returning to the kitchen? I mean if they cant clean up their garbage whos to say they clean themselves? Just find an ashtray or garbage receptacle and dont get me started on the drivers who toss the cigarette package cellophane out the car window.
Anonymous
Off-leash incident
On a recent evening my husband and I took our cocker spaniel to the off-leash dog area at Nelson Park. I thought that would be enjoyable for us and our dog and she could have some play time with the other dogs in the park. On this particular night our dog, upon entering the off leash area, was immediately set upon by a standard poodle that weighed 50 pounds. Our dog weighs 25 pounds. This dog knocked ours to the ground without warning and pinned her on her back against the gate. This bigger dog was showing teeth and snapping at our dog who was yelping in fear and every time she tried to get up was knocked down again by the bigger dog. The owner of the dog, rather than command her dog to stop, kept saying She just playing, she just playing. My husband pulled this dog off ours on three occasions. After the third unsuccessful attempt to get this dog to leave ours alone I openhandedly slapped this dog on its rear end. This put an end to the attack. The owner of the poodle was shocked and upset that I slapped her dog. She even asked me How would you like it if I slap you? To her, I would like to say that if I had run at her, knocked her to the ground, jumped on top of her, snarled and snapped at her, and refused to let her get up, and all my husband said was he just playing, he just playing, then she has every right to slap me. Slap away, I would deserve it, as did her dog. Owners must always be in control of their dogs, even in an off-leash park. Dog parks, especially off-leash dog parks, are for responsible dog owners and their well-behaved dogs. Sadly, on this evening, none of the aforementioned were there.
D. Ayton
No table manners
My Rant today is about the people who hog the tables in Starbucks and other coffee places with their computers and wont let anybody else sit down. Ive seen them at a table with three chairs and use the whole table sonobody can sit down! I have seen lineups of people in Starbucks who turned around and walked out because there was no place to sit down because most of the tables were being used by people with computers sitting there for hours and hours with one coffee. This is bullshit as far as Im concerned. What happened to manners? This city is not the city it used to be.
Anonymous
