• 2020, The year that Keeps on giving

    From Charles Pierson@2:240/1120.976 to All on Sun Oct 25 07:31:07 2020
    Hello, All.

    Could this year get any better?

    https://www.wdsu.com/article/tropical-depression-twenty-eight-forms-in-caribbean-moving-into-gulf-next-week/34470385#

    --
    Best regards!
    Posted using Hotdoged on Android
    --- Hotdoged/2.13.5/Android
    * Origin: Houston, TX (2:240/1120.976)
  • From August Abolins@2:460/58 to Charles Pierson on Mon Oct 26 18:18:11 2020
    Hello, All.

    Could this year get any better?

    https://www.wdsu.com/article/tropical-depression-twenty-eight-forms-in-caribbean-moving-into-gulf-next-week/34470385#

    --
    Best regards!
    Posted using Hotdoged on Android

    Yesterday I discovered that an over grown Manitoba Maple had uprooted at my barn. The upper branches leaned against the overhead phone line that feed my house - stretching the wire pretty far to the side.

    I started to clip at those smaller branches with one of those cutters that is on an extended pole and a pulley mechanism with rope to operate. After about 1hr (with less thany 30 minutes to spare before sunset) I managed to free up the phone line.

    But... a new thing developed. The phone line had been so stretched out that it now had a large amount of slack. Part of the line comes from another pole across the country road. A tall truck could certainly snag it.

    I found out that there is no emergency/field number to call regarding overhead phone wires. After a few minutes of minimum options on the automated system to the phone company, I reached an agent located in the Philippines! (Why they can't give those jobs to domestic Canadians is strange to me. But I digress..) They booked a service call for 8am this morning, but no one showed up. Great system.

    --- tg2fido gate v0.6.1
    * Origin: Telegram to fido gate by Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/58)
  • From Charles Pierson@2:221/6.21 to August Abolins on Mon Oct 26 10:36:18 2020
    Hello, August Abolins.
    On 10/26/20 6:18 PM you wrote:

    Yesterday I discovered that an over grown Manitoba Maple had
    uprooted at my barn. The upper branches leaned against the
    overhead phone line that feed my house - stretching the wire
    pretty far to the side. I started to clip at those smaller
    branches with one of those cutters that is on an extended pole and
    a pulley mechanism with rope to operate. After about 1hr (with
    less thany 30 minutes to spare before sunset) I managed to free up
    the phone line. But... a new thing developed. The phone line had
    been so stretched out that it now had a large amount of slack.
    Part of the line comes from another pole across the country road.
    A tall truck could certainly snag it. I found out that there is
    no emergency/field number to call regarding overhead phone wires.
    After a few minutes of minimum options on the automated system to
    the phone company, I reached an agent located in the Philippines!
    (Why they can't give those jobs to domestic Canadians is strange
    to me. But I digress..) They booked a service call for 8am this
    morning, but no one showed up. Great system.

    That is pretty much any utility company. Especially of they contract out.

    --
    Best regards!
    Posted using Hotdoged on Android
    --- Hotdoged/2.13.5/Android
    * Origin: Houston, Tx (2:221/6.21)
  • From August Abolins@2:221/360 to Charles Pierson on Mon Oct 26 17:53:05 2020
    On 26/10/2020 4:36 a.m., Charles Pierson : August Abolins wrote:


    ..I reached an agent located in the Philippines!
    (Why they can't give those jobs to domestic Canadians is
    strange to me. But I digress..) They booked a service
    call for 8am this morning, but no one showed up. Great
    system.

    That is pretty much any utility company. Especially of
    they contract out.

    I can understand outsourcing to accommodate times outside normal
    business hours outside one's domestic region. But even if I reached
    an office in British Columbia at my local time in Ontario - 6:30p -
    that would have been only 3:30p BC time - and the jobs would have
    been domestic.

    On the phone, they were more concerned about my covid-19 status (I
    had to answer several questions) than the "emergency" that an
    overhead wire was hanging low over a public road.



    --
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  • From Charles Pierson@2:221/6.21 to August Abolins on Mon Oct 26 11:08:35 2020
    Hello, August Abolins.
    On 10/26/20 5:53 PM you wrote:

    That is pretty much any utility company. Especially of they
    contract out.
    I can understand outsourcing to accommodate times outside normal
    business hours outside one's domestic region. But even if I
    reached an office in British Columbia at my local time in Ontario
    - 6:30p - that would have been only 3:30p BC time - and the jobs
    would have been domestic.

    I don't know. Here at least, it seems the utilities contract out a lot of their work. I suppose it's cheaper to hire subcontractors than to carry more employees.

    On the phone, they were more concerned about my covid-19 status (I
    had to answer several questions) than the "emergency" that an
    overhead wire was hanging low over a public road.

    That sounds about right.

    --
    Best regards!
    Posted using Hotdoged on Android
    --- Hotdoged/2.13.5/Android
    * Origin: Houston, Tx (2:221/6.21)
  • From August Abolins@2:460/58 to Charles Pierson on Mon Oct 26 19:14:12 2020
    Hello, August Abolins.
    On 10/26/20 5:53 PM you wrote:

    That is pretty much any utility company. Especially of they
    contract out.
    I can understand outsourcing to accommodate times outside normal business hours outside one's domestic region. But even if I
    reached an office in British Columbia at my local time in Ontario
    - 6:30p - that would have been only 3:30p BC time - and the jobs would have been domestic.

    I don't know. Here at least, it seems the utilities contract out a lot of their work. I suppose it's cheaper to hire subcontractors than to carry more employees.

    On the phone, they were more concerned about my covid-19 status (I had to answer several questions) than the "emergency" that an overhead wire was hanging low over a public road.

    That sounds about right.

    --
    Best regards!
    Posted using Hotdoged on Android

    I think this covid-19 is affecting people's brains and reducing the ability to think common sense.

    --- tg2fido gate v0.6.1
    * Origin: Telegram to fido gate by Stas Mishchenkov (2:460/58)