Bob of Montreal
Monday, April 19, 2004
Springtime
It's definitely spring. The temperatures got into the high 60s today, according to Yahoo weather, but it felt warmer than that. No need for the jacket anymore. The spring-like weather was most obvious this weekend, when streets and parks I had been used to seeing completely vacant were suddenly mobbed with thousands of people. It turns out people live in the city in places other than the insides of restaurants, bars, and coffee houses.
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Right on Red
Woody Allen once said: "I wouldn't want to live anyplace where the main cultural advantage is that you can make a right on red." This was a joke, because at the time, New York City was the only city in the US which banned the practice.
Right on red has been illegal in Montreal. Last year, the Quebec government permitted some areas to go right on red, but the island of Montreal remains a no-right-on-red zone.
(An article on the subject is here). Apparently, there's the perception that right-on-red poses a threat to pedestrians and bikers, because drivers would just plow them down in the sidewalks. That's very different from what I remember in California, where pedestrian is King (for example, if a pedestrian crossing between two corners without a traffic light is struck by a car, it's the driver's fault, automatically).
So far, I've been able to restrain myself from making a right on red. I don't mind it so much, but it seems silly -- an anachronistic restriction based on perceived, but non-existent, danger. I will pull to the stop-light, and start tapping my wheel, waiting, slightly annoyed -- like a muzzle has been slipped on after learning my internalized driving reactions in elsewhere. Even more annoying, however, is the fact that many signals first have a green arrow pointing straight -- so that even when the light changes, at first, you can only go forward, again, to give pedestrians opportunity to cross. What's annoying about this is that it assumes that without the light, pedestrians don't have the right-of-way, and they do! But if there are no pedestrians there, I sit, I wait.
On the other hand, I ate poutine at three new places last month. After I eat one more at LaFluer, I'll be ready for the poutine review.
Sunday, April 11, 2004
Getting my Local Cell
After 3 months, I finally ditched AT&T - the number transfer isn't going to happen. Boo hoo. I lose my old number. So, now I'm looking to start my cell phone service in Canada. There are a number of significant differences with Canadian Cell phone service. For example: they tend to have packages which are all focused on night and weekend minutes (with 0 minutes in the day) or vice versa. And, they don't bundle the extra services, they charge a fee for them -- like voicemail, or caller ID. On the other hand -- it's much cheaper than in the US. I think I'm about to go with a plan which will give me roughly 600 min 8am-7pm, unlimited night/weekend, plus 1100 min long distance to the US for $45US.
Saturday, April 10, 2004
This One Goes To 11.
As I was just grinding coffee, it occurred to me I could probably find some great chocolate nearby, and make my own chocholate-coated espresso beans. And then it struck me how to make them even better:
Friday, April 09, 2004
Dogville, no Passion
If I go to my local 22-screen multiplex, I can see Lars von Triers' DOGVILLE at 3 showings today. And, PASSION isn't showing at all -- not just at the multiplex, but anywhere in Montreal.
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Vonage/ATT Update
Vonage failed to get anything done last week. So, I finally called ATT this weekend. They have no record of ever having been asked by Vonage to port the number. That's not surprising: Vonage says ATT denies the request because they don't have that account number. But, I've already checked with both parties -- everybody agrees on the account number. So, either vonage is lying that they've asked 3 times for the swap and been denied the swap; or ATT is lying when they say they've never gotten the request.
Today, I got AT&T's port department on the phone to call Vonage. First, I tried to do this yesterday at 4:45pm, but by the time AT&T got their act to make the call, Vonage was closed. That's right, closed.
So, I tried again this morning with AT&T. This time, all AT&T got was Vonage's port department Voice mail. It was 10:00am, and they weren't answering their phones. So we called Vonage Customer service. The way this works is AT&T gets the company on the phone and checks out their story. First, "David" at Vonage said that I had never requested a port. Uh-oh. Then AT&T told them "I have the customer on the other line, and he says he filed with you Jan 13." Then David said, oh, let me look at that record again, yes, here it is. We tried 3 times, and it never worked. But there's nothing I can do for you, you have to talk to our porting department. To which we replied "We tried, and they aren't answering their phone." David said, "let me walk over there and talk to someone." Ten minutes of hold-time later, he came back and said "okay, I'm going to transfer you" and then he cut us off.
AT&T said "Look, sir, we can't get them on the phone, there's nothing more we can do for you."
To me, this smells like Vonage can't do what they advertise they can do. If so, then they are being deceptive and fraudulent.
Here's the worst part: this means that, unless Vonage can come up with the goods, I just have to drop my 626-840-6930 number anyhow. Unless I go to the only other VoIP provider. Which as of 2 weeks ago, is AT&T.
I'm giving up on my old number. I'll cancel my AT&T service, and post my new information.
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Why I don't yet have a Montreal Phone Number
I've been waiting since Jan 13 for my AT&T Wireless number to be ported to Vonage, so that I can keep my 626-840-6930 number. Vonage is modest about what they can accomplsh, advertising only that it will take longer than 20 days -- with an indefinite end date. In other words, your wireless may *never* be moved to Vonage, and it'd be consistent with what they advertise. However, my brother Steve got his Cingular number moved to Vonage in <2 days, so I was hopeful.
Hope misplaced. Two and a half months later, my ATTWS number still hasn't been moved. I've called many times before, and all Vonage would say was "Hasn't happened yet. We can't say when it will." Until today.
I called Vonage to go on a harangue. But the person I talked to did something Vonage had never done before: tell me what actually is going on.
My request for transfer was indeed filed by Jan 13, by Vonage. But on about Feb 17, AT&T came back with "denied" -- reason: they said the account number was wrong. Vonage gave them the account number I had given them (yes, it was correct). Wait again until March 13, when AT&T says "denied": account number wrong. Vonage apparently naively just sent them the correct information, yet again. Today, in response to my complaint, they are "expiditing" the order, and they are sending to AT&T a copy of the paper bill I sent to Vonage, proving my account number is correct.
So now I know what has held up my number transfer: AT&T has been lying to vonage, saying the account number they are providing is wrong, in order to force them to provide paper copies. There's nothing illegal about that, but it is onerous to have to do it for every transfer, and AT&T is probably do it to place an onerous burdeon on Vonage, now that AT&T has decided to enter into Vonage's market -- VoIP phone service.
I hope Vonage gets the number today -- I'd like to keep my old number, and get a new Montreal number on my cell phone.
