Catpaw - diary of an angry cat

Just a quick note while I’m waiting to see if a fix for this computer will work …

I’d like to give ACER computers a big pat on the back for their excellent tech support. Normally I do nothing but complain about the lack of support offered by companies but Acer seems to swim against the tide. 3 times now I’ve contacted them about a variety of issues and I’ve received coherent answers within 24 hours. Last week, I emailed with a question and received an answer in less than 20 minutes. Not only did the person answer super fast - he supplied the correct answer the first time around. I’ll post the message later, I’m not at my computer right now. I’m struggling with an Outlook problem on someone elses computer and have to wait around while the files transfer.

Just thought I’d share the happy news that not all tech support are bone stupid.

…update: I tried to find the email response from Acer but alas I finally tidied my inbox up and must have purged it. Needless to say, I’m still pleased with their prompt answer.

A couple times a week, I pass by an out-of-service escalator. It’s been out of service for about a year now so I don’t pay much attention to it - I’m used to seeing out of order escalators. A sign used to hang on the wall with an estimated repair time - which past 2 months ago.

The sign is gone and replaced with a new one. I’ve never bothered reading the sign until today. You’ll never guess what reason the TTC is giving for the still out of work escalator. Here’s the message (I’ll try to get a photo tomorrow):

  Constricted walkway due to hoarding and ongoing escalator maintenance.

Come on! Is the TTC making fun of us?

Hoarding? 

Seriously, who the hell hoards escalator parts?

Is there an International Escalator Cabal who has cornered the market on parts?

Is there a secret warehouse filled with escalator parts hidden deep in the Canadian tundra?

Really - these questions need to be answered!

Sometimes life hands you a terrible burden.

Each of us deals with it in our own fashion, often alone or, if you are lucky, with the support of a close knit family. But every once in awhile, tragedy befalls a family in a horribly public fashion. Suddenly there is no private grief.

That happened last week here in Toronto.

Today looks bright and sunny - a perfect spring day. Good day for an outing, but I’m sure Quaiss and Hossy Shahghasy aren’t thinking today will be a good day for a double funeral.

You see, they are burying their parents today. Rahimullah and Nazifa came to Canada from Afghanistan 20 years ago and made a good life for themselves in this urban sprawl of a city. They worked hard to live the Canadian dream and give their two children a good life. By all accounts, after all these years, Rahimullah and Nazifa were still in love.

But it all ended on April 30 when a stranger came out of nowhere and began stabbing Nafiza with a 9 inch long knife. Rahimullah tried to come to his wife’s rescue but was in turn stabbed to death in the parking lot of a strip mall near their home. Neither knew their attacker. The only thing that mattered to Rahimullah was his wife’s safety, not the identity of their attacker.

They left behind 2 children, Quaiss, 21, and Hossy, 19, who must now shoulder this burden. It is hard to lose a parent, but to lose both in such an horrific fashion will leave nightmares for a long time to come.

How many of us are prepared for death? I’m sure Rahimullah and Nazifa weren’t when they went to run errands on that cold, rainy day. Now that they have died, their children are faced with huge problems. Turns out Rahimullah was recovering from a stroke, that had left him unable to work for most of the past year. They were surviving on Nafiza’s wages. Most of their savings were wiped out by the illness. And sadly, neither left a will or insurance - how many of us are guilty of that? Too many I’m afraid. So the children are stuck in a horrible limbo - no income, and now trying to settle an estate with no wills, while hanging onto the home.

It looks as though they may lose their home now, although the oldest Quaiss is working - one young man’s income will not be enough. Remember they are now saddled with debts from burying their parents - one funeral can be crippling, imagine how high the debt will be from 2. The daughter Hossy is in college and faces the prospect of dropping out and immediately getting a job. She may not be able to afford the luxury of an education now.

All too often, the only thing we can do is sit on the sidelines and shake our heads, or drop flowers off at the site of the tragedy. Maybe this once a few of us can make a small difference in this world. Members of the Shahghasy family have set up a small website asking for donations to help Rahimullah and Nazifa’s children out. Yes, I know they are now legally adults, therefore responsible for themselves. But they are not starting out their lives on an even playing field and sometimes it does the urban soul a lot of good to lend a hand, even if it’s a small one. Go to the website Shahghasy Fund and see if you can be a hero. They were good Canadians, good citizens. Now their children need a bit of help from more good citizens.

For more information on this terrible event check out these links:
Toronto Star
Globe and Mail
UPI

“My formula works on everyone as long as they’re consistent. I can shape anyone’s body into a teeny-tiny dancer type.”
…thus spake professional trainer to the stars Tracey Anderson.

I have one question for Ms Anderson - are you out of your mind? I really, really wanted to use the term teeny-tiny mind, but that’s just insulting, isn’t it. What are you thinking making such an irresponsible statement?

Why is this irresponsible?

Simple: not everyone can have a teeny-tiny dancer body. To even promote this thinking is one whacked out sense of reality. I suppose this is no different than the fashion industry that uses the airbrush and photo manipulation to make all their rake thin models so long limbed and necked. Any proper exercise routine and diet should take into account a healthy body image - which includes weight. There is something terribly wrong with thinking every woman should aspire to this particular body shape. She should have a more flexible attitude towards fitness.

Ms Anderson also claims that by following her diet, you can loose from 3 to 5 pounds a week. Whoa! Talk to any nutrition expert and they’ll immediately say 5 pounds? That’s bordering on dangerous for the average person. 1 to 2 pounds a week is recommended - it’s hard to lose weight, but then you didn’t gain it all at once, so why should you expect to shed it all at once. However Ms Anderson says she has developed this supernatural ability to help women attain this unrealistic goal after:

… testing 100 women for five years independently (because “the government isn’t going to fund seeing if you can get a Victoria’s Secret butt out of any woman!”).

Terribly scientific, don’t you know. 100 women! Whoo hooo! That’s a great sampling of the human population. So what body shapes did you choose? Did you sample a wide variety of women? Or is that too much to ask?

In case you don’t recognise the name, Tracey Anderson is the person partially responsible for Madonna’s over amped, over pumped body. Terribly attractive body eh? OH OH can I have one just like hers? Can I?

Oh wait, US magazine has published her diet - I think I’ll pass on the body and the diet. With diet she proposes falling well under the recommended 1300 calories per day (some food layouts are under 800 calories!) I think I’d rather gnaw my paws off rather than indulge in this insanity. Plus the stupid ass diet bans all spices.

NO SPICES? WHY BOTHER GETTING UP IN THE MORNING.

Hell, just crawl under the bed and eat the dust bunnies. It’d be as much fun. I have yet to see any study that proves spices promote weight gain. Now the basics of her diet aren’t bad - just far too limiting and far too boring. Here’s a typical day’s worth of food:

Breakfast
1 cup Kashi cereal, with ½ cup plain — or vanilla — nonfat rice milk
Lunch
3 oz fresh turkey breast with ¼ cup each of cucumbers, alfalfa sprouts and beets, plus 1 slice whole-grain bread
Snack
1 cup fresh strawberries
Dinner
3 to 5 oz grilled sea bass with ½ cup steamed fresh green beans

She has Kashi almost every day. Great cereal, but I bore easily and want variety. Well if you don’t want the Kashi, you can opt for what is offered on a different day - 1 cup of nonfat rice milk and 1 poached egg. Yum, yum, yum, I feel full.

There isn’t anything intrinsically wrong with the food, but it just isn’t enough, nor is it interesting enough to encourage me to stick with it. Add this to the punishing workout she proposes (“You should be dripping sweat and taking very few breaks”) and I can see myself going face first into the Hostess Ho Ho’s by the 5th day. I did a quick calculation of how many calories this particular day will supply you with and it comes to a whopping 750 - give or take 100, depending upon how you calculate. I was having a few problems figuring out how many calories you get in a 1/4 cup of cucs, sprouts and beets so I over compensated. If you want me exercising properly then you bloody well better fuel my body first.

750 measly calories on top of a punishing exercise routine? That isn’t enough to keep a gerbil happy. You bet you’ll be losing weight. Right up until the hospital hooks you up to their IV and starts to force you to eat properly. Bleck! This diet will encourage me to cheat and feel bad - both mentally and physically. Starvation is not appealing.

Ah, but she’s Hollywood approved, so I guess this is all right. I mean, where else are you going to look for a proper, healthy diet and exercise routine? Heaven forbid you should use common sense.