What happened to the polling station?

Elections BC sign for 2013 Provincial General Election

At one time people knew what a Polling Station was. And the non-partisan offices that were responsible for getting out the vote called a Polling Station a Polling Station.

But the level of literacy has obviously dropped to such a horrendous level that almost no one knows what a polling station is, or at least that is what the staff at Elections BC must think.

I wonder what the next assumption about voter literacy will be.

Odd name for an inland beer

Big Surf Beer Co. truck

I saw this truck in the parking lot at the Merritt tourist information centre. Big Surf is a beer from Kelowna, but the name would indicate that it came from a salt-water locale, not a city on a freshwater lake.

But while the name does not suit the city of origin, it does create a nice image for the beer. Big Surf and palm trees do have a somewhat exotic connotation. And at $7.89 for a 6-pack of cans it is one of the cheapest beers at the BC Liquor Stores. That never hurts sales.

They got most of it right, but it is not enough

Logo on a Rainbow Painting truck, Kelowna, BC

Repeat after me; Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. If it was Good Enough for Sir Issac Newton is should be good enough for me.

And what are those colours? A rainbow. So, why can't  Rainbow Painting get the colours right? At least the firm didn't make the mistake of putting green and red next to one another. But the spectrum of visible light goes red to violet. (Hence infra red and ultra violet.)

Just another petty rant from a someone who gets pedantic about basic science.

It's dead!!!

Dead light bulb in the window of a Shoppers Drug Mart, Cambie Street, Vancouver

Do I obsess about dead light bulbs? Yes indeed. The dead bulb, in the red oval above, is just a little thing. It is not a huge deal. It is not as if the store has run out of Aspirin, or diapers. It is just a dead light bulb.

But what message do these little things send? We are not paying attention. We don't care. We're too busy.

And is that really the message you want to send to your customers?

Now for lease (And it used to be a Blenz)

"For Lease" sign at a former Blenz location, Cambie Street, Vancouver

Last year I wrote about this Blenz location. The furniture looked a bit shabby and I wondered if Blenz was doing enough work to maintain the quality of its franchisees. I also noted that while this coffee shop was usually never more than 1/3 full, the Starbucks up the street was always standing room only.

Well, something has come home to roost. Since my last visit to Vancouver, this Blenz location has closed. I can't say that I'm very surprised. But it is one of those vicious circles. Sales are down so in an effort to save money you let maintenance slip a bit. The customers notice that the place is a bit shabby, and they make their purchases elsewhere, and then next thing you know the business has failed and the vacant premises is up for rent.

It just goes to reinforce the critical lesson. Retail is all about details and you ignore then at your peril.

That makes sense!

Rudder on Seaward Kayak

I saw this piece of branding on the rudder of my neighbour's new double kayak. The rudder of the kayak can be pulled up onto the stern of the kayak when you are entering shallow water, or landing. And it makes perfect sense that the logo should be the right way up when the rudder is in this position. When the rudder is in the water no one can see it, and it does not matter which way the lettering faces.

It is good to see that the designers at Seaward have actually thought things through. 

A dismantled pay phone installation

I suppose that we should have seen it coming. It was probably inevitable that the introduction of the cellular telephone would lead to the decline of the payphone. Especially in higher income neighbourhoods, the use of the pay phone has dropped dramatically. And given that the use has dropped, and vandalism has risen, the telephone companies are removing the few remaining phones.

Telus pay phones, or rather their remains, in front of Mountain Equipment Co-op, Vancouver

I would assume that pay phones will remain a bit longer in places like airports and train stations. But, I wonder when the last pay phone will be removed from the street in Canada? 5 years? 10 years?