I’m breaking tradition, this isn’t about Iceland. But by comparison Iceland for all its smallness has much more advanced telecommunication systems than we do in the big North America.
In the communication industries we are 3rd rate. I’m looking at you Canada and for that matter the U.S. too.
I almost said 3rd world country but that would be a disservice to poor countries that have better telecommunications. Unbelievable this telecommunications industry. There is so much wrong with it that I’d need my own server to list them all but this is just one story. Wait, I do have my own server, but that would be whistling in the wind and we all know how useful that is.
Today I tried to buy a smartphone (sic). Sounds simple doesn’t it? I skip past the large font price and go for the “hardware only / no contract” price. Great, “do you have these in stock?” “Yes sir” “I want one, no contract” “We can’t do that sir” “but it says so right here..” “sorry but policy says …..” signal lost, I’m already walking out the door.
Repeat this at 3 other retail stores. Nobody will sell me a freakin phone. So I go over to the official (insert carrier name here) store and I see the same phone for the same price. I even waited in a line that never seemed to move. “I’d like to buy a phone, no contract” “What’s your phone number sir?” “No, I just want the phone and not tie it to my account” “We can’t do that sir” “Why not, the sign clearly says the same thing on every phone in the store, $x no contract. That’s what I want, I’ll swap the SIM card all by myself” “We can’t do that sir because …….” signal lost, I’m already gone
They keep saying we need competition to fix the broken system. Bullshit, we need a lot more to change than that. Each “competitor” that appears is either bought out by the big boyz or does exactly the same as the other guys. Most of the companies are just market branded systems of the big 3. We do have one carrier that sells primarily as no contract but because of the broken system their coverage isn’t good enough to work at my house or where I need it and their frequencies are too limited so their phone selection isn’t nearly good enough. They don’t have what I want. We don’t have a phone store. We do however have “The Beer Store” (for those that don’t know that one, that’s the actual name). I can buy beer but I can’t buy a phone. pathetic.
Everyone knows about the volcanoes making waves around the planet and reminding us that nature will always hold the balance of power. I have a short list of links that I’m liking best today.
First up is an artsy look at the ash fall effects. Don’t worry about the Icelandic language, the pictures speak for themselves. This is Iceland’s oldest current public pool. Built by a youth group back in the ’20s on top of an older pool. Check out these beautiful shots .
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. Next is an enigmatic video This is worth going full screen, high def, with sound on.
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. And finally a video to satisfy the rest of you. Turn the sound up so you can hear the noise that these events make:
The elusive street artist Banksy has likely shown up in Toronto with his distinctive style of edgy graffiti. I found his work in Reykjavik. Street art in Reykjavík was a little surprising to see however it was usually more creative than typically seen on city streets.
Banksy in Toronto
Banksy in Reykjavík
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