Feeling Loney? Shaw offers new chat facility in lieu of customer service

GoToAssist:

Your representative has arrived.

Stephen - 6685 (15:39:24):

Thank you for choosing Shaw Internet Chat Support, my name is Steve.  I will be happy to help you today.Before continuing, would you please confirm your home telephone number and address so that I can bring up your account information?

Customer (15:40:02):

I have moved and my account is closed... the address the account was at is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Stephen - 6685 (15:42:28):

i have reviewed the account and for that i am not sure on what we would do to get that changed you would be best to speak to our customer service department either in our retail office, or by phoning in

Customer (15:44:59):

uh hu

Customer (15:45:12):

I have been on hold for an hour an a half to try to do that

Customer (15:45:28):

and an hour waiting to chat with you

Customer (15:46:09):

to be told to go away...

Stephen - 6685 (15:47:07):

i am sorry you have been waiting so long , it is extremely busy, however this is not something that we can take care of over chat, we are not trained for this type of issue on chat, our customer service department will be able to assist you and help get it sorted out

Customer (15:50:17):

are you trained to telephone customers?

Stephen - 6685 (15:50:57):

we are chat only

Customer (15:51:16):

where are you located?

Stephen - 6685 (15:51:25):

in bc

Customer (15:51:31):

how is the weather?

Stephen - 6685 (15:51:40):

cloudy and windy

Customer (15:51:48):

it is sunny here in the Arctic

Customer (15:51:57):

do you snowboard?

Stephen - 6685 (15:52:09):

oh nice,  i do when i get the chance in winter

Customer (15:52:22):

Sun Peaks or Whistler?

Stephen - 6685 (15:52:49):

ive been to whistler and some other places when i travel.

Customer (15:53:06):

You should check out Heavenly at Lake Tahoe

Stephen - 6685 (15:54:08):

i will look into that for sure,    i do apologize we cannot help further, once you get in contact with our customer service department they will be able to help you for sure,  was there something else we can help with right now?

Customer (15:54:29):

I thought you said you were trained to chat?

Customer (15:54:47):

I figured your job was to chat while I am on hold for customer service

Stephen - 6685 (15:54:59):

no, we help with technical support over chat

Customer (15:55:20):

can you give me an example of what kind of support?

Stephen - 6685 (15:55:42):

well we help with internet or cable challenges

Customer (15:56:05):

My internet is really slow. Any ideas?

Stephen - 6685 (15:56:21):

you dont have shaw internet service, so you would be best to contact your service provider

Stephen - 6685 (15:56:35):

we will need to end this chat session, as we are unable to assist further,  Have a great day.

Customer (15:56:45):

enjoy your summer

Stephen - 6685 (15:57:02):

Same to you  (whats left of it =P)

GoToAssist (15:57:07):

Stephen - 6685 has left the session.

Sealift Storage

The MV Camilla Desgagnes arrived in Koojese inlet on Tuesday night. On board the 133 metre cargo ship is  the fourth of eight shipments that form the 2011 "sealift" for Iqaluit and other communities in the Canadian Eastern Arctic. None of Nunavut's 25 communities is accessible by road at any time of the year, Ice Road truckers is in the West. The 33,000 people who live in the Territory rely on air transportation to deliver supplies throughout the year. During the summer, when the ice retreats and the ocean becomes navigable a series of cargo ships make the journey north to deliver all manner of goods: Building supplies for the construction industry (including heavy equipment); vehicles both for individuals and commercial bulk orders; dry goods to resupply the grocery stores and for those individuals who have the resources to place an individual order.

Much like ordering alcohol (other than from the poorly stocked and overpriced Rankin Warehouse) the sealift is out of reach to most of the population as it requires credit cards, internet or fax connections, and considerable investment. If you are interested in learning more there is an excellent article about food mail / nutrition north in Up Here magazine. Back in July when we were in Montreal we spent almost $3,000 in one day on dog food and groceries which we delivered to the NSSI cargo packaging company in Ste Catherine. A few weeks ago we got the bill for crating and shipping which was $750. Spending $3,000+ in trip to the grocery store is not something you are used to before moving up here Revenue Canada tax returns fund the majority of private sealifts. If you can't tack a shopping trip onto a holiday there are a number of companies in Ottawa who will do the shopping for you (for a fee).

So when your year's supply of toilet paper, canned tomatoes, pasta, flour and dog food arrives, what do you do with it? We are lucky enough to have both a "Cold Storage" and a "Sealift Room". The Cold Storage is a secure lean-to on the side of our house, it looks like part of the house but it is not insulated, hence it is cold, sometimes very cold indeed. We store empty suitcases, camping gear, tools, the generator, snowboards and bikes in here, shortly it will also house sixteen bags of dog food.

Our cold storage room

A door leads from the cold storage to the Sealift Room which is a kind of a corridor between the cold storage and the downstairs hall. This room is within the house proper and has insulation and heat, although it is always the coolest room in the house, once there was frost on the inside of the door to the cold storage. This room doubles as the dog's bedroom, a cool dark room with no windows is essential for letting them know it is bed time during the never-dark summer nights. As you can see there are two deep shelves running the length of the room, the bottom shelf is currently devoted to dog food and out of date soda, the top shelf holds light bulbs, coffee, pasta, spices and the extra toilet paper that I couldn't fit in the laundry room. In a characteristically anal way I have labeled the rubbermaids for easy reference.



Our sealift room



We believe that our crate is here in Iqaluit, but because two ships arrived at the same time everything is backed up. tomorrow Blaine is going to cruise around the compound by the coastguard looking for our crate so that we can get it delivered to the house for unloading. stand by for an account of the delivery and unpacking experience!

of Bowhead, Baleen and Blubber

Inuit in the Canadian Eastern Arctic have been hunting bowhead for subsistence since the Thule Culture (1,000 to 1,600 AD). The Thule people had a strong maritime culture that included mastery of large boats (umiak) and the use of harpoons with sealskin floats that could be used to hunt Narwahl, Beluga and even bowhead. Qallunaat engaged in commercial whaling in the Eastern Arctic from 1848 to 1911, this had a massive impact on the whale population which had previously been unaffected by centuries of subsistence hunting.  The bowhead is one of the largest baleen whales, second in weight only to the blue whale. Its blubber can be as thick as two feet and it boasts the largest mouth of any animal with up to 660 baleen plates which can be as long as 4 metres.  A single bowhead whale could yield up to 100 barrels of oil and 1500 pounds of baleen (also known as whalebone, strips of which were used as stays in corsets).

The Federal ban on bowhead hunting was enacted in 1979, however in the early 1920's along with the arrival of the Hudson's Bay Company in the area, there was a perception that the government had banned Inuit from hunting bowhead. In 1991 the Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) collaborated with Inuit organizations to develop an international bowhead conservation strategy. The first sanctioned post land claim hunt took place in 1996, and was authorized with a DFO license. Article 5.5.2 of the 1993 Nunavut Land Claims agreement mandated that an Inuit bowhead knowledge study be undertaken, the final report was published in March 2000 and includes suggestions for an appropriate rate of harvesting which was initially set at one whale every two years. The DFO's 2009. selective hunting report makes the recommendation that hunts target juvenile male bowheads in order to minimize the impact on the population's recovery. Between 1996 and 2008 a total of eight bowhead whales were harvested in Nunavut. In May 2009 the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board increased the quota to three whales per year, one in each of the Territory's three regions. In August 2009 a bowhead was harvested in the Kivalik region after a 23 day hunt. The communities of Repulse Bay and Pond Inlet were also successful in harvesting whales in 2010.

On Monday August 15, 2011 we watched a group of hunters making preparations to set out on Iqaluit's first bowhead whale hunt in living memory. By 9pm the next day word was spreading that the hunters had caught a whale. The excitement in the City grew as details trickled in and preparations began for a community feast to celebrate the historic catch. High tide on Wednesday morning saw a fleet of community members head out to help butcher the behemouth and 24 hours later the first slabs of maqtaaq appeared on the breakwater, followed by meat and then the return of the hunters on the evening high tide. (The tidal range here is as much as 11m so boats cannot access the breakwaters at all times).

Ulu ~ women's knife

On Tuesday Morning when I was walking the dogs on the beach a lady approached me asking if I would like to buy an ulu. It was very beautifully made but at the time I had no money and no real need for an ulu. Last night, as the air of excitement in town began to rise due to the success of the bowhead hunt I began to wonder if I had made the right decision. And so it was that at lunch time today I drove past their home to enquire if the ulu was still for sale, alas it was sold but he was making another already and invited me to come take a look. 

Josipee and Elina (sorry if I have misspelled your names) introduced themselves and invited me into their home to choose the piece of caribou antler that would form the handle of my ulu. The piece that I chose has a gentle curve that fits perfectly in my hand. I particularly asked Josipee to leave the small spur on the antler as I really like it, it's presence somehow makes it more real to me that it is indeed a piece of antler. We chatted outside for a while and I was shown the various tools used to make the ulu which is comprised of three parts, the blade, handle and shaft. 

I also learned that the hunters had delivered some maqtaaq to the pier this morning for everyone to help themselves. How could I refuse when they offered to share some with me! Josipee opened a wooden box to reveal a huge slab of whale fat with about 1.5cm of thick black skin and proceeded to start carving me a hunk of the skin. Finally Elina and I persuaded him to only cut me a small piece about the size of my little finger, he then cut it part way through half way along to make it easier to bite. I was surprised at how odourless it was and it had a faint fish like taste but a texture unlike anything I have ever encountered. Not slimy but sort of rubbery, although not in the way that squid can be... there is nothing for it you shall just have to try for yourself. They told me that you can keep it for ages and it just ferments, however they didn't think I should try fermented maqtaaq just yet.

After work I fed and walked the dogs then went back down to the beach and was delighted to watch the finishing touches. 

The blade is pinned to the wooden block between Joe's knees, this is to hold it still while he sharpens the cutting edge. He is filing the shaft so that it fits properly into the handle which Elina is holding. 

The handle was filed all over to make it smooth and to bring out the white colour. The blade is attached to the handle with two metal pins, a small guide hole is drilled into the handle then it is hammered into place on the shaft.

Joe hammers the metal pins flat to make sure the blade doesn't wobble as I slice and dice.

A final rub on the sharpening stone and my very own custom made ulu is ready!

Thank you guys - see you on the beach!

Footnote: According to Wikipedia  the ulu "is utilized in applications as diverse as skinning and cleaning animals, cutting a child's hair, cutting food and, if necessary, trimming blocks of snow and ice used to build an igloo." Johnny will be pleased to learn that "The ulu is still used today but not for cutting children's hair."

CFLC and HMCS Summerside

This weekend we were lucky enough to join the Canadian Forces Liaison Council (CFLC) for a portion of their Iqaluit ExecuTrek. The CFLC works to promote employer support of the Canadian Forces Reserve, one of the ways in which they do this is to bring employers out to see the reservists in action. The group that we spent the day with were from the Maritimes (for the non-Canuck readers that means New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia) and included HR directors, Company CEOs and City Mayors. As the host destination Nunavut was represented by the Territory's Commissioner and the Government of Nunavut Communications Officer, the City of Iqaluit was represented by the Mayor, the CAO and his assistant, and (this is where we come in) Deputy Fire Chief. The local RCMP detachment was represented too, although he had to surrender his sidearm before boarding the HMCS Summerside!

We gathered at the old jetty on the far side of the inlet at 9am on Saturday morning. A fishing boat acted as a water taxi to ferry us out to the HMCS Summerside where we had to climb a rope ladder to board the 55m Kingston-class coastal defence vessel. 

Captain Luc Tremblay welcomed us aboard and we were given tours of every inch of the ship, from the Captain's quarters to the engines. After an excellent lunch we were treated to a man overboard drill. the water surface temperature registered at barely 5 degrees C so they used a dummy rather than a real victim.

Next on the agenda was a surprise tour of the US Coast Guard Cutter Willow from whom the HMCS Summerside took on 40 tons of fuel. The ships are in the area as part of Operation Nanook which is an annual multi agency operation to exercise Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic.

North Mart Used Autos

The area to the side of North Mart acts as an overflow car park when the spaces at the front are all taken.  A couple of weeks ago we noticed that the cars were parked in an odd way. Closer inspection revealed that it is actually a used car lot. Apparently North Mart actually ships up vehicles on the sealift to sell them.

Best Before (but perfectly acceptable and a fraction of the price after) Dates

At lunch time today I popped into NorthMart to grab some Caesar salad dressing (I like the Renee's roasted garlic yogurt one). Just opposite the entrance is my favourite section, the "specials". Most of the time they are not very special, just a convenient place to dump a pallet of goods and possibly tape a piece of paper with a price to it. Or more often, place (not tape) a piece of paper with a price on the product, but no other information, and then laugh when the paper blows off the various products and the customers stand around in small herds trying to match up the product and price. I am most happy when this area is used to sell out of date groceries to make room for newly arrived fresh items.

The astute shopper can pick up 12 cans of soda for $5, last week Blaine took advantage and filled the bottom shelf in the sealift room with cases of Tonic (for me and my Gin), Club Soda (for our whisky), Mountain Dew, Cream Soda, A&W Root Beer, Diet Ginger Ale (also for me) Pepsi and Dr Pepper. Imagine my excitement today when I saw Apple Cinnamon Cheerios for less than $5! Behind that was a pallet of Multi Grain Cheerios and then another of Luck Charms, all for less than $5 a pack. You will recall from Monday's post that "Long Weekend Special" price is $12.69. I grabbed a pack of each and headed home for lunch, tempted to forgo the salad and have a bowl of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios instead. The Lucky Charms are for Blaine, there is something about those funny pieces of dehydrated marshmallow. On my way home tonight I am going to stop and get some more, I think there might have been some coffee reduced right at the back of the section too...

Given my new found love of expired groceries I thought I would do a little research. According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency I am not putting myself at any risk.

You can buy and eat foods after the "best before" date has passed. However, when this date has passed, the food may lose some of its freshness and flavour, or its texture may have changed. Some of its nutritional value, such as vitamin C content, may also be lost.

There is a medical condition prevalent in those born in Nunavut or who have lived here too long, whereby they suffer an extreme reaction, sometimes full blown anaphylaxis when eating fresh food. It would appear that the intensity of the flavour and the freshness of the product is just too much. A good friend of mine not only prefers but exclusively eats expired food, I believe the term is expiritarian. This subculture is so widespread here that I have heard there is a store in town which actually buys in already expired foods, seriously I read it on the internet.

*I made that last paragraph up

Clam Digging 101 (a guide for Qallunaat)

Step 1 - Consult the tide tables and identify an appropriate low tide. The lower the low tide the better. On Monday August 1 the 14:55 low tide was 1m, an extremely low tide thanks to the new moon.

Step 2 - Apply liberal quantities of Off to deter the voracious mosquitoes and go to the beach, ideally one without rocks. The example shown in the picture below is of a very poor clam digging location.

Step 3 - Look for clams which you can spot by the protruding "usuk" (penis in Inuktitut tee hee). They are sensitive and withdraw with a squirt of water the moment they sense movement, presumably wishing to avoid being dug up and eaten. Bearing this in mind we would not recommend that other readers take their dogs with them when clam digging as their busy investigation of the beach may cause some (or nearly all) of the clams to go into hiding, leaving nothing but holes in the sand to taunt us.

Step 4 - Dig around the clam which will withdraw into the muddy rocky sand the second you disturb it. This is where the non-rocky beach comes in handy as digging around rocks is slow work. We would recommend a large shovel to save bending over and to speed up the excavation.

Step 5 - Plunge your hand into the icy water and pluck the mollusc from it's burrow. We were told to wear rubber gloves but didn't take any on this exploratory mission, next time we will definitely wear some glamorous washing up gloves for their insulating and gripping properties.

Step 6 - Place the clam in a bucket of water and allow a few hours for the sand to clear out.

Step 7 - Cook and eat. One recommendation was to just boil and eat, another to serve with garlic butter.

The clams here are sort of like mini Geoducks. Neither Blaine nor I like Geoduck so we dug only to see if we could capture the beasts. I am going to search for some recipes that sound appealing, then we will head out to a less rocky spot and dig in earnest.

A Comparison of Long Weekend Supermarket Specials

At the supermarket checkout on Thursday I picked up the weekly flyer to help distract me from the pain of $165 in one small shopping basket. This evening I decided it would be amusing to compare this to the flyer from our local Save On foods in Port Coquitlam, here are some of my findings.

525g box of Cheerios - BC $4.99, Iqaluit $12.69
930g tin of Ground Coffee - BC $12.99, Iqaluit $20.19
Fresh Mango - BC 99cents, Iqaluit 600g frozen Mango chunks $6.89
Toilet Paper (12 double rolls) - BC $5.99, Iqaluit $21.99
Coke 24 cans - BC $5.99, Iqaluit $23.99 (this is really cheap so Blaine has gone out to stock up!)
250g Philadelphia Cream Cheese - BC 2 for $5, Iqaluit 1 for $4.99
Hot Dog Buns 12 pack - BC $2.39, Iqaluit $2.69 (although the last pack we got were mouldy already)
500g Kraft Cheese Slices - BC $2.99 , Iqaluit $7.99

This afternoon we went clam digging, I will post clam digging 101 some time this week.