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April 16, 2013 Enter your password to view comments.
The One Inch Punch Revisited…
March 29, 2013 1 Comment
“Mitch, you cheated!”
I was astounded… Within hours of posting my video yesterday of my One Inch Punch I received dozens of likes and comments, both privately and in public. However one person responded that I had cheated… not only had I straightened my fingers (giving me 4” from tip to knuckle), but I also brought my fist back several inches before striking. I went back and watched the video, and sure enough at the millisecond before impact you can clearly see several inches between my fist and the board.
Pictures don’t lie… I watched the video over and over again, and came to the same conclusion. This had not been a one inch punch.
I have cheated in my life… I cannot think of a really good example right now, but I have not always been the honest person I am today. However I live my life by a code of honour (reinforced by and completely compatible with the Martial Arts). Cheating is not supposed to be in my vocabulary, let alone in my toolbox.
Of course, there is an argument to be made that I did not cheat, I just failed at what I tried to do… but bragging is bad enough, bragging when you didn’t do something is terrible. So Thursday evening I decided to try to make it right… I was at the Belt Testing for the Eglington branch of Master Kim’s OMAC, and after the testing was over and most of the people had left I gave it another go.
I tried with two boards first, but that was not feeling right. In the end I had Master Kwan hold a single board for me, and with a couple of my biggest fans looking on (Mrs. Anita has always been one of my favourites, but I have only recently become familiar with Mrs. Toni) I tried again:
Master Kwan holds the target for me as I attempt a TRUE One Inch Punch!
As you can see in the video I am not extending my fingers, rather I am only extending the first knuckle on my index finger, and while it is possible that for a split second my fist was 1.5” from the board, it is certainly a lot closer than it was in my first attempt (which was really my second – I didn’t record the first one).
I will say that after I was accused of cheating I went to the web and watched several masters perform (and explain the feat. Watching Bruce Lee perform it is simply impossible – the cameras that recorded him did not slow it down enough, and the resolution was terrible. However Sifu George Hajnasr (a Jeet Kune Do Master from Boston) gives a great demo of it, as does Senior Instructor Jeremy Lynch of Chinatown JKD. Watching Instructor Lynch’s explanation of how the body’s muscle groups work together really helped me to increase the power and snap in my punch.
While the One Inch Punch is a great demonstration, it would not be effective in a real combat situation unless it is used in combination with other techniques… When I am able to get back into training I am going to try to add that last inch into every punch that I throw. The body mechanics that go into the punch do not have to be exclusive to this one punch. However for now I am thinking that I should take this demo to the OMAC Canada Championships coming up in May… Want to come watch? Let me know and I’ll get you the details!
TechEd 2013: Call For MCTs!
March 28, 2013 Leave a comment
Are you a current MCT? TechEd wants you! The Call For Staff for TechEd, including Hands On Labs, MCT Ambassadors, and Certification Prep is open, and I am hoping to see a few Canadian MCTs throw their name into the Goblet of Fire! Ok, it’s not a goblet, there’s no fire… but you do get your show pass paid for TechEd along with a cool shirt 
If you would like to go to TechEd but think the price is out of reach, here is a great compromise… you work a few hours a day and your ticket is paid for! Yes, you still have to pay your own travel and expenses, but that is a small price to pay compared to all of the learning and networking opportunities that await!
To put your name in click here: http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/mct/general/f/120/t/321378.aspx#fbid=bLNZEjAFLpL
If you are interested in going please let me know as well, and continue to conversation on Twitter… we will be using the hashtag #CdnAtTechEd (as we did last year). And stay tuned… the DPE Team just may have something in store for you down in New Orleans (and Madrid for TechEd Europe)!
Microsoft Store Yorkdale
March 1, 2013 Leave a comment
I am back at the Microsoft Store in Yorkdale again this evening… my son’s keyboard stopped working. The staff here helped him out and got us on our way in no time flat! I just wish that Emily was here so that I could have done an impromptu presentation in the theatre 
Microsoft Surface with Windows 8 Pro: It’s Here!
February 11, 2013 Leave a comment
For most of the months of October through December, while I was on tour talking about Windows 8, the new Office 2013 & Office 365, and Windows Server 2012 the most common question I heard was not about any of these products… it was something like ‘So where’s your Surface? Why don’t you have a Surface? When will you have a Surface?’ It was grinding… not because I didn’t want one… I did, and badly. However I knew that if I bought myself a Surface with Windows RT in November my wife would never let me go back in February to buy myself a Surface with Windows Pro. So I waited… patiently.
Of course, as a Virtual Evangelist for Microsoft Canada there was speculation that they would give me one… but that didn’t happen. In December I watched with envy as all of my friends and colleagues got theirs – every Microsoft employee got one, but alas, I am a contractor so I didn’t.
Earlier at the beginning of summer I had promised my son that he could have one when they came out, and so in November I asked him if he wanted the RT version, or if he wanted to wait for the Pro version. Of course he opted for the RT version, and so he got one as a late middle-school graduation present. I took my wife with me to buy his device, and she was so enamoured with it that we bought two that day – hers being an early Christmas present. Still and all, I could look, but unless they needed technical support I could not touch.
And then a few weeks ago the general availability date was announced: February 9th.
I called my main contact at the Microsoft Store in Yorkdale Mall (Toronto) and confirmed that they would be going on sale on that day. I asked if he could put one aside for me, and his response was ‘yes… but I can only hold it until the end of the day on the 9th so make sure you come that day!’ I was willing to do him one better… since the shipment was obviously arriving well in advance of that day, why not simply let me come pick it up a few days early and we’ll keep it between us? ‘Not a chance… not even one minute before the 9th!’ (And of course no, they were not planning a midnight event, so I would have to wait until morning!)
Then I had an idea. ‘Friend, what if I were to come in early the morning of February 9th, buy the very first Surface sold in Canada, and record it for my blog in the store before you even open?’ He thought that was not only doable, but was a great idea. I put it in my calendar, and remembered to confirm with him on the 8th to make sure he hadn’t forgotten me… which I feel bad about because he never would!
Mother Nature decided to test Mitch…
February 8th, for those of you who were not paying attention, recorded the largest single-day snowfall in southern Ontario in nearly a decade. Everyone on every media from Television to Twitter was saying that if you didn’t have to go out… don’t. The road crews would be out in full force, but it would likely take them throughout the weekend to clear the minor arteries and possibly into next week for crescents, circles, and such (in one of which I happen to live). Knowing that I needed to drive out the following morning I bribed my teenaged son to shovel the driveway in the early evening. He did enough to make sure that I would be able to get my car out.
Of course, what are the chances that the tiny little circle, an off-shoot of a crescent off a tertiary road in Oakville, was going to be ploughed in time? Fortunately Mayor Rob Burton follows me on Twitter and knew that I was planning to head out this morning, and made sure that our little ‘Griffith Place’ was cleared. Okay, he did no such thing, but HUGE kudos to the road crews of Oakville, Ontario that cleared the street late last night!
At 6:15 on Saturday morning I headed out; I brushed 35 centimetres of heavy snow off my car and headed out, all the while listening to the reports on the radio of accidents along the way (I witnessed three of them and passed seven others on the 403 and 401). I was not to be stopped! I drove the treacherous highways ‘low and slow’ as I was taught for these conditions, and as I will teach my son next year. It took me nearly an hour to get there and park, but I did so safely.
Almost there…
I was surprised that I got to the store at 7:15am, and there were already people waiting in both lines (one line for people with the ‘golden ticket’ and one for people without)! I got my gear set up in the ‘theatre’ area. I set up my video camera on my tripod, only to realize that the battery was dead. No problem, I had plenty of time to go, so I plugged it in and let it charge. I set up my Surface with Windows RT (ironic that after all that waiting a colleague at Microsoft actually did get me one!) and several of the available accessories on the table where I would shoot. All I needed now was the Surface Pro…
At 8:15 Friend brought out two devices – one for me, and one for another VIP customer named Mike who already has a Surface with Windows RT, but really wanted the Pro and was glad to be getting it this morning before he heads off to Europe. Friend ran my credit card through, and once the POS system told him the sale was approved he e-mailed me my invoice and I was off to the races.
The following videos were filmed in the Microsoft Store Theatre in Yorkdale Mall, Toronto. I want to thank Alison (the store manager), Friend (who knows who he is, and Emily (who is the Community Development Specialist, and therefor in charge of the theatre area and all of the presentations and parties held there. They were filmed on February 9th, 2013 between 8:30 and 9:00 in the morning. The only edits that were done to the video were for the sake of time and flow. All opinions, mistakes, errors, and omissions are mine and mine alone, and I have made no effort to alter the video to hide them.
Opening the FIRST Surface Pro sold in Canada!
Turning on and setting up my Surface Pro.
My First Surface Article
January 29, 2013 5 Comments
Ok, so maybe it is not my first article on Microsoft Surface, but it is the first article that I am writing from one. A friend here was kind enough to loan me one for a few weeks, and even though my EliteBook is within arm’s reach I decided to spend my morning on this device exclusively… to get used to it and all.
The keyboard was the first challenge that I anticipated… the flat, waterproof keys reminded me at a glance of the chicklet keyboard of the Atari 400. How wrong I was… although the keyboard does take some getting used to, it is really quite friendly and easy to use. The missing function keys also struck me as a worry… I use the F-keys pretty regularly, and it did not take long for me to notice their absence. I expect that I am in the minority on this point though… IT Pros and Devs will miss them, but the vast majority of end users will likely not even notice that they are missing**. The responsiveness is another thing worried me (I noticed it as I was writing this paragraph). I seemed to be typing faster than the keyboard could send the keys to the screen. That however turned out to be not a problem with the Surface, but rather with the app that I am using to write.
**Edit Feb. 1: The top row of keys is indeed the function keys, but on the keyboard I have the numbers are not printed. As with many keyboards, you need to press the Fn key to shift to the Function, so Alt-Fn-Play is the same as Alt-F4.
Theresa Garvis, my lovely wife and very capable business manager, has been using her Surface since the end of October, and she has been loving it. When I discussed my concerns with the keyboard she assured me that she used the keyboard… but the truth is that she gets along without it just as easily. ‘I have used the on-screen keyboard without any problems, and it works great for me. The only reason I use the external keyboard is because it is there, and have never had any problem when I left it at home.’
The Surface RT does not have nearly the kind of horsepower that I need for my day to day computer use. However I am not your average computer user, and I expect that with 2 GB of RAM, a 1.3GHz NVIDEA TEGRA 3 Quad-Core CPU, and 32 GB of storage (a chunk of which is used for the OS) most end-users will be happy with it. My son Aaron started high school this year, and was eager to swap out his EliteBook for the Surface. He found that the only thing that he couldn’t do with his Surface was a school app that requires Flash Player… and I have not yet looked into a solution for this. In the meantime he is happy using one of the home computers for his French homework, and the rest of the time he sequesters himself in his room with his Surface.
The Surface is not intended to be a desktop/laptop replacement, but it could very well be that for many people. But what about the rest of us who absolutely need more power? What about those of us who need legacy apps? I personally immediately felt the missing link in the Office chain – no Outlook. In fact, this is a complaint I have heard from quite a number of people who have gone out and bought Surfaces… what do I do without my Outlook??
Outlook is not the only app that people are missing on the Surface (or, more accurately, on Windows RT) but it is a big one. Most of the functionality of Outlook that I use is actually available in Microsoft Mail, Calendar, and Contacts (all of which come standard with Windows RT). However let’s be honest… if you are used to Outlook there really isn’t a viable alternative.
So what do we do? On the one hand we have a really powerful tablet that runs Windows 8, and on the other we have a device that isn’t quite powerful enough for us. But what if we could harness the power of our desktop from the Surface? What if we could use all of our apps and resources of the great but heavy desktop that is always connected directly from Windows RT? Wouldn’t that be great?
We can… and in my next article I will show you how you can do it too, using a few simple tricks and some free tools.
Oh and by the way, I wrote this entire article using the free WordPress app that I downloaded from the Windows Store, using the regular keyboard!
Shared Nothing Live Migration: Goodbye Shared Storage?
January 7, 2013 Leave a comment
This article was originally written for the Canadian IT Pro Connection.
Many smaller companies and individuals with home labs see shared storage – usually a SAN (Storage Area Network) device as the impediment to Live Migration. In April of 2011 Microsoft released the iSCSI Software Target 3.3 as a free (and supported) download. At the time Pierre and I wrote a series of articles in this space as guest bloggers (The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target is now free, All for SAN and SAN for All!, Creating a SAN using Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3, Creating HA VMs for Hyper-V with Failover Clustering using FREE Microsoft iSCSI Target 3.3). It seems that those articles were so well liked that Pierre and I are now the resident technical bloggers for this space! 
Ok, but seriously… Software SANs make life easier for smaller companies with smaller environments. The fact that you can now build a failover environment without investing in an expensive SAN is a great advancement for IT Professionals, and especially for those who want to do Live Migration. Windows Server 2012 now includes the iSCSI Software Target out of the box, and IT Pros are taking full advantage.
Now let’s go one step further. You have started to play with Hyper-V… or maybe you have a small environment built on a single host. You get to the point where you are going to add a second host, but you are still not ready to create shared storage. Are you stuck with two segregated hosts? Not anymore!
Shared Nothing Live Migration allows you to have VMs stored on local (direct attached) storage, and still be able to migrate them between hosts. With absolutely no infrastructure other than two Hyper-V hosts (and the appropriate networking) you can now live migrate virtual machines between hosts.
Requirements
Any live migration, whether it be Hyper-V or any other platform, have a number of requirements in order to work.
- Both hosts must have chipsets in the same family – that is, you cannot live migrate an Intel to an AMD or vice-versa. If the processors are similar enough (i7 to i5 is fine, i7 to Core2 Duo is not) then no action is necessary. In the event that you do have dissimilar processors (newer and older but still within the same family, then you have to configure your virtual machine’s CPU compatibility, as outlined in the article Getting Started with Hyper-V in Server 2012 and Windows 8.
- If your virtual machine is connected to a virtual switch then you need to have an identically named virtual switch on the destination host. If not your migration will be paused while you specify which switch to use on the destination server.
- The two virtualization hosts must be connected by a reliable network.
Settings (Host)
In order to perform Live Migration you have to configure it in the Hyper-V Settings.
1) In Hyper-V Manager click Hyper-V Settings… in the Actions Pane.
2) In the Hyper-V Settings for the host, click on the Live Migrations tab on the left. In the details pane ensure that the Enable incoming and outgoing live migrations box is checked, and that you have selected an option under Incoming live migrations. In this screenshot you will see that I have left the default 2 Simultaneous live migrations, and that I selected the option to Use any available network for live migration. Depending on your network configuration and bandwidth availability you can adjust these as you like.
NOTE: These steps must be performed on both hosts, although the configuration options do not have to be the same.
Migrating a VM
Performing a Live Migration is easy.
1) In the Hyper-V Manager right-click on the virtual machine that you want to migrate and click Move…
NOTE: In this screenshot I am managing both hosts from the same MMC console. This is NOT a requirement.
2) On the Before You Begin screen click Next>.
3) On the Choose Move Type screen select Move the virtual machine and click Next>.
4) On the Specify Destination Computer screen enter the name of the destination host and click Next>. You also have the option to browse other hosts in Active Directory.
5) On the Choose Move Options screen select what you want to do with the virtual machine’s items (see screen capture). I usually select the option Move the virtual machine’s data to a single location. This option allows you to specify one location for all of the VM’s items, including configuration files, memory state, and virtual storage. Click Next>.
6) On the Choose a new location for virtual machine screen enter (or browse to) the location on the destination host where you would like to move the VM. This screen will also tell you how big your files are (note the Source Location in the screen capture says 9.5 GB). Click Next> then on the Summary screen click Finish.
Now that your virtual machine migration is in progress you can watch the progress bar in two places: In the Performing the Move progress bar, and in the Hyper-V Manager under Status.
The one place where you would not be able to watch the progress is from within the virtual machine. There is nothing to see. If you are in the VM while the migration is happening there is no indication of it, and you (and all of your processes and networking) will be able to continue as normal. The operating system within the VM itself has no concept that it is virtualized, and therefore has no concept that it is being moved. Should the live migration fail (as has been known to happen) the VM would experience… nothing. It would continue to work on the source host as if nothing had happened. In fact the only time it ceases to work on the source host is when it is fully operational on the destination host.
Notice now that the virtual machine SWMI-DC2, which we moved from SWMI-HOST5 to SWMI-HOST6 is now running as normal on the destination host. You will see that the Uptime is reset – that is because the uptime is tied to the VM on the host, and not the uptime of the guest OS.
VIDEO!
Now that you understand how it works, why not watch the video of my performing a Shared Nothing Live Migration. For the sake of good TV I cut out the three minutes of waiting while the migration performed, but everything else is in real time. Check it out here:
Shared Nothing Live Migration–real time, minus a few minutes cut out of the Watching it happen phase.
Conclusion
Whether you have a small infrastructure and want to be able to live migrate between a couple of hosts, or you have a large infrastructure but still have VMs stored on direct-attached storage, Shared Nothing Live Migration is one of the new features in Windows Server 2012 that will make your virtualization tasks easier. Remember that it is not a license to get rid of your SAN devices, but is a great (and easy) way to migrate DAS-attached VMs between hosts without any downtime.
Related articles
2012 in review
December 31, 2012 Leave a comment
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
19,000 people fit into the new Barclays Center to see Jay-Z perform. This blog was viewed about 100,000 times in 2012. If it were a concert at the Barclays Center, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Remember when she was young…
December 28, 2012 Leave a comment
It was Boxing Day, and my friend Cam and his fiancé came over for the afternoon. As we sat in the living room Cam was amazed at how well behaved Gingit was – at least, relative to what once was. She is still a hellion, but she has mellowed over the years. As we told Amanda of some of the things that Gingit has chewed on over the years she could hardly believe it… how could such a cute, loveable, quiet, and well-behaved dog ever do all of this? Well it’s true… and she was once even recognized for it. There is a site called www.thingsmydogate.com which has a ‘Top Ten’ list, and when Gingit was a puppy – in the summer of 2008 – she made it to #4 on the Most Wanted list. The post was called ‘If Only Gingit Loved Regular Dog Food…’ but the truth was she would eat anything.
Fortunately over the years our little girl has mellowed somewhat, and we have gotten VERY good at securing anything of value. I am not sure whether it is the first or the second point that has saved our stuff, but she still gets into things – garbage cans are never safe, and I find former Matchbox cars from time to time. And for reasons that are beyond me the baby’s diaper bin has always been a temptation (YUCK!) but most of the time she is good.
Take a look at the article though… if you ever come over and see our wonderful dog, remember what once was… –M
The Microsoft Store for Business… Ask Caden!
November 20, 2012 Leave a comment
The Microsoft Store in Toronto’s Yorkdale Mall is the hottest address for technology in the Greater Toronto Area. People have been coming from all over to see what’s new, ranging from Windows 8 laptops, all-in-ones, Windows Phone 8 devices, and especially the new Microsoft Surface tablet, the hottest device on the market today.
Of course the store is a retail outlet, and as such is designed around the consumer. To get a machine with the Microsoft Signature experience there is no other place to go.
So where do you go if you are a business owner, a consultant, a reseller who wants to buy these exclusive optimized devices for your company or customers? Simple… ask for Caden!
Caden Forbes is the Business Development Specialist for the Microsoft Store in Toronto, and as such it is his job to connect with and sell into businesses. He is, in essence, the B2B rep for the store. That means that if you want to buy Surfaces, Windows Phones, or anything else for your business Caden is the man to see… and you can tell in the first seconds of your conversation that he loves his job, is great at it, and is easy to do business with.
It is often hard to find a man who knows his stuff, can communicate his message effectively, and is easy to deal with. He almost always has a smile on his face and in his heart. He has years of experience as a consultant that make him singularly suited as the best man for the job.
The entire staff at the Microsoft Store is second to none… they have been chosen well, trained thoroughly, and without a doubt work better as a team than any retail group I have ever met. Like every great team they all serve their role; Caden may look like a linebacker but when you speak to him you will soon realize that he Is the business-to-business running back; when a member of the team realizes that a customer is asking business-related questions they will hand off to Caden, and Caden runs with it. I expect him to win whatever the retail equivalent of the Heisman Trophy this year because he is absolutely one of the most effective players on the field.
If you haven’t been there already you should go down to the store and speak to one of the Product Advisors and, if you are a business owner, make sure they hand you off to Caden.
Related articles
- The Microsoft Store: The place to be this week-end (garvis.ca)
- The Great One Comes to Microsoft Store! (garvis.ca)
The Great One Comes to Microsoft Store!
November 16, 2012 1 Comment
I have to admit that not even my influence could get me to the front of the line to meet (and play Kinect with) The Great One, Number 99 Wayne Gretzky. I did, however, get close enough to take a couple of pictures of him playing the game, and wanted to share them with you!
The Microsoft Store’s Grand Opening weekend is going like gangbusters – an incredible event to be sure. The store was busy all day today – and I mean PACKED! For most people the real attraction was the technology, the excitement, the hype. However at 2pm the lines started forming, and by the time 6:00pm came around there were literally hundreds of fans lined up to meet, be photographed with, and play Kinect Darts with Gretz.
Whatever you came for, you couldn’t help but have a great time… even if you didn’t get to meet The Great One up close!
The Microsoft Store: The place to be this week-end
November 16, 2012 1 Comment
If you are in or around the Greater Toronto Area this week-end then there is no better place to be than the Microsoft Store in Yorkdale Mall.
The first international store and the largest in the chain, the opening of Microsoft’s newest retail store can only be descried as a huge success, with literally hundreds of people lined up hours in advance to get their first glimpse of the retail marvel.
Microsoft Canada president Max Long was joined by Tami Reller, Corporate Vice President and CFO of Microsoft’s Windows Division were on hand to open the store with a crowd of 700 onlookers. They did not only welcome the crowd and talk about the store, they also announced that Microsoft Canada was making a new donation of $1.500,000 to local charities – presented by store manager Alison Evans.
When the curtain dropped the entire staff was leading the cheers, and then lined up to form a passageway into the store where they high-fived the first visitors. By the time this VIP got in the door (in the first minute) the store was already bustling with activity, a level that has hardly abated at all thus far.
I spoke to a lot of people lined up and they were all here for different reasons – deals on new hardware, Xbox and laptops and accessories… but the two things that drew the most people were the Microsoft Surface and the new Windows Phone 8 devices.
While the Surface has been available since the launch of Windows 8 on October 26th, the only place you were able to see it in Toronto was at the pop-up retail kiosk in the Eaton Centre. Now that the full retail store is open there are dozens of Surfaces everywhere, as well as Sony, Acer, Asus, Dell Samsung devices ranging in size from 9" ultrabooks and tablets to 27" all-in-one machines.
The greatest thing about the store in my opinion is that the display machines are all available for visitors to try out — as I write this article from a handy Sony Vaio T, complete with multi-touch sreen and reasonably priced at $899. They are all internet-connected, and nobody is telling visitors not to touch, try, and in the Xbox corner play. It is a great hands-on experience, and the store associates are as welcoming and helpful as I have ever seen.
In the Windows Phone corner there are representatives not only from a couple of the local carriers but also from the manufacturers as well. Although the platform released October 26th, this is the first time I have even seen the devices outside the Microsoft offices.
Everywhere you look people of all ages and knowledge levels are asking questions, learning, and trying out great devices. Of course every PC is running Windows 8, so it is a great opportunity for people to get their first glimpse of Microsoft’s flagship product, barely three weeks old.
In the back of the store there is an area called the theatre where during the regular hours people can play on the Xbox connected to an incredible 103" touch screen. This afternoon (and tomorrow and Sunday) the Microsoft MVPs are taking over – we will be presenting sessions every hour on topic including Windows 8, Office 2013, Office 365, Xbox, and of course Windows Phone 8. I have several sessions over the course of the week-end, but am more interested to sit in and listen to what my fellow enthusiasts have to say (I usually know what I am going to say so I am seldom surprised).
It is definitely the place to be this week-end. Even though the initial ‘line up and wait’ is over, the store has been consistently hopping since it opened, with no signs of slowing down. I spoke with several members of the management team who are all pleased by the turnout. Alison Evans, the store manager, told me she is ‘ecstatic about the turnout.’
To make things even hotter, there will be an exclusive concert with the band Train tomorrow evening, and store staff are handing out wristband passes to the lucky few; and this afternoon The Great One – Number 99 himself – Wayne Gretzky will be in the store, and people will be lined up to meet him, get autographs, and get the chance to play Kinect games with him!
So if you haven’t come down yet what is stopping you? Trust me, you will not be disappointed… your only regret will be if you do NOT come down!
Related articles
- Take a tour of Microsoft’s first store in Canada (theglobeandmail.com)
Tim Hortons Hears a Hypocrite
November 11, 2012 1 Comment
I want to be clear that I feel for people with allergies… I really do. With that being said, I think the following conversation I had on Saturday to be entirely ridiculous:
(Woman at Tim Hortons): What can I get for you?
Me: I’d like a toasted bagel with peanut butter.
WaTH: Anything else?
Me: No, but please put the peanut butter on the bagel for me.
WaTH: I am sorry, we cannot do that – we are a peanut free restaurant.
Me: No, you are not… you sell peanut butter.
WaTH: Yes, but we cannot put it on for fear it will contaminate our kitchen.
Me: Don’t you think that’s a bit hypocritical?
WaTH: What is hipo-crical?
Me: Forget it.
Are you trying to tell me that it is safer for me (a customer) to sit down at one of your tables and put the peanut butter on my bagel without any type of controls than it would be for you (a trained – we assume – food handler) to put down a paper, put on gloves, and use a plastic knife? Imagine the next person who sits at my table is allergic to peanuts and goes into anaphylactic shock because the table was not properly cleaned off?
There is a popular breakfast chain in the United States that rhymes with Awful Mouse that no longer serves peanut butter. The last time I was there this disturbed me because I was really in the mood for it, but at least when they claim to be peanut-free they mean it.
Sorry Tim Hortons, you cannot claim to be peanut-free and serve peanut butter. Either peanut-butter my bagel or don’t… but don’t tell me I have to do it for the safety of your other patrons.
…obviously written in an insomniac late-night haze.
