So I find out via facebook yesterday, that it is looking likely that I’m going to be a stage closer to being made redundant / medical retirement… 
Work update is I have an interview this Wednesday with the City of Toronto. It is an entry job this time, not manager-level, but finally I have a competition I could join without bumping into that pesky union collective agreement wall.
Speaking of unions, Ontario is having an interesting CUPE vs Ontario government battle. Nonlocal coverage: Over 55,000 Ontario education workers strike in defiance of ‘draconian’ law | Canada | The Guardian. The right to strike is being taken away before people have a chance to strike.
And here I am awaiting an interview for a union job… albeit for a different one.
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I saw a news post about that law, absolutely ridiculous. Specially after they announced they want to bring a lot of immigrants into Canada… so new cheap labor without the chance for them to strike and fight for a better work life.
Ya the federal gov’t is not in support of it and immigration is their jurisdiction …its at the provincial level and its the right wing side of the spectrum so as usual it politics being played with peoples lives…
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Hey community, I have come across a pickle (expression riffing off of our other conversation today). At work, I have been tasked to doing someone else’s project for them. If that already sounds troublesome, it is.
Part of it is finding a way to give portable internet access to people via a tech lending library (we are building this library from ground up but already my other recommendations are being rejected…). How would I provide portable internet to a community with unmet needs? I feel it has to be a custom, negotiated and expensive solution.
Some kind of mesh WiFi with cell (5G?) backhaul?
@ggbutcher What does that mean? Elaborate please. Slow at the end of day. 
Problem: We have a community with unmet tech needs and may not have access to the internet.
Me: We can provide internet at our branch within that neighbourhood. Community centres, libraries and other safe community spaces offer WIFI too.
Problem: We want people to have their own portable hotspot devices.
Me: Hotspot plans (residential or business) have modems are tied to ISP contracts. We cannot lend devices that change users and locations. The devices are expensive to replace and service. Plans, even unlimited, have throttling and unforeseen fees and penalties. How do we ensure that users have fair and equitable use? A custom negotiated solution is expensive and unrealistic.
(In retrospect, I suppose we could buy our own modems and provide SIM attached to limited pay-as-you-go plans. That way we can top up the plan for each user.)
Problem: Internet accessibility is the whole point of this project. Everything else is secondary!
I am guessing they just want our library to have patrons walk in and say:
Patron: I want internet - can I borrow internet?
Library: Yes, you can borrow internet. Here it is and bring it back to us in one piece in one week.
All: profit!
Me: Oh!
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I’m not sure if I might be missing a point… but here in Aus 4G ‘hotspots’ are easy to get hold of (I think most of the major telcos have they’re own branded versions) and are quite easy to use once the SIM is set up. Prepaid seems to be the usual setup. I could imagine having a stack of these to loan out. Not sure how you’d meter or charge for data usage though.
Edit: Like this one - https://www.telstra.com.au/internet/mobile-broadband/prepaid/telstra-pre-paid-4gx-hotspot
Edit no2. Sorry! I just saw your reply explaining the problems of what I suggested…
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I kind of address that in my post.
Yes: how to make it fair for everyone? I don’t think there can be a charge. Then again, I wasn’t given any guidelines/scope, which is frustrating.
Yeah, this is what I had in mind, although ignore the “mesh” part. Not really needed for the use case…
Sorry - I saw your other post pop up as I was typing my suggestion - but didn;t read till I’d finished my post! 
I might add that I learned something from my conversation with other people tonight (well, a refresher).
I care about things too much all the time and am too persistent about finding a good solution.
If I give a recommendation that is not welcome, it is not my role to convince the other party. I am to help them achieve what they want, but they will have to own their poor decisions. I shouldn’t put that on myself. Otherwise, I won’t bring value to them, get on their bad side and fail to take care of myself.
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Work with local business to build a mesh network. You could also use empty pay phones like new York did, if there are any left. You can branch them off the libraries.
For now there is this…if people have a device…
Yeah loaning out Mifis/hotspots seems a bit dubious? That will likely rack up a bill quickly and still doesn’t really solve the problem of the end user not having a device of their own. That is, a hotspot without something to connect to it seems kinda of silly.
Too bad netbooks aren’t around anymore. You could put a cell modem inside, loan them out and wipe them when they were done. Maybe something similar with tablets? Those might walk off easily too so then we come back around to the age old concept: the computer lab or internet cafe.
I am still in the procurement quagmire, navigating politics and the telecom cartel. Lovely.
On the job competition front, I botched the interview. I went in burnt out. My brain did not work well to organize my responses and highlight my strengths. Fortunately, I have another job competition with the City. It is for a position that is even more entry-level and not at all interesting. It does not require post-secondary education per se. But the competition will be fierce in the sheer number of candidates (500-1000) because of the low bar. Still, it is a way in, so I am not complaining. 
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Thank you, still not sure when or if it will be happening, but i have now successfully claimed Adult Disability Payment Adult Disability Payment - mygov.scot due to having a long term health condition, which is a bit of extra cash to help with cost of living. Plus this will link to other disability related benefits when / if I do get made redundant…
Good to hear that there is some help available!
I signed up a public library online class (first time): 3D Animation with Blender. Will let you know how it goes. A couple on Python to sign up in a few days. Perhaps I shall, to catch up with 3…
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