Chad Clark's Open Journal : 2007-12-05

1) Free tire rotating at Canadian tire.  But not changing tires.

After paying for tires the cashier said that the tires come with free
rotations every 10 000 km for life.  That was a nice surprise but the
obvious question I had was "does that mean I can have my winter tires
swapped every year?"  It turns out the there is a fee for that.

If I bought one set of tires and have them rotated twice per year there is
no fee.  They will take the tires off and move them somewhere else on the
vehicle for no charge.

If instead I bought one set tires for the summer, one set of winter tires
and one set of rims for the winter tires the same offer applies.  I can
have them rotate either my winter tires or my summer tires every 10 000 km
but that does me no good because after 10 000 km it is time to put the
other set of tires on.

So if you spend more than twice as much you don't get the bonus of having
someone change your tires for you.

I assume it is a fee schedule passed down and the front line people don't
have the power or desire to bypass it.  Changing tires and rotating tires
are two slightly different jobs but neither takes more time or effort than
the other.

I don't really care about having them change my tires.  I'm just baffled
by the silly rules and how the staff think the rules make sense.

Maybe it is almost solely business owners and commission sales people who
care about keeping a customer happy when he is spending more than another.

Aside: BMW recommends against rotating tires because it reduces the even
surface contact after the tires are rotated.

Update: I was thinking about it and someone who buys two sets of tires is
likely to take longer before returning to buy more.  In the long run they
might not spend more than someone who buys one set at a time.

2) Canadian passport web site security problem.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071205.wpassport05/BNStory/National/home reads:

  Passport Canada says that a security breach in its passport application
  website that allowed easy access to the personal information of
  applicants has been repaired.
  
  ...
  
  an Ontario man applying online for a passport last Thursday discovered he
  could access personal information - such as social insurance numbers,
  birthdates and driver's licence numbers - of other applicants by altering
  one character in the Internet address displayed by his Web browser.

Maybe more importantly but not really related the article reads:

  The federal government is considering implementing legislation that would
  require private sector organizations to disclose security breaches.

3) Kids get more exercise and eat better when they are not in school.

http://www.atl.org.uk/atl_en/news/education/Default.asp?article=%7BDB0C9E42-79C5-4D2D-9E6B-F28356AD69BA%7D&month=&year=&category= reads:

  The vast majority (96 per cent) of respondents aged 12 said they did more
  exercise in the summer holidays than term-time.
  
  In addition, eight out of ten said they got enjoyment from their holiday
  exercise, with those who travel abroad typically doing the most.
  
  Holiday eating was also shown to be healthier, with less junk food
  consumed and more fruit eaten in the school holidays than term-time.